Background
Events - January-May 1941
Battle of
Cape Matapan, Battles for Greece & Crete,
Capture of U.110, Enigma codes, Loss of 'Hood',
sinking of 'Bismarck'
1941
Saturday,
1 February
Destroyers SOMALI,
ECLIPSE, ESKIMO, NAPIER departed
Scapa Flow at 0830 to meet battleship KING GEORGE V in
62N, 25W at 1600/3rd
and escort her to Scapa Flow.
Destroyer NAPIER was
detached from the escort and
arrived at Greenock at 1400/6th.
The battleship and the
three destroyers arrived at Scapa Flow at 1300/6th.
_____
Convoy OB.281 departed
Liverpool, escorted by destroyers MONTGOMERY, WILD SWAN,
WITCH and corvettes CAMPANULA, PERIWINKLE, PIMPERNEL.
The escorts were
detached on the 5th when the convoy dispersed.
_____
Destroyer KEPPEL departed
Scapa Flow at 0200 to escort armed merchant cruiser
CALIFORNIA from the Butt of Lewis to her patrol
position.
Following this duty, the
destroyer arrived back at Scapa Flow at 1520/3rd.
_____
Anti-aircraft ship CURACOA
departed Scapa Flow at 1300 to escort convoy WN.77 until
dark.
The ship returned to Scapa
Flow at 2300.
_____
Submarine SEALION
unsuccessfully attacked a German
convoy off Stadlandet in 62-11N, 5-24E.
_____
German heavy cruiser
ADMIRAL HIPPER departed Brest to raid west of Biscay.
_____
U.48 sank Greek steamer
NICOLAOS ANGELOS (4351grt)
in 59N, 17W.
_____
The Mediterranean Fleet
departed Alexandria as a diversion for operations by
Force H in
Operation MC.4.
Light cruiser ORION,
anti-aircraft cruiser
BONAVENTURE, destroyers ILEX, HERO, HEREWARD departed
Alexandria at 0300.
After leaving harbour, the
destroyers proceeded to
the northeast to sweep the waters around Rhodes on the night of 1/1 February. The destroyers were then to proceed to Suda
Bay
to arrive by 0700/2nd.
The cruisers proceeded
past Kaso
Strait and then turned towards Suda Bay
and met the three destroyers at 0430/2nd.
Battleships WARSPITE and
BARHAM, aircraft carrier
EAGLE, destroyers JERVIS, JUNO, JANUS,
NUBIAN, MOHAWK, DIAMOND, DEFENDER, WRYNECK, VENDETTA,
VAMPIRE.
Light cruiser AJAX,
Australian light cruiser PERTH, destroyer JAGUAR
departed Suda Bay
at 2200/1st and joined the Main Force.
When these ships joined
the Main Force, destroyer WRYNECK
was detached to return to Alexandria, via the Western Desert.
Anti-aircraft cruiser
BONAVENTURE was detached to
return to Alexandria due to her shortage of ammunition.
At 1800/2nd, light
cruisers ORION, PERTH, AJAX with destroyers ILEX and
HEREWARD were detached to
cover the movements of destroyers DEFENDER and DECOY.
Destroyer HERO was
detached from the ORION force to
the Main Force.
RAF personnel were
embarked on destroyer DEFENDER
which was proceed to Malta for refitting. The destroyer
arrived at 0800/3rd.
Destroyer DECOY was brought out from Malta, joining the
Main Force at 1100/3rd.
At 0900, Vice Admiral,
Light Forces rejoined the
Main Force. At 0930, light cruisers AJAX and PERTH were
detached for duty in the Aegean and to cover convoys. Destroyers VAMPIRE and VENDETTA were detached
to fuel at Suda
Bay
and then escort convoy AS.14 to Alexandria and Port
Said.
At 1800/3rd, light cruiser
ORION with defects and
destroyer ILEX with her anti-submarine gear out of
action were detached to Alexandria.
_____
At 1800, destroyer HASTY
and corvettes HYACINTH and
SALVIA departed Suda Bay escorting British
steamers ETHIOPIA and LEVERNBANK.
Destroyer DAINTY, after
towing tanker DESMOULEA to Suda Bay,
departed Suda Bay
at 1400 to join convoy AN.14 before dark.
_____
Convoy BN.14 departed
Aden, escorted by light cruiser CALEDON, destroyer
KINGSTON, sloops INDUS and
SHOREHAM. The convoy was dispersed on the 3rd.
Sunday,
2 February
Light cruisers ARETHUSA
and AURORA and destroyers
MATABELE, TARTAR, INTREPID, IMPULSIVE departed Scapa
Flow at 0830 for minelaying operation EA.
Mines were to be laid at
Fro Havet, but bad weather
prevented the operation. The ships, less light cruiser
AURORA, arrived back
at Scapa Flow at 1000/3rd. Light cruiser AURORA arrived
at 1100.
The operation was
cancelled and destroyers INTREPID
and IMPULSIVE departed Scapa
Flow for Immingham on the
4th.
_____
Light cruiser DIDO,
refitting in the Tyne since 17 December, arrived at
Scapa Flow for operations.
Light cruiser NAIAD
departed Scapa Flow for refitting in the Tyne.
_____
Destroyers BRIGHTON and LANCASTER departed
Scapa Flow
independently during the evening after practices for
Loch Alsh.
The destroyers arrived at
0900 and 1300,
respectively.
_____
Anti-aircraft ship CURACOA
departed Scapa Flow at 1430 to cover convoy WN.78 as far
as the
latitude of Buchan Ness.
The ship returned to Scapa
Flow at 2300.
_____
Convoy FN.398 departed
Southend, escorted by
destroyers PYTCHLEY, WESTMINSTER, WOLFHOUND, and arrived at Methil on the 4th.
_____
Convoy FS.402 departed
Methil, and arrived at
Southend on the 4th.
_____
Anti-aircraft ship
ALYNBANK was docked at Leith for collision damages.
_____
Submarine SUNFISH
unsuccessfully attacked a German
steamer off Kristiansand.
_____
Naval trawler ALMOND
(505grt, T/Skipper A. E.
Johnson RNR) was sunk on a mine off Falmouth.
Johnson, T/Skipper J. C.
Cutter RNR, seventeen ratings were lost in the trawler.
_____
British steamer THE SULTAN
(824grt) was sunk by
German bombing in 51-43N, 1-26E.
One crewman and one gunner
were lost. Trawler LORD
ST VINCENT rescued twelve survivors.
_____
British steamer WAZIRISTAN
(5135grt) was damaged by a near miss of German
bombing in 61-21N, 11-12W.
Anti-submarine trawler
LORD MIDDLETON stood by the
steamer.
Destroyer DOUGLAS departed
Scapa Flow at 1215/3rd to assist the steamer.
The steamer was damaged by
a near miss. She was
taken in tow by tug BANDIT on the 6th, escorted by
destroyer DOUGLAS.
The destroyer was ordered
to proceed to Skaalefjord
for refuelling. She arrived at daylight on the 7th and
departed after
refuelling at 1440 to return to her escort duty.
The steamer arrived at
Kirkwall on the 10th. The destroyer arrived at
Scapa Flow at 0900. At
1330/10th, destroyer DOUGLAS departed Scapa Flow for Londonderry to
operate in the Western Approaches.
_____
Aircraft carrier ARK ROYAL
launched eight torpedo
planes against the hydroelectric San Chiara Ula Dam on
Lake
Tirso in Sardinia, Operation PICKET.
No success was obtained in
destroying the dam or
the facilities.
One Swordfish of 810
Squadron was shot down and its
crew of Lt M. J. A. O'Sullivan, Sub Lt (A) R. B. Knight,
Petty Officer L. C.
Eccleshall made prisoners of war.
A Skua of 800 Squadron
force landed in the sea. Sub
Lt A. M. Tritton and his crewman were rescued.
Operation RESULT,
bombardment of Genoa, was cancelled due to bad weather.
Force H returned to
Gibraltar on the 4th.
_____
Anti-aircraft cruiser
CARLISLE, operating in the Red
Sea, was found to have
half of her starboard bracket bush missing.
The cruiser could operate
on only one propeller
shaft. A replacement was sent from Malta on
anti-aircraft cruiser BONAVENTURE in March.
_____
Netlayer PROTECTOR
departed Alexandria with the second half of the anti
torpedo boom for Suda Bay.
The netlayer was to pass
the Kithera Straits during
the night of 3/4 February.
_____
Submarines TETRARCH and
ROVER departed Alexandria and Malta, respectively, for
patrols off Tripoli.
_____
Force K, aircraft carrier
FORMIDABLE and heavy
cruiser HAWKINS were operating off Italian Somaliland
in the area of German armed merchant cruiser ATLANTIS.
Aircraft from aircraft
carrier FORMIDABLE dropped
mines in Mogadishu harbour.
