This Day in the War in Europe: The Beginning

[parsifal]

6 November
Known Reinforcements
Neutral
Ne MTB TM-51 (class leader)

TM-51 escaped to England, but 4 others were completed and trtansferred in 1942 to the Bulgarian Navy. The type also served as the pattern design for the Rumanian Vantul Class MTBs
Allied Reinforcements
RN AMCs FORFAR LETITIA
(image Uboat net) HMS Letitia - Warships 1900-1950

HMS FORFAR (left) LETITIA (right)

RN DD KHARTOUM (JKN Class)

Following working up at Portland, she joined DesFlot 5 operating with the Home Flt on 1 December.

DKM War diary
Selected extracts...

UBOATS

Kriegstagebücher (KTB) - War Diary

It is still not known what bases the British fleet is using at present. The ban on anchoring within certain limits in the Firth of Clyde make it likely that it is intended to base in these ports. Lough Swilly would be a good, well-protected berth. According to information available to B.d.U. it is a base used by the British fleet. Operations planned here some time ago however, were vetoed by Naval War Staff on the grounds that it stretched into Irish territory in parts and that Irish neutrality was not to be violated at any cost.

After renewed pressure Naval War Staff has promised to obtain information on the political aspect of this area via our Ambassador in Ireland. U 43 sailed for her operations area (Operations Plan No. 12).

Departures
Kiel: U-15, U-19, U-20
Wilhelmshaven: U-43

At Sea 6 November

U-21, U-23, U-25, U-26, U-33, U-34, U-37, U-43, U-46, U-53, U-56, U-58, U-59, U-60, U-61.
15 boats at sea

Baltic

Finnish steamer JESSIE (1405grt) was seized in the Baltic by a German warship, and taken to Kiel.
[NO IMAGE LOCATED]

Northern Waters

MV HANSI (Nor 1540 grt) carrying Wood Pulp to the UK, the ship ran aground in the Orkney Islands, United Kingdom and was wrecked. All crew survived.
http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?59409

DDs INTREPID and IVANHOE arrived at Scapa , and after refuelling, departed for Plymouth, arriving on the 11th. They departed later that day and anchored in the Medway on the 12th, before reaching Chatham on the 13th for conversion to ML DDs. On 4 December, the conversions were completed and both destroyers departed Chatham for Sheerness. At this time, INTREPID and IVANHOE were detached from DesFlot 3 and re-assigned to Desflot 20.

Northern Patrol

On Northern Patrol, there were three cruisers on patrol between the Orkneys and the Faroes, two cruisers and one AMC between the Faroes and Iceland, and one cruiser and two AMCs in the Denmark Strait. CLs CARDIFF, COLOMBO and DRAGON dep Sullom Voe on Northern Patrol duties, and arrived back on the 12th. CLs DUNEDIN, DELHI, CALYPSO arrived at Sullom Voe from Northern Patrol.
Armed boarding vessel NORTHERN DUKE received instructions to take over a merchant ship from light cruiser CERES and escort her into Kirkwall.

North Sea .

SS SEALION on Dogger Bank Patrol fired six torpedoes at U.21. All Torps missed

Rosyth Command

DD AFRIDI, completed repairs in the Tyne, departed port, and arrived at Rosyth on the 7th for operations. CLAs CAIRO and CALCUTTA arrived at Rosyth to strengthen the AA defences at Rosyth while the Home Flt was refuelling there (Donitz guess is correct). Sloop FLAMINGO, en route from the Clyde to Rosyth, was ordered to attempt to locate an aircraft down in the sea 20 miles northeast of Fraserburgh. She was unable to locate it and arrived at Rosyth on the 8th. ORP SS ORZEL, escorted by DD WHITEHALL, dep Rosyth for Dundee for docking. After the escort duty, WHITEHALL arrived back the same day.

Channel

OA.31 of 16 ships dep Southend escort DDs ANTELOPE and VISCOUNT from the 6th to 10th, after that time the convoy was dispersed, and the DDs attached to the inbound HXF.7.

UK - France

OB.31 dep Liverpool escort DDs WINCHELSEA and WITHERINGTON until the 9th. AXS.4 of one steamer dep Fowey, escort DD WAKEFUL, and arrived at Brest on the 7th. Of the next three convoys, AXS.8 arrived at Brest on 11 December. SA.16 dep Southampton with one steamer, escort DDs SALADIN and SARDONYX, and arrived at Brest on the 7th.

OB.31 dep Liverpool escorted by destroyers WINCHELSEA and WITHERINGTON to the 9th.

Med -Biscay

French Contre Torpilleur DD MILAN passed Gib east to west.

BB WARSPITE escort DDs DAINTY and DIANA arrived at Gibraltar from Malta. WARSPITE dep Gib the same day escort DDs ISIS, ILEX, DAINTY and DIANA and crossed the Atlantic arriving at Halifax on the 14th. She remained there until the 18th when she left as heavy escort for HX.9. HG.6 dep Gib with 34 ships, escort by DDs WATCHMAN, VORTIGERN and the Fr CHACAL and MISTRAL. The French ships were escorts from the 6th. On the 13th, they arrived at Brest. DD ISIS, after joining with captured German steamer LEANDER, was with the convoy from the 12th to 14th. Submarine depot ship CYCLOPS travelled in convoy returning to England for duty in Home Waters. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on the 14th. CL GALATEA departed Port Said, arrived at Haifa on the 7th, and Alexandria on the 8th.

Western Approaches

HX.6 of 52 ships, escort BB RESOLUTION was met by 8 DDs, including WARWICK and WHIRLWIND. The convoy split on the 7th. RESOLUTION with two DDs proceeded directly to Plymouth, leaving the two convoy sections each escorted by three DDs.

Nth Atlantic

AMC ASCANIA carrying £2,000,000 in gold bullion arrived at Halifax, escorted into port by RCN DDs FRASER and ST LAURENT.

 

[Njaco]

6 November 1939 Monday
WESTERN FRONT: The Jagdwaffe suffers its costliest day in one of the largest engagements to date when a flight of twenty-seven Bf 109s from Major Gentzen's JG2 102 clash with Hawk 75s of the French GC II./5 over the River Saar. On a patrol of the river, the Messerschmitts come upon a formation of nine of the American-built French fighters escorting a Potez 63 on a reconnaissance mission over the same area. An attempt to bounce the French in formation soon dissolves into a series of individual clashes. When the battle ends the final score is eight Bf 109s shot down including the Messerschmitts of Staffelkapitän Oblt. Von Roon and Kellner-Steinmetz. Major Gentzen claims one Hawk 75, his Gruppe's sole victory. Upon returning to base, Major Gentzen is ordered to Berlin to explain how he could lose twenty-five per cent of his force against a French force only one third of its size. It's concluded that the Bf 109D is not superior to the Hawk 75 despite the success in Poland with the type. The Gruppe is withdrawn a few days later and begin converting to Bf 110 twin-engined Zerstörers.

A few pilots of JG 53 begin their victory tallies in several clashes with the French near the Western borders. At 1045 hours, Uffz. Eduard Koslowski of 9./JG 53 is forced to belly land his fighter after shooting down a French Mureaux 117 of GAO I./506 near Merzig. Twenty minutes later Lt. Frank-Werner Rott of 3./JG 53 battles with the British and destroys a Blenheim near Kreuznach for his first kill. Finally in the early afternoon, Lt. Jakob Stoll of 9./JG 53 gets his first kill when he brings down a French Mureaux over Saarlautern.

King Leopold, accompanied by M. Spaak, Belgian Foreign Minister, arrived at The Hague just before midnight, and conferred with Queen Wilhelmina and her Foreign Minister, M. van Kleffens.

Future Experten, Lt. Max Stotz of I./JG 76 scores his first victory by destroying a Blenheim of RAF No. 57 Squadron shot down near Frankfurt.

PACIFIC: Australia agrees for its five destroyers at Singapore to be moved to the Mediterranean, to release British destroyers for anti-submarine work in the Atlantic. In return, two British cruisers would be sent to Australia as protection against armed raiders. (The cruisers never arrive.)

NORTHERN EUROPE: In Norway the American cargo ship, "City of Flint", is returned to her captain, Joseph H. Gainard in Haugesund. Since October 9th, the ship has journeyed under the command of a German prize crew from the "Deutschland".

EASTERN EUROPE: In Moscow in a speech, Molotov says that the Soviet Union is committed to a policy of peace and blames the war on the forces of capitalism.

Meanwhile, the Communist International issues a manifesto in which the German Government is classed with those of Britain and France as being hostile to the workers.


.

 

[parsifal]

7 November
Known Reinforcements
Axis Reinforcements
DKM MSW M7 (Type 35 MSW)

Allied Reinforcements
RN AMC ANTENOR, RN ASW Whaler Wastwater
Tyne Built Ships Shipbuilders

DKM War diary
Selected extracts...

UBOATS

Kriegstagebücher (KTB) - War Diary

U 46 grounded in the Little Belt, but got away again under her own power after several hours. U 41 sailed for her operations area.

According to Naval War Staff it is again questionable whether U 36 can be supplied in the Northern Base in November, as requested.

U 46 entered Kiel. She sank one steamer of about 5,000 tons. The result is rather meager, but the C.O.'s verbal report tells quite another story of the patrol. The boat was in convoys 3 times. On one occasion the C.O. fired at a wall of several overlapping ships - failures. She had a stationary cruiser at inclination 90 off her bows. Again several failures, which finally warned the cruiser and she made off. 7 shots were quite definitely failures and not attributable to errors in drill. In spite of this, due to the C.O.'s determination, the boat still went on searching for the enemy and attacking. The boat could have sunk 30 or 40,000 tons; she actually sank 5,000. The crew are naturally somewhat depressed. Several patrols like this will turn keenness into indifference, if all efforts are to no purpose.

Departures

Wilhelmshaven: U-41

Arrivals

Kiel: U-46
Wilhelmshaven: U-15 , U-19 , U-20

At Sea 7 November

U-21, U-23, U-25, U-26, U-33, U-34, U-37, U-41, U-43, U-53, U-56, U-58, U-59, U-60, U-61.
15 boats at sea

Norway

HN.1 of six British and one Polish steamer dep Bergen and was joined just outside Norwegian territorial waters by DDs TARTAR, SOMALI and PUNJABI. Sister ship ASHANTI joined the escort at daylight on the 8th. Four steamers were detached to their destinations on the west coast and the remainder of the convoy arrived safely at Methil on the 10th.

