Background Events - September 1939-March 1940
Battle of Atlantic
starts, 'Phoney War' on land, Battle of
River Plate
1939
Sunday, 15 October
Admiral Forbes departed Loch
Ewe with battleships
NELSON,
RODNEY, battlecruiser
HOOD,
aircraft carrier FURIOUS, light cruisers
BELFAST,
AURORA and destroyers
BEDOUIN, FEARLESS, FOXHOUND and FURY.
After light cruiser
SOUTHAMPTON and
destroyer MATABELE finished escorting steamer ST CLAIR (1637grt) from
Lerwick to Aberdeen, arriving at 0945/14th,
MATABELE left on the 14th and called at Scapa Flow. Destroyers MASHONA,
PUNJABI, FIREDRAKE left Loch Ewe, also on the 14th, arrived at Scapa Flow later the same day, and then
with MATABELE, sailed from
Scapa Flow on the 15th to join Forbes at sea.
Destroyer FORESTER departed
Scapa Flow on the 16th and also joined
Forbes,
FAME was boiler cleaning until the 22nd, and TARTAR
repairing defects until the 23rd, both at
Scapa Flow.
The sortie took the Fleet
north of Iceland, 150 miles into the Arctic Circle, to block a reported sortie
into the Atlantic by pocket battleship DEUTSCHLAND and to support the
Northern Patrol. The destroyers refuelled from the capital ships on the 17th.
Battlecruiser
REPULSE (above - Navy Photos) with destroyers
JERVIS, JERSEY, COSSACK and MAORI departed
Rosyth on the 18th, with COSSACK and MAORI arriving back
on the 19th and REPULSE, JERVIS and
JERSEY joining Forbes at sea on the
20th. The two destroyers were detached for refuelling at Sullom
Voe on the 21st and afterwards carried out an anti-submarine
patrol off Muckle Flugga.
They then left the patrol area to search off the Norwegian coast for American steamer CITY OF FLINT.
JERVIS and JERSEY arrived at
Rosyth on the 25th without making contact.
_____
Five cruisers were on
Northern Patrol between the Orkneys and the Faroes,
four AMCs between the Faroes
and Iceland, and four
AMCs in the
Denmark Strait. The armed merchant cruisers
were ASTURIAS,
AURANIA, CALIFORNIA, CHITRAL, RAWALPINDI, SALOPIAN, SCOTSTOUN and
TRANSYLVANIA. Following this patrol,
ASTURIAS proceeded to Halifax for escort duty and SALOPIAN
to Plymouth en route for the
South Atlantic.
_____
Convoy HN.0 of five Polish,
one French and one Greek steamer had departed Bergen on the 14th, and was met in
the North Sea on the 15th by light cruiser
SOUTHAMPTON, which left
Rosyth on the 13th, and destroyers JERVIS, JERSEY,
JACKAL, JANUS. Early on the 16th,
SOUTHAMPTON, JERSEY, JACKAL and JANUS detached and
destroyer MOHAWK joined. JERVIS and MOHAWK then escorted the convoy into
Methil arriving on the 16th with SOUTHAMPTON reaching
Rosyth
the same day.
_____
Light cruiser
EDINBURGH was
escorted by destroyer WHITLEY from the 15th to 23rd.
_____
Light cruiser
SHEFFIELD arrived at Loch Ewe.
_____
Destroyer BROKE and sloop
FLEETWOOD were U-boat hunting off
Blyth and on the 16th, attacked a contact.
_____
Destroyers COSSACK and MAORI
attacked a submarine contact 6 miles 83° from Coquet Island.
_____
Destroyer MOHAWK attacked a
submarine contact 4 miles 340° from Flamborough
Head.
_____
Sloop STORK attacked a
submarine contact 6.5 miles 15° from Scarborough Rock.
_____
Patrol sloops KINGFISHER and
PC.74 were submarine hunting off
Liverpool, and were relieved on the
16th by escort vessel/minesweeper GLEANER.
_____
Convoy OA.20G departed
Southend escorted by destroyers KELLY and KINGSTON from the 15th to 17th, and
by destroyers AMAZON and ANTELOPE from the 17th to 18th. Convoy OB.20G also
left Liverpool escorted by destroyers
WHIRLWIND and WALPOLE, the two convoys merging on the 17th as OG.3.
_____
Convoy AXS.1 of one steamer
departed Fowey, escorted by destroyer WAKEFUL and arrived at Brest on the 17th.
_____
U.37 sank French steamer
VERMONT (5186grt) 360 miles SW of
Fastnet in 48‑01N, 17‑22W, with the loss
of two crew, the 43 survivors being rescued by destroyer
INGLEFIELD. Because of the submarine activity in the area of arriving convoy
KJ.2, French destroyers L’INDOMPTABLE and LE MALIN conducted a sweep, and
were joined by destroyers CYCLONE and MISTRAL sailing from Brest to assist. On the 17th,
CYCLONE attacked a submarine contact. On the same day, destroyer VENOMOUS
left Plymouth with the survivors of
VERMONT for passage to Havre.
_____
Battleship
RAMILLIES departed
Gibraltar escorted by destroyers
GRAFTON and GALLANT for duty with the 1st Battle Squadron at Alexandria.
_____
Convoy
SL.5 departed
Freetown escorted by destroyers HASTY
and HOSTILE, and joined by French cruiser PRIMAGUET, destroyers MAILLÉ BRÉZÉ
and VAUQUELIN, which left
Dakar on the 19th and arrived at
Casablanca on the 25th. Destroyers
TIGRE, TARTU
and CHEVALIER PAUL departed
Toulon, also on the 19th, and
reached
Casablanca on the 22nd ready to relieve
the French destroyers already with SL.5. They left on the 25th and joined
that day. British destroyer GRENADE sailed from Gibraltar on the 24th, also to join
the convoy. PRIMAGUET, escorted by CHEVALIER PAUL detached and reached Lorient on the 28th, while TIGRE and TARTU after being relieved by
British destroyers, reached Brest on the 30th. The convoy
arrived at Liverpool on 3 November.
Monday, 16 October
German aircraft attacked
anchored ships in the Firth of Forth. Light cruiser
SOUTHAMPTON was hit by a
1000 pounder that passed through three decks and
came out of the bottom without exploding, but injuring three
crew, one rating dying of wounds. Light cruiser
EDINBURGH was slightly
damaged by splinters from the near miss of three 500 pound bombs with eight
crew wounded and Gunner G J Mitchell and one rating dying of wounds.
SOUTHAMPTON's damage required only three
days to repair while
EDINBURGH remained in service.
Destroyer MOHAWK, just arriving in the Firth from convoy duty, was bombed one
and a half miles from May Island and sustained much topside
damage. Commanding officer Cdr R F Jolly was fatally wounded (and awarded the
Albert Medal), the ship's
first officer Lt E J O'Shea and ten ratings killed and 33
crew, including her navigator, Lt A L Harper, wounded. MOHAWK berthed
at Rosyth for temporary repairs and then repaired
at Newcastle from 22 October to 9 December.
Battlecruiser
REPULSE was still at Rosyth
on the 16th boiler cleaning, but German bombing restrictions forbidding
bombing that endangered civilian lives were still in effect.
_____
Four light cruisers were on
Northern Patrol between the Orkneys and the Faroes,
four AMCs between the Faroes
and Iceland, and three
AMCs in the
Denmark Strait.
_____
Destroyer AFRIDI attacked a
submarine contact in the Firth of Forth off Inchkeith
Light, and was joined by destroyers WOOLSTON, VALOROUS and sloop HASTINGS.
_____
Destroyers INGLEFIELD and IVANHOE
attacked a submarine contact in the Western Approaches in 51‑00N, 18‑00W.
_____
Destroyers INTREPID and
ICARUS attacked a submarine contact in 49‑42N, 9‑59E.
_____
Destroyer MOHAWK and sloop
STORK attacked a submarine contact ESE of Scarborough.
_____
Destroyer COSSACK attacked a
submarine contact north of
Blyth.
_____
Destroyer BEAGLE attacked a
submarine contact in 51‑20N, 01‑40E.
_____
Destroyer BROKE and sloop
FLEETWOOD attacked a submarine contact off Blyth.
_____
Minesweeper/escort ship GLEANER
attacked a submarine contact 17 miles 184° from Great Ormes
Head.
_____
Convoy OG.3, totalling 33
merchant ships, was formed from OA.20G which departed Southend
on the 15th escorted by destroyers KELLY and KINGSTON, relieved by destroyers
AMAZON and ANTELOPE, and OB.20G which departed Liverpool on the 16th escorted
by destroyers WHIRLWIND and WALPOLE.
AMAZON was damaged in a collision on the
18th and the other destroyers remained with the convoy until the 19th. French
destroyers FOUGUEUX and L'ADROIT, which departed Brest on the 17th, joined the
convoy on the 19th which arrived at
Gibraltar on the 23rd.
_____
Convoy BC.11 of steamers
ADJUTANT, BALTARA, BARON CARNEGIE, BARON KINNAIRD, BLACKHEATH, BOTHNIA,
COXWOLD, HARMATTAN,
JADE, KINGSBOROUGH, LOCHEE, LOTTIE R, MARSLEW,
NIGERIAN (Commodore) and SODALITY departed Bristol Channel, escorted by
destroyers EXMOUTH, ESK, WESSEX, and arrived safely in the Loire on the 18th.
_____
Convoy SA.13 of two steamers
departed Southampton, escorted by destroyers ACHATES and VENOMOUS, and
arrived on the 17th.
_____
Convoy FN.22 departed
Southend and arrived at Methil
on the 18th. There was no convoy FN.22, nor convoys FS.22 and FS.23.
_____
U.23 laid mines off Cromarty
near Invergordon.
_____
French destroyer CYCLONE with
destroyer MISTRAL on escort duty in support of convoy KJ.2, attacked a U-boat
in the Bay
of Biscay, but without success
_____
Light cruiser
DAUNTLESS
departed Suez for Colombo.
