|
Background Events - December 1941-February 1942
Pearl
Harbor attacked, Loss of 'Repulse' & 'Prince
of Wales', Singapore falls, 'Channel Dash' by
German big ships, to February 1942
1942
Thursday, 1
January
Force J, which
had withdrawn from the Lofoten Islands on the conclusion of Operation ANKLET,
arrived at Scapa Flow at 1100 with light cruiser ARETHUSA, destroyers SOMALI,
ASHANTI, BEDOUIN, ESKIMO, WHEATLAND, escort ship SCOTT, Norwegian corvettes
EGLANTINE and ACANTHUS, minesweepers SPEEDWELL and HARRIER, Polish destroyers
KRAKOWIAK and KUJIWIAK, tankers BLACK RANGER and GRAY RANGER, troopship
PRINCE ALBERT, tug JAUNTY, and supply ship GUDRUN MAERSK.
Minesweeper
HALCYON arrived at Scapa Flow, escorting oiler SAN ZOTICO from Sullom Voe after
Operation ANKLET.
_____
Heavy
cruiser KENT arrived at Scapa Flow from the Clyde.
_____
Destroyer
PANTHER arrived at Scapa Flow at 1900 from Greenock to carry out practices after
commissioning.
_____
Destroyer
FORESIGHT, escorting landing ships PRINCE CHARLES, PRINCE LEOPOLD, and
PRINCESS CHARLOTTE, arrived at Scapa Flow at 1130 from Invergordon.
_____
Destroyer
NEWARK departed Scapa Flow at 2230 for Loch Alsh after
docking and repairs, arriving on the 2nd.
_____
Submarine
STURGEON departed Scapa Flow, escorted by anti-submarine trawler STELLA
PEGASI, for patrol, then to Murmansk.
_____
Steamer
KENTWOOD (2180grt) was badly damaged on a mine near 56
Buoy Haisboro. The steamer later sank in tow of a navy ship.The crew and
gunners aboard were all rescued.
_____
Steamer
PENRHOS (187grt) was sunk on a mine one mile 243° from North Constable Buoy, Liverpool Bay.
_____
Minelaying
cruiser ABDIEL, which had departed Haifa on 31 December after
embarking mines, departed Suez on the 1st and Aden on the 4th to join the
Eastern Fleet. The minelayer arrived at Colombo on the 10th.
_____
Submarine
P.36 departed Gibraltar to carry out patrols in the vicinity of Sete and Cannes before proceeding to Malta, arriving on the 16th.
_____
An
Albacore of 828 Squadron from Hal Far failed to return from night operations.
Acting S/Lt (A) R.H. Pettitt RNVR, and S/Lt (A) A.W.J. Capes RNVR, were
captured by the Italians and made prisoners of war. Capes was later able to
escape.
_____
British
tug DAISY foundered under tow from Alexandria to Tobruk.
_____
Submarine
TRUSTY, en route from the mediterranean for the Far East, departed Aden from Colombo.
_____
Greek
light cruiser GEORGIOS AVEROFF departed Colombo for Bombay after escort duty with
convoy BM.9 B.
_____
American
steamer MALAMA (3275grt) was captured at 26-39S, 151-24W by Japanese armed
merchant cruisers AIKOKU MARU and HOKUKU MARU. The crew of the steamer were
interned at Shanghai.
Friday,
2 January
Norwegian
corvettes ACANTHUS and EGLANTINE, which had formed part of Force J for
operation ANKLET, departed Scapa Flow for Liverpool at 1200.
_____
Destroyer
BEDOUIN escorted destroyer MONTROSE, which had damaged her propellers in a
grounding on 30 December, from Scapa Flow at 1600. Both ships arrived
at Rosyth at 1600/3rd. Destroyer BEDOUIN remained as well to clean boilers.
