Background Events - September 1939-March 1940
Battle
of Atlantic starts,
'Phoney War' on land, Battle of River Plate
1939
Sunday, 15 October
Admiral
Forbes departed Loch
Ewe with battleships NELSON,
RODNEY,
battlecruiser HOOD,
aircraft carrier FURIOUS,
light cruisers BELFAST,
AURORA
and destroyers
BEDOUIN, FEARLESS, FOXHOUND and FURY.
After
light cruiser SOUTHAMPTON
and
destroyer MATABELE finished escorting steamer ST CLAIR
(1637grt) from Lerwick to
Aberdeen, arriving at 0945/14th,
MATABELE left on the 14th and called at Scapa Flow.
Destroyers MASHONA,
PUNJABI, FIREDRAKE left Loch Ewe, also on the 14th,
arrived at Scapa Flow later the same day, and then
with MATABELE, sailed from Scapa Flow on the 15th to join Forbes at sea.
Destroyer
FORESTER departed Scapa Flow on the 16th and also joined
Forbes, FAME was boiler cleaning until the 22nd, and TARTAR
repairing defects until the 23rd, both at Scapa
Flow.
The
sortie took the Fleet
north of Iceland,
150 miles into the Arctic Circle, to block a reported
sortie
into the Atlantic by pocket battleship DEUTSCHLAND and to support the
Northern Patrol. The destroyers refuelled from the capital
ships on the 17th.
Battlecruiser
REPULSE
(above - Navy Photos) with destroyers
JERVIS, JERSEY, COSSACK and MAORI departed Rosyth
on the 18th, with COSSACK and MAORI arriving back
on the 19th and REPULSE, JERVIS and JERSEY
joining Forbes at sea on the
20th. The two destroyers were detached for refuelling at Sullom
Voe on the 21st and afterwards
carried out an anti-submarine
patrol off Muckle Flugga.
They then left the patrol area to search off the Norwegian
coast for American steamer CITY OF FLINT.
JERVIS
and JERSEY arrived at Rosyth
on the 25th without making contact.
_____
Five
cruisers were on
Northern Patrol between the Orkneys and the Faroes,
four AMCs between the Faroes
and Iceland,
and four AMCs in the
Denmark Strait.
The armed merchant cruisers
were ASTURIAS,
AURANIA,
CALIFORNIA, CHITRAL, RAWALPINDI, SALOPIAN, SCOTSTOUN and
TRANSYLVANIA. Following this patrol, ASTURIAS proceeded to
Halifax for escort duty and SALOPIAN
to Plymouth en route for the South
Atlantic.
_____
Convoy
HN.0 of five Polish,
one French and one Greek steamer had departed Bergen on
the 14th, and was met in
the North Sea on the 15th by light cruiser SOUTHAMPTON,
which left Rosyth on the
13th, and destroyers JERVIS, JERSEY,
JACKAL, JANUS. Early on the 16th, SOUTHAMPTON,
JERSEY, JACKAL and JANUS detached and
destroyer MOHAWK joined. JERVIS and MOHAWK then escorted
the convoy into Methil
arriving on the 16th with SOUTHAMPTON reaching Rosyth
the same day.
_____
Light
cruiser EDINBURGH
was
escorted by destroyer WHITLEY from the 15th to 23rd.
_____
Light
cruiser SHEFFIELD
arrived at Loch Ewe.
_____
Destroyer
BROKE and sloop
FLEETWOOD were U-boat hunting off Blyth and on the 16th, attacked a contact.
_____
Destroyers
COSSACK and MAORI
attacked a submarine contact 6 miles 83° from Coquet
Island.
_____
Destroyer
MOHAWK attacked a
submarine contact 4 miles 340° from Flamborough
Head.
_____
Sloop
STORK attacked a
submarine contact 6.5 miles 15° from Scarborough Rock.
_____
Patrol
sloops KINGFISHER and
PC.74 were submarine hunting off Liverpool,
and were relieved on the
16th by escort vessel/minesweeper GLEANER.
_____
Convoy
OA.20G departed Southend
escorted by destroyers KELLY and KINGSTON from the 15th to
17th, and
by destroyers AMAZON and ANTELOPE from the 17th to 18th.
Convoy OB.20G also
left Liverpool escorted by destroyers
WHIRLWIND and WALPOLE, the two convoys merging on the 17th
as OG.3.
_____
Convoy
AXS.1 of one steamer
departed Fowey, escorted by destroyer WAKEFUL and arrived
at Brest on the 17th.
_____
U.37
sank French steamer VERMONT
(5186grt) 360 miles SW of Fastnet
in 48‑01N, 17‑22W, with the loss of
two crew, the 43 survivors being rescued by
destroyer
INGLEFIELD. Because of the submarine activity in the area
of arriving convoy
KJ.2, French destroyers L’INDOMPTABLE and LE MALIN
conducted a sweep, and
were joined by destroyers CYCLONE and MISTRAL sailing from
Brest to assist. On the 17th,
CYCLONE attacked a submarine contact. On the same day,
destroyer VENOMOUS
left Plymouth with the survivors of VERMONT
for passage to Havre.
_____
Battleship
RAMILLIES
departed
Gibraltar escorted by destroyers
GRAFTON and GALLANT for duty with the 1st Battle Squadron
at Alexandria.
_____
Convoy
SL.5 departed Freetown
escorted by destroyers HASTY
and HOSTILE, and joined by French cruiser PRIMAGUET,
destroyers MAILLÉ BRÉZÉ
and VAUQUELIN, which left Dakar
on the 19th and arrived at Casablanca on the 25th.
Destroyers TIGRE, TARTU
and
CHEVALIER PAUL departed Toulon, also on the 19th, and
reached Casablanca
on the 22nd ready to relieve
the French destroyers already with SL.5. They left on the
25th and joined
that day. British destroyer GRENADE sailed from Gibraltar
on the 24th, also to join
the convoy. PRIMAGUET, escorted by CHEVALIER PAUL detached
and reached Lorient on the 28th, while TIGRE and TARTU
after being relieved by
British destroyers, reached Brest on the 30th. The convoy
arrived at Liverpool on 3 November.
Monday, 16 October
German
aircraft attacked
anchored ships in the Firth of Forth. Light cruiser
SOUTHAMPTON
was hit by a
1000 pounder that passed
through three decks and
came out of the bottom without exploding, but injuring three
crew,
one rating dying of wounds. Light cruiser
EDINBURGH
was slightly
damaged by splinters from the near miss of three 500 pound
bombs with eight
crew wounded and Gunner G J Mitchell and one rating dying
of wounds. SOUTHAMPTON's
damage required only three
days to repair while EDINBURGH
remained in service.
Destroyer MOHAWK, just arriving in the Firth from convoy
duty, was bombed one
and a half miles from May Island and sustained much
topside
damage. Commanding officer Cdr R F Jolly was fatally
wounded (and awarded the Albert
Medal), the ship's
first officer Lt E J O'Shea and ten ratings killed and 33
crew,
including her navigator, Lt A L Harper, wounded.
MOHAWK berthed
at Rosyth for temporary
repairs and then repaired
at Newcastle from 22 October to 9 December. Battlecruiser
REPULSE was still at Rosyth
on the 16th boiler cleaning, but German bombing
restrictions forbidding
bombing that endangered civilian lives were still in
effect.
_____
Four
light cruisers were on
Northern Patrol between the Orkneys and the Faroes,
four AMCs between the Faroes
and Iceland,
and three AMCs in the
Denmark Strait.
_____
Destroyer
AFRIDI attacked a
submarine contact in the Firth of Forth off Inchkeith
Light, and was joined by destroyers WOOLSTON, VALOROUS and
sloop HASTINGS.
_____
Destroyers
INGLEFIELD and IVANHOE
attacked a submarine contact in the Western Approaches in
51‑00N, 18‑00W.
_____
Destroyers
INTREPID and
ICARUS attacked a submarine contact in 49‑42N, 9‑59E.
_____
Destroyer
MOHAWK and sloop
STORK attacked a submarine contact ESE of Scarborough.
_____
Destroyer
COSSACK attacked a
submarine contact north of Blyth.
_____
Destroyer
BEAGLE attacked a
submarine contact in 51‑20N, 01‑40E.
_____
Destroyer
BROKE and sloop
FLEETWOOD attacked a submarine contact off Blyth.
_____
Minesweeper/escort
ship GLEANER
attacked a submarine contact 17 miles 184° from Great Ormes
Head.
_____
Convoy
OG.3, totalling 33
merchant ships, was formed from OA.20G which departed Southend
on the 15th escorted by destroyers KELLY and KINGSTON,
relieved by destroyers
AMAZON and ANTELOPE, and OB.20G which departed Liverpool
on the 16th escorted
by destroyers WHIRLWIND and WALPOLE.
AMAZON
was damaged in a collision on the
18th and the other destroyers remained with the convoy
until the 19th. French
destroyers FOUGUEUX and L'ADROIT, which departed Brest on
the 17th, joined the
convoy on the 19th which arrived at Gibraltar
on the 23rd.
_____
Convoy
BC.11 of steamers
ADJUTANT, BALTARA, BARON CARNEGIE, BARON KINNAIRD,
BLACKHEATH, BOTHNIA,
COXWOLD, HARMATTAN, JADE, KINGSBOROUGH, LOCHEE, LOTTIE R, MARSLEW,
NIGERIAN (Commodore) and SODALITY departed Bristol
Channel, escorted by
destroyers EXMOUTH, ESK, WESSEX, and arrived safely in the
Loire on the 18th.
_____
Convoy
SA.13 of two steamers
departed Southampton, escorted by destroyers ACHATES and VENOMOUS, and
arrived on the 17th.
_____
Convoy
FN.22 departed Southend and
arrived at Methil
on the 18th. There was no convoy FN.22, nor convoys FS.22
and FS.23.
_____
U.23
laid mines off Cromarty
near Invergordon.
_____
French
destroyer CYCLONE with
destroyer MISTRAL on escort duty in support of convoy
KJ.2, attacked a U-boat
in the Bay
of Biscay, but without success
_____
Light
cruiser DAUNTLESS
departed Suez
for Colombo.
