Background Events - June 1940
Evacuation
of
Dunkirk ends, Italy at war, Action at sea in
the Mediterranean, France falls
1940
Saturday,
15 June
Destroyer
GRIFFIN arrived at
Dover
at 2145, the first arrival
of the newly reconstituted 1st Destroyer Flotilla. The
Flotilla was to be
composed of CODRINGTON (Captain D 1), GREYHOUND,
GALLANT, GRIFFIN, BULLDOG, BRILLIANT,
BOADICEA, BOREAS, BEAGLE, BRAZEN, BLYSKAWICA, BURZA.
Most of these destroyers
were under repair on this date.
_____
French
large
destroyer
MILAN
took French General De Gaulle
from
Brest to
Plymouth.
_____
Destroyers
MACKAY
and WINCHELSEA were ordered from Plymouth to escort
convoys from France to England, and departed at
0700/16th.
_____
Steamers
EMPIRE
ABILITY (7603grt) and
CITY
OF FLORENCE (6862grt) departed Falmouth for Brest, while
steamers ETTRICK
(11,279grt), KONINGIN EMMA (4135grt), ROYAL ULSTERMAN
(3244grt), ROYAL
SCOTSMAN (3244grt) departed Falmouth for La Pallice in
the
afternoon. Next day, the morning of the 16th, and also
from Falmouth, troopship ORMONDE
(14,982grt) departed for
Plymouth
and then to Quiberon Bay, and troopship ORONSAY
(20,043grt)
for
Quiberon
Bay. Troopships ARANDORA STAR (15,501grt), OTRANTO
(20,026grt), STRATHAIRD (22,281grt) were ordered to
Brest from Cardiff.
_____
Destroyer
ESK
escorted cable ship ARIEL from St Peter's Point,
Guernsey to Southend.
_____
Light
cruiser
NEWCASTLE
and destroyers AMAZON and
KELVIN departed
Scapa Flow at 0945 for firing practices in
Pentland
Firth.
_____
Battleship
RODNEY,
battlecruiser RENOWN, destroyers TARTAR, FEARLESS,
ASHANTI, BEDOUIN, MASHONA, MAORI
arrived at
Scapa Flow at 1650.
_____
Destroyer
AMAZON
departed
Scapa Flow at 2100 for Sullom Voe with oiler ROSEWOOD (5989grt)
and anti-submarine trawlers SCOTTISH (558grt) and LOCH
OSKAIG (534grt) .
_____
Destroyers
ATHERSTONE,
ACHERON,
WALKER,
VISCOUNT and anti-submarine
trawlers KING
SOL, ST CATHAN, ST ELSTAN, LOCH MONTEITH departed
Scapa
Flow at 0600 with a convoy for
the Clyde. It was composed of steamers
BLACKHEATH (4637grt), YEWMOUNT (859grt), MARINA
(5088grt), HARMATTAN
(4558grt), THESEUS (6527grt), DALLINGTON COURT
(6889grt), REDCAR (1475grt), COXWOLD
(1124grt), and the Danish GUNVOR MAERSK (1977grt).
_____
U.A
torpedoed
armed merchant cruiser ANDANIA (Captain D. K. Bain Rtd)
northwest
of
Ireland
in 62‑36N, 15‑09W
at 2330/15th. Icelandic trawler SKALLAGRIMUR (403grt)
rescued the entire crew
of 347 men before she sank. Destroyer FORESTER departed
Thorshaven to assist.
A transfer of the crew was attempted on the 16th when
FORESTER met the
trawler, but the weather was too rough. The crew were
transferred on the 17th
and FORESTER arrived at
Scapa Flow at 2230/17th with the survivors, who were taken
by minesweeper HAZARD to Scrabster.
Destroyer
AMAZON,
escorting oiler ROSEWOOD, came from Sullom Voe and
destroyer KELVIN
departed
Scapa Flow at 0200/16th to assist. Armed boarding vessel
DISCOVERY II also arrived on the scene.
Oiler
ROSEWOOD,
now escorted by anti-submarine trawlers SCOTTISH and
LOCH OKAIG,
arrived at Sullom Voe later that day.
Destroyer
AMAZON
reported later on the 16th that her starboard turbine
bearing had run
and she was returning to
Scapa Flow, arriving at 1112/17th.
Destroyers
BEDOUIN
and
ASHANTI
had departed Scapa Flow at 0240 for Reykavik and
attempted to locate trawler SKALLAGRIMUR en route.
However, they were unable
to locate the trawler due to low visibility.
Anti-submarine
trawlers
CAPE
CORMORIN
and AYRSHIRE in Iceland were sent to the area.
Heavy
cruiser
SUSSEX,
light cruiser NEWCASTLE, armed merchant cruiser
CIRCASSIA patrolled in the area in
case this attack was a forerunner of an attempt by an
armed raider to enter
the Atlantic.
_____
Anti-submarine
trawler
ARAB (531grt) attacked a submarine contact in 52-26N,
1-57E.
The
trawler
was joined by patrol sloop PINTAIL.
_____
Swedish
destroyers
PSILANDER, PUKE, ROMULUS, REMUS with supply ship
PATRICIA and tanker CASTOR had arrived at Cobh
(Queenstown) on the 2nd to
embark Swedish citizens to return to Sweden. They
departed on the 15th,
en route to
Sweden
from Italy.
_____
Convoy
OF
34F was formed from convoys OA.168GF and OB.168GF with
nineteen ships.
British
steamer CITY OF WINDSOR (7218grt) was
diverted to
Cherbourg
from convoy OA.168 GF. The
convoy was escorted by sloop DEPTFORD from 15 to 22
June. The convoy arrived
at Gibraltar on the 24th.
_____
Convoy
BC
41 departed Bristol Channel escorted by anti-submarine
trawlers AGATE and CAMBRIDGESHIRE for Loire.
The
was
the last convoy of the BC series.
_____
Convoy FN.196 departed Southend, escorted by destroyer VIMIERA and
sloop
LONDONDERRY.
The convoy arrived at the Tyne on the 17th.
Convoy FN.197 did not sail.
_____
Convoy FS.196 departed the
Tyne, escorted by sloops WESTON and
LOWESTOFT.
The convoy became separated
in fog and anchored, one section with sloop WESTON and
the other with sloop LOWESTOFT. The convoy arrived at
Southend on the 17th.
_____
U.38
sank
Norwegian motor tanker ITALIA (9973grt) and Danish
steamer ERIK BOYE
(2238grt), under British control, from convoy HX.48 in
50‑37N, 08‑44W.
Nineteen
crew
from the Norwegian tanker were lost. The survivors were
rescued by sloop
FOWEY.
The
entire
crew of the Danish steamer were rescued by sloop FOWEY.
_____
German
armed
merchant cruiser PINGUIN departed Gydnia and was
escorted by
Sperrbrecher IV to
Bremen.
Armed
merchant
cruiser PINGUIN was joined by torpedo boats JAGUAR and
FALKE on the
18 June in the
Skagerrak for the passage to
Bergen.
On
the
19th, PINGUIN was joined by minesweepers M.17 and M.18
off Skudesnes.
_____
French
destroyers
FORBIN, FORTUNE, BASQUE departed Alexandria for Beirut.
_____
French
submarine
MORSE (LV J. G. C. Paris) of the 9th Submarine Division
was sunk on
a mine off Sfax with all officers and ratings aboard
lost.
_____
Submarine
RORQUAL
reported unsuccessfully attacking an Italian submarine
in Otranto Strait.
_____
Destroyer
WRESTLER
attacked a submarine contact seven miles 138° from
Europa Point.
_____
Italian
submarine
MACALLE, which had departed Massawa at 1600/10th, was
wrecked on a
reef near
Port Sudan
at 19‑00N, 38‑00E.
The entire crew were rescued by Italian submarine
GUGLIELMOTTI on the 22nd.
_____
Convoy
SL.36
departed
Freetown
escorted by armed merchant
cruiser
DUNVEGAN
CASTLE. The convoy arrived at Liverpool 3 July.
Sunday,
16 June
Heavy
cruiser
SUSSEX
and light cruiser NEWCASTLE departed Scapa Flow to
patrol along 59N from 16
to 20W. They arrived on station at 0100/17th to search
for a raider.
After
no
contact, they were ordered at 0954/18th to return to
Scapa Flow, arriving at 0455/19th.
_____
The
Australian
-
New Zealand
troop convoy US.3 arrived in
the Clyde.
Heavy
cruiser
CUMBERLAND
departed the Clyde on the 16th for Liverpool arriving on
the 17th.
Escorting
destroyers
BROKE and WESTCOTT then proceeded to Plymouth.
Escorting
destroyer
WARWICK proceeded to
Liverpool.
Escorting
destroyers
WANDERER, WITCH, ST LAURENT, RESTIGOUCHE, SKEENA, FRASER
departed the Clyde to join Canadian troop
convoy TC.5.
_____
Destroyer
DELIGHT
departed the
Clyde with British steamers NAILSEA LASS (4289grt)
and
LOMBARDY
(3379grt) for Plymouth.
_____
Armed
boarding
vessel NORTHERN DUKE picked up a raft from Norwegian
steamer
KRISTIANIAFJORD (6759grt) in 62-04N, 7-46W.
_____
At
0508,
submarine TETRARCH encountered a southbound German
convoy. Submarine TETRARCH
fired four torpedoes.
German
tanker
SAMLAND (5978grt) was sunk off Korsfjord, five miles
west of Lister,
in 58-18N, 05-40E.
_____
Submarine
TRUANT
and Polish submarine
WILK
departed Rosyth for
exercises in the Firth of Forth.
After
the
exercises, submarine TRUANT set off on patrol and
submarine WILK returned to Rosyth.
_____
Submarine
L.23
and submarine tender WHITE BEAR arrived at Scapa Flow.
_____
Sloop
BLACK
SWAN and minesweeper SHARPSHOOTER arrived at Rosyth with
part of convoy
FN.195.
Sloop
HASTINGS with rest of the convoy arrived later.
_____
Minesweepers
HALCYON
and HEBE and destroyer ESK with cable vessel ARIEL were
held for
several hours at
Dover
while the Downs was cleared.
_____
At
2000,
destroyer
GRIFFIN
departed Dover to join light cruiser
GALATEA and destroyer IMOGEN en route from the Nore to
Spithead.
_____
Anti-aircraft
cruiser
CALCUTTA
departed Harwich for Portsmouth.
