This Day in the War in Europe: The Beginning

[parsifal]

13 January 1940
Known Losses
Escort Vessel AURA II (FN Navy (Merivoimat) 446 grt): The escort vessel and former presidential yacht was sunk by one of her own depth charges as it exploded in its thrower while she was attacking Shch-324 ( Soviet Navy) off Märket Island, Baltic Sea with the loss of 26 of her 41 crew.

MV FIRE KING (UK 500 grt(est)): The coaster collided with DUKE OF LANCASTER (UK) off the Isle of Man and sank with the loss of one crew member.

MV SYLVIA (Sd 1,524 grt): Crew 20 (20 dead - no survivors). Enroute Hull (9 Jan) - Aberdeen (12 Jan) - Gothenburg. Fully laden with general cargo and coal. The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea north east of Aberdeen by DKM U-20.

DKM War diary
Selected Extracts

(Interesting that the DKM Operations Division thought a British invasion of Norway unlikely, and also likely to be costly to the DKM should they attempt invasion. An accurate prediction. Raeder in his enthusiasm to invade disregarded the advice of his own staff!!)

UBOATS
Kriegstagebücher (KTB) - War Diary

U 25 sailed in accordance with Operations Order No. 18. Naval War Staff has extended the orders for the conduct of the war in certain areas. U 44, which should at present be southwest of Ireland, has been ordered to remain off the western approach to the Channel for a few days, and then proceed to the west coast of Spain at about the same time as U 25.

Departures
Wilhelmshaven: U-25

At Sea 13 January 1940
U-15, U-20, U-23, U-25, U-30, U-32, U-34, U-44, U-60.
9 boats at sea.

OPERATIONS
North Sea
ML DDs IVANHOE and INTREPID of DesFlot 20 laid minefield IE‑2 in the German channels of the West Wall minefield in the Heligoland Bight. They returned to the Humber on the 14th after this operation.

MSW NIGER attacked a submarine contact in Knock Deep (a channel outside the Thames estuary, roughly south of Felixstowe). Sloop GRIMSBY escorting a convoy attacked a submarine contact off Scarborough. DD COSSACK departed Leith on the 10th to prepare for high speed trials. Lying in the stream, she was involved in a collision with cable ship ROYAL SCOT, escorted by DD EXMOUTH, in the Firth of Forth on the 13th. COSSACK returned to Leith for repairs and was able to carry out her gun trials on the 15th.

FN.70 departed Southend, escort DD VIVIEN and sloop STORK, and arrived in the Tyne on the 14th. FS.72 departed the Tyne, escort sloops AUCKLAND and STORK, and arrived at Southend on the 15th. Sloop BITTERN found a German mine which she towed towards Sheerness. It was secured to the Nord Buoy and beached from there by harbour defence patrol yacht GLALA (51grt).

Northern Waters

West Coast UK
DDs FAME, FORESIGHT, FURY, FORESTER arrived in the Clyde. Sub TRIBUNE was missed by two torpedoes. There is no German record of this attack and submarine SHARK was exercising at this time in the area, but did not report an attack on a submarine.

Liner DUCHESS OF YORK (UK 20021 grt): The ocean liner ran aground off the west coast of Scotland and was severely damaged. She was refloated on 17 January, repaired and returned to service.

Channel
CL DIOMEDE departed Plymouth for Rosyth.

Central Atlantic
SLF.16 departed Freetown escort AMC CHESHIRE, DDs HARDY, HOSTILE and submarine SEVERN. The DDs and sub were returning for duty in Home Waters. HARDY and HOSTILE left the convoy on the 20th and called at Gib. Sloop ROCHESTER and DD VISCOUNT joined on the 24th relieving the AMC and sub. SEVERN reached Portsmouth on the 24th, while the convoy arrived in port on the 27th.

Med- Biscay
HG 15F of thirteen ships departed Gibraltar 13 January, escorts:
13th DDs BROKE, KEPPEL, WALPOLE, WALKER from Gib. Also sloop ENCHANTRESS from OG.14F
14th As above
15th DD AMAZON joined, DD KEPPEL detached when she was damaged in collision with Fr DD JAGUAR
19th DDs WALPOLE, WALKER detached
20th DD ENCHANTRESS
22nd Convoy arrives

Indian Ocean
CVL GLORIOUS departed Trincomalee on 29 December and arrived at Aden on 7 January, Suez on the 9th and Alexandria on the 13th. She proceeded to Malta on the 15th escort RAN DDs VENDETTA and RN BULLDOG, and arrived on the 17th for refitting, completed on 25 March. BULLDOG also refitted at Malta, until the 24 February. On 26 March, GLORIOUS, escorted by DD WESTCOTT and RAN DD STUART departed Malta for flying-off exercises.

Far East/Pacific/Australia

 

[parsifal]

14 January 1940
Known Losses

Steamer ALBERT JANUS (Ger 1598 grt) departed Vigo on the 13th to return to Germany. On the 14th, 75 miles west of Vigo off Cape Finisterre, she was intercepted by Fr AMC VICTOR SCHOELSCHER and scuttled to prevent capture.

[NO IMAGE FOUND]

MV HULLGATE (UK 409 grt): Sank after a collision with ss MOYLE near Borsele in the River Scheldt on a voyage from Bruges to Antwerp in ballast

[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Trawler ST LUCIA (UK 300 grt (est)):The trawler struck a mine in the North Sea and sank with the loss of all 12 crew

[NO IMAGE FOUND]

After sub SALMON on patrol off Terschelling reported that shipping was moving along the Dutch Coast between Germany and Holland, patrols were ordered to intercept this traffic. DDs GLOWWORM, GREYHOUND, GRENVILLE of DesFlot 1 from Harwich and Aux MSW trawlers WILLIAM WESNEY (364grt), RIVER CLYDE (276grt), STELLA LEONIS (345grt) operated off the Dutch coast on operation ST 1 during the night of the 14th/15th, resulting in the Steamer PHAEDRA (Ge 619 grt) being located and seized captured off the Dutch coast near Ijmiuden by GREYHOUND. Steamers SVANHOLM (Den 1321 grt) and KNUD (Den 1944 grt) were sent to the inspection station in the Downs escorted by RIVER CLYDE, and two Dutch and one Swedish ship were stopped, but after inspection allowed to continue. PHAEDRA was renamed EMPIRE SENTINEL for British service .

[NO IMAGE FOUND]

DKM War diary
Selected Extracts

For the first time mention is made of the broken fule oil separators in the SPEE. Admiralty do not acknowledge this as a reason contributing to her loss, though by now the loss of the ship had become political in Germany.

UBOATS
Kriegstagebücher (KTB) - War Diary

Nothing to report.

Departures
Kiel: U-59

At Sea 14 January 1940
U-15, U-20, U-23, U-25, U-30, U-32, U-34, U-44, U-59, U-60.
10 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
West Coast UK
DD WESSEX was in a collision in the Bristol Channel with steamer THISBE (Fr 1782 grt) which stood by. WESSEX was holed before the bridge and one rating killed. DDs HYPERION and HOTSPUR were in the convoy escort with WESSEX, which arrived at Milford Haven for repairs. At the end of the March, repairs were delayed due to a strike by shipwrights, but completed on 8 April. DDs HOTSPUR and HYPERION departed on the 4th. They attacked a U-boat contact west of Lundy Islandwhich had been reported on the 13th to them and DD WESSEX which was also investigating. Both HOTSPUR and HYPERION arrived at Portsmouth on the 14th. HYPERION went into dock there for refitting and repairs until 2 March, prior to joining the Home Flt, while HOTSPUR sailed for Chatham on the 15th for docking and refitting, completing on 27 February, before also joining the Home Flt.

ASW trawler LOCH MONTEITH (RN 531 grt) attacked a submarine contact in Liverpool Bay.

Nth Atlantic
CL ENTERPRISE departed Halifax and arrived at Bermuda on the 17th. HX.16 departed Halifax local escort RCN DDs OTTAWA and SAGUENAY. The DDs turned over the convoy to ocean escort BB MALAYA and detached on the 15th. The BB detached on the 23rd. DDs VENETIA and WINDSOR escorted the convoy in local waters from the 25th to 28th, when the convoy reached Liverpool.

Med- Biscay
Fr DD FOUGUEUX attacked a submarine contact off Oporto. Liners DUCHESS OF ATHOLL (20,119grt) and ETTRICK (11,279grt) departed Marseilles escort Fr DDs SIMOUN and TEMPÊTE to Malta. They then departed Malta on the 16th, escort RAN DD WATERHEN for Alexandria and Port Said, respectively.

Sloop LOWESTOFT departed Port Said for Malta en route for England. After repairs at Malta, she sailed on the 24th for Gib.

 

[Njaco]

13 January 1940 Saturday
GERMANY: The fighters of II./JG 52 move with their brand new Bf 109Es and crews to Speyer.

The Kriegsmarine takes over planning the invasion of Norway and begins revising and expanding Studie Nord. They considerably increase the commitment of troops from one division to a full army corps (mountain division, airborne division, motorized rifle brigade and two infantry divisions) and propose a simultaneous occupation of all strategic targets to reduce the threat of Norwegian resistance (and retaliatory British intervention). To achieve coordinated arrival of troops along the Norwegian coast and increase the element of surprise, they will use German warships as troop transports instead of the much slower merchant ships or air transports with limited range. This bold plan assures operational success but risks exposing ships and troops to attack by the Royal Navy. The German Navy Operations Division reported that while Norway presented strategic importance, Germany should not invade the neutral country if there was little risk of a British violation of Norwegian neutrality.

Forecasts of poor weather force Hitler to postpone the western offensive to January20th. Meanwhile a fall in the size of the German male workforce is causing the regime to reconsider the Nazi doctrine, fostered since 1933, that a woman's place is firmly at home. The idea of employing more women is opposed by senior Nazi Party leaders.

The RAF conducts extensive surveillance over the Reich. It also drops propaganda leaflets over Vienna and Prague.

WESTERN FRONT: Belgian Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant-General Édouard van den Bergen broadcasts at 2230 hours an immediate recall of all 80,000 Belgian troops on leave. Based on captured German plans and other information, Belgian army commanders are told a German attack on January 14 is "quasi-certain". Lieutenant-General van den Bergen also orders all barriers on the southwest border with France removed immediately to allow quicker entry of English and French troops. He risks displeasure for these dramatic acts because he has acted entirely on his own initiative, without requesting permission from the Crown, which takes a very active role in public affairs. Holland declares a "state of readiness." The Germans in fact have been considering moving the attack date forward from the 17th, as contemplated in the lost plans, to the 14th. This is because that would give the Allies less time to shift their own forces to meet the attack. However because the Belgians have temporarily convinced the German high command that they did not have the plans, the issue is not a priority. Before talking to Hitler, General Jodl postpones the date tentatively to the 15th or 16th, depending on further news. When everybody sits down to hash it out, Hitler ultimately intervenes and definitively postpones the attack until 20 January, supposedly due to the weather. By now, though, in light of the frantic Allied military moves, it should be clear that the Allies know all about the plan.

A Franco-Spanish Trade Agreement is signed. Spain is to receive French wheat, fertilizers and manufactured goods in exchange for iron ore and other minerals.

There is artillery fire west of the Vosges Forest and east of the Moselle.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-20 (Oberleutnant zur See Karl-Heinz Moehle) torpedoed Swedish steamer "Sylvia" at 0430 hours northeast of Aberdeen, Scotland. "Sylvia" sank within a minute, taking the lives of the entire crew of 20.

Soviet submarine ShCh-324 attacked an Axis convoy in the Sea of Aland, but all torpedoes missed. Finnish Navy converted yacht "Aura II" retaliated with depth charges, but the wooden yacht was destroyed when one of the depth charges exploded in the thrower, killing 26. Finnish escort vessel "Tursas" picks up 15 survivors. ShCh-324 escapes back to home port.

