Background
Events - June-November 1941
Invasion of
Russia, Malta Convoys, Japan prepares for war
1941
Wednesday,
1 October
Heavy cruiser KENT,
escorted by destroyer NORMAN, arrived at Scapa Flow at
1830 to work up after repairs.
Destroyer NORMAN arrived
to carry out working up
exercises.
_____
Destroyer DULVERTON
arrived at Scapa Flow at 0730 to carry out working up
exercises.
_____
Norwegian destroyer DRAUG
departed Scapa Flow towing MTB.56 to Bergen for
operation BAREFOOT.
The MTB sank
Norwegian tanker BORGNY (3015grt), en route to Trondheim
escorted by two trawlers, off Bergen on the 3rd.
The MTB returned
to destroyer DRAUG which was standing off the port and
they returned to
Lerwick, arriving on the 4th.
_____
Convoy WS.12 with one ship
departed Avonmouth on 29
September, seven ships from Liverpool on 29 September,
and sixteen ships from the Clyde on 30 September. The convoy rendezvoused off Oversay on the 1st.
The convoy was composed of
steamers CLAN CAMPBELL
(7255grt), EMPIRE TRUST (8143grt), HIGHLAND BRIGADE
(14,134grt), SARPEDON
(11,321grt), PERSEUS (10,286grt), ALMANZORA (15,551grt),
EMPIRE PRIDE
(9248grt), LEOPOLDVILLE (11,509grt), STRATHAIRD
(22,281grt), EMPRESS OF
RUSSIA (16,810grt), EMPRESS OF CANADA (21,517grt),
NARKUNDA (16,632grt),
CITY OF PARIS (10,902grt), ORMONDE (14,982grt), SAMARIA
(19,597grt), FRANCONIA (20,175grt), MENDOZA (8199grt),
DUCHESS OF RICHMOND
(20,022grt), DOMINION MONARCH (27,155grt), HIGHLAND
PRINCESS (14,133grt),
PRINCE BAUDOUIN (3050grt), ROYAL ULSTERMAN (3244grt),
CLAN LAMONT (7250grt),
and PERTHSHIRE (10,496grt).
Steamer HIGHLAND PRINCESS
was detached as convoy
CT.4.
Armed merchant cruiser
CATHAY, minelayer AGAMEMNON, and destroyers
ASSINIBOINE and
SAGUENAY escorted
the convoy from 30 September to 4 October.
Destroyer SIKH escorted
the convoy from 30
September to 5 October.
Destroyers BRADFORD,
BADSWORTH, BRIGHTON, LANCASTER, and NEWARK
escorted the convoy from 1 to 3 October.
Anti-aircraft cruiser
CAIRO and destroyers WHITEHALL, WITCH, and VERITY
escorted the convoy from 1 to 4
October.
Destroyer BEVERLEY
escorted the convoy on 2 and 3
October.
Destroyer BLANKNEY
escorted the convoy from 1 to 7
October.
Aircraft carrier ARGUS
escorted the convoy from 30
September to 5 October, when she was detached to
Gibraltar.
Heavy cruiser DEVONSHIRE
escorted the convoy from 30 September to 12
October, when she was detached to Freetown. Heavy
cruiser DORSETSHIRE escorted the convoy
from 12 to 14 October.
Destroyer ISAAC SWEERS
departed Gibraltar on the 4th escorted the convoy on the
7th.
Destroyer GURKHA departed Gibraltar on the 3rd and
escorted the convoy on the 8th.
Destroyers WRESTLER,
VELOX, VIMY, and VANSITTART
and corvettes AMARANTHUS and ARMERIA escorted the convoy
from 11 to 14
October, when the convoy arrived at Freetown.
The convoy departed
Freetown on the 19th, less steamer NARKUNDA.
The convoy was escorted by
destroyers VELOX and
WRESTLER and corvettes MIGNONETTE, ANCHUSA, and
CALENDULA from 19 to 22
October.
Heavy cruiser DEVONSHIRE
escorted the convoy from 19 to 30 October. Heavy
cruiser DORSETSHIRE escorted the convoy from 19 October
to 3 November.
Armed merchant cruiser
DERBYSHIRE escorted the
convoy from 30 October to 3 November.
Steamers ULSTER MONARCH
and ROYAL ULSTERMAN were
detached to Takoradi on the 21st. Steamer PRINCE
BAUDOUIN was detached the
same day to St Helena, arriving on the 24th. The steamer
departed the
same day and met armed merchant cruiser DERBYSHIRE the
same day. The steamer
arrived at Capetown with the convoy.
Steamers STRATHAIRD,
EMPRESS OF CANADA, DOMINION
MONARCH, EMPIRE PRIDE, LEOPOLDVILLE, MENDOZA, CLAN
CAMPBELL, EMPIRE TRUST, PERTHSHIRE,
and SARPEDON arrived at Capetown on the 29th.
Steamers
FRANCONIA, RICHMOND, EMPRESS OF
RUSSIA, HIGHLAND BRIGADE, PERSEUS,
ORMONDE, and SAMARIA arrived at Durban on 3 November,
escorted by armed merchant cruiser
DERBYSHIRE.
On 5 November, steamers
STRATHAIRD, LEOPOLDVILLE, MENDOZA, EMPIRE PRIDE, EMPIRE
TRUST, PERTHSHIRE,
EMPRESS OF CANADA, and DOMINION MONARCH departed
Capetown on 5 November,
escorted by armed merchant cruiser DUNNOTTAR
CASTLE.
On 8 November, steamers
SAMARIA,
CITY OF PARIS, NIEUW AMSTERDAM
from Durban, FRANCONIA, CLAN LAMONT, CLAN CAMPBELL,
EMPRESS OF RUSSIA,
ALMANZORA, ASCANIUS from Mombasa,
MENDOZA, PERSEUS, NOVA SCOTIA from Durban, and DUCHESS
OF RICHMOND departed Durban and rendezvoused at sea with
the Capetown section.
On 8 November,
battlecruiser REPULSE relieved armed
merchant cruiser DUNNOTTAR
CASTLE. The battlecruiser remained with the convoy until
14 November in 5-10S, 34-00E when battleship REVENGE
joined the convoy. The
convoy arrived at Aden on 20 November.
On 17 November, steamers
DOMINION MONARCH, EMPRESS
OF CANADA, DUCHESS OF RICHMOND, and PERSEUS were
detached as WS.12 J in
6-05N, 52-30E. The convoy was escorted by light cruiser
GLASGOW to Colombo arriving on 23 November.
Steamers DOMINION MONARCH
and EMPRESS OF CANADA
departed Colombo on 24 November escorted by light
cruiser GLASGOW.
in 6-14N, 92-00E, steamer AWATEA escorted by light
cruiser DRAGON joined the
convoy and relieved light cruiser GLASGOW.
Light cruiser GLASGOW took
steamer AWATEA to Colombo.
The convoy arrived at
Singapore on 28 November.
_____
When a Roc of 772 Squadron
crashed near Crinan,
Argyllshire, T/Sub Lt (A) J. W. T. Cooper RNZVR, and
Leading Airman J.
Stewart were killed.
_____
British steamer SERENITY
(557grt) was damaged by
near misses of German bombing in 51-29N, 4-45W, ten
miles southeast by east
of St Goven's Light.
_____
U.94 badly damaged British
tanker SAN FLORENTINO (12,842grt) in 52-50N, 34-40W.
Twenty one crew and one
gunner were lost on the
tanker.
The tanker was sunk by US
Coast Guard cutter
CAMPBELL
_____
Flag Officer, Force H
transferred his flag from
battleship NELSON to battleship RODNEY.