_____
Operation
AERIAL
was the evacuation of allied troops from French Biscay
ports.
On
the
16th, destroyers WOLVERINE, VANOC, WHIRLWIND were
detailed to escort
loaded ships from France to the UK.
From
15
to 18 June, 30,630 troops were evacuated from Cherbourg
and taken to Portsmouth.
On
16
and 17 June, 21,474 troops were lifted from St Malo and
taken to Portsmouth.
The
demolition
party for St Malo was XD.M (Cdr C. D. Howard-Johnston),
delivered
on destroyer WILD SWAN on 0050/17th, after calling at St
Helier en route.
On
16
and 17 June, 32,584 troops were evacuated from Brest and
taken to Plymouth.
From
16
to 18 June, 57,235 troops were evacuated from St Nazaire
and Nantes to Plymouth.
Destroyers
VEGA,
FERNIE, SABRE and sloops FOXGLOVE and ROSEMARY were
employed as escorts
along the evacuation route.
Destroyers
HAVELOCK, WOLVERINE, BEAGLE with troopships GEORGIC
(27,759grt), DUCHESS OF
YORK
(20,021grt), BATORY
(14,287grt), SOBIESKI (11,030grt) of convoy FF.1 were at
Quiberon Bay on the 15th. These liners
departed St Nazaire at 0119/17th, escorted by destroyers
WHIRLWIND and
BEAGLE.
On
the
16th, destroyers HIGHLANDER and VANOC joined the force.
British
troopship
FRANCONIA (20,175grt) of convoy FF.2 was damaged by German
bombing at
Brest
on the 16th. She was temporarily
out of action due to mainshaft and gearing out of line.
On the 17th at 0700,
she was able to proceed independently to Plymouth.
British
troopships
LANCASTRIA (16,243grt) and ORONSAY (20,043grt) of convoy
FF.2 were
damaged by air bombing at Quiberon Bay on the 17th.
British
troopship
ORONSAY (20,043grt) departed St Nazaire on the 17th.
On
the
17th two hours after being damaged by bombing, British
troopship
LANCASTRIA (16,243grt) was sunk by German bombing at St
Nazaire with a heavy
loss of life.
On
the
18th, British liners
FRANCONIA (20,175grt), ARANDORA
STAR
(15,501grt), ORMONDE
(14,982grt) departed
Brest.
British
steamers
BELLEROPHON (9019grt), EURYADES (5801grt), LYCAON
(7350grt) OTRANTO
(20,026grt), STRAITHAIRD (22,281grt) arrived at Brest in
the same convoy as FRANCONIA and ORMONDE and were sent
to
Quiberon
Bay.
Liner
STRAITHAIRD
(22,281grt) evacuated 32,584 troops from Brest.
_____
Light
cruiser
ARETHUSA arrived at Le Verdon from Gibraltar.
_____
Convoy MT.89 departed Methil, escorted by destroyer WOOLSTON and
sloop FLEETWOOD. Destroyer ENCOUNTER traveled in this
convoy for passage to
Chatham.
The convoy arrived in the Tyne on the 17th.
_____
U.101
sank
British steamer WELLINGTON STAR (13,212grt) in 42‑39N,
17‑01W.
The
entire
crew were picked up by French steamer PIERRE L D
(5795grt) .
_____
French
aircraft
carrier
BEARN
and light cruiser JEANNE
D'ARC departed
Halifax
at 0600/16th to return to France, but arrived in the
Antilles on the 27th.
_____
French
General
De Gaulle ordered new French liner PASTEUR (30,447grt),
en route from
Halifax to
Bordeaux,
to put into a British port.
Liner
PASTEUR
on the first half of the voyage, her maiden passage,
carried 400 tons
of gold to
Halifax.
_____
Convoy
HG.34
departed
Gibraltar with fifteen ships, escorted by destroyers VIDETTE
and WRESTLER until 18 June. The convoy arrived at
Liverpool
on the 26th.
_____
German
steamer
KONIGSBERG (6466grt) was scuttled when
intercepted by French auxiliary patrol boat PRESIDENT
HOUDUCE (1178grt) in 41‑36N,
10‑37W.
Steamer
KONIGSBERG
had earlier refuelled German
armed merchant cruiser WIDDER.
_____
At
1400,
destroyers departed
Alexandria
on an anti-submarine sweep.
Force
M:destroyers
NUBIAN, MOHAWK, JANUS, JUNO.
Force
H:destroyers
HYPERION, HAVOCK, HEREWARD, HASTY.
Force
S:destroyers
STUART, VAMPIRE, DAINTY, VOYAGER.
Destroyers
ILEX
and IMPERIAL were already at sea to cover tanker
movements between Port Said, Alexandria, Haifa.
On
the
17th, light cruiser
GLOUCESTER
departed Alexandria to join the sweep.
_____
Submarine
GRAMPUS,
(Lt Cdr C. A. Rowe), which had laid mines off Port
Augusta on the
13th,was sunk by Italian torpedo boats POLLUCE,
CALLIOPE, CIRCE, CLIO off Augusta.
After
the
minelay, the submarine had unsuccessfully attacked
Italian submarine
BAUSAN on the 13th and torpedo boat POLLUCE on the 13th.
Destroyer
DIAMOND
was sent on the 18th to search for the missing
submarine.
Submarine
GRAMPUS
was declared lost on the 24th and presumed mined.
Lt
Cdr
Rowe, Lt E. B. Bull, Lt K. J. Dorrell, S/Lt CC Wilson
RNR, Warrant Engineer L.E.
Buckler, the fifty three ratings of the crew, the
Chinese steward were lost
with GRAMPUS.
_____
Heavy
cruiser
DORSETSHIRE arrived at
Gibraltar
after US.3 convoy duty until
14 June, then a patrol off the
Canary Islands.
_____
Italian
submarine
DURBO attacked a French destroyer in 36‑06N, 11‑33E, in
the
Gulf of
Hammanet,
northeast of Sousse.
_____
Italian
submarine
GALILEI sank Norwegian tanker JAMES STOVE (8215grt)
south of Aden at 12‑35N, 45‑03E.
The
entire
crew of the tanker were rescued.
_____
Italian
steamer
RASTRELLO (1550grt) was sunk by an underwater explosion
at Naples.
_____
New
Zealand light cruiser LEANDER was searching
for submarine GALILEI from 16 to 18 June. British
trawler MOONSTONE captured
this submarine on the 19th.
Monday,
17 June
Destroyers
FOXHOUND
and DIANA departed
Scapa Flow at 0130 for the
Clyde,
but were recalled to escort
aircraft carrier ARK ROYAL.
_____
Aircraft
carrier
ARK ROYAL with destroyers FAULKNOR (D.8), FEARLESS,
ESCAPADE departed
Scapa
Flow
at 1545 for the
Clyde.
Destroyer
FOXHOUND
joined the screen outside
Scapa Flow.
Destroyer DIANA entered Scapa Flow.
_____
Destroyers
BEDOUIN
and
ASHANTI
were sent at 0047 to hunt
for a German submarine reported off Reykavik in 64-09N,
22-16W.
Destroyers
BEDOUIN
and
ASHANTI
arrived off Reykavik on the
18th and maintained an anti-submarine patrol off
Reykavik of one destroyer
and one trawler.
The
destroyers
were then to escort British troopship EMPRESS OF
AUSTRALIA from Iceland to Halifax.
Heavy
cruiser
DEVONSHIRE was sent to Halifax to escort troopship
EMPRESS
OF AUSTRALIA on her return voyage to Iceland with
Canadian troops.
_____
Armed
merchant
cruiser
CANTON
on Northern Patrol reported
she was attacked by a German submarine.
_____
Destroyers
HAMBLEDON
and WITHERINGTON arrived in the Clyde.
_____
Destroyer
VISCOUNT
departed the
Clyde for
Plymouth.
_____
Destroyers
KASHMIR
and JUPITER departed the Tyne for the Humber where they
arrived later the
same day.
_____
Destroyers
GALLANT
and WALPOLE arrived at Rosyth from the Humber.
_____
Minelayer
PORT
NAPIER arrived at Rosyth
from the
Tyne.
_____
Submarine
SALMON
departed Rosyth on patrol.
_____
Destroyer
BRILLIANT
arrived at
Dover
to join the 1st Destroyer
Flotilla.
_____
Destroyer
WILD
SWAN, en route from
Portsmouth
to Harwich, spent the night
at
Dover. The destroyer arrived at 2208/17th and departed the
next morning at 0535.
_____
On
patrol,
destroyer VESPER rescued three British officers, one
British NCO,
five French soldiers and took them to Dover.
_____
Destroyer
VIVACIOUS,
en route from
Portsmouth
to Harwich, reported
sighting enemy boats seven miles east of Dungeness late
on the 17th.
Destroyer
VIVACIOUS
soon reported a torpedo missed ahead.
_____
In
support
of the Cotentin Peninsula (Cherbourg area), French
battleship
COURBET, Anti-aircraft ship AMIENS, submarine chasers
CH.13 and CH.43
operated off the east coast and large destroyer LEOPARD,
torpedo boats
BRANLEBAS, FLORE, INCOMPRISE, sloop SAVORGNAN DE BRAZZA
operated off the west
coast.
On
the
19th, these ships proceeded to Portsmouth.
_____
French
steamers
SAUMUR (2955grt), ENSEIGNE MAURICE PRECHAC (4578grt),
VULCAIN
(4362grt), PAUL EMILE JAVARY (2471grt), ARMENIER
(914grt), SAINTE CLAIR
(3824grt) departed the
Clyde for
Brest
escorted by British
trawlers.
_____
Destroyer
WESTCOTT
was damaged in a collision with British steamer NYROCA
(786grt) at Brest.
The
destroyer
could steam only eight knots and returned to Plymouth,
where she was under repair
from 18 to 30 June.
_____
A
convoy of twenty six ships departed Quiberon Bay
escorted by destroyer
WOLVERINE for
Bristol Channel.
_____
At
St
Nazaire on the 17th was the British liner LANCASTRIA
(16,243grt) . She was
joined by British liners ULSTER PRINCE (3791grt), ULSTER
MONARCH (3791grt), ROYAL SCOTSMAN (3244grt), ROYAL
ULSTERMAN (3244grt) .
In
the
Loire anchorage was British tanker
CYMBULA (8033grt) and British steamers CLAN FERGUSON
(7347grt), BAHARISTAN
(5479grt) FLORISTAN (5478grt), GLENAFFARIC (7782grt),
JOHN HOLt (3815grt),
TEIRESIAS (7405grt) .