After the mining, nine
Albacore aircraft attacked
shore installations at Mogadishu in Operation BREACH.
Heavy cruiser SHROPSHIRE
and light cruisers CERES and COLOMBO were blockading the
port of Kismayu.
_____
Norwegian tanker KETTY
BROVIG (7031grt) was
captured by German armed merchant cruiser ATLANTIS north
of Madagascar.
On 4 March, the tanker was
intercepted by British
warships off Italian
Somaliland and scuttled
herself.
_____
Australian light cruiser
SYDNEY arrived in
Australian waters.
_____
During the night of 2/3
February, Italian
destroyers PANTERA, TIGRE, LEON from Massawa made
an unsuccessful attack on a
Convoy in the Red Sea.
_____
Convoy BS.14 departed
Suez. The convoy was joined by light cruiser CALEDON and
sloops FLAMINGO and INDUS. The convoy was dispersed on the 8th.
Monday,
3 February
Minesweeping trawler
ARCTIC TRAPPER (352grt,
T/Skipper L. M. Harvey RNR) was sunk by German bombing
off Ramsgate.
Harvey, T/A/Lt R. S.
Meirick RNVR, fifteen ratings
were lost on the trawler.
_____
Convoy OB.282 departed
Liverpool, escorted by
destroyers ACHATES, ANTELOPE, ANTHONY, GEORGETOWN, sloop
FLEETWOOD, corvette
HEATHER, anti-submarine trawlers AYRSHIRE and LADY
MADELEINE. On the 5th,
trawler LADY MADELEINE was detached. Corvette PICOTEE
joined on the 6th.
Destroyers ACHATES, ANTELOPE, ANTHONY, sloop FLEETWOOD,
trawler AYRSHIRE were
detached on the 7th. On the 8th destroyer GEORGETOWN and
corvette HEATHER were detached when the convoy
dispersed.
_____
Convoy FS.403 departed
Methil, and arrived at
Southend on the 5th.
_____
Motor anti-submarine boat
MA/SB.12 was mined off
Milford Haven. The boat sank in tow on the 6th.
_____
Naval drifter MIDAS
(89grt, Skipper H. Holden RNR) was sunk in a collision
off Dungeness.
_____
Destroyer WILD SWAN,
corvette ANEMONE, minesweeper
FITZROY departed Loch Ewe for Londonderry for
refuelling.
Destroyer WILD SWAN and
corvette ANEMONE joined
destroyers WITCH and MONTGOMERY, corvettes CAMPANULA,
PERIWINKLE, PIMPERNEL
to escort convoy HX.105.
The destroyers were
detached en route to escort
convoy OB.281.
_____
U.107 sank British steamer
EMPIRE CITIZEN
(4683grt), from convoy OB.279, in 58-12N, 23-22W.
Of sixty nine crew, two
gunners, twelve passengers,
only four crew and one gunner were rescued.
_____
U.107 badly damaged Ocean
boarding vessel CRISPIN
(5051grt, A/Commander B. Moloney DSO RNR), after being
detached from convoy OB.280, in
56-54N, 20-22W.
The armed boarding vessel
had been detached from
the convoy with armed yacht PHILANTE, corvette ARBUTUS,
British steamer
COPELAND (1526grt).
Moloney, T/Lt B. W.
Freeman RNVR, Midshipman R. H.
Holmes RNR, T/A/Sub Lt (E) W. Mulcahy RNVR, T/Lt (E) N.
B.
Smith-Cross, Lt Cdr S. T. Whiteside RNR, thirteen
ratings were missing and one rating was
killed.
Lt G. L.
Fraser RNR, RAF flight officers G. Henderson and R. W.
G.
Holdsworth were wounded on the vessel.
The vessel sank on the
4th.
_____
British steamer DIONE II
(2660grt) in convoy SC.20
was damaged by German bombing in 55-40N, 14-23W.
The steamer was sunk the
next day in a submarine
attack.
_____
British steamer CALYX
(212grt) was damaged on a
mine eight miles northeast of Bar Light Vessel.
The steamer arrived at
Liverpool on the 3rd with engine damage.
_____
During the night of 3/4
February, minefield RUGEN
was laid by German minelayers TANNENBERG and BRUMMER,
escorted by the 1st and
2nd Torpedo Boat Flotilla and torpedo boat FALKE off the
Norwegian coast.
Same force composition as
minefield began on 26
January.
_____
Convoy AS.14 of six ships,
two of which were
British, departed Piraeus escorted by anti-aircraft
cruiser COVENTRY and corvettes SALVIA and HYACINTH.
Destroyers VAMPIRE and
VENDETTA relieved the
corvettes on the 4th, and arrived at Alexandria with
cruiser COVENTRY and destroyer VAMPIRE on the 6th. The
Port Said section was escorted by destroyer VENDETTA
which
arrived at Alexandria on the 7th.
Destroyer VENDETTA, en
route from Port Said to Alexandria, developed a
mechanical defect requiring ten days
to repair.
_____
Convoy ASF.14 of British
steamers LANARKSHIRE, ETHIOPIA, PORT HALIFAX
departed Piraeus escorted by anti-aircraft cruiser
CALCUTTA and destroyers HASTY and DAINTY, and arrived at
Alexandria on the 6th.
_____
On the 1st, Italian
steamers MULTEDO (1130grt),
GIOVINEZZA (2362grt), UTILITAS (5342grt) departed
Benghazi for Tripoli escorted by torpedo boats CIGNO and
CENTAURO.
Italian steamer MULTEDO
was lost in the Gulf of
Sirte in probably a marine assident. Attacks by submarine TRUANT did not
account for the loss. Three torpedoes fired by submarine
TRUANT missed
steamers GIOVENEZZA and UTILITAS.
_____
A Swordfish of 815
Squadron from Maleme forced
landed on Antikythera Island. Lt A. W. B. Drayson and Lt J. A. Caldecott-Smith were uninjured.
_____
British steamer
DERWENTHALL (4934grt) was damaged
by a mine in the Suez Canal.
The steamer sustained no
casualties.
The rudder was blown off.
The steamer arrived at Suez on 28 March in tow. Steamer
DERWENTHALL was towed
to Calcutta for repairs.
_____
Heavy cruisers NORFOLK and
DORSETSHIRE departed Freetown to search for German armed
merchant cruiser
KORMORAN.
_____
Convoy HX.107 departed
Halifax, escorted by armed merchant cruiser LACONIA and
corvettes MAYFLOWER and SNOWBERRY. The
corvettes were detached the next day and the armed
merchant cruiser on the
16th. On the 17th, corvette HOLLYHOCK joined the convoy.
On the 18th,
destroyer SABRE joined the escort and on the 20th,
destroyers ARROW and
WANDERER and corvette NASTURTIUM joined. Destroyers
ARROW, SABRE, WANDERER
and corvettes HOLLYHOCK and NASTURTIUM were detached on
the 20th, and arrived
at Liverpool on the 20th.
Tuesday,
4 February
The 1st Minelaying
Squadron with minelayers
SOUTHERN PRINCE, AGAMEMNON, MENESTHEUS, PORT QUEBEC
departed Loch Alsh on the 4th to lay
minefield SN.7A, escorted by destroyers BRIGHTON, LANCASTER, ST
ALBANS, CHARLESTOWN.
Light cruiser NIGERIA was
the escort for the operation.
Battleship RODNEY and
destroyers INGLEFIELD,
ELECTRA, ECHO, BRILLIANT departed at 2105 from Scapa
Flow to cover.
En route to the operation,
minelayer MENESTHEUS
exploded a mine nearby damaging her engines. This mine
was twenty miles off
the western end of minefield SN.3. There was no hull
damage and no
casualties.
Minelayer MENESTHEUS was
taken in tow by minelayer
AGAMEMNON and arrived at Loch Alsh at 1115/7th.
The mines were laid on the
6th.
Battleship RODNEY, light
cruiser NIGERIA, destroyers INGLEFIELD, ECHO, ELECTRA,
BRILLIANT arrived at Scapa Flow at 1530/7th.
_____
Minelayer TEVIOTBANK,
escorted by destroyer
MEYNELL, departed Immingham on the 3rd. The minelayer
laid minefield BS.50
off the East coast of England on the 4th.
This operation had been
cancelled several times
prior due to weather. The operation was first attempted
on 18 January, when
the minelayer and destroyer IMPULSIVE departed
Immingham. Bad weather forced
cancellation and the minelayer arrived at Rosyth and the
destroyer returned
to Immingham. On 24 January, minelayer TEVIOTBANK,
escorted by destroyer
WITHERINGTON, departed, but again was forced to return.
On 30 January, the
minelayer, escorted by destroyer QUORN, was forced to
turn back from Spurn
Point due to weather.
