Background
Events - June-November 1941
Invasion of
Russia, Malta Convoys, Japan prepares for war
1941
Tuesday,
15 July
American Cruiser Division
7 (Rear Admiral H. Kent
Hewitt) with light cruisers PHILADELPHIA, BROOKLYN,
SAVANNAH, and NASHVILLE relieved heavy cruisers WICHITA,
QUINCEY, and VINCENNES from Central Atlantic Neutrality
Patrol.
_____
Anti-aircraft ship CURACOA
departed
Methil and joined convoy
EC.45 off May Island.
The ship left the convoy
in
Pentland
Firth and arrived at Scapa
Flow at 1900. Ship
CURACOA departed at 2030 to rejoin a portion of the
convoy which had
proceeded north of the Orkneys.
_____
Minelayer TEVIOTBANK,
escorted by destroyer
CASTLETON and survey ship SCOTT, laid minefield SN.21 A
of the Northern
Barrage.
_____
Landing ship PRINCE
PHILIPPE (2938grt) was sunk in
a collision with steamer EMPIRE WAVE (7463grt) off west
of Scotland.
T/Sub Lt (E) F.G. Moncur
RNR,
died of injuries sustained in the collision.
_____
Ocean boarding vessel LADY
SOMERS (Cdr G.L. Dunbar
RD RNR) was sunk by Italian submarine MOROSINI in
37-12N,
20-32W.
Corvette SPIRAEA of convoy
OG.67 was ordered to her
position to assist. The entire crew of one hundred and
thirty eight man crew
were picked up by Spanish steamer CAMPECHE
(6382grt).Sloop BIDEFORD and anti-submarine
trawlers LOCH OSKAIG and IMPERIALIST were ordered to
intercept the steamer
and take off the survivors due to the difficulty in
obtaining the release of
seamen from Spain. The survivors were landed by the Spanish ship at
Lisbon. They arrived back
at Gibraltar on the 18th in British steamer PROCRIS
(1033grt).
_____
British steamer FARFIELD
(468grt) was sunk by
German bombing five miles 250° from South Stack.
One naval rating was
saved, but the crew of eight
were lost.
_____
The German 3rd Motor
Torpedo Boat Flotilla of S.54,
S.47, S.58, and S.57 attacked a Soviet destroyer in the
Bay of Riga without success.
_____
New Zealand light cruiser
LEANDER departed Alexandria to reinforce the British
forces at Haifa.
_____
Submarine UNBEATEN sank
Italian patrol vessel
NETTUNO off Mara Zuag
Roads.
The submarine reported
sinking a second patrol
vessel.
_____
Submarine TAKU sank
Italian patrol vessel VINCENZO
PADRE (270grt) east, SE of Ras
Auegia.
_____
Lighters A.10 (Sub Lt J.D.
Thom RNVR) and A.11, en
route to Tobruk, were
attacked by German dive
bombers in 32-15N, 25-26E. A.10 was hit and abandoned,
after attempts to take
her in tow by A.11 failed.
One rating was killed and
three ratings were
wounded in lighter A.10. T/A/Sub Lt W.G. Jenkins RNVR,
was wounded in A 11.
_____
Destroyers FIREDRAKE,
VIDETTE, VIMY, and BEVERLEY,
motor Launch 126 of the 3rd Motor Launch Flotilla, and
the 9th Motor Launch
Flotilla of Motor launches 169, 170, 172, 173, 174, 175,
and 176 arrived at Gibraltar.
Destroyer FIREDRAKE
departed later that day and
joined the 8th Destroyer Flotilla en route to join
convoy WS.9C.
_____
Convoy SL.81 departed
Freetown escorted by armed merchant cruisers CAPE SABLE to 8 August and MORETON
BAY
to 2 August, destroyer WRESTLER to 23 July, and
corvettes CLEMATIS, CYCLAMEN,
MIGNONETTE, and WOODRUFF to 23 July.
On the 30th, corvettes
CARNATION to 6 August,
HELIOTROPE to 8 August, and MALLOW to 4 August joined.
Destroyers CAMPBELTOWN,ST
ALBANS, and WANDERER to 8
August, catapult ship MAPLIN to 7 August, and corvettes
BLUEBELL, CAMPANULA,
HYDRANGEA to 5 August, LA MALOUINE to 6 August,
WALLFLOWER to 8 August, and
ZINNIA to 8 August joined on 3 August.
On 3 August, a Hurricane
from MAPLIN shot down a
Fw.200 in 50-33N, 19-40W. Pilot Lt R.W.H. Everett then
baled out and was picked up by a dingy from the catapult
ship. The convoy
arrived at Liverpool on 8 August.
Wednesday,
16 July
Destroyer WELLS departed
Scapa Flow after her
practices exercises at 1400 for Loch Alsh
where she
arrived at 2130.
_____
Motor gun boats MGB.90 and
MGB.92 were destroyed by
fire in Portland Harbour.
_____
Convoy OB.347 departed
Liverpool, escorted by destroyers BEAGLE and BOADICEA,
corvettes HEATHER, ORCHIS, and PICOTEE, minesweeper
SHARPSHOOTER, and
anti-submarine trawlers ARAB, AYRSHIRE, LADY MADELEINE,
and NORWICH CITY. Destroyers ROXBOROUGH and SALISBURY
joined on the 18th. These escorts were detached on
the 22nd. On the 22nd, destroyer BURNHAM and corvettes
AGASSIZ, CELANDINE, MAYFLOWER, and WESTASKIWIN joined. The convoy was
dispersed on the 31st.
_____
P/T/Midshipman (A) R.L. Waddy
RNVR, was killed when his
Swordfish of 767 Squadron
crashed near Arbroath during exercises.
_____
British steamer ELIZABETE
(2039grt) was damaged by
German bombing halfway between 20C Buoy and T.2 Buoy,
off the Tyne.
The steamer returned to
the Tyne.
_____
Anti-aircraft cruiser
CARLISLE, carrying a base party, minesweepers HARROW,
MOY, and LYDIARD from Haifa,
and corvette SALVIA and motor launch ML.1032 from
Famagusta
arrived at Beirut.
Captain J.A.V. Morse was
named Naval Officer in
Charge of Syrian ports with his headquarters at Beirut.
Corvette HYACINTH with LL
sweeper FELLOWSHIP
departed Alexandria for Famagusta.
Destroyer JAGUAR departed
Alexandria with a petrol tanker of convoy LE 25 for
Beirut. Destroyer KANDAHAR departed Alexandria for Port
Said to join the remainder of convoy LE 25.KANDAHAR
departed Port
Said with the
two ships of LE 25 on the 17th.
Anti-aircraft cruiser
COVENTRY departed Alexandria at noon on the 17th to meet Beirut
convoy LE 25 off Port Said. The convoy was covered by
light cruiser AJAX and two destroyers.
Convoy LE 25 arrived at
Beirut on the 17th.Cruiser COVENTRY relieved
anti-aircraft cruiser CARLISLE which sailed for Alexandria, arriving on the 19th.
_____
Destroyer JERVIS departed
Alexandria for Haifa to operate with British forces
there.
On destroyer JERVIS's
arrival at Haifa on the 17th, destroyers JACKAL, NIZAM,
and HASTY
departed Haifa for Alexandria.
_____
Italian troopships MARCO
POLO (12,272grt), NEPTUNIA
(19,475grt), and OCEANIA (19,507grt) departed Taranto
for Tripoli escorted by destroyers GENIERE, GIOBERTI,
LANCIERE, and ORIANI and torpedo boat CENTAURO.
Distant cover was provided
by heavy cruisers TRIESTE and BOLZANO and destroyers
ASCARI, CARABINIERE, and
CORAZZIERE.
On the 18th, Submarine
UNBEATEN unsuccessfully
attacked troopship OCEANIA. The convoy arrived at
Tripoli on the 18th.
_____
Submarine UNBEATEN
reported damaged a large tanker
twenty three miles south, southwest of Messina.
_____
Italian submarine NEREIDE
claimed damage on Greek
submarine TRITON in torpedo and artillery attacks in
37-25N, 25-52E.
_____
Destroyers AVON VALE,
ERIDGE, and FARNDALE departed
Gibraltar to meet light cruiser MANCHESTER, troopship
PASTEUR, and destroyers LIGHTNING and
NESTOR, arriving from the UK.
_____
Submarine
OLYMPUS and Dutch
submarine O.21 departed Gibraltar to patrol in the
Tyrrhenian Sea to support Operation SUBSTANCE.
_____
Convoy HX.139 departed
Halifax, escorted by corvettes BITTERSWEET, FENNEL, and
PICTOU, and armed merchant cruiser RANPURA.Corvettes
BITTERSWEET and FENNEL were detached later that day. On
the 17th, corvettes
DAUPHIN and NAPANEE joined and were detached later the
next day. On the 18th,
escort ships SENNEN and TOTLAND joined, on the 19th,
sloop FLEETWOOD, and on
the 20th, corvette CHAMBLY. Destroyers KEPPEL, LINCOLN,
SHIKARI, and VENOMOUS
and minesweeper HEBE joined. Armed merchant cruiser
RANPURA and corvette CHAMBLY were detached on the
26th.Corvette PICTOU was
detached on the 28th, the two escort ships on the 29th,
and destroyers
KEPPEL, LINCOLN, and SHIKARI and sloop FLEETWOOD were
detached on
the 30th. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on the
31st with destroyer VENOMOUS.
_____
American light cruisers
PHILADELPHIA and SAVANNAH and destroyers MEREDITH and
GWIN departed Bermuda on neutrality patrol. They arrived back on the 25th.
Thursday,
17 July
Destroyer WINCHESTER
departed
Scapa Flow at 0500
after working up for Rosyth. En route, the destroyer
joined convoy WN.53 as
additional escort.
_____
Destroyer ORIBI arrived at
Scapa Flow at 0630 from Greenock to work up.
_____
Convoy OB.348 departed
Liverpool, escorted by destroyers DOUGLAS and SKATE,
corvette ANEMONE, minesweeper LEDA, and anti-submarine
trawlers ST ELSTAN and
ST ZENO. Destroyer LEAMINGTON and corvette ABELIA joined
on the 22nd. These
escorts were detached on the 22nd. On the 22nd,
destroyers READING and SAGUENAY and corvettes DIANTHUS, HONEYSUCKLE, and SNOWBERRY joined. The
escorts were detached off Halifax
on the 30th. The convoy arrived at Halifax on the 31st.
_____
Destroyer HEYTHROP
departed Scapa Flow at 1000 escorting British tankers
WAR SUDRA
(5627grt) and DAXHOUND (1128grt). At 1700, trawler
NORTHERN SKY with steamer LOCHGARRY (1627grt) was met in
position 270 Noup Head 24
miles.
The force proceeded to Skofenfjord
in the Faroes. They arrived
at 1630 on the 18th.
The destroyer and WAR SUDRA proceeded on to Seidisfjord,
where they arrived at 1600 on the 20th.
The destroyer departed Seidisfjord
at 0730 on the 21st and proceeded to Skaalefjord,
arriving at 0800 on the 22nd.
At 1330 on the 22nd,
destroyer HEYTHROP, tankers
DAXHOUND and WAR PINDARI, and anti-submarine trawler
LORD AUSTIN departed Skaalefjord.
The destroyer arrived at Scapa Flow at 2000 on the 23rd;
the other ships having been
detached to Kirkwall.
_____
Destroyer ESCAPADE arrived
at Scapa Flow at 2000 from the Tyne on the completion of her refitting.
_____
Polish destroyer BURZA
arrived at Scapa Flow escorting oiler
BLACK
RANGER.