Destroyers
HIGHLANDER,
HAVELOCK,
BEAGLE worked in the
anchorage.
British
steamer
TEIRESIAS (7405grt) was badly damaged by German bombing
in 47‑07N,
02‑23W.
One
crewman
killed on the British steamer. The steamer was abandoned
one mile
northwest Wreck Buoy off the entrance to St Nazaire.
British
steamer
HOLMSIDE (3433grt) rescued the survivors.
British
steamer
DUNDRUM
CASTLE (5259grt) had been diverted
from
Dunkirk and was waiting in St Nazaire to discharge her
military cargo.
Hospital
ship
SOMERSET (8790grt) was also at St Nazaire.
A
convoy was arriving from the
Bristol Channel.
It was composed of British
steamers ROBERT L. HOLt (acting commodore, 2918grt),
CITY OF LANCASTER (3041grt), DAVID LIVINGSTON
(4022grt), FABIAN (3059grt), GLENLEA (4252grt) .
Destroyers
HAVELOCK and HIGHLANDER were involved in ferrying troops
to the evacuating ships in the harbour.
Destroyer
HAVELOCK had her starboard engine out of action and was
to return to
Plymouth
with troopship LANCASTRIA.
British
troopship
LANCASTRIA (16,243grt) while evacuating troops at St
Nazaire was
sunk by German bombing in Charpentier's Roads.
Anti-submarine
trawler
CAMBRIDGESHIRE (443grt) rescued 1009 survivors and
transferred them
to British steamer JOHN HOLt (3815grt) in harbour. 829
survivors on steamer
JOHN HOLt were sailed for England on the 17th.
Destroyer
HIGHLANDER,
tanker CYMBULA (8033grt), steamers FABIAN (3059grt),
GLENAFFARIC
(7782grt), ORONSAY (20,043grt), ROBERT L. HOLt
(2918grt), ULSTER PRINCE
(3791grt) were also involved in rescue efforts.
Only
2477
survivors out of 5310 passengers and crew on LANCASTRIA
were rescued.
Sixty six crew and 2833 troops and refugees were lost.
Destroyer
WREN
and armed yacht ZAZA were ordered to St Nazaire to
assist destroyer
HIGHLANDER.
At
0630/18th,
British steamers OLIVE, ROYAL ULSTERMAN, ULSTER PRINCE,
FLORISTAN,
BAHARISTAN, CLAN MACPHERSON, DUNDRUM CASTLE, DAVID
LIVINGSTONE, FABIAN, CITY OF MOBILE, GLENAFFARIC
departed St
Nazaire, escorted by destroyers VANOC and BEAGLE.
Steamers
CLAN
FERGUSON, ULSTER PRINCE, BAHARISTAN each carrying 3000
troops, DAVID
LIVINGSTON carrying 800 troops, destroyer BEAGLE carried
600 troops.
_____
Destroyer
STURDY
was ordered to join destroyer MACKAY at Brest.
_____
At
1704,
destroyers IMOGEN and GRIFFIN were ordered towards Brest
for anti-submarine patrols.
At
2041,
destroyers PUNJABI and HARVESTER were ordered to patrol
between Ushant and the Loire.
_____
Minesweeping
trawler
MURMANSK
(348grt) was accidently
grounded and abandoned at
Brest.
The
entire
crew was rescued.
Trawler
MURMANSK was later salved by German forces. She was
placed into service in 1941 as auxiliary minesweeper
KFK.76 which was later
renumbered as FB.06. The trawler did not survive the
war.
_____
French
steamer
CHAMPLAIN (28,124grt) was badly damaged on a mine off
the entrance to
La Pallice and settled to the sea bed.
Eleven
crew
were lost on the French steamer. Three hundred and fifty
nine crew and
passengers were rescued.
_____
Norwegian
steamer
KOMET (1147grt) was sunk by German bombing in the
English Channel.
The
Master
of the Norwegian steamer was lost.
_____
Convoy
OG.34F
was formed at sea from convoy OA.168GF which departed
Southend on the
15th escorted by corvette PERIWINKLE, conovy OB.168GF
which departed Liverpool on the 15th, escorted by
sloop DEPTFORD.
Sloop
DEPTFORD
escorted the convoy from 17 to 22 June. The convoy
arrived at Gibraltar on the 24th.
_____
Convoy
OA.169
departed Southend escorted by sloop FOWEY from 17 to 20
June. The
sloop was detached to convoy HX.49.
_____
Convoy
OB.169
departed Liverppol escorted by sloop SANDWICH from 17 to
20 June. The
sloop was detached to convoy HX.49.
_____
Convoy FN.198 departed Southend, escorted by destroyers WALLACE,
WOLFHOUND, VALOROUS. The convoy arrived in the
Tyne
on the 18th.
_____
Convoy FS.197 departed the
Tyne, escorted by destroyer WOOLSTON and sloop
FLEETWOOD. Destroyer ENCOUNTER traveled in this convoy
en route for refit.
The convoy arrived at Southend on the 19th.
_____
German
light
cruiser
NURNBERG and two steamers took the 2nd Infantry Regiment and
an artillery regiment of the 3rd Mountain Division from
Trondheim
to Narvik and Tromso. The
light cruiser arrived in Harjangsfjord on the 17th.
_____
U.46
sank
Greek steamer ELPIS (3651grt) in 43‑46N, 14‑06W.
The
entire
crew of the Greek steamer was rescued.
Destroyers
PUNJABI
and HARVESTER were ordered to the area.
_____
Destroyer
DIAMOND
was near missed and slightly damaged by Italian bombing
at Malta,
but remained
in
service.
_____
French
sloop
LA CURIEUSE, which with sloop COMMANDANT BORY was
escorting French
convoy IR.2F to
North Africa, damaged and captured Italian submarine PROVANA
thirty miles north of
Cape
Palos near Oran.
However,
PROVANA
sank in tow before she could be gotten into port.
_____
Submarine
PARTHIAN
unsuccessfully attacked Italian destroyer NEMBO off
Tobruk.
_____
Italian
submarine
ADUA attacked a French convoy between Marseilles and
Toulon. A detonation was heard but
there is no confirmation on damage.
_____
Convoy
HX.51
departed
Halifax
escorted by Canadian
destroyers
ASSINIBOINE and
OTTAWA
and auxiliary patrol vessels
ACADIA and FRENCH. On 8 June, the
destroyers turned the convoy over to the ocean escort,
armed merchant cruiser
JERVIS
BAY,
which was detached on the
28th.
Convoy
BHX.51
departed
Bermuda on the 16th escorted locally by sloop
PENZANCE
and ocean escort armed
merchant cruiser ASCANIA. The convoy rendezvoused with
HX.51 on the 21st and
the armed merchant cruiser was detached.
On
29
June, destroyers VERSATILE and VIVACIOUS and sloop
SANDWICH joined the convoy. Destroyer
VERSATILE was detached on 1 July. The other escorts were
detached on 2 July
when the convoy arrived at
Liverpool.
_____
Aircraft
carrier
HERMES, returning from patrol off the Canary Islands to
Dakar, was ordered to Freetown due to the peace terms.
The
order was then cancelled at 0245/18th.
Tuesday,
18 June
Battlecruiser
HOOD
with Canadian destroyers ST LAURENT, FRASER,
RESTIGOUCHE, SKEENA and destroyer WANDERER
departed the
Clyde at 0400.
At
0520,
destroyer ATHERSTONE departed the Clyde and relieved
destroyer
WANDERER.
A
Swordfish from ARK ROYAL crashed into the sea on the
18th and destroyer
ATHERSTONE rescued the crew.
When
the
battlecruiser HOOD group and the aircraft carrier ARK
ROYAL group met,
the Canadian destroyers were detached to meet convoy
TC.5 and destroyer
ATHERSTONE proceeded to
Liverpool.
_____
Destroyer
FOXHOUND
called at Milford Haven to refuel.
_____
Light
cruiser
GALATEA and destroyers IMOGEN and GRIFFIN were ordered
to Plymouth from Portsmouth with all dispatch.
_____
French
battleship
RICHELIEU (Capitaine de Vaisseau P. J. Marzin) completed
trials
and put to sea from
Brest
escorted by destroyers
FOUGUEUX and FRONDEUR.
The
destroyers
were detached at Casablanca. Battleship RICHELIEU
arrived at Dakar on the 23rd.
French
battleship
PARIS
with hurried repairs of her
11 June aerial bombing damage departed Brest for
Plymouth, escorted by French
auxiliary patrol vessels HEUREUX and GROENLAND.
French
depot
ship JULES VERNE and submarines CASABIANCA and SFAX of
the 2nd
Submarine Division, PERSEE, PONCELET, AJAX of the 6th
Submarine Division,
CIRCE, THETIS, CALYPSO of the 13th Submarine Division,
SIBYLLE, AMAZONE,
ANTIOPE, ORPHEE of the 16th Submarine Division, MEDUSE
and AMPHITRITE of the
18th Submarine Division departed Brest for Casablanca.
Submarine
SURCOUF
(Capitaine de Corvette P. Martin), which was unable to
depart with
the JULES VERNE group, departed Brest for Plymouth,
where she arrived on the
20th.
French
submarines
MINERVE in the tow of French tug ZEELEW and JUNON in the
tow of
French tug NESSUS departed Brest, escorted by auxiliary
patrol vessels
PESSAC
and SAUTERNE. They later
were taken in tow by tugs QUEENS CROSS and WATERCOCK.
Off Ushant, they were joined by
destroyer BROKE, which departed Brest at 0030/19th after
the
demolition of the port with the XD. O demolition party.
Destroyer
STURDY
took over the tow of submarine JUNON as her tug was
short of coal.
Destroyer
BROKE
and the submarines arrived at Plymouth on the 20th.
French
submarines
ORION and ONDINE also departed Brest under tow and
safely arrived
at
Portsmouth.
French
sloop
VAUQUOIS hit a mine leaving the channel from Brest off
Le Conquet. She returned
to Brest Channel and scuttled herself.
Carrying
1200
tons of French gold, French armed merchant cruisers EL
D'JEZAIR, EL
MANSOUR, EL KANTARA, VILLE D'ALGER, VILLE D'ORAN
departed Brest escorted by French
destroyers
MILAN
and EPERVIER.
