10 OCTOBER 1941
Known Reinforcements
Neutral
Accentor Class Coastal MSW USS ADVANCE (AMc-63)
[NO IMAGE FOUND]
Allied
Indomitable Class CV HMS INDOMITABLE (CV-92)
"Typical day at the office" - 12 August 1942: INDOMITABLE on fire after being bombed. CLA CHARYBDIS is screening the carrier
Fairmile B ML 342
[NO IMAGE FOUND]
MMS I Class coastal MSW MMS-53 (J-553)
[NO IMAGE FOUND]
Project 7 Class DD VMF RETIVIY
This is an Anshan class DD, one of the Project 7 or 7U DDs passed to the PRC after the war. The torpedo tubes have been replaced with antiship missiles. The ship next to it where you can see the bow is a Luda class, which is heavily based on the Kotlin and Neustrashimmy class
Losses
Steamer NAILSEA MANOR (UK 4926 grt) was sunk after being torpedoed by U-126. The ship was loaded with a cargo military stores, including mail, ammunition and an LCT as deck cargo. She was a straggler from Convoy OS-7 on passage from Newport to Suez, via Belfast and Freetown. She had a crew of 42, all were to survive the attack. The details of the attack are that at 0543 hrs the vessel was was hit on the port side by one torpedo from U-126 and started to list to starboard. The deck cargo was hanging over the port side and a fire broke out in the shelter deck, where the mail was stowed. The crew, aware of the cargo of ammunition abandoned ship quickly before she sank northeast of the Cape Verde Islands. The master, 35 crew members, five gunners (the ship was armed with one 4in and one 12pdr gun and two Hotchkiss and four Lewis machine guns) and one passenger (a Petty Officer in charge of the landing craft) were picked up by Corvette VIOLET, transferred to the British MV CITY OF HONG KONG when they rejoined the convoy later that day and landed at Freetown on 14 October.
The NAILSEA MANOR had been a straggler since 1 October together with the GERRY BRYN and HAZELSIDE when they had encountered bad weather west of Cape Blanco and started to have troubles with their deck cargoes. After the cargo was secured and the weather became better, the ships continued at 10 knots, accompanied by the corvette, which stayed with the ships since they dropped out of the convoy.
The
landing craft LCT 102 (RN 450 grt) stored in four sections on deck was lost with the vessel.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]
Steamer KYMA (Gk 3959 grt) was sunk after striking a mine. On the 11/10/1941 the Greek cargo steamer KYMA was on passage from Montreal to Hull, with a cargo of Grain, 6000 tons & Vehicles, (lorries & trucks) 90 tons, when she struck a mine and sank 1.5 miles, 60 degrees from Humber Light Float in 7 fathoms. The entire crew was rescued.
UBOATS
At Sea 10 October 1941
U-66, U-67, U-68, U-71, U-75, U-79, U-83, U-94, U-97, U-103, U-107, U-108, U-109, U-125, U-126, U-132, U-204, U-206, U-208, U-331, U-371, U-372, U-374, U-431, U-502, U-553, U-559, , U-562, U-563, U-564, U-565, U-568, U-573, U-576
33 Boats
OPERATIONS
North Sea
Sloop LOWESTOFT departed Harwich for Scapa Flow at noon to work up after repairs. The sloop arrived at Scapa Flow just past midday on the 12th.
Northern Patrol
The Forces that had participated in Operation EJ returned to Scapa Flow on the 10th, with DD PUNJABI arriving independently.
CA SHROPSHIRE was detached from convoy QP.1 for Scapa Flow, where she arrived at just after midnight on the 11th.
Faroes auxiliary fishing vessel FUGLOYGJIN was damaged by the LW at Klaksvig (Faeroes). The ship sank, but was later salved and returned to service.
Northern Waters
CLs KENYA and SHEFFIELD departed Scapa Flow for the Clyde where they arrived on the 11th.