Northern Waters

DDs COSSACK, MAORI and ZULU cleared Rosyth for Scapa at 1745 to escort the west coast section of convoy HN.1. COSSACK was damaged in collision with steamer BORTHWICK (UK 1097 grt) off May Island in the Firth of Forth, and five ratings killed. ZULU assisted COSSACK in rescuing one of the crew trapped in plating curled back in the collision. Sister ship AFRIDI took COSSACK's casualties ashore, while MAORI and sloop GRIMSBY assisted COSSACK. She was towed stern first by two tugs to Leith where she repaired until 15 January. MAORI and ZULU left to escort the convoy, joined later by sloop FLAMINGO.

Northern Patrol

Three cruisers were on patrol between the Orkneys and the Faroes, two cruisers and one AMC between the Faroes and Iceland, and CL NEWCASTLE and two AMCs in the Denmark Strait. CL SOUTHAMPTON arrived at Rosyth after Northern Patrol duties.

North Sea .

SS SEAL, returning from Dogger Bank patrol, was bombed by a German seaplane while waiting for submarines CACHALOT and L.26 off Orfordness.

FN.33 departed Southend escort DD VIVIEN and sloops BITTERN and FLEETWOOD. On the 8th, DDs JERVIS and JERSEY of DesFlot 7 and KEITH and BOADICEA of DesFlot 22 dep Immingham, and ORP DDs BLYSKAWICA, BURZA, GROM from Harwich to reinforce the convoy, which was being shadowed by German aircraft, and to counter an anticipated German surface attack. The convoy arrived at Methil on the 9th without further incident.

Rosyth Command
ML ADVENTURE dep Rosyth, was met by DDs JUNO and JUPITER off Inchkeith, and safely escorted to Grimsby. DD STURDY departed Rosyth, via the Humber for Portsmouth to escort CVE ARGUS to Toulon. ARGUS at this time was the RNs training carrier

Harwich

HXF.7 was delayed due to bad weather, and during the afternoon of the 7th, only four ships out of the 13 in convoy were in company. Escorting AMC ASTURIAS sustained minor weather damage which required dockyard repair.

ORP DDs BLYSKAWICA and GROM on patrol 70 miles east of Lowestoft were attacked by German torpedo planes. No damage resulted in this first recorded aircraft torpedo attack of the war. Returning to Harwich, they fouled the buoy, GROM's port propeller was damaged, and she required docking. BLYSKAWICA was docked for examination as well after GROM completed her repairs.

Channel

DDs GRENVILLE and GRENADE collided at Devonport during the night of the 7th/8th. GRENVILLE's starboard side was damaged below the water line and number three boiler room flooded; she repaired at Devonport completing on 1 December. The stem of GRENADE was twisted and the fore peak flooded; her repairs at Falmouth were completed on 9 December. CL EFFINGHAM dep Devonport after boiler cleaning, and arrived at Halifax on the 15th.

HG.5A in rough weather had difficulty making the Downs, and MV CITY OF MELBOURNE (6630grt) ran aground on the South Goodwins.. She later was floated free, but required repair

UK - France

BC.14 of steamers ADJUTANT, BATNA, BELLEROPHON (Commodore), BRIARWOOD, COXWOLD, HARMATTAN, JADE, LOCHEE, OUSEL, PACIFIC COAST and PEMBROKE COAST dep the Bristol Channel escort DDs EXPRESS, VIVACIOUS and VESPER. The convoy safely arrived in the Loire on the 10th.

Med -Biscay

Depot ship MAIDSTONE dep Malta escort sloops ABERDEEN and DEPTFORD, and arrived at Gib on the 10th. On the 12th, they dep Gib, accompanied by CL CAPETOWN. West of Gib, the sloops were detached and proceeded to England for duty in Home Waters. CAPETOWN escorted MAIDSTONE halfway to Freetown where she was relieved by CL NEPTUNE. CAPETOWN returned to Gib while MAIDSTONE and NEPTUNE proceeded to Freetown, arriving on the 16th. CL CAPETOWN departed Malta for Gibraltar where she arrived on the 9th.

Sloop FOWEY arrived at Malta en route to England from Alexandria. She was delayed by boiler defects and did not leave for Gib until the 12th, arriving on the 15th. She dep on the 16th, escorting ammunition stores ship (ASIS) PACHECO to Freetown.

West Coast UK

DDs GRENADE, EXMOUTH and WREN were engaged in ASW ops. GRENADE attacked a contact at this location, but no results.

Caribbean

CA BERWICK departed Bermuda and arrived at Portsmouth for docking on the 14th, where she was under repair until 9 December. She departed Portsmouth the same day to join CruSqn 1.

Other

Hermann Göring met with American journalists at the Soviet embassy in Berlin, Germany and mocked the quality and quantity of the US-built aircraft that would soon arrive in Britain.

 

[Njaco]

7 November 1939 Tuesday
WESTERN FRONT: Lt. Joachim Müncheberg of Stab III./JG 26 begins his scoreboard of the war when he shoots down a Blenheim I of RAF No. 57 Squadron into the Rhine near Opladen at 1345 hours for his Gruppe's only victory of the 'Sitzkrieg'. The Blenheim was on a photographic and visual reconnaissance over north-west Germany. Two hours later, fighters from 9./JG 53 engage French fighters near Saarbrücken. Three French fighters are shot down including one for the first victory for Hptm. Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke, the Staffelkapitän of 9./JG 53 and friend of Lt. Münchberg. Also getting a first victory is Fw. Franz Gawlick while Lt. Jakob Stoll destroys a Potez 63 for his second score.

On a patrol over the border, a Dornier Do-17 is shot down by the Allies.

Queen Wilhelmina of Holland (the Netherlands) and King Leopold III of Belgium issue an appeal for peace and offer to mediate between the combatants which was rejected by Germany, France, and the United Kingdom.

GERMANY: Severe and harsh weather forces Hitler to postpone his "FALL GELB" invasion. No new date is set. This pattern - planned launch of the attack then postponement by the weather - is repeated many times through November and December 1939 and into January 1940. Hitler does not get his early pressure on the Allies and the Phony War continues.

Hermann Göring met with American journalists at the Soviet embassy in Berlin, Germany and mocked the quality and quantity of the US-built aircraft that would soon arrive in Britain.

UNITED KINGDOM: A double agent, Paul Thummel, passes details of the planned German western offensive to the Czech government-in-exile.

The Admiralty announced that, in the southern part of the North Sea, some British light forces, including two Polish destroyers, were in action with German aircraft. No damage was done to any ship.

The Air Ministry announced that a number of air actions took place over the North Sea. A German aircraft approaching the Shetlands was driven off by anti-aircraft fire and then chased away by British aircraft. Other aircraft were sighted and two were engaged by RAF patrols many miles out over the North Sea, but escaped in cloud.

.

 

[Wurger]

On the 7th November 1939 the Prime Minister of the Polish Government-in-Exile, General Władysław Sikorski became the Commander in Chief and General Inspector of the Polish Armed Forces.

Winston Churchill with General Władysław Sikorski, Prime Minister of the Polish Government-in-Exile and Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Armed Forces and General Charles de Gaulle, General Officer Commanding French Forces, following a Cruiser Mk IIA CS (A10) tank demonstration.

 

[Njaco]

8 November 1939 Wednesday
WESTERN FRONT: More clashes with the Allies bring continued success for the Luftwaffe fighter units stationed at the border. Shortly after noon, Oblt. Heinz Schumann of 4./JG 52 destroys one of the barrage balloons over Weissenburg and is given credit for a kill, his first. At 1422 hours, Lt. Karl Faust of 5./JG 52 destroys a French Morane northeast of Bitsch, for his first kill of the war. Thirteen minutes later, Hptm. Johannes Gentzen of Stab./JGr 102 gets his eighth victory when he downs a French Morane northeast of Edenkoben. Another barrage balloon over Weissenburg is destroyed by Oblt. Erich Groth of 2./JGr 102 for his first credited kill.

A single-handed action was fought by a New Zealand pilot at a height of five miles over an RAF aerodrome in France, and a German reconnaissance machine was brought down.

Reports of German movements on the Dutch border cause the government to widen the defensive flooding zone.

Belgian King Leopold III revealed to Dutch Queen Wilhelmina that Belgium was aware of a German plan to invade the Low Countries, and it could be launched as soon as within a few days.

GERMANY: The annual "Old Fighters" convention meets in Bürgerbräukeller in Munich, Germany. Adolf Hitler speaks for about an hour, accusing Great Britain of fighting for her own imperialist motives. A bomb explodes in Bürgerbräukeller, fifteen minutes after Adolf Hitler left the building. Eight are killed, sixty-three injured. George Elser set the bomb in a gap under a wood panel, possibly arranged by Heinrich Himmler. Hitler cuts short his speech to catch the train back to Berlin as it is too foggy for him to fly. The bomb explodes at 21:20, exactly as Elser planned, but Hitler had left 13 minutes earlier. In actuality, however, the bomb had been planned by Hitler to elevate his own standing in Germany and to create a situation where he could blame the western powers for an assassination attempt. Elser is arrested in Konstanz, trying to cross the border into Switzerland. He is transferred to Gestapo headquarters in Berlin where he confesses under torture. He will eventually be held at the Sachsenhausen and Dachau concentration camps until April 1945, when Hitler orders his death to prevent liberation by the advancing Allies. (In January 1946, General Georg Thomas of the German Army General Staff accuses Reinhard Heydrich of staging the explosion to end the peace movement of high army officers.)

POLAND: Hans Frank, Governor of the General Government, in that part of former Poland occupied by the Germans but not annexed, consolidates plans to transport 600,000 Jews and 400,000 Poles from the incorporated territories in the General Government. The operation is to begin December 1st.

EASTERN EUROPE: Finnish negotiators reject Soviet proposals for border revisions. The Finnish negotiators wish to accept some concessions but their government sees the Soviet attempts to bargain as a sign of weakness. Marshal Mannerheim opposes this view.

UNITED KINGDOM: The Hull trawler 'Kingston Arogonite' was lost. A balloon was also reported to be adrift near Hull.

