Background
Events - June-November 1941
Invasion of
Russia, Malta Convoys, Japan prepares for war
1941
Friday,
1 August
Heavy cruiser SHROPSHIRE
arrived at Akureyri from Denmark Strait patrol. Later
that day, she departed for
Hvalfjord, arriving on the 2nd.
_____
Monitor EREBUS arrived at
Scapa Flow, escorted by destroyer QUORN.
_____
Destroyer LIVELY arrived
at Scapa Flow from
Greenock at 0900
to work up.
_____
Minesweeper HARRIER
arrived at Scapa Flow at 1400 to take the place of
minesweeper NIGER, which had developed defects.
_____
Steamer TRIDENT
(4317grt) was badly damaged
by German bombing four miles 208° from 20C Buoy, Tyne, but the entire crew were rescued.
TRIDENT sank on the
2nd.
_____
Corvette HYACINTH departed
Port Said with motor transport ship SALAMAUA for
Famagusta in Serial S.11 of the GUILLOTINE operation.
They
arrived on the 3rd.
_____
Destroyers JERVIS,
KINGSTON, JACKAL, and NIZAM departed Alexandria to sweep
north of Bardia for a reported submarine. A flying boat
cooperating in the search was shot
down by the submarine Italian DELFINO, but the
destroyers had no contact. The destroyers arrived back
at
Alexandria on the 2nd.
_____
Destroyers HERO and DECOY
departed Alexandria on a supply run to Tobruk.
_____
Submarine THUNDERBOLT
departed Gibraltar with aviation spirits for Malta,
arriving on the 8th. After delivering the aviation
spirits at Malta, the submarine departed on the 10th and
arrived at
Alexandria on the 18th.
_____
Convoy HX.142 departed
Halifax, escorted by destroyer ANNAPOLIS, armed merchant
cruiser AUSONIA, and corvettes
COLLINGWOOD and ROSTHERN. Corvette ROSTHERN was detached
later that day.
Corvettes DAUPHIN and NAPANEE joined on the 2nd and were
detached later that
day. Destroyer ANNAPOLIS was detached on the 3rd.
Destroyer CHESTERFIELD
and corvettes HEPATICA, TRILLIUM, and WINDFLOWER joined
on the 4th, destroyer
CHURCHILL and corvettes ARROWHEAD and EYEBRIGHT joined
on the 5th, and
corvette CAMILLIA joined on the 6th. Corvette
COLLINGWOOD was detached on the
5th and the remaining escorts were detached on the 12th
when relieved by destroyers
BEAGLE, BOADICEA, KEPPEL, SABRE, SALISBURY, SHIKARI, and
SKATE, corvettes HEATHER, ORCHIS,
andSNOWDROP, minesweepers HAZARD, HEBE, and SEAGULL,and
anti-submarine
trawlers ARAB, AYRSHIRE, and NORWICH CITY. Destroyers
KEPPEL, SHIKARI, and SKATE, the
minesweepers, and the trawlers were detached on the
13th. On the 14th,
destroyer SALISBURY was detached, on the 15th, destroyer
SABRE and
corvette ORCHIS were detached, on the 16th, destroyer
BEAGLE. On the 17th,
corvette ARABIS joined and on the 18th, the convoy
arrived at Liverpool with destroyer BOADICEA and
corvette ARABIS.
_____
Convoy SC.39 departed
Sydney, CB , escorted by
armed merchant cruiser MALOJA and corvettes BARRIE and
CHICOUTIMI. These three escorts were detached on the
4th. On
the 4th, destroyer CHESTERFIELD and corvettes BUCTOUCHE,
HEPATICA, TRILLIUM, and
WINDFLOWER joined the convoy. Corvettes HEPATICA and
TRILLIUM were detached
on the 8th and remainder of the escorts were detached on
the 12th, when
relieved by destroyers KEPPEL, LINCOLN, and SHIKARI,
corvettes ALISMA,
DIANELLA, MATAPEDIA, and SUNFLOWER, minesweepers HAZARD
and HEBE, and
anti-submarine trawlers MAN O.WAR
and NORTHERN DAWN. Thisescort group was detached on the
17th. Destroyers
BOADICEA and SABRE joined on the 18th. The convoy
arrived at Liverpool on the 19th.
Saturday,
2 August
Destroyer HEYTHROP
departed Scapa Flow for
Greenock at 1300
on completion of working up exercises, and arrived at
1100/3rd.
_____
Destroyer ORIBI departed
Scapa Flow at 1630 for Scrabster to convey Admiral
Horton to
Scapa Flow, and arrived back at 2030.
_____
Minesweeper HARRIER
departed Scapa Flow at 2330 for Seidisfjord, where she
arrived at
0100/5th.
_____
Anti-aircraft ship CURACOA
departed Scapa Flow at 0615 to provide escort for convoy
WN.60 from
the Pentland Firth until joining convoy EC.53 at 2300.
She parted company with convoy EC.53 in
Pentland Firth at 2115/3rd and arrived at Scapa Flow.
_____
Steamer KOOLGA
(1110grt) was damaged by German bombing in 52-40-03N,
2-11E, near 54.D Buoy, Smiths Knoll, and arrived in tow
at Great Yarmouth on the
3rd.
_____
LL magnetic minesweeper
SOIKA was recalled from
Port Said to aid in minesweeping at Tobruk. Corvette
SALVIA departed Beirut to relieve her at Port Said.
SOIKA proceeded to Alexandria and minesweeping whaler
SOTRA departed Alexandria for Tobruk.
_____
Australian destroyer
VENDETTA and destroyer HAVOCK,
en route to Tobruk, were attacked by German bombers and
fighters. South African air support was able to repulse
the
attack and the destroyers were undamaged.
_____
tanker LAURELWOOD
and Panamanian tanker
NORVINN departed Gibraltar for Curacoa and Trinidad, respectively, escorted until dark on the 4th by destroyer WISHART
and anti-submarine trawler LADY HOGARTH.
_____
Dutch submarine O.23
departed Gibraltar for patrol in the Tyrrhenian Sea.
_____
Motor launches ML.130,
ML.129, and ML.168 departed Gibraltar to conduct an
anti-submarine search north of Alboran Island.
Sunday,
3 August
Aircraft
carrier FURIOUS, heavy cruiser SUFFOLK (right -
NavyPhotos) and destroyers INTREPID, ECHO, and
ECLIPSE arrived at Seidisfjord at 1000 on
completion of Operation EF. The ships went on to Scapa
Flow after refuelling. FURIOUS, ECHO and ECLIPSE arrived
at 0830/5th. INTREPID which had been separated in bad
weather, proceeded to Loch Ewe to
fuel and arrived at 1115. The destroyer later proceeded
to Greenock.
_____
Heavy cruiser BERWICK
departed Rosyth for Scapa Flow and arrived later that
day. Turbine problems had not yet been repaired and
she was only capable of a maximum of 22.5 knots.
_____
Destroyer QUORN departed
Scapa Flow at 1200 after a short period of practices for
Rosyth.
_____
Destroyers HAVELOCK,
HESPERUS, and HARVESTER arrived at Scapa Flow at 0815
from Reykjavik.
_____
Destroyer ANTHONY departed
Scapa Flow for Scrabster at 1615 to embark special
personnel, and arrived back later that evening.
_____
Anti-aircraft ship
ALYNBANK departed Scapa Flow at 1800 and escorted convoy
WN.61 to southward. On the 4th, she transferred to
convoy EC.54 in
the vicinity of Tod Head, and arrived at Scapa Flow at
0030/6th after parting from the convoy to the
west of the Orkneys.
_____
Minesweeper NIGER departed
Scapa Flow at 0300
for Dundee to refit, arriving at 2100 for refitting
which
was completed on 28 September. She returned to Dundee on 6 October for further refitting which continued until 15 December.
