Background Events - September 1939-March 1940
Battle of Atlantic
starts, 'Phoney War' on land, Battle of
River Plate
1939
Friday,
15 December
Battleships WARSPITE, BARHAM and battlecruiser HOOD
with nine destroyers were 250 miles west of Malin Head. Heavy cruisers
DEVONSHIRE,
BERWICK and light cruiser
GLASGOW were 480 miles W by N of Malin Head. Light cruisers
SOUTHAMPTON and
EDINBURGH were on patrol between the Orkneys and the Faroes. Light cruisers
DIOMEDE,
DELHI,
CERES
and
CARDIFF were concentrated off the
Faroes. If no further enemy reports were received, the battle fleet was
directed to cover the Canadian Troop convoy, and the cruisers to return to
Northern Patrol except SOUTHAMPTON and EDINBURGH which were to proceed to
Scapa Flow for refuelling.
_____
Light cruiser
DRAGON departed
Scapa Flow on Northern Patrol and
finished on the 18th for refitting at Chatham, arriving on the 21st. Her
refit began on the 22nd December, completed on 24 February and on the 26th,
she was transferred to the
Mediterranean.
_____
Destroyers VIMY and WITHERINGTON attacked a submarine
contact 120 miles WSW of
Land's End in 49-14N, 6-36W. Destroyer ESCAPADE returning
to Plymouth was ordered to search in the area.
_____
After a submarine was reported by aircraft, destroyer
BASILISK attacked U.57, 17 miles east of North Foreland.
_____
Submarines SEAHORSE, STURGEON and UNITY arrived at
Blyth after patrol.
_____
Submarine TRIAD arrived at Rosyth after patrol, but
had to put to sea again to fire off two torpedoes which had been armed.
_____
After an aircraft bombed a submarine off Buchanness,
destroyers ESCORT and ECLIPSE carried out a search, and on the 16th, ESCORT
made an attack in 57‑26N, 01‑45W. The search continued until dark
on the 16th when they relieved trawlers escorting captured German steamer
CAP NORTE. The German ship,
ESCORT and ECLIPSE arrived at Rosyth on the 18th.
_____
Destroyers JERVIS and JANUS attacked a submarine
contact north of Cromer in 55-20N, 1-05W.
_____
Convoys FN.55, escorted by destroyers VIVIEN,
VALOROUS and sloop BITTERN and FS.55, escorted by destroyer WOOLSTON and
sloops GRIMSBY and WESTON were delayed due to fog. The FN.55 escorts
proceeded to Sheerness to wait, but FS.55 was later cancelled.
_____
Anti-submarine trawler
NOTTS COUNTY (541grt) made a submarine
contact SW of Pladda and attacked, but without success.
_____
Minesweeper/patrol vessel SCOTT carried out a search
in Mounts
Bay after a submarine was
reported in 50-40N, 5-39W.
_____
U.22 laid mines off
Blyth, on which one ship was lost.
_____
U.48 sank Greek merchant ship
GERMAINE (5217grt) west of the
English Channel in 51‑00N, 12‑18W.
Destroyers WANDERER, WALPOLE, WOLVERINE and ARDENT arrived on the scene about
four hours later, but failed to find the attacker. The crew were picked up by
WANDERER and transferred to Dutch liner PENNLAND (16,381grt). WOLVERINE and
ARDENT were still searching on the 16th.
_____
Steamer HARFLY
(909grt) was sunk in collision off
Dunkirk with Portuguese steamer LUSO
(6207grt) which was damaged.
_____
Heavy cruisers
SUSSEX and
SHROPSHIRE arrived at Capetown, but
departed the same day for the Plate.
_____
Destroyers HARDY, HOSTILE, HERO arrived at Pernambuco
from Freetown, refuelled immediately, and departed for Rio de
Janeiro.
_____
Submarine
CLYDE was under repair at
Dakar from the 15th to 30th.
_____
Destroyer DIANA, which had departed
Malta on the 11th, was forced to
leave her patrol to correct urgent defects at Malta.
Saturday,
16 December
The Home Fleet with battleships
WARSPITE (above, over 4 years later off Normandy - Maritime
Quest), BARHAM, battlecruiser HOOD and nine destroyers was 300 miles west of Malin Head at
0730 covering arriving Canadian Troop Convoy TC.1. The twelve destroyers
which had sailed on the 12th to meet the convoy failed to make contact on the
15th due to fog, but met it during the morning of the 16th. Troopship EMPRESS
OF AUSTRALIA was separated from the
convoy on the 15th again because of the fog, but rejoined on the 16th.
_____
On Northern Patrol, two cruisers were between the Shetlands
and the Faroes, and three cruisers between the Faroes and
Iceland.
_____
After a British aircraft attacked a submarine contact,
destroyer ESCORT made another attack off Buchan Ness in 57-26N, 1-45W.
_____
Light cruiser
CERES arrived in
Scapa Flow, departed the same day and
arrived back on the 25th.
_____
Sloop FLEETWOOD, which had returned home from the
East Indies in November, completed a
refit on the 16th at
Dundee and joined Convoy C.
_____
Convoy ON.5 of nine British ships departed Methil
escorted by destroyers AFRIDI, MAORI, NUBIAN and submarine TRIAD. Destroyer MOHAWK
departed the Tyne on the 18th, but was delayed by the German mining off the port and
joined at sea. The convoy was due to leave Methil on the 14th, but was also
postponed due to submarine activity. ON.5 arrived safely at
Bergen on the 19th without
incident. Return HN.5 was delayed 48 hours and meanwhile, the destroyers went
to Sullom Voe to refuel. TRIAD carried out a diving patrol.
_____
Convoy FS.55 departed Southend escorted by destroyers
VIVIEN, VALOROUS and sloop BITTERN, and arrived at the
Tyne on the 17th.
_____
Russian submarine SC.322 damaged German steamer
GILLHAUSEN (4339grt) with gunfire south of Hanko.
_____
U.59 sank Swedish steamer
LISTER (1366grt) in 55‑21N, 00‑38E and Norwegian
steamer GLITREFJELL (1568grt) in
56‑14N, 01‑04E. Six survivors from LISTER were picked up by
destroyer ECLIPSE on the 21st and 13 others in a large lifeboat arrived on
the Danish coast. Five crew were lost from GLITREFJELL, with 13 survivors
rescued by destroyer ICARUS and more by Greek steamer ICARION (4013grt).
_____
Japanese steamer SANYO MARU (970grt) departed
Rotterdam after a week in port and
arrived at the
Tyne on the 16th. She carried German nitrates and machinery along with a
Dutch cargo to challenge the British blockade but left the contraband control
station at the
Downs on the 18th, her cargo intact.
_____
Destroyers HARDY, HERO, HOSTILE departed Pernambuco
early on the 16th and arrived in the Plate during the morning of the 22nd.
_____
French destroyers SIROCCO and LA RAILLEUSE, escorting
convoy 40.KS, attacked a submarine contact 25 miles 245° from
Cape Spartel,.
_____
Convoy OA.54 departed Southend escorted by destroyers
WREN and WITCH until it dispersed on the 19th.
_____
Convoy OB.54 departed
Liverpool escorted by destroyers
WALKER and WHIRLWIND until the 19th when the convoy dispersed.
_____
Convoy HG.11 departed Gibraltar with 52 ships for
Britain and two more for Oporto, escorted by destroyer DOUGLAS and the French
TIGRE and PANTHÈRE, the latter from the 16th until they arrived at Brest on
the 23rd. DOUGLAS detached on the 19th to patrol off Cadiz-Huelva-Cape Santa
Maria, and the convoy continued escorted by sloop SANDWICH from the 16th to
24th, when it arrived at Liverpool.
_____
Destroyer WRESTLER departed
Gibraltar for refitting at Malta.
Sunday,
17 December
Admiral Forbes sent the armed merchant cruisers back
to sea to counter a possible attempt by a number of German merchant ships to
run the blockade to
Germany. Four of them sailed from
the Clyde to stations on the Northern
Patrol, while heavy cruiser
BERWICK headed for the Denmark Strait. Forbes returned to Greenock to refuel his destroyers on
the 17th. At 0917/17th, his force was battleships
WARSPITE,
BARHAM, battlecruiser
HOOD, and destroyers ISIS, ICARUS,
IMPERIAL, FOXHOUND, SOMALI, INGLEFIELD and IMOGEN. Aircraft carrier
FURIOUS, battleship
RESOLUTION, battlecruiser
REPULSE, and destroyers BEDOUIN, MASHONA, ESKIMO, MATABELE,
FEARLESS, ILEX, IMPULSIVE, KANDAHAR, KHARTOUM, KASHMIR and KINGSTON arrived at Greenock at 1219/17th.
_____
Light cruiser
DELHI departed Scapa Flow for Belfast arriving on the 21st to dock
and refit, completed on 8 January.
_____
Destroyers IVANHOE and INTREPID of the 20th Flotilla and GRENVILLE, GREYHOUND, GRIFFIN and Polish BLYSKAWICA from Harwich carried out
an anti-submarine sweep from the Thames entrance to Yarmouth between 1245 and
1515. IVANHOE and INTREPID then laid a field of 240 mines off Borkum in the
mouth of the River Ems at 0200/18th in Operation IB, while GRENVILLE,
GREYHOUND, GRIFFIN and BLYSKAWICA provided cover. After the lay, the Harwich
destroyers carried out another anti-submarine sweep and arrived back at dusk
on the 18th.
