Background
Events - September 1939-March 1940
Battle
of Atlantic starts, 'Phoney War' on land, Battle of
River Plate
1940
Thursday,
15
February
Light cruiser MANCHESTER
departed Scapa Flow on Northern Patrol.
_____
Armed merchant
cruiser CARINTHIA arrived in the Clyde from Northern
Patrol.
_____
Submarine
TETRARCH and tender CUTTY SARK arrived in the Clyde.
_____
Submarine
SWORDFISH and destroyer IMPERIAL departed Rosyth for Scapa
Flow. From there
IMPERIAL was to join the west coast section of convoy
HN.12, but on the 16th,
the order was cancelled and she was ordered to the
Norwegian coast.
_____
Submarine
TRIBUNE was exercising in the Firth of Forth.
_____
Submarine
SEAWOLF departed Sheerness with convoy OA.92 for
Portsmouth.
_____
Anti-aircraft
cruiser CAIRO
departed Scapa Flow for
Sullom Voe.
_____
Destroyer TARTAR
departed Scapa Flow to relieve armed merchant cruiser
FORFAR in 64-22N,
12-05W.
_____
Destroyer MOHAWK
arrived in the Clyde escorting tanker MONTENOL (2646grt).
_____
Destroyers
ESCAPADE, ECHO and ECLIPSE arrived at Rosyth, and
ELECTRA separately from Dover.
_____
Destroyer JERVIS
arrived at Rosyth from the Humber.
_____
Motor torpedo
boats MTB.22, MTB.24 and MTB.25 carried out
a night patrol off Farne
Island.
_____
Convoy OA.92
departed Southend, escorted
by destroyers BROKE
from the 15th to 16th, and
VANESSA from 16th to 18th
when the convoy dispersed. Submarine SEAWOLF joined the
convoy for passage to
Portsmouth.
_____
Convoy OB.92
departed Liverpool escorted by destroyers VANOC and
WINCHELSEA from the 15th
to 18th, when VANOC joined HX.19.
_____
Convoy OA.90G
sailed from Southend on the
12th escorted by
destroyers VISCOUNT and VANQUISHER, and OB.90G from
Liverpool with 45 ships,
also on the 12th, escorted by sloops DEPTFORD and
SCARBOROUGH. They merged on the 15th as OG.18, escorted
by French destroyer PANTHÈRE
and auxiliary
patrol ship MERCEDITA from then until the 21st, and
arrived at Gibraltar on
the 22nd, escorted by destroyer VELOX of the local escort.
Destroyer ACTIVE,
also of the local escort, arrived the next day with
steamer MACLAREN
(2330grt), which had broken down on the 22nd.
_____
Convoy FN.95
departed Southend escorted by
sloops FLEETWOOD,
BITTERN and HASTINGS,
and joined by
destroyer JANUS on the 16th. The convoy arrived in the
Tyne on the 17th.
_____
Convoy FS.97
departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyer VIVIEN and sloop
PELICAN, and with
submarine STERLET joining from Blyth
for the
passage south. The convoy arrived at Southend
on
the 17th.
_____
Convoy MT.11
departed Methil, escorted by
destroyer VIVIEN,
sloop PELICAN, and anti-submarine trawlers of the 19th
Anti-Submarine Group,
and arrived in the Tyne later that day.
_____
Convoy MT.12
departed Methil, escorted by
sloops FLAMINGO,
WESTON and anti-submarine trawlers of the 3rd
Anti-Submarine Group, and
arrived in the Tyne the next day. Convoy MT.13 was
cancelled.
_____
Destroyer
VENETIA, escorting the Liverpool section of a homebound
convoy, attacked a
submarine contact east of Fastnet
in 50‑59N,
8‑38W.
_____
Destroyer DARING
attacked a contact NNE of Kinnaird
Head in 58‑10N,
1‑45W. Destroyers KIPLING and IMPERIAL were also hunting
in the area, and the search
continued on the 16th.
_____
Anti-submarine
trawlers NORTHERN SPRAY (SO), NORTHERN DAWN, NORTHERN GEM,
NORTHERN WAVE and NORTHERN
PRIDE of the 12th Anti-Submarine Striking Force were on
patrol north of the
Shetland Islands in 61-27N, 1-09W, when NORTHERN DAWN
attacked a submarine
contact.
_____
Mine destructor
ship BORDE was damaged by a mine off the Kent coast near
the Downs, and
repaired at Chatham from 25 February to April.
_____
U.14 sank Danish
steamers RHONE (1064grt) with the
loss of nine crew and SLEIPNER
(1066grt) in 58‑18N, 01‑48W. Destroyer KIPLING rescued
twelve men
and Swedish fishing boat STANDARD thirty nine from the two
ships - the
survivors from RHONE and all the crew of SLEIPNER. On the
19th, ECLIPSE found
a raft from RHONE in 58-40N, 1-05W with two dead.
_____
U.26 sank
Norwegian steamer STEINSTAD
(2476grt) west of Ireland, 50 miles off
Clare coast, with the loss of
thirteen crew.
_____
U.37 sank Danish
steamer AASE (1206grt) in 49‑17N,
08‑15W. Fifteen crew were lost
and the only
survivor was rescued by destroyer VERITY on the 17th.
_____
U.48 sank Dutch
tanker DEN HAAG (8971grt) in 48‑02N,
08‑26W. The 13 survivors were rescued by steamer GLEN
ORCHY.
_____
U.50 sank Danish
steamer MARYLAND (4895grt), which
left Madeira on the 7th for Copenhagen, in 57‑09N, 12‑00W.
There
were no survivors.
_____
The Northern Patrol
sighted 61 eastbound ships between the 15th and 29th and
sent 24 into Kirkwall for
inspection.
_____
German supply
ship ALTMARK (10,847grt), received a perfunctory
contraband check at Bergen,
and put to sea for her return to Germany escorted by
Norwegian torpedo boats
SKARV and KJELL.
_____
Heavy cruiser
EXETER
(above - Navy Photos/Paul Simpson & Ian Mort)
finally arrived at Plymouth, screened by aircraft carrier
ARK
ROYAL,
battlecruiser
RENOWN
and light cruiser
GALATEA,
but
without destroyer HERO. In the South Western Approaches,
she had been joined
by her close destroyer escort, starting with HASTY on the
13th, ACASTA and
WHITSHED earlier on the 14th, and ARDENT, HEARTY,
WOLVERINE and WREN later in
the day. ARK ROYAL also reached Plymouth on the 15th
escorted by destroyers KEITH, WAKEFUL, VETERAN and
ANTELOPE, and EXETER repaired at
Devonport until 10 March 1941.
_____
Minesweeper
FERMOY arrived at Gibraltar from Malta to replace
minesweeper GOSSAMER, which
had returned to England with convoy HG.18F.
_____
French armed
merchant cruiser KOUTOBIA, large destroyer CASSARD and
torpedo boat BAYONNAISE passed Gibraltar
eastbound – KOUTOBIA sailing from Casablanca for Marseille
for repairs, where
she arrived on the 17th, CASSARD from Dakar for Toulon
after duty in the
South Atlantic, also arriving on the 17th, and BAYONNAISE
from Casablanca,
arriving at Oran on the 16th.
Friday,
16
February
RESCUE OF BRITISH SEAMEN
FROM GERMAN TANKER ALTMARK
Just after
midnight, Admiral Forbes ordered the ships of Operation
DT, which began late
on the 14th, to intercept German supply ship ALTMARK. The
British force split
up to search the Leads and offshore islands south of
Bergen. Light cruiser
ARETHUSA
sighted ALTMARK a short time later off Egero
Light and destroyers IVANHOE and INTREPID were dispatched
to stop her.
However, the Norwegian escorts intervened and ALTMARK was
able to enter
Jossing Fjord. At that time,
Norwegian naval units in the
Fjord and nearby were torpedo boats KJELL, SKARV, TEIST
and armed auxiliaries
FIRERN and HVAL IV. Destroyer COSSACK followed ALTMARK in
and after
unsuccessful talks with the Norwegian escort commander, a
boarding party of
three officers and thirty ratings (under the command of Lt
Cdr B. T Turner)
boarded ALTMARK from COSSACK. ALTMARK ran aground, four
German sailors were
killed and five wounded, but 299 British prisoners from
ADMIRAL GRAF
SPEE's sinkings
were released.
Gunner J J F Smith in the
boarding party from light
cruiser AURORA was wounded. While alongside ALTMARK, COSSACK's
bow and side plates were damaged and port propeller
cracked. When IVANHOE
approached German merchant ship BALDUR (5805grt)
off Jossing
Fjord near Lister Light, she was scuttled.
Still on the
16th, submarines SEAL, TRIAD, ORZEL were ordered into the
area and joined
SALMON and SEALION which were already there. SEAL sighted
the sinking BALDUR
and the DT operation ships, but the other submarines
sighted nothing at all.
Battleship
WARSPITE,
battlecruiser
HOOD,
and destroyers FAULKNOR, FOXHOUND, FURY, FAME, FORESIGHT,
FORTUNE and FIREDRAKE of the Home Fleet were at sea near Pentland
Firth covering the operation. And after leaving Scapa Flow
on the 16th, heavy
cruiser NORFOLK
met light cruisers
SOUTHAMPTON,
EDINBURGH
and destroyers
DARING and IMPERIAL to provide support. There was no
German Fleet reaction.
After the
rescue, the SOUTHAMPTON group joined convoy HN.12 on the
17th, together with
ARETHUSA in support, COSSACK and her force returned to
Rosyth arriving on the
17th after which she reached Leith on the 19th for
repairs, and the HOOD
force arrived back in the Clyde on the 18th.
German steamer
WIEGAND (5869grt) arrived in Jossing
Fjord on the
21st, supposedly to tow ALTMARK, but left alone the next
day. Instead,
ALTMARK remained aground under the guard of Norwegian
minelayer OLAV
TRYGVASSON until 6 March when she was refloated,
and
headed for Sandefjord
escorted by two Norwegian
destroyers while submarine UNITY shadowed and the Polish
ORZEL patrolled
nearby. After reaching Sandefjord,
ALTMARK’s repairs were
completed on 22 March.
