British and Other Navies in World War 2 Day-by-Day by Don Kindell NAVAL EVENTS, DECEMBER 1939, Part 1 of 2 Friday 1st - Thursday 14th

HM Boom Defence Vessel Cadella, ex-trawler (CyberHeritage, click photographs for enlargements)

on to DECEMBER 1939, Part 2 or back to Naval-History.Net

Note: all vessels and aircraft are British or Dominion unless otherwise identified or implied - all ships lost in bold - click for abbreviations

Corrections with thanks to Donald Bertke

Background Events, September 1939-March 1940
Battle of Atlantic starts, 'Phoney War' on land, Battle of River Plate

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1939

Friday, 1 December

The search for the German warships responsible for RAWALPINDI's loss was discontinued at 0820/1st. Battleship RODNEY, battlecruiser HOOD, destroyers PUNJABI, GURKHA, KANDAHAR and NUBIAN arrived in the Clyde, while battleship NELSON and destroyers FAULKNOR, FURY, FIREDRAKE, FORESTER were north of the Faroes to cover AMCs returning to Northern Patrol.

Heavy cruiser DEVONSHIRE and light cruiser NEWCASTLE were patrolling 62°N between Norway and the Shetlands. Light cruisers SOUTHAMPTON, EDINBURGH, AURORA with destroyers ZULU, AFRIDI, ISIS were returning to Rosyth, with SOUTHAMPTON refuelling at Scapa Flow en route and the ship arriving at Rosyth on the 2nd. Destroyer FORTUNE arrived from Scapa Flow at the Clyde for repairs.

The C and D-class light cruisers were returning to port. CARDIFF departed Scapa Flow on the 1st and arrived at Loch Ewe on the 2nd, along with DIOMEDE, DRAGON, DELHI, COLOMBO early on the 2nd. DUNEDIN and CERES reached the Clyde on the 2nd, COLOMBO and CALYPSO arrived in the Tyne for refit, and CALYPSO refitted prior to transfer to the Mediterranean, completing on the 21st.

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Heavy cruiser NORFOLK (right, later in the war - NavyPhotos) and light cruiser SHEFFIELD arrived at Scapa Flow.

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French battleship DUNKERQUE was joined by large destroyers MOGADOR and VOLTA, after they refuelled at Belfast, and then proceeded down the west coast of Ireland. They were joined on the 2nd by destroyers GUÉPARD, VALMY, VERDUN, LE TRIOMPHANT, which departed Brest on the 1st. LE TRIOMPHANT then escorted light cruiser MONTCALM to Cherbourg for repairs, arriving on the 3rd. The rest of the force arrived at Brest on the 3rd.

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Armed merchant cruisers ANDANIA, ASTURIAS, AURANIA, SCOTSTOUN, WORCESTERSHIRE arrived on their patrol lines south of Iceland, while FORFAR arrived in the Clyde from Portsmouth.

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Destroyers EXMOUTH, ECHO, ECLIPSE, which had departed the Clyde on 30 November, were dispatched to investigate a possible German supply ship detected by W/T procedure in 53°N, 13°W. No ship was located and the destroyers returned to Clyde on the 4th escorting battleship WARSPITE.

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Destroyer KELVIN was damaged in a collision with steamer ST HELIER (1952grt) at Portsmouth. Her repairs were completed there on the 11th.

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Destroyer KHARTOUM departed Plymouth and arrived at Belfast, then carried on, reaching the Clyde on the 2nd.

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Destroyer IMOGEN, IMPERIAL, IMPULSIVE searched for a submarine reported in Edinburgh Channel. IMOGEN returned when her asdic was found to be faulty. Destroyers FEARLESS and later ASHANTI, which was detached from the Pentland Firth patrol, were also involved in the search. When weather conditions made asdic operations unreliable, IMPERIAL and IMPULSIVE returned to Scapa Flow and FEARLESS to Loch Ewe, all on the 2nd.

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Destroyer VERITY attacked a submarine contact outside Plymouth breakwater at 1445. At 1446, destroyer VETERAN was ordered to assist.

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Destroyers GLOWWORM and BOADICEA unsuccessfully searched for a U-boat near Kentish Knock and the Tongue Light Vessel.