_____
Destroyers JERVIS,
JUNO, JAGUAR and JANUS, which
departed Grimsby on the 16th, left Scapa Flow and refuelled at Sullom Voe.
JUNO was held up with defects,
but the other three arrived off Tranoy late on the 18th to escort iron ore
convoy NV.2 of six British and one Greek ship from Narvik, with light
cruisers SOUTHAMPTON and
EDINBURGH in support. JUNO sailed on the 19th to rejoin
the convoy. On the 23rd, JAGUAR developed defects and was sent to Scapa Flow. One steamer was detached to
the west coast and the convoy arrived safely at Methil on the 24th still with
JERVIS, JUNO
and JANUS.
_____
Destroyer depot ship WOOLWICH departed Rosyth for the
Clyde, escorted by destroyers
ESCAPADE and ENCOUNTER.
_____
Armed merchant cruiser LAURENTIC departed
Liverpool for Northern Patrol, while
AMCs TRANSYLVANIA, CHITRAL and
MONTCLARE left from the Clyde.
_____
Armed merchant cruiser
JERVIS BAY departed the Tyne, north-about for Portsmouth, escorted as far as the
Pentland Skerries by destroyer ECLIPSE.
_____
Destroyer KEITH ran aground and required docking at
Plymouth.
_____
Convoy BC.19 of steamer BARON CARNEGIE departed
Bristol Channel escorted by destroyer WESSEX, and arrived in the Loire on the 19th. The convoy
returned with BARON CARNEGIE, leaving on the 24th and arriving in the Bristol Channel on the 25th.
_____
U.59 sank Danish steamer
BOGO (1214grt) 75 miles east of
May Island in 56-12N, 0-17W. Seventeen
crew were lost and survivors picked up by trawler RIVER EARN (202grt) which was sunk
herself on the 19th with them still on board.
_____
Steamer AGNITA (3552grt) was near-missed and badly
damaged by German bombing SE of the
Isle of Wight in 50‑42N, 00‑44E.
Italian steamer VALENTINO CODA (4486grt) was also attacked in this raid, but
not damaged.
_____
LUFTWAFFE ATTACKS ON NORTH SEA SHIPPING
German bombers of the FliegerKorps X (10th Flying
Corps – to be met a year or so later in the
Mediterranean) attacked and sank shipping,
primarily British trawlers, in the
North Sea off the British coast.
On the 17th, five trawlers were sunk: (1)
SERENITY (487grt) eight miles
ENE of Whitby, (2)
PEARL (198grt) 65 miles E by S of
Outer Dowsing Light Vessel, with one crewman lost and the survivors, three
wounded, picked up by an accompanying trawler, (3)
COMPAGANUS (270grt) 150 miles E by N of May Island (she was
abandoned 100 miles E by S of Aberdeen), with one member of crew lost and the
survivors picked up by trawler COLLEAGUE (207grt) which had been fishing in
company, (4) ISABELLA GREIG (210grt)
145 miles E by N of May Island with the survivors, two wounded, picked up by
a drifter, and (5) ZELOS (227grt)
110 miles E by N of May Island, but without casualties.
Still on the 17th,
EILEEN WRAY (227grt) was badly damaged off
Hartlepool and CRAIGIELEA (211grt)
northeast of Aberdeen. Two were wounded on CRAIGIELEA,
but there were no casualties on EILEEN WRAY which was towed to Hartlepool but sank in harbour. Sixteen
other trawlers and Estonian steamer MARVI (244grt) were attacked but not
damaged.
On the 18th, two trawlers were sunk, (1)
ACTIVE (185grt) 30 miles N by W of
Rattray Head with one crew lost and survivors picked up by trawler CARBINEER
II (297grt), and (2) TRINITY N B
(203grt) off Kinnaird Head, in 57-50N, 1-30W with two crew lost and survivors
picked up by Danish schooner SMART.
On the
same day, ASTROS (275grt) and
NEW CHOICE (236grt) were damaged off
May
Island and ETRURIA (373grt) off Duncansby Head.
ETRURIA lost three crew killed, and
was towed in by trawler SILANION (366grt). Four other trawlers were attacked,
but not damaged.
On the 19th, two more trawlers were lost: (1)
DANEDEN (210grt)
ESE of the Shetlands, and (2)
RIVER EARN (202grt) in 58-30N, 2-01E
ENE of Kinnaird Head. The entire
crew of RIVER EARN was rescued by Norwegian steamer ROGALAND (902grt) and
taken to Kopervik.
Again on the 19th,
STAR OF SCOTLAND (203grt) was
damaged off the Shetlands with two men killed and two wounded.
_____
U.60 laid mines off Cross Sands near
Lowestoft. One steamer was lost on
this minefield.
_____
Aircraft carrier ARK
ROYAL and battlecruiser RENOWN
arrived at Rio de Janeiro, refuelled and put back to sea the same day. Light
cruiser NEPTUNE refuelled at
Santos and also departed the same
day. Meanwhile, German pocket battleship ADMIRAL GRAF SPEE, after
transferring her crew to German steamer TACOMA (8268grt), scuttled herself
in the Rio
de la Plata Estuary off
Montevideo. The ARK ROYAL force,
steaming at high speed towards Montevideo, had not gone far when word
of SPEE's scuttling was received. Joined by destroyers HARDY, HERO and HOSTILE
and later by NEPTUNE, they swept through 16-40S, 27-50W searching for supply ship
ALTMARK. French light cruiser DUGUAY TROUIN, armed merchant cruisers CHARLES
PLUMIER, KOUTOUBIE, submarines ACHÉRON, FRESNEL, LE HÉROS and REDOUTABLE also
searched from 19 December to 19 January. ARK ROYAL’s force then proceeded to
Freetown, arriving on the 24th, light
cruisers AJAX and
ACHILLES left the Plate
Estuary and proceed to
Port Stanley, while heavy cruiser
CUMBERLAND remained off Montevideo.
_____
Destroyer DIAMOND departed
Aden on the 14th and arrived at
Suez on the 17th completing the
transfer of the 21st Flotilla from China to the Mediterranean.
_____
MEDITERRANEAN FLEET MOVEMENTS INCLUDING ARRIVAL OF AUSTRALIAN
DESTROYERS
Australian destroyer STUART, which had arrived at
Aden from duty in the Indian Ocean on the 10th, reached Malta on the 17th for duty in the
Mediterranean.
Australian destroyers WATERHEN and VENDETTA, escorting
battleship MALAYA with destroyer DEFENDER, had arrived at
Malta on the 14th followed by two
more Australians, VAMPIRE and VOYAGER on the 24th.
These ships, with light cruisers
ARETHUSA,
PENELOPE, GALATEA,
CAPETOWN and the 21st Destroyer Flotilla, which the
Australians relieved for duty elsewhere, and submarines OSIRIS and OSWALD,
comprised the entire operational Mediterranean Fleet.
On
2 January 1940, the Australian destroyers
were organised as the 19th Destroyer Division.
Very shortly, light cruisers
CALEDON and
CALYPSO arrived from the
Home Fleet and ARETHUSA and PENELOPE departed for Home Waters. CALEDON arrived at Gibraltar on the 24th, departed on the
26th, and reached Malta on the 28th for duty with
the 3rd Cruiser Squadron. CALYPSO arrived at Gibraltar on the 27th, departed on
the 28th, and arrived at Malta on the 31st, also for duty
with the 3rd Cruiser Squadron.
The 21st Destroyer Flotilla was divided in two, with
one half returning to Home Waters and the other going to the
South Atlantic. In addition, in February,
light cruiser GALATEA also departed the Mediterranean for Home Waters.
As a replacement for the Australian destroyers in the
Far East, light cruisers
COLOMBO and
CERES were sailed in
February after completing refits.
_____
Sloop
SCARBOROUGH departed
Port Said after arriving from the
Indian Ocean en route to England, arrived at Malta and departed on the 26th.
_____
French large destroyer AIGLE was damaged in a
collision with French auxiliary patrol vessel LEZARDRIEUX in Toulon Roads.
The damage took a month to repair.
_____
Light cruiser
BIRMINGHAM, while refuelling, collided
with tanker FRANCOL (5620grt) at the Saddle Islands off Shanghai. Her port bow was holed, but
after emergency repairs, she was able to continue patrol and arrived at
Hong Kong for docking on the 27th.
Repairs took two days.
Monday,
18 December
On Northern Patrol, two cruisers were between the
Orkneys and the Faroes, two cruisers between the Faroes and
Iceland, and heavy cruiser
BERWICK
in the Denmark Strait.
_____
Armed boarding vessel NORTHERN DUKE attacked a
submarine contact 55 miles NW of Cape Wrath.
_____
Light cruiser
SHEFFIELD departed the Tyne on Northern Patrol duties,
and arrived at
Scapa Flow on the 28th.
_____
Light cruiser EDINBURGH departed
Scapa Flow for Portsmouth, land left Portsmouth on the 22nd.
_____
Light cruiser
CALEDON departed the Tyne for Devonport.
_____
Armed boarding vessel KINGSTON TOPAZ, en route to her
first patrol, ran aground on Skea Skerries, Westray Firth. She was got off
and taken to Aberdeen for repairs.
_____
New submarine TAKU underwent trials off
Liverpool during the day, escorted by
anti-submarine yacht CUTTY SARK.
