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, 15 February
Destroyer WELLS departed Scapa Flow at 1000 on
completion of docking and rendezvoused at sea with Rear
Admiral Minelayers.
Minelayers MENESTHEUS,
PORT
QUEBEC,
AGAMEMNON and destroyer
LANCASTER, with destroyer SOMALI as additional escort,
had departed Loch Alsh
at 0900 for Operation SN.84.
Light cruiser
KENYA
departed Hvalfjord on the
15th, and destroyers WELLS and VANQUISHER later joined.
After the operation,
the KENYA
proceeded to patrol in the
Iceland-Faroes Passage. The minelaying force arrived
back at Loch Alsh and
SOMALI at Scapa Flow, all on the 17th.
_____
Light cruiser
TRINIDAD
departed patrol in the
Iceland-Faroes Passage and proceeded to Hvalfjord where
she arrived on the
16th.
_____
Destroyer LOOKOUT departed the
Clyde
and arrived at Scapa Flow at 1330 for working up
exercises.
_____
Corvette OXLIP arrived at Seidsifjord from Hvalfjord
for escort of convoy PQ.11.
_____
U.98 sank steamer BIELA (5298grt) in 42-55N, 45-40W.
_____
U.566 sank Greek steamer MEROPI (4181grt), straggling
behind convoy ON.60, in 44-14N, 62-41W. Of a crew of 33,
two gunners and five
passengers, 24 crew and both gunners were lost.
_____
U.432 sank Brazilian steamer BUARQUE (5152grt) in
36-35N, 75-20W. Of a crew of 74 and 11 passengers, one
was killed and one
missing. US Coast Guard cutter CALYPSO rescued 42
survivors.
_____
Steamer EMPIRE HEAD (489grt) was damaged by German
bombing in 34-42N, 00-54W.
_____
U.81 attacked a British light cruiser near
Alexandria.
_____
Motor launch ML.169 was destroyed by fire at
Gibraltar
when an explosion occurred
as she started up. Four ratings were killed.
_____
Anti-submarine trawler LADY HOGARTH departed
Gibraltar
escorting one merchant ship
to Melilla.
_____
Convoy SC.70 departed Halifax 15 February,
escorts:
|
joined
|
detached
|
15th
|
corvettes
Alberni,
Collingwood, Rosthern, Saskatoon, minesweepers
Clayaquot,
Mahone
|
|
19th
|
corvettes
Amherst, Celandine, Dianthus, Fennel
|
Alberni,
Collington,
Saskatoon,
Mahone
|
20th
|
American
destroyer
Macleish
|
|
22nd
|
|
Rosthern,
Clayaquot
|
26th
|
|
Amherst
|
3rd
|
destroyer
Scimitar
|
Celandine,
Dianthus,
Fennel, Macleish
|
5th
|
|
Scimitar
|
convoy arrived
Liverpool
7 March
|
_____
Australian light cruiser
PERTH
relieved light cruiser ADELAIDE which departed Fremantle
with convoy MS.4 of four tankers and two cargo ships.
On the 15th, convoy MS.4 was ordered back to
Fremantle, except for
PERTH
and Dutch steamer 'S JACOB
(note: name as shown in reports, but does not appear in
Lloyds) (2839grt). En
route they were joined by Dutch steamers SWARTENHONDT
(5084grt) and KARSIK
(3057grt).
On the 21st, three ship convoy was ordered back to
Fremantle and
PERTH
escorted it to within 700
miles of Fremantle before proceeding Tanjong Priok
arriving on the 24th.
_____
American heavy cruiser HOUSTON, destroyer PEARY and
Australian sloops SWAN and WARREGO departed
Darwin
escorting US Army transports
MEIGS, MAUNA
LOA,
PORT MAR and Australian coaster
TULAGI, carrying 1800 troops to reinforce Timor. Shortly
after sailing, the
convoy came under air attack, all four transports
suffered damage from near
misses, and it returned to Darwin.
_____
Auxiliary anti-submarine ship MATA HARI (Temporary Lt
G A Brignall RNR) was sunk by Japanese gunfire at
Banka.
S/Lt I Ellis MRNVR,
Temporary Acting S/Lt (E) W MacCrorie RNVR, Temporary
S/Lt (E) T R Gordon
MRNVR, Lt V A Burton MRNVR, Lt J R Pickhall MRNVR, Lt
Cdr B Scott MRNVR,
Temporary S/Lt A H Hogge
RNR,
S/Lt G Lyons
MRNVR,Temporary S/Lt (E) H M MacGregor RNVR, Temporary
Acting S/Lt (E) F J
Lumley RNR, Temporary S/Lt F W Matthews RNVR, Paymaster S/Lt R W
Cornell MRNVR and Temporary Lt A C Carton
RNR,
were taken prisoners by the
Japanese.
_____
Steamer RHU (254grt) was seized by Japanese forces at
Singapore.
_____
Auxiliary patrol boat DYMAS, which had departed
Singapore
on the 13th, was captured by
a Japanese cruiser nine miles north of Muntok Light.
S/Lt R. G. Banks MRNVR
and rest of the crew were made prisoners of war and
DYMAS was taken to
Muntok.
Tug YIN
PING
(191grt) was sunk by
Japanese surface craft 20 miles 225° from Muntok. Of a
crew of ten and 65
passengers, 50 were lost, including Capt T K W Atkinson
of Singapore Dockyard
and Cdr B M Douglas Rtd of SULTAN.
_____
Steamers SIUSHAN (296grt), MERSING (65grt) and
requisitioned yacht SILVIA were lost at
Singapore.
_____
Auxiliary patrol boats JERANTUT (217grt) and KLIAS
(207grt)
were scuttled at
Palembang.
_____
Steamer HONG CHUAN (67grt) was lost at Djambi when she
caught fire from burning shore installations and a
drifing barge.
_____
Cdr (E) G. H. Craven-Phillips of NASAR (RNAS
Sembawang) was lost in ML.433.
_____
Japanese submarine I.65 sank steamer JOHANNE JUSTESEN
(4681grt) in 9-04N, 75-58E. Of a crew of 59, one was
lost.
Monday, 16 February
Battleship RODNEY departed the
Clyde
for Liverpool, escorted by destroyer
PIORUN. Destroyer WATCHMAN departed Belfast and joined
at sea. The ships
arrived later that day and the battleship was taken in
hand for refitting.
_____
Light cruiser
TRINIDAD
arrived at Hvalfjord from
patrol in the Iceland-Faroes Passage.
_____
Destroyer LEDBURY departed
Portsmouth
at 1600 and proceeded to Scapa Flow for working up
exercises,
arriving at 1530/18th.
_____
Minesweeper GOSSAMER departed Sheerness on completion
of refitting and provided additional escort for convoy
FN.33 while on passage
for Scapa
Flow.
_____
U.156 sank tanker ORANJESTAD (2396grt) with 15 crew
lost and 10 survivors. She also damaged tankers
PEDERNALES (4317grt) and the
American ARKANSAS (6452grt), all off San Nicholas.
_____
U.502 sank two tankers 25 miles SW of Point Macolla -
TIA JUANA (2395grt) with 17 crew lost and nine
survivors, and
SAN
NICOLAS (2391grt) with seven
lost and 19 saved. She also accounted for Venezuelan
tanker MONAGAS (2650grt)
in the Gulf
of Venezuela with five crew missing and 26 saved.
_____
U.67 damaged Dutch tanker RAFAELA (3177grt) one mile
off Curacoa.
_____
U.106 sank Panamanian steamer RAMAPO (2968grt) west of
Bermuda,
with the loss of her entire
crew.
_____
U.564 damaged tanker OPALIA (6195grt) with gunfire in
37-38N, 66-07W.
_____
Corvette COLTSFOOT departed
Gibraltar
escorting steamer WALLSEND
(3157grt) to Hornillo and steamer SHUNA (1575grt) to
Valencia. She parted company with
SHUNA on the 18th off Almiera and then escorted steamer
BARON RAMSAY to Gibraltar, arriving on the 19th.
_____
Auxiliary minesweeper FUH WO (Temporary Lt B Shaw
RNVR) was lost on
Banka
Island, after being beached and
blown up by her crew. No officers or ratings were lost.
_____
Lt Cdr C A Smith Rtd of SULTAN, Temporary Acting
Boatswain
C Harding of the Singapore Dockyard, Temporary Lt Cdr T
W Moore
RNR
of SULTAN III, Temporary Lt J F Adams RNR of SULTAN III
(Examination Service,
Penang), Temporary Lt R H Williams RNR of SULTAN III
(Examination Service,
Penang), Temporary Lt G R Wiseman RNR of SULTAN,
Temporary Lt J S
Whyte RNR of Examination Service, Singapore and Temporary
Paymaster Lt R H Douglas RNVR at Batavia were lost,
presumed missing on the
16th (posted July 1946).
Lt R C Beckwith and S/Lt R C Ripley RCNVR, both
formerly
of battleship PRINCE OF WALES, in SULTAN and FANLING
respectively and
Temporary Lt A J Martin RNVR in PULO SOEGI, were lost on
the 16th (posted
January 1946, also Halifax list for Canadian officer)
_____
Aircraft carrier INDOMITABLE with destroyers NAPIER
and NESTOR departed
Colombo
for Aden. The sailing had been
delayed when the destroyers were sent to hunt for a
submarine off Colombo.
_____
Aircraft transport ATHENE arrived at Fremantle to
embark aircraft.
