Background
Events - September 1939-March 1940
Battle
of Atlantic starts,
'Phoney War' on land, Battle of River Plate
1939
Wednesday, 1 November
Destroyers KELLY, ESKIMO, MATABELE, BEDOUIN, FEARLESS
and FOXHOUND refuelled at Sullom Voe and departed on 29
October to search for American
steamer CITY OF FLINT coming down the
Norwegian coast. They fuelled again at Sullom Voe on the 1st
to
continue the search.
Light cruisers GLASGOW and NEWCASTLE,
after convoy escort in the Atlantic, departed Portsmouth on
31 October, escorted by
destroyers ANTHONY, BASILISK, BRAZEN, and arrived at Rosyth
on the 1st. The
cruisers departed Rosyth that day to provide cover for these
destroyers.
Battleships NELSON (above - Navy Photos) (Forbes), RODNEY, battlecruiser HOOD, and destroyers ICARUS, INTREPID, IVANHOE, IMPULSIVE,
FAULKNOR, FORESIGHT,
FORTUNE and PUNJABI departed Loch Ewe at 0930/2nd to provide
heavy cover for the GLASGOW force and for convoy ON.1 which departed Methil on
the 5th. FEARLESS and FOXHOUND of the CITY
OF FLINT operation joined NELSON at
sea.
Destroyers FEARLESS, FOXHOUND, IMPERIAL and KANDAHAR,
after refuelling at Scapa Flow on the 4th, departed to
rejoin Forbes on the 5th. Destroyer FAME also departed Scapa
Flow on the 5th to join Forbes.
ICARUS and IMPULSIVE were detached for refuelling at
Kirkwall on the 7th.
Very early on the 9th, HOOD was detached with
FEARLESS, and passed Dunnet Head westbound as the rest of
the fleet turned
south for Rosyth. HOOD arrived for refit at Devonport on the
11th escorted by destroyers ISIS and ILEX, and completed on
the 24th.
_____
Anti-aircraft
cruiser CAIRO
departed Grimsby on escort duties and arrived
back the same day.
_____
Convoy
BC.12S of fourteen
ships, including BALTRADER, BARON KINNAIRD, BARON NAIRN,
CITY OF KEELUNG (Commodore), CLAN MONROE and TREVERBYN
departed the Loire, escorted by destroyer EXPRESS, and
safely arrived in the Bristol Channel
on the 3rd.
_____
Convoy
FN.30 departed
Southend, and arrived at Methil on the 3rd. There was no
convoy FN.31.
_____
Convoy
FS.30 departed Methil,
escorted by destroyers WALLACE and WHITLEY and sloop STORK,
and arrived at
Southend on the 3rd.
_____
Destroyer
JUPITER and sloop
FLEETWOOD dropped depth charges on a submarine contact in
52‑28N, 1‑59E.
_____
Destroyers
VERSATILE and
VOLUNTEER were submarine hunting in 53‑00N, 5‑00W after a
merchant ship in convoy reported a submarine 10 miles west
of Holyhead.
_____
Destroyer
BROKE searched for
a submarine reported by D/F, 40 miles east of Buchan Ness in
57-20N, 0-30W.
_____
Sloop
GRIMSBY attacked a submarine contact
four miles east of Whitby.
_____
After
a submarine was
reported by British fishermen off Londonderry,
patrol sloops WIDGEON and
SHELDRAKE unsuccessfully searched for it.
_____
Four
destroyers from Harwich
were on patrol off Smith's Knoll, NE of Yarmouth, searching
for vessels
reportedly cooperating with U-boats.
_____
Norwegian
steamer MIM (4996grt) sent to Kirkwall by
light cruiser COLOMBO
under guard, ran aground on Reef Dyke Skerry, and broke up
the next day. Norwegian steamer HANSI (1028grt)
which was going into Kirkwall voluntarily, also ran aground
at the same location; her crew was taken off by Swedish
steamer CASTOR (8714grt).
_____
Admiral
Cunningham
transferred his flag ashore at Malta from battleship
WARSPITE,
which was
preparing to leave his command for the Home Fleet.
_____
Rear
Admiral N A Wodehouse
was relieved by Vice Admiral Sir Dudley North on the 1st as
Vice Admiral
North Atlantic Station, based at Gibraltar. North departed
England on liner
NARKUNDA (16,632grt) on the 10th and arrived at Gibraltar on
the 17th.
_____
Destroyer
DELIGHT departed
Gibraltar for Marseilles escorting liner LANCASHIRE which
had arrived at
Gibraltar in convoy OG.4. The two ships later departed
Marseilles on the 6th
and arrived at Malta on the 8th.
_____
French
convoys 11.B of
steamers ANDRE MOYRAND, SENNEVILLE, ONTARIOLITE, DJURJURA,
DOUAISIEN, ANGE
SCHAIFFINO and CAMBRADSIEN, which departed Brest on 26
October, and convoy 6.X of
steamers PRESCAGEL, PIERRE CLAUDE, PALLAS, OPHELIE and
ENSEIGNE MAURICE PRECHAC,
escorted by sloop GAZELLE, from Le Verdon also on 26
October, merged
on the 27th. They were joined by steamer AIN EL TURK,
escorted by sloop
COMMANDANT BORY. On 1 November, six steamers from 11.B were
taken
into Gibraltar by the two sloops, which returned to the
convoy as it
continued on to Casablanca. AIN EL TURK and 6.X
arrived at Casablanca on the 2nd.
_____
Light
cruiser DESPATCH
departed Panama on patrol.
_____
Destroyers
HYPERION, HUNTER, HOTSPUR and HAVOCK departed Pernambuco for
Trinidad. HAVOCK stripped a turbine
and was diverted at sea to Freetown, arriving on the 9th.
Destroyer HEREWARD
from Freetown was designated to replace her in the 4th
Destroyer Division
on the South America Station. HAVOCK departed Freetown on
the 16th with
convoy SL.9 and arrived at Gibraltar on the 27th. She then
departed Gibraltar
on 12 December, arrived at Sheerness on the 16th, and was
under
repair at Chatham until mid-March, arriving in the Clyde for
duty on 26
March.
_____
French
submarine REDOUTABLE
fired four warning shots at steamer EGBA (4989grt) at 0736
in 32-40N, 13-23W
thinking she was a German blockade runner. EGBA replied with
gunfire forcing
the submarine to submerge. The attack was broken off when
REDOUTABLE received
the steamer's distress signal revealing her identity.
_____
Destroyer
SCOUT departed
Singapore for duty at Hong Kong.
Thursday, 2 November
Light
cruiser GLASGOW
located
American steamer CITY OF FLINT at 2356/2nd and her escort, Norwegian
minelayer OLAV TRYGGVASON, NW of Stavanger inside Norwegian
waters.
The minelayer illuminated GLASGOW with searchlights and
ordered her out of
the territorial waters. CITY OF FLINT put into Haugesand
almost immediately.
_____
A
submarine was sighted east of Margate Buoy and destroyers
KEITH, BLANCHE and GURKHA spent some time
searching. After the search was abandoned, KEITH and BLANCHE
patrolled between North Goodwins and Edinburgh Channel.
_____
Destroyers
GREYHOUND and
GRENVILLE were searching for a U-boat 17 miles 213° from
Start Point.
_____
Belgian
steamer BRUGES
(4984grt) reported at 1500 that she was stopped in 45-06N,
8-04W by a U-boat
with a skull and crossbones painted on the conning tower. At
0230/3rd, Greek
steamer KORTHION (2116grt) was stopped in 44-32N, 8-12W and
reported she had
been stopped by the same submarine.
_____
For
East Coast Defence,
available ships of the 4th Destroyer Flotilla were ordered
to Rosyth for
escort duties. MAORI proceeded direct and ZULU and GURKHA
departed Grimsby
escorting convoy FN.30 en route. Destroyers JERVIS, JERSEY,
JAGUAR, JACKAL and
JUPITER were in the Humber. Of the 19th, 22nd and 23rd
Destroyer Flotillas,
eight British and one Polish destroyer were at Harwich, two
were on patrol
off Lowestoft, two on East Coast convoy duty, and BASILISK,
BEAGLE, BLANCHE, BOADICEA, BRAZEN and VANSITTART were
proceeding from Harwich to Dover to cover minelaying mission
HW which took place at 1400/2nd.
_____
Operation
HW was carried
out by auxiliary minelayers HAMPTON, SHEPPERTON and
PLOVER
laying 502 mines
between Tail of the Falls and Sandettie Bank. The 5th
Minesweeping Squadron
swept ahead, screened by the D.19 destroyers.
_____
Light
cruisers CALEDON
and
CERES
departed Sullom Voe on Northern Patrol duties, and arrived
back on
the 9th.
_____
On
Northern Patrol, light
cruisers DELHI,
DUNEDIN
and
CALYPSO
were between the Orkneys and the Faroes,
light cruisers COLOMBO,
DRAGON,
DIOMEDE
and AMC SCOTSTOUN between the Faroes
and Iceland, and light cruiser SOUTHAMPTON
and AMCs CHITRAL, AURANIA
and
RAWALPINDI in the Denmark Strait.
_____
Anti-aircraft
cruisers
CALCUTTA
and CAIRO
departed Grimsby on escort duties and arrived back later
the same day.
_____
Anti-aircraft
cruiser CURLEW
departed Rosyth after covering the Narvik iron ore convoy
passage and arrived
at Scapa Flow later the same day. She took over the duties
of radar direction
finding while the Netherbutton radar station was out of
service for 24 hours
for repair. The radar station resumed operation at 1505/8th.
