Background
Events - June-November 1941
Invasion of
Russia, Malta Convoys, Japan prepares for war
1941
Sunday,
1 June
Home Fleet Status at the
first of June at Scapa Flow.
Battleship KING GEORGE V,
light cruisers MANCHESTER and GALATEA, and seven
destroyers.
Heavy cruiser SUFFOLK and
light cruisers KENYA and AURORA were at sea sweeping for
supply ships.
Battleship NELSON, light
cruisers NEPTUNE and SHEFFIELD, and fourteen destroyers
would be available to the
Home Fleet by 20 June.
______
Light cruiser EDINBURGH
(CS.18) departed Scapa Flow on Denmark Strait
patrol. She arrived in Iceland on the 3rd and after
refuelling departed on the
4th to relieve light cruiser HERMIONE.
______
Light cruiser ARETHUSA
departed the Denmark Strait patrol when relieved by
light cruiser HERMIONE,
which departed Hvalfjord on 31 May, and arrived in
Iceland. ARETHUSA departed Iceland for patrol in the
Iceland-Faroes Channel.
______
Destroyers COSSACK, ZULU,
MAORI, and SIKH departed Scapa Flow for the Clyde to escort
convoy WS.9A, and arrived in the Clyde on the 2nd.
______
Destroyers PUNJABI,
ESKIMO, and ICARUS departed Scapa Flow at 1500 for the
Clyde to screen battleship RODNEY.
The destroyers arrived in
the Clyde at 0730/2nd, joining destroyer TARTAR already there.
______
Minelayer TEVIOTBANK,
escorted by destroyer
HOLDERNESS, laid minefield BS.63 off the east coast of
England.
______
German heavy cruiser PRINZ
EUGEN arrived at Brest.
______
U.105 sank steamer SCOTTISH
MONARCH
(4719grt) at 12-58N, 27-20W. One crewman was lost.
______
U.204 sank Icelandic
fishing trawler HOLMSTEINN
(16grt) with artillery NNW of Dyrafjorden.
______
U.107 sank steamer ALFRED
JONES (5013grt)
at 8N, 15W. Two crewmen were lost.
______
Norwegian steamer FERNBANK
(4333grt) was damaged by
German bombing off Peterhead, arrived at Aberdeen on the
1st, and later went on to the Tyne for repairs.
______
Italian submarine MARCONI
sank Portuguese fishing
trawler EXPORTADOR I (318grt) with artillery
137 miles southwest of Cape St Vincent, 35-40N, 10-30W.
Two crewmen were killed and twenty rescued.
______
Tanker PASS OF BALMAHA
(758grt), escorted by sloop AUCKLAND and trawler
SOUTHERN MAID, departed Alexandria for Tobruk, where
whey arrived at 2330/3rd. Then after unloading, and
escorted by AUCKLAND, departed Tobruk during the night
of 4/5 June.
______
Submarine
CLYDE sank Italian
steamer SAN MARCO (3076grt) five miles 90° from
Capo Carbonara, southeast of Sardinia.A second torpedo
attack on another steamer on this date was unsuccessful.
______
Submarine
TORBAY sank a caique,
carrying German troops and stores, in the Doro Channel
with artillery.
______
Submarine
SEVERN departed Gibraltar for
patrol in the Atlantic.
______
Convoy HX.130 departed
Halifax, escorted by battleship RAMILLES, corvettes
PICTOU
and RIMOUSKI, and auxiliary patrol vessel RAYON D’OR.
Convoy BHX.130 departed
Bermuda on 30 May escorted by ocean escort armed merchant cruiser ALAUNIA.
The convoy rendezvoused with convoy HX.130/5th and the
armed merchant cruiser
was detached.
On the 4th, corvettes
AGASSIZ, ALBERNI, and
WETASKIWIN joined. Destroyers BURNHAM and CHURCHILL
joined on &
June.Battleship RAMILLIES was detached on the 9th and
armed merchant cruiser
DERBYSHIRE joined on the 11th. The two destroyers were
detached on 14 and 13
June, respectively. The three corvettes and the armed
merchant cruiser were
detached on the 15th. Destroyers SARDONYX and WATCHMAN,
corvettes HELIOTROPE,
PETUNA, VERBENA, and VIOLET, escort ships BANFF, CULVER,
FISHGUARD, and
HARTLAND, and catapult ship ARIGUANI joined on the 15th.
Destroyer WATCHMAN
and escort ship BANFF were detached on the 18th.
Destroyer SARDONYX and
escort ships CULVER, FISHGUARD, and HARTLAND were
detached on the
19th.Anti-submarine trawlers NOTHERN GEM and NORTHERN
PRIDE escorted the convoy in Home
Waters. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on the
20th.
______
Convoy SC.33 departed
Sidney CB, escorted by armed
merchant cruiser DERBYSHIRE, destroyer ST CROIX, and auxiliary patrol vessel RACCOON. The destroyer was detached on
the 3rd and the escort vessel on the 4th. On the 4th,
corvettes AGASSIZ and
WETASKIWIN joined the convoy. Destroyer BURNHAM and
corvette ALBERNI joined
on the 7th.Escort ship FISHGUARD joined on the 13th.
Destroyer BURNHAM was
detached on the 14th and the armed merchant cruiser the
next day. On the
15th, destroyer BULLDOG, corvettes AUBRETIA and
CARNATION, escort ship
BANFF, minesweepers
BRITOMART and SALAMANDER, catapult
ship ARIGUANI, and anti-submarine trawlersDANEMAN and ST
APOLLO. The two
escort ships were detached on the 18th. Destroyer
BULLDOG was detached on the
19th. The remainder of the escorts, less the two
minesweepers were detached
on the 20th. The convoy, escorted by the two
minesweepers, arrived at Liverpool on the 21st.
______
Light cruiser EMERALD
departed Basra for Singapore.
Monday,
2 June
Light cruiser BIRMINGHAM
departed
Scapa Flow for the
Clyde for escort of convoy WS.9A.
The light cruiser arrived
in the Clyde on the 3rd.
Following this duty, the
light cruiser proceeded
for duty in the South
Atlantic.
______
Light cruiser NIGERIA
undocked at Rosyth.
The light cruiser departed
Rosyth on the 3rd for Scapa Flow.
______
Convoy OB.330 departed
Liverpool, escorted by corvette ALISMA and
anti-submarine
trawler NORTHERN DAWN. The convoy was joined on the 3rd
by destroyers
LINCOLN, SABRE, and VENOMOUS, corvettes ARROWHEAD,
KINGCUP, and SUNFLOWER,
catapult ship SPRINGBANK, and anti-submarine trawlers
LADY ELSA and MAN O.WAR. The convoy was dispersed on the
7th.
______
Destroyer BEDOUIN arrived
at Scapa Flow at 2230 after escorting steamer BEN MY
CHREE to Cape Wrath from Iceland.
______
Minelayer PLOVER, escorted
by patrol sloop
GUILLEMOT, laid minefield BS.57 off the east coast of
England.
Minesweepers ELGIN,
SUTTON, and ALBURY of the 4th Minesweeping
Flotilla accompanied the minelay.
______
Submarine P.32, on passage
to Gibraltar, was damaged by German bombing off
Finisterre.
Considerable damage was done to the batteries.
The submarine arrived at
Gibraltar on the 3rd.
______
U.147 damaged Belgian
steamer MOKAMBO (4996grt) in
56-38N, 10-24W.
The steamer arrived in the
Clyde on the 4th in tow.
U.147 was sunk northwest
of Ireland in 56-38N, 10-24W by destroyer WANDERER and
corvette PERIWINKLE, escoring convoy OB.329. The entire
crew of twenty six
were lost in the submarine.
______
U.108 sank catapult
aircraft merchantship MICHAEL E
(7628grt) in 58-50N, 29W. Two crewmen and two gunners
were lost on the ship.
The fighter pilot, A/Sub Lt (A) M.A. Birrell, was among
the survivors.
______
Ex-US
Coast guard cutter/escort ship HARTLAND, which had arrived at
Londonderry on 29 May from
the US, was damaged in a collision with British steamer
WELSH COAST (646grt).
The escort ship sustained
minor damage which was
repaired at Falmouth, during a scheduled refit from 8
June to 18 July.
______
Dutch submarine O.14 was
damaged in a collision,
and repaired at Grangemouth from 8 June to 9 July.
______
British steamer BEAUMANOIR
(2477grt) was badly
damaged by German bombing eight cables 180° from 19
Buoy, Robin Hood's Bay.
The steamer was taken in
tow. The steamer was sunk
after a second air attack.
______
British steamer PRINCE
RUPERT CITY (4749grt) was sunk
by German bombing in 58-46N,
4-41W. Four crewmen were lost on the steamer.
______
Belgian trawler JOHN
(197grt) was sunk by German
bombing ninety miles south by east of Inglos Hofdi.
There were no casualties
on the trawler.
______
British steamer THORPEBAY
(2183grt) was damaged by
German bombing six miles off Coquet Lighthouse.
The steamer returned to
the Tyne. The ship arrived at Scapa
Flow on the 17th in tow.