_____
Battleship PRINCE OF WALES
and destroyers LAFOREY, LIGHTNING, LIVELY, and
ORIBI departed Gibraltar for Scapa Flow,
arriving on the 6th.
Destroyer LIVELY was
detached on the 4th and
returned to Gibraltar.
_____
Light cruisers KENYA and
SHEFFIELD departed
Gibraltar to return to the Clyde, arriving on the 6th.
The cruisers were ordered
to search en route for an
enemy supply ship off the north coast of Spain.
_____
Light cruiser EURYALUS and
destroyers FARNDALE and
HEYTHROP departed Gibraltar for Freetown in company with
British steamers PORT CHALMERS and MELBOURNE STAR bound
for Buenas Aires.
_____
Corvettes COREOPSIS and
FLEUR DE LYS departed Gibraltar escorting tanker
BENEDICK until dark on the 4th.
_____
Submarine TALISMAN
unsuccessfully attacked a convoy
of steamers LAURETTA and ARKADIA, escorted by torpedo
boat LIBRA, off the Zea
Channel.
_____
Submarine P.34 departed
Gibraltar for Malta.
_____
Dutch submarine O.24
departed Gibraltar for patrol in the Tyrrhenian Sea.
_____
Submarine THRASHER arrived
at Malta from patrol in the Gulf of Sirte.
_____
Polish submarine SOKOL
arrived at Malta from
Gibraltar and
patrol supporting Operation HALBERD.
_____
Submarine RORQUAL departed
Alexandria for Malta to return to the United Kingdom.
The submarine arrived at
Malta on the 12th and Gibraltar on the 27th, laying two
minefields en route.
_____
Minesweeping whaler SOTRA
was damaged below the
water line by gunfire at Tobruk.
One rating was wounded.
The whaler was able to
departed Tobruk at 1900/2nd
with lighter A 9 and minesweeping whaler SOIKA.
_____
The New Zealand Division
of the Royal Navy became
the Royal New Zealand Navy.
Thursday,
2 October
Heavy cruiser SHROPSHIRE
relieved heavy cruiser LONDON in 74-50N, 56-00E at 0500
in convoy QP.1.
Heavy cruiser LONDON
returned to Archangel, arriving at 1530/3rd.
_____
Destroyer ESCAPADE
relieved destroyer ANTELOPE at 1700
in 70-00N, 13-00W in convoy PQ.1.
Destroyer ANTELOPE arrived
at Seidisfjord at
1000/3rd to refuel. She departed at 1345 for Scapa Flow,
arriving at 1700/4th.
_____
Convoy ON.22 departed
Liverpool, escorted by destroyers BROKE, MANSFIELD, and
ST ALBANS,
corvette EGLANTINE, and anti-submarine trawlers COVENTRY
CITY and KING SOL. Destroyer WOLVERINE joined on the
4th. These
escorts were relieved on the 7th by American destroyers
DALLS, EBERLE, ELLIS,
ERICSSON, and UPSHUR. The American ships were detached
when the convoy was
dispersed on the 15th.
_____
T/Sub Lt (A) D. E. Smith
RNVR, was killed when his
Walrus of 751 Squadron sank in River Tay.
_____
British steamer SOUTHPORT
(572grt) was damaged when she blown off the blocks
by German bombing in the Tyne Dock, South Shields.
_____
U.562 sank CAM ship EMPIRE
WAVE (7463grt) from convoy ON.19 in 59-08N, 32-26W.
Thirty crew were missing
in one of the ship's
boats. One crewman died. T/Lt D. M. Bain RCNVR, en route
to PRESIDENT III, was lost in the ship. The survivors
were rescued
by US destroyer MEREDITH.
_____
U.575 sank Dutch steamer
TUVA (4652grt) in 54-16N,
26-36W. The submarine claimed sinking a second steamer.
One crewman was lost on
the steamer.
_____
U.431 sank British steamer
HATASU (3198grt) 600
miles east of Cape Race.
Thirty four crew and six
gunners were lost on the
steamer.
_____
Light cruiser EDINBURGH
and destroyers COSSACK,
ZULU, PIORUN, and GARLAND departed Gibraltar
escorting British steamers LEINSTER and CITY OF DURBAN
to England.
Light cruiser EDINBURGH,
destroyer GARLAND, and Polish troopship SOBIESKI arrived
in the Clyde on the 10th.
Destroyers COSSACK and
ZULU were detached en route
and met aircraft carrier ARGUS for escort to Gibraltar.
_____
The Mediterranean Fleet
was at sea from Alexandria for exercises.
The Fleet returned to
Alexandria on the 3rd.
_____
An Italian convoy of
German steamers CASTELLON
(2086grt) and SAVONA (2120grt) departed Naples on 29
September escorted by torpedo boats CALLIOPE
and PEGASO for Tripoli.
On the 2nd, submarine
PERSEUS sank steamer
CASTELLON 10 miles 311° from Benghazi in 32-30N, 19-09E.
Attacks on steamer SAVONA were unsuccessful.
_____
Submarine UTMOST made an
unsuccessful attack on a steamer
in 37-53N, 12-05E.
_____
Submarines TRUSTY and
UPHOLDER arrived at Malta after patrol off Cape Vito and Naples.
_____
Anti-submarine trawler KLO
reported being attacked
by a submarine off Alexandria.
Destroyers KANDAHAR and
JAGUAR searching the area were unable to make
contact.
_____
Anti-submarine trawler
LYDIARD attacked a submarine
contact off Haifa.
The trawler was joined by
destroyer VENDETTA and
corvette HYACINTH, without success. The destroyer and
the corvette returned
to port on the 3rd.
_____
A. S. I. S. ship CHURRUCA
(1847grt) was sunk due to
an accidental explosion at Alexandria.
The cargo and the ship
were later salved.
_____
Convoy HG.74 departed
Gibraltar escorted by destroyers FORESIGHT and FORESTER,
aircraft carrier AUDACITY, sloop DEPTFORD, and corvettes
ARBUTUS,
CONVOLVULUS, COWSLIP, MARIGOLD, PENSTEMON, RHODODENDRON,
and VETCH.
Destroyers FORESIGHT and
FORESTER were detached and
destroyers DUNCAN and ROCKINGHAM departed Gibraltar on4
October and joined on the 6th.
Sloop ENCHANTRESS, escort
vessel HARTLAND, and
corvette VERVAIN joined on the 8th.
Destroyer DUNCAN was
detached on the 9th.
On the 8th, convoy SL.88
rendezvoused with the
convoy.
Destroyer BLANKNEY and
ocean boarding vessel CORINTHIAN
joined the convoy on the 9th and were detached on the
11th.
Destroyer ROCKINGHAM was
detached on the 12th and
sloop ENCHATRESS was detached on the 17th.
The convoy arrived at
Liverpool on the 18th.
_____
Japanese submarine I.61
was lost in an accidental
collision with a gunboat off Iki Island, 33-40N, 129-40E. The
entire crew of seventy were
lost on the submarine.
In February 1942, the
submarine was salved and
broken up at Sasebo.
Friday,
3 October
Aircraft carrier
INDOMITABLE arrived in the Clyde to work up.
_____
Light cruiser TRINIDAD was commissioned at Plymouth.
_____
Destroyer VIVACIOUS was
damaged by German bombing
in the North Sea.
The destroyer's steering
engine was damaged.
Destroyer VIVACIOUS was
repaired at Immingham
completing in November.
_____
Destroyer MENDIP,
escorting convoy FS.615, drove
off a German motor torpedo boat attack.
_____
Convoy OS.8 departed
Liverpool, escorted by sloop FLEETWOOD. The sloop was
detached off Freetown on the 25th.
