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
Sunday, 1 February
Light cruiser
TRINIDAD arrived in the
Clyde
from Scapa Flow to disembark the Polish personnel
brought back from
Murmansk
with convoy QP. 6. She
departed the Clyde on the 4th to return to
Scapa Flow,
arriving on the 5th.
_____
Heavy cruiser
LONDON
arrived at Scapa Flow from the Tyne on completion of
refitting.
_____
Heavy cruiser
SUFFOLK
arrived at Hvalfjord from
patrol in the Denmark Strait.
_____
Destroyer ICARUS arrived at Hvalfjord from
Scapa
Flow at 1100 to operate with the
Home Fleet.
_____
Destroyers FAULKNOR and INTREPID arrived at
Seidisfjord from Hvalfjord for ocean escort of convoy
PQ.9 and PQ.10.
_____
Destroyer
CALPE arrived at
Scapa
Flow at 0800 on return from
Operation EW in which she had been providing
anti-aircraft protection to
armed merchant
cruisers
CAPE SABLE and CITY OF DURBAN.
_____
Convoy ON.62 departed
Liverpool,
and was joined on the 2nd
by destroyer WATCHMAN and corvettes ANCHUSA, ARABIS,
DAHLIA, MONKSHOOD, and
SNOWFLAKE. WATCHMAN detached on the 6th when the convoy
was joined by
destroyer ST LAURENT and corvettes KAMSACK, NAPANEE,
RIMOUSKI, TRAIL and TRILLIUM.
The original corvettes were detached on the 7th when
American destroyer
GLEAVES joined. GLEAVES detached on the 13th, and the
convoy dispersed on the
15th.
_____
U.109 sank steamer TACOMA
STAR
(7924grt) in 37-33N, 69-21W.
The entire crew of 85 were lost.
_____
Steamer SEDULITY (490grt) was damaged by German
bombing off Cromer.
_____
Submarine TEMPEST departed
Gibraltar
for Malta, arriving on the 8th.
_____
Escort destroyer HURWORTH arrived at
Alexandria
from the Canal Area for duty
with the 5th Destroyer Flotilla.
_____
Submarine THUNDERBOLT sank Italian steamer ABSIRTEA
(4170grt) six miles 320° from
Cape
Dukato.
_____
Convoy HX.173 departed
Halifax,
escorted by destroyer ST
CLAIR, corvettes
MIDLAND,
NASTURTIUM, and
minesweepers GANANOQUE and QUINTE. The minesweepers
detached on the 2nd.
American destroyers BERNADOU, DECATUR, EDISON, LEA, and
NICHOLSON joined on the
3rd, while the rest of the initial escort detached on
the 4th. Destroyer
WATCHMAN joined on the 9th and corvette SNOWFLAKE. The
American destroyers
detached on the 10th, and corvettes ANCHUSA, ARABIS,
DAHLIA and MONKSHOOD
joined on the 12th. The escorts all detached on the 13th
and the convoy
arrived at Liverpool on the 14th.
_____
American naval forces attacked
Kwajalein,
Wotje, Maloelap, Jaluit and
Mili in the Marshalls,
and Makin in the Gilbert Island groups.
Aircraft from aircraft carrier
YORKTOWN,
escorted by heavy cruiser LOUISVILLE, light cruiser ST
LOUIS and destroyers HUGHES, SIMS,
RUSSELL, and WALKE, struck Makin Island.
Aircraft from aircraft carrier
ENTERPRISE,
escorted by destroyers
RALPH TALBOT, BLUE and MCCALL, struck Wotje, Maloelap, and
Kwajalein.
Heavy cruisers
NORTHAMPTON
and SALT LAKE CITY with destroyer DUNLAP
bombarded Wotje.
Heavy cruiser
CHESTER
with destroyers BALCH and
MAURY bombarded Taroa and Maloelap.
Oiler SABINE with destroyer MAHAN was the tanker unit
for the task forces. Earlier on 28 January, a second
oiler
PLATTE
was detached with destroyer
CRAVEN.
Aircraft carrier
ENTERPRISE
was damaged when a Japanese
plane crashed into her in 10-33N, 171-53E. One enlisted
man was killed and
three wounded.
Heavy cruiser
CHESTER
was damaged by a Japanese
dive bomber in 8-45N, 171-33E. Seven enlisted men were
killed and twenty
wounded. Of the Cruiser Scouting Squadron 5 staff aboard
the cruiser, LT A L
Ekberg was killed and one enlisted man wounded.
Ensign W M Heywood Jr in destroyer SIMS was wounded by
a Japanese bomb near miss.
One enlisted man on cruiser
NORTHAMPTON
was wounded by shellfire.
From
YORKTOWN, one enlisted man in Torpedo Squadron 3 was
wounded. LT G L Bellinger, LT (jg) M P. Fishel, and two
enlisted men from
Bombing Squadron 5 were lost when their bombers collided
over Jaluit. LT F X
Maher, Jr, LT J C Moore, and the four enlisted men of
their respective planes
of Torpedo Squadron 5 were lost when their planes
collided shortly after take
off. Two more planes of Torpedo Squadron 5 were lost
when they ran out of
gasoline, and LT H T Johnson, Ensign H Hein, and four
enlisted men were taken
prisoners by the Japanese. A seventh plane, piloted by
Ensign T A Reeves, of
Bombing Squadron 5 went down returning to the carrier.
Reeves and his
enlisted man crewman were rescued by an American
destroyer.
From
ENTERPRISE,
LT (jg) E J Kroeger was
wounded and Ensign J J Doherty and an enlisted man were
lost on the 1st from
Bombing Squadron 6. Ensign D W Criswell of Fighter
Squadron 6 was lost when
his plane spun into the sea. Ensign E R Donnell, Jr, LT
(jg) C T Fogg, LCDR H
L Hopping, Ensign D Seid, and four enlisted men from
Scouting Squadron 6 were
lost at Roi. LT (jg) R E Laub of Torpedo Squadron 6 was
wounded on 31
January.
_____
Heavy cruiser
EXETER
with destroyers JUPITER and
VAMPIRE departed
Batavia
with US transports WAKEFIELD and WEST POINT for the
Sunda
Straits. The escorts then returned to Tanjong Priok and
the transports safely
arrived at Colombo
on the 6th.
_____
Convoy MS.1 with
British
steamers CITY OF MANCHESTER, DERRYMORE,
GORGON, PEISANDER, and Norwegian PAN EUROPE and Tanker
WAR SIRDAR, escorted
by light cruiser HOBART and destroyers TENEDOS and
STRONGHOLD, arrived at Singapore.
_____
Heavy cruiser
CORNWALL
arrived at Colombo.
_____
Submarine TRUANT departed
Colombo
for Batavia via the Sunda Strait.
_____
Australian minesweeper MARYBOROUGH and armed patrol
vessels MEDUSA and CIRCE departed
Singapore
for Batavia.
2 February, Monday
Minelaying cruiser ADVENTURE departed
Scapa
Flow for the Clyde to embark the Russian trade
delegation. She arrived in the
Clyde on the 4th, and after embarking the delegation,
departed on the 5th for
Murmansk.
_____
Light cruiser ARETHUSA departed
Scapa
Flow for Chatham for refitting prior to
joining the Mediterranean Fleet, and arrived at Chatham
on the 3rd.
_____
Light cruiser
KENYA
departed Hvalfjord for
patrol in the Faroes-Iceland Channel.
_____
Light cruiser SHEFFIELD (CS.18) departed patrol in the
Faroes-Iceland Channel for Hvalfjord, arriving on the
3rd.
_____
Destroyer
CALPE departed
Scapa
Flow at 1400 to rendezvous with
armed merchant
cruisers
CITY OF DURBAN and CAPE SABLE to the northeast of the
Shetlands to provide anti-aircraft protection for their
return to Scapa Flow. CALPE was unable to meet the ships
on the 3rd and proceeded to Sullom Voe to refuel,
arriving at noon on the 4th. The ships were
met later on the 4th, and all three arrived at Scapa
Flow at 2200/5th.
_____
Convoy ON.63 departed
Liverpool,
escorted by destroyers
CHELSEA, VERITY, WITCH and corvettes ARBUTUS, CAMELLIA,
COLUMBINE, and
PIMPERNEL. ARBUTUS detached on the 5th, and the
remainder of the escort when
the convoy was joined by American Coast Guard cutter
INGHAM and destroyers
DALLAS, ROPER, and UPSHUR. The convoy was dispersed on
the 13th.
_____
Minesweeping trawler
CAPE
SPARTEL (346grt, Lt J. R. Grundy RNR) was sunk by German
bombing
in 53-28-42N, 0-49-12E in the
Humber.
There were no casualties.
_____
Minesweeping trawler CLOUGHTON WYKE (324grt, Temporary
Skipper C. S. Larter DSC, OBE
RNR)
was sunk by German bombing
in 52-59-N, 1-18-30E in the
Humber. Four ratings were lost and Skipper Larter
wounded.
_____
U.751 damaged Dutch tanker CORILLA (8096grt) from
convoy HX.173 in 44-49N, 61-37W.
_____
U.103 sank American tanker W L STEED (6182grt) in
38-25N, 73-00W. Thirty five crew were lost and only
three rescued.
_____
Submarine P.39 departed
Gibraltar
for Malta, arriving on the 11th.
_____
Corvette RHODODENDRON departed
Gibraltar
to rendezvous with steamers
CRESSADO and EMPIRE PANTHER off Cape Razo and escorted
them to join
convoy HG 78.
_____
Submarine REGENT, which departed
Ponta
Delgada after emergency repairs on
the 2nd, was attacked in error by Submarine CLYDE. Two
torpedoes were fired,
but both missed.
_____
Convoy AT.23 departed
Alexandria,
escorted by destroyer
AVONVALE and corvette HYACINTH, and arrived at Tobruk on
the 5th. There was
no convoy AT.24.
_____
Submarine TURBULENT arrived at
Malta
from Gibraltar.
_____
Aircraft carrier INDOMITABLE and destroeyrs NIZAM,
NESTER, and NAPIER arrived at Trincomalee from operation
OPPONENT.
_____
Australian light cruiser HOBART and destroyer TENEDOS
departed Singapore
for Batavia.
_____
Destroyer SCOUT was ordered to return to
Singapore
from operations at Sabang.
_____
Submarine TRUSTY departed
Singapore
for patrol in the southern
part of the Gulf of
Siam.
On completion of patrol,
she was to proceed to
Batavia.
_____
Convoy MR.2 departed
Madras
with steamer ELLENGA
(5196grt), escorted by Australian armed merchant cruiser
MANOORA, Indian
sloop INDUS,and patrol vessel SONAVATI.
The convoy dispersed on the 5th and the escorts were
detached.
