Background
Events - June-November 1941
Invasion of
Russia, Malta Convoys, Japan prepares for war
1941
Monday,
15 September
Battleship PRINCE OF
WALES, light cruiser EURYALUS, and destroyers CASTLETON
and ESKIMO departed Scapa
Flow for the Clyde at 0800 for convoy WS.11X.
Destroyer LAFOREY relieved
destroyer CASTLETON at
the start.
Destroyer CASTLETON
returned to Scapa Flow. She departed again at 1000 and
proceeded to Loch
Alsh, arriving at 1800.
Destroyer LIGHTNING
departed Scapa Flow at 1730 for the Clyde for convoy WS.11X. The destroyer arrived at 1230/16th.
Battleship PRINCE OF
WALES, light cruiser EURYALUS, and destroyers LAFOREY,
ESKIMO, and LIGHTNING arrived at the Clyde on the 16th at 1000.
Destroyer ESKIMO returning
to Scapa Flow was diverted on the 16th to join Captain
(D) 6th
Destroyer Flotilla in an anti-submarine sweep.
_____
Heavy cruiser NORFOLK
departed the Tyne to return to Scapa
Flow after refitting.
The cruiser was escorted
part of the way by
destroyers WINDSOR and WINCHESTER.
The cruiser arrived later
on the 15th.
_____
Destroyer ESCAPADE with
tanker ALDERSDALE arrived
at Hvalfjord from the eastwards.
_____
Destroyer BROCKLESBY and
Dutch destroyer ISAAC
SWEERS collided in the Irish
Sea.
There was minor damage to
both ships and both remained
operational.
_____
Submarine
TIGRIS
unsuccessfully attacked German steamer BESSHEIM
(1774grt) at Lopphavet.
_____
Lt J. D. M. Briscoe and
P/T/Sub Lt (A) J. D.
Pomfret RNVR, were killed when their
Hurricanes of 801 Squadron collided at Kingswill.
_____
British steamer BIRTLEY
(2873grt) was badly damaged
on a mine in 53-06N, 1-16-30E.
Three crew were lost on
the steamer.
The steamer sank on the
16th in 53-03N, 1-18E.
_____
British steamer DARU
(3854grt) was sunk by German
bombing in 51-56-30N, 5-58W.
There were no casualties
on the steamer.
_____
Tug FLYING KITE (260grt)
was sunk by a mine off the
Dalmuir
Basin, Clyde.
Five crew of a crew of
eight were lost.
Tug ATLANTIC COCK (182grt)
was damaged on a mine in
near the Dalmuir Basin.
The tug was beached and
refloated on 11 October for
docking.
_____
Belgian tanker PONTFIELD
(8290grt) was mined in
52-03N, 1-20-30E.
The tanker broke in two
and the forepart sank. The
aft part was towed to Salt End and later the Tyne where a new forepart was fitted.
_____
Norwegian tanker VINGA
(7321grt) was damaged by
German bombing in 58-08N, 13-17W.
The tanker was towed to
Rothesay
Bay
and later repaired at Glasgow.
_____
U.94 sank British steamer
NEWBURY (5102grt) in
54-39N, 28-04W. The entire crew of forty five crew and
gunners were lost from
the steamer.
U.94 sank Greek steamer
PEGASUS (5762grt) from
convoy ON.14 in 54-40N, 29-50W.
Sixteen crew were lost on
the Greek steamer.
U.94 sank British steamer
EMPIRE ELAND (5613grt) in
54N, 28W.
_____
German motor ship HANSEAT
(224grt) was lost in a
stranding near Rugen.
_____
Polish submarine SOKOL
arrived at Gibraltar from Dartmouth.
_____
Destroyers NAPIER, NIZAM,
and HAVOCK departed Alexandria to carry supplies to
Tobruk.
Light cruisers AJAX,
NEPTUNE, and HOBART and destroyers KINGSTON and
KIMBERLEY departed Alexandria to cover the movement.
All ships returned to
Alexandria on the 16th.
_____
Light cruiser GALATEA
departed Alexandria to operate in the Red Sea.
The cruiser arrived at
Suez on the 16th.
_____
Corvette PRIMULA arrived
at Suez from the United Kingdom to join the 10th
Corvette Group.
_____
P/T/Sub Lt (A) L. K.
Harper RNVR, in a Martlett of 805 Squadron from
GREBE,
was killed when taking off at night, the aircraft went
into a spin at the
southwest side of Sidi Barrani North.
_____
Battleship RODNEY, after
refitting in the United States, departed Bermuda to rendezvous with convoy WS.11 X during the morning of 21 September.
_____
New Zealand light cruiser
ACHILLES departed Wellington as the ocean escort for
liner AQUITANIA (44,786grt) for convoy US.12B.
On the 18th, the light
cruiser turned the liner
over to Australian light cruisers ADELAIDE and SYDNEY
and returned to Auckland.
Tuesday,
16 September
Heavy cruiser SUFFOLK
departed
Scapa Flow for the
Clyde to boiler clean, and arrived on the 17th.
_____
An Albacore of 827
Squadron from aircraft carrier
VICTORIOUS crashed landed in the sea thirteen miles off
Brough Head, Orkneys.
P/T/A/Sub Lt (A) M. A. Lambert RNVR,
and P/T/A/Sub Lt (A) J. H. C. Ashworth RNVR, were
drowned. The pilot Midshipman W. G. R.
Beer was saved by heavy cruiser SHROPSHIRE's
WALRUS and transferred to Dutch ship AMARAPOORA.
_____
Destroyers ASHANTI,
BEDOUIN, MATABELE, PUNJABI, IMPULSIVE, ANTHONY,
VIVACIOUS, LAMERTON, and BADSWORTH departed Scapa Flow
at 1630 to assist in escorting convoy SC.42.
Destroyer ESKIMO, en route from the Clyde to Scapa Flow, joined
this force off the Butt of Lewis.
Convoy SC.42 was not
joined as its position was
uncertain, but the force was ordered to join convoy
ON.16 in the same area.
On the 17th, destroyers
LAMERTON and BADSWORTH were
ordered to join the escort of convoy ON.16 for twenty
four hours.
Rest of the destroyers
were detached on the 17th
and arrived at Scapa Flow at 0130/18th, less destroyer
VIVACIOUS, which had
been detached to sink a floating mine en route and
arrived at 0400.
Destroyers LAMERTON and
BADSWORTH arrived at Scapa Flow on the 19th.
_____
Destroyer ESCAPADE
departed Vestmannaeyjar at 2100
escorting the 4th Motor Launch Flotilla to Stornoway.
The Motor Launches were
detached at the North Minch. Destroyer ESCAPADE arrived
at Scapa Flow at 0830/19th. The Motor Launch Flotilla
arrived at
Stornoway at 0930/19th.
_____
Minelayer PORT QUEBEC,
escorted by destroyer NEWARK, laid minefield SN.23B.
_____
Swedish steamer YARRAWONGA
(4900grt) was sunk by
British bombing at Hamburg.
The steamer was salved and
taken to Gothenburg for
repairs.
_____
German light cruisers
EMDEN and LEIPZIG and torpedo boats T.7, T.8, and T.11
bombarded the
Sworbe Peninsula on 16 and 17 September in the Baltic.
_____
Light cruiser NAIAD
departed Alexandria to reinforce the Red Sea Escort
Force.
The cruiser arrived at
Suez on the 17th.
_____
Destroyers HERO and
GRIFFIN departed Haifa to conduct an anti-submarine
sweep on the Port Said - Haifa shipping route.
The destroyers returned to
Haifa on the 17th.
_____
Italian submarine SMERALDO
was lost to an unknown
cause in the Central
Mediterranean.
_____
Destroyer HIGHLANDER
arrived at Gibraltar from Freetown, departing on the
11th and coming via Bathurst.
_____
Ocean boarding vessel
MARON arrived at Gibraltar from patrol.
_____
Anti-submarine trawlers
LADY HOGARTH and ARCTIC
RANGER departed Gibraltar escorting tanker INVERLEE
westwards. They returned
with tanker BENEDICK, arriving on the 28th.
_____
Lt (A) CB Lamb and T/A/Sub
Lt (A) J. E. Robertson
RNVR, were interned after they crashed
landed their Swordfish of 830 Squadron near Sousse.
Despite the crash, they
had successfully delivered
an agent to the area.
_____
Dutch submarine O.24
arrived at Gibraltar from patrol in the Mediterranean.
_____
Submarines URSULA,
UNBEATEN, UPHOLDER, and UPRIGHT
departed Malta to intercept a fast Italian convoy east
of Tripoli.
Submarine TRIUMPH departed
Malta for special service and patrol in the Adriatic.
_____
Convoy HX.150 departed
Halifax, escorted by destroyer ANNAPOLIS and corvettes
ALGOMA and BRANDON. The destroyer
was detached on the 17th.
On the 17th in 46N, 55W,
this convoy became the
first trans Atlantic convoy to be assisted by the US N.
when Captain M. L.
Deyo relieved the Canadian escorts with his force of
destroyers ERICSSON, EBERLE,
UPSHUR, ELLIS, and DALLAS. Corvettes ALGOMA and BRANDON
were detached on the
18th. On the 20th, destroyer EBERLE rescued the crew of
British steamer
NIGARISTAN which has an engine room fire. The American
group was relieved on
the 25th by destroyers BLANKNEY, CHURCHILL, and WITCH
and corvettes
ARROWHEAD, CAMELLIA, CELANDINE, and HONEYSUCKLE.
Destroyer BADSWORTH joined
on the 26th for the day only. Destroyer BLANKNEY was
detached on the 27th.
The destroyers and corvettes CAMELLIA and CELANDINE were
detached on the
28th. Corvette ARROWHEAD was detached on the 29th. The
convoy arrived at Liverpool on the 30th with corvette
HONEYSUCKLE.
Wednesday,
17 September
Aircraft carrier ARGUS and
destroyer ECLIPSE
departed Scapa Flow for the Clyde at 0930.