_____
CAM (Catapult-Armed
Merchantman) ship MAPLIN, which had left convoy OG.70 en
route
to convoy SL.81, scored the first success for a ship of
this type when her
Hurricane shot down a German FW 200 aircraft. LT (A) R.
W. H. Everett RNVR was the pilot, and after his success,
landed in the sea near destroyer WANDERER of convoy
SL.81 and was rescued.
_____
U.401 was sunk by
convoy SL.81 escorts, destroyers
WANDERER and ST.ALBANS and corvette HYDRANGEA, formerly
of convoy SC.81,
south of Iceland, in 50-27N, 19-50W. The entire crew of
forty four
were lost. Destroyer CAMPBELTOWN and corvettes LA
MALOUINE,
ZINNIA, CAMPANULA, BLUEBELL, WALLFLOWER, CARNATION, and
HELIOTROPE were also
escorting this convoy.
_____
Convoy WS.10 was formed at
sea from ships departing
Avonmouth on 30 July, Liverpool on 31 July, and the
Clyde on the 2nd. It was composed of
steamers PHEMIUS,
DIOMED, INDIAN PRINCE, INDRAPOERA, ANDES, RANGITIKI,
ORCADES, BRITANNIC, HIGHLAND MONARCH, MANCHESTER PORT,
STARTHALLAN, VOLENDAM, CAMERONIA, REINA DEL PACIFICO,
NEA HELLAS, STIRLING CASTLE, WINDSOR
CASTLE, WARWICK
CASTLE, and NIGERSTROOM.
On the 6th, steamers
WINDSOR
CASTLE and WARWICK
CASTLE collided. WARWICK
CASTLE was detached to Halifax
and escorted by armed merchant cruiser WORCESTERSHIRE.
The convoy was escorted by
armed merchant cruiser
WORCESTERSHIRE and destroyers GURKHA, PIORUN, ISAAC
SWEERS, BROADWAY, LANCE,
and LEGION from 2 to 6 August.
Anti-aircraft cruiser
CAIRO and destroyers WHITEHALL, WITCH, and WINCHELSEA
escorted the convoy from 2
to 5 August.
Heavy cruiser LONDON
escorted the convoy from 2 to 10 August. On the
10th, light cruiser EDINBURGH, which departed Gibraltar
on the 8th, relieved the heavy cruiser and
escorted the convoy until 17 August when it arrived at
Freetown. The heavy cruiser proceeded to 40N, 30W to
attempt to intercept an armed enemy merchant ship
reported by civil aircraft.
Destroyers WRESTLER and
VELOX and corvette BERGAMOT
escorted the convoy from 14 to 17 August and corvette
CYCLAMEN escorted the
convoy from 15 to 17 August.
Destroyer JUPITER was
involved in the escort of the
convoy at some time prior to the arrival at Freetown.
The convoy arrived at
Freetown on the 17th. The convoy departed on the 21st,
escorted by light cruiser EDINBURGH to 2 September when
BRITANNIC,
INDRAPOERA, REINA DEL PACIFICO, STIRLING
CASTLE, STRATHALLAN, VOLENDAM, WINDSOR
CASTLE, NIGERSTROOM , and PHEMIUS arrived at Capetown.
On 6 September, liners
ORCADES, ANDES, CAMERONIA, HIGHLAND PATRIOT, NEA HELLAS, RANGITIKI, DIOMED, INDIAN
PRINCE, and MANCHESTER
PORT arrived at Durban, escorted by heavy cruiser
HAWKINS.
On 6 September, liners
BRITANNIC, STIRLING
CASTLE, WINDSOR
CASTLE, VOLENDAM, INDRAPOERA, STRATHALLAN, NIGERSTROOM, and PHEMIUS departed
Capetown escorted by armed merchant cruiser
CARNARVON
CASTLE.
Liner BRITANNIC was
detached on 8 September to Durban to embark passengers
from liner CAMERONIA. She
rejoined with steamer ARONDA departing Durban on 9
September with heavy cruiser HAWKINS.
On rendezvous, armed
merchant cruiser CARNARVON CASTLE was detached with VOLENDAM, INDRAPOERA, PHEMIUS, and NIGERSTROOM to
Durban.
Heavy cruiser HAWKINS then
escorted the convoy until
15 September in 3-25S, 51-12E, when light cruiser
EMERALD took over the
escort of the convoy.
The convoy arrived at
Bombay on 20 September.
Steamers not departing
Capetown on 6 September went
forward to Aden in convoy CM.17.
_____
Convoy OS.2 departed
Liverpool. On the 4th, destroyers CHELSEA and WOLVERINE
joined the convoy and were detached on the 8th. Also
joining on the 4th were
sloop SANDWICH which was detached on the 19th, corvettes
GENTIAN, HIBISCUS,
and MYOSOTIS which were detached on the 8th, and
anti-submarine yacht
PHILANTE which was detached on the 19th. French sloop
COMMANDANT DOMINE
joined the convoy on the 4th and was detached on the
18th.
On the 7th, destroyers
VICEROY and WOOLSTON joined
the convoy and were detached on 9 and 10 August,
respectively.
On the 19th, destroyer
BRILLIANT and corvettes
AMARANTHUS, ARMERIA, and WOODRUFF joined the convoy and
arrived at Freetown with the convoy on the 22nd.
_____
Dutch submarine O.21
unsuccessfully attacked a
sailing vessel south of Sardinia.
_____
Submarine UTMOST arrived
at Malta from patrol.
_____
Belgian motor vessel ESCAUT
(1087grt) was sunk by
German bombing 17.3 cables 232° from South Beacon Ships
Head, Attika
Bay,
Suez. The Master and two crew were missing.
_____
Belgian tanker ALEXANDRE
ANDRE (5322grt) was
damaged by German bombing eight miles S of Suez.
_____
Australian sloop
PARRAMATTA arrived at Port Said from Famagusta.
_____
Sloop FLAMINGO departed
Port Said with motor transport ship KEVINBANK for
Famagusta in Serial S.12 of the GUILLOTINE operation.
they
arrived on the 5th.
_____
Australian minesweeper
BATHURST passed through the Suez Canal and proceeded to
Alexandria for duty with the Mediterranean Fleet.
BATHURST and LISMORE had been retained at Suez to assist
with the large liners of the US.11A
convoy.
_____
Tanker DESMOULEA (8120grt)
was damaged by
German bombing at Suez off the west beacon, and towed to
Bombay for repairs.
_____
Italian steamer ELISA
(216grt) was sunk by British
bombing off Benghazi.
_____
Destroyers WIVERN, WILD
SWAN, and BOREAS departed
Freetown at 0800 to proceed to Bathurst to refuel en
route to Gibraltar.
Monday,
4 August
Destroyers ORIBI and
CROOME departed Scapa Flow at 0720 for Scrabster and
returned to Scapa Flow at 1130 with personnel.
_____
Battleship PRINCE OF WALES
departed
Scapa Flow at
1730 escorted by destroyers ORIBI, HAVELOCK, HARVESTER,
and HESPERUS, but ORIBI returned to
Scapa Flow that evening. The other destroyers were
detached at 0030/5th in heavy
weather and proceeded to Reykjavik.
On the 6th, the battleship
was met by Canadian
destroyers RESTIGOUCHE and ASSINIBOINE and destroyer
RIPLEY, which came out from Iceland.
PRINCE OF WALES and her
destroyer escort arrived at Placentia Bay on the 9th.
In harbour at this time
were American battleship
ARKANSAS, heavy cruisers AUGUSTA and TUSCALOOSA,
destroyers MCDOUGAL,
MADISON, SAMPSON, WINSLOW, MOFFETT, BELKNAP, RHIND, and
MAYRANT, Destroyer
READING, and American oiler SALINAS.
