Background Events - April-May 1940
Invasion
of
Norway, Battles of Narvik, Blitzkrieg on Western
Europe, Dunkirk evacuation starts
1940
Wednesday,
15 May
Anti-aircraft
ship
CARLISLE departed Scapa Flow for Devonport.
_____
French
destroyer
FOUDROYANT sank two German seaplanes at their moorings
at Hemnes
and Sund.
_____
Destroyer
SOMALI
and French destroyer FOUDROYANT, returning from Mo,
received the
report of troopship CHROBRY's bombing and heavy damage.
En route to assist at
0243, these destroyers were heavily bombed by German
Ju.87 bombers and SOMALI
was badly damaged by a near miss.
Destroyer
SOMALI
had fore compartments flooded.
Destroyer
SOMALI
was escorted to Scapa Flow by destroyer FOUDROYANT, screened by
anti-aircraft cruiser CURLEW.
Tug
BRIGAND departed Lerwick at 1930/15th, but she was
ordered to return at 2150
when it was found she was not needed.
Anti-aircraft
cruiser
CURLEW arrived and Scapa Flow at 1339/17th and the two destroyers arrived at Scapa
Flow at 0400/18th.
Destroyer
SOMALI
then went on her own to Liverpool
arriving at 1245/19th.
The
destroyer was under repair until 1 September
1940.
_____
French
destroyer
FOUDROYANT arrived at Scapa Flow
at 0400/18th. She took on
fuel and ammunition before departing at 2130/18th for
the Clyde.
Destroyer
FOUDROYANT
escorted French tanker TARN to the Clyde
arriving at 0400/20th.
_____
Destroyer
FURY,
after destroyer KELLY escort, departed the Tyne for
Leith to escort troopship ORION
(23,456grt) to Pentland Firth.
Destroyer
FURY
and the troopship departed Leith at 1600/15th.
Destroyer
MASHONA
departed Scapa Flow at 0330/16th to escort ORION.
Destroyer
MASHONA
arrived at Greenock at 1530/17th after escorting ORION to 13W.
_____
Destroyer
ZULU,
which had evacuated 150 allied troops from Mo, arrived
in the Clyde at
1930 after having been relieved by destroyer ACASTA in
the light cruiser
PENELOPE screen.
At
2102, destroyer ZULU received orders to remain at
Greenock for escort duties.
_____
Destroyer
BEDOUIN
departed Scapa Flow at 1030/14th for repairs in the Clyde,
arriving at 0930/15th.
_____
A
Swordfish of 816 Squadron ditched in Ofotfjord after
receiving damage on an
attack on German aircraft at Lake Hartvig, near Bjervik.
S/Lt J. W.
Ball, Lt A. S. Marshall, Naval Airman R. Pike were
picked up by destroyer
ZULU.
_____
Nine
Skuas of 806 Squadron and three Blenheims of 254
Squadron departed Hatston to
raid Bergen, but were forced to return owing to fog.
_____
British
Leading
Airman J. Rees of 7 SFTS Peterborough was killed when
his Hart
dived into the sea during dive bombing exercises off
West Freugh.
_____
From
1045 to 1455, submarine PORPOISE laid minefield FD.11 in
61‑44N, 04‑54E.
_____
Anti-submarine
trawlers
CAPE WARWICK
and CAPE PORTLAND departed Scapa Flow escorting oiler
British
GENERAL for Liverpool and Norwegian oiler EGERO for Trinidad
as far as Cape Wrath.
_____
French
troopships
DEGRASSE (18435grt) and COLOMBIE (13390grt) departed the
Clyde for Brest.
_____
Swedish
steamer
ROSENHOLM (1736grt) was seized by German forces at
Bergen.
The
Swedish steamer was renamed OXHOFT for German use.
_____
Destroyer
MALCOLM
departed Dover
at 1310 for docking at
Blackwall to repair propellers damaged at Hook of
Holland.
_____
Destroyer
WINCHESTER, en route from Flushing,
was near missed by German bombing
early on the 15th off Hook of Holland
and was badly damaged.
Destroyer
WINCHESTER arrived at Dover.
She departed Dover at 1900/15th under tow for Portsmouth
where she was beached
temporarily. The destroyer was taken on to Liverpool for
repairs completed in mid
June.
_____
Destroyers
VALENTINE,
WINCHESTER,
WHITLEY were operating off Flushing during the night of
14/15
May.
At
1300, destroyers VALENTINE and WHITLEY were ordered to
cover the Terneusen -
Brosele (Beveland) Ferry.
Destroyer
VALENTINE
(Cdr H.J. Buchanan RAN), at the mouth of the River
Scheldt within a
mile of Terneusen, was bombed and badly damaged by
German Ju.88 bomber.
Struck
by
two bombs, destroyer VALENTINE's boiler blew up and she
was run aground
and abandoned a total loss.
Thirty
one
ratings were killed and twenty one crew, including
Probationary Temporary
Surgeon Lt N. F. E. Burrows RMCS, LRCP, MD, BCH RNVR,
Temporary Lt R. M.
MacFie RNVR, Acting Gunner S. F. Burrow were wounded.
Destroyer
WHITLEY
was bombed, but was not damaged. Destroyer WHITLEY blew
up destroyer
VALENTINE.
Destroyer
WHITLEY
remained at Flushing during the afternoon and evening.
_____
Minesweeper
HUSSAR
off Orfordness was struck by a glancing German bomb. The
bomb itself
did little damage, but it set off a depth charge on the
minesweeper.
Temporary
Lt
F. F. Wheeler RNR, two ratings were killed in the minesweeper.
Despite
the
damage, the minesweeper was able to return to Harwich
under her own
power.
The
minesweeper was repaired at North Shields, completing on
21 June.
_____
Destroyer
WESSEX
departed Dover at 0600 for the Humber.
_____
Destroyers
WESTMINSTER and VIMIERA arrived at Dover
from the Hook of Holland.
After
refuelled
and taking on ammunition, they departed that evening for
Dunkirk.
_____
Destroyer
WOLSEY
departed Dover
at 1600 for Dunkirk and Flushing.
_____
Destroyer
VESPER
departed Dover
at 0010 for Sheerness.
_____
Five
Destroyers departed Harwich for Plymouth.
Destroyer
HYPERION
departed Sheerness at 0800 for Plymouth. The destroyer
arrived at
2130 to prepare to depart for duty in the Mediterranean
Fleet.
Destroyers
JUNO
and JANUS departed Harwich
for Plymouth for duty with the Mediterranean Fleet.
Destroyer
HOSTILE
departed Humber for Plymouth
for duty with the
Mediterranean Fleet.
Destroyer
MOHAWK
arrived at Plymouth
from Sheerness for duty with
the Mediterranean Fleet.
_____
Destroyers
KHARTOUM and KINGSTON,
after refitting at Falmouth, arrived at Plymouth for
duty with the
Mediterranean Fleet.
_____
Destroyer
ILEX,
which had departed Narvik on the 10th, was ordered at
1815 to proceed
directly to Plymouth.
_____
Submarine
SEAWOLF
sighted enemy minesweepers off the Texel.
These
minesweepers
were thought to be preceding merchant ships. The allied
submarines in these areas were told to remain to the
east of their patrol
zones.
_____
Submarine
SUNFISH
arrived at Harwich after patrol.
_____
Submarines
depot
ship CYCLOPS of the 3rd Submarine Flotilla and French
submarine depot
ship JULES VERNE of the 10th Submarine Flotilla departed
Harwich for Rosyth.
Depot
ship
CYCLOPS was escorted by destroyers CODRINGTON, GRIFFIN,
GRAFTON, GALLANT. When the Humber was reached,
destroyers
CODRINGTON and GRIFFIN
were detached. The group
safely arrived at Rosyth on the 18th, escorted by
destroyers GRAFTON and
GALLANT.
On
25 May, depot ship JULES VERNE and submarines CIRCE and
THETIS departed
Rosyth for Dundee. They were joined at sea by submarine CALYPSO and safely arrived at Dundee
later the same day.
On
16 May, submarines H.49 and H.50 departed Dover with
British trawler WARRIOR
II for Portsmouth.
On
18 May, after being delayed by fog, submarines H.28 and
H.44 departed Dover escorted by British trawler
WARRIOR II for Portsmouth,
where they arrived on the
19th.
At
Harwich after the departure of the 3rd Submarine
Flotilla, five H.class
submarines were brought from Portland for anti-invasion
duties.
These
submarines
were H.31 and H.32, which were refitting at Sheerness,
H.33, H.34,
H.43. In addition, L. 27 was also attached to the
Flotilla pending the
completion of a refit at Portsmouth.