French
armed
merchant cruiser VICTOR SHOELCHER, carrying 200 tons of
Belgian gold
and 75 tons of Polish gold,departed Lorient on the 17th
escorted by
destroyer EPEE. VICTOR SCHOELCHER joined the armed
merchant cruisers from Brest for the voyage to
Casablanca where they arrived on the
21st. Destroyer EPEE was detached and went to St Nazaire
to escort battleship
JEAN BART.
Destroyer
OURAGAN
(CC E. P. Brunet) departed Brest under the tow of French
tug
ABEILLE 22 and escorted by auxiliary patrol vessel
POMEROL, which had engine
problems.
On
the
20th, destroyers IMOGEN and GRIFFIN were ordered to take
over
the tow of the destroyer in 48-57N, 5-03W.
They
safely
arrived at
Plymouth
at 2100/19th.
Scuttled
at
Brest to prevent their capture were the incomplete
battleship CLEMENCEAU,
damaged destroyer CYCLONE, repairing submarines PASTEUR
and ACHILLE of the
2nd Submarine Division and OUESSANT and AGOSTA of the
8th Submarine Division,
sloops ETOURDI and VAUQUOIS, auxiliary patrol vessel
MOUETTE, auxiliary
minelayer ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLE (1256grt), auxiliary
minesweepers INGENIEUR REIBEL (675grt) and ROCHE NOIRE
(208grt), tugs ATHLETE and LUTTEUR, tanker
DORDORGNE (7333grt), steamer CAPITAINE MAURICE EUGENE
(4499grt).
The
British
demolition party for Brest was XD.O (Cdr G. C.
Congreve) .
When
Brest fell on the 19th to German forces, the only naval
vessel left afloat was the old six stack cruiser JEANNE
DE ARC (1899) .
_____
Destroyer
MACKAY
and steamer ROYAL SCOTSMAN arrived at Plymouth from
Brest.
Destroyer
MACKAY
carried forty nine naval and military ratings and thirty
nine ratings
and other ranks.
_____
British
demolition
party XD.P (Cdr R. W. Stirling Hamilton) departed
Plymouth at 0115 on Armed yacht CUTTY
SARK for Lorient.
The
yacht
was damaged by German bombing at 1245.
The
party
arrived back at
Plymouth
at 1232/19th. Destroyer
VISCOUNT carried XD.P to
Lorient.
_____
French
submarine
LA CREOLE had only been launched on the 8th and towed by
tug
MAMMOUTH from
Le Havre
on the 9th, escorted by
patrol vssel RAMIER. They arrived at La Pallice on the
11th. The submarine
departed La Pallice under the tow of French tug ABEILLE
21 on the 22nd. They
both safely arrived at
Swansea.
French
naval vessels scuttled
at
Lorient were sloop ENSEIGNE HENRY, auxiliary minesweepers
KERGROISE (261grt) and PLUVOISE (150grt), water carrier
ONDINE II, tug LA
VALETTE (100grt) .
_____
Destroyers
SABRE
and FERNIE took off the last of the evacuatees, 800
troops and fifty
naval demolition personnel, from Cherbourg.
_____
French
auxiliary
minesweeper MARQUITTA (74grt) and tug GOURY (179grt)
were scuttled
at
Cherbourg and French auxiliary minesweeper GAULOIS
(301grt) was scuttled at St Servan.
_____
French
steamers
PIERRE L.D. (5795grt), SAN ANTONIO (6013grt),
INDOCHINOIS
(6500grt), which had just arrived from Halifax with
American aircraft,
departed St Nazaire on the 18th for Casablanca where
they safely arrived on
the 23rd.
Also
departing
St Nazaire were steamers ROYAL ULSTERMAN, CITY OF
LANCASTER, BELTOY, MAURICE ROSE,
GLANLEA, HARPATHIAN, GELNDENNING, POLLUX, LECHISTAN
carrying troops, hospital
ship ROBERT E.
HOLT, oiler CASPIA, Polish steamer LEWANT, trawlers
ST MELANTE, CLOUGHTON WYKE, OSAMA, ARMENA, destroyers
HIGHLANDER and WREN.
_____
French
steamers
MARGUERITE FINALY, VILLE DE HAVRE, BOURGOGNE, GROIX,
MARIS STELLA,
TADORNE, PIERRE CLAUDE, MAURICE DELMAR, CARIMARE
departed Le Verdon in convoy
for
Dakar.
_____
British
steamers
HESTER (1199grt) and RONWYN (1766grt) and Norwegian
steamer JACOB
CHRISTENSEN (3594grt) were damaged and abandoned after
scuttling at
Rochefort.
Steamer
HESTER
was taken in prize by German forces and used under the
same name for
German service.
Steamer
RONWYN
was renamed HOCHHEIMER for German use. Steamer JACOB
CHRISTENSEN was
renamed BALDUR for German use.
_____
British
steamer
DIDO (3554grt) was damaged and abandoned at Brest.
The
British
steamer was salved by German forces and renamed DORPAT
for their use.
_____
Destroyer
ZULU
departed
Scapa Flow at 1200 for
Aberdeen.
Off
Aberdeen, the destroyer met British steamer LOCHNAGAR
which she escorted from
Aberdeen
to Lerwick.
_____
Destroyer
WARWICK
arrived at
Liverpool.
_____
Minelayers
TEVIOTBANK
and PLOVER and destroyers ESK and INTREPID departed the
Humber on minelaying mission BS.16.
The
minefield
was laid during the night of 18/19 June.
The
ships
arrived back in the
Humber on the 19th.
_____
British
steamers
CORMINSTER and BALTEAKO, escorted by anti-submarine
trawlers LEICESTER CITY and COVENTRY CITY, departed
Scapa Flow.
_____
British
troopship
EMPIRE TROOPER (13,615grt) towed by tugs SCOTSMAN,
SEAMAN, PRIZEMAN
and escorted by destroyers GALLANT and WALPOLE departed
Rosyth for the Tyne.
_____
Destroyer
VESPER
at 0114 on patrol reported an enemy motor boat near No.
10 Buoy, 23
miles 160° from Dungeness.
_____
Destroyers
VESPER
and VIVACIOUS engaged German motor torpedo boats without
result off
Dungeness.
_____
Destroyer
ANTHONY,
en route from
Portsmouth
to Harwich, anchored at Dover at 2053. The destroyer
departed to continue at 0612/19th.
_____
Anti-submarine
trawler
ELM departed
Scapa Flow to escort oiler ROSEWOOD from Sullom Voe for
onward routing to
Curacao.
_____
Submarines
SPEARFISH
and NARWHAL arrived at
Blyth after patrols.
_____
Submarines
SUNFISH,
TRIDENT, TRITON and Polish submarine WILK departed
Rosyth on patrol.
_____
Convoy
FN.199
departed Southend, escorted by sloops LOWESTOFT and
WESTON. Submarine L.26
departed Harwich and traveled with this convoy for
Dundee. The convoy arrived in the Tyne on the 19th.
_____
Convoy FS.198 departed the
Tyne, escorted by destroyers VIVIEN and VEGA. The
convoy arrived at Southend on the 20th.
_____
Convoy MT.90 departed Methil, escorted by sloops BLACK SWAN and
HASTINGS. The convoy arrived in the
Tyne the next day.
_____
German
minesweeper
M.5 and Swedish steamer SONJA (1828grt) were sunk on
mines laid
by submarine PORPOISE in minefield FD.18 off Fro Havet,
southeast of
Fiskolmnes Light in 63-30N, 8-12E, on the 14th.
Twelve
crew
were lost on the Swedish steamer. Nine crew were rescued
by Norwegian
steamer INGER (1409grt) .
_____
Convoy
OA.170
departed Southend escorted by corvette HIBISCUS from 18
to 20 June.
_____
Convoy
OB.170
departed
Liverpool escorted by destroyer WARWICK from 18 to 21 June. The
destroyer was detached to convoy SL.35. The convoy
dispersed on the 23rd.
_____
U.28
sank
Finnish steamer
SARMATIA (2417grt) in 49‑04N, 12‑05W.
The
entire
crew of the Finnish steamer were rescued.
_____
U.32
badly
damaged Norwegian steamer ALTAIR (1522grt) in 49‑39N,
11‑15W
and sank Spanish trawlers SALVORA (108grt) and FARO-ONS
(108grt) in 49‑39N,
11W.
The
entire
crews of the steamer ALTAIR and trawler SALVORA were
rescued.
Five
of
the crew of the trawler
FARO-ONS
were lost with the
trawler and one died later. Seven of the crew were
rescued.
Steamer
ALTAIR
was sunk by the gunfire of HM ship on the 21st in
49‑36N, 11‑22W.
_____
U.99
sailed from Kiel on her first mission, passed through
the Kiel Canal and reached Brunsbuttel on the 19th.
Heading for Bergen she was mistaken for a British boat
and attacked at 1623 on the 21st by a German
Arado flying from SCHARNHORST. U.99's attack periscope
jammed, the lens broken and both compasses put out of
action. After being repaired at Wilhelmshaven, she
left for her patrol. (Correction
with thanks to Michele Magnozzi)
_____
Italian
submarine
GALILEI stopped Yugoslavian trawler DRAVA (199grt) in
the Red Sea but released her after
inspection.
That
night,
submarine GALILEI was surprised on the surface by
destroyer KANDAHAR, but was able to escape in
the darkness without damage.
_____
British
steamer
NIAGARA (13,415grt) was sunk on a
German mine in 35‑53S, 174‑54E in Hauraki Gulf, near
Auckland, New Zealand.
New
Zealand light cruiser ACHILLES
departed
Auckland.
The light cruiser towed the
lifeboats of the steamer from Maro Tiki towards Hauraki
Bay.
There
were
201 crew and fifty three passengers on the steamer. All
were rescued.
The
light
cruiser arrived back at Auckland on the 24th after
searching
the area near
Kermadec
Islands.
The
steamer
NIAGARA was carrying gold bullion.
£2,379,000 sterling was recovered from the sunken
vessel.
_____
German
armed
merchant cruiser ORION captured Norwegian steamer TROPIC
SEA (5781grt) in 28‑43S,
166‑08W.
Steamer
TROPIC SEA was sent back to France as a prize and was
scuttled
on
3 September 1940
as she arrived off Bordeaux when intercepted by
submarine TRUANT.
At
the
time of her loss, steamer TROPIC SEA had twenty four
crew from
the British steamer HAXBY intercepted by ORION on 24
April.
