This Day in the War in Europe: The Beginning (1 Viewer)

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13 June 1940
Losses
DKM Raider WIDDER captured and then sank tkr BRITISH PETROL (UK 6891 grt) on the Trinidad-Azores track , 1000 miles from Trinidad. 2 of the crew were lost, and the rest made PoWs. She sank BRITISH PETROL on the 14th.

AMC SCOTSTOUN (RN 17046) 12 largest ship lost of the war, U.25 torpedoed the ship at 0600 NW of Ireland. After persuing and attempting to engage the ship all day U-25 managed to get a second torpedo into the ship that evening, more than 12 hrs later. Whilst this was occurring DDs HIGHLANDER, was diverted from her voyage to Plymouth to try and intervene, DELIGHT and ECHO, which departed Greenock at 0900, tugs BANDIT and MARAUDER were also ordered to assist at best possible speed. SCOTSTOUN sank after the second torpedo hit, prior to their arrival. 7 crew members were lost and 345 rescued. The survivors were taken aboard HIGHLANDER. HIGHLANDER, DELIGHT and ECHO proceeded to the Clyde, arriving on the 14th.

Aux MSW MARTHE ROLAND (Fr 85 grt) and aux HDV REINES DES FLOTS (Fr 100 grt (est) were scuttled at Le Havre.
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Tkr BRITISH INVENTOR (UK 7101 grt) was badly damaged on a mine five miles 230° from St Albans Head. The entire crew was saved. ASW yacht CONQUEROR, corvette GARDENIA, and ML.100 carried out an ASW sweep. The tkr was beached and sank, and broke in two on the 30th. The after section was towed to Portland, arriving on 31 July. Iy ultimate fate is not known

Drifter OCEAN SUNLIGHT (RN 131 grt) was sunk on a mine off the W. Breakwater Light, Newhaven. 8 ratings were lost.
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Steamer ABEL TASMAN (Ne 314 grt) In May 1940 she was taken over by the Admiralty to assist with the evacuation of troops from northern France with a small naval crew under the command of Lieutenant Edward Terence Mudie placed on board along with the Dutch crew. She took part in Dynamo, and was then assigned to Operation Cycle, (the lifting of troops from other French ports). She sailed from Poole on 11 June to proceed to St Valery in company with several other naval manned coasters, but became detached from the main force in fog. Attempting to return to Poole, she was in the Swash Channel when she detonated a mine and sank. There were no survivors, with all 12 men onboard killed
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Fr sub SAPHIR laid 32 mines off Cagliari during the night of 12/13 June. Steamer ALICANTINO (FI 1642 grt) was sunk on this minefield on the 28th.
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UBOATS
Departures
Kiel: U-122
Wilhelmshaven: U-62

At Sea 13 June 1940
U-25, U-28, U-29, U-30, U-32, U-38, U-43, U-46, U-47, U-48, U-51, U-52, U-56, U-58, U-61, U-62, U-65, U-101, U-122, UA.
20 boats at sea.

OPERATIONS
Baltic
North Sea
MLs TEVIOTBANK and PLOVER departed the Humber escort DDs GALLANT, INTREPID, WALPOLE to lay minefield BS.14 in the Nth Sea, during the night of 13/14 June. DD FAULKNOR departed the Humber at 2000 after refitting and proceeded to Methil where she arrived. She then proceeded to Rosyth, departing Rosyth on the 14th to escort tkr WAR PINDARI. That night, FAULKNOR drove off a UBoat that had attempted to attack the tkr. Both ships arrived safely at Scapa on the 15th. OA.167 departed Southend escort corvette CLARKIA. FS.194 departed the Tyne, escort DD VALOROUS and armed patrol yacht BREDA. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 15th. MT.88 departed Methil, escort DDs WALLACE and WOLFHOUND. The convoy arrived in the Tyne the next day.

Northern Waters
DD ATHERSTONE departed Scapa for Aberdeen, met steamers LOCHNAGAR and MACCLESFIELD at Aberdeen and escorted them to Lerwick. ATHERSTONE arrived at Scapa on the 14th after the escort duty. DDs DIANA and ACHERON departed Scapa to search for a Uboat reported by CC at 1505 on a course of 315°. They also investigated a further report of a another UBoat at 1904, were then ordered to return to Scapa, and arrived early on the 15th.

West Coast UK
OB.167 departed Liverpool escort DD VOLUNTEER from 13 to 16 June. DD VOLUNTEER was detached to convoy HX.48.

SW Approaches
OG.33 was formed from a combination of OA.166G, which departed Southend on the 11th escort corvette CALENDULA from 11 to 12 June; and OB.166G, which departed Liverpool on 11 June escorted by ASW trawler HUDDERSFIELD TOWN on 11 and 12 June and sloop ENCHANTRESS on the 12th, a total of 32 ships. Sloop ENCHANTRESS escorted the convoy from 13 to 18 June. DD WRESTLER joined on the 18th. The convoy arrived at Gib on the 19th with WRESTLER.

HG.34F departed Gib with 24 ships. DD DOUGLAS escorted the convoy until joining convoy OG.33F later on the 13th. DD STURDY and sloop SCARBOROUGH escorted the convoy from 13 to 19 June. STURDY then arrived at