Off Shianti
Island, destroyer ECLIPSE was detached and returned to
Scapa Flow, arriving at
0600/18th.
The aircraft carrier
continued unescorted to the Clyde, arriving on the 18th.
_____
Destroyer LANCASTER
departed the Humber at 1600 on completion of refitting for
Scapa Flow.
The destroyer arrived at
Scapa Flow on the 18th at 1800 to carry out working up
exercises.
_____
Submarine
TIGRIS
unsuccessfully attacked German convoy R.152 one miles
southwest of Loppa in
70-21N, 21-30E.
_____
Convoy WS.11X, which
departed Liverpool on the 16th and the Clyde on the 17th, rendezvoused off Oversay on the 17th.
The convoy consisted by
supply ship BRECONSHIRE and
steamers ULSTER MONARCH, QUEEN EMMA, PRINCESS BEATRIX,
ROYAL SCOTSMAN, LEINSTER, STRATHEDEN, CLAN MACDONALD, CLAN FERGUSON,
AJAX, IMPERIAL STAR,
CITY OF LINCOLN, ROWALLAN CASTLE, DUNEDIN STAR, and CITY OF
CALCUTTA.
The convoy was escorted by
battleship PRINCE OF
WALES, light cruisers EURYALUS and KENYA, and destroyers
LAFOREY, LIGHTNING,
andORIBI, which departed the Clyde on the 16th,
WHITEHALL, WITCH, BLANKNEY,
PIORUN, GARLAND, and ISAAC SWEERS from 17 September to
Gibraltar.
Destroyers HAVELOCK and
HARVESTER escorted the convoy from 17 to 19
September when they were detached escorting liner
STRATHEDEN to Halifax.
Destroyers FORESIGHT,
FORESTER, FURY, and LEGION,
escorting aircraft carrier FURIOUS, and ZULU, GURKHA,
and LANCE departed
Gibraltar on the 18th to join the convoy on the 19th in
42N, 22-30W. Light
cruiser SHEFFIELD departed Gibraltar on the
20th to join the convoy. Destroyer LIVELY departed
Gibraltar on the 20th to join, as did destroyers
COSSACK,
HEYTHROP, and FARNDALE on the 23rd.
Troopships ULSTER MONARCH,
QUEEN EMMA, PRINCESS
BEATRIX, and ROYAL SCOTSMAN, and LEINSTER proceeded
only to Gibraltar. The remainder of the convoy was the
HALBERD
convoy for Malta.
During the night of 20/21
September, troopship
PRINCESS BEATRIX and storeship AJAX were in a minor
collsion.
_____
Convoy ON.17 departed
Liverpool, escorted by destroyer BOREAS. On the 18th,
destroyers BELMONT andBULLDOG. corvettes ACONIT
andHEARTSEASE, and
anti-submarine trawlers ANGLE, CAPE
WARWICK, DANEMAN, NOTTS COUNTY, and ST APOLLO
joined. Destroyers AMAZON, GEORGETOWN, and ST CROIX joined.
These escorts were detached on the 21st when relieved by
destroyer RICHMOND and corvettes FENNEL, GLADIOLUS,
HEPATICA, and
MMIMIOSA. Destroyer RICHMOND
was detached on the 24th. The corvettes escorted the
convoy until its
dispersal on the 29th.
_____
Destroyer MENDIP was
escorting convoy FS 605 when
it was attacked by German bombers.
_____
German motor torpedo boats
S.50, S.51, and S.52 of
the 4th Motor Torpedo Boat Flotilla attacked a Convoy
off Cromer.
British steamer TEDDINGTON
(4762grt) was badly
damaged in 54-03N, 1-35E.
The steamer was taken in
tow, but went ashore on
the 18th two and three quarters miles east, southeast of
Cromer Pier. The
entire crew were rescued.
British steamer TETELA
(5389grt) was damaged by a
German motor torpedo boat in 53-04N, 1-35E.
The steamer was taken in
tow and beached at Haile
Sand Flat. The steamer was refloated on the 18th and
berthed at Hull.
_____
In Stockholm
Harbour, Swedish destroyers KLAS UGGLA, KLAS HORN, and
GOTEBORG were seriously
damaged in an explosion.
Destroyer KLAS HORN was
repaired from components of
destroyers KLAS UGGLA and GOTEBORG.
Destroyer GOTEBORG was not
repaired.
_____
German steamer JOHANN
WESSELS (4601grt) was lost on
a mine on the Norwegian coast.
_____
German fishing vessel
LUNEBURG (473grt) was sunk near Osel on a mine and by
Soviet artillery.
_____
Convoy HG.73 departed
Gibraltar with destroyers DUNCAN, FARNDALE, and VIMY,
sloop
FOWEY, corvettes BEGONIA, GENTIAN, HIBISCUS, JASMINE,
LARKSPUR, MYOSOTIS,
PERIWINKLE, and STONECROP, and fighter catapult ship
SPRINGBANK.
Destroyer WILD SWAN
departed Gibraltar on the 19th to join the escort.
Destroyers DUNCAN and
FARNDALE were detached on the
20th. Destroyers VIMY and WILD SWAN on the 22nd. The
catapult ship was sunk
on the 27th.
Destroyer HIGHLANDER
departed Gibraltar on the 20th and joined the convoy
escort on the
22nd. She remained until 26 September.
Destroyer WOLVERINE joined
the convoy on the 28th.
The corvettes were detached on the 30th.
The convoy arrived at
Liverpool on 1 October with destroyer WOLVERINE.
_____
From 17 to 27 September,
6300 British troops and 2100 tons of supplies were
moved to Tobruk in Operation SUPERCHARGE.
Light cruisers AJAX,
NEPTUNE, and HOBART departed Alexandria for Beirut to
embark troops.
Light cruisers AJAX and
HOBART arrived at Beirut on the 18th. Light cruiser
NEPTUNE was detached to
spend the night of 18/19 September at Haifa, rejoining
at Beirut on the 19th.
Minelaying cruiser ABDIEL
and destroyers JERVIS,
JAGUAR, and HASTY departed Alexandria carrying supplies
to Tobruk in Serial 1 of the
Operation.
The minelaying cruiser and
destroyers arrived back
at Alexandria on the 18th.
_____
Light cruiser GALATEA
arrived at Port Said.
_____
Dutch steamer WESTERNLAND
departed Bombay for Singapore with 2061 personnel. From
Ceylon, the steamer was escorted by light crusier
DAUNTLESS.
Steamer WESTERNLAND
arrived at Singapore on the 25th.
Thursday,
18 September
Destroyer ANTELOPE arrived
at Scapa Flow at 0600 on completion of boiler cleaning
at
Rosyth, having departed on the 17th.
_____
Destroyer ECLIPSE departed
Scapa Flow at 0800 to carry out boiler cleaning at
Rosyth.
_____
Destroyer INGLEFIELD
departed Scapa Flow at 1500 for the Humber to refit at Hull.
The destroyer arrived in
the Humber at 1350/19th.
_____
Destroyer BEDOUIN departed
Scapa Flow at 1500 for Thorshavn with the Governor of
the Faroes Islands.
The destroyer arrived at
0800/19th with the
Governor. At 1800 that day, the destroyer departed
Thorshavn to return to Scapa Flow, arriving on the 20th.
_____
Destroyers MATABELE and
PUNJABI departed Scapa Flow at 2030 to intercept a
possible enemy minelayer
off Saxavord. They proceeded to intercept to the
westward of the North Rona - Faroes minefield.
At 2145, destroyers
ASHANTI, IMPULSIVE, and VIVACIOUS departed Scapa Flow to
carry out a patrol between the Orkneys and Sule
Skerry in support.
Destroyers ASHANTI,
IMPULSIVE, and VIVACIOUS arrived back at Scapa Flow at
0030/19th after the patrol.
Destroyers MATABELE and
PUNJABI arrived back at Scapa Flow at 0918 after an
unsuccessful search.
_____
Minelaying cruiser MANXMAN
departed Plymouth laid minefield HF off Les Heaux.
_____
British aircraft sighted
Italian convoy of
troopships NEPTUNIA (19,475grt), OCEANIA (19,507grt),
and VULCANIA
(24,469grt), escorted by destroyers DA RECCO, DA NOLI,
PESSAGNO, USODIMARE,
and GIOBERTI which departed Taranto on the 16th for
Tripoli.
Submarines UPHOLDER,
UPRIGHT, and UNBEATEN
stationed northeast of Tripoli
and URSULA stationed off Tripoli
harbour were guided to the convoy.
Submarine UPHOLDER
attacked this convoy off
Misurata and sank troopship NEPTUNIA and damaged
troopship OCEANIA in 33-02N, 14-42E.
Submarine UPHOLDER
returned four hours later and
sank the damaged OCEANIA.
Troopship VULCANIA escaped
and continued on to Tripoli escorted by destroyer
USODIMARE.
Off Tripoli, troopship
VULCANIA was attacked by submarine
URSULA, but was not damaged.
The Submarines arrived
back at Malta on the 20th.
_____
Submarine TRIUMPH damaged
Italian steamer ARDOR
(8960grt, shown in reports as tanker LIRI) off Cape
Cimiti in the Adriatic. The tanker
was able to proceed into Crotone Harbour.
_____
Minelaying cruiser LATONA
and destroyers NAPIER and
NIZAM departed Alexandria with supplies and some troops.
Destroyer HAVOCK
sailed later to load at Mersa Matruh and joined the
ships en route in Serial
2 of the SUPERCHARGE operation.
While berthing alongside
the wreck of Italian
steamer SERENITAS (5171grt) at Tobruk, destroyer NIZAM
was damaged forward
when a cross wind blow the destroyer into the wreck.
The ships arrived back on
the 19th. Destroyer NIZAM
was out of action for fourteen days to repair.
In Serial 3 on the same
date, A lighters A.2, A.9,
and A.11 proceeded to Tobruk.
