As it grew dark, lookouts spotted a large ship with five destroyers. The Italian liner-turned troopship SS "Conte Rosso" was identified by periscope. As he moved to attack he was nearly rammed by the destroyer "Freccia" which had not seen the submarine. He fired his torpedoes and dived to 150 feet. He heard two explosions and the ship, carrying the flag of Rear Admiral Francesco Canzoneri, sank with 2,279 soldiers and crew on board roughly 50 km (27 nm) east of Portopalo di Capo Passero in Sicily. Around 1,300 of these men died. Over the next hours he evaded 37 depth charges as the escort counter-attacked. Several days later, one of life boats from the "Conte Rosso" was found wrecked upon Malta and the sinking was confirmed. The sinking of the 19,000-ton ship, which was under heavy guard, and without working Asdic, prompted the award of the Victoria Cross, the most prestigious award for bravery and skill in the face of the enemy. Wanklyn was gazetted for his actions on 1 December 1941.