Background
Events -
September 1939-March 1940
Battle
of
Atlantic starts, 'Phoney War' on land,
Battle of River Plate
1940
Monday,
1 January
A German air raid on Sullom
Voe caused little
damage to either port facilities or the ships in the
harbour, at this
time anti-aircraft cruiser COVENTRY
as guard ship, destroyer AFRIDI to refuel, tanker
WAR DIWAN (5551grt), and MANELA as a depot ship for sea
planes. COVENTRY did suffer concussion from a near miss
which unseated machinery.
_____
Battleship REVENGE
and destroyers MOHAWK, MASHONA, KHARTOUM
and KINGSTON arrived
at Plymouth. MASHONA went on to Chatham arriving on the 2nd
for repairs, while the other three destroyers departed on
the 3rd and arrived
back at the Clyde on the 4th. REVENGE began a refit which
completed on the
23rd.
_____
Destroyer ILEX departed the
Clyde for Liverpool for periodic
docking.
_____
Armed merchant cruiser
MONTCLARE
departed the Clyde on Northern Patrol.
_____
Sloop HASTINGS collided with
anti-submarine trawler BRADMAN
(452grt) off Lowestoft at 2125, both reaching Sheerness at
1200/2nd with
BRADMAN escorting HASTINGS.
_____
Convoy HN.6 of four British,
17 Norwegian, eight
Swedish, six Finnish and one Panamanian ship departed Bergen
escorted by destroyers EXMOUTH, ECLIPSE,
ENCOUNTER, ESCAPADE. On the 3rd, U.58 sank Swedish steamer SVARTON.
Seven
ships in the convoy detached to the west coast of Britain
and the rest reached Methil without
further incident on the 4th.
_____
Convoy OG.13F of 25 ships was
formed from OB.63GF
out of Milford Haven escorted by destroyers WANDERER and
WITHERINGTON, and
OA.63GF out of Southend escorted by sister ships WOLVERINE
and WHITSHED.
WANDERER and WITHERINGTON were with OG.13F from the 1st to
3rd, when WANDERER
joined HG.13F. Sloop ABERDEEN
and destroyer WATCHMAN escorted the convoy from 30 December
to 7 January. En
route, 11 steamers from OG.13 joined OG.13F, which arrived
at Gibraltar on the 7th.
_____
Convoy OA.64 departed Southend
escorted by
destroyers WITCH and WREN from the 1st to 3rd. Destroyers
AMBUSCADE and VANESSA
joined from the 3rd to 4th when the
convoy dispersed.
_____
Convoy OB.64 departed
Liverpool escorted by destroyer VERSATILE and sloop DEPTFORD
until the 4th.
_____
U.58 sank Swedish steamer
LARS MAGNUS TROZELLI (1951grt) in 58‑14N, 01‑38W; seven crew were lost and the
survivors picked up by Norwegian steamer ASK (1541grt).
_____
Convoy FN.62 departed
Southend, escorted by sloops
PELICAN, WESTON, HASTINGS, and arrived in the Tyne on the 2nd.
_____
Convoy FS.62 departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyer VIVIEN, sloops FLEETWOOD and BITTERN, and
arrived at Southend on the 2nd.
_____
Destroyer MONTROSE, escorting
a convoy west of
Hartland in 50‑55N, 05‑18W, attacked a submarine contact
without
success.
_____
Convoy SA.24 departed
Southampton with two steamers, escorted by sloops FOXGLOVE
and
ROSEMARY, and arrived at Brest
on the 3rd.
_____
American steamer CITY OF FLINT
(4963grt) was damaged in collision with
steamer BARON BLYTHSWOOD (3668grt) at Narvik, but was able
to leave on the
7th for Baltimore.
_____
German steamer JOHANN
SCHULTE (5254grt) lost
her propeller, went aground near Trondheim and her crew were
rescued by a Norwegian steamer.
_____
Rear Admiral S S Bonham-Carter hoisted his flag in battleship ROYAL
SOVEREIGN (above - Maritime Quest) at Devonport on the 1st and relieved
Vice Admiral L E Holland as Admiral Halifax Force, 3rd
Battle Squadron. At
this time Halifax Force consisted of battleships RESOLUTION, REVENGE, light
cruisers EMERALD, ENTERPRISE
and armed merchant cruisers ASCANIA, ALAUNIA,
AUSONIA and LACONIA. Of these, REVENGE and ENTERPRISE were
refitting in Home Waters. After repairing at
Devonport, ROYAL SOVEREIGN left on the 15th for Halifax and
battleship MALAYA, which arrived shortly at Halifax,
departed on the 14th for convoy duty with HX.16.
_____
Heavy cruiser SUSSEX
had departed Simonstown on 27 December, and
transferred to Force I in the Indian Ocean to replace sister
ship CORNWALL.
She arrived at Mauritius on the 1st,
proceeded to Colombo where she arrived on the 6th, and on
the 15th left
for patrol, from which she returned on the 18th. On the
25th, SUSSEX departed Colombo with aircraft carrier
EAGLE
and Australian light
cruiser HOBART,
reaching Trincomalee on the 26th. After that her movements
were - departed Trincomalee on the 28th, arrived Colombo the
same day, left
on 1 February, arrived Aden on the 8th, went on patrol and
returned to Aden
on the 12th, stayed until the 18th, then left for Colombo,
arriving on 25
February.
_____
Convoy SL.15 departed
Freetown, escorted by armed
merchant cruiser SALOPIAN from the 1st to 16th, and on the
14th was joined by
convoy SLF.15 along with its escorts, armed merchant cruiser
PRETORIA
CASTLE
on the 14th and submarine CLYDE on the 15th. Destroyers
VANOC, VERITY,
VETERAN, WINCHELSEA relieved the AMCs and submarine on the
16th and stayed
until SL.15 arrived on the 19th.
_____
German steamer TACOMA
(8268grt) was interned at Montevideo by the Uruguayan
authorities.
Tuesday,
2 January
NORTHERN PATROL
Light cruiser NEWCASTLE
departed Scapa Flow for
Northern Patrol. Shortly after leaving, she reported a
submarine contact in
59-13N, 3-59W, which destroyers FURY and FEARLESS, aided by
Walrus aircraft,
searched for. Destroyers ISIS and IMPULSIVE also joined in,
while destroyer FAME kept watch on the outer patrol. The
search was
discontinued on the 3rd when FEARLESS returned to Scapa Flow
to refuel and FURY was ordered to the Clyde.
Armed merchant cruiser CHITRAL
arrived in the Clyde after Northern Patrol.
Armed merchant cruiser CORFU departed the Clyde on Northern
Patrol.
Light cruiser DUNEDIN departed
Scapa Flow on
Northern Patrol, and arrived back on the 9th.
_____
Cruiser HAWKINS
completed her refit and ran trials
on 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 8th from Portland. She left on the
9th for Freetown, arriving on the 16th, left on the
17th,
arrived off Rio de la Plata on the 29th and then spent
February in the Falklands carrying out further refitting.
_____
Destroyers IVANHOE and
INTREPID departed Immingham
to countermine a German minefield in the Heligoland Bight in
operation EW.
Seven destroyers of the 1st Destroyer Flotilla from Harwich
were nearby in
support.
_____
Destroyers ESCORT and ELECTRA
arrived at
Invergordon.
_____
Destroyer ECHO departed Rosyth
for escort duties between
Invergordon and the Tyne.
_____
Convoy BC.21 of steamer BARON
GRAHAM departed Bristol Channel escorted by destroyer
MONTROSE, and arrived in the
Loire on the 4th. The convoy returned with BARON GRAHAM,
departing on the 12th and arriving in Bristol Channel on the
14th.
_____
Soviet submarine S.2
was lost on a mine laid
by Finnish minelayer LOUHI off Market Island in the Sodra-Kvarken Passage into the Gulf
of Bothnia.
_____
Submarine OTWAY, escorted by
anti-submarine
trawlers AMBER and JADE, departed Malta for Gibraltar. After
anti-submarine practice and docking, she was to proceed to
the UK in February.
_____
Heavy cruiser CORNWALL
departed Simonstown on patrol, and arrived back at
Capetown on the 11th.
_____
Light cruiser ORION
departed Kingston for Bermuda where she
arrived on the 5th for docking and refit, completed on 3
February.
Wednesday,
3 January
Heavy cruiser DEVONSHIRE
departed the Clyde on Northern Patrol, and arrived back on the 10th.
Heavy cruiser SUFFOLK
and light cruiser CERES
arrived at Scapa Flow after Northern Patrol.
_____
American steamer MORMACSUN
(4996grt) was taken into
Kirkwall for contraband inspection. The United States
protested so strongly about a neutral ship being
sent into a war zone that the British government ordered the
Admiralty to
cease taking suspect American ships into contraband control
stations.
_____
Light cruisers EDINBURGH
and GLASGOW
arrived at
Rosyth ahead of convoy HN.6.
_____
Destroyers ESCORT and ELECTRA
departed Invergordon
with tanker BEACONSTREET (7467grt) for Liverpool. After
delivering her, the destroyers went
on to Plymouth for refitting.
_____
Sloop AUCKLAND arrived at
Rosyth from Portsmouth for duty in Convoy C.
