Background Events - June 1940
Evacuation
of
Dunkirk ends, Italy at war, Action at sea in
the Mediterranean, France falls
1940
Saturday,
22 June
Heavy
cruiser
SUSSEX
and light cruiser NEWCASTLE arrived at Scapa Flow.
_____
Light
cruiser
SOUTHAMPTON departed the
Clyde for
Scapa Flow
where she arrived on the
23rd.
_____
Destroyers
ATHERSTONE
and WANDERER arrived in the Clyde.
_____
British
troopships
AQUITANIA (45,647grt) and
MAURETANIA
(35,738grt) departed the Clyde for Liverpool escorted by
destroyers WINCHESTER and WITHERINGTON.
The
ships
arrived safely later the same day.
Destroyer
WINCHESTER then departed
Liverpool
for Rosyth where she arrived
on the 24th.
_____
British
troopship
EMPRESS OF CANADA (21,517grt) escorted by destroyer
WANDERER
departed the
Clyde for
Liverpool.
_____
British
oilers
CLAM, CONCH, ROSEWOOD departed Scapa Flow escorted by
anti-submarine
trawlers IMPERIALIST, CAPE WARWICK, ELM for passage
through the
Minches and onward passage to Curacoa and Port of Spain.
_____
Destroyer
WALPOLE
departed
Scapa Flow at 1400 escorting British trawler
SEA
MONARCH (329grt) to Aberdeen.
Destroyer
WALPOLE
then escorted British steamers DEVON CITY (4928grt) and
ARBROATH
(553grt) from
Aberdeen
to Scapa Flow, arriving on the 23rd.
_____
Anti-submarine
yacht
CAMPEADOR V (195grt, Cdr C H
Davey OBE Rtd) was mined and sunk three miles 310° from
Nab Tower off Portsmouth. Davey, Temporary Lt J R
Muir RNVR, Temporary Lt V W M Macandrew RNVR, Temporary
Lt C E Turner RNVR,
and fifteen ratings were lost. There were only two
survivors.
_____
British-built
French
Flower Class corvette LA
BASTIAISE was mined and sunk on trials off
Hartlepool. Losses included the French
Captain and a number of crew and shipyard employees.
_____
French
auxiliary
patrol vessel HEUREUX and tugs ABEILLE 8 and ABEILLE 22
departed Plymouth to attempt to recover an
incomplete 15,000 tons tanker at La Falaise.
_____
As
Submarine
TRIBUNE was leaving her patrol area to return to Rosyth,
she
sighted a German steamer. At 0136, submarine TRIBUNE
fired torpedoes at a
7000 to 8000 ton merchant ship near Stadlandet.
There
was
no damage.
_____
Submarine
SNAPPER
departed Rosyth on patrol.
_____
Convoy FN.202 departed Southend, escorted by sloops BLACK SWAN and
HASTINGS. The convoy arrived at the
Tyne on the 24th.
_____
Convoy FS.202 departed the
Tyne, escorted by destroyers WALLACE and WOLFHOUND.
Patrol sloop SHEARWATER from convoy FN.201 joined on the
22nd. The convoy
arrived in the
Tyne on the 24th.
_____
Convoy FS.202 departed the
Tyne, escorted by destroyers WALLACE and WOLFHOUND.
The convoy arrived at Southend on the 24th.
_____
Light
cruiser
GALATEA and Canadian destroyer FRASER operated off St
Jean de Luz.
_____
British
liner
ETTRICK (11,279grt) embarked 2000 troops and King Zog of
Albania from St Jean De Luz.
_____
French
steamer
AMIENOIS (3713grt) was sunk by German bombing off Le
Verdon.
_____
British
Trinity
House Light Vessel VESTAL evacuated light house
personnel and
civilians from
Alderney.
_____
French
light
cruiser EMILE BERTIN departed Halifax with the 300 tons
of gold
brought there from
Brest
to proceed to Fort de
France.
Heavy
cruiser
DEVONSHIRE shadowed the French light
cruiser, but lost touch with her.
Light
cruiser
EMILE BERTIN arrived at
Martinique
on the 24th.
_____
German
armed
merchant cruiser PINGUIN, carrying 300 moored mines and
25 torpedoes
and 80 mines to replenish U boats at sea, departed
Bergen to raid in the Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Antarctic.
_____
U.30
sank
Norwegian motor ship RANDSFJORD (3999grt) from convoy
HX.49 seventy
miles south, southeast of Queenstown.
Four
crew
were missing from the Norwegian ship. The survivors were
picked up on
the 23rd.
_____
U.32
badly
damaged Norwegian motor tanker
ELI
KNUDSEN
(9026grt) from convoy HX.49
in 50‑36N, 08‑44W. The entire crew was saved - 38 crew
by sloop SANDWICH and 14 by anti-submarine
trawler AGATE (627grt) . Destroyers IMOGEN, GRIFFIN, ST
LAURENT, SKEENA and corvettes ARABIS and
HEARTSEASE searched for the submarine. Destroyers
WARWICK and WINCHELSEA were
nearby searching for U.47 which sank steamer SAN
FERNANDO on the 21st. The tanker was
taken in tow on the 23rd, but sank later that day in
50-36N, 7-51W.
_____
U.38
sank
Greek steamer NEION (5154grt)
in 47‑09N, 04‑17W. One crewman was missing.
_____
U.46
made
an unsuccessful torpedo attack on aircraft carrier ARK
ROYAL southwest
of
Ireland
as she and other units were
en route to
Gibraltar to form Force H.
_____
U.65
sank
Dutch steamer BERENICE
(1177grt) in 47‑10N, 03‑35W. Eighteen crew and 21
passengers were
lost.
_____
The
Mediterranean
Fleet began to sortie from Alexandria to bombard Augusta
and raid in the Messina area in Operation BQ. A
number of steamers were to departed Malta and proceed to
Alexandria during this operation.
At
1700,
aircraft carrier EAGLE and destroyers HYPERION, HOSTILE,
HASTY,
HEREWARD, HAVOCK, HERO, IMPERIAL, ILEX of the 2nd
Destroyer Flotilla of Force
C departed. At 2000, battleships ROYAL SOVEREIGN and
RAMILLIES, also of Force
C, departed
Alexandria.
Force
B
with light cruisers ORION (VAD),
LIVERPOOL,
GLOUCESTER with destroyers JUNO and JANUS departed
Alexandria at 2130.
At
2200,
battleship WARSPITE, light cruisers NEPTUNE and SYDNEY,
destroyers
NUBIAN, MOHAWK, DAINTY, DEFENDER, DECOY of Force A were
to sail.
However,
at
2153 the operation was cancelled due to the French
Armistice.
French
heavy
cruisers TOURVILLE and DUQUESNE (VAX), light cruiser
DUQUAY TROUIN,
destroyers STUART and VAMPIRE of Force D did not cast
off.
Force
A
returned to
Alexandria
immediately. Forces B and C
returned to
Alexandria
the next day.
_____
Italian
Cruiser
Squadron 7 (Sansonietti) with light cruisers EUGENIO,
D'AOSTA,
ATTENDELO, MONTECUCCOLI escorted by destroyer Division
13 sortied from
Messina westward as far west of Minorca to interfere
with French convoys
which were being escorted by French Cruiser Division 4
(Contre Amiral C. J.
L. Bourrague, light cruisers GEORGES LEYGUES and
MONTCALM) and destroyers
between Marseilles and Oran.
Destroyers
INDOMPTABLE
and MALIN were on patrol off Minorca.
On
convoy
duty and at sea were destroyers GERFAUT, KERSAINT,
TRAMONTANE,
BOULONNAIS, TYPHON, BORDELAIS, TROMBE, BALISTE,
submarines HENRI POINCARE, LE
CENTAURE, PEGASE, NARVAL, CAIMAN, aircraft tender
COMMANDANT TESTE.
French
Cruiser
Division 3 (Contre Amiral A. A. A. Marquis, light
cruisers
MARSEILLAISE, LA GALISSONIERE, JEAN DE VIENNE) sortied
from Algiers on the 23rd to intercept the
Italian force, but Sansonietti returned to base before
the French Force made
contact.
At
0800/22nd,
battleships DUNKERQUE, STRASBOURG, PROVENCE, BRETAGNE,
light
cruisers GEORGES LEYGUES and MONTCALM, destroyers
MOGADOR, VOLTA, LE
FANTASQUE, L'AUDACIEUX, LE TERRIBLE, TIGRE, LYNX,
BRESTOIS, TORNADE were at
Oran.
Submarine
LE
REDOUBTABLE was at Bone.
