1942
JANUARY 1942
Atlantic
Arcadia Conference -
In late December and early January, Winston Churchill and
President Roosevelt with their Chiefs of Staff met in
Washington DC. They agreed to the setting up of a
Combined Chiefs of Staff Committee and to the defeat of
Germany as the first priority.
15th - Destroyer
"Hesperus" escorting convoy HG78 sank "U-93" north of Madeira.
31st - Canadian
troop convoy NA2 sailing for Britain was attacked by
"U-82" southeast of Nova Scotia. Destroyer "BELMONT"
was lost with all hands.
31st - Ex-US Coast
Guard cutter "CULVER" was sunk by "U-105" west of the Bay of
Biscay as she escorted Sierra Leone convoy SL93.
Russian Convoys - Destroyer "MATABELE" (right (NP)) escorting Iceland/Russia convoy PQ8
was sunk off Murmansk on the 17th by
"U-454". Only two men survived. None of the
eight merchantmen in the convoy were lost although one
was damaged by a U-boat
torpedo. In two return convoys in the month - QP5
and QP6 - 10 ships set out and arrived safely.
Battle
of the Atlantic - U-boat
strength was up to 250 with 90 operational. Two-thirds
were spread across the Atlantic, nearly a quarter in the
Mediterranean, and a few on patrol in the Arctic for
Russian convoys. It was at this time that Adm Doenitz,
with never more than 10 or 12 U-boats at a time, launched Operation'
Paukenschlag' ('Drumroll') off the coasts of America. The U-boat
commanders enjoy their second 'Happy
Time', especially
against the unescorted ships sailing in virtually
peace-time conditions off the United States. Warship
patrols were started, but the USN found it hard to accept
the long, hard-fought lessons of the Royal Navy and
establish convoys immediately. Atlantic convoys still
started and ended at Nova Scotia, so the first U-boats operated off the Canadian coast
south of there. Over 40 merchantmen were lost in this
area alone in January and February. By this time U-boats were also sinking many ships off the US
east coast. On the weapons front, the forward-firing
Hedgehog with its 24 A/S mortar bombs started to enter RN
service. Its first success did not come until late in the
1942.
Monthly Loss Summary,
including Russian Convoys
- 48
British, Allied and neutral ships of 277,000 tons in the
Atlantic from all causes, 3 escorts
- 1
German U-boat.
 Mediterranean
12th - German "U-374" was torpedoed and sunk off the east
coast of Sicily by submarine "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.
North Africa - 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.
FEBRUARY 1942
Atlantic
2nd - As she
attacked a damaged troopship sailing from the Azores, "U-581" was sunk by escorting destroyer
"Westcott".
5th -
"U-136" on patrol off Rockall sank two escorts.
The first was corvette "ARBUTUS" detached with destroyer
"Chelsea" from UK/Halifax convoy ONS63 to hunt
for a reported U-boat.
6th - Returning
from the American coast where she sank destroyer
"Belmont", "U-82" encountered UK/Sierra Leone convoy
OS18 north of the Azores and was destroyed by corvette
"Tamarisk" and sloop "Rochester".
11th -
"U-136's" second success less than a week later
was Canadian corvette "SPIKENARD" escorting Halifax/UK convoy SC67.
Battle
of the Atlantic - U-boats extended Operation 'Paukenschlag'
as far south as the Caribbean and started by shelling
installations and sinking tankers off Aruba, Curacoa,
Trinidad and other oil ports. However, they were still
active elsewhere in the Atlantic, and east of
Newfoundland a pack of five attacked convoy ON67 (36
ships). Eight ships were lost, of which six were the
ever-valuable tankers. The Royal Navy suffered a major
setback when U-boats
in the Atlantic changed from the Enigma 'Hydra' code to
'Triton'. This was not be broken until December 1942 - a
ten month delay. But all was not lost as 'Hydra' was
still used in European waters. This, together with
signals traffic analysis and the vast amount of
experience built up to date, meant that a remarkably
accurate picture could be drawn of U-boat operations and intentions.
