Background Events - September 1939-March 1940
Battle of Atlantic
starts, 'Phoney War' on land, Battle of River Plate
1939
Wednesday, 15 November
Convoy HN.2 of eight British
and one Finnish steamer departed Bergen and was joined by destroyers
ICARUS, IMOGEN and IMPULSIVE. The convoy was covered by battleships
NELSON and
RODNEY and accompanying forces which departed Rosyth on the 12th. ICARUS was
relieved by destroyer IMPERIAL and then proceeded to Rosyth for boiler
cleaning.
Destroyers ASHANTI and PUNJABI getting underway
to join the battleships collided at Rosyth on the 15th, but the damage was
not serious, and they and sister ship SOMALI, which departed Rosyth with
them, joined the battleships at sea as planned. Destroyer MASHONA departed
Loch Ewe on the 16th and joined the Home Fleet in 62-15N, 00-04W and TARTAR,
completing the escort of steamer MARYLYN to Stromness,joined them at the
same location as sister ship MASHONA.
Destroyers ISIS and KANDAHAR were assigned to escort the
three steamers of the west coast section of HN.2 when it arrived off the
Shetlands. KANDAHAR had departed on the 15th to
join the Home Fleet at sea, but was recalled for this escort duty. Destroyer
WALLACE was assigned to escort the
Tyne section of HN.2 but because of fog, had to
anchor off the
Tyne for an hour.
A submarine contact on the
17th did not hamper the convoy's progress and HN.2 arrived safely on the 18th
with IMOGEN, IMPERIAL and IMPULSIVE. The battle force arrived at Loch Ewe on the
17th, departed on the 19th and arrived in the Clyde on the 21st.
_____
On Northern Patrol, three
cruisers were between the Orkneys and the Faroes, two cruisers and one AMC between the Faroes and Iceland, and one cruiser and three
AMCs in the Denmark Strait.
_____
The deep minefield in the
Clyde was begun and completed on
the 18th in Operation CP.
_____
Destroyer FURY completed her
repairs in the
Clyde, but was retained in the
Clyde to escort base ship MASHOBRA.
_____
Destroyer INGLEFIELD
completed her repairs at
Liverpool and departed for
Scapa Flow.
_____
Sloop PELICAN and submarine
TRIAD departed Rosyth to exercise outside May Island with RAF personnel. Both
ships arrived back at Rosyth later that day.
_____
Polish destroyer GROM
rendezvoused off North Goodwin Light with destroyers EXPRESS and ESK, which
had sailed from Harwich.
_____
Destroyers BROKE and ECLIPSE
were submarine hunting in 53‑50N, 5‑25W.
_____
Convoy FN.37 departed
Southend for Methil, escorted by sloops GRIMSBY, FLAMINGO, WESTON.
Anti-aircraft cruiser
CALCUTTA, destroyers JUNO and JUPITER departed Grimsby in support.
_____
Convoy FS.37 departed Methil
escorted by escort ships VIVIEN, VALOROUS and sloop BITTERN. Minesweeper
TEDWORTH sailed with the convoy for the passage south. VALOROUS developed condenser
problems, was replaced by destroyer JAGUAR, and began repairs in the
Tyne, which were completed on the
16th.
_____
Convoy BC.15 of ten steamers,
including BARON CARNEGIE, BLACKHEATH, DEVON COAST
and NIGERIAN (Commodore)
departed Bristol Channel, escorted by destroyers VIVACIOUS, VESPER and VANESSA,
and safely arrived in the
Loire on the 17th.
_____
U.20 was attacked nine miles
90° from Tongue Light Vessel by British aircraft which called up destroyers
KEITH and GRIFFIN. Destroyer GREYHOUND later
joined in the search, but U.20 escaped serious damage and was able to lay mines
off Newarp Light Vessel on the 22nd.
_____
French destroyer SIROCCO
attacked a contact in 25‑50N, 7‑20W after a submarine was
reported by an aircraft. Destroyers VELOX and VIDETTE, after leaving convoy
HG.7, also searched the area.
_____
Australian light cruiser
HOBART (top - NavyPhotos/Mark
Teadham) departed
Colombo and arrived at Bombay on the 18th.
_____
Heavy cruiser
SUSSEX arrived at Durban.
_____
German pocket battleship
DEUTSCHLAND arrived in German waters and was renamed LÜTZOW to prevent the
possibility of a ship bearing the name of the Fatherland being sunk. She
anchored at Gdynia on the 17th.
_____
German pocket battleship
ADMIRAL GRAF SPEE sank steamer AFRICA
SHELL (706grt) 10½ miles SW by S of Cape Zavora Light in Mozambique
Channel in 24-40-42S, 35-12E. Submarine OLYMPUS on patrol in the Indian Ocean set off in pursuit, but
failed to make contact.
_____
Admiral Wells of Force K
transferred his flag to battlecruiser RENOWN, and aircraft carrier
ARK
ROYAL
departed Freetown for England to refit and receive new
aircraft. When news of the sinking of AFRICA SHELL reached the Admiralty on
the 17th, ARK ROYAL was ordered back to Freetown.
_____
Light cruiser
LIVERPOOL departed Colombo on the 15th and arrived at
Singapore on the 19th for patrol
duties on the China Station. She proceeded to Saigon and arrived at Hong Kong on 10 December.
_____
Canadian destroyers OTTAWA and RESTIGOUCHE departed
Esquimalt, Canada, for Halifax on the east coast after
being relieved in the Pacific by British light cruiser
CARADOC. They refuelled on the
25th off the Isla del Coco off the Costa Rican coast from Australian light cruiser
PERTH, which had
entered the Pacific through the Panama
Canal, refuelled again at
Kingston and reached Halifax on 7 December.
These movements were to allow
Canadian destroyers FRASER and OTTAWA to join the America and West Indies Station, and Canadian
destroyer SAGUENAY which had been operating in the
Caribbean since late September to
return to Canada. However, heavy demands for
convoy escorts caused
OTTAWA to be retained at Halifax and FRASER did not arrive in
the Caribbean at Kingston until
31 March 1940.
Canadian destroyer ASSINIBOINE arrived at Halifax on the 17th from Plymouth, and departed Halifax on 5 December for Jamaica, arriving at Kingston on the 8th to relieve SAGUENAY.
SAGUENAY arrived back at Halifax in mid-December and resumed
convoy duties from that port.
ASSINIBOINE remained in the Caribbean until 31 March 1940 when she
arrived back at
Halifax after being relieved by
FRASER.
_____
German trawler
ELSE
(141grt) was lost near
Skargaard.
_____
Lithuanian steamers
PANEVEZYS (1607grt) and NIDA (945grt) were sunk on mines
near Tallinn.
Thursday, 16 November
Sloop FLAMINGO, escorting
convoy FN.37, was damaged in a collision with steamer LOWLAND (974grt) in 54‑38N,
0‑46W. She arrived at
Leith on the 17th and was docked for repair,
completed on 10 December.
_____
Destroyer FORESTER completed
her refit in the
Clyde.
_____
On Northern Patrol were three
cruisers between the Orkneys and the Faroes, two cruisers and two AMCs
between the Faroes and Iceland, and one cruiser and three
AMCs in the Denmark Strait.
_____
Light cruiser
CALYPSO
captured a merchant ship (SISALMANN ?)
and was en route with her to Loch Ewe. She requested a trawler to meet her in
West Ray Firth to take over the escort. Armed boarding vessel KINGSTON
JACINTH was delayed by weather, but did so, and both ships arrived at Loch
Ewe at 1700/17th.
_____
Light cruiser
CARDIFF departed Sullom Voe and
arrived at Loch Ewe on the 20th to repair weather damage.
_____
Anti-aircraft cruiser
CURLEW
departed Grimsby on patrol duties and arrived
back later the same day.
_____
Destroyer KASHMIR at Scapa Flow was ordered to join Forbes
at sea, but had mechanical defects and was unable to sail.
_____
Destroyers KEITH and GIPSY
were ordered to rendezvous with destroyer GRIFFIN off Kentish Knock Light
Vessel.
_____
Minelaying operation FE was
completed on the 15th/16th and 16th/17th between the English end of
the Folkestone-Cape Griz Nez field and the shore off Dover by auxiliary
minelayer HAMPTON escorted by two destroyers. Survey ship
FRANKLIN laid the navigational buoys.
_____
Convoy OA.36G of 19 ships
departed Southend on the 16th escorted by destroyers WAKEFUL and WHITEHALL on the 16th and 17th, and
destroyers WOLVERINE and VERITY on the 18th and 19th.
Convoy OB.36G departed Liverpool on the 17th, escorted by
destroyers WALKER and VANOC, which remained with the convoy until the 19th.
Anti-submarine trawler NORTHERN SPRAY (655grt) was with the convoy on the
17th only. The
Bristol section of OB.36G was
escorted by destroyer MONTROSE which remained until the 20th.
Accompanying OA.36G were
anti-submarine trawlers ARCTIC RANGER (493grt), KINGSTON CORNELIAN (449grt),
LORD HOTHAM (464grt) and LEYLAND (452grt) on passage to Gibraltar for local
anti-submarine duties, which were with the convoy from the 17th to 24th.
OA.36G rendezvoused with OB.36G on the 19th and became convoy OG.7 with 43
ships. It was then escorted by French destroyers CHACAL and MISTRAL from the
19th and destroyer KEPPEL from the 20th. The convoy reached Gibraltar on the 24th.
_____
U.43 sank steamer
ARLINGTON COURT (4915grt) from convoy
SL.7A, 320 miles 248° from Start Point in 48-14N, 11-42W. Five crew were
lost, but Dutch steamer ALGENIB (5483grt) rescued 22 survivors from a
lifeboat, and on the 22nd, Norwegian tanker SPINANGER (7429grt) picked up
another seven.
_____
U.28 sank Dutch tanker
SLIEDRECHT (5133grt) 200 miles south
of Rockall Bank; twenty six crewmen were missing but trawler MERISIA (291grt)
rescued five survivors during the night of the 23rd/24th.
_____
Italian steamer VELOCE
(5464grt) ran aground near Dungeness Light.
_____
When steamer HOPESTAR
(5257grt) was attacked by a submarine in 48‑47N, 8‑28W,
destroyers BROKE and ECLIPSE searched in the area.
_____
Destroyer WATCHMAN boarded
Italian liner VULCANIA (24,469grt) outside Portuguese territorial waters.
_____
French destroyers TIGRE and PANTHÈRE arrived at
Gibraltar for convoy escort duty.
_____
Convoy SL.9 departed Freetown escorted by armed merchant
cruiser SALOPIAN. Disabled destroyer HAVOCK travelled with them and detached
to Gibraltar on the 25th, arriving on the
27th. At 0800/2 December, destroyers MACKAY, VIMY, ACASTA, and ARDENT met the convoy
in Home Waters, which arrived later that day.
_____
French submarine SIDI FERRUCH
arrived at Port of Spain after patrol.
Friday, 17 November
Battlecruiser
REPULSE
sustained damage to her breakwater and aircraft carrier
FURIOUS had engine
trouble which limited her speed to 23 knots while at sea from Halifax.
_____
Light cruisers
EDINBURGH,
BELFAST,
GLASGOW,
SOUTHAMPTON
and
AURORA arrived at Rosyth.
_____
Light cruiser
NEWCASTLE departed Scapa Flow for Loch Ewe, leaving there
on the 21st for Northern Patrol.
_____
Light cruiser
CARDIFF departed Loch Ewe after
refuelling and repairing damage sustained in heavy weather, and arrived back
on the 20th.
_____
Light cruisers
DIOMEDE and
DUNEDIN departed Loch Ewe on Northern
Patrol duties, with DIOMEDE arriving back on the 21st.
_____
Armed merchant cruiser
AURANIA departed the
Clyde for Northern Patrol duties.
_____
On Northern Patrol were two cruisers
between the Orkneys and the Faroes, two cruisers and two AMCs between the
Faroes and Iceland, and one cruiser and three
AMCs in the Denmark Strait.
_____
Polish destroyers BLYSKAWICA,
BURZA, GROM arrived at Rosyth for a visit by the Polish Prime Minister, and
left on the 18th to return to Harwich.
