 To hamper air resistance during the transportation, an air attack was planned on Cagliari, alongside Operation Spark, which was meant to distract the Italians by reporting a suspicious boat off the coast of Menorca.On the way to make the attack, Force H was attacked by two waves of enemy aircraft.The attacks, which took place on 1 August at around 1800 hours, took place northwest of the coast of the Gulf of Bougie.