______
Finnish steamer KASTEHOLM
(5417grt) was sunk by a
mine in 63-07N, 11-18W. One crewman was lost on the
steamer. The rest of the
crew were landed at Thorshavn.
______
British trawler BEN SCREEL
(195grt) was damaged by German bombing in
55-30N, 1-30W.
The trawler returned to
the Tyne.
______
Naval whaler KOS XXII
(353grt, Lt H.D. Foxon RNR) was sunk on passage
from Crete.
______
Submarine
CLYDE made an
unsuccessful torpedo attack on a small steamer off
Terranova.
______
New Zealand light cruiser
LEANDER arrived at Suez and arrived at Alexandria on the
5th for duty with the 7th Cruiser Squadron.
Tuesday,
3 June
Battleship RODNEY,
escorted by destroyers TARTAR, PUNJABI,
ESKIMO, and ICARUS, departed the Clyde at 2200 for
refitting in the U.S.
Also sailing in company
was British liner WINDSOR CASTLE (19,141grt).
The battleship arrived at
Boston on the 13th.
______
Destroyers ELECTRA,
IMPULSIVE, and ANTELOPE departed
Scapa Flow at 0200 to Londonderry to refuel prior to
joining the escort of arriving
battleship NELSON.
The destroyers arrived at
1330 and departed at 1900
to meet the battleship in 49N, 23W.
On the 4th, destroyer
ELECTRA damaged her ASDIC
dome to hitting a whale. Destroyer ICARUS was ordered to
leave battleship
RODNEY and join the NELSON group.
______
Convoy WS.9A departed with
steamers SAMARIA (19,597grt), HIGHLAND BRIGADE
(14,134grt), EASTERN
PRINCE (10,926grt), AAGTEKERK (6811grt), CAPETOWN
CASTLE (27,000grt), EMPRESS OF JAPAN (26,032grt),
FRANCONIA (20,175grt),
MOOLTAN (20,952grt), ORBITA
(15,495grt), LLANGIBBY CASTLE (11,951grt), DURBAN CASTLE (17,388grt),
EMPIRE CONDOR (7773grt), EMPIRE
CURLEW (7101grt), EMPIRE EGRET (7248grt), and EMPIRE
WIDGEON (6736grt).
Anti-aircraft cruiser
CAIRO and destroyers
RICHMOND, RAMSEY, COSSACK, MAORI, SIKH, ZULU, OTTAWA,
RESTIGOUCHE,
VANQUISHER, and WINCHELSEA were with the convoy form 3
to 7 June.
Armed merchant cruiser
AUSONIA was with the convoy
from 3 to 6 June.
Armed merchant cruiser
DUNNOTTAR
CASTLE and light cruiser BIRMINGHAM, which departed the Clyde,
were with the convoy from 3 to 18 June.
Destroyers VANSITTART and
WILD SWAN joined the
convoy on the 13th and escorted it to Freetown arriving
on the 18th.
Destroyers HIGHLANDER,
VELOX, BOREAS, and BRILLIANT
were with the convoy from 16 to 18 June when the convoy
arrived.
The convoy and steamers
BERGENSFJORD (11,015grt),
ARONDA (4062grt), THYSVILLE (8351grt), and CHRISTIAAN
HUYGENS (16,287grt)
departed Freetown on the 20th. They were escorted by
destroyers
BOREAS, VELOX, WILD SWAN, and VANSITTART as local escort
from 20 to 22 June
and light cruiser BIRMINGHAM as ocean escort.
Steamers EASTERN PRINCE,
CAPETOWN
CASTLE, EMPRESS OF JAPAN, LLANGIBBY
CASTLE, DURBAN
CASTLE, and EMPIRE WIDGEON arrived at Capetown on 1 July. The remaining
ships and light cruiser BIRMINGHAM continued towards Durban.
Heavy cruiser HAWKINS relieved the light cruiser on 2
July. The convoy
arrived at Durban on 4 July.
The Capetown ships
departed Capetown on 5 July
escorted by light cruiser BIRMINGHAM.
Durban ships ARONDA,
AAGTEKERK, THYSVILLE, EMPIRE CONDOR,
EMPIRE EGRET, and EMPIRE CURLEW departed on 8 July
escorted by heavy cruiser
HAWKINS. They rendezvoused on 9 July with the Capetown
section and light
cruiser BIRMINGHAM was detached.
Steamers EMPRESS OF JAPAN,
CAPETOWN
CASTLE, and DURBAN
CASTLE were detached at 9-10N, 51-40E with armed merchant cruiser HECTOR as
convoy WS.9 AX for Bombay.
The convoy arrived on 24 July.
Convoy WS.9 AX departed
Bombay escorted by armed merchant cruiser ANTENOR and
arrived at Colombo on 30 July.
Steamers EMPRESS OF JAPAN
and CAPETOWN
CASTLE departed Colombo on 1 August
escorted by light cruiser MAURITIUS. The light cruiser
was relieved later by light
cruiser DURBAN. The convoy arrived at Singapore on 5
August.
The remaining ships
arrived at Aden on 21 July and proceeded independently
to Suez.
______
Minesweeper FRANKLIN was
damaged by two near misses of German bombing
in the North Sea.
The minesweeper spent no
time out of action.
______
Decoy ship MAMARI (Fleet
Tender C) struck the
sunken wreck of tanker AHAMO in 53-22N, 0-59E.
The ship remained fast and
attempts to remove the
ship during the day were unsuccessful.
During the night of 3/4
June, German S-boats
attacked the decoy ship with a torpedo striking the
AHAMO.
The crew of the decoy ship
was rescued by resuce
tug SABINE and landed at Grimsby.
______
In an attack on German
shipping, a British
Swordfish of 816 Squadron from Thorney
Island was shot down. P/T/Sub Lt (A) C.M. Richards RNVR, observer, and
Leading AirmanA.J. Atkin were killed. T/A/Sub Lt (A)
E.K. Margetts RNVR,
pilot, was taken prisoner.
______
German tanker BELCHEN
(6367grt) was sunk by light
cruisers AURORA and KENYA in the Greenland area
near 59N, 47W.
U.93 rescued some fifty
survivors.
______
U.48 sank British tanker
INVERSUIR (9456grt) in
48-28N, 28-20W. The entire crew was rescued.
______
U.75 sank Dutch steamer
EIBERGEN (4801grt), from
dispersed convoy OB.327, in 48-02N, 25-06W. Two crewmen
and two gunners were
lost on the Dutch steamer.Anti-aircraft ship CAIRO
rescued thirty five survivors on the 7th.
______
British steamer ROYAL
FUSILIER (2187grt) was badly
damaged by German bombing in 55-22N, 1-21W.
The steamer sank four
miles 200° from May Island. The entire crew was
rescued.
______
British steamer DENNIS
ROSE (1600grt) was damaged
by German bombing five miles west by south of Start
Point.
______
British troopship GLENGYLE
departed Alexandria, escorted by two Greek destroyers,
for Port Said to load equipment and landing craft for
EXPORTER,
the invasion of Syria.
Destroyers ILEX and
HOTSPUR departed Alexandria for Famagusta to embark
special service troops and transfer them
to troopship GLENGYLE.
The destroyers joined the
troopship at Port Said on the 4th.
______
Australian sloop
PARRAMATTA, after duty in the Red Sea, arrived at Alexandria for duty with the Mediterranean Fleet.
______
Anti-submarine ??? KLO
(T/Skipper J.S.E. Ward RNR) was damaged by German air
attack arriving at
Mersa Matruh.
Ward was killed. T/LT K.G.
Pullman RNR, died of wounds on 2 July.
______
Italian 7th Cruiser
Squadron of light cruisers
EUGENIO D'SAVOIA, DUCA D'AOSTA, and ATTENDOLO and 4th
Cruiser Squadron of
light cruisers BANDE NERE and DI GUISSANO with
destroyers PIGAFETTA, DA
MOSTA, DA VERAZZANO, DA RECCO, USODIMARE, GIOBERTI, and
SCIROCCO laid two
minefields northeast of Tripoli.
______
An Italian convoy of
steamers AQUITANIA (4971grt), NIRVO (5164grt), MONTELLO
(6117grt),
CAFFARO (6476grt), BEATRICE C. (6132grt), and POZARICA
(7599grt) escorted by
destroyers AVIERE, GENIERE, DARDO, and CAMICIA NERA
departed Naples for Tripoli.
Distant cover was provided
by cruisers DUCA DEGLI
ABRUZZI and GARIBALDI and destroyers GRANATIERE,
FUCLIERE, BERSAGLIERE, and
ALPINO from Palermo.
The convoy was attacked
twenty miles northeast of
Kerkenah by British aircraft on the 4th and steamers
BEATRICE C. and MONTELLO
were sunk.
______
Submarine PARTHIAN
torpedoed Italian tanker STROMBO
(5232grt) in Salamis Bay
in 39-57N, 25-38E.
The tanker was beached off
Dardanelles a total loss.
______
Submarine UNIQUE damaged
Italian steamer ARSIA
(736grt) off Lampedusa.
The steamer had departed
Tripoli on the 1st in a convoy of steamer COSTANZA
(582grt) and tug COSTANTE NERI (100grt) and escorted by
gunboat GRAZIOLI
LANTE for Trapani.
