Between March and June 1941 the British Mediterranean Fleet transported an army of 58,000 to Greece to fight the German invaders, evacuated 50,000 of them under constant air attack, and then, in a further evacuation, rescued many thousands of men from Crete, in the face of overwhelming air superiority. The ships suffered a prolonged and intensive air assault 3 cruisers and 8 destroyers were sunk and 2 battleships, the aircraft carrier Formidable, 5 cruisers and 7 destroyers were damaged
