Background
Events - June-November 1941
Invasion of
Russia, Malta Convoys, Japan prepares for war
1941
Sunday,
15 June
Light cruiser EDINBURGH
and destroyer INGLEFIELD
departed Iceland.
______
Convoy OB.336 departed
Liverpool, escorted by corvettes AGASSIZ and WETASKIWIN.
The
convoy was joined on the 16th by destroyers LINCOLN and
SHIKARI. On the 17th,
destroyers SABRE and VENOMOUS, catapult ship PEGASUS,
corvettes ALISMA and
SUNFLOWER, and anti-submarine trawlers LADY ELSA, MAN
O.WAR, and NORTHERN DAWN joined the
convoy.Minesweepers GOSSAMER, HAZARD, and HEBE were with
the convoy on the
18th. The convoy was dispersed on the 22nd.
______
Destroyer INTREPID arrived
at Scapa Flow at 2359 from the Humber where she fitted TSDS equipment.
______
Destroyer CHARLESTOWN
arrived at Scapa Flow at 2230 to work up after refitting
prior to
rejoining the Minelaying Force at loch Alsh.
______
Submarine THUNDERBOLT
unsuccessfully attacked U.557
in 42-00N, 47-00W.
______
British fishing vessel
AUDACIOUS (7grt) was sunk on
a mine in 51-28N, 00-51E. One crewman was rescued from
the fishing vessel.
______
Bombarding Sidon, Light
cruisers PHOEBE and LEANDER and destroyers
ILEX, HASTY, and ISIS off Syria were attacked by French
bombers.
Destroyer ISIS was damaged
by German bombing from a
near miss at 1700.
The destroyer proceeded to
Haifa, escorted by anti-aircraft cruiser COVENTRY.
Destroyer ISIS departed
Haifa on 26 July, escorted by corvette HYACINTH, for
Alexandria. The destroyer was able to depart Alexandria
on 8 August for the transit of the Suez Canal.
Destroyer ISIS with
destroyer NUBIAN arrived at Bombay on 27 September.
Destroyer ISIS departed Bombay on 2 October for Colombo.
Destroyer ISIS arrived at Singapore on 13 October for
repairs.
The destroyer was still
under repair at Singapore on 17 January 1942. On that
date, she was damaged by Japanese
bombing. The destroyer was towed in February by
destroyer ELECTRA to Batavia arriving on 7 February and
later in the month by
British steamer MALANCHA (8124grt) ship to Colombo. Her
repairs were completed in March.
Destroyer ILEX was also
damaged by French bombing
at 1900 and taken to Haifa.Party towed by destroyer
HASTY and finally under
her own power at daylight on the 16th.
Destroyer ILEX was towed
from Haifa at 1800/28th by destroyer DECOY and escorted
by
anti-aircraft cruiser CARLISLE and destroyers HOTSPUR
and NIZAM.
On arrival at Port Said,
destroyer NIZAM proceeded to
Alexandria.Anti-aircraft cruiser CARLISLE and
destroyers HOTSPUR and DECOY returned to Haifa.
Destroyer ILEX departed
Port Said on 20 July after temporary repairs and arrived
at Aden on 24 July.She departed Aden on 15 September and
proceeded to Mombasa with engine room problems. The
destroyer arrived
at Durban in November and departed on 5 February. The
destroyer departed Simonstown on 11 February for
Freetown and finally Charlestown, South
Carolina,
arriving on 14 March 1942. Repairs were completed in
October.
There were only two minor
injuries from the damage
of the two destroyers.
Destroyer JACKAL was
struck on the upper deck by a
bomb which passed through the deck and into the sea. The
bomb exploded in the
sea causing superficial damage.
The destroyer spent no
time out of service.
______
German tanker LOTHRINGEN
(10,746grt) surrendered
when she was intercepted in Operation SALVAGE by light
cruiser DUNEDIN and
aircraft from aircraft carrier EAGLE of Force F in
19-49N, 38-30W.
The tanker was taken for
British use and renamed
EMPIRE SALVAGE.
______
Battlecruiser RENOWN,
aircraft carriers ARK ROYAL
and VICTORIOUS, and destroyers FAULKNOR, FEARLESS,
FOXHOUND, FEORESIGHT,
FORESTER, and HESPERUS departed Gibraltar for a position
49N, 29-30W.
Aircraft carrier
VICTORIOUS and destroyer HESPERUS
were detached to return to the UK.
______
Light cruiser EMERALD,
which departed Basra on the 1st for Singapore, collided
with light cruiser DAUNTLESS, which
departed Singapore on the 15th, near Malacca Light.
Both ships were slightly
damaged and repaired at Singapore. Light cruiser
DAUNTLESS had one rating killed.
Light cruiser EMERALD had twelve ratings and one Marine
died of injuries.
Light cruiser EMERALD was
under repair until 2
August.
Light cruiser DAUNTLESS
arrived at Singapore on the 17th and was under repair
until 13 August.
Monday,
16 June
Minelayers AGAMEMNON and
MENESTHEUS with destroyers
BRIGHTON, CASTLETON, ST MARYS, and WELLS departed Loch
Alsh
on the 15th.
Light cruiser AURORA
departed Scapa Flow for anti-aircraft support on the
15th.
British minefield SN.66 in
the Iceland Faroes field
was laid on the 16th by Minelayers AGAMEMNON and
MENESTHEUS covered by light
cruisers AURORA, NIGERIA, and KENYA.
______
Battleships KING GEORGE V
and NELSON and destroyers
BEDOUIN, INTREPID, JUPITER, NESTOR, PUNJABI, and ESKIMO
were brought to one
hour's notice on the report of two unidentified ships
departing Brest.
When it was found these
two ships were merchant
ships, the notice was cancelled.
______
Convoy OB.335 departed
Liverpool, escorted by destroyers RIPLEY and SHERWOOD,
sloop
FLEETWOOD, and corvettes CELANDINE and NASTURTIUM. The
convoy was joined on
the 23rd by armed merchant cruisers CHESHIRE and
DERBYSHIRE. The escorts were detached on the
24th. The convoy arrived at Halifax on 2 July.
______
British steam trawler
ATLANTIC (167grt) was damaged by German bombing three miles southeast of
Eddystone.
The trawler returned to
Plymouth on the 16th.
______
French destroyer CHEVALIER
PAUL was sunk by British
aircraft near Latakia in 35-18N, 35-18E at 0400 as she
attempted to carry
supplies to Syria.
The attack was made by six
British Swordfish of 815
Squadron. One was shot down and its crew of Lt
M.G.W. Clifford and Sub Lt P. Winter were
taken prisoner.
The survivors from the
destroyer were picked up by
French destroyers VALMY and GUEPARD which also picked up
the crew of the
downed British aircraft.Six French sailors were lost in
the destroyer and
nine wounded.
The French destroyers were
engaged at 0400 by
destroyers JERVIS and KIMBERLEY and both French destroyers suffered some damage.
______
Light cruiser NAIAD and
destroyers KINGSTON, HAVOCK, and JAGUAR departed
Alexandria to relieve light cruiser PHOEBE and
destroyers GRIFFIN and DEFENDER.
______
Submarine UNBEATEN
unsuccessfully attacked a large,
zigzagging liner south of the Messina
Strait.
______
Submarine
CLYDE arrived at Gibraltar from
patrol in the Mediterranean.She had on board
seven Italian prisoners from Italian steamers STURLA
(1195grt) and GIOVANNI
BOTTIGLIERE (331grt).
______
Convoy HX.133 departed
Halifax, escorted by armed merchant cruiser WOLFE and
destroyer ANNAPOLIS. Destroyer ST CROIX joined the
convoy on the 17th.
Destroyer ANNAPOLIS was detached on the 20th.
Convoy BHX.133 departed
Bermuda on the 14th escorted by ocean escort armed merchant cruiser
LACONIA. The convoy
rendezvoused with convoy HX.133 on the
20th and the armed merchant cruiser was detached.
On the 20th, destroyer
OTTAWA and corvettes CHAMBLY, COLLINGWOOD, ORILLIA, and
VIOLET joined and destroyer ST CROIX was detached. Corvette POLYLANTHUS joined on the 23rd. Destroyers
MALCOLM, RIPLEY, SCIMITAR, and WATCHMAN, sloop
FLEETWOOD, corvettes ARABIS,
CELANDINE, GLADIOLUS, and NASTURTIUM, and minesweepers
NIGER and SPEEDWELL joined
on the 27th.Armed merchant
cruiser WOLFE and the OTTAWA
escort group were detached on the 27th.Sloop FLEETWOOD
and corvettes GLADIOLUS
were detached on the 27th. On the 29th, destroyer RIPLEY
and corvette
NASTURTIUM were detached. Destroyers MALCOLM, SCIMITAR,
and WATCHMAN and
corvette CELANDINE were detached on the 30th. In Home
Waters, the convoy was
escorted by destroyer ICARUS, catapult ship MAPLIN, and
anti-submarine
trawlers NORTHERN GEM, NORTHERN PRIDE, and NORTHERN
WAVE. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on 3 July.
Tuesday,
17 June
Light cruiser KENYA
arrived at Scapa Flow from Iceland Faroes passage and
covering minelay
SN.66.
Light cruiser AURORA also
arrived at Scapa Flow after covering SN.66.
______
Heavy cruiser SUFFOLK and
destroyer ACTIVE departed Iceland for the Denmark
Straits patrol.
______
Light cruiser HERMIONE
arrived at Iceland from Denmark Straits patrol,
refuelled, and was
sailed for Scapa Flow.
Light cruiser HERMIONE
arrived at Scapa Flow on the 18th.
______
Destroyer LANCE departed
Scapa Flow at 1100 to join Western Approaches following
working up.
The destroyer arrived at
Greenock at 0700/18th.
______
Destroyer WINCHESTER
arrived at Scapa Flow at 1630 to work up following
repairs prior to join
Nore Command.
______
Submarine P.33 departed
the Clyde for Gibraltar arriving on the
28th.
______
Minelayer PLOVER, escorted
by patrol sloop
GUILLEMOT, laid minefield BS.58 off the east coast of
England.
Minesweepers ELGIN,
SUTTON, and ALBURY of the 4th Minesweeping
Flotilla accompanied the minelay.
