[1][2] The Royal Navy's Home Fleet conducted a number of attacks on German shipping travelling off the coast of Norway during January 1945.

[3] On 27 January, the escort carriers HMS Campania, Nairana and Premier departed the Home Fleet's main base at Scapa Flow to conduct a raid against shipping near Vaago which was designated Operation Winded.

[1] The commander of the Home Fleet, Admiral Henry Moore, was informed that the destroyers had sailed on 27 January, shortly after the three carriers and their escort had put to sea.

The Home Fleet did not have any destroyers available to accompany Dalrymple-Hamilton's force, though Moore considered but decided against cancelling the carrier operation in order to make some of these ships available.

[6] Contrary to British expectations, the commander of the 4th Destroyer Flotilla, Captain H.F. von Wangenheim, chose to take the faster route outside of the coastal islands.

She was struck by seven 6 in (152 mm) shells, which caused her to catch fire, damaged the hydrophone compartment and torpedo transmitting stations and destroyed her forward gun turret.

[2] The last German destroyer remaining in northern Norwegian waters, Z33, sailed for Germany on 5 February 1945 but ran aground and suffered further damage in the Allied Black Friday air raid on the ninth of the month.

The British were disappointed with the inconclusive result and Moore regretted his decision to not cancel the escort carrier operation so that destroyers could be attached to the cruiser force.

[6] Historians have judged that the combination of excellent visibility on the night of 27/28 January and the superior speed of the German destroyers meant that the British had no ability to force a result.

[6][11] In a post-war assessment, First Sea Lord Admiral Andrew Cunningham endorsed the tactics Dalrymple-Hamilton used during the engagement but stated that the size of the British force was "inadequate".

[15] The Kriegsmarine was also unsatisfied with the conduct of the battle, with German naval authorities believing that the destroyers should have taken shelter in coastal waters after they were sighted by Allied aircraft on the evening of 27 January.

[17] By this time, most of the Kriegsmarine's remaining warships were stationed in the Baltic Sea where they supported German military operations and the evacuation of civilians until the end of the war in May.