Serial 4 was also
conducted on this date with
schooners KHEYR EL DINE and HILMI. However, these ships
returned to Mersa
Matruh and completed the operation on the 21st.
_____
Australian destroyer
VENDETTA and British steamer
FOUADIEH (1853grt) departed Port Said for Famagusta.
_____
Aircraft carrier FURIOUS
departed Gibraltar for Bermuda, escorted
by destroyers FORESIGHT, FORESTER, FURY, and LEGION.
Destroyer FURY arrived
back at Gibraltar on the 22nd and sailed again on the
23rd to join
convoy WS.11X.
_____
Convoy SC.45 departed
Sydney, CB, escorted by armed merchant cruiser RANPURA
and corvettes CHICOUTIMI, MATAPEDIA, and SHERBROOKE.
Corvette SPIKENARD joined on the 19th. The escort
group departing Sydney with the convoy was detached on
the 21st when the
convoy was joined by corvettes BITTERSWEET, CHILLIWACK,
COLLINGWOOD, DIANTHUS, PICTOU, and SNOWBERRY.
Destroyer ST LAURENT joined on the 22nd and was detached
on the 29th. The
corvettes joining on the 21st were detached on the 30th
when relieved by
destroyers BROADWATER, LEAMINGTON, SKATE, and VETERAN
and corvettes ABELIA, ANEMONE,
TRAIL, and VERONICA. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on
4 October.
Friday,
19 September
Convoy ON.18 departed
Liverpool. The convoy was escorted from 21 September by
destroyers LEAMINGTON, SALADIN, SKATE, and VETERAN,
corvettes ABELIA,
ANEMONE, and VERONICA, and anti-submarine trawlers ST
ELSTAN, ST KENAN, and
VIZALMA. These escorts were detached on the 24th when
relieved by American
destroyers CHARLES F. HUGHES, GLEAVES, LANSDALE, MADISON, and SIMPSON. The American destroyers escorted the convoy
until it was dispersed on 2 October.
_____
British steamer BRADGLEN
(4741grt) was sunk by mining
two miles 230° from B.3 Buoy off Barrow Deep.
Seven crew were missing
and one crewman died in the
hospital.
_____
British fishing vessel
GLEN ALVA (6grt) was sunk on
a mine off Jenkin Buoy, Southend.
Both crew on the vessel
were lost.
_____
British steamer PRESTATYN
ROSE (1151grt) was
damaged by German bombing in 51-52-25N, 1-35-45E, three
miles northeast of
Sunk Buoy, Harwich.
The steamer arrived at
Harwich on the 19th in tow
and beached. Steamer PRESTATYN ROSE was refloated on the
28th and sailed to
the Tyne on the 30th.
_____
U.74 sank Canadian
corvette LEVIS (Lt C. W. Gilding RCNR), which was
escorting
convoy SC.44 in 60-05N, 38-48W
Seventeen Canadian and one
British ratings were
lost on the corvette.
Forty survivors from the
corvette were rescued by
Canadian corvettes MAYFLOWER and AGASSIZ.
On the 20th, U.74 sank
British CAM ship EMPIRE BURTON (6966grt) from the convoy
in
61-34N, 35-05W. The submarine claiming sinking one more
ship and damaging
another.
One crewman and two
gunners were lost on the CAM ship.
U.552 on the 20th sank
British tanker T. J.
WILLIAMS (8212grt) in 61-36N, 35-07W, Panamanian steamer
PINK STAR (4150grt) in 61-36N, 37-07W, and Norwegian
tanker
BARBRO (6325grt) in 61-30N, 35-00W from the convoy. The
submarine claimed
sinking a straggler from the convoy.
Seventeen crew, including
two gunners, were lost on
the British tanker.
Eleven crew were lost on
the Panamanian steamer.
The entire crew of the Norwegian steamer were lost.
_____
German fishing vessel
BUNTE KUH (262grt) was lost
on a mine in the Kattegat.
_____
During the night of 19/20
September, Italian
submarine SCIRE launched explosive boats into Gibraltar
Harbour.
Oil depot ship FIONA SHELL
(2444grt) and oiler
DENBYDALE (8145grt) were sunk and steamer DURHAM
(10,893grt) was badly damaged on the 20th.
One crewman was lost on
ship FIONA SHELL.
Ship DURHAM was beached.
She was refloated and drydocked. On
the 3rd, steamer DURHAM sailed in tow from Gibraltar for
Falmouth.
_____
Light cruisers AJAX,
NEPTUNE, and HOBART departed Haifa with 6000 troops for
Tobruk.
Destroyers GRIFFIN and
HOTSPUR from Haifa joined the cruisers off Beirut and
escorted them to Alexandria, arriving on the 20th.
_____
Submarine
TORBAY unsuccessfully
attacked a steamer off Gaidoro.
_____
Polish submarine SOKOL
departed Gibraltar for patrol in the Mediterranean to
support HALBERD operations.
_____
Convoy ST.3 departed
Freetown, escorted by corvettes BURDOCK andand
MARGUERITE.
Corvette CALENDULA joined on the 23rd. The convoy
arrived at Takoradi on the
24th.
Saturday,
20 September
Monitor EREBUS departed
Scapa Flow at 0800 for Chatham on completion of working
up practices.
Destroyer VIVACIOUS
departed Scapa Flow at 1030 for Sheerness on completion
of her working
up practices. The destroyer was ordered to overtake the
monitor and escort
her to Sheerness.
Destroyer WINDSOR departed
Harwich at 1130 to meet
monitor EREBUS and destroyer VIVACIOUS off May Island and act as additional
escort to Sheerness.
Monitor EREBUS and
destroyer VIVACIOUS arrived at
Sheerness at 1845/22nd.
_____
Norwegian destroyer DRAUG
departed the Humber at 2000 for Scapa
Flow and arrived at
0600/21st.
_____
Minelaying cruiser MANXMAN
departed Portsmouth and laid minefield JT off Le Havre.
_____
Anti-aircraft ship ULSTER
QUEEN departed Scapa Flow after working up.
The ship arrived at
Belfast at 1200/21st to join the Western Approaches.
_____
British ferry PORTSDOWN
(342grt) was sunk on a mine
in 50-46-07N, 6-25W.
Eight crew and fifteen
passengers were lost on the
steamer.
_____
British trawler MARCONI
(322grt) was lost in a
collision off Harwich.
_____
U.124 sank British
steamers BALTALLINN (1303grt)
and EMPIRE MOAT (2922grt) from convoy OG.74 in 48-07N,
22-07W. The submarine
claimed damaging another steamer in the convoy.
Seventeen crew and one
gunner were missing on
steamer BALTALLINN. Twenty survivors were rescued by
steamer WALMER
CASTLE (906grt).
The crew of thirty of
steamer EMPIRE MOAT were
picked up by steamer WALMER CASTLE. Five of the
crew were lost when WALMER CASTLE was sunk.
On the 21st, U.201 sank
British steamer RUNA
(1575grt) in 46-20N, 22-23W and British steamers LISSA
(1511grt) and RHINELAND (1381grt) in 47N, 22W from the
convoy.
Twelve crew and two
gunners were lost on steamer
RUNA.
Convoy rescue ship WALMER
CASTLE (906grt) was badly damaged by German bombing in 47-16N, 22-25W.
The rescue ship had thirty
survivors of steamer EMPIRE
MOAT, twenty eight survivors from steamer BALTALLINN,
and twenty three crew
from steamer CITY OF WATERFORD (1071grt), which had been
sunk in a
collision with tug THAMES on the 19th.
Ten crew and passengers
were lost in the ship.
The rescue ship was
scuttled by sloop DEPTFORD and
corvette MARIGOLD of the convoy escort on the 21st.
_____
Convoy HG.73, which
departed Gibraltar on the 17th, was sighted by Italian
submarine
TORELLI and U.371, but contact was soon lost.
U.371 was en route to the
Mediterranean.
Contact with the contact
was regained on the 21st,
but the submarine was soon badly damaged by destroyer
VIMY.
Italian submarine DA VINCI
found this convoy on the
23rd. From reports from a German aircraft, Italian
submarine MALASPINO sank
two steamers on the 24th, but the submarine then went
missing and what became
of her is unknown.
U.124 sank British steamer
EMPIRE STREAM (2922grt)
in 46-03N, 24-40W on the 25th.
Four crew, two gunners,
and two stowaways were lost
on steamer EMPIRE STREAM.
U.203 on the 26th sank
Norwegian steamer VARANBERG
(2842grt) in 47-50N, 24-50W, British steamer AVOCETA
(3442grt) in 47-57N,
24-05W, and British steamer CORTES (1374grt) in 47-48N,
23-45W from the
convoy.
Twenty one crew were
missing on steamer VARANBERG.
Forty three crew, four
gunners, and seventy six
passengers were missing on steamer AVOCETA. Corvette
PERIWINKLE rescued the
convoy Commodore Creighton and other survivors. Some
survivors were picked up
by steamer CERVANTES which was later sunk. Surgeon Lt F.
Bagot of battleship
NELSON was lost in steamer AVOCETA.
The survivors from steamer
CORTES were rescued by
British steamer LAPWING. All but one were lost when
LAPWING was sunk.
U.124 sank British steamer
PETEREL (1354grt) in
47-40N, 23-28W and British steamer LAPWING (1348grt) in
47-40N, 23-30W on the
26th from the convoy.
Nineteen crew and three
gunners were lost on
steamer PETEREL. The survivors were picked up by steamer
LAPWING. Nine
survivors returned to England.
Twenty one crew and three
gunners were lost on
steamer LAPWING. Nine survivors were rescued.
U.124 sank British steamer
CERVANTES (1810grt) in
48-37N, 20-01W on the 26th from the convoy.
Three crew, two gunners,
and three passengers were
lost on steamer CERVANTES.