Air Ministry announced that three German aircraft were engaged in combat over the North Sea by two reconnaissance aircraft of RAF Coastal Command. One of the enemy aircraft, a Heinkel seaplane crashed on the water and sank. Another was seen to fall partially out of control.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: It was reported that the German supply ship 'Uhrenfels' had been captured and taken to Freetown, Sierra Leone.

.

 

[parsifal]

8 November
Known Reinforcements

Allied Reinforcements
ASW Whaler Windermeyer

DKM War diary
Selected extracts...

UBOATS

Kriegstagebücher (KTB) - War Diary

U 28 sailed for her operations area (Operations Order No. 10). U 37 entered port. She sank:

S.S. Vistula 1,018 tons Swedish, S.S. Asis 4,810 tons Greek, S.S. Vermont 5,186 tons French, S.S. Yorkshire 10,183 tons English S.S. Menin Ridge 2,474 tons English, S.S. Ledbury 3,528 tons English, S.S. Tafna 4,413 tons English, S.S. Thrasyroulos 3,693 tons Greek
Total:35,305 tons.
Very good work. On her way out the boat encountered a battleship of the Royal Sovereign class and a cruiser of "C" or "D" class between the Orkneys and the Hebrides. She could not attack, as weather conditions did not permit keeping at attacking depth. This confirms the impression that this sea area is often used by the Home Fleet. Information hitherto has been obtained from U 56's observation (see F.O. U/B West's War Log), from radio intelligence and odd agent's reports. All Atlantic boats have therefore been ordered to alter course so as to pass through this area, even if it means delay.

Arrival

Kiel: U-21

Wilhelmshaven: U-37

Departures

Wilhelmshaven: U-28

At Sea 8 November

U-23, U-25, U-26, U-28, U-33, U-34, U-41, U-43, U-53, U-56, U-58, U-59, U-60, U-61.
14 boats at sea

Northern Patrol

On Northern Patrol, were two cruisers between the Orkneys and the Faroes, three cruisers and one AMC between the Faroes and Iceland, and light cruiser NEWCASTLE and two AMCs in the Denmark Strait. CLs DUNEDIN, DELHI and DIOMEDE departed Sullom Voe. DUNEDIN and DELHI relieved CLs CALEDON and CERES which then returned to Sullom Voe on the 9th. DUNEDIN, DELHI and DIOMEDE all arrived at Loch Ewe on the 15th, DUNEDIN with rudder trouble and DIOMEDE with weather damage to her upper deck. DIOMEDE and DUNEDIN reported sighting a periscope in Yell Sound and DUNEDIN dropped a depth charge on the contact, after which DD KELLY searched unsuccessfully for the U-boat. Coast watchers reported a submarine in Yell Sound during the afternoon of the 9th and five DDs were eventually detailed to search. As a result of these sightings, the Northern Patrol cruisers were ordered to use Loch Ewe instead of Sullom Voe.

North Sea .

Planned minelaying operations during the night of the 8th/9th in the Thames and 10th/11th in the Humber by DKM DDs KARL GALSTER, HANS LÜDEMAN and HERMANN KÜNNE, FRIEDRICH ECKHOLDT and FRIEDRICH IHN, PAUL JACOBI, THEODOR RIEDEL and HERMANN SCHOEMANN, were cancelled due to defects in KÜNNE.

Harwich

Sloops GRIMSBY and FLAMINGO, on passage to Harwich, searched for a submarine six miles ENE of Hartlepool. OA.32G of 23 ships departed Southend escort DDs VENETIA and WIVERN from the 8th to the 10th, and DDs WAKEFUL and WHITEHALL from the 10th to 11th. On the 11th, the convoy merged with OB.32G, which was escorted by DDs MACKAY and VIMY until the 11th, becoming OG.6.

Halifax

HXF.8 departed Halifax at 1400 escort RCN DDs FRASER and ST LAURENT, which detached on the 10th. Ocean escort was AMC ASCANIA, which detached on the 19th and then returned to Halifax. The convoy was escorted in Home Waters by DDs WINCHELSEA and WARWICK from OB.35, and ACASTA and ARDENT from OA.35 from the 19th to 20th. The convoy arrived at Dover on the 21st.

Med -Biscay

Fr TBs BALISTE and LA POURSIVANTE arrived at Gib from Toulon, departing on the 9th for Casablanca.

These ships were both from the La Melpomene Class. The continental Navies at various times tried to exploit a clause in the naval treaties that placed no limits on surface warships below 600T. The results were generally mixed at best
Sth Atlantic

SL.8 departed Freetown escort AMC CILICIA. On the 23rd, DDs VANQUISHER, VERSATILE and WITHERINGTON from convoy OB.39 joined the convoy, which arrived next day.

West Coast UK

Steamers DUNKELD (UK 4944 grt) and FERNPOOL in convoy SL.6B collided . DD WALPOLE escorted the damaged ships to Bristol Channel, and then returned to the convoy on the 9th.

India

Sloops EGRET departed Durban and ROCHESTER from Aden, both to return to Home Waters, via Suez.

Far East

CVL EAGLE, RAN CL HOBART and DD WESTCOTT departed Singapore for Colombo on convoy duty, arriving on the 12th.

Other

Belgian King Leopold III revealed to Dutch Queen Wilhelmina that Belgium was aware of a German plan to invade the Low Countries, and it could be launched as soon as within a few days.

 

[Njaco]

9 November 1939 Thursday
WESTERN FRONT: A plane from FuG 122 has its compass destroyed by ice and inadvertently flies over Belgium. No Allied fighters intercept the plane and it makes it back to base unharmed.

In Holland two British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) officers, Major Richard Stevens and Captain S. Payne Best, are kidnapped by the Gestapo while attempting to contact members of the German resistance to the Nazis. The two British agents have been meeting with a "Major Schaemmle" who claims to represent German Army officers plotting to overthrow Hitler. (He is actually Walther Schellenberg, a Gestapo officer.) Their meetings have been at Venlo, 5 miles (8 km) from the German border. Today, they are to meet at a cafe a few yards from the border. Upon arriving, their car is hit by machinegun fire, they are overpowered by German security forces and forcibly taken across the border. Himmler ordered the kidnapping immediately after the Munich bombing incident. One of the officers is carrying a list of British agents with him and from this and other indiscretions as well as from their interrogation, the German authorities are able to arrest many British agents in former Czechoslovakia and other occupied territory. The Venlo Incident is a serious setback for British Intelligence. Both officers remain imprisoned until April 1945.

Paris reported increased activity on the front between the Rhine and the Moselle. Anxiety was caused by movements of German cavalry and supplies of petrol on the Dutch border. Armed clashes took place on the Dutch frontier at Venlo, in Limberg, one man, believed to be Dutch, being killed.

EASTERN EUROPE: The Finnish government responds to continued Soviet demands for land concessions and military bases by rescinding their offer to yield the Gulf of Finland islands. Their embarrassed delegates, Paasikivi and Tanner, still in Moscow, are left to communicate this. At 6 PM they meet Molotov and Stalin for the final time. Before they leave, Stalin, incredulous, asks;

"Nothing doing"?

At midnight, Molotov enquires whether Finland will sell the Hanko peninsula to get around this impasse. The Finns pack their bags for the last time. Nothing doing. In Helsinki the government restates its position that Finland;

"...cannot grant to a foreign military power military bases on her territory and within the confines of her frontiers."

GERMANY: The press and radio accuse Britain of organizing the attempted assassination of Hitler in Munich on November 8th.

Adolf Hitler again postponed the invasion of France; the next date for decision was to be 13 Nov 1939 for a possible invasion date of 19 Nov 1939.

AFRICA: An alleged Nazi plot by armed black shirts to sabotage vital industries in Johannesburg and Pretoria is revealed.

UNITED KINGDOM: An RAF plane which crashed in Cambridge Road, Middlesbrough, with total loss of personnel and machine, caused fires in three houses. One fireman is reported injured; no other civilian casualties. The aircraft mentioned by Home Security was Hudson N7290 from No 220 Squadron. The two crew were: Pilot Officer Augustus Ryan (pilot), Sergeant Rex Mitchell (second pilot), ACI Albert Wade (crew), with Pilot Officer Douglas Robertson on board as a passenger.

SS 'Carmarthen Coast' (961t) on a voyage from Methil to London, was mined and sank three miles off Seaham Harbour. Two of the crew were lost.

.

 

[parsifal]

9 November

DKM War diary
Selected extracts...

 

[parsifal]

9 November
Known Reinforcements

None

DKM War diary
See preceding entry.

UBOATS

Kriegstagebücher (KTB) - War Diary

U 49 sailed for her operations area in accordance with Operations Order No. 11. U 36's operational readiness postponed for another 8 days.

Arrival

Kiel: U-23 , U-59

Departures

Kiel: U-49

At Sea 9 November

U-25, U-26, U-28, U-33, U-34, U-41, U-43, U-49, U-53, U-56, U-58, U-60, U-61.

13 boats at sea

Baltic

Steamers GEISHA (Nor 5113 grt) and SUSANNA (Nor 810 grt) were seized by German warships in the Baltic for contraband violations. GEISHA was released and provided service to the allies in the war. SUSANNA was released, but continued under German control. Damaged on Aug. 11-1940 during air attack in Korsfjordin (2 dead) (See M/S Geisha - Norwegian Merchant Fleet 1939-1945 and Norwegian Homefleet - Ships starting with So through Sø )

Northern Patrol

Two cruisers between the Orkneys and the Faroes, four cruisers and one AMC between the Faroes and Iceland, and one cruiser and two AMCs in the Denmark Strait. CL SHEFFIELD departed Rosyth on patrol, and arrived at Loch Ewe on the 21st.

Home Flt

BBs NELSON, RODNEY, CLA CAIRO, and DDs FAULKNOR, FAME, FORTUNE, FOXHOUND, FORESIGHT, FEARLESS, KINGSTON and IMPERIAL arrived at Rosyth at 0700 for refuelling. KINGSTON had developed a leak in her reserve fuel tank and required repair.

North Sea .