The destroyer later left
to return to the Western
Approaches.
_____
Anti-aircraft ship
ALYNBANK departed Scapa Flow at 0500 to provide
anti-aircraft protection for
convoy WN.53 from Pentland Firth until south
of Buchan Ness, where she transferred to convoy EC.46.
At 2000 on the 18th off
Cape Wrath the ship transferred to convoy WN.54.During
the morning
of 20 July, the ship transferred to convoy EC.47. On
arrival in
Pentland
Firth, the ship departed the convoy and arrived at
Scapa Flow at 0200 on the
21st.
_____
Submarine THRASHER damaged
French fishing trawler
VIRGO FIDELIS (129grt) off San Sebastian.
The trawler was run
aground a total loss.
_____
British fishing steam
trawler BEN GLAMAIR (198grt) was lost to an unknown
cause near
Dunstanburgh.
_____
British drifter FERTILE
VALE (91grt) was sunk in a
collision off the River Tay.
_____
British steamer EMERALD
QUEEN (481grt) was damaged
by German bombing in 54-39N, 0-48W.
The steamer, carrying
Admiralty Stores and
ammunition, was towed to Hartlepool.
_____
Italian submarine
MALASPINA sank British steamer
GUELMA (4402grt) in 30-44N, 17-33W. The entire crew were
rescued by Submarine
THUNDERBOLt on the 17th.
_____
Light cruiser NEPTUNE
arrived at Suez after repairs.
The light cruiser passed
through the Canal and at Port Said disembarked her
catapult to make room for
anti-aircraft weapons.
Cruiser NEPTUNE then
proceeded to Alexandria, arriving on the 19th.
_____
Australian sloop
PARRAMATTA departed Alexandria for Port Said for escort
duties.
_____
Italian tanker PANUCO
(6212grt) was damaged at Tripoli by British aerial
torpedo attack of three
Swordfish of 830 Squadron from Malta.
The tanker was unable to
unload her cargo.
Tanker PANUCO departed
Tripoli on the 19th with her cargo still aboard,
escorted
by torpedo boats CENTAURO and MONTANARI.
The tanker arrived at
Palermo on the 22nd.
_____
Submarine TALISMAN arrived
at Gibraltar from Halifax.
_____
Submarine P.32 departed
Gibraltar to patrol to support Operation SUBSTANCE, then
proceed to Malta.
_____
Submarine UTMOST departed
Malta for Operation SUBSTANCE.
Friday,
18 July
Battlecruiser REPULSE,
escorted by destroyers
ICARUS, ACTIVE, and ACHATES departed Scapa Flow for
Rosyth where the ships arrived at 0730 on the
19th.
_____
Heavy cruiser LONDON
departed
Gibraltar to
return to Scapa Flow, where she arrived on the 23rd.
_____
Destroyer BEDOUIN departed
Scapa Flow at 0700 for refitting in the Humber. The destroyer arrived at 0630 on the 19th.
_____
Destroyer ANTHONY arrived
at Scapa Flow at 1230 from Rosyth on the completion of
her
refitting.
_____
British steamer PILAR DE
LARRINAGA (7046grt) was
damaged by German bombing in 54-23N, 16-53W. Four
crew
were killed on the steamer.
The steamer was towed to
Belfast Lough.
_____
Battleships VALIANT and
QUEEN ELIZABETH, light cruiser
PHOEBE, and destroyers JACKAL, NIZAM, HASTY, KIPLING,
and HAVOCK departed Alexandria for exercises.
Minelaying cruisers ABDIEL
and LATONA had departed Alexandria the prior day for
further exercises.
_____
Australian light cruiser
PERTH, after having been relieved by Australian light
cruiser HOBART, departed Alexandria to return to Australia.
Before departing the
Mediterranean Fleet, light
cruiser PERTH had a quadruple pom
pom removed and a catapult,
previously carried in light
cruiser AJAX, mounted at Port Said on the 19th.
The light cruiser passed
through the Suez Canal on the 20th.
Light cruiser PERTH was
refitting and repairing defects at Sydney from 11 August
to 30 October.
_____
In Operation GUILLOTINE,
beginning on this date and
into August, troops and supplies were moved from Port
Said and Haifa to
Famagusta
in cruisers, minelaying cruisers ABDIEL and
LATONA, and destroyers.
Australian steamer
SALAMAUA (6676grt), carrying an
anti-aircraft battery and RAF 80 Squadron, proceeded to
Famagusta
from Port Said, escorted by sloop PARRAMATTA in serial
S.1 of this operation.
The ships arrived at Famagusta
on the 21st.
_____
Destroyers HERO and
HOTSPUR carried supplies to Tobruk.
They arrived back at Alexandria on the 18th.
_____
Heavy cruiser LONDON
departed
Gibraltar to
return to Scapa Flow, arriving on the 23rd.
_____
Destroyer VIDETTE departed
Gibraltar to join British tanker BRITISH HONOUR and
escort
her to Gibraltar, arriving on the 21st.
_____
Corvette GERANIUM arrived
at Gibraltar, escorting British oiler
HORNSHELL.
_____
Convoy HG.68 departed
Gibraltar, escorted by destroyers BEVERLEY and WISHART,
sloop SCARBOROUGH, submarine CLYDE, anti-submarine trawlers LADY HOGARTH, LADY SHIRLEY, and LEYLAND.
Captured French trawler
GROUIN DU COU in the convoy
was forced to return to Gibraltar on the 22nd when she
could not keep up with the
convoy.
On the 24th, captured
French trawler L'ORAGE
returned to Gibraltar with boiler defects.
Corvettes FLEUR DE LYS and
GERANIUM departed Gibraltar on the 19th and joined the
convoy at sea.
Destroyer BEVERLEY was
detached on the 19th with
captured French ship ISAC.
On the 22nd, submarine
CLYDE, corvette FLEUR DE LYS, and destroyer WISHART were detached. The
submarine and destroyer going to convoy OG.68.
Corvettes CLOVER and
VERVAIN joined on the 23rd.
Trawlers LADY HOGARTH and
LADY SHIRLEY were
detached on the 25th.
On the 27th, corvettes
ALISMA, DIANELLA, KINGCUP,
and SUNFLOWER joined the convoy. Destroyers BATH, VANOC,
and WALKER, catapult ship ARIGUANI, and
corvettes CARNATION, HELIOTROPE, LA MALOUINE, and
MALLOW.
Corvettes CLOVER and
VERVAIN were detached on the
28th. On the 29th, corvettes CARNATION and LA MALOUINE
were detached.Corvette
GERANIUM was detached on the 31st for
refitting in the UK. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on
2 August.
Saturday,
19 July
Submarine UMPIRE (Lt Cdr
M.R.G. Wingfield),
which departed Sheerness on the 17th in convoy EC.47,
was sunk in an
accidental collision in 53-09N, 1-08E off the Wash with
anti-submarine
trawler PETER HENDRIKS (266grt), which was in the escort
of convoy FS 544.
Lt P.C.M. Banister DSC,
Sub Lt S.A.G. Godden, and
fourteen ratings were lost on the submarine.Wingfield,
T/Lt E.P. Young RNVR, and fourteen ratings were rescued
by the trawler.
_____
Battleship PRINCE OF WALES
and destroyers ACTIVE,
ACHATES, and ICARUS departed Rosyth for Scapa Flow,
arriving at 1930.
_____
Submarine TUNA attacked
German tanker BENNO (former
Norwegian OLE JACOB), escorted by minesweepers M.18,
M.25, M.27, and M.30,
sixty miles west of the Gironde.
The submarine claimed hits
on a steamer and a
destroyer, but no ships were damaged.
_____
U.66 sank British steamer
HOLMSIDE (3433grt) at
19N, 21-30W.
Twenty
one crew
were missing on the steamer.
_____
Battleships VALIANT and
QUEEN ELIZABETH, light
cruiser PHOEBE, minelaying cruiser LATONA, and
destroyers JACKAL, NIZAM,
HASTY, KIPLING, and HAVOCK arrived at Alexandria after
exercises.
_____
Minelaying cruiser ABDIEL
and destroyer DECOY
departed Alexandria to carry supplies to Tobruk.
The supplies were
delivered and both ships arrived
back at Alexandria on the 20th.
_____
British cruiser minelayer
MANXMAN, which had been
with convoy WS.9C, arrived at Gibraltar at 0530
on the 19th. The cruiser's arrival had been delayed one
and a half hours by
fog.
_____
French troopship PASTEUR
arrived at Gibraltar, escorted by destroyers LIGHTNING,
NESTOR, AVON
VALE, FARNDALE, and ERIDGE.
_____
Submarine UNBEATEN arrived
at Malta from patrol.
_____
Submarine UPHOLDER
departed Malta at 2200 for Operation SUBSTANCE.
_____
Destroyer BEVERLEY with
convoy HG.68 intercepted
French steamer ISAC, which had departed Bordeaux on the
14th for Casablanca and Dakar, in 35-12N, 9-12W.
The steamer was escorted
towards Gibraltar by the destroyer until relieved by a
tug that
afternoon. Destroyer BEVERLEY arrived at Gibraltar on
the 20th. The tug and French ship arrived at Gibraltar
on the 21st.
_____
Soviet destroyers SERDITY
and STEREGUSHCHI
attempted to attack a German convoy off Dunamunde.
No contact was made.
Destroyer SERDITY was badly
damaged by German bombing off Oesel
and scuttled on
the 22nd.
Sunday,
20 July
Aircraft carrier FURIOUS,
escorted by destroyers GARLAND, CASTLETON, and
CHARLESTOWN and arrived at Scapa Flow at 1900 on the
21st fromGreenock
after flying practices in the Pentland Firth.
_____
Light cruiser EURYALUS,
escorted by destroyer
WORCESTER, arrived at Rosyth to complete fitting out.
_____
Anti-aircraft ship
POZARICA departed Scapa Flow to join the Western
Approaches after fitting out.
_____
Convoy OG.69 departed
Liverpool escorted by corvettes BEGONIA, JASMINE,
LARKSPUR,
PIMPERNEL, and RHODODENDRON and anti-submarine trawler
ST NECTAN.
Corvettes ALISMA,
DIANELLA, KINGCUP, and SUNFLOWER
joined on the 21st.
On the 26th, corvettes
ALISMA, DIANELLA, and
KINGCUP were detached. On the 27th, corvette SUNFLOWER
was detached.Corvette
BEGONIA on the 28th, and corvette
RHODODENDRON on the 30th.
Corvette FLEUR DE LYS and
anti-submarine trawlers
LADY HOGARTH and LADY SHIRLEY joined the convoy on the
27th.
Destroyers FAULKNOR, FURY,
and FORESTER departed Gibraltar on the 28th to escort
this convoy, but they were
later recalled for Operation STYLE.
Steamer ADJUTANT of the
convoy arrived at Gibraltar on 1 August with corvettes
JASMINE, PIMPERNEL, and
LARKSPUR and anti-submarine trawler ST NECTAN. The
corvettes went back out
and arrived with the convoy on 2 August.
_____
British steamer UMVUMA
(4419grt) was damaged by
German bombing off Number 57 Buoy, off the Humber.
The vessel was able to proceed
disabled to Humber.
_____
U.203 damaged British
steamer CANADIAN STAR (8293grt) with gunfire in 49-15N,
21W, after the
steamer evaded torpedoes from submarine U.126.
The steamer arrived at Curacoa
on the 30th.
_____
U.95 damaged British
steamer PALMA (5419grt) with gunfire in 50-14N, 17-53W
after an
unsuccessful torpedo attack.
_____
Soviet destroyer
STREMITELNY was sunk by German
bombing off Polarnoye.