The British at Gibraltar detain the US freighter 'Narbo'. They release US freighter 'Tripp', though not with all her cargo.

Convoy OA 72 departs from Southend, OB 72M departs from Liverpool, and HG 15F departs from Gibraltar.

EASTERN EUROPE: The Yakovlev YA-26 prototype, later to become the Yak-1 fighter, took flight. It suffers from oil overheating issues. This prototype would be lost in an accident in April 1940.

NORTHERN EUROPE: At Sallaa, Finland the Soviet 9th Army orders the 122nd Division to retreat to the Märkäjärvi village. This helps the two prongs of the Soviet effort, on the north and south forks of the road, to form a tighter overall perimeter.

The Soviets bomb Helsinki, Turku, and nearby towns.

Increases in defense expenditures produces the largest government budget in Norwegian history.

UNITED KINGDOM: 1(F)./122 flew a sortie to the Firth of Forth. An He 111, flown by Ofw H. Brauer, was intercepted by 602 Sqdn's Red Section. The Spitfires chased the Heinkel until it escaped into cloud. Spitfires from 111 Sqdn then took up the chase and finally brought the plane down in the sea near Farne Island. Only the pilot Ofw. H. Brauer survived to become a POW.

EAST AFRICA: General Wavell's Middle East Command takes charge of East Africa.

.

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[Njaco]

14 January 1940 Sunday
ASIA: Faced with serious and unexpected reverses in China from the Chinese Winter Offensive, the Abe government resigns. Admiral Mitsumasa Yonai replaces him and forms a new government.

The Chinese 5th War Area is still on the attack. It launches probes against Kaocheng, Shihlingszu, Wangchiatai, Sunchiatien, and Chuchiamiao.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: The British government replies to the concerns of the American governments that have complained about violations of neutrality during the Battle of the River Platte. British Minister to Panama submits a diplomatic note stating that:

"The British "reserve their full belligerent rights in order to fight the menace presented by German action and policy and to defend that conception of law and that way of life, which they believe to be as dear to the peoples and Governments of America as they are to the peoples and Governments of the British Commonwealth of Nations."

Royal Navy destroyer HMS 'Greyhound' captures German freighter 'Phaedra'.

WESTERN FRONT: Severe weather with extreme temperatures and heavy snow halt most major air operations over Europe until mid February.

While Hitler has postponed his invasion, the Allies still anticipate it. On the morning of the 14th, Dutch Supreme Commander Izaak H. Reijnders cancels all pending leaves, closes strategic bridges and plants them with explosives. Belgian King Leopold messages Winston Churchill asking for guarantees should the Germans invade. The mood does not improve during the day, and General Gamelin orders his troops to advance to the Franco-Belgian border during the night. This causes a diplomatic row between France and Belgium, which had never consented to French troops on its neutral territory. Meanwhile, Belgian Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant-General Édouard van den Bergen, who acted precipitously on the night of the 13th to cancel leave in a dramatic national broadcast, falls into disgrace when the invasion he expects on the 14th fails to occur. Belgian troops at the southwest border and in the Ardennes area are forbidden to fire on French or English troops. In essence, the Mechelen Incident is turning into one of the most successful, albeit completely unintended, subversive operations to unnerve and split the enemy of the entire war.

UNITED KINGDOM: British cryptologists at the Government Code and Cypher School, Bletchley Park deciphered the German Enigma code with help of Polish experts.

EASTERN EUROPE: In Warsaw, deaths, mainly from starvation, in the Jewish ghetto are estimated to be running at 70 per day.

NORTH AMERICA: In the United States eighteen members of the pro-Nazi Bund organization are arrested for conspiracy.

NORTHERN EUROPE: Soviet bombers apparently mistakenly violate Norwegian airspace and drop bombs on Lulea, Sweden. Norway and Sweden issue diplomatic protests over the incidents involving Soviet aircraft engaged in the war against Finland. Another flight of 40 planes bombs the Petamo front in the far north, and Helsinki is bombed twice.

GERMANY: The plan for the invasion of Norway was Admiral Raeder's idea originally. Hitler delegates proposed Operation Weserubung off to the Kriegsmarine to work up (it is still called Studie Nord). The operation is scaled larger, with an increase from just one division to a full oversized army corps (mountain division, airborne division, motorized rifle brigade & two infantry divisions). The planners also expand the initial targets to suppress resistance and forestall British intervention. Denmark is added as a target to create a land bridge in the direction of Norway. Warships are to be used as troop transports to speed and the element of surprise. The plan becomes more comprehensive but also exposes the force to potential Royal Navy attacks.

.

 

[parsifal]

15 January 1940
Known Losses
MV ARENDSKERK (Ne 7,906 grt); Crew 65 (0 dead and 65 survivors), general cargo, including barb wire, galvanised sheets, nails, iron, brass tubes and mail, enroute Rotterdam - Antwerp (13 Jan) - Capetown - Durban , the vessel was spotted by U-44 about 100 miles southwest of Quessant and tried to escape when the U-boat was sighted. The Germans fired seven shots across her bow to stop the vessel. When the papers were checked it became clear that she carried contraband and the crew was ordered to abandon ship. At 10.10 hours, the U-boat fired one torpedo that struck in the engine room and broke the ship in two. The after part sank, but the forepart remained afloat and had to be sunk 30 minutes later by 18 rounds from the deck gun. The survivors were picked up by the Italian steamer FEDORA, transferred to the motor merchant POELAU BRAS(Ne) and landed at Lisbon.

MV FAGERHEIM (Nor 1590 grt); Crew 20 (15 dead and 5 survivors), Djidjelli, (Algeria) - Middlesbrough, vessel was hit by one torpedo from U-44 about 80 miles southwest of Quessant, broke in two and sank. The survivors were rescued and taken to Vigo, Spain. .

U.44 also sank Steamer PANACHANDROS (Gk 4661 grt) west of Brest in the same action. She was on route from Antwerp to Key West and the Gulf Of Mexico at the time she was sunk.

Trawler NEW HAVEN (UK 162 grt) was sunk on a mine eighteen miles SSE of Lowestoft
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

MV MEUSE (Be 1500 grt (est)): The cargo ship departed from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumberland, United Kingdom for Bruges, West Flanders, Belgium. No further trace was heard of her and the cause of her loss is unknown
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

DKM War diary
Selected Extracts

UBOATS
Kriegstagebücher (KTB) - War Diary

Nothing to report.

Arrivals
Wilhelmshaven: U-23

Departures
Kiel: U-22, U-61
Wilhelmshaven: U-31

At Sea 15 January 1940
U-15, U-20, U-22, U-25, U-30, U-31, U-32, U-34, U-44, U-59, U-60, U-61.
12 boats at sea.

OPERATIONS
North Sea
ON.8 departed Methil with six British, three Norwegian and one Finnish ship escort DDs DUNCAN , IMPULSIVE, IMPERIAL, ISIS and sub NARWHAL. DD EXMOUTH departed the next day and escorted aircraft transport FOSSBECK (UK 4918 grt) and cable vessel LASSO to Scapa. CLs EDINBURGH and GLASGOW left Rosyth on the 17th to cover this convoy. On the 17th, DUNCAN collided with Steamer HAUKESFJELL (Nor 2495grt) of the convoy and was badly damaged. She was towed by IMPULSIVE, screened by EXMOUTH, to Invergordon arriving at Cromarty on the 18th. DUNCAN was relieved by DD KIMBERLEY, and after towing in the damaged ship, IMPULSIVE returned to the convoy. At Invergordon, EXMOUTH and MSW SPHINX went alongside DUNCAN to take off ammunition to lighten ship. The convoy arrived at Bergen on the 19th without enemy interference.

DDs ECHO, ECLIPSE and ENCOUNTER departed Methil escorting a MT convoy to the Tyne. The convoy was forced to disperse from bad weather and ECHO and ECLIPSE each took half the convoy and escorted them back to Methil on the 16th. The three DDs departed again on the 17th with this convoy for the Tyne and again was forced to return. The convoy finally left Methil the evening of the 18th.

CLA COVENTRY departed Sullom Voe for the Humber where she arrived later the same day. She went on to Chatham and arrived on the 16th for docking and repairs. These were completed on 29 April, and she left that day for Sheerness to take on ammunition.

Convoy OA.72 departed Southend escort DDs WHITEHALL from the 13th to 15th and ANTELOPE from 14th to 15th, when the convoy dispersed. FN.72 departed Southend, escorted by sloops FLEETWOOD and BITTERN. Gales forced the convoy to shelter in the Humber, and it arrived in the Tyne on the 18th. FS.73 departed the Tyne, escort DD VIVIEN and sloop PELICAN, and arrived at Southend on the 17th. DDs ECHO, ECLIPSE, ENCOUNTER escorted merchant ships from Methil to the Tyne.

DDs GRIFFIN and GRAFTON and the ORP DD BLYSKAWICA swept off the Dutch coast in Operation ST 2 during the night of the 15th/16th, supported by DDs JERVIS, JUNO, JANUS, JACKAL, JAVELIN and JUPITER. GRAFTON sent Latvian steamer RASMA (3204grt) in for inspection.


West Coast UK
OB.72 departed Liverpool escort DDs WANDERER and WALPOLE, and dispersed on the 18th.

MV GRACIA (UK 5642 grt) of OB.71 was badly damaged on a mine laid by U.30 on the 9th five miles WSW of Bar Light Vessel. Destroyer VOLUNTEER attacked a submarine contact in Liverpool Bay while investigating the damage, and dropped depth charges. GRACIA was finally lost a year later to air attacks by an FW200 of KG40.

Channel
BB ROYAL SOVEREIGN departed Devonport after refitting, escorted by DDs ACHATES, ARROW and ANTHONY for Halifax. On the 16th, the escort was relieved by DDs WINDSOR, VISCOUNT, VANQUISHER. DD HEARTY was completed, and following working up at Portland, joined DesFlot 9 operating with the Home Flt. On 27 February, she was renamed HESPERUS to avoid phonetic confusion with destroyer leader HARDY.Sub CACHALOT was refitting at Chatham until 21 March, leaving on 29 March for Portsmouth.

HMS HEARTY was at this stage of the war commanded by Lcdr (later Cdr) Donald George Frederick Wyville MacIntyre DSO, DSC, Destroyer captain and Escort Group Commander, responsible for the destruction of three of the leading Uboat Aces, including Priens U-47 (German sources strongly refute this, saying U-47 was lost to unknown causes. U-47 was at least in close proximity to MacIntyre's group at the time of its loss)

Med- Biscay
Convoy "CAVALRY" departed Malta on the 15th, reached Marseilles on the 18th, left again on the 23rd, returning to Malta on the 25th, and then proceeded to Haifa. The convoy consisted of liners DILWARA (UK 11,0880 grt), ROHNA (UK 8602 grt), DEVONSHIRE (UK 11,275 grt), TALAMBA (UK 8018 grt), LANCASHIRE (UK 9557 grt), and RAJULA (UK 8478 grt). LANCASHIRE did not go to Haifa, but proceeded independently to Bombay after leaving Malta. RAN DD VOYAGER departed Malta with the convoy on the 15th, sister-ship VAMPIRE joined the next day, and they remained with the convoy until its arrival at Marseilles. VAMPIRE and VOYAGER rejoined the convoy on the 23rd when it left Marseilles, and RAN DD VENDETTA joined off Malta on the 25th.