Norway

MV SNAR (Nor 3176 grt). Carrying Pulpwood to Rouen, ship was stopped and searched by U-34. Uboat Net claims she was taken to Fredrickshaven and searched there, and state the ship was released soon after. This is corroborated by the Norwegian website below. In my opinion, the ship should not be counted as a loss
D/S Snar - Norwegian Merchant Fleet 1939-1945

Scottish East Coast

MV CARMARTHEN COAST (UK 961 grt) Granite kerbstones and linoleum floor coverings. 17 crew. struck a mine, laid on 26 October by U-24 and sank by the stern after about ten minutes about 3 miles east of Seaham harbor. Two crew members on watch below were killed and six men injured.
(Uboat net)

UK- France

MV PACIFIC COAST (UK 1,210 grt) motor cargo ship that was severely damaged by fire on 9 November 1939 at Brest and broken up in 1940. 6 crew killed
http://www.wrecksite.eu/img/wrecks/pacific_coast_mv.jpg

East Coast

FN.34 departed Southend, escorted by sloops GRIMSBY, WESTON, FLAMINGO, which had arrived from Rosyth for this duty. The convoy arrived at Rosyth on the 11th. FS.34 departed Rosyth, escort DDs VALOROUS, WOOLSTON and sloop HASTINGS, and arrived at Southend on the 11th.

Nth Atlantic

Steamer ASHANTIAN (4917grt) reported sighting a submarine, and DD ECLIPSE was detailed to search. There was a further separate sighting of a U-boat 250 miles SW of Fastnet, and DDs BROKE and ECLIPSE were sent to search. There were no results from either search

Sth America

Steamers LAHN (Ger 8498rt) and TACOMA (Ger 8268 grt) departed Talcuhuana, Chile, and arrived at Montevideo on the 23rd

Med -Biscay

DD GRIFFIN of DesFlot 1 departed Malta on 20 October and arrived at Gib on the 22nd. She left on the 25th with sister ship GRENADE to escort SL.5, but returned to Gib. She left again with SL.6 on the 30th and arrived at Plymouth on the 9th November. This completed the transfer of the DesFlot 1 to home waters, now based at Harwich with the three Polish DDs. SL.6A was escorted by DDs ELECTRA and ESCORT into the Downs. Fr DDs TARTU and VAUQUELIN arrived at Gibraltar to escort HG.7.

MV LEANDER (Ger 989 grt) dep Vigo to return to Germany. 100 miles west of Vigo she was captured by DD ISIS, joined convoy HG.6 which ISIS was escorting, arrived at Falmouth on the 13th, and was renamed EMPIRE CRUSADER for British service. She had attempted to reach Germany disguised as a Russian merchant ship. When captured her captain attempted to scuttle the ship, but was forcibly prevented from doing so by the rest of her crew. Employed in Coastal traffic she was hit repeatedly in later service by German air attacks

[NO IMAGE FOUND]

West Coast UK

SS H.43 and trawler COMET (formerly TAMURA, 301grt) dep Devonport and exercised off the west coast of Ireland to ascertain the effectiveness of these two ship classes working together.

U.33 laid mines off North Foreland in Bristol Channel, but no shipping was sunk or damaged. from these mines

Other

German newspapers noted that the attempted assassination on Adolf Hitler which took place on the previous day in Munich, Germany was the work of British secret service agents. In actuality, it was a plot by Hitler to elevate his own standing. Forewarned of the plan to blow up his speaking venue, he and his entire entourage simply left the venue early, allowing many casualties to occur in the audience.

Adolf Hitler issued directive No. 9 which called for German aircraft and submarines to attack British shipping and port facilities on an unrestricted basis.

In Moscow, Russia at 1800 hours, Finnish diplomats Paasikivi and Tanner met with Joseph Stalin and Vyacheslav Molotov in the final attempt to avoid war. They did not reach an agreeable conclusion.

 

[parsifal]

10 November
Known Reinforcements

Neutral
Fleet Tug USS CHEROKEE
http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/39/093906612.jpg

The Allies found fleet tugs to be invaluable in both amphibious operations and general convoy work. USS CHEROKEE was to prove her worth on many occasions

Allied
Tree Class ASW Trawlers WHITETHORN and WISTARIA
Source Wiki

DKM War diary
Selected Extracts.

UBOATS

Kriegstagebücher (KTB) - War Diary

U 38 will also be delayed for several days. Meanwhile U 26 must have decided whether or not she can carry out her operation off Gibraltar. There is no news from the boat and no reports of her being sighted by patrols. Freight rates and risk premiums in the Mediterranean have been reduced, therefore presumably there is thought to be less danger from U-boats. The appearance of a U-boat there should cause great alarm. The next few days should show.

Arrival

Kiel: U-58

At Sea 10 November

U-25, U-26, U-28, U-33, U-34, U-41, U-43, U-49, U-53, U-56, U-60, U-61.
12 boats at sea.

Northern Patrol

Two cruisers between the Orkneys and Faroes, three cruisers and one AMC between the Faroes and Iceland, and one cruiser and one AMC in the Denmark Strait. The Northern Patrol, from the 10th to 23rd, sighted 57 eastbound ships and sent 50 into Kirkwall for inspection. Nine German ships were sighted and seized. No german ships were now permitted to pass, and this wass causing a great deal of annoyance in Germany. The war at sea was toughening up. AMCs RAWALPINDI arrived in the Clyde after Northern Patrol duty, and CALFORNIA departed the Clyde on Northern Patrol. AMC SCOTSTOUN was damaged by an ice flow which buckled her frame and loosened some hull plates, but she was able to continue patrol in the Iceland-Faroes Channel for the time being.

Northern Waters

DD IMPULSIVE departed Scapa Flow for Aberdeen to escort steamer MARYLYN (4555grt), but when it was found the steamer would not be ready to sail until the 13th, she returned to Scapa.

North Sea .

Humber
DDs JUNO, JANUS, JAGUAR and JERSEY departed Immingham.

Rosyth Strike Force

CLs GLASGOW, SOUTHAMPTON, AURORA and BELFAST and ten destroyers were formed as a Striking Force at Rosyth. The new force was designated Humber Force, though it based at various ports. For CL BELFAST, following a refit, she departed the Clyde on the 8th and on the 10th transferred from CruSqn 18.

Southend

OA.33 of 12 ships departed Southend escort DDs WREN and WITCH on the 11th and 12th. SSs CACHALOT and SEAL departed Gosport and escorted the convoy from the 10th to 15th. The convoy was dispersed on the 15th and the submarines proceeded independently to Halifax where they arrived on the 25th for escort duty.

UK- France

OB.33 departed Liverpool escort DDs VERSATILE, VOLUNTEER and MONTROSE until the 13th. BC.13S of steamers ATLANTIC COAST, BARON GRAHAM, BRISTOL CITY, BRITISH COAST, CERVANTES, CITY OF DERBY DELIUS (Commodore), DORSET COAST, GRETA FORCE, GUELMA, LYCAON and SANDHILL departed the Loire escorted by destroyers VIVACIOUS and VESPER. The convoy safely arrived in the Bristol Channel on the 12th.

Channel

Fr SSs ORPHÉE and ANTIOPE departed Brest escorted by Aux PC HEREUX.

Nth Atlantic

CA YORK, repairing boiler defects at Bermuda, then entered a further yard period to repair A-turret scheduled to be completed by the end of the month. HX.8 departed Halifax at 1200 escort RCN DDs FRASER and ST LAURENT, which detached on the 11th. Ocean escort for the convoy was BB REVENGE. Convoy arrived at Liverpool on the 25th.

Sth Atlantic

CA CUMBERLAND departed Buenos Aires patrolling en route to Capetown, but was diverted on the 18th to Rio de Janeiro, leaving there on the 22nd for the Rio de la Plata area. CA EXETER departed Mar del Plata to repair at Capetown, but was recalled for patrol in the Rio area. RNZN CL ACHILLES arrived at Rio de Janiero, then left on the 12th for local patrol. She was ordered on the 17th to patrol in the Rio de la Plata area. Netlayer PROTECTOR arrived at Freetown on the 10th to lay indicator nets. The lay was completed in mid-February 1940 and she departed Freetown on the 17th to return to England.

Med -Biscay

Fr CL LA GALISSONIÈRE dep Casablanca, escort Contre Torpilleur DD CHEVALIER PAUL and later arrived at Brest; her escort being detached at sea.

West Coast UK

DDs GIPSY and GLOWWORM were searching 60 miles south of Milford Haven for a reported submarine.

Indian Ocean

CL MANCHESTER departed Bombay en route to the Home Flt, calling at Aden on the 13th‑14th and arriving at Port Said on the 17th. Vice Adm Geoffrey Layton, commanding BatSqn 1 , Med Flt, was ordered to the Home Fleet to command CruSqn 18 and embarked on CL MANCHESTER which called at Malta on the 18th‑20th. She departed Gib on the 22nd, with DD KEPPEL as local escort, and arrived at Portsmouth on the 25th to begin a refit lasting until 21 December ( i believe radar was added in addition to general repair). She departed Portsmouth on 22 December, arrived at Scapa on the 24th, and left on the 26th on patrol. CL DANAE departed Mauritius for Colombo, where she arrived on the 18th. CAs DORSETSHIRE and CORNWALL departed Colombo to join CVL EAGLE and RAN DDs VENDETTA and WATERHEN on patrol at sea. The Force arrived back at Colombo on the 18th.

Other

The Dutch Army canceled leave and reinforced its border defenses.

British Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs Anthony Eden met with French Prime Minister Édouard Daladier and Commander-in-Chief General Maurice Gamelin in Paris, France, joined by representatives from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and India. For Australia, one of the spinoff effects of this meeting was An Australian Government order-in-council that was signed, and transferred all vessels and personnel of the Commonwealth Naval Forces, and personnel of the RAAF, to the King's Naval and Air Forces. Effectively it placed thgese forces at the British disposal. Army deployments remained subject to an earlier agreement separating the AIF from the militias.

The transfer did not stipulate the duration of the service, nor did it cover ships subsequently acquired or built. However, further transfers of ships and personnel were made between 1940 and 1943.

 

[Njaco]

10 November 1939 Friday
WESTERN FRONT: The only German claim for the day comes when Oblt. Wilhelm Hobein of 2./JGr 176 downs a barrage balloon east of Mainz.

Over Tourcoing, a Dornier is bounced by a Hurricane of RAF No. 87 Squadron. The British plane fails to damage the German bomber and runs out of fuel, force-landing in Belgium and the pilot taken prisoner.

The Dutch reinforce border troops, cancel all Army leave and prepare to flood the "inundation area" by opening sluice gates. These steps are reported to be precautions against invasion. The Dutch believe the date of the invasion is November 12, due to Hans Oster's leak to their military attaché. The US consulate advices Americans to leave the Netherlands.