3 February, Tuesday
Heavy cruiser
CUMBERLAND
departed Scapa Flow for Rosyth to land
contaminated cordite before proceeding to refitting at
Chatham. She arrived at Rosyth on
the 4th.
_____
Light cruiser NIGERIA (CS.10) departed
Scapa
Flow to meet and escort convoy
PQ.9 and PQ.10 to
Murmansk.
_____
Destroyers ESCAPADE and PANTHER departed Hvalfjord at
1400 for Scapa Flow. ESCAPADE was proceeding to Immingham for refitting
and PANTHER completing working up. ESCAPADE arrived at
Scapa
Flow at 0815/5th and sailed at
1200 for Immingham, while PANTHER arrived there at 1200
after carrying out
gunnery practices in
Pentland Firth.
ESCAPADE arrived in the Humber at 1130/6th for refit.
_____
Destroyers FAULKNOR and INTREPID departed Seidisfjord
to escort convoys PQ.9 and PQ.10 to
Murmansk.
_____
Minesweeper
NIGER
arrived at Scapa Flow at 1000 to carry out a
“Short Programme of Practices” (Home Fleet Destroyers
War Diary) prior to her
departure for Northern Russia.
_____
U.106 sank Swedish steamer AMERIKALAND (15,355grt) in
36-36N, 74-10W. Four crew were lost.
_____
U.86 attacked a convoy in mid-Atlantic and reported
explosions which may have been the torpedoes exploding
at the end of their
runs.
_____
Convoy AT.25 departed
Alexandria,
escorted by destroyers
HEYTHROP and HURWORTH, and arrived at Tobruk on the 5th.
_____
U.431 attacked a Tanker near Sidi Barrani at 2305. A
torpedo hit without detonation and was heard in the
submarine. A few minutes
later, the submarine fired torpedoes against the
escorting destroyer. At the
same time – 2305, U.73 attacked a destroyer near Sidi
Barrani. These attacks
were against empty ships, which had departed Tobruk,
escorted by destroyers
SOUTHWOLD, DULVERTON and HASTY. No damage was done to
the convoy or the
destroyers and no mention of either attack appears in
the War Diary.
_____
Submarine P.35 sank Italian steamer
NAPOLI
(6142grt) off Kuriat.
_____
Convoy HG.78 of two steamers departed
Gibraltar
escorted by corvettes
GARDENIA and SAMPHIRE and anti-submarine trawler LORD
HOTHAM. Corvette
RHODODENDRON joined on the 5th with two steamers near
Lisbon. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on the 14th.
_____
Convoy JS 1, whose ships had arrived independently at Colombo
at the end of
January,departed
Colombo
with British steamers
ADRASTUS (7905grt), ALICE MOLLER (4986grt), FILLEIGH
(4856grt), LULWORTH HILL
(7628grt), MODASA (9070grt), YOMA (8131grt), HERMION
(5202grt) and PROMINENT
(2282grt). Norwegian steamer
HAI
LEE (3616grt) departed Colombo on the 4th and joined the
convoy on the 5th. ALICE MOLLER returned to Colombo with
defects.
The convoy was escorted by heavy cruiser
CORNWALL
to the 10th and minesweepers
BATHURST and LISMORE to the 5th, after which they
detached to screen battleship ROYAL SOVEREIGN and
netlayer PROTECTOR en route
to Trincomalee from Addu. On the 10th, light cruiser
HOBART joined the escort
and remained until the 13th. On the 11th, heavy cruiser
EXETER
joined and remained until
the 13th. On the 12th, destroyer ELECTRA and sloop JUMNA
joined. HOBART and JUMNA arrived on the 13th at
Oosthaven with steamers FILLEIGH, YOMA, LULWORTH HILL,
HAI LEE and HERMION. JUMNA remained there to provide
anti-submarine patrol with Australian minesweepers
GOULBURN and BURNIE.
Meanwhile ELECTRA and steamers ADRASTUS, MODASA, and
PROMINENT arrived at Batavia on the 14th. CORNWALL
arrived back at Colombo on the 13th.
_____
Australian destroyer VENDETTA (Acting Lt W G Whitting
RANR) departed
Singapore
in the tow of tug ST JUST. Two more officers, Gunner J
C Lace and Commissioned Engineer N J E Lark and eighteen
ratings made up the
crew. Off Keppel
Harbour,
destroyer STRONGHOLD took
her in tow. The three ships arrived at Palembang on the
4th and STRONGHOLD
proceeded to other duties.
VENDETTA was towed on the 8th by ST
JUST,
arriving at Batavia on the 10th and anchored at
Tanjong Priok, remaining there until the 17th. She then
left in tow of two
tugs and was met by auxiliary patrol ship PING WO
outside the harbour. PING WO took over the tow and
they joined convoy SJ.3 escorted by destroyer ELECTRA
and sloop YARRA. On 24
February off Christmas Island, light cruiser
ADELAIDE
relieved YARRA in the
escort. YARRA returned to
Batavia.
On 3 March, tug
NEWCASTLE
from Fremantle took over the
tow and they arrived at Fremantle next day. VENDETTA at
Melbourne on 15 April.
_____
Steamer NORAH MULLER (4433grt) was sunk by Japanese
bombing off West Nangka Point in the
Banka
Strait. Seventeen crew were killed,
but eight European survivors, 13 passengers, all the
naval gunners, and 31
Chinese were rescued. Australian light cruiser HOBART
took off 57 survivors
and destroyer TENEDOS took off thirteen. Six wounded
died of wounds before
the ships arrived at Tanjong Priok on the 4th.
_____
Steamer KATONG (1461grt) was sunk by Japanese bombing
four miles from Bar Light Vessel,
Palembang.
Only five crew members were
rescued.
_____
Steamer CITY OF
CANTERBURY (8331grt) and
French liner FELIX ROUSSEL (17,083grt) of convoy BM.12
received extensive
superficial damage and casualties from Japanese bombing
in Banka Strait.
_____
Steamer LOCH RANZA (4958grt) was sunk by Japanese
bombing at 00-37N, 104-14E. Of a crew of fifty,
including nine gunners, and
four RAF passengers, five crew were killed. The
survivors were taken to
Palembang
in steamer SUBADOR
(5424grt). One crewman and one gunner died later, and
two crew were taken
prisoner.
Tanker PINNA (6121grt) was damaged by Japanese bombing
at 00-52S, 104-19E, attacked again the next day, run
aground and abandoned.
Of 51 crew and two passengers, 20 crew were killed and
23 crew and two
passengers taken to
Palembang
by steamer SUBADOR, and
later made prisoners of war.
Australian minesweepers TOOWOOMBA and BALLARAT and
auxiliary minesweeper GEMMA, en route from
Singapore
to Palembang, went to the assistance of
the two British ships.
_____
Steamer MADURA (9032grt) was damaged by Japanese
bombing in the
Dutch East Indies.
_____
Japanese submarine I.62 damaged tanker SPONDILUS
(7402grt) in 6-16N, 79-38E, which in turn claimed to
have damaged the
submarine with gunfire, but no damage was found. Sloop
FALMOUTH
and armed patrol whaler
OKAPI searched for the submarine without success.
Wednesday, 4 February
Destroyers FAULKNOR (D.8) and INTREPID departed
Seidisfjord to rendezvous with combined convoys PQ.9 and
PQ.10 of steamers ATLANTIC
(5414grt), EMPIRE SELWYN (7167grt), Russian IJORA
(2815grt), Russian
REVOLUTSIONER (2900grt), TREVORIAN (4599grt), Panamanian
EL LAGO (4221grt),
Russian FRIEDRICH ENGELS (3972grt), Norwegian NOREG
(7605grt), Russian
TBILISI (7169grt), and American WEST NOHNO (5769grt) and
join light cruiser
NIGERIA as ocean escort to Murmansk.
Minesweepers BRITOMART and SHARPSHOOTER joined the
escort on the 7th.
_____
Destroyer PAKENHAM (D.12) departed the
Tyne
at 0945, and after carrying
out trials, proceeded to Methil for the night.
_____
Minesweeper HEBE departed
Scapa
Flow at 2100 to refit at
Immingham, where she arrived at 1000/6th.
_____
U.751 sank steamer SILVERAY (4535grt) in 43-54N,
64-16W. Of a crew of 49 and nine gunners, seven crew and
one gunner were
lost.
_____
U.103 sank Panamanian steamer
SAN
GIL (3627grt) in 38-05N, 74-40W.
Of a crew of 41 and one passenger, two were lost. The
survivors were rescued
by US Coast Guard cutter NIKE.
_____
British steam trawler AQUARIUS (187grt) was damaged by
German bombing five miles east by north of
Aberdeen.
_____
Destroyers JERVIS, JAGUAR, KELVIN, LANCE, GRIFFIN,
HERO, ARROW and HAVOCK departed Alexandria at 1700 for
an anti-submarine
sweep to the westward in conjunction with
ASV
Swordfish and Wellington
aircraft maintaining an anti-submarine patrol five miles
ahead in Operation
MBD.4.
U.561 had been attacked by aircraft twice early on the
4th in 32-00N, 25-50E.
Destroyers HEYTHROP and HURWORTH departed
Alexandria
with the destroyers and were
detached off Tobruk to escort a convoy to Alexandria.
U.561 attacked a steamer east of Sidi Barrani.
_____
Escort destroyer BEAUFORT arrived at
Aden
from the United Kingdom and sailed for Alexandria.
_____
Polish troopships BATORY and SOBIESKI arrived at
Gibraltar,
escorted by British
destroyers LIGHTNING, WIVERN, ACTIVE and ANTHONY.
_____
Convoy SC.68 departed
Halifax
escorted by covettes
LUNENBURG, THE
PAS and minesweepers CLAYOQUOT and RED DEER. The
escorts detached on the 7th when the convoy was joined
by destroyer BURWELL
and corvettes
CHICOUTIMI,
MATAPEDIA, NANAIMO, NASTURTIUM and SUDBURY. CHICOUTIMI
detached later that day,
while BURWELL, MATAPEDIA,
NANAIMO
and NASTUTIUM detached on
the 16th. The convoy was joined on the 16th by destroyer
BOADICEA and
corvettes HEATHER, LOBELIA, and NARCISSUS. Corvette
SUDBURY detached on the 17th and
anti-submarine whaler BODO joined on the 20th, arriving
with the convoy at Liverpool on the 20th.
_____
French submarine SURCOUF arrived at
Bermuda
from Halifax to embark personnel and
charts, before sailing on the 12th for Tahiti, via the
Panama Canal.
_____
American heavy cruiser HOUSTON and light cruiser
MARBLEHEAD were damaged by Japanese bombing in Madoera
Strait, Borneo, in
7-23S, 117-47E. They were in a force with Dutch cruisers
DE RUYTER, TROMP,
American destroyers BULMER, STEWART, JOHN D EDWARDS,
BARKER, and Dutch
destroyers VAN GHENT, PIET HEIN and BANCKERT.