_____
Ferry BAGAN (244grt) was scuttled at
Palembang.
_____
Auxiliary patrol vessel
ELIZABETH
with 15 crew and 11
passengers was sunk by Japanese gunfire in the Banka
Strait. Twenty four were missing
_____
Steamer TAYLTHYRIUS (10,254grt), which had been
damaged on the 3rd, was seized by Japanese forces at
Singapore.
_____
Convoy JS.3 of steamers
PENRITH
CASTLE, SILVER TAEK, SILVER WILLOW,
MADRAS
CITY
and EMPIRE GLADE departed Colombo escorted by light
cruiser GLASGOW, sloop FALMOUTH, and BATHURST for
Batavia. The convoy merged with
BM.13, escorted by light cruiser CALEDON from Bombay to
Ceylon, on the 17th. GLASGOW relieved CALEDON as Senior
Officer of the
Convoy, and BATHURST
returned to Colombo with engine defects.
Heavy cruiser DORSETSHIRE departed
Colombo
to join JS.3, but was
recalled when the convoy was ordered to return. On 21
February, the convoy
was ordered to steam north, then return to Colombo,
arriving on the 25th,
escorted by GLASGOW.
_____
Convoy SJ.2 departed
Batavia
with steamers EMPIRE STAR (13,479grt) and PLANCIOUS
(5955grt), escorted by light cruiser DURBAN and
destroyer JUPITER, the
latter detaching the same day.
From the
Sunda
Strait, the ships proceeded
independently, PLANCIUS proceeding to Colombo escorted
by DURBAN and arriving on the 22nd,
while EMPIRE STAR, with US Admiral Hart embarked, proceeded to
Fremantle on her own.
Tuesday, 17 February
TROOP
CONVOY WS.16, UK TO SOUTH AFRICA AND INDIAN OCEAN
Convoy WS.16 assembled off Oversay on the 17th, having
sailed from Liverpool and the
Clyde (on the 16th).
The convoy was composed of troopships AWATEA,
BERGENSFJORD, BRISBANE
STAR (Rear Commodore),
CITY
OF EDINBURGH, CITY OF LINCOLN, CUBA, DELFTDIJK,
DENBIGHSHIRE, DUCHESS OF RICHMOND, DUCHESS OF YORK,
EMPIRE PRIDE, MONARCH OF
BERMUDA, MOOLTAN, NEA HELLAS (Vice Commodore), ORMONDE,
PORT JACKSON, POTARO, SIBAJAK,
STRATHAIRD, STRATHEDEN (Commodore) and VOLENDAM.
STRATHAIRD sailed late because of defects,and finally
joined the convoy on the 21st under the escort of
NEWCASTLE
and PALADIN. CITY OF EDINBURGH and CITY OF LINCOLN both
had problems with
shifting cargo and returned to the
Clyde and
Liverpool
respectively. POTARO also fell out on the18th but
proceeded to Freetown
independently where she
rejoined the convoy.
Convoy
WS.16
escort from Oversay
|
|
joined
|
detached
|
17th
|
battleship
Malaya,
aircraft carrier Eagle, cruiser Hermione,
destroyers Active,
Anthony, Blankney, Croome, Duncan, Firedrake,
Laforey, Lightning
destroyers
Verity,
Walker, Witherington
|
|
21st
|
aircraft
carrier
Formidable (on passage overseas), cruiser
Newcastle, destroyer Paladin
|
Malaya, Eagle, Hermione, Active, Anthony, Blankney,Croome,
Duncan, Firedrake, Laforey, Lightning
|
22nd
|
|
Verity,
Walker, Witherington
|
26th
|
destroyers
Boreas,
Brilliant, Wild Swan
|
|
1st
|
|
Formidable,
Newcastle, Paladin, Boreas, Brilliant, Wild Swan
|
arrived
Freetown
1 March
|
On the 20th, a Swordfish of 813 Squadron from EAGLE
crashed
into the sea attempting to land. Lt H S Shaw, Lt C L
Hutchinson, and Petty
Officer H T Goddard were rescued by
DUNCAN.
WS.16
sailed from Freetown with same merchant ship
composition on 6 March
|
|
joined
|
detached
|
6th
|
corvette
Nigella (local
escort for one day)
destroyers
Brilliant, Wild
Swan
corvette
Jasmine
light
cruiser Newcastle, major escort
sloop
Bridgewater
|
Nigella
|
8th
|
|
Brilliant,
Wild Swan
|
12th
|
|
Jasmine
|
17th
|
AMCs
Cheshire, Dunnottar Castle, sloop Milford
(convoy split off
Capetown)
|
Newcastle
|
18th
|
|
Bridgewater
|
BERGENSFJORD, BRISBANE
STAR,
DELFTDIJK, DENBIGHSHIRE,
NEA HELLAS, PORT JACKSON,
POTARO
and SIBAJAK entered Capetown
under the local escort of corvettes FREESIA and
FRITILLARY. The remaining
merchant ships went on to Durban escorted by armed
merchant cruisers
CHESHIRE, DUNNOTTAR CASTLE and WORCESTERSHIRE (which
relieved MILFORD on17
March), arriving at Durban on the 21st.
The Capetown ships sailed on 22 March, escorted by
cruiser NEWCASTLE
and sloop MILFORD, and met the Durban vessels, excluding
MONARCH
OF BERMUDA, MOOLTAN and STRATHAIRD which remained in
port, off Durban on the 25th. The convoy, its
escort reinforced by cruiser GLASGOW and armed merchant
cruiser
WORCESTERSHIRE from
Durban,
proceeded northward; NEWCASTLE detached at midnight on
the 25th. On 1 April
cruiser COLOMBO
and armed merchant cruiser
ALAUNIA relieved the escort and on 3 April the convoy
divided into the Aden and Bombay portions.
The combined convoy was steamers AWATEA, BERGENSFJORD,
BRISBANE STAR, DELFTDIJK, DENBIGHSHIRE, DUCHESS OF RICHMOND,
DUCHESS OF YORK, EMPIRE PRIDE, NEA HELLAS,
PORT
JACKSON, POTARO, SIBAJAK, STRATHEDEN and
VOLENDAM. Commodore ships remained as previously.
Convoy WS.16A with BERGENSFJORD, NEA HELLAS and
VOLENDAM formed the Aden convoy escorted by COLOMBO from
the splitting
position on 3 April until dispersed off Aden on the 6th
after which the ships
went to Suez as independents.
Convoy WS.16B was the Bombay detachment steaming in
the following order from 3 April - AWATEA, BRISBANE
STAR,
DELFTDIJK, DENBIGHSHIRE,
DUCHESS OF RICHMOND, DUCHESS OF YORK, EMPIRE PRIDE, PORT
JACKSON, POTARO, SIBAJAK and
STRATHEDEN, escorted by ALAUNIA and WORCESTERSHIRE
(which joined at the
splitting position) and arrived at Bombay 8 April.
_____
Destroyers ONSLOW (D.17),
ASHANTI,
TARTAR, BEDOUIN and the
American EBERLE and ERICSSON departed Hvalfjord to carry
out an
anti-submarine search in 63-57N, 23-46W. American
destroyer GWIN departed
Hvalfjord later and joined the search. They returned to
Hvalfjord the next
day after an unsuccessful search.
_____
The Flag of Rear Admiral Commanding First Cruiser
Squadron was transferred from heavy cruiser
NORFOLK
to heavy cruiser LONDON.
_____
U.136 sank steamer EMPIRE COMET (6914grt), straggling
behind convoy HX.174, in 58-15N, 17-10W.
_____
Destroyer
WHITEHALL
departed Gibraltar as additional escort for
steamers CAPE
HAWKE,
carrying crated aircraft,
and FINLAND
to Gibraltar. Escorted by destroyer WHITEHALL and
corvettes ASPHODEL and
HYDRANGEA, they reached
Gibraltar on the 21st.
_____
Corvettes CAMPION and MALLOW departed
Gibraltar
escorting steamer PACHECO
and tanker SLEMDAL, and detached at Bathurst for fuel.
_____
Convoy AT.28 departed
Alexandria,
escorted by destroyers
DECOY, HURWORTH, SOUTHWOLD and corvette HYACINTH, and
arrived at Tobruk on
the 18th.
_____
Dutch destroyer VAN NES and escorted Dutch steamer
SLOET VAN DER BEELE (2977grt), carrying evacutees from
Billiton,
were sunk by Japanese
bombing south of
Banka. There were no survivors from either ship.
_____
Auxiliary patrol vessel TANDJONG PINANG (133grt) with
17 crew and 150 passengers (survivors from steamer KUALA
lost on the 14th),
was sunk by Japanese surface craft 30 miles south of
Pulo Ubar. There were
only three survivors and Temporary Lt B Shaw NZRNVR,
Temporary Lt E G Gerard
NZRNVR and Temporary Lt G Studholme NZRNVR were lost.
Commissioned Gunner A
Rafferty, who also had been rescued from KUALA was also
lost.
_____
Battleship REVENGE arrived at
Mombasa.
_____
Light cruiser
CALEDON
after escort duty with
convoy JS.3 arrived at
Colombo.
_____
Light cruiser EMERALD departed
Madras.
_____
Dutch light cruiser HEEMSKERK arrived at the
Seychilles, and carried on, arriving at
Colombo
on the 21st.