______
Submarine
TORBAY sank a
caique, carrying oil drums, off Mitylene with artillery.
______
Motor torpedo boat MTB.215
sank Turkish auxiliary schooner IKI KARDESHLER
in 35-56N, 32-52E.
The schooner was carrying
petrol and was suspected
of sailing under false orders.
______
Corvette ASTER departed
Gibraltar for Bathurst.
______
Submarine P.32 arrived at
Gibraltar from Holy Loch.
______
Light cruiser DANAE
departed Singapore.
Wednesday,
4 June
Light cruiser NIGERIA
arrived at Scapa Flow after refitting at Rosyth.
______
Dutch minelayer VAN
MEERLANT was sunk by mining in
the Thames Estuary.
T/Sub Lt N. Moore RNVR,
T/Sub Lt R.C. Palmer RNVR,
and T/LT (E) R.R.G. Perrett RNR, were
lost in the ship.
T/LT R.H. Church RNR, was
wounded in the minelayer.
______
Anti-aircraft ship
ALYNBANK departed Scapa Flow at 0615 to join convoy
WN.35 in Pentland Firth and escort it southeastward.
On meeting convoy EC.28,
the ship transferred to
that convoy and remained in company through the day.
On the 5th, ship ALYNBANK
transferred to convoy
WN.36 west of the Orkneys. The convoy was attacked
during the evening of 5
June and a steamer was set afire and a trawler was
damaged.
British steamer QUEENSBURY
(3911grt) was sunk by
German bombing in 56-50N, 2-07W from convoy WN.36.
Ten crewmen and one gunner
were lost on the
steamer.
The convoy and ship
ALYNBANK arrived at Methil at
0900/6th.
______
Convoy OG.64 departed
Liverpool, escorted by anti-submarine trawlers CANNA,
LADY
SHIRLEY, LAERTES, and LORD IRWIN.
On the 5th, the convoy was
joined by destroyers
ROXBOROUGH, SALISBURY, and SKATE, sloop FOLKESTONE,
ocean boarding
vessel HILARY, corvettes ANEMONE, CLARKIE, and VERONICA.
The ocean boarding
vessel departed the convoy that night.
The destroyers and
corvettes were detached on the
8th.
On the 12th, corvettes
COREOPSIS and FLEUR DE LYS
and Dutch submarine O.21 joined the convoy.
Corvettes COREOPSIS and
FLEUR DE LYS were detached
on the 13th.
Destroyers AVONVALE,
ERIDGE, and FARNDALE, arriving
from the Irish Sea Force, and WRESTLER, which departed
Gibraltar on the 13th, joined the convoy on the 17th.
Anti-submarine trawler
LADY SHIRLEY was detached
and arrived at Gibraltar on the 16th, and arrived at
Gibraltar on the 18th with sloop FOLKESTONE, the four
destroyers, submarine O.21, deperming vessels SPRINGTIDE
and SPRINGDALE, minesweeper CORBRAE and LORD IRWIN,
anti-submarine trawler LAERTES, naval trawler CANNA, and
whalers GOS 7, KOS 10, KOS 11, and
KOS 12.
______
Convoy HG.64 departed
Gibraltar escorted by sloop BIDEFORD, corvettes
COREOPSIS
and FLEUR DE LYS, Dutch submarine O.21, and
anti-submarine trawler STELLA
CARINA.Two motor launches departed with the convoy for
local escort.
Corvette WOODRUFF joined
on the 5th and was
detached the next day for Bathurst.
The anti-submarine trawler
was detached on the
10th.
Corvettes COREOPSIS and
FLEUR DE LYS were detached
on the 12th to convoy OG.64.
On the 14th, ocean
boarding vessels LADY SOMERS and
MALVERNIAN joined the convoy.
Destroyers SKATE and
WALKER and corvettes HYDRANGEA and WALLFLOWER joined the
convoy on the 15th.
Convoy HG.64 arrived at
Liverpool on the 19th.
______
Aircraft carrier ARGUS and
Greek troopship NEA
HELLAS, escorted locally by destroyers FOXHOUND,
FORESIGHT, and FURY departed
Gibraltar for the UK. Corvettes GERANIUM and JONQUIL
were to escort the
ships during daylight on the 5th, but a forecast of bad
weather which would
make the escorts inefficient forced the ships to return
to Gibraltar, arriving on the 5th.
______
German tanker ESSO HAMBURG
(9849grt) was scuttled when she was intercepted by
Heavy cruiser LONDON and destroyer BRILLIANT in 7-35N,
31-25W. The
entire crew of eighty seven officers and ratings were
rescued.
______
German supply ship
GONZENHEIM (4104grt) was first
located by armed merchant cruiser ESPERANCE
BAY,
but the cruiser was not fast enough to intercept. The
ship was next sighted
by an aircraft fromaircraft carrier VICTORIOUS in
43-32N, 23-56W.Battleship
NELSON, from convoy SL.75, intercepted the supply ship
and ordered
lightcruiser NEPTUNE to board. The supply ship scuttled
herself in
43-29N, 24-04W.
Light cruiser NEPTUNE,
which had been detached from
convoy WS.8 X, rescued sixty three survivors from the
German ship and took
them to Gibraltar.
______
German tanker GEDANIA
(8923grt) was captured in the
North Atlantic in 43-38N, 28-15W by Ocean boarding
vessel
MARSDALE. The tanker was carrying forty eight torpedoes
to replenish U.boats.
The tanker was taken for
British use and renamed
EMPIRE GARDEN.
______
U.101 sank British steamer
TRECARRELL (5271grt) in
47-10N, 31W. Four crewmen were lost on the steamer.
______
British dredger ROBERT
HUGHES (2879grt) was sunk a
mine laid by U.69 on 27 May at the mouth of the Lagos
River.
Thursday,
5 June
Light cruisers AURORA and
KENYA arrived at Iceland after searching for German
supply ships. AURORA continued on to Scapa Flow,
arriving on the 7th.
______
Light cruiser HERMIONE
arrived at Iceland after Denmark Strait
patrol.
______
Armed merchant cruiser
AURANIA arrived at Iceland after being withdrawn from
Northern Patrol after a
submarine was reported in her area.
______
Destroyer MATABELE struck
a submerged object after
leaving Barrow at 2200/4th for Scapa Flow.
The destroyer returned to
Barrow, arriving at
1700/5th, for repairs completing in August.
______
Destroyer INTREPID
departed Scapa Flow at 0001 for Immingham to fit TSDS
and carry out
repairs.
The destroyer arrived off
the Humber at 1700.
______
Naval trawler ASH (505grt,
Lt A.G. Newell, NZRNVR) was lost on a
mine in the Thames Estuary.
There were some rating
casualties in the trawler.
______
German tanker EGERLAND
(9789grt) scuttled herself
when she was intercepted by Heavy cruiser LONDON and
destroyer BRILLIANT at 07N, 31W. The entire
crew of ninety four officers and ratings were rescued.
______
U.48 sank British tanker
WELLFIELD (6054grt) in
48-34N, 31-34W.
Eight crewmen were lost on
the tanker.
______
British coal hulk HIMALAYA (3540grt) was sunk by German bombing at
Portland.
______
British balloon barrage
drifter LAVINIA L. (73grt) was
sunk by German bombing at Sheerness. One crewman was
lost on the drifter.
______
British steamer MYRMIDON
(6278grt) was damaged on a
mine in Crosby Channel.
The steamer returned to
Liverpool.Permanent repairs
were accomplished at New York.
______
Battlecruiser RENOWN,
aircraft carriers ARK ROYAL and FURIOUS, and six
destroyers departed Gibraltar to fly off 43 Hurricanes
to Malta on the 6th in Operation ROCKET.
Group 1 was battlecruiser
RENOWN, aircraft carrier
FURIOUS, and destroyers FAULKNOR, FORESIGHT, FORESTER,
and FOXHOUND.
Group 2 was aircraft
carrier ARK ROYAL, light
cruiser SHEFFIELD, and destroyers FEARLESS and FURY.
Force H.safely returned to
Gibraltar on the 7th after the fly off.
______
Anti-aircraft cruiser
COVENTRY and destroyers ISIS and HERO departed
Alexandria to join troopship GLENGYLE at Port Said.
______
Submarine RORQUAL departed
Alexandria with supplies for Malta where she arrived on
the 11th.
______
Australian destroyers
VOYAGER and VENDETTA departed
Alexandria to deliver supplies to Tobruk during the
night of
5/6 June.
The destroyers unloaded
and returned to Mersa
Matruh.
______
Submarine TRIUMPH sank
small Italian gunboat
VALOROSO and steamers FRIEDA (245grt) and TRIO
FRASSINETTI (244grt) in
31-39N, 15-39E.
______
Australian heavy cruiser
AUSTRALIA and New Zealand light cruiser ACHILLES
escorted convoy VK.2 of two
ships from Sydney to Wellington, where they arrived on
the 9th.
Friday,
6 June
Destroyer ANTHONY departed
Scapa Flow at 0900 and met steamer AMSTERDAM and LADY OF
MANN off the entrance to Aberdeen.