HOUSTON was
struck by a bomb near
number three turret. Shrapnel penetrated the turret and
set off an explosion.
Warrant Officer J B Bienert, LT G E Davis Jr and forty
three enlisted men
were killed. Twenty enlisted men were wounded with three
dying of wounds.
On
MARBLEHEAD,
LT E M Blessman and twelve
enlisted men were killed. Chief Warrant Officer H M
Andersen, Ensign C H
Coburn Jr, LT (jg) W H Cranford, CDR W B Goggins, LT A A
Goodhue, LCDR M
Smellow and eighty seven enlisted men were wounded. Four
enlisted men later
died of wounds.
Dutch cruiser DE RUYTER was damaged by near misses
which put her anti-aircraft fire control out of action.
_____
Light cruiser EMERALD arrived at Trincomalee.
_____
Minelaying cruiser ABDIEL departed Trincomalee for Colombo.
_____
Australian destroyer VAMPIRE departed
Batavia
for Colombo, escorting Dutch steamers
MELCHOIR TREUB (3242grt) and OPHIR (4115grt), and
arrived on the 11th.
_____
Japanese submarine I.55 sank Dutch steamer VAN
LANSBERGE (1937grt) south of
Makassar.
_____
American destroyers O'BRIEN and CASE, departing
Pearl
Harbour with a convoy, collided.
O'BRIEN returned to
Pearl
Harbour for repairs.
_____
Japanese submarine I.56 damaged Dutch steamer TOGIAN
(979grt) near Koepang. She was scuttled on the 22nd off
Koepang in 10-11-46N,
123-31-32E.
_____
Dutch steamer VAN LANSBERGE (1937grt) was sunk by
Japanese bombing in the
Java
Sea.
Thursday, 5 February
Heavy cruiser
CUMBERLAND
departed Rosyth for Chatham, escorted by destroyers
WINCHESTER and COTSWOLD and arrived on
the 6th.
_____
Light cruiser
GAMBIA
was commissioned for trials
and service.
_____
Destroyer PAKENHAM departed Methil at 0700 for
Scapa
Flow for working up, arriving at
1600.
_____
Escort destroyer GROVE departed the
Tyne
at 0945 and after carrying
out trials proceeded to Methil for the night. She left
there at 0700/6th for Scapa Flow, arriving at 1700.
_____
Escort destroyer ALDENHAM departed
Liverpool
at 1300 to carry out trials,
and arrived at
Scapa Flow at 1600/6th.
_____
Destroyer TARTAR departed
Scapa
Flow at 2200 for Hvalfjord to
operate with the Home Fleet, arriving at 1000/7th.
_____
Corvette ARBUTUS (Temporary Lt A L W Warren DSC
RNR)
in convoy ONS.63 was sunk
by U.136 in the
North Atlantic in 55-05N, 18-43W. Lt Warren, Temporary Lt S W Barker
RNVR, Temporary Lt J H Hayne RNVR, Temporary Acting S/Lt
A K Loten RNVR, and
thirty eight ratings were missing. One rating died of
wounds after being
rescued.
_____
U.109 sank Canadian tanker MOTROLITE (11,309grt) in
35-14N, 60-05W. Of a crew of 44 and four gunners, 27
crew and one gunner were
lost.
_____
U.103 sank American tanker INDIA ARROW (8327grt) in
38-48N, 72-43W. Twenty six crew were missing, and the
Master and eleven crew
rescued.
_____
U.103 sank American tanker
CHINA
ARROW (8403grt) in 37-44N,
73-18W. The entire crew of 37 was rescued by US Coast
Guard cutter NIKE.
_____
Steamer CORLAND (3431grt) was sunk by German bombing
in 53-43N, 00-36E. There were no casualties among a crew
of 27.
_____
Steamer HELDER (979grt) was damaged by German bombing
3˝ miles east of Humber Light Float.
_____
Russian submarine SHCH.421 sank German steamer KONSUL
SCHULTE off Honningsvaag.
_____
In Operation MBD.4, U.81 was attacked by aircraft
during the day. Destroyer JAGUAR sighted U.73 on the
surface in 32-07N,
25-35E and dropped a pattern of depth charges. Later,
destroyers KELVIN and
LANCE attacked U.375. When the destroyers reached the
vicinity of Derna, they
turned east. Speed was reduced on account of heavy
weather, but one rating
from JAGUAR was lost when he was swept overboard. The
ships arrived back at Alexandria
on the 6th.
_____
Destroyers SOUTHWOLD, DULVERTON, and HASTY arrived at Alexandria
with a returning Tobruk
convoy.
_____
Destroyer AVONVALE and corvette HYACINTH arrived at
Tobruk with convoy AT.23.
_____
Destroyers HEYTHROP and HURWORTH departed Tobruk with
unloaded store ships.
_____
Convoy BM.12 of troopships EMPRESS OF
ASIA,
FELIX ROUSSEL, DEVONSHIRE,
PLANCIUS, and also
CITY OF CANTERBURY, formerly of convoy DM.2, was
attacked by Japanese dive bombers in the approaches to
Singapore. The were
escorted at the time by light cruiser DANAE and sloops
YARRA and
SUTLEJ.
EMPRESS OF ASIA (16,909grt) was set afire
and abandoned. Of a crew of 416 and 25 gunners, one
crewman died in hospital.
Of the 2,235 troops on board, 15 were missing. A
catering staff of 147 was
rescued and remained at Singapore. The guns of an
anti-tank
regiment and other equipment were lost. Of the other
troopships, CITY OF CANTERBURY (8331grt) was damaged and
French liner FELIX ROUSSEL (17,083grt) hit by two bombs,
but only lightly
damaged.
_____
Heavy cruiser
EXETER
and destroyers JUPITER and
ENCOUNTER, detached from convoy BM.12, proceeded into
the Banka Strait to attack Japanese shipping
north of Banka
Island
at dawn on the 5th.
Australian light cruiser HOBART departed Batavia and
joined the EXETER force. In Sunda Strait, Japanese
submarine RO.34
attacked the force on the 5th, claiming sinking a
transport, but no ships
were damaged. They returned to Batavia on the 6th.
_____
Dutch steamer TIDORE was sunk by Japanese bombing
south of Sumbawa.
_____
Japanese submarine RO.34 attacked a Dutch destroyer in
Sunda
Strait
near 6S, 106E.
_____
Troopship EMPRESS OF
AUSTRALIA,
formerly of convoy DM.2,
departed Batavia
escorted by sloop JUMNA to return to England.
Troopship WARWICK CASTLE, also convoy DM.2, departed
Batavia,
escorted by light cruisers DANAE and DURBAN, to
rendezvous with heavy cruiser
CANBERRA, escorting convoy MS.3, for escort to
Australia.
Troopship DUNERA departed
Batavia
for Colombo, arriving 13 February.
Steamer TROILUS left
Batavia
on the 12th and arrived at
Fremantle on the 19th.
The remaining ships of convoy DM.2,
steamers
CITY OF PRETORIA and MALANCHA
departed Batavia
on the 12th in convoy SJ.1.
_____
Battleship ROYAL SOVEREIGN and netlayer GUARDIAN
departed Addu Atoll for Trincomalee. Minesweepers
BATHURST
and LISMORE were diverted
from convoy JS.1 to meet and escort. On the 6th,
BATHURST suffered engine problems and
speed was reduced to seven knots. ROYAL SOVEREIGN
proceeded unescorted at 17
knots, while GUARDIAN and LISMORE proceeded
independently.
_____
Heavy cruiser DORSETSHIRE departed
Bombay
for Colombo.
_____
Destroyer NIZAM departed Trincomalee to patrol off
Dondra Head and await the arrival of troopships
WAKEFIELD,
WEST POINT, and EMPRESS OF
JAPAN. The four ships arrived at Colombo on the 6th.
Friday, 6 February
Minelaying cruiser ADVENTURE was in a collision with
tank assault ship TASAJERA (mercantile LST conversion)
near Skerry Vore. Both
ships sustained extensive damage and returned to the
Clyde
for repairs, arriving that
day. ADVENTURE was taken to
Southampton for repairs, returning to Loch Alsh on 30
April.
_____
Light cruiser
LIVERPOOL
departed the Clyde for Scapa Flow for working up, and
arrived
on the 7th.
_____
Destroyer JAVELIN departed
Plymouth
after repairs of her
November 1940 torpedo damage for working up at Scapa
Flow, and arrived at 1100/8th.
_____
Destroyer MIDDLETON departed Sullom Voe with tanker SAN
ZOTICO at 1630 for Scapa Flow. The tanker developed
defects and returned to Sullom Voe. MIDDLETON proceeded
independently and
arrived at Scapa Flow at 1015/7th.
_____
Minesweeper BRAMBLE departed
Scapa
Flow at 1200 for Sunderland for refitting, and arrived
at 1000/7th.
_____
Submarine TUNA departed the
Clyde
for patrol off Frohavet.
_____
U.109 sank Panamanian steamer HALCYON (3531grt) in
34-20N, 59-16W. Three crew were lost.
_____
U.106 sank steamer OPAWA (10,354grt) in 38-21N,
61-13W. Of the crew of 71, including three gunners, two
were lost, 54 missing
and 15 rescued.
_____
U.107 sank American steamer MAJOR WHEELER (3431grt)
off the Carolinas
on the US East Coast . She
had departed Puerto Rico on 31 January.
_____
Steamer BLUSH ROSE (645grt) was damaged by German
bombing
three miles south of
St Ann's
Head.
_____
Turkish destroyer SULTAN HISSAR (a new H-class
destroyer, sister to the British HAVELOCK class) arrived
at
Suez.
She passed through the
Canal and was ordered to proceed to Alexandria for
preparations prior to
turning over to
Turkey,
departing Alexandria on the 17th for Iskundirun.
_____
Submarine THUNDERBOLT attacked German submarine U.431
in 34-36N, 23-22E with torpedoes and gunfire. No damage
was done.
_____
Destroyer VANSITTART arrived at
Gibraltar
from Freetown.
_____
Convoy ST.14 departed
Freetown,
escorted by corvettes
BURDOCK and ORCHIS, and arrived at Takoradi on the 12th.
_____
Light cruisers
DURBAN,
DRAGON and destroyers
JUPITER and ENCOUNTER, escorting liner WARWICK CASTLE,
relieved Australian heavy
cruiser CANBERRA
in escort of convoy MS.3 off
Christmas
Island.
CANBERRA had departed Fremantle on 30 January escorting
MS.3.
Steamers ANTILOCHUS, CHARON, MANGOLA, and MARELLA
arrived at Batavia on the 8th and remaining seven ships
- tankers ELSA,
ERLING BROVIG, HERBORG, MANVANTARA, MERULA, MARPESSA and
SEIRSTAD reached
Palembang on the 9th.
