This Day in the War in Europe: The Beginning

[Njaco]

29 November 1939 Wednesday
ATLANTIC OCEAN: The German freighter "Idarwild" is sunk by the British warship "Diomede" off the coast of the United States. The USS "Broome" had been following the "Idarwild" until the British warship arrived. The "Broome" does not intervene in the destruction of the freighter. American behavior in this incident goes unchallenged by Berlin.

British destroyers HMS "Kingston", HMS "Icarus", and HMS "Kashmir" forced German submarine U-35 to surface and surrender in the North Sea with depth charges. U-35's crew scuttled the submarine to prevent capture but all 43 men survive and are interred briefly at the Tower of London and before going to P.O.W. camps.

At 0935 hours a He 111 of Stab./KG 26 is intercepted by Hurricanes of RAF No. 111 Squadron over the North Sea. Shot down into the sea near Amble, the Sea Rescue conducts a search of the area but find nothing.

A Dornier Do 18 flying boat of 2./KuFlGr 406 is lost over the North Sea.

British steamer SS 'Ionian' (3,114t) steamer, India to London and Hull was sunk by a mine off the Newarp Lightvessel in the North Sea.

UNITED KINGDOM: Another He 111 is caught by Spitfires from RAF Nos. 602 and 603 Squadrons and shot down over Lothian in Scotland becoming the first German aircraft to be lost over the island.

It is reported that the chancellor has received family jewels, gold and gifts from foreigners to help finance the war effort.

Government of Eire decided to put into commission some motor torpedo boats and armed trawlers.

GERMANY: Adolf Hitler issues Directive No. 9, "Instructions for warfare against the economy of the enemy" (http://der-fuehrer.org/reden/english/wardirectives/09.html). Tasks of the Navy and Air Force against England include mining, blocking, and destroying ports, attacks on merchant shipping, destroying storage facilities for oil, food, and grain, and destroy industrial plants. London, Liverpool, and Manchester are listed as handling 58% of total imports.

NORTHERN EUROPE: The Finnish government offers to enter into renewed discussions over the territorial dispute, suggesting conciliation or arbitration, in accord with the non-aggression treaty. The Soviet government breaks off diplomatic relations with Finland. Molotov warns that the Red Army must be prepared for any eventuality. At midnight, Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov orders the invasion of Finland.

NORTH AMERICA: Secretary of State, Cordell Hull, informs the press that the United States is prepared to mediate the dispute between Finland and the USSR.

Fritz Kuhn, the leader of the German-American Bund, is found guilty of grand larceny and forgery.

WESTERN FRONT: Paris reported two successful reconnaissance by French troops into territory held by the Germans in the Vosges.

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[Njaco]

30 November 1939 Thursday

THE WINTER WAR
NORTHERN EUROPE: The Winter War begins. Soviet forces invade Finland. Helsinki and Viipuri are bombed. The Finnish army can only muster about 150,000 men in 9 divisions, with a tenth being formed. There are also a number of smaller independent units but their reserves of manpower are small. They have little heavy equipment and virtually no tanks. They are handicapped here in having relied on their limited domestic arms production since late 1938 in their attempt to confirm their neutrality. There is an ammunition shortage. The air force has about 100 obsolete planes. These weaknesses are partly offset by the training and moral of the Finnish troops. There are also some fairly strong fortifications in this area but the system is by no means comprehensive. Field Marshal Mannerheim (aged 72) is appointed "Defender of Finland" and Commander-in-Chief. At the start of the invasion, the Soviets employ 26 divisions (not all at full strength), in four armies. Soviet divisions are larger, with artillery components three times as strong as their Finnish equivalents and accompanied by more tanks than the entire Finnish army possesses. Independent tank and artillery units provide additional support. The Soviet 7th Army, the strongest with 12 divisions, attacks the 5 Finnish divisions defending the Karelian Isthmus. The Soviet 8th Army advances in the area immediately north of Lake Ladoga, the Soviet 9th Army attacks from Soviet Karelia in the direction of the head of the Gulf of Bothnia and the Soviet 14th Army moves out from Murmansk in the far north. The strength of the Soviet forces is greater than expected by the Finns. However, the Soviets are not well prepared for winter conditions and the coordination between their infantry and other arms is not at all good. Their preparations have been rushed. The Soviets announce that their action is in support of the Finnish People's Government whose existence is now announced. This Soviet sponsored government is led by Otto Kuusinen, an exile, who has long been a member of the Comintern.

UNITED KINGDOM: RAF fighters encountered an enemy aircraft north of Firth of Forth and chased it out to sea.

British steamer SS 'Sheaf Crest',(2,730t) steamer, Tyne to London, was sunk by a mine in the Thames Estuary.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Six survivors of a Greek steamer sunk west of Ireland were picked up after four days in their lifeboat.

It was reported that two British destroyers, one towing a damaged submarine, had anchored off Mastrafjord, near Stavenger. The destroyers left later, and the submarine was taken to a ship yard for repair.


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[Wurger]

The Winter War 1939-1940..

Finnish Heavy Machine Gun position...

A crew of a Russian armored car BA-10 at the Karelian Isthmus getting orders ....

A Russian SB-2 light, quick bomber shot down in Finland, 1939.

A Soviet, Polikarpov R-5 reconnaissance bomber shot down and examined by Finnis in 1940.

A Polikarpov I-15bis figther biplane taking off ....

Damaged and abandoned Finnish Vickers 6-Ton (Mk.E) light tanks ...

Damaged and captured Soviet T-26 light tanks...

A frozen Soviet soldier killed by a Finnish sniper.

 

[Njaco]

1 December 1939 Friday
NORTHERN EUROPE: Helsinki is bombed by Soviet aircraft. Casualties amount to 80 killed. Stalemate continues on the Karelian Isthmus as Red Army infantry advance though dense mine fields and are mown down by Finnish crossfire. Soviet tanks operate independently from infantry, occasionally penetrating Finnish defenses (Finnish soldiers have never seen tanks before and often are terrified) but to little effect. North of Lake Lagoda, Finnish forces panic and retreat, presenting a dangerous opportunity to the Red Army. A Soviet flotilla sails towards Taipale on Lake Lagoda, at the eastern end of the Isthmus. They are to shell Finnish shore batteries and land at Taipale, turning the Mannerheim Line. However, the Finnish guns fire first, forcing the battleship "Orangenbaum" onto a sandbar (she remains useless for several weeks). Similarly, Soviet cruiser "Kirov" is shelled at a range of 24km trying to attack Finnish coastal batteries on the Hanko Peninsula. Damaged by near misses, "Kirov" returns to Liepāja for the rest of the Winter War. Finnish communique claimed that 1,200 prisoners were captured, a destroyer was sunk by a Finnish coast battery, 19 tanks destroyed and at least 16 planes shot down.

A Soviet sponsored Democratic Republic of Finland is established under Finnish Communist Otto Kuusinen at Terijoki on the Gulf of Finland. The Kuusinen government calls on all Finns to "overthrow the oppressor" (i.e., the government in Helsinki) and welcome the "liberators" (of the Red Army). A treaty is signed with the USSR giving the Soviets everything that has previously been demanded, in exchange for the whole of Karelia.

The TASS news agency claims that in Finland; "

…the people already rose in various parts of the country and proclaimed the formation of a democratic republic. Port of the soldiers of Finland's army already have sided with the new government, backed by the people."

The legitimate Finnish government is reorganized. A coalition government is formed with Dr. Ryti as Prime Minister and Tanner as Foreign Minister.

ASIA: Chinese 3rd Army Group cut the Lung'hai Railway line at several locations and attacked highways, both actions interrupted Japanese logistics. Meanwhile, troops of the Chinese 81st Division attacked the cities of Kaifeng and Lanfeng.

"Tenryu" was assigned to Maizuru Naval District, Japan for service as a guard ship and training vessel for the Japanese Navy Engineering Academy.

GERMANY: The third group of the German Kampfgeschwader 55 bomber wing was established.

The title "Waffen-SS" became official. This organization embraced the SS Verfugungs Division, the Liebstandarte, the SS Totenkopf Division, the SS Polizei Division, the SS Junkerschulen (training schools), together with their training and replacement units. Service in these formations would count as active military duty.

UNITED KINGDOM: British steamer 'Darylan' was mined off the South-East Coast and the Finnish steamer 'Mercator' was mined off the Scottish coast.

It was announced that a full Royal Australian Air Force squadron would be ready for active service with Coastal Command early in the New Year.

