Background
Events - September 1939-March 1940
Battle
of Atlantic starts,
'Phoney War' on land, Battle of River Plate
1940
Thursday,
1
February
The Northern Patrol
sighted 49 eastbound merchant ships from the 1st to 14th
and sent 21 into Kirkwall for inspection.
_____
Destroyers were
transferred to the Rosyth Command to assist in
anti-submarine patrols. BRAZEN
and BOREAS of the 19th Destroyer Flotilla arrived at
Rosyth from Harwich on
the 1st. GRIFFIN was delayed in her departure due to DG
fitting, but both she
and GALLANT of the 1st Flotilla departed Harwich on the
2nd and arrived at
Rosyth on the 3rd. INTREPID and IVANHOE of the 20th
Flotilla arrived on the
8th.
_____
Destroyer
BASILISK departed Dover for Boulogne with Lord Gort,
and came back later that day carrying the Chief of Naval
Staff, Chief of
Imperial General Staff and other staff members.
_____
Destroyer JACKAL
and JAVELIN arrived at Rosyth escorting tanker
ATHOLLKNIGHT
(8940grt).
_____
Light cruiser
SOUTHAMPTON
departed the Tyne for Scapa Flow after her
refitting.
_____
Sloop FLAMINGO
arrived at Rosyth escorting minelayer PRINCESS VICTORIA,
which had departed
Immingham at 0200/1st and joined convoy FN.83, escorted by
FLAMINGO and sloop
WESTON.
_____
Destroyers KASHMIR and
KHARTOUM departed
Rosyth, escorting A.S.I.S. SARDIS (970grt) to Aberdeen,
where steamer
CYPRIAN PRINCE was to join for the passage to Scapa Flow.
However,
because of bad weather, CYPRIAN PRINCE was unable to join.
_____
Destroyer JUNO, escorting
convoy HN.9B, made an attack on a submarine contact.
_____
Heavy cruiser
BERWICK
(above - Navy Photos) and armed merchant cruisers
TRANSYLVANIA and CARINTHIA arrived at the Clyde after
Northern
Patrol duties.
_____
Submarines
URSULA and H.34 departed Rosyth for Blyth and were
escorted as far as the Longstones by destroyer ENCOUNTER.
The submarines
arrived at Blyth on the 2nd and ENCOUNTER back at Rosyth
also on the 2nd.
_____
Two Royal
Marines were lost at sea in light cruiser
CARLISLE,
en route to Gibraltar to work up.
_____
French destroyer
OURAGAN was damaged in a collision with French patrol
vessel/trawler LOUISE MARIE
which was lightly damaged. OURAGAN was temporarily
repaired at Boulogne, departed on
the 14th, and arrived at Brest on the 25th for
completion of work.
_____
Convoy FN.84
departed Southend, escorted by destroyer VIVIEN and sloop
PELICAN, and arrived
in the Tyne on the 2nd.
_____
Convoy FS.84
departed Methil for the Thames escorted by
escort vessel/destroyer WHITLEY and sloop EGRET. The
convoy consisted of 27
ships, but two more joined at Middlesborough and nine more
in the Humber. Off Blea Wyke
Point on the 2nd, a submarine contact was made at 0820 by
EGRET. WHITLEY
dropped depth charges and was later relieved at the scene
by destroyer
GLOWWORM and escort vessel/destroyer WESTMINSTER, both of
which
attacked the contact. Destroyer GREYHOUND also joined the
hunt, but the
search was abandoned at 1400. The convoy arrived at
Southend on the 3rd.
_____
Convoy MT.1
departed Methil, escorted by escort vessel/destroyer
WESTMINSTER and sloop
STORK, and arrived in the Tyne on the 2nd.
_____
Destroyers VETERAN
and VESPER, on an anti-submarine sweep, attacked a
submarine contact west of Scilly Island, in 49‑56N,
08‑07W.
_____
U.48 departed Wilhelmshaven
for, during
which she laid mines off Weymouth. No shipping
was sunk or damaged in this minefield.
_____
U.13 sank
Swedish steamer FRAM (2491grt) in
57‑43N, 02‑06W off Rosehearty Buoy in Aberdour Bay with
the loss
of six crew. The thirteen survivors were picked up by
destroyer KHARTOUM and armed
patrol trawler VIKING DEEPS (226grt).
_____
U.59 sank
steamer ELLEN M. (498grt) in 52‑33N,
02‑15E.
_____
Convoy HG.17
departed Gibraltar with 20 ships, escorted by destroyers
VIDETTE, the French CHACAL and French patrol vessel
CAPITAINE ARMANDE. CHACAL
later detached and arrived in Brest on the 9th and
the patrol vessel on the 10th. The convoy was escorted in
Home Waters by
destroyer VIMY from the 8th to 11th when the convoy
arrived.
_____
Convoy SL.19
departed Freetown escorted by
armed merchant cruiser PRETORIA CASTLE from the 1st to
16th, merged with SLF.19 on the 16th, and the two convoys
arrived at Liverpool on the 20th.
Friday,
2 February
Destroyers
FAULKNOR, FEARLESS, FURY, FOXHOUND, FAME, FORTUNE,
FORESIGHT, FIREDRAKE, DELIGHT, DARING and DIANA departed
Greenock for an
anti-submarine sweep towards the Mull of Kintyre, before
joining Canadian
troop convoy TC 3 in the Western Approaches. DELIGHT was
diverted after
sailing to escort convoy ON.10 and was replaced by
destroyers KINGSTON and KELVIN. The
convoy of five liners had been escorted across the
Atlantic by battleship
VALIANT,
which had completed working up the Caribbean, and
supported
in the Western Approaches by battlecruiser HOOD.
The convoy was met at
1000/5th. Light cruiser
ENTERPRISE
had already
been detached and arrived back at Halifax on the 4th.
Convoy TC 3, battleships VALIANT and
MALAYA
and destroyers
FAULKNOR, FEARLESS, FORESIGHT, FIREDRAKE, FOXHOUND,
FORTUNE, FAME, FURY, DIANA,
DARING, KELVIN, KINGSTON and HUNTER
arrived in the Clyde without event on the 7th.
_____
Light cruiser MANCHESTER
departed Scapa Flow, and armed
merchant cruisers CORFU and
WORCESTERSHIRE from the Clyde, all for
Northern Patrol
_____
Heavy cruiser DEVONSHIRE
and armed
merchant cruiser ANDANIA arrived in the Clyde, and armed
merchant cruiser PATROCLUS at Liverpool, all from
Northern Patrol.
_____
Light cruiser
SOUTHAMPTON
arrived at Scapa Flow, and departed
the same day for North Cape in Operation WR to intercept
German
merchant ships attempting to return to Germany. She was
ordered to return to Scapa Flow at daylight on
the 6th if no contact had been made.
_____
Destroyer ILEX
departed Liverpool for Rosyth after refitting.
_____
Destroyers
BOREAS and BRAZEN departed Rosyth for anti-submarine
operations off Kinnaird
Head.
_____
Destroyers VISCOUNT
and WREN attacked a submarine contact south of the Scilly
Island in 49‑25N,
06‑22W.
_____
Anti-submarine
trawler KINGSTON CHRYSOBERYL (448grt) attacked a submarine
contact off Owers
Light Vessel in 50-36N, 0-40W.
_____
Submarine SHARK
arrived at Sheerness to refit, and completed on 26 March.
_____
Submarine L.23
arrived at Blyth after patrol.
_____
Submarine
THISTLE arrived at Rosyth after patrol.
_____
Convoy OA.84
departed Southend escorted by destroyer VERITY from the
2nd to 4th, and also destroyer ANTELOPE from the 2nd to
5th, when she joined HXF.18. Convoy SA.28 of
two steamers departed Southampton on the 2nd and
travelled with OA.82 until the 3rd, when it detached
without escort and
arrived at Brest on the 4th.
_____
Convoy OB.84 departed
Liverpool, escorted by
destroyer VANOC and sloop DEPTFORD from the 2nd to 3rd.
DEPTFORD then joined
HXF.18 and OB.84 dispersed on the 5th.
_____
Convoy FN.85
departed Southend, escorted by destroyer VIVIEN and sloop
PELICAN, and
arrived in the Tyne on the 3rd.
_____
Convoy FS.85
departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyer WESTMINISTER and
sloop STORK, and with submarines UNITY and H.34 in
company. Destroyer VEGA
replaced WESTMINSTER shortly after sailing,
and on the 3rd, He111's of German KG26 (X Air Corps)
attacked the convoy, but
were driven off by VEGA. The convoy arrived at Southend on
the 4th.
Note:
German X
Air Corps flew He111's of KG26, Ju88's of KG30, and two
reconnaissance
squadrons flying He59's or Do17's.
_____
Convoys MT.2 and
MT.3 departed the Methil. Weather had delayed sailing and
the number of ships
was too large for one convoy. Destroyers ESCAPADE and
JACKAL escorted the
convoys, which arrived in the Tyne on the 3rd.
_____
U.59 sank
steamers CREOFIELD (838grt) in 52‑33N,
02‑25E, PORTELET (1064grt)
in 52‑40N, 02‑13E, and attacked a third three to four
miles SW by
W from Smith's Knoll, but she escaped damage. PORTELET
lost two crew killed,
with eleven survivors, nine of them rescued by Finish
steamer OSCAR MIDLING.
_____
Tanker BRITISH
COUNCILLOR (7048grt) struck a
mine laid by U.26 (Seekrieg) off Withernsea in 53‑48N,
00‑34E.
Destroyers GALLANT and GRIFFIN stood by and
took off the survivors. Forty three survivors were picked
up by destroyer
WHITLEY. Tug YORKSHIREMAN was dispatched to assist, but
the tanker sank on
the 3rd.
_____
Armed merchant
cruiser VOLTAIRE arrived at Gibraltar from Portsmouth,
sailed the
same day for Malta and arriving,
was in a collision with Danish steamer JENNY (843grt).