West Coast
Convoy ON.25 departed Liverpool, escorted by DD DOUGLAS. The convoy was joined on the 11th by DDs SALADIN, SKATE, and VETERAN, corvettes ABELIA, and VERONICA, and ASW trawlers ST ZENO and VIZALMA. The trawlers were detached on the 13th and the corvettes on the 15th. The DDs 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, RCN DD OTTAWA joined. The convoy was dispersed on the 24th.
Med/Biscay
BBs BARHAM and VALIANT, CLs AJAX and HOBART, and DDs 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. DD JERVIS attacked a submarine contact at 0730 in 31-14N, 29-14E. The DD remained searching for 3 hrs before continuing. The Battle Fleet returned to Alexandria on the 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.
DDs HERO, NIZAM, and KIPLING departed Alexandria to join the battle fleet. DDs KANDAHAR, GRIFFIN, JUPITER, DECOY, AVONVALE, and ERIDGE were detached from the battle fleet at 1800 to sweep towards Bardia. The DDrs returned to Alexandria at midafternoon on the 11th after an unsuccessful search.
Steamer CITTA DI SIMI (FI 250 grt) was sunk by submarine THUNDERBOLT twelve miles from Cape Sidero, Crete.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]
Submarine TRUANT departed Gibraltar for Malta, arriving on the 16th
Nth Atlantic
Convoy HX.154 departed Halifax escorted by DD ANNAPOLIS and corvette AMHERST. The corvette was detached the next day. USN DDs CHARLES F. HUGHES, GLEAVES, LANSDALE, MADISON, and SIMPSON joined on the 12th. DD ANNAPOLIS was detached on the 13th. The USN group was relieved on the 19th by DDs DOUGLAS, SALADIN, SKATE, and VETERAN, corvettes ABELIA and VERONICA, and ASW trawlers ST ELSTAN and ST ZENO. DDs DOUGLAS and SKATE and the corvettes were detached on the 22nd. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on the 23rd.
USN CV YORKTOWN, BB NEW MEXICO, CA QUINCY, CL SAVANNAH, and DesDivs 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 ships suffered varying degrees of weather damage.
Central Atlantic
Ocean boarding vessel MARON departed Gibraltar for Western Patrol.
Malta
BRITISH PROPAGANDA CAMPAIGN
The following communications have been approved today by the British Underground Propaganda Committee for transmission via rumour networks, in a bid to undermine morale among Axis troops and civilians:
Italy for general Mediterranean distribution
A ship with 500 Italian soldiers on board sailed into Malta and surrendered. They have mutinied and killed their officers.
- During the last ten days seven [Axis] supply ships have put into Malta and surrendered. The British show special ignal lights for deserters, who are given the choice of going to India or England.
AIR RAIDS DAWN 10 OCTOBER TO DAWN 11 OCTOBER 1941
Weather Cooler with some rain.
1033-1052 hrs Air raid alert for two formations of six enemy fighters which cross the Island. 13 Hurricane fighters are scrambled but there are no engagements. Heavy anti-aircraft guns engage; no claims.
OPERATIONS REPORTS FRIDAY 10 OCTOBER 1941
AIR HQ Departures 2 Blenheim.
38 Squadron 6 Wellingtons attacked convoy.
69
Squadron 2 Marylands on special patrol. 1 Maryland on convoy search. Photoreconnaissance of Tripoli.
107 Squadron 2 Blenheims searched for missing Blenheim crews.
221 Squadron 2 Wellingtons searched for convoy.
830 Squadron Fleet Air Arm 7 Swordfish carried out two attacks on a convoy of 3 merchant ships, 1 tanker and 5 destroyers. The first lasted from 2208 to 2230 hrs during which the 3 merchant vessels were damaged, 2 seriously. The Swordfish returned to base and refuelled, then attacked the convoy again at 0440 hrs, at the end of which two merchant ships were sunk.