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.
