Background
Events - April-May 1940
Invasion of Norway, Battles
of Narvik,
Blitzkrieg on Western Europe, Dunkirk evacuation
starts
1940
Monday,
15 April
Steamers SALERNO
(870grt) and SALMON POOL
(4803grt) were
seized by German forces at Saudafjord, north of Stavanger,
in Boknfjord. Twenty
three crew from SALERNO were interned, and 34 from SALMON
POOL, with four from SALMON POOL returned. They were
renamed
MARKIRCH and PUTZIG, respectively, for German service.
_____
Submarine
SNAPPER sank German auxiliary minesweepers M.1701
(trawler H. M.
BEHRENS, 525grt) and M.1702 (trawler CARSTEN
JANSSEN,
472grt) at 0345/15th, north of Laeso Island in
57‑55N,
10‑53E in an attack on a northbound convoy. She also
claimed damaging
two merchant ships in the convoy. SNAPPER fired a total of
four
torpedoes.
_____
At 1418,
submarine SHARK fired five torpedoes at German steamers
ANGELBURG (3053grt) and
AHRENSBURG (3200grt) escorted by German auxiliary
minesweeper Sperrbrecher 1
(merchant ship SAAR:3261grt) in 57-55.5N, 10-08E. All
torpedoes missed.
_____
Destroyers
GRAFTON, FAME, DIANA arrived at Rosyth at 0700 from
the Humber.
_____
French large
destroyers BISON (Capitaine de Vaisseau J.A.R. Bouan),
MILAN (Capitaine de
Fregatte L.M.E. Plumejeaud), EPERVIER (Capitaine de
Fregatte J.J.G. Bros) of
the 11th Large Destroyer Division, which had departed
Brest the evening of12 April,
arrived at Greenock with troop carrying French armed
merchant cruisers VILLE
D' ORAN, EL D'JEZAIR, EL KANTARA, EL MANSOUR for duty off
Norway. On 14 April,
approaching Greenock in 54-12N, 5-02W, destroyer MILAN was
in a
collision with trawler GLAMORGAN COAST. The damage was
repaired from 16 to 18 April. On this date, an advance
French base was
established at Greenock for Norwegian operations. This
base was
used until 8 May.
_____
Incomplete
German heavy cruiser LUTZOW, which had been launched on 1
July 1939 and transferred to Russia on 11 February 1940,
left Bremen under tow for Leningrad.
_____
U.30
sustained some damage when she ran
aground in the Trondheim aea.
_____
German auxiliary
patrol boat Vp.811 (trawler HUGO HOMANN: 383grt)
was lost in the North Sea. She was later salved and
returned to duty.
_____
Light cruiser
SOUTHAMPTON joined light cruiser AURORA at Harstad and
together went out to
sea to meet convoy NP.1 with troopships BATORY
(14,287grt), REINA DEL PACIFICO
(17,707grt), MONARCH OF BERMUDA (22,424grt). The convoy
arrived off Harstad
the morning of 15 April escorted by battleship VALIANT and
destroyers
CODRINGTON, AMAZON, ACASTA, ARDENT, FEARLESS, BRAZEN,
GRIFFIN, WITHERINGTON and
VOLUNTEER. Despite attacks by U.38 on VALIANT and U.65 on
BATORY, the convoy arrived safely off Harstad. FEARLESS
and BRAZEN, patrolling ahead of the convoy, damaged U.49,
on her third war
patrol, in Vaagsfjord in 68‑53.5N, 16‑59.5E. U.49
surrendered after one depth charge attack.
Many documents were recovered before the scuttling charge
fired. The
destroyers were able to pick up four officers and 37 of
the
submarine's crew. One rating was missing. The crew was
embarked on VALIANT for passage to England. Four hours
later, FEARLESS, screening VALIANT, made another attack
on a submarine contact in the same vicinity. Since Harstad
was not big enough
to accomodate the liners, the troopships were sent to
Bygden and the troops,
the 24th Guards Brigade, were ferried to Harstad in
destroyers.
_____
Destroyers
FAULKNOR and ZULU reconnoitered the shoreward approaches
to Narvik in
Rombaksfjord in preparation for the allied landing.
_____
At 2242, U.47
sighted the British troopships and three Norwegian
merchant ships at anchor
at Bygden. U.47 fired torpedoes against these targets, but
torpedo defects
prevented any damage being done.
_____
British steamers
NORTH
CORNWALL
(4304grt) and MERSINGTON
COURT (5141grt)
were scuttled by their German
prize crews at Narvik. Seventeen crew from NORTH CORNWALL
later arrived
in England, while four were
interned in Sweden. Twenty eight
crew from MERSINGTON COURT were interned
in Sweden, and eight later arrived in England.
_____
Dutch steamer
BERNISSE (951grt) was scuttled by her German prize
crew at Narvik. The crew
was all rescued.
_____
Major General
Carton de Wiart arrived at Namsos in a Sunderland flying
boat
during an air raid. The Sunderland
was machine gunned and destroyer SOMALI, de Wiart's
intended
headquarters, was near missed by bombs. DeWiart was,
however, able to
assume command of the Namsos area as planned. SOMALI had
also been
reconnoitring the fjord, was heavily bombed during the day
and expended
all her HE ammunition before dark. The destroyer sustained
no damage.
Light cruisers GLASGOW and SHEFFIELD were in the
area to provide support.
_____
Admiral Forbes
off northern Norway departed that
area with battleship RODNEY, battlecruiser RENOWN,
destroyers HAVOCK,
HOSTILE, HERO, ESK, ICARUS and IVANHOE. The three H's
returned to Vestfjord. Forbes
had detached battleship WARSPITE and aircraft carrier
FURIOUS to operate off
Vestfjord. RODNEY with destroyers GREYHOUND, ESK, ICARUS
and IVANHOE arrived
at Scapa Flow on the 17th and FORESTER and KIMBERLEY at
0600/18th. GREYHOUND was damaged by heavy weather and
sustained
structural damage en route. She departed Scapa Flow on the
19th for
Sheerness, via Rosyth, and repaired in a month.
_____
Battleship VALIANT with
destroyers FEARLESS, BRAZEN and GRIFFIN departed
Vaagsfjord at 1900/15th and arrived at Scapa Flow at
1100/18th.
_____
Destroyer
JUPITER departed Scapa Flow at 1045 with repair pumps and
equipment
for light cruiser PENELOPE at Skelfjord. She arrived on
the
16th and was then immediately sent on to Aandalsnes to
support anti-aircraft
cruiser CALCUTTA. When it was found CALCUTTA would arrive
first, JUPITER was ordered to continue to Skelfjord.
_____
Destroyer MACKAY
arrived at Scapa Flow at 0900 escorting A.S.I.S. and other
merchant ships, then departed that afternoon
at 1500 and returned to Liverpool.
_____
Captain Pegram's
destroyers MATABELE, MASHONA, AFRIDI and SIKH arrived at
Lillesjona in 66‑14N,
13‑00E and joined Vice Admiral Layton and his two liners
carrying the
146th Brigade. These destroyers were reinforced by
destroyer NUBIAN, which
arrived with oiler WAR PINDARI (5559grt), and destroyer
SOMALI, which arrived
with General de Wiart. General de Wiart transferred to
destroyer AFRIDI and
SOMALI, her ammunition exhausted after two days at Namsos,
was sent home
arriving at Scapa Flow on the 18th. The five other
destroyers
embarked troops from the liners and reached Namsos and
Bangsund that evening.
_____
Light cruiser
EFFINGHAM arrived at Scapa Flow after departing
Portsmouth on the 13th for
duty with the Home Fleet.
_____
Aircraft of 816
and 818 Squadrons from aircraft carrier FURIOUS attacked
German aircraft
parked on a frozen lake in 68-35N, 17-35E. One aircraft
with S/Lt (A) J
Ball, Lt A.S. Marshall, Naval Airman R Pike of 816
Squadron was shot down.
