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
Tuesday,
1 April
German heavy cruiser
ADMIRAL SCHEER returned to
Kiel after sinking 17 ships for 113,233 tons in the
North and South Atlantic and in the Indian Oceans.
_____
Commander in Chief Home
Fleet transferred his flag
from battleship QUEEN ELIZABETH to battleship KING
GEORGE V.
_____
Destroyer QUORN in the
Nore Command was damaged by
two near misses of German bombing, but only sustained
superficial damage.
_____
Destroyers ANTHONY, NESTOR
and anti-submarine trawlers of the 10th Anti-Submarine
Striking Force departed
convoy HX.115 at daylight and proceeded to Scapa Flow.
The destroyers arrived later on the 1st.
_____
A submarine was sighted
ten miles 305° from Dunnet
Head by heavy cruiser LONDON.
Destroyers WHADDON and QUANTOCK departed Scapa Flow at
2015 to hunt for her, and anti-submarine whalers
SOUTHERN
SHORE (328grt), SOUTHERN FLOWER (328grt) and SPOSA
(316grt) were also despatched. At 2330, the destroyers
were instructed to abandon
the search and proceed to Rosyth. At 0030/2nd, they were
ordered to search for
a downed aircrew in 58-40N, 4-28W. At 0645, but lacking
success, they proceeded towards Rosyth. The airmen were
sighted
off Whitten Head at 0800, but before the destroyers
arrived, they were rescued by
an RAF launch. The destroyers were able to continue to
Methil and
join Rosyth Command.
_____
German bombing attacked
convoy HXM.114 off Smalls.
British tanker SAN CONRADO
(7982grt) was badly damaged by German
bombing 13 miles 325° from Smalls.
The tanker was taken in
tow. When taken under
attack again by German bombing, the tow was cut.
The tanker sank on the
2nd.
Norwegian tanker
HIDLEFJORD (7639grt) was sunk by
German bombing twenty miles northwest of Smalls.
Twenty nine crew were
missing.
British tanker ADELLAN
(7984grt) was damaged by
German bombing seven cables from Sea Buoy, Milford
Haven.
The tanker was brought to
Milford Haven. After the
cargo was discharged, the tanker proceeded to Newport
for repairs.
British tanker CHESAPEAKE
(8955grt) was attacked by German bombers fifteen
miles north of the Smalls.
The tanker was attacked
again later that day ten
miles southwest of St Goven's Head and badly damaged by
German bombing.
The tanker anchored in
Walton
Bay
on the 3rd.
Norwegian tanker KAIA
KNUDSEN (9063grt) was damaged
by German bombing twenty miles north, northwest of
Smalls.
The tanker was towed to
Milford Haven.
_____
On an anti-submarine
search, an Albacore of 828
Squadron force landed at A'Mhouine, Whiten Head,
Sutherland. Lt Cdr L. A.
Cubitt, sub Lt M. G. Goodger RNVR, and Petty Officer D.
E. Polmeer were all
injured.
_____
Lt A. A. Pettigrew, in a
Blenheim of RAF 55
Squadron from Maraua, Libya, detached from 826 Squadron,
was killed when his
aircraft failed to return from a reconnaisance mission
off Libya.
_____
Swedish steamer LIDINGO
(5842grt) was damaged on a
mine west of Falsterbo.
The steamer was beached
and was later towed to Malmo.
_____
Battlecruiser RENOWN and
aircraft carrier ARK
ROYAL, joined by destroyers NAPIER, NIZAM, and FORTUNE
which departed Gibraltar on 31 March, arrived at
Gibraltar after escort duties.
Destroyers NAPIER and
NIZAM departed Gibraltar escorting British liner
HIGHLAND MONARCH
(14,139grt) for Freetown where they arrived on the 8th.
All three ships departed
Freetown on the 8th and arrived at St Helena on the
12th.
_____
Light cruiser EDINBURGH
arrived at Gibraltar after being relieved in convoy
WS.7.
_____
Destroyers HIGHLANDER,
VELOX, and WRESTLER departed
Gibraltar to meet battlecruiser REPULSE, aircraft
carrier
FURIOUS, and troopship NARKUNDA arriving from Freetown
and escort them toGibraltar.
On the 3rd, the ships
arrived at Gibraltar.
_____
From 1 to 4 April, German
tanker NORDMARK took on
fuel and stores from German tanker ILL (7603grt) at sea.
_____
Convoy ANF.24 of six
British ships departed Alexandria escorted by destroyers
NUBIAN and HEREWARD and corvette
HYACINTH.
Netlayer PROTECTOR sailed
in this convoy with Fleet
Air Arm torpedoes for Piraeus
and nets for Suda Bay.
Also in this convoy was
British steamer NORTHERN
PRINCE (10,917grt) that should have arrived in the
EXCESS convoy. However,
after she ran aground at Gibraltar and missed the
convoy, the steamer was sent around
the Cape to Alexandria.
Anti-aircraft cruiser
CALCUTTA joined the convoy from convoy ASF.22 at
0700/3rd, and arrived at Piraeus on the 4th.
_____
Convoy AG.10 of one
British ship and supply ship
BRECONSHIRE departed Alexandria escorted by destroyers ILEX, HAVOCK, and HOTSPUR.
Supply ship BRECONSHIRE
carried troops to be
disembarked at Lemnos and Mitylene.
The convoy was joined by
anti-aircraft cruiser CARLISLE at 0630/2nd from Suda Bay,
and arrived at Piraeus on the 3rd.
On the convoy's arrival at
Piraeus, supply ship BRECONSHIRE and destroyers HAVOCK
and
HOTSPUR proceeded to Mudros to disembark troops.
_____
Convoy ASF.22 of seven
British ships departed Piraeus escorted by anti-aircraft
cruiser CALCUTTA and destroyers HASTY, DEFENDER, and
VAMPIRE.
Anti-aircraft cruiser
CALCUTTA was detached to convoy ANF.24 south of Kithera,
and arrived at Alexandria on the 4th.
_____
Convoy AS.23 of one
British and six Greek ships
departed Piraeus escorted by destroyers VOYAGER and
WRYNECK and
sloop GRIMSBY.
Leaving Piraeus, destroyer
WRYNECK attacked a submarine contact in
Phleva Bay,
and arrived at Alexandria on the 4th and Port Said on
the 5th.
_____
Italian troop convoy of
troopships ESPERIA
(11,398grt), CONTE ROSSO (17,879grt), MARCO POLO
(13,098grt), and VICTORIA
(13,098grt) escorted by destroyers TARIGO, EURO, and
BALENO and torpedo boats
POLLUCE and PARTENOPE departed Naples, and arrived at
Tripoli on the 2nd.
_____
Convoy BS.22 departed
Suez, escorted by sloop CLIVE. Destroyer KIMBERLEY
joined on the 3rd, destroyer KINGSTON on the 5th and
light cruiser CALEDON on the 6th. Destroyer KINGSTON was
detached on the 7th and destroyer KIMBERLEY on the 8th.
The convoy was dispersed on the 9th.
_____
Destroyer KANDAHAR
intercepted German steamer BERTRAM RICKMERS
(4188grt), which departed Massawa on 29 March, in the
Red Sea.
The German steamer
scuttled herself near
Gondurmiat.
_____
German steamer LICHTENFELS
(7566grt) departed
Massawa. The steamer is unable to evade British patrols
and is forced to
return to Massawa.
_____
German steamers HERMONTHIS
(4833grt) and MUENCHEN
(5619grt) departed Callao at 1930 on 31 March.
Steamer MUENCHEN (5619grt)
scuttled herself when
intercepted by Armed merchant cruiser PRINCE HENRY at
11-18S, 79-09W.
Steamer HERMONTHIS
(4833grt) scuttled herself when
intercepted by Canadian armed merchant cruiser PRINCE
HENRY at 12-13S,
80-10W.
The wreck was scuttled by
Peruvian cruiser
ALMIRANTE GRAU off Callao, Peru.
_____
German steamers in western
South American ports
scuttled themselves.
Steamer CERIGO (1120grt)
was scuttled at Guayaquil.
The steamer was later
salved by Ecuador for use as 24 DE MAYO.
Steamer EISENBACH
(4323grt) was scuttled at
Puntarenas.
Steamer FRIESLAND
(6310grt) was scuttled at Paita, Peru.
Steamers LEIPZIG (5898grt)
and MONSERRATE (5578grt) were scuttled
at Callao when they were unable to leave port. A
Peruvian
warship turned the steamers back when they attempted to
leave harbour.
Wednesday,
2 April
Battleship KING GEORGE V,
heavy cruiser LONDON,
light cruiser DIDO, destroyers SOMALI, BEDOUIN,
MATABELE, and MASHONA
departed Scapa Flow at 1100 to relieve battlecruiser
HOOD and light cruisers
NIGERIA and FIJI on the OG/HG.route.
Light cruiser FIJI was
ordered to Gibraltar to join temporarily Force H
The destroyers were
detached to Londonderry on the 6th to refuel, arriving
at 0600/6th. They
sailed again on the 7th and rejoined at 0937 on the 8th.
On the 8th at 2000, the
ships left patrol and
battleship KING GEORGE V and destroyers SOMALI and
MASHONA arrived at Scapa Flow at 1730/10th.
Destroyer MATABELE was
detached at 0600/10th and
proceeded to Barrow for refitting, calling at Belfast to
refuel en route.
Destroyer BEDOUIN was
detached at 1547 on the 10th
to investigate a burning ship west of Flannan
Island. The destroyer was unable to locate the ship and arrived at
Scapa Flow on the 12th.
_____
Battleship QUEEN ELIZABETH
with destroyers
INGLEFIELD, ESKIMO, and ECLIPSE departed Scapa Flow at
1701.
Destroyers INGLEFIELD and
ECLIPSE on the 6th were
detached to Reykjavik, arriving at 0600/7th, and
operated under Flag Officer
Iceland to screen cruisers in and out of Reykjavik.
Destroyer ESKIMO returned
to Scapa Flow.
Destroyer ESKIMO was
ordered to return to Scapa Flow.
The battleship continued
to Halifax to escort convoy TC.10 due to depart on the
10th.
_____
Convoy OB.305 departed
liverpool, escorted by
corvette ABELIA and anti-submarine trawler ROWAN. The
trawler was detached
the next day. On the 3rd, destroyers BROKE, DOUGLAS, ROXBOROUGH, SALISBURY, and VICEROY, corvette ANCHUSA, and anti-submarine trawlers ST
ELSTAN, ST KENAN, and ST ZENO joined the convoy. The
escort was detached on
the 6th when the convoy dispersed.
_____
Destroyer ERIDGE departed
Scapa Flow at 1200 to meet steamer AMSTERDAM off the
entrance to Aberdeen and escort her to Lerwick.
The ships arrived at
Lerwick at 0800/3rd and
departed at 2000 that day to return to Aberdeen.
Destroyer ERIDGE arrived
back at Scapa Flow at 1600/4th after this duty.
_____
Anti-aircraft ship CURACOA
departed Scapa Flow at 0945 to meet convoy WN.7 n the
Pentland Firth and remain in company until dark.
The ship arrived back at
Scapa Flow at 0430/3rd.
_____
Minelayer PLOVER laid
minefield ZME.27 in the Irish Sea. The minelayer laid
minefields ZME.28 on the 5th,
ZME.29 on the 16th, ZME.30/18th, and ZME.31 on the 21st.
Minefield ZME.31 completed
the series.
_____
Minesweeping trawlers
CRAMOND
ISLAND (180grt, P/T/Skipper E. C. Garnett
RNR) and FORTUNA (259grt,
T/Skipper W. T. M. Charlton RNR) were sunk by German
bombing five miles 120° from
St Abb's Head.
Trawler FORTUNA was
proceeding to the assistance of
trawler CRAMOND ISLAND when sunk. The entire crew, Charlton and fourteen ratings, of trawler
FORTUNA were lost. Two bodies washed ashore at Berwick
on the 5th. Two
ratings were killed and three ratings died of wounds on
trawler
CRAMOND
ISLAND.
_____
U.46 made attacks on
convoy SC.26.
British tanker BRITISH
RELIANCE (7000grt) was sunk
in 58-21N, 28-30W.
The submarine made another
attack on a steamer on
the 2nd. The entire crew of the tanker were rescued.
The attacks continued on
the 3rd.
British steamer ALDERPOOL
(4313grt) was sunk in
58-21N, 27-59W. The entire crew was rescued.
