1941
JUNE 1941
Malta - With German
forces now in Greece and Crete the problems of supplying
Malta were even greater. From airfields in Crete as well
as Libya, the Luftwaffe and Italian Air force were as
close to the eastern convoy routes from Alexandria, as
Sardinia and Sicily were to the western ones through the
Strait of Gibraltar. Nevertheless the men and material
were fought through for the defence of Malta and its use
as an offensive base. In the one month of June alone,
carrier "Ark Royal" once on her own, at other
times accompanied by "Furious" or
"Victorious", flew off more than 140 aircraft
for Malta. Meanwhile submarines carried in urgently
needed fuel and stores.
North Africa -
Another unsuccessful British offensive to relieve Tobruk
started from Sollum on the 15th (Operation 'Battleaxe').
Within two days the operation was called off. A heavy
price had to be paid for the supply of besieged Tobruk by
the Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy ships involved.
All trips took place under continual threat of German and
Italian aircraft attacked. 24th - Sloop "AUCKLAND"
was lost off Tobruk. 30th -
Australian destroyer "WATERHEN" was bombed and sunk off Bardia.
27th - Submarine
"Triumph" on patrol off the Egyptian coast sank
the Italian submarine "SALPA".
Monthly Loss Summary
3
British or Allied merchant ships of 9,000 tons
JULY 1941
5th - Submarine
"Torbay" on patrol in the Aegean Sea sank
Italian submarine "JANTINA".
11th - On the
Tobruk Run, destroyer "DEFENDER"
was bombed by German or Italian
aircraft and went down off Sidi Barrani.
20th - Two more
British submarines fell victim to Italian anti-submarine
forces during convoy attacks in July - the first was "UNION" to torpedo boat "Circe"
off Pantelleria.
21st-24th - Malta Convoy, Operation
'Substance' - 'Substance'
set out from Gibraltar with six transports covered by
Force H with "Ark Royal", battlecruiser
"Renown", cruisers and destroyers. Battleship
"Nelson", three cruisers and more destroyers
reinforced Force H from the Home Fleet. On the 23rd,
south of Sardinia, sustained Italian air attacks started.
Cruiser
"Manchester"
was hit
and destroyer "FEARLESS" sunk by aircraft torpedoes. Next day the
transports reached Malta safely. On the 26th the
Italians launched an attack on Grand Harbour with
explosive motor-boats, human torpedoes and aircraft, but
failed to reach the recently arrived ships. By the 27th,
Force H and a return empty convoy were in Gibraltar.
During this operation, Mediterranean Fleet carried out
diversionary manoeuvres in the eastern basin.
30th - The second
Royal Navy submarine loss to Italian anti-submarine
forces during convoy attacks was "CACHALOT" while on passage from Malta to
Alexandria, rammed by torpedo boat Papa.
Monthly Loss Summary
2
British or Allied merchant ships of 8,000 tons
AUGUST 1941
Malta Convoy - Operation 'Style' - Early in the month, two cruisers,
cruiser-minelayer "Manxman" and two destroyers
successfully carried reinforcements and supplies from
Gibraltar to Malta. On the way, cruiser
"Hermione" rammed and sank Italian submarine "TEMBIEN" southwest of Sicily on the 2nd.
18th - Submarine "P-32"
was lost on mines off Tripoli as she
attempted to attack a convoy entering the port. "P.33"
was also lost around the same time in
this area, possibly on mines.
26th - As an
Italian battlefleet returned from a sortie against Force
H, submarine “Triumph” torpedoed and damaged
heavy cruiser "Bolzano" north of Sicily.
27th - Covering the
transport of troops into and out of besieged Tobruk,
cruiser “Phoebe”
was hit by an aircraft torpedo.
Monthly Loss Summary
2
British or Allied merchant ships of 6,000 tons
SEPTEMBER 1941
Malta - Carriers
"Ark Royal" and "Furious" between
them flew off over 50 Hurricanes for Malta in two
separate operations. The 10th Submarine Flotilla was formed at Malta with the smaller 'U' class boats
which were more suited to Mediterranean conditions. On
the 18th, Lt-Cdr Wanklyn in "Upholder" sank the
19,500-ton transports "Neptunia" and
"Oceania". Between June and the end of
September, submarines sank a total of 49 ships of 150,000
tons. Added to the losses inflicted by the RAF this
represented a high proportion of Axis shipping bound for
Libya.