_____
Convoy OA.65G departed
Southend escorted by
destroyers WHITEHALL and WIVERN from the 3rd to 5th when
they detached off the Lizard. (Sister ships
VESPER and VISCOUNT escorted a coastal portion to Liverpool
from the 5th to 7th.) By then, convoy OB.65G had departed
Liverpool escorted by destroyers VENETIA and WINCHELSEA, and then merged with OA.65G to form convoy OG.13 on
the 6th. VENETIA and
WINCHELSEA continued the escort until the 8th.
Finally French destroyers TARTU
and VAUQUELIN provided escort from the 6th to 11th, when the
convoy arrived at Gibraltar.
_____
Convoy FS.63 departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyer WOOLSTON and sloops GRIMSBY
and WESTON, and arrived at Southend on the 5th.
_____
U.58 sank Swedish steamer SVARTON
(2574grt)
from convoy HN.6 northeast of the Firth of Forth in 57-48N,
1-47W. Twenty
crew were lost, but minesweeping trawler OAK (357grt) picked
up 11 survivors
who were later transferred to the Fraserburgh lifeboat.
_____
Paddle minesweeper BRIGHTON
QUEEN was in collision with tug GANNET in the Imperial Dock
at Rosyth at 0855/3rd.
_____
Swedish steamer KIRUNA (5484grt)
was lost to
unknown cause in 45‑20N, 25‑10W.
_____
Latvian steamer IRIS
FAULBAUMS (1675grt) was
seized in a German port, and renamed WALLY FAULBAUM in
German service.
_____
Light cruiser BIRMINGHAM
departed Hong Kong on the
3rd. Calling at Singapore on the 8th and
Colombo on the 11th, she arrived at Aden on the 16th.
Reaching Suez on the 19th, she was attached to the
Mediterranean
Fleet as the Commander in Chief's Flagship. She arrived at
Malta on the 21st, and refitted from 22 January to 5
February, on which day she left for Alexandria. At
Alexandria from 6 to 11 February, BIRMINGHAM then patrolled
in the Mediterranean before departing Malta on the 19th for
the Home Fleet. Admiral Cunningham
hauled down his flag and BIRMINGHAM left the Mediterranean,
passing Gibraltar on 21
February and arriving at Portsmouth on the 24th. On 6 March, she was attached to the Portsmouth Command
while refitting there.
_____
Australian destroyers VENDETTA
and WATERHEN
departed Marseilles escorting convoy K.6 consisting of
troopships ROHNA
(8602grt), TAIREA (7933grt), DEVONSHIRE (11,275grt), DILWARA
(11,080grt),
RAJULA (8478grt) and TALAMBA (8018grt).
They were relieved on the 5th by Australian destroyers
STUART and
VAMPIRE, and proceeded to Malta. The convoy, less VAMPIRE
detached to Port Said on the 7th, arrived at Haifa on the
9th, and departed on the 12th, escorted by
STUART. Destroyer VOYAGER, with repair ship RESOURCE from
Alexandria joined the convoy at sea, and arrived at Malta on
the 15th.
_____
Sloop WELLINGTON, escorting a
homeward bound Sierra Leone convoy, attacked a submarine
contact 350 miles
west of Ushant in 47-32N, 12-34W.
_____
German steamer BOGOTA
(1230grt) departed Guayaquil, Ecuador, and arrived at
Coquimbo, Chile on the 11th.
Thursday,
4 January
Armed merchant cruisers
WORCESTERSHIRE and ANDANIA
arrived in the Clyde after Northern Patrol.
_____
Battleship NELSON
departed Loch Ewe. Old German steamer ILSENSTEIN
sailed from
Loch Ewe ahead of her to detonate any remaining mines.
Escorted by destroyers
FAULKNOR, FOXHOUND and IMPULSIVE, NELSON proceeded to
Portsmouth, arriving on the 7th for repairs which began on
the 14th. FAULKNOR, FOXHOUND and IMPULSIVE
were ordered to remain at Portsmouth for two days, then return to the Clyde. Destroyers ISIS, FAME and
FORESIGHT proceeded independently at the same time to
Devonport and returned
to the Clyde with FAULKNOR, FOXHOUND, and IMPULSIVE.
NELSON was repairing until early June 1940
at Portsmouth, arrived at Greenock on 8 June for refitting and departed on the 29th to rejoin the Home
Fleet at Scapa Flow.
_____
Anti-aircraft cruisers
CAIRO
and CALCUTTA completed their
anti-aircraft guard duty at Loch
Ewe and departed, arriving at Sheerness on the 6th.
_____
Battleship RODNEY,
battlecruiser REPULSE
and
destroyers INGLEFIELD, IMOGEN, ICARUS, MOHAWK, BEDOUIN,
KINGSTON, FIREDRAKE and MATABELE departed Greenock on patrol. Destroyer FEARLESS departed Scapa
Flow to relieve MOHAWK, which was sent to Portsmouth for
repairs. Destroyers FORESIGHT and SOMALI also
departed Greenock on the 4th for repairs at Plymouth and
Middlesbrough
respectively. After the patrol, MATABELE went to Plymouth
for refitting.
_____
Light cruiser AURORA
departed the Clyde after refitting, and arrived at Scapa
Flow on the 5th.
_____
Light cruiser ENTERPRISE
departed Portsmouth, and arrived at Halifax on the 10th.
_____
Convoy FN.63 departed
Southend, escorted by sloops
BITTERN and FLEETWOOD. Southeast of Shipwash
Light Vessel in 51-57N, 01-48. 7E, BITTERN attacked a
submarine contact. The convoy arrived in the Tyne on the 5th.
_____
Convoy FS.64 departed Rosyth
with tankers BRITISH
UNION and BRITISH CONSOL for the Tyne, escorted by
destroyer VIVIEN and sloop PELICAN. Sloop BITTERN replaced
VIVIEN on the 5th,
and the convoy arrived at Southend on the 6th.
_____
Tug SWARTHY sank at
Portsmouth, but was later salved. Minesweeper SALTBURN
alongside was damaged at the time.
_____
Submarine THISTLE arrived at
Rosyth after patrol.
_____
Submarine H.34 departed Dundee for Rosyth escorted by minesweeping trawler CRANEFLY (312grt).
_____
Sloop EGRET was in a
collision with steamer SEA VALOUR (1950grt) at
0808/4th. The steamer only received minor damage, while
EGRET’s was
repaired at Cardiff in three weeks.
_____
Convoy OA.65 departed Southend
escorted by
destroyer BROKE from the 4th to 6th. Destroyer AMAZON
escorted the convoy from the 5th to 6th, when it dispersed.
_____
Convoy OB.66 departed
Liverpool escorted by destroyers VANOC and VOLUNTEER, and
after it dispersed, the two destroyers joined HG.13 on the
6th.
_____
Convoy HXF.15 departed Halifax
at 0900 escorted by Canadian destroyers FRASER and
RESTIGOUCHE, which detached on the 6th. Ocean escort was
armed merchant
cruiser LETITIA, which detached on the 13th. The convoy was
joined in Home
Waters by destroyer WHITEHALL from the 12th to 15th, when it arrived at Liverpool.
_____
Aircraft carrier ARK
ROYAL arrived at
Dakar and battlecruiser RENOWN
at Freetown for refuelling. Departing on the 7th, ARK ROYAL
joined RENOWN off Sierra Leone on the 8th after she had left
earlier that day
with destroyers HERO and HASTY. They searched unsuccessfully
for German
supply ship ALTMARK in the South
Atlantic until arriving
at Freetown on the 19th. Destroyer DAINTY departed Gibraltar
for Freetown and briefly joined RENOWN for
transfer of mail before arriving on the 10th at Freetown for
escort duties.
_____
German steamer QUITO (1230grt)
departed Guayaquil, Ecuador, and arrived at Coquimbo, Chile on the 12th. The only
German ship remaining at
Guayaquil was steamer CERIGO (1120grt) which was
later scuttled on 1 April
1941 and salved as 29 DE MAYO for Ecuadorian use.
Friday,
5 January
The Northern Patrol from 5th
to 18th sighted 48
eastbound ships of which 30 were sent into Kirkwall for inspection.
Heavy cruiser NORFOLK
arrived in the Clyde after Northern Patrol.
Light cruiser CERES
departed Scapa Flow on Northern Patrol, and left her station
on the
11th for Belfast where she arrived on the 13th. There she
repaired
and refitted until 7 February.
_____
New Zealand light cruiser
ACHILLES
sailed from Buenos Aires on the 5th and British sister ship
AJAX
from Montevideo after refuelling on the same day, and met
heavy
cruisers DORSETSHIRE
and SHROPSHIRE
off Rio de la Plata. ACHILLES
relieved AJAX as Flagship of the South America Station, and
went
on to the Falklands, arriving on the 14th. AJAX went to
Plymouth arriving on the 31st and on to Chatham for repairs
lasting until mid-July 1940.
_____
Battlecruiser HOOD
and destroyers AFRIDI, IMPERIAL,
MAORI and NUBIAN arrived at Greenock.
_____
Submarine UNITY arrived at
Blyth after patrol.
_____
Submarines TRIBUNE departed
Rosyth and STARFISH
departed Blyth for patrol.