_____
Polish destroyer PIORUN
departed Scapa Flow for Greenock at 1100
to form part of the escort for convoy WS.6.
The destroyer arrived at
2000/5th.
_____
Convoy FN.399 departed
Southend, escorted by
destroyers HOLDERNESS and WOOLSTON. Corvette SNAPDRAGON
joined on the 6th,
and arrived at Methil on the 6th.
_____
Convoy FN.400 departed
Southend, escorted by
destroyers VANITY, VORTIGERN, WORCESTER, and arrived at
Methil on the 6th.
_____
Naval drifter IMBAT
(92grt) was sunk in a collision
at Scapa Flow.
_____
Minesweepers KELLETT and
LEDA collided at Aberdeen.
There was very minor
damage to minesweeper KELLETT.
Minesweeper LEDA was
repaired at Leith from 4 February to 9 June.
_____
British steamer GWYNWOOD
(1177grt) was sunk by a
parachute mine in the Humber anchorage.
Nine crew and two gunners
were lost.
_____
U.52 sank Norwegian
steamer RINGHORN (1298grt) in
55-46N, 22-36W.
Fourteen crew were lost.
Five crew were rescued.
_____
U.93 sank British steamer
DIONE II (2660grt), which
was straggling behind convoy SC.20, in 55-50N, 10-30W.
Only one crewman was
rescued.
_____
U.123 sank British steamer
EMPIRE ENGINEER
(5358grt), which was last seen 2 February straggling
behind convoy SC.20,
west of Ireland.
_____
Greek steamer CALATATIS
(4443grt) was sunk by
German bombing in 56-27N, 13-40W.
Eighteen crew were missing
from the steamer.
_____
British troopship ULSTER
PRINCE (3791grt) and steamer DEVIS (6054grt)
departed Alexandria at noon with troops from Tobruk.
When news of aerial mining
of Tobruk
Harbour was received, the ships were recalled to
Alexandria.
_____
As there were no magnetic
minesweepers available
for Tobruk, Corvettes PEONY, GLOXINIA, SALVIA, HYACINTH
were recalled to Alexandria from the Kithera Patrol for
refitting for L. L.
sweeping.
Corvettes SALVIA and
HYACINTH arrived at Alexandria on the 5th. The other two
corvettes arrived the
next day.
_____
Submarine TRUANT attacked
Italian steamer CALINO
(5186grt) was the steamer was departing Benghasi
Harbour, escorted by torpedo boat LA FARINO. No damage was done.
_____
Greek steamer AGHIOS
GEORGIOS (3283grt) was sunk on
a mine in the Suez Canal.
Two crew were killed and
one was missing.
The wreck was removed to
clear the canal.
_____
Australian troop convoy
US.9 departed Sydney with troopships AQUITANIA
(44,786grt), MAURETANIA (35,739grt), NIEUW AMSTERDAM
(36,287grt), QUEEN MARY (81,235grt).
From 4 to 6 February,
Australian light cruiser
HOBART escorted the convoy from Sydney to Fremantle.
On the 12th, the convoy
departed Fremantle escorted
by Australian heavy cruiser CANBERRA.
On the 16th, liner QUEEN
MARY was detached to Singapore.
Off Colombo on the 20th,
heavy cruiser CANBERRA was relieved by New Zealand light
cruiser LEANDER.
Wednesday,
5 February
Aircraft carrier FURIOUS
arrived in the Clyde from Operation MONSOON, flying off Hurricanes to Takoradi.
The aircraft carrier began
refitting at Greenock.
_____
Light cruiser PHOEBE at
1153 departed Scapa Flow for the Clyde arriving on
the 6th.
The light cruiser departed
the Clyde on the 8th to escort convoy WS.6 from the
Clyde through to the Mediterranean,
then join the Mediterranean Fleet for operations.
_____
Destroyers NIZAM,
COTTESMORE, ATHERSTONE, KEPPEL
departed Scapa Flow at 1115.
Destroyer NIZAM proceeded
to Greenock, where she arrived at noon on the 6th.
Destroyers COTTESMORE,
ATHERSTONE, KEPPEL proceeded
to Londonderry, where they arrived at 0900/6th to escort
convoy
WS.6.
_____
Light cruiser NEPTUNE
arrived at Scapa Flow at 1806 on the 5th after duty in
the South Atlantic.
On the 8th, the light
cruiser proceeded to Plymouth, then on to Chatham for
refitting. The ship was under refit from March
to 1 May.
The light cruiser was
damaged by bombing on the 9th
at Plymouth.
On the 16th while in
dockyard at Chatham, she was damaged again.
Damage from both bombings
and the refit were
completed on 1 May.
_____
British steamer MERCHANT
ROYAL (5008grt) was in
convoy WN.74, escorted by escort vessel JASON and
minesweeping trawlers
CAPE NYMEMTSKI (422grt) and NORTH COATES (277grt), five miles northwest of
Duncansby Head when her steering gear was disabled.
Escort vessel JASON was
ordered to assist the
steamer.
Light cruiser AURORA
departed Scapa Flow to join.
Tug ABEILLE 4 was sent
from Peterhead to take the
steamer in tow.
_____
Submarine SEALION sank
Norwegian steamer RYFYLKE
(1151grt) two miles north of Kvitenaes Point near
Stadlandet.
_____
Anti-submarine trawler
TOURMALINE (641grt, Lt H. P.
Carse RNVR) was sunk by German bombing off North
Foreland.
_____
T/Sub Lt (A) S. G. Burden
RNVR, of HMS KESTREL, was
killed when his Fulmar, being ferried from Worthy Down,
crashed Minerva
Mountain, near Wrexham.
_____
Special service vessel
MINNIE DE LARINAGA (5046grt)
was sunk as a blockship at Dover.
_____
Convoy OG.52 departed
Liverpool, escorted by destroyers BELMONT, VANQUISHER,
WHITEHALL, WINCHELSEA, sloops EGRET and WESTON, corvette
GENTIAN, anti-submarine trawler RUBENS.
On the 6th, ocean boarding
vessel REGISTAN escorted
the convoy.
On the 9th, sloop
SCARBOROUGH relieved the destroyers and sloops of the
escort.
Destroyer ISIS from
Gibraltar joined the convoy on the 20th, and arrived at
Gibraltar on the 21st, escorted by destroyer ISIS, sloop
SCARBOROUGH, corvette GENTIAN.
_____
Greek steamer IOANNIS M.
EMBIRICOS (3734grt) was
sunk by German bombing in 55-41N, 12-26W.
The crew were all rescued.
_____
Captain A. L. Poland DSO,
DSC, succeeded Captain H.
Hickling as commander of the Inshore Squadron.
Captain Hickling, formerly
of light cruiser
GLASGOW, had been appointed to this command on 8
January.
_____
A motor schooner was mined
at Tobruk. Lost on the
schooner was the Assistant King's Harbour Master,
Tobruk, Lt Cdr J. Cochrane.
_____
British steamer RANEE
(5060grt) was sunk by a mine
in the Suez Canal.
Nine crew were lost.
The forepart of the wreck
was taken to Port Said for Navy use.
_____
Submarine UPRIGHT made an
unsuccessful torpedo
attack on Italian shipping off Kerkenah.
_____
Submarine OTUS left her
station in the Azores patrol, which began on 17 January, for
Portsmouth, arriving on
the 12th.
The submarine was relieved
by submarine TUNA on the
6th which came from Holy Loch after patrol off Gironde.
The patrol was terminated
on the 12th and the
submarine proceeded to Gibraltar, arrriving on the 16th.
_____
Italian convoy of steamers
ESPERIA (11,398grt),
CONTE ROSSO (17,879grt), MARCO POLO (12,272grt), CALITEA
(4013grt), escorted
by destroyers FRECCIA, SAETTA, TARIGO departed Naples
for Tripoli. The convoy
was joined by light cruiser GIOVANNI DELLA BANDE NERE on
the 6th. The convoy
safely arrived at Tripoli on the 7th. The convoy made an
uneventful return
trip from 9 to 11 February.
_____
Italian steamer SNIA AMBA
(2532grt) was scuttled at
Benghasi.
The steamer was later
salved.
_____
Heavy cruiser CORNWALL was
refitting at Simonstown from 5 to 22 February.
Heavy cruiser CORNWALL
departed Simonstown on the 28th.
Thursday,
6 February
Battleship KING GEORGE V,
escorted by destroyers
SOMALI, ECLIPSE, ESKIMO arrived at Scapa Flow at
1300.
The fourth destroyer,
NAPIER, was detached north of
the Minches to the Clyde arriving at 1400.
