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,
15 January
Light
cruiser EDINBURGH departed
Scapa Flow at 0300 for the
Tyne, escorted by destroyer
WORCESTER. En route, the destroyer was released and returned to Scapa Flow, arriving at 0545/16th,
sustaining weather damage en route.
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Destroyers
BEDOUIN and ESKIMO departed
Scapa Flow at 1500 to patrol off
Cape Wrath against possible submarines.
On meeting heaving cruiser NORFOLK, the destroyers provided an
anti-submarine screen for the cruiser to Scapa Flow. A strong gale during the
16th caused the delay for the rendezvous. The three ships arrived at Scapa Flow at 0530/17th.
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In
a heavy storm at Hvalfjord, American heavy cruiser WICHITA was damaged in a collision
with American steamer
WEST NOHNO (5769grt) and a British trawler, before running
aground. The cruiser was refloated the next day and damage was found to be
minor.
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Minelayer
PLOVER, escorted by MGB.322, MGB.324, MGB.328, and MGB.330 of the 14th
MGB Flotilla, departed
Dover to lay minefield NQ (A) in
the English
Channel. Returning to
Dover on the 16th, she was in a
collision with trawler DEODAR, requiring temporary repair at Dover.
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Gunner
(T) A.C. Stonehouse in destroyer DOUGLAS was lost overboard.
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Convoy AT.10, with troop transports for the
UK, departed New York City, escorted by American
destroyers CHARLES F HUGHES, HILARY P JONES, INGRAHAM, LANSDALE, and LUDLOW. These escorts were detached
on the 16th when relieved by battleship TEXAS, aircraft carrier WASP, heavy
cruiser QUINCEY and destroyers EBERLE, GWIN, LIVERMORE, MAYRANT, MONSSEN,
ROE, ROWAN, STACK, STERETT, TRIPPE, and WAINWRIGHT. This group was relieved
on the 22nd by heavy cruisers TUSCALOOSA and WICHITA and destroyers GRAYSON and
MEREDITH. The convoy arrived at
Londonderry on the 27th.
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Steamer EMPIRE BAY (2824grt) was sunk by German
bombing in 54-41-08N, 1-08-36W. The entire crew was rescued.
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U.552
sank steamer DAYROSE (4133grt) in 46-32N, 53-00W. Thirty two crew and six
gunners were lost. Ten crew were rescued by American destroyer STACK.
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U.123
sank British tanker
COIMBRA (6768grt) in 40-25N, 72-21W.
Of a crew of 40 and six gunners, 25 were missing and one was killed. Ten of
the survivors died in boats and only ten were finally rescued.
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U.203
sank Portuguese trawler CATALINA (632grt) in 47N, 52W.
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U.553
badly damaged British tanker DIALA (8106grt) from dispersed convoy ON.52 in
44-50N, 46-50W. The crew abandoned the tanker on the 20th. Of a crew of 55
and 10 gunners, 48 crew and nine gunners were lost. The tanker was located on
21 February by an HM ship and reboarded. On the 24th one officer and nine
ratings were put on board and the tanker was taken in tow. After unsuccessful
attempts, a tug was summoned and arrived on the 25th. The tow parted on 26
February and the tanker apparently later sank.
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Submarine
TURBULENT departed
Gibraltar for patrol off
Alboran Island.
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Destroyer
EXMOOR attacked a submarine contact
three miles 200° from
Cape Trafalgar. The next day, an aircraft
in transit reported a submarine on the sruface in 36-10N, 6-08W. Destroyer
EXMOOR unsuccessfully searched for
this submarine.
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U.205
attacked a steamer without success near Bardia.
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Light
cruisers DANAE, DRAGON, DURBAN, destroyers EXPRESS, JUPITER, ENCOUNTER,
ELECTRA, STRONGHOLD, and VAMPIRE and sloop JUMNA (to be joined by sloop
YARRA) formed the Far Eastern Squadron (China Force, Commodore J.A. Collins,
CB, RAN in base ship ANKING at Batavia), employed on convoy duties between
Singapore, Sunda Strait, and Java.
Rear
Admiral Malaya operated minelayer ABDIEL, destroyers THANET, TENEDOS, SCOUT
and submarines TRUSTY and TRUANT for the local defence of Singapore. Also included in this group
were all auxiliary patrol and minesweeping vessels based at Singapore.
TRUSTY
had departed Colombo on the 12th en route to
Singapore, via patrol in the Malacca Strait. TRUANT departed Aden for Colombo on the 17th.
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Heavy
cruiser EXETER, light cruisers EMERALD,
DANAE and destroyers ELECTRA and STRONGHOLD arrived at Batavia. EXETER and DANAE then departed to
meet convoy BM.10.
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Survey
ship ENDEAVOUR departed
Batavia for Padang and Colombo.
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Japanese
submarine I.65 sank Indian steamer JALARAJAN (5102grt) in 0-12S, 97-00E. Of a
crew of 75 and three gunners, four were lost.
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Convoy
SL.98 departed
Freetown, escorted by destroyer WILD
SWAN and corvettes AURICULA, FRITILLARY, NIGELLA, and ORCHIS. They were
detached on the 18th, when sloops BIDEFORD and LONDONDERRY, escort vessels CULVER, LANDGUARD,
and LULWORTH, and survey ship CHALLENGER joined the convoy. CULVER was lost
on the 31st to submarine attack. The rest of the escorts continued with the
convoy to arrive at
Liverpool on 5 February.
Friday,
16 January
Heavy
cruiser BERWICK arrived at Hvalfjord from patrol in the Denmark Strait.
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Anti-aircraft
ship CURACOA departed
Scapa Flow for Rosyth.
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Destroyer
ASHANTI departed Rosyth at 1115 for
Scapa Flow on the completion of boiler
cleaning. Heavy weather caused her to heave to and she did not arrive until
0145/17th.
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Russian
ice breaker STALIN was attacked by German bombers at Gorlo and damaged. Two
weeks repair were required.
_____
Minesweeping
trawler IRVANA (276grt, Skipper J.L. Borrett RNR) was sunk by German bombing off
Yarmouth. There were no casualties.
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French
submarine RUBIS, which had departed
Blyth on the 3rd and
Dundee on the 8th, laid minefield
FD.36 off St Jean de Luz. She arrived at Falmouth on the 20th.
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U.402
damaged Steamer LLANGIBBY CASTLE (12,053grt) in 46-04N,
19-06W. Of 181 crew, 11 gunners, 1168 RN, RAF and military passengers, 26
passengers were lost. The steering gear and rudder was completely destroyed.
German aircraft attacked her on the 19th and she arrived at Fayal, Azores the same day for light
repairs. One crewman and one passenger were interned by the Portuguese at
Fayal.
Destroyers
WESTCOTT, EXMOOR, and CROOME departed
Gibraltar on the 28th to refuel from
oiler DINGLEDALE prior to escorting the damaged troopship.
WESTCOTT
sank U.581 southeast of Fayal Channel in 39N, 30W on 2 February. Four crew
were lost and 41rescued by the destroyer.
On
2 February, the troopship departed Horta with CROOME, EXMOOR, WESTCOTT and tug
THAMES.They were joined by destroyers LAFOREY and BLANKNEY, which departed
Gibraltar on 4 February, and corvette
PENTSTEMON, which was returning from escort duty. Destroyers LIGHTNING and
WHITEHALL departed Gibraltar on 7 February, WISHART and
VIDETTE from convoy OG.79 were ordered to join on 7 February. Destroyer WESTCOTT
arrived at Gibraltar on 7 February. Destroyer WIVERN and the 37th Escort
Group, just arriving with convoy OG.79, of sloops BLACK SWAN, FOWEY and
corvettes BLUEBELL, CAMPION, CARNATION, LA MALOUINE, MALLOW, MYOSOTIS, and
STONECROP departed Gibraltar on 8 February. All ships arrived safely on 8
February.
The
troops on board were transferred to troopships ULSTER MONARCH and ROYAL
ULSTERMAN for transport to Freetown. LLANGIBBY CASTLE was later sent on to the
UK for repairs.
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U.86
damaged tanker TOORAK (8627grt) from dispersed convoy ON.52 in 47-54N,
52-11W. She arrived at
St Johns on the 16th.
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Submarine
P.39 departed Gibraltar for patrol off
Alboran Island.
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U.133
attacked a destroyer near Bardia without success.
_____
For
Malta operation MF.3, convoy MW.8A
of steamers AJAX and THERMOPYLAE, escorted by anti-aircraft
ship CARLISLE and destroyers GRIFFIN
(D.2), ARROW, HASTY, and HERO departed Alexandria at 0815/16th. Convoy MW.8B
of steamers CLAN FERGUSON and
CITY OF CALCUTTA, escorted by destroyers
GURKHA (SO), LEGION, MAORI, and ISAAC SWEERS departed Alexandria at 1530 the same day.
Covering
Force B consisted of light cruisers NAIAD (Flagship Vian), DIDO, EURYALUS
with destroyers KELVIN, KIPLING, FOXHOUND, HOTSPUR, and HAVOCK.
Departing
Alexandria, destroyers FOXHOUND and
KINGSTON collided and HOTSPUR fouled
a propeller. The destroyers were left behind. Only KELVIN had left the
harbour. The cruisers and destroyers HAVOCK and KIPLING anchored and were two
hours late departing. Light cruiser DIDO, unable to obtain the service of a
tug, departed
Alexandria six hours late.
KINGSTON required three and a half
weeks to repair her stern and FOXHOUND four weeks to repair her bow.
Force
K of light cruiser PENELOPE and destroyers SIKH, ZULU, LANCE, LIVELY and
JAGUAR, departed Malta on the 17th to rendezvous
with the Alexandria ships during the morning on
the 18th.
Submarines
TORBAY from Alexandria and UNIQUE and UPHOLDER from
Malta were at sea to support the
operation.
In
heavy weather, convoy MW.8B was late in arriving at the rendezvous and MW.8A
reversed course to join.
Destroyer
GURKHA (Cdr C.N. Lentaigne) was torpedoed by U.133 in 31-50N, 26.15E. Lt Cdr
(E) G.J.S. Gay, Temporary Lt T.H. Goodchild RNVR, Lt E.A.O.G. Herring, Lt
J.V. Yelland, Midshipman A.P. Yorke, and five ratings were missing. Temporary
Acting S/Lt E.E.F. Keal RNVR, Probationary Temporary Surgeon Lt W.M. Brown
RNVR, Acting Temporary Lt A.C. Grammar RNVR, less seriously, and four ratings
were wounded.
Dutch
destroyer ISAAC SWEERS (Cdr W. Harmsen, RNN) took off Lentaigne, Grammar,
Commissioned Gunner (T) A.V. Rogers, Keal, Brown, and two hundred and thirty
four ratings. With a skeleton crew of 35 petty officers and ratings, GURKHA
was towed for a time by ISAAC SWEERS, but sank at 0903. ISAAC SWEERS landed
the survivors at Tobruk and rejoined destroyer LEGION early on the 18th.