_____
German destroyers FRIEDRICH IHN, FRIEDRICH ECKHOLDT and
HERMANN SCHOEMANN departed
Wilhelmshaven to lay mines off Orfordness.
When they arrived and found the British navigational lights
extinguished, they returned as the mines could not be accurately laid.
_____
Light cruiser
CAPETOWN departed
Malta on patrol duties, and
arrived back on the 26th.
_____
Convoy SA.22 of two
unescorted steamers departed
Southampton, arriving at Brest on the 19th.
_____
Convoy FS.56 departed the
Tyne escorted by sloops PELICAN,
WESTON, HASTINGS, and arrived at Southend on
the 19th.
_____
Destroyer WALLACE and sloop STORK departed Methil
with a group of merchant ships for the
Tyne to join convoy FS.57.
_____
Convoy SL.13 departed
Freetown escorted by sloops WELLINGTON and LEITH, the latter detaching on the 19th. On
4 January, WELLINGTON was relieved by sloop
ENCHANTRESS and destroyer WITHERINGTON. The convoy arrived on 6 January.
_____
Light cruiser NEPTUNE attacked a submarine contact 150
miles east of Rio de Janeiro.
Tuesday,
19 December
HOME
FLEET OPERATIONS
On 19 December at 1430 Admiral Forbes departed the
Clyde with battleship BARHAM, battlecruiser
REPULSE and destroyers
INGLEFIELD, IMOGEN, ICARUS, ISIS and KHARTOUM to cover convoys HN.5 and NV.2.
At 55-30N, 5-02W off
Holy Island at 1700, KHARTOUM reported a torpedo was fired
at her. ISIS attacked a submarine contact,
and KHARTOUM made three attacks at 1700.
KHARTOUM, in company with
anti-submarine trawler LORD SNOWDEN (444grt), made a submarine attack in 55‑30N,
05‑00W off
Arran at 0725/20th. Patrol sloops MALLARD and PUFFIN assisted, but the attack
was unsuccessful.
Destroyers IMPULSIVE, MATABELE, MASHONA, BEDOUIN and
ESKIMO departed
Greenock to assist in the submarine hunt. MATABELE joined
ISIS and also made attacks. KHARTOUM rejoined the BARHAM screen.
The search continued until liners
AQUITANIA and EMPRESS OF BRITAIN
passed the area southbound.
IMOGEN and
KHARTOUM refuelled at Sullom Voe on
the 23rd, while MASHONA arrived at Loch Ewe on the 24th with defects.
ICARUS and ISIS refuelled at Sullom Voe on the 25th.
During this time, the Germans launched another air raid against Sullom Voe
and the destroyers assisted anti-aircraft cruiser
COVENTRY in driving off the attack.
INGLEFIELD refuelled at Sullom Voe on the 27th.
MATABELE, BEDOUIN, ESKIMO returned to the
Clyde in time for convoy TC.2
escort.
_____
On Northern Patrol, two cruisers were between the
Orkneys and the Faroes, two cruisers and four armed merchant cruisers between the Faroes and
Iceland, and heavy cruiser
BERWICK
and one armed merchant cruiser in the Denmark Strait. Armed merchant cruisers
ASTURIAS and WORCESTERSHIRE departed the Clyde on Northern Patrol duties.
_____
Submarine TRITON arrived at Rosyth after patrol.
_____
Destroyers WITHERINGTON and VIMY attacked a submarine
contact in the Western Approaches. They rejoined their convoy the next
morning when relieved by destroyer VOLUNTEER.
_____
Destroyer
DUNCAN attacked a submarine contact
in 50-05N, 3-16W.
_____
Destroyer HAVANT (Lt Cdr A F Burnell-Nugent DSC) was
completed. After working up at
Portland, she was the first unit of
the 9th Destroyer Flotilla and operated with the Home Fleet.
_____
Destroyer GRAFTON on patrol in 51-50N, 1-46E reported
a large number of floating mines.
_____
Light cruiser
CARDIFF arrived in the Clyde.
_____
Convoy FN.56 departed Southend, escorted by
destroyer WOOLSTON and sloop
GRIMSBY. The convoy had been delayed
24 hours, and arrived in the
Tyne on the 20th.
_____
U.48 passed Fair Isle Channel and returned to
Germany,
leaving no U-boats
operating in the
Atlantic at this time.
_____
Finnish steamer UKO
(757grt) was sunk by German bombing 80 miles south of Utsire; three crew and
two passengers were wounded. Survivors were picked up by Swedish steamer SIR
ERNEST CASSEL (7739grt) and landed at Kopervik.
_____
Steamer
CITY OF
KOBE (4373grt) in convoy FS.56
was sunk off Cross Sands in 52‑35N, 01‑59E on a mine laid by U.60
on the 17th; one crewman was lost, and 18 survivors rescued.
_____
Convoy OA.56 departed Southend, escorted by destroyers
WHITEHALL and WIVERN from the 19th to
21st, and joined by destroyer VESPER on the 21st, when the convoy dispersed.
_____
Convoy OB.56 departed
Liverpool escorted by destroyers VIMY
and WITHERINGTON to the 21st, when the convoy dispersed.
_____
Light cruiser EMERALD arrived at
Halifax after escorting troop convoy
TC.1.
_____
Convoy HXF.13 departed
Halifax at 0900 escorted by Canadian
destroyers SAGUENAY and
SKEENA, which detached on the 20th. Light cruiser
ENTERPRISE departed
Halifax as the ocean escort on the
19th, detached on the 28th and arrived at Portsmouth on the 29th. Destroyer WREN
escorted the convoy from the 28th to 30th, when it arrived at Liverpool.
_____
Convoy SLF.13 departed
Freetown escorted by sloop EGRET until
2 January when she was relieved by destroyers ARDENT and BROKE. The convoy
arrived on the 3rd.
_____
Submarine REGENT departed
Singapore for patrol in the Java Sea off Saband and Mentawei. On the 24th, she bottomed off Pulo Simalar and was badly damaged with damage
to her hydroplanes. She was ordered to return to Singapore on the 25th and arrived back, repairing
until 28 February. REGENT then proceeded to Hong Kong, arriving on 18 March, for a
refit completed on 19 June.
Wednesday,
20 December
On Northern Patrol, one cruiser was between the
Orkneys and the Faroes, two cruisers and six AMCs between the Faroes and
Iceland, and one cruiser and one
AMC in the Denmark Strait.
_____
Submarine SEAL reported she had engine defects
requiring ten days to make good.
_____
Vice Admiral Sir Max K Horton KCB, DSO was relieved by
Vice Admiral R H T Raikes CB, CVO, DSO as Vice Admiral Northern Patrol. On
9 January 1940, Admiral Horton assumed command as Vice Admiral,
submarines.
_____
ATTEMPTED BREAKOUT BY GERMAN POCKET BATTLESHIP DEUTSCHLAND
A German warship, identified as DEUTSCHLAND, was
sighted northbound in the Belt.
Light cruiser GLASGOW returning from Northern
Patrol was ordered to refuel and join light cruiser
NEWCASTLE on Fair Island Channel
Patrol.
Submarine H.34 on trials with destroyer ENCOUNTER in
Pentland Firth was ordered to patrol in the
Firth. This patrol was terminated on the 21st.
Submarines L.23 and STURGEON were 10 and 25 miles
south of Rjyvingen Light, respectively.
Submarine THISTLE was 80 miles WSW of Ryvingen Light.
L.23, STURGEON, THISTLE then returned to their regular
patrol stations.
If German warships were sighted in the
North Sea, the Commander of the 2nd
Cruiser Squadron with light cruisers EDINBURGH and
SOUTHAMPTON was ordered to
take battleship BARHAM, battlecruiser
REPULSE, and light cruisers GLASGOW and
NEWCASTLE under his command. Also, any
available destroyers of the 12th Destroyer Flotilla were to join NEWCASTLE. The destroyers of the 8th
Flotilla at Loch Ewe were put on one hour's notice.
On 21 December, DEUTSCHLAND was sighted steaming south back towards
Germany.
GLASGOW arrived at Rosyth on the
22nd and NEWCASTLE at Scapa Flow with destroyer ESCAPADE on
the 23rd.
_____
Destroyer ESCAPADE was sent to search for a submarine
reported at the entrance to
Kirkwall.
_____
Sloop FOWEY attacked a submarine contact in 50-28N,
1-10W.
_____
Convoy FN.57 departed Southend, escorted by
sloops PELICAN, WESTON and
HASTINGS, and arrived in the Tyne on the 22nd. There was no
convoy FN.58.
_____
Convoy FS.57 departed the
Tyne, escorted by destroyer
WHITLEY and sloops STORK and FLAMINGO, and arrived at Southend on the 22nd.
_____
Anti-submarine trawler ARCTIC EXPLORER (501grt)
attacked a submarine contact in Shapinsay Sound in the Orkneys. The same
submarine was sighted again later and armed boarding vessel NORTHERN ISLES
made another attack.
_____
Heavy cruiser
SUFFOLK departed Clyde on Northern Patrol duties,
and arrived back on the 29th.
_____
Light cruiser
CARDIFF departed the Clyde for Portsmouth, and arrived on the 23rd for
refitting, completed on 30 January.
_____
Light cruiser
DIOMEDE was refitting at
Plymouth until 10 January.
_____
Convoy OA.57 departed Southend escorted by destroyers
WOLVERINE and ARDENT from the 20th to 21st. Destroyer WINDSOR was escort from the 21st to 23rd, when the convoy dispersed.