_____
Minelaying cruiser LATONA
and Australian destroyer
STUART departed Alexandria carrying supplies to Tobruk.
At Tobruk,
the cruiser
was able to unload only 50 tons of her cargo due to a
delay in arrival and
difficulties in unloading.
The ships arrived back at
Alexandria on the 21st.
_____
An Italian convoy composed
of damaged German
steamer MENES in tow of Italian tug CICLOPE and German
tug MAX BERENDT departed Tripoli on the 17th escorted by
Italian torpedo boat
CIRCE.
On the 20th, Submarine
UNION (Lt R.M. Galloway)
attacked the convoy south southwest of Pantelleria
and was sunk in return by the torpedo boat.
Galloway, Lt D.L. Carr, Lt R.D.C.G. Simmons, Lt D.A. Tarrant
RNR, and twenty eight
ratings were lost on the
submarine.
_____
Submarine UTMOST
unsuccessfully attacked a steamer
off Ustica.
_____
Subamrine
TETRARCH unsuccessfully attacked a steamer in the Aegean.
_____
In Operation GUILLOTINE,
New Zealand light cruiser LEANDER and destroyer KINGSTON
departed Haifa on the 20th for Port Said, where they
arrived that day to embark troops and
supplies in serial S.2 A of the Operation.
The supplies were unloaded
at
Famagusta
during the night of 20/21 July.
Destroyer JERVIS with
troops from Haifa also disembarked at Famagusta
during the night of 20/21 July in Serial S.2B of
the Operation.
Cruiser LEANDER and
destroyer KINGSTON arrived back at Haifa on the 21st.
_____
Light cruiser EDINBURGH,
cruiser minelayer MANXMAN,
and destroyers NESTOR, LIGHTNING, FARNDALE, AVON VALE,
and ERIDGE departed Gibraltar at 0145 to meet arriving
convoy WS.9C.
Light cruisers MANCHESTER
and ARETHUSA and destroyers COSSACK, MAORI, and
SIKH arrived at Gibraltar at 0329 escorting troopship
LEINSTER.
Destroyers FEARLESS,
FOXHOUND, FIREDRAKE, BEVERLEY,
FURY, FORESIGHT, and FORESTER arrived at Gibraltar to
refuel.
_____
Submarines UPRIGHT and
UNIQUE departed Malta for Operation SUBSTANCE.
Monday,
21 July
Destroyer ASHANTI was recommissioned
on
the Tyne after larger repairs. She was able to depart
the Tyne for Scapa Flow until 30
August, but defects required she call at
Rosyth en route.
The destroyer finally
arrived at Scapa Flow to work up on 7 September.
_____
Minelaying cruiser
ADVENTURE arrived at Scapa Flow, en route to Archangel.
_____
Anti-aircraft ship
PALOMARES arrived at Scapa Flow at 1300 to carry out
working up exercises.
_____
Convoy OB.349 departed
Liverpool, escorted by destroyers KEPPEL and SHIKARI,
corvettes ALISMA, ALYSSE, DIANELLA, FREESIA, and
SUNFLOWER, and
anti-submarine trawlers NORTHERN DAWN and WELLARD.
Destroyer VENOMOUS joined
on the 22nd. On the 26th, this group was detached. On
the 26th, destroyers
BROADWATER and ST
LAURENT,
armed merchant cruiser CIRCASSIA, and corvettes RIMOUSKI
and SKIKENARD joined. The convoy was dispersed on
1 August.
This was the last of the OB.series.Beginning
on the 26th, the ON.series
began with ON.1 departing Liverpool.
_____
German steamers HANS
CHRISTOPHERSON (1599grt) was sunk on a mine off
Terschelling.
_____
Italian submarine TORELLI
sank Norwegian tanker IDA KNUDSEN (8913grt) in 34-34N,
13-14W. Five crew were
missing on the tanker.Fourteen
survivors were picked up by Portuguese trawler ALTAIR
(341grt) and landed at Las Palmas.
_____
Canadian troop convoy TC
12 departed Halifax with
liners DUCHESS OF YORK (20,021grt), EMPRESS OF CANADA
(21,517grt), ORION
(23,371grt), STRATHMORE (23,428grt), and STRATHNAVER
(22,283grt).
Destroyers ASSINIBOINE and
BUXTON were escorting from convoy from 21 to
23 July.
Destroyers HAVELOCK,
HESPERUS, COLUMBIA, and RESTIGOUCHE escorted the convoy
from 21 to 26
July.
Battleship MALAYA escorted the convoy from 21 to 27 July.
Destroyers HARVESTER and
RIPLEY escorted the convoy
from 23 to 26 July.
Destroyer GURKHA, LANCE,
LEGION, PIORUN, SALISBURY, VANQUISHER, and WINCHELSEA
escorted the convoy
from 26 to 29 July.
Destroyers CROOME,
HEYTHROP, and ISAAC SWEERS
departed Scapa Flow at 0600 on the 27th and were with
the convoy on
the 27th. The destroyers took battleship MALAYA to Scapa Flow, where they
arrived at noon on the 28th.
Anti-aircraft cruiser
CAIRO escorted the convoy from 27 to 29 July. The convoy
safely arrived on the 29th.
_____
Submarine THUNDERBOLT,
which had departed St Johns on the 8th, arrived at
Gibraltar for duty in the Mediterranean.
_____
The SubSTANCE
convoy
(convoy GM 1) for Malta of steamers SYDNEY STAR,
CITY OF
PRETORIA, PORT CHALMERS, DEUCALION, DURHAM, and
MELBOURNE STAR, escorted by battleship NELSON, light
cruiser
EDINBURGH, cruiser minelayer MANXMAN, and destroyers
NESTOR, LIGHTNING,
FARNDALE, AVON VALE, and ERIDGE passed Gibraltar in the
Mediterranean at
0145.
Light cruisers MANCHESTER
and ARETHUSA, troopship LEINSTER, and destroyers COSSACK, SIKH, and MAORI departed
Gibraltar at 0200.
Troopship LEINSTER ran aground departing Gibraltar and was
left behind.
Fleet oiler
BROWN RANGER,
escorted by destroyer BEVERLEY, proceeded at 0200 to sea
to refuel destroyers
during the operation. The two arrived back at Gibraltar
on the 23rd. They sailed again on the 25th on the
same mission, but were recalled later that day.
At 0300, battlecruiser
RENOWN, aircraft carrier ARK ROYAL, light cruiser
HEMOINE, destroyers
FAULKNOR, FEARLESS, FIREDRAKE, FORESTER, FOXHOUND,
FORESIGHT, FURY, and DUNCAN departed
Gibraltar.
Battleship NELSON and
light cruisers ARETHUSA,
EDINBURGH, and MANCHESTER were on temporary loan from
the Home Fleet.
Eight British and Dutch
submarines were at sea to
intercept the Italian Fleet would it attempt to
intervene with the passage of
the convoy.Submarines
OLYMPUS in the Tyrrhenian Sea
and P.32 off Cagliari and
Dutch submarine O.21 in
the Tyrrhenain Sea operated
from Gibraltar and
UNIQUE off southern entrance to the Straits of Messina,
UPHOLDER north of Marittimo,
UPRIGHT off southern approaches to the Straits
of Messina, URGE off Palermo, and UTMOST north of
Messina operated from
Malta.
On the 22nd, the
Mediterranean Fleet sortied
from Alexandria at 2100.Battleships QUEEN
ELIZABETH and VALIANT, light cruisers NAIAD, PHOEBE,
NEPTUNE, and HOBART,
minelaying cruisers ABDIEL and LATONA, and destroyers
JACKAL, NIZAM, KIPLING,
KIMBERLEY, GRIFFIN, HASTY, and HAVOCK operated to the
west of Crete.
Light cruisers AJAX and
LEANDER with destroyers JERVIS, JAGUAR, KANDAHAR, and
KINGSTON departed Haifa and rendezvoused with the Main
Fleet off Alexandria at 0600 on the 23rd.
Anti-aircraft ship
CARLISLE joined the Fleet at daylight on the 23rd.
At dark on the 23rd, the
Fleet turned backed
eastward and light cruiser NEPTUNE, minelaying cruiser
ABDIEL, and destroyer KIMBERLEY were detached on serial
S.4 of the GUILLOTINE
operation. They departed Port Said on the 24th. The troops were delivered on the 24th and the ships
arrived back at Port
Said
on the
25th.
On the 24th, light cruiser
LEANDER and destroyer JAGUAR
departed the Fleet for Port Said where they arrived on the 25th.
The Main Body of the
Mediterranean Fleet arrived
back at Alexandria on the 25th.
Light cruiser LEANDER and
destroyer JAGUAR embarked
troops for Famagusta and
departed on the 25th on Serial
S.6 with minelaying cruiser LATONA, arriving during the
night of 25/26 July.Minelaying
cruiser LATONA was damaged in a collision
with destroyer JAGUAR while berthing at Famagusta,
but was able to depart with the destroyer on the 26th
for Haifa. Light
cruiser LEANDER arrived at Alexandria on the 26th.
Light cruiser NEPTUNE,
minelaying cruiser ABDIEL,
and destroyer KIMBERLEY departed Port Said for Famagusta
on serial S.7 of the GUILLOTINE operation on the
26th. The troops were landed during the night of 26/27
July. On completion,
the ships proceeded to Haifa.
Submarines REGENT and
PERSEUS on the 24th created
the impression by means of radio signals that the
battleships were still at
sea and that the SUBSTANCE convoy was a through convoy.
Italian submarine DIASPRO
attacked the SUBSTANCE
convoy and narrowly missed Australian destroyer NESTOR,
escorting aircraft
carrier ARK ROYAL, in 38-10N, 5-30E near Bougie.
In air attacks, light
cruiser MANCHESTER was struck by an aerial torpedo.
Paymaster Cdr W.D. Stranack,
A/Paymaster Sub Lt C.D. Ballard, Paymaster Midshipman
J.D. Pooley, and twenty
three ratings were lost in the
cruiser. P/T/Surgeon T. McG.
Watt RNVR, was wounded.
The cruiser returned to
Gibraltar, escorted by destroyer AVON VALE, with three
out of
four engines inoperative.Before
arriving at Gibraltar, destroyers VIDETTE and VIMY
joined the screen.
Destroyer WISHART later sailed and relieved destroyer
AVON VALE.Tug ST DAY
departed
Gibraltar to
assist. They arrived at Gibraltar shortly before
midnight on the 25th.
Motor launches ML.130,
ML.126, ML.168, ML.121, and
ML.129 departed Gibraltar to sweep ahead of the cruiser
and provide
additional escort.Later,
tugs ROLLICKER and ST OMAR
withML 173, and ML.169
departed to join the
cruiser.
Cruiser MANCHESTER, after
temporary repairs at Gibraltar, sailed on 17 September
for the Philadephia Navy
Yard where she was under repair from 23
September to 15 February 1942.
Destroyer FEARLESS was
torpedoed by an aerial
torpedo north of Bone and was later scuttled by
destroyer FORESTER in 37-40N,
8-20E.
The destroyer had Lt R.A.
Nares,
RCNVR, and seventeen ratings missing and twenty injured
crew, of which nine
died of wounds.
Destroyer FIREDRAKE was
damaged by bombing on the
23rd and was under tow for thirty seven hours back to
Gibraltar by destroyer
ERIDGE and escorted by destroyer AVON VALE, which was
sent back to join after
being relieved from the cruiser MANCHESTER escort.
Destroyer SIKH joined en
route.
Destroyer FIREDRAKE
arrived at Gibraltar, under her own power at the end, on
the 27th,
escorted by destroyers AVON VALE and ERIDGE.