_____
Destroyers ESCAPADE, ECLIPSE,
destroyer/escort ship
VEGA and sloop LONDONDERRY escorted a MT convoy from Methil
to the Tyne. Sloop STORK was to be part of the escort, but fouled the boom
at Inchkeith in fog and had to return for repairs. After
this duty, the two
destroyers proceeded to Immingham to escort minelayer
PRINCESS VICTORIA.
_____
Destroyer ECHO and cable ship
ROYAL SCOT arrived at Newcastle from the south to repair the
cable between Newcastle and Scandinavia.
_____
Armed yacht PRINCESS of the
11th Submarine Striking
Force sighted a U-boat on the surface off Bull Point in
51-18.5N, 04-00W.
Destroyer VIVACIOUS joined her, but contact was not
regained.
_____
Steamer ROTHESAY
CASTLE
(7016grt) went ashore off Sanaig Point, Islay; the crew were taken off by tug ENGLISHMAN.
_____
Convoy OA.67 departed Southend
and dispersed on the
8th. No escorts were listed in the report.
_____
Convoy OB.67 departed
Liverpool escorted by destroyers WALPOLE and VERITY until
the 9th.
_____
Convoy FS.65 departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyer VALOROUS and sloop FLAMINGO, and arrived at
Southend on the 7th.
_____
Destroyers ESCAPADE and
ECLIPSE departed Methil
with a group of merchant ships for the Tyne.
_____
Soviet submarine SC.311 sank
Swedish steamer FENRIS
(484grt) off Sydost Brottens Light Vessel in the Gulf of
Finland. The crew was rescued and the wreck of the steamer
drifted ashore NW of Sydost Brotten Light Vessel.
_____
Light cruiser PENELOPE
departed Malta, arrived at Gibraltar on the 7th and
Portsmouth on the 11th. After refitting, she left Portsmouth
on the 29th for duty with the Home Fleet.
_____
Convoy HG.14F departed
Gibraltar with 15 ships,
escorted by destroyer VIDETTE from the 5th to 8th, sloop
BIDEFORD from the
5th to 15th, and sloop ABERDEEN from the 9th to 15th. On the
10th, HG.14F
merged with SL.14 as SG.14, and was escorted by sloop LEITH (from SL.14) from the 10th to
12th. On the 11th, destroyers WANDERER and WARWICK
joined from convoy OG.14 and remained until the 15th, and
WITCH joined on the
11th and remained until the 15th, when the convoy arrived.
_____
Light cruiser NEPTUNE
arrived at Dakar.
_____
Anti-submarine trawler KINGSTON
CORNELIAN
(449grt, Skipper W Green RNR) was
sunk in accidental collision with French liner CHELLA
(8920grt) east of Gibraltar. One or more depth charges
exploded in the water
and all hands - one officer and seventeen ratings, were
lost. CHELLA had to
go into Gibraltar for repairs.
_____
Convoy SLF.15 departed
Freetown escorted by armed merchant cruiser PRETORIA CASTLE and submarine CLYDE. On the
14th, the convoy merged with SL.15 and the
SLF.15 escorts detached on the 16th. The
convoy arrived at Liverpool on the 19th, and CLYDE at Portsmouth on the 21st.
Saturday,
6 January
Destroyer FOXHOUND, escorting
damaged battleship
NELSON, attacked a submarine contact south of Wolf Rock in
49‑39N, 5‑50.
5W.
_____
Armed merchant cruisers
ANDANIA, CHITRAL and
WORCESTERSHIRE departed the Clyde for Northern Patrol. Light
cruiser COLOMBO arrived at Scapa Flow.
_____
Armed merchant cruiser
LAURENTIC, returning to the Clyde, went ashore southwest of Islay. Tug
ENGLISHMAN was carrying some of the survivors of steamer
ROTHESAY CASTLE (7016grt) and had to transfer them to a destroyer before she could
assist. However, LAURENTIC got off
without assistance and proceeded to Belfast
arriving on the 7th. She was under repair until 25
May.
_____
Convoy ON.7 of one British,
one Norwegian and four
Finnish ships departed Methil escorted by destroyers ESKIMO,
TARTAR, KASHMIR, KHARTOUM and submarine
TRITON. KASHMIR had departed the Clyde on the
4th to join the escort and arrived at
Rosyth on the 6th, while KHARTOUM
had left the Clyde on the 5th and refuelled at Scapa Flow on
the 6th before proceeding to Rosyth. ESKIMO
developed defects and was relieved by destroyer ENCOUNTER
until joined by
destroyer KANDAHAR which departed Scapa Flow at midnight on the 7th. Light cruisers GLASGOW and EDINBURGH left Rosyth on the
7th to cover the convoy, which arrived safely at Bergen
on the 9th.
_____
Convoy FN.64 departed
Southend, escorted by
destroyer WOOLSTON and sloops GRIMSBY and WESTON, but was
cancelled when progress was
impeded by fog.
_____
Convoy FS.66 departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyer/escort vessel VEGA and sloop LONDONDERRY.
Sloop STORK was intended to join them, but (as
noted on the 5th) fouled the boom net at Inchkeith and had
to return to
harbour. VEGA collided with steamer REGFOS (1548grt) on the
8th, but was was
able to continue with the convoy, which arrived at Southend
on the 8th. After
temporary repairs at Sheerness, VEGA departed on the 9th and
proceeded to
Rosyth, but as there were no facilities available for her
there, went on to
Dundee, arriving on the 12th for repairs which completed on
the 24th.
_____
Steamer CITY OF MARSEILLES
(8317grt) was damaged on a mine laid by U.13 (source -
Seekrieg) 1½ miles SE of No.1 Black
Buoy, River Tay.
_____
Tanker BRITISH LIBERTY
(8485grt) was sunk on
a British defensive minefield two miles NE of Dyck Light
Vessel; twenty four
crew, including a Marine gunner, were lost.
_____
GERMAN DESTROYER MINELAYING
IN THE THAMES ESTUARY
During the night of the
6th/7th, German destroyers
of the 1st Flotilla, FRIEDRICH ECKHOLDT, ERICH STEINBRINCK
and FRIEDRICH IHN,
supported by KARL GALSTER, RICHARD BEITZEN and HERMANN
SCHOEMANN laid mines in
the Thames Estuary. Destroyer GRENVILLE and six merchant
ships for 21,617
tons were lost in the field.
On the 6th, motor trawler
ETA
(81grt) six miles NW of Outer Gabbard Light
Vessel; the crew were saved.
On the 7th, steamer
CEDRINGTON COURT
(5160grt) two miles NE of North Goodwins Light
Vessel in 51-22N, 1-35E; again the crew were saved.
On the 7th, steamer TOWNELEY
(2888grt) one
mile ENE of North East Spit Buoy; crew were saved when
they rowed to shore in the Margate lifeboat (?).
On the 9th, steamer
DUNBAR CASTLE
(10,002grt) of convoy OA.69 in 51‑23N, 01‑34E; nine crew
were lost and the survivors rescued by trawler CALVI
(363grt) and
other small ships.
On the 9th, Dutch steamer TRUIDA
(176grt) in
51‑27N, 01‑50E; crew were rescued by Dutch trawler FRISO
(250grt) which transferred them to Dutch steamer TIBERIUS
(1712grt).
On the 15th, steamer KILDALE
(3877grt) was damaged
two miles east of South Shiphead Buoy.
On the 16th, Belgian steamer JOSEPHINE
CHARLOTTE
(3422grt) in 51‑32N, 01‑33E; four crew were lost and the
survivors rescued by steamer MICKLETON (777grt).
On the 19th, destroyer GRENVILLE
was sunk
east of the Thames Estuary.
_____
U.30 laid mines in Liverpool
Bay, on which four merchant
ships were sunk and one badly damaged.
_____
German steamer FRANKENWALD
(5062grt) was
lost by stranding near Bratholmen and Felsen.
_____
German steamer BAHIA (4118grt) departed Bahia,
arrived at Narvik on 6
February, and continued on
to Hamburg which she reached on the 17th.
_____
Convoy HX.15 departed Halifax
at 0900 escorted by Canadian destroyers FRASER and
RESTIGOUCHE, which detached on the 7th. Ocean escort was
battleship
RESOLUTION
which detached on the 18th, and proceeded to Plymouth,
arriving on the 19th for refitting. Destroyers
WREN, VANESSA and VANQUISHER were with the convoy from the
18th to 19th, when it
arrived at Liverpool.
_____
PASSAGE OF FIRST ANZAC CONVOY
TO NORTH AFRICA
The first of the
Australian-New Zealand troop
convoys, US.1, departed Wellington with liners ORION
(23,456grt), EMPRESS OF
CANADA (21,517grt), STRAITHAIRD (22,284grt) and RANGITATA
(16,969grt)
carrying troops for North African service, and escorted by
battleship
RAMILLIES
and Australian heavy cruiser CANBERRA from
Wellington. New Zealand light cruiser LEANDER
departed Wellington on the 4th, arrived at Lyttleton on the
5th and
after collecting liners DUNERA (11,162grt) and SOBIESKI
(11,030grt) left
again the same day. They joined the convoy in Cook Strait
off North Island on the 6th.
On the 9th, liners ORCADES
(23,456grt), STRATHNAVER
(22,457grt), OTRANTO (20,032grt) and ORFORD (19,941grt)
escorted by Australian
heavy cruiser AUSTRALIA departed Sydney and
joined the convoy on the 10th off Sydney.