_____
Having
previously arrived from Halifax, French steamers LEOPOLD
LD (5267grt,
carrying 47 aircraft for shipment to France), OREGON
(7706grt,
carrying 34) and SAN PEDRO (5947grt,
carrying 26) left New York, escorted by
heavy cruisers DUPLEIX and FOCH (Force X) for Bermuda,
departing
there at 0800/5th. Meanwhile, on the 4th, large destroyer
MAILLE BREZE sailed
from Algiers and on the 6th VAUTOUR and
ALBATROS from Oran, arriving at Casablanca on the 6th and
7th respectively. The destroyers then left on the 11th to
meet the convoy in
31-30N, 19W. Destroyers FORTUNE, SIMOUN and BASQUE
departed Casablanca on the 12th
also to meet the convoy. Late on the 15th, MAILLE BREZE,
FORTUNE, BASQUE were
detached to Casablanca with the
merchant ships, arriving at 1000/16th. The other warships,
DUPLEIX, FOCH,
VAUTOUR, ALBATROS and SIMOUN, proceeded to the
Mediterranean with SIMOUN
later detaching to Casablanca and the other
ships to Oran, arriving on
the 16th. The cruisers carried on to Toulon reaching there
on the 18th, while MAILLE BREZE arrived there on the 23rd
after escorting a
steamer from Casablanca.
Saturday,
3
February
Minesweeper SPHINX (Cdr
J R N Taylor, SO 5th Minesweeping
Flotilla), sweeping with minesweeper SPEEDWELL, was bombed
and badly damaged
at 1030 by He111's of KG26 (X Air Corps) 15 miles north of
Kinnaird Head.
Three ratings were killed, forty five were missing, and
one died of wounds.
Three crew members were rescued with serious wounds. Those
lost were Lt Cdr
Taylor, Lt A H Nicholls, Temporary Lt A L Tessier RNR,
Probationary
Temporary S/Lt J S G Comfort RNVR, Commissioned Engineer F
A Braham and forty
one ratings. SPEEDWELL took SPHINX in tow, which parted at
1045, and she was
unable to regain the tow for a time. After an unsuccessful
attempt to tow was
made by minesweepers SPEEDWELL and HARRIER, destroyer
BOREAS went alongside
and took off survivors but sustained damage to her hull
forward in the process.
SPHINX capsized in heavy weather early on the 4th and went
ashore a total
loss. Destroyers BOREAS and BRAZEN, minesweepers SKIPJACK,
SPEEDWELL, HARRIER
and tug WATERMEYER arrived at Invergordon on the 4th. The
damage to BOREAS
was repaired at Aberdeen completing on
the 7th.
_____
Light cruiser
PENELOPE
departed Portland for Rosyth to
arrive on the 5th, but was delayed by fog and did not
arrive until the 7th.
_____
Destroyers KHARTOUM and
KASHMIR arrived in the Clyde.
_____
Destroyer JAGUAR
arrived at Rosyth from Scapa Flow.
_____
Destroyer ISIS
departed Rosyth for the Clyde. Destroyer KANDAHAR was to
have
sailed in company, but had so many sick cases on board she
was unable to
leave.
_____
Armed merchant
cruisers DERBYSHIRE and CIRCASSIA arrived in the Clyde
from Northern
Patrol.
_____
Minesweeping
trawler FIREFLY (392grt) was damaged when a mine being
hoisted inboard
exploded near Dundee. Temporary Lt D B Johnstone RNVR
(SO),
Temporary S/Lt C Dodson RNVR, Temporary S/Lt N F Peat
RNVR, Temporary S/Lt G
W Vaughn RNVR and seven ratings were killed. Chief Skipper
A Finlayson RNR, Temporary Lt
A. M Maclean RNVR (who died of wounds on the 18th), and
thirteen ratings were
wounded. She was towed to Leith by minesweeping
trawler WARDOUR (335grt) and arrived at Rosyth on the 4th.
_____
Convoy OA.83GF
sailed from Southend on 30 January, escorted by destroyers
WHITEHALL and BROKE, and
OB.83GF from Liverpool on the 1st with destroyers
VERSATILE and
WINCHELSEA. On the 3rd, they merged as OG.17F with thirty
ships, escorted by
BROKE, VERSATILE, WINCHELSEA on the 3rd and sloop
ENCHANTRESS from the 3rd to 7th. All four escorts detached
to convoy
HG.17F. OG.17F was escorted by destroyer VELOX from the
5th to 8th, and destroyer HERO from the 7th to 8th, on
which day it arrived at Gibraltar.
_____
Convoy ON.10 was
to have sailed, but was delayed 24 hours and then another
24, and did not
sail until the 5th.
_____
Convoy TM, with
an escort of the 1st Anti-Submarine Group, departed
Newcastle, and arrived at
Methil on the 4th escorted by the trawlers and destroyers
ESCAPADE and
JACKAL.
_____
Convoy FS.86,
escorted by sloops FLAMINGO and WESTON, departed the Tyne
supported by
destroyer JUNO, but was forced to anchor in heavy fog.
Convoy FS.88 joined them, FLAMINGO and WESTON proceeded to
Rosyth and left
destroyer WOOLSTON and sloop GRIMSBY to escort both
convoys. WOOLSTON later had to detach to Sheerness as she
was short of fuel.
Both convoys arrived at Southend on the 9th. Convoy FS.87
was cancelled.
_____
Sloop DEPTFORD,
escorting convoy OB.84, collided with American steamer
ANTIGUA (6982grt).
Other sources show the merchant ship as British steamer
ANTIGONE (4545grt).
The sloop sustained only slight damage.
_____
U.26 made an
unsuccessful attack on a steamer in the North Sea.
_____
U.58 sank
Estonian steamer REET (815grt),
which departed Methil on 31 January for Gotenberg, in the
North Sea. There were no
survivors.
_____
Norwegian
steamer TEMPO (629grt) was bombed
and sunk by He111's of German KG26 (X Air Corps) off
Longstone Light, Farne
Island in 55-59N, 1-35W. Five crew were lost, and the
survivors rescued by
tug BRAHMAM.
_____
Dutch steamer
LAERTES (5825grt) was damaged by mining off Royal
Sovereign Light Vessel in
50‑43N, 00‑35E, and tug BUCCANEER was to sent to assist.
_____
Steamer KILDALE
(3877grt) was bombed and damaged by He111's of German KG26
(X Air
Corps) in 53‑47N, 00‑34E. Destroyer JACKAL was able
to drive
off further attacks, minesweeper trawler ST DONATS
(349grt) took off the crew
and she was towed to the Humber by tug
YORKSHIREMAN.
_____
Steamer
YEWDALE (823grt) was bombed and damaged by aircraft of
German X Air Corps
(He111's of KG26 or Ju88's of KG30) four miles NNE of
Scarborough.
_____
Steamer BEECHWOOD
(4897grt) was bombed and damaged by He111's of German KG26
(X Air Corps)
three miles east of Smiths Knoll Light Vessel.
_____
Steamer
HARLEY (400grt) was bombed and damaged by aircraft of
German X Air Corps
(He111's of KG26 or Ju88's of KG30) eight miles SSE of
Flamborough Head.
_____
Steamer NEW MINSTER
(967grt) was damaged by German bombing in 54‑49N, 01‑03E.
_____
Trawler ROSE OF
ENGLAND (223grt) was bombed and damaged by aircraft of
German X Air Corps
(He111's of KG26 or Ju88's of KG30) five to six miles east
of Scarborough Castle.
_____
Trawler NAIRANA
(225grt) was bombed and damaged by aircraft of German X
Air Corps (He111's of
KG26 or Ju88's of KG30) in 54‑00N, 02‑20E.
_____
Greek steamer
ALEXANDRA (4355grt) was attacked and bombed by aircraft of
German X Air Corps
(He111's of KG26 or Ju88's of KG30) six miles off
Longstone, but was not
damaged.
_____
Greek steamer
NICOLAOU ZOGRAFIA (7050grt) was bombed and attacked by
aircraft of German X
Air Corps (He111's of KG26 or Ju88's of KG30) in 55-25N,
1-23W, but not
damaged.
_____
U.25 sank
steamer ARMANISTAN (6805grt) from
convoy OG.16 west of the mouth of the Tagus River in
38‑15N,
11‑15W. The entire crew were picked up by Spanish steamer
MONTE ABRIL
(2955grt).
_____
Light cruiser
DELHI arrived at
Gibraltar from Portsmouth to join the
Mediterranean Fleet, and departed on the 4th, arriving at
Malta on the 6th to
relieve light cruiser
GALATEA
as flagship Vice Admiral Destroyers, Mediterranean. The
flag was
shifted on the 8th.
_____
Destroyers DECOY
and DEFENDER departed Gibraltar to carry out an
anti-subgmarine patrol off the Portuguese coast. At 2310,
DEFENDER was
detached to stand by steamer OREGON which had
broken down in 40-57N, 10-42W. DECOY arrived back at
Gibraltar on the 8th.
_____
French heavy
cruiser TOURVILLE and destroyers VAUBAN and AIGLE arrived
at Malta at 0700 from Beirut carrying out a
contraband patrol in the Aegean en route, and
departed Malta the next day
for Toulon.
_____
French
destroyers FORTUNE, SIMOUN and submarine PROTÉE
departed Oran for Casablanca, passed Gibraltar on the 4th,
and were sent to
investigate an explosion near the Danish steamer JAVA
(8681grt) in 36-34N,
8-55W.
Sunday,
4 February
Light cruiser
AURORA
arrived at Scapa Flow, and armed merchant
cruisers ASTURIAS and CALIFORNIA in the Clyde, all from
Northern Patrol.
_____
Light cruiser NEWCASTLE
sailed from Scapa Flow, and armed
merchant cruiser CARINTHIA from the Clyde, both on
Northern Patrol.
_____
Anti-aircraft
cruiser
CAIRO
collided with
steamer LULONGA (821grt) while entering the Humber. CAIRO
was not
damaged, but the steamer was beached to prevent her
sinking.
_____
Destroyers
EXPRESS, IVANHOE, INTREPID, ESK arrived in the Humber at
1255 after
Minelaying Operation JB in the North Sea. The minelaying
was screened by Motor Torpedo Boats 22, 24, 25 which
arrived in the Humber at 1228.
_____
Submarines SEAL
and NARWHAL exercised in the Firth of Forth. Afterwards
SEAL set off on patrol,
while NARWHAL was to have joined convoy ON.10. When the
convoy was delayed,
NARWHAL returned to Rosyth.
_____
Destroyer BRAZEN
departed Invergordon to hunt for a submarine off
Lossiemouth reported by
aircraft, but was later recalled.