_____
Destroyers ESK and EXPRESS
arrived at Harwich for minelaying in the Thames approaches in operation RG.
They departed Harwich at 0815, accompanied by minesweepers
SKIPJACK and LEDA.
ESK and EXPRESS laid more mines in this field on the
29th assisted by minesweepers
HARRIER and
HUSSAR, followed on 1 December by
auxiliary minelayer
HAMPTON and four destroyers which
laid another line of mines, assisted by minesweepers SKIPJACK and
LEDA.
_____
Destroyer FURY departed the
Clyde with base ship MASHOBRA on
the 16th. FURY was relieved by destroyer INGLEFIELD at 1735/17th which took
MASHOBRA on to Rosyth, arriving on the 19th. FURY proceeded to Loch Ewe, and
after refuelling, joined the Main Fleet at sea.
_____
Convoy FN.38 departed
Southend, escorted by escort vessels/destroyers VIVIEN, VALOROUS and sloop
BITTERN. On passage, VIVIEN was damaged in collision with an unknown
merchant ship, which carried on without stopping, arrived at Harwich on the
17th and was later taken to North Shields for repairs completed on 5
December. Destroyer JERVIS, which had been searching the Outer Dowsing area
joined the convoy on the 18th from dawn to dark, and the convoy arrived at Methil on the 19th.
_____
Convoy FS.38 departed Methil,
escorted by destroyers WHITLEY, WALLACE and sloop STORK. Seaplane carrier
PEGASUS travelled in company. Destroyers JAGUAR and
JUNO operated in the area of
FS.38 from dawn to dark on the 18th, and the convoy arrived at Southend on the
19th.
_____
German steamer
HENNING OLDENDORFF (3986grt), which
had departed Huelva,
Spain, on the 2nd disguised as a
Russian ship, was captured by light cruiser
COLOMBO near Iceland in 62‑59N, 10‑44W.
The German ship, the Royal Navy's 19th prize of the war, was taken in to
Kirkwall by a prize crew commanded by
Lt Cdr L A Lambert on the 19th due to insufficient coal for the voyage to
Leith. She was later renamed
EMPIRE INDUSTRY for British service.
_____
GERMAN
DESTROYER MINELAYING IN THE THAMES ESTUARY
German destroyers HERMANN
KÜNNE and WILHELM HEIDKAMP of the 5th Destroyer Division, escorted by
destroyer BERND VON ARNIM, laid 180 magnetic mines in the Thames Estuary
during the night of the 17th/18th. Returning to Wilhelmshaven, they were met off
Terschelling by light cruisers LEIPZIG, NÜRNBERG and torpedo boats
LEOPARD, ILTIS, and SEEADLER. Seven merchant ships grossing 27,565 tons were sunk
and one more damaged in the field:
On the 18th, Dutch steamer
SIMON BOLIVAR (7906grt) in 51‑49N,
01‑41E; 84 passengers and crew went
missing.
Survivors were rescued by destroyer GREYHOUND, anti-submarine trawlers
MAN O'WAR (517grt), CAPE WARWICK (516grt), DANEMAN (516grt),
WELLARD 514grt), LADY ELSA (518grt), and tug FAIRPLAY II (282grt).
On the 18th, steamer
BLACKHILL (2492grt), 7½ cables 145°
from Longsand Head Light Vessel in 51‑47N, 01‑39E; one crewman
was lost and destroyer GIPSY rescued the survivors.
On the 18th, tanker JAMES J
MAGUIRE (10, 525grt) of convoy OA.37 was severely damaged in 51‑46N, 01‑40E.
On the 19th, steamer
TORCHBEARER (1267grt), two miles 25°
from Shipwash Light Vessel; four crew were lost and destroyer GREYHOUND
rescued the eight survivors.
On the 20th, naval trawler
MASTIFF (520grt, Lt Cdr A A C Ouvry)
one mile off the Tongue; five ratings went missing and one rating died of
wounds. The survivors were rescued by the Margate lifeboat and minesweeping
trawler CAPE
SPARTEL (346grt).
On the 21st, Japanese liner
TERUKUNI MARU (11, 930grt) in 51‑50N,
01‑30E; all 206 passengers and crew were picked up by trawler GAVA
(256grt) and other small craft.
On the 22nd, steamer
GERALDUS (2495grt), three miles WNW
of Sunk Light Vessel; destroyer WIVERN rescued the survivors.
On the 22nd, steamer
LOWLAND (924grt) two miles ENE of Northeast Gunfleet Buoy; nine crew were lost and minesweeping trawler MYRTLE (550grt) rescued three
survivors.
On 10 December, auxiliary
minesweeper RAY OF HOPE (98grt, Skipper W Hayes
RNR) off Ramsgate; four crew
were killed and five missing. Auxiliary minesweeper SILVER DAWN (85grt)
sweeping in company with
RAY OF HOPE picked up Cdr C E
Hamond DSO, DSC Rtd of VERNON, Hayes and the mate.
_____
U.19 laid mines off
Orfordness during the night of the 17th/18th. Destroyer GIPSY and one merchant
ship was lost in the field. The merchantman was Yugoslav steamer
CARICA MILICA (6371grt), sunk on the
18th, 3½ miles 005° from Shipwash; the entire crew was rescued.
_____
Anti-submarine trawler
DRANGEY (434grt) was damaged in a collision at Rosyth.
_____
Destroyers BROKE and ECLIPSE
were submarine hunting in 48‑05N, 6‑32W, and joined by destroyers
VANESSA, VESPER and VIVACIOUS, released from the escort of convoy BC.15.
_____
Minesweeping trawler CORENA
(352grt) reported sighting a U-boat in 50N, 4-35W, and destroyers WOLVERINE and
VERITY sailed to investigate.
_____
Destroyer WALLACE attacked a
submarine contact 10 miles NE of Blyth.
_____
Anti-submarine trawler CAPE ARGONA (494grt) attacked a
submarine contact 1½ miles 010° from Outer Dowsing.
_____
Steamer COREA (751grt)
sighted a submarine in 57‑44N, 5‑52W, and destroyers WOLVERINE
and VERITY were ordered to carry out a search.
_____
U.57 sank Lithuanian steamer
KAUNAS (1566grt) 6½ miles WNW of
Noordhinder Light Vessel; one crewman was lost and 15 survivors picked up.
_____
U.15 laid mines off Lowestoft during the night of the 16th/17th,
on which one merchant ship was sunk.
_____
Convoy HXF.9 departed Halifax at 1200 escorted by Canadian
destroyer ST LAURENT until detached on the 18th.
Ocean escort was armed merchant cruiser ALAUNIA, and the convoy arrived at
Liverpool on the 29th.
_____
Aircraft carrier
ARGUS,
and destroyers STURDY and GALLANT arrived at Gibraltar. GALLANT left to return to
Plymouth and was ordered en route to
search for German merchant ships reported leaving Vigo.
_____
Convoy SLF.9 departed Freetown escorted by sloop AUCKLAND, and was joined on the 29th
by destroyers ESCAPADE, GALLANT and GRAFTON. The convoy arrived later that day
and AUCKLAND reached
Portsmouth on the 30th.
_____
Light cruiser
CARADOC arrived
at San Diego,
California, for refuelling, the
first foreign warship to visit a US port since the start of the
war.
_____
Light cruiser
DESPATCH
(Captain Allen Poland DSC), which entered the Pacific through the Panama Canal on the 1st, arrived at Callao, Peru with steamer LOBOS
(6479grt).
_____
Light cruiser
GLOUCESTER, attached to Force I from
the 16th, departed
Rangoon, and on the 18th sailed from
Colombo to patrol north of Madagascar.
_____
Swedish steamer
VALAPARISO (3759grt) was seized by
German warships for contraband violations in the Baltic.
_____
French submarine SIDI FERRUCH
departed Port of Spain for Martinique.
Saturday, 18 November
On Northern Patrol were two
cruisers between the Orkneys and the Faroes three cruisers and three AMCs between
the Faroes and
Iceland, and one cruiser and two
AMCs in the Denmark Strait.
Light cruisers
CALEDON,
CERES,
CALYPSO arrived at
Loch Ewe from Northern Patrol.
_____
Armed boarding vessels
NORTHERN PRINCESS, NORTHERN FOAM, NORTHERN ISLE departed the Fair Isle
Patrol.
_____
Anti-aircraft cruiser
CURLEW
departed Grimsby on escort duties.
_____
German merchant ship
BORKUM (3670grt), which had departed
Montevideo on 9 October, was captured
by armed merchant cruiser CALIFORNIA on 18 November in the Denmark Strait. Under a prize crew
commanded by Lt Cdr B Moloney
RNR, BORKUM headed for Greenock via Kirkwall, but on the 23rd was
attacked by U.33 and damaged by torpedo and gunfire near the Orkneys in 59‑33N,
03‑57W. Four German crew members were killed, but the rest of the
Germans and British were rescued by armed boarding vessels KINGSTON BERYL and
KINGSTON ONYX. The steamer was abandoned, drifted ashore in Papa
Sound on the 25th and refloated on
18 August
1940,
but as a total loss. She was taken to Rosyth and scrapped.
_____
German merchant ship
EILBEK (2185grt), which had departed
Ponta Delgada in the Azores on the 10th, was captured by
armed merchant cruiser SCOTSTOUN in the Iceland Faroes-Channel in 58‑45N,
14‑10W. Destroyer PUNJABI departed Greenock at daylight on the 20th to
join SCOTSTOUN as she escorted EILBEK to the Clyde. SCOTSTOUN arrived at midday on the 20th and PUNJABI and
the German ship on the 21st. EILBEK was renamed EMPIRE SCOUT for British
service.
_____
Following a D/F report,
destroyers ACASTA, ARDENT, WINCHELSEA and WALPOLE, on their way to meet a
homecoming Halifax convoy, conducted a search 150 miles SW of Berehaven.
_____
Destroyers ECHO and WANDERER were searching
for a submarine in 49‑40N, 12‑00W.
_____
Destroyers ILEX and ICARUS
began boiler cleaning at Rosyth.
_____
Destroyer ISIS departed
Rosyth to collect tanker ATHELKING (9557grt) at Invergordon and escort her to
Methil to join convoy FS.40.
ISIS arrived on the morning of the 19th and departed that
afternoon with the tanker and destroyer KELLY, en route to the
Tyne for refit. Destroyer
INGLEFIELD, after delivering MASHOBRA to Rosyth, relieved KELLY.
ISIS and the
tanker arrived at Methil on the 20th, while KELLY reached the Tyne on the 21st.
_____
Convoy OA.37 of 24
ships departed Southend escorted by destroyer GRAFTON and ENCHANTRESS from
the 18th to 20th. The convoy was dispersed on the 21st.
_____
Convoy OB.38 departed Liverpool escorted by destroyers
MACKAY and VIMY to the 21st.
_____
GERMAN
DESTROYER MINELAYING OFF THE HUMBER
German destroyers ERICH
STEINBRINCK and FRIEDRICH ECKHOLDT of the 4th Destroyer Flotilla, escorted by
destroyer HANDS LODY, laid mixed contact and more magnetic mines off the
Humber during the night of the
18th/19th. Returning, they were met by light cruiser LEIPZIG and torpedo boats ILTIS,
SEEADLER, LEOPARD and WOLF. The British were still not aware that the Germans
were using magnetic mines, against which they had no defence or sweeping
capability, and it was not until the 23rd that a magnetic mine was recovered
at Shoeburyness. Seven merchant ships grossing 38,710 tons were sunk and one
more damaged in the field.
On the 19th, Swedish steamer
B O BORJESSON (1586grt) in 53‑46N,
00‑21E; six crewmen were lost, and the survivors rescued by
minesweeping trawler ROSE OF ENGLAND (222grt) and trawler FRASCATI (220grt).
On the 19th, French steamer
RHUYS (2921grt) 2½ miles south of the
Humber Light Vessel; sixteen crewmen were lost and 17 survivors rescued.
On the 24th, steamer
MANGALORE (8886grt), 1½ miles 288°
from Spurn Light House.