_____
Italian
steamer
RENO
(1002grt) was sunk on a mine
28° from Faro Monte Cappuccino, eleven miles off Arcona
in the Adriatic.
Wednesday,
19 June
After
reports
of eight unknown destroyers and three escort vessels
east of the
Orkneys at 1304 and 1335 from Burgh Head, Deerness,
battlecruiser RENOWN with
destroyers TARTAR, MAORI, MASHONA which had been
carrying out firing
practices in Pentland Firth were sent to intercept.
It
was
later determined these unknown ships were Destroyer
ZULU, proceeding
south from Lerwick, minesweeper BRAMBLE, SEAGULL, SPEEDY
in the swept
channel.
The
British
RENOWN force returned to
Scapa Flow
at 1500 that day.
_____
Destroyer
HIGHLANDER
departed
Aberdeen
for Lerwick.
_____
Destroyer
VETERAN
departed Rosyth for Harwich.
_____
Submarine
SWORDFISH
arrived at
Blyth after patrol.
_____
Submarine
H.31
departed
Blyth on patrol.
_____
At
0300,
French battleship JEAN BART (Capitaine de Vaisseau P. J.
Ronarc'h), in
an incomplete state, sailed from St Nazaire.
Destroyer
VANQUISHER
(Vice Admiral T. J. Hallett, CB, CBE Rtd aboard), which
had
departed Sheerness on the 18th, had been sent to assure
that JEAN BART sailed
or was destroyed.
Tugs
had
also been dispatched to St Nazaire to assist JEAN BART
and joined French
tugs MINOTAURE (889grt), URSUS (472grt), TITAN (276grt)
.
Destroyer
VANQUISHER
left St Nazaire with battleship JEAN BART, destroyersLE
HARDI
(Vice Amiral E. M.J. M. Laborde aboard, CC A. de
Tannenberg), MAMELUCK (CC P.
P. L. Charrasse) and EPEE (C. F. J. M.A. V. Molas),
tanker ODET. However,
ODET could only make eight knots and oiler TARN was
substituted at the last
moment.
Battleship
JEAN
BART was attacked three times in the St Nazaire Channel
and was hit once
bybomb that failed to pierce the armour deck.
Battleship
JEAN
BART was refuelled. Destroyer VANQUISHER remained in
company until the
French ships turned south for Casablanca where they
arrived on the
22nd.
Destroyer
WATCHMAN,
departing
Gibraltar on the 23rd, was stationed off
Casablanca
to observe the French ships.
_____
British
steamers
CITY OF
MOBILE,
FLORISTAN, ESSEX DRUID, DUNDRUM CASTLE embarked troops
at St
Nazaire, protected by destroyer VANOC.
Steamer
FLORISTAN
was damaged by German bombing at St Nazaire.
_____
Scuttled
at
Cherbourg were incomplete French submarines ROLAND
MORILLOT and LE MARTINIQUE on the slips.
_____
French
steamer
MEXIQUE (12,220grt), entering Verdon Roads, was sunk on
a mine.
The
entire
crew was rescued.
_____
French
trawler
TANCHE (277grt) was sunk on a mine at Lorient.
_____
Operation
AERIAL
continued.
From
Bayonne and
St
Jean de Luz 19,000 troops were
evacuated from 19 to 25 June.
Although
DYNAMO
was more widely known, the later CYCLE and AERIAL
operations succeeded
in evacuating 191,870 troops before France fell.
_____
Destroyer
HIGHLANDER
(D.9) arrived at Plymouth from St Nazaire with Captain
L.H. K. Hamilton DSO, on board.
D
9 reembarked on destroyer
HAVELOCK
on the 20th.
_____
Destroyer
GREYHOUND
arrived at
Dover
at 1331 to join the 1st
Destroyer Flotilla.
_____
The
10th
Mine Sweeping Flotilla, composed of auxiliary
minesweepers MEDWAY QUEEN
and PRINCESS ELIZABETH arrived at Dover.
Two
more
auxiliary minesweepers of this Flotilla would join when
refitting was
completed.
_____
The
11th
Mine Sweeping Flotilla, composed of auxiliary
minesweepers JEANIE DEANS,
SCAWFELL, GOATFELL, HELVELLYN, MERCURY departed Dover at
0630/22nd for Portland.
_____
Convoy FS.199 departed the
Tyne, escorted by sloop BLACK SWAN and
HASTINGS.
The convoy arrived at
Southend on the 21st.
_____
Convoy MT.91 departed Methil, escorted by destroyer VIMIERA and sloop
LONDONDERRY.
The convoy arrived in the Tyne the next day.
_____
S/Lt
(A)
D. K. Marks, who had been lent to the RAF, was killed
when his Hurricane
of 7 OTU crashed near Brynford, Holywell.
_____
In
a
raid by British 801 Squadron against Boulogne and
Calais, Lt J. W. Collett was
wounded. The Skua he was observer in forced landed at
Manston on its return.
_____
German
auxiliary
minesweeper M.1802 (trawler FRIEDRICH MULLER: 497grt)
was sunk on a
mine northwest of
Helgoland.
_____
U.25
torpedoed
a tanker in the
Bay of Biscay.
U.25,
while
still submerged, was rammed by the ship following the
tanker. Upon
surfacing, she observed a ship stopped. Returning to the
scene 45 minutes
later, the heavily damaged tanker could not be found.
_____
U.28
sank
Greek steamer ADAMANDIOS GEORGANDIS (3443grt) in 49‑35N,
11‑15W.
One
crewman
was lost on the Greek steamer.
_____
U.32
sank
Yugoslavian steamer LABUD (5334grt) southwest of
Fastnet.
The
entire
crew of the Yugoslav steamer was rescued.
_____
U.48
sank
Norwegian steamer TUDOR (6607grt) from convoy HG.34F,
escorted by sloop SCARBOROUGH, in 45‑10N, 11‑50W.
One
crewman
was lost from the Norwegian steamer. The survivors were
rescued by
corvette ARABIS. Corvette CALENDULA picked up five
survivors.
Corvettes
CALENDULA,
ARABIS, GARDENIA were searching in the area.
U.48
sank
British steamers BARON LOUDOUN (3164grt) and BRITISH
MONARCH (5661grt)
in 45N, 11‑21W from convoy HG.34 F.
Three
crew
were missing from steamer BARON LOUDOUN. There were no
survivors from
steamer BRITISH MONARCH.
_____
U.52
sank
British steamer THE MONARCH (824grt) in 47‑20N, 04‑40W
and
Belgian steamer VILLE DE NAMUR (7463grt) in 46‑25N,
04‑35W, 250
miles off Corunna.
There
were
no survivors from the British steamer. There were five
crew killed and
twenty missing from the Belgian steamer.
_____
U.43
refuelled
from German tanker BESSEL (1878grt) at Vigo.
_____
British
steamer
PATELLA (7468grt) reported a German submarine twenty
miles southwest
of Ailsa Craig.
Escort
vessels
JASON and GLEANER were sent to search.
_____
British
steamer
ROSEBURN (3103grt) was badly damaged by German motor
torpedo boats
S.19 and S.26 five miles off Dungeness.
Steamer
ROSEBURN
was taken in tow by destroyer VESPER. Tug LADY BRASSEY
(362grt)
later relieved destroyer VESPER which screened the ships
to Denge Marsh, west
of Dungeness where the steamer was run aground a total
loss.
British
drifter
LORD HOWE (75grt) picked up all the crew members which
had abandoned
ship.
_____
Motor
barge
GOLDEN GRAIN (101grt) was damaged by German bombing off
Felixstone.
_____
British
troopship
EMPIRE TROOPER (13,615grt), captured German liner CAP
NORTE, arrived in the Tyne in tow of tugs SCOTSMAN,
SEAMAN, PRIZEMAN and escorted by destroyers GALLANT and
WALPOLE.
The
destroyers
returned to Rosyth arriving that same day.
_____
Submarine
ORPHEUS
(Lt Cdr J. A. S. Wise) was sunk by Italian destroyer
TURBINE off
Tobruk.
Submarine
ORPHEUS
was declared lost on the 27th and presumed mined.
Lt
Cdr
Wise, Lt C. T. Davies, Lt P. F. Fawkes, S/Lt J. D.
Symonds, Warrant Engineer
E. K. Cross and the fifty ratings of the crew were lost
with ORPHEUS.
_____
Submarine
PARTHIAN
fired two torpedoes into Tobruk Harbour again Italian
coastal
defense ship
SAN GIORGIO. The torpedoes exploded in the harbour
mud and no damage was done.
_____
Light
cruiser
DELHI
departed Gibraltar for Dakar. The destination was later
changed to
Freetown
in view of the Armistice.
_____
French
large
destroyer GERFAUT, which departed Brest, passed
Gibraltar en route to Toulon, where she arrived on the
21st.
_____
Australian
light
cruiser HOBART bombarded Centre Peak Island W/T Station
off Massawa.
_____
Italian
submarine
GALILEI, which had departed Massawa on the 10th,
surfaced near
Anti-submarine trawler MOONSTONE (615grt) off Aden and
attacked her with
gunfire.
Trawler
MOONSTONE
returned fire killing the Italian commanding officer and
capturing
the submarine at 12‑48N, 45‑12E.
The
submarine
was towed to
Aden
by destroyer KANDAHAR.
From
information
gained from documents from GALILEI, four Italian
submarines were
located:the wreck of MACALLE lost on the 14th and
submarines TORICELLI and
GALVANI which would soon be dealt with.
_____
Italian
submarine
ZOEA, which departed Taranto on the 18th, arrived at
Tobruk with supplies.
Thursday,
20 June
Swedish
destroyers
PUKE (ex-Italian GIOVANNI NICOTERA, Commodore T. Hagman,
RSN) and
PSILANDER (ex-Italian BETTINO RICASOLI) and torpedo
boats ROMULUS (ex-Italian SPICA) and REMUS
(ex-Italian ASTORE) arrived at Skaalefjord in the Faroes
on the 19th as they
were en route to Sweden from Italy. They were
accompanied by
depot ship PATRICA (ex-Italian PATRIS II) .
Tanker
CASTOR
(8714grt) of this group was delayed. Earlier on the
voyage, she had been
captured by a French cruiser and taken to Casablanca.
She was soon released and
arrived in the Faroes shortly after the arrival of the
Destroyers on the
20th.
Destroyers
TARTAR
(D.6), MASHONA, MAORI, after departing Scapa Flow at
1930/19th,
arrived at Skaalefjord in the Faroes early morning on
the 20th to requisition
the Swedish warships at 1100.