_____
Convoy Green 5 departed Gibraltar escorted by destroyer
DUCHESS and sloop FOWEY until the 17th, when convoying in the Mediterranean was abandoned and the
escorts withdrawn. DUCHESS arrived at Malta on the 20th.
_____
French destroyers MILAN and ÉPERVIER departed Marseilles with three troopships for
Beirut.
_____
French light cruiser DUGUAY
TROUIN encountered German steamer
HALLE
(5889grt) which had departed Bolama,
Portuguese Guinea on the 12th and Bissao on the
14th for Las Palmas. HALLE scuttled herself to avoid
capture SW of Dakar. Large destroyers LE FANTASQUE and LE TERRIBLE, operating
from Dakar, had been searching for her from the 15th to 17th.
_____
German steamer UHENFELS
(7603grt) departed
Lourenco Marques on the 13th, shadowed from
off the port by sloop EGRET which had to give up because of shortage of fuel.
Light cruisers LIVERPOOL and
DURBAN, also in the area were
unable to find her, but because of the naval activity, UHENFELS returned
to Lourenco
Marques.
_____
German steamer TIJUCA
(5918grt) arrived off
Kopervik, Norway, encountered Norwegian
submarine B.3 but continued on, reaching Hamburg on the 25th.
Tuesday, 17 October
Light cruiser
SHEFFIELD departed Loch Ewe for
Northern Patrol in the
Denmark Strait, arriving back on the 22nd
after capturing German steamer GLORIA.
_____
Four light cruisers were on
Northern Patrol between the Orkneys and the Faroes,
four AMCs between the Faroes
and Iceland, and three
AMCs in the
Denmark Strait. The armed merchant cruisers
were ASTURIAS,
AURANIA, CALIFORNIA, CHITRAL, RAWALPINDI, SCOTSTOUN, and TRANSYLVANIA.
_____
Convoy OA.21 of 21 ships
departed Southend escorted by destroyers VANSITTART
and WIVERN, which remained with the convoy until it dispersed on the 22nd.
_____
Convoy OB.21 departed Liverpool escorted by destroyers
WINCHELSEA and WITHERINGTON.
_____
Convoy BC.10S of steamers
BARON GRAHAM, BEAVERDALE, BELLOROPHON (Commodore), CITY OF DERBY DORSET COAST,
EILDON, ERATO, FLORISTAN, GLAMIS, GLYCAON, MERLAND, PEMBROKE COAST, TASSO and VOLO departed the Loire, escorted by destroyers MONTROSE and VIVACIOUS, and
arrived safely in the Bristol Channel on the 19th.
_____
Anti-aircraft cruiser
CALCUTTA departed Grimsby and arrived back on the
18th.
_____
Destroyer BEAGLE attacked a
submarine contact in 51‑07.5N, 01‑23.5E.
_____
French large destroyer
LÉOPARD, which had been covering minelaying in the
Pas de Calais area, returned to Brest on the 17th. Large destroyer
JAGUAR sailed from
Dunkirk on 1 November and with large
destroyer PANTHČRE, which had been at Cherbourg under repair, also arrived
at Brest, but on the 2nd.
_____
U.19 laid mines off Inner
Dowsing near Yarmouth during the night of the 16th/17th,
on which three merchant ships were sunk.
_____
Three German aircraft bombed
Scapa Flow, one of which was shot down
by destroyer ESKIMO. Two near misses damaged old battleship
IRON
DUKE which
took a heavy list and bomb blast damaged her electrical installations. She
was towed into shallow water, settled onto the sea bed and ESKIMO provided
electric power. Destroyers SOMALI and ASHANTI were also at Scapa Flow at the
time of the raid, and later in the day, four more aircraft attacked, near-missing ASHANTI, but causing no damage.
_____
Destroyer JUNO fired on German aircraft
shadowing her SW of Farne Island. British aircraft
came to her assistance and shot down a Dornier flying boat.
_____
German destroyers HERMANN
KÜNNE, FRIEDRICH ECKHOLDT, DIETHER VON ROEDER, KARL GALSTER and HANS LÜDEMAN, escorted by
destroyer WILHELM HEIDKAMP sailed from Wilhelmshaven to lay mines in the
North Sea off the Humber on the night of the 17th/18th. Seven merchant ships
grossing 25,852 tons were sunk in the field.
On the 22nd, steamer
WHITEMANTLE (1692grt) five to six
miles east of Withernsea Light with the loss of 14
crew.
On the 23rd, Swedish steamer
ALBANIA (1241grt) four miles north
of Humber Light Vessel; two crew were lost and the
survivors picked up by steamer CHANNEL FISHER (700grt).
On the 29th, Norwegian
steamer VARANGMALM (3551grt) in 53‑50N,
00‑17E; one crew was lost and the survivors rescued by trawler CONIDA
(413grt).
On the 30th, Finnish steamer
JUNO (1241grt) in 53‑45N,
00‑17E with six crew lost.
On 3 November, Danish steamer
CANADA (11,108grt) was mined in 53‑40N,
00‑17E and sank next day, two miles east of Holmpton;
her survivors were rescued by Norwegian steamer RINGHORN (1298grt).
On 4 November, Norwegian
steamer SIG (1342grt) was sunk in
53‑43N, 00‑17E, with the loss of three crew;
her 16 survivors being picked up by fishing boat ELLEN M.
On 31 December, steamer
BOX HILL (5677grt) from dispersed
convoy HX.12, in 53‑32N, 00‑24E; twenty crew
were lost, with five survivors rescued by destroyer IVANHOE and seven by
another ship.
In addition to the losses by
mines, two steamers were lost and one badly damaged when they collided with
the sunken wreck of CANADA.
Steamer FIREGLOW (1261grt)
hit the wreck on 12 November and was abandoned, but later refloated.
Steamer
DRYBURGH (1289grt) departed Leith on 12 November and arriving
off Withernsea on the 14th November,
sank after colliding with the wreck; her crew was rescued by two destroyers.
On 15 November, Greek steamer
GEORGIOS (2216grt) sank after
hitting CANADA.
This was the first
minelaying operation by German Commodore
Bonte's destroyers between the Thames and the Tyne. By February 1940, 1800
mines had been laid, and destroyer
JERSEY torpedoed and badly damaged
during one of the minelaying operations. All the
German destroyers, except LEBERECHT MAAS, GEORG THIELE, PAUL JACOBI, THEODOR
RIEDEL and HERMANN SCHOEMANN were employed in at least
one operation.
_____
German destroyers PAUL
JACOBI, THEODOR RIEDEL, HERMANN SCHOEMANN and torpedo boats LEOPARD, ILTIS,
WOLF conducted an anti-shipping patrol in the Skagerrak from the 17th to
19th.
_____
U.37, U.46, U.48 attacked
convoy HG.3 off
Cape Trafalgar while it was protected by aircraft. Steamer
YORKSHIRE (10,184grt) was the convoy
commodore ship with Rear Admiral D M T Bedford Rtd
as commodore on board and she carried military families which had been
embarked from steamer NEVASA (9213grt) at Gibraltar. U.46 attacked
YORKSHIRE in 44‑54N, 12‑40W
without success, but she was then sunk by U.37 in 44‑52N, 14‑31W
with the loss of 58 lives, including 25 crew.
Steamer CITY OF MANDALAY (7028grt) was also sunk by U.46, in 44‑57N, 13‑36W,
with seven crew lost and 17 survivors being picked
up by Norwegian whaler SKUDD IV. In 44-54N, 12-40W. Destroyers WAKEFUL,
ELECTRA and ESCORT were ordered to attack a submarine reported near the convoy.
The last steamer was CLAN
CHISHOLM (7256grt), sunk by U.48, 150 miles 300° from
Cape Finisterre in 45N, 15W with the loss
of four crew. Survivors from all three ships, including
Rear Admiral Bedford, were picked up by American steamer INDEPENDENCE HALL (5050grt) and taken to Bordeaux. ELECTRA and ESCORT had
departed Dover on the 13th and joined the
convoy on the 18th from OA.19. In addition, destroyers ARDENT and ACASTA left
Dover on the 20th and joined.
_____
Convoy HX.5 departed Halifax at 0900 escorted by heavy
cruiser YORK and Canadian destroyers FRASER and
ST LAURENT. RCAF flying boats
accompanied the convoy until 1800/17th. ST LAURENT was detached at 0830/18th,
FRASER at 1630/19th, and
YORK at 1000/19th, arriving back
at Halifax the same day. Light cruiser
EMERALD departed
Halifax on the 17th as ocean escort,
and she arrived at
Portsmouth on the 29th. YORK left Halifax again on the 22nd to support
the convoy and search for German battleship DEUTSCHLAND. Destroyers GRAFTON,
GALLANT, WESSEX escorted the convoy on the
28th and 29th, when it arrived at
Liverpool.
_____
Convoying in the
Mediterranean was discontinued: (1) destroyer DUCHESS and sloop FOWEY,
awaiting convoy Green 5, were sent from Gibraltar to Malta, arriving on the
20th, (2) destroyer DIANA and sloop DEPTFORD, en route to Port Said from Blue
5, were sent to relieve destroyers GRENVILLE and GIPSY on contraband patrol,
(3) destroyer DUNCAN from Blue 4 was sent to escort battleship
RAMILLIES,
relieving destroyers GRAFTON and GALLANT, (4) destroyers DAINTY and DEFENDER
departed Malta on the 18th to escort RAMILLIES, which reached Alexandria on
the 20th, (5) French destroyers CASSARD and KERSAINT returned to Bizerte, and
(6) destroyers DECOY and DELIGHT were at Malta. After refitting, DELIGHT
reached Gibraltar on the 31st for escort duty,
and DECOY, her refit completed on 3 November, left Malta to escort steamer NEVASA to
Marseilles.