Light cruiser LEANDER arrived
at Sydney on the 11th. Australian light cruiser SYDNEY
joined the convoy on the 11th and was detached on the 12th
in Jervis Bay.
Liner EMPRESS OF JAPAN (26,032grt) from Melbourne joined on
the 12th.
Earlier, on the 8th, heavy
cruiser KENT
and the French SUFFREN departed Colombo and arrived at
Fremantle on the 17th. On the 20th
they relieved the escorting Australian cruisers, which
arrived in Fremantle
for refuelling.
On the convoy's arrival at
Colombo on the 30th, KENT and SUFFREN were in turn relieved
by Force I -
aircraft carrier EAGLE,
heavy cruiser SUSSEX
(Flag Murray) and Australian light cruiser HOBART.
Force I had been conducting
sweeps in the Indian Ocean since the 15th when it departed
Colombo, arriving back on the 18th. It left again on the
25th, reached Trincomalee on the 28th, and sailed on the
30th to meet the
convoy. Reaching Colombo on the 30th together, both force
and convoy sailed
for the Middle East on 1 February.
Destroyer WESTCOTT departed
Singapore on the 28th, arrived at Colombo on 1 February and
left the same day as a convoy
escort. French liner ATHOS II (15,276grt) joined the convoy
at Colombo.
The convoy was also screened
by submarines OTUS and
OLYMPUS, patrolling submerged in Nine Degree Channel
between the Laccadives and Minicoy after investigating the
Maldives, Addu and Chagos groups. The convoy's entry into
the Red Sea on 8 February was preceded by anti-submarine
patrols by Australian destroyer VENDETTA, which had been
detached from the
Mediterranean Fleet, and WESTCOTT, which reached Aden on the
8th. The convoy escorts were detached on
the 10th and US.1 arrived safely at Suez on 12 February.
_____
German steamer RIO GRANDE
(6062grt) departed Rio Grande del Sol, Brazil, but returned
on the 7th to avoid contact with
light cruiser AJAX.
Sunday,
7 January
BRITISH
SUBMARINE LOSSES IN HELIGOLAND BIGHT
On patrol in the Heligoland
Bight, 15 miles from
Heligoland, submarine UNDINE (Cdr A S Jackson) was
attacked and badly
damaged by German auxiliary minesweepers M.1201 (trawler
HARVESTEHUDE, 523grt), M.1204 (trawler ANNA BUSSE,
468grt) and M.1207 (trawler FRISIA, 429grt) after she had
unsuccessfully
attempted to attack two of the trawlers at 1100/7th. Early
next morning,
UNDINE was scuttled and the entire crew - Cdr Jackson, Lt E
M Harvey, Lt C J
Senior RNR, Lt J F Stewart and twenty six ratings were taken
prisoner. M.1204 took off the crew and M.1201 attempted to
take her in tow.
When UNDINE sank, several crew members of M.1201 were lost
with her.
Submarine SEAHORSE (Lt
D S Massey-Dawson) of
the 6th Flotilla departed Blyth on 26 December. On the 7th,
she was sunk by a
minesweeper of the 1st Minesweeping Flotilla in a 24 hour
long attack in the
Heligoland Bight. Damage to the submarine early in the
attack provided a
considerable oil leak to guide the attacking minesweeper. Lt
Massey-Dawson,
Lt J W Fleming, Lt J C Baker, Lt W Thain RNR, Warrant
Engineer A Cockburn and thirty four ratings of crew were
lost (see Casualty
List).
The German 1st
Minesweeping Flotilla was
composed at this time of minesweepers M.1, M.3, M.4, M.7,
M.8 and M.14. (Some
recent sources indicate that SEAHORSE may have been lost
by mining in 55‑26N,
07‑02E on 29 or perhaps 30 December. According to
Seekrieg, she was
sunk by M.122 and M.132.)
_____
Destroyer NUBIAN, departing
the Clyde, was damaged in a collision with an examination vessel two miles off Greenock. Her damaged stem required drydocking at the Clyde until the 24th, when she returned to duties with the Home Fleet.
_____
Destroyer AFRIDI departed the
Clyde to join sister ship TARTAR escorting HN.7 from Scapa
Flow.
_____
Battleship ROYAL
SOVEREIGN departed
Plymouth, escorted by destroyers WITCH and WIVERN on
working up exercises.
_____
Convoy OB.68GF departed
Liverpool escorted by destroyers WANDERER and
WARWICK, and on the same day OA.68GF, with destroyers
VETERAN and
WHITSHED left Southend. The two groups merged on the 10th to
form convoy
OG.14F of 29 ships, and on the same day, WANDERER and
WARWICK detached to HG.14F. Sloop ENCHANTRESS was with
OG.14F from the 10th to 13th, when she
detached to convoy HG.15F. The OG convoy was joined by
destroyers VELOX
and VORTIGERN from the 13th to 15th, and arrived that day at
Gibraltar.
_____
Convoy FN.65 departed
Southend, escorted by
destroyer VIVIEN and sloop STORK, but was obliged to anchor
in Knock Deep due
to fog. It left on the 8th, and arrived in the Tyne on the 9th. There was no convoy FN.66.
_____
Armed merchant cruisers
TRANSYLVANIA and AURANIA arrived in the Clyde after Northern Patrol.
_____
Light cruiser CERES
arrived with captured Norwegian steamer TROMA
(5029grt) off North
Rona.
_____
Submarine depot ship TITANIA
departed Rosyth for
the Tyne with two tugs and escorted by sloop AUCKLAND, and
arrived with the tugs on the 8th.
_____
Submarine TRIUMPH, after
emergency repairs,
departed Rosyth escorted by destroyer EXMOUTH for Chatham.
Off the Humber, destroyer GRIFFIN
relieved EXMOUTH which returned to Rosyth
escorting convoy FN.67.
_____
Destroyer ESKIMO departed
Rosyth for refitting at Southampton.
_____
U.32 laid mines off Ailsa
Craig in the Firth of
Clyde, but no shipping was sunk or damaged.
_____
German steamer CONSUL HORN
(8384grt) departed Aruba and evaded blockading French submarine AGOSTA near St
Martin. She was later sighted by an American PBY flying boat
from San Juan, then located by light cruiser ENTERPRISE
on the 27th in 46‑51N, 42‑50W, but
CONSUL HORN, disguised as a Soviet steamer, was able to
convince the British
cruiser she was a neutral. CONSUL HORN arrived at Trondheim
on 6 February and reached Hamburg on the 19th.
_____
French auxiliary sloop BARSAC
(1145grt) was
lost when she ran aground on the Isle of Onza near Vigo.
_____
Submarine RAINBOW departed
Hong Kong on the 7th to patrol off Vladivostok from the 13th
to 19th. At the time, 1st Submarine Flotilla
had the following units in refit: depot ship MEDWAY
at Singapore, submarines PARTHIAN, PHOENIX
and PANDORA at Hong
Kong, REGENT, ROVER, RORQUAL and GRAMPUS at Singapore, while
PROTEUS was en route to Hong Kong to refit.
RAINBOW arrived back at Hong
Kong from Vladivostok on the 25th and confirmed the results
of submarine
REGULUS's patrol in the same area that no German submarines
were using the
Soviet port. Due to RAINBOW's difficulties with heavy icing,
there was no Vladivostok patrol in February, but
PROTEUS did leave Hong Kong at the end of the month
for a repeat patrol.
Monday,
8 January
Heavy cruiser NORFOLK
departed the Clyde for Rosyth where she arrived on the 10th.
_____
Heavy cruiser SUFFOLK
and armed merchant cruiser SCOTSTOUN departed the Clyde on Northern Patrol.
_____
Light cruiser COLOMBO departed
Scapa Flow for
Northern Patrol, which she left on the 12th for Devonport
and arrived on the
14th. With her departure from Scapa Flow, the
11th Cruiser Squadron ceased to exist.
_____
Anti-aircraft cruiser
CAIRO
arrived at Chatham.
_____
Destroyer WESTMINSTER
completed her conversion to fast escort vessel.
Following working up at Portland,
she joined Convoy C operating from Rosyth, arriving on the
30th.
_____
Submarines SEAWOLF and SEALION
departed Rosyth on
patrol.
_____
Polish submarine WILK arrived
at Rosyth after patrol.
_____
Submarines SEAL and NARWHAL
departed Gosport, via the Downs where they
spent the night of the 8th/9th, for Rosyth.
They arrived on the 10th escorted by sloop FLAMINGO for duty
as convoy
escorts on the ON/HN convoy routes. NARWHAL departed Rosyth
on the 15th with
convoy ON.8.
_____
Convoy OA.69 departed Southend
escorted by
destroyer VANESSA from the 9th to 11th. Destroyer WIVERN
also joined until detached on
the 11th.
_____
Convoy OB.69 departed
Liverpool escorted by destroyers MACKAY and WITHERINGTON
until the 12th. The convoy dispersed next day on the 13th.
_____
Convoy FS.67 departed the Tyne, escorted by sloops AUCKLAND
and STORK, and arrived at Southend on the 9th.
_____
Steamers GITANO (3956grt) and
TYNEHOME (628grt)
collided in fog with the loss of TYNEHOME. Ten survivors
were picked up by
GITANO.
