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Note: all vessels and aircraft are British or Dominion unless
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Background Events - January-May 1941
1941
Saturday, 15 March Minesweeper BRITOMART (Lt Cdr J. M. S. Cox DSC) was
damaged by German bombing in _____ Monitor MARSHALL SOULT was damaged by German
bombing while berthed in _____ Convoy HX.112 was escorted by destroyers WALKER,
VANOC, VOLUNTEER, SARDONYX, and SCIMITAR and corvettes BLUEBELL and
HYDRANGEA. _____ German battlecruisers SCHARNHORST and GNEISENAU
sank British ships from dispersed convoy OB.294, which had departed Tanker BRITISH STRENGTH (7139grt) was sunk in 42N,
43W by SCHARNHORST. Two crew were killed on the tanker. The rest were
taken prisoner. Tanker SIMNIA (6197grt) in 40-28N, 43-30W was sunk
by GNEISENAU. Three crew were killed. The rest were taken
prisoner. Tanker The Master and the gunners were taken prisoner. The
rest of the crew remained on the tanker. On 20 March, when sighted by British
aircraft and battlecruiser RENOWN, the tanker was scuttled by the German
prise crew. in 45-12N, 19-42W. Steamer ROYAL CROWN (4388grt) in 42N, 43W by
GNEISENAU. The entire crew were rescued. Steamer MYSON (4564grt) in 42N, 43W by GNEISENAU.
The entire crew were rescued. Steamer Tanker ATHELFOAM (6554grt) in 42-00N, 43-25W by
SCHARNHORST. One crewman and one gunner were lost, the rest taken prisoner. Norwegian tanker POLYKARP (6405grt) was captured by
GNEISENAU in 45-40N, 23-26W on the 15th, and reached the German-occupied Norwegian tanker BIANCA (5688grt) was captured by
GNEISENAU on the 15th. The entire crew was rescued. On 20 March, the
tanker was intercepted by Battlecruiser RENOWN in 44-16N, 19-21W. The tanker
was scuttled by the German prise crew. The attacks continued on the 16th on further ships
of the dispersed convoy OB.294 and two ships of dispersed convoy OB.292 which
had departed Steamer SARDINIAN PRINCE (3491grt) in 44N, 43W by
SCHARNHORST. The entire crew were taken prisoner. Dutch steamer MANGKAI (8298grt) in 44N, 43W by
SCHARNHORST. Some of the crew were taken prisoner. Steamer SILVERFIR (4347grt) in 42N, 43W by
SCHARNHORST. One crewman was lost. Rest were taken prisoner of war. Steamer EMPIRE INDUSTRY (3721grt) of OB.272 in 42N,
43W by GNEISENAU. The entire crew as taken prisoner. Norwegian steamer GRANLI (1577grt) of OB.292 was
sunk by GNEISENAU 300 miles east of Steamer DEMETERTON (5251grt) in 45-58N, 44-00W by
SCHARNHORST. The entire crew was taken
prisoner. Independent steamer CHILEAN REEFER (1739grt)
46-13N, 44-45W by GNEISENAU. Seven
crew and two gunners were lost from the steamer. Three crew were taken
prisoner. The rest were rescued by British ships. Steamer CHILEAN REEFER was able to send off an Submarine THUNDERBOLT, which departed Submarine After unsuccessful searching, submarine Battleship RODNEY, escorting convoy HX.114, sighted
battleship GNEISENAU which made off at high speed and no action ensued. Battleship NELSON, light cruiser On 16 March, destroyer BOADICEA lost a rating
overboard. Light cruiser Destroyers BOADICEA, ESCAPADE, and ACTIVE were sent
to The NELSON group were joined on the 21st by
battleship QUEEN ELIZABETH, heavy cruiser Heavy cruiser Light cruisers Light cruiser EDINBURGH and destroyers SOMALI,