_____
Convoy
OA.29 of 12 ships
departed Southend escorted by destroyers WOLVERINE and
VERITY from the 2nd to the 7th. Destroyer ARDENT was with
the convoy on the 2nd only.
_____
Convoy
OB.29 departed
Liverpool escorted by destroyers WREN and ESK on the 2nd,
and destroyers
WARWICK and WHIRLWIND to the 5th, when they detached to
convoy HX.6.
_____
Convoy
HX.7 departed Halifax
at 0700 escorted by Canadian destroyers FRASER and ST
LAURENT, which detached on the 3rd. Ocean escort was cruiser
ENTERPRISE
which
departed Halifax with the convoy. The convoy was joined on
the 14th by
destroyer GRAFTON and sloop ENCHANTRESS which remained until
its arrival on
the 17th. ENTERPRISE arrived at Portsmouth on the 15th and
the convoy at
Liverpool on the 16th.
_____
Light
cruiser DAUNTLESS,
now
attached to the 5th Cruiser Squadron, departed Singapore on
patrol duties.
_____
Light
cruiser DURBAN
departed
Singapore for Hong Kong, arriving on the 6th for refit and
docking, which was
completed on the 24th.
_____
Light
cruiser DANAE
departed
Simonstown for Mauritius.
_____
Destroyers
GRENADE and GRIFFIN
departed Gibraltar on 25 October to escort convoy SL.5 to
England. However,
GRIFFIN returned to Gibraltar on the 26th to await convoy
SL.6. GRENADE
arrived at Plymouth on the 2nd for duties with the 1st
Destroyer Flotilla at
Harwich.
Friday, 3 November
American
steamer CITY OF FLINT (4963grt) departed
Murmansk during the night of 26/27 October, called at Tromso
on the 30th and was ordered to leave, escorted by Norwegian
destroyer SLEIPNER.
On the 3rd, she was interned at Haugesand by Norwegian
minelayer OLAV TRYGGVASON after entering the port without
permission, arrived at Bergen on the 4th and was later set
free after the
German prize crew was removed. CITY
OF FLINT departed Bergen on
the 27th and arrived at Haugesand later that day to
discharge her cargo,
departed there on 20 December and Bergen on the 22nd,
arriving at Narvik on
the 28th.
_____
German
steamer NEW YORK (22,337grt) successfully ran the blockade
while the Home Fleet was involved with CITY OF FLINT. She
departed
Murmansk on 31 October and successfully used the Indreled,
arriving at Hamburg
on the 12th escorted by three minesweepers and aircraft.
_____
Light
cruiser GLASGOW
and destroyers KELLY, BEDOUIN, ESKIMO and MATABELE had been
involved in trying to intercept CITY OF FLINT and NEW YORK
as they came
down the Norwegian coast. All four destroyers arrived back
at Scapa Flow on
the 5th after sustaining severe weather damage. GLASGOW
arrived at Rosyth
that day with her forecastle dropped by two inches from the
effect of the
weather.
Light
cruiser NEWCASTLE
arrived at Sullom Voe on the 3rd for refuelling, then went
off on Northern
Patrol.
KELLY,
after emergency repairs
at Kirkwall departed with destroyer ICARUS for temporary
repairs from depot
ship GREENWICH at Scapa Flow, before going on to Hebburn for
permanent
repairs. She was back in service on 14 December. ESKIMO
departed Scapa Flow
on the 6th and arrived at Newcastle on the 7th, repairing
until the 24th. MATABELE and BEDOUIN departed Scapa Flow on
the 7th, MATABELE arriving at Rosyth on the 8th and reaching
Newcastle on the 10th, where
she repaired until the 25th, while BEDOUIN arrived at Rosyth
on the 8th for boiler
cleaning and repairs.
_____
Convoy
OA.28G departed
Southend on 31 October escorted by destroyers ACASTA and
ARDENT, while OB.28G departed Liverpool on the 1 November
escorted by destroyers VERSATILE and
VOLUNTEER. On the 3rd, the convoys with 33 ships merged as
OG.5, and were joined in the Western Approaches by French
large
destroyers VAUQUELIN and TARTU the same day. The British
escorts were relieved
and returned to England. The convoy and the French escorts
arrived at Gibraltar
on the 9th.
_____
Light
cruisers DRAGON,
COLOMBO,
DIOMEDE
arrived at Sullom Voe.
_____
On
Northern Patrol were light
cruisers CALEDON
and CERES
between the Orkneys and the Faroes, three cruisers
and one AMC between the Faroes and Iceland, and three AMCs in the
Denmark Strait. Light cruiser SOUTHAMPTON was returning to Scapa Flow from
Denmark Strait patrol.
_____
Anti-aircraft
cruiser
CALCUTTA
departed Grimsby on escort duties and arrived back later the
same
day.
_____
Convoy
FS.31 departed Methil
escorted by destroyers VALOROUS, WOOLSTON and sloop
HASTINGS, and arrived
at Southend on the 5th. There was no convoy FN.31.
_____
German
steamer SCHWABEN
(7773grt) had departed Santos on 26 September and passed
through the Denmark
Strait on 21 October. She entered Haugesand shortly after
the CITY OF FLINT and
was allowed to continue, arriving safely in the Weser on the
8th.
_____
French
torpedo boat BRANLEBAS
reported the track of a torpedo in 49-38N, 2-50W.
_____
Heavy
cruisers DEVONSHIRE
and
SUFFOLK
departed Alexandria and NORFOLK
Malta on the 5th. All three
cruisers called at Gibraltar on the 7th and 8th, and left on
the 8th,
escorted by destroyers DOUGLAS and KEPPEL. The destroyers
were relieved in 44N
by destroyers ISIS and ILEX which had escorted battleship
WARSPITE
from
Gibraltar on the 6th. DEVONSHIRE and NORFOLK arrived at
Plymouth on the 11th
and SUFFOLK at Portsmouth on the 12th. NORFOLK reached the
Clyde on the
18th and departed the same day on Northern Patrol duties.
SUFFOLK arrived in
the Clyde on the 19th and also departed later the same day
for Northern
Patrol. DEVONSHIRE repaired at Devonport until the 21st, and
then arrived at
the Clyde on the 22nd for duty with the Home Fleet.
_____
Destroyer
DECOY departed
Malta after refitting, and escorted steamer NEVASA to
Marseilles. The
destroyer returned, escorting ocean boarding vessel VAN DYCK
and reached
Malta on the 7th.
_____
Destroyers
ISIS and ILEX,
which had departed Plymouth, arrived at Gibraltar for escort
duties with
battleship WARSPITE
and later, with cruisers of the 1st Cruiser Squadron.
_____
Submarine
OSIRIS was damaged
by a motor room fire at Alexandria. She departed Alexandria
on the 8th
escorted by anti-submarine trawler CORAL and arrived at
Malta on the 13th,
where she was under repair and refit until 30 December.
_____
Light
cruiser CARADOC
departed Kingston for duty in the Pacific Ocean.
Saturday, 4 November
Destroyers
BEDOUIN, ESKIMO, MATABELE
were to ordered to rendezvous with light cruiser GLASGOW
off Stadtlandet in
the search for German liner NEW
YORK.
_____
On
Northern Patrol, two light
cruisers were on patrol between the Orkneys and the Faroes,
three light
cruisers and one AMC between the Faroes and Iceland, and three AMCs
in the Denmark Strait. When a London flying boat from depot
ship MANELA was
reported missing, the five Northern Patrol cruisers carried
out a search.
_____
Anti-aircraft
cruiser CAIRO
departed Grimsby and arrived at Rosyth on the 6th.
_____
The
first of the
Methil-Bergen ON convoy series departed Methil with five
British merchant
ships at 1710. Convoy ON.1 put to sea escorted by destroyers
FAME, TARTAR, ASHANTI and SOMALI. At
sea, FAME was relieved by destroyer PUNJABI, which had been
refuelling at Scapa Flow. The convoy was given anti-aircraft
support by
anti-aircraft cruiser CURLEW, which departed Scapa Flow on the 5th, and close
cover by light cruiser EDINBURGH,
which departed Rosyth, later refuelled at Scapa Flow,
departed on the 6th, joined the Home Fleet at sea. and
arrived back at Rosyth on the 9th. En route
to Bergen, ASHANTI was detached from the convoy for
refuelling and to repair
defects at Sullom Voe and did not rejoin until the start of
the return
convoy. ON.1 arrived at Bergen on the 7th without incident.
_____
Convoy
OA.30 of 12 ships
departed Southend escorted by destroyers GREYHOUND and
GALLANT from the 4th
to 6th, and dispersed on the 7th.
_____
Convoy
OB.30 departed
Liverpool escorted by destroyers VANOC and WHIRLWIND to the
7th.
_____
Canadian
destroyer
ASSINIBOINE, working up prior to departing for Canada,
attacked a submarine
contact northwest of Guernsey at 0200.
_____
Minesweepers
HUSSAR
and
SPEEDWELL were involved in a minor collision. SPEEDWELL
repaired in the Tyne,
completing on 10 December.
_____
U.21
laid mines in the Firth
of Forth during the night of the 4th/5th, on which one
merchant ship and one netlayer
were sunk, and light cruiser BELFAST
badly damaged . U.61
later tried to reinforce the minefield, but could not get
through the patrol
line.
_____
Steamer
BRANDON (6668grt) was attacked by a U-boat 120 miles W of
the Hebrides. Submarines TRIUMPH and TRIDENT were sent to
investigate and carry out a search.
_____
Greek
steamer NICOLAOS M EMBIRICOS (5295grt) was
sunk on a British defensive minefield off the Goodwins, 15
miles east of
Dover near the Sandettie Light Vessel. One crewman was lost
and the survivors
picked up by the North Goodwin Light Vessel and a Dutch
boat. They were
transferred to British lifeboats.