Monthly Loss Summary
- 73
British, Allied and neutral ships of 430,000 tons in the
Atlantic from all causes, 2 corvettes and 2 US destroyers
off Newfoundland and the US east coast
- 2
German U-boats
MARCH 1942
Atlantic
Russian Convoy PQ13 and Return QP9 -
These next two convoys
set out around the 20th, again covered by the Home
Fleet. Off North Cape on the 24th "U-655" was rammed and sunk by minesweeper
"Sharpshooter" escorting QP9. Of the 19
merchantmen in this convoy all reach Iceland in safety.
PQ13 and its escort, including cruiser
"Trinidad" and destroyers "Eclipse"
and "Fury", were scattered by severe gales and
heavily attacked. On the 29th three German
destroyers encountered the escort north of Murmansk. "Z-26" was sunk, but in the action "Trinidad"
was hit and disabled by one of her own
torpedoes. As the cruiser limped towards Kola Inlet an
attack by "U-585" failed and she was sunk by
"Fury". Five of the 19 ships with PQ13 were
lost - two to U-boats,
two to aircraft, and one by the destroyers.
"Trinidad" reached Russia.
27th - UK/Middle
East troop convoy WS17 was on passage southwest of
Ireland. As "U-587" headed for American waters her sighting
report was detected and she was sunk by the convoy escort
including destroyers "Aldenham",
"Grove", "Leamington"" and
"Volunteer". This was the first success using HF/DF
- ship-borne, high frequency direction-finding.
Battle
of the Atlantic - Losses due to U-boats continued at a high rate in US and West
Indian waters with over 40 ships sunk in March, many of
them valuable tankers. Over the next few months RN and
RCN escorts and a RAF Coastal Command squadron were
loaned to the Americans. Ten corvettes were also
transferred to the US Navy.
Monthly Loss Summary
- 98
British, Allied and neutral ships of 547,000 tons in the
Atlantic from all causes
- 1
German destroyer and 5 U-boats, including 2 by US
aircraft off Newfoundland
Mediterranean
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.
20th - Adm
Vian sailed on the 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. The convoy
fought its way through in the Second Battle of Sirte
Gulf. All four transports were lost to air attack, two
off Malta and two in harbour before much of their cargo
could be off-loaded.
26th - Destroyer "JAGUAR" and the tanker she was escorting to
Tobruk were both sunk by "U-652" off Sidi
Barrani.
APRIL 1942
Atlantic
14th - "U-252" attacked UK/Gibraltar convoy OG82 southwest of
Ireland and was sunk by sloop "Stork" and
corvette "Vetch" of the 36th EG (Cdr Walker).
This was one of the first successful attacks using 10cm
Type 271 radar. From now on the new radar and HF/DF
would play an increasing part in the sinking of U-boats.
14th - The US Navy
had its first warship success against U-boats when
destroyer "Roper" sank "U-85" off the east coast of America.
Russian Convoys - During the month, Russian convoy PQ14
set out from Iceland with 24 ships. Only seven arrived.
One was sunk by a U-boat
and another 16 had to turn back because of the weather.
Return convoy QP10 lost four of its 16 ships
around the same time, two each to U-boats and aircraft. Towards the end of
the month convoys PQ15 and QP11 sailed.
Both had cruisers in close support and PQ15 was covered
by units of the Home Fleet including battleships
"King George V" and the American
"Washington". On the 30th the QP11
cruiser "Edinburgh" was torpedoed twice by
"U-456" and had to turn back for Murmansk.
Monthly Loss Summary
- 74
British, Allied and neutral ships of 439,000 tons in the
Atlantic from all causes, 1 US destroyer mined off
Florida
- 2
German U-boats
Mediterranean
As the bombing reached a peak, Malta
was awarded the George Cross
MAY 1942
Atlantic
Return Russian Convoy QP11 - QP11 departed Russia on the 28th
April and on the 30th cruiser
"Edinburgh" was torpedoed twice by U-boat. As she limped back to Russia,
three German destroyers attacked QP11, but only managed
to sank a straggler. They found the cruiser on the 2nd.