_____
Armed merchant
cruiser WORCESTERSHIRE arrived in the Clyde from Northern
Patrol.
_____
Submarines
TRUANT and TRITON exercised in the Firth of Forth.
_____
Aircraft carrier
ARK
ROYAL, battlecruiser
RENOWN
and destroyer HERO
arrived at Portsmouth and Force K was dissolved. After
short refits, the
three oined the Home Fleet.
_____
Anti-submarine
whaler THIRLMERE (560grt) at 0905 attacked a submarine
contact west of Sumburgh Head
in 59-58N, 3-08W. Anti-submarine whaler
ELLESMERE was sent to assist, but no further contact was
made and the search
was abandoned at 1700/17th.
_____
Convoy FN.96
departed Southend, escorted
by destroyers WOOLSTON, JANUS
and sloop GRIMSBY, and arrived in
the Tyne on the 18th.
_____
Convoy FS.98
departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyer JERVIS and sloops
FLAMINGO and WESTON,
was forced to anchor in the Humber overnight, but arrived
at Southend on the 18th.
_____
U.14 sank
Swedish steamers OSMED (1526grt)
20 miles and LIANA (1664grt) 24
miles north of Kinnaird Head,
with the loss of thirteen
and ten crew respectively. Survivors were picked up by
Swedish steamer SANTOS
(3840grt) and British trawler LOCH HOPE (274grt), but of
the eight onboard
SANTOS, six were lost when she was sunk on the 24th
_____
Convoy HN.12 of
three British, fifteen Norwegian, eight Swedish, one
Danish,
two Finnish and one Estonian ship departed Bergen escorted
by
destroyers INGLEFIELD, ILEX, IMOGEN, DELIGHT and submarine
THISTLE.
Anti-aircraft protection was provided by anti-aircraft
cruiser
CALCUTTA
and
close support by light cruisers
EDINBURGH
and
ARETHUSA.
Destroyer DARING
departed Rosyth on the 15th to join the convoy at sea. On
the 17th,
INGLEFIELD and IMOGEN, and EDINBURGH and ARETHUSA detached
to Scapa Flow to
refuel and arrived on the 18th. Three merchant ships
joined from the Orkneys
for passage to the east coast, and destroyer IMPERIAL
escorted the Methil section.
The convoy arrived on the 19th
_____
Convoy HX.20
departed Halifax at 0800 escorted by Canadian destroyers
FRASER, ST LAURENT
and the British HEREWARD. Canadian destroyer SKEENA
accompanied the convoy
until it was clear of the harbour. Light cruiser ORION and
liner DUCHESS OF
BEDFORD departed Halifax with HX.20 and then proceeded
independently to
Liverpool. HEREWARD returned to Halifax on the 20th,
but before then, the other destroyers turned the convoy over
to the ocean escort, light cruiser ENTERPRISE, at
1400/17th.
Destroyers VOLUNTEER, WITCH and sloops FOWEY and ROCHESTER
escorted from 29
February to 4 March, when the convoy arrived at Liverpool.
Saturday,
17
February
Heavy cruiser
NORFOLK
arrived at Scapa Flow and departed to relieve heavy
cruiser
DEVONSHIRE
on Northern Patrol. DEVONSHIRE reached Greenock on the
20th.
_____
Light cruiser
NEWCASTLE
arrived at Scapa Flow after Northern Patrol, and destroyer
KINGSTON
departed Scapa Flow for Northern Patrol.
_____
Destroyers
DIANA, ENCOUNTER and BRAZEN escorted two tankers from
Rosyth to Aberdeen,
after which they left with steamers HIRONDELLE (1243grt)
and RUTLAND
(1437grt). Destroyer KIPLING joined en route, with
HIRONDELLE being taken
into Lerwick and RUTLAND into Scapa Flow.
_____
Submarines
TRIBUNE and TRUANT exercised in the Firth of Forth with
destroyer ELECTRA
serving as the target ship.
_____
Submarine URSULA
departed Blyth on patrol, but
had to return with
engine problems.
_____
Convoy BC.25 of
five steamers, including BARON CARNEGIE and BATNA, which
had sailed from
Nantes on the 13th and 14th respectively, departed Quiberon
Bay on the 16th. It arrived in Barry Roads on the 17th
escorted by destroyer
MONTROSE.
_____
Destroyer
WOLVERINE on convoy escort, attacked a submarine contact
southwest of the
Scilly Isle on the 17th in 49‑38N, 06‑40W and the 18th in
49-37N,
7-10W.
_____
Sloop ABERDEEN,
on convoy escort with OG.19F, attacked a contact southwest
of Portland Bill
in 50-10N, 2-52W.
_____
Anti-submarine
trawler PEARL (649grt) attacked a contact in Lune
Deep in Morecombe Bay in 53-53N, 3-33W.
_____
Destroyer HAVANT
developed defects while on escort duty.
_____
Convoy ON.14
with ten British, seven Norwegian, one Swedish, five
Finnish and one Estonian
ship departed Methil escorted
by destroyers
ESCAPADE, ESCORT, ECLIPSE, ELECTRA and submarine NARWHAL.
(There was no ON/HN.13.)
ECLIPSE attacked a submarine contact in the Firth of Forth
in 56-09N, 2-49W,
and one merchant ship detached before the North Sea
crossing. Light cruisers
EDINBURGH
and
ARETHUSA
left Scapa Flow on the 19th to rendezvous with the
convoy at 0700/20th, and when German surface ships
appeared in the North Sea,
ON.14 put into Kirkwall,
still on the 19th, but
left next day once the German ships had returned to Wilhelmshaven,
reaching Bergen on the 22nd.
_____
U.10 sank
Norwegian steamer KVERNAAS
(1819grt) four miles NW of Schouwen
Bank in 51‑50N,
03‑19E,. The crew of 20 was
rescued by Dutch
steamer ORANJEPOLDER (856grt).
_____
U.48 sank
Finnish steamer WILJA (3396grt)
southwest of the Scilly Isles in 49‑00N, 06‑33W and the 27
survivors were rescued by destroyer VANESSA and Dutch
steamer MAASDAM
(8810grt). VANESSA was escorting convoy OA.92 at the time,
saw the sinking
and attacked U.48 in 49‑25N, 07‑10. 6W. She was joined by
destroyer WREN and sloop DEPTFORD at 1230 and 1520/18th,
respectively.
DEPTFORD left for Gibraltar at 1700/18th, and sloop
ENCHANTRESS joined.
_____
Convoy HG.19 of
35 ships departed Gibraltar with sloops LEITH and BIDEFORD
as ocean escort
from the 17th to 27th. Before then, on
the 24th, the convoy split into two. HG.19 A was escorted
in Home Waters by
BIDEFORD and destroyer WHITSHED, and HG.19B by destroyers
WALPOLE, WHITSHED
and MACKAY from the 24th to 27th when the convoy arrived
at Liverpool.
_____
U.37 was en route
to join U.53 for attacks off Portugal on French convoys 10
RS, en route from
Gibraltar to Brest, and 65 KS, en route from
Oran/Casablanca to Brest/St Nazaire.
Off Cape Finisterre,
U.37 attacked British convoy OG.18, escorted by French
destroyer PANTHÈRE
and French auxiliary patrol vessel MERCEDITA, and
torpedoed British steamer PYRRHUS (7418grt)
in 44‑02N, 10‑18W. She broke in two, the aft section sank
immediately, but the fore part stayed afloat for two days.
Eight
Chinese crew were lost and the survivors,
including Convoy Vice
Commodore Vice Admiral A. E. Evans CB, CBE and his staff
were rescued by British steamers USKSIDE (2706grt) and
SINNINGTON
COURT (6910grt). Also in OG.18 were British
steamers AGAPENOR (7392grt), PROMETHEUS (6095grt) and
GLENIFFER (9559grt).
The joint U-boat
operation also netted three other ships. On the 18th, U.37
sank independently
sailing Greek steamer ELLIN
(4917grt) 25 miles NW of Cape Finisterre,
the crew
being picked up by Spanish fishing vessel MANIN (251grt,
and French steamer PLM 15 (3754grt) from convoy 10 RS in 43‑37N,
09‑15W with the loss of her entire crew. French
anti-submarine trawlers
LA TOULONNAISE (738grt) and LA SETOISE (738grt) carried
out attacks on U.37.
U.53 sank
Spanish steamer BANDERAS (2140grt)
eight miles NW of Cape Velano,
also on the 18th.
Twenty two crew were lost and six survivors rescued by
Spanish fishing vessel
TRITONIA (268grt). The U-boat also attacked French tanker
GARONNE (3533grt)
in convoy 10 RS, but malfunctioning torpedoes prevented
any damage being
done.
U.26 and U.50
had been ordered to operate with U.37 and U.53, but were
too far away to join
in time.
18
February,
Sunday
Destroyer DARING
(Cdr S A Cooper), escorting
convoy HN.12, was sunk by U.23 off Duncansby
Head
in 58‑40N, 01‑40E. Cdr Cooper, executive officer Lt P L
Roberts,
Lt P C Gordon RNVR, engineering officer Lt W J K Shaxby,
S/Lt L G M Potts, Gunner W H Easton, Midshipman A V Dumfrey
RNR, Surgeon Lt G J Kearney MB, ChB,
Probationary Temporary Midshipman J L Coleman RNVR and 145
ratings were lost.
Destroyers BRAZEN and ENCOUNTER, which had been hunting in
the area, were
ordered to search for the submarine responsible. They were
joined by the
convoy escort and by destroyers DIANA, which had departed
Rosyth on the 17th,
KIPLING, which had left Scapa Flow on the 14th,
INGLEFIELD, ILEX, DELIGHT
which earlier were released from HN.12’s escort, and
anti-submarine trawlers
of the 11th Anti-Submarine Striking Force. Submarine
THISTLE rescued Lt L A
Rogers and four ratings from DARING. The 11th A/S Striking
Force did make an
attack on U.23 east of Duncansby
Head in 58-37N,
1-18W, but did no damage.