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[parsifal]

November 1939 - Summary of ship losses
Allied
Allied Warships
DD BLANCHE (1500 tons)m MTB 6 (RN 20 tons est), AUX MSW RAY OF HOPE (98grt), DD GIPSY (UK 1500 grt), Aux MSW trawler ARAGONITE (UK 315 grt), Fr Aux MSW SAINTE CLARE (57grt)
Total Naval 3490 grt

Allied Shipping
MV CARMARTHEN COAST (UK 961 grt), MV PACIFIC COAST (UK 1,210 grt), Trawler CRESSWELL (UK 271 grt), 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), , PONZANO (UK 1346 grt), MATRA (UK 8003 grt), WOODTOWN (UK 794 grt), HOOKWOOD (UK 1537 grt), RUBISLAW (UK 1041grt), SHEAF CREST (UK 2730 grt), Liner SIRDHANA (Indian 7745 grt), steamer AFRICA SHELL (UK 706 grt), MV ARLINGTON COURT (UK 4915 grt), steamer BLACKHILL (UK 2492grt), steamer TORCHBEARER (UK 1267grt), naval trawler MASTIFF (UK 520 grt), steamer GERALDUS (UK 2495 grt), steamer LOWLAND (UK 924 grt), MV PARKHILL (UK 500 grt), Steam Trawler WIGMORE (UK 345 grt), Steamer MANGALORE (UK 8886 grt), MV RHUYS (Fr 2921 grt), liner PILSUDSKI (Pol14,294 grt), HORSTED (UK 1670 grt), MV BOWLING (UK 793 grt), MV STANBROOK (UK 1351 grt) MV DARINO (UK 1351 grt), MV PENSILVA (UK 4,258 GRT), THOMAS HANKINS (UK 276 grt), DELPHINE (UK 250 grt), SEA SWEEPER (UK 322 grt), trawlers SCULBY (or SULBY) (287grt) WILLIAM HUMPHRIES (276grt), MV ARIJON (Fr 4374 grt), MV ROYSTON GRANGE (UK 5,144 grt), MV CHARLES LIVINGSTON (UK 3500 grt est), MV UCKSMOUTH (UK 2,483 grt), MV WAIKOUAITI (UK 3599 grt est), IONIAN (UK 3114 grt)
Tonnage Sunk:140812 tons (UK119,166t , Fr 7352t, Pol 14294t). 144302 grt (Mercantile + Naval)

Neutral
Neutral Warships
None

Neutral Shipping
MV MIM ( Nor 4996grt ), MV CANADA ( Den 11100 grt), Ore Ship MERCIA ( Sd 3500 grt est), MV SIG (Nor 1342 grt), MV NICOLAOS M EMBIRICOS (Gk 5295 grt), MV HANSI (Nor 1540 grt), MV SNAR (Nor 3176 grt), Tkr ARNE KLODE (Nor 11,019 grt), GRAZIA (FI 5857 grt), liner SPAARNDAM (Ne 8857 grt), Steamers PANEVEZYS (Li 1607 grt) NIDA (Li 945 grt), MV BAIKALl (SU 2500 grt est), MV GEORGIOS (Gk 2216 grt), Tkr SLIEDRECHT (Ne 5133 grt), MV KAUNAS (Li 1,566 grt), Steamer SIMON BOLIVAR (Ne 7906 grt), liner TERUKUNI MARU (Jpn 11,930grt), Steamer CARICA MILICA (Yu 6371 grt), Steamer BORJESSON (Sd 1586 grt), Steamer REALF (Nor 8083 grt), GIMLE (Nor 1271 grt), TORAS (FN 1016 grt), MV NICOLAOS PIANGOS (Gk 4499 grt), MV ELENA. R (Gk 4,576 grt), steamer GUSTAFE REUTER (Sd 6336 grt), MV QUENAST(Be 569 GRT), AUVO (Fn 195 GRT)
Tonnage Sunk: 110680 tons (Be 569t, Fn 1211t, Gk 16586t, Nor 28477t, Ne 13039t, Sd 11422t, Denmark 11100t, Italy 5857t, Lithuania 4118t, Soviet 2500 t, Japan 11930 t, Yugoslav 6371 t).
Combined Allied and Neutral Shipping Sunk: 251492 tons (Mercantil), 3490 grt (Naval), 254982 grt (Total Naval + Mercantile)


Axis
Axis Warships
Vp.209 (trawler GAULEITER TELSHOW, 428grt), DKM V-301 (Ger 350 grt est), DKM U-35 (700grt), DKM Vorposten boote Vp.704 (trawler CLAUS WISCH, 256grt), DKM MSW M.132 (500 grt)
2234 grt (Naval)

Axis Shipping
MV UHENFELS (Ger 7603 grt), MV LEANDER (Ger 989 grt), KONSUL HENDRICK FISSER (Ger 4458 grt), MV MECKLENBURG (Ger 7892 grt), Steamer PARANA (Ger 6038 grt), Steamer TRIFELS (Ger 6198grt), Trawler ELSE (Ger 141 grt), MV SALMANN (Ger 2500 grt est), Steamer HENNING OLDENDORFF (Ger 3986 grt), MV BORKUM (Ger 3670 grt), MV EILBEK (Ger 2185 grt), MV BERTHA FISSER (Ger 4110rt), MV TENERIFE (Ger 2436 grt), MV ANTIOCHA (Ger 3106 grt), Liner ADOLPH WOERMANN (Ger 8577 grt), ,
Tonnage Sunk or captured: 54148 tons, Total Naval + Mercantile 56382 grt

 

[parsifal]

1 December 1939
Known Reinforcements
Axis
MSW M-14 (M-35 class), TB T-1 (T 1935 Class), AMC WIDDER

Neutral
USS PLATTE (AO 24)(Cimarron Class), USS SEAWOLF (S197)

DKM War diary
Selected Extracts

UBOATS
Kriegstagebücher (KTB) - War Diary

The second order to U 35 has remained unanswered. As every radio message is made at various times on long and short wave, it is out of the question that the boat did not receive it. Either her radio is out of order or something has happened to her.

At Sea 1 December 1939
U-21, U-26, U-28, U-29, U-31, U-38, U-41, U-43, U-47, U-48, U-56, U-58, U-59, U-61.
14 boats at sea

Baltic

Russian SS L.1 laid mines off Finnish Coast near Nyhamn.

L class were also known as Leninets class or Serie II subs. they were dedicated minelayers capable of carrying up to 20 mines. they were based on a British WWI L class minleayer, hence the class name

The rock islands Someri and Narvi were occupied by the Soviets on this day.

Naval activity during the Winter War was low. The Baltic Sea began to freeze over by the end of December, which made the movement of warships very difficult; by mid-winter, only ice-breakers and submarines could still move. The Baltic Fleet was technically strong; it had two BBs, one CA, almost 20 DDs, 50 MTBs, 52 subs and other vessels.

The Finnish Navy was a coast defense force with two coastal defence ships, five subs, four gunboats, seven MTBs, one ML and six MSWs. The two coastal defence ships, Ilmarinen and Väinämöinen, were moved to the harbour in Turku where they were used to stiffen the air-defences. Their anti-aircraft guns knocked down one or two planes over the city, and ships remained there for the rest of the winter war. Beside the coastal defense, the Finnish Navy also protected Aland islands and merchant vessels in the Baltic sea—only a minor part of the fleet could engage in offensive military action.

The coastal artillery included three regiments and two separate units. The Coastal Artillery Regiment 1 (RTR 1) was stationed in Helsinki area. RTR 2 protected the right flank of Karelian Isthmus, and RTR 3 was stationed on Lake Ladoga. The coast from Utö to Karelian Isthmus was relatively well defended. The Ahvenanmaa islands, outer islands and west coast of Karelian Isthmus from Koivisto eastwards were not fortified. The coastal artillery had 152, 254 and 305 mm guns that had been left in Finland after World War I. The Finnish Naval Forces had no own air arm.

Soviet a/c bombed Finnish vessels, harbours and dropped mines to seaways more or less at will. Still, the Finnish merchant ship losses were low as only 5 ships had been lost to Soviet action. Finnish shipping was roughly handled by the kriegsmarine, who for the time being viewed it as a hostile neutral.

Trawler MAGDA (Ger 137 grt) was lost north of Heligoland.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Norwegian Coast
BB RODNEY, BC HOOD, DDs PUNJABI, GURKHA, KANDAHAR and NUBIAN arrived in the Clyde, while BB NELSON and DDs FAULKNOR, FURY, FIREDRAKE and FORESTER were north of the Faroes to cover AMCs returning to Northern Patrol. CA DEVONSHIRE and CL NEWCASTLE continued patrolling between Norway and the Shetlands. CLs SOUTHAMPTON, EDINBURGH and AURORA with DDs ZULU, AFRIDI and ISIS were returning to Rosyth, with SOUTHAMPTON refuelling at Scapa en route and the ship arriving at Rosyth on the 2nd. DD FORTUNE arrived from Scapa for repairs. The C and D-class CLs were returning to port. CARDIFF departed Scapa on the 1st and arrived at Loch Ewe on the 2nd, along with DIOMEDE, DRAGON, DELHI and COLOMBO early on the 2nd. DUNEDIN and CERES reached the Clyde on the 2nd, COLOMBO and CALYPSO arrived in the Tyne for refit, and CALYPSO refitted prior to transfer to the Med (now with radar), completing on the 21st.

Fr BC DUNKERQUE was joined by Contre Torpilleur DDs MOGADOR and VOLTA, after they refuelled at Belfast, and then proceeded down the west coast of Ireland, returning to Brest. They were joined on the 2nd by DDs GUÉPARD, VALMY, VERDUN and LE TRIOMPHANT, which departed Brest on the 1st. LE TRIOMPHANT then escorted CL MONTCALM to Cherbourg for repairs, arriving on the 3rd. The rest of the force arrived at Brest on the 3rd.

Northern Patrol
After the loss of the RAWALPINDI and the escape of the DKM Heavy ships, despite the elation of DKM and undeniable success, the situation retuned to more or less what it was...AMCs ANDANIA, ASTURIAS, AURANIA, SCOTSTOUN and WORCESTERSHIRE arrived on their patrol lines south of Iceland, while FORFAR arrived in the Clyde from Portsmouth. DDs EXMOUTH, ECHO and ECLIPSE, had departed the Clyde on 30 November, were dispatched to investigate a possible German supply ship detected by W/T procedure in the Denmark Straits. No ship was located and the destroyers returned to Clyde on the 4th escorting BB WARSPITE.

North Sea
DDs IMOGEN, IMPERIAL and IMPULSIVE carried out ASW searches after reports received of a sighting in the Edinburgh Channel. IMOGEN returned when her asdic was found to be faulty. DDs FEARLESS and later ASHANTI, which was detached from the Pentland Firth patrol, were also involved in the search. When weather conditions made asdic operations unreliable, IMPERIAL and IMPULSIVE returned to Scapa and FEARLESS to Loch Ewe, all on the 2nd. OA.44 of 19 ships departed Southend escort DDs WAKEFUL and WHITEHALL from the 1st to 2nd, and sister ships WOLVERINE and VERITY from the 2nd to 3rd. The convoy was dispersed on the 3rd, and WOLVERINE and VERITY joined HXF.10. FN.46 departed Southend, escort sloops GRIMSBY and WESTON, and arrived in the Tyne on the 2nd. FS.46 departed the Tyne, escort sloops PELICAN and HASTINGS, and reached Southend on the 2nd.