In a series of confused fights, "Edinburgh"
disabled the "Hermann Schoemann" by gunfire, but was then torpedoed
for a third time by either "Z-24" or
"Z-25". Both "EDINBURGH" and "HERMANN SCHOEMANN" were scuttled on the 2nd. The
surviving 12 merchantmen of QP11 got through to
Reykjavik, Iceland on the 7th. Convoys PQ16
and QP12 passed through in May. PQ16 started out
for Russian with 35 ships but one returned, six were lost
to heavy aircraft attacks and one to U-boats. QP12 had one return but the other
14 reach Iceland.
Battle
of the Atlantic - U-boat strength approached 300 with over 100
operational. A fairly complete convoy system was being
introduced off the US east coast from Florida north, but
the submarines were now concentrating in the Caribbean
and Gulf of Mexico. They could now spend more time on
station assisted by 'Milchcow' supply boats. The result was that Allied losses
continued at a high rate, especially among tankers. In
the North Atlantic, convoy ONS92 lost seven ships in one
night to a pack attack.
Monthly Loss Summary
- 122
British, Allied and neutral ships of 585,000 tons in the
Atlantic from all causes, 2 cruisers, 1 destroyer and 1
submarine
- 1
German destroyer, 1 U-boat by US Coast Guard off east
coast of America
Mediterranean
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.
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.
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".
JUNE 1942
Atlantic
Battle
of the Atlantic - In the first six months of 1942, submarines
worldwide had sunk 585 ships of over 3,000,000 tons,
mostly in the Atlantic - and a large proportion of these
in American waters where losses remained high in the
Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. At the same time the 108
new U-boats entering service far outweighed
the 13 sunk in the Atlantic in this period.
Monthly Loss Summary
- 128
British, Allied and neutral ships of 650,000 tons in the
Atlantic from all causes, 1 destroyer and 1 submarine
- 2
U-boats by US forces off Cuba and Bermuda
Mediterranean
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. Eighth Army prepared to
make its last stand at El Alamein.
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 after escorting supply ships to
Tobruk.
12th-16th - Malta Convoys 'Harpoon' from
Gibraltar, 'Vigorous' from Alexandria - Two of 'Harpoon's'
six ships reached Malta for the loss of two destroyers
and serious damage to three more and a cruiser by the
Italian Navy and German and Italian aircraft. 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 course reversals were made as
'Vigorous' tried to break through to Malta. That evening
'Vigorous' finally turned back for Alexandria. Now into
the early hours of the 16th, cruiser HERMIONE was torpedoed and sunk by
"U-205". None of the 'Vigorous' ships reached
Malta. One cruiser, three destroyers and two merchant
ships had been lost in the attempt.
JULY 1942
Atlantic
Destruction of Russian Convoy PQ17 -
On the 27th June, PQ17
left Reykjavik, Iceland with 36 ships, of which two
returned. The British Admiralty believed the Germans were
concentrating their heavy ships in northern Norway. In
fact pocket battleship "Lutzow" had run aground
off Narvik, but this still left battleship
"Tirpitz", pocket battleship "Admiral
Scheer" and heavy cruiser "Admiral
Hipper". At this time PQ17 had just passed to the
north of Bear Island, after which German aircraft sank
three merchantmen. Fear of attack by the German ships led
the British First Sea Lord in London to decide the fate
of the convoy. In the evening of the 4th the support
cruisers were ordered to withdraw and the convoy to
scatter. The merchantmen were now to the north of North
Cape. Thirty-one tried to make for the isolated islands
of Novaya Zemlya before heading south for Russian ports.
Between the 5th and 10th July, 20 of them were lost, half
each to the aircraft and U-boats sent to hunt them down. Eventually 11
survivors and two rescue ships reached Archangel and
nearby ports between the 9th and 28th.