Destroyer
L'ALCYON
and submarines LE TONNANT, FRESNEL, PASCAL, MONGE,
VENGEUR,
TURQUOISE were at
Bizerte.
Submarines
MARSOUIN
and REQUIN were at Sousse.
Submarines
NAUTILUS
and SOUFFLEUR were at Sfax.
Heavy
cruisers
ALGERIE, DUPLEIX, FOCH, COLBERT, destroyers VAUBAN,
LION, AIGLE, GUEPARD, VERDUN,
VALMY, VAUTOUR, CASSARD, escort vessels LES EPARGES and
YSER, submarines
VENUS, IRIS, AURORE, CERES, PALLAS, submarines LE
CONQUERANT, GALATEE, LE
DIAMANTE, PERLE at Hyeres, refitting submarines NAIADE,
ARCHIMEDE, L'ESPOIR,
ARGONAUTE, ATALANTE, ARETHUSE were at Toulon.
Destroyers
TARTU
and CHEVALIER PAUL were at Sete.
Destroyers
LA
PALME, MARS, TEMPETE were at Port Vendres.
_____
Italian
submarine
ASCIANGHI fired four torpedoes at a steamer south of
Balearic
Islands. She then fired several rounds from her deck gun
but was forced to
retire after several hits before sinking the steamer.
_____
Italian
submarine
CAPPONI sank Swedish steamer ELGO (1888grt) north of
Sfax.
One
crewman
was lost from the Swedish steamer.
_____
Light
cruiser
DANAE departed Penang for Singapore.
Sunday,
23 June
Italian
submarine
TORICELLI, which had departed Massawa on the 14th,
engaged Sloop
SHOREHAM at 0530 in the Red Sea north of Perim,
approximately 13N, 43E.
SHOREHAM was hit by a shell from TORICELLI and was later
repaired at Aden.
Destroyers
arrived
on the scene, joined also by Indian sloop INDUS,and
TORICELLI was
sunk by the combined gunfire of destroyers KINGSTON,
KHARTOUM, KANDAHAR and
sloops SHOREHAM and INDUS north of Perim at 12‑34N,
43‑16E.
The
survivors
from submarine TORICELLI were taken by destroyers
KINGSTON and
KANDAHAR to Aden.
_____
Destroyer
KHARTOUM
was detached to patrol in the area. At 1400, destroyer
KHARTOUM (Cdr
D. T. Dowler) was badly damaged by the explosion of one
of her torpedoes on
her deck. She ran herself aground near Perim to prevent
sinking.
One
rating
was killed and Lt Cdr (E) A. C. Reed and three ratings
were injured.
Destroyer
KHARTOUM
was a total loss and was never repaired.
_____
Heavy
cruiser
DORSETSHIRE departed Freetown and joined Aircraft
carrier HERMES off
Dakar to watch French battleship RICHELIEU, escorted by
destroyer FLEURET,
which arrived at Dakar on the 23rd.
Armed
merchant
cruiser MALOJA was already patrolling off Dakar.
_____
Late
on
the 23rd, Italian light cruisers EUGENIO, MONTECUCCOLI,
D'AOSTA, ATTENDOLO
of the 7th Cruiser Division and destroyer Division 13
patrolled between
Sardinia and the Balearic Islands to intercept French
traffic en route to
Algerian ports.
Off
western
Sardinia, heavy cruisers ZARA, FIUME, GORIZIA of the 1st
Cruiser
Division, heavy cruisers POLA, BOLZANO, TRENTO of the
3rd Cruiser Division,
light cruisers COLLEONI and BANDE NERE of the 2nd
Cruiser Division with
Destroyer Divisions 9, 10, 12 waited in support for
Cruiser Division 7.
_____
French
Amiral
Darlan ordered the French aircraft carrier BEARN, which
had put to sea
from Halifax on the 16th, to proceed to the West Indies.
French
destroyers
FORTUNE, BASQUE, FORBIN departed Haifa for Alexandria.
The
next
day, Amiral Godfroy at Alexandria was ordered to take
his force to
Beirut, but Admiral Cunningham informed Amiral Godfroy
that he would not be
allowed to comply.
_____
Aircraft
carrier
ARK ROYAL and destroyers FEARLESS, FAULKNOR, FOXHOUND,
ESCAPADE
departed Scapa Flow at 0400/17th.
Destroyer
FOXHOUND
was detached at Milford Haven to refuel and did not
rejoin.
Battlecruiser
HOOD
departed the Clyde on the 18th with destroyers WANDERER,
ST LAURENT,
FRASER, RESTIGOUCHE, SKEENA at 0400. Destroyer
ATHERSTONE sailed at 0520 and
relieved destroyer WANDERER in the escort. The two
forces joined at sea on
the 19th at 1530.
Destroyer
ATHERSTONE
was detached late on the 19th and returned to Liverpool.
The
Canadian destroyers joined convoy TC.5.
En
route
Aircraft carrier ARK ROYALwas unsuccessfully attacked by
U.46 on the
22nd, but all ships safely arrived at Gibraltar on the
23rd.
_____
Heavy
cruiser
NORFOLK departed the Clyde after repairs for Scapa Flow.
_____
Light
cruiser
NEWCASTLE and destroyer ECHO departed Scapa Flow to
investigate an enemy destroyer force reported in the
North Sea and cover
Polish submarine
WILK, damaged on the 20th.
_____
Light
cruiser
EMERALD (Captain F. C. Flynn) departed Greenock at 2330
on Operation
FISH escorted by destroyers COSSACK and ATHERSTONE.
In
heavy
weather the destroyers were detached outside the local
approaches at
12W on the 25th.
Destroyer
COSSACK
arrived at Scapa Flow on the 26th at 1720 and destroyer
ATHERSTONE
arrived in the Clyde.
Light
cruiser
EMERALD arrived at Halifax on the 29th carrying 2229
cases of gold
for safekeeping.
_____
Destroyers
JACKAL
and JAGUAR departed the Humber to patrol in the North
Sea.
_____
British
steamer
HORSA, with government stores, escorted by armed
boarding vessels
NORTHERN
ISLE and NORTHERN
SUN
departed Scapa Flow for
Iceland.
_____
In
Operation
ROBIN, patrol sloop PUFFIN escorted salvage ship
TEDWORTH, carrying
out diving operations on sunken U.13 north of Lowestoft.
_____
British
steamers
ISLE OF SARK (2211grt), ALDERNEY QUEEN (633grt),
SHERINGHAM (1088grt), three others escorted by destroyer
SABRE evacuated
Alderney.
_____
Destroyer
KEPPEL
departed Port Vendres for Sete to organize the
evacuation of Czech and
Polish troops. Destroyer VELOX was sent to Port Vendres
from Gibraltar.
Destroyer
VELOX
entered Vendres at 0600/23rd.
Destroyer
KEPPEL
arrived Sete at 0740/23rd and found French destroyers
TARTU, CHEVALIER
PAUL, CASSARD in harbour.
At
1345,
the French destroyers departed Sete. At 1830, French
destroyer PALME
and tanker LA RANCE arrived.
During
the
afternoon of 24 June, British steamers OAKCREST
(5407grt), BRITANNIC
(26,943grt), LORD COCHRANE (4157grt) arrived at Sete.
Involved
in
the evacuation of Port Vendres and Sete were British
steamers APAPA
(9333grt), COULTARN (3759grt), GARTBRATTAN (1811grt),
VICEROY OF INDIA
(19,627grt), ASHCREST (5652grt), SALTERSGATE (3940grt),
NORTHMOOR (4392grt),
NEURALIA (9182grt) and Egyptian steamers MOHAMED ALI EL
KEBIR (7290grt) and ROD
EL FARAG (6369grt) . Thirty nine ships in all were
employed.
12,832
troops
were evacuated from Sete, Vendres, Marseilles.
Destroyer
KEPPEL
departed Sete with Egyptian steamer MOHAMED ALIEL KEBIR
and joined
destroyer VELOX which departed Vendres at 0300/26th with
British steamer
APAPA. The ships travelled in company to Gibraltar. They
arrived at Gibraltar
later on the 26th.
_____
Canadian
destroyer
FRASER evacuated personnel, including the British
Ambassador to
France, off Arachon at noon on the 23rd and these
personnel were transferred
to light cruiser GALATEA.
Late
on
the 23rd, light cruiser GALATEA evacuated British and
Canadian diplomatic
personnel from Bordeaux.
The
warships
arrived at Plymouth on the 24th.
_____
French
destroyer
LANSQUENET, which was nearing completion and indrydock
at Bordeaux
for painting and outfitting, was floated out and towed
to Pauillac where she
was fuelled. She departed the Gironde early on the 23rd
and arrived at
Casablanca on the 27th.
