Operation Stone Age answered two linked needs: Malta required supplies and a new surface striking force. The convoy carried both the material to sustain operations and the warships that would become Force K after arrival. The reconstituted group was heavily oriented toward air defence, pairing three Dido-class cruisers with the experienced 14th Destroyer Flotilla. HMS Nubian was its veteran destroyer, with a wartime record surpassed in battle honours only by HMS Warspite.
Notable Point · 40:07-42:46
Operation Stone Age rebuilds Force K
The convoy that resupplied Malta also delivered the ships that would become a new, air-defence-heavy Force K.