Wednesday, 18 October
Destroyer AMAZON, which
departed Plymouth on escort duty on the 17th,
was damaged in collision with steamer ARACATACA (5378grt) at 1448 in convoy
OG.3 in 47-38N, 08-08W. AMAZON had closed to pass information
and the steamer altered course without warning. She was under repair at
Portsmouth from 20 October to 28
November.
_____
Destroyer BOREAS was attacked
north of the Goodwin Sands by a German seaplane, but no damage was done.
_____
Light cruiser
CALEDON departed Kirkwall, and arrived at
Sullom Voe on the 20th.
_____
Destroyer AFRIDI attacked a
submarine contact 3.2 miles 61° off St Abb's Head.
Destroyer WHITEHALL was ordered to stand by the
location where AFRIDI had buoyed the "sunken submarine."
_____
Steamer IMPERIAL STAR (10,733grt) was attacked by
a U-boat, 60 miles west of the Scillies in 49‑54N, 7‑52W.
Destroyer INTREPID was sent to assist.
_____
In submarine operations
against convoy HG.3, steamers SAGAING (7968grt), GARBRATTAN (1811grt), CITY OF GUILDFORD (5157grt) and
CLAN MCBEAN (5000grt) reported they were attacked on the
18th but undamaged. Destroyer ESCORT joined SAGAING and escorted her from the
area.
_____
Convoy Blue 5 departed Port Said on the 18th, but was
dispersed and travelled without escort.
_____
Light cruiser
DANAE departed Lagos for St Helena, where she arrived on the
22nd.
_____
Convoy SLF.5 departed Freetown, unescorted, and arrived at
London on the 30th.
Thursday, 19 October
While in dock at Devonport,
destroyer KEMPENFELT was transferred to the Canadian Navy as HMCS
ASSINIBOINE. She had been there since 29 September repairing collision damage
from the day before. As
ASSINIBOINE, she departed
Plymouth for Halifax on 7 November.
_____
Light cruisers
CARDIFF,
DIOMEDE,
DRAGON departed
Sullom Voe for Northern Patrol.
_____
Two cruisers were on Northern
Patrol between the Shetland and the Faroes,
AMCs
AURANIA, CALIFORNIA, CHITRAL between the
Faroes and Iceland, and light cruiser
SHEFFIELD and AMCs
RAWALPINDI, SCOTSTOUN,
TRANSYLVANIA in the Denmark Strait.
_____
Destroyers INTREPID, ICARUS,
IVANHOE arrived at Loch Ewe and sister ship IMPULSIVE at Scapa Flow on the 25th, all for duty
with the Home Fleet. Destroyers ILEX, ISIS, IMPERIAL joined the 22nd Flotilla
at Harwich on the 31st, were released from the Flotilla on 5 November and
rejoined the 3rd Flotilla operating with the Home Fleet – IMOGEN, after
completing repairs, and IMPERIAL on 8 November, ILEX and ISIS on the 14th,
and INGLEFIELD, also after completing repairs, on the 16th.
_____
Destroyer WHITEHALL and sloop WESTON attacked a
submarine contact three miles
ENE of St Abb's
Head.
_____
Convoy OA.22 of nine ships
departed Southend escorted by destroyer VESPER,
which stayed until the convoy dispersed on the 21st.
_____
Convoy OB.22 departed Liverpool escorted by destroyers
MACKAY and VIMY, the destroyers detaching on the 22nd to escort SL.4.
_____
Prize regulations for U-boats
were lifted for shipping as far west as 20°.
_____
German tanker
BISKAYA (6386grt) had departed Hamburg on 13 August for Port Arthur, Texas, but with the start of war,
found refuge at
Las Palmas until 7 October when she
attempted to return to Germany. She was captured on the
19th by armed merchant cruiser SCOTSTOUN on Northern Patrol in the Denmark Strait in 66‑30N, 23‑00W, taken to
Leith by a prize crew commanded by Lt Cdr R H A Clark
RNR, and renamed EMPIRE UNITY in
British service.
_____
German tanker
GONZENHEIM (4574grt), which had
departed Buenas Aires on 14 September, was
intercepted by armed merchant cruiser RAWALPINDI on Northern Patrol in the
Denmark Strait in 63‑25N, 12‑00W,
and scuttled.
_____
French destroyer FOUDROYANT
had arrived at Casablanca on 13 September with convoy 9.B of steamers
STRASBOURGEOIS, MAROC, JUMIEGES and POITIERS after leaving Brest on the 7th
October, as well as SAINT NAZAIRE, escorted by sloop CHEVREUIL after leaving
Quiberon, also on the 7th.
Quite separately, destroyer BOURRASQUE reached
Casablanca on the 17th with convoy 3.K
of steamers MARRAKECH and KERGUELEN. They had left Le Verdon
on the 13th. Both destroyers then departed Casablanca and arrived at Gibraltar on this date.
_____
Heavy cruiser
DORSETSHIRE
departed Hong Kong for
Singapore and duty with the 4th
Cruiser Squadron in the East Indies Station. She left Singapore on the 22nd for Colombo.
Friday, 20 October
Light cruisers
COLOMBO and
DELHI departed Sullom
Voe for Northern Patrol.
_____
Light cruiser
DRAGON departed
Sullom Voe for Northern
Patrol and arrived back on the 25th.
_____
Two light cruisers were on
Northern Patrol between the Shetlands and the Faroes,
light cruiser
COLOMBO and AMCs
AURANIA,
CALIFORNIA, CHITRAL between the
Faroes and Iceland, and light cruiser
SHEFFIELD and AMCs
SCOTSTOUN, RAWALPINDI, TRANSYLVANIA in the Denmark Strait.
_____
While escorting convoy BC.10S
with destroyer VIVACIOUS from Quiberon Bay to Barry, destroyer MONTROSE
attacked a submarine contact in 52‑16N, 4‑36W.
_____
Convoy FN.24 departed
Southend. Shortly after, escorting sloop PELICAN was
damaged when she struck submerged wreckage. The convoy arrived at
Methil on the 22nd.
_____
Convoy FS.24 departed
Methil, escorted by destroyer BROKE, sloops BITTERN and
ENCHANTRESS, and arrived at Southend on the 22nd.
_____
U.34 sank steamer
SEA VENTURE (2327grt) east of the Shetlands
in 60‑50N, 00‑15E and Swedish steamer
GUSTAF ADOLF (926grt) 50 miles NE of Sullom
Voe in 61‑00N, 00‑48E. All the crew of
GUSTAF ADOLF were rescued, while the survivors from SEA VENTURE rowed in their
lifeboats to a nearby island.
_____
German auxiliary patrol boat
Vp.701 (trawler ESTE, 426grt) was
sunk on a mine between Moen and Falsterbo.
_____
German steamer
BIANCA (1375grt) had departed Rotterdam pre-war for Lisbon, called at El Ferrol and refuelled in an attempt
to return to Germany before the start of the war.
She reached Reykjavik on 7 September and remained
there until 18 October when she made her attempt. At 1150/20th in the Denmark
Strait, in 67‑29N, 22‑15W, she was captured by armed merchant
cruiser TRANSYLVANIA, taken to Kirkwall by a prize crew commanded by Lt Cdr D
M MacLean RNR, and renamed EMPIRE WARRIOR in British service.
_____
Greek steamer
OMONIA (3699grt) was seized in the
Baltic by German warships, taken to Swinemünde and
later renamed OLSA for German use.
_____
Light cruiser
CARADOC arrived
at Bermuda, and left the same day for
Kingston, Jamaica.
_____
Light cruiser
DESPATCH
departed Bermuda and arrived at
Kingston on the 26th.
_____
Light cruiser
GALATEA
departed Alexandria, reached Malta on the 27th, left again on
the 28th and arrived back at Alexandria on the 30th.
_____
Light cruiser
DURBAN departed Mauritius for Colombo to examine the
Cargados, Caarajos and
Chagos groups for German activity.
_____
The Admiralty ordered destroyers
HOTSPUR and HAVOCK from the South America Station to the West Indies.
Saturday, 21 October
The crew of the Norwegian
steamer LORENTZ W HANSEN arrived on Norwegian tanker KONGSDAL (9959grt) at
Kirkwall and brought news proving that both German pocket battleships ADMIRAL GRAF SPEE and DEUTSCHLAND
were at sea. It had been thought that all the sinkings
to date had been due to a single battleship.
_____
Light cruisers
GLASGOW and
NEWCASTLE, at sea since the 12th, were
sent to escort convoy KJ.3, then en route from the West Indies. They detached on the 24th
and the convoy arrived at
Land's End on the 25th.
NEWCASTLE reached Portsmouth on the 26th and GLASGOW on the 27th.
_____
Destroyer FORESIGHT was
boiler cleaning at
Scapa Flow until the 26th.
_____
Anti-aircraft cruisers
CAIRO and
CALCUTTA departed Grimsby on escort duty and arrived
back the same day.
_____
Anti-aircraft cruiser
COVENTRY departed Immingham to
support a convoy under air attack, and at sea, joined sister ships
CAIRO and
CALCUTTA with the convoy, which was
escorted to Flamborough Head. COVENTRY experienced a steering gear
defect and returned to Immingham, docking on the 26th for repairs completed
on 14 November. She then left next day for duty at Sullom
Voe.
_____
Four former British anti-submarine
trawlers arrived at
Brest for duty as the French 13th
Patrol Squadron. They were CANCALAISE (ex-ST AMANDUS, LV R
R L Birot), HAVRAISE (ex-ST
ATTALUS, EV Harduin), LORIENTAISE (ex-ST
ANDRONICUS, LV F Drogou) and NANTAISE (ex-ST ARCADIUS,
LV L M A Jaume). They went into service on
17 January 1940.
_____
German steamer
GLORIA (5896grt), which had departed
Buenos Aires on the 6th, was captured by light cruiser
SHEFFIELD on Northern Patrol in the
Denmark Strait, six to ten miles off the
north coast of
Iceland in 65‑30N, 22‑05W.