_____
Destroyers
JERVIS and JUPITER departed Rosyth on the 4th, patrolled
in the vicinity of Farne Island and then
proceeded to the Humber. Destroyer WOOLSTON and sloop
GRIMSBY, waiting for
convoy FS.87, also patrolled the area.
_____
Destroyer
COSSACK departed Rosyth for Scapa Flow, where she
arrived on the 5th.
_____
Destroyer KANDAHAR departed
Rosyth
for the Clyde, where she arrived on the 5th.
_____
Destroyers
KIPLING and KIMBERLEY departed Greenock for Scapa Flow
with steamers
KYLE FISHER (520grt) and FLORISTAN (5478grt). FLORISTAN
arrived at Scapa Flow on the 6th.
_____
Destroyers
BASILISK, carrying the Prime Minister, the War Cabinet and
the Chiefs of
Staff, and BRILLIANT departed Dover for Boulogne. Both
ships
returned to Dover that evening.
_____
Destroyers
WHITSHED, HAVANT, ARDENT departed Plymouth for a position
40 miles 270° from Cape Finisterre.
_____
Destroyers
WOLSEY, WINCHELSEA and sloop SANDWICH, escorting
convoy SLF.18 west of Ushant in 48‑23N,
09‑27W, attacked a submarine contact.
_____
Submarines UNITY
and H.34 accompanied convoy FS.85 on the 3rd and 4th, when
they arrived in
the Nore. They were then escorted by patrol sloop PUFFIN
on to Portsmouth on the 7th.
_____
U.21 sank
Yugoslav steamer VID (3547grt) in
58‑15N, 00‑48W with all hands.
_____
U.37 sank
British steamer LEO DAWSON (4330grt) in 60‑10N, 00‑39W and
Norwegian steamer HOP (1365grt), which had departed Bergen
on the 3rd for Middlesbrough, in 58‑55N,
00‑14W. There were no survivors from HOP.
_____
Steamer BARON
RUTHVEN (3178grt) ran aground off the Tees.
_____
Norwegian
steamer JERNFJELD (1369grt) ran aground off Whitby Bay.
_____
French collier
MARIE DAWN (2157grt) was damaged by a mine six miles NE of
the Sunk with one
crewman killed. She was abandoned by the survivors who
reached Harwich, but
then towed in by tugs.
_____
Convoy HXF.19
departed Halifax at 1400
escorted by Canadian destroyers SAGUENAY and SKEENA, which
detached
on the 5th. Ocean escort was armed merchant cruiser
AUSONIA which left on the
14th. The convoy was joined in Home Waters by destroyers
VENETIA from convoy
OB.89 and WITCH from convoy OA.89 from the 14th to 17th,
when it arrived at
Liverpool.
Monday,
5 February
U.41, on her
third war patrol, attacked convoy OB.84 south of Ireland
and sank British
steamer BEAVERBURN (9874grt) in 49‑20N,
10‑07W and badly damaged Dutch tanker CERONIA (8096grt) in
49‑14N,
08‑34W. One member of crew was lost on BEAVERBURN and
American tanker
NARRAGANSET (10,389grt) rescued the 39 survivors.
Destroyer ANTELOPE escorting
the convoy was able to sink U.41
in 49‑21N, 10‑04W at 1313 with the loss of all 49 crew,
and also
claimed to have sunk a second submarine, although U.41 was
the only one in
the area. The second attack was at 1125 and was later
determined to be the wreck
of tanker SAN ALBERTO lost in December in 49-18N,
9-50W.
_____
Destroyer VANOC
attacked a submarine contact near Morecambe Light Vessel
in 53-53N, 2-29W.
_____
Armed patrol
yacht SHEMARA (588grt) made an attack on a submarine
contact off Portland
Bill in 50-25N, 2-29W.
_____
Convoy ON.10 of
seven British, ten Norwegian, seven Swedish, four Finnish
and one Estonian
ship departed Methil escorted by destroyers IMOGEN,
IMPERIAL, ILEX, DELIGHT,
TARTAR and submarine NARWHAL. DELIGHT was ordered to Scapa
Flow with dispatch
on the 6th, and TARTAR was relieved by destroyer KIMBERLEY
at sea. On the
7th February, DELIGHT attacked a contact east of South
Ronaldsay in 58-55N,
2-09E, and was joined by destroyers GALLANT and GRIFFIN.
ON.10 arrived
safely at Bergen on the 8th.
_____
Convoy FS.88
departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyer WOOLSTON and
sloop GRIMSBY, but before arrival, WOOLSTON was
detached to Sheerness to refuel. The convoy arrived at
Southend on the 9th
with FS.86 after being considerably delayed by heavy fog.
Convoy FS.89 was
cancelled.
_____
Convoy MT.4
departed Methil, escorted by destroyers JACKAL, JAGUAR,
sloop LONDONDERRY, and
anti-submarine trawlers of the 3rd Anti-Submarine Group,
and arrived in the Tyne on the 6th.
_____
Minelayer PRINCESS
VICTORIA, escorted by destroyers ECHO and ECLIPSE,
was to have departed Aberdeen on the 4th for
minelaying operation LD 1 during the night of the 4th/5th,
but was delayed by
fog. The operation was finally conducted on the 6th/7th
when 48 mines were laid.
_____
Convoy OA.86
departed Southend and was dispersed on the 8th. No escorts
are listed.
_____
Anti-aircraft
cruiser
CARLISLE arrived at Gibraltar from Devonport
to work up after conversion to anti-aircraft ship,
departed on the 8th for Malta, and arrived on
the 10th.
_____
Sloop FOLKESTONE
arrived at Gibraltar from Malta.
_____
Minesweeper
FERMOY departed Port Said to relieve
minesweeper GOSSAMER at Gibraltar.
_____
French heavy
cruiser TOURVILLE and destroyers VAUBAN and AIGLE departed
Malta for Toulon.
_____
French armed
merchant cruiser EL D'JEZAIR stopped Portuguese steamer
GUINE (2648grt) in
the North Atlantic and removed a German citizen.
_____
Steamer OREGON (6008grt),
which had broken down on the 2nd with boiler problems, was
located off Caesces, Portugal by destroyer
DEFENDER. She had been attacked on 30 January in 45-40N,
11-36W while sailing
with convoy SL.17. DEFENDER stood by and Danish salvage
tug VALKYRIAN arrived
to take her in tow. DEFENDER was relieved by destroyer
VORTIGERN on the 8th,
and OREGON arrived at Lisbon on the 10th.
_____
Convoy SLF.19
departed Freetown escorted by
armed merchant cruiser MOOLTAN. Convoys SL.19 and SLF.19
merged on the 16th
and SL.19’s escort, armed merchant cruiser PRETORIA CASTLE
joined MOOLTAN.
Destroyers VERITY, VIMY, WALPOLE and sloop SANDWICH
relieved the
armed merchant cruisers on the 17th and took the convoys
on to their
destination on the 20th.
Tuesday,
6 February
Battlecruiser
REPULSE
and destroyers ISIS, KASHMIR, KHARTOUM and KANDAHAR
departed the Clyde for Devonport. ISIS called in at
Falmouth for refitting,
while REPULSE arrived at Plymouth for repairs and
degaussing.
_____
Light cruiser
SHEFFIELD
departed Scapa Flow, arrived at
Rosyth on the 5th, then began repairs at South Shields on
the 6th.
These were completed on 15 March and she returned to
duties with the 18th
Cruiser Squadron.
_____
Light cruisers
AURORA
sailed from Scapa Flow and
EDINBURGH
from Rosyth,
and rendezvoused to cover convoy ON.10.
_____
Armed merchant
cruisers CALIFORNIA, escorted by
destroyer GURKHA, and AURANIA arrived in the Clyde after
Northern
Patrol.
_____
Destroyer
BOADICEA (D 19) carrying the Prime Minister, the First
Lord, the First Sea
Lord and other important personages, departed Dover
escorted by destroyer
BEAGLE for Boulogne. The two ships returned to Dover that
evening.
_____
Heavy fog
“completely disorganized” the east coast convoys. FN.86,
FS.88 and FN.87 were
postponed for 24 hours, and FS.89 and FN.88 cancelled. The
escort for FN.88
was to proceed to Rosyth, unless required to augment
FN.89.
_____
Estonian steamer
ANU (1421grt) was mined and sunk
between Number 2 and Number 1 Buoy at the entrance to the
River Tay on a mine
laid by U.13 on 12 December. Seven crew were lost.
_____
Steamer
VERBORMILIA (3275grt) went ashore west of Fast Castle
Point.
_____
Steamer
HIGHCLIFFE (3247grt) went ashore on Fitful Head in the
Shetlands, and one of
her lifeboats went adrift. Destroyers GALLANT and GRIFFIN
searched
unsuccessfully for the boat.
_____
Convoy OG.17 was
formed just from the 23 ships of convoy OA.85G (OB.85G did
not sail),
escorted by destroyers WOLVERINE and AMAZON. They were
relieved off the
Lizard by destroyer VIMY and sloop SCARBOROUGH, while the
escort from the 6th to 13th was French destroyer TIGRE and
escort ship
MINERVE. The convoy arrived on the 14th.
_____
Convoy BC.25
departed Barry with steamers BARON CARNEGIE and BATNA
escorted by destroyer
MONTROSE, and arrived safely in the Loire.
_____
French auxiliary
minesweeper VETERAN (253grt) was
sunk in an accidental collision with British cable ship
ALERT off Calais near Cape Griz
Nez in 50-58-20N, 1-43-54E. There were no casualties and
ALERT's bow was only
slightly damaged.
_____
Convoy HG.18F
departed Gibraltar with 33 ships. In the escort force was
minesweeper GOSSAMER and submarine OTWAY which were
returning to England for service in
Home Waters. Both continued with the convoy until the 13th
with OTWAY
reaching Portsmouth on the 14th.
Destroyer VORTIGERN escorted from the 6th to 8th, sloop
FOLKESTONE from the
6th to 14th, sloop ENCHANTRESS from the 8th to 15th after
detaching from
convoy OG.17F, and destroyer VERSATILE from the 12th to
15th after detaching
from OG.18F. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on the 15th,
by
which time FOLKESTONE had reached Portsmouth - on the
14th.