_____
Destroyers
IVANHOE,
ESK, EXPRESS of the 20th Destroyer Flotilla departed
Immingham at
1525/15th and laid mines off Hook of Holland
in Operation CBX 3.
On
26 July, three German minesweepers were lost on this
minefield.
Destroyer
INTREPID,
to be escorted by destroyer IMPULSIVE,departed Immingham
to lay
mines off Egmond in Operation CBX 2, an extension of the
CBX minefield.
However,
destroyer
IMPULSIVE was forced to return to Immingham with boiler
defects and
destroyer INTREPID proceeded alone.
_____
Destroyer
WESTMINSTER (Lt Cdr A. A. C. Ouvry) arrived at Dover
at 1100/15th to reprovision.
The destroyer departed at 2100 for Dunkirk.
At
2325, the destroyer struck a wreck in the Dunkirk west
channel approaches. She
was considerably damaged, but sustained no casualties.
WESTMINSTER was towed into Dunkirk and drydocked at
0520/16th.
On
20 May, tug LADY BRASSEY towed WESTMINSTER to Dover
escorted by destroyer
WOLSEY.
Off
Dover, destroyer WESTMINSTER
was able to proceed on her
own at nine knots to Portsmouth
escorted by destroyer WOLSEY
as far as Nab Tower.
Destroyer
WESTMINSTER was repaired at Portsmouth
on 7 July.
_____
Minesweeper
ELGIN was damaged in a collision with the Grimsby Royal
Dock.
The
minesweeper was repaired at Hull completing on 8 June.
_____
French
auxiliary
minesweepers DUQUESNE II (189grt) and HENRI GUEGAN
(251grt) were
sunk by mines at the entrance to the Scheldt River, five
hundred yards
southeast of the Wielingen Whistle Buoy.
_____
Italian
steamer
FOSCOLO (3059grt) was badly damaged by German bombing
six miles
northeast of Zeebrugge.
The
steamer was abandoned and the survivors were landed at
Zeebrugge. The steamer
sank on the 18th.
_____
Greek
steamer
EVGENIA (5839grt) was badly damaged by German bombing in
51-23N,
03-07E, off red Buoy, outside Zeebrugge.
All
the crew was saved.
The
steamer was abandoned on the 16th and sank as a result
of this bombing on the
18th.
_____
Belgian
steamer
BRABO (3699grt) was damaged by German bombing in the
River Scheldt.
_____
Dutch
steamer
PRINSES IRENE (400grt) was damaged by German bombing in
51‑24N,
0l‑18E.
_____
Dutch
steamer
TEXELSTROOM (1617grt) arrived at Dover with 268 German
prisoners of
war, the Dutch guard, thirty one refugees.
_____
Dutch
steamer
INSPECTOR GENERAL TWENT arrived at Dover with fifty of
the Ijmuiden
XD demolition party.
_____
Convoy FN.172 departed Southend, escorted by destroyers WALLACE,
VIMY, WINDSOR. Minelayers TEVIOTBANK and PLOVER traveled
in this convoy. On
arrival off the Tyne, destroyers VIVIEN and VALOROUS escorted the minelayers to Rosyth.
The convoy arrived at the Tyne on the 17th.
_____
Convoy FS.171 departed the Tyne, escorted by sloop HASTINGS.
The convoy arrived at
Southend on the 17th.
_____
Convoy
HG.30
of twenty seven ships departed Gibraltar escorted by
destroyer KEPPEL
which escorted the convoy from 15 to 17 May.
The
ocean escort for the convoy was Sloop DEPTFORD from 15
to 25 May.
Destroyer
WHITEHALL escorted the convoy in Home Waters from 22 to
25 May. The convoy arrived at Liverpool
on the 25th.
_____
Australian
light
cruiser HOBART covered the disembarkation of the 2nd
King's African
Rifles at Berbera from 15 to 17 May.
_____
Submarine
RORQUAL,
following repairs at Singapore, departed Singapore on 28
April, Colombo on the 3rd, Aden on the 10th arriving at
Suez on the 15th.
Submarine
RORQUAL
arrived at Alexandria
on the 16th, departing on
the 20th, arrived at Malta on the 22nd for duty with
the Mediterranean Fleet.
_____
French
destroyers
VERDUN,
VALMY, GUÉPARD, ALBATROS,
VAUTOUR, which departed Brest
on the 13th, passed Gibraltar en route to Toulon,
arriving on the 17th.
Thursday,
16
May
Destroyer
VERITY
departed Dover
in the morning to relieve
destroyer WHITSHED on North Goodwin Patrol. When
relieved destroyer WHITSHED
proceeded to Ostend,
arriving at 1230.
Destroyers
WHITSHED
and VENOMOUS with British steamer MONA'S QUEEN (2756grt)
and Belgian
steamer PRINCE LEOPOLD (2938grt) arrived at Ostend at
1230 to evacuate
troops.
Both
steamers ran
aground. They were towed off by destroyer WHITSHED which
also ran aground and
was able to get off herself.
The
steamers
proceeded to Folkestone. The destroyers arrived at Dover
at 2100.
_____
Light
cruisers
ARETHUSA and GALATEA departed Sheerness for Portsmouth
due to air threat of
remaining at Sheerness.
_____
British
Captain
G.H. Stevens-Guille assumed command of the 1st Destroyer
Flotilla.
_____
French
destroyers
CYCLONE and SIROCCO arrived at Dover at 1200 with the
Dutch Naval
Staff and his staff.
The
French destroyers departed Dover that evening with
Prince
Bernhard on his way to join the Dutch army at Zeeland.
_____
French
destroyers
FOUGUEUX and ADRIOT operating off Hook of Holland
attacked a submarine
contact.
_____
Dutch
minelayers
NAUTILUS and JAN VAN BRAKEL, armed yacht DE MOK, armed
tug
AMSTERDAM, seagoing torpedo boats Z.5, Z.8, G.13, G.15
passed Dover en route
to Portsmouth.
Dutch
seagoing
torpedo boats Z.6 and Z.7 departed Dover for Ramsgate.
_____
Battleship
RESOLUTION,
anchored at Tjeldsundet, was struck at 1130 by a German
bomb that
pierced the starboard side of the quarterdeck and dove
three decks before
exploding in the Marines' messdeck.
One
ratings was killed and a second rating died of wounds
the next day. Twenty
two Marines and four naval ratings were wounded. A
further rating was wounded
in destroyer VANSITTART in the bombing.
A
Swordfish of 700 Squadron from RESOLUTION was also
damaged on the 16th. The
aircraft was shipped back to the UK in steamer
BLACKHEATH, which
departed on 7 June.
Battleship
RESOLUTION,
escorted by destroyers VANSITTART and WREN departed
Vestfjord on
the 18th.
Destroyer
FORTUNE
departed Scapa Flow at 0745/20th and joined the British ships at sea.
All
four British ships arrived at Scapa Flow
without incident at
1000/21st.
Battleship
RESOLUTION
was repaired by local repair facilities by 4 June when
she sailed
to the join the North Atlantic Command at Gibraltar.
Destroyer
VANSITTART
departed Scapa Flow at 1715/24th and went on to the Tyne.
She arrived on the 26th for
repairs completed on 22 June.
_____
Sloop
FLEETWOOD
was bombed in the same attack as battleship RESOLUTION
near Narvik.
Splinters from a near miss mortally wounded Lt Cdr H.T.
R. Bonham, which died
on 8 June.
Tanker
BROOMDALE
also sustained some damage from bombing.
_____
Lt
L.A. Harris RM, Lt J. H.R. Medlicott-Vereker in a Skua
of the 803 Squadron
were shot down in Rombaksfjord.
Both
were picked up by destroyer MATABELE.
_____
Destroyer
MATABELE
was ordered to relieve destroyer FAME at Narvik.
Destroyer FAME to Hol until relieved by
destroyer ECHO, then to Skaanland for fuel and provisions.
Destroyer
VANSITTART
relieved destroyer ECHO
on "B" patrol.
Destroyer ECHO proceeded to Hol on relief.
Destroyer
BRAZEN
was on "E" patrol.
Destroyer
HAVELOCK proceeded to Skaanland for ammunition, then
proceeded to Baroy.
Destroyer
WREN
to Harstad to refuel and for oil and provisions.
Destroyer
WARWICK
remained at Harstad.
Destroyer
VANSITTART
was available to return to England when relieved by
destroyer WHIRLWIND.
Destroyer
ESKIMO
had been towed to Skaanland from Skelfjord. Her
temporary repairs were
delayed until the arrival of further oxygen, acetylene,
hydrogen.