24th-28th - Malta Convoy: Operation
'Halberd' - 'Halberd'
sailed from Gibraltar with nine transports. Force H (Adm
Somerville), reinforced from the Home Fleet, included
"Nelson", "Rodney" and "Prince
of Wales" and the usual air cover from "Ark
Royal". On the 26th the Italians sailed to
intercept but returned to base next day. South of
Sardinia on the 27th, "Nelson"
was damaged by an Italian aircraft
torpedo, and at the end of the day Force H turned back
for Gibraltar. Convoy and escort (Rear-Adm H. M.
Burrough) went on to reach Malta on the 28th minus one
transport lost to air attack. As Force H returned,
screening destroyers "Gurkha" and
"Legion" sank Italian submarine "ADUA" off the coast of Algeria on the
30th. By now in 1941, three major convoys had reached
Malta - 'Excess' in January, 'Substance' in July and now
'Halberd'. Nearly 40 merchantmen had got through with
only one sunk. The cost to the Royal Navy had been one
cruiser and a destroyer sunk, and a battleship, carrier
and two cruisers damaged.
27th - Submarine
"Upright" sank Italian torpedo boat "ALBATROS" off Messina, northeast Sicily.
28th - Corvette
"Hyacinth" on patrol off Jaffa, Palestine, sank
Italian submarine "FISALIA".
Monthly Loss Summary
4
British or Allied merchant ships of 16,000 tons
OCTOBER 1941
Malta - Force K was
formed at Malta as a Strike Force to add to the offensive
against Axis shipping by submarines and aircraft. Under
the command of Capt W. G. Agnew were cruisers
"Aurora" and "Penelope", destroyers
"Lance" and "Lively".
20th - Mines
previously laid by submarine "Rorqual" in the
Gulf of Athens sank Italian torpedo boats "ALDEBARAN" and "ALTAIR".
25th - Over a
period of 10 days, cruiser-minelayers "Abdiel"
and "Latona" transported troops and supplies to
besieged Tobruk and carried out Australian units. On the
last mission "LATONA"
was bombed and sunk north of Bardia by
Ju87s Stuka divebombers.
Late October -
Submarine "TETRARCH"
sailed from Malta for Gibraltar but failed to
arrive, presumed lost on mines in the Strait of Sicily.
Monthly Loss Summary
6
British or Allied merchant ships of 22,000 tons
NOVEMBER 1941
9th -
Action off Cape Spartivento, Southwest Italy - An RAF
report of an Italian convoy in the Ionian Sea making for
North Africa led to Force K sailing from Malta. The
convoy consisted of
seven transports escorted by six destroyers, with a
distant cruiser covering force. Early in the morning
every one of the transports and destroyer "FULMINE"
were
sent to the bottom. Later, while
rescuing survivors, destroyer "LIBECCIO"
was sunk by submarine
"Upholder".
13th - As Force H
returned to Gibraltar after flying off more Hurricanes
from "Ark Royal" and "Argus" for
Malta, the famous and much 'sunk' "ARK
ROYAL" was hit by
one torpedo from "U-81". Next day she foundered
in tow only a few miles from home. One man was killed.
"U-81" was one of four U-boats that had just
passed into the Mediterranean.
16th - A second
U-boat, "U-433"
was sunk in the same area as "Ark
Royal" by corvette "Marigold". Towards the
end of the month, Dutch submarine "0-21" sank "U-95". Between late September and
December, 26 U-boats broke through into the Mediterranean
and for many months took a heavy toll of Royal Navy
ships.
North Africa -
A major British offensive (Operation 'Crusader)
started on the 18th, again from the Sollum area and by
January had reached El Agheila. Axis forces around Sollum
and Bardia were by-passed in the drive on Tobruk. The
first link-up with the besieged garrison was made by New
Zealand troops on the 27th. 27th - Australian
sloop "PARRAMATTA" escorting an ammunition ship on
the Tobruk Run was sunk by "U-559" off the
port. Since the siege started destroyers and other
warships had been carrying in men and supplies almost
nightly. As it came to an end the cost could be counted -
25 warships of all sizes and five merchantmen lost.