_____
Convoy SJ.3 departed Tandjong Priok with steamers
KRIAN (857grt), ORISKANY (1644grt) and RESANG (252grt)
for Colombo and GIANG ANN
(1063grt), auxiliary patrol
ships DARVEL and
PING WO (3105grt), the latter towing disabled
destroyer VENDETTA, for Fremantle.
VENDETTA left Tanjong Priok harbour in tow of two tugs
and was met outside the harbour by
PING
WO, which took over the tow
before they joined SJ.3 escorted by destroyer ELECTRA
and sloop YARRA. On the
22nd off Christmas Island, light cruiser
ADELAIDE
relieved YARRA in the
escort.
_____
Convoy SR.6 of steamers WINGSANG, CHILKA, and ELLENGA
departed Calcutta
for Rangoon, escorted by Indian sloop INDUS, while
convoy MR.4 with
steamers KUTSANG, NEURALIA and PRESIDENT DOUMER had
departed Madras on the 16th for Rangoon, escorted by
light cruiser
EMERALD. On the 19th, the two convoys merged as SR.6.
Due to the situation
around Rangoon only troopships ELLENGA (5196grt) and NEURALIA
(9182grt)
were to proceed there. The rest of the convoy was
ordered to
Calcutta
and arrived on the 22nd.
_____
Steamer
TATUNG
(1560grt), which had been
immobilised, was seized by Japanese forces at Tanjong
Batoe.
Wednesday, 18 February
Destroyer SOMALI arrived at
Scapa
Flow at 0815/18th after Operation
SN.84.
_____
Destroyers ONSLOW (D.17), TARTAR and PUNJABI departed
Hvalfjord to search for a submarine sighted by aircraft
in 63-15N, 24-30W.
_____
French submarine MINERVE departed Lerwick for patrol
off the Norwegian coast.
_____
Minesweeping trawler BOTANIC (348grt, Skipper P Ray
DSC RNR) and anti-submarine trawler WARLAND (214grt, Skipper
H. H. Firth RNR) were sunk by German bombers in the
North
Sea off 62.D Buoy.
_____
U.432 sank Brazilian steamer
OLINDA
(4053grt) in 37-30N, 75W,
but the entire crew of 47 was rescued.
_____
U.108 sank steamer
SOMME
(5265grt) in 40N, 55W, with
the loss of all her crew.
_____
Corvettes BLUEBELL, CARNATION, MYOSOTIS, LA MALOUINE
and STONECROP arrived at
Gibraltar.
_____
American destroyer TRUXTON (LCDR R Hickox) and cargo
ship POLLUX were lost by stranding in
Placentia
Bay. LCDR Hickox, LT E D
Anderson, LT (jg) J. W. Danforth, LT (jg) J R Gille, LT
(jg) C Reiter, ENS A
E Newman, ENS C K Potter, ENS H W Taylor and one hundred
and two enlisted men
were lost in TRUXTON, and ninety five enlisted men in
POLLUX.
_____
French submarine SURCOUF was lost in collision with
American steamer THOMSON LYKES in the
Gulf
of Mexico in 10-40W, 79-31W. Temporary
Lt R J G Burney RNVR and two communications ratings were
lost, along with the
entire French crew.
_____
Armed merchant cruiser AUSTONIA, escorted by
destroyers BEVERLEY and ROCKINGHAM, arrived at
Bermuda
from Halifax.
_____
Battleships REVENGE and RAMILLIES departed
Mombasa
on gunnery exercises. Light
cruiser COLOMBO
arrived at Mombasa.
_____
Light cruiser
CALEDON,
minelayer TEVIOT BANK and
American light cruiser
BOISE
all departed Colombo, BOISE for repairs at Bombay, where
she arrived on the
21st.
_____
American light cruiser
BOISE
departed Colombo for Bombay for repairs. She arrived on
the 21st.
_____
The evacuation of Oosthaven was completed with
destroyer JUPITER and minesweeper BURNIE bringing off
the rear guard.
Destroyer ENCOUNTER was sent from
Batavia
to evacuate RAF and service
personnel from
Padang.
Light cruiser DANAE and ENCOUNTER evacuated 877
evacuees from
Padang.
PANGKOR also brought out 244 from Benculen.
_____
Japanese submarine I.55 reported sinking a transport
north of Sunda
Strait.
_____
Auxiliary patrol vessel MALACCA (210grt) was scuttled
in the Tjemake
River, Sumatra.
Thursday, 19 February
Battleship KING GEORGE V, aircraft carrier VICTORIOUS,
heavy cruiser BERWICK and destroyers ONSLOW, BEDOUIN,
TARTAR,
ESKIMO,
ASHANTI, PUNJABI and ICARUS departed
Hvalfjord to launch an air strike at Tromso on the 22nd
in Operation EO.
ONSLOW, TARTAR and PUNJABI detached to Seidisfjord to
refuel, rejoining on
the 20th.
Battlecruiser RENOWN and destroyers INGLEFIELD, FURY
and ECHO remained at Hvalfjord.
On the 20th, VICTORIOUS, BERWICK, ASHANTI, BEDOUIN,
ESKIMO, PUNJABI and ICARUS were detached for the air
strike, but it was was
cancelled when German heavy cruisers ADMIRAL SCHEER,
PRINZ EUGEN and
destroyers Z.25, HERMANN SCHOEMANN and FRIEDRICH IHN
were sighted on the 21st
off Jutland steering north.
_____
Heavy cruiser
KENT
departed Hvalfjord for
patrol in the Denmark Strait.
_____
Light cruiser
SHEFFIELD
departed Scapa Flow for patrol in the Iceland
Faroes passage.
_____
Destroyer SOMALI departed
Scapa
Flow at 1015 to refitting at Hull on the Humber, and
arrived at 0900/20th.
_____
Destroyer depot ship HECLA departed Hvalfjord for the Clyde
at 2130, escorted by
destroyer MARNE and the Polish BLYSKAWICA. They arrived on the 23rd and
MARNE
proceeded to Barrow to
undergo repairs.
_____
Destroyers MIDDLETON, GROVE and ALDENHAM departed Scapa
Flow at 2000 to search for a
possible U-boat reported by light cruiser SHEFFIELD in
position seven miles 270°
from Torness. They arrived back at
Scapa Flow
at 0230/20th without making
contact.
_____
Convoy ON.68 departed
Liverpool
19 February, escorts:
|
joined
|
detached
|
20th
|
destroyer
Hurricane
|
|
21st
|
corvettes
Anchusa,
Dahlia, Monkshood, Primrose, Snowflake
|
|
24th
|
corvettes
Nanaimo,
Sudbury
|
|
3rd
|
destroyer
Ramsey,
minesweepers Goderich, Midland, Quinte
|
Hurricane,
Anchusa,
Dahlia, Monkshood, Primrose, Snowflake
|
7th
|
|
Nanaimo
|
convoy dispersed 9 March
|
_____
Submarine TRIDENT departed Lerwick for patrol off the
Norwegian coast.
_____
U.432 sank steamer MIRAFLORES (2158grt), which had
departed
Port au Prince on the 14th, off the
Virginia
Capes.
_____
U.161 damaged American steamer MOKIHANA (7460grt) and
British tanker BRITISH CONSUL (6940grt) in the
approaches to Port au Prince
in 10-38N, 60-30N and 10-37N, 61-34W, respectively.
_____
U.128 sank American tanker PAN MASSACHUSETTS (8202grt)
in 28-27N, 80-08W. Two crew were killed, 20 missing, and
18 were rescued by
US Coast Guard cutter FORWARD.
_____
U.96 sank steamer EMPIRE SEAL (7965grt) in 43-14N,
64-45W. The crew of 56 and a pilot were saved, but one
later died of wounds.
_____
Corvette COREOPSIS departed
Gibraltar
escorting steamer GLAISDALE
to Melilla. She arrived back at
Gibraltar
on the 21st, escorting
another merchant ship.
_____
Corvettes VETCH and PENTSTEMON departed
Gibraltar
to intercept Portuguese
steamer LAURENCO MARQUES to remove a packet of diamonds
in charge of the
Master. She was intercepted and the corvettes arrived
back at Gibraltar on the 22nd with the
diamonds.
_____
Convoy HX.176 departed Halifax 19 February,
escorts:
|
joined
|
detached
|
19th
|
destroyer
St
Clair, corvettes Cobalt, Halifax, minesweepers
Gananoque, Ungava
|
|
22nd
|
corvettes
Alberni,
Collingwood, Hepatica
|
Cobalt,
Gananoque,
Ungava
|
23rd
|
American
destroyers
Benson, Broome
|
St
Clair,
Halifax,
|
5th
|
|
Alberni,
Collingwood,
Hepatica, Benson, Broome
|
6th
|
anti-submarine
whaler
Narvik
|
|
arrived
Liverpool
6 March with Narvik
|
_____
In Japanese carrier based air attacks on Port Darwin,
American destroyer PEARY (LCDR J M Bermingham), British
tanker BRITISH
MOTORIST (6891grt), steamers ZEALANDIA (6683grt),
NEPTUNIA (5952grt),
American steamer
MAUNA LOA (5436grt) and Army Transport MEIGS (7358grt) were
sunk, and British steamers BAROSSA (4239grt) and MANUNDA
(9115grt) damaged.
PEARY lost LCDR Bermingham, LT A F Gustafson, LT M M
Koivisto, Ensign P M Joyce and seventy six enlisted men,
with LT R L Johnson
and thirteen enlisted men wounded. BRITISH MOTORIST with
a crew of 60 and one
gunner, lost two crew. ZEALANDIA had three crew killed.
