Background Events - June-November 1941
Invasion of
Russia, Malta Convoys, Japan prepares for war
1941
Saturday,
15 November
Destroyer FAULKNOR
departed Portsmouth at 0900 for the Clyde to carry out direction finding calibration before proceeding to
Scapa Flow.
The destroyer arrived in
the Clyde at 1100/16th.
Destroyer FAULKNOR
departed the Clyde at 1400/20th for Londonderry.
_____
Destroyers ASHANTI,
MATABELE, and PUNJABI departed Hvalfjord for an
anti-submarine search for a submarine attacked by a US
destroyer in 62-50N, 24-30W at 1215/14th.
_____
Convoy ON.37 departed
Liverpool escorted by anti-submarine trawlers HUGH
WALPOLE
and NORTHERN SPRAY. The convoy was joined on the 16th by
destroyers BEVERLEY
and SARDONYX. On the 18th, destroyers SCIMITAR and
WATCHMAN and corvettes
DAHLIA and MONKSHOOD, and anti-submarine trawler
NORTHERN PRIDE. Destroyer
BEVERLEY was detached on the 20th and trawler NORTHERN
PRIDE on the 21st. The
remainder of the escorts were detached when relieved on
the 22nd by American destroyers
BUCK, GREER, LUDLOW, MCCORMICK, and SWANSON. The
destroyers were
detached on the 30th when the convoy was dispersed.
_____
Submarine TRIDENT departed
Polyarnoe and arrived at
Blyth on the 30th.
The submarine went on to
the Tyne for repairs and docking.
_____
British steamer CORHAMPTON
(2495grt) was badly
damaged by German bombing twenty six miles northeast of
Spurn Point.
The steamer sank on the
16th in tow two miles 142°
from 62D Buoy in the Humber area.
The entire crew were
rescued.
_____
British drifter HARMONY
(24grt) was sunk in a
collision off Invergordon.
_____
U.583 was sunk in a
collision during night training
with U.153 off Danzig.
Forty five crewmen were
lost on the submarine.
_____
U.752 sank Soviet
minesweeping trawler T.34 near Murmansk.
_____
Destroyers ENCOUNTER and
JUPITER departed Alexandria for the Far East, via Bombay. The
destroyers departed Aden on the 20th. They arrived at
Colombo on the 26th.
On the 30th, at Colombo,
the destroyers departed with battleship PRINCE OF
WALES and destroyers ELECTRA and EXPRESS to proceed to
Singapore.
Battlecruiser REPULSE
departed Trincomalee the same
day for Singapore.
_____
Light cruisers NAIAD and
EURYALUS were at sea from
Alexandria for a practice bombardment.
_____
Dutch submarine O.21
unsuccessfully attacked
Italian steamer NINETTOG. (5335grt) in a convoy in the
Tyrrhenian Sea.
_____
British steamer EMPIRE
DEFENDER (5649grt), en route
to Malta, was sunk by Italian bombing eighteen miles
south
of Galita Island.
Four crewmen were lost on
the steamer. The rest of
the crew were made prisoners of war.
_____
Convoy HX.160 departed
Halifax, escorted by destroyers ANNAPOLIS and HAMILTON.
The destroyers were detached on the
17th when relieved by American destroyers BABBITT,
LEARY, MAYO, NICHOLSON,
and SCHENCK. In heavy seas, the American destroyers all
sustain storm damage.
The American group was relieved on the 25th by
destroyers SARDONYX, SCIMITAR,
and WATCHMAN and corvettes DAHLIA and MONKSHOOD.
Corvette MONTBRETIA joined
on the 26th. Anti-submarine trawlers HUGH WALPOLE,
NORTHERN PRIDE, and
NORTHERN SPRAY escorted the convoy in Home Waters.
Corvette MONTBRETIA was
detached on the 28th and the destroyers and corvettes
DAHLIA and MONKSHOOD on
the 29th. Anti-submarine trawler KIRKELLA escorted the
convoy into Liverpool on the 30th.
Sunday,
16 November
Destroyer ANTELOPE
departed Hvalfjord at 1100 for Scapa Flow, where she
arrived at 0730/18th.
_____
Minesweepers HAZARD and
HEBE departed Greenock at 0300 for Scapa
Flow, where they arrived
at 0900/17th.
_____
Destroyer CHELSEA was
damaged in a collision with
an unknown merchant ship while escorting convoy ON.36.
The destroyer lost six
feet of her stern, but was
able to reach Liverpool under her own power.
The damage was repaired at
Liverpool and completed on 14 December.
_____
Minesweepers GOSSAMER,
HUSSAR, and SPEEDY arrived
at Murmansk from Archangel.
_____
British fishing trawler
FERNBANK (211grt) was sunk
by German bombing twelve miles northwest of Myggenaes.
Five crewmen were lost on
the trawler.
_____
Examination vessel MINNA
(290grt) was damaged by
German bombing in 56-04-36N, 2-51-12W.
The vessel arrived at
Leith on the 17th.
_____
Battleship NELSON,
escorted by destroyers ZULU,
SIKH, and GURKHA departed Gibraltar to return to the
United Kingdom.
Light cruiser HERMOINE,
aircraft carrier ARGUS, and
destroyers LAFOREY, LIGHTNING, LEGION, and ISAAC SWEERS
sailed with the
battleship to feint to the east.
A probable German supply
ship was reported by a
submarine in 44-00N, 2-00W at 0001 on the 17th.
Battleship NELSON and light
cruiser HERMOINE proceeded to intercept, but no contact
was made.
The groups parted company
at 1845/17th and arrived
back at Gibraltar, less light cruiser HERMOINE, on the
19th. Light
cruiser HERMOINE arrived back on the 21st.
_____
A Convoy of steamers
BLAIRATHOLL (3319grt), BARON
NEWLANDS (3386grt), SHUNA (1575grt), CISNEROS (1886grt),
and OTTINGE
(2870grt), and oiler BROWN RANGER departed Gibraltar
escorted by destroyer WILD SWAN, sloop DEPTFORD,
and corvettes CONVOLVULUS, RHODODENDRON, and MARIGOLD.
The convoy, Operation
CHIEFTAN, was a diversion for
Operation CRUSADER in the eastern Mediterranean.
A U-boat contact was made
by destroyer WILD SWAN on
the 16th. The destroyer was joined by corvette SAMPHIRE.
Corvette MARIGOLD sank the
U.433 south of Malaga in 36-13N, 04-42W.
Six officers and thirty
two ratings the submarine
were rescued. Six ratings were lost in the submarine.
The convoy proceeded
towards Malta, but after nightfall on the 18th, the
steamers
returned to Gibraltar.
_____
Destroyers KIPLING,
JACKAL, and DECOY departed Alexandria on the 3rd serial
of the APPROACH operation.
The destroyers returned to
Alexandria on the 17th.
_____
Destroyer FARNDALE arrived
at Suez to join the Mediterranean Fleet and passed
through
the Suez Canal.
_____
British motor torpedo
boats MTB.68 and MTB.215 patrolled off Bardia to
intercept a reported
submarine.
_____
Dutch submarine O.21
unsuccessfully attacked
Italian steamer ITU (1578grt) in convoy in the
Tyrrhenian Sea.
_____
An Italian convoy of
steamers CITTA DI GENOVA
(5413grt) and CITTI DI NAPOLI (5418grt), escorted by
destroyers PIGAFETTA and
DA VERAZZANO, which had departed Taranto on the 14th,
arrived at Benghazi.
_____
Convoy SC.55 departed
Sydney, CB, escorted by corvettes BATTLEFORD,
DRUMHELLER,
and SUMMERSIDE and minesweeper NIPIGON. Corvettes
DUNVEGAN, KENOGAMI, LETHBRIDGE, and PRESCOTT on the
18th. The original corvettes were detached
on the 19th when the convoy was joined by destroyer ST
FRANCIS and corvettes
MAYFLOWER, NANAIMO, and SOREL. Destroyer ST FRANCIS was
detached on the 25th,
corvettes DUNVEGAN, PRESCOTT, and SOREL on the 28th, and
corvettes KENOGAMI
and LETHBRIDGE on the 29th. On the 28th, destroyer
AMAZON joined
the convoy, on the 29th, destroyer FOXHOUND, and on the
30th, corvettes
HEARTSEASE and ROSELYS, and anti-submarine trawlers
AYRSHIRE and NOTTS
COUNTY. Corvettes MAYFLOWER and NANAIMO
were detached on 1 December, destroyer AMAZON on 3
December, and corvette HEARTSEASE, trawlers AYRSHIRE and
NOTTS
COUNTY were detached on 4 December. Anti-submarine trawler ST CATHAN joined
on 4 December and arrived with the convoy at
Liverpool on 5 December.
_____
Minelayer TEVIOT BANK
arrived at Singapore.
Monday,
17 November
Heavy cruiser KENT
departed the Faroes-Iceland patrol for Hvalfjord.
Light cruiser SHEFFIELD took over patrol of this area
and her own area.
The heavy cruiser arrived
at Hvalfjord on the 18th.
_____
Light cruiser EDINBURGH
departed Denmark Strait patrol for Hvalfjord.
The light cruiser arrived
at Hvalfjord on the 18th.
_____
Heavy cruiser BERWICK with
destroyers ONSLOW and
OFFA departed Hvalfjord at 0900 for Seidisfjord where
they arrived at
0900/18th.
After refuelling, the
warships departed Seidisfjord
at 1300/19th to rendezvous with convoy PQ.4 and escort
it to Archangel.
_____
Convoy PQ.4 departed
Reykjavik with steamers Soviet ALMA ATA (3611grt), DAY Y
BRYN (5117grt), EULIMA (6027grt), Soviet RODINA
(4441grt), Soviet BUDENNI (2482grt), EMPIRE METEOR
(7457grt), Soviet MOSSOVET
(2981grt), and Soviet SUKHONA (3124grt).
The convoy was escorted by
trawlers BUTE and STELLA CAPELLA from 17 to 27 November.
Heavy cruiser BERWICK and
destroyers OFFA and
ONSLOW escorted the convoy from 25 to 27 November. The
convoy was to have
been met on the 20th, but the warships were unable to
locate the convoy.
On the 27th, minesweepers
GOSSAMER, SEAGULL, and
SPEEDY met the convoy relieving the heavy cruiser,
destroyers, and trawlers,
which proceeded to Murmansk, arriving at 1030/28th. The
heavy cruiser and
destroyers were bombed unsuccessfully as they entered
harbour. The convoy
arrived at Archangel on the 28th.
_____
Minesweeper ROSS departed
the Humber for Aberdeen and the Faroes.
_____
T/Sub Lt M. S. H.
Christopher RNVR, was lost
overboard from submarine P.38 while the ship was
returning from patrol
southwest of Ireland and west of Land's
End. The submarine arrived at Portsmouth on the 22nd.
