On 5 November, "Sydney" and departed from Port Said with military equipment to be used to establish an Allied advanced base at Souda Bay, Crete. After delivering the equipment, which included almost 1,000 soldiers, the equipment for a Bofors battery, cases of food, and several trucks, the cruisers rejoined the main fleet. The Mediterranean Fleet remained on patrol for several days, and during the night of 11–12 November, while the bulk of the fleet supported the world's first all-naval-aircraft attack on the Italian fleet anchored in Taranto, "Sydney", "Ajax", "Orion" and the destroyers and attempted to transit the Strait of Otranto as a diversion. Despite the mission of "looking for trouble", the northbound passage through the strait passed without incident. The return was not so uneventful: at 01:20, a convoy of four merchantmen with two escorting destroyers was spotted by "Sydney"s lookouts. The Allied warships manoeuvred in close, and opened fire at 01:27: "Sydney" directing her fire onto a freighter away. During the 23-minute engagement, the cruiser successfully contributed to the destruction of three merchant ships and damaged a destroyer, avoided a torpedo, and unsuccessfully fired two in return. At 01:57, the undamaged Allied force departed the strait, and met the main fleet before midday.