The destroyer was under
repair for six months,
including four months at Boston Navy Yard from 23
September to 18 January
1942.
Destroyer FOXHOUND was
damaged by a near miss of
bombing on the 23rd, but spent no time out of action.
On the 24th, Italian motor
torpedo boats MAS.532 and MAS.533 attacked the SUBSTANCE
convoy. These boats
were undamaged, despite claims by light cruisers
EDINBURGH, destroyer
COSSACK, and minelayer MANXMAN that they each sank an
MAS.boat.
MAS.533 torpedoed steamer
SYDNEY STAR. The steamer fell out of the convoy and
destroyer
NESTOR and later light cruiser HERMIONE were detailed to
protect the steamer
and escort it to Malta, without further incident,
arriving on the 24th.
The steamer was drydocked
at Malta on 18 August.
Light cruisers EDINBURGH
and ARETHUSA, cruiser
minelayer MANXMAN, and destroyers COSSACK, MAORI, SIKH,
NESTOR, and FARNDALE
escorted the convoy into Malta on the 24th. The
remainder of Force H returned to Gibraltar.
Convoy MG 1 of steamers
SETTLER, THERMOPLYLAE,
AMERIKA, TALABOT, HOEGH HOOD, SVENNOR, and supply ship
BRECONSHIRE with
destroyer ENCOUNTER was brought out from Malta,
departing at 0500 on the 23rd.
Steamer SVENNOR hit the
breakwater leaving harbour
and had to be docked. She was able to depart the next
day.
Corvette GLOXINIA assisted
in the escort of the
convoy during the first day,
then returned to Malta.
Destroyer FARNDALE had to
remain at Malta with
condenser problems.
Tanker HOEGH HOOD
(9351grt) was damaged by bombing
on the 24th, but was able to continue.
P/T/Sub Lt (A) K.G. Grant
RNVR, and his gunner
Leading Airman H. McLeod in a Fulmar of 807 Squadron and
Lt A.J. Kindersley
and his gunner Petty Officer (A) F.A. Barnes in a Fulmar
of 808 Squadron were
lost on the 25th when they were shot down 120 miles SW
of Sardinia.
T/A/Sub Lt (A) R.C.
Cockburn RNVR, and Petty
Officer Airman W./E. Cuttriss
of 808 Squadron were
also shot down but picked up by destroyer NESTOR.
Supply ship BRECONSHIRE
and steamer TALABOT,
escorted by destroyer ENCOUNTER arrived at Gibraltar on
the 26th. Destroyer FORESTER with steamers
AMERIKA and THERMOPYLAE arrived later in the day.
Steamer SETTLER and HOEGH
HOOD arrived at Gibraltar on the 27th and Norwegian
tanker SVENNOR arrived
on the 28th.
Force H and the supporting
cruisers arrived back at
Gibraltar on the 27th.
On 13 September, light
cruiser MANCHESTER and destroyer FIREDRAKE in company
departed Gibraltar for repairs in the United States, via
England. They were escorted by destroyer HEYTHROP as far
as 25W.
The Italian Fleet did not
sail.Battleships
LITTORIO, VENETO, and DUILO at Taranto,
heavy cruisers TRIESTE, BOLZANO, and GORIZIA at Messina,
and light cruisers GARIBALDI, MONTECUCCOLI, DI
GIUSSANO, and DA BARBIANO at Palermo were brought to
notice, but the intention of the
British forces was discovered too late.
_____
Destroyer ILEX, after
temporary repairs at Port Said, passed through the Suez
Canal for repairs at Durban.
The destroyer arrived at
Aden on the 24th. She remained there until 15 September
when she departed for Durban.
Engine problems required further temporary repairs at
Mombasa
and the destroyer did not arrive at Durban until
November.
_____
Corvette PEONY departed
Port Said with Dutch steamer TRAJANUS (1712grt) in
Operation
GUILLOTINE. This movement, S.2C, of the Operation
arrived at
Famagusta
on the 23rd.
_____
Sloop FLAMINGO departed
Alexandria for Port Said for a GUILLOTINE escort in
serial S.3.
The sloop departed Port
Said on the 22nd escorting motor transport ship
KEVINBANK for Famagusta,
arriving on the 24th.
_____
Submarine PARTHIAN
departed Alexandria for Malta and the United Kingdom for
refitting.
_____
A German-Italian convoy of
steamers MADDALENA ODERO
(5479grt), NICOLO ODERO (6003grt), CAFFARO (6476grt),
and PREUSSEN (8203grt)
departed Naples for Tripoli escorted by destroyers
FOLGORE, EURO, SAETTA, and
FULMINE. The convoy was later joined by destroyers
ALPINO and FUCLIERE. (1)
On the 22nd, German steamer PREUSSEN was sunk by
Swordfish of 830 Squadron 30
miles SE of Pantelleria.
(2) Torpedo boat PALLADE
joined the convoy from Tripoli.
(3) Italian tanker BRARENA (6996grt) departed Palermo on
the 21st, escorted by destroyer FUCLIERE, to
join the convoy. The tanker was sunk on the 22nd by
Swordfish of 830
Squadron. (4) Destroyer FOLGORE from another convoy
assisted FUCLIERE.
_____
Submarine TAKU sent a
landing party into Benghazi harbour and attached
explosive charges to one of
the ships in harbour.
_____
Submarine
OLYMPUS
unsuccessfully attacked a convoy fo
two steamers
and one escort off Naples.
_____
Greek submarine GLAUKOS
sank Italian steamer SAN NICOLA (21grt)(?)
NW of
Rhodes with gunfire.
Tuesday,
22 July
At 1247 on the 22nd on
reports that German battlecruiser
SCHARNHORST had departed Brest, Battleship KING GEORGE
V, heavy cruiser SHROPSHIRE, light cruisers NIGERIA and
AURORA, and destroyers TARTAR, PUNJABI, ICARUS,
INTREPID,
ESCAPADE, and ACHATES were brought to one hour's notice.
At 1616 heavy
cruisers DEVONSHIRE and SUFFOLK were brought to one
hour's notice. At 1829
aircraft carrier VICTORIOUS and destroyers INGLEFIELD,
ANTELOPE, ACTIVE, and
ANTHONY were brought to one hour's notice.
Aircraft carrier FURIOUS
reverted to normal notice
at 1756 to allow urgent maintenance to be carried out.
At 1720, heavy
cruisers DEVONSHIRE and SUFFOLK and light cruiser AURORA
reverted to normal notice
for the same reason.
At 1226 on the 23rd, the
ships returned to normal
notice when the battleship was located at La Pallice.
_____
Destroyers ECLIPSE and
ECHO departed
Scapa Flow at 0300
escorting tanker BLACK RANGER to Seidisfjord.
_____
Destroyer CROOME departed
Scapa Flow at 0715 carrying Admiral Commanding 10th
Cruiser
Squadron and his staff to Rosyth where they arrived at
1500 to embark in
light cruiser KENYA.
_____
Anti-aircraft ship CURACOA
departed Scapa Flow at 0630 and met convoy WN.55 in Pentland
Firth. On meeting convoy EC.48 at 2200, the ship transferred to that convoy
and provided cover northward.
At 1520 on the 23rd, after
this escort duty, the
ship arrived at Scapa Flow.
_____
Minelayer TEVIOTBANK,
escorted by survey ship
SCOTT, laid minefield SN.21B of the Northern Barrage.
_____
German destroyers KARL
GALSTER, HERMANN SCHOEMANN,
FRIEDRICH ECKHOLDT, and RICHARD BEITZEN departed the Kirkenes.
The destroyers sank Soviet
surveying ship MERIDIAN on the 22nd between Iokanga
and Teriberka.
The German destroyers
arrived back on the 24th.
_____
Yugoslavian torpedo boats
DURMITOR and KAJMAKLAN
departed Haifa to return to Alexandria.
_____
Anti-submarine trawler
STELLA CARINA departed Gibraltar escorting British
tanker HORNSHELL to the west.
The trawler would then join Panamanian tanker NORVINN
arriving.
Trawler COPINSAY departed
Gibraltar later on the 22nd to join trawler STELLA
CARINA.
On the 26th, tanker
NORVINN, arriving from Trinidad, escorted by trawlers STELLA CARINA and COPINSAY, arrived at
Gibraltar.
_____
Submarine TETRARCH shelled
Karlovassi
and claimed damaging a number of caiques
in
harbour.
_____
Submarine URGE
unsuccessfully attacked a small
convoy off Palermo.
_____
Greek submarine GLAUKOS
sank a caique
with artillery off Castelorizzo.
_____
Light cruiser DUNEDIN
captured Vichy French steamer VILLE DE ROUEN
(5383grt) east of Natal at 19-32S, 11-12W.
The ship was taken to East
London, South Africa, arriving on 4 August.
_____
Convoy HX.140 departed
Halifax, escorted by armed merchant cruiser ASCANIA and
corvettes BITTERSWEET and FENNEL. The convoy was joined
on the 23rd by
corvettes CHICOUTIMI and MATAPEDIA, which were detached
later that day.
On the 24th, escorted ship WALNEY and corvette BUCTOUCHE
joined.Escort
ship WALNEY was detached the next day. On the 25th,
destroyers RAMSEY and
COLUMBIA, corvettes CANDYTUFT, GLADIOLUS, MIMOSA, and
NASTURTIUM, minesweeper
SPEEDWELL, and anti-submarine trawlers NORTHERN SPRAY
and NORTHERN WAVE joined.Corvette
BUCTOUCHE was detached on the 26th, corvette NASTURTIUM
on the 27th, and
minesweeper SPEEDWELL on the 28th. Destroyer COLUMBIA
was detached on 1 August, armed merchant cruiser
ASCANIA and corvettes BITTERSWEET, CANDYTUFT, FENNEL,
GLADIOLUS, and MIMOSA.
Destroyers MALCOLM, SARDONYX, SCIMITAR, and WATCHMAN,
corvettes AUBRETIA,
HEARTSEASE, NIGELLA, VERBENA, and VIOLET joined on 2
August. Destroyer AMAZON
joined on 3 August. The destroyers were detached on 5
August and the
corvettes arrived with the convoy at Liverpool on 6
August.
_____
Convoy SC.38 departed
Sydney, CB, escorted by armed
merchant cruiser CHITRAL and corvettes BARRIE, DAUPHIN,
and NAPANEE. The
corvettes were detached on the 25th. Destroyer COLUMBIA
and corvettes GLADIOLUS, MIMOSA, and NASTURTIUM
joined on the 25th.Corvette NASTURTIUM was detached on
the 27th, destroyer COLUMBIA on 1 August, and armed
merchant cruiser CHITRAL
and corvettes GLADIOLUS and MIMOSA on 2 August.
Destroyer BURZA, corvettes
AUBRETIA, HEARTSEASE, and NIGELLA, and minesweeper
BRITOMART joined on 2
August. Destroyers AMAZON and GEORGETOWN joined on 3 August.Corvettes
AUBRETIA and NIGELLA were detached on the 8th,
destroyers AMAZON and GEORGETOWN and corvette HEARTSEASE
on the 7th. On 7 August,
anti-submarine trawlers DANEMAN and NOTTS
COUNTY joined and escorted the convoy into
Liverpool on 8 August.
Wednesday,
23 July
For Operation EF, a
British force departed Scapa
Flow at 2345 on the 23rd with heavy cruisers DEVONSHIRE
(Flag Wake Walker)
and SUFFOLK, aircraft carriers VICTORIOUS and FURIOUS,
and destroyers
ESCAPADE, ACTIVE, ANTHONY, ACHATES, ANTELOPE, and
INTREPID. The force arrived
at Seidisfjord on the 25th
Minelaying cruiser
ADVENTURE departed Scapa Flow on the 23rd for Seidisfjord
and arrived on the 24th.