Auxiliary fighter catapult
ship SPRINGBANK (Captain
C. H. Godwin DSO) was sunk by U.201 in 49-10N, 20-05W on
the 27th from the
convoy.
T/A/Sub Lt (E) J. Moir
RNVR, and thirty one ratings were lost on the
ship.
U.201 sank Norwegian
steamer SIREMALM (2468grt) in
49-05N, 20-10W and British steamer MARGARETA (3103grt)
in 50-15N, 17-27W from
the convoy on the 27th. The submarine also reported
sinking a corvette and a
steamer from the convoy. The entire crew on steamer
SIREMALM were lost.
There were no casualties
on the steamer MARGARETA.
_____
German steamer METZ
(728grt) was lost near Vlaardingen.
_____
U.111 sank British steamer
CINGALESE PRINCE
(8474grt) at 2S, 25-30W.
Forty eight crew and eight
gunners were lost on the
steamer.
_____
Minelaying cruiser ABDIEL
and destroyers JERVIS,
KIMBERLEY, and HASTY departed Alexandria with about 1000
troops, brought to
Alexandria by the 7th Cruiser Squadron, and one hundred
and twenty tons of
stores in Serial 5 of the SUPERCHARGE operation.
The ships arrived back at
Alexandria on the 21st.
_____
Destroyers HERO and JACKAL
departed Haifa for an anti-submarine sweep of the Haifa
- Port Said - Alexandria shipping routes.
_____
Destroyer HAVOCK grounded
to the west of the Great Pass while waiting to enter harbour after an anti-submarine exercise.
Both propellers were
damaged beyond repair and both
shafts and A bracket were distorted. Repairs in dock
required some fourteen
days.
_____
British steamer CLAN
FORBES with twenty four
officers and four hundred and eight other ranks and
troopship GLENROY with
thirty seven officers and five hundred and forty four
other ranks departed Suez for Port T, which was the
Indian Ocean anchorage at Addu.
The ships were escorted
from Aden by heavy cruiser CORNWALL and arrived on the
30th.
_____
French steamer MONSELET
(3372grt) was sunk and
Italian steamer MARIGOLA (5996grt) was damaged by RAF
aircraft off Sfax.
_____
Light cruiser SHEFFIELD
departed
Gibraltar to
rendezvous with convoy WS.11X.
_____
Submarine TRUSTY departed
Gibraltar for patrol in the Mediterranean to support
HALBERD operations.
_____
At St
Helena, aircraft carrier
EAGLE had a serious fire in her hangar deck.
Fourteen aircraft were
seriously affected by salt
water used to extinguish the fire. The aircraft carrier
sustained some
damage. One rating died from injuries.
On the 28th, the aircraft
carrier, escorted by
heavy cruiser DORSETSHIRE, departed St Helena for Freetown,
arriving 3 October. The ship called at Gibraltar for
emergency repairs and finally arrived back at Liverpool
on 26 October.
Aircraft carrier EAGLE was
refitting from 30
October to 9 January 1942.
_____
Light cruiser EMERALD
arrived at Colombo from the Seychelles.
Sunday,
21 September
Minelaying cruiser MANXMAN
departed Portsmouth and laid minefield JU off Dieppe.
_____
Convoy ON.19 departed
Liverpool. It was escorted from 22 September by
destroyers
BEAGLE, MONTGOMERY, ROXBOROUGH, and SALISBURY, corvettes
HEATHER, LOBELIA, and NARCISSUS,
minesweepers BRITOMART, GOSSAMER, and LEDA, and
anti-submarine trawler NORWICH CITY. The convoy was
joined on the 23rd by corvettes
ALBERNI and KENOGAMI and minesweeper HUSSAR. The
minesweepers were detached
on the 25th. Corvettes ALYSSE and MAYFLOWER joined the
convoy on the 27th and
with corvettes ALBERNI and KENOGAMI escorted the convoy
when rest of the
escorts were detached. Corvette MAYFLOWER was detached
on 6 October. The
convoy was dispersed on 7 October and the other three
corvettes were
detached.
_____
British tanker VANCOUVER
(5729grt) was sunk on a
mine about two miles 263° from Sunk Light Vessel in
51-51N, 1-31E.
_____
Soviet destroyer FRUNZA
was sunk by German bombing
eat of Tendra Island in the Baltic.
_____
Soviet submarine
STEREGUSCHY was sunk by German
bombing off Peteroff.
_____
Italian submarine
ASCIANGHI set on fire by gunfire
the Palestinian steamer ANTAR (389grt) in 33-57N,
35-04E.
The crew landed at Tyre.
Whaler SOUTHERN ISLE
proceeded to the area and took the hull in tow,
but it sank on the 23rd before they could arrive in
harbour.
_____
Minelaying cruiser LATONA
and destroyers NAPIER, KINGSTON, and HOTSPUR departed
Alexandria on Serial 7 of the SUPERCHARGE operation.
The ships arrived back at
Alexandria on the 22nd.
_____
British troopship GLENGYLE
departed Alexandria for the Canal Area to relieve
troopship GLENROY at
the Combined Operations Training Centre at Kabret.
Destroyers HERO and JACKAL
met troopship GLENGYLE
off Alexandria and escorted her to Port Said.
Destroyers HERO and JACKAL
arrived back at Alexandria on the 22nd.
_____
Corvettes PEONY, HYACINTH,
and ERICA departed Beirut on an anti-submarine sweep.
_____
At sunset, the flag of
Cruiser Squadron 15 was
hauled down from light cruiser NAIAD. Vice Admiral E. L.
S. King CB, MVO, was
ordered to the appointment of Assistant Chief Naval
Staff (Trade) in the
Admiralty. Captain W. H. A. Kelsey DSC, assumed the
duties of Senior Officer,
15th Cruiser Squadron, and Senior Officer, Suez Escort
Force.
_____
Light cruiser EDINBURGH
arrived at Gibraltar after escorting convoy WS.10 to the
Capetown.
_____
Destroyer LIVELY departed
Gibraltar to join convoy WS.11X.
_____
Dutch submarine O.21
departed Gibraltar for patrol in the Mediterranean to
support HALBERD operations.
Monday,
22 September
Destroyer BADSWORTH
departed Scapa Flow at 0715 for Scrabster with the
Captain of the
Fleet and returned at 1045 with the officers taking
passage to Murmansk in heavy cruiser LONDON.
Heavy cruiser LONDON
departed
Scapa Flow to take
the Anglo American supply mission to Archangel, arriving
at 1600/27th.
_____
Minelaying cruiser
WELSHMAN laid minefield SN.23C.
_____
Destroyers LAMERTON and
BADSWORTH departed Scapa Flow at 1730 after working up
exercises to join the
Western Approaches.
Destroyer LAMERTON arrived
at Liverpool at 1100/24th.
Destroyer BADSWORTH was
ordered at 1918 to proceed
to Iceland and after refuelling join convoy HX.150.
Destroyer BADSWORTH
arrived at Hvalfjord on the
24th. After refuelling, the destroyer departed at 1700
to join convoy HX.150.
_____
Destroyer LANCASTER
departed Scapa Flow at 1900 on completion of exercises
to rejoin Rear
Admiral Minelaying at Loch Alsh, arriving at 0630/23rd.
_____
Norwegian motor torpedo
boat MTB.56 departed Harwich at 1100 for Scapa Flow, via
the Tyne and Aberdeen.
The motor torpedo boat
arrived at Scapa Flow on the 25th.
_____
Motor launch ML.144 was
lost in a mining in the English Channel.
_____
Dutch steamer VECHTSTROOM
(845grt) was sunk by
German bombing two miles east by north of 62 C Buoy. The
entire crew were
rescued.
_____
Light cruisers KENYA and
EURYALUS, which had departed convoy WS.11 X on
the 21st, arrived at Gibraltar at 2300.
The cruisers refuelled and
departed on the 23rd
before daylight to rejoin the convoy.
The flag of CS.10 was
transferred from light
cruiser SHEFFIELD to light cruiser KENYA.
_____
Convoy SL.87, escorted by
sloop BIDEFORD, cutter
GORLESON, corvette GARDENIA, and French sloop COMMANDANT
DUBOC, was sighted
by German submarines.
U.68 badly damaged British
steamer SILVERBELLE
(5302grt) at 25-45N, 24W. The submarine claimed sinking
one more ship and
damaging another. The steamer was taken in tow by cutter
GORLESON. After a
second attack on the convoy, the steamer was left and
the cutter rejoined the
convoy. The steamer was later taken under tow by sloop
COMMANDANT DUBOC
towards Las Palmas. The sloop was relieved by
anti-submarine trawler
LADY SHIRLEY and a tug was sent from Las Palmas. The
steamer sank in tow on the 29th at 26-30N,
23-14W.
There were no casualties
on steamer SILVERBELLE.
U.103 sank British steamer
NICETO DE LARRINAGA (5591grt)
at 27-32N, 24-26W and British steamer EDWARD BLYDEN
(5003grt) at 27-36N,
24-29W. The submarine claimed sinking two more steamers
and damaging another.
Three crew were lost on
steamer NICETO DE
LARRINAGA. The entire crew were rescued from steamer
EDWARD BLYDEN.
On the 24th, U.67 sank
British steamer ST CLAIR II
(3753grt) in 30-25N, 23-35W.
Twelve crew and one gunner
were lost on steamer ST
CLAIR.
On the 24th, U.107 sank
British steamers JOHN HOLt
(4975grt, Convoy Commodore) and LAFIAN (4876grt) in
31-12N, 23-32W and
British steamer DIXCOVE (3790grt) in 31-13N, 23-41W.
One gunner was lost on
steamer JOHN HOLT.
There were no casualties
on steamer LAFIAN.
One crewman was lost on
steamer DIXCOVE.
After three nights of
attacks, only four ships of
the eleven ship convoy remained.
_____
U.562 sank British steamer
ERNA III (1590grt) in 61-45N, 35-15W.