_____
Convoy OB.57 departed
Liverpool escorted by destroyers
WANDERER and WALPOLE to the 23rd, when they detached to convoy HX.12.
_____
Swedish steamer MARS
(1877grt) was sunk one mile east of St Marys Light Vessel near
Blyth on a mine laid by U.22 on
the 15th; seven crew were lost, and 15 survivors rescued.
_____
Tug NAPIA
(155grt) was sunk on a mine off Ramsgate, in 51-15-45N, 1-25E. The entire crew
of eight were lost.
_____
Swedish steamer VEGA
(1300grt) was badly damaged on a mine in 53‑26N, 05‑06E, and ran
aground at Westergronden on the 21st near
Ijmuiden a total loss. Seventeen
survivors were picked up by Swedish steamer VENERN (1171grt). VEGA and VENERN
had been in convoy together from the German Bight.
_____
Swedish steamer ADOLF
BRATT (1323grt) was sunk on a mine in 53‑28N, 05‑08E. Five
crew were lost, and her 16 survivors rescued by Latvian steamer AUSEKLIS
(1309grt).
_____
U.22 laid mines off
Blyth near Newcastle, on which one merchant ship was sunk.
_____
Convoy HX.13 departed
Halifax at 1000 escorted by Canadian
destroyers FRASER and
ST LAURENT. Off Halifax, Canadian destroyers SAGUENAY and SKEENA took over the escort and
were detached on the 22nd. The convoy was turned over to light cruiser
EMERALD which departed
Halifax with the convoy for ocean
escort; she detached on 3 January. The Canadian destroyers arrived back at
Halifax the morning of the 23rd.
Destroyers MACKAY and WARWICK from convoy OB.62, together with WOLVERINE and
VERITY escorted the convoy from 2 to 4 January, when it arrived at
Liverpool. EMERALD arrived at Portsmouth on 4 January to repair
defects, completed on the 11th.
Thursday,
21 December
On Northern Patrol, two cruisers were between the
Orkneys and Faroes, one cruiser and five AMCs between the Faroes and
Iceland, and one cruiser and one
AMC in the Denmark Strait.
_____
Destroyers EXMOUTH, ELECTRA and new sloop FLEETWOOD
departed Rosyth escorting a convoy from Methil to the
Tyne.
_____
Submarine UNITY departed Rosyth on patrol.
_____
Submarine TAKU escorted by anti-submarine yacht CUTTY
SARK departed Liverpool for the
Clyde.
_____
Convoys OA.55G and OB.55G merged as OG.11 with 46
ships. Destroyers ACASTA and WINDSOR escorted OA.55G from the 18th to 21st,
and VANESSA and AMAZON escorted the convoy on the 21st. Destroyers
MACKAY and WARWICK of OB.55G, which departed Liverpool on the 18th, escorted
the convoy on the 21st. French destroyers GUÉPARD and VERDUN, which departed
Brest on the 20th, escorted the convoy from the 21st to 26th. Destroyer
VORTIGERN escorted the convoy on the 25th and 26th, when it arrived
at Gibraltar.
_____
U.21 sank Swedish steamer
MARS (1475grt)
ENE of May Island and an hour
later Swedish steamer CARL HENCKEL
(1352grt) in 57‑00N, 00‑17E. The crew from MARS was picked up by
CARL HENCKEL, but when CARL HENCKEL was sunk, 18 crew from MARS were lost
with only one survivor. Ten crew were lost on the CARL HENCKEL, and seven
survivors landed at
Kristiansand.
_____
Anti-submarine trawler CAPE WARWICK (516grt) reported
a submarine seven miles 52° from North Foreland in 51-27N, 1-36E, and made an
attack on the contact.
_____
Sloop
ABERDEEN attacked a submarine contact
50-06N, 1-54W.
_____
Destroyer WOLVERINE attacked a submarine contact 20
miles 90° from Start Point. Destroyer ARDENT joined her in the search.
_____
Light cruiser
CALEDON departed Plymouth and arrived at Gibraltar on the 24th for duty with the
Mediterranean Fleet. She left on the 26th for Malta.
_____
Light cruiser
CALYPSO departed the
Tyne for Plymouth in preparation for transfer
to the Mediterranean Fleet.
_____
Light cruiser NEWCASTLE departed Scapa Flow on Northern Patrol duties,
and arrived back on the 22nd.
_____
Light cruiser
COLOMBO departed Scapa Flow on Northern Patrol duties,
and arrived back on the 28th.
_____
Destroyer
KIMBERLEY (Lt Cdr R G K Knowling) was
completed. She departed
Portsmouth on the 27th for 14 days
working up at
Portland, after which she joined the
5th Destroyer Flotilla operating with the Home Fleet on 21 January.
_____
U.46 sank Norwegian steamer
RUDOLF (924grt) in 58‑07N, 01‑32E; six crew were
lost, with seven survivors taken to Kopervik.
_____
Boom defence vessel
BAYONET (T/Boom Engineer W. Barron
RNR) was sunk on a mine in South
Inchkeith Channel off
Leith in the Firth of Forth, laid by U.21 on 4
November. Barron and two ratings were lost and 28 crew injured.
_____
Italian steamer COMITAS
(3482grt) was badly damaged on a mine in the Wielingen Fairway off
Flushing. She was towed by a Dutch
tug to Flushing, but sank in the port off
Rammekens on the 22nd. No crew were lost.
_____
Minesweeping trawler
DROMIO (380grt, Lt Cdr G. Dibley
RNR) was sunk in a collision
with Italian steamer VALDARNO (5696grt) four miles due north of Whitby. There were no casualties on
either ship.
_____
After being delayed 48 hours, convoy HN.5 with eight
British, five Norwegian, two Swedish, six Finnish, three Estonian and one
Latvian ship departed
Bergen escorted by destroyers
AFRIDI, MAORI, NUBIAN, MOHAWK with destroyer ESCAPADE joining at sea while
the convoy was en route. NUBIAN and MOHAWK were detached to escort the six
ships of the west coast section of the convoy and arrived at Greenock on the 24th. HN.5 arrived at
Methil without event on the 24th with MAORI, AFRIDI and ESCAPADE. On the
25th, MAORI and AFRIDI departed Rosyth and arrived in the Clyde on the 27th.
_____
Steamer SOUTHERN PRINCE (10917grt) sank tug
DANUBE IV (239grt) in an accidental
collision in the
Clyde. SOUTHERN PRINCE was run ashore to prevent her
sinking, refloated on the 23rd and repaired at Dalmuir.
_____
Battleship MALAYA, escorted by destroyers
DIANA and DELIGHT, departed Malta for Gibraltar with destroyer WATCHMAN as
local escort. She was en route to Halifax, and the destroyers for service in
Home Waters.
_____
French heavy cruisers TOURVILLE and COLBERT patrolled
in the Greek
Islands for two days on passage from
Beirut to
Bizerte. On the 25th, they arrived
at Malta.
_____
French heavy cruiser SUFFREN arrived at Trincomalee.
_____
In a commercial airliner crash between Sollum and
Malta, Lt P L Hocking and Lt A A C
Gage, both officers on the China Station at the start of the war, were lost.
A third officer Lt W. Ashton was picked up by Maltese fishing boat SAN GORG (615grt) on the 23rd.
_____
Light cruiser
DURBAN arrived at Singapore.
_____
Sloop FOLKESTONE, which completed her long refit on
the 13th, departed
Hong Kong on the 21st. She left
Singapore on the 28th for patrol in
the Malacca Strait, departed Penang on 3 January and Colombo on the 8th arriving at Aden on the 14th. FOLKESTONE left
Aden on 19 January,
Port Said on the 24th, and boiler
cleaned at Malta beginning on the 27th. She
arrived at Gibraltar on 5 February and departed the same day, escorting
convoy HG.16, and reaching
Portsmouth on the 14th for duty in the
Western Approaches.
Friday,
22 December
On Northern Patrol, two cruisers were between the
Orkneys and Faroes, one cruiser and five AMCs between the Faroes and
Iceland, and two cruisers and one
AMC in the Denmark Strait. In addition, one additional
cruiser and two AMCs were en route for the patrol line between the Faroes and
Iceland.
Heavy cruiser
DEVONSHIRE arrived at Scapa Flow from Northern Patrol,
refuelled, and left again that same day for the Patrol.
The Northern
Patrol from 22 December to 4 January 1940 sighted 43 eastbound ships
of which 35 were sent into
Kirkwall for inspection.
_____
Light cruiser GLASGOW arrived at Rosyth from Fair Isle
Patrol.
_____
Light cruiser MANCHESTER departed Portsmouth for the Scapa Flow, arriving on the 24th.
_____
Destroyers FOXHOUND, FIREDRAKE,
FAME
and FEARLESS with the 1st
Minesweeping Flotilla arrived at Loch Ewe.
_____
Destroyer KIPLING (Lt Cdr A. St Clair-Ford) was
completed. Following working up, she joined the 5th Destroyer Flotilla
operating with the Home Fleet, on
18 January
1940.
KIPLING was to have been completed in September, but turbine problems
required the gears to be re-cut.
_____
Convoy OA.58 departed Southend escorted by
destroyer BROKE and sloop
ABERDEEN. The
destroyer was detached on the 24th, and the sloop on the 25th, when the
convoy dispersed.
_____
Convoy OB.58 departed
Liverpool escorted by destroyer
WINCHELSEA and sloop DEPTFORD to the 25th, when the convoy dispersed.