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Convoy OA.44 of 19 ships departed Southend escorted by destroyers WAKEFUL and WHITEHALL from the 1st to 2nd, and sister ships WOLVERINE and VERITY from the 2nd to 3rd. The convoy was dispersed on the 3rd, and WOLVERINE and VERITY joined HXF.10.

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Convoy BC.17 of steamers ATLANTIC COAST, BARON GRAHAM, CLAN ROSS (Commodore), COXWOLD, DUNKWA, GUELMA departed Bristol Channel escorted by destroyers MONTROSE and VESPER, and arrived in the Loire on the 3rd.

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Convoy FN.46 departed Southend, escorted by sloops GRIMSBY and WESTON, and arrived in the Tyne on the 2nd.

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Convoy FS.46 departed the Tyne, escorted by sloops PELICAN and HASTINGS, and reached Southend on the 2nd.

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U.21 sank Norwegian steamer ARCTURUS (1277grt) off the east coast of Scotland in the North Sea. Nine crew were lost and seven survivors picked up by Danish merchant ship IVAR (2145grt), guided to the position by a RAF plane. Eight more survivors were rescued by Norwegian steamer EVA (1599grt).

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U.31 sank Finnish merchant ship MERCATOR (4260grt) in 57‑39N, 00‑36W. One crewman was lost and 18 survivors rescued by two minesweeping trawlers from Aberdeen. A further 13 survivors arrived at Boddam in the ship's boat.

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U.29 was to have mined the approaches to Milford Haven, but the lay was abandoned due to the port defences. U.29 withdrew when she was detected by anti-submarine forces.

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French steamer FLORIDE (7030grt) was mined and sunk 1600 yards from Dunkirk Light House off Dunkirk, with the loss of two crew. She was beached at Malo les Bains where the hull broke in two and the ship became a total loss.

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Danish sailing vessel CRETHE ran aground on South Goodwins. A destroyer rescued seven crew and landed them at Ramsgate. The Admiralty War Diary identifies the destroyer as BULLDOG which was then in the Indian Ocean.

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German trawler MAGDA (137grt) was lost north of Heligoland.

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Anti-submarine trawler PICT (462grt), escorting convoy OG.8, reported striking a submerged object in 37-29N, 11-09W. French large destroyer CHEVALIER PAUL with the convoy slowed after sighting a periscope.

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Russian submarine L.1 laid mines off Nyhamn.

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Allied ships in the South Atlantic were (1) heavy cruiser EXETER and light cruiser AJAX, refitting a damaged propeller on this date at Port Stanley in the Falklands, (2) heavy cruiser CUMBERLAND at Rio de la Plata while New Zealand light cruiser ACHILLES was patrolling near Rio de Janiero looking for German merchant ships off Trinidada Island and on the 2nd, looking into Cabadello and on the 3rd, visiting Pernambuco, (3) light cruiser NEPTUNE, destroyers HARDY, HASTY, HERO, HOSTILE and submarine CLYDE covering the Freetown to Natal shipping route, and (4) French heavy cruisers DUPLEIX (Flagship Duplat), FOCH with large destroyers MILAN and CASSARD  operating north of Dakar.

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Light cruiser EFFINGHAM and Australian light cruiser PERTH arrived at Kingston.

Saturday, 2 December

Destroyer PUNJABI was badly damaged at 0200 in collision with steamer LAIRDCREST (789grt). This took place off Holy Island, off the coast of Arran in the Clyde estuary as PUNJABI was escorting battlecruiser HOOD into port. She was towed stern first into the Clyde from Cumbrae, and repaired at Govan from 8 December to 29 February 1940.

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Battlecruiser HOOD and destroyers KINGSTON, KHARTOUM, KASHMIR departed the Clyde at 1910 to patrol north of the Faroe Islands.

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Light cruiser AURORA arrived at Rosyth.

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Six armed merchant cruisers were on Northern Patrol duties, while MONTCLARE left from Scapa Flow and LAURENTIC from Liverpool to join them.

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Light cruiser DUNEDIN arrived in the Clyde to refit, and completed on the 22nd.

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Light cruisers DIOMEDE, DRAGON, DELHI, COLOMBO, CARDIFF arrived at Loch Ewe.