On4 October, sloops BLACK
SWAN and SANDWICH and naval trawler BURRA joined the convoy. Trawler BURRA was detached
on the 9th, sloop SANDWICH
on the 20th, and sloop BLACK SWAN on the 25th.
On the 5th, sloop
SCARBOROUGH joined the escort and was detached on the
21st.
Corvettes ARMERIA, ASTER,
CYCLAMEN, and STARWORT
joined the escort on the 20th and escorted the convoy
into Freetown, arriving on the 26th.
_____
Corvette PEONY proceeded
to Akrotiri Bay, Cyprus, to act as a Q ship against
submarines.
_____
German steamer YALOVA
(3750grt), which had been
previously damaged by submarine TETRARCH on 28
September, was sunk by
submarine TALISMAN south of Piraeus.
_____
Dutch submarine O.21 sank
Vichy French steamer OUED
YQUEM (1369grt) off Sardinia, in 40-58N, 9-59E.
_____
Submarine PERSEUS made an
unsuccessful attack on a
steamer off Benghazi.
_____
Submarine UTMOST arrived
at Malta after patrol north of Messina.
_____
German supply ship KLARA
(ex-KOTA PINANG, 7277grt) was sighted north of the
Azores by light cruiser KENYA's
Walrus aircraft in 42-26N, 24-30W.
The German ship was
intercepted and sunk by the
cruiser.
Presence of submarine
U.129 with the supply ship
made stopping for survivors inadvisable. Four boatloads
of survivors were
left in company of the submarine, which picked up one
hundred and nineteen
survivors. The survivors were transferred to a Spanish
tug on the 6th.
Saturday,
4 October
Battleship KING GEORGE V
and destroyers ASHANTI, MATABELE, and SOMALI departed
Hvalfjord at 1300
for Akureyri. Aircraft carrier VICTORIOUS, light cruiser
PENELOPE and
destroyers ASHANTI, PUNJABI, and MATABELE
in company.
The Ships arrived on the
5th.
Light cruiser AURORA
departed Hvalfjord and
proceeded to Seidisfjord arriving the next day.
On the 5th, battleship
KING GEORGE V and destroyers
SOMALI, BEDOUIN, and ESKIMO arrived at Akureyri and
later departed that day
after a visit. The ships arrived at Seidisfjord on the
6th.
Light cruiser PENELOPE and
destroyers PUNJABI, ASHANTI, and MATABELE
arrived at Seidisfjord on the 6th to
refuel. Aircraft carrier VICTORIOUS remained at sea.
The Commander in Chief,
Home Fleet, transferred to
light cruiser AURORA on the 6th for passage to Scapa
Flow.
On the 6th, battleship
KING GEORGE V, aircraft carrier
VICTORIOUS, light cruiser PENELOPE, and destroyers
ASHANTI, BEDOUIN, ESKIMO, MATABELE, PUNJABI, and SOMALI
departed Seidisfjord for operation EJ.
Sub Lt (A) P. G. F. Dumas
and Leading Airman M. S.
Eastment in a Fulmar of 809 Squadron were lost in a
practice flight on the
6th.
Aircraft carrier
VICTORIOUS, escorted by battleship
KING GEORGE V, light cruiser PENELOPE, and destroyers
SOMALI, ESKIMO, ASHANTI, BEDOUIN, MATABELE,
and PUNJABI, launched aircraft
to strike at Bodo on the 8th.
Two steamers were reported
damaged in the air
attack. Norwegian steamer HAAKON ADALSTEIN (710grt) was
damaged in the
attack.
The only casualty in the
operation was a slight
wounding of one of the air gunners.
Destroyer BEDOUIN lost two
ratings overboard in
heavy weather.
A sweep in Vestfjord by
destroyers SOMALI and
MATABELE in Operation EJ was cancelled due to the lack
of available
destroyers and poor weather. An inshore patrol north and
south of Alesund by
destroyers SOMALI, MATABELE, ASHANTI, and ESKIMO was
also cancelled.
Submarine P.35 was to
support EJ, but was ordered
to patrol west of Utsire.
The Forces arrived back at
Scapa Flow at 1000/10th. Destroyer PUNJABI arriving
independently.
_____
Heavy cruiser LONDON
departed
Archangel and
arrived at Scapa Flow on the 9th.
_____
Convoy ON.23 departed
Liverpool. The convoy was joined on the 5th by
destroyers
MALCOLM, SARDONYX, and WATCHMAN, corvettes ARABIS,
ARROWHEAD, CELANDINE,
DAHLIA, MONKSHOOD, and PETUNA, and anti-submarine
trawlers LADY ELSA, NORTHERN
GEM, NORTHERN PRIDE, and NORTHERN WAVE. Destroyer
SARDONYX and the trawlers were detached
on the 9th. Destroyers BROWADWAY and BURWELL and
corvettes BRANDON, BUCHTOUCHE, COBALT, and GALt joined
on the 10th.
Corvette BRANDON was detached later that day with
destroyer MALCOLM
and corvette PETUNIA. Destroyer WATCHMAN and corvette
CELANDINE were detached
on the 11th. Corvettes ARROWHEAD and BUCTOUCHE were
detached on the 17th and
destroyers BROADWAY and BURWELL on the 18th. The convoy
arrived at Halifax on the 19th with corvettes COBALT and
GALT.
_____
Destroyer HURWORTH
departed the Tyne at 1250 for Scapa
Flow to carry out working
up practices.
The destroyer called at
Rosyth and departed at
1800/5th. Destroyer HURWORTH spent the night at Methil
and departed at
0630/6th. She was delayed by thick fog and anchored in
LochEribol at 1818 on
the 7th.
_____
Destroyer EXPRESS departed
the Humber at 1612 for Scapa
Flow to carry out working
up exercises after long repairs.
_____
Minesweeper BRAMBLE
departed Belfast for
Scapa Flow at 0400
to await the sailing of convoy PQ.2.
The minesweeper arrived at
Scapa Flow at 0600/5th.
_____
U.111 was sunk by
Anti-submarine trawler LADY
SHIRLEY southwest of Teneriffe, 27-10N, 20-24N.
Four crew on the trawler
were wounded by machine
gun fire from the submarine.
The commanding officer and
five ratings were killed
in the submarine. Forty five survivors were picked up;
one died of wounds.
Returning to Gibraltar,
the trawler was met by destroyer LANCE on the
8th. The destroyer escorted trawler LADY SHIRLEY into
Gibraltar, arriving on the 9th.
_____
Submarine THORN departed
Gibraltar for Malta, arriving on the 10th.
_____
On the 3rd, a convoy of
Italian tanker TORCELLO
(3336grt) and French steamer THEOPHILE GAUTIER
(8194grt), escorted by torpedo
boats MONZAMBANO, CALATAFIMI, and ALDEBARAN, departed
Salonika for Piraeus.
Submarine TALISMAN sank
French steamer THEOPHILE
GAUTIER (8194grt) in the Aegean in Doro Channel, in
37-45N, 24-35E.
_____
Submarine UPRIGHT arrived
at Malta from patrol.
_____
Submarine REGENT departed
Malta on short notice to intercept an Italian convoy
east of Tripoli.
_____
Polish submarine SOKOL
departed Malta on short notice to search for a crew of a
missing
Blenheim. The search was unsuccessful and the submarine
arrived back at Malta on the 6th. The aircrew was later
rescued off
Djerba.
_____
A submarine was reported
by aircraft north of
Bardia in 33-00N, 25-30E steering towards Alexandria.
Destroyers KIPLING,
GRIFFIN, JUPITER, and HOTSPUR departed Alexandria on the
5th and were ordered to search the area.