Destroyer ZULU's whaler rescued the crew. Four other
aircraft were
damaged. Midshipman (A) W.A.B. Bland RNVR, was wounded in
one of the damaged
aircraft of 816 Squadron.
_____
Convoy BC.34
with steamers BARON CARNEGIE, which arrived Nantes on the
17th,
DUNKWA, GLOUCESTER CITY, KURFA and LOTTIE
R departed Bristol Channel escorted by destroyer MONTROSE.
The convoy safely arrived at Loire on the 17th.
_____
Convoy SA.37 of
two steamers arrived at St Malo from Southampton.
_____
Convoy FN.146
departed Southend, escorted by destroyer VIVIEN and sloop
PELICAN. The convoy
arrived at Methil on the 17th.
_____
Convoy MT.52
departed Methil, escorted by destroyer VIMIERA. The convoy
arrived in the
Tyne later that day.
_____
Convoy FS.147
departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyer VIMIERA and sloop
LONDONDERRY. The convoy
arrived at Southend on the 17th.
_____
Steamers
QUEEN MAUD (4976grt) and PORT HUNTER
(8802grt) in convoy OA.129, were involved in a collision
in the English Channel. Steamer PORT HUNTER was able
to continue on her own to Southampton. Destroyer WILD
SWAN screened QUEEN MAUD for a time until the steamer
advised she could
continue safely on her own.
_____
Australian troop
convoy US 2, composed of troopships ETTRICK (11,279grt),
NEURALIA (9082grt),
STRAITHAIRD (22,284grt), DUNERA (11,162grt), departed
Melbourne en route to
Egypt escorted by battleship RAMILLIES and Australian
light cruiser ADELAIDE.
The convoy was joined on the 19th by Australian light
cruiser SYDNEY. At
Fremantle on the 22nd, troopship NEVASA (9056grt) was
added to the convoy and
ADELAIDE was detached. Australian
troop convoy US 2 in the area
of the Coco Islands on the 30th was
joined by French heavy cruiser SUFFREN which relieved
Australian light cruiser
SYDNEY which was detached on the 28th for US 3 escort
duties.
_____
French
battleship PROVENCE, which had
departed Dakar on the 11th,
and destroyer TROMBE arrived at Oran on the
16th. Battleships BRETAGNE and LORRAINE departed Toulon on
the 15th and
arrived at Oran on the 18th. The
three battleships departed on the 26th and arrived at
Algiers the next day.
On 29 April, they departed and arrived at Alexandria on 3
May.
_____
Convoy SL.28
departed Freetown escorted by
armed merchant cruiser BULOLO until 29 April. Convoy
SLF.28 merged with
convoy SL.28 on the 22nd. On 29 April, destroyers VESPER
and WALPOLE joined
the convoy and escorted it to Liverpool, arriving on 1
May.
Tuesday,
16 April
Heavy cruiser SUFFOLK
(Captain J. W.
Durnford) and destroyers HEREWARD, JANUS, JUNO and KIPLING
departed Scapa Flow at 1700/16th for Operation DUCK, the
bombardment of Sola airfield near Stavanger. The heavy
cruiser launched two Walrus aircraft for spotting duties.
Both Walrus flew to
Scotland after the operation.
Early on the 17th, this force contacted submarine SEAL
which was acting as a
beacon ship off Stavanger. From 0513 to 0602, SUFFOLK
bombarded Sola airfield, following which she was ordered
north to check for German destroyers at sea, reported late
on the 16th. SUFFOLK and her
destroyers began a high speed northbound sortie that took
them away from
their rendezvous with air cover for their retirement, and
she
was soon taken under German air attack at 0825 and
subjected to seven
hours of bombing.
SUFFOLK received heavy
damage; the most serious was a hit at the base
of X turret at 1037 by a 500 kilogram bomb. X turret
magazine had to be
flooded to prevent its explosion. SUFFOLK was wrecked by
numerous near
misses. Probationary Temporary S/Lt (E) F. H. Collins
RNVR, and twenty
nine ratings were killed and two ratings died of wounds.
Lt J.K.
Gardiner RM, Acting Warrant Engineer A.L.C. Walters,
Paymaster Cadet M.
Hay, and thirty eight ratings were wounded. Destroyer
KIPLING was
damaged by two near misses. Eight Skuas of 803 Squadron
finally arrived
at 1415, followed by nine Skuas of 801 Squadron and Sea
Gladiators of
804 Squadron, but they were unable to prevent four more
German attacks.
Battlecruisers RENOWN and REPULSE proceeded through Fair
Isle Channel
to join SUFFOLK. Destroyers
TARTAR, JAVELIN, GROM and BLYSKAWICA, which departed Scapa
Flow at 1345/17th,
anti-aircraft cruiser CALCUTTA and destroyer FURY, and
destroyer ECLIPSE
from escort duty, joined the battlecruisers. They were
joined at sea by destroyers
KIMBERLEY and FORESTER.
SUFFOLK arrived at Scapa
Flow
at 0545/18th with her quarter deck awash and steering by
propellers,
under tow of tug BUCCANEER, which joined off Torness. Tugs
IMPERIOUS
and HENDON joined the cruiser off Switha. RENOWN and
destroyers
HYPERION, which had joined from Sullom Voe, KIMBERLEY,
FORESTER,
FURY, KIPLING, JANUS, JUNO and HEREWARD,
arrived with SUFFOLK. She was grounded at
Scapa
Flow until 3 May for temporary repairs, departed on 5 May
and
taken to the Clyde. Repairs began on 24 May and lasted
until 24 February 1941.
Destroyer
KIPLING departed Scapa Flow at 1510/19th for Southampton
where she
arrived on the 22nd, for repairing and refitting until 16
July.
_____
At 2140,
submarine PORPOISE unsuccessfully fired six torpedoes at
U.3 off Egersund in
58‑18N, 05‑47E. U.1,
sometimes credited to PORPOISE in this attack, was
probably lost with all twenty four crew, on a mine
laid by submarine NARWHAL on 4 April in 57‑37N, 06‑35E.
_____
The 21st
Anti-Submarine Group of trawlers DANEMAN, LADY ELSA, MAN
O'WAR and WELLARD
and the 23rd Anti-Submarine Group of trawlers INDIAN STAR,
MELBOURNE, BERKSHIRE and RUTLANDSHIRE
arrived at Namsos on the 16th. Both groups went on to
Skelfjord
arriving on the 20th.
_____
U.65,
which had been undergoing trials at the
start of the Norwegian campaign, arrived in Vaagsfjord.
_____
U.13
attacked a Tribal class
destroyer north of the Shetlands.
_____
German
minesweeper M.8 carried out an anti-submarine attack off
Horten in Oslofjord.
German minesweeper M.7 joined to assist.
_____
Destroyers
MATABELE, MASHONA, NUBIAN, AFRIDI (D.4) and SIKH landed
two battalions of British troops, which had been embarked
from Layton's liners, at
Namsos during the night of 16/17 April. The destroyers
then re-embarked the
landing parties from light cruisers GLASGOW and SHEFFIELD
at 0400/17th.
The destroyers joined the troopships which had put to sea
from Lillesjona. Due
to the threat of air attack, troopship EMPRESS OF
AUSTRALIA (19,665grt)
transferred her troops to CHROBRY (11,442grt) and was sent
home, with some
170 tons of stores still on board, escorted by destroyers
VANOC and
WITHERINGTON. The transport and her escort safely arrived
in the Clyde at 0014/20th.
