In November 1941, "Trieste" was torpedoed by the submarine ; she spent most of the next year under repair. In the meantime, "Trento" was also present during the inconclusive First and Second Battles of Sirte, and at the latter she severely damaged a British destroyer. Both cruisers were also frequently tasked with escorting convoys to supply Italian forces in North Africa as well as interdicting British convoys to the island of Malta in the central Mediterranean. During one of the latter missions to attack the British Operation Harpoon convoy in June 1942, "Trento" was torpedoed twice, first by a Bristol Beaufighter torpedo bomber and then sunk by the submarine with very heavy loss of life on 15 June; out of a wartime complement of 51 officers and 1,100 enlisted men, 549 were killed in the sinking, and a further 21 later died of wounds.