U.29 was to have mined the approaches to Milford Haven, but the lay was abandoned due to the port defences. U.29 withdrew when she was detected by ASW forces.

MV DALRYAN (UK 4558 GRT ) The cargo ship struck a mine and sank in the North Sea 2.5 nautical miles (4.6 km) south west of the Tongue Lightship

[NO IMAGE FOUND]

MV MERCATOR (Fn 4260 grt) 36 crew sailing independantly enroute Buenos Aires - Leith - Helsinki general cargo, including 1270 tons of coffee, maize, wheat, linseed, casein and groundnut meal ,ship was hit near the foremast by one G7a torpedo from U-21 about 12 miles southeast of Buchan Ness and sank after six minutes. One crew member was lost. The U-boat had spotted the ship only 13 minutes earlier and attacked because no national markings were visible. The RNLI lifeboat JULIA PARK BARRY and the motor fishing vessel BREAD WINNER out from Peterhead to rescue the survivors. 19 men in a lifeboat and a raft lashed alongside it with four others were picked up by the fishing vessel three miles east-northeast of Peterhead and brought to the port. The twelve remaining survivors in a second boat rowed towards shore and made landfall at Boddam during the morning. one crewmwn was killed in the incident.

MV ARCTURUS (Nor 1277 grt) 17 crew sailing independantly Burntisland (Scotland) - Trondheim; General cargo, including tea, gas stoves, steel wire, cardboard folders and diaries, boots, shoes and machinery, the ship was hit on the port side in the bow by one torpedo from U-31 and sank within three minutes east of Aberdeen. The master and eight crew members were lost. The U-boat had spotted the ship at 05.50 hours, but without visible national markings and missed with a first torpedo at 09.27 hours. Both lifeboats went down with the ship and the eight survivors rescued themselves on two rafts that floated free after she sank. They tied the rafts together and were spotted the next morning by a CC a/c which directed the Danish steam merchant Ivar to their location. The survivors were picked up and landed at Fredrikshavn, Denmark, and then repatriated. .
D/S Arcturus - Norwegian Merchant Fleet 1939-1945

France - UK
BC.17 of steamers ATLANTIC COAST, BARON GRAHAM, CLAN ROSS (Commodore), COXWOLD, DUNKWA and GUELMA departed Bristol Channel escort DDs MONTROSE and VESPER, and arrived in the Loire on the 3rd.

Channel
Steamer FLORIDE (Fr 7030 grt) was mined and sunk 1600 yards from Dunkirk Light House off Dunkirk, with the loss of two crew. She was beached at Malo les Bains where the hull broke in two and the ship became a total loss.

Schooner GRETHE (Den 500 grt est) ran aground on South Goodwins. A DD rescued seven crew and landed them at Ramsgate. (The Admiralty War Diary identifies the DD as BULLDOG however this ship in the Indian Ocean at the time.)

DD KELVIN was damaged in a collision with steamer ST HELIER (1952grt) at Portsmouth. Her repairs were completed there on the 11th. DD KHARTOUM departed Plymouth and arrived at Belfast, then continued, reaching the Clyde on the 2nd. DD VERITY attacked a submarine contact outside Plymouth breakwater. DD VETERAN was ordered to assist later in the afternoon. DDs GLOWWORM and BOADICEA unsuccessfully searched for a U-boat near Kentish Knock and the Tongue Light Vessel.

SW Approaches
ASW trawler PICT (462grt), escorting OG.8, reported striking a submerged object . Fr Contre Torpilleur DD CHEVALIER PAUL with the convoy slowed after sighting a periscope.

 

[Wurger]

On the first day of the Winter War the Russians bombed Helsinki with 9 planes, 91 Finnish people were killed.

Scraps of VVS bombs dropped at Helsinki...

Talvisota alkoi ( the Winter War begins ) 30.11.1939 ...

A column of Soviet vehicles and tanks on way ...

The Finnsh winter camo...

The Finnish gun at position ...

The Finnish soldiers ..

A frozen Soviet soldat ....

Destroyed Russian vehicle columns ...

A pile of frozen corpses of the Red Army soldiers ...

The comrade Stalin on his way to Finnland ....

Another Russian SB-2 light bomber shot down....

 

[parsifal]

2 December 1939
DKM War diary
Selected Extracts

UBOATS
Kriegstagebücher (KTB) - War Diary
U

47 and 48 have also been ordered to report their fuel stocks. It is necessary to find out how far south they could still operate, as weather conditions off the Channel seem very unfavorable.

Departures
Kiel : U-36

At Sea 2 December 1939
U-21, U-26, U-28, U-29, U-31, U-36, U-38, U-41, U-43, U-47, U-48, U-56, U-58, U-59, U-61.

15 boats at sea

Baltic
The Finnish forces on Karelian Isthmus were protected by the heavy guns in Koivisto area. These batteries included:
• Saarenpää: six 254 mm Durlacher (254/45 D), two 152 mm Canet (152/45 C)
• Tiurinsaari: four 152 mm Canet (152/45 C)
• Humaljoki: four 152 mm coastal gun (152/35 Mk), two 152 mm Canet (152/45 C)
On the Bay of Vyborg area were:
• Ristniemi: two 305 Obuhov (305/52 O)
• Satamaniemi: four 152 mm Canet (152/45 C)
• Tuppura: four 152 mm Canet (152/45 C)
• Ravansaari: two 152 mm Canet (152/45 C)
Further batteries were located in Hanko and the Aland islands. SU CA KIROV escort 2 MSWs (probable type were Tral Class ocean MSWs) undertook a bombardment of the Finnish coastal batteries at Hanko. Fire was reported as "Innaccurate" by the Finns, who managed 2 hits on the Soviet Cruiser, causing her to withdraw. On the return voyage the ship struck a mine (believed to be of Soviet origin) causing moderate damage. She had to be towed back to Kronstadt and was out of commission for 5 months. 5 more Soviet subs (types unknown) put to sea in the baltic, laying mines in the southern baltic area.

Kirov Class Cruisers were based on an Italian design, with better levels of protection. The escort for this operation were probably Tral Class MSWs
The Swedish navy, now fully mobilised maintained neutraloity patrols to try and keep Soviet sea power out of the Gulf of Bothnia. They reinforced this by laying minefields as far south as the Aland Islands

Northern Patrol
Six AMCs on Northern Patrol duties, while AMC MONTCLARE from Scapa and LAURENTIC from Liverpool were enroute to join them. CL SHEFFIELD joined Northern Patrol for operations in the Denmark Strait.

North Sea
MV ESKDENE (UK 3,829 grt) Crew 39, Fully laden with coal enroute Hull - Buenos Aires, ship became separated from HN.3 in bad weather an was hit by a torpedo from U-56. ESKDENE was abandoned by her crew, and all 29 picked up by Norwegian steamer HILD (1356grt). ICARUS and ILEX then searched for the steamer, but without success, and although aircraft located her at 1530/4th, surface ships could still not find her. Finally she was located, again by aircraft, at dawn on the 7th and towed to Shields on the Tyne on the 8th by tug BULGER screened by sloop STORK, and finally beached on Head Sands. The Ship was salvaged and returned to service in October 1940, , eventually sunk April 1941 by U 107..

The bad weather caused the loss of steamer RUDOLF (SD 2119 grt) off Dundee in the Firth of Tay (this is disputed). RUDOLF lost nine crew, with six survivors rescued by Aux MSW trawler FIREFLY (394grt) and eight by trawler CARDEW (208grt).

CL AURORA arrived at Rosyth. CL DUNEDIN arrived in the Clyde to refit, completed on the 22nd. FN.47 departed Southend, escort DD VALOROUS and sloop BITTERN, and arrived in the Tyne on the 3rd. FS.47 departed the Tyne, escort by sloops PELICAN and HASTINGS, arriving at Southend on the 3rd. ASW trawler LOCH DOON (534grt) reported four unidentified ships as apparently DDs, five miles east of Coquet Light steering north. British a/c later sighted five Danish fishing smacks 90 miles east of Flamborough Head, and DDs JERSEY and JAGUAR were sent to investigate. OA.45G of 24 ships departed Southend escort DDs ANTELOPE, AMAZON and sloop ENCHANTRESS. The sloop detached on the 4th and the DDs transferred to HG.9 on the 6th. OA.45G merged with OB.45G to become convoy OG.9, escort DD VOLUNTEER and sloop DEPTFORD until the 5th. U.61 laid mines off Newcastle during the night of the 1st/2nd, on which one steamer was sunk and one damaged. U.58 laid mines off Lowestoft, on which no shipping was sunk or damaged.

Northern Waters
DD PUNJABI was badly damaged at 0200 in collision with steamer LAIRDCREST (UK 789 grt), off Holy Island, off the coast of Arran in the Clyde estuary as PUNJABI was escorting BC HOOD into port. She was towed stern first into the Clyde from Cumbrae, and repaired at Govan from 8 December to 29 February 1940. BC HOOD and DDs KINGSTON, KHARTOUM and KASHMIR departed the Clyde at 1910 to patrol north of the Faroe Islands. CLs DIOMEDE, DRAGON, DELHI, COLOMBO and CARDIFF arrived at Loch Ewe, from operations off the Norwegian coast

Western Approaches
U.28 and U.29 were reported radioing each other. DDs ANTELOPE, VETERAN and WHITEHALL searched to the west of the location, and DDrs GRENVILLE, VEGA, ACHATES and WINDSOR to the east. The search continued until the 3rd without success.