_____
British steamer BOVEY
TRACEY (1212grt) was sunk by
German bombing in 52-58N, 2-05E.
The entire crew were
rescued.
_____
German steamer SCHWANECK
(2194grt) was lost on a
mine near Stettin.
_____
Light cruisers AJAX,
NEPTUNE, and HOBART and destroyers KANDAHAR, HASTY, and
HOTSPUR departed Alexandria to bombard the Sollum area
during the night of
17/18 November.
The bombardment was
cancelled due to poor weather.
The ships joined the Battle Fleet departing Alexandria
on the 18th at noon on the 18th.
_____
Captain H. St. L.
Nicolson, Captain 2nd Destroyer
Flotilla, which had been ashore since damage to
destroyer ILEX, took command
of destroyer GRIFFIN as Leader of the 2nd Destroyer
Flotilla.
_____
Submarines UPRIGHT and
URGE unsuccessfully attacked
a convoy in the Ionian Sea.
_____
Anti-submarine trawlers
STELLA CARINA and LADY
HOGARTH departed Gibraltar to meet arriving Norwegian
tanker PRESIDENT DE
VOGUE (9320grt).
The trawlers were
reassigned to join the escort of
outward tanker THORSHAVET on the 23rd.
Corvette VETCH departed
Gibraltar to meet tanker PRESIDENT DE VOGUE and arrived
back
with her on the 25th.
_____
Dutch steamers PLUTO
(1156grt) and RHEA (1388grt)
were seized by French forces at Algiers.
_____
U.331 landed two German
officers and seven enlisted
men of a Commando group near Daba, sixty miles west of
Alexandria, to mine the railway.
All nine German Commandos
were captured later the
same day before any sabotauge was done.
_____
Vichy French submarine LE
HEROS sank Norwegian
steamer THODE FAGELUND (5757grt) thirty five miles east
of East London.
The entire crew were
rescued.
The attack was in
retaliation for the British
operation against a French convoy on the 2nd.
Tuesday,
18 November
Submarine SEALION sank
Norwegian trawler VESCO
(331grt) by gunfire off northern Norway.
_____
Submarine TRIDENT, on
passage from Murmansk to the United Kingdom, was
directed to patrol off the Norwegian coast in
the area of 62N, 4-20E.
Submarine TRIDENT departed
the patrol area for Blyth on the 25th.
Submarine TUNA, on passage
to the Northern patrol
area, was directed to patrol in the area of 61-02N,
3-50E.
_____
French submarine RUBIS
departed Dundee to patrol off the Norwegian coast.
_____
T/Sub Lt (A) D. Worth
RNVR, was killed when his
Fulmar of 884 Squadron crashed near Donibristle.
_____
Convoy OS.12 departed
Liverpool.
The convoy was joined on
the 19th by sloops
FOLKESTONE, LONDONDERRY, WELLINGTON, and WESTON and
escort vessels SENNEN and TOTLAND.
Sloop LONDONDERRY was detached on 2 December, sloop
WESTON on 7
December, sloops FOLKESTONE and WELLINGTON and the
escort vessels on 8 December.
Escort vessel GORLESTON
joined the convoy on 4
December and was detached on 6 December. On 6 December,
destroyers VANSITTART
and VELOX and corvettes BERGAMOT, LAVENDER, and STARWORT
joined the convoy
and escorted it into Freetown,
arriving on 11 December.
_____
Light cruiser HERMIONE was
detached from aircraft
carrier ARGUS, which with escort returned to Gibraltar.
The light cruiser joined
battleship NELSON to
search for an enemy supply ship reported in the Biscay
area.
_____
British operation APPROACH
was cancelled with the
exception of the sailing of tankers TONELINE and LESBOS which departed Alexandria escorted by sloops YARRA and
PARRAMATTA, minesweeping
whaler SOTRA, and two anti-submarine
trawlers.
When tanker TONELINE broke
down, sloop PARRAMATTA assisted the tanker returning to
Mersa Matruh.
The tanker sailed after
dark on the 19th for
Tobruk.
Tanker LESBOS, escorted
by anti-submarine whaler KLO, arrived late at Tobruk.
Whaler KLO and motor
launch ML.1048 were damaged by shellfire on the 20th.
After temporary repairs
to a direct hit, whaler KLO was able to depart for
Alexandria.
_____
Battleships QUEEN
ELIZABETH, BARHAM, and VALIANT,
light cruisers NAIAD, GALATEA, and EURYALUS, and
destroyers JERVIS,
KIMBERLEY, KINGSTON, NAPIER, NIZAM, KIPLING, JACKAL,
DECOY, AVONVALE, and
ERIDGE departed Alexandria to support Operation
CHIEFTAN, the dummy convoy
intended to divert attention from Operation CRUSADER in
the Eastern
Mediterranean.
The Battle Fleet turned
back after dark on the 18th
and arrived at Alexandria during the morning of 19
November.
Light cruisers NAIAD and
EURYALUS and destroyers
KIPLING and JACKAL, which had been detached late on the
18th, bombarded the
Halfaya fortifications around Tobruk.
The light cruisers and
destroyers arrived later at Alexandria.
_____
Force K of light cruisers
AURORA and PENELOPE and
destroyers LANCE and LIVELY departed Malta to
participate in the CHIEFTAN operation.
The ships arrived back at
Malta during the night of 18/19 November.
_____
British aircraft
accidently attacked anti-submarine
whaler SOUTHERN MAID in 31-15N, 28-02E, reporting her as
a submarine.
Destroyers FARNDALE and
ERIDGE departed Alexandria to search for the submarine.
_____
Submarine PERSEUS, which
had been under repair at Malta, departed on trials, but
was forced to return with
a defective hydroplane gear.
_____
Submarine THORN
unsuccessfully attacked a steamer
in the Aegean. The steamer was later found to be a
Turkish Red
Crescent relief ship.
_____
An Italian convoy of
steamers AMBA ARADAM and BROOK
(1225grt), escorted by torpedo boat PARTENOPE arrived at
Benghazi from Brindisi.
_____
Turkish steamer YENICE
(428grt) was sunk by Soviet
submarine SC.215 off Vasiliko, in the Black Sea.
Twelve crewmen were lost
on the steamer. Two
survivors were rescued.
_____
Anti-submarine trawler
SCOTTISH intercepted French
fishing ketch BELLE BRETAGNE 22 miles 280° from Cape Espichel.
The ketch was sent into
Gibraltar.
_____
Convoy SL.93 departed
Freetown escorted by
destroyers BRILLIANT to 23 November and STANLEY to 24
November, sloop
BIDEFORD to 10 December, corvettes BERGAMOT and CROCUS
to 23 November,
CYCLAMEN to 10 December, NIGELLA and ORCHIS to 23
November, escort vessels
CULVER, LANDGUARD, and LULWORTH to 10 December and
GORLESTON to 1 December,
and anti-submarine whaler SOUTHERN PRIDE to 23 November.
On the 27th, ocean
boarding vessel CORINTHIAN
joined to 10 December. Sloop LONDONDERRY joined on 2
December to 10 December.
Anti-submarine trawler ARAB escorted the convoy on 10
December.
The convoy arrived at
Liverpool on 10 December.
_____
American cruiser BOISE
departed Pearl
Harbour escorting convoy 4001 of Army transport PRESIDENT GRANT and steamers
AMERICAN LEADER, CAPE FAIRWEATHER, JOHN LYKES,
and DONA NATI to Manila.
The convoy arrived at
Manila on 4 December and light cruiser BOISE was ordered
to join the Asiatic Fleet.
_____
Japanese submarines of the
1st and 2nd Submarine Flotillas
departed Yokosuka and Kure on 18 and 19 November for
operations in the
Central Pacific.
Submarine I.26
reconnoitered Kiska on the 25th and
during the night of 27/28 November flew her aircraft
over Dutch
Harbour. On the 30th, the submarine reconnoitered Kodiak.
Submarine I.10
reconnoitered Suva on the 29th by aircraft and was off
Pago Pago on 4 December.
From 3 December,
submarines I.9, I.15, I.17, and
I.25 were in a line north of Oahu.
I 7 was south of Oahu.
I 1, I.2, and I.3 were
west of Oahu.
I 4, I.5, and I.6 were
east of Oahu.
The 3rd Submarine Flotilla
from Kwajalein with I.8, I.68, I.69, I.70, I.71, I.72,
I.73,
I.75, and I.76 were deployed south of Oahu.
Submarines I.16, I.18,
I.20, I.22, and I.24 which
carried midget submarines for an attack on Pearl
Harbour departed Yokosuka on the 18th.
Wednesday,
19 November
Heavy cruiser NORFOLK
departed
Scapa Flow for the
Faroes - Iceland patrol and then on to Hvalfjord.
_____
Destroyer ANTELOPE
departed Scapa Flow at 0900 for Hull to carry out a long
refit.
The destroyer arrived at
Hull at 0900/20th.
_____
Convoy ON.38 departed
Liverpool escorted by corvettes HEARTSEASE, RENONCULE,
and
ROSELYS and anti-submarine trawlers KING SOL and ST
APOLLO. The convoy was joined on the 20th by
anti-submarine trawler CAPE WARWICK. Destroyers AMAZON and FOXHOUND joined on the 21st. Trawler ST APOLLO
was detached on the 22nd. Corvette GALT
joned on the 24th and was detached on the 25th.
The convoy escorts were detached on the 26th when the
convoy was joined by
destroyer BURNHAM and corvettes ALGOMA, CHAMBLY,
DAUPHIN, MATAPEDIA, and NAPANEE. The convoy was
dispersed on the 30th and the escorts were detached.
_____
Minesweeper HAZARD
departed Scapa Flow at 0915 for Scrabster to embark
stores. The
minesweeper then proceeded to join the Kirkwall section of convoy PQ.5 for passage to Hvalfjord.
The Kirkwall section
of convoy PQ.5 departed Kirkwall at 0930 for Hvalfjord,
escorted by minesweepers
SHARPSHOOTER and HEBE. The Kirkwall section, escorted by
the three minesweepers
arrived at Hvalfjord at 1230/23rd.
_____
Minelayer MENETHEUS,
escorted by destroyer NEWARK, laid minefield SN.25 A.
_____
Anti-aircraft cruiser
CAIRO, after having escorted convoy BB 101 from Belfast
to Milford Haven, suffered a failure of her
steering engine. She was able to arrived at Devonport
that afternoon for
docking which was not completed until early February.
_____
Lt Cdr L. C. D. Ashburner
was killed when his Roc
of 834 Squadron crashed at Eastleigh.
_____
The German 2nd Motor
Torpedo Boat Flotilla attacked
convoy FS.650 of fifty nine ships, which had departed
Methil on the 18th and
was escorted by destroyersWOLSEY, VERDUN, WIDGEON,
KITTIWAKE, and trawler KINGSTON OLIVINE,
off Great Yarmouth. Destroyers VESPER, GARTH, and
CAMPBELL were nearby as a support force and MGB.87
followed
the convoy. Destroyers HAMBEDON and QUORN were also at
sea.