_____
French
patrol
boat LA CHERBOURGEOISE was scuttled at Le Verdon.
_____
Destroyer
BROKE
assisted British troopship ORMONDE under air attack at
Bayonne.
_____
Submarine
H.32
departed Dover escorted by destroyer VIVACIOUS to
Portsmouth.
_____
Convoy FN.203 departed Southend, escorted by destroyer VIMIERA, sloop
LONDONDERRY, patrol sloop GUILLEMOT. The convoy arrived
at the Tyne on the
25th.
_____
Convoy MT.94 departed Methil, escorted by destroyer WOOLSTON and
sloop FLEETWOOD. The convoy arrived in the Tyne the next
day.
_____
Tug
CORINGA
(294grt) was lost in the Atlantic to unknown agent.
Lt
(E)
W. H. Inson
RNR, was lost in the tug.
_____
Heavy
cruiser
DORSETSHIRE and destroyer WATCHMAN departed Gibraltar
for Dakar and
Casablanca, respectively.
Destroyer
WATCHMAN
was to consult with British consul and impress upon the
French the
British intention of continuing the war.
_____
Indian
patrol
vessel PATHAN (Lt Cdr K. Durston RIN) was badly damaged
at 0100/23rd
and sank the next day off Bombay at 18‑56N, 72‑45E.
Although
contemporary
sources stated that PATHAN was a victim of an enemy mine
or
torpedo from Italian submarine GALVANI, sloop PATHAN was
lost through the explosion
of her own depth charges.
Lt
Cdr
Durston, S/Lt D. V. R. Curry RINVR, three ratings were
killed and one
officer and sixteen ratings, one of which later died of
wounds, were wounded.
_____
Australian
heavy
cruiser CANBERRA (Captain H.B. Farncomb, CB DSO, MVO)
departed
Fremantle and relieved light cruiser PERTH of the escort
of British liner
STRATHMORE (23,428grt) en route to Colombo.
Both
ships
departed Adelaide for Capetown on the 29th.
Heavy
cruiser
CANBERRA and liner STRATHMORE safely arrived at Capetown
on 11 July.
The heavy cruiser was assigned to the South Atlantic
Command.
Heavy
cruiser
CANBERRA's duty in the South Atlantic was cut short when
she had to
depart on 4 August from Simonstown for Sydney to repair
defects to one of her
propeller shafts. This repair was completed in August.
_____
Convoy
BN.1
of nine ships departed Bombay. The convoy was escorted
by light cruiser
CERES and armed merchant cruiser CATHAY from 23 June to
4 July.
Light
cruiser
LEANDER escorted the convoy from 2 to 10 July.
Indian
sloop
HINDUSTAN escorted the convoy from 2 to 5 July.
Sloop
SHOREHAM
was with the convoy on 2 July.
Destroyer
KINGSTON
escorted the convoy from 5 to 10 July.
Anti-aircraft
cruiser
CARLISLE, destroyer KANDAHAR, sloop FLAMINGO escorted
the convoy from
6 to 10 July.
Sloops
GRIMSBY
and CLIVE escorted the convoy from 10 to 12 July when
the convoy
arrived at Suez.
_____
Light
cruiser
DAUNTLESS departed Singapore for Penang, arriving on the
25th.
Monday,
24 June
Heavy
cruiser
NORFOLK arrived at Scapa Flow after completing repairs
in the Clyde
of her 19 March bombing damage.
_____
Light
cruiser
NEWCASTLE and destroyer ECHO arrived at Scapa Flow at
0445.
_____
Destroyers
FIREDRAKE
and PUNJABI departed the Clyde at 0100/24th to escort
aircraft
carrier ARGUS and liner ANDES (25689grt) to Iceland
where they safely arrived
at Reykavik at 2015/26th and Seidisfjord on the 30th.
The
ships
departed Reykavik at 1900/27th and arrived at Akreyri at
1320/28th.
Troops were landed at Akreyri on the 28th.
Destroyers
FIREDRAKE
and PUNJABI and liner ANDES departed Akreyri at
1020/29th for
Seidisfjord. Fog delayed the passage and the ships
arrived in the Fjord at
1030/30th. Troops were landed at Seidisfjord on 1 July.
The
British
ships completed their mission and departed Seidisfjord
at 1400 on 1
July.
The
ships
arrived in the Clyde at 1030 on 3 July.
_____
Destroyer
FORESIGHT
departed Scapa Flow at 0615 for Sullom Voe to escort
minelayer
ATREUS.
Destroyer
FORESIGHT
and minelayer ATREUS departed Sullom Voe at 1715 for
Scapa Flow.
They arrived at Scapa Flow at 0500/25th.
_____
Destroyers
BEDOUIN
and ASHANTI arrived at Scapa Flow from Iceland.
_____
Destroyer
DIANA
departed Scapa Flow at 2000/24th for Aberdeen.
At
Aberdeen,
destroyer DIANA and minesweeping trawler WHITETHORN
(515grt) and
anti-submarine trawler STOKE
CITY
(422grt) escorted British
steamer LOCHNAGAR (1619grt) and store carrier KYLEBROOK
to Lerwick and Scapa
Flow, respectively.
Store
carrier
KYLEBROOK and minesweeping trawler WHITETHORN were
detached to Scapa
Flow on the 25th.
Destroyer
DIANA,
anti-submarine trawler STOKE CITY, steamer LOCHNAGAR
arrived
at Lerwick at 1440.
Destroyer
DIANA
proceeded to Scapa Flow arriving at 2130.
_____
Destroyer
AMAZON
departed Scapa Flow for repairs at Chatham.
_____
At
0332,
submarine TRIDENT fired four torpedoes at German tanker
DITHMARSCHEN,
escorted by destroyers IHN and GALSTER, in 64-21N,
09-12E.
All
torpedoes
missed.
_____
Submarine
H.28
arrived at Blyth after patrol.
_____
Submarines
SEAWOLF,
SEALION, SHARK exercised in the Firth of Forth.
_____
Minelayers
TEVIOTBANK
and PLOVER and destroyers INTREPID, ICARUS, EXPRESS,
which
departed the Humber on the 24th, laid minefield BS.18
during the night of
24/25 June.
_____
Destroyer
BOREAS
on OD 2 (South Goodwins Patrol) was ordered to
investigate a surface
craft steering in circles.
(Note:OD
1
was North Goodwins Patrol. OD 3 was the Dungeness
Patrol. )
Destroyer
CODRINGTON
was sent to support destroyer BOREAS.
Destroyer
BOREAS
proceeded within three and a half miles off Boulogne.
She reported no
ships underway. The destroyer experienced considerable
artillery fire, but no
damage was sustained.
Later,
destroyer
CODRINGTON brought British whale factory ship SVEND FOYN
(14,795grt) to anchorage west of Dungeness.
_____
British
steamer
ALBUERA (3477grt) was sunk by German motor torpedo boat
S.36 at two
miles south west of Lydd Light Float off Dungeness.
Seven
crew
were lost on the British steamer. Twenty nine survivors
from steamer
ALBUERA were rescued by a Dutch steamer MEROPE (1162grt)
which transferred
them to Anti-submarine trawler GRIMSBY TOWN (422grt) .
_____
British
steamer
KINGFISHER (276grt) was sunk by German motor torpedo
boat S.19 in 50‑30N,
00‑28E off Beachy Head.
One
crewman
was lost on the British steamer.
_____
British
steamers
GLENAFFARIC (7782grt), CYCLOPS (9076grt), CLAN ROSS
(5897grt) were off St Jean
de Luz to join British liner ETTRICK (11,279grt)
embarking troops at St Jean
de Luz.
British
liner
ARANDORA
STAR (15,501grt) also joined for the evacuation.
British
steamer
CLAN
ROSS (5897grt) was damaged by German bombing in
43‑54N,
1‑53W off St Jean de Luz.
_____
Convoy FN.204 departed Southend, escorted by destroyer VALOROUS,
sloop EGRET, patrol sloop SHELDRAKE. The convoy arrived
in the Tyne on the
26th.
_____
Convoy FS.203 departed the Tyne, escorted by sloops FLEETWOOD and
WESTON and patrol sloop PINTAIL. The convoy arrived at
Southend on the 26th.
_____
Convoy MT.95 departed Methil, escorted by destroyers VEGA and VIVIEN.
The convoy arrived at the Tyne the next day.
_____
U.47
sank
Panamanian steamer CATHRINE (1885grt) in 50‑08N, 14W.
Nineteen
survivors
were landed at Milford Haven.