As GLORIA was being taken to
Kirkwall by a prize crew commanded by Sub Lt S Phillips,
three of her crew escaped in a lifeboat, but were later picked up and landed
at Methil on the 28th. GLORIA was renamed EMPIRE
CONVEYOR in British service.
_____
German steamer
POSEIDON (5864grt) departed Rio de
Janiero on 1 September to return to Germany, but was forced to put into
Mar del Plata on the 5th to avoid contact
with light cruiser
AJAX. She was finally able to
leave for Germany on 1 October, but was
captured during the afternoon of the 21st by armed merchant cruiser SCOTSTOUN
north of Iceland in the Denmark Strait in 67‑08N, 21‑18W.
Heavy weather prevented a boarding party from being put aboard at that time,
and it was not until the afternoon of the 22nd in 66‑27N, 22‑09W
that Py/Lt C W Armstrong RNR and his men were able to go
across. SCOTSTOUN then escorted POSEIDON for 29 hours before losing touch in
thick snow. Armed merchant cruiser
TRANSYLVANIA finally found the missing
ship early on the 25th, but she was incapable of steaming, taken in tow and
proceeded towards Reykjavik with
cruiser
SHEFFIELD in company. When Icelandic
waters were reached,
SHEFFIELD detached and returned to Sullom
Voe, being relieved on Northern Patrol by light
cruiser
SOUTHAMPTON. However, before reaching Reykavik,
TRANSYLVANIA’s tow line parted in a gale
and she was forced to sink POSEIDON with gunfire on the 27th.
_____
Light cruiser
DIOMEDE
departed Sullom Voe for
Northern Patrol between Shetlands and Faroes, and
arrived back on the 25th.
_____
Destroyers KELLY and KINGSTON arrived at Loch Ewe for
operations with the Home Fleet.
_____
Destroyer VALOROUS attacked a
submarine contact six to seven miles east of Scarborough.
_____
Minesweeper/escort vessel
JASON attacked a submarine contact 2 miles 105° from South Rock Light Vessel,
Belfast.
_____
Convoy OA.23 of 15 ships
departed Southend escorted by destroyers ACASTA and
ARDENT from the 21st to 23rd, and the convoy dispersed on the 26th.
_____
Convoy OB.23 departed Liverpool escorted by destroyers
VOLUNTEER and VERSATILE, which detached to KJ.3 on the 24th.
_____
French steamer
CAPITAINE EDMOND LABORIE (3087grt)
was sunk two miles E of Inner Dowsing Light Vessel on a mine laid by U.19 on
the 17th.
Norwegian steamer
DEODATA (3295grt) was sunk 1˝ miles
off Inner Dowsing Light Vessel in 53-19.50N, 00-38.20E, by a mine laid by
U.19 on the 17th, without the loss of any crew.
_____
Steamer
ORSA (1478grt) was sunk 15 miles 150° from Flamborough
by a mine laid by U.15 on 6 September, with the loss of 16
crew.
_____
Light cruiser
DAUNTLESS
departed Aden en route to Colombo, and was ordered to examine
the Cargados, Carajos,
Chagos groups for German activity.
_____
Hunter Force M with French
heavy cruisers DUPLEIX and FOCH, and Force N with French battlecruiser
STRASBOURG and British aircraft carrier
HERMES, were
reassigned to cover the
Dakar to Pernambuco
route:
(1) Force X, which became
effective in mid-November, consisted of HERMES, DUPLEIX and FOCH, while
(2) Force Y had STRASBOURG, with French light cruiser
DUGUAY TROUIN and the British NEPTUNE.
Sunday, 22 October
American merchant ship CITY OF FLINT, captured by German pocket
battleship DEUTSCHLAND on the 9th, arrived at Murmansk.
_____
Light cruisers
DUNEDIN,
DELHI and
CALYPSO departed
Sullom Voe for the Northern
Patrol, CALYPSO proceeding to the Iceland-Faroes
Channel. This brought the numbers of ships on patrol to two cruisers between
the Shetlands and the Faroes, four cruisers between
the Faroes and Iceland, and one cruiser and two
AMCs in the
Denmark Strait.
_____
Destroyer JAVELIN was badly
damaged at 0200 in collision with steamer MOIDART (1262grt) off Whitby. Destroyer AFRIDI, escorting
convoy FN.24 nearby, was sent to assist, and two tugs and two anti-submarine
trawlers left the
Tyne at 0400. JAVELIN was towed by destroyer JUPITER to
Middlesbrough and repaired until 1
January.
_____
Convoy FN.25 departed
Southend and escorting destroyer GURKHA attacked a
submarine at 2130 contact 13 miles 68° from Orfordness
on the 22nd. The convoy arrived at Methil on the
24th.
_____
Convoy FS.25 departed
Methil, escorted by destroyers MAORI, WHITEHEAD and sloop
WESTON and arrived at Southend on the 24th.
_____
Admiral Forbes arrived at
Loch Ewe with the Main Fleet at 0800.
_____
Battleships
NELSON,
RODNEY, battlecruiser HOOD, and destroyers INTREPID, IVANHOE, ICARUS,
KELLY and KINGSTON sortied
from Loch Ewe at 1830/22nd to cover the movement of convoy NV.1 of twelve
British iron ore ships from Narvik.
Destroyers IMPULSIVE left
Plymouth on the 23rd, reached Scapa Flow on the 25th, and left next
day to join Forbes at sea, KINGSTON detached from the force to
Scapa Flow with defects, and FIREDRAKE
joined on the 29th.
Light cruisers
EDINBURGH
departed Rosyth on the 23rd and joined the escort off Muckle Flugga at
noon on the 24th,
and
AURORA
departed Loch Ewe, also on the 23rd, and joined off the
Norwegian coast at 0130/26th. Destroyers SOMALI, ASHANTI, TARTAR and
FAME also joined from Scapa Flow.
En route to the Firth of
Forth, destroyer
FAME and two merchant ships were detached to join an
Atlantic convoy.
At 0630/30th, SOMALI depth
charged a submarine contact near Kinnaird Head in
57‑45N, 1‑02W. TARTAR also joined in the attack before catching
up with ASHANTI which by now was shepherding
the convoy away from the area. FAME later rejoined, stood guard on the contact which remained stationary and
dropped more depth charges at 0915/30th. NV.1 arrived safely on the 31st.
_____
Convoy BC.12 of steamers
ANGLIAN COAST, BALTRADER, BARON NAIRN,
CISCAR,
CITY OF
KEELUNG (Commodore), CLAN MONROE,
DEVON COAST, FABIAN, KERMA, MARGALAU,
PACIFIC COAST, PIZARRO, RONAN, TREVERBYN
and
YEWMOUNT departed the Bristol Channel escorted by destroyer
EXPRESS and WESSEX, and arrived safely in the
Loire on the 24th.
_____
Convoy AXS.2 of one steamer
departed Fowey, escorted by destroyer WAKEFUL, and
reached Brest on the 24th.
_____
German destroyers MAX SCHULTZ, FRIEDRICH IHN,
ERICH STEINBRINCK,
HANS LODY, BERND VON ARNIM and
ERICH
GIESE carried out an
anti-shipping sweep in the Skagerrak from the 22nd to 24th.
_____
U.16 laid mines in the
Straits of Dover, on which one auxiliary minesweeper was sunk.
_____
Destroyers GRAFTON and
GALLANT departed
Gibraltar for
Alexandria on the 15th and after
calling there, returned to
Gibraltar. Sister ships GREYHOUND and GLOWWORM, also
sailing from Alexandria to Gibraltar, called at Toulon on the 18th, after which all
four left Gibraltar on the 19th for the
UK. En route they were ordered
to search for a lifeboat from CLAN CHISHOLM (7256grt), lost on the 17th, and
reached Plymouth on the 22nd. Assigned to
duty at Harwich, they were due to be joined by Polish destroyers GROM, BURZA
and BLYSKAWICA.
_____
Convoy HG.4 of 41 ships left
Gibraltar, escorted by destroyers
GRENVILLE, GIPSY and minesweeper
LEDA, and by French destroyers BOURRASQUE
and FOUDROYANT from the 22nd until their arrival at Brest on the 29th. Destroyers
WISHART and VIDETTE provided local escort, detached on the 23rd and patrolled
off Cadiz. The convoy arrived at
Liverpool on the 29th, with GRENVILLE,
GIPSY and LEDA arriving on the 30th.
_____
French battlecruiser
DUNKERQUE, light cruisers GEORGES LEYGUES, GLOIRE, MONTCALM and large
destroyers MOGADOR, VOLTA, L'INDOMPTABLE, LE MALIN and LA TRIOMPHANT left Brest,
escorted in the local approaches by destroyers
CYCLONE and MISTRAL, which arrived back on the 25th. The main force then
patrolled the Antilles-English Channel route, to cover the movement of convoy
KJ.4 until the 30th when they arrived back at Brest.
_____
Heavy cruiser
YORK departed Halifax to support convoy HX.5 which
had left on the 17th, and to search for German battleship DEUTSCHLAND.
_____
Light cruiser
ENTERPRISE departed Halifax on patrol duties and arrived
back on the 29th.
_____
Heavy cruiser
NORFOLK departed Alexandria and arrived at Malta on the 23rd.
_____
Australian light cruiser
PERTH departed Bermuda.
_____
German pocket battleship
ADMIRAL GRAF SPEE sank steamer TREVANION
(5299grt) in the
South Atlantic in 19‑40S, 04‑02E.