_____
Finnish
steamer OTAVA (1290grt) was seized in the
Gulf of Bothnia by German warships and taken to Swinemünde.
_____
Light
cruiser BIRMINGHAM
was
relieved by light cruiser DAUNTLESS
in the Sunda Strait on the 4th and
arrived at Singapore on the 6th.
Sunday, 5 November
On
Northern Patrol, two
cruisers were between the Orkneys and the Faroes, two
cruisers and an AMC between the Faroes and
Iceland, and one cruiser and two AMCs in the Denmark Strait.
Armed merchant
cruisers TRANSYLVANIA departed the Clyde for Northern Patrol
duties and AURANIA
departed her patrol
station for the Clyde to overhaul her guns. Armed boarding
vessels NORTHERN ISLE, NORTHERN PRINCESS and NORTHERN
FOAM relieved armed boarding vessels NORTHERN CHIEF and
KINGSTON BERYL on
patrol in the vicinity of Muckle Flugga.
_____
Convoy
FN.32 departed
Southend, escorted by destroyers WHITLEY, WALLACE and sloop
STORK. Destroyers
WOOLSTON, VALOROUS and sloop HASTINGS departed Harwich and
relieved the
original escort which proceeded to Rosyth. The convoy
arrived on the 7th.
_____
Convoy
FS.32 departed Methil,
escorted by destroyer VIVIEN and sloops BITTERN and
FLEETWOOD. Six merchant
ships left at 1200, despite fog, and the rest departed
later. Destroyers JUNO and JUPITER were at sea to
act as a fighting force from daylight on the 6th. Destroyer
JAGUAR remained
at Methil Roads until ordered to proceed at 1540 and
overtook the convoy. JUNO and JUPITER were detached at
dark on the 6th to proceed to Rosyth. There they joined
minelaying cruiser ADVENTURE
and escorted her to the Humber. The convoy arrived at
Southend on
the 7th. There was no convoy FS.33.
_____
Danish
steamer TEKLA
(1469grt) reported sighting a U-boat four miles SE of
Flamborough Head.
Destroyer JUNO was sent to search.
_____
After
a D/F bearing on a
suspected submarine 150 miles SW of Ushant, destroyers
ACASTA, ESCAPADE, VERSATILE and GRENVILLE conducted searches
in the area.
_____
Destroyer
ANTHONY, which had
departed the Clyde on the 4th, was escorting base ship
MANCHESTER CITY to Rosyth, where they
arrived early on the 6th. Later that day, ANTHONY left
for
Plymouth.
_____
Destroyer
VANSITTART was sent
to the Tongue Light Vessel to investigate a report of a fast
motor boat, but
the order was later cancelled and she returned to normal
patrol.
_____
Submarine
L.26, on Dogger
Bank patrol, reported sighting a suspicious merchant ship in
54-32N, 3-26E.
The submarine was ordered by Rear Admiral Submarines to
follow the ship.
_____
U.33
laid mines off North
Foreland, on which two ships were sunk and one damaged.
_____
Force
K, consisting of
aircraft carrier ARK
ROYAL,
battlecruiser RENOWN,
light cruiser NEPTUNE,
and destroyers HARDY, HASTY, HEREWARD, HERO and HOSTILE
departed Freetown on 28
October. HERO was detached on escort duties shortly after
the first of the
month. In 6N, 17 W, 300 miles WSW of Freetown on the 5th,
ARK ROYAL aircraft
sighted German steamer UHENFELS
(7603grt) which had departed Lourenco Marques, Portuguese
Mozambique, on her
third attempt to escape back to Germany and after evading
sloop EGRET patrolling
off the port. HEREWARD was detached from the screen to
investigate and
UHENFELS attempted to scuttle herself. However, she
was captured, Force K and prize arrived at Freetown on the
6th, and UHENFELS was taken for British service and renamed
EMPIRE ABILITY. She
arrived in the Thames for duty on 5 April 1940.
_____
Australian
light cruiser PERTH
departed Bermuda and arrived at Kingston on the 9th.
Monday, 6 November
Destroyer
KHARTOUM (Cdr D T
Dowler) was completed. Following working up at Portland, she
joined the 5th
Destroyer Flotilla operating with the Home Fleet on 1
December.
_____
Destroyer
AFRIDI, whose
defects were repaired in the Tyne, departed the Tyne and
arrived at Rosyth on
the 7th for operations.
_____
On
Northern Patrol, there
were three cruisers on patrol between the Orkneys and the
Faroes, two
cruisers and one AMC between the Faroes and Iceland, and
one cruiser and two AMCs in the Denmark Strait.
Light
cruisers CARDIFF,
COLOMBO
and
DRAGON
departed Sullom Voe on Northern Patrol duties, and arrived
back on the 12th.
Light
cruisers DUNEDIN,
DELHI,
CALYPSO
arrived at Sullom Voe from Northern Patrol.
_____
Armed
boarding vessel
NORTHERN DUKE received instructions to take over a merchant
ship from light
cruiser CERES
and escort her into Kirkwall.
_____
Anti-aircraft
cruisers CAIRO
and CALCUTTA
arrived at Rosyth to strengthen the air defences at Rosyth
while
the Home Fleet was refuelling there.
_____
Sloop
FLAMINGO, en route from
the Clyde to Rosyth, was ordered to attempt to locate an
aircraft down in the
sea 20 miles northeast of Fraserburgh. She was unable to
locate it and arrived at Rosyth on the 8th.
_____
Polish
submarine ORZEL,
escorted by destroyer WHITEHALL, departed Rosyth for Dundee
for docking. After the escort duty, WHITEHALL
arrived back the same day.
_____
Destroyers
INTREPID and
IVANHOE arrived at Scapa Flow, and after refuelling,
departed for
Plymouth, arriving on the 11th. They departed later that day
and anchored
in the Medway on the 12th, before reaching Chatham on the
13th for conversion
to minelaying destroyers. On 4 December, the conversions
were completed and
both destroyers departed Chatham for Sheerness. At this
time, INTREPID and
IVANHOE were detached from the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla and
attached to the
20th Flotilla.
_____
Submarine
SEALION on Dogger
Bank Patrol at 0943 fired six torpedoes at U.21 in 55-10N,
02-11E.
_____
Convoy
OA.31 of 16 ships
departed Southend escorted by destroyers ANTELOPE and
VISCOUNT from the 6th to 10th. When the convoy was
dispersed, the destroyers joined inbound HXF.7.
_____
Convoy
OB.31 departed
Liverpool escorted by destroyers WINCHELSEA and WITHERINGTON
to the 9th.
_____
Convoy
AXS.4 of one steamer
departed Fowey, escorted by destroyer WAKEFUL, and arrived
at Brest on the
7th. Of the next three convoys, AXS.5 through 7, no
information or dates are
available. Convoy AXS.8 arrived at Brest on 11 December.
_____
Convoy
SA.16 departed
Southampton with one steamer, escorted by destroyers SALADIN
and SARDONYX,
and arrived at Brest on the 7th.
_____
Battleship
WARSPITE
escorted
by destroyers DAINTY and DIANA arrived at Gibraltar from
Malta. WARSPITE
departed Gibraltar the same day escorted by destroyers ISIS,
ILEX, DAINTY and DIANA and
crossed the Atlantic arriving at Halifax on the 14th. She
remained there
until the 18th when she left as heavy escort for convoy
HX.9.
_____
Convoy
HX.6 of 52 ships,
escorted by battleship RESOLUTION
was met in the Western Approaches by eight
destroyers, including WARWICK and WHIRLWIND. The convoy
split on the 7th.
RESOLUTION with two destroyers proceeded directly to
Plymouth, leaving the two convoy
sections each escorted by three destroyers.
_____
Convoy
HG.6 departed
Gibraltar with 34 ships, escorted by destroyers WATCHMAN,
VORTIGERN and the
French CHACAL and MISTRAL. The French ships were escorts
from the 6th and patrolled in 43-30N, 12-30W on the 10th. On
the 13th, they arrived at Brest. Destroyer ISIS, after
joining with captured
German steamer LEANDER,
was with the convoy from the 12th to 14th. Submarine
depot ship CYCLOPS travelled in convoy returning to England
for duty in
Home Waters. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on the 14th.
_____
Light
cruiser GALATEA
departed Port Said, arrived at Haifa on the 7th, and
Alexandria on the 8th.
_____
Armed
merchant cruiser
ASCANIA carrying £2,000,000 in gold bullion arrived at
Halifax,
escorted into port by Canadian destroyers FRASER and ST
LAURENT.
_____
French
large cruiser MILAN
passed Gibraltar east to west.
_____
Finnish
steamer JESSIE (1405grt) was seized in the
Baltic by a German warship, and taken to Kiel.
Tuesday, 7 November
Destroyers
COSSACK, MAORI and ZULU
departed Rosyth for Scapa Flow at 1745 to escort the west
coast section of
convoy HN.1. COSSACK was damaged in collision with steamer
BORTHWICK
(1097grt) off May Island in the Firth of Forth at 2015, and
five ratings killed. ZULU assisted COSSACK in rescuing one
of the crew
trapped in plating curled back in the collision. Sister ship
AFRIDI took COSSACK's casualties ashore, while MAORI and
sloop GRIMSBY assisted COSSACK.
She was towed stern first by two tugs to Leith where she
repaired
until 15 January. MAORI and ZULU left to escort the convoy,
joined later by
sloop FLAMINGO.