_____
Italian
submarine
GALVANI, which departed Massawa on the 10th,was rammed
and sunk by
sloop FALMOUTH in the Gulf of Oman at 25‑55N, 56‑55E.
_____
Destroyer
DOUGLAS
of the 13th Destroyer Flotilla, with Sir Dudley North
aboard,
departed Gibraltar for Mer el Kebir to learn the terms
of the French
Armistice.
Destroyer
DOUGLAS
arrived back at Gibraltar later that same day.
_____
British
liaison
officers departed Oran on French destroyer TYPHON for
Gibraltar, arriving
on the 25th. The destroyer returned to Oran that day.
_____
Convoy
HGZ
(formed as HG.36) departed Gibraltar with twenty four
ship sescorted by
destroyer WISHART and anti-submarine trawler LORD HOTHAM
as local escort.
Destroyer
WISHART
remained with the convoy until 28 June when she was
detached to
convoy OG.35.
Sloop
FOWEY
joined from convoy OG.35 and escorted the convoy from 28
June to 4 July
when the convoy arrived at Liverpool.
_____
Heavy
cruiser
KENT was attached to the 3rd Cruiser Squadron,
Mediterranean Fleet.
_____
Heavy
cruiser
CORNWALL departed Simonstown for Liverpool to refit
completing on 5
August.
_____
New
Zealand
light cruiser ACHILLES departed Auckland for anti raider
patrol
around Curtis and Macauley Islands.
The
light
cruiser arrived back at Auckland on the 28th.
Tuesday,
25 June
Light
cruiser
NEWCASTLE departed Scapa Flow at 0800 for Rosyth where
she arrived
later the same day.
_____
British
repair
ship VINDICTIVE departed Scapa Flow for the Clyde, but
was recalled
before arriving.
_____
Destroyers
JACKAL
and JAGUAR departed the Humber for Rosyth.
_____
Destroyer
FURY
departed Sheerness for Rosyth.
_____
Destroyer
WINCHESTER
departed Rosyth for the Tyne.
_____
Destroyer
AMAZON
joined convoy FS.5 off the Tyne for passage to Chatham.
Because she
could not steam more than fifteen knots, she was not
regarded as part of the
escort.
_____
At
1535,
submarine SNAPPER fired three torpedoes at a convoy in
58-54N, 5-05.
5E. German auxiliary patrol vessel V p 1107 (trawler
PORTLAND: 295grt) was
sunk in this attack.
At
1604,
submarine SNAPPER fired three torpedoes at a merchant
ship in this
convoy, but missed.
_____
Submarine
TRIBUNE
arrived at Rosyth after patrol.
_____
Submarine
PORPOISE
arrived at Blyth after patrol.
_____
Submarine
SEALION
departed Rosyth on patrol.
_____
Submarines
SEAWOLF
and SHARK exercised in the Firth of Forth.
_____
Rear
Admiral
F. B. Burgess-Watson DSO Rtd in destroyer BROKE departed
Plymouth with
destroyers VANQUISHER and WINCHELSEA for Gironde.
Destroyer
HIGHLANDER
and another destroyer were to join Burgess-Watson's
command.
_____
Anti-aircraft
cruiser
CALCUTTA (Flag Rear Admiral Curteis, 2nd Cruiser
Squadron) and Canadian
destroyers FRASER and RESTIGOUCHE patrolled off Bordeaux
covering the
evacuation of St Jean De Luz where troopships ETTRICK
(11,279grt), ARANDORA STAR (15,501grt), BATORY
(14,287grt), SOBIESKI (11,030grt) were lifting troops
from 22 to 24 June. The
convoy departed St Jean De Luz at 1300/24th escorted by
destroyers MACKAY and
WREN.
Searching
for
French steamer DE LASALLE (8400grt) in the area,
CALCUTTA accidently ran
down FRASER (Cdr W. B. Creery, RCN) at 2000 cutting her
in half
in 45‑44N, 1‑31W. CALCUTTA and RESTIGOUCHE picked up the
survivors and a boarding party at 0001/26th scuttled the
stern half which had
not yet sunk.
Forty
five
Canadian ratings and fourteen British ratings were lost
with FRASER. One
rating from destroyer RESTIGOUCHE was lost in the rescue
efforts. Eleven
officers, including Lt E. P. Tisdall, Lt R. C. Pope,
RCNVR, Lt C. A.
Rutherford, Lt W. M. Landymore, Lt (E) A. C. K. Layman,
RN, Temporary S/Lt A.
E. McMurtry, RCNVR, Acting Temporary Surgeon Lt T. B.
McLean, RCNVR,which was
injured, Gunner (T) B. A. Lewis, one hundred and four
ratings were rescued by
destroyer RESTIGOUCHE. Destroyer RESTIGOUCHE also had
Captain CC A. Allen and
two other officers embarked in France and six ratings
from CALCUTTA's whaler.
Anti-aircraft cruiser CALCUTTA rescued three officers,
Creery, Acting LCR F.
C. Smith, RCNR, Lt H.V. W. Groos, thirty ratings (eight
injured) . Destroyer
RESTIGOUCHE arrived at Plymouth at 1715/26th.
Cruiser
CALCUTTA
and arrived at Plymouth for repairs at 0932/27th.
Repairs were
completed in late July.
Destroyers
HARVESTER
and HIGHLANDER, also in the area, continued on to search
for the
French ship.
_____
Destroyer
ESK
was damaged in a collision with the Sheringham Light
Float.
The
destroyer's
maximum speed was reduced to eighteen knots and the
destroyer
returned to the Humber for repairs. The destroyer was
under repair from 25
June to 8 July.
_____
Convoy
OA.174
departed Southend escorted by corvette HIBISCUS from 25
to 27 June.
The convoy was escorted by sloop ABERDEEN and corvette
CALENDULA on 27 to 28
June. Convoy OA.174 included steamer SAN ANDREAS
carrying the
Norwegian gold to Montreal.
_____
Convoy
OB.174
departed Liverpool escorted by sloop SANDWICH from 25 to
28 June.
_____
Convoy FN.205 departed Southend, escorted by destroyers WALLACE and
WOLFHOUND and patrol sloop MALLARD. The convoy arrived
at the Tyne on the
27th.
_____
Convoy FS.204 departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyers VEGA and
VIVIEN and patrol sloop GUILLEMOT. The convoy arrived at
Southend on the
27th.
_____
On
25
June, convoy HX.52 was ordered routed through the Irish
Sea to Liverpool.
Up
to
this point, the convoys had been going to Plymouth.
Convoy
HX.52
arrived on 4 July.
_____
French
auxiliary
patrol vessel SAINT MARGUERITE (48grt) was scuttled at
Le Verdon.
_____
U.30
refuelled
from German tanker
MAX
ALBRECHT (5824grt) at El
Ferrol.
_____
U.53
sank
British steamers WINDSORWOOD (5395grt) in 48‑31N, 14‑50W
and
SARANAC (12,049grt) in 48‑24N, 15‑05W.
The
entire
crew of the steamer WINDSORWOOD was rescued.
Two
crew
were killed and two were missing from the steamer
SARANAC. Seventeen
survivors were rescued by destroyer HURRICANE. The
remaining survivors were
picked up on the 29th fourteen miles
from
Castletown
by British steamer AINDERBY (4860grt) .
_____
French
Amiral
Gensoul was to have bombarded Genoa on this date, but
the operation
was cancelled on the 24th due to the Armistice.
_____
British
steamers
were seized by French forces at Casablanca. The steamers
were
renamed for French service.
British
name
|
B.
R. T.
|
French
name
|
STORAA
|
1967
|
ST
EDMOND
|
PENGREEP
|
4806
|
STE
JACQUELINE
|
TOUSSIKA
|
1828
|
ST
HUGHES
|
HILDE
|
1595
|
ST
BENOIT
|
BELGIEN
|
1979
|
not
renamed
|
The
first
escorted Italian convoy departed Naples for Tripoli with
troopships
ESPERIA (11,398grt) and VICTORIA (13,098grt) escorted by
armed merchant
cruiser RAMB II and torpedo boats ORSA and PROCIONE.
_____
Italian
submarine
BRAGADIN, which departed Taranto on the 24th, arrived at
Tobruk
with supplies for the airport.
_____
French
battleship
RICHELIEU and destroyer FLEURET departed Dakar for
Casablanca but
returned when she found that Heavy cruiser DORSETSHIRE
was shadowing her.
Seaplane
tender
ALBATROSS, carrying Admiral D'Oyly Lyon, had departed
Freetown for
Dakar, but did not arrive until after RICHELIEU had
departed.