NEPTUNIA’s cargo,
which included depth charges, exploded and 45 crew were
killed.
MAUNA
LOA had five crew killed. MEIGS
lost two crew.
_____
American steamer
DON
ISIDRO (3261grt) was badly
damaged by Japanese bombing NW of Bathurst Island, near
Darwin in 11S, 130E, beached and
considered a total loss. Four crew died, seven missing
and 73 rescued by
Australian minesweeper WARRNAMBOOL. Two of the survivors
died after reaching Darwin.
American steamer FLORENCE D (2638grt), in company, was
sunk by Japanese bombing at 10-56S, 130-07E. Three crew
were lost and the 34
survivors rescued by WARRNAMBOOL and lugger ST FRANCIS.
_____
American destroyer EDSALL, in operations in the
Dutch
East Indies, was damaged by the
explosion of one of her own depth charges close aboard.
_____
Aircraft carrier HERMES and destroyer VAMPIRE departed
Colombo for Fremantle, but were recalled to Trincomalee on
the 21st.
_____
Heavy cruiser DORSETSHIRE and minesweeper
BATHURST
arrived at Colombo.
_____
Convoy SJ.4 departed Tandjong Priok with British
steamers LEE
SANG
(1655grt), MODASA (9070grt),
STANMORE (4970grt), Norwegian ERLING BROVIG (9970grt)
and Dutch GENERAAL
MICHIELS (1282grt), GENERAAL VAN GEEN (1290grt) and
GENERAAL VAN SWIETEN
(1300grt) for Colombo, escorted by light cruiser DRAGON
until the 21st
February. The ships arrived at Colombo independently
between 28
February and 3 March.
_____
Convoy SM.2 departed Tandjong Priok with steamers
WHANG PU (3204grt) and CABLE ENTERPRISE (943grt) for
Fremantle, escorted by
light cruiser DRAGON until later in the day.
_____
Australian heavy cruiser
AUSTRALIA
lost her Walrus when it hit
the ship during landing and caught fire. Pilot Flight
Officer E J Rowan RAAF
was killed, but S/Lt G H Jackson RAN and the TAG were
rescued.
Friday, 20 February
Heavy cruiser
SUFFOLK
arrived at Hvalfjord from
patrol in the Denmark Strait.
_____
Destroyers FAULKNOR and INTREPID arrived at
Scapa
Flow at 0715 on completion of
escort duty with convoy QP. 7.
_____
Destroyer
CHARLESTOWN
departed the Humber for Loch Alsh on completion
of refitting, and arrived later that day.
_____
Destroyer
PENN
departed Newcastle for Methil, arriving that
day. She left again on the 21st and arrived at Scapa
Flow that day.
_____
Convoy ON.69 departed
Liverpool
20 February, escorts:
|
joined
|
detached
|
21st
|
destroyer
Reading, sloop Gentian
|
|
22nd
|
destroyer
Burnham
|
|
25th
|
American
coast
guard cutter Campbell, destroyer Plunkett
|
|
1st
|
destroyer
St
Clair, corvette
Halifax,
minesweepers Gananoque,
Ungava
|
Plunkett
|
3rd
|
|
Burnham,
Reading
|
4th
|
|
Gentian,
Campbell, St Clair, Halifax, Gananoque, Ungava
|
convoy dispersed off
Cape
Cod, 6 March
|
_____
Italian submarine TORELLI sank steamer SCOTTISH
STAR
(7224grt) in 13-24N, 49-36W.
Crew of 73, four lost.
_____
U.129 sank Norwegian steamer NORDVANGEN (2400grt) in
10-50N, 60-54W.
_____
U.96 sank American steamer
LAKE
OSWEYA (2398grt) in 43-14N, 64-45W.
_____
U.156 badly damaged American steamer DELPLATA
(5127grt) in 14-55N, 62-10W. Fifty two crew rescued. She
was sunk by an
American naval ship.
_____
Corvette ASPHODEL attacked a submarine contact in
35-54N, 7-08W.
_____
German steamer JASON (1025grt) was lost near
Calais
on a mine.
_____
Convoy AT.29 departed
Alexandria,
escorted by destroyers
BEAUFORT, ERIDGE and corvette GLOXINIA, and arrived at
Tobruk on the 23rd.
_____
American aircraft carrier LEXINGTON, en route to
launch an air strike on Rabaul, was sighted by Japanese
scout planes off
Bouganville and the operation was called off. She was
part of a task force
with heavy cruisers
MINNEAPOLIS,
INDIANAPOLIS, PENSACOLA, SAN FRANCISCO and destroyers
CLARK,
PATTERSON, PHELPS, DEWEY, MACDONOUGH, HULL, AYLWIN,
DALE, BAGLEY, and
DRAYTON.
Australian heavy cruiser AUSTRALIA, British light
cruiser ACHILLES, New Zealand light cruiser LEANDER,
American heavy cruiser
CHICAGO and US destroyers FLUSSER and PERKINS escorted
tanker PLATTE.
In the operation, Ensign J W Wilson from Fighter
Squadron 3 was killed.
_____
BATTLE
OF BADOENG STRAIT
Allied ships were in two groups. The first were Dutch
cruisers
DE RUYTER, JAVA, Dutch destroyers PIET HEIN and the
American JOHN D
FORD,
and POPE. Dutch destroyer
BANCKERT was part of the force, but ran aground at the
mouth of Tjilatjap
harbour and could not proceed.
The second group was Dutch cruiser TROMP from
Surabaya
and American destroyers
STEWART, PARROTT, JOHN D EDWARDS and PILLSBURY from
Ratai Bay.
STEWART was damaged by Japanese gunfire, with one
enlisted man killed and the executive officer LT C B
Smiley and one enlisted
man wounded. JOHN D EDWARDS had one enlisted man
wounded. PIET HEIN (Lt Cdr J
M L I Chompff) was lost with all but 33 of her crew and
TROMP was badly
damaged.
_____
Convoy SM.3 departed
Batavia
unescorted with British
steamers ADRASTUS (7905grt),
CITY
OF MANCHESTER (8917grt), MARELLA
(7475grt), Dutch PHRONTIS (6181grt) and Norwegian
PROMINENT (2282grt). Steamers CITY OF MANCHESTER and
PROMINENT proceeded to
Tjilatjap and the rest of the convoy to Fremantle.
_____
Convoy SJ.5 departed
Batavia
with British steamers ANGBY
(786grt), FILLEIGH (4856grt), JALAKRISHNA (4991grt),
LULWORTH HILL (7628grt),
SILVERLARCH (5064grt), YOMA (8131grt) and Norwegian HAI
LEE (3616grt). Escort at the
start was by heavy cruiser EXETER, destroyer STRONGHOLD
and
Indian sloop JUMNA. The ships proceeded to
Colombo,
arriving independently
between 28 February and 6 March.
_____
Battleship WARSPITE arrived at Sydney, NSW, after
refitting in the
United
States.
_____
Light cruiser
ENTERPRISE
arrived at Colombo.
_____
Destroyer NIZAM departed
Colombo
for the west coast of Sumatra to evacuate personnel.
Patrol vessel PANGKOR of the China Force was also sent
to evacuate personnel.
NIZAM was recalled on the 21st for escort duties.
_____
Australian minesweeper BALLARAT evacuated important
stores and completed the destruction of port facilities
and abandoned
equipment at Oosthaven on the 20th.
_____
Japanese submarine I.65 sank steamer BHIMA (5280grt)
in 7-47N, 73-31E. Crew of 68, two passengers, all
rescued.
_____
Steamer KOOLAMA (4068grt) was sunk by Japanese bombing
off Wyndham, West Australia.
_____
Dutch steamer TOBELO (983grt) was sunk by Japanese
bombing at Kupang.
_____
Steamer JALAKRISHNA (4991grt) was damaged by Japanese
bombing in the
Dutch East Indies.
Saturday, 21 February
Light cruiser
KENYA
arrived at Scapa Flow from patrol in the Iceland
Faroes passage.
_____
Destroyer
PENN
arrived at Scapa Flow from Methil at 1745 to work
up.
_____
U.432 sank American steamer
AZALEA
CITY (5529grt), which departed
Port au Spain
on the 11th, in 38N, 73W.
There were no survivors.
_____
U.107 damaged Norwegian tanker EGDA (10,068grt) in
41-12N, 52-55W.
_____
U.67 sank American tanker J. N. PEW (9033grt) in
12-40N, 74-00W.
_____
U.161 sank tanker CIRCE SHELL (8207grt) in 11-03N,
62-03W. Crew of 53 and 5 gunners, one crew killed
_____
Greek steamer ATLANTICOS (5446grt) was sunk on a mine
off B.8 Buoy, Barrow Deep. Crew of 40, one lost.
_____
German steamer AMERIKA (7463grt) was sunk on a mine
near Terschelling.
_____
U.559 attacked a steamer near Bardia.
_____
In Italian Fleet Operation K.7, two convoys were
sailed for Tripoli.
Convoy number 1 was steamers MONGINEVRO, RAVELLO, and
UNIONE, escorted by destroyers VIVALDI, MALOCELLO,
PREMUDA, ZENO, STRALE and
torpedo boat PALLADE sailing from
Messina
at 1730/21st.