_____
Minesweeper ABERDARE
departed Alexandria with twelve torpedoes for the Fleet
Air Arm at Cyprus.
After delivering the
torpedoes, the minesweeper
relieved minesweeper BAGSHOT at Beirut.
_____
Antisubmarine whaler
WHIPPET (ex-KOS XXI, 353grt,
Lt A. R. J. Tilston RNR), towing a D lighter, was sunk
by German bombing
in the Mediterranean.
The whaler was in company
with minesweeping whaler
SVANA (286grt). Four survivors reached Tobruk in trawler
SVANA. The remainder
of the crew returned in the D lighter to Mersa Matruh.
T/Sub Lt (E) A. Hodgson
RNVR, lost on the whaler,
was the only fatality in the loss.
_____
Anti-aircraft ship
COVENTRY was withdrawn from the Suez Escort Force and
passed through the Canal for Alexandria.
This was in preparation in
leaving for repairs at Bombay.
_____
New Zealand light cruiser
ACHILLES departed Suva to search for raiders with
Australian light cruiser
ADELAIDE and armed merchant cruiser MONOWAI.
Light cruiser ADELAIDE was
detached on the 6th for escort duties.
Light cruiser ACHILLES and
armed merchant cruiser
MONOWAI returned to Auckland
on the 10th.
_____
Argentine destroyer
CORRIENTES was sunk in a collision with heavy cruiser
ALMIRANTE BROWN during fleet maneuvers off Tierra del
Fuego.
Sunday,
5 October
Norwegian destroyer DRAUG
and motor torpedo boat MTB.56 departed Lerwick for Scapa
Flow where they arrived later that day.
_____
U.204 sank Panamanian
steamer C. JON (744grt) in
48-30N, 13-00W. The entire crew was made prisoners of
war.
_____
British tanker TYNEFIELD
(5856grt) was sunk by
mining in the Suez Canal.
Four crew were lost.
_____
Italian tanker RIALTO
(6099grt) was sunk by British 830 Squadron in
33-30N, 15-53E, eighty miles north, northeast of
Misurata. Destroyer GIOBERTI
rescued 145 survivors.
The tanker was from a
convoy of steamers VETTOR
PISANI, SEBASTIANO VENIER, FABIO FILZI, RIALTO and
German REICHENFELS and ANKARA, escorted by destroyers DA
NOLI, USODIMARE,
GIOBERTI, and EURO which had departed Naples on the 2nd
for Tripoli andtorpedo boats from Tripoli CALLIOPE and
PARTENOPE.
_____
Convoy SL.89 departed
Freetown escorted destroyer BRILLIANT and corvettes
ASPHODEL,
CLEMATIS, CLOVER, COLUMBINE, and CYCLAMEN to 8 October.
On the 6th, destroyers
VELOX and WRESTLER escorted
the convoy for that day only. Sloop WELLINGTON joined on
the 8th to 25 October. Sloop STORK
joined the convoy on the 9th to 25 October. Escort
vessels SENNEN and TOTLAND
escorted the convoy on the 21st only.
Destroyers BEVERLEY to 24
October and CROOME for
that day only joined the convoy on the 22nd. On the
23rd, destroyers
KRAKOWIAK and KUJAWIAK to 24 October and VANQUISHER and
WITCH to 25 October
joined.
The convoy arrived at
Liverpool on the 25th.
_____
Ocean boarding vessel
MARON was attacked by U.67 at
27-59N, 18-39W. The vessel fired upon the submarine,
which submerged.
Corvettes COREOPSIS and
FLEUR DE LYS, which had
escorted tanker BENEDICK, were ordered to assist the
boarding vessel.
On the 6th, corvette
COREOPSIS developed engine
room defects and proceeded to Funchal.
The ocean boarding vessel
and corvette FLEUR DE LYS
arrived at Gibraltar on the 8th. Corvette COREOPSIS
arrived at Gibraltar on the 10th.
_____
U.559 in operations
northeast of Tobruk was
attacked by a "friendly aircraft" which dropped three
bombs. No
damage was done.
_____
Convoy HX.153 departed
Halifax, escorted by destroyer ANNAPOLIS. The destroyer
was relieved on the 7th by American
destroyers BERNADOU, DUPONT, LEA,
MACLEISH, and SAMPSON and corvette GLADIOLUS. The
corvette was detached the
next day. The American group was relieved on the 13th by
destroyers MALCOLM,
SARDONYX, and WATCHMAN, corvettes ARABIS, DAHLIA,
MONKSHOOD, and SUNFLOWER,
and anti-submarine trawlers NORTHERN PRIDE and NORTHERN
WAVE. Corvette MONKSHOOD was detached on the 16th and
the rest of the escorts on the 17th. The convoy arrived
at Liverpool on the 19th.
Convoy SC.48, departed
Sydney CB, by corvettes
BADDECK and SHEDIAC. Corvette GLADIOLUS joined on the
8th and corvettes
CAMROSE, MIMOSA, ROSTHERN, and WETASKIWIN on the 9th.
The convoy wasjoined on
the 16th by American
destroyers PLUNKETT, LIVERMORE, KEARNY, and DECATUR from
convoy ON.24, destroyer GREER
joined from other escort duties, and Destroyer
BROADWATER and corvette ABELIA
from Reykjavik. Also joined on the 16th were destroyers
HIGHLANDER and RICHMOND, corvettes PICTOU and VERONICA,
and anti-submarine
trawler ST APOLLO. Corvette PICTOU was detached later
that day. Corvette
GLADIOLUS was lost on the 16th.
The initial escorts, less
corvette ROSTHERN were
detached, and the American destroyers were detached.
Corvette VERONICA was
also detached on the 17th.
On the 17th, destroyers
AMAZON, BULLDOG, and GEORGETOWN, corvette HEARTSEASE,
and anti-submarine trawlers
ANGLE and CAPE WARWICK joined.
On the 18th, destroyer
BROADWATER was lost.
Destroyers HIGHLANDER and
RICHMOND and corvette ABELIA were detached on the 20th,
destroyers AMAZON, BULLDOG, and GEORGETOWN and corvettes
HEARTSEASE and ROSTHERN were
detached on the 21st, the anti-submarine trawlers on the
22nd, when the
convoy arrived at Liverpool.
Monday,
6 October
Battleship PRINCE OF WALES
(flagship Vice Admiral A. T. B. Curteis CB, Second
in Command, Home Fleet) with destroyers LAFOREY,
LIGHTNING, and ORIBI arrived
at Scapa Flow from Gibraltar.
_____
Light cruisers KENYA and
SHEFFIELD arrived
in the Clyde from Gibraltar.
_____
Destroyers ANTELOPE
departed Scapa Flow at 1600 for Scrabser where she
embarked the Trade
Mission Congress group for Archangel. The destroyer
departed at 1855 for Seidisfjord to
refuel en route. On the passage, the destroyer developed
a defect to her main
dynamo.
Destroyer NORMAN departed
Scapa Flow at 2200/6th for Seidisfjord.
Both destroyers arrived at
Seidisfjord at 2300/7th.
At Seidisfjord, the group was transferred to destroyer
NORMAN.
Destroyer NORMAN departed
Seidisfjord at 0700/8th
and arrived at Archangel at 1240/12th.
Destroyer ANTELOPE
departed Seidisfjord for Scapa Flow on the 8th and
arrived at 1530/9th.
_____
Anti-aircraft cruiser
NAIAD and destroyers AVONVALE
and ERIDGE passed through the Suez Canal en
route to Alexandria to operate with the Mediterranean
Fleet.