_____
Convoy
Green 5 departed Gibraltar escorted by destroyer
DUCHESS and sloop FOWEY until the 17th, when convoying in
the Mediterranean was abandoned and the
escorts withdrawn. DUCHESS arrived at Malta on the 20th.
_____
French
destroyers MILAN and ÉPERVIER departed Marseilles with
three troopships for Beirut.
_____
French
light cruiser DUGUAY
TROUIN encountered German steamer HALLE (5889grt) which had departed Bolama,
Portuguese Guinea on the 12th and Bissao
on the
14th for Las Palmas.
HALLE scuttled herself to avoid
capture SW of Dakar. Large destroyers LE FANTASQUE and LE
TERRIBLE, operating
from Dakar, had been searching for her from the 15th to 17th.
_____
German
steamer UHENFELS
(7603grt) departed Lourenco Marques
on the 13th, shadowed from
off the port by sloop EGRET which had to give up because
of shortage of fuel.
Light cruisers LIVERPOOL and DURBAN,
also in the area were
unable to find her, but because of the naval activity,
UHENFELS returned
to Lourenco
Marques.
_____
German
steamer TIJUCA
(5918grt) arrived off Kopervik,
Norway, encountered Norwegian
submarine B.3 but continued on, reaching Hamburg on the
25th.
Tuesday, 17 October
Light
cruiser SHEFFIELD
departed Loch Ewe for
Northern Patrol in the Denmark Strait,
arriving back on the 22nd
after capturing German steamer GLORIA.
_____
Four
light cruisers were on
Northern Patrol between the Orkneys and the Faroes,
four AMCs between the Faroes
and Iceland,
and three AMCs in the
Denmark Strait.
The armed merchant cruisers
were ASTURIAS,
AURANIA,
CALIFORNIA, CHITRAL, RAWALPINDI, SCOTSTOUN, and
TRANSYLVANIA.
_____
Convoy
OA.21 of 21 ships
departed Southend escorted by
destroyers VANSITTART
and WIVERN, which remained with the convoy until it
dispersed on the 22nd.
_____
Convoy
OB.21 departed Liverpool escorted by destroyers
WINCHELSEA and WITHERINGTON.
_____
Convoy
BC.10S of steamers
BARON GRAHAM, BEAVERDALE, BELLOROPHON (Commodore), CITY OF
DERBY DORSET COAST,
EILDON, ERATO, FLORISTAN, GLAMIS, GLYCAON, MERLAND,
PEMBROKE COAST, TASSO and VOLO departed the Loire,
escorted by destroyers MONTROSE and VIVACIOUS, and
arrived safely in the Bristol Channel on the 19th.
_____
Anti-aircraft
cruiser CALCUTTA
departed Grimsby and arrived back on the
18th.
_____
Destroyer
BEAGLE attacked a
submarine contact in 51‑07.5N, 01‑23.5E.
_____
French
large destroyer
LÉOPARD, which had been covering minelaying
in the Pas de Calais area, returned to Brest on the 17th.
Large destroyer
JAGUAR sailed from Dunkirk
on 1 November and with large
destroyer PANTHČRE, which had been at Cherbourg under
repair, also arrived
at Brest, but on the 2nd.
_____
U.19
laid mines off Inner
Dowsing near Yarmouth
during the night of the 16th/17th, on which three merchant
ships were sunk.
_____
Three
German aircraft bombed Scapa Flow, one of which was shot
down
by destroyer ESKIMO. Two near misses damaged old
battleship IRON DUKE
which
took a heavy list and bomb blast damaged her electrical
installations. She
was towed into shallow water, settled onto the sea bed and
ESKIMO provided
electric power. Destroyers SOMALI and ASHANTI were also at
Scapa Flow at the
time of the raid, and later in the day, four more aircraft
attacked, near-missing ASHANTI, but causing no damage.
_____
Destroyer
JUNO fired on German aircraft
shadowing her SW of Farne
Island. British aircraft
came to her assistance and shot down a Dornier flying
boat.
_____
German
destroyers HERMANN
KÜNNE, FRIEDRICH ECKHOLDT, DIETHER VON ROEDER, KARL
GALSTER and HANS LÜDEMAN, escorted by
destroyer WILHELM HEIDKAMP sailed from Wilhelmshaven to
lay mines in the
North Sea off the Humber on the night of the 17th/18th.
Seven merchant ships
grossing 25,852 tons were sunk in the field.
On
the 22nd, steamer
WHITEMANTLE (1692grt) five to six
miles east of Withernsea
Light with the loss of 14
crew.
On
the 23rd, Swedish steamer ALBANIA
(1241grt) four miles north
of Humber Light Vessel; two crew
were lost and the
survivors picked up by steamer CHANNEL FISHER (700grt).
On
the 29th, Norwegian
steamer VARANGMALM (3551grt) in 53‑50N,
00‑17E; one crew was lost and the survivors rescued by
trawler CONIDA
(413grt).
On
the 30th, Finnish steamer JUNO
(1241grt) in 53‑45N,
00‑17E with six crew lost.
On
3 November, Danish steamer CANADA
(11,108grt) was mined in 53‑40N,
00‑17E and sank next day, two miles east of Holmpton;
her survivors were rescued by Norwegian steamer RINGHORN
(1298grt).
On
4 November, Norwegian
steamer SIG (1342grt) was sunk in
53‑43N, 00‑17E, with the loss of
three crew;
her 16 survivors being picked up by fishing boat ELLEN M.
On
31 December, steamer BOX
HILL
(5677grt) from dispersed convoy HX.12, in 53‑32N, 00‑24E;
twenty crew
were lost, with five survivors rescued by destroyer
IVANHOE and seven by
another ship.
In
addition to the losses by
mines, two steamers were lost and one badly damaged when
they collided with
the sunken wreck of CANADA.
Steamer
FIREGLOW (1261grt)
hit the wreck on 12 November and was abandoned, but later
refloated.
Steamer
DRYBURGH (1289grt) departed Leith on 12 November
and arriving
off Withernsea on the 14th November,
sank after colliding with the wreck; her crew was rescued
by two destroyers.
On
15 November, Greek steamer GEORGIOS (2216grt) sank
after
hitting CANADA.
This
was the first minelaying
operation by German Commodore Bonte's
destroyers between the Thames and the Tyne. By February
1940, 1800
mines had been laid, and destroyer JERSEY
torpedoed and badly damaged during one of the minelaying
operations. All the
German destroyers, except LEBERECHT MAAS, GEORG THIELE,
PAUL JACOBI, THEODOR RIEDEL and HERMANN
SCHOEMANN were employed in at least
one operation.
_____
German
destroyers PAUL
JACOBI, THEODOR RIEDEL, HERMANN SCHOEMANN and torpedo
boats LEOPARD, ILTIS,
WOLF conducted an anti-shipping patrol in the Skagerrak
from the 17th to
19th.
_____
U.37,
U.46, U.48 attacked
convoy HG.3 off Cape Trafalgar while it was protected by aircraft. Steamer YORKSHIRE
(10,184grt) was the convoy
commodore ship with Rear Admiral D M T Bedford Rtd
as commodore on board and she carried military families
which had been
embarked from steamer NEVASA (9213grt) at Gibraltar. U.46
attacked YORKSHIRE
in 44‑54N, 12‑40W
without success, but she was then sunk by U.37 in 44‑52N,
14‑31W
with the loss of 58 lives, including 25
crew.
Steamer CITY OF MANDALAY (7028grt) was also sunk by U.46, in 44‑57N, 13‑36W, with
seven crew lost and 17 survivors being picked
up by Norwegian whaler SKUDD IV. In 44-54N, 12-40W.
Destroyers WAKEFUL,
ELECTRA and ESCORT were ordered to attack a submarine
reported near the convoy.
The last steamer was CLAN
CHISHOLM (7256grt), sunk by U.48, 150 miles 300°
from Cape
Finisterre in 45N, 15W with the loss of
four crew. Survivors from all three ships,
including
Rear Admiral Bedford, were picked up by American steamer
INDEPENDENCE HALL (5050grt) and taken to Bordeaux. ELECTRA
and ESCORT had
departed Dover
on the 13th and joined the
convoy on the 18th from OA.19. In addition, destroyers
ARDENT and ACASTA left Dover on the 20th and joined.
_____
Convoy
HX.5 departed Halifax at 0900 escorted by heavy
cruiser YORK and Canadian destroyers FRASER and ST
LAURENT. RCAF flying boats
accompanied the convoy until 1800/17th. ST LAURENT was
detached at 0830/18th,
FRASER at 1630/19th, and YORK
at 1000/19th, arriving back
at Halifax the same day. Light cruiser EMERALD departed Halifax
on the 17th as ocean escort,
and she arrived at Portsmouth
on the 29th. YORK left Halifax again on the 22nd to
support
the convoy and search for German battleship DEUTSCHLAND.
Destroyers GRAFTON, GALLANT, WESSEX escorted the convoy on
the
28th and 29th, when it arrived at Liverpool.
_____
Convoying
in the
Mediterranean was discontinued: (1) destroyer DUCHESS and
sloop FOWEY,
awaiting convoy Green 5, were sent from Gibraltar to
Malta, arriving on the
20th, (2) destroyer DIANA and sloop DEPTFORD, en route to
Port Said from Blue
5, were sent to relieve destroyers GRENVILLE and GIPSY on
contraband patrol,
(3) destroyer DUNCAN from Blue 4 was sent to escort
battleship RAMILLIES,
relieving destroyers GRAFTON and GALLANT, (4) destroyers
DAINTY and DEFENDER
departed Malta on the 18th to escort RAMILLIES, which
reached Alexandria on
the 20th, (5) French destroyers CASSARD and KERSAINT
returned to Bizerte, and
(6) destroyers DECOY and DELIGHT were at Malta. After
refitting, DELIGHT
reached Gibraltar on the 31st for escort duty,
and DECOY, her refit completed on 3 November, left Malta
to escort steamer NEVASA to Marseilles.
