Italienischer Savoia-Marchetti SM.84-Bomber, gesehen von der HMS Nelson, kurz bevor das Schiff am 25. September 1941 von einem Torpedo getroffen wurde

>[As part of a deception operation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Nelson_(28)#Mediterranean_service) when Operation Halberd, another mission to convey troops and supplies to Malta, began on 24 September, Somerville’s flag was transferred to Rodney while Nelson and some escorting destroyers departed Gibraltar heading westwards as if the former ship had relieved the latter. Rodney and the rest of Force H headed eastwards with Nelson and her escorts joining the main body during the night. The British were spotted the following morning and attacked by Regia Aeronautica aircraft the next day.

>A Savoia-Marchetti SM.84 torpedo bomber penetrated the screen and dropped a torpedo at a range of 450 yards (410 m). It blew a 30-by-15-foot (9.1 by 4.6 m) hole in the bow, wrecked the torpedo compartment and caused extensive flooding; there were no casualties amongst the crew. Although she was down at the bow by eight feet (2.4 m) and ultimately limited to a speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) to reduce the pressure on her bulkheads, Nelson remained with the fleet to so that the Italians would not know that she had been damaged. After emergency repairs were made in Gibraltar, the ship proceeded to Rosyth where she was under repair until May 1942.