German forces conducted local probing attacks which were met with infantry and artillery fire. German reinforcements are reportedly moving up to the Siegfried Line.

British Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs Anthony Eden met with French Prime Minister Édouard Daladier and Commander-in-Chief General Maurice Gamelin in Paris, France, joined by representatives from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and India. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain stays home in London suffering badly from gout. Chamberlain will recover from gout but things only get worse for him. Six months from now he will resign as Prime Minister and in a year he will be dead from cancer.

UNITED KINGDOM: The Admiralty announced that HMS "Rover", a small auxiliary vessel, was considerably overdue and must be presumed lost, with her crew of four officers and 23 men.

The Luftwaffe loses a Dornier Do 18 of 3. / K.Fl.Gr.406 when it is intercepted by two Hudsons of RAF No. 220 Squadron and is shot down into the sea near Scarborough The Do.18 capsized becoming the first German aircraft to be shot down by a Coastal Command aircraft. The crew were rescued by the Dutch with one member listed as missing.

.

 

[Njaco]

11 November 1939 Saturday
WESTERN FRONT: French Colonel Charles De Gaulle urges the staff of the French Armed Forces that tanks are to be framed in armored divisions, emulating the tactics of the Wehrmacht organization, tested with success in Poland. The suggestion will be rejected and the French tanks remain scattered among all units as infantry support.

British, French, Belgian and German troops mark the twenty-first anniversary of the Armistice, at 11 AM on November 11 1918, on the very battlefields where their fathers fought The Great War (World War One, as it would soon be known). Many in Britain hope that Germany's expansion in Europe will not bring another general war. Others, including Churchill, believe the storm has not passed and that Hitler will continue his plans for European domination. As Armistice Day falls on a Saturday, the two-minute silence of remembrance in Britain is moved to Sunday to avoid disrupting war production. This begins the new tradition of Remembrance Day on the Sunday closest to November 11. Sales of the symbolically pacifist white poppies drop from 85,000 in 1938 to almost nil.

The Belgian Army cancels military leaves. Belgian police along the French border receive orders to clear roads to allow for French forces entering into Belgium.

Portuguese Foreign Ministry issues dispatch Number 14 instructing consuls to issue visas (to Portugal) only to those with tickets on ships out of Lisbon, no visas to Czechs, Russians, and Jews.

Paris reported a quiet day on the Western Front. During the night aircraft flew over North-Eastern France.

GERMANY: In Berlin the Reich foreign ministry repeats earlier assurances that the neutrality of Holland and Belgium will be respected.

Adolf Hitler attended the funeral of those killed in the staged 8 Nov 1939 assassination attempt in München, Germany.

RAF made successful reconnaissance flights the preceding night over towns in South-West Germany, including Stuttgart, Mannheim, and Nuremberg. One aircraft failed to return.

UNITED KINGDOM: In England, Dr. R.V. Jones submits 'The Hitler Waffe' report, listing seven possible secret German weapons, with #5 being long-range guns and rockets.

Queen Elizabeth broadcasts a message to the women of the Empire, from Buckingham Palace. She says women;

"…have real and vital work to do" and assures women that they are "keeping the Home Front, which will have dangers of its own, stable and strong."

Armistice Day messages were exchanged between the King and the French President.

EASTERN EUROPE: In Czechoslovakia, the funeral of Czech student Jan Opletal, killed earlier during the Czech independence celebrations, turned into a demonstration, which was crushed by German troops. Czech universities were closed; 1,200 students are sent to camps, and 9 are sentenced to death.

.

 

[parsifal]

11 November
Known Reinforcements
Axis
IJN Kagero Class DD TOKISUKAZE IJN C1 Class Sub I-24

DKM War diary
Selected Extracts

UBOATS

Kriegstagebücher (KTB) - War Diary

Analysis of information on the whereabouts of the British battle fleet shows that it is probably distributed over various places outside the North Sea. The possibilities if mining these places with TMB's must therefore be considered. The main difficulties will probably be navigational. It is hardly likely that all these places are under constant strong patrol, or that local defenses are very extensive. The first area to be considered is the Bay of Oban. The battleship Rodney was lying there some time ago. Information received so far on the effects of the minefields laid by U-boats shows that not all the ships which ran into the fields were sunk. We must therefore try to lay the mines in shallow water and reduce their sensitivity so that they are only exploded by largish ships.

Departures Arrival

None

At Sea 11 November

U-25, U-26, U-28, U-33, U-34, U-41, U-43, U-49, U-53, U-56, U-60, U-61.
12 boats at sea

Northern Patrol

Two cruisers were between the Orkneys and the Faroes, three cruisers and one AMC between the Faroes and Iceland, and one cruiser and two AMCs in the Denmark Strait. CL GLASGOW was en route to patrol in the Denmark Strait while CL DIOMEDE was escorting Swedish steamer DROTTNINGHOLM (11, 055grt), which had been intercepted in the Faroes-Iceland patrol, towards Kirkwall. DIOMEDE requested a trawler to take over, and armed boarding vessels NORTHERN ISLE and NORTHERN FOAM were dispatched. DIOMEDE lost track of the steamer before they arrived, but AMC CALIFORNIA located her late on the 11th. The trawlers could not make the rendezvous due to bad weather. AMCs AURANIA and CHITRAL arrived in the Clyde after Northern Patrol duties.

Northern Waters

DD MAORI departed Scapa to rendezvous with submarines TRIUMPH and TRIDENT for escort. They arrived at Rosyth on the 12th. DD ZULU searched for a submarine reported NW of Holbourn Head. DDs IMOGEN, ICARUS and IMPULSIVE departed Scapa on anti-submarine patrol and returned the next day.

North Sea .

East Coast

Trawler SOUTHWARD HO (204grt) reported a submarine five miles SE of the Tyne. ASW trawlers OLVINA (425grt) and CAPE COMORIN (504grt) carried out a search and during the night of the 11th/12th, CAPE COMORIN ran aground near the Tyne. She was refloated and repaired. DDs KEITH and BOADICEA were on East Coast patrol. BOADICEA was detached to Harwich to refuel and KEITH was relieved by ORP DDs BURZA and GROM on the 11th.

The Humber Force, consisting of CruSqn 2, DesFlot 7, and specially attached DDs MASHONA, BEDOUIN, TARTAR, GURKHA of DesFlot 4 were placed under direct Admiralty control to counter a possible sea invasion of Holland thought to be due. CLs GLASGOW, SOUTHAMPTON, AURORA, BELFAST, with MASHONA, TARTAR and GURKHA departed Rosyth on the 11th to join the Humber Force at Immingham. BEDOUIN was delayed three hours and arrived later. On the 12th, MASHONA, BEDOUIN and TARTAR were relieved by DDs AFRIDI, MAORI and ZULU, with MASHONA departing Rosyth on the 14th, escorting SS H.34 and AO WAR PINDARI to Scapa and Loch Ewe, respectively. BEDOUIN proceeded to Scapa, while TARTAR escorted steamer MARYLYN (4555grt), departing Aberdeen on the 14th for Scapa.

Southend - Methil

FN.35 departed Southend, escort DD WOOLSTON and sloops PELICAN and HASTINGS. DDs JUNO and JUPITER were at sea as a fighting force for this convoy and for FS.35. Seven steamers became detached from FN.35 and ORP DDs GROM and BURZA escorted them into the Humber. GROM afterwards returned to Harwich. The convoy arrived at Methil on the 13th, WOOLSTON and PELICAN at Rosyth mid-day, and HASTINGS which had lost touch, two hours later. FS.35 departed Methil, escort DDs WALLACE, WHITLEY and sloops STORK. STORK attacked a submarine contact 9.9 miles off St Abbs Head. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 13th.

UK West Coast

PCs KINGFISHER and WIDGEON departed Belfast and arrived in the Clyde later the same day.

Channel

CL EMERALD departed Portsmouth with another shipment of gold for Canada, via Plymouth, and arrived at Halifax on the 21st. DD WIVERN arrived at Chatham after boiler cleaning at Plymouth. CVE ARGUS and DD STURDY after short refit in the preceding days departed Devonport for Toulon where better weather conditions would allow the carrier to conduct training exercises for new pilots. DD GALLANT departed Portsmouth on the 13th and joined the Carrier. STURDY was to carry on and join the local defence DD flotilla on the China Station, but was retained in the Med as attendant DD for ARGUS. The three ships arrived at Gib on the 17th with GALLANT detaching on the 17th and returning to Plymouth on the 21st. Convoys OA.32G, departed the Thames on the 8th, and OB.32G, which had departed Liverpool, merged on the 11th as OG.6 with 43 ships. They were escorted by DDs MACKAY, VIMY, WHIRLWIND, WREN and WAKEFUL from the 8th to 11th, and Fr Contre Torpilleur DDs TIGRE and PANTHÈRE from the 11th to 16th, when the convoy arrived at Gib. ASW trawlers SPANIARD (455grt), TURCOMAN (455grt) and KELT (455grt) were with the convoy at its arrival from the 11th to 16th.

Nth Atlantic

A group of German steamers that had been trapped in the port of Vigo (Portugal) escaped to attempt to returns to Germany.

MV CORDOBA (Ger 4611 grt) passed through the Denmark Strait on the 22nd, sighted an armed merchant cruiser but was not seen and arrived at Narvik on the 28th. MV LAHNECK (Ger 1663 grt) successfully passed through the Denmark Strait and arrived at Hamburg on 16 December. MV LIVADIA (Ger 3094 grt) passed through the Iceland-Faroes passage on the 16th, arrived in Honningsvaag on the 27th, and reached Hamburg on 9 December. LUDOLF OLDENDORFF (Ger 1953 grt) passing the Iceland-Faroes passage on the 24th was sighted and stopped by CL SHEFFIELD. However, she was able to convince SHEFFIELD she was Danish steamer EDITH and arrived at Haugesand on 6 December. PALOS (Ger 997 grt) passed through the Denmark Strait on the 23rd, and arrived at Hamburg on the 29th. SEBU (Ger 1894 grt) passed through the Denmark Strait on the 24th, and arrived at Hamburg on 18 December. TANGER (Ger 1742 grt) passed the Iceland-Faroes Passage on the 20th, and arrived at Hamburg on 9 December.