Destroyer
MAORI made four anti-submarine attacks and lightly damaged U.133.
At
2000/17th, steamer
THERMOPYLAE slowed to make good a defect and was detached
from MW.8A screened by destroyers ARROW and HERO.
When
the steamer fell behind the convoy, she was detached to Benghazi escorted by anti-aircraft
ship CARLISLE and destroyers ARROW and
HAVOCK.
Corvette
GLOXINIA departed Malta on the 17th and proceeded to
Benghazi under cover of the operation.
Force
K from Malta joined Force B at 1315/18th.
The two forces parted at 1930 after exchanging destroyers MAORI for JAGUAR.
Force K proceeded to Malta with the steamers. Destroyer
LEGION also proceeded to Malta for repair.
Destroyers
HASTY and HERO were detached from Force B to join steamer THERMOPYLAE, but did not arrive before
she was damaged.
THERMOPYLAE (6655grt) was badly damaged by German bombing in
34-03N, 24-14E at 0930/19th. Three crew were lost from a crew of 38. In
addition there were a number of troops on board, bringing the total to 385.
Twenty seven troops were lost. Destroyer HAVOCK rescued 297 survivors and
destroyer ARROW rescued 54. Some of the lost were drowned or crushed between
the steamer and HAVOCK. ARROW scuttled the steamer.
Anti-aircraft
cruiser NAIAD was near missed by German bombing, with six crew wounded and
superficial damage to the ship from splinters.
Destroyer
GRIFFIN was slowed by a boiler defect.
Destroyer
KELVIN was detached to Tobruk at 1310 to embark destroyer GURKHA's survivors.
Force
K and the Malta convoy arrived at Malta at 1530/19th.
Force
B arrived at Alexandria at 0800/20th, and the CARLISLE group at 0920.
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Light
cruiser DRAGON departed Singapore for Colombo.
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Vice
Admiral Sir Geoffrey Layton transferred his flag from light cruiser DURBAN to light cruiser EMERALD,
which departed
Batavia for Colombo, arriving on the 21st. Layton's flag was transferred
ashore at Colombo.
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Destroyer
TENEDOS, escorting steamer KLANG, arrived at Tjilatjap.
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Steamers
NARKUNDA and AORGANI departed Singapore to proceed to Australia independently.
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Dutch
steamer SENANG (1207grt) was sunk in a Dutch minefield in 1-15N, 104-05E.
Fifty four crew were missing and 39 survivors rescued.
Saturday,
17 January
The
Home Fleet was ordered to raise steam for full speed with dispatch at 0800 on
the report of a possible break out by German naval units in the Atlantic.
At
1600, battleships KING GEORGE V (C-in-C Home Fleet), RODNEY, aircraft carrier
VICTORIOUS, heavy cruiser SUFFOLK, light cruisers NIGERIA (10th Cruiser
Squadron), KENYA, SHEFFIELD (18th Cruiser Squadron), and destroyers
INGLEFIELD (D.3), FAULKNOR (D.8), MARNE, PANTHER, BEDOUIN, ASHANTI, ESKIMO,
INTREPID, ECHO, and ESCAPADE departed Scapa Flow for Hvalfjord,
where they arrived late on the 19th. The units of the Home Fleet at Hvalfjord
departed under the command of the C-in-C, Home Fleet at 1600/20th and
proceeded to 61N, 25W.
Light
cruisers CLEOPATRA and ARETHUSA departed Scapa Flow for the Iceland-Faroes
passage. Heavy cruiser BERWICK departed Reykjavik to join heavy cruiser KENT in the Denmark Strait.
Heavy
cruiser CUMBERLAND, on passage to Scapa Flow from convoy QP.5 duty, was
ordered to Seidisfjord, arriving on the 18th.
Dutch
submarine O.14 departed
Scapa Flow for patrol off Frohavet.
Force
H at Gibraltar was brought to four hours'
notice for operations in the
Atlantic. Oiler DINGLEDALE, corvettes GERANIUM, SPIRAEA,
and submarine CLYDE departed
Gibraltar on the 20th for postion 33N, 22W to support
operations.
Operation
EM was postponed. Armed merchant cruisers CITY OF DURBAN, CAPE SABLE and destroyer CALPE were ordered to remain at
Sullom Voe.
In
German Operation POLARNACHT, battleship TIRPITZ and destroyers BEITZEN,
HEINEMANN, JACOBI, and Z.29, which departed Wilhelmshaven on the 14th, arrived at
Trondheim.
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Minesweepers
LEDA, SPEEDY, and SEAGULL departed
Scapa Flow at 2230. LEDA proceeded to
Port Edgar, SPEEDY to Sheerness, and SEAGULL to Grimsby, all to refit. SPEEDY
arrived at Sheerness at 1240/21st prior to proceeding to London to refit.
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Battleship
DUKE OF YORK departed Bermuda, escorted by US destroyers LANG, EDISON, and
NICHOLSON, for the
Clyde. On the 21st, the destroyers were detached and
British destroyers LIGHTNING, HARVESTER, and HIGHLANDER joined. Destroyers
BADSWORTH, LAMERTON, and WIVERN joined on the 23rd. On the 25th, the
battleship arrived in the
Clyde with LIGHTNING and WIVERN.
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Motor
torpedo boat MTB.47 (Lt W.I.C. Ewart) was sunk in action by
surface craft off Gris Nez. Lt Ewart, Temporary S/Lt A.J. Orchard, Temporary
S/Lt W.D. Phelan RNVR, and the rest of the crew were taken prisoner.
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U.454
torpedoed Soviet minesweeping trawler TCS.68 (557grt) in 69-30N, 39-05E. The
forepart of the trawler sank, but the rest remained afloat.
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U.454
damaged steamer HARMATRIS (5395grt) of convoy PQ.8 in 69-16N, 36-08E, but she
was able to reach
Murmansk on the 20th in tow of
minesweeper SPEEDWELL. The submarine attacked three other steamers in convoy
PQ.8 without success.
Destroyer
MATABELE (Cdr A.C. Stanford DSC), escorting convoy PQ.8, was sunk by U.454 in
the Barent's Sea in 69-21N, 35-34E. Cdr Stanford, Lt R.P. Britten, Gunner (T)
W.C. Doidge, Temporary Lt J.E. Mees RNVR, Midshipman R.A. Noel-Hill, Lt E.R.
Partridge RNVR, Lt J.A. Plumridge RNVR, Temporary Surgeon Lt E.A. Spouse
RNVR, Acting Lt P.C. Webb, Temporary Acting S/Lt W.R. White, Lt Cdr (E) J.T.
Winn, Temporary Acting S/Lt G.R. Wright RNVR, and two hundred and twenty one
ratings were lost. Three survivors were picked up by minesweeper HARRIER but
one died of wounds and exposure shortly after rescue. The other two died in
hospital in England.
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U.87
sank Norwegian tanker NYHOLt (8087grt) from dispersed convoy ON.52 in 45-46N,
54-18W. Of 35 crew, three passengers, and two gunners, 17 crew, two
passengers, and one gunner were lost.
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U.203
sank Norwegian steamer OCTAVIAN (1345grt) in 45N, 60W.
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U.123
sank American steamer SAN JOSE (1932grt) in 39-15N, 74-09W.
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Submarine
UTMOST departed
Gibraltar for the
UK. After a patrol in the Bay of Biscay, she arrived in the Clyde on 5 February, then
proceeded to Blyth, arriving on 11 February for refitting.
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Boom
defence vessels BARCLOSE, BARFOAM, and BARFORD departed Gibraltar and proceeded unescorted to
Freetown.
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Submarine
P.35 sank Italian steamer RAMPINO (301grt) near Pantelleria in 35-59N,
10-45E. One survivor was rescued.
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Convoy
TA 17 departed Tobruk with empty storeships, escorted by destroyer AVONVALE
and escort ship
ANTWERP. The convoy arrived at Alexandria on the 18th.
_____
Convoy SC.65 departed
Halifax, escorted by destroyer ANNAPOLIS, corvettes LUNENBURG, THE
PAS, and minesweepers BURLINGTON and RED DEER. BURLINGTON was detached on the 18th and
the corvettes and the other minesweeper on the 20th. Destroyer ST LAURENT and
corvettes KAMSACK, NAPANEE, RIMOUSKI, TRAIL, and TRILLIUM joined
on the 20th. This group was detached on the 29th when the convoy was joined
by destroyers
CALDWELL, VANOC, WALKER and corvette GENTIAN.
Corvette HONEYSUCKLE joined on the 30th and GENTIAN detached on the 31st, the
destroyers on 1 February, and HONEYSUCKLE on 2 February. The convoy arrived
at Liverpool on 4 February.
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French
sloop D'IBERVILLE, tanker ELORN, and two submarines departed Djbouti.
Submarines
VENGEUR and L'ESPOIR (departed Diego Suarez on 22 March), MONGE (the fourth
boat of this division PEGASE arrived at Saigon in March 1941), and LE
GLORIEUX and LE HEROS (arrived Diego Suarez 27 October) on station changes.
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Destroyer
JUPITER had escorted American steamer MOUNT VERNON which had departed Singapore on the 16th through the
Sunda Strait. After being detached, the
destroyer was sent to assist a merchant ship under attack by Japanese
submarine. At 6-19-30S, 104-49-20E, the destroyer sank Japanese submarine
I.60. The destroyer lost its A gun in the battle. Three ratings were killed
and seven wounded. Two survivors from the submarine were picked up and taken
to Batavia.
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British
gunboat SCORPION, Australian minesweepers BENDIGO and MARYBOROUGH, and motor
launches were on the west coast of
Malaya in operations against
Japanese landings.
Sunday,
18 January
Destroyer
WORCESTER departed
Scapa Flow at 1000 escorting tanker
SAN ZOTICO to Skaalefjord, where
they arrived at 1430/19th.
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Convoy
OS.17 departed
Liverpool.
On
the 20th, sloops FOLKESTONE, WELLINGTON, and WESTON joined the
convoy. FOLKESTONE and WESTON detached on 5 February, and WELLINGTON on 7 February. Also joining
on the 20th was escort vessel GORLESTON which detached on 5 February.
Escort
vessel SENNEN joined on the 21st and was detached on 5 February.
Corvettes
ARMERIA, BERGAMOT, and ROCKROSE joined the convoy on 4 February and arrived
with it on 7 February at
Bathurst. On 5 February, destroyer
BRILLIANT joined and arrived with the convoy. On 7 February, corvettes
AURICULA, BURDOCK, and ORCHIS joined and then continued to Freetown, arriving on 9 February.
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U.86
sank Greek steamer DIMITRIOS G. THERMIOTIS (4271grt), a straggler from convoy
SC.63, in 51N, 62W. The entire crew was lost.
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U.552
sank American steamer FRANCES SALMAN (2609grt) off Newfoundland. The steamer had departed
St John's on the 17th for Corner Brook, Newfoundland, but never arrived.
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U.66
sank American tanker ALLAN JACKSON (6635grt) in 35-37N, 74-20W. Thirteen crew
of a crew of 35 were rescued.