_____
Heavy cruiser YORK, light
cruiser
EFFINGHAM, anti-aircraft cruiser CALCUTTA, and destroyer
ASHANTI departed Scapa Flow at 0300/16th. At
2200/16th they were sent into the Aandalsnes area to
prevent the Germans from
landing troops there and to cover CALCUTTA which was also
reconnoitring in the area. Urgency was given this duty as
the disabled
destroyers HEINEMANN and ECKHOLDT were sighted off
Stavanger at 1900
steering course 360. The destroyers were returning to
Germany from Trondheim but the
Admiralty decided that they might be en route to
Aandalsnes to land troops. CALCUTTA sighted a
U-boat on the surface three miles west of Aandalsnes, and
proceeded to seaward having been unable to attack the
submarine with
depth charges due to proximity to the shore. Destroyer
ASHANTI carried ashore
a landing party from CALCUTTA early on the
17th to hold the area until the arrival of the PRIMROSE
force in the night of
17/18 April.
_____
French steamers
AMIENOIS (3715grt), CAP BLANC
(3315grt) and SAUMUR (2915grt) departed Brest escorted by
French destroyers CYCLONE (Capitaine de Vaisseau
Y.F.C.A.M. Urvoy de
Portzamparc) and MISTRAL (Capitaine de Corvette E.R.
Lavene) and accompanied
by tanker MEKONG. All arrived safely at Greenock on the
19th.
_____
Two Swordfish of
803 Squadron (Lt W.P. Lucy with Lt M.C.E. Hanson and Lt
H.E.R. Torin with
Midshipman T.A. McKee) attacked targets at Bergen during a
reconnaisance. Lucy claimed sinking a patrol boat and
Torin reported bombing
a coastal submarine leaving port. Patrol boat TARANTEL
N.B. 19 was near missed
and had one crewman dead and nine wounded. U.57 did leave
port that day and
U.58 and U.59 arrived at Bergen on this date. U
58 was attacked, but sustained no damage.
_____
Submarine
TRIDENT arrived at Rosyth after patrol. Submarine was
attacked by friendly
aircraft on the 15th in the sanctuary. The submarine was
not damaged.
_____
Submarine CLYDE arrived at
Blyth after patrol.
_____
Submarine
SWORDFISH departed Blyth on patrol.
_____
French submarine
AMAZONE departed Harwich on patrol
_____
U.58
reprovisioned at Bergen.
_____
Norwegian
torpedo boat BRAND and minelayer ULLER were placed in
service by German
troops as troop carriers at Bergen. Norwegian
torpedo boats HVAS, HAUK, FALK, KJAEK and minelayer OTRA
were placed in
service as auxiliary patrol boats and renamed SEESTERN,
KROKODIL, QUALLE,
SCHILDKROTE and TOGO, respectively,
based at Tonsbjerg.
_____
Swedish steamer
MERTAINEN (4531grt) was sunk by German bombing off
Trondheim, but the crew was
rescued and landed at Kristiansund.
_____
Destroyers
KEITH, BASILISK, BRILLIANT, BEAGLE, BROKE, CAMPBELL and
VESPER carried
out exercises south of Colbart Ridge.
_____
Convoy FN.147
departed Southend, escorted by destroyer VALENTINE and
sloop WESTON. The
convoy arrived in the Tyne on the 18th.
_____
Panamanian
steamer ALBA (3444grt) ran aground on the Goodwins, 3½
miles 55° from Deal
Coast Guard Station. Tug LADY BRASSEY and salvage vessel
DAPPER
proceeded from Dover to assist. After
jettisoning cargo and the efforts of seven tugs, she was
finally refloated at 1830/17th, brought to the Downs and
anchored.
_____
French aircraft
carrier BEARN, escorted by
destroyer PANTHERE, passed Gibraltar en route from Brest
to Toulon. The destroyer
called at Gibraltar to refuel. Both ships arrived on the
18th
and the destroyer began repairs.
_____
French steamer PROVIDENCE
departed
Marseille on the 16th, escorted by destroyer L'AUDACIEUX
from Gibraltar. The steamer
arrived at Brest on the 21st.
_____
French submarine
REQUIN arrived at Gibraltar for anti-submarine exercises
with the Gibraltar Force.
Wednesday,
17 April
German aircraft
dropped mines in the Edinburgh Channel and off the Downs.
On 20 April,
steamer HAWNBY (5380grt) was sunk in 51‑32N,
01‑13E and steamer MERSEY (1037grt) near Midbrake
Buoy in the Downs, in 51-17N, 1-28E. The entire crew of
HAWNBY was rescued
by MTB.4, while three crew were lost and eleven
missing from MERSEY. Seven
survivors were brought to Ramsgate.
_____
U.13
sank steamer SWAINBY (4935grt)
twenty five miles northeast of Muckle Flugga in 61‑03N,
00‑14W, but the entire crew was rescued. Destroyers
BASILISK, BEAGLE,
BROKE, ANTELOPE were ordered to the area to search.
_____
Battlecruiser REPULSE with
destroyers HAVELOCK (D.9), HAVANT and FAME departed Scapa
Flow at 0400 for
Narvik.
_____
French
submarines CASABIANCA (Capitaine de Corvette R.L.B.
Sacaze), SFAX (Lieutenant
de Vaisseau M.J.M. Groix), ACHILLE (Lieutenant de Vaisseau
E. Michaud) and PASTEUR
(Lieutenant de Vaisseau P.E.A.E. Mertz) of the 2nd
Submarine Division arrived
at Harwich escorted by sloop ROSEMARY and trawler BERBERIS
for duty as the
9th Submarine Flotilla in patrols off Norway. PASTEUR was
damaged while manoeuvring at Harwich and was unable to
submerge,
but the other three departed Harwich on the 18th for
Dundee. CASABIANCA departed Dundee on patrol on
the 21st for patrol off Karmsund in Selbjornfjord (Bergen
area), SFAX on
the 23rd for Flekkefjord and Egersund area, and ACHILLE on
the 20th for Jaederens
and the south entrance to Stavanger. On their next
patrol, the submarines were deployed at the entrance of
the Skagerrak on the
longitude of Lindesnes.
_____
Destroyer
HIGHLANDER, conducting anti-submarine patrol in Lillesjona
Fjord, ran aground
damaging her rudder, propellers and all projecting
underwater fittings at 0130. She was able to proceed under
her own power at reduced speed from Lillesjona on the 17th
for Hull where she
arrived on the 19th for repairs completed on 20 May.
HIGHLANDER
arrived at Scapa Flow on 23 May for duty.
_____
German steamers
AFRIKA (6503grt), which had come from Narvik with a cargo
of ore and captured
by Norwegian forces on 9 April, and THESEUS (956grt),
which had come from Trondheim, were at Hardangersfjord. On
17 April, AFRIKA (6503grt) was scuttled at Ulvik
in
Hardangersfjord by Norwegian torpedo boat STEGG.
_____
Swedish steamer
BALTICIA (1986grt) was arrested at sea by a German
torpedo boat and taken to
Haugesand. On 13 May, sher was renamed GOTHIA for German
service.
_____
Light cruisers
GALATEA, ARETHUSA, anti-aircraft cruisers CARLISLE,
CURACOA, and
destroyers ARROW and ACHERON departed Rosyth with troops
to be landed at
Molde and Aandalsnes under operation SICKLE. GALATEA and
CARLISLE landed troops
of the 148th Brigade at Aandalsnes at 2000/18th, while
ARETHUSA and CURACOA landed troops of the 148th Brigade at
Molde, and
the destroyers ferried them to Aandalsnes. There was no
opposition to the
landings.
_____
Destroyer ESCORT
departed Lerwick after safely delivering destroyer ECLIPSE
at 1130 and
proceeding towards Scapa Flow. A submarine
contact was reported by aircraft at 1233 in 59‑15N, 1‑30W,
ESCORT attacked a submarine contact and summoned
destroyers TARTAR and JAVELIN from Scapa Flow to assist.
Further
investigation proved this was the wreck depth charged by
destroyer CODRINGTON on
5 April. All three destroyers arrived at Scapa Flow on the
18th.