_____
U.22 laid mines off
Blyth, on which one merchant ship and one
trawler were sunk.
_____
Steamer GRYFEVALE (4434grt) was badly damaged three
miles east of the
Tyne Piers, off
Whitby Bay on a mine laid by U.61 on
the 2nd. She was towed into the
Tyne and beached to prevent her sinking.
_____
Canadian troop convoy TC.2 departed Halifax with
troopships BATORY (14,287grt), ANDES (25,689grt), ORMONDE (14,982grt),
ALMANZORA (15,510grt), ORAMA (19,840grt), CHROBRY (11,442grt) and REINA
DEL PACIFICO (17,702grt)
carrying 806, 1358, 1269, 1284, 935, 1045 and 1455 troops, respectively. The
convoy was escorted from
Halifax by Canadian destroyers OTTAWA, FRASER, RESTIGOUCHE, ST LAURENT and the British HUNTER.
Battleship REVENGE (Vice Admiral Holland aboard returning to
England to assume post on
Admiralty-Air Ministry staff), French battleship DUNKERQUE and light cruiser
GLOIRE were ocean escort.
_____
Heavy cruiser
CORNWALL and light cruiser
GLOUCESTER departed Durban. CORNWALL arrived at Simonstown on the
26th, while GLOUCESTER proceeded to Mauritius.
Saturday,
23 December
Battleship
RESOLUTION and destroyers ILEX,
KINGSTON, KASHMIR departed the Clyde to cover convoy TC.2.
_____
Light cruiser EDINBURGH arrived at Rosyth to boiler
clean and refit, and was under repair from 29 December to 30 January when she
was able to depart for escort duty.
_____
Armed merchant cruiser
CALIFORNIA departed the Clyde on Northern Patrol.
_____
Destroyer SIKH, which departed
Malta on the 17th and Gibraltar on the 20th, arrived at
Dover completing the transfer of
the 4th Destroyer Flotilla from the
Mediterranean. She moved on to Chatham arriving on the 26th for
refitting and repairs until 10 January 1940.
_____
Destroyer ESCORT with minelayer
PLOVER and submarine
H.34 arrived at
Dundee from
Scapa Flow, en route to Rosyth.
_____
Destroyers EXMOUTH and ELECTRA arrived at Rosyth after
Tyne-Methil convoy escort duty.
_____
Minesweeper
HAZARD departed Loch Ewe for the
Clyde, and was joined by destroyer
FORESTER for escort.
_____
BRITISH NAVAL AWARDS
On 23 December, the first list of British naval awards
and honours of the war was gazetted:
Harwood and the three cruiser captains of the River
Plate Battle, Bickford and crew members of the submarine SALMON for the
sinking of submarine U.36, Gregory of the submarine STURGEON for his
"successful action" against a U-boat were listed.
Certain officers and ratings of submarine SPEARFISH
and destroyer MOHAWK were listed for the incidents in which their ships were
damaged.
Commanding officers of the following destroyers were
awarded DSO's for "successful action" against U-boats - AFRIDI,
BROKE, ECLIPSE,
ECHO, EXMOUTH, FAULKNOR, FORTUNE, INGLEFIELD,
KINGSTON
and SOMALI.
Commanding officers of the following warships were
awarded DSC's for "successful action" against U-boats - destroyers
EXPRESS, FIREDRAKE, FORESTER, ILEX, IMOGEN, INTREPID, IVANHOE, VESPER,
WALPOLE, WINCHELSEA, sloop PUFFIN, and anti-submarine trawlers CAYTON WYKE and
LOCH TULLA.
Commanding officers of the following destroyers were
mentioned in dispatches for "successful action" against U-boats -
ESK, FAME, FOXHOUND,
KASHMIR, VOLUNTEER, WHIRLWIND and WOOLSTON.
Also, two officers and two ratings of
VERNON were decorated for their
work on magnetic mines.
_____
Steamer PANDORA
(ex-HMS DOLPHIN, 5670grt) was being towed by tugs for breaking up, when she struck a mine
one mile to eastward of Blyth Pier. She sank rapidly 12.6 cables 131° from
Blyth East Pier, but the crew of seven was rescued.
_____
Convoy BC.20 of steamer BARON KINNAIRD departed
Bristol Channel escorted by destroyer
VIVACIOUS. They arrived in the
Loire on the 25th, and returned, departing on 4
January and reaching Barry on the 6th.
_____
Convoy FN.58 departed Southend at 1500, but was
ordered to anchor in the
Downs for the night. The escort was sloops FLAMINGO
and STORK, joined by destroyer VEGA. The convoy was cancelled on the 24th,
and FLAMINGO and STORK ordered to proceed to Rosyth if weather permitted.
_____
Convoy FS.58 departed the
Tyne, escorted by destroyer
WOOLSTON and sloops FLEETWOOD and GRIMSBY, and arrived at Southend on
the 24th.
_____
Heavy cruiser
SHROPSHIRE had departed Capetown on the
15th for Montevideo, but was diverted en route
and on the 23rd arrived at Rio de Janeiro.
_____
French heavy cruiser SUFFREN and British armed
merchant cruiser
CATHAY departed Trincomalee.
Sunday,
24 December
On Northern Patrol, two cruisers were between the
Orkneys and the Faroes, two cruisers and seven AMCs between the Faroes and
Iceland, and one cruiser and one
AMC in the Denmark Strait.
_____
Heavy cruiser
NORFOLK departed Belfast and arrived in the Clyde on 1 January.
_____
Light cruiser
SOUTHAMPTON arrived in the
Tyne for repairs from 28 December
until 23 January 1940.
_____
Destroyer WALLACE departed Rosyth in the tow of two
tugs for Leith.
_____
Destroyers
ECHO and ELECTRA departed
Inchkeith escorting tankers to Loch Ewe.
_____
Destroyers FURY and FIREDRAKE departed Loch Ewe and
joined destroyers FEARLESS,
KASHMIR,
KINGSTON, ILEX, NUBIAN and MOHAWK in the
Clyde.
_____
Submarine TRIAD arrived at Rosyth after patrol.
_____
Destroyers GREYHOUND and GRENVILLE attacked a
submarine contact in 52-25N, 1-52E.
_____
Light cruiser
CALYPSO departed
Plymouth for Gibraltar where she arrived on the
27th for duty with the Mediterranean Fleet.
_____
Convoy OB.59 departed
Liverpool, escorted by destroyers
VOLUNTEER and VENETIA to the 27th when they detached to SL.14. Convoy OA.59 did not sail.
_____
Battleship MALAYA and destroyers DELIGHT and
DIANA arrived at
Gibraltar, and left the same day with destroyer WATCHMAN.
MALAYA proceeded to Halifax, and DELIGHT and DIANA to
Portsmouth and Dover respectively, arriving on
the 30th. DIANA carried on to Chatham, arriving for refit on the
31st.
_____
Convoy HG.12 of 48 ships departed
Gibraltar, escorted by French large
destroyers JAGUAR and LÉOPARD, from the 24th until the destroyers arrived at
Brest on 1 January, and also by
destroyer KEPPEL. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on 2 January.
_____
Heavy cruiser
DORSETSHIRE had departed Simonstown on
the 13th for Montevideo to join light cruisers
AJAX and the New Zealand
ACHILLES. En route, DORSETSHIRE was diverted on the 18th to the
Falklands. She arrived, refuelled from
tanker
OLYNTHUS on the 22nd in San Boroban Bay and on the 24th
arrived in the
Falklands to embark the prisoners from German steamers
KARL FRITZEN and USSUKUMA. Off the Plate, ACHILLES departed on the
18th for the Falklands where she arrived on the 21st to land her wounded, and
after refuelling, left to
arrive back off the
Plate on the 24th.
_____
Heavy cruiser
CUMBERLAND arrived in the Falklands on the 24th.
Monday,
25 December
On Northern Patrol, one cruiser was between the
Orkneys and the Faroes, two cruisers and seven AMCs between the Faroes and
Iceland, and one cruiser and one
AMC in the Denmark Strait.
Of the ships engaged on
Northern Patrol, heavy cruiser
BERWICK
arrived in the
Clyde for a period of rest and refit; light cruiser
CERES arrived at
Scapa Flow after patrol; light cruiser
DUNEDIN arrived at Scapa Flow after her refit in the Clyde, and left for Northern
Patrol; and armed merchant cruiser JERVIS BAY arrived at Portsmouth.
_____
Destroyers MAORI and AFRIDI departed Rosyth for the
Clyde.
_____
Armed merchant cruiser DERBYSHIRE was in a collision
with collier EDENWOOD (1167grt)
two miles ENE of the Nab. The collier sank, but no crew were lost.
DERBYSHIRE was undamaged.
_____
Submarine TRIDENT arrived at Rosyth after patrol.
_____
ARRIVAL OF CANADIAN TROOP CONVOY TC.2
Canadian convoy TC.2 was in mid-Atlantic when Admiral
Forbes ordered the sortie of twelve Home Fleet destroyers to escort it
through the Western Approaches and into the
Clyde.
Destroyers SOMALI, BEDOUIN, ESKIMO, MATABELE, MOHAWK,
FEARLESS, FIREDRAKE, FURY, IMPERIAL and IMPULSIVE departed on the 25th and
KINGSTON and KASHMIR on the 26th, all from Greenock and joined the convoy at sea
on the 28th.