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U.333
sank steamer CALEDONIAN MONARCH (5851grt) from convoy SC.53 in 57N, 26W.
_____
Destroyer
ANTHONY arrived at
Gibraltar after escorting convoy WS.15.
_____
Submarine
TALISMAN arrived at
Gibraltar from
Malta.
_____
Submarine
SEVERN departed Gibraltar and arrived at Portsmouth on the 24th. After repairs,
she departed
Portsmouth on 17 February for the USA, arriving at Halifax on 27 February with weather
damage. She was able to depart on 12 March and arrived at Portsmouth, NH on 16 March. Her USA refit was completed on 10
October.
_____
Anti-submarine
trawler ERIN (Temporary Lt W.G. Swanston RNVR) at Gibraltar was sunk by Italian frogmen.
Anti-submarine trawler IMPERIALIST and minesweeping trawler HONJU moored
alongside were both badly damaged. Acting S/Lt (A) J.W. Duckham, Officer of
the Watch of aircraft carrier ARGUS 807 Squadron (on board HONJU during the
attack) and seven ratings were killed. Four ratings were wounded. HONJU was
not repaired.
_____
Convoy
AT.18 departed
Alexandria for Benghazi, escorted by destroyer
HEYTHROP, corvette HYACINTH and anti-submarine trawler SOUTHERN SEA. The convoy arrived on the
20th. HEYTHROP and corvettes HYACINTH and GLOXINIA departed on the 20th to
escort empty storeships to Alexandria, arriving on the 21st.
Corvette
PEONY departed Tobruk with store ship MANOULA for Benghazi.
On
the 21st, in thick weather, store ship MANOULA and corvette PEONY ran aground
at Ras Aszaz. Tug ST MONANCE, anti-submarine whaler SOTRA, and ML.1051 were
sent to assist. The ships were refloated on the 22nd and the corvette
returned to Alexandria for docking.
Destroyers
FARNDALE and ERIDGE, escorting store ship EOCENE, departed Alexandria on the 19th for Tobruk,
arriving on the 21st.
On
the 24th, FARNDALE and ERIDGE departed Tobruk escorting empty store ships for
Alexandria. On the 26th, ERIDGE was detached to assist
destroyer HOTSPUR in an anti-submarine search. FARNDALE arrived with the
storeships at
Alexandria on the 26th.
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Swordfish
of 830 Squadron attacked a convoy of Italian tanker GUILIO GIORDANI, escorted
by destroyers DA RECCO and USODIMARE. No damage was done to any of the ships,
despite the claim that the tanker and one of the destroyers were damaged.
_____
In
a minefield laid by submarine PORPOISE on the 11th, Italian steamer CITTA DI
LIVORNO (2471grt) sank on the 18th north of Crete in 35-38N, 24-18E.
PORPOISE
attacked a convoy of steamers CITTA DI SAVONA, CITTA DI ALESSANDRO, and
German LIVORNO, escorted by armed merchant cruiser BARLETTA, torpedo boats
LUPO, CASSIOPEA, and escort ship DRAKE in 35-32N, 24-21E. The convoy had
departed Pireaus on the 17th for Suda Bay. The sinking of CITTA DI
LIVORNO is generally credited to this attack, but no damage was done to the
convoy.
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Convoy ST.13X departed
Freetown, escorted by corvettes
ARMERIA and ROCKROSE. The convoy arrived at Takoradi on the 23rd.
_____
Light
cruiser DURBAN departed Singapore for Batavia.
_____
Japanese
submarine I.121 sank Dutch steamer BANTAM (9312grt) in 7-15S, 126-30E.
Monday,
19 January
Heavy
cruiser CUMBERLAND departed Seidisfjord for
Scapa Flow, arriving on the 20th.
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Heavy
cruiser BERWICK departed Hvalfjord for patrol in Denmark Strait.
_____
Destroyers
TARTAR and ICARUS parted company with convoy QP.5 in position 68-50N, 8-25W
and proceeded to Seidisfjord to fuel. The destroyers arrived during the
afternoon of the 20th and departed at 2200 that evening for Scapa Flow, arriving at 1630/22nd.
_____
Minelayers
SOUTHERN PRINCE and ADVENTURE, escorted by destroyers LANCASTER and ST MARYS
departed Loch Alsh on the 18th. Early on the 19th, minefield SN.15B was laid.
The ships arrived back at Loch Alsh later on the 19th.
_____
Steam
vessel H.K.D. (65grt) was sunk on a mine in 51-28-12N, 0-52-42E. The crew of
two were rescued.
_____
U.123
sank American steamer
BRAZOS (4497grt) off
Cape Hatteras.
_____
U.109
sank steamer EMPIRE KINGFISHER (6082grt) in 43-26N, 65-40W.
_____
U.66
sank Canadian steamer LADY HAWKINS (7988grt) in 35N, 72-30W. Of a crew of
109, one gunner, two distressed British Seamen, and 210 passengers, 88 crew,
one gunner, two distressed seaman, and 161 passengers were missing. Among the
passengers lost were S/Lt (A) J.A.G. Sidford RNVR for MALABAR 773 Squadron,
Temporary Lt R.H. Cowper-Coles RNVR for light cruiser DESPATCH, Temporary
Acting Gunner (T) J. Harris for light cruiser DIOMEDE, Temporary Lt (Sp) W.
Jameson RNVR for BENBOW, Gunner H.W. Kemp (retired) for MALABAR and Temporary
Chaplain A.G.F. Shaw RNVR.
_____
U.123
sank American steamer CITY OF ATLANTA (5269grt) in 35-42N, 75-21W.
Of a crew of 47, one crewman was killed and 43 were missing.
_____
U.123
badly damaged Latvian steamer CILTVAIRA (3779grt) in 35-25N, 75-23W. The
steamer sank in tow. Two crew were lost and 29 rescued.
_____
U.123
damaged American tanker MALAY (8206grt) in 35-40N, 75-20W. The tanker arrived
at Hampton Roads on the 20th.
_____
Submarine
P.38 departed Gibraltar for
Malta, arriving on the 28th.
_____
An
Albacore of 828 Squadron from Hal Far was shot down while on anti-submarine
patrol. S/Lt P. Howson and Leading Airman G.S. Hedger, both wounded, were
picked up by a destroyer escorting convoy MW.8 to Malta.
_____
Dutch
steamer VAN IMHOFF (2980grt) was sunk by Japanese bombing south of Java.
Tuesday,
20 January
Destroyer
WORCESTER was ordered to return to
Scapa Flow and sailed from Skaalefjord
during the afternoon. She arrived at Scapa Flow at 1515/21st.
_____
Convoy ON.58 departed
Liverpool. Destroyers NEWPORT, ST ALBANS and corvettes ACANTHUS,
HIBISCUS, and MONTBRETIA joined the convoy on the 21st and took it back to
Liverpool arriving on the 21st.
_____
Petrol
carrier CRISTA (2590grt) broke adrift at Benghazi and damaged Norwegian HARBOE
JENSEN (1862grt) and collier MAUSANG. Steamer CRISTA's steering gear was
badly damaged.
_____
Convoy HX.171 departed
Halifax, escorted by destroyer
HAMILTON, corvettes FREDERCTON, SASKATOON, WEYBURN and minesweepers CLAYOQUOT.
These were detached on the 22nd. American destroyers COLE, DALLAS, GLEAVES, UPSHUR, Coast
Guard cutter INGRAM, and minesweeper COWICHAN joined on the 22nd. The
minesweeper was detached on the 23rd and destroyer COLE on the 24th. The
destroyers and the cutter were detached on the 30th when relieved by British
destroyers NEWPORT, ST ALBANS and corvettes ACANTHUS,
HIBISCUS, and ROSE. The destroyers and ROSE detached on the 31st. The convoy
arrived on 1 February at
Liverpool.
_____
American
destroyer EDSALL and Australian minesweepers DELORAINE, KATOOMBA, and LITHGOW
sank Japanese submarine I.124 sixty miles west of Darwin in the Timor Sea in
12-24S, 129-49E.
_____
Japanese
submarine I.59 sank Norwegian steamer EIDSVOLD (4184grt) anchored off Christmas Island. The entire crew was rescued
and was later brought to
Batavia by light cruiser DURBAN on 10 February.
_____
Norwegian
steamer HERSTEIN (5100grt) was sunk by Japanese bombing at Rabaul. One
crewman was killed.
21
January, Wednesday
Light
cruisers NIGERIA and KENYA departed Hvalfjord to
relieve light cruisers CLEOPATRA and ARETHUSA on patrol in the Faroes-Iceland
passage. CLEOPATRA and ARETHUSA departed their patrol stations on the 22nd to
proceed to Scapa Flow, arriving on the 23rd. Both had been ordered to the
Mediterranean.
_____
Destroyer
MIDDLETON departed
Scapa Flow at 0920 to convey British cabinet minister Sir
Stafford Cripps to Invergordon on his return from
Moscow from whence he had taken
passage in heavy cruiser
CUMBERLAND. The destroyer arrived at
Invergordon at 1700, her passage having been delayed by a strong southerly
gale. The destroyer departed Invergordon at 1015/22nd and arrived at 1545
that day.
_____
U.203
damaged American Army transport
NORTH GASPE (888grt) in 46-33N, 53-04W.
_____
U.85
torpedoed a merchant ship in the North Atlantic.The submarine observed a
heavily listing ship, but no report of any damage is available.
_____
U.754
sank Norwegian steamer BELIZE (2153grt) in 47-21N, 58-08W.
Canadian corvette SPIKENARD located a water filled lifeboat from the steamer
on the 24th.
_____
U.754
sank Norwegian steamer WILLIAM HANSEN (1344grt) in 46-56N, 52-47W. Of a crew
of 19, there were nine survivors.
_____
U.130
sank Norwegian tanker ALEXANDRA HOEGH (8248grt) in 40-53N, 65-56W. The entire
crew was rescued.
_____
Submarine
TURBULENT arrived at
Gibraltar from patrol off
Alboran Island, while TEMPEST departed
Gibraltar to work up in the area.
_____
Submarine
TALISMAN departed
Gibraltar for the
UK, arrived at Greenock on 1 February and proceeded
to Troon for refitting. The refit was completed on 10 July.
_____
Battleship
RAMILLIES arrived at
Mombasa.
_____
Armed
patrol vessel RAUB (1159grt, Temporary Lt S. Lefevre RNR) was sunk by Japanese bombing
at Belawan. The entire crew were rescued.
_____
Japanese
submarine I.66 sank Steamer CHAK SANG (2358grt) at 15-42N, 95-02E
in the approaches to
Rangoon. Of a crew of 66, five were
lost.
I.66
also sank Panamanian steamer NORD (3193grt) at 15-28N, 94-36E in the
approaches to
Rangoon. Some of the survivors
landed in Burma.
_____
Greek
steamer ZANNIS L. CAMBANIS (5317grt) was sunk on a Dutch minefield in 1-15N,
104-31E. The Master and one other crewman were lost in the steamer.