_____
Minelaying cruiser ABDIEL
and destroyers KANDAHAR, JAGUAR, and GRIFFIN departed
Alexandria for Tobruk on Serial 8 of the SUPERCHARGE
operation.
Light cruisers AJAX,
NEPTUNE, and HOBART departed Alexandria to cover the
destroyers and rendezvous with
minelaying cruiser ABDIEL at daylight on the 23rd.
All ships involved arrived
back at Alexandria on the 23rd.
_____
Returning to Hal Far after
searching for
merchantships between Kuriat and Pantellaria, T/Lt (A)
L. F. E. Aldridge
RNVR, was killed and his gunner
Leading Airman K. Pimlott died in hospital from injuries
when their Swordfish
of 830 Squadron crashed and exploded on landing.
_____
Sub Lt R. G. Drake was
lost in a captured He.115
flown by a Free French crew, that crashed shortly after
takeoff from Malta. The two French crew were lost as
well.
_____
Submarine
CLYDE departed Gibraltar for a
patrol in the vicinity of the Canary Islands and then to
proceed to Freetown.
On the 25th, she was
ordered to patrol in Cape Verde Islands, as German submarines were suspected of using
Tarafa
Bay.
_____
Italian destroyers
CORAZZIERE, ASCARI, CARABINIERE,
and LANCIERE laid mines southeast of Malta escorted by
destroyers AVIERE and CAMICIA NERA.
_____
Convoy HX.151 departed
Halifax, escorted by destroyer ANNAPOLIS. The destroyer
was detached on the 24th when
relieved by American destroyers DECATUR, KEARNEY,
LIVERMORE, and PLUNKETT. The American group was
relieved on 1 October by destroyers BEAGLE, MONTGOMERY,
ROXBOROUGH, and SALISBURY, corvettes HEATHER, LOBELIA,
and NARCISSUS, and
anti-submarine trawlers NORWICH CITY and ST LOMAN.
Destroyers BEAGLE and SALISBURY were detached on 4
October. Destroyer ROXBOROUGH
and corvettes HEATHER, LOBELIA, and NARCISSUS were
detached on the 5th and
destroyer MONTGOMERY on 6 October. The convoy arrived at
Liverpool on 7 October.
Tuesday,
23 September
Battleship KING GEORGE V,
aircraft carrier
VICTORIOUS, light cruiser AURORA, and destroyers SOMALI,
MATABELE, BEDOUIN, ESKIMO, ASHANTI, and PUNJABI
departed Scapa Flow at 1800 for Hvalfjord where they
arrived at
1400/25th for Operation EJ.
_____
Heavy cruiser SUFFOLK
departed the Clyde to return to Scapa
Flow, arriving on the
24th.
_____
Light cruiser PENELOPE
departed Hvalfjord on the
23rd and arrived back at Reykjavik on the 29th. The cruiser then proceeded to Hvalfjord.
_____
Convoy OS.7 departed
Liverpool. On the 24th, sloops FOLKESTONE and WESTON and
corvette AURICULA joined the convoy. The sloops were
detached on 12 October.
The corvette arrived with the convoy at Freetown on 14
October for duty in the South Atlantic.
On the 26th, sloop
LONDONDERRY and corvette VIOLET joined the convoy and
were
detached on 12 October. On 10 October, destroyer
BRILLIANT joined the convoy
and on 11 October, corvettes CLOVER and CYCLAMEN joined.
All arrived with the
convoy on 14 October. Corvettes ANCHUSA, MIGNONETTE, and
WOODRUFF joined the
convoy on 14 October outside Freetown.
_____
Soviet battleship MARAT
was sunk by German bombing
at Kronstadt.
_____
Soviet battleship
OKTYABRSKAWA REVOLUTSIA was
damaged by German shore guns at Kronstadt.
_____
Soviet destroyer MINSK,
under repair at Kronstadt, was bombed and
damaged.
_____
Soviet cruiser MAKSIM
GORKI, under repair at Leningrad, was damaged by German
bombing.
Cruiser KIROV, also
repairing at Leningrad, was attacked, but was not
damaged.
_____
Minelaying cruiser LATONA
and destroyers JERVIS, KIMBERLEY, and HASTY departed
Alexandria for Tobruk on Serial 9 SUPERCHARGE operation.
These ships arrived back
at Alexandria on the 24th.
Also sailing was petrol
carrier PASS OF BALMAHA
(758grt), Greek steamer SAMOS (1208grt), and A 2 and A 9
lighters, carrying
tanks, in convoy for Tobruk, escorted by anti-submarine
trawler FALK and
minesweeping trawler SOIKA (per Med Fleet WD -- SOTRA in
Preliminary
Narrative) in Serial 11.
The convoy arrived on the
26th.
_____
Destroyer JUPITER arrived
at Suez to join the fleet after having proceeded
independently from Gibraltar.
The destroyer was in need
of docking for repair to
serious leaks in her oil fuel tanks.
The destroyer arrived at
Alexandria on the 25th.
_____
Submarine TRIUMPH sank
German steamer LUVSEE
(2373grt) six miles northeast of Sebenico.
Submarine TRIUMPH damaged
Italian steamer POSEIDONE
(6613grt) four miles off Ortona on the 24th.
_____
Submarine THRASHER made an
unsuccessful attack on a
steamer near Benghazi.
_____
Submarine
TORBAY made an
unsuccessful attack on a steamer off Suda
Bay.
_____
Italian steamer CARMELO
NOLI (109grt) was sunk on a
mine south of Livorno.
_____
Battleship PRINCE OF WALES
and destroyers LAFOREY, LIGHTNING, and ORIBI
arrived at Gibraltar from Greenock late on
the 23rd. The ships were refuelled and departed before
daylight to rejoin the
WS.11 X convoy.
_____
Destroyers COSSACK,
HEYTHROP, and FARNDALE departed
Gibraltar to join convoy WS.11 X at 0800/24th.
_____
Convoy ST.4 departed
Freetown, escorted by sloop BRIDGEWATER, corvettes
ARMERIA and CALENDULA, and
anti-submarine trawler COPINSAY. The convoy arrived at
Takoradi on the 28th.
_____
British troopship STIRLING
CASTLE departed Bombay with 1650
personnel. The troopship was escorted by
light cruiser EMERALD to 5-26N, 80-59E, then by light
cruiser GLASGOW to
6-05N, 93E. Light cruiser DAUNTLESS escorted the
troopship on to Singapore, arriving on the 29th.
Wednesday,
24 September
British steamer DALTONHALL
(7253grt) was damaged by
mining in 51-45-06N, 5-16-30W.
The steamer arrived at
Holyhead under her own
power. She later proceeded to Liverpool for
repairs.
_____
German minelayer KONIGIN
LUISE was lost on a mine near
Helsinki.
_____
American Captain F. D.
Kirtland assumed escort of
convoy ON.18 at the mid ocean meeting point with a force
of destroyers
MADISON, GLEAVES, LANSDALE, HUGHES, and SIMPSON.
This is the first
westbound convoy escorted by the United
States Navy.
_____
Battleship RODNEY and
destroyers ISAAC SWEERS,
PIORUN, and GARLAND arrived at Gibraltar at 0900.
Corvettes JONQUIL,
SPIRAEA, and AZALEA departed Gibraltar to join the
troopships of convoy WS.11 X convoy at
0900 and bring them into Gibraltar. The ships arrived at
Gibraltar at 0230/25th.
Light cruiser EDINBURGH
departed Gibraltar at 1230 to join the HALBERD convoy.
Destroyers FORESIGHT,
FORESTER, GURKHA, and LANCE
arrived at Gibraltar at 1600 from convoy WS.11 X escort.
Battleship NELSON with
destroyers ISAAC SWEERS,
PIORUN, and GARLAND departed Gibraltar on
Operation HALBERD at 1815.
Destroyers LEGION, LIVELY,
and ZULU arrived at Gibraltar from WS.11 X escort at
1830.
Oiler BROWN RANGER,
escorted by corvette FLEUR DE
LYS, departed Gibraltar at 2000 as Force S.to oil
destroyers in the
HALBERD operation.
Battleship RODNEY,
aircraft carrier ARK ROYAL,
light cruiser HERMIONE, and destroyers DUNCAN,
FORESIGHT, FORESTER, LIVELY,
ZULU, GURKHA, LEGION, and LANCE departed Gibraltar at
2330 on the HALBERD operation.
Convoy HALBERD of steamers
CLAN MACDONALD, CLAN
FERGUSON, AJAX, IMPERIAL STAR, CITY OF LINCOLN, ROWALLAN
CASTLE, DUNEDIN STAR, CITY OF
CALCUTTA, and BRECONSHIRE passed Europa Pontat 0130/25th
escorted by Force A
of battleships NELSON, RODNEY, and PRINCE OF WALES,
aircraft carrier ARK
ROYAL, and destroyers DUNCAN, LEGION, LIVELY, LANCE,
GURKHA, GARLAND, PIORUN,
and ISAAC SWEERS andForce X of light cruisers HERMIONE,
KENYA, EDINBURGH,
SHEFFIELD, and EURYALUS and destroyers LIGHTNING,
LAFOREY, COSSACK, ZULU,
ORIBI, FORESIGHT, FORESTER, FURY, HEYTHROP, and
FARNDALE.
Submarines UTMOST, which
departed Malta on the
18th, in the northern approach to Messina Straits,
UPRIGHT, which departed
Malta on the 22nd, in the northeastern approach to
Messina Straits, URGE,
which departed Malta on the 22nd, north of Palermo,
UPHOLDER, which departed
Malta on the 23rd, northward of Marittimo to Cape St
Vito, UNBEATEN, which
departed Malta on the 23rd, in the vicinity of Cape
Spartivento and Cape del
Armi, and URSULA, which departed Malta 23 September
south of Straits of
Messina, SOKOL, which departed Gibraltar on the 22nd,
north of Sicily,
TRUSTY, which departed Gibraltar on the 20th, north of
Sicily, and O.21,
which departed Gibraltar on the 21st, off Cagliari were
in the area of the
convoy's track to intercept Italian warships.