On the 29th, destroyers
FAME and FORESIGHT conducted an
anti-submarine sweep off Ailsa Craig, after which, FAME arrived back in the Clyde on the 30th and FORESIGHT
went to Loch Ewe.
Also on the 29th, the French ships
(battleship DUNKERQUE and light cruiser
GLOIRE) were detached,
escorted by destroyers FEARLESS, FURY, FIREDRAKE and joined later in the
morning by destroyers MOGADOR, VOLTA, LE TRIOMPHANT, LE FANTASQUE, and LE
TERRIBLE, which had departed Brest on the 26th. The destroyers were detached
before the French ships arrived at
Brest on the 30th.
On the 29th and 30th, convoy escort was supplemented
by escort vessels PUFFIN,
JASON, GLEANER and SHEARWATER.
At 0900/30th, TC.2 arrived safely in the
Clyde escorted by battleship
REVENGE and destroyers SOMALI, IMPERIAL, MOHAWK,
KINGSTON, KASHMIR, MATABELE, BEDOUIN, FEARLESS,
FURY,
FAME
and FIREDRAKE.
REVENGE, escorted by destroyers MOHAWK, MASHONA,
KHARTOUM
and KINGSTON, departed the Clyde at 0800/31st, and proceeded
to Plymouth arriving at 1200 on 1 January for refitting,
completed on 23 January.
The destroyers, less MASHONA, returned to the
Clyde. MASHONA sailed to Chatham for repairs.
_____
Destroyers
ECHO and ELECTRA were hunting off
Rattray Head in 57-36N, 1-35W.
_____
Sloop FLAMINGO attacked a submarine contact in the
Knock Deep off the mouth of the
Thames.
_____
On Christmas Day 1939, the following submarines were
on patrol in the Heligoland Bight and the North Sea: STURGEON which had
departed from Blyth on the 17th and whose patrol ended on the 29th when she
left the area to return, THISTLE which had departed from Rosyth on the 20th
and was on patrol at entrance to Oslofjord, TRIUMPH from Rosyth on the 23rd,
TRUANT from Rosyth on the 25th, SEALION from Harwich on the 12th, SNAPPER
from Harwich on the 19th, UNITY from Blyth on the 21st, and L.23 from Blyth
on the 17th to patrol in the area of Kristiansandfjord.
_____
Convoy FS.59 departed the
Tyne, escorted by destroyers
VALOROUS, VIVIEN and sloop BITTERN. After a submarine was sighted by aircraft
close to Spurn Point on the 25th, the three escorts were sent to investigate,
and VALOROUS attacked a contact; two anti-submarine trawlers were also
searching in the area. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 27th.
_____
Steamer STANHOLME
(2473grt) was sunk in 51‑20N, 03‑39W on a mine laid by U.33 on 5
November. Thirteen crew were lost, and 11 survivors picked up by a Norwegian
steamer and landed at Barry.
_____
Minesweeping trawler
LOCH DOON (534grt, Skipper G H A Thompson
RNR) was sunk eight miles east
of Blyth on a mine laid by U.22 on
the 22nd. There were no survivors - one officer and 14 ratings lost.
_____
Norwegian steamer
LAPPEN
(563grt), en route
Oslo to the Tyne, was lost after an internal
explosion ten miles outside Brandasund, west of Bergen. The loss was later
attributed to barratry (maritime fraud). The crew was landed at Bergen.
_____
Sloop BIDEFORD arrived at
Suez on her passage from the
China Station to the UK. She left Port Said on the 30th for Malta escorting steamer ETTRICK.
Off Malta on 1 January, destroyer
VOYAGER relieved her and the steamer was taken to Marseilles. BIDEFORD arrived at Malta that day.
_____
French heavy cruiser SUFFREN and sloop SAVORGNAN DE
BRAZZA began escorting three French troopships from Achin Head. British aircraft
carrier GLORIOUS, destroyer BULLDOG and Australian light cruiser
HOBART
departed Colombo on the 29th. They joined the
convoy and escorted it to Cape Guardafui. GLORIOUS and BULLDOG
proceeded on to
Suez arriving on 9 January, while
HOBART arrived back at Colombo on
10 January 1940.
_____
German steamer TANGER (1742grt) was sunk in a
collision at Brunsbüttel.
Tuesday,
26 December
On Northern Patrol, one cruiser and one armed merchant
cruiser were in the
Denmark Strait, two cruisers and eight AMCs
between the Faroes and Iceland, and two cruisers between
the Faroes and the Orkneys. Armed merchant cruiser CANTON departed the Clyde on Northern Patrol.
_____
Submarine TRIUMPH (Lt Cdr J W McCoy) departed Rosyth
on patrol on the 26th. In the
Skagerrak 250 miles east of Rosyth in
56‑44N, 5‑00E, she struck a mine which left her badly damaged,
unable to submerge and with 18 feet of her bow blown away. There
were no casualties. Submarine TRUANT joined TRIUMPH to assist,
while destroyers EXMOUTH, ELECTRA, ESCAPADE, ENCOUNTER and
ECHO were dispatched from Rosyth
and joined TRIUMPH on the 27th. TRIUMPH and her escorts arrived safely off
May Island in the Firth of Forth at
0700/28th. She was taken to Chatham for repairs lasting until
27 September 1940. On arrival at Rosyth, ELECTRA entered the dock at
Rosyth for repairs and refit.
_____
Destroyer JACKAL arrived in the
Humber.
_____
Submarine SEAHORSE departed
Blyth on patrol.
_____
Polish submarine
WILK departed Rosyth on patrol.
_____
After a submarine was reported in the
English Channel, destroyer MALCOLM and sloop
FOXGLOVE commenced to search.
_____
A submarine was sighted on the surface in 49-46N,
13-11W by destroyer
VENETIA, escorting an outward bound convoy with
destroyer VOLUNTEER.
VENETIA made an attack on the contact 180 miles SW of
Berehaven. Destroyers WREN and WITCH in the area were advised of the
sighting.
_____
Tanker ADELLEN (7984grt) was badly damaged on a mine
16 miles NE of North Foreland in 51‑30N, 01‑43E. She entered the
Thames next morning for repair.
_____
Convoy SA.23 of two steamers departed
Southampton, escorted by sloops FOXGLOVE
and ROSEMARY, and arrived at Brest on the 27th.
_____
Convoy FN.59 departed Southend, escorted by
destroyer WOOLSTON and sloops FLEETWOOD and
GRIMSBY, and arrived in the Tyne on the 28th.
_____
German steamer
GLUCKSBURG
(2680grt), which had departed
Cadiz on the 25th, was intercepted
by destroyer WISHART off
Chipiona Light, Spain. She turned into Spanish
waters pursued by WISHART which was warned off by Spanish gunboat LAURIA.
However GLUCKSBURG went aground at San Luca de Barrameda and was lost;
her
hull broke up in the surf on 4 January 1940. The crew was picked up by
Spanish fishing boat CUIDAD DE MELILLA.
_____
Convoy SL.14 departed
Freetown escorted by sloop LEITH until 12 January. On 28
December, aircraft carrier HERMES, French heavy cruisers FOCH and DUPLEIX,
and French destroyers
MILAN and CASSARD departed Freetown and joined on the 30th. On 10
January, convoy HG.14F was merged with SL.14. Sloop BIDEFORD
joined on 10 January, and on the 11th, the convoys split with
the northbound portion becoming SG.14B. On the same day,
destroyers WANDERER, WITCH and WARWICK joined SG.14B. LEITH arrived at Penarth for
refitting on the 13th, while the convoy arrived on the 15th.
_____
Sloop
SCARBOROUGH departed
Malta for UK for duty in Home Waters.
_____
Light cruiser GLOUCESTER departed Mauritius and arrived at Port
Victoria, Seychilles, on the 29th.
Wednesday,
27 December
On Northern Patrol, one cruiser and one
AMC were in the Denmark Strait, two cruisers and AMCs
between the Faroes and Iceland, and one cruiser between the
Orkneys and the Faroes.
Light cruiser
MANCHESTER relieved sister ship
SHEFFIELD on Northern Patrol.
_____
Battlecruiser HOOD and destroyers MAORI, NUBIAN and AFRIDI departed the
Clyde to relieve battleship
BARHAM and battlecruiser
REPULSE on patrol NE of the Shetlands. AFRIDI and MAORI had just
arrived in the
Clyde that morning. Destroyer ILEX was to join after she refuelled at
Scapa Flow.
_____
Destroyer JACKAL escorted tanker BEDALE H (493grt)
from Killingholm to Middlesborough, and sister ship
JUNO joined at sunset.
_____
Submarine TRIDENT departed Rosyth to establish a
patrol off Murmansk to observe German activities
from that port.
_____
Convoy OA.61 departed Southend escorted by destroyers
VESPER and VISCOUNT from the 27th to 29th, when they detached to join SL.14.
Destroyers BROKE and ARDENT escorted the convoy from the 29th to 30th, when
the convoy dispersed. Convoy OB.61 did not sail.
_____
Destroyer WREN and WITCH were ordered to attack a
submarine contact reported in the
English Channel.
_____
Destroyers
VENETIA and VOLUNTEER attacked a
submarine contact in 49-58N, 12-56W.
_____
Convoy HXF.14 departed
Halifax at 0900 escorted by Canadian
destroyers SAGUENAY and
SKEENA, which detached on the 29th. The ocean escort
was armed merchant cruiser ASCANIA, which left on 5 January. Destroyer
VERSATILE and sloop DEPTFORD from convoy OB.64 joined HXF.14 from 5 to 8
January, when the convoy arrived at
Liverpool.
