In August 1940 "York" was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet, joining the 3rd Cruiser Squadron in Alexandria in late September, after escorting a convoy around the Cape of Good Hope. Two days later she participated in Operation MB.5, where the Mediterranean Fleet escorted the light cruisers and as they ferried troops to Malta. During the Battle of Cape Passero, "York" sank the disabled and abandoned destroyer on 13 October after the destroyer's engagement with the light cruiser the previous evening. A month later "York" and the Mediterranean Fleet executed Operation MB8, a complex series of manoeuvers, including Operation Judgment, where the ship escorted the aircraft carrier as her aircraft attacked the Italian Fleet at Taranto on the evening of 11/12 November. A few days later "York" ferried British troops from Alexandria, Egypt, to Piraeus, Greece. On 26 November, "York", and the rest of the 3rd Cruiser Squadron, covered a small convoy to Malta.