_____
German steamer
EMMY FRIEDRICH (4372grt) departed
Tampico, Mexico, during the night of the
19th/20th to act as a supply ship for German pocket battleship ADMIRAL GRAF
SPEE. Allied warships began a search for her in the Gulf of Mexico, and joined by US aircraft carrier RANGER
(CV.4) as part of the Neutrality Patrol, in the Caribbean. Light cruiser
ORION, which
departed Kingston on the 21st and Canadian
destroyer SAGUENAY sighted EMMY FRIEDRICH on the 22nd in the Yucatan
Channel and she turned away, back into the
Gulf of Mexico. The contact report from
ORION enabled light cruiser
CARADOC, which departed Bermuda on the 20th, to intercept
her early on the 23rd. EMMY FRIEDRICH was scuttled and CARADOC picked up her
crew of 33 and took them to
Bermuda, arriving on the 27th. ORION got back to
Kingston on the 26th.
23 October, Monday
Aircraft carrier
FURIOUS and battlecruiser
REPULSE with destroyers BEDOUIN, PUNJABI,
FORESTER, FIREDRAKE left Loch Ewe for the Clyde, arriving on the 25th.
_____
Anti-aircraft cruiser
CURLEW
and destroyers FURY, FOXHOUND, FEARLESS and MASHONA departed Loch Ewe for
Scapa Flow. The destroyers were
assigned for convoy escort.
_____
Light cruiser
SHEFFIELD departed Loch Ewe for
Northern Patrol and arrived back on the 26th.
_____
Light cruiser
AURORA sailed
from Loch Ewe and destroyers SOMALI, ASHANTI, TARTAR and FAME from Scapa Flow to escort an iron ore convoy
from Narvik.
_____
Light cruiser
EDINBURGH
departed Rosyth to rendezvous with Commodore D in
light cruiser
AURORA 20 miles north of
Muckle Flugga.
_____
Anti-aircraft cruiser
CAIRO departed Grimsby on escort duties, and
arrived back on the 25th.
_____
Destroyer GALLANT attacked a
submarine contact 90° off the Lizard, and was joined in the search by destroyers
KANDAHAR, ACASTA, ARDENT, which made an attack 20 miles
south of Portland. At 0828/23rd, ACASTA was
missed by a torpedo in 49-48N, 5-22W, and on the 24th, she and ARDENT were
searching for a reported submarine in 49-30N, 4-45W.
_____
Convoy OA.24G departed
Southend escorted by destroyers ESCORT and ELECTRA, while
OB.24G departed
Liverpool escorted by destroyers VANOC and WARWICK. They merged
on the 26th as OG.4.
_____
Convoy SA.14 of two steamers
left Southampton, escorted by destroyers VANSITTART
and VENOMOUS, and arrived at Brest on the 24th.
_____
A Roc fighter of 803 Squadron
from aircraft carrier FURIOUS, but based ashore and flying from
Hatston, failed to return from patrol off Wick. Petty
Officer L R Tregillis and Naval Airman R E Eason were
lost.
_____
Convoy SL.6 departed Freetown escorted by destroyers
HYPERION and HUNTER, which left the convoy at 0400/26th to take twelve ships
into Dakar where they arrived at 0700/27th. Before then, on the
26th, French light cruiser DUGUAY TROUIN left Dakar to join SL.6 on the 27th,
not arriving back until 2 November, while destroyer GRIFFIN left Gibraltar on
the 30th and joined on 8 November in Home Waters, escorting the convoy to the
UK. In the Western Approaches, the convoy split into SL.6, escorted by
destroyers ELECTRA and ESCORT, and SL.6B, escorted by WALPOLE and VANOC, the
latter transferring to SL.6 on 8 November. Dispersed ships of the main convoy
arrived at Liverpool starting on the 10th.
_____
German steamer CURITYBA
(4969grt) sighted Norwegian destroyer DRAUG off Bergen where she arrived on the
24th. Setting out again, she arrived via Drogden,
at Hamburg on the 30th.
_____
Heavy cruiser
BERWICK
departed Bermuda, and arrived back on the 26th for docking where she underwent
repairs until 3 November.
_____
Heavy cruiser
SHROPSHIRE departed Capetown
on escort duty, and arrived back on the 24th.
_____
U.37 conducted a
reconnaissance of the Straits of Gibraltar during the night of the 23rd/24th.
Tuesday, 24 October
Minelaying cruiser
ADVENTURE departed
Sheerness for the
Humber to lay mines in the
North Sea in Operation AD, arriving on
the 25th at Grimsby. From there, she laid mines,
escorted by two destroyers and minesweeper
SPHINX, off Flamborough
Head in operations completed on the 29th.
_____
Light cruiser
SOUTHAMPTON
departed Sullom Voe for
patrol SE of Norway, arrived at
Scapa Flow on 6 November, then left for
Rosyth, arriving on the 7th.
_____
Submarine PORPOISE arrived at
Chatham for refitting completed on 18 January.
_____
On Northern Patrol were light
cruiser
CALYPSO and one other cruiser between the
Faroes
and the Orkneys, two cruisers between the Faroes
and Iceland, and one cruiser and two
AMCs in the
Denmark Strait. Light cruisers
COLOMBO and
DRAGON had departed
Sullom Voe on the 20th,
DIOMEDE
on the 21st, and
DUNEDIN,
DELHI, CALYPSO
on the 22nd. DIOMEDE, DRAGON,
CALEDON,
COLOMBO,
CARDIFF called there to refuel and
left on the 25th. The armed merchant cruisers at sea were CHITRAL, SCOTSTOUN
and TRANSYLVANIA.
_____
U-boats were deployed against
the British Fleet west of the Orkneys from 21 October to 10 November - U.59 had
left Wilhelmshaven on the 21st and returned on 9 November, U.56 and U.58 on
the 22nd, returning on 10 November, and U.57 on the 24th, returning on 4
November.
_____
U.16 departed
Wilhelmshaven on the 17th, and after
completing a minelay off Dover, was detected by the St
Margaret's Bay indicator loop station. Attacked by patrol sloop PUFFIN and
anti-submarine trawler CAYTON WYKE (373grt), she was damaged and as she
evaded further attacks, struck a mine and was even more badly damaged forward
of the conning tower, running aground on the Goodwin Sands in 51‑09N,
01‑28E. The body of an officer was picked up off Folkestone by
minesweeping trawler ST MELANTE (358grt), and on the same day U.16 was
discovered with only the conning tower above water and the crew all dead. The
28 bodies of the crew were removed and taken to Dover for interment.
_____
Destroyer GURKHA, escorting
FN.25, attacked a submarine contact 13 miles 68° from Orfordness.
_____
Convoy FN.26 departed
Southend, and arrived at Methil
on the 26th.
_____
Convoy FS.26 departed
Methil,and reached
Southend on the 26th.
_____
Greek steamer
KONSTANTINOS HADJIPATERAS (5962grt)
was sunk off Inner Dowsing Light Vessel in 53-20-57N, 0-36-54E on a mine
laid by U.19 on the 17th; four crew were lost and 27
saved.
_____
Finnish steamer
RHEA (1424grt) was seized in the
Baltic by German warships and taken to Kiel.
_____
Aircraft carrier
ARK
ROYAL
and battlecruiser RENOWN arrived at Freetown for
refuelling,
departing again on the 28th on patrol.
_____
U.37 sank three steamers to
the west of
Gibraltar
- LEDBURY
(3528grt) 100 miles off without the loss of any crew,
MENIN RIDGE (2474grt) 90 miles off in 36‑01N, 07‑22W
with the loss of 20, and TAFNA (4413grt)
84 miles off in 35‑44N, 07‑23W with the loss of two. All
LEDBURY’s survivors and five from MENIN RIDGE were picked
up by American steamer
CROWN CITY (5428grt). Destroyer
DOUGLAS, which was ordered from
Gibraltar with KEPPEL, WATCHMAN and
VIDETTE to search for the submarine, picked up 31 survivors from TAFNA and
took them to Gibraltar. A
London seaplane of RAF 202 Squadron
also arrived to rescue survivors, landed in the sea but unable to take
off, was towed to
Gibraltar by
DOUGLAS. A submarine contact was attacked by KEPPEL in
36-03N, 7-33W, and by WATCHMAN in 36-03N, 7-18W. The search continued until
the 25th.
_____
Destroyers GRENADE and GRIFFIN departed Gibraltar to escort convoy SL.5, but
GRIFFIN was ordered back to stand by
for SL.6. She arrived there on the 26th and departed with the convoy on the 30th.
_____
German trawler
SATURN (194grt) was sunk in a
collision near
Kiel.
_____
Australian light cruiser
PERTH departed Kingston, and in 42‑25N, 43‑08W
intercepted signals from a German warship. She altered course to intercept,
but no contact was made.
Halifax was reached on the 28th.
_____
Convoy HXF.6 departed Halifax at 0800, escorted by
Canadian destroyers FRASER and ST LAURENT, with battleship
REVENGE
as ocean escort. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on 2 November.
Wednesday, 25 October
German steamer
RHEINGOLD (5055grt), which had
departed Bahia on 27 September, was captured in the Iceland-Faroes
Channel by light cruiser
DELHI, west of the Orkneys in 64‑00N,
11‑40W. RHEINGOLD arrived at
Kirkwall with the prize crew,
commanded by Lt Cdr FG Emley, on the 27th and later renamed EMPIRE MARINER for British service.
DELHI arrived at
Sullom Voe on the 28th.
_____
Light cruisers
COLOMBO,
CARDIFF,
CALEDON departed Sullom
Voe, with CARDIFF and CALEDON arriving back on the 31st.
_____
Two cruisers were on Northern
Patrol between the Orkneys and the Faroes, four
cruisers between the Faroes and Iceland, and one cruiser and two
AMCs in the
Denmark Strait. Light cruiser
SOUTHAMPTON
was sailing to relieve sister ship
SHEFFIELD in the Denmark Strait.
_____
Anti-aircraft cruiser
CALCUTTA departed Grimsby for Harwich, and arrived on
the 26th.
_____
Destroyer MASHONA was docked
at Newcastle for repairs from 25 October to 10 November.
