Montecuccoli and Eugenio di Savoia attack the Harpoon convoy

Raimondo Montecuccoli and Eugenio di Savoia form the core of Italy's surface force during Operation Harpoon. Their speed and six-inch batteries let them perform the role imagined for the Condottieri: racing in to strike merchant convoys and their escorts. Five British fleet destroyers lay smoke and counterattack to keep the cruisers away from the convoy. Bedouin and Partridge are hit during that effort, and Bedouin's damage helps leave it vulnerable to the air attack that ultimately sinks it.