On 19 December, at about the time of the First Battle of Sirte, ships from both forces ran into a minefield while pursuing an Italian convoy, "Neptune" being sunk and "Aurora" damaged. The destroyer also struck a mine while attempting to assist "Neptune" and was scuttled the next day by the destroyer . Following this and with a resurgence of the Axis aerial bombardment of Malta, the remaining surface ships were withdrawn, except for "Penelope", which was too badly damaged to leave. Frequent air attacks while she remained in harbour earned "Penelope" the nickname "HMS Pepperpot"; the light cruiser sailed for Gibraltar on 8 April 1942, terminating the second Force K.