On the 26th, Polish liner
PILSUDSKI (14,294grt), 26 miles 314°
off Outer Dowsing in 53-15N, 0-30E; ten crewmen were lost, and destroyer
VALOROUS rescued 79 survivors.
On the 30th, Norwegian
steamer REALF (8083grt) in 53‑55N,
00‑22E; one crewman was lost and the survivors rescued by Italian
steamer SANTAGATA (4299grt). The wreck did not sink until 1 December.
On 4 December, steamer
HORSTED (1670grt) in convoy, in 53‑48N,
00‑16E; five crewmen were lost and destroyer JACKAL picked up the
survivors.
An additional vessel of 1270
tons was lost on this minefield. This could possibly be Norwegian steamer
GIMLE (1271grt), reported lost on 3
December off the east coast of England, although her sinking is generally
credited to U.31
On 28 December, tanker SAN DELFINO (8072grt) was
damaged off Holme Ridge Buoy in the Humber Estuary, but refloated and berthed
on 1 January 1940.
_____
U.18 sank fishing trawler
WIGMORE (345grt) 25 miles N by W of
Rattray Head in 57‑59N, 02‑06W. Sixteen crewmen were lost.
_____
U.22 sank steamer
PARKHILL (500grt) in 58‑07N, 02‑18W.
_____
Force K of aircraft carrier
ARK
ROYAL, battlecruiser
RENOWN, light cruiser
NEPTUNE, and destroyers HARDY,
HERO, HOSTILE and HASTY departed Freetown to operate south of Freetown along the convoy route.
_____
Battleship
RAMILLIES and
destroyer DELIGHT joined Force J in the Indian Ocean. RAMILLIES was to relieve
battleship MALAYA which was due to go to
Malta for rearming. However, these
plans were suspended after the sinking of steamer AFRICA SHELL in the Indian Ocean. DELIGHT was also to relieve
destroyer DARING which was to return to the Mediterranean for refit, but her return
too was suspended.
_____
Aircraft carrier
ARGUS,
and destroyers STURDY and DOUGLAS departed Gibraltar for Toulon. DOUGLAS arrived back on the 23rd.
_____
Light cruiser
CAPETOWN
departed Gibraltar and arrived at
Malta on the 20th.
_____
French destroyer BORDELAIS
and submarines CAIMAN, MORSE and SOUFFLEUR passed Gibraltar westbound.
_____
Convoy HX.9 departed Halifax at 1000 escorted by Canadian
destroyers ASSINIBOINE and
ST LAURENT until they detached on the
20th. Ocean escort was battleship WARSPITE, which detached on the 24th. The
convoy arrived at
Liverpool on 2 December.
_____
French large destroyer
CHEVALIER PAUL and torpedo boats FLORE and BOUCLIER were on patrol in the
area of 43N, 13.5W.
Sunday, 19 November
Destroyers FURY and MASHONA departed
Loch Ewe to hunt for a U-boat, and were joined by destroyers PUNJABI and
ASHANTI which also departed Loch
Ewe later.
_____
On Northern Patrol were two
cruisers between the Orkneys and the Faroes, three cruisers and three AMCs
between the Faroes and Iceland, and one cruiser and one
AMC in the Denmark Strait.
_____
Destroyer BOADICEA departed
Harwich to investigate a Belgian steamer in the North Sea reported to have
“cylindrical objects” on her after deck.
_____
Destroyer KEITH and one other
destroyer from convoy HG.7A dropped depth charges on a submarine contact.
_____
Convoy BC.14 of eleven steamers,
including ADJUTANT, BATNA, BELLEROPHON (Commodore), BRIARWOOD, HARMATTAN,
JADE, LOCHEE, OUSEL and PEMBROKE COAST departed the Loire, escorted by destroyer
VESPER, and safely arrived in the Bristol Channel on the 21st.
_____
Convoy FN.39 departed
Southend, escorted by destroyers WALLACE, WHITLEY and sloop STORK. The convoy
was met off Cromer Knoll by destroyer JERSEY on the 20th, and arrived at
Methil on the 21st.
_____
Convoy FS.39 departed Methil,
escorted by destroyer WOOLSTON and sloops HASTINGS and PELICAN, and was met off Flamborough by destroyer JUPITER on the 20th. The convoy arrived at Southend
on the 21st.
_____
After a submarine was
reported four miles north of St Abb's Head, destroyer VIVIEN was sent to
search.
_____
A submarine was reported off
Wicca Cove near St Ives. Destroyers ESCAPADE and ENCOUNTER were ordered to
search the area, but ENCOUNTER suffered damage to her forecastle in heavy
seas.
_____
Patrol sloops KINGFISHER and
WIDGEON arrived at Ardrossan.
_____
U.57 sank steamer
STANBROOK (1383grt) in the North Sea between Antwerp and the Tyne.
_____
Finnish steamer
TORAS (1016grt) was captured by a German
warship in the Baltic, taken in prize, and renamed FIDUCIA for German
service.
_____
U.41 sank steamer
DARINO (1351grt) west of Biscay in 44‑12N,
11‑07W. Sixteen crew were lost, but U.41 picked up the survivors and
later transferred them to Italian steamer CATERINA GEROLINICH (5430grt).
_____
U.43 sank steamer
PENSILVA (4258grt), a straggler from
convoy OG.7, west of Biscay in 46‑51N, 11‑36W. Destroyer ECHO attacked U.49 which was nearby, badly
damaged her, and made two more attacks before picking up the survivors from PENSILVA. Destroyer WANDERER joined
ECHO at 1530. U.49 arrived back
in Germany on the 29th and was under
repair until 8 March 1940.
_____
Convoy HG.7 was escorted by
French large destroyers
TARTU and VAUQUELIN when a U-boat was
reported shadowing the convoy.
French large destroyers CHACAL and MISTRAL
were investigating a contact 120 miles 315° from Cape Finisterre, and destroyers GALLANT,
WALKER, VANOC, WOLVERINE, VERITY were ordered to join them.
_____
Steamer ROTHESAY CASTLE (7016grt) was attacked 300
miles WSW of Ushant. Destroyers ECHO and WANDERER were hunting in
the area and were joined by destroyers WOLVERINE and VERITY detached from
convoy OA.36G.
_____
Light cruiser
EFFINGHAM
departed Halifax and arrived at Bermuda on the 21st.
_____
Light cruiser
DAUNTLESS
departed Singapore on patrol, and arrived back
on the 28th.
_____
Steamer CLAN BUCHANAN
(7266grt)) was approached by a French auxiliary cruiser 250 miles west of
Portugal. Both, unsure of each
other's identity, regarded the other as an enemy. The auxiliary attempted to
stop, then chased the British ship for some time. CLAN BUCHANAN finally
outdistanced her and later discovered what had actually happened.
_____
French destroyer BORDELAIS
and submarines LA PSYCHÉ, MÉDUSE and LE GLORIEUX which had departed Casablanca, passed Gibraltar. They arrived at Oran on the 20th, where LE
GLORIEUX started repairing.
Monday, 20 November
Light cruiser
GLASGOW and destroyers
ZULU and MAORI departed Rosyth in an attempt to intercept German liner BREMEN as she slipped down the
Norwegian coast to Germany. ZULU, experiencing
mechanical problems at the start, was delayed seven hours and joined the
force at sea.
_____
Light cruiser
BELFAST with destroyers GURKHA and
AFRIDI departed Rosyth for gunnery exercises, and arrived back later that
day.
_____
Convoy SA.18 of two steamers
departed Southampton, escorted by destroyer WINDSOR, and arrived at
Brest on the 21st.
_____
German merchant ship
BERTHA FISSER (4110grt) was
intercepted by armed merchant cruiser CHITRAL, SE of Iceland in 64‑10N,
15‑14W. She had departed Pernambuco on 24 October, in mid-Atlantic in
42N, 35W was intercepted and challenged by a British warship, but her
disguise as Norwegian steamer ADA was successful and she was
allowed to continue. This time, she scuttled herself and her 32 man
crew was picked up by CHITRAL.
_____
Destroyer BEDOUIN departed
Rosyth for Scapa Flow.
_____
Destroyer KASHMIR departed Scapa Flow to intercept a reported
suspicious merchant ship near the Faroes.
_____
Destroyer KANDAHAR departed Scapa Flow to patrol off Shapinsay.
_____
U.18 attacked destroyer
INGLEFIELD off Rattray Head without success at 0010.
_____
Destroyers IMOGEN, IMPERIAL
and
IMPULSIVE departed Rosyth and searched for U-boats in the Rattray Head area.
_____
Destroyer EXMOUTH, ECHO
and MONTROSE were hunting in
the area of 46-20N, 6-00W for a reported damaged U-boat.
_____
Steamer BENGUELA (534grt) reported
sighting a submarine in 46-17N, 6-03W.
_____
Anti-submarine trawler MAN O WAR (517grt) reported a
U-boat and attacked it in 51‑55N, 1‑46E. Destroyers GRIFFIN and GIPSY joined her in the
search.
_____
Destroyer BOADICEA, carrying
out a submarine sweep with destroyer KEITH in the North Sea, was near missed in a German
bombing attack, but escaped damage.
_____
Destroyers EXMOUTH, ECHO
and MONTROSE were ordered to
search for a reported submarine in 40N, 6W.
_____
Minesweeper
HUSSAR, sweeping
near Humber Light Vessel, exploded a mine in her sweep, and sustained some
damage.
_____
German aircraft laid
parachute mines in the Thames Estuary.
_____
Submarine STURGEON (Lt G D A Gregory)
fired four torpedoes at 1555 at two German anti-submarine trawlers in 54-32N, 5-10E.
One of them sank Vp.209 (trawler GAULEITER
TELSHOW, 428grt) northwest of
Helgoland in the Heligoland Bight, the
first sinking of an enemy vessel by a British submarine in World War 2.
_____
Convoy OA.38 of 14 ships was
escorted on the 20th by destroyers WREN and WITCH, and dispersed on
the 23rd.
_____
Convoy OB.39 departed Liverpool escorted by destroyers
VERSATILE and WITHERINGTON until the 23rd, when they detached to join convoy
SL.8.
_____
Convoy FS.40 departed the
Tyne escorted by escort
ships VALOROUS and BITTERN. Included with the convoy were tanker ATHELKING and submarine STERLET, which was detached in the
Tyne for refit, arriving on the
21st.
_____
Minelayer
PLOVER laid mines
in North Inchkeith Channel on the 20th, and on 14 and 16 December, laid more
mines in South Inchkeith Channel. Netlayer
BAYONET was lost in one of the South Inchkeith Channel fields.
_____
French auxiliary minesweeper
SAINTE CLARE (57grt) was sunk on a
mine laid by U.16, 10 miles SE of Folkestone on 22 October; eleven crewmen
were lost.
_____
Sloops PELICAN and HASTINGS with convoy FN.40 attacked U.19
off Cromer Light. Destroyers KEITH and BOADICEA joined them, but U.19, which
had laid mines in the Inner Dowsing area on the 17th, escaped.
_____
U-BOAT
OPERATIONS
U.31, U.33, U.35, U.47, U.48
were deployed around the Orkneys to support German Fleet operations.
U.31 departed Wilhelmshaven on the 18th and returned on
11 December.
U.33 was returning from a
minelaying operation off North Foreland on the 5th, and got back on the 29th.
U.35 departed Wilhelmshaven on the 18th and was lost on
the 29th.
U.47 departed Wilhelmshaven on the 16th and arrived back
on the 29th.
U.48 departed Wilhelmshaven on the 22nd and arrived back
on 20 December.
On the 20th, U.33 sank
trawlers SEA SWEEPER (329grt) 25 miles NNW of Tory Island,
DELPHINE (250grt) 20 miles N by E of
Tory Island, and THOMAS HANKINS
(276grt) 14 miles NWof Tory Island. The crews of all three trawlers were
picked up - SEA SWEEPER’s by trawler
LOIS (286grt) at 0300/21st.