MGB.63, MGB.64, and MGB.67
departed to operate near
the German activity, but MGB.63 was forced to return at
the start with engine
room problems.
British tanker WAR MEHTAR
(5502grt) was sunk by
S.104 in 52-50n, 2-08E.
The entire crew were
rescued.
British steamer ARUBA (1159grt) was sunk by S.105 in 52-51N, 2-07-30E.
One gunner was missing on
the steamer.
British steamer WALDINGE
(2462grt) was badly
damaged by S.41 near 55 A Buoy, Smith's Knoll.
One gunner was lost on the
steamer.
The steamer sank on the
20th.
S.41 was damaged in a
collision with the convoy
escort and was in tow returning to port, when
intercepted by MGB.64 and
MGB.67. The British were able to board the S-boat, but
could not prevent her
sinking.
Destroyer GARTH was
seriously damaged when she was
accidentally struck by 40mm gunfire from another
destroyer in the escort.
Destroyer GARTH was towed
to Harwich.
The convoy arrived at
Southend on the 20th.
_____
American destroyer LEARY
contacted a U-boat on
radar.
This was the first
instance of such a sighting in
the USN.
_____
Destroyer CASTLETON was
damaged by the accidental explosion
of a scuttling charge while at sea on escort duty.
The destroyer was under
repairs at Newport until 20 April 1942.
_____
Submarine RORQUAL laid
fifty mines off La Rochelle in minefield FD 34.
French trawler COLIGNY
(600grt) was lost on the minefield.
_____
Submarine UNA arrived at
Gibraltar from Holy Loch.
_____
Submarine OSIRIS arrived
at Malta after patrol off Candia.
_____
Italian convoy A departed
Tripoli for Naples with steamers ANKARA and SEBASTIANO
VENIER, escorted by destroyers
MAESTRALE, ORIANI, and GIOBERTI.
Due to British naval
activity, the convoy in the Messina Strait was diverted to Taranto
where they arrived on the 22nd.
_____
Off the west coast of
Australia at 26-34S, 111-00E, Australian light cruiser
SYDNEY (Captain J. Burnett RAN) contacted German raider
KORMORAN, which was
able to maintain her disguise. The German ship torpedoed
the Australian
cruiser and badly damaged her with gunfire.
Cruiser SYDNEY sank with
her entire crew of
Burnett, Cdr E. W. Thruston DSC, Lt Cdr J. C. Bacon, Lt
Cdr A. M. Wilkinson,
Lt Cdr C. A. C Montgomery, Lt Cdr M. M. Singer DSC, Lt
E. E. Mayo, Lt I. T.
R. Treloar, Lt T. E. Davis, Lt T.G. Brown, T/Lt J. A.
Cole RANR, T/Lt A. I.
Keith RANR, Cdr (E) L. S. Dalton DSO, Lt Cdr (E) R. D.
Handcock,
T/Engineering Lt A. W. Wilson RANR, T/Engineering Lt W.
T. Anderson, Chaplain
the ReverendG. Stubbs, Surgeon Cdr J. R. Hasker,
Paymaster Cdr T. F. Maynard,
Surgeon Lt Cdr F. H. Genge, Surgeon Lt (D) M. C.
Townsend, Paymaster Sub Lt
C. M. Mitchell, Paymaster Lt R. E. Ridout RANR, Sub Lt
E. R. Eddy, Sub Lt A.
E. Byrne RANR, Sub Lt A. V. Eager RANR, A/Sub LtB. A.
Elder RANR,
P/Engineering Sub Lt A. J. King RANVR, P/Sub Lt F. H.
Schoch RANVR, Paymaster
Sub Lt J. I. Clifton RANR, Gunner F. L. Macdonald,
Gunner (T) J. E. Peterson,
A/Gunner J. K. Houston, Warrant Shipwright J. A. E.
Fuller, Warrant Engineer
W.G. Batchelor, Warrant Engineer F. W. Reville,
A/Warrant Engineer A.B.
Biggs, Warrant Electrician R. W. Nicolson, Schoolmaster
P. F. Skewes, Warrant
Supply Officer W. A. Owen, Paymaster Midshipman D. W.
McCabe, RAAF Flying
Officer R.B. Barrey, 592 RAN ratings, two RN ratings,
four NAAFI personnel,
five RAAF ratings.
The German ship was badly
damaged and scuttled by
the crew the next day.
On her cruise, the German
ship sank eleven ships
for 68,274 tons.
Seventy six crewmen were
killed on the German ship.
British liner AQUITANIA
also rescued twenty six survivors from the German
ship at 0830/24th. British tanker TROCAS rescued twenty
four more crewmen at
1800/24th.
Two hundred and seventy
five German survivors
reached the Australian coast in the ship's boats.
When there was no contact
with the light cruiser
SYDNEY, Dutch light cruiser TROMP departed the Sunda
Straits to follow light
cruiser SYDNEY's track.
_____
Polish submarine SOKOL
attacked an Italian
destroyer of the AVIERE class at Navarino.
The destroyer was
reportedly beached.
_____
American sailing vessel
DEL PIDIO was sunk on a mine in a prohibited area at
the entrance to Manila Bay.
Six crewmen were rescued
from the vessel.
Thursday,
20 November
Heavy cruiser SUFFOLK
arrived at Hvalfjord from Denmark Strait patrol.
_____
Light cruiser SHEFFIELD
departed Faroes - Iceland patrol for Scapa Flow after
being relieved by heavy cruiser NORFOLK.
Light cruiser SHEFFIELD
arrived at Scapa Flow on the 21st.
_____
Monitor EREBUS departed
Sheerness at 0835 for Londonderry escorted by destroyers
MEYNELL and WALPOLE, as far
as Kinnaird Head.
Destroyers ECLIPSE and
CHIDDINGFOLD departed Scapa Flow at 0300/22nd to relieve
the EREBUS escort off
Kinnaird Head.
Monitor EREBUS and
destroyer and CHIDDINGFOLD
arrived at Scapa Flow at 2000/22nd.
Destroyer ECLIPSE was
detached to join battleship
NELSON's screen, but was unable to do so because of bad
weather. The
destroyer arrived at Scapa
Flow at 2230/22nd.
_____
Battleship RAMILLIES,
escorted by destroyers
VANQUISHER and WITCH, departed Liverpool at 1330
for Scapa Flow.
The three ships arrived at
Scapa Flow at 1024 on the 22nd.
_____
Destroyer FAULKNOR
departed the Clyde at 1400 for Londonderry, where
she arrived at 2100 that day.
On completion of fuelling,
the destroyer sailed on
the 22nd for position 55N, 10W and with destroyers
NORMAN and ICARUS take
over screening duties of battleship NELSON from
destroyers ZULU, SIKH, and
GURKHA.
Destroyers NORMAN and
ICARUS departed Scapa Flow at 1500/20th to rendezvous
with destroyer FAULKNOR
and battleship NELSON.
Destroyer GURKHA arrived
at Londonderry on the 21st.
Destroyer ZULU and SIKH
arrived at Londonderry on the 22nd.
Battleship NELSON and
destroyers FAULKNOR, NORMAN,
and ICARUS arrived off Scapa
Flow at 1030/22nd.
Destroyer NORMAN was detached before entering harbour
for the Clyde where she was to boiler clean prior to transfer to the
Mediterranean.
Destroyer NORMAN arrived
in the Clyde at 0930/23rd.
_____
Light cruisers AJAX and
NEPTUNE and Australian light cruiser HOBART
departed Alexandria with destroyers HEYTHROP and
AVONVALE, joined at
sea by destroyers FARNDALE and ERIDGE.
The cruisers bombarded the
Bardia area during the
night of 20/21 November.
_____
Italian convoy C of
steamers NAPOLI (6142grt) and VETTOR PISANI (6339grt) departed
Naples, escorted by
destroyer TURBINE and torpedo boat
PERSEO. The escort was detached at 0023 on the 21st.
A second convoy of
steamers IRIDIO MANTOVANI
(10,540grt) and MONGINEVRO (5324grt) departed Naples at
0530/21st, escorted by destroyer DA RECCO and
torpedo boat COSENZ.
The convoys were covered
by Italian light cruisers
GARIBALDI and ABRUZZI, and destroyers AVIERE, CAMICIA
NERA, GENIERE,
CORAZZIERE, and CARABINIERE, which departed Naples at
0810/21st. Heavy cruisers GORIZIA, TRIESTE, and TRENTO departed Naples at
1930/21st.
Heavy cruiser GORIZIA was
damaged by splinters from
a British bombing raid on Naples
shortly before the Italian ships departed.
A convoy of steamers CITTA
DI TUNISI (5419grt) and
CITTA DI PALERMO (5413grt) departed Taranto escorted by
destroyers ZENO and MALOCELLO for Benghazi. This convoy
was joined by torpedo boat PARTENOPE
from Benghazi.
A convoy of tanker BERBERA
(2093grt) departed Brindisi escorted by torpedo boat
PEGASO.
At 2130/21st, the Naples
convoys came under attack by British Malta based
aircraft shortly before clearing the Messina
Strait.
Force K had sailed from
Malta at 1300 with British
supply ship BRECONSHIRE and steamers SYDNEY STAR, AJAX,
and CLAN FERGUSON, escorted by corvette
GLOXINIA to draw out Italian forces in Operation
LANDMARK.
The British ships arrived
back at Malta early on the 22nd.
Battleships QUEEN
ELIZABETH, BARHAM, and VALIANT,
light cruisers NAIAD, EURYALUS, and GALATEA, and
destroyers JERVIS, KANDAHAR,
KIMBERLEY, KINGSTON, NAPIER, NIZAM, KIPLING, JACKAL,
HASTY, HOTSPUR, and
DECOY departed Alexandria on the 21st to operate in
coordination with
LANDMARK to simulate an attack on Tripoli to draw German
and Italian air
strength away from Halfaya and Bardia.
_____
At noon, the light cruisers AJAX,
NEPTUNE, and HOBART joined the Fleet. The four
HUNT destroyers escorting had been sent to Alexandria.
At dark, the cruisers of
the 15th Cruiser Squadron
were detached to make W/T reports further to the west to
aid in the
deception.
The Fleet returned to
Alexandria at daylight on the 22nd. The 15th Cruiser
Squadron
arrived back after noon.
Italian heavy cruiser
TRIESTE was torpedoed by Submarine UTMOST at 2312 on the
21st in 37-48N, 15-32E. The cruiser was escorted by
light cruiser GARIBALDI
and destroyer BERSAGLIERE to Messina, arriving on the
22nd.
Light cruiser ABRUZZI was
torpedoed by a Swordfish
of 830 Squadron at 0038 on the 22nd.