The ships were escorted to
the Orkneys; steamer
LADY OF MANN to Long Hope and destroyer ANTHONY and
steamer AMSTERDAM to
Kirkwall arriving
at 2200.
Destroyer ANTHONY and
steamer AMSTERDAM departed Kirkwall at 0430
for Lerwick where they arrived at 1000.
Destroyer ANTHONY
escorting steamer AMSTERDAM
departed Lerwick at 0430/8th.Steamer LADY OF MANN
departed Scapa Flow at 0930
and joined off Duncansby Head. On arrival at Aberdeen at
1545, destroyer ANTHONY parted company and
returned to Scapa Flow, arriving at 2130.
______
Battlecruiser REPULSE
arrived at Conception
Bay
after escorting convoy HX.129.
______
German blockade runner
ELBE (9179grt), which had
left Darien on 20 April, sunk by a Swordfish, flown by
sub Lt (A) J.B. Murray
of 824 Squadron, from aircraft carrier EAGLE in the
South Atlantic at 23-30N,
36-09W.
A search for survivors was
unsuccessful. On the
21st, ocean boarding vessel HILARY rescued nineteen
survivors from the German
ship.
______
Italian submarine VENIERO
attacked convoy HG.64 in
34N, 11W.
British steamer ARIOSTO
(2176grt)
was missed by torpedoes.
The Italian submarine
reported attacking another
steamer in this convoy.
______
Italian submarine MARCONI
attacked convoy OG.63 in
35N, 11W in the same vicinity of convoy HG.64.
British steamer BARON
LOVAT (3395grt) was sunk in
35-30N, 11-30W.
There were no casualties
on the steamer.
Swedish steamer TABERG
(1392grt) was sunk in
35-36N, 11-12W.
Fifteen crewmen were lost
on the Swedish steamer.
The Italian submarine
reported sinking one more
ship and damaging another, but no information is
available.
Italian submarines VELELLA
and EMO joined in the
attack on the convoy.
The two submarines claimed
sinking two steamers
each, but no confirmation is available.
______
U.106 sank British steamer
SACRAMENTO
VALLEY (4573grt) at 17-10N, 30-10W. Three crewmen were lost on the steamer.
______
U.46 attacked a tanker
south of Greenland.
The submarine heard a very
heavy detonation, but
did not observe a hit. The submarine was rammed while
submerged by the tanker
running in a circle.
No identity is available
on the tanker.
______
U.43 sank Dutch steamer
YSELHAVEN (4802grt), from
dispersed convoy OB.328, in 49-25N, 40-54W.
Twenty four of a thirty
four man crew were lost
from the steamer.
______
U.48 sank British steamer
TREGARTHEN (5201grt) in
46-17N, 36-20W. The entire crew were lost.
______
British steamer GLEN HEAD
(2011grt) was sunk by
German bombing in 35-40N, 10-30W.
Twenty seven crewmen were
lost on the steamer.
______
Norwegian steamer TAURUS
(4767grt) was sunk by
German bombing in 56-47N, 2-15W. The entire crew were
rescued.
______
British trawler EMULATOR
(168grt) was damaged by
German bombing seven to eight miles east of Scarborough.
______
Destroyers WIVERN, WILD
SWAN, and VANSITTART
arrived at Gibraltar after escort duty with convoy WS.8X
for
refuelling.
______
Aircraft carrier ARGUS and
troopship NEA HELLAS, escorted
by destroyers WIVERN, WILD SWAN, and VANSITTART,
departed Gibraltar to meet aircraft carrier VICTORIOUS
and light
cruiser NEPTUNE. The destroyers would return with
VICTORIOUS and NEPTUNE to Gibraltar.
ARGUS and steamer NEA
HELLAS (16,991grt) arrived in
the Clyde on the 14th.
At 1100/8th, the
destroyers joined VICTORIOUS and NEPTUNE. Destroyer WRESTLER, after reinforcing the OG.63 escort, also joined
the VICTORIOUS escort.
______
Submarine
TORBAY damaged
French tanker ALBERTA (3357grt) with artillery eight
miles 75° from Cape
Hellas.
The tanker was boarded and
further damage was done
to the tanker.
When Turkish tug
TAXIARCHIS tried to tow the
damaged tanker on the 9th, submarine TORBAY fired a torpedo which missed.
Submarine
TORBAY sank tanker
ALBERTA on the 10th.
______
Convoy HX.131 departed
Halifax, escorted by armed merchant cruiser CHESHIRE and
corvettes PICTOU and RIMOUSKI.
Convoy BHX.131 departed
Bermuda on the 4th escorted by ocean escort armed merchant cruiser WOLFE. The
convoy rendezvoused with convoy HX.131 on the 9th and
the armed merchant
cruiser was detached.
The convoy was joined on
the 12th by corvette
HONEYSUCKLE.All these escorts were detached on the
17th.Joining on the 17th
were destroyers BEAGLE, BOADICEA, and SALISBURY,
catapult ship MAPLIN,
corvettes GLADIOLUS, NIGELLA, ORCHIS, and POLYANTHUS,
minesweepers SEAGULL
and SHARPSHOOTER, and anti-submarine trawlers AYRSHIRE,
LADY MADELEINE, and
ST LOMAN. Corvette GLADIOLUS was detached on the 18th,
destroyers BEAGLE and SALISBURY and corvette POLYANTHUS
on the 19th, and destroyer
BOADICEA and corvette NIGELLA on the 20th. The remainder
of the escort
arrived with the convoy arrived at Liverpool on the
23rd.
Saturday,
7 June
Battlecruiser REPULSE
departed Conception
Bay
for Halifax, and arrived on the 9th to escort convoy
TC.11.
______
Fleet units at Scapa Flow
went to one hour's notice at 2000 on a report of
German main fleet units.
The notice was
subsequently cancelled on the 8th.
______
Anti-aircraft ship
ALYNBANK departed methil at 1100
and escorted convoy EC.29 from May Island.
Ship ALYNBANK arrived at
Scapa Flow at 0100/9th after having parted company with
the
convoy off Cape Wrath.
______
Examination vessel No.10
(281grt) was sunk in
mining off Milford Haven.
______
U.38 sank British steamer
KINGSTON HILL (7628grt)
at 9-35N, 29-40W.
Fourteen crewmen were lost
on the steamer.
______
Destroyer HERO departed
Port Said on the 6th for Haifa to complete final
arrangements with the Army for
EXPORTER.
ForceB of light cruisers
PHOEBE and AJAX and destroyers KANDAHAR, KIMBERLEY,
JACKAL, and JANUS departed Alexandria on the 7th to be
off the Syrian coast at daylight
on the 8th for Operation EXPORTER.
Force C of British troops
ship GLENGYLE, escorted
by anti-aircraft cruiser COVENTRY
and destroyers ILEX, HOTSPUR, and ISIS departed Port
Said on the 7th to land troops in Syria.
______
Battlecruiser RENOWN,
aircraft carriers ARK ROYAL,
FURIOUS, light cruiser SHEFFIELD and destroyers
FAULKNOR, FEARLESS, FOXHOUND,
FORESTER, and FURY departed Gibraltar to meet aircraft
carrier VICTORIOUS.
______
Submarine REGENT departed
Gibraltar for Malta.
______
Submarine O.24 departed
Gibraltar for patrol in the Gulf of Genoa.
______
Submarine
SEVERN arrived at Gibraltar
after patrol.
Sunday,
8 June
Battleship NELSON,
escorted by destroyers ELECTRA,
IMPULSIVE, and ANTELOPE, arrived at Scapa Flow at 0030
to rejoin the Home Fleet after duty in the South
Atlantic.
______
Light cruiser KENYA
departed Iceland to reinforce light cruiser EDINBURGH on
Denmark
Straits patrol.
However, light cruiser
KENYA was recalled to fuel and proceed to the Iceland
Faroes passage patrol.
______
Destroyers TARTAR,
PUNJABI, and ESKIMO arrived at Scapa Flow at 1930 after
escorting battleship RODNEY.
______
Convoy OB.331 departed
Liverpool escorted by destroyers ASSINIBOINE and
BULLDOG, corvettes ARROWHEAD, AUBRETIA,
CARNATION, HOLLYHOCK, and PRIMROSE, and anti-submarine
trawlers ANGLE,
DANEMAN, and KING SOL. The convoy was joined on the 9th
by minesweepers
BRITOMART and SALAMANDER and catapult ship ARIGUANI. The
catapult ship was
detached on the 11th. On the 11th, sloops ABERDEEN and
LONDONDERRY and
corvette CAMELLIA joined. Destroyer BULLDOG, corvettes
AUBRETIA, CARNATION,
and HOLLYHOCK the minesweepers, and the anti-submarine
trawlers were detached
on the 12th.Sloop LONDONDERRY and corvette ARROWHEAD
were detached on the 13th
and destroyer HARVESTER joined. The convoy was dispersed
on the 18th.