_____
U.19 sank Norwegian steamer MANX
(1343grt) in
58‑30N, 01‑33W. Thirteen crew were lost and six crew
rescued.
_____
U.56 laid mines off Cross
Sands near Yarmouth on which one steamer was lost.
_____
Convoy HG.14 departed
Gibraltar with 33 ships escorted by destroyer KEPPEL. The
convoy was turned over to ocean escort Sloop ENCHANTRESS and
French
destroyers VALMY and CHEVALIER PAUL outside the Gibraltar
approaches, and arrived on the 17th.
_____
Battlecruiser RENOWN
and destroyers HERO and HASTY
departed Freetown and joined aircraft carrier ARK
ROYAL off Sierra
Leone. The destroyers detached on the 10th for
refuelling.
_____
Light cruiser NEPTUNE
departed Dakar on patrol, and stopped and boarded Q-ship
LAMBRIDGE (armed steamer BOTLEA (5119grt)) off Freetown
without discovering her true identity. After her
patrol, NEPTUNE arrived at Freetown on the 20th.
_____
French light cruiser ÉMILE
BERTIN departed Toulon on the 8th and proceeded to
Casablanca, joined by destroyer ÉPERVIER which departed
Bizerte on the 9th. Both ships arrived at Casablanca on the
12th. They then relieved heavy cruisers
DUPLEIX, FOCH and destroyer CASSARD, and conducted a
surveillance patrol off
the Canary Island en route and arrived at Dakar on the 19th.
On the 20th,
they set off for another patrol off the Canaries. Meanwhile,
DUPLEIX and FOCH
left for Halifax on escort duty with a convoy at the
beginning of
February, while CASSARD departed Dakar on the 21st and
arrived at Casablanca on the 25th, where she was under
repair until 14
February. She then departed Casablanca and arrived at Toulon
on 17 February. Destroyer MILAN remained on station
_____
Convoy SL.16 departed Freetown
escorted by armed merchant cruiser ESPERANCE BAY
until the 25th. Next day, sloop DEPTFORD joined the convoy
as escort until
its arrival on the 27th.
_____
Light cruiser DAUNTLESS departed
Singapore on patrol duties as a unit of the 5th Cruiser
Squadron, and arrived back on the 17th.
_____
German steamer SAO PAULO
(4977grt) had departed Pernambuco on 16 November
1939 and arrived at
Cabedelo the next day. Leaving there on 8 January, she
safely arrived at Cuxhaven on 3 March.
Tuesday,
9 January
Submarine STARFISH (Lt
T A Turner) of the
6th Flotilla arrived in the Heligoland Bight to relieve
submarine SEAHORSE
which was due to return to Blyth. There she attacked German
minesweeper M.7 of the
1st Minesweeping Flotilla. M.7 was undamaged, and in return
badly
damaged STARFISH at 1000 in 55-00N, 07-18E. She was
scuttled to avoid
capture and the crew of Lt Turner, Lt R T V Kyrke, Sub Lt
Geoffrey Wardle, Lt
W S W Main RNR, Warrant Engineer C Dodsworth and thirty four
ratings were taken prisoner.
_____
Armed merchant cruiser
VOLTAIRE departed the Tyne for Portsmouth and transfer to
the Mediterranean.
_____
Light cruiser DUNEDIN arrived at Scapa
Flow from Northern Patrol, and armed merchant cruiser
ASTURIAS at the Clyde. AMC CORFU
also arrived at the Clyde for duty with the Northern Patrol.
_____
Submarine SALMON arrived at
Harwich after patrol.
_____
Destroyer ENCOUNTER with
tanker BRITISH
PRUDENCE (8620grt) departed Invergordon for the Tyne, and both arrived on the 10th.
_____
Destroyers ECLIPSE and
ESCAPADE arrived at
Invergordon with minelayer PRINCESS VICTORIA.
_____
Destroyers SIKH and DUNCAN
departed Sheerness for
the Clyde after repairs .
_____
Destroyers ESCORT and ELECTRA
with defects
proceeded to Falmouth for repairs.
_____
Destroyer MAORI departed the
Clyde to relieve sister ship TARTAR in HN.7.
_____
Convoy SA.24 with two steamers
departed Southampton escorted by destroyer SHIKARI, and
arrived at Brest on the 11th.
_____
Convoy HN.7 of two British, 19
Norwegian, five
Swedish, eight Finnish and four Estonian ships departed
Bergen escorted by destroyers KASHMIR, KHARTOUM, KANDAHAR and
TARTAR. Destroyer FORESTER departed the Clyde on the 8th and joined the convoy at sea. Destroyer AFRIDI departed
the Clyde on the 7th
to relieve TARTAR, but was reassigned
en route and MAORI departed the Clyde on the 9th
to relieve TARTAR instead. Light cruisers GLASGOW
and EDINBURGH,
which
departed Rosyth on the 7th to support convoy ON.7, supplied
cover for this
convoy. On the 9th at 1006, SSW of Utvaer in 60-48.5N,
04-20E, EDINBURGH dropped depth charges on a submarine
contact. GLASGOW dropped depth charges at 1052 in 60-45N,
04-25E.
GLASGOW, EDINBURGH and convoy HN.7 arrived safely at Methil
on the 12th. KHARTOUM took the west coast section of five
ships, and
escorted tankers SCOTTISH AMERICAN (6999grt) and ARNDALE
(8296grt) to the Clyde.
_____
Convoy FN.67 departed
Southend, escorted by
destroyers VALOROUS, VEGA and sloop LONDONDERRY.
Destroyer EXMOUTH proceeded northward with the convoy until
dark on the 10th,
and arrived in the Tyne on the 10th.
_____
Destroyer WOOLSTON and sloop
GRIMSBY departed Methil for the Tyne for duty escorting convoy FS.68.
_____
Southwest of Eddystone in
49‑57.8N, 04‑32.2W,
sloop SCARBOROUGH made a submarine contact. Destroyer
KELVIN, en
route from Portland to Greenock joined to
assist as did destroyer WINDSOR from Plymouth. Destroyers
ACASTA and VISCOUNT also joined to
hunt the contact, but all without success.
_____
Destroyer VESPER attacked a
submarine contact south
of Scilly Isle in 49‑09N, 6‑24W.
_____
Sloop BIDEFORD, escorting
convoy HG.14F, attacked a
submarine contact 175 miles west of Cape Finisterre in
42-36N, 13-16W.
_____
German bombers of the
FliegerKorps X attacked
British shipping off Stonehaven, and sank steamers GOWRIE
(689grt)
four miles east of Stonehaven and OAKGROVE (1985grt)
seven miles NW by
W of North Leman Buoy. The entire crew of GOWRIE was
rescued, but one man on
OAKGROVE was lost. They also damaged Danish steamers IVAN
KONDRUP (2369grt) east of Stonehaven and FEDDY
(955grt) two and a quarter miles ESE of Aberdeen. Trawler
THRIFTY (139grt) rescued the
survivors from IVAN KONDRUP.
_____
Steamer UPMINSTER
(1013grt) was badly
damaged by German bombing nine miles east of Hammond Knoll
Light Vessel in 53‑03N,
01‑29E, and sank on the 10th with the loss of three of her
crew .
Attacks also damaged steamer NORTHWOOD (1146grt) off Whitby,
steamer RECULVER (683grt) off Great
Yarmouth, and trawler CHRYSOLITE (251grt) eight miles
NW by N of Smith
Knoll Light Vessel. RECULVER was taken in tow by
trawler TAMORA
(275grt).
_____
Greek steamer TONIA
CHANDRIS (3161grt) was
lost when she ran aground off Unst. Tug ST MELLONS was sent
to assist her and
the crew was rescued by the Lerwick lifeboat.
_____
Destroyer WATCHMAN was taken
in hand at Gibraltar to repair defects.
Wednesday,
10 January
Battleship RODNEY,
battlecruiser REPULSE
and the
destroyers that had departed on the 4th arrived back at
Greenock. Destroyer FIREDRAKE had been detached on a detail and arrived at Greenock on the 11th.
_____
German steamer BAHIA
BLANCA
(8558grt) departed Hamburg pre-war, arrived at Rio de
Janiero on 11 September
1939 disguised as a Greek
ship, and then on 6 December attempted to run the British
blockade back to Germany. On the 10th, evading the blockade,
she ran onto
the ice pack in the Denmark Strait, sank in 66‑09N, 26‑20N
and her
crew was rescued by Icelandic trawler HAFSTEIN (313grt).
Light cruiser NEWCASTLE,
which departed Scapa Flow on the 2nd, was diverted from
Northern Patrol to
assist and sank the German ship with gunfire. NEWCASTLE
arrived back at Scapa Flow on the 14th.
_____
Heavy cruisers BERWICK,
NORFOLK,
DEVONSHIRE
arrived at Rosyth from Northern Patrol for
de-magnetization.
_____
Light cruiser DELHI departed Belfast
for Scapa Flow, where
she arrived on the 11th.
_____
Armed merchant cruiser CANTON
ran aground off Barra Head, Isle of Lewis, in the Hebrides, and armed merchant cruiser CALIFORNIA
stood by until tugs ENGLISHMAN and BANDIT
arrived from Campbeltown and Ardrossan respectively.