_____
Submarine TAKU
was stationed off Sulenfjord 20 miles from Aalesund to
prevent German
ships from entering the area. Uninformed of TAKU's
presence and patrolling in
the same area was destroyer ASHANTI. At 0342, TAKU fired
four
torpedoes at ASHANTI, which all missed. TAKU
was then taken under attack by ASHANTI which dropped
one depth charge before TAKU was identified. She only
sustained a
strained fore hatch.
_____
The sloops
carrying the PRIMROSE detachment, arrived at Aandalsnes at
2200 17 April. By
dawn on the 18th, disembarkation of the troops was
completed. Sloop BLACK
SWAN remained in the area to provide anti-aircraft support
and the other
sloops went off on other duties. BLACK SWAN remained on
station until relieved
on the 21st.
_____
At Harstad, the
unloading of the convoy NP.1 transports was completed on
the 17th and by 18 April
the quays were cleared of cargos. The convoy, troopships
MONARCH OF BERMUDA,
BATORY and REINA DEL PACIFICO,
departed Vaagsfjord escorted by destroyers AMAZON,
VOLUNTEER and WITHERINGTON at
0300/17th. It arrived in the Clyde at 1045/20th,
escorted by destroyers FEARLESS, FURY, HYPERION.
_____
During the night
of 16/17 April, destroyers AFRIDI, MATABELE, MASHONA and
NUBIAN met Polish
troopship CHROBRY at sea and led her up Namsenfjord to
Namsos supported by
anti-aircraft cruisers CAIRO and CURLEW. Light
cruisers GLASGOW and SHEFFIELD with destroyer SIKH
remained at sea on guard. MATABELE and MASHONA ferried
troops
ashore from CHROBRY while AFRIDI and NUBIAN patrolled in
the Fjord. At 0400/17th, MATABELE and SIKH re-embarked
GLASGOW
and SHEFFIELD's landing parties put ashore on the 14th.
Destroyer SOMALI arrived at Scapa Flow at 2330/17th
from Lillesjona. When CHROBRY left Namsenfjord early on
the 18th, she was not
completely unloaded and returned to Lillesjona. It was
decided to send CHROBRY
back to Namsos the night of 18/19 April to complete
unloading as French
convoy FP.1, en route to Namsos, was a day late and would
not arrive until
late on the 19th.
Destroyer MOHAWK had
departed Scapa Flow
at 1830/17th, and arrived at Namsos on the 18th with
ammunition for the
British ships. She then joined Captain Pegram's force.
MOHAWK was
ordered to join destroyer ASHANTI to patrol the
Trondheim Leads until the 22nd when they departed to
refuel at Scapa Flow. GLASGOW and SHEFFIELD arrived at
Scapa Flow for refuelling on the 18th. After dark on the
18th, MATABELE was detached to
refuel at Sullom Voe. CAIRO refuelled at
Skelfjord, but returned in time to rejoin CURLEW escorting
CHROBRY.
Unloading was completed the night of the 18th/19th.
CHROBRY returned
to Scapa Flow escorted by Pegram's force which arrived
at Scapa Flow on the 20th. AFRIDI arrived at
Scapa
Flow to refuel and embark ammunition at 1000/20th, while
CHROBRY,
escorted by SIKH and MASHONA, went on to the Clyde,
arriving at
2250/21st. NUBIAN arrived at Namsos as an anti-aircraft
guard ship
on the 20th.
_____
German U-boats
off southern Norway were ordered
to withdraw.
_____
Submarines
NARWHAL, UNITY and SPEARFISH arrived back at Blyth after
patrols.
_____
The submarine
base at Dundee was commissioned as HMS AMBROSE with Cdr
J. G. Roper as S.9.
_____
Destroyers
BASILISK, BEAGLE, CAMPBELL, BROKE, WREN,
VANSITTART, ANTELOPE, WOLVERINE and WITCH departed Dover
at 0600 for Scapa Flow. Destroyer
VANSITTART has just arrived at Dover escorting a
convoy. At 0900, they were diverted en route to search for
a German submarine
through positions 59‑00N, 0‑45E, 59‑50N, 0‑45E, 59‑50N,
0‑20W, 59‑10N, 1‑00W, and 58‑30N, 1‑00W. BASILISK, BEAGLE,
BROKE and ANTELOPE were ordered at 0900/18th to search for
the
submarine sinking steamer SWAINBY, while WREN, WOLVERINE,
WITCH,
CAMPBELL and VANSITTART were sent to 59‑12N, 0‑15W to
search for a
German submarine reported by aircraft. They arrived at
Scapa Flow at 0715/19th. Meanwhle
BASILISK, BEAGLE, BROKE and ANTELOPE were sent at
2300/18th to search for the
crew of a downed Whitley bomber. They rescued four crew
and arrived
at Scapa Flow at 1400/19th. Destroyers WILD SWAN,
WHITSHED and VERITY arrived at Dover on the 18th to
replace them.
_____
Two Skuas of 800
Squadron departed Hatston to attack German targets at
Bergen. A Skua flown
by Lt E.G. Finch-Noyes attacked German minelayer BREMSE
without success. The
other Skua flown by Captain R.T. Partridge RM, made no
attack and on its
return to Sumburgh crashed on the field and was a total
loss.
_____
Old Norwegian
torpedo boats GRIP, JO and
RAVN
were scuttled
at Lyngor in the Namsenfjord-Molde area.
_____
Convoy OA.131
departed Southend escorted by destroyer VESPER from the
17th to 19th, and VENETIA on the 17th.
_____
Convoy OB.131
departed Liverpool escorted by sloop FOLKESTONE from the
18th to
20th, when she detached to convoy SL.27. The convoy
dispersed on the
21st.
_____
Convoy BC.33
with four steamers, including steamer MARSLEW (Commodore)
departed the Loire escorted by
destroyer MONTROSE, and arrived in the Bristol Channel on
the 18th.
_____
Convoy FN.148
departed Southend, escorted by destroyers WALLACE and
VALOROUS. The convoy
arrived at the Tyne on the 19th.
_____
Convoy MT.53
departed Methil, escorted by destroyers WOLSEY and
WESTMINSTER. The convoy
arrived in the Tyne later that day.
_____
Convoy FS.148
departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyers WOLSEY and
WESTMINSTER.
The convoy
arrived at Southend on the 19th.
_____
Convoy SLF.28
departed Freetown escorted by
armed merchant cruiser CARNARVON CASTLE until 22 April.
On 22 April, the convoy merged with convoy SL.28. On 29
April, destroyers
VESPER and WALPOLE joined the convoys and escorted them to
Liverpool arriving on 1
May.
Thursday,
18 April
Operation HAMMER, allied
troop landings at
Trondheim, was cancelled.
_____
Destroyers ESK,
ICARUS, IVANHOE departed Scapa Flow at 0900 for
Immingham where they arrived at 0600/19th.
_____
Destroyers JUNO, JANUS,
HEREWARD, HASTY departed Scapa Flow at 1315 for the
Clyde to escort
aircraft carrier GLORIOUS from Greenock to Scapa Flow.
_____
Destroyers HASTY
and JACKAL arrived at Scapa Flow at 0800 for
duty with the Home Fleet after repairs. HASTY arrived at
Scapa Flow with destroyer
WHITLEY escorting tanker WAR NIZAM. WHITLEY
then returned to Rosyth.
_____
Destroyer ESCORT
departed Scapa Flow at 1240 for Lerwick with personnel and
stores for damaged destroyer ECLIPSE.
_____
Minesweeping
HUSSAR completed boiler cleaning at Dover. Minesweeper
HALCYON went alongside depot ship SANDHURST in the
Submarine Basin at Dover for boiler
cleaning.