Destroyers ECLIPSE and
ECHO with oiler BLACK
RANGER
for this operation had departed for Seidisfjord
on
the 22nd and arrived on the 24th.
Minesweepers NIGER,
SALAMANDER, and HALCYON arrived at Scapa Flow on the
23rd en route to Iceland.
Destroyer ACHATES struck a
British mine of
minefield SN.69 in 64-11N, 13-00W at 0300 on the 25th
and badly damaged in Seidisfjord.
The destroyer lost 65
ratings. The destroyer was
towed by destroyer ANTHONY into Seidisfjord.
Destroyer ACHATES was
towed by tug ASSURANCE,
escorted by destroyer ANTELOPE to the Faroes.
Destroyer TARTAR escorted the tow on to the Tyne.
Destroyer ACHATES was
under repair in the Tyne from 3 September to 13 March
1942.
Destroyers INGLEFIELD and
ICARUS departed Scapa Flow at 1230 on the 25th and
relieved destroyer ECLIPSE
and ECHO which joined the Main Force to replace
destroyers
ACHATES and ANTELOPE.
Minesweepers HALCYON and
SALAMANDER departed Scapa Flow on the 28th and were sent
to Seidisfjord
to provide anti-submarine protection. The minesweepers
arrived on the 31st.
The British force departed
Seidisfjord
on the 26th for operation EF.
Aircraft carrier
VICTORIOUS launched an air strike
of twenty Albacore torpedo bombers of 827 Squadron (Lt
Cdr J.A.
Stewart-Moore) and 828 Squadron (Lt Cdr D.E. Langmore)
and nine Fulmar fighters of 809 Squadron (Lt Cdr V.C.
Grenfell) on the
Kirkenes on the 30th. Three
additional Fulmars flew as
protection for the carrier. Minelayer BREMSE and other
German ships were at
Kirkenes. Some damage was
done to piers and oil tanks and
steamer ROTTVER was damaged, but six Albacores of 827
Squadron and five
Albacores of 828 Squadron and two Fulmar fighters of 809
Squadron were shot
down by German gunners.
Killed were A/Leading
Airman L.E. Barrow in a Fulmar
of 809 Squadron (Sub Lt (A) R.S. Miller, his pilot, was
captured), pilot Lt
M.G. McKendick, observer
P/T/Midshipman (A) E.A.
Mills RNVR, and A/Leading Airman F. Sharples
in an
Albacore of 827 Squadron,pilot
T/Lt (A) E.E.
Hughes-Williams RNVR, observer Sub Lt (A) J.J.R. Davies,
and A/Leading Airman
A. Fox and pilot T/Sub Lt (A) D.R. McKay RNVR, observer
T/Sub Lt (A) J.G.
Paton RNVR, and T/Leading
Airman D.W. Corner in Albacores
of 828 Squadron were killed.
Pilot Lt (A) T.E. Blacklock
RNVR, and observer Lt (A) A.T. Easton, and pilot Lt (A)
R.S. Miller from the
Fulmars of 809 Squadron were captured. Captured were
pilot Lt A. Turnbull
RNVR,Observer Lt H.K. Serjeant,
A/Leading Airman J.W. James of one Albacore of 827 Squadron,Pilot
Lt H. F. Bond, Observer Lt H.H. Bracken, and A/Leading
Airman E. Lancaster of
another Albacore of 827 Squadron, Pilot Sub Lt P.J. Greenslade
RNVR, Observer Sub Lt W.W. Parsons RNVR, A/Leading
Airman H. Pickup of
another Albacore of 827 Squadron, Pilot Sub Lt (A) J.F.
Olsen and Observer
Sub Lt (A) A.J. Bulford
RNVR, were captured and
A/Leading Airman H.J. Wade was killed in another
Albacore of 827 Squadron,
Pilot Lt (A) L.E.R. Bellairs
andObserver
T/Lt (A) D.M. Lubbock RNVR, of another Albacore of 828
Squadron were
captured; their crewman A/Leading AirmanC.F.
Beer
was killed, in another Albacore of 828 Squadron Pilot
Sub Lt (A)C.V. Howard,
Observer Sub Lt (A) G.L. Turner RNVR, andT/Leading
Airman
D.E. Polmeer were captured,
in another
Albacore of 828 SquadronPilot
Lt (A) R. Ross-Taylor,
Observer Sub Lt (A) S. Clayton RNVR,T/A/Leading Airman
L.W. Miles were
captured,In another Albacore
of 827 Squadron,Pilot
Sub Lt (A) D. Myles RNVR,Observer
Sub Lt A.P.
Keep,and A/Leading Airman
H.C. Griffin were captured.
In Albacores of 827
Squadron one damaged, but was
able to return to aircraft carrier VICTORIOUS with its
crew of Sub Lt R.J.
Grant-Sturgis, Sub Lt W.A. Davies, and Naval Airman G.
Dixon not wounded;
another returned damaged to the carrier with its crew of
Lt J.C. Reed, Lt Cdr
J.A. Stewart-Moore, and Petty Officer H.J. Lambert;on
arriving back at the carrier, an Albacore with Sub Lt
R.B. Park and Sub Lt
O.G.W. Hutchinson, A/Leading Airman E.P. Fabien
was
found to have been killed; another was damaged by flak,
but its crew of Sub
Lt R.S. Meakin, Sub Lt
Scott, and Leading Airman F.
Ward were not wounded; another with Lt J.N. Ball, Lt
B.J. Prendergast, and
Petty Officer A.E. Sweet returned to the carrier the
only Albacore undamaged;
another returned to the carrier damaged with Lt J.S.
Bailey, Lt L.C.
Williams, and TAGC.T. Roberts.In
828 Squadron, an
Albacore with Lt R.L. Williamson, Lt F. Bedford, and
Leading Airman F.A.J.
Smith returned damaged to the carrier; another with Lt
Cdr D.E.
Langmore, Lt E.A. Greenwood,
and A/Petty Officer Smith returned
safely as did another Albacore of the Squadron which was
damaged by flak, but
returning safely with Sub Lt R.D. Head, Lt G.M. Haynes,
RAN, and Leading
Airman J. Madeley.Fulmars
with Lt Cdr V.C.
Grenfell, Lt H.D. Mathews, Lt H.E. Yates RNR, T/Lt (A)
D.A. Van Epps, Sub Lt D.G. Carlisle,
SARNVR, A/Sub Lt P.R.J. Gilbert, T/Sub Lt (A) J.B. Ganner
RNVR,T/Lt K.J. Robertson, Lt J. Cooper, T/Sub Lt (A)
R.C. Wood RNVR, and
T/A/Sub Lt (A) A.E.R. Wilkinson returned to the carrier
safely.
_____
Aircraft carrier FURIOUS
launched an air strike of
nine Swordfish of 812 Squadron (Lt Cdr W.E. Waters),
nine Albacore torpedo
bombers of 817 Squadron (Lt Cdr D. Sanderson), and six
Fulmar fighters of 800
Squadron (Lt Cdr J.A.D. Wroughton
DSC) on Petsamo on the
30th. Four Sea Hurricanes of 880A Flight
(Lt Cdr F.E.C. Judd) were flown off as protection for
the aircraft
carrier.Some damage was done
to the piers by the torpedo
bombers. One Albacore torpedo plane of 817 Squadron with
Lt (A) L.H. Lee
RNVR, which was slightly wounded, Sub Lt (A) G. Gorrie,
and Leading Airman N. Train were shot down and came
ashore at Murmansk and two
Fulmar fighters of 800 Squadron with Sub
Lt (A) F.J.G. Gallichan and
Petty Officer Airman
J.F. Black and P/T/Sub Lt (A) E.S. Burke RNVR, Leading
Airman J. Beardsley
were shot down and their crews lost.
From 817 Squadron, the
following aircraft safely
returned to FURIOUS:Lt
L.E.D. Walthall,
Lt Cdr W.E. Waters (Squadron CO), and Petty Officer (A)
A.G. Brown; Sub Lt P.
McJ. Wilkinson, Sub Lt (A)
L.C. Plummer, and
Leading Airman E. Kerridge;
Sub Lt (A) R.P. Cross
RNVR, and Leading Airman E.A. Cowan; Lt R.S. Baker-Falkner,
Sub Lt (A) P.H. Phillips RNVR, and Petty Officer (A)
D.V. Gill; Sub Lt (A)
F.L. Jones RNVR, Sub Lt (A) K. Hyde RNVR, and Leading
Airman A.F. Whitehouse;
Sub Lt (A) E.L. Heath and Leading Airman G.E. Cowsill;
Lt (A) J.H.D. Maughan, Sub
Lt (A) G.F. Wild RNVR,
and Leading Airman P.J. Nicholas; Lt C.J.K. Kindell,
Sub Lt L.A. Edwards, and Leading Airman J. Stewart, and
Sub Lt (A) J.D.
Sinclair RNVR, Sub Lt (A) K.A. Hovington
RNVR, and
Leading Airman S.W. Lock.
On the 31st, aircraft
carrier FURIOUS was sent back
to Scapa Flow because of a fuel shortage.Five
Albacore aircraft of 817 Squadron were transferred to
aircraft carrier
VICTORIOUS before her departure.
During the air strikes,
cruiser minelayer
ADVENTURE, escorted by destroyer ANTHONY, which departed
Seidisfjord
on the 26th, was passed to Russia.
The minelayer was detached
at 0300 on the 30th and proceeded
unescorted to Archangel with mines in Operation EF.
Destroyer ANTHONY,
which returned to embark part of the crew of damaged
destroyer ACHATES,
departed Seidisfjord early
on the 31st and arrived
at Scapa Flow at 2300. The minelayer arrived at
Archangel on 1 August.After
unloading, minelayer ADVENTURE departed on 4 August for
Loch Alsh, arriving on 11
August.
From 10 to 15 September,
these mines were laid by
Soviet destroyers of the 1st Destroyer Division
GREMYASHSCHI, GROMKI, GOZNY,
and SOKRUSHITELNY in the area of Fisherman's Peninsula.
On 4 August, aircraft
carrier VICTORIOUS launched
three Fulmar fighter planes to reconnoiter
near at Tromso. The
fighters attacked two armed trawlers and one
fighter was lost. Pilot Lt H.D. Mathew of the 809
Squadron was killed and
observer T/Sub Lt (A) R.A. Burroughs RNVR,
was
captured.
_____
Polish destroyer KUJAWIAK
departed Scapa Flow at 2100 for Plymouth on completion
of working up exercises.
_____
Destroyer GARTH was
damaged by the near miss of a
German air bomb in the North
Sea.
The destroyer spent no
time out of action.
_____
German auxiliary patrol
boat Vp.1508 (whaler RAU III, 354grt) was sunk by a
motor torpedo boat
southwest of Boulogne.
_____
British steamer barge
OMFLEET (130grt) was sunk on
a mine in Alexandra Dock, Hull.
There were no casualties
on the barge.
_____
British sailing vessels
ADAMANT (80grt) and SOAVITA
(80grt) were damaged on mines at Alexandra Dock, Hull.
Both vessels sank, but
were salved.
Italian submarine
BAGNOLINI made two attacks on convoy
OG.68, claiming sinking one steamer and damaging
another.
No confirmation of damage
is available.
_____
German fishing vessel
NORDMARK (462grt) was lost on
a mine in the Irben
Straits.