_____
Captain
D.17 in destroyer ONSLOW with destroyers OFFA and MARNE arrived at Hvalfjord at
1800. En route, the destroyers had been diverted to carry out an
anti-submarine sweep passing through position 59-18N, 12-50W where steamer
CARDITA had been torpedoed on 31 December.Destroyer ONSLOW resuced twenty
three survivors from CARDITA on the 1st.
_____
Destroyers
WALKER, VERITY, and WITHERINGTON departed Hvalfjord at 2215 for Scapa Flow on relief by destroyers
ONSLOW, OFFA, and MARNE. En route, the destroyers were diverted to
screen battleship RESOLUTION to the Clyde, relieving destroyers ESKIMO and ASHANTI.
_____
Temporary
S/Lt (A) W.C. Hooson RNVR, of 888 Squadron was killed when his Martlet
crashed three miles east of Winchester during exercises.
_____
Convoy ON.53 departed Liverpool.The convoy was joined on the 3rd by
destroyer WANDERER and corvette DAUPHIN, RENONCULE, and ROSELYS.Corvettes
AUBRETIA and VERVAIN reinforced the convoy on the 5th.These escorts were
relieved on the 9th by U.S. Coast cutter CAMPBELL and U.S. destroyers BADGER,
COLE, DECATUR, and PLUNKETT.Destroyer BADGER was detached on the 13th and
destroyer COLE on the 14th.The convoy was dispersed on the 19th.
_____
Dutch
submarine O.14 departed Scapa Flow, escorted by anti-submarine trawler STELLA
PEGASI, for Operation KITBAG.
_____
U.134
sank Steamer WAZIRISTAN (5135grt), from convoy PQ.7 A, in 74-09N, 19-10E.
_____
Submarine
P.39 departed Gibraltar for patrol off Alboran Island. On 3 January, the submarine
was directed to patrol off Agua amarga to intercept German steamer ELISABETH
HENDRIK FISSER whose impeding departure had been reported.
_____
Destroyers
EXMOOR and CROOME arrived at Gibraltar from Bathurst.
_____
Anti-submarine
trawler SCOTTISH was damaged by German aircraft eight miles 300° from Cape Espichel. One soldier was killed and
a stoker was wounded. The trawler entered Lisbon to land the wounded man.
_____
Destroyers
HERO and ARROW departed Alexandria escorting escort ship ANTWERP, carrying
eighty tons of supplies and three hundred and eighty personnel for Benghazi.
The destroyers carried a two hundred man Naval Port Party. The escort ship
and destroyers departed Benghazi on the 5th to return to Alexandria.
_____
Destroyer
SOUTHWOLD arrived at Suez and was passed through the
Canal to join the Mediterranean Fleet. On 3 January, the destroyer departed Port Said escorting three ships to Alexandria.
_____
U.133
was attacked, but not damaged, by British aircraft in 35-34N, 19-07E.
_____
Convoy SC.63 departed Sydney, CB escorted by corvettes
KAMSACK, LOUISBURG, and SHAWNIGAN and
minesweepers GEORGIAN and MALPEQUE. The escorts were detached on the
5th.Destroyer SKEENA and corvettes AMHERST, CELANDINE, POLYANTHUS, PRESCOTT, and PRIMROSE joined on the
5th. Destroyer SKEENA and corvette PRESCOTT were detached on the
10th.The convoy was dispersed on the 13th and the escorts detached.
_____
Light
cruiser DESPATCH departed Balboa to patrol in the Galapagos area.
_____
Seaplane
carrier ALBATROS arrived at Trinidad to disembark aircraft and proceed to Mobile, Alabama, for refitting.
_____
Convoy HX.168 departed Halifax, escorted by destroyer
HAMILTON and minesweepers CLAYOQUOT and REED DEER. These were detached on the
4th. American destroyers BAINBRIGE, BROOME, DICKERSON, TRUXTON, and WOOLSEY
on the 4th. They were detached on the 10th. Corvettes RENONCULE, ROSELYS, and
VERVAIN joined on the 11th, corvettes AUBRETIA on the 12th, and destroyer
WANDERER on the 13th. The convoy was dispersed on the 13th and escorts
detached.