Destroyer EXPRESS sailed from
Batavia
to join the escort, but was
damaged by a fire in her engine room, and forced to
return to Batavia. She was able to leave with
convoy SJ.1 for
Colombo
on the 12th, no longer
capable of fleet duties, and arrived at Colombo on the
21st. After further
escort duties, repairs were carried out at Simonstown
from 25 April to 26
June.
_____
Aircraft transport ATHENE, escorted by destroyers
ELECTRA and TENEDOS, arrived at
Batavia.
_____
Dutch light cruiser
SUMATRA
departed the Sunda Strait for Colombo. En route she was
diverted
to Trincomalee for self refit.
Saturday, 7 February
Heavy cruiser BERWICK departed Hvalfjord for patrol in
the Denmark
Strait.
_____
Light cruiser SHEFFIELD (CS.18) departed Hvalfjord for
patrol in the Iceland-Faroes Channel and to escort Rear
Admiral Minelaying in
Operation SN.5B. She left her patrol on the 8th to
escort SN.5B.
_____
Light cruiser
KENYA
departed patrol in the
Iceland-Faroes Channel for Hvalfjord, arriving on the
8th.
_____
Oiler GRAY RANGER, escorted by escort destroyer
CHIDDINGFOLD, departed
Scapa Flow for Sullom Voe. The destroyer returned with
oiler SAN ZOTICO and arrived at
Scapa
Flow on the 9th.
_____
Escort destroyer
CALPE
departed Scapa Flow at 0100 for Plymouth to join that
command on
completion of working up.
_____
Destroyer PUNJABI departed
Scapa
Flow at 2000 for Hvalfjord,
arriving on the 9th to operate with the Home Fleet.
_____
Destroyer
LUDLOW
departed Scapa Flow at 2000 for Rosyth to join
that command on completion of working up.
_____
Convoy ON.64 departed
Liverpool,
escorted by destroyer ST ALBANS. The convoy was joined
on
the 8th by corvettes ACANTHUS and ROSE. ST ALBANS
detached on the 11th when
the convoy was joined by corvettes EYEBRIGHT and
SHAWNIGAN. ACANTHUS and ROSE
detached on the 13th, corvettes DIANELLA, KINGCUP and
LOOSTRIFE joined on the
16th, and EYEBRIGHT detached on the 18th. The convoy
arrived at Halifax on the 24th.
_____
Lt L T Hazeldine, flying a Master of RAF No.1 Flying
Training School at Netheravon, was killed when his
aircraft crashed near
Malvern.
_____
U.751 sank steamer EMPIRE
SUN
(6952grt) in 43-55N, 64-22W.
Of a complement of 43 crew, 14 gunners and eight RAF
personnel, eight crew,
two gunners, and one RAF personnel were lost.
_____
During the night of the 6th/7th, Temporary S/Lt M
Swithinbank RNVR, and Temporary S/Lt R A Thomas RNVR,
were lost when their
Swordfish of 830 Squadron was lost in attack on Italian
steamer MONVISO 30
miles NE of Cape Turgennes. The steamer was undamaged
and arrived at
Messina
later on the 7th.
Destroyers ZULU and LIVELY departed
Malta
at 1530 to intercept the
MONVISO, proceeding northbound from Tripoli. Forty five
miles south of
Pantelleria, the destroyers sank armed trawler GRONGO
(316grt), which was en
route from Lampdusa for Pantelleria, and small steamer
AOSTA (500grt), en
route Pantelleria for
Tripoli.
Italian motor torpedo boat MAS.577 rescued seven
survivors
from the trawler, while MAS.560,
MAS.563 and MAS.574 rescued 25 from the
steamer. The British destroyers arrived back at Malta at
daylight on the 8th.
_____
Aircraft carrier HERMES arrived at
Mauritius.
_____
Sloop
FALMOUTH
arrived at Colombo.
_____
Corvette VERBENA arrived at
Durban.
_____
Japanese submarine I.55 sank Dutch steamer VAN CLOON
(4519grt) south of
Bawean
Island. Survivors were rescued by
American patrol yacht ISABEL. The steamer was later
salved by the Japanese
and renamed TATEBE MARU.
Sunday, 8 February
Heavy cruiser
KENT
arrived at Hvalfjord from
patrol in the Denmark Strait.
_____
Armed merchant
cruisers
CITY OF DURBAN and CAPE SABLE departed Scapa Flow with
convoy WN.42 for Rosyth
to boiler clean, arriving on the 9th.
_____
Ex-Turkish destroyer MAUVENET (to be renamed
INCONSTANT) departed the
Clyde for
Scapa Flow
to work up, but was forced
to return to the
Clyde later that day with boiler defects.
_____
Minelayers AGAMEMNON and MENESTHEUS departed Loch
Alsh, escorted by destroyers LANCASTER,
NEWARK,
and ST MARYS. Light cruiser
SHEFFIELD provided cover. The
minefield was laid early on the 9th. The minelaying
force arrived back at
Loch Alsh later on the 9th and
SHEFFIELD
returned to the
Iceland-Faroes patrol.
_____
Minesweeper HUSSAR departed
Hartlepool
after refitting with convoy
FN.425 for Methil and
Scapa Flow. She arrived at Methil on the 9th and sailed
later that day for
Scapa Flow, arriving on the 10th.
_____
Convoy ON.65 departed
Liverpool.
The convoy was joined on
the 9th by destroyers KEPPEL, SHIKARI and corvettes
DIANELLA, KINGCUP, and
LOOSTRIFE. The escorts were detached on the 12th when
the convoy was joined
by American destroyers
BUCK, DUPONT, HERBERT, MCCORMICK, and SWANSON. The
convoy dispersed on the 19th.
_____
U.108 sank steamer OCEAN VENTURE (7174grt) in 37-05N,
74-46W. Of a crew of 43 and two gunners, 29 crew and
both gunners were lost.
_____
Force H with battleship
MALAYA,
light cruiser HERMIONE, and
destroyers LAFOREY, LIGHTNING, ACTIVE, ANTHONY,
BLANKNEY, EXMOOR, and CROOME departed Gibraltar for the
Clyde to provide additional
protection for convoy WS.16. Aircraft carrier ARGUS
remained at Gibraltar and disembarked her aircraft
for operations in the Strait. Force H arrived in the
Clyde on the 13th.
_____
Light cruiser CLEOPATRA arrived at
Gibraltar
from the Clyde, and departed on the 9th for
Malta,
escorted by destroyer
FORTUNE.
_____
Escort destroyers HEYTHROP, HURWORTH and escort ship ANTWERP
departed Alexandria with convoy AT.26 for
Tobruk.
Escort destroyer FARNDALE and corvette GLOXINIA
departed Alexandria
with Greek steamer POPI
(1594grt) of convoy AT.27 for Tobruk.
_____
Escort destroyer BEAUFORT arrived at
Suez
from the United Kingdom and passed through the Suez
Canal to join the Mediterranean
Fleet.
_____
Submarine PROTEUS was involved in a collision with
Italian torpedo boat SAGITTARIO in 38-43N, 20-24E. She
was able to return to Alexandria
on the 13th with only damage
to her hydroplanes.
_____
Submarine UPHOLDER sank Italian steamer SALPI
(2710grt) and damaged DUINO (1334grt) off Cape San Vito.
_____
Corvettes CROCUS and STARWORT, escorting Royal Fleet
Auxiliary DEWDALE, arrived at
Gibraltar
from convoy SL.99.
_____
Convoy HX.174 - departed
Halifax
on the 8th, escorts:
|
|
joined
|
detached
|
|
8th
|
corvettes
Arrowhead,
Galt,
Saskatoon,
Snowberry, minesweeper
Mahone.
|
|
|
9th
|
American
destroyers
Babbitt, Badger, Plunkett, Schenck, Coast
Guard cutter Campbell
|
Galt,
Saskatoon, Mahone
|
|
10th
|
|
Arrowhead,
Snowberry
|
|
16th
|
|
Schenck
|
|
17th
|
destroyers
Keppel,
Shikari,
St Albans, corvettes Acanthus, Rose
|
Babbitt,
Badger,
Plunkett,
Campbell
|
|
20th
|
|
Keppel,
Rose
|
|
convoy arrived
Liverpool
on the 21st with Shikari, St Albans, Acanthus
|
_____
Australian light cruiser HOBART and destroyer ELECTRA
departed Tanjong Priok on the 7th and met convoy EMU of
steamers DEVONSHIRE, CITY
OF CANTERBURY, and FELIX
ROUSSEL, escorted by light cruiser DANAE and sloops
YARRA and SUTLEJ, which
had departed Singapore on the 6th, south of Banka
Strait.
DANAE and
SUTLEJ
took CITY OF CANTERBURY into Tanjong Priok, while
HOBART ELECTRA took the other two ships through the
Sunda Straits. On 9
February, the convoy was dispersed in the Indian Ocean
and HOBART proceeded to escort convoy
JS.1.
_____
Submarine TRUANT arrived at
Batavia.
_____
Light cruiser
ENTERPRISE
departed Colombo for Rangoon with a force of 90 Royal
Marines, and arrived on the 11th.
_____
Sloop
FALMOUTH,
minelayer TEVIOT BANK, and
oiler PEARLEAF departed Trincomalee for Colombo.
_____
American troopships WEST POINT and
WAKEFIELD
departed Colombo for Bombay, escorted by Greek destroyer
QUEEN OLGA.
_____
Corvette HOLLYHOCK arrived at
Durban.
Corvettes ASTER and VERBENA
departed Durban
for Mauritius.
_____
Light cruiser EMERALD arrived at
Madras.
_____
Aircraft carrier HERMES departed
Mauritius
for Colombo.
_____
British troopship REINA
DEL
PACIFICO departed Colombo for Durban with evacuees.
Monday, 9 February
Anti-aircraft cruiser
CAIRO,
which arrived from
refitting at Plymouth,
on the 7th and now with the
Russian Trade Delegation aboard, departed the Clyde for
Murmansk, via Scapa Flow, arriving on the 10th.
Accompanied by destroyer AIREDALE, she departed Scapa
Flow at 1900/10th. The destroyer
parted company in 65-00N, 01-10W and returned to Scapa
Flow, arriving 1500/13th. Light
cruiser NIGERIA (CS.10) departed Murmansk on the 11th to
escort CAIRO, and the two cruisers
arrived at Kola Inlet on the 16th.
_____
Destroyer WELLS arrived at
Scapa
Flow at 0800 from Loch Alsh to
carry out repairs in dock.
_____
Convoys PQ.9 and PQ.10 arrived safely in Kola Inlet,
escorted by destroyers FAULKNOR and INTREPID.