Italian battleships
LITTORIO and VENETO with destroyers GRANATIERE,
FUCLIERE, BERSAGLIERE,
and GIOBERTI of the 13th Destroyer Division and DA
RECCO, PESSAGNO, and
FOLGORE of the 16th Destroyer Division departed Naples.
Heavy cruisers TRENTO, TRIESTE, and GORIZIA with
destroyers CORAZZIERE,
CARABINIERE, ASCARI, and LANCIERE of the 12th Destroyer
Division departed
Meesina, and light cruisers ABRUZZI and ATTENDOLO with
destroyers MAESTRALE,
GRECALE, and SCIROCCO of the 10th Destroyer Division
departed Palermo to intercept the convoy on the 26th.
The two
battleships and seven operated as one group. The five
cruisers and seven
destroyers operated as the second group.
The remainder of the
Italian Fleet could not sail
due to fuel shortages.
Battleship NELSON was
damaged by an aerial torpedo
on the 27th and had her speed reduced to eighteen knots.
Lt Cdr J. R.B. Longden, CBE, was wounded.
Destroyer ZULU was damaged
by splinters from the
near miss of an air bomb.
Battleships PRINCE OF
WALES, NELSON, and RODNEY and
six destroyers were detached to attack this force. When
battleship NELSON was
reduced further and she was forced to drop out, light
cruisers EDINBURGH and SHEFFIELD replaced her. No
contact was made with the Italian
force.
On the 27th, troopship
IMPERIAL STAR was badly damaged in 37-31N, 10-46E.
Destroyers
HEYTHROP and FARNDALE took off the survivors and
destroyer ORIBI took the
troopship in tow until it became necessary to scuttle
the ship.
There were no casualties
on the troopship.
Battleship RODNEY shot
down in error a Fulmar of
807 Squadron from aircraft carrier ARK ROYAL. Sub Lt P.
Guy and Leading
Airman Jones were picked up by destroyer DUNCAN. A
second Fulmar of 807
Squadron was also shot down by battleship RODNEY. Lt G.
C. M. Guthrie and
Petty Officer A. T. Goodman were also picked up by
destroyer DUNCAN.
During the night of 27/28
September, light cruiser
HERMIONE bombarded Pantelleria for five minutes.
Steamers CITY OF CALCUTTA
and ROWALLAN
CASTLE were damaged in a collision.
Steamers MELBOURNE STAR
departed Malta at 1130 and arrived at Gibraltar on the
29th. Steamers PORT CHALMERS and CITY OF PRETORIA
departed Malta at 1100 on 27September and arrived at
Gibraltar on the 30th.
Lt M. W. Watson and A/Sub
Lt (A) P. W. N. Couch of
the 808 Squadron of aircraft carrier ARK ROYAL were lost
when their Fulmar
was accidently shot by by gunfire from battleship PRINCE
OF WALES.
Battleship NELSON was
detached with five destroyers
to return to Gibraltar at dark on the 28th. She was
escorted by destroyer
DUNCAN, PIORUN, and GARLAND back to Gibraltar.
Destroyer ROCKINGHAM and corvettes JONQUIL, FLEUR DE
LYS, SAMPHIRE, and ARBUTUS
departed Gibraltar on the 29th to join the escort. All
arrived at Gibraltar on the 30th.
On the 27th, destroyer
DUNCAN picked up the pilot of a Fulmar aircraft
accidently shot down by battleship RODNEY.
On the 28th, light cruiser
HERMIONE bombarded
Pantelleria.
Italian submarines DIASPRO
at 0617 on the 29th in
37-32N, 6-45W, SERPENTE at 1642 in 37-22N, 6-16E, and
ADUA at 0350/30th
attacked destroyers in Force H off Algeria.
Destroyer GURKHA damaged
submarine DIASPRO and destroyers
LEGION and LANCE damaged submarine SERPENTE in counter
attacks.
Submarine ADUA was sunk by
destroyers GURKHA and
LEGION on the 30th east of Cartagena.
Battleship PRINCE OF
WALES, light cruiser KENYA and SHEFFIELD, and
destroyers LAFOREY, LIGHTNING, ORIBI, FORESIGHT,
FORESTER, and FURY arrived
at Gibraltar at 1750/30th.
Light cruisers KENYA and
SHEFFIELD departed
Gibraltar at 0400 on 1 October to return to the UK and
to search for a German supply ship reported
off the coast of North Spain.
Battleship RODNEY,
aircarft carier ARK ROYAL, light
cruisers HERMOINE, EDINBURGH, and EURYALUS, and
destroeyrs FRANDALE,
HEYTRHOP, COSSACK, LEGION, LANCE, LIVELY, ZULU, ISAAC
SWEERS, and GURKHA
arrived at Gibraltar at 0830 on 1 October. Tug ST DAY
arrived at 0900.
Battleship PRINCE OF WALES
and destroyers LAFOREY, LIGHTNING, and ORIBI
departed Gibraltar for the UK, escorted locally by
destroyer LIVELY at 2000 on 1
October.
Light cruiser EURYALUS and
destroyers FARNDALE and
HEYTHROP departed Gibraltar at 2345 on 1 October for
Freetown, escorting
steamers MELBOURNE STAR and PORT CHALMERS for Buenas
Aires.
At 0130 on 2 October,
light cruiser EDINBURGH and
destroyers PIORUN and GARLAND
departed Gibraltar for the UK, escorting steamers
LEINSTER and CITY OF PRETORIA. They
were escorted locally by destroyers COSSACK
and ZULU, which then joined aircraft carrier ARGUS and
escorted her to Gibraltar.
_____
Minelaying cruiser ABDIEL
and destroyers NAPIR, KINGSTON, and HOTSPUR departed
Alexandria for Tobruk on Serial 10 of the SUPERCHARGE
operation.
_____
Destroyers JAGUAR and
GRIFFIN were at sea exercising and remained at sea for
the
night of 24/25 September.
_____
An Italian convoy of
steamers CASTELVERDE, PERLA,
and AMSTERDAM, escorted by destroyers LAPINO, ORIANI,
and
FULMINE, and STRALE, reported a submarine attack off
Pantelleria.
No damage was done. There
is no corresponding
report.
_____
Submarine TRIUMPH damaged
Italian steamer POSEIDONE
(6613grt) four miles off Ortona and Italian steamer
SIDAMO (2384grt) in Ortona Harbour.
_____
Submarine TETRARCH made an
unsuccessful attack on a
steamer in the Gulf of Athens.
_____
Greek submarine TRITON
made an unsuccessful attack
on Italian naval ship CYCLOPS off Suda
Bay.
_____
Italian steamer PROSPERO
(971grt) was sunk by
British bombing at Benghazi.
_____
Corvettes SAMPHIRE and
CONVOLVULUS arrived at
Gibraltar escorting the 26th Motor Launch Flotilla of
ML.209, ML.244, ML.251,
ML.271, ML.277, ML.279, ML.281, and ML.289.
_____
Greek steamer STAMATIOS G.
EMBIRICOS (3941grt) was
sunk by German raider KORMORAN at 1-01S, 64-30E.
Five crew were lost on the
steamer.
Five men and the Captain
of the steamer were picked
up by the armed merchant cruiser. Another twenty four
survivors in a boat
lost touch in dark and were rescued three days later by
the armed merchant
cruiser. They became prisoners of war.
_____
Convoy SC.46 departed
Sydney, CB, escorted by
corvettes LETHBRIDGE, NAPANEE, and SHEDIAC. Corvette
GALt joined on the
25th. The original escort group was detached on the
27th. Destroyers
BROADWAY, BURWELL, and OTTAWA
and corvettes ALGOMA, BRANDON,
BUCTOUCHE, and COBALt joined on the 27th. Destroyers
CALDWELL, VANOC,
VOLUNTEER, and WALKER joined on 4 October. The 27
September joining group was
detached on 5 October. Destroyer VOLUNTEER was detached
on 9 October and the
convoy arrived at Liverpool on 10 October.
_____
Convoy SL.88 departed
Freetown escorted by destroyer VANSITTART to 27
September,
sloop ENCHANTRESS to 8 October, corvettes ASTER,
BURDOCK, and VERVAIN to 27
September, and anti-submarine trawlers FANDANGO and
MORRIS DANCE to 27
September.
On the 27th, escort
vessels HARTLAND and WALNEY joined
to 8 October. Destroyers VIMY and WILD SWAN escorted the
convoy on 1 October
only.
The convoy rendezvoused
with convoy HG.74 on 8
October.
The convoy arrived
Liverpool on 18 October.
Thursday,
25 September
Heavy cruiser SUFFOLK with
destroyers IMPULSIVE, ANTHONY, and ANTELOPE
departed Scapa Flow at 2000 for Hvalfjord to fuel prior
to escorting
convoy PQ.1.
The ships arrived on the
27th.
_____
The Flag of Rear Admiral,
1st Cruiser Squadron, was
transferred from heavy cruiser DEVONSHIRE to heavy
cruiser NORFOLK.
The heavy cruiser
proceeded to the Clyde, where she arrived on the 27th, for duty escorting convoy WS.12.
_____
Convoy ON.20 departed
Liverpool escorted by destroyers VANOC, VOLUNTEER, and
WALKER and corvette HYDRANGEA. The convoy was joined on
the 26th by destroyer CALDWELL. These escorts were
relieved on the 30th by
American destroyers BENSON, HILARY P. JONES, NIBLACK,
REUBEN JAMES, and
WINSLOW. Corvette ALGOMA joined on 3 October and was
detached the next day.
The American destroyers were detached on 9 October when
the convoy was
dispersed.
_____
Sloop IBIS departed Rosyth
at 0500 and arrived at Scapa Flow at 1900 to carry out
working up exercises.
