Background
Events - December 1941-February 1942
Pearl
Harbor
attacked, Loss of 'Repulse' & 'Prince
of Wales', Singapore falls, 'Channel Dash' by
German big ships, to February 1942
1942
Thursday,
1
January
Force
J, which
had withdrawn from the Lofoten Islands on the conclusion
of Operation ANKLET,
arrived at Scapa Flow at 1100 with light cruiser
ARETHUSA, destroyers SOMALI,
ASHANTI, BEDOUIN, ESKIMO, WHEATLAND, escort ship SCOTT,
Norwegian corvettes
EGLANTINE and ACANTHUS, minesweepers SPEEDWELL and
HARRIER, Polish destroyers
KRAKOWIAK and KUJIWIAK, tankers BLACK RANGER and GRAY
RANGER, troopship
PRINCE ALBERT, tug JAUNTY, and supply ship GUDRUN
MAERSK.
Minesweeper
HALCYON
arrived at
Scapa Flow, escorting oiler
SAN
ZOTICO from Sullom Voe after
Operation ANKLET.
_____
Heavy
cruiser
KENT arrived at
Scapa Flow
from the Clyde.
_____
Destroyer
PANTHER
arrived at
Scapa Flow at 1900 from
Greenock
to carry out practices after
commissioning.
_____
Destroyer
FORESIGHT,
escorting landing ships PRINCE CHARLES, PRINCE LEOPOLD,
and
PRINCESS CHARLOTTE, arrived at
Scapa Flow
at 1130 from Invergordon.
_____
Destroyer
NEWARK departed
Scapa Flow
at 2230 for Loch Alsh after
docking and repairs, arriving on the 2nd.
_____
Submarine
STURGEON
departed
Scapa Flow, escorted by anti-submarine trawler STELLA
PEGASI, for patrol, then to
Murmansk.
_____
Steamer
KENTWOOD (2180grt) was badly damaged on a mine near 56
Buoy Haisboro. The steamer later sank in tow of a navy
ship.The crew and
gunners aboard were all rescued.
_____
Steamer
PENRHOS
(187grt) was sunk on a mine one mile 243° from North
Constable Buoy, Liverpool Bay.
_____
Minelaying
cruiser
ABDIEL, which had departed Haifa on 31 December after
embarking mines, departed
Suez
on the 1st and Aden on the 4th to join the
Eastern Fleet. The minelayer arrived at Colombo on the
10th.
_____
Submarine
P.36
departed Gibraltar to carry out patrols in the vicinity of Sete and
Cannes
before proceeding to Malta, arriving on the 16th.
_____
An
Albacore of 828 Squadron from Hal Far failed to return
from night operations.
Acting S/Lt (A) R.H. Pettitt RNVR, and S/Lt (A) A.W.J.
Capes RNVR, were
captured by the Italians and made prisoners of war.
Capes was later able to
escape.
_____
British
tug
DAISY foundered under tow from Alexandria to Tobruk.
_____
Submarine
TRUSTY,
en route from the mediterranean for the Far East,
departed Aden from Colombo.
_____
Greek
light
cruiser GEORGIOS AVEROFF departed Colombo for Bombay
after escort duty with
convoy BM.9 B.
_____
American
steamer
MALAMA (3275grt) was captured at 26-39S, 151-24W by
Japanese armed
merchant cruisers AIKOKU MARU and HOKUKU MARU. The crew
of the steamer were
interned at Shanghai.
Friday,
2
January
Norwegian
corvettes
ACANTHUS and EGLANTINE, which had formed part of Force J
for
operation ANKLET, departed
Scapa Flow for
Liverpool
at 1200.
_____
Destroyer
BEDOUIN
escorted destroyer MONTROSE, which had damaged her
propellers in a
grounding on 30 December, from
Scapa Flow
at 1600. Both ships arrived
at Rosyth at 1600/3rd. Destroyer BEDOUIN remained as
well to clean boilers.
_____
Captain
D.17
in destroyer ONSLOW with destroyers OFFA and MARNE
arrived at Hvalfjord at
1800. En route, the destroyers had been diverted to
carry out an
anti-submarine sweep passing through position 59-18N,
12-50W where steamer
CARDITA had been torpedoed on 31 December.Destroyer
ONSLOW resuced twenty
three survivors from CARDITA on the 1st.
_____
Destroyers
WALKER,
VERITY, and WITHERINGTON departed Hvalfjord at 2215 for
Scapa Flow on relief by destroyers
ONSLOW, OFFA, and
MARNE. En route, the destroyers were diverted to
screen battleship RESOLUTION to the
Clyde, relieving destroyers ESKIMO and
ASHANTI.
_____
Temporary
S/Lt
(A) W.C. Hooson RNVR, of 888 Squadron was killed when
his Martlet
crashed three miles east of Winchester during exercises.
_____
Convoy ON.53 departed Liverpool.The convoy was joined on the 3rd by
destroyer WANDERER and corvette DAUPHIN, RENONCULE, and
ROSELYS.Corvettes
AUBRETIA and VERVAIN reinforced the convoy on the
5th.These escorts were
relieved on the 9th by U.S. Coast cutter CAMPBELL and
U.S. destroyers BADGER,
COLE, DECATUR, and PLUNKETT.Destroyer BADGER was
detached on the 13th and
destroyer COLE on the 14th.The convoy was dispersed on
the 19th.
_____
Dutch
submarine
O.14 departed
Scapa Flow, escorted by anti-submarine trawler STELLA
PEGASI, for Operation KITBAG.
_____
U.134
sank
Steamer WAZIRISTAN (5135grt), from convoy PQ.7 A, in
74-09N, 19-10E.
_____
Submarine
P.39
departed Gibraltar for patrol off
Alboran
Island. On 3 January, the submarine
was directed to patrol off Agua amarga to intercept
German steamer ELISABETH
HENDRIK FISSER whose impeding departure had been
reported.
_____
Destroyers
EXMOOR
and CROOME arrived at Gibraltar from Bathurst.
_____
Anti-submarine
trawler
SCOTTISH was damaged by German aircraft eight miles 300°
from Cape Espichel. One soldier was killed and
a stoker was wounded. The trawler entered Lisbon to land
the wounded man.
_____
Destroyers
HERO
and ARROW departed Alexandria escorting escort ship
ANTWERP, carrying
eighty tons of supplies and three hundred and eighty
personnel for Benghazi.
The destroyers carried a two hundred man Naval Port
Party. The escort ship
and destroyers departed
Benghazi
on the 5th to return to Alexandria.
_____
Destroyer
SOUTHWOLD
arrived at
Suez
and was passed through the
Canal to join the Mediterranean Fleet. On 3 January, the
destroyer departed Port Said escorting three ships to
Alexandria.
_____
U.133
was
attacked, but not damaged, by British aircraft in
35-34N, 19-07E.
_____
Convoy SC.63 departed
Sydney,
CB escorted by corvettes
KAMSACK, LOUISBURG,
and SHAWNIGAN and
minesweepers GEORGIAN and MALPEQUE. The escorts were
detached on the
5th.Destroyer SKEENA and corvettes
AMHERST,
CELANDINE, POLYANTHUS, PRESCOTT, and PRIMROSE joined on
the
5th. Destroyer SKEENA and corvette
PRESCOTT
were detached on the
10th.The convoy was dispersed on the 13th and the
escorts detached.
_____
Light
cruiser
DESPATCH departed Balboa to patrol in the Galapagos
area.
_____
Seaplane
carrier
ALBATROS arrived at
Trinidad to disembark aircraft and proceed to
Mobile,
Alabama, for refitting.
_____
Convoy HX.168 departed
Halifax,
escorted by destroyer
HAMILTON and minesweepers CLAYOQUOT and REED DEER. These
were detached on the
4th. American destroyers BAINBRIGE, BROOME, DICKERSON,
TRUXTON, and WOOLSEY
on the 4th. They were detached on the 10th. Corvettes
RENONCULE, ROSELYS, and
VERVAIN joined on the 11th, corvettes AUBRETIA on the
12th, and destroyer
WANDERER on the 13th. The convoy was dispersed on the
13th and escorts
detached.
_____
Aircraft
carrier
INDOMITABLE departed Capetown for passage through the
East Indies
Station to Aden.
On the 9th, the aircraft carrier
met destroyers NAPIER, NESTOR, and NIZAM off the west
coast of Socotra.
_____
Battleship
ROYAL
SOVEREIGN arrived at Seychilles after convoy duty with
convoy WS.12 Z.
The battleship departed on the 3rd for Mombasa.
_____
Heavy
cruiser
DORSETSHIRE departed Bombay for Durban for escort duty
with troop
convoy CM.25.
_____
Heavy
cruiser
EXETER
arrived at Addu Atoll from Colombo.
_____
Sloop
FALMOUTH and boom carrier LAOMEDON departed
Colombo
for Trincomalee, where they
arrived on the 4th.
_____
American
steamer
DON JOSE (10,893grt) was badly damaged by Japanese
bombing at 14-35N, 120-55E. The steamer was run aground.
The Japanese later
took the steamer to
Hong Kong, but it was further damaged by Allied bombing
and later scrapped.
_____
Steamer
NORAH
MOLLER (4433grt) was damaged by Japanese bombing in
Malacca Strait. The steamer was able to
reach Singapore
on the 3rd.
_____
American
steamer
LATOUCHE (2156grt) was seized by Japanese forces at
Manila. The steamer was renamed
AZUCHI MARU for Japanese use.