CANTON got off on the 12th without assistance and headed
towards the Clyde escorted by destroyers FAME, ISIS,
FORESIGHT and IMPERIAL. Destroyers FORESTER,
FORTUNE and FURY came out from the Clyde and met
destroyers FAULKNOR and FOXHOUND to screen CANTON's passage.
On the 12th, FORESIGHT attacked a submarine
contact NNW of Inishtrahull. On the 13th, CANTON and BANDIT
arrived in Rothesay Bay
en route for the Clyde. On the 17th, at the head of Holy
Loch, CANTON was intentionally beached when her pumps failed
to
control the flooding.
_____
Destroyer MATABELE arrived at
Plymouth for docking and refitting.
_____
Destroyers SIKH and DUNCAN
arrived in the Clyde. Later that day, destroyers IMPERIAL and DUNCAN with destroyers ISIS
and IMPULSIVE departed the Clyde
for Rosyth. However, ISIS and IMPULSIVE were detached en route to assist armed merchant cruiser
CANTON (above).
IMPERIAL, DUNCAN, ISIS and IMPULSIVE
arrived at Rosyth on the 12th.
_____
Early on the 10th, destroyers
INTREPID and IVANHOE
of the 20th Destroyer Flotilla laid small minefield IE‑1 in
channels
through the German minefields in the Heligoland Bight in
54‑06N, 05‑29E.
_____
Submarine URSULA departed
Blyth on patrol.
_____
Convoy BC.22 of steamers BARON
CARNEGIE, BATNA,
COXWOLD and DAVID LIVINGTONE (Commodore) departed Bristol
Channel, escorted by destroyer WESSEX, and safely arrived in
the Loire on the 12th.
_____
Convoy AXS 9 of one steamer
arrived at Brest from Fowey, escorted by destroyer BROKE.
_____
Convoy FS.68 departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyer WOOLSTON and sloop GRIMSBY,
and arrived at Southend on the 11th.
_____
GERMAN
DESTROYER MINELAYING OFF
NEWCASTLE and CROMER
On the night of the 10th/11th,
German destroyers
KARL GALSTER, ANTON SCHMIDT, RICHARD BEITZEN,
FRIEDRICH IHN, escorted
by destroyers WILHELM HEIDKAMP and FRIEDRICH ECKHOLDT, laid
a minefield off Newcastle. On the return, IHN broke down and
was escorted
back by BEITZEN. On the 11th, the minefield claimed its only
victim, trawler LUCIDA (251grt) in 55‑00N,
00‑53W
with the loss of one crewman.
On the night of 10/11 January,
German destroyers
BRUNO HEINEMANN, WOLFGANG ZENKER, ERICH KOELLNER laid a
minefield off Cromer.
Three merchant ships for 11,155 tons were lost on this
minefield:
On the 11th, Italian steamer TRAVIATA
(5123grt), eight miles 135° from Cromer Knoll, but all her
crew were rescued.
On the 12th, British steamer GRANTA
(2719grt), in 53‑13N, 01‑21E, eleven miles 123° from Cromer
Knoll
Light Vessel. Twelve crew were lost, and sloop STORK
and fishing
vessels FULHAM IV and ROBUR VIII rescued the survivors.
On 17 January, Greek steamer ASTERIA
(3313grt), 9.5 miles NE of Haisborough Light. Fourteen crew
were lost and
eleven rescued.
_____
German trawler AXEL
(343grt) was sunk in an accidental collision with German
patrol yacht GRILLE
(2560grt) in the Baltic.
_____
Destroyer DIAMOND departed
Gibraltar for Freetown arriving on the 15th for patrol
duties.
_____
Light cruiser GALATEA
departed Malta and arrived at Alexandria on the 13th, left
next day and arrived back at Malta on the 17th.
Thursday,
11 January
Armed merchant cruiser
MONTCLARE
arrived at Belfast from Northern Patrol.
_____
Destroyer FORTUNE departed
Liverpool for Glasgow.
_____
Destroyer KIMBERLEY departed
Portland after trials for Greenock, where she arrived on the 12th.
_____
Minesweeping trawler OLYMPIA
(Skipper H. C. Hall RNR) and armed patrol trawler VENTURE
(Lt A. S.
Bennett RNVR) were attacked by German bombers off
Haisborough. OLYMPIA had one rating killed, and because of
damage from
near misses, both trawlers had to be towed in.
_____
Convoy OA.70G departed
Southend escorted by
destroyers VESPER and VISCOUNT from the 12th to 13th, when
they were detached
off the Lizard. Destroyers KEITH and ARDENT escorted the
convoy from the 13th
to 14th. Meanwhile, convoy OB.70G departed Liverpool
escorted by destroyer VERSATILE and sloop
DEPTFORD. The two convoys merged on the 14th as OG.14 with a
total of 48 ships.
VERSATILE and DEPTFORD escorted the convoy on the 14th, and
then joined HG.14.
French destroyers TIGRE and PANTHERE escorted OG.14 from the
14th to 19th,
and arrived at Gibraltar on the 19th.
_____
Convoy FN.68 departed
Southend, escorted by sloops AUCKLAND and STORK, and arrived
in the Tyne on the 12th.
_____
Convoy FS.69 departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyer VIVIEN and sloop PELICAN, and arrived at
Southend on the 12th.
_____
Steamer EL
OSO (7267grt) of convoy HX.14B was sunk off Mersey
Light, six miles 280°
from Bar Light Vessel on a mine laid by U.30 on the 9th.
Escorting destroyer
WALKER was joined by destroyer VIMY and later by destroyers
FAULKNOR and
FOXHOUND. Shortly after midnight on the 12th, anti-submarine trawler KING SOL
(486grt) sighted a submarine on the surface near
Bar Light Vessel. She chased the submarine for more than an
hour, but lost it
in the darkness. Destroyers VIMY, VERSATILE, sloop DEPTFORD,
anti-submarine
yacht CUTTY SARK and two other anti-submarine trawlers were
also patrolling
in the area. At 0345, VIMY attacked a submarine contact 12
miles 300° from the
Light Vessel. A minelaying submarine was suspected and
destroyers FAME, ISIS, FORESIGHT and IMPERIAL patrolled
across North Channel to intercept her.
_____
Steamer KEYNES
(1706grt) was attacked by German bombers in 53‑03N, 01‑40E
but
escaped serious damage. However, later that same day, German
bombers sank her
in 53‑47N, 00‑46E, but the entire crew was rescued.
_____
Steamer LEONARD
PEARCE (1571grt) was sunk in a collision in Bristol
Channel off Bull Point.
_____
Anti-submarine yacht PRINCESS
(730grt) and steamer BLAIRMORE (4141grt) collided near
Elswell Bay,
Bristol Channel. PRINCESS sank, and her crew picked up by
BLAIRMORE.
_____
Three British vessels were
bombed by aircraft of
the German X Air Corps - trawler CROXTON
(195grt) was sunk in 53‑20N, 02‑40E, but her entire crew
rescued,
trawler FLAVIA (202grt) was damaged 90 miles NE by E of
Buchanness, and
steamer PITWINES (932grt) was damaged 25 miles SE by E of
Flamborough Head. .
Note:
German X Air Corps flew He111's of KG26, Ju88's of KG30, and
two reconnaissance squadrons flying He59's or Do17's.
_____
U.23 sank Norwegian steamer FREDVILLE
(1150grt) in 58‑25N, 01‑10W. Ten crew were
lost and five survivors rescued by trawler MAY (491grt).
_____
German trawler DIETRICH
HASSELDIECK (172grt) was lost in the Baltic off
Pakdiski on a minefield
laid by Finnish submarine VESIHIISI on 27 December.
_____
Light cruiser AJAX,
returning to England, arrived at Rio de Janiero.
_____
Midshipman (A) J D W Barr and
Leading Airman G E
Uren died of injuries after their Skua of 803 Squadron force
landed at Tor
Ness Point, Stronsay.
_____
Soviet steamer SELENGA (2492grt), carrying a cargo of wolfram from Japan
to Germany, was seized shortly after leaving Manila by light
cruiser LIVERPOOL, and taken to Hong Kong.
Friday,
12 January
Anti-aircraft cruiser
CARLISLE completed her conversion to an anti-aircraft cruiser at Devonport and
later headed for the Mediterranean.
Following working up at Malta from 10 February to 26 March,
she arrived at Gibraltar on 29 March to return to England,
where she was assigned to the 20th Cruiser
Squadron working with the Humber Force.
_____
Light cruisers DUNEDIN and DELHI departed
Scapa Flow on
Northern Patrol duties, with both arrived back on the 17th.
_____
Armed merchant cruiser
CALIFORNIA arrived in the Clyde after standing by armed merchant cruiser CANTON.
_____
Light cruiser EMERALD
departed Portsmouth for Halifax where she arrived on the
18th.
_____
Minelayer PRINCESS VICTORIA,
escorted by destroyers
ESCAPADE and ECLIPSE, conducted operation PA 1.
Minesweepers HARRIER and SKIPJACK
accompanied this force, which arrived back at Rosyth on the
13th.
_____
Destroyer EXMOUTH relieved
destroyer ECHO on escort duty with cable ship ROYAL
SCOT.
_____
Submarine TRIDENT arrived at
Rosyth after patrol.
