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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.
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Light cruiser TRINIDAD departed patrol in the
Iceland-Faroes Passage and proceeded to Hvalfjord where she arrived on the
16th.
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Destroyer LOOKOUT departed the Clyde and arrived at Scapa Flow at 1330 for working up
exercises.
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Corvette OXLIP arrived at Seidsifjord from Hvalfjord
for escort of convoy PQ.11.
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U.98 sank steamer BIELA (5298grt) in 42-55N, 45-40W.
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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.
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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.
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Steamer EMPIRE HEAD (489grt) was damaged by German
bombing in 34-42N, 00-54W.
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U.81 attacked a British light cruiser near Alexandria.
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Motor launch ML.169 was destroyed by fire at Gibraltar when an explosion occurred
as she started up. Four ratings were killed.
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Anti-submarine trawler LADY HOGARTH departed Gibraltar escorting one merchant ship
to Melilla.
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Convoy SC.70 departed Halifax 15 February,
escorts:
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joined
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detached
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15th
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corvettes
Alberni, Collingwood, Rosthern, Saskatoon, minesweepers Clayaquot,
Mahone
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19th
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corvettes
Amherst, Celandine, Dianthus, Fennel
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Alberni,
Collington, Saskatoon, Mahone
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20th
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American
destroyer Macleish
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22nd
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Rosthern,
Clayaquot
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26th
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Amherst
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3rd
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destroyer
Scimitar
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Celandine,
Dianthus, Fennel, Macleish
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5th
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Scimitar
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convoy arrived Liverpool 7 March
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Steamer RHU (254grt) was seized by Japanese forces at Singapore.
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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.
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Steamers SIUSHAN (296grt), MERSING (65grt) and
requisitioned yacht SILVIA were lost at Singapore.
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Auxiliary patrol boats JERANTUT (217grt) and KLIAS (207grt)
were scuttled at Palembang.
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Steamer HONG CHUAN (67grt) was lost at Djambi when she
caught fire from burning shore installations and a drifing barge.
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Cdr (E) G. H. Craven-Phillips of NASAR (RNAS
Sembawang) was lost in ML.433.
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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.
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Light cruiser TRINIDAD arrived at Hvalfjord from
patrol in the Iceland-Faroes Passage.
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Destroyer LEDBURY departed Portsmouth at 1600 and proceeded to Scapa Flow for working up exercises,
arriving at 1530/18th.
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Minesweeper GOSSAMER departed Sheerness on completion
of refitting and provided additional escort for convoy FN.33 while on passage
for Scapa
Flow.
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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.
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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.
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U.67 damaged Dutch tanker RAFAELA (3177grt) one mile
off Curacoa.
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U.106 sank Panamanian steamer RAMAPO (2968grt) west of
Bermuda, with the loss of her entire
crew.
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U.564 damaged tanker OPALIA (6195grt) with gunfire in
37-38N, 66-07W.
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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.
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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.
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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)
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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.
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Aircraft transport ATHENE arrived at Fremantle to
embark aircraft.
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Ferry BAGAN (244grt) was scuttled at Palembang.
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Auxiliary patrol vessel ELIZABETH with 15 crew and 11
passengers was sunk by Japanese gunfire in the Banka Strait. Twenty four were missing
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Steamer TAYLTHYRIUS (10,254grt), which had been
damaged on the 3rd, was seized by Japanese forces at Singapore.
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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.
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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.
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Convoy
WS.16 escort from Oversay
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joined
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detached
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17th
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battleship
Malaya, aircraft carrier Eagle, cruiser Hermione, destroyers Active,
Anthony, Blankney, Croome, Duncan, Firedrake, Laforey, Lightning
destroyers
Verity, Walker, Witherington
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21st
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aircraft
carrier Formidable (on passage overseas), cruiser Newcastle, destroyer Paladin
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Malaya, Eagle, Hermione, Active, Anthony, Blankney,Croome,
Duncan, Firedrake, Laforey, Lightning
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22nd
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Verity,
Walker, Witherington
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26th
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destroyers
Boreas, Brilliant, Wild Swan
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1st
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Formidable,
Newcastle, Paladin, Boreas, Brilliant, Wild Swan
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arrived Freetown 1 March
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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.
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WS.16 sailed from Freetown with same merchant ship
composition on 6 March
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joined
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detached
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6th
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corvette Nigella (local
escort for one day)
destroyers Brilliant, Wild
Swan
corvette Jasmine
light cruiser Newcastle, major escort
sloop Bridgewater
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Nigella
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8th
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Brilliant, Wild Swan
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12th
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Jasmine
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17th
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AMCs Cheshire, Dunnottar Castle, sloop Milford (convoy split off
Capetown)
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Newcastle
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18th
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Bridgewater
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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.
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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.
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The Flag of Rear Admiral Commanding First Cruiser
Squadron was transferred from heavy cruiser NORFOLK to heavy cruiser LONDON.
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U.136 sank steamer EMPIRE COMET (6914grt), straggling
behind convoy HX.174, in 58-15N, 17-10W.
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Destroyer WHITEHALL departed Gibraltar as additional escort for
steamers CAPE HAWKE, carrying crated ai |