Finally, the last ship of the group, KONSUL HENDRICK FISSER (Ger 4458 grt) was captured attempting to pass the Iceland-Faroes Passage on the 23rd.

Sth Atlantic

CAs SUSSEX and SHROPSHIRE departed Simonstown and Capetown respectively, to sweep towards St Helena. While departing, SUSSEX was in a minor collision with AO ATHELPRINCE (8782grt) at Simonstown. The cruisers arrived back on the 23rd. CL NEPTUNE departed Freetown on patrol, met depot ship MAIDSTONE, and returned on the 16th to join CV ARK ROYAL.

Med -Biscay

BB RAMILLIES and DD DELIGHT departed Port Said to relieve BB MALAYA and DD DARING off Aden. CL PENELOPE departed Alexandria on patrol, and arrived at Malta on the 25th.

The 1st MTB Flotilla left Malta on the 11th with base ship VULCAN (trawler, 623grt) for Bizerte and Ajaccio, en route to Portsmouth via French overland. The Flotilla consisted of the same units it had at the beginning of the war. DD DAINTY followed the flotilla to escort returniing to Malta on completion. several MTBs were delayed due to heavy weather. Meanwhile also as part of this transfer, Liner FRANCONIA, carrying MTB.2, MTB.5, MTB.17, departed Malta on the 16th escort DD DUCHESS. The liner was damaged by heavy seas, but was able to reach Marseilles on the 19th. On the 24th, the flotilla now reconstituted departed Marseilles, travelled up the Rhone River, in spectacular fashion, and was then towed through the canals to the Seine. In the Seine, once again under their own power, they again put on an impressive show, sailing through Paris and out to sea arriving at Portsmouth on 6 December. After refitting, the Flotilla was based at Felixstowe and became operational in January 1940.

Caribbean

Fr SS SIDI FERRUCH arrived at Port of Spain after patrol in the Caribbean.

 

[Njaco]

12 November 1939 Sunday
GERMANY: In an effort to protect the German navy from British fighters and bombers, German fighter forces in the Heligoland Bight are reorganized. Major Carl Schumacher, Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 77 is promoted to Obersleutnant and given control of the newly formed Stab./JG 1. Under his command is Major Harry von Bülow of II./JG 77, Hptm Heinrich Seeliger of II(J)./JG 186, Oblt. Johannes Steinhoff of 10(N)./JG 26 and Major Reichardt of JGr 101. The Stab is headquartered at Jever after being withdrawn from the North Sea coastline.

Hundreds of dissidents and Jews are arrested in the search for the Munich bombers. Among the thousands of persons arrested following the Munich bomb explosion were said to be Monarchists, Jews, Social Democrats and members of the Gestapo itself. Meanwhile, ration cards for clothing are issued.

UNITED KINGDOM: British King George VI replies to the appeal for peace issued by Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and King Leopold of Belgium. The British King along with the French government politely rejected the offer to mediate toward the end of the war. Meanwhile, Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty, says in a radio broadcast that if the British get through the winter without any serious setback, the first campaign of the war will have been won. He states;

"….conscripts are being crowded in vast numbers upon the frontiers of Holland and Belgium. To both these States the Nazis have given most recent and solemn guarantees. No wonder anxiety is great. No one believes one word Hitler and the Nazi Party say…. If words could kill, we should be dead already!"

WESTERN FRONT: The Dutch and Belgian foreign ministers meet at Breda. French President Lebrun also responds negatively to the Belgian-Dutch mediation offer.

The first ENSA (Entertainments National Service Association) concert is given for British and French troops in France, starring Maurice Chevalier and Gracie Fields.

Several units of Dutch soldiers are deployed at various strategic points throughout the country, especially at the bridges of Maastrich, after being informed by spies of the German invasion plans of the Third Reich.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-41 (Kapitänleutnant Gustav-Adolf Mugler in command) sank British trawler "Cresswell" by gunfire off the Outer Hebrides, Scotland at 0700 hours; 6 were killed, 8 survived and rescued by U-41. At 1000 hours, U-41 struck again, sinking Norwegian tanker "Arne Kjøde" (cargo of gas oil, en route to Denmark) with one torpedo. Note that both Denmark and Norway are neutral at this time.; 34 survived in 2 lifeboats, but one of them would soon capsize, killing 5. 34 survivors will be picked up on Nov 14 by the British trawler "Night Hawk" and the Royal Navy destroyer HMS "Isis".

EASTERN EUROPE: The Soviet government announces that it is not satisfied with the progress of the negotiations with Finland.

Jews in Lodz, Poland were ordered to wear the yellow star of David.
.

.

 

[parsifal]

12 November
Known Reinforcements

Neutral Ships
Soviet Serie IX or M Class SS M97

DKM War diary
Selected Extracts

UBOATS

Kriegstagebücher (KTB) - War Diary

U 36 will not be ready for another week and operations against the timber transports will get more difficult as it gets darker, I have therefore decided to send U 38 up there. This boat was to have operated together with U 41, U 43 and U 49, but her sailing has been delayed so long that only a partial cooperation would be possible now. U 36 will then be the second boat to go north. Chances of success will be considerably improved if the boats are disposed in quarterline in the direction of the traffic, about 100-120 miles apart, as then there would always be at least one boat on the steamer route by day.

U-34 entered port. She sank:
1) S.S. Gustav Adolf 935 tons Swedish contraband , 2) British Sperrbrecher 1,200 tons British 3) S.S. Malabar 7,976 tons British 4) Steamer type Cairnona 4,666 tons 5) S.S. Bronte 5,317 tons 6) Tanker 6-7,000 tons Total 26,094 tons. She also brought in the Norwegian "Snar", 3,176, tons, timber, as prize.

Arrivals
Wilhelmshaven: U-34

Departures
Kiel: U-57

At Sea 12 November
U-25, U-26, U-28, U-33, U-41, U-43, U-49, U-53, U-57, U-60, U-61.
11 boats at sea

Northern Patrol
two cruisers between the Orkneys and Faroes, three cruisers and one AMC between the Faroes and Iceland, and light cruiser NEWCASTLE and two AMCs in the Denmark Strait. CLs CALYPSO, CALEDON and CERES departed Sullom Voe on Northern Patrol duty. CALEDON suffered damage to her upper deck in heavy weather on the 15th.

Northern Waters
A German air attack on Sullom Voe and Lerwick destroyed two Sunderland flying boats at Lerwick. Tkr ARNE KLODE (Nor 11,019 grt) Carrying Oil and Gas, the ship was torpedoed by U-41 (Mugler) northwest of Scotland en route from Aruba to Nyborg, Denmark (both neutral at the time), via Kirkwall with a cargo of gas oil. She had left Aruba on Oct. 27. DD ISIS and net layer GUARDIAN came to her aid and took the stern portion of the ship in tow and were later joined by DD KASHMIR. However, the tanker was beyond saving. ISIS rescued the survivors and sank the stern on the 15th, while AMC CHITRAL(which had also arrived that day) sank the fore section with gunfire 5 men, including the captain killed. Survivors were taken to Newcastle
M/T Arne Kjøde - Norwegian Merchant Fleet 1939-1945

Trawler CRESSWELL (UK 271 grt) he unescorted and unarmed Cresswell was stopped by gunfire from U-41 while fishing 18 miles northwest by west of Flannan Isles, Outer Hebrides. The Germans ordered the crew to abandon ship and they then shelled and sunk the trawler from some distance, suspecting a Q-ship. Eight survivors were picked up by the U-boat, but one died of wounds and was buried at sea. Mugler planned to put them on another ship later on.

At 09.55 hours, they witnessed the sinking of the Arne Kjøde and were transferred to the British trawler Phyllisia at 16.42 hours. The survivors were landed at Fleetwood on 14 November.
(NO IMAGE FOUND)

North Sea .

Rosyth
BBs NELSON, RODNEY, and DDs FAULKNOR, FORTUNE, FORESIGHT, FOXHOUND, FAME departed Rosyth to carry out full calibre firings before proceeding on patrol between the Faroes and Norway to cover ON.2 and HN.2. The force was joined by DD FURY at sea. ON.2, departed Methil escorted by DDs IMOGEN, ICARUS and IMPULSIVE. CL AURORA left Immingham to provide close cover and CLA CURLEW was ordered to guard ON.2, but the order was changed and CAIRO was assigned in her place. CAIRO joined at daylight on the 14th and arrived back at at Rosyth on the 17th. ICARUS, IMOGEN and IMPULSIVE refuelled at Sullom Voe on the 14th, and ON.2 arrived without incident at Bergen on the 15th. The big ships arrived at Loch Ewe on the 17th, departed on the 20th after refuelling and reached the Clyde on the 21st. CL EDINBURGH and DDs AFRIDI and MAORI departed Rosyth for the Humber, arriving that afternoon. DD KINGSTON departed Rosyth for repairs at Leith, completed on the 19th. Destroyer IMPERIAL departed Rosyth for boiler cleaning. SS SEAHORSE departed Blyth for a patrol off Terschelling, arriving back on the 28th. CLA CALCUTTA departed Rosyth and arrived in the Humber on the 13th. CLA CURLEW departed Rosyth and arrived at Grimsby on the 13th. DDs ESK, EXPRESS, BLANCHE and BASILISK departing Rosyth for the Humber but were held up by fog near Outer Dowsing. Sloop FLAMINGO departed Rosyth with SS SEALION, SHARK, SNAPPER and SUNFISH for passage to Harwich, arriving on the 14th.

East Coast
On East Coast patrol, DD KEITH was off Orfordness and the ORP DD BURZA off the Sunk.

ASW Trawler CAPE COMORIN The naval trawler ran aground at Whitby, Yorkshire and was wrecked. Later salvaged, repaired and returned to service

Steamers APPLEDORE (UK 5218 grt), CLAN MACGILLIVRAY (UK 6464 grt), DEERPOOL (UK 5167 grt) SAINT MARGARET (UK 4312 grt), MAIHAR (Uk 7563 grt) and tanker ATHELKING (UK 9557 grt) of convoy FN.35 all ran aground off Lowestoft, each following the next one on to the shore. Steamer FLIMSTONE (4674grt), managed to avoid this fate but only after colliding with SAINT MARGARET.
Steamers APPLEDORE, CLAN MACGILLIVRAY, DEERPOOL Other ships No Image Found

Harwich
DDs GRIFFIN (D.1), GIPSY, GREYHOUND and GLOWWORM arrived at Harwich from Plymouth. DD GIPSY and GREYHOUND were in a collision which caused minor damage to both ships. GIPSY repaired at Harwich and GREYHOUND at Sheerness. GLOWWORM escorted HXF.7A to the Sunk. DD VIMY on patrol reported a split in her hull which contaminated her fuel, and was forced to return to port.