Wednesday, 18 October
Destroyer
AMAZON, which
departed Plymouth
on escort duty on the 17th,
was damaged in collision with steamer ARACATACA (5378grt)
at 1448 in convoy
OG.3 in 47-38N, 08-08W. AMAZON had closed to pass
information
and the steamer altered course without warning. She was
under repair at Portsmouth from 20 October to 28
November.
_____
Destroyer
BOREAS was attacked
north of the Goodwin Sands by a German seaplane, but no damage was done.
_____
Light
cruiser CALEDON
departed Kirkwall, and arrived at Sullom
Voe on the 20th.
_____
Destroyer
AFRIDI attacked a
submarine contact 3.2 miles 61° off St Abb's
Head.
Destroyer WHITEHALL
was ordered to stand by the
location where AFRIDI had buoyed the "sunken submarine."
_____
Steamer
IMPERIAL STAR (10,733grt) was attacked by
a U-boat, 60 miles west of the Scillies in 49‑54N, 7‑52W.
Destroyer INTREPID was sent to assist.
_____
In
submarine operations
against convoy HG.3, steamers SAGAING (7968grt),
GARBRATTAN (1811grt), CITY OF GUILDFORD (5157grt) and CLAN
MCBEAN (5000grt) reported they were attacked on the
18th but undamaged. Destroyer ESCORT joined SAGAING and
escorted her from the
area.
_____
Convoy
Blue 5 departed Port Said on the 18th, but was
dispersed and travelled without escort.
_____
Light
cruiser DANAE
departed Lagos for St Helena, where she arrived on the
22nd.
_____
Convoy
SLF.5 departed Freetown, unescorted, and arrived at London
on the 30th.
Thursday, 19 October
While
in dock at Devonport,
destroyer KEMPENFELT was transferred to the Canadian Navy
as HMCS
ASSINIBOINE. She had been there since 29 September
repairing collision damage
from the day before. As ASSINIBOINE, she departed Plymouth
for Halifax on 7 November.
_____
Light
cruisers CARDIFF,
DIOMEDE,
DRAGON
departed Sullom Voe
for Northern Patrol.
_____
Two
cruisers were on Northern
Patrol between the Shetland and the Faroes,
AMCs AURANIA,
CALIFORNIA, CHITRAL between the Faroes
and Iceland, and light cruiser SHEFFIELD
and AMCs
RAWALPINDI, SCOTSTOUN, TRANSYLVANIA
in the Denmark Strait.
_____
Destroyers
INTREPID, ICARUS,
IVANHOE arrived at Loch Ewe and sister ship IMPULSIVE at
Scapa Flow on the 25th, all for duty
with the Home Fleet. Destroyers ILEX, ISIS, IMPERIAL
joined the 22nd Flotilla
at Harwich on the 31st, were released from the Flotilla on
5 November and
rejoined the 3rd Flotilla operating with the Home Fleet –
IMOGEN, after
completing repairs, and IMPERIAL on 8 November, ILEX and
ISIS on the 14th,
and INGLEFIELD, also after completing repairs, on the
16th.
_____
Destroyer
WHITEHALL and sloop WESTON attacked a
submarine contact three miles ENE
of St Abb's
Head.
_____
Convoy
OA.22 of nine ships
departed Southend escorted by
destroyer VESPER,
which stayed until the convoy dispersed on the 21st.
_____
Convoy
OB.22 departed Liverpool escorted by destroyers
MACKAY and VIMY, the destroyers detaching on the 22nd to
escort SL.4.
_____
Prize
regulations for U-boats
were lifted for shipping as far west as 20°.
_____
German
tanker BISKAYA (6386grt) had departed Hamburg on
13 August for Port Arthur, Texas, but with the start of
war,
found refuge at Las Palmas
until 7 October when she
attempted to return to Germany. She was captured on the
19th by armed merchant cruiser SCOTSTOUN on Northern
Patrol in the Denmark Strait in 66‑30N, 23‑00W, taken to Leith by a prize crew commanded by Lt Cdr R H A Clark
RNR,
and renamed EMPIRE UNITY in
British service.
_____
German
tanker GONZENHEIM (4574grt), which had
departed Buenas Aires on 14
September, was
intercepted by armed merchant cruiser RAWALPINDI on
Northern Patrol in the Denmark Strait in 63‑25N, 12‑00W,
and scuttled.
_____
French
destroyer FOUDROYANT
had arrived at Casablanca on 13 September with convoy 9.B
of steamers
STRASBOURGEOIS, MAROC, JUMIEGES and POITIERS after leaving
Brest on the 7th
October, as well as SAINT NAZAIRE, escorted by sloop
CHEVREUIL after leaving Quiberon,
also on the 7th.
Quite
separately, destroyer BOURRASQUE reached Casablanca
on the 17th with convoy 3.K
of steamers MARRAKECH and KERGUELEN. They had left Le Verdon
on the 13th. Both destroyers then departed Casablanca and
arrived at Gibraltar on this date.
_____
Heavy
cruiser DORSETSHIRE
departed Hong Kong for Singapore
and duty with the 4th
Cruiser Squadron in the East Indies Station. She left
Singapore on the 22nd for Colombo.
Friday, 20 October
Light
cruisers COLOMBO
and DELHI
departed Sullom Voe
for Northern Patrol.
_____
Light
cruiser DRAGON
departed
Sullom Voe
for Northern
Patrol and arrived back on the 25th.
_____
Two
light cruisers were on
Northern Patrol between the Shetlands and the Faroes,
light cruiser COLOMBO
and AMCs AURANIA,
CALIFORNIA,
CHITRAL between the Faroes
and Iceland, and light cruiser SHEFFIELD
and AMCs
SCOTSTOUN, RAWALPINDI,
TRANSYLVANIA in the Denmark Strait.
_____
While
escorting convoy BC.10S
with destroyer VIVACIOUS from Quiberon
Bay to Barry, destroyer MONTROSE
attacked a submarine contact in 52‑16N, 4‑36W.
_____
Convoy
FN.24 departed Southend.
Shortly after, escorting sloop PELICAN was
damaged when she struck submerged wreckage. The convoy
arrived at Methil on the
22nd.
_____
Convoy
FS.24 departed Methil,
escorted by destroyer BROKE, sloops BITTERN and
ENCHANTRESS, and arrived at Southend
on the 22nd.
_____
U.34
sank steamer SEA
VENTURE
(2327grt) east of the Shetlands
in 60‑50N, 00‑15E and Swedish steamer GUSTAF ADOLF
(926grt) 50 miles NE of Sullom
Voe in 61‑00N, 00‑48E. All the
crew of
GUSTAF ADOLF were rescued, while the survivors from SEA
VENTURE rowed in their
lifeboats to a nearby island.
_____
German
auxiliary patrol boat Vp.701 (trawler ESTE,
426grt) was
sunk on a mine between Moen and Falsterbo.
_____
German
steamer BIANCA (1375grt) had departed Rotterdam
pre-war for Lisbon, called at El Ferrol and refuelled in
an attempt
to return to Germany
before the start of the war.
She reached Reykjavik on 7
September and remained
there until 18 October when she made her attempt. At
1150/20th in the Denmark
Strait, in 67‑29N, 22‑15W, she was captured by armed
merchant
cruiser TRANSYLVANIA, taken to Kirkwall by a prize crew
commanded by Lt Cdr D
M MacLean RNR, and renamed EMPIRE WARRIOR in British service.
_____
Greek
steamer OMONIA (3699grt) was seized in the
Baltic by German warships, taken to Swinemünde
and
later renamed OLSA for German use.
_____
Light
cruiser CARADOC
arrived
at Bermuda, and left the same day for Kingston, Jamaica.
_____
Light
cruiser DESPATCH
departed Bermuda and arrived at Kingston
on the 26th.
_____
Light
cruiser GALATEA
departed Alexandria,
reached Malta on the 27th, left again on
the 28th and arrived back at Alexandria on the 30th.
_____
Light
cruiser DURBAN
departed Mauritius for Colombo to examine the Cargados,
Caarajos and Chagos
groups for German activity.
_____
The
Admiralty ordered destroyers
HOTSPUR and HAVOCK from the South America Station to the
West Indies.
Saturday, 21 October
The
crew of the Norwegian
steamer LORENTZ W HANSEN arrived on Norwegian tanker
KONGSDAL (9959grt) at Kirkwall and brought news proving
that both German pocket battleships ADMIRAL GRAF SPEE and
DEUTSCHLAND
were at sea. It had been thought that all the sinkings
to date had been due to a single battleship.
_____
Light
cruisers GLASGOW
and NEWCASTLE,
at sea since the 12th, were
sent to escort convoy KJ.3, then en route from the West
Indies. They detached on the 24th
and the convoy arrived at Land's End on the 25th. NEWCASTLE
reached Portsmouth on the 26th and GLASGOW on the 27th.
_____
Destroyer
FORESIGHT was
boiler cleaning at Scapa Flow until the 26th.
_____
Anti-aircraft
cruisers CAIRO
and CALCUTTA
departed Grimsby on escort duty and arrived
back the same day.
_____
Anti-aircraft
cruiser COVENTRY
departed Immingham to
support a convoy under air attack, and at sea, joined
sister ships CAIRO
and CALCUTTA
with the convoy, which was
escorted to Flamborough Head.
COVENTRY experienced a steering gear
defect and returned to Immingham, docking on the 26th for
repairs completed
on 14 November. She then left next day for duty at Sullom
Voe.
_____
Four
former British anti-submarine
trawlers arrived at Brest
for duty as the French 13th
Patrol Squadron. They were CANCALAISE (ex-ST AMANDUS, LV R
R L Birot),
HAVRAISE (ex-ST
ATTALUS, EV Harduin),
LORIENTAISE (ex-ST
ANDRONICUS, LV F Drogou) and
NANTAISE (ex-ST ARCADIUS,
LV L M A Jaume). They went
into service on 17 January 1940.
_____
German
steamer GLORIA (5896grt), which had departed Buenos
Aires on the 6th, was captured by light cruiser
SHEFFIELD
on Northern Patrol in the Denmark Strait, six to ten miles
off the
north coast of Iceland
in 65‑30N, 22‑05W.