Destroyers
GALLANT, JAGUAR, NUBIAN and SIKH departed Rosyth as convoy
escorts and joined
HN.12 bringing it into Methil
on the 19th without
further interference. After a loop crossing had been
detected, destroyers
GRIFFIN, IVANHOE, INTREPID hunted for another submarine in
the Forth of Forth
and were joined by escort vessel VALOROUS.
KIPLING reached
Scapa Flow on the 18th and because of prior defects, went
on to the Tyne for
repairs arriving on the 20th.
_____
ABORTIVE GERMAN
BATTLECRUISER SORTIE
German Admiral Marschall
departed Wilhelmshaven
for Operation NORDMARK with battleships SCHARNHORST and
GNEISENAU, heavy
cruiser ADMIRAL HIPPER, and destroyers KARL GALSTER,
WILHELM HEIDKAMP,
WOLFGANG ZENKER with the object of attacking allied
shipping between the
Shetlands and Bergen. However, ZENKER was damaged by ice
and forced to return
at the start. The remaining force was escorted through the
Skagerrak by destroyers PAUL
JACOBI, THEODOR RIEDEL,
HERMANN SCHOEMANN, LEBERECHT MAAS and torpedo boats LUCHS
and SEEADLER which
raided in the Skagerrak after
being detached.
U-boats were disposed to support this operation. Three
operated between the
Shetlands and Norway, two in the Fair Isle Channel, three
off the Pentland Firth and
three held in reserve near the north
coast of Scotland. Submarines deployed were U.60, U.61,
U.57, U.23, U.22,
U.62, U.19, U.13, U.63, U.18, U.14, U.18 and U.14,
including some off Kinnnaird
Head.
Submarine SALMON
in the Heligoland Bight was
ordered to attack the
German surface ships, and convoy ON.14 was ordered into Kirkwall
to avoid any contact with the enemy force, arriving on the
19th. Admiral
Forbes was in the Clyde having only arrived on the 17th
from supporting the
ALTMARK hunt. After refuelling, he departed, still on the
19th with
battleship
RODNEY,
battlecruiser
HOOD,
and
destroyers FAULKNOR, FEARLESS, FOXHOUND, FURY, FORESIGHT,
FORTUNE, FIREDRAKE. Destroyers
HARDY left Greenock on the 19th,
KHARTOUM Scapa Flow the same day, and KANDAHAR and TARTAR
from Scapa on the
20th and joined Forbes at sea. With the British out and
extreme cold
immobilizing his seaplanes, Admiral Marschall
was
forced to return to Wilhelmshaven
empty handed. Ice
breakers were required to clear the Rivers Jade and Weser
before they could reenter on
the 20th. On the
21st/22nd, ENE of Muckle Flugga
in 61‑19N, 01‑30E, HARDY attacked a
submarine contact, was joined by FORTUNE, but the search
was unsuccessful.
_____
Minelayer
TEVIOTBANK and minelaying destroyers EXPRESS and ESK laid
Deep Line S in
operation DML.8 east of Outer Gabbard
escorted by
destroyers KEITH and BOADICEA. Minesweeper FRANKLIN had
already laid the
marker buoys on the 16th. After the lay, the minelaying
ships proceeded to
Immingham on the 19th.
_____
Anti-aircraft
cruiser CALCUTTA
and destroyer KELVIN arrived at Sullom
Voe, refuelled and departed
again later that day.
_____
Motor torpedo
boats MTB.22, MTB.24 and MTB.25 departed
Rosyth on patrol.
_____
Submarine
SEALION arrived at Harwich after patrol.
_____
Submarine
TETRARCH and tender CUTTY SARK were
to depart the Clyde for Portsmouth, but TETRARCH
engine defects prevented them leaving.
_____
Armed merchant
cruiser ASTURIAS on Northern Patrol picked up the
survivors of fishing vessel
SEA RAMBLER.
_____
Convoy OA.94
departed Southend escorted by
destroyer WITCH.
Destroyer ACASTA joined on the 19th, detached the next day
and on the 21st,
the convoy dispersed.
_____
Convoy OB.94 departed
Liverpool escorted by destroyers WALKER and VENETIA. They
detached on the
20th and 21st respectively, with VENETIA joining HXF.20.
_____
Convoy SA.30 of
two steamers departed Southampton, escorted by sloops
FOXGLOVE and ROSEMARY,
and arrived at Brest on the 20th.
_____
Convoy MT.14
departed Methil escorted by
the 3rd Anti-Submarine
Group, supported by destroyers VEGA, JAGUAR and sloop
STORK, and arrived in
the Tyne later that day.
_____
Convoy FN.97
departed Southend, escorted
by destroyer WESTMINSTER
and sloop LONDONDERRY, and arrived at Methil
on the
20th.
_____
Convoy FS.99
departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyers VEGA, JAGUAR and
sloop STORK, which
had just arrived from Methil
with MT.14. The convoy
arrived at Southend on the
20th.
_____
U.10 sank Dutch
steamer AMELAND (4537grt) in 51‑54N,
03‑01E and the entire crew, 48 survivors, was rescued by
Dutch steamer
MONTFERLAND. Patrol sloops PINTAIL, GUILLEMOT and two
motor torpedo boats
were searching in the area.
_____
U.61 sank Pananamian
steamer EL
SONADOR (1406grt) east of the Shetlands and
Norwegian steamer SANGSTAD (4297grt) east of Kirkwall
in 59‑00N, 00‑25E. The Master of the
Norwegian ship was lost and destroyer BRAZEN picked up 22
of the crew and
took them into Kirkwall.
_____
Sloop ABERDEEN,
on escort duty with convoy OB.93GF, attacked a submarine
contact south of
Wolf Rock in 49-42N, 5-45W.
_____
Anti-submarine
trawler CAPE PORTLAND (497grt) attacked a submarine
contact off Aberdeen in
57-19N, 1-50W.
_____
Convoy HX.21 departed
Halifax at 0800 escorted by Canadian destroyers OTTAWA and
SAGUENAY, which
detached on the 19th. Ocean escort was armed merchant
cruiser ALAUNIA, which
left on 1 March. Destroyers WINDSOR and WOLVERINE escorted
the convoy 2 to 4
March, when it arrived at Liverpool.
_____
Convoy SL.21 departed
Freetown escorted by armed merchant cruiser DUNNOTTAR
CASTLE until 4 March. Destroyers WANDERER joined on the
4th, VERSATILE on the 5th and the convoy arrived on the
7th.
19
February,
Monday
Light cruiser
GLASGOW
arrived at Scapa Flow with rudder defects and then left
for refitting
at Belfast, where she arrived on the 24th. She later went
on to Rosyth for
refitting which was completed in early April.
_____
Armed merchant
cruiser ASTURIAS boarded and sent in for inspection
Norwegian steamer
SKRAMSTAD (4300grt).
_____
Destroyer
KIMBERLEY departed Scapa Flow on Northern Patrol.
_____
Armed merchant
cruiser WORCESTERSHIRE departed the Clyde on Northern
Patrol.
_____
Armed merchant
cruiser ANDANIA arrived at the Clyde after Northern
Patrol.
_____
Destroyers
GRIFFIN, INTREPID, IVANHOE, VALOROUS arrived at Rosyth
after a submarine
hunt.
_____
Destroyers
JAGUAR and ILEX arrived at Rosyth.
_____
Convoy OA.93GF
sailed from Southend on the
16th escorted by
destroyer WREN and sloop ENCHANTRESS, and OB.93GF from
Liverpool on the 17th
escorted by sloops ABERDEEN and DEPTFORD with twenty eight
ships. The two
convoys joined on the 19th as OG.19F escorted by ABERDEEN
and DEPTFORD, were
joined by destroyer WISHART, and arrived at Gibraltar on
the 24th.
_____
A TM Convoy
departed the Tyne escorted by the 19th Anti-Submarine
Group and supported by
destroyer JACKAL.
_____
Convoy FN.98
departed Southend escorted by
sloop PELICAN and
destroyers VIVIEN and JERVIS, and arrived in the Tyne on
the 21st. Convoy
FN.99 did not sail.
_____
Convoy FS.100
departed the Tyne escorted by sloops FLEETWOOD, HASTINGS
and destroyers
VALOROUS and JANUS, and arrived at Southend
on the
21st.
_____
Destroyer WOLVERINE
joined convoy HX.19 at 0815 with destroyers VANOC and
VANESSA joining shortly
after. WOLVERINE attacked a submarine contact WSW of Cape
Clear in 50‑50N,
11‑23W, while the other two destroyers continued with the
convoy.
Destroyer WINCHELSEA joined WOLVERINE to continue the
hunt.
_____
The 14th
Anti-Submarine Striking Force attacked U.13 ESE of Duncansby
Head in 58-30N, 1-30W, but did no damage.
_____
Two German 250
ton U-boats were reported five miles off Vlieland
in 53-16N, 05-00E at 1000 steering northwest and one 500
ton boat was
reported six miles off Ijmuiden
in 52-28N, 4-34E at
1300 steering southwest. French sloop AMIENS was ordered
to join
anti-submarine trawler LADY PHILOMENA to hunt for them,
but did not join.
AMIENS returned to Dunkirk early on the 20th.
_____
Submarine
SUNFISH at 0951 fired four torpedoes at U.14 in 54-28N,
07-11E.
_____
Minelayer
TEVIOTBANK was slightly damaged in collision with tug
GOOLE No. 10 in
Immingham Dock.
_____
U.19 attacked tanker
DAGHESTAN (5742grt) in 59‑21N, 01‑48W, but the attack
failed due
to torpedo defects.
_____
Steamer TIBERTON
(5225grt) was believed lost
to unknown cause in the Moray Firth with all her crew.
