This Day in the War in Europe: The Beginning

[Old Wizard]

 

[Njaco]

December 3 Wednesday
ASIA: Operation Z: The Japanese carrier fleet tasked with the Pearl Harbor attack turned south after refueling on the previous day, approaching the Hawaii Islands with increased speed. Japanese Navy issued the order to its senior admirals that hostilities against United States, Britain, and the Netherlands would begin on 8 Dec 1941 (Tokyo time). Japanese military officials send the message "Climb Mount Niitaka" to Admiral Nagumo's carrier force, confirming that the operation is to proceed.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-124 sinks unarmed neutral American SS "Sagadahoc" despite the US flag visible on the side (1 killed). 34 survivors in 2 lifeboats are questioned by the Germans and rescued a week later by Allied merchant ships. SS "Sagadahoc" is the 4th and final American merchant ship sunk by U-boats prior to America joining the war.

EASTERN FRONT: German 4.Armee was halted at Naro-Fominsk west of Moscow, Russia, thus exposing the flank of the German 2.Panzerarmee, which was assaulting the Tula region south of Moscow. In two days of hard fighting, 4.Armee (Kluge) had suffered terrible losses. The most successful division, 258.Infanterie-Divisionen (Major General W. Hellmich), ground to a halt 30 km of Moscow. The Russians let the attacking panzers roll over their positions before emerging again. The lead attackers were surrounded. Kluged ordered his men back. 4. Panzergruppe (Hoepner) had also run out of steam. The German SS Das Reich Division was fighting for the small town of Lenino, 37 km north-west of Moscow. They had captured half the town by the afternoon when Hoepner called off the attack. The Siberian 32nd Rifle Brigade trapped some German tanks. The Siberians constructed a line of brushwood in front of their camouflaged positions then doused the brushwood with inflammables. The Russians lit the wood when the German tanks were across thus separating the tanks from their supporting infantry. The panzers were trapped in a small area in front of the defensive positions. The Russian artillery then opened up and destroyed the tanks. 15 Russian tanks surprised elements of 6.Panzerdivision, 3.Panzergruppe. The Germans were quartered in a village when the tanks emerged from a nearby forest and headed for the village. The surprised Germans ran for their lives. They lost 30 men (including the battalion commander) and abandoned all of their vehicles, artillery and supplies. 56. Infanterie-Divisionen (Major General K. von Schleinitz) were expecting the order to attack Krasnaya Polyana and the Moscow-Volga Canal. But with Russian infantry infiltrating the woods to their flank and increasing enemy air and tank attacks they were instead ordered to dig in. They lay mines and dug trenches – in the middle of a snow storm. The Russians noted the change of German tactics – fortifying the villages and patrolling the roads with armored vehicles. Guderian and others will blame von Kluge's defensive posture for the failure of Typhoon.

Soviet cruiser "Krasny Kavkaz" brings 1000 reinforcements to Sevastopol. Soviet warships bombard German positions in the Crimea.

GERMANY: Hitler issued a decree on "Simplification and Increased Efficiency in our Armaments Production" (commonly known as the "Rationalization Decree") in which he chided German firms for failing to adopt the practice of large factories and simple production methods, and ordered the military to simplify and standardize the design of all weapons to make possible "mass production on modern principles".

MEDITERRANEAN: Japan asked Italy to declare war on the United States should Japan and US enter a state of war.

"Scirè" departed La Spezia, Italy for Alexandria, Egypt with three manned torpedoes on board. U-558 damaged by Fleet Air Arm aircraft operating from Gibraltar.

In Albania, Italians sack Albanian puppet leaders and form new government led by Mustafa Merlika Kruja.

MIDDLE EAST: Stalin orders the reconstituted Polish army to Iran and Iraq with the intent of providing these former enemy troops to the British. Despite needing all the troops he could find, Stalin preferred to see the countrymen of a nation he stabbed in the back gone.

NORTH AFRICA: Operation Crusader: The Axis attempt to reach Bardia in Libya and Sollum and Halfaya Pass in Egypt failed to breach the Allied positions that stood in the way. Rommel's attempt to reach the garrisons is blocked by Allied infantry and artillery.

Hptm. Lippert, Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 27 who was shot down on the 23 November and injured, dies of his wounds in an RAF Egyptian hospital.

NORTH AMERICA: President Franklin Roosevelt announced that Lend-Lease aid would be given to Turkey, as the safety of that country was considered vital to American defense.

Roosevelt again meets with British Ambassador, Lord Halifax, and indicates the US would enter the war on the British side the British if they were attacked by Japan, but did not explicitly promise this.

NORTHERN EUROPE: The Soviet evacuation convoy that had departed Hanko, Finland on the previous day sailed into the Corbetha minefield in the Gulf of Finland. One minesweeper was sunk and several other vessels were damaged. The passengers and crew aboard troop ship "Iosif Stalin", which was seriously damaged by a mine, abandoned ship. About 4,000 of the nearly 6,000 that went overboard died in the water.

Finnish Submarine "Vetehinen" makes a surface attack on a 7-ship convoy shooting both bow and stern torpedoes. Enemy artillery fire was heavy, no hits on either side.

PACIFIC OCEAN: At Pearl Harbor, the American intelligence report on the location of Japanese Navy warships had "no information on submarines or carriers". Elsewhere in Hawaii, Consul-General Nagao Kita received orders to burn code ciphers and important papers. This was noticed by the Americans, who also received intelligence that several Japanese embassies around the world were doing the same.

US PBY Catalina patrol aircraft reported 30 Japanese transports congregating in Cam Ranh Bay off Indochina, 10 more than the previous day. Meanwhile, a Japanese fleet departed Hainan Island in southern China for Thailand. Japanese submarines began forming lines in Central and East Pacific.

British intelligence in Manila sends an urgent cable to British intelligence in Hawaii saying: "We have received considerable intelligence confirming following developments in Indo-China. A. 1. Accelerated Japanese preparations of air fields and railways. 2. Arrival since Nov. 10 of additional 100,000 repeat 100,000 troops and considerable quantities fighters, medium bombers, tanks and guns (75 mm). B. Estimate of specific quantities have already been telegraphed Washington Nov. 21 by American military intelligence here. C. Our considered opinion concludes that Japan envisages early hostilities with Britain and U.S. Japan does not repeat not intend to attack Russia at present but will act in South."

Carrier USS "Enterprise" began to launch F4F Wildcat fighters of the US Marine Corps for Wake Island.

US Navy yacht "Isabel" set sail for the coast of Indochina on Roosevelt's orders. She was planned to be one of three vessels that would attempt to draw first fire from Japanese warships should hostilities become unavoidable. Hart personally briefs Lieutenant John Walker Payne, Jr, Commander of the "Isabel" and assigns his ship to the "Defensive Information Patrol". Payne sails the same day.

American submarine USS "Argonaut" began a "simulated war patrol" off Midway.

Brereton returns and is instructed by MacArthur to plan on leaving on 8th December for another trip, this time a 5,733-mile journey to Djakarta, Singapore, Rangoon, and Chunking, to co-ordinate defensive measures with the Dutch, British, and Chinese, and to receive a report on Japanese air activities from Chennault.

The men of the 5th Air Base Group at Del Monte field, are joined by two ordnance companies and a second contingent is due on December 10th with ammunition and 110,000 US gallons (91,594 Imperial gallons or 416,395 litres) of aviation fuel.

WESTERN FRONT: In Switzerland, eggs and products based on eggs are rationed.

.

 

[Old Wizard]

 

[parsifal]

03 DECEMBER 1941
Known reinforcements
Allied
Dido Class CLA HMS CHARYBDIS (88)

Losses
U-124 sank steamer SAGADAHOC (US 6275 grt) in the Sth Atlantic whilst she was on passage from New York to Mombasa with a mixed cargo. 1 of the crew of 35 were lost in the attack. At 2147 hrs the neutral and unarmed SAGADAHOC was hit by two torpedoes from U-124 in the South Atlantic. The U-boat had chased the ship for 6 hrs and attacked at dusk because Mohr (the U-Boat skipper) found it suspect when they failed to set lights to illuminate the flag painted on the side, making it impossible to identify the nationality of the vessel in the dark. The torpedoes struck under the bridge and between the hatches #4 and #5 and caused a slight list as the ship settled. She sank by the stern after being hit in the engine room by a coup de grace at 2158 hrs.. Eight officers, 25 crewmen and one passenger abandoned ship in two lifeboats and were questioned by the Germans. The lifeboats later became separated and the men were rescued after six days (for one boat) and seven days (for the other).

When the U-boat passed the sinking position of this vessel two days later the Germans took aboard several barrels and cans of different mechanical oil and grease along with two tyres and two bouys.

Steamer MACLAREN (UK 2330 grt) was sunk on a mine in 51-21-21-N, 3-17-17W. Three crew were lost on the steamer.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

UBOATS
Arrivals
Lorient: U-563
Salamis: U-331

Departures
Brest: U-208
Kiel: U-566

At Sea 03 December 1941
U-43, U-67, U-68, U-69, U-79, U-81, U-96 U-105, U-124, U-126, U-127, U-129, U-130, U-131, U-134, U-201, U-205, U-208, U-332, U-372, U-375, U-402, U-431, U-434, U-451, U-453, U-557, U-558, U-562, U-565, U-574, U-575, U-584, U-652, U-752, UA

37 Boats

OPERATIONS
East Front
Arctic
The VMF Fleet submarine K-3 had missed with 4 torpedoes the German merchant ALTKIRCH and was then heavily attacked with depth charges by the German submarine-chasers UJ-1403, UJ-1416 and UJ-1708. The submarine touched the bottom and was damaged, being forced to the surface by the damage sustained. The Crew of the submarine prepared to make a last stand and faced in gunfire battle the three enemy ship. The K-3 opened fire with all the weaponry, and 39 shells of 100mm and 47 of45mmwere fired. Enemy SCs were only armed with20mmand 88mm guns and fired 60 shells (of the main 88mm guns) without scoring hits. UJ-1708 (DKM 470 grt) suffered a direct hit on the bow at the fifth salvo of the submarine and sunk. The other submarine chasers withdrew (some Soviet sources wrongly claim that also UJ-1403 was damaged). K-3 survived the battle and returned to port for repairs

VMF Fleet submarine K-3

Northern Waters
ML cruiser MANXMAN departed Loch Alsh and arrived at Scapa Flow that day. Sister ship WELSHMAN departed Scapa Flow for Loch Alsh and arrived that day

Convoy QP.3
The convoy was dispersed on 3 December at 0300 in 73-45N, 19-00E. The British ships proceeded to Seidisfjord. They were escorted from Seidisfjord to Kirkwall from 9 to 12 December by British trawlers MACBETH and HAMLET.

West Coast
Landing ship PRINCE CHARLES departed the Clyde for Scapa Flow, where she arrived on the 4th

Convoy ON.43
Convoy ON.43 departed Liverpool escorted by DD BROKE.

Western Approaches
Convoy SC.55
DD AMAZON was detached from the convoy escort on 3 December.

Convoy HX.161
On 3 December, USN DDs BERNADOU, LEA, MACLEISH, ROE, and WOOLSEY were relieved by DDs DOUGLAS, LEAMINGTON, and VETERAN

SW Approaches
Convoy OS.13
Sloop SCARBOROUGH was detached from the escort on 3 December

Med/Biscay
Submarine OLYMPUS departed Malta for Gibraltar with stores and personnel. The submarine arrived on the 10th.

Submarine UPHOLDER arrived at Malta from patrol off Colonne.

Nth Atlantic
Convoy HX.163
Convoy HX.163 departed Halifax, escorted by DD HAMILTON and corvettes KAMLOOPS and SASKATOON.

Pacific/Australia
CLs DANAE and DRAGON and DD STRONGHOLD arrived at Singapore to reinforce the Eastern Flt.

Malta
AIR RAIDS DAWN 3 DECEMBER TO DAWN 4 DECEMBER 1941
2110 hrs Air raid alarm. One unidentified enemy aircraft, probably Italian piloted German aircraft off its course crossed the coast near Delimara. No engagement took place as it was thought the aircraft might try and land but it receded north.

OPERATIONS REPORTS WEDNESDAY 3 DECEMBER 1941

ROYAL NAVYOlympus sailed for Gibraltar with stores and passengers. Upholder returned from patrol off Colonne, having unsuccessfully attacked returning cruisers and Mantovani.

HAL FAR: No enemy air activity – conditions bad.

LUQA: All operations cancelled (owing to bad weather).

 

[parsifal]

Halder's diary 03 December 1941

 

[markriese.creations]

December 12 Thursday
GERMANY: The plan for the Russian invasion is named 'Fritz' and given as Directive 21.

EASTERN EUROPE: Hungary and Yugoslavia signed the Treaty of Eternal Friendship.

NORTH AFRICA: British 7th Armored Brigade moved into the desert to outflank Italian forces at Sollum, Egypt and to cut the road to Bardia, Libya. Sollum is strategically important, having a small bay and jetty which will allow Royal Navy to bring supplies to O'Connor's forces. The port was subjected to carrier aircraft attack by HMS "Illustrious" bombing barges in the harbour. Still heavier attacks by combined forces of Blenheims and Wellingtons from Egypt were made on Benina and El Adem aerodromes, where concentrations of enemy aircraft were known to exist. Considerable damage was caused to hangars, administrative buildings, bomb and petrol dumps and aircraft on the ground. It is believed that at Castel Benito ( this place was dedicated to the name "Benito Mussolini"), alone thirty-five aircraft were destroyed or damaged. Repeated daylight attacks have also been made on other enemy aerodromes and landing grounds. Meanwhile, the first groups of Italian prisoners of war began to arrive by truck at the British headquarters at Mersa Matruh, Egypt and 650 are evacuated to Alexandria by destroyers HMS "Janus" and "Juno".

ATLANTIC OCEAN: 12 miles south of the tiny Scottish island of St.Kilda, Outer Hebrides, U-96 continues its attack on convoy HX-92 overnight. U-96 sinks Swedish MV "Stureholm" at 0156 hours (4 lifeboats launch but all 32 hands are lost) and Belgian SS "Macedonier" at 0431 hours (4 dead, 2 lifeboats are spotted by an aircraft leading to 37 survivors picked up by Icelandic ship "Súlan").

WESTERN FRONT: Philippe Pétain received an invitation from Adolf Hitler to attend the ceremony in which Napoleon II's remains were to be returned from Austria to the Les Invalides cemetery in Paris, France.

ASIA: Vichy-France established diplomatic relationship with the Japanese-sponsored puppet state of Manchukuo.

The German Ambassador in Tokyo Adm Wenneker hands over to Vice Adm Kondo, Vice Chairman of the Japanese Naval General Staff a copy of a British War Cabinet report that was captured on the freighter "Automedon". The report stated that Britain was not in a position to go to war against Japan for French Indochina or Siam. Only appeasement could be considered. The report also made it quite clear that no reinforcements could be spared from the European theater of war, that the RN could not produce a Far East fleet, and that Hong Kong, Malaya, Singapore, and the Dutch East Indies were all indefensible in the face of a Japanese attack. Hitler had also ordered a copy to be given to the Japanese naval attaché, Captain Yokoi. Yokoi sent his own shortened version to Tokyo enciphered as 97 – Shiki In-ji-ki san Gata (Coral to the Americans) which could not be read by the US Navy until the spring of 1943. By any standards, the incident remains one of the worst intelligence disasters in history. On several occasions Kondo told Wenneker how this particular document had enabled Japan to open hostilities against the US so successfully. Wenneker's diary recalls:

UNITED KINGDOM: British monitoring stations detected X Verfahren radio beams being laid across northern England, and suspected a German attack would take place on the city of Sheffield. In the evening, 13 He-111 bombers of Kampfgruppe 100 arrived over the Sheffield suburbs of Norton Lees and Gleadless at 1941 hours, dropping 16 SC50 high explosive bombs, 1,009 B1 E1 ZA incendiaries, and 10,080 B1 E1 incendiaries. Shortly after, three groups of German bombers, the main force, attacked. The first group consisted of 36 Ju 88 bombers and 29 He 111 bombers; the second group consisted of 23 Ju 88 bombers, 74 He 111 bombers, and 7 Do 17 bombers; the third group consisted of 63 Ju 88 bombers and 35 He 111 bombers. The 280 German aircraft heavily damaged the city center and residential districts through the night through 0400 hours on the next day. Although over 200 incidents were reported, the main Steel Valley largely escaped, and only four cases of substantial damage were reported. Many streets were blocked by debris and wrecked tramcars.