LT P. E. O'Brien and T/Sub
Lt (A) A. J. Griffith
RNVR, of 830 Squadron were shot down. O'Brien was killed
and Griffith was rescued by Italian destroyer PESSAGNO
and made
a prisoner of war.
The light cruiser
proceeded to Messina for repairs under her own power and
arrived on the
22nd.
Light cruiser ABRUZZI, her
stern blown off, was
escorted by light cruiser GARIBALDI and destroyers
VIVALDI, DA NOLI,
GRANATIERE, FUCILIERE, ALPINO, CORAZZIERE, CARABINIERE,
and TURBINE and
torpedo boat PERSEO
Despite air attacks on the
ABRUZZI force, particularly on light cruiser GARIBALDI,
no
further damage was done.
At 0100/22nd, the convoys,
covered by heavy cruiser
GORIZIA and destroyer AVIERE, was ordered to Taranto in
view of continuing attacks.
Steamers VETTOR PISANO and
NAPOLI were escorted by destroyer GENIERE to
Taranto. Steamer IRIDIO
MANTOVANI was escorted to Taranto by destroyer CAMICIA
NERA. Steamer MONGINEVRO was
escorted by destroyer PESSAGNO to Taranto.
Destroyers CORAZZIERE,
CARABINIERE, and TURBINE
proceeded to Reggio.
Polish submarine SOKOL
damaged tanker BERBERA in
36-53N, 21-28E on the 21st.
Tanker BERBERA and torpedo
boat PEGASO arrived at
Navarino on the 24th.
_____
Submarine THRON
unsuccessfully attacked a steamer
in the Aegean.
_____
Submarine URSULA arrived
at Malta after patrol off Misurata.
_____
Lt W. J. Pangbourne was
killed when his Hurricane
of 806 Squadron was shot down south of El Adem.
_____
Sloop STORK arrived at
Gibraltar from the UK, escorting steamer EMPIRE
BARRACUDA.
_____
Destroyer MAORI and
corvette COLTSFOOT arrived at Gibraltar from the UK. The
destroyer had completed refitting at London.
Friday,
21 November
Minelaying cruiser MANXMAN
departed Scapa Flow for Loch Alsh to boiler clean.
The cruiser arrived at
Loch Alsh on the 22nd.
_____
Destroyer PUNJABI departed
Hvalfjord at 0900 for Scapa Flow, where she arrived at
1700/23rd.
_____
Battlecruiser RENOWN
departed Rosyth at 1600,
escorted by destroyers ARROW, VIMIERA, and WALLACE, for
Scapa Flow where the battlecruiser arrived at 0900/22nd.
The destroyers were
detached and returned before
entering harbour.
_____
Minelaying cruiser MANXMAN
departed Scapa Flow at 1700 for Loch Alsh, where she
arrived at
0900/22nd.
_____
Convoy ON.39 departed
Liverpool. The convoy was joined on the 22nd by
destroyers
DOUGLAS, LEAMINGTON, SHERWOOD, SKATE, and VETERAN,
corvettes ANEMONE,
THYME, and VERONICA, and anti-submarine trawlers ST
ELSTAN, ST KENAN, and ST
ZENO, and VIZALMA. The destroyers were detached on the
27th and rest of the
escorts on the 29th when relieved by American destroyers
BADGER, COLE, DECATUR, LIVERMORE, and PLUNKETT and Coast
Guard cutter CAMPBELL. The
American ships were detached when the convoy was
dispersed on 4 December.
_____
T/A/Sub Lt (A) C. Don
RNVR, was killed when his
Hurricane of 760 Squadron crashed after engine failure
near Shepton Mallet.
_____
British motor launch
ML.219 was grounded off
Stornoway and was declared a constructive total loss.
_____
British drifter ROWAN TREE
(91grt) ran aground and capsized at the entrance
to Lowestoft Harbour.
_____
German steamer BESSHEIM
(1774grt) was sunk on a
mine laid by Russian submarine K 21 on the 10th off
Hammerfest.
_____
Italian light cruiser
CARDONA departed Brindisi, unescorted, carrying gasoline
for Benghazi, where she arrived on the 22nd.
Early on the 22nd, the
cruiser reported an
unsuccessful submarine attack, but there are no details
of a submarine.
_____
Destroyer WILD SWAN
departed Gibraltar for Freetown to rejoin the South
Atlantic Command.
_____
Anti-submarine trawler
SCOTTISH intercepted French
fishing ketch PETITE ANNICK 20 miles 280° from Cape
Espicehl and sent her to Gibraltar,
arriving on the 23rd.
_____
Submarine URGE arrived at
Malta after patrol off Cephalonia.
_____
Dutch submarine O.21
unsuccessfully attacked a
convoy in the Tyrrhenian
Sea.
_____
A Shark of 750 Squadron
was lost in the sea while
on a reconnaisance exercise from Ponta Delgada. T/Lt (A)
H. V. Hicks RNVR, was lost.
_____
Convoy HX.161 departed
Halifax escorted by destroyers ANNAPOLIS and HAMILTON.
The destroyers were relieved on the
23rd by American destroyers BERNADOU, DUPONT, LEA,
MACLEISH, ROE, and WOOLSEY. Corvettes ANEMONE,
THYME, and VERONICA joined on 2 December. On the 24th,
destroyer DUPONT is
damaged in a collision with Norwegian tanker THORSHOVDI.
On 3 December, the
American destroyers were relieved by destroyers DOUGLAS,
LEAMINGTON, and VETERAN. Destroyer LEAMINGTON and
corvettes ANEMONE and THYME were detached on 5
December. Anti-submarine trawler KIRKELLA joined on 6
December and escorted the
convoy into Liverpool, arriving on 6 December.
Saturday,
22 November
Battleship NELSON,
escorted by destroyers FAULKNOR
and ICARUS, departed Scapa
Flow for Rosyth at 1830.
Destroyer ECLIPSE was
ordered to leave monitor
EREBUS off Duncansby Head and join the escort, but the
destroyer was unable
to proceed due to bad weather and returned to Scapa Flow
at 2230.
Battleship NELSON arrived
at Rosyth at 1100/23rd.
The destroyers returned to Scapa
Flow, arriving at 1640
that day.
_____
French submarine MINERVE
departed Dundee for patrol off the Norwegian coast.
On the 23rd, the submarine
experienced mechanical
problems and was diverted to Scapa
Flow for repairs,
arriving on the 24th.
Submarine MINERVE was able
to departed Scapa Flow on the 25th for patrol.
_____
Anti-submarine trawler ST
APOLLO (580grt, T/Lt R.
H. Marchington RNVR) was sunk in a collision with
destroyer SARDONYX off the Hebrides in 59-13N, 7-41W.
Destroyer PUNJABI, en
route from Hvalfjord to Scapa Flow, was ordered to
proceed to assist. On arrival, the
trawler had already sunk. Destroyer PUNJABI escorted
destroyer SARDONYX to
Loch Ewe.
At the Minches, destroyer
SARDONYX proceeded
unescorted to Loch Ewe and destroyer PUNJABI proceeded
to Scapa Flow, arriving at 1700/23rd.
_____
Submarine SEAWOLF
unsuccessfully attacked a steamer
three and a half miles from Syltefjord.
_____
Norwegian steamer BESTUM
(2215grt) was damaged by
German bombing off Platters near Harwich.
_____
Swedish tanker UNO
(408grt) was sunk on a mine three miles off the
entrance to Memel.
One crewman was lost on
the tanker.
_____
German fishing vessel
GERTRUD KAMPF (471grt) was
sunk on a mine near Libau.
_____
British schooner MARIA DI
GIOVANNI (255grt, T/Lt
A.B. Palmer RNR) was lost when she grounded west of
Tobruk.
Palmer, T/Lt J. Lucas RNR,
and the crew were taken prisoner.
_____
Dutch submarine O.21 sank
Italian sailing ship SAN SALVATORE (92grt) off Sardinia in 41-25N, 10-42E.
_____
Destroyers LAFOREY,
LIGHTNING, LEGION, and GURKHA
of the 19th Destroyer Flotilla departed Gibraltar for
exercises and to carry out an anti-submarine
sweep.
_____
Corvette SPIRAEA departed
Gibraltar escorting Norwegian tanker THORSHAVET and then
to
meet arriving tanker VELMA.
On the 23rd,
anti-submarine trawlers LADY HOGARTH
and STELLA CARINA were ordered to join the outward
escort.
Corvete GERANIUM departed
Gibraltar on the 29th to provide additional escort.
On 1 December, the tanker
and corvette SPIRAEA
arrived at Gibraltar.
_____
Convoy ST.9 departed
Freetown, escorted by corvettes ARMERIA, BURDOCK, and
WALLFLOWER. The convoy arrived at Takoradi on the 27th.
_____
Heavy cruiser DEVONSHIRE
sank German raider ATLANTIS in the South Atlantic off Ascension Island.
U.124 took the lifeboats
the cruiser in tow. On the
24th, supply ship PYTHON was met and the survivors were
taken aboard.
The German ship in her
cruise had sunk twenty two
allied ships for 145,697 tons in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian
Oceans.
_____
New Zealand light cruiser
ACHILLES met Australian light
cruiser ADELAIDE in Cook Strait and
took over convoy VK 21.
Light cruiser ACHILLES
departed the convoy on the
24th two hundred and fifty miles east of Chatham
Island and proceeded to Navulu Passage.
_____
Convoy SC.56 departed
Sydney, CB escorted by corvettes DRUMHELLER, and
SUMMERSIDE, and minesweepers GEORGIAN and THUNDER. These
corvettes were
detached on the 24th when the convoy was joined by
destroyer RESTIGOUCHE and
corvettes AGASSIZ, ALYSSE, AMHURST, BITTERSWEET,
CHICOUTIMI, MORDEN, and ORILLIA. Corvette ALYSSE was
detached on 4 December,
destroyer RESTIGOUCHE and corvettes AGASSIZ, AMHERST, CHICOUTIMMI,
MORDEN, and ORILLIA on 5 December. Sloop COMMANDANT
DETROYAT joined on
5 December and destroyers BEAGLE and MONTGOMERY,
corvettes HEATHER, LOBELIA, and NARCISSUS, and
anti-submarine trawler LADY MADELEINE joined on 6
December. Destroyer
MONTGOMERY was detached on 8 December and the rest of
the escorts on 9
December before the convoy arrived at Liverpool on 10
December.
Sunday,
23 November
Monitor EREBUS with
destroyers WITCH and VANQUISHER
departed Scapa Flow at 1230 to carry out practices west
of the
Orkneys, then proceed to Londonderry on completion.
The ships arrived at
Londonderry at 0900/25th.
_____
Heavy cruiser KENT
departed Hvalfjord to replace heavy cruiser NORFOLK on
the Faroes - Iceland patrol.
Heavy cruiser NORFOLK
proceeded to Hvalfjord, arriving on the 24th.
_____
Destroyers FORESIGHT,
FURY, and FORESTER departed
the Biscay patrol to join convoy SL.92 and then proceed
to Londonderry.
