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.