_____
New Zealand P/T/Sub Lt (A)
D. Simmonds, RNZVR, was
killed when his Fulmar of 761 Squadron crashed near West
Camel.
_____
Australian destroyer
VENDETTA arrived at Alexandria from Haifa.
_____
Ocean boarding vessel
MARON departed Gibraltar for Western Patrol, eoscrted by
anti-submarine
trawlers LADY SHIRLEY and ERIN.
Trawler ERIN was to join
arriving tanker LA
CARRIERE for escort duties to Gibraltar.
Trawler LADY SHIRLEY was
detached on the 28th to
relieve sloop COMMANDANT DUBOC towing damaged steamer
SILVERBELLE to Las Palmas.
_____
Australian light cruiser
ADELAIDE departed Melbourne escorting a steamer to
southeast of Chatham Island.
The light cruiser then
proceeded to Wellington, arriving on the 30th.
Friday,
26 September
British steamer BRITISH
PRINCE (4979grt) was sunk
by German bombing in 53-52N, 0-25E.
There were no casualties
on the steamer.
_____
British schooner KANTARA
was lost, cause and
location unknown.
_____
British steamer ORIOLE
(489grt) was damaged by
mining off South Bishops, Cardigan
Bay.
The steamer was towed to
Milford on the 27th.
_____
U.66 sank Panamanian
steamer I. C. WHITE (7052grt)
at 10-26S, 27-30W.
Three crew were missing on
the steamer.
_____
German steamer GILLHAUSEN
(4339grt) south of
Krakens,Norway.
_____
Italian fishing boat
CAPODOGLIO (184grt) was sunk
by British bombing 16 miles 346° from Marsa Dili.
_____
The Mediterranean Fleet
departed Alexandria at 0900 with battleships QUEEN
ELIZABETH, BARHAM,
and VALIANT, light cruisers AJAX, NEPTUNE, and HOBART,
and destroyers JERVIS, JUPITER, KINGSTON, KIPLING, HERO,
HOTSPUR, DECOY, and VENDETTA to
act as a diversion for operation HALBERD being carried
out by Force H
Destroyer NAPIER departed
Alexandria after fueling and joined the Fleet at 1430.
The Fleet returned to
Alexandria at 1400/27th.
_____
Minelaying cruiser LATONA
and destroyers JACKAL, KIMBERLEY, and HASTY departed
Alexandria for Tobruk on Serial 12 of the SUPERCHARGE
operation.
The ships arrived back on
the 26th.
_____
Anti-submarine whaler
SOUTHERN SEA (344grt) attacked a submarine contact in
33-29N,
34-45E.
The whaler was joined by
corvettes DELPHINIUM and
ERICA, but the search was unsuccessful.
_____
Submarine P.34 arrived at
Gibraltar after departing Barrow on the 16th. En route
on
the 21st, she was ordered to conduct a diving patrol in
the vicinity of
42-50N, 10-40W and look for enemy submarines.
_____
Submarine TETRARCH sank
Italian steamer CITTA DI
BASTIA in 36-21N, 24-23E.
The steamer was from a
convoy of steamers CITTA DE
MARSALA (2480grt), CITTA DE BASTIA (2499grt), TRAPANI
(1855grt), and
SANTAGANTA (4299grt) that departed Piraeus for Candia on
the 26th, escorted
by destroyer SELLA, torpedo boat LIBRA, and armed
merchant cruiser BRIONI.
_____
Heavy cruiser EXETER
departed Aden.
_____
Convoy HX.152 departed
Halifax. The convoy was joined on the 28th by destroyer
ANNAPOLIS. The destroyer was detached on the 30th when
relieved by American destroyers BABBITT, BROOME, LEARY,
MAYO, and SCHENCK. In
heavy weather all the American destroyers suffered
varying degrees of storm
damage. The American group was relieved on 9 October by
destroyers KEPPEL,
SABRE,SHIKARI, and VENOMOUS, corvettes DIANELLA and
SUNFLOWER, and
anti-submarine trawlers LADY ELSA, MAN O.WAR, and
NORTHERN DAWN. Destroyer SHIKARI was
detached on 9 October, the corvettes and the trawlers on
11 October,
destroyer KEPPEL on 12 October, and destroyers SABRE on
13 October. The
convoy arrived at Liverpool on 14 October.
Saturday,
27 September
During the night of 27/28
September, British
landing ship PRINCE LEOPOLD, accompanied by MGB.316,
MGB.314, MGB.312, landed
a Commando unit at St Vaast, near Cherbourg in Operation
CHOPPER.
Destroyers FERNIE and
VANITY provided covering
patrol.
The force withdrew after
obtaining information.
_____
Faroes motor fishing
vessel FRAM (92grt) was sunk
at Vestmannhavn by German bombing.
There were no casualties
on the vessel.
_____
Submarine TRIDENT sank
German auxiliary
anti-submarine trawler UJ 1201 (former UJ 126: trawler
STEIERMARK: 446grt)
off Rolvsoy Sound.
_____
Convoy OG.75 departed
Liverpool escorted by sloop ROCHESTER and corvettes
BLUEBELL, CAMPION, CARNATION,
HELIOTROPE, and MALLOW.
Minesweeping trawler BURKE
and anti-aircraft vessel
ARIGUANI joined the convoy on the 28th.
Corvette LA MALOUINE
joined the convoy on 3
October.
On 4 October, destroyer
LAMERTON joined the escort.
Destroyers FORESIGHT,
FORESTER, FURY, LEGION, and
LIVELY departed Gibraltar on 7 October and joined the
escort on 8 October.
Corvette FLEUR DE LYS
departed Gibraltar on 8 October and joined the convoy
escort.
On 13 October, aircraft
carrier ARK ROYAL, which
was exercising east of Gibraltar, flew off aircraft to
provide escort for the
convoy.
Destroyer VIDETTE joined
the escort on 13 October.
The convoy arrived at
Gibraltar on 13 October.
_____
Submarine
CLYDE encountered
U.111 supplying U.68 in Tarafal Bay,St
Antao Island, Cape Verde Islands. Submarine CLYDE was missed by torpedoes from U.68 and was narrowly missed when the
second submarine attempted to ram her. At 0330,
submarine
CLYDE was damaged in a collision with U.67.
Submarine
CLYDE arrived at Gibraltar on 4
October.
_____
T/Sub Lt (A) C. F. G.
Carr-Gregg RNVR, and Air Mechanic D. V. Blacklaws
were
killed when their Fulmar of RN Fulmar Flight Dehkheila
crashed off Hurguarda
in the Red Sea during an a dummy attack on a warship.
_____
Minelaying cruiser ABDIEL
and destroyers KANDAHAR, JAGUAR, and GRIFFIN departed
Alexandria for Tobruk on Serial 13 of the SUPERCHARGE
operation.
The ships arrived back at
Alexandria on the 28th and SUPERCHARGE came to an end.
Also sailing on this date
was Serial 14.
Anti-submarine trawler WOLBOROUGH, A 7, A 11, and store
ship MIRANDA departed
Alexandria. They turned back on the 28th after A 11 was
bomb
damaged. They sailed again on the 29th and arrived on 1
October.
Store ship TIBERIO also
sailed on this date in
Serial 15 and arrived at Mersa Matruh. She sailed on the
28th and was damaged
by British bombing on the 30th. She arrived at Tobruk on
1 October.
In this operation 6308
officers and men and 2100
tons of stores were carried to Tobruk. 5444 officers and
men, 544 wounded,
and one prisoner of war was brought from Tobruk.
_____
Submarine UPRIGHT sank
Italian submarine chaser
ALBATROS off Messina.
U.371 rescued forty two
survivors from the chaser.
_____
Submarine TETRARCH made an
unsuccessful attack on a
steamer in Zea Channel.
Later that day, the
submarine sank Greek coastal
steamer PANAJOTIS KRAMOTTOS (120grt) with artillery
southwest of Milos.
_____
Dutch submarine O.21 made
an unsuccessful attack on
a steamer in 42N, 10E.
Sunday,
28 September
Destroyer OFFA departed
the Clyde at 1400 for working up exercises at
Scapa Flow, where she
arrived at 1200/29th.
_____
Minesweepers LEDA,
BRITOMART, GOSSAMER, and HUSSAR
arrived at Hvalfjord for escort duty in convoy PQ.1.
_____
Convoy ON.19 A departed
Reykavik, escorted by
destroyer ST CROIX and corvettes AGASSIZ, EYEBRIGHT, and PRESCOTT.
The convoy was dispersed on 4 October.
_____
Convoy ON.21 departed
Liverpool, escorted by destroyer KEPPEL. On the 30th,
destroyers SABRE and VENOMOUS, corvettes DIANELLA and
SUNFLOWER, and anti-submarine
trawlers LADY ELSA, MAN O.WAR, and NORTHERN DAWN joined.
Destroyer SABRE
was detached on 2 October and destroyers KEPPEL and
VENOMOUS were detached on
5 October. The remainder escort ships were detached on 6
October after
destroyer ST
LAURENT and corvettes
BITTERSWEET, CHILLIWACK, COLLINGWOOD, SNOWBERRY, and
TRAIL joined on 5
October. The convoy was dispersed on 14 October and the
escorts detached.
_____
Destroyer SOUTHWOLD was
damaged in a collision with
patrol sloop SHEARWATER off Sheringham.
Neither ship received more
than minor damage.
Destroyer SOUTHWOLD was
repaired during refitting
at Chatham from 10 October to 7 November.
The sloop was repaired at
Harwich from 4 to 8
October.
_____
British fishing trawler
MURIELLE (96grt) was badly damaged
by a mine eight to nine miles southwest by south of
Morecambe Bay Light
Vessel.
The trawler sank in tow.
There were no casualties.