Uboat.Net and Rohwer's "Axis
Submarine Successes" confirm she
was sunk by U.23 in 58.07N, 02.39W.
_____
Swedish steamer START
(1765grt) was seized in the
Baltic by German warships, and taken to Bremerhaven.
_____
Aircraft carrier
HERMES
arrived at Dakar after VO operations, escorted by
destroyers DAINTY,
DIAMOND, DEFENDER and DECOY.
20
February,
Tuesday
He111 bombers of
German KG26 (X Air Corps) attacked anti-submarine trawlers
of the 11th
Anti-Submarine Striking Force operating 52 miles 090° from
Copinsay. FIFESHIRE
(540grt) (S/Lt J V Searles-Wood)
was sunk in 58‑53N,
1‑12W with Searles-Wood,
Acting S/Lt J C
Cooper RNR and nineteen ratings lost. Temporary
S/Lt N F Villiers-Stewart RNVR,
was the only survivor. AYRSHIRE (540grt) was attacked and
badly damaged, and
CAPE SIRETOKO (590grt) also attacked. Destroyer INGLEFIELD
departed Scapa
Flow to support them.
(Note: German X Air Corps flew He111's of KG26, Ju88's of
KG30, and two reconnaissance squadrons flying He59's or
Do17's.)
_____
Submarine L.23 was
depth charged by a German destroyer off the Danish coast,
and sustained
damage to her OF tanks. She reached Rosyth on the 22nd,
left on the 23rd for Blyth
and was repaired there from the 27th until March.
_____
Destroyer ILEX
was damaged at Rosyth while berthing alongside destroyer
SIKH, and was
repaired at Rosyth completing on 11 March.
_____
Destroyers
GALLANT, GRIFFIN, INTREPID, IVANHOE departed Rosyth for
Scapa Flow to operate
under the Orkneys and Shetlands Command.
_____
Destroyer
KIPLING arrived in the Tyne.
_____
Destroyer ECHO arrived at
Leith for refitting.
_____
Destroyers
DELIGHT and INGLEFIELD arrived at Scapa Flow.
_____
Submarine URSULA
departed Rosyth on patrol.
_____
After arriving
at Kirkwall on the 19th to
avoid contact with the
German Battlecruiser force, convoy ON.14 left there
escorted by destroyers
ESCAPADE, ECLIPSE, ESCORT, ELECTRA and submarine NARWHAL.
It was met by light
cruisers
EDINBURGH
and
ARETHUSA
which departed Scapa Flow on the 20th.
Anti-aircraft cruiser CAIRO departed Sullom
Voe on the 21st and joined en
route. EDINBURGH attacked a
submarine contact east of Copinsay
in 58-55N, 1-43W
on the 20th, and also east of the Shetland Islands in
60-35N, 1-44W on the
21st. ON.14 arrived safely at Bergen on the 22nd.
_____
Polish destroyer
BURZA attacked a submarine contact east of Orfordness
in 52-04N, 1-59E.
_____
Destroyer KEITH,
alongside depot ship SANDHURST in Dover Harbour, was
rammed by armed yacht GULZAR.
She left on the 22nd for repairs at Chatham, after which
she returned to
Sheerness on the 28th.
_____
Convoy FS.100
arrived at Humber. Destroyers ESK and EXPRESS joined the
convoy for passage
to Portsmouth.
_____
Convoy MT.15
departed Rosyth escorted by destroyers WHITLEY, JAGUAR and
sloop EGRET. The
three escorts joined convoy FS.101 when it sailed from the
Tyne at 2230, and
EGRET attacked a submarine contact seven miles 290° from Flamborough
Head in 54-04. 6N, 00-06.6W. WHITLEY remained in the area
for a time before
rejoining FS.101, which arrived at Southend
on the
22nd. Convoy FS.102 was cancelled.
_____
Trawler LADY
ELEANOR (324grt) attacked a submarine contact eight miles
SE of Flamborough.
_____
French destroyer
FOUDROYANT and aircraft operated south of Colbart
Ridge at dawn on anti-submarine patrol.
_____
Cable ship
MONARCH departed Dover for Calais to complete laying
loops 16 and 17. The operation continued on the
22nd.
_____
Destroyer
VORTIGERN departed Gibraltar to escort cable ship MIRROR.
When it was found
further cable repairs were needed, the destroyer escorted
her to Lisbon and
returned to Gibraltar.
_____
French large
destroyers VAUTOUR and GERFAUT departed Oran on the 19th,
escorting three French transports to Brest as convoy 1F.
They passed Gibraltar on the 20th, and were joined by
large destroyer BISON,
en route. This movement was in preparation for allied
operations in Finland.
Troopship CHAMPOLLION, arrived at Brest on the 23rd,
escorted by the three
destroyers. Torpedo boats BOUCLIER, MELPOMONE, LA FLORE of
the 14th Destroyer
Division departed Lorient on
the 22nd and joined
troopships VILLE D'ALGER and MARECHAL LYAUTEY, and they
arrived at Cherbourg
on the 24th. Due to turbine vibration, GERFAUT was
replaced by destroyer VERDUN for the operation.
21
February,
Wednesday
Destroyer KELVIN
had been escorting armed merchant cruiser CIRCASSIA since
the 19th and on the
21st reported that side plating had split while at sea NW
of the Shetlands. She
arrived at Scapa Flow on the 22nd.
_____
Destroyer KASHMIR's
asdic dome and oscillator were defective and
docking was required to repair them.
_____
Destroyers
GRIFFIN and GALLANT were detached from patrol to escort
steamer CYPRIAN
PRINCE (1988grt) from Aberdeen to Kirkwall.
At Kirkwall, they joined
destroyer IVANHOE on patrol.
_____
Armed merchant
cruiser LETITIA departed the Clyde on Northern Patrol.
_____
Armed merchant
cruiser DERBYSHIRE arrived in the Clyde from Northern
Patrol.
_____
Heavy cruiser YORK
departed
Liverpool to relieve heavy cruiser
BERWICK
on Northern Patrol. BERWICK
reached Greenock on the 21st.
_____
Light cruiser
MANCHESTER
and destroyer KIMBERLEY on Northern Patrol south of
Iceland
captured German steamer WAHEHE
(4709grt) in 62‑50N, 14‑20W following her escape earlier
in the
month from Vigo. She was
towed towards Kirkwall by
KIMBERLEY, joined by destroyer KHARTOUM
during the afternoon of the 22nd and arrived in the Clyde
on 8 March. WAHEHE
was renamed EMPIRE CITIZEN for British service.
_____
Submarines
TRIBUNE and TRIDENT exercised in the Firth of Forth.
_____
Destroyers
BRAZEN and ENCOUNTER arrived at Rosyth.
_____
Minesweeping
trawler SOLON (348grt, Lt Cdr W Gillett Rtd)
was near
missed and damaged by He111 bombers of German KG26 (X Air
Corps) off
Yarmouth, but was able to enter the port. Gillet
and one rating were wounded by machine gun fire.
_____
Convoy OA.96
departed Southend escorted by
destroyers VERITY and
BEAGLE. Destroyer VETERAN relieved BEAGLE on the 22nd,
VERITY detached on the 23rd, and VETERAN
left on the 24th when the convoy dispersed
_____
Convoy OB.96
departed Liverpool escorted by destroyers VANQUISHER and
VERSATILE from the
21st to 24th, when they detached to SL.20.
_____
Convoy FN.100
departed Southend escorted by
destroyers JERVIS, WESTMINSTER and sloop LONDONDERRY, the
escorts of
convoy FN.99 which had been cancelled. The convoy was
delayed off Cromer
Knoll waiting for minesweepers, but arrived in two parts
on the 23rd. Convoy
FN.101 was cancelled.
_____
U.22 attacked
trawler STRATHCLOVA (210grt) north of Fair Island, but
torpedo defects
allowed her to escape unharmed.
_____
U.50 sank Dutch
tanker TARA (4760grt) 60 miles SW
of Vigo in 42‑45N, 10‑25W.
French
destroyer FANTASQUE made unsuccessful attacks on U.50 and
rescued the entire
crew from the tanker.
_____
U.57
torpedoed and badly damaged steamer
LOCH MADDY (4,996grt), 20 miles
70° from Copinsay
as she was
straggling behind convoy HX 19. Destroyer DIANA, which
had been detached by
D.3 due to a defective steam pipe, attacked a submarine
SE of Copinsay at 58‑50N,
02‑28W, but without
success. Tug ST MELLONS was dispatched to tow the
damaged and sinking ship
which had lost four crew,
and the survivors
abandoned her, 33 of them being rescued by DIANA. Early
on the 22nd, U.23
finished her off, although the after part was beached at
Inganess
Bay and some salvage carried out.
_____
Destroyers
IMOGEN and INGLEFIELD were hunting five miles 346° from Noup
Head in 59‑43N, 01‑50W for a contact reported at 0530 by
armed
boarding vessel NORTHERN ISLES (655grt) in 59-25N, 3-06.
5W. She claimed to
have grazed a submerged object which she attacked, and had
in fact lightly
damaged U.19.
_____
Destroyers IVANHOE
and INTREPID were searching for a submarine contact
reported by aircraft in
58-40N, 00-30E.
_____
British Battle
aircraft en route to France reported sighting a German
submarine ten miles
south of Beachy Head.
Destroyer VERITY was
escorting convoy OA.96 as far as 00-30W and destroyer
BEAGLE was sent to
reinforce her. Destroyers ACHATES and ANTHONY departed
Portsmouth to search
for the sighting which was later determined to have been a
mine. BEAGLE was
recalled and arrived at Dover at 2230.
_____
Anti-submarine
trawlers YORK CITY (398grt) and
HUDDERSFIELD TOWN (399grt), escorting the Milford Haven
section of an
outbound convoy, attacked a submarine contact off Milford
Haven in 51‑28N,
5‑20W. Destroyer WAKEFUL relieved them and made an
anti-submarine attack.