Thursday,
22 January
Heavy
cruiser KENT arrived at Hvalfjord from patrol in the
Denmark Strait.
_____
Light
cruiser TRINIDAD and destroyer SOMALI
departed Kola Inlet during the night of 22/23 January to escort convoy QP.6.
_____
Minesweeper
SEAGULL was taken in hand at Grimsby for refitting.
_____
Minesweeping
trawler ROSEMONDE (364grt, Lt K. Galteland RNR) was sunk by U.203 near
Cape Race. Galteland, Temporary Lt T.
Sims-Hilditch RNVR, Temporary S/Lt G.H. Head RNVR and the entire crew were
lost in the trawler.
_____
Minelayer
PLOVER departed
Dover late on the 21st, escorted
by the 14th MGB Flotilla, to lay minefield NQ (B) in the English Channel. The force arrived back at
Dover on the 22nd.
_____
U.588
sank a steamer northwest of Ireland. There is no corresponding
report.
_____
U.66
sank American steamer NORVANA (2677grt) off the Carolina coast.
_____
U.333
sank Greek steamer VASSILIOS A. POLEMIS (3429grt), a straggler from convoy
ON.53, in 42-32N, 52-38W. Of a crew of 33, only 12 were rescued.
_____
U.135
sank Belgian steamer GANDIA (9626grt), a straggler from convoy ON.54, in
54-45N, 53-00W. Of a crew of 70 and nine gunners, 66 crew were lost.
_____
U.553
sank Norwegian tanker INNEROY (8260grt) in 42-30N, 59-54W. Of a crew of 36,
five crew were rescued.
_____
U.82
sank British tanker ATHELCROWN (11,999grt) in 45-06N, 40-56W. Of a crew of 44
and six gunners, four crew were lost. On the 30th, survivors from the tanker
boarded tanker DIALA that had been abandoned on the 20th. The survivors left
her on 7 February when they were rescued by Swedish steamer SATURNUS. (DD –
have I got this right?)
_____
U.130
sank Panamanian tanker OLYMPIC (5335grt) in 36-01N, 75-30W.
_____
Light
cruiser HERMIONE departed
Gibraltar to carry out a patrol in an area bounded by
41-30N to 43N, 22W to 25W. She refuelled at
Ponta Delgada on the 27th and from oiler
DINGLEDALE on the 30th. HERMIONE arrived back at Gibraltar on 2 February.
_____
Admiralty
trawler ROSALIND and minesweeping trawler LORD GREY arrived at Gibraltar from the UK.
_____
Ferry
steamers CARDAK and SILIVRI departed Horta for Freetown escorted by French patrol
vessel REINE DES FLOTS and sloop LA MOQUESE.
_____
In
Italian supply operation T.18, transports RAVELLO (6142grt), MONVISO
(5322grt), MONGINEVRO (5324grt), and VETTOR PISANI (6339grt) departed Messina and troopship VICTORIA (13,098grt) departed Taranto. They rendezvoused and were
escorted by destroyers VIVALDI, MALOCELLO, DA NOLI, AVIERE, CAMICIA NERA, and
GENIERE and torpedo boats ORSA and CASTORE.
Troopship
RAVELLO returned to
Messina with a rudder defect later
on the 22nd.
Light
cruisers D'AOSTA, ATTENDOLO, MONTECUCCOLI and destroyers ALPINO, BERSAGLIERE,
CARABINIERE, and FUCLIERE provide close escort. Battleship DUILO with
destroyers PIGAFETTA, ORIANI, SCIROCCO, and ASCARI provided distant cover.
On
the 23rd, VICTORIA (13,098grt) was torpedoed by
an Albacore of 826 Squadron. Destroyers AVIERE and CAMICIA NERA stood by
while the convoy proceeded. The troopship later sank. Of the 1455 on board,
1064 crew and passengers were rescued.
One
Albacore of the 828 Squadron ditched northwest of Trefani. Lt J.D. Jackson,
Lt Cdr J.W. Corbett, and Leading Airman W.H. Bugden were picked up by an
Italian hospital ship and made prisoners of war.
The
convoy arrived at
Tripoli on the 24th. Covering forces
arrived back at
Taranto on the 25th.
_____
Light
cruiser AJAX, no longer fit for
operations due to the condition of her machinery, departed Alexandria, escorted by destroyers
ISAAC SWEERS and HOTSPUR. She operated in the Canal area for the protection
of shipping at
Suez until essential repairs
could be completed for the voyage to England, and refitting at Chatham from 27 May to 24 October.
_____
American
destroyers FANNING and GRIDLEY, in Halsey's Task Force 8, collided and were
both forced to return to Pearl Harbour for repairs.
_____
Japanese
submarine I.64 sank Dutch steamer VAN OVERSTRATEN (4482grt) at 1-40N, 90-13E.
The entire crew were lost.
_____
Dutch
steamer LEMATANG (2512grt) was sunk by Japanese bombing at Belawan Deli.
Friday,
23 January
Heavy
cruiser NORFOLK, escorted by destroyer
WORCESTER, departed
Scapa Flow at 1700 for the
Tyne. Heavy weather forced the
ships to put into the Firth of Forth on the 24th. They were able to proceed
later and arrived in the
Tyne later that day.
_____
Minelayer
AGAMEMNON, escorted by destroyer ST MARYS, laid minefield SN.26B of the
Northern Barrage.
_____
Minelayer
PLOVER departed
Dover late on the 22nd, escorted
by the 14th MGB Flotilla, to lay minefield NQ(C) in the Outer Ruytingen
Channel. The minelayer arrived back at Dover at 0800/23rd .She then
proceeded to Southampton for permanent repair to collision damage.
_____
Convoy ON.59 departed
Liverpool. The convoy was joined on
the 24th by destroyer WANDERER and corvettes AUBRETIA, RENONCULE, ROSELYS,
and VERVAIN. VERVAIN was detached on the 25th, ROSELYS on the 26th, and the
rest on the 29th when the convoy was joined by American destroyers JACOB
JONES, MADISON, STURTEVANT, WILKES and corvettes ACONIT and KENOGAMI.
Corvette KENOGAMI was detached on 4 February. The other escorts were detached
on 5 February, and the convoy dispersed on the 6th.
_____
Italian
submarine BARBARIGO sank Spanish steamer NAVEMAR (5473grt) in 36-48N, 15-26W.
Thirty four crew were rescued and two missing. The survivors were picked up
by Spanish steamer ISLA DE TENERIFFE (5118grt). Corvette COLTSFOOT was
ordered to her assistance, but en route, was ordered to return to Gibraltar. Destroyer HESPERUS, en
route to the UK, escorting armed merchant
cruiser PRETORIA CASTLE and troopship ALMANZORA, was
ordered to search for the submarine.
_____
U.109
sank steamer THIRLBY (4887grt) in 43-20N, 66-15W. Of a crew of 45, including
nine gunners and a pilot, three were lost.
_____
U.82
sank Norwegian tanker LEIESTEN (6118grt) in 45-27N, 43-19W. Twenty nine crew
were rescued and six were lost.
_____
Force
K of light cruiser PENELOPE and destroyers ZULU, SIKH, LANCE, LEGION, LIVELY,
and MAORI departed Malta to attack a northbound
convoy during the night of 23/24 January, but no contact was made. The ships
were Italian salvage steamer RAFFIO and motor ship SANT'ANTONIO which
departed Tripoli without escort on the 23rd
and arrived at Pantelleria on the 24th. The convoy remained at Pantelleria
until 7 February and finally arrived at Trapani on the 8th. Force K returned
to Malta the next morning.
_____
Convoy SC.66 departed
Halifax, escorted by destroyer ST
CLAIR, corvettes ALGOMA, EYEBRIGHT, PICTOU, and minesweepers GANANOQUE and
QUINTE. The destroyer, PICTOU, and the minesweepers were detached on the 26th
when the convoy was joined by corvettes DRUMHELLER, SHAWNIGAN, SHEDIAC, and
SUMMERSIDE. SHEDIAC was detached on the 27th. The rest of the escort,
including the two corvettes from the original group, were detached on 4
February when relieved by destroyer BOADICEA, sloop COMMANDANT DETROYAT, and
corvettes HEATHER, LOBELIA, and NARCISSUS. These escorts detached on the 8th.
Anti-submarine trawler ST CATHAN joined on the 8th and escorted the convoy
into Liverpool on the 9th.
_____
Battleship
WARSPITE departed
Esquimalt, after repairs at
Bremerton, Washington, from her May 1941 Crete bombing. She met Royal Fleet
Auxiliary BISHOPDALE at Henderson Island to refuel on 6 February.
_____
American
convoy BT.200 departed
New York City at 1500Z/23 January with US
Army Transports ARGENTINA (Cdre), CRISTOBAL, and BARRY, carrying the 1st
Division, and ISLAND
MAIL (for
Wellington, arriving 23 February), JOHN
ERICSSON, SANTA ELENA,
SANTA ROSA, and MCANDREW, carrying the
2nd Division.
The
convoy was escorted from New York by heavy cruiser VINCENNES, destroyers C F
HUGHES, LANSDALE, LUDLOW, INGRAHAM, H P JONES, and fast transports (former
destroyers) COLHOUN, GREGORY, and HAMILTON. Additional escort for the first
48 hours was destroyers PALMER (SO), HOWARD, MCKEAN, STRINGHAM, and MANLEY.
Destroyers
INGRAHAM, HOWARD, LITTLE, MANLEY, MCKEAN, and STRINGHAM subsequently departed
Charleston on the 27th, escorting convoy BC.100 of supply
ships ARTHUR MIDDLETON, ALCHIBA, PRESIDENT TYLER, HAMUL, IRENEE DUPONT, and
MERCURY.
Destroyers
INGRAHAM and STRINGHAM refuelled in Key West on the 29th, while HOWARD,
MANLEY and MCKEAN detached on the 30th to refuel at Key West, then return to Norfolk.
Escort
from the Canal Zone for BT.200 was light cruisers
TRENTON, MILWAUKEE and destroyers SAMPSON and
MOFFETT from 2 to 14 Februrary.
Escort
from the Canal Zone on 3 February for BC.100 was light cruiser
RICHMOND and destroyers WARRINGTON and J FRED TALBOT. The latter detached
on 6 February and return to
Canal Zone. The convoy arrived at
Bora Bora on the 17th.
From
Bora
Bora,
escort for BT.200 was heavy cruisers SAN FRANCISCO, PENSACOLA and destroyers MUGFORD,
JARVIS, PATTERSON, and BAGLEY.
The
convoy arrived at
Melbourne escorted by light cruiser
HONOLULU and destroyers MUGFORD and
JARVIS on 26 February.
_____
Japanese
submarine I.72 sank American naval oiler NECHES (7383grt), which had
departed Pearl
Harbour on the 22nd, in 21-01N,
160-06W. One hundred and twenty six survivors were picked up by destroyer
JARVIS, while 57 enlisted men were missing. LT D.F. Anderegg, LT/JG E.C.
Stone, Jr, and eight enlisted men were wounded.