British steamer THIRLBY
(4887grt) was torpedoed.
The steamer was damaged by
German bombing on the
10th en route to Loch Ewe. Steamer THIRLBY arrived at
Loch Ewe on the 11th.
British steamer ATHENIC
(5351grt) was damaged by
torpedo. Steamer ATHENIC was assisted by corvette
ARBUTUS.
_____
British steamer BEAVERDALE
(9957grt) was sunk by
U.48 in 60-50N, 29-19W.
Twenty crew and one gunner
was lost on the steamer.
_____
British steamer FERMAIN
(759grt) was sunk by German
bombing in 50-35N, 00-52E. The entire crew was rescued.
_____
British steamer MELROSE
ABBEY (1908grt) was damaged
on a mine in the River Ythan (north of Aberdeen).
The steamer settled onto
the river bed. The steamer
was refloated on 26 July and towed to Aberdeen.
_____
British tanker WILD ROSE
(873grt) was damaged by
German bombing twelve miles southeast of Tuskar Light
House.
The tanker was taken in
tow and beached near Rosslare Harbour. The tanker was later refloated and towed to
Dublin arriving on 4 May.
_____
Battlecruiser RENOWN,
aircraft carrier ARK ROYAL (with twelve Hurricanes
embarked from
aircraft carrier ARGUS), light cruiser SHEFFIELD, and
destroyers FAULKNOR, FEARLESS, FORESIGHT,
FORTUNE, and FURY departed Gibraltar on Operation WINCH.
On the 3rd, the flyoff of
the Hurricanes to Malta was successfully accomplished.
The Force arrived
back at Gibraltar on the 4th. Aircraft carrier ARK ROYAL
and
destroyers FAULKNOR and FORTUNE were sent ahead to
receive aircraft from
aircraft carrier FURIOUS in Operation TENDER. Four
Swordfish, fitted with
ASVs, of 825 Squadron and ten Fulmars of 807 Squadron
were transferred to ARK
ROYAL and four Swordfish and nine Skuas of 800 Squadron
were transferred to
aircraft carrier FURIOUS. The remainder of Force H
arrived at Gibraltar an half hour later.
After the transfer,
aircraft carrier FURIOUS,
escorted by destroyers FAULKNOR and FORTUNE, proceeded
to join battlecruiser
REPULSE, en route to England.
_____
Light cruiser AJAX and
Australian light cruiser PERTH departed Piraeus to cover
convoys ANF.24 and AG.10. They returned to Pireaus on
the 5th.
_____
Convoy AS.23 was attacked
by German bombers in the Aegean.
British steamer HOMEFIELD
(5324grt) and Greek
steamer COULOURAS XENOS (4914grt) were sunk by German
bombing off Gavdo
Island.
Steamer HOMEFIELD was
later scuttled by destroyer
NUBIAN of the convoy ANF.24 escort. Her survivors were
taken off by
destroyer VOYAGER.
Greek steamer TETI
(2747grt) was damaged by near
misses of German bombing off Gavdo Island.
Steamer TETI was able to
proceed to Crete.
_____
British steamer DEVIS
(6054grt) in convoy ANF.24 was damaged by German bombing
off Gavdo Island.
_____
Corvette HYACINTH in the
convoy ANF.24 escort attacked a submarine contact 170
miles
south of Scarpanto.
_____
Yugoslavian steamers
KARADJORDJE (1293grt) and
PRESTOLONASLEDNIK PETAR (1726grt) were sunk by mining
off Sibenik.
The crews of both steamers
were rescued.
_____
A supply convoy for the
Afrika Korps departed Naples with steamers ALICANTE
(2140grt), MARITZA (2910grt), SANTA FE (4627grt),
PROCIDA (5366grt), and TEMBIEN
(5584grt) escorted by destroyers SAETTA and TURBINE and
torpedo boat ORSA for
Tripoli, arriving on the 5th.
Italian destroyers
PANTERA, TIGRE, MANIN, BATTISTI, and SAURO departed
Massawa to
bombard Port
Sudan.
_____
Italian steamers GIUSEPPE
MAZZINI (7669grt) and
URANIA (7099grt) were sunk by British bombing near Dalac
Island.
The steamers were later
salved by the British.
Thursday,
3 April
Light cruiser NIGERIA
joined convoy HG.57 at sea.
_____
Light cruiser DIDO
departed Scapa Flow for anti-aircraft duties at Loch
Ewe.
The cruiser departed on
the 7th with convoy OG.58.
_____
Convoy OB.306 departed
liverpool, escorted by
destroyers ACHATES, BOADICEA, COLUMBIA, and ST FRANCIS,
corvettes HEPATICA and
WINDFLOWER, and anti-submarine trawlers ARAB, AYRSHIRE,
and LADY MADELEINE.
On the 4th, destroyer BROADWATER joined the escort was
detached on the 7th.
Destroyer NIAGARA joined on the 5th and was detached
with destroyer COLUMBIA on the 8th. Destroyer BOADICEA
was detached on the
6th. The remainder of the escort was detached when the
convoy dispersed on
the 9th.
_____
Anti-aircraft ship
ALYNBANK departed Scapa Flow at 0930 to meet convoy WN.8
in the Pentland Firth and escort it to Methil, where
they arrived at
0800/4th.
_____
German tanker THORN
(5436grt), which had been
involved in refuelling ADMIRAL HIPPER on her recent
sortie, was sunk by
submarine TIGRIS 100 miles southwest of St Nazaire.
_____
Submarine UNDAUNTED
departed Portsmouth for
Gibraltar where
she arrived on the 13th.
_____
River mouth patrol boat
BAHRAM (72grt, 2nd Hand J.
N. Crawford) was sunk in mining in North Channel,
Spurn.
Crawford and seven other
ratings were lost. There
was only one survivor.
_____
Mine destructor ship
BUSHWOOD was damaged in a
collision in Bristol
Channel.
The ship was repaired at
Cardiff from 29 April to 7 May.
_____
In attacks on Convoy
SC.26.
U.73 badly damaged British
steamer ATHENIC
(5351grt), which was straggling behind convoy SC.26 with
damage, in 58-32N,
20-13W. The entire crew was rescued.
The steamer sank on the
5th.
U.74 sank Belgian steamer
INDIER (5409grt) and
Greek steamer LEONIDAS Z. CAMBANIS (4274grt) in 58-12N,
27-40W.
Forty two crew from the
Belgian steamer were lost.
Four survivors were landed at Liverpool. Two crew
from the Greek steamer were lost.
U.73 sank British steamer
WESTPOOL (5724grt) in
58-12N, 27-40W.
Thirty five crew were lost
on the steamer.
Submarine U.73 attacked a
second ship at the same
time as steamer WESTPOOL.
U.73 sank British tanker
BRITISH VISCOUNT (6895grt)
in 58-15N, 27-30W.
Twenty eight crew were
missing. Twenty were rescued
from the tanker.
U.74 damaged Armed
merchant cruiser WORCESTERSHIRE
(11,402grt) in 58N, 27W.
U.69 sank Finnish steamer
DAPHNE (1939grt) in the North Atlantic, about 60N, 20W.
_____
British steamer CAIRNIE
(250grt) was sunk by German
bombing six to eight miles south by west of Tod Head.
The entire crew were
rescued.
_____
British steamer GREENAWN
(784grt) was lost to
unknown cause in the North
Sea, near Montrose.
_____
British steamer GEDDINGTON
COURT (6903grt) was damaged by German bombing in 56-25N,
2-13W.
_____
British steamer ASSUAN
(499grt) was damaged by
German bombing in 56-42N, 2-26W.
The steamer was beached
two miles east of Scurdy Ness.
The steamer was refloated on the 4th and berthed at
Montrose.
_____
Italian destroyer
BATTISTI, en route to bombard Port Sudan, broke down and
was scuttled by accompanying
Italian destroyers.
Italian destroyers TIGRE,
PANTERA, MANIN, and SAURO, in sight of Port Sudan, were
attacked by Swordfish of 813 and 824
Squadron from Aircraft carrier EAGLE, based at Port
Sudan.
Destroyers MANIN and SAURO
were sunk in the air
attacks ten miles off Port Sudan.
Destroyers TIGRE and
PANTERA were damaged in air attacks and were
sunk by destroyer KINGSTON.
_____
Italian submarine MICCA
attacked two steamers in
34-10N, 25-24E without success.
_____
Convoy ANF.24 was attacked
by German bombers off Kithera and
munitions ship NORTHERN PRINCE (10,917grt) was sunk in
Antikithera Straits,
in 35-34N, 23-23E.
The cargo she carried was
so desperately needed in Greece that part of her cargo
intended for Egypt was not unloaded prior to sailing.
The entire crew
was rescued.
_____
Destroyers JANUS and
JAGUAR departed Alexandria for Port Said to guard
against attack in the Red Sea from the Italian Massawa destroyers.
When word was received
that two of the Italian
destroyers were sunk by aircraft carrier EAGLE's
aircraft, the destroyers
were returned to Alexandria.
Destroyers GRIFFIN and
GREYHOUND on patrol in the Straits of Jubal
continued their duty until 4 April.
On the 4th, destroyers
GREYHOUND and GRIFFIN and gunboats LADYBIRD and GNAT
were ordered to
return to Alexandria; all arriving on the 5th.
_____
While minesweeping,
Minesweeper ABINGDON was
damaged in a German dive bombing attack at Malta.
_____
Convoy HG.58 departed
Gibraltar escorted by sloop EGRET, corvettes ASPHODEL,
AZALEA, COREOPSIS, and FLEUR DE LYS,Dutch submarine
O.21, and anti-submarine
trawler ARCTIC RANGER.
Corvette ASPHODEL was
detached on the 5th for Freetown, corvette COREOPSIS on
the 9th, corvettes AZALEA
and FLEUR DE LYS on the 10th, and submarine O.21 on the
12th.
Destroyers CHELSEA,
VERITY, VETERAN, and WOLVERINE
joined the convoy on the 16th. On the 18th, destroyer
CHELSEA was detached,
and arrived at Liverpool on the 20th with the sloop and
the other three
destroyers.
_____
New Zealand light cruiser
LEANDER arrived at Colombo.
The cruiser departed the
same day for Madras.
Friday,
4 April
Light cruisers ARETHUSA
and GALATEA arrived at Scapa Flow at 0044.
_____
Free French sloops SUIPPE
and CONQUERANT were sunk
by German bombing at Falmouth.
_____
U.98 sank Norwegian
steamer HELLE (2467grt), a straggler
from convoy SC.26, in 59N, 24-30W. The entire crew was
rescued.
_____
U.94 sank British steamer
HARBLEDOWN (5414grt) from
convoy SC.26 in 58-30N, 23W.
Fourteen crew and two
gunners were lost on the
steamer. Lt M. J. P. Walters of DOLPHIN was lost in the
steamer.
_____
U.98 sank British steamer
WELCOMBE (5122grt) from
convoy SC.26 in 59-09N, 22W.
Twenty crew were lost on
the steamer.
_____
U.97 sank British tanker
CONUS (8132grt) in 56-14N,
31-19W. The entire crew were lost.
_____
U.124 sank British steamer
MARLENE (6507grt) at
8-15N, 14-19W.
Thirteen crew were lost on
the steamer.
_____
British steamer SALVUS
(4815grt) was sunk by German
bombing in 53-05N, 1-27E. Four crew were lost on the
steamer.
_____
British trawler WHITBY
(164grt) was sunk by German bombing three miles
south, southeast of Blackwater Light Vessel.
The entire crew was rescued.
_____
British steamer CAPE VERDE
(6914grt) was damaged by German bombing in 52-12N,
5-42W.
_____
Battlecruiser REPULSE,
aircraft carrier ARGUS, and
troopship NARKUNDA with destroyers HIGHLANDER, FURY, and
VELOX departed Gibraltar for England.
Aircraft carrier FURIOUS
departed later, escorted
by destroyers FAULKNOR and FORTUNE, and joined at sea.
The destroyers
returned to Gibraltar.
_____
Battlecruiser RENOWN,
aircraft carriers ARK ROYAL
and FURIOUS, light cruiser SHEFFIELD, and destroyers
FAULKNOR, FEARLESS, FORTUNE, and
FORESIGHT departed Gibraltar on Operation PRINCIPAL, an
attack on French
battleship DUNKERQUE.
Submarines OLYMPUS and OTUS had already put to sea fro
Gibraltar on the 3rd for
this operation.