_____
Minesweepers
HARRIER, SKIPJACK, NIGER and SPEEDWELL were sweeping off
Wick in 58-21N,
2-35W when an aircraft reported an oil patch on the water.
NIGER and
SPEEDWELL attacked a contact 30 miles SE of Duncansby
Head and in all dropped 32 depth charges.
_____
Anti-submarine
trawler STOKE CITY (422grt)
attacked a submarine contact off Morecombe Light Vessel in
53-54N, 3-33. 5W.
_____
Anti-submarine
trawler SCALBY WYKE (443grt) attacked a contact in Shapinsay
Sound in 58-59. 50N, 2-50. 30W.
_____
Convoy BC.27 of
steamers BALTRAFFIC, BARON GRAHAM, BOTHNIA, BRITISH COAST
and MARSLEW
(Commodore) departed Bristol Channel escorted by
destroyer MONTROSE, and arrived in the Loire on the 23rd.
_____
Dutch steam
trawler YM 49 (250grt) was mined
and sunk in the North Sea.
_____
German steamer
ANTONIO DELFINO (13,589grt) sailed from
Bahia.
She reached Haugesand on 23
March, Sandefjord
on the 27th escorted by Norwegian destroyer ODIN and two
torpedo boats, left
there on 1 April, arrived at Gotenhafen
and finally
reached Kiel safely on the
7th.
Thursday,
22
February
Heavy cruiser DEVONSHIRE
departed the Clyde for Rosyth
where she arrived on the 23rd.
_____
Armed merchant
cruiser CICILIA departed the Clyde on Northern
Patrol.
_____
Armed merchant
cruiser ASTURIAS boarded Danish steamer JONNA (1517grt)
and sent her to
Kirkwall
for inspection.
_____
Destroyer DIANA
arrived at Rosyth from Scapa Flow for repairs.
_____
Destroyers
IMPERIAL and DELIGHT arrived at Rosyth after submarine
hunting.
_____
Destroyers
BOREAS and BRAZEN departed Rosyth for the Humber.
_____
Motor torpedo
boats MTB.22, MTB.24 and MTB.25 were
searching for a submarine off Whitby.
_____
Destroyers
ICARUS and IMPULSIVE were transferred from the 3rd to the
20th Destroyer Flotilla.
_____
Minelayer
TEVIOTBANK departed Rosyth escorted by destroyers BOREAS
and BRAZEN on
minelaying operation PA 1 in the North Sea.
_____
Destroyer
GREYHOUND at anchor off Outer Dowsing was damaged when
Swedish steamer REX
(1013grt) hit her. Her stem was bent, and she repaired at
Hull, completing on
20 March.
_____
The 23rd
Anti-Submarine Group departed Methil
with an MT
convoy covered by sloop LONDONDERRY and destroyers
WESTMINSTER and JERVIS. The
cover force transferred to convoy FS.103 on the 23rd.
_____
Blockship
CARRON
(1017grt) departed the Tyne for Rosyth
escorted by destroyer JAVELIN. She reached Scapa Flow and
was sunk
there on 3 March.
_____
While escorting
battleship
RODNEY
and battlecruiser
HOOD,
destroyer
FOXHOUND attacked a submarine contact ENE of Muckle
Flugga in 61-11.5N,
3-32W.
_____
Destroyer
FORESTER, escorting tug BUCCANEER in the Firth of Clyde in
55‑20. 75N,
04‑57.25W, attacked a contact, which further investigation
showed to be
the wreck of U.33 sunk earlier.
_____
Destroyer
ACASTA, escorting a homebound convoy, attacked a submarine
contact west of
Scilly Isle in 50‑00N, 10‑00W.
_____
Destroyers
WALPOLE and MACKAY, escorting a homebound convoy, attacked
a contact SSW of
the Scilly Isles in 49‑28N, 06‑48W. This was later
determined to
be the wreck of steamer VACLITE lost on 30 January.
_____
Anti-submarine
trawler LORD ESSENDEN (464grt) attacked a contact at 0840
in the Firth of
Clyde, two miles 075° from Little Cumbrae
in
55-41N, 4-58W.
_____
Convoy HN.14
departed Bergen escorted by
destroyers ESCAPADE, ECLIPSE, ESCORT, ELECTRA and
submarine NARWHAL, but 22
of the original 37 ships returned to Bergen. (See also
the 24th following).
_____
U.50 sank tanker
BRITISH ENDEAVOUR (4520grt) from
convoy OG.19F NW of Cape Finisterre
in 42‑11N,
11‑35W. The tanker broke in two and five
crew
were lost. Steamer BODNANT (5342grt) rescued the 33
survivors. Destroyers
HEARTY and ARDENT were sweeping in the area but neither
ship made a radio
report and the destroyers were unaware of the submarine's
presence.
_____
German
destroyers LEBERECHT MAAS, MAX SCHULTZ, ERICH
KOELLNER, RICHARD BEITZEN, THEODOR RIEDEL and FRIEDRICH
ECKHOLDT departed Wilhelmshaven
early on the
22nd on Exercise WILKINGER, an anti-shipping sweep in the
area of
Dogger
Bank. That evening
at 1900, northwest of
Borkum
Island, the destroyers
were attacked by the Luftwaffe - He111's of IV/KG26 of the
X Air Corps, which
were not informed of the destroyers' movements. Some
sources cite II/KG26. LEBERECHT MAAS was struck
by three
bombs, ran onto a British mine and sank, while
MAX SCHULTZ evaded the
bombing but also ran onto a British mine and sank. Five
hundred
and seventy eight crew from both ships were lost
including the
entire crew of SCHULTZ. There were 60 survivors from MAAS
with KOELLNER
picking up 24, ECKHOLDT 19 and BEITZEN 17. Heavy fog
during the 23rd made
further rescue efforts unsuccessful. German auxiliary
patrol boat Vp.809
(trawler KONSUL DUBBERS, 408grt) searched through the
afternoon. The minefield,
hitherto undiscovered, had been laid by units of the
British 20th Destroyer
Flotilla on the 9th/10th January.
_____
Convoy HX.22
departed Halifax at 1000
escorted by Canadian destroyers RESTIGOUCHE and SKEENA,
which detached
on the 23rd. Ocean escort was
battleship ROYAL SOVEREIGN, left on 2 March. Destroyers
VANOC, VETERAN,
WALPOLE and WREN escorted the convoy from 6 to 9 March,
when it arrived at Liverpool.
_____
Convoy HG.20F
departed Gibraltar with 30 ships on the 22nd, escorts:
|
|
joined
|
detached
|
|
22nd
|
Destroyer
VELOX
French
destroyer PANTHÈRE,
auxiliary
patrol vessel MERCEDITA
|
|
|
28th
|
Destroyers
WHIRLWIND, VANOC from convoy OG.20F
Sloop
SANDWICH
|
PANTHÈRE, MERCEDITA
WHIRLWIND,
VANOC later in the day
|
|
3rd
|
|
VELOX
detached
to convoy HG.21
|
|
convoy
arrived with SANDWICH
at Liverpool on 3 March
|
_____
Light cruiser
CERES,
which had sailed from Plymouth, arrived at Gibraltar on
the 19th and
left the same day, now reached Malta.
_____
Convoy SLF.21
departed Freetown escorted by
armed merchant cruiser BULOLO until 4 March. Destroyer
VANSITTART joined the
same day and escorted the convoy until its arrival on the
7th.
_____
French destroyer
SIMOUN, escorting AUSTRAL and transport GOLO passed
Gibraltar. GOLO had
departed Toulon on the 17th and
Algiers on the 20th. AUSTRAL had also left
Toulon on the 17th and joined at Algiers. On the 22nd,
the three ships departed as convoy 2F and were joined en
route by destroyer
FORBIN. They arrived at Brest on the 27th in
preparation for allied operations in Finland.
_____
French convoy
69.KF departed Casablanca with seven
steamers, escorted by large destroyers MILAN, EPERVIER and
VERDUN, and arrived at
Brest on the 26th. The destroyers also
joined the allied preparations for Finland operations.
_____
Australian light
cruiser HOBART arrived at Colombo, where she drydocked
from the 25th to 29th.
Friday,
23
February
Heavy cruiser
BERWICK
departed the Clyde for Scapa Flow.
_____
Light cruiser NEWCASTLE
departed Scapa Flow for Northern
Patrol.
_____
Light cruiser
SOUTHAMPTON
departed Scapa Flow.
_____
Destroyer JACKAL
exercised in the Firth of Forth and then left as cover for
a TM convoy.
_____
Sloop GRIMSBY and
destroyers WOOLSTON
and ENCOUNTER exercised in the Firth of Forth.
_____
Submarine SEAL
arrived at Rosyth after patrol.
_____
Submarine SALMON
stopped Belgian trawler HELENE (145grt) ten miles east of
Smith's Knoll, and
put a prize crew on board. Both vessels reached Harwich on
the 23rd.
_____
Trawler BENVOLIO (352grt,
Chief Skipper S M Aldred RNR)
was sunk on a
mine in the Humber, with the loss of the Skipper and nine
ratings.
_____
Convoy ON.15 of
two British, twenty Norwegian, six Swedish, three Danish,
six Finnish and
three Estonian ships departed Methil,
escorted by
destroyers COSSACK, DELIGHT, DIANA, SIKH, NUBIAN and
IMPERIAL. One steamer
detached before the convoy crossed the North Sea. Close
cover
was provided by light cruisers
AURORA
and
PENELOPE
which departed Rosyth on
the 24th and anti-aircraft cruiser
CALCUTTA,
which departed
Sullom Voe
on the 25th,
while on the 24th, NUBIAN attacked a submarine attack
north of Kinnaird Head in
58‑00N, 1‑19W. The convoy
arrived safely at Bergen on the 27th.
_____
Convoy OA.97
departed Southend, escorted
by destroyer VANESSA,
and was joined on the 24th by sloop FOWEY. Both escorts
detached on the 25th
and the convoy dispersed on the 26th.