As GLORIA was being taken to Kirkwall by a prize crew commanded by Sub Lt S Phillips,
three of her crew escaped in a lifeboat, but were later
picked up and landed
at Methil on the 28th. GLORIA
was renamed EMPIRE
CONVEYOR in British service.
_____
German
steamer POSEIDON (5864grt) departed Rio de Janiero
on 1 September to return to Germany, but was forced to put
into Mar del Plata on the 5th to avoid contact
with light cruiser
AJAX.
She was finally able to
leave for Germany
on 1 October, but was
captured during the afternoon of the 21st by armed
merchant cruiser SCOTSTOUN
north of Iceland
in the Denmark Strait in 67‑08N, 21‑18W.
Heavy weather prevented a boarding party from being put
aboard at that time,
and it was not until the afternoon of the 22nd in 66‑27N,
22‑09W
that Py/Lt C W Armstrong RNR
and his men were able to go
across. SCOTSTOUN then escorted POSEIDON for 29 hours
before losing touch in
thick snow. Armed merchant cruiser TRANSYLVANIA
finally found the missing
ship early on the 25th, but she was incapable of steaming,
taken in tow and proceeded
towards Reykjavik with
cruiser SHEFFIELD
in company. When Icelandic
waters were reached, SHEFFIELD detached and returned to Sullom
Voe, being relieved on
Northern Patrol by light
cruiser SOUTHAMPTON. However, before reaching Reykavik,
TRANSYLVANIA’s
tow line parted in a gale
and she was forced to sink POSEIDON with gunfire on the
27th.
_____
Light
cruiser DIOMEDE
departed Sullom Voe
for
Northern Patrol between Shetlands and Faroes,
and
arrived back on the 25th.
_____
Destroyers
KELLY and KINGSTON arrived at Loch Ewe for
operations with the Home Fleet.
_____
Destroyer
VALOROUS attacked a
submarine contact six to seven miles east of Scarborough.
_____
Minesweeper/escort
vessel JASON
attacked a submarine contact 2 miles 105° from South Rock
Light Vessel, Belfast.
_____
Convoy
OA.23 of 15 ships
departed Southend escorted by
destroyers ACASTA and
ARDENT from the 21st to 23rd, and the convoy dispersed on
the 26th.
_____
Convoy
OB.23 departed Liverpool escorted by destroyers
VOLUNTEER and VERSATILE, which detached to KJ.3 on the
24th.
_____
French
steamer CAPITAINE EDMOND LABORIE (3087grt)
was sunk two miles E of Inner Dowsing Light Vessel on a
mine laid by U.19 on
the 17th.
Norwegian
steamer DEODATA (3295grt) was sunk 1˝ miles
off Inner Dowsing Light Vessel in 53-19.50N, 00-38.20E, by
a mine laid by
U.19 on the 17th, without the loss of any crew.
_____
Steamer
ORSA (1478grt) was sunk 15 miles 150° from Flamborough
by a mine laid by U.15 on 6 September, with the loss of
16
crew.
_____
Light
cruiser DAUNTLESS
departed Aden
en route to Colombo, and was ordered to examine
the Cargados, Carajos,
Chagos groups for German
activity.
_____
Hunter
Force M with French
heavy cruisers DUPLEIX and FOCH, and Force N with French battlecruiser
STRASBOURG and British aircraft carrier HERMES, were
reassigned to cover the Dakar
to Pernambuco
route:
(1)
Force X, which became
effective in mid-November, consisted of HERMES, DUPLEIX
and FOCH, while
(2)
Force Y had STRASBOURG, with French light cruiser
DUGUAY TROUIN and the British NEPTUNE.
Sunday, 22 October
American
merchant ship CITY OF FLINT, captured by German pocket
battleship DEUTSCHLAND on the 9th, arrived at Murmansk.
_____
Light
cruisers DUNEDIN,
DELHI
and CALYPSO
departed Sullom Voe
for the Northern
Patrol, CALYPSO proceeding to the Iceland-Faroes
Channel. This brought the numbers of ships on patrol to
two cruisers between
the Shetlands and the Faroes,
four cruisers between
the Faroes and Iceland, and
one cruiser and two AMCs in
the Denmark Strait.
_____
Destroyer
JAVELIN was badly
damaged at 0200 in collision with steamer MOIDART
(1262grt) off Whitby. Destroyer AFRIDI, escorting
convoy FN.24 nearby, was sent to assist, and two tugs and
two anti-submarine
trawlers left the Tyne at 0400. JAVELIN was towed by destroyer JUPITER to Middlesbrough
and repaired until 1
January.
_____
Convoy
FN.25 departed Southend and
escorting destroyer GURKHA attacked a
submarine at 2130 contact 13 miles 68° from Orfordness
on the 22nd. The convoy arrived at Methil
on the
24th.
_____
Convoy
FS.25 departed Methil,
escorted by destroyers MAORI, WHITEHEAD and sloop
WESTON and arrived at Southend
on the 24th.
_____
Admiral
Forbes arrived at
Loch Ewe with the Main Fleet at 0800.
_____
Battleships
NELSON,
RODNEY,
battlecruiser HOOD,
and destroyers INTREPID, IVANHOE, ICARUS,
KELLY and KINGSTON
sortied
from Loch Ewe at 1830/22nd to cover the movement of convoy
NV.1 of twelve
British iron ore ships from Narvik.
Destroyers
IMPULSIVE left Plymouth on the 23rd, reached Scapa Flow on
the 25th, and left next
day to join Forbes at sea, KINGSTON detached from the
force to Scapa Flow with defects, and FIREDRAKE
joined on the 29th.
Light
cruisers EDINBURGH
departed Rosyth on the 23rd and joined the escort off
Muckle Flugga at noon on the 24th, and
AURORA
departed
Loch Ewe, also on the 23rd, and joined off the
Norwegian coast at 0130/26th. Destroyers SOMALI,
ASHANTI, TARTAR and FAME also joined from Scapa Flow.
En
route to the Firth of
Forth, destroyer FAME and two merchant ships were detached to join an
Atlantic convoy.
At
0630/30th, SOMALI depth
charged a submarine contact near Kinnaird
Head in
57‑45N, 1‑02W. TARTAR also joined in the attack before
catching
up with ASHANTI
which by now was shepherding
the convoy away from the area. FAME later rejoined,
stood guard on the contact which remained stationary and
dropped more depth charges at 0915/30th. NV.1 arrived
safely on the 31st.
_____
Convoy
BC.12 of steamers ANGLIAN COAST, BALTRADER, BARON NAIRN,
CISCAR, CITY OF KEELUNG
(Commodore), CLAN MONROE, DEVON COAST, FABIAN, KERMA,
MARGALAU, PACIFIC COAST, PIZARRO, RONAN, TREVERBYN and YEWMOUNT
departed the Bristol Channel escorted by destroyer
EXPRESS and WESSEX,
and arrived safely in the Loire on the 24th.
_____
Convoy
AXS.2 of one steamer
departed Fowey, escorted by destroyer WAKEFUL,
and
reached Brest
on the 24th.
_____
German
destroyers MAX SCHULTZ, FRIEDRICH IHN,
ERICH STEINBRINCK, HANS LODY, BERND VON ARNIM and ERICH
GIESE
carried out an
anti-shipping sweep in the Skagerrak from the 22nd to
24th.
_____
U.16
laid mines in the
Straits of Dover, on which one auxiliary minesweeper was
sunk.
_____
Destroyers
GRAFTON and
GALLANT departed Gibraltar for Alexandria
on the 15th and after
calling there, returned to Gibraltar. Sister ships GREYHOUND and GLOWWORM, also
sailing from Alexandria
to Gibraltar, called at Toulon on the 18th, after which
all
four left Gibraltar on the 19th for the UK.
En route they were ordered
to search for a lifeboat from CLAN CHISHOLM (7256grt),
lost on the 17th, and
reached Plymouth
on the 22nd. Assigned to
duty at Harwich, they were due to be joined by Polish
destroyers GROM, BURZA
and BLYSKAWICA.
_____
Convoy
HG.4 of 41 ships left Gibraltar, escorted by destroyers
GRENVILLE, GIPSY and minesweeper LEDA,
and by French destroyers BOURRASQUE
and FOUDROYANT from the 22nd until their arrival at Brest
on the 29th. Destroyers
WISHART and VIDETTE provided local escort, detached on the
23rd and patrolled
off Cadiz. The convoy arrived at Liverpool
on the 29th, with GRENVILLE,
GIPSY and LEDA arriving on the 30th.
_____
French
battlecruiser
DUNKERQUE, light cruisers GEORGES LEYGUES, GLOIRE,
MONTCALM and large
destroyers MOGADOR, VOLTA, L'INDOMPTABLE, LE MALIN and LA
TRIOMPHANT left Brest,
escorted in the local approaches by destroyers
CYCLONE and MISTRAL, which arrived back on the 25th. The
main force then
patrolled the Antilles-English Channel route, to cover the
movement of convoy
KJ.4 until the 30th when they arrived back at Brest.
_____
Heavy
cruiser YORK
departed Halifax to support convoy HX.5 which
had left on the 17th, and to search for German battleship
DEUTSCHLAND.
_____
Light
cruiser ENTERPRISE
departed Halifax on patrol duties and arrived
back on the 29th.
_____
Heavy
cruiser NORFOLK
departed Alexandria and arrived at Malta on the 23rd.
_____
Australian
light cruiser PERTH
departed Bermuda.
_____
German
pocket battleship
ADMIRAL GRAF SPEE sank steamer TREVANION
(5299grt) in the South Atlantic
in 19‑40S, 04‑02E.
_____
German
steamer EMMY FRIEDRICH (4372grt) departed Tampico,
Mexico, during the night of the
19th/20th to act as a supply ship for German pocket
battleship ADMIRAL GRAF
SPEE. Allied warships began a search for her in the Gulf
of Mexico, and joined by US aircraft carrier RANGER
(CV.4) as part of the Neutrality Patrol, in the Caribbean.