In 1933 the Admiralty agreed to loan the Flotilla Leader Stuart (I) and four V and W Class destroyers (Vampire, Vendetta (I), Voyager (I) and Waterhen (I)) to the Royal Australian Navy as replacements for the S Class destroyers (Stalwart, Success, Swordsman, Tasmania and Tattoo) and the Flotilla Leader Anzac, then due for scrapping. Vampire and the other four ships commissioned in the Royal Australian Navy at Portsmouth on 11 October 1933 to form the Australian Destroyer Flotilla, later to become famous as the 'Scrap Iron Flotilla'. Vampire was commissioned under the command of CMDR Harry L. Howden RAN. This shot is of VAMPIRE embarking wounded of the 9th Div AIF at Tobruk spring 1941

 

[parsifal]

16 January 1940
Known Losses
Tkr INVERDARGLE (UK 9,456 grt); Crew 49 (49 dead - no survivors), Fully laden with Aviation Spirit (12.554 tons), Enroute Trinidad - Halifax - Avonmouth; the unescorted INVERDARGLE struck a mine laid on 9 Nov 1939 by U-33, broke in two and sank in the Bristol Channel southwest of Nash Point.

MV CHILE (Den 1500 grt (est)): The cargo ship ran aground in the Kattegat.

[NO IMAGE FOUND]

MV JOSEPHINE CHARLOTTE (Be 3422 grt): The cargo ship struck a mine in The Downs, Kent, and sank with the loss of four crew. The survivors were rescued by MV MICKLETON (UK).

According to Lloyds register, in 1939, the Belgian Mercantile Marine consisted of 200 vessels totaling 408418 grt

MV MANDROS (Gk 3500 grt(est)): The cargo ship sank in the Atlantic Ocean north west of County Donegal, Ireland.

[NO IMAGE FOUND]

MV PELINAION (Gk 4261 grt):Carrying and export cargo of iron ore to the US, the cargo ship ran aground off St. David's Head, Bermuda and was wrecked.

Lloyds register has the Greek mercantile marine in 1939 at 607 vessels, totalling 1,789,666 grt

DKM War diary
Selected Extracts

UBOATS
Kriegstagebücher (KTB) - War Diary
U 44 reports passage from the sea area west of the Channel that she has sunk 3 steamers, including the Dutch S.S. "Arendskork". She has started on her passage south, as her position is known.

Arrivals
Wilhelmshaven: U-20

Departures
Kiel: U-9, U-55 , U-57

At Sea 16 January 1940
U-9, U-15, U-22, U-25, U-30, U-31, U-32, U-34, U-44, U-55, U-57, U-59, U-60, U-61.
14 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
Northern Patrol
CA NORFOLK departed Rosyth on patrol duties, and arrived in the Clyde on the 23rd. CLs NEWCASTLE DIOMEDE AMCs DERBYSHIRE CALIFORNIA departed Scapa on patrol and arrived back on the 18th.

North Sea
Sub SUNFISH departed Harwich on patrol, whilst Sub H.34 departed Rosyth to exercise in the Firth of Forth, and off Inchkeith, rendezvoused with sloop FLAMINGO.

Northern Waters
CLA CURLEW departed Scapa Flow for the Humber, and on passage arrived at Rosyth on the 16th. DDs IVANHOE and INTREPID were to conduct ML operation IE-3 in the North Sea, but it was cancelled due to bad weather. DDs KIMBERLEY and KELVIN collided at sea SE of Barra between the Clyde and Scapa. KIMBERLEY was not damaged, but KELVIN was taken to the Clyde for repairs, escorted by DD BEDOUIN. Repairs were completed on 2 February. DD EXMOUTH and cable ship ROYAL SCOT arrived at Rosyth after an unsuccessful attempt in bad weather to repair the Danish cable. DDs SIKH and MOHAWK departed the Clyde escorting base ship MASHOBRA to Scapa. They arrived at Scapa on the 18th, and the DDs went on to Rosyth arriving later that day.

West Coast UK
Salvage ship TEDWORTH, escorted by MSW JASON departed the Clyde for Liverpool.

Channel
Steamer PREMUDA (It 4427 grt) collided with a Lightship and was run aground on Goodwin Sands to prevent her sinking.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

(There is uncertainty if this vessel was saved or written off as a result of this accident).

Central Atlantic
SL.17 departed Freetown escort AMC CARNARVON CASTLE and DD DAINTY. The AMC was with the convoy until the 31st, but the DD was detached in the local approaches. On 2 February, sloop ROCHESTER and DDs VISCOUNT and WALKER joined the convoy and escorted it until its UK arrival on 4 February.

Steamer HIGHLAND PRINCESS (UK 14,133 grt) departing La Cruz, Canary Islands, was attacked by Fr sub PASCAL which mistook her for a German blockade runner. No damage was done.

Sth Atlantic
CL ACHILLES departed the Falkland Islands for patrol near Rio de Janiero.
.
Med- Biscay
HG.15 departed Gibraltar with 37 ships on the 16th, escorts from 16th DD WITHERINGTON, Fr DDs TARTU, VAUQUELIN, RN sloop WELLINGTON, from 19th WITHERINGTON detached to OG.15, from 23rd Convoy split, WELLINGTON escorted HG.15B, from 25th TARTU, VAUQUELIN, convoy arrived on the 25th

Photo and line drawing of Fr DD TARTU

Fr CL DUGUAY TROUIN and DD RAILLEUSE departed Casablanca with steamer DE LA SALLE (Fr) for Lorient, and Fr steamer BRAZZA departed Casablanca at the same time, escorted by DD BASQUE for Bordeaux. The DDs were relieved on the 17th by contre Torpilleur DD JAGUAR, which had departed Brest on the 15th, and DD BOUCLIER from Lorient.

 

[Njaco]

15 January 1940 Monday
ASIA: The Winter Offensive has run its course for the 9th War Area, which winds down its attacks. The offensive has regained vital territory and brought down the Japanese government.

GERMANY: General Jodl of OKW advises Hitler that the weather is too poor for an invasion and it should be called off indefinitely, not just postponed for a few days now and again. Hitler, still set on an early invasion, decides to think it over and gives no firm decision.

Generalfeldmarschall Göring issues to General Kurt Student, commander of VII Fliegerkorps, the new revised plans for 'FALL GELB' that include the parts of the old plan for assaulting the Eben Emael fortress, which was not lost and compromised among the documents captured on 10 January.

Kapitän zur See Ernst Kretzenberg took command of cruiser "Köln".

ATLANTIC OCEAN: At midnight, U-44 sinks Norwegian steamer SS "Fagerheim" with one torpedo (15 lives lost). 5 survivors are rescued and taken to Vigo, Spain. Later, at 0700 hours, Dutch MV freighter "Arendskerk" tries to outrun U-44 but is stopped with seven shots across her bow. The crew is ordered to abandon ship and "Arendskerk" is sunk with one torpedo and shells from the deck gun. All 65 crew are picked up by the Italian steamer "Fedora", transferred to the Dutch passenger-freighter "Poelau Bras" and landed at Lisbon, Portugal.

UNITED KINGDOM: British government revealed that nearly twice as many people had been killed on the roads than the number of people killed in enemy action. The blackout was among the chief reasons.

NORTHERN EUROPE: The Finnish and Soviet Armies face each other along the entire frontier but there is little movement. The Soviets no longer take the Finns lightly. Whereas during the first days of the invasion in December they blithely waltzed in expecting no serious opposition, now they prepare their attacks more carefully. On the Karelian Isthmus, the Red Army shells the Mannerheim Line to wear down the Finns and chip away at their defenses. Such bombardments are typically a prelude to a set-piece attack, but such an attack is nowhere in sight yet. Elsewhere, the Soviet armies are largely on their own. Stalin has no big tasks for them, and instead is focusing on new, better-planned operations with fresh troops. Red Army divisions have been abandoned by Stalin and are freezing all the way North from Lake Lagoda. Held at Salla, Raate and Kollaa, they are isolated and chopped into mottis by the Finns. But the bombardment provides the Finns no rest and damages their fixed fortifications.

Soviet bombers attack Viipuri and other Finnish cities.

WESTERN FRONT: The Mechelen incident of January 10th has been followed by much diplomatic activity. For a time the British and French have believed that they will be invited to move troops into Belgium even before a German attack but this possibility is now firmly ruled out by the Belgian government. The British respond to the Belgian request for guarantees first thing in the morning in a manner that is considered weak. The Belgians stop removing border obstacles on the French border. At noon, Premier Daladier tells Pol le Tellier, Belgium's ambassador to France, that Belgium must invite French troops into Belgium by 2000 hours or he would pull all French and British troops from the border. The Belgians not only do not respond, but they begin replacing the barriers on the French border. General Raoul van Overstraeten, King Leopold's military adviser, instructs the Belgian border troops to "repulse by force any foreign unit of whatever nationality which violated Belgian territory," which is not what the French were looking for. The Belgians also have given a negative reply to the same request previously by the British. Once again, the threat of a German invasion has not drawn the Allies together, but rather thrown them further apart. By forbidding the entry of French troops, the Belgians maintain their neutrality but also force the other Allies to rely on them for the defense of the section of the Front not covered by the Maginot.

The Germans request that the Danes blackout their island of Roenoe, which the British are using as a guide to the German base on Sylt. The Danes comply.

MEDITERRANEAN: General Sir Archibald Wavell is appointed the British Commander-in-Chief Middle East.

.

 

[Njaco]

16 January 1940 Tuesday
ASIA: Kichisaburo Nomura stepped down as Foreign Minister of Japan.

The Chinese 4th War Area recaptures Yinchanao north of Canton.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Still in the Bay of Biscay, German submarine U-44 torpedoed and sank the Greek ship "Panachrandos" in the Bay of Biscay at 0611 hours. She sank within three minutes, killing all 31 aboard.

The Admiralty finally announces the loss of the HMS 'Seahorse', HMS 'Undine' and HMS 'Starfish' on 7-9 January. The Germans then chime in that they have rescued parts of the crew from two of the British boats.

German blockade runner 'Albert Janus' is intercepted by French armed merchant cruiser 'Victor Schoelcher'. The crew scuttles it.

Convoy OA 73 GF departs from Southend, OB 72 departs from Liverpool, OB 73 departs from Liverpool, SL 17 departs from Freetown, and HG 15 departs from Gibraltar.

GERMANY: Bitter cold and heavy snow force postponement of the planned German invasion of France, Holland and Belgium scheduled for Jan 17. At 1900 hours, Hitler finally decides that Jodl is right and the weather is too poor for an invasion. He postpones Fall Gelb indefinitely. He also fears that the plans fell into Allied hands following the plane crash at Mechelen-sur-Meuse, Belgium on Jan 10 (the Mechelen incident). Part of his reasoning may be the frantic defense preparations of the Low Countries and France in recent days. Mobilization of Belgian and Dutch troops convince the Germans that the plans have been recovered intact, despite Allied deception that the plans were successfully burned by Luftwaffe Major Reinberger after the crash.

NORTHERN EUROPE: The Soviet artillery pounding of Summa continues without respite. Stalin considers artillery to be the "Queen of Battle." In extremely frosty weather, the Soviets launch more raids on southern Finland. Since 12 January, the Soviets have dropped almost 3,000 bombs on 50 cities. That is tiny by later standards, but Finland is a small country.

EASTERN EUROPE: The Polish Government-in-exile prepares a report on German atrocities in Poland. The Germans have shot 5000 people in Poznan alone, and thousands more are being housed in concentration camps. Poland has become a true police state, with mass arrests of suspect individuals such as college professors. Particularly hard hit are Jews and Gypsies.

UNITED KINGDOM: British tanker "Inverdargle", with 12,000 tons of aviation fuel aboard, struck a naval mine in the Bristol Channel just 30 miles from her destination at Avonmouth Docks. All 49 aboard were killed.

WESTERN FRONT: French Premier Daladier has been extremely critical of the communist subversion of the war effort. Today, 66 communist deputies are ejected from the Chamber of Deputies.