The next day, submarine U.33
sank trawlers SCULBY (287grt) and
WILLIAM HUMPHRIES (276grt) 73 miles
NW of Rathlin Island. Five crewmen were lost from SCULBY, and the seven
survivors landed at Tobermory.
_____
French convoy KS.27, en route
from Oran and
Casablanca to Brest and St Nazaire, and escorted
by French destroyers SIROCCO, FRONDEUR and sloop CHEVREUIL, was attacked by
U41, U.43 and U.49 off St Nazaire. ThE convoy had been sighted by U.53 on the
15th, but air support and the destroyers were able to hold off the submarines
leading to the CO of U.53 being relieved of command after this patrol for not
pressing home the attack. U.49 attempted an attack on the afternoon of the
16th November, but without success. French large destroyer CHEVALIER PAUL was
sent out to reinforce the escort. None of the U-boats were able to do any
damage to KS.27, but U.41 and U.43 were each able to sink four independents
or stragglers while en route to the convoy. SIROCCO attacked U.49 on the
20th, and damaged her bow tubes in the depth charge attack. French destroyers INDOMPTABLE, MALIN
and TRIOMPHANT were also searching the area.
_____
Light cruiser
DANAE departed Colombo for Singapore, arriving on the 26th.
_____
Light cruiser
CARADOC arrived
at Esquimalt for refitting completed on
15 April 1940.
_____
Australian light cruiser
PERTH departed Kingston for Colon.
_____
Australian heavy cruisers
CANBERRA and
AUSTRALIA arrived at Melbourne after patrol.
Tuesday, 21 November
Battleships
NELSON and
RODNEY
with destroyers FURY,
FAME, FAULKNOR, FOXHOUND, FORTUNE and FORESIGHT arrived
in the Clyde from Loch Ewe.
_____
Light cruisers
SOUTHAMPTON
and
BELFAST with destroyer AFRIDI
departed the Firth of Forth on gunnery exercises. At 1058 near May Island, BELFAST struck a mine laid by a U.21
on the 4th. Badly damaged and with a broken back, she was towed back to
Rosyth by tug KROOMAN (230grt). Tug BRAMHAM soon joined and later, tugs
GRANGEBOURNE, BULGER and OXCAR also met BELFAST. Twenty one crew, including
Lt Cdr (E) F S. Ferguson, were wounded, with one rating dying of wounds on
the 30th. Destroyers GURKHA and ICARUS put out from Rosyth to search off
Fiora for the submarine thought responsible. They were joined by escort
vessel WHITLEY and sloop STORK and later by destroyers ISIS and BEDOUIN.
Destroyers IMOGEN, IMPULSIVE and IMPERIAL were also recalled from patrol off Rattray Head to assist in the search, refuelling at Invergordon on the 22nd
en route. Escort vessel VIVIEN remained in company with BELFAST after she passed through the
gate. After temporary repairs, BELFAST left Rosyth on
28 June 1940 for Devonport, arrived there on 3 July and was
repairing until
3 November 1942 – almost three years later.
_____
Light cruiser
AURORA advised
she had leaking rivets in her stern, was seaworthy, but did require docking
at the earliest possibility.
_____
On Northern Patrol were two
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. Armed merchant cruiser
CALIFORNIA on reported she had a
slightly damaged bow due to ice. Light cruisers
DELHI,
CALYPSO
and
CERES departed
Loch Ewe on Northern Patrol duties.
_____
Destroyer
GIPSY (Lt Cdr N J Crossley) and the
Polish BURZA departed Harwich to rescue a downed German aircrew, who were
picked up and returned to Harwich. That evening at 2100, destroyers GRIFFIN (D.22, Captain G E Creasy),
KEITH, GIPSY, BOADICEA and Polish GROM departed Harwich for a sweep in the
North Sea in operation GT.1. Leaving
Harwich Harbour, the destroyers ran into a
minefield laid by U.19 on the 17th and GIPSY struck a mine and was badly
damaged. She was run aground a total loss and KEITH and GRIFFIN picked up the survivors. One
crewman died of injuries, 29 crewmen were missing, and Lt Cdr Crossley died
of injuries on the 27th. Py/Lt J B Rigg RNVR, Py/Midshipman M A J Landon
RNR and nineteen ratings were
wounded, one seriously. Consideration was given to salvaging and repairing
GIPSY, but she had been too badly damaged.
_____
Destroyers JUNO, JAGUAR, JANUS and JERSEY departed Immingham and were
on a patrol in the
North Sea, designated operation BT.2. Following the
patrol, JANUS joined convoy FS.40 and JAGUAR joined FN.40. JAGUAR was
attacked by a German bomber in 53-33N, 00-48E, but was not damaged.
_____
Destroyers PUNJABI, ASHANTI, SOMALI and MASHONA departed
Greenock for Belfast to escort the fleet tenders
A (dummy battleship REVENGE - decoy ship PAKEHA) and B (dummy battleship
RESOLUTION - decoy ship WAIMANA) to Rosyth to help divert the Luftwaffe's
attention away from
Scapa Flow. The group was designated Force W and included
fleet tender C as dummy aircraft carrier HERMES – decoy ship MAMARI.
_____
Destroyers SOMALI, ASHANTI
and MASHONA departed Belfast to search for a submarine 70
miles NW of Rathlin. They were joined by sister ship PUNJABI.
_____
Polish destroyer BLYSKAWICA
investigated suspicious vessels southwest of Shipwash.
_____
Destroyers IMOGEN, IMPERIAL
and
IMPULSIVE were searching for the U-boat responsible for sinking trawler
WIGMORE on the 18th off Rattray Head.
_____
Destroyers ESCORT and ELECTRA
were searching for a submarine one mile 180° from Rame Head.
_____
Destroyer WARWICK and patrol
sloop GUILLEMOT were submarine hunting in 53‑49N, 3‑51W.
_____
Minesweepers SKIPJACK and
LEDA were searching for a submarine one mile south of Cross Sands.
_____
On the 19th, destroyer WIVERN
was relieved on patrol by destroyer BRILLIANT. Then on the 21st, WIVERN was
ordered to make runs at high speed along the line from the wreck of the Dutch
steamer SIMON BOLIVAR in 51‑49.6N, 01‑41E and that of British steamer BLACKHILL in 51‑47.6N, 01‑39E to detonate any magnetic mines.
Anti-submarine trawlers WELLARD and LADY ELSA took off non-essential crewmen
and stood by should WIVERN be mined in the attempt. Four runs were made, but
no mines detonated. This was repeated on the 23rd with similar results, and
after one run, a leak developed in the stern gland and she returned to Chatham.
_____
Convoy FN.40 departed
Southend, escorted by destroyer WOOLSTON, and sloops PELICAN and HASTINGS. Destroyer JAGUAR provided
support on the 22nd, while WOOLSTON detached when the convoy was abreast the
Tyne to join the escort of FS.41.
FN.40 arrived at Methil on the 23rd.
_____
Convoy FS.40 departed the
Tyne, escorted by escort ship VALOROUS and sloop BITTERN. Destroyer JANUS provided support
on the 22nd, and the convoy arrived at Southend on the 23rd.
_____
Anti-submarine trawlers
BEDFORDSHIRE (443grt), WARWICK DEEPING (445grt) and CAMBRIDGESHIRE (443grt)
attacked a submarine contact three miles from Bull Point.
_____
German merchant ship
TENERIFE (2436grt), which had
departed Vigo on the 9th, scuttled herself
when intercepted by armed merchant cruiser TRANSYLVANIA west of Iceland in 62‑25N, 20W. The
crew of 12 officers and 61 ratings were taken aboard the British ship.
_____
U.41 sank French steamer LES
BARGES II (296grt) in 45‑35N, 03‑22W; survivors were picked
up by Spanish fishing vessel PAZ Y TRABAJO, and landed at Pasajes.
_____
Italian steamer FIANONA
(6660grt) was damaged on a mine near South Brade Buoy off Deal late on the
21st and taken to
Calais for drydocking and repair.
_____
SORTIE
BY GERMAN BATTLECRUISERS SCHARNHORST and GNEISENAU
German battlecruisers
SCHARNHORST and GNEISENAU departed Wilhelmshaven at 1310 hours under the
command of Vice Admiral Marschall to raid in the North Atlantic and relieve pressure on the
ADMIRAL GRAF SPEE in the
South Atlantic. They were accompanied by
light cruisers KÖLN,
LEIPZIG and destroyers ERICH GIESE,
BERND VON ARNIM and KARL GALSTER until late on the 21st. The escorting ships
then joined pocket battleship LÜTZOW (former DEUTSCHLAND) and torpedo boats
LEOPARD, SEEADLER, ILTIS for operations in the Skagerrak during the night of the
21st/22nd. However, heavy weather forced a cancellation of the Skagerrak operation and these ships
returned to Wilhelmshaven.
_____
Escorted by Canadian
destroyers ASSINIBOINE and
ST LAURENT, light cruiser
EMERALD arrived at Halifax
with
another shipment of gold bullion from England.
_____
FRENCH
NAVY MOVEMENTS
French
battlecruiser
STRASBOURG and heavy cruiser ALGÉRIE of
Force Y departed
Dakar, escorted by destroyers LE
FANTASQUE and LE TERRIBLE. They were joined by destroyers GUÉPARD, VALMY and
VERDUN of the 3rd Large Destroyer
Division, which had departed Toulon on the 17th. The destroyers,
large destroyer
LION and destroyer LA RAILLEUSE, departing
Casablanca on the 23rd, joined them on
the 24th and later arrived at Brest on the 30th.
Later on the 24th, ALGÉRIE,
LE FANTASQUE, LE TERRIBLE,
LION and LA RAILLEUSE separated from
the group and arrived at
Toulon on the 26th. LE FANTASQUE
and LE TERRIBLE reached
Brest on the 30th.
West of Spain on the 25th,
STRASBOURG was joined by destroyers LE
MALIN and LE TRIOMPHANT of the 8th Large Destroyer Division which had
departed
Brest on the 23rd. Destroyer L’INDOMPTABLE
departed with her two sister ships, but was delayed by a storm on the 24th,
then reassigned. GUÉPARD,
VERDUN, VALMY, LE MALIN, and
LE TRIOMPHANT escorted the battlecruiser, and on the 27th, there was an aerial
mining alert. Still escorted by the five destroyers, she arrived at Brest on the 29th for refitting.
Destroyer L’AUDACIEUX
departed Dakar with turbine defects on the
22nd escorting a convoy of steamers JAMAIQUE, LIPARI, and BELLE ISLE for Casablanca, and arriving on the 27th.
She left there on the 30th, arrived at Oran on 1 December and Toulon on the 4th for repairs.
To relieve Force Y, Force X
was formed with heavy cruisers FOCH and DUPLEIX.
A number of ships joined
heavy cruiser DUPLEIX at
Casablanca. Large destroyer MILAN departed Bizerte on the 2nd and arrived on
the 6th. Large destroyer CASSARD departed Toulon on the 3rd escorting
submarines LE HÉROS, LE CONQUÉRANT, ACHÉRON and arrived on the 7th. Finally
heavy cruiser FOCH and destroyer LION departed Oran on the 7th to reach Casablanca on the 8th.
_____
Destroyer depot ship
WOOLWICH, carrying
MTB.3 and
MTB.4 aboard, departed Malta for Portsmouth, escorted by sloop ROCHESTER, which had only reached
Malta on the 20th from the East Indies. After reaching Gibraltar on the 25th, ROCHESTER left on the 28th for Freetown. Now with local escort by
destroyers VELOX and WISHART, WOOLWICH departed Gibraltar on the 25th.
Wednesday, 22 November
On Northern Patrol were two
cruisers between the Orkneys and the Faroes, three cruisers and three AMCs
between the Faroes and Iceland, and one cruiser and three
AMCs in the Denmark Strait. Light cruiser
NEWCASTLE departed Loch Ewe for patrol
in the Denmark
Strait.
_____
Armed merchant cruiser
LAURENTIC intercepted German merchant ship
ANTIOCHIA (3106grt) which had departed Ponta Delgada on the 12th. First sighted
south of Iceland in 62‑30N, 16‑30W,
LAURENTIC chased ANTIOCHIA to 62‑15N, 15‑08W where she scuttled
herself.