Ships
also
seized about this time in the
Manila
area (American unless other
noted) were:
|
Vessel
|
Fate
|
Japanese
name
|
|
Motor
vessel
ANAKAN (837grt)
|
Sunk
in
December
|
ANAN
MARU
|
|
Lighthouse
tender BANAHAO
(667grt)
|
Sunk
by
Japanese bombing on 28 December, raised by
Japanese Army
|
|
|
British
tug
HENRY KESWICK (671grt)
|
Scuttled
29 December 1941
|
KEISHU
MARU
|
|
Steamer
DOS
HERMANOS (838grt)
|
Scuttled
31 December 1941
|
HIMENO
MARU
|
|
Steamer
KAIPING
(2563grt)
|
Sunk
by
Japanese bombing 28 Dec 1941
|
KAIHO
MARU
|
|
Steamer
LUZON
(1679grt)
|
Sunk
at
Luzon and refloated
|
RUSON
MARU
|
|
Steamer
MAUBAN
(1253grt)
|
Sunk
28 December 1941
|
MANBO
MARU
|
|
Steamer
PAZ
(4260grt)
|
Sunk
26 December 1941
|
HATSU
MARU
|
|
Steamer
PALAWAN
(562grt)
|
Scuttled
29 December 1941
|
PARAN
MARU
|
_____
Norwegian
steamer
RAVNAAS (4019grt), which had been sunk on 8
December 1941 off Surigao, was salved by Japanese forces and renamed IKUTAGAWA
MARU.
Saturday,
3
January
Battleship
DUKE
OF YORK
departed Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, escorted by
destroyers
HARVESTER, HIGHLANDER, and LIGHTNING, which had arrived
on 31 December. On 5
January, the ships arrived at
Bermuda.
_____
Destroyer
LEWES
arrived at
Scapa Flow at 0945 from
Plymouth
to work up prior to joining
the Rosyth Command.
_____
Minelayer
AGAMEMNON,
escorted by destroyer NEWARK, laid minefild SN 26 A of
the Northern Barrage.
_____
Steamer
CORFEN
(1848grt) was badly damaged on a mine 1¾ miles NE of B.8
Buoy, Barrow
Deep. One crewman died later of wounds. The rest of the
crew survived. The
steamer sank in tow later that day.
_____
Steamer
ROBERT
(1272grt) was badly damaged on a mine off Lowestoft in
about 52-17-30N, 2E. The
entire crew were rescued. The steamer sank in tow on the
4th.
_____
Submarine
OLYMPUS
arrived at Gibraltar from Malta.
_____
Light
cruiser
HERMIONE departed
Gibraltar for
Plymouth.
Vice Admiral Sir James
Somerville KCB, KBE, DSO, was aboard. Somerville had
been assigned as
Admiral, Commander in Chief, Eastern Fleet. Rear Admiral
E.N. Syfret CB, was
named Flag Officer, Force H, effective 10 January.
_____
In
Italian Fleet operation M.43 to support Tripoli, the
following movements
took place.
Steamers
NINO
BIXIO (7137grt), MONGINERVO (5324grt), and LERICI (6070
tonns) departed Messina at 1015 escorted by
destroyers VIVALDI, DA RECCO, USODIMARE, BERSAGLIERE,
and FUCLIERE.
Steamer
GINO
ALLEGRI (6836grt) departed Brindisi at 1315 escorted by
destroyers FRECCIA and torpedo boat PROCIONE.
Steamer
MONVISO
(5322grt) and tanker GUILO GIORDANI (7000grt) departed
Taranto at 1500 escorted by torpedo
boats ORSA, ARETUSA, CASTORE, and ANTARES.
Italian
battleship
DUILO with light cruisers GARIBALDI, MONTECUCCOLI, and
ATTENDOLO,
and destroyers MAESTRALE, GIOBERTI, ORIANI, SCIROCCO,
and MALOCELLO departed Taranto at 1600 to escort the
convoy.
Italian
battleships
LITTORIO, CESARE, and DORIA, heavy cruisers GORIZIA and
TRENTO, and destroyers CARABINIERE,
ALPINO, DA NOLI, PIGAFETA, ASCARI, AVIERE, GENEIERE, ad
CAMICIA NERA departed
Taranto at 1850 to support the convoy.
The
convoys safely arrived at
Tripoli
on the 5th.
The
DUILO force arrived back at Taranto at 0420/6th and the
LITTORIO
force at 1700/5th.
_____
Destroyers
NESTOR,
NIZAM, and NAPIER departed Alexandria. The destroyers
met aircraft
carrier INDOMITABLE, which had departed Capetown on the
2nd, off Guardafui on
the 9th. On the 15th, these ships departed Aden for Port
Sudan, then Addu arriving on the
21st.The British ships refuelled at the Cocos Island on
the 25th.
British
800
Squadron and 827 Squadron had been flown off at Aden to
take on board RAF
Squadrons 232 and 258 for delivery to Java. The aircraft
carrier maintained
nine Sea Hurricanes of 880 Squadron and twelve Albacores
of 831 Squadron for
her defence.
_____
Convoy
AT.11
departed
Alexandria
with supply ships CRISTA
(2590grt) and Norwegian HARBOE JENSEN (1862grt),
anti-submarine trawler
WOLBOROUGH, and tug C 307. The convoy was escorted by
destroyers KIMBERLEY and HASTY with destroyers GRIFFIN
and HOTSPUR. The convoy was
sailed for Benghazi,
but was diverted to Tobruk.
The convoy departed Tobruk on the 5th and arrived at
Benghazi on the 7th. The destroyers
returned directly to
Alexandria.
_____
Convoy
BM.9
A of steamers DEVONSHIRE (11,100grt), ETHIOPIA
(5574grt), LANCASHIRE
(9557grt), RAJULA (8478grt), and VARSOVA (4701grt)
arrived at Singapore on
the 3rd with light cruisers HOBART, DURBAN, and DRAGON
and destroyers
ENCOUNTER, JUPITER, and VAMPIRE.
_____
Destroyer
THANET
departed
Batavia
for Singapore.
_____
Dutch
submarine
K.11 arrived at Singapore from patrol.
_____
Light
cruiser
GLASGOW arrived at Colombo after escorting convoy
BM.9B.
_____
Indian
sloop
SUTLEJ departed Madras with convoy MA.1 of
troopship ELLENGA with troops and stores for Port Blair,
arriving on the 7th.
_____
Japanese
submarine
I.58 sank Dutch steamer LANGKOEAS (7395grt) north of
Bawean Island.
All members of the crew successfully abandoned ship, but
the submarine rammed
one lifeboard and machine gunned the others. American
destroyer PAUL JONES
searched for the submarine without success.The destroyer
rescued the three
survivors of the steamer's crew of 94 from Bawean
Island.
Sunday,
4
January
Battleship
RESOLUTION,
with destroyers ASHANTI and ESKIMO, departed Scapa Flow
for the Clyde. En route, the destroyers
were relieved by destroyers WALKER, VERITY, and
WITHERINGTON and returned to Scapa Flow, arriving at
1330/4th.
The
battleship was proceeding to the
Clyde for ocean escort duty for convoy WS.15. They
arrived in the
Clyde on the 5th. Flag of Vice Admiral W.E.C. Tait CB, MVO, Vice Admiral
Commanding Third Battle Squadron, Vice Admiral, Second
in Command, Eastern
Fleet, was hoisted in RESOLUTION.
_____
Heavy
cruiser
NORFOLK
departed Hvalfjord for
patrol in the Denmark Strait.
_____
Flag
of British Rear Admiral L.H.K. Hamilton DSC, Flag
Officer Commanding Force J,
struck in light cruiser ARETHUSA.
_____
Broad
Pendant
of Commodore C. Caslon, Commodore Commanding Home Fleet
Destroyer
Flotillas, struck in depot ship
TYNE.
_____
Flag
of Rear Admiral L.H.K. Hamilton, DSC, Rear Admiral (D),
hoisted in depot ship
TYNE.
_____
Minesweepers
HARRIER,
SPEEDWELL, and HALCYON departed Scapa Flow at 1200 for
Hvalfjord to form
part of the escort for convoy PQ.8. The minesweepers
arrived at Hvalfjord at
0900/7th to refuel prior to joining the convoy.
_____
Polish
destroyers
KRAKOWIAK and KUJAWIAK departed Scapa Flow at 0900
escorting landing
ships PRINCE LEOPOLD and PRINCESS CHARLOTTE to the
Clyde, arriving on the 5th. On
arrival, the destroyers continued on to Plymouth to
rejoin their previous
command.
_____
Destroyer
LANCASTER
departed Loch Alsh at 1730 for Scpaa Flow to carry out
repairs in
dock. The destroyer arrived at 0930/5th.
_____
Destroyer
ORIBI
departed
Scapa Flow at 2000 for Hvalfjord to relieve destroyer
MARNE
in the force detailed to act
as screen for battlecruiser RENOWN. ORIBI arrived at
Hvalfjord at noon on the 6th. MARNE departed Hvalfjord
at 1500
for Scapa
Flow,
arriving at 0845/8th.
_____
Light
cruiser
EDINBURGH with destroyers ECHO and ESCAPADE departed
Murmansk to meet convoy QP.4 at
daylight on the 6th and escort the convoy to its
dispersal point. The convoy
had been considerably delayed in sailing from Archangel
owing to severe ice
conditions. The convoy dispersed at 1600/9th in 73N,
10E. EDINBURGH, ECHO and ESCAPADE proceeded to Scapa
Flow arriving at 1430/11th. The
destroyers were taken in hand for boiler cleaning.