RESTIGOUCHE while
refuelling touched
ground and damaged her screws. She was repaired at St
Johns and Halifax, completing on 9 October.
The Atlantic Charter was
signed on the 10th.
PRINCE OF WALES departed
Placentia Bay on
the 14th escorted by RIPLEY, ASSINIBOINE, SAGUENAY, and
READING and the American RHIND and MAYRANT.
RIPLEY and READING were
detached on the 16th.
Destroyers TARTAR,
PUNJABI, and ESCAPADE departed Scapa Flow at 1530/11th
and arrived at Hvalfjord at
2100/12th. The destroyers put to sea on the 14th to meet
the battleship.
At 0900/16th, the
battleship arrived at Hvalfjord,
escorted by TARTAR, PUNJABI, and ESCAPADE. Churchill
went on to Reykjavik on ASSINIBOINE.
Churchill addressed the
crews of ships at Hvalfjord
on this date. Included at Hvalfjord on the 16th were
American battleship
NEW MEXICO, battleship RAMILLIES, heavy cruisers
SHROPSHIRE and QUINCEY, five destroyers, including
CHURCHILL,
five US.destroyers and destroyer depot ship HECLA.
PRINCE OF WALES departed
Hvalfjord at 2045/16th escorted by
TARTAR, PUNJABI, and ESCAPADE.
On the 17th, when a
submarine was reported off Cape Wrath, destroyers
ECLIPSE and ORIBI departed Scapa Flow to search for the
submarine. The destroyers joined
the battleship at midnight on the 17th.
The battleship, escorted
by the five destroyers,
arrived at Scapa Flow at 0900/20th.
_____
Ex-US Coast Guard cutter.
escort ship BANFF was damaged in a collision with a
Thames lighter in the Thames Estuary.
She had just departed
Tilbury, and
returned following for repairs, which were completed on
the
8th.
_____
Submarines TIGRIS and TRIDENT departed Holy Loch 26 July and 1 August, respectively and
arrived at Polyarnoe on the 4th and 10 August.
They were relieved by
submarines SEALION and SEAWOLF, which departed
Portsmouth on 16 and 25 October, respectively and
arrived at
Polyarnoe on 6 and 10 November. These two then returned
to Home Waters in
December, and were relieved by submarine STURGEON which
departed Scapa Flow on 1 January and arrived on 11
January.
_____
Steamer
TUNISIA
(4337grt) was sunk by German bombing in 53-53N,
18-10W. Thirty eight crew of a crew of 43 were
missing.
_____
U.126 sank fishing trawler
ROBERT
MAX
(172grt) with gunfire in 36-47N, 21-15W. The crew of six
were all rescued and landed at Ponta Delgada.
_____
Force H and Force X
arrived at Gibraltar.
On the 8th, destroyers
COSSACK, MAORI, ZULU, and
LIGHTNING escorted battlecruiser RENOWN and troopship
PASTEUR, carrying
15 officers and 157 ratings of damaged light
cruiser MANCHESTER to the Clyde.
Destroyers INGLEFIELD,
IMPULSIVE, and ECLIPSE
departed Scapa Flow at 2000/11th to meet the
battlecruiser at
1700/12th in 55-45N, 13W and escort her to Rosyth for
refitting, arriving at
0945/14th. INGLEFIELD was taken in hand for boiler
cleaning.
The Force H destroyers and
the troopship arrived in
the Clyde. MAORI proceeded to London for refitting. The
other two Tribal destroyers
returned to the Mediterranean escorting convoy WS.11
which departed the Clyde on the 30th. LIGHTNING returned to the Home Fleet.
_____
Submarine UNIQUE arrived
at Malta from patrol.
_____
Light cruiser CALEDON
departed Suez for Bombay where she was refitting from 18
August to 13
October.
_____
Light cruiser CARLISLE departed Alexandria for Suez
to provide anti-aircraft defense.
_____
Light cruiser NEPTUNE,
minelaying cruiser ABDIEL,
and destroyers JACKAL and KIPLING departed Alexandria
for Port Said for one serial of GUILLOTINE operation.
The ships would
then relieve light cruiser HOBART and destroyers at
Haifa.
_____
Destroyers JAGUAR and
NIZAM carried supplies to
Tobruk.
_____
Minesweeping whaler SOTRA
(A/Lt J. M. Davies RCNVR)
was attacked by German aircraft off Mersa Matruh.
T/Skipper W. T. Allen RNR, was killed.
_____
Corvette VERVAIN broke
down with boiler problems at 18-50N, 20-35W while on
patrol duty . On the 5th, she was able to
proceed on one boiler, but by mid-afternoon on the 8th,
could not steam at all with both boilers defective.
Corvette CLOVER took
her in tow for Freetown, arriving on the 9th.
_____
Ocean boarding vessel
CAVINA intercepted German
steamer FRANKFURT
(5522grt) west of the Azores in 31-34N, 37-42W. The steamer
scuttled herself to avoid capture, and 26 crew were
rescued. A second boatload refused to be picked
up and were lost.
CALVINA arrived at Gibraltar on the 11th.
Tuesday,
5 August
Heavy cruiser DEVONSHIRE,
aircraft carrier VICTORIOUS, and destroyers INGLEFIELD,
ICARUS, and ESCAPADE arrived at Seidisfjord. The ships
departed the next day
for Scapa Flow, where they arrived on the 7th.
_____
Heavy cruiser SHROPSHIRE
departed Hvalfjord to cover minelaying cruiser
ADVENTURE's return from Archangel. After successfully
escorting ADVENTURE, SHROPSHIRE arrived back at
Hvalfjord on the 10th. ADVENTURE arrived at Loch Alsh on
the 11th.
_____
French submarine MINERVE
arrived at Scapa Flow from a submarine patrol off the
Faroes.
_____
Convoy SL.81 was attacked
on the 5th by U-boats. U.372 sank steamers BELGRAVIAN
(3136grt) in 53-03N, 16-54W and SWIFTPOOL
(5205grt) in
53-03N, 16-00W. Two crew were lost from BELGRAVIAN, and
forty two crew from SWIFTPOOL out of
a crew of 49.
U.372 claimed to have
damaged steamer
VOLTURNO (3424grt), but she was undamaged, and U.204
made a similar claim for another large steamer.
U.75 sank steamer
HARLINGEN
(5415grt) and badly damaged
CAPE RODNEY (4512grt) in
53-26N, 15-40W. Two crew were lost on HARLINGEN, but the
entire crew of CAPE RODNEY was rescued. CAPE RODNEY
was taken in tow for Rothesay
Bay,
but sank in tow on the 9th in 52-44N, 11-41W.
U.74 made four attacks on
the convoy (presumably and sank steamer KUMASIAN (4922grt)
in 53-26N, 15-40W, with the loss of one crewman.
_____
Battleship QUEEN
ELIZABETH, light cruiser NAIAD,
and destroyer JERVIS, KINGSTON,
HERO, and VENDETTA departed Alexandria for exercises.
Battleship, cruiser, HERO
and VENDETTA arrived back at Alexandria on the 6th.
However, JERVIS and KINGSTON were detached for Mersa
Matruh to
intercept a reported enemy supply ship. No contact was
made and they returned to
Alexandria, arriving on the 7th.
_____
Australian light cruiser
HOBART and destroyers KANDAHAR,
KIMBERLEY, and KIPLING arrived at Port Said from Haifa.
They sailed again later that day for Famagusta in Serial
S.14 of the GUILLOTINE operation. They arrived on the
8th.
The light cruiser and the
destroyers arrived back
at Alexandria on the 6th.
Australian sloop
PARRAMATTA departed Port Said, escorting motor ship
GUJARAT to Famagusta in Serial S.12 of
the GUILLOTINE operation. they
arrived on the 7th.