Lord Lothian, British Ambassador to USA, died aged 58.

.View attachment 307502

I have done a little correction to the name of Castel Benito (not Castel Beninto- as written in origin) because the place was dedicated to Benito (Mussolini). Thet's all.
Thanks. from Italy

 

[parsifal]

December 4 Thursday
ASIA: Operation Z: Japanese invasion fleets departed from various locations for their destinations in Malaya and Thailand. The Japanese 25th Army begins leaving Hainan Island in preparation for the invasion of Malaysia and Thailand. Under extremely poor weather and wave conditions, Nagumo's fleet manages to replenish its fuel stores. The replenishment ships head for the return leg rendezvous point and the carriers turn south for their final run to Hawaii. Nagumo is approx 600 miles from Hawaii and steaming east in heavy seas, about to make a turn to the southeast that will bring him to 200 miles from Oahu. He will do one more refueling from his remaining tanker, leave it behind, and then increase speed to 24 knots. Leading the way are a light cruiser followed in a fan by four destroyers. They have been given orders to sink any ship they see, merchant or otherwise. Following the destroyers three miles astern are three fast Battleships. Four miles to starboard and port of the battleships are the heavy cruisers "Chikuma" and "Tone" that are to play a key role in Midway a few months later. Three miles behind this formidable group in two parallel columns come the six carriers, with "Akagi" in the lead. Bringing up the rear are two destroyers.

EASTERN FRONT: On the Eastern Front, temperatures dropped to -31 degrees Fahrenheit (-37 degrees Celsius). In this cold weather, Günther von Kluge ordered German Army Group Center to fall back to defensive positions. The Russians defeated Guderian's last attempt to surround Tula. Guderian (2.Panzerarmee) and Heinrici (XLIII.Armeekorps) planned the attack on the afternoon of 4 Dec. Heinrici was to break through to join the Eberbach battle group on the highway north of Tula. Only a few kilometres separated to the wings of the German encirclement. However, on the night of 4 Dec temperatures dropped to -30 degrees and the defenders in Tula received reinforcements from the Strategic Reserve. Eberbach had less than 30 operating tanks and these were widely dispersed. The Russians brought up Siberians and a fresh tank brigade to face them – with 70 T-34s. The Germans could hear the engines of the enemy tanks less than 2 km away. The Germans expected to be overwhelmed if the Russians attacked. Regiment 17, 31.Infanterie-Divisionen (Major General G. Berthold), was the spearhead of Heinrici's attack. The men assembled at 2340 hours and, expecting heavy casualties, asked the Chaplain to accompany them to the front line. "The Die is Cast" is the phrase Heinrici used when, at 2300 hours, he and Guderian committed their troops to the final push to encircle Tula. Guderian's attempt to encircle Tula fails as Kampfguppe Eberbach (2.Panzerarmee) is dislodged from the Tula/Moscow rail line. Guderian too pulls back his forces around Tula which are exposed in forward positions they cannot hold.

At an event at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Joseph Stalin noted to Aleksandr Vasilevsky his surprise that Vasilevsky only had a single Order of the Red Star and a medal on Vasilevsky's uniform. The Soviet leader had expected the general to be better decorated.

Adolf Eichmann appointed Jacob Edelstein, originally from Prague, the chairperson of the Council of Jewish Elders of Theresienstadt Concentration Camp in occupied Czechoslovakia.

GERMANY: Hitler concedes that Rundstedt, previously relieved of command of Army Group South, was correct to withdraw from Rostov, and promises the field marshal a new position in the future.

MEDITERRANEAN: British submarine HMS "Perseus" sank Italian freighter "Eridano" 6 miles off Lefkada, Greece.

NORTH AFRICA: Operation Crusader: British send 4th Armoured Brigade East to counter Rommel's threat to Bardia and Sollum. This exposes 70th Division's 14th Infantry Brigade from Tobruk which is still holding Ed Duda ridge and they are duly attacked by Rommel although with no success. With Panzer divisions still repairing their tanks, Rommel realizes he cannot simultaneously prevent a Tobruk breakout and relieve the isolated garrisons, so he turns around the motorized infantry heading to Bardia, Sollum and Halfaya Pass and sends them back towards Tobruk.

NORTH AMERICA: Curtiss-Wright Corporation opened a new factory complex in Columbus, Ohio, United States.

The firefighting role of the Quartermaster Corps of the United States Army is transferred to the Corps of Engineers. The Engineers acquired fire stations staffed with professional civilian fire fighters and Army acquired fire apparatus as well as the Quartermaster Corps fire apparatus designers, fire apparatus in the procurement stage and the policies and procedures applicable to peacetime.

PACIFIC OCEAN: Carrier USS "Enterprise" completed launching F4F Wildcat fighters of the US Marine Corps for Wake Island and set sail for Hawaii Islands, scheduling to arrive on 6 Dec 1941. Later the 12 F4F-3 fighters of US Marine Fighter Squadron 211 arrived at Wake Island. They began daily patrols immediately. Meanwhile, Japanese aircraft scouted Wake Island undetected.

Later this day, American PBY Catalina patrol aircraft reported that the 30 Japanese transports detected on the previous day in Cam Ranh Bay off Indochina were no longer there.

American river gunboats "Luzon" and "Oahu", submarine rescue vessel "Pigeon", and minesweeper "Finch" reached Manila, Philippine Islands from China. American river gunboat "Mindanao" set sail from Hong Kong for Manila, Philippine Islands. American river gunboats "Wake" and "Tutuila" remained near Shanghai and Chongqing, respectively, to maintain communications with American diplomatic offices in China.

MacArthur orders Brereton to initiate air patrols to north of Luzon and to disperse aircraft. Brereton uses fighters for this mission. Patrols continue to December 8, 1941. Patrols spotted a formation of between nine and 27 bombers over Luzon after dark.

21st Pursuit Squadron at Nichols receives 24 P-40E's, turns its 17 P-35A's over to the 34th at Del Carmen. Del Monte Field sufficiently developed to be used by B-17's.

Intel in DC has been tracking a series of "winds" messages from Tokyo to embassies, and receive a winds message that they, correctly, believe to be the war warning to the embassy, known as the "winds execute message": "north wind clear". Hawaii is never informed. Kimmel, Navy Commander Hawaii, receives intel that the local Japanese consulate is destroying all but one code, and is burning documents, but fails to understand the significance of this. The head of RCA, Sarnoff, had agreed to provide the Navy in Hawaii with the coded messages tapped from local Japanese and from the Japanese Consulate phones and messages. Key intercepts were provided on December 3, 4. Rochefort put his best people on it, but couldn't finalize decoding until Dec 10, at which point they realized they had the key info forecasting the attack.

UNITED KINGDOM: Keith Park was made a companion of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath.

Parliament passes a new national Service Bill. It includes compulsory direction and conscription for female labour. Unmarried women are to be called up to serve in the police, fire services and armed services under rules announced by the prime minister. Those affected are aged between 20 and 30. Married as well as single women up to the age of 40 are to register as available labour which might be directed to industry. Mr Churchill describes the new arrangement as "another installment of toil and sweat". The age of call-up for men is down to 18 years and six months, while those aged between 41 and 50 are also liable for armed service. Boys and girls aged 16 must register their names as a first step toward uniform, and boys aged 16 are being encouraged to join the Home Guard as cadets. As Mr. Churchill sees it: "We must be careful that our boys do not run loose." Single women with illegitimate or adopted children, and other special hardship cases, are exempt. Female conscientious objectors can claim exemption even though women do not serve in most combat units. Among men, lay preachers and farm workers are among those whose "reserve occupations" keeps them out of uniform. Yet the potential pool of labour resulting from the new rules will contain nearly 1.7 million single women and 70,000 youths.

.

 

[parsifal]

04 DECEMBER 1941
Known Reinforcements
Axis
Type VIIc DKM U-599
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Allied
Flower Class Corvette HMCS LUNENBURG (K-151)

Bangor Class MSW HMCS MEDICINE HAT (J-256)

Bangor Class MSW HMCS MELVILLE (J-263)

Bangor Class MSW HMCS OUTARDE (J-161)

Fairmile B ML-299
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

UBOATS
Arrivals
Bergen: U-578
Kristiansand: U-566
Salamis: U-559

Departures
Salamis: U-371
St. Nazaire: U-568
Stavanger: U-654

At Sea 04 December 1941
U-43, U-67, U-68, U-69, U-79, U-81, U-96 U-105, U-124, U-126, U-127, U-129, U-130, U-131, U-134, U-201, U-205, U-208, U-332, U-372, U-375, U-402, U-431, U-434, U-451, U-453, U-557, U-558, U-562, U-565, U-568, U-574, U-575, U-584, U-652, U-752, UA

38 Boats

OPERATIONS
Baltic
Steamer EDITH FAULBAUM (Ger 1318 grt) was sunk on a mine off Warnermunde, near the mouth of the river Warnow. .[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Northern Waters
DDs ECLIPSE and FURY departed Scapa Flow for the Humber to refit at Hull and Immingham, respectively. The DDs arrived in the Humber on the 5th.

Western Approaches
Convoy SC.55
Corvette HEARTSEASE, trawlers AYRSHIRE and NOTTS COUNTY were detached on 4 December. ASW trawler ST CATHAN joined on 4 December

Convoy ON.41
DDs CALDWELL and VANOC and corvettes CALENDULA and ROSE were detached on 4 December when relieved by USN DDs BABBITT, LEARY, MAYO, NICHOLSON, and SCHENCK.

Convoy ON.43
Corvettes CAMELLIA and HIBISCUS joined on the 4th.

SW Approaches
DDs SIKH, ZULU, HIGHLANDER, and HESPERUS arrived at Gibraltar from Londonderry.

Med/Biscay
Submarine PERSEUS sank steamer ERIDANO (FI 3586 grt). On the 4th December 1941 she was torpedoed and sunk by the British submarine 6 miles 280° from Cape Dukato, Lefkada Island, Greece..
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

DDs JERVIS, HERO, and HAVOCK departed Alexandria to patrol off Derna. The DDs returned to Alexandria during the night of 5/6December.

Gunboat APHIS bombarded Derna - Tobruk road early on the 4th.

Submarine P.31 arrived at Malta from patrol off Colonne.

Convoy AT.2
Convoy AT.2 departed Alexandria for Tobruk. The slow section was two store ships and three LSTs, escorted by sloops YARRA and FLAMINGO and two ASW trawlers departing at 1600. The fast section was armed boarding vessel CHANTALA and steamer CRISTA and WOLBOROUGH, escorted by DDs HEYTHROP and AVONVALE and one ASW trawler departing a short time after the slow section. The convoys arrived at Tobruk on the 6th. The sloops proceeded to carry out an ASW sweep in the area.

Nth Atlantic
Convoy ON.39
The USN DDs were detached when the convoy was dispersed on 4 December.

Convoy ON.40
The convoy was dispersed on 4 December.

Convoy SC.56
Corvette ALYSSE was detached on 4 December,

Convoy SC.58
Convoy SC.58 departed Sydney, CB, escorted by corvettes DRUMHELLER, KAMSACK, SHAWNIGAN, and SUMMERSIDE and MSW THUNDER.

Central Atlantic
Convoy OS.12
Escort vessel GORLESTON joined the convoy on 4 December and was detached on 6 December.

Convoy ST.10
Convoy ST.10 departed Freetown, escorted by DD WILD SWAN, sloop BRIDGEWATER, and corvettes CLOVER, FREESIA, and NIGELLA. The convoy arrived at Takoradi on the 9th.

Red Sea/Indian Ocean
Steamer ELLENGA departed Singapore with one naval and one hundred and sixty three miltary personnel. She called at Penang where she embarked three RIN and ninety five military personnel. CL DANAE escorted the steamer to 81E. Steamer ELLENGA continued unescorted and arrived at Madras on the 14th.

Pacific/Australia
DD EXPRESS departed Singapore.

Eighteen Japanese transports departed Hainan with 26,640 troops for the Malaya landings. The transports were escorted by IJN DesFlot 3 led by CL SENDAI, DDs MURAKUMO, SHINONOME, SHIRAKUMO, and USUGUMO of DesDiv 12, ISONAMI, URANAMI, SHIKINAMI, and AYANAMI of DesDiv 19, , and AMAGIRI, ASAGIRI, and YUGIRI of DesDiv 20 formed the heavily escorted invasion convoy .

CA CHOKAI (Ozawa) with DD SAGIRI of the balance of Desdiv 20 accompanied the convoy.

A covering force of CAs KUMANO, MIKUMA, MOGAMI, and SUZUYA and DDs FUBUKI, HATSUYUKI, and SHIRAYUKI of DesDiv 11 was provided distant heavy cover in the event that the convoy was threatened by RN heavy units.

Admiral Kondo was in command of the distant cover force for the Malayan - Luzon landings. His force departed the Pescadores with CAs ATAGO and TAKAO of the 1st Division of the 4th Cruiser Squadron, BBs HARUNA and KONGO of the 2nd Division of the 3rd Battleship Squadron, and DDs ARASHI, HAGIKAZE, MAIKAZE, and NOWAKE of DesDiv 4, IKAZUCHI and INAZUMA of the 2nd Group of DesDiv 6, and ASASHIO, OSHIO, MICHISHIO, and ARASHIO of DesDiv 8.

convoy 4001
The convoy arrived at Manila on 4 December and CL BOISE was ordered to join the Asiatic Fleet.

Malta
AIR RAIDS DAWN 4 DECEMBER TO DAWN 5 DECEMBER 1941
1345 hrs Air raid alarm. Caused by return of Blenheim.

OPERATIONS REPORTS THURSDAY 4 DECEMBER 1941

ROYAL NAVY P31 [submarine HMS Uproar] returned from patrol off Colonne, having most probably sunk a cruiser.

LUQA One Blenheim 107 Squadron SF 2B patrol. One Blenheim 107 Squadron SF11 patrol. Four Blenheims 107 Squadron attacked marshalling yards at Messina. Sergeant Kidby failed to return. One Beaufighter BF/Flt attacked motor transport on road east of Sirte. One Maryland 69 Squadron SF1 patrol. One Maryland 69 Squadron SF6 patrol. One Maryland 69 Squadron SF 9 patrol.

TA QALI Acting Wing Commander Powell-Shedden appointed officer commanding Ta Qali. Malta Night Fighter Unit – No 1435 Night Fighter Flight – formed as separate entity under Squadron Leader I B Westmacott. Establishment awaited. All night operations cancelled – bad weather conditions – no flying.

Operation Crusader
Between 4 and 6 Dec, fighting took place across the front without decisive outcomes. The Allied reserves began to be committed as attrition began to take a toll, but the Allied leadership saw the situation as favorable to them.

 

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Halder's diary 04 December 1941

 

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December 5 Friday
ASIA: Operation Z: Japanese invasion fleet boarded a Norwegian freighter and destroyed her radio. Japanese submarines surrounded Hawaii Islands. Japan announced that recent troop movements in Indochina were merely precautionary.

18 Japanese troop transports escorted by 2 cruisers and 12 destroyers leave Japanese-occupied Hainan Island, China (at the head of the South China Sea). They are carrying 26,640 troops for landings in Malaya. Seven transports depart Saigon carrying 143rd Infantry Regiment of Japanese 56th Division, joining with main body which has previously departed Hainan Island.

The E15K floatplane took its maiden flight. The Kawanishi E15K Shiun was a single-engined Japanese reconnaissance floatplane. The Allied reporting name for the type was "Norm" after Squadron Leader Norman O. Clappison of the RAAF, a member of the Allied Technical Air Intelligence Unit (ATAIU).

"Irako" was commissioned into Japanese Navy service with Captain Eisaku Tsuji in command. She departed Kobe, Japan.