_____
Nine
Skuas of 806 Squadron from Hatston, escorted three
Blenheims of 254 Squadron,
attacked Bergen.
No aircraft were lost and
damage to German targets was confined to fuel tanks at
Kaarven,
Florgasaaspynt, Strudshavn.
_____
Destroyers
HAVOCK
and HEREWARD departed Harwich at 0600 for Plymouth for
duty in the
Mediterranean Fleet.
_____
Destroyers
to
reinforce the Mediterranean Fleet departed Plymouth.
At
1630/16th, sloops AUCKLAND
(Cdr J. G.Hewitt) and
FLAMINGO (Cdr J. H.Huntley) departed Plymouth.
Sloop
GRIMSBY
(Cdr K. J. D'Arcy) was taken in hand on the 20th at
Plymouth to repair
defects, as a replacement for sloop EGRET which was in
the earlier group, but
was ordered to return to Rosyth. The sloop was able to
proceed independently
on the 20th for Gibraltar.
At
2000/16th, destroyers KINGSTON (Lt Cdr P. Somerville),
KHARTOUM (Cdr D. T.
Dowler), KANDAHAR (Cdr W. G.A. Robson), NUBIAN (Cdr R.
W. Ravenhill),
HYPERION (Cdr H.St L.Nicholson), HOSTILE (Cdr J. P.
Wright), HASTY (Lt Cdr R.
K. Tyrwhitt) departed Plymouth. This group arrived at
Gibraltar on the 18th.
At
0035/17th, anti-aircraft cruiser CARLISLE (Captain G.M.
B. Langley, OBE),
destroyers HERO (Cdr H.W. Biggs), HAVOCK (Lt Cdr R. E.
Courage), HEREWARD (Lt
Cdr C. W. Greening), JANUS (Captain P. J. Mack; Cdr J.
A. W. Tothill),
IMPERIAL (Lt Cdr C. A. De W. Kitcat), ILEX (Lt Cdr P.
L.Saumarez), JUNO (Cdr W. E. Wilson),
KIMBERLEY (Lt Cdr J. S. M. Richardson), MOHAWK (Cdr J.
W. M. Eaton) departed
Plymouth.
Destroyers
JANUS,
JUNO, ILEX, KIMBERLEY,
MOHAWK and sloops AUCKLAND and FLAMINGO arrived at
Gibraltar on the 19th.
Destroyer
MOHAWK
required docking at Gibraltar for several days to make good damage sustained
by German bombing in the North Sea.
On
19 May, destroyers HYPERION, HOSTILE, HASTY, NUBIAN,
KINGSTON, KANDAHAR, KHARTOUM departed Gibraltar in
company for Malta.
The
two sloops departed Gibraltar for Malta
on the 19th.
The
two groups arrived at Malta on the 21st.
Destroyers
JANUS,
KIMBERLEY, JUNO,
ILEX departed Gibraltar for Malta on the 20th.
On
20 May, anti-aircraft cruiser CARLISLE
and destroyers HEREWARD, HAVOCK,
IMPERIAL arrived at Gibraltar and departed that day for Malta.
Sloop
GRIMSBY arrived at Gibraltar
on the 24th and departed the
same day for Malta.
Destroyers
HYPERION,
HASTY, NUBIAN arrived at Alexandria on the 23rd. Cruiser
CARLISLE,
destroyers KHARTOUM, KANDAHAR, KIMBERLEY, KINGSTON, the
sloops arrived at
Suez on the 24th, destroyers JANUS, JUNO, IMPERIAL
arrived at
Alexandria on the 24th, as did HOSTILE on the 25th,
HAVOCK on the 26th,
HEREWARD and HERO arrived at Alexandria on the 27th,
destroyer ILEX arrived
on the 28th, MOHAWK on the 29th.
_____
Destroyer
SIKH
arrived for boiler cleaning at Scapa Flow
at 1400.
_____
Polish
destroyer
BLYSKAWICA departed Scapa Flow
at 1500 for Harwich for duty
under Commander in Chief, Nore.
_____
Destroyer
ATHERSTONE
made a anti-submarine attack at North Rona, but this was
later
determined to be non submarine.
_____
Submarine
TRUANT
departed Rosyth for Harstad where she operated with
Norwegian
submarines B.1 and B.3 under the Command of Vice Admiral
Cruiser Squadron 1.
Submarine
TRUANT
on the 18th was ordered to proceed directly to Tromso
where she
arrived on the 19th.
_____
Submarine
SEALION
arrived at Harwich after patrol.
_____
French
submarines
ANTIOPE, SYBILLE, CIRCE, THETIS departed Harwich on
patrol in the North Sea.
Submarines
ANTIOPE
and SYBILLE relieved Submarine SEAWOLF and French
submarine AMAZONE
on patrol on stations.
_____
French
convoy
FR.1 of French troopships KOUTOUBIA (8790grt),
EXPLORATEUR GRANDIDIER
(10268grt), COMPIEGNE
(9986grt), CHANTILLY (9986grt) departed the Clyde for
Brest escorted by French destroyer
EPERVIER and patrol vessels JASON and GLEANER. The
patrol vessels were
relieved west of the Skerries by destroyers WAKEFUL and
VANQUISHER.
On
17 May, troopship EXPLORATEUR GRANDIDIER was in a
collision with British
steamer ST KEARAN (691grt), but was able to continue.
Destroyer
VANQUISHER
was ordered toescort troopship EXPLORATEUR GRANDIDIER to
Brest. The convoy arrived safely
at Brest, escorted by EPERVIER.
_____
Submarine
PORPOISE
laid minefield FD.11 off Hovden Island.
_____
Convoy
OA.149
departed Southend escorted by corvette GLADIOLUS.
_____
Convoy
OB.149
departed Liverpool escorted by destroyer MACKAY from 16 to 19 May. The
destroyer was detached to conovy HX.41.
_____
Convoy
AXF.5,
escorted by destroyer WHITEHALL, departed Southampton
for St
Malo.
_____
Convoy
AXS.13
of one steamer arrived at St Malo from Southampton.
_____
Convoy
OG.30F
was formed from convoys OA.148GF, which departed
Southend on the 14th
with sloop SCARBOROUGH and corvette PERIWINKLE, OB.148GF, which departed Liverpool
with sloops LIETH and
ENCHANTRESS on the 14th, with forty four ships.
Sloops
LEITH
and ENCHANTRESS escorted the
convoy from 16 to 18 May and were then detached to
convoy HG.30F.
Corvette
PERIWINKLE
was in the convoy escort on the 16th.
Sloop
SCARBOROUGH
escorted the convoy from 16
to 21 May. The convoy arrived at Gibraltar
on the 22nd.
_____
Convoy
BC.38
of steamers BALTRAFFIC, BARON KINNAIRD, DAVID
LIVINGSTONE (Commodore),
EILDON, KERMA, OCEAN
COAST departed Bristol Channel escorted by destroyer
MONTROSE and armed yacht ZAZA. The convoy arrived at
Loire on the 18th.
_____
Convoy FS.172 departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyers VIMY and WINDSOR
and sloop WESTON. The convoy
arrived at Southend on the 18th.
_____
British
steamer
KINGSBURY (4898grt) in convoy OA.149 was machine gunned
by German
bombers eight miles 300° from Royal Sovereign Light
Vessel. One crewman was
killed and one crewman was wounded.
_____
German
light
cruiser KOLN and escort ship GRILLE departed Wilhelmshaven
for a minelaying mission in
Fisher Bank escorted by destroyers BEITZEN, SCHOEMANN,
HEINEMANN and torpedo
boats KONDOR and GREIF.
The
minefield was successfully laid and the ships returned
to Wilhelmshaven on the 18th.
The
force laid a second minefield shortly after.
_____
French
light
cruiser MONTCALM and destroyers BRESTOIS and BOULONNAIS
departed Brest at 1500/16th for the Mediterranean. The
cruiser passed Gibraltar on the 19th and arrived at Oran
later that day. The
destroyers arrived at Gibraltar on that date and departed the next day and
arrived at Oran
later on the 20th.
_____
French
large
destroyers TARTU
and CHEVALIER PAUL, which
departed Brest
on the 14th, passed Gibraltar en route to Toulon,
arriving on the 17th.
_____
French
light
cruiser DUGUAY TROUIN, escorted by large destroyer
GERFAUT, departed Brest. The cruiser was escorted to
Gibraltar by the destroyer which then
returned to Brest
for other escort duties.
Cruiser DUGUAY TROUIN passed Gibraltar on the 19th and arrived at Toulon
on the 21st.