Light cruiser NEPTUNE,
minelaying cruiser ABDIEL,
and destroyers JACKAL and KIPLING arrived at Port Said
from Alexandria. KIPLING departed that day for Serial
S.14 of the GUILLOTINE Operation.
_____
Greek destroyer
KONDOURIOTIS departed Alexandria carrying torpedoes for
Fleet Air Arm Squadron 815
at Famagusta, and arrived back at Alexandria on the 7th.
_____
Destroyers HERO and DECOY
carried supplies to
Tobruk.
_____
Cruiser minelayer MANXMAN
and light cruiser
ARETHUSA departed Gibraltar for Loch Alsh and the Clyde, respectively. ARETHUSA
arrived in the Clyde on the 10th.
_____
Convoy SL.83 departed
Freetown escorted by armed merchant cruisers CATHAY and CITY OF DURBAN to 28
August, destroyer BRILLIANT to 11 August,
sloop MILFORD to 9 August, and corvettes ANCHUSA,
ASPHODEL, and
CALENDULA to 8 August and LAVENDER to 7 August. The
corvettes joined convoy
OS.1 and escorted it to Freetown.
Sloop WELLINGTON to 28
August and escort vessels CULVER to 28
August and LANDGUARD to 23 July joined on the 8th.
On the 22nd, ocean
boarding vessel CORINTHIAN
joined to 28 August.
Destroyers CHELSEA and
WOLVERINE joined on the 24th to 28 August.
The convoy arrived at
Liverpool on the 28th.
_____
Convoy HX.143 departed
Halifax escorted by destroyers ANNAPOLIS and NIAGARA and armed
merchant cruiser WOLFE. The destroyers were detached
that night. Corvettes
DAUPHIN and NAPANEE joined on the 6th and were detached
on the 7th. Destroyer
BURNHAM and corvettes AGASSIZ, GALT, LEVIS, and MAYFLOWER
joined on the 8th. The escorts were
detached on the 17th when relieved by destroyers
MALCOLM, SARDONYX, SCIMITAR,
and WATCHMAN, corvettes ARABIS, VERBENA, and VIOLET, and
anti-submarine
trawlers NORTHERN GEM, NORTHERN PRIDE, and NORTHERN
WAVE. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on the 20th.
_____
American heavy cruisers
NORTHAMPTON and SALT LAKE CITY arrived at Brisbane,
followed by Port Moresby on the 13th and Rabaul on the
16th on goodwill
visits.
Wednesday,
6 August
Destroyers CASTLETON,
CHARLESTOWN, and ECHO departed Scapa Flow at 1000
for Greenock to join destroyer INTREPID, which departed
Loch
Alsh for the Clyde, for escort duties with convoy SW.8
C.
The destroyers arrived at
0700/7th.
_____
Destroyer IMPULSIVE
departed the Humber at 1900 on completion of refitting for
Scapa Flow.
The destroyer arrived at
1630/7th.
_____
Anti-aircraft ship CURACOA
departed Scapa Flow at 1000 to join convoy EC.55 off
Buchan Ness and
escort it to Pentland Firth.
After this escort, the
ship arrived back at Scapa Flow at 0345/7th.
_____
Convoy ON.4 departed
Liverpool, escorted by corvette SNOWDROP and minesweeper
SEAGULL. The convoy was joined on the 7th by corvettes
HEATHER, ORCHIS, and
PICOTEE, and anti-submarine trawlers ARAB, AYRSHIRE, and
ST.LOMAN. Destroyers
BEAGLE, BOADICEA, ROSBOROUGH, and SALISBURY, and
anti-submarine trawlers LADY MADELEINE and NORWICH CITY
on the 8th. These escorts were all detached on the
12th. On the 11th, corvettes BITTERSWEET, CANDYTUFT, and
FENNEL joined and on
the 15th, corvettes ALBERNI, ORILLIA, and PRIMROSE
joined. The corvettes escorted the
convoy until it was dispersed on the 18th.
_____
Convoy ON.5 departed
Liverpool, escorted by anti-submarine trawlers MAN O WAR
and NORTHERN DAWN. On the 7th, destroyers
KEPPEL, LINCOLN, and SHIKARI and corvettes ALISMA,
DIANELLA, and SUNFLOWER.
Minesweepers HAZARD and HEBE joined on the 8th. These
escorts were all
detached on the 11th. On the 11th, destroyer SKEENA, armed merchant cruiser MONTCLARE, and corvettes ALBERNI,
ORILLIA, and PRIMROSE
joined. These escorts were detached
on the 14th when the convoy was dispersed.
_____
Anti-aircraft ship
ALYNBANK departed Scapa Flow at 1830 and escorted convoy
WN.62 to May Island.
The ship arrived back at
Scapa Flow at 0300 after parting company with convoy
EC.56 in
Pentland Firth.
_____
Anti-submarine trawler AGATE
(627grt, Lt L. H.
Cline RNVR) was lost when she ran aground off Cromer in
heavy weather. Cline, T/Sub Lt P. G. Beard RNVR, T/Sub
Lt A. G.
Tree RNVR, and the entire crew were lost.
_____
U.652 sank Soviet
anti-submarine trawler KAPITAN
VORONIN (558grt) off Cape Teriberka.
_____
Dutch submarine O.24 sank
Italian steamer
BOMBARDIERE (613grt) six miles off Fregene in
41-47N, 12-06E.
_____
On the 4th, an Italian
convoy of steamers AQUITANIA
(4971grt), NITA (6813grt), CASTELVERDE (6666grt),
ERNESTO (7272grt), and
NIRVO (5164grt) departed Naples for Tripoli escorted by
destroyers AVIERE,
GENIERE, CAMICIA NERA, GIOBERTI, ORIANI and torpedo boat
CALLIOPE. Tanker POZARICA joined from Palermo on the
5th. On the 6th, NITA was sunk by British
aircraft of 830 Squadron from
Malta 20 miles SW of Lampedusa in 35-15N, 12-17E.
Destroyer CAMICIA NERA and torpedo boat CALLIOPE
assisted her. The convoy arrived at Tripoli on the 7th.
_____
Anti-aircraft ship
CARLISLE arrived at Suez to give
anti-aircraft protection to ships in the
anchorage.
_____
Destroyers HAVOCK and
DECOY ran supplies to Tobruk.
Destroyers NIZAM and
JAGUAR departed Alexandria later that day to carry
supplies to Tobruk. The
destroyers arrived back at Alexandria on the 7th.
_____
Netlayer PROTECTOR
departed Alexandria for Suez with nets to be laid as
anti torpedo baffles.
_____
Convoy HG.34F of steamers
THERMOPYLAE and TALABOT for New York and LEINSTER and
AMERIKA for Liverpool departed Gibraltar escorted
by destroyers FORESIGHT, FOXHOUND, HIGHLANDER, and
WISHART.
Destroyer WISHART was
detached on the 8th and
proceeded to Southampton for refitting. Destroyer
FORESIGHT was detached on
the 8th to convoy OG.70 and return to Gibraltar.
Destroyer FOXHOUND was detached on the 13th for
refitting at Sheerness. Destroyer HIGHLANDER arrived
with the two steamers at
Liverpool on the 14th.
_____
Destroyer HIGHLANDER,
which departed Freetown on 30 July, arrived at
Gibraltar.
_____
Dutch submarine O.21
arrived at Gibraltar from patrol in the Mediterranean.
_____
American aircraft carrier
WASP, battleship
MISSISSIPPI, heavy cruisers QUINCY, WICHITA and five
destroyers arrived at Reykjavik
with transport AMERICAN LEGION, stores ship MIZAR and
cargo ship ALMAACK with
US Army troops.
Thursday,
7 August
Destroyers ANTELOPE and
ACTIVE arrived Seidisfjord
at 0600 on completion of Operation EF.
ACTIVE departed later in
the day for Scapa Flow arriving at 1330/8th.