A report which vividly describes Nazi atrocities in Poland is presented to the Polish government-in-exile in France. It contains graphic accounts of public executions, forced labor, looting and hostage-taking on a vast scale. In Poznan, for example, the German occupation forces are said to have shot 5000 Poles. Thousands more are being held in makeshift concentration camps. Mass arrests of prominent Poles are commonplace and Germans are said to take precedence over Poles for food, clothes and housing. The Jews and Gypsies in Nazi-occupied Poland are said to suffer brutal persecution and indignities.

MIDDLE EAST: General Wavell embarks on an inspection tour of Palestine and Iraq.

.

 

[parsifal]

17 January 1940
Known Reinforcements
Axis
MSW M-17 (M1935 Class)

Allied
RAN AMC WESTRALIA

Known Losses

Lightship BRAKE (UK 250 grt (est)) : The Lightship sank off Goodwin Sands, Kent after being rammed by ERNANI (It). All 12 crew were rescued by the Ramsgate and Margate lifeboats

MV CAIRNROSS (UK 5,494 grt):Crew 48 (0 dead and 48 survivors): Cargo: General cargo, including coal and earthenware; Route: Tyne - Leith - Liverpool - St.John, New Brunswick. the CAIRNROSS atteched to OB-74 struck a mine, laid on 6 January by U-30 and sank seven miles 276° from the Bar Lightvessel, Liverpool. The master and 47 crew members were picked up by the DD MACAY and landed at Liverpool.

MV ENID (Nor 1,140 grt): Crew: 16 (0 dead and 16 survivors): Cargo: Woodpulp : Route: Steinkjær, Norway - Trondheim - Dublin . U-25 sank this ship and the POLZELLA (See below) 6-7 miles north of Muckle Flugga, Shetland Isles. The Uboat and fired one torpedo at 12.35 hours that missed the first ship, the Enid (Master Wibe). Ten minutes later, another torpedo was fired at the POLZELLA, and hit her near the bridge. POLZELLA sank in 12 seconds with the loss of all men. The Norwegian ship went to her assistance and the order was given to lower the boats, but the U-boat surfaced and fired a shot across the bow to stop her. When the ship turned away they opened fire and after three shots the crew abandoned ship in two lifeboats. Then the U-boat fired 21 rounds from the deck gun and hit seven times, setting her on fire. The ship refused to sink from gunfire, so finally a coup de grace was fired that broke the ship in two. The forepart sank immediately while the burning stern remained afloat and was later scuttled by DD FIREDRAKE which was sent to the area to hunt for the U-boat together with DD FORTUNE and several A/S-trawlers. Eight survivors in one lifeboat made landfall after 3 hours at Burra Firth on Unst. The master and seven crew members were picked up by the Danish motor merchant Kina and taken to Las Palmas, arrving on 23 January.

MV POLZELLA (UK 4,751 grt): Crew: 36 (36 dead - no survivors): Cargo: Iron ore , Route:Narvik - Middlesbrough . The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea approximately 6 nautical miles (11 km) north of Muckle Flugga, Shetland Islands by U-25 ( Kriegsmarine) with the loss of all hands.

Steamer GRATIA (Ger 2068 grt) was stranded and lost at Aussenems.
[NO IMAGE FOUND}

DKM War diary
Selected Extracts

UBOATS
Kriegstagebücher (KTB) - War Diary

U 30 entered port. She sank a patrol vessel type Agatha on her way out and scored a hit on "Barham". The minelay off Liverpool went off well and according to plan. It required a lot of dash, thought, ability and determination. It was carried out in shallow water strongly patrolled. By the 16th 3 mined areas had been declared off the port.

On the day of his return the Commanding Officer had the satisfaction of knowing that the whole of Liverpool harbor had been temporarily closed because of mines.

U 31 sailed for her operations area according to Operations Order No. 20, after completing trial runs off Heligoland.

A conference was held in Wilhelmshaven with representatives of the Torpedo Experimental Command because of renewed unexplained torpedo failures. The main matter under discussion was the suspicion held by B.d.U. for some time now that MZ could fail to fire, even if shot under. There have been repeated cases of shots fired at close range with good firing data which have not brought results and the reasons have been obscure even to the Torpedo Inspectorate (U 470). These cases have increased particularly recently (U 24, U 15, U 20, U 59, U 60). The Director of the Torpedo Experimental Command reports that U 20's shots cannot be explained. Even if the speed had been wrongly estimated, at least one shot should have hit. The only possible explanation for the failure of the 3 torpedoes to fire would be the fact that the size of the ship had been very much over estimated. The Commanding Officer of the boat denies this possibility. I have reached the following conclusions with regard to these and similar failures!

All the Torpedo Experimental Command's analyses of shots are possible for the particular case under consideration and possibly correct in some cases. But I cannot believe that, with a whole series of failures of this kind, there are other reasons in every case. I am convinced that there is a connection between all these so-called unexplained shots and there is a common cause for their failure which has not yet been discovered. Up to now I have believed that in many cases boats have fired past, due to misinterpretation of the firing data or aiming mistakes. In individual cases I have sent the boat for further training. But now, with these failures of shots fired under the most simple conditions by a series of the best-trained Commanding Officers and torpedomen, I cannot accept this explanation any longer. Some of these C.O.'s have undergone 2 years of training in peacetime and all of them, when reexamined, were found to have good or very good skill in firing.

From now on, I shall regard all such shots at closest range, where a detailed examination of the circumstances and the firing data exclude the possibility of a miss, and which so far have been regarded as unexplained, as failures of the firing unit. It has happened again and again in these cases that the Torpedo Inspectorate has held the view that the boats have missed or made incorrect observations, only because the reason for the possible failure was not known and could not therefore be made to apply and that afterwards their view was turned out to be incorrect. See, for instance, premature detonations, detonations half-way through the run, firing under with impact firing. The attitude to be adopted to this problem is therefore, other unknown causes of failures are possible. Otherwise we shall never get anywhere.

Arrivals
Wilhelmshaven: U-30

Departures
Kiel: U-14, U-51

At Sea 17 January 1940
U-9, U-14, U-15, U-22, U-25, U-31, U-32, U-34, U-44, U-51, U-55, U-57, U-59, U-60, U-61.
15 boats at sea.

OPERATIONS
Baltic
Western Baltic
Sub TRIBUNE fired 8 torps at a submarine at the mouth of the Kattegat, , but there was no German submarine in the area.

Northern Patrol
CL DUNEDIN arrived at Scapa. AMCs ANDANIA arrived in the Clyde and on the same day CALIFORNIA departed the Clyde.

North Sea
OA.74 departed Southend escort DDs WHITEHALL and WIVERN from the 17th. WIVERN was detached on the 19th and WHITEHALL on the 20th, both to HGF.16. FN.73 departed Southend, escorted by destroyer WOOLSTON and sloop GRIMSBY. In a gale, the convoy had to turn back just off the harbour entrance, but finally arrived in the Tyne on the 20th. FS.75 departed the Tyne, escort DD VALOROUS and sloop LONDONDERRY, and arrived at Southend on the 19th.

HMS LondonDeerry
Steamer ERNANI (It 6619 grt) collided with Lightship BRAKE in the Thames Estuary. BRAKE sank and ERNANI was badly damaged.

ERNANI was sunk 29 June 1941 by U103. She was a disguised blockade runner at the time. At first U103 did not believe the ship was Italian, but eventually was convinced, but adviseed they were no longer permitted to help stricken vessels.

Northern Waters
DD KANDAHAR arrived at Scapa, and Sub SNAPPER departed Blyth on patrol. DDs MAORI, TARTAR, INGLEFIELD and FORESIGHT were sent to patrol off the Norwegian coast to intercept German ore ships.

West Coast UK
OB.74 departed Liverpool escort DDs WANDERER and MACKAY which later transferred to HXF.16. Steamer CAIRNROSS was mined and lost (see above)

Central Atlantic
Steamer SANTOS (Ger 5943 grt) departed Rio de Janiero for Hamburg where she safely arrived on 16 March.
.
Med- Biscay
Fr Contre Torpilleur JAGUAR collided with RN DD KEPPEL 100 miles SW of Vigo. KEPPEL had been escorting HG.15F until 16th when she turned the convoy over to sloop ENCHANTRESS. She was badly damaged and escorted to Gib by Fr DD LA RAILLEUSE and the RN DD VORTIGERN, also screened by Fr CL DUGUAY TROUIN. KEPPEL arrived at Gib on the 20th, departed on 10 February and was repaired in the dockyard at Malta from 14 February until 5 April. She arrived back at Gib on 19 April. JAGUAR was repaired at Brest.

Contre Torpilleur Jaguar. Ordered under the 1922 program, it featured a new design 5.1" main armament with ranges in excess of 20,300 yds. The rotating hand worked rotating breech of the design was poor and kep effective rof down to below 5 rds per min.

 

[Njaco]

17 January 1940 Wednesday
ASIA: Japanese 21st Army retreats to Canton, and the Chinese 4th War Area lets them go and digs in about 50 miles north of there. The 31st Army of the Chinese 5th War Area battles the Japanese near Wanchiatien, Chientingmiao, Lohanting, and Huashan. Japanese forces around Yehchiachi and Lochiachi attack the 13th Infantry Division of the Chinese 5th War Area. The Chinese are under pressure with their backs to the Han River.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-25 torpedoed and sank British steamer "Polzella" near the Shetland Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom. When the Norwegian ship "Enid" came to rescue any potential survivors, U-25 shelled, torpedoed, and sank her. "Polzella's" entire crew was killed, while "Enid's" crew of 16 were later rescued by British trawler "Granada" and Danish merchant ship "Kina".

An unknown U-boat (or perhaps Soviet submarine) has a narrow escape. British submarine HMS 'Tribune' spots a mystery sub in the Skagerrak Strait, fires six torpedoes, and all miss. Nobody knows what submarine it was.

WESTERN FRONT: Belgium revealed to the German ambassador that Belgium had learned German plans and not-yet-executed orders for the invasion of Belgium.

The German Enigma code is first broken by Polish and French cipher experts at Poste de Commandement Bruno (Chateau de Vignolles at Gretz-Armainvillers, 40 km northeast of Paris) and Dilly Knox's team at Government Code and Cypher School (Bletchley Park, England), using a German transmission intercepted by the Poles on 28 October 1939.

NORTHERN EUROPE: It is a brutal winter, so brutal that the waters between Sweden and Denmark are said to have frozen over. In Moscow, 79 degrees of frost are recorded. The mercury drops to −43°C (−45°F) on the Karelian Isthmus, −45°C (−49°F) further north in Summa. At noon it is −39°C (−38°F) in Taipale. Lake Lagoda freezes over completely. It is frosty across Europe, and it would have been a terrible day for Hitler's Fall Gelb. On the whole, it benefits the Finns, who have mastered the skill of staying warm while the Soviet soldiers often freeze to death, but everyone on both sides has a hard time with the brutal weather. Soviet troops freeze to death while Finns stay warm in heated tents and mobile saunas. However, frostbite leads to thousands of casualties on both sides.

Patrol activity north-east of Lake Ladoga in which Finns routed an enemy company. In Salla area Russians were driven back about 12 miles and were still in retreat, Finns recaptured Kursu. The Soviets keep pounding away with their artillery at Summa.

EASTERN EUROPE: It was reported that a 300 mile moat, 40 ft wide, had been completed around Russia, Poland and Hungary.

RAF Whitley bombers make night leaflet raids on Prague and Vienna.

UNITED KINGDOM: An anonymous individual comes up to the Finnish Minister in London, Mr. Gripenberg, hands him £5,000, and walks away.

The British Foreign Office brushes off US protests about impounding US mail bound for the Continent, stating:

His Majesty's Government find themselves unable to share the views of the United States government that their [the British] action in examining neutral mail in British or neutral shipping is contrary to their obligations under international law.