_____
Convoy QP.1 departed
Archangel at 1200 with Dutch
steamer ALCHIBA (4427grt), British tanker BLACK RANGER
(3417grt), British
steamers ESNEH (1931grt), LLANSTEPHAN CASTLE
(11,348grt), NEW WESTMINSTER CITY (4747grt), LANCASTRIAN
PRINCE (1914grt), and
TREHATA (4817grt), and Soviet steamers SEVZAPLES
(3947grt), SUKHONA
(3124grt), ALMA ATA (3611grt), BUDENNE (2482grt),
MOSSOVET (2981grt), RODINA
(4441grt), and STARY BOLSHEVIK (2974grt).
Local escort for the
convoy was Minesweepers
HALCYON, HARRIER, and SALAMANDER from 28 to 30
September.
Heavy cruiser LONDON
escorted the convoy from 28 September to 2
October. Heavy cruiser SHROPSHIRE departed
Scapa Flow at
1900/28th escorted the convoy from 2 to 10 October,
relieving heavy cruiser LONDON in 74-55N, 27-30E.
Destroyers ELECTRA
escorted the convoy from 28
September to 9 October, ACTIVE from 28 September to 5
October, and ANTHONY
from 4 to 9 October.
Trawlers MACBETH and
HAMLET of the 73rd
Minesweeping Group escorted the convoy from 28 September
to 9 October.
Trawler OPHELIA escorted the convoy from 28 September to
5 October.
Trawler OPHELIA, escorting
tanker BLACK RANGER en
route to convoy PQ.1, developed defects and was towed by
destroyer ACTIVE to
Akureyri, arriving on 10 October.
Soviet steamers SUKHONA
and MOSSOVET straggled from
the convoy, but arrived safely.
The convoy dispersed off
the Orkneys on 10 October,
the steamers proceeding to their destinations in convoy
WN 91.
Heavy cruiser SHROPSHIRE
was detached at 1900 on 10 October and arrived at Scapa
Flow at 0015 on 11 October.
Destroyer ANTHONY
escorting oiler BLACK RANGER and
steamer LLANSTEPHAN CASTLE arrived at Scapa Flow at 0900
on 11 October.
Destroyer ELECTRA arrived at Scapa
Flow at 1039 on 11
October.
_____
Destroyers NAPIER and
JACKAL departed Alexandria to reinforce the Suez escort
force.
The destroyers passed
through the Canal on the
29th.
_____
Submarine TETRARCH damaged
German steamer YALOVA
(3751grt) twenty miles south of San Giorgio.
The steamer was able to
beach herself, but was
finished off on 3 October by submarine TALISMAN.
_____
Italian submarine FISALA
was sunk by Corvette
HYACINTH off Jaffa in 32-19N, 34-17E.
_____
Convoy BP.16 departed
Bombay, escorted by Greek cruiser GEORGIOS AVEROFF. The
cruiser was detached en route and arrived back at Bombay
on 4 October for boiler repairs. The convoy
arrived at Basra on 5 October.
Convoys BP.17 through
BP.40 in April 1942 traveled
without escort.
_____
Australian troop convoy
US.12B departed Fremantle
with liners AQUITANIA (44,786grt), JOHAN VAN
OLDENBARNEVELDT (19,429grt),
MARNIX VAN ST ALDEGONDE (19,355grt), and SIBAJAK
(12,226grt).
Steamer SIBAJAK was
detached to Singapore.
Monday,
29 September
Convoy PQ.1 of steamers
ATLANTIC (5414grt),
BLAIRNEVIS (4155grt), ELNA II (3221grt), HARMONIC
(4558grt), Panamanian NORTH
KING (4934grt), Belgian VILLE D'ANVERS (7462grt), BLACK
RANGER (3417grt),
Panamanian CAPIRA (5565grt), GEMSTONE (4986grt), LORCA
(4875grt), and RIVER
AFTON (5479grt) departed Hvalfjord at 1845 escorted by
heavy cruiser SUFFOLK,
destroyers ANTELOPE and IMPULSIVE, and minesweepers
BRITOMART, GOSSAMER,
LEDA, and HUSSAR.
Destroyer ANTHONY departed
Hvalfjord with oiler
BLACK RANGER on the 29th and sailed with the convoy. On
4 October, the
destroyer and oiler met returning convoy QP.1.
Destroyer ANTELOPE was
detached on 2 October to Scapa Flow.
Destroyer ESCAPADE
departed Scapa Flow at 2100/28th for Seidisfjord for
refuelling. The
destroyer arrived at 0800/30th. She departing and joined
the convoy on 2
October, escorting it to 11 October.
Convoy PQ.1 arrived at
Murmansk on 11 October at 0240.
_____
An allied conference
aboard battleship KING GEORGE
V between Admiral Commanding, Home Fleet, Admiral
Commanding, Western
Approaches, Admiral Commanding, Iceland Command, Air
Officer Commanding
Iceland, US Rear Admiral R. C. Giffen (SO, US Naval
Forces in Iceland), and
staffs concluded.
Admiral Commanding,
Western Approaches, which had
arrived by air on the 26th, took passage back to England
in destroyer ASHANTI.
_____
Submarine ULTIMATUM
arrived at Gibraltar from Barrow.
_____
Light cruiser GALATEA
departed Port Said.
_____
Destroyers AVONVALE and
ERIDGE arrived at Suez from Gibraltar, via
Capetown.
The destroyers were held
at Suez for duty with Suez Escort Force until 5 October.
At
that time they proceeded to Alexandria and joined the
2nd Destroyer Flotilla in the
Mediterranean Fleet.
_____
Australian destroyer
VENDETTA and two ML's departed
Alexandria for Haifa.
_____
Italian tanker FLUVIOR
(389grt) was sunk by mining
at Tripoli.
_____
Italian steamer ILVANIA
(487grt) was sunk at Port
Torres, Sardinia, to unknown cause.
_____
Italian tanker SUPERGA
(6154grt) was sunk by Soviet
submarine SC.211 in 43-00N, 27-58E near Varna in the
Black Sea.
_____
The troopships of convoy
WS.11X, less LEINSTER, departed Gibraltar for
Freetown, escorted by destroyers VIMY and WILD SWAN.
The troopships were turned
over to corvettes
WOODRUFF and MIGNONETTE on the 2nd.
The destroyers, after
spending 2 to 5 October at Bathurst, were to join
aircraft carrier EAGLE off Bathurst on 6 October.
Aircraft carrier EAGLE and
sloop COMMANDANT DUBOC,
escorted by light cruiser DUNEDIN,
sloop BRIDGEWATER, and corvettes ARMERIA and ASTER, had
departed Freetown 4 October.
Destroyer VIMY was
detached and destroyer WILD SWAN
finally met the aircraft carrier and sloop. Destroyer
CROOME departed Gibraltar on 5 October to join the ships
and escorted them
to Gibraltar, arriving at Gibraltar on 11 October.
_____
Submarines THORN and
TRUANT arrived at Gibraltar.
Submarine THORN had
departed Holy Loch on the 22nd.
Submarine TRUANT departed
St Johns, NF, on the 19th after
refitting at Portsmouth, NH, and had been delayed by
engine defects.
_____
Convoy SC.47 departed
Sydney, CB, escorted by corvettes CHICOUTIMI, MATAPEDIA,
NAPANEE, and SHERBROOKE. Corvette CHAMBLY joined on 1
October and destroyers RAMSEY and RICHMOND and corvette
ORILLIA on 4 October. Destroyers BROKE, MANSFIELD, and
WOLVERINE, corvette EGLANTINE, and
anti-submarine trawler KING SOL joined
on 11 October. Destroyers RAMSEY and RICHMOND and
corvettes CHAMBLY,
MATAPEDIA, ORILLIA, and SHERBROOKE were detached on 12
October, destroyers
BROKE, MANSFIELD, and WOLVERINE on 15 October, corvette
EGLANTINE on 16
October, and anti-submarine trawler KING SOL on 17
October. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on 20 October.
_____
Heavy cruiser HAWKINS
arrived at Montevideo.
Tuesday,
30 September
Heavy cruiser KENT, after
repairs and refitting at Devonport,
departed Devonport at 0900/30th, escorted by destroyer
NORMAN.
Both ships arrived at
Scapa Flow at 1830 on 1 October.
_____
Destroyer ECLIPSE departed
Rosyth at 0700 and
arrived at Scapa Flow at 1900 on completion of boiler
cleaning and minor
repairs.
_____
Destroyer DULVERTON
departed the Clyde at 1230 for Scapa
Flow working up
practices.
The destroyer arrived at
0730 on 1 October.
_____
Submarine SUNFISH,
refitting at Tyneside, was
damaged by near misses of German bombing.
T/repairs were done on the
submarine at Tyneside
from 3 October to 1 November. The submarine was then
taken to Portsmouth where repairs were completed on 9
October 1943.
_____
Submarine TRIDENT
unsuccessfully attacked German
hospital ship BIRKA (1000grt) in 71-03N, 24-34E.
_____
Minesweeping trawlers
EILEEN DUNCAN (223grt, T/Lt
G. N. Ward RNVR ) and STAR OF DEVERON (220grt, T/Skipper
G. F. Durrant RNR) were sunk by German bombing at the
Bergen
Wharf, River Tyne.
Durrant was killed in
trawler STAR OF DEVERON.
_____
British steamer CEDARWOOD
(899grt) was damaged by
German bombing off Dover.
_____
Soviet destroyer
SOVERSHENNY was mined on trials
near Sevastapool.
The destroyer was
repaired.
_____
Corvette JONQUIL departed
Gibraltar to meet arriving tanker LA CARRIERE, which had
not
been met by anti-submarine trawlers ERIN and LADY
SHIRLEY.
The tanker and corvette
arrived on 2 October.
_____
Light cruiser DAUNTLESS
arrived at Singapore.
_____
Light cruiser DANAE
departed Singapore.
September,
miscellaneous
Uruguayan authorities
seized Italian steamers
ADAMELLO (5785grt) renamed MONTEVIDEO, and FAUSTO
(5285grt) at Montevideo, renamed MALSEDO.