______
U.43 sank British steamer
CATHRINE (2727grt) in
49-30N, 16W.
Twenty four crewmen were
lost on the steamer. Three
crewmen were rescued.
______
British steamer JIM
(833grt) was damaged by German
bombing off T.2 Buoy, Tyne. The steamer returned to the
Tyne on the 18th.
______
Admiral King transferred
his flag to light cruiser
NAIAD from light cruiser PHOEBE off Syria.
Light cruiser PHOEBE and
destroyers GRIFFIN and DEFENDER arrived at Alexandria on
the 18th.
______
Minelayer ABDIEL departed
Alexandria for Famagusta with Fleet Air Arm torpedoes
and a small quantity
of stores.
______
The flag of Rear Admiral
Cruiser Squadron 7 was
transferred from damaged light cruiser ORION to light
cruiser AJAX.
______
A British Buffalo of 805
Squadron failed to return
from a patrol over British ships northwest of Sidi
Barrani.
LT K.L. Keith was taken
prisoner, but died of
wounds on the 26th.
______
Ocean boarding vessel
MARSDALE arrived at Gibraltar from Western Patrol.
______
Dutch submarine O.24
unsuccessfully attacked a
tanker off La
Spezia.
______
British steamer TOTTENHAM
(4762grt) was sunk by
German raider ATLANTIS in 7-38S, 19-12W.
Seventeen crewmen landed
at Trinidad on 2 July.Twenty six crewmen were made prisoners of war.
______
Armed merchant cruiser
PRETORIA
CASTLE captured Vichy steamer
DESIRADE (9645grt) east of the Antilles.
______
Petty Officer G.H. Fynn
and Petty Officer S.G.
Blatchford in a Walrus of 773 Squadron were lost when
they failed to return
to Bermuda after dummy attacks at sea.
Wednesday,
18 June
Destroyer IMPULSIVE
departed Scapa Flow at 0200 for Immingham for refitting
and
installation of TSDS equipment.
The destroyer arrived at
1830
______
Heavy cruiser CUMBERLAND
arrived at Scapa Flow EN.route to refitting after
duty in the South Atlantic and escorting convoy SL.76
with light cruiser SHEFFIELD.
______
Light cruiser EDINBURGH
arrived at Scapa Flow from Denmark Straits patrol.
______
Light cruiser MANCHESTER
and destroyer ACHATES arrived at Iceland from Denmark
Straits patrol.
______
Polish destroyer KUJIWIAK,
working up, was attacked
by German aircraft.
Machine gun from the
aircraft set off the four inch
ready use ammunition locker. One man was killed. The
destroyer called at Dundee to repair and land the dead man.
The destroyer arrived at
Scapa Flow to work up on the 20th.
______
Destroyer BATH departed
Scapa Flow at 1400
after working up practices and arrived at Liverpool at
1630/19th.
______
Destroyer WINDSOR departed
Dundee at 1430 on completion of repairs to continue working up practices.
The destroyer arrived at
Scapa Flow at 2350.
______
Destroyer INTREPID
departed Scapa Flow at 2100 for Iceland to join the
anti-submarine force operating there.
The destroyer arrived at
Reykjavik at 1340/20th.
______
Anti-aircraft ship
ALYNBANK departed Scapa Flow at 0630 and escorted convoy
WN.41 from Pentland Firth.
In the afternoon, the ship
transferred to convoy
EC.34 covering this convoy until its arrival in Pentland
Firth.
Ship ALYNBANK arrived at
Scapa Flow at 2330.
______
U.552 sank British steamer
NORFOLK (10,948grt) in 57-17N, 11-14W. One crewman was
lost on the steamer. The survivors were rescued by
destroyer SKATE.
______
British fishing vessel
DORIS II (6grt) was sunk on
a mine three cables southeast of Outer Bar Bell Buoy off
Sheerness.
The crew of two were
missing.
______
Destroyers FAULKNOR,
FEARLESS, FORESIGHT, FORESTER,
and FOXHOUND, returning to Gibraltar after escorting
aircraft carrier VICTORIOUS away,
attacked a submarine contact. U.138 was sunk by
destroyers FAULKNOR and
FORESTER seventy miles off Cape
Trafalgar in 36-04N,
7-29W.
Destroyer FEARLESS picked
up the entire crew of
four officers and twenty three ratings.
The destroyers arrived at
Gibraltar later that day.
______
Destroyer WISHART departed
Gibraltar to join troopship SCYTHIA and destroyer DUNCAN, arriving from
Freetown.
______
Ocean boarding vessel
MARSDALE departed Gibraltar on Western Patrol in company
with Norwegian
steamer SYDHAV and destroyer FURY as local escort.
______
French destroyers VALMY
and GUEPARD bombarded
British advanced positions in Syria for a short time.
______
Australian sloop
PARRAMATTA and British tug ST ISSEY and anti-submarine
whaler
SOUTHERN SEA returned to Alexandria from Mersa Matruh.
______
British troopship GLENROY
carried five lighters,
some stores, petrol, and military personnel and netlayer
PROTECTOR carried a
full load of cased petrol to Mersa Matruh where it was
unloaded on the 18th.
______
Convoy SL.78 departed
Freetown escorted by armed merchant cruiser ESPERANCE BAY
to 27 June, sloop BRIDGEWATER to 21 June, and corvettes
ARMERIA, ASHODEL, ASTER,
and BURDOCK to 28 June.
Heavy cruiser SHROPSHIRE
was with the convoy on 26 to 27 June. The cruiser
was ordered to leave the convoy and position her self
one hundred miles west
of the convoy.
After further attacks on
the 27th, armed merchant
cruiser ESPERANCE BAY
also left the convoy.
Corvette FLEUR DE LYS
departed Gibraltar on the 27th and was with the convoy
on the 29th.
The convoy was ordered dispersed on the 29th and the
corvette returned to Gibraltar.
On 7 July, destroyers
CHELSEA, MANSFIELD, and
VERITY, catapult ship PEGASUS, corvettes ARBUTUS to 11
July, BEGONIA,
CONVOLVULUS, JASMINE, LARKSPUR, PIMPERNEL, and
ROHODENDRON joined the convoy,
and arrived at Liverpool on 12 July.
Thursday,
19 June
The Flag of A/Vice Admiral
A T B. Curteis CB,
Second in Command, Home Fleet, transferred his flag from
light cruiser
ARETHUSA to battleship PRINCE OF WALES.
______
Rear Admiral E.N. Syfret
CB, assumed command of
18th Cruiser Squadron on light cruiser KENYA. On the
20th, the flag was transferred to light
cruiser EDINBURGH.
______
Destroyers ECLIPSE and
ECHO departed
Scapa Flow at 2000
for Reykjavik to reinforce the anti-submarine screen for
the
cruisers on the Denmark Straits patrol.
The destroyers arrived
during the afternoon on the
21st.
______
Destroyer VANESSA was
damaged by German bombing in
the North Sea. The destroyer was then involved in a
collision
with anti-submarine trawler TURQUOISE (430grt).
The destroyer was towed to
Yarmouth by destroyer VESPER. The destroyer received
temporary repairs at Great Yarmouth from 19 to 30 June.
The destroyer was
then towed to the Thames and repairing at London to 15
April 1942.
______
Anti-aircraft ship
ALYNBANK departed Scapa Flow at 1240 to meet convoy
WN.42 in the Pentland Firth and escorted it to Methil
where they arrived at
1900/19th.
______
Minelayer PLOVER, escorted
by destroyer COTSWOLD,
laid minefield BS.59 off the east coast of England.
Minesweepers accompanied
the minelay.
______
Destroeyr WRESTLER
departed Gibraltar for Freetown to join the South
Atlantic Command.
______
British steamer EMPIRE
WARRIOR (1306grt), after
breaking away from convoy HG.64 was sunk by German
bombing two and three
quarters miles off Guadiana Bar, Gulf of Cadiz, 37-06N,
7-24W. The entire
crew were rescued by a Portuguese destroyer.
______
Swedish steamer GUNDA
(1770grt) after breaking away
from convoy HG.64 was sunk by German bombing in 37-36N,
9-53W.
The steamer had been taken
in tow by British
steamer PETEREL, but later sank. The entire crew were
rescued by the steamer
and anti-submarine trawler IMPERIALIST.
______
British steamer ELLENGA
departed Singapore with forty three personnel. The
steamer called at Penang on the 21st and embarked eighty three additional personnel. The
steamer was escorted by light cruiser
DURBAN to 85E.
Friday,
20 June
Light cruiser SHEFFIELD
departed
Scapa Flow to
refit at Rosyth.
______
Destroyer HAMBLEDON
departed Scapa Flow at 0300 to meet steamers AMSTERDAM
and LADY OF MANN off the entrance of Aberdeen at
1030.Steamer LADY OF MANN was detached off
Duncansby Head to Kirkwall.Steamer AMSTERDAM was
escorted to Lerwick,
arriving at 2200.
The two ships departed
Lerwick at 1030/21st and
steamer LADY OF MANN joined at 1630. The ships arrived
off Aberdeen at 2300. The destroyer then proceeded to
Chatham for fitting of SA equipment prior to joining the
Nore Command.
______
Convoy OB.337 departed
Liverpool, escorted by destroyers CHELSEA and VETERAN,
catapult ship SPRINGBANK, and corvettes ARBUTUS,
BEGONIA, LARKSPUR,
PIMPERNEL, and RHODODENDRON. Destroyers MANSFIELD and
VERITY and corvette JASMINE joined on the
21st. Destroyer VETERAN was detached on the 21st and
destroyers MANSFIELD and
VERITY on the 24th. The convoy was dispersed on the
28th.
______
Minesweeping trawler
RESMILO (258grt, Skipper R.D.
Stephen RNR) was sunk by German bombing at Peterhead.
There were no casualties
on the trawler.
______
Minelayer TEVIOTBANK laid
mines in the North Sea in minefield BS.64, escorted by
destroyer MENDIP.
______
U.123 sank Portuguese
steamer GANDA (4333grt) in
34-10N, 11-40W. Two crewmen and three passengers were
lost on the steamer.