Southend - Methil
OA.34 of 14 ships departed Southend escort DDs ELECTRA and ESCORT from the 12th to 14th.

Thames Estuary
DKM DDs KARL GALSTER, HERMANN KÜNNE and HANS LÜDEMAN, escort DD WILHELM HEIDKAMP laid 288 magnetic mines in the Thames Estuary during the night of the 12th/13th. DDs ERICH GIESE, THEODOR RIEDEL and HERMANN SCHOEMANN also sailed, but when RIEDEL and SCHOEMANN broke down, they were escorted back by GIESE. On their return, they were met at sea by CLs KÖLN, NÜRNBERG and TBs LEOPARD, SEEADLER, WOLF, ILTIS. DD BLANCHE and thirteen merchant ships for 48,725grt were sunk in this field during the following days.

On the 12th, ML ADVENTURE struck a mine laid by the DKM DDs that morning and was badly damaged; She was able to proceed under her own power at five knots to Chatham assisted by tugs DORIA and SALVA from Ramsgate and LADY BRASSEY from Dover. Sixty two wounded were transferred to BASILISK, which led ADVENTURE in to Sheerness. She was taken to Chatham for temporary repairs, departed on 19 December for Plymouth and arrived there on the 21st for permanent repairs lasting until 18 September 1940.

Later that morning near the same spot at one mile 80° from North East Spit Buoy, DD BLANCHE towing one of the rescue tugs, struck another mine. BLANCHE had one rating killed, one rating missing, and Midshipman C L Byrne RNR, Act/Sub Lt D L Davenport, Warrant Engineer G F D Dunn and nine ratings injured. survivors were rescued by tugs FABIA (151grt), LADY BRASSEY (362grt) and trawler KESTEREL (75grt). BLANCHE sank two hours after striking the mine.

Destroyer GLOWWORM was stationed east of the Tongue Light Vessel to redirect Thames-bound shipping, and trawler MYRTLE redirected shipping coming out of the river, but the following vessels were mined and sunk in the field.

Other losses in this minefield were
On the 13th, steamer PONZANO (UK 1346 grt). On the 13th, steamer MATRA (UK 8003 grt) from HXF.7, one mile east of Tongue Light Vessel. On the 15th, steamer WOODTOWN (UK 794 grt) 3/4 mile off North East Spit Buoy, Margate. On the 19th, steamer GRAZIA (FI 5857 grt), five miles north of North Foreland. On the 23rd, steamer HOOKWOOD (UK 1537 grt) in convoy FS.40, 3½ miles ENE of Tongue Light Vessel. On the 27th, liner SPAARNDAM (Ne 8857 grt), two miles NE of Tongue Light Vessel. On the 28th, steamer RUBISLAW (UK 1041grt), 1½ miles ENE of Tongue Light Vessel, four cables SW of Knock South Buoy. On the 30th, steamer SHEAF CREST (UK 2730 grt). On 1 December, steamer DALRYAN (UK 4558 grt), 2½ miles SW of Tongue Light Vessel. On 2 December, tanker SAN CALISTO (UK 8010 grt), 2½ miles NNE of the Tongue Light Vessel. On 6 December, steamer PARALOS (Gk 3435 grt), two miles ENE of Tongue Light Vessel. On 8 December, steamer MEREL (UK 1088 grt), 270° from Gull Light Vessel, one cable north of No. 22 North Gull Buoy near Ramsgate. On 15 December, steamer URSUS (Sd 1499 grt), off Margate. 190 casualties in total

UK West Coast
OB.34 departed Liverpool escort DDs VANESSA until the 13th, and DDs WARWICK and WHIRLWIND until the 15th.

Nth Atlantic
MV MECKLENBURG (Ger 7892 grt) had left Pernambuco on 14 October disguised as Dutch steamer HOOGKERK. She was intercepted on the 12th in 62‑37N, 10‑36W by light cruiser DELHI and scuttled to avoid capture NW of the Faroes in 63‑09N, 11‑38W. DELHI arrived at Sullom Voe with her 56 man crew on the 15th.

 

[Njaco]

13 November 1939 Monday
EASTERN EUROPE: Finnish delegates, led by Paasikivi, leave for Helsinki after negotiations, over an exchange of territory and border revisions, break down. The Finns are especially unwilling to meet the Soviet demand for the cession of Hanko because it would give the USSR complete control over the Gulf of Finland and the most important part of the country. Meanwhile, in response to the breakdown of the talks, Stalin orders preparations for war against Finland. Paasikivi will return to surrender in March 1940. Tanner is tried in 1946 for war crimes and spends 3 years in jail.

In Bucharest King Carol of Romania offers himself as a secret mediator between the British and French and the Germans. He too is viewed as acting for Hitler.

GERMANY: Britain resumes aerial leaflet drops over Germany. The drops continue until April 9, 1940, when German forces invade Denmark and Norway.

Adolf Hitler again postponed the invasion of France; the next date for decision was to be 22 Nov 1939.

UNITED KINGDOM: German destroyers Z20, Z18, Z19, and Z21 mined the mouth of the River Thames in southern England before dawn. At 0526 hours, British cruiser HMS "Adventure" hit one of the mines and was damaged, killing 23. At 0820 hours, British destroyer "Blanche" also hit one of the mines and was badly damaged, killing 1 and wounding 12; as "Blanche" sank while under tow by tugboat "Fabia", she became the first British destroyer lost to enemy action in WW2. Two merchant vessels SS "Ponzano" and SS "Matra" are also sunk by these mines. Charles Carlson's (An excellent website dedicated to the mining of HMS "Adventure" and HMS "Blanche", maintained by the grandson of a casualty on HMS "Adventure". Includes photographs of the damage to HMS "Adventure" and accounts from the captains of both HMS "Adventure" and HMS "Blanche".)

In the Shetland Islands, German bombers drop bombs on British territory, for the first time, in a strike targeting naval vessels and flying boats. No significant damage is done. A rabbit is reported to have been killed.

In London General Henry Crerar sets up the Canadian military headquarters.

The Air Ministry announced that an attack on a U-boat was made on Sunday by a British reconnaissance aircraft of the Coastal Command.

The Admiralty announced that two German steamers, 'Mecklenberg' and 'Parana' intercepted by British warships had been scuttled by their crews. After rescuing the crews, the warships finally sank the ships by gunfire to prevent their being dangerous to navigation.

WESTERN FRONT: Activity of aircraft on both sides was reported from the Western Front. German reconnaissance planes reached the outskirts of Paris and were met by anti-aircraft fire.

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[Njaco]

14 November 1939 Tuesday
WESTERN FRONT: A raid by German bombers on the Shetland Islands succeeds in destroying two British float planes.

The British and French military commands (after secret, inconclusive discussions with the Belgians) agree to an immediate advance to the "Meuse-Antwerp Line," south and east of Brussels, in Belgium if the Germans invade. This agreement is referred to as "Plan D" (the "Dyle Plan").

GERMANY: In Berlin initial reaction to the offer of mediation made by Queen Wilhelmina and King Leopold is reported to be negative.

The Netherlands was added back to the German invasion plan for Western Europe as the Luftwaffe stressed the importance of having airfields in the Netherlands.

Theodor Eicke was named the commander of all SS Death's Head units; Richard Glucks was to take over Eicke's former position as the inspector of concentration camps.

In Vienna, Austria detachments of the SS-Verfügungstruppe placed stocks of hand grenades at Jewish synagogues preparatory to setting fire to the buildings.

EASTERN EUROPE: In Occupied Czechoslovakia Police are reported to have broken up a Czech Fascist demonstration in Prague, 12 persons being injured.

While the Finnish Army of 175,000 – 200,000 troop dig in on the Karelian Isthmus in anticipation of a Soviet invasion, the Red Army musters about 4 times as many along the entire Finnish border.

UNITED KINGDOM: In London General Sikorski, the head of the Polish government-in-exile based in France, arrives.

Medals of the Military Division of the Order of the British Empire were awarded to two airmen for gallantry in helping comrades.

Survivors of the Fleetwood trawler 'Cresswell' sunk by U-boat shell-fire off the North of Scotland, were landed by another trawler after spending over six hours in the submarine.

ASIA: Kenkichi Ueda was dismissed from the Japanese Army General Staff.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: The Phony War is in full swing. Not much happens in mainland Europe but men are still dying in the Battle of the Atlantic. Norwegian tanker 'Arne Kjode' is reported sunk by a U-boat.The Admiralty announced the loss of a destroyer through striking a German mine.

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[parsifal]

13 November
Known Reinforcements
Allied Ships
RN AMC AUSONIA Fr Le Hardi Class DD SIROCCO

DKM War diary
Selected Extracts

UBOATS

Kriegstagebücher (KTB) - War Diary

U 40 declared missing today. There is definite news of a member of the crew being prisoner of war. It must now be assumed after all that she was lost in the Channel. Otherwise she would have reported that she had got through. Meanwhile further information has been received of the other missing boats, which give a different view of the circumstances of their loss.

Letters from prisoners, whose names have gradually been given out over the English wireless, show:

U 27: C.O. and crew all prisoners. The boat was chased by destroyers, and finally could do no more. The Commanding Officer writes: It was only by a lucky chance that we were able to ge out of the sinking boat, after we managed to surface her with our last resources and a lot of luck." She must therefore have shipped so much water through damage to the pressure hull or through leaks in the stern-tube stuffing boxes or exhaust valves, that she could no longer be controlled, or her battery must have been empty. At all events she had to surface and surrender in the face of the enemy. The depth of water at this point was 1500 meters. It was therefore presumably west of the North Channel.
U 39: C.O. and crew prisoners of war. This boat too was hunted with D/C's. She is said to have suffered much the same fate as U 27. The original assumption that these boats were surprised on the surface is therefore incorrect.