_____
German auxiliary
submarine chasers UJ.125 (trawler JOHANNES KLATTE,
509grt), UJ.126 (trawler
STEIERMARK, 446grt) and UJ.128 (trawler FRANKEN, 435grt)
attacked a submarine
contact in Karingoefjord. At one time it was thought this
contact was the
sinking of submarine STERLET, but it appears she was lost
later that day. Submarine STERLET was sunk in the
Skagerrak late on the
18th by German minesweeper M.75 which with old torpedo
boat T.190 were
escorting a southbound convoy. Lt Cdr G.H.S. Haward, Lt
G.J. Wright, Lt
Gilbert Wardle, Lt J.C. Paige RNR, Probationary
Temporary Surgeon Lt J. S. Crone RNVR, Commissioned
Engineer A.S. Sarfas, the
thirty five ratings were lost.
_____
At 0100,
submarine SEAWOLF fired two torpedoes at one ship and four
torpedoes at
another ship from a group of three merchant ships escorted
by four trawlers.
One torpedo struck and sank German steamer
HAMM
(5874grt),
returning from Oslo, off the Skaw in 58‑09N,
10‑32E.
_____
In Groteintfjord
near Tromso, aircraft carrier FURIOUS, escorted by
destroyers ISIS and ILEX,
was damaged by the concussion of a near miss from a single
German Heinkel
bomber attack. FURIOUS's hull was damaged and she stripped
some turbine blades.
Then on 24 April, she reported two propeller shafts out of
action.
_____
A Swordfish
aircraft of 816 Squadron from aircraft carrier FURIOUS
crashed near Tromso
when it struck a H/T wire stretched across the fjord, Lt
(A) F Whittingham
was killed in the crash, and of the two other crew, Lt O M
Cheeke was seriously
wounded and L/Air S F White slightly. Both injured airmen
were
rescued by a Norwegian guard ship, and destroyer
INGLEFIELD unsuccessfully
searched for Whittingham.
_____
Destroyer
FORTUNE escorting tanker WAR PINDARI arrived at Tromso at
2200.
_____
Escort vessel WINCHESTER,
which was
working up, submarine H.28 departed Portland on
anti-submarine exercises.
_____
Polish submarine
ORZEL arrived at Rosyth after patrol.
_____
Submarine
SEALION and French submarine LA SYBILLE arrived at Harwich
after patrol.
_____
German
minelayers HANSESTADT DANZIG, KAISER, ROLAND, COBRA,
PREUSSEN and KONIGIN LUISE
laid anti-submarine mine barrages in the Kattegat. The
minelayers
were escorted by torpedo boats GREIF, SEEADLER and MOEWE
and motor minesweepers R 25 and R 27. GREIF was relieved
by torpedo boat WOLF. The
minefields were laid on the 18th.
_____
Swedish steamer
EDDA (1587grt) was seized by German forces outside
Larvik and renamed
AXEL for German service.
_____
Swedish steamer KARE
(1203grt) was
attacked by German bombers, and the crew abandoned ship
and went ashore. She was seized and named HELA for German
service.
_____
Convoy OA.132
did not sail.
_____
Convoy OB.132
departed Liverpool escorted by destroyer WARWICK from 18
to
21 April. The convoy dispersed on the 22nd.
_____
Convoy OG.26 was
formed from convoys OA.130G, which departed Southend on
the 16th escorted by
destroyer VIVACIOUS and OB.130G, which departed Liverpool
on the 16th
escorted by destroyer VIMY, with 54 ships. The convoy
arrived at Gibraltar on the 25th,
escorted by French sloop ANNAMITE and escort ship VIKINGS,
which joined on
the 19th from Lorient.
_____
Convoy FN.149
departed Southend, escorted by destroyer WINCHESTER and
sloop LONDONDERRY. Destroyer
WHITLEY relieved the sloop, which on relief proceeded to
Rosyth. On 19 April,
WINCHESTER hit a submerged
object 5.6 miles 037° from Tongue Light Vessel, but was
able to continue with
the convoy with damage to her asdics and propeller. The
convoy arrived at the
Tyne on the 20th
with WHITLEY and WINCHESTER.
_____
Convoy MT.54
departed Methil, escorted by destroyer VEGA and sloop
HASTINGS. The convoy
arrived at the Tyne later that day.
_____
Convoy FS.149
departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyer VEGA and sloop
HASTINGS. The convoy
arrived at Southend on the 20th.
_____
Convoy HG.27F of
twenty six ships departed Gibraltar. Destroyer
VELOX escorted the convoy on the 18th, French destroyer
CHACAL and torpedo
boat BATAILLEUSE from the 18th to 24th, and sloops
SCARBOROUGH and LEITH from the 24th to 27th. SCARBOROUGH
arrived in the Downs on the 26th
with the Thames section of the convoy, while the main
convoy arrived at Liverpool on the 27th.
_____
Convoy HX.36
departed Halifax at 0800
escorted by Canadian destroyers SAGUENAY, SKEENA and ST
LAURENT, which were
detached on the 19th. After screening the ocean escort,
battleship REVENGE to
sea, ST LAURENT returned to Halifax, with SAGUENAY and
SKEENA arriving back on the morning of the 20th. The
battleship
was detached on the 26th. Destroyers VIMY and WAKEFUL
joined the convoy on
the 30th, with VIMY detaching on 2 May and WAKEFUL on the
3rd, when the convoy arrived at Liverpool.
_____
The Italian
destroyers, purchased by Sweden, departed Naples, but a
collision
soon occurred between PUKE and PSILANDER. Damage required
the destroyers
to call at Cartagena, where they
arrived on the 23rd.
Friday,
19 April
Light cruiser EFFINGHAM
was attacked early on the 19th by U.38, southwest of the
Lofotens, but was not damaged.
_____
Light cruiser ENTERPRISE,
arriving in
Vaagsfjord during the evening of 19 April, was attacked by
U.65. All the
torpedoes exploded prematurely and no damage was done.
_____
German U-boats
off Vaagsfjord, Vestfjord, Namsenfjord and Romdalsfjord
were ordered to return
to Germany.
_____
At 0700,
destroyers FEARLESS, FURY and HYPERION departed Scapa Flow
to meet homebound
convoy HNP 1 and relieve escorting destroyers
VOLUNTEER and WITHERINGTON, which then proceeded to Scapa
Flow and the Clyde,
respectively.
_____
A Swordfish of
818 Squadron from FURIOUS forced landed intact on a
snowfield of Lake Skogsfjord, Ringvassoy, Lt
S Keane, Lt A S Marshall, and Naval Airman F Clark were
rescued uninjured.
_____
Polish
destroyers GROM, BURZA and BLYSKAWICA departed Scapa Flow
at 2130 for
Harstad to relieve destroyers there. Destroyer ESCORT
rendezvoused with them off Lerwick, but BURZA was forced
to return to Scapa Flow with storm damage to her bow,
arriving there at 1100/20th. Also on the 20th, U.9
attacked BLYSKAWICA northeast of the Shetlands and
was counterattacked in return. The three destroyers
arrived safely on the
21st off Harstad without further incident and were led
into port by destroyer
FAULKNOR.
_____
Battleship
VALIANT and battlecruiser RENOWN, which were to embark
special shells for the
Trondheim bombardment, escorted by light cruisers GALATEA,
ARETHUSA and
destroyers VANSITTART, CAMPBELL, WITCH and WOLVERINE,
departed Scapa Flow at
1700 for Rosyth. Destroyer GREYHOUND departed with the
force and continued
on to Blackwall for structural repairs.
_____
At 0530,
submarine TRIAD fired four torpedoes at German minesweeper
NAUTILUS in
58-18N, 10-48E, but all missed.
_____
Submarine SEAL
arrived at Rosyth after patrol, but departed that day and
proceeded to Blyth, arriving on the 20th.