_____
Minesweepers
BRITOMART
and SALAMANDER arrived at Murmansk at 1700 after having
failed
to meet and escort convoy PQ.7.
_____
Norwegian
corvettes
ACANTHUS and EGLANTINE arrived at Liverpool from Scapa
Flow.
_____
Lt
L.F. Edwards RNR, died of injuries after his Hurricane of 759
Squadron crashed near Yeovilton.
_____
Corvette
COREOPSIS
departed
Gibraltar for
Fayal to join corvette COLTSFOOT as additional escort
for cable vessel MIRROR.
_____
Dutch
submarine
O.24 departed
Gibraltar for refitting in the
UK.
The submarine refitted at
Grangemouth from 2 February to 3 June.
_____
Destroyer
BRADFORD
arrived at
Gibraltar from
Freetown.
The destroyer sustained
minor damage in berthing.
_____
Corvettes
GERANIUM
and AZALEA arrived at
Gibraltar,
escorting tanker LA
CARRIERE.
_____
In
an air raid on
Malta,
Temporary Acting Lt T.E.
Godman RNVR, and three ratings of destroyer HAVOCK were
killed. HAVOCK was
put out of action for three days, damaged by bomb
splinters, as was destroyer
ZULU, also damaged by splinter damage.
_____
Submarine
THUNDERBOLt
sank Italian caique NUOVO SAN PIETRO (32grt) on the west
side of Cephalona in 38-07N, 20-20E.
_____
Submarine
UPHOLDER
damaged Italian steamer SIRIO (5222grt) in Messina
Strait. The steamer was towed into Palermo.
_____
Submarine
OSIRIS,
crippled by engine defects, was ordered to abandon her
patrol off Suda Bay. Destroyer FARNDALE joined
her and escorted her for the last 24 hours before
arriving at Alexandria. Off the Great Pass, the
submarine broke down
again and was towed into harbour by tug ROYSTERER,
arriving on the 7th.
_____
Convoy
SL.97
departed
Freetown,
escorted by destroyer
BRILLIANT and corvettes BERGAMOT, LAVENDER, and
WALLFLOWER to 6 January.
Corvette WOODRUFF also departed Freetown with the convoy
and
continued with the convoy to arrival.
On
6 January, sloop
HASTINGS
and escort vessels BANFF and FISHGUARD joined the
convoy and continued with it to arrival on the
24th.Sloops EGRET and
FLEETWOOD and anti-submarine yacht PHILANTE joined on
the 7th and continued
until 14 January. Destroyer CAMPBELTOWN joined on the
13th from Gibraltar after refuelling at Ponta Delgada
and continued to arrival on
the 24th for refitting at Devonport.
Convoy
SL.97
G departed
Gibraltar on the 11th. It was escorted by destroyers VIDETTE, WHITEHALL,
and WISHART and
anti-submarine trawlers ARCTIC RANGER and LADY HOGARTH
from the start.
Destroyer WHITEHALL
was detached that day;
destroyers VIDETTE and WISHART on the 20th. The trawlers
proceeded through
with the convoy to arrival.
Destroyer
WISHART
attacked U.93, shadowing the convoy, in 35-32N, 8-00W on
the 12th.
On
the 12th, destroyers LAFOREY, CROOME, HESPERUS, and
WESTCOTT departed Gibraltar to operate as a striking
force with the convoy. Destroyer HESPERUS escorted
convoy SL.97 F from 12 to
15 January.The destroyers were detached on the 17th.
Destroyer
HESPERUS
sank U.93 at 0115/15th by gunfire and ramming northeast
of Maderia
in 36-10N, 15-52W. Six crew were lost in the submarine.
Destroyer HESPERUS
arrived at Gibraltar on the 16th with40 German prisoners.
On
the 17th, sloops EGRET, FLEETWOOD, and HASTINGS and
anti-submarine yacht
PHILANTE joined the convoy and continued with it to its
arrival. Destroyer
SCIMITAR joined the convoy on the 20th and continued to
arrival.
Anti-submarine
trawler
MAN O WAR joined on the 24th and escorted the convoy into
Liverpool
on the 24th.
_____
Australian
sloop
YARRA departed
Colombo
for Batavia, arriving on the 11th.
_____
Armed
merchant
cruiser HECTOR, escorting RFA OLCADES, arrived at
Mauritius from the Cape.
Monday,
5
January
Cruiser
minelayer
ADVENTURE departed Loch Alsh for Scapa Flow, arriving
later that day.
_____
Destroyer
MATABELE
departed Rosyth at 0900 for Scapa Flow after boiler
cleaning. The
destroyer arrived early on the 6th.
_____
Destroyer
CHIDDINGFOLD
arried at
Scapa Flow after escorting steamer
PRAGUE
from Aberdeen to Invergordon.
_____
Submarine
SEAWOLF
departed
Murmansk
on patrol.
_____
American
heavy
cruisers
TUSCALOOSA
and WICHITA with destroyers GRAYSON and MEREDITH
departed Hvalfjord for a three day training cruise in
the Denmark Strait.
_____
Convoy
OS.16
departed Liverpool.The convoy was joined on the 6th by
sloops ABERDEEN, ENCHANTRESS, and IBIS, escort vessel
WALNEY, and
naval trawler CAVINA.The trawler was detached on the
11th and the rest on the
20th.
On
the 11th, destroyer CLARE joined and was detached on the
20th. On the 20th,
destroyer WILD SWAN and corvettes AURICULA, FRITILLARY,
NIGELLA, and ORCHIS
joined the convoy and arrived with it at Freetown on the
23rd. On the 21st,
corvettes BURDOCK, FREESIA, and WALLFLOWER joined the
convoy and arrived at Freetown with it.
_____
Steamer
LARGO (2209grt) in convoy FN.97 was damaged on a mine off
Southwold. The steamer was able to reach Harwich with
assistance on the 6th.
_____
Tanker
SCOTTISH
MUSICIAN (6998grt) in convoy FN.97 was damaged on a mine
off
Southwold. The tanker was drydocked at Tilbury.
_____
Steam
trawler
LODDON (200grt) was damaged by German bombing NW of 18D
Buoy, Whitby.
_____
In
Malta
convoy operation MF.2,
troopship GLENGYLE, escorted by Force B of light
cruisers NAIAD and EURYALUS
with destroyers GURKHA, SIKH, KIPLING, KINGSTON, AND
FOXHOUND departed Alexandria at 2230/5th.
Supply
ship
BRECONSHIRE, escorted by Force C of destroyers LANCE,
LIVELY, JAGUAR,
and HAVOCK departed Malta at 1830/6th.
At
1300/7th in 33-50N, 19-20E, the forces rendezvoused and
supply ship
BRECONSHIRE and destroyer HAVOCK joined Force B to
return to Alexandria and
troopship GLENGYLE and destroyer SIKH joined Force C to
return to Malta.
Light
cruiser
DIDO, which was delayed leaving Alexandria repairing
engine room
defects, departed at daylight on the 8th and joined
Force C at 0800 that day.
There
was
no enemy reaction to this movement.
The
Malta
group arrived back at Malta at 0800/8th. The Alexandria
ships arrived during the
night of 8/9 January.
_____
Escort
destroyers
FARNDALE and AVONDALE departed Alexandria and carried
out an
anti-submarine search in the vicinity of Alexandria. On
the 6th, FARNDALE
returned to Alexandria
and AVONVALE joined convoy
AT.14.
_____
Convoy
AT.12
departed
Alexandria,
escorted by destroyer
ERIDGE and anti-submarine trawlers. Destroyers LEGION
and ISAAC SWEERS
departed as a striking force. The convoy arrived at
Tobruk on the 7th and the
escorts returned to
Alexandria
escorting empty store ships.
At 1652 on the 8th, LEGION attacked a submarine
shadowing the convoy. LEGION
and ISAAC SWEERS made five attacks on the submarine.
_____
Submarine
UPHOLDER
sank Italian submarine AMMIRAGLIO ST BON in 38-22N,
15-22E. Three
crew from the submarine were rescued.
_____
Submarine
PROTEUS
sank Italian troopship CITTA DI PALERMO (5413grt) three
miles west of
Cape
Dukato.
_____
Submarine
TRUANT
arrived at
Port Said
from Alexandria for docking prior to
proceeding to the
Far East.
_____
Light
cruisers
DRAGON with the British Naval Far East Staff (Vice
Admiral Sir
Geoffrey Layton and eight staff officers) and light
cruiser DURBAN with Rear Admiral Palliser
and seven staff officers departed Singapore for Batavia.
The cruisers safely arrived
on the 6th and became based there.
Also
departing with them were transports
DEVONSHIRE
and LANCASHIRE. The former carrying
personnel and equipment of the Far East Combined Bureau
for transfer to Colombo. The transports were
escorted to Sunda
Strait
by destroyer ENCOUNTER,
later joined by destroyer VAMPIRE.
_____
Convoy
DM.1
departed Addu Atoll, escorted by heavy cruiser EXETER,
light cruiser EMERALD, and
sloop JUMNA for Singapore, arriving on the 13th.
_____
Greek
light
cruiser GEORGIOS AVEROFF arrived at Bombay from
Trincomalee.
_____
Light
cruiser
COLOMBO
departed Aden for Mombasa escorting steamer MENDOZA,
and arriving on the 9th.