3rd - "U-215" sank an escorted ship south of Nova
Scotia and was lost in the counter-attack by British
armed trawler "Le Tiger" (Free French trawler
"Le Tigre" according to some sources).
11th - Northwest of
the Canaries, UK/West Africa convoy OS.33 was attacked
and "U-136" sunk by frigate "Spey",
sloop "Pelican" and Free French destroyer
"Leopard".
24th - Canadian
destroyer "St Croix", with the Canadian C2
group escorting UK/North America convoy ON115, sank "U-90" off Newfoundland.
31st - In
mid-Atlantic, Canadian destroyer "Skeena" and
corvette "Wetaskiwan" of the C3 group (see
below for "C" designation) with ON113 sank "U-588".
31st - On passage
out, "U-213" stumbled across a convoy west of
the Bay of Biscay, where she was sunk by the escort
including sloops "Erne", "Rochester"
and "Sandwich".
Battle
of the Atlantic - Pending
the setting up of support Escort Groups later in the
year, vessels allocated mainly to convoy protection were
designated by their nationality - "A" for
American, "B" for British, "C" for
Canadian. The American convoy system was now extended
into the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, and merchantmen
sinkings went down as U-boat losses started to mount. Nevertheless, with
140 operational U-boats
out of a total of 330, the Germans had more than enough
to continue the offensive in the North Atlantic as well
as maintain concentrations off Sierra Leone, Venezuela
and Brazil. For some months to come it was again the
tankers that lost heavily, off the coasts of Venezuela
and Trinidad.
Monthly Loss Summary,
including Russian Convoys
- 101
British, Allied and neutral ships of 511,000 tons in the
Atlantic from all causes
- 11
German and 1 Italian U-boats, including 2 by RAF Bay of
Biscay patrols; 1 by RCAF off Nova Scotia; and 3 by US
forces in the Caribbean and off the east coast of America
AUGUST 1942
Atlantic
3rd - On anti-U-boat patrol between the Shetlands and
Norway, submarine "Saracen" torpedoed "U-335" on passage out.
Attacks
on Halifax/UK convoy SC94 - In the space of five days slow Halifax/UK convoy
SC94 (33 ships) was attacked by a total of 17 U-boats and lost 11 merchantmen. Southeast
of Greenland two U-boats were sunk by ships of the
Canadian C1 group. On the 6th, Canadian destroyer
"Assiniboine" shelled and rammed
"U-210". Two days later on the 8th,
British corvette "Dianthus" also with C1 group,
depth charged and rammed "U-379" to destruction. Four more U-boats
were damaged in defence of the convoy.
Brazil - The
sinking of five Brazilian ships by U-boats off their own coast in the middle
of the month finally drove Brazil to declare war on
Germany and Italy on the 22nd August. Bases in the
country extended Allied control over the South Atlantic.
28th - "U-94" attacked Trinidad/Cuba convoy TAG15 off
Jamaica. Damaged by a US Navy Catalina, she was finished
off by Canadian corvette "Oakville".
Battle
of the Atlantic - For some time now aircraft of RAF Coastal Command had
used the Leigh light searchlight in conjunction with ASV
radar to illuminate and attack U-boats at night on the surface. The
Germans now introduced the Metox detector which enabled U-boats to pick up the 1.5m wavelength
transmissions of the existing ASV sets in time for them
to submerge. They thus moved one step ahead of the Allies
in the scientific war. The RAF's important Bay of Biscay
patrols lost effectiveness accordingly.
Monthly Loss Summary
- 106
British, Allied and neutral ships of 544,000 tons in the
Atlantic from all causes, 1 US destroyer by collision off
Nova Scotia
- 9
U-boats including 1 by RAF Bay of Biscay patrols; 3 by US
aircraft in Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean and off Iceland; 1
Italian by unknown causes, possibly by RAF Bay of Biscay
patrols.
 Mediterranean
4th - "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.