_____
Armed
patrol vessel LARUT (894grt) was sunk by Japanese bombing at Sabang. The
entire crew was rescued.
_____
Steamer
DURANBAH (274grt) was captured by Japanese forces at Rabaul.
_____
Convoy
BM.12 of troopships EMPRESS OF ASIA, FELIX ROUSSEL, DEVONSHIRE, and PLANCIUS departed Bombay on the 23rd, escorted by
sloop SUTLEJ. Sloop FALMOUTH joined BM.12 on the 26th and
detached the next day.
Light
cruiser EMERALD joined on the 27th. The convoy merged with convoy DM.2 on the
28th. EMERALD was relieved on the 31st by cruisers DANAE and JAVA. Sloop
YARRA joined on 1 February, cruiser EXETER and destroyers JUPITER and
VAMPIRE on the 2nd, and the whole convoy arrived at Batavia on the 3rd, where steamer CITY OF CANTERBURY of convoy DM.2
joined.
EXETER and destroyers JUPITER and
ENCOUNTER were detached on 4 February for operations north of Banka Strait. The convoy arrived at Singapore on the 5th, escorted by
light cruiser DANAE and sloops YARRA and SUTLEJ.
Saturday,
24 January
Heavy
cruiser CUMBERLAND departed Scapa Flow for Hvalfjord, arriving on
the 26th.
_____
Light
cruiser NIGERIA departed patrol in the
Faroes-Iceland passage for
Scapa Flow, arriving on the 26th.
_____
Destroyer
PALADIN departed the
Clyde for
Scapa Flow to work up, arriving on the
26th.
_____
Destroyer
CALPE departed Sullom Voe at
daylight for
Scapa Flow. En route, she was ordered to proceed to assist
French sloop LA CAPRICIEUSE which had been damaged by heavy weather. En
route, the sloop reported she no longer required assistance and
CALPE finally arrived at Scapa
Flow 0900/26th, being delayed by heavy weather.
_____
Destroyer
ICARUS was docked for repairs to her hull at Scapa Flow.
_____
Minesweeper
BRITOMART, in company with minesweepers SALAMANDER and SHARPSHOOTER, was
attacked by German bombers near Murmansk. BRITOMART suffered minor
damage from a near miss.
_____
Convoy
QP.6 departed
Murmansk with British steamers EMPIRE
ACTIVITY (5335grt), EMPIRE REDSHANK (6615grt), and EMPIRE HOWARD (6985grt),
Panamanian steamers ANEROID (5074grt) and REIGH COUNT (4657grt), and Soviet
steamer CHERNYSHEVSKI (3588grt).
Soviet
destroyers GREMYASCHI and SOKRUSHITELNY escorted the convoy from the 24th to
27th, and minesweepers HARRIER and SPEEDWELL from the 24th to 25th. On the
25th, light cruiser
TRINIDAD, destroyer SOMALI, and minesweepers BRAMBLE and
HEBE joined remaining with the convoy until the 28th, when it dispersed.
TRINIDAD, BRAMBLE and HEBE proceeded to
Scapa Flow and SOMALI to Hvalfjord.
Most
of the ships of the convoy proceeded to Loch Ewe, arriving by 2 February,
including EMPIRE REDSHANK, which was damaged by German bombing on the 31st.
_____
U.66
sank British tanker EMPIRE
GEM (8139grt) in 35-06N, 74-58W
and American steamer VENORE (8017grt) in 34-50N, 75-20W. Of a crew of 45 and
six gunners, only two survivors were picked up from the tanker. Twenty two
crew were missing from the American steamer and 21 survivors picked up.
_____
U.106
sank steamer EMPIRE WILDEBEESTE (5631grt) in 39-30N, 59-54W. Of a crew of 27
and four gunners, eight crew and one gunner were lost. US destroyer LANG rescued 34, a
number which probably included survivors from another/other ships.
_____
U.333
sank Norwegian steamer RINGSTAD (4765grt), from convoy ONS.55, in 45-50N,
51-04W. Of 37 crew and six passengers, 27 crew and three passengers were
missing.
_____
Submarine
REGENT reported being partially disabled in 42-44N, 24-54W. Light cruiser
HERMIONE proceeded to assist and both arrived at Ponta Delgada on the 27th. Oiler
DINGLEDALE arrived in port and transferred lubricating oil to the submarine,
which was able to depart
Ponta Delgada on 2 February.
_____
Destroyer
HESPERUS departed
Gibraltar to meet armed merchant cruiser
PRETORIA CASTLE and troopship ALMANZORA and
escort them to the UK. The destroyer proceeded to
Falmouth for repairs received in
ramming submarine U.93 on the 15th. Repairs were completed in April.
_____
Submarine
P.39 arrived at
Gibraltar from patrol.
_____
A
Swordfish of 812 Squadron crashed in Gibraltar Bay. Lt (A) M.F.S.P. Willcocks
and Temporary S/Lt (A) R.E. Shipman RNVR, were killed. The TAG, Leading Airman G.E. Locke,
was unhurt.
_____
An
Albacore of 828 Squadron went missing off Benghasi on a flight from Benghasi
to Malta. Lt V.N.S. Davies DSC RNR,and Acting S/Lt (A) A.D.
Maher DSC were both killed.
_____
In
Malta convoy operation MF.4, supply ship BRECONSHIRE departed Alexandria at
1600/24th escorted by Force B of light cruisers NAIAD (Flagship Vian),
EURYALUS, DIDO, anti-aircraft ship CARLISLE, and destroyers GRIFFIN (D.2),
KELVIN, KIPLING, ARROW, KINGSTON, JAGUAR, HASTY, and ISAAC SWEERS.
Force
K of light cruiser PENELOPE and destroyers ZULU, LANCE, LEGION, LIVELY and
MAORI departed Malta with troopship GLENGLYE and steamer ROWALLAN CASTLE at
1900/25th.
The
passage was without incident and the supply ships were exchanged. LANCE
joined Force B and
KINGSTON joined Force K.
LEGION
was damaged by the near miss of an air bomb on the 26th, causing some
structural damage and putting her asdic out of service temporarily.
The
Forces arrived back at Malta and Alexandria on the 27 and 28th,
respectively.
_____
Convoy
AT.19 departed
Alexandria, escorted by destroyer
AVONVALE, escort vessel
MALINES, and French escort vessel VIKINGS. The convoy
arrived on the 27th and departed with AVONVALE,
MALINES, and HYACINTH with empty
store ships for
Alexandria, arriving on the 29th. MALINES was damaged in a collision
on the 29th with steamer HAVRE (2073grt) of the convoy and was out of service
for three to four weeks. There was no convoy AT.20.
_____
In
preparation for the evacuation of Benghazi, escort destroyers
SOUTHWOLD, DULVERTON, and HEYTHROP departed Alexandria.
The
evacuation began during the night of the 25th/26th and a convoy of three
motor vessels and minesweepers ABERDARE and BAGSHOT (ABERDARE towing a tug)
departed escorted by the destroyers. Also departing were two R Lighters and
two A Lighters in another convoy and eleven D lighters in a third. (Class
information on these lighters is not known)
The
R, A, and D lighters all arrived at Tobruk on the 27th, with the exception of
D.9 which was beached three miles west of Tobruk.
On
the 27th, destroyer DULVERTON, the two minesweepers, and collier CRISTA were ordered
to Tobruk. The remainder of the convoy proceeded to Alexandria, arriving on the 28th.
_____
Heavy
cruiser DEVONSHIRE arrived at Norfolk, Virginia, for refitting.
_____
Steamer
TAI SANG (3555grt), formerly of convoy SS.1, was sunk on a
Dutch mine at 0-55N, 103-35E. Of a crew of 31 and four passengers, only two
survived to become prisoners of war.
_____
American
submarine S.26 (LCDR E.C. Hawk) was sunk in a collision with patrol boat
PC.460 in the Gulf of Panama. LT T.V. Peters, Ensign J.B. Stubbins, Ensign H.L.
Taylor, and forty three enlisted men were lost. LCDR Hawk, LT R.E.M. Ward,
and one enlisted man on the bridge were rescued.
_____
Battle
of Makassar Strait was fought between American destroyers PARROTT, POPE, JOHN
D FORD, and PAUL JONES and Japanese
surface ships off
Balikpapan. JOHN D FORD was damaged by Japanese
gunfire with three enlisted men wounded. Japanese patrol boat No.37 was sunk.
Sunday,
25 January
Heavy
cruiser SUFFOLK departed Hvalfjord for
patrol in the Denmark Strait.
_____
Task
Force 15 of American battleship TEXAS, heavy cruiser QUINCY and
destroyers MAYRANT, TRIPPE, RHIND, and ROWAN, which departed New York on the 15th with troopship
MUNARGO, arrived at Hvalfjord. Aircraft carrier WASP and destroyers STACK and
STERETT had departed with this group, but were detached en route.
_____
U.754
sank Greek steamer
MOUNT KITHERON (3876grt) in 47-32N, 52-31W.
Of 32 crew and four passengers, 12 crew were lost in the steamer.
_____
U.130
sank Norwegian tanker VARANGER (9305grt) in 38-58N, 74-06W. The entire crew
was rescued.
_____
U.123
sank steamer CULEBRA (3044grt) in 35-30N, 53-25W. There were no survivors.
_____
U.125
attacked American tanker OLNEY (7294grt) in 37-55N, 74-56W, but no damage was
done.
_____
Steamer
SWYNFLEET (1168grt) was sunk on a mine 2.2 cables 204° from Landguard Point
Lighthouse. The entire crew was rescued.
_____
After
Swordfish aircraft reported severely damaging U.453 in 31-43N, 28-09E,
destroyer HOTSPUR was sent from Alexandria to search. On the 26th,
destroyer ERIDGE joined the destroyer, but no contact was made and both ships
arrived at Alexandria later on the 26th.
_____
Minesweeper
ABINGDON, minesweeping off Malta, was damaged by German air
attack. Six crew were wounded of whom one later died of wounds.
_____
Submarine
P.34 sank Italian steamer DALMATIA L. (3252grt) proceeding south from the
Straits of Messina in 37-45N, 15-30E.
_____
Minelayer
ABDIEL departed Trincomalee for minelaying operations in Andaman Islands.
_____
Submarine
TRUANT arrived at
Colombo.
_____
Japanese
submarine I.59 entered Sabang Roads, sank one steamer and captured a part of
the crew.
Monday,
26 January
Captain
A.K. Scott-Moncrief asssumed command of the 8th Destroyer Flotilla, replacing
Captain A.F. de Salis, DSO.
_____
Destroyer
LUDLOW departed
Scapa Flow at 1530 and met convoy WN.35
off Duncansby Head to act as additional escort to Methil. There, she came under
the command of Commander in Chief, Rosyth, for the escort of destroyer depot
ship BLENHEIM from the
Tyne to
Scapa Flow.
_____
Corvettes
MIGNONETTE, EGLANTINE, and SNOWDROP arrived at Hvalfjord to join the Home
Fleet for operation in the
Denmark Strait. Corvette OXLIP arrived on
the 28th for the same duty.