The British at Gibraltar detain both the US passenger liner 'Manhattan' and the US freighter 'Excambio'.

.

 

[Njaco]

18 January 1940 Thursday
ATLANTIC OCEAN: The Kriegsmarine orders unrestricted U-boat warfare on Britain and France. This follows months of warfare bound by the international Law of Prize, though the first British passenger ship was sunk on the very first day of the war, 3 September 1939 (apparently mistaken for a warship). U-boats are authorized to sink, without warning, all ships "in those waters near the enemy coasts in which the use of mines can be pretended." Exceptions were to be made in the cases of the United States, Italian, Japanese and Soviet ships. This marks the institution of full and illegal unrestricted submarine warfare for the first time since 1918.

German submarine U-44 sank the Danish vessel "Canadian Reefer", sailing for Britain with fruit, in the Bay of Biscay. The crew of 26 were rescued by a Spanish trawler.

German submarine U-25 sank Swedish merchant ship "Pajala" with three torpedoes in the North Sea at 1625 hours. Escort HMS "Northern Duke" rescued 35 after unsuccessfully depth charging U-25.

German submarine U-55 sank Swedish merchant ship "Foxen" in the North Sea, killing 17, at 1745 hours. There are only 2 survivors. U-55 does not return from its patrol.

German submarine U-9 attacked Swedish merchant ship "Patricia" with two torpedoes in the North Sea at 2353 hours, but the torpedoes went astray, hitting and sinking "Flandria" instead. Norwegian merchant ship "Balzac" would rescue four survivors two days later.

Danish steamer 'August Thyssen', sailing without pilot, sunk by Swedish mine off Stockholm.

A rush order for buoyant electrical cable is delivered to the Admiralty by the British Insulated Callendar's Cable Company. It is to be used by wooden trawlers dragging it along behind, with the magnetic field sufficient to detonate nearby magnetic mines. This gives new hope to Allied shipping which has been taking a beating from the magnetic mines.

British authorities in the Bermuda Islands remove European-bound mail from the Lisbon-bound Pan American Airways Boeing 314-ton 'American Clipper'. The US consul on hand issues a written protest.

NORTHERN EUROPE: Having already destroyed Soviet 163rd and 44th Divisions, Finnish Army Colonel Siilasvuo was ordered to take the Finnish 9th Division 30 miles south to Kuhmo to attack the Soviet 54th Division under the command of Chuikov. The Soviet 9th Army at Salla completes its withdrawal. The Russians retreated nearly 30 miles on Salla front, reaching vicinity of Maerkajaervi.

Soviet bombers raid the port of Kotka, damaging Finnish icebreaker 'Tarmo'. The Finns claim to have brought down five Soviet bombers. Finnish communiqué announced that eleven Soviet bombers had been brought down.

NORTH AMERICA: "Tatsuta Maru" departed San Francisco, California, United States; 512 civilian seamen from the scuttled German liner Columbus were supposed to be aboard, but they canceled their journeys at the last moment in fear of possible British interception of the liner which might lead to their imprisonment.

WESTERN FRONT: Western Front reported mutual artillery action in region west of the Saar.

Dutch royal decree proclaimed state of siege in several coastal areas.

GERMANY: Berlin announced the rescue of four officers and 26 men of the three submarines lost in Heglioland Bight.

UNITED KINGDOM: Crew of British steamer 'Cairnross' mined of the West Coast of England on January 17th, were landed. Eight of the crew of Norwegian steamer 'Enid' shelled and torpedoed by U-boat on January 17th, reached port.

In a series of explosions, five employees are killed at the Waltham Abbey explosives factory in Essex. Nazi saboteurs are blamed.

A British company delivers the first of a very large admiralty order for buoyant electrical cable. It is to be used in the fight to remove the threat of magnetic mines to British ships. When the cable is towed behind a wooden trawler, a current generated by the ship will produce a magnetic field around it sufficient to detonate a mine.

EASTERN EUROPE: In Warsaw, the Nazi Gestapo executes 250 Jews in woods outside the city following the arrest of the Jewish-born Catholic resistance leader Andrzej Kott.


.

.

 

[parsifal]

18 January 1940
Known Reinforcements
Axis
U63 (Type IIC Boat)

Neutral
Destroyer Tender USS DENEBOLA (AD-12)

Held in reserve since 1924, this ship was returned to service as the US moved to re-commission more than 70 of its mothballed DDs. Another 50 were eventually to be turned over the RN as early Lend Lease aid

Known Losses
MV PAJALA (SD 6,873 grt): Crew 35 (0 dead and 35 survivors), Cargo: 9150 tons of grain and cattle food : Route : Buenos Aires - Kirkwall - Gothenburg: U.25 sank Swedish steamer ten miles 72° from North Rona (UK Northern waters). The crew of 35 was picked up by armed boarding vessel NORTHERN DUKE, at the time escorting her to Kirkwall for inspection. NORTHERN DUKE attacked the sub, and DDs ASHANTI and KIMBERLEY were dispatched to assist her. U-25 escaped unharmed.

MV CANADIAN REEFER (Den 1,831 grt): Crew 26 (0 dead and 26 survivors): Cargo: Oranges and grapefruits: Route: Haifa - Glasgow
U.44 sank Danish steamer 25 miles NE of Cape Villano, but her crew was picked up by trawler JOSE IGNACIO DE C. (Sp 300 grt).

MV FOXEN (SD 1,304 grt): Crew:19 (17 dead and 2 survivors): Cargo: Pit coal : Route: Garston (UK) - Gothenburg. The ship broke in two after an explosion and sank within 90 seconds about 85 miles from Pentland Sound. On 24 January, one survivor was picked up by the Norwegian steam merchant LEKA. Another survivor had been rescued earlier by another unrecorded Norwegian ship and taken to Bergen. There is no corresponding attack report from a U-boat, but it is likely that the vessel was sunk by U-55 which did not return from her patrol.

FOXEN under her former name ASKO. Photo source Danish Maritime Museum, Elsinore (taken from Uboat Net

MV FLANDRIA (SD 1,179 grt): Crew:21 (17 dead and 4 survivors) : Cargo:General cargo and paper : Route: Gothenburg - Amsterdam. U.9 sank the steamer, 100 miles off Ymuiden. The four survivors rescued by steamer BALZAC (Nor 963 grt).

Steamer AUGUST THYSSEN (Ger 2342 grt) was sunk on a mine off Aland Island in the Baltic, part of a Swedish field.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]
.
Air Attacks By Soviet Fleet Aviation

Troop Transport VALAMON LUOSTARI (Fn 133 grt) was sunk in Lake Ladoga

DKM War diary
Selected Extracts

UBOATS
Kriegstagebücher (KTB) - War Diary

There is still uncertainty about the actual possibilities of supplying in Spain and a practical experiment is therefore necessary. U 44, at present off the west coast of Spain, can be used for this; she can then operate together with boats which are sailing up to 14 days after her. Supply has therefore been ordered for 25/26 in Cadiz.

Arrivals
None

Departures
(Un-recordedd departures: U-15 and U-18)

At Sea 18 January 1940
U-9, U-15, U-18, U-19, U-22, U-23, U-25, U-31, U-32, U-34, U-44, U-51, U-55, U-57, U-59, U-60, U-61.
17 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
Baltic
Eastern Baltic
Icebreaker TARMO (Fn 1574 grt):This vessel was damaged by Soviet air attacks. After the Soviet troops had captured the island of Sommers in December 1939, a small transport ship had become trapped in ice near the island. On 16 January TARMO was ordered to sink the ship, KAZAKHSTAN, before the Soviet icebreakers could release the icebound vessel. TARMO was also ordered to transport 80 Finn troops to retake the island. TARMO was unable to complete either mission, despite two attempts. The extreme cold made it impossible to fire her guns. She eventually returned to her anchorage at Kotko. During her operations she had been spotted by Soviet Icebreaker YERMAK mistaking her for the Finn VAINAMOINEN.

The Soviets called in airstrikes to deal with this perceived threat. TARMO was attacked by Soviet a/c several times, with no initial success. At 13:15 a lone Soviet SB-2 bomber flying at 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) dropped three 100 kg (220 lb) bombs on TARMO. Two bombs hit the ship, one of which peenetrated the deck plating and exploding in the mess where meals were being served to the crew. The blast immediately killed 38 crew members and wounded ten, one of whom died later in hospital, and started a fire that quickly spread aft. It took several hours to bring the fires under control By 18:00 the fire was contained and the ship remained afloat and hull intact. However additional damage had been suffered by ammunition in the ready use lockers "cooking off"

The failure to capture this island was a blow to the Finn defensive position. The outer islands had been in Soviet hands from the beginning of Winter War. In the beginning of March 1940 the provided base for large scale infantry attack over ice to southern coast of Finland.

Northern Patrol
AMC WORCESTERSHIRE arrived in the Clyde from Northern Patrol, while CARINTHIA arrived in the Clyde from Portland for duty with the Patrol. CAs DEVONSHIRE and BERWICK, after undergoing alterations, departed Rosyth for Northern Patrol.

CA BERWICK as she appeared when first constructed. Wartimne additions included radar, additional AA and DC racks on the stern. BERWICK was to acquit herself well in Norway, not least because she had increased AA firepower

North Sea
FN.74 departed the southern terminus escort DD GREYHOUND and sloop AUCKLAND, with GREYHOUND being relieved by sloop STORK, which had been delayed at the start. The convoy arrived in the Tyne on the 19th. DDs AFRIDI and BEDOUIN departed Rosyth to provide anti-aircraft protection for the merchant ships at Methil.

ORP sub ORZEL departed Rosyth on patrol. DD IMOGEN arrived at Rosyth from ON.8.

Northern Waters
DDs INGLEFIELD and FORESIGHT arrived at Sullom Voe to refuel prior to joining HN.8. DD KIPLING arrived at the Clyde from Portland.
DDs MAORI and TARTAR were sent to hunt for a submarine reported in 63-30N, 7-30E.

BB WARSPITE and BC HOOD with DDs FURY, FAME, FORESTER, FOXHOUND, FEARLESS, FORESIGHT, FIREDRAKE, FORTUNE of DesFlot 8 departed Scapa. FORESTER and FIREDRAKE attacked submarine contacts on the 20th, east of the Faroes , and FORESIGHT attacked a contact NE of the Faroes on the 20th. The force returned to Scapa on the 24th.

BC Hood Profile and plan view in 1940. She was little changed at the time of her loss

West Coast UK
CA NORFOLK's Walrus of 712 Squadron crashed on landing at Cadder, near Bishopbriggs, Glasgow. Lt (A) E F Pope and Leading Airman J Baxter were killed.

Colour profile of 712 sqn Walrus

Channel
DDs BROKE, WALKER, DIANA were sent to investigate a report of a U-boat on the surface west of Lizard Head. DIANA dropped DCs on a submarine contact.

UK - France
SA.26 of two steamers departed Southampton, escort sloop ROSEMARY, and arrived at Brest on the 19th. Sloops FOXGLOVE and ROSEMARY were escorting a convoy bound for Brest when a tanker going in the opposite direction advised them of a submarine contact. FOXGLOVE subsequently attacked a contact north of Alderney. BC.23S of steamers BALTRADER, BARON KINNAIRD, BRITISH COAST, DUNKWA (Commodore) and FABIAN departed Bristol Channel escort DD MONTROSE, which attacked a submarine contact west of Hartland Point. The convoy arrived safely in the Loire on the 20th

Western Approaches
OB.73GF had departed Liverpool on the 15th, and OA.73GF from Southend on the 16th escorted by DD BROKE from the 16th to 18th. On the 18th, the two convoys merged as OG.15F, totalling 26 ships. Escort was sloop ABERDEEN and DD DOUGLAS from the 18th to the 23rd, when the convoy arrived at Gib. .