EASTERN FRONT: The Germans canceled Operation Typhoon during which the lowest temperature dropped to -36 degrees Fahrenheit (-38 degrees Celsius). Hitler called an end to the winter offensive against Moscow and orders some "limited" withdrawals. North and west of the Soviet capital the German spearheads had got to within a few miles of the outskirts of the city. On the northern wing of Army Group Centre, 9.Armee held a 105-mile arc through Kalinin to the Moscow Sea. The divisions of 3.Panzergruppe, which were to have outflanked Moscow in the north, had advanced as far as Dmitrov on the Moskva-Volga Canal. Farther south were the most forward units of XLI.Armeekorps (mot.), poised to cross the canal north of Lobnya. The combat group Westhoven of 1.Panzerdivision, having captured Nikolskoye and Belyy Rast, had reached the western edge of Kusayevo. Adjoining on the right, 4.Panzergruppe held a quadrant around Moscow, from Krasnaya Polyana to Zvenigorod; the distance to the Kremlin was nowhere more than 25 miles. The combat outposts of 2.Panzerdivision were at the first stop of the Moscow tramway. An assault detachment of Engineers Battalion 62 from Wittenberg had got closest to Stalin's lair by penetrating into the suburb of Khimki, only 5 miles from the outskirts of the city and 10 from the Kremlin. On the southern wing of Hoepner's 4.Panzergruppe, reading from left to right, were 106th and 35th Infantry Divisions, 11.Panzerdivision and 5.Panzerdivision, as well as the SS-Infanterie-Division (mot.)"Das Reich,"and 252nd, 87th, 78th, 267th, 197th, and 7th Infantry Divisions. Next followed the divisions of Kluge's 4.Armee. They were 30 miles from Moscow, along a line running from north to south, between the Moscow motor highway and the Oka. Next along the front came Guderian's 2.Panzerarmee. It had bypassed the stubbornly defended town of Tula and was holding a big eastward bulge around Stalinogorsk. Its armoured spearhead, the 17.Panzerdivision, pointing northward against the Oka, stood before Kashira. On the extreme right wing the 2.Armee was covering the southern flank and maintaining the link with Army Group South. This then was the 600-mile front line along which the German offensive had come to a standstill at the beginning of December – in the most literal sense frozen into inactivity. Men, beasts, engines, and weapons were in the icy grip of 45 and even 50 degrees below zero Centigrade. In the diary of a man of 69th Rifle Regiment, 10.Panzerdivision:

"We are waging the winter war as if this was one of our Black Forest winters back home."

Despite this, German Regiment 17, 31.Infanterie-Divisionen, went in at 0100 hours under a bright moon. German artillery fire was sporadic and the cold froze the machine guns. None the less the first German battalion advanced into the Russian held village of Ketri. The Russians then surrounded the first battalion in the village and beat back the second battalion as it tried to relieve the first. As the Russians wiped out the Germans in the village, the Germans outside spent the night lying in the snow. Most of those Germans that survived got severe frostbite. With nothing achieved and Regiment 17 decimated the attack was called off in the morning. Meanwhile, Soviet General Zhukov launched an offensive against German forces northwest of Moscow at 0300 hours. Konev's Kalinin front opened the offensive attacking the northern edge of the Klin bulge. Guderian's front, the area from the southern bank of the Oka via Tula to Stalinogorsk, became the second focus of the Soviet counter-offensive. The Soviet High Command employed three Armies and a Guards Cavalry Corps in a two-pronged operation designed to encircle Guderian's much feared striking divisions and annihilate them. Red Army has reinforced 3 Fronts (Kalinin Front under Konev, Western Front under Zhukov, Southwestern Front under Timoshenko) with newly-raised "shock" divisions as well as veteran troops moved from Central Asia and Far East, to push the Germans back from Moscow. The two wings of Guderian's Panzer Army, which were to have enveloped the Soviet capital from the south, stood with 17.Panzerdivision before Kashira, about 37 miles north of Tula, with 10.Infanterie-Division (mot.) (Lieutenant General F-W von Loeper) at Mikhaylov, and with 29.Infanterie-Division (mot.) (Major General W. von Boltenstern) north-west of Mikhaylov. The Soviet 50th Army formed the right jaw of the pincers, and their 10th Army the left jaw. It was a good plan. But Guderian's strategic perception was even better. The temperature fluctuated between 0° C and -40° C. In the grey dawn, the initial Russian artillery bombardment made the relieved pickets of 87.Infanterie-Divisionen (Lieutenant General B. von Studnitz) run for cover. By the Yakhroma, Soviet regiments were already charging the forward lines of 36.Infanterie-Division (mot.) (Lieutenant General Otto Ottenbacher) and next to it, 14.Infanterie-Divisionen (mot.) (Lieutenant General F. Fuerst) between Rogachevo and the southern edge of the Volga reservoir. A Soviet ski battalion broke through in the sector of 36.Infanterie-Division (mot.) and thrust towards the West. The Russians were imitating German Blitzkrieg tactics. Guderian's attempt to achieve a link-up north of Tula between 4.Panzerdivision and 31.Infanterie-Divisionen, with a view to encircling the town finally, had failed. As a result, the 2.Panzerarmee was tied down in heavy defensive fighting. During the night preceding the Soviet offensive, Guderian therefore ordered the withdrawal of his exhausted forward formations to the Don-Shat-Upa line. This movement was in progress when the Russians charged against LIII.Armeekorps and XLVII.Armeekorps (mot.) at Mikhaylov. They encountered only the rearguards, which offered delaying resistance and covered the withdrawal already in full swing. The attackers advanced about 3 km / day for the next four days. The fighting was very serious and resistance stiff. Some headway was made and casualties on both sides were high. Although Zhukov ordered them to maneuver and infiltrate between prepared German positions, too many conducted costly frontal attacks.

German forces still hold Tikhvin 110 miles East of Leningrad (the main railhead for supplies to come by ship across Lake Ladoga) despite continuous attacks since November 12. German defenses start to wither, become isolated and are only able to be resupplied by air. General Meretskov launched a final assault on the German positions in Tikhvin.

GERMANY: Joachim von Ribbentrop gave Japanese ambassador Hiroshi Oshima a draft document which noted that Germany would declare war on the United States should Japan and the US enter a state of war.

MEDITERRANEAN: The German Fliegerkorps II and Luftflotte 2 are ordered, by Hitler, from the Eastern Front to the Mediterranean Sea region. The goal is to disrupt the attacks from Malta against the Axis supply convoys for North Africa.

Warned of impending German attack on his headquarters, Mihailovic disperses Cetnik forces and withdraws to Ravna Gora.

NORTH AFRICA: Operation Crusader: Rommel continues to confound the British with his unorthodox thrusts and parries. British 4th Armoured Brigade remained in the Libyan-Egyptian border region despite observing the withdrawing of Axis troops, unsure of Erwin Rommel's intentions. Meanwhile, Afrika Korps gets 49 tanks back in action, sending them at dusk to raid 11th Indian Brigade fighting Italian troops near the Tobruk breakout. On the same day, Rommel was advised that supply situation would turn badly soon, and he considered withdrawing to the Gazala Line. Rommel orders the evacuation of the eastern part of the Tobruk perimeter in order to attack the British forces at Bir El Gobi. The attack fails to dislodge the British defenders.

Australian pilot Clive Caldwell, in a Tomahawk fighter, shot down five Stuka dive bombers in Libya. Hans-Joachim Marseille of JG 27 shot down a British Hurricane fighter while escorting Ju 87 Stuka dive bombers south of Bir el Gubi Libya at 1525 hours. It was his 26th kill.

NORTH AMERICA: A political storm erupts in the United States when the Washington Times-Herald, New York Daily News, and the Chicago Tribune publish details of plans for mobilization for total war against German and Japan. It was later discovered that the plans were leaked by a Captain in the War Plans Division. The Captain passed the plan to Senator Burton Wheeler (D-Montana), who in turn gave the report to the article's author Chesley Manly. The Germans gleefully turned the intelligence bonanza over to General Jodl, Hitler's operations chief, to make necessary adjustments to their plans. The official word to reporters from the Whitehouse was "Your right to print the news is, I think, unchallenged and unquestioned. It depends entirely on the decision of the publisher and editor whether publication is patriotic or treasonable."

Knox advises cabinet meeting that the Japanese fleet was at sea. He suggested they were heading south, but Roosevelt suggested that they might be headed north. The reference is presumably to the strike force directed against the Philippines and Malaya, as the Pearl Harbor strike force was under radio silence.

NORTHERN EUROPE: The Germans captured the damaged and abandoned troop ship "Iosif Stalin" near the Estonian coast with 2,000 survivors still on board.

PACIFIC OCEAN: USS "Arizona" arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii and was moored at Ford Island. USS "Astoria" departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii to join Task Force 12. USS "Lexington" departed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Islands to ferry US Marine Corps SB2U Vindicator dive bombers to Midway Atoll, leaving no carriers at Pearl Harbor.

Japanese aircraft conducted reconnaissance flights over the coasts of Luzon, Philippine Islands. Radar at Iba picks up contact fifty miles off shore after evening dusk and patrol of P-40's is vectored in to discover a flight of Zero fighters, which turn north when they spot the American aircraft. During the late afternoon, MacArthur, through Sutherland, directs that FEAF aircraft encountering unknown aircraft in international airspace are to act defensively but, if such are encountered within Philippine airspace, they are to be attacked and shot down.

US Navy officials order all stations in Tokyo, Bangkok, Peking, Tiensin, Shanghai, Guam and Wake to destroy all codebooks and secret files.

The Australian government cancelled all army leave as the prospect of war with Japan grows more likely. Japanese convoys are on the move in Asia, and the only question now seems to be where, not whether, they will strike. Allied forces have been brought to the first degree of readiness. Australian service chiefs have been summoned and the Australian war cabinet has issued orders for emergency measures in the Pacific. However, Australia has the bulk of its army strength - three divisions - in North Africa and the Middle East. So far there is no question of their return, as the war cabinet does not believe that there is an immediate threat to Australia. Meanwhile, John Curtin, the Australian prime minister, is anxiously following the efforts of the United States to negotiate with the Japanese and thereby avert an extension of the European war to the Pacific. The government here wonders whether, if negotiations fail, the United States will take the lead in armed defence against Japanese aggression. Despite the links with Britain and the British base at Singapore, it is the Americans that are seen as potentially the major Allied power in the Pacific.

Visit by Admiral Sir Tom Phillips, commander of the British Far East Squadron. Phillips met with MacArthur and Hart at Cavite. Phillips requests assignment of two destroyer divisions to operate with HMS "Repulse" and HMS "Renown". Hart demurs. Hart receives message from Captain John Creighton, USN, his liaison officer in Singapore, that the British had been informed by the US government that the US would enter the war on the British side if one of several possibilities occurred. Hart requested further information from the Navy Department.

"Isabel" reaches Camranh Bay, is discovered by Japanese patrol aircraft, and is ordered by Hart to return to Manila.

UNITED KINGDOM: Britain declared war on Finland, Hungary and Romania.

WESTERN FRONT: A suspected German Würzburg radar facility was detected at Bruneval in northern France.

German Major Friese is wounded by two pistol shots from a cyclist on the Left Bank, a fusillade of shots at Germans at the Porte d'Issy and a bomb explosion in Boulevard Blanqui. For the Germans this means not sitting in the cafes' glass terraces, for Parisians it means body searches, queues and the continual demand for papiers. On the Boulevard Malsherbes there is an attempted assassination of an MSR leader.

.

 

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05 DECEMBER 1941
Known Reinforcements
Axis
Type IXc DKM U-175

Neutral
Benson Class DD USS EMMONS (DD-457)

Allied
Dido Class CLA HMS CLEOPATRA (33)

Kiwi Class ASW Trawler HMNZS TUI (T-234)

UBOATS
Arrivals
St. Nazaire: U-71

At Sea 05 December 1941
U-43, U-67, U-68, U-69, U-79, U-81, U-96 U-105, U-124, U-126, U-127, U-129, U-130, U-131, U-134, U-201, U-205, U-208, U-332, U-372, U-375, U-402, U-431, U-434, U-451, U-453, U-557, U-558, U-562, U-565, U-568, U-574, U-575, U-584, U-652, U-752, UA

38 Boats

OPERATIONS
East Front
Arctic
Convoy PQ.5
MSWs BRAMBLE and SEAGULL departed Murmansk on 5 December and joined the convoy on 7 December. They escorted the convoy with MSW SHARPSHOOTER to its arrival at Archangel on 13 December.

Submarine SEALION sank steamer ISLAND (Ex-Nor 638 grt) in off northern Norway.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Northern Waters
DD WHEATLAND departed Scapa Flow for Scrabster to embark six Army officers and twenty four other ranks and returned to Scapa Flow later the same day.

DD CHIDDINGFOLD joined the Orkneys and Shetlands command on completion of her work up.

Submarine P.37 departed Scapa Flow for patrol and operation KITBAG.

(On 9 December 1941 detachments from No. 6 and No. 12 Commandos, and some Norwegians, took part in a raid on the town of Flore in Northern Norway. Embarking on LST PRINCE CHARLES, they set out from Scapa. During the voyage an incident occurred while some of the men were priming grenades for the raid which resulted in six men being killed and another 11 seriously wounded. Nevertheless the decision was made to continue with the raid. In the end, however, due to navigational difficulties the operation was eventually called off when the naval commander was unable to locate the fjord upon which Florø was located).

West Coast
Convoy SC.55
The convoy and its remaining escort arrived with the convoy at Liverpool on 5 December.

Convoy SC.56
DD RESTIGOUCHE and corvettes AGASSIZ, AMHERST, CHICOUTIMMI, MORDEN, and ORILLIA were detached on the on 5 December.

Sloop COMMANDANT DETROYAT joined on 5 December and DDs BEAGLE and MONTGOMERY, corvettes HEATHER, LOBELIA, and NARCISSUS,

Western Approaches
Convoy HX.161
DD LEAMINGTON and corvettes ANEMONE and THYME were detached on 5 December.

Convoy ON.41
Corvette HONEYSUCKLE was detached on 5 December

Convoy ON.43
DDs NEWPORT and VERITY and corvette ROSTHERN joined the convoy on the 5th.

Med/Biscay
Supply ship BRECONSHIRE with DDs KINGSTON and KIMBERLEY departed Malta for Alexandria. CLs AJAX and NEPTUNE and DD LIVELY departed Malta at 2000 to support the operation. DDs KINGSTON and KIMBERLEY took supply ship BRECONSHIRE on to Alexandria.

CLs AJAX and NEPTUNE and DD LIVELY met DDs JAGUAR and KANDAHAR, which departed Alexandria on the 6th, on the 7th. These ships all arrived at Malta on the 8th.

Supply ship BRECONSHIRE, CLs HOBART and GALATEA, CLA CARLISLE, and DDs GRIFFIN, HOTSPUR, KIMBERLEY, and KINGSTON arrived at Alexandria on the 8th.

Submarine THORN was in a collision with cable ship BULLFINCH in Alexandria Harbour. The submarine was under repair at Port Said from 7 to 16 December.

RHN DDs PANTHER and NIKI departed Alexandria to patrol off Sollum. After the patrol, the DDs returned to Mersa Matruh on the 6th. The DDs arrived back at Alexandria on the 9th.

Convoy TA.1 of steamers CHAKDINA and KIRKLAND departed Tobruk, escorted by DDs FARNDALE and ERIDGE, ASW whaler THORGRIM, and an ASW trawler. Three LSTs A lighters departed Tobruk for Mersa Matruh.

Armed boarding vessel CHAKDINA (RN 3033 grt) was torpedoed and sunk by RA a/c between Tobruk and Alexandria on 5 December 1941. The ship sailed from the harbour with 380 wounded soldiers on board including 97 New Zealanders. Some officers and medical personnel were also accompanying the wounded. The ship was heading for Baggush, the H/Q of the 2nd N.Z. Division. At 9 o´clock in the morning RA a/c dropped torpedoes, one of which struck the ship in the after hold. It took only three minutes for the CHAKDINA to sink giving the wounded little chance to escape. Casualties were heavy. DD FARNDALE and ASW whaler THORGRIM rescued about two hundred survivors. There were about three hundred British wounded and one hundred prisoners of war on the vessel when it sank. Eighteen New Zealanders (of the 97 embarked) were picked up from the water. All the medical staff, except one, were saved. The FARNDALE reached Alexandria two days later and the survivors admitted to the No. 3 New Zealand General Hospital.