_____
Oiler
SAN ZOTICO, escorted by two
trawlers, left Skaalefjord for Sullom Voe, arriving on the 28th.
_____
Convoy
OG.79 departed
Liverpool, escorted by anti-submarine whaler NARVIK which
detached the same day. Sloops BLACK SWAN, FOWEY, corvettes CAMPION,
CARNATION, MYOSITIS, STONECROP, and anti-submarine trawler SOUTHERN
WAVE joined on the 27th.The
trawler was detached that day.
On
the 28th, corvette BLUEBELL joined the convoy. Destroyers VIDETTE and WISHART
departed Gibraltar on 3 February and joined on the 5th.The convoy
arrived at Gibraltar on the 7th.
_____
Convoy ON.60 departed
Liverpool. The convoy was joined on
the 27th by destroyers BOADICEA, SABRE, SCIMITAR, SHIKARI, sloop COMMANDANT
DETROYAT, and corvettes HEATHER, LOBELIA, and NARCISSUS. SCIMITAR detached on
the 30th, HEATHER on the 31st and BOADICEA, SABRE, SHIKARI, COMMANDANT
DETROYAT, LOBELIA and NARCISSUS on 2 February. The convoy was joined on this
date by corvettes ALYSSE,
BARRIE, BUTOUCHE, HEPATICA,
MOOSEJAW, and
SHERBROOKE. Of these, ALYSSE,
BUCTOUCHE, HEPATICA, and MOOSEJAW detached on 8 February and corvette
DIANTHUS on the 11th.The convoy arrived at Halifax with corvettes BARRIE and SHERBROOKE on the 15th.
_____
U.106
sank steamer TRAVELLER (3963grt) in 40N, 61-45W. The entire crew of 26 was
lost.
_____
U.125
sank American steamer WEST
IVIS (5666grt) off the Virginia Capes.
_____
U.754
sank Greek steamer ICARION (4013grt) in 46-02N, 52-22W. Nine crew were lost
in the steamer.
_____
U.582
sank British tanker REFAST (5189grt) in 42-41N, 53-02W. Ten were lost from 39
crew and four gunners.
_____
U.123
sank Norwegian tanker PAN NORWAY (9231grt) in 32-56N, 50-27W. The entire crew
was rescued.
_____
Submarine
P.34 sank Italian steamer DALMATIA L (3252grt) off the Straits of Messina.
_____
Convoy HX.172 departed
Halifax, escorted by destroyer ANNAPOLIS, corvettes DUNEGAN,
LUNENBURG, THE
PAS, and minesweeper RED REER. The destroyer and
DUNVEGAN were detached on the 27th and the rest on the 28th. On that day,
American destroyers
BUCK, DUPONT, HERBERT, MCCORMICK, and SWANSON
joined. Corvette ASPHODEL joined on 3 February. The American ships detached
on the 4th when relieved by British destroyers HURRICANE, SCIMITAR, WANDERER
and corvettes AUBRETIA, DIANELLA, and RENONCULE. DIANELLA detached on the
5th, and the convoy arrived at
Liverpool on the 7th.
_____
Destroyer
THANET (Lt Cdr B.S. Davies Rtd) and the Australian VAMPIRE attacked Japanese
transports off Endau. THANET was sunk by Japanese lighter cruiser SENDAI, destroyers YUGIRI, FUBUKI,
ASAGIRI, and minesweeper W 1. Thirty seven ratings were lost.
Cdr
Davies, Lt G.A. Jones
RNR, Temporary Acting Warrant Engineer H.N. Bailey,
and seven ratings were able to get into the ship's boat. However, on the
29th, Jones and one rating were drowned when the boat ran aground The eight
survivors were picked up by patrol vessel GIANG BEE.
Lt
F.M.R. Flint RNVR, Gunner J.R. Smyth and forty seven ratings were able to
reach the ship's whaler and landed on Kaban Island. They later sailed south and
picked up five more THANET ratings and two RAF pilots. On the 30th, patrol
vessel GIANG BEE rescued the party and took them to Singapore.
S/Lt
R.H. Danger RNR and thirty ratings were rescued by Japanese
destroyer SHIRAYUKI and landed at Endau. Four ratings died while prisoners of
war.
_____
Light
cruiser ENTERPRISE departed Singapore for Colombo.
_____
Auxiliary
patrol vessel KELANA (88 tons gross) was scuttled at Endau. Auxiliary patrol
boat SHUMAN was scuttled after bombing damage at Endau, but later salved and
taken to Singapore.
_____
Light
cruiser ENTERPRISE departed Singapore for Colombo.
_____
Minelaying
cruiser ABDIEL departed
Colombo for Port Blair, arriving on
the 27th. She departed the next morning and laid mines off the east coast of
South Andaman Island - off Port Blair, the Kotara
Anchorage, Port Meadows, and Elphinstone Harbour, before departing Port Blair
on the 30th to return to Trincomalee. On 1 February, ABDIEL damaged her
starboard propeller shaft after grounding at Port Anson. Her speed was
reduced, but she was able to reach Trincomalee on the 3rd.
_____
On
approaching Addu Atoll on the 26th,orders for convoy DM.2 of troopships WARWICK CASTLE, EMPRESS OF AUSTRALIA, CITY OF PRETORIA, TROILUS, MALANCHA, and
DUNERA were altered and only ROYAL SOVEREIGN and EMPRESS OF AUSTRALIA (the
latter short of fuel) entered, EMPRESS OF AUSTRALIA duly rejoining after
fuelling. Theconvoy was then escorted by armed merchant cruiser RANCHI until the 28th when the
convoy rendezvoused and merged with convoy BM.12. Light cruiser EMERALD
relieved the armed merchant cruiser and escorted until the 31st when light
cruisers DANAE and the Dutch JAVA joined.
DANAE
and JAVA were detached on 3 February, due to fuel shortage, and arrived at
Batavia on the 4th. That same day,
heavy cruiser
EXETER and destroyers JUPITER and ENCOUNTER
detached from the convoy to form a striking force to attack Japanese ships
north of Banka
Island.
Destroyer
VAMPIRE was detached and arrived at Batavia on the 4th with DM.2, which
had been travelling in company with BM.12.
_____
Convoy
MR.1 departed Madras with steamers ERINPURA (5143grt), ETHIOPIA (5574grt),
KUTSANG (5869grt), NEURALIA (9182grt), PRESIDENT DOUMIER (11,898grt), and
VARSOVA (4701grt), escorted by Australian armed merchant cruiser MANOORA,
Indian sloop INDUS and Indian patrol vessels IRRAWADY and TRAVANCORE. The
patrol vessels were detached on the 26th and the armed merchant cruiser on
the 30th. The convoy arrived at Rangoon on the 31st, escorted by the
sloop.
Tuesday,
27 January
Heavy
cruiser BERWICK arrived at Hvalfjord from patrol in the Denmark Strait.
_____
Light
cruiser SHEFFIELD departed Hvalfjord for
patrol in the Faroes-Iceland passage.
_____
Destroyer
AIREDALE arrived at
Scapa Flow at 1245 from Lamlash to work up after
commissioning.
_____
Destroyer
LEWES departed
Scapa Flow at 1930 for Rosyth on completion of working up, and
arrived at May
Island at 0800/28th.
_____
Convoy ON.61 departed
Liverpool and was joined on the 28th
by destroyers KEPPEL,
LEAMINGTON and corvettes ALISMA, APHODEL, DIANELLA,
KINGCUP, LOOSESTRIFE, and THYME. These escorts were relieved on 1 February by
American destroyers NIBLACK, OVERTON, and TARBELL. The convoy dispersed on
the 10th.
_____
Minesweeper
HALCYON departed Hvalfjord for
Scapa Flow, prior to procceding to
Dundee for repair to propeller
shafts.
_____
Russian
icebreaker STALIN arrived at Molotovsk for repair to the 16 January bomb
damage.
_____
U.130
sank American tanker FRANCIS E. POWELL (7096grt) in 38-05N, 74-53W. Four crew
were missing and 28 rescued.
_____
U.130
damaged American tanker HALO (6986grt) in 35-23N, 75-20W.
_____
Aircraft
carrier ARGUS and her destroyer escort departed Gibraltar to exercise to the east.
_____
Destroyer
HURWORTH arrived at
Aden, and sailed that day for
Suez to join the Mediterranean
Fleet at
Alexandria.
_____
Anti-submarine
whaler SOUTHERN
SEA, escorting DARIEN II to Derna, attacked a
submarine contact in 32-44N, 23-23E. Destroyer DULVERTON was sent from Tobruk
to assist, but no further contact was made.
_____
Submarine
TEMPEST arrived at
Gibraltar from patrol.
_____
Submarine
TURBULENT departed
Gibraltar for
Malta.
_____
Cruiser
minelayer WELSHMAN arrived at
Gibraltar from Freetown.
_____
Sloop
PELICAN and corvettes MARIGOLD and AZALEA departed Gibraltar for the UK. Corvette VETCH departed in
company to relieve corvette SPIRAEA with oiler DINGLEDALE, SPIRAEA then
proceeding to the UK. Corvettes PENTSTEMON and
VETCH were temporarily assigned to the 13th Destroyer Flotilla to replace
AZALEA and SPIRAEA which were returning to the UK to fit type 271 radar.
_____
Convoy
SL.99 departed
Freetown escorted by destroyer
BRILLIANT and corvettes ARMERIA, BERGAMOT, LAVENDER, and ROCKROSE. They were
all detached on the 30th. On the 28th, destroyer VANSITTART joined the convoy
and continued to 14 February.
On
the 29th, sloops
ABERDEEN, ENCHANTRESS, IBIS and escort vessel WALNEY
joined. IBIS detached on 2 February, but the rest continued until
the 16th. Destroyer CLARE joined on the 31st and continued to 16 February,
escort vessel HARTLAND on 3 February and continued to the 16th, and sloop
ROSEMARY, anti-aircraft ship
ULSTER QUEEN and anti-submarine
trawler WOLVES on the 16th and escorted the convoy into Liverpool the same day.
_____
American
submarine GUDGEON sank Japanese submarine I.73 in 28-24N, 178-35E.
_____
Gunboats
DRAGONFLY and SCORPION evacuated troops cut off west of Rengit from the coast
south of Batu Pahat from the 27th to 31st.
_____
Tanker
HARPA (3007grt) was sunk on a British mine in Singapore Strait. Thirty three crew and two
gunners were lost from a complement of 38 crew and two gunners. The five
survivors were rescued by patrol vessel HUA TONG, but all but one died.
_____
Dutch
steamer JAN CARSTENESZ (164grt) was scuttled at Amboina, where the the Master and engineer
were interned.
Wednesday,
28 January
Light
cruiser KENYA arrived at Hvalfjord from
patrol in the Faroes-Iceland Channel.
_____
Destroyer
CALPE departed Scapa Flow at 2015 for Sullom Voe,
where she arrived at 0930/29th.