The destroyers joined the
convoy on the 24th.
On the 25th, destroyers
FURY and FORESIGHT departed
the convoy for Londonderry, arriving on the 27th. They
departed Londonderry on the 28th and arrived at Scapa
Flow on the 29th to join the Home Fleet. Destroyer
FORESTER departed Londonderry on the 29th and arrived at
Scapa Flow on the 30th to join the Home Fleet.
_____
Heavy cruiser HAWKINS,
escorted by destroyer
BLENCATHRA, arrived at Portsmouth from the East
Indies.
The heavy cruiser was
refitting at Portsmouth from 7 December to 7 May.
_____
Swedish steamer HEDDA
(1498grt) was sunk on a mine
north of Borkum.
The entire crew were
rescued.
_____
Landing ship GLENROY, with
supplies for Tobruk, was
damaged by an aerial torpedo in 31-40N, 26-28E. She was
taken in tow by
anti-aircraft cruiser CARLISLE, escorted by destroyers
AVONVALE and ERIDGE and
beached at Mersa Matruh.
The troops on the landing
ship were transferred to destroyer
FARNDALE which carried them to Tobruk.
Destroyers NAPIER, NIZAM,
KIPLING, JACKAL, and
HASTY were ordered to assist the landing ship. Sloop
FLAMINGO and tug ST
ISSEY departed Alexandria.
Ship GLENROY was refloated
on the 27th and taken in
tow by tugs ST ISSEY and ST MONACE. Escorted by
destroyers two anti-submarine
trawlers, later reinforced by destroyer AVONVALE, and
later by destroyers
FARNDALE and ERIDGE. The landing ship arrived at
Alexandria on the 29th.
_____
British tanker TONELINE
and steamer GEBIL KEBIR
departed Tobruk escorted by destroyer HEYTHROP,
Australian sloop YARRA, and
three anti-submarine trawlers.
_____
While light cruiser
CARDONA was returning from Benghazi, Italian steamer
ADRIATICO (1976grt) departed
Reggio, unescorted for Benghazi.
Italian steamer VINICOLO
departed Trapani for Tripoli.
Italian steamer BOSFORO
(3567grt), escorted by
destroyer STRALE, departed Benghazi to return to
Brindisi.
Italian steamer FABIO
FILZI (6836grt) with
destroyers USODIMARE and SAETTA departed Trapani for
Tripoli.
Destroyer SEBENICO and
torpedo boat CENTAURO joined
the steamer from Tripoli.
German steamers MARITZA
(2910grt) and PROCIDA
(1842grt), carrying fuel for the Luftwaffe and escorted
by Italian torpedo boats
LUPO and CASSIOPEA, departed Piraeus for Benghazi.
_____
T/Sub Lt (A) A. J. C.
Willis RNVR, was killedwhen
his Hurricane of 806 Squadron from GREBE crashed at Bir
el Gu.
_____
Dutch submarine O.21
unsuccessfully attacked a
convoy in the Tyrrhenian Sea.
_____
Corvette GERANIUM arrived
at Gibraltar, escorting steamer EMPIRE PANTHER, after
refitting
in the UK.
Monday,
24 November
Heavy cruiser CUMBERLAND
departed Hvalfjord for Denmark Strait patrol.
_____
Battleship RESOLUTION,
escorted by destroyers BERKELEY and KUJAWIAK, departed
Plymouth for Scapa Flow to work
up.
The ships arrived at Scapa
Flow on the 27th.
_____
Light cruiser KENYA,
destroyers BEDOUIN and INTREPID, and Soviet
destroyers GREMYAHCHI and GROMKI departed Murmansk to
sweep for German shipping between Nodkyn and
Vardo in Operation AR.
The ships shelled Vardo at
0731 on the 25th.
The ships arrived at back
Murmansk later on the 25th.
_____
Destroyer PUNJABI departed
Scapa Flow at 1200 for the Tyne to carry out refitting.
The destroyer arrivedat
0730/25th.
_____
Destroyer ICARUS departed
Scapa Flow at 2330 for Hvalfjord to join the Commander
in
Chief Home Fleet.
The destroyer arrived at
Hvalfjord at 0830/27th.
_____
Landing ship PRINCE
LEOPOLD, escorted by MGB.316,
MGB.312, MGB.314, and MGB.317, landed troops on the
coast of Normandy in Operation SUNSTAR.
After information was
gained, the ships returned to
Portsmouth.
_____
T/Sub Lt (A) L. A. C.
Michell RNVR, was killed when
his Albacore of 767/769 Squadrons crashed near Abroath
during exercises.
_____
Submarine SEAWOLF
unsuccessfully attacked a convoy
of steamers ASUNCION, GRAZIELLA, and WENDINGEN in
70-30N, 30-30E in
Syltefjord.
_____
British steamer ARDENZA
(933grt) was damaged by German
bombing in 54B, ten miles southeast of Orfordness.
The steamer arrived at
Great Yarmouth on the 25th.
_____
German motor torpedo boats
S.50, S.51, S.52, S.109,
and S.110 of the 4th Motor Torpedo Boat Flotilla
attacked convoy FS.654east
of Orfordness.
British tanker VIRGILIA
(5723grt) was sunk by S.109
three miles north east of Hearty Knoll Buoy.
Twenty three crewmen,
including seven gunners, were
missing on the tanker. Seventeen survivors were picked
up by ML.150 and
ML.152.
Dutch steamer GROENLO
(1984grt) was sunk by S.52
one and a half miles 28° from 52E Buoy.
One crewman was killed and
nine crewmen were
missing.
British steamer BLAIRNEVIS
(4155grt) was damaged by
German motor torpedo boat S.51 off Hearty Knoll, 52-20N,
1-59E.
The steamer was beached at
Great Yarmouth Roads.
She was refloated and towed to London on 16-17 December
for repairs. The crew had
abandoned ship and ML.150 rescued the crewmen.
Destroyers WESTMINSTER and
SOUTHDOWN both reported sinking German
S-boats.
_____
Battleships QUEEN
ELIZABETH, VALIANT, and BARHAM
and destroyersJERVIS, GRIFFIN,
and DECOY departed Alexandria to support operations by
Force K. Five other
destroyers were still oiling when the Fleet departed.
The Fleet encountered
destroyers FARNDALE,
AVONVALE, and ERIDGE in the searched Channel and these
destroyers escorted
the Fleet until relieved at 2245 by destroyers NAPIER,
NIZAM, KIPLING,
JACKAL, and HASTY which had completed fuelling.
Force K with light
cruisers AURORA and PENELOPE and
destroyers LANCE and LIVELY departed Malta on the 23rd
to intercept Italian convoys.
Light cruisers AJAX,
NEPTUNE, NAIAD, EURYALUS and destroyers KANDAHAR,
KINGSTON, KIMBERLEY, and HOTSPUR departed Alexandria to
act as Force B, but did not make any contact.
Force B swept the coast of
Cyrenaica during the night of 25/26 November and arrived
at Alexandria at 1800/26th.
Italian submarine
SETTIMBRINI was sighted Force K
at 0503 on the 25th.
Italian convoys were
ordered into the nearest
ports.
However, the German
steamer convoy did not receive
the order and was intercepted by Force K.
On the 24th, both German
steamers were sunk and
torpedo boat CASSIOPEA was damaged by splinters.
Force K arrived back at
Malta at 0730/25th.
_____
Submarine TRIUMPH sank
Italian tug HERCULES
(632grt) and damaged German steamer NORBURG off
Heraklion.
_____
Submarine
OLYMPUS departed Gibraltar with
aviation petrol and other stores for Malta.
_____
Submarine
CLYDE arrived at Gibraltar
after escort duties with RFA oiler DINGLEDALE.
On the 25th, the oiler and
corvettes JONQUIL and
COREOPSIS arrived at Gibraltar.
_____
Dutch submarine O.21 sank
Italian coastal steamer
UNIONE (216grt) northeast of Troca in 41-06N, 10-02E.
_____
Light cruiser DUNEDIN
(Captain R. S. Lovatt, OBE) was sunk by U.124 in
3S, 26W, north of Pernambuco.
Lovatt, Cdr (E) C. R. W.
Bolt, T/A/Surgeon Lt Cdr
H. T. L. Broadway RNVR, Paymaster Lt T.B. N. Caws, Sub
Lt E. M. French, T/Lt
E. E. Gibson RNVR, T/Sub Lt (E) D. Hanson, Sub Lt J.G.
Hollinshead RNR, Lt J. M. Jervelund, Commissioned Gunner
(T) H.
Lowey, Lt E.B. Mackay RNVR, Lt (A/Captain) R. H. L.
Maul, RM, T/Surgeon Lt C.
J. Milligan RNVR, T/A/Sub Lt R. A. S. Pratt RNR,
Paymaster Lt Cdr R. M. P. Skinner, Lt Cdr R. M.
H. Sowdon, Midshipman C. H. S. Wilson, T/Paymaster Lt C.
J.G. Wright RNVR,
Midshipman K. R. Dutta, RIN, 330 ratings, and fifty five
Marines were
missing.
Gunner E. M. Goldfinch,
T/Instructor LtG. D. L.
Harcombe, A/Warrant Engineer E. W. J. Hickey,
Schoolmaster A. R. Hughes,
T/A/Lt Cdr A. W. Hughes DSC, Cdr E. O. Unwin, T/Sub Lt
W. L. Walters RNR, and six ratings died in the water
from exposure
and injuries before rescue.
One rating was killed.
Lt Cdr A. O. Watson, which
was wounded, Lt G. E.
Milner RNR Rtd, Gunner C B Titheridge, T/Sub Lt E. F.
Jolliffe RNVR, and sixty eight ratings were later
rescued by American steamer
NISHMAHA (6076grt) after three days and four nights in
the water.
Five of the ratings died
on the 28th before
arriving at Trinidad.
_____
British troopship AWATEA
departed Singapore with 420 crewmembers for troopship
EMPRESS OF
RUSSIA. The troopship was escorted by light cruiser
DRAGON to 66-14N, 98E
where light cruiser GLASGOW relieved light cruiser
DRAGON.
Light cruiser GLASGOW
escorted troopship AWATEA
until 27 November and the troopship arrived at Colombo
on the 28th.
Tuesday,
25 November
Light cruiser SHEFFIELD
departed
Scapa Flow for
Seidisfjord for escort duty with convoy PQ.5.
In heavy weather on the
26th, the cruiser was
forced to heave to. The cruiser was able to arrive on
the 27th.
_____
Convoy ON.40 departed
Liverpool, escorted by anti-submarine trawlers COVENTRY
CITY and LADY MADELEINE. The convoy was joined on the
26th by sloop COMMANDANT DETROYAT, corvettes HEATHER and
NARCISSUS, and
anti-submarine trawler ARAB. Destroyers BEAGLE and
BOADICEA joined on the
27th. The escorts were detached on the 30th when
relieved by destroyers COLUMBIA and SKEENA and
corvettes ACONIT, GALT, SHEDIAC, and WETASKIWIIN. The
convoy was
dispersed on 4 December.