_____
Force K arrived at
Montevideo. Since 18 November, the
Force had been at sea almost constantly and ARK
ROYAL had spent only 36 hours
in port.
_____
Convoy SLF.14 departed
Freetown escorted by armed merchant
cruiser CARNARVON CASTLE until the 8 January.
Aircraft carrier HERMES accompanied the convoy on the 1st, and destroyers ACASTA from the
4th to 8th, VESPER from the 8th to 9th,
and WINDSOR from the 9th. The convoy arrived on the 11th.
_____
Light cruiser ORION departed
Kingston on patrol.
_____
Light cruiser
BIRMINGHAM arrived at Hong Kong for repairs to her 17
December collision damage and to replace a propeller. She was undocked
two days later and was able to depart on 3 January for her return to UK.
Thursday,
28 December
BATTLESHIP BARHAM TORPEDOED
Battleship BARHAM, battlecruiser
REPULSE, and destroyers
NUBIAN and ISIS were NW of Flannan Island in 58‑47N, 08‑05W when U.30
attacked. BARHAM was torpedoed at 1449 hours, and U.30 was able
to escape counterattacks by the destroyers. A and B shell rooms and
magazines, and the pom-pom magazine were flooded and the forward bulkhead of
the 6 inch magazine was leaking. Four ratings were killed.
REPULSE left her escort and proceeded at high speed,
unaccompanied, into the
Clyde arriving early on the 29th. Destroyers FAULKNOR
and MASHONA departed Loch Ewe at 2300 to join the damaged BARHAM.
Additionally, destroyer FOXHOUND departed Loch Ewe several hours later. After
the submarine hunt FOXHOUND, FAULKNOR and
ISIS were sent into Loch Ewe and
destroyer NUBIAN joined the screen of battlecruiser
HOOD.
The patrol sloops of the 1st and 2nd Anti-Submarine
Striking Forces departed the
Clyde to assist.
At 1404/29th, destroyers INGLEFIELD and ICARUS
attacked a submarine contact near BARHAM.
Escorted by destroyers
FAME, ICARUS and IMOGEN, the
damaged BARHAM was brought at 12 knots into the port of Liverpool at 2335/29th. She entered
Gladstone Dock at 0245/30th for repairs which lasted until 1 July when she
left for Scapa Flow.
_____
On Northern Patrol, one cruiser and one armed merchant
cruiser were in the
Denmark Strait, two cruisers and seven AMCs
between the Faroes and Iceland, and one cruiser between the
Orkneys and the Faroes. Armed merchant cruiser
MONTCLARE arrived in the Clyde and light cruiser
COLOMBO reached Scapa Flow.
Light cruiser
CERES departed
Scapa Flow for Northern Patrol duties,
and arrived back on 3 January.
_____
Sloops PELICAN, WESTON,
HASTINGS after exercising in the
Firth of Forth, escorted steamer CORDELIA (8190grt) to the Tyne.
_____
Destroyers INTREPID and IVANHOE of the 20th Destroyer
Flotilla departed
Portsmouth at 2330, and early on the 30th, laid minefield LA east of
the Farne Islands in the North Sea. They were given close
escort by six MTBs.
_____
Convoy OG.12 was formed from convoys OA.60G and OB.60G
totalling 44 ships. Destroyers VANESSA and AMAZON escorted OA.60G from the
26th to 28th, while
WHITEHALL, WIVERN, VANOC and WHIRLWIND
from OB.60G escorted OG.12 from the 28th to 29th. French destroyers VALMY and
CHEVALIER PAUL, which departed Brest on the 28th, escorted the
convoy from 29 December to 4 January when it reached Gibraltar.
_____
Convoy OA.62 departed Southend escorted by sloop
ENCHANTRESS and destroyer WINDSOR from the 28th to 30th. The convoy was then
escorted by destroyers WOLVERINE and VERITY from the 30th to 31st, when it dispersed.
_____
Convoy OB.62 departed
Liverpool escorted by destroyers
MACKAY, WARWICK
and VIMY to the 31st, when theydetached to convoy HX.13.
_____
Convoy FN.60 departed Southend, escorted by
destroyers VALOROUS, VIVIEN, BITTERN, and arrived in the
Tyne on the 29th.
_____
Convoy FS.60 departed the
Tyne, escorted by destroyer VEGA
and sloops HASTINGS and PELICAN, which had
departed Rosyth on the 27th to join. The convoy arrived at Southend on the
29th.
_____
Danish steamer HANNE
(1080grt) was sunk one mile east of Blyth Pier on a mine laid by U.22 on the
22nd; fifteen crew were lost and there were 25 survivors.
_____
Trawler RESEARCHO
(258grt) was lost in a minefield laid six miles SE by E of Flamborough Head by
U.15 on 17 November. The entire crew was rescued. Destroyer JACKAL later
reported the trawler abandoned and still afloat 7½ miles east of Flamborough
Head.
_____
U.30 sank armed patrol trawler
BARBARA ROBERTSON (325grt, T/Skipper G. W. Edgar
RNR) with gunfire, 35 miles NW
of the Butt of Lewis in 58-54N, 6-30W; one rating was lost. Destroyer ISIS was dispatched to
assist, and guided to the area by British
seaplanes. rescued the 16 survivors. She then went on to assist damaged battleship
BARHAM.
_____
Anti-submarine trawler
CAPE ARGONA (494grt) attacked a
submarine contact 21 miles 114° from Flamborough Head.
_____
Light cruiser
CALYPSO departed
Gibraltar and arrived at Malta on the 31st for duty with
the 3rd Cruiser Squadron.
_____
Armed merchant cruiser MALOJA sighted a submarine in
44-28N, 13-00W. Destroyer DELIGHT was advised.
_____
Submarine
SEVERN was at Freetown with a defect to the engine
exhaust pipe. Repairs took 14 days.
_____
Soviet submarine SC.311 sank Finnish steamer
WILPAS (775grt) off Vasa.
Friday,
29 December
On Northern Patrol, one cruiser and one AMCs were in
the Denmark Strait, two cruisers and seven AMCs between Iceland the Faroes,
and one cruiser between the Faroes and the Orkneys. Armed merchant cruiser
DERBYSHIRE arrived in the
Clyde.
_____
Submarine L.23 arrived at Rosyth after patrol. She was
supposed to go to
Blyth, but that port was closed due to mining. She
was able to proceed to
Blyth next day and arrived on the 31st.
_____
Some sources suggest submarine SEAHORSE, which
departed Blyth on patrol on the 26th, was sunk on a mine on this date in 55‑26N,
07‑02E. However, it appears that the 7 January attack on a submarine
was more likely the cause of SEAHORSE's loss (see entry for 7 January).
_____
PASSAGE OF CONVOY ON.6
Convoy ON.6 of three British and three Finnish ships
was due to depart Methil, but was held up until the next day. The convoy departed Methil on the 29th escorted by destroyers EXMOUTH, ECLIPSE, ENCOUNTER,
ESCAPADE and Polish submarine ORZEL.
On the 29th, minelayer RINGDOVE and British steamer
HIGHLANDER (1216grt) left the convoy near
Aberdeen and proceeded to Scapa Flow. Destroyer ECLIPSE and
anti-submarine trawler ARCTIC EXPLORER (501grt) also detached on the
29th.
Close cover was provided by light cruisers
EDINBURGH
and GLASGOW which departed Rosyth on the 30th.
Heavy support was supplied by battlecruiser
HOOD and destroyers MAORI, NUBIAN and AFRIDI operating southeast of the Faroes. Destroyer ILEX after refuelling at
Scapa Flow joined the HOOD screen.
ON.6 arrived safely at
Bergen on 1 January.
_____
Steamer HIGHLAND PATRIOT (14,172grt) was attacked by
French submarine FRESNEL off the
Canary Islands, believing her to be a German
blockade runner. FRESNEL was driven off by gunfire and neither
vessels was damaged.
_____
Light cruiser
AJAX and heavy cruiser
DORSETSHIRE departed the
Falklands for patrol off
Rio de la Plata. DORSETSHIRE set off for
Simonstown searching for German tanker ALTMARK en route, and arrived back at
the Falklands on 18 January. Sister ship
CUMBERLAND departed Port William, Falklands on the 29th for Simonstown,
via Tristan
da Cunha. She arrived at Simonstown on 11 January for docking and refit
completed on 10 February, and was ready for sea on the 13th.
_____
Convoy HX.14 departed
Halifax at 0900 escorted by Canadian
destroyers SAGUENAY and
SKEENA, which detached on the 30th. The destroyers
arrived back at
Halifax on the 31st. Light cruiser
EFFINGHAM and submarine CACHALOT departed
Halifax with HX.14 as the ocean
escort, EFFINGHAM detaching on 9 January.
Destroyers WHITSHED, WALKER,
VIMY and ANTELOPE escorted the convoy from 9 to 12 January, when it arrived at
Liverpool. On the convoy’s arrival, the use of
submarine escorts with HX convoys was suspended. EFFINGHAM reached
Portsmouth on the 10th to refit,
completed on 13 April 1940.
_____
Convoy HGF.13 departed
Gibraltar with ten ships, escorted by
destroyers WISHART and ACTIVE from 29 December to 3 January, and WANDERER and
VETERAN from convoy OGF.13 on 3 January. VETERAN was detached the same day,
but WANDERER remained until the 5th when the convoy arrived.