On the 5th, operation
PRINCIPAL was cancelled when
it was found that the French battleship was not
preparing to leave port.
Submarines OLYMPUS and OTUS departed their patrols off
Oran and proceeded to
Malta and
Gibraltar,
respectively.
_____
Submarine RORQUAL arrived
at Malta after minelaying operations off western Sicily.
_____
Convoy ASF.23 of two
British and one Greek ship departed Piraeus escorted by
anti-aircraft cruiser COVENTRY, destroyers DECOY, HERO,
and corvette SALVIA.
Netlayer PROTECTOR sailed in the convoy to repair the
boom defences at Suda Bay
and transport motor generators for damaged cruiser YORK.
The convoy arrived at Alexandria on the 7th.
_____
Convoy GA.10 of British
steamer CAMERONIA
(16,297grt) and Dutch steamer PENNLAND (16,381grt)
escorted by anti-aircraft
cruiser CARLISLE, destroyers ILEX, NUBIAN, and HEREWARD,
arrived at
Alexandria on the 6th.
_____
Destroyer NUBIAN and
corvette HYACINTH of convoy ANF.24 attacked a submarine
contact off Phleva Island.
_____
Destroyer JANUS departed
Alexandria for Port Said for escort duty in convoy
AN.25.
_____
Submarine PARTHIAN
departed Alexandria for Port Said for docking and
repairs.
_____
Australian destroyers
VENDETTA and WATERHEN
departed Alexandria to reinforce the Inshore Squadron.
_____
Italian torpedo boat
ACERBI was sunk at Massawa.
_____
German and Italian
steamers were scuttled at
Massawa.
German steamer CREFELD
(8045grt) was scuttled at
Massawa.
German steamer FRAUENFELS
(7487grt) was scuttled at
Massawa. The steamer was salved as EMPIRE NIGER.
German steamer GERA
(5155grt) was scuttled at Massawa. The steamer was
salved as EMPIRE INDUS.
German steamer LICHTENFELS
(7566grt) was scuttled
at Massawa.
German steamer LIEBENFELS
(6318grt) was scuttled at
Massawa. The steamer was salved at EMPIRE NILE.
German steamer OLIVA
(7885grt) was scuttled at
Massawa.
Italian steamer ADUA
(3564grt) was scuttled at
Massawa.
Italian steamer BRENTA
(5400grt) was scuttled at
Massawa.
Italian steamer ARABIA (5943grt) was scuttled at Massawa.
Italian steamer ROMOLO
GESSI (5148grt) was scuttled
at Massawa.
Italian coastal steamer
IMPERO (488grt) was scuttled
at Massawa.
Italian steamer VESUVIO
(5430grt) was scuttled at
Massawa. The steamer was later salved.
Italian steamer XXIII
MARZO (5006grt) was scuttled
at Massawa.
_____
Armed merchant cruiser
VOLTAIRE (A/Captain J. A. P.
Blackburn DSC) engaged German raider THOR.
Cruiser THOR was hit once
by VOLTAIRE, but the British ship was
sunk at 14-30N, 40-30W.
Blackburn, A/Cdr J. T.
Templar Rtd, Lt Cdr R.
Mercer RNR, T/Lt W. R. Bevin RNR, T/Cdr (E) J. V.
Thompson RNR, T/Lt Cdr (E) J. M. Muir RNR, T/Sub Lt (E)
N. A. Burgoyne RNR, T/Sub Lt (E) E. Costelloe RNR, A/Sub
Lt (E) H. S. Cross RNVR, T/Paymaster Lt Cdr
J. E. Duckett RNR, T/Paymaster Lt N. Edwards RNR,
Paymaster Sub Lt F. H. Price RNR, P/Lt J. H. E. Evans
RNR, A/Surgeon Lt C. M. Fisher, MD.RCNVR, sub Lt J. W.
Hoggard RNR, P/Midshipman G. O. Mackenzie RNR, Sixteen
officers and one hundred and thirty eight
ratings were taken prisoner of war. T/Lt W. B. Jackson
RNR, died of wounds on 5 May.
Lt Cdr H. W. Taggart RNR,
T/Lt Cdr W. Davies RNR, A/Sub Lt P. L. Howard RNR,
Midshipman B. B. J. Roberts RNR, T/Sub Lt (E) A. E.
Downs RNR, P/A/Sub Lt (E) J. F. McLaughlin RNVR, Gunner
F.
W. Sutton Rtd and sixty two ratings were lost.
Canadian armed merchant
cruiser PRINCE HENRY
reported oil and wreckage on 7 and 9 April at this
location, but there was no
information on the armed merchant cruiser. Cruiser
VOLTAIRE was reported
missing on 3 May.
_____
Greek torpedo boat PROUSA
and Greek steamer
SUSSANNA (932grt) was sunk by German bombing at Corfu.
_____
Mooring vessel BUFFALO
(750grt) departed Singapore on the 5th to salvage a
Blenheim aircraft of 27
Squadron which had crashed south of Siglap Obelisk. She
carried a dockyard
party of nineteen, an officer and a signalman from light
cruiser DAUNTLESS,
and twenty five RAF personnel of RAF 151 Maintenance
Unit. The vessel struck
a mine in Minefield 3, laid by destroyer STRONGHOLD in
March, and was sunk.
Cdr R. R. Airey of light
cruiser DAUNTLESS, Lt Cdr
M. B. Thomas of SULTAN, two RAF officers, including Wing
Commander Geoffrey
Farnhill, six dockyard officers, six RAF ordinary
ratings, and fourteen
Asiatic crew were missing in the blast. Two ratings died
of wounds.
One RAF officer, one RN
signalman rating from
DAUNTLESS, 10 RAF ordinary ratings, and thirteen Asiatic
crew were wounded.
_____
Australian heavy cruiser
CANBERRA departed Mauritius escorting British steamer
TALAMBA, carrying 910
troops. The cruiser escorted the steamer to the
Seychilles where 500 more
personnel were embarked.
Light cruiser GLASGOW
escorted the steamer from the
Seychilles until rendezvousing with convoy WS.6. The
steamer continued on to
the Middle East arriving on the 29th.
_____
American Pacific Fleet
units were ordered to the Atlantic on the 4th. Units involved were battleships IDAHO, MISSISSIPPI, and NEW
MEXICO, aircraft carrier YORKTOWN, light cruisers
PHILADELPHIA, BROOKLYN, SAVANNAH, and NASHVILLE, and
destroyers LANG,
STERETT, WILSON, WINSLOW, WAINWRIGHT, STACK, MORRIS,
BUCK, and ROE of the 8th Destroyer Squadron and the 9th
Destroyer Squadron.
Destroyer WARRINGTON
departed Pearl
Harbour on the 18th.
Aircraft carrier YORKTOWN departed Pearl Harbour on the 20th with
destroyers MAYRANT, TRIPPE,
RHIND, MUSTIN, RUSSELL, and JOUETT.
The carrier arrived at
Bermuda on 12 May.
Battleship MISSISSIPPI,
light cruiser SAVANNAH, and destroyers WILSON, STERETT,
and LANG departed
Pearl Harbour on 19 May and arrived at Guantanamo
on 5 June.
Battleship NEW MEXICO and
light cruiser NASHVILLE departed Pearl Harbour on 20 May and arrived at Norfolk
on 16 June.
Battleship IDAHO and light
cruisers PHILADELPHIA and BROOKLYN departed Pearl Harbour on 22 May for Norfolk,
arriving on 16 June.
Light cruiser SAVANNAH
later arrived at Boston on 17 June.
Light cruiser NASHVILLE
later arrived at Boston on 19 June.
Light cruiser PHILADELPHIA
laterarrived at Boston on 18 June.
From San Diego, destroyers
SIMS, ANDERSON, HUGHES, and HAMMANN
departed on 29 May for the Atlantic.
Saturday,
5 April
Light cruisers AURORA and
GALATEA departed Scapa Flow at 0720 to support cover
minelaying operation
SN.8.
Minelayers SOUTHERN
PRINCE, AGAMEMNON, PORT QUEBEC, and MENESTHEUS, escorted
by destroyers
COSSACK and ANTHONY, which had departed Scapa Flow at
0900/4th and arrived at Loch Alsh at 1630,
LANCASTER, and ST MARYS, departed Loch Alsh at 1630/5th
for minelaying
operation SN.8.
Minelayer AGAMEMNON was
carried a reduced load of
mines due to collision damage with destroyer CASTLETON.
The operation was carried
out on the 6th.
Heavy cruisers NORFOLK
from the
Denmark Strait
patrol and SUFFOLK departed Scapa Flow on the
5th provided cover for the operation.
Heavy cruiser NORFOLK
arrived at Hvalfjord at 0540/8th.
Light cruisers AURORA and
GALATEA arrived at Scapa Flow at 0640/8th. Heavy cruiser
SUFFOLK and destroyer COSSACK arrived at Scapa Flow at
0829 on the 8th and destroyer ANTHONY arrived
at 1245.
_____
Battleship RESOLUTION with
destroyers PIORUN, GARLAND, LEGION, and LEOPARD departed
Greenock for Hvalfjord.
Destroyers ACTIVE and ECHO
relieved the battleship escort off Iceland for
refuelling.
The battleship proceeded
on to Halifax, then Philadelphia for refitting.
_____
Anti-aircraft ship CURACOA
departed Scapa Flow at 0630 to cover convoy WN.9 from
the Pentland Firth.
At 1000/6th, the ship
transferred to convoy EN.95
and covered her to the north.
After departing convoy
EN.95 in Pentland Firth, the ship arrived at Scapa Flow
at 1000/7th.
_____
Anti-aircraft ship
ALYNBANK departed Methil at 0630
to meet convoy EC.2 and provide cover to the Pentland
Firth.
Minelayer TEVIOTBANK,
escorted by patrol sloop
SHELDRAKE and French torpedo boat LA MELPOMENE, laid
minefield BS.53 off the
east coast of England.
_____
The Admiralty reported
that six German destroyers
passed through the Straits of Dover at about 1900,
possibly en route to Brest.
Three of the destroyers
were reported entering Cherbourg at 0720/6th.
This was viewed as a
prelude to the sailing of
German warships from Brest.
Destroyers KELLY and
KASHMIR departed Plymouth and
rendezvoused with destroyers KELVIN and JACKAL ten miles
130° from Wolf Rock.
No contact was made with
the German ships.
_____
Light cruiser FIJI arrived
at Gibraltar.
_____
Canadian destroyer
ASSINIBOINE was damaged in a collision with British
steamer
LAIRDSWOOD (789grt) in the Irish
Sea in 55-05N, 5-32W.
The destroyer was
escorting British steamer
GLENARTNEY (9795grt) to Gibraltar. Destroyer BOREAS
relieved her of the escort duty.
Destroyer
ASSINIBOINE was
repaired at Greenock from 8 April to 18 May. The
destroyer departed Greenock on 22 May.
_____
U.105 sank British steamer
ENA DE LARRINGA
(5200grt) in 1-10N, 26W. Five crew were lost on the
steamer. Thirty eight
crew were rescued.
_____
U.76 was sunk by destroyer
WOLVERINE and sloop SCARBOROUGH, escorting convoy SC.26,
south of Iceland in 58-32N, 20-15W.
Corvette ARBUTUS was also
involved in the attack.
The commanding officer,
three other officers, and
thirty ratings from the submarine were rescued. One
crewman was lost.
_____
British steamer ST CLEMENT
(450grt) was sunk by
German bombing in 57-10N, 1-50W. One crewman was
missing.
_____
British steamer RATTRAY
HEAD (496grt) was sunk by
German bombing eight miles ENE of Aberdeen. Three crew
were lost on the steamer.
_____
Convoy AN.25 of five
British and one Greek ship
departed Alexandria escorted by anti-aircraft cruiser
COVENTRY and destroyers JERVIS and JANUS.
The destroyers carried
mines and special stores for
the Fleet Air Arm in Greece, and arrived at Piraeus on
the 9th.
Anti-aircraft cruiser
COVENTRY then proceeding to Suda Bay.
_____
Greek steamer SIFNOS
(2290grt) was sunk by German
bombing at Milos.
Sunday,
6 April
The German battleships at
Brest were reported to be leaving port on the 6th.
Battlecruiser HOOD and
destroyers ELECTRA,
ESCAPADE, and TARTAR arrived at Scapa Flow at 0815
for refuelling.
Battlecruiser HOOD and
destroyers ZULU, MAORI, and
ARROW departed at 1946 that day to be in position 54N,
15-30W at 0800/8th.