_____
Aircraft
carrier INDOMITABLE departed Capetown for passage through the East Indies
Station to Aden. On the 9th, the aircraft carrier
met destroyers NAPIER, NESTOR, and NIZAM off the west coast of Socotra.
_____
Battleship
ROYAL SOVEREIGN arrived at Seychilles after convoy duty with convoy WS.12 Z.
The battleship departed on the 3rd for Mombasa.
_____
Heavy
cruiser DORSETSHIRE departed Bombay for Durban for escort duty with troop
convoy CM.25.
_____
Heavy
cruiser EXETER arrived at Addu Atoll from Colombo.
_____
Sloop
FALMOUTH and boom carrier LAOMEDON departed Colombo for Trincomalee, where they
arrived on the 4th.
_____
American
steamer DON JOSE (10,893grt) was badly damaged by Japanese
bombing at 14-35N, 120-55E. The steamer was run aground. The Japanese later
took the steamer to Hong Kong, but it was further damaged by Allied bombing
and later scrapped.
_____
Steamer
NORAH MOLLER (4433grt) was damaged by Japanese bombing in Malacca Strait. The steamer was able to
reach Singapore on the 3rd.
_____
American
steamer LATOUCHE (2156grt) was seized by Japanese forces at Manila. The steamer was renamed
AZUCHI MARU for Japanese use.
Ships
also seized about this time in the Manila area (American unless other
noted) were:
|
Vessel
|
Fate
|
Japanese name
|
|
Motor
vessel ANAKAN (837grt)
|
Sunk
in December
|
ANAN MARU
|
|
Lighthouse tender BANAHAO
(667grt)
|
Sunk
by Japanese bombing on 28 December, raised by Japanese Army
|
|
|
British
tug HENRY KESWICK (671grt)
|
Scuttled
29 December 1941
|
KEISHU MARU
|
|
Steamer
DOS HERMANOS (838grt)
|
Scuttled
31 December 1941
|
HIMENO MARU
|
|
Steamer
KAIPING (2563grt)
|
Sunk
by Japanese bombing 28 Dec 1941
|
KAIHO MARU
|
|
Steamer
LUZON (1679grt)
|
Sunk
at Luzon and refloated
|
RUSON MARU
|
|
Steamer
MAUBAN (1253grt)
|
Sunk
28 December 1941
|
MANBO MARU
|
|
Steamer
PAZ (4260grt)
|
Sunk
26 December 1941
|
HATSU
MARU
|
|
Steamer
PALAWAN (562grt)
|
Scuttled
29 December 1941
|
PARAN MARU
|
_____
Norwegian
steamer RAVNAAS (4019grt), which had been sunk on 8
December 1941 off Surigao, was salved by Japanese forces and renamed IKUTAGAWA
MARU.
Saturday,
3 January
Battleship
DUKE OF YORK departed Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, escorted by destroyers
HARVESTER, HIGHLANDER, and LIGHTNING, which had arrived on 31 December. On 5
January, the ships arrived at Bermuda.
_____
Destroyer
LEWES arrived at Scapa Flow at 0945 from Plymouth to work up prior to joining
the Rosyth Command.
_____
Minelayer
AGAMEMNON, escorted by destroyer NEWARK, laid minefild SN 26 A of
the Northern Barrage.
_____
Steamer
CORFEN (1848grt) was badly damaged on a mine 1¾ miles NE of B.8 Buoy, Barrow
Deep. One crewman died later of wounds. The rest of the crew survived. The
steamer sank in tow later that day.
_____
Steamer
ROBERT (1272grt) was badly damaged on a mine off Lowestoft in about 52-17-30N, 2E. The
entire crew were rescued. The steamer sank in tow on the 4th.
_____
Submarine
OLYMPUS arrived at Gibraltar from Malta.