25th - Force K
hunted for Italian convoys to North Africa supported by
the Mediterranean Fleet with battleships
"Barham", "Queen Elizabeth" and
"Valiant". In the afternoon north of Sidi
Barrani, "BARHAM" (above) was hit by three
torpedoes from "U-331" and as she slowly turned
over and capsized, split apart in an almighty explosion.
Recorded on film her apparently calamitous end is often
used in naval films and documentaries. Although over 800
men were lost with her, a remarkable number were saved.
Just before this tragedy, Force K had sunk two more Axis
supply ships west of Crete. At this stage 60 percent of
Axis North African supplies were being lost to attacks by
British aircraft, submarines and warships.
Monthly Loss Summary
4
British or Allied merchant ships of 19,000 tons
DECEMBER 1941
North Africa - As
fighting continued around Tobruk, Gen Rommel decided to
pull back to Gazala. Besieged Tobruk was completely
relieved on the 10th December. Under pressure, the German
Afrika Korps withdrew to El Agheila and on the 25th,
British forces entered Benghazi.
1st - Malta-based
Force K searching for Axis shipping encountered Italian
destroyer “DA MOSTA” north of Tripoli. She was sunk by cruisers
“Aurora” and “Penelope” and destroyer
“Lively”. Force K had now been reinforced by
cruisers “Ajax” and “Neptune” (soon
lost) and two more destroyers.
6th - Submarine
“PERSEUS” on
patrol off the west coast of Greece was mined and sunk
off Zante Island. Just one man made an amazing escape to
the surface and reached the distant shore.
11th - Submarine
“Truant” sank Italian torpedo boat “ALCIONE”
north of Crete. On the
same day escort destroyer “Farndale” on passage
sighted and sank Italian submarine
“CARACCIOLA” on
a supply trip from Bardia on the Libyan side of the
border with Egypt
11th - As more
German U-boats transferred to the Mediterranean, two were
lost. The first was on the 11th when corvette
“Bluebell” sank “U-208” as she left her Atlantic patrol
area to the west of Gibraltar. The second sinking came
ten days later.
13th - Action off Cape Bon, Tunisia - Destroyers
“Legion”,
“Maori”, “Sikh” and Dutch “lsaac
Sweers” under the command of Cdr G. H. Stokes sailed
from Gibraltar to join the Mediterranean Fleet at
Alexandria. Off Cape Bon, Tunisia they sighted two
Italian 6in cruisers, “DA BARBIANO” and “DI GIUSSANO” returning from an aborted mission
to carry a deck cargo of petrol to Tripoli. In a short
night action and without being seen, the destroyers
quickly sank both cruisers with gunfire and torpedoes.
Italian loss of life was heavy.
13th-20th - First Battle of Sirte and
related actions - Italian convoy operations to Libya led to major
Royal Navy losses over just a few days. A first Axis
convoy bound for Benghazi set out on the 13th,
covered by an Italian battlefleet. On receiving the news,
Rear-Adm Vian left Alexandria with a cruiser force to
join up with Force K from Malta. On the evening of the 14th,
submarine “Urge” torpedoed and damaged
battleship “Vittorio Veneto” off the Sicilian Strait of Messina
and the Italians cancelled that operation. The cruiser
forces returned to their bases but as they did, Adm
Vian's “GALATEA”
was
hit by three torpedoes from
“U-557” and went down off Alexandria that
night. Adm Vian was out again late on the 15th to
escort fast supply ship “Breconshire” from
Alexandria to Malta. On the 17th they met Force K
off the Gulf of Sirte, and shortly encountered Italian
battleships covering a second convoy, this time to
Tripoli. The two cruiser forces attacked and the Italians
withdrew in what became known as the First Battle of
Sirte. “Breconshire” reached Malta on the 18th
and Force K left harbour to search for the second convoy
still making for Tripoli. Early on the 19th off
Tripoli, the British force ran into an Italian minefield.
Cruiser
“NEPTUNE” hit
three or four mines and sank with only one man surviving.
“Aurora”
was badly damaged and “Penelope” slightly. Trying to assist
“Neptune”, destroyer “KANDAHAR”
was
mined and had to be scuttled the
following day. Out of a three cruiser and four destroyer
force, only three destroyers escaped damage.
19th - That morning
as Force K struggled to survive, three Italian human
torpedoes launched from submarine “Scire” (Cdr
Borghese) penetrated Alexandria harbour. Their charges
badly damaged battleships “Queen Elizabeth” with Adm Cunningham on board and “Valiant”. They both settled to the bottom
and the Mediterranean Fleet battle squadron ceased to
exist. News of the sinking was kept from the Italians.