_____
Free French corvette ALYSSE (LV Pepin le Halleur) in
convoy ONS.61 was sunk by U.654 in 46W, 44W in the
Western
Atlantic. Thirty four crew, including
Temporary Lt L E Fisher RNVR were lost. LV Halleur was
wounded, and corvettes
HEPATICA and MOOSEJAW rescued the survivors. U.654 also
reported hitting a
steamer in this attack.
_____
U.586 damaged Norwegian tanker ANNA KNUDSEN (9057grt)
in 59-50N, 9-40W. A tug was sent to assist.
_____
U.85 sank steamer EMPIRE FUSELIER (5408grt) in 44-45N,
47-25W. Of a crew of 41 and six gunners, nine crew were
lost.
_____
U.108 sank Norwegian steamer TOLOSA (1974grt), which
had departed Kingston
on the 1st, off the US
Carolina’s coast. The entire crew of 22 was lost.
_____
Escort destroyer FARNDALE, escorting convoy AT.27, was
damaged by a bomb which passed through the ship and
exploded abreast the
boiler rooms, both of which flooded. There were no
casualties and corvette
GLOXINIA took her in tow. Tug ST ISSEY was sent from
Mersa Matruh and
destroyers KIPLING and JAGUAR from
Alexandria
to assist. Escort destroyer
HURWORTH and anti-submarine whaler SOUTHERN MAID were
also detached from
convoy AT.25 to escort steamer POPI to Tobruk.
KIPLING and JAGUAR joined FARNDALE at daylight on the
10th, and all three arrived at
Alexandria
on the 11th.
Destroyer HURWORTH was detached to rejoin convoy
AT.26, but HURWORTH and HEYTHROP were both later
recalled to
Alexandria
for a fleet operation,
arriving on the 11th.
Escort ship
ANTWERP
and the unloaded store ships
of convoy AT.26 and AT.27 were held at Tobruk until
sufficient escort could
be provided.
_____
German steamer SULLBERG (1551grt) was sunk by torpedo
in the Mediterranean.
_____
Convoy SL.100, departed
Freetown
9 February, escorts:
|
|
joined
|
departed
|
|
9th
|
destroyer
Wild
Swan, corvettes Jasmine, Violet, Wallflower
|
|
|
11th
|
sloops
Folkestone,
Wellington,
Weston, escort ships
Gorleston, Sennen, Totland
|
|
|
14th
|
|
Wild
Swan,
Jasmine, Violet, Wallflower
|
|
17th
|
sloop
Ibis,
corvette Clover
|
|
|
19th
|
|
Ibis,
Wellington (with segment SL.100F for
Liverpool,
joined by anti-submarine
whaler Southern Star on 28th, arriving
Liverpool 28th), also Weston, Clover
|
|
28th
|
anti-submarine
whaler
Molde
|
Molde
|
|
3rd
|
|
Sennen
|
|
4th
|
anti-submarine
trawler
Butser
|
|
|
arrived
Liverpool
4 March with Folkestone,
Gorleston, Totland, Butser
|
_____
Light cruiser
DELHI
arrived at Bermuda from Newport News, Virginia to
refuel, and departed next
day for Plymouth.
_____
Battleship REVENGE departed Trincomalee for refitting
at Durban.
_____
American light cruiser
BOISE
arrived at Colombo for repairs.
_____
Auxiliary patrol vessel TANJONG KATONG was sunk by
Japanese gunfire at Sungei Kranji, near
Singapore.
_____
Japanese submarine I.65 sank Dutch steamer MEROENDOENG
(2464grt) in 5-30N, 81-10E.
_____
Convoy
MR.3,
steamers Erinpura (5143grt), Varsova (4701grt). departed
Madras on 9 February, escorts:
|
|
joined
|
detached
|
|
9th
|
light
cruiser
Emerald, Indian patrol vessel Sonavati
|
|
|
10th
|
|
Sonavati
|
|
12th
|
Indian
sloop
Clive
|
|
|
convoy dispersed 13 February, escorts detached,
Emerald arrived
Madras
same day
|
_____
Boom carrier LAOMEDON, travelling in an unnumbered
convoy
from Colombo to Trincomalee and escorted by Indian escort ship
RAMDAS, was damaged in 6-13N, 82-25E. Although she was
reported as torpedoed,
no reports exist and the more likely cause was a mine.
The convoy scattered
and sloop FALMOUTH
was sent to assist. LAOMEDON
was able to return to
Colombo,
arriving on the 10th.
Tuesday, 10 February
Light cruiser
SHEFFIELD
departed the Iceland Faroes
patrol and arrived at
Scapa Flow on the 11th.
_____
Light cruiser
TRINIDAD
departed Scapa Flow for patrol in the Iceland
Faroes Passage.
_____
Destroyer PALADIN departed
Scapa
Flow at 2000 for Greenock for repairs to her director,
and arrived at 1430/11th. Following repair, she joined
the escort of convoy
WS.16 and proceeded to the
Far East.
_____
Minesweeper HUSSAR arrived at
Scapa
Flow at 1200 to work up prior to
proceeding for service in
North Russia.
_____
Steamer LIEUTENANT ROBERT MORY (3176grt) was damaged
by German bombing five miles W of Trevose Head.
_____
German steamer WOLFRAM (3648grt) was sunk by torpedo
off Borkum.
_____
U.652 attacked a British tanker near Sidi Barrani.
_____
Troopships ROYAL SCOTSMAN, ULSTER MONARCH, ROYAL
ULSTER and the Polish BATORY departed
Gibraltar
with troops which had been
embarked in troopship LLANGIBBY CASTLE. Destroyers
WISHART, WHITEHALL, WIVERN, and VIDETTE
escorted the ships. ROYAL SCOTSMAN returned to Gibraltar
on the 11th with major
defects.
_____
Convoy SC.69 departed Halifax 10 February,
escorts:
|
|
joined
|
detached
|
|
10th
|
corvettes
Fredericton,
Midland,
Oakville, minesweepers Gananaque,
Quinte
|
|
|
13th
|
destroyer
Assiniboine,
corvettes Aconit,
Arrowhead, Chicoutimi,
Kenogami, Snowberry,
minesweeper Cowichan
|
Fredericton,
Midland, Oakville, Gananaque, Quinte
|
|
14th
|
|
Cowichan
|
|
22nd
|
Polish
destroyer
Blyskawica, British Saladin, Sardonyx
|
|
|
23rd
|
|
Assiniboine, Arrowhead,
Chicoutimi,
Kenogami, Snowberry
|
|
27th
|
|
Blyskawica,
Saladin,
Sardonyx
|
|
convoy arrived
Liverpool
27 February, possibly with
Aconit
|
_____
Convoy JS.2, troopship ORCADES (23,456grt, 3384
troops), departed
Colombo
10 February, escorts:
|
|
joined
|
detached
|
|
10th
|
heavy
cruiser
Dorsetshire
|
|
|
13th
|
light
cruiser
Dragon
|
Dorsetshire
|
|
14th
|
destroyer
Encounter
|
|
|
ORCADES arrived Oosthaven 15th
|
|
ORCADES
(1308
troops) and steamer YOMA (from JS.1) departed
Oosthaven 16th
|
|
16th
|
destroyers
Encounter,
Tenedos
|
|
|
convoy arrived
Batavia
17th
|
Also departing on the 16th were steamers FILLEIGH,
LULWORTH
HILL and HAI
LEE
of JS.1, escorted by sloop
YARRA for Batavia.
_____
Aircraft transport ATHENE departed
Batavia
for Fremantle.
_____
Monitor EREBUS and corvette MARGUERITE departed
Kilindini for
Colombo.
_____
American tanker
MINDANAO
(5236grt) was attacked by
Japanese aircraft in 14-35N, 120-55W, capptured by
Japanese forces and
renamed PALEMBANG MARU.
Wednesday, 11 February
American destroyer GWIN departed Hvalfjord for
Londonderry,
arriving on the 13th.
_____
Destroyer FURY departed the
Humber
at 1700 on completion of
refitting, and arrived at
Scapa Flow at 1300/12th.
_____
Canadian corvette SPIKENARD (Lt Cdr H G Shadforth),
escorting convoy SC.67, was sunk by U.136 in the
North
Atlantic in 56N, 21W. Cdr Shadforth,
Temporary Lt R A Hughes RCNVR, Temporary Lt C C Fawcett
RCNVR, Temporary Lt P
R F Milthorp RCNR, Temporary S/Lt G A Markham RNCVR, and
fifty two ratings
were lost. Eight ratings, four of whom were wounded,
were rescued by corvette
GENTIAN. U.136 reported hitting another merchant ship in
this attack. Later
that day, U.136 made another attack on the convoy and
claimed damaging a
steamer.
_____
U.591 sank Norwegian steamer HEINA (4028grt) from
convoy SC.67 in 56-10N, 21-07W. There were no
casualties. U.591 also reported
hitting two other steamers in the attack.
_____
U.564 sank Canadian tanker VICTOLITE (11,410grt) in
36-12N, 67-14W. Of a crew of 45 and two gunners, all
were lost.
_____
Light cruiser CLEOPATRA, which had departed
Gibraltar
on the 9th with destroyer
FORTUNE were attacked by German bombers near Malta and
near-missed. Acting
Temporary Paymaster S/Lt R B Walmsley and seven ratings
were killed in
CLEOPATRA, and 11 wounded. In addition, Temporary S/Lt
(A) A F McDonald RNVR,
on passage in CLEOPATRA from GREBE, was also killed.
FORTUNE was damaged by
heavy weather during the morning, and both ships reached
Malta at 1200/11th.
_____
Corvette SNAPDRAGON and anti-submarine whaler SOUTHERN
SEA
departed Alexandria with tug BRIGAND and a small
convoy for Mersa Matruh and Tobruk.
_____
Convoy HG.78A of steamers KINGSLAND and BORGFRED
departed Gibraltar, escorted by corvettes CROCUS and STARWORT. The
convoy arrived at
Liverpool on the 23rd, still escorted by CROCUS and
STARWORT.
_____
Convoy OS.19 departed
Liverpool
11 February, escorts:
|
|
joined
|
detached
|
|
12th
|
sloops
Egret,
Fleetwood, ocean boarding vessels Hilary,
Marsdale, escort vessel Banff
|
|
|
14th
|
escort
vessel
Fishguard
|
|
|
18th
|
|
Hilary,
Marsdale
|
|
27th
|
corvettes
Bergamot,
Rockrose
|
|
|
1st
|
corvettes
Tamarisk,
Wallflower
|
Egret,
Fleetwood,
Banff,
Fishguard
|
|
arrived
Freetown
3 March with Bergamot,
Rockrose, Tamarisk, Wallflower
|
_____
Light cruiser DESPATCH departed
Bermuda
for Freetown, via Trinidad, after Commodore West Indies
(Capt C E Douglas-Pennant DSC) struck his pennant. She
arrived at Freetown on the 27th.