_____
Destroyers
GRENVILLE and GRENADE collided at Devonport during the night
of the 7th/8th. GRENVILLE's starboard side was damaged
below the water line and number three boiler room flooded;
she repaired at
Devonport completing on 1 December. The stem of GRENADE was
twisted and the fore peak flooded; her repairs at Falmouth
were completed on 9 December.
_____
Light
cruiser EFFINGHAM
departed Devonport after boiler cleaning, and arrived at
Halifax on the 15th.
_____
On
Northern Patrol, three
cruisers were on patrol between the Orkneys and the Faroes,
two cruisers and
one AMC between the Faroes and Iceland, and light cruiser NEWCASTLE and two AMCs in the Denmark Strait.
_____
Light
cruiser SOUTHAMPTON
arrived at Rosyth after Northern Patrol duties.
_____
Destroyer
IMOGEN, her defects
corrected, departed Liverpool for Scapa Flow, arriving on
the 8th.
_____
Minelaying
cruiser ADVENTURE
departed Rosyth, was met by destroyers JUNO and JUPITER off
Inchkeith,
and safely escorted to Grimsby.
_____
Destroyer
STURDY departed
Rosyth, via the Humber for Portsmouth to escort aircraft
carrier ARGUS
to
Toulon.
_____
Convoy
HN.1 of six British
and one Polish steamer departed Bergen and was joined just
outside Norwegian
territorial waters by destroyers TARTAR, SOMALI and PUNJABI.
Sister ship ASHANTI
joined the escort at daylight on the 8th. Four steamers were
detached to
their destinations on the west coast and the convoy arrived
safely at Methil on the
10th.
_____
Convoy
FN.33 departed
Southend escorted by destroyer VIVIEN and sloops BITTERN and
FLEETWOOD. On the 8th, destroyers JERVIS and JERSEY of the
7th Flotilla and KEITH and
BOADICEA of the 22nd Flotilla departed Immingham, and Polish
destroyers BLYSKAWICA, BURZA, GROM from Harwich to reinforce
the convoy, which was
being shadowed by German aircraft, and to counter an
anticipated German surface
attack. The convoy arrived at Methil on the 9th without
incident. Convoy
FS.33 was cancelled due to too few ships being ready.
_____
Destroyers
GRENADE, EXMOUTH and
WREN were submarine hunting in 49‑37N, 5‑20W. GRENADE
attacked a
contact at this location.
_____
Convoy
BC.14 of steamers
ADJUTANT, BATNA, BELLEROPHON (Commodore), BRIARWOOD,
COXWOLD, HARMATTAN, JADE, LOCHEE, OUSEL, PACIFIC
COAST and PEMBROKE COAST departed the Bristol Channel
escorted by destroyers
EXPRESS, VIVACIOUS and VESPER. The convoy safely arrived in
the Loire on the
10th.
_____
In
bad weather, convoy HG.5A
had difficulty making the Downs, and steamer CITY OF
MELBOURNE (6630grt) ran
aground on the South Goodwins.
_____
Convoy
HXF.7 was delayed due to bad weather, and during the
afternoon of the 7th, only four ships out of the 13 in
convoy were in company. Escorting armed merchant cruiser
ASTURIAS
sustained minor weather damage which required dockyard
repair.
_____
On
the 7th, Polish destroyers
BLYSKAWICA and GROM on patrol 70 miles east of Lowestoft
were attacked by
German torpedo planes. No damage resulted in this first
recorded aircraft torpedo
attack of the war. Returning to Harwich, they fouled the
buoy, GROM's
port propeller was damaged, and she required docking.
BLYSKAWICA was docked
for examination after GROM completed her repairs.
_____
Submarine
SEAL, returning
from Dogger Bank patrol, was bombed by a German seaplane
while waiting for
submarines CACHALOT and L.26 off Orfordness.
_____
Submarine
H.28 reported
defects, and was repairing until 11 November.
_____
Heavy
cruiser BERWICK
departed Bermuda and arrived at Portsmouth for docking on
the 14th, where she
was under repair until 9 December. She departed
Portsmouth the same day to join the 1st Cruiser Squadron.
_____
Depot
ship MAIDSTONE
departed
Malta escorted by sloops ABERDEEN and DEPTFORD, and arrived
at Gibraltar on the
10th. On the 12th, they departed Gibraltar, accompanied by
light
cruiser CAPETOWN.
West of Gibraltar, the sloops were detached and proceeded
to England for duty in Home Waters. CAPETOWN escorted
MAIDSTONE halfway to
Freetown where she was relieved by light cruiser NEPTUNE.
CAPETOWN
returned
to Gibraltar while MAIDSTONE and NEPTUNE proceeded to
Freetown, arriving on
the 16th.
_____
Sloop
FOWEY arrived at Malta
en route to England from Alexandria. She was delayed by
boiler defects and
did not leave for Gibraltar until the 12th, arriving on the
15th. She departed on the 16th, escorting ammunition stores
issuing ship (ASIS) PACHECO to Freetown.
_____
Light
cruiser BIRMINGHAM
departed Singapore for Hong Kong and en route, investigated
a Japanese
whaling convoy. She arrived at Hong Kong on the 10th.
_____
Light
cruiser CAPETOWN
departed Malta for Gibraltar where she arrived on the 9th.
_____
French
heavy cruiser SUFFREN
arrived at Singapore after departing Saigon on the 5th.
_____
French
heavy cruiser FOCH,
light cruiser LA GALISSONNIÈRE and destroyer LION, passed
Gibraltar. The heavy
cruiser and destroyer had departed Oran on the 7th and the
light cruiser,
Toulon on the 6th. FOCH was en route to Dakar, and LA
GALISSONNÈRE to
Brest for repairs. All three arrived at Casablanca on the
8th. The light
cruiser arrived at Brest on the 12th for repairs, completed
3 March, and
arrived back at Oran on 7 March.
_____
French
submarine SIDI FERRUCH
arrived at Trinidad, and departed on patrol on the 8th.
Wednesday, 8 November
On
Northern Patrol, were two
cruisers between the Orkneys and the Faroes, three cruisers
and one AMC between the Faroes and Iceland,
and light cruiser NEWCASTLE
and two AMCs in the Denmark Strait.
_____
Light
cruisers DUNEDIN,
DELHI
and
DIOMEDE
departed Sullom Voe. DUNEDIN and DELHI relieved light
cruisers CALEDON
and CERES
which then returned to Sullom Voe on the 9th. DUNEDIN, DELHI
and DIOMEDE all arrived
at Loch Ewe on the 15th, DUNEDIN with rudder trouble
and DIOMEDE with weather damage to her upper deck. DIOMEDE
and DUNEDIN reported sighting a periscope in Yell
Sound and DUNEDIN dropped a depth charge on the contact,
after which destroyer KELLY
searched unsuccessfully for the U-boat. Coast watchers
reported a submarine
in Yell Sound during the afternoon of the 9th and five
destroyers were
eventually detailed to search. As a result of these
sightings, the Northern
Patrol cruisers were ordered to use Loch Ewe instead of
Sullom Voe.
_____
Sloops
GRIMSBY and FLAMINGO,
on passage to Harwich, were searching for a submarine six
miles ENE of Hartlepool.
_____
Convoy
OA.32G of 23 ships
departed Southend escorted by destroyers VENETIA and WIVERN
from the 8th to
the 10th, and destroyers WAKEFUL and WHITEHALL from the 10th
to 11th. On the
11th, the convoy merged with OB.32G, which was escorted by
destroyers MACKAY
and VIMY until the 11th, becoming OG.6.
_____
Steamers
DUNKELD (4944grt)
and FERNPOOL in convoy SL.6B collided at 2350/8th. Destroyer
WALPOLE escorted
the damaged ships to Bristol Channel, and then returned to
the convoy at
1530/9th.
_____
Planned
minelaying operations during the
night of the 8th/9th in the Thames and 10th/11th in the
Humber by German
destroyers KARL GALSTER, HANS
LÜDEMAN and HERMANN KÜNNE of
the 5th Destroyer Division, FRIEDRICH ECKHOLDT and FRIEDRICH
IHN of the 6th
Destroyer Division, and PAUL JACOBI, THEODOR RIEDEL and
HERMANN SCHOEMANN of the 2nd
Destroyer Flotilla, were cancelled due to defects in KÜNNE.
_____
Convoy
HXF.8 departed Halifax
at 1400 escorted by Canadian destroyers FRASER and ST
LAURENT, which detached on the 10th. Ocean escort was armed
merchant cruiser ASCANIA, which
detached on the 19th and then returned to Halifax. The
convoy was escorted in
Home Waters by destroyers WINCHELSEA and WARWICK from convoy
OB.35, and ACASTA
and ARDENT from convoy OA.35 from the 19th to 20th. The
convoy arrived at Dover
on the 21st.
_____
Aircraft
carrier EAGLE,
Australian light cruiser HOBART
and destroyer WESTCOTT departed Singapore for
Colombo on convoy duty, arriving on the 12th.
_____
SloopsEGRET
departed Durban
and ROCHESTER from Aden, both to return to Home Waters, via
Suez.
_____
Destroyer
DAINTY departed
Gibraltar for refitting at Malta, arriving on the 10th.
_____
Convoy
SL.8 departed Freetown
escorted by armed merchant cruiser CILICIA. On the 23rd,
destroyers VANQUISHER, VERSATILE and WITHERINGTON from
convoy OB.39 joined the
convoy, which arrived next day.
_____
French
torpedo boats BALISTE
and LA POURSIVANTE arrived at Gibraltar from Toulon,
departing on the 9th for
Casablanca.