_____
Minesweeper FITZROY
departed Scapa Flow for the Faroes to resume
minesweeping duties.
_____
British drifter FISHER
GIRL (85grt, T/Electrician
J. W. Parsons RNVR) was sunk by German bombing at
Falmouth
Harbour.
_____
Armed patrol trawler
JACQUES MORGAND (155grt) was
sunk by German bombing at Falmouth.
_____
Convoy OG.77 departed
Liverpool escorted by sloops BLACK SWAN and FOWEY and
corvettes CAMPION, HELIOTROPE, LA MALOUINE, and MALLOW.
On the 26th, destroyer
HARVESTER escorted the
convoy through the day. She was then detached and
proceeded to Gibraltar, arriving on 2 December.
Corvette MALLOW was
detached on the 28th and
corvettes BLUEBELL, CARNATION, MYOSOTIS, and STONECROP
joined the escort.
Destroyers HESPERUS and
HARVESTER departed Gibraltar on 7 December and joined
the escort on 9 December.
Destroyer HIGHLANDER proceeded to the escort after
completing current duties.
Destroyer HARVESTER was recalled on 10 December.
Escorts were detached to
accompany ships proceeding
to Portuguese or Spanish ports on 9 December. The
escorts detached rejoined
the convoy.
Sloop DEPTFORD and
corvettes VETCH, SAMPHIRE,
PENSTEMON, and CONVOLVULUS departed Gibraltar on an
anti-submarine sweep on 9 December and joined the convoy
on 13 December for
additional escort.
The convoy arrived at
Gibraltar on 13 December.
_____
British troopships ROYAL
ULSTERMAN and ROYAL
MONARCH arrived at Gibraltar, escorted by destroyers
WISHART and VIDETTE.
_____
Soviet destroyer LENINGRAD
was mined off Hango.
The destroyer was
repaired.
_____
German auxiliary patrol
vessel Vp.412 (trawler BREMERHAVEN, 416grt) was sunk
near St Pol by a British motor
torpedo boat.
The vessel was later
salved and returned to service
as Vp.805.
_____
Battleship BARHAM (Captain
G. C. Cooke) was sunk by
U.331 in 32-34N, 26-24E off Sollum.
Cooke, T/Paymaster Sub Lt
A. J. Allsebrook RNVR, Lt
Cdr (E) G. A. O. Andrews, Lt Cdr F. Barchard,
T/A/Warrant Electrician T. R.
Barnacott, T/Lt (E) A. Bisset, T/Sub Lt K. M. H. Bond
RNVR, P/T/Midshipman
R.G. Bower RNR, Midshipman T. P. Boyd, Warrant Engineer
N. E.
Boyes, CdrG. F. N. Bradford, Lt Cdr W. L. Brodrick,
T/Chaplain the Reverend
F. Burnett RNVR, Paymaster Lt J. Charles, Midshipman R.
E. Cloete, Lt J. M.
Corrie, RM, Cdr R. H. Craske DSC. Lt H.
Creasy,Commissioned Boatswain E. T.
Ford, Commissioned Gunner C. H. George, Warrant Mechanic
W. J. O. Goodlad, Lt
Cdr D. Grove-White, Midshipman W. T. Hickling, Lt C.
St.G. S. Hill, RM,
Senior Master CB Hockaday, Midshipman A. E. Hutton RNR,
T/Midshipman W. J. Jennings RNR, Midshipman the
Honourable J. C. Jocelyn,
A/Paymaster Sub Lt D. M. Lawder, T/Paymaster Sub Lt H.
F. Lacheur RNVR, T/Lt
(E) N. C. Lewis, Lt J. W. Lochore, Warrant Supply
Officer S. W. Lowes,
T/Midshipman W.G. W. Maplesden RNR, A/Lt (E) R. C. V.
Molesworth, CdrG. P. U. Morris
DSC, Warrant TelegraphistG. M. Pennington, T/Lt (E) F.
V. Percival, Lt W.G.
L. Peters, Paymaster Lt D. A. Phillips RNVR, CaptainG.
S. Pitts, RM,
T/Midshipman J. H. Reid RNR, Lt Cdr
J. R. Roberts-West DSC, T/Paymaster Lt J. C. Robertson
RNVR, Lt J. K.
Rodwell, Midshipman H. T.B. Salmon, T/Surgeon Lt A. E.
Sherwell RNVR, Surgeon
Cdr E. R. Sorley, Commissioned Gunner A. E. Stanley, Lt
(E) H.B. Stringer,
Paymaster Midshipman F. H. Twycross, Signal Boatswain
J.G. Warren, T/Lt R. S.
Watson RNVR, Engineering Cdr H. R. Whitehouse, Paymaster
Cdr H.G. Williams,
Lt S. Woodcock, six hundred and seventy four ratings,
and one hundred and
thirty two Marines were missing from the battleship.
Two ratings and one Marine
died of wounds after
being rescued.
About four hundred and
fifty survivors, including
Vice Admiral Pridham Wippell were rescued by destroyers
JERVIS, JACKAL,
NIZAM, which rescued 168 men, and HOTSPUR.
Battleships QUEEN
ELIZABETH and VALIANT and
destroyers NAPIER, GRIFFIN, HASTY, DECOY, HOTSPUR, and
KIPLING arrived at Alexandria at 1000/26th. Destroyers
JERVIS, NIZAM, and JACKAL
arrived at Alexandria at 1400.
After the loss of
battleship BARHAM, submarine OTUS
was withdrawn from operational duties for use as an
anti-submarine warfare
training ship.
_____
Destroyer THRASHER sank
Italian armed merchant
cruiser ATTILO DEFFENU (3510grt) near Brindisi in
40-37N, 18-27E from a Patrasso - Brindisi convoy of
steamers CATERINA MADRE (4019grt) and
RESURRECTIO (979grt).
_____
Submarine THUNDERBOLT sank
German steamer LVII with
gunfire off Cape Malea.
_____
Destroyers WISHART and
VIDETTE with troopships ROYAL
SCOTSMAN, ROYAL ULSTERMAN, and ULSTER MONARCH arrived at
Gibraltar after
departing Freetown on the 17th. The troopships were
originally escorted by
destroyer VELOX and corvette CLOVER. The corvette was
later relieved by
destroyer VIMY.
_____
Destroyers LAFOREY,
LEGION, LIGHTNING, GURKHA, and
ISAAC SWEERS departed Gibraltar at 0400 and destroyers
WISHART and BRADFORD
departed at 1630 to carry out an anti-submarine sweep.
On the 27th, destroyer
LEGION attacked a submarine
contact in 35-40N, 07-26W.
Wednesday,
26 November
Armed merchant cruiser
CAPE
SABLE departed Oban for Scapa
Flow, arriving on the
27th to conduct working up practices.
_____
Submarine P.36 made an
unsuccessful attack on a
submarine in 47-16N, 3-20W.
_____
German steamer EGERAN
(1143grt) was sunk on a mine
off Memel.
_____
British transport ships
carrying tanks departed Port Said for Alexandria
escorted by sloop FLAMINGO, corvettes SALIVA,
HYACINTH, and ERICA, and Greek destroyers KONDOURIOTIS
and ASPIS from Alexandria.
Anti-aircraft ship
CARLISLE departed Alexandria and joined
the convoy off Port Said.
The convoy arrived at
Alexandria on the 27th.
_____
Japanese carrier forces
for the Pearl
Harbour attack departed Tankan
Bay.
The force was composed of
aircraft carriers AKAGI
and KAGA of the 1st Carrier Division, SORYU and HIRYU of
the 2nd Carrier
Division, and SHOKAKU and ZUIKAKU of the 5th Carrier
Division, light cruiser
ABUKUMA of the 1st Destroyer Flotilla with destroyers
TANIKAZE, URAKAZE,
ISOKAZE, HAMAKAZE of the 17th Destroyer Division,
KASUMI, ARARE, KAGERO,
SHIRANUHI of the 18th Destroyer Division, and AKIGUMO of
the 10th Destroyer
Division, battle cruisers HIEI and KIRISHIMA of the 1st
Battleship Division,
and heavy cruisers TONE and CHIKUMA of the 8th Cruiser
Squadron.
Submarines I.19, I.21, and
I.23 were deployed to
support the force.
The supply train consisted
of eight tankers and
supply ships.
Destroyers SAZANAMI and
USHIO of 7th Destroyer
Division were sailed to shell Midway
Island.
Thursday,
27 November
Heavy cruiser SUFFOLK
departed Hvalfjord for the west Denmark Strait patrol.
_____
Light cruiser EDINBURGH
departed Hvalfjord for the
north Faroes-Iceland patrol area.
_____
Heavy cruiser KENT changed
to the south Faroes-Iceland area patrol area.
_____
Convoy ON.41 departed
Liverpool, escorted by corvettes CALENDULA, CELANDINE,
GENTIAN, HONEYWUCKLE, PERIWINKLE, and ROSE. Corvette
PERIWINKLE was detached
on the 28th. Destroyer VANOC joined on the 29th and
destroyer CALDWELL on the
30th. Destroyers CALDWELL and VANOC and corvettes
CALENDULA and ROSE were
detached on 4 December when relieved by American
destroyers BABBITT, LEARY,
MAYO, NICHOLSON, and SCHENCK. Corvette HONEYSUCKLE was
detached on 5 December
and corvettes CELANDINE and GENTIAN on 6 December. The
American destroyers
were detached on 10 December. Corvette LETHBRIDGE was
with the convoy on 11 December when the convoy
was dispersed.
_____
Destroyer BEAUFORT
departed Scapa Flow at 0800 for the Clyde to boiler clean prior to transfer to the
Mediterranean.
The destroyer arrived in
the Clyde at 0700/28th.
_____
Destroyer INGLEFIELD
departed the Humber at 0900 for Scapa
Flow following her
refitting.
The destroyer arrived at
Scapa Flow at 0530/28th.
_____
Destroyer
BRIGHTON departed Scapa Flow at
1800 on completion of docking and repairs. The
destroyer was to rendezvous with convoy DS.17 in
position 16½ miles 192° from
Skerryvore at 1100/28th.
_____
Destroyer MONTROSE
departed Scapa Flow at 2100 to rejoin the Nore Command
following her
working up period.
The destroyer was to
provide additional escort for
convoy FS.659 en route. At 2200, destroyer MONTROSE was
ordered to
investigate an RDF contact to the east of the Orkneys.
This was found to be
British fishing trawler PORT ARTHUR.