_____
Convoy ST.15 departed
Freetown,
and arrived at Takoradi on
the 16th.
_____
Armed patrol vessel LIPIS was lost in the
Singapore
area off Sultan Shoal. Lt W
E Steel RNR, was lost.
_____
Japanese submarine I.56 reporting sinking a transport
south of Sunda
Strait.
_____
Motor launches RHODA (20grt) and SIMIT
III
(12grt) were scuttled at Singapore. During the
destruction of
machinery, an explosion demolished the stern of steamer
WAN YUAN (674grt),
putting her main engines out of action. She was later
seized by Japanese
forces in Keppel
Harbour.
Thursday, 12 February
THE “CHANNEL DASH”
During attacks on German battlecruisers SCHARNHORST,
GNEISENAU and heavy cruiser PRINZ EUGEN proceeding up
the
English
Channel, there were a number of
Royal Navy casualties.
Fleet Air Arm Swordfish of 825 Squadron from Manston,
as well as numerous RAF Coastal Command and Bomber
Command aircraft carried
out attacks. The six FAA aircraft crews and their fates
follow – (1) Lt Cdr
(A) E Esmonde DSO+, Lt W H Williams+, gunner L/Airman W
J Clinton+, (2) S/Lt
B W Rose RNVR, Acting Temporary S/Lt (A) E F Lee RNVR,
L/Airman A L Johnson+,
(3) S/Lt C M Kingsmill RNVR, S/Lt (A) R M Samples RNVR,
L/Airman D A Bunce,
(4) Lt J C Thompson+, S/Lt E H F Wright RNVR+, L/Airman
E Tapping+, (5) S/Lt
C R Wood+, S/Lt (A) R L Parkinson+, L/Airman H T A
Wheeler+ (6) S/Lt P Bligh
RNVR+, S/Lt D R Beynon RNVR+, L/Airman W G Smith+.
Most were killed (+). Rose, Samples, and Kingsmill
were wounded, and only Lee and Bunce were uninjured.
Rose and Lee were rescued
by MTB.45, Samples and Bunce by a minesweeper, and it is
believed Kingsmill by an
MTB.
The bodies of Esmonde and
Smith were later recovered and buried ashore. Esmonde
received the Victoria
Cross (posthumously), Rose, Lee, and Samples the DSO,
and Bunce the CGM.
Destroyers
taking part:
CAMPBELL (D 21
Pizey), VIVACIOUS, WORCESTER
MACKAY
(D 16 Captain J.P. Wright, DSO), WHITSHED and WALPOLE
under Captain C.T.M. Pizey, DSO. WALPOLE dropped
out with defects en route to contact the German ships.
CATTISTOCK*,
COTTESMORE*, GARTH*, HOLDERNESS*, MENDIP, MEYNELL*,
PYTCHLEY*, VANESSA also in 21st Destroyer Flotilla at
Sheerness.
COTSWOLD,
EGLINTON*, HAMBLDON*, QUORN*, SOUTHDOWN*, MONTROSE
also in 16th Destroyer Flotilla at Harwich, joined by
BERKELEY
and FERNIE of the 1st Destroyer Flotilla.
* Sailed to
attack the German ships, but none of the Hunt class
escort destroyers were in action.
Casualties on destroyer
WORCESTER
were 17 ratings killed, six
missing, four dying of wounds and 18 wounded.
_____
German trawler JOHN MAHN (292grt) was sunk by British
bombing in the
English Channel.
_____
Convoy QP.7 of steamers BOTAVON (5848grt), Panamanian
EL ALMIRANTE (5248grt), JUTLAND (6153grt), Russian
STALINGRAD (3559grt),
DARTFORD (4093grt), EMPIRE HALLEY (7168grt), SOUTHGATE
(4862grt), and Russian
STARY BOLSHEVIK (3974grt), escorted by destroyers
FAULKNOR and INTREPID,
departed Kola Inlet at 1630. Minesweepers HAZARD and
SPEEDWELL provided local
escort, and were then relieved by minesweepers BRITOMART
and SHARPSHOOTER
until the 15th. Light cruiser
NIGERIA
provided cover.
The convoy dispersed on the 15th at 16E. FAULKNOR and
INTREPID proceeded to
Scapa Flow, while BRITOMART and SHARPSHOOTER returned to Murmansk.
Six of the convoy proceeded
to Seidisfjord and two to Akureyri.
_____
Battleship RODNEY, escorted by destroyers SOMALI,
ORIBI, and OFFA, departed Hvalfjord for the
Clyde.
SOMALI parted company in
the Minches and arrived at Loch Alsh on the 14th. The
battleship and the
other two destroyers arrived at 0015/15th in the Clyde.
ORIBI and OFFA were taken
in hand for boiler cleaning.
_____
Submarine STURGEON was ordered to patrol off Utvoer.
_____
Submarine TRIDENT and the French MINERVE departed
Lerwick to patrol off
South Norway,
returning on the 14th.
_____
Polish destroyer BLYSKAWICA arrived at
Scapa
Flow from Western Approaches at
1500 to form part of the escort for destroyer depot ship
BLENHEIM sailing for
Reykjavik. Together with destroyer FURY, they sailed on
the 13th. Destroyer PUNJABI departed Hvalfjord at
2000/13th to meet them and
provide additional escort. All four ships arrived at
Hvalfjord at 2100/16th.
_____
Destroyer MIDDLETON and minesweepers
NIGER
and HUSSAR departed Scapa Flow for Kirkwall to attend
the convoy
conference prior to the departure of convoy PQ.11 on the
13th. The convoy had
arrived from Loch Ewe at
Kirkwall on the 7th.
_____
Lt M H Gardner was lost overboard from submarine P.31
in the western approaches to
Tripoli.
S/Lt A . Boyall was also
was washed overboard, but rescued.
_____
U.108 sank Norwegian steamer BLINK (2701grt) in
35-00N, 72-27W. Of a crew of 30, including two gunners,
22 crew and both
gunners were lost.
_____
Operation MF.5 commenced with convoy WM.9A heading
west from Alexandria
and MW.10 from Malta.
Convoy WM.9A of steamers CLAN CHATTAN and CLAN
CAMPBELL, escorted by anti-aircraft ship
CARLISLE
and destroyers HEYTHROP,
LANCE, AVONVALE, and ERIDGE departed Alexandria at 1600.
Steamer
ROWALLAN CASTLE departed at 1700, escorted
by destroyers SOUTHWOLD, BEAUFORT, DULVERTON and
HURWORTH.
At 0200/13th, Force B of light cruisers NAIAD, DIDO,
and EURYALUS with destroyers KIPLING, KELVIN, JAGUAR,
GRIFFIN,
ARROW, HASTY, and HAVOCK
departed Alexandria
as cover.
CLAN CAMPBELL was damaged by bombing in 32-22N, 24-22E
at 1730/13th, and AVONVALE and ERIDGE were detached to
escort her to Tobruk.
Force B was attacked unsuccessfully at dusk by a force
of German Ju.88 bombers.
Convoy MW.10 with steamers CLAN FERGUSON,
CITY
OF CALCUTTA, AJAX and
transport BRECONSHIRE departed Malta after dark on the
13th escorted by light
cruiser PENELOPE and destroyers SIKH, ZULU, LEGION,
LIVELY, FORTUNE, and
DECOY.
_____
Lt Cdr S G Stoodley of battleship QUEEN ELIZABETH was
killed in a railway accident.
_____
Destroyer MAORI was sunk by German bombing at
Malta.
Gunner (T) S C White and a
stoker rating were killed, and two officers and six
ratings wounded.
Destroyer DECOY moored nearby was damaged by the
explosion with two ratings
killed.
_____
Submarine
OLYMPUS
departed Gibraltar for Malta, arriving on the 20th.
_____
Submarine
UNA
sank Italian tanker LUCANIA
(8106grt) in the
Gulf
of Taranto. The tanker had been given
safe conduct to proceed from Taranto to Genoa in ballast
in connection
with the repatriation of Italians from Eritrea, but she
was escorted by
aircraft and zigzagging when attacked.
_____
Light cruiser
DURBAN,
destroyers STRONGHOLD,
JUPITER, and auxiliary patrol ship KEDAH arrived at
Singapore at 0300/12th. They departed
before daylight that morning with steamers EMPIRE STAR
(12,658grt) and GORGON,
carrying the greater part of shore based naval
personnel.
Later that day, in seventeen separate attacks,
DURBAN
was hit once by Japanese
bombing, losing her forward six inch gun with eight
ratings killed and many
wounded. EMPIRE
STAR was also hit by three bombs in Durian Straits.
The ships arrived at
Batavia
on the 13th.
Also departing Singapore during the night of the
11th/12th were steamers DERRYMORE (4799grt), REDANG
(531grt), IPOH (1279grt),
AMPANG (213grt), JALAKRISHNA (4991grt), JALAVIHAR
(5330grt), JALARATNA
(3942grt), ORISKANY (1644grt), ASHRIDGE (2884grt), HONG
KHENG (6167grt), SIN
KHENG SENG (200 tons, AQUARIUS (6094grt), LES
SANG
(1655grt).
_____
Destroyer SCOUT and auxiliary patrol vessels DARVEL
and KINTA arrived at
Batavia
with RAF personnel.
_____
Destroyer VAMPIRE departed
Colombo
to rendezvous with aircraft
carrier HERMES as anti-submarine escort.
_____
American destroyer WHIPPLE was damaged in a collision
with Dutch cruiser DE RUYTER near
Prigi
Bay, Java. She was drydocked,
but the damage was not significant and WHIPPLE returned
to service.
_____
Convoy SJ.1 of steamers ANGLO INDIAN (5609grt),
CITY
OF CANTERBURY (8331grt), CITY OF PRETORIA (8049grt)
towing
damaged submarine ROVER, CLAN ALPINE (5442grt),
HALIZONES (3298grt), MADURA
(9032grt), MALANCHA (8124grt) towing damaged destroyer
ISIS, and YUEN SANG (3229grt), departed Batavia
escorted by destroyer EXPRESS and sloop SUTLEJ.
Dutch BANJOEWANGI (1279grt),
BATAVIA
(1279grt), RIJN (1969grt),
VAN DER CAPELLE (7037grt), and VAN SWOLL (2147grt) joined off
Oosthaven.
Heavy cruiser DORSETSHIRE joined the escort on the
14th in 5-57S, 99-17E and detached on the 17th.
Sloop
FALMOUTH
joined on the 20th. MALANCHA
with ISIS in tow and CITY OF PRETORIA with ROVER
diverted to
Trincomalee, where they on the 21st, escorted by SUTLEJ.
SJ.1 arrived at
Colombo
on the 21st with EXPRESS and
sloop FALMOUTH.