_____
Convoy
QP.6 was dispersed at 0500 in 73N, 15E. Destroyer SOMALI proceeded to
Hvalfjord, arriving at 1845/30th, while light cruiser TRINIDAD and minesweepers BRAMBLE and
HEBE arrived at
Scapa Flow on the 31st.
_____
S/Lt
R S Campbell was killed when his Albacore of the 786 Squadron crashed near
Elie Light.
_____
Cruiser
minelayer WELSHMAN departed
Gibraltar for the
UK.
_____
Convoy
AT.21 of petrol carrier ATHENE, escorted by escort destroyers FARNDALE,
ERIDGE, and HERO departed
Alexandria and arrived at Tobruk on the
30th. On the 31st, the escorts departed Tobruk with empty storeships for
Alexandria, arriving on 1 February.
_____
Submarine
THORN sank Italian steamer NINUCCIA (4583grt) 1000 yards 90° from Mulo Island
Light. Shortly after the sinking, she struck bottom and damaged her stern,
rendering the three stern tubes unsafe to use.
_____
Submarine
PANDORA arrived at
Bermuda from
New London, Connecticut, after refitting. After
minor repairs, she sailed for
Gibraltar on 3 February.
_____
In
Operation OPPONENT, aircraft carrier INDOMITABLE, escorted by destroyers
NAPIER, NIZAM, and NESTOR, flew off 48 Hurricanes of 232 and 258 Squadron to
Batavia. A Swordfish of
INDOMITABLE’s 831 Squadron failed to return from an anti-submarine search,
and Lt B C Willoughby, S/Lt G T Shaddick, and Leading Airman G C G Tew were
lost. The force arrived back at Trincomalee on 2 February.
_____
Aircraft
transport ATHENE departed Mauritius with Hurricane aircraft for
Singapore.
_____
Convoy
MS.1 had departed Sydney on 28 December and Melbourne on the 10th with
British steamers
CITY OF MANCHESTER (8917grt), DERRYMORE (4799grt),
GORGON (3533grt), PEISANDER (6225grt), tanker WAR SIRDAR 5647grt), Dutch
steamers ENGGANO (5412grt), JAVA (9250grt), PHRONTIS (6181grt), TJIKANDI
(7970grt), TJIKRANG (9505grt), and Norwegian PAN EUROPE (9468grt) escorted by
armed merchant cruiser KANIMBLA. Light cruiser HOBART joined on the 26th.
The
convoy split in
Sunda Strait when it was joined by
destroyers TENEDOS and STRONGHOLD on the 28th. KANIMBLA returned to
Fremantle.
CITY OF
MANCHESTER, DERRYMORE, GORGON,
PEISANDER, PAN EUROPE and WAR SIRDAR proceeded to Singapore, escorted by HOBART, TENEDOS and STRONGHOLD,
arriving on 1 February.
The
Dutch steamers - ENGGANO, JAVA, PHRONTIS, TIJIKANDI, and TJIKRANG proceeded
to Dutch
East Indies ports.
_____
Convoy
ULU departed Singapore with British steamers ROHNA,
ISLAMI, EKMA and
CAP ST JACQUES for
Bombay and DARVEL, IPOH, and PANGKOR for Palembang, escorted by destroyer
VAMPIRE and sloop YARRA. On the 30th, Indian sloop SUTLEJ relieved VAMPIRE, which
proceeded to Batavia. The convoy proceeded
through the Sunda
Strait.
_____
Japanese
submarine I.64 damaged British paddle steamer IDAR (391grt) with gunfire in
10-12N, 80-13E. She was set on fire by a small boarding party from the
submarine, but beached and later salved.
_____
American
inter-island transport GENERAL ROYAL T FRANK (632grt) was sunk two miles west
of Maui.
Japanese
submarine I.71 was in the area, but made no report. Of the passengers and
crew, 29 were missing and 39 rescued.
Thursday,
29 January
Battleship
DUKE OF YORK departed the Clyde for Scapa Flow, escorted by Polish
destroyer BLYSKAWICA, and the British HARVESTER and VERITY, arriving on the
30th.
_____
Heavy
cruiser CUMBERLAND departed Hvalfjord for
refitting at Chatham, arriving at Scapa Flow on the 31st.
_____
Light
cruiser NEWCASTLE arrived at Scapa Flow from Plymouth to work up after refitting.
_____
Destroyers
MIDDLETON, TARTAR and AIREDALE departed Scapa Flow to patrol in positions 61N,
3E, 60N, 0-30E, and 59N, OE respectively, to aid RAF Bomber Command aircraft
which may have been in difficulties returning from a raid on battleship
TIRPITZ at Trondheim. TARTAR and AIREDALE arrived
back at Scapa
Flow
at noon on the 30th and MIDDLETON at Sullom Voe at 1430.
Their assistance was not required.
_____
Armed
merchant cruisers
CITY OF DURBAN (SO) and
CAPE SABLE, escorted by escort
destroyer CALPE, departed Sullom Voe on Operation EM. The ships were sighted by
German aircraft on the 30th, and again on 1 February and the operation was
cancelled.
_____
Trawler
BRACONBUSH (204grt) was sunk on a mine two miles SE from Duncansby Head. The
entire crew were rescued.
_____
Norwegian
steamer BJORNVIK (812grt) was sunk by German bombing 2.8 miles 90° from
Lizard Head. Fifteen crew and one gunner were lost, and only two crew and one
gunner rescued.
_____
Fishing
baldies (small inshore fishing vessels used on the east coast of Scotland) CROWN and OCEAN GIFT (requisitioned, 91grt) were
sunk by German bombing at Rosehearty.
_____
Tugs
FAIRNILEE (226grt) and NORTHGATE SCOT (174grt) were damaged by
German bombing at
Falmouth. NORTHGATE SCOT was beached in the Harbour
and drydocked on the 31st.
_____
U.132
badly damaged American Coast Guard cutter ALEXANDER HAMILTON near Reykjavik, in 64-10N, 22-56W. LT/JG L
V T SIECK USCG and 19 Coast Guard ratings were lost . Destroyer GWIN took off
101 survivors, and another group was picked up by an Icelandic fishing
trawler, but six men died of wounds. ALEXANDER HAMILTON sank in tow.
_____
Naval
trawler ROSALIND and minesweeping trawler LORD GREY departed Gibraltar for Freetown, escorting tanker SAN ZEFERINO. Anti-submarine
trawler STELLA CARINA also departed
Gibraltar as local escort.
_____
Dutch
destroyer ISAAC SWEERS departed Alexandria for Port Said en route to the Far East.
_____
Corvette
GLOXINIA, French escort ship VIKINGS and British anti-submarine whaler SOTRA
departed Tobruk escorting Greek empty storeships FLORA NOMIKOS (1783grt) and
ELPHIS (1492grt) in convoy TA.21. SOTRA (313grt, Temporary Lt F R Linfield
RNR) was sunk by U.431 off
Bardia in 32-07N, 25-30E with all hands. Lt Linfield, Temporary Lt R W
Henfrey RNVR, Temporary S/Lt (E) K J Johansen RNVR, Temporary Lt (E) T Olsen
RNR and eighteen ratings were
lost. The U-boat was couonter-attacked by the remaining escort vessels, but
escaped undamage. The convoy arrived at Alexandria on the 31st.
_____
A
Swordfish of 815 Squadron attacked U.205 in 32-20N, 26-13E and claimed heavy
damage, but no damage was done.
_____
Convoy
of BM.11 of liners DUCHESS OF BEDFORD (20,123grt) and EMPRESS OF JAPAN
(26,032grt), steamer EMPIRE
STAR (12,656grt), and American
transports WAKEFIELD (24,289 tons displacement), and WEST POINT (35,400 tons
displacement) arrived at Singapore, escorted by destroyers EXPRESS, ELECTRA,
TENEDOS and THANET.
The
convoy, carrying anti-aircraft batteries, a light tank squadron, troops and
stores had departed
Bombay on the 19th escorted by
light cruiser
CALEDON. Light cruiser GLASGOW
relieved CALEDON on the 22nd, heavy cruiser
EXETER and destroyer ENCOUNTER
relieved
GLASGOW on the 26th and were then
detached on the 28th. Light cruisers DRAGON and DURBAN were with the convoy from
the 26th to 28th, while THANET and TENEDOS escorted the convoy from the 24th
to 29th.
Destroyer
ELECTRA was near missed by Japanese bombing on the 28th in Banka Strait, but not damaged.
_____
Destroyer
ISIS was towed by destroyer ENCOUNTER to Batavia. On the 30th, ENCOUNTER
reported one engine out of service and able to proceed only at five knots.
Destroyer ELECTRA was sent to take over the tow, all three arriving on 1
February.
_____
Submarine
ROVER was towed by destroyer EXPRESS from Singapore to Batavia, arriving on the 31st.
_____
Japanese
submarine I.64 sank American steamer FLORENCE LUCKENBACH (5049grt) in 12-55N,
80-33E.
_____
Dutch
steamers BOELONGEN (1053grt), BUYSKES (1800grt), ELOUT (1797grt) and POELAU
TELLO (9272grt) were sunk by Japanese bombing at Padang.
_____
Steamer
GIANG SENG (1811grt) was sunk or captured in the Dutch East Indies.
Friday,
30 January
Minelaying
cruiser ADVENTURE arrived at
Scapa Flow from Loch Alsh.
_____
Light
cruiser CLEOPATRA departed
Scapa Flow for the
Clyde in preparation of sailing to
the Mediterranean, arriving in the Clyde on the 31st.
_____
Destroyers
WORCESTER and
LUDLOW escorting destroyer depot
ship BLENHEIM arrived at
Scapa Flow at 1500.
_____
Destroyer
ICARUS departed
Scapa Flow at 2230 for Hvalfjord on completion of docking, to
operate under the orders of the C-in-C, Home Fleet.
_____
Minesweeper
HALCYON departed
Scapa Flow at 2200 for
Aberdeen to refit.
_____
Submarine
TIGRIS departed the Clyde for patrol, escorted by
anti-submarine trawler HUGH WALPOLE.
_____
Corvettes
BELLWORT, ABELIA and SWEETBRIAR departed Scapa Flow for the Western Approaches
Command having been relieved by sister-ships MIGNONETTE, EGLANTINE and
SNOWDROP.
_____
As
FAA 823 Squadron moved from Fraserburgh to Machrihanish, a Swordfish was lost
when it crashed into the ground in bad visibility. S/Lt L F Brown and Air
Mechanician C W Beer were killed.
_____
Minesweeping
trawler LOCH ALSH (358grt, Skipper W.F. Wright RNR) was sunk by German bombing
in the Humber, about 30 miles NE of
Skegness. There were no casualties.
_____
Convoy
OS.18 departed
Liverpool escorted by corvette GENISTA which arrived with the
convoy at Freetown on 20 February. On 31
January, sloops
LEITH, ROCHESTER and SCARBOROUGH joined and detached on 15
February, corvette TAMARISK joined on the1st and arrived with the convoy on
the 20th, and destroyer BRADFORD joined on the 6th and detached on the 15th.