Aircraft
carrier
ARK ROYAL, battlecruiser HOOD, anddestroyers FAULKNOR,
FEARLESS,
FOXHOUND, ESCAPADE departed Gibraltar to intercept
towards the Canary
Islands.
While
at
sea, aircraft carrier ARK ROYAL embarked ten Swordfish
from Rabat.
The
British
force was ordered back to Gibraltar at 1900/26th,
arriving on the
27th.
Battleship
RICHELIEU
arrived back off Dakar at 0500/27th with French armed
merchant
cruisers EL D'JEZAIR, EL KANTARA, EL MANSOUR, VILLE
D'ORAN and large
destroyers MILAN and EPERVIER.
However,
the
battleship and destroyer did not enter port. They turned
back north
again. They finally arrived at Dakar at 0500/28th.
_____
Light
cruiser
DUNEDIN arrived at Martinique to watch the French
warships there.
Light
cruiser
FIJI departed Bermuda on the 24th and joined DUNEDIN.
Light
cruiser
DIOMEDE was also on this patrol.
The
British
ships were ordered to neutralize the French warships in
CATAPULt
operations, but negotiations averted an armed encounter.
Light
cruiser
FIJI departed Martinique on the 30th to refit at St
Lucia. Light
cruiser DUNEDIN remained off Fort de France.
After
CATAPULt
operations in Africa, the British warships were ordered
to leave
French waters and the patrol was terminated on 12 July.
_____
Dutch
light
cruiser HEEMSKERCK departed Halifax for Falmouth. The
cruiser returned
to Portsmouth for conversion to an anti-aircraft cruiser
completed on 17
February 1941.
_____
Australian
heavy
cruiser AUSTRALIA, which had just escorted British
steamer ULYSSES
(14,652grt) from Capetown to Durban and returned
escorting troopship
STRATHEDEN, departed Capetown with troopships ORION
(23,371grt), REINA DEL PACIFICO (17,702grt),
STRATHEDEN (23,722grt) .
All
ships
arrived at Freetown without event on 3 July.
Seaplane
carrier
ALBATROS was at Freetown at that time.
_____
Convoy
HX.53
departed Halifax escorted by Canadian destroyers
ASSINIBOINE and
OTTAWA. On 26 June, they turned the convoy over to the
ocean escort, armed
merchant cruiser ALAUNIA, which was detached on 7 July.
Convoy
BHX.53
departed Bermuda on the 24th escorted by ocean escort
armed merchant
cruiser COMORIN. The convoy rendezvoused with HX.53 on
the 29th and the armed
merchant cruiser was detached.
On
7
July, destroyers SABRE and SCIMITAR, sloop LEITH,
corvette CLARKIA joined
the convoy. On 8 July, destroyers HURRICANE, VANQUISHER,
WINCHELSEA joined;
they were detached the next day. On 10 July, the convoy
arrived at Liverpool
with the earlier escort ships.
_____
Convoy
SL.37
departed Freetown escorted by armed merchant cruiser
MOOLTAN to 9 July.
On
9
July, destroyer WALKER and sloop DEPTFORD joined the
convoy and escorted it
to arrival on 12 July.
Wednesday,
26 June
Battleship
VALIANT
and destroyers FORESTER, FORESIGHT, ESCORT departed
Scapa Flow at1900
for Gibraltar where they arrived on the 30th.
_____
Destroyer
ASHANTI
departed Scapa Flow at 0940 to search for a Gladiator of
804 Squadron
down two miles southeast of Pentland Skerries.
The
search
was unsuccessful and the destroyer returned to Scapa
Flow at 1410.
Temporary Lt (A) H.C. Maudslay RNVR, was lost in the
aircraft.
_____
Destroyer
MASHONA
departed Scapa Flow for Rosyth.
_____
Destroyers
FERNIE
and ATHERSTONE arrived in the Clyde.
_____
Destroyers
FURY,
VANSITTART, JACKAL, JAGUAR arrived at Rosyth.
_____
Destroyers
FURY
and VANSITTART escorting minelayers PORT NAPIER and PORT
QUEBEC departed Rosyth for
Loch Alsh, where they arrived on the 28th.
_____
Destroyer
IMOGEN
and submarine TALISMAN departed Liverpool for the Clyde,
arriving at
1030/27th.
_____
Submarine
STURGEON
departed Blyth on patrol.
_____
French
submarine
RUBIS, which departed Dundee on the 20th, laid mines at
0300 in
Trondheimsfjord in minelaying mission FD.20.
_____
Convoy FS.205 departed the Tyne, escorted by sloops LOWESTOFT, STORK,
WESTON and patrol sloop SHELDRAKE. Destroyer AMAZON was
in the convoy and as
she could not steam more than 15 knots was not
considered an escort. The
convoy arrived at Southend on the 28th.
_____
Convoy MT.96 departed Methil, escorted by destroyer VIMERIA and sloop
LONDONDERRY. The convoy arrived in the Tyne the next
day.
_____
French
submarine
NARVAL (Lieutenant de Vaisseau F. Drogou) of the 11th
Submarine
Division, refusing to be demilitarised at Bizerte,
arrived at Malta to join
British forces.
_____
Italian
submarine
GUGLIEMOTTI ran aground on a shoal in the Red Sea.
The
grounding
left GUGLIEMOTTI badly damaged, but she was soon salved.
_____
German
armed
merchant cruiser WIDDER captured Norwegian tanker
KROSSFONN (9323grt)
at 21‑55N, 45‑00W on the Trinidad-Azores track in the
South
Atlantic.
Two
crew
members of the tanker were made prisoners of war.
The
tanker
was renamed SPICHERN for German use.
_____
U.A
sank
Norwegian steamer CRUZ (3828grt) in convoy OG.34 in
36‑53N, 14W.
The
entire
crew was rescued.
_____
U.29
sank
Greek steamer DIMITRIS (5254grt) in 44‑23N, 11‑41W.
The
entire
crew was rescued.
_____
U.62
sank
British trawler CASTLETON (211grt) off the Orkneys.
_____
Italian
submarine
GLAUCO attacked an allied steamer off Cape Corbelin in
the
Mediterranean.
_____
Italian
steamer
LOASSO (5968grt) was sunk on a mine laid by submarine
RORQUAL on the
14th off Testa del Gargano, north of Brindisi in the
Adriatic.
Italian
steamer
RINA CROCE (569grt) was lost on a mine two and half
mines off
Brindisi on 25 September on this minefield.
Thursday,
27 June
Light
cruiser
BIRMINGHAMwas boiler cleaning and refitting at Rosyth
from 27 to 30
June.
_____
Destroyers
ASHANTI
and COSSACK arrived at Scapa Flow.
_____
Destroyer
MASHONA
arrived at Rosyth.
_____
Destroyer
FORTUNE
departed Sheerness for Rosyth, arriving on the 28th.
_____
British
steamer
CAIRNDALE (8129grt) escorted by submarine tenders BREDA
(1431grt) and
WHITE
BEAR (1822grt) departed the Clyde for Scapa Flow.
_____
Destroyers
MAORI
and
ECHO departed Scapa Flow at 1300 to hunt for a German
submarine north of Muckle Flugga in 60‑24N, 5‑59W,
reported
damaged at 0700 in an air attack. The submarine was on
course 030, apparently
homebound.
This
was
U.32 which had not been damaged.
Armed
boarding
vessels NORTHERN
SUN
and NORTHERN ISLES,
submarine L.23, which had been on exercises, four
Swordfish from Hatston were
also ordered to search.
The
destroyers were recalled
at 1030/28th after failing to make contact and arrived
at Scapa Flow later
that day.
_____
Destroyers
ATHERSTONE
and FERNIE and escort vessel GLEANER departed the Clyde
to search
for a submarine in the Clyde approaches.
The
ships
were advised to return if no contact was made by
0600/28th. The ships
arrived back at Greenock at 1130/28th.
_____
Destroyer
BOREAS
and Anti-submarine trawler GRIMSBY TOWN were ordered to
investigate a
submarine contact three miles southeast of Dover.
This
contact
was later found to be the wreck of steamer ALBUERA lost
on the 24th.
_____
Submarines
SUNFISH,
TRUANT, SALMON arrived at Rosyth after patrol.
_____
Submarine
TRIAD
departed Rosyth on patrol.
_____
Destroyer
HARVESTER
and troopship ARANDORA STAR arrived at Liverpool.
_____
Destroyer
HIGHLANDER
arrived at Plymouth after operations off southern
France.
_____
Convoy
OB.173GF
departed Liverpool on the 24th escorted by destroyer
WITHERINGTON on
24 to 27 June,and merged on the 27th with convoy
OA.173GF, which departed
Southend on the 24th, as convoy OG.35 with fourteen
ships. Convoy segments
which departed Plymouth and Falmouth on 25 and 26 June
also joined.