Wednesday,
7
February
Heavy cruisers DEVONSHIRE
and
BERWICK
departed the Clyde for Northern Patrol and relieved sister
ships
NORFOLK and
SUFFOLK.
_____
Armed merchant
cruisers DERBYSHIRE and CIRCASSIA departed the Clyde on
Northern
Patrol.
_____
Destroyers
COSSACK and SIKH were submarine hunting from Scapa Flow.
_____
Destroyer JANUS
brushed destroyer JUPITER while berthing in the Humber.
The damage to
JANUS required 48 hours to repair.
_____
Minelayer
PRINCESS VICTORIA and minelaying destroyers ESK and
EXPRESS, escorted by
destroyers BRAZEN and BOREAS, departed Aberdeen for
minelay LD
2 in the North Sea. The minelay was successfully completed
and the ships arrived at Rosyth on the 8th.
_____
Submarine H.43
and destroyer VETERAN collided in Plymouth Sound. VETERAN
was not damaged,
but H.43 required three days to repair.
_____
Convoy OA.87
departed Southend escorted by destroyers VANESSA and WREN.
VANESSA was
replaced on the 8th by sloop WELLINGTON, and on the
9th, the convoy dispersed.
_____
Convoy OB.86
departed Liverpool escorted by destroyers WITHERINGTON and
WALPOLE. WALPOLE detached on the
8th, WITHERINGTON on the 9th, and the convoy dispersed on
the 10th.
_____
Convoy OB.87
departed Liverpool escorted by sloop ROCHESTER and
destroyer
WALKER from the 7th to 10th, when it
dispersed.
_____
Convoy FN.86
departed Southend, escorted by destroyer WHITLEY and sloop
EGRET. In heavy
fog, the convoy anchored for the night, and arrived in the
Tyne on the 9th.
_____
Convoy FN.87
departed Southend escorted by destroyer VEGA, sloop STORK,
destroyer JUPITER,
and also arrived in the Tyne on the 9th.
There was no convoy FN.88.
_____
Convoy FS.90
departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyers JAGUAR,
WESTMINSTER and sloop LONDONDERRY, and arrived at
Southend on the 9th.
_____
Convoy MT.5
departed Methil, escorted by destroyers VIVIEN, JAVELIN,
sloop PELICAN, and
anti-submarine trawlers of the 1st A/S Group, and arrived
in the Tyne on the 8th.
_____
Steamer CYPRIAN
PRINCE (1988grt) departed Aberdeen, but due to an
error, destroyers KIMBERLEY and KIPLING did
not join her as escorts until later.
_____
Light cruiser
AURORA
arrived at Rosyth from Scapa Flow for repairs to
her propellers and to undergo degaussing.
_____
Light cruiser
CERES
completed her refit at Belfast, and then
proceeded to the Mediterranean for duty with the
Mediterranean
Fleet, arriving at Malta on the 22nd.
_____
Armed boarding
vessel KINGSTON TURQUOISE (358grt), which had just left
Kirkwall for the
North Rona patrol, attacked a submarine contact off Sule
Skerry in 59-15N,
4-40W. Destroyer SIKH joined her and tried to remake
contact.
_____
Destroyers
JAVELIN and VIVIEN patrolled in the vicinity of Farne
Island during the
night of the 6th/7th.
_____
Patrol sloop
MALLARD collided with sister ship PINTAIL off Harwich.
PINTAIL's damage was
slight and she was able to continue on patrol, but MALLARD
required docking.
Temporarily repaired at Harwich on the 8th and 9th, she
went on to Lowestoft to repair from
the 10th to 22nd.
_____
Steamer
MUNSTER (4305grt) was
sunk near Mersey Light in 53‑56N, 03‑24W on a mine laid by
U.30
on 9 January. All on board, 134 survivors in total, were
rescued by steamer
RINGWALL (407grt).
_____
Steamer
ELDONPARK (5184grt) went ashore at Elwick.
_____
Polish steamer
BUG went ashore at Rosehearty.
_____
German minelayer
COBRA laid an anti-submarine mine barrier off Borkum.
_____
Convoy HX.19 departed
Halifax at 0900 escorted by Canadian
destroyers SAGUENAY, SKEENA and RESTIGOUCHE
until detached on the 8th. Ocean escort was battleship REVENGE,
which was in
collision with tanker APPALACHEE (8826grt) of the convoy
on the 7th. The
tanker was extensively damaged, and REVENGE required ten
days to repair,
although she was able to continue and did not detach until
the 14th. The
convoy was joined in Home Waters by destroyers WOLVERINE
and VANOC from
convoy OB.92 and destroyer VANESSA from OA.9 between the
19th to 22nd, when
HX.19 arrived at Liverpool.
_____
French sloop
COMMANDANTE RIVIERE with submarines RUBIS, SAPHIR and
NAUTILUS departed Oran, and passed Gibraltar on the 8th en
route for repairs to the submarines at Brest. These ships
joined convoy 9R of eight steamers, escorted by sloop
SAVORGNAN DE BRAZZA,
which left Oran on the 6th. The
convoy passed Gibraltar on the 8th, and in the Atlantic,
joined convoy
63 KS for the passage to Brest. 63 KS of eight
steamers departed Casablanca on the 8th,
escorted by destroyer CYCLONE, patrol vessel GROENLAND and
submarine PASCAL.
_____
French light
cruiser EMILE BERTIN departed Dakar to return to France in
preparation
for allied operations in Finland. She arrived at
Casablanca on the 11th,
left on the 15th, and reached Brest on the 17th.
For the operations, the cruiser would be the flagship of
Contre Amiral
Derrien, Commander Force Z.
Thursday,
8
February
Destroyers
GALLANT and BOREAS unsuccessfully searched for a submarine
reported at 2057,
nine miles 207° from Sumburgh Head.
_____
Destroyer GRIFFIN departed
Aberdeen to search for a
submarine SSE of Buchanness. Destroyers IVANHOE and
ESCAPADE joined her to
assist in the hunt.
_____
Destroyer
KIPLING attacked a submarine contact in Shapinsay Sound in
59-01N, 2-51W.
_____
Anti-submarine
trawlers of the 17th Anti-Submarine Striking Force were
searching for
destroyer DELIGHT's contact of the day before – the 7th -
NNE of St Abbs Head
in 56-04N, 2-14W. LE TIGRE (516grt) attacked a contact and
signalled CAPE WARWICK (516grt) which
altered course to assist. CAPE WARWICK then struck a
submerged object a glancing blow on the starboard side and
dropped depth
charges.
_____
Light cruiser
SHEFFIELD
arrived in the Tyne.
_____
Destroyer DARING
rendezvoused with tanker BRITISH GOVERNOR (6840grt) and
former German
merchant ship ILSENSTEIN (8216grt) for escort to Scapa
Flow, where they
arrived safely on the 10th. ILSENSTEIN was sunk as a
blockship at Scapa Flow on the 18th.
_____
Destroyers ESK and
EXPRESS arrived at Aberdeen, and BOREAS
departed
_____
Destroyers
BRAZEN arrived at Rosyth, as did INTREPID and IVANHOE, and
JAVELIN after
dark.
_____
Destroyers
KIPLING and KIMBERLEY arrived at Scapa Flow. KIPLING
immediately departed again to hunt a submarine.
_____
Destroyers
GURKHA and NUBIAN departed the Clyde for Scapa Flow.
_____
Netlayer
GUARDIAN departed Scapa Flow for Rosyth, and
from there was due to proceed to the Clyde for refitting.
_____
Minelayer
PRINCESS VICTORIA and destroyers ESK and EXPRESS departed
Aberdeen later that day
on minelaying operation LD 3.
_____
Submarines
TRUANT arrived at Rosyth from patrol, and SEALION departed
on patrol.
_____
Submarine TRITON
and minesweepers SEAGULL and SHARPSHOOTER departed Scapa
Flow for Rosyth
where they arrived on the 9th.
_____
Armed merchant
cruiser ANDANIA arrived in the Clyde from Northern
Patrol.
_____
Armed merchant
cruiser WOLFE departed the Clyde to relieve
light cruiser
NEWCASTLE
on Northern Patrol
Station 53 and allow her to proceed to Station 3.
_____
Armed merchant
cruiser FORFAR arrived at Greenock from Northern
Patrol.
_____
Armed merchant
cruiser CIRCASSIA investigated the report of a Fleetwood
trawler about the sighting of a large merchant ship in
company with a
submarine.
_____
U.37 landed two
agents in Donegal Bay, Ireland.
_____
Convoy HN.10
with two British, nineteen Norwegian, nine Swedish, two
Finnish, six Estonian
and one Panamanian ship departed Bergen escorted by
destroyers IMOGEN, IMPERIAL, ILEX, DELIGHT and submarine
NARWHAL. DELIGHT
detected a submarine contact SSE of Copinsay in 58‑55N,
02‑09W,
and destroyers GALLANT, GRIFFIN and
anti-submarine trawlers of the 11th Anti-Submarine Group
joined in the hunt.
Destroyer GURKHA and NUBIAN departed Scapa Flow the same
day on
anti-submarine patrol and attacked a contact shortly after
sailing. On the
10th, destroyers KIMBERLEY and NUBIAN took
over the escort of the twelve ships of the west coast
portion of HN.10, while
destroyers KANDAHAR, KHARTOUM, KASHMIR and KINGSTON
departed the Clyde, also on the
10th to meet this section. At dawn on the 11th, NUBIAN and
KIMBERLEY left the convoy
in 58-20N, 09-00W. (After her escort duties, destroyer
GURKHA was to join.)
On the 12th, a German submarine was located near the west
coast portion of
HN.10 and attacks by destroyers GURKHA and NUBIAN
prevented any damage being
done to the convoy. Meanwhile, the east coast portion of
the convoy had
arrived at Methil safely on the 11th.
_____
Convoy FS.91
departed the Tyne at 2300, escorted by destroyers VIVIEN
and JAVELIN, and arrived at Southend on the 10th.
_____
Heavy cruisers
DORSETSHIRE
and
SHROPSHIRE arrived at Buenos Aires and Montevideo, respectively,
to refuel after escorting heavy cruiser
EXETER.