Submarine TALISMAN unsuccessfully attacked a submarine in the Kithera Channel.

U.81 attacked a tanker, escorted by a DD, near Tobruk. The submarine claimed hitting both ships.

Nth Atlantic
Convoy HX.163
The local escort, DD HAMILTON and corvettes KAMLOOPS and SASKATOON, were relieved on the 5th by USN DDs BENSON, EDISON, HILARY P. JONES, NIBLACK, and TARBETLL.

Central Atlantic
Troopship RANGITATA departed Gibraltar for Freetown escorted by DDs HURWORTH, VIDETTE, which was detached to refuel at Bathurst, and HIGHLANDER, which was detached at dusk on the 6th. Destroyer VIDETTE arrived back at Gibraltar on the 18th.

Dutch submarine O.21 departed Gibraltar for the United Kingdom.

Dutch submarine O.21 departed Gibraltar for the UK, escorted by DD BRADFORD. The DD was later detached and refuelled at Ponta Delgada prior to joining monitors ROBERTS and EREBUS and corvette FRITILLARY, en route from the UK to Freetown.

Corvette SPIRAEA departed Gibraltar to meet DD STANLEY, escorting steamer CLAN MCINNES, formerly in convoy SL.94, and escort them to Gibraltar, arriving on the 12th.

Sth Atlantic
Convoy WS.12Z
Corvettes ASTER and MARGUERITE escorted the convoy from 15 December to 18 December, when the convoy arrived at Durban.

Red Sea/Indian Ocean
Convoy BA.10
Convoy BA.10 departed Bombay, escorted by BB REVENGE. The convoy arrived at Aden on the 10th.

Pacific/Australia
On the 5th, the IJN Malayan invasion fleet was joined by MSWs W.1, W.5, and W.6, a submarine chaser division, ML HATSUTAKA, and two transports from Poulo Condore Island. Also on the 5th, minesweepers W.2, W.3, and W.4 joined the Malayan invasion forces, putting out from Camranh Bay.

BC REPULSE and RAN DD VAMPIRE and RN DD TENEDOS departed Singapore for Darwin. The BC was also escorted by DDs JUPITER and ELECTRA at the start. The BC and DDs were recalled the next day.

USN CV LEXINGTON, CAs ASTORIA, CHICAGO, and PORTLAND, and DDs PORTER, FLUSSER, DRAYTON, LAMSON, and MAHAN departed Pearl Harbour to fly off Marine aircraft of VMSB 231 to Midway. USN CA INDIANAPOLIS departed Pearl Harbour with this group and was detached for exercises off Johnson Island. The planes were not flown off and the force returned to Pearl Harbour.

Norwegian steamer HALLDOR was en route from Bangkok to Hong Kong. She was intercepted by IJN DD URANAMI 75 miles east of Saigon. The steamer was boarded and her wireless equipment was disabled. The Norwegian ship was then allowed to continue, but shortly after her arrival at Hong Kong, she was seized by Japanese forces.

Malta
AIR RAIDS DAWN 5 DECEMBER TO DAWN 6 DECEMBER 1941

2145-2229 hrs Air raid alarm. One enemy aircraft dropped bombs in sea.

2201-0533 hours Air raid alarm. Bombs dropped Luqa, Hal Far, Ta Qali and other areas.

0550-0652 hrs Air raid alarm.

OPERATIONS REPORTS FRIDAY 5 DECEMBER 1941

ROYAL NAVY Eddy detonated a "Red" mine in position 045 degrees St. Elmo 3/4′. Breconshire,escorted by Kingston and Kimberley, sailed for Alexandria at 1700. Ajax, Neptune and Lively sailed on operations at 2000.

AIR HQ From Gibraltar: 18 Blenheims, 7 Beaufighters, 3 Beauforts.

LUQA 69 Squadron One Maryland SF1 patrol. One Maryland SF 9 patrol; one Maryland SF 6 patrol. 18 Squadron Two Blenheims SF 2B patrol. Photo-reconnaissance Unit 2 on recce Comiso and Gela. One Maryland on photo-reconnaissance Augusta and Crotone. One Maryland photo-reconnaissance Lybian aerodromes.107 Squadron One Blenheim SF 11 patrol.

Two Beaufighters BF/Flight patrol over Pantelleria for protection of aircraft arriving from Gibraltar. One Wellington S/D Flight special shipping search. Ten Wellingtons 40 Squadron and ten Wellingtons 104 Squadron attacked Royal Arsenal at Naples. P/O Hutt [40 Squadron] failed to return.

 

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Halder's Diary 05 December 1941

 

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December 6 Saturday
ASIA: Japanese forces leave Palau bound for the attack on the Philippines. "Ryujo" departed Palau Islands for the Philippine Islands. "Nachi" departed Palau Islands. Destroyer "Yukikaze" departed the Palau Islands. Repair ship "Akashi" arrived at Palau Islands.

IJN invasion forces sighted and reported by RAF aircraft east of Kota Bharu, Malaya. Upon notification that Japanese troop convoys are at sea, Admiral Phillips returns to Singapore from his consultations.

38th Infantry Division of Japanese 23rd Army, having moved from Canton area, begins assembling in secret along Hong Kong border overnight.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Destroyer US "Decatur", escorting convoy ONS 39, depth charged suspicious contacts in the North Atlantic off Iceland.

EASTERN FRONT: Soviet troops launched a counteroffensive in the Moscow region in Russia at 0600 hours. Zhukov orders the right flank of the West Front to attack 3.Panzergruppe and 4.Panzergruppe in the Klin area. Reinhardt's 3.Panzergruppe Panzers are on the Moskva/Volga canal near Yakhroma and Soviet 1st Shock Army fixes these with a frontal assault, while Soviet 30th Army (3 rifle divisions and 56 light tanks) crushes the 60 km left flank held by only 2 German infantry divisions. At midday, Reinhardt orders a withdrawal to Klin while Heinz Guderian's 2.Panzerarmee held the areas near Tula south of Moscow. A gap has opened between Guderian and von Kluge's 4.Armee which General Zhukov is trying to exploit. Soviet 10th Army attacks Heinz Guderian's 2.Panzerarmee. Further South, Soviet 3rd and 13th Armies (Southwestern Front) attack German 2.Army, threatening to outflank 2.Panzerarmee. General Zhukov is in overall command of the effort which includes the North-West Front, the Kalinin Front, the West Front and the South-West Front and 20 Armies. Fresh troops and tanks have been added to the Soviet Kalinin, West and Southwest Fronts. Planned by and under the command of Zhukov, the Soviets intend to cut through the panzer wings of Army Group Center and then to isolate and destroy it. The attacks are making progress as the Germans, battered and exhausted give ground. Field Marshal Fedor von Bock had not yet realized that he was now facing an all-out Soviet counteroffensive.

The log road between Zabor'ye and Lake Ladoga near Leningrad, Russia was completed. Thousands of civilians, pressed into service as forced laborers, had died during the construction of this road in the past month. This opened another way to bring supplies into the besieged city.

Soviet submarine ShCh-204 was sunk by Bulgarian aircraft in the Black Sea 24 miles south of Varna, Bulgaria.

GERMANY: Japanese Foreign Minister Shigenori Togo ordered Ambassador Hiroshi Oshima to continue to press Germany to formally agree to declare war on the United States should Japan and US enter a state of war. Oshima was also ordered to avoid any German demands on a Japanese-Soviet war.

MEDITERRANEAN: The British submarine HMS "Perseus" is sunk by a mine while recharging her batteries on the surface 2 miles off Kefalonia, Greece. One survivor escapes from a depth of 170 feet and swims ten miles to shore. The loss of the RN submarine, HMS "Perseus" on an unknown date in very late December 1941, attributed to contact with Royal Italian Naval forces, probably a submarine, was based on Mediterranean Fleet intelligence estimates. However, these estimates came into question in 1943 when the then 33 year old Leading Stoker John Capes showed up at Alexandria via the British consulate in Turkey, claiming to be a survivor of HMS "Perseus". He stated that the ship had been mined on the night of 6/7 December 1941, and that it sank in 170 feet of water with the stern section holding air. He had been in the Petty Officer Stokers mess with several others at the moment of the mining sharing a bottle of rum. He and three others made it into the stern section alive, sealed it off, and after coming to rest on the sea floor in pitch darkness, donned their DESA escape gear and commenced flooding the after spaces in preparation to making a free ascent escape. All four left the submarine, with Capes being last. Before departing, he polished off the remaining rum, and then left through the after escape hatch. He came to the surface alone and then was faced with swimming 7-9 miles to Keffalonia. He did so, met up with Greek partisans, and then spent 20 months with them before successfully reaching Turkey. The other three survivors of the mining did not make it to the surface alive, most probably due to a failure to exhale completely throughout the ascent, which was made, as it turned out, from 20 feet deeper than it was though possible. To say that Capes story was thought to been overly remarkable by many is an understatement. Many did not believe it, nor did they believe Capes was, in fact, himself, though those making those conclusions had to admit that, the crew list being classified, it was unlikely an imposter could have come up with the facts he had. None the less, his statements concerning the location of the sinking did not jive with Admiralty estimates, and many considered him a fraud to the day he died. However, in 1996, Greek divers located HMS "Perseus" on the ocean floor, exactly where Capes said it would be. It was in 170 feet of water, and the rear escape hatch was open. Upon looking into the open hatch, the divers clearly saw on the floor below the rum bottle emptied by Capes just before his departure. All of this was photographed. Though Capes had been dead for some 15 years when the sub was discovered, it can truly be said that he had the last laugh on those that doubted his story. It is probably the single most remarkable survival story to come out of WW II.

NORTH AFRICA: Operation Crusader: Germans abandon the 'Walter' and 'Freddie' strongpoints without a fight, but the 'Pavia' fights a brave delaying action on Point 157. Elements of German 15.Panzerdivision unsuccessfully attack British 22nd Guards Brigade. General Neumann-Silkow, commanding German 15.Panzerdivision, is mortally wounded. Hans-Joachim Marseille of JG 27 shot down two Hurricane fighters, his 27th and 28th kills, over El Adem, Libya at 1210 and 1225 hours.

NORTH AMERICA: As a last attempt to prevent the outbreak of hostilities, President Roosevelt sends a personal message to Emperor Hirohito of Japan. The note states, "Developments are occurring in the Pacific area which threaten to deprive each of our nations and all humanity of the beneficial influence of the long peace between our two countries. . . . During the past few weeks it has become clear to the world that Japanese military, naval, and air forces have been sent to Southern Indochina in such large numbers as to create a reasonable doubt on the part of other nations that this continuing concentration in Indochina is not defensive in its character. . . the people of the Philippines, of the hundreds of Islands of the East Indies, of Malaya, and of Thailand itself are asking themselves whether these forces of Japan are preparing or intending to make attack in one or more of these many directions. . . . It is clear that a continuance of such a situation is unthinkable." There is no Japanese reply. The Japanese leaders feel that involving the Emperor is wrong and are resentful of this effort. Later the first 13 parts of a 14 part Japanese message are transmitted. Unknown to the Japanese, US codebreakers will intercept and decode this message. US President Franklin Roosevelt reads the decoded version of 13 of 14 parts of the Japanese reply to the US final offer of peace terms. Roosevelt says;

"This means war".

The US Navy leadership in Washington DC was warned of the burning of papers at the nearby Japanese embassy.

President Roosevelt authorizes the Manhattan Engineering District. The secret U.S. project to build an atomic bomb, later to be called the Manhattan Project, is put under the direction of the Office of Scientific Research and Development. Vannevar Bush, head of the American Office of Scientific Research and Development, receives Presidential approval for an all-out effort in atomic research. Vannevar Bush and Arthur Compton assigned Harold Urey to develop research into gaseous diffusion as a uranium enrichment method and Ernest Lawrence to investigate electromagnetic separation methods.

http://ia902305.us.archive.org/21/items/WWII_News_1941/1941-12-06_CBS_World_News_Today.mp3

The British Special Operations Executive's (SOE) Camp X at Whitby, Ontario, becomes operational as Special Training School 103. At the same time, a sophisticated top secret communications relay station (Oshawa Wireless) is established at Camp X to facilitate the critical need for secure wartime transcontinental communications between Canada, the U.K. and the U.S. Hundreds of agents are trained at Camp X between 1941 and 1944. Many of those who train at the Camp receive specialized courses in security and intelligence, some are trained as radio operators and are dispatched to South America by the British Security Coordination (BSC). Others who are trained as secret agents, receive further training in the U.S. prior to missions in Asia or are shipped to Ringway (now Manchester International Airport), Beaulieu (Hampshire now home of the National Motor Museum) and Arsaig (west coast of Scotland, near Oban) in the U.K. before being sent on missions into occupied Europe. One of the students at the camp was Ian Fleming, the creator of Agent 007, James Bond.

The U.S. Army Fourth Air Force participated in an air defense exercise in San Francisco, California. The exercise would continue until December 11, 1941.

NORTHERN EUROPE: Elements of Finnish Army of Karelia finish clearing Karhumaki (Medvezhyegorsk) north of Lake Onega on the Leningrad-Murmansk railroad. By this date the Finnish advance in eastern Karelia is about to stop. The battle for town of Karhumäki (Medvezjegorsk, on northern shore of Lake Onega) is almost finished, and after the battle the Finnish troops dig into defence. The men are very war-weary; there has already been several instances of troops refusing the orders to advance. The men fighting in eastern Karelia feel they've been treated unfairly. The troops in Karelian Isthmus has been in defence for almost three months now, whereas they has been advancing and fighting the whole time. After the capture of Karhumäki the Finns are in defence all along the front, and the front-line will remain the same until June 1944. The Finnish leadership, already sensing the possibility of German defeat, adopt 'wait and see' policy, hoping in the event of Soviet victory to use the territories captured east of the pre-1939 border to bargain better terms for peace.

PACIFIC OCEAN: Operation Z: Nagumo's fleet turned southeast. Japanese carrier fleet reached the rendezvous point at 34 degrees north, 158 degrees west, and then began a high speed approach for Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. The crew of his flagship, the "Akagi", hoist the battle flag used by Admiral Togo at the Battle of Tsushima in 1905, when the Russians were decisively defeated. IJN Pearl Harbor Striking Force supply vessels "Taho Maru", "Toei Maru", and "Nippon Maru" turn back to Japan. At the same time, the 30 Japanese submarines in the Hawaii area began to tighten the ring around the islands. I-74 spotted USS "Lexington", but no action was taken. Five large Japanese submarines lie at the mouth of Pearl Harbor, each with a two-man midget submarine. IJN submarines I-16, I-18, I-20, I-22, and I-24 launch midget submarines for operations against Pearl Harbor. The midget submarines are to enter the harbor before dawn, prepared to attack ships when the aerial assault takes place.

Working on a Saturday afternoon, Dorothy Edgers translated a secret diplomatic message from Tokyo to diplomats in Honolulu. The message requested continuous and detailed information on ship movements, berthing position, and torpedo netting at Pearl Harbor. Alarmed, Mrs. Edgers checked other similar messages waiting to be translated. All had similar request. At 1500 hours she brought this information to the attention of her boss, Lt. Commander Alvin Kramer, USN. After making a few minor corrections to the translation, he told her "We'll get back to this on Monday." In less than 24 hours, the reason for the messages would be obvious, even to Kramer.

At Pearl Harbor, Admiral Husband Kimmel told a reporter from the news agency Christian Science Monitor that the chance of a war in the Pacific Ocean involving the United States was slim. Nearby, Vice Admiral William Pye told Kimmel (via intelligence officer Edwin Layton) that war with Japan was inevitable, although Pearl Harbor was not a likely target, thus there was no need to send the battleships out to sea as a precaution. Finally, at Honolulu, Hawaii, Consul-General Nagao Kita sent a cable to Japan that he observed no barrage balloons over Pearl Harbor and he did not believe there were torpedo nets around the battleships. Japanese spy Yoshikawa reported US ship locations in Pearl Harbor. The message was decrypted aboard Japanese carrier "Akagi" 36 minutes later.