Destroyer COSSACK departed
Londonderry at 1400/9th to join the HOOD group in 50N,
21W at
0800/11th.
Destroyer ARROW was
detached on the 10th to refuel
at Londonderry. The destroyer departed at 1412 on the
10th to
rejoin.
Destroyers MAORI and ZULU
were detached to Londonderry to refuel. They sailed at
0845/12th to rejoin.
Battlecruiser HOOD and
destroyers COSSACK, ZULU,
and MAORI arrived back at Scapa
Flow at 2230/14th.
Destroyer ARROW, which was unable to maintain the speed
and had been
detached, arrived at Scapa
Flow at 0630/15th.
Battleship KING GEORGE V
departed Gibraltar on the 6th and joined light cruiser
KENYA which had departed Greenock.
Destroyers SOMALI,
BEDOUIN, MATABELE, and MASHONA
joined the battleship KING GEORGE V group to be in
position 50N, 21W at
0800/8th.
Heavy cruiser LONDON was
ordered to relieve battlecruiser REPULSE
escorting aircraft carriers FURIOUS and ARGUS and
British steamer NARKUNDA
(16,632grt) from Gibraltar. The group was to steam along
the meridian 23W.
Battleship QUEEN ELIZABETH
and battlecruiser
REPULSE were to be in position 46N, 21W.
Force H, with
battlecruiser RENOWN, aircraft
carrier ARK ROYAL, light cruisers FIJI and
SHEFFIELD, and destroyers
FAULKNOR, FEARLESS, and FORESIGHT departed Gibraltar at
0230/6th to operate in Biscay until 16 April to
blockade the German battleships at Brest. The ships were
joined at sea by destroyers
HIGHLANDER and FURY, which had been detached from the
escort of battlecruiser
REPULSE.
Destroyer VELOX on the 4th
with battlecruiser
REPULSE arrived back at Gibraltar on the 6th.
Oiler CAIRNDALE and
submarine PANDORA were in
32-30N, 32-30W.
On the 8th, these
dispositions were cancelled.
Submarines TIGRIS, L.26, SUNFISH, H.50, TUNA, TAKU,
TORBAY, H.34, OBERON, SEALION, H.44, and H.31 and Polish submarine SOKOL
were on patrol in Biscay.
On the 10th, the
submarines were dispersed.
Submarines TORBAY and TAKU proceeded to Gibraltar and
the rest returned to England.
Battlecruiser REPULSE, on
relief by heavy cruiser LONDON at daylight on the 7th,
returned to Gibraltar. Destroyers HIGHLANDER, FURY,
FORTUNE, and VELOX
escorted the battlecruiser, arriving on the 12th. They
had arrived off Gibraltar on the 11th, but were unable
to enter because of
bad weather.
Battleship KING GEORGE V
proceeded to Scapa Flow.
Battlecruiser HOOD and
light cruiser KENYA to patrol 50N, 21W on the 9th.
Battleship QUEEN ELIZABETH
to patrol in vicinity of
45N, 23W. The battleship left her patrol area on the
11th and proceeded to Gibraltar.
_____
Convoy OB.308 departed
liverpool, escotted by
destroyers CALDWELL, RAMSEY, RIPLEY, and VOLUNTEER, and
corvettes HYDRANGEA,
TULIP, and WALLFLOWER. Corvette WALLFLOWER was detached
on the 10th. The
escort was detached on the 11th when the convoy
dispersed.
_____
Convoy OG.58 departed
liverpool escorted by
destroyers BURWELL and WATCHMAN, sloops FLEETWOOD and
WELLINGTON, corvettes AMARANTHUS, ARABIS, HELIOTROPE,
and
PRIMULA, special service vessel FIDELITY, and
anti-submarine trawlers
NORTHERN GEM and NORTHERN SPRAY.
Destroyer MALCOLM joined
the escort on the 9th.
The three destroyers,
sloop FLEETWOOD, corvettes
ARABIS and HELIOTROPE, and the two trawlers were
detached on the 12th.
On the 21st, the convoy
arrived at Gibraltar escorted by sloop WELLINGTON,
corvette PRIMULA, Dutch submarine O.21, and
special service vessel FIDELITY.
Corvette AMARANTHUS had
been detached earlier due
to shortage of supplies and arrived at Gibraltar on the
18th.
_____
Convoy HX.119 departed
Halifax Armed merchant
cruiser MONTCLARE. Battleship REVENGE joined the convoy
at sea.
_____
British Coastal Command
aircraft attacked German
destroyers STEINBRINCK, IHN, and HEINEMANN off Brest.
Destroyer IHN was near
missed by bombs.
Destroyer HEINEMANN was
missed by two torpedoes.
_____
Armed yacht TORRENT
(336grt, former ANNA MARIE, Cdr
M. W. Noel Rtd) was sunk by mining off Falmouth, in
50-05N, 4-57W.
Noel, T/Lt K. Sinclair
RNR, T/Lt I. A. D. Wilson RNVR, T/Sub Lt (E) J. E.
Armstrong RNVR, and a number of ratings were lost in the
yacht.
_____
Armed merchant cruiser
COMORIN (Captain J. I.
Hallet Rtd), carrying military personnel for Freetown
and escorting steamer
GLENARTNEY with military stores for Suez, was escorted
by destroyer LINCOLN
when she caught fire in the North Atlantic in 54-34N,
21-20W.
Destroyer LINCOLN took off
121 survivors. British
steamer GLENARTNEY (9795grt) rescued 104 survivors.
Destroyer BROKE in the
area was called to assist
and rescued 180 survivors. Destroyer BROKE scuttled the
cruiser.
Fourteen ratings were lost
in the cruiser.
_____
U.94 sank Norwegian tanker
LINCOLN ELLSWORTH
(5580grt) in 62-37N, 27-06W. The entire crew was
rescued.
_____
British steamer DUNSTAN
(5149grt) was sunk by
German bombing 59-09N, 8-22W. Two crew were lost on the
steamer. Destroyer
BOADICEA rescued the survivors.
_____
Greek steamer NICOLAOU
ZOGRAFIA (7156grt) was sunk
by German bombing in 57-10N, 12-30W. The entire crew of
thirty one was
rescued by destroyer ESKIMO which took them to Greenock, arriving at 1200/7th.
Destroyer ESKIMO arrived
back at Scapa Flow at 1530/8th.
_____
British steamer OLGA
S.(2252grt) was sunk by German
bombing in 55-48N, 9-45W. Four crew
were lost.
_____
British trawler DANELAND
(289grt) was sunk by
German bombing thirty miles north by one half mile west
of Rathlin O'Birne
Island. The entire crew was rescued.
_____
Faroes trawler NAERABERG
(352grt) was sunk by
German bombing in 60-30N, 5-30W. The entire crew was
rescued.
_____
British steamer GLENFINLAS
(7572grt) was damaged by
German bombing in 52-01N, 1-47E.
Eleven crew were killed.
The steamer was towed to
Harwich arriving on the
7th. She was repaired in the Tyne.
_____
German battlecruiser
GNEISENAU was damaged by a
British torpedo plane at Brest.
_____
Convoy AC 3 of troopship
ULSTER PRINCE (3791grt) and steamer THURLAND CASTLE (6372grt) departed Alexandria
at for Tobruk escorted by anti-aircraft cruiser CARLISLE and destroyers DEFENDER and VOYAGER.
Destroyers WATERHEN and
VENDETTA sweep ahead of
this convoy.
Anti-aircraft cruiser
CARLISLE and destroyers VOYAGER and DEFENDER arrived back at
Alexandria on the 8th.
_____
British steamer CLAN
FRASER (7529grt) of convoy ANF.24 was damaged by German
bombing and set afire in Piraeus. At 0330/7th, the
explosion of her TNT cargo sank the steamer and wrecked
the harbour.
Six crew were lost and six
were taken prisoner.
Greek tug ELPIS was sunk
at Piraeus.
Light cruisers AJAX and
PERTH had arrived at Piraeus late on the 5th after
screening convoys.
Anti-aircraft cruiser CALCUTTA
was also in the port of Piraeus at the time of
the explosion.
Cdr F. Douglas-Watson, of
NILE, and Lt R. S. M. Humphrey RNVR, of corvette HYACINTH were killed
ashore by the explosion.
In addition, the
corvette's minesweeping equipment
was put out of action by the explosion.
British
steamers
CITY OF ROUBAIX (7108grt), CYPRIAN PRINCE (1988grt), and
PATRIS (1706grt), Greek steamers ACROPOLIS (1393grt),
STYLIANI (3256grt), and
EVOIKOS (4792grt), and Greek caique HALCYON were sunk by
bombing and the
explosion.
Greek steamer PETALLI
(6565grt) was set afire by
the explosion. She was towed out of the harbour and
sunk.
There were no casualties
on steamer CITY OF ROUBAIX.
Steamer CYPRIAN PRINCE was
beached near Salamis after having been struck by a
parachute mine. Four
crew were lost on steamer CYPRIAN PRINCE.
British steamers GOALPARA
(5314grt) and CLAN
CUMMING (7264grt) were damaged.
British steamers CINGALESE
PRINCE (8474grt), DEVIS
(6054grt), and KATIE MOLLER (3100grt) and Greek steamers
AGAILIANI (1656grt)
and CONSTANTINOS LOULOUDIS (4697grt) were damaged by
German bombing at Piraeus.
Steamer CINGALESE PRINCE
was repaired at Port Said and Bombay. One crewman was
killed on steamer DEVIS. Steamer
DEVIS was temporarily repaired at Suez.
Armed yacht SURF (496grt,
T/Lt R. W. E. Whitton
RNVR) was sunk by German bombing at Piraeus.
Salvage vessel VIKING
(386grt), former Danish, was
sunk by German bombing at Piraeus.
Greek auxiliary GEORGIOS
(146grt) was sunk by
German bombing at Akti Alkimo, Piraeus.
The port was largely
unusable by this incident.
Cruisers AJAX, PERTH, and
CALCUTTA departed Piraeus for Suda Bay
late on the 7th.
_____
Convoy AG.11 of five
British ships, including armed
boarding vessel FIONA to be detached en route to Tobruk,
departed Alexandria escorted by destroyers MOHAWK and
WRYNECK and
sloop GRIMSBY.
Major General Weston, RM,
and a reconnaissance
party were embarked in destroyer MOHAWK to prepare for
the establishment of a
Mobile Base at Suda Bay.
Two Greek destroyers
relieved destroyer MOHAWK on
the 9th for duty with a striking force to be based at
Malta.
Anti-aircraft cruiser
CALCUTTA joined the convoy at 1000/8th.
On the 9th, the ships were
dispersed to Volo, Eleusis, Khalkis, and Stylis as
Piraeus
Harbour was stilled closed.
Anti-aircraft cruiser
CALCUTTA proceeded to Suda Bay
for fuel and ammunition.
_____
Gunboat GNAT departed
Alexandria for Tobruk.
Gunboat LADYBIRD following
during the night of 7/8
April.
_____
Greek steamers MAROUSSIO
LOGOTHETI (4669grt) and
YIANNIS (4391grt) were seized by Vichy French
authorities at Madagascar.
The steamers were renamed
DUQUESNE and AMIRAL
PIERRA, respectively, for French use.
_____
Italian steamer ANTONIA C.
(5877grt) was scuttled
at Massawa. The steamer was later salved.
Italian steamer RIVA
LIGURE (2136grt) was scuttled
at Massawa. The steamer was later salved.
Italian steamer NAZARIO
SAURO (8150grt) was
scuttled off Dulac Island. The steamer was later salved.
Italian steamer
TRIPOLITANIA (2722grt) was scuttled off Dulac Island. The steamer was later salved.
Italian steamer CAPITANO
BOTTEGO (2316grt) was
scuttled off Dulac Island. The steamer was later salved.
_____
Convoy BN.24 departed
Bombay, escorted by light cruiser COLOMBO. The convoy
arrived at Aden on the 13th.
_____
Convoy HX.119A departed
Halifax, escorted by armed merchant cruiser AURANIA and
corvettes CHAMBLY and ORILLIA. The corvettes were
detached the next day. On the
8th, battleship REVENGE joined the convoy and travelled
with it until 11
April. Heavy cruiser NORFOLK
was with the convoy from 14 to 16 April. The armed
merchant cruiser was
detached on the 15th. Destroyers HAVELOCK, HURRICANE,
RESTIGOUCHE, and SAGUENAY joined the convoy on the 16th. On the 17th, destroyer VISCOUNT, sloop
SCARBOROUGH and
corvettes AURICULA, CAMPANULA, HIBISCUS,
PIMPERNEL, and RHODODENDRON. Destroyer ROCKINGHAM and
corvette FREESIA joined
on the 18th and corvette HOLLYHOCK on the 19th.