_____
Destroyers IMOGEN, IMPULSIVE
and
IMPERIAL arrived at Invergordon to refuel after their Rattray Head patrol.
_____
Destroyers KASHMIR and KANDAHAR arrived at Scapa Flow.
_____
Two flights of German
aircraft attacked Sullom Voe and seaplane depot ship MANELA, but were driven
off by anti-aircraft cruiser
COVENTRY. One London flying boat was destroyed
but there was no other damage. Incendiary bombs were also dropped over Lerwick Harbour.
_____
Minesweeping trawler
ARAGONITE (315grt, CO - Lt Cdr F G
Rogers RNR, Chief Skipper P J Miles
RNR) was mined and sunk near
South Brade Buoy off Deal, one mile 49° from the Deal Coast Guard Station; four men were wounded in the explosion.
_____
Destroyer FOXHOUND left Greenock at 2315 during a submarine
alert and shortly after, at 0008/23 ran aground near Black Point Light,
suffering minor hull damage. She was able to get off by herself at 0713, but was
in dock at Greenock until 11 December.
_____
Destroyers WIVERN and Polish
GROM and BLYSKAWICA departed the Nore for Kentish Knock to search for for
moored mines.
_____
Destroyer MASHONA was
searching for a submarine located by D/F.
_____
Destroyer MONTROSE made
anti-submarine attacks in 48‑46N, 06‑35W.
_____
Sloop PC.74 and patrol sloop
SHELDRAKE with two anti-submarine trawlers were searching for a submarine
contact off northern Ireland in 56-39N, 7-31W.
_____
Former destroyer leader
BRUCE, which had been paid off and disarmed prior to the war, was sunk as an
aircraft torpedo target south of the Isle of Wight.
_____
Convoy OA.39 of four ships
departed Southend escorted by destroyer ARDENT from the 22nd to 24th.
_____
Convoy OB.39 departed Liverpool escorted by destroyers
VOLUNTEER and WARWICK until the 25th.
_____
Greek steamer
NICOLAOS PIANGOS (4499grt) was sunk
in a collision with Norwegian steamer BRARENA (6996grt) in the North Sea.
_____
U.43 sank French steamer
ARIJON (4374grt) in 45‑40N, 04‑50W.
_____
U.20 laid mines during the
night of the 21st/22nd near Newarp Light Ship, east of Yarmouth, on which two merchant ships were
lost.
_____
Greek steamer
ELENA R (4576grt) was sunk two miles
south of Shambles Light Vessel on a mine laid by U.26 on 4 September; the
crew of 24 reached the Light Vessel.
_____
After being relieved by
destroyer DELIGHT, sister ship DARING departed Aden on the 10th and arrived at
Suez after operations in the
East Indies which started on 13 October.
DARING departed
Port Said on the 23rd and proceeded to
Malta where she arrived on the
25th for refitting.
_____
Convoy HG.8, which departed
Port Said on the 11th, left Gibraltar on the 22nd, escorted by
destroyers KEPPEL, VIDETTE and the French TIGRE and PANTHÈRE from the
22nd. The French ships arrived at Brest on the 29th. Cable ship
MIRROR departed with the convoy and escorted by VIDETTE carried out cable
repairs in 36-16N, 7-24W. These ships arrived back at Gibraltar on the 26th. The convoy
reached Liverpool on the 30th.
_____
French destroyers
L’INDOMPTABLE, LE MALIN and LE TRIOMPHANT were patrolling in 44‑30N, 9‑30W.
_____
Destroyer HOTSPUR departed
Kingston to intercept German steamer
ARAUCA (4354grt), reported leaving
Vera Cruz.
_____
German liner
ADOLPH WOERMANN (8577grt) departed
Lobito on the 16th, and Forces H
and K were involved in trying to intercept her. Steamer WAIMARAMA (12,843grt)
reported sighting a suspicious merchant ship at 0842/21st and light cruiser
NEPTUNE of Force K was detached to investigate. On her approach,
ADOLPH WOERMANN
scuttled herself off
Ascension Island in 10-39S, 5-44W and NEPTUNE picked up the crew.
Destroyers HARDY, HASTY, HERO and HOSTILE, also of Force K accompanied NEPTUNE to Freetown for refuelling, arriving on
the 25th. The German crew was taken to England by armed merchant cruiser
CARNAVON CASTLE, which departed Freetown on the 25th in convoy
SLF.10.
_____
Light cruiser
AJAX and New Zealand sister ship
ACHILLES
searched for German merchant ships off Cape San Antonio. Both refuelled from tanker
OLYNTHUS at San Boroborn Bay on the
23rd and then set off northwards.
_____
Heavy cruiser
EXETER departed Rio de Janiero for
the Rio
de la Plata, then left the area on the 26th for the
Falklands, arriving on the 30th.
_____
Light cruiser
BIRMINGHAM departed Hong Kong on the 22nd after submarine
RAINBOW reported a darkened ship leaving Kobe. No contact with the ship
was made and BIRMINGHAM returned to Hong Kong.
Thursday, 23 November
German merchant ship
KONSUL HENDRIK FISSER (4458grt),
which had departed
Vigo on the 11th, was captured
north of the Faroes in 63N, 07W by light cruiser
CALYPSO, which had left Loch
Ewe on the 23rd. She was taken to
Leith by a prize crew commanded by Lt Cdr G R H
Smith Rtd, and renamed EMPIRE SOLDIER for British service.
_____
During the afternoon of the 23rd, Northern Patrol was disposed as follows:
(1) Denmark Strait
- heavy
cruisers NORFOLK,
SUFFOLK and armed merchant cruisers
CALIFORNIA, TRANSYLVANIA and
AURANIA; (2) Iceland-Faroes Channel
- light cruisers
NEWCASTLE,
DELHI,
CERES,
CALYPSO and armed
merchant cruiser
RAWALPINDI (AMC CHITRAL departed the
Clyde on the 14th for this
station, but was now returning with the crew from German steamer BERTHA FISSER). Meanwhile
DELHI was pursuing German steamer
LUDOLF OLDENDORFF (1953grt) but was unable to stop her. She was stopped the
next day by light cruiser
SHEFFIELD, but disguised as a Danish steamer, was allowed
to continue; and (3)
south of the Faroes
- light cruisers
CALEDON,
CARDIFF
and
COLOMBO.
_____
SORTIE
BY GERMAN BATTLECRUISERS SCHARNHORST and GNEISENAU - LOSS OF
RAWALPINIDI
German battlecruiser
SCHARNHORST came upon armed merchant cruiser
RAWALPINDI (Captain E C Kennedy Rtd)
southeast of Iceland at 1507. She tried to outrun
SCHARNHORST and at 1551 radioed that an enemy battlecruiser had been sighted,
adding a few minutes later that the warship was the DEUTSCHLAND which was
still believed to be at sea.
At 1603, SCHARNHORST came
within range and opened fire, followed by GNEISENAU at
1611.
RAWALPINDI was soon wrecked and set afire, but SCHARNHORST
was hit in return by one of
RAWALPINDI's six inch shells which
exploded on the quarter deck causing some splinter casualties among the crew.
SCHARNHORST picked up six survivors from RAWALPINDI and GNEISENAU another
twenty-one. Ty/Lt Cdr (E) B J Dyer
RNR, Midshipman D Dugdale
RNR and 25 ratings were made
prisoners of war.
Light cruiser
NEWCASTLE on Northern Patrol next to
RAWALPINDI picked up the SOS and steamed to her position.
NEWCASTLE actually sighted GNEISENAU at six and a half
miles, but both German ships escaped unharmed.
RAWALPINDI was still afloat, although
afire when NEWCASTLE and light cruiser DELHI located her. She finally
sank around 2000.
Lost with her were Captain E
C Kennedy Rtd, Lt Cdr G H E Molson Rtd, Lt Cdr K D Morgan RNR, Lt J A W French Rtd, Lt M F
Shute RNR, Ty/Lt H J Cholerton
RNR, Sub Lt O V Pickersgill
RNR, Sub Lt R L Pallister RNR, Ty/Sub Lt F H J Orton RNR, Py/Sub Lt T B Quinn RNR, Act/Sub Lt H W Raymont
RNR, Ty/Act/Sub Lt A D Seabrook
RNR, Ty/Cdr (E) C C Sangster
RNR, Ty/Lt Cdr (E) A J Burge
RNR, Ty/Lt (E) T H C H Fee RNR, Ty/Lt (E) H Turner RNR, Ty/Lt (E) J Shields RNR, Ty/Act/Sub Lt (E) H J Arbin
RNR, Ty/Act/Sub Lt (E) L E Bevington
RNR, Ty/Act/Sub Lt (E) A W Briden
RNR, Ty/Act/Sub Lt (E) W A Lambert
RNR, Ty/Act/Sub Lt (E) J MacDonald
RNR, Ty/ Act/Sub Lt (E) A MacKie
RNR, Ty/ Act/Sub Lt (E) E G Meredith
RNR, Ty/ Act/Sub Lt (E) R H Taylor
RNR, Ty/Paymaster Lt Cdr J B
Dickinson RNR, Ty/Paymaster Lt P E Sparks
RNR, Py/Midshipman D W Bean
RNR, Py/Midshipman J A Blackledge
RNR, Py/Midshipman W Middleton
RNR, Py/Commissioned Electrician
G P Johnson RNR, Py/Commissioned Electrician R Main
RNR, Py/Surgeon Lt F H J Weston RNVR and two hundred and forty six ratings.
Armed merchant cruiser
CHITRAL, returning to the
Clyde, picked up eleven more
survivors from a lifeboat 36 hours later.
In response to RAWALPINDI's contact report, Admiral
Forbes with battleships
NELSON,
RODNEY, heavy cruiser
DEVONSHIRE and destroyers FAULKNOR,
FORESTER, FORTUNE, FIREDRAKE and FURY of the 8th Destroyer Flotilla departed the
Clyde for a position off the
Norwegian coast to intercept the German ships, still believed to be DEUTSCHLAND, as they returned to
Germany. Destroyers FAME and FORESIGHT joined the
force at sea, off the
Clyde.
Heavy seas badly battered
FORTUNE, FAME
and FORESIGHT, and FORTUNE was detached to Pentland Firth Patrol, arrived at
Scapa Flow on the 28th and was later
taken to Liverpool for repairs, completed on 5 January.
FAME and FORESIGHT returned to
the Clyde arriving on the 24th and
were under repair there until 28 December.
Light cruisers
SOUTHAMPTON,
EDINBURGH
and
AURORA with destroyers AFRIDI, GURKHA,
BEDOUIN, ISIS and
KINGSTON departed Rosyth for Fair
Island Channel.
South of the Faroes on
Northern Patrol were light cruisers
CALEDON of the 7th Cruiser Squadron,
and CARDIFF and
COLOMBO of the 11th. They
were joined by light cruisers
DIOMEDE of the 7th Squadron and
DUNEDIN of the 11th from
Loch Ewe and all took station off
North Rona to patrol the approaches to
the Fair Island Channel. However, DIOMEDE and DUNEDIN had just arrived in Loch Ewe
from patrol and both soon had to detach for refuelling.
Light cruisers
CALYPSO and
CERES were stationed five miles due north of Kelso Light to act as a night
attack striking force.
Light cruiser
DRAGON of the
7th Squadron had just arrived at Loch Ewe on the 19th to repair weather
damage and boiler clean, and did not depart until the 24th.
Light cruiser
SHEFFIELD departed Loch Ewe and
proceeded towards the reported position of the German battleships.
Heavy cruisers
NORFOLK and
SUFFOLK in the Denmark Strait were ordered to proceed
towards Bill Bailey Bank.
Light cruiser
GLASGOW and
destroyers MAORI and ZULU, at sea since the 20th, looking for German liner
BREMEN, were to the northeast of the
Shetlands. Convoy ON.3 left the Firth of Forth at 1530, but was
recalled, and its escorts, destroyers INGLEFIELD, IMPERIAL,
IMPULSIVE and IMOGEN joined the
GLASGOW force off Muckle Flugga.