USS "Arizona" began receiving maintenance work by the crew of repair ship USS "Vestal". USS "Enterprise" encountered heavy weather which delayed her refueling operation for destroyers and delayed the arrival at Pearl Harbor. Battleships USS "Oklahoma" and "Nevada" arrived at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Islands.

On Pearl Harbor, many sailors and other enlisted men are enjoying this Saturday night with the "Battle of Music" performed by military bands. The winner was the band from the battleship USS "Pennsylvania" (BB-38). Second place went to the band of the Pennsylvania's sister ship, the battleship USS "Arizona" (BB-39).

Hart informs Phillips, when MacArthur suggests that he remain in Manila and have a formal reception there, that Phillips ought to return to Singapore immediately if "you want to see your ships again" as war was imminent. Phillips returns to Singapore in the afternoon. MacArthur orders Brereton to disperse aircraft "as well as possible", to man all stations full-time, and to increase airfield guards and off-shore patrols. Hart orders Destroyer Division 57 from Balikpapan to Singapore and for it to operate under Phillips' orders.

27 Japanese troop transports departed from Taiwan, sailing for the Philippine Islands; 400 Japanese pilots stationed at Taiwan were briefed of the attacks to be commenced on the next day. Elsewhere, a Japanese invasion fleet boarded and scuttled a Norwegian freighter.

"Tatsuta Maru" was in the Pacific en route for San Francisco, California. Her planned passenger list after arriving in the United States now included employees of the Japanese Raw Silk Intelligence Bureau, the Silk Department of Mitsui and Company, Gunze Corporation, Asahi Corporation, Japanese Cotton and Silk Trading Company, Hara and Company, Katakura and Company, Morimura and Company, Arai and Company, and Shinyai and Company.

US Navy yacht "Isabel" was detected by a floatplane from Japanese seaplane carrier Kamikawa Maru off Indochina. "Isabel" was later ordered to abort her current mission as bait for first fire and to sail for Manila, Philippine Islands. Shortly after, nearby, a Japanese Zero fighter covering the Malaya invasion force found and shot down a British PBY Catalina patrol aircraft.

Two B-17Cs and 14 B-17Ds arrive at Del Monte Field, Mindanao and since they are expected to only stay three days, they bring very few supplies. None of the barracks have been completed and there are not enough tents to house the air crew so many sleep in their planes. Radio communication with Luzon consists of high frequency radio which is sporadic at best. The only thing the PX has to offer is a single brand of beer called "San Miguel Beer for Convalescent Mothers."

The Australian 49th Battalion, a Militia unit from Queensland, and elements of the 13th Field Regiment, and base troops arrive in Port Moresby.

UNITED KINGDOM: The official wedding ceremony between King Leopold III of Belgium and Lilian Baels was held; they had already secretly wed on 11 Sep 1941.

Britain reluctantly declared war on the country which, only two years ago, she was planning to defend. When the Germans invaded the Soviet Union, Finnish forces joined in. For the past five months Britain has been appealing to the Finns to withdraw. Stalin recently stepped up the pressure on Britain to declare war on Hitler's three little satellites, Finland, Hungary and Romania. They were given a deadline, which expires at midnight. Though Finland - on Finland's 24th Independence Day - now becomes an enemy, the hundreds of Finnish merchant seamen serving aboard British ships will be offered the opportunity of remaining in service or being interned. Other Finns, along with Hungarian and Romanian nationals, have been ordered to report to the police. Those regarded as unreliable will be sent to internment camps.

WESTERN FRONT: Promotions abound at JG 26. Adolf Galland is promoted to General der Jägdflieger to replace General Mölders who died in November. Major Gerhard Schöpfel is made Kommodore of JG 26 while Hptm. Josef 'Pips' Priller of 1./JG 26 is appointed Gruppenkommandeur of III./JG 26.

.

 

[parsifal]

06 DECEMBER 1941
Known Reinforcements
Axis
Type XB DKM U-118

Acciaio class GIADA

Allied
T Class submarine HMS TEMPEST (N-86)

Fairmile B ML-467
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Losses
Steamer GREENLAND (UK 1281 grt) was sunk on a mine in the Nth Sea. Nine crew were missing on the tanker.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

P Class submarine PERSEUS (RN 1475 grt) was mined seven miles off Zante. Only one rating survived and swam to Cephalonia.

Convoy SC.56
U-131 sank steamer SCOTTISH TRADER (UK 4016 grt) in the Western Approaches with the loss of her entire crew of 43. She was on passage from Philadelphia to Liverpool via Sydney, CB. At the time of her loss she had straggled behind the convoy and was picked off by the U-Boat as a result. About 2100 hrs the unescorted SCOTTISH TRADER, was torpedoed and sunk by U-131 about 300 miles south of Iceland. The U-boat needed six torpedoes to sink the zigzagging vessel.

UBOATS
Arrivals
Lorient: U-47, U-95

Departures
Brest: U-374
Messina: U-562

At Sea 06 December 1941
U-43, U-67, U-68, U-69, U-79, U-81, U-105, U-124, U-126, U-127, U-129, U-130, U-131, U-134, U-201, U-205, U-208, U-332, U-371, U-372, U-374, U-375, U-402, U-431, U-434, U-451, U-453, U-557, U-558, U-562, U-565, U-568, U-574, U-575, U-584, U-652, U-752, UA

38 Boats

U-375 was trapped by British ASW forces while trying to pass the Straits of Gibraltar. However she managed to retreat to the Atlantic and try again. U-375 was successful in reaching the Mediterranean on 9 December.

U-332 was bombed by an RAF Catalina flying boat of 202 sqn suffering slight damage. The a/c brought in ASW craft but the U-boat managed to slip past them. The boat would be attacked again three days later.

U-79 narrowly missed the BB QUEEN ELIZABETH with a spread of four torpedoes, and returned to base with no results to show for any of the eleven torpedoes fired during the patrol

OPERATIONS
Northern Patrol
CA SUFFOLK departed Hvalfjord for patrol in the Denmark Strait. CL ARETHUSA departed the Iceland - Faroes passage patrol for Hvalfjord, refuelled, and departed for Scapa Flow where she arrived on the 8th. USN BBs MISSISSIPPI and IDAHO and five USN DDs arrived at Hvalfjord from patrol in the Denmark Strait.

Northern Waters
Convoy QP.3
DDs BEDOUIN and INTREPID arrived at Scapa Flow on 5 December. CL KENYA arrived at Rosyth on 6 December for repairs and to disemark to RAF personnel.

West Coast
DD NEWMARKET collided with Steamer GRENAA at Londonderry. Both ships remained afloat.

Convoy HX.161
ASW trawler KIRKELLA joined on 6 December and escorted the convoy into Liverpool, arriving on 6 December.

Western Approaches
Convoy SC.56
ASW trawler LADY MADELEINE joined the escort force on 6 December.

Convoy ON.41
Corvettes CELANDINE and GENTIAN were detached from the escort on 6 December.

Convoy ON.42
DDs SABRE and SKATE were detached on the 6th.

Med/Biscay
CL GALATEA, RAN CL HOBART, CLA CARLISLE, and DDs GRIFFIN and HOTSPUR departed Alexandria to meet arriving supply ship BRECONSHIRE. The ships, supply ship BRECONSHIRE and DDs KIMBERLEY and KINGSTON arrived at Alexandria on the 8th.

Submarine ULTIMATUM unsuccessfully attacked a steamer in 37-56N, 15-39E.

U.81 attacked and claimed damaging a steamer near Tobruk. Allied records don't support this claim.

Submarine REGENT arrived at Gibraltar from Malta.

Central Atlantic
Convoy OS.12
On 6 December, DDs VANSITTART and VELOX and corvettes BERGAMOT, LAVENDER, and STARWORT joined the convoy and escorted it into Freetown, arriving on 11 December.

Sth Atlantic
Convoy WS.12Z
Corvettes ASTER and MARGUERITE escorted the convoy from 15 December to 18 December, when the convoy arrived at Durban

Red Sea/Indian Ocean
Steamer ERINPURA departed Madras with 984 Military and twenty naval personnel for Singapore. At 10N, 92-30E, CL DRAGON joined the steamer. The steamer was ordered to Port Swettenham, rather than Penang, and arrived at Singapore on the 12th with DRAGON in escort.

Pacific/Australia
CL KASHII (a small training cruiser) with four transports and frigate SHIMUSHU with three transports departed Saigon and joined the Malayan invasion fleet on the 6th south of Cape Camao.

In preparation for operations, Japanese submarines I.55 and I.54 were northeast of Kuantan. Submarine I.53 was north of Anamba.

Submarines I.57, I.58, I.62, I.64, and I.66 were on a patrol line near Tregganu.

Submarine I.57 was northeast of Redang.

During the night of 6/7 December, submarines I.121 and I.122 laid mines at the NE exits from Singapore. IJN aux ML TATSUMIYA MARU laid a mine barrage between the islands of Tioman and Anamba.

Adm Takagi departed Palau with CAs HAGURO, MYOKO, and NACHI of CruDiv 5, CVL RYUJO of CarDiv 4 with attendant DD SHIOKAZE, and the DesFlot 2 with CL JINTSU DDs KUROSHIO, OYASHIO, HAYASHIO, and NATSUSHIO DesDiv 15 with DDs HATSUKAZE, AMATSUKAZE, YUKIKAZE, and TOKITSUKAZE of the DesDiv 16 departed with this force for operations off the Philippines

Malta
AIR RAIDS DAWN 6 DECEMBER TO DAWN 7 DECEMBER 1941

2308-0659 hrs 18-20 enemy aircraft approached the Island singly from east and south as intruder raids over aerodromes. Bombs dropped on edge of Luqa, near Ta Qali, and Naxxar. Bofors engaged low flying aircraft at approx 2,000 feet. Heavy Ack Ack engaged illuminated targets by height control. Searchlight operators identified two JU88s

The RE Bomb Disposal Officer is called to Luqa on another high priority mission to defuze three unexploded bombs hampering air operations. They are German.

2056 hrs Air raid alarm. 14 enemy aircraft crossed coast, two only dropping bombs, one stick of six north of Rabat and others in sea. The raids were of two kinds: (a) nuisance raids and (b) intruder raids – enemy aircraft following in our returning bombers. Heavy Ack Ack barraged on one occasion only. Searchlight operators identified raiders as Ju-88s.

OPERATIONS REPORTS SATURDAY 6 DECEMBER 1941

ROYAL NAVY Five Albacores attacked Castel Benito aerodrome with bombs and incendiaries.

AIR HQArrivals 12 Wellingtons, 1 Whitley, 1 Cathay and 1 Halifax from Gibraltar; 2 Marylands from 201 Group. Departures Four Beaufighters for 108 MU.

LUQA S/D Flight: one Wellington special shipping search. 69 Squadron Photo-reconnaissance over Catania and Gela, another over Tripoli and Castel Benito. One Maryland SF 6 patrol; three Marylands special search, including one in Kefalonia area, a second in Zante area. 18 Squadron: one Blenheim SF 11 patrol. Six Blenheims attacked barracks at Homs. 107 Squadron: one Blenheim SF 11 patrol. 40 Squadron: ten Wellingtons attacked Royal Arsenal at Naples.

 

[parsifal]

Halder's Diary 06 December 1941

 

[parsifal]

December 7 Sunday
ASIA: Without declaring war, Japan launches a series of highly-coordinated attacks on British and American territory (spanning the International Date Line). The opening move is a landing of 5500 troops from Gulf of Thailand to capture the airfield at Kota Bharu on the Northeast corner of British-held Malaya, two hours before the attack on Pearl Harbor. This is followed by several larger landings further up the coast in Thailand, meeting stiff Thai resistance until midday when Thai government agrees an armistice.

12 battalions of Japanese troops attack from the Chinese mainland across the New Territories towards Hong Kong. British defenders are forced to fall back to the Gindrinkers Line, the main defensive line protecting Hong Kong. Japanese occupy the International Settlement at Shanghai. Japanese armored cruiser "Izumo" sank British river gunboat HMS "Peterel" in Shanghai, China. River gunboat USS "Wake" was captured by the Japanese in Shanghai, China.

Light carrier "Hosho" departed the Inland Sea, Japan with a large fleet.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: British destroyers HMS "Harvester" and HMS "Hesperus" sank German submarine U-208 115 miles west of Gibraltar, killing the entire crew of 45.

Canadian corvette HMCS "Windflower", escorting Allied convoy SC-58 off Newfoundland, collided with Dutch freighter "Zypenberg" in poor visibility due to fog and sank; 23 were killed.

U.S. Navy Task Unit 4.1.2, under command of Commander Fred D. Kirtland, accompanied by the salvage vessel USS "Redwing" (ARS 4) and oiler USS "Sapelo" (Atlantic Ocean 11), while escorting Convoy HX-162, reached the Mid-Atlantic Ocean Meeting Point. 21 of the 35 merchantmen scattered by the storm encountered on December 1 had rejoined the convoy by this time.

EASTERN FRONT: Soviet forces captured Tikhvin, Russia east of Leningrad. Zhukov extends the counter-attack at Moscow, ordering the West Front to attack Guderian's overextended 2.Panzerarmee in the Tula area. Soviet 30th Army attacked German 3.Panzergruppe at Klin while Soviet 50th Army attacked German 2.Panzerdivision near Moscow. Soviet 16th Army begins attacking on the southern flank of German 3.Panzergruppe. Soviet 1st Shock Army and 20th Army continue pushing forward.

Soviet warships begin ferrying 388th Rifle Division from Novorossisk and Tuapse to Sevastopol.

GERMANY: Hitler published his notorious Nacht und Nebel (Night and Fog) decree which allows the Gestapo to dispose of their prisoners without trace. SS-Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler relayed Hitler's wishes to the Gestapo saying that;

"An effective and lasting deterrent can be achieved only by the death penalty or by taking measures which will leave the family and the population uncertain as to the fate of the offender. Deportation to Germany serves this purpose."

Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, chief of the German Armed Forces High Command, issued similar instructions. This decree replaced the unsuccessful Nazi policy of taking hostages to undermine Underground activities. Suspected Underground agents and others would now vanish without a trace into the night and fog.

After suffering a heart attack, Feldmarschall von Brauchitsch tendered his resignation. The stress of the battle on the Eastern Front has taken its toll. Hitler makes no formal acceptance of the resignation, but Brauchitsch makes no important decisions after this date.

RAF Bomber Command sends 130 aircraft to attack Aachen overnight.

MEDITERRANEAN: U-208, trying to enter the Mediterranean, is sunk by British destroyers HMS "Harvester" and HMS "Hesperus" 115 miles West of Gibraltar (all 45 hands lost).

British vessel "Chantala" was sunk by mine off Tobruk. RN sloop "Flamingo" was damaged by enemy aircraft while running supplies to Tobruk and taken in tow.

NORTH AFRICA: Operation Crusader: Erwin Rommel with fewer than 40 tanks operational, ordered his forces to pull back by about 10 miles toward the Gazala Line, abandoning the Tobruk objective. German forces withdraw from the immediate vicinity of Tobruk and take up defensive positions around Gazala. In contrast, British are able to bring up fresh tanks from Egypt. The first siege of Tobruk ends. As the British continue to advance toward Tobruk, the Luftwaffe is forced to give up airfields and retreat. The Italian 'Bologna' Division covers the retreat of the German 90.leicht Division.

On this date, JG 27 and JG 53 leave the airfield at Ain El Gazala, with JG 27 going to Martuba and JG 53 fleeing to Derna. Hans-Joachim Marseille shot down a British Hurricane fighter, his 29th kill, at 0930 hours near Sidi Omar, Libya. RAF aircraft begin using the airfield at Tobruk as an advanced landing strip.