_____
German steamers
CORDILLERA (12,055grt) had departed Livinston, Guatemala,
on 25 August
and arrived at Murmansk on 10 September
while PHOENICIA (4124grt) had
left Curacao on the same day in August and reached
Murmansk in mid-September.
There, they were assigned respectively as accommodation
and replenishment
ships for German submarines to operate against British
lumber and ore
shipping out of Murmansk and Narvik.
Both steamers departed Murmansk on 2 December 1939 for
Zapadnaya Litsa Bay, which was to
be known as Basis Nord, and fishing vessel SACHSENWALD
(650grt) arrived there
with supplies a day earlier. Her job was to serve as a
dispatch vessel. At
the end of November, U.36 and U.38 departed Germany for
Basis Nord,
but were reassigned for operations against British
shipping off northern Norway. The base
itself was never used, CORDILLERA almost immediately
returned to Murmansk, and then
completed her voyage home reaching Hamburg on 8 February
_____
German steamer KONIGSBERG
(6466grt)
departed Para, Brazi, but returned on the 16th after
failing to break away from coastal patrol boats.
_____
On the 8th, a Berlin
communiqué
admitted the following merchant shipping losses - 13,196
tons captured in
enemy harbours (steamers POMONA, CHRISTOPH V.
DOORNUM and HAGEN in September 1939), 82,236 tons captured
at sea by the
enemy, and 141,525 tons scuttled to avoid capture. (See
British list of 30
January).
Friday,
9 February
Battleship
WARSPITE
and battlecruiser HOOD
with destroyers FAULKNOR, FAME, FOXHOUND,
FORTUNE, FURY, FORESIGHT, FIREDRAKE and FORESTER departed
the Clyde at 1130 on
patrol. FAME and FORESTER refuelled at Sullom Voe on
the 11th and returned to the force, FAULKNOR, FOXHOUND,
FORTUNE refuelled on
the 13th, FURY, FORESIGHT, FIREDRAKE on the 14th, and
FORESTER again on the
15th.
_____
Destroyers
NUBIAN and GURKHA arrived at Scapa Flow from the Clyde.
_____
Destroyers KASHMIR,
KANDAHAR, KHARTOUM departed Rosyth
for the Clyde.
_____
Armed merchant
cruiser CIRCASSIA escorting Norwegian steamer SOLFERINO
(2580grt) requested a destroyer, and GURKHA was detailed
to take over escort.
_____
Heavy cruiser DEVONSHIRE
brought in
Norwegian steamer TRAFALGAR (5542grt) for investigation.
She was later
boarded and released.
_____
Armed merchant
cruisers PATROCLUS and AURANIA departed the Clyde for
Northern
Patrol.
_____
Light cruiser
GLASGOW
departed Rosyth to relieve sister ship
SOUTHAMPTON
on patrol off North Cape in Operation
WR. SOUTHAMPTON was to proceed to Scapa Flow for a week
and
then relieve another sister ship NEWCASTLE,
also on
Northern Patrol.
_____
Destroyers KIMBERLEY and
KIPLING
departed Scapa Flow.
_____
Destroyers
GALLANT and BOREAS were patrolling in the vicinity of
Rattray Head.
_____
Destroyer TARTAR
was patrolling between Muckle Flugga and a position 20
miles north.
_____
The second half
of Minelaying operation LD 1 was conducted when 42 mines
were laid the night
of the 9th/10th by minelayer PRINCESS VICTORIA and
destroyers ESK and
EXPRESS.
_____
Destroyer
GRAFTON of the 1st Destroyer Flotilla departed Harwich for
Humber where she
arrived later that day. She was attached to the Humber for
patrol
operations.
_____
Convoy AXS 12
departed Southampton escorted by sloop ABERDEEN, and
arrived at
Brest on the 11th.
_____
Convoy ON.11
with seven British, thirteen Norwegian, one Swedish, two
Danish, three
Finnish and one Estonian ship departed Methil escorted by
destroyers ECHO, ESCAPADE,
ECLIPSE and ENCOUNTER. Three ships were detached and did
not proceed to Norway, including
blockship BRANKSEA (214grt) bound for for Scapa Flow in
tow of tug
PRIZEMAN. Submarine NARWHAL sailed with the convoy, but
lost touch during the
night of the 10th/11th February, and was ordered to patrol
and then return to
Rosyth. Anti-aircraft cruiser
CAIRO
departed the Humber on the 10th and
joined the convoy in support on the 11th. ON.11 arrived
safely at Bergen on the 12th.
_____
Convoy FN.89
departed Southend, escorted by sloops FLEETWOOD, BITTERN
and HASTINGS, and arrived at
Methil on the 11th.
_____
Convoy FN.90
departed Southend, escorted by destroyers WOOLSTON, JANUS
and sloop GRIMSBY, and arrived in
the Tyne on the 10th.
_____
Convoy MT.6
departed Methil, escorted by destroyers WHITLEY, JUPITER
and sloop EGRET, and
arrived in the Tyne the next day.
_____
Destroyer
GRIFFIN departed Aberdeen and joined destroyers BOREAS,
IVANHOE and ESCAPADE
sweeping for a submarine reported one mile SSE of Buchan
Ness in 57-34N,
1-42W. During the sweep, GRIFFIN dropped depth
charges on a contact four miles NNE of Buchan Ness in
57-34N, 1-42W.
_____
Convoy OB.89
departed Liverpool escorted by destroyers WINCHELSEA and
VENETIA from the 9th to 12th, when they detached to join
HX.18 and
HXF.19 respectively. OB.89 dispersed on the 14th.
_____
U.9 laid mines
off Tarbett Ness in Cromarty Firth during the night of the
9th/10th which
accounted for one merchant ship on 4 May.
_____
GERMAN
DESTROYER MINELAYING IN
ORFORDNESS-SHIPWASH
and CROMER KNOLL AREAS
During the night
of the 9th/10th, German destroyers FRIEDRICH
ECKHOLDT,
RICHARD BEITZEN and MAX SCHULTZ laid
110 magnetic mines in the Orfordness-Shipwash area.
Destroyers WILHELM
HEIDKAMP, THEODOR RIEDEL, HERMANN SCHOEMANN were at sea
supporting this
minelay as well as one off Cromer Knoll being laid at the
same time
(following). Six merchant ships totalling 28,496 tons were
lost in the
Orfordness-Shipwash field.
On the 11th,
trawler HALIFAX (165grt) southeast
of Aldeburgh in 52-06-30N, 1-59-40E. The entire crew was
rescued by steamer IPSWICH (5671grt).
On the 13th,
tanker BRITISH TRIUMPH (8501grt)
from convoy FS.93, in 53‑06N, 01‑25E. Four crew were lost,
sloop
STORK rescued some of the survivors, and tanker BRITISH
OFFICER (6990grt)
sailing in company rescued the remainder as well as trying
unsuccessfully to
tow BRITISH TRIUMPH. Tug IRISHMAN was sent out instead,
but the stricken
tanker sank before her arrival.
On the 14th,
Italian steamer GIORGIO OHLSEN
(5694grt) in 53‑17N, 01‑10E. Seventeen crew were lost and
steamer
LOLWORTH (1969grt) rescued the sixteen survivors.
On the 17th,
steamer BARON AILSA (3656grt) in
53‑17N, 01‑12E. Two crew were lost and minesweeping
trawler BEECH
(540grt) rescued the survivors.
On the 24th,
steamer JEVINGTON COURT (4544grt)
from convoy FS.103, 8¼ miles 161° from Cromer Knoll Light
Vessel in 53‑08N,
01‑22E. The entire crew was saved by minesweeper DUNOON.
Also on the
24th, steamer CLAN MORRISON
(5936grt) from convoy FN.102 in 53‑07N, 01‑22E. Survivors
were
picked up by minesweeping trawler NOGI (299grt).
The Cromer Knoll
field of 157 mines was laid the same night by destroyers
BRUNO HEINEMANN,
WOLFGANG ZENKER, ERICH KOELLNER with three merchant ships
totalling 11,855
tons being lost:
On the 27th,
French steamer PLM
25 (5391grt) from convoy FS.106, 5
miles 302° from Cromer Knoll Light Vessel in 53‑19N,
01‑12E. She
ran aground 3½ miles 150° from Outer Dowsing Light Vessel,
sloop FLAMINGO
took her in tow, but she struck a second mine and sank.
Four crew were lost
and escort ship WALLACE rescued the survivors.
On 9 March,
steamer CHEVY CHASE (2719grt) in
53‑18N, 01‑13E. Trawler MONIMIA (374grt) rescued all her
crew.
On 12 March,
steamer GARDENIA (3745grt) in 53‑04N,
01‑33E. Again all her crew were rescued, by escorting
anti-submarine
trawler VIVIANA (452grt).
_____
Steamer
CHAGRES (5406grt) sank
on a mine 5½ miles 270° from Bar Light Vessel off Mersey
Light laid by U.30
on 9 January, with the loss of two crew.
_____
Trawler AGNES ELLEN
(293grt) sank on a mine
sailing from Holyhead to Workington on the west coast.
_____
Minesweeping
trawlers FORT ROYAL (550grt, Lt Cdr
Edgar King Rtd), ROBERT BOWEN (290grt, Skipper J. Clark
RNR), THOMAS ALTOFT
(290grt) and OHM (302grt) were operating off Aberdeen when
they were
attacked and bombed by He111's of German KG26 (X Air
Corps).
FORT ROYAL was sunk with
the loss of King, Temporary S/Lt R H Gill RNVR and five
ratings, and ROBERT BOWEN with her entire
crew - Clark, Temporary S/Lt A S
Wilson RNVR and twelve ratings. OHM was damaged by near
misses, but she and
THOMAS ALTOFT rescued survivors and returned to Aberdeen.
_____
Steamer BOSTON
TRADER (371grt) was bombed and damaged by aircraft of
German X Air Corps
(Note: He111's of KG26 or Ju88's of KG30, also following)
one quarter mile SE
by S of Blakeney Bell Buoy.
_____
Hopper barge
FOREMOST 102 (833grt) was bombed and damaged by aircraft
of German X Air
Corps, four miles west of Bell Rock. Paddle minesweeper
BRIGHTON QUEEN stood
by, and the barge was towed to Dundee by minesweeping
trawler EQUERRY (369grt).
_____
Steamer
CLINTONIA (3106grt) was bombed and damaged by aircraft of
German X Air Corps,
two miles east of Flamborough Head.