SW Approaches
DD VERITY, escorting a convoy, attacked a submarine contact south of Scilly Island

Sth Atlantic
CAs DORSETSHIRE and SHROPSHIRE arrived at Port Stanley from Rio de Janiero to escort CA EXETER to England..

 

[parsifal]

19 January 1940
Known Reinforcements
Allied
RB ML M-2

Known Losses
During the night of the 18th/19th, operation ST.3 was carried out off the Dutch coast with DDs GRENVILLE, GRENADE, GRIFFIN and escort vessel WHITLEY. Two Dutch, one Norwegian and one Swedish ship were sent in for inspection. Returning to Harwich, DD GRENVILLE (RN 1350 grt) was sunk by mine at 1250 off Kentish Knock (at the mouth of the Thames). Seventy six ratings were lost, and the survivors picked up by accompanying GRENADE and GRIFFIN.

GRENVILLE in 1937

MV KAIJA (FN 398 grt) The cargo ship was bombed and sunk at Koivisto (some sources say the attack occurred near Turku) , Finland by Soviet aircraft (some sources say the attackers were 22 SB-2 Bombers).

[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Steamer MILE END (UK 859 grt) Crew 16 (5 lost): The cargo vessel was sunk in a collision with trawler FARADAY (UK 322 grt) off the mouth of the River Tees. Sloop STORK picked up the survivors.

[NO IMAGE FOUND[

Steamer PATRIA (1188 grt); Crew:23 (19 lost): The ship was torpedoed by U-9. Nineteen crew were lost and the survivors rescued by steamer FRIGG (SD 1248 grt).

MV QUIBERON (Fr 1,296 grt): Crew:unknown, all hands lost: Cargo: Unknown : Route:Rouen (16 Jan) - Boston, Lincolnshire : The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea off Great Yarmouth, Norfolk United Kingdom by U-59 ( Kriegsmarine).

This vessel was originally ATLAS until sold in 1939

MV TELNES (Nor 1,694 grt): Crew:18 (18 dead - no survivors) : Cargo: General cargo : Route: New York (9 Jan) - Rotterdam - Antwerp. The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean north west of the Orkney Islands by German submarine U-55 ( Kriegsmarine).

[NO IMAGE FOUND]

DKM War diary
Selected Extracts

UBOATS
Kriegstagebücher (KTB) - War Diary

Nothing to report.

At Sea 19 January 1940
U-9, U-15, U-18, U-19, U-22, U-23, U-25, U-31, U-32, U-34, U-44, U-51, U-55, U-57, U-59, U-60, U-61.
17 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
Northern Patrol
The Northern Patrol sighted 56 eastbound ships from the 19th to 31st, and 30 were sent into Kirkwall for inspection. Warships arriving back from Patrol were AMCs CALIFORNIA and CHITRAL in the Clyde and CL SHEFFIELD at Scapa after being relieved by CL MANCHESTER. CL DUNEDIN departed Scapa on Patrol, but was recalled on the 25th and arrived back on the 26th. Also arriving at Scapa were CAs BERWICK and DEVONSHIRE from Rosyth and CL DELHI.

North Sea
Operation ST.4 was carried out by DDs GREYHOUND, GLOWWORM, GRAFTON and the ORP DD BLYSKAWICA during the night of the 19th/20th. One Norwegian and one Swedish ship were sent in for inspection. In the four ST operations, DDs GRENVILLE (ST.1 and ST.3), GREYHOUND (ST.1 and ST.4), GLOWWORM (ST.1 and ST.4), GRAFTON (ST.2 and ST.4), GRIFFIN (ST.2 and ST.3), GRENADE (ST.3) and BLYSKAWICA (ST.2 and ST.4) had taken part in the sweeps. ASW trawlers STELLA LEONIS, WILLIAM WESNEY, RIVER CLYDE, ARKWRIGHT, STELLA RIGEL, CAPE MELVILLE, PYROPE, EDWARDIAN and MILFORD PRINCESS were also involved.

CLAs CALCUTTA and CAIRO departed Sheerness on escort duties, and arrived in the Humber on the 20th. ML PRINCESS VICTORIA departed Rosyth escorted by CLA CURLEW, DD ESCAPADE and escort ship WHITLEY with an MT convoy for the Humber. DD BEDOUIN departed Rosyth.

DD COSSACK arrived at Rosyth from Leith after repairs. Sub THISTLE departed Rosyth on patrol.

HN.8 of two British, 28 Norwegian, three Swedish and five Finnish ships departed Bergen and was joined at sea by DDs ICARUS, IMOGEN, ISIS, INGLEFIELD, KASHMIR, KHARTOUM and KIMBERLEY. CLs GLASGOW and EDINBURGH departed Rosyth on the 17th to provide a covering force. On the 18th, EDINBURGH dropped depth charges on a submarine contact ESE of Sumburgh Head . On the 19th, KHARTOUM and KASHMIR were detached to hunt for a submarine in Moray Firth and attacked a contact. On the 20th, the two DDs again attacked a contact in Moray Firth. Nine steamers were detached to ports on the west coast, and arrived at Methil early on the 22nd escorted by KASHMIR, ICARUS, ISIS and IMPULSIVE; the last two DDs reinforcing the convoy on the 19th after the submarine contact. FS.76 departed the Tyne, escorted by sloops BITTERN and FLEETWOOD, and arrived at Southend on the 20th.

Northern Waters
DD EXMOUTH departed Invergordon escorting tkr HORN SHELL (UK 8272 grt) as far as Cape Wrath, and then returned to Aberdeen on the 20th to escort steamer CYPRIAN PRINCE (1988grt) to Scapa. Destroyer ASHANTI departed Loch Ewe with salvage ships ANCHORITE and DISPERSER for Scapa Flow.

Channel
DD VETERAN attacked a submarine contact off Owers Light (near Sussex).

MV KIRKPOOL (UK 4842 grt): The cargo ship was reported driven ashore in the south west of England. However http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?15685 places this ship as being lost in 1942. I am unsure, but suspect the ship was driven ashore as reported, but refloated and repaired All crew were rescued.

 

[Njaco]

19 January 1940 Friday
ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-9 torpedoed and sank Swedish merchant ship "Patricia", which escaped U-9's first attack on two hours prior, in the North Sea at 0145 hours. 19 men were killed; 4 survivors were later picked up by Swedish merchant ship "Frigg".

German submarine U-55 sank Norwegian vessel "Telnes" off the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom; 18 lives were lost.

German submarine U-59 torpedoed and sank French steamer "Quiberon" off Great Yarmouth, England, United Kingdom at 2100 hours. All men aboard were killed.

German submarine U-44 began tracking Greek steamer "Ekatontarchos Dracoulis" at 2200 hours in the Bay of Biscay. Around midnight, U-44 fired a torpedo at the Greek ship, but the torpedo detonated prematurely before reaching the target.

British submarine "Sunfish" fired 4 torpedoes at German submarine U-14 off Helgoland, Germany; all torpedoes missed.

UNITED KINGDOM: British destroyer "Grenville" hit a naval mine and sank in the Thames Estuary in southern England, United Kingdom at 1250 hours, killing 77. 108 survivors were rescued by two destroyers that braved the minefield.

The collier 'Mile End' (859t) was on a voyage from London to Sunderland in ballast when she was in collision with the armed trawler 'Faraday' off the Tee. Five of her crew were killed. She was built in 1911. She lies in 30 metres of water, on her side, her stern section intact.

NORTHERN EUROPE: The weather stays chilly with 45°C (81°F) of frost recorded north of Lake Ladoga. Even as far south as Italy, there is 20° of frost, all of Europe is covered by a massive cold front.

Severe fighting in 'waistline' area of Finland, where Russians were still in retreat. There is an unsuccessful Finnish attack against the positions of the Soviet 122nd Division at Salla. Meanwhile, some 18,000 Soviet troops of the 18th Division have either been killed or captured while encircled north of Lake Ladoga, where they have been trapped since February 19th. The Russian division, under command of General Grigori Stern, also began to retire. Russian attacks on Finnish position at Taipale, south of Lake Ladoga were repulsed.

Soviet bombers raided outskirts of Helsinki. Finnish communiqué reported that Swedish volunteer pilots had bombed Soviet troops.

Germany declines to mediate in the USSR/Finnish Winter War.

WESTERN FRONT: Denmark expressed, for the first time, intention of preserving neutrality by force of arms if necessary.

The British 50th Motor Division begins embarking for France to join the BEF.

.

 

[Wurger]

The HMS Grenville was sunk on the 19th January 1940 during return passage by a mine at the position 51.39N 02.17E (23 miles east of Kentish Knock LV).
The ship was a G-class Flotilla Leader including Convoy Escort Movements ordered from Yarrow's of Scotstoun under the 1933 Programme on 15th torch 1934. The ship was laid down on 29th September that year and launched on 15th August 1935 as the 3rd RN warship to carry the name which dates from 1763 and last used for a Flotilla Leader sold in 1931. The name commemorates the name of the Admiral, Sir Richard Grenville (1541 - 1591) and his famous action off the Azores in 1591 in HMS REVENGE. Build was completed on 1st July 1936 at a cost of £275,412, excluding Admiralty supplied equipment such as guns, ammunition and radio communications equipment. She served in the Mediterranean before the outbreak of war. The Pennant Numbers - H03,H27.

Displacement: 1478 t (2086 t).
Speed: 36 knots.
Armament: 5x120 mm/L50 (5xI) type QF Mark IX, 8 MGs 12,7 mm (2xIV), 8 torpedo launchers (2xIV) 533 mm; 20 depth charges and 2 chutes.
Propulsion: Parsons' turbines - 28000 kW, 2 propellers, 3 Admiralty water-tube boilers.
Fuel supply: 455(480) t.
Range: 5530 NM/15 knots.
Dimensions: Length - 100,6m. Beam - 10,5m. Draft - 3,9 m.
Complement: 175.

The HMS Grenville ...

The Grenville destroyer is sinking ...

The HMS Garland was a destroyer of the same G-class ordered from the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering shipyard, Govan, Scotland. The Pennant - H37

Laid down: 22 August 1934
Launched: 24 October 1935

She was loaned to the Polish Navy on the 3rd May 1940 and became ORP Garland. ORP Garland was returned to Royal Navy on the 24th September 1946.

The HMS Garland ...

The ORP Garland ...

 

[parsifal]

20 January 1940
Known Reinforcements
Axis
IJN Kagero Class DD YUKIKAZE

Known Losses
Tkr CARONI RIVER (UK 7,807 grt):Crew:55 (0 dead and 55 survivors): Cargo:Ballast: Route:Falmouth - Falmouth Bay. The ship struck a mine laid the day before by U-34 and sank in the Falmouth Bay, while carrying out paravane trials and defensive armament tests. The master, 42 crew members, Cdr J.G. Bradshaw RN and eleven naval personnel were picked up by the Falmouth lifeboat and a naval cutter and landed at Falmouth.

Carani River sinking after being mined

Ex-Cargo Liner DURHAM CASTLE (UK 8240 grt): The ex-cargo liner struck a mine and sank in the North Sea off Cromarty, Ross and Cromarty whilst under tow to be sunk as a blockship at Scapa Flow, Orkney Islands. Some sources say she was lost 26th January

MV EKATONTARCHOS DRACOULIS (Gk 5,329 grt) Crew: 28 men (6dead) Cargo: wheat and general cargo Route: Rosario - Tyne. the unescorted vessel was hit by a stern torpedo from U-44 west of Portugal. The U-boat had chased the ship for more than 8 hours before being able to achieve a viable firing solution. It had fired a G7e torpedo earlier at around midnight that detonated prematurely. After the ship was hit , the UBoat commander observed how the crew abandoned ship and decided not to fire another torpedo due to the lifeboats still being so close to the vessel. The U-boat then left the area because the ship was in a sinking condition.