21st - The second
U-boat sinking of the month in the Strait of Gibraltar
was by Swordfish of 812 Squadron flying from Gibraltar
which accounted for “U-457”. The Swordfish managed to get away from the
sinking ”Ark Royal” a month earlier and now
played an important part patrolling the waters in which
the carrier went down.
23rd - A sizeable
number of German U-boats were now operating off the
coasts of Egypt and Libya and attacking convoys with
losses to both sides. On the 23rd, escorting destroyers
“Hasty” and “Hotspur” sank “U-79” off Tobruk on the Libyan coast.
24th - The day
after the sinking of “U-79” but further east
off the Egyptian port of Mersa Matruh, corvette “SALVIA”
was lost to “U-568”.
28th - Four days
later, destroyer “Kipling” sank “U-75” in the same area
Monthly Loss Summary
9
British or Allied merchant ships of 37,000 tons
1942
JANUARY 1942
Early January -
Submarine "TRIUMPH"
sailed
from Alexandria on 26th December
for a cloak-and-dagger landing near Athens before
patrolling in the Aegean. She reported the landing on the
30th, but failed to rendezvous back there on the 9th and
was presumed mined off the island of Milo, southeast of
the Greek mainland.
5th - Three Axis
submarines fell victim to their RN counterparts in
different patrol areas in January. The first was Italian "SAINT-BON"
north of Sicily to
Lt-Cdr Wanklyn's "Upholder".
12th - The second
Axis submarine loss was German "U-374" off the east coast of Sicily to
"Unbeaten" (Lt-Cdr E. A. Woodward).
17th - During the
month, Malta was resupplied by three small convoys coming
from the east. In the second, four fast transports left
Alexandria covered by Adm Vian's Mediterranean Fleet
cruiser force. On the 17th one of the close escorting
destroyers, "GURKHA (2)", was torpedoed north of Sidi Barrani by
"U-133" and scuttled. Next day the surviving
ships were met by "Penelope" of Force K from
Malta, and got there on the 19th. During this period the
Italian Navy had escorted two substantial convoys to
North Africa in time for Rommel's next offensive. Malta
continued to be heavily bombed for many months by the
German and Italian Air Forces.
30th - The third
Axis loss was Italian submarine "MEDUSA" torpedoed by "Thorn" in
the Gulf of Venice, in the far north of the Adriatic.
North Africa - By
the 6th the British advance had reached the German and
Italian lines at El Agheila. Just two weeks later on the
21st, Rommel started his second campaign. The first of
two phases took him as far as Gazala just to the west of
Tobruk. El Agheila soon fell and Benghazi was occupied
before the month was out. On 1st February Eighth Army
withdrew to Gazala and within a week Rommel had come up.
There he stayed until May 1942.
Monthly Loss Summary
1 British or Allied merchant ship of 7,000 tons
FEBRUARY 1942
12th - Heavy air
attacks continued on Malta. Destroyer "MAORI" based on the island and at anchor
in Grand Harbour, was bombed and sunk by German aircraft.
Malta - Three
escorted merchantmen covered by cruisers and destroyers
left Alexandria on the 12th for Malta. One was disabled
and the other two sunk by aircraft. There was little
relief for the island.
13th - Two Royal
Navy submarines were lost. The first was "TEMPEST" which torpedoed a supply ship off
the Gulf of Taranto but was depth-charged by the escorts
including Italian torpedo boat "Circe", brought
to the surface and soon sank.
16th - A third
submarine was saved by the gallantry of her crew. "Thresher"
was also counter-attacked by the
escorts of a convoy, off northern Crete. Two unexploded
bombs lodged between the casing and hull, and with the
likelihood of drowning should she be forced to submerge,
two of the boat's crew managed to remove them. Lt Peter
Roberts RN and Petty Officer Thomas Gould were awarded
the Victoria
Cross.
23rd - Ten days
later "P-38" attacked a heavily defended convoy
off Tripoli and was also lost to the escorts'
counter-attack which again included Italian torpedo boat
"Circe".