Light cruiser ORION,
which
departed Kingston
on the 21st and Canadian
destroyer SAGUENAY sighted EMMY FRIEDRICH on the 22nd in the Yucatan
Channel and she turned away, back into the Gulf
of Mexico. The contact report from
ORION enabled light cruiser CARADOC,
which departed Bermuda on the 20th, to intercept
her early on the 23rd. EMMY FRIEDRICH was scuttled and
CARADOC picked up her
crew of 33 and took them to Bermuda, arriving on the 27th. ORION got back to
Kingston
on the 26th.
23 October, Monday
Aircraft
carrier FURIOUS
and battlecruiser REPULSE
with destroyers BEDOUIN, PUNJABI, FORESTER,
FIREDRAKE left Loch Ewe for the Clyde, arriving on the
25th.
_____
Anti-aircraft
cruiser CURLEW
and destroyers FURY, FOXHOUND, FEARLESS and MASHONA
departed Loch Ewe for
Scapa Flow. The destroyers were
assigned for convoy escort.
_____
Light
cruiser SHEFFIELD
departed Loch Ewe for
Northern Patrol and arrived back on the 26th.
_____
Light
cruiser AURORA
sailed
from Loch Ewe and destroyers SOMALI, ASHANTI, TARTAR and
FAME from Scapa Flow to escort an iron ore convoy
from Narvik.
_____
Light
cruiser EDINBURGH
departed Rosyth to rendezvous
with Commodore D in
light cruiser
AURORA
20 miles north of Muckle Flugga.
_____
Anti-aircraft
cruiser CAIRO
departed Grimsby on escort duties, and
arrived back on the 25th.
_____
Destroyer
GALLANT attacked a
submarine contact 90° off the Lizard, and was joined in
the search by destroyers KANDAHAR, ACASTA, ARDENT, which made an attack 20 miles
south of Portland.
At 0828/23rd, ACASTA was
missed by a torpedo in 49-48N, 5-22W, and on the 24th, she
and ARDENT were
searching for a reported submarine in 49-30N, 4-45W.
_____
Convoy
OA.24G departed Southend
escorted by destroyers ESCORT and ELECTRA, while
OB.24G departed Liverpool escorted by destroyers VANOC and WARWICK. They merged
on the 26th as OG.4.
_____
Convoy
SA.14 of two steamers
left Southampton, escorted by destroyers VANSITTART
and VENOMOUS, and arrived at Brest on the 24th.
_____
A
Roc fighter of 803 Squadron
from aircraft carrier FURIOUS,
but based ashore and flying from Hatston,
failed to return from patrol off Wick. Petty
Officer L R Tregillis and
Naval Airman R E Eason were
lost.
_____
Convoy
SL.6 departed Freetown escorted by destroyers
HYPERION and HUNTER, which left the convoy at 0400/26th to
take twelve ships
into Dakar where they arrived at 0700/27th. Before then, on the
26th, French light cruiser DUGUAY TROUIN left Dakar to
join SL.6 on the 27th,
not arriving back until 2 November, while destroyer
GRIFFIN left Gibraltar on
the 30th and joined on 8 November in Home Waters,
escorting the convoy to the
UK. In the Western Approaches, the convoy split into SL.6,
escorted by
destroyers ELECTRA and ESCORT, and SL.6B, escorted by
WALPOLE and VANOC, the
latter transferring to SL.6 on 8 November. Dispersed ships
of the main convoy
arrived at Liverpool starting on the 10th.
_____
German
steamer CURITYBA
(4969grt) sighted Norwegian destroyer DRAUG off Bergen
where she arrived on the
24th. Setting out again, she arrived via Drogden,
at Hamburg on the 30th.
_____
Heavy
cruiser BERWICK
departed Bermuda, and arrived back on the 26th for docking where she underwent
repairs until 3 November.
_____
Heavy
cruiser SHROPSHIRE
departed Capetown
on escort duty, and arrived back on the 24th.
_____
U.37
conducted a
reconnaissance of the Straits of Gibraltar during the
night of the 23rd/24th.
Tuesday, 24 October
Minelaying
cruiser ADVENTURE
departed
Sheerness for the Humber to lay mines in the North
Sea in Operation AD, arriving on
the 25th at Grimsby.
From there, she laid mines,
escorted by two destroyers and minesweeper SPHINX,
off Flamborough
Head in operations completed on the 29th.
_____
Light
cruiser SOUTHAMPTON
departed Sullom Voe
for
patrol SE of Norway, arrived at Scapa Flow
on 6 November, then left for Rosyth,
arriving on the 7th.
_____
Submarine
PORPOISE arrived at Chatham for refitting completed on 18 January.
_____
On
Northern Patrol were light
cruiser CALYPSO
and one other cruiser between the Faroes
and the Orkneys, two cruisers between the Faroes
and Iceland,
and one cruiser and two AMCs
in the Denmark Strait.
Light cruisers COLOMBO
and DRAGON
had departed Sullom Voe
on the 20th, DIOMEDE
on the 21st, and DUNEDIN,
DELHI,
CALYPSO
on the 22nd. DIOMEDE, DRAGON, CALEDON,
COLOMBO,
CARDIFF
called there to refuel and
left on the 25th. The armed merchant cruisers at sea were
CHITRAL, SCOTSTOUN
and TRANSYLVANIA.
_____
U-boats
were deployed against
the British Fleet west of the Orkneys from 21 October to
10 November - U.59 had
left Wilhelmshaven on the 21st and returned on 9 November,
U.56 and U.58 on
the 22nd, returning on 10 November, and U.57 on the 24th,
returning on 4
November.
_____
U.16 departed Wilhelmshaven
on the 17th, and after
completing a minelay off
Dover, was detected by the St
Margaret's Bay indicator loop station. Attacked by patrol
sloop PUFFIN and
anti-submarine trawler CAYTON WYKE (373grt), she was
damaged and as she
evaded further attacks, struck a mine and was even more
badly damaged forward
of the conning tower, running aground on the Goodwin Sands
in 51‑09N,
01‑28E. The body of an officer was picked up off
Folkestone by
minesweeping trawler ST MELANTE (358grt), and on the same
day U.16 was
discovered with only the conning tower above water and the
crew all dead. The
28 bodies of the crew were removed and taken to Dover for
interment.
_____
Destroyer
GURKHA, escorting
FN.25, attacked a submarine contact 13 miles 68° from Orfordness.
_____
Convoy
FN.26 departed Southend, and
arrived at Methil
on the 26th.
_____
Convoy
FS.26 departed Methil,and
reached Southend on the 26th.
_____
Greek
steamer KONSTANTINOS HADJIPATERAS (5962grt) was
sunk off Inner Dowsing Light Vessel in 53-20-57N, 0-36-54E
on a mine laid by U.19 on the 17th; four
crew were lost and 27
saved.
_____
Finnish
steamer RHEA (1424grt) was seized in the
Baltic by German warships and taken to Kiel.
_____
Aircraft
carrier ARK ROYAL
and battlecruiser RENOWN
arrived at Freetown for refuelling,
departing again on the 28th on patrol.
_____
U.37
sank three steamers to
the west of Gibraltar
- LEDBURY
(3528grt) 100 miles off without the loss of any crew, MENIN
RIDGE (2474grt) 90 miles off in 36‑01N, 07‑22W
with the loss of 20, and TAFNA (4413grt)
84 miles off in 35‑44N, 07‑23W with the loss of two. All LEDBURY’s
survivors and five from MENIN RIDGE were picked
up by American steamer CROWN
CITY (5428grt). Destroyer
DOUGLAS, which was ordered from Gibraltar
with KEPPEL, WATCHMAN and
VIDETTE to search for the submarine, picked up 31
survivors from TAFNA and
took them to Gibraltar. A London
seaplane of RAF 202 Squadron
also arrived to rescue survivors, landed in the sea but
unable to take
off, was towed to Gibraltar by DOUGLAS. A submarine contact was attacked by KEPPEL in
36-03N, 7-33W, and by WATCHMAN in 36-03N, 7-18W. The
search continued until
the 25th.
_____
Destroyers
GRENADE and GRIFFIN departed Gibraltar to escort convoy
SL.5, but GRIFFIN was ordered back to stand by
for SL.6. She arrived there on the 26th and departed with
the convoy on the 30th.
_____
German
trawler SATURN (194grt) was sunk in a
collision near Kiel.
_____
Australian
light cruiser PERTH
departed Kingston, and in 42‑25N, 43‑08W
intercepted signals from a German warship. She altered
course to intercept,
but no contact was made. Halifax
was reached on the 28th.
_____
Convoy
HXF.6 departed Halifax at 0800, escorted by
Canadian destroyers FRASER and ST LAURENT, with battleship
REVENGE
as ocean escort. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on 2
November.
Wednesday, 25 October
German
steamer RHEINGOLD (5055grt), which had
departed Bahia on 27 September, was captured in the Iceland-Faroes
Channel by light cruiser DELHI,
west of the Orkneys in 64‑00N,
11‑40W. RHEINGOLD arrived at Kirkwall
with the prize crew,
commanded by Lt Cdr FG Emley,
on the 27th and later renamed EMPIRE MARINER for British
service. DELHI arrived at Sullom
Voe on the 28th.
_____
Light
cruisers COLOMBO,
CARDIFF,
CALEDON
departed Sullom Voe,
with CARDIFF and CALEDON arriving back on the 31st.
_____
Two
cruisers were on Northern
Patrol between the Orkneys and the Faroes,
four
cruisers between the Faroes
and Iceland, and one cruiser and two AMCs
in the Denmark Strait.
Light cruiser SOUTHAMPTON
was sailing to relieve sister ship
SHEFFIELD
in the Denmark Strait.
_____
Anti-aircraft
cruiser CALCUTTA
departed Grimsby for Harwich, and arrived on
the 26th.
_____
Destroyer
MASHONA was docked
at Newcastle for repairs from 25 October to 10 November.
_____
Destroyer
PUNJABI brought
Panamanian tanker PHOEBUS (8863grt) into the Clyde, but
after examination, she was
allowed to continue.
