The convoy was routed east of Malta to benefit from aircraft based in Libya. Its ships were to make nine knots while the escort zigzagged at sixteen. The assumption attributed to its planners was that aircraft were the principal danger after dark, despite earlier British night actions at Taranto, Matapan, and against convoys. That left the surface threat badly underestimated. The explanation for the belief remains uncertain: Alex has encountered it in several books but says further work in Italian archives is needed.
Notable Point · 5:05:18-5:11:43
The fatal assumption that darkness protected the convoy
Italian planners routed the convoy for night protection despite recent evidence that the Royal Navy excelled in darkness.