Problem with supply ships for Tobruk, starting in June 1941

A supply run to Tobruk that left Alexandria, Egypt, on 23 June 1941 had severe problems. The petrol carrier Pass of Balmaha was escorted by two sloops, the Auckland and the Parramatta. There was also a store ship, the Antiklia that was escorted by the sloop Flamingo. The promised fighter cover did not arrive. A bomb hit the Auckland and the ship was sunk. The Pass of Balmaha took damage from a near miss. The destroyer Waterhen arrived on the scene and started to tow the Pass oof Balmaha. The Parramatta turned around and took the survivors of the Auckland back to Alexandria. The Antiklia was diverted to Mersa Matruh until a fighter escort could be provided. The Antiklia finally got underway, heading for Tobruk, but turned back when heavy weather was encountered. The Antiklia set out again on 29 June accompanied by the supply ship Miranda. They had a three ship escort of small warships. The destroyer Waterhen was hit by a bomb off of Sidi Barrani in the evening of 29 June. Another destroyer, the Defender, took the crew off from the Waterhen and attempted to tow the ship. The Defender noticed an Italian submarine and fired on her. The Italian submarine dove to escape. The Waterhen eventually took on so much water that she rolled over and sank. During the afternoon of 30 June, a large force of bombers with fighter escort was driven off by RAF and South African fighters. The store ships arrived safely at Tobruk. Two escorting ships were damaged. The petrol carrier, Pass of Balmaha arrived safely at Tobruk, as well. Her cargo of petrol was successfully delivered.
A change of plan was tried following this operation. Eight "A" Lighter landing craft were provided for cargo runs to Tobruk. Two were able to reach Tobruk on 7 July. The first time used three days. They arrived at night. They would unload on the next night. They would sail on the third night. They decided to experiment with a faster turn around. They would arrive at night. They would unload under "camouflage nets" during the day. Then they would sail on that night. In parallel, the destroyer supply runs would continue. They also experimented with running the fast minelayers Abdiel and Latona. They were capable of making 40-knot speeds and had considerable space for cargo, since they were designed to carry mines.The month of July was very successful for supplying Tobruk. Ships brought in some 5,000 tons. They managed to run some small merchant ships and sailing vessels to carry ammunition and treats for the soldiers.
They experimented again with using schooners. They had first tried them to see if they could be sailed by volunteers. They found that the needed to put the service on a more regular basis, so they created the Western Desert Schooner Flotilla and put Lieutenant-Commander Duff in charge. They tried some foreign vessels and crews on the run, but the best were the British vessels and crews. This is based on the account in Vol.III of the Australian Official History.