_____
Light
cruiser
GLASGOW departed
Colombo
escorting steamer CLAN
FORBES to Male,
Maldives,
and Addu Atoll. They
arrived at Male on the 6th and departed that day for
Addu, arriving on the
7th.
_____
Indian
sloop
INDUS departed Trincomalee for Colombo, arriving on the
7th.
_____
Submarine
depot
ship LUCIA departed Bombay for Colombo for depot ship
duties.
_____
Japanese
submarine
I.56 sank Steamer KWANTUNG (2626grt) at 9-12S, 111-10E.
The
submarine rammed a lifeboat and machine gunned the other
lifeboats. Of a crew
of 98 and 35 military personnel, 35 survivors were
picked up the next day.
Tuesday,
6
January
Heavy
cruiser
BERWICK arrived at Hvalfjord after patrol in the Denmark
Strait.
_____
Destroyers
WHEATLAND
and LAMERTON departed Scapa Flow at 0900 escorting
landing ships
PRINCE ALBERT and PRINCE CHARLES to the Clyde, arriving
on the 7th. On
arrival, WHEATLAND proceeded to Portsmouth to join that
command.
LAMERTON proceeded to
Londonderry to join Western Approaches.
_____
Destroyer
VIMIERA
and VORTIGERN arrived at
Scapa Flow
at 1015 for refuelling. They
departed later that day.
_____
Minesweeper
SCOTT,
which had been damaged during operation ANKLET, departed
Scapa Flow at 1700 for Loch Alsh,
arriving on the 7th. From Loch Alsh, she then proceeded
to Liverpool for repairs.
_____
Destroyers
INGLEFIELD
and INTREPID departed
Scapa Flow
at 0300 on Operation KITBAG.
The troop landing portion of the operation had been
deleted.
Light
cruiser
SHEFFIELD departed Scapa Flow and provided cover to
seaward, while Coastal Command aircraft made a raid on
the Sola Airdrome at Stavanger.
Dutch
submarine
O.14 provided the navigational beacon for the
destroyers.
That
evening, the convoy anchorage at Bonanoes was empty, but
the destroyers found
shipping at Floro. A 2000 ton ship was reported sunk and
two trawlers and
shore targets damaged. There was no enemy opposition to
the operation.
Light
cruiser
SHEFFIELD and the destroyers arrived
back at Scapa
Flow
on the 7th.
Submarine
O.14
departed patrol on the 7th and proceeded to Scapa Flow,
arriving on the 10th.
_____
Convoy ON.54 departed
Liverpool.
The convoy was joined on
the 7th by destroyer BOADICEA, sloop COMMANDANT
DETROYAT, and corvettes
HEATHER, LOBELIA, and NARCISSUS. The destroyer and
corvette NARCISSUS were
detached on the 11th and the rest on the 12th. The
convoy dispersed on the
17th.
_____
Steamer
NORWICH
TRADER (217grt) was destroyed in an explosion in
51-55-07N, 1-32-05E.
The entire crew of six and one gunner were all lost. The
wreckage was found
on the 6th, but no information exists on the
circumstances of the loss.
_____
U.701
sank
steamer BARON ERSKINE (3657grt) in 59-15N, 18-30W. There
were no
survivors from the steamer.
_____
Destroyer
BRADFORD
departed
Gibraltar to rejoin convoy SL.96.
_____
Anti-submarine
trawlers
LADY HOGARTH and STELLA CARINA departed Gibraltar to
meet arriving boom
defence vessels BARCLOSE, BARFOAM, and BARFORD and ferry
steamers CARDAK and
SILIVRI, en route from the UK. The trawlers and the boom
defence vessels arrived at
Gibraltar on the 9th. The ferry steamers had parted
company in bad weather and proceeded to the
Azores.
_____
Convoy
AT.14
(there was no AT.13) departed Alexandria with tanker
TONELINE and tug
ST MONANCE towing a lighter. The convoy was escorted by
destroyers SOUTHWOLD
and AVONVALE. TONELINE broke down on the 8th and
AVONVALE fouled her screw
attempting a tow. The destroyer proceeded to Mersa
Matruh to clear the line
and then rejoined the convoy. SOUTHWOLD in the meantime
towed the tanker to
Tobruk. The convoy arrived on the 8th.
_____
Destroyer
KELVIN
arrived at
Suez
after repairs in Bombay of May 1941 bomb damage.
_____
Convoy
BM.9B
departed
Bombay
22 December with steamers EL
MADINA (3962grt), RISALDAR (5407grt), RAJPUT (5497grt),
JALARAJAN (5102grt), and
MADURA (9032grt). The convoy was escorted by light
cruiser DANAE.
The
convoy was later joined by light cruiser HOBART,
destroyers ELECTRA, EXPRESS,
and STRONGHOLD, minesweepers GOULBURN and BURNIE, and
from 3 to 5 January by
Dutch light cruisers TROMP and DE RUYTER and destroyers
BANCKERT and PIET
HEIN.
Convoy
BM.9
B arrived at Singapore on the 6th.
_____
Battleship
ROYAL
SOVEREIGN arrived at Mombasa from the Seychilles.
_____
Heavy
cruiser
CORNWALL,
escorting convoy WS.12ZB,
arrived at Bombay.
_____
Armed
merchant
cruiser
CORFU, escorting troopship DILWARA, arrived at
Durban.
_____
Boom
carrier LAOMEDON departed Trincomalee for Colombo,
arriving on the 8th.
_____
Japanese
submarine
I.56 damaged Dutch steamer TANIMBAR (8169grt) with
gunfire 40 miles
south of Tjilatjap in 8-30S, 109-20E. The steamer
returned to Tjilatjap.
Wednesday,
7
January
Light
cruiser
TRINIDAD with destroyers SOMALI and
MATABELE departed
Scapa Flow at 2100 for Seidisfjord to refuel prior to
joining convoy PQ.8 as the ocean escort. The ships
arrived at Seidisfjord at
1030/9th to refuel. The ships sailed on the 10th and
joined convoy PQ.8 at
1300/11th in 69N, 10W.
_____
Italian
steamer
PERLA (5741grt) was sunk by a British torpedo bomber of
830 Squadron
20 miles south of Pantelleria.
_____
The
flag of Vice Admiral A.T.B. Curteis CB, Second in
Command, Home Fleet, was
transferred from base ship DUNLUCE CASTLE to heavy
cruiser KENT.
_____
Light
cruiser
DURBAN
departed Batavia to escort convoy DM.1 to Singapore.
Light cruiser DRAGON was
retained as a W/T ship for the Commander in Chief until
base ship ANKING
arrived.
_____
Australian
light
cruiser HOBART arrived at Batavia for fuel.
_____
Netlayer
GUARDIAN
departed
Colombo
for Diego Suarez.
_____
Japanese
submarine
I.57 sank Dutch tanker DJIRAK (3077grt) in 7-15S,
116-23E. The
entire crew were rescued and landed at Sekala, Java.
Thursday,
8
January
Destroyers
CALPE
and CHIDDINGFOLD departed Scapa Flow at 2030 to
rendezvous with Rear Admiral
Minelayers seven miles north of Cape Wrath at 0045/9th.
For minelaying
operation SN.15, minelayers SOUTHERN PRINCE, MENESTHEUS,
and AGAMEMNON
departed Loch Alsh escorted by destroyers WELLS and
NEWARK, joined at sea by CALPE and CHIDDINGFOLD.
Minelayer
ADVENTURE
joined the squadron from
Scapa Flow
at 0450/9th.
After
the
operation, the destroyers arrived back at Scapa Flow at
0430/10th. The
minelayers, WELLS and
NEWARK
arrived back at Loch Alsh on
the 10th.
_____
Convoy
PQ.8
departed Hvalfjord with Steamers BRITISH PRIDE
(7106grt), DARTFORD (4093grt), HARMATRIS
(5395grt), SOUTHGATE
(4862grt), and BRITISH
WORKMAN (6994grt), Panamanian steamer EL ALMIRANTE
(5248grt), American
steamer LARRANGA (3804grt), and Soviet steamer STARY
BOLSHEVIK (3974grt).
The
convoy was escorted until the 17th by minesweepers
HARRIER and SPEEDWELL. On
the 11th, light cruiser
TRINIDAD and destroyers MATABELE and SOMALI. On the
16th, minesweepers HAZARD and SHARPSHOOTER from
Murmansk
joined and took the convoy
to Murmansk, arriving on the 17th.
_____
Convoy ON.55 departed
Liverpool,
escorted by destroyer
DOUGLAS and corvettes ALISMA, KINGCUP, LOOSESTRIFE, and
SUNFLOWER. Corvette
LOOSESTRIFE was detached on the 9th. Destroyer
LEAMINGTON joined on the 10th. These
escorts were detached on the 15th when American
destroyers BABBITT, LEARY,
MAYO, SCHENCK, and SIMPSON arrived. In low visibility,
DOUGLAS and MAYO
collided. MAYO escorted the damaged
DOUGLAS
to Iceland. MAYO and SIMPSON were
detached on the 16th, BABBITT and LEARY on the 18th, and
SCHENCK on the 19th.
The convoy was dispersed on the 26th.
_____
After
minesweeping
operations, the 4th Minesweeping Flotilla departed the
Faroes.
Minesweeper FITZROY proceeded to
Scapa Flow,
arriving on the 9th.
Minesweepers ALBURY,
ELGIN,
LYDD, ROSS, SALTASH, and SUTTON
proceeded direct to
Aberdeen.
