HMS Eagle had been sunk by a submarine during Operation Pedestal shortly before Italian motor torpedo boats MS 16 and MS 22 attacked Manchester. One torpedo struck beside the aft engine room, damaged both starboard shafts, disabled the inner shafts through flooding, and left only the outer port shaft potentially usable. Flooding spread into the four-inch magazine and radio room, while the ship developed an eleven-degree list. The crew shifted fuel and jettisoned torpedoes to reduce the list to four and a half degrees, and engineering teams restored steam to the outer turbine along with power, steering, and radar. Captain Drew did not receive that improving technical picture clearly before ordering abandonment. Somali, Eskimo, and Pathfinder rescued crew members at different points, while Italian motor torpedo boats picked up two survivors.
Chapter · 19:52-23:22
Manchester's torpedo damage during Operation Pedestal
An Italian motor-torpedo-boat hit floods Manchester's machinery spaces, but damage-control work reduces the list and restores key systems before abandonment.