______
Norwegian steamer
SCHIELAND (2249grt) from convoy
FS 520 was sunk by German bombing in 53-18N, 1-01E.
There were nine survivors
from the steamer; one of
which later died of injuries, picked up by destroyer
MENDIP.
______
British tanker INVERARDER
(5578grt) was damaged by
German bombing off the Isle
of Wight.
The tanker was beached off
Motherbank Buoy, Solent. The taken was refloated and taken to
Southampton for repairs.
______
British steamer ILSE
(2844grt) was damaged on a
mine on the west side of Hartlepool Approach Channel, in
54-41N, 1-20W. One
crewman was killed.
The back of the ship was
broken. The afterpart was
taken to Middlesborough and a new forepart was built on.
______
British steamer CORMOUNT
(2841grt) was damaged by
German aerial torpedoing off Outer Dowsing Light Vessel.
One gunner was killed on
the steamer.
______
U.203 sighted American
battleship TEXAS, escorted by destroyer TRIPPE, off
Iceland.
______
Destroyers DECOY, HOTSPUR,
and HAVOCK departed Alexandria for Haifa.
On the 21st destroyers
HERO, KIMBERLEY, and JACKAL departed Haifa on relief for
Alexandria.
______
Submarine PARTHIAN
departed Alexandria to patrol off Syria to destroyer
Vichy warships.
______
Submarine
SEVERN
unsuccessfully attacked a steamer off Palermo.
______
Submarine TETRARCH
unsuccessfully attacked a
steamer off Lemnos.
______
Italian submarine ONDINA
sank Turkish steamer REFAH
(3805grt) forty miles south of Mersin.
Twenty five crewmen and
one hundred and forty two
passengers were lost on the steamer.
______
Italian steamer BUCCARI
(4543grt) was lost in an
explosion at Taranto.
______
Destroyers FAULKNOR,
FEARLESS, FORESTER, and
FOXHOUND departed Gibraltar to escort battlecruiser
RENOWN and aircraft
carrier ARK ROYAL into Gibraltar.
Destroyer FURY was ordered
to part company with
ocean boarding vessel MARSDALE and join the escort.
On the 22nd, Force
H.arrived back at Gibraltar.
______
British deperming vessels
SPRINGTIDE and SPRINGDALE and naval trawler CANNA
departed Gibraltar for Freetown with destroyer AVONVALE
as local escort. Norwegian
tanker NORVINN sailed and company and proceeded to the
west.
______
Convoy HX.134 departed
Halifax, escorted by battleship REVENGE, armed merchant
cruiser MALOJA, corvettes DAUPHIN and NAPANEE, and
auxiliary patrol vessel
RAYON D’OR. The corvettes and the patrol vessel were
detached later that day.
Convoy BHX.134 departed
Bermuda on the 19th escorted by ocean escort armed merchant cruiser ASCANIA.
On the 23rd, the convoy rendezvoused with convoy HX.134
and the armed
merchant cruiser was detached.
On the 24th, sloops
ABERDEEN and
SANDWICH and
corvettes HEPATICA, PRIMROSE, TRILLIUM, and WINDFLOWER
joined. This group,
including the armed merchant cruiser, was detached on 4
July. Corvette
BITTERSWEET joined on 3 July and on 4 July, destroyers
ROSBOROUGH, SALISBURY, and SHERWOOD, corvettes
CARNATION, HOLLYHOCK, and
NIGELLA, minesweepers BRITOMART and SALAMANDER, and
anti-submarine trawler ST
APOLLO joined. Destroyer BULLDOG joined on 5 July.
Destroyer BULLDOG, sloop ABERDEEN, and corvette AUBRETIA
were detached on 8 July.
The remainder of the escorts arrived with the convoy at
Liverpool on 9 July.
______
Convoy SC.35 departed
Sidney CB, escorted by armed
merchant cruiser AUSONIA and auxiliary patrol boats
RACCOON and REINDEER. The
patrol vessels were detached on the 24th. On the 24th,
sloop ABERDEEN and corvettes TRILLIUM and WINDFLOWER
joined the
convoy. The corvettes were detached on 4 August. On 4
August, destroyers
BULLDOG and SALISBURY, corvettes AUBRETIA, CARNATION,
HOLLYHOCK, and
NIGELLA, and minsweepers BRITOMART and SALAMANDER joined
the
convoy.Minesweepers SEAGULL and SHARPSHOOTER joined on 7
July. Corvette
PICOTEE joined on 8 July. On 8 July, sloop ABERDEEN and
the minesweepers were detached. The convoy
arrived in the Clyde on 9 July.
______
Light cruiser MAURITIUS
relieved heavy cruiser SHROPSHIRE in the 4th Cruiser
Squadron at Colombo.
______
American aircraft carrier
WASP, heavy cruiser TUSCALOOSA, and destroyers ANDERSON
and ROWAN departed
Hampton Roads on neutrality patrol. The patrol concluded
on 4 July at Bermuda.
______
American submarine O.9 (LT
H.J. Abbot) on a test
dive southeast of Portsmouth, in 42-59N, 70-27W, is lost
in an accident with
the entire crew of Abbot, one other officer, and thirty
two enlisted men.
Saturday,
21 June
Aircraft carrier
VICTORIOUS arrived in the Clyde after ferrying aircraft to
Malta.
______
Convoy OB.338 departed
Liverpool. On the 22nd, destroyers MALCOLM, SCIMITAR,
and
WATCHMAN, catapult ship MAPLIN, corvettes ARABIS and
VIOLET, minesweepers NIGER and SPEEDWELL, and
anti-submarine trawlers
NORTHERN GEM, NORTHERN PRIDE, NORTHERN SPRAY,and
NORTHERN WAVE joined the convoy outside Liverpool. This
group was detached on the 26th. On the 26th,
destroyers NIAGARA and SAGUENAY, armed
merchant cruiser RANPURA, and corvettes PICOU and
RIMOUSKI joined. Destroyer NIAGARA was detached on 2 July. The convoy was dispersed on 3 July.
______
Light cruiser HERMIONE was
attached to the Western
Approaches Command.
The light cruiser departed
Scapa Flow for the
Clyde to escort
aircraft carrier FURIOUS on a ferry trip to Gibraltar.
On the 22nd, the ships
with destroyers LANCE and
LEGION departed the Clyde for Gibraltar.
______
Light cruiser AURORA
departed Scapa Flow to relieve light cruiser NIGERIA on
patrol west of the Iceland Faroes minefield.
______
Destroyer ARROW departed
Chatham to rejoin the Home Fleet after repairs.
However, off Flamborough
Head, the destroyer struck
a mine at 2000 and was badly damaged.
Destroyer ARROW arrived at
Middlesborough for
repairs on the 22nd.
Repairs were completed on
20 November.
______
Destroyer ELECTRA departed
Scapa Flow at 1015 for Sheerness for refitting. The
destroyer
arrived at 1330/22nd.
______
Sloop STORK departed Scapa
Flow at 0530 for Rosyth on completion of working up
exercises.
______
Destroyer ANTHONY departed
Scapa Flow at 1115 for Rosyth to clean boilers. The
destroyer
arrived at 1930.
______
Destroyers ECLIPSE and
ECHO arrived in Iceland. The ECHO departed that day to
join heavy cruiser SUFFOLK on Denmark Straits patrol.
______
Anti-aircraft ship
ALYNBANK departed Methil at 1130
and escorted convoy EC.35 to Pentland
Firth, arriving at
0930/22nd. The ship then proceeded to Scapa Flow.
______
Destroyer PYTCHLEY was
escorting convoy FN.483 with
destroyer VORTIGERN.
Destroyer PYTCHLEY was
damaged by a mine two miles
off Flamborough Head. There were no casualties.
Destroyer VORTIGERN towed
the destroyer to the Tyne.
Destroyer PYTCHLEY was
under repair until December
1942.
______
Minesweeper PLOVER,
escorted by destroyer EGLINTON,
laid minefield BS.60 off the east coast of England.
______
Canadian troop convoy
TC.11 departed Halifax with liners ANDES (25,689grt), BRITANNIC (26,943grt), INDRAPOERA (10,825grt), PASTEUR
(29,253grt), STIRLING
CASTLE (25,550grt), and WINDSOR
CASTLE (19,141grt).
Battlecruiser REPULSE,
battleship RAMILLIES, and
destroyers ASSINIBOINE, BUXTON, HAVELOCK, SKEENA, and ST
LAURENT departed Halifax on the 21st.Battleship
RAMILLIES was detached on
the 27th. Destroyer ASSINIBOINE was detached on the
24th. Destroyer HAVELOCK was detached on the 27th.
Destroyers SKEENA and ST
LAURENT were
detached on the 24th. The battlecruiser and destroyer
BUXTON proceeded to England with the convoy.
Destroyers ACHATES,
ACTIVE, ANTELOPE, INGLEFIELD,
and INTREPID departed Iceland to meet TC.11 at
0100/25th. Destroyer ICARUS,
detailed for the duty, was unable to proceed due to
damaged propellers and
was replaced by destroyer SHERWOOD. These destroyers and
COSSACK and SIKH
joined the convoy. On the 28th, Dutch cruiser HEEMSKERK
joined the convoy on
the 26th. Destroyer SHERWOOD was detached on the 28th.
The rest arrived in
the Clyde with the convoy at 0800/30th.
______
British steamer GASFIRE
(3001grt) was sunk on a
mine ten miles east of Southwold in 52-19N, 1-59E.
______
British steamer KENNETH
HAWKSFIELD (1546grt) was
sunk on a mine in 52-18N, 1-59E. One crewman was lost on
the steamer.
______
British steamer DORINE
(3176grt) was damaged by
German bombing off Sheringham.
The steamer arrived at
Hartlepool on the 23rd.
______
Norwegian steamer SKUM
(1304grt) was damaged by
German bombing near No. 57 Buoy.
The steamer was towed to
Great Yarmouth and
subsequently to London for repairs.
______
German supply ship
BABITONGA (4422grt) was scuttled
when she was intercepted by Heavy cruiser LONDON at
02-05N, 27-42W, near St Paul Rocks.
______
French steamer CRITON
(4564grt) was captured by
Armed merchant cruiser CILICIA on 9 May off Freetownat
10-11N, 20-17W. The
steamer was taken to Freetown
arriving on 11 May.