Destroyer SAGUENAY was detached on the 20th, destroyers RESTIGOUCHE and VISCOUNT and
corvettes FREESIA on the 21st. The remainder of the
escort was dispersed when
the convoy arrived liverpool on the 22nd.
_____
Convoy HX.119 B departed
Halifax, escorted by corvettes COBALt and COLLINGWOOD.
The
corvettes were detached the next day. Armed mechant
cruiser MONTCLARE was
with the convoy from 13 to 15 April. The convoy arrived
at Liverpool on the 22nd.
_____
At Wellington, Australian
heavy cruiser AUSTRALIA lost her Seagull aircraft when
the catapult failed
during launching. Lt J. J. Hoath was killed. Petty
Officer R. Clark and
Leading Airman G. A. S. Stephenson were seriously
injured.
Monday,
7 April
British authorities
expected an air raid on Scapa Flow during the night and
ships were ordered to sail.
Battleship PRINCE OF
WALES, escorted by destroyers ELECTRA and ESCAPADE,
departed Scapa Flow. Destroyer NESTOR, which had
departed Scapa Flow for
Greenock earlier,
was recalled and joined the escort.
Also sailing were heavy
cruiser EXETER, light cruiser ARETHUSA, and
anti-aircraft ships
CURACOA, POZARICA, and SPRINGBANK.
When no raid materialised,
the ships returned to Scapa Flow during the morning of 8
April.
Destroyer NESTOR continued
to Greenock, arriving at 1116 on the 9th.
_____
Convoy OB.307 departed
liverpool, escorted by
destroyers KEPPEL and VENOMOUS, corvettes DIANELLA,
KINGCUP, and SUNFLOWER,
Anti-submarine yacht PHILANTE, and anti-submarine
trawlers LADY ELSA, MAN O.WAR, and NORTHERN DAWN.
Destroyer KEPPEL was
detached on the 11th. The remainder of the escort was
detached on the 13th
when the convoy dispersed.
_____
Anti-aircraft ship
ALYNBANK departed Scapa Flow at 1000 to carry out
exercises prior to joining
convoy WN.10 in the Pentland
Firth.
The convoy was covered to
Methil.
Off May Island at 0245/9th, convoy
EC.4 was joined.
Ship ALYNBANK arrived back
at Scapa Flow at 0030/10th.
_____
Minesweeping trawler ROCHE
BONNE (258grt, Chief
Skipper W. R. Settlefield RNR) was
sunk by German bombing eight miles south, southeast of
the Lizard.
Settlefield and nine
ratings were lost. One rating
died of wounds.
_____
U.124 sank British steamer
PORTADOC (1746grt) in
7-17N, 16-53W. The entire crew was rescued.
_____
British steamer ELISABETH
(945grt) was sunk on a
mine five miles east, southeast of Porthscatho, S. E.
Cornwall. Ten crew were
lost.
_____
British trawler SYLVIA
(213grt) was sunk by German
bombing in 61-27N, 5-48W. One crewman was lost on the
trawler.
_____
British steamer KIRNWOOD
(3829grt) was damaged by
German bombing in 51-47N, 1-30E.
_____
Greek steamer KYRAPANAGIA
II (1012grt) was sunk by
German bombing at Piraeus.
_____
Italian MAS.213 departed
Massawa and at 2315 torpedoed light
cruiser CAPETOWN which was bombarding the port in
Operation ATMOSPHERE.
The light cruiser's stern
was badly damaged. Four
ratings were killed. Destroyers KIMBERLEY and KINGSTON
came into the area to assist. The sloop was towed
to Port Sudan by sloop PARRAMATTA and escorted by Indian
sloop INDUS, arriving on the 10th.
The cruiser was towed on
to Bombay for repair. She arrived on 20 May in tow of
tug TAIKOO
and escorted by special service vessel BOTLEA. Repairs
were completed in July
1942.
_____
Convoy BN.23 departed
Suez, escorted by sloop HINDUSTAN. Sloop SHOREHAM joined
on the 8th. Sloop HINDUSTAN was detached on the 10th and
sloop SHOREHAM on the
11th. The convoy arrived at Suez on the 13th.
_____
Convoy BS.23 departed
Suez, escorted by sloop CLIVE. Sloops HINDUSTAN and
SHOREHAM joined on the 11th. Sloops CLIVE and HINDUSTAN
were detached on the 12th. The convoy was
dispersed on the 14th.
_____
New Zealand light cruiser
ACHILLES departed Wellington with Australian heavy
cruiser AUSTRALIA and light cruiser HOBART escorting two
liners to Australia.
On the 10th, the New
Zealand cruiser departed the convoy and put into Jervis
Bay,
NSW.
_____
The U. S. Navy Base at
Bermuda was commissioned, Captain Jules James, USN, commanding.
American TG 7.2, which
departed the New York Navy
Yard on the 6th, arrived at Bermuda on the 8th with
aircraft carrier RANGER (Flagship
of Rear Admiral Arthur B Cook), heavy cruisers
TUSCALOOSA, WICHITA, and destroyers KEARNEY and
LIVERMORE.
_____
German tanker NORDMARK
replenished U.105 and U.106
at sea prior to the submarines proceeding to Rio de
Janiero to escort German
steamer LECH (3290grt).
In mid April, submarine
U.105 is detached from this
duty and proceeded to Freetown.
Tuesday,
8 April
Destroyer INTREPID,
escorted by destroyers
CLEVELAND and FERNIE, laid minefield JO in the English
Channel.
Destroyer ICARUS had
loaded mines and was due to
sail on this operation, but was held back due to
vibration experienced
between fifteen and twenty five knots.
_____
U.107 sank British steamer
ESKDENE (3829grt) in
34-43N, 24-21W. The entire crew was rescued.
_____
U.124 sank British steamer
TWEED (2697grt) in 7-43N, 15-11W. Three crew were lost on the steamer.
_____
U.107 sank British steamer
HELENA MARGARETA
(3316grt) in 33N, 23-52W. Twenty seven crew were lost.
Nine crew were
rescued.
_____
British tanker AHAMO
(8621grt) was sunk on a mine
in 53-22N, 00-59E. Fourteen crew were missing.
Dummy aircraft carrier
MAMARI (7924grt) was sunk on
4 June when she collided with this wreck in Wold Channel
while under attack
by German S-boat.
_____
British steamer CORMARSH
(2848grt) was damaged by German
bombing off Sheringham Buoy near 56A Buoy.
The steamer arrived at
Hull.
_____
British steamer CHAUCER
(5792grt) was damaged by
German bombing near Humber Light Vessel.
The steamer was attacked
again on the 9th.
The steamer arrived at
Hull on the 9th.
An Afrika Korps supply
convoy of steamers
LEVERKUSEN (1273grt), WACHTFELS (8467grt), ARCTURUS
(2596grt), CASTELLON
(2086grt), and ERNESTO (7272grt) departed Naples
escorted by torpedo boats
PROCIONE, CIGNO, and ORIONE, and arrived at Tripoli on
the 10th without
event.
_____
Light cruiser AJAX and
Australian light cruiser PERTH departed Suda Bay
to cover convoys AG.11 and ASF.24.
_____
Convoy ASF.24 of five
British ships and supply ship
BRECONSHIRE departed Piraeus
escorted by destroyers HAVOCK and HOTSPUR, and arrived
at Alexandria on the 11th.
_____
At sea on the 8th in the
eastern Mediterranean were
Convoy AN.25 of nine
steamers escorted by
anti-aircraft cruiser COVENTRY
and destroyers JERVIS and JANUS.
Convoy AG.11 of six
steamers escorted by destroyer
MOHAWK, Anti-aircraft ship WRYNECK, and sloop GRIMSBY.
Two Greek destroyers
joined convoy AG.11 to replace
destroyer MOHAWK.
Destroyers NUBIAN, HERO,
and DEFENDER departed Alexandria in company.
Destroyers HERO and
DEFENDER relieved destroyers
JANUS and JERVIS in convoy AN.25 escort.
Destroyers JERVIS, JANUS,
and MOHAWK were ordered
to Suda Bay.
They arrived on the 9th and joined destroyer NUBIAN
there.
_____
Destroyers ENCOUNTER and
ISIS arrived at Suez to join the
Mediterranean Fleet.
The destroyers and sloop
FLAMINGO arrived at Alexandria on the 9th.
_____
Greek steamer EKATERINI
COUMANTAROU (7777grt) was
damaged by German bombing at Piraeus.
The steamer was further
damaged on 9, 11, and 15
April in bombing.
_____
Mooring vessel MOOR was
sunk on a mine 270 yards
211° from Ricasoli Breakwater Light Vessel, Malta.
_____
Armed merchant cruiser
BULOLO captured French
steamer FORT DE FRANCE (4279grt), which had departed
Martinique on the 1st
for Casablanca,at 27-39N, 28-06W. The steamer was sent
towards Gibraltar under armed guard.
French destroyer FOUGUEUX
had departed Casablanca on the 7th to escort the steamer
into port.
On the 10th, light cruiser
PRIMAUGUET and
destroyers ALBATROS, SIMOUN, and FRONDEUR departed
Casablanca to intercept the steamer and joined the
destroyer
FOUGUEUX.
Light cruisers GEORGES
LEYGUES and MONTCALM and
destroyers FANTASQUE and TERRIBLE departed Dakar on the
10th to intercept the steamer if it proceeded
towards Freetown.
Submarines SIDI FERRUCH,
AURORE, CASABIANCA, and
ARCHIMEDE departed Casablanca to search.
The steamer was stopped on
the 12th by light
cruiser PRIMAUGET and boarded by French destroyer
ALBATROS. The steamer taken
to Casablanca, arriving on the 13th. The prise crew was
interned.
Anti-submarine trawler
KINGSTON CHRYSOLITE sighted
these ships on the 12th in 33-36N, 13-14W.
The submarines arrived
back at Casablanca on the 14th.
The prize crew was later
released and arrived at Gibraltar on 18 May. On 23 May,
the crew left Gibraltar in destroyer HAVELOCK and
arrived at Liverpool on 1 June.
_____
Italian minelayer OSTIA
was sunk at Massawa by the RAF with all mines
still in her racks.
Italian destroyer escort
ORSINI and motor torpedo
boats MAS.204, MAS.206, MAS.210, MAS.213, and MAS.216
were scuttled at Massawa.
Italian steamer COLOMBO
(11,760grt) was scuttled at Massawa. The steamer
was later salved.
Italian steamer CLELIA
CAMPENELLA (3245grt) was
scuttled at Massawa. The steamer was salved as EMPIRE
PRIZE.
Italian tanker GIOVE
(5211grt) was scuttled at Dulac Island. The tanker was salved as EMPIRE TROPHY.
Italian steamer PROMETEO
(4958grt) was scuttled at Dulac Island. The steamer was later salved.
Italian coastal steamer
SOLE (15grt) was scuttled
at Massawa.
Italian coastal steamer
ARDITA (19grt) was scuttled
at Massawa.
Italian coastal steamer
SAN GIORGIO (90grt) was scuttled at Massawa.
Italian coastal steamer
PIRANO (108grt) was
scuttled at Massawa. The steamer was later salved.
Italian coastal steamer
TRIESTE (96grt) was scuttled at Massawa.
Italian coastal steamer
MARIO M. (18grt) was lost
in the Red Sea due to unknown cause.
_____
French troopship FELIX
ROUSSEL, carying Indian troops,
departed Singapore.
Light cruiser DAUNTLESS
escorted the steamer from
the vicinity of Penang to 10N, 80E. The troopship
arrived at Bombay on the 18th.
Wednesday,
9 April
Destroyers ELECTRA and
ESCAPADE departed Scapa Flow at 2350 to search for a
German submarine reported
to the westward of the Shetland
Islands.
The destroyers returned to
Scapa Flow at 1900/10th after an unsuccessful search.
_____
Destroyers BRIGHTON and
LANCASTER, escorting
minelayer AGAMEMNON, arrived at Scapa Flow at 2130 en
route to Rosyth.
Destroyer
BRIGHTON and the
minelayer departed Scapa
Flow at 1900/10th for
Rosyth.