Convoy number 2 was tanker GIORDANI and steamers
LERICI and MONVISO, escorted by destroyers PIGAFETTA,
PESSAGNO, USODIMARE,
MAESTRALE, SCIROCCO and torpedo boat CIRCE sailing from
Corfu at 1330/21st.
Heavy cruisers GORIZIA,
TRENTO,
light cruiser BANDE NERE
and destroyers ALPINO, DA NOLII and ORIANI departed
Messina at 1830/21st for escort.
Battleship DUILO and destroyers AVIERE, ASCARI,
GENIERE and CAMICIA NERA departed
Taranto
at 1600/21st to cover the
movement.
_____
Convoy SL.101 departed
Freetown
21 February, escorts:
|
joined
|
departed
|
21st
|
destroyer
Vimy,
AMC Derbyshire, corvettes Armeria, Bergamot, Burdock,
Erica, Lavender, Rockrose.
|
|
23rd
|
destroyer
Bradford,
sloops
Leith,
Rochester,
Scarborough
|
Derbyshire,
Erica
|
27th
|
|
Bergamot,
Burdock,
Rockrose
|
1st
|
|
Bradford
|
|
ocean
boarding
vessels Cavina, Hilary, Maron, Marsdale joined
for a time and
naval trawler St Kilda at the end.
|
12th
|
|
Rochester
|
convoy arrived
Liverpool
15 March with Vimy, Leith, Scarborough,
Lavender, Armeria
|
_____
Convoy OS.20 departed
Liverpool
21 February, escorts:
|
joined
|
departed
|
23rd
|
sloops
Hastings,
Londonderry,
corvettes Aubretia,
Snowdrop, French corvette Commandant Detroyat,
escort vessels Landguard,
Lulworth
|
|
9th
|
destroyer
Boreas,
corvettes Genista, Violet
|
|
10th
|
|
Hastings,
Londonderry, Commandante Detroyat,
Landguard, Lulworth
|
12th
|
|
Aubretia,
Snowdrop,
Boreas
|
convoy arrived
Freetown
16 March with Genista,
Violet
|
_____
Battleship RAMILLIES departed
Mombasa.
_____
Convoy SJ.6 departed Tandjong Prior with steamers
MANGOLA and THEPASTRIN NAWA (3260grt) for Fremantle and
KIANG (1451grt),
JALAVIHAR, ELSA, STRAAT SOENDA (6439grt) and GENERAAL
VAN DE HEYDEN (1213grt)
for Colombo.
_____
Convoy SJ.7 departed Tandjong Priok with troopship
ORCADES (23,456grt), carrying 3768 troops and refugees,
escorted by destroyer
ELECTRA to the 22nd and Australian light cruiser HOBART
to the 23rd, when the
convoy dispersed and the escorts detached. ORCADES
arrived at
Colombo
on the 27th.
Sunday 22, February
Aircraft carrier VICTORIOUS with heavy cruiser BERWICK
and destroyers
ASHANTI,
BEDOUIN, ESKIMO, and ICARUS
were detached to reach a point 100 miles off Stadtlandet
at 0100/23rd.
Battleship KING GEORGE V and destroyers ONSLOW, TARTAR
and PUNJABI followed at a slower speed to give cover.
Ten Albacore aircraft of 832 Squadron were in the
first strike and seven from 817 in the second from the
VICTORIOUS. RAF
Coastal Command were deployed to attack German heavy
cruisers ADMIRAL SCHEER and
PRINZ EUGEN, escorted by destroyers Z.25 and SCHOEMANN
off Skudesnes, but did
not locate them in the poor weather. The planes were
ordered to return to
Sumburgh.
Three Albacores and their crews were lost - (1) Pilot
Lt R C G De Longueuil, Observer Lt Cdr A J P Plugge,
Squadron Commanding
Officer of the 832 Squadron and Petty Officer Airman J E
W Dryden of 832
Squadron, (2) Pilot Lt D H Burke, Lt F G Gordon and
Petty Officer Airman T A
Hibbs of 817 Squadron, and (3) Pilot Temporary Acting
S/Lt (A) T G Matthias
RNVR, Acting Observer Temporary Acting S/Lt (A) A B Mann
RNVR and Leading
Airman C H Clark of 817 Squadron of another Albacore.
Destroyers GROVE and CHIDDINGFOLD departed
Scapa
Flow at 1900 to patrol to the
east of the Shetlands and act as rescue ships for the
aircraft attacking
targets on the coast of Norway. They arrived back at
Scapa Flow at 1300/23rd.
Oiler
SAN
ZOTICO, escorted by two
trawlers, departed
Scapa Flow on the 22nd for the Faroes, arriving the next
day.
VICTORIOUS, KING GEORGE V, BERWICK, ONSLOW, TARTAR,
BEDOUIN, PUNJABI,
ESKIMO,
ASHANTI,
and ICARUS arrived at Scapa Flow on the 23rd.
_____
Rear Admiral W. F. Wake Walker CB, OBE, struck his
flag as Rear Admiral Commanding, First Cruiser Squadron,
in heavy cruiser LONDON.
_____
Anti-aircraft cruiser
CAIRO
arrived at Scapa Flow from Murmansk with a large
shipment of
gold, which was transferred to battleship KING GEORGE V
on the 23rd. CAIRO departed Scapa Flow on the 23rd and
proceeded to
Greenock, arriving on the 24th.
_____
Destroyers ORIBI and OFFA departed Greenock at 1300
after boiler cleaning, and arrived at Scapa Flow at
0800/23rd.
_____
U.502 sank Norwegian tanker KONSGAARD (9467grt) seven
miles north of Port Curacoa. Of a crew of 46, 38 missing
and 8 survivors.
_____
U.96 sank Norwegian steamer TORUNGEN (1948grt) in
44-00N, 63-30W. Crew of 39 with all lost.
_____
U.504 sank
American
tanker REPUBLIC (5287grt) in 27-05N, 80-15W.
Crew of 33 with 5 lost and 28 rescued. U.504 also
reported sinking a steamer
off Fort Pierce on the east coast of
Florida
_____
U.155 sank tanker ADELLEN (7984grt) and Norwegian
steamer SAMA (1799grt) from convoy ON.67 in 49-20N,
38-15W. ADELLEN, crew of
39 and 9 gunners with 29 crew and 7 gunners lost; SAMA,
crew of 31 and 8
passengers with 17 crew missing, 14 saved and 3
passengers missing, 5 saved.
U.155 also reported damaging another tanker in the
convoy which is
unconfirmed.
_____
U.128 sank American steamer CITIES SERVICE EMPIRE
(8103grt)
in 28-25N, 80-02W. Crew of 20 with 7 killed, 4 missing,
29 rescued by
American destroyer BIDDLE and Coast Guard cutter
VIGILANT.
_____
U.129 sank two steamers – the Canadian GEORGE L TORAIN
(1754grt) in 9-13N, 59-04W with only four survivors and
the American WEST
ZEDA (5658grt) in 9-13N, 59-04W without any casualties.
_____
U.96 badly damaged tanker
KARS
(8888grt) in 44-15N, 63-25W.
Crew of 47 including 4 gunners with only one crew saved.
Ship abandoned,
broke in two and afterpart of the ship taken in tow and
beached at Halifax on the 27th.
_____
Steam trawler
BELLEVUE
(156grt) was lost off
Turnberry Light House, near Ailsa Craig.
_____
Steamer ENSEIGNE MARIE ST GERMAIN (3139grt) was
damaged on a mine off
Yarmouth.
_____
Steamer BINTANG (2825grt) was sunk by German bombing
in 31-50N, 26-01W. Crew of 37, four gunners and one
signalman with 12 crew
missing and rest rescued.
_____
U.83 attacked a British destroyer and steamer near
Sidi Barrani and claimed to have damaged both.
_____
Steamer HANNE (1360grt) was sunk by German bombing in
31-57N, 25-26E. Crew of 25 with four lost.
_____
S/Lt J S Padgin and S/Lt J Buscall (of 821 Squadron)
were killed when their Albacore of 826 Squadron, flying
from Tobruk to Hal
Far crashed at sea.
Another Albacore returning to Hal Far crashed in St
Pauls Bay. Observer F Bedford was killed, but Lt P C
Whitfield and Leading
Airman G S Hedger were rescued.
_____
Convoy HG.79 of 29 steamers departed
Gibraltar
22 February, escorts:
|
joined
|
departed
|
22nd
|
sloops
Black
Swan, Fowey, corvettes Bluebell, Carnation,
Coltsfoot, Coreopsis,
Geranium, La Malouine, Myosotis, Stonecrop.
|
Coltsfoot,
Coreopsis
(after dark)
|
|
troopship
Royal
Scotsman departed
Gibraltar after the convoy and joined at sea
|
convoy arrived
Liverpool
6 March
|
_____
Destroyer
WHITEHALL
departed Gibraltar to provide additional escort
for arriving Force H.
_____
Submarine
CLYDE departed
Gibraltar
for exercises.
_____
Convoy SC.71 departed Halifax 22 February,
escorts:
|
joined
|
departed
|
22nd
|
destroyer
Ramsey,
corvettes
Chambly,
Mayflower, Midland, minesweepers Goderich,
Quinte
|
|
25th
|
|
Chambly,
Mayflower
|
27th
|
corvettes
Buctouche,
Cobalt, Dunbegan, Napanee, Trail
|
|
28th
|
|
Ramsey,
Midland, Goderich, Quinte
|
5th
|
American
destroyers
Babbitt, Badger, Schenck
|
Babbitt,
Badger,
Schenck
|
8th
|
|
Dunvegan,
Trail
|
9th
|
|
Buctouche,
Napanee
|
convoy arrived
Liverpool
10 March with Cobalt
|
_____
Aircraft carrier INDOMITABLE and destroyers NAPIER and
NESTOR arrived at
Aden.