_____
French
submarines DORIS and ORPHEE departed Harwich on patrol.
_____
Submarine
SNAPPER and French submarine ANTIOPE arrived at Harwich
after patrol.
_____
Submarine
SUNFISH arrived at Harwich after patrol.
_____
French convoy
FP.1, carrying the 5th Chasseur Alpins Demi Brigade,
consisted of French armed
merchant cruisers EL D'JEZAIR (5818grt), EL KANTARA
(5079grt) and EL MANSOUR
(5818grt), escorted by large destroyers BISON, EPERVIER
and MILAN of the 11th
Large Destroyer Division, and armed merchant cruiser VILLE
D'ORAN (10,172grt),
in a group arriving behind the first, escorted by large
destroyers CHEVALIER
PAUL, MAILLÉ
BRÉZÉ
and TARTU of the 5th Large Destroyer Division, which
departed Scapa
Flow on the 20th for Namsenfjord. EL MANSOUR, EL
KANTARA, VILLE D' ORAN, British troopship FRANCONIA, and
TARTU, CHEVALIER
PAUL, MAILLÉ
BRÉZÉ
and EPERVIER had departed the Clyde at 0600/16th
and arrived at Scapa Flow at 0800/17th. The convoys'
passage was
given close cover by French light cruiser EMILE BERTIN
(Flagship Derrien) and
heavy support by battlecruiser REPULSE and anti-aircraft
cruiser CURLEW. Enemy
opposition to the convoys was considerable.
On the 18th, U.34
unsuccessfully
attacked EMILE BERTIN, and on the afternoon of the 19th in
64‑44N, 07‑49E, U.46 launched torpedoes without success at
MAILLÉ
BRÉZÉ,
which counterattacked and drove her off. However, she lost
touch with
the convoy and did not rejoin until it had arrived at
Namsos. The two
groups and their escorts arrived off Namsos and were
joined by
anti-aircraft cruiser CAIRO which came out
from there. During the disembarkation, at 1800 EMILE
BERTIN in
Namsenfjord was hit by a German bomb which resulted in
moderate damage, and as she withdrew, escorted by MAILLÉ
BRÉZÉ,
she was
unsuccessfully attacked by U.51. They were joined at sea
by EPERVIER and British light cruiser MANCHESTER, and the
group proceeded to Sullom Voe. Destroyers ANTELOPE and
BROKE departed Scapa
Flow at 0530 on 20 May and joined the French light cruiser
for escort. After
seeing her near to Scapa Flow, they returned to escort
convoy FP.1
back.
VILLE D'ORAN was damaged
by a near miss at 2200
while sailing up the fjord and fell behind. She was able
to catch up and
disembark her cargo, but had to go to Glasgow for repairs.
After
the disembarkation, the French ships left before dawn on
the 20th with
CAIRO and arrived
at Sullom Voe at 1615/21st, escorted by the TARTU,
CHEVALIER PAUL, MAILLÉ
BRÉZÉ,
BROKE and ANTELOPE. Troopships EL D'JEZAIR,
EL KANTARA and EL MANSOUR departed Sullom Voe at 1715/22nd
for Scapa Flow
escorted by BROKE, ANTELOPE, TARTU and CHEVALIER PAUL, and
arrived at 0700/23rd, while VILLE D'ORAN
departed Sullom Voe at 1800/22nd, escorted by EPERVIER,
for
the Clyde. CAIRO which had
suffered some bomb damage from a near miss at Namsos
arrived at
Scapa Flow on the 21st, while CURLEW, which was supposed
to go to Namsos as anti-aircraft guard ship,
had insufficient fuel and had to return to Scapa Flow,
arriving on the
20th. With no anti-aircraft protection, Namsos was heavily
bombed by
unopposed Luftwaffe forces and the port sustained heavy
damage. Destroyer
NUBIAN arrived on the 20th as an anti-aircraft guard ship,
departing
at 0200/21st.
_____
Battleship WARSPITE,
departing Vestfjord for Rosyth escorted by destroyers
HAVOCK, HOSTILE, HERO and
FOXHOUND, was attacked by U.47 but the torpedoes
prematured. The escorting
destroyers subjected U.47 to a heavy depth charge attack,
and WARSPITE
was recalled to Narvik.
_____
Destroyer WREN
departed Scapa Flow at 1630 for Lerwick to escort
steamer ST ROGNVALD (1069grt) carrying troops from Lerwick
to Aberdeen. WREN
then arrived back at Scapa Flow at 1815/20th, but was
ordered to the Clyde without
entering harbour.
_____
Destroyer
MATABELE on passage to Scapa Flow was diverted to
escort minelayer TEVIOTBANK from Sullom Voe to Rosyth.
Destroyer FORESTER
departed Scapa Flow at 1900/20th, relieved MATABELE for
the
remainder of the voyage, and she and TEVIOTBANK arrived
in the Humber at 1415/22nd. FORESTER went on
to Hull for repairs.
_____
French large
destroyers INDOMPTABLE, MALIN and TRIOMPHANT en route to
Rosyth anchored in the
Downs for the night, and at
0800/20th, continued on to Rosyth.
_____
French
submarines CALYPSO (Lieutenant de Vaisseau J.M. Petit) and
THETIS (Lieutenant
de Vaisseau J.E.L. Lefeuvre) of the 13th Submarine
Division arrived at Harwich
at 1400/19th, escorted by sloop FOXGLOVE, to reinforce the
10th Submarine
Flotilla for patrol in the southern North Sea.
_____
In
operations by German naval auxiliary Schiff 18 and
minesweeper M.1,
which was part of the Egersund invasion force and had been
left behind
because of mechanical defects when the other minesweepers
returned to Germany, five
S-boats of the 1st Flotilla operated in Hardangersfjord,
south of Bergen. Units of the
1st S-boat Flotilla sank Norwegian torpedo boat SAEL
and one S-boat was
damaged by two hits in the engagement at Anuglo.
_____
Convoy MT.55
departed Methil, escorted by destroyer WOOLSTON and armed
patrol yacht BREDA. The convoy
arrived in the Tyne later that day.
_____
Convoy FS.150
departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyer WOOLSTON and
armed patrol yacht BREDA. The convoy
arrived at Southend on the 21st.
_____
Destroyer KEPPEL
arrived at Gibraltar from Malta on completion
of her repairs from her January collision.
Saturday,
20 April
Anti-submarine
trawler RUTLANDSHIRE (458grt, Chief Skipper J.
Wilson RNR) of the 23rd
Anti-Submarine Group was badly damaged by German bombing
at Namsos, and was
run aground to prevent sinking, breaking into three
sections. The entire crew
was rescued. It was long thought that she was salved by
German
forces and renamed Vp.6116 (trawler UBIER). However,
UBIER, later
Vp.6116, was a new whaler not completed until 1941. The
wreck of RUTLANDSHIRE was located in Namsenfjord in
November 2004. (Corrections thanks
to Mark Viglietti)
_____
Sloop AUCKLAND was damaged
by
a near miss in the same bombing attack at Namsos.
_____
Light cruisers
SOUTHAMPTON and ENTERPRISE were at Tromso.
_____
Destroyers
FAULKNOR, ESCAPADE and JUPITER conducted anti-submarine
operations in Vestfjord
screening light cruisers AURORA and EFFINGHAM. At first
light on the 20th,
JUPITER was relieved for refuelling by destroyer GRENADE,
and
EFFINGHAM was relieved early on the 21st by light cruiser
ENTERPRISE.
_____
Destroyers
SOMALI (D.6) and TARTAR departed Scapa Flow at 1300 to
establish a patrol in Kraakvaagford by dusk on the 21st.
They joined destroyers ASHANTI and MOHAWK,
already in the area, patrolling the Trondheim Leads, later
departing on
the 22nd for Scapa Flow for fuel and ammunition, where
they
arrived at 0900/23rd.