Destroyer LANCASTER
departed Scapa Flow at 0900/10th for Iceland.
_____
Anti-aircraft ship CURACOA
departed Scapa Flow at 0730 to provide cover for convoy
WN.11 from Pentland Firth to Methil.
The ship arrived at Rosyth
on the 10th after the
escort to May Island for refitting.
_____
Auxiliary minesweeper
MARMION (409grt, T/Lt D.
MacFarlane RNR) was sunk by German bombing alongside
Harwich
Pier.
The minesweeper was
beached on Harwich Hard on 10
May. The was refloated on 21 May and berthed at Harwich.
She eventually was
towed to Tilbury where she was scrapped.
_____
British examination ship
D'ARCY COOPER (126grt,
Second Hand D. Noble) was sunk by German bombing at
Harwich. Noble and two
other ratings were lost.
_____
U.107 sank British steamer
HARPATHIAN (4671grt) in
32-22N, 22-53W. Three crew and one gunner were lost on
the steamer.
U.98 sank Dutch steamer
PRINS WILLEM II (1304grt),
which was straggling behind convoy HX.117, in 59-50N,
24-25W.
Twelve crew were lost on
the steamer.
_____
U.107 sank British tanker
DUFFIELD (8516grt) in
31-13N, 23-24W.
The tanker was torpedoed
again on the 9th in
31-13N, 23-40W.
Twenty five crew were lost
on tanker.
_____
British tanker LUNULA
(6363grt) was badly damaged
at Shellhaven jetty in Thames Haven on a mine.
Twenty six crew and two
gunners were lost.
The tanker was assessed to
be a constructive total
loss.
Tug PERSIA (165grt)
assisted the steamer to shift berth.
While assisting the
steamer, the tug was damaged on
a mine and driven ashore on Blyth Sand.
_____
British fire float QUEEN
was sunk by German bombing
during the night of 9/10 April while in dock at Ipswich.
The vessel was raised on
the 12th.
_____
British fire floats ALERT
and GRETA were badly
damaged by German bombing during the night of 9/10 April
at Ipswich.
Both were declared a total
loss.
_____
Motor lifeboat JOHN
PYEMONT was sunk by German
bombing at Tynemouth when the Tynemouth R. N. L. B. I.
boathouse was
bombed.
_____
British launch FALCON was
sunk by German bombing at
Harwich.
_____
British steamer DUDLEY
ROSE (1600grt) was sunk by German
bombing 150 miles four miles from Berry Head. The entire
crew were rescued.
_____
Norwegian tanker BUESTEN
(5187grt) was sunk by
German bombing four miles 150° from Berry Head.
Twenty three crew and five
gunners were lost on the
tanker.
_____
British steamer KYLEGORM
(622grt) was damaged by
German bombing at four miles 245° from St Ann's Head.
The steamer was towed to
Milford Haven by a tug.
_____
British tanker BRITISH
WORKMAN (6994grt) in convoy
EC.4 was damaged by German bombing in 58-31N, 2-40W.
The convoy was being
escorted at the time by
anti-aircraft ship ALYNBANK and escort vessel GLEANER.
The tanker arrived at
Kirkwall on the 10th.
_____
British steamer ABERHILL
(1516grt) was damaged by
German bombing in 54-37N, 00-48W.
The steamer arrived at
Leith on the 11th.
_____
Norwegian steamer BJORNVIK
(812grt) was damaged by
German bombing four miles 150° from Berry Head. One
crewman was killed.
The steamer arrived at
Dartmouth on the 9th leaking through damage caused by
near miss.
A delayed action bomb exploded after the ship arrived at
Dartmouth.
_____
British tanker BRITISH
STATESMAN (6991grt) was
damaged by German bombing in Barrow Deep off Harwich.
_____
British steamer PANDORIAN
(4159grt) was damaged by
German bombing 140 miles fifteen miles from Duncansby
Head.
_____
Aircraft carrier EAGLE
departed Alexandria, escorted by destroyers DECOY and
ENCOUNTER, for Port Said in preparation to leaving the
Mediterranean through the Suez Canal.
The aircraft carrier began
moving through the Canal
on the 11th.
_____
Gunboats APHIS and GNAT
bombarded Bomba during the
nights of 9/10 and 10/11 April.
_____
Italian supply convoy
departed Naples with transports ANDREA GRITTI (6338grt),
SEBASTIANO VENIER (6311grt), RIALTO (6099grt), BIRMANIA
(5305grt), BARBARIGO (5293grt)
escorted by destroyer DARDO and torpedo boats CLIO,
COSENZ, and PAPA, and
arrived at Tripoli on the 11th.
_____
Yugoslav destroyer BEOGRAD was badly damaged by the near misses of German air bombs at Sibenik.
_____
Ocean boarding vessels
MALVERNIAN and CAMITO
arrived at Gibraltar from Western Patrol.
_____
Corvettes ERICA and
SNAPDRAGON departed Gibraltar for Freetown en route to
Simonstown and the Eastern Mediterranean.
_____
Submarine UPHOLDER made
two unsuccessful attacks on
shipping off Cape Bon.
_____
In British air operations
from Maleme, a Swordfish
of 815 Squadron ditched north of Crete. Sub Lt (A)
A. W. B. Drayson drowned attempting to swim ashore.
T/Sub Lt (A) A. Carroll
RNVR, and Leading Airman F. Faulks drifted ashore in a
dingy after four days
at sea.
_____
British steamer CRAFTSMAN
(8022grt) was sunk by
German raider KORMORAN at 00-32N, 23-37W.
Six crew were lost and
forty three were taken
prisoner.
Convoy SL.71 departed
Freetown escorted by armed merchant cruiser CILICIA that day only and corvettes CLEMATIS, CROCUS, CYCLAMEN, and CLEMATIS
to 17 April. On the 10th, light cruiser
MAURITIUS joined the
convoy to 23 April.
Light cruiser MAURITIUS
was relieved on the 23rd by heavy cruiser LONDON which
continued to 29 April.
On the 28th, destroyers
LEAMINGTON, LINCOLN, and SHERWOOD and ocean boarding
vessel MALVERNIAN
joined the convoy to 4 May. On the 30th, destroyers
ROCKINGHAM to 2 May,
VANQUISHER to 5 May, and VISCOUNT to 2 May, sloop
LONDONDERRY to 5 May, and
corvettes FREESIA, HIBISCUS, and PIMPERNEL all to 5 May,
and anti-submarine
yacht PHILANTE to 5 May joined the convoy, and arrived
at Liverpool on 5 May.
_____
Convoy SC.28 departed
Halifax, escorted by armed merchant cruiser CHITRAL.
Submarine TALISMAN joined the escort on the 11th.
Battleship ROYAL SOVEREIGN
joined the convoy and was detached on the 20th along
with submarine TALISMAN.
The submarine arrived back at Halifax on the 26th. The
armed merchant cruiser was
detached on the 21st.
On the 24th, destroyer
SCIMITAR, corvettes
DIANTHUS, MALLOW, MARIGOLD, NASTURTIUM, PERIWINKLE, and
PRIMROSE, and
minesweepers BRAMBLE, HAZARD, and SPEEDY joined the
convoy. The minesweepers
departed that day. On the 26th, corvette MALLOW was
detached. Destroyer
WANDERER joined on the 27th. The escort was detached
when the convoy arrived
at Liverpool on the 28th.
Thursday,
10 April
Light cruiser NAIAD, under
repair in the Tyne, was damaged by the near miss of German bombing causing superficial
splinter damage and some shock damage to her turbine
mountings.
The cruiser had no
additional time out of service.
_____
Destroyer SOMALI, which
had arrived at 1730 from patrol,
began repairs to her boilers alongside depot ship TYNE at Scapa Flow.
_____
Destroyer BROCKLESBY
arrived at Scapa Flow at 1000 to carry out working up.
_____
The British DS convoy
series began with convoy DS.1
of troopships ROYAL ULSTERMAN (3244grt) and ROYAL
SCOTSMAN (3244grt)
departing the Clyde, escorted by destroyer ST MARYS.
Destroyer LANCASTER
departed Scapa Flow and joined at sea. The convoy
arrived at Reykjavik on the 12th.
The return convoy SD.1
departed Iceland on the 14th with the same escorts. The
convoy
arrived in the Clyde on the 16th.
Battleship KING GEORGE V
and destroyers SOMALI and
MASHONA arrived at Scapa
Flow at 1811.
Escorting destroyer
MATABELE was detached en route
to refit at Barrow, arriving at 1150/11th.
_____
Battleship RESOLUTION,
armed merchant cruiser
DERBYSHIRE, and destroyers PIORUN and GARLAND departed
Hvalfjord for Canada.
_____
Heavy cruiser NORFOLK
departed Hvalfjord to meet convoy HX.119.
Light cruiser AURORA,
escorting minelayer
AGAMEMNON, departed Scapa
Flow at 1908 to refit at
the Tyne.
_____
Canadian convoy TC.10 of
troopships GEORGIC
(27,759grt) and BATORY (14,287grt) departed Halifax.
Battleship RODNEY escorted
the convoy for the
entire voyage.
Canadian destroyer ST
CROIX escorted the convoy on 10 and 11 April.
On the 15th, destroyers
HESPERUS, LEGION, and
LEOPARD joined the convoy. Destroyer LEOPARD was
detached the next day.
On the 16th, destroyers
ACTIVE, ECHO, GARLAND, and PIORUN, departed Iceland on
the 14th, joined the convoy.
Destroyers ECHO and ACTIVE
arrived at Scapa Flow at 2000/18th, and
arrived at Greenock on the 19th with battleship RODNEY
and destroyers
HESPERUS, LEGION, GARLAND, and PIORUN.
_____
U.52 sank Dutch steamer
SALEIER (6563grt), from
dispersed convoy OB.306, in 58-04N, 30-48W. The entire
crew was rescued by
American destroyer NIBLACK, en route to Iceland. Polish
destroyers GARLAND and PIORUN had been hunting for the
crew before
returning to Reykjavik.
After rescuing the crew,
the American destroyer
attacked a submarine contact.
_____
British steamer THIRLBY
(4887grt) was damaged by
German bombing 140 miles north, northwest of Butt of
Lewis.
Destroyer BEDOUIN was sent
to assist, but could not
locate the steamer.
Anti-submarine trawler
LADY MADELEINE (581grt)
escorted tug BRIGAND to assist the steamer.
The steamer arrived at
Loch Ewe on the 11th.
_____
British steamer BUSIRIS
(943grt) was damaged by
German bombing off Runnelstone, Mounts
Bay.
_____
Dutch steamer VIRGO
(397grt) was damaged by German
bombing five miles northwest of Bar Light Vessel.
The steamer was towed to
Liverpool.
_____
German battlecruiser
GNEISENAU was struck by four
bombs and was badly damaged at Brest.
Due to the damage of the
German battleships,
submarines TORBAY, TAKU, UNBEATEN, UNION, UNDAUNTED,
URGE, and CACHALOT were
sent on to the Mediterranean when relieved by the 6th
Submarine Flotilla,
transferred from Blyth.
_____
Destroyers JERVIS, JANUS,
MOHAWK, and NUBIAN of the
14th Destroyer Flotilla departed Suda Bay at 0700 for
Malta to conduct
raiding operations on Italian supply lines.
Light cruisers AJAX and
PERTH departed Alexandria to cover their passage during
the night of 10/11
April.
Destroyers JERVIS, JANUS,
MOHAWK, and NUBIAN
arrived at Malta at daylight on the 11th.
Light cruisers AJAX and
PERTH called at Salamis on the 11th. The cruisers then
refuelled at Suda Bay
before returning to patrol in the Aegean to cover
convoys AG.12 and AS.25.
_____
British troopship GLENROY,
escorted by destroyers
DECOY and ENCOUNTER, departed Port Said to reembark
troops recently landed at Lemnos by British supply ship BRECONSHIRE.
On the 11th, troopship
GLENROY and destroyers DECOY
and ENCOUNTER arrived at Alexandria.
Anti-aircraft cruiser
COVENTRY left convoy AS.25 on the 11th to join this
force.
_____
Convoy AG.12 of one
British ship departed Alexandria escorted by
anti-aircraft cruiser CARLISLE, destroyer HEREWARD, and sloops FLAMINGO and
AUCKLAND, and arrived at
Phaleron
Bay
on the 12th.
The escort remained at
Salamis.
Convoy AS.25 of five Greek
ships departed Piraeus escorted by destroyer WRYNECK and
sloop GRIMSBY.