NORTH AMERICA: Army Intelligence receives the 14th (final) part of the Japanese coded reply to the American ultimatum. The message indicates the Japanese Ambassador will break off relations with Washington at 1300 hours Eastern Standard Time (0700 hours in Hawaii). Admiral Stark, Commander-in-Chief of Navy read the decoded final part of Japan's reply to the American ultimatum. Then the Army Chief of Staff General Marshall reads it, then the President reads it. Army Chief of Staff General Marshall releases a message to be sent to Hawaii and all other Pacific commands, telling them that the Japanese will break off relations at 0700 hours Hawaii time, and to be on alert accordingly. The message is unable to be sent by secure radio, so it is sent via Western Union cable to San Francisco, then RCA commercial radio to Honolulu, and finally motorcycle delivery six hours later at 1158 hours Hawaii time.

Franklin Roosevelt met with Chinese ambassador Hu Shih at the White House in Washington DC, United States, had lunch with Harry Hopkins, and at 1347 hours he was interrupted by a telephone call from Frank Knox, informing him of the Pearl Harbor attack. At 2030 hours, Roosevelt gave a briefing to a small group of Congressmen.

The office of the US Navy Chief of Naval Operations ordered unrestricted air and submarine warfare against Japan.

NORTHERN EUROPE: Mannerheim orders Finnish Army of Karelia to halt all attacks and assume defensive positions. Finnish ground operations mostly come to an end, with a total of 75,000 casualties.


PACIFIC OCEAN: Operation Z: 360 Japanese carrier aircraft (104 bombers, 135 dive bombers, 40 torpedo bombers, and 81 fighters) attacked Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, sinking or damaging 8 battleships, 3 cruisers, 3 destroyers, 1 anti-aircraft training ship, 1 minelayer; destroying 188 aircraft; and killing 2,459 (57 of which were civilian) and wounding 1,282 (35 of which were civilian). The Japanese lost only 29 aircraft and 5 midget submarines; 55 were killed and 10 were wounded. Isaac Kidd became the first US Navy flag officer to be killed in action during WW2. pearl

The Niihau incident began when Japanese pilot Shigenori Nishikaichi crash-landed his damaged A6M2 Zero on the Hawaiian island of Niihau after participating in the attack on Pearl Harbor. The local Hawaiians, who were as yet unaware of the attack and could not communicate with Nishikaichi, sent in succession for two locals of Japanese ancestry who agreed to help the pilot to retrieve his papers and escape.

Japanese aircraft bombarded Singapore, Guam, and Wake, while two Japanese destroyers shelled Midway Atoll, causing 14 casualties and damaging much equipment. The commanding officer of the US Marine Corps 7th Defense Battalion at American Samoa ordered his troops to man their positions as he was informed of the attacks on American positions across the Pacific Ocean. He also called the Samoan Marine Reserve Battalion to active duty.

Japanese bombers from Formosa (now Taiwan) bomb US airfields on the main island in the US-held Philippines, Luzon, destroying US Boeing B-17 bombers on the ground (ironically, sent as a deterrent to threaten Japanese airbases on Formosa) along with their Curtiss P-40 fighter support. Having established air superiority, Japanese Navy captures the tiny island of Batan, 120 miles North of Luzon.

One hour after the Japanese attack, Australian Prime Minister John Curtin announced that "from one hour ago, Australia has been at war with the Japanese Empire." War would be formally declared two days later. Curtin extends mobilization of armed forces and announces:

"This is the gravest hour of our history."

One day prior to the opening of the Pacific War (owing to the International Date Line), the first three Australian Hudson medium bombers arrived at Rabaul, Bismarck Islands. They were under the command of Flight Lieutenant John Murphy.

At about midnight at the very beginning of the day, "Tatsuta Maru" was ordered to reverse course.

American steam-powered schooner "Cynthia Olson", under charter of the US Army, was shelled and sunk by Japanese submarine I-26 with no survivors; two US Army personnel were on board.

Advance Party of US 27th B.G. — an incoming unit of A-24 attack bombers — throws party in honour of Brereton at Manila Hotel. Hart and Purnell are present for first part. Brereton telephones FEAF HQ at Neilson Field from Manila Hotel to order that FEAF and all fields and subordinate commands were to go on "combat alert" at daylight. Order was never carried out.

UNITED KINGDOM: Winston Churchill had lunch with Duchess of Marlborough Alexandra Mary Cadogan and her son Marquess of Blandford John Spencer-Churchill. Winston Churchill was dining at Chequers with the American diplomats John Gilbert Winant and W. Averell Harriman when the news of the Pearl Harbor attack arrived. Churchill realized that the United States would now enter the war and that Britain would no longer have to fight alone. He later wrote of that night, "Being saturated and satiated with emotion and sensation, I went to bed and slept the sleep of the saved and thankful." relieved that the United States was finally in the war, and Britain was no longer alone.

Donald Bennett takes command of 77 Squadron, RAF Bomber Command.

WESTERN FRONT: The RAF flew numerous air operations over the Continent. RAF Fighter Command flew a Rhubarb operation. RAF Bomber Command sends 23 aircraft to attack Ostend, 30 aircraft to attack Brest, 24 aircraft to attack Calais, 22 aircraft to attack Dunkirk and 19 aircraft to attack Boulogne overnight.

.

 

[parsifal]

07 DECEMBER 1941
Known Reinforcements
Allied
MMS I Class Coastal MSW HMS MMS 978 (J-578)
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Losses
MV SEVERN TRANSPORT (UK 119grt) was sunk on a mine in 51-27N, 3-04W. The crew of four landed at Barry.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Steamer WELSH PRINCE (UK 5148 grt) was sunk by a mine five cables 110°from 59 Buoy, Spurn Point. The entire crew were rescued.

Armed boarding vessel CHANTALA (RN 3129 grt) was sunk on a mine as she was leaving Tobruk Harbour. One naval rating and two native crew were killed. A native trimmer died of wounds. Sixteen crew were wounded.

UBOATS
Arrivals
Brest:U-558
Messina: U-557

Departures
Kiel: U-86
St. Nazaire: U-573
Stavanger: U-654 (non-op)

At Sea 07 December 1941
U-43, U-67, U-68, U-69, U-79, U-81, U-86, U-105, U-124, U-126, U-127, U-129, U-130, U-131, U-134, U-201, U-205, U-332, U-371, U-372, U-374, U-375, U-402, U-431, U-434, U-451, U-453, U-562, U-565, U-568, U-573, U-574, U-575, U-584, U-652, U-752, UA

37 Boats

OPERATIONS
East Front
Arctic
Convoy PQ.5
Minesweepers HAZARD and HEBE were detached on 7 December with light cruiser SHEFFIELD and proceeded to Murmansk, arriving on 8 December.

North Sea
DD SOMALI departed Rosyth after boiler cleaning for Invergordon. Sloop PELICAN was damaged by LW MG fire from aircraft off the east coast of Scotland.

Northern Patrol
CA NORFOLK departed Denmark Strait patrol and arrived at Hvalfjord later that day.

Northern Waters
DD SOMALI arrived at Invergordon on the 8th and embarked Anthony Eden, the Russian Ambassador, and a party of ten other delegates. The DD departed at 1130 and arrived at Scapa Flow at 1600. The passengers were then transferred to CA KENT

West Coast
Convoy ON.44
ON.44 departed Liverpool escorted by ASW trawlers NORTHERN PRIDE and NORTHERN SPRAY.

Western Approaches
Convoy HX.162
The American group (DDs CHARLES F. HUGHES, LANSDALE, MADISON, STURTEVANT, and WILKES) was relieved on 7 December by DDs CALDWELL and VANOC and corvettes CALENDULA, GENTIAN, and HONEYSUCKLE.

Convoy ON.43
DDs NEWPORT, BROKE and VERITY were detached on the 7th.

SW Approaches
Convoy OG.77
DDs HESPERUS and HARVESTER departed Gibraltar on 7 December and joined the escort on 9 December. DD HIGHLANDER proceeded to the escort after completing current duties.

Convoy SL.94
Corvette STARWORT joined on 7 December to 12 December.

Med/Biscay
Sloop FLAMINGO, returning with sloop YARRA to Tobruk after the ASW sweep, in 32-16N, 24-21E was damaged by LW air attacks. The sloop was taken in tow by sloop YARRA and supported by CL HOBART, which had been involved in escorting supply ship BRECONSHIRE from Malta. FLAMINGO arrived at Tobruk on the 8th and sloop YARRA departed for Alexandria. DDs AVONVALE and HEYTHROP departed Alexandria to meet the Australian sloop. The ships arrived at Alexandria on the 9th. FLAMINGO departed Tobruk, in the tow of tug ST MONANCE and escorted by destroyer FARNDALE, on the 17th. FLAMINGO was used, unrepaired, as an antiaircraft defense platform until 5 February 1943. On that date, sloop FLAMINGO, towed by tug AKBAR, departed Suez for Aden. From Aden, the sloop was towed by Egyptian steamer STAR OF CAIRO to Bombay arriving on 26 March 1943. The repairs were completed in February 1944.

British trawler MOY was slightly damaged by German bombing at Tobruk. Gunboat APHIS bombarded the Derna-Tobruk road late on the 7th. Submarine TALISMAN unsuccessfully attacked a destroyer in Kithera Channel. Submarine PROTEUS unsuccessfully attacked a steamer in Kithera Channel. Submarine TRUANT unsuccessfully attacked German steamer BELLONA off Suda Bay.

Nth Atlantic
Convoy ON.42
Corvettes ALISMA, KINGCUP, and SUNFLOWER were detached on the 7th when the convoy was joined by corvettes KENOGAMI, LETHBRIDGE, MAYFLOWER, NANAIMO, and PRESCOTT.

Convoy SC.58
Corvette WINDFLOWER (RCN 990 grt) was lost in a collision on the 7th with Dutch steamer ZYPENBERG in the fog off the Grand Banks. Corvettes PICTOU and NASTURTIUM were detailed to carry out rescur operations, but the crew suffered heavy casualties, with just 44 rescued

Central Atlantic
Destroyers HARVESTER and HESPERUS attacked and sank Type VIIc U.208 (DKM 769 grt) on the surface west of Gibraltar. DD HESPERUS reported sighting a man in the water afterwards. The entire crew of forty five were lost in the submarine.

.

Malta
AIR RAIDS 7 DECEMBER TO 8 DECEMBER 1941
0127 hrs Air raid alarm sounded after bombs dropped in sea south of Ghar Lapsi. Two further raids approached and took over intruder patrols, attempting to shoot up returning Wellingtons [from last night's attack on the Royal Harbour at Naples].

A low level bombing and machine gun attack was made on Ghar Lapsi searchlight station, bombs dropped one mile south of Siggiewi. No damage or casualties. Ack Ack barraged twice, Bofors and Light Machine Guns engaged several low flying aircraft.

Rumours are circulating that Italian Regia Aeronautica pilots are flying German aircraft on missions over Malta.

0657 hrs All-clear sounds. The Island has been on constant alert since 1959 hrs yesterday.

OPERATIONS REPORTS SUNDAY 7 DECEMBER 1941

ROYAL NAVY Three Swordfish left to attack one merchant vessel west of Malta, but failed to locate target.

AIR HQ Arrivals Two Beaufighters, two Wellingtons, one Halifax from Gibraltar.

HAL FAR Four Albacores 828 Squadron despatched to attack Castel Benito Aerodrome. One dropped bombs on Mellaha. Bombs dropped on south side of Mellaha aerodrome causing large column of black smoke. At Castel Benito dispersal areas were attacked and eight medium and one large fire started. Opposition intense but inaccurate. All aircraft returned safely.

LUQA S/D Flight One Wellington shipping search. 69 Squadron One Maryland on anti-submarine patrol; one Maryland special search Ionian sea; one Maryland SF 12 patrol. Photo-Reconnaissance One Maryland Argostoli and Navarino harbours; one Maryland Tripoli Harbour. PR Unit 2: one over Catania and Gela; another over Tripoli Harbour and Castel Benito. 18 Squadron One Blenheim special search Kerkanna area for merchant vessel; one Blenheim 18 Squadron SF 2B patrol. Five Blenheims despatched to attack convoy (failed to locate). 107 Squadron One Blenheim SF 11 patrol; five Blenheims despatched to attack convoy (failed to locate). 104 Squadron Six Wellingtons attacked Castel Benito aerodrome. Two Wellingtons attacked Tripoli.

Operation Crusader
On 7 Dec, Rommel began to pull back by 10 miles toward Gazala, abandoning the Tobruk front.

 

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Pacific/Australia
Japanese air attack on Pearl Harbour.
BB OKLAHOMA (USN 27500 grt) was sunk at her moorings by IJN carrier based a/c. She was not returned to service. On the day of her loss she was moored in berth Fox 5 in Battleship Row. Outboard alongside BB MARYLAND, OKLAHOMA took three torpedo hits almost immediately after the first Japanese bombs fell. As she began to capsize to port, two more torpedoes struck home, and her men were strafed as they abandoned ship. In less than 12 minutes, she rolled over until halted by her masts touching bottom, her starboard side above water, and a part of her keel exposed.

Many of her crew, however, remained in the fight, clambering aboard MARYLAND to help serve her AA. 429 of her officers and enlisted men were killed or missing

Despite being a total write off, it was necessary to expend considerable resources to remove her from the harbour she was obstructing. Preparations for righting the overturned hull took eight months to complete. 21 derricks ere attached to the upturned hull; each carried high-tensile steel cables that were connected to hydraulic winching machines ashore. The righting operation began on 8 March 1943 and was completed by 16 June 1943. Recovery Teams then entered the previously submerged ship to remove any additional human remains. Cofferdams were placed around the hull to allow basic repairs to be undertaken so that the ship could be refloated; this work was completed by November 1943. On 28 December, OKLAHOMA as towed into Drydock no2 at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard. Once in the dock, her main guns, machinery, and remaining ammunition and stores were removed. The severest structural damage on the hull was also repaired to make the ship watertight. After several months in the dry dock, OKLAHOMA was moved and moored elsewhere in Pearl Harbor. Although there had been initial plans to salvage the ship, she was finally judged beyond repair and was decommissioned 1 September 1944. Her removal was not completed during the war

An aerial view of salvage operations on 19 March 1943, with the ship halfway righted

BB ARIZONA (USN 29158 grt) was sunk was sunk at her moorings by IJN carrier based a/c. She was not returned to service. Shortly after 08:00, 10 Nakajima Kates, five each from the carriers KAGA and HIRYU attacked ARIZONA. All of the aircraft were carrying 410-millimeter (16.1") AP shells modified into 797-kilogram (1,757 lb) bombs. Flying at an estimated altitude of 3,000 meters (9,800 ft). KAGA's aircraft bombed ARIZONA from amidships to stern. Soon after, HIRYU's bombers hit the bow area.

The aircraft scored four hits and three near misses on and around Arizona. The near miss off the port bow is believed to have caused observers to believe that the ship had been torpedoed, although no torpedo damage has been found. The stern most bomb ricocheted off the face of Turret IV and penetrated the deck to detonate in the captain's pantry, causing a small fire. The next forward most hit was near the port edge of the ship, abreast the mainmast, probably detonating in the area of the anti-torpedo bulkhead. The next bomb struck near the port rear 5-inch AA gun.

The last bomb hit at 0806 in the vicinity of Turret II, likely penetrating the armored deck near the ammunition magazines located in the forward section of the ship. It is not possible to judge the exact location of this hit, its effects are indisputable: about seven seconds after the hit, the forward magazines detonated in a cataclysmic explosion, mostly venting through the sides of the ship and destroying much of the interior structure of the forward part of the ship. This caused the forward turrets and conning tower to collapse downward some 25–30 feet and the foremast and funnel to collapse forward, effectively tearing the ship in half. The explosion touched off fierce fires that burned for two days; debris showered down on Ford Island in the vicinity. The blast from this explosion also put out fires on the repair ship VESTAL, which was moored alongside and ablaze. The bombs and subsequent explosion killed 1,177 of the 1,512 crewmen on board at the time, approximately half of the lives lost during the attack. Unlike many other other of the ships sunk, she was so badly damaged by the magazine explosion that she was not thought fit for service even if she could be salvaged unlike many of the other sunken ships nearby. Still, a great deal of effort was needed to clear her from the harbour sufficiently to allow parts of Pearl Habour to again be used for fleet operations.