Monthly Loss Summary
4
British or Allied merchant ships of 19,000 tons
MARCH 1942
RN Submarine Operations
- Another submariner won the Victoria Cross. Shortly
after, Royal Navy submarines sank three more Axis
submarines, all Italian, in the space of four days. HM
Submarine Torbay (Cdr Miers) carried out a difficult
attack on shipping off Corfu on the 4th and torpedoed two
merchantmen. This was only the latest of a number of
successful patrols. Cdr Anthony Miers RN was awarded the Victoria Cross.
14th - The first Italian
submarine sinking was "MILLO" off Calabria in the Ionian Sea by
"Ultimatum". 17th - The second was "GUGLIELMOTTI" also off Calabria, by
"Unbeaten" (Lt-Cdr Woodward). 18th -
Finally "TRICHECO"
went down off Brindisi in the southern
Adriatic torpedoed by "Upholder" (Lt-Cdr
Wanklyn).
11th - Adm Vian's
cruiser force returned to Alexandria after searching for
Axis shipping and covering the passage of cruiser
"Cleopatra" from Malta. North of Sidi Barrani,
flagship "NAIAD"
was torpedoed by "U-565" and
went down.
Malta - Carriers
"Eagle" and "Argus" flew off the
first Spitfires for Malta from a position south of the
Balearic Islands.
22nd - (Second) Battle of Sirte (map below) - Adm Vian sailed on the 20th
from Alexandria with four fast supply ships for Malta
escorted by cruisers "Cleopatra",
"Dido", "Euryalus" and
"Carlisle" plus destroyers. Seven 'Hunt' class
escort destroyers came from Tobruk and as they carried
out anti-submarine sweeps ahead of the convoy, "HEYTHROP"
was sunk off Sidi Barrani by
"U-652". The remaining six joined the convoy to
bring the total number of destroyers to 16. Early on the 22nd,
Italian battleship "Littorio" with two heavy
and one light cruiser plus destroyers headed for the
British force. In the early afternoon the Italians were
sighted to the north, just off the Gulf of Sirte. Now
joined by "Penelope" and destroyer
"Legion" from Malta, Adm Vian had prepared for
their arrival. The supply ships with an escort of five
'Hunts' were to stand off to the south, protected by
smoke laid by "Carlisle" and the sixth 'Hunt'.
The remaining ships would split into five divisions and
hold off the Italians with guns, torpedoes and smoke.
The four main phases of
the battle lasted for a total of four hours. For much of
this time the convoy was heavily attacked from the air.
Starting around 15.00: (1) The three Italian cruisers
were driven off in a long-range gunnery duel with the
Royal Navy's 5.25in "Dido" class cruisers. (2)
The Italian cruisers returned, this time with
"Littorio". A series of attacks out of the
smoke by cruisers and destroyers held them off. (3)
Contrary to Adm Vian's expectations, the Italians worked
around the smokescreen to the west, suddenly appearing
only eight miles away. Torpedo attacks by four destroyers
were unsuccessful, and "Havock"
was
disabled by a 15in shell. Then
"Cleopatra" and "Euryalus" came out
of the smoke firing their 5.25s and launched more
torpedoes. (4) The Italian force continued trying to get
round the smoke and, in another destroyer torpedo attack,
it was "Kingston's" turn to receive a 15in hit. As the
Italians turned north and away, the British cruisers went
in one last time. By 19.00 the battle was over. The
supply ships escorted by 'Hunts' made their separate ways
to Malta, followed by damaged "Havock" and
"Kingston". Adm Vian's force returned to
Alexandria. Just after the battle, severe storms damaged
ships of both sides and on the 23rd two of the
returning Italian destroyers foundered east of Sicily. As
for the convoy, all four transports including the
renowned "Breconshire" were lost to air attack,
two off Malta and two in harbour before much of their
cargo could be off-loaded. As the Hunt class "SOUTHWOLD" stood by "Breconshire"
on the 24th, she hit a mine and sank off the
island. And on the
26th the returned destroyer "LEGION" and submarine "P-39"
were lost in air-raids.
26th - Destroyer "JAGUAR" and the tanker she was escorting to
Tobruk were both sunk by "U-652" off Sidi
Barrani.