_____
Convoy OB.97
departed Liverpool escorted by sloop ROCHESTER and
destroyer
VOLUNTEER. Both escorts detached on the 26th and the
convoy dispersed on the
27th.
_____
Convoy BC.26 of
six steamers, including BARON KINNAIRD and DUNKWA
(Commodore) departed the Loire escorted by
destroyer MONTROSE, and arrived in the Bristol Channel on
the 24th.
_____
Convoy FN.102
departed Southend, escorted
by destroyer VALOROUS
and sloop HASTINGS, and reached
Rosyth on the 25th.
_____
Convoy FS.103
departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyers WESTMINSTER,
JERVIS and
sloop LONDONDERRY, all three of which had been supporting
convoy MT.16. The convoy arrived at Southend
on the
25th. Convoy FS.104 was cancelled.
_____
Convoy MT.16
departed Methil, escorted by
anti-submarine
trawlers of the 23rd Anti-Submarine Group. This convoy had
been supported by
destroyers WESTMINSTER,
JERVIS and sloop LONDONDERRY before they
joined FS.10 (see above). The convoy arrived in the Tyne
the next day.
_____
Destroyer GURKHA,
then 54 miles SSE of the Faroes
in 60‑32N, 06‑14W attacked and sank U.53 in
60‑32N, 06‑10W with the loss of all 42 crew.
Destroyers KHARTOUM and KINGSTON joined GURKHA at
0630/24th in patrolling the
area and early on the 25th, KINGSTON in company with
GURKHA, made a submarine
contact west of Sumburgh Head
in 59‑55N, 04‑27W.
_____
Destroyers
GALLANT and GRIFFIN attacked U.61
east of Copinsay in 58‑54N,
1‑05W and
inflicted some damage.
_____
Sloop BIDEFORD,
on escort duty, attacked a submarine contact WSW of Ushant
in 46-51N, 10-31W.
_____
French submarine
PROTÉE attempted to stop French steamer
ARAGAZ (5009grt) in 32-10N, 11-00W, assuming her to be
German. ARAGAZ opened
fire and the submarine was forced to submerge.
_____
French destroyer
SIMOUN, escorting convoy 2F from Gibraltar to Brest,
reported
attacking and ramming a German submarine SW of Cape St
Vincent in 36‑15N,
09‑55W. Although no submarine was reported sunk, a drydock
inspection at Casablanca revealed the
blades of SIMOUN's port
propeller turned up and two
yards of the outer keel torn away. The "submarine" may
have been a
submerged wreck.
_____
Sub Lieutenant G
A Skinner was killed when his RAF Hart of RAF No. 1 Flying
Training School
crashed near Lower Clatford,
Wilts.
_____
New Zealand light cruiser
ACHILLES
arrived at Auckland for repairs and
refitting after being relieved on the South America
Station.
_____
Destroyer DAINTY
arrived at Freetown.
_____
French large
destroyer ALBATROS sailed from Toulon on the 21st and
troopship VILLE D'ORAN from Oran on the 22nd,
and both passed Gibraltar on the 23rd on passage for
Brest. The ships
arrived on the 26th as convoy 3.F in preparation for
allied operations in Finland.
Saturday,
24
February
Battleship
RODNEY
and battlecruiser
HOOD
with destroyers FAULKNOR, HARDY, FORTUNE, FORESIGHT, FIREDRAKE
and
FEARLESS arrived at Greenock.
_____
Destroyers
KHARTOUM and KINGSTON rendezvoused at sea with armed
merchant cruiser
CIRCASSIA.
_____
Polish submarine
ORZEL arrived at Rosyth from patrol.
_____
Submarine
TETRARCH conducted diving trials with destroyer FAME.
_____
Destroyers
IVANHOE, GALLANT and GRIFFIN were submarine
hunting.
_____
Destroyer
INTREPID arrived at Invergordon.
_____
Destroyer FURY
and FOXHOUND arrived at Greenock.
_____
Minelayer TEVIOTBANK
and destroyer BOREAS and BRAZEN departed the Humber for
Rosyth.
_____
Destroyers
JACKAL and WALLACE and sloop WESTON were submarine hunting
in the Firth of
Forth.
_____
A German
submarine attacked Norwegian steamer BRITTA (6214grt) 100
miles south of
Queenstown. Destroyer ACASTA was dispatched to assist, and
after being joined
by destroyers WAKEFUL and VESPER carried out a search off
Cape Clear in 51‑07N,
09‑39W. Attacks were made on a submarine contact and they
were joined
by destroyer VOLUNTEER on the 25th, but the search was
unsuccessful.
_____
CONVOY HN.14
Convoy HN.14 had
departed Bergen escorted by
destroyers ESCAPADE, ECLIPSE, ESCORT, ELECTRA and
submarine NARWHAL, and was
reinforced by destroyers INGLEFIELD and IMOGEN at
0700/24th. Still on the 24th,
U.63 (O/L Guenther Lorentz),
which left
Wilhelmshaven
on the 17th on
her first patrol, attacked the convoy and sank Swedish
steamer
SANTOS (3840grt) in 59‑17N,
00‑42W. Thirty one crew were
lost, and the
fourteen survivors (12 from SANTOS and two from steamer
LIANA) were later picked up by destroyer GALLANT and
landed at Invergordon on
the 25th.
At 0752/25th, NARWHAL
sighted U.63
on the surface near the convoy in 58-35N, 1-05NW and
signalled ESCAPADE,
after which ESCORT, INGLEFIELD and IMOGEN sank her SE of
the Orkneys in 58‑40N,
00‑42W. One crewman was missing, but three officers and
twenty one
ratings were picked up by INGLEFIELD and IMOGEN which
arrived at Leith with them on
the 27th. The east coast section of the convoy arrived on
the 26th, escorted solely
by NARWHAL, while ELECTRA and ECLIPSE escorted the five
ships of the west
coast section, the two destroyers reaching Scapa on the
25th. The destroyers
of HN.14 had all detached for refuelling prior to its
arrival.
_____
Convoy FN.103
departed Southend, escorted
by destroyer WHITLEY
and sloop EGRET. The convoy was delayed by fog and
anchored shortly after
departure in Knock Deep, but reached the Tyne on the 28th.
_____
Convoy MT.17
departed Methil and arrived
later that day.
_____
Light cruiser
EDINBURGH
attacked a submarine contact ESE of Muckle
Flugga in 60-34N, 1-04W.
_____
Anti-submarine
trawler LOCH TULLA (423grt) attacked a submarine contact
south of Hoxa Gate in 58-49N,
3-05W.
_____
Anti-submarine
trawler COVENTRY CITY (546grt)
attacked a submarine contact in Pentland
Firth in
58-45-30W, 3-01-30W.
_____
Anti-submarine
trawler ARSENAL (389grt) attacked a submarine contact off
the Smalls in
51-47-30N, 5-49W.
_____
Destroyer
BOADICEA was withdrawn from patrol for repairs to her port
propeller shaft.
_____
Steamer ROYAL ARCHER
(2266grt) was sunk 6.7
miles 48° from Inchkeith
Island, in 56‑06N,
02‑55W, on a mine laid by U.21 on 3
November 1939. Twenty seven crew
and one gunner
were rescued.
_____
Swedish steamer BOHUS
(1761grt) was taken in prize by
German warships in the North Sea, and renamed
GERRIT FRITZEN for German service.
_____
Finnish steamer
RIGEL (3779grt) was brought into the Downs by a French
destroyer for examination.
_____
Destroyers DIAMOND,
DECOY, DEFENDER arrived at Freetown.
_____
French
submarines MARSOUIN, NARVAL and REQUIN of the 11th
Submarine Division
departed Oran on the 23rd for
Casablanca, and passed Gibraltar on the 24th,
escorted by torpedo boat POURSIVANTE.
Sunday,
25
February
Heavy cruiser
BERWICK
departed Scapa Flow for Greenock.
_____
Vice Admiral CS
1 hoisted his flag on heavy cruiser
DEVONSHIRE
at sunset.
_____
Light cruisers
EDINBURGH
and
ARETHUSA
arrived at Rosyth.
_____
Destroyers
KASHMIR with a defective asdic installation and KANDAHAR
arrived at Scapa
Flow.
_____
Destroyer
KHARTOUM sustained weather damage to her hull and was
capable of only twelve
knots.
_____
Destroyer VESPER
reported her anti-submarine dome leaking, and returned to
Plymouth for repairs.
_____
Destroyer
FORESTER departed the Clyde on the 23rd and
rendezvoused the same day with destroyer MOHAWK which was
escorting tanker
IMPERIAL TRANSPORT (8022grt. They met light cruiser ORION
(carrying the
ashes of the Governor General of Canada) and liner
DUCHESS OF BEDFORD (20,123grt, carrying the first Squadron
of RCAF to England) in the Western
Approaches and arrived at Liverpool on the 25th.
_____
Sloop WESTON
departed Rosyth for Tees to refit, and
arrived on the 26th.
_____
Midshipman T W R
Wagner RNVR was killed when his Roc of 759 Squadron
crashed near Botley, Hants on
a training exercise.
_____
Convoy OA.95G
departed Southend on the 20th
and OB.95G Liverpool on the 21st,
with thirty four ships, and merged as OG.19 on the 25th.
No escorts are
listed for either convoy at this stage, but when it
arrived at Gibraltar on the 29th, it
was accompanied by destroyer DOUGLAS, French destroyer
CHACAL and French
patrol vessel CAPITAINE ARMANDE, which joined on the 23rd,
and armed boarding
vessel ROSAURA.
_____
Convoy FS.105
departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyer WOOLSTON and
sloop GRIMSBY, and arrived at Southend
on the 27th.
_____
Convoy TM.14
departed the Tyne escorted by anti-submarine trawlers and
destroyer JANUS.
_____
Sloop FOWEY,
escorting a outward bound
convoy, attacked a
submarine contact off Wolf Rock in 49-43N, 5-38W.