10th-15th - Malta Convoy: Operation
'Pedestal' - For Malta
to survive another convoy mhad 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"
had a massive escort. Close in were cruisers
"Nigeria", "Kenya",
"Manchester" and "Cairo" and 12
destroyers. Covering were fleet carriers
"Eagle", "Indomitable" and
"Victorious" each with their accompanying
cruisers, battleships "Nelson" and
"Rodney", and another 12 destroyers. 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 gained their
first success. Italian and German aircraft slightly
damaged "Victorious" and hit a merchantman which later sank. Once
the convoy was north of Bizerta, Tunisia, submarine,
aircraft and Italian MTB (mas) attacks came fast and
furiously, leading to the loss of two cruisers and one
destroyer and more transports. Now into the afternoon of
the 13th, three merchantmen reached
Malta. The fourth struggled in next day, but the crippled
"Ohio" only made port on the 15th.
North Africa - Just
as Gen Montgomery assumed command of Eighth Army, Rommel
made his last attempt to get round the El Alamein
defences in the Battle of Alam Halfa.
Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean - Adm
Somerville's Eastern Fleet had few escorts. By this time
Japanese submarines were appearing in the Indian Ocean
and taking a steady toll of Allied shipping. Until the
end of 1944 they were joined for various periods by
German U-boats, sometimes direct from Europe and
at other times operating out of Penang on the west coast
of Malaya.
SEPTEMBER 1942
Atlantic
Russian Convoy PQ18 and Return QP14 - PQ18 left Loch Ewe in Scotland
on the 2nd with over 40 merchantmen. Close escort
was provided by 17 warships plus escort carrier
"Avenger" and two destroyers. Close cover was
AA cruiser "Scylla" and 16 fleet destroyers,
and further out three heavy cruisers. More distant cover
was by battleships "Anson" and "Duke of
York" northeast of Iceland. German heavy ships moved
to Altenfiord but did not sortie. Instead the attack were
mounted by aircraft and U-boats. On the 13th, aircraft torpedoed
nine ships, but next day "Avenger's" Hurricanes
ensured only one more ship was lost to air attack. In
total over 40 German aircraft were shot down. U-boats sank three merchantmen but lost three of
their number. Destroyers "Faulknor",
"Onslow" and "Impulsive" sank "U-88", "U-589" and "U-457" respectively between the 12th and
16th in the Greenland and Barents Seas. (Some
sources reverse the identity of "U-88" and
"U-589"). Escort carrier "Avenger's"
Swordfish from 825 Squadron helped with the destruction
of "Onslow's" U-boat on the 14th. Of the
original 40 ships, 27 reached Archangel on the 17th.
Meanwhile return convoy QP14 with 15 ships sailed
on the 13th to gain the protection of escort
carrier "Avenger" and the AA cruiser and
destroyer force. On the 20th, to the west of Bear
Island, minesweeper "LEDA" was sunk by "U-435" and support
group destroyer "SOMALI" torpedoed by "U-703". After
struggling for four days in tow towards Iceland a gale
blew up and she foundered. Three merchant ships were lost
to U-boats and the survivors reached Loch Ewe
on the 26th. In late 1941, escort carrier
"Audacity" closed the Gibraltar air-gap for the
first time. "Avenger" had now done the same for
the Russian route. However, further convoys had to be
postponed as ships were transferred in preparation for
the North African landings.
3rd - "U-162" attacked destroyer "Pathfinder"
north of Trinidad, but was sunk by her and accompanying
destroyers "Quentin" and "Vimy".
11th - Canadian
corvette "CHARLOTTETOWN" on passage with a minesweeper in
the Gulf of St Lawrence was sunk by "U-517".
"Laconia"
Incident - Off West Africa on the 12th,
"U-156" sank liner "Laconia" loaded
with 1,800 Italian POWs. The CO called for assistance in
clear and other U-boats came
to the rescue. An American aircraft made an attack and
Adm Doenitz subsequently forbade U-boats to help ships' survivors. He was
indicted for the 'Laconia order' at the Nurnberg trials.