BEDOUIN, MATABELE, and MASHONA departed Destroyer ARROW was detached to Submarine L 27 departed Destroyers COSSACK, MAORI, and ZULU were detached
from the Commander in Chief's force in 59W, 20W to refuel in Light cruiser EDINBURGH and destroyers SOMALI,
BEDOUIN, MATABELE, and MASHONA arrived in the Light cruiser Battleship NELSON and destroyers ACTIVE, BOADICEA,
and ESCAPADE arrived at Battlecruiser HOOD, battleship QUEEN ELIZABETH, and
destroyers INGLEFIELD, ELECTRA, ESKIMO, and On 19 March, ocean boarding vessels HILARY and
CORINTHIAN on Western Patrol were ordered to attempt to intercept the
captured whale factory ships as they proceeded to French ports. _____ Tug WARRIOR (249grt), towing Norwegian tanker
FERNCOURT (9918grt), was damaged on a mine at the entrance to River Cart in
the The tug beached at Renfrew. The was later refloated
and taken to _____ Belgian steamer EMINENT (500grt) was sunk on a mine
in 52-32N, 5-37W. The entire crew was rescued. _____ Convoy GA.5 (there was no GA.3 or GA.4) of five
British and three Greek ships departed Pireaus for Steamer CINGALESE PRINCE departed this convoy on
the 16th and joined anti-submarine whaler SOUTHERN MAID for Tobruk to embark
motor transport. The convoy arrived at _____ British Force A arrived at Destroyers MOHAWK and NUBIAN rejoined Force A. Force A departed During the night of 15/16 March, Force A covered
convoys GA.5, _____ Heavy cruiser DORSETSHIRE arrived at Simonstown. _____ Tug CHABOOL, manned by Lt J. L. Mumford _____ Convoy ZK.1 departed In April and July to September, three more convoys
were run. Sunday, 16 March Heavy cruiser _____ Destroyer ANTHONY while under repair at The destroyer spent no further time out of service.
_____ Convoy OB.298 departed _____ Anti-submarine trawler LADY LILIAN (581grt, T/Lt W.
K. Rous RNVR) was sunk by German bombing 150 miles west by south of Bloody
Foreland. _____ Anti-submarine trawler ANGLE (531grt, P/T/Lt R.
Wolfenden The trawler arrived _____ Corvette AUBRETIA, en route from The corvette was repaired at _____ U.110, in three attacks on convoy HX.112, damaged
British tanker ERODONA (6207grt) in 61-20N, 17W. Thirty two crew and four gunners were lost. The ship was abandoned. It was towed to Edisvik
near _____ U.106 sank Dutch steamer ALMKERK (6810grt) at
13-40N, 20-30W. The crew was rescued. _____ U.99 attacked convoy HX.112, escorted by destroyers
WALKER, VANOC, VOLUNTEER, SARDONYX, and SCIMITAR, and corvettes BLUEBELL and
HYDRANGEA. Norwegian tankers FERM (6593grt) and BEDUIN
(8136grt) were sunk by 60-42N, 13-10W. The entire crew from tanker FERM were rescued by
corvette BLUEBELL. Four crew from tanker BEDUIN was lost. On 19 March, the forward position of the tanker was
sunk by gunfire from a trawler in 61-02N, 11-53W. The stern portion was sunk
on the 20th in 61-07N, 10-50W. British tanker FRANCHE COMTE (9314grt) was damaged
in 61-15N, 12-30W. Corvette BLUEBELL stood by the damaged tanker. The tanker arrived at British tanker The entire crew of tanker Canadian steamer J. B. WHITE (7375grt) was sunk in
60-57N, 12-27W. One crewman was lost and one crewman was missing on
the Canadian steamer. Submarine U.99 sank Swedish steamer KORSHAMM
(6673grt) from convoy HX.112 on the 17th in 61-09N, 12-20W. Twenty six crew were lost on the Swedish steamer. _____ Norwegian steamer ELNA E. (1174grt) was sunk on a
mine eighteen miles southwest of One crewman was lost on the steamer. _____ Submarine PARTHIAN torpedoed Italian steamer