_____
Steamer
trawler
CRAIG-AN-ERAN (202grt) was damaged by German bombing off
Old Head of
Kinsale.
_____
Supply
ship
GEBEL KEBIR, engaged on running stores from Tobruk to
Derna, was damaged
by a near miss from a bombing attack.
_____
Convoy HX.169 departed
Halifax,
escorted by destroyer ANNAPOLIS and corvettes OAKVILLE,
SASKATOON, and THE PAS. American destroyers ELLIS,
JACOB JONES, MADISON, ROPER, and STURTEVANT, and WILKES
joined on the 10th.
The original escort was detached on the 11th. The
Americans were detached on
the 18th when relieved by destroyer
LEAMINGTON
and corvettes ALISMA,
KINGCUP, SUNFLOWER, and THYME. The escorts were detached
on the 22nd and the
convoy arrived at
Liverpool on the 23rd.
_____
American
light
cruisers
BOISE
and MARBLEHEAD with destroyers STEWART,
POPE, PAUL JONES, BULMER, BARKER, and PARROTT departed
Darwin for Surabaya escorting Dutch transport
BLOEMFONTEIN. En route, MARBLEHEAD, BULMER and POPE were
detached and destroyers PILLSBURY and JOHN D. FORD
joined. The convoy arrived
at Surabaya on the 12th.
_____
Convoy
BM.10
of steamers
CAP ST JACQUES (8009grt), TALTHYBIUS (10,254grt),
ISLAMI (5879grt), ROHNA (8602grt), EKMA (5108grt),
TAKLIWA (7936grt),
JALAKRISHNA (4991grt), SUBADAR (5424grt), JALAVIHAR
(5330grt), BRITTANY
(4772grt), LOCH RANZA (4958grt), and JALARATNA (3942grt)
departed Bombay,
carrying troops, motor transport, and stores, escorted
by light cruiser
CALEDON.
On
the 13th, light cruisers
ENTERPRISE
and GLASGOW relieved light
cruiser CALEDON
which proceeded to Colombo.
Sloop
SUTLEJ
joined on the 14th. On the
18th heavy cruiser EXETER
and light cruiser DANAE
joined, relieving light cruiser GLASGOW which returned
to Colombo. Destroyers ELECTRA and STRONGHOLD
and sloop YARRA joined on the 20th. Dutch cruiser TROMP
and Dutch destroyers
BANCKERT and PIET HEIN joined, relieving destroyers
ELECTRA and STRONGHOLD.
After escorting the convoy between the Sunda Strait and
Banka Strait, the Dutch ships were detached
on the 24th, as was heavy cruiser EXETER.
Steamers
YEUN
SANG (3229grt) and HOSANG (5698grt) of convoy SS 1 and
American COLINGSWORTH (5101grt) and Dutch ROCHUSSEN
(2333grt) joined the
convoy at sea on the 22nd.
The
convoy arrived at Singapore on the 25th
_____
Light
cruiser
GLASGOW departed Addu Atoll for Colombo, arriving on the
9th.
_____
Indian
sloop
SUTLEJ departed Rangoon for Trincomalee after convoy
MA 1 escort.
_____
Japanese
submarine
I.56 sank Dutch steamer VAN REES (3000grt) 80 miles
south of
Tjilapjap and Dutch steamer VAN RIEBEECK (2263grt) in
8-11S, 108-47E.
Friday,
9
January
Heavy
cruiser
KENT (Vice Admiral, Second in
Command, Home Fleet) departed
Scapa Flow
to relieve CS 1 in NORFOLK at Hvalfjord, arriving on
the 11th.
_____
Heavy
cruiser
BERWICK departed Hvalfjord for patrol in the Denmark
Strait.
_____
Aircraft
carrier
EAGLE, after refitting, departed Liverpool, escorted by
destroyers
SKATE and BLYSKAWICA, for the
Clyde.
_____
American
seaplane
tender ALBERMARLE arrived at Hvalfjord.
_____
Destroyer
BEDOUIN
departed Rosyth at 0830 for
Scapa Flow
on completion of boiler
cleaning. The destroyer arrived at 2100 that evening.
_____
Destroyers
ASHANTI
and FORESTER departed Scapa Flow at 1800. ASHANTI
proceeded to Rosyth for
boiler cleaning and arrived at 0545/10th. FORESTER
proceeded to the Tyne for refitting and arrived at
1030/10th.
_____
Destroyer
VIMIERA
(Lt Cdr A.A. Mackenzie RNR) was sunk on a mine in the
Thames
Estuary. Two ratings were killed and one rating died of
wounds. Midshipman D.
Lacy RNR, and eighty eight ratings were missing. Lt D.D.
O'Sullivan MBE, was wounded. Cdr Mackenzie, Temporary
Surgeon Lt J.D. Kidd
MB, CHB RNVR, and four wounded ratings were rescued by an
MMS.
_____
Submarine
TRIUMPH
(Lt J.S. Huddart) failed to pick up a party of escapers
at Bireans in
the Adriatic. The submarine had departed Alexandria on
26 December and dropped a
party at Bireans on 30 December. Sometime between 30
December and 9 January,
she was lost. Lt Huddart, Temporary Lt E.A. Collins
RNVR, Lt R.W.D. Don DSC,
Lt M.C. Janvrin, Temporary Lt A.K. Peterkin RNR,
Midshipman G.D. Waterall,
Lt (E) G.M.D. Wright, and fifty five ratings were lost.
_____
Submarine
P.39
arrived at
Gibraltar after patrol in the
Mediterranean.
_____
Convoy
AT.15
departed
Alexandria,
escorted by destroyer
HEYTHROP, corvette PEONY, and two motor launches.
Destroyers HERO and ARROW
were sailed as a striking force. The convoy arrived at
Tobruk on the 12th.
Collier MAUSANG departed Tobruk for Benghazi, escorted
by destroyers KIMBERLEY and HOTSPUR. They arrived at
Benghazi on the 11th.
_____
An
aircraft of RAF 230 Squadron sank U.577 in 32-22N,
26-54E. There were no
survivors from the submarine. Recent reports indicate
the submarine attacked
was U.568 which sustained light damage.
Submarine
U.577
was damaged on the 11th by a Swordfish of 815 Squadron
in 32-50N,
24-10E. The submarine was then sunk by another Swordfish
of the 815 Squadron
on the 14th in 32-40N, 25-48E.
_____
Convoy SC.64 departed Sydney, CB, escorted by corvettes
LOUISBURG
and SUDBURY and minesweeprs MALPEQUE,
MINAS, NIPIGON, and THUNDER. Destroyer OTTAWA and
corvette SHERBROOKE joined on the 12th.
Minesweeper NIPIGON was detached on the 12th, MINAS and
THUNDER on the 13th,
MALPEQUE and SUDBURY
on the 14th, and LOUISBURG on the 15th.Corvettes BARRIE,
BUCTOUCHE, HEPATICA, and
MOOSE JAW joined on the 15th. Corvette BARRIE was
detached on the 19th and
destroyer OTTAWA
and corvettes BUCTOUCHE,
HEPATICA, SHERBROOKE,
and MOOSE JAW on the 20th.
Destroyer SABRE and corvettes ARABIS, DAHLIA, MONKSHOOD,
and SNOWFLAKE joined
on the 20th. The convoy arrived at
Liverpool
on the 23rd.
_____
Convoy ST.12X departed
Freetown,
escotted by corvettes FREESIA,
FRITILLARY, and NIGELLA. The convoy arrived at Takoradi
on the 14th.
_____
Auxiliary
minelayer
KUNG WO laid mines completing the minefields defending
the
approaches to
Singapore.
_____
Minelayer
TEVIOT
BANK departed
Batavia
for Trincomalee, escorted
through the Sunda
Strait
by destroyers VAMPIRE,
JUPITER, and ENCOUNTER.
_____
Japanese
submarine
I.58 sank Dutch steamer CAMPHUIJS (2380grt) in 4-40S,
111-47E. The
survivors were rescued by naval seaplane and brought to
Surabaya.
_____
Dutch
steamer
BENKOELN (1103grt) was sunk by Japanese submarine I.65
in 4-50S,
112-20E. American destroyer PAUL JONES picked up 101
survivors from rafts.
I.65 also set a tanker afire after torpedo and gun
attack in the Java Sea, but the tanker was able to
escape.
Saturday,
10
January
Heavy
cruiser
NORFOLK
arrived at Hvalfjord from
patrol in the Denmark Strait.
_____
Destroyers
FORESIGHT,
BEDOUIN, ESKIMO, INTREPID, and CHIDDINGFOLD departed
Scapa Flow at 1415 to search for a submarine
reported in position nine miles 240° from Fair Island.
The search was unsuccessful
and the destroyers arrived back at
Scapa Flow
at 0300/11th
_____
Destroyer
MIDDLETON
departed the
Tyne for
Scapa Flow, via Methil, to work up with the Home Fleet.
_____
Armed
merchant
cruiser
CITY OF DURBAN arrived at Scapa Flow with convoy EN 93
from
Methil.
_____
Convoy
OG.78
departed
Liverpool escorted by sloop PELICAN, corvettes GARDENIA,
MARIGOLD, PENTSTEMON, RHODODENDRON, SAMPHIRE, and VETCH,
and anti-submarine
trawlers LEYLAND and LORD NUFFIELD. On the 23rd,
destroyers LAFOREY, CROOME,
and EXMOOR,
which departed Gibraltar on the 22nd as a strike
force, and VIDETTE and WISHART joined the convoy, which
arrived at Gibraltar on the 24th.