Nth Atlantic
HXF.11 departed Halifax at 1000 escorted by RCN DDs ST LAURENT and SKEENA, which detached on the 3rd. Ocean escort was provided by AMC ASCANIA and Subs NARWHAL and SEAL. On the 3rd, 70 miles from Halifax, steamers MANCHESTER REGIMENT (UK 5989 grt) and OROPESA (14,118grt) collided with the former lost in mid-afternoon, and the crew taken aboard OROPESA.

ASCANIA detached on the 12th, while DD MACKAY from OB.49 was attached as incoming escort for the convoy from the 12th to 15th, when it arrived at Liverpool.

Sth Atlantic
Following reports from an SAAF Ju86, Force K received a sighting report of a suspicious vessel in the area south of Cape Agulhas, 74 miles 167° from Cape Point. BC RENOWN and CA SUSSEX went to the position to investigate and found Liner WATUSSI (Ger 9522 grt) which had departed Mozambique on 22/23 November. WATUSSI scuttled herself when approached by SUSSEX, and the 196 passengers and crew were picked up by her. To hasten her sinking, BC RENOWN used the hulk for target practice for the main armament. The crew and passengers were taken to Simonstown on SUSSEX, arriving at 2359/2nd and there taken prisoner. Britains new blockade policy no longer permitted repatriation of civilians

CL AJAX departed Port Stanley for Rio de la Plata, and CA CUMBERLAND, when relieved, patrolled southward before herself entering Port Stanley. SL.11 departed Freetown escort sloop FOWEY was slightly damaged in collision with steamer GRAINTON (6341grt) , and on arrival at Southampton began a dockyard repair period. The convoy arrived on the 18th.

DKM CS ADMIRAL GRAF SPEE sank steamer DORIC STAR (UK 10,086 grt) in the South Atlantic. When war was declared the Doric Star, a 12-knot, 10,000 ton steamer built in 1921 and commanded by Captain William Stubbs, was on passage from the Panama Canal to Auckland, New Zealand. Laden with a full refrigerated cargo of mutton, lamb, cheese and butter from New Zealand and Australia, with a quantity of wool in bales in the 'tween decks, she sailed for England by way of the Indian Ocean and the Cape of Good Hope. Noon on December 2nd, 1939, found her in the South Atlantic on her way home some 1,200 miles from the Cape of Good Hope and 660 miles roughly East by South of St. Helena.After first sighting the vessel," Captain Stubbs continues, "I ordered the Wireless Operator (Mr. William Comber) to transmit the raider distress call, also signaled the engine-room for all possible speed. After the second shot I realised it was impossible to escape, so stopped the engines and ordered the wireless operator to amplify the message and state battleship attacking. By this time I could read the daylight morse lamp from battleship signaling "Stop your wireless," but I took no notice of this signal As the battleship approached I gave orders to the engine-room to stand by for scuttling, and as it appeared that our distress call had not been heard I ordered Chief Engineer (Mr. W. Ray) to start and scuttle. A few minutes later the wireless operator reported that our message had been repeated by another British vessel and also a Greek vessel, so I countermanded the orders for scuttling, then threw overboard all confidential papers and books, breech of gun, ammunition and rifles, also all papers about cargo. After distress call had been transmitted I ordered the wireless operator to cease transmitting, as the battleship was exhibiting a notice," Stop your wireless or I will open fire." The Doric Star, a 12-knot ship with one anti-submarine gun right aft, had no alternative but to obey".

Med -Biscay
CL PENELOPE departed Malta on patrol duties and arrived back on the 12th. DD DECOY was refitting at Malta for corrosion to her bulkheads. Fr BB BRETAGNE entered the dock at Toulon and was under repairs from 2 December to 3 March 1940. She sailed on 10 March.

Profile of Bretagne after her refit. Bretagne blew up at Mers El kebir

Indian Ocean
CA KENT arrived at Colombo.

 

[Njaco]

2 December 1939 Saturday
ATLANTIC OCEAN: The British steamer "Doric Star" (Blue Star Line), homeward bound from New Zealand and Australia, is attacked and sunk by the German pocket battleship "Admiral Graf Spee". "Graf Spee's" Arado seaplane spotted the "Doric Star" (cargo of meat, dairy products and wool) near St. Helena. "Doric Star" is stopped with 2 long distance shells but the crew radios a distress message and sabotages her engines. After transferring her crew, "Graf Spee" sinks "Doric Star" with shell fire and a torpedo.

German liner "Watussi" is stopped by battleship HMS "Renown" and cruiser HMS "Sussex" and scuttled 80 miles South of Cape Town. "Watussi's" crew of 155 and 43 passengers are rescued by HMS "Renown" and will spend the rest of the war in South Africa.

NORTHERN EUROPE: In Geneva, Finland appeals to the League of Nations to mediate in their quarrel with the Soviets.

There are Soviet landings with naval support near Petsamo and other units of 14th Army are attacking overland nearby. Elsewhere the slow advance of the Soviet forces continues. The Finnish defenses have not yet been reached in most areas. In the far North, a handful of Finnish troops (10th Separate Company and 5th Separate Battery, part of the Lapland Group) face 2 Soviet divisions (104th crosses the border on foot while 52nd takes Petsamo by boat). Finns claimed that since the invasion 36 soviet tanks had been destroyed and 19 planes shot down.

Swedish Government called up reserves. A German Press campaign is launched against Sweden.

WESTERN FRONT: In Switzerland, the International Olympic Committee announces the abandonment of the Helsinki Olympic Games, planned for 1940.

A French communique reports:

"A quiet day on the whole front... the air forces, on both sides, were completely inactive."

MEDITERRANEAN: Pro-Finnish demonstrations take place in Rome while the Pope condemns Soviet aggression.

UNITED KINGDOM: Conscription is extended to all men between 19 and 41 years of age, with limited occupational deferments.

It is reported that a former Grimsby trawler had sunk a U-boat off the East Coast. Forty-two U-boat prisoners are landed at a Scottish port.

SS 'San Calisto' (8,010t tanker, Hull to Houston, Texas), was sunk by a mine off the Tongue Lightvessel.

British Imperial Airways and British Airways merged to form BOAC.

NORTH AMERICA: New York's Municipal Airport began operations as an airliner from Chicago landed at one minute after midnight. The North Beach Airport opened in Queens, NYC, with 2 levels for passenger circulation. It was renamed LaGuardia on March 31, 1940.

.

 

[Wurger]

The Nazi German battleship "Admiral Graf Spee" ...

The British steamer "Doric Star" ...

The steamer "Doric Star" seen from the "Admiral Graf Spee" ...

The "Doric Star" being hit by 5.9" shells from the "Admiral Graf Spee" ...

The "Doric Star" hit by a torpedo from the "Admiral Graf Spee" ...

pic source - the Internet.

 

[parsifal]

3 December 1939
DKM War diary
Selected Extracts

UBOATS
Kriegstagebücher (KTB) - War Diary

According to reports received U47 and U48 could still operate south of Finisterre for a few days. No decision can be reached until we see what the weather is like when they arrive off the Channel, not before 5.12. In itself it would be better to have them off the Channel, as they could operate there longer.

U 38, on her way back from Kola Bay, was ordered to occupy the Westfjord as operations area and to attack the ore exports to England, outside the 3 mile limit. There have been many reports of this traffic, which is fairly heavy. English ships take a large part. Apparently the ships do not sail individually, but assemble off Loedingen and sail together, escorted by English forces. It is not known whether close escort is provided or whether the escorting vessels merely remain in the vicinity.
The main difficulties of intercepting this traffic are:

1) the uncertainty as to when the ships sail. The attacking boat might have to wait a very long time.
2) The uncertainty as to whether the ships sail from or at what point they leave territorial waters.

The area off Westfjord is too large to be covered by one boat, especially in the long winter months. There is not much hope of success therefore with a single boat off the Westfjord. There are no further boats available in view of requirements in the other theatres of war It is therefore necessary to penetrate into the Westfjord. Permission to do this has only recently been received from Naval War Staff. It is stated that the whole of the fjord need no longer be regarded as territorial waters, as claimed by the Norwegians, but that here too Germany will only respect the 3 mile zone.

U 46 will be ready for operations within the next few days. She is to operate on the west coast of Portugal. At present this is the best area for U-boats operating against merchant shipping, as conditions in the winter are better. U 30 and U 32 will be ready to sail approximately on 10th December. I intend to give both boats minelaying operations. By their radius of action they are limited to the area around England, where weather conditions are at present unfavorable for torpedo operations, while the long nights assist minelaying close inshore. U 32 will lay mines off the Clyde with the large TMC's, which have meanwhile been finished (charge 1,000 Kg). U 30 will proceed to the Irish Sea, off Liverpool. I think this latter operation should be very successful because:

1) There is a great deal of merchant shipping traffic here.
2) So far no U-boats have appeared in this area.

The British radio announced the sinking of a German U-boat the crew of which had landed at a Scottish port. Similar reports by the enemy have so far been found to be correct. U 35 must be presumed lost. Nothing has been heard of U 28 or 29, which should by now have carried out their operations, and it is feared that something may have happened to them too. But it is also possible that they are waiting for the new moon to lay their mines. In that case they should report within the next few days.

Arrivals
Wilhelmshaven: U-29

At Sea 3 December 1939
U-21, U-26, U-28, U-29, U-31, U-36, U-38, U-41, U-43, U-47, U-48, U-56, U-58, U-59.
14 boats at sea.

Baltic
The occupation of Suursaari was a larger affair, compared to the assaults that had occurred in the opening days of the war. After heavy bombardment 1550 Soviet marines stormed the island on 3 December. The few Finnish defenders had already left the island during the night 1/2 December. A smaller unit was sent to take the island Suur-Tytärsaari.