_____
Destroyer
FURY was damaged by
heavy weather, and repaired in the Clyde, completing on 17 November.
_____
Convoy
OA.25 of 19 ships
departed Southend escorted by
destroyers ANTELOPE
and VISCOUNT from the 25th to 28th.
_____
Convoy
OB.25 departed Liverpool escorted by destroyers
WHIRLWIND and WALPOLE until the 28th.
_____
Convoy
BC.11 of steamers
ADJUTANT, BALTARA, BARON CARNEGIE, BATNA, BLACKHEATH,
BOTHNIA, BRIARWOOD,
COXWOLD, ERATO, FRAMLINGTON COURT, HARMATTAN, JADE,
LLARNARTH, LOCHEE, LOTTIE
R, LURIGETHAN, MARSLEW, NIGERIAN (Commodore) and PEMBROKE
COAST departed the Loire
escorted by destroyer EXPRESS, and arrived safely in the
Bristol Channel on
the 28th.
_____
At
0600/25th, a convoy
departed Portsmouth consisting of submarine TRIDENT for Oban,
steamer BONIFACE (4928 tons), and base ships MANCHESTER
CITY and MASHOBRA, escorted by
destroyers SALADIN, VANSITTART, VENOMOUS and SCIMITAR as
far west as the Eddystone
Light. Destroyer VANESSA relieved the Portsmouth
destroyers at 1650 and was
joined by sister ship VIVACIOUS after a short delay. On
the 27th, TRIDENT and
VIVACIOUS detached to Oban.
Destroyer
WIVERN had
escorted convoy SL.4A into Dover with trawlers ARCTIC
RANGER
and KINGSTON CORNELIAN, before leaving Southend
on
the 27th in company with destroyer WITCH as escort to
convoy OA.26. When a
submarine was reported, WIVERN was detached to search for
what was later
determined to be TRIDENT.
_____
Destroyer
VIVIEN completed
conversion to fast escort ship, and following working up,
was attached to
Convoy C in the Rosyth
Command.
_____
French
battlecruiser STRASBOURG, heavy cruisers ALGÉRIE, DUPLEIX, destroyers
LE TERRIBLE and LE FANTASQUE and British aircraft carrier
HERMES departed Dakar
to carry out a sweep to the
southwest. They arrived back on the 29th.
_____
Convoy
HX.6 departed Halifax at 0800 escorted by Canadian
destroyers FRASER and ST LAURENT.
They detached on the 27th
and the convoy continued with battleship RESOLUTION
as ocean escort. On 6
November, destroyers WHIRLWIND and WARWICK joined HX.6
from OB.29, and
destroyers GRENVILLE, GRENADE, GIPSY and GLOWWORM from
Plymouth. Next day, RESOLUTION,
GRENVILLE and GRENADE detached to Devonport, and the
convoy reached Liverpool on the 10th.
_____
Battleship
RAMILLIES
and
destroyers DAINTY, DIANA, DEFENDER departed Alexandria on
a 15-inch gun shoot, with
the Queen Bee target operated from light cruiser
PENELOPE.
The exercise was
repeated on the 27th with the same ships less DAINTY.
_____
Heavy
cruiser DORSETSHIRE
departed Colombo
on patrol duties, and
arrived back on the 28th.
_____
Three
U-boats were assigned
for operations in the Mediterranean
between 25 October and 15
November – U.25 which departed Wilhelmshaven on the 18th
October, U.53 on
the 23rd, and U.26 on the 26th. Only U.26 was able to
enter the Mediterranean for a patrol lasting from 8
to 18 November. A planned minelay
off Gibraltar was prevented by gales, and
at 0015 and 0150/12th she carried out attacks off Oran.
Then at 0300/13th, she
claimed to have sunk a steamer in 36-16N, 2-13W, but this
is not confirmed.
However French steamer LOIRE
(4285grt) departed Oran for Dunkirk on 12 November and was
not
heard from again, possibly a victim of U.26, which arrived
back at Wilhelmshaven on 5 December. Of the other
two submarines, U.53 left her patrol area off Gibraltar on
13 November to refuel,
and U.25 after patrolling off Gibraltar,
reached Wilhelmshaven on 27 November in a damaged
condition.
_____
German
steamer SANTA FE
(4627grt), which had
departed Rio de Janiero on
the 13th, was captured
in 5N, 34W by French large destroyers LE FANTASQUE and LE
TERRIBLE, supported
by Force M heavy cruiser DUPLEIX. Battlecruiser
STRASBOURG, British aircraft carrier HERMES,
heavy cruisers ALGÉRIE, DUPLEIX
together with LE FANTASQUE and LE TERRIBLE put to sea from
Dakar to search
for SANTA FE from the 23rd to 29th. She was renamed SAINT
ANDRE in French
service, but returned to German service after the fall of
France.
_____
German
steamer TOGO (5042grt) departed Duala, and evading patrols
by
French submarines AJAX and CENTAURE in the
vicinity, reached Hamburg
on 23 November.
_____
Destroyers
THANET and
THRACIAN laid mines off Hong Kong in the West
Lamma and North Lantau
Channels, and again on the 26th and 27th. THANET
carried out a lay southwest of Papai
Island on the 31st.
Thursday, 26 October
Battlecruiser
REPULSE
and aircraft carrier
FURIOUS,
escorted by destroyers FORESTER, FEARLESS, FOXHOUND,
FORESIGHT,
FIREDRAKE departed the Clyde at 0430 to cover the Atlantic
convoy routes,
including Halifax convoys already at sea. Following these
convoys' safe
passage, they were stationed to the south and the east of
Newfoundland to continue covering the
route, the destroyers arriving back in the Clyde on the
28th.
_____
Two
cruisers were on Northern
Patrol between the Orkneys and the Faroes,
three
cruisers between the Faroes
and Iceland, and one cruiser and AMC TRANSYLVANIA in the
Denmark Strait. Meanwhile, light cruiser
SHEFFIELD
was returning to Sullom Voe.
From the 13th to
26th, Northern Patrol sighted 56 eastbound ships, sent 53
into Kirkwall for inspection and dealt
with six German merchant ships.
_____
Light
cruiser BELFAST
arrived at Clyde for Refitting completed on 8
November.
_____
Anti-aircraft
cruiser CALCUTTA
departed Harwich and arrived
at Grimsby on the 27th.
_____
Destroyer
KASHMIR (Cdr H A King) completed,
and after working up at Portland,
joined the 5th Destroyer
Flotilla operating with the Home Fleet on 12 November.
_____
Convoy
FN.27 departed Southend, and
arrived at Methil
on the 28th. There was no FN.28.
_____
Convoy
FS.27 departed Methil,
escorted by destroyers JUNO, WALLACE, WHITLEY and sloop
STORK, reaching Southend on
the 28th.
_____
Swedish
steamer JUPITER (2152grt) was seized in the
Baltic by German warships and taken to Kiel.
_____
Greek
steamer MARIETTA NOMIKOU (5241grt) was seized
in the Baltic by German warships and taken to Pillau.
_____
Convoy
OG.4, totalling 40
ships, was formed from OA.24G, escorted
by
destroyers ESCORT and ELECTRA, and OB.24G which departed
Liverpool escorted by destroyers
WARWICK and VANOC. The convoy safely arrived at Gibraltar
on 1 November, escorted by
French destroyers CHACAL and MISTRAL, which departed Brest
on the 26th and joined on
the 27th.
_____
Destroyer
DUCHESS abandoned
her Kithera patrol 24 hours
early to take an injured
man to Malta.
_____
Convoy
Blue 6 of 15 ships
departed Port Said
and proceeded without
escort.
_____
MTB.11
was accidentally hit by a
round from a 6-inch shore battery at Hong Kong, fired to
warn her to keep
clear of a newly mined area. She was towed into harbour
between MTB.9 and MTB.10.
Friday, 27 October
Two
cruisers were on Northern
Patrol between the Orkneys and the Faroes,
one
cruiser between the Faroes
and Iceland with three cruisers en route
to the area, and one light cruiser and two AMCs
in
the Denmark
Strait.
Between 27 October to 9 November, 26 eastbound ships were
sighted and 20 sent
into Kirkwall for inspection. Light
cruisers COLOMBO
and DIOMEDE
departed Sullom Voe
for Northern Patrol
duties, both arriving back on 3 November.
_____
Light
cruiser CERES
departed Plymouth for duty with the Northern
Patrol, and arrived at Kirkwall on the 31st.
_____
Anti-aircraft
cruiser CAIRO
departed Grimsby on escort duties and arrived
back later the same day.
_____
Submarine
TRIDENT departed Oban for
patrol off the west coast, and arrived at Rosyth
on 11 November.
_____
Convoy
OA.26 of nine ships
departed Southend escorted by
destroyers WITCH and
WIVERN from 27 October to 2 November.
_____
Convoy
OB.26 departed Liverpool escorted by destroyers
WINCHELSEA and WITHERINGTON until the 30 October.
_____
U.24
laid mines in Hartlepool Bay, on which one steamer was
sunk.
_____
U.34
badly damaged steamer BRONTE (5317grt) from convoy OB.25,
west of Ireland in 49‑30N, 12‑15W
; no crew were lost. U.34 also attacked another merchant
ship but did no
damage. Destroyers WHIRLWIND dropped depth
charges on the 28th on a contact near the convoy, and
WALPOLE of the
escort also searched. BRONTE was taken in tow by
tug ENGLISHMAN, but on
the 30th, destroyer ESK of the 12th Destroyer Flotilla
from Plymouth scuttled her in 50-07N,
10-36W.
_____
French
large destroyer
VAUQUELIN departed Casablanca
escorting submarine CENTAURE, and arrived at Brest
on the 30th.
_____
Heavy
cruisers SUSSEX
and SHROPSHIRE
departed Simonstown
and Capetown respectively, to
sweep towards St Helena. They returned to Capetown
on 7 November.
_____
Light
cruiser CAPETOWN
departed
Malta
on patrol, and arrived back
on 3 November.