_____
Destroyers
WISHART
and DOUGLAS departed Gibraltar for Marseilles
to act as escort for
troopships.
The
destroyers were recalled to escort troopship ORONSAY to
Malta.
The
three ships departed on the 17th.
_____
Polish
destroyer
GARLAND
departed Malta for Alexandria for operations with the
Mediterranean Fleet.
_____
In
exercises from Aircraft carrier HERMES near Freetown at
8-31N, 13-37W, Lt E. A.
Liversidge and Leading Airman S. G. Bax of 814 Squadron
were killed when
their Swordfish crashed into the sea. A second Swordfish
of the 814 Squadron
was lost that day crashing on shore.
_____
Convoy
HX.43
departed Halifax
at 0900 escorted by Canadian
destroyers RESTIGOUCHE and SKEENA, which were detached on the 17th.
Convoy
BHX.43
departed Bermuda on the 15th escorted locally by sloop PENZANCE
and an ocean escort of armed
merchant cruiser COMORIN. The convoy joined convoy HX.43
on the 21st and the
armed merchant cruiser was detached.
Light
cruiser
EMERALD was the ocean escort for this convoy. The light
cruiser was
detached on the 27th.
Sloop
SANDWICH
and corvette CLARKIA joined
the convoy on the 27th. The sloop was detached on the
30th. The corvette
escorted the convoy to 31 May, when the convoy arrived
at Liverpool.
Friday,
17
May
Allied
troops
were embarked on Light cruiser EFFINGHAM to be landed at
Bodo.
Light
cruiser
EFFINGHAM along with anti-aircraft cruisers CAIRO and
COVENTRY and destroyers MATABELE and ECHO departed
Harstad for the
landings.
En
route on the 18th at 2000, light cruiser EFFINGHAM ran
aground at 23 knots on
Faksen Shoal between Bricksvaer and Terra in 67‑17N,
13‑58E and
was wrecked. Anti-aircraft cruiser COVENTRY brushed
ground and ruptured
a fuel tank. Destroyer MATABELE also went aground, but
was gotten off with
much damage to her hull.
After
the
troops and crew were removed from EFFINGHAM by destroyer
ECHO, destroyer MATABELE
torpedoed EFFINGHAM. The troops were taken back to
Harstad and did not arrive
at Bodo until the night of 19/20 May when Destroyers
FIREDRAKE and WALKER
delivered the first contingent.
Destroyer
MATABELE
departed Harstad on the 20th and arrived in the Clyde on
the 23rd. She went on to Falmouth arriving on the 24th
for
repairs from 27 May to 18 August. On 29 August
1940
she arrived back at Scapa Flow for operations.
On
21 May, light cruiser EFFINGHAM was shelled and
torpedoed by destroyer
MATABELE, en route to the Clyde, to insure her demise.
_____
Minelayers
TEVIOTBANK
and PLOVER arrived at Scapa Flow
from the Humber, escorted by destroyer SABRE
and armed patrol yacht BREDA.
_____
Anti-submarine
trawler
CAPE NYEMETSKI,
escorting trawler SPINDRIFT
(captured German trawler JULIUS PICKENPACK, but
identified as POLARIS),
departed Scapa Flow for Liverpool, arriving on the 20th.
_____
Anti-submarine
trawlers
KING SOL and LOCH MONTEITH departed Scapa
Flow escorting cable ship MONARCH
to Rosyth.
_____
British
Captain
H.Hickling relinquished his command of Force W (the
three "Fleet
Tenders" - dummy ships) and Captain H.N. M. Hardy DSO
Rtd of Fleet
Tender "C" assumed command.
_____
Norwegian
steamer
TORGTIND (298grt) was sunk by German bombing off
Batland, Helgeland.
_____
Destroyer
WILD
SWAN arrived at Dover
from London after repairs.
_____
The
French 11th Destroyer Division on patrol off Dunkirk was
attacked by German
bombers. Torpedo boats CORDELIERE (Capitaine de Fregate
H.A. J. Robinet de
Plas) and MELPOMENE (Capitaine de Corvette P. A. M.
Bonny) were badly
damaged.
Torpedo
boat
FLORE, in company, escaped serious damage and escorted
her two damaged
sisters to port.
_____
Dutch
minelayers
MEDUSA and DOUWE AUKES arrived at Dover.
Dutch
auxiliary
minesweepers No. 8 (trawler DIRKJE, 234grt), No. 7
(trawler
CLAESJE, 229grt), AMSTERDAM
(241grt), BLOEMENDAAL
(242grt), MARIA R. OMMERING (216grt) arrived in the
Downs.
The
Dutch ships sailed for Portsmouth
the next day.
_____
French
auxiliary
minesweeper MARDYCK (tons) was beached at Breskens after
a fire and
was abandoned on the 17th.
_____
Three
destroyers
of the 7th Destroyer Flotilla joined the Commander in
Chief, Nore,
at Harwich.
Destroyers
JAVELIN
and JACKAL departed Scapa Flow at 1830/14th to run over the DG range at
Inchkeith before proceeding on the 15th.
Destroyer
JAGUAR
departed Harwich on the 15th on patrol where she was
joined on patrol
by destroyer JACKAL, coming from Rosyth. Both ships
arrived back at Harwich
on the 17th.
Destroyer
JAVELIN went
directly to Harwich arriving on the 16th.
_____
Light
cruiser
FIJI
was completed. She was
prepared for trials in the West Indies and departed the Clyde
on 4 June for Bermuda.
_____
Submarine
depot
ship MAIDSTONE was designated to replace depot ship CYCLOPS at
Rosyth.
Depot
ship
MAIDSTONE departed Portland on the 19th escorted by
destroyer WORCESTER. She arrived in the Clyde on the
20th escorted by
destroyer VANOC and WORCESTER.
Destroyer
VANOC
was detached on the 21st to relieve destroyer HESPERUS
with a convoy
returning from Norway.
The
depot ship departed the Clyde at 0945/22nd escorted by destroyers ZULU and
MAORI and arrived at Scapa Flow at 1835/23rd.
At
1715/24th, MAIDSTONE departed Scapa Flow
with destroyer VANSITTART.
En route, VANSITTART obtained a submarine contact at
2042 in 58-14. 5N, 2-28W
and MAIDSTONE continued on alone.
The
contact was later assessed to be a wreck.
Both
MAIDSTONE and VANSITTART arrived
safely at Rosyth on the 25th.
_____
French
submarine
CALYPSO departed Harwich to dock at Lowestoft.
_____
Submarine
PORPOISE
arrived at Rosyth.
The
submarine was docked on the 18th to repair her asdic
dome.
_____
Submarine
CLYDE
arrived at Dundee.
_____
Sloop
LONDONDERRY
struck a wreck in 55-13-06N,
10-18-41W at 1645.
There
was
no damage to the sloop.
_____
French
submarine
CIRCE reported she was involved in a collision with
submarine LA
SYBILLE while diving in the North Sea.
Submarine
SYBILLE
was not damaged.
_____
Convoy
SA.41
of one steamer arrived at St Malo from Southampton.
_____
Convoy FN.173 departed Southend, escorted by destroyer WALPOLE. The
convoy arrived at the Tyne on the 19th.
_____
Convoy MT.68 departed Methil, escorted by sloop LONDONDERRY.
The convoy arrived in the Tyne later that day.
_____
Convoy FS.173 departed the Tyne, escorted by sloop LONDONDERRY.
The convoy arrived at
Southend on the 19th.
_____
Convoy SL.32 departed Freetown
escorted by armed merchant
cruiser DUNVEGAN
CASTLE.
On
the 30th, sloop ABERDEEN
and on the 31st, sloop
FOLKESTONE joined the convoy. The convoy arrived on 3
June.
Saturday,
18
May
Destroyers
IMPULSIVE,
INTREPID, ESK, EXPRESS, IVANHOE of the 20th Flotilla and
minelayer
PRINCESS VICTORIA (2197grt) departed the Humber to lay
mines off the Dutch
coast in operation BS.5 during the night of 18/19 May.
Patrol
sloop
PUFFIN rendezvoused with the minelayers at 1340/18th and
dropped dan
buoys after the minelaying was completed.
Returning
after
the minelay, minelayer PRINCESS VICTORIA (Captain J. B.
E. Hall),
escorted by destroyers EXPRESS and IVANHOE, was sunk by
a mine at the
entrance to the Humber early on the 19th.
Destroyers
GRAFTON,
GALLANT, FORESIGHT were ordered to assist.