MV MIRANDA (Nor 1328 grt):Crew:17 (14 dead and 3 survivors). : Cargo: Coal : Route: Blyth (19 Jan) - Oslo. The ship was hit by one G7e torpedo from U-57 about 30 miles northwest of Peterhead. The U-boat had spotted a group of five steamers and an escort and tried to attack the leading ship, but the distance was too short so they fired a torpedo with a magnetic fuze at the second ship. The explosion broke the keel of MIRANDA and caused her to sink within five minutes. Three survivors were picked up the next day by the British armed boarding vessel HMS DISCOVERY II and taken to Kirkwall.
D/S Miranda - Norwegian Merchant Fleet 1939-1945

steamer NAUTIC (Est 2050 grt) was lost NW of Bergen (other sources say off the Shetlands) to unknown cause.
Strangely All crew were rescued

[NO IMAGE FOUND]

DKM War diary
Selected Extracts

UBOATS
Kriegstagebücher (KTB) - War Diary

Ice is beginning to have a direct effect on plans for operations. Firing and diving training in the Baltic will have to be suspended for the present. There is a choice between delaying the operation of several boats with new C.O.'s until the cold spell is over or sending them on to operations before they have completed the scheduled working up and firing practice periods. As they are all officers whom I believe already capable of handling difficult situations, I have decided to send them on to operations immediately. They will first of all go to operations areas where comparatively little patrol is to be expected. As soon as possible all boats will be transferred from the Baltic to the North Sea.

Arrivals
Wilhelmshaven: U-15

Departures
Helgoland: U-14
Kiel: U-58

At Sea 20 January 1940
U-9, U-14, U-18, U-19, U-22, U-23, U-25, U-31, U-32, U-34, U-44, U-51, U-55, U-57, U-58, U-59, U-60, U-61.
18 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
North Sea
DDs SIKH, MOHAWK, IMPERIAL and IMOGEN departed Rosyth for a sweep in the North Sea. On the 21st, IMPERIAL was in a minor collision, but was able to continue, and then on the 22nd attacked a submarine contact off Buchan Ness. She was ordered to remain at the location until relieved by DDs ENCOUNTER and ESCAPADE from Rosyth. Repairs to IMPERIAL were completed on the 26th. Sub TRIBUNE arrived at Rosyth from patrol with engine trouble, and was docked from 21 January to 22 March. Subs TRIDENT, SEAL, TRITON departed Rosyth for patrol on this date, but TRIDENT and SEAL arrived back next day.

FN.76 departed Southend, escort DD VALOROUS and sloop LONDONDERRY, and arrived in the Tyne on the 22nd. FS.77 departed the Tyne, escort sloops FLAMINGO, WESTON and ML PLOVER, and arrived at Southend on the 21st

Northern Waters
CL DELHI departed Scapa for Portsmouth where she arrived on the 22nd. When she left Scapa, CruSqn 7 was dissolved for the time being. CL MANCHESTER stopped Norwegian steamer LISA and sent her to Kirkwall for inspection. Destroyer ASHANTI arrived at Rosyth from Loch Ewe, via Scapa Flow. DDs FAME and FURY arrived at Sullom Voe to refuel. DD KIMBERLEY sailed for the Clyde after unsuccessfully searching for the submarine that sank Swedish steamer PAJALA.

West Coast UK
AMC SALOPIAN, en route from Devonport to the Clyde, was in a collision with Finnish steamer SAIMAA (2001grt) in the Firth of Clyde, and was grounded in the Clyde on the 21st. ASW trawlers KINGSTON CYANITE (433grt), KINGSTON CORAL (433grt) and KINGSTON CRYSTAL (433grt) were en route from Belfast to Portland. Off Lizard Head , they attacked a submarine contact.

OB.76 departed Liverpool escort DD WARWICK and sloop DEPTFORD until the 23rd.

OA.76 departed Southend escorted by DDs VERITY and VETERAN until the 23rd when the convoy dispersed.

Channel
Liner LLANDAFF CASTLE (10,786grt) departed London and was involved in a collision with an unknown vessel off Beachy Head. She returned to port but was able to continue her voyage to North Africa after a week's repair.

Nth Atlantic
HXF.17 departed Halifax locally escorted by RCN DDs FRASER and RESTIGOUCHE, which detached on the 21st. Ocean escort was AMC ASCANIA, which stayed until the 29th. The convoy was escorted by DD VERITY from OA.79 and VOLUNTEER from OB.79 from 29 January to 1 February, when it arrived at Dover.

DDs HEREWARD and HUNTER departed Bermuda for Halifax.

Central Atlantic
SLF.17 departed Freetown escort DDs HASTY and HERO in the local approaches, and AMC JERVIS BAY until the 31st. On 2 February, DD WREN joined and escorted the convoy until its UK arrival on the 4th.

Med- Biscay
Fr CA TOURVILLE and DDs AIGLE and VAUBAN departed Toulon on the 20th to take a shipment of gold to Beirut, where they arrived on the 25th. The gold was sent on to Ankara to support Turkish military preparations. The French ships arrived back at Toulon on the 30th, sailed again and reached Malta on 3 February. after a patrol.

 

[Wurger]

On the 20th January 1940 the Kagerō-class destroyer "Yukikaze" - "Snowy Wind" started servicing with the IJN. The ship was laid down on the 2nd August 1938 at the Sasebo shipyard, Kiusiu island and was launched on the 24th March 1939. Early in the war she took part in the invasions of the Philippines and the Dutch East Indies. She participated in the battles of Midway, Santa Cruz, Leyte Gulf, and the Philippine Sea, as well as a lengthy stint on Guadalcanal troop runs and the naval battles around that island. Yukikaze also survived Operation Ten-Go, the abortive attack on the American force landing on Okinawa, during which the Yamato was sunk. Between these major engagements, Yukikaze participated in escort duty for ships in transit, particularly in the redeployment of Shinano during which the newly completed carrier was torpedoed by a USN submarine and sunk. She spent the last months of the war on security duty in Japanese harbors and survived many Allied air raids.


Displacement: 2,000 long tons (2,032 t) standard, 2,500 long tons (2,540 t) battle condition.
Length: 118.50 m (388 ft 9 in)
Beam: 10.80 m (35 ft 5 in)
Draught: 3.76 m (12 ft 4 in)
Propulsion: 3 × Kampon water tube boilers, 2 × Kanpon impulse turbines, 2 × shafts, 52,000 shp
Speed: 35.5 knots (40.9 mph; 65.7 km/h)
Complement: 239 (Kagerō, 1939)

Armament: (Kagerō, 1939)
• 6 × Type 3 127 mm 50 caliber naval guns (3×2)
• 4 × 25 mm Type 96 AA guns
• 8 × Type 92 torpedo tubes (2×4) 16 × 610 mm Type 93 torpedoes
• 18 × Type 95 depth charges
• 2 × paravanes

Armament: (Yukikaze, July 1944)
• 4 × Type 3 127 mm 50 caliber naval guns (2×2)
• 24 × 25 mm Type 96 AA guns
• 4 × 13 mm Type 95 AA guns
• 8 × Type 92 torpedo tubes (2×4) 16 × 610 mm Type 93 torpedoes
• 36 × Type 2 or Type 3 depth charges

The Yukikaze destroyer in 1939 ...

The Yukikaze destroyer in 1940 ...

 

[Njaco]

20 January 1940 Saturday
ASIA: Chinese troops captured Licheng, Shanxi Province, China.

"Yukikaze" was commissioned into service with Commander Kenjiro Tobita in command.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-44 torpedoed and sank Greek steamer "Ekatontarchos Dracoulis" off Portugal at 0415 hours, killing 6. U-44 had been hunting for "Ekatontarchos Dracoulis" for the past 6 hours. Kapitänleutnant Ludwig Mathes holds fire as the survivors take to the lifeboats.

German submarine U-57 torpedoed and sank Norwegian steamer "Miranda" 30 miles off of Scotland at 0826 hours, killing 14. Three survivors were rescued on the next day by exploration ship "Discovery II" and taken to Kirkwall. Estonian steamer 'Nautic' sunk off Shetlands.

British tanker MV "Caroni River" hit a mine laid the day before by German submarine U-34 and sank. She was on her sea trials in Falmouth Bay, England. All 43 aboard survived.

RAF aircraft dropped bombs when attacked by anti-aircraft guns from four German patrol vessels in North Sea. No damage or casualties suffered by the British aircraft.

Convoy OA 76 departs from Southend, Convoy OB 76 departs from Liverpool, Convoy SL 17F departs from Freetown, Convoy HXF 17 departs from Halifax.

GERMANY: Werner Hohenberg, a future JG 52 pilot and wingman for Günther Rall, enlists in the Luftwaffe and is posted at Posen for training.

Hitler orders the Wehrmacht's Fall Gelb pre-invasion countdown reduced from four days to 24 hours for security purposes. He also uses his intuition to surmise that the British are thinking of invading Scandinavia (they are). Thus, he agrees with the Generals to put off Fall Gelb until the spring but begins thinking himself more seriously about invading Norway.

UNITED KINGDOM: British First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill, speaking to the Parliament, voiced support for Finland while criticizing brutal Soviet attacks. Churchill criticizes the 'brutish' Soviets and compares "Nazidom to Bolshevism". The Finnish government presumed that this meant British support would soon arrive, but it never did.

Meanwhile, the coldest day on record since 1881 is experienced in London with temperatures of -11°C (-20° F).

NORTHERN EUROPE: Heavy Soviet air raids over towns in South Finland, especially Turku, where 75 incendiary and 150 explosive bombs were dropped. Soviet bombers cause large fires in Turku and Hango. There were also machine gun attacks from the air. Much material damage was done.

There is a lull in the ground fighting as the Soviets prepare for a renewed offensive. The Soviet 122d Division at Maekaejaervi on the southern prong of the Soviet advance out of Salla attempts to make a stand against Finnish attacks. One Soviet division reported to have been cut off. Soviet artillery bombardment of Summa continues.

The Soviet 18th Rifle Division has been encircled for a week north of Lake Ladoga. Soviet 60th Rifle Division attacks to relieve it.

EASTERN EUROPE: Foreign Ministries of Yugoslavia and Romania met at Versecz, on mutual frontier to confer.

.

.

 

[parsifal]

21 January 1940
Known Losses
Steamer ANDALUSIA (SD 1357 grt) (some sources place this loss on the 23rd January. Several sources place its loss west of Ireland, but given its intended destination and point of departure this seems unlikely); Crew:21 (21 dead - no survivors): Cargo: General cargo : Route:Bordeaux (16 Jan) - Goteburg . The cargo ship last made a radio contact on this day. The ship departed Bordeaux on the 16th for Goteborg, and was lost with all hands on the 21st (or 23rd) in the North Sea (or North Atlantic) to unknown cause (torpedoed by U.55 according to Seekrieg and to Rohwer's "Axis Submarine Successes", and Uboat net. truth is, its cause of loss, even its location at time of loss is uncertain).

DD EXMOUTH (RN 1475 grt) departed Aberdeen on the 20th leading steamer CYPRIAN PRINCE (UK 1988 grt). In the early hours of the 21st, she was sunk by U.22 in Moray Firth off Tarbett Ness with the loss of all 175 officers and crew. When CYPRIAN PRINCE arrived at Scapa without her escort, DD SIKH and ASW trawlers KING SOL (486 grt), LOCH MONTEITH (531 grt), ST ELSTAN (564 grt) and ST CATHAN (565 grt) of the 18th ASW Group were sent to search for her survivors.

