On 9 September 1943, Bergamini received news that La Maddalena had fallen to the Germans. The fleet then headed for Tunisia. Later that afternoon, Bergamini's fleet was attacked by a wing of German bombers near Porto Torres. Bergamini's flagship "Roma" did not open fire immediately, following orders from Pietro Badoglio; when the ships opened fire it was clear that the German planes were staying out of range of the Italian anti-aircraft guns. Subsequently, "Roma" was hit by a Fritz X guided bomb, a weapon unknown to the Italians at the time. Bergamini, the ship's captain and 1,350 other crew members were killed when the ship exploded and sank.