_____
Aircraft carrier
FORMIDABLE departed Alexandria for repairs in the United
States. The aircraft carrier passed through the Suez
Canal the next day. Arriving at Norfolk, Virginia on 26 August,
aircraft carrier FORMIDABLE was
under repair until 12 December.
_____
Destroyer HERO was damaged
by bombing in Tobruk
harbour during the night of 22/23 July.
The destroyer received
temporary repairs at Mersa
Matruh.
_____
Submarine P.33, on patrol
near Pantelleria,
was damaged by Italian depth charges, but was able to
continue patrol.
_____
Submarine
OLYMPUS
unsuccessfully attacked a liner off Naples.
_____
Lt P.R.E. Woods was killed
when his Martlet of 805
Squadron ditched in the sea one mile north
of Ma'aten Bagush.
_____
German steamer TIRPITZ
(7970grt) was sunk on a mine
near Cape del Arma.
_____
British troopship ERINPURA
departed Madras for Penang
with personnel, escorted by light cruiser MAURITIUS to
10N, 92-35E.
The light cruiser was
relieved by light cruiser
DANAE. The steamer arived
at
Penang
on the 27th.
Thursday,
24 July
Light cruiser EURYALUS,
escorted by destroyer
CROOME, departed Rosyth at 0800 for Scapa Flow, where
they arrived at 2030.
_____
Anti-aircraft ship
ALYNBANK departed Scapa Flow at 0800 and escorted convoy
WN.56 from the Pentland
Firth until meeting convoy EC.49 at approximately
midnight.
After parting with convoy
EC.49 in
Pentland
Firth, the ship arrived at Scapa
Flow at 1800 on the 25th.
_____
A British raid of 149 RAF
bombers was launched at
the German battleships at La Pallice
and Brest.
Battlecruiser SCHARNHORST
was badly damaged at La Pallice.
Battlecruiser GNEISENAU at
Brest was not damaged.
_____
Convoy OS.1 departed
Liverpool, escorted by sloop FOLKESTONE and corvettes
AZALEA
and PENSTEMON. The corvettes were detached on the 26th
and 25 July,
respectively. The convoy was joined on the 25th by
destroyers BATH, VANOC, and WALKER. The destroyers were
detached
on the 28th, 26 July, and 3 August, respectively.Also
joining on the 25th were anti-aircraft ship ARIGUANI
which was detached on
the 28th, corvettes CARNATION, HELIOTROPE, LA MALOUINE,
and MALLOW which were
detached on the 28th, trawlers BALTA, KOS IX, and
LORINDA which were detached
on 3 August, boom defense
vessels CONSBRO, LORD
GAINSFORD, PANORAMA, and PHYLLISIA which were detached
on the 26th.
Sloops LONDONDERRY and
WESTON joined on the 26th and were detached on 9 August.
Destroyer CHELSEA
joined on the 28th and was detached on the
30th.Corvettes ANCHUSA, ASPODEL,
and CALENDULA joined on 9 August and arrived with the
convoy at Freetown on 10 August.
_____
Submarine UPHOLDER damaged
Italian steamer DANDOLO
(4964grt), escorted by a destroyer, off the west coast
of Sicily in 38-08N, 12-37E.
_____
Submarine UPRIGHT
unsuccessfully attacked floating
dock G022 off Cape dell'Armi.
The submarine was heavily
counterattacked.
_____
Aircraft carrier
FORMIDABLE, after temporary
repairs at Alexandria, departed Alexandria for Port Said
escorted by minelaying cruiser LATONA and
destroyers JERVIS, KANDAHAR, and JAGUAR.
_____
Australian sloop
PARRAMATTA departed Port Said escorting motor transport
ship GUJARAT to Famagusta
in Serial S.5 of the GUILLOTINE Operation.
The sloop arrived back at
Port Said on the 28th.
_____
Australian destroyer
VOYAGER departed Alexandria to return to Australia. The
destroyer passed through the Suez Canal on the 25th.
The destroyer arrived at
Port Darwin on 25
September.
_____
Italian submarine SQUALO
claimed damaging a British
tanker in 32-20N, 24-53E.
_____
Convoy SL.82 departed
Freetown escorted by armed merchant cruiser DERBYSHIRE
to
10 August, destroyer VANSITTART to and corvettes
ARMERIA, ASTER, BURDOCK, and
MARGUERITE to 31 July.Corvette
AMARANTHUS joined
the convoy from 25 to 27 July.
On 10 August, destroyers
VICEROY and WOLLSTON
joined the convoy and on 11 August, destroyers VANOC and
WALKER joined. The
convoy arrived at Liverpool on 15 August.
Friday,
25 July
Heavy cruiser SHROPSHIRE
departed
Scapa Flow for Hvalfjord
and Denmark Strait
patrol.
The cruiser arrived at Hvalfjord
on the 27th.
_____
Destroyers MENDIP, QUORN,
and CATTISTOCK departed Portsmouth at 2100 to bombard
Dieppe in operation GIDEON.
A brief bombardment was
carried out early on the
26th, but the rest of the operation was cancelled due to
weather.
_____
Italian submarine
BARBARIGO sank British steamer
MACON (5135grt) in 32-48N, 26-12W.
Twenty crew and one
passenger were saved from the steamer.Twenty
five were missing from the steamer.Two
crew died in the ship's boat and one was
killed.
_____
British Rear Admiral,
Mediterranean Aircraft
Carriers, hoisted his flag in HMS GREBE.
_____
Italian sloop DIANA and
motor torpedo boats MAS.451 and MAS.452 departed Augusta.Sloop
DIANA carried one large motorboat leader, eight
explosive boats, and towed
another motorboat. The MASs
each towed one
explosive SLC boat each.
The next day, these forces
attempted to attack the
SUBSTANCE convoy in Malta, but British air attacks
destroyed all but DIANA
which was able to return to base.
The Italian boats blew up
the harbour boom, but no
other damage was done. Three officers and fifteen
ratings were captured.
_____
Submarine TETRARCH sank
Italian patrol vesselB 247
(trawler MARIA IMMANCOLATA) off
Gaidero
Island.
The submarine reported an
unsuccessful attack on a
German ship.
_____
A Swordfish of 815
Squadron was lost 44 miles west
of Cape Kormakiti, Cyprus, when the airframe
and engine parted. Sub Lt D.A.
Wise and Sub Lt A.H. Cann
were killed.
_____
German steamer ERLANGEN
(6101grt) scuttled herself when she was
intercepted by light cruiser NEWCASTLE SE of River
Plate.
Saturday,
26 July
Anti-aircraft ship CURACOA
departed Scapa Flow at 0900 and escorted convoy WN.57
from Pentland
Firth until meeting convoy EC.50.
_____
Destroyers BROKE and
VERITY, escorting convoy
SL.80, collided near Londonderry.
Destroyer BROKE sustained
damage to her bow. temporary
repairs were done at Liverpool.Permanent
repairs were done at the Hebburn
on Tyne yard from 11 August to 12 September.
Destroyer VERITY sustained
extensive damage below
the waterline. The destroyer was repaired at Belfast
from 28 July to 21 September.
_____
Convoy ON.1 departed
Liverpool, escorted by sloop STORK. The sloop was
detached
the next day when the convoy was joined by destroyers
MALCOLM, SARDONYX,
SCIMITAR, and WATCHMAN and corvettes VERBENA and VIOLET,
and anti-submarine
trawlers NORTHERN PRIDE, NORTHERN SPRAY, and NORTHERN
WAVE. Destroyers SARDONYX and SCIMITAR were detached on
the 30th and the remainder of the escort on the 31st
when relieved by
destroyers BURWELL and RICHMOND
and corvettes COBALT and POLYANTHUS. Destroyer BURWELL
was detached on 1
August. The remainder of the escort remained until the
convoy was dispersed
on 9 August.
_____
Convoy OS.1, escorted by
destroyers WALKER, VANOC, VOLUNTEER,
SARDONYX, SCIMITAR, and Norwegian BATH and corvettes
BLUEBELL and HYDRANGEA,
was attacked by U.141.
British steamer BOTWEY
(5106grt) was sunk in
55-42N, 9-53W, sixty miles
north of Tory
Island. The entire crew were rescued.
British steamer ATLANTIC
CITY (5133grt) was damaged in 55-42N, 9-58W.
The steamer was later
taken in tow and anchored of Buncrana.
The submarine reported
torpedoing a third,
unidentified, steamer.
_____
Leading Airman F. Andrew
of 1 SFTS Netheravon was
killed when his Hind crashed east of Shrewton
LG. Leading Airman G. Ryalls
was also killed in the aircraft.
_____
Italian submarine
BARBARIGO sank British tanker
HORN SHELL (8272grt) in 33-23N, 22-18W.
Seventeen
crew
were lost on the steamer. The survivors were
picked up by Portuguese trawler MARIA LEONOR. On 19
August, the trawler was
intercepted off Cape
Juby
by destroyer AVON VALE and the survivors were
removed.
_____
German torpedo boat T.3
claimed sinking a Soviet
destroyer (TSIKLON (sic, ?)
in a surface action in
the Baltic.
_____
New Zealand light cruiser
LEANDER departed Alexandria for Port Said and New
Zealand after being relieved by light cruiser NEPTUNE.
The light cruiser departed
Suez on the 31st to return to New Zealand.
_____
Sloop FLAMINGO departed
Port Said with motor transport ship SALAMAUA for Famagusta
in serial S.8 of the GUILLOTINE operation. The
sloop arrived at Famagusta
on the 28th and departed the same day.
Sunday,
27 July
For operation FB, Light
cruisers NIGERIA (Vian had
hoisted his
flag in NIGERIA at 1740 on the 25th) and AURORA with
destroyers TARTAR and PUNJABI departed Scapa Flow at
1000 as Force A for Seidisfjord,
arriving on the 29th.
British oiler
OLIGARCH,
escorted by destroyer GARLAND
had departed Scapa Flow at 1400 on the 24th for Seidisfjord,
arriving on the 27th. They departed Seidisfjord
later that day with trawlers SEALYHAM and WASTWATER to
refuel Force A.
Force A departed Seidisfjord
at 1330 on the 29th. They met the oiler
OLIGARCH
group at 1400 on the 31st to refuel.
Destroyer TARTAR was sent
ahead to land a Norwegian
officer at the W/T station at Kap
Linne.
At 1800 on the 31st, light
cruiser NIGERIA and destroyer TARTAR entered Advent
Fjord, Spitsbergen.
Light cruiser AURORA and
destroyer PUNJABI
proceeded to Gronfjord.
Destroyer GARLAND was
engaged on anti-submarine patrol at the
entrance to Isfjord.
On 1 August, oiler
OLIGARCH refuelled the ships at
Spitsbergen.
Destroyer GARLAND and Norwegian steamer DAGNY I
(1392grt) joined the
OLIGARCH group. Destroyer GARLAND, anti-submarine
trawlers SEALYHAM and
WASTWATER, and oiler
OLIGARCH proceeded
to sea.
A party was landed at Bear
Island on 2 August to demolish the W/T station and embark four Norwegian
operators.
The ships
refuelled again on 3 August.Oiler
OLIGARCH was then sent with destroyer
GARLAND and trawler SEALYHAM to Seidisfjord.
Steamer DAGNY I and whaler
WASTWATER were detached
on 3 August and proceeded to
the Faroes.
_____
Heavy cruiser DORSETSHIRE
departed the Tyne for Scapa Flow, escorted by
destroyers WINDSOR and WORCESTER.
The cruiser arrived on the
28th.
_____
Armed merchant cruiser
ESPERANCE
BAY
arrived at Scapa Flow for onward passage to London.