_____
Anti-submarine yacht
RHODORA (709grt), on patrol off Helwick
Light Vessel,
was ordered to search for a U-boat sighted off Caldy
Island, and attacked a contact south of Caldy
Island in 51-29N, 4-39W.
_____
Steamer CASTLEMOOR
(6574grt) in convoy HX.20
foundered in the Atlantic with the loss of
forty
two crew.
_____
Convoy HG.20 departed
Gibraltar with 39 ships on
the 25th, escorts:
|
|
joined
|
detached
|
|
25th
|
Destroyer
WISHART
Sloops
ABERDEEN, DEPTFORD
|
|
|
27th
|
|
WISHART
|
|
3rd
|
Destroyer
WILD SWAN
Destroyer
VENETIA from convoy
OG.20
|
ABERDEEN
|
|
4th
|
Sloop
LEITH from convoy
OG.20
|
WILD
SWAN
|
|
6th
|
|
DEPTFORD
|
|
Convoy arrived
Liverpool
on 6 March with VENETIA and LEITH
|
Monday,
26
February
Destroyer
IMPERIAL with convoy ON.15 was in a collision at 0250 with
Swedish steamer NORDIA (1316grt) 70 miles WSW of Feistenen
in 61-12N, 03-08E. The steamer sank with the
loss of two crew, and
IMPERIAL, covered by anti-aircraft
cruiser CALCUTTA, proceeded to
Lerwick for emergency repairs, arriving on the 27th. She
left on the 29th to
join convoy HN.15 for passage to Rosyth. From Methil,
she proceeded on 3 March in convoy MT.22 to the Tyne,
where she
arrived on the 5th. She did not return to service until 12
April.
_____
Destroyers
INGLEFIELD, GRIFFIN, GURKHA, TARTAR,
INTREPID and IVANHOE were sweeping in Moray Firth when
GRIFFIN made a contact
in 58‑10N, 02‑22W. INGLEFIELD, GRIFFIN, GURKHA attacked
what later turned out to be a wreck. GURKHA and TARTAR
then proceeded to
Rosyth arriving on the 27th.
_____
Destroyers KANDAHAR, KELVIN
and KIMBERLEY departed Scapa Flow for the Clyde, arriving
on
the 27th.
_____
Destroyer ESCORT
attacked a submarine contact in 58-08N, 2-30W. Again, this
was later found to
be a wreck.
_____
Destroyers ECLIPSE,
ELECTRA, KHARTOUM and KINGSTON arrived at Scapa Flow.
_____
Destroyer
BASILISK departed Dover at 0700 for refitting at Chatham.
_____
Submarine
STERLET was exercising off Harwich with sloop MALLARD.
_____
Submarine TRIAD arrived
at Rosyth from patrol.
_____
Submarine
SNAPPER departed Harwich on patrol.
_____
Submarine UNITY
arrived at Harwich from Portsmouth.
_____
Convoy SA.31 of
two steamers departed Southampton escorted by
sloop FOXGLOVE, and arrived at Brest on the 28th.
_____
Convoy MT.18
departed Methil, escorted by
sloop FLAMINGO and
destroyers WALLACE and JACKAL, and arrived later in the
afternoon. JACKAL
then joined convoy TM.15, escorted by the 3rd
Anti-Submarine Group.
_____
Convoy OB.99
departed Liverpool escorted by destroyers WALKER and
WINCHELSEA until the 29th, and then dispersed next day on
1 March.
_____
Convoy FS.106
departed the Tyne at 2130 escorted by sloop FLAMINGO and
destroyer WALLACE with destroyer JUNO covering. They
were to have escorted an MT convoy which was cancelled,
and before leaving
with FS.106 spent the day covering convoys TM.14 and
MT.18. Convoy FS.106 arrived
at Southend on the 28th.
_____
Sloop SCARBOROUGH, on
escort duty,
attacked a submarine contact SW of the Scilly Isles in
49-36N, 6-47W.
_____
A British
Gladiator of 770 Squadron from aircraft carrier ARGUS
crashed into the sea at
Hyeres. Midshipman (A)
R W Kearsley was rescued.
_____
Convoy HX.23 departed
Halifax at 0800 escorted by Canadian
destroyers FRASER and ST LAURENT until 1710/27th,
when they turned the convoy over to ocean escort,
armed merchant cruiser AUSONIA. She detached
on 9 March. Before then, on the 28th, destroyer HEREWARD
departed Halifax, overtook the
convoy and arrived at Plymouth before going on
to Portsmouth on 11 March for
refitting which completed on 12 April. HX.23 arrived at
Liverpool on 12 March.
_____
German steamer ORIZABA (4354grt) of
the Vigo group ran
aground off Skjervoy near
Hammerfest
on the north
coast of Norway in 70‑04N,
20‑59E and was lost. Survivors were rescued by Finnish
steamer
MARGARETA (2155grt).
Tuesday,
27
February
Battleship
MALAYA,
and armed
merchant cruiser ASCANIA departed Greenock with gold for
Halifax, and left the Clyde escorted by
destroyers FAULKNOR, FAME, FORESTER, FURY
and MOHAWK.
_____
Destroyer JACKAL
sank Swedish steamer STORFOS
(545grt) in an accidental collision 12.8 miles 126° from Longstone
Light. JACKAL picked up the crew and escorted by destroyer
JANUS, proceeded to the Tyne
for repairs
requiring three weeks. The steamer was determined to be at
fault for the
collision.
_____
Sloop BLACK SWAN
departed Portland for Rosyth.
_____
Armed merchant
cruiser CORFU departed the Clyde on Northern Patrol.
_____
Armed merchant
cruiser ASCANIA departed the Clyde.
_____
While liner
ORION (23,456grt) was docking at London, she was in
collision with destroyer GRENADE, which had just completed
refit. GRENADE's sailing was
postponed while the damage was assessed
and she repaired at Harwich, completing on 3 April.
_____
Destroyer
KINGSTON reported her petrol compartment was leaking and
she was only capable
of sixteen knots.
_____
Convoy OA.99
departed Southend escorted by
destroyers WINDSOR
and WOLVERINE, and dispersed on 1 March.
_____
A TM convoy
departed the Tyne for Methil
escorted by the 3rd
Anti-Submarine Group and destroyer JACKAL.
_____
Convoy FN.104
departed Southend, escorted
by destroyers WESTMINSTER, WOLSEY and
sloops BLACK SWAN and LONDONDERRY, and arrived in
the Tyne on the 29th. Convoy FN.105 was
cancelled.
_____
Convoy FS.107
departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyer VALOROUS, sloop
HASTINGS, and also
destroyer JERVIS, joined FS.108 on the 29th and both
arrived at Southend on 1
March.
_____
Convoy MT.19
departed Methil, escorted by
destroyer VALOROUS and
sloop HASTINGS, and arrived in
the Tyne later that day.
_____
Trawler
BEN ATTOW (156grt) was reportedly sunk by a
mine seven miles east, one half mile south of May Island.
Seekrieg lists her as bombed
and sunk by He111's of German KG26 (X Air Corps). As
He111's were carrying torpedoes during anti-shipping
missions, a torpedo hit might have been mistaken for a
mine explosion.
_____
Tanker BRITISH
GOVERNOR (6840grt) was bombed and damaged by He111's of
German KG26 (X Air
Corps) off the east coast, and then escorted into port by
destroyer JANUS.
_____
Anti-submarine
trawler LE TIGER (516grt) attacked a submarine contact off
Fife Ness near North
Carr Light Vessel in 56-19N, 2-32W, and was later relieved
by sloop PELICAN.
_____
Anti-submarine
trawler RUBY (420grt) attacked a submarine contact in
Liverpool Bay in 53-30N,
3-46W.
_____
Italian steamer
MIRA (3165grt) was bombed and damaged by He111's of German
KG26 (X Air Corps) two miles
northeast of St Abb's
Head.
_____
Norwegian
steamer ANNFIN (729grt) reported ramming a submarine of
unknown nationality
outside Norwegian waters in the North Sea.
_____
Convoy OA.98GF
departed Southend escorted by
destroyer WREN on the
24th, which was then relieved by sloop SANDWICH on the
26th,
and OB.98GF departed Liverpool, also on the
24th escorted by destroyers VANOC and WHIRLWIND. The two
merged on the 27th
as OG.20F, escorts:
|
|
joined
|
detached
|
|
27th
|
Sloops
SCARBOROUGH, WELLINGTON
|
VANOC,
WHIRLWIND detached to HG.20
|
|
1st
|
Destroyer
VORTIGERN
|
|
|
2nd
|
|
VORTIGERN
|
|
Convoy arrived
Gibraltar
on 4 March with SCARBOROUGH
and WELLINGTON
|
The two sloops
temporarily joined the 13th Destroyer Flotilla to allow
destroyers VELOX and
VIDETTE to sail for the UK.
Wednesday,
28
February
Submarine TRITON
intercepted German steamer WANGONI (7848grt) at 2009 off
Kristiansand,
north of Hantsholm, but she
escaped in the dark and reached Hamburg on 1 March.
_____
Convoy HN.15
with eight British, twenty nine Norwegian, one Swedish,
two Finnish, two Danish ships
departed Bergen escorted by
destroyers COSSACK, DELIGHT, DIANA, SIKH, NUBIAN. Anti-air
craft cruiser
CALCUTTA
provided anti-aircraft protection. On 29 February, the
convoy split
into east and west coast sections; the eight ships of the
west coast ships
were escorted by destroyers KHARTOUM and SIKH and the east
coast section by
the convoy destroyers, joined by damaged destroyer
IMPERIAL. CALCUTTA arrived at Sullom
Voe on 1 March. After
escorting the west coast section,
destroyers KHARTOUM and SIKH proceeded to the Clyde,
arriving on 1 March, for
boiler cleaning and gun mounting repairs, respectively.
The convoy arrived
without event at Methil on 1
March.