_____
Submarine URSULA arrived
at Malta from patrol south of Messina.
_____
British steamer
THISTLEGORM (4898grt), carrying
munitions, was sunk by German bombing in Anchorage F,
inner channel Strait of Jubal.
Four crew and five gunners
were lost on the
steamer.
Australian steamer
SALAMAUA (6676grt) was damaged
by German bombing in the same attack.
_____
Norwegian tanker NORFOLD
(6370grt) was damaged by
German bombing at Ras Gharib.
British steamer SCALARIA
(5683grt) was attacked in
the same attack, but was not damaged.
_____
Convoy ST.5 departed
Freetown, escottd by sloop MILFORD and corvettes
BURDOCK, CROCUS, and MARUERITE. The
convoy arrived at Takoradi on the 11th.
Tuesday,
7 October
Light cruiser AURORA,
carrying the Commander in
Chief, Home Fleet, arrived at Scapa Flow at
1000/7th from Seidisfjord.
The Commander in Chief
transferred his flag to
battleship PRINCE OF WALES.
_____
Aircraft carrier FURIOUS
arrived at Philadelphia to refit.
The aircraft carrier
returned to England in April 1942.
_____
Destroyer ACTIVE, in the
escort of convoy QP.1,
took anti-submarine trawler OPHELIA in tow when she
developed a defect to her
boilers. The destroyer was ordered to take the trawler
directly to
Seidisfjord.
Due to bad weather, the
ships were diverted to
Akureyri where they arrived on the 10th. The destroyer
departed that day at
1230 for Scapa Flow, where she arrived at 0800/12th.
_____
Destroyer LIGHTNING
departed Scapa Flow at 1930 for Rosyth to carry out
boiler cleaning
and repairs.
The destroyer arrived at
1430/8th.
_____
Minelayer PORT QUEBEC,
escorted by surveying ship SCOTT, laid minefield
SN.24 A.
_____
U.502 damaged British
whaling ship SVEND FOYN
(14,795grt), straggling behind convoy HX.152, in 60-37N,
21-44W.
The ship arrived at
Iceland in tow on the 11th, assisted by corvette
SUNFLOWER. She was later towed to the Mersey for repairs.
_____
Sloops SHOREHAM and
FALMOUTH arrived at Suez from the East Indies to
join the Suez Escort Force.
_____
On a patrol over Sicily, a
Fulmar of 800X Squadron force landed off Syracuse. Petty
Officer A. Jopling and Lt J. S. Manning
were rescued and made prisoners of war.
_____
Egyptian lighthouse tender
AIDA was damaged by
German bombing at Zafarana, in the Gulf of Suez.
The tender was beached at
Zafarana to avoid
sinking. There were no casualties in the tender.
_____
A convoy of German
steamers SALZBURG and TRAPANI, escorted by Italian
destroyer SELLA and torpedo
boat CASTELFIDARDO, departed Suda for Piraeus.
On the 7th, submarine
TALISMAN unsuccessfully
attacked this convoy in 35-45N, 24-08E.
Wednesday,
8 October
Destroyer ONSLOW departed
Greenock at 0700 for Scapa
Flow to carry out working
up practices.
The destroyer arrived at
2200 that evening.
_____
Destroyer ORIBI departed
Scapa Flow at 0900 carrying the Commander in Chief Home
Fleet
to Scrabster.
The destroyer arrived back
at Scapa Flow at 1430 that afternoon.
_____
Convoy ON.24 departed
Liverpool, escorted by destroyers AMAZON and BULLDOG,
corvettes ACONIT, DIANTHUS, and HEARTSEASE, and
anti-submarine trawler NOTTS COUNTY. Destroyer GEORGETOWN joined
on the 10th. The destroyers, corvette
HEARTSEASE, and the trawler were detached on the 13th
when the convoy was
joined by American destroyers DECATUR, GREER, KEARNEY,
LIVERMORE, and PLUNKETT. Destroyer KEARNEY was detached
on the 14th. Rest of the American
destroyers and corvettes ACONIT and DIANTHUS were
detached on the 15th when
the convoy was dispersed.
_____
Norwegian destroyer DRAUG
and motor torpedo boat MTB.56 departed Scapa Flow at
0900.
The destroyer proceeded to
Grimsby and the motor torpedo boat proceeded to Dover.
_____
Battleship QUEEN ELIZABETH
and destroyers were at
sea exercising from Alexandria.
_____
Submarine PORPOISE arrived
at Gibraltar.
On the 11th, the submarine
departed Gibraltar with supplies for Malta.
_____
Anti-aircraft cruiser
COVENTRY departed Alexandria for Port Said.
Anti-aircraft ship
COVENTRY and Greek destroyer VASILLISA OLGA passed
through
the Suez Canal on the 9th en route to India.
The cruiser provided
anti-aircraft support for
steamers NEA HELLAS and INDRAPOERA. After calling at
Aden to fuel on the 11th, the cruiser then sailed and
rejoined the ships.
Steamers NEA HELLAS and
INDRAPOERA joined steamers
VOLENDAM and DUNERA at Aden
and departed on the 13th as convoy SW 10, escorted by
armed merchant cruiser CARTHAGE. Anti-aircraft cruiser
COVENTRY departed Aden on the 13th and escorted a
Norwegian tanker back
to Aden, arriving on the 14th.
Anti-aircraft ship
COVENTRY departed Aden on the 15th with Greek destroyer
VASILISSA OLGA.
The cruiser proceeded to
Bombay for a refit, including fitting a new bow,
replacing a temporary bow from her December 1940
torpedoing.
The British cruiser and
Greek destroyer both
arrived at Bombay on the 20th. The Greek destroyer
departed on the
23rd for Calcutta for fitting of asdics.
_____
Corvette PEONY attacked a
submarine contact in
34-08N, 35-21E.
Destroyer VENDETTA,
corvettes DELPHINIUM, SALVIA,
and HYACINTH, and two anti-submarine aircraft joined,
but no further contact
was made.
The corvettes were
recalled to Beirut on the 10th.
_____
British steamer ROSALIE
MOLLER (3963grt) was sunk
by German bombing in Anchorage H, Suez Canal.
Two crew were missing on
the steamer. Australian
sloop PARRAMATTA rescued the survivors.
_____
Italian steamer PAOLO Z.
PODESTA (863grt) was sunk
by British 830 Squadron attack southwest of Favignana.
The steamer was in a small
convoy of PAOLO Z.
PODESTA, a schooner, and two trawlers en route from
Trapani to Tripoli, via Pantelleria.
_____
Aircraft carrier ARGUS,
detached from convoy WS.12,
arrived at Gibraltar from the Clyde, escorted by
destroyers COSSACK, ZULU, and SIKH.
_____
Submarine RORQUAL laid
fifty mines in the Gulf of Athens in 37-22N, 23-52E.
Italian torpedo boats
ALTAIR and ALDEBARAN were
lost on this minefield on the 20th.
_____
Submarine PERSEUS arrived
at Malta from patrol off Benghazi.
_____
Submarine P.34 arrived at
Malta from
Gibraltar.
_____
Submarine THORN
unsuccessfully attacked a steamer
and a destroyer in the Tyrrhenian
Sea.
_____
Dutch submarine O.21
arrived at Gibraltar after patrol in the Mediterranean.
Thursday,
9 October
Heavy cruiser LONDON
arrived at Scapa Flow at 0830 from Archangel.
Destroyer OFFA embarked
the party carried on the
heavy cruiser at 1000 and sailed with them for
Scrabster.
The destroyer arrived back
at Scapa Flow at 1330 that day.