GIOVANNI BOCCACCIO (3141grt) near Palmi in 35-57N, 15-40E. The submarine claimed hitting a second ship, but
did not. _____ Force A was unsuccessfully attacked by two Italian
torpedo planes at dusk west of Elaphonisos, thirty miles west of The Italian bombers reported hitting two large
units, probably battleships. No ship was hit. _____ Anti-aircraft cruiser BONAVENTURE was detached from
the 3rd Cruiser Squadron to arrive at _____ Aircraft carrier FORMIDABLE departed Destroyer ILEX joined the aircraft carrier from
Force A. The British ships returned to _____ Australian destroyer VOYAGER departed _____ In air operations in the _____ Light cruisers GLASGOW and _____ Corvette ASPHODEL arrived at _____ Corvette DELPHINIUM departed Monday, 17 March Minelayers SOUTHERN PRINCE, MENESTHEUS, AGAMEMNON,
and Light cruisers AURORA and GALATEA departed Battleship NELSON, light cruiser The mines were laid on the 19th. The ships arrived back on the 20th. _____ Destroyers NESTOR, WHADDON, and ERIDGE departed The four ships departed Rosyth at 1700/18th for _____ Anti-aircraft ship CURACOA departed At 0500/18th, the ship transferred to convoy EN.68
A and remained with it until its arrival in Ship CURACOA arrived at Scapa Flow 1745/18th. _____ Minelayer TEVIOTBANK, escorted by sloop KITTIWAKE
and French torpedo boat LA MELPOMENE, laid minefield BS.51 off the East coast
of _____ Anti-submarine yacht MOLLUSC (597grt, T/Lt N P
Doyle _____ Convoy OG.56 departed On 18 March, the convoy was joined by destroyers
BROKE, DOUGLAS, SALADIN, Destroyers BROKE, Submarine _____ U.99 was sunk by HX.112 escort Destroyer WALKER
northwest of the The commanding officer, two other officer, and
thirty seven ratings were picked up by destroyer WALKER. One officer and two
ratings from the submarine drowned. _____ U.100 was sunk by HX.112 escort Destroyer VANOC
northwest of the One officer and five ratings were rescued. Thirty
eight crew, including Kptlt. Joachim Schepke, were lost in the submarine. _____ During the night of 17/18 March, destroyer
CATTISTOCK in convoy FN.33 off Destroyers VESPER and COTTESMORE were also in the
escort. _____ U.106 made attacks on convoy SL.68. British steamer ANDALUSIAN (3082grt) was sunk at
14-33N, 21-06W. The entire crew of the steamer were rescued. Dutch steamer TAPANOELI (7031grt) was sunk at
15-56N, 20-49W. The entire crew was rescued. The submarine attacked two other steamers in the
convoy without success. _____ British steamer CORMEAD (2848grt) was damaged by
German bombing in 52-20N, 2-00E. _____ British pilot cutter PIONEER (281grt) was damaged
by German bombing at B 3 Buoy, Thames Estuary. _____ Norwegian steamer EINAR JARL (1858grt) was sunk on
a mine in 56-17N, 2-18W. One crewman was lost on the steamer. _____ Light cruisers The cruisers arrived at _____ Light cruiser _____ Destroyer _____ Convoy BN.20 departed _____ Convoy BM.5 departed Steamers JALAKRISHNA (4991grt) and JAPAPADMA (3035
(tons) departed _____ Convoy HX.115 departed _____ American Task Group 9.2 with light cruisers The American ships sailed on the 20th and arrived
at Tuesday, 18 March German battlecruisers SCHARNHORST and GNEISENAU
refueled at sea three hundred miles northwest of the Some four hundred prisoners were transferred to the