_____
Destroyer NIZAM arrived at Trincomalee.
_____
Light cruiser
DURBAN,
corvettes ASTER and VERBENA
with steamer PLANCIUS arrived at Colombo.
_____
Convoy MS.5 departed Fremantle with Australian troop
ships DUNTROON (10,346grt), KATOOMBA (9424grt), American
aircraft transport
LANGLEY, American steamer
SEA
WITCH (6021grt) and US Army
transport WILLARD A HOLBROOK (14,812grt).
The convoy was escorted by American light cruiser PHOENIX
from the 22nd to 28th when
British light cruiser
ENTERPRISE
relieved her.
LANGLEY and
SEA
WITCH, carrying crated
aircraft, were detached to Java. LANGLEY was lost and
SEA WITCH was able to escape
after delivering her cargo at Tjilatjap.
LANGLEY was
sunk by Japanese
bombing. Only sixteen crew and passengers were lost. The
survivors were
picked up by WHIPPLE and EDSALL. WHIPPLE then scuttled
LANGLEY.
The convoy arrived at
Colombo
on 5 March.
_____
Patrol vessel PANGKOR departed
Batavia
to evacuate personnel from
Sibolga and Ongha, then proceeded to Colombo.
_____
Boom defence vessels BARRIER, BARLANE and BARRICADE
departed Batavia
for Colombo and patrol vessels CIRCE and
MEDUSA for Fremantle, via Tjilatjap.
_____
Convoy SJ.8 departed Tandjong Priok with EDENDALE
(1659grt) for Fremantle and FU KWANG (1559grt), TINOMBO
(872grt) and
ROOSEBOOM (1035grt) for
Colombo.
_____
Japanese submarine I.58 sank Dutch steamer PIJNACKER
HORDIKJ
(2982grt) south of Tjilatjap.
Monday, 23 February
Submarine TRIDENT torpedoed German heavy cruiser PRINZ
EUGEN off Trondheim.
_____
Destroyer ECLIPSE departed the
Humber
at 1400 after refitting for Scapa Flow, and arrived back
at Scapa Flow at 1330/25th.
_____
Convoy PQ.12 departed Loch Ewe for Hvalfjord.
Minesweeper GOSSAMER departed
Scapa Flow
at 2030 and destroyers ORIBI
and OFFA at 0100/24th to join the convoy at 0800/24th.
Trawlers CHILTERN and
SULLA departed the
Clyde for
Reykjavik
to proceed to Murmansk in convoy PQ.12. The convoy
arrived at Hvalfjord on the 27th. GOSSAMER arrived at
Reykjavik on the 28th.
_____
U.504 sank American tanker W D ANDERSON (10,227grt) in
27-09N, 79-56W. Crew of 35 with one man rescued.
_____
U.161 damaged American steamer LIHUE (7001grt). She
diverted to St Lucia,
and sank in tow on the
26th.
_____
U.502 sank Panamanian tanker THALIA (8329grt) in
13-00N, 70-45W. Crew of 41 with one man lost.
_____
U.587 reported torpedoing a Q-ship south of
Greenland.
_____
U.129 sank Canadian steamer
LENNOX
(1904grt) in 9-15N, 58-30W.
Crew of 20 with two lost.
_____
U.502 damaged American tanker
SUN
(9002grt) in 13-02N, 70-41W.
_____
Convoy OG.80 departed
Liverpool
23 February, escorts:
|
joined
|
departed
|
23rd
|
sloops
Pelican,
Stork, corvettes Gardenia, Samphire,
anti-submarine whaler
Southern Breeze, fighter catapult ship Maplin
|
|
7th
|
destroyer
Duncan
|
|
convoy arrived
Gibraltar
8 March
|
_____
Submarine P.38 (Lt R J Hemingway DSC) was sunk in
32-48N, 14-58E by Italian destroyers PIGAFETTA, PESSAGNO
and torpedo boat
CIRCE, escorting an Axis convoy which departed
Corfu
on the 21st. Lt Hemingway,
Lt D A Eustace, S/Lt A M Gray, Lt S A Pidgeon RNR and
twenty eight ratings
were lost.
_____
Force H with battleship
MALAYA,
aircraft carrier EAGLE,
light cruiser HERMIONE and destroyers CROOME, LAFOREY,
LIGHTNING, ACTIVE,
BLANKNEY, DUNCAN and
WHITEHALL
arrived at Gibraltar after convoy duty with
WS.16.
_____
Submarines
CLYDE and PANDORA departed
Gibraltar
for exercises.
_____
Destroyers WISHART and VIDETTE arrived at
Gibraltar
escorting troopship ULSTER
MONARCH.
_____
Convoy AT.30 departed
Alexandria,
escorted by escort
destroyers DULVERTON and HURWORTH, and arrived at Tobruk
on the 25th.
_____
Destroyers BEVERLEY and ROCKINGHAM departed
Bermuda,
escorting troopships ORION
and CAMERONIA to
Halifax,
arriving on the 27th.
_____
Light cruiser
COLOMBO
departed Mombasa for Aden.
_____
Light cruiser EMERALD arrived at
Calcutta.
_____
Norwegian steamer BELITA and Norwegian collier WOOLGAR
departed Colombo
for Batavia, escorted until the 25th by
destroyer NIZAM and minesweeper BATHURST. The
merchantmen proceeded
independently for
Batavia
until recalled.
_____
Convoy SM.4 departed Tandjong Priok with steamer
SPRINGDALE
(1579grt) for Fremantle and
SEIRSTAD and PERAK (1188grt) for Colombo. The ships
proceeded
independently after
Sunda
Strait.
Tuesday, 24 February
Heavy cruiser
SUFFOLK
departed Hvalfjord for
patrol in the Denmark Strait.
_____
Rear Admiral L H K Hamilton struck his Flag as Rear
Admiral (D) in destroyer depot ship
TYNE, and raised it again in heavy cruiser
LONDON
as Rear Admiral Commanding,
First Cruiser Squadron. In his place Commodore C Caslon
CBE, raised his flag as
Commodore Commanding, Home Fleet Destroyer Flotillas in
TYNE.
_____
Light cruiser
TRINIDAD
departed Hvalfjord for
patrol in the Iceland-Faroes passage and to escort Rear
Admiral Minelaying on
minelaying operation SN.85.
_____
Destroyer ONSLOW was taken in hand at
Scapa
Flow for boiler cleaning.
_____
Destroyer ECLIPSE departed Immingham for
Scapa
Flow on completion of refitting,
and arrived on the 25th.
_____
Destroyer AIREDALE, following working up, departed Scapa
Flow at 1300 for boiler cleaning
in the Clyde, where she arrived at
1100/25th.
_____
U.94 sank steamer EMPIRE HAIL (7005grt) in 44-48N,
40-21W. Crew of 42 and seven gunners, with no survivors.
_____
In attacks on convoy ON.67, U.558 sank tanker
INVERARDER (5578grt) in 44-34N, 42-37W, crew of 34 and 8
gunners, with all
rescued. She also damaged Norwegian tanker EIDANGER
(9432grt) in 44-11N,
43-25W. She was sunk later in the day by U.558, crew of
37 and two gunners,
with all rescued.
U.162 and U.158 attacked tanker EMPIRE CELT (8032grt)
in ON.67. She was sunk, but it is uncertain which
submarine was responsible.
Crew of 51 and two passengers with six crew missing and
47 survivors rescued.
In further attacks on ON.67, U.558 in sank tankers
ANADARA (8009grt), FINNANGER (9551grt) and steamer WHITE
CREST (4365grt) in
43-45N, 42-15W. Before sinking, one of the tankers may
also have been
torpedoed by U.587.
U.158 damaged tanker DILOMA (8146grt) from ON.67 in
43-51N, 43-41W.
_____
U.752 attacked convoy HX.175 and reported damaging a
tanker.
_____
American steamer NORLAVORE (2713grt) departed Puerto
la Cruz on the 22nd and was reported lost on the 24th.
Although no claims
were made for her sinking,U.432 was in the area.
_____
Panamanian steamer SNARK (4488grt) was sunk on a mine
near Amedee Lighthouse after departing
Sydney
for Noumea.
_____
Russian submarine SHCH.213 sank Turkish naval
auxiliary CANCAYA (454grt) off Kara Burnu off the
Bosphorus, but the entire
crew was rescued. SHCH.213 also sank Panamanian steamer
STRUMA
(226grt) off Yam Burnu, at
the entrance to the Bosphorus later that day. Crew of
ten and 763 Jewish
refugees with only one survivor rescued.
_____
Destroyers WISHART and VIDETTE departed
Gibraltar
escorting troopship ULSTER
MONARCH to Freetown.
WISHART detached at
2000/25th and returned to
Gibraltar, arriving on the 26th.
_____
Corvettes PENTSTEMON and VETCH departed
Gibraltar
escorting steamer CAPE HAWKE to Trinidad. The escorts
detached at
2200/28th and arrived back at
Gibraltar
on 3 March.
_____
Destroyer ANTHONY, which had been at sea with Force H
escorting convoy WS.16, arrived at
Gibraltar.
