Operation MB8

Operation MB.8
Part of the Battle of the Mediterranean of World War II
20 mm Oerlikon cannon anti aircraft gunners on board a merchant ship on a Malta bound convoy
Date 4–11 November 1940 Location Western part of the Mediterranean Sea Result British victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	Italy
Commanders and leaders
Andrew Cunningham Lumley Lyster	Inigo Campioni
Units involved
Mediterranean Fleet Force H	Regia Marina Regia Aeronautica
Strength
2 aircraft carriers 5 battleships 10 cruisers 30 destroyers	various air & naval forces

Operation MB8 was a British Royal Navy operation in the Mediterranean Sea during 4–11 November 1940. It was made up of six forces—totalling two aircraft carriers, five battleships, 10 cruisers and 30 destroyers, including much of Force H—protecting four supply convoys.

It consisted of several phases: Operation Coat, Operation Crack, Convoy MW 3, Convoy ME 3, Convoy AN 6 and the main element, Battle of Taranto (Operation Judgement).

Operation Coat was a reinforcement convoy from Britain to Malta, carrying troops and anti-aircraft guns. The convoy was made up of the battleship HMS Barham, heavy cruisers HMS Berwick and Glasgow, and three escorting destroyers. It was covered by the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, light cruiser HMS Sheffield, and three more destroyers, all from Force H, out to mid-Mediterranean; three Force H destroyers would remain, the rest turning back 165 nmi (190 mi; 306 km) from Sicily.

Convoy MW 3 was made up of three empty merchantmen bound for Malta from Alexandria, plus an Australian destroyer and the monitor HMS Terror bound for the base at Suda Bay. The convoy was escorted by the anti-aircraft cruiser HMS Coventry, accompanied by three destroyers. The 11.5 knots (21.3 km/h) convoy left Alexandria on 4 November and reached Malta on 10 November.

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