Destroyer BEDOUIN of the
SOUTHAMPTON force was detached to patrol
Pentland
Firth
until relieved by destroyer FORTUNE.
Destroyers SOMALI, MASHONA, ASHANTI
and
PUNJABI, recently departed Belfast with Force W, the dummy battleships, were
ordered to join Forbes at sea off the Mull of Kintyre. Force W returned to
Belfast.
Destroyers TARTAR, KANDAHAR
and KASHMIR sortied from Scapa Flow with orders to locate and
shadow the German force.
Armed merchant cruiser
CHITRAL arrived in the
Clyde on the 24th with survivors from the
RAWALPINDI.
Armed merchant cruisers TRANSYLVANIA, CALIFORNIA,
AURANIA rendezvoused at the
Butt of Lewis and returned to the
Clyde. They arrived at Loch Ewe on the 24th.
CALIFORNIA then reached the Clyde on the 27th and the other
two on the 28th.
Battleship
WARSPITE escorting
convoy HX.9, which had departed Halifax on the 18th with Canadian
destroyer ASSINIBOINE as local escort, was ordered to leave the convoy and
take station in the
Denmark Strait.
Aircraft carrier
FURIOUS and battlecruiser
REPULSE departed Halifax on the 24th to cover convoys
HXF.10 and HX.10, but when REPULSE sustained damage to her Y turret in heavy
weather, both ships returned to Halifax.
Battlecruiser
HOOD with
destroyers EXMOUTH,
ECHO
and ECLIPSE departed Plymouth on the 25th and
rendezvoused with French battlecruiser DUNKERQUE, light cruisers MONTCALM,
GEORGES LEYGUES and large destroyers MOGADOR and VOLTA which departed Brest
on the 25th to relieve aircraft carrier FURIOUS and battlecruiser REPULSE on
the Halifax station. This force swept for the German battleships through to
the end of November. At sea, EXMOUTH,
ECHO
and ECLIPSE were detached and
returned to the Clyde on the 29th, while MOGADOR and VOLTA arrived at Belfast
for fuelling, also on the 29th.
After refuelling at Sullom
Voe on the 28th, SOMALI, PUNJABI and MASHONA joined HOOD, and arrived at Loch
Ewe late on 2 December.
Submarines in the North Sea failed to make contact with
the German force. THISTLE was on patrol off the Skaw, TRIAD off Lindesnes, STURGEON off Horn Reef, and
L.23 southwest of Lister Light. UNDINE and STARFISH departed Blyth, and TRIUMPH and TRIDENT
from Rosyth, all on the 23rd to reinforce the Patrol Line.
_____
In all the confusion
searching for the German battleships, German steamer ENTRERIOS (5179grt),
which had departed Natal on 24 October, was able to pass through the Denmark
Strait unobserved, and arrived safely at Narvik on the 29th.
_____
Anti-aircraft cruiser
CURLEW
departed Grimsby on escort duties, and
arrived back on the 24th.
_____
Convoy BC.16S of steamer
BARON KINNAIRD departed
Bristol Channel escorted by destroyers
MONTROSE and VESPER, and arrived in the Loire on the 24th.
_____
Convoy FS.41 departed Methil,
escorted by sloops
GRIMSBY and WESTON and was joined
off the Tyne by destroyer WOOLSTON. The
convoy arrived at Southend on the 25th. Convoy FN.41 was delayed and did not
depart until the 25th.
_____
Heavy cruiser
KENT arrived at Nancowrie.
_____
Australian light cruiser
SYDNEY arrived at Geraldtown.
_____
German steamer
GERRIT FRITZEN (4128grt) was lost by
grounding near Borkum.
_____
ALLIED
HUNTING GROUPS
Status of Allied Hunter
Groups searching for German raiders.
Force F - Heavy cruiser
YORK at Bermuda preparing to sail for Halifax. YORK had sustained damage to her
A-turret in heavy weather and had been under repair at Bermuda since early November. (Heavy
cruiser BERWICK had been detached on the 7th and arrived at
Portsmouth for docking on the 14th
prior to joining the Home Fleet.) Destroyers HUNTER, HYPERION, HOTSPUR and HEREWARD were attached to this force as convoy escorts. The four destroyers
were respectively at
Bermuda with defects to complete repair on the 29th, at
Halifax, at
Kingston, and at Trinidad on this date.
Force G - Heavy cruisers
EXETER and
CUMBERLAND were along the east coast of
South
America, with light cruiser
AJAX off Montevideo and the New Zealand
ACHILLES
off Rio de Janiero.
Force H - Heavy cruisers
SUSSEX and
SHROPSHIRE were stationed along the
west and south coast of
Africa.
Force I - Aircraft carrier
EAGLE and heavy cruiser
CORNWALL were at Colombo, heavy cruiser
DORSETSHIRE
was at sea in the Ceylon area, and Australian light cruiser
HOBART was south
of the Arabian Sea. Light cruiser GLOUCESTER and French sloop RIGAULT DE
GENOUILLY, due to be joined by Australian destroyer STUART from Colombo on the 25th, were north of
Madagascar sweeping towards the Seychelles Islands. In addition, Australian
destroyers VENDETTA and WATERHEN were operating as convoy escorts, and
submarine OLYMPUS was in the Maldives and Chagos Archipelago area.
Force J - Battleship
MALAYA and aircraft carrier
GLORIOUS with attendant destroyer BULLDOG departed
Aden on the 10th and were at sea
in the area. Battleship
RAMILLIES and destroyer DELIGHT departed
Aden on the 16th and were at sea
off
Aden near
Socotra.
Force K - Aircraft carrier
ARK
ROYAL and battlecruiser
RENOWN were en route to Madagascar.
Force L - Aircraft carrier
FURIOUS and battlecruiser
REPULSE were refuelling at Halifax.
Force M - Heavy cruiser
KENT, French heavy cruiser
SUFFREN, and Australian destroyers VAMPIRE and VOYAGER were escorting convoys off
Sumatra in the Nicobar Islands area.
Force X - Aircraft carrier
HERMES and French heavy cruisers FOCH and DUPLEIX were patrolling between
Pernambuco and
Freetown.
Force Y - Relieved
by Force X and en route to France.
_____
Sloop WELLINGTON arrived at Port Said from the Indian Ocean, en route to England, departing next day for
Malta. Sloop LEITH arrived at Port Said on the 24th and left on the
25th for Malta. Both ships were on station
in New Zealand at the start of the war.
Friday, 24 November
HOME
FLEET DISPOSITIONS AGAINST GERMAN BATTLECRUISERS
On the evening of the 24th
at 1600, Admiral Forbes redisposed his fleet off Utvaer, Norway, to intercept the German
battlecruisers. Light cruisers
CERES,
CALYPSO,
CARDIFF,
CALEDON,
COLOMBO,
NEWCASTLE,
SHEFFIELD,
GLASGOW,
EDINBURGH,
SOUTHAMPTON and destroyer KINGSTON,
which was deployed just off the Norwegian coast, were disposed in a patrol line respectively,
west to east, . Meanwhile light cruiser
AURORA and destroyers AFRIDI, GURKHA, INGLEFIELD, BEDOUIN, ISIS, IMPERIAL
and IMPULSIVE were stationed
as a strike force to the south of the patrol line. Destroyer MAORI was
detached to Scapa Flow on the the 24th to refuel and returned to patrol
that day. KINGSTON patrolling just off shore
was relieved by destroyers ZULU and IMOGEN.
Destroyers TARTAR, KANDAHAR, KASHMIR were ordered to join the
AURORA group late on the 24th, but
fears of mistaken identity caused their rendezvous to be delayed until
daybreak on the 25th. En route TARTAR's rudder was damaged by weather and she
was sent to Scapa Flow and then on to the
Clyde for repair late on the 24th.
Battleships
NELSON,
RODNEY
and destroyers SOMALI, MASHONA, PUNJABI, FAULKNOR, FURY, FIREDRAKE and FORESTER
remained at sea.
At 1201/25th, a direction
finding bearing NNW of the Faroes caused heavy cruisers
NORFOLK,
SUFFOLK and light cruiser
DELHI to be sent to investigate.
However, DELHI was low on fuel and could
not take part in the search.
The patrol line, joined by
NORFOLK, SUFFOLK and light cruisers
DRAGON,
DIOMEDE
and
DUNEDIN early on the
25th, was moved north at 0700/25th, but all these efforts were unsuccessful
and SCHARNHORST and GNEISENAU arrived at Wilhelmshaven on the 27th with only
storm damage.
Refuelling of the cruisers
began on the 25th. One cruiser from each of the squadrons were sent in turn
to refuel - ships of the 1st, 2nd, 18th Cruiser Squadrons to Scapa Flow and
those of the 7th and 11th Squadrons to Sullom Voe.
GNEISENAU was repaired at
Kiel, completing on
4 February 1940 and SCHARNHORST with similar defects returned to
service shortly thereafter. Both ships immediately went to
Wilhelmshaven on completion of repairs to
prepare for Operation NORDMARK.
_____
Northern Patrol from 24
November to 7 December sighted 34 eastbound ships and sent 23 into Kirkwall for inspection.
_____
Destroyers ICARUS and ILEX
departed Rosyth to investigate a submarine report six miles 320° from Rattray
Head, and returned to Scapa Flow the next day.
_____
Destroyer JUNO was damaged in a collision
alongside an oiler at Immingham, repaired there and returned to service on
the 30th.
_____
Motorship SUSSEX (13,647grt) was damaged SE
of Southend in
North Channel on a mine laid by U.33 on the 5th.
_____
Depot ship CYCLOPS and
submarines SHARK, SEALION, SNAPPER, SALMON departed Sheerness for Harwich
where they arrived that day. 3rd Submarine Flotilla began operations next day
when SNAPPER departed Harwich on a patrol off Terschelling. CYCLOPS also
served as the headquarters of Captain G E Creasy (D.22) from 27 November to 1
December.
_____
Convoy OA.40G of 21 ships
departed Southend, escorted by destroyers VERITY and WOLVERINE from the 24th
to 26th. The convoy merged on the 26th with OB.40G, escorted by destroyers
WINCHELSEA, WALPOLE, VIVACIOUS and sloop ENCHANTRESS, to form OG.8 with 44 ships.
OG.8 was escorted by
WALPOLE from the 24th to 26th when
she detached to SL.10, and WINCHELSEA and VIVACIOUS from the 24th to 28th.
ENCHANTRESS was with the convoy from the 24th to 27th. Other escorts were
French destroyers
TARTU and CHEVALIER PAUL from 27
November to 3 December after they had departed Brest on the 26th, and destroyer
VORTIGERN from 2 to 3 December. OG.8 arrived at Gibraltar on 3 December.
_____
German pocket battleship
LÜTZOW, light cruisers KÖLN, LEIPZIG, destroyers BERND VON ARNIM,
BRUNO HEINEMANN, FRIEDRICH IHN, ERICH STEINBRINCK, KARL GALSTER and torpedo
boats LEOPARD, SEEADLER, ILTIS and WOLF operated in the Skagerrak during the night of the
24th/25th.
_____
Light cruiser
EFFINGHAM
departed Halifax and arrived at Kingston on 1 December with
Australian light cruiser PERTH.
_____
Light cruiser
GALATEA
departed Alexandria and arrived at Malta on 3 December.
_____
Convoy SL.10 departed Freetown escorted by sloop LONDONDERRY, and was joined on 10
December by destroyers
WALKER, WHIRLWIND, WHITEHALL and sloop ENCHANTRESS. The
convoy arrived later that day, while LONDONDERRY reached Devonport on the
12th.
_____
Light cruiser
GLOUCESTER departed Diego Suarez on
patrol duties and arrived back on the 29th.
Saturday, 25 November
Light cruiser
AURORA and
destroyer INGLEFIELD were attacked by German bombers off southwest Norway, 100 miles east of Scapa Flow, but neither ship was
damaged. Heavy cruiser DEVONSHIRE and light cruiser
COLOMBO also reported they were
being shadowed by German aircraft.