Captain
Hall,
Lt Cdr L.A. Lambert, Temporary S/Lt (E) H.Proudfoot RNR,
thirty four ratings were
missing after the loss of minelayer PRINCESS VICTORIA.
Paymaster Lt F. A. K.
Betty RNVR, Lt Cdr P. M. B. Chavasse, LtF. B. Fisher,
Temporary S/Lt W. D.
Gray RNR, Temporary S/Lt (E) E. R. Jones RNR,
Lt H.A. Kirby, four ratings
were wounded.
On
21/22 destroyers IMPULSIVE, INTREPID, ICARUS, ESK,
EXPRESS, IVANHOE laid minefield
BS.6 off the Dutch coast. All six destroyers returned on
23/24 May for BS.7,
on 25/26 May for BS.8, on 27/28 May for BS.9.
After
minelay
BS.9, the 20th Destroyer Flotilla was ordered to
Portsmouth.
_____
Early
on
the 19th at 0035, destroyer KEITH was attacked by German
bombing on North
Goodwins Patrol. She was not damaged.
At
0605, destroyer WILD SWAN was attacked by German bombing
on the North
Goodwins Patrol. She was not damaged.
Destroyer
WILD
SWAN met Dutch tugs SCHELDE (359grt) and EBRO (268grt)
and sent them to
the Downs.
_____
Destroyer
WHITLEY
relieved destroyer WOLSEY on patrol off the Belgian
coast.
_____
Motor
torpedo
boat MTB.25 departed Harwich with at 1445 with Vice
Admiral Ramsay for Dunkirk.
The
motor torpedo boat returned that evening.
_____
Destroyer
VERITY
was boiler cleaning from depot ship SANDHURST at Dover.
_____
Submarine
L.23
evacuated five crew from the Terschelling Light Ship.
The six other crew
of the Light Ship escaped to Holland.
_____
Submarine
L.26
picked up nine refugees from an open boat off the Dutch
coast.
_____
Submarine
TRIDENT
departed Rosyth for North Sea patrol.
_____
French
submarine
THETIS on patrol in the North Sea
sighted Submarine SPEARFISH.
_____
French
submarine
CIRCE reported her starboard motor out of action. The
submarine was
ordered to Rosyth where she arrived on the 19th.
Repair
to
the motor was found to be extensive and the submarine
was to be sent to France after exchanging a battery
with submarine CALYPSO.
Submarine
CALYPSO
departed Harwich on the 23rd with convoy FN.78. The
submarine arrived
at Rosyth on the 24th.
_____
Minelaying
from
Aircraft of Channel ports began with minelaying off
Texel. This continued on the 21st
off Ijmuiden, of Terschelling Gat on the 31st, off Flushing
on 5 June, off Dunkirk and Boulogne on 26 June.
_____
Dutch
gunboats
FLORES and VAN MEERLANT arrived at Dover.
_____
Dutch
steamer
PIA (304grt) departed Nieuport and Dunkirk on the 18th
towing Dutch
auxiliary yacht ALBATROSS III.
Steamer
PIA
struck a mine and sank between Dunkirk and Gravelines.
Six crew
were lost on the steamer.
On
the yacht, two crew and two refugees were lost.
Yacht
ALBATROSS
III rescued the sole survivour from steamer PIA. The
yacht proceed to Boulogne
and later to Folkestone.
_____
Belgian
dredger
VLAANDEREN I (1218grt) was sunk by German bombing at
Calais.
_____
Heavy
cruiser
YORK arrived at Scapa Flow
from Rosyth.
_____
Destroyer
FORESIGHT
departed the Humber for Scapa Flow
at 2300.
_____
Destroyer
MASHONA
departed Greenock at 1520 for Scapa Flow.
Destroyer
MASHONA
later joined destroyer SABRE hunting for a submarine
reported by
minesweeping trawler BRABANT (280grt) at 1405 in 58‑20N, 5‑23W.
Anti-submarine
trawlers
STOKE CITY and LEICESTER
CITY were ordered to join the
search.
The
destroyers remained in the area until French destroyer
FOUDROYANT and tanker TARN passed through the area
Destroyer
MASHONA
left the position at 0815/19th and arrived at Scapa Flow
at 1145. Destroyer SABRE
left the search at 1030/19th and proceeded to Holy Head
for oil.
_____
Destroyers
ARROW
and FURY departed Scapa Flow at 1600 to join destroyer ATHERSTONE hunting
for a submarine reported by aircraft in 59‑07N, 0‑47W.
The
search was unsuccessful.
_____
Anti-submarine
trawlers
CAPE WARWICK
and CAPE PORTLAND were ordered to search for a
submarine attacked by aircraft in 59-26N, 6-23W. The
search was unsuccessful.
_____
Aircraft
carrier
GLORIOUS flew the six Walrus aircraft of the 701
Squadron ashore for operations
at Harstad.
_____
Returning
from
the Fleet Air Arm's first mining sortie in Norwegian
waters Operation
BOTTLE, a Swordfish of the 823 Squadron from aircraft
carrier GLORIOUS was
lost and Acting S/Lt (A) H D.Mourilyan and Naval Airman
First Class E
Parkinson were killed. Destroyer ATHERSTONE
unsuccessfully searched for the
aircraft. A second Swordfish of the Squadron
force-landed off Isle of Eday.
Lt A T Easton and the Naval Airman were rescued.
_____
Heavy
cruiser
DEVONSHIRE's 700 Squadron WALRUS was
shot down by a German He.111 aircraft at Malangsfjord,
Rystraumer. Lt R W
Benson Dare was killed, Midshipman A D.Corkhill wounded,
but rescued and
Leading Airman W H Hill died of wounds.
_____
Polish
troopships
SOBIESKI (11,030grt) and BATORY (14,287grt) departed
Harstad with
troops and survivors from sunken ships. These two ships
were escorted by
destroyers TARTAR and WESTCOTT.
Leaving
Harstad
at the same time were British steamers BALMAHA (1428grt)
and CYCLOPS
(9076grt) escorted by destroyers MATABELE and WARWICK.
The convoys left
together, but after passing 69‑30N, 0‑09E, the convoys
parted.
The "fast" section to arrive in the Clyde on the 23rd
and the
"slow" section to arrive on the 25th.
The
Polish troopships and the destroyers arrived safely in
the Clyde at 0330/23rd.
Steamer
CYCLOPS
and destroyer MATABELE arrived in the Clyde on the 23rd.
Steamer BALMAHA
and destroyer WARWICK arrived in the Clyde at 0530/25th.
After
safely
delivering the troopships at the Clyde, destroyer TARTAR
went on to
Liverpool departing at 2000/23rd
arriving at 0720/24th for repair and boiler cleaning
completed by the end of
the month.
Destroyer
TARTAR
arrived at Scapa Flow after repairs on 2 June.
_____
British
steamer
ACRITY (403grt) departed Scapa Flow
at 2100escorted by
anti-submarine trawlers ST ELSTAN (564grt) and ST CATHAN
(565grt) for Narvik
where they arrived on the 23rd.
_____
British
oiler
WAR NIZAM, escorted by anti-submarine trawlers JUNIPER
and HAZEL,
arrived at Scapa Flow from Sullom Voe.
_____
Norwegian
submarine
B.6, destroyer TROLL, torpedo boat SNOGG were
surrendered at Floro
to German Schiff 18. The crews of these ships had
deserted on the 2nd when
they refused to sail to the Shetlands.
Destroyer
TROLL
and torpedo boat SNOGG were used by German forces under
the names of
TROLL and ZACK, respectively. Submarine B.6 was
recommissioned on 20 October 1940 as UC 2.
_____
Norwegian
steamer
SIRIUS (944grt) was sunk by German bombing off Senja
(Finlandsnes).
Seven
crew
were lost on the Norwegian steamer.
_____
Convoy
BC.37
of steamers BARON CARNEGIE, GLENLEA, KUFRA (Commodore),
LOTTIE R
departed Loire escorted by destroyer MONTROSE. The convoy arrived in Bristol
Channel on the 19th.
_____
Convoy FN.174 departed Southend, escorted by sloop HASTINGS.
The convoy arrived in the Tyne on the 20th.
_____
French
aircraft
carrier BEARN
and destroyers TRAMONTANE,
TORNADE, TYPHON departed Toulon
and passed Gibraltar on the 20th, arriving at Casablanca
on the 21st.
The
aircraft carrier departed Casablanca
on the 22nd, escorted by
sloops ENTRECASTEAUX and IBERVILLE. Sloop IBERVILLE
returned to Casablanca and was replaced by sloop
BOUGAINVILLE.
The
destroyers proceeded to Casablanca.