_____
Steamer
BORDERDENE
(122grt) was sunk on a mine three to four miles SW of
Brean Down.
The crew of four were all missing.
_____
U.584
sank
Soviet submarine M.175 in 70-09N, 32-50E.
_____
German
steamer
ELISE SCHULTE (4613grt) was stranded and lost near
Tromso.
_____
Destroyer
LEGION
and Dutch destroyer ISAAC SWEERS attacked U.374 damaging
the
submarine. Unable to submerge, U.374 was sunk by
submarine UNBEATEN on the
12th in 37-50N, 16-00E. Forty two crew were killed and
one taken prisoner by
UNBEATEN.
_____
Destroyer
FORTUNE
departed
Gibraltar escorting tanker LEIF ERICKSSON. The destroyer would
then join arriving tanker SLEMDAL for inward escort.
_____
Cruiser
minelayer
WELSHMAN arrived at
Gibraltar
from the UK, and departed Gibraltar the next day for
Freetown.
_____
Submarine
TURBULENT,
which departed Holy Loch on the 3rd, arrived at
Gibraltar from the UK.
_____
Submarine
THRASHER
sank Italian steamer FEDORA (5016grt) 35 miles 132° from
Cape Dukato in 38-59N, 19-59E. The
steamer had departed
Brindisi
on the 9th for Patrasso,
escorted by armed merchant cruiser BRINDISI.
_____
Destroyers
FARNDALE
and AVONVALE departed Tobruk with convoy TA.10 of tanker
TONELINE in
the tow of tug ST MONANCE.
_____
Destroyers
GURKHA
and ISAAC SWEERS departed Alexandria to escort steamer
EASTERN PRINCE,
carrying boom gear for transshipment to Turkey, from
Port Said to Beirut. The
destroyers arrived back at Alexandria on the 13th.
_____
Armed
merchant
cruiser QUEEN OF
BERMUDA, departing
Halifax,
ran aground. She was
refloated the next day, but found to have extensive
damage, and repaired in
the United States.
_____
Australian
heavy
cruiser
CANBERRA
departed Sydney with convoy MS.2 (troopship AQUITANIA)
for Ratai Bay in the Sunda Straits,
arriving on the 20th.
The
troops were transferred to Dutch steamers BOTH
(2601grt), REAEL (2561grt),
REIJNST (2462grt), SLOET VAN
DER
BEELE (2977grt), TAISHAN
(3174grt), TAISHAN (3174grt), VAN DER LIJN (2464grt),
and VAN
SWOLL (2147grt) and departed as convoy MS.2A on the
21st, escorted by
CANBERRA, Dutch light cruiser JAVA, British destroyers
THANET and VAMPIRE,
and Indian sloop JUMNA.
Light
cruiser
DRAGON, destroyer EXPRESS, American destroyers BARKER
and STEWART,
Dutch destroyers VAN NES and EVERTSEN, and American
patrol vessel ISABEL
provided a covering force.
CANBERRA
was detached on the 23rd.
She arrived at
Batavia
and departed on the
24th,arriving at Fremantle on the 29th. The convoy and
remaining escorts
arrived at Singapore
on the 24th.
_____
Submarine
depot
ship LUCIA arrived at Colombo.
_____
Panamanian
steamer
DAYLITE (1976grt) was sunk on a mine in Manila Bay laid
by Japanese submarine
I.124 on 8 December.
_____
Steamer
BAYNAIN
(659grt), which had departed Tarakan on the 10th for
Surabaya, was captured by a Japanese
submarine chaser near Tarakan. She was renamed HEINAN
MARU for Japanese use.
_____
Steamers
YEUN
SANG (3229grt), HOSANG (5698grt), and TAI
SANG
(3555grt) had departed Calcutta as convoy SS.1 on the
10th.
YEUN SANG and HOSANG joined convoy BM.10 on 22 and 20 January,
respectively. TAI
SANG was lost on a mine near
Singapore
on the 24th.
Sunday,
11
January
The
Flag of Vice Admiral, Second in Command, Home Fleet, was
transferred from
heavy cruiser KENT to battlecruiser RENOWN.
_____
Light
cruisers
NIGERIA
(CS 10) and KENYA departed Scapa Flow for patrol in the
Faroes
Iceland Passage. On the 12th, the cruisers were ordered
to return to Scapa Flow, arriving on the 13th.
_____
Destroyer
MIDDLETON
departed Rosyth at 0400 for Scapa Flow to carry out
practices after
commissioning. The destroyer arrived at 1500 that day.
_____
Submarine
STURGEON
arrived at
Murmansk
from Scapa Flow.
_____
Submarine
TEMPEST,
which departed Holy Loch on the 3rd, arrived at
Gibraltar.
_____
Submarine
PORPOISE,
which had departed Alexandria on the 2nd and Haifa on
the 6th, laid a minefield
off Suda
Bay
on the 11th. German
auxiliary minesweeper IV II (identity according to
official history) was sunk
on this minefield on the 15th.
_____
Steamer
DERWENTDALE
arrived at
Alexandria,
escorted by destroyers
KELVIN and KINGSTON.
The steamer was carrying
fifteen MLCs (mechanised landing craft; later in the war
these craft were
known as LCMs).
_____
Steamer
CITY OF PITTSBURG (7377grt) ran
aground in the
Great
Pass at Alexandria. Corvettes DELPHINIUM and
PRIMULA also ran aground, but were got off with only
slight damage. However,
the steamer's back was broken and she was lost.
_____
Convoy
AT.16
departed
Alexandria
for Tobruk escorted by
destroyers ERIDGE and FARNDALE and corvette PEONY.
Destroyers GRIFFIN and HASTY sailed as a
striking force. ERIDGE and FARNDALE were recalled to
Alexandria on the 11th.
The
convoy arrived at Tobruk on the 14th. The escorts turned
back for Alexandria with empty storeships. At
dark, the destroyers were detached to Alexandria,
leaving corvette PEONY to
escort the convoy.
_____
Japanese
submarine
I.6 damaged American aircraft carrier SARATOGA 500 miles
SW of Oahu. She
had departed Pearl
Harbour
on 31 December with heavy
cruisers ASTORIA,
MINNEAPOLIS and destroyers SELFRIDGE,
HENLEY, HELM, BAGLEY, MUGFORD, and PATTERSON of
Destroyer Squadron 4. Six
enlisted men were killed. Destroyers BENHAM and ELLET of
Destroyer Squadron 6
joined the damaged aircraft carrier on the 12th.
_____
American
army
transport
LIBERTY
(6211grt), en route from Australia to the Philippines,
was torpedoed ten miles
southwest of Lombok
Strait
by Japanese submarine I.66.
There were no casualties and the crew was rescued by a
Dutch flying boat.
American destroyer PAUL JONES and the Dutch VAN GHENT
took the ship in tow
and beached her at the southeast corner of Bali, but she
capsized on the
14th and was a total loss.
_____
Australian
minesweepers
TOOWOOMBA, BALLARAT, and WOOLLONGONG at Darwin were
ordered to Batavia.
_____
Steamer
WULIN
(2515grt) was sunk by Japanese bombing in the Muar
River, Johore State. She was later salved and
renamed UNRYU MARU for Japanese use.
Monday,
12
January
Heavy
cruiser
NORFOLK
departed Hvalfjord for Scapa Flow. On the 13th, outside
Hvalfjord, she reported serious damage to her A turret
and forecastle in
heavy seas and five casualties. The ship was considered
unseaworthy if the
weather deteriorated and returned to Hvalfjord, arriving
on the 13th.
_____
Convoy
WS.15
sailed from Liverpool on the 10th and the Clyde on the
11th, forming up
off Oversay on the 12th with steamers AAGTEKERK, ARAWA,
AUTOLYCUS, BRITANNIC,
CHRISTIAAN HUYGENS, DORSET, ELISABETH BAKKE, EMPIRE
WOODLARK, HMNS COLOMBIA,
LACONIA, LETITIA, LLANGIBBY CASTLE, MELBOURNE STAR,
ORONTES, OTRANTO, PARDO,
PASTEUR, PORT CHALMERS, STAFFORDSHIRE, STIRLING CASTLE, STRATHMORE
(Commodore), STRATHNAVER (Vice Commodore), and VICEROY
OF INDIA.
The
A/S escort force was made up of destroyers VANOC and
WALKER 12 to 15 January,
VANQUISHER, VOLUNTEER and WITHERINGTON 12 to 17 January,
ANTHONY 17 to 18
January when she arrived at
Gibraltar, GARLANDandNORMAN 17 to 25 January, VANSITTART
and VIMY 21 to 25 January.
Ocean
escort
was also provided by the armed merchant cruisers ASCANIA
and CHESHIRE,
Dutch AA cruiser HEEMSKERK and the destroyer BOREAS from
12 to 25 January,
while battleship RESOLUTION joined on 17 to 25 January.
The convoy arrived at
Freetown 25 January.
The
first casualty for some time in WS convoys, and the
first due to submarine
attack, took place on 16 January when LLANGIBBY CASTLE
was hit right aft by a
torpedo from U.402. She retired damaged to Ponta
Delgada. On 2 February, the troopship
departed Horta with destroyers CROOME, EXMOOR, and
WESTCOTT and tug THAMES. They were joined by
destroyers LAFOREY and BLANKNEY, which departed
Gibraltar on 4 February, and corvette
PENTSTEMON, returning from escort duty.