_____
Convoy ON.2 departed
Liverpool, escorted by sloop BLACK SWAN and corvette CONVOLVULUS.Both
escorts were detached the next day. On
the 28th, destroyer BURZA, corvettes AUBRETIA, NIGELLA,
and SNOWDROP,
minesweeper BIRTOMART, and anti-submarine trawlers
DANEMAN, NOTTS COUNTY, and
ST APOLLO. Destroyers AMAZON and GEORGETOWN and corvette
HEARTSEASE joined on the 30th.
Destroyer GEORGETOWN and minesweeper BRITOMART were
detached on 1
August, destroyers AMAZON and BURZA, corvettes AUBRETIA,
HEARTSEASE, NIGELLA,
and SNOWDROP, and anti-submarine trawlers DANEMAN and ST
APOLLO on 2 August.
Armed merchant cruiser RANPURA, destroyer BURWELL, and
corvettes CHAMBLY and PICTOU joined on 2 August. The
convoy was
dispersed on 8 August.
_____
British fishing trawler
BEN STROME (198grt) was sunk by German bombing fifteen
miles SE of Fuglo Island.
The crew of ten were all
lost.
_____
Convoy OG.69 was attacked
by German five submarines
on the 27th through 28 July.
On the 27th, submarine
U.79 sank British steamer
HAWKINGE (2475grt) in 44-55N, 17-44W.
Fifteen
crew
were lost on the steamer HAWKINGE.
U.79 claimed sinking two
more steamers and damaging
two more on the 27th.
On the 27th, submarine
U.203 sank British steamer
KELLWYN (1459grt) in 43N, 17W and claimed sinking a
second steamer.
Fourteen
crew
were lost on the steamer KELLWYN.
On the 27th, submarine
U.126 sank British steamer
ERATO (1335grt, The convoy Commodore ship) and Norwegian
steamer INGA I
(1304grt) in 43-10N, 17-30W.
Eight
crew and
a gunner were lost on the steamer ERATO. Three
crew were missing on the steamer INGA I.
U.126 claimed sinking two
more steamers on the
27th.
Early on the 28th,
submarine U.68 claimed
torpedoing a corvette.
On the 28th, submarine
U.561 sank British steamer
WROTHAM (1884grt) in 43N, 17W. The submarine also
claimed sinking another
steamer and damaging an armed merchant cruiser. The
entire crew of the
steamer were rescued.
On the 28th, submarine
U.203 sank Swedish steamer
NORITA (1516grt) in 40-10N, 15-30W and British steamer
LAPLAND (40-36N, 15-30W. Two crew were lost on the
steamer NORITA.
The entire crew of the
steamer LAPLAND were rescued by corvette RHODOENDRON, which arrived at
Gibraltar on the 31st.
_____
The German 3rd Motor
Torpedo Boat Flotilla with
S.54, S.55, S.57, and S.58 attacked Soviet ships in the
Gulf of
Riga.
Soviet destroyer SMIELY
was sunk by German motor
torpedo boat S.54, in company with S.55, in the Gulf of
Riga.
S 57 and S.58
unsuccessfully attacked two Soviet
minesweepers at Oesel.
_____
Submarine TETRARCH sank
Italian caique
NICITA five miles south of
Kos.
_____
Light cruiser CERES
damaged her port screw when it
contacted the pier during docking at Trincomalee.
_____
Ocean boarding vessel
CORINTHIAN arrived at Gibraltar after Western Patrol.
_____
Corvette GARDENIA
intercepted French auxiliary
patrol vessel EDITH GERMAINE (130grt) at 12-38N,
17-55W.Corvette AMARANTHUS
was in company.
The trawler was taken
towards Freetown by the two corvettes. When it was
determined the
trawler was going to Dakar,
it was allowed to continue.
_____
Convoy HX.141 departed
Halifax, escorted by armed merchant cruiser MONTCLARE
and
corvettes NANAIMO, ORILLIA, and TRAIL. Corvettes
CHICOUTIMI and MATAPEDIA joined on the 28th.Corvettes
CHICOUTIMI, NANAIMO, and TRAIL were detached on the
30th. On the 30th,
destroyer SKEENA and corvettes ALBERNI and PRIMROSE
joined the
convoy. The escort was detached on 6 August when
relieved by destroyers DOUGLAS, LEAMINGTON,and
SKATE, corvette VERONIA, and minsweeper
SPEEDY. The corvette and the minesweeper were detached
on 8 August and destroyers
were detached on 9 August.anti-submarine
trawlers
ST ELSTAN and ST ZENO escorted the convoy in Home
Waters. The convoy arrived
at Liverpool on 11 August.
Monday,
28 July
Heavy cruiser SHROPSHIRE
departed Hvalfjord for
patrol duties on Denmark
Strait patrol.
_____
Anti-aircraft ship
ALYNBANK departed Scapa Flow at 1000 and escorted convoy
WN.58 from the Pentland
Firth. On meeting convoy EC.51 during the morning of 29 July, the ship
transferred to that convoy.
Detaching the convoy in
Pentland
Firth, ship ALYNBANK arrived at Scapa Flow at 1800
on the 29th.
_____
In Operation CHESS, a
patrol from an assault
landing craft was landed near Fecamp
at 0154.
T/Lt (E) J. Templeton RNR,
and one rating were killed.
The landing craft was able
to retire and met the
covering force of motor launches 10 miles SE of Dover.
_____
P/T/A/Sub Lt (A) R.W. Langshaw
RNVR, was killed when his
Hurricane of 759 Squadron
crashed between Maiden Newton and Cerne
Abbas.
_____
British fishing trawler
STRATHLOCHY (212grt) was
sunk by German bombing 180 miles northwest of Rora
Head, Orkneys.
_____
Soviet submarine SHCH.307
sank U.144 in the Gulf of Finland. The entire crew of
twenty eight were lost in the
submarine.
_____
German steamer ELBING III
(315grt) was sunk near Libau
by Soviet bombing.
_____
Lighter A.8 (Sub Lt R.M.
Wright RNVR) was sunk off Bardia
by German bombing.
Wright and seven ratings
were lost.
Lighter A.14 in company
was able to escape.
_____
Submarine
OLYMPUS was
damaged by Italian bombing off Cavoli
Light in the
Tyrrhenian Sea.After
emergency repairs, the
submarine was able to return to Gibraltar.
_____
Destroyer JERVIS departed
Haifa and joined light cruiser NEPTUNE, minelaying
cruisers ABDIEL and LATONA, and destroyer JAGUAR to
return to Alexandria.
These ships were relieved
by light cruiser HOBART
and destroyers KANDAHAR and KIMBERLEY at Haifa.
The NEPTUNE group
arrived at Alexandria on the 29th.
_____
Corvette HYACINTH was
detached from the escort of
damaged destroyer ISIS off Port Said. The corvette escortedmotor
transport ship KEVINBANK in serial S.9 of the GUILLOTINE
Operation to
Famagusta,
arrivng on the 30th.
The corvette returned to
Port Said on the 30th.
_____
Destroyer HOTSPUR and
Australian destroyer VENDETTA
departed Alexandria for Tobruk.
The destroyers loaded
troops at Tobruk
early on the 29th and proceeded to Mersa
Matruh where they arrived at
0900 on the 29th.
On the 30th, the
destroyers departed for Alexandria.
At 2215, a submarine
contact was obtained.
Destroyer HOTSPUR attacked the contact and destroyer
VENDETTA continued to Alexandria, arriving on the 31st.
_____
A convoy of steamers
ERNESTO (7272grt), CASTELVERDE
(6666grt), AQUITANIA (4971grt), NITA (6813grt), and
NIRVO (5164grt) and
gunboat PALMAIOLA departed Tripoli on the 27th escorted
by destroyers
FOLGORE, SAETTA, FUCLIERE, and ALPINO.
Light cruisers GARIBALDI
and MONTECUCCOLI and
destroyers GRANATIERE and BERSAGLIERE provided cover for
the convoy.
Destroyer FULMINE joined
the convoy escort at 1815
on the 28th.
Light cruiser GARIBALDI
was torpedoed by Submarine
UPHOLDER off Cape St Vito in 38-04N, 11-57E at 1955 on
the 28th.
Destroyers FUCLIERE and
ALPINO joined the damaged
cruiser at 2020.
The light cruiser arrived
at Palermo at 0630 on the 29th. She was under repair for
four
months to repair the damage.
Torpedo boat SIRTORI
joined the convoy escort on
the 29th.
The convoy arrived at
Naples on the 30th.
_____
Submarine UTMOST sank
Italian steamer FEDERICO
(1466grt) in 39-28N, 15-52-30E off western Calabria.
_____
Submarine
OLYMPUS made an
unsuccessful attack on a steamer in 40-40N, 9-50E.
_____
Dutch submarine O.21 sank
Italian steamer MONTEPONI
(747grt) in 39-51N, 13-46E, ten
miles north of Cape Comino.
_____
Convoy HG.69 departed
Gibraltar escorted by sloop BIDEFORD and anti-submarine
trawler STELLA CARINA. The convoy was joined on the 29th
by destroyers
BEVERLEY and DUNCAN, corvette COREOPSIS, JONQUIL, and
SPIRAEA, and submarine SEVERN.
Destroyer BEVERLY
refuelled at
Ponta
Delgada on 3 August and then
rejoined the convoy.
Destroyer DUNCAN was
detached on 2 August and
returned to Gibraltar. On 5 August, submarine SEVERN and corvettes COREOPSIS, JONQUIL, and SPIRAEA were detached;the
corvettes to convoy
OG.70.
On 6 August, trawler
STELLA CARINA was detached to
convoy OG.70 and ocean boarding vessel HILARY joined the
convoy.
Destroyers LEGION and
PIORUN joined the convoy on 7
August and destroyers CHELSEA and WOLVERINE and
corvettes GENTIAN, HIBISCUS,
MYOSOTIS, and PERIWINKLE joined on 8 August.
Destroyers BEVERLEY,
LEGION, and PIORUN were
detached on 9 August to Londonderry.
The convoy arrived at
Liverpool on 11 August.
_____
Dutch submarine O.24
departed Gibraltar to patrol in the Gulf of Genoa and Tyrrhenian Sea.
_____
Submarine UPRIGHT arrived
at Malta from patrol.
_____
Submarine URGE arrived at
Malta from patrol.
_____
Destroyer HIGHLANDER
rescued Norwegian steamer
LIDVARD (4785grt) at 12-35N, 17-52E at 0500 on the 28th.
The steamer had
escaped from Dakar during the night of 26/27 August.
French auxiliary
patrol vessel EDITH GERMAINE intercepted the steamer on
the 27th.
Destroyer HIGHLANDER was
soon joined by destroyer
BOREAS.
Light cruisers GLOIRE and
GEORGES LEYGUES,
submarine ACTEON, and naval aircraft were at sea in an
attempt to return the
steamer to Dakar.
The steamer was escorted
to Freetown by destroyers HIGHLANDER and BOREAS and
arrived on
the 29th.
Tuesday,
29 July
Sub Lt C. Wheatley,
Midshipman L.E.W. Byam, and
Leading Airman G. Curwen
were lost when their Albacore of 832 Squadron crashed
west of Kintyre.
_____
British steamer ADAM'S
BECK (2816grt) was badly damaged by German
bombing one mile 235° from 20C Buoy, Tyne. One crew was missing on the steamer.
The steamer sank on the
30th.
_____
German destroyers KARL
GALSTER, HERMANN SCHOEMANN,
FRIEDRICH ECKHOLDT, and RICHARD BEITZEN swept towards Yugor
and Kara Straits.However,
the sweep was abandoned
when the British carrier force was reported.
