This work covers a difficult period of the war for the Royal Navy's Mediterranean Fleet. It covers the destruction of the Italian Fleet at Taranto by naval aircraft from the carrier Illustrious, and the entry of the German Luftwaffe into the theatre with their attack on Illustrious in January 1941, hitting her with eight 1,000lb bombs - the heaviest damage suffered by an aircraft carrier in World War II. In May 1941 the story continues with the rescue of the British Army from Greece and Crete in the face of unrelenting air attack by both the Germans and the Italians. This volume ends with the Royal Navy's time of trial in November and December 1941, with Japan launching an attack against Singapore while the Royal Navy suffered grievous losses, with the battleship Barham and the carrier Ark Royal sunk by U-Boats and the battleships Queen Elizabeth and Valiant damaged by Italian frogmen in Alexandria harbour. The Fleet that had been planned to sail to the relief of Singapore was sunk before the start of the war.