_____
Steamer
LAURIESTON (1304grt) was bombed and damaged by He111's of
German KG26 (X Air
Corps) seven miles east of Coquet Island.
_____
Steamer CREE (4791grt) was
bombed and damaged by aircraft of German X Air Corps, five
miles east of
Rattray Head. Steamer DALLINGTON COURT (6889grt) stood
by and was joined by destroyer GRIFFIN as destroyer
ACHATES headed for them to assist. Tug STALWART was sent
to take the damaged
ship in tow. During this time, GRIFFIN was herself
machine gunned by aircraft of German X Air Corps three
miles 137° from
Buchanness, and two crew wounded.
_____
Trawler LOWDOCK
(276grt) was bombed and damaged by aircraft of German X
Air Corps, two and a
half miles east of Scarborough.
_____
Paddle
minesweeper PLINLIMMON was attacked by aircraft of German
X Air Corps, four
miles 330° from Bass Rock.
_____
Convoy HG.18
with 34 ships departed Gibraltar escorted by destroyer
ACTIVE from the 9th to
10th, and French destroyer VALMY and French armed trawler
VIKING from the 9th
to 16th. The convoy split In Home Waters, with HG.18 being
escorted by
destroyer VISCOUNT and HG.18B by destroyer VANQUISHER,
both from the 16th to
19th, when the convoys arrived at Liverpool.
_____
On the 8th at
0800, Vice Admiral J C Tovey CB, DSO, transferred his flag
as Vice Admiral,
Destroyers, Mediterranean Fleet, from light cruiser
GALATEA
to light cruiser
DELHI, and then to
destroyer WRESTLER at sunset the same day. GALATEA then
left Malta on the 9th to
return England, called at Gibraltar on the
11th/12th and on leaving, was attached to Western
Approaches Command to
intercept German merchant ships which had departed Vigo on
the 9th/10th
(following). She arrived at Plymouth on the 15th
after screening heavy cruiser
EXETER
on the final
leg of her voyage back to England.
_____
During the night
of the 9th/10th, German steamers ROSTOCK (2542grt),
MOREA (1927grt), WAHEHE (4709grt), WANGONI (7848grt),
ORIZABA (4354grt) and
ARUCAS (3359grt) slipped out of Vigo to attempt to
return to Germany.
_____
Polish troopship
BATORY (14, 287grt) and French destroyer L'ALCYON arrived
at Gibraltar from Marseilles, and left on
the 10th to return to Marseilles.
Saturday,
10
February
Heavy cruiser SUFFOLK
was in a
collision with steamer MASIRAH (6578grt) off Little
Cumbrae and was badly
damaged abreast B-turret with three men killed, five
missing and eight injured, three of them
seriously. The steamer was seriously damaged and anchored
in Rothesay Bay. SUFFOLK arrived at
Govan and began repairs on the 12th which were not
completed until 10 April.
_____
Destroyer HAVELOCK (Captain
E B K
Stevens DSC) was completed, and after working up at
Portland, joined the 9th
Destroyer Flotilla.
_____
Armed merchant
cruisers WOLFE and FORFAR departed the Clyde for
Northern Patrol, and armed merchant cruiser
LETITIA arrived back.
_____
Submarines SEAL
and TRIAD departed Rosyth on a special mission to
investigate the courses of
German iron ore ships off the Norwegian coast.
_____
Polish submarine
WILK departed Rosyth on patrol.
_____
Convoy SA.29 of
two steamers departed Southampton, escorted by
sloops FOXGLOVE and ROSEMARY, and arrived at Brest on the
12th.
_____
Convoy FN.91
departed Southend, escorted by destroyers WESTMINSTER,
JAVELIN and
sloop LONDONDERRY, and arrived in the Tyne on the 11th.
_____
Convoy FS.92
departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyers WHITLEY, JUPITER
and sloop EGRET. WHITLEY and EGRET attacked a submarine
contact NNW of St
Abbs Head, in 56-01. 5N, 2-14. 5W, and the convoy arrived
at Southend on the
12th.
_____
Convoy MT.7
departed Methil, and arrived in the Tyne the next day.
Convoy MT.8 was cancelled.
_____
Destroyer
WINDSOR made an attack on a submarine contact south of the
Scilly Isles in 49‑16N,
6‑19W.
_____
Armed boarding
vessel NORTHERN ISLES (655grt) attacked U.53 north of
North Rona in 59-58N,
5-43W.
_____
Destroyers
COSSACK, SIKH and MOHAWK departed Scapa Flow to escort
convoy HN.10B from the Norwegian coast.
_____
Destroyer GURKHA
was involved in the escort of tanker ATHELKNIGHT
(8940grt).
_____
Destroyers
IVANHOE and GRIFFIN arrived at Aberdeen. GRIFFIN departed
again
that day to relieve destroyer BOREAS on patrol off the
northeast coast, and BOREAS
reached Aberdeen on the 11th.
_____
Destroyer
INGLEFIELD departed the Clyde for Rosyth.
_____
Steamer HOUSATONIC
(5559grt),
escorted by destroyers DIANA and DARING, departed Muckle
Flugga for Rosyth.
Tanker BRITISH GOVERNOR (6840grt) joined them on passage
and all four ships
reached Rosyth on the 11th.
_____
Minelayer
PRINCESS VICTORIA with destroyers ESK and EXPRESS departed
Rosyth to lay 60
mines in minefield LD 2 during the night of the 10th/11th.
_____
Motor torpedo
boats MTB.22, MTB.24, MTB.25 departed the
Nore for Blyth to act under the command of Commander in
Chief, Rosyth.
_____
Auxiliary
minesweeper SALVO swept the first magnetic mine with an LL
sweep off Sunk
Light Vessel.
_____
Convoy OA.89
departed Southend escorted by sloop FOWEY. Destroyer WITCH
joined the escort
on the 11th, both warships detached on the 12th, and the
convoy dispersed on
the 13th.
_____
Blockship
BRANKSEA (214grt) sank off Girdle Ness at 0500 for no
apparent reason, and
the mate of the tug was lost attempting to free the tow.
_____
U.37 sank
Norwegian steamer SILJA (1259grt)
in 51‑21N, 11‑32W with all hands.
_____
U.48 sank Dutch
steamer BURGERDIJK (6853grt) in 49‑45N,
06‑30W, but her entire crew was rescued by Dutch steamer
EDAM (8871grt).
_____
Trawler THERESA BOYLE
(224grt) was bombed and
sunk by He111's of German KG26 (X Air Corps) 115 miles
east by north of
Aberdeen, and her survivors rescued by minesweeping
trawlers BRABANT (240grt)
and ALMANDINE (295grt) after they were located by British
aircraft.
_____
Dutch steamer GALLIA
(9974grt) was
damaged on a mine off the Downs.
_____
Destroyers HASTY
and HERO departed Gibraltar for England, screened heavy
cruiser
EXETER,
after joining
her on the 13th in 43-00N, 17-40W, and searched for German
blockade runners
before arriving at Plymouth and Portsmouth, respectively,
on the 15th. Both destroyers joined the Home Fleet in
mid-March after
refitting.
_____
U.26, U.37, U.48
were deployed west of the English Channel to intercept
warships
ARK
ROYAL,
RENOWN
and
EXETER
returning to England from the South Atlantic. This
deployment continued until the 14th, without any contact
being made.
_____
Destroyer DECOY
departed Gibraltar for Freetown.
_____
Convoy SL.20
departed Freetown on the 10th
escorted by armed merchant cruiser ESPERANCE BAY until the
25th,
and SLF.20 departed Freetown on the 14th,
escorted by armed merchant cruiser CHESHIRE. The two
convoys merged on the 25th and were joined by destroyers
VANQUISHER,
VANSITTART, VERSATILE and VETERAN until the 28th, when
they all arrived in
the UK.
Sunday,
11 February
Convoy HN.10B
with twenty Norwegian, seven Swedish and two Finnish ships
departed Bergen on the 11th,
escorted by destroyers COSSACK, SIKH, MOHAWK and TARTAR,
with twelve of the
ships being detached down the west coast of Britain. Next
day,
HN.11 with one British, fifteen Norwegian, ten Swedish and
one Finnish ship
left Bergen and were escorted by the same
warships from HN.10B, but in this case, none of the ships
were bound for west
coast ports. Still on the 12th, COSSACK and GURKHA
attacked a submarine
contact northeast of Sumburgh Head in 60-12N, 00-22W, and
on the 13th SIKH
also attacked a contact, off Aberdeen in 57-15. 7N,
1-47W. That same day, the 13th, destroyer DIANA departed
Rosyth to relieve
destroyers COSSACK and GURKHA for operation DT. They
reached Rosyth later in
the day, as did the east bound section of HN.10B. Light
cruisers
EDINBURGH
and
ARETHUSA also arrived in
Rosyth, on the 14th, and the later convoy, HN.11
safely reached Methil on the 15th.
_____
Destroyer
GALLANT, leaving Aberdeen, damaged her
propellers on a submerged object, and was docked for
examination.
_____
Heavy cruiser NORFOLK
arrived at Scapa Flow from Northern
Patrol.
_____
Armed merchant cruiser
ASTURIAS departed the Clyde on Northern
Patrol.
_____
Heavy cruiser DEVONSHIRE
intercepted
Norwegian steamer BORGLAND (3636grt) and requested a
trawler to take her in
to Kirkwall.
_____
Destroyer
EXPRESS attacked a submarine contact off Flamborough Head
in 54‑13N, 00‑08E.
_____
Destroyer KINGSTON was
submarine
hunting 22 miles west by south of Dubh Artch.
_____
Destroyer
GREYHOUND lost Acting S/Lt R A S. Brown RNR, a petty
officer and five ratings when her boat capsized in the
Humber.
_____
During the night
of the 11th/12th, minelayer PRINCESS VICTORIA with
destroyers EXPRESS and ESK
laid the 52 mines in minefield LD 3 (first half). After
the operation, the
minelayer anchored in Yarmouth Roads.
_____
Anti-submarine
trawler HUDDERSFIELD TOWN (399grt),
escorting a convoy, attacked a submarine contact off the
Smalls in 51-38N,
5-57W. Destroyer WINCHELSEA joined in the hunt.