_____
Destroyer CHARLESTOWN
departed Loch Alsh at 1900 for Scapa Flow to carry out
repairs to her oil tanks.
The destroyer arrived at
0700/10th.
_____
Canadian troop convoy
TC.14 departed Halifax with
steamers ANDES (25,689grt), AORANGI (17,491grt),
CAPETOWN CASTLE (27,000grt),
MONARCH OF BERMUDA (22,424grt), REINA DEL PACIFICO
(17,702grt), and WARWICK CASTLE
(20,107grt).
The convoy was escorted by
destroyer ST FRANCIS
from 9 to 12 October, destroyer RESTIGOUCHE from 9 to 15
October, destroyers
HARVESTER and HAVELOCK from 9 to 17 October, destroyer
SKEENA from 11 to 15
October, destroyer BUXTON from 11 to 17 October,
destroyers HIGHLANDER and
BROADWATER from 14 to 16 October, destroyer SHERWOOD
from 14 to 17 October,
anti-aircraft cruiser CAIRO and destroyer BELMONT from
15 to 17 October.
The convoy arrived on the
17th.
_____
German fishing vessel
GUNTHER (252grt) was lost
near Gotland.
_____
Light cruiser GALATEA
departed Anchorage H (Towila)
for Suez with the survivors of ships sunk.
After landing the
survivors, the light cruiser
passed through the Canal on the 10th for Alexandria.
_____
Sloop FLAMINGO passed
through the Suez Canal to return to Alexandria to rejoin
the Mediterranean Fleet.
_____
EX-US Coast Guard
cutters/escorts TOTLAND and
SENNEN arrived at Gibraltar from Freetown escorting
Norwegian tankers VANJA (6198grt) and
SANDAR (7624grt).
_____
Corvettes AZALEA and
SPIRAEA departed Gibraltar for Bathurst, escorting the
26th Motor Launch Flotilla. Tanker
LA CARRIERE departed in company and proceeded to the
West Indies.
Motor Launch ML.244 later
broke down and returned
to Gibraltar.
_____
Submarine PORPOISE
departed Troon after refitting
on the 2nd arrived at Gibraltar on the 9th.
_____
Submarines UNIQUE,
UPHOLDER and Polish SOKOL
departed Malta on short notice to intercept a convoy
between
Pantelleria and Lampedusa. UPHOLDER returned with
generator problems.
Friday,
10 October
Heavy cruiser SHROPSHIRE
was detached from convoy QP.1 at 1900 for Scapa Flow,
where she arrived at 0015/11th.
_____
Light cruisers KENYA and
SHEFFIELD departed
Scapa Flow for the Clyde where they
arrived on the 11th.
_____
Convoy ON.25 departed
Liverpool, escorted by destroyer DOUGLAS. The convoy was
joined on the 11th by destroyers SALADIN, SKATE, and
VETERAN, corvettes
ABELIA, and VERONICA, and anti-submarine trawlers ST
ZENO and VIZALMA. The
trawlers were detached on the 13th and the corvettes on
the 15th. The
destroyers were detached on the 16th when relieved by
corvettes ALGOMA, CHAMBLY, MATAPEDIA, NAPANEE, ORILLIA,
and PICTOU. Corvette PICTOU was detached later
that day. On the 19th, destroyer OTTAWA joined. The
convoy was dispersed on the 24th.
_____
Sloop LOWESTOFT departed
Harwich at 1200 for Scapa
Flow to work up after
repairs.
The sloop arrived at Scapa
Flow at 1300/12th.
_____
U.126 sank British steamer
NAILSEA MANOR (4926grt)
at 18-45N, 21-18W. The entire crew were rescued.
_____
British steamer KYMA
(3959grt) was sunk by mining
in 53-53N, 0-21E. The entire crew was rescued.
_____
Faroes auxiliary fishing
vessel FUGLOYGJIN (81grt)
was damaged by German bombing at Klaksvig.
The ship sank, but was
later salved and returned to
service.
_____
Battleships BARHAM and
VALIANT, light cruisers AJAX and HOBART, and destroyers
JERVIS, JAGUAR, JUPITER, KANDAHAR, GRIFFIN, HASTY,
HOTSPUR, DECOY, AVONVALE, and ERIDGE
departed Alexandria to sweep westward.
At 1800, the fleet turned
back to the eastward.
Destroyer JERVIS attacked
a submarine contact at
0730 in 31-14N, 29-14E. The destroyer remained searching
for three hours
before continuing.
The Battle Fleet returned
to Alexandria at 1130/11th.
_____
Landing craft tanks A.2
(Sub Lt E. L. Clark RNVR),
A 7 (Sub Lt A. C. Bromley RNVR), and A.18 (Sub Lt L. D.
Peters RNVR), en
route to Tobruk from Mersa Matruh, encountered U.331 at
0520 near Ashaila
Rocks off Sidi Barrani.
U.331 slightly damaged
Lighter A.18 in 31-10N,
26-42E. The lighter returned to Mersa Matruh, while the
other two lighters
continued to Tobruk. Sub Lt G. S. Sinclair RNR, the
group navigator in A.18 was wounded.
The lighters registered
some hits on the submarine
with their pom poms, wounding two men in the forward gun
crew, one later died
of wounds, and damaging the conning tower.
Destroyers HERO, NIZAM,
and KIPLING departed Alexandria to join the battle
fleet.
Destroyers KANDAHAR,
GRIFFIN, JUPITER, DECOY, AVONVALE, and ERIDGE were
detached
from the battle fleet at 1800 to sweep towards Bardia.
The destroyers returned to
Alexandria at 1430/11th after an unsuccessful search.
_____
Italian steamer CITTA DI
SIMI (DDD - 25grt?) was sunk by submarine THUNDERBOLT
twelve
miles from Cape Sidero, Crete, in 35-31N, 26-25E.
_____
Submarine TRUANT departed
Gibraltar for Malta, arriving on the 16th.
_____
Ocean boarding vessel
MARON departed Gibraltar for Western Patrol.
_____
Convoy HX.154 departed
Halifax escorted by destroyer ANNAPOLIS and corvette
AMHERST. The corvette was detached the next day.
American
destroyers CHARLES F. HUGHES, GLEAVES, LANSDALE, MADISON, and SIMPSON joined on the 12th. Destroyer
ANNAPOLIS was detached on
the 13th. The American group was
relieved on the 19th by destroyers DOUGLAS, SALADIN,
SKATE, and VETERAN,
corvettes ABELIA and VERONICA, and anti-submarine
trawlers ST ELSTAN and ST
ZENO. Destroyers DOUGLAS and SKATE and the corvettes
were detached on the
22nd. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on the 23rd.
_____
American aircraft carrier
YORKTOWN, battleship NEW MEXICO, heavy
cruiser QUINCY, light cruiser SAVANNAH, and Destroyer
Divisions 3 and 16 departed
Argentia for Casco Bay.
Encountering heavy
weather, YORKTOWN, NEW MEXICO, QUINCY,
SAVANNAH, RHIND, HAMMANN, ANDERSON, SIMS, MAYRANT,
ROWAN, HUGHES, and TRIPPE arrived
at Casco Bay on the 13th. All thips suffered varying
degrees of
weather damage.
Saturday,
11 October
Heavy cruiser SHROPSHIRE
departed
Scapa Flow for
Sheerness for refitting.
The heavy cruiser arrived
at Sheerness, escorted by
destroyers QUORN and VIVACIOUS, on the 12th, and was
refitting at Chatham from 17 october to 16 February
1942.
_____
Destroyer ELECTRA departed
Scapa Flow at 1900 for Rosyth for boiler cleaning.
The destroyer arrived at
1015/12th.