Anti-aircraft cruiser
COVENTRY sailed to accompany this convoy for the first
part
of the voyage, then departed on the 11th to escort
troopship GLENROY.
Anti-aircraft cruiser
CALCUTTA joined the convoy from Suda Bay
on the 11th.
Damaged oiler PERICLES
joined this convoy from Suda Bay
for passage to Alexandria.
Naval tanker PERICLES
(8324grt) broke in half in
heavy weather on the 14th in 32-09N, 29-40E.
Sloop GRIMSBY took off the
crew and stood by while destroyer KIMBERLEY was sent to
her assistance.
Destroyer KIMBERLEY sank
the stern section of the tanker with gunfire,
and arrived at Alexandria on the 14th.
Destroyer WRYNECK escorted
the Port Said section.
Destroyer KIMBERLEY and
sloop GRIMSBY arrived at Alexandria on the 15th.
_____
Minesweeper ABINGDON was
damaged by mining at Malta.
The minesweeper was under
repair until June.
_____
British troopship ULSTER
PRINCE (3791grt) grounded in Great Pass at Alexandria.
The troopship was gotten
off without serious
damage, but docking was required.
_____
Italian supply convoy of
steamers BOSFORO (3567grt)
and OGADEN (4553grt) and tankers PERSIANO (2474grt) and
SUPERGA (6154grt)
departed Palermo escorted by torpedo boats MISSORI,
MONTANARI, and
PERSEO.
The convoy was attacked
off Cape Bon by submarine UPHOLDER on the 11th but no damage was done.
Submarine TETRARCH sank
Italian tanker PERSIANO in
33-29N, 14-01E, thirty miles northeast of Tripoli on the
12th, and arrived at Tripoli at 1500/12th.
_____
Ocean boarding vessel
MALVERNIAN departed Gibraltar on Western Patrol.
_____
Italian steamer INDIA
(6366grt) was scuttled at Assab. The steamer was
later salved.
Italian steamer PIAVE
(7565grt) was scuttled at
Assab. The steamer was later salved.
Italian steamer SANNIO
(9834grt) was scuttled at
Assab. The steamer was later salved.
Italian coastal steamer
SCILLIN (57grt) was
scuttled at Assab.
Italian coastal steamer
CIRCEO (59grt) was scuttled
at Assab.
Italian coastal steamer
DANTE (80grt) was scuttled
at Assab.
Italian coastal steamer
SICILIA II (64grt) was
scuttled at Assab.
_____
Convoy HX.120 departed
Halifax, escorted by corvettes COBALt and COLLINGWOOD.
The
corvettes were detached later that day. Battleship ROYAL
SOVEREIGN and armed
merchant cruiser LACONIA joined the convoy on the 12th.
Armed merchant
cruiser CHITRAL joined on the 19th. The battleship was
detached on the 20th
and the two armed merchant cruisers were detached on the
21st. Destroyers
BULLDOG and WALKER joined on the 21st and minesweepers
NIGER and SPEEDWELL joined on the 22nd. Destroyer
BULLDOG was detached on the 24th. Destroyer WALKER
arrived with the convoy at
Liverpool on the 29th.
Friday,
11 April
Heavy cruiser LONDON,
aircraft carrier ARGUS, and steamer NARKUNDA
(16,632grt) arrived in the Clyde from
Gibraltar.
Aircraft carrier FURIOUS
which travelled in company
proceeded to Belfast.
_____
Destroyer MANSFIELD with a
Norwegian crew departed
Lerwick on the 8th.
She carried commandoes to
Hammerfest, near
North Cape, to
destroy a fish oil factory at Oksfjord on 11/12 April.
The destroyer arrived back
on the 14th.
_____
Boom defence vessel
OTHELLO (201grt, T/Boom Skipper
W. Trench RNR) and boom tender YORKSHIRE BELLE (56grt)
were sunk
on a mine at the entrance to the Humber, 3½
cables 10° Haile Sand Fort.
Trench, T/A/Warrant
Engineer J. A. Wakefield, and
nine ratings were lost in OTHELLO. Four ratings were
lost in YORKSHIRE.
_____
U.124 sank Greek steamer
AEGEON (5285grt) in 6-55N,
15-38W. Four crew were lost on the steamer.
_____
Destroyer GREYHOUND
departed Alexandria escorting netlayer PROTECTOR and
anti-submarine
trawlers SYVERN and KOS 23 for Suda
Bay
and corvette SALVIA and South African minesweeper MUROTO
for Piraeus.
The corvette and the South
African minesweeper were
to assist corvette HYACINTH in clearing Piraeus harbour.
Both sections arrived on
the 14th.
_____
Light cruiser ORION with
destroyers STUART, GRIFFIN, JUNO,
JAGUAR, and HASTY departed Alexandria at 2000 to join
light cruisers AJAX and PERTH for an offensive sweep
along the Cyrenaican coast
eastwards from Benghazi during the night of 12/13 April
in Operation
MBD.3.
Gunboats APHIS and GNAT
bombarded Bomba during the
night of 10/11 April.
The gunboats bombarded the
same district and the
Gazala airdrome during the night of 11/12 April.
_____
Australian destroyers
WATERHEN and VENDETTA arrived
at Alexandria at 0400 with British steamer THURLAND
CASTLE (6372grt) carrying captured tanks from Tobruk.
The destroyers departed
Alexandria again that day with another supply ship for
Tobruk.
_____
Destroyers JERVIS, JANUS,
MOHAWK, and NUBIAN
arrived at Malta from Suda
Bay.
They immediately refuelled and sailed to intercept the
southbound convoy of
steamers BOSFORO, OGADEN, PERSIANA, and SUPERGA,
escorted by torpedo boats
MONTANARI, MISSORI, and PERSEO between Lampione
Island and Kerkenah Bank. They failed to intercept a subsequent message from
submarine UNIQUE which corrected the speed of the
convoy. No contact was made
and the destroyers returned to Malta.
_____
During the night of 11/12
April, Greek cruiser
AVEROFF departed the Gulf of Saronikos and
proceeded unescorted to Alexandria.
No escorts could be spared
for this unit.
_____
Cable ship RETRIEVER
(674grt) was sunk by German
bombing one mile 264° from Aliki Rocks, off Phleva
Island, Greece.
Eleven crew were lost and
six were taken prisoner.
Twenty nine crew were rescued.
_____
Greek hospital ship ATTIKI
(2561grt) was sunk by
German bombing in Doro Channel.
Twenty eight crew were
missing.
_____
British steamer DRACO
(2018grt) was badly damaged
by German bombing at Tobruk and beached.
The steamer was bombed
again on the 21st and was a
total loss.
The gunner was killed, but
rest of the crew were
rescued.
_____
Destroyer BOREAS arrived
at Gibraltar with British steamer GLENARTNEY (9795grt).
_____
Australian heavy cruiser
AUSTRALIA departed Colombo on 24 March with two
troopships for convoy US.10.
On the 7th, heavy cruiser
AUSTRALIA and light cruisers ACHILLES and HOBART
departed Wellington with two liners for Australia to
sail in the convoy.
New Zealand light cruiser
ACHILLES departed Jervis Bay,
N. S. W. with liner QUEEN MARY on the
11th to join convoy US.10 at Sydney.
This convoy was composed
of QUEEN MARY (81,235grt), QUEEN ELIZABETH (83,673grt),
ILE DE FRANCE (43,450grt),
MAURETANIA (35,739grt), and NIEUW AMSTERDAM (36,287grt).
On the 12th, light cruiser
ACHILLES and heavy
cruiser AUSTRALIA were detached from the convoy for
patrol. They
then proceeded to Sydney to refuel.
The New Zealand light
cruiser then returned to New Zealand.
Liner NIEUW AMSTERDAM was
detached to Singapore. The troops from this liner were
embarked on
troopship AQUITANIA which departed Singapore on the
27th, escorted by light cruiser DANAE.
Troopship AQUITANIA arrived at Colombo on 1 May.
On the 27th, convoy US.10A
departed Trincomalee
with liners QUEEN ELIZABETH and QUEEN MARY, escorted as
far as Perim by Australian heavy
cruiser CANBERRA, arriving on 1 May, and arrived at Suez
on 3 May, escorted by Australian sloop PARRAMATTA.
On 6 May, convoy US.10B
departed Colombo for Suez with liners AQUITANIA, ILE DE FRANCE, and
MAURETANIA.
_____
New Zealand light cruiser
LEANDER departed Madras with a convoy for Singapore.
The convoy was turned over
to light cruiser CERES
on the 12th.
The cruiser proceeded to
Trincomalee arriving on
the 13th. She proceeded on to Colombo arriving on the
14th.
_____
Convoy BM.6 departed
Madras for
Malaya with
steamers TALMA (10,000grt), SANTHIA (7754grt), NEURALIA
(9182grt), and DEVONSHIRE (11,275grt), escorted by light
cruiser LEANDER to
12 April when light cruiser DANE relieved her.
Steamers JALAPADMA
(3935grt) and JALAKRISHNA
(4981grt) departed Madras on the 12th, unescorted, with
vehicles and stores
for the units carried in convoy BM.6, and arrived at
Penang on the 16th.
Saturday,
12 April
Submarine
UNBEATEN departed Portsmouth for Gibraltar arriving
on the 21st.
_____
Convoy OB.309 departed
liverpool, escorted by
destroyers CHELSEA, VERITY, VETERAN, and WOLVERINE,
armed boarding vessel
MARON, seaplane carrier PEGASUS, sloop DEPTFORD, and
corvettes BEGONIA,
CONVOLVULUS, and LARKSPUR. Destroyers CHELSEA and VERITY
were detached on the 15th and sloop
DEPTFORD on the 16th. On the 15th, destroyer ROCKINGHAM
and corvettes
CAMPANULA and PIMPERNEL joined the escort. Destroyers
VETERAN and WOLVERINE
were detached on the 18th. The remainder of the escort
was detached on the
19th when the convoy dispersed.
_____
Naval drifter RYPA
(31grt), with a Norwegian crew,
was lost in Loch Ewe in heavy weather.
_____
U.124 sank British steamer
ST HELENA (4313grt) in 7-50N, 14W. The entire crew was
rescued.
_____
Belgian steamer ARBEL
(901grt) was sunk by German
bombing in 50-06N, 5-46W. Three crew were lost.
_____
Swedish steamer KEXHOLM
(3815grt) was sunk by German
bombing in 59-50N, 8-22W. The entire crew was rescued.
_____
British grain elevator
CHICAGO was sunk by German bombing at Millwall Dock,
London.
_____
British steamer DARTFORD (4093grt) was damaged by German bombing one and a half miles south of
Mumbles Light.
The steamer was towed to
port.
_____
Greek steamer NICOLAOS D.
L. (5486grt) was sunk by
German raider KORMORAN at 1-54S, 22-12W. The entire crew
was taken as
prisoners of war.
_____
Italian submarine TAZZOLI
attacked a Destroyer
without success in 45N, 19W.
_____
Anti-aircraft cruiser
PHOEBE arrived at Suez for duty in the Mediterranean
Fleet after WS.6A
convoy escort.
The light cruiser moved
through the Canal in the
dark.
Destroyer KIMBERLEY also
arrived at Suez on the 12th to join the Mediterranean
Fleet.
_____
Anti-aircraft cruiser
COVENTRY, destroyers DECOY and ENCOUNTER, and troopship
GLENROY evacuated Mudros.
The entire battalion of
troops, over 1000 tons of
stores, and forty army vehicles were embarked in twelve
hours.
The ships departed Mudros
at 0645/13th and arrived
at Alexandria on the 15th.
_____
In Operation MBD.3,
destroyers STUART, GRIFFIN, JUNO, and JAGUAR were
sweeping off Cyrenaica from Ras
Tayones to Ras et Tin covered by light cruisers ORION,
AJAX, and PERTH and
destroyer HASTY during the night of 12/13 April.
This operation was
repeated the next night.
Destroyers JUNO and JAGUAR
swept from Ras Tayones to Ras Tolmeita.
Destroyers STUART and GRIFFIN
swept from Ras Tolmeita to Ras el Hillal. Destroyers
VENDETTA and WATERHEN
swept from Ras el Hillal to Ras el Tin. The sweep was
covered by the same
covering force as the night before.
The sweep started at
midnight. There were no contacts.
