Operation Vigorous
The aircraft were detained in Malta, in order to provide cover two for Allied convoys that were to resupply Malta from both ends of the Mediterranean in June 1942. Operation Harpoon sailed eastward from Gibraltar, while Operation Vigorous sailed westward from Alexandria. On the morning of 15 June 1942, a force of eight Bristol Beauforts attacked an Italian fleet that was steaming south, seeking to intercept the convoys. A single torpedo from one Beaufort crippled the Italian cruiser "Trento", which was later sunk by the British submarine HMS "Umbra" (P.35).