_____
Destroyers
BASILISK, BEAGLE and HESPERUS departed Scapa Flow at 0800
to
operate an anti-submarine striking force east of the
Orkneys and Fair Island. BEAGLE arrived back at Scapa Flow
at 1900 for
escort duties, and BASILISK and HESPERUS were ordered at
0535/21st to
the Clyde for escort duties. They arrived at
2345/21st.
_____
Anti-aircraft
cruiser CARLISLE at Aandalsnes was damaged by a near miss
of German bombing, suffering a leak in her starboard
condenser.
_____
Tanker
BRITISH LADY escorted by destroyers HOTSPUR, PUNJABI and
JUPITER
departed Skelfjord during the forenoon for Scapa Flow,
arriving at
2200/23rd with tug BRIGAND in attendance.
_____
Destroyers
BEAGLE and VOLUNTEER departed Scapa Flow at 2100 with
tanker ALDERSDALE for Skelfjord, where they arrived at
0300/24th.
_____
Submarines
URSULA arrived at Blyth, and TAKU at Rosyth after patrols.
_____
French submarine
CIRCE departed Harwich on patrol, but returned on the 22nd
with her after
planes out of action.
_____
Light cruiser
ARETHUSA embarked RAF personnel and fuel at Rosyth and
proceeded unaccompanied
to Aandalsnes where the personnel and cargo were landed
early on the 22nd.
_____
Liner FRANCONIA
(20,175grt)
arrived at Harstad escorted by battlecruiser REPULSE and
destroyers HAVANT,
HAVELOCK, FAME. Congestion was so great that 1141 men of a
labour force were sent back home
without ever disembarking. However, wounded and prisoners
were taken onboard for
transport back to England.
_____
Skuas of
800 and 801 Squadron from Hatston individually attacked
Bergen. German motor
torpedo boat S.22 was unsuccessfully attacked. Midshipman
J R Crossley and Petty Officer M Hall were lost when their
Skua of 800 Squadron crashed between Lerwick and the
Orkneys in 59-81N, 1-19W.
_____
Steamer
WESTERN PRINCE (10,926grt) was heavily machine gunned and
damaged by German
bombers near Edinburgh Light Vessel.
_____
Anti-submarine
yacht MOLLUSC (627grt) attacked a submarine contact in
52-34N, 2-01E. Patrol
sloop SHELDRAKE stood by the contact.
_____
In operations by
German gunnery training ship BREMSE, naval auxiliary ship
Schiff 18,
minesweeper M.1 and S-boats in Hardangersfjord, Norwegian
torpedo boat STEGG at
Heroysund and auxiliary patrol vessel SMART
(122grt) at Usekedel were sunk by BREMSE. Norwegian
minelayer TYR was sent to assist STEGG, engaged
Schiff 18 which was damaged and ran aground at
Usekedel, near Bergen, but was captured later by German
forces when the Norwegian crew went ashore
during daylight hours. She was taken for German use. TYR
with minelayer ULLER
departed Bergen on the 30th to
lay mines at the entrance to Sognefjord, where they were
attacked by Norwegian
aircraft and ULLER damaged and ran aground. The crew was
taken aboard TYR
which returned towards Bergen. On 1 May, she
was attacked by a Norwegian gunboat and sustained many
casualties to the
German crew. TYR served no further use to the German
forces, but was
returned after the war to the Norwegians.
M.1 seized some
40,000 tons of merchant shipping at Haugesand and took
them to
Stavanger. Included in this haul was German steamer CLARE
HUGO
STINNES (5294grt) at Kinsarvik, which was seized at the
start of the Norwegian campaign, and a number of
Norwegian steamers - SAN
MIGUEL
(2380grt) at Ulvik, BLACK PRINCE (5039grt) and KONG
OSCAR II
(914grt), and VENUS (5407grt) at Stanghelle,
near
Bergen.
_____
At 0930,
submarine TRIAD sighted a German convoy of three steamers
and four escorts
in 58-15N, 10-15E, attacked one of the steamers off
Arendal and claimed
to have sunk her, but no damage was done. At 1318,
submarine SWORDFISH fired six torpedoes at the same convoy
in Bohus Bay, which she reported as three freighters and
four F-type escort ships. One of the
torpedoes just missed German steamer SANTOS (5943grt) in
58-48N, 10-19E.
_____
Aircraft carrier
FURIOUS intercepted German trawler RHEIN (254grt)
at 1604 off North Cape, which was taken in prize and
escorted to Harstad by destroyer IMOGEN.
_____
U.61
refuelled at Bergen.
_____
After departing Brest on
the 18th,
French large destroyers ALBATROS (Capitaine de Fregate
R.G. Lambert) and
VAUTOUR (Capitaine de Vaisseau G.F.J.M. Reboul
Hector-Berlioz) of the 7th
Large Destroyer Division arrived in the Clyde escorting
French troopships DJENNE (8790grt), FLANDRE (8503grt) and
PRESIDENT DOUMER (11,898grt). The convoy was met at sea by
destroyers FEARLESS, FURY and VANOC
which escorted them into the Clyde.
_____
Destroyer VEGA
damaged her asdic dome hitting a submerged object, docked
at Chatham on the 22nd and was under repair
until mid May.
_____
Destroyer KEITH
completed boiler cleaning at Dover, while destroyer
BRILLIANT began hers.
_____
French destroyer
L'ADROIT escorted eight Norwegian merchant ships from
Dunkirk to the Downs on the
Dungeness route.
_____
Convoy FN.150
departed Southend, escorted by destroyers WESTMINSTER and
WOLSEY, and WOLSEY was machine gunned by German bombers in
the area of Smith's Knoll. The
convoy arrived at the Tyne on the 22nd. Convoy
FN.151 did not sail.
_____
Convoy MT.56
departed Methil, escorted by destroyer VALENTINE and sloop
WESTON, and submarine
SEAL took passage with them. The convoy arrived in the
Tyne later that day.
_____
Convoy FS.151
departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyer VALENTINE and
sloop WESTON, and arrived at Southend on the 22nd.
_____
Destroyer VELOX
arrived at Gibraltar escorting Norwegian whaling ship
KOSMOS
II (16966grt). The ship had departed Teneriffe and was
captured by French
sloop BOUGAINVILLE off Casablanca.
_____
French
submarines PHOQUE, DAUPHIN, NARVAL and ESPADON departed
Casablanca on the 19th, passed Gibraltar, escorted by
destroyer TRAMONTANE, and were joined by submarine REQUIN
which had been exercising at Gibraltar. They
arrived at Bizerte on the 21st,
along with submarine PROTEE which departed Casablanca on
the 18th; she
passed Gibraltar with destroyer TROMBE on the 19th.
Sunday,
21 April
Light cruiser
EFFINGHAM was relieved by light cruiser ENTERPRISE on
patrol off
Harstad.
_____
Convoy AP.1 of
small steamers ST SUNNIVA (1368grt) and ST MAGNUS
(1312grt) departed Aberdeen at 0430/19th
escorted by destroyers HESPERUS and JACKAL, which departed
Scapa Flow at 1400/18th
for Aberdeen. They were
joined at sea by steamer CEDARBANK (5159grt) escorted by
destroyer JAVELIN
which departed Scapa Flow at 1100/19th. At that time,
HESPERUS was detached and returned to Scapa Flow.
The convoy arrived at Aalesund early on the 21st and
completed
unloading by 0500. Anti-aircraft cruiser CURACOA joined
for
anti-aircraft support on the 21st.
