A British force of cruiser and destroyers embarked 3,486 men at Heraklion, Crete and departed for Egypt at 0245 hours. At 0400 hours, HMS Imperial's steering failed; she transferred her crew and passengers, and then was scuttled by HMS Hotspur. After dawn, HMS Hereward was bombed by Italian aircraft, 76 were killed and 89 survivors were captured. Cruisers HMS Orion and HMS Dido were also attacked, killing 105 crew and 260 passengers on the former and 27 crew and 100 passengers on the latter. The force would finally arrive at Alexandria, Egypt at 2000 hours.
