Lützow waited for better light before closing the convoy and opened fire at long range at 11:42. Only Calobre was hit, and the convoy commodore ordered an emergency turn to starboard. Commander Kinloch kept his destroyers between the merchants and both German groups, preventing Hipper's movements from drawing the escort away. Friedrich Eckoldt and Richard Beitzen then mistook Sheffield for Hipper and attempted to join her. Sheffield destroyed Friedrich Eckoldt with twelve close-range 6-inch shells, while Richard Beitzen escaped. Achates' smoke continued to hide the convoy even as the damaged destroyer sank. Lützow also approached Sheffield and Jamaica in error before escaping under cover of German destroyers and poor visibility. The British kept the attackers away from the merchants, and all fourteen merchant ships were delivered.
Chapter · 2:49:40-3:01:16
Lützow's late attack and the German withdrawal
Lützow finally found the convoy but scored only one merchant hit before British destroyers and cruisers drove the German force off.