_____
Submarine L.23 departed Blyth on patrol.
_____
Convoy OA.71 departed Southend
escorted by
destroyers ACASTA and WINDSOR from the 12th to 14th.
Destroyers VETERAN and
VERITY escorted the convoy from 14th to 16th, when it
dispersed to join
convoy SL.15. Meanwhile convoy OB.71 departed Liverpool,
escorted by destroyers VANOC and WINCHELSEA to the
16th when it too joined SL.15.
_____
Convoy FN.69 departed
Southend, escorted by
destroyer WOOLSTON and sloop GRIMSBY, and arrived in the
Tyne on the 13th.
_____
Convoy FS.70 departed the Tyne, escorted by sloops FLEETWOOD and BITTERN, and arrived at Southend on
the 13th. Convoy FS.71 was cancelled.
_____
Destroyer ASHANTI made two
attacks on a submarine contact NNW of
Great Orme's Head, in 53-33N, 4-01W. Anti-submarine yacht
CUTTY SARK was also
in the area.
_____
Anti-submarine yacht ANNA
MARIE (344grt) sighted
what was taken to be a periscope feather off Bull Point, in
51-15N, 04-17W,
and dropped depth charges on a presumed submarine contact.
Portuguese steamer
MELLO (4020grt) also sighted a submerged object near this
location about the
same time. It was later determined that the contact was the
wreck of steamer
LEONARD PEARCE sunk in a collision on the 11th.
_____
Patrol yacht SHEMARA (834grt)
and anti-submarine
yacht VALENA (882grt) were exercising with submarine H.50
off Portland Bill
in 50-25-50N, 2-47-40W, and made attacks on a submarine
contact. Motor
anti-submarine boats 3 and 6 were also searching in the
area. SHEMARA
escorted H.50 back to harbour.
_____
U.23 torpedoed Danish tanker DANMARK
(10,517grt) east of South Ronaldsay in 58‑59N, 02‑53W. The
after part sank
on the 21st, while the fore part was refloated and taken to
Inverkeithing for
use as a storage hulk.
_____
Armed patrol trawler VALDORA
(251grt, T/Skipper A. Potterton RNR) was sunk by aircraft of
German X Air Corps off
Cromer with the loss of her entire crew of one officer and
nine ratings.
_____
Three more British vessels
were also attacked and
bombed by aircraft of the German X Air Corps - trawler WILLIAM
IVEY (202grt) was sunk 15 to 16 miles north, one half
mile east, of Longstone Light House, steamer BLYTHMOOR
(6582grt) damaged in
54‑16N, 00‑10W, and trawler PERSIAN EMPIRE (195grt) damaged
seven
miles east by north of Filey.
_____
Light cruiser CAPETOWN
was refitting at Malta beginning on this date and completing
on the 30th.
_____
Light cruiser DURBAN
departed Singapore on escort duty, and arrived back on the
20th.
_____
Convoy HXF.16 departed Halifax
at 1000 escorted by Canadian destroyers OTTAWA and SAGUENAY, which detached
on the 13th. The ocean escort was armed merchant cruiser
AUSONIA, which detached
on the 21st. The convoy was escorted in Home Waters by
destroyers MACKAY and
WANDERER from convoy OB.74 and destroyers ANTELOPE and
VESPER, and arrived at
Dover on the 21st.
Saturday,
13 January
Late on the 13th, minelaying
destroyers IVANHOE and
INTREPID of the 20th Destroyer Flotilla laid minefield IE‑2
in the
German channels of the West Wall minefield in the Heligoland
Bight in 54‑06N,
05‑29E. They reached the Humber on the 14th
after this operation. Operation IE 3 for the 17th was
cancelled and the
destroyers proceeded to Rosyth.
_____
Light cruiser DIOMEDE
departed Plymouth for Rosyth.
_____
Destroyers FAME, FORESIGHT,
FURY, FORESTER arrived in the Clyde.
_____
Minesweeper NIGER attacked a
submarine contact in Knock Deep in
51-39N, 1-33E.
_____
Sloop GRIMSBY escorting a
convoy attacked a submarine contact
off Scarborough in 54-18N, 00-12W.
_____
Submarine TRIBUNE at 1900 was
missed by two
torpedoes in 57-58N, 10-15E. There is no German record of
this attack and submarine
SHARK was exercising at this time in the area, but did not
report an attack
on a submarine.
_____
Destroyer COSSACK departed
Leith on the 10th to prepare for high speed trials. Lying in the stream,
she was involved in a collision with cable ship ROYAL
SCOT, escorted by destroyer
EXMOUTH, in the Firth of
Forth on the 13th. COSSACK returned to Leith for repairs and was able to carry out her gun trials on the 15th.
_____
Convoy FN.70 departed
Southend, escorted by
destroyer VIVIEN and sloop STORK, and arrived in the Tyne on the 14th. There was no convoy FN.71.
_____
Convoy FS.72 departed the Tyne, escorted by sloops AUCKLAND
and STORK, and arrived at Southend on the 15th.
_____
Sloop BITTERN found a German
mine which she towed
towards Sheerness. It was secured to the Nord Buoy and
beached from there by
harbour defence patrol yacht GLALA (51grt).
_____
Russian submarine SC.324
unsuccessfully attacked a Finnish convoy consisting of
ANNEBORG and BORE I, escorted by patrol yacht AURA II
(563grt) and patrol boat TURSAS, in 60-23N,
19-10E. AURA II dropped depth charges, which damaged her and
she
later sank.
_____
U.20 sank Swedish steamer SYLVIA
(1524grt) NE of Aberdeen.
_____
Convoy of HG 15F of thirteen
ships departed Gibraltar 13 January,
escorts:
|
|
joined
|
detached
|
|
13th
|
Destroyers BROKE,
KEPPEL,
WALPOLE, WALKER from Gibraltar. Also sloop
ENCHANTRESS from convoy OG.14F
|
|
|
15th
|
|
BROKE
|
|
17th
|
Destroyer AMAZON
|
KEPPEL when she was
damaged
in collision with French destroyer JAGUAR
|
|
19th
|
|
WALPOLE, WALKER
|
|
20th
|
|
ENCHANTRESS
|
|
convoy
arrived on the 22nd still with AMAZON
|
_____
Completing her time in the
East Indies, aircraft
carrier GLORIOUS
departed Trincomalee on 29 December and arrived at Aden on 7
January, Suez on the 9th and Alexandria on the 13th. She
proceeded to Malta on the 15th escorted by destroyers
VENDETTA and
BULLDOG, and arrived on the 17th for refitting, completed on
25 March. BULLDOG
also refitted at Malta, until the 24 February. On 26 March,
GLORIOUS,
escorted by destroyer WESTCOTT and Australian destroyer
STUART was departed Malta for flying-off exercises.
_____
Convoy SLF.16 departed
Freetown escorted by armed merchant cruiser CHESHIRE,
destroyers HARDY, HOSTILE and submarine SEVERN. The destroyers and submarine were returning for duty in Home Waters.
HARDY and HOSTILE left the convoy on the 20th and called at
Gibraltar. Sloop
ROCHESTER and destroyer VISCOUNT joined on the 24th
relieving the armed merchant cruiser and submarine. SEVERN reached Portsmouth on the
24th, while the convoy arrived in port on
the 27th.
Sunday,
14 January
Battleship WARSPITE
and destroyers FAULKNOR,
FORESIGHT, FORESTER, FOXHOUND, FORTUNE, FEARLESS, FIREDRAKE,
FAME, FURY of the 8th Destroyer Flotilla departed Greenock on patrol, and arrived at Scapa Flow on the
17th.
_____
Light cruiser AURORA
departed Scapa Flow on the
14th to intercept German steamer TRAUTENFELS (6418grt) which
was reported six
miles off the Norwegian coast without a rudder. Light
cruisers MANCHESTER
on
the 15th and NEWCASTLE
on the 16th departed Scapa Flow, while destroyers
MAORI, KASHMIR, KANDAHAR and TARTAR departed Rosyth, and
destroyers INGLEFIELD,
ICARUS, KIMBERLEY, KELVIN and KHARTOUM departed the Clyde on
the 15th to
support AURORA. Destroyer AFRIDI was to have accompanied
this group from
Rosyth, but was held back with defects. The operation was
cancelled when it
was learned that German steamer RAUENFELS (8460grt) had
taken TRAUTENFELS in
tow and took her into Narvik.
_____
Armed merchant cruiser
CIRCASSIA arrived at the Clyde from Portland for Northern
Patrol.
_____
Submarines TRIAD and NARWHAL
were exercising in the
Firth of Forth. Later in the day, TRIAD departed for patrol.
_____
Submarine TRUANT arrived at
Rosyth after patrol.
_____
All available J-class
destroyers were ordered to
Harwich to support operation ST 2, and JERVIS, JANUS, JUNO,
JACKAL met JAVELIN and JAGUAR west of Outer
Dowsing.
_____
After submarine SALMON on
patrol off Terschelling reported
that shipping was moving coastwise between Germany and
Holland, patrols were ordered off the Dutch coast to
intercept this traffic. Destroyers GLOWWORM, GREYHOUND,
GRENVILLE of the 1st
Destroyer Flotilla from Harwich and minesweeping trawlers
WILLIAM WESNEY
(364grt), RIVER CLYDE (276grt), STELLA LEONIS (345grt)
operated off the Dutch
coast on operation ST 1 during the night of the 14th/15th.