_____
Steamer JALAVIHAR (5330grt) was damaged by Japanese
bombing off Singapore.
_____
Steamer ANGLO INDIAN (5609grt) was damaged by Japanese
bombing in the
Dutch East Indies.
_____
Tankers SOLEN (5699grt) and SPIRLIA (5695grt) used as
storage fuel hulks at
Singapore
were captured by Japanese
forces. SOLEN was renamed SYOSEI MARU for Japanese use.
Friday, 13 February
Heavy cruiser
SUFFOLK
departed Hvalfjord for
patrol in the Denmark Strait.
_____
Light cruiser
NEWCASTLE
departed Scapa Flow for the Clyde for escort duty with
convoy
WS.16, arriving on the 14th.
_____
Destroyer INCONSTANT arrived at
Scapa
Flow at 1500 from the Clyde for working up.
_____
Destroyer PANTHER departed
Scapa
Flow at 1145 for Greenock, ariving at 0500/14th. She
then proceeded in convoy WS.16 for the Far East.
_____
Destroyer VANQUISHER departed
Liverpool
to escort Rear Admiral
Minelaying in Operation SN.84.
_____
Convoy ON.66 departed
Liverpool.
On the 14th, the convoy was
joined by destroyers
NIAGARA, SARDONYX and corvettes ABELIA, ANEMONE,
ROSELYS, and VERVAIN. SARDONYX detached on the 16th,
ABELIA and ANEMONE on
the 18th, and NIAGARA on the 19th. The convoy was joined on the 18th by corvettes
CHILLIWACK,
DAUPHIN, LETHBRIDGE, LOUISBURG and SHEDIAC. CHILLIWACK
and SHEDIAC detached on the
25th, and the convoy dispersed off Halifax on the 26th.
_____
A Martlett of 888 Squadron crashed on take off from
aircraft carrier FORMIDABLE. S/Lt G Marriott was picked
up by a destroyer.
_____
Submarine TEMPEST (Lt Cdr W A K N Cavaye) was sunk in
the Gulf of
Taranto
by Italian torpedo boat
CIRCE. Cdr Cavaye, S/Lt M Neel-Wall, and thirty seven
ratings were lost.
Twenty four crew, including Lt Cdr H D Bowker RNR,
Temporary Lt M V H Caplat
RNVR, and Lt (E) R W B Blatchford were taken prisoner
and taken to Taranto.
_____
Corvettes GLOXINIA and HYACINTH, escort ship
ANTWERP,
two anti-submarine
trawlers, and a convoy of A lighters and empty store
ships departed Tobruk
for Alexandria. U.652 attacked GLOXINIA at the end of the
Tobruk swept channel.
_____
Corvettes VETCH and GERANIUM arrived at
Gibraltar,
escorting submarine CLYDE and Royal Fleet Auxiliary
DINGLEDALE.
_____
Convoy HX.175 departed
Halifax,
escorted by destroyer ST
CLAIR, corvettes SACKVILLE, THE PAS, WEYBURN and
mineweeper
GEORGIAN. They detached on the 15th when relieved by
American destroyers
DECATUR, LEARY, MAYO and SIMPSON. DECATUR and LEARY
detached on the 23rd when
relieved by corvettes CAMELLIA, COLUMBINE, and
PIMPERNEL. The convoy arrived
at Liverpool on the 25th.
_____
Motor launch ML.310 (Lt J H Bull RNVR) departed
Singapore
with 44 crew and passengers,
including Rear Admiral E J Spooner, Vice Air Marshall C
W H Pulford, Cdr P L
Frampton from SULTON, Lt R A W Pool from SULTAN, S/Lt M
H Henderson RANVR,
and Acting Boatswain V E Richardson. After being damaged
early on the 14th by
Japanese aircraft, ML.310 reached Lalang Island, the
passengers were put
ashore on Tjebia
Island
and she was scuttled. Lt
Bull, two ratings, and two Javanese set out in a small
boat for help and were
later picked up by an RAN corvette. American submarine
S.39 was sent to
search for the Admiral Spooner group, but was unable to
locate them. Spooner,
Pulford, Frampton,
Henderson,
and twelve ratings died,
and the rest were captured on 19 May.
_____
Gunboat SCORPION (Lt Cdr G C Ashworth SSRNVR) was sunk
by Japanese destroyers in the Banka Straits after being
damaged by Japanese
aircraft on the 9th. One hundred and fifteen officers
and men were lost,
including Cdr Ashworth killed. S/Lt J T Ronaldson MRNVR
missing and S/Lt W E
Richards RNVR died of wounds. Temporary Lt H G Fabian
RNVR, S/Lt S R L
Buckwell MRNVR, Lt J C Kemp MRNVR, one other officer and
twenty six ratings
were rescued by Japanese forces and made prisoners of
war.
_____
Examination ship GIANG BEE carrying wounded, and
auxiliary patrol ships KUALA and HUNG JAO departed
Singapore
in convoy for Rengat.
KUALA (Lt F H George SSRNVR) was sunk by Japanese
bombing in the Banka Stait off
Pompong
Island. Among her passengers were
between one and two hundred nursing sisters, women and
children. Lt (E) L L
Hosey RNR, S/Lt (E) G H Lunberg
RNR
and Acting S/Lt (E) G R Rae
RNVR were lost. One hundred and fifty passengers were
rescued and taken on
board steamer TANDJONG PINANG which was sunk on the
17th. Only three
survivors from KUALA survived the second sinking.
GIANG BEE (Acting Lt S K Rayner SSRNVR) was sunk near Berhala
Island, 160 miles south of Singapore by Japanese
aircraft. Out of
a crew of 48 and 245 passengers, 223 were missing. Lt P
C Costa MRVRN, Lt S K
Rayner MRNVR, S/Lt M Goldstone MRNVR, S/Lt C R Bradley
MRNVR, Temporary Lt
(E) H Hill RNVR, S/Lt E J Evans MRNVR, Lt T G Adams
MRNVR, S/Lt E G Rowland
MRNVR, Temporary Lt H H Lancaster RNR, S/Lt A Scott RNR,
Temporary S/Lt (E) R K McE
Angus RNR, Temporary Lt (E) R K Beaton
RNR
and Temporary Lt (E) R M
Wilson RNR were lost.
Temporary S/Lt W A Nesfield
RNR
and Temporary Skipper B B
Brahim RNR were captured and later died while prisoners of war.
S/Lt E P C Langdon MRNVR, Acting S/Lt W Attenborough
RNVR, S/Lt I W Hornby
MRNVR, and Temporary S/Lt H Morton
RNR
were also captured.
HUNG GAO took off about 70 survivors who were landed
at Rengat. Lt J H Craig MRNVR, received a DSC and S/Lt J
S H Cunyngham-Brown
MRNVR was mentioned in dispatches post war for this
rescue. Then on the 15th,
HUNG JAO (Temporary Lt T E Mellor RNVR) was lost in
company with coaster SUNGEI
PINANG while on another rescue mission. Craig and
Cunyngham-Brown were both
taken prisoner by the Japanese.
_____
Anti-submarine vessel SIANG WO (Temporary Lt Cdr A
Woodley RNR) was badly damaged by Japanese air attack in the Dutch
East Indies, and run aground on Bangka Island a total
loss. Lt (E) W Dykes
RNR, was the only crew member
lost, but passenger Lt Cdr H Vickers (HMS PELANDOK, RMN
base Singapore) was also killed. Cdr
Woodley, Lt V N Wade MRNVR, S/Lt C W Lyle MRNVR,
Temporary Lt (E) W R Grant RNR, Temporary S/Lt D G R
Kinner
RNR, Lt A A Hare MRNVR,
Temporary S/Lt T C W Marr
RNR
and Temporary S/Lt (E) C
Moore RNR were taken prisoner.
Moore
later died in captivity.
_____
Auxiliary minesweeper CHENGTEH (244grt) was sunk in Rhio
Strait by Japanese bombing, while
carrying 11 officers and 85 Army and RAF personnel, in
addition to her crew
of 22. Sixty eight crew and passengers were lost. S/Lt S
J Fisher MRNVR and
Lt J Craig MRNVR were killed, and Temporary Skipper M V
Adam RNR rescued.
_____
Auxiliary patrol vessel TRANG went aground near
Peak
Island, but refloated and scuttled
in Cooper's Channel. Lt H T Rigden MRNVR and 25
survivors were made prisoners
of war.
_____
Auxiliary patrol vessel JARAK was shelled by Japanese
forces and abandoned in
Rhio
Strait. She was later reboarded,
but scuttled on the 18th south of Singkap because of
engine trouble.
_____
Steamer REDANG (531grt) was sunk by Japanese surface
craft 50 miles 110° from Berhala. Of the crew of 19 plus
70 passengers, 58
were missing, including Lt (E) H S Deans
RNR.
_____
Dutch tanker MERULA (8228grt) departed
Palembang
for Batavia, but was badly damaged in Banka Strait by
Japanese bombing. She was
taken in tow by Norwegian tanker HERBORG (7892grt), but
later abandoned when
the fire on board spread. Of a crew of 38, one was lost
and 37 missing. A
staff of 12 were on board, of which four were lost.
Dutch tanker MANVANTARA (8237grt) was sunk by Japanese
bombing en route from
Palembang
to Batavia. Of a crew of 39, three were
lost, but the other 36 arrived in Batavia. There were
also twelve
Staff personnel on board, of which one was lost.
Steamer SUBADAR (5424grt) was sunk by Japanese bombing
in the Banka
Strait.
Of a crew of 78 and eight
gunners, five crew were lost.
The remaining ships of the convoy, tankers HERBORG,
ERLING BROVIG, SEIRSTAD and ELSA, arrived at
Batavia
on the 13th, escorted by
destroyer JUPITER and minesweeper TOOTOOMBA.
_____
Steamer HOSANG (5698grt) had been damaged by Japanese
bombing at Singapore
on 25 and 30 January and 2
February. She departed for Palembang on the 6th, but
grounded and
was abandoned. Later seized by Japanese forces, she was
renamed GYOZAN MARU
in Japanese service.
_____
Motor vessel ROMPIN (189grt), which departed
Singapore
on the 10th with four RAF
tenders in tow, was captured by Japanese forces at
Muntok.
_____
Japanese submarine I.55 sank steamer DERRYMORE
(4799grt) north of
Sunda
Strait. Of a crew of 36, including
four gunners, none were lost. Of 209 RAAF personnel,
nine were missing. Some
survivors reached a nearby island where they were picked
up three days later
by Dutch minesweeper CHERIBON, while others were rescued
from rafts by
Australian minesweeper BALLARAT.
_____
Steamer
BRUNEI
(101grt) was scuttled at Singapore.
_____
Motor patrol boat PANGLIMA was scuttled in
Banka
Strait.
_____
Corvettes ASTER and VERBENA arrived at
Mauritius.