Russian SS SC.323 (Serie X Boat) damaged steamer OLIVA (Ger 1308 grt) with gunfire off Uto. She was damaged again by Russian SS S.1 off Rauma on the 10th. Steamer KRETINGA (Li 542 grt) was seized by German warships as a prize in the Baltic and renamed MEMELLAND for German service

[IMAGE NOT FOUND]

Northern Patrol
A suspected German battleship was "detected" using land based D/F in northern waters. BC HOOD and her DDs were ordered to proceed as fast as her escorts could steam without damage. Six AMCs from the Northern Patrol between Iceland and the Faroes were also to proceed south, but no contact was made. CA DEVONSHIRE and CL NEWCASTLE were on patrol to the northeast of the Shetlands. CA SUFFOLK departed Scapa Flow for Northern Patrol in the Denmark Strait, and arrived back in the Clyde on the 14th.

North Sea
MV OVE TOFT (Den 2,135 grt) 21 Crew, Enroute from Immingham to Goteborg with a cargo of coal. the unescorted and neutral vessel was hit amidships by one torpedo from U-31 and sank within four minutes about 100 miles east of the Tyne. The ship had been spotted at midday, identified and was attacked because "her course was suspicious".

Submarine SNAPPER, returning to Harwich from patrol in the North Sea, was struck by a British 100 pound anti-submarine bomb, dropped by a "friendly" Anson aircraft. A direct hit was scored at the base of the conning tower, but the explosion only shattered four light bulbs. British AS bombs were an inneffective weapon at this time.

OA.46 of 19 ships departed Southend escort DDs KEITH, WIVERN and VETERAN from the 4th to 5th. On being released, WIVERN proceeded to escort OA.47. FN.48 departed Southend, escort DD VALOROUS and sloop BITTERN with some support from DDs JACKAL, JANUS and the ORP DD BLYSKAWICA. The Polish ship detached that night, and the convoy arrived in the Tyne on the 4th.
FS.48 departed the Tyne, escort DD WHITLEY and sloop STORK, and arrived at Southend on the 4th. DDs ICARUS and ILEX carried out an ASW sweep on their way back to Rosyth after a ship had been detected crossing the May Island indicator loop. DDs AFRIDI and ZULU searched inshore of May Island, and then proceeded to Rosyth after being relieved by ICARUS and ILEX. DD VEGA attacked a submarine contact 9 miles SW of St Catherines. DDs ACHATES and WINDSOR joined in the search.

Steamer MOORTOFT (UK 875 grt) was lost in the North Sea to an unknown cause.

[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Northern Waters
Home flt began to repair the damage it had suffered during the Norwegian operations. DD ASHANTI departed Scapa for Liverpool to refit a leaking feed tank. CL SOUTHAMPTON had problems with leakage in several oil fuel tanks and marked vibration at high speed. She entered the dockyard in the Tyne on the 24th to repair. In summary, DD out of service on the 3rd were.... ASHANTI with leaking feed tanks, COSSACK repairing collision damage, FAME repairing weather damage and refitting to complete on the 24th, FORESIGHT repairing weather damage and refitting to complete on the 24th, FORTUNE repairing weather damage, FOXHOUND repairing and refitting to complete on the 11th, GURKHA with turbine defects en route to Southampton, INGLEFIELD to dock at Leith with defects on the 8th, IMOGEN docking to repair asdic, IMPERIAL at Scapa with engine room defects (after escorting BB RODNEY, IMPERIAL was to repair at Liverpool), INTREPID and IVANHOE refitting to ML DDs to complete on the 9th, KELLY repairing damage and refitting to complete on the 12th, KELVIN repairing collision damage to complete on the 12th, MOHAWK repairing bomb damage, PUNJABI repairing collision damage; other DDs not attached to the Home Flt or northern ops; SIKH at Malta with turbine defects, and TARTAR refitting and repairing rudder damage to complete on the 15th.

France - UK
BC.16S of four steamers, including BARON KINNAIRD, departed the Loire escort DDs MONTROSE and VESPER, and arrived in Bristol Channel on the 6th.

West Coast UK
OB.46 departed Liverpool escort DD WALPOLE until the 3rd and DD ESCAPADE until the 5th.

Sth Atlantic
SLF.11 departed Freetown on the 3rd escort AMC DUNNOTTAR CASTLE and sloop MILFORD, the latter with the convoy for the day only. On the 18th, DUNOTTAR CASTLE developed engine problems and was sent to Gibraltar. She was joined on the 20th by DD KEPPEL and on the 21st by Fr DD MAILLÉ BRÉZÉ, and arrived at Gibraltar on the 22nd. DDs WHITEHALL and WIVERN joined the convoy when it entered the Home Commands areas.

DKM CS ADMIRAL GRAF SPEE sank steamer TAIROA (UK 7983 grt) in the South Atlantic. Tairoa was intercepted at 6.0 a.m. , December 3rd, about 170 miles south-west of where the Doric Star had been sunk. The prisoners on board the Graf Spee, who now included all the officers and men from the DO0RIC STAR, first heard the alarm buzzer calling the Germans to action stations, and then the reports of what sounded like 5.9 inch guns. Next came the "pom-pom-pom" of a heavy machine gun, followed after about an hour by another series of heavy shots.

CA SHROPSHIRE arrived at Simonstown and Force K arrived at Capetown. After refuelling, Force H departed the same day and Force K on the 4th to patrol the Capetown-St Helena trade route. CL NEPTUNE departed Freetown and arrived at Dakar on the 4th. Fr Contre Torpileur DD L'AUDACIEUX proceeded to Dakar to repair minor defects.

Caribbean
CL EFFINGHAM departed Kingston and arrived at Halifax on the 6th. However a serious leak had been discovered in the starboard condenser on the 5th, and she had to return to Kingston for repairs

Med -Biscay
Sloop LEITH departed Malta for Gibraltar, en route to England.

 

[Njaco]

3 December 1939 Sunday
NORTHERN EUROPE: Finns evacuate Helsinki.

The Soviet 8th Army achieves a small success near Suojarvi. The Finns pull back a little in this sector. Some Finnish units withdraw to the Mannerheim Line. They also send a small reinforcement to the forces opposing the advance of the Soviet 54th Division of 9th Army near Kuhmo. Finns claimed that they had retaken Petsamo. Soviet claimed capture of islands Hogland, Seiskari, Lavansaari, and Tytarsaari in the Gulf of Finland.

In Sweden, Army reservists are called up and a minefield is laid off the east coast.

Through the Swedish Government the New Finnish Cabinet inquired whether the Soviet Government was prepared to open peace negotiations.

GERMANY: Twenty-four Wellingtons from RAF Nos. 38, 115 and 149 Squadrons attack two German cruisers near Heligoland. Oblt. Günther Specht of I./ZG 26 loses an eye after being shot down by return fire from a Wellington which he is given credit for shooting down. It is his third victory. Despite being intercepted by Luftwaffe fighters and anti-aircraft fire, the Wellingtons sink a minesweeper and down a German fighter plane. Despite Oblt. Specht's claim, no British planes are shot down. One RAF Wellington bomber accidentally drops a bomb on Heligoland. The bomber, part of RAF No.115 Squadron, suffers a "hang up" when one of its bombs fails to drop over the targeted German shipping. The bomb later falls off on the island of Heligoland, the first bomb of the war to land on German territory. British Bomber Command planes also attack the German seaplane bases at Hornum and Sylt.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German pocket-battleship "Admiral Graf Spee" sinks "Taiora" southeast of St. Helena.

The Royal Navy battle cruiser "Renown" and aircraft carrier "Ark Royal" arrive in Cape Town.

RAF patrol plane destroyed a U-boat in the North Sea. Reports were to hand of the destruction of three other U-boats and the capture of a fourth in the Bristol Channel.

The Swedish steamer 'Rudolf' was sunk off the British coast.

SS 'Moortoft' (875t steamer), was lost by an unknown cause in the North Sea after leaving the Humber for Calais. All thirteen of her crew died.

The Norwegian steamer 'Gimle', en route from West Hartlepool to Gothenburg with a cargo of coke nuts, was torpedoed and sunk by U-boat U-31 150 miles east of Aberdeen. The crew members were rescued from their lifeboat on 7th December and taken to Norway.

.

 

[Wurger]

On the 3rd December 1939 the British S.S Tairoa was sunk by the Nazi German ocean raider "Admiral Graf Spee" .

The S.S Tairoa ...

The Albion steamer seen from the battleship ...

The S.S Tairoa being shelled by the ocean raider ...

and being aflame ...

The raider's torpedo hits the British steamer ...

The battleship Admiral Graf Spee leaves the area. The S.S Tairoa can be seen about to sink.

the image source - MaritimeQuest - Tairoa (1920) Page 1

 

[parsifal]

4 December 1939
Known Reinforcements
Allied
AMCs DERBYSHIRE and PRETORIA CASTLE

DKM War diary
Selected Extracts

UBOATS
Kriegstagebücher (KTB) - War Diary

U 43 reported that she was starting her return passage and added that a southwest gale was raging off the Irish Sea. U 47 and U 48, which will be arriving there soon, will hardly be able to do anything in such weather conditions. U 47 was ordered to report if weather made action impossible. In this case I intend to send the boats south of Finisterre in spite of the short time they will be able to remain there. Letters from captured members of her crew indicate that U 40 struck a mine. This is the first proof of mines in the Channel. Air reconnaissance of the Dover-Calais Straits has not so far been carried out. Buoys and lightships have been laid off the English coast, showing that minefields have been laid, but nothing certain is known of their position and type. I must now give up this route into the Atlantic; there must not be losses on passage. With so few boats, each loss means such a considerable reduction in strength that it outweighs the disadvantages of a long and fruitless passage. With regard to the boat's operations as such, I do not see any other way of conducting them if successes are not to decrease. It will be necessary to carry on in the same way as at present and accept the inevitable losses. It is only thus that the small U-boat arm, pitted against far superior forces, can hold its own as a part of the war as a whole.

Departures
Kiel: U-60

At Sea 4 December 1939
U-21, U-26, U-28, U-29, U-31, U-38, U-41, U-43, U-47, U-48, U-56, U-58, U-59.
13 boats at sea.