ANTELOPE departed at 2200
escorting
damaged destroyer ACHATES in the tow of tug ASSURANCE
sailing for the Tyne.
At 2200/10th, the
destroyers arrived at the Faroes
after having been hove to in bad weather. They later
arrived at Skaalefjord
at 1230/11th.
ANTELOPE departed and went
on to Scapa Flow, arriving at 2200/11th.
_____
Heavy cruiser DEVONSHIRE,
aircraft carrier VICTORIOUS, and destroyers
INGLEFIELD, ICARUS, and ESCAPADE arrived at Scapa Flow
at 2330 on completion of Operation EF.
_____
Light cruisers NIGERIA and
AURORA and destroyers TARTAR and PUNJABI arrived at
Scapa Flow at 1815 on completion of Operation FB.
_____
Destroyer SOMALI departed
Southampton for
Greenock on
completion of refitting.
The destroyer arrived at
Greenock at 1700/8th and sailed at 2200 for
Scapa Flow, where she
arrived at 1700/9th.
_____
Minesweeper HARRIER
departed Seidisfjord to
investigate a submarine and minesweeping search in
Vidfjord.
_____
T/Sub Lt (A) J. R. Allen
RNVR, Leading Airman A. A.
Shields, and Mr. J. Goddard were killed when their
Albacore of 820 Squadron
crashed off Stokes Bay Pier.
_____
Motor minesweeper
MMS.39
was lost on a mine in the Thames Estuary.
_____
Submarine
SEVERN
unsuccessfully attacked a submarine in 34-48N, 13-04W.
_____
Tanker GOLD SHELL
(8208grt) was damaged by German bombing in
55-05N, 1-32E. She was towed to Hull and then taken to
Middlesborough for repairs.
_____
Dutch submarine O.24 sank
Italian coastal steamer
MARGHERITA MADRE (296grt) 15 miles off Anzio in
41-23N, 12-38E. The submarine had made an unsuccessful
attack on
another steamer in the Ligurian Sea
four hours earlier.
_____
Light cruiser NEPTUNE,
minelaying cruiser ABDIEL,
and destroyer JACKAL departed Port Said for Famagusta in
Serial S.15 of the GUILLOTINE operation. The troops were
landed during the night of 7/8
August. They ships then proceeded to Haifa.
_____
Destroyers KANDAHAR and
KIMBERLEY departed Alexandria for Mersa Matruh, but they
were recalled at dark.
_____
Tug AMIRAL LACAZE (332grt)
was sunk by German
bombing at Famagusta, but was later refloated and
repaired.
_____
The 17th Motor Launch
Flotilla of ML.242,ML 266, ML.256,ML 261, ML.263,ML
265, and ML.274 arrived at Gibraltar, escorted by
anti-submarine whaler SOUTHERN GEM. ML.272 of the
Flotilla arrived on the 8th,
escorted by anti-submarine whaler SOUTHERN PRIDE. On the
16th, the Flotilla, escorted by the
two whalers and anti-submarine trawler ARRAN departed Gibraltar for
Bathurst, arriving on the 23rd. The ML’s and whalers
proceeded to Freetown separately at the end of the
month.
Friday,
8 August
Destroyer PUCKERIDGE
arrived at Scapa Flow at 1300 from Rosyth to work up.
_____
Destroyer ACTIVE departed
Scapa Flow at 2000 for Rosyth for boiler cleaning. The
destroyer arrived at 0700/9th.
_____
Destroyer CROOME departed
Scapa Flow at 1730 for Liverpool on completion of
working up exercises, and arrived at 1500/9th.
_____
Polish destroyer GARLAND
arrived at Hvalfjord with anti-submarine trawler
SEALYHAM and oiler OLIGARCH, and then reverted to the
Western Approaches
Command.
_____
Anti-aircraft ship CURACOA
departed Scapa Flow at 1200 to escort convoy WN.63 from
Pentland Firth southward. She arrived at Rosyth at
0600/11th to clean
boilers and carry out repairs.
_____
Convoy WS.8C (Exercise
LEAPFROG) departed the Clyde
at 0500/8th with landing ships KARANJA, ROYAL SCOTSMAN,
ULSTER MONARCH,
BACHAQUERO, MISOA, QUEEN EMMA, and PRINCE CHARLES,
oilers DEWDALE and
ENNERDALE, steamers NARKUNDA, WINCHESTER CASTLE, BATORY,
ORMONDE, CLAN
MACDONALD, MACHARDA, SUFFOLK, DUNEDIN STAR, SILVERTEAK,
and POTARO, escorted by destroyers
BULLDOG, INTREPID, ECHO, CHARLESTOWN, CASTLETON,
WHITEHALL, WINCHELSEA,
and WITCH. This convoy was the force for the intended
seizure of the Azores Islands.
The convoy entered Scapa
Flow on the 10th. Steamers SUFFOLK and POTARO were in a
collision when entering Scapa
Flow.
Destroyers DOUGLAS,
LEAMINGTON, GEORGETOWN, and SALADIN arrived at Scapa
Flow on the 15th to escort the convoy.
When the operation was
cancelled, the ships, less
SUFFOLK and POTARO, sailed for the Clyde at 1400/15th,
escorted by destroyers
DOUGLAS, LEAMINGTON, INTREPID, CHARLESTOWN, CASTLETON,
GEORGETOWN, ANTELOPE,
SALADIN, and LEAMINGTON and anti-aircraft ship POZARICA.
The convoy arrived back in
the Clyde on the 17th.
_____
Steam fishing
trawler OCEAN VICTOR (202grt)
was sunk by German bombing off Iceland.
_____
Minesweeper SELKIRK was
damaged by a near miss of
German bombing, but did not spend any time out of
action.
_____
Swedish steamer VENERSBORG
(1065grt) was damaged by
bombing in the Great Belt, and towed to a Danish port.
_____
Soviet destroyer KARL
MARX was sunk by German
bombing at Reval.
_____
Destroyers HERO and JAGUAR
departed Alexandria for Mersa Matruh to intercept an
enemy supply ship
reported by air. No contact was made and the destroyers
returned to Alexandria, arriving on the 9th.
_____
Destroyers DECOY and
HOTSPUR were at sea exercising
with submarine OTUS.
_____
Sloop FLAMINGO departed
Port Said with motor transport ship SALAMAUA for
Famagusta in Serial S.16 of the GUILLOTINE operation.
The sloop arrived at
Famagusta on the 10th and sailed for Port Said, where
she arrived on the 11th.
Serial S.17 of the
Operation was cancelled.
_____
Destroyers VANSITTART and
VELOX joined aircraft
carrier EAGLE and light cruiser DUNEDIN at sea and
escorted them to Freetown, arriving on the 10th.
_____
Convoy BA.4 departed
Bombay, escorted by armed merchant cruiser HECTOR, sloop
CORNWALLIS, and auxiliary patrol ship DIPAVATI. The
sloop and patrol vessel
were detached on the 9th. The convoy was dispersed on
the 12th.
Saturday,
9 August
Destroyer ELECTRA, her
refitting completed,
departed Sheerness at 0615 as additional escort for
convoy FN.503. Steamer CORDENE (2345grt) in the
convoy was sunk by German bombing in 53-00-32N,
1-48-30E, but the entire crew was
rescued. ELECTRA arrived at Scapa Flow on the 11th.
_____
Dutch submarine O.14
departed Scapa Flow for the Faroes and anti-submarine
patrol.
_____
Motor gunboat MGB.62 was
sunk in a collision in the
North Sea.
_____
Norwegian submarine B.1
was damaged by an explosion
of her battery and ammunition while under repair at
Blyth.
_____
Steamer GLENDALOUGH
(868grt) was damaged by
German bombing in 52-56N, 2-02E, towed to Yarmouth
Roads, then to Hull.