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Light cruiser SHEFFIELD departed Scapa Flow on Northern Patrol in the Denmark Strait.

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Convoy FN.47 departed Southend, escorted by destroyer VALOROUS and sloop BITTERN, and arrived in the Tyne on the 3rd.

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Convoy FS.47 departed the Tyne, escorted by sloops PELICAN and HASTINGS, arriving at Southend on the 3rd.

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U.28 and U.29 were reported radioing each other in 50-17N, 4-35W. Destroyers ANTELOPE, VETERAN, WHITEHALL searched to the west of this location, and destroyers GRENVILLE, VEGA, ACHATES, WINDSOR to the east. The search continued until the 3rd without success.

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Anti-submarine trawler LOCH DOON (534grt) reported four unidentified ships as apparently destroyers, five miles east of Coquet Light steering north. British aircraft later sighted five Danish fishing smacks 90 miles east of Flamborough Head. Destroyers JERSEY and JAGUAR were sent to investigate.

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U.56 damaged steamer ESKDENE (3829grt) in 56‑30N, 01‑40W after she became separated from convoy HN.3 in bad weather, and sank Swedish steamer RUDOLF (2119grt) off Dundee in the Firth of Tay in 56‑15N, 01‑25W. Destroyers ICARUS and ILEX were sent to investigate in case the steamers had been sunk by a submarine. ESKDENE was abandoned by her crew, and all 29 picked up by Norwegian steamer HILD (1356grt). ICARUS and ILEX then searched for the steamer, but without success, and although aircraft located her at 1530/4th, surface ships could still not find her. Finally she was located, again by aircraft, at dawn on the 7th in 56-20N, 00-15W, towed to Shields on the Tyne on the 8th by tug BULGER screened by sloop STORK, and finally beached on Head Sands. RUDOLF lost nine crew, with six survivors rescued by minesweeping trawler FIREFLY (394grt) and eight by trawler CARDEW (208grt).

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Convoy OA.45G of 24 ships departed Southend escorted by destroyers ANTELOPE, AMAZON and sloop ENCHANTRESS. The sloop detached on the 4th and the destroyers transferred to HG.9 on the 6th. OA.45G merged with convoy OB.45G to become OG.9, escorted by destroyer VOLUNTEER and sloop DEPTFORD until the 5th.

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U.61 laid mines off Newcastle during the night of the 1st/2nd. One steamer was sunk and one damaged in this field.

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U.58 laid mines off Lowestoft. No shipping was sunk or damaged in this field.

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Convoy HXF.11 departed Halifax at 1000 escorted by Canadian destroyers ST LAURENT and SKEENA, which were detached on the 3rd. Ocean escort was provided by armed merchant cruiser ASCANIA and submarines NARWHAL and SEAL. On the 3rd, 70 miles from Halifax, steamers MANCHESTER REGIMENT (5989grt) and OROPESA (14,118grt) collided. MANCHESTER REGIMENT was taken in tow, but foundered in mid-afternoon, and the crew taken aboard OROPESA. ASCANIA detached on the 12th, while destroyer MACKAY from OB.49 escorted the convoy from the 12th to 15th, when it arrived at Liverpool.

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Force K received a sighting report at 1030 from a South African bomber of a suspicious vessel in the area south of Cape Agulhas, 74 miles 167° from Cape Point. Battlecruiser RENOWN and heavy cruiser SUSSEX went to the position to investigate and found German passenger ship WATUSSI (9522grt) which had departed Mozambique on 22/23 November. WATUSSI scuttled herself when approached by SUSSEX, and the 196 passengers and crew were picked up by her. To hasten her sinking, battlecruiser RENOWN dispatched WATUSSI with main armament gunfire. The crew and passengers were taken to Simonstown on SUSSEX, arriving at 2359/2nd.

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Light cruiser AJAX departed Port Stanley for Rio de la Plata. Heavy cruiser CUMBERLAND, when relieved, patrolled southward before entering Port Stanley.

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German pocket battleship ADMIRAL GRAF SPEE sank steamer DORIC STAR (10,086grt) in the South Atlantic in 19‑15S, 05‑05E.

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Heavy cruiser KENT arrived at Colombo.

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Light cruiser PENELOPE departed Malta on patrol duties and arrived back on the 12th.