Destroyer
WITHERINGTON
was then detached to convoy HG.35. Corvette GARDENIA
escorted
the convoy from 28 June to 1 July.
Sloop
FOWEY
escorted the convoy segment from 25to 26 June when she
was detached to
convoy HGZ. The convoy was joined by destroyer WISHART
from convoy HGZ on the
28th.
Convoy
OG.35
arrived at Gibraltar on 1 July, escorted by destroyer
WISHART.
_____
Briish
convoy
OA.174 departed Southend on the 27th escorted by
destroyer VANESSA on
26 and 27 June and corvette CLARKIA on the 27th.
_____
Convoy
OB.174
departed Liverpool escorted by sloop ROCHESTER from 27
to 30 June.
_____
Convoy FN.206 departed Southend, escorted by destroyer WOOLSTON,
sloop FLEETWOOD, patrol sloop SHEARWATER. Norwegian
destroyer SLEIPNER from
the Tyne joined this convoy en route. The convoy arrived
at Rosyth on the
29th.
_____
Convoy FS.206 departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyer VIMIERA, sloop
LONDONDERRY, patrol sloop MALLARD. The convoy arrived at
Southend on the
29th.
_____
Convoy MT.97 departed Methil, escorted by WINCHESTER and WOLSEY and
sloop EGRET. The convoy arrived in the Tyne the next
day.
_____
U.47
sank
Norwegian steamer LENDA (4005grt) 160 miles southwest of
Fastnet in
50-12N, 13-18W and Dutch steamer LETICIA (2580grt) in
50‑11N, 13‑15W.
One
crewman
was killed on the Norwegian steamer. Destroyer HURRICANE
rescued
nineteen survivors.
Two
crew
were killed on the Dutch steamer. Destroyer HURRICANE
rescued thirty
survivors.
Destroyers
HAVELOCK
and HURRICANE were searching in the area.
_____
German
steamer
KOLN (7881grt) was lost in stranding near Gefle.
_____
Destroyers
DAINTY
(Cdr M. S. Thomas, Cdr D), DECOY, DEFENDER, ILEX,
VOYAGER departed
Alexandria on an anti-submarine sweep to be followed by
a voyage to Malta to
escort convoy MA 3 back to Alexandria. Destroyers DECOY,
DEFENDER, ILEX
carried stores for Malta. Destroyer DIAMOND would sail
from Malta with this
group and escort the two convoys.
However,
the
second half of the operation was cancelled and the
convoys were brought
away early in early July.
Italian
submarine
CONSOLE GENERALE LUIZZI was sunk by destroyers DAINTY,
DEFENDER,
ILEX south of Crete in 33-36N, 27-27E.
Destroyers
VOYAGER
and DAINTY rescued the survivors.
Thirteen
ratings
were rescued by destroyer VOYAGER. The destroyer was
ordered to
return to Alexandria and destroyers HOSTILE and STUART
departed to join the
hunt. were taken by destroyer VOYAGER from submarine
LUIZZI. The destroyer
was ordered to return to Alexandria and destroyers
HOSTILE and STUART
departed to join the hunt.
From
this
submarine and submarine UEBI SCEBELI, which was sunk by
the same group
on the 29th, ten officers and seventy two ratings were
rescued by destroyer
DAINTY. Destroyers DECOY and ILEX had three more ratings
between them.
_____
British
steamer
CITY OF CAIRO, carrying Anti-aircraft guns and troops,
arrived at Gibraltar, escorted by destroyers WITCH and
VISCOUNT.
_____
Off
the
coast of Eritrea near Port Sudan, New Zealand light
cruiser LEANDER and
destroyers KANDAHAR and KINGSTON shelled beached Italian
submarine MACALLE
and LEANDER's aircraft dropped four bombs on the
submarine.
Submarine
MACALLE
was lost.
Light
cruiser
LEANDER and destroyer KINGSTON arrived at Aden on the
28th.
_____
Italian
destroyers
ESPERO, OSTRO, ZEFFIRO departed Taranto for Tripoli with
120 tons
of ammunition, ten anti tank guns, 160 artillerymen.
Later
that
day, destroyers PILO and MISSORI departed Taranto for
Tripoli with
supplies and fifty two soldiers.
_____
Light
cruiser
DURBAN arrived at Singapore.
Friday,
28 June
Aircraft
carrier
ARGUS was damaged in heavy weather when she was dragged
ashore at
Reykavik.
The
aircraft
carrier was refloated on the 29th with no apparent
damage.
_____
Destroyers
FURY
and VANSITTART escorting Minelayers PORT QUEBEC and PORT
NAPIER arrived at Loch Alsh.
_____
Destroyer
CODRINGTON
was ordered to pick up a Hurricane pilot seven miles
270° from
Boulogne. The destroyer was taken under fire from German
guns at Boulogne,
but no damage was done. The pilot was not located.
_____
During
the
night of 28/29 June, two motor torpedo boats from Dover
were damaged when
they struck wreckage.
_____
Destroyer
FORTUNE
and minesweeping trawler HAZEL (530grt) departed Methil
escorting
Aircraft transport ship FOSSBECK and cable ship ARIEL at
1200.
The
British
ships arrived at Scapa Flow at 1500/29th.
_____
Armed
patrol
yacht WHITE
BEAR, escorting steamer SHOALFISHER and oiler
CAIRNDALE, attacked a submarine contact in 58‑23N, 5‑33W
at
2300/28th. The patrol yacht expended all her depth
charges and claimed
sinking the contact.
Destroyer
FORTUNE
arrived at Scapa Flow at 1500/29th. She joined the hunt
later on the
29th.
Destroyer
FORTUNE
fired three patterns of depth charges on this contact
before being
recalled to Scapa Flow.
_____
Submarine
TAKU
departed Rosyth on patrol after exercising in the Firth
of Forth.
_____
Submarine
L.26,
escorted by Dutch torpedo boat Z.5, arrived at Scapa
Flow. Submarine
L.26 relieved submarine L.23.
Submarine
L.23
and torpedo boat Z.5 departed Scapa Flow for Rosyth
later that day.
_____
Destroyer
IMOGEN
and submarine TALISMAN exercised in the Firth of Clyde.
_____
Convoy FN.207 departed Southend, escorted by destroyers VEGA and
VIVIEN and patrol sloop PUFFIN. The convoy arrived at
the Tyne on the 30th.
_____
Convoy FS.207 departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyers WOLSEY and
WINCHESTER, sloop EGRET, patrol sloop SHEARWATER.
The convoy arrived at Southend on the 30th.
_____
Convoy MT.98 departed Methil, escorted by destroyers WALLACE and
WOLFHOUND.
The convoy arrived in the Tyne the next day.
_____
U.30
sank
British steamer LLANARTH (5053grt) in 47‑30N, 10‑30W.
The
entire
crew from the steamer were rescued by Corvette
GLADIOLUS.
_____
British
Force
H.was formed under the command of Vice Admiral Sir James
F. Somerville
at Gibraltar.
Battleship
RESOLUTION,
which had departed Scapa Flow on the 4th, arrived off
Gibraltar
on the 10th and was escorted into port by destroyers
DOUGLAS and VIDETTE.
Aircraft
carrier
ARK ROYAL, battlecruiser HOOD, destroyers FOXHOUND,
FEARLESS,
FAULKNOR, ESCAPADE departed Scapa Flow on the 17th
arrived at Gibraltar on
the 23rd.
Destroyer
JERVIS
which departed Plymouth on the 26th, en route to the
Mediterranean
Fleet arrived at Gibraltar on the 29th and sailed for
Malta on the 30th.
Battleship
VALIANT
departed Scapa Flow at 1900/26th with destroyers ESCORT,
FORESTER,
FORESIGHT and arrived at Gibraltar on 2 July.
Light
cruiser
ARETHUSA departed Portsmouth on the 28th with Admiral
Somerville
embarked and arrived at Gibraltar at 1745/30th.
Light
cruiser
ENTERPRISE departed Plymouth on the 29th and arrived at
Gibraltar on
1 July.
At
Gibraltar
was the 13th Destroyer Flotilla which was composed of
Destroyers
ACTIVE, WRESTLER, VIDETTE, DOUGLAS, KEPPEL, VORTIGERN,
WISHART, VELOX,
WATCHMAN which were attached to Force H as required.
In
July,
destroyers KEPPEL, DOUGLAS, ACTIVE, WATCHMAN, VORTIGERN,
VIDETTE, VELOX
departed Gibraltar on 14 July and arrived at Liverpool
on 20 July.
