On 17 December, an Italian reconnaissance aircraft spotted the British west-bound formation near Sidi Barrani, apparently proceeding from Alexandria to intercept the Italian convoy. The British convoy was shadowed by Axis aeroplanes and attacked during the afternoon but no hits were scored and Agnew and Stokes met the west-bound convoy. By late afternoon the Italian fleet was close by and spotter planes from the battleships had made contact with the British convoy, but the planes misidentified "Breconshire" as a battleship. At 17:42, the fleets sighted each other; Admiral Angelo Iachino—commander of the Italian forces—moved to intercept to defend his convoy.