_____
German steamer BERNHARD
(1890grt) was lost in a
collision with Swedish steamer FRODE (1535grt) near Norderney.
_____
German steamer LEONTES
(338grt) was lost on a mine
near Windau.
_____
British supply ship
BRECONSHIRE, escorted by
corvettes WALLFLOWER, ZINNIA, HYDRANGEA, CAMPANULA, and
BLUEBELL departed Gibraltar for Liverpool.
_____
Submarine
CLYDE arrived at Gibraltar from
patrol in the Atlantic.
_____
Submarine TALISMAN
departed Gibraltar for Malta with stores.
_____
Submarine THRASHER arrived
at Alexandria with seventy eight men from Crete which had been in hiding since the island fell.
_____
Submarine
OLYMPUS was
damaged by near misses from an Italian bomber 3½ miles
107° Cavoli Light,.
The submarine sustained
considerable damage to her
battery and many fittings were damaged causing leaks.
Submarine
OLYMPUS arrived
back at Gibraltar on 2 August.
_____
British steamer CHAUCER
(5792grt) was captured at 16-46N,
38-01W by German raider ORION. The entire crew were made
prisoners of war.
_____
Sub Lt T.P.J. Heatley
RNR,
was lost overboard from destroyer THRACIAN.
Wednesday,
30 July
Battleship MALAYA, armed merchant cruiser ESPERANCE
BAY,
and destroyers CASTLETON, CHARLESTOWN, and CROOME departed Scapa
Flow at 2130 for Rosyth
where they arrived at 1300 on the 31st.
The armed merchant cruiser
later continued on to London.
The screen returned to
Scapa Flow arriving at 2130 on the 31st.
_____
Anti-aircraft ship CURACOA
departed Scapa Flow at 1230 and escorted convoy WN.59
from Pentland
Firth.
The ship and convoy
arrived at Methil
at 1130 on the 31st.
_____
Minelayer PORT QUEBEC,
escorted by survey ship SCOTT, laid minefield
SN.21C of the Northern Barrage.
_____
Submarine SEAWOLF
unsuccessfully attacked U.562 off
Lorient.
_____
Convoy OG.70 departed
Liverpool, escorted by corvettes AURICULA, MARIGOLD, and
SAMPHIRE.
On the 31st, catapult ship
MAPLIN, sloop DEPTFORD, and
corvette CONVOLVULUS joined the convoy.
Destroyers ST ALBANS,
CAMPBELTOWN, and WANDERER were with the convoy
during the day and were detached that night.Catapult
ship MAPLIN was also detached on 1 August.
Corvettes COREOPSIS,
JONQUIL, and SPIRAEA and
anti-submarine trawler STELLA CARINA from convoy HG.69
joined on 6 August.
Destroyers ENCOUNTER and NESTOR departed Gibraltar on 6
August and joined on 8 August. Destroyer
FORESIGHT from convoy HG.34 F also joined on 8 August.
Destroyer ENCOUNTER,
sloop DEPTFORD, and corvettes AURICULA, CONVOLVULUS,
JONQUIL, MARIGOLD, and
SAMPHIRE were detached on 10 August and arrived at
Gibraltar on 13 August. The convoy arrived at Gibraltar
on 12 August with destroyers FORESIGHT and NESTOR
and corvettes COREOPSIS and SPIRAEA.
_____
U.371 sank British steamer
SHAHRISTAN (6935grt) and
Dutch steamer SITOEBONDO (7049grt) in 35-19N, 23-53W
from convoy OS.1.
Twenty six crew and
passengers were lost on the
British steamer. Panamanian steamer GLORIA picked up
nine survivors from
SHAHRISTAN and transferred then to ocean boarding vessel
CORINTHIAN on 19
August.
Seventeen crew and two
passengers were missing on
the Dutch steamer.
_____
German fishing vessel
PICKHUBEN (238grt) was lost
on a mine in the southern North
Sea.
_____
Australian sloop
PARRAMATTA departed Port Said escortingmotor
transport
ship GUJARAT to Famagusta
in Serial S.10 of the GUILLOTINE Operation.
The ships arrived at Famagusta
on 1 August and sloop PARRAMATTA departed that day for
Port Said.
_____
Corvette DELPHINIUM
departed Alexandria to relieve corvette PEONY, with
defects, at Famagusta.
_____
Motor torpedo boat
MTB.104, which had been laid up with defects at Port
Said, departed Port Said for Alexandria to be paid off.
_____
Submarine CACHALOT (Lt Cdr
H.R.B. Newton), which
departed Malta on the 26th, was rammed and sunk by
Italian
torpedo boat PAPA north of Benghazi.
Only one rating was lost.
The remainder of the crew
were rescued by the Italian torpedo boat.Newton,
Sub Lt C.E.S. Beale, Lt J.E.F. Dickson, T/Lt R.D.C. Hart
RNVR, Lt (E) E.H.
Player DSC, and sixty two ratings were taken prisoner.Lt
R.P. Lucey, additional for
submarine depot ship
MEDWAY, T/Lt A.J. Piggot
RNR, additional for base ship ST ANGELO, and eighteen
ratings, travelling as passengers for Alexandria on the
submarine, were also
picked up and also made prisoners of war.Dickson
later escaped captivity.
_____
In Operation STYLE,
British Force X of light cruisers HERMIONE and
ARETHUSA and cruiser minelayer MANXMAN with destroyers
SIKH and LIGHTNING
departed Gibraltar on the 31st carrying the troops and
supplies that had been
on troopship LEINSTER and light cruiser MANCHESTER which
had not reached
Malta during Operation SUBSTANCE.
Battleship NELSON (Flag
Vice Admiral Force H), battlecruiser
RENOWN, aircraft carrier ARK ROYAL and
destroyers COSSACK, MAORI, NESTOR, FAULKNOR, FURY,
FORESIGHT, FORESTER,
FOXHOUND, ENCOUNTER, and ERIDGE departed Gibraltar on
the 30th to create a diversion for this
operation.
Force S.was
oiler BROWN RANGER and
destroyer AVON VALE which departed
Gibraltar on the 30th. On the return to Gibraltar,
destroyers AVON VALE and ERIDGE were exchanged.
On the 31st/1 August,
destroyers COSSACK and MAORI
were detached to bombard the harbour of Alghero,
Sardinia and fire star shells for a night raid by
aircraft from aircraft
carrier ARK ROYAL.
On 1 August, a Swordfish
of the 810 Squadron
landing on the aircraft carrier ARK ROYAL crashed
injuring the pilot, Lt (A)C.M.
Jewell, which died of wounds and killing observer,
Sub Lt (A) L.A. Royall, and
gunner of the aircraft
and A/Lt D.G. Bowker, A/Lt
(E) T.I. Gay, and two
ratings of the deck party, Leading Airman H.F. Huxley
and Stoker Hunt.
Light cruiser HERMIONE
rammed and sank Italian
submarine TEMBIEN off Tunis
in 36-21N, 12-40E on 2 August. The light cruiser
sustained light damage.
On 2 August, light
cruisers HERMIONE and ARETHUSA,
minelaying cruiser MANXMAN, and destroyers SIKH and
LIGHTNING arrived at Malta. They unloaded the
reinforcements and departed
later that day with destroyer FARNDALE with her
condenser problems repaired.However,
destroyer FARNDALE with further
problems had to return to Malta for additional repair.
Aircraft carrier ARK ROYAL
flew off Hurricanes to Malta on 2 August.
Force H and the Malta
reinforcement group returned to Gibraltar on 4 August.Battlecruiser
RENOWN was docked for
repairs to bulge plating.
_____
British steamers SETTLER
and CLAN MACNAUGHTON, en
route to Freetown, and ARDEOLA and BRITISH HONOR, en
route to Las Palmas and
Trinidad, respectively, departed Gibraltar, escorted by
destroyers VIDETTE
and VIMY and trawlers ARRAN and COPINSAY.
On the 31st, trawler ARRAN was forced to return to Gibrlatar with
defects.
Destroyer VIDETTE was
detached on 2 August and VIMY
on 3 August to return to Gibraltar.
Trawler COPINSAY continued
with the Freetown ships.
_____
Australian troop convoy
US.1B departed Melbourne
with Dutch steamer JOHN VAN OLDENBARNEVELT (19,429grt),
British steamer
KATOOMBA (9424grt), and Dutch steamers MARNIX VAN ST
ALDEGONDE (19,355grt)
and SIBAJAK (12,226grt).
Steamer KATOOMBA proceeded
only to Fremantle.Steamer
SIBAJAK proceeded to Singapore.
_____
American aircraft carrier
YORKTOWN, light cruiser BROOKLYN, and
destroyers ROE, GRAYSON, and EBERLE departed
Hampton Roads on neutrality patrol ending at Bermuda on 10 August.
Thursday,
31 July
Heavy cruiser LONDON and
Dutch destroyer ISAAC SWEERS, following
working up exercises, departed Scapa Flow at 2200
for Greenock.
The ships arrived at 1500
on 1 August to escort
convoy WS.10.
_____
Anti-aircraft ship CURACOA
departed Methil at 1600 and
met convoy EC.52 off May Island. The convoy was
escorted to Pentland
Firth when the ship was detached at 0900 on 1 August and proceeded
to Scapa Flow.
_____
Convoy ON.3 departed
Liverpool, escorted by corvette VERONICA and
anti-submarine
trawler ST ELSTAN. Destroyers DOUGLAS, LEAMINGTON, and SKATE
and anti-submarine trawler ST ZENO
joined on 1 August and corvettes MIMOSA and NASTURTIUM
on 4 August. The
destroyers, corvette VERONICA, and the trawlers were
detached on 5 August.
Destroyer COLUMBIA and corvette GLADIOLUS joined on 5
August. Armed
merchant cruiser ASCANIA joined on 5 August and was
detached on 8 August. The
convoy was dispersed on 14 August and destroyer COLUMBIA
and corvettes GLADIOLUS, MIMOSA, and NASTURTIUM
were detached.
_____
British steam trawler
ONWARD (209grt) was damaged
by bombing and gunfire from a German aircraft twenty
miles east of Nolso, Faroes.
_____
French destroyer
TRIOMPHANT departed Plymouth after refitting for the
Pacific, via Panama.
The destroyer arrived at
St Johns on 6 August,
Panama on 16 August, San Diego on 25 August; departing
on 5 September,
Honolulu on 15 September, and Papeete
on 23
September.
In the Pacific, the
destroyer was used for escort
duties between Australia and New Caledonia.
She spent most of 1942 in Sydney in overhaul.
_____
U.140 sank Soviet
submarine M.94 in 58-51N, 22-00E.
_____
Submarine REGENT reported
Italian steamer IGEA
(160grt) seven miles NW of Benghasi.
_____
Ocean boarding vessel
CORINTHIAN departed Gibraltar on Western Patrol.
_____
Destroyer VANSITTART
intercepted Vichy French
steamer OUED GROU (792grt), which had departed Ziguinchor
on the 31st for Dakar, at 13-02N, 17-20W.
Destroyer HIGHLANDER was
ordered to join
VANSITTART.
On 1 August, destroyer
VELOX relieved HIGHLANDER
and took the steamer into Freetown.
HIGHLANDER proceeded to
Bathurst to refuel en route to Gibraltar.
On 3 August, VANSITTART
was detached to proceed to
Freetown. VELOX and the steamer arrived at Freetown on 4
August, despite an attempt by the crew to
scuttle the steamer.
July,
miscellaneous
Minesweeper FRANKLIN was
damaged in a collision with two merchant ships
in the North Sea, and repaired at Aberdeen from 14 July
to 23 August.