_____
Destroyer ORIBI departed
Scapa Flow escorting British steamer LLANSTEPHAN CASTLE to the Clyde.
Both ships arrived in the
Clyde at 0815/13th. The destroyer departed the
Clyde that day to return to Scapa Flow.
_____
Motor launch ML.288 was
lost in heavy weather off Hartlepool.
_____
Submarine
TIGRIS
unsuccessfully attacked a German eastbound convoy off
North Cape.
_____
British steamer ICEMAID
(1964grt) was damaged by a mine
off Orfordness near Shipwash Light Vessel off Harwich.
The steamer arrived at
Harwich in tow on the 12th.
_____
British hulk HAYTIAN was
sunk by German bombing
three and a half cables north of Castleton Pier,
Portland.
_____
Norwegian motor vessel
SILVA (127grt) was damaged
by German bombing at Klaksvig.
_____
Estonian steamers
EESTIRAND (4444grt) and KAISSAAR
(1893grt), carrying deportees from Tallinn to Leningrad,
were damaged by German bombing off Wrangel Island.
_____
Submarine P.31 arrived at
Gibraltar from
Dundee.
_____
Australian destroyer
VENDETTA departed Haifa for Alexandria with a convoy.
_____
An Italian convoy of
steamers GIULIA (5921grt),
CASAREGIS (6485grt), NIRVO (5164grt), BAINSIZZA
(7933grt), ZENA (5219grt),
and PROSPERINA (ex-French BEAUCE, 4869grt) departed
Naples on the 8th escorted by destroyers GRANATIERE,
BERSAGLIERE, FUCLIERE, and ALPINO. Torpedo boat CASCINO
joined from Trapani.
Steamer BAINSIZZA with
defects returned to Trapani.
On the 11th, steamer ZENA
was sunk by British 830
Squadron aerial torpedo in 34-52N, 12-22E, south of
Lampedusa.
On the 11th, steamer
CASAREGIS was sunk by British
830 Squadron aerial torpedo in 34-10N, 12-38E.
_____
Aircraft carrier EAGLE
with destroyers CROOME and WILD
SWAN and sloop COMMANDANT DUBOC arrived at Gibraltar.
_____
Submarine PORPOISE
departed Gibraltar with stores
for Malta, arriving on the 17th.
_____
Submarine P.31 arrived at
Gibraltar after having departing Dundee on 30 September.
_____
Anti-submarine trawlers
LADY HOGARTH and STELLA
CARINA departed Gibraltar escorting Norwegian tanker
VANJA westwards. The
trawlers then joined arriving tanker INVERLEE.
_____
Convoy SC.49 departed
Sydney CB, escorted by
corvette LETHBRIDGE. On the 13th, corvettes AMHURST,
EYEBRIGHT,
MAYFLOWER, NANAIMO, and PRESCOTT joined and destroyer ST
FRANCIS and corvette
KENOGAMI joined on the 14th. Destroyer ST FRANCIS and
corvettes EYEBRIGHT and
KENOGAMI were detached on the 21st. Corvettes AMHURST,
LETHBRIDGE, MAYFLOWER,
NANAIMO, and PRESCOTT were detached on the 22nd and
corvettes HEATHER,
LOBELIA, and NARCISSUS joined. On the 23rd, destroyers
BEAGLE, ROXBOROUGH, SALISBURY, and SHERWOOD and
anti-submarine trawler NOTTS
COUNTY joined. Destroyer SALISBURY was detached on the 24th. The remainder of the escorts arrived with
the convoy at Liverpool
on the 27th.
Sunday,
12 October
Aircraft carrier
VICTORIOUS and destroyers BEDOUIN
and ANTHONY departed Scapa
Flow at 1600 for the Clyde.
En route, carrying out
night landings, one Albacore
was lost with T/Lt (A) J. G. R. Flowers and Leading
Airman W. M. James
killed.
The ships arrived in the
Clyde at 1530/13th.
_____
New Zealand Sub Lt L. E.
Mitchell RNZN, was killed
when his Albacore of 778 Squadron from Arbroath crashed
on take off.
_____
Light cruisers AURORA and
PENELOPE departed Scapa Flow for Gibraltar,
arriving at 2200/18th.
_____
Destroyer ECLIPSE departed
Scapa Flow at 1330 to assist Soviet steamer SUKHONA
(3124grt), which been in convoy QP.1 and made a distress
signal seven miles
north of the Orkneys.
Anti-submarine trawler
VASCAMA escorted the steamer
to Kirkwall and the destroyer returned to Scapa Flow.
There was no apparent reason for the distress
signal.
_____
T/A/Sub Lt (A) E. H.
Archer RNVR, and Leading
Airman W. M. James were killed when their Albacore of
817 crashed during
night practice near Dunino on a dummy attack on aircraft
carrier VICTORIOUS.
_____
German destroyer ECKHOLDT
was damaged at Tromso in
a collision with a Norwegian steamer.
The destroyer was
drydocked at Trondheim on the 22nd for twelve days of
emergency repairs.
The ship then proceeded to Germaniawerft, arriving on 9
November for refit
and repair.
_____
German 2nd Motor Torpedo
Boat Flotilla with S 41, S
47, S 53, S 62, S 104, and S 105 attacked convoy FN 531
north of Cromer.
British steamer CHEVINGTON
(1537grt) and Norwegian
steamer ROY (1768grt) were sunk in 52-59-36N, 1-52E.
Seven crew and two gunners
were lost on the British
steamer. Three crew were lost on the Norwegian steamer.
Convoy escorts of
destroyers WESTMINSTER, WOLSEY, and COTSWOLD were unable
to damage to the
German ships.
_____
British steamer GLYNN
(1134grt) was badly damaged
by German bombing 1½ miles 223° from
No. 5 Buoy, 52-35N, 1-56E. Two crew
were lost on the steamer.
The steamer was scuttled
by a Royal Navy unit.
_____
U.83 stopped Portuguese
steamer CORTE REAL (2044grt) for inspection eighty miles
west of Lisbon.
When it was established
the steamer was carrying
contraband, the steamer was sunk. The entire crew were
rescued.
_____
Operation CULTIVATE, the
relief of the Tobruk
garrison, began.
Minelaying cruiser ABDIEL
and destroyers HERO,
KIPLING, and NIZAM departed Alexandria for the first
serial of the CULTIVATE operation.
_____
Battleships QUEEN
ELIZABETH and VALIANT, light
cruisers AJAX, HOBART, and GALATEA, and destroyers
JERVIS, JAGUAR, GRIFFIN, JUPITER, KANDAHAR, HASTY,
HOTSPUR, DECOY, AVONVALE, and ERIDGE
departed Alexandria and proceeded westward.
At 1800, the cruisers and
destroyers JERVIS,
JAGUAR, and JUPITER were detached to pass through
position 33-00N, 24-30E at midnight and rejoin the Fleet
at daylight.
At daylight on 13th, the
Fleet set course for Alexandria.
When a report was received
at 1315 of three Italian
cruisers and six destroyers, the Battle Fleet turned
westward.
No further contact was
made with these ships.
At 1800, the cruisers and
three destroyers were
again detached and rejoined at daylight on the 14th.
The Fleet arrived back at
Alexandria at 1530/14th.
_____
U.75 sank landing craft
tanks A.2 (Sub Lt E. L.
Clark DSC, DSM RNVR) and A 7 (Sub Lt A. C. Bromley
RNVR), which had departed
Tobruk on the 11th, in 32-08N, 24-56E.
Clark, Bromley,Skipper J.