_____
Seven ships departed
Avonmouth, five ships from Liverpool, ships from the
Clyde to form Convoy WS.6A. The convoy was composed of steamers LLANDAFF
CASTLE (10,786grt), NOVA
SCOTIA (6796grt), ASCANIUS (10,048grt),
LEOPOLDVILLE (11,509grt), CONSUELO (4847grt), OPAWA
(10,354grt), CITY OF ATHENS (6558grt), BURDWAN
(6069grt), KINA II
(9823grt), CAPE HORN (5643grt), CITY OF MARSEILLES
(8317grt), SCYTHIA (19,761grt),
ALMANZORA (15,551grt), Norwegian BERGENSFJORD
(11,015grt), LLANGIBBY CASTLE
(11,951grt), RUAHINE (10,870grt), SALWEEN (7063grt). The
convoy was escorted
by heavy cruiser NORFOLK, light cruisers PHOEBE,
EDINBURGH, BIRMINGHAM.
Cruiser EDINBURGH was to
proceed with the convoy as
far as Freetown, then return.
Cruiser BIRMINGHAM was to
proceed with the convoy to Capetown.
Destroyer BROADWATER
escorted the convoy from 6 to
9 February.
Destroyers COTTESMORE,
ATHERSTONE, KEPPEL escorted
the convoy from 6 to 12 February. The destroyers arrived
at Londonderry at 1330/13th after the escort duty.
Destroyers RESTIGOUCHE and
ST LAURENT escorted the convoy from 7 to 12 February.
Destroyers LEGION and
PIORUN escorted the convoy
from 8 to 12 February.
Destroyer GARLAND escorted
the convoy from 8 to 9 February.
Light cruiser EDINBURGH
was detached for fleet
operations after the enemy sighting by battleship
RAMILLIES.
When convoy SLS.64 was
attacked on the 12th, the convoy turned
back for twenty four hours.
Battleship RODNEY and
destroyers ELECTRA, ECLIPSE,
BRILLIANT, which departed Scapa
Flow on the 12th, were
with the convoy on the 15th until dusk on the 16th.
_____
Destroyer BEAGLE departed
Scapa Flow at 1400 for Aberdeen. At 2300, the destroyer
met steamer BEN MY CHREE and escorted her to Lerwick.
The ships arrived at
Lerwick at 0950. The destroyer
remained to escort the steamer back to Aberdeen.
Destroyer BEAGLE was
recalled from Lerwick on the
8th and arrived off Scapa
Flow at 1730. She was
sent to Aberdeen to meet troopship AMSTERDAM and escort
her to Scapa Flow.
The destroyer and
troopship arrived at Scapa Flow at 0900/9th. Destroyer
BEAGLE then sailed at 1130
for Liverpool for refitting.
Destroyer BEAGLE arrived
at Liverpool at 0900/10th.
_____
Anti-aircraft ship CURACOA
departed Scapa Flow at noon and joined convoy WN.80 far as the latitude of Buchan Ness.
The ship arrived back at
Scapa Flow at 0400/7th.
_____
U.107 sank Canadian
steamer MAPLECOURT (3388grt) in
55-39N, 15-56W.
All the crew were lost.
_____
The German 2nd MTB
Flotilla made a sortie against the English east
coast with S.30, S.54, S.58, S.59.
British steamer ANGULARITY
(501grt) was sunk by
German S.30 off the east coast between Ipswich and Newcastle.
One of the crew were
picked up by the S-boat and
taken prisoner. Two crew were lost.
_____
Benghazi was captured by
the British Army.
_____
Force H departed Gibraltar
in three groups for the bombardment of Genoa, Operation
RESULT.
Group 1 was composed of
battlecruiser RENOWN,
battleship MALAYA, aircraft carrier ARK ROYAL, light
cruiser SHEFFIELD.
Group 2 was destroyers
FEARLESS, FOXHOUND,
FORESIGHT, FURY, ENCOUNTER, JERSEY.
Group 3 was destroyers
DUNCAN, ISIS, FIREDRAKE,
JUPITER.
Groups 1 and 2 departed
with convoy HG.53 into the Atlantic, but turned back into the Mediterranean. The
convoy continued escorted by destroyer VELOX and sloop
DEPTFORD.
Group 3 carried out an
anti-submarine search east
of the Straits of Gibraltar and then joined Groups 1 and
2.
_____
Heavy cruiser YORK and
anti-aircraft cruiser BONAVENTURE departed Alexandria
for Suda Bay
to operate in the Aegean.
These cruisers relieved
light cruisers AJAX and PERTH which proceeded to
Alexandria, arriving that day.
_____
Destroyers DECOY and
DIAMOND departed Alexandria for duty in the Inshore
Squadron in the Western Desert.
_____
British hoppers No.34
(1500grt) and No.39
(1500grt), which was involved in minesweeping, were sunk
in the Suez Canal on mines.
T/Electrician Sub Lt A. H.
Jones RNVR and one
rating were lost on No.39.
_____
Convoy HG.53 departed
Gibraltar, escorted by destroyer VELOX and sloop
DEPTFORD.
The destroyer was detached on the 11th. The convoy was
joined on the 18th by
sloop LONDONDERRY, on the 20th by destroyer FURY, on on
the 22nd by
destroyers LEAMINGTON and SABRE and corvette ANEMONE.
Destroyer FURY was
detached on the 23rd, and arrived at Liverpool on the
24th.
Friday,
7 February
Anti-aircraft ship CAIRO
arrived at Scapa Flow at 1100 to work up after
refitting.
_____
British steamer BAY FISHER
(575grt) was sunk by
German bombing three and a half miles northeast of Bell
Rock.
Seven crew and one gunner
were lost.
_____
British steamer SCOTTISH
COOPERATION (513grt) was
damaged on a mine two miles southwest of Workington
Pier, Solway Firth.
The steamer was beached
and then returned to
Workington later on the 7th.
_____
Australian light cruiser
PERTH arrived at Alexandria for inspection by the
Australian Prime Minister.
The light cruiser was
docked for refitting and
repairs from 7 to 23 February for the bombing damage
received at Malta on 16 January.
_____
Destroyers JERVIS, JANUS,
JAGUAR, MOHAWK departed Alexandria at 0100 to act as an
anti-submarine force, then
proceed to Suda Bay.
The destroyers were
ordered to sweeps of the
Kithera and Elaphonisos Channels during the night of 8/9
February, through
Kaso Straits and around Rhodes on 9/10 February, sweep
through Scarpanto Straits
and around Stampalia on 10/11 February.
The sweep on 9/10 February
was cancelled due to bad
weather.
These sweeps were
supported by heavy cruiser YORK and anti-aircraft
cruiser BONAVENTURE.
On 11/12 February, a sweep
of Kithera Channel was conducted.
_____
Netlayer PROTECTOR
departed Suda
Bay
to load anti torpedo nets captured at Tobruk and
transport them to Alexandria.
_____
Anti-aircraft cruiser
CARLISLE departed Aden for Suez for
repairs prior to reinforcing the Mediterranean
Fleet. The cruiser could operate on only one propeller
shaft.
The cruiser arrived at
Suez on the 11th and was docked. It was found that one
shaft would have to be renewed, due to the half of the
starboard A bracket
bush was missing. The shaft was removed and a cover
plate was fitted on the
hull gland.
A replacement was brought
from Malta on anti-aircraft cruiser BONAVENTURE in
March.
However, CARLISLE was unable to be docked for the work
until 0825 on
13 March. The anti-aircraft cruiser was undocked at 1700
on 15 March.
_____
Armed merchant cruiser
LETITIA was badly damaged in
a grounding on Litchfield Shoal at Halifax during a
winter gale.
The cruiser was refloated
on the 9th and arrived at
Halifax that day. No dockyard space was available and
repairs were not begun until 15 April. The ship departed
Halifax on 24 April for Newport News.
The cruiser was arriving
on 30 April for repairs
and conversion to a troopship completed on 1 December.
_____
New Zealand light cruiser
ACHILLES departed Auckland escorting a liner towards
Panama.
The cruiser was detached
at Chatham
Island and returned to Wellington to refuel.
Saturday,
8 February
German battlecruisers
SCHARNHORST and GNEISENAU
sighted convoy HX.106 east of Newfoundland.
Battleship RAMILLIES, in
the escort of the convoy,
sighted and reported the battleships. No attack was
attempted.
The German battlecruisers
began searching for
convoy SC.22 expected to soon arrive in the area.
Light cruiser GALATEA (CS
2), battlecruiser REPULSE,
light cruisers NIGERIA, ARETHUSA, AURORA,
destroyers MATABELE, PUNJABI,
ESKIMO departed Scapa Flow at 1830 for position 62-30N,
16-00W.
Battleship NELSON, light
cruisers MAURITIUS and
DIDO, destroyers ELECTRA, ECLIPSE, TARTAR departed at
1900 to reach a
position seventy miles 140°
from
CS.2.
Battleships RODNEY and
KING GEORGE V and destroyers
BEDOUIN, MAORI, ZULU, BRILLIANT, BOREAS departed Scapa
Flow during the forenoon of 9 February to reach
position 65-00N, 8-30W.