The
crews
of the Swedish ships were put aboard depot ship PATRICIA
and tanker
CASTOR and sailed to Sweden on the 21st.
Care
and
maintenance parties were placed aboard PSILANDER and
ROMULUS and passage crews were
placed aboard PUKE and REMUS.
After
the
reported movement of German warships in the North Sea,
destroyers MAORI and
MASHONA were ordered to reembark their crew from the
passage parties for the
Swedish destroyers.
At
0620/21st,
destroyers MAORI and MASHONA departed the Faroes to join
the Home
Fleet at sea.
At
1630/21st,
Swedish ships PUKE and REMUS departed Skaalefjord
escorted by
destroyer TARTAR for
Scapa Flow.
Swedish
ships
PATRICIA and CASTOR returned to the Faroes on the 22nd
to demand the
return of the Swedish destroyers. The British Naval
Officer in Charge of the
Faroes reported at 1100/22nd that the Swedish ships had
returned to Thorshavn
and had were demanding the release of the Swedish
warships.
Destroyers
MASHONA
was ordered to the Faroes where she arrived at
2230/22nd.
Destroyer
MAORI
departed
Scapa Flow at 1345/22nd to assist D 6. En route, she joined the
screen of destroyer PUKE.
On
the
22nd, PUKE broke down in 61‑15N, 6‑06W and was taken in
tow
by armed boarding vessel KINGSTON PERIDOT. Tug SAUCY
departed Kirkwall at 0340/22nd to join the
Swedish destroyer. The tug attempted to get a line
aboard but collided with
PUKE in the progress.
Destroyer
MAORI
was able to take the destroyer in tow. Despite heavy
weather and
continued problems, PUKE was brought into Scapa Flow in
tow of the tug
BUCCANEER, at 1200/23rd, escorted by destroyer MAORI.
Destroyers
TARTAR
and REMUS arrived at
Scapa Flow at 0115/23rd.
The
two
destroyers berthed alongside destroyer depot ship
WOOLWICH for repairs.
Escorted
by
anti-submarine whalers BUTTERMERE and WINDERMERE,
British accomodation
ship ST MAGNUS (1312grt) departed
Scapa Flow
on the 22nd with steaming
partiesfor destroyers PSILANDER and ROMOLUS. The parties
were drawn from
battleships RODNEY and VALIANT.
At
1830/25th,
destroyer MASHONA with Swedish destroyers PSILANDER and
ROMOLUS
departed the Faroes. Also in company was British
accomodation ship ST
MAGNUS,and anti-submarine whalers BUTTERMERE and
WINDERMERE. Destroyer
MASHONA was damaged by weather en route to Kirkwall.
Destroyer
MASHONA
and her group arrived at
Kirkwall
at 1330/26th.
Destroyer
MASHONA
went on to Rosyth arriving on the 27th and was drydocked
for damage
to her hull.
Destroyer
BEDOUIN
departed
Scapa Flow at 0800/30th to escort Swedish destroyers PUKE and
REMUS.
Swedish
destroyers
PUKE and REMUS arrived at Kirkwall on the 30th, depot
ship
PATRICIA arrived there later the same day.
Destroyer
BEDOUIN
arrived back at
Scapa Flow at 1350/30th.
On
2
July, the Swedish ships were returned to Swedish control
and the five ships
departed
Kirkwall on 5 July. They were joined at sea by tanker CASTOR
which had departed from the Faroes.
The
Swedish
ships were bombed by aircraft of 18 Group, Coastal
Command, on 7
July, but no damage was done.
The
Swedish
ships arrived at
Goteborg,
via Kristiansand, on 10 July.
_____
Aircraft
bombed
a submarine at 1030 and brought up oil in 60-32. 5N,
5-18W. Destroyers
ZULU, ESCORT, FORESTER left exercises with submarine
L.23 at 1105 joining
Anti-submarine whalers BUTTERMERE (560grt) and
WINDERMERE (560grt), which had
been detached from the Norwegian Thorshaven to Kirkwall
convoy, to search in
the area to hunt.
Armed
boarding
vessels KINGSTON TOPAZ and KINGSTON SAPPHIRE were also
ordered to
search. They returned to Northern Patrol duties at
0500/21st.
The
destroyers
were ordered back to
Scapa Flow
on the 21st.
_____
German
battlecruiser
GNEISENAU and heavy cruiser ADMIRAL HIPPER departed
Trondheim to raid towards Iceland as a diversion so
damaged
battlecruiser SCHARNHORST could make her way home
without opposition.
However,
just
outside of
Trondheim
in 64‑43N, 9‑53E,
submarine
CLYDE reported she had contacted a German force of one battlecruiser, one
battleship, one destroyer.
Submarine
CLYDE
was able to torpedo and
badly damage battlecruiser GNEISENAU at 2232.
A
large hole was torn in battlecruiser GNEISENAU's side at
the bow and she was
later repaired at
Kiel
completing on
5 November 1940.
Due
to
submarine
CLYDE's report, destroyers ZULU, ESCORT, FORESTER returned to
Scapa
Flow with dispatch arriving at
0800/21st.
Destroyers
MAORI
and MASHONA reembarked their boarding parties from the
Swedish
destroyers and proceeded at 0620 with dispatch towards
Scapa Flow.
The
Fleet
at
Scapa Flow was brought to one hour's notice.
Nevertheless,
battlecruiser
SCHARNHORST arrived safely back at Kiel on the 23rd.
_____
Polish
submarine
WILK, which departed Rosyth on the 18th, was damaged in a
collision at 0025 while submerged with another submarine
in 56‑50N, 03‑57E.
Recent
sources
indicate that this submarine was Dutch submarine O.13
(Lt Cdr E. H.
Vorster RNIN), which had departed Aberdeen on patrol on
the 11th, which
was earlier thought to have been mined.
Lt
B.
E. Greswell, an observer on the submarine, two
communications ratings were
lost with the entire Dutch crew.
There
was
damage to the propellers and after planes, but the
Polish submarine was
able to continue patrol.
Light
cruisers
SHEFFIELD and
BIRMINGHAM
and destroyer GALLANT
departed Rosyth at 1030/23rd to support WILK. These
ships returned to
Rosyth before joining the Polish submarine when it was
found that WILK could dive.
Light
cruiser
NEWCASTLE
and destroyer ECHO departed Scapa Flow at 0950/23rd to
search for a
destroyer reported by aircraft at 0600 in 58-45N, 4-20E.
They also covered
submarine
WILK's return.
Submarine
WILK
arrived at Dundee on the 25th. She went on to
Rosyth for repairs arriving on the 26th underwent
repairs for this damage.
The repairs were completed in early July.
_____
Destroyer
FORESIGHT
departed Harwich for Rosyth where she arrived on the
21st.
_____
Destroyer
ARROW
departed
Scapa Flow at 1430 for Harwich to join the Nore Command.
_____
At
1630,
submarine SALMON fired two torpedoes at southbound
convoy in 58-18N,
05-40E off Lister.
_____
Submarines
SHARK
and TETRARCH arrived at Rosyth after patrol.
_____
Submarine
L.26
arrived at
Dundee escorted by sloop WESTON.
The
sloop
then returned to Rosyth.
_____
Dutch
submarines
O.21 and O.22 and torpedo boat Z.5 departed Belfast for
Dundee, via Stornoway.
_____
British
liner
EMPRESS OF AUSTRALIA (19,665grt) escorted by destroyers
BEDOUIN and ASHANTI in the local approaches
departed Reykavik for
Halifax.
_____
British
troopships
ROYAL SCOTSMAN (3244grt), SOBIESKI (11,030grt), OTRANTO,
ORONTES,
ARANDORA
STAR, ST HELIER, ETTRICK and destroyers IMOGEN, PUNJABI,
GRIFFIN, WITCH, HARVESTER, VISCOUNT departed Plymouth
late on the 19th for St
Nazaire to embark Polish troops there.
Destroyers
IMOGEN,
HARVESTER, PUNJABI were ordered to return to Plymouth
very early on the 20th for
refuelling.
Later
on
the 20th, troopship SOBIESKI went to Le Verdon and
destroyers IMOGEN, GRIFFIN, WITCH, VISCOUNT to Rade de
Coisic.
Destroyer
PUNJABI
embarked 409 troops at St Nazaire.
Polish
troops
evacuated from Rade de Coisic were 340 on WITCH, 500 on
VISCOUNT, 466
on IMOGEN.
Destroyer
GRIFFIN with 350 Polish troops returned to
Plymouth
for refuelling later at
1425.
Destroyer
VISCOUNT
escorted British steamer BRITTANY from Rade de Coisic
past Ushant. Destroyers GRIFFIN and WITCH escorted
steamers
KAIPAKI and ROYAL SCOTSMAN.
British
steamer
ALDERPOOL (4313grt) embarked 4000 Polish troops and
British steamer
EMPIRE INDUSTRY embarked forty British refugees at La
Pallice. These ships
were sailed to
Falmouth.
Troopship
ROYAL
ULSTERMAN went to La Pallice and then to Gironde.
_____
Light
cruiser
ARETHUSA and destroyer BERKELEY evacuated the British
Ambassador to Poland and thirty of his staff
personnel, the Staff of the British Embassies of
Brussels and Paris, the
President of Poland from Le Verdon. The two ships sailed
at 1120 and safely
arrived at
Plymouth
at 0801.
_____
Destroyer
BEAGLE
(Rear Admiral F. B. Watson DSO Rtd aboard) arrived at
Bordeaux with a demolition party for
the port, but due to the Armistice, the demolition was
not carried out and
BEAGLE departed early on the 23rd.
_____
At
0610,
Corvette GLADIOLUS, escorting convoy HX.48, picked up
two French FAA
officers, two petty officers, four ratings from a small
boat.
The
men
were landed at
Dover.
_____
Convoy FN.200 departed Southend, escorted by sloops FLEETWOOD and
WESTON.
The convoy arrived at Rosyth on the 22nd in two
sections. One escorted by
armed patrol yacht
BREDA
and the other by the two
sloops.
_____
Convoy FS.200 departed the
Tyne, escorted by destroyer VIMIERA and sloop
LONDONDERRY.
The convoy arrived at Southend
on the 22nd.
_____
Convoy MT.92 departed Methil, escorted by destroyer VALOROUS and
sloop EGRET. The convoy arrived in the
Tyne
the next day.