On that same day, destroyer WILD SWAN and corvettes JASMINE, VIOLET, and
WALLFLOWER joined, also arriving with the convoy on the 20th.
_____
U.106
sank American tanker
ROCHESTER (6836grt) in 37-10N, 73-58W.
Three crew were missing, but 30 were rescued.
_____
British
tanker SAN ADOLFO departed
Gibraltar with corvettes RHODODENDRON
and PENTSTEMON as local escorts for
Trinidad.
_____
Destroyer
HEYTHROP and escort vessel ANTWERP departed Alexandria with personnel for Tobruk,
arriving on the 31st. Both ships arrived back at Alexandria on 1 February.
_____
Landing
ship GLENGYLE and steamer PRINCESS MARGUERITE departed Alexandria, escorted by destroyers
JAGUAR and LANCE, for an operational exercise in the Gulf of Suez. They arrived at Port Said on the 31st and the
destroyers returned to
Alexandria.
_____
Submarine
THORN sank Italian submarine MEDUSA in 44-54N, 13-46E. There were no
survivors.
_____
Swordfish
of 830 Squadron attacked Italian steamer SAN GIOVANNI BATTISTA (5628grt)
off Zuara. She had departed Tripoli on the 30th escorted by
torpedo boats ORSA and CALLIOPE. SAN GIOVANNI BATTISTI was
damaged, but was able to reach port. Destroyer DA NOLI joined to assist on
the 31st. One Swordfish failed to return and S/Lt J F Wilson and Lt J R O
Stevenson were lost.
_____
Convoy SC.67 departed
Halifax, escorted by destroyer
HAMILTON, corvettes
CHILLIWACK, DUNVEGAN, SASKATOON, and minesweeper NIPIGON.
The escort, minus
CHILLIWACK, detached on 2 February. The
convoy was joined on the 2nd by corvettes DAUPHIN, LOUISBURG, SHEDIAC, and SPIKENARD, and
by corvette LETHBRIDGE on the 8th February.
SPIKENARD detached on the 10th, and CHILLIWACK, LETHBRIDGE, LOUISBURG and SHEDIAC on the 11th
February. That same day, destroyer ST ALBANS and corvettes GENTIAN and
HONEYSUCKLE joined, with ST ALBANS detaching on the 13th, GENTIAN on the
14th, and HONEYSUCKLE on the 15th, when the convoy arrived at Liverpool.
_____
Australian
heavy cruiser
CANBERRA departed Fremantle escorting
convoy MS.3 of British ships ANTILOCHUS (9062grt), CHARON (3703grt), MANGOLA
(3352grt), MARELLA (7475grt) for Batavia and Norwegian ELSA
(5381grt), ERLING BROVIG (9970grt), HERBORG (7892grt), SEIRSTAD (9918grt),
and Dutch MANVANTARA (8237grt), MARPESSA (7408grt), and MERULA (8228grt) for
Palembang to Christmas Island.
Off
Christmas
Island
on 6 February, they met light cruisers DRAGON and DURBAN and two destroyers escorting
troopship
WARWICK CASTLE from Singapore.The escorts
traded ships.
The
four British steamers in the convoy arrived at Batavia, escorted by DRAGON, DURBAN and destroyers JUPITER and
ENCOUNTER on the 8th, and the Norwegian and Dutch tankers at Palembang on the 9th, escorted by
sloop JUMNA.
CANBERRA arrived back at Fremantle on
the 10th with the troopship.
_____
Submarine
TRUSTY was damaged by splinters from near misses from Japanese bombing in
Keppel Harbour, Singapore.
Liner
DUCHESS OF BEDFORD (20,123grt) and EMPRESS OF JAPAN (26,032grt) was also
damaged by bombing in
Keppel Harbour, Singapore, but DUCHESS OF BEDFORD was
able to proceed to
Batavia and Colombo.
_____
Steamer
MADURA (9052grt) was damaged by Japanese bombing at Singapore. Six crew were lost and 14
later made prisoners of war.
American
transport WAKEFIELD (24,289grt) was damaged by
Japanese bombing at Singapore. Four passengers and one
enlisted man were killed, and nine enlisted man wounded.
WAKEFIELD and American transport WEST
POINT departed
Singapore on the 30th escorted by
light cruiser
DURBAN. Before leaving, WEST
POINT embarked naval officers, their families, dockyard civilians,
civilian evacuees, a 16 man RAF contingent, and 225 naval ratings, totalling
1276. In this number was the Commodore Superintendent Singapore
Dockyard and all Heads of Department, except CD, CE, NSO, VSO and skeleton staffs.
WAKEFIELD embarked two naval ratings,
six RAF personnel, and one officer and 25 men of a Bofors gun
detachment. The three ships arrived at Batavia on the 31st. There,
destroyer ELECTRA transferred 20 naval dockyard personnel, three women, five
naval officers' wives, one Free French officer, and an RAF officer to WEST
POINT for passage to Ceylon. WEST POINT and WAKEFIELD arrived at Colombo on 6 March, escorted by
destroyer NIZAM. WEST POINT embarked an additional 670 troops, eight
men, 55 women and 53 children for passage to India.
Continuing at
Bombay, WAKEFIELD embarked 336 American
evacuees for return to
New York via Capetown, arriving back
in the United States on 23 March.
Troopships EMPRESS OF JAPAN
and DUCHESS OF BEDFORD departed Singapore for Colombo, escorted by light cruiser
DRAGON. The group was bombed at 1156 on the 31st. The two
troopships proceeded independently once at sea and DRAGON arrived at Batavia at 2000/31st. EMPRESS
OF JAPAN arrived at
Colombo on 13 February and went on
to Durban arriving on the 22nd, while DUCHESS OF BEDFORD
arrived on the 15th February and went on to
Durban arriving on the 25th.
These
two convoys, both departing Singapore about 1800/30th, carried a
total of some 4000 dockyard and service personnel evacuees.
_____
Japanese
submarine I.64 sank Indian steamer JALATARANG (2498grt) at 12-50N, 81-00E.
Thirty eight crew were lost and only 11 saved.
Saturday,
31 January
Heavy
cruiser LONDON departed the Tyne on completion of refitting
for Scapa
Flow
to work up, arriving on 1 February.
_____
Light
cruiser TRINIDAD departed Scapa Flow for the Clyde to disembark Polish
passengers, brought from Russia. She arrived on 1 February.
_____
Destroyer
PUNJABI departed the
Tyne at 0700 for
Scapa Flow after completing a refit.
She arrived at 1745 to work up prior to rejoining the Fleet.
_____
Destroyer
WORCESTER departed
Scapa Flow at 0815 for Harwich to rejoin the Nore Command.
_____
Destroyer
MIDDLETON departed Sullom Voe and destroyer CHIDDINGFOLD and AIREDALE
departed Scapa Flow during the afternoon for patrol positions eastwards
of the Shetlands to act as rescue ships for RAF Bomber Command aircraft
returning from a raid on battleship TIRPITZ at
Trondheim. The raid was cancelled due
to weather and the ships returned to harbour.
_____
Destroyer
CHIDDINGFOLD departed
Scapa Flow, escorting steamer
AMSTERDAM to Invergordon.
_____
Minesweepers
BRAMBLE and HEBE arrived at
Scapa Flow at 1300 from convoy QP.6.
_____
Destroyers
FAULKNOR and INTREPID arrived at Seidisfjord from Hvalfjord prior to sailing
to rendezvous with convoys PQ.10 and PQ.11.
_____
US heavy cruisers WICHITA and TUSCALOOSA, six destroyers and three
supply ships departed Hvalfjord to return to the United States.
_____
Destroyer
BELMONT (Lt Cdr G B O'B Harding), escorting convoy NA.2, was sunk by U.82 in
42-02N, 57-18W with all hands. Cdr Harding, Lt A M W Blake, Temporary Acting
Gunner (T) H D Cook, Acting Lt M W Curd RNVR, Temporary Lt W W Deighton RNVR,
Probationary Temporary Surgeon Lt J D James RNVR, Temporary S/Lt J McD Makins
RNVR, Lt (E) G H Nicholson
RNR and one hundred and thirty
ratings were missing.
_____
Ex-US
Coast Guard cutter CULVER (Lt Cdr R T Gordon-Duff), escorting convoy SL.98,
was sunk by U.105 in 48-43N, 20-14W with all hands. Cdr Gordon-Duff,
Temporary Acting Gunner A G Bennett DSM, Temporary S/Lt R E R Bensley RNVR,
Temporary Lt A H Jubb
RNR, Lt R F Kipling, Lt Cdr (E) G S Thorpe,
Probationary Temporary Surgeon Lt R Troup RNVR, Lt G F Watson RNVR, S/Lt W
Piotrowski Polish Navy, and one hundred and five ratings were missing.
_____
Minesweeping
drifter UNICITY (96grt) capsized and sank while minesweeping off Blyth in a storm. Temporary Lt B M
T Wallace RNVR was lost.
_____
Fishing
yawl LADY CHARLOTTE (18grt) was sunk in Eyemouth Harbour by German bombing.
_____
Steamer
EMPIRE REDSHANK (6613grt) was damaged by German bombing in 62-24N, 2-24W
_____
U.107
sank tanker SAN ARCADIO (7419grt) in 38-10N, 63-50W. Thirty
eight crew and three gunners were lost, and eight crew and one gunner saved.
_____
U.333
sank German blockade runner SPREEWALD (5083grt) in error in 45N, 25W.
_____
German
steamer HELGOLAND (3664grt) was lost due to
ice-damage in Finnish waters.
_____
Destroyers
ANTHONY and ACTIVE departed
Gibraltar to meet Polish troopships BATORY and SOBIESKI
for inward escort.
_____
U.375
attacked destroyers HERO, FARNDALE, and ERIDGE off Mersa Matruh at 0044
without success. She was later counter-attacked by a Swordfish bi plane, but
was not damaged.
_____
Submarine
THUNDERBOLT sank Italian steamer FERTILLA (986grt) northeast of Brindisi.
_____
Convoy
AT.22 departed
Alexandria escorted by destroyers SOUTHWOLD,
DULVERTON and HASTY, and arrived at Tobruk on 3 February. The destroyers then
returned to Alexandria, escorting empty storeships.
_____
Japanese
submarine I.64 sank Indian steamer JALAPALAKA (4215grt) in 13-00N, 81-08E.
Thirteen crew were missing, but 54 saved.
_____
Submarine
ROVER, towed by destroyer EXPRESS, arrived at Batavia on the 31st.
_____
Light
cruiser GLASGOW and armed merchant cruiser CARTHAGE arrived at Colombo.
_____
Japanese submarine
I.62 damaged tanker LONGWOOD (9463grt) 20 miles west of Colombo. Greek destroyer QUEEN OLGA, British sloop FALMOUTH and auxiliary patrol boat OKAPI hunted the
submarine without success. The tanker arrived at Colombo that day. She was temporarily repaired at Colombo and sent to Durban, arriving on 1 November, for further repairs.