_____
Convoy OA.88GF
departed Southend on the 8th, escorted by destroyer BROKE
which was relieved
on the 10th by sloop BIDEFORD and destroyer VETERAN, while
OB.88GF sailed
from Liverpool, also on the 8th with 29 ships escorted by
sloop LEITH and
destroyer VERSATILE. On the 11th, they merged as OG.18F.
Destroyer VERSATILE
escorted the convoy on the 11th before detaching to
HG.18F, sloops LEITH
and BIDEFORD were with the convoy from
the 11th to 17th, and destroyer ACTIVE joined it in the
Gibraltar approaches
out of Gibraltar, where OG.18F arrived on the 17th.
_____
Convoy FN.92
departed Southend, escorted by destroyers JUPITER, VIVIEN
and sloop PELICAN,
and arrived in the Tyne on the 13th.
_____
Convoy FS.93
departed the Tyne at 2300 escorted by destroyers VEGA,
JAGUAR and sloop STORK, and arrived at Southend on the
13th.
_____
U.9 sank
Estonian steamer LINDA (1213grt)
100 miles west of Utsire in 58‑51N, 01‑54E. One member of
the
crew was lost, and the survivors rescued by Swedish
steamer BIRGITTA
(1363grt).
_____
U.37 sank
trawler TOGIMO (290grt) in 50‑40N,
11‑02W with the loss of one crewman. Survivors were picked
up by
Spanish steamer MONTE NAVAJO (5754grt).
_____
U.50 sank
Swedish steamer ORANIA (1854grt)
60 miles NE of the Shetlands. Fourteen crew were lost and
ten survivors
picked up by destroyer FEARLESS and transferred to
FOXHOUND, which landed
them at Lerwick. Four destroyers were searching in the
area for the
submarine.
_____
U.53 sank
Norwegian steamer SNESTAD
(4114grt) with the loss of two crew in 58‑40N, 13‑40W and
badly
damaged British tanker IMPERIAL TRANSPORT (8022grt) in
59N, 12W. The tanker
broke in two, the forward section sank and destroyer
KINGSTON tried
unsuccessfully to tow the stern section, after which she
stood by until tug
BUCCANEER arrived. She tried three times, then other tugs
arrived. On the
15th, destroyer FORESTER was detailed to join the damaged
ship. She was
relieved by destroyer MOHAWK, which departed the Clyde on
the 20th,
and she in turn was relieved by escort vessel GLEANER.
FORESTER and BUCCANEER
arrived in the Clyde on the 22nd and four more days later,
on
the 26th, under the tow of tugs ST MARTIN and ENGLISHMAN
and escorted by
escort vessel GLEANER, IMPERIAL TRANSPORT also reached the
Clyde. She was
beached in Kilchattan Bay on the Isle of
Bute and later rebuilt.
_____
Trade
negotiations between Germany and Russia which began in
the latter part of 1939 were signed in Moscow. As part of
the
treaty, German handed over the incomplete heavy cruiser
LUTZOW, plans for
battleship BISMARCK, heavy naval
guns, and about thirty aircraft including ME.109 fighters,
ME.110 fighter
bombers and JU.88 bombers. The sale of incomplete heavy
cruisers SEYDLITZ and
PRINZ EUGEN and turrets of two of the Z-programme
battleships had also been
discussed during the negotiations, but had been vetoed by
Hitler on 8
December.
_____
Aircraft carrier
ARK
ROYAL,
battlecruiser RENOWN,
and destroyers HASTY and HERO, which
departed Gibraltar on the 10th to return to England,
searched for the German
ships which had escaped from Vigo (Operation VO). Other
ships taking part
included aircraft carrier
HERMES
which left Freetown at 1200/11th, light
cruiser
GALATEA
from Gibraltar at 1800/12th, and French destroyers
TRIOMPHANT
and FOUGUEUX on patrol in 43-00N between 13 and 11W.
Destroyer departures
from Plymouth were KEITH,
WAKEFUL and VETERAN on the 9th,
ANTELOPE on the 10th to join ARK ROYAL at 0900/12th in
45-00N, 15-00W,
ACASTA, WHITSHED, VESPER at 1430/11th with ARDENT to sail
as soon as
possible, and WREN, WOLVERINE and HEARTY at 0830/12th.
Aircraft from ARK
ROYAL sighted several of the German steamers, leading to
the capture of ROSTOCK and MOREA.
_____
German steamer ROSTOCK (2542grt),
which left Vigo on the
9th/10th, was captured off the Spanish coast by French
sloop ELAN. A prize crew
was put aboard and she was taken into Brest arriving on
the
14th. Renamed SAINT MAURICE for French service, she
reverted
to German service after the fall of France.
_____
Light cruiser
GLOUCESTER
departed Mombasa and arrived at Durban on the 21st.
Monday,
12 February
German fishing
trawler HERRLICHKEIT (268grt) was
captured near Tromso in 69‑56N, 16‑49E (68-24N, 11-05E in
the
Rosyth War Diary) by light cruiser
GLASGOW.
HERRLICHKEIT was in poor shape,
capable of only four and a half knots and had to be towed
part of the way by GLASGOW. She was forced
to put into Fraserburgh due to heavy weather, and finally
arrived at Aberdeen on the 21st.
Taken over later by the Ministry of War Transportation,
she was renamed
EMPIRE FISHER for British use.
_____
Anti-aircraft
cruiser
CALCUTTA departed the
Humber for Sullom Voe,
and arrived on the 13th.
_____
Light cruiser MANCHESTER
arrived at Scapa Flow after Northern
Patrol.
_____
Armed merchant
cruiser FORFAR departed the Clyde on Northern
Patrol.
_____
Destroyer KIMBERLEY arrived
at Scapa Flow.
_____
Destroyers KANDAHAR,
KASHMIR, KHARTOUM arrived at Greenock.
_____
Destroyer
INTREPID relieved destroyer GRIFFIN on patrol in Moray
Firth. GRIFFIN arrived at
Rosyth on the 13th.
_____
Destroyer HARDY departed
Portland for the Clyde.
_____
Steamer CYPRIAN
PRINCE (1988grt) departed Stromness for Aberdeen.
_____
Submarines
THISTLE and TRITON exercised in the Firth of Forth.
_____
Submarine SALMON
and destroyer ESCORT exercised off Harwich.
_____
Submarine
NARWHAL arrived at Rosyth after patrol.
_____
Submarines L.23
departed Blyth on patrol, and STURGEON for the Tyne to
refit.
_____
Submarine
SWORDFISH departed Dundee on trials to
arrive at Rosyth on the 13th, but was diverted and arrived
at Blyth on that date.
_____
Minelayer
PRINCESS VICTORIA with destroyers EXPRESS and ESK laid 38
mines in operation
LD 3 (second half) in the North Sea. After the
minelay, the ships proceeded to the Thames.
_____
Destroyer VIMIERA
completed conversion to fast escort vessel, and after
working up at Portland, was assigned
to Convoy C working from Rosyth.
_____
Convoy BC.26
with six steamers, including BARON KINNAIRD, DUNKWA
(Commodore) and RONAN
departed the Bristol Channel escorted by destroyer
MONTROSE,
and arrived safely in the Loire on the 14th.
_____
Convoy MT.9
departed Methil, escorted by sloops FLEETWOOD, BITTERN and
HASTINGS, and arrived in
the Tyne later that day.
_____
Convoy FS.94
departed the Tyne, escorted by sloops FLEETWOOD, BITTERN
and HASTINGS, which had just
arrived from Rosyth with MT.9.
_____
Belgian fishing
vessels O. H. BEWAAR ONS (62grt)
was lost in the North Sea and STEUR
(61grt) ten miles NW of West Hinder Light Vessel due to
mining.
_____
Attempting to
lay mines in the Firth of Clyde, U.33 was damaged by
minesweeper GLEANER at
0440 halfway between Pladda Lighthouse and Ailsa Craig in
55‑25N, 05‑07W
in a depth charge attack which seriously affected the
minesweeper's
electrical system and put asdic and searchlights out of
action. U.33 surfaced, the crew surrendered
and she sank after her scuttling charges went off at 0530.
Twenty five of the
crew were lost and 17 saved. Destroyer KINGSTON recovered
20
bodies.
_____
U.26 torpedoed
Norwegian steamer NIDARHOLM
(3482grt) in 50‑50N, 14‑10W. She was abandoned and broke
in two
with the fore section sinking on the 12th and the aft
section later. Sloops WELLINGTON and ROCHESTER searched
for
survivors, and twenty five were rescued by Norwegian
steamer BERTO.
_____
U.53 sank
Swedish steamer DALARO (3927grt)
in 56‑44N, 11‑44W with the loss of one crewman. Survivors
were
rescued by Belgian trawler JAN DE WAELE (324grt) and
landed at Buncrana, Loch
Swilly.
_____
Sloop ROSEMARY
attacked a submarine contact ESE of Start Point.
Sloop SANDWICH passed nearby at 0840/13th, joined
ROSEMARY and carried out her own attack. Destroyer BROKE
also joined in the
search at 1030, and the operation continued until 1630
when ROSEMARY was
ordered to return to harbour.
_____
U.54 (Kptlt. Gunter Kutschmann) set out
from Wilhelmshaven on the 12th on
her first patrol, which was to be off Cape Finisterre, and
was never
heard from again. It is now presumed that she was lost on
the 12th/13th with
all 41 crew, sunk by a mine laid by the 20th Destroyer
Flotilla on the 9/10
January in 55-07N, 5-05E. On the 14 March, German patrol
vessel Vp.1101
(trawler PREUSSEN, 425grt) found one of U.54's torpedoes,
and later, on the
16 April, naval auxiliary ship Schiff 37 (trawler
SCHLESWIG, 433grt) found
another one in the Skagerrak.
_____
Belgian steamer FLANDRES
(5827grt) was sunk in a
collision with Belgian steamer KABALO (5186grt) in the
Fairway of the South Downs.
_____
Convoy HXF.20
departed Halifax at 1400
escorted by Canadian destroyers FRASER and ST LAURENT,
which detached
on the 13th. Ocean escort until the 22nd when she left,
was armed merchant
cruiser LACONIA. On that day,
the convoy was joined by destroyers ACASTA and VENETIA and
escorted
until its arrival at Liverpool on the 25th.