_____
Destroyer
BOREAS
arrived at
Dover
at 1455 to join the 1st
Destroyer Flotilla.
_____
Destroyer
VESPER
departed
Dover
at 1552 for Sheerness.
_____
Auxiliary
minesweeper
SANDOWN arrived at Dover at 1630 after refitting to
join the 10th Mine Sweeping Flotilla.
_____
British steamers
BIARRITZ
(2388grt) and MALINES (2980grt) evacuated the
Channel Islands of Guernsey and
Jersey,
respectively.
_____
French
steamer
FOUCAULD (11,028grt) was sunk by German bombing at La
Pallice.
_____
French
tanker
BRUMAIRE (7638grt), which had departed Brest, was sunk
by German bombing
off Belle Ile.
The
tanker
was beached on the 21st on Ile de Re.
Armed
yacht
VIVA II tried unsuccessfully to sink the bows of the
tanker above water
on the 22nd.
_____
Greek
steamer
ADAMANTIOS (4277grt) was sunk by German bombing at La
Rochelle, off Ile de Re.
The
entire
crew was rescued.
Steamer
ADAMANTIOS
was later salved and taken in prize by German forces.
_____
French
light
cruiser PRIMAUGUET departed Bordeaux with the last
shipment of
gold from
France
and proceeded to Dakar.
_____
U.30
sank
British steamer OTTERPOOL (4876grt) in 48‑45N, 08‑13W.
Twenty
two
crew and a gunner were lost with the British steamer.
The survivors were
rescued by sloop
SCARBOROUGH at 0157/21st.
Earlier
that
day OTTERPOOL and British steamer ANDALUSIAN (3082grt)
were attacked by
U.51.
_____
U.38
sank
Swedish steamer TILIA GORTHON (1776grt) in 48‑32N,
06‑20W.
Ten
crew
were missing from the Swedish steamer. The survivors
were picked up by
sloop LEITH.
_____
U.48
sank
Dutch motor tanker MOORDRECHT (7493grt), a straggler
from convoy HX.49,
in 43‑34N, 14‑20W.
Twenty
five
crew were lost from the Dutch tanker.
_____
U.122
sank
British steamer EMPIRE CONVEYOR (5911grt) in 56‑16N,
08‑10W.
Tug
AMSTERDAM and destroyers ATHERSTONE and CAMPBELL, which
received orders at 1316, were sent to assist the
steamer, but she sank as the
ships arrived.
Three
crew
from the British steamer were missing. Destroyer
CAMPBELL rescued the
thirty eight survivors. Destroyer CAMPBELL remained in
the area until
0800/21st before proceeding to
Liverpool.
After
disembarking
the survivors at
Liverpool,
destroyer CAMPBELL
proceeded to Sheerness.
Destroyer
ATHERSTONE
at 0045/21st met Armed merchant cruiser MONTCLARE in
North Channel on passage from the Clyde to Canada. When
13-40W was reached,
destroyer ATHERSTONE returned to the Clyde with
dispatch.
_____
British
steamer
STESSO (2290grt) was sunk by German bombing at Cardiff.
The
entire
crew was rescued.
The
steamer
was later refloated and left Cardiff on 31 December for
breaking
up at Briton Ferry.
_____
Panamanian
tanker
JAMES MCGEE (9859grt) was sunk on a mine 2. 4 miles 208°
from Nash
Point.
The
entire
crew of the tanker were picked up by destroyer
WOLVERINE.
_____
Italian
submarine
DIAMANTE was sunk by submarine PARTHIAN off Tobruk in
32‑42N,
23‑49E.
_____
Italian
destroyers
ARTIGLIERE, CAMICIA NERA, AVIERE, GENIERE of the 11th
Destroyer
Division departed
Augusta
on the 19th and arrived with
supplies at
Benghazi
on the 20th.
_____
In
operation
MD 3, French battleship LORRAINE, light cruisers ORION
(Flagship), NEPTUNE, SYDNEY with destroyers HASTY,
DECOY, DAINTY, STUART
departed
Alexandria
at 1130 and bombarded Bardia
from 0548 to 0606/21st.
Destroyers
HYPERION,
HAVOCK, HERO, HEREWARD, HOSTILE, which had departed
Alexandria at 0800 were sweeping along
the Libyan coast.
French
heavy
cruiser SUFFREN, light cruiser DUGUAY TROUIN, destroyers
IMPERIAL,
ILEX, NUBIAN departed
Alexandria
at 1730 and were sweeping in
the area on reports of an Italian cruiser and destroyers
at Tobruk.
Light
cruiser
SYDNEY's Seagull on spotting duty was attacked and
damaged by RAF
Gladiators. The Seagull was able to return to the light
cruiser and Flight Lt
T. MacBride, RAAF and Lt J. C. Bacon were not wounded. .
Italian
submarine
SIRENA attempted to attack the French cruiser force
without success
and was damaged by depth charges in return.
The
force
arrived back at
Alexandria
on the 21st.
_____
Destroyer
KEPPEL
departed
Gibraltar for Port Vendres to transport H.M. Ambassador and a
party of nine to a "North African port. "
On
the
22nd, destroyer KEPPEL was ordered to Sete.
_____
Australian
light
cruiser
PERTH
departed Sydney with British liner
STRATHMORE (23,428grt) .
The
ships
arrived at
Melbourne
on the 22nd.
Both
ships
departed on the 22nd and on the 23rd, light cruiser
PERTH turned the liner over to
Australian heavy cruiser
CANBERRA.
Light
cruiser
PERTH
patrolled Bass Strait until 25 June.
_____
Destroyer
KHARTOUM refuelled at Djoubiti.
Friday,
21 June
German
battlecruiser
SCHARNHORST departed Trondheim escorted by destroyers
STEINBRINCK, LODY, SCHOEMANN, GALSTER and torpedo boats
GREIF, KONDOR, FALKE,
JAGUAR.
On
the
21st off Utsire, three Swordish with Lt J. H. Stenning
and Lt V. A. Smith,
RAN, Lt W. A. F. Fryer and Acting Petty Officer G. L.
Taylor, S/Lt (A) O. A.
G. Oxley and Naval Airman E. D. Milsom of the 821
Squadron, three Swordfish
with Lt J. C. Reed and S/Lt (A) P. Winter, S/Lt (A) M.P.
White and Naval
Airman C. H.A. G. Hull, S/Lt (A) L.B. Cater and Leading
Airman F. W. Davis of
the 823 Squadron, six Hudsons of 233 Command, nine
Beauforts of 42 Squadron
of the RAF unsuccessfully attacked the German ships.
S/Lt
(A)
L.B. Cater and Petty Officer Airman F. W. Davis andS/Lt
(A) M.P. White
and Naval Airman C. H.A. G. Hull were lost when two
Swordfish were shot down.
Three Beauforts and one Hudson were also shot down and a
Sunderland of 204
Squadron was damaged.
At
1120,
aircraft reported one battlecruiser and six destroyers
in 61-00N, 4-14E
on course 190 at 25 knots.
Battlecruisers
RENOWN
(VA Battlecruisers) and REPULSE with destroyers
FORESTER, ESCORT,
ZULU, INGLEFIELD (D.3), DIANA departed Scapa Flow at
1220/21st.
Destroyers
MAORI
and MASHONA, which had departed the Faroes at 0620/21st,
joined the
force at sea.
On
the
21st, light cruisers MANCHESTER (CS 18), SHEFFIELD,
BIRMINGHAM, heavy
cruiser
YORK, destroyer GALLANT departed Rosyth to join Heavy
cruiser SUSSEX and light cruiser NEWCASTLE in 58‑50N,
00‑20E,
then meet the Battlecruiser Squadron.
At
1850,
the operation was cancelled when the German ships were
reported inside
the Fjords in the vicinity of Haugesand.
At
0240/22nd,
failing to make contact with the German force, the
British ships
withdrew to westward.
Battlecruisers
RENOWN
and REPULSE and destroyers INGLEFIELD (D.3),ZULU,
FORESTER, ESCORT,
DIANA arrived at
Scapa Flow at 1120/22nd.
Light
cruiser
NEWCASTLE
and heavy cruiser SUSSEX arrived at Scapa Flow an hour
after the RENOWN
group.
Light
cruisers
BIRMINGHAM,
MANCHESTER, SHEFFIELD, heavy cruiser YORK, destroyer
GALLANT arrived
back at Rosyth on the 22nd.
The
German
ships put into Stavanger Fjord. They departed the next
day and arrived
safely at
Kiel
on the 23rd. Battlecruiser
SCHARNHORST was repairing at Kiel until
19 October 1940.
_____
There
was
a reorganization of the destroyers under Rear Admiral
Destroyers, Home
Fleet.
3rd
Destroyer
Flotilla - Destroyers INGLEFIELD (D.3), ISIS, IMOGEN,
DELIGHT,
DIANA, HOTSPUR, ECLIPSE, ELECTRA.
23rd
Destroyer
Division of the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla:Destroyer
ATHERSTONE and
other HUNT destroyers as completed.
4th
Destroyer
Flotilla - Destroyers COSSACK (D.4), SIKH, ZULU, MAORI,
ESCAPADE, ECHO, ESCORT, ENCOUNTER.
6th
Destroyer
Flotilla - Destroyers TARTAR (D.6), ASHANTI, MATABELE,
MASHONA, BEDOUIN,
PUNJABI, ESKIMO, SOMALI.
8th
Destroyer
Flotilla - Destroyers FAULKNOR (D.8), FURY, FORESTER,
FEARLESS,
FOXHOUND,
FAME, FORESIGHT, FORTUNE, FIREDRAKE.
_____
Canadian
destroyers
SKEENA,
ST LAURENT,
RESTIGOUCHE, FRASER arrived
at
Plymouth at 0640 after TC.5 escort duty. Battleship
REVENGE arrived at
Plymouth
at 0645.
_____
French
destroyer
TRIOMPHANT arrived at Plymouth from Lorient.
_____
Aircraft
carrier
ILLUSTRIOUS departed Devonport for working up at Bermuda
escorted by destroyers
IMOGEN,
GRIFFIN,
ST LAURENT.
_____
Minelayers
TEVIOTBANK
and PLOVER and destroyers ESK, INTREPID, ICARUS departed
the Humber on minelaying mission BS.17
during the night of 21/22 June.
The
British
ships arrived back in the
Humber
on the 22nd.