Light cruiser EDINBURGH
was ordered to leave convoy
WS.6 A and join the battleship group.
Destroyers KELLY, KIPLING,
KASHMIR departed Plymouth at 0140/9th
for Scapa Flow. Destroyer JACKAL departed Plymouth at
0800/9th.
Destroyers INTREPID,
ICARUS, IMPULSIVE were ordered
to Scapa Flow from the Humber. The
destroyers arrived at Scapa
Flow at 1130/10th.
Submarines URGE and
CACHALOT were ordered to patrol
areas off Stadlandet.
The British 801 Squadron
which had just arrived in Cornwall were ordered to
return to Hatston. The Squadron arrived
back at Hatston on the 10th.
Destroyers KELLY, KASHMIR, KIPLING arrived at Skaalefjord at 1800 to refuel at Skaalefjord on
the 10th.
The three K destroyers
were ordered to depart
Skaalefjord at 2220 to search for a submarine reported
by battleship NELSON
in 60-59N, 12-44. Destroyer JACKAL was ordered to join
the Ks at this
location.
At 0300/10th, British
steamer EMPIRE PRODUCER
reported she was being chased by a submarine in 59-25N,
09-07W. Destroyers
KELLY, KASHMIR, KIPLING, JACKAL were sent to this
position.
On the 10th at 2045, light
cruiser MAURITIUS attacked a submarine contact in
60-59N, 12-44W.
Destroyers JACKAL and
KELLY were sent to search for
the submarine attacked by light cruiser MAURITIUS.
After no contact, the
Fleet returned to Scapa Flow, less destroyer BOREAS
which joined the destroyer
KELLY group and light cruisers ARETHUSA and NIGERIA sent
to Reykjavik at 2100/12th to refuel prior to resuming
patrol.
Light cruisers DIDO and
MAURITIUS arrived at 1650/11th.
Battleship NELSON and
destroyers ELECTRA, ECLIPSE,
TARTAR arrived at Scapa
Flow at 1825/11th.
At 1830/11th, light
cruiser EDINBURGH arrived at Scapa Flow.
At 2045/11th, battleships
RODNEY and KING GEORGE V
with destroyers BEDOUIN, ZULU, MAORI, INGLEFIELD,
BRILLIANT arrived at Scapa Flow.
On the 12th, destroyer
JACKAL arrived at Scapa Flow at 130 to refuel. She
departed at 2100 to rejoin
destroyer KELLY at Londonderry, where she arrived at
1600/13th.
Destroyers KELLY, KASHMIR, KIPLING, BOREAS were submarine hunting in area 59-23N, 8-45W.
Following the sweep,
destroyer BOREAS was to be
detached to Scapa Flow and the other destroyers
proceeded to Londonderry.
However, destroyer BOREAS
developed boiler defects
and the search was called off. The destroyer was sent to
Scapa Flow, escorted by destroyer KIPLING.
Destroyers KELLY and
KASHMIR proceeded to Londonderry, via
the Minches.
On the 13th, off Dunnet
Head, destroyer KIPLING
with destroyer BOREAS in tow rendezvoused with tug
BANDIT. Destroyer KIPLING
proceeded to Londonderry arriving at 0830/14th.
Destroyer BOREAS in tow of
tug BANDIT arrived at Scapa
Flow at 2100.
Light cruisers AURORA and
GALATEA arrived at Scapa Flow at 0138 on the 13th.
Battlecruiser REPULSE and
destroyers ESKIMO,
MATABELE, PUNJABI arrived at Scapa
Flow at 0310/13th.
Destroyer PUNJABI was
docked with defects which
prevented her from sailing through the end of February.
_____
Destroyer SOMALI departed
Scapa Flow at 2030 for repairs at docking at Rosyth.
_____
Convoy OB.283 departed
Liverpool, escorted by destroyers BURNHAM, SALADIN,
SARDONYX, SKTA, corvettes KINGCUP and LA MALOUINE,
anti-submarine trawlers
NORTHERN PRIDE, ST ELSTAN, VIZALMA. Destroyer BURNHAM
was detached on the
11th. The remainder of the escort was detached when the
convoy dispersed on
the 12th.
_____
Minesweeper HEBE, which
had just completed a major
refit and was en route for trials was damaged in a
collision with an unknown
ship in Great Fraserburgh
Bay.
The minesweeper was
repaired at Rosyth from 8 to 22
February.
_____
Belgian steamer HENRI
JASPAR (5760grt) was damaged
by a mine off Sully Island in 51-23N, 03-09W.
One crewman was missing.
The steamer was beached at
Sully
Island. She was later refloated and docked at
Cardiff on the 23rd.
_____
In operations of 830
Squadron from St ANGELO, Sub
Lt (A) C. C. Thornton RNVR, was shot down in a raid on
Tripoli.
Thornton and Leading
Airman F. W. Pickles were made
a prisoner of war.
_____
Italian battleships
VENETO, CESARE, DORIA with destroyers MAESTRALE,
LIBECCIO, GRECALE, SCIROCCO of the 10th Destroyer
Division and GRANATIERE,
FUCLIERE, BERSAGLIERE, ALPINO of the 13th Destroyer
Division departed from La Spezia. Destroyer CAMICIA NERA
of the 11th Destroyer
Division departed Naples and joined.
Italian heavy cruisers
TRENTO, TRIESTE, BOLZANO with
destroyers CORAZZIERE and CARABINIERE of the
12th Destroyer Division departed Messina.
These forces rendezvoused
west of Bonifacio
Strait on the 9th.
_____
The first convoy of Afrika
Korps troops departed Naples with German steamers ANKARA
(4768grt), ARCTURUS (2596grt), ALICANTE (2140grt)
escorted by destroyer TURBINE and
torpedo boats ORSA, CANTORE, MISSORI. The convoy put
into Palermo to avoid Force H on the 8th, remaining
until 10
February. The convoy was unsuccessfully attacked by
Malta aircraft on the 14th when the convoy was
returning.
_____
Submarine URSULA made an
unsuccessful torpedo
attack on Italian shipping off Tunisia.
_____
Submarine ROVER made an
unsuccessful torpedo attack
on Italian shipping off Calabria.
_____
Polish steamer WARSAWA
(2487grt) and British petrol
ship HANNE (1360grt) departed Alexandria for Tobruk,
escorted by Australian destroyer
VAMPIRE.
_____
Dutch tanker ADINDA
(3359grt) was damaged by two
mines at Tobruk.
Seventeen crew were lost.
Tanker ADINDA departed
Tobruk on the 26th escorted
by tug ST ISSEY. They arrived at Alexandria on the 27th.
The tanker was temporarily
repaired at Alexandria and Suez and was sent on to
Bombay in September for permanent repairs.
_____
Former Italian steamer
RODI (3220grt) was damaged
by a mine exploding close aboard in Tobruk
Harbour.
_____
Ocean boarding vessel
MARSDALE arrived at Gibraltar from Western Patrol.
_____
Convoy SC.22 departed
Halifax, escorted by submarine SEVERN, which was detached later that day. Destroyers ACHATES, ANTELOPE, GEORGETOWN
and corvette HEATHER joined on the 24th. The
destroyers were detached on the 28th. Anti-submarine
trawler LEEDS UNITED joined the convoy on the 28th, and arrived at
Liverpool on the 28th.
_____
Light cruiser DANAE
completed refitting at Singapore.
Sunday,
9 February
Destroyer ESCAPADE
departed Scapa Flow at 2145 to search for the survivors
of a crashed
aircraft off Wick.
No trace was found.
Troopship AMSTERDAM
departed
Scapa Flow at 2300
and destroyer ESCAPADE joined her and escorted her to
Aberdeen.
The destroyer arrived back
at Scapa Flow at 1600.
_____
Anti-aircraft ship CURACOA
departed Scapa Flow at 0945 to escort convoy WN.81 until
dark.
The ship then escorted
convoy EN.69 from off Buchan
Ness to Pentland Firth.
At 1030/10th, the ship
transferred to convoy WN.82
and remained with it until dark.
At 2330/10th, the ship
arrived back at Scapa Flow.
_____
Convoy OB.284 departed
Liverpool, eoscted by destroyers VANOC and VOLUNTEER,
sloop ABERDEEN, corvettes FLEUR DE LYS and TULIP.
Destroyer
CALDWELL joined on the 10th.
Sloop ABERDEEN and
the corvettes were detached on the 12th. The
escort was detached on the 13th when the convoy
dispersed.
_____
U.37 sighted convoy HG.53
east of the Azores.
Submarine U.37 sank
steamers COURLAND (1325grt) and ESTRELLANO (1983grt) in 35-53N, 13-13W.
Three crew were lost on
steamer COURLAND.