_____
Light
cruiser HERMIONE departed Gibraltar for Plymouth. Vice Admiral Sir James
Somerville KCB, KBE, DSO, was aboard. Somerville had been assigned as
Admiral, Commander in Chief, Eastern Fleet. Rear Admiral E.N. Syfret CB, was
named Flag Officer, Force H, effective 10 January.
_____
In
Italian Fleet operation M.43 to support Tripoli, the following movements
took place.
Steamers
NINO BIXIO (7137grt), MONGINERVO (5324grt), and LERICI (6070 tonns) departed Messina at 1015 escorted by
destroyers VIVALDI, DA RECCO, USODIMARE, BERSAGLIERE, and FUCLIERE.
Steamer
GINO ALLEGRI (6836grt) departed Brindisi at 1315 escorted by
destroyers FRECCIA and torpedo boat PROCIONE.
Steamer
MONVISO (5322grt) and tanker GUILO GIORDANI (7000grt) departed Taranto at 1500 escorted by torpedo
boats ORSA, ARETUSA, CASTORE, and ANTARES.
Italian
battleship DUILO with light cruisers GARIBALDI, MONTECUCCOLI, and ATTENDOLO,
and destroyers MAESTRALE, GIOBERTI, ORIANI, SCIROCCO, and MALOCELLO departed Taranto at 1600 to escort the
convoy.
Italian
battleships LITTORIO, CESARE, and DORIA, heavy cruisers GORIZIA and TRENTO, and destroyers CARABINIERE,
ALPINO, DA NOLI, PIGAFETA, ASCARI, AVIERE, GENEIERE, ad CAMICIA NERA departed
Taranto at 1850 to support the convoy.
The
convoys safely arrived at Tripoli on the 5th.
The
DUILO force arrived back at Taranto at 0420/6th and the LITTORIO
force at 1700/5th.
_____
Destroyers
NESTOR, NIZAM, and NAPIER departed Alexandria. The destroyers met aircraft
carrier INDOMITABLE, which had departed Capetown on the 2nd, off Guardafui on
the 9th. On the 15th, these ships departed Aden for Port Sudan, then Addu arriving on the
21st.The British ships refuelled at the Cocos Island on the 25th.
British
800 Squadron and 827 Squadron had been flown off at Aden to take on board RAF
Squadrons 232 and 258 for delivery to Java. The aircraft carrier maintained
nine Sea Hurricanes of 880 Squadron and twelve Albacores of 831 Squadron for
her defence.
_____
Convoy
AT.11 departed Alexandria with supply ships CRISTA
(2590grt) and Norwegian HARBOE JENSEN (1862grt), anti-submarine trawler
WOLBOROUGH, and tug C 307. The convoy was escorted by destroyers KIMBERLEY and HASTY with destroyers GRIFFIN and HOTSPUR. The convoy was
sailed for Benghazi, but was diverted to Tobruk.
The convoy departed Tobruk on the 5th and arrived at Benghazi on the 7th. The destroyers
returned directly to Alexandria.
_____
Convoy
BM.9 A of steamers DEVONSHIRE (11,100grt), ETHIOPIA (5574grt), LANCASHIRE
(9557grt), RAJULA (8478grt), and VARSOVA (4701grt) arrived at Singapore on
the 3rd with light cruisers HOBART, DURBAN, and DRAGON and destroyers
ENCOUNTER, JUPITER, and VAMPIRE.
_____
Destroyer
THANET departed Batavia for Singapore.
_____
Dutch
submarine K.11 arrived at Singapore from patrol.
_____
Light
cruiser GLASGOW arrived at Colombo after escorting convoy
BM.9B.
_____
Indian
sloop SUTLEJ departed Madras with convoy MA.1 of
troopship ELLENGA with troops and stores for Port Blair, arriving on the 7th.
_____
Japanese
submarine I.58 sank Dutch steamer LANGKOEAS (7395grt) north of Bawean Island.