Close attention must be paid to the problem of pressure-tightness. The stern-tubes will therefore be repacked after every patrol. The exhaust valves have been fitted with new packings. As there are so few boats available for operations at one time it is particularly important that they should be able to remain a long time at great depths. The enemy is able to use a large proportion of his anti-S/M forces against each boat detected and thus cover a wide area, out of which the boats have to escape. The long nights will make it easer for them to get away from the pursuing formations, but the summer will mean more trouble. With regard to the loss of U 42, it is now known for certain that the C.O. and about half the crew (at least 16) are prisoners of war. She must therefore have faced differently than U 27 and U 39.

Nothing further is known of U 45.

U 25 entered port. The boat did not have much luck. The C.O.'s task was no easy one. There were torpedo failures, the guns failed at a decisive moment and this boat, parts of which are still rather antiquated, is not easy to handle. She scored one hit on
each of 2 ships, but did not observe the results owing to anti-S/M activity. As the ships were of medium size, it can be assumed that they were so damaged that they could not be brought in to a port. They can therefore be assumed sunk.

Arrivals
Kiel U-56

At Sea 13 November
U-25, U-26, U-28, U-33, U-41, U-43, U-49, U-53, U-57, U-60, U-61.
11 boats at sea.

Baltic
DKM MSW M.132 was badly damaged by DCs from MSW M.61 in an ASW operation near List in the North Sea, and was beached, She became a total loss.
M 132 Minesweeper, Minensuchboot

Northern Patrol
Three cruisers between Orkneys and the Faroes, two cruisers between the Faroes and Iceland, and two cruisers and two AMCs in the Denmark Strait. Two further LW air raids on Sullom Voe and the Northern Patrol cruisers there did not cause any damage. The air raids and the U-boats reported off Sullom Voe resulted in CruSqns 7 11 of the Northern Patrol being ordered divert to Loch Ewe when they returned.

Steamer PARANA (Ger 6038 grt), which had departed Buenos Aires on 7 October, was intercepted on the 12th by CL NEWCASTLE west of Iceland and scuttled herself . The wreck was sunk by gunfire from NEWCASTLE which then left her Denmark Strait patrol station at 2000/13th with the German survivors. Steamer HUGO OSTENDORFF (Ger 3986 grt), which had departed San Juan del Puerto on 25 October, was not far astern of PARANA. Realizing her consort was being intercepted, she took evasive action and diverted to Hafnarfjoedr (Hvammasfjord) on the south coast of Iceland, set off again on the 24th and arrived at Stettin on 5 December.
http://www.wrecksite.eu/img/wrecks/parana_1908.jpg

North Sea .
Southend - Methil
FN.36 departed Southend, escort DDs WHITLEY, WALLACE and sloop STORK which had arrived from Harwich. The convoy reached Methil on the 15th. FS.36 departed Methil, escort sloops GRIMSBY and WESTON. Sloop FLAMINGO, which had been on other escort duty, joined off the Tyne, and the convoy arrived at Southend on the 15th.

England-France
SA.17 of two steamers departed Southampton, local escort DD SKATE and SCIMITAR, and arrived at Brest on the 14th.

West Coast
Sloop ENCHANTRESS attacked a submarine contact. U.28 laid mines in Bristol Channel, on which one merchant ship was lost.

Caribbean
CL ORION departed Kingston on patrol and arrived back at Kingston on the 25th. Fr tanker SAN JOSE (6013grt) was chased by an unidentified submarine, seven miles from Willemstad (Curacao). The submarine was later identified as one of the French submarines based at Martinique.

Sth Atlantic
In operations in the South Atlantic, a Swordfish of 814 Squadron from aircraft carrier HERMES crashed into the sea on landing. Lt J H Dundas and crew were picked up by Fr Contre Torpilleur DD LE FANTASQUE.
Sqn Markings 802-1435_P

814 sqn markings 1939

Far East
Liner SIRDHANA (Indian 7745 grt) was sunk on a British defensive minefield in Singapore Roads, 3½ miles 148° from Fort Canning Light; twenty crew were killed.
https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=i&...O5QZU81CC3aMDERf0wVx2iGA&ust=1416147230719165

CL BIRMINGHAM departed Hong Kong on patrol in Chinese waters. RAN DDs STUART, VAMPIRE, VOYAGER, VENDETTA and WATERHEN departed Singapore for Colombo. On the 17th, VAMPIRE and VOYAGER detached to Trincomalee to join Force J (CA KENT and the Fr CA SUFFREN) in the Nicobar Island area. STUART and WATERHEN arrived at Colombo on the 18th and VENDETTA on the 19th. WATERHEN was attached to Force I, while VENDETTA was employed in ASW patrols off Colombo. On the 25th, STUART departed Colombo for Madagascar to join CL GLOUCESTER and French sloop RIGAULT DE GENOUILLY.

German propaganda Minister was to describe the Australian Destroyers on their arrival into the operational 'a consignment of junkthat would be consigned to the scrap heap', and 'Australia's Scrap Iron Flotilla'. Goebels may have been a master at manipulating German mindsets, but in this situation he completely misread the Australian Psyche. The comments were designed to demoralise the Australian crews and society, instead, the ships enthusiastically adopted the name as their own, and in doing were to write some of the most memorable chapters in Australian naval history, and they became symbols and rallying point to australian resistance to axis aggression . The five WWI DDs, HMA Ships STUART, VAMPIRE, VENDETTA, VOYAGER, and WATERHEN, emblazoned the name on their ships and brought respect from friends and foe alike as the "Scrap Iron Flotilla" under the command of CAPT H. M. L. Waller, RAN.

Goebels did not learn from his miscalculation. He later was to refer to the defenders of Tobruk as being caught like "rats in a cage". The main defenders, the 9th Australian Division immediately adopted the name "Rats Of Tobruk" , and other elements of the Western Desert Force became "the desert rats". The 9th Division were to deliver the first strategically significant defeat on the panzerwaffe and were never defeated by the German Army

The Nazis never quite learned the Australian Psyche to bullying.

Other
Sub Lt D Copsey, part of the FAAs expanded aircrew training program was killed when his RAF Harvard of the RAF No.1 SFTS crashed near Netheravon airfield. Flight Lt T I Hammond of the RAF was also killed on the same day.

 

[parsifal]

14 November
Known Reinforcements
None

DKM War diary
Selected Extracts

UBOATS

Kriegstagebücher (KTB) - War Diary

U 38 and U 29 sailed for their operations areas. Attacks on English timber traffic and minelaying off Milford Haven. (Operations Orders No. 10 and 12). Professor Cornelius visited B.d.U. He was nominated "Torpedo Dictator" some days ago, with wide powers, which give him a great deal of scope to reorganize and develop torpedoes. His duties are of major importance for the U-boat Arm. It is to be hoped that he will be completely successful. His duties cover 3 main fields 1) to eliminate the faults in the pistols 2) to ensure that the torpedoes will keep perfect depth 3) to ensure adequate production. While at present the torpedo can in no way be regarded as a front-line weapon of any use, the TMB has proven a very effective weapon for U-boats. It has nevertheless been found: 1) that large ships are not sunk for certain at depths of about 30 meters 2) that the mines are fired by smaller ships than intended.

This has led me to go into the question of the use of mines again with a specialist. The following are the results of a conference with Commander Lucht:

1) The TMB can only be expected to be fatal up to about 25 meters.
2) The firing of the mines by too small ships can be avoided at all depths by a coarser setting of the mine. New tables will have to be brought out accordingly.
3) The effect of the mine can probably be increased by increasing the charge, without any great difficulty.

The following steps must therefore be taken at once:
1) New conversion tables must be brought out for coarser settings.
2) The practical possibilities of increasing the weight of the charge must be examined. The aim would be to construct a mine which would:
a) fill half the tube
b) fill the whole tube.

The latter would only be for special, rare undertakings, if water depths would make the others unlikely to be effective or where the mines were intended against the largest ships. Practical conclusions to be drawn are: 1) TMB's may only be laid at depths not exceeding 25 meters. 2) Even shallower depths should be aimed at. For shallower water, the mines must be set according to the type of ship against which they are primarily intended to react.

Arrivals
Kiel U-61

Departures
Wilhelmshaven U-15, U-19, U-29, U-38

At Sea 14 November
U-15, U-19, U-25, U-26, U-28, U-29, U-33, U-38, U-41, U-43, U-49, U-53, U-57, U-60.
14 boats at sea

Baltic
Steamer VERNA H (Fn 983 grt) was seized in the Baltic by German warships and taken to Swinemünde.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

North Sea .

Belgian fishing vessel MAURICE MARGUERITE (28grt) was sunk on a mine off Dyck Light Vessel, outside Gravelines, with the loss of three crew.
[No Image]

Nth Atlantic

RCN DD FRASER was damaged in a collision with RCN Aux MSW trawler BRAS D'OR (221grt) at Halifax. FRASER was repaired at Halifax completing on 4 December. Off the Azores, Fr AMC KOUTOUBIA captured German steamer TRIFELS (6198grt) which had departed Ponta Delgada on the 12th carrying 21,000 cases of gasoline. TRIFELS was taken to Casablanca and renamed SAINT LOUISE for French service, but later returned to German service after the fall of France.

Fr Subs CASABIANCA, SFAX, PASTEUR and ACHILLE of the 2nd Submarine Division departed Brest escorting French armed merchant cruiser QUERCY, and arrived at Halifax for escort duty on the 25th.

Channel
MV DOTTEREL (UK 1385 grt) and Steamer ALASKA (Fr 5399 grt) collided seven miles east of St Catherine. DOTTEREL was able to proceed to Southampton, but ALASKA sank early on the 15th.
http://www.wrecksite.eu/wrecked-on-this-day.aspx

Med - Biscay
HG.7 departed Port Said on the 3rd, Malta on the 5th, and left Gib on the 14th with 31 ships, escort DDs VELOX, VIDETTE and also Fr DDs TARTU and VAUQUELIN from the 14th to 21st when they arrived at Brest. DD WOLVERINE escorted convoy HG.7A – the east coast portion - from the 21st to 23rd, and on the 21st, 28 miles 200° off Start Point, steamers DUNBAR CASTLE (10002grt) and CLAN MACFARLANE (6193grt) were in collision. DUNBAR CASTLE proceeded to Southampton for repairs. HG.7 arrived at Liverpool on the 22nd, while HG.7A arrived in the Downs on the 23rd with WOLVERINE.