_____
Destroyers
HUNTER and
HYPERION arrived at Dakar
at 0700/27th,
refuelled and sailed to Trinidad.
Saturday, 28 October
Two
British cruisers were on
Northern Patrol between the Orkneys and the Faroes,
three cruisers on patrol between the Faroes
and Iceland, and one cruiser and two
armed merchant cruisers in the Denmark Strait.
_____
A British submarine anti-invasion patrol
off the Dogger Bank was in effect from 29 October to 6
November. L 26, STARFISH, SUNFISH and THISTLE,
departed Rosyth on patrol on the 28th. There they were
joined by CACHALOT and SEAL, which had already come
directly from Portsmouth, also departing on the 28th,
and by SEALION, SALMON and SHARK, again sailing from
Portsmouth. UNDINE, which had left Rosyth on the 22nd,
was ordered to reconnoiter north from Heligoland. Her
patrol ended on 4 November.
Other submarines on patrol, all of which
departed Rosyth on the dates given, were - L 27 on the
20th, off Utvaer; L.23 on the 21st, off the southwest
coast of Norway; and SEAWOLF on the 26th and URSULA on
the 28th, both in the Skagerrak. UNDINE assumed patrol
off Horns Reef.
TRIAD, which had departed Rosyth on the
14th, returned to Blyth and SEAHORSE, also from Rosyth
but on the 17th returned there on the 31st as this
deployment began.
_____
Destroyer
FORESTER arrived in
the Clyde for repairs which were
completed on 23 November.
_____
Convoy
FS.28 departed Methil,
escorted by destroyers MAORI,
WHITEHALL
and sloops GRIMSBY and WESTON, and
arrived at Southend on the
30th. There was no
convoy FN.28.
_____
U.31
laid mines in Loch Ewe
during the night of the 27th/28th, on which two auxiliary
minesweepers were sunk and
battleship NELSON
badly damaged.
_____
U.59
sank trawlers ST NIDAN (565grt) and LYNX
II
(250grt) northwest of the
Orkneys in 59‑50N, 04‑20W; the entire crews of both
trawlers being
saved by trawler LADY HOGARTH (472grt). Destroyers ESKIMO,
MATABELE and
BEDOUIN were involved in searching for the submarine.
_____
Destroyers
ZULU and GURKHA
attacked a submarine contact off St Abbs
Head.
_____
Polish
destroyer BLYSKAWICA
attacked a submarine contact off the Mull of Galloway in
54-45N, 5-12W.
_____
Patrol
sloop SHELDRAKE and
aircraft were searching for a reported submarine off Oban,
which was in fact British submarine TRIDENT.
_____
Destroyers
EXMOUTH and
GREYHOUND were attempting to intercept a reported
submarine in the Western
Approaches.
_____
German
destroyers MAX SCHULTZ, FRIEDRICH IHN and ERICH
STEINBRINCK of the 1st Destroyer Flotilla and BERND VON
ARNIM, HANS LODY and KARL
GALSTER of the 4th Destroyer Flotilla attempted a shipping
sweep into the Skagerrak. However, they encountered
heavy weather and were forced to abandon it. SCHULTZ was
badly damaged
by the weather and mechanical breakdown, lost power and
IHN and
STEINBRINCK unsuccessfully attempted to tow her. However,
SCHULTZ was finally
able to regain partial power and returned to Wilhelmshaven
for repairs completed in
late January 1940.
_____
In
operations in the Indian Ocean, a Swordfish of 825
Squadron
from aircraft carrier GLORIOUS
was lost in a forced landing at sea; the crew
were rescued.
_____
Light
cruiser BIRMINGHAM
departed Singapore for patrol in the Sunda
Strait,
was
relieved by light
cruiser DAUNTLESS
on 4 November, and arrived back at Singapore on the 7th.
_____
Light
cruiser DANAE
arrived
at Simonstown, escorting
troopship ATHLONE CASTLE (25564grt) from St Helena where
they departed on the
22nd.
_____
Light
cruisers DAUNTLESS
and DURBAN
departed Colombo and arrived at Singapore on the 31st.
_____
Australian
light cruiser HOBART
departed Singapore
on patrol, and arrived back
on 4 November.
Sunday, 29 October
Destroyers
JERVIS, JANUS,
JUNO, JERSEY, JUPITER, JACKAL departed
the Humber on operation AG. They swept
off the Dutch coast, but made no contact with enemy
shipping, although JERSEY was near missed by German
bombing. The ships arrived back in the Humber on the 30th.
_____
Light
cruiser SHEFFIELD
arrived at Rosyth for refit,
and departed on 9
November.
_____
Light
cruisers CARDIFF
and CALEDON
were on Northern Patrol
duties between the Orkneys and the Faroes,
light
cruisers DRAGON,
DIOMEDE,
COLOMBO
between the Faroes and
Iceland, and light cruiser SOUTHAMPTON
and
armed merchant cruisers CHITRAL and AURANIA
in the Denmark
Strait.
_____
Anti-aircraft
cruiser CALCUTTA
departed Grimsby on escort duties and arrived back later
the same day.
_____
The
22nd Destroyer Flotilla
was formed at Harwich for East Coast Defence
with
destroyers EXMOUTH, KEITH and the Polish BURZA, GROM and BLYSKAWICA.
On the 31st, destroyers ILEX, ISIS, IMPERIAL joined after completing repairs. The
Flotilla was briefly
composed of EXMOUTH as leader, ILEX, ISIS, IMPERIAL
in the 43rd Division and KEITH and the three Polish ships
in the 44th
Division.
ILEX
and ISIS were at Harwich at the end
of the month and IMPERIAL at Plymouth preparing to depart.
ILEX and ISIS departed Harwich on 2
November, arrived at Plymouth
on the 3rd and departed
the same day for Gibraltar to escort battleship WARSPITE. After this duty, they arrived at Scapa Flow on the 14th. Meanwhile IMPERIAL
departed for Harwich on 1 November, but was ordered to
Scapa Flow for duty with the Home Fleet,
arriving on the 4th.
Captain
R S Benson (D.12) in EXMOUTH was named Captain of the 22nd
Flotilla on 2 November and
continued in this capacity until the 11th, when he and
EXMOUTH
returned to Devonport.
Destroyer
BOADICEA joined the
22nd Destroyer Flotilla on 5 November.
The
three I's
of the 22th Destroyer
Flotilla and all the destroyers, except BOADICEA, of the 23th
Destroyer Flotilla were released on 5 November to return
to their respective
commands. The B's returned to the 19th
Destroyer Flotilla.
On
11 November, Captain G E
Creasy in destroyer GRIFFIN
was named D.22. On the same day, the 22nd
Destroyer Flotilla was composed of GRIFFIN (D.22),
GREYHOUND, GIPSY, GLOWWORM, KEITH, BOADICEA and Polish
GROM, BURZA, BLYSKAWICA.
On
the 22nd, GRAFTON and GALLANT replaced KEITH and BOADICEA
in the 22nd Destroyer
Flotilla.
On
the 27th, D.22
transferred to submarine depot ship CYCLOPS, on 1
December, to BOADICEA, which had returned to the Flotilla,
and on the 5th, to destroyer GRENVILLE, which completed
repairs of her
collision damage on the 7th.
Also,
at Harwich, the 23rd Destroyer Flotilla was formed with
CODRINGTON (Captain Simson,
D.19) as leader, BOADICEA,
ANTHONY, VANSITTART, VENOMOUS as the 45th Division, and
BASILISK, BLANCHE,
BEAGLE, BRAZEN as 46th Division.
In
addition, destroyers
BOREAS, which was repairing at Portsmouth until 13
November, and BRILLIANT were
assigned to the 19th Destroyer Flotilla at
Harwich.
_____
Polish
destroyer BLYSKAWICA
attacked a submarine contact in 54‑45N, 5‑12W.
_____
Convoy
OA.27 of thirteen
ships departed Southend
escorted by destroyers
WANDERER and WAKEFUL from the 29th to 31st.
_____
Convoy
OB.28 departed Liverpool escorted by destroyers VIMY
and MACKAY to 1 November.
_____
U.34
sank steamer MALABAR (7976grt, Commodore Rear
Admiral G W Taylor (Rtd)
aboard) from convoy HX.5A, 50 miles
NW of the Scillies in 49‑57N, 07‑37W; five
crew were lost. Destroyer GRAFTON rescued the
survivors. U.34 attempted to sink another merchant ship of
the convoy without
success.
_____
American
steamer CRANFORD (6096grt) and Italian
steamer MANZONI (3955grt) collided off Deal with light
damage to CRANFORD
and extensive damages to
MANZONI .
_____
Battleship
WARSPITE
departed Alexandria escorted by destroyers
DAINTY and DIANA, and arrived at Malta on the 31st. After
a brief
docking, she left on 4 November with the same escort ,
which was relieved by destroyers ISIS and ILEX east
of Gibraltar on the 6th and WARSPITE arrived at Gibraltar later that day.
_____
Convoy
HG.5 of 40 ships
departed Gibraltar escorted by French destroyers FOUGUEUX and L'ADROIT,
from 29 October until their arrival at Brest
on 6 November, and British destroyers
DOUGLAS and VORTIGERN. The convoy arrived at various
English ports on the 6th.
_____
Light
cruiser DESPATCH
departed Kingston.
Monday, 30 October
Two
cruisers were on
Northern Patrol between the Orkneys and the Faroes,
three cruisers between the Faroes
and Iceland,
and one cruiser and three
armed merchant cruisers in the Denmark Strait.
_____
U.59
sank armed boarding
vessel NORTHERN ROVER (655grt, Lt
M H Macpherson Rtd) on patrol
in Fair Island
Channel near Kirkwall. She had brought Danish
steamer NAJADEN (1963grt) in to Kirkwall for examination on the 30th, left her at the
gate and returned to patrol. There was no
further contact and she was lost with Lt Macpherson, A/Sub
Lt G B Grey, RNR,
T/Lt A E White, RNVR, T/Sub
Lt G A R Darlow, RNVR and
twenty three ratings.