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Destroyer DECOY was refitting at Malta for corrosion to her bulkheads.

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Convoy SL.11 departed Freetown at 0700/2nd. Escorting sloop FOWEY was slightly damaged in collision with steamer GRAINTON (6341grt) at 2040 in 8-51N, 14-37W, and on arrival at Southampton began a refit. The convoy arrived on the 18th.

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French battleship BRETAGNE entered the dock at Toulon and was under repairs from 2 December to 3 March 1940. She sailed on 10 March.

Sunday, 3 December

A suspected German battleship was D/F'd in 62-30N, 13W, and battlecruiser HOOD and her destroyers were ordered to proceed as fast as her escorts could steam without damage. Six armed merchant cruisers between Iceland and the Faroes were also to proceed south, but no contact was made.

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Heavy cruiser DEVONSHIRE and light cruiser NEWCASTLE were on patrol to the northeast of the Shetlands.

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Heavy cruiser SUFFOLK departed Scapa Flow for Northern Patrol in the Denmark Strait, and arrived back in the Clyde on the 14th.

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Destroyer ASHANTI departed Scapa Flow for Liverpool to refit a leaking feed tank.

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Light cruiser SOUTHAMPTON had problems with leakage in several oil fuel tanks and marked vibration at high speed. She entered the dockyard in the Tyne on the 24th to repair.

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Destroyers out of service on the 3rd were - ASHANTI with leaking feed tanks arrived at Liverpool on the 4th to refit, COSSACK repairing collision damage, FAME repairing weather damage and refitting to complete on the 24th, FORESIGHT repairing weather damage and refitting to complete on the 24th, FORTUNE repairing weather damage, FOXHOUND repairing and refitting to complete on the 11th, GURKHA with turbine defects en route to Southampton, INGLEFIELD to dock at Leith with defects on the 8th, IMOGEN docking to repair asdic, IMPERIAL at Scapa Flow with engine room defects (after escorting battleship RODNEY, she was to repair at Liverpool), INTREPID and IVANHOE refitting to minelaying destroyers to complete on the 9th, KELLY repairing damage and refitting to complete on the 12th, KELVIN repairing collision damage to complete on the 12th, MOHAWK repairing bomb damage, PUNJABI repairing collision damage, SIKH at Malta with turbine defects, TARTAR refitting and repairing rudder damage to complete on the 15th.

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Convoy OA.46 of 19 ships departed Southend escorted by destroyers KEITH, WIVERN, VETERAN from the 4th to 5th. On being released, WIVERN proceeded to escort OA.47.

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Convoy OB.46 departed Liverpool escorted by destroyer WALPOLE until the 3rd and destroyer ESCAPADE until the 5th.

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Convoy BC.16S of four steamers, including BARON KINNAIRD, departed the Loire escorted by destroyers MONTROSE and VESPER, and arrived in Bristol Channel on the 6th.

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Convoy FN.48 departed Southend, escorted by destroyer VALOROUS and sloop BITTERN. Due to increased German activity in the North Sea, the convoy was supported by destroyers JACKAL, JANUS and the Polish BLYSKAWICA. The Polish ship detached that night, and the convoy arrived in the Tyne on the 4th.

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Convoy FS.48 departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyer WHITLEY and sloop STORK, and arrived at Southend on the 4th.

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Destroyers ICARUS and ILEX carried out an anti-submarine sweep on their way back to Rosyth after a ship had been detected crossing the May Island indicator loop. Destroyers AFRIDI and ZULU searched inshore of May Island, and then proceeded to Rosyth after being relieved by ICARUS and ILEX.

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Destroyer VEGA attacked a submarine contact 9 miles SW of St Catherines. Destroyers ACHATES and WINDSOR joined in the search.

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Submarine SNAPPER, returning to Harwich from patrol in the North Sea, was struck by a British 100 pound anti-submarine bomb, dropped by a “friendly” Anson aircraft. A direct hit was scored at the base of the conning tower, but the explosion only shattered four light bulbs.

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Russian submarine SC.323 damaged German steamer OLIVA (1308grt) with gunfire off Uto. She was damaged again by Russian submarine S.1 off Rauma on the 10th.