_____
Destroyers INGLEFIELD,
IMOGEN and IMPERIAL were ordered at 1015 to Scapa Flow to refuel. IMOGEN lost a
rating overboard in heavy weather.
_____
Light cruiser
DELHI departed Scapa Flow.
_____
Light cruiser
DUNEDIN departed Scapa Flow and arrived at Loch Ewe on
the 28th.
_____
Armed merchant cruiser
LAURENTIC arrived at
Liverpool.
_____
Light cruiser
GLASGOW arrived
at Scapa
Flow.
_____
Light cruiser
DIOMEDE
departed Loch Ewe on Northern Patrol duties and arrived back at Loch Ewe on 2
December.
_____
Anti-aircraft cruiser
CALCUTTA departed Grimsby on escort duties and arrived
in the Thames on the 28th.
_____
Destroyers IMOGEN,
INGLEFIELD, IMPERIAL arrived at
Scapa Flow to refuel prior to escorting
convoy ON.3 from Methil.
_____
Convoy BC.15 of nine
steamers, including BARON CARNEGIE and NIGERIAN (Commodore) departed the
Loire escorted by destroyers
VANESSA and VESPER, and safely arrived in the Bristol Channel on the 26th.
_____
Convoy OA.41 of 17 ships
departed Southend escorted by destroyers GRAFTON and GALLANT on the 25th.
_____
Convoy OB.41 departed Liverpool escorted by destroyers
ESCAPADE and MONTROSE until the 27th.
_____
Convoy FN.41 departed
Southend, escorted by destroyer VALOROUS and sloop BITTERN. Minesweeper
HALCYON sailed with the convoy for the passage north and it arrived
at Methil on the 27th.
_____
Convoy FS.42 departed Methil,
escorted by sloops PELICAN and HASTINGS, arriving at Southend on the
27th.
_____
U.28 sank steamer
ROYSTON GRANGE (5144grt) from convoy
SL.8B, south of
Ireland in 49‑15N, 09‑16W.
The survivors were rescued by another ship in the convoy, and destroyers
VERSATILE and WITHERINGTON made six depth charge attacks on a submarine
contact, resulting in light damage to U.28. Destroyers WANDERER, VISCOUNT and
a British flying boat also searched the area.
_____
U.43 sank steamer
USKMOUTH (2483grt) off Cape Finisterre in 43‑23N, 11‑27W.
Two crew were lost, with French destroyer L’INDOMPTABLE rescuing one survivor
and Italian steamer JUVENTUS (4920grt) the rest on the 26th. L’INDOMPTABLE
counter-attacked U.43 in 43-30N, 11-30W and was also missed by a torpedo.
U.43 arrived back at
Wilhelmshaven on 14 December and began
repairs that continued until March 1940.
_____
British air reconnaissance
reported sighting four outbound U-boats escorted by two destroyers and four
aircraft off the
Hook of Holland. Destroyers KEITH, BRILLIANT, JUPITER and the Polish
BLYSKAWICA patrolled in the
North Sea for these ships without success.
_____
Destroyer ESCORT attacked a
submarine contact SW of Land's End in 49‑17N, 07‑14W.
_____
Destroyers ICARUS and ILEX
hunted for a submarine after a merchant ship reported being attacked 20 miles
SE of Aberdeen. Destroyer ESKIMO joined them.
_____
Destroyers MONTROSE and
WALKER hunted for a submarine in 53-26N, 3-51W reported by D/F.
_____
Anti-submarine trawler
SEDGEFLY (520grt) attacked a submarine contact off Harwich in 51-53N, 0-43E.
_____
German auxiliary patrol boat
Vp.301 (trawler WESER, 650grt) was sunk on a
defensive minefield near Langeland Island in the Belt.
_____
Convoy HXF.10 departed Halifax at 0900 escorted by Canadian
destroyers ASSINIBOINE and
SKEENA, which left
Halifax at 0800/25th and turned the
convoy over to the ocean escort, armed merchant cruiser LETITIA at 2359/25th.
Destroyers WOLVERINE and VERITY from OA.44 were escorts from 4 to 9 December
and destroyers VERSATILE and WITHERINGTON from convoy OB.44, from 4 to 6
December. The convoy arrived at
Liverpool on the 9th.
_____
Convoy SLF.10 departed Freetown escorted by armed merchant
cruiser CARNARVON CASTLE, and was joined on 7
December by destroyers BROKE, ESCAPADE, VETERAN, WALPOLE. The convoy arrived in the
UK next day.
_____
Australian light cruiser
PERTH carried out a reconnaissance
in the southwestern
Caribbean, and arrived at
Kingston on 1 December.
_____
Heavy cruiser
CORNWALL departed Colombo on patrol duty in Force I.
_____
Light cruiser
NEPTUNE
departed Freetown on patrol duty.
_____
French heavy cruiser ALGÉRIE
and destroyers LE TERRIBLE and LE FANTASQUE which departed Dakar on the 21st passed Gibraltar and arrived at Toulon on the 26th. The third
member of the 10th Large Destroyer Division, L’AUDACIEUX left Dakar on the 22nd and arrived at
Toulon on 4 December for repairs.
_____
In operations in the South Atlantic in 23-48S, 3-29E, two
Swordfish aircraft of 810 Squadron from aircraft carrier
ARK
ROYAL collided.
Lt H Pardoe was rescued, but Leading Airman E H Shayler and LAC A Lawson RAF
were lost in one aircraft. Lt A W Stewart, Leading Airmen L M Lloyd and A B W
Freik from the other were rescued.
Sunday, 26 November
Convoy ON.3 of six British
ships departed Methil escorted by destroyers ESKIMO, ICARUS and ILEX. Destroyer MATABELE departed
Newcastle on the 27th and joined the
convoy at sea, while anti-aircraft cruiser
CAIRO provided close cover. The
convoy arrived at
Bergen on the 30th.
_____
Light cruiser
CARDIFF arrived at Scapa Flow.
_____
Light cruiser
DRAGON departed
Loch Ewe on Northern Patrol duties, and arrived back on 2 December.
_____
Light cruiser
CERES departed Sullom Voe on Northern Patrol duties.
_____
Anti-aircraft cruiser
CAIRO departed Rosyth on escort
duty and arrived in the
Thames on the 28th.
_____
During the night of the
26th/27th, submarine TRIAD was crippled off Lindesnes by a fractured hydroplane
shaft. Submarine TRIUMPH soon joined to assist and submarine UNITY was
ordered into the area. Destroyer MAORI also arrived on the scene and took
TRIAD in tow, escorted by destroyer INGLEFIELD, but both destroyers had
defective asdic installations. TRIAD arrived at Fosteroey, south of Bergen, on the 30th, but the
destroyers were obliged to leave Norwegian territorial waters which they did
on 1 December. Tug BANDIT was dispatched to assist TRIAD, but due to
extremely heavy weather, was recalled to Scapa Flow. After emergency repairs,
TRIAD was able to leave Fosteroey at 1315/2 December under her own power,
escorted by Norwegian torpedo boat TRYGG and was joined outside Norwegian
waters by INGLEFIELD and MAORI. All arrived safely at Rosyth at 0700/4
December. TRIAD repaired in the
Tyne, completing on 12 December and returned to
service.
_____
During a gale at Ardrossan,
destroyer GRIFFIN and patrol boat PC.74 moored
alongside were damaged by bumping. GRIFFIN was holed and required
docking, and PC.74 was later drydocked.
_____
Convoy OA.42 of nine ships
departed Southend escorted by destroyers BROKE and ANTELOPE on the 26th and
27th. Destroyer BOREAS was with the convoy on the 27th and destroyer WREN on
the 28th.
_____
Convoy OB.42 departed Liverpool escorted by destroyers
WALKER and VANOC until the 29th.
_____
Convoy FN.42 departed
Southend, escorted by sloops GRIMSBY and WESTON, and arrived at
the Tyne on the 28th.
_____
U.48 sank Swedish steamer
GUSTAFE REUTER (6336grt) 14 miles WNW
of Fair Island. One crewman was lost and eight survivors picked up by
Northern Patrol armed boarding vessel KINGSTON BERYL. The steamer was taken
in tow but broke in two, the fore part sunk, while the stern was towed towards
Kirkwall but scuttled by HM ships on
the 28th, when it was decided salvage would be too difficult.
_____
Steamer LOCH LOMOND (5452grt) was attacked in
the Bristol
Channel, 10 miles west of
Lundy Island. Destroyers MONTROSE and
WALPOLE were submarine hunting in the same area and WALPOLE attacked a contact in 51‑08N,
4‑50W.
_____
Danish steamer
CYRIL (2116grt) was seized by German
warships in the Baltic for contraband violations and taken to Swinemünde.
_____
Convoy HX.10 departed Halifax at 1000 escorted by Canadian
destroyers ASSINIBOINE and
SKEENA, which detached on the 28th. Ocean escort was
heavy cruiser YORK which joined at 0800/28th and proceeded through
with the convoy. Destroyer WAKEFUL escorted the convoy in the Western
Approaches from 8 December and the convoy arrived at
Liverpool on the 10th. YORK reached Liverpool on the 9th and started a
refit completed on 10 February 1940. She then left on 21
February for Scapa Flow and the 1st Cruiser Squadron for duty with the Northern
Patrol.
_____
Light cruiser
EMERALD
departed Halifax for Bermuda, and arrived back on 7
December.
_____
In training operations in the
Mediterranean, a 770 Squadron aircraft
from aircraft carrier
ARGUS crashed, killing the pilot Act/Sub Lt (A) M R Pike.
_____
Light cruiser
CAPETOWN
departed Malta on escort duty and arrived
back on 5 December.
_____
Australian light cruiser
SYDNEY arrived at Fremantle.
Monday, 27 November
A Swordfish of 818 Squadron from
aircraft carrier FURIOUS failed to return from patrol, but Lt S G J Appleby
and his crew were rescued and returned to the ship.
_____
Heavy cruiser
NORFOLK arrived at Scapa Flow to refuel and departed the
next day to rejoin the Main Fleet at sea.
_____
Light cruiser
SHEFFIELD arrived at Scapa Flow to refuel.
_____
Light cruiser
GLASGOW
departed Scapa Flow and proceeded to Rosyth to boiler clean from 28
November to 5 December.
_____
Light cruiser
COLOMBO departed Sullom Voe on
Northern Patrol duties and arrived at Loch Ewe on 2 December.
_____
Light cruiser
CARDIFF departed Scapa Flow for Northern Patrol.
_____
Light cruiser
CALEDON arrived at Scapa Flow after Northern Patrol in the
Faroes-Shetland passage.
_____
Light cruiser
MANCHESTER was used for degaussing
tests on the 27th while at Portsmouth for refit.
_____
Destroyers ECHO and ECLIPSE spent the day
off Northern Ireland unsuccessfully searching for
a U-boat.
_____
Destroyer VIVACIOUS on patrol
in the Western Approaches developed an urgent engine room defect and was
forced to return to
Plymouth.
_____
Destroyer ASHANTI on Fair Isle Channel Patrol
developed a leak in her reserve fuel tank which reduced her speed.
_____
Destroyer KELVIN (Lt Cdr J L
Machin) was completed and after working up, joined the 5th Destroyer Flotilla
operating with the Home Fleet on 10 January
1940.
_____
Destroyer VEGA completed
conversion to a fast escort vessel. Following working up at Portland, she joined Convoy C
operating from Rosyth.
_____
Convoy SA.19 of two steamers
departed Southampton, escorted by destroyers VENOMOUS and
WINDSOR, and arrived at Brest on the 29th.
_____
Starting on the 27th, the
East Coast FN and FS convoys would run only between Southend and the Tyne. Ships going further north
would then proceed independently the following night.
_____
Steamer STANGATE (1289grt)
was damaged in a collision in English waters.
_____
U.58 laid mines off Lowestoft.
_____
Battlecruiser
REPULSE and
aircraft carrier FURIOUS, her turbine defects corrected, departed
Halifax with destroyer HYPERION to
cover convoys HXF.10 and HX.10.
_____
Sloop EGRET arrived at Port Said from the Indian Ocean and departed for Malta, en route to England.