BB CALIFORNIA (USN 33190 grt) was sunk at her moorings by IJN carrier based a/c. CALIFORNIAwas moored at the southernmost berth of Battleship Row and was with other dreadnoughts of the Battle Force. She was struck on the port side with two torpedoes. One detonated below the armor belt at frame 52 (between number 2 turret and the bridge), creating a hole 10 feet high and 24 feet long, destructively deforming the first antitorpedo bulkhead and transverse stiffeners between frames 47 and 60, and holing the second bulkhead with fragments. Watertight integrity had been impaired by preparations for a material inspection; and the ship suffered extensive flooding damage when hit.

The second torpedo detonated below the armor belt and turret 3 at frame 101, causing nearly identical damage. The third and fourth bulkheads were deformed but remained intact at both locations. The innermost fifth armored bulkhead was deflected approximately 1 inch forward and punctured by a fuel line fitting aft. This damage caused by the shifting fuel line aft allowed flooding of the centre motor room through the port thrust block room.

At 08:45, a 551-pound (250 kg) bomb entered the starboard upper deck level at Frame 60, passed through the main deck, and exploded on the armoured second deck, setting off an AA ammunition magazine and killing about 50 men.

A second near miss bomb off the port bow ruptured hull plates between frames 10 and 15 causing immediate flooding of all first platform compartments forward of frame 21, and three compartments on the second platform putting CALIFORNIA down about one meter by the bow. Smoke from fires started by the bomb hit caused evacuation of the forward engine-room at 1000 and ended pumping efforts to keep CALIFORNIA afloat. After three days of progressive flooding, CALIFORNIA settled into the mud with only her superstructure remaining above the surface. When the action ended, 100 of her crew were lost and 62 wounded.

CALIFORNIA had been extensively wrecked and her repair was marginally effective yet as much for prestige reasons as operational requirements, she was raised and repaired.

On 25 March 1942, CALIFORNIA was refloated and dry-docked at Pearl Harbor for repairs. On 7 June, she departed under her own power for Puget Sound where a major repair and reconstruction job was undertaken, including improved protection, watertight compartmenting, stability, AA battery, and fire control system. Her original twin funnels were combined into a single funnel faired into the superstructure tower as with the newer STH DAKOTA class. It would take until 31 January 1944 before she was to emerge ready for action again. It is questionable whether the expense of her reconstruction was worth it. She had had her beam widened such that she could no longer use the panama Canal for trasnsit to the Atlantic, and her speed remained unsatisfactory. She was however an effective bombardment unit.

BB WEST VIRGINIA (USN 32100 grt) was sunk in the attack.
Seven Type 91 aerial torpedoes struck the port side of WEST VIRGINIA. One hit the steering gear, dislodging the rudder. At least three struck below the armor belt, with one or more striking the belt itself (requiring the complex replacement of seven armor plates). One or two torpedoes exploded on the armored second deck after entering the listing ship through holes made by previous torpedoes. One torpedo failed to detonate, and was recovered and disarmed by shipyard explosive technicians. The torpedo attack made two large holes, extending from frames 43 to 52 and 62 to 97.

WEST VIRGINIA was also damaged by two Type 99 No. 80 Mk 5 bombs made from 16 in AP naval shells fitted with aerial fins. The first was found, unexploded, in debris on the second deck after passing through the searchlight platform, signal bridge and main deck deck near frame 70. The second bomb penetrated the 4-inch (100 mm) roof of turret three and broke apart destroying one of the turret's two guns, but did not detonate. It destroyed the Vought OS2U Kingfisher floatplane on the turret catapult. The impact knocked a second floatplane upside down to the main deck below, spilling gasoline (which ignited) from its fuel tanks. Burning aircraft fuel injured turret personnel and damaged the remaining gun. WEST VIRGINIA was eventually engulfed by an oil-fed conflagration, begun by the burning ARIZONA and sustained for 30 hours by fuel leaking from both ships.

Port-side torpedo damage caused rapid compartment flooding; prompt counter-flooding by four damage-control parties under the command of Lcdr John S. Harper and early closure of all water-tight doors and hatches ordered by Harper's assistant, Archie P. Kelley, prevented the ship from capsizing. Water damage ruined much of the ship's communications gear and electrics, including its battle-phone batteries.

Captain Mervion S Bennion unaware that Harper and Kelly had begun damage-control efforts, ordered Lieutenant C. V. Ricketts to begin counter-flooding the starboard compartments. Ricketts, delayed at his battle station and AA-gun batteries, arrived to find 30 to 40 starboard compartments already flooded. In his report, Ricketts wrote that he witnessed the flooding of one compartment. He then ordered all remaining starboard compartments flooded and returned to the bridge to help move the captain, mortally wounded by shrapnel. Harper's report on the counter-flooding of "all available voids", as directed, indicated that Ricketts' assistance had been unnecessary.

During the attack's first wave and the counter-flooding overseen by Harper, executive officer Roscoe H Hillenkoetter abandoned ship by jumping off the starboard quarterdeck. Harper was then notified by an officer on the conning tower that the captain was dying, the executive officer had abandoned ship and Harper (as third in command) was now the commanding officer. After confirming that all starboard compartments were flooded, Harper went to the conning tower. Countermanding the captain's dying order for all hands to abandon ship, he ordered repair parties to fight fires fore and aft. Fire hoses from TENNESSEE were passed to WEST VIRGINIA; crews fought fires near turret three and elsewhere on the ship until about 2:00 pm, when Harper ordered the remaining crew to abandon ship. The ship did settle to the bottom but remained upright.

With a patch over the damaged area of her hull the BB was pumped out, refloated on 17 May 1942 and docked in Drydock Number One on 9 June. This enabled a more detailed damage assessment, indicating six (not five) torpedo hits.

During repairs, workers found the bodies of WEST VIRGINIA sailors who had been trapped below when the ship sank. Several were lying atop steam pipes, in the only remaining air bubble of flooded areas. Three were found in a storeroom compartment, where they had survived for a time on emergency rations and fresh water from a battle station; a calendar indicated that they were alive at least until 23 December 1941. Although the remaining crew and shipyard workers were confronted with a monumental task because of the damage to her port side, WEST VIRGINIA sailed from Pearl Harbor on 7 May 1943 to Bremerton and a complete rebuild at Puget Navy yard. During this reconstruction, the cage masts supporting the three-tier fire-control tops, the two funnels, the open-mount 5-inch (127 mm)/25 caliber guns and the casemates with the single-purpose 5-inch/51 caliber guns were replaced by a single funnel and 5/38 dual-purpose guns. On the decks, 40 mm Bofors and 20 mm oerlikon batteries were added. Although the two-ocean naval policy dictated a beam limit of 108 feet for U.S. BBs to traverse the Panama Canal when WEST VIRGINIA, TENNESSEE and CALIFORNIA were rebuilt their beams were widened to 114 feet feet, effectively limiting their service to the Pacific theater. WEST VIRGINIA was finally ready to return to active duty by early July 1944.

Demilitarised BB UTAH (USN 21825 grt) was sunk. Shortly before 0800, some crewmen aboard UTAHobserved the first IJN planes approaching, but they assumed they were US aircraft. The Japanese began their attack shortly thereafter, concentrating on the BBs moored around Ford Island of which the UTAH was considered by them to be one. At 0801, the first of two torpedoes struck UTAH, which caused serious flooding. The ship began to list to port and settle by the stern. As the crew began to abandon ship, one man—Chief Watertender Peter Tomich, remained below decks to ensure as many men as possible could escape, and to keep vital machinery running as long as possible; he died in battle and p[osthumously received the Medal of honour for his bravery.

At 0812, UTAH rolled over onto her side, while those crew members who had managed to escape swam to shore. Almost immediately after reaching shore, the ship's captain, Commander Solomon Isquith, heard knocking from men trapped in the capsized ship. He called for volunteers to secure a cutting torch from the badly damaged cruiser RALEIGH and attempt to free trapped men; they succeeded in rescuing four men. In total, 64 officers and men were killed, though 461 survived.

The Navy declared UTAH to be "in ordinary" on 29 December 1941, and she was placed under the authority of the Pearl Harbor Base Force. Following the successful righting (rotation to upright) of the capsized USS OKLAHOMA, an attempt was made to similarly right the UTAH by the same method using 17 winches. Unfortunately as UTAH was rotated, she did not grip the harbor bottom as intended, and slid towards Ford Island. The UTAH's recovery effort was abandoned, with UTAH rotated 38 degrees from horizontal.

As abandoned, UTAH cleared her berth. There was no further attempt to refloat her; unlike the battleships. She was always of limited military value (though the psychological effects of USN personnel seeing her mangled remains as they entered and left Pearl during the war can only be imagined). She was formally placed out of commission on 5 September 1944, and then stricken from the Navy lists on 13 November 1944. those who perished aboard (some 64 men) were never recovered.

US BB NEVADA was damaged with 57 fatalities and 112 wounded. US BB PENNSYLVANIA was damaged 29 men killed and a further 29 wounded. US BB TENNESSEE was damaged with 5 killed and 24 wounded. US BB MARYLAND with four killed and 21 wounded.

Also damaged were CLs RALEIGH with 7 men listed as wounded., HONOLULU with one wounded, and HELENA 34 killed and 63 wounded including the captain..

DDs CASSIN was damaged 6 listed as wounded., DOWNES (heavily damaged) with 18 killed and 6 wounded and SHAW (also heavily damaged) with twenty four enlisted men killed and 27 wounded.

ML OGLALA was damaged with 5 men wounded, and repair ships CURTISS damaged with 20 killed and 59 men wounded,and VESTAL with seven enlisted men killed and 81 wounded.

DD BLUE had one enlisted man wounded; DD CHEW had one enlisted man killed and one enlisted man missing. DD CRAVEN had one enlisted man wounded; DD CUMMINGS had three enlisted men wounded; DD DALE had one enlisted man wounded; CL DETROIT had two enlisted men wounded; DD tender DOBBIN had four enlisted men killed and three enlisted men wounded; DD JARVIS had one enlisted man wounded; DD MCFARLAND had one enlisted man wounded; repair ship MEDUSA had 2 men wounded; DD MONAGHAN had one man wounded; tanker NEOSHO had three men wounded; submarine tender PELIAS had two men wounded; DD MSW PERRY had one man wounded; DD ML PRUITT had one man killed; repair ship RIGEL had four men wounded; CA SALt LAKE CITY had one man wounded,CA SAN FRANCISCO had two men wounded; DD SCHLEY had one man wounded;DD ML SICARD had one man killed; hospital ship SOLACE had one man killed; aux ship SUMNER had one man wounded, AVS SWAN had one man wounded; AVS TANGIER had five men wounded; DD ML TRACEY had three men killed; tug VIREO had one man wounded; DD depot ship WHITNEY had one man wounded; and DD WORDEN had one man wounded.

A total of 2403 men were killed and 1178 were wounded in Japanese attacks on ship and land targets. The Japanese lost five torpedo bombers, 15 bombers (Val divebombers and Kate level bombing), and nine fighter aircraft, five midget submarines, and fifty five men were killed.

At sea in addition to the ENTERPRISE and LEXINGTON TGs, CA INDIANAPOLIS, which departed Pearl Harbour with the LEXINGTON group on the 5th, with DD MSWs SOUTHARD, LONG, DORSEY, ELIOT, and HOPKINS were off Johnson Island.

CA MINNEAPOLIS with DDs CHANDLER, HOVEY, BOGGS, and LAMBERTON were twenty five miles south of Oahu.

After the Japanese attack, CLs DETROIT, ST LOUIS, and PHOENIX, DDs BAGLEY, PATTERSON, SELFRIDGE, CASE, TUCKER, REID, JARVIS, CUMMINGS, PHELPS, WORDEN, DEWEY, MACDONOUGH, HENLEY, RALPH TALBOT, HELM, DALE, MONAGHAN, FARRAGUT, ALYWIN, and BLUE and DD MSWs TRACEY, TREVOR, and PREBLE departed Pearl Harbour and joined the CA MINNEAPOLIS for search operations. CL DETROIT with DDs WORDEN, PHELPS, and HELM investigated reported Japanese transports of the west coast of Oahu.

Later, CA MINNEAPOLIS, CLs DETROIT, ST LOUIS, and PHOENIX, and 17 DDs searched for the Japanese ships.

Japanese DDs AKEBONO and USHIO bombarded Midway Island. One Navy enlisted man was killed, 3 marines were killed.

IJN submarine I.26 sank steamer CYNTHIA OLSON (US 2140 grt) with gunfire one thousand miles NE of Hawaii.. Thirty three crew and two soldiers were lost on the steamer.

Malaya invasion forces
The Japanese Malay transport force divided into its respective units. One transport proceeded to Prachuab. Two transports proceeded to Jumbhorn. One transport with CL KASHII proceeded to Bandon. Three transports with frigate SHIMUSHU proceeded to Nakhorn. 17 transports, including RYUJO MARU and KASHII MARU, with the 20th and 12th DesDivs, four MSWs, the submarine chaser division, and nine assault vessels proceeded to Singora and Patani. CL SENDAI, the 19th DesDiv, MSWs W.2 and W.3, submarine chasers, and three transports, including AWAJISTAN MARU and AYATOSAN MARU, proceeded to Kota Bharu. CA CHOKAI and DD SAGIRI joined Kurita's force south of Cape Camao.

Philippines invasion force
Japanese forces for the invasion of the Philippines set out. DD YAMAGUMO, TB s CHIDORI, HATSUKARI, MANADZURU, and TOMODZURU, two MSWs, two gunboats, two patrol boats, nine sub chasers, and two transports departed Takao, Formosa. Troops were landed on Bataan Island on the 8th.

CL NATORI, DDs FUMITSUKI, SATSUKI, NAGATSUKI, MINATSUKI, HARUKAZE, and HATAKAZE, three minesweepers, nine submarine chasers, and six transports departed Mako, Pescadores. On the 10th, troops were landed at Aparri. MSW M.19 was damaged by American bombing and run aground. She was later salved.

CL NAKA with DDs MURASAME, YUDACHI, HARUSAME, and SAMIDARE of DesDiv 2, ASAGUMO, MINEGUMO, and NATSUGUMO of DesDiv 4, six minesweepers, nine submarine chasers, and six transports departed the Pescadores

Halder's diary 07 December 1941

 

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08 DECEMBER 1941
Known Reinforcements
Axis
DKM Type IXC U-511

U-511 was sold to Japan on 16 Sept 1943 and became the ijn RO 500.

Allied
Flower Class Corvette HMCS Fredericton (K-245)

Flower Class Corvette HMS GENISTA (K 200)

Bangor Class MSW HMS TENBY (J-34)

Vosper 70' Type MTB 58

Sister vessel MTB 77

Losses
MSW trawler PHINEAS BEARD (RN 278 grt) and MSW trawler MILFORD EARL (RN 290 grt) were both sunk by the LW off the east coast of Scotland.
[NO IMAGES FOUND]

Steamer FIREGLOW (UK 1261 grt) was sunk on a mine 2.5 miles 312° from 57C Buoy Hearty Knoll Channel, three miles south of Dudgeon Buoy. One crewman was killed on the steamer.

Steamer GERTIE (UK 341 grt) was sunk on a British mine two miles northeast of Tuskar Rock Light. The entire crew were rescued.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Fishing trawler LORD SHREWSBURY (UK 167 grt) was sunk on a mine one mile east one half mile south of Chequer Shoal Buoy. The entire crew of ten were lost.

UBOATS
Arrivals
Salamis: U-79
St Nazaire: U-69

Departures
Salamis: U-559

At Sea 08 December 1941
U-43, U-67, U-68, U-81, U-86, U-105, U-124, U-126, U-127, U-129, U-130, U-131, U-134, U-201, U-205, U-332, U-371, U-372, U-374, U-375, U-402, U-431, U-434, U-451, U-453, U-559, U-562, U-565, U-568, U-573, U-574, U-575, U-584, U-652, U-752, UA

36 Boats

OPERATIONS
East Front
Arctic
CL EDINBURGH and DDs ECHO and ESCAPADE joined PQ.6 on the 12th in 69-30N, 11-30W. The ships continued with the convoy until the 20th when the escort arrived at Murmansk. They had been bombed at 1230, but no damage was done.