______
Convoy OB.332 departed
Liverpool, escorted by corvettes DIANTHUS, NASTURTIUM,
and
SPIKENARD and catapult ship MAPLIN. Destroyer
CHESTERFIELD and corvettes HEPATICA, MAYFLOWER,
TRILLIUM, and
WINDFLOWER joined on the 9th. Destroyer CHESTERFIELD was
detached on the 10th. On the 10th, destroyers
HARVESTER and HAVELOCK, sloop SANDWICH, and
anti-submarine yacht PHILANTE joined. Destroyer
HARVESTER was detached on the
12th. On the 13th, sloop LONDONDERRY and corvettes
ARROWHEAD, EYEBRIGHT, and SNOWBERRY
joined. Destroyer HAVELOCK was detached on the
18th.Sloop SANDWICH and corvettes HEPATICA, SNOWBERRY, TRILLIUM, and WINDFLOWER were
detached on the 19thThe convoy arrived at
Halifax on the 23rd.
______
Naval drifter COR JESU
(97grt) was sunk by German
bombing off Alnmouth, 55-29N, 1-27W. The entire crew
were rescued.
______
U.108 sank British steamer
BARON NAIRN (3164grt)at
47-35N, 39-02W. One crewman was lost on the steamer.
______
U.107 sank British steamer
ADDA (7816grt) at 8-30N,
14-39W.
Seven crewmen, two
passengers, and the Convoy
Commodore, Captain W.H. Kelly CBE DSO, RD RNR, were lost on
the steamer. Survivors were rescued
by Corvette CYCLAMEN.
______
U.108 sank Greek steamer
DIRPHYS (4240grt) in
47-44N, 39-02W.
Six crewmen were lost.
______
U.103 sank British steamer
ELMDENE (4853grt) at
8-16N, 16-50W. The entire crew were rescued.
______
U.46 damaged British
tanker ENSIS (6207grt) and
sank British steamer TREVARRACK (5270grt) in 48-46N,
29-14W.
The tanker returned to St
Johns, N.F. arriving on the 15th. The ship was repaired
at Halifax.
There were no survivors
from the steamer.
______
U.48 sank Dutch tanker
PENDRECHT (10,746grt), from
dispersed convoy OB.329, in 45-18N, 36-40W.
There were no casualties
on the Dutch tanker.
______
British trawler REMAGIO
(174grt) was damaged by German
aircraft near Bamburgh in 48-46N, 29-14W during the
night of 8/9 June.
The trawler was abandoned
ashore one quarter mile
north of Bamburgh.
The trawler was refloated
on the 26th and brought
to Holy Island.
______
British trawler HOPTON
(202grt) was sunk on a
British mine off Iceland, 62-56N, 12-30W.
Eleven crewmen were lost.
Master of trawler British
trawler HONDO (229grt),
which was in charge of HOPTON, was subsequently
suspended for navigating in a
prohibited area.
______
British troopship GLENGYLE
with destroyers ILEX and
HERO returned to Port
Said when the
landing was cancelled due to heavy surf on the beach at
Litani (Leontes)
River.
Orders were received to
land the troops before dawn
on the 9th.
Troopship GLENGYLE and
destroyers ILEX and HERO
departed Port
Said and the
troops were landed as planned.
Light cruisers PHOEBE and
AJAX and destroyers KANDAHAR, KIMBERLEY, JACKAL, and
JANUS arrived off Syria on the 8th to support the Army.
Destroyer KIMBERLEY
engaged a French shore battery near Kahn Bridge.
Two Fulmars of 803
Squadron from Dekheila were shot
down. Lt J.M. Christian with Sub Lt N.
Cullen and Petty Officer J.A. Gardner with Leading
Airman H. Pickering were
lost.
______
Destroyer KELVIN and
gunboat APHIS departed Alexandria for Port Said.
Gunboat APHIS for repairs
at Port Said. Destroyer KELVIN continued on to Bombay
for repairs, arriving on the 19th. The destroyer's
repairs were completed at the end of December.She sailed
from Bombay on 31 December and arrived at Aden on 4
January.
Destroyer KELVIN arrived
back at Suez 6 January.
______
Submarine
CLYDE
unsuccessfully attacked an Italian destroyer off Naples.
That evening, the
submarine sank Italian steamer
STURLA (1195grt) with gunfire five miles off Policastro.
______
Submarine TAKU sent a
shore party into Benghasi Harbour and damaged a steamer in harbour.
______
Submarine PARTHIAN sank
two schooners and a lighter
in Mitylene Harbour.
______
Convoy SL.77 departed
Freetown escorted by armed merchant cruiser ARAWA to 2
July, corvettes GARDENIA and MARGUERITE to 13 June, and
anti-submarine yacht
SURPRISE from 8 to 13 June. Corvette CYCLAMEN escorted
the convoy on 10 and
11 June.
Heavy cruiser NORFOLK
joined on the 15th and continued to 27 June when
she was detached to Scapa Flow.
On the 23rd, ocean
boarding vessels CAVINA and
HILARY joined to 3 July. Destroyers BATH to 2 July,
VANOC, and WALKER and corvettes HYDRANGEA and WALLFLOWER
joined on
the 29th, and arrived at Liverpool on 3 July.
Monday,
9 June
Heavy cruiser SUFFOLK
rejoined the Home Fleet at Scapa Flow after escorting
convoy HX.129 and searching for
German supply ships.
______
Light cruiser KENYA sailed
from Iceland for the Iceland Faroes passage.
______
Light cruiser MANCHESTER
departed
Scapa Flow for Iceland.
______
Destroyers INGLEFIELD,
ICARUS, and ACHATES departed
Scapa Flow at 1200 for Reykjavik where they arrived
during the afternoon of 10
June.
______
Destroyers IMPULSIVE and
ANTHONY departed Scapa Flow at 0600 for Loch Alsh to
escort minelayers during
minelay SN.64.
______
U.46 sank British steamer
PHIDIAS (5623grt) in
48-25N, 26-12W.
Eight crewmen were lost on
the steamer.
______
U.101 sank British steamer
SILVERPALM (6373grt) in
51N, 26W. The entire crew were lost on the steamer.
______
British steamer DIANA
(942grt) was sunk by German
bombing in 62-04N, 13-40W.
One gunner was lost on the
steamer. The survivors
were picked up by anti-submarine trawler CAPE
PORTLAND and taken to Thorshavn.
______
British steamer DAGMAR
(844grt) was sunk by German
bombing in 50-35N, 1-48W. Three crewmen were lost on the
steamer.
______
Finnish steamer FENIX
(1894grt) was sunk by German
bombing in 61-56N, 12-14W. One crewman was lost on the
steamer.
______
Spanish steamer SABINA
(2421grt) was sunk on a mine
forty miles from Genoa. The entire crew were rescued.
______
Aircraft carrier
VICTORIOUS and light cruiser
NEPTUNE, escorted by destroyers WIVERN, WILD SWAN, and
VANSITTART, were met
at sea by battlecruiser RENOWN, aircraft carriers ARK
ROYAL and FURIOUS,
light cruiser SHEFFIELD, and destroyers FAULKNOR,
FEARLESS, FOXHOUND,
FORESTER, and FURY.
Light cruiser NEPTUNE was
sent into Gibraltar, arriving on the 9th to land German
prisoners and
captured documents from the German ship GONZENEHEIM.
Destroyer WIVERN was sent
into Gibraltar on the 9th and destroyers WILD SWAN,
VANSITTART,
and WRESTLER arrived on the 10th.
Force H.arrived safely at
Gibraltar on the 11th.
Aircraft carrier FURIOUS,
after transferring
personnel and aircraft to aircraft carrier VICTORIOUS,
returned to England,
accompanied by light cruiser SHEFFIELD and destroyer
FURY. Light cruiser SHEFFIELD was detached from the
aircraft carrier and ordered
to patrol an area bounded by 45N, 23W and 44N, 25W. The
destroyer was also
detached to rejoin Force H. The aircraft carrier arrived
in the Clyde on the 14th.
Light cruiser SHEFFIELD
joined convoy SL.76 on the 14th to return to England for
refitting. The light cruiser arrived at Scapa Flow on
the 18th.
______
Light cruiser NEPTUNE
departed Gibraltar for Freetown.
______
Light cruiser PHOEBE was
attacked by a French
submarine CAIMAN off the Syrian coast, but was not
damaged.At this point,
Admiral King withdrew his cruisers to Haifa.
French destroyers VALMY
and GUEPARD from Beirut bombarded British positions in
Syria.
Destroyer JANUS, alone off
Sidon, engaged the French destroyers and was badly
damaged. Destroyers HOTSPUR, ISIS, and JACKAL joined and
drove the French
destroyers off.
Destroyers KIMBERLEY and
KANDAHAR were bombarding the Khan Bridge and also joined destroyer JANUS.
Destroyer JANUS was towed
to Haifa by destroyer KIMBERLEY at a speed of 12 knots
while destroyers ISIS,
HOTSPUR, JACKAL pursued the French destroyers.
Destroyer JACKAL sustained
slight damage from a
shell hit.She had no time out of service.
Destroyer KANDAHAR covered
destroyer JANUS' retirement and recovered
the pilots from a French fighter and a British Hurricane
which collided
during the raids on JANUS.
The French destroyers
arrived back at Beirut.
Destroyer JANUS arrived at
Haifa on the 10th. The destroyer was towed from Haifa by
netlayer PROTECTOR and escorted by sloop
FLAMINGO on the 11th to Port Said, arriving on the 12th.