All members of the crew successfully abandoned ship, but the submarine rammed
one lifeboard and machine gunned the others. American destroyer PAUL JONES
searched for the submarine without success.The destroyer rescued the three
survivors of the steamer's crew of 94 from Bawean Island.
Sunday,
4 January
Battleship
RESOLUTION, with destroyers ASHANTI and ESKIMO, departed Scapa Flow for the Clyde. En route, the destroyers
were relieved by destroyers WALKER, VERITY, and WITHERINGTON and returned to Scapa Flow, arriving at 1330/4th.
The
battleship was proceeding to the Clyde for ocean escort duty for convoy WS.15. They
arrived in the Clyde on the 5th. Flag of Vice Admiral W.E.C. Tait CB, MVO, Vice Admiral
Commanding Third Battle Squadron, Vice Admiral, Second in Command, Eastern
Fleet, was hoisted in RESOLUTION.
_____
Heavy
cruiser NORFOLK departed Hvalfjord for
patrol in the Denmark Strait.
_____
Flag
of British Rear Admiral L.H.K. Hamilton DSC, Flag Officer Commanding Force J,
struck in light cruiser ARETHUSA.
_____
Broad
Pendant of Commodore C. Caslon, Commodore Commanding Home Fleet Destroyer
Flotillas, struck in depot ship TYNE.
_____
Flag
of Rear Admiral L.H.K. Hamilton, DSC, Rear Admiral (D), hoisted in depot ship
TYNE.
_____
Minesweepers
HARRIER, SPEEDWELL, and HALCYON departed Scapa Flow at 1200 for Hvalfjord to form
part of the escort for convoy PQ.8. The minesweepers arrived at Hvalfjord at
0900/7th to refuel prior to joining the convoy.
_____
Polish
destroyers KRAKOWIAK and KUJAWIAK departed Scapa Flow at 0900 escorting landing
ships PRINCE LEOPOLD and PRINCESS CHARLOTTE to the Clyde, arriving on the 5th. On
arrival, the destroyers continued on to Plymouth to rejoin their previous
command.
_____
Destroyer
LANCASTER departed Loch Alsh at 1730 for Scpaa Flow to carry out repairs in
dock. The destroyer arrived at 0930/5th.
_____
Destroyer
ORIBI departed Scapa Flow at 2000 for Hvalfjord to relieve destroyer MARNE in the force detailed to act
as screen for battlecruiser RENOWN. ORIBI arrived at Hvalfjord at noon on the 6th. MARNE departed Hvalfjord at 1500
for Scapa
Flow,
arriving at 0845/8th.
_____
Light
cruiser EDINBURGH with destroyers ECHO and ESCAPADE departed Murmansk to meet convoy QP.4 at
daylight on the 6th and escort the convoy to its dispersal point. The convoy
had been considerably delayed in sailing from Archangel owing to severe ice
conditions. The convoy dispersed at 1600/9th in 73N, 10E. EDINBURGH, ECHO and ESCAPADE proceeded to Scapa Flow arriving at 1430/11th. The
destroyers were taken in hand for boiler cleaning.
_____
Minesweepers
BRITOMART and SALAMANDER arrived at Murmansk at 1700 after having failed
to meet and escort convoy PQ.7.
_____
Norwegian
corvettes ACANTHUS and EGLANTINE arrived at Liverpool from Scapa Flow.
_____
Lt
L.F. Edwards RNR, died of injuries after his Hurricane of 759
Squadron crashed near Yeovilton.
_____
Corvette
COREOPSIS departed Gibraltar for Fayal to join corvette COLTSFOOT as additional escort
for cable vessel MIRROR.
_____
Dutch
submarine O.24 departed Gibraltar for refitting in the UK. The submarine refitted at
Grangemouth from 2 February to 3 June.
_____
Destroyer
BRADFORD arrived at Gibraltar from Freetown. The destroyer sustained
minor damage in berthing.
_____
| 