Thursday, 9 November
Battleships
NELSON,
RODNEY,
anti-aircraft cruiser CAIRO,
and destroyers FAULKNOR, FAME, FORTUNE, FOXHOUND,
FORESIGHT, FEARLESS, KINGSTON and IMPERIAL arrived at Rosyth
at 0700 for
refuelling. KINGSTON had developed a leak in her reserve
fuel tank and
required repair.
_____
On
Northern Patrol were two
cruisers between the Orkneys and the Faroes, four cruisers
and one AMC between the Faroes and
Iceland, and one cruiser and two AMCs in the Denmark Strait.
_____
Light
cruiser
SHEFFIELD
departed Rosyth on patrol, and arrived at Loch Ewe on the
21st.
_____
Convoy
FN.34 departed
Southend, escorted by sloops GRIMSBY, WESTON, FLAMINGO,
which had arrived
from Rosyth for this duty. Kites were flown from the sloops
at 1000 feet to
hinder air attack. The convoy arrived at Rosyth on the 11th.
_____
Convoy
FS.34 departed Rosyth,
escorted by destroyers VALOROUS, WOOLSTON and sloop
HASTINGS, and arrived
at Southend on the 11th.
_____
Steamer
ASHANTIAN (4917grt)
reported sighting a submarine in 48‑27N, 15‑40W, and
destroyer
ECLIPSE was detailed to search.
_____
Destroyer
KANDAHAR departed
Scapa Flow to join destroyer KELLY submarine hunting in Yell
Sound. They were
later joined by destroyer ICARUS and also searched in Colla
Firth.
_____
A
U-boat was reported 250
miles SW of Fastnet, and destroyers BROKE and ECLIPSE were
sent to search.
_____
Submarine
H.43 and trawler
COMET (formerly TAMURA, 301grt) departed Devonport and
exercised off the west
coast of Ireland to see if submarines and trawlers could
effectively work
together. The patrol ended on the 21st.
_____
U.33
laid mines off North
Foreland in Bristol Channel, but no shipping was sunk or
damaged.
_____
U.34
seized Norwegian steamer SNAR (3176grt) as a prize
off
southern Norway.
_____
Steamer
CARMARTHEN COAST (961grt) was sunk three miles east
of Seaham
Harbour on a mine laid by U.24 on 27 October; two crewmen
were lost.
_____
Norwegian
steamers GEISHA (5113grt) and SUSANNA
(810grt) were seized by
German warships in the Baltic for contraband violations.
_____
Light
cruiser GALATEA
departed Alexandria on patrol and arrived back on the 19th.
_____
Destroyer
GRIFFIN of the 1st
Destroyer Flotilla had departed Malta on 20 October and
arrived at Gibraltar
on the 22nd. She left on the 25th with sister ship GRENADE
to
escort convoy SL.5, but returned to Gibraltar. She left
again with convoy SL.6 on the 30th and arrived at Plymouth
on the 9th
November. This completed the transfer of the 1st Destroyer
Flotilla, now
based at Harwich with the three Polish destroyers. Convoy
SL.6A was escorted
by destroyers ELECTRA and ESCORT into the Downs.
_____
French
destroyers TARTU and
VAUQUELIN arrived at Gibraltar to escort convoy HG.7.
_____
German
steamer LEANDER (989grt) departed Vigo to
return to Germany. At 0400, 100 miles west of Vigo in
42‑32N, 12‑46W,
she was captured by destroyer ISIS, joined convoy HG.6 which
ISIS was
escorting, arrived at Falmouth on the 13th, and was renamed
EMPIRE CRUSADER
for British service.
_____
German
steamers LAHN
(8498grt) and TACOMA (8268grt) departed Talcuhuana, Chile,
and arrived
at Montevideo on the 23rd.
Friday, 10 November
Destroyers
GIPSY and GLOWWORM
were searching 60 miles south of Milford Haven for a
reported submarine.
_____
On
Northern Patrol were two
cruisers between the Orkneys and Faroes, three cruisers and
one AMC between the Faroes and
Iceland, and one cruiser and one AMC in the Denmark Strait.
The
Northern Patrol, from the
10th to 23rd, sighted 57 eastbound ships and sent 50 into
Kirkwall for
inspection. Nine German ships were sighted and dealt with.
_____
Light
cruisers GLASGOW,
SOUTHAMPTON,
AURORA
and BELFAST
and ten destroyers were formed as a Striking
Force under the command of Captain E de F Renouf CVO as a
Commodore at
Rosyth.
_____
Following
a refit, light
cruiser BELFAST
departed the Clyde on the 8th and on the 10th transferred
from the 18th Cruiser Squadron to the Humber Force.
_____
Armed
merchant cruisers RAWALPINDI arrived in the Clyde after
Northern Patrol duty, and CALFORNIA departed the Clyde on
Northern Patrol.
_____
Armed
merchant cruiser
SCOTSTOUN was damaged by an ice flow which buckled her frame
and started
plates, but she was able to continue patrol in the
Iceland-Faroes Channel.
_____
Destroyer
IMPULSIVE departed
Scapa Flow for Aberdeen to escort steamer MARYLYN (4555grt),
but when it was
found the steamer would not be ready to sail until the 13th,
she returned to
Scapa Flow.
_____
Destroyers
JUNO, JANUS, JAGUAR and JERSEY
departed Immingham.
_____
Convoy
OA.33 of 12 ships
departed Southend escorted by destroyers WREN and WITCH on
the 11th and 12th.
Submarines CACHALOT and SEAL departed Gosport and escorted
the convoy from
the 10th to 15th. The convoy was dispersed on the 15th and
the submarines
proceeded independently to Halifax where they arrived on the
25th for escort
duty.
_____
Convoy
OB.33 departed
Liverpool escorted by destroyers VERSATILE, VOLUNTEER and
MONTROSE until the
13th.
_____
French
submarines ORPHÉE and
ANTIOPE departed Brest escorted by auxiliary patrol vessel
HEREUX.
_____
Heavy
cruiser YORK,
repairing boiler defects at
Bermuda, began repairs to A-turret that were to be completed
by the end of
the month.
_____
Convoy
BC.13S of steamers
ATLANTIC COAST, BARON GRAHAM, BRISTOL CITY, BRITISH COAST,
CERVANTES, CITY OF DERBY DELIUS (Commodore),
DORSET COAST, GRETA FORCE, GUELMA, LYCAON and SANDHILL
departed the Loire
escorted by destroyers VIVACIOUS and VESPER. The convoy
safely arrived in
the Bristol Channel on the 12th.
_____
French
light cruiser LA
GALISSONIÈRE departed Casablanca, escorted by large
destroyer CHEVALIER PAUL
and later arrived at Brest; her escort being detached at
sea.
_____
Convoy
HX.8 departed Halifax
at 1200 escorted by Canadian destroyers FRASER and ST
LAURENT, which detached on the 11th. Ocean escort for the
convoy was battleship REVENGE,
and
the convoy arrived at Liverpool on the 25th.
_____
Light
cruiser MANCHESTER
departed Bombay en route to the Home Fleet, calling at Aden
on the 13th‑14th
and arriving at Port Said on the 17th. Vice Admiral Geoffrey
Layton,
commanding the 1st Battle Squadron, Mediterranean Fleet, was
ordered to the
Home Fleet to command the 18th Cruiser Squadron and embarked
on MANCHESTER
which called at Malta on the 18th‑20th. She departed
Gibraltar on the
22nd, with destroyer KEPPEL as local escort, and arrived at
Portsmouth on the
25th to begin a refit lasting until 21 December. She
departed Portsmouth on
22 December, arrived at Scapa Flow on the 24th, and left on
the
26th on patrol.
_____
Heavy
cruiser CUMBERLAND
departed Buenos Aires patrolling en route to Capetown, but
was diverted on
the 18th to Rio de Janeiro, leaving there on the 22nd for
the Rio de la
Plata area.
Heavy
cruiser EXETER
departed
Mar del Plata to repair at Capetown, but was recalled for
patrol in the Rio
area.
New
Zealand light cruiser ACHILLES
arrived at Rio de Janiero, then left on the 12th for local
patrol.
She was ordered on the 17th to patrol in the Rio de la Plata
area.
_____
Light
cruiser DANAE
departed
Mauritius for Colombo, where she arrived on the 18th.
_____
Heavy
cruisers DORSETSHIRE
and CORNWALL
departed Colombo to join aircraft carrier EAGLE
and Australian
destroyers VENDETTA and WATERHEN on patrol at sea. The Force
arrived back at
Colombo on the 18th.
_____
Netlayer
PROTECTOR arrived at
Freetown on the 10th to lay indicator nets. The lay was
completed in
mid-February 1940 and she departed Freetown on the 17th to
return to England.
Saturday, 11 November
On
Northern Patrol were two
cruisers were between the Orkneys and the Faroes, three
cruisers and one AMC between the Faroes and
Iceland, and one cruiser and two AMCs in the Denmark Strait.
Light cruiser GLASGOW
was en route to patrol in the Denmark Strait while light
cruiser DIOMEDE
was escorting Swedish steamer DROTTNINGHOLM (11, 055grt),
which had
been intercepted in the Faroes-Iceland patrol, towards
Kirkwall. (In the
Admiralty War Diary, the steamer is identified as above.
In the Rosyth War
Diary, she is identified as Danish steamer MARTIN
GOLDSCHMIDT, 2095grt). DIOMEDE requested a trawler to
take over, and armed boarding vessels NORTHERN
ISLE and NORTHERN FOAM were dispatched. DIOMEDE lost track
of the steamer before they arrived,
but armed merchant cruiser CALIFORNIA located her late on
the 11th. The
trawlers could not make the rendezvous due to bad weather.
