On 14 June, "Vittorio Veneto" participated in the interception of the Operation Vigorous convoy to Malta from Alexandria. "Vittorio Veneto", "Littorio", four cruisers and twelve destroyers were sent to attack the convoy. The British quickly located the approaching Italian fleet and launched several air strikes early on 15 June with Wellington and Bristol Beaufort bombers in an attempt to prevent them from reaching the convoy. The aircraft scored no hits on the battleships, but they did disable the cruiser , which was later sunk by a British submarine. Later that morning another air attack, this time B-24 Liberators from the USAAF, occurred. The high-level bombers scored one hit on "Littorio" and several near misses around her and "Vittorio Veneto", but neither ship was seriously damaged. Another British strike with Beauforts arrived shortly thereafter, but Italian and German fighters had since arrived and they shot down two Beauforts and damaged five others. By the afternoon, Iachino had concluded that he would not reach the convoy before dark, and so he broke off the operation; by then, however, the threat from the Italian battleships had led to the failure of the British operation, as the convoy had been ordered back to Alexandria, and did not reach Malta. On the return voyage, another British air attack succeeded in torpedoing "Littorio".