14th -
"U-91" sent Canadian destroyer "OTTAWA" to the bottom, east of
Newfoundland. She was with the Canadian C4 group
protecting UK/North American convoy ON127, which lost
seven ships to U-boats.
26th - U-boats attacked convoy RB1 of Great Lakes
steamers bound for the UK. In mid-Atlantic, escorting
destroyer "VETERAN" was lost to "U-404". There
were no survivors and only postwar-captured German
records revealed her fate.
Battle
of the Atlantic - U-boats continued to operate off Sierra Leone, West
Africa and the northern coast of South America where
Allied losses remained high. Off Trinidad alone 29 ships
of 143,000 tons went down in September. However, the
interlocking convoy system was well on the way to being
established off the Americas, and was increasing in
effectiveness. In September the western termini for
Atlantic convoys were moved from the Canadian ports of
Halifax, Nova Scotia and Sydney, Cape Breton down to New
York. In time, pressure on the port became so great, some
convoy starts moved back to Halifax in March 1943. A long
felt need for countering the U-boats started to be met when Adm Noble formed the
first convoy support groups. These highly trained
flotillas were used to reinforce the escorts of convoys
under heavy attack, and although called Escort Groups
should not be confused with the groups of 1941, often
temporary in nature and with a diversity of ship types.
Some of the new Escort Groups were formed around the
escort carriers now entering service - the first since
"Audacity" lost in December 1941. Unfortunately
none of them was available to fight the Battle of the
Atlantic for another six months, as they were needed for
the invasion of French North Africa.
Monthly Loss Summary
- 102
British, Allied and neutral ships of 531,000 tons in the
Atlantic from all causes, 5 escorts
- 1
German raider and 9 U-boats including 3 by US and RAF
aircraft in the North Atlantic; 1 by RAF Bay of Biscay
patrols; 1 on an RAF-laid mine in the Bay of Biscay
Mediterranean
Mid-September -
Submarine "TALISMAN" left Gibraltar on the 10th with stores for
Malta. She reported a U-boat off Philippeville, eastern Algeria on the
15th, but was not heard from again - presumed mined in
the Strait of Sicily.
Monthly Loss Summary
4
British or Allied merchant ships of 800 tons
OCTOBER 1942
Atlantic
8th - "U-179" torpedoed and sank a merchantman off Cape Town,
South Africa and was then depth-charged and rammed by
destroyer "Active". Four other U-boats had preceded "U-179" to South
African waters and in just four weeks sank over 20 ships.
Attacks
on Halifax/UK Convoy SC104 - The convoy with 47 ships escorted by the
British B6 group lost eight merchantmen to U-boats. However, in mid-Atlantic on the 15th,
destroyer "Viscount" rammed and sank "U-619", and next day destroyer
"Fame" accounted for "U-353", also by ramming. (Note: the
identity of "U-619" wis sometimes reversed with
"U-661" sunk in the vicinity by the RAF.)
23rd - Two U-boats were on patrol off the Congo Estuary.
"U-161" torpedoed and badly damaged cruiser "Phoebe" on passage to French Equatorial
Africa.
Battle
of the Atlantic - Losses continued high in the North Atlantic,
many in the air-gaps on the transatlantic routes which
aircraft could not reach from Newfoundland, Iceland or
Northern Ireland. Also on the routes to and from Sierra
Leone which were remote from Gibraltar or Freetown. For
example, Atlantic convoys HX212 and SC107 lost six and
fifteen ships respectively, and Sierra Leone convoy SL125
around thirteen. Apart from escort carriers, more very
long range (VLR) aircraft were needed by RAF Coastal
Command. Only No 120 squadron was equipped with the VLR
B-24 Liberators. In October there were nearly 200
operational U-boats
out of a total of 365. German losses were increasing as
the effectiveness of Allied air and sea escorts and
patrols improves, but nowhere near enough to offset new
construction.