Collier FERRYHILL (UK 1,086 grt):Crew:13 (11 dead and 2 survivors): Cargo: 1200 tons of coal : Route: Blyth - Aberdeen .
the unescorted Collier struck a mine laid on 20 Dec 1939 by U-22 and sank 1.5 miles north of St. Mary's Lighthouse near Blyth. Two crew members were picked up by the British M/S trawler YOUNG JACOB (FY 975) and landed at North Shields.

Liner ORAZIO (It 11,669 grt) (crew unknown, but 645 onboard, 106 lost) whilst on a voyage from Genoa to Barcelona she was stopped off Toulon and searched by the Marine Nationale. Orazio had 645 people on board, many of the passengers were Jewish refugees. The French authorities removed some German citizens (some Jewish, and sent them to internment) and after a four hour delay she resumed her voyage, in increasingly rough seas. At 05:12 she suffered a crankcase explosion in her port propulsion diesel engine, which ignited diesel fuel from the fractured fuel lines. The resultant fire spread rapidly throughout the ship. Although ships were quickly on the scene, rescue efforts were severely hampered by the worsening weather and 106 people died in the blaze. The ship sank during the night of 21/22 January 1940. Survivors were rescued by Italian liners COLOMBO (11,760grt), CELLINA (6086grt), CONTE BIANCAMANO (23,255grt), Fr DD KERSAINT, Aux PV VILLE D'AJACCIO (2444 grt), tug SIX FOURS, refrigerator ship AUSTRAL, troop ships GOUVERNEUR GENERAL CAMBON (3509 grt), GOUVERNEUR GENERAL GREVY (4565 grt), and steamers DJEBEL DIRA (2835 grt) and DJEBEL NADOR (3168 grt).
New Source: Passenger Ship Disasters - Part 2 - SN Guides

ORAZIO ablaze and sinking

MV PROTESLAUS (UK 9,577 grt): Crew:75 (0 dead, 75 survivors) : Cargo: Ballast: Route: Liverpool - Barry. The ship was badly damaged by a mine laid by U.28 on 13 November. The steamer was run aground off Mumbles Light House in Swansea Bay, a total loss, but later refloated and towed towards Scapa by tugs EMPIRE HENCHMAN and ABEILLE 21. En route, however she sprung a leak and was sunk by gunfire 4.9 miles 295° from Skerryvore on 13 September 1940.

MV RYNANNA (Eire 1500 grt (est)): The cargo ship ran aground on the Goodwin Sands, Kent and sank.

[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Collier TEKLA (Den 1,469 grt): Crew: 18 (9 dead and 9 survivors): Cargo: Coal : Route: Burntisland (Near Rosyth) - Aarhus. The unescorted ship was hit on the starboard side in front of the bridge by one torpedo from U-22 about 40 miles north-northwest of Kinnaird Head (40 miles south of the Orkneys). The explosion killed four crew members, blew open both hatches and caused a heavy list to starboard that caused the ship to sink within three minutes. Ten survivors abandoned ship in the starboard lifeboat which was then destroyed by the mast as the ship spun when it sank. Five men in this lifeboat drowned while the remaining men managed to rescue themselves onto a raft that had floated free. Four crew members abandoned ship on another raft and were picked up about two hours later by DD SIKH and then transferred to the MV IRIS (Nor), which also picked up the other survivors and landed them all in Bergen. The body of one crew member was later washed ashore and he was buried in Wick cemetery.

DKM War diary
Selected Extracts

UBOATS
Kriegstagebücher (KTB) - War Diary
(See also special diary entry below for report on Torpedo failures)

U 34 reported that she had carried out her minelaying operation off Falmouth. She has managed it very quickly.
Further sinkings indicate the presence of U 44 off the northwest coast of Spain. Several U-boat warnings show that the enemy is taking action.

Arrivals
Wilhelmshaven: U-60

Departures
Wilhelmshaven: U-20

At Sea 21 January 1940
U-9, U-14, U-18, U-19, U-22, U-23, U-25, U-31, U-32, U-34, U-44, U-51, U-55, U-57, U-58, U-59, U-61.
17 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
Northern Patrol
CA BERWICK and CLs SHEFFIELD and NEWCASTLE departed Scapa on Northern Patrol duties. A British aircraft bombed a submarine contact north of Cape Wrath in the path of BERWICK, which relieved CA SUFFOLK. CL GLASGOW attacked a submarine contact east of Copinsay. CL EDINBURGH, in company with GLASGOW, attacked a contact three hours later east of Duncansby Head. AMC CARINTHIA departed the Clyde for Northern Patrol, while AMC FORFAR arrived back.

North Sea
OA.77 departed Southend escort DDs VANESSA and WREN from the 21st to 22nd, and DD ACASTA from the 21st to 24th, when the convoy dispersed. OA.75G, departed Southend on the 19th, and OB.75G merged on the 21st to form OG.15 of 49 ships. DDs WHIRLWIND and WITHERINGTON of OB.75G and KEITH were with OG.15 from the 21st to 22nd, and Fr DD CHACAL and PV CAPITAINE ARMAND from the 22nd to 27th. Two DDs from Gib escorted the convoy on the 27th, when it arrived at Gib.

FN.77 departed Southend, escort sloops FLEETWOOD and BITTERN, but was forced to anchor shortly after departure due to fog, and arrived in the Tyne on the 23rd. FS.78 departed the Tyne, escort sloops AUCKLAND and STORK, and it too was forced to anchor shortly after departure due to fog, arriving at Southend on the 22nd. U.31 extended the minefield at Loch Ewe, but no shipping was sunk or damaged.

West Coast UK
DDs KIMBERLEY arrived in the Clyde, as did DD DIANA from the south. DD VETERAN attacked a submarine contact off Portland Bill , and sister-ship VERITY a contact off Start Point. ASW trawler LEICESTER CITY (422 grt) attacked a submarine contact east of Douglas Head, Isle of Man. OB.77 departed Liverpool escort DDs VERSATILE and VANQUISHER until the 24th.
Channel

UK - France
BC.22 of steamers BARON BARNEGIE, BATNA, COXWOLD and DAVID LIVINGSTONE (Commodore) departed the Loire escorted by DD MONTROSE, and safely arrived off Barry on the 21st.

Channel
DD VERITY attacked a submarine contact off Portland Bill

Central Atlantic
Sloop BRIDGEWATER on passage from Lobito to Freetown attacked a submarine contact 170 miles south of Cape Palmas.

Med- Biscay
HG.16F departed Gib with 15 ships, escort DDs ACTIVE and WHITEHALL. WHITEHALL was with the convoy from the 21st to 27th, ACTIVE from 21st to 28th, while sloop ABERDEEN joined from 22nd to 27th and DD VANOC from 27th to 28th, on which day it arrived. DD DOUGLAS was with convoy OG.15F off the west coast of Portugal when she sighted U.44 in the path of the convoy. She reported the submarine to convoy escort sloop ABERDEEN and advised she was attacking. U.44 was driven off with minor damage 150 miles west of Oporto, but the Uboat was able to continue patrol.

A Gladiator of 769 Squadron went into the sea from CVE ARGUS, in a training accident, but Lt G R Callingham was unhurt.

The example at the National War Museum in Malta is the only surviving Sea Gladiator in the world

Far East/Pacific/Australia
Japanese liner ASAMA MARU (16,975grt) departed San Francisco on the 6th with 21 German and 30 other nationals employed in the Germans Merchant naval service seamen from the crew of German liner COLUMBUS. CL LIVERPOOL departed Hong Kong on the 16th to intercept the ship as it arrived off the Japanese coast. On the 21st, LIVERPOOL stopped her 35 miles off Nojima Zaki near Yokosuka and removed the 21 German sailors. After strong protests from Japan and Germany, nine were finally released and arrived at Yokohama on 29 February on RAN AMC KANIMBLA.

 

[Njaco]

21 January 1940 Sunday
ASIA: British cruiser "Liverpool" and the cruiser HMS "Gloucester" stopped Japanese liner "Asama Maru" 35 miles off of Japan. 21 German sailors, survivors of the German liner "Columbus" which was scuttled off the US coast on 19 Dec 1939, were imprisoned. After Japanese diplomatic protests, 9 Germans will be returned to Japan by the British as "unsuitable for military service".

Two former associates of Wang Ching-wei, head of the Japanese sponsored Chinese government in Nanking, publish a text of an agreement, signed by Wang, giving Japan total political and economic dominion in China. Ching-wei denies the veracity of the published document that supposedly shows that he has given the Japanese complete economic and political dominion over China. Two former associates of his published the supposed agreement.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: The Blue Funnel Line ship "Protesilaus" is damaged by a mine off Swansea, England.

The collier 'Ferryhill' (1,086t) en route from Blyth to Aberdeen, struck a mine at 1400 hours and sank off Blyth. The 1st Mate and 2nd Engineer of SS 'Ferryhill' were landed at North Shields and taken to the Preston Hospital. She was built in 1919.

SS 'Everene' (4,434t) a Latvian ship was torpedoed and sunk by a U Boat in the North Sea, off Longstone Island, Farnes.

Swedish steam merchant vessel "Andalusia", along with her crew of 21 men, became missing early in the morning off the western coast of Scotland; she was believed to be sunk by German submarine U-55.

U-22 has a busy morning in the Moray Firth, Scotland. German submarine U-22 attacked British merchant vessel "Cyprian Prince" in the Moray Firth at 0538 hours but failed to hit her. At 0600 hours, she torpedoed and sank destroyer HMS "Exmouth" off Wick, killing 189, which was the entire crew. At 0711 hours, she torpedoed Danish ship "Tekla", killing 4; nine crew members survived, rescued by HMS "Sikh" and Norwegian ship "Iris".

Convoy OA 77 departs from Southend, Convoy OB 77 departs from Liverpool, Convoy HG 16F departs from Gibraltar and Convoy OG 15 forms at sea off Gibraltar.

UNITED KINGDOM: The sinking of the HMS "Grenville" is announced by the Admiralty. 8 were reported killed and 73 were reported as missing and presumably dead.

Britain rejects American protests concerning the examination of mail carried aboard US merchant ships.

The Duke of Windsor (who, as Edward VIII, abdicated in 1936) takes leave after a five month tour of duty with the British Expeditionary Force in France. His duties were as a liaison between the BEF and the French government.

EASTERN EUROPE: A German officer shot Mr. Opacki in the streets of Kraków simply because Mr. Opacki had not shown sufficient respect when stepping out of the way for the German officer.

NORTHERN EUROPE: The Soviet units on the Karelian Isthmus are using the month for training and reconnaissance of Finnish defenses. Starting from 10 Soviet rifle divisions, the number is growing to 23 during the month. More heavy artillery is brought in as well. The divisions are distributed between the 7th Army and the 13th Army. Seventh Army has 14 divisions, 13th Army has 9. Seventh Army is headed toward Vyborg, the key point on the Mannerheim Line. Soviet 8th Army launched unsuccessful attack on Finnish Group Talvela on the River Aittojoki near Ladoga, Karelia.

The Soviets continue their artillery bombardment of Summa. They are firing 7,000 shells every day to soften the Finnish line preparatory to a full-scale assault. Otherwise, the action is quiet as the weather is still frosty.

Finnish Blenheim bombers, piloted by foreign volunteers, raid the Soviet naval base at Kronstadt, near Leningrad. They also raided Russian bases in Estonia, including an air base south of Talinn. Soviet aircraft bomb Oulu, in northwestern Finland.

It was announced that since the beginning of the War Norway had lost 28 ships through German mines and warships.

WESTERN FRONT: Eight French war correspondents attached to B.E.F. arrived in England as guests of Ministry of Information, for a tour arranged by War Office, Admiralty and Air Ministry.

The Dutch government announces that leave for the military will soon be restored.

MEDITERRANEAN: Pope Pius XII condemns Nazi rule in Poland in a radio broadcast to the USA which emphasizes the terror campaign against Catholic clergy.

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