Comprising the battleship Warspite and five destroyers, it saw action at the Battle of Calabria under the command of Vice Admiral Andrew Cunningham.

During this period Force B comprised the cruisers HMS Ajax and HMAS Sydney and delivered reinforcements to Crete.

[3] In November, Force B (Rear Admiral Bernard Rawlings), comprising Ajax, Neptune and two destroyers, HMS Kandahar and Jaguar was moved to Malta to reinforce the ships of Force K and to carry out offensive sweeps against Axis supply ships en route to Libya.

On 19 December, after taking part in conveying a supply ship into Malta in Operation MD 8, which had led to the First Battle of Sirte, Force B was deployed to find the Italian convoy encountered in that engagement but fell foul of a minefield off Tripoli, resulting in the loss of Neptune and Kandahar and damage to two other ships.

Force B's only major action, apart from escort duty was to support Operation Ironclad, the invasion of Vichy-held Madagascar, in May 1942.