Destroyers
VIDETTE
and VELOX were in England for refitting and eventual
return to
Gibraltar, but the rest were taken and formed into the
12th Destroyer
Flotilla for service with the Home Fleet.
_____
Destroyer
VELOX
departed Gibraltar to relieve destroyer WATCHMAN on
patrol duty off
Casablanca. Destroyer VELOX was relieved by armed yacht
SAYONORA which
departed Gibraltar on 2 July.
_____
Italian
destroyers
ESPERO (Captain Baroni, D1), ZEFFIRO, OSTRO were sighted
by air
reconnaissance.
At
1100/27th,
light cruisers GLOUCESTER, LIVERPOOL, NEPTUNE, ORION,
SYDNEY
departed Alexandria.
At
1800,
light cruisers GLOUCESTER and LIVERPOOL, supported by
the other light
cruisers, contacted the Italian force.
Destroyer
ESPERO
was sunk in the Ionian Sea in 35‑18N, 20‑12E, but the
other two destroyers were able to escape and continue to
Tripoli.
Light
cruiser
LIVERPOOL was struck by a single 4. 7 inch shell which
cut the
degaussing wire.
Australian
light
cruiser SYDNEY attempted to rescue survivors, but
Italian air attacks
cancelled the effort. Only forty four crew were picked
up by the cruiser.
_____
The
light
cruisers that sank Italian destroyer ESPERO were
covering allied convoy
AS.1 of eleven merchant ships that had departed Port
Helles on the 28th en
route from the Dardanelles and Greek ports to Port Said.
The convoy was
escorted by light cruiser CALEDON and destroyers GARLAND
and VAMPIRE which
departed Alexandria at 1800/26th and light cruiser
CAPETOWN and destroyers
NUBIAN and MOHAWK which departed Port Said on the 27th.
The convoy was
covered by battleships ROYAL SOVEREIGN and RAMILLIES,
aircraft carrier EAGLE,
destroyers HAVOCK, HASTY, HERO, HEREWARD, HYPERION,
JUNO, JANUS of the 2nd Flotilla,
all of which departed Alexandria on the 28th.
On
29
June, destroyer IMPERIAL departed Alexandria to escort
oilers between
Alexandria, Port Said, Haifa.
During
the
afternoon of 30 June, the 7th Cruiser Squadron with the
convoy was
attacked by Italian bombers. Light cruiser NEPTUNE
suffered some splinter
damage and had three crew wounded.
After
the
escort brought the convoy from Cape Helles, the British
7th Cruiser
Squadron arrived at Alexandria on the 30th. The
battleships, aircraft carrier
EAGLE, their destroyers arrived at Alexandria on 2 July.
The convoy arrived
that afternoon.
_____
Convoy
HG.36
departed Gibraltar with twelve ships, escorted by
destroyer DOUGLAS
which was detached on 2 July. The convoy was escorted by
sloop WELLINGTON
from 28 June to 7 July.
Convoy
HG.36
arrived at Liverpool on 8 July.
_____
Italian
submarine
ANFITRITE was bombed by aircraft of RAFT 230 Squadron
and damaged
off Tobruk.
_____
Italian
submarine
ARGONAUTA was sunk in 35-24N, 20-10E by the Destroyers
of Cdr
Thomas' group.
_____
Italiansteamer
MARIA
(440grt) was sunk by British bombing thirteen miles
north of Tobruk.
_____
Italian
steamer
ALESSANDRO PODESTA (663grt) was sunk on a mine in
40‑59N, 08‑34E
in Asinara Gulf.
_____
Italian
steamer
PAGANINI (2427grt) was lost in the Adriatic in 41-47N,
19-11E in a
fire.
Saturday,
29 June
Battleship
NELSON
departed the Clyde escorted by destroyers FURY and FAME
and Canadian destroyers ST
LAURENT and SKEENA for Gibraltar.
On
1
July at 0251, the ships were ordered to return to Scapa
Flow.
The
ships,
less destroyer ST LAURENT which was assisting British
steamer ARANDORA
STAR, arrived at Scapa Flow at
0530 on 3 July.
_____
At
2024,
the ships at Scapa Flow were brought to immediate
notice.
Destroyer
FORTUNE
was recalled to Scapa Flow.
At
2121,
notice was brought to one hour's notice.
At
0110/30th,
the ships at Scapa Flow returned to normal notice.
_____
Anti-aircraft
cruiser
COVENTRY departed the Tyne for Scapa Flow where she
arrived on the
30th.
_____
Destroyer
IMOGEN
departed the Clyde for Liverpool arriving on the 30th.
_____
Destroyers
JAVELIN
and JUPITER arrived in the Humber.
_____
Escort
vessel
GLEANER arrived at Belfast.
_____
Destroyer
WALKER
departed Greenock at 1400 with British steamers CITY OF
AUCKLAND (8336grt), CITY OF FLORENCE (6862grt),
MARINA (5088grt), DALLINGTON COURT (6889grt), LYCAON
(7350grt) for Belfast.
Destroyer
WALKER
then returned to the Clyde.
_____
Dutch
submarines
O.21 and O.22 arrived at Rosyth from Dundee.
_____
Submarine
L.23
and Dutch torpedo boat Z.5 arrived at Dundee from Scapa
Flow.
_____
Submarine
TALISMAN
completed diving trials.
_____
Submarine
NARWHAL
departed Blyth for Immingham.
_____
Destroyer
GRIFFIN
arrived at Dover at 0618 to join the 1st Destroyer
Flotilla.
_____
Anti-submarine
trawler
WELLARD (514grt) was attacked by German motor torpedo
boats fourteen
miles east of Beachy Head at 0200.
Destroyer
CODRINGTON
was ordered to search for these boats.
At
0658,
destroyer CODRINGTON one mile 10° from Folkestone Gate
Light Vessel was
attacked by a single German Heinkel bomber.
No
damage
or casualties were sustained by the destroyer.
_____
At
0430,
destroyer BRILLIANT on OD.3 (Dungeness Patrol)
investigate Very Lights
four miles 135° from the Coast Guard Station at
Sandgate.
_____
Destroyers
EXPRESS,
INTREPID, ICARUS with minelayers TEVIOTBANK and PLOVER
departed the
Humber and conducted minelaying operation BS.19 during
the night of 29/30
June.
_____
Convoy FN.208 departed Southend, escorted by sloops LOWESTOFT, STORK,
WESTON, patrol sloop GUILLEMOT. The convoy arrived at
the Tyne on 1 July.
_____
Convoy FS.208 departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyers WALLACE and
WOLFHOUND. The convoy arrived at Southend on 1 July.
_____
U.47
sank
British steamer EMPIRE TOUCAN (4421grt) in 49‑20N,
13‑52W.
Three
crew
were missing from the steamer.
The
bow
section of the steamer was sunk on the 29th by destroyer
HURRICANE which
also rescued the survivors.
_____
U.51
sank
special service vessel WILLAMETTE VALLEY (acting Cdr R.
E. D. Ryder),
which was disguised as RFA EDGEHILL (4724grt), southwest
of Ireland.
Lt
E.
F. M. Seymour, Temporary Lt Cdr W. Thomson RNR, Lt F. F.
Balchin RNR, Lt D. G. Collins RNR, Temporary Lt Cdr (E)
R. P.
Beatty
RNR, Temporary Lt (E) W. J. Walker
RNR,
Temporary Paymaster Lt L.W.
Williams
RNR, Temporary Lt J. H. Martin RNVR, Temporary S/Lt E. A.
Dicks RNVR, Temporary Surgeon Lt H.A. Wallace, MRCS,
LRCP RNVR, fifty six
ratings were lost in the ship.
Twenty
seven
survivors were picked up by British tanker INVERLEE
(9158grt) on 3
July.
_____
Convoy
WS.1,
consisting of liners AQUITANIA (45,647grt) and
MAURETANIA (35,738grt)
departed Liverpool for the Indian Ocean and ultimately
North Africa, via
Capetown, escorted by heavy cruiser CUMBERLAND.
Liner
QUEEN
MARY (80,774grt) departed the Clyde at 1050 escorted by
destroyers ATHERSTONE and FERNIE and joined the convoy
at sea. The two
destroyers returned to Liverpool.
Local
escort
was given by destroyers HIGHLANDER, HARVESTER,
VOLUNTEER, WHIRLWIND.
The two H's were detached to Plymouth and the two V's to
Liverpool. The
convoy arrived at Freetown on 8 July and departed on 9
July. The convoy
safely arrived at Capetown on 16 July and departed
Simonstown on 19 July.