_____
Convoy PQ.5 departed
Hvalfjord at 1030 with
steamers BRIARWOOD (4019grt), EMPIRE STEVENSON
(6209grt), Soviet PETROVSKI
(3771grt), TREHATA (4817grt), CHUMLEIGH (5445grt),
Soviet KOMILES (3962grt),
and ST CLEARS (4312grt), escorted by minesweepers
SHARPSHOOTER, HAZARD, and
HEBE.
Light cruiser SHEFFIELD
departed Seidisfjord early on the 30th and joined
the convoy in 70-20N, 5-00W at 0900/30th. The light
cruiser continued with
the convoy to 7 December, when she was detached to
Murmansk.
Minesweepers HAZARD and
HEBE were detached on 7
December with light cruiser SHEFFIELD and proceeded to
Murmansk, arriving at 1030 on 8 December.
Minesweepers BRAMBLE and
SEAGULL departed Murmansk on 5 December and joined the
convoy on 7 December.
They escorted the convoy with minesweeper SHARPSHOOTER
to its arrival at Archangel on 13 December.
_____
Convoy QP.3 departed
Archangel with steamers Soviet ANDRE MARTI (2352grt),
EMPIRE
BAFFIN (6978grt), HARTLEBURY (5082grt), ORIENT CITY
(5095grt), Soviet REVOLUTSIONER (2900grt), Soviet
ARCOS (2343grt), HARPALION (5486grt), Soviet KUZBASS
(3109grt), QUEEN CITY (4814grt), and TEMPLE ARCH
(5138grt).
Minesweeper HUSSAR
escorted the convoy from 27
November to 9 December and minesweeper GOSSAMER escorted
the convoy from 27
November to 10 December. These minesweepers took Russian
ships to Kirkwall on dispersal of the convoy.
Steamers ARCOS and KUZBASS
returned to Archangel with defects.
Destroyers BEDOUIN and
INTREPID, carrying officers
and other ranks of RAF 151 Wing from Operation STRENGTH,
departed Murmansk at
1500/27th to join the convoy and provide escort at
1200/28th to 2 December at
1400.
Light cruiser KENYA,
carrying 200 personnel from 151 Wing which had
arrived in Operation STRENGTH, departed Murmansk on the
28th. The cruiser joined the convoy at
daylight on the 29th and escorted the convoy to 3
December.
The convoy was dispersed
on 3 December at 0300 in
73-45N, 19-00E. The British ships proceeded to
Seidisfjord. They were
escorted from Seidisfjord to Kirkwall from 9 to 12
December by British trawlers MACBETH
and HAMLET.
Destroyers BEDOUIN and
INTREPID arrived at Scapa Flow at 1700 on 5 December.
Light cruiser KENYA
arrived at Rosyth on 6 December for repairs and to
disemark to RAF personnel.
Minesweeper HUSSAR arrived
at Scapa Flow at 1600 on 9 December.
Minesweeper GOSSAMER
arrived at Scapa Flow at 1200 on 11 December, carrying
Soviet Commodore
Egipko, which was to be the liaison officer with the
Home Fleet, to be
accomodate in battlecruiser RENOWN.
_____
German raider KOMET
departed Cherbourg early on the 27th, escorted by
torpedo boats T.7,
T.4, and T.11 and minesweepers M.10 and M.153. The
cruiser spent the day in Le Havre and departed that
night with the three torpedo
boats, five minesweepers, and six R boats.
Early on the 28th, the
Dover Command was involved
in attacking the merchant cruiser off Boulogne and
Dunkirk as it returned to Germany.
MTB.218, MTB.219, MTB.221,
and MTB.56 had departed Dover and proceeded to number 8
buoy. MTB.45, MTB.44, MTB.47, and MTB.48 had departed
Dover and proceeded to S.buoy. MGB.14 and MGB.41 had
departed Ramsgate and proceeded to V buoy.
En route MTB.221, MTB.56,
and MTB.48 developed engine troubles and returned to
harbour.
Cruiser KOMET was
undamaged, but MTB.219 damaged one of the escorts which
was last seen
with three R boats standing by.
The Coxswain of MTB.219
was wounded and later died of wounds.
Torpedo boat T.4 was
damaged by fire from T.12, and
a dud fired by one of the minesweepers. One of the MTBs
caused personnel
casualties on the torpedo boat with machine gun fire,
wounding four,
including the commanding officer. T.7 was also hit by
machine gun fire, causing
three dead and three wounded.
The German ship arrived in
Hamburg on the 30th after a cruise in which she sank 6
1/2
ships (seven sinkings were shared) for 42,959grt).
_____
Light cruisers AJAX and
NEPTUNE with destroyers KINGSTON and KIMBERLEY as Force
B departed Alexandria on the 27th for duty at Malta,
where they arrived on the 29th.
Light cruisers NAIAD and
EURYALUS and destroyers
HOTSPUR and GRIFFIN as Force C departed Alexandria in
company for cover for the first part of the
voyage. They were to sweep off Cyrenaica then
return to Alexandria on the 28th.
_____
British steamer HANNE
(1360grt), carrying
ammunition for Tobruk, departed Alexandria on the 25th
escorted by destroyer
AVONVALE, Australian sloop PARRAMATTA, and South African
anti-submarine
whalers SOUTHERN MAID, SOUTHERN SEA, and SOUTHERN ISLE.
Australian sloop
PARRAMATTA (A/Cdr J. H. Walker, MVO RAN) was sunk on the
27th
by U.559 off Bardia.
Walker, Lt Cdr P. W.
Forwood RANR, LtG. W. A. Langford,
T/Lt V. V. Johnston RANR (S), T/Lt K. R. Hunter RANR
(S), Lt A. Moore RANVR,
Surgeon Lt C. F. Harrington RANR, Commissioned Engineer
R. P. Oram, A/Gunner
(T) A. J. Brown, and 151 ratings were lost. Forwood and
Johnston dying in the
ship's boat. Twenty one ratings were rescued by
destroyer AVONVALE and three
ratings successfully swam ashore.
Also, passengers, Lt R. H.
S. Litchfield and seven
ratings, formerly of gunboat GNAT, were lost on the
sloop.
Steamer HANNE safely
arrived at Tobruk.
_____
Submarine PROTEUS sighted
a submarine sixty miles
northwest of Alexandria late on the 27th. However, the
reported was
delayed and not received until 0800/28th.
Destroyers GRIFFIN and
HERO were sent to hunt in the area, despite
the lateness of the report.
Later destroyers HASTY and
NIZAM, returning from a
supply run to Tobruk, joined the hunt.
_____
Submarine UPHOLDER
unsuccessfully attacked a
northbound tanker off eastern Tunisia.
_____
Submarine TRUSTY
unsuccessfully attacked an
unescorted tanker off Argostoli.
_____
Submarine UTMOST arrived
at Malta after patrol off Del Armi.
_____
Polish submarine SOKOL
arrived at Malta after patrol off Navarino.
_____
Convoy HX.162 departed
Halifax, escorted by destroyers ANNAPOLIS and HAMILTON
and corvette COBALT. The escorts were detached on
the 29th when relieved by American destroyers CHARLES F.
HUGHES, LANSDALE, MADISON, STURTEVANT, and WILKES. The American group was relieved on
7 December by destroyers CALDWELL and VANOC and
corvettes CALENDULA, GENTIAN,
and HONEYSUCKLE. These escorts, less destroyer CALDWELL,
were detached on 10
December. Destroyer CALDWELL and the convoy arrived at
Liverpool on 11 December.
Friday,
28 November
Battleship KING GEORGE V,
aircraft carrier
VICTORIOUS, heavy cruiser NORFOLK,
and destroyers ASHANTI, TARTAR, ESKIMO,
SOMALI, MATABELE, ECHO, and ESCAPADE departed Hvalfjord
at 1400 for Scapa Flow, arriving on the 30th at 1200.
_____
Light cruiser EDINBURGH
departed the Faroes - Iceland patrol for Scapa Flow,
where she arrived on the 29th.
_____
Heavy cruiser CUMBERLAND
departed the Denmark Strait patrol, upon relief by heavy
cruiser SUFFOLK, for Hvalfjord, where she arrived later
that day.
_____
Destroyers FURY and
FORESIGHT departed Londonderry at 1300 for Scapa Flow,
arriving at 0930/29th.
_____
Minelayer MENETHEUS,
escorted by destroyer
LANCASTER, laid minefield SN.25B.
_____
German steamer HENNY
(764grt) was lost on a mine
near Memel.
_____
German steamer GERDA
FERDINAND (3727grt) foundered
north of Stockholm.
_____
Dutch submarine O.21 sank
U.95 east of Gibraltar in 36-21N, 03-27W.
The submarine rescued the
German commanding
officer, three other officers, and eight ratings. Thirty
three crewmen were
lost in the submarine.
The submarine arrived back
at Gibraltar on the 28th.
_____
Force K of light cruisers
AURORA and PENELOPE and
destroyers LANCE and LIVELY departed Malta to intercept
enemy destroyers thought to be
departing Benghazi.
No contact was made and
Force K returned to Malta on the 29th.
_____
T/Sub Lt (A) E. H. Walshe
RNVR, and T/Sub Lt (E) J.
H. Lewis of 828 Squadron from ST ANGELO, were taken
prisoner after their
Albacore aircraft was lost after a night attack on
Castel Benito.
_____
Italian steamer PRIARUGGIA
(1196grt) was sunk by
British bombing at Benghazi.
_____
Convoy SC.57 departed
Sydney, CB escorted by corvettes BATTLEFORD, KAMSACK,
and
SHAWNIGAN, and minesweeper NIPIGON. Corvettes KAMSACK,
and SHAWNIGAN and
minesweeper NIPIGON were detached on the 30th when
relieved by corvettes
ARVIDA, FENNEL, POLYANTHUS, PRIMROSE, SHERBROOKE, and
TRAIL. Corvette FENNEL
was detached on 1 December and destroyer OTTAWA joined.
Corvettes ALISMA, KINGCUP, and SUNFLOWER
and anti-submarine trawlers LADY ELSA and LE TIGER
joined on 9 December.
Destroyer OTTAWA and corvettes ARVIDA, BATTLEFORD,
POLYANTHUS,
PRIMROSE, SHERBROOKE, and TRAIL were detached on 9
December. Destroyers
SABRE and SKATE joined on 10 December. Destroyers SABRE
and SKATE, corvettes
ALISMA, KINGCUP, and SUNFLOWER, and the trawlers were
detached on 13
December. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on 15
December.
_____
American aircraft carrier
ENTERPRISE departed Pearl
Harbour accompanied by battleships ARIZONA, NEVADA, and
OKLAHOMA of
Battleship Division 1, heavy cruisers CHESTER,
NORTHAMPTON, and SALT LAKE
CITY of
Cruiser Division 5, Commander Destroyer Flotilla 2 in
light cruiser DETROIT,
and destroyers HENLEY, HELM, BLUE,
BAGLEY, MUGFORD, RALPH TALBOT, JARVIS, and PATTERSON of
Destroyer Squadron 4
and destroyers BALCH, GRIDLEY, CRAVEN, MCCALL, MAURY,
DUNLAP, FANNING,
BENHAM, and ELLET of Destroyer Squadron 6.