Loss Summary
4
British or Allied merchant ships of 20,000 tons
APRIL 1942
Mediterranean Fleet
- Adm Cunningham relinquished command of his beloved
Mediterranean Fleet, and Adm Sir Henry Harwood shortly
took over. Adm Cunningham became the Royal Navy's
permanent representative on the Combined Chiefs of Staff
Committee in Washington DC. He returned to his old post
in February 1943 after commanding the naval forces for
Operation 'Torch', the invasion of French North Africa
1st - Submarine
"Urge" sank Italian cruiser "BANDE
NERE" north of
Sicily. This was a welcome success in a month that saw
heavy Royal Navy losses including "Urge"
herself.
Malta - By now
Malta had almost ceased to be of any value as a base for
attacking Rommel's supply lines, and most of his
transports were getting through. The German and Italian
bombing led to the loss, directly and indirectly, of
numerous ships including four destroyers and four
submarines. They concentrated on cruiser
"Penelope" in dry dock and destroyers
"Havock" and "Kingston" both damaged
in the Battle of Sirte.
1st - Submarines "P-36" and "PANDORA"
were sunk in Malta and others of the 10th
Flotilla damaged. "Pandora" had only recently
arrived from Gibraltar on a supply trip. 4th -
Greek submarine "GLAVKOS" was sunk in Malta. 5th - Destroyer
"GALLANT" wrecked
in Malta. She was badly damaged in January 1941 and not
repaired. 6th - A number of ships managed to
escape. "HAVOCK" tried to reach Gibraltar but ran aground
and was wrecked near Cape Bon, Tunisia. She was later
torpedoed by an Italian submarine. Light cruiser
"Penelope", by now nicknamed HMS 'Pepperpot',
got away on the 8th and reached Gibraltar two days later.
9th - Destroyer "LANCE" in dry dock in Malta was badly
damaged and never repaired. 11th - Destroyer "KINGSTON" was
bombed and sunk in harbour. 14th
- 10th Flotilla lost its most famous boat when
"UPHOLDER"
(Lt-Cdr Wanklyn VC) was lost. She attacked a convoy
northeast of Tripoli and was presumed sunk in the
counter-attack by destroyer escort "Pegaso".
Malta continued -
As the bombing reached a peak, King George VI awarded the
island a unique George Cross on the 16th April.
President Roosevelt lent US carrier "Wasp" to
ferry nearly 50 Spitfires to the Island. Escort was
provided by battlecruiser "Renown", cruisers
"Cairo" and "Charybdis" and six
destroyers including two American. Sadly most of the
aircraft were destroyed by bombing attacks soon after
landing on the 20th. 27th - By this time the 10th
Submarine Flotilla had been ordered to left Malta. "URGE"
sailed
for Alexandria on the 27th, but
failed to arrive.
Monthly Loss Summary
6
British or Allied merchant ships of 13,000 tons
MAY 1942
2nd - Two U-boats
were lost to the Royal Navy at opposite ends of the Med.
On the 2nd, east of Gibraltar, "U-74" was sunk by destroyers
"Wishart" and "Wrestler" and RAF
aircraft of No 202 Squadron.
8th - Submarine "OLYMPUS"
sailed
from Malta for
Gibraltar with many passengers including the crews of
bombed boats "P-36" and "P-39". Just
off Grand Harbour she hit a mine laid by German E-boats
and went down with heavy loss of life.
Malta - USS Wasp
and the "Eagle" flew off a further 60 Spitfires
to Malta on the 9th. More were ferried in by
"Eagle" and "Argus" a week or so
later. This time they were kept safe on arrival.
11th/12th -
Destroyers "Jackal", "Jervis",
"Kipling" and "Lively" left
Alexandria to search for reported Axis shipping bound for
Benghazi. There was no fighter cover. On being sighted
they turned back, but north of Sidi Barrani (yet again)
were attacked by a specially trained anti-ship group of
German Ju88s. "KIPLING" and "LIVELY" were
sent to the bottom that evening,
and "JACKAL"
was scuttled on the 12th. Only
"Jervis" with 630 survivors reached Alexandria.
North Africa - From
Gazala, Gen Rommel started the second phase of his
advance towards Egypt on the 26th with a main attack
around Bir Hakeim. Shortly afterwards, heavy fighting
broke out between there and Gazala around the areas known
as the 'Cauldron' and 'Knightsbridge'.
28th - In the
second U-boat loss, "U-568" attacked Tobruk supply traffic, was hunted
down and sunk by destroyer "Hero", and escort
destroyers "Eridge" and "Hurworth".