Heavy
cruiser
KENT departed Durban on 20 July to rendezvous with the
convoy south of Durban. On 21 July, heavy cruiser
KENT
relieved heavy cruiser
CUMBERLAND. The convoy safely arrived at Trincomalee on
28 July.
_____
Convoy
OA.176
departed Southend escorted by destroyer WOLVERINE and
corvette
GARDENIA on 1 and 2 July when they were detached to
convoy HX.52. Corvettes
HEARTEASE and ARABIS escorted the convoy on 1 July.
_____
Convoy
OB.176
departed Liverpool escorted by sloop SCARBOROUGH from 29
June to 2
July and destroyer VANOC on the 30th. The convoy was
dispersed on 2 July.
Destroyer VANOC returned to Liverpool on 1 July and
sloop SCARBOROUGH to
convoy HX.52.
_____
Italian
submarine
RUBINO was sunk by aircraft of RAF 201 Group in the
Ionian Sea in
39‑10N, 18‑49E. The flying boat picked up some
survivors.
_____
Italian
submarine
SIRENA was damaged by aircraft of RAF 230 Squadron off
Tobruk.
_____
Italian
submarines
UEBI SCEBELI was sunk and SALPAwas damaged by destroyers
DAINTY,
ILEX, DEFENDER, VOYAGER west of Crete in 35‑29N, 20‑06E.
The
crew
of the sunken submarine was rescued by destroyer DAINTY
which arrived in
Alexandria at 1934/30th.
A
large number of secret documents were recovered by
destroyer VOYAGER. The
destroyer was ordered to return to Alexandria and
destroyers HOSTILE and
STUART departed to join the hunt.
Destroyers
STUART
and HOSTILE departed Alexandria to hunt submarines north
of Derna.
Early
on
1 July, the destroyers attacked a submarine contact
without result. Both
destroyers arrived back at Alexandria on 2 July.
_____
Italian
submarine
BEILUL conducted a reconnaissance of the Mediterranean
Fleet at
Alexandria.
_____
Destroyer
DOUGLAS,
with convoy HG.36, stopped three French armed trawlers
bound for
Casablanca, but was unable to persuade them to proceed
to Gibraltar. Two
French destroyers, apparently for the same destination
were also sighted.
(all destroyers going to Casablanca, already accounted
for - me)
_____
Convoy
HX.54
departed Halifax escorted by Canadian destroyers
ASSINIBOINE and OTTAWA
which departed Halifax on anti-submarine duties at
0730/29th.
The
local
escort turned the convoy over to Armed merchant cruiser
RAJPUTANA at
2115 and arrived back at Halifax 0740/30th. The armed
merchant cruiser was
detached on 4 July.
Convoy
BHX.54
departed Bermuda on the 28th escorted by ocean escort
armed merchant
cruiser ASCANIA. The convoy rendezvoused with HX.54 on 3
July and the armed
merchant cruiser was detached.
On
11
July, destroyers HARVESTER, HAVELOCK, WANDERER and sloop
SANDWICH joined
the convoy. Destroyers HARVESTER and WANDERER were
detached. Destroyer
HAVELOCK was detached on 13 July. Sloop SANDWICH arrived
with the convoy at
Liverpool on 14 July.
Sunday,
30 June
After
temporary
repairs at Rosyth, mine damaged light cruiser BELFAST,
escorted by
destroyers GALLANT and WALPOLE, departed Rosyth on the
28th and arrived at
Plymouth on the 30th for repairs.
_____
Destroyer
WALKER
arrived in the Clyde.
_____
Submarine
SNAPPER
unsuccessfully attacked a German submarine 27 miles 207°
from Lister.
_____
Submarine
SEVERN
unsuccessfully attacked a northbound German destroyer in
57-28N,
5-31E. The signal was not received until 0030 on 1 July
and then it was too
late to mount an air attack from Hatston.
_____
Submarine
NARWHAL
arrived at Immingham and departed the same day for
minelaying
operation FD.21 southwest of Trondheim. The
minefield was laid
on
4 July, 35° from 63‑14‑52N, 07‑33‑47E.
_____
French
submarine
RUBIS arrived at Dundee after minelaying mission FD.20
and a patrol
off Peterhead on 29/30 June.
_____
Acting
S/Lt (A) J M P Davies and S/Lt C. A. Conn in a Swordfish
of 812
Squadron, based on PEREGRINE, were shot down over
Holland on a minelaying
mission and taken prisoner.
_____
Convoy FN.209 departed Southend, escorted by destroyer VIMIERA, sloop
LONDONDERRY, and patrol sloop SHELDRAKE. The convoy
arrived in the Tyne on 2
July.
_____
Convoy MT.99 departed Methil, escorted by sloops BLACK SWAN,
HASTINGS and patrol sloop GUILLEMOT, and arrived in the
Tyne the next
day.
_____
Major
German warships operational at this time were heavy
cruiser ADMIRAL HIPPER, light
cruisers KOLN and NURNBERG, and destroyers SCHOEMANN,
LODY, IHN, GALSTER.
_____
U.26
sank
Greek steamer FRANGOULA GOULANDRIS (6701grt) in 49‑59N,
11‑24W, and six
crew drowned.
_____
U.43
badly
damaged steamer AVELONA STAR (Commodore of convoy SL.36
which had departed Freetown on the 16th, 13,376grt) in
46‑46N, 12‑17W
and she sank next day, the 1 July, in 46-59N, 11-39W.
One
crewman was killed and two missing. Survivors were
rescued by steamer BEIGNON (5218grt), with two being
picked up by escorting armed merchant cruiser DUNVEGAN
CASTLE. When BEIGNON was sunk on 1 July, three survivors
from AVELONA STAR were missing.
_____
U.65
damaged
steamer CLAN OGLIVY (5802grt) of convoy SL.36 in 46‑17N,
14‑35W. Sher was escorted by destroyer VESPER and
corvette GLADIOLUS.
_____
U.47
sank
Greek steamer GEORGIOS KYRIAKIDES (4201grt) in 50‑25N,
14‑33W. The
entire crew were rescued.
_____
U.102
sank
Norwegian steamer BELMOIRA (3214grt) in 48‑15N, 10‑30W
and
Estonian steamer MERKUR (1291grt) in 48‑26N, 10‑58W. The
entire crew of the Norwegian ship were rescued, but four
of the Estonian crews were lost.
_____
Steamer
HELDER (979grt) was damaged by German motor torpedo boat
S off St
Catherine's Point, IOW
_____
Australian
light
cruiser HOBART departed Aden escorting armed boarding
vessel CHANTALA
carrying 690 troops to Berbera where they arrived
safely on 1 July.
_____
Light
cruisers
CALEDON, CAPETOWN and destroyers GARLAND, VAMPIRE,
NUBIAN,
MOHAWK,arrived at Alexandria after covering a convoy
from Cape Helles.
_____
Destroyers
FAULKNOR
and FEARLESS departed Gibraltar to establish a patrol
off Oran to
report any French ships attempting to proceed to the
west.
They were ordered to return to Gibraltar on 1 July.
_____
Italian
submarine
CORRIDONI departed Italy with supplies for the Tobruk
airport.
_____
Light
cruiser
DANAE arrived at Singapore.
June,
miscellaneous
Greek
destroyer
HYDRA from Melos was bombed by Italian aircraft while
investigating
an attack on a Greek merchant ship near Crete.
_____
At
the
end of June, the following destroyers were under repairs
-
AMAZON at Chatham
repairing, ANTELOPE at Tyne
repairing, BOADICEA at Portsmouth repairing, BULLDOG at
Portsmouth repairing,
DELIGHT at Portsmouth refitting, DUNCAN at Grangemouth
repairing, ECLIPSE at
Clyde refitting, ELECTRA at Greenock repairing,
ENCOUNTER at Chatham
repairing, ESKIMO at Barrow repairing, HOTSPUR at
Chatham refitting, IMPULSIVE
at London repairing, ISIS at Plymouth repairing, IVANHOE
at Chatham
repairing, JERSEY at Hull repairing, KELLY at Tyne
repairing, KIPLING at
Southampton refitting, MACKAY at Plymouth boiler
cleaning, MATABELE at
Falmouth repairing, MONTROSE at Woolwich repairing,
SARDONYX at London
refitting, SKATE at Portsmouth refitting, SOMALI at
Liverpool repairing,
STURDY at Portsmouth refitting, VENETIA at Plymouth
repairing, WESTMINSTER at
Portsmouth repairing, WORCESTER at London repairing,
WHITEHALL at Plymouth
refitting, Polish BLYSKAWICA and BURZA, both at
Portsmouth repairing.