Monthly Loss Summary
- 82
British, Allied and neutral ships of 548,000 tons in the
Atlantic from all causes, 1 cruiser
- 15
U-boats including 6 by RAF in North Atlantic; 1 by RAF
Bay of Biscay patrols; 1 by RAF-laid mine in the Bay of
Biscay; 2 by RCAF off Newfoundland; 1 by US aircraft off
French Guiana; 1 by unknown causes, possibly by US
aircraft
Mediterranean
30th - Destroyers
"Pakenham", "Petard" and
"Hero", escort destroyers "Dulverton"
and "Hurworth" and RAF aircraft of No 47
Squadron sank "U-559" north of Port Said.
NOVEMBER 1942
Atlantic
Allied Convoy Routes
- New fast (F) and slow (S) convoys started in October
and November between the UK and North African ports - UK
out (KMF and KMS) and Home to UK (MKF and MKS). From
April 1943 these convoys sailed to and from the Gibraltar
area mainly with OS and SL-convoyed ships.
15th - The Germans
reacted to the 'Torch' landings on French North Africa by
concentrating U-boats
off Morocco and to the west of Gibraltar. A number of
empty transports were sunk, and on the 15th escort
carrier "AVENGER" sailing with return convoy MKF1 was
torpedoed by "U-155" and went down off the
Strait of Gibraltar. Only 12 men survived. That same day,
destroyer "Wrestler" also with MKF1 sank "U-411". Over the next few days US
destroyers accounted for "U-173" and the RAF for "U-98".
Attacks
on UK/North America Convoy ONS144 - Slow convoy
ONS144 was heavily
attacked in the mid-Atlantic and lost five ships. Escort
was provided by the British B6 group composed largely of
Norwegian-manned corvettes. On the 18th the
Norwegian "MONTBRETIA" was lost to "U-624" or
"U-262", but two days later Norwegian
sister-ship "Potentilla sank "U-134".
21st - Aircraft of
817 Squadron from fleet carrier "Victorious"
accounted for "U-517" southwest of Ireland.
Arctic
Convoys - Archangel
to Loch Ewe, Scotland convoy QP15 with 28 ships
loses two to U-boat attack.
Battle
of the Atlantic - World-wide
losses in tonnage due to Axis submarines were the highest
of any month of the war - 119 ships of 729,000 tons,
mostly in the Atlantic. By year's end, submarines in 1942
accounted for 1,160 ships of 6,266,000 tons or a monthly
average of 522,000 tons. Losses in the North and South
Atlantic made up most of this total. To deal with this
grave threat, a Cabinet Anti-U-boat Warfare Committee
(not the 1941 Battle of the Atlantic Committee) was
formed under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Winston
Churchill. It saw the first need as closing the
mid-Atlantic gap once and for all. Steps were taken to
further expand Coastal Command and speed up the
introduction of VLR aircraft. Adm Sir Max Horton,
commander of home-based submarines since 1940 and a World
War 1 submariner himself, succeeded Adm Noble as C-in-C,
Western Approaches.
Monthly Loss Summary
- 93
British, Allied and neutral ships of 567,000 tons in the
Atlantic from all causes, 1 escort carrier, 1 destroyer
and 1 corvette
- 7
U-boats including one by US aircraft off Iceland, and one
possibly by the RAF in the North Atlantic
Europe
11th - Submarine
"UNBEATEN",
on patrol in the Bay of Biscay for U-boats on passage to and from Atlantic
operations, was accidentally lost in an attack by a RAF
Wellington.
Mediterranean
4th - Second Battle of El Alamein had been
won by British Eighth Army
8th - French North African Landings:
Operation 'Torch' - To provide the large amounts of shipping needed,
Russian convoys and those to and from Britain and
Gibraltar/West Africa had been suspended and the Home
Fleet stripped bare. The Allies' greatest concern was the
hundred or more U-boats
at sea.