_____
Convoy ON.16
departed Methil with six
British, nineteen
Norwegian, eleven Swedish, two Danish, three Finnish, two
Estonian ships escorted
by destroyers ESCAPADE, ESCORT, ENCOUNTER.
Anti-submarine trawlers COVENTRY CITY (546grt) and LE
TIGRE (516grt) escorting blockship
CARRON (1017grt)
when abreast of Pentland Skerries
was detached from the convoy to Scapa Flow and arrived on
1 March. One other
steamer was detached before the convoy crossed the North
Sea. The convoy was
joined by destroyers ELECTRA and ECLIPSE with six steamers
from Kirkwall. (These six
included in sailing numbers).
Destroyer ELECTRA attacked a submarine contact south,
southeast of Duncansby Head
in 58-26N, 1-35W on the 29th. Destroyers
GALLANT and GRIFFIN were sent to assist. Anti-aircraft
cruiser
CAIRO
departed
Sullom Voe
on 1 March to
provide anti-aircraft support. The convoy arrived at
Bergen without further
event on 2 March.
_____
Destroyers
KASHMIR and KINGSTON arrived at Greenock.
_____
Armed merchant
cruisers TRANSYLVANIA and WOLFE departed the Clyde on
Northern Patrol.
_____
Submarine
STERLET departed Harwich on patrol.
_____
Convoy FN.106
departed Southend escorted by
sloop GRIMSBY and
destroyers WOOLSTON and JUNO. The convoy
arrived at the Tyne on 1 March.
_____
Convoy FS.108
departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyer VIVIEN and sloop
PELICAN. The convoy
joined convoy FS.107 on the 29th and both arrived at Southend
on 1 March.
_____
Convoy MT.20
departed Methil, escorted by
destroyer VIVIEN,
sloop PELICAN, anti-submarine trawlers of the 3RD
Anti-Submarine Group. The
convoy arrived in the Tyne later that day.
_____
Destroyer BEAGLE
departed Dover at 1710 with the CIGS and arrived at Boulogne
at 1840.
_____
Destroyers KEITH
and WAKEFUL searched unsuccessfully for a German submarine
off St Govan Light
Vessel.
_____
21st
Anti-Submarine Group, composed of anti-submarine trawlers
LADY PHILOMENA, WOLVES,
GRIMSBY TOWN, THURINGIA, BLACKBURN ROVERS were withdrawn
from Dover patrol to
be fitted with anti-aircraft protection at Hartlepool.
_____
German
minelayers ROLAND and COBRA, escorted by minesweepers M.5
and M.7, laid 238
mines in an anti-submarine mine barrier off the Ems
Estuary.
_____
Convoy SL.22
departed Freetown escorted by armed merchant cruiser
DUNVEGAN CASTLE until 11
March. The convoy merged with convoy SLF.22 on 11 March
and both convoys
arrived at Liverpool on 15 March.
Thursday,
29
February
Aircraft carrier
FURIOUS
departed the Clyde on the 28th
escorted by destroyers HARDY, FEARLESS, FIREDRAKE, KIMBERLEY.
The aircraft
carrier arrived at Plymouth at 0725/29th for refitting. In
the Plymouth
approaches on the 29th, FEARLESS was involved in a
collision with a trawler.
The damage was repaired at Plymouth completing on 10
March. On 2 March, battlecruiser
REPULSE
escorted by destroyers HARDY,
HOSTILE, VIMY departed Plymouth for the Clyde where they
arrived during the
afternoon of 3 March. Destroyer VIMY immediately returned
to Plymouth, via
Liverpool. On 3 March, battlecruiser
RENOWN
with
destroyers ACASTA, KIMBERLEY, FIREDRAKE departed Plymouth
for the Clyde where they arrived at 1230 on 4 March.
ACASTA immediately departed after
refuelling for Plymouth, arriving on 5 March.
_____
Decoy
ships PAKEHA and WAIMANA departed Rosyth escorted by
destroyers IMOGEN,
INGLEFIELD, TARTAR, GURKHA for
Scapa Flow, arriving on 1
March.
_____
Heavy cruiser
NORFOLK
arrived in the Clyde from Northern Patrol.
_____
Heavy cruiser YORK
arrived at
Scapa Flow.
_____
Destroyer KELVIN
was ordered to proceed to Birkenhead for refitting.
_____
Escort vessel
WOOLSTON, escorting convoy FN.106, was damaged in the
Humber while docking
with a merchant ship. Escort vessel WOOLSTON was repaired
in the Humber,
completing on 5 March.
_____
Minelayer
TEVIOTBANK with destroyers BRAZEN and BOREAS departed
Immingham on the 24th
for Invergordon where they arrived at 1500/26th. Minelayer
TEVIOTBANK escorted
by destroyers BOREAS and BRAZEN and minesweepers LEDA and
NIGER departed
Invergordon on minelaying operation PA 2 in Moray Firth.
After the minelay,
the ships proceeded to the Tyne. The ships arrived in the
Tyne on 2
March and left later that dayin
convoy FS.10 for
passage to the Humber.
_____
Sloop BLACK
SWAN, escorted by destroyer WOLSEY, arrived at Rosyth.
_____
Anti-submarine
trawler CAPE PORTLAND (497grt) attacked a submarine
contact off Dunnett Head in
58-42-45N, 3-18-28W.
_____
Minesweeping
trawler AMETHYST (627grt) was damaged in a collision with
steamer
BRAMWELL (1927grt). The Hailing Station and Tyne Boom Defense
were also damaged in this collision. The trawler was
repaired in fourteen
days.
_____
Convoy OA.101
departed Southend escorted by
sloop BIDEFORD and
destroyer VETERAN, which were relieved on 1 March by
destroyer VANESSA.
Destroyer VANESSA was detached on 2 March and the convoy
was dispersed the
next day.
_____
Convoy OB.101
departed Liverpool escorted by destroyers VANQUISHER and
VERSATILE. Both
destroyers were detached on 3 March, when the convoy
dispersed.
_____
Convoy FN.107
departed Southend escorted by
sloop FLAMINGO and
destroyers WALLACE and JUPITER. The convoy arrived in the
Tyne on 2 March.
Convoy FN.108 was cancelled.
_____
Convoy FS.109
departed the Tyne escorted by destroyer VEGA, sloop STORK,
destroyer JUNO. The convoy
arrived at Southend on 2
March.
_____
Convoy BC.28 of steamers
BARON CARNEGIE (Commodore), BATNA, KERMA, KUFRA, LOCHEE,
PIZARRO departed
Bristol Channel escorted by destroyer VIVACIOUS. The
convoy arrived at Loire
on 3 March.
_____
U.20 sank
Italian steamer MARIA ROSA (4211grt) in 52‑24N, 01‑59E. Twelve
crew were lost.
_____
Australian light
cruiser
PERTH
and light cruiser DIOMEDE
departed Kingston, Jamaica, in
company, for duty in the Pacific Ocean after being
relieved in the Caribbean
by light cruisers
DUNEDIN
and
DESPATCH.
Cruiser PERTH departed the Caribbean on 2 March and passed
through the Panama Canal on 3 March. She arrived at Sydney
on 31 March.
February,
miscellaneous
The British
forces at Gibraltar maintained a patrol for Cadiz and
Huelva
to watch German
merchant ships there:
1 February destroyer
VIDETTE until 1200
2 February destroyers
DECOY and DEFENDER in the AM
11 February destroyer
ACTIVE in AM; destroyer
VIDETTE in PM
12 February destroyer
VIDETTE in AM; destroyer
VORTIGERN in PM
13 February destroyer
VORTIGERN in PM
15 February destroyer
VIDETTE
16 February destroyer
VIDETTE in AM; destroyer
DOUGLAS in PM
17 February destroyer
DOUGLAS
18 February destroyer
DOUGLAS in AM; destroyer
WISHART in PM
19 February destroyer
WISHART
20 February destroyer
WISHART
22 February destroyer
WISHART in PM
24 February destroyer
WISHART in AM
25 February destroyer VELOX
in AM
27 February destroyer VELOX
in PM
28 February destroyer VELOX
in AM; destroyer
WISHART in PM
_____
Submarine
PROTEUS departed Hong Kong at the end of February to
patrol off the
Soviet Far Eastern port of Vladivostok in the Pacific.
The patrol ended in March after which no more were carried
out.
_____
German pocket
battleships LÜTZOW (former DEUTSCHLAND) and ADMIRAL SCHEER
were re-classified
as heavy cruisers and the former warship type abandoned.
_____
At the end of
February, the following destroyers were all under repair –
ACHERON at
Portsmouth, AFRIDI at Hartlepool, ANTELOPE at Cowes, ARROW
at Portsmouth,
ARDENT at Plymouth, ASHANTI at Cowes, BEDOUIN at Wallsend,
BROKE at Plymouth, CAMPBELL at Plymouth, CODRINGTON at
Southampton, DUNCAN at
Grangemouth, ECHO at Leith,
ESKIMO at Southampton, FEARLESS at Plymouth, GARLAND at
Malta, GLOWWORM at
Hull, GREYHOUND at Hull, HASTY at Plymouth, HAVANT at
Plymouth, HAVOCK at
Chatham, HERO at Portsmouth, HUNTER at Falmouth, HYPERION
at Portsmouth, ILEX
at Rosyth, ISIS at Falmouth, JACKAL at Blyth,
JERSEY at Hull, KEPPEL at Malta, KIPLING at Tyne, MALCOLM
at Cardiff, MAORI
at Clyde, MASHONA at Chatham, MATABELE at Plymouth,
PUNJABI at Clyde, SABRE
at Grangemouth, SALADIN at
Plymouth, SOMALI at
Middlesbrough, THRACIAN at Hong Kong, WARWICK at
Liverpool, WESSEX at Milford
Haven, WHITEHALL at Plymouth, WITHERINGTON at Liverpool,
WOOLSTON at Rosyth,
WREN at Plymouth, WRESTLER at Malta, ZULU at Leith and
Polish GROM at
Chatham.