_____
Armed
merchant cruisers
AURANIA
and CHITRAL arrived in the Clyde after Northern Patrol
duties.
_____
Destroyer
MAORI departed
Scapa Flow to rendezvous with submarines TRIUMPH and TRIDENT
10 miles due
north of the Butt of Lewis for escort. They arrived at
Rosyth on the 12th.
_____
Destroyer
ZULU searched for a
submarine reported NW of Holbourn Head in 58-37N, 3-32W.
_____
Convoy
FN.35 departed
Southend, escorted by destroyer WOOLSTON and sloops PELICAN
and HASTINGS.
Destroyers JUNO and JUPITER were at sea as a fighting force for this
convoy and for FS.35. Seven steamers became detached from
FN.35 and
Polish destroyers GROM and BURZA escorted them into the
Humber. GROM afterwards
returned to Harwich. The convoy arrived at Methil on the
13th, WOOLSTON and
PELICAN at Rosyth mid-day, and HASTINGS which had lost
touch, two
hours later.
_____
Convoy
FS.35 departed Methil,
escorted by destroyers WALLACE, WHITLEY and sloops STORK and
STORK which attacked a
submarine contact 9.9 miles off St Abbs Head. The convoy
arrived at Southend
on the 13th.
_____
Trawler
SOUTHWARD HO (204grt)
reported a submarine five miles SE of the Tyne.
Anti-submarine trawlers
OLVINA (425grt) and CAPE COMORIN (504grt) carried out a
search and during the
night of the 11th/12th, CAPE COMORIN ran aground near the
Tyne. She was refloated and repaired.
_____
Destroyers
KEITH and BOADICEA
were on East Coast patrol. BOADICEA was detached to Harwich
to refuel and
KEITH was relieved by Polish destroyers BURZA and GROM on
the 11th.
_____
Destroyers
IMOGEN, ICARUS and
IMPULSIVE departed Scapa Flow on anti-submarine patrol and
returned the next
day.
_____
The
Humber Force, consisting
of 2nd Cruiser Squadron, the 7th Destroyer Flotilla, and
destroyers MASHONA, BEDOUIN,
TARTAR, GURKHA of the 4th Flotilla, were placed under direct
Admiralty
control to counter a possible sea invasion of Holland
thought to be due.
Light cruisers GLASGOW,
SOUTHAMPTON,
AURORA,
BELFAST,
with MASHONA, TARTAR and GURKHA departed Rosyth on the 11th
to join the Humber Force at Immingham.
BEDOUIN was delayed three hours and arrived later. On the
12th, MASHONA,
BEDOUIN and TARTAR were relieved by destroyers AFRIDI, MAORI
and ZULU, with MASHONA departing Rosyth on the 14th,
escorting submarine H.34 and tanker WAR PINDARI
to Scapa Flow and Loch Ewe, respectively. BEDOUIN proceeded
to Scapa Flow, while TARTAR escorted steamer MARYLYN
(4555grt), departing Aberdeen on the 14th for Scapa Flow.
_____
Patrol
sloops KINGFISHER and
WIDGEON departed Belfast and arrived in the Clyde later the
same day.
_____
Light
cruiser EMERALD
departed Portsmouth with another shipment of gold for
Canada, called at
Plymouth on the 12th, and arrived at Halifax on the 21st.
_____
Destroyer
WIVERN arrived at
Chatham after boiler cleaning at Plymouth.
_____
Aircraft
carrier ARGUS
and
destroyer STURDY departed Devonport for Toulon where the
carrier could
conduct training exercises for new pilots. Destroyer GALLANT
departed
Portsmouth on the 13th and joined the ships. STURDY was to
carry on and join
the local defence destroyer flotilla on the China Station,
but was retained
in the Mediterranean as attendant destroyer for ARGUS. The
three ships
arrived at Gibraltar on the 17th with GALLANT leaving on the
17th and
reaching Plymouth on the 21st.
_____
Convoys
OA.32G, which had
departed the Thames on the 8th, and OB.32G, which had
departed Liverpool,
merged on the 11th as OG.6 with 43 ships. They were escorted
by destroyers
MACKAY, VIMY, WHIRLWIND, WREN and WAKEFUL from the 8th to
11th, and French
destroyers TIGRE and PANTHÈRE from the 11th to 16th, when
the convoy arrived at Gibraltar. Anti-submarine trawlers
SPANIARD (455grt), TURCOMAN (455grt) and KELT (455grt) were
with the convoy from the 11th to 16th.
_____
Heavy
cruisers SUSSEX
and SHROPSHIRE
departed Simonstown and Capetown respectively, to sweep
towards
St Helena. While departing, SUSSEX was in a minor collision
with tanker ATHELPRINCE (8782grt) at Simonstown. The
cruisers arrived back on the 23rd.
_____
Battleship
RAMILLIES
and
destroyer DELIGHT departed Port Said to relieve battleship
MALAYA
and
destroyer DARING off Aden.
_____
Light
cruiser PENELOPE
departed Alexandria on patrol, and arrived at Malta on the
25th.
_____
The
1st Motor Torpedo Boat Flotilla left Malta on the 11th with
base ship VULCAN (trawler, 623grt) for Bizerte
and Ajaccio, en route to Portsmouth. The Flotilla consisted
of the same units
it had at the beginning of the war. Destroyer DAINTY
followed the flotilla to
escort.
MTB.3
and MTB.4 broke down and returned to
Malta, were freighted in depot ship WOOLWICH, which departed
Malta on
the 21st, and later arrived at Portsmouth. DAINTY and seven
MTBs reached
Bizerte on the 15th and MTB.14,
MTB.15, MTB.16, MTB.18 were sent on to Ajaccio.
On
the 16th in heavy
weather off Sardinia, MTB.6 broke down and was taken in tow by
DAINTY.
However, she was lost when the ring of the towing spar
fractured and DAINTY
rammed her. MTB.1 and MTB.19
remained with DAINTY and
arrived at Ajaccio before noon on the 19th, after which
DAINTY returned to
Malta.
Liner
FRANCONIA, carrying MTB.2, MTB.5, MTB.17, departed Malta on
the
16th escorted by destroyer DUCHESS. The liner was damaged by
heavy seas and
forced to heave to, but was able to reach Marseilles on the
19th. On the
24th, the flotilla departed Marseilles, travelled up the
Rhone River, and was then
towed through the canals to the Seine. In the Seine, once
again under their
own power, they sailed through Paris and out to sea finally
arriving at
Portsmouth on 6 December. After refitting, the Flotilla was
based at
Felixstowe and became operational in January 1940.
_____
Light
cruiser NEPTUNE
departed Freetown on patrol, met depot ship MAIDSTONE,
and returned
on
the 16th to join aircraft carrier ARK
ROYAL.
_____
French
submarine SIDI FERRUCH
arrived at Port of Spain after patrol in the Caribbean.
_____
A
group of German steamers
escaped from Vigo to attempt to return to Germany.
CORDOBA
(4611grt) passed through the Denmark
Strait on the 22nd, sighted an armed merchant cruiser but
was not seen
and arrived at Narvik on the 28th.
LAHNECK
(1663grt) successfully passed
through the Denmark Strait and arrived at Hamburg on 16
December.
LIVADIA
(3094grt) passed through the
Iceland-Faroes passage on the 16th, arrived in Honningsvaag
on the 27th, and reached Hamburg on 9 December.
LUDOLF
OLDENDORFF (1953grt) passing the
Iceland-Faroes passage on the 24th was sighted and stopped
by light cruiser
SHEFFIELD.
However, she was able to convince SHEFFIELD she was Danish
steamer
EDITH and in the confusion following the sinking of the
RAWALPINDI, was
not questioned further and arrived at Haugesand on 6
December.
PALOS
(997grt) passed through the Denmark
Strait on the 23rd, and arrived at Hamburg on the 29th.
SEBU
(1894grt) passed through the Denmark
Strait on the 24th, and arrived at Hamburg on 18 December.
TANGER
(1742grt) passed the Iceland-Faroes
Passage on the 20th, and arrived at Hamburg on 9 December.
Finally,
the last ship of the
group, KONSUL HENDRICK FISSER
(4458grt) was captured attempting to pass the Iceland-Faroes
Passage on the
23rd.
Sunday, 12 November
Battleships
NELSON,
RODNEY,
and destroyers FAULKNOR, FORTUNE, FORESIGHT, FOXHOUND, FAME
departed Rosyth to carry out
full calibre firings before proceeding on patrol between the
Faroes and
Norway to cover convoys ON.2/HN.2. The force was joined by
destroyer FURY at
sea. ON.2, consisting of just one British ship, departed
Methil escorted by destroyers
IMOGEN, ICARUS and IMPULSIVE. Light cruiser AURORA
left Immingham to provide
near cover and anti-aircraft cruiser CURLEW
was ordered to guard ON.2,
but the order was changed and CAIRO
was assigned. CAIRO joined at daylight on
the 14th and arrived at Rosyth on the 17th after this duty.
ICARUS, IMOGEN and
IMPULSIVE refuelled at Sullom Voe on the 14th, and ON.2
arrived without
incident at Bergen on the 15th. The big ships arrived at
Loch Ewe on the
17th, departed on the 20th after refuelling and reached the
Clyde on the
21st.
_____
Light
cruiser EDINBURGH
and
destroyers AFRIDI and MAORI departed Rosyth for the Humber,
arriving that
afternoon.
_____
Destroyer
KINGSTON departed
Rosyth for repairs at Leith, completed on the 19th.
_____
Destroyer
IMPERIAL departed
Rosyth for boiler cleaning.
_____
Submarine
SEAHORSE departed
Blyth for a patrol off Terschelling, arriving back on the
28th.