_____
Destroyer HASTY
captured German steamer MOREA
(1927grt), which had departed Vigo on the
9th/10th, off the Portuguese coast in 41‑42N, 15‑03W.
MOREA
joined convoy HG.17, arrived at Falmouth on the 17th,
and was renamed EMPIRE SEAMAN for British service.
_____
French submarine
ACHERON and British steamer SOMME (5265grt)
exchanged gunfire around 1815, in 34-25N, 18-08W, each
believing the other to
be German. ACHERON was hit in the bow by a shell which did
not explode.
Tuesday,
13 February
Destroyers
KELVIN, KINGSTON, KANDAHAR and KHARTOUM departed the Clyde
on the 13th to
participate in Operation WR, and rendezvoused with armed
merchant cruiser CIRCASSIA.
_____
Anti-aircraft
cruiser
CAIRO
arrived at Scapa Flow.
_____
Submarine TARPON
was carrying out trials in Gare Loch.
_____
Convoy ON.12 of
ten British, eight Norwegian, two Swedish, two Danish,
four Finnish and one
Panamanian ship departed Methil escorted by destroyers
INGLEFIELD, ILEX,
IMPERIAL, DELIGHT and submarine THISTLE. Light cruisers
ARETHUSA and
PENELOPE
were originally to provide close cover, but had been
assigned to Operation
DT, and light cruiser
EDINBURGH
sailed from
Rosyth to take over. Four ships were detached before
making the North Sea crossing,
including Norwegian steamer FERNMOOR (4268grt) which
IMOGEN took into Scapa Flow on the 14th.
IMOGEN left again on the 15th and joined anti-aircraft
cruiser
CALCUTTA which had
departed Sullom Voe the same day to provide anti-aircraft
protection. ON.12
arrived safely at Bergen on the 16th.
_____
Convoy OA.91
departed Southend escorted by destroyer VERITY from the
13th to 16th, when it
dispersed.
_____
Convoy OB.91
departed Liverpool escorted by destroyers WALPOLE and VIMY
from the 13th to 16th, and dispersed on the 17th.
_____
Convoy FN.93
departed Southend, escorted by destroyers WHITLEY, JACKAL
and sloop EGRET,
and arrived in the Tyne on the 15th.
_____
Convoy FS.95
departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyers WOOLSTON, JANUS
and sloop GRIMSBY, and arrived at
Southend on the 15th.
_____
Convoy MT.10
departed Methil, escorted by anti-submarine trawlers of
the 19th
Anti-Submarine Group, and arrived in the Tyne later that
day.
_____
U.25 sank Danish
tanker CHASTINE MAERSK (5177grt)
in 61‑30N, 02‑00E. Survivors were rescued by Norwegian
steamer
HILDA (1237grt).
_____
U.50 attacked
Norwegian tanker ALBERT L. ELLSWORTH (8309grt) in the
North Sea, NW of the
Shetlands in 61-10N, 07-15W, but the attack failed due to
torpedo
malfunctions.
_____
German steamer NAHALT
(5870grt) was damaged in a collision in the North Sea, and
was
assisted by German steamer KONIGSBERG PREUSSEN (2530grt).
_____
Heavy cruiser
DORSETSHIRE’s
seaplane sighted German steamer WAKAMA (3771grt) off Cape
Frio at 1615/12th.
DORSETSHIRE intercepted her next day in 22‑42S, 41‑38W,
and WAKAMA
which had departed Rio de Janiero on the 11th scuttled
herself rather than be
captured.
_____
ALLIED HUNTING GROUPS
Allied Hunting
Groups were reorganized as follows:
Force G - Heavy
cruisers
HAWKINS
and
DORSETSHIRE
Force H - Heavy
cruisers
CORNWALL
and
CUMBERLAND
Force I -
Aircraft carrier
EAGLE,
heavy cruiser SUSSEX,
Australian light cruiser
HOBART
Force M - Heavy
cruiser
KENT and the French SUFFREN
Force X - French
heavy cruisers FOCH and DUPLEIX
Force Y - French
battleship PROVENCE, heavy cruisers
COLBERT, DUQUESNE,and light cruiser EMILE BERTIN
_____
Destroyer
DEFENDER departed Gibraltar for Freetown.
Wednesday,
14
February
German supply
ship ALTMARK (10,847grt) was sighted by RAF Hudson's of
220 Sqn off Trondheim
as she was being escorted to Bergen by Norwegian torpedo
boats TRYGG and GARM
for contraband inspection.
_____
Light cruiser
ARETHUSA (Captain Q
D Graham), with Rear Admiral Destroyers (Rear
Admiral R H C
Hallifax) aboard, destroyers COSSACK (Captain P
L
Vian), SIKH (Cdr J A Giffard), NUBIAN (Cdr
R W
Ravenhill), INTREPID (Cdr R
C Gordon) and IVANHOE (Cdr
P H
Hadow) departed Rosyth at 2300 on Operation DT.
Light cruiser
PENELOPE
(Captain G D
Yates) also began the sortie, but ran onto the submarine
baffles at
Rosyth, and with damaged propellers, was forced to
remain in port for repairs.
Orders on this sortie were to sweep up the Norwegian coast
from Kristiansand and intercept
enemy ships returning to Narvik. ARETHUSA, INTREPID and
IVANHOE were assigned
to one group and the Tribal destroyers to the other. Rear
Admiral Destroyers
normally flew his flag on light cruiser
AURORA,
and men from AURORA were sent to
augment the crews of destroyers MAORI and COSSACK.
_____
After destroyer
GURKHA attacked a submarine contact in Moray Firth in
58-22N, 1-40W,
destroyers KASHMIR, KIPLING and BOREAS joined in the
search,
KIPLING sailing from Scapa Flow on the same day.
The search was unsuccessful and was abandoned at
1600/15th.
_____
Anti-submarine
trawler LORD HOTHAM (464grt), escorting tug BRIGAND and a
battle target off
Cape St Vincent in 36-50N,
9-46W attacked a submarine contact.
_____
Anti-aircraft
cruiser
COVENTRY
departed Sullom
Voe for repairs at Chatham, arriving en
route in the Humber on the 15th.
_____
Armed merchant
cruiser SCOTSTOUN departed the Clyde on Northern Patrol.
_____
Destroyers BRAZEN
and DIANA departed Rosyth and BOREAS was detached from
submarine hunting off
Rattray Head. All three reached Invergordon on the 15th
and left again later
that day to escort the collision-damaged destroyer DUNCAN
under tow by
tugs ST MELLONS and NORMAN from
Invergordon to Rosyth for repairs following the collision
of 17 January. BRAZEN
and BOREAS were last minute replacements for SIKH and
NUBIAN which were
needed for DT. DUNCAN repaired at
Grangemouth completing on 22 July 1940.
_____
Submarine
TRIDENT arrived at Rosyth from patrol.
_____
Submarine
TRIBUNE was exercising in the Firth of Forth.
_____
Convoy FN.94
departed Southend escorted by destroyers VEGA, JAGUAR and
sloop STORK, and arrived
in the Tyne on the 16th.
_____
Convoy FS.96
departed the Tyne (to
be checked) escorted by destroyers WESTMINSTER,
JAVELIN and sloop
LONDONDERRY, and WESTMINSTER and LONDONDERRY attacked a
submarine contact north, NNW of St Abbs Head in 56‑04N,
2‑14W.
The convoy arrived at Southend on the 16th.
_____
U.26 sank steamer
LANGLEFORD (4622grt) 70 miles NW
of Fastnet in 51-40N, 12-40W with the loss of four crew.
_____
U.48 sank steamer
SULTAN STAR (12,306grt) at
1645, southwest of Ireland in 48‑54N,
10‑03W with the loss of one member of crew. At the time,
destroyers
WHITSHED, ACASTA, VESPER were joining the screen of heavy
cruiser EXETER and witnessed
the torpedoing on the horizon. WHITSHED was detached to
assist, and since the
survivors were already in lifeboats, carried out the first
attacks, and was
then joined ACASTA and VESPER resulting in the claim that
U.48 had been sunk,
although she escaped. Seventy two survivors were picked up
by WHITSHED, half were
later transferred to VESPER, and she remained in the
vicinity during the
night making further attacks.
_____
U.53 sank
Swedish steamer NORNA (1022grt),
which had departed Gibraltar on the 7th for Stockholm, in
55‑30N,
11‑00W with all hands, as well as Danish steamer MARTIN
GOLDSCHMIDT (2095grt) in 55‑53N, 12‑37W.
Fifteen of her crew were lost and five
survivors rescued by Norwegian BERTO, the same steamer
that had picked up the
survivors of the Norwegian steamer NIDARHOLM (3482grt)
sunk on the 12th.
_____
U.57 torpedoed tanker
GRETAFIELD (10,191grt) east of
Wick in 58‑27N, 02‑33W as she was straggling behind convoy
HX.18.
One Marine was lost and 31 survivors rescued by trawlers
PEGGY NUTTEN and
STRATHALLADALE. To search for the submarine responsible,
destroyers BOREAS
and GURKHA were detailed to search off Rattray Head, while
destroyers KIPLING
and KASHMIR were already hunting in the area. GURKHA
made an attack on the 15th in Moray Firth in 58‑32N,
2‑30W, and was then advised with KASHMIR that if no
further contact was made, they were to join in operation
WR. Still on the
15th, destroyer KINGSTON was ordered to
stand by the still floating tanker for anti-submarine
protection, but she run
aground at Dunbeath. GRETAFIELD broke in two on 19 March
and was declared a
total loss.
_____
Convoy HG.19F
departed Gibraltar with 25 ships, escorted by destroyer
WISHART from the 14th
to 16th, French destroyer TIGRE and auxiliary patrol ship
MINERVE from the 14th
to 21st, and destroyer WREN from the 21st until the
23rd, when the convoy arrived at Liverpool.
_____
Convoy SL.20
departed Freetown on the 10th
escorted by armed merchant cruiser ESPERANCE BAY until the
25th,
and SLF.20 on the 14th, escorted by armed merchant cruiser
CHESHIRE. The two
convoys merged on the 25th when they were joined by
destroyers VANQUISHER, VANSITTART,
VERSATILE and VETERAN, all the escorts remaining with the
convoys until its arrival
on the 28th.