_____
Destroyers
GRENVILLE and
GIPSY of the 1st Destroyer Flotilla arrived at Plymouth
after departing
Alexandria on the 14th, reaching
Malta
on the 19th, and leaving
Gibraltar on the 22nd with convoy HG.4.
_____
As
Admiral Forbes was
returning to Loch Ewe after escorting a group of iron ore
ships from Narvik to the
Firth of Forth, battleships NELSON
and
RODNEY,
battlecruiser HOOD,
and destroyers ICARUS,
IMPULSIVE, IVANHOE, INTREPID and KELLY ran into a U-boat
line west of the
Orkneys. U.56 fired three torpedoes at NELSON and while
all three struck the
target, none exploded. U-boats U.57, U.58, U.59, also in
the area, did not
contact the Home Fleet units. Admiral Forbes arrived back
at Loch Ewe on the
31st without further interference.
_____
Convoy
BC.13S of fifteen
ships, including DELIUS (Commodore), GRETA FORCE,
GWENTHILLS and SANDHILL
departed Bristol Channel escorted by destroyers EXPRESS and VIVACIOUS, and
safely arrived in Quiberon
Bay on 1 November.
_____
Convoy
AXS 3 of one steamer
departed Fowey, escorted by destroyer VESPER, and arrived
at Brest on the 31st.
_____
Convoy
SA.15 of two steamers
departed Southampton, escorted by destroyers SCIMITAR and SARDONYX, and
arrived at Brest
on the 31st.
_____
Convoy
FN.29 departed Southend, and arrived
at Methil
on 1 November.
_____
Convoy
FS.29 departed Methil
escorted by destroyer VIVIEN and sloops BITTERN
and FLEETWOOD, and arrived at Southend
on 1
November.
_____
U.13
torpedoed steamer CAIRNMONA (4666grt) out of
convoy
HX.5B west of the Orkneys in 57‑38N, 01‑45W. She was
taken in tow by tug ENGLISHMAN, and sank, still in tow at
1638/30th. Three crew were
killed.
_____
U.37
sank Greek steamer THRASYVOULOS (3693grt) in
49‑25N, 11‑18W; twenty two crew
were missing and six
survivors rescued by Norwegian steamer HAVMOY (1342grt).
_____
Heavy
cruiser EXETER
arrived in the Falkland Island after leaving her patrol
on the South American east coast on the 27th.
_____
Light
cruiser ORION
departed Kingston, and arrived back on 8
November.
_____
On
the 30th, the 8th
Submarine Flotilla was formed at Colombo with submarines
OLYMPUS, OTUS and ODIN
under the command of Commander S
M Raw for
operations against German raiders and supply ships thought
to be operating in
the Indian
Ocean.
The three submarines departed Singapore on the 24th and
arrived at Colombo. Submarine
REGENT departed Singapore
to join the Flotilla on the
30th. However, on arrival at Colombo, she was found to
have
defects and was ordered back to Singapore. She departed
Colombo on 6 November and arrived
back on the 11th. The final submarine of the Flotilla,
ORPHEUS, was under repair at Hong Kong, left there on 5
December and joined them at Colombo
on the 14th.
Tuesday, 31 October
Light
cruisers CALYPSO,
DELHI,
DUNEDIN
departed Sullom Voe.
CALYPSO was in a minor collision with
Admiralty drifter SEA BREEZE, but there no damage to her, and she
arrived back at Sullom Voe
on 6 November.
_____
Three
cruisers were
on Northern Patrol duties between the Orkneys and the Faroes,
three cruisers between the Faroes
and Iceland,
and cruiser SOUTHAMPTON
and
armed merchant cruisers CHITRAL and AURANIA
in the Denmark Strait.
_____
Light
cruiser EDINBURGH
began
repairs at Rosyth, which were
completed on 3
November.
_____
Light
cruisers GLASGOW
and NEWCASTLE,
escorted by destroyers
ANTHONY, BASILISK, BRAZEN departed Portsmouth for Rosyth,
and arrived on 1 November.
_____
Light
cruiser CERES
departed Kirkwall for Scapa Flow.
_____
Anti-aircraft
cruiser CURLEW
departed Scapa Flow, and arrived at Rosyth on
the 31st.
_____
Anti-aircraft
cruiser CALCUTTA
departed Grimsby, and arrived back on 1
November.
_____
Anti-aircraft
cruiser CAIRO
departed Grimsby, and arrived back later that
same day.
_____
Convoy
OA.28G of 14
ships departed Southend
escorted by destroyers VENETIA and ACASTA from 31 October
to 2 November. Destroyer ARDENT joined the escort on 1
November and remained
until the 2nd. On the same day, OA.28G merged with OB.28G,
escorted by
destroyers VERSATILE and VOLUNTEER to the 3rd, to become
OG.5.
_____
Steamer
STARCROSS (4662grt)
in a Norwegian convoy off Rattray
Head, reported
she rammed what she thought was a U-boat. Destroyer BROKE
was sent to
investigate.
_____
Coastal
steamer KINDIESEL
(339grt) reported she was being chased by a submarine in
53‑49N, 0‑11E, and destroyer JUPITER was detached from
convoy FS.29 to assist.
_____
Convoy
HXF.7 departed Halifax at 0200 escorted by Canadian
destroyers FRASER and ST LAURENT.
Ocean escort was armed merchant cruiser ASTURIAS, which
detached on 11
November. She was in collision with a merchant ship
while leaving Halifax,
but able to continue.
The convoy was joined on 10 November by destroyers
ANTELOPE and VISCOUNT from
convoy OA.31 and WINCHELSEA and WITHERINGTON from OB.31.
The latter remained with the convoy until it arrived
at Liverpool on the 12th, the same day ASTURIAS reached
the Clyde.
_____
U.25
sank French steamer BAOULE (5874grt) from convoy
20.K, en route from Casablanca
to Brest, in 43‑48N, 09‑08W,
45 miles WNW of Corunna; two crew were killed and eleven
missing. U.25 sustained damage to her torpedo hatch caused
by the blast of
her own gun, and was forced to return to Germany.
_____
Heavy
cruiser SUSSEX
on patrol in the South Atlantic lost her Walrus
reconnaissance aircraft when it failed to return from
patrol. A three and a half day search for the aircraft was
set in motion, but the aircraft was
never found. The crew of three, pilot Lt (A) S M Bird,
observer Lt C H E Osmaston
and the telegraphist
air gunner, Airman W H Brown,
were lost.
_____
Submarine
depot ship
MAIDSTONE,
escorted by destroyer
DEFENDER, departed Alexandria
and arrived at Malta on 3 November.
_____
Convoy
SL.7 departed Freetown escorted by armed merchant
cruiser MONTCLARE.
Destroyer WREN joined the convoy on 16 November and it
arrived later that day with both escorts.
_____
Heavy
cruiser KENT
departed Hong Kong on patrol, and arrived back
on 8 November.
_____
Heavy
cruiser YORK
and Australian light cruiser PERTH departed Halifax
for Bermuda, and arrived on 5 November. YORK remained for
the repair of boiler defects
completed on 13 November.
October, Miscellaneous
In
mid-October, the 9th
Cruiser Squadron of the Freetown Force was reassigned,
with light cruiser DESPATCH
to the South America Station and ordered to patrol in the
Pacific off South America. Sister
ships DAUNTLESS,
DANAE,
DURBAN
and the 9th Cruiser Squadron "designation"
proceeded to the China Station. After the first of the
year, the 9th Squadron command was disbanded and the
cruisers assigned to the 5th
Cruiser Squadron whose ships
had left the China
Station.
_____
British
armed
merchant cruisers ARAWA
and MORETON
BAY, following conversion at Sydney, arrived on the China
Station in
October 1939. Australian armed merchant cruisers KANIMBLA,
also following
conversion at Sydney,
arrived there in November, followed by MANOORA (which
commissioned on 12
December 1939 after conversion at Melbourne)
in March 1940 and WESTRALIA (which commissioned on
17 January
1940)
in April 1940.
_____
German
steamer ANATOLIA
(2446grt) had departed Rosario on 25 August for Hamburg,
and arrived at Montevideo on 5 September, while
steamer NIENBURG (4318grt) had
departed Durban
on 18 August and arrived at Buenas
Aires on 8 September. ANATOLIA joined NIENBURG at Buenos
Aires to await the opportunity to escape back to Germany.
However, when the Chinese
crew members mutinied rather than attempt to break the
British blockade, the
plans were abandoned. Later, in October 1940, ANATOLIA
and NIENBURG were taken over
by Argentina
and renamed RIO CARCARANA and BELGRANO,
respectively.
_____
At
the end of October, the
following destroyers were out of
service – AFRIDI
at Newcastle for
repairs, AMAZON at Portsmouth for repairs, ARROW at
Portsmouth with defects,
BOREAS at Portsmouth for repairs, DIAMOND at Singapore for
repairs, DIANA at
Malta for repairs, ECHO at Plymouth with damage, ECLIPSE
at Plymouth with
defects, ENCOUNTER at Plymouth for repairs, FAULKNOR at
Clyde for repairs,
FORESTER at Clyde with defects, FORTUNE at Clyde for
repairs, FURY at Clyde
with defects, GARLAND at Malta for repairs, GRAFTON at
Plymouth for boiler
cleaning, IMOGEN at Liverpool for repairs, INGLEFIELD at
Liverpool for
repairs, JAVELIN at Middlesbrough for repairs, MASHONA at
Tyne for repairs,
MOHAWK at Newcastle for repairs, MONTROSE at Plymouth for
boiler cleaning,
NUBIAN at Southampton with defects, SABRE at Grangemouth
for repairs, SIKH at Malta for repairs, VANOC at Liverpool
for repairs,
VANQUISHER at Plymouth for repairs, VETERAN at Chatham for
repairs, VISCOUNT
at Plymouth for boiler cleaning, WALKER at Plymouth with
defects, WALPOLE at
Liverpool for boiler cleaning, WARWICK at Liverpool for
repairs, Canadian
OTTAWA at Esquimalt refitting, RESTIGOUCHE at Esquimalt
refitting, SKEENA at Halifax
refitting.