_____
Norwegian steamer DAGNY I
(1392grt) was sent by
light cruiser NIGERIA from Spitzbergen to
Thorshavn, and safely
arrived on the 7th. The steamer and whaler WASTWATER
then departed at 1105/9th for
Kirkwall. En route, DAGNY I was attacked by
German bombers in 61-40N, 6-10W at 1430/9th and sank at
0900/10th in tow of trawler
LEICESTER CITY. Two passengers were killed, and the
survivors rescued by LEICESTER CITY.
Destroyer IMPULSIVE
departed Scapa Flow at 0600/10th and proceeded to
Thorshavn to embark
the 61 survivors from the steamer. She arrived at 1800
and
departed at 1930 for Scrabster, arrived there at
0700/11th and disembarked the volunteers. IMPULSIVE
arrived back at Scapa Flow at 0840.
_____
German destroyers HANS
LODY, FRIEDRICH ECKHOLDT, and RICHARD BEITZEN made a
sweep towards Kilden Island and the mouth of the Kola Inlet, and
sank Soviet patrol ship SKR.12.
On their return, RICHARD BEITZEN was bombed and damaged
by near misses from Soviet aircraft. The destroyers
arrived back on the 10th.
_____
U.144 was sunk by
Soviet submarine SC.307 in the
Gulf of Bothnia.
_____
German steamer GERTRUD
III
(210grt) was sunk on a mine near Windau.
_____
Destroyers JERVIS and
KINGSTON departed Alexandria for Mersa Matruh, and
returned to Alexandria on the 10th.
_____
Destroyers DECOY and
HAVOCK departed Alexandria with supplies for Tobruk.
_____
Destroyers KANDAHAR and
VENDETTA departed Alexandria to rescue a crew of a
bomber in the sea about 180 miles northwest of
Alexandria, but were later recalled.
_____
Convoy HG.70 departed
Gibraltar, escorted by destroyers ERIDGE and AVONVALE,
submarine CLYDE, corvettes BEGONIA, JASMINE, LARKSPUR,
PIMPERNEL,
and RHODODENDRON, and anti-submarine trawlers LADY
HOGARTH and LADY SHIRLEY.
The trawlers were detached that night.
Destroyers FAULKNOR joined
the escort on the 10th as Senior Office Escort. She was
returning to England for turbine repairs at Portsmouth.
CLYDE was detached
and arrived at Gibraltar on the 11th. On the 11th,
destroyers ENCOUNTER, NESTOR, sloop DEPTFORD, and
corvette CONVOLVULUS joined. All but NESTOR of
this group were detached that evening.
On the 12th, BOREAS and
WILD SWAN joined the
escort. They had departed Gibraltar on the 11th with
destroyers DUNCAN and FORESTER,
later joined by destroyer FURY, for an anti-submarine
sweep west. After the
sweep, the two destroyers proceeded to join HG.70.
Sloop STORK joined the
convoy on the 13th and was
detached that evening.
BOREAS and NESTOR were
detached on the 13th, AVONVALE and ERIDGE on the 14th,
and WILD SWAN on the 15th. They all
arrived at Gibraltar on the 16th.
Destroyer COSSACK joined
the escort on the 14th and
was detached that night. Destroyer DUNCAN, which
departed Gibraltar on the 13th, and sloop BLACK SWAN
joined the
escort on the 15th.
BLACK SWAN was detached on
the 21st.
DUNCAN arrived at Londonderry on the 20th; she departed
on the 22nd for convoy
OG.72 for the return to Gibraltar.
The convoy arrived at
Liverpool on the 23rd.
_____
After a commercial
aircraft sighted a suspicious
merchant ship in 46-37N, 9-22W, destroyer WISHART, which
had been detached
from convoy HG.34F on the 8th, was directed to
investigate.
Light cruiser HERMIONE
departed Gibraltar at 2330/9th to attempt to locate
merchant ship.
On the 10th, heavy cruiser
LONDON, detached from convoy WS.10, also proceeded to
this position.
No contact was made by any
of the searching
warships. On the 11th, HERMIONE was ordered to return to
Gibraltar, arriving on the 13th.
_____
Destroyer DUNCAN departed
Gibraltar to join destroyers WIVERN, WILD SWAN, and
BOREAS,
which had departed Freetown on the 3rd and refuelled at
Bathurst, en route. WIVERN had developed condenser
problems
and was in tow. The four destroyers arrived at Gibraltar
on the 10th.
_____
Submarine
SEVERN sighted an Italian
submarine in 35-16N, 10-09W, but the Italian submerged
before
SEVERN could attack.
_____
Submarine PARTHIAN arrived
at Gibraltar from Malta. On the 11th, she departed
Gibraltar for Portsmouth. On the 28th, she left
Portsmouth and arrived at Portsmouth, New Hampshire on
16 September for refitting completed on 30 January
1942.
Sunday,
10 August
Light cruiser ARETHUSA
arrived in the Clyde from Gibraltar.
_____
Anti-aircraft ship
ALYNBANK departed Scapa Flow at 2130 and escorted convoy
WN.65 from Pentland Firth to Methil, where they arrived
at 2039 on the 11th.
_____
U.79,U 93, U.94, U.109,
U.124, U.126, U.331, and
U.371 and Italian boats FINZI, MARCONI, and VENIERO
concentrate on shipping,
thought to be convoy HG.69, from 10 to 16 August, but no
ships were lost.
_____
German fishing vessel H.
A. W. MULLER (460grt) was sunk by British bombing
near Lindesnes.
_____
U.451 sank Soviet patrol
ship ZHEMCHUNG west of
Kanin.
_____
Destroyers KANDAHAR and
KIMBERLEY departed Alexandria for Mersa Matruh to act as
a strike force. Originally, their orders called for an
attack on
Bardia harbour during the night of 10/11 August, but
this was later
cancelled. They returned to Alexandria on the 11th.
_____
Destroyers DECOY and
HAVOCK departed Alexandria to carry supplies to Tobruk,
and arrived back at
Alexandria on the 11th.
_____
Australian destroyer
VENDETTA departed Alexandria for Haifa for mechanical
repairs.
_____
Corvettes FLEUR DE LYS and
AZALEA departed Gibraltar to meet arriving tanker CAPSA
(8229grt)
from Trinidad, while
destroyer VIDETTE and anti-submarine trawler
ST.NECTAN left to meet arriving tanker BENEDICK
(6978grt)
from Curacao. Both groups arrived at Gibraltar on the
17th.
_____
Submarine
SEVERN arrived at Gibraltar
from patrol in the Atlantic.
_____
Convoy HX.144 departed
Halifax, escorted by destroyer ANNAPOLIS and armed
merchant cruiser MALOJA. On the 11th, corvettes
DAUPHIN and NAPANEE joined, and on the 13th the
destroyers BURWELL and COLUMBIA and corvettes DIANTHUS,
HONEYSUCKLE, and
SNOWBERRY. Corvettes DAUPHIN and NAPANEE were detached
on the 12th and
destroyer ANNAPOLIS was detached on the 13th. The
remaining escorts
were detached on the 22nd when relieved by destroyers
AMAZON, BELMONT,
DULLDOG, GEORGETOWN, SKATE, WESTCOTT, WHITEHALL, and
WITCH, corvettes AUBRETIA and HEARTSEASE,
minesweeper BRITOMART, and anti-submarine trawlers
ANGLE, CAPE
WARWICK, DANEMAN, and NOTTS
COUNTY. Destroyers SKATE, WESTCOTT,
WHITEHALL, and WITCH, the
minesweeper, and the trawlers were
detached later that day. Corvette NIGELLA joined on the
23rd. On the 24th,
destroyers BURNHAM and CHURCHILL joined for the day.
