 In October 1941 the British re-established a flotilla of surface ships at Malta (Force K) for the first time since April and a force of Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers.Italian air reconnaissance discovered the ships on 21 October and cancelled sailings for Tripoli, leaving only the inferior facilities at Benghazi open.The convoy consisted two German vessels, SS "Duisburg" 7,889 gross register tonnage (GRT) and SS "San Marco" (3,113 GRT) and the Italian MV "Maria" (6,339 GRT), SS "Sagitta" (5,153 GRT) and MV "Rina Corrado" (5,180 GRT), carrying 389 vehicles, of munitions, fuel in barrels and troops for the Italian and German forces in Libya.