At 0427
on the 21st, JACKAL attacked a submarine contact. However,
at 0635, before CEDARBANK (5159grt) could
disembark her cargo, which included
anti-aircraft guns for area defence, artillery, mortars,
transport and Bren
carriers for troops of the 148th Infantry Brigade, she was
sunk by U.26 in 62‑49N,
04‑10E. (The location was given in the Home Fleet
Destroyer War Diary as
62-54N, 4-39W). Her crew of fourteen and one gunner was
lost. Escorting destroyers JACKAL and JAVELIN were unable
to inflict damage
on U.26 which was returning from delivering supplies to
Trondheim. ST MAGNUS and ST SUNNIVA arrived safely with
their troops at Aandalsnes that evening.
_____
The 22nd
Anti-Submarine Group of trawlers WARWICKSHIRE, HAMMOND,
LARWOOD, BRADMAN,
JARDINE arrived at Aandalsnes.
_____
At 0400/21st, a
small coastal steamer of some 300 tons, escorted by German
destroyer JACOBI,
landed 400 troops at Kirknesvaag to reinforce German
positions in
Trondheimsfjord and outflank British troops at Stenkjer. A
torpedo boat landed
an infantry company at Verdalsora to secure railway and
road bridges there.
_____
Battleship
VALIANT with destroyers GRAFTON, ARROW, ACHERON departed
Rosyth at 1900 and
arrived at Scapa Flow at 0830/22nd.
_____
Destroyer NUBIAN
departed Namsos at 0200, proceeded to sea and arrived back
in the fjord at 1840 to find sloop AUCKLAND in harbour.
AUCKLAND relieved
her as anti-aircraft guard ship and as SNO Namsos, and
NUBIAN departed Namsos at 1230/22nd, and arrived at Scapa
Flow at 2230/23rd. AUCKLAND remained on station until
relieved on the 24th.
_____
French armed
merchant cruiser VILLE D'ALGER (10,172grt), sailing as a
troopship, had departed Brest on the 15th, and arrived at
Scapa Flow at 2000/18th
escorted by French destroyers BISON and FOUDROYANT.
Designated convoy FP1B,
she departed Scapa Flow at 0100/21st, escorted by British
light cruiser
BIRMINGHAM and anti-aircraft
cruiser CALCUTTA, BISON and FOUDROYANT, and joined
destroyer MAORI and sloop AUCKLAND
off Namsos that evening at 2030/21st. However, she was
refused entry
into Namsos that night. FOUDROYANT was detached on the
22nd for
refuelling at Scapa
Flow arriving at 1800/23rd. The force returned at dusk on
the 22nd
and the French troops were disembarked but the equipment
was
not landed due to a damaged dock and heavy snow storm.
MAORI, which
was there with steamer BLACKHEATH, ferried French troops
to the pier, after which VILLE D'ALGER departed Namsos at
0530/23rd and
was escorted back to Scapa Flow by BISON.
_____
Heavy cruisers DEVONSHIRE,
BERWICK and
destroyer INGLEFIELD (D.3) arrived at Scapa Flow at 1000.
_____
Anti-aircraft
cruiser CURACOA relieved sloop BLACK SWAN as anti-aircraft
guard ship at Aandalsnes.
_____
Destroyers
HYPERION, HEREWARD and HASTY departed Greenock with
aircraft
carrier GLORIOUS at 1100 for flying on and off. They
departed the Clyde at 1800 for Scapa Flow. On 22 April,
during flying on, a Skua of 803 Squadron crashed
attempting to land, and while Lt A S Griffith was rescued
by a destroyer, Naval Airman K A Brown was killed. Nine
Sea Gladiators of 804 Squadron were flown onto the ship.
Destroyers ARROW,
ACHERON and BRAZEN departed Scapa Flow at 1415/22nd to
join GLORIOUS
during flying on and off west of the Orkneys, but where
then detached at 1930 for Rosyth.
_____
Destroyer BRAZEN
departed Scapa Flow at 2050/21st with minelayer ATREUS,
escorted her as far as Cape Wrath, and arrived back at
0630/22nd.
_____
Destroyers
ESCORT, BEDOUIN, FAULKNOR and the Polish BLYSKAWICA and
GROM sortied
into Rombaksfjord near Narvik to reconnoitre and harass
German troop
positions.
_____
Destroyers
VETERAN and VISCOUNT departed Plymouth at 1200 for the
Clyde, where they
arrived at 0850/22nd to join the Home Fleet.
_____
Destroyer WALKER
departed Workington at 1330 escorting A.S.I.S. HERON to
Scapa Flow, arriving at
0800/23rd.
_____
Aircraft carrier
GLORIOUS flew 812 and 825 Squadrons ashore to Prestwick,
while maintaining nine Sea Gladiators of 802 Squadron,
nine Sea
Gladiators of 804 Squadron, and 11 Skuas of 803 Squadron.
The detached Squadrons
were employed in minelaying and convoy escort duties on
the south and east
coasts from shore bases. They then were employed around
Dunkirk. 823 Squadron
was temporarily disembarked to make space for the eighteen
RAF Gladiators of
263 Squadron, which were flown for transport to Norway.
_____
French destroyer
MILAN arrived at Scapa Flow at 1630 with
French tanker LE LOT (4220grt).
_____
Sloops PELICAN
and FLEETWOOD departed Rosyth at 0200 with military
advance parties for
Aandalsnes and Molde.
_____
At 1421, French
submarine ORPHEE on patrol in the North Sea 70 miles
SSW of Lister in 56‑58N, 06‑03E fired two torpedoes
at U.51, which was being followed
closely by U.19.
_____
Submarine SEVERN arrived
back at
Rosyth after patrol off Kristiansand.
_____
Convoy
MT.57departed Methil, escorted by destroyers WALLACE and
VALOROUS, and
arrived later that day in the Tyne.
_____
Convoy FS.152
departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyers WALLACE and
VALOROUS, and arrived at Southend on the 23rd.
_____
German aircraft
dropped mines off Ramsgate and North Foreland and in
King's Channel. On the 23rd, steamer
LOLWORTH (1969grt) was sunk 1/2 mile NW of Elbow
Buoy near North Foreland; two crew were lost and 22
survivors rescued. On the 24th, steamer RYDAL FORCE
(1101grt) was
sunk 400 south of Gull Light Vessel; eleven crew were
missing, and two survivors rescued by minesweeping
trawler SARAH HIDE (162grt).(Note: trawler is referred
to as SARAH HYDE in
most lists). Then on the 25th, steamer MARGAM
ABBEY (2470grt) from convoy
FS.53 was sunk due north, nine cables, from East Knob
Buoy, but the entire crew was rescued. Due to the minings,
convoy HX.34,
escorted by destroyer WHITEHALL, anchored in Dungeness
Roads.
_____
Trawlers PENN
(179grt) and HERCULES II (165grt) were
sunk by German bombing in the North Sea.
_____
German steamer TOGO
(5054grt) was
damaged by a mine laid earlier in the month by submarine
NARWHAL off Arendal,
in 57-26N, 10-45E.
_____
German steamer
JURGEN FRITZEN (4465grt) was lost after grounding
southeast of Landsort.
_____
Destroyers
DIAMOND and DAINTY arrived at Gibraltar on the 12th
from the South Atlantic. After refuelling and some refit,
they departed on the 19th for Malta, where they
arrived on the 21st for duty with the Mediterranean Fleet.
_____
Light cruiser
CALYPSO was refitting at Malta from 21 April
to 14 May 1940.
_____
Convoy HG.27 of
32 ships departed Gibraltar escorted by
destroyers WISHART and ACTIVE from the 21st to 28th, after
which they proceeded to
Portsmouth
to give leave. Sloops FOWEY and DEPTFORD from convoy OG.27
escorted the
convoy from 28 April to 1 May. Convoy HG.27 A separated
from HG.27 on
the 28th. Section HG.27 A was escorted by sloop FOWEY only
for five
hours before the convoys split (?but escorted the section
from 28 April
to 1 May). Sloop DEPTFORD escorted convoy HG.27 from 28
April to 1 May
when the convoy arrived at Liverpool.