Baltic
DKM CL NÜRNBERG laid mines in the Skagerrak off Kristiansand from the 4th to 6th.

Finn Sub VETEHINEN was sent on 4 December to Libau to attack Soviet icebreaker JERMAKIN. The sub was damaged enroute (cause and extent unknown), but nevertheless reached the vicinity of Libau on the 7 December Jermakin. Low visibility and smoke prevent the sub locating the target. VETEHINEN continued searching until 12 December as far west as Hiiumaa , but could not find its target.

Norwegian Coast
DKM Aux SC UJ.117 (trawler GUSTAV KORNER, 450grt) sank on a German defensive minefield in the Belt. Later, in June 1940, she was salved and repaired.

Northern Patrol
Six AMCs were ordered to search for a suspected DKM Heavy ships on the 3rd were returning to their patrol stations between the Faroes and Iceland. Heavy cruiser SUFFOLK and AMC LAURENTIC were west of the Shetland Islands, proceeding to the Denmark Strait. CA BERWICK departed Portsmouth for duty with the Northern Patrol, reached Scapa and departed for patrol on the 12th.

North Sea
MV PRIMULA (Nor 1024 grt) crew 15, carrying ballast, enroute Oslo to the UK, the unescorted and neutral vessel was hit in the stern by one torpedo from U-31 and sank within two minutes after breaking in two about 120 miles east of Stonehaven. The survivors had to jump overboat because both lifeboats were destroyed and the motor boat got stuck. Seven crew members, three of them injured, rescued themselves on a raft and were picked up by the Danish steam merchant Wm.Th. Malling, which landed them at Methil, Scotland. No reason was given in the U-31s log for the attack. 8 of the 15 crew were lost.

Subs TRITON and TRIBUNE departed Rosyth on patrol. DDs ESKIMO MATABELE ICARUS and ILEX searching for a submarine in the Firth of Forth. OA.47 of nine ships departed Southend escort DD WREN and sloop ABERDEEN from the 4th to 7th. DD WATCHMAN was with the convoy from the 4th to 5th, and sister ship WIVERN, from OA.46, joined on the 5th, and remained until the convoy dispersed on the 7th. FN.49 departed Southend, escort DD WHITLEY and sloop STORK, and arrived in the Tyne on the 5th. FS.49 departed the Tyne, escort sloops GRIMSBY and WESTON. Due to increased German activity in the North Sea, the convoy was supported by DDs JUNO and JUPITER. It arrived at Southend on the 5th. DDs ESKIMO, MATABELE, ICARUS and ILEX departed Rosyth to carry out ASW searches for a suspected submarine in the Firth of Forth.

Northern Waters
At 07.52 hours on 4 Dec 1939, BB NELSON was badly damaged by a mine laid on 27 October by U-31 at the entrance of Loch Ewe. The BB was en route with CA DEVONSHIRE, escorted by DDs FAULKNOR, FURY, FIREDRAKE and FORESTER. The explosion seriously damaged her and injured 52 crew members.

Her machinery was not affected, but she could not be moved for repairs before the area was searched for further mines. The ship proceeded to to Portsmouth, under heavy escort, where she was repaired from 14 January to 8 June. The damage to NELSON also forced sister ship RODNEY to remain at the Clyde deferring her docking at Liverpool until NELSON's status was determined. Also, the CLs of the Northern Patrol in Loch Ewe could not sail until minesweeping operations cleared the harbour. Attempting to clear the field, armed patrol drifters GLEN ALPYN (82grt) and PROMOTIVE (78grt) were mined and sunk on the 23rd. Five more mines were swept and it was not until 4 January 1940 that NELSON could be safely moved. CLA CALCUTTA departed the Thames and arrived at Loch Ewe on the 5th to provide protection for damaged BB.

BB WARSPITE arrived in the Clyde, escort DDs EXMOUTH, ECLIPSE and ECHO, which had departed the Clyde on 30 November. The BB had been originally ordered to go to Portsmouth, but orders were changed in early December due to RODNEY's rudder defect and NELSONs mine hit. DDs IMPERIAL and IMPULSIVE arrived at the Clyde from Scapa.

SS SALMON departed Harwich on the 2nd for patrol, and on this day fired six torpedoes at U.36 (Type VIIA 915 tons) and sank her 75 miles SW from Lister Light ; forty crew were lost (no survivors). U.36 had been sailing for northern Norway, where she was to join U.38 on patrol and then proceed to a base at Zapadnaya Litsa Bay in Northern Russia for replenishment. At it happened, the base was never used by U-boats.

France - UK
OB.47 departed Liverpool escort DDs WINCHELSEA and VANOC until the 7th. SA.20 of one steamer departed Southampton, escort DD ANTHONY, and arrived at Brest on the 5th

West Coast UK

Channel
CL ENTERPRISE arrived at Portland from Portsmouth. DD VETERAN, departed Plymouth on the 3rd, was damaged in a collision with steamer MIRIAM (1903grt) in the Channel. VETERAN suffered minor damage, arrived back at Plymouth on the 4th but was able to depart again on patrol on the 5th. She arrived at Dover on the 9th after convoy duty. DD BROKE investigated a sub contact near Dartmouth. Fr Contre Torpilleur DD LE TRIOMPHANT departed Cherbourg escorting CL GLOIRE to Brest, arriving on the 5th.

SW Approaches
Steamer HAMSTERLEY (UK 2160 grt) in FN.48 was damaged by collision off Great Yarmouth, with one crewman lost. She was still afloat the next day but seriously damaged. Steamer TONGARIRO (UK 8719 grt) reported she had a disabled rudder 180 miles SW of Land's End. DDs VERITY and WOLVERINE from the Plymouth command were ordered to assist. She was taken in tow, but broke away. At 1957/10th, she was 15 miles off the Lizard and as a tug could not tow her, DD KEITH was ordered to, escorted by WOLVERINE.

Nth Atlantic
HX.11, escort DD HYPERION and RCN DDs ST LAURENT and SKEENA, departed Halifax at 1000. HYPERION was detached early on the 5th and at 1600/5th the Canadian ships turned over the convoy to ocean escort BB REVENGE and French submarines SFAX and CASABIANCA as protection against German surface raiders. The subs were detached off the Lizard on the 16th and arrived at Brest on the 17th, being escorted into port by French sloop COMMANDANT RIVIERE. Meanwhile DDs WOLVERINE, WANDERER, WALPOLE and ARDENT provided escort in Home Waters from the 16th to 18th, when the convoy reached Liverpool.

Med -Biscay
DD DELIGHT departed Aden to return to the Mediterranean Fleet. Sloop WELLINGTON departed Malta for Gibraltar, where she arrived on the 8th. Next day, she sailed for Freetown to escort convoy SL.13 to the UK. MSWs SUTTON and ELGIN arrived at Gibraltar from Malta, and departed on the 8th for Portsmouth. Fr convoy 34.KF of four steamers had departed Casablanca on the 3rd, but next day, still near Casablanca, DD ORAGE was damaged in collision with Fr steamer MARRAKECH. The convoy turned back and arrived on the 6th. Steamers JAMAIQUE and LIPARI left with 37.KF on the 8th, and MARRAKECH and MALGACHE with 38.KF on the 10th. ORAGE was able to leave on the 28th for repairs at Bizerte, arriving on the 30th

Indian Ocean
CA KENT departed Colombo on escort duties, and arrived back on the 14th.

Pacific - Far East
DD DIAMOND, having completed her refit, departed Singapore en route to the Mediterranean. The 20th Minesweeping Flotilla, HMA Ships SWAN, YARRA, ORARA, and DOOMBA, commenced operations on the east coast of Australia.

Yarra was a Grimsby Class Sloop roughly similar to a USN DE

 

[Njaco]

4 December 1939 Monday
UNITED KINGDOM: The British battleship, HMS "Nelson" -- the flagship of the Home Fleet -- is damaged by a magnetic mine off Loch Ewe. This is the last major success for this weapon. The Germans have been employing this and other types of mines to good effect. By the end of the year, the Allied shipping lost to mines will amount to 79 ships of 262,700 tons.

British Government notified their intention of being represented at the meeting of the League of Nations Council on December 9th, when the Finnish Appeal will be considered. The Soviet Government refused to attend.

SS 'Horsted' (1,670t on a voyage from London to Sunderland), struck a mine and sank SE of Flamborough Head.

NORTHERN EUROPE: The Soviet government rejects a Swedish offer to mediate in the war with Finland.

Finnish terrain of deep impenetrable forests and long parallel glacial lakes forces Red Army onto the few roads, churned into frozen ruts by heavy tracked vehicles and clogged with horses, men and machines. This road strategy slows their advance everywhere and, worse, forces them into minefields and ranged killing zones in front of the Mannerheim line on the Isthmus. The Soviets grind forward days behind schedule, their hopes for blitzkrieg dashed. North of Lake Lagoda, Soviet 8th Army advances slowly with little resistance but comes in range of Finnish shore batteries at Taipale which pulverize them with higher firing rate and greater accuracy than mobile artillery.

Finns fortify Aaland Island in the Gulf of Bothnia. Only about 50,000 people remain in the Finnish capital of Helsinki which is being evacuated because of Soviet bombing.

WESTERN FRONT: British King George VI arrives to inspect the British Expeditionary Force and RAF units deployed in France.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-36 is two days out of Wilhelmshaven (heading to the Kola Peninsula 25 miles from Murmansk to scout a proposed submarine base) when she is sighted on the surface by British submarine HMS "Salmon" near Stavanger, Norway. "Salmon" sinks U-36 with one torpedo (all 40 lives lost).

.