_____
Destroyer
FORESIGHT
arrived at Rosyth from Harwich.
Destroyer
FORESIGHT
departed immediately with destroyer WALPOLE for Scapa
Flow, arriving at 0545/22nd.
_____
Destroyer
WITHERINGTON
arrived in the
Clyde.
_____
British
oiler
ROSEWOOD, escorted by aircraft and anti-submarine
trawlers CAPE WARWICK and ELM, arrived at Scapa Flow
from Sullom Voe.
_____
Destroyer
CODRINGTON
arrived at
Dover
at 1420 to join the 1st
Destroyer Flotilla.
_____
Auxiliary
minesweeper
EMPEROR OF INDIA arrived at 2130 at Dover after
refitting to join the
10th Mine Sweeping Flotilla.
_____
At
0840,
destroyer GREYHOUND observed an underwater explosion two
miles 30° from
No. 10 Buoy.
The
cause
was never established.
_____
Destroyer
BOREAS
during the night of 21/22 June was on patrol in North
Goodwins between
R Buoy and U Buoy to guard against German battlecruiser
SCHARNHORST movement
through the Channel.
The
rest
of the destroyers at
Dover
were placed at a quarter
hour notice.
_____
Destroyer
HURRICANE
(Lt Cdr H.C. Simms) was completed.
She
arrived
at
Plymouth
on the 30th for working up
and joined 9th Destroyer Flotilla operating in the
Western Approaches.
_____
U.28
sank
Special services vessel CAPE HOWE (acting Cdr E. L.
Woodhall
DSO, MVO), which was disguised as RFA PRUNELLA
(4443grt), south of Ireland in 49‑45N, 8‑47W.
Woodhall,
Surgeon
Lt F. H. Williams, LMSSA, LAH, Lt E. J. Ormsby RNR,
Probationary Acting Lt A.
G. Daniels
RNR, S/Lt W. A. Lawrence
RNR,
Temporary Lt (E) J.
Wilkinson
RNR, Temporary S/Lt J. B. Bell RNVR, Temporary S/Lt I. R.
W. Stileman RNVR, forty eight ratings were lost in the
British ship.
Twenty
seven
crew were rescued on the 24th by French steamer
CASAMANCE (5817grt) .
Thirteen survivors were picked up from a raft by
destroyer VERSATILE on the
27th in 48-47N, 7-59W.
_____
British
drifter
CHARDE (99grt) was sunk in a collision at Portsmouth.
_____
Anti-submarine
yacht
VIVA II (502grt), escorting a transport in the Bay of
Biscay, attacked a submarine
contact in 46‑28N, 3‑51W.
_____
At
1810,
submarine H.44 sank Danish steamer ALFA (844grt) off
Texel.
_____
Canadian
destroyer
FRASER departed
Plymouth
with Captain CC A Allen and
beach and communications parties for evacuation of St
Jean de Luz.
_____
Convoy
OG.34
was formed from convoys OA.171G, which departed Southend
on the 19th
escorted by sloop ABDERDEEN from 19 to 21 June, OB.171G,
which departed Liverpool on the 19th escorted by
sloop LEITH, with twenty eight ships.
Sloops
LEITH
and WELLINGTON escorted the convoy from 21
June to 3 July. The convoy arrived
Gibraltar
on 3 July.
_____
Convoy
OA.172
departed Southend escorted by corvette GLADIOLUS from 21
to 24 June.
_____
Convoy
OB.172
departed
Liverpool escorted by destroyers VOLUNTEER and WHIRLWIND from
21 to 24 June. The convoy was dispersed on the 26th.
_____
Convoy FN.201 departed Southend, escorted by destroyers VIVIEN and
VEGA and patrol sloop SHEARWATER. The sloop was detached
to convoy FS.102
when met. The convoy arrived in the
Tyne on the 23rd.
_____
Convoy FS.201 departed the
Tyne, escorted by destroyer VALOROUS and sloop
EGRET. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 23rd.
_____
Convoy MT.93 departed Methil, escorted by destroyers WALLACE and
WOLFHOUND. The convoy arrived at the
Tyne
the next day.
_____
Four
Skuas
and five Rocs of 801 Squadron from SPARROWHAWK, escorted
by twelve
Hurricanes attacked a new German gun battery at Cap
Blanc.
S/Lt
(A)
A. V. M. Day flying a Roc was killed when he was shot
down in the attack.
His crewman Naval Airman F. Berry was also lost.
_____
A
German convoy was reported near the
Frisian Islands.
Eight British Albacores of
the 826 Squadron from PEREGRINE and nine Hudsons from
Coastal Command were
sent to intercept the convoy. The convoy was not
located. Six Albacores
attacked the DeKooy airfield and Willemsoord. Two
Albacores were lost andwith
pilot Lt (A) J. L. Mackenzie Bell, Acting S/Lt F. B.
Hookins, Naval Airman R.
G. Poole of one aircraft killed.
The
crew
of the other Albacore was captured. Pilot S/Lt (A) W. S.
Butterworth
survived as a prisoner of war, observer S/Lt V. J. Dyke
died of wounds.
Leading Airman R. J. Jackson died as a POW on 18
January 1945.
_____
In
an
attack by nine British Hudson aircraft of 206 Squadron,
dismantled old
Dutch coastal battleship VLIEREEDE was sunk at Den
Helder. The ship was later salved
as German ARIADNE in 1941.
_____
Convoy
HX.52
departed
Halifax
escorted by Canadian
destroyers
ASSINIBOINE and
OTTAWA
and auxiliary patrol vessels
ACADIA and FRENCH. On 22 Jul, the
destroyers turned the convoy over to the ocean escort,
armed merchant cruiser
AURANIA, which was detached on 2 July.
Convoy
BHX.52
departed
Bermuda on the 20th escorted locally by sloop
PENZANCE
and ocean escort armed
merchant cruiser RAJPUTANA. The convoy rendezvoused with
HX.52 on the 25th
and the armed merchant cruiser was detached.
On
2
July, destroyers HURRICANE and WOLVERINE, sloop
SCARBOROUGH, corvette GARDENIA joined
the convoy. Destroyer HURRICANE was detached later that
day. The remaining
escorts were with the convoy until it arrived at
Liverpool on 6 July.
_____
Convoy
HG.35
departed
Gibraltar with twenty one ships escorted by destroyers WATCHMAN
and VIDETTE.
Destroyer
WATCHMAN
was detached on the 22nd and destroyer VIDETTE was
detached on the
25th.
Sloop
DEPTFORD
escorted the convoy from 22 June to 1 July. The convoy
was joined in
Home Waters by destroyer WITHERINGTON on the 28th from
convoy OG.35 and
remained with the convoy until 1 July.
The
convoy
arrived at
Liverpool on 1 July.
_____
French
steamer
BISCAROSSE (1937grt) was scuttled at Le Havre.
_____
French
steamer
MECANICIEN PRINCIPAL CARVIN (4282grt) was sunk by German
bombing at
Le Verdon.
_____
French
auxiliary
patrol vessel MERCEDITA was beached after mining off Le
Verdon and
scuttled.
_____
British
steamer
LUFFWORTH (279grt) was abandoned at Brest. She was later
taken in
prize by German forces.
_____
Destroyer
WRESTLER
departed
Gibraltar to meet French convoy 7 P, which departed
Marseille, Sete, Port Vendres on the 19th with eighteen
ships escorted by
destroyers BOULONNAIS and TYPHON and armed patrol
vessels SIDI OKBA and
CYRNOS. Also, large destroyers
TIGRE
and LYNX covered the convoy.
The
Destroyer
was to escort the
Atlantic bound ships to
Gibraltar.
Convoy 7 P arrived at Oran on the 22nd.
_____
French
armed
merchant cruiser MASSILIA departed the Gironde with
French ministers and
Members of Parliament. When
shearrived at
Casablanca
on the 24th, the Vichy authorities arrested them.
_____
U.122
made
an attack on a convoy off
North Channel
on the 21st, but was not heard from again after making
her report. She may have been lost with all 48 crew in
an accident in 48-33N, 10-26W. .
_____
German
motor torpedo boats S.21 and S.32 were sunk on a mine 15
miles south of
Dungeness. S.31 and S.35 picked up the survivors, but
OzS Toniges and six
crew were lost. S.21 was salved
in 1941 and returned to service.
_____
U.29
refuelled
from German tanker BESSEL (1878grt) at Vigo.
_____
U.25
attacked
French steamer ARAGAZ (5009grt) in the Bay of Biscay,
but without damage.
_____
U.38
sank
Belgian steamer LUXEMBOURG (5809grt) in 47‑25N,
04‑55W, but the
entire crew was saved.
_____
U.43
sank
steamer YARRAVILLE (8627grt) from convoy 65X in 39‑40N,
11‑34W. Five
crew were lost, but French trawler MARIE GILBERTE
(286grt) arrived at
Gibraltar on the 24th with 45 survivors.
_____
U.47
made
attacks on three steamers in convoy HX.49. SAN FERNANDO
(13,056grt) was badly
damaged in 50‑20N, 10‑24W, but the
other two were unharmed.
SAN FERNANDO
was taken in tow and was
still afloat at 2100/22nd. However, she sank before
arriving in port. Seventeen
survivors were picked up by sloop SANDWICH.
_____
U.52
sank
Finnish steamer HILDA (1144grt) in 45‑46N, 03‑17W, after
she had been damaged by German bombing on the 19th. Five
crew were killed in the sinking.
_____
U.65
torpedoed
French steamer CHAMPLAIN (28,124grt) in La Pallice
Roads.
However,
CHAMPLAIN had already been mined on the 17th and had sunk resting
on the sea bed with the most of her still above water.
_____
Greek
steamer
CORINTHIAN (3701grt) reported she was attacked by a
U-boat in 51-47N,
6-24W. Destroyers
WANDERER and WITHERINGTON were ordered to search for
her. Sister ship
WREN departed Milford Haven at 0335 to join them, and
another sister ship,
WHIRLWIND also left Milford at 0530 for the same
duty. When
WREN and WHIRLWIND arrived in the area, WANDERER and
WITHERINGTON were ordered to the
Clyde with all dispatch.
_____
Destroyers
NUBIAN
and MOHAWK departed Alexandria to intercept Greek
steamer
ERMOINI (440grt) in the
Aegean.
No
contact was made and they returned to other duties.
_____
Italian
submarine
MOROSINI attacked an allied merchant ship without result
sixty five
miles off
Cape
Palos.