The battleships, light
cruiser DETROIT, and Destroyer Squadron 4 were detached
out of
sighted of land for exercises and the aircraft carrier
with Cruiser Division
5 and Destroyer Squadron 6 to Wake Island.
On 4 December, twelve
Marine aircraft of VMF.211
were flown off to Wake.
Saturday,
29 November
Heavy cruiser KENT
departed the Faroes - Iceland patrol for Scapa Flow
where she arrived on the 30th.
_____
Destroyer CHIDDINGFOLD
departed Scapa Flow at 1000 to meet Floating Dock XIV on
passage up
the east coast in tow of steamer EMPIRE LARCH and
escorted by trawlers SCALBY
WYKE and PRESTON NORTH END.
Destroyer CHIDDINGFOLD
arrived back at Scapa Flow on the 30th.
_____
Destroyer INGLEFIELD
departed Scapa Flow at 1400 for Scrabster to embark Rear
Admiral
Destroyers Home Fleet and his staff for passage to Scapa
Flow.
The destroyer arrived back
at 1730.
_____
Destroyer FORESTER
departed Londonderry at 1718 for Scapa Flow, where she
arrived at 1130/30th.
_____
The German 4th Motor
Torpedo Boat Flotilla attacked
convoy FN 564 northwest of Cromer.
Motor torpedo boat S.51
sank British steamer
CORMARSH (2848grt) a half mile north of 58 A Buoy,
53-16N, 1-04E.
The entire crew were
rescued.
Motor torpedo boat S.52
sank British steamer EMPIRE
NEWCOMEN (2840grt) five miles south of Dudgeon Light.
Ten crewmen were lost on
the steamer.
Motor torpedo boat S.64
sank British tanker
ASPERITY (699grt) in 53-11N, 1-07E.
Ten crewmen were missing
on the tanker.
MGB.86 and MGB.89 engaged
the German ships and
MGB.89 wasdamaged.
_____
U.43 sank British steamer
THORNLIEBANK (5569grt),
from convoy OS.12, in 41-50N, 29-48W.
The entire crew were lost
on the steamer.
_____
Italian steamers ISEO
(2366grt) and CAPO FARO (3476grt) escorted by torpedo
boat PROCIONE
departed Brindisi for Benghazi.
On the 30th, steamer CAPO
FARO was sunk and steamer ISEO was damaged by Malta
aircraft in 37-28N, 19-20E. Torpedo boat PROCIONE
escorted steamer ISEO to Argostoli.
Steamer SEBASTIANO VENIER
(6311grt) departed Taranto with destroyer DA VERAZZANO.
Steamer ADRIATICO,
unescorted, departed Argostoli
for Benghazi.
At 0330 on 1 December,
after being sighted by Malta aircraft, the steamer was
sunk by Force K fifty
six miles north of Benghazi.
Tanker VOLTURNO with
torpedo boats ARETUSA and
PEGASO departed Navarino for Benghazi.
On the 29th, tanker
VOLTURNO was damaged by Malta based aircraft and was
forced to return to port.
Steamer IRIDIO MANTOVANI
(10,540grt) with destroyer
DA MOSTA departed Trapani for Tripoli.
On 1 December, submarine
THUNDERBOLT sighted
MANTOVANI which was badly damaged by Malta aircraft.
Destroyer DA MOSTA was
rescuing survivors when
Force K arrived and sank the destroyer in 33-50N,
12-50E, sixty miles north,
northwest of Tripoli. Force K also scuttled the wreck of
the steamer.
These movements were
covered by light cruisers
AOSTA, MONTECUCCOLI, and ATTENDOLO with destroyers
AVIERE, CAMICIA NERA, and
GENIERE.
The cruisers were
unsuccessfully attacked seventy
miles south of Taranto by Submarine UPROAR.
This group joined the
VENIER convoy on the 30th.
On 1 December, the
cruisers were again successfully
attacked, this time by submarine UPHOLDER.
Steamer VENIER arrived at
Benghazi on 2 December.
Battleship DUILO, light
cruiser GARIBALDI, and
destroyers GRANATIERE, ALPINO, BERSAGLIERE, FUCLIERE,
CORAZZIERE, and
CARABINIERE departed Taranto
for support.
However, the DUILO group
is held up by engine
problems on cruiser GARIBALDI and heavy weather.
_____
Italian tanker BERBERA
(2093grt), which had arrived
at Navarino on the 24th to avoid British forces, was
sunk by British bombing
at Navarino.
_____
Light cruiser GALATEA
departed Suez.
_____
British whaler EGELAND
(153grt) was lost when she
ran aground on the Palestine coast.
_____
French sloop COMMANDANT
DUBOC departed Gibraltar to return to the UK.
_____
Submarine
CLYDE departed Gibraltar to
patrol in the area 35-50N, 3-20W.
_____
British troopship KAROA
departed Rangoon with 115 military personnel for
Calcutta. The troopship was given cover by heavy cruiser
EXETER and arrived on 2 December.
Sunday,
30 November
Heavy cruiser BERWICK,
carrying RAF personnel of
151 Wing brought to Russia in Operation STRENGTH, and
destroyer ONSLOW and
OFFA departed Murmansk at 1600 for Scapa Flow.
The force was carrying out
a search for enemy shipping
between Tanafjord and North
Cape on 1 December.
The operation was later
cancelled and the force
proceeded to Scapa Flow.
Destroyer ONSLOW was
detached to Hvalfjord,
arriving at 0805 on 7 December. Destroyer OFFA, having
been delayed by
weather, arrived at Scapa
Flow at 1200 on 7
December. Cruiser BERWICK took shelter at Kirkwall on 7 December and arrived at
Scapa Flow on 8 December.
_____
Armed merchant cruiser
CITY OF DURBAN arrived at Scapa Flow from the Nore to
work up.
_____
Convoy OS.13 departed
Liverpool.
On 1 December, destroyer
ROCKINGHAM, sloops LEITH, ROCHESTER, SANDWICH, and SCARBOROUGH joined
the convoy. The destroyer was detached on 11 December,
sloop SCARBOROUGH on 3 December, and the other sloops on
18
December.
On 17 December, the convoy
was joined by destroyer
VIMY, corvettes BERGMOT and CLOVER, and anti-submarine
trawler SOUTHERN GEM which arrived at Freetown with the
convoy on 20 December.
_____
U.43 sank British steamer
ASHBY (4868grt),
straggling from convoy OS.12, in 36-54N, 29-51W.
Twelve crewmen and five
gunners were lost on the
steamer.
_____
U.206 was sunk by a
British Whitley bomber of 502
Squadron west of Nantes, in 46-55N, 7-16W.
The entire crew of forty
six were lost in the
submarine.
_____
Submarine REGENT departed
Malta to return to the United Kingdom. En route, the
submarine damaged Italian steamer
ERICO (2350grt).
Submarine REGENT arrived
at Gibraltar on 6 December and at Devonport on 17
December. She
was under repair at Portsmouth until 10 January 1942 when she
departed on 16 January for refitting at Philadelphia,
arriving on 16 February. She departed Philadelphia and
arrived at Halifax on 15 June for repairs. She was
forced to return
to Philadelphia for further repairs from 2 to 20
September.
_____
Submarine URSULA departed
Malta for
Gibraltar,
arriving on 9 December, and Portsmouth on 30 December
after patrol in the Bay of Biscay. She proceeded to
Chatham for repairs on 8 January 1942. Arriving on 9
January, she was under repair until
11 April.
_____
Submarine
OLYMPUS arrived at
Malta from Gibraltar with
petrol and stores.
_____
Destroyers JERVIS, JAGUAR,
KIPLING, and JACKAL
departed Alexandria to intercept convoys sailing from
Navarino to
Derna.
Light cruisers NAIAD and
EURYALUS with destroyers
HERO and HASTY departed to support the destroyers from
the east.
_____
Force B of light cruisers
AJAX and NEPTUNE and destroyers KIMBERLEY and KINGSTON
and K of light cruisers AURORA and PENELOPE and
destroyer LIVELY departed Malta at 0500 to intercept
Italian forces in the Ionian Sea.
At 2330/30th, Force B
detached Force K to intercept
Italian steamer ADRIATICO which was sunk early on 1
December. Destroyer
LIVELY picked up two officers and nineteen ratings from
the steamer. Italian
destroyer VERAZZANO later arrived from Tripoli and
rescued further survivors.
Force B arrived back at
Malta at 1815 on 1 December. Force K returned to Malta
at 0730 on 2 December.
_____
Convoy AT.1 departed
Alexandria for Tobruk.
The slow section,
consisting of steamer ELPIS, tug
ST ISSEY towing two lighters, three landing ship tank A
lighters, departed
Alexandria at 1600 escorted by Australian sloop YARRA,
sloop FLAMINGO, and
two anti-submarine trawlers. Greek destroyers
KONDOURIOTIS accompanied the
convoy was far as Mersa Matruh.
The fast section
consisting of armed boarding
vessel CHAKDINA and tanker KIRKLAND departed Alexandria
at 2130, escorted by destroyers HEYTHROP and
AVONVALE and one anti-submarine trawler.
Both convoys safely
arrived on 2 December.
_____
Italian submarine TRICHECO
attached a Destroyer
unsuccessfully in 34-23N, 15-46E.
_____
Italian tanker SPERANZA
(445grt) was badly damaged
by British bombing at Benghazi.
The tanker was scuttled on
23 December.
_____
Dutch submarine O.24
departed Gibraltar to patrol off Oran.
_____
Free French destroyer
LEOPARD occupies Reunion Island after an engagement with a
Vichy battery.
_____
Convoy BA.8 departed
Bombay, escorted by light cruiser GLASGOW. The convoy
arrived
at Aden on 4 December.
There was no convoy BA.9.
_____
New Zealand light cruiser
ACHILLES met light cruiser LEANDER
at Suva.
Both light cruisers
returned to New Zealand.
_____
Convoy SL.94 departed
Freetown escorted by destroyers VANSITTART and VELOX to
2
December and STANLEY to 5 December and corvettes
LAVENDER and STARWORT to 2
December.
On 2 December, destroyer
CLARE, sloops ABERDEEN, ENCHANTRESS, and IBIS, and
escort vessels HARTLAND and WALNEY joined to
20 December. Corvette STARWORT joined on 7 December to
12 December.
Destroyer ROCKINGHAM
joined on 13 December for that
day only.
On 20 December,
anti-submarine trawlers COVENTRY CITY and MAN O WAR
joined for that day.
The convoy arrived at
Liverpool on 20 December.
November,
miscellaneous
Heavy cruiser CORNWALL
captured Vichy French steamer SURCOUF (1129grt)
south of Cape Guardafui at the end of November and sent her into
Aden.