After Gloucester was hit, Fiji dropped life rafts but had to leave with the destroyers under continued air attack. A later bomb flooded Fiji's forward boiler and engine rooms, although she initially maintained 18 knots. Another hit increased her list to 30 degrees and made the flooding uncontrollable. The identification of the attacking aircraft as Bf 109 fighter-bombers is uncertain. Fiji capsized around 19:30, and the destroyers waited until darkness before recovering almost all the crew. Cunningham later told Pound that sending Fiji and Gloucester back to cover the rescue had been a grave error, while also judging that the density of aircraft could have overwhelmed them even with full magazines.
Notable Point · 1:05:25-1:07:21
Fiji's final bombing, flooding, and nighttime rescue
Bomb damage flooded Fiji's machinery spaces and increased her list until abandonment became necessary.