Destroyers
LIGHTNING
and
WHITEHALL
departed Gibraltar on 7 February, WISHART and
VIDETTE from convoy OG.79 were ordered to join on 7
February. Destroyer
WESTCOTT arrived at
Gibraltar on 7 February. Destroyer WIVERN and the 37th
Escort Group, just arriving with convoy OG.79, of sloops
BLACK SWAN and FOWEY
and corvettes BLUEBELL, CAMPION, CARNATION, LA MALOUINE,
MALLOW, MYOSOTIS,
and STONECROP departed Gibraltar on 8 February.
All
ships arrived safely on 8 February.The troopship was
later sent on to the UK for repairs.
The
troops in liner
LLANGIBBY
CASTLE departed Gibraltar on 10 February to return to
England in troopships BATORY, ROYAL
SCOTSMAN, ROYAL ULSTERMAN, and ULSTER MONARCH, escorted
by destroyers
WISHART, WIVERN,
WHITEHALL,
and VIDETTE. Troopship
ROYAL SCOTSMAN returned with defects on 10 February.
A
number of the warships listed as ocean escort were in
fact on passage to the
Indian Ocean for duty; also included was the Turkish
destroyer DEMIR HISAR,
recently completed in Britain. She was temporarily
commissioned with a
British crew for the delivery passage and operated as
part of the escort.
The
convoy sailed from Freetown 29 January with its
formation unchanged, escorted
by battleship RESOLUTION, armed merchant cruiser
CHESHIRE and destroyer DEMIR
HISAR for Capetown off which port it arrived 9 February
when DORSET,
ELISABETH BAKKE, LACONIA, ORONTES and PASTEUR plus the
Dutch submarine
depotship COLOMBIA were detached to enter Capetown under
escort of
RESOLUTION, arriving 10 February while the remainder of
the convoy went on to
Durban, arriving 13 February, accompanied by armed
merchant cruisers
DUNNOTTAR CASTLE, WORCESTERSHIRE and sloop MILFORD.
The
five Capetown ships (ELISABETH BAKKE remained at
Capetown) sailed 14 February
escorted by armed merchant cruiser CHESHIRE and made
their rendezvous
with the Durban
contingent (less ARAWA and
LETITIA) off that port on 17 February.
The
escort from Durban
consisted of cruiser CERES
and destroyer NORMAN with the CHESHIRE from Capetown.
During
the
northward passage, a three part division of the convoy
took place:
Convoy
WS
15 A was formed with
DORSET,
LACONIA,
MELBOURNE STAR, ORONTES, OTRANTO, PASTEUR and
VICEROY OF INDIA detached 26 February escorted to the
vicinity of Aden by cruisers CERES and COLOMBO,
dispersing off Aden 1 March to proceed
independently to
Suez.
Convoy
WS.15
B was formed with BRITANNIC, STIRLING CASTLE and
STRATHMORE detached on
26 February and proceeded to Bombay escorted by armed
merchant
cruiser WORCESTERSHIRE which was joined on 28 February
by the CORFU until 2 March, the convoy
arriving at Bombay
4 March.
The
remaining ships formed the third reinforcement convoy
for Singapore under the title DM.3,
composed of the ships AAGTEKERK, AUTOLYCUS, CHRISTIAAN
HUYGENS, COLOMBIA, EMPIRE WOODLARK, PARDO, PORT
CHALMERS, STAFFORDSHIRE, and
STRATHNAVER (Commodore) and formed on 22 February. The
convoy was escorted by
battleship RAMILLIES and destroyer NORMAN, both of which
joined 22 February.
Singapore
surrendered while the
Capetown ships were on their way to Durban; the orders
for the convoy
were therefore amended prior to the Durban sailing to
proceed to Batavia to bolster the Allied
garrison of the
East Indies islands. Even this intention was overtaken by
theJapanese advance, and the convoy was again diverted
to
Colombo.
The
escort left the convoy to fuel at Addu Atoll on 28
February and rejoined 29
February, on which day armed merchant cruiser CORFU also
joined the escort.
Orders
were
again changed on 2 March,
CORFU to detach at once with convoy DM.3B with
AAGTEKERK, CHRISTIAAN HUYGENS, EMPIRE WOODLARK,
PORT
CHALMERS and STRATHANAVER to
proceed to Bombay,
arriving there 6 March.
RAMILLIES and NORMAN took the remaining ships of DM 3,
of which STAFFORDSHIRE
now became Commodore, to
Colombo
where they arrived 4 March.
Dutch light cruiser HEEMSKERK arrived at Colombo on 6
March.
_____
Convoy ON.56 departed
Liverpool,
escorted by destroyer
CALDWELL and corvettes FENNEL, GENTIAN, HONEYSUCKLE,
LOOSTRIFE, and THYME.
The convoy was dispersed on the 16th.
_____
Steamer
QUICKSTEP
(2722grt) was sunk on a mine in 51-46N, 1-26E. There
were sixteen
crew rescued of a crew of twenty eight.
_____
U.123
sank
steamer CYCLOPS (9076grt) in 41-51N, 63-48W. Forty crew,
46 passengers, and
one gunner was lost in the steamer.
_____
U.43
sank Swedish steamer YNGAREN (5246grt), a straggler from
convoy HX.168, in
57N, 26W. A British trawler picked up two survivors on
11 February. The other
38 crew and passengers were lost.
_____
Submarine
UTMOST
arrived at
Gibraltar from
Malta.
_____
Anti-submarine
trawler
STELLA CARINA departed
Gibraltar
to meet tanker SAN ADOLFO for inward escort.
Destroyer FORTUNE was directed on the 15th to provide
additional escort. The
tanker arrived on the 19th, escorted by corvette
SPIRAEA. STELLA CARINA
arrived the same day with tanker SLEMDAL.
_____
Steamer
DERWENTDALE
(8393grt), carrying fifteen MLCs (LCMs), departed
Alexandria for Benghazi, escorted by destroyers
FARNDALE, DULVERTON, and ERIDGE and escort vessel
MALINES. She was attacked by German
bombers on the 14th and 15th, but safely arrived at
Benghazi on the 15th. After
disembarking the MLCs, she departed to return.The
steamer was attacked, again
unsuccessfully on the 16th. She was ordered to Port
Said, escorted by DULVERTON and MALINES, arriving on the
18th.
FARNDALE and ERIDGE were ordered to Alexandria on the
17th, arriving that
day.
_____
Near
Tobruk, U.77 damaged destroyer KIMBERLEY, which had
escorted collier
MAUSANG to Benghazi
and was returning with
destroyer HOTSPUR conducting an anti-submarine sweep. Lt
A.B. Henley,
Midshipman C.A.L. Davis, and one rating were killed and
two ratings were
wounded. The destroyer, whose stern was blown off, was
taken in tow by
destroyer HEYTHROP and screened by destroyers ARROW,
HERO, and HOTSPUR.
ARROW
was
near missed by a submarine torpedo off Mersa Matruh at
1540/13th and
ARROW and HERO were detached to hunt the submarine.
HOTSPUR was detached to Alexandria.
The
tow was taken over on the 13th by tug BRIGAND, and
KIMBERLEY arrived at Alexandria on the 14th with HERO,
ARROW, and HEYTHROP.
On
25 February, KIMBERLEY
left Alexandria in tow for Aden, arriving on 13 March.
She
was taken on to
Bombay
for repairs completing in
January 1944.
_____
Light
cruiser
DESPATCH refuelled at Talara. She departed the next day
to resume
patrol in the Galapagos area.
_____
Light
cruiser
DURBAN
and destroyers JUPITER and
STRONGHOLD departed Singapore carrying a party of naval
ratings and Army personnel. JUPITER was recalled to
Palembang where six tankers had been
attacked by Japanese aircraft. Two tankers were badly
damaged. JUPITER
escorted the remaining tankers to Batavia.
_____
Destroyer
TENEDOS
and base ship ANKING departed Singapore escorting
Norwegian steamer HAI HING (2561grt) and the
British KLANG (1451grt), carrying RAF personnel and
stores, for Batavia. They arrived on the 14th.
_____
Dutch
steamer
TOBOALI (984grt) was sunk by Japanese bombing at Bagan
Siapi, south
of Sineboi. She was raised and repaired by the Japanese
as AKI MARU.
Tuesday,
13
January
Destroyer
FORESIGHT
departed
Scapa Flow at 0800 for Scrabster to embark Rear Admiral
Bonham-Carter and transfer him to light cruiser
EDINBURGH at
Scapa
Flow. FORESIGHT departed Scapa Flow at 1400 for the
Humber to refit, but she was in
collision with anti-submarine trawler PRESTON NORTH END
that evening. She
suffered only minor damage and was able to proceed,
arriving at 1600/14th.
The trawler proceeded to
Aberdeen.
_____
The
Flag of Rear Admiral S.S. Bonham-Carter CB, CVO, DSO, as
Rear Admiral
Commanding, Eighteenth Cruiser Squadron, was hoisted in
light cruiser
EDINBURGH. Bonham-Carter replaced Rear Admiral E.N.
Syfret, who had been
named Flag Officer, Force H. On the 14th, the flag was
transferred to light
cruiser SHEFFIELD.
_____
Destroyer
LANCASTER
departed
Scapa Flow at 1700 for Loch Alsh on the completion of
docking and repairs, and arrived at Loch Alsh at
0930/14th.