10th - In addition
to the Atlantic approaches to Gibraltar, a large number
of German and Italian submarines were concentrated in the
Western Mediterranean to attack the 'Torch' follow-up
convoys. Transports and escorting warships were sunk and
damaged, but losses were never great, and seven Axis
submarines, five of them German U-boats were sunk in exchange. On the 10th,
destroyer "MARTIN" was sunk by "U-431" off
Algiers.
12th - "U-660" was sunk by escorting corvettes
"Lotus" and "Starwort" northeast of
Oran.
13th - Next day
"Lotus", this time with "Poppy"
accounted for "U-605" off Algiers. On the 14th and 15th
respectively, "U-595" and "U-259" were sunk by aircraft.
13th -
"U-431" sent Dutch destroyer "lSAAC
SWEERS" to the
bottom northwest of Algiers.
17th - "U-331" was damaged by RAF Hudsons of No 500
Squadron and tried to surrender. Aircraft of 820 Squadron
from carrier "Formidable" torpedoed her in
error off Algiers.
Indian Ocean
Merchant Shipping War
- A few Japanese submarines continued to operate in the
Indian Ocean and were now joined by a number of German U-boats on patrol off the east coast of
South Africa.
Monthly Loss Summary
Indian
Ocean only - 23 merchant ships of 131,000 tons
DECEMBER 1942
Atlantic
16th - In attacks
on UK/North America convoy ON153, "U-211" sank
destroyer "FIREDRAKE" in mid-Atlantic on the night of the
16th/17th.
26th - Outward
bound "U-357"
was
detected by HF/DF to
the northwest of Ireland. Destroyers "Hesperus"
and "Vanessa" of the British B2 group (Cdr
Macintyre) with convoy HX219 located and sank her.
27th - "U-356" attacked slow convoy ONS154 escorted by the
Canadian Cl group to the north of the Azores. Destroyer
"St Laurent" and corvettes
"Battleford", "Chilliwack" and
"Napanee" all shared in her sinking. It was a
poor return for the convoy's loss of 13 of its 45 ships.
Battle of the Barents Sea - Following the German surface
ships failure to get at Russian Convoys JW51A and JW51B,
Hitler ordered the paying off of all German big ships.
Grand-Adm Raeder resigns in protest and was succeeded as
C-in-C, German Navy, in January by Adm Doenitz. The
paying-off order was revoked but Adm Doenitz continues as
U-boat C-in-C.
Battle
of the Atlantic - Total U-boat
strength at year's end approached 400 compared to 250 in
January, and this in spite of 86 submarines being lost in
1942. Of the total, over 200 were operational. Many were
on passage but the numbers on patrol were still great and
increasing. Most were in the North Atlantic or west of
Gibraltar although groups operated off West Africa and
South America with some success. The Allies could deploy
450 escort vessels of all types against the U-boats, a large number but still not
enough to curb the menace and go over to the offensive.
In December the Royal Navy and its Allies regained an old
advantage against the U-boats when after a 10-month gap, the U-boat
'Triton' code for Atlantic operations was broken.
Monthly Loss Summary
- 54
British, Allied and neutral ships of 305,000 tons in the
Atlantic from all causes, 3 escorts
- 1
German destroyer and 5 U-boats including 1 each by US and
indirectly by RAF aircraft in attacked on HX217; 1 by US
Coast Guard in mid-Atlantic
Mediterranean
Attacks off Algeria
- Attacks on Allied shipping off Algeria led to more
losses: 9th - As destroyer "PORCUPINE"
escorted submarine
depot ship "Maidstone" from Gibraltar to
Algiers, she was torpedoed and badly damaged off Oran by
"U-602", and never repaired. 11th -
Escort destroyer "BLEAN" sailing with fast North Africa/UK convoy
MKF4 was lost to "U-443" west of Oran. 18th
- Porcupine's sister-ship "PARTRIDGE" was torpedoed by "U-565" while
carrying out an A/S sweep with Force H, and went down off
Oran.
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