After the sweep,
destroyers VENDETTA and WATERHEN
returned to the Inshore Squadron. Light cruiser PERTH
and destroyers JUNO, JAGUAR, STUART, GRIFFIN, and HASTY
returned to Alexandria.
En route, destroyers
GRIFFIN and STUART were diverted to Sollum to arrive at
daylight on the 14th.
Light cruisers ORION and
AJAX remained to the west of Crete to cover convoy movements.
_____
Submarine URSULA
unsuccessfully attacked shipping
south of Cape Bon.
Destroyers JERVIS, JANUS,
MOHAWK, and NUBIAN
departed Malta to intercept southbound convoy of
steamers ANKARA, MARBURG,
KIBFELS, REICHENFELS, and GALILEA, escorted by
destroyers VIVALDI, DA NOLI,
MALOCOLLO, and DARDO. Torpedo boats CIRCE and MONTANARI
joined from Tripoli.
In air attack on this
convoy during the night
of12/13 April, A/Sub Lt (A) A. P. Dawson with Leading
Airman A. Todd and
Petty Officer Airman C. H. Wines with Leading Airman L.
M. Edwards of 830
Squadron from ST ANGELO, were shot down and interned by
the French.
The destroyers made no
contact and returned to Malta.
_____
Battlecruiser REPULSE
arrived at Gibraltar,
escorted by destroyers HIGHLANDER and FORTUNE.
Destroyers FURY and VELOX were
detached off Gibraltar to join arriving battleship QUEEN
ELIZABETH. Destroyer
BOREAS departed Gibraltar on the 12th to join the other
two destroyers to
escort the battleship.
_____
Light cruiser FIJI arrived
at Gibraltar.
_____
Ocean boarding vessel
CAMITO departed Gibraltar for Western Patrol.
_____
Submarine
OLYMPUS arrived at
Malta to reinforce the Mediterranean submarines.
However, she was in such
poor condition, she was to
be sailed back to Gibraltar as soon as repairs could be
arranged.
_____
British tanker MARIE
MAERSK (8271grt) was sunk by
German bombing at Piraeus.
The steamer was later
refloated and repaired at Trieste. She was renamed LUISA
for Italian use.
_____
Armed merchant cruiser
DUNNOTTAR
CASTLE captured French steamer BANFORA, which had departed
Dakar on the 10th, near
Port Etienne.
The steamer arrived at
Freetown on the 17th.
Sunday,
13 April
Battleship KING GEORGE V,
light cruiser NIGERIA,
and destroyers MASHONA, ELECTRA, and ESCAPADE departed
Scapa Flow at 0107 for
position 46-30N, 18-10W.
However, bad weather
delayed the ships' progress.
The destroyers were
detached to Londonderry to refuel at 1045/16th. They
sailed at 1100/17th
and rejoined at 0900/20th.
_____
Light cruiser HERMIONE
arrived at Scapa Flow at 0919 to work up and join 15th
Cruiser Squadron.
_____
Light cruisers GALATEA and
ARETHUSA departed Scapa Flow for Siedisfjord. The
cruisers then proceeded to Reykjavik, via Akureyri.
After refuelling at
Reykjavik, the cruisers patrolled in the Denmark Strait.
_____
Convoy OB.310 departed
liverpool, escorted by
destroyers AMAZON, BULLDOG, and CHESTERFIELD,corvettes
AUBRETIA, HOLLYHOCK, NIGELLA, and
PICOTEE, minesweepers GOSSAMER, HARRIER, and SALAMANDER,
and anti-submarine
trawlers DANEMAN and ST APOLLO. The minesweepers and the
trawlers were
detached that day. On the 15th, Anti-submarine trawlers
BUTTERMERE,
WASTWATER, and WINDERMERE joined the convoy. The escort
was detached on the
18th when the convoy dispersed.
_____
Destroyers INGLEFIELD and
ECLIPSE departed
Hvalfjord at 0300 to join convoy HX.118 for additional
escort.
The destroyers were
detached in the Minches.
Destroyer ECLIPSE arrived at 0615/17th and destroyer
INGLEFIELD at 0830/17th.
_____
Destroyer ERIDGE departed
Scapa Flow at 0600 for Londonderry to join the Western
Approaches, following working
up.
The destroyer arrived at
Londonderry at 2000.
_____
Submarine
UNION departed Portsmouth for Gibraltar where
she arrived on the 22nd.
_____
U.108 sank armed merchant
cruiser RAJPUTANA
(16,444grt, Captain F. H. Taylor DSC) in 64-50N, 27-25W.
Destroyers ECHO, GARLAND,
ST MARYS, and LANCASTER were sent to assist. Destroyers
LEGION and PIORUN
rescued the two hundred and seventy seven survivors and
took them to Iceland.
T/Cdr C. T. O. Richardson
RNR, T/Sub Lt (E) V. S. H. Andrews RNR, T/Sub Lt (E) W.
Mitchell RNR, Lt (E) V. R. Bussereau RCNVR, T/A/Sub Lt
(E) G.
Gray RNVR, A/Lt B. G. Johnson RCNVR, and thirty six
ratings were lost on the
cruiser.
_____
U.124 sank British steamer
CORINTHIC (4823grt) at
8-10N, 14-40W. One crewman was lost on the steamer.
_____
British steamer BARON
BELHAVEN (6591grt) was
damaged by German bombing in 51-33N, 5-32W. Four crew
were killed on the
steamer.
The steamer was towed to
Milford Haven and later
drydocked at Barry.
_____
Aircraft carrier EAGLE
passed through the Suez Canal to return to England.
_____
Anti-aircraft cruiser
PHOEBE and destroyer KANDAHAR arrived at Alexandria for
duty with the Mediterranean Fleet.
_____
Convoys GA.12 of three
British ships and ASF.25 departed Piraeus in company
escorted by anti-aircraft cruiser CARLISLE, destroyers HEREWARD and DEFENDER, and sloop
AUCKLAND.
Sloop FLAMINGO at Piraeus
was retained by the Naval Attache Athens for
anti-aircraft duties at Salamis.
Anti-aircraft cruiser
CARLISLE arrived at Alexandria to
refuel on the 15th.
Convoy GA.12 arrived at
Alexandria with destroyers HEREWARD and DEFENDER on the
15th.
Destroyer HEREWARD
immediately departed with three
ships to join convoy AN.27.
Convoy ASF.25 arrived at
Alexandria late on the 15th, escorted by destroyer
HEREWARD
and sloop AUCKLAND.
_____
Destroyer ISIS and
Australian destroyer VAMPIRE
departed Alexandria for Port Said. They arrived and
departed that same day with
troopships GLENEARN and GLENGYLE for Alexandria.
The force arrived safely
at Alexandria on the 14th.
_____
Greek destroyer VASILEVS
GEORGIOS I (Captain
Mezeviers, S. O. Greek destroyers) was badly damaged by
German bombing near
Piraeus in the Saronikos Gulf.
The destroyer was docked
at Salamis.
_____
Greek destroyer PSARA was
sunk by German bombing in
the Gulf of Athens.
_____
Anti-submarine whaler
SKUDD IV was damaged by
German dive bombing at Tobruk.
Trawler MOY towed the
trawler into harbour.
_____
British
steamer CITY OF KARACHI
(7140grt) was badly damaged by German
bombing at Volo, Greece.
There were no casualties
on the steamer.
On the 14th, the steamer
was towed, assisted by
British steamer DESTRO (3553grt) and a Greek destroyer,
and beached in a bay
southwest of Volo. Bombed again on the 15th, steamer
CITY OF KARACHI was a total loss.
_____
Norwegian steamer BRATTDAL
(4968grt) was badly
damaged by German bombing at Volo Bay.
One crewman was killed.
The steamer sank on the
17th after repeated air
attacks.
_____
Battlecruiser REPULSE
departed Gibraltar, escorted by destroyers HIGHLANDER
and FORTUNE,
for 41-00N, 16-30W.
_____
Light cruiser FIJI
departed
Gibraltar for Freetown.
_____
Submarines UNDAUNTED,
having departed Portsmouth on the 3rd, and TORBAY and TAKU from patrol in the
Bay of Biscay
arrived at Gibraltar.
Monday,
14 April
Anti-aircraft ship
ALYNBANK departed Scapa Flow at 0900 to join convoy
WN.13 in the Pentland Firth and cover it to Methil,
where they arrived at
1500/15th.
_____
Submarine URGE departed
Portsmouth for
Gibraltar where
she arrived on the 23rd.
_____
U.52 sank Belgian steamer
VILLE DE LIEGE (7430grt)
in 59-50N, 29-30W. Ten crew were rescued.
_____
Gunboat APHIS bombarded
Bardia.
Gunboat GNAT bombarded
Sollum, supported by
destroyers STUART and GRIFFIN,
which were detached from the light cruiser PERTH force
returning to Alexandria.
Gunboat GNAT was attacked
by German bombers and
badly damaged. The gunboat was able to proceed under her
own power to Mersa
Matruh. One rating was killed.
Gunboat GNAT arrived at
Alexandria on the 16th and was sent on to Port Said for
repairs.
Destroyers STUART and
GRIFFIN arrived at Alexandria on the 15th.
_____
Italian submarine SIRENA
attacked two destroyers in
36-07N, 24-15E north, northwest of Cape
Spada without success at 2337.
_____
British steamer CLAN
CUMMING (7264grt) was sunk on
a mine in Eleusis Bay,
in 37-49N, 23-38E.
The steamer had been
damaged earlier in the day by
German bombing.
Seventy seven crew were
taken prisoner. Thirty six
crew were rescued.
British hospital ship VITA
(4691grt) was damaged by German bombing off
Tobruk.
The ship was attacked by
eight German aircraft.
Destroyers WATERHEN and
VENDETTA and tug ST ISSEY
was sent to assist the hospital ship.
The hospital ship was
returned to Tobruk.
Hospital ship VITA at
Tobruk was again attacked and damaged on 21 and
22 April.
_____
Turkish steamer TRABZON
(2485grt) was sunk by German bombing at Laurium
(Daidaro nisos) while en route from Istanbul to Piraeus
for repairs.
_____
Convoy AN.27 of four
British and six Greek ships
departed Port
Said and Haifa. A strong wind prevented three of the
four ships
in the Alexandria section from sailing.
Destroyers ISIS and
VAMPIRE were sailed to
intercept the Port
Said and Haifa section and escort the single ship from
Alexandria.
Destroyer HEREWARD, which
arrived at Alexandria with convoy GA.12 on the 15th,
departed with the
other three ships of AN.27 on the 15th to join the
convoy which turned back
to meet them.
Destroyer HEREWARD then
joined convoy ASF.25 to return to Alexandria.
On the 16th, when the
decision to evacuate Greece was made, four motor
transport ships of convoy
AN.27 were ordered to return to Alexandria.
Destroyer HOTSPUR from
Alexandria and destroyer VENDETTA from the Inshore
Squadron
were ordered to meet these four ships. Destroyer VOYAGER
was sent in place of
destroyer VENDETTA.
These four ships and
destroyer VOYAGER were
recalled to Alexandria on the 18th.
Anti-aircraft cruiser
CARLISLE departed Alexandria and joined
convoy AN.27 on the 17th, and arrived
at Suda Bay
on the 18th.
_____
During the night of 14/15
April, Swordfish torpedo
bombers sank Italian steamers LUCIANO (3329grt) and
STAMPALIA (1228grt) at
Valona.
Battleship QUEEN ELIZABETH
arrived at Gibraltar at 0900 and light cruisers
SHEFFIELD and DUNEDIN arrived at 0700.
Light cruiser DUNEDIN
later that day departed for Freetown.
_____
Submarines TORBAY, TAKU, and UNDAUNTED departed
Gibraltar for Malta.
When submarine TAKU was
attacked by an Italian
submarine in 36-14N, 4-14W, submarines TAKU and TORBAY were recalled to Gibraltar.
_____
Australian light cruiser
SYDNEY embarked Australian
delegates for the ABDA conference and departed for
Singapore, arriving on the 19th.
The light cruiser returned
to Australia.
The ABDA conference was
held at Singapore from 21 to 27 April.
The conference was
presided over by the British
Commander in Chief Far East Air Chief Marshal Sir Robert
Brooke-Popham.
Attending were Commander in Chief China Vice Admiral Sir
Geoffrey Layton, KCB DSO, Chief
of the General Staff Netherlands East Indies Major
General H. ter Poorten,
representatives of Australian, New Zealand, British
Indian armed forces, and Captain William
R. Purnell, USN, Admiral Hart's Chief of Staff.