 

[parsifal]

5 December 1939
Known Reinforcements
Axis
S-26 S Boote

Allied
RN AMC ESPERANCE BAY

DKM War diary
Selected Extracts

UBOATS
Kriegstagebücher (KTB) - War Diary

C-in-C Navy paid a short visit to Group Headquarters and to B.d.U. U 26 entered port. She did not carry out her minelaying operation off Gibraltar as the weather there was too bad. She was afterwards in the Mediterranean, as ordered, but apparently struck a poor time for traffic. The result of her patrol is one steamer sunk. Very little for 44 days. The stormy weather is mainly to blame. The C.O. cannot be blamed for not carrying out the minelaying operation because he did not consider it possible in view of local conditions. These things can only be judged at the time. But he did not take long enough to make his observations; he should have at least made one more attempt in different weather conditions. It was a mistake to send U 25, U 26 and U 53 into the Mediterranean. U 25 had to return before she ever got there, U 53 did not get through and U 26 hardly encountered any shipping worth mentioning. This patrol shows all the disadvantages of a long outward passage. The boat can only operate for a few days and the operation is without success if she does not come upon any traffic in those few days.

Arrivals
Kiel: U-21 , U-56 , U-58
Wilhelmshaven: U-26

Departures
Kiel: U-23, U-57

At Sea 5 December 1939
U-23, U-28, U-29, U-31, U-38, U-41, U-43, U-47, U-48, U-59.
10 boats at sea.

Baltic
Flotilla leader MINSK and two DDs shelled Saarenpää battery. Finn MTBs Isku, Raju and Syöksy arrived on the scene, but they did not attack.

Danish Coast
Steamer ALEXANDRA (Den 1463 grt) was seized off Esbjerg by two German armed trawlers, and taken to Germany during the night by three DKM DDs.

[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Northern Patrol
seven AMCs were on patrol between the Faroes and Iceland, with CL SHEFFIELD eastward of them as close cover and BC HOOD with DDs KINGSTON, KASHMIR and KHARTOUM north of the Faroes as distant cover. CA SUFFOLK was proceeding east of Iceland and AMC LAURENTIC was west of Iceland to patrol the Denmark Strait.

North Sea
FN.50 departed Southend, escort sloops GRIMSBY and WESTON, and arrived in the Tyne on the 6th. FS.50 departed the Tyne, escort DDs WALLACE and WOOLSTON, arriving at Southend on the 6th. ON.4 of seven British ships departed Methil escort DDs ESKIMO, MATABELE, ICARUS and ILEX. CLs GLASGOW and EDINBURGH departed Rosyth on the 6th to provide close support, while BC HOOD, and DDs KASHMIR and KHARTOUM, which departed Scapa on the 6th, gave heavy support. Destroyers KANDAHAR and KINGSTON arrived at Sullom Voe to refuel on the 7th, and left on the 8th to relieve KASHMIR and KHARTOUM for refuelling. The convoy safely arrived at Bergen on the 8th, while GLASGOW and EDINBURGH arrived back at Rosyth on the 11th.

FS.50 departed the Tyne, escort DDs WALLACE and WOOLSTON, arriving at Southend on the 6th. U.59 laid mines off Great Yarmouth in Cross Sands near the Cockle Light Ship, on which two steamers were lost.

steamer KABINDA (Belg 5182 grt) ran aground and broke in half on the English coast

Northern Waters
CA NORFOLK departed Scapa and arrived at Belfast on the 6th, where she began repairing defects, completed on the 21st December

West Coast UK
steamer EGYPTIAN REEFER (Den 3159 grt) ran aground on the west coast of Scotland, but was later refloated and brought into port
U.28 laid mines in the Bristol Channel, but no shipping was sunk or damaged.

Channel
CLA CAIRO departed the Thames and arrived at Loch Ewe on the 7th to provide protection for damaged battleship NELSON. ASW trawler KINGSTON ANDALUSITE (415grt) attacked a submarine contact off Folkestone, and the attack was later joined by DD BOADICEA.

SW Approaches
MV NAVASOTA (UK 8,795 grt) 82 crew, Liverpool to Buenos Aires, carrying ballast. the ship was in convoy OB-46 when hit by one torpedo from U-47 and sank about 150 miles west of Bishop Rock. The master and 36 crew members were lost. 37 crew members were picked up by DD ESCAPADE and eight more crew members by the British steam merchant CLAN FARQUHAR, who took them all the way to Capetown before disembarking them. DD WALPOLE was ordered to search and was later joined by DDs ESCAPADE and WINDSOR. U.47 was attacked at 1515, suffering light damage. ESCAPADE and WINDSOR were then ordered to meet arriving SLF.10 on the 7th.

Sth Atlantic
Steamer USSUKUMA (Ger 7834 grt) had departed Hamburg for India before the start of the war, and took refuge at Lourenco Marques (in Portuguese Mozambique) , before leaving for Bahia Blanca (Argentina) where she arrived on 13 October. She was ordered by the port authorities to leave within three days, but various extensions were gained and she did not finally leave the port until 4 December. On the 5th, USSUKUMA was intercepted by CA CUMBERLAND and CL AJAX, and scuttled herself rather than be captured. AJAX embarked the crew of 23 officers, some on passage returning to Germany, and 84 men. No personnel were returned to Germany, all were taken prisoner and interned

Indian Ocean
OA.45G and OB.45G with a total of 44 ships merged as OG.9. Sloop DEPTFORD escorted the convoy on the 5th and DDs AMAZON and ANTELOPE from the 5th to 6th. Fr DDs TIGRE and PANTHÈRE, which departed Brest on the 4th, joined from the 6th to 11th, and DD VOLUNTEER from the 5th to 9th. The convoy arrived at Gib on the 11th with the Fr DDs and also DDs HAVOCK and WATCHMAN, which had joined on the 10th.

Pacific - Far East
CL DANAE was taken in hand for repairs at Hong Kong, completed on 14 February 1940. CL DESPATCH captured Steamer DUSSELDORF (Ger 4930 grt) off Punta Caldera, Chile and took her to Antofagasta, Chile, before leaving on the 14th for the Panama Canal with a prize crew for the voyage back to Britain. Despite neutralist protests, she passed through the Canal on the 25th, arrived at Bermuda on 12 January 1940 and was later renamed EMPIRE CONFIDENCE for British service.

NO IMAGE FOUND

 

[Njaco]

5 December 1939 Tuesday
UNITED KINGDOM: German submarine U-28 lays several mines off Swansea, England.

Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty, tells the House of Commons that Germany has descended to;

"...the lowest form of warfare that can be imagined."

He says that the Germans first abandoned the gun for the torpedo and had now dropped that for the mine.

NORTHERN EUROPE: Forward units of the Soviet 7th Army reach the main Finnish defenses, the Mannerheim Line, on the Karelian Isthmus where it is garrisoned by the Finnish 2nd Corps. Marshal Mannerheim is the Finnish Commander in Chief. Already the Finns are learning to exploit poor management of the Soviet advance. They are developing tactics to master the Soviet tanks by separating them from their supporting infantry and emerging from concealed positions during the night to destroy them in close combat. Finnish Blenheim bombers raid the Soviet airbase at Murmansk. It was claimed that in three days fighting on the Karelian Isthmus 64 Russian tanks had been taken. Also that the Finnish air Force had brought down 24 Russian planes in the past two days.

The Soviet government rejects a League of Nations proposal to end the war with Finland. USSR claims that it is no longer at war, having concluded a peace with the Finnish Democratic Republic, which it claims requested intervention on December 1st.

EASTERN EUROPE: Germany announced that the former Polish port of Gydnia (called Gotenhafen) is now a naval base.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: After sinking "Royal Oak" on their amazing Oct 14 sortie into Scapa Flow, Gunther Prien and U-47 are at sea again. Departing Kiel on November 16, U-47 is now in the Bristol Channel just South of Ireland. U-47 sinks British merchant ship SS "Navasota" (in ballast from Liverpool to Buenos Aires) in convoy OB-46 with one torpedo (37 lives lost). 37 others are picked up by HMS "Escapade". 8 more, rescued by British steamer SS "Clan Farquhar", are taken to Capetown, South Africa 22 days later. One survivor, Albert Newbury of Wales was previously torpedoed on board SS "Lochavon" by U-45 on October 14. Whether Albert stayed in Capetown or returned to sea is unknown.

WESTERN FRONT: The British king visited the troops and went up to front line positions.

Report from the Western Front stated that the enemy attempted a number of raids all of which failed.

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[parsifal]

6 December 1939
Known Reinforcements
DKM War diary
Selected Extracts

UBOATS
Kriegstagebücher (KTB) - War Diary

B.d.U. requested Naval War Staff to extend the limits within which darkened ships may be attacked without warning. This is desirable:
1) in view of U 38's present operation off and in the Westfjord. It is most probable that the English ships there are darkened. Nearly all of them are painted grey, to make them less visible, and are armed.
2) for U-boat operations in the Mediterranean and off the Portuguese coast. Returned boats say that they sighted darkened ships there and were never certain what to do. Action according to prize law is very difficult and dangerous for the boat especially near Gibraltar.

Naval War Staff would not give their approval, as there might be German ships off the Norwegian and Spanish coasts.

At Sea 5 December 1939
U-23, U-28, U-29, U-31, U-38, U-41, U-43, U-47, U-48, U-59.
10 boats at sea.

Northern Patrol
CL SHEFFIELD and seven AMCs between the Faroes and Iceland, and CA SUFFOLK and AMC LAURENTIC in the Denmark Strait. CL NEWCASTLE arrived at Scapa from Northern Patrol.

North Sea
MV AGU (Estonian 1,575 grt), 18 crew, Tyne - Gothenburg carrying Coal. sailing independantly, we only have a report from U-31, which does not positively identify the ship. U-31 fired one torpedo at a small steamer and observed how the ship sank immediately after being hit amidships about 90 miles northeast of Blyth. The victim was probably AGU which had cleared Tyne on 5 December and was never heard of again. There were no survivors.

