"Mohawk" and "Nubian" were escorting the heavy cruiser during a bombardment of Bardia, Italian Libya, on 17 September when she was torpedoed by an Italian torpedo bomber. "Nubian" towed her back to Alexandria while "Mohawk" escorted them until they arrived on the 19th. Three days later, the 14th DF, including "Mohawk", bombarded the airfield at Sidi Barrani and nearby targets; the ship returned on 25 September, attacking truck concentrations. While the bulk of the Mediterranean Fleet covered the aircraft carrier as her aircraft attack the Italian Fleet in Taranto on the night of 11/12 November, Vice-Admiral Henry Pridham-Wippell took three light cruisers, escorted by "Mohawk" and "Nubian" turned north to attack Italian shipping in the southern Adriatic Sea. They encountered a small convoy of four ships, escorted by the auxiliary cruiser and the torpedo boat . "Mohawk" was the first to open fire, claiming a hit on "Ramb III" and then one on the torpedo boat, although both ships were able to break contact. The cruisers sank all of the merchantmen before reuniting with the main body. On the night of 11/12 December, the destroyer escorted the monitor as she bombarded Italian positions near Sollum, Egypt.