_____
In a attack on Axid ships off
Tripoli,
S/Lt M Holdsworth and S/Lt
N V Clark were killed when their Swordfish of 830
Squadron was shot down.
_____
In heavy Japanese air attacks on Tanjong Prior, heavy
cruiser EXETER
was damaged by near misses
amd Australian light cruiser HOBART had two ratings
wounded by
splinters.
_____
Steamers INDRAGIRI (592grt), NAM YONG (1345grt), and
BOERO (7135grt) departed Tandjong Priok for
Colombo.
_____
Dutch steamer KOTA RADJA (7117grt) was sunk by
Japanese bombing at
Surabaya.
_____
Aircraft carrier INDOMITABLE was at
Aden
and Rear Admiral D W Boyd
hoisted his flag in her. She then departed with
destroyers NAPIER and NESTOR
for Port Sudan, arriving on the 25th.
_____
Destroyers
GRIFFIN,
DECOY, and FORTUNE, which
had been detached from the Mediterranean Fleet and
departed Alexandria on the 20th, arrived at Aden and
sailed for Bombay.
_____
Corvette HOLLYHOCK arrived at
Colombo,
while sister ship ASTER
departed.
_____
Heavy cruiser DORSETSHIRE arrived at Trincomalee.
_____
Destroyer NORMAN arrived at Seychilles, and departed
later that day.
_____
Battleship REVENGE arrived at
Durban.
_____
Heavy cruiser
CORNWALL
arrived at Colombo.
_____
American transport
MOUNT
VERNON departed Colombo for Fremantle, escorted by
British light cruiser
ENTERPRISE
as far as 10S.
_____
Dutch light cruiser HEEMSKERK departed
Colombo
for Trincomalee to embark
ammunition and proceed to the
Dutch East Indies.
She then left Trincomalee
the next day for
Sunda
Strait with all despatch, but was diverted
to Tjilatjap on the 26th. On 1 March, both she and
destroyer ISAAC SWEERS
were ordered to return to
Colombo.
Wednesday, 25 February
Heavy cruiser
KENT
left her patrol in the Denmark Strait for Hvalfjord,
arriving on
the 26th.
_____
Heavy cruiser
LONDON
departed Scapa Flow for Hvalfjord, arriving on
the 27th.
_____
Heavy cruiser
SUFFOLK
departed Hvalfjord for
patrol in the Denmark Strait.
_____
Destroyer MIDDLETON departed
Scapa
Flow at 2200 for Loch Alsh to act
as additional escort for minelaying operation SN.85, and
arrived at
1000/26th.
_____
Convoy ON.70 departed
Liverpool
25 February, escorts:
|
joined
|
departed
|
26th
|
Polish
destroyer
Piorun, British corvettes Heather, Lobelia,
Matapedia, Narcissus,
Snowberry
|
|
1st
|
|
Snowberry
|
10th
|
|
Matapedia
|
11th
|
destroyers
Caldwell,
Lauderdale, corvettes Sackville, Thunder
|
Piorun,
Heather,
Lobelia, Narcissus
|
convoy dispersed 15 March
|
_____
Submarine SEAWOLF departed the
Clyde
for Lerwick, arriving on the
27th.
_____
Submarine U.156 sank tanker LA CARRIERE (5685grt) in
16-35N, 75-20W. Crew of 37 and 4 gunners, with 11 crew
and fall gunners lost.
_____
Italian submarine DA VINCI reported sinking a steamer
at 15N, 53W, which may have been Brazilian steamer
CABEDELLO (3557grt) which
departed Philadelphia
on the 14th.
_____
Italian submarine TORELLI sank Panamanian tanker ESSO
COPENHAGEN (9245grt) in 10-32N, 53-20W. Crew of 39 with
one missing.
_____
U.652 reported damaging a British corvette near
Bardia.
_____
Convoy in 31 departed
Alexandria,
escorted by destroyer
JERVIS, LIVELY, and ZULU. The convoy arrived at Tobruk
on the 27th.
_____
British heavy cruiser
EXETER,
Australian light cruiser PERTH and British destroyers
ENCOUNTER, ELECTRA and JUPITER departed Tanjong Priok to
join Dutch Admiral
Doorman's force at
Surabaya.
Australian light cruiser
HOBART was also ordered to sail, but had not completed
refuelling. Instead
she joined a Western Striking Force with light cruisers
DANAE, DRAGON and
destroyers TENEDOS and SCOUT. The EXETER group arrived
at Surabaya at 0330/26th and sailed at
1900 that day.
_____
Destroyer NIZAM arrived at Trincomalee.
_____
Aircraft carrier HERMES flew off her 814 Squadron to
Trincomalee to act as a striking force.
_____
Japanese submarine I.58 sank Dutch steamer BOERO
(7135grt) south of
Sunda
Strait. Crew of 70, with no
casualties.
_____
Convoy BM.14 departed
Bombay
with steamers DILWARA (11,080grt),
NEVASA (9213grt) and TAKLIWA (7936grt) escorted by armed
merchant cruiser
HECTOR, which joined at sea. The convoy arrived at
Colombo on 1 March.
_____
Convoy C.4 of steamers
LAVINGTON
COURT, WESTMORELAND, TRICOLOR, SUTLEJ, GOVERNOR, and
MASULA
departed Colombo
for Fremantle. Destroyer
EXPRESS escorted the convoy until dusk on the 26th when
the ships proceeded
independently.
Thursday, 26 February
Heavy cruiser
SHROPSHIRE,
escorted by destroyer
VETERAN, and by escort destroyers HAMBLEDON and
CATTISTOCK as far as Kinnaird
Head, departed Sheerness for
Scapa Flow to work up after refitting at
Chatham.
SHROPSHIRE and VETERAN reached Scapa Flow on the 27th
when VETERAN
left to return to Rosyth.
_____
Minelayers SOUTHERN PRINCE,
PORT
QUEBEC, AGAMEMNON and
MENETHEUS, escorted by destroyers LANCASTER, WELLS and
SKATE departed Loch
Alsh at 1750 for minelaying operation SN.85. Destroyer
MIDDLETON sailed as
additional escort. Light cruiser
TRINIDAD
joined on the 29th for ocean
escort, but heavy weather forced SKATE to heave to while
MIDDLETON later lost
touch as well.
_____
Convoy ON.71 departed
Liverpool
26 February, escorts:
|
joined
|
departed
|
27th
|
destroyer
Firedrake,
corvettes Abelia, Anemone, Arrowhead,
Chicoutimi, Kenogami, Summerside
|
|
3rd
|
corvette
Snowberry
|
|
4th
|
destroyer
Burwell
|
|
7th
|
|
Snowberry,
Burwell
|
convoy dispersed 8 March
|
_____
An Albacore of 750 Squadron from Piarco was lost when
the plane crashed into the sea. Lt J L Cribb, Leading
Airman D M McAllister
and Leading Airman R M Paterson were killed.
_____
U.504 sank Dutch tanker MAMURA (8245grt) in 29N, 76W.
_____
German steamer MONTE SARMIENTO (13,625grt) was badly
damaged by Allied bombing at
Kiel
and later broken up for
scrap.
_____
Convoy HX.177 departed Halifax 26 February,
escorts:
|
joined
|
departed
|
26th
|
destroyer
Niagara,
corvettes Lunenburg, The
Pas, minesweepers Chedabucto, Minas
|
|
1st
|
American
destroyer
Niblack,
US
Coast Guard cutter Ingham,
corvettes Barrie,
Chambly, Mayflower, Rosthern
|
Niagara, Lunenburg, The Pas, Chedabucto, Minas
|
8th
|
|
Niblack,
Ingham,
Chambly,
Mayflower, Rosthern
|
9th
|
Anti-submarine
whaler
Bodo
|
|
convoy arrived
Liverpool
9 March with Barrie, Bodo
|
_____
Light cruiser
DURBAN
departed Colombo for Mauritius, Cape of Good Hope and
the USA for repairs. She arrived at New York on 9 April,
was under repair
for fourteen weeks, and then proceeded to Portsmouth for
further repairs in July
and August.
_____
Indian sloop
SUTLEJ
departed Trincomalee for Bombay with destroyer ISIS and
submarine ROVER for repairs to the latter two.
_____
Aircraft transport
ENGADINE
departed Aden for Colombo with a cargo of Fulmar
fighters.
_____
Convoy MR.5 departed
Madras
with steamers ERINPURA
(5143grt), ETHIOPIA
(5574grt), KAROA (7009grt)
and VARSOVA (4701grt) escorted by heavy cruiser
DORSETSHIRE, which departed
Trincomalee on the 26th. The convoy and escort arrived
at Rangoon on 3 March.
_____
Steamer ASHRIDGE was the last steamer to departed
Tandjong Priok, escorted through the
Sunda
Strait by destroyer STRONGHOLD.
Friday 27, February
U.578 sank American tanker R P RESOR (7451grt) in
39-47N, 73-26W. Crew of 43, with 41 lost and only two
rescued.
_____
U.432 sank American steamer MARORE (8215grt) in
35-33N, 74-58W. Crew of 39, all rescued.
_____
U.156 sank tanker MACGREGOR (2498grt) in 19-50N,
69-40W. Crew of 25 and 6 gunners, with one crew lost.
_____
Steamer FERNSIDE (269grt) was sunk by German bombing
off Banff.