_____
Destroyer PUNJABI brought
Panamanian tanker PHOEBUS (8863grt) into the Clyde, but after examination, she was
allowed to continue.
_____
Destroyer FURY was damaged by
heavy weather, and repaired in the
Clyde, completing on 17 November.
_____
Convoy OA.25 of 19 ships
departed Southend escorted by destroyers ANTELOPE
and VISCOUNT from the 25th to 28th.
_____
Convoy OB.25 departed Liverpool escorted by destroyers
WHIRLWIND and WALPOLE until the 28th.
_____
Convoy BC.11 of steamers
ADJUTANT, BALTARA, BARON CARNEGIE, BATNA, BLACKHEATH, BOTHNIA, BRIARWOOD,
COXWOLD, ERATO, FRAMLINGTON COURT, HARMATTAN, JADE, LLARNARTH, LOCHEE, LOTTIE
R, LURIGETHAN, MARSLEW, NIGERIAN (Commodore) and PEMBROKE COAST departed the Loire
escorted by destroyer EXPRESS, and arrived safely in the Bristol Channel on
the 28th.
_____
At 0600/25th, a convoy
departed Portsmouth consisting of submarine TRIDENT for Oban,
steamer BONIFACE (4928 tons), and base ships MANCHESTER CITY and MASHOBRA, escorted by
destroyers SALADIN, VANSITTART, VENOMOUS and SCIMITAR as far west as the
Eddystone Light. Destroyer VANESSA relieved the Portsmouth destroyers at 1650 and was
joined by sister ship VIVACIOUS after a short delay. On the 27th, TRIDENT and
VIVACIOUS detached to Oban.
Destroyer WIVERN had
escorted convoy SL.4A into Dover with trawlers ARCTIC RANGER
and KINGSTON CORNELIAN, before leaving Southend on
the 27th in company with destroyer WITCH as escort to convoy OA.26. When a
submarine was reported, WIVERN was detached to search for what was later
determined to be TRIDENT.
_____
Destroyer VIVIEN completed
conversion to fast escort ship, and following working up, was attached to
Convoy C in the Rosyth Command.
_____
French battlecruiser
STRASBOURG, heavy cruisers ALGÉRIE, DUPLEIX, destroyers
LE TERRIBLE and LE FANTASQUE and British aircraft carrier
HERMES departed
Dakar to carry out a sweep to the
southwest. They arrived back on the 29th.
_____
Convoy HX.6 departed Halifax at 0800 escorted by Canadian
destroyers FRASER and
ST LAURENT. They detached on the 27th
and the convoy continued with battleship
RESOLUTION as ocean escort. On 6
November, destroyers WHIRLWIND and WARWICK joined HX.6 from OB.29, and
destroyers GRENVILLE, GRENADE, GIPSY and GLOWWORM from Plymouth. Next day, RESOLUTION,
GRENVILLE and GRENADE detached to Devonport, and the convoy reached Liverpool on the 10th.
_____
Battleship
RAMILLIES and
destroyers DAINTY, DIANA, DEFENDER departed Alexandria on a 15-inch gun shoot, with
the Queen Bee target operated from light cruiser
PENELOPE. The exercise was
repeated on the 27th with the same ships less DAINTY.
_____
Heavy cruiser
DORSETSHIRE
departed Colombo on patrol duties, and
arrived back on the 28th.
_____
Three U-boats were assigned
for operations in the
Mediterranean between 25 October and 15
November – U.25 which departed Wilhelmshaven on the 18th October, U.53 on
the 23rd, and U.26 on the 26th. Only U.26 was able to enter the Mediterranean for a patrol lasting from 8
to 18 November. A planned minelay off Gibraltar was prevented by gales, and
at 0015 and 0150/12th she carried out attacks off Oran. Then at 0300/13th, she
claimed to have sunk a steamer in 36-16N, 2-13W, but this is not confirmed.
However French steamer
LOIRE (4285grt) departed Oran for Dunkirk on 12 November and was not
heard from again, possibly a victim of U.26, which arrived back at Wilhelmshaven on 5 December. Of the other
two submarines, U.53 left her patrol area off Gibraltar on 13 November to refuel,
and U.25 after patrolling off
Gibraltar, reached Wilhelmshaven on 27 November in a damaged
condition.
_____
German steamer
SANTA FE (4627grt), which had
departed Rio de Janiero on the 13th, was captured
in 5N, 34W by French large destroyers LE FANTASQUE and LE TERRIBLE, supported
by Force M heavy cruiser DUPLEIX. Battlecruiser
STRASBOURG, British aircraft carrier HERMES, heavy cruisers ALGÉRIE, DUPLEIX
together with LE FANTASQUE and LE TERRIBLE put to sea from Dakar to search
for SANTA FE from the 23rd to 29th. She was renamed SAINT ANDRE in French
service, but returned to German service after the fall of France.
_____
German steamer TOGO (5042grt) departed Duala, and evading patrols by
French submarines AJAX and CENTAURE in the
vicinity, reached
Hamburg on 23 November.
_____
Destroyers THANET and
THRACIAN laid mines off
Hong Kong in the
West Lamma and North
Lantau Channels, and again on the 26th and 27th. THANET
carried out a lay southwest of Papai Island on the 31st.
Thursday, 26 October
Battlecruiser
REPULSE and aircraft carrier
FURIOUS, escorted by destroyers FORESTER, FEARLESS, FOXHOUND, FORESIGHT,
FIREDRAKE departed the Clyde at 0430 to cover the Atlantic convoy routes,
including Halifax convoys already at sea. Following these convoys' safe
passage, they were stationed to the south and the east of Newfoundland to continue covering the
route, the destroyers arriving back in the Clyde on the 28th.
_____
Two cruisers were on Northern
Patrol between the Orkneys and the Faroes, three
cruisers between the Faroes and Iceland, and one cruiser and AMC TRANSYLVANIA in the Denmark Strait. Meanwhile, light cruiser
SHEFFIELD was returning to
Sullom Voe. From the 13th to
26th, Northern Patrol sighted 56 eastbound ships, sent 53 into Kirkwall for inspection and dealt
with six German merchant ships.
_____
Light cruiser
BELFAST arrived at Clyde for Refitting completed on 8
November.
_____
Anti-aircraft cruiser
CALCUTTA departed Harwich and arrived
at Grimsby on the 27th.
_____
Destroyer KASHMIR (Cdr H A King) completed,
and after working up at
Portland, joined the 5th Destroyer
Flotilla operating with the Home Fleet on 12 November.
_____
Convoy FN.27 departed
Southend, and arrived at Methil
on the 28th. There was no FN.28.
_____
Convoy FS.27 departed
Methil, escorted by destroyers JUNO, WALLACE, WHITLEY and sloop
STORK, reaching Southend on the 28th.
_____
Swedish steamer
JUPITER (2152grt) was seized in the
Baltic by German warships and taken to Kiel.
_____
Greek steamer
MARIETTA NOMIKOU (5241grt) was seized
in the Baltic by German warships and taken to Pillau.
_____
Convoy OG.4, totalling 40
ships, was formed from OA.24G, escorted by
destroyers ESCORT and ELECTRA, and OB.24G which departed Liverpool escorted by destroyers
WARWICK and VANOC. The convoy safely arrived at Gibraltar on 1 November, escorted by
French destroyers CHACAL and MISTRAL, which departed Brest on the 26th and joined on
the 27th.
_____
Destroyer DUCHESS abandoned
her Kithera patrol 24 hours early to take an injured
man to Malta.
_____
Convoy Blue 6 of 15 ships
departed Port Said and proceeded without
escort.
_____
MTB.11 was accidentally hit by a
round from a 6-inch shore battery at Hong Kong, fired to warn her to keep
clear of a newly mined area. She was towed into harbour between MTB.9 and MTB.10.
Friday, 27 October
Two cruisers were on Northern
Patrol between the Orkneys and the Faroes, one
cruiser between the Faroes and Iceland with three cruisers en route
to the area, and one light cruiser and two AMCs in
the Denmark
Strait.
Between 27 October to 9 November, 26 eastbound ships were sighted and 20 sent
into Kirkwall for inspection. Light
cruisers
COLOMBO and
DIOMEDE departed
Sullom Voe for Northern Patrol
duties, both arriving back on 3 November.
_____
Light cruiser
CERES departed Plymouth for duty with the Northern
Patrol, and arrived at
Kirkwall on the 31st.
_____
Anti-aircraft cruiser
CAIRO departed Grimsby on escort duties and arrived
back later the same day.
_____
Submarine TRIDENT departed
Oban for patrol off the west coast, and arrived at
Rosyth on 11 November.
_____
Convoy OA.26 of nine ships
departed Southend escorted by destroyers WITCH and
WIVERN from 27 October to 2 November.
_____
Convoy OB.26 departed Liverpool escorted by destroyers
WINCHELSEA and WITHERINGTON until the 30 October.
_____
U.24 laid mines in Hartlepool Bay, on which one steamer was sunk.
_____
U.34 badly damaged steamer
BRONTE (5317grt) from convoy OB.25, west of
Ireland in 49‑30N, 12‑15W
; no crew were lost. U.34 also attacked another merchant ship but did no
damage. Destroyers WHIRLWIND dropped depth
charges on the 28th on a contact near the convoy, and WALPOLE of the
escort also searched. BRONTE was taken in tow by tug ENGLISHMAN, but on
the 30th, destroyer ESK of the 12th Destroyer Flotilla from
Plymouth scuttled her in 50-07N,
10-36W.
_____
French large destroyer
VAUQUELIN departed
Casablanca escorting submarine CENTAURE,
and arrived at
Brest on the 30th.
_____
Heavy cruisers
SUSSEX and
SHROPSHIRE departed Simonstown
and Capetown respectively, to sweep towards St Helena. They returned to
Capetown on 7 November.
_____
Light cruiser
CAPETOWN departed
Malta on patrol, and arrived back
on 3 November.