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U.31 sank Danish steamer OVE TOFT (2135grt) in 55‑36N, 00‑46E and and Norwegian steamer GIMLE (1271grt) in 57‑15N, 01‑50E. OVE TOFT lost six crew and 15 survivors were picked up, while GIMLE lost three and her 16 survivors were picked up by Norwegian steamer RUDOLF (924grt).

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Steamer MOORTOFT (875grt) was lost in the North Sea to an unknown cause.

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Lithuanian steamer KRETINGA (542grt) was seized by German warships as a prize in the Baltic and renamed MEMELLAND for German service.

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German pocket battleship ADMIRAL GRAF SPEE sank steamer TAIROA (7983grt) in the South Atlantic in 20‑20S, 03‑05E.

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Heavy cruiser SHROPSHIRE arrived at Simonstown and Force K arrived at Capetown. After refuelling, Force H departed the same day and Force K on the 4th to patrol the Capetown-St Helena trade route.

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Light cruiser NEPTUNE departed Freetown and arrived at Dakar on the 4th.

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Light cruiser EFFINGHAM departed Kingston and arrived at Halifax on the 6th. However a serious leak had been discovered in the starboard condenser on the 5th, and she had to return to Kingston for repairs.

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Convoy SLF.11 departed Freetown on the 3rd escorted by armed merchant cruiser DUNNOTTAR CASTLE and sloop MILFORD, the latter with the convoy for the day only. On the 18th, DUNOTTAR CASTLE developed engine problems and was sent to Gibraltar. She was joined on the 20th by destroyer KEPPEL and on the 21st by French destroyer MAILLÉ BRÉZÉ, and arrived at Gibraltar on the 22nd. Destroyers WHITEHALL and WIVERN joined the convoy in Home Waters.

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French large destroyer L’AUDACIEUX was proceeding to Dakar to repair minor defects.

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Sloop LEITH departed Malta for Gibraltar, en route to England.

Monday, 4 December

Admiral Forbes with battleship NELSON and heavy cruiser DEVONSHIRE, en route to the Clyde with destroyers FAULKNOR, FURY, FIREDRAKE, FORESTER, entered Loch Ewe to enable the destroyers to refuel. At the entrance, NELSON struck a mine 5.4 cables 38° from Rudha nan Sasan triangulation station laid by U.31 on 28 October. She was seriously damaged, but due to the shortage of minesweepers could not immediately be moved for repairs. No boilers, engines, electrical, steering, or power machinery were affected, but 52 crew were injured, nine seriously.

Salvage tugs RANGER (409grt) on other duties and DISPERSER (313grt) were diverted to Loch Ewe to assist. Destroyer ECHO escorted RANGER from Kilchattan Bay, arriving on the 5th. FAULKNOR remained at Loch Ewe and stood by from the 4th to 28th.

The damage to NELSON also forced sister ship RODNEY to remain at the Clyde deferring her docking at Liverpool until NELSON's status was determined. Also, the light cruisers of the Northern Patrol in Loch Ewe could not sail until minesweeping operations cleared the harbour. Attempting to clear the field, armed patrol drifters GLEN ALPYN (82grt) and PROMOTIVE (78grt) were mined and sunk on the 23rd. Five more mines were swept and it was not until 4 January 1940 that NELSON could be safely moved.

Old German steamer ILSENSTEIN (8216grt) sailed ahead of NELSON to detonate any remaining mines. She had been purchased pre-war, departed Rosyth on the 11th escorted by destroyers ESCORT and WOOLSTON for Loch Ewe, and arrived on the 15th. Escorted by FAULKNOR, FOXHOUND, IMPULSIVE, the damaged NELSON proceeded to Portsmouth, and arrived on 7 January for repairs beginning on the 14th. She was repairing until early June 1940, arrived at Greenock on 8 June for refitting and departed on the 29th to rejoin the Home Fleet at Scapa Flow.

FAULKNOR, FOXHOUND, IMPULSIVE were ordered to remain at Portsmouth for two days, then return to the Clyde. Destroyers ISIS, FAME, FORESIGHT proceeded independently at the same time to Devonport and returned to the Clyde with FAULKNOR, FOXHOUND, IMPULSIVE.

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After leaving Gibraltar and sailing via Halifax, which she left on 18 November, battleship