_____
Troopship DUNERA, formerly of convoy DM.2, arrived at Colombo.
_____
Convoy BM.13 of
steamers
CITY OF LONDON, EASTERN PRINCE,
EGRA, ESPERANCE
BAY and CITY OF PARIS, departed Bombay escorted by light
cruiser CALEDON to the vicinity of Ceylon.
Off
Ceylon
on the 17th, they joined
convoy SJ.3 of steamers PENRITH CASTLE, SILVERTEAK,
SILVERWILLOW, MADRAS CITY, and EMPIRE GLADE, which
departed Colombo
on the 16th, escorted by
light cruiser GLASGOW, sloop FALMOUTH and minesweeper
BATHURST. CALEDON was detached.
The combined convoy proceeded until the 21st, when
they were ordered north.
BATHURST
returned to Colombo with engine problems. Heavy
cruiser DORSETSHIRE joined on the 23rd, but was ordered
to return to
Trincomalee later that same day.
The convoy arrived at
Colombo
on the 25th, escorted by GLASGOW.
_____
Chartered steamer
SUI
WO (2672grt), serving as a
boom defence acccomodation ship, was sunk at Singapore
by Japanese bombing.
_____
Panamanian steamer SANTE FE (1543grt) was seized by
Japanese forces at
Saigon, and renamed RIZYO MARU for Japanese use.
Saturday, 14 February
Convoy PQ.11 of Russian steamers ASHKHABAD (5284grt),
American CITY OF FLINT (4963grt), British EMPIRE BAFFIN (6978grt),
HARTLEBURY (5082grt), LOWTHER CASTLE (5171grt), MARYLYN
(4555grt), Russian
STEPAN KHALTURIN (2498grt), British BARRWHIN (4998grt),
DALDORCH (5571grt),
EMPIRE MAGPIE (6211grt), KINGSWOOD (5080grt), Hondurian
MAKAWAO (3253grt),
and Panamanian NORTH KING (4934grt) departed Kirkwall at
1500 escorted by
destroyers MIDDLETON, AIREDALE, corvette OXLIP,
minesweepers NIGER, HUSSAR
and anti-submarine trawlers BLACKFLY, CAPE ARGONA and
CAPE MARIATO.
Corvettes OXLIP, which departed Seidisfjord on the
16th, and SWEETBRIAR joined on the 17th when the
destroyers, the original
corvette, and anti-submarine trawlers were detached. The
destroyers arrived at
Scapa
Flow
at
1100/18th. The corvette and trawlers proceeded to
Stornoway.
On the 22nd, light cruiser
NIGERIA,
which departed Murmansk on the 20th with Soviet
destroyers GROMKY and
GROZNY
joined. Minesweepers
HARRIER, HAZARD and SALAMANDER also joined on the 22nd.
The Soviet destroyers arrived back at
Murmansk
on the 21st.
The convoy arrived on the 22nd.
_____
American destroyer GWIN departed
Londonderry
for Hvalfjord.
_____
Convoy ON.67 departed
Liverpool.
The convoy was joined on
the 15th by corvettes CAMELLIA, COLUMBINE, and
PIMPERNEL. These were detached
on the 19th when the convoy was joined by American
destroyers BERNADOU, EDISON, LEA, NICHOLSON and corvette
ALGOMA. Corvette ALGOMA detached on the 25th. Coast
Guard cutter SPENCER
joined on the 26th. The American destroyers and coast
guard cutter were
detached on the 28th when the convoy was joined by
destroyers VERITY and
WALKER. The convoy arrived at Halifax on 1 March.
_____
U.576 sank steamer EMPIRE SPRING (6946grt) in 42N,
55W. There were no survivors.
_____
U.502 reported torpedoing a tanker near
Aruba
and observed it sinking in
flames.
_____
U.83 fired torpedoes into Mersa Matruh harbour without
results, although she reported damaging a steamer and
corvette.
_____
Steamer CLAN CHATTAN (7262grt) of convoy MW.9A was
sunk by German bombing in 35-01N, 20-11E. All 128 crew
and 230 troops were
rescued.
_____
Steamer
ROWALLAN CASTLE (7798grt) of convoy MW.9B
was badly damaged by German bombing in 34-54N, 19-40E.
There were no
casualties amongst the crew of 71 including 17 gunners,
and 29 passengers,
although she was scuttled by British forces. Light
cruiser CARLISLE and destroyer ERIDGE with
MW.10 were lightly damaged by near misses.
_____
Destroyer
WHITEHALL
arrived at Gibraltar.
_____
Anti-submarine trawler ST NECTAN departed
Gibraltar,
escorting three merchant
ships to Aguilas, Hornillo, and Valencia. She parted
company at Cape Palas, and arrived back at Gibraltar on
the 16th.
_____
A convoy of Italian steamer ARIOSTO and the German
ATLAS departed
Tripoli
on the 13th for Palermo, escorted by destroyer
PREMUDA and torpedo boat POLLUCE. Submarine P.38
attacked and sank ARIOSTO
(4116grt), which was carrying 410 men, including 294
prisoners of war. . Two
hundred and fifty two survivors were picked up by the
escorts. ATLAS and
POLLUCE arrived at Palermo at 1500/16th.
_____
British heavy cruiser EXETER, Australian light cruiser
HOBART and the Dutch DE RUYTER, JAVA, TROMP, Dutch
destroyers VAN GHENT,
BANCKERT, PIET HEIN, KORTENAER and the American BULMER,
BARKER, STEWART,
PARROT, EDWARDS and PILLSBURY departed Batavia to attack
a Japanese invasion
convoy. At 0520, VAN GHENT ran aground on Ross Island.
BANCKERT stood by and
took off her crew. No contact was made with the convoy,
but the allied ships
came under heavy air attack. They arrived back at
Tanjong Priok on the 16th.
_____
Auxiliary armed patrol vessel LI WO (Temporary Lt T
Wilkinson RNR), which departed Singapore on the 13th with a crew of
70 and 14 passengers, was sunk by Japanese surface
craft. Lt Wilkinson, Lt A
Robertson RNR, Temporary Lt (E) J G Murray
RNR,
Temporary S/Lt (E) J Manson
RNR, S/Lt D O MacCracken MRNVR,
Temporary S/Lt J G Petherbridge MRNVR, Temporary S/Lt
(E) J R Wood and sixty
eight ratings were lost.
Temporary Lt E N Derbridge RNZNVR, Temporary S/Lt R G
G Stanton RNR and nine ratings were rescued. Derbridge died of
wounds on 3 March, while three of the ratings died while
prisoners of war.
Wilkinson received a posthumous Victoria Cross,
Stanton a DSO, Acting Petty Officer A W Thompson a
CGM,
Able Seaman A Spendlove a
DSM, and Petherbridge, Derbridge and seven ratings were
mentioned in
dispatches.
_____
Gunboat DRAGONFLY (Cdr A W Sprott Rtd) was severely
damaged by Japanese bombing off Rusuk Buaja Island near
Singapore, abandoned
at anchor and later sank. Cdr Sprott, S/Lt C W Tombs
RNVR, Lt S L Iley and 29
ratings were lost, together with a number of passengers.
Lt P P Shellard RNVR
and Lt O R T Henman MRNVR were taken prisoner by the
Japanese.
_____
Gunboat GRASSHOPPER (Cdr J S Hoffman Rtd) was sunk by
Japanese bombing off Rusuk Island near Singapore. There
were only a few
survivors and 165 officers and ratings were lost. Cdr
Hoffman survived, but
was later lost in destroyer STRONGHOLD. Temporary Lt R A
Holloway RNZVNR was
taken prisoner by the Japanese.
_____
Auxiliary patrol vessel
SHU
KWANG (Cdr A D Thomson RNR Rtd), en route from
Singapore to Batavia, was sunk by Japanese bombing at
0-35N, 104E. Twenty
crew and passengers were lost and around 273 rescued.
_____
Auxiliary anti-submarine vessel TIEN KWANG (Acting Lt
R W Heale SSRNVR), carrying some 300 passengers, was
damaged by Japanese
bombing off Pampong Island, south of Rhio Strait. She
was scuttled early on
the 15th. S/Lt J Robinson
RNR
and many of the passengers
were lost. Lt Heale, Temporary S/Lt F Mansfield RNR,
Temporary S/Lt (E) G L
Nicolich RNR, and Temporary Lt (E) J W Turnbull
RNR
were taken prisoners by the
Japanese.
_____
Minelayer KUNG WO (Temporary Lt Cdr E J Thomson
RNR)
was badly damaged by
Japanese bombing six miles NW of Pompong Island, near
Lingga Archipelago, and
abandoned. One crewman was lost and Temporary Lt J W
Munroe RNR taken prisoner by the
Japanese.
_____
Requistioned vessel VYNER BROOKE was sunk by Japanese
air attack in the Banka Strait, 15 miles north of
Muntok. Of forty seven crew
and 181 passengers, 125 were missing. Temporary S/Lt J W
Miller
RNR,
Lt (E) D Reith RNR and S/Lt W S Sedgeman RNR, were lost.
Temporary S/Lt E
L J Staples RNZVNR and Temporary Lt R E Borton RNR were
taken prisoners by the
Japanese.
_____
Auxiliary patrol ship HUA TONG (Temporary Lt O G Jones
RNR)
was sunk by Japanese
bombing at Palembang. There were no casualties.
Temporary Lt C L Brown RNR and Temporary Lt (E) D R
Horn RNR were mentioned in dispatches in 1943 regarding her
loss. Steamer HOSANG and auxiliary patrol ship KLIAS
were damaged in the same
attack.
_____
Japanese submarine I.66 sank steamer KAMUNING (2076grt)
in 8-35N, 81-44E, while she was under tow for
Trincomalee. I.66 missed with a
torpedo and sank her with gunfire. Three native crew
were lost.
_____
Light cruiser ENTERPRISE arrived at Trincomalee.
_____
Aircraft carrier HERMES, destroyer VAMPIRE, sloop
FALMOUTH, and minesweeper BATHURST arrived at Colombo.
_____
Corvettes ASTER and VERBENA departed Mauritius for
Colombo.
_____
On the 14th, convoy JS.2X departed Colombo with
British steamers AFRICAN PRINCE (4653grt), ASCANIUS
(10,048grt), BIRCHBANK
(5151grt), TINGSANG (2256grt), Dutch MARISO (7659grt)
and Norwegian TROJA
(8814grt). The convoy was escorted by heavy cruiser
CORNWALL, destroyer
VAMPIRE, minesweeper LISMORE, Indian sloop HINDUSTAN and
Indian patrol vessel
RAMDAS. CORNWALL detached on the 20th, the destroyer on
the 26th and the
patrol vessel on the 16th. The convoy arrived at Rangoon
on the 21st escorted
by the minesweeper and sloop.