C. Norton RNR, of A.2, T/Skipper J. R. Peel RNR, of A.7,
twenty six ratings, an officer in the
Royal Engineers, four Australian soldiers, and two
Italian prisoners of war
were lost. Only one crew survived; A/Petty Officer W. A.
Henley, DSM, from A
7 was rescued the next day and taken prisoner by the
submarine. The rating
taken to Piraeus and later to Germany.
Minelaying cruiser ABDIEL
and destroyers HERO,
KIPLING, and NIZAM approaching Tobruk at 1950/12th saw
oil and heard cries,
but were unable to search due to being already behind
schedule.
_____
Italian light cruisers
DUCA D'AOSTA, EUGENIO DI
SAVOIA, and MONTECUCCOLI and destroyers VIVALDI,
MALOCELLO, PIGAFETTA, DE
VERAZZANO, AVIERE, and CAMICIA NERA were to lay mines
off Benghazi during the
night of 12/13 October.
However, the operation was
cancelled when it was
found that the Mediterranean Fleet was at sea.
_____
An Italian convoy of
steamers BAINSIZZA (7933grt)
and NIRVO (5164grt) and German tug MAX BARENDT departed
Trapani escorted by destroyers DA RECCO and SEBENICO and
torpedo boat CASCINO.
On the 14th, steamer
BAINSIZZA was damaged by
British 830 Squadron torpedo attack in 34-15N, 12-12E.
The steamer was taken in
tow by the German tug and
later by tug CICLOPE, escorted by torpedo boat POLLUCE
which had come out
from Tripoli. The steamer sank the next day.
_____
Submarine RORQUAL arrived
at Malta after minelaying operations in the Aegean.
_____
Polish submarine SOKOL
arrived at Malta after patrol off Lampedusa.
Monday,
13 October
Heavy cruiser NORFOLK was
at
Scapa Flow.
During firefighting
exercises on the hulk
INVERLANE, an explosion killed Lt W. J. Van De Kasteele,
the cruiser's
gunnery officer, and four ratings. The ship's executive
officer Cdr A. C.
Luce died of injuries on the 20th.
_____
Destroyer SOUTHWOLD
departed Portsmouth at 1000 for Scapa Flow to carry out
working up exercises.
The destroyer arrivedat
1300/15th.
_____
Minelayer PORT QUEBEC,
escorted by destroyer LANCASTER, laid minefield
SN.24 B.
_____
The Liverpool section of
convoy PQ.2, escorted by minesweepers SPEEDY and SEAGULL
departed Liverpool at 1030 for Scapa Flow, arriving at
0730/16th.
_____
Convoy OS.9 departed
Liverpool escorted by French sloop COMMANDANT DOMINE
which
was detached on the 24th.
On the 14th, sloops EGRET,
FOWEY, and LEITH joined the convoy. The sloops were detached on 2 November for EGRET
and on 1 November for the other two. Also joining on the
14th were escort
vessels BANFF
and FISHGUARD which were detached on 1 and 2
November, respectively, and corvettes HOLLYHOCK and
STONECROP. Corvette
HOLLYHOCK arrived with the convoy on 5 November and
STONECROP was detached on
1 November.
Corvettes BURCOK, CLOVER,
and NIGELLA joined on the
31st and arrived with the convoy at Freetown on 5
November.
_____
Destroyers NAPIER and
JACKAL passed the Suez Canal northbound to return to the
Mediterranean Fleet
after being relieved in the Suez Escort Force by sloops
FALMOUTH and SHOREHAM.
_____
Motor torpedo boats MTB.68
and MTB.215 were ordered to patrol off Bardia to
intercept
a reported submarine.
_____
Anti-submarine trawler
LOCH OSKAIG was attacked by
a German Focke Wulf aircraft in 38-15N, 9-59W. Seven
crew were wounded and
considerable damage was done to the superstructure by
cannonfire.
_____
Submarine P.31 departed
Gibraltar for Malta, arriving on the 20th.
_____
Submarine THORN departed
Malta on patrol and then to proceed to Alexandria.
_____
Dutch submarine O.24 made
an unsuccessful attack on
a steamer in the southern Tyrrhenian
Sea.
Tuesday,
14 October
Destroyer LIGHTNING
departed Rosyth at 0800 for Scapa Flow on completion of
boiler cleaning.
The destroyer arrived at
Scapa Flow at 1730 that day.
_____
Destroyer ACTIVE departed
Scapa Flow for Hull at 1000 to carry out refitting.
The destroyer arrived at
1310/15th.
_____
Destroyer ICARUS departed
the Humber at 1555 for Scapa
Flow after refitting.
The destroyer arrived at
Scapa Flow at 1745/15th.
_____
Convoy ON.26 departed
Liverpool, escorted by destroyers BEAGLE and SALISBURY,
corvettes HEATHER and NARCISSUS, and
anti-submarine trawlers ARAB and LADY MADELEINE. The
escorts were detached on
the 20th when relieved by American destroyers BABBITT,
BADGER, BROOME, LEARY,
MAYO, and SCHENCK. The American destroyers were detached
when the convoy
dispersed on the 29th.
_____
Minesweepers HARRIER,
HALCYON, SALAMANDER, and
BRITOMART departed Archangel for Seidisfjord.
_____
Submarine
TIGRIS
unsuccessfully attacked German steamers MINONA and
TUGELA and Norwegian
steamer HAVBRIS in 71-05N, 27-10E.
_____
British drifter FORERUNNER
(92grt, T/Skipper W.
Harmon RNR) was sunk in a collision in the Thames
Estuary.
_____
German light cruiser KOLN bombarded Russian positions on
Cape Ristna.
_____
German auxiliary patrol
vessel UJ 1709 (fishing
vessel CARL KAMPF (600grt)) was sunk west of Lister by
British bombing.
_____
Corvette FLEUR DE LYS (Lt
A. Collins RNR), after convoy duty with OG.75, was sunk
by U.206
west of Gibraltar, just as the corvette was preparing to
enter
harbour.
Collins and one rating
were killed.
Lt A. P. Godfrey RNR,
T/Sub Lt N. Higgs RNVR, T/Lt C. M. Nicholls RNVR,
T/Lt J. G. Porter RNR, and sixty four ratings were
missing.
Three survivors were
picked up by a Spanish steamer
and later transferred to corvette COREOPSIS.
_____
Corvettes DELPHINIUM,
SALVIA, PEONY, and ERICA and
anti-submarine whaler PROTEA rendezvoused off Capa Gata
at 0800 and carried
out an anti-submarine search of the area.
_____
Anti-submarine whaler
SOIKA and tug C 307 departed Alexandria on serial 1 A of
the CULTIVATE operation.
The tug returned to Mersa
Matruh.
_____
Italian torpedo boat
PLEIADA was lost at Tripoli after heavy damage from
British bombing on the
13th.
_____
Ex-US Coast Guard
cutters/escorts SENNEN and
TOTLAND departed Gibraltar to rendezvous with Armed
merchant cruisers WOLFE,
MALOJA, and RANPURA in 42N, 28W and escort them to the
UK.
On the 15th, destroyer
CROOME departed Gibraltar to join the escort.
_____
Submarines UNBEATEN, URGE,
and UPRIGHT departed Malta on short notice for an
operation off Cape Passero.
The submarines arrived
back at Malta on the 16th, having sighted nothing but a
hospital
ship during the operation.
_____
Submarine UNIQUE
unsuccessfully attacked a steamer
in 40-26N, 14-20E.
_____
New Zealand light cruiser
ACHILLES relieved Australian light
cruiser ADELAIDE which was escorting a liner.
Cruiser ADELAIDE proceeded
to Sydney.
Cruiser ACHILLES and the
liner arrived at Auckland on the 16th.