_____
French heavy cruiser SUFFREN arrived at Trincomalee at
0200, and at 0950, departed with British aircraft carrier
GLORIOUS and armed
merchant cruiser
CATHAY.
_____
Latvian steamer VENTA
(1886grt) was seized in the Baltic by a German warship, and later renamed
UNDINE for German use.
_____
German steamer NEPTUN
(727grt) was lost by stranding on the Swedish coast near Varberg in the
Kattegat.
Saturday,
30 December
On Northern Patrol, two cruisers were between the
Orkneys and Faroes, two cruisers and eight AMCs between the Faroes and
Iceland, and one cruiser and one
AMC in the Denmark Strait. Armed merchant cruiser
CORFU departed Portsmouth for the Clyde, while heavy cruiser
BERWICK,
escorted by destroyer FORESIGHT, departed the Clyde on Northern Patrol, returning
to Rosyth on 10 January.
_____
Light cruiser
COLOMBO departed Scapa Flow for Northern Patrol and
arrived back on 6 January.
_____
Destroyers ESCORT and ELECTRA departed Rosyth
escorting base ship
MANCHESTER CITY and steamer ASTRONOMER
(8401grt) to Scapa Flow.
_____
Destroyers FEARLESS and FURY took tanker ATHELEMPRESS
(8941grt) to the
Clyde. On the 31st, they were ordered to return to
Scapa Flow taking with them tanker
ARNDALE (8296grt) which departed the Clyde the same day.
_____
Destroyer MASHONA arrived at
Belfast with defects.
_____
Submarine STURGEON arrived in the
Blyth from patrol.
_____
Convoy FN.61 departed Southend, escorted by
destroyer VEGA and slops FLAMINGO and STORK, and arrived in the
Tyne on the 31st.
_____
Convoy FS.61 departed the
Tyne, escorted by sloops PELICAN,
WESTON, HASTINGS, and arrived at Southend on
the 31st.
_____
Anti-submarine yacht CUTTY SARK attacked a submarine
contact 14 miles NW of Liverpool. Destroyer
WESSEX was sent to assist.
_____
Anti-submarine trawler ARSENAL (389grt) attacked a
submarine contact 28 miles SSW of Calf of Man in 53-40N, 5-02W.
_____
New Zealand light cruiser
ACHILLES
departed the Falklands and joined light cruiser
AJAX. On 3 January, they parted
company and ACHILLES went to Buenos Aires and AJAX to Montevideo.
Sunday,
31 December
On Northern Patrol, one cruiser was between the
Orkneys and the Faroes, two cruisers and five AMCs between the Faroes and
Iceland, and one cruiser was in the
Denmark Strait. Light cruiser
COLOMBO departed Scapa Flow and armed merchant cruiser
DERBYSHIRE the
Clyde, both
for Northern Patrol, while light
cruiser
DUNEDIN returned to Scapa Flow.
_____
U.58 attacked a V & W destroyer of Convoy C off
Kinnaird Head.
_____
Battleship
RODNEY, after repairing her rudder defect
at Liverpool, departed at 1230/30th with
destroyers ICARUS and IMOGEN and rejoined the Home Fleet at Greenock at 0140/31st. Admiral Forbes
re-hoisted his flag on her on 1 January 1940.
_____
Destroyer VIVIEN and sloops FLEETWOOD and
BITTERN departed Rosyth for the
Tyne to escort convoy FS.62, which had been due to
leave the evening of the 31st, but was postponed until next day.
_____
Destroyer
WALKER attacked a submarine contact
70 miles SW of Scillies in 49-18N, 8-11W. Destroyer VIMY assisted in the
search.
_____
Anti-submarine trawler LORD NUFFIELD (466grt) attacked a submarine contact 65° from
Sauds Island. Minesweeper/escort vessels
GLEANER and JASON were sent to assist her.
_____
After British aircraft reported a submarine seven
miles south of
Dover, destroyer BRAZEN proceeded
to investigate.
_____
Submarines TRUANT departed from Rosyth and UNDINE from
Blyth on patrol.
_____
Light cruiser
CALEDON departed Malta on patrol duties.
_____
Light cruiser GLOUCESTER departed Port Victoria,
Seychelles, for
Colombo, arriving on 8 January for
refitting, completed on the 22nd.
_____
Destroyer DARING departed
Malta on the 27th and arrived at
Gibraltar on the 30th. On the 31st,
sloop SCARBOROUGH (Cdr J H Ruck-Keene), which
had arrived from Malta on the 29th, departed Gibraltar escorting armed merchant
cruiser DUNOTTAR CASTLE to Belfast with DARING in company. On 2
January off Cape
Roca in 38‑40N, 10‑04W,
DARING attacked a submarine contact. She reached Belfast on 7 January and Portsmouth on the 10th.
_____
Light cruiser
ARETHUSA departed
Malta. Calling at Gibraltar on
3 January, she arrived at
Portsmouth on the 6th, left again on
the 26th and arrived at
Scapa Flow on the 29th for duty with the Home Fleet.
ARETHUSA and sister ship PENELOPE (which was at Malta and departed station on
5 January) in the Mediterranean, were relieved by light cruiser
CALEDON and
CALYPSO which arrived at Malta from Home Waters on 28 and 31 December,
respectively.
_____
Destroyer DAINTY departed
Malta for Gibraltar for duty in the South Atlantic. Sister ships DIAMOND
departed Malta on 7 January on the same
duty, DEFENDER was prevented from sailing for the South Atlantic due to a perforated
superheater on the 13th, and DECOY and DEFENDER were able to depart Malta after repairs on the 27th.
_____
Convoy HG.13 of 30 ships departed
Gibraltar escorted by anti-submarine
trawler ARCTIC RANGER (493grt) as local escort and French large destroyers
GUÉPARD and VERDUN from 31 December to 7
January. The French destroyers arrived at Brest on the 9th. Destroyers VANOC
and VISCOUNT were with the convoy from the 7th to 10th, and VENETIA from convoy OG.13 and
VOLUNTEER from SL.14 from the 8th to 10th, when the convoy arrived.
_____
U.32 sank Norwegian steamer LUNA (959grt) in 58‑48N, 03‑20E. Norwegian steamer COLUMBA
(1118grt) rescued the entire crew and landed them at Kopervik.
December,
miscellaneous
Shortly after the loss of German pocket battleship
ADMIRAL GRAF SPEE, submarine
SEVERN was ordered to patrol in the
South Atlantic around Trinidade Island for German supply ship
ALTMARK.
_____
Armed merchant cruisers RANPURA and ANTENOR were
attached to the Mediterranean Fleet as replacements for ships transferred
away. RANPURA was ordered in early January to the
South Atlantic, and was relieved by
AMC VOLTAIRE which departed the
Tyne on 9 January. However, their
presence in the
Mediterranean was not judged worthwhile and by April, they had been
transferred to other commands.
_____
DAYS
AT SEA BY BRITISH SHIPS
When 1939 ended, 120 days had elapsed since the
declaration of war.
Destroyers SOMALI and BEDOUIN held the record for days
at sea with 104 underway out of the 120 .
Following were destroyer HOTSPUR with 103 days, light
cruiser ORION on 102, light cruiser
PERTH, destroyers MAORI and ISIS
with 99, destroyer FIREDRAKE with 96, light cruiser
EMERALD with 95,
light cruiser
DUNEDIN with 92 days, and light cruisers
NEWCASTLE and
SHEFFIELD with 88 days.
Of the 19th Destroyer Flotilla in the Nore, destroyer
CODRINGTON was underway 93 days, BASILISK for 89, BEAGLE for 86, BOREAS for 82, BRAZEN for 69,
and BRILLIANT for 67.
Battleship
NELSON was at sea 74 days of the 93 days
until she was mined.
_____
At the end of December, the following destroyers were
under repair - ACASTA at Plymouth repairing,
ACHERON at Portsmouth repairing, ARROW at Portsmouth repairing, ASHANTI at
Liverpool repairing, BEAGLE at Falmouth repairing, BOADICEA at Dover
repairing, COSSACK at Leith repairing, DECOY at Malta repairing, DEFENDER at
Malta refitting, DUNCAN at Chatham repairing, ELECTRA at Rosyth repairing,
ESK at Portsmouth repairing, EXPRESS at Portsmouth repairing, FORESTER at
Clyde with defects, FORTUNE at Liverpool with defects, GARLAND at Malta repairing,
GURKHA at Southampton repairing, HAVOCK at Chatham repairing, JAVELIN at
Middlesbrough repairing, JERSEY at Hull repairing, JUPITER at Hull repairing,
KEITH at Plymouth repairing, KELLY at Tyne repairing, MALCOLM at Portsmouth
repairing, MASHONA at Clyde with defects, MATABELE at Clyde with defects,
PUNJABI at Govan repairing, SABRE at Grangemouth repairing, SALADIN at
Plymouth repairing, SIKH at Chatham repairing, THANET at Hong Kong repairing,
VANQUISHER at Plymouth repairing, VANSITTART at Portsmouth repairing,
VISCOUNT at Plymouth with defects, WAKEFUL at Plymouth repairing, WALPOLE at
Liverpool with defects, WHITLEY at Leith repairing, WINDSOR at Plymouth
boiler cleaning, WRESTLER at Malta repairing, ZULU at Rosyth repairing,
Polish BURZA at Chatham repairing.