_____
South African anti-submarine whaler SOUTHERN
SEA
(Lt A. Thomas DSC, SADF) was
damaged by a near miss at Tobruk. One officer was
killed, another wounded and
three ratings killed.
_____
Submarine UPHOLDER sank Italian steamer TEMBIEN
(5584grt) 24 miles 265° from the
Tripoli
lighthouse.
_____
Force H departed
Gibraltar
at 0320 for Operation
SPOTTER to fly-off of aircraft to Malta. Aircraft
carrier ARGUS,
light cruiser HERMIONE and four destroyers had departed
Gibraltar and sailed westwards at
1830/26th to simulate a change of carriers. They then
joined battleship MALAYA, aircraft carrier EAGLE and
destroyers WHITEHALL,
ACTIVE, BLANKNEY, CROOME,
LAFOREY, LIGHTNING, ANTHONY, WISHART and DUNCAN (four of
these destroyers
had left with ARGUS). Force H arrived back at Gibraltar
on the 28th when the
operation was postponed because of petrol supply
difficulties in the
aircraft’s long range tanks.
_____
Submarine
CLYDE departed
Gibraltar
on exercises with
anti-submarine trawlers ARCTIC RANGER and ST NECTAN.
_____
BATTLE
OF THE JAVA SEA
Destroyer JUPITER (Lt Cdr N V J T Thew) was sunk by
Japanese destroyers. Five ratings were killed and one
died of wounds while
Temporary S/Lt A L Cato RNZNVR, Lt (E) V D Hodge OBE,
Midshipman M G
Rivington RNR, Lt J W R Spedding DSC and eighty six ratings were
missing. Cdr Thew, Gunner (T) E D Furneaux and 45
ratings survived, but 27 of
the ratings died while prisoners of war.
Destroyer ELECTRA (Cdr C W May) was sunk by Japanese
destroyers. Cdr May, Lt R Jenner-Fust OBE, Lt E A Coale,
Lt (E) F McLeod,
S/Lt R Price RNR, Temporary Lt H W Davies RNVR and 102 ratings
were lost. Of the survivors, S/Lt S H Cruden RNVR and
four ratings were taken
prisoner by the Japanese from the water, and Gunner (T)
T J Cain, Surgeon Lt
W R D Seymour and forty three ratings were picked up by
American submarine
S.38 at 0315/28th. On arriving on the scene, S.38 was
attacked by destroyer
ENCOUNTER, but not damaged. One rating died of wounds
after arriving in Java,
and 10 wounded ratings were left at
Surabaya
and later captured. Seven
died while prisoners of war.
Forty survivors from JUPITER and 42 from ELECTRA
departed Tjilatjap in early March on Dutch steamer
VERSPECK and arrived in Australia
on 10 March.
Dutch destroyer KORTENAER was sunk by Japanese
warships.
ENCOUNTER picked up 113 survivors and took them to
Surabaya.
Dutch light cruisers DE RUYTER and JAVA were sunk by
Japanese warships. British Temporary Lt W A. Jackson
RNVR and Temporary
Acting S/Lt W G Jenkins RNVR, on board DE RUYTER were
rescued and made
prisoners of war.
_____
Australian light cruiser HOBART, British light
cruisers DANAE and DRAGON, British destroyers TENEDOS,
SCOUT and the Dutch
EVERTSEN departed Tanjong Priok at 2330, with the orders
that if no enemy
were sighted, they would retire through the
Sunda
Strait to Ceylon. Early on the 28th, EVERTSEN
became separated and returned to Tanjong Priok. On 1
March, the force arrived
at Padang to embark evacuatees, with HOBART and DANAE taking on
board 648 and 319 evacuees, respectively. These ships,
less DRAGON, arrived
at Colombo on 5 March. DRAGON arrived on the 6th.
_____
Dutch light cruiser TROMP, after being damages by
Japanese ships on the 20th/21st, departed
Surabaya
for repairs at Fremantle.
_____
American seaplane tender LANGLEY (CDR R P McConnell)
was sunk by Japanese bombing 75miles SSE of Tjilatjap.
Sixteen crew and
passengers were lost – LT W C Bailey, Warrant Officer R
. Curtis, five
enlisted men and nine passengers, and 11 enlisted men
wounded. The 308
survivors were picked up by US destroyers WHIPPLE and
EDSALL, after which
WHIPPLE scuttled
LANGLEY.
_____
Aircraft carrier INDOMITABLE, having embarked sixty
Hurricanes, departed
Port Sudan
for Aden, escorted by destroyers
NAPIER and NESTOR.
_____
Destroyer EXPRESS arrived at
Colombo.
_____
Destroyer NORMAN departed Addu for
Colombo.
_____
Submarines TRUSTY and TRUANT departed
Surabaya
for Ceylon. TRUSTY arrived at Colombo on 7 March and was
under
repairs from the 10th to 26th, while TRUANT had one main
motor out of action
and her speed reduced to eleven knots. She arrived at
Colombo on the 8th.
_____
Japanese submarine I.53 sank Dutch steamer MOESIE
(913grt) 25 miles from Banjoewangi.
_____
Steamer NAM YONG (1345grt) was sunk by Japanese
submarine in the
Indian Ocean in 15-55S, 108-05E. Master and four crew made
prisoners of war.
28 February, Saturday
Battleship DUKE OF
YORK,
light cruiser KENYA and destroyers FAULKNOR,
ESKIMO, PUNJABI and ECLIPSE departed Scapa Flow at 1830
for Hvalfjord to
join Vice Admiral, Second in command, Home Fleet, in
battlecruiser RENOWN.
_____
Heavy cruiser
LONDON
departed Hvalfjord for
patrol in the
Denarmk
Strait.
_____
American destroyer JACOB JONES (LCDR H D Black Jr) was
sunk by U.578 off the
New Jersey
coast in 38-37N, 74-32W.
LCDR Black, LT (jg) B R Bronstein USNR, Ensign B R
Hanson, LCDR T W Marshall
Jr, LT (jg) E L Schrenk, LT (jg) G . Shadinger, Ensign N
C Smith and one
hundred and thirty enlisted men were lost. No officers
survived and only 12
enlisted men were rescued by patrol boat EAGLE 56, one
of them dying of
wounds before reaching the shore.
_____
U.129 sank Panamanian steamer BAYOU (2605grt) in
8-08N, 55-14W. Only one survivor was picked up on 5
March from a raft.
_____
Italian submarine DA VINCI sank Latvian steamer
EVERASMA (3644grt) in 17N, 48W. Fifteen crew were
rescued.
_____
U.653 sank Norwegian steamer LEIF (1582grt) in 34-45N,
69-20W. Crew of 2,8 with 18 lost and 10 saved.
_____
U.156 sank American tanker
OREGON
(7017grt) in 20-44N, 67-52W.
Six or seven crew missing and 30 rescued.
_____
Swedish steamer THYRA (1796grt) was sunk on a mine
near 54.B Buoy,
Yarmouth.
Crew of 24, with all
rescued.
_____
Lt Cdr A H Terry DSC, command unknown and Acting
Surgeon Cdr T . Stevenson
OBE,
MB,
BCH, formerly of SULTAN II,
were lost on the 28th (posted April 1946).
_____
Destroyers ARROW and HOTSPUR, which departed
Alexandria
for the Eastern Fleet on the
23rd, arrived at
Aden.
_____
Convoy SC.72 departed Halifax 28 February,
escorts:
|
joined
|
departed
|
28th
|
destroyers
Caldwell,
Lauderdale, corvettes Sackville, Sherbrooke,
minesweeper Thunder
|
|
3rd
|
minesweeper
Georgian
|
|
4th
|
|
Georgian
|
5th
|
|
Sackville
|
6th
|
|
Lauderdale,
Thunder
|
7th
|
destroyer
St Laurent, corvettes Kamsack,
Rimouski,
Trillium
|
Caldwell
|
15th
|
|
Kamsack
|
16th
|
anti-submarine
whaler
Bodo
|
Sherbrooke,
St Laurent, Rimouski, Trillium
|
convoy arrived
Liverpool
17 March with Bodo
|
_____
Australian Cdr G L Cant, Commanding 21st Minesweeping
Flotilla, detached minesweepers
BENDIGO
and BURNIE, carrying
refugees to Tjilatjap. He returned to the Sunda Strait
with minesweepers
MARYBOROUGH, TOOWOOMBA, BALLARAT and GOULBURN.
_____
Japanese submarine I.53 sank
steamer
CITY OF MANCHESTER (8917grt) in 8-16S, 108-52E.
Crew of 115, 21 gunners and one passenger, with three
crew lost and six
presumed captured. I.53 also sank Dutch steamer PARIGI
(1172grt) in 8S, 109E.
_____
Japanese submarine I.58 damaged tanker BRITISH JUDGE
(6735grt) ten miles south of
Princess
Island, Sunda Strait, and escorting sloop JUMNA and
minesweeper WOOLLONGONG
counter-attacked. Oiler WAR SIRDAR, also with this
convoy, was bombed and set
afire. She was beached on Agenielien Island, northwest
of Batavia in 5-31S, 106-36E, and
declared a total loss on 1 March.
_____
Japanese submarine I.4 sank Dutch steamer BAN HO GUAN
(1693grt), which was en route from
Padang
to Tjilatjap, south of Bali.
_____
Dutch steamer TOMOHON (983grt) was sunk by Japanese
surface craft off Tjilatjap. Crew of 30 rescued.