Destroyers BELMONT and GEORGETOWN were detached on the
27th, destroyers AMAZON and
BULLDOG and corvette AUBRETIA on the 28th, and corvettes
HEARTSEASE and
NIGELLA on the 29th. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on
the 30th.
_____
Convoy SC.40 departed
Sydney, CB escorted by corvettes BARRIE, CHICOUTIMI, and
MATAPEDIA. These escorts were detached on the
13th, when relieved by destroyer NIAGARA and
corvettes ALYSSE, CELANDINE, and COLLINGWOOD.
Armed
merchant cruiser CHITRAL joined on the 19th. The escorts
were detached on the
22nd. On the 22nd, destroyers DOUGLAS, LEAMINGTON, and
VETERAN, corvettes ABELIA, ANEMONE, and
VERONICA, and minesweepers LEDA and SPEEDY. On the 28th,
minesweepers
GOSSAMER, HAZARD, and HEBE joined. The convoy arrived at
Liverpool on the 29th.
_____
Heavy cruiser EXETER
arrived at Bombay from Aden, and departed on the 11th,
escorting convoy
BP.12 of troopships KHEDIVE ISMAEL, RAJULA, TALMA,
VARELA, LANCASHIRE, ROHNA,
SANTHIA, and VARSOVA to Basra. She returned to Bombay on
the 17th. There was no convoy BP.13.
Monday,
11 August
HM King George VI, who had
arrived at Scapa Flow, on the 9th, visited the destroyer
depot ship TYNE during the forenoon and inspected representative contingents from the
Home Fleet destroyers. He then visited destroyers
ECLIPSE and
CHARLESTOWN berthed
alongside.
The King inspected the
Lyness Base and then
embarked in destroyer INGLEFIELD at 1230 for transport
to Scrabster, escorted
by destroyers TARTAR and PUNJABI. Destroyer ICARUS
departed Scapa Flow at 1340 and proceeded to Scrabser to
provide
passage back to Scapa Flow for the Captain of the Fleet.
_____
Destroyers TARTAR,
PUNJABI, and ESCAPADE departed Scapa Flow at 1530 for
Hvalfjord, arriving at 2100/12th.
_____
Destroyer ECHO departed
Scapa Flow at 0600
for Sheerness for refitting, and arrived at 1630/13th.
_____
Convoy ON.6 departed
Liverpool, escorted by corvette ARABIS. Anti-submarine
trawler NORTHERN SPRAYThe convoy was joined on the 13th
by destroyers
MALCOLM, SARDONYX, SCIMITAR, and WATCHMAN, corvettes
VERBENA and VIOLET, and
anti-submarine trawlers NORTHERN PRIDE and NORTHERN
WAVE. Destroyers MALCOLM and WATCHMAN and corvette
VERBENA were detached on the 15th, destroyer SCIMITAR
and anti-submarine
trawlers NORTHERN PRIDE and NORTHERN WAVE on the 16th,
and corvettes ARABIS and VIOLET and
anti-submarine trawler NORTHERN SPRAY on the 17th. On
the 17th, destroyers
CHESTERFIELD and RIPLEY, armed merchant cruiser AUSONIA,
and
corvettes HEPATICA, TRILLIUM, and WINDFLOWER joined and
escorted the convoy
until it was dispersed on the 24th.
_____
Minelayer PORT QUEBEC,
escorted by surveying ship SCOTT, laid minefield
SN.22 A in the Northern Barrage.
_____
Submarine
TIGRIS departed Murmansk on
patrol, and on the 17th, sank Norwegian coaster
HAAKON JARL (1482grt) in 70-58N, 26-48E.
_____
Steamer SIR
RUSSELL (1548grt) was sunk by a
German S.49 of the 4th Motor Torpedo Boat Flotilla six
cables 349° from No.10
Buoy. The entire crew was rescued.
_____
Italian submarine MARCONI
attacked and claimed
to have sunk sloop DEPTFORD, which had been detached
from convoy OG.70 to join
convoy HG.70 in 37-16N, 9-50W.
She was undamaged, and with
corvette CONVOLVULUS carried out a search for the
submarine.
_____
Steamer EMPIRE
HURST (2852grt), which had
fallen astern of convoy HG.70, was being escorted by
anti-submarine trawler
LADY HOGARTH, when she was sunk by German bombing in
36-48N, 9-50W. Twenty six crew were killed, and nine
survivors rescued by the trawler.
_____
Netlayer PROTECTOR, on
passage from Port Said to Alexandria, was badly damaged
by an aerial torpedo in 31-42N,
32-04E at 1700. Destroyer HERO was sent from Alexandria
to assist, and sloop FLAMINGO, corvette SALVIA, and
trawlers from Port Said. SALVIA was able to take her
in
tow and they arrived at Port Said at 0600/12th.
She
received temporary repairs
at Suez, and on 25 November, departed in tow of British
steamer EMPIRE KANGAROO
(6219grt).
_____
Destroyers JERVIS and
KINGSTON departed Alexandria for Mersa Matruh to act as
a striking force, and arrived back at
Alexandria on the 13th.
_____
Australian sloop
PARRAMATTA departed Port Said, escorting motor transport
ship KEVINBANK, for
Famagusta in serial S.18 of the GUILLOTINE operation.
They
arrived on 13 July.
_____
Italian hospital ship
CALIFORNIA
(13,060grt) at Syracuse was sunk by a Swordfish from
the 830 Squadron from
Malta.
_____
Destroyers FORESTER, FURY,
DUNCAN, BOREAS, and WILD
SWAN departed Gibraltar to sweep. BOREAS and WILD SWAN
were
then ordered to join convoy HG.70, while FORESTER, FURY,
and DUNCAN arrived at
Gibraltar late on the 11th.
Tuesday,
12 August
On Biscay patrol in
40-24N, 29-51W, heavy cruiser
LONDON sighted a submarine, which was bombed by her
Walrus aircraft.
_____
Light cruiser SHEFFIELD,
after refitting, departed Rosyth for Scapa Flow to work
up, and arrived that evening.
_____
Destroyer ANTHONY,
escorting salvage tug LE
LUTTEUR, departed Scapa
Flow at 2030 for
Skaalefjord, where the tug was to effect repairs to
destroyer ACHATES to render her
seaworthy for the passage to the Tyne. They arrived at
Skaalefjord at 0200/14th, and ANTHONY sailed at 2000 to
return to Scapa Flow, where she arrived at 0700/15th.
_____
Anti-aircraft ship
ALYNBANK departed Methil at 1130
and escorted convoy EC.58 from May Island to
Pentland Firth. In
the Firth on the 13th, the ship left the convoy and
arrived at Scapa Flow at 1000.
_____
Minesweepers HARRIER,
SALAMANDER, and HALCYON
departed Seidisfjord for Reykjavik. HALCYON with defects put into
Reydarsfjord and with SALAMANDER returned to
Seidisfjord.
HARRIER arrived at Reykjavik on the 13th.
_____
steamer EAGLESCLIFFE
HALL (1900grt) was damaged by German bombing 1/2
mile south of S.2 Buoy, approximately two miles east of
Sunderland. She was towed to Sunderland arriving on the
13th.
_____
Auxiliary vessel EXPRESS
(16grt) was sunk on a mine
one mile SW of East Spaniard Buoy off Whitstable.
_____
Corvette PICOTEE
(Lt R. A. Harrison RNR), escorting convoy ON.5, was sunk
by U.586 south
of Iceland. Harrison, T/Sub Lt H. E. Brisland RNVR, A/Sub Lt J. P. Roberts
RNR, T/Lt T. H. Williams
RNR, T/A/Sub Lt J. A. Wymer RNVR, and sixty ratings
were lost. U.586 also claimed hitting a steamer.
_____
Light cruiser NEPTUNE,
minelaying cruiser ABDIEL,
and destroyer JACKAL departed Haifa for Port Said for a
GUILLOTINE operation.