They passed Gibraltar on the 24th to return to the
Mediterranean.
The
aircraft carrier, joined by cruisers from Brest,
proceeded to Halifax, arriving on 1 June.
_____
Heavy
cruisers
CORNWALL
and DORSETSHIRE arrived at Gibraltar after duty in the
South Atlantic.
They
were joined on the 17th by destroyer KEPPEL from convoy
HG.30 escort duties
and destroyer VORTIGERN from patrol duties.
On
22 May, heavy cruiser CORNWALL
departed Gibraltar, escorted by destroyer
KEPPEL, for Freetown
and heavy cruiser
DORSETSHIRE departed Gibraltar, escorted by destroyer WRESTLER, for refitting
at Devonport.
However,
cruiser
DORSETSHIRE was ordered to patrol off the Canary Islands
and arrived back at Gibraltar on 16 June.
Destroyer
WRESTLER
arrived back at Gibraltar on the 23rd. Destroyer KEPPEL was ordered to
join troopship EMPRESS OF AUSTRALIA and escort her
westwards.
Sunday,
19
May
Destroyer
WHITLEY
(Lt Cdr G.N. Rolfe), under French orders in port
blocking and refugee
lifting operations, was bombed at 0526 and badly damaged
by German bombing
two miles 006° east of Nieuport.
After
three
near misses, destroyer WHITLEY with both engine rooms
flooded and her
back broken was run aground to prevent sinking.
Four
engine room ratings were killed on destroyer WHITLEY.
Destroyer
VIMIERA
rescued the crew and tug LADY BRASSEY was dispatched to
bring WHITLEY
back to England.
Destroyer
KEITH
(Captain D.19) arrived on scene and found WHITLEY beyond
salvage and
shelled her to prevent her use by the German forces.
Destroyer
VIMIERA
with the destroyer WHITLEY crew, the rest of the crew
from destroyer WESTMINSTER, the Flushing demolition
party departed Dunkirk at 1700 for Dover.
_____
Destroyer
VENOMOUS
relieved destroyer KEITH on North Goodwins Patrol.
Destroyer
VENOMOUS
was attacked by German bombing late on the 19th.
Destroyer
KEITH
proceeded to Dover
and refuelled. She departed
later that day for Boulogne
with Chief of the Imperial
General Staff General Sir Edmund Ironside.
After
this
duty, destroyer KEITH arrived back at Dover at
0730/20th.
_____
Light
cruiser
BIRMINGHAM
departed the Humber for Rosyth to rejoin the
Home Fleet after duty off the Dutch coast.
_____
Destroyers
JAVELIN
and JACKAL, which departed Harwich at 1830/18th, JAGUAR
and patrol
sloop PUFFIN screened minesweeping trawlers CAPE
MELVILLE (342grt), GRAMPIAN
(409grt), PELTON (358grt), MILFORD QUEEN (280grt),
MILFORD PRINCESS (301grt),
JAMES LAY (278grt) cutting the telegraph cables between
Lowestoft, Bacton,
Mundesley on the English east coast and Borkum and
Nordeney.
At
1445/19th, destroyer JACKAL encountered abandoned Dutch
salvage tug HECTOR
(175grt).
A
crew was put on the Dutch tug. The tug safely arrived at
Yarmouth at 0600/20th.
Only
two cables were cut and this operation designated
QUIXOTE continued on the
28th.
_____
At
1138 after a loop crossing of Loop No. 2, destroyer WILD
SWAN departed Dover with anti-submarine trawlers
LADY PHILOMENA (trawler Senior Officer), SAON, KINGSTON
OLIVINE, one
additional trawler.
Trawler
SAON
attacked U.9 in 51-03N, 01-22E, but no damage was done.
Destroyer
WILD
SWAN returned to Dover
on the 20th.
_____
Submarine
SEAWOLF
arrived at Rosyth after patrol.
_____
Submarine
TRITON
departed Rosyth on patrol.
_____
French
convoy
FR.2 of troopships CHENONCEAUX (14825grt) and MEXIQUE
(12220grt)
departed the Clyde at 2300 escorted by destroyer SALADIN and patrol vessel JASON for Brest.
In
North
Channel on the 20th, French destroyer FOUDROYANT, relieved of her tanker TARN
escort, joined the convoy
and patrol vessel JASON was detached.
_____
British
steamer
ROYAL ULSTERMAN (3244grt) departed Scapa Flow at 1837,
screened by
anti-aircraft cruiser CURLEW, for Harstad where they
both safely arrived on
the 23rd.
The
steamer departed Harstad the next day to return to Scapa
Flow.
_____
Destroyer
CAMPBELL
departed the Clyde at 0900 for Scapa
Flow where she arrived at
1130/20th.
_____
Belgian
steamer
VLAANDEREN IV (647grt) was sunk by German bombing at
Dunkirk.
_____
French
auxiliary
minesweeper AUGUSTIN NORMAND (175grt) was sunk by German
bombing
near Qunette de Rochemont Lock at Le Havre.
_____
Convoy
OA.151
departed Southend escorted by sloop WELLINGTON from 19
to 21 May.
_____
Convoy
OB.151
departed Liverpool escorted by destroyer WINCHELSEA from 19 to 22 May.
_____
Convoy FN.175 departed Southend, escorted by sloop WESTON. The convoy
arrived at the Tyne on the 21st.
_____
Convoy MT.69 departed Methil, escorted by destroyer VALOROUS. The
convoy arrived in the Tyne later that day.
_____
Convoy FS.174 departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyer VALOROUS. The convoy
arrived at Southend on the 21st.
_____
U.37
sank Swedish steamer ERIK FRISELL (5066grt) in 57‑25N,
09‑15W.
The
crew were rescued by armed patrol trawler COBBERS
(275grt) and were landed at
Stornoway.
_____
Minesweeper
Group
16 of minesweeping trawlers LOCH ERIBOL, ALAFOSS,
WELLSBACK, LOCH LEVEN departed Scapa Flow for the
Humber.
_____
New
Zealand light cruiser LEANDER
departed Colombo
for the Mediterranean to serve in the 7th Cruiser
Squadron in light cruiser LIVERPOOL's place.
Light
cruiser
LEANDER arrived at Alexandria on the 26th.
On
the 31st, the light cruiser was ordered to join the 4th
Cruiser Squadron of
the East Indies Station.
On
1 June, she departed Alexandria
to join the Red Sea Force
and arrived at Port Sudan
on 4 June.
_____
French
light
cruiser MONTCALM and destroyers BRESTOIS and BOULONNAIS
arrived at Gibraltar from Brest.
The
ships departed the next day for the Mediterranean.
_____
Gunboats
COCKCHAFER
and GNAT arrived at Basra; COCKCHAFER in tow of and
escorted by Indian sloop HINDUSTAN.
The
gunboats had departed Singapore on 22 April. At Penang,
they were joined by light
cruiser LIVERPOOL which escorted them to Car
Nicobar.
At
Car Nicobar, armed merchant cruiser CATHAY
relieved the light cruiser.
The
gunboats departed Colombo
on 29 April for Basra.
Monday,
20
May
Norwegian
steamer
DENEB (750grt), British steamer PEMBROKE COAST (625grt),
British steamer
BALTEAKO (1328grt) was badly damaged by German bombing
at Harstad.
The
crew of eleven on the Norwegian steamer were rescued;
two were lost. The
steamer was sunk by gunfire of a destroyer on the 21st.
Destroyer
DELIGHT
was alongside BALTEAKO when she was bombed. The
destroyer assisted
the steamer.
Two
crew were lost on the steamer PEMBROKE COAST. The
steamer was towed to
sea and sunk by gunfire from Destroyers.
_____
At
1900, destroyer MALCOLM off the North Goodwins was
attacked by German bombing
and damaged by three near misses.
Two
ratings were killed and nineteen crew, including Lt Cdr
E. P.F. Atkinson and
Gunner D. E. Wright, were wounded on the Destroyer.
Warrant Engineer G.F.
Walters died of wounds on the 24th. A rating also died
of wounds.
Destroyer
MALCOLM
departed Dover
on the 21st for Portsmouth. She was repaired in four
days.
_____
Minesweeper
HARRIER
completed boiler cleaning at Dover.
The
minesweeper departed Dover
at 1830 to join the 6th Mine
Sweeping Flotilla.
_____
Destroyers
WESSEX
and VENETIA arrived Humber.
_____
Minesweeping
trawlers
RIFSNESS (431grt, Temporary Skipper C. G.Coombe RNR) and
LORD INCHCAPE (338grt)
were minesweeping between Dunkirk
and Ostend.