Thirty crewwmen were
rescued by British steamer
BRANDENBURGH (1473grt).
Six crew were lost on
steamer ESTRELLANO.
German Kondor bombers sank
British steamers JURA
(1759grt), DAGMAR I (2471grt), VARNA (1514grt),
BRITTANIC (2490grt), Norwegian steamer
TEJO in 35-42N, 14-38W.
Fifteen crew and two
gunners were lost on steamer
JURA.
Four crew and one gunner
were lost on steamer
DAGMAR I.
One crewman was lost on
the steamer BRITTANIC.
All crew on steamer VARNA
were rescued.
Steamer VARNA did not sink
until 16 February in 44-55N, 22-30W.
Four crew were lost on
steamer TEJO.
Submarine VELOX picked up
twenty six survivors from
these ships and arrived back at Gibraltar on the
13th.
_____
In Operation RESULT, Genoa
was bombarded by battlecruiser RENOWN and
battleship MALAYA of Force H from 0714 to 0744. Italian
battleship DUILO was
at Genoa at this time, but was not damaged in the
bombardment.
Light cruiser SHEFFIELD
bombarded Pisa.
Aircraft from aircraft
carrier ARK ROYAL, which was
escorted by destroyers DUNCAN, ISIS, ENCOUNTER, raided
Leghorn and laid mines in the entrance to La Spezia.
A/Sub Lt (A) N. G.
Attenborough, A/T/Sub Lt (A) S.
W. Foote RNVR, Leading Airman G. W. Halifax in a
Swordfish of 820 Squadron
were lost in the ARK ROYAL raid on Leghorn.
Destroyers JUPITER and
FIREDRAKE were off Majorica
simulating radio traffic for Force H.
_____
Armed boarding vessels
ROSAURA and CHAKLA, escorted
by destroyer VOYAGER, departed Alexandria for Tobruk.
British troopship ULSTER
PRINCE with 1300 troops, escorted by destroyer
STUART, departed Alexandria for Tobruk.
_____
Submarines USK and TRUANT
off Tripoli and UTMOST off Tunisia made unsuccessful
attacks on Italian shipping.
_____
British steamer CRISTA
(2590grt) was damaged on a
mine at Tobruk.
_____
Ocean boarding vessel
MARON departed Gibraltar for Western Patrol.
_____
Italian coastal steamers
IV NOVEMBRE (61grt), TENAX
(115grt), ROSANNA (205grt) were lost in stranding on the
Sirte coast.
_____
Convoy BN.15 departed
Aden, escorted by sloops SHOREHAM and YARRA, and
arrived at Suez on the 16th.
_____
Convoy HX.108 departed
Halifax, escorted by armed merchant cruiser MALOJA and
corvettes MAYFLOWER and SNOWBERRY. The armed merchant
cruiser was detached on
the 18th. Battleship RODNEY proceeded with the convoy on
the 18th to 20
February. On the 24th, destroyers MONTGOMERY, WANDERER,
WITCH and
anti-submarine trawler YORK CITY joined the convoy.
Corvette PERIWINKLE joined the
escort on the 25th. Corvette PERIWINKLE was detached on
the 26th. The
remainder of their escort was detached when the convoy
arrived at Liverpool on the 27th.
Monday,
10 February
Naval drifter BOY
ALAN
(109grt, Skipper E. H. Crowe DSC RNR) was sunk in a
collision in the Thames Estuary.
_____
U.37 sank British steamer
BRANDENBURG (1473grt) from convoy HG.53 in 36-10N,
15-38W.
The entire crew on the
steamer were lost, along
with the thirty survivors of the steamer COURLAND.
Sloop DEPTFORD made an
anti-submarine attack on the
submarine.
_____
U.52 sank British steamer
CANFORD CHINE (3364grt),
which was straggling behind convoy OG.52, in 55N, 15W.
The entire crew were lost.
_____
British steamer BENMACDHUI
(6869grt) was damaged by
German bombing in 52-42N, 2-00E.
The steamer arrived at
Tees on the 12th under her own power.
_____
Destroyer DIAMOND at
Tobruk reported her stern
glands were leaking seriously on the 10th. Destroyer
HEREWARD was sent
immediately from Alexandria to relieve her.
Destroyer DIAMOND departed
Tobruk on the 12th
escorting tug ST ISSEY and damaged steamers CRISTA and
RODI for Alexandria.
These ships arrived at
Alexandria on the 16th.
_____
Submarine REGENT departed
Alexandria to relieve submarine TRUANT on patrol off
Tripoli.
Submarine TRUANT proceeded
to Malta, arriving on the 13th.
_____
Submarine ROVER
unsuccessfully attacked an Italian
submarine off Calabria.
_____
During the night of 10/11
February, eight Italian
and two German ships escaped from Kismaya.
Italian steamers ADRIA
(3809grt), SAVOIA (5490grt),
ERMINIA MAZZELLA (5644grt), MANON (5594grt), LEONARDO DA
VINCI (7515grt) were
captured by Heavy cruiser HAWKINS.
Steamer SAVOIA was later
used by the British as
EMPIRE ARUN.
Steamer ERMINIA MAZZELLA
was used as IMPALA and
later as AGULHAS.
Steamer LEONARDO DA VINCI
was later used by the
British as EMPIRE CLYDE.
German steamer UCKERMARK
(7021grt) scuttled herself
on the 12th off Italian
Somaliland when
intercepted by Aircraft carrier EAGLE aircraft and light
cruiser CERES.
Italian steamer
PENSILVANIA (6861grt) was sunk on
the 13th by Aircraft carrier EAGLE aircraft and heavy
cruiser HAWKINS.
German steamer ASKARI
(590grt) was sunk on the 13th
by Aircraft carrier EAGLE air.
Of the ten ships from
Kismaya, only Italian
steamers DUCA DEGLI ABRUZZI (2315grt) and SOMALIA
(2699grt) escaped and arrived at Diego Suarez.
_____
Convoy BS.15 departed
Suez, escorted by sloops CLIVE and HINDUSTAN. The convoy
was dispersed on the 16th.
_____
Convoy SL.65 departed
Freetown escorted by armed merchant cruiser BULOLO to 2
March, sloop MILFORD to 13 February, corvettes ASPHODEL
and CALENDULA
to 13 February.
Convoy SLS.65 also
departed Freetown on the 10th. The convoy rendezvoused
with convoy
SL.65/13th.
Light cruiser KENYA joined
on the 13th to protect convoys SL.65 and SLS.65. The
light cruiser was relieved on the 20th by
light cruiser SHEFFIELD, which departed Gibraltar on the
18th, to 1 March. Light cruiser KENYA arrived at
Gibraltar on the 22nd. On 2 March, anti-aircraft cruiser
DIDO joined and continued to 7 March.
Destroyers BRIGHTON,
BROADWAY, CALDWELL,
ROCKINGHAM, VANOC,VOLUNTEER, WALKER, sloop FLEETWOOD,
corvettes DIANELLA and
TULIP, anti-submarine yacht PHILANTE, catapult ship
PEGASUS joined the escort
on 4 March. Destroyers MANSFIELD and WOOLSTON joined on
5 March.
Cruiser DIDO, destroyers
MANSFIELD and WOOLSTON,
anti-submarine yacht PHILANTE were detached on 7 March,
and arrived on 8
March.
Tuesday,
11 February
Monitor EREBUS, escorted
by destroyers QUORN,
EGLINTON and one other, bombarded Ostend between 0100
and 0140 in Operation PX.
_____
Convoy OB.285 departed
Liverpool, escorted by destroyers ARROW, BLYSKAWICA,
MISTRAL
and anti-submarine trawlers DANEMAN and ST APOLLO.
Destroyer BLYSKAWICA was
detached on 13 January. Most of the other escorts were
detached prior to
dispersal on the 17th when only destroyer MISTRAL was
still with the convoy.
_____
Submarine SNAPPER ( Lt
G.V. Prowse) was sunk by
German minesweepers M.2, M.13, M.25 southwest of Ushant in 47-52N, 5-47W after SNAPPER fired torpedoes at the minesweepers.
Prowse, Lt E. B. Talbot,
Lt E. A. E. Ashby RNR, Sub Lt G. M. H. Alston, Warrant
Engineer D. P.
Halloran, thirty seven ratings were lost with the
submarine.
_____
British steamer ICELAND
(1236grt), a straggler from convoy HG.53, was sunk
by German heavy cruiser ADMIRAL HIPPER in 37-03N,
19-50W.
The crew was taken
prisoner.
_____
Minelayer PLOVER laid
minefield ZME.16 in the Irish Sea.
This series continued in
February with the
minelayer laying ZME.17 on the 15th, ZME.18 on the 18th,
ZME.19 on the 21st,
ZME.20 on the 24th. This series continued in March and
April.