_____
Destroyers KANDAHAR and
KIMBERLEY departed Alexandria for Mersa Matruh to load
then proceed to Tobruk. They arrived back at
Alexandria on the 13th.
_____
Submarine
TORBAY attacked a
convoy of steamers BOSFORO and ISEO, escorted by torpedo
boat PARTENOPE, four
miles west of Benghasi, without success.
_____
Subamrine RORQUAL arrived
at Malta from Alexandria, having departed on 31 July,
with petrol and
stores.
_____
Submarine P.33 departed
Malta on patrol.
_____
Dutch submarine O.24
unsuccessfully attacked a
steamer in the Ligurian
Sea.
_____
Lighter A.14 (Lt
A. S. Mullens RNR) was sunk on a mine in Tobruk Harbour. No crew were killed.
_____
Italian submarine TAZZOLI
attacked and claimed to
have damaged steamer SANGARA (5445grt) in 4N, 9W, but
she was
unharmed.
Wednesday,
13 August
Destroyer LIGHTNING
departed Greenock at 2000 for Scapa
Flow to rejoin the Home
Fleet after operations in the Western Approaches and
Western Mediterranean. She arrived at Scapa Flow at
1530/14th.
_____
Convoy OG.71 departed
Liverpool escorted by destroyer BATH, sloop LEITH, and
corvette ZINNIA.
Corvettes BLUEBELL,
CAMPANULA, CAMPION, HYDRANGEA,
and WALLFLOWER joined on the 15th.
BATH
was detached on the 18th and was sunk early the
next day by U.204.
Destroyers GURKHA and
LANCE from convoy WS.10 X joined
the escort on the 20th and destroyers BOREAS departed
Gibraltar on the 19th, joining on the 23rd and WIVERN on
the
20th to join on the 22nd. Destroyer VIDETTE departed
Gibraltar on the 21st and joined the convoy on the 23rd.
ZINNIA was sunk on
the 23rd by U.564 in
40-43N, 11-39W.
The convoy was dispersed
on the 23rd to Lisbon.
HYDRANGEA arrived at
Gibraltar on the 22nd with nine survivors from BATH.
Destroyers LANCE, GURKHA and corvettes WALLFLOWER,
CAMPION, and CAMPANULA arrived at Gibraltar on the
24th.
On the 25th, LANCE and
corvette SPIRAEA
departed Gibraltar to carry out an anti-submarine patrol
off Cape St Vincent to cover steamers sailing
independently from Lisbon to Gibraltar from the
former convoy. Later in the day, destroyer WILD SWAN
arrived at Gibraltar and departed to join in the patrol
off Cape St Vincent.
WILD SWAN, VIDETTE, LEITH, BLUEBELL and SPIRAEA arrived at
Gibraltar on the 27th.
_____
Convoy OS.3 departed
Liverpool, escorted by destroyer ST.ALBANS which was
detached on the 18th and corvette CAMPION which was
detached on the 15th. On
the 14th, destroyers CAMPBELTOWN and WANDERER joined and
was detached on the
17th and 29 August, respectively, armed merchant cruiser
DUNNOTTAR CASTLE
joined and arrived with the convoy on 1 September,
escort vessel BANFF joined
and detached to Bathurst on the 29th, and ocean boarding
vessel MARON joined
and was detached on the 17th. On the 15th, sloop EGRET
joined and was
detached on the 29th to Bathurst.
On the 16th, escort vessel FISHGUARD joined and was
detached to Bathurst on the 29th. On the 29th, corvettes
ASTER,
BURCOCK, and STARWORT joined and arrived with the convoy
at Freetown on 1 September.
_____
Faroes fishing vessel SJOBORG
(158grt) was sunk on
a mine about 61-31N, 5-40W while fishing in a prohibited
area.
_____
Light cruiser NEPTUNE,
minelaying cruiser ABDIEL,
and destroyer JACKAL departed Port Said with personnel
for Famagusta in Serial S.20 of the GUILLOTINE
operation.
The troops were landed on
the 14th, after which
NEPTUNE proceeded to Alexandria, and ABDIEL and JACKAL to Port Said.
Australian light cruiser
HOBART and destroyers DECOY
and HAVOCK departed Alexandria for Port
Said to
relieve NEPTUNE.
_____
Anti-aircraft ship
COVENTRY departed Beirut to return to Alexandria, where
she arrived on the 14th.
_____
Destroyers HASTY and
JAGUAR departed Alexandria with supplies for Tobruk.
_____
British schooner KEPHALLINIA
(1267grt) foundered
and sank off Alexandria, while en route to Tobruk with
supplies. Destroyer
HERO assisted her.
_____
Italian convoy of steamers
ANDREA GRITTI, RIALTO, VETTOR PISANI. FRANCESCO BARBARO,
and SEBASTIANO
VENIER, escorted by destroyers VIVALDI, FOLGORE, STRALE,
MALOCELLO, FULMINE
and torpedo boat ORSA departed Naples for Tripoli. On
the
14th, during an air attack, one of VIVALDI’s guns
exploded and she was forced
to return to Italy. There were also reported submarine attacks during the air attack,
but there is no corresponding report. The convoy arrived
at
Tripoli and 15 August,
undamaged by the British.
Thursday,
14 August
Destroyer MATABELE
departed Barrow at 1600 to carry
out trials after repairs, and arrived at Scapa Flow on
the 16th.
_____
Destroyer FOXHOUND arrived
at Scapa Flow at 1400 for fuel while on passage from the
Force H
to Sheerness.
Anti-aircraft ship
ALYNBANK departed Scapa Flow at 1145 and escorted convoy
WN.66 to the south.
Off Buchan Ness that night, German aircraft attacked the
convoy, but no
damage was done.
The ship transferred to
convoy EC.59 shortly after midnight. On arrival in
Pentland Firth, she left the convoy and arrived at Scapa
Flow at 1700.
_____
Armed merchant cruiser
CIRCASSIA captured Italian
steamer STELLA (4272grt), which had departed
Recife, west of Cape Verde
Island at 24-55N, 40-23W. She was sent under prize crew
to Bermuda, and used by the British as EMPIRE
PLANET.
_____
Yugoslav steamer SUD
(2589grt), steaming
independently, was damaged by gunfire from Italian
submarine MARCONI, which
was part of the group attempting to attack convoy HG.69,
in 41N, 17-41W. The
entire crew was rescued by Portuguese steamer
ALFERRAREDE (1452grt) and SUD was sunk four
hours later by torpedoes
from U.126.
_____
German steamer LOTTE
HALM (1193grt) was sunk by
British bombing off Borkum.
_____
Anti-aircraft cruiser
COVENTRY departed Alexandria with destroyers NIZAM and
KINGSTON escorting troopship GLENROY to Port Said. She
was passed through the Suez Canal on the 15th.
_____
Greek destroyer VASILISSA
OLGA departed Alexandria for Famagusta, arrived on the
16th and departed that
day to return to Alexandria.
_____
Submarine TALISMAN fired
torpedoes in error at
submarine OTUS in 32-41N, 27-35E. At the time, TALISMAN
was arriving at
Alexandria while OTUS had just left for Malta with
stores. Neither submarine was damaged.
_____
Battleship NELSON,
aircraft carrier ARK ROYAL,
light cruiser HERMIONE and destroyers departed Gibraltar
for the east for exercises. On the 16th, NELSON,
HERMIONE, and destroyer VIMY arrived back at Gibraltar,
followed on the
17th, by ARK ROYAL with
destroyers NESTOR, ENCOUNTER, FURY, FORESIGHT, and
FORESTER.
_____
Steamer AUSTRALIND
(5020grt) was sunk by
German raider KOMET in 4-13S, 91-03W. Two crew were
killed, and the rest
made prisoners of war, but one died on
the raider.