Trawler
RIFSNESS
was sunk by German bombing. Trawler LORD INCHCAPE picked
up her crew
and returned to Dover.
Lt L.L. Thornton RNR, one ratings were lost on
RIFSNESS. One rating, reported lost, was taken as
prisoner of war. Temporary
Skipper C. G.Coombe and Probationary Temporary Lt E.
G.Lock RNVR, were
wounded in the RIFSNESS.
_____
Anti-submarine
trawlers
LADY PHILOMENA (417grt) and KINGSTON OLIVINE (378grt),
while on
anti-submarine patrol, were attacked by German bombing.
On
21 May, it was determined near misses had made the
trawlers unseaworthy and
docking was required.
Trawler
LADY
PHILOMENA arrived at Dover
on the 22nd with the crew of
a Aircraft that had crashed off Folkestone.
_____
French
tanker
NIGER
(5482grt) was sunk by German
bombing off Gravelines.
French
destroyer
CYCLONE rescued the survivors of the tanker.
_____
French
steamer
ORPHELIA (6477grt) was sunk by German bombing in
Boulogne Roads.
_____
British
steamer
MAVIS (935grt) was badly damaged by German bombing off
Number four
Green Buoy, Calais Roads.
Three
crew
and one gunner were lost on the British steamer.
Steamer
MAVIS
was abandoned one mile north by west, one quarter mile
west of Number 1
Buoy, Calais.
_____
French
tug
HERCULES (216grt) was sunk on a mine at Calais.
_____
On
19 May at 1200, destroyers ZULU, WITHERINGTON, ESCORT,
ACASTA, ARDENT
departed the Clyde to escort Canadian troop convoy TC.4. The convoy was met in 55‑30N,
13‑00W at 0530/20th. The convoy arrived at Liverpool
on the 20th escorted by
destroyers ZULU, WITHERINGTON, ESCORT.
At
0530/21st, battleship REVENGE and destroyers ARDENT and
ACASTA anchored at Greenock.
Destroyers
ZULU,
ESCORT, WITHERINGTON arrived in the Clyde at 1700/21st
after escorting
the convoy.
_____
At
0146, a report of one battleship and a large number of
destroyers in 53‑47N,
7‑15E, steering 270° was received.
All
destroyers at Scapa Flow raised steam to escort capital ships.
This
order was later reduced to two and a half hours notice
when the German
capital ships entered the Ems and only four destroyers steering northeast remained
at sea.
_____
Destroyers
ARROW
and FORTUNE carried out a search of Scapa Flow until
0500 after a shore
battery fired at an unknown craft at 0106 entering Scapa
Flow through Water
Sound.
Destroyers
SIKH,
FURY, FORESIGHT, MASHONA were also searching. The
unknown craft later
was determined to be a float laid by survey ship
FRANKLIN to gauge speed of the
current.
_____
Destroyer
MAORI
departed Liverpool at 2115 for the Clyde
after repairs. She arrived
at Greenock at 0700/21st.
Destroyer
MAORI
was fitted with the first lethal kite flying equipment.
_____
Destroyer
ASHANTI
departed Dundee at 1430 for Rosyth after
repairs.
_____
Destroyer
SIKH
carried out firing trials of a modified pom pom gun in
the Flow.
_____
French
steamer
MASSILIA departed Liverpool, escorted by destroyer WAKEFUL. Both ships
arrived at Brest
during the afternoon of 22
May.
_____
German
motor
torpedo boats S.22, S.23, S.24, S.25 of the 1st S.boat
Flotilla and
S.13, S.30, S.31, S.32, S.34 of the 2nd S.boat Flotilla
departed Borkum to
operate off Nieuport.
_____
Submarine
SPEARFISH
in 55‑00N, 03‑30E intercepted two Danish fishing
trawlers.
At
0333, submarine SPEARFISH stopped Danish fishing trawler
S.130. At 0450, she
stopped Danish fishing trawler S.175.
After
taking
off the crews, SPEARFISH sank the trawlers with gunfire.
_____
At
0056, French submarine ANTIOPE fired three torpedoes at
French submarine
SYBILLE while diving in 53-23N, 03-44E in the North Sea.
One
torpedo passed under the bow of submarine SYBILLE, but
no damage was done.
French
submarines
ANTIOPE and SYBILLE and submarine SHARK in adjacent
patrol areas
were ordered not to attack submarines.
_____
French
submarine
SYBILLE reported both periscope presses defective and a
sick
rating.
Submarine
SYBILLE
was ordered to Rosyth and was relieved on station by
submarine L.23,
which departed Harwich on the 21st.
_____
French
submarine
ACHILLE arrived at Dundee.
Submarine
ACHILLE
was bombed in the restricted area by aircraft. Damage
was sustained
to the external fuel tanks, hydroplanes, echo sounding
gear, both propellers.
_____
French
submarine
AMAZONE arrived at Rosyth after patrol.
_____
Submarine
SALMON
departed Harwich on patrol.
_____
Submarine
TRUANT
departed Tromso on patrol off North Cape.
_____
On
a minelaying sortie from North Coates, a Swordfish of
812 Squadron ditched at
sea. Lt R. C. Dundas and S/Lt J. A. Allen were lost.
_____
Convoy
OA.152
departed Southend escorted by corvette ARABIS. The
corvette was later
transferred to convoy HG.31.
_____
Convoy
OG.30
was formed from convoys OA.150G, which departed Southend
on the 18th
escorted by corvette CLARKIA, OB.150G, which departed
Liverpool on the 18th escorted by
sloop ROCHESTER, with forty six ships.
Corvette
CLARKIA
escorted the convoy on the 20th.
Sloop
BIDEFORD
escorted the convoy from 20 to 23 May and was then
detached to
convoy HG.31F.
Destroyer
WATCHMAN,
from convoy HG.31F, escorted the convoy from 23 to 26
May when the
convoy arrived at Gibraltar.
_____
Convoy FN.176 departed Southend, escorted by sloop LONDONDERRY.
The convoy arrived at the Tyne on the 22nd.
_____
Convoy MT.70 departed Methil, escorted by destroyer WALLACE. The
convoy arrived in the Tyne later that day.
_____
Convoy FS.175 departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyer WALLACE. The convoy
arrived at Southend on the 22nd.
_____
Convoy
HX.44
departed Halifax
at 0900 escorted by Canadian
destroyers SAGUENAY and SKEENA, which were detached on the 21st.
Convoy
BHX.44
departed Bermuda on the 19th escorted locally by sloop PENZANCE
and an ocean escort of armed
merchant cruiser JERVIS
BAY. The convoy rendezvoused
with HX.44 on the 25th and the armed merchant cruiser
was detached.
The
Armed merchant cruiser AUSONIA assumed command of escort
of the convoy from
the destroyers at 1800/21st. The armed merchant cruiser
was detached on the
30th.
On
the 30th, sloop ROCHESTER
joined and on 1 June, sloop
ENCHANTRESS joined. They escorted the convoy until 3
June when it arrived at Liverpool.
_____
On
20 May, French battleships BRETAGNE and PROVENCE
departed Alexandria to sweep towards Cape Bon. They were
escorted by
French large destroyers LYNX
and TIGRE and Australian destroyers
STUART, VAMPIRE, VOYAGER, WATERHEN.
On
22 May, French destroyers BORDELAIS and TROMBE joined
the sweep.
The
Australian destroyers were detached to Malta where they
refuelled and
arrived back at Alexandria
on the 25th.
The
French battleships returned to Mer el Kebir, arriving on
the 27th.
_____
Convoy
HG.31F
of twenty nine ships departed Gibraltar. The convoy was
escorted by
destroyer WATCHMAN from 20 to 23 May and was then
transferred to convoy
OG.30.
French
auxiliary
patrol vessel JUTLAND escorted the convoy from 20 to 26 May. The
patrol vessel arrived at Lorient
on the 27th.
Sloop
BIDEFORD
from convoy OG.30 escorted the convoy from 26 to 28 May.
Destroyer
WORCESTER
escorted the convoy from 26 to 29 May when the convoy
arrived at Liverpool.
_____
Destroyers
WISHART
and DOUGLAS departed Gibraltar escorting British troopship ORONSAY (20,043grt)
to Malta.
Tuesday,
21
May
Destroyer
KEITH
was damaged by the near miss of a German air bomb at
Dunkirk.
Destroyer
KEITH
evacuated one hundred and fifty British refugees and
returned to Dover.
_____
A
group of French merchant ships were ordered away from
Dunkirk. However, heavy German
bombing began before the ships even left port. French
tanker SALOME
(13,291grt) was badly damaged by bombing before she
could even be towed into
the channel.