_____
On
Northern Patrol were two
cruisers between the Orkneys and Faroes, three cruisers and
one AMC between the Faroes and
Iceland, and light cruiser NEWCASTLE
and two AMCs in the Denmark Strait.
Light
cruisers CALYPSO,
CALEDON
and
CERES
departed Sullom Voe on Northern Patrol duty. CALEDON
suffered
damage to her upper deck in heavy weather on the 15th.
_____
Anti-aircraft
cruiser
CALCUTTA
departed Rosyth and arrived in the Humber on the 13th.
_____
On
East Coast patrol,
destroyer KEITH was off Orfordness and the Polish BURZA off
the Sunk.
_____
Destroyers
GRIFFIN (D.1), GIPSY, GREYHOUND and GLOWWORM arrived at
Harwich from Plymouth, when Captain
Creasy's designation changed from D.1 to D.22. GIPSY and
GREYHOUND were in a
collision which caused minor damage to both ships. GIPSY
repaired at
Harwich and GREYHOUND at Sheerness. GLOWWORM escorted
convoy HXF.7A to the Sunk.
_____
Destroyer
VIMY on patrol
reported a split in her hull which contaminated her fuel,
and was forced
to return to port.
_____
Steamers
APPLEDORE (5218grt),
CLAN MACGILLIVRAY (6464grt), DEERPOOL (5167grt) SAINT
MARGARET (4312grt),
MAIHAR (7563grt) and tanker ATHELKING (9557grt) of convoy
FN.35 all ran
aground off Lowestoft, each following the next one on to the
shore. Steamer
FLIMSTONE (4674grt), managed to avoid this fate but only
after colliding with
SAINT MARGARET.
_____
German
steamer MECKLENBURG (7892grt) had left
Pernambuco on 14 October disguised as Dutch steamer
HOOGKERK. She was
intercepted on the 12th in 62‑37N, 10‑36W by light cruiser
DELHI
and scuttled to avoid capture NW of the Faroes in 63‑09N,
11‑38W.
DELHI arrived at Sullom Voe with her 56 man crew on the
15th.
_____
Anti-aircraft
cruiser CURLEW
departed Rosyth and arrived at Grimsby on the 13th.
_____
Destroyers
ESK, EXPRESS, BLANCHE and
BASILISK departing Rosyth for the Humber, were held up by
fog near Outer
Dowsing.
_____
In
a German air attack on
Sullom Voe and Lerwick, two Sunderland flying boats at
Lerwick were
destroyed.
_____
Sloop
FLAMINGO departed
Rosyth with submarines SEALION, SHARK, SNAPPER and SUNFISH
for passage to
Harwich, arriving on the 14th.
_____
Convoy
OA.34 of 14
ships departed Southend escorted by destroyers ELECTRA and
ESCORT from the
12th to 14th.
_____
Convoy
OB.34 departed
Liverpool escorted by destroyers VANESSA until the 13th, and
destroyers
WARWICK and WHIRLWIND until the 15th.
_____
U.41
badly damaged Norwegian
tanker ARNE KJODE (11,019grt) in
58‑51N, 08‑07W and five crew were lost. Destroyer ISIS and
net
layer GUARDIAN took the stern portion of the ship in tow and
were later
joined by destroyer KASHMIR. However, the tanker was beyond
saving. ISIS
rescued the survivors and sank the stern in 59-20N, 7-12W on
the 15th, while
armed merchant cruiser CHITRAL sank the fore section with
gunfire in 59-06N,
6-55W.
_____
U.41
sank trawler CRESSWELL (275grt) 18 miles NW by N
of Flannan Island, Outer Hebrides, 40 miles WSW of the Butt
of Lewis; six
crew were lost, her survivors rescued by the U-boat and
later transferred to
trawler PHYLLISIA (324grt).
_____
GERMAN
DESTROYER MINELAYING IN THAMES ESTUARY
German
destroyers KARL
GALSTER, HERMANN KÜNNE and HANS
LÜDEMAN, escorted by
destroyer WILHELM HEIDKAMP laid 288 magnetic mines in the
Thames Estuary
during the night of the 12th/13th. Destroyers ERICH GIESE,
THEODOR RIEDEL and HERMANN SCHOEMANN also sailed, but when
RIEDEL and SCHOEMANN broke down, they
were escorted back by GIESE. On their return, they were met
at sea by light
cruisers KÖLN, NÜRNBERG and torpedo boats LEOPARD, SEEADLER,
WOLF, ILTIS.
Destroyer BLANCHE and thirteen merchant ships for 48,725grt
were sunk in this
field.
On
the 12th, cruiser
minelayer ADVENTURE
(Captain A R Halfhide) escorted by destroyers BLANCHE (Lt
Cdr R M Aubrey) and BASILISK (Cdr M Richmond) departed
Grimsby en route to
Portsmouth. At 0518/13th, three miles 120° from the Tongue
Light Vessel,
ADVENTURE struck a mine laid by the German destroyers that
morning and was
badly damaged; Nine ratings were killed, fifteen missing and
67 wounded.
She was able to proceed under her own power at five knots to
Chatham assisted
by tugs DORIA and SALVA from Ramsgate and LADY BRASSEY from
Dover. Sixty two
wounded were transferred to BASILISK, which led ADVENTURE in
to Sheerness.
She was taken to Chatham for temporary repairs, departed on
19 December for
Plymouth and arrived there on the 21st for permanent repairs
lasting until 18
September 1940.
At
0825, near the same spot
at one mile 80° from North East Spit Buoy, BLANCHE towing
one of the rescue tugs, struck another mine.
BLANCHE had one rating killed, one rating missing, and
Midshipman C L Byrne RNR, Act/Sub Lt D L Davenport,
Warrant Engineer G F D Dunn and nine ratings injured.
survivors were
rescued by tugs FABIA (151grt), LADY BRASSEY (362grt) and
trawler KESTEREL
(75grt). BLANCHE sank two hours after striking the mine.
Destroyer
GLOWWORM was
stationed east of the Tongue Light Vessel to redirect
Thames-bound shipping,
and trawler MYRTLE redirected shipping coming out of the
river, but the
following vessels were mined and sunk in the field.
On
the 13th, steamer PONZANO (1346grt) in 51‑29N,
01‑25E; Her crew was rescued by two Norwegian trawlers.
On
the 13th, steamer MATRA (8003grt) from convoy HXF.7,
one mile east of Tongue Light Vessel; Sixteen crewmen were
lost and she was
beached in Shingles Patch.
On
the 15th, steamer WOODTOWN (794grt) 3/4 mile off
North
East Spit Buoy, Margate; eight crewmen were lost.
On
the 19th, Italian steamer GRAZIA (5857grt), five
miles north of
North Foreland; six crewmen were lost and 24 survivors
picked up by
destroyers GRIFFIN and GIPSY.
On
the 23rd, steamer HOOKWOOD (1537grt) in convoy
FS.40,
3½ miles ENE of Tongue Light Vessel; two crewmen were lost and 15
survivors picked up by sloop BITTERN.
On
the 27th, Dutch liner SPAARNDAM (8857grt), two
miles NE of Tongue
Light Vessel; seven crewmen were lost and the survivors
rescued by a pilot
vessel.
On
the 28th, steamer RUBISLAW (1041grt), 1½ miles ENE
of Tongue Light Vessel, four
cables SW of Knock South Buoy; thirteen crewmen were lost
and survivors
rescued by a minesweeping trawler.
On
the 30th, steamer SHEAF CREST (2730grt) in 51‑32N,
01‑26E; one crewman was lost, 12 survivors picked up by
Polish
destroyer BLYSKAWICA and taken to Harwich, and 15 other
survivors picked up
and taken to Ramsgate.
On
1 December, steamer DALRYAN (4558grt), 2½ miles SW
of
Tongue Light Vessel in 51-31N, 1-19.5E; the crew was rescued
and taken to
Margate.
On
2 December, tanker SAN
CALISTO
(8010grt), 2½ miles NNE of
the Tongue Light Vessel; six crew were lost and 36 rescued.
On
6 December, Greek steamer PARALOS (3435grt), two
miles ENE of Tongue Light Vessel in
51-31N, 1-37E; three crewmen were killed and 22 rescued by
British steamer ROEK (1041grt).
On
8 December, steamer MEREL (1088grt), 270° from Gull
Light Vessel, one cable north of No. 22 North Gull Buoy near
Ramsgate; sixteen crew were lost and only two saved.
On
15 December, Swedish
steamer URSUS (1499grt), off
Margate in 51-35N, 1-36E; nine crew were lost and 11
survivors rescued by
Dutch trawler BRINDA (200grt).
_____
German
destroyers BRUNO
HEINEMANN, FRIEDRICH IHN, ERICH STEINBRINCK and FRIEDRICH
ECKHOLDT conducted an
anti-shipping sweep in the Skagerrak from the 13th to 15th.
_____
Heavy
cruiser KENT
departed Hong Kong and
arrived at Singapore on the 15th.
_____
Heavy
cruiser EXETER
was
bumped and damaged while alongside a tanker near Montevideo.
_____
Light
cruiser DAUNTLESS
arrived at Singapore after patrol in the Sunda Strait.
_____
Light
cruiser CAPETOWN
departed Gibraltar on escort duty and arrived back later the
same day.
Monday, 13 November
Anti-aircraft
cruiser CAIRO
departed Rosyth.
_____
On
Northern Patrol were three
cruisers between Orkneys and the Faroes, two cruisers
between the Faroes and
Iceland, and two cruisers and two AMCs in the Denmark
Strait.
