On 3 January 1942, "Littorio" was again tasked with convoy escort, in support of Operation M43; she was back in port by 6 January. On 22 March, she participated in the Second Battle of Sirte, as the flagship for an Italian force attempting to destroy a British convoy bound for Malta. After the fall of darkness, several British destroyers made a close-range attack on "Littorio", but heavy fire from her main and secondary guns forced the destroyers to retreat. As the destroyers withdrew, one of them hit "Littorio" with a single shell, which caused minor damage to the ship's fantail. During the battle, "Littorio" hit and seriously damaged the destroyers and . She also hit the cruiser but did not inflict significant damage. "Kingston" limped to Malta for repairs, where she was later destroyed during an airstrike while in drydock. Muzzle blast from "Littorio"s rear turret set one of her floatplanes on fire, though no serious damage to the ship resulted. She fired a total of 181 shells from her main battery in the course of the engagement. Though the Italian fleet was unable to directly attack the convoy, it forced the transports to scatter and many were sunk the next day by air attack.