French
steamer
PAVON (4128grt), with 1500 Dutch troops aboard for
evacuation to England, was badly damaged by German
bombing between Gravelines and Calais.
The
steamer was run aground a total loss near Calais.
French
destroyers
CYCLONE, SIROCCO, MISTRAL rescued the survivors of these
sunken
ships.
French
destroyer
L'ADROIT (Capitaine de Corvette H.M. A. Dupin de
Saint-Cyr),
waiting to escort this convoy, was bombed and beached in
a sinking condition
at Malo les Bains before ever joining the convoy.
French
submarine
chaser CH.9, also waiting to escort the convoy, was
bombed and
badly damaged off Dunkirk.
She was run aground a total
loss to prevent sinking and abandoned.
To
give the destroyers relief from constant bombing, French
destroyers CYCLONE,
MISTRAL, SIROCCO, FOUGUEUX, FRONDEUR departed Dunkirk
and arrived in the Downs that evening.
_____
British
steamer
BAWTRY (835grt) was sunk by German bombing in the
Dunkirk docks.
The
crew of thirteen and one naval gunner were saved and
returned to England.
The
steamer was later raised by German forces, salved,
renamed RIVAL for German
service.
_____
Commander
in
Chief, Nore, offered to place two destroyers at disposal
of Vice Admiral
Submarines for Operation LAMP, the cutting of the cable
off Amsterdam.
_____
Panamanian
tanker
CLAIRY (5838grt) was sunk by German bombing eight to
nine miles off Boulogne.
The
tanker was abandoned on fire on the 22nd.
The
entire crew was rescued.
_____
French
auxiliary
minesweepers SAINT BERNOIT (315grt), NOTRE DAME DE
LORETTE
(339grt), RIEN SANS PEINE (142grt), JACQUES COEUR
(285grt), SAINT JOACHIM
(192grt) was sunk by German bombing at Dunkirk.
_____
French
tug
TUMULTE (370grt) was sunk by German bombing at Dunkirk.
_____
Mine
destructor ship CORBURN (3060grt, Lt Cdr M. E. Welby)
was sunk by German
motor torpedo boat S.32 off Le Havre.
_____
Destroyers
VIMY,
WINDSOR, VENETIA departed the Nore for Dover
to assist in various duties.
_____
Destroyer
VIMIERA
arrived at Dover
after taking the WHITLEY
crew to Portsmouth.
_____
British
steamer
FIRTH FISHER (574grt) was sunk by mining one half mile
east of
Boulogne Pier.
Seven
crew
were lost. The pilot and three crew were rescued by
British steamer SPARTA (708grt).
_____
Belgian
steamer
ANTVERPIA (4932grt), which had been damaged by German
bombing on the
20th in Boulogne Roads, was run aground to prevent
sinking.
The
entire crew was rescued.
The
steamer was set afire by incendiary bombs on the 23rd.
_____
French
tugs
ORME (340grt) and BARFLEUR (330grt) were scuttled at
Boulogne.
_____
French
auxiliary
minesweepers LEOPOLD SOUBLER (215grt) and CHRISTIANE
CECILE
(146grt) were scuttled at Boulogne.
_____
British
steamer
HUBBASTONE (873grt) was sunk by German bombing in Dieppe
Dock.
The
crew of the steamer were all rescued.
The
steamer was damaged again on the 23rd and abandoned.
Steamer
HUBBASTONE
was later salved by German forces and renamed JURGENSBY
for German
service.
_____
Hospital
carrier
MAID OF KENT (2693grt) was damaged by German bombing at in
the Paris Basin
at Dieppe.
The
steamer was abandoned in a sinking condition.
Thirty
seven
men were lost.
_____
Belgian
fishing
vessel DE NORMANDIE (137grt) was sunk on a mine fifty
meters outside Dieppe Harbour.
Five
crew and eight refugees were killed.
_____
Belgian
trawler
NELLY SUZANNE (151grt) and fishing vessels INDEPENDANCE
(96grt),
GEORGETTE SIMONE (11grt), ERNESTINE GABRIELLE (12grt)
were sunk by German
bombing at Dieppe.
_____
Italian
steamer
FIDELITAS (5740grt) was damaged by German bombing at
Antwerp.
_____
Destroyer
VENOMOUS
at Calais
was attacked by German
bombers, but was not damaged.
The
destroyer arrived at Dover
on the 21st with 200
refugees and the crew and stores from the Sangette loop
station.
_____
Destroyer
WILD
SWAN on North Goodwins Patrol was attacked by German
bombers, but was
not damaged.
Destroyer
WILD
SWAN proceeded to Boulogne
and embarked 150 British
refugees.
These
refugees
were taken to Dover.
_____
French
light
cruisers JEANNE D'ARC and EMILE BERTIN departed Brest on
the 21st with 200 tons of
gold to be taken to Halifax.
French
large
destroyers JAGUAR and GERFAUT were assigned as escort,
but both were
reassigned before they joined.
On
the 25th in 31-30N, 22-38W, the French light cruisers
joined French aircraft
carrier BEARN,
carrying gold from Toulon.
The
French ships safely arrived at Halifax on 1 June.
_____
French
Large
Destroyer Division 2 was ordered from Brest to Cherbourg
where they arrived without
incident.
At
Cherbourg, large destroyer CHACAL embarked a demolition
party for the port of Calais,
LEOPARD for Boulogne, JAGUAR for Dunkirk.
_____
French
General
Weygand left on Dunkirk
on French torpedo boat FLORE
for Cherbourg, via Dover.
The
torpedo boat arrived safely at Cherbourg at dawn on the
22nd.
_____
Convoy
OB.152
departed Liverpool escorted by sloop ROCHESTER
from 21 to 23 May. The sloop
was detached to convoy HX.42.
_____
Convoy FS.176 departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyer WALPOLE. The convoy
arrived at Southend on the 23rd.
_____
Aircraft
carrier
ARK ROYAL, escorted by destroyers ANTELOPE, BRAZEN,
ENCOUNTER and
VOLUNTEER, departed her patrol area near Narvik.
Destroyer
ANTELOPE
which lost touch in thick fog arrived at Scapa Flow at
0720/24th.
After
being
delayed by fog, the aircraft carrier arrived for
refuelling at Scapa Flow at 1940/24th with destroyers
ENCOUNTER and VOLUNTEER.
_____
Aircraft
carriers
FURIOUS flew off the Gladiator aircraft of the 263
Squadron ashore
to Bardufoss airfield, northeast of Narvik.
One
Swordfish of the 818 Squadron escorting the Gladiators
crashed on a
mountainside at Gryllefjord, Seja Island. S/Lt J. A.
Welply, S/Lt
G.P. Simpson, Leading Airman H.H. Simpson were injured,
but later returned to
the ship.
Aircraft
carrier
GLORIOUS was unable to disembark her RAF Hurricanes of
the 46
Squadron.
The
aircraft carriers with destroyers VETERAN, DIANA,
AMAZON, VISCOUNT departed their
patrol area near Narvik for refuelling at Scapa Flow.
Both
aircraft carriers arrived for refuelling at 2100/23rd.
_____
Destroyer
ICARUS
departed Scapa Flow.
_____
Anti-submarine
trawlers
CAPE PASSARO (510grt, Lt Cdr M. B. Sherwood Rtd of the
15th
AntiSubmarine Striking Force and MELBOURNE (466grt, Lt
Cdr A. J. C. Pomeroy
RNVR) of the 23rd AntiSubmarine Group were sunk by
German bombing near
Narvik.
Four
ratings were killed on the trawler CAPE PASSARO. There
were no casualties on
trawler MELBOURNE.
_____
Anti-submarine
trawlers
JUNIPER and HAZEL of the 19th Anti-Submarine Striking
Force departed
Scapa
Flow
escorting oiler BRITISH JUSTICE and steamer BALTONIA to
the Clyde. The trawlers were then to
patrol in position 59-10N, 5 to 7 W.
_____
French
destroyers
BASQUE and FORTUNE departed Bizerte escorting steamers
PRESIDENT
DOUMER and PROVIDENCE
to Beirut, arriving on the 25th.
These
destroyers
replaced large destroyers TIGRE and LYNX of Amiral
Godfrey's command.
Destroyer
BASQUE
had been repairing at Brest. She departed on the 13th,
escorting the two steamers to Casablanca, arriving 16
May. The three
ships passed Gibraltar on the 16th and arrived at Bizerte
on the 19th.
Destroyer
FORTUNE
had been repairing at Oran. She departed on the 16th
and arrived at Bizerte
on the 17th.
