On 25 March 1941, the destroyers and departed from Leros island in the Aegean at night for the allied naval base at Souda Bay, Crete, each one carrying three MTs. The destroyers released their MTs some 10 nm off Suda Bay. Once inside the bay, the six boats located their targets: the British heavy cruiser , the Norwegian tanker "Pericles" of 8,300 tons, another tanker, and a cargo ship. Two MTs hit "York" amidships, flooding her aft boilers and magazines. The "Pericles" was severely damaged and settled on the bottom. The other "barchini" apparently missed their intended targets, and one of them was stranded on the beach. All six Italian pilots were captured. The disabled "York" was later scuttled with demolition charges by her crew before the German conquest of Crete, while the disabled "Pericles" sank in April 1941 while being towed to Alexandria.