_____
Destroyer
LUDLOW arrived at
Scapa Flow
at 1330 from Liverpool to work up.
_____
Convoy
QP.5
of British steamers
SAN
AMBROSIO (7410grt), EULIMA
(6207grt) and the Soviet ARCOS (2343grt) and DEKABRIST
(7363grt), with heavy
cruiser CUMBERLAND and destroyers TARTAR and ICARUS as
ocean escort, departed
Kola Inlet at 1600.
CUMBERLAND
detached on the 16th, and
the convoy dispersed on the 19th.
_____
Minesweepers
LEDA,
SPEEDY, and SEAGULL arrived at Scapa Flow at 1000 on
return from
escort duty with convoy QP.4.
_____
Convoy ON.57 departed
Liverpool.
The convoy was joined on
the 18th by destroyer CHELSEA and corvettes ARBUTUS,
CAMELLIA, COLUMBINE,
EGLANTINE, MIGNONETTE, PIMPERNEL, and SNOWDROP.
Corvettes ACONIT and KENOGAMI
joined on the 20th. The original escort, less MIGNONETTE
and SNOWDROP, were
detached on the 22nd. ACONIT and KENOGAMI were detached
on the 23rd and
MIGNONETTE and SNOWDROP detached on the 24th. American
destroyers BAINBRIDGE,
DICKERSON,and WOOLSEY joined on the 24th, BROOME on the
25th, and TRUXTON on
the 30th. The convoy dispersed on 7 February.
_____
Steamer
LERWICK
(5626grt) was sunk by German bombing in 54-26N, 0-24W.
Five crew were
missing.
_____
Steamer
EMPIRE
MASEFIELD (7023grt) was damaged by German bombing in
54-22N, 0-19W.
She went ashore on the north bank of River Tees when
putting in Middlesbrough, and was refloated on the
15th.
_____
U.130
sank
Norwegian steamer FRISCO (1582grt) and Panamanian
steamer FRIAR ROCK (5347grt) in 44-50N, 60-20W
and 45-30N, 60-40W, respectively. There were only six
survivors of a crew of
nineteen in steamer FRISCO. Seven survivors were picked
up from the
Panamanian steamer, but one later died.
_____
After
an
enemy convoy was reported steering northward near
Pantelleria, destroyers
ZULU, LIVELY, LANCE, and JAGUAR departed Malta to attack
in conjunction
with an attack by Swordfish of the 830 Squadron. No
contact was made and the
destroyers arrived back at Malta at daylight on the
14th. The
convoy was Italian steamers MONGINEVRO and MONVISTO,
escorted by torpedo
boats CASTORE and PROCIONE, which had departed Tripoli
at 1630/13th.
_____
Escort
aircraft
carrier ARCHER, which had departed Norfolk, Virginia, on
the 12th, was in a
collision with American steamer BRAZO in 32-54N, 74-14W.
American Coast Guard
cutter TALLAPOOSA took the carrier in tow and
proceeded to Charleston,
South Carolina,
where repairs were made.
_____
Destroyers
HARVESTER,
HIGHLANDER, and LIGHTNING departed Bermuda for St Johns,
NF, arriving on the 16th.
_____
Convoy HX.170 departed
Halifax,
escorted by destroyer ST LAURENT, corvettes RIMOUSKI,
WEYBURN and minesweepers
CLAYOQUOT and QUINTE. These were detached on the 16th,
when relieved by
destroyers EDISON, ELLIS, GREER,
HAMILTON,
NIBLACK, OVERTON, and
TARBELL. Destroyers ELLIS and GREER were detached the
next day and TARBELL on
the 22nd. The remainder of the American escort was
detached on the 24th, when
relieved by destroyers BROKE, CHELSEA and corvettes
ARBUTUS,
CAMELLIA, COLUMBINE, and PIMPERNEL. The corvettes were
detached on the 27th
and the destroyers on the 28th. The convoy arrived at
Liverpool on the 28th.
_____
Convoy
DM.1
(WS.12ZM) of steamers NARKUNA, AORANGI, SUSSEX,
ABBEKERK, and MOUNT VERNON departed Durban escorted by
light cruiser
EMERALD.
A
rendezvous was made at the fuelling stop at Addu Atoll.
The convoy departed
Addu on the 5th escorted by heavy cruiser EXETER, light
cruiser EMERALD, and
sloop JUMNA. Light cruiser DURBAN joined from 9 January.
Dutch
cruiser DE RUYTER was present on the 10th for a routing
conference and again
11to 12 January with light cruiser TROMP and Dutch
destroyers BANCKERT and
PIET HEIN. British destroyers ENCOUNTER, JUPITER and
VAMPIRE joined 10
January.
Minesweepers
BURNIE
and GOULBOURN operated in the Banka Strait prior to the
convoy's
passage on the 12th.
EXETER,
DURBAN, EMERALD, destroyers ENCOUNTER
and VAMPIRE, sloop
JUMNA, and minesweepers BURNIE and GOULBURN with
convoy DM.1 arrived at
Singapore
on the 13th.
Convoy
DM.1
carried troops, anti-aircraft units, and 51 crated
Hurricanes of 17,
135, 136, and 232 Squadrons.
At
Singapore,
EXETER took aboard the surviving
Walrus from battlecruiser REPULSE and its pilot Petty
Officer Airman W.J.
Crozer with Lt (A) B.J. Longman and Leading Airman
Goodridge from SULTAN.
_____
Convoy
CM.25
of troopships
MAURETANIA,
ILE
DE FRANCE, ATHLONE CASTLE, BRATHHALLAN, REINA DEL
PACIFICO, and DURBAN CASTLE departed Durban, escorted by
heavy cruiser
DORSETSHIRE. Troopship ORCADES departed Capetown and
joined at sea.
On
the 21st, cruiser DORSETSHIRE proceeded ahead of the
convoy to refuel at Aden and rejoined the Bombay portion
of the convoy,
CM.25B, which had been escorted in the interim by sloop
SHOREHAM.
Convoy
CM.25A
of MAURETANIA,
ILE
DE
FRANCE,
and ORCADES arrived at Aden on the 22nd. CM.25B of
ATHLONE CASTLE, STRATHALLAN, REINA DEL PACIFICO, and
DURBAN CASTLE arrived at Bombay on the 26th.
_____
Dutch
tanker
GADILA (7999grt) was damaged by Japanese bombing off
Peak Island. She departed Singapore on 2 February and
arrived at
Melbourne on 10 March for repairs.
_____
Japanese
submarine
I.56 damaged Dutch steamer PATRAS (2065grt) southwest of
Bali at 8-52S, 114-44E.
Wednesday,
14
January
Heavy
cruiser
NORFOLK
departed Hvalfjord for Scapa Flow, arriving on the 16th.
_____
Heavy
cruiser
SUFFOLK
departed the Tyne for Scapa Flow on completion of
repairs to
her propeller shafts, and arrived on the 15th.
_____
Heavy
cruiser
KENT departed Hvalfjord for patrol in the
Denmark
Strait.
_____
Armed
merchant
cruisers
CITY OF DURBAN and CAPE SABLE, escorted by escort
destroyer CALPE, departed
Scapa Flow at 1430 for Operation EM. Both arrived at
Sullom Voe on the 15th. The two armed merchant cruisers
were to operate in
the Inner Leads, but the operation was finally cancelled
on the 30th after
several post ponements.
_____
German
steamer
TURKHEIM (1878grt) was sunk by Soviet submarine S.102
off Syltefjord.
Escorting anti-submarine vessels UJ.1205, UJ.1403, and
Vp.5903 attack the
submarine without result.
_____
S/Lt
D.G. Tompkins, flying a Master of RAF No.1 Flying
Training School at
Netheravon, was killed when his aircraft crashed at
Shrewton.
_____
In
attacks on convoy ON 55, U.43 sank Greek steamer MARO
(3838grt), which was
straggling behind the convoy, British steamer EMPIRE
SURF (6641grt) in
58-42N, 19-16W, and Panamanian steamer CHEPO (5582grt)
in 58-30N, 19-40W.
There were no survivors from the Greek ship. Thirty
eight crew and nine
gunners were lost in EMPIRE SURF, with six crew rescued.
Seventeen crew in
CHEPO were lost and 21 survivors rescued.
_____
Tug
MERCIA
(94grt) was sunk on a mine
in 51-31-21N, 2-46-44W. The barge being towed was
undamaged. There were no
survivors from the tug.
_____
U.123
sank
Panamanian motor tanker NORNESS (9577grt) in 40-28N,
70-50W. One crewman
was missing, six survivors were rescued by US Coast
Guard cutter ARGO and 24
by American destroyer ELLYSON.
_____
Light
cruiser
HERMIONE arrived at
Gibraltar from
Plymouth,
carrying Rear Admiral E.N.
Syfret, Flag Officer, Force H. Syfret raised his flag in
battleship MALAYA.
_____
Submarine
P.38
arrived at
Gibraltar from
Portsmouth,
after departing on the 5th.
_____
Corvettes
AZALEA
and SPIRAEA departed
Gibraltar escorting tanker LA CARRIERE, en route to
New
York.
_____
Convoy
AT.17
departed
Alexandria
for Benghazi, escorted by escort
destroyer AVONVALE, escort ship ANTWERP, anti-submarine
trawler
SOUTHERN MAID, and anti-submarine whaler SOIKA. No
destroyers were available
for a striking force. The convoy arrived on the 16th.
_____
Destroyers
THANET
and EXPRESS departed Singapore for Batavia.