Netlayer PROTECTOR and
sloop FLAMINGO returned to Alexandria.
The destroyer was
eventually taken to Simonstown
for repair through the end of 1941.
______
Australian destroyer
STUART and Destroyers JAGUAR, GRIFFIN, and DEFENDER
departed Alexandria to reinforce Force B.
______
British sumarine URGE
unsuccessfully a steamer northwest
of Lampedusa.
______
New Zealand light cruiser
LEANDER departed Alexandria for Port Said to have her
catapult removed.
The cruiser returned to
Alexandria on the 10th.
______
British troopship
GLENEARN, towed by netlayer
PROTECTOR and escorted by sloop FLAMINGO, departed
Alexandria for Port Said.
After arriving, netlayer
PROTECTOR and sloop
FLAMINGO proceeded to Haifa
to tow damaged destroyer JANUS.
______
Leading Airman W.
McCulloch of 31 SFTS Kingston, Ontario, was killed when
his Battle crashed near Gananoque, Ontario.
______
Light cruiser DAUNTLESS
completed refitting at Singapore.
Tuesday,
10 June
Minelayers AGAMEMNON and
MENESTHEUS and destroyers BRIGHTON, ST MARYS, IMPULSIVE, and ANTHONY departed Loch Alsh on the 9th.
Light cruiser NIGERIA
departed
Scapa Flow on the
9th and joined at sea for escort duties.
The minelayers laid
minefield SN.64 on the 10th in
the Faroes North Rona minefield.
The minelayers and
destroyers BRIGHTON and ST MARYS arrived at Loch Alsh on the 11th.
Destroyers IMPULSIVE and
ANTHONY parted company
with the minelaying force off Cape Wrath arrived
at Scapa Flow at 1030/11th.
Light cruiser NIGERIA
arrived at Skaalefjord on the 11th to refuel
before proceeding on patrol.
______
Light cruisers EDINBURGH
and NIGERIA departed the Denmark Strait patrol to refuel
at Hvalfjord.
______
Light cruiser ARETHUSA
departed the Iceland Faroes
patrol and arrived at Scapa
Flow.
______
Convoy OB.333 departed
Liverpool, escorted by destroyer WALKER and corvettes
GENTIAN, WALLFLOWER, and ZINNIA. Destroyers AVON VALE,
ERIDGE, and FARNDALE
joined on the 11th and were detached on the 13th.
Destroyer WALKER and
corvette WALLFLOWER were detached on the 14th. The
convoy was dispersed on
the 21st.
______
Polish destroyer KRAKOWIAK
departed Scapa Flow at 0700 for Scapa Flow to work up.
The destroyer arrived at
2000/11th.
______
Anti-aircraft ship
ALYNBANK departed Scapa Flow at 2315 to join convoy
WN.38 in Pentland Firth and escort it southeastward.
During the afternoon of 11
June, the ship
transferred to convoy EC.31 south of Buchan Ness.Off
Duncansby Head on the
12th, the ship shifted to convoy WN.39 and escorted it
to Methil where they
arrived at 1200/13th.
______
Patrol sloop PINTAIL
(Lt J.L.E. McClintock) was sunk on a mine off
the Humber, escorting convoy FN.477.
McClintock, Lt
J. Brunton RNR, T/Sub Lt W.A. Johnson RNR, Gunner J.E.
Lucie, Commissioned Engineer S.W.
Paris, andforty eight ratings were lost.Twenty two
survivors were picked up
by destroyer QUANTOCK and another ship.
______
U.204 sank Belgian steamer
MERCIER (7886grt) in
48-30N, 41-30W.
Seven crewmen were lost on
the steamer.
______
U.108 sank Norwegian
steamer CHRISTIAN KROHG
(1992grt) from convoy OB.328 in 45N, 36-30W. The entire
crew were lost on the
steamer.
The submarine had tried an
unsuccessful attack on
this steamer the day before.
______
U.552 sank British steamer
AINDERBY (4860grt) in
55-30N, 12-10W.
Eleven crewmen and one
gunner was lost on the
steamer.
______
British steamer ROYAL SCOT
(1444grt) was sunk on a mine five cables 70° from
62 Buoy, Humber River entrance.
Ten crewmen and one gunner
was lost on the steamer.
______
British steamer CLEARPOOL
(5404grt) was damaged by
German bombing off 18B Buoy, Scarborough. Two crewmen
were lost on the steamer.
The steamer arrived at
Tees on the 11th.She was repaired at
Hartlepool.
______
ForceB of light cruisers
PHOEBE and AJAX,
anti-aircraft cruiser COVENTRY, and destroyers KANDAHAR,
KIMBERLEY, JACKAL,
ILEX, ISIS, HOTSPUR, and HERO.
Destroyers STUART, JAGUAR,
GRIFFIN, and DEFENDER acted as a separate anti-submarine
force.
______
Submarine
TORBAY
unsuccessfully attacked a six ship convoy, including
steamers UTILITAS,
ALBARO, and GIUSEPINA GHIRADI, in the Dardenelles.
In a second attack, the
submarine struck steamer
UTILITAS with a torpedo which did not explode, but
imbedded in the hull.
In a third
attack,submarine TORBAY sank Italian steamer GIUSEPPINA GHIRARDI (3319grt), which was
straggling, fifteen miles off Cape
Helles.
______
British steamer DURENDA
(7241grt) was damaged by
German bombing approaching Port Said.
British steamer RABY
CASTLE (4996grt) in company was not damaged.
The steamers were not
escorted.
Steamer DURENDA received
temporary repairs at Port Said and permanent repairs at
Bombay.
______
British operation
CHRONOMETER was carried out.
Indian troops were landed
at Assab from a transport
covered by light cruiser DIDO, armed boarding vessel
CHAKDINA, and Indian
sloops CLIVE and INDUS.
Light cruiser DIDO carried
out a bombardment prior
to the landing.
On the 11th, light cruiser
DIDO and sloops CLIVE
and INDUS departed for Aden.
______
Anti-submarine trawlers ST
MELANTE and RUNSWICK BAY
departed Gibraltar for Bathurst, escorting salvage tug
VALKYRIE, which was
EN.route to the Eastern
Mediterranean.
______
Convoy HX.132 departed
Halifax, escorted by battleship REVENGE, destroyer
ANNAPOLIS, and auxiliary patrol vessel REINDEER. The
destroyer and the patrol vessel were detached later that
day.
Convoy BHX.132 departed
Bermuda on the 8th escorted by ocean escort armed merchant cruiser MALOJA.
The convoy rendezvoused with convoy HX.132 on the 13th
and the armed merchant
cruiser was detached.
Destroyers NIAGARA and SAGUENAY joined on the
14th. Corvette COBALT joined on the
15th. On the 16th, destroyers COLUMBIA, RAMSEY,
RESTIGOUCHE, and RICHMOND and corvette CANDYTUFT joined
the convoy.
Destroyers COLUMBIA and RESTIGOUCHE were detached on the
18th.Battleship
REVENGE was detached on the 20th. Destroyers RICHMOND
and
SAGUENAY and
corvette COBALT was detached on the 23rd. On the 23rd,
destroyers BROKE and
SALADIN, corvettes ABELIA, ANEMONE, and VERONICA,
minesweeper HUSSAR, and
anti-submarine trawlers ST ELSTAN, ST KENAN, and ST ZENO
joined. Corvette
CANDYTUFT was detached on the 24th. The remainder of the
escort arrived with
the convoy arrived at Liverpool on the 28th.
______
Convoy SC.34 departed
Sidney CB, escorted by armed
merchant cruiser RANPURA and auxiliary patrol boats
RACCOON and REINDEER. The
patrol vessels were detached in the harbour approaches
on the 11th. Destroyer
RESTIGOUCHE joined on the 15th and was detached on the
18th. Destroyers COLUMBIA, NIAGARA, RAMSEY, RICHMOND,
and SAGUENAY and corvettes
CANDYTUFT and COBALT joined on the 16th. Destroyers
RAMSEY and RICHMOND were detached on the 22nd. The rest
of the
original escort, less destroyer NIAGARA, but
including the armed merchant cruiser was detached on the
23rd. On the 23rd
destroyer BROKE joined the escort. On the 24th,
destroyers LINCOLN, SABRE,
SHIKARI, and VENOMOUS, corvettes ALISMA and SUNFLOWER,
minesweepers,
GOSSAMER, HAZARD, and HEBE, and catapult ship PEGASUS
joined. Destroyers
LINCOLN and NIAGARA and corvette ALISMA were detached on
the 27th. Destroyers
BROKE, SABRE, SHIKARI, and VENOMOUS and the minesweepers
were detached. The
convoy arrived in the Clyde on the 29th.
______
New Zealand light cruiser
ACHILLES departed
Wellington with convoy AP 41.
This convoy, as convoy
VK.12, was escorted to
Wellington by Australian heavy cruiser AUSTRALIA.
The light cruiser escorted
the convoy to 230 miles
east of Chatham Island.
Wednesday,
11 June
The Fleet at Scapa Flow
came to one hour's notice at 0430 on receipt of
report of German heavy cruiser LUTZOW in the Skagerrak
approaching the North Sea.