29th - In a series
of attacks on convoys bound for North Africa, submarine
"Turbulent" (Cdr Linton) sank three transports
in May and on the 29th torpedoed and sank escorting
Italian destroyer "PESSAGNO" northwest of Benghazi.
Monthly Loss Summary
6
British or Allied merchant ships of 21,000 tons
JUNE 1942
Malta - Early in
the month carrier "Eagle" ferried over 50
Spitfires to Malta in two operations. By now the Germans
had transferred many of their aircraft to Russia. This,
together with the arrival of yet more RAF fighters, eased
the terrible burden Malta had suffered for so long.
North Africa -
After more than two weeks of fierce attack and
counter-attack, British forces pulled out of
'Knightsbridge'. Tobruk was surrounded by the 18th and
three days later surrendered. Another two days and the
Axis forces were back in Egypt. Mersa Matruh fell on the
28th and Eighth Army prepared to make its last stand at
El Alamein, just 60 miles from Alexandria and behind
there the vital Suez Canal. With this threat to Suez and
the Mediterranean Fleet's main base, warships and
supplies started to withdraw from the immediate danger
area.
2nd - Attacks on
Allied shipping making for Tobruk before its fall brought
further losses to both sides. Aircraft of FAA 815
Squadron and RAF No 203 Squadron damaged "U-652" off Sollum on the Egyptian/Libyan
border. She was scuttled by a
torpedo fired from
"U-81".
12th - Ten days
after the loss of "U-652" and further east off
Sidi Barrani, escort destroyer GROVE
was sunk by "U-77" as she
returned to Alexandria from escorting supply ships to
Tobruk.
12th-16th - Malta Convoys 'Harpoon' from
Gibraltar, 'Vigorous' from Alexandria - Six escorted merchantmen passed
through the Strait of Gibraltar covered by battleship
"Malaya", carriers "Argus" and
"Eagle", cruisers "Kenya",
"Charybdis", "Liverpool" and
destroyers - this force comprised Operation
'Harpoon'. Attacks
by Italian aircraft on the 14th led to the first
merchant ship going down south of Sardinia. "Liverpool" was
also damaged and had to return.
Later that day at the entrance to the Strait of Sicily,
the big ship cover force turned back. In the morning of
the 15th, south of Pantelleria, an Italian
two-cruiser squadron in conjunction with Italian and
German aircraft attacked the by now lightly defended
convoy. The five escorting fleet destroyers headed for
the Italians, but "Bedouin" and "Partridge"
were disabled by gunfire. Three more
merchantmen were lost to bombing attacks and Italian
torpedo aircraft finished off BEDOUIN. Later that evening, as the
seriously depleted convoy approached Malta, it ran into a
minefield. Two destroyers and the fifth supply ship were
damaged, but Polish escort destroyer KUJAWIAK
was sunk. Just two of 'Harpoon's' six
ships reached Malta for the loss of two destroyers and
serious damage to three more and a cruiser.
Meanwhile the Operation
'Vigorous' force
of 11 ships and their escorts sailed from Haifa and Port
Said, and were met on the 13th off Tobruk by Adm Vian
with seven light cruisers and 17 destroyers. By the 14th,
two ships had been lost to air attack and two more
damaged. That evening Vian learnt an Italian battlefleet
with two battleships, two heavy and two light cruisers
plus destroyers had sailed south from Taranto. The
chances of driving them off were slim. Early on the 15th
the first of five (1-5) course reversals
were made as 'Vigorous' tried to break through to Malta.
As the convoy now headed back (1), German E-boats
from Derna launched torpedo strikes. Cruiser "Newcastle"
was
damaged by
"S-56" and destroyer HASTY sunk by "S-55". Around
07.00, when the Italian fleet was 200 miles to the
northwest, the convoy turned back for Malta (2).
Attacks by Malta-based aircraft were made on the main
Italian fleet without serious effect, although they
disabled heavy cruiser "TRENTO" which was finished off by
submarine "Umbra". Between 09.40 and noon on
the 15th, two more course reversals (3 & 4) were
made so that once again the convoy was bound for Malta.