_____
Destroyers HUNTER and
HYPERION arrived at
Dakar at 0700/27th,
refuelled and sailed to
Trinidad.
Saturday, 28 October
Two British cruisers were on
Northern Patrol between the Orkneys and the Faroes,
three cruisers on patrol between the Faroes and
Iceland, and one cruiser and two
armed merchant cruisers in the
Denmark Strait.
_____
A British submarine anti-invasion patrol off the Dogger
Bank was in effect from 29 October to 6 November. L 26, STARFISH,
SUNFISH and THISTLE, departed Rosyth on patrol on the 28th. There they
were joined by CACHALOT and SEAL, which had already come directly from
Portsmouth, also departing on the 28th, and by SEALION, SALMON and
SHARK, again sailing from Portsmouth. UNDINE, which had left Rosyth on
the 22nd, was ordered to reconnoiter north from Heligoland. Her patrol
ended on 4 November.
Other submarines on patrol, all of which departed Rosyth on
the dates given, were - L 27 on the 20th, off Utvaer; L.23 on the
21st, off the southwest coast of Norway; and SEAWOLF on the 26th and URSULA
on the 28th, both in the Skagerrak. UNDINE assumed patrol off
Horns Reef.
TRIAD, which had departed Rosyth on the 14th, returned to
Blyth and SEAHORSE, also from Rosyth but on the 17th returned there on the
31st as this deployment began.
_____
Destroyer FORESTER arrived in
the Clyde for repairs which were
completed on 23 November.
_____
Convoy FS.28 departed
Methil, escorted by destroyers MAORI,
WHITEHALL and sloops GRIMSBY and WESTON, and
arrived at Southend on the 30th. There was no
convoy FN.28.
_____
U.31 laid mines in Loch Ewe
during the night of the 27th/28th, on which two auxiliary minesweepers were sunk and
battleship
NELSON badly damaged.
_____
U.59 sank trawlers
ST NIDAN (565grt) and
LYNX II (250grt) northwest of the
Orkneys in 59‑50N, 04‑20W; the entire crews of both trawlers being
saved by trawler LADY HOGARTH (472grt). Destroyers ESKIMO, MATABELE and
BEDOUIN were involved in searching for the submarine.
_____
Destroyers ZULU and GURKHA
attacked a submarine contact off St Abbs Head.
_____
Polish destroyer BLYSKAWICA
attacked a submarine contact off the Mull of Galloway in 54-45N, 5-12W.
_____
Patrol sloop SHELDRAKE and
aircraft were searching for a reported submarine off Oban,
which was in fact British submarine TRIDENT.
_____
Destroyers EXMOUTH and
GREYHOUND were attempting to intercept a reported submarine in the Western
Approaches.
_____
German destroyers MAX SCHULTZ, FRIEDRICH IHN and ERICH STEINBRINCK of the 1st Destroyer Flotilla and BERND VON ARNIM,
HANS LODY and KARL
GALSTER of the 4th Destroyer Flotilla attempted a shipping sweep into the
Skagerrak. However, they encountered
heavy weather and were forced to abandon it. SCHULTZ was badly damaged
by the weather and mechanical breakdown, lost power and IHN and
STEINBRINCK unsuccessfully attempted to tow her. However, SCHULTZ was finally
able to regain partial power and returned to Wilhelmshaven for repairs completed in
late January 1940.
_____
In operations in the Indian Ocean, a Swordfish of 825 Squadron
from aircraft carrier GLORIOUS was lost in a forced landing at sea;
the crew
were rescued.
_____
Light cruiser
BIRMINGHAM departed Singapore for patrol in the
Sunda Strait,
was relieved by light
cruiser
DAUNTLESS on 4 November, and arrived back at
Singapore on the 7th.
_____
Light cruiser
DANAE arrived
at Simonstown, escorting troopship ATHLONE CASTLE (25564grt) from St Helena where they departed on the
22nd.
_____
Light cruisers
DAUNTLESS and
DURBAN departed Colombo and arrived at Singapore on the 31st.
_____
Australian light cruiser
HOBART departed
Singapore on patrol, and arrived back
on 4 November.
Sunday, 29 October
Destroyers JERVIS, JANUS,
JUNO, JERSEY, JUPITER, JACKAL departed
the Humber on operation AG. They swept
off the Dutch coast, but made no contact with enemy shipping, although JERSEY was near missed by German
bombing. The ships arrived back in the Humber on the 30th.
_____
Light cruiser
SHEFFIELD arrived at
Rosyth for refit, and departed on 9
November.
_____
Light cruisers
CARDIFF and
CALEDON were on Northern Patrol
duties between the Orkneys and the Faroes, light
cruisers
DRAGON,
DIOMEDE,
COLOMBO between the
Faroes and Iceland, and light cruiser
SOUTHAMPTON and
armed merchant cruisers CHITRAL and
AURANIA in the Denmark
Strait.
_____
Anti-aircraft cruiser
CALCUTTA departed Grimsby on escort duties and arrived
back later the same day.
_____
The 22nd Destroyer Flotilla
was formed at Harwich for East Coast Defence with
destroyers EXMOUTH, KEITH and the Polish BURZA, GROM and BLYSKAWICA.
On the 31st, destroyers ILEX,
ISIS, IMPERIAL joined after completing repairs.
The Flotilla was briefly
composed of EXMOUTH as leader, ILEX, ISIS, IMPERIAL
in the 43rd Division and KEITH and the three Polish ships in the 44th
Division.
ILEX and ISIS were at Harwich at the end
of the month and IMPERIAL at Plymouth preparing to depart. ILEX and
ISIS departed Harwich on 2
November, arrived at
Plymouth on the 3rd and departed
the same day for
Gibraltar to escort battleship WARSPITE. After this duty, they arrived at
Scapa Flow on the 14th. Meanwhile
IMPERIAL departed for Harwich on 1 November, but was ordered to
Scapa Flow for duty with the Home Fleet,
arriving on the 4th.
Captain R S Benson (D.12) in EXMOUTH was named Captain of the 22nd Flotilla on 2 November and
continued in this capacity until the 11th, when he and EXMOUTH
returned to Devonport.
Destroyer BOADICEA joined the
22nd Destroyer Flotilla on 5 November.
The three
I's of the 22th Destroyer
Flotilla and all the destroyers, except BOADICEA, of the 23th
Destroyer Flotilla were released on 5 November to return to their respective
commands. The B's returned to the 19th
Destroyer Flotilla.
On 11 November, Captain G E
Creasy in destroyer
GRIFFIN was named D.22.
On the
same day, the 22nd
Destroyer Flotilla was composed of GRIFFIN (D.22), GREYHOUND, GIPSY, GLOWWORM, KEITH, BOADICEA
and Polish GROM, BURZA, BLYSKAWICA.
On the 22nd, GRAFTON and GALLANT replaced KEITH and BOADICEA in the 22nd Destroyer
Flotilla.
On the 27th, D.22
transferred to submarine depot ship CYCLOPS, on 1 December, to BOADICEA, which had returned to the Flotilla, and on the 5th, to destroyer GRENVILLE, which completed repairs
of her
collision damage on the 7th.
Also, at Harwich, the 23rd
Destroyer Flotilla was formed with CODRINGTON (Captain Simson, D.19) as leader, BOADICEA,
ANTHONY, VANSITTART, VENOMOUS as the 45th Division, and BASILISK, BLANCHE,
BEAGLE, BRAZEN as 46th Division.
In addition, destroyers
BOREAS, which was repairing at Portsmouth until 13 November,
and BRILLIANT were assigned to the 19th Destroyer Flotilla at
Harwich.
_____
Polish destroyer BLYSKAWICA
attacked a submarine contact in 54‑45N, 5‑12W.
_____
Convoy OA.27 of thirteen
ships departed Southend escorted by destroyers
WANDERER and WAKEFUL from the 29th to 31st.
_____
Convoy OB.28 departed Liverpool escorted by destroyers VIMY
and MACKAY to 1 November.
_____
U.34 sank steamer
MALABAR (7976grt, Commodore Rear
Admiral G W Taylor (Rtd) aboard) from convoy HX.5A, 50 miles
NW of the Scillies in 49‑57N, 07‑37W; five crew were lost. Destroyer GRAFTON rescued the
survivors. U.34 attempted to sink another merchant ship of the convoy without
success.
_____
American steamer CRANFORD (6096grt) and Italian
steamer MANZONI (3955grt) collided off Deal with light damage to
CRANFORD and extensive damages to
MANZONI .
_____
Battleship
WARSPITE departed Alexandria escorted by destroyers
DAINTY and DIANA, and arrived at Malta on the 31st. After a brief
docking, she left on 4 November with the same escort , which
was relieved by destroyers ISIS and ILEX east
of Gibraltar on the 6th and WARSPITE arrived at
Gibraltar later that day.
_____
Convoy HG.5 of 40 ships
departed Gibraltar escorted by French destroyers FOUGUEUX and L'ADROIT,
from 29 October until their arrival at
Brest on 6 November, and British destroyers
DOUGLAS and VORTIGERN. The convoy arrived at various English ports on the 6th.
_____
Light cruiser
DESPATCH
departed Kingston.
Monday, 30 October
Two cruisers were on
Northern Patrol between the Orkneys and the Faroes,
three cruisers between the Faroes
and Iceland, and one cruiser and three
armed merchant cruisers in the Denmark Strait.
_____
U.59 sank armed boarding
vessel NORTHERN ROVER (655grt, Lt
M H Macpherson Rtd) on patrol in Fair Island
Channel near Kirkwall. She had brought Danish
steamer NAJADEN (1963grt) in to
Kirkwall for examination on the 30th, left her at the gate and returned to patrol. There was no
further contact and she was lost with Lt Macpherson, A/Sub Lt G B Grey,
RNR, T/Lt A E White, RNVR, T/Sub
Lt G A R Darlow, RNVR and twenty three ratings.