supply ships. _____ Heavy cruiser The cruiser refueled in The cruiser returned to refuel at _____ Light cruiser ARETHUSA departed The cruiser arrived back at 1610/22nd. _____ Battlecruiser HOOD, refitting at Rosyth since 13
January, departed Rosyth for _____ U.105 sank British steamer MEDJERDA (4380grt) from
convoy SL.68 at 17N, 21W. _____ The German 1st Motor Torpedo Boat Flotilla with
S.26, S.29, S.39, S.55, S.101, and S.102 sortie against British shipping on
the British east coast. British steamer DAPHNE II (1970grt) was badly
damaged by S.102 in 59 Buoy, off the The ship was taken in tow and beached south of
Bull. The ship broke in two and sank. _____ Italian submarine EMO attacked British steamer CLAN
MACIVER (4500grt) in 58N, 24W. _____ German steamer _____ German steamer WIDAR (5972grt) was sunk by an
aerial torpedo off Borkum. _____ Battleships BARHAM and VALIANT and destroyers
JERVIS, JANUS, NUBIAN, MOHAWK, GREYHOUND, and HAVOCK arrived at Light cruisers BONAVENTURE and _____ Light cruiser The cruiser departed _____ Convoy AG.7 of Armed boarding vessels CHAKLA and
FIONA, supply ship BRECONSHIRE, three Greek, and one other ship departed Troopship _____ Convoy AN.21 of seven British, four Greek, and two
other ships departed Anti-aircraft cruiser On the 21st, British tanker MARIE MAERSK (8271grt),
formerly of AG.5 and joined from Six crew were killed, eight missing, and four were
taken prisoner of war. Australian destroyer WATERHEN put a party aboard
the ship and got the fire under control. The tanker was brought into _____ Convoy AS.20 of one British, one Greek, and four
other ships departed Destroyer VENDETTA attacked a submarine contact at
1715/18th in 37-29N, 24-05E. The convoy arrived at _____ Armed boarding vessel ROSAURA (1552grt) was sunk on
a mine 146° from Mersa Tobruk. Fourteen crew, including P/T/Surgeon Lt J. F.
Roberts RNVR, five military guards and 59 prisoners of war were lost. _____ Swordfish of 830 Squadron attacked A Swordfish was shot down and its crew of A/Sub Lt
(A) D. Grant and Leading Airman W. E. J. Thomson were made prisoners of war.
They were repatriated in November 1942. _____ Three Albacore aircraft from 826 Squadron from
aircraft carrier FORMIDABLE operating ashore torpedoed Italian steamer LABOR
(510grt) and destroyed two lighters at Buerat el Hsur. The steamer was able
to arrive at One Albacore and its crew of Sub Lt J. J. C. Coe
and A/Sub Lt C. P. Bailey were lost. _____ Convoy BS.20 departed _____ Italian torpedo boat ALDEBARAN was sunk by British
bombing at Valona. _____ Light cruiser DAUNTLESS arrived at _____ Light cruiser DIOMEDE damaged her port propeller
while passing through the Wednesday, 19 March Destroyer LIDDESDALE departed The ships departed Lerwick at 2000/20th. The
destroyer lost touch with the steamer in bad weather during the night and
returned to _____ Light cruiser The light cruiser arrived at _____ Convoy OB.299 departed _____ P/T/Sub Lt (A) W. Darbyshire RNVR, and Leading
Airman J. W. J. Howes were killed when their Roc of 760 Squadron crashed near
_____ British steamer BENVORLICH (5193grt) was sunk by
German bombing from convoy OB.298 in 54-48N, 13-10W. Four crew and one gunner was lost on the steamer.
The survivors were rescued by convoy rescue ship ZAMALEK. _____ U.106 made attacks on convoy SL.68. Dutch steamer MANDALIKA (7750grt) was sunk at
18-16N, 21-26W. Three crew were killed on the steamer. < |