_____
British trawler JOHN
DUNKIN (202grt) was sunk by
German bombing 13 miles N by E of Buckie. One crewman
was lost.
_____
British trawler EAMONT
(227grt) was badly damaged
by German bombing in 58-15N, 3-26W.
The crew of ten were all
rescued.
The trawler dragged ashore
in bad weather on the
12th and broke in two.
_____
British steamer CANTICK
HEAD (488grt) was damaged
by German bombing thirty miles northwest of Kinnaird
Head.
_____
British steamer JAMAICA
PRODUCER (5464grt) was
chased by a German submarine in 59-25N, 9-07W.
Destroyer JACKAL was sent
to assist her.
No damage was done to the
steamer.
Destroyer BURNHAM was sent
to search for the
submarine in 59-25N, 9-07W.
Destroyer BURNHAM was
unable to locate the
submarine. She left the area to join the escort of
convoy HX.106.
Destroyer JACKAL after an
unsuccessful search
proceeded to Skaalefjord.
_____
Force H arrived at
Gibraltar after RESULT.
Italian Admiral Iachino,
which had been at sea with
considerable forces, was misled by aerial reports which
mistook French
convoys for Force H. Force H had escaped undamaged.
_____
Destroyers ILEX and HERO
departed Alexandria for exercises.
_____
Destroyer HEREWARD was
sent from Tobruk to Alexandria to collect the advance
clearance party for
Operation SHELFORD, the clearance of Benghazi harbour.
The destroyer arrived at
Alexandria at 0100, collected the personnel and the
stores
from armed boarding vessel FIONA and departed at 0430
Destroyer DECOY left
Tobruk with minesweeping
trawlers ARTHUR CAVANAGH and MILFORD COUNTESS for
Benghazi.
_____
Submarine TRIUMPH departed
Malta on a special operation.
The operation was
cancelled on the 13th and the
submarine was recalled.
_____
Submarine TRUANT made two
unsuccessful attacks
against Italian stamer BAINSIZZA in 33-36N, 12-53E and
33-46N, 12-57E.
The steamer had departed
Tripoli at 0830/11th for
Palermo and Naples with SABAUDIA, MOTIA, UTILITAS,
escorted by escort ship
DEFFENU and torpedo boat MISSORI. After the attacks, the
convoy returned to Tripoli until 2330 that night.
The remainder of the
convoy's passage was
uneventful.
_____
Submarine UNIQUE
unsuccessfully attacked German
steamer ANKARA arriving in convoy (see entry 8 February)
off Tripoli.
_____
Naval whaler SOUTHERN FLOE
(344grt, T/Lt J. E. J.
Lewis, SARNVR) was sunk on a mine off Tobruk.
Lewis, T/Sub Lt D. N.
Walton, SARNVR, T/Sub Lt A.
E. Fairley, SARNVR, T/Sub Lt I. M. Innes, SARNVR, all
but one rating, which
was later picked up by destroyer VOYAGER, were lost with
the whaler.
_____
French large destroyer
TERRIBLE departed Toulon and arrived at Oran on the
12th. She departed on the 14th and arrived
at Casablanca on the 15th. The destroyer went on and
joined
Force Y at Dakar, arriving on the 25th, replacing large
destroyer
AUDACIEUX which was damaged on 23 September during
MENACE.
_____
Destroyer THRACIAN and
minelayer MAN YEUNG laid mines in the approaches to Hong
Kong.
Wednesday,
12 February
Anti-aircraft ship CURACOA
departed Scapa Flow at 0600 to meet convoy EN.70 and
provide
anti-aircraft support from daylight until the convoy
arrived in Pentland Firth.
The ship arrived back at
Scapa Flow at 1320.
_____
Force H with battlecruiser
RENOWN, aircraft carrier
ARK ROYAL, light cruiser SHEFFIELD, destroyers WISHART,
JERSEY, FOXHOUND, FIREDRAKE, FURY departed
Gibraltar to cover convoy
HG.53.
That evening, Force H was
ordered to cover convoy
WS.6, relieving battleship RODNEY. Battlecruiser RENOWN
and aircraft carrier
ARK ROYAL covered convoy WS.6 from 17 to 21 February.
Light cruiser SHEFFIELD
was detached on the 13th.
The destroyers returned to
Gibraltar on the 16th.
_____
German heavy cruiser
ADMIRAL HIPPER made attacks on
yet unescorted SLS.64 of 19 steamers.
Heavy cruiser ADMIRAL
HIPPER sank British steamer
WARLABY (4876grt) in 37-12N, 21-20W, British steamer
WESTBURY (4712grt) in
37-10N, 21-20W, British steamer OSWESTRY GRANGE
(4684grt) in 37-10N, 21-20W,
British steamer SHREWSBURY (4542grt) in 36-46N, 20-12W,
British steamer
DERRYNANE (4896grt) in 37-12N, 21-20W, Norwegian steamer
BORGESTAD (3924grt)
in 37-10N, 21-20W, Greek steamer PERSEUS (5172grt) in
37-10N, 21-20W.
Three crew were rescued
from the steamer WARLABY.
Five crew from steamer
WESTBURY were lost.
Five crew were lost on
steamer OSWESTRY GRANGE.
Thirty seven survivors landed at Madiera by British
steamer LORNASTON
(4934grt).
Twenty crew were lost from
steamer SHREWSBURY.
All the crew from steamer
DERRYNANE were lost.
All the crew from steamer
BORGESTAD were lost.
Fourteen crew were lost on
the Greek steamer.
British steamer LORNASTON
(4934grt) was damaged by
the heavy cruiser in 37-12N, 21-20W.
Ocean boarding vessels
CAMITO, CORNINTHIAN, CAVINO,
MARON were sent to search for survivors from this
convoy. Ocean boarding
vessel CAMITO rescued some of the survivors from the
British ships.
Light cruiser SHEFFIELD
was sent to escort the surviving ships of the
convoy. She arrived back at Gibraltar on the 17th.
Battleship MALAYA, escorted by destroyers FIREDRAKE, FOXHOUND,
JERSEY, was detached from Force H to escort convoy HG.53.
Battleship MALAYA and her destroyers returned to
Gibraltar on the 15th. The
convoy was joined by destroyers LEAMINGTON and SABRE and
corvette ANEMONE from convoy OG.53
and sloop LONDONDERRY.
Force H was involved in
escorting convoy WS.6 A for
a time and was relieved on the 19th by battleship MALAYA, which departed Gibraltar on
the 17th.
_____
Ocean boarding vessel
MARSDALE departed Gibraltar on Western Patrol.
_____
British fishing vessel
CALEDONIAN (8grt) was lost
on a mine.
_____
Submarine
TIGRIS sank French
fishing trawler RENE CAMALEYRE (243grt) in 43-30N, 1-42E
in the Bay of Biscay.
_____
For Operation SHELFORD,
Light cruisers ORION and AJAX departed Alexandria at
0730 to rendezvous in the Aegean in 34-00N, 21-00E with heavy cruiser
YORK, anti-aircraft
cruiser BONAVENTURE, destroyers
JERVIS, JAGUAR, JANUS, MOHAWK which departed Suda
Bay
at 1700 to join.
Gunboat APHIS entered
Benghazi
Harbour at daylight on the 12th.
Armed Boarding Vessel
CHAKLA (with Senior Naval
Officer, Inshore Squadron, Captain A. L. Poland) with
destroyers STUART,
VOYAGER, VAMPIRE, minesweeper FAREHAM, minesweeping
corvettes PEONY and
HYACINTH departed Tobruk at 0730 to arrive at Benghazi
early on the 13th.
_____
British troopship ULSTER
PRINCE arrived at Alexandria with prisoners from Tobruk.
_____
British steamer CINGALESE
PRINCE (8474grt) departed
Haifa for Tobruk, unescorted.
The steamer was carrying a
number of lighters and
other important cargo.
Destroyer DAINTY was sent
from Alexandria to escort the steamer.
_____
Light cruiser GLASGOW
departed Alexandria for Port Said and Suez. She had
received partial repairs only for her
December 1940 torpedo damage.
The cruiser was being
detached for convoy work
only.
_____
British gunboat CRICKET
arrived at Port Said to join the Mediterranean Fleet.
However, due to her poor
condition, she remained at
Port Said and was placed in care and maintenance status
on
the 18th.
_____
Submarine UTMOST damaged
Italian steaamer MANFREDO
CAMPIERO (former MAULY, 5463grt) off Tripoli in 35-41N,
23-01E.
_____
The 2nd Afrika Korps
convoy departed Naples with steamers ADANA (4205grt),
AEGINA (2447grt), KYBFELS (7764grt),
RUHR (5954grt) escorted by destroyer CAMICIA NERA and torpedo boat
PROCIONE, and arrived at Tripoli
on the 14th.