Two
German air raids on
Sullom Voe and the Northern Patrol cruisers there did not
cause any damage.
The air raids and the U-boats reported off Sullom Voe
resulted in the 7th
and 11th Cruiser Squadron of the Northern Patrol being
ordered to Loch Ewe.
_____
Convoy
SA.17 of two steamers
departed Southampton, escorted by destroyers SKATE and
SCIMITAR, and arrived
at Brest on the 14th.
_____
Convoy
FN.36 departed
Southend, escorted by destroyers WHITLEY, WALLACE and sloop
STORK which had arrived from Harwich. The convoy reached
Methil on the 15th.
_____
Convoy
FS.36 departed Methil,
escorted by sloops GRIMSBY and WESTON. Sloop FLAMINGO, which
had been on
other escort duty, joined off the Tyne, and the convoy
arrived at Southend on the
15th.
_____
Sub
Lt D Copsey was killed
when his RAF Harvard of the RAF No.1 SFTS crashed near
Netheravon
airfield. Flight Lt T I Hammond of the RAF was also killed.
_____
German
steamer PARANA (6038grt), which had departed
Buenos Aires on 7 October, was intercepted on the 12th by
light cruiser
NEWCASTLE
west of Iceland in 65‑48N, 25‑19W, and scuttled herself
in 65‑14N, 25‑22W. The wreck was sunk by gunfire from
NEWCASTLE
and she left her Denmark Strait patrol station at 2000/13th
with the German
survivors.
_____
German
steamer HUGO
OSTENDORFF (3986grt), which had departed San Juan del Puerto
on 25 October,
was not far astern of PARANA. Hearing her interception, she
arrived
at Hafnarfjoedr (Hvammasfjord) on the south coast of
Iceland, set off again
on the 24th and arrived at Stettin on 5 December.
_____
Sloop
ENCHANTRESS attacked a
submarine contact in 49-40N, 12-04W.
_____
U.28
laid mines in Bristol
Channel, on which one merchant ship was lost.
_____
German
minesweeper M.132 was badly damaged by depth
charges from minesweeper M.61 in an anti-submarine hunt near
List in the
North Sea, and was beached, a total loss.
_____
Australian
destroyers STUART, VAMPIRE, VOYAGER, VENDETTA and WATERHEN
departed Singapore for Colombo. On the
17th, VAMPIRE and VOYAGER detached to Trincomalee to join
Force J (heavy
cruiser KENT and the French SUFFREN) in the Nicobar Island area.
STUART and WATERHEN arrived at Colombo on the 18th and
VENDETTA on the 19th.
WATERHEN was attached to Force I, while VENDETTA was
employed in
anti-submarine patrols off Colombo. On the 25th, STUART
departed Colombo for
Madagascar to join light cruiser GLOUCESTER and French sloop RIGAULT DE GENOUILLY.
_____
French
tanker SAN JOSE (6013grt) was chased by
an unidentified submarine in 27‑34N, 57‑58W, seven miles
from
Willemstad. The submarine was later identified as one of the
French
submarines based at Martinique.
_____
Steamer
SIRDHANA (7745grt) was sunk on a British defensive
minefield in
Singapore Roads, 3½ miles 148° from Fort Canning Light;
twenty crew were
killed.
_____
In
operations in the South
Atlantic, a Swordfish of 814 Squadron from aircraft carrier
HERMES
crashed
into the sea on landing. Lt J H Dundas and crew were picked
up by French
large destroyer LE FANTASQUE.
_____
French
sloop D'ENTRECASTEAUX
reported sighting a submarine in 12-56N, 22-24W.
_____
French
large destroyer LION arrived at Gibraltar at 0800
and departed at 1025 eastward.
_____
French
submarine L'ESPOIR
departed Colombo for Djibouti and Toulon.
_____
French
submarine SIDI FERRUCH
departed Port of Spain on patrol.
_____
Light
cruiser ORION
departed
Kingston on patrol and arrived back at Kingston on the 25th.
_____
Light
cruiser BIRMINGHAM
departed Hong Kong on patrol in Chinese waters.
Tuesday, 14 November
Carrying
the first shipment
of French gold to the United States, French Force Z of
battleship LORRAINE,
and light cruisers MARSEILLAISE and JEAN DE VIENNE departed
Toulon escorted by
destroyers AIGLE, FORTUNE and LA RAILLEUSE in Operation
MACARONI. The escort was
reinforced by destroyers LION,
which departed Gibraltar on
the 13th and SIMOUN from Oran. The French ships, less
FORTUNE, LA RAILLEUSE and SIMOUN which were detached en
route for Casablanca, arrived at Mers el Kebir
on the evening of the 15th when U-boats were reported in the
area. The Force,
escorted by LION and AIGLE, departed on the 17th and on the 19th
was joined by the three destroyers which had been detached
to Casablanca.
Later on the 19th these three destroyers returned to
Casablanca, followed by LION
and AIGLE on the 20th. Force
Z reached Bermuda at 0900/27th, remained until 1230/29th and
arrived at
Halifax at 1400 on 1 December.
_____
On
Northern Patrol were three
cruisers between the Orkneys and the Faroes, three cruisers
and one AMC between the Faroes and
Iceland, and one cruiser and three AMCs in the Denmark
Strait.
_____
Anti-aircraft
cruiser CURLEW
departed Grimsby on FN.36 escort duties with destroyers
JERVIS and JUPITER, and arrived back later the same day.
_____
Anti-aircraft
cruiser
CALCUTTA
with destroyers JERSEY and JAGUAR departed the Humber on
FS.36
escort duties and arrived at Grimsby later the same day.
_____
Anti-aircraft
cruiser
COVENTRY
departed Grimsby on the 14th, and in heavy weather, in the
Pentland
Firth, her power steering failed and she arrived at Sullom
Voe under
hand control. From 16 November to 14 January 1940, COVENTRY
was anti-aircraft
guard ship for Sullom Voe and depot ship MANELA which
maintained the flying
boats operating over the Arctic Ocean. Light cruiser
CARDIFF
was held at Sullom Voe until COVENTRY's arrival to provide
anti-aircraft protection for MANELA.
_____
Destroyer
KEITH and the
Polish BURZA replaced destroyer GLOWWORM and Polish GROM on
East Coast
patrol.
_____
Light
cruisers DRAGON
and
COLOMBO
departed Sullom Voe on Northern Patrol duties, and arrived
at Loch Ewe
on the 20th.
_____
Destroyer
GLOWWORM dropped
depth charges on a submarine contact off North Foreland.
_____
Destroyer
TARTAR investigated
a contact 59° off Rattray Head, later determined to be the
wreck of CAIRNMONA, sunk by U-boat on 30 October.
_____
Anti-submarine
trawler
IMPERIALIST (520grt) attacked a submarine contact off
Kentish Knock in
51-42N, 1-48E.
_____
Anti-submarine
trawler LOCH
TULLA (423grt) attacked a submarine contact in Hoy Sound.
_____
Act/Sub
Lt (A) E S Woodford was
killed when his Skua of 758 Squadron from RAVEN crashed near
Saverlake
Forest.
_____
Convoy
OA.35 of six ships
departed Southend escorted by destroyer KEITH on the 14th
and destroyers
ESCAPADE and ENCOUNTER on the 14th and 15th. Submarine
NARWHAL departed
Gosport and escorted from the 14th to 19th, and destroyers
ACASTA and
ARDENT from the 15th to 19th, when the convoy dispersed and
NARWHAL proceeded
independently to Halifax for escort duties.
_____
Convoy
OB.35 departed
Liverpool escorted by destroyers WINCHELSEA and WALPOLE
until the 17th.
_____
British
steamer
DOTTEREL (1385grt)
and French steamer ALASKA
(5399grt) collided seven miles east of St Catherine.
DOTTEREL was able to proceed to Southampton, but ALASKA
sank early on the 15th.
_____
Belgian
fishing vessel MAURICE MARGUERITE (28grt) was sunk
on a mine off Dyck Light Vessel, outside Gravelines, with
the loss of three
crew.
_____
Finnish
steamer VERNA H (983grt) was seized in the
Baltic by German warships and taken to Swinemünde.
_____
Convoy
HG.7 departed Port
Said on the 3rd, Malta on the 5th, and left Gibraltar on the
14th with 31
ships, escorted by destroyers VELOX, VIDETTE and also French
destroyers
TARTU and VAUQUELIN from the 14th to 21st when they arrived
at Brest.
Destroyer WOLVERINE escorted convoy HG.7A – the east coast
portion - from the
21st to 23rd, and on the 21st, 28 miles 200° off Start
Point, steamers DUNBAR
CASTLE (10002grt) and CLAN MACFARLANE (6193grt) were in
collision. DUNBAR
CASTLE proceeded to Southampton for repairs. HG.7 arrived at
Liverpool on the
22nd, while HG.7A arrived in the Downs on the 23rd with
WOLVERINE.
_____
Canadian
destroyer FRASER was
damaged in a collision with Canadian minesweeping trawler
BRAS D'OR (221grt)
at Halifax. FRASER was repaired at Halifax completing on 4
December.
_____
Off
the Azores, French armed
merchant cruiser KOUTOUBIA captured German steamer TRIFELS
(6198grt) which had departed Ponta Delgada on the 12th
carrying 21,000 cases of gasoline. TRIFELS was taken to
Casablanca and
renamed SAINT LOUISE for French service, but later returned
to German service
after the fall of France.
_____
French
submarines CASABIANCA,
SFAX, PASTEUR and ACHILLE of the 2nd Submarine Division
departed Brest escorting
French armed merchant cruiser QUERCY, and arrived at Halifax
for escort duty on the 25th.