On the 17th, DKM DDs Z.23, Z.24, Z.25, and Z.27 engaged RN MSWs HAZARD and SPEEDY (identified by DKM as as two VMF DDs), which had departed Archangel on the 16th to meet convoy PQ.6 east of Murmansk, fourteen miles north of Cape Gorodetski. SPEEDY received four shell hits and was replaced by MSW LEDA, which departed Archangel that day.

CA KENT and VMF DDs GROSZNY and SOKRUSHITELNY set out from the Kola Inlet to support the MSWs, but the DKM ships had already retired. On the 19th, MSWs LEDA and HAZARD met and convoy and all arrived safely at Murmansk on the 20th.

SPEEDY arrived at Murmask on the 28th. She returned to the UK in convoy QP.4, arriving at Scapa Flow on 14 January. The MSW was under repair in the Thames from 23 January to 22 March.

Northern Patrol
DD ICARUS departed Hvalfjord for Scapa Flow. However, her orders were cancelled and the DD proceeded to Sullom Voe, arriving during the late afternoon of the 9th.

CA KENT departed Scapa Flow with the British Foreign Secretary, the Soviet Ambassador to the UK, and staffs to Murmansk, arriving on the 12th.

CL EDINBURGH and DDs ECHO and ESCAPADE departed Scapa Flow for Seidisfjord, to refuel prior to escorting convoy PQ.6..

Convoy PQ.6 departed Hvalfjord during the afternoon with Soviet steamers DEKABRIST, Panamanian EL OCEANO, EMPIRE MAVIS, MOUNT EVANS, EL MIRLO, ELONA, EXPLORER, and ZAMALEK. ASW Trawlers HUGH WALPOLE, CAPE ARGONA, and STELLA CAPELLA escorted the convoy from 8 to 12 December.

Western Approaches
Convoy SC.56
DD MONTGOMERY was detached on 8 December

Convoy ON.43
Corvette BEGONIA joined on the 8th

Med/Biscay
CLA EURYALUS and DDs HERO and HOTSPUR departed Alexandria to operate off Derna. The ships arrived back at Alexandria on the 10th.

RM CL CARDONA, carrying gasoline from Taranto to Benghazi, encountered heavy weather and put into Argostoli. The cruiser was able to later depart and arrived at Benghazi on the 11th.

Submarine TALISMAN unsuccessfully attacked RM TB ORIONE. Submarine P.34 arrived at Malta after patrol in the Straits of Messina.

CLA HERMIONE and DDs BLANKNEY, EXMOOR, and MAORI departed Gibraltar and joined DDs LAFOREY, ISAAC SWEERS, and ARROW to search for a convoy off Malaga steering towards Gibraltar reported by an RAF Wellington. LAFOREY attacked submarine U.372 off Europa Lighthouse without result. The British force returned to Gibraltar on the 9th after failing to locate the convoy.

Nth Atlantic
Convoy HX.164
departed Halifax, escorted by DD ANNAPOLIS and MSWs MALPEQUE and MINAS. These ships were detached on the 10th when relieved by American destroyers DALLAS, ELLIS, GLEAVES, and UPSHUR

Though not yet at war with the European Axis, the Us took swift action to apprehend many of the Italian ships holed up in US Ports. Italian ships seized in US ports
MV ADA O (FI 5234 GRT), MV ALBERTA (FI 6131 GRT),MV ANTONIETTA (FI 4423 GRT), MV ARSA (FI 5441 GRT), MV AUSSA (FI 5441 GRT), MV BELVEDERE (FI 6889 GRT), MV BRENNERO (FI 4946 GRT), MV CLARA (FI 6131 GRT), MV COLORADO (FI 5039 GRT), MV CONFIDENZA (FI 6458 GRT), MV CONTE BIANCAMANO (FI 23255 GRT), MV DINO (FI 5592 GRT), MV EURO (FI 4687 GRT), MV GIUAN (FI 5473 GRT), MV GUIDONIA (FI 5060 GRT), MV IDA Z. O. (FI 4035 GRT), MV ICARNIA (FI 4815 GRT), MV LACONIA (FI 5932 GRT), MV LEME (FI 8059 GRT), MV MAR GLAUCO (FI 4690 GRT), MV MONFIORE (FI 5498 GRT), MV MONGIOIA (FI 6113 GRT), MV PIETRO CAMPANELLA (FI 6140 GRT), MV SAN GIUSEPPE (FI 5074 GRT), MV SANTA ROSA (FI 3027 GRT), MV SAN LEONARDO (FI 4657 GRT), MV VILLARPEROSA (FI 6255 GRT), MV VITTORIN (FI 3349 GRT),
[NO IMAGES]

Tkr ANTEO (FI 6772 grt) and Tkr RAPALLO (FI 5812 grt) were seized at Cartagena, Colombia
[NO IMAGES]

Central Atlantic
Convoy OS.12
Sloops FOLKESTONE and WELLINGTON and the escort vessels SENNEN and TOTLAND. Were detached from the convoy on 8 December.

Sth Atlantic
Convoy WS.12Z
Corvettes ASTER and MARGUERITE escorted the convoy from 15 December to 18 December, when the convoy arrived at Durban

Red Sea/Indian Ocean
CL GLASGOW in the Bay of Bengal encountered Indian escort ship PRABHAVATI towing lighters HETAMPUR and HINGOLI to Karachi. The cruiser identified the ship and lighters as a large Japanese submarine on the surface and sank them. The commanding officer, two other officers, and twenty five ratings were rescued. Of these twelve were seriously wounded. 19 other crewmen were lost. CL GLASGOW arrived at Bombay on the 9th with the survivors.

Pacific/Australia
Allied Dispositions in the Far East

Singapore
BB PRINCE OF WALES, BC REPULSE, CLs DANAE, DRAGON & DURBAN; DDs ELECTRA, EXPRESS, TENEDOS & RAN VAMPIRE. Gunboats DRAGONFLY, GRASSHOPPER, SCORPION. RAN AMCs MANOORA, KANIMBLA; RAN Ocean MSWs BENDIGO, MARYBOROUGH, WOLLONGONG, BALLARAT, TOOWOOMBA, GOULBURN, BURNIE

Refitting or under repair at Singapore
CL MAURITIUS (with corroded firemain). The cruiser departed on the 15th through the Straits of Malacca and arrived Colombo on the 18th. She departed Colombo on 2 January for Durban, arriving on 15 January. She departed the same day escorting troopship EMPRESS OF RUSSIA for Simonstown, arriving on 17 January. The cruiser departed on 21 January and arrived at Freetown on 30 January. She departed 2 February for Devonport, arriving on 11 February 1942. Repairs were completed on 16 April. DD STRONGHOLD for local defense, RAN DD VENDETTA,

DD ENCOUNTER (bottom "corrugated" from grounding in Med), DD JUPITER (stability problems, ship listed when fuel tanks full), DD ISIS (repairing bomb damage). Submarines ROVER and DOLPHIN (repairing bomb damage).

Hong Kong
DDs SCOUT and THANET, both departed Hong Kong 7 December and then Tarakan on the 13th. Gunboats TERN, CICALA, ROBIN, all for local defense. Motor Torpedo Boats MTB.7-12 inclusive, and MTB.26 and MTB.27

Refitting or under repair at Hong Kong
DD THRACIAN for local defense, Gunboat MOTH for local defense

Shanghai
Gunboat PETEREL (Lt S. Polkinghorn RNR) for local defense

East Indies
BBs REVENGE, after escorting convoy WS.12 to Aden, arrived Trincomalee on the 13th, and ROYAL SOVEREIGN, arriving at the Seychilles 2 January after escorting convoy WS.1 Z, CA EXETER in Bay of Bengal en route to Singapore, arriving on the 10th; AMC CORFU at Colombo, and RANCHI, at Addu Atoll, CA CORNWALL and CL EMERALD were off the west coast of Africa.

Refitting or under repair
CVL HERMES refitting at Simonstown to complete 27 January, CLs ENTERPRISE refitting at Colombo, and GLASGOW departed Colombo on the 6th for Laccadive Islands in Bay of Bengal.

Australia
CAs AUSTRALIA and CANBERRA, CL PERTH, AMC WESTRALIA, FFL DD LE TRIOMPHANT, Ocean MSWs SWAN and WARREGO, FFL sloop CHEVREUIL

Refitting or under repair
AMC MONOWAI refitting, DD STUART refitting, DD VOYAGER refitting


Indian Navy
Sloops JUMNA , HINDUSTAN, SUTLEJ

New Zealand
CLs ACHILLES and LEANDER

Dutch Navy (based mainly at Surabaya)
CLs DE RUYTER in Alas Strait, JAVA departed Surabaya on the 7th for Singapore, arriving on the 9th, CLA TROMP in Karimata Strait, and CL SUMATRA refitting at Surabaya, recommissioned with skeleton crew on 27 January and taken to Trincomalee, arriving 15 February. DDs VAN NES in Sunda Strait, VAN GHENT refitting at Surabaya, BANCKERT in Sapeh Strait, WITTE DE WITH in Alas Strait, later under repairs, then manned by crew from DD VAN GHENT, KORTENAER in Lombok Strait, PIET HEIN in Alor Strait, and EVERTSEN in Sunda Strait.

Submarines K.11 arrived Singapore on the 8th from patrol in Karimata Strait, K.12 in Karamata Strait, K.13 Karimata Strait, K.17 departed Singapore on the 6th for patrol off east coast of Malay coast, O.16 departed Singapore for patrol off east coast of Malay coast, K.9 refitting at Surabaya, commissioned 1 March 1942, K.10, K.14 off Kuching, K.15 departed Tarakan 9 December for Surabaya, arriving on the 15th, K.16 Departed Singapore 19 December for patrol off Kuching, O.19 arrived Singapore 11 December from Karimata Strait, departed Singapore on the 14th for operations off Singgora - Kota Bharu area, O.20 arrived Singapore 11 December from Karimata Strait, departed 14 December for patrol in Gulf of Thailand, K.7 under repair in reserve, K.18 under repair at Surabaya, K.8 decommissioned. recommissioned 7 January 1942

American Navy
Manila
DesDiv 59 - DDs POPE, JOHN D. FORD, PEARY under repair, DD PILLSBURY under repair, PEARY and PILLSBURY repairing collision damage of 16 October

Submarines (Asiatic Fleet), submarines departed for patrol areas shown

SubDiv 201 - submarines S.37 near Mindoro, S.38 near Mindoro, S.40 off Lingayen Gulf, S.41 near Mindoro

SubDiv 203 - SS PIKE near Hainan, TARPON off Lingayen Gulf, PERCH west of Luzon, PICKEREL, PERMIT west of Luzon, SHARK under repair, then near Lingayen

SubDiv 21 - SS SALMON, SEAL near Vingan, SKIPJACK near Palau, SARGO Gulf of Siam, SAURY near San Bernadino, SPEARFISH off Camranh Bay

SubDiv 22 - SS SNAPPER near Hainan, STINGRAY near Lingayen Gulf, STURGEON near Formosa, SCULPIN east of Luzon, SAILFISH near Lingayen Gulf, SWORDFISH near Hainan

SubDiv 202 - SS SEARAVEN near Formosa, SEAWOLF near San Bernadino, SEADRAGON under repair, SEALION under repair

(SubDiv 203) Olongapo SS PORPOISE under repair

SubDiv 201 At sea– SS S.36 near San Bernadino Strait, S.39 in Sorsogon Bay, Luzon

CA HOUSTON near Iloilo, CL BOISE near Cebu, CL MARBLEHEAD at Tarakan

DesSqn 29 - DD PAUL JONES

DesDiv 58 - DDs STEWART, BULMER, BARKER, PARROTT and DesDiv 57 - DDs WHIPPLE, ALDEN, JOHN D. EDWARDS, EDSALL were at Balikpapan. The ships at Balikpapan departed on the 7th for Batavia, but the orders were changed when the battleship PRINCE OF WALES and battlecruiser REPULSE were lost. They arrived at Singapore on the 11th and departed on the 14th.

Summary of Operations
Steamer PRESIDENT HARRISON (US 10,509 grt) was seized by Japanese forces at Whangpoo River whilst attempting to evacuate US marines and army personnel from the Shanghai. Renamed the KAKKU MARU, she was in Japanese service until 12 September 1944. on that day she was torpedoed by SS PAMPINITO taking 750 Allied PoWs down with her. .

Steamer CHEKIANG (US 2172 grt) was seized by IJN gunboat NISSHO MARU No 12 at Whangpoo River.
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Steamer AEGEUS S (Gk 1366 grt) and Steamer AENOS (Gk 1521 grt) which had been sunk during hostilities in the Upper Yangtze in 1938 and beached were seized by Japanese forces. They were used by them during the war.
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The following ships were seized by Japanese forces in Chinese Waters; Steamer ANTIGONE (Gk 1372 grt), Steamer APHRODITE (Gk 1101 grt), Steamer ARES S (Gk 1372 grt), Steamer ARGOSTOLI (Gk 1673 grt), Steamer ATHENA (Gk 1445 grt), and Steamer ATTICA (Gk 1405 grt).

Steamers ERATO (Gk 5904 grt) and Steamer VALENTINI (Gk 4713 grt) were seized by Japanese forces at Yokohama.

Steamer HELIOS (Gk 1922 grt) was seized by Japanese forces at sea in 8N, 107E.

Steamer SAGRES (Gk 2333 grt), which had been detained by Japanese at Chauan Bay since 8 April 1939, was confiscated by Japanese forces.

Steamers ST QUENTIN (US 3528 grt), Steamer VITORLOCK (US 5030 grt), Steamer FEDERLOCK (US 6607 grt), Steamer ANALOCK (US 6638 grt), Steamer DESLOCK (US 5015 grt) at Yokohama, Steamer HATTERLOCK (US 5138 grt), and Steamer MUNLOCK (US 5240 grt) which had been chartered by the Japanese in May-June 1941, were confiscated by Japanese forces.

Tugs MEIFFO No. 5 (US 36 grt) and MEI KANG (US 40 grt), Tkr MEI NAN (US 364 grt), Tkr MEI YING (US 44 grt), and Tkr MEI YUN (US 274 grt), Steamer FOLOZU (Pan 2486 grt), Steamer MORAZAN (Pan 2984 grt), and Steamer RAMONA (Pan 3513grt) were seized at Shanghai on the 8th.

Ferry FATSHAN (US 2639 grt) was seized by Japanese forces at Canton and becameKOTO MARU

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Malta
AIR RAIDS DAWN 8 DECEMBER TO DAWN 9 DECEMBER 1941
2238 hrs Air raid alarm. One enemy aircraft passed over Kalafrana and Hal Far.

OPERATIONS REPORTS MONDAY 8 DECEMBER 1941

ROYAL NAVYForceB – also Kandahar and Jaguar and P34 arrived. The latter reported having hit with one torpedo a 4000 ton merchant vessel in entrance to Straits of Messina on 5th December. Counter attack by 38 depth charges.

AIR HQArrivals Four Wellingtons and five Blenheims plus one Catalina and one Sunderland from Gibraltar; one Catalina from Aboukir. Departures Ten Blenheims and one Wellington to 108 MU.

HAL FAR Overnight three Swordfish took off to attack one merchant vessel of 3000 tons. Target was not located. All aircraft returned safely. Four Albacores 828 Squadron despatched on a nuisance raid to Catania aerodrome. Time over target 2130-0415 hours. Bombs dropped 4580 lbs High Explosive and 250 lbs incendiaries. All bombs dropped in target area causing two fires, one of which was probably an aircraft. All aircraft returned safely.

LUQA69 Squadron One Maryland SF 6 patrol; one Maryland SF 9 patrol; one Maryland SF 10 patrol. 69 Squadron Photo-Reconnaissance One of Tripoli and Castel Benito aerodrome; one PR of Tunis and Bizerte. 18 Squadron One Blenheim SF 11 patrol; four Blenheims sent to attack Catania aerodrome. P/O Barclay and Sgt Cuming collided and crashed. Other two aircraft returned with bombs. 107 Squadron One Blenheim SF 1 patrol; one Blenheim SF 2B patrol. Five Blenheims sent to attack convoy (no sightings made).