All afternoon air attacks were mounted; and south of
Crete, cruiser "Birmingham"
was damaged and escort destroyer AIREDALE sunk by Ju87 Stukas. The convoy
was now down to six ships when Australian destroyer "Nestor"
was badly damaged. That evening
'Vigorous' finally turned back for Alexandria (course
reversal 5). Now into the early hours of the 16th,
cruiser HERMIONE
was torpedoed
and sunk by "U-205", and NESTOR
had to be scuttled. At this time, as the
Italian fleet headed back for Taranto, a RAF Wellington
from Malta torpedoed and damaged battleship "Littorio". None of the 'Vigorous' ships
reached Malta. One cruiser, three destroyers and two
merchant ships had been lost in the attempt.
Monthly Loss Summary
16
British or Allied merchant ships of 60,000 tons
JULY 1942
North Africa - In
the First Battle of El Alamein, Rommel's German
and Italian army started its assault on the British
defences on the 1st. In three weeks of tough fighting,
British, Australian, New Zealand, South African and other
units of Eighth Army managed to hold on. Both sides then
dug in.
9th - Two Italian
submarines were lost on patrol against Allied shipping
off Beirut, Lebanon. On the 9th, "PERLA"
was captured by corvette
"Hyacinth", the second time an Italian boat had
ended up in British hands.
11th - Two days
after the capture of "Perla", "ONDINA"
was sunk by South African armed trawlers
"Protea" and "Southern Maid" working
with a Fleet Air Arm Walrus flying boat of 700 Squadron.
Malta - Carrier
"Eagle" again flew off Spitfires for Malta.
Shortly after, "Unbroken" was the first 10th
Flotilla submarine to return to the Island.
Monthly Loss Summary
3
British or Allied merchant ships of 6,000 tons
AUGUST 1942
4th - Two more Axis
submarines were lost at the far east end of the
Mediterranean, this time off Palestine. The first was "U-372"
was
sunk near Jaffa on the 4th by
destroyers "Sikh" and "Zulu", 'Hunts'
"Croome" and "Tetcott" and a RAF
Wellington of No 203 Squadron. Back in June,
"U-372" had sunk the valuable submarine depot
ship "Medway" off Alexandria.
6th - Submarine "THORN" attacked a tanker off southwest
Crete and was presumed sunk in the counter-attack by
Italian escort destroyer "Pegaso".
10th - The second
Axis submarine loss was Italian. They continued to mount
special forces underwater operations and submarine "SCIRE" prepared to launch human torpedoes
against Haifa in Palestine. On the 10th armed trawler
"Islay" found and sank her.
10th-15th
- Malta Convoy: Operation 'Pedestal' (map below) - For
Malta to survive another convoy had
to be fought through. The biggest operation ever was
mounted from the Gibraltar end. A total of fourteen
merchantmen, including two American and the
British-manned tanker "Ohio" (Capt D. W. Mason)
had a massive escort. Close in under Rear-Adm Harold
Burrough were cruisers "Nigeria",
"Kenya", "Manchester" and
"Cairo" and 12 destroyers. Covering were the
three fleet carriers "Eagle",
"Indomitable" and "Victorious" each
with their accompanying cruisers "Charybdis",
"Phoebe" and "Sirius", battleships
"Nelson" and "Rodney", and another 12
destroyers. Eight more destroyers sailed with the force -
to give a total of 44 major warships. The opportunity
would be taken for carrier "Furious" to fly off
38 Spitfires for Malta. The Mediterranean Fleet would try
to distract the enemy at the other end of the
Mediterranean. In overall command of 'Pedestal' was
Vice-Adm E. N. Syfret. The convoy passed Gibraltar on the
10th and from the next day was subjected to
increasingly intense attacks by submarines, aircraft and
later coastal forces. Early on the afternoon of the 11th,
"Furious" sent off her Spitfires and later that
day headed back for Gibraltar. On the 12th one of
her escorting destroyers "Wolverine", rammed
and sank Italian submarine "DAGABUR" off Algiers. Still on the
11th
and now north of Algiers, "EAGLE"
was torpedoed four times by
"U-73" and went down. Air attacks took place
later that day and early on the 12th, but not
until noon, south of Sardinia, did they gain their first
success. Italian and German aircraft slightly damaged "Victorious" and hit a merchantman which later
sank. More submarines then appearred and the Italian "COBALTO" was
rammed by destroyer
"Ithuriel". Once the convoy was north of
Bizerta, Tunisia, submarine, aircraft and Italian MTB
(mas) attacks came fast and furiously.
