Attack on Convoy AN 14

Attack on Convoy AN 14
Part of The Battle of the Mediterranean of the Second World War and the Greco-Italian War
Italian torpedo boat Lupo
Date 31 January 1941 Location The Kasos Strait between Crete and Kasos in the Aegean Sea 35°33′32″N 25°34′14″E / 35.55889°N 25.57056°E / 35.55889; 25.57056 Result Italian victory
Belligerents
Italy	United Kingdom  Australia  Greece
Commanders and leaders
Francesco Mimbelli	Herbert Packer
Units involved
Lupo Libra
Strength
2 torpedo boats	3 light cruisers 2 destroyers 2 corvettes 9 merchant ships 1 tanker
Casualties and losses
None	1 seaman killed 1 tanker disabled
class=notpageimage| Site of the attack on Desmoulea

The Attack on Convoy AN 14 was a naval engagement during the Second World War between a British naval force defending a convoy of merchant ships, sailing from Port Said and Alexandria to Piraeus in Greece and two Italian torpedo boats which intercepted them north of the island of Crete on 31 January 1941. The Italian vessels, Lupo and Libra launched two torpedoes each. The torpedoes fired by Libra missed their target but one from Lupo hit the 8,120 GRT British tanker Desmoulea which had to be towed to Suda Bay in Crete and beached; the ship was disabled for the rest of the war. One other merchant ship turned back; the other eight vessels reached Piraeus.