______
Convoy OB.334 departed
Liverpool, escorted by corvette POLYANTHUS and
anti-submarine trawler AYRSHIRE. The convoy was joined
on the 12th by
destroyer BEAGLE and corvettes GLADOILUS, NIGELLA, and
ORCHIS, catapult ship
MAPLIN, minesweepers SEAGULL and SHARPSHOOTER, and
anti-submarine trawlers
LADY MADELEINE and ST LOMAN. The destroyer, the catapult
ship, corvettes
GLADIOLUS and NIGELLA, and the minesweepers were
detached on the 17th. The
convoy was joined on the 17th by destroyer BURNHAM and
CHURCHILL, armed
merchant cruiser AURANIA, and corvettes DIANTHUS and
SPIKENARD. Destroyer
CHESTERFIELD was with the convoy on the 19th. The armed
merchant cruiser, destroyer BURNHAM, and corvettes
DIANTHUS, ORCHIS, and
SPIKENARD were detached on the 20th.Battleship REVENGE
and armed merchant
cruisers BULOLO and CALIFORNIA joined on the 20th. The convoy arrived at
Halifax on the 25th.
______
Sub Lt T P D'Donovan and
Sub Lt H. Morris were
killed when their Fulmar of 800 Squadron collided with a
Martlet of 881
Squadron off Lee. The Martlet’s pilot, Lt J A Rooper was
also killed.
______
During night take off at
Arbroath, Sub Lt (A)
S.H.Bunch was killed when his Sea Hurricane hit a
Swordfish, flown by sub Lt
R P Cross. He was not injured.
______
German heavy cruiser
LUTZOW, light cruisers EMDEN and LEIPZIG, and destroyers
LODY, Z.23, Z.24, ECKHOLDT, and
GALSTER departed the Baltic.
On the 12th, light
cruisers EMDEN and LEIPZIG were detached to Oslofjord.
Heavy cruiser LUTZOW and
the five destroyers passed
out of the Skagerrak.
The heavy cruiser was
torpedoed by a British
torpedo plane off Lindesnes on the 13th.
Destroyer ECKHOLDT took
the heavy cruiser in tow
and the other destroyers screened the withdrawal.
The heavy cruiser was able
to proceed under her own
power an hour later. The German ships returned to
Germany.
Destroyer Z.24 was near
missed by British bombing.
The heavy cruiser required
at Kiel from 14 June to January 1942.
______
Light cruiser MANCHESTER,
escorted by destroyers INGLEFIELD and ICARUS,
arrived in Iceland and sailed that day on
patrol with destroyers
INGLEFIELD, ICARUS, and ACHATES.
Destroyer ACTIVE departed
Scapa Flow to join this force and arrived in Iceland at
1915/13th.
______
Heavy cruiser SUFFOLK
departed
Scapa Flow for
Hvalfjord, arriving on the 13th.
______
Destroyer HAMBLEDON
departed Scapa Flow at 2100 to escort steamers AMSTERDAM
and LADY OF MANN from Aberdeen. The ships were met at
0400/12th off Aberdeen and steamer AMSTERDAM was
escorted to Lerwick where they arrived at
1600.Steamer LADY OF MANN was detached EN.route to Scapa
Flow when off Duncansby Head.
Destroyer HAMBLEDON
escorting steamer AMSTERDAM
departed Lerwick at 0500/13th and met steamer LADY OF
MANN from Scapa Flow
off Duncansby Head. The two steamers were taken to
Aberdeen. Destroyer HAMBLEDON arrived back at Scapa Flow
after this duty at 2200/13th.
______
Submarine H.32 grounded in
the Clyde.
The submarine was repaired
at Ardrossan.
______
U.79 sank Norwegian
steamer HAVTOR (1524grt) in
63-63-35N, 28-05W.
Six crewmen were lost on
the steamer.
______
British steamer BARON
CARNEGIE (3178grt) was badly
damaged by German bombing in 51-55N, 5-34W.
Nine crewmen were killed
and sixteen crewmen were
missing.
The steamer sank in tow of
British steamer SEINE (1358grt) in 52-04N, 5-01W.
______
British steamer MOORWOOD
(2056grt) was sunk by
German bombing abeam 19 C Buoy, north of Whitby. The
entire crew were rescued.
______
British steamer WESTBURN
(2842grt) was damaged by
German bombing three miles north of Skinningrove off
Hartlepool.
The steamer arrived at
Hartlepool on the 11th in tow.
______
Destroyer NUBIAN was
sailed from Alexandria to Port Said escorted by sloop
AUCKLAND.
Destroyer NUBIAN arrived
at Port Said on the 12th and was passed through the
Canal.
Sloop AUCKLAND returned to
Alexandria.
______
A British Fulmar of 800X
Squadron ditched off
Delimara Point Malta returning from a patrol over
Sicily. Petty Officer A.W. Sabey and Lt J.S.
Manning were rescued after dawn.
______
A Buffalo of 805 Squadron
flew into the ground at
Dekheila. Sub Lt J.B. Musson RNVR, was killed.
______
Submarine TAKU sank German
steamer TILLY L. M. RUSS
(1600grt) on the 11th in Benghazi Harbour.
______
A convoy of steamers
SILVIO SCARONI (1367 tons,
CADAMOSTO (1010grt), and AOSTO (494grt) departed Tripoli
on the 9th for Benghazi, escorted by torpedo boats
PALLADE and POLLUCE.
The next day, submarine
TAKU sank Italian steamer
SILVIO SCARONI 70 miles 283° from Benghazi in 32-27N,
18-42E.
The submarine was
counterattacked by torpedo boats
PALLADE and POLLUCE, and arrived at Benghazi on the
10th.
______
Submarine
TORBAY sank by ramming
a caique, carrying German troops and stores, fifteen
miles south of Mitylene.
______
Convoy BA.3 departed
Karachi, escorted by armed merchant cruiser ANTENOR. The
convoy arrived at Aden on the 20th.
Thursday,
12 June
Battleship KING GEORGE V,
light cruisers AURORA and
ARETHUSA and destroyers BEDOUIN, PUNJABI, ESKIMO, and
NESTOR departed Scapa Flow at 0127 for 64N, 28-30W.
Battleship NELSON and
heavy cruiser DEVONSHIRE remained at Scapa Flow, but
continued on one hour's notice.
On patrol, light cruiser
AURORA intercepted Finnish
steamer ROLFSBORG (1831grt) and sent her into Kirkwall for inspection. Light cruiser ARETHUSA intercepted Finnish steamer
KRONOBORG (6537grt) and sent her to Kirkwall also.
At 1319 on the 14th, the
British ships arrived back
at Scapa Flow.
______
Destroyers ELECTRA and
ANTHONY departed Scapa Flow at 2330 for the Clyde where they arrived at 1630/13th.
Destroyer ANTELOPE
departed Scapa Flow at 1500/13th to join these
destroyers for a
special convoy escort.
______
Ex-US Coast Guard
cutter/escort ship SENNEN was
damaged in a collision with harbour drifter ANIMATE
(88grt) in the Clyde.
______
Heavy cruiser NORFOLK
departed Freetown to escort convoy SL.77, which had
departed Freetown on the 8th, to the UK.
The heavy cruiser carried
181 German prisoners from
the tankers ESSO HAMBURG (9849grt) and EGERLAND
(9789grt).
Cruiser NORFOLK arrived at
Scapa Flow on the 29th.
______
German tanker FRIEDRICH
BREME (10,397grt) was sunk
by light cruiser SHEFFIELD in 49-48N, 24-00W.
Eighty eight German
survivors, including twelve
wounded of which two died of wounds, were picked up.
______
U.553 sank British steamer
SUSAN MAERSK (2355grt)
in the North Atlantic.
______
U.371 reported sinking a
large steamer of the KENT or TONGARIO type.
The ship was hit by two
torpedoes and sank quickly.
No identification is
available.
______
U.48 sank British steamer
EMPIRE DEW (7005grt) in
51-09N, 30-16W. Two crewmen died and twenty one were
missing from the
steamer.Twenty crewmen were rescued by destroyer ST
ALBANS.
______
U.552 sank British steamer
CHINESE PRINCE (8593grt)
in 56-12N, 14-18W.
Forty five crewmen were
lost on the
steamer.Eighteen crewmen were rescued.
______
U.553 sank Norwegian
tanker RANELLA (5590grt) from convoy
OG.64 in 43-39N, 28W. The entire crew was rescued.
______
New Zealand light cruiser
LEANDER and destroyers JERVIS and
HASTY departed Alexandria to relieve light cruiser AJAX
and destroyers STUART, KANDAHAR, JAGUAR, and HOTSPUR off
Syria.
______
Corvette HYACINTH arrived
at Haifa from Alexandria.
______
French tanker ADOUR (1105grt) was damaged by a British torpedo plane off
Syria.
The tanker was able to
proceed to Turkey where she was interned.
______
Submarine CACHALOT
departed Alexandria with supplies for Malta.
______
Submarine
TORBAY sank
Italian schooner GESUE e MARIA (239grt) off Skiros
Island in 39-10N, 25-20E.
______
Dutch submarine O.24 sank
Italian tanker FIANONA
(6660grt) south of Vada in 43-08N, 10-30E on the 12th.