_____
French submarines IRIS,
VENUS, PALLAS, CERES
departed Toulon on the 6th and arrived at Oran on the
9th. They departed Oran on the 11th, escorted by armed
trawler LA HAVRAISE
and passed Gibraltar on the 12th. They arrived at
Casablanca on the 13th.
_____
Italian steamers
INTEGRITAS (5952grt), MARGHERA
(4531grt), CARSO (6275grt) were scuttled at Kismaya.
Steamer CARSO was salved
as EMPIRE TANA.
_____
New Zealand light cruiser
ACHILLES departed Wellington with convoy ZT 2. The
convoy safely arrived at Sydney on the 18th.
_____
New Zealand light cruiser
LEANDER relieved Light cruiser
DAUNTLESS of the escort of a troopship three hundred
miles east of Ceylon.
The cruiser and the
troopship arrived at Colombo on the 12th.
Thursday,
13 February
Anti-aircraft ship CAIRO
departed
Scapa Flow at 1330
for Greenock on completion of working up exercises.
_____
Anti-aircraft ship CURACOA
departed Scapa Flow at 1100 to provide cover for convoy
WN.83. At
2200, the ship transferred to convoy EN.71.
In Pentland
Firth at 0930/14th, ship
CURACOA left convoy EN.71. While transferring to convoy
WN.84, damage was
caused by heavy seas and she returned to Scapa Flow,
arriving at 1330.
_____
Heavy cruiser NORFOLK
arrived at Scapa Flow after duty in the South Atlantic.
_____
Convoy OB.286 departed
Liverpool, escorted by destroyer WOLVERINE, sloop
FLEETWOOD,
corvettes ARBUTUS, CAMELLIA, ERICA. Destroyer HARVESTER
joined on the 15th.
The convoy was dispersed on the 17th.
_____
Destroyer ANTHONY was
damaged by splinters from a
near miss of a German bomb at Glasgow.
The destroyer spent no
time out of service from
this damage, but did begin refitting at Glasgow.
_____
Anti-submarine trawler
RUBENS (320grt, T/Skipper H.
G. Pyle RNR) was sunk by German bombing in 48-50N,
14-20W. The
trawler had separated from convoy OG.52 as a result of a
misunderstood
signal.
Pyle, P/T/Sub Lt C. E.
Oates RNR, T/Sub Lt D. H. Owens RNVR, all the ratings
were
lost in the trawler.
_____
Destroyer RIPLEY was
damaged in a collision with destroyer
BURWELL and anti-submarine trawler NOTRE DAME DE FRANCE
(433grt) at
Devonport.
The destroyer was repaired
at Devonport completing
on 3 March.
_____
U.96 sank motor tanker
CLEA (8074grt), which was
straggling behind convoy HX.106, in the Northwest
Approaches.
_____
U.103 damaged motor tanker
ARTHUR F CORWIN
(10,516grt), straggling behind convoy HX.106, in 60-25N,
17-11W.
U.96 sank this tanker
three hours later.
All the crew from the
tanker were lost.
Destroyers ELECTRA,
ECLIPSE, BRILLIANT en route to
refuel at Skaalefjord made a sweep through this area on
the 14th.
_____
British steamer WESTCLIFFE
HALL (1900grt) was damaged by German bombing 2¼ miles
10° from
Whitby High Light. She
arrived in the Tees with steering gear damaged.
_____
British
steamer CAPE
RODNEY (4512grt) was damaged by German bombing off Girdleness.
_____
Light cruiser GLOUCESTER
departed Alexandria for Port Said to fit damaged cruiser
LIVERPOOL's DCT.
The light cruiser returned
to Alexandria on the 15th with the unit in place.
_____
British operation
COMPOSITION.
Aircraft carrier
FORMIDABLE air attacked Massawa.
Italian steamer MONCALIERI
(5723grt) was damaged by the bombing and later
scuttled.
A/Sub Lt (A) J. H.
Jefford, Sub Lt (A) C. P. Simpson,
Leading Airman F. H. Shiel of 826 Squadron and A/Sub Lt
(A) D. M. R.
Wynne-Roberts RNVR, P/T/A/Sub Lt (A) M. G. C. Keeley
RNVR, Leading Airman W.
M. Brown of 829 Squadron were shot down and made
prisoners of war. They were
liberated when Massawa fell to British forces in April.
_____
Convoy HX.109 departed
Halifax, escorted by armed merchant cruiser AUSONIA,
destroyer ANNAPOLIS, patrol vessel OTTER. The destroyer
and the patrol
vessel were detached on the 14th. On26 February,
destroyers BURNHAM, DOUGLAS,
MALCOLM, corvettes CLARKIA, MALLOW, PETUNA,
anti-submarine trawler NORTHERN
SPRAY joined the escort. The trawler was detached later
that day. On the 2nd,
destroyer DOUGLAS was detached, destroyers BURNHAM and
MALCOLM and
corvettes CLARKIA and PETUNA were detached. Corvette
MALLOW was detached when
the convoy arrived at Liverpool on 4 March.
Friday,
14 February
Destroyer ECHO departed
Scapa Flow at 2000
for Loch Alsh to act as additional escort for operation
SN.68, and arrived at
0800/15th.
_____
Destroyer KEPPEL at
Londonderry was transferred to the Western Approaches,
while
destroyer COTTESMORE departed Londonderry for
the Nore following working up.
_____
Motor torpedo boat MTB.41
( Lt Cdr J C Cole) was sunk on a mine in the North Sea.
Cole, Sub Lt P R C Guinness and T/A/Sub Lt H H
Nalder RNVR were lost.
_____
Canadian destroyer ST
LAURENT was damaged by the near miss of German bombing
in
the North West Approaches.
The destroyer spent no
time out of service. The
destroyer arrived at Greenock on the 15th.
_____
Minelayer TEVIOTBANK
departed Immingham, escorted
by destroyer WHITSHED. She was damaged by two near
misses of German bombing
off Flamborough Head.
The minelayer was repaired
in the Humber completing on 8 March.
_____
German battlecruisers
SCHARNHORST and GNEISENAU
refuelled at sea from German tankers SCHLETTSTADT
(8028grt) and ESSO HAMBURG (9847grt).
_____
British steamer ELISABETH
MARIE (616grt) was sunk
by German bombing in 54-58N, 12-30W.
One crewman was lost on
the steamer. Canadian
destroyer OTTAWA rescued the survivors.
_____
Italian submarine BIANCHI
sank British steamer
BELCREST (4517grt), which was straggling behind convoy
SC.21, in 54N, 21W.
_____
U.101 sank British steamer
HOLYSTONE (5462grt) in
the North Atlantic.
There were no survivors.
_____
British steamer MOORLANDS
(420grt) was damaged by
German bombing two miles north of Sands End Bay, off
Banff.
The steamer was bombed
again on the 20th in Buckie
Harbour.
_____
Submarine ROVER damaged
Italian tanker CESCO
(6161grt) off Calabria in 38-45N, 17-25E.
_____
Convoy AN.15, composed of
six British and fourteen
Greek ships, departed Port Said escorted by destroyers
GREYHOUND and WATERHEN
and from Alexandria escorted by destroyer HASTY.
Anti-aircraft cruiser
CALCUTTA joined the convoy on
the 16th, and arrived at Suda Bay on the 18th and
Pireaus on the 19th.
_____
Convoy AC.1 departed
Alexandria for Benghazi
escorted by anti-aircraft cruiser COVENTRY, minesweeping
corvettes SALVIA and
GLOXINIA, minesweeping whalers SOUTHERN ISLE and
SOUTHERN MAID.
Two steamers were diverted
to Tobruk.
The other two steamers,
British PALERMO (2928grt)
and Belgian ESCAUT (1087grt), of the convoy arrived at
Benghazi on the 18th.
_____
Kismaya,
Italian East Africa,
was captured by the British.
British Force T for these
operations was composed
of heavy cruisers SHROPSHIRE and HAWKINS, aircraft
carrier HERMES, light
cruisers CERES and CAPETOWN, destroyer KANDAHAR.
_____
A Convoy of a small store
ship and Belgian petrol
carrier ESCAUT for Benghazi departed Alexandria.
Monitor TERROR and
anti-aircraft cruiser COVENTRY accompanied this convoy.
Monitor TERROR arrived on
the 17th.
_____
Convoy SLG.1A of
troopships KENYA and SOBIESKI departed Gibraltar
escorted by light cruiser DUNEDIN and destroyers
FORESIGHT and FORTUNE. The two F
class destroyers were detached on the 16th. Destroyers
WISHART and VIDETTE
departed Gibraltar at the same time and covered in the
local
approaches before proceeding south to Freetown.
On the 20th, destroyers
GARLAND, HESPERUS, HURRICANE, LEGION, PIORUN joined the
convoy, and arrived at the Clyde on the 22nd.
