British and Other Navies in World War 2 Day-by-Day by Don Kindell

NAVAL EVENTS, JANUARY 1942, Part 2 of 2
Thursday 15th – Saturday 31st

HMS Witherington, destroyer
(James Witherington, click photographs for enlargements)

on to Naval Events, FEBRUARY 1942
or back to Naval-History.Net

 

Note: all vessels and aircraft are British unless otherwise identified or implied - click for abbreviations

 

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Destroyer ANTHONY arrived at Gibraltar after escorting convoy WS.15.

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Submarine TALISMAN arrived at Gibraltar from Malta.

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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.

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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.

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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.