During this period of the battle, torpedo bombers from the carrier arrived on the scene, and their attack forced "Vittorio Veneto" to break off the engagement with the British cruisers to take evasive action. She evaded the torpedoes, but the attack convinced Iachino that the Mediterranean Fleet was at sea, which prompted him to end the operation and return to port. The British launched several air attacks against the Italian fleet in an attempt to slow down "Vittorio Veneto", including land-based Blenheim bombers from Greece and Crete. Later in the afternoon "Formidable" launched a second strike, and at 15:10 one of her Swordfish hit "Vittorio Veneto" on her port side, aft. The Italian anti-aircraft gunners shot the plane down after it launched its torpedo. The hit sheared off the port side propeller, damaged the shaft, jammed the port rudder, and disabled the aft port pumps. It also caused severe flooding—some of water entered the ship—which gave her a 4–4.5 degree list to port, and forced her to stop for about ten minutes. While she was immobilized, a Blenheim bomber dropped a bomb that landed near her stern; the blast caused further, minor damage to stern.