At 2250/14th,
German steamer PHAEDRA (619grt)
was captured off the Dutch coast near Ijmiuden in 52‑17N,
04‑19.5E
by GREYHOUND after being sighted by WILLIAM WESNEY. Danish
steamers SVANHOLM
(1321grt) and KNUD (1944grt) were sent to the inspection
station in the Downs escorted by RIVER CLYDE, and two Dutch and one Swedish ship were
stopped, but after inspection allowed to continue.
PHAEDRA was renamed EMPIRE
SENTINEL for British
service and in 1943 taken over by the Royal Navy for use as
a wreck dispersal
vessel RAMPANT.
_____
Destroyer WESSEX was in a
collision at 0600 in the Bristol Channel with French steamer
THISBE (1782grt) which stood
by. WESSEX was holed before the bridge and one rating
killed.
Destroyers HYPERION and HOTSPUR were in the convoy escort
with WESSEX, which arrived at Milford Haven for repairs. At
the end of the March, repairs were delayed due to a strike
by shipwrights,
but completed on 8 April.
_____
Destroyers HOTSPUR and
HYPERION departed Bermuda on the 4th. At 1130/14th, they attacked a U-boat contact west of Lundy
Island in 51-12N, 5-10W which had been reported on the 13th to them and
destroyer WESSEX
which was also investigating. Both HOTSPUR and
HYPERION arrived at Portsmouth on the 14th. HYPERION went into dock there for refitting and repairs
until 2 March, prior to joining the Home Fleet, while
HOTSPUR sailed for Chatham
on the 15th for docking and refitting, completing on 27
February, also before
joining the Home Fleet.
_____
Anti-submarine trawler LOCH
MONTEITH (531grt) in Liverpool Bay
in 53-32N, 3-55W attacked a submarine contact.
_____
Light cruiser ENTERPRISE
departed Halifax and arrived at Bermuda on the 17th.
_____
Convoy HX.16 departed Halifax
at 0900 escorted by Canadian destroyers OTTAWA and SAGUENAY. The
destroyers turned over the convoy to ocean escort battleship
MALAYA and detached at 1800/15th. The battleship detached on the 23rd.
Destroyers VENETIA
and WINDSOR escorted the convoy from the 25th to 28th, when
the convoy reached Liverpool.
_____
French destroyer FOUGUEUX
attacked a submarine
contact off Oporto in 41-26N, 10-26W.
_____
Liners DUCHESS OF ATHOLL
(20,119grt) and ETTRICK
(11,279grt) departed Marseilles escorted by French destroyers SIMOUN and TEMPÊTE to Malta.
They then departed Malta on the 16th, escorted by destroyer
WATERHEN for Alexandria and Port Said, respectively.
_____
Sloop LOWESTOFT departed
Port Said for Malta en route for England. After repairs at
Malta, she sailed on the 24th for Gibraltar.
_____
German steamer ALBERT
JANUS (1598grt) departed Vigo on the 13th to return to
Germany. On the 14th, 75 miles west of Vigo off Cape Finisterre,
she was intercepted by French armed merchant cruiser VICTOR
SCHOELSCHER and
scuttled to prevent capture.
Monday, 15
January
Battleship ROYAL
SOVEREIGN departed
Devonport after
refitting, escorted by destroyers ACHATES, ARROW and ANTHONY
for Halifax. On the 16th, the escort was relieved by
destroyers
WINDSOR, VISCOUNT, VANQUISHER.
_____
Destroyer HEARTY (Lt Cdr D G F
W Macintyre) was
completed, and following working up at Portland, joined the
9th Destroyer Flotilla operating with
the Home Fleet. On 27 February, she was renamed HESPERUS to
avoid phonetic
confusion with destroyer leader HARDY.
_____
Submarine CACHALOT was
refitting at Chatham until 21 March, leaving on 29 March for
Portsmouth.
_____
Convoy ON.8 departed Methil
with six British, three
Norwegian and one Finnish ship escorted by destroyers DUNCAN
(Cdr J S Salter,
escort SO), IMPULSIVE, IMPERIAL, ISIS and submarine
NARWHAL. Destroyer EXMOUTH departed the next day and
escorted chartered
aircraft transport FOSSBECK (4918grt) and cable vessel LASSO
to Scapa Flow. Light cruisers EDINBURGH
and GLASGOW
left Rosyth
on the 17th to cover this convoy. On the 17th, DUNCAN
collided with Norwegian steamer HAUKESFJELL (2495grt)
of the convoy and was badly damaged. She was towed by
IMPULSIVE, screened by EXMOUTH,
to Invergordon arriving at Cromarty at 0800/18th. DUNCAN was
relieved by destroyer KIMBERLEY, and after towing in the
damaged ship, IMPULSIVE
returned to the convoy. At Invergordon, EXMOUTH and
minesweeper SPHINX went
alongside DUNCAN to take off ammunition to lighten ship. The
convoy
arrived at Bergen on the 19th without enemy interference.
_____
Destroyers ECHO, ECLIPSE and
ENCOUNTER departed Methil escorting a
MT convoy to the Tyne. In bad weather, the convoy dispersed
and ECHO and ECLIPSE each took half the convoy and escorted
them back to Methil on the 16th. The three destroyers
departed again on the
17th with this convoy for the Tyne and again was
forced to return. The convoy finally left Methil the evening
of the 18th.
_____
Anti-aircraft cruiser
COVENTRY
departed Sullom Voe for the Humber where she arrived later the same day. She went on to Chatham
and arrived on the 16th for docking and repairs. These
were completed on 29 April, and she left that day for
Sheerness to take on
ammunition.
_____
Convoy OA.72 departed Southend
escorted by
destroyers WHITEHALL from the 13th to 15th and ANTELOPE from
14th to 15th,
when the convoy dispersed.
_____
Convoy OB.72 departed
Liverpool escorted by destroyers WANDERER and WALPOLE, and
dispersed
on the 18th.
_____
Convoy FN.72 departed
Southend, escorted by sloops
FLEETWOOD and BITTERN. Gales forced the convoy to shelter in
the Humber, and it arrived in the Tyne on the 18th.
_____
Convoy FS.73 departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyer VIVIEN and sloop PELICAN, and arrived at
Southend
on the 17th.
_____
Destroyers ECHO, ECLIPSE,
ENCOUNTER escorted a group of merchant
ships from Methil to the Tyne. Convoy FS.74 was cancelled.
_____
Armed merchant cruiser WOLFE
ran aground.
_____
Destroyers GRIFFIN and GRAFTON
and the Polish BLYSKAWICA swept off
the Dutch coast in Operation ST 2 during the night of the
15th/16th, supported
by destroyers JERVIS, JUNO, JANUS, JACKAL, JAVELIN and
JUPITER. GRAFTON sent
Latvian steamer RASMA (3204grt) in for inspection.
_____
U.44 sank Norwegian steamer FAGERHEIM
(1590grt) 80 miles SW of Ushant in 47-20N, 6-16E,
Dutch
steamer ARENDSKERK (7906grt) in 46‑55N,
06‑34W, and Greek steamer PANACHANDROS
(4661grt) west of Brest. FAGERHEIM lost 14 crew, and her
survivors were
picked up by Greek steamer IRIS. ARENDSKERK's entire crew
was picked up by
Italian collier FEDORA (5016grt).
_____
Merchant ship GRACIA (5642grt)
of convoy OB.71 was
badly damaged on a mine laid by U.30 on the 9th five miles
WSW of Bar Light
Vessel. Destroyer VOLUNTEER attacked a submarine contact in
Liverpool Bay
while investigating the damage, and dropped depth charges in
53-30N, 3-28W.
_____
Trawler NEW
HAVEN (162grt)
was sunk on a mine eighteen miles SSE of Lowestoft.
_____
Convoy CAVALRY departed Malta
(to be
checked) on the 15th, reached Marseilles on the 18th,
left again on the 23rd, arrived at Malta on the 25th, and
then proceeded to Haifa. The convoy consisted of liners
DILWARA
(11,0880grt), ROHNA (8602grt), DEVONSHIRE
(11,275grt), TALAMBA (8018grt), LANCASHIRE
(9557grt), and RAJULA (8478grt). LANCASHIRE did not
go to Haifa, but proceeded independently to Bombay after
leaving Malta. Australian destroyer VOYAGER departed Malta
with the convoy on the 15th, sister-ship VAMPIRE
joined the next day, and they remained with the convoy until
its arrival at Marseilles. VAMPIRE and VOYAGER rejoined the
convoy on the
23rd when it left Marseilles, and destroyer VENDETTA joined
off Malta on the 25th.
_____
Light cruiser AJAX,
returning to England from the South Atlantic for
repairs, met Force H, battlecruiser RENOWN
and aircraft carrier ARK
ROYAL, in
mid South Atlantic and arrived at Freetown on the 19th.
Mid-January,
miscellaneous
The degaussing of British
ships began In mid-January.
By 9 March, 321
warships and 312 merchant ships had been fitted with
degaussing cables and
219 more warships and 290 more merchant ships were in hand
for degaussing
installations.