MV VINGA (Sd 1,974 grt) 22 crew, Tyne - Gothenburg carrying a cargo of coal. The unescorted and neutral VINGA was hit in the foreship by one G7a torpedo from U-31 about 100 miles east of Dundee and sank slowly within 20 minutes. The survivors were picked up by the Danish steam merchant TRANSPORTER. All crew were rescued.

Aux MSW trawler WASHINGTON (UK 209 grt) was sunk off Caister near Great Yarmouth on a mine laid by U.59 on the 5th; seven crew were lost and there was only one survivor.

[NO IMAGE FOUND]

MV PARALOS (Gk 3400 grt ) The cargo ship struck a mine and sank in the North Sea 7 nautical miles (13 km) north east of North Foreland, Kent with the loss of three of her 25 crew.

DKM DDs ERICH GIESE, BERND VON ARNIM and HANS LODY departed Wilhelmshaven to lay mines off Cromer. En route, ARNIM had a mechanical breakdown and returned to port, but GIESE carried out her lay during the night of the 6th/7th escorted by LODY. While the minelay was in progress, HM DDs JERSEY and JUNO, patrolling in the area, were sighted four miles SE of Cromer Knoll Light. RN DDs remained ignorant of the presence of the DKM surface units. GIESE worked into an ideal firing position, and torpedoed JERSEY at 0235/7th and left her badly damaged with 10 crew and officers killed. The British believed that had been hit by a uboat. JERSEY was towed by JUNO, and screened by JACKAL, which departed the Humber at 0600. JANUS, also in the Humber, did not leave until later in the morning when the visibility improved. Tug YORKSHIREMAN (251grt) later took over JERSEY and took her to Immingham. JUNO and JACKAL attacked a "submarine contact" near the location of her torpedoing. JERSEY received temporary repairs at the Humber Graving Dock until 7 January and then proceeded to Amos Smith Dock, Hull where she was under repair until 23 September 1940. Two British steamers were sunk and one damaged on this minefield.

Northern Waters
U.20 sank steamer FOINA (Nor 1674 grt) in the North Sea NW of Rattray Head, The ship was in ballast and from Sarpsborg to Grangemouth to load Coking Coal and then return to Oslo. Probably torpedoed off the northeast coast of Scotland. The entire crew of 18 men perished, and thus there is also no survivors who can tell what happened. Only sign was a lifeboat that was found on 12 December 1939 half full of water and with the bodies of two fatalities. with the loss of 18 crew

CL AURORA was released from escort duties to Norway, and entered the Clyde for refit. She departed Rosyth, arriving on the 7th for repairs that continued until the 31st. Meanwhile, depot ship WOOLWICH departed Portsmouth on the 16th, escorted by DD BRAZEN, but the latter developed mechanical defects and was detached at Plymouth. DD BASILISK relieved her and WOOLWICH reached the Clyde on the 18th, with Rear Admiral Destroyers transferring to her on the 19th. DD IMPERIAL arrived at Rosyth from Scapa.

DDs WARWICK and VIMY arrived at Loch Ewe with portable pumps for damaged BB NELSON, and sailed later that day for Liverpool, arriving on the 7th. OA.48 of 11 ships departed Southend escort DDs ACASTA and ARDENT from the 6th to 8th, and DD WHITEHALL and sloop ENCHANTRESS from the 8th to 9th, when they detached to OA.49.

West Coast UK
Force W consisting of Fleet Tenders A and B (the dummy battleships) and their DD escorts. MASHONA and SOMALI arrived at Belfast on the 2nd from escort duty, and BEDOUIN and NUBIAN, which departed the Clyde on the 4th, were to rendezvous off Belfast Lough when Force W departed. The Force was to have departed Belfast on the 4th, but was held until the arrival of the ESCORT and ELECTRA, which left Portsmouth on the 5th. They finally departed Belfast at 0600/6th escorting Force W to Rosyth, where they arrived on the 9th. OB.48 departed Liverpool escort DDs WALKER and WHIRLWIND until the 9th.

Channel
MTB Flotilla 1 arrived at Portsmouth on the 6th, with base ship VULCAN (trawler, 623grt) reaching there on the 8th after coming from Gibraltar in convoy HG.9. After refitting, the Flotilla was based at Felixstowe and became operational in January 1940.

MTB Flotilla 1 was equipped with 60 foot Hard Chine Boats. These types were to be roughly handled by the larger DKM S Bootes

Aux MSW trawler ST DONATS (349grt) was positioned 9 miles S of Cromer Knoll Light Vessel to divert southbound shipping away from the mine area, while minesweeping trawler PELTON (358grt) diverted northbound traffic. DD VANSITTART, escorting a convoy, was in a collision with a transport in the English Channel. She was repaired and refitted at Portsmouth, completing on 19 January.

SW Approaches
Tkr BRITTA (Nor 6,214 grt) 31 crew, enroute Antwerp to Curacao. Carrying Ballast on the outbound journey. the neutral BRITTA was hit aft by one torpedo from U-47 and sank 45 miles southwest of Longships Lighthouse (Longships Lighthouse is a navigation aid about 1.25 mi off the coast of Lands End in Cornwall, England, UK). 6 Crewman were lost. The survivors were picked up by the Belgian trawler Memlinc.
M/T Britta - Norwegian Merchant Fleet 1939-1945

Western Approaches
ASW trawler LOCH TULLA (423grt) attacked a submarine contact 14.4 miles 105° from Sule Skerry (a small rock with a lighthouse NW of Scotland).

Med -Biscay
BB BARHAM departed Alexandria on the 1st escort DDs DAINTY and DEFENDER. The DDs were relieved off Malta by sisters ships DUNCAN and DUCHESS, later departing Gib on the 6th for the Clyde. Fr BB PROVENCE, escort three DDs, arrived at Gibraltar with Vice Amiral Ollive onboard to take command of the Casablanca command. They should have sailed that evening, but a wire wrapped itself around PROVENCE's propeller shaft preventing her leaving. Amiral Ollive embarked in submarine depot ship JULES VERNE, escort DDs BORDELAIS and LA RAILLEUSE, which arrived on the 11th from Casablanca. JULES VERNE departed that day, escort DDs ALBATROS and VAUBAN, while PROVENCE was able to leave Gibraltar on the 12th for Toulon for repairs escort sloops BORDELAIS and LA RAILLEUSE.

Pacific - Far East

CL BIRMINGHAM departed Hong Kong on the 6th after receiving a report that German steamer BURGENLAND (7320grt) had departed Kobe on the 5th. No contact was made and she patrolled with submarine PANDORA and AMC MORETON BAY in the area of Kii Channel. However BIRMINGHAM did stop a Dutch freighter which was allowed to continue after inspection.

 

[Wurger]

Gdynia ( Gotenhafen ) ... initially a small fishing village at the Baltic coast near Gdańsk. In 20' Poland started building of a new city with a harbour together. The reason for the construction was the need to have the Gdańsk independent docks.

Gdynia - initial appearence in 1922 ...

and in 1926 ...

Gdynia under construction ...

Soon the new city and harbour appeared ....

... and becoming the Polish Naval Base as well.

On the 1st September 1939 Nazi Germany invaded Poland. Gdynia was defended for two weeks. Earlier they had reconnoitred the area using reconnaissance planes and took pictures.

Nazi Germans on Gdynia streets ...

Graves of Polish defenders.

The extermination of Poles started immediately Gdynia was captured.

Polish city dwellers picked up and gathered at Gdynia ...

The Gdynia under the Nazi's occupation ...

In 1942 the Gotenhafen Naval Base became a target for a RAF recce unit.

Being a base for the German Navy, Gotenhafen "hosted" a couple of well know Nazi German ships ...

Tirpitz..

Gneisenau ...

Scharnhorst ...

Also Hitler visited the city and Naval Base ...

Hitler Visiting the Bismarck battleship in 1941

 

[Njaco]

6 December 1939 Wednesday
NORTHERN EUROPE: In Finland Independence Day is celebrated. Some 50 aircraft arrive from Italy.

In Helsinki President Kallio receives a message of sympathy from American President Roosevelt.

Soviet forces complete a series of landings on seven islands in the Gulf of Finland. There are heavy Soviet attacks on the Mannerheim Line defenses. Fighting continues in the Karelian Isthmus as the Finnish forward defensive troops fall back to the Mannerheim Line. The Soviets already have a taste of the Finnish defenses as their losses mount attempting to cross the Taipale River at the eastern end of the Mannerheim Line.

GERMANY: SS forces kill the inmates of Stralsund and Chelm mental asylums.

A note is issued to the Foreign Press in which neutral countries, especially Holland, are condemned for a lack of resistance to the British blockade.

UNITED KINGDOM: During the night, German seaplanes and destroyers lay mines off the eastern coast. The British destroyer HMS "Jersey" is engaged and torpedoed by German destroyers during the operations.

First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill honored the officers and crew of "Rawalpindi":

"…whose glorious fight against overwhelming odds deserves the respect and honour of the House [of Commons] and of the nation".

U-47 sinks the neutral Norwegian ship MV "Britta" 50 miles off Land's End, England (6 dead). 25 survivors are picked up by the Belgian trawler "Memlinc". The Greek steamer 'Paralos' is sunk in the Thames estuary.

FAGr 122 dispatched eight He 111s on sorties to the Moray Firth and the Firth of Forth – three of these aircraft were lost. An He 111 from 1(F)./122 crashed shortly after take-off from Ütersen. The entire crew were killed.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Before heading to Germany for repairs, "Graf Spee" goes hunting in shipping routes of the River Plate estuary (South America). However, the Admiralty has learned of "Graf Spee's" merchant ship sinkings near St. Helena, off the coast of Africa (December 2 and 3). Commodore Henry Harwood, Royal Navy's expert in engagement of a battleship by smaller vessels, guesses correctly that the German raider will head to the River Plate. He sails his cruiser squadron Force G (HMS "Exeter", "Ajax" and "Achilles") from the Falkland Islands.

German ship 'Ussukama' is captured by British warships in the South Atlantic.

.