The next day auxiliary
patrol ship trawler
CARLOFORTE (143grt) was sunk with a demolition charge 36
miles 294° from
Gorgara.
Friday,
13 June
Sloops BLACK SWAN and
STORK departed Scapa Flow at 0900 for Fair Island
Channel to search for a
submarine reported by aircraft fifty miles southeast of
Fair
Island. The sloops were later joined by two motor launches and
anti-submarine trawlers OPHELIA and CELIA.
That evening, sloop STORK
made an attack 15 miles
73° from Seal Skerry Light. Motor launch ML 218 also
attacked a contact.
No further attacks were
made and the ships returned
to Scapa Flow arriving at 0500/15th.
______
P/T/A/Sub Lt (A) M.
Westerman RNVR, was killed when
his Hurricane of 759 Squadron crashed near Ilchester.
______
Gate vessel KING HENRY
(162grt) was sunk by German
bombing at Lowestoft.
______
U.77 sank British steamer
TRESILLIAN (4743grt) in
44-40N, 45-30W. The entire crew were rescued from the
steamer by American
Coast Guard cutter DUANE.
______
Italian submarine BRIN
attacked convoy SL.75.
British steamer DJURDJURA
(3460grt) and Greek
steamer EIRINI KYRIAKIDES (3781grt) were sunk in 38-53N,
23-11W.
Thirty three crewmen were
lost on the British
steamer. Five crewmen were rescued.
All the crewmen from the
Greek steamer were lost.
The submarine claimed
sinking two more steamers,
but no more were damaged.
______
U.107 sank Greek steamer
PANDIAS (4981grt) in
7-49N, 23-38W.
Eleven crewmen were lost
on the steamer.
______
British steamer KINGSTOWN
(628grt) was sunk by German bombing nine miles
northwest of Bishops Light, Bristol
Channel. The entire crew
were rescued.
The steamer sank in tow of
a trawler six miles 287°
from St Anne's Head.
______
British steamer ST PATRICK
(1922grt) was sunk by
German bombing in 52-04N, 5-25W.
Seventeen crewmen, one
gunner, and twelve
passengers, including Surgeon Cdr A.R. Ewart MB, BCh,
were lost on the
steamer.
______
Norwegian steamer ALA
(933grt), in tow of tug SECURITY from Shoreham to
Southampton after 17 May bombing damage, was sunk by
German
bombing in 50-42N, 0-52W.
One crewman was lost on
the steamer.
______
British steamer EMPIRE
CREEK (332grt) was damaged
by German bombing in 57-16N, 1-43W.
The ship was disabled by
near misses. The steamer
arrived at Aberdeen.
______
Norwegian steamer BOKN
(698grt) was damaged by
German bombing off St Ives.
The steamer returned to St
Ives.
______
British steamer DALEMOOR
(5796grt) was damaged by
German bombing in 57-04N, 1-51W.
Six crewmen were killed
and two were missing.
The steamer was towed to
Leith.
______
Battlecruiser RENOWN,
aircraft carriers ARK ROYAL
and VICTORIOUS, and destroyers FAULKNOR, FEARLESS,
FORESIGHT, FORESTER,
FOXHOUND, HESPERUS, and WISHART departed Gibraltar to
fly off 47 Hurricanes
to Malta on the 14th in Operation TRACER.
Force H.arrived back at
Gibraltar on the 15th.
______
Minesweeper ABERDARE ran
aground near Mersa Matruh,
but was refloated without serious damage.
______
Anti-submarine trawler
JADE was attacked by two Italian motor torpedo boats 17
miles 192° from Cape Passaro at 0220 while
searching for downed Hurricane
pilot.
The British trawler was
able to drive off the two
Italian craft without damage to herself, but Midshipman
J.C. Creasy RNR, was killed by machine gun fire.
Saturday,
14 June
Aircraft carriers FURIOUS
and ARGUS, Greek liner
NEA HELLAS (16,991grt), and destroyers COSSACK, MAORI,
and SIKH arrived in
the Clyde.
______
CS.2 transferred his flag
to light cruiser
ARETHUSA.
______
Indian sloop SUTLEJ departed Scapa Flow at 1000
for the Clyde to join the Western Approaches after working up.
______
Destroyer ECLIPSE departed
Plymouth at 1315 for Scapa Flow on completion of her
refitting.
The destroyer arrived at
Greenock at 1700/15th with engine problems. The destroyer was able to continue
at 0900/17th and arrived at Scapa
Flow
at 0630/18th.
______
Destroyers ELECTRA,
ANTHONY, and ANTELOPE departed
the Clyde and topped off fuel at Londonderry to escort a
special outbound troop convoy LC.1 of
armed merchant cruisers CALIFORNIA and BULOLO for Halifax,
BULOLO on to Baltimore for refitting, steamer MENDOZA
for Montreal, and steamer ULYSSES EN.route to the Far
East.
On the 17th the destroyers
parted company with the
convoy and steamer ULYSSES was detached for independent
passage. Destroyers
ELECTRA and ANTHONY proceeded to Scapa Flow and
destroyer ANTELOPE to Iceland.
Battleship REVENGE joined
the convoy on the 19th
and escorted the convoy to Canada.
Destroyer ANTELOPE arrived
at Hvalfjord at
0925/19th.En route to Scapa Flow, destroyers ELECTRA and
ANTHONY were
detailed to search for a submarine reported by aircraft
in 56-10N, 10-58W.
The search continued until 0600/20th.
Destroyer ELECTRA arrived
at Scapa Flow at 2200/20th. Destroyer ANTHONY arrived at
Loch
Ewe at 1730/20th to refuel.She then continued and
arrived at Scapa Flow at 0100/21st.
______
Anti-aircraft ship
ALYNBANK departed Methil at noon to cover convoy EC.32.
Departing the convoy in
Pentland Firth, the ship arrived in Scapa Flow at noon on the 15th.
______
Submarine THRASHER
departed Holy Loch for Gibraltar, arriving on the 20th.
______
U.751 sank British steamer
ST LINDSAY (5370grt),
which departed on 31 May from UK, in 51N, 30W. The
entire crew were lost with the
steamer.Also lost in the steamer were P/T/Sub Lt (A)
P.G. Cliff RNVR, P/T/Sub
Lt (A) B. Burletson RNVR, and P/T/Sub Lt (A) G.F.
Robinson RNVR, EN.route to
Fleet Air Arm base GOSHAWK for duty in 752 Squadron,
T/LT (A) J.H. Crane
RNVR, EN.route to Fleet Air Arm Base GOSHAWK for duty in
793 Squadron, and
T/A/Lt Cdr C.J. Gordon-Canning RNVR,
EN.route to duty in BENBOW.
______
Convoy OG.65 departed
Liverpool, escorted by destroyer WESTCOTT, sloop
DEPTFORD,
and corvettesMARIGOLD and PERIWINKLE, and anti-submarine
trawlers SYRINGA and
HOLLY.
Corvettes AURICULA,
FREESIA, and HIBISCUS and
anti-submarine trawler RUMBA joined on the 15th.
Trawler RUMBA was detached
later on the 15th,
destroyer WESTCOTT and corvettes AURICULA, FREESIA,
HIBISCUS, MARIGOLD, and
PERIWINKLE were detached on the 17th.Sloop DEPTFORD was
detached on the 18th.
Submarine OLYMPUS and
corvettes GERANIUM, JONQUIL,
and SPIRAEA joined the convoy on the 22nd, and arrived
at Gibraltar on the
28th with sloop DEPTFORD, anti-submarine trawlers
SYRINGA and HOLLY, whalers
GOS 2 and GOS 3, and corvettes GERANIUM and JONQUIL and
submarine OLYMPUS.
______
Convoy HG.65 departed
Gibraltar, escorted by sloop WELLINGTON, submarine
OLYMPUS, corvettes GERANIUM, JONQUIL, and SPIRAEA, and anti-submarine trawler
LADY HOGARTH.
Destroyer FORTUNE departed
Gibraltar on the 15th and joined the convoy for passage
to
the UK for refitting.
The trawler was detached
on the 20th and the
remainder of the escort, less sloop WELLINGTON, was
detached on the 22nd.
Destroyers CHELSEA,
MANSFIELD, and VERITY,
corvettes BEGONIA and JASMINE, and catapult ship
SPRINGBANK joined the convoy
on the 25th. Destroyer VETERAN joined on the 26th.
The convoy arrived at
Liverpool on the 29th.
______
Submarine
SEVERN departed Gibraltar for
patrol in the Tyrrhenian Sea.
______
Destroyers JERVIS and
GRIFFIN bombarded Sidon to ease opposition for the
troops ashore.
______
Destroyer GRIFFIN sighted
the two French destroyers off Beirut at 1620.
When light cruiser LEANDER
closed to engage the
destroyers, the French destroyers retired into harbour.
______
Submarine
CLYDE sank Italian
steamer GIOVANNI BOTTIGLIERE (former GUGLIELMO, 331grt)
south of Sardinia.
______
Swedish steamer NINGPO
(6079grt) was damaged by a
mine at Singapore when she picked up a floating mine in
her screw.
The steamer was towed to
Hong Kong for repairs.