_____
A Swordfish of 824 Squadron
from aircraft carrier
EAGLE crashed into the sea on anti-submarine patrol off
Colombo. The pilot Sub Lt M R Maund, Leading Airman J
Manning, and Telegraphist Air Gunner J C Mardlin were picked up by destroyer
WATERHEN.
_____
French large destroyer AIGLE
arrived at Gibraltar and left for
Oran that afternoon.
_____
Australian boom defence vessel KOOKABURRA lost Lt N B
Skottowe RAN, killed in an accident.
Tuesday, 28 November
Destroyers SOMALI, PUNJABI and MASHONA after refuelling at Sullom Voe left to join battlecruiser
HOOD. Destroyers ZULU
and IMOGEN were still on patrol off Stadlandet, AFRIDI, GURKHA and ISIS refuelling at Sullom Voe, TARTAR departed Scapa Flow for repairs in the
Clyde, and ASHANTI, after experiencing defects, was assigned to Fair Isle
Channel patrol.
_____
West of Bergen, heavy cruiser
NORFOLK was attacked by U.47, but the torpedoes exploded in
the cruiser's wake and no damage was done.
_____
Destroyer FEARLESS, her
repairs completed, departed Plymouth for Liverpool to return to the Home Fleet.
She left Liverpool on the 29th escorting tanker ADELLEN (7984grt) for
Scapa Flow.
_____
Anti-aircraft cruiser
CURLEW
arrived at Chatham.
_____
Light cruiser
NEWCASTLE arrived at Scapa Flow, departed the same day for
Northern Patrol and arrived back on 6 December.
_____
Destroyer GLOWWORM attacked a
submarine contact after it was sighted by aircraft in the North Sea.
_____
A submarine was sighted by
aircraft in 59-04N, 03-30W. Destroyer KANDAHAR and two anti-submarine
trawlers were dispatched to hunt for her.
_____
Minesweeper
LEDA attacked a
submarine contact in 51-49N, 1-50E near convoy FN.43. Submarine TRIBUNE was
in the area.
_____
Tankers
BIRCHOL and BROOMDALE departed the Clyde for Loch Ewe escorted by
patrol sloops KINGFISHER and SHELDRAKE.
SHELDRAKE was a replacement for
escort ship PC.74, damaged by heavy weather at Ardrossan on the 26th
before departing. On the 29th, BIRCHOL ran aground on Uist in the
Hebrides. Tug ENGLISHMAN was
dispatched, but BIRCHOL was lost.
_____
Convoy OA.43 ships of 13 ships
departed Southend, escorted by destroyers ESCORT and ELECTRA from the 28th to
30th, and dispersed on 1 December.
_____
Convoy OB.43 departed Liverpool escorted by destroyers
MACKAY and VIMY until 1 December. Anti-submarine trawlers NORTHERN DAWN
(655grt) and NORTHERN
GEM (655grt) provided local escort from
Liverpool.
_____
Convoy FN.43 departed
Southend, escorted by sloops PELICAN, HASTINGS and destroyer JANUS
departed the Humber to cover this convoy and FS.43. FN.43 arrived at the
Tyne on the 29th. There was no
FN.44.
_____
Convoy FS.43 departed the
Tyne, escorted by destroyers
WALLACE and WOOLSTON, which had left Rosyth on the 27th for this duty, and arrived at Southend on the 30th.
_____
Battleship
BARHAM departed Malta after a dockyard visit to
correct defects, then proceeded to Port Said escorted by destroyers
DAINTY and DEFENDER.
_____
Minesweepers DUNOON and DUNDALK arrived at Gibraltar, then departed on the 29th
for Plymouth, and duty in Home Waters.
_____
French destroyers LA PALME
and LE MARS collided near Salins d'Hyers during exercises. LE MARS was
escorted by destroyers TORNADE and LA PALME to Salins.
_____
Force K rendezvoused with Force H off
South Africa to sweep towards Mozambique.
_____
Australian heavy cruiser
CANBERRA departed Melbourne on the 23rd and sister ship
AUSTRALIA left Sydney on the 25th, escorting
steamer KATOOMBA (9424grt). They patrolled off Cape Leeuwin from 28 November to 2
December.
_____
Australian light cruiser
SYDNEY departed Fremantle to patrol off the northwest coast of
Australia.
_____
Light cruiser
DURBAN departed Hong Kong on patrol.
_____
Light cruiser
ORION departed Kingston on patrol and arrived back
on 5 December.
_____
Light cruiser
BIRMINGHAM arrived at Hong Kong escorting French liner ANDRE
LEBON (13,682grt).
Wednesday, 29 November
Admiral Forbes with
battleships
NELSON,
RODNEY, heavy cruiser
DEVONSHIRE and seven destroyers was
sweeping north off the Norwegian coast when RODNEY suffered a serious rudder
defect. She was ordered to the
Clyde, arriving on 1 December with destroyers GURKHA,
PUNJABI and KANDAHAR. Escorted by destroyers
IMPULSIVE, IMPERIAL and GURKHA, RODNEY left on the 6th for
Liverpool to repair, and arrived on
the 8th. IMPERIAL and IMPULSIVE remained at Liverpool until RODNEY was safely
docked, when it was found that about one third of her rudder had been torn
away. GURKHA went on to
Southampton, arriving on the 10th for repairs to her
turbines lasting into January 1940. IMPERIAL was to have undergone repairs at
Liverpool, but returned to the Clyde on the 9th. Later, when
battleship NELSON was docked for mine damage, she was found to have sustained
storm damage similar to RODNEY during the sweep.
_____
U.35 on her second war patrol, was sighted near convoy
ON.3 and destroyer ICARUS delivered an unsuccessful attack. Forbes detached
destroyers KINGSTON and KASHMIR and they sank
U.35 northwest of
Bergen in 60‑53N, 02‑47E.
None of the crew were lost, with KINGSTON picking up the commanding
officer and 11 ratings and
KASHMIR three officers and 28 ratings.
_____
Heavy cruiser
SUFFOLK departed the Clyde and arrived at Scapa Flow later the same day.
_____
Light cruiser
CARDIFF, which had departed Sullom
Voe on the 28th, arrived back after heavy weather carried away her main
topmast and part of her main mast port antenna.
_____
Convoy FS.44 departed the
Tyne, escorted by destroyer
WHITLEY and sloop STORK, and arrived at Southend on the 30th. There was no
convoy FN.44.
_____
Polish submarine WILK departed Rosyth on her first
war patrol from
England.
_____
Destroyer KELVIN departed the
Clyde for Portsmouth, arriving on the 30th.
_____
Armed merchant cruiser FORFAR
departed Portsmouth for the Clyde, escorted by destroyer MALCOLM.
_____
Destroyer VANESSA was sent to
search in Bally
Cotton Bay, 51-50N, 8-00W for a
reported submarine.
_____
Destroyers JUPITER and JAGUAR
attacked a submarine contact in 55‑05N, 1‑33E.
_____
Steamer
IONIAN (3114grt) from convoy FS.43 was sunk 1½ miles 132° from
Newarp Light Vessel on a mine laid by U.20 on the 22nd; sloop HASTINGS
rescued the entire crew. Steamer WILLOWPOOL
(4815grt) was lost on 10 December, three miles east of Newarp Light Ship
in the same field; her 36 survivors were rescued by lifeboat.
_____
Light cruiser
DANAE departed Singapore for Hong Kong, and arrived on 3 December
for refitting, completed 14 February 1940.
Thursday, 30 November
The cruiser line searching
for the reported German ships off Norway, were to be in 66‑10N
at 0800, steer west until 1300 and then head south. During this time (1)
battleship
NELSON, light cruiser
AURORA and nine destroyers were 100 miles to
the SW of the western end of the cruiser line, (2) battleship
RODNEY, and
destroyers ASHANTI and GURKHA were to the west of Fair Isle Channel, (3)
battleship WARSPITE to the west of the cruiser line, and (4) battlecruiser
HOOD, the French DUNKERQUE and destroyers SOMALI, PUNJABI
and MASHONA 100 miles
west of the Faroes.
_____
Light cruiser
CALEDON departed Scapa Flow for the Tyne and arrived on 1 December
for docking. After repairs, she left on the 19th and reached Plymouth on the 21st.
_____
Armed merchant cruisers
ANDANIA, AURANIA, SCOTSTOUN and WORCESTERSHIRE departed the
Clyde on Northern Patrol duties.
_____
Destroyer FORTUNE attacked a
submarine contact in 59N, 4W.
_____
Admiral Forbes turned south
with his fleet on the 30th and on 1 December ordered the resumption of normal
shipping movements.
_____
Destroyer NUBIAN departed
Portsmouth after repairs and following
kite balloon trials, which were conducted on the 28th/29th. She rejoined the
Main Fleet at Loch Ewe.
_____
Convoy OB.44 departed Liverpool, escorted by destroyers VERSATILE
and WITHERINGTON until 3 December, when they detached to convoy HXF.10.
_____
Convoy HN.3 of 11 British
ships, one Finnish, and two Estonian departed Bergen escorted by destroyers ILEX,
ICARUS, ESKIMO and MATABELE. Heavy cruiser
SUFFOLK, which left Scapa Flow on the 30th and light
cruiser SOUTHAMPTON provided close cover. Later when
SUFFOLK was relieved for refuelling,
light cruiser
GLASGOW took her place. The convoy arrived safely at Methil on
4 December. Before then, on the 2nd, destroyers KANDAHAR and ISIS departed Scapa Flow to escort the four ships of
the west coast portion of the convoy.
_____
Convoy FN.45 departed
Southend, escorted by destroyer WHITLEY and sloop STORK, and arrived at the
Tyne on 1 December.
_____
Convoy FS.45 departed the
Tyne, escorted by sloops GRIMSBY and WESTON, and arrived at
Southend on 1 December.
_____
Steamer ASTRONOMER (8401grt)
arrived at Rosyth from the
Tyne escorted by destroyer WALLACE.
_____
Dutch steamer BEVERWIJK
(2948grt) was damaged by grounding off Terschelling in the declared mine area.
_____
German auxiliary patrol boat
Vp.704 (trawler CLAUS WISCH, 256grt)
was badly damaged in a defensive minefield off Trelleborg and run aground, a
total loss.
_____
Finnish motor vessels
JAAMERI (299grt) and
SYVARI (237grt) were lost at
Liinahamari.
_____
Convoy HG.9, which departed
Port Said on the 19th, left Gibraltar with 53 ships, escorted by destroyers
VORTIGERN and WISHART, and also the French CHACAL and MISTRAL from the 30th November
until they arrived at Brest on 8 December. Trawler VULCAN of the 1st Motor
Torpedo Boat Flotilla proceeded to England with the convoy, which
arrived at Liverpool, also on the 8th.
November, miscellaneous
At the end of November, the
following destroyers were under repair -
ACHERON at Portsmouth repairing, ACTIVE at Gibraltar repairing, ARROW
at Portsmouth with defects, BRAZEN at Falmouth refitting, BROKE at Plymouth
refitting, COSSACK at Leith repairing, DARING at Malta refitting, DIAMOND at
Singapore repairing, ENCOUNTER at Plymouth with defects,
FAME at Clyde repairing, FORESIGHT at Clyde repairing,
FORTUNE at Liverpool repairing, FOXHOUND at Greenock repairing, GARLAND at
Malta repairing, GRENADE at Falmouth repairing, GRENVILLE at Devonport repairing,
GRIFFIN at Woolwich repairing, INTREPID at Chatham refitting, IVANHOE at
Chatham refitting, JAVELIN at Middlesbrough repairing, JERVIS at Grimsby
refitting, KELLY at Tyne repairing, MOHAWK at Newcastle repairing, SHIKARI at
Plymouth refitting, SIKH at Malta with turbine defects, VANQUISHER at
Plymouth repairing, VENETIA at Liverpool repairing, VISCOUNT at Plymouth with
defects, VIVACIOUS at Plymouth boiler cleaning, WALPOLE at Liverpool with
defects, WESSEX at Cardiff refitting, WHIRLWIND at Liverpool with defects,
WIVERN at Sheerness repairing.
