MW3's merchant vessels made a credible explanation for a British fleet being at sea, helping mask the larger operation. The Australian 'Scrap Iron Flotilla' had received its derisive nickname from German propaganda, but supplied escort, anti-submarine, and anti-aircraft capability despite its First World War origins. Its destroyers were smaller and older than contemporary Tribal- or Fletcher-class ships without being expendable or useless. Their value came from assigning missions that matched their capabilities.
Chapter · 22:21-24:43
MW3 and the useful work of older destroyers
The Alexandria-to-Malta movement used merchant traffic as visible cover and relied on Australian destroyers whose age did not make them expendable.