The steamer joined convoy
SL.78 on the 19th for
passage to Belfast. The steamer fell out of the convoy
and was
returning to Freetown.
She was intercepted by
French patrol vessel AIR FRANCE IV which ordered her to
proceed to Konakri.
When the steamer made a
radio report, the patrol
vessel sank the steamer.
Ten crewmen were killed on
the steamer.Twenty four
crewmen and the armed guard from armed merchant cruiser
QUEEN OF BERMUDA
under the command of Sub Lt S.K. Stretton RNR, were
interned at Konakri.
______
Minelayer LATONA arrived
at Alexandria to join the Mediterranean Fleet.
The minelayer had departed
England on 16 May and proceeded, via Capetown.
______
Corvette ERICA arrived at
Alexandria to join the Mediterranean Fleet.
______
French destroyer VAUQUELIN
arrived at Beirut at 0840/same mission as destroyer
CHEVALIER PAUL
had attempted earlier.
The destroyer had been
sighted by British aircraft
at 1340/20th in 35-56N, 29-25E. However, contact was
lost and no attack was
made.
______
French hospital ship
CANADA (9684grt) was intercepted by destroyer JACKAL in
34-12N, 31-05E at 1400.
ForceB of light cruiser
NAIAD and destroyers DECOY,
HOTSPUR, and HAVOCK supported the operation.
The hospital ship was
taken to Haifa, escorted by destroyer JACKAL, for
inspection and
released on the 22nd.
______
Submarine OSIRIS arrived
at Gibraltar from Holy Loch after refitting at Chatham
from 25 January to 10 May.
Sunday,
22 June
Destroyer HEYTHROP arrived
at Scapa Flow at 1700 to work up.
______
Naval trawler BEECH
(540grt, T/LTA.P. Cocks RNVR)
was sunk by German bombing at Scrabster.
Cocks was lost with the
trawler.
______
U.141 sank Swedish steamer
CALABRIA (1277grt) from convoy SL.75 100 miles from
Inishtrabull. Three crewmen were lost on the steamer.
______
U.77 sank British weather
ship ARAKAKA (2379grt) in
47N, 40W.
______
British steamer BALZAC
(5372grt) was sunk by German
raider ATLANTIS at 12S, 29W. Two crewmen were killed and
one died on the
steamer.Forty five crewmen were made prisoners of war.
______
Submarine THRASHER
departed Gibraltar with supplies for Malta, arriving on
the 29th.
______
Submarine
UNION sank Italian
steamer PIETRO QUERINI (1004grt) south of Pantelleria in
36-11N, 12E.
______
Submarine
SEVERN
unsuccessfully attacked a submarine in 40-44N, 14-20E.
______
French destroyer
VAUQUELIN, which arrived on the
21st from Toulon, was damaged by British bombing at
Beirut.
______
British
tanker PASS OF BALMAHA
(758grt) departed Alexandria escorted by sloops AUCKLAND
and PARRAMATTA for Tobruk.
______
Greek store ship ANTIKLIA
(951grt) departed Alexandria for Tobruk, escorted by
sloop FLAMINGO.
Due to air attacks on the
tanker convoy, this group
was ordered on the 25th to remain at Mersa Matruh.
______
Destroyers WISHART and
DUNCAN with troopship SCYTHIA arrived at Gibraltar.
______
Destroyers FAULKNOR,
FORESIGHT, FORESTER, FOXHOUND,
and FURY departed Gibraltar on the 22nd to intercept a
German supply ship
sighted by ocean boarding vessel MARSDALE.
______
Submarine THRASHER
departed Gibraltar with stores for Malta and Alexandria.
______
British deperming ship
CORBRAE and anti-submarine
whalers KOS 10 and KOS 11 departed Gibraltar for
Freetown, with local escort of destroyer ERIDGE.
______
The following ships were
seized on the 22nd by Germany upon invasion of Russia.
Estonian steamer HILDUR
(1856grt) at Stettin. Renamed RIMAGE.
Latvian steamer AUSEJKUS
(1309grt). Renamed
CORTELSBURG.
Soviet steamer DNESTR
(3580grt). Renamed PERNAU.
Soviet steamer ELTON
(1799grt). Renamed INSTERBURG.
Soviet steamer KAGANOVITCH
(3663grt). Renamed
LIBAU.
Soviet steamer KHASAN
(3979grt). Renamed PALATIA.
Soviet steamer
MAGNITOGORSK (3566grt). Renamed TROSTBURG.
Latvian steamer SPIDOLA
(2833grt). Renamed RUDAU.
Soviet steamer TALLINN
(4479grt). Renamed DITMAR KOEL.
Soviet steamer VOLGOLES
(3946grt). Renamed CALMAR.
Soviet steamer hopper MAJA
was built at Hamburg for Russia, completing trials on
the 19th.
Monday,
23 June
Light cruiser NIGERIA
arrived at Scapa Flow from Faroes Iceland patrol.
______
Light cruiser MANCHESTER
and destroyer ECLIPSE departed Iceland to relieve heavy
cruiser SUFFOLK on Denmark Straits patrol.
______
Minesweeping trawler NOGI
(299grt, Skipper E.C.
King DSC RNR) was sunk by German bombing in 52-57N,
1-28E off Norfolk.
______
Convoy HX.133 was sighted
by U.203.
______
German supply ship
ALSTERTOR was located on the
22nd by Ocean boarding vessel MARSDALE and a Catalina
aircraft, but contact
was lost. The supply ship scuttled in 41-12N, 13-10W
after she was
intercepted by destroyers FAULKNOR, FORESIGHT, FORESTER,
FOXHOUND, and FURY
of the 8th Destroyer Flotilla.
Survivors from the ship
included seventy eight
British prisoners from British steamers TRAFALGAR and
RABAUL. The destroyers
rescued the survivors from ship'S-boats.
The destroyers then
proceeded to meet aircraft
carrier FURIOUS arriving from the Clyde.
Submarine P.33, which had
also been searching for
the German ship was directed to continue her passage to
Gibraltar.
______
Dutch submarine O.24
arrived at Gibraltar from patrol in the Mediterranean.
______
British steamer HULL
TRADER (717grt) was sunk on a
mine one mile 270° from No.57C Buoy, Cromer.
Eleven crewmen were lost
on the steamer.
______
British steamer TRELISSICK
(5265grt) was sunk by
German bombing 3½ miles 114° from
Sheringham Buoy, Cromer.
Two crewmen were lost on
the steamer.
______
British steamer CAMROUX II
(324grt) was damaged on
a mine one mile northeast of No.17 Buoy, Flamborough
Head.
The steamer was towed to
Immingham.
______
British steamer TOLWORTH
(1351grt) was damaged by
German bombing in 53-05N, 1-25E.
The steamer was drydocked
in the Tyne for repairs.
______
French destroyer GUEPARD
was engaged by light
cruisers NAIAD and LEANDER and destroyers JAGUAR,
KINGSTON, and NIZAM north of Beirut in 34-05N, 35-33E at
0148.
Destroyer GUEPARD was
damaged by British gunfire.
Light cruiser LEANDER was
struck by one shell which
did not explode.
Destroyers JERVIS, HAVOCK,
HOTSPUR, and DECOY were
submarine hunting in the area.
______
Following temporary
repairs at Alexandria, light cruiser ORION departed
Alexandria on the 23rd for Port Said to have her
catapult reembarked.
The cruiser departed Aden
for Simonstown on the 29th.
At Simonstown, her
catapult was removed and
installed on seaplane carrier ALBATROSS.
The light cruiser went
across the Pacific and
departed Balboa on 28 August.Cruiser ORION arrived at
Mare
Island on 5 September and was under repair until
15 February 1942.
______
There was a German air
raid on Alexandria from 0315 to 0510/23rd.
Battleship WARSPITE was
slightly damaged by a near
miss of a heavy bomb.Two bulges were flooded.
______
Soviet submarine M.78 was
sunk by U.144 east of Ventspils, Latvia, west of Windau.
______
Soviet cruiser MAKSIM
GORKI was mined in the
Baltic.
The cruiser lost her bow
back to A turret.
The cruiser was repaired
at Leningrad.
______
Soviet destroyer GNEVNY
was sunk by a mine off
Hango.
______
Soviet destroyer BYSTRY
was sunk by German bombing
at Sevastapool.
The destroyer was later
salved.
______
Soviet submarine S.3 was
sunk by German motor
torpedo boats S.35 and S.60 off Stienort.
Tuesday,
24 June
Heavy cruiser SUFFOLK and
destroyer ECHO arrived at Iceland from Denmark Straits
patrol.
______
Fast minelayer MANXMAN
arrived at Scapa Flow to work up.
______
Anti-aircraft ship
ALYNBANK departed Scapa Flow at 2300 and met convoy
WN.44 in Pentland Firth.
At noon on the 25th, the ship transferred to convoy EC.37 off Buchan
Ness.Sloop BLACK SWAN departed Scapa Flow at
1300/25th to provide additional protection for the
convoy. In North Channel, the sloop was detached and
proceeded to Belfast to join the Western Approaches
following working
up at Scapa Flow. The anti-aircraft ship transferred to
convoy
WN.45 at 0500/26th and provided cover to Methil where
they arrived at noon on the 27th.
______
Convoy OG.66 departed
Liverpool, escorted by destroyers BATH and WALKER, sloop
SCARBOROUGH, and
ocean boarding vessel MALVERNIAN.
On the 25th, destroyer
VANOC and anti-submarine
trawlers CORDELLA, FANDANGO, MORRIS DANCE, NORSE, and
SARABANDE joined the
convoy. Corvette HYDRANGEA joined the convoy on the
26th.
The destroyers and the
corvette were detached on
the 29th. The ocean boarding vessel left the convoy on
the 30th.
On 3 July, destroyers
FAULKNOR, FEARLESS, FORESTER,
LANCE, and LEGION joined the convoy. On 4 July, corvette
COREOPSIS and
anti-submarine trawlers LADY HOGARTH and LADY SHIRLEY
joined the convoy.
Destroyers ERIDGE and FARNDALE joined on 6 July.
Destroyers LEGION and
LANCE were detached on 3
July, destroyer FAULKNOR on 5 July, destroyers FEARLESS
and FORESTER on 6
July, and arrived at Gibraltar on 8 July with sloop
SCARBOROUGH and
anti-submarine trawlers FANDANGO, MORRIS DANCE,
SARABANDE, CODRELIS, NORSE,
and local escorts.
______
U.203 attacked convoys
HX.133 and OB.336.
Norwegian steamer SOLOY
(4402grt) was sunk in
44-39N, 39-43W from convoy HX.133. The entire crew of
the steamer were
rescued.
U.203 also reported
damaging one tanker and one
steamer from convoy HX.133.
Eight hours later, British
steamer KINROSS
(4956grt) and Dutch steamer SCHIE (1967grt) were sunk in
55-23N, 38-49W from
convoy OB.336. The entire crew of the British steamer
were rescued.
______
U.371 sank Norwegian
steamer VIGRID (4765grt),
straggling from convoy HX.133, in 55N, 41W.
Nineteen crewmen, four
passengers, and one gunner
were missing from the steamer.
American destroyer CHARLES
F. HUGHES rescued
fourteen survivors on 7 July.
______
U.651 sank British steamer
BROCKLEY HILL (5297grt),
straggling from convoy HX.133, in 58-30N, 38-20W. The
entire crew was
rescued.
______
British steamer LEVENWOOD
(803grt) was damaged by
German bombing off Tees Bay.
The steamer arrived at
Hartlepool in tow on the 25th.
______
Soviet submarines S.1,
M.71, M.80, RONIS
(ex-Latvian), and SPIDOLA (ex-Latvian) were scuttled at
Libau.
______
New Zealand light cruiser
LEANDER and destroyers HASTY and
JAGUAR shelled the Syrian coast north of Beirut at dawn
on the 24th.
Minesweeper HARROW swept the coast off Sidon.
______
Corvettes PEONY was sailed
to Haifa and HYACINTH to Famagusta from Alexandria.
______
The British Tobruk convoy
was attacked by aircraft.
Tanker
PASS OF BALMAHA was damaged by bombing and abandoned.
Sloop AUCKLAND (Cdr
M.S.
Thomas DSO) was sunk in 32-15N, 24-30E at 1530.
LT (E) C.L. Meadley,
thirty two ratings and the
NAAFI manager were killed on the sloop. Three ratings
died of wounds. Surgeon
Lt C.J. Robarts and seven ratings were
wounded.
Sloop PARRAMATTA picked up
the one hundred and sixty two surivours,
including Cdr Thomas, Lt D.G.D. Hall-Wright,
Lt A.P. Culmer, Lt J.F. House, Surgeon Lt
C.J. Robarts, and T/A/Sub Lt P. Whitehead
RNVR and proceeded to Alexandria, arriving on the 25th.
Australian destroyers
VENDETTA and WATERHEN arrived
to assist. They picked up the survivors from AUCKLAND.
Destroyer WATERHEN took the PASS OF BALMAHA in tow and proceeded to Tobruk, screened by destroyer VENDETTA.
The tanker was unloaded on
the 28th and escorted
from Tobruk by sloop PARRAMATTA and anti-submarine whaler SOUTHERN MAID.
______
Light cruiser NEPTUNE
arrived at Simonstown.
______
British seaplane carrier
ALBATROSS was docked for
refitting at Simonstown.
The refitting was
completed on 4 August.
______
Convoy HG.66 departed
Gibraltar escorted by destroyers FARNDALE and WISHART,
sloop
FOLKESTONE, corvette AZALEA, Dutch submarine O.21,
anti-submarine trawler
STELLA CARINA, and three motor launches as additional
local escort.
The trawler was detached
later that day. Destroyer WISHART
was detached on the 27th. Destroyer FARNDALE was
detached on the 30th.
Submarine O.21 was detached on 1 July.
On 4 July, the convoy was
met by destroyers GARLAND, MAORI, SARDONYX, and WESTCOTT
and on 5 July by
destroyer ST ALBANS and corvettes FREESIA and MYOSITIS.
Sloop FOLKESTONE was
detached on 8 July.
The convoy arrived at
Liverpool on 9 July.
______
German raider KORMORAN,
approaching Madris to lay
mines, encountered armed merchant cruiser CANTON.
The German ship escaped
undetected, but the
minelaying was cancelled.
______
New Zealand light cruiser
ACHILLES departed Wellington escorting British liner
AQUITANIA (44,786grt) to Bass Strait.
On the 30th, the light
cruiser joined liners QUEEN MARY (81,235grt), and QUEEN
ELIZABETH (83,673grt) to
form convoy US.11A.
Wednesday,
25 June
Light cruiser NIGERIA and
destroyers BEDOUIN, TARTAR, and JUPITER
departed Scapa Flow at 2100 on Operation EC to locate
German weather
ship LAUENBERG (344grt).
The ships proceeded to
Skaalefjord to first refuel.
The ships departed on the 26th.
On the 28th, weathership
LAUENBURG was captured off
Jan Mayen Island in 73-02N, 3-13W.After a thorough
search of the
vessel, weathership LAUENBURG was sunk by destroyer
TARTAR.
The ships arrived at Scapa
Flow after the operation on the 30th. Destroyers
BEDOUIN and TARTAR at 1630 and destroyer JUPITER at
2200.
______
Destroyer LIDDESDALE was
damaged by German bombing
in the North Sea, but had no time out of action.
______
Minefield
SN.70B Operation and Collision between HMS Kenya and HMS
Brighton
Minefield SN.70B was laid
by Minelayers AGAMEMNON
and MENESTHEUS, escorted by destroyers BRIGHTON, CASTLETON, and WELLS.
The operation was covered
by light cruisers KENYA
and ARETHUSA which departed Scapa Flow on the 23rd.
Light cruiser AURORA
relieved ARETHUSA on the 25th. ARETHUSA went to Iceland
Faroes
patrol.
On the 25th,
destroyer BRIGHTON came out of a dense fog and hit KENYA
starboard side abreast B turret. No deaths are reported
and there is no reference to any injuries. However, one
man was reportedly thrown or jumped into the water, but
was rescued.
KENYA proceeded to Scapa
Flow, arriving on the 27th, and later to the Tyne for repairs.
BRIGHTON, whose bow was
severely damaged, was escorted to Reydarfjord by AURORA
and WELLS. Destroyer ECLIPSE sailed from Reykjavik to
provide additional anti-submarine support for
the minelayers.
Destroyer ECHO departed
Hvalfjord to assist on the 25th and
arrived on the 26th at Reydarfjord where the damaged
destroyer and AURORA had arrived.
ECLIPSE arrived at Loch
Alsh on the 27th
after assisting the escort.
KENYA departed
Scapa Flow for
Rosyth on the 28th, arriving on the 29th.
On the 28th, BRIGHTON departed for the Clyde in tow
of tugs MARAUDER and THAMES escorted by AURORA and
ECHO. The escort ships
were reinforced en route by
destroyer LIGHTNING, which departed Scapa Flow at
1700/29th.
BRIGHTON, still under
tow, detached in
the North Minches. AURORA, LIGHTNING and ECHO arrived at
Scapa Flow at 0200 on 1 July.
BRIGHTON arrived
in the Clyde on 1 July without her bow, which had broken
away en route.
______
Minelayer TEVIOTBANK,
escorted by destroyer
WALPOLE, laid minefield BS.65 off the east coast of
England.
______
U.77 sank Greek steamer
ANNA BULGARIS (4603grt) in
55N, 38W. The entire crew were lost.
______
U.108 sank Greek steamer
ELLINICO (3059grt) in 55N,
38W.
______
U.75 sank an eastbound
steamer west of Ireland. The steamer was observed to
sink, but was not identified.
______
U.108 sank Greek steamer
NICOLAS PATERAS (4362grt),
a straggler from convoy OB.336, in 55N, 38W. The entire
crew were lost.
______
Steamer
DASHWOOD (2154grt) was sunk by
German bombing in 52-59N, 1-52E. The entire crew were
rescued.
______
Trawler
ISLE OF WIGHT (176grt) was damaged by German bombing
off Scarborough.
______
New Zealand light cruiser
LEANDER and destroyers DECOY,
HAVOCK, and NIZAM swept north of Beirut during the night
of 25/26 June. At dawn on the 26th, the force bombarded
the Damur
area.
______
Submarine PARTHIAN sank
French submarine SOUFFLEUR
off Beirut, in 33-49N, 35-26E at 1242.
______
Australian light cruiser
PERTH and anti-aircraft cruiser CARLISLE departed Alexandria at
1530/25th to relieve cruisers LEANDER and COVENTRY off
Syria.
Cruiser CARLISLE had been
in the floating dock at Alexandria from 21 to 25 June.
Light cruiser PERTH was
only partially repaired from the Crete bombing damage.
New Zealand light cruiser
LEANDER and Anti-aircraft cruiser COVENTRY off Syria
were relieved by Australian light cruiser PERTH and
Anti-aircraft cruiser CARLISLE on the 26th.
Cruisers LEANDER and
COVENTRY departed Haifa and joined the Battle Fleet at
sea. They returned
to Alexandria on the 27th.
______
Destroyers HASTY and
JAGUAR departed Haifa to return to Alexandria.
______
Submarine RORQUAL departed
Alexandria on a supply run to Malta.
______
Estonian steamer ESTONIA
(1181grt) was seized by German forces.
______
An Italian convoy of
troopships ESPERIA, MARCO
POLO, OCEANIA, and NEPTUNIA departed Naples for Tripoli,
calling at Taranto on the 27th.
The convoy was escorted by
destroyers AVIERE,
GENIERE, GIOBERTI, and DA NOLI and was given cover by
heavy cruisers TRIESTE and GORIZIA and destroyers
CORAZZIERE and
CARABINIERE. Destroyer ASCARI departed Messina on the
25th and joined the covering force.
Submarine URGE, already on
patrol off Messina, and submarines UNBEATEN and
UPHOLDER, at Malta, were ordered to intercept the
convoy.When no
contact was made, submarines UNBEATEN and UPHOLDER
returned to Malta on the 27th.
In British air attacks on
the convoy on the 25th,
Sub Lt (A) D.A.R. Holmes and Leading Airman J.R. Smith
were lost when their
Swordfish of the 830 Squadron hit the side of the ship
being attacked.
Liner ESPERIA received
light damage from the air
attacks.
Destroyer ASCARI arrived
at Messina on the 29th. The convoy arrived at Tripoli on
the 29th.
______
Aircraft carrier FURIOUS,
light cruiser HERMIONE,
and destroyers LEGION and LANCE and destroyers FAULKNOR,
FEARLESS, FORESTER,
FOXHOUND, and FURY, which joined on the 24th, arrived at
Gibraltar.
______
Submarine OSIRIS departed
Gibraltar for Malta with seventy tons of petrol.
______
Dutch submarine O.23
departed Gibraltar for patrol in the Gulf of Genoa.
______
American light cruisers
PHILADELPHIA and SAVANNHA with destroyers LANG and
WILSON
departed Hampton Roads on neutrality patrol ending at
Bermuda on 8 July.
Thursday,
26 June
Light cruiser EURYALUS was
commissioned at Chatham.
______
Convoy OB.339 departed
Liverpool, escorted by destroyer BROADWATER, sloop LEITH, and corvettes BITTERSWEET and FENNEL. On 2 July, destroyers RAMSEY
and RICHMOND and
corvettes COBALT and POLYANTHUS joined.
Destroyer RAMSEY was detached on 3 July.Armed merchant
cruiser WOLFE joined
on 6 July. On 9 July, destroyers BURWELL and RICHMOND
and sloop LEITH were detached. On 10 July, destroyer BROADWATER and corvette COBALT
were detached. The convoy arrived at
Halifax on 12 July.
______
Destroyer WINCHESTER
departed
Scapa Flow at 1030
for the Clyde to form part of the escort for aircraft
carrier
VICTORIOUS to Scapa Flow.
______
Destroyer HAMBLEDON
arrived at Scapa Flow at 1830 from Chatham after fitting
of SA equipment.
______
Indian sloop JUMNA departed Scapa Flow escorting
tanker WAR BHARATA to the Faroes.
The sloop arrived back at
Scapa Flow at 0400/27th to problems with the tanker's
machinery. The sloop sailed again at 1400 escorting
tanker WAR PINDARI, which
had taken the place of the original tanker.
After delivering the
tanker, the sloop departed at
2300/28th escorting tanker WAR DIWAN and QUENTIN
ROOSEVELT to Scapa Flow arriving at noon on the 30th.
______
Minesweeping trawler
TRANIO (275grt, T/LTA.L.G.
Gillies RNR), in tow, was sunk by German bombing near
No. 57
Buoy (Smith's Knoll).
There were no casualties
on the trawler.
______
Battlecruiser RENOWN,
aircraft carrier ARK ROYAL,
light cruiser HERMIONE, and destroyers FAULKNOR,
FORESTER, FURY, FEARLESS,
and FOXHOUND departed Gibraltar.
Destroyers FEARLESS and
FOXHOUND were relieved
before the operation by destroyers LANCE and LEGION.
On the 27th, aircraft
carrier ARK ROYAL flew
aircraft off to Malta in Operation RAILWAY.
Force H.arrived back at
Gibraltar on the 28th.
______
Battleships QUEEN
ELIZABETH, WARSPITE, and VALIANT,
light cruiser AJAX, minelayer ABDIEL, and destroyers
KANDAHAR, GRIFFIN, HERO,
JAGUAR, DEFENDER, KIMBERLEY, and HASTY departed
Alexandria for gunnery and
other exercises between Alexandria and Port Said.
Battleship WARSPITE was
detached that afternoon for
Port Said, escorted by destroyers KANDAHAR, GRIFFIN, and
KIMBERLEY arriving at 2200/26th. The battleship
transited
the Canal and began the passage to the USA, via Colombo
and Singapore.
Destroyers KANDAHAR and
GRIFFIN then proceeded to Haifa to operate off Syria.
Destroyer KIMBERLEY
rejoined the Battle Fleet.
On the 26th, light cruiser
PHOEBE and minelayer
LATONA joined the Fleet exercises.
______
Submarine SEVERN sank
Italian steamer POLINNIA
(1292grt) was sunk southeast of Ischia in 40-05N,
12-08E.
______
Submarine UTMOST sank
Italian steamer ENRICO COSTA
(4080grt) four miles from Cape Todaro in 38-07N, 14-37E.
______
Submarine P.33 arrived at
Gibraltar from the
Clyde. On the
28th, the submarine departed for Malta.
______
Convoy HX.135 departed
Halifax, escorted by
destroyer ST CROIX, sloop LONDONDERRY, corvettes BARRIE
and MATAPEDIA, and
auxiliary patrol vessel REINDEER. The corvettes and the
patrol vessel were
detached that day. The destroyer was detached on the
29th.
Convoy BHX.135 departed
Bermuda on the 24th escorted by ocean escort armed merchant cruiser PRINCE
DAVID. The convoy rendezvoused with convoy HX.135/29th
and the armed merchant
cruiser was detached.
On 1 July, escort ships
CULVER and HARTLAND joined
the convoy and BANFF and FISHGUARD joined on 4
July.Minesweeper HUSSAR
and corvettes ABELIA and ANEMONE joined on 6 July.
Destroyers BROKE, DOUGLAS, SALADIN, and SKATE, corvette VERONICA, and anti-submarine trawlers
ST ELSTAN, ST KENAN, and ST ZENO. Destroyers SALADIN and
SKTA were detached
on 10 July and the remainder of the escort on 11 July.
The convoy arrived at Liverpool
on 12 July.
______
British troopship NIEUW
AMSTERDAM departed Suez
with the King of Greece, members of the Royal Family,
the Greek Prime
Minister, other ministers and their families, British,
Dutch, and Polish
Ministers and families, 151 other passengers, five naval
personnel, 1000
prisoners of war, and seventy five escorts.
The troopship was met by
heavy cruiser CORNWALL on 3 July. They arrived at Durban
on 7 July.
______
British steamer MAREEBA
(3472grt) was sunk by
German raider KORMORAN at 8-15N, 88-06E.
Twenty six crewmen were
lost and twenty five were
rescued and made prisoners of war.
______
Yugoslavian steamer
VELEBIT (4153grt) was sunk by
German raider KORMORAN in the Bay of Bengal.
Six crewmen were rescued;
of which two died.Twelve
crewmen were made prisoners of war.Seven were killed by
the gunfire which
sank the ship and seven crewmen were missing.
______
Soviet destroyers MOSKVA
and KHARKOV bombarded contanza, Rumania.
The bombardment was
covered by cruiser VOROSHILOV
and destroyers SMYSHLENY and SOOBRAZITELNY.
Destroyer MOSKVA was sunk
by a mine as the
destroyers retired. Destroyer KHARKOV was damaged by
near misses of German bombing.
Destroyers SMYSHLENY and
SOOBRAZITELNY escorted
destroyer KHARKOV.
Cruiser VOROSHILOV was
damaged by the explosion of
a mine.
Destroyers BESPOSCHADNY
and BODNY departed
Sevastapool to join the cruiser and escort it back to
port.
______
During the night of 26/27
June, Soviet destroyer
STOROZHEVOI was torpedoed by a German S-boat in the
Irben
Strait.
The destroyer was towed to
Leningrad and repaired.
______
Soviet submarine M.83 was
scuttled at Libau.
______
Soviet submarine M.101 or
M.72 was torpedoed by
U.149 in 59-20N, 21-12E.
Submarine M.101 was sunk.
Submarine M.72 was damaged
and taken to Kronstadt.
There is dispute which
Soviet submarine was hit by
the German submarine and which was mined.
Friday,
27 June
Ships for Convoy WS.9B
departed Avonmouth on the
27th, Liverpool on the 28th, and the Clyde on the 29th. The three sections rendezvoused at sea on the 30th.
Steamers TAMAROA
(12,405grt), PULASKI (6345grt),
ANSELM (5954grt, which returned with defects), ORONSAY
(20,043grt), ATHLONE CASTLE (25,564grt), MONARCH OF BERMUDA (22,424grt), CERAMIC (18,713grt),
CLAN FORBES (7529grt), ARUNDEL
CASTLE (19,118grt), MATAROA (12,390grt),
PAMPAS (5415grt), RANGITATA (16,737grt), and ELISABETH BAKKE (5450grt)
composed the convoy.
Destroyer WELLS escorted
the convoy from 29 June to
1 July.
Anti-aircraft cruiser
CAIRO and destroyers ST FRANCIS, GARLAND, READING,
PIORUN, VANQUISHER, WINCHELSEA, MAORI, and
CASTLETON escorted the convoy from 29 June to 2 July.
Light cruiser EDINBURGH,
which departed Scapa Flow on the 25th for the Clyde and arrived on the 26th, and destroyer WOLVERINE escorted the convoy
from 28 June to 3 July.
Armed merchant cruiser
CATHAY was with the convoy from 29 June to 4 July.
Armed merchant cruiser
CHITRAL was with the convoy
from 29 June to 7 July.
Light cruiser GALATEA and
armed merchant cruiser MORETON BAY
were with the convoy for the entire voyage to Freetown.
Destroyers WIVERN, WILD
SWAN, and BRILLIANT and
corvette ASPHODEL joined the convoy on 10 July and
escorted it to Freetown, and arrived at Freetown on 13
July.
On 16 July, the convoy
sailed escorted by
destroyers BRILLIANT, VELOX, VANSITTART, and BOREAS from
16 to 18 July. Light
cruiser GALATEA escorted the convoy through to Capetown.
Steamers CERAMIC, CLAN
FORBES, PAMPAS, ELISABETH BAKKE, PULASKI, and RANGITATA arrived at Capetown on 27
July.Steamers ORONSAY, ATHLONE
CASTLE, MONARCH OF BERMUDA, ARUNDEL
CASTLE, TAMAROA, and MATAROA arrived at
Durban on 30 July.
Steamers CLAN FORBES,
PULASKI, PAMPAS, and ELISABETH BAKKE departed Capetown on 30 July escorted by armed
merchant cruiser QUEEN OF BERMUDA. They rendezvoused
with ORONSAY,
ARUNDEL
CASTLE, MONARCH OF BERMUDA, and ATHLONE
CASTLE which sailed from Durban
on 3 August escorted by light cruiser GALATEA, and
arrived Aden on 14 August. The ships travelled
independently to
Suez.
______
Convoy OB.340 departed
Liverpool, escorted by destroyers ASSINIBOINE and
BULLDOG, corvettes AUBRETIA, CARNATION,
HOLLYHOCK, and NIGELLA, minesweepers BRITOMART and
SALAMANDER, and
anti-submarine trawlers ANGLE, KING SOL, NOTTS
COUNTY, and ST APOLLO. This section was detached on 3 July when destroyer HAVELOCK,
sloop FLEETWOOD, and corvettes ALBERNI, CHAMBLY,
COLLINGWOOD, and ORILLIA joined. The convoy was
dispersed on 13 July.
______
Heavy cruiser CUMBERLAND,
escorted by HAMBLEDON and WINDSOR, departed Scapa Flow
at 1030 to refit at Chatham.
The heavy cruiser arrived
at Sheerness on the 28th.
______
Destroyers LIGHTNING,
ESKIMO, NESTOR, and KRAKOWIAK
departed Scapa Flow at 1930 to search for a submarine
reported by air
in 59-20N, 4-04W.
The destroyers arrived
back at 2200/28th.
______
Destroyer ICARUS, with
damaged propellers, departed
Reykjavik at 1200 to meet convoy HX.133 and then proceed
to Ardrossan
to repair.
______
Submarine L 26 grounded on
the west coast of Mull.
The submarine was
refloated on the 28th.
Submarine L 26 was
repaired at Ardrossan from 8
July to 26 July.She was permanently repaired at Plymouth
from 19 September to 5 February 1942.
______
Minesweeping trawler FORCE
(324grt, A/T/Skipper
C.E. Smalley RNR) was sunk by German bombing off Great
Yarmouth.
______
U.70 damaged Dutch tanker
TIBIA (10,356grt) from
convoy HX.133 in 59-55N, 30-49W.
The tanker was repaired in
the Tyne.
______
U.69 sank British steamer
EMPIRE ABILITY (7603grt)
from convoy SL.78 at 23-50N, 21-10W. Two crewmen were
missing from the
steamer.
U.69 also sank British
steamer RIVER LUGAR
(5423grt) from this convoy at 24N, 21W.
Six crewmen from the
steamer were rescued by
corvettes BURDOCK and ARMERIA.
______
U.556 and U.564 attacked
convoy HX.133.
U.564 sank Dutch steamer
MAASDAM (8812grt) in 60N,
30-35W.
Two passengers were lost
on the steamer.
U.564 sank British steamer
MALAYA II (8651grt) in
59-56N, 30-35W.
Thirty nine crewmen were
lost and six were rescued
from the steamer.
U.564 damaged Norwegian
tanker KONGSGAARD (9467grt)
in 60N, 30-42W.
The tanker arrived at
Belfast Lough on 2 July.
U.556 was sunk by
Corvettes NASTURTIUM, CELANDINE,
and GLADIOLUS southwest of Iceland in 60-18N, 29-20W.
The commanding officer,
four other officers, and
thirty five were rescued.An engineer officer and four
ratings were missing.
______
U.123 attacked convoy
SL.78.
British steamer P.L.M. 22
(5646grt) and Dutch steamer
OBERON (1996grt) were sunk at 25-43N, 22-47W.
Thirty two crewmen were
lost on the British
steamer. Corvette ARMERIA rescued twelve survivors from
the steamer.
Six crewmen were killed on
the Dutch steamer.
The submarine claimed
hitting a third ship, but no
confirmation is available.
______
Dutch steamer MONTFERLAND
(6790grt) was sunk by
German bombing in 52-47n, 1-50E. The entire crew were
rescued.
______
Italian submarine GLAUCO
was sunk by destroyer WISHART,
which just left convoy HG.66, west of Gibraltar in
35-06N, 12-41W.
Seven officers and forty
four ratings were rescued
from the submarine. The destroyer arrived at Gibraltar
on the 28th.
______
Destroyer FIREDRAKE
departed Chatham after repairs to return to Gibraltar
and duty with Force H.
______
Submarine
CLYDE departed Gibraltar
westward for Operation VIGOROUS.Due to mistaken
identity, she was attacked by destroyer AVONVALE in the
Straits and sustained
some damage. However, the submarine was able to continue
on her mission.
The operation was a patrol
in the area of the Canary Islands for a German supply
ship, reportedly due to supply
a German submarine on the 30th. Nothing was found and
the submarine returned
to Gibraltar on 5 July.
______
Submarine OSIRIS
unsuccessfully attacked a steamer
in the Tyrrhenian Sea.
______
Submarine TRIUMPH sank
Italian submarine SALPA off
Mersa Matruh in 32-05N, 26-47E.
______
Italian submarine JANTINA
unsuccessfully attacked
Australian sloop PARRAMATTA in 31-34N, 27-28E.
The sloop counterattacked
and was joined by
destroyerSTUART, but the submarine was not damaged.
______
Light cruiser NAIAD and
destroyers KINGSTON, JERVIS, and HOTSPUR bombarded Damur
at dawn on
the 27th.
______
Light cruiser MAURITIUS
arrived at Mombasa after escorting convoy CM 11 to Aden.
______
Observer Sub Lt (A) M.S.T.
Broadwood of 700
Squadron, Petty Officer Airman H.D. Millington, Petty
Officer Airman W.A.H.
Peters, and Air Artificer 4/c T.G. Finan were killed in
an air accident in
Heavy cruiser EXETER at 13-38S, 42-02E in Mozambique
Channel.
______
Soviet submarine S.10 was
torpedoed and sunk by
German motor torpedo boats S.59 and S.60 in Irben
Strait.
______
Convoy SL.79 departed
Freetown escorted by armed merchant cruiser DUNOTTAR CASTLE to 10 July and corvettes COLUMBINE, CROCUS, and CYCLAMEN to 5 July.
Ocean boarding vessel
MARSDALE departed Gibraltar on 11 July and joined the
convoy for passage to England.
On 14 July, the convoy
joined convoy HG.67 for the
passage to England, and arrived at
Liverpool on 24 July.
Saturday,
28 June
Aircraft carrier
VICTORIOUS departed the Clyde escorted by destroyers CHARLESTOWN,
ST MARYS,and WINCHESTER for
Scapa Flow.
Destroyer ECLIPSE departed
Loch Alsh at 2330/28th
to join the escort.
Destroyer ESKIMO departed
Scapa Flow at 0030/29th to meet the aircraft carrier.
The aircraft carrier,
escorted by destroyers
ESKIMO, ECLIPSE, and WINCHESTER, arrived at Scapa
Flow at 1800/29th.
______
Anti-aircraft ship
ALYNBANK departed Methil at 1130
and joined convoy EC.38 off May Island.
The convoy was escorted to
Pentland Firth and the ship arrived at Scapa Flow at
1130/29th.
______
U.146 sank Finnish steamer
PLUTO (3496grt) 100
miles NNW of the Butt of Lewis, 59-39N, 8-20W.
The steamer had been
ordered by Heavy cruiser SUFFOLK to Kirkwall for
inspection.
Eighteen crewmen were
rescued by Armed boarding
vessel NORTHERN DUKE.Twelve crewmen were lost.
______
Italian submarine DA VINCI
sank British tanker
AURIS (8030grt) in 34-27N, 11-57W.
Thirty two crewmen were
lost on the steamer.
Destroyer FARNDALE departed convoy HG.66 to assist and
picked up twenty seven
crewmen.
______
British steamer BARRHILL
(4972grt) was sunk by
German bombing in 52-50N, 1-46E. Five crewmen were lost
on the steamer.
______
Australian light cruiser
PERTH and destroyers KANDAHAR, GRIFFIN, HAVOCK, and
JERVIS carried out a T.S.D.S. sweep
of Damur during the night of 27/28 June.
The light cruiser,
supported by anti-aircraft
cruiser CARLISLE and destroyers JERVIS, DECOY, HAVOCK,
HOTSPUR, and
NIZAM, bombarded Damur during the afternoon of 28 June.
______
Submarine
SEVERN sank
Italian steamer UGO BASSI (2900grt) five miles 24° from
Capo Monte Santi in
the Gulf of Orosei.
______
Submarine OSIRIS
unsuccessfully attacked a steamer
in the Tyrrhenian Sea.
______
Italian light cruisers
ATTENDOLO and DUCA D'AOSTA
and destroyers PIGAFETTA, PESSAGNO, DA MOSTO, DA
VERAZZANO, and DA RECCO laid
mines in the Sicilian Channel.
______
For RAILWAY 2, Aircraft
carrier FURIOUS, light
cruiser HERMIONE, and destroyers FEARLESS, FOXHOUND,
LANCE, and LEGION
departed at 1800/28th to feint to the west as ForceA.
Destroyer LANCE was
later moved to the battlecruiser RENOWN group.
As Force B, battlecruiser
RENOWN, aircraft carrier
ARK ROYAL, destroyers FAULKNOR, FURY, FORESTER, WISHART,
and AVONVALE
departed at 0130/29th. Destroyers WISHART and AVONVALE
were detached after
local escort duties.
The two groups proceeded
to Malta in company.
Aircraft carrier ARK ROYAL
flew twenty six
Hurricanes off to Malta on 30 May.FURIOUS flew eight
Hurricanes off to Malta.
The operation did suffer a
mishap when one of the
aircraft crashed into the bridge structure and started a
fire on the flight
deck.Two officers and one rating were killed. One other
officer and two
ratings died of injuries on the 30th.Two officers and
four ratings later died
of wounds.Ten ratings were seriously injured.
From aircraft carrier
FURIOUS, A/Sub Lt (A) O.M.
Wightman of 807 Squadron and A/Sub Lt (A) J.G. Biddle,
P/T/Sub Lt (A)A.F.
Hallett RNVR, and Sub Lt (A) C.D. Livingstone of 816
Squadron and one rating
were killed. Surgeon Lt D.A. Prothero,
MRCS, LRCP, DA, and Sub Lt (A) F.W. Follows of 816
Squadron died of wounds on
1 July.Four RAF officers and four ratings, one of which
died of wounds, were
injured. The mishap prevented the last six aircraft from
being flown off.
The force returned to
Gibraltar after the operation on 1 July.
______
Submarines UNIQUE,
UPRIGHT, UNIQUE, and UPHOLDER
departed Malta to intecept French Vichy vessels expected
to
proceed to support Syria.
All, less UPHOLDER,
arrived back at Malta without contact on 3 July.UPHOLDER
arrived at Malta on 8 July.
______
Anti-submarine trawlers
LORD IRWIN and LAERTES and whaler
GOS 7 departed Gibraltar for Freetown. Norwegian tanker
SILDRA departed in company and
set off for the west.
______
Soviet destroyer LENIN was
scuttled at Libau.
Sunday,
29 June
Heavy cruiser NORFOLK
arrived at Scapa Flow after escorting convoy SL.77.
______
Heavy cruiser CUMBERLAND
arrived at Sheerness for refitting at Chatham completed
on 11 October.
______
Minelaying cruiser
ADVENTURE arrived at Scapa Flow to work up after repairs
for her January mining.
______
Light cruiser KENYA began
repairs for her collision and refitting in
the Tyne.
______
U.103 sank in error
Italian steamer ERNANI
(6619grt), which had departed Teneriffe to escape to
Bordeaux, 450 miles west of Las Palmas.
______
German attacks on convoy
HX.133.
Destroyers MALCOLM and
SCIMITAR, corvettes ARABIS
and VIOLET, CAM ship MAPLIN, minesweepers NIGER and
SPEEDWELL, and three anti-submarine trawlers
joined the convoy.
U.651 sank British steamer
GRAYBURN (6342grt) in
59-30N, 18-07W.
Thirty five crewmen were
lost on the
steamer.Eighteen crewmen were rescued.
U.651 was sunk by
destroyers MALCOLM and SCIMITAR,
corvettes ARABIS and VIOLET, and minesweeper SPEEDWELL
in 59-52N, 18-36W. The
entire crew was rescued.
______
U.66 in attacks on
stragglers from convoy SL.78
sank Greek steamer GEORGE J. GOULANDRIS (4345grt) at
29-05N, 25-10W and Greek
steamer KALYPSO VERGOTTI (5686grt) at 29N, 25W. The
entire crew of steamer
GEORGE J. GOULANDRIS were rescued.
______
U.123 sank British steamer
RIO AZUL (4088grt) from convoy SL.78 at 29N, 25W. Two
crewmen drowned, nine died on raft or later on rescue
ship, and twenty two
crewmen were missing. Fifteen crewmen were rescued.
______
U.564 sank Icelandic
steamer HEKLA (1215grt) in 58-20N, 43W.
Fourteen crewmen were lost
on the steamer.
______
British steamer CUSHENDALL
(626grt) was sunk by
German bombing in 56-57N, 2-03W. Two crewmen were killed
on the steamer.
______
British steamer
SILVERLAUREL (6142grt) was damaged
by German bombing in King George Dock, Hull.
______
British steamer EMPIRE
METEOR (7457grt) was damaged
by German bombing in 53-05N, 1-30E.
The steamer arrived in the
Humber on the 30th in tow.
______
British tug EMPIRE LARCH
(487grt) was damaged by
German bombing off Great Yarmouth.
The steamer arrived at
Great Yarmouth on the 30th
______
Norwegian tanker LEIESTEN
(6118grt) was damaged on
a mine offB 3 Buoy, Barrow Deep.
The tanker arrived at
Gravesend on the 30th in tow.
______
Light cruiser NAIAD and
two destroyers operated off
Damur during the night of 29/30 June and carried out
minor bombardments.
______
Destroyer JERVIS was
detached from operations off Syria to Alexandria.
______
Destroyer DEFENDER and
Australian destroyer
WATERHEN, carrying supplies to Tobruk, were attacked by
German bombers.
Destroyer WATERHEN was
badly damaged at 2005.As
destroyer DEFENDER approached to tow, a submarine was
sighted close ahead of
the destroyer.Anti-submarine attacks were conducted on
Italian submarine
TEMBIEN, but no damage was done.
The Australian destroyer
was taken in tow by
destroyer DEFENDER.
Destroyer WATERHEN
capsized and was lost in 32-15N,
25-20E at 0150/30th.
There were no casualties
on the destroyer.
Destroyer JACKAL departed
Alexandria to assist destroyer WATERHEN, but when it was
found she had been lost, she returned with destroyer
DEFENDER.
______
Submarine URGE
unsuccessfully attacked an Italian
GORIZIA heavy cruiser at 0914 in 37-55N, 15-35E.
Heavy cruiser BOLZANO was
in the company of a second heavy cruiser and four
destroyers.
The submarine was heavily
counterattacked, but did
not sustain damage.
______
Submarine UTMOST
unsuccessfully attacked an Italian
heavy cruiser in the same force on that day.
______
Destroyers WISHART and
AVONVALE departed Gibraltar to meet arriving armed
merchant cruiser CILICIA escorting troopship CAMERONIA from
Freetown. The destroyers
relieved the cruiser and took the
troopship to Gibraltar, arriving on 4 July.
______
Light cruiser DANAE
arrived at Penang.
______
Light cruiser DAUNTLESS
arrived at Singapore.
______
American aircraft carrier
YORKTOWN, heavy cruisers
QUINCY and VINCENNES, and destroyers WAINWRIGHT,
HAMMANN, MUSTIN, and STACK
departed Hampton Roads on neutrality patrol.Aircraft
carrier YORKTOWN and
destroyers WAINWRIGHT and STACK are detached on 10 July
and arrived back at
Hampton Roads on 12 July.
Heavy cruisers QUINCY and
VINCENNES and destroyers HAMMANN and MUSTIN continued
patrol
and arrived at Bermuda on 15 July.
Monday,
30 June
Battlecruiser REPULSE,
Dutch light cruiser
HEEMSKERK, and destroyers COSSACK, SIKH, INGLEFIELD,
ACHATES, ACTIVE,
ANTELOPE, and INTREPID arrived in the Clyde at 0800 after escorting convoy TC.11.
______
Convoy OB.341 departed
Liverpool, escorted by destroyers ST ALBANS and WESTCOTT
and corvettes AURICULA, FREESIA,
HIBISCUS, MARIGOLD, MYOSOTIS, and PERIWINKLE. Corvette
PERIWINKLE was
detached on 4 July. The destroyers and corvettes FREESIA
and MYOSOTIS were
detached on 5 July. The convoy was dispersed on 6 July.
______
Heavy cruiser NORFOLK
departed
Scapa Flow and
arrived in the Tyne at 2200 for refitting.
______
Heavy cruiser SUFFOLK
departed Iceland to relieve light cruiser MANCHESTER on
Denmark Straits patrol.
______
Light cruiser ARETHUSA
arrived at Scapa Flow after Faroes Iceland patrol.
______
Destroyer CROOME departed
Greenock at 1630 to work up at Scapa Flow, where
she arrived at 1400 on 1 July.
______
U.66 sank British steamer
ST ANSELM (5614grt) in
31N, 26W.
Thirty four crewmen were
lost on the steamer.
______
Light cruiser DUNEDIN
captured Vichy French steamer VILLE DE TAMATAVE
(4993grt) east of St
Paul.
______
Dutch submarine O.23 sank
Italian steamer CAPACITAS
(5371grt) south of Livorna, seven miles off San Vincenzo
in 43-06N, 10-26E.
The submarine
unsuccessfully attacked a second
steamer in the Ligurian
Sea.
______
Submarine
TORBAY sank a
caique off Cape Malea with artillery.
______
German air attacks on a
Tobruk bound convoy
composed of Greek steamers MIRANDA (279grt) and Greek
ANTIKLIA (951grt),
which departed Mersa Matruh on the 29th escorted by
sloop FLAMINGO, trawler
SOUTHERN ISLE, and gunboat CRICKET.
The convoy was taken under
attack by a large German
bombing force from 1340/30th.
Sloop FLAMINGO was damaged
by a near miss.
Gunboat CRICKET was
severely damaged.She was towed
back to Alexandria by sloop FLAMINGO and later tug ST
ISSEY. On 2
July, gunboat CRICKET arrived at Alexandria in the tow
of tug ST ISSEY.
Sloop FLAMINGO also
arrived at Alexandria on 2 July.
The gunboat was judged to
be a total loss.
______
Greek cruiser GEORGIOS
AVEROFF, destroyer PANTHER,
torpedo boat SPHENDONI, submarine KATSONIS, and depot
ship HIPHAISTOS
departed Alexandria, escorted by Greek destroyers IERAX
and AETOS, for
the transit of the Canal.
These Greek ships were
temporarily stationed at Suez.
______
Ocean boarding vessels
MARSDALE and MALVERNIAN were
ordered to sweep to locate an unidentified freighted
sighted by air on 25/26
June.
______
Convoy HX.136 departed
Halifax, escorted by armed merchant
cruisers ASCANIA and CALIFORNIA, corvettes ARROWHEAD, CAMELLIA, EYEBRIGHT, and MAYFLOWER,
anti-submarine yacht PHILANTE, and anti-submarine
trawler KOS XX.
Convoy BHX.136 departed
Bermuda on the 28th escorted by ocean escort armed merchant cruiser ASCANIA.
The convoy rendezvoused with convoy HX.136 on 3 July and
the armed merchant
cruiser was detached.
On 4 July, destroyers
BURNHAM and CHESTERFIELD, corvettes AGASSIZ and
WETASKIWIN joined.
Destroyer CHURCHILL joined on 6 July. On 13 July, the
original escorts and
those joining on 4, less trawler KOS XX, and 6 July were
detached. Destroyers
KEPPEL, SABRE, and SHIKARI, corvettes DIANELLA and
KINGCUP, minesweeper HEBE,
and anti-submarine trawlers LADY ELSA and WELLARD
joined. The convoy arrived
at Liverpool on 18 July.
______
Light cruiser ENTERPRISE
departed Colombo on patrol.
June,
miscellaneous
Destroyers DECOY and
DEFENDER joined in Tobruk
reinforcement duties.