_____
Destroyers GRENVILLE and
GIPSY of the 1st Destroyer Flotilla arrived at Plymouth after departing
Alexandria on the 14th, reaching
Malta on the 19th, and leaving
Gibraltar on the 22nd with convoy HG.4.
_____
As Admiral Forbes was
returning to Loch Ewe after escorting a group of iron ore ships from
Narvik to the Firth of Forth, battleships
NELSON and
RODNEY, battlecruiser
HOOD, and destroyers ICARUS,
IMPULSIVE, IVANHOE, INTREPID and KELLY ran into a U-boat line west of the
Orkneys. U.56 fired three torpedoes at NELSON and while all three struck the
target, none exploded. U-boats U.57, U.58, U.59, also in the area, did not
contact the Home Fleet units. Admiral Forbes arrived back at Loch Ewe on the
31st without further interference.
_____
Convoy BC.13S of fifteen
ships, including DELIUS (Commodore), GRETA FORCE, GWENTHILLS and SANDHILL
departed Bristol Channel escorted by destroyers EXPRESS and VIVACIOUS, and
safely arrived in
Quiberon Bay on 1 November.
_____
Convoy AXS 3 of one steamer
departed Fowey, escorted by destroyer VESPER, and arrived at Brest on the 31st.
_____
Convoy SA.15 of two steamers
departed Southampton, escorted by destroyers SCIMITAR and SARDONYX, and arrived at
Brest on the 31st.
_____
Convoy FN.29 departed
Southend, and arrived at Methil
on 1 November.
_____
Convoy FS.29 departed
Methil escorted by destroyer VIVIEN and sloops BITTERN
and FLEETWOOD, and arrived at Southend on 1
November.
_____
U.13 torpedoed steamer
CAIRNMONA (4666grt) out of convoy
HX.5B west of the Orkneys in 57‑38N, 01‑45W. She was
taken in tow by tug ENGLISHMAN, and sank, still in tow at 1638/30th.
Three crew were killed.
_____
U.37 sank Greek steamer
THRASYVOULOS (3693grt) in 49‑25N,
11‑18W; twenty two crew were missing and six
survivors rescued by Norwegian steamer HAVMOY (1342grt).
_____
Heavy cruiser
EXETER arrived in the Falkland Island after leaving her patrol
on the South American east coast on the 27th.
_____
Light cruiser
ORION departed Kingston, and arrived back on 8
November.
_____
On the 30th, the 8th
Submarine Flotilla was formed at Colombo with submarines OLYMPUS, OTUS and
ODIN
under the command of Commander S M Raw for
operations against German raiders and supply ships thought to be operating in
the Indian
Ocean.
The three submarines departed Singapore on the 24th and arrived at
Colombo. Submarine
REGENT departed
Singapore to join the Flotilla on the
30th. However, on arrival at Colombo, she was found to have
defects and was ordered back to Singapore. She departed Colombo on 6 November and arrived
back on the 11th. The final submarine of the Flotilla, ORPHEUS, was under repair at
Hong Kong, left there on 5
December and joined them at
Colombo on the 14th.
Tuesday, 31 October
Light cruisers
CALYPSO,
DELHI,
DUNEDIN departed Sullom
Voe. CALYPSO was in a minor collision with
Admiralty drifter
SEA BREEZE, but there no damage to her, and she arrived back at
Sullom Voe
on 6 November.
_____
Three cruisers were
on Northern Patrol duties between the Orkneys and the Faroes,
three cruisers between the Faroes
and Iceland, and cruiser
SOUTHAMPTON and
armed merchant cruisers CHITRAL and
AURANIA in the Denmark Strait.
_____
Light cruiser
EDINBURGH began
repairs at Rosyth, which were completed on 3
November.
_____
Light cruisers
GLASGOW and
NEWCASTLE, escorted by destroyers
ANTHONY, BASILISK, BRAZEN departed Portsmouth for Rosyth,
and arrived on 1 November.
_____
Light cruiser
CERES departed Kirkwall for Scapa Flow.
_____
Anti-aircraft cruiser
CURLEW
departed Scapa Flow, and arrived at Rosyth on
the 31st.
_____
Anti-aircraft cruiser
CALCUTTA departed Grimsby, and arrived back on 1
November.
_____
Anti-aircraft cruiser
CAIRO departed Grimsby, and arrived back later that
same day.
_____
Convoy OA.28G of 14
ships departed Southend escorted by destroyers
VENETIA and ACASTA from 31 October
to 2 November. Destroyer ARDENT joined the escort on 1 November and remained
until the 2nd. On the same day, OA.28G merged with OB.28G, escorted by
destroyers VERSATILE and VOLUNTEER to the 3rd, to become OG.5.
_____
Steamer STARCROSS (4662grt)
in a Norwegian convoy off Rattray Head, reported
she rammed what she thought was a U-boat. Destroyer BROKE was sent to
investigate.
_____
Coastal steamer KINDIESEL
(339grt) reported she was being chased by a submarine in 53‑49N, 0‑11E,
and destroyer JUPITER was detached from convoy FS.29 to assist.
_____
Convoy HXF.7 departed Halifax at 0200 escorted by Canadian
destroyers FRASER and
ST LAURENT. Ocean escort was armed merchant cruiser ASTURIAS, which detached on 11
November. She was in collision with a merchant ship
while leaving
Halifax, but able to continue.
The convoy was joined on 10 November by destroyers ANTELOPE and VISCOUNT from
convoy OA.31 and WINCHELSEA and WITHERINGTON from OB.31. The latter remained with the convoy until it
arrived at Liverpool on the 12th, the same day
ASTURIAS reached the Clyde.
_____
U.25 sank French steamer
BAOULE (5874grt) from convoy 20.K, en route from
Casablanca to Brest, in 43‑48N, 09‑08W,
45 miles WNW of Corunna; two crew were killed and eleven
missing. U.25 sustained damage to her torpedo hatch caused by the blast of
her own gun, and was forced to return to Germany.
_____
Heavy cruiser
SUSSEX on patrol in the South Atlantic lost her Walrus
reconnaissance aircraft when it failed to return from patrol. A three
and a half day search for the aircraft was set in motion, but the aircraft was
never found. The crew of three, pilot Lt (A) S M Bird, observer Lt C H E
Osmaston and the telegraphist
air gunner, Airman W H Brown, were lost.
_____
Submarine depot ship
MAIDSTONE, escorted by destroyer
DEFENDER, departed
Alexandria and arrived at Malta on 3 November.
_____
Convoy SL.7 departed Freetown escorted by armed merchant
cruiser MONTCLARE. Destroyer WREN joined the convoy on 16 November and
it arrived later that day with both escorts.
_____
Heavy cruiser
KENT departed Hong Kong on patrol, and arrived back
on 8 November.
_____
Heavy cruiser
YORK and Australian light cruiser
PERTH departed
Halifax for Bermuda, and arrived on 5 November.
YORK remained for the repair of boiler defects
completed on 13 November.
October, Miscellaneous
In mid-October, the 9th
Cruiser Squadron of the Freetown Force was reassigned,
with light cruiser
DESPATCH to the South America Station and ordered to patrol in the Pacific off South
America. Sister ships
DAUNTLESS,
DANAE,
DURBAN and the 9th Cruiser Squadron
"designation"
proceeded to the China Station. After the first of the year, the 9th Squadron command was disbanded and the cruisers assigned to the 5th
Cruiser Squadron whose ships had left the China
Station.
_____
British armed merchant cruisers ARAWA
and MORETON BAY, following conversion at
Sydney, arrived on the China Station in
October 1939. Australian armed merchant cruisers KANIMBLA, also following
conversion at
Sydney, arrived there in November,
followed by MANOORA (which commissioned on 12
December 1939 after conversion at
Melbourne) in March 1940 and WESTRALIA (which commissioned on
17 January
1940)
in April 1940.
_____
German steamer
ANATOLIA (2446grt) had departed Rosario on 25 August for Hamburg, and arrived at Montevideo on 5 September, while
steamer NIENBURG (4318grt) had
departed Durban on 18 August and arrived at
Buenas Aires on 8 September. ANATOLIA joined NIENBURG at
Buenos Aires to await the opportunity to escape back to
Germany. However, when the Chinese
crew members mutinied rather than attempt to break the British blockade, the
plans were abandoned. Later, in October 1940,
ANATOLIA and NIENBURG were taken over
by Argentina and renamed RIO CARCARANA and BELGRANO,
respectively.
_____
At the end of October, the
following destroyers were out of
service – AFRIDI at Newcastle for
repairs, AMAZON at Portsmouth for repairs, ARROW at Portsmouth with defects,
BOREAS at Portsmouth for repairs, DIAMOND at Singapore for repairs, DIANA at
Malta for repairs, ECHO at Plymouth with damage, ECLIPSE at Plymouth with
defects, ENCOUNTER at Plymouth for repairs, FAULKNOR at Clyde for repairs,
FORESTER at Clyde with defects, FORTUNE at Clyde for repairs, FURY at Clyde
with defects, GARLAND at Malta for repairs, GRAFTON at Plymouth for boiler
cleaning, IMOGEN at Liverpool for repairs, INGLEFIELD at Liverpool for
repairs, JAVELIN at Middlesbrough for repairs, MASHONA at Tyne for repairs,
MOHAWK at Newcastle for repairs, MONTROSE at Plymouth for boiler cleaning,
NUBIAN at Southampton with defects, SABRE at Grangemouth
for repairs, SIKH at Malta for repairs, VANOC at Liverpool for repairs,
VANQUISHER at Plymouth for repairs, VETERAN at Chatham for repairs, VISCOUNT
at Plymouth for boiler cleaning, WALKER at Plymouth with defects, WALPOLE at
Liverpool for boiler cleaning, WARWICK at Liverpool for repairs, Canadian
OTTAWA at Esquimalt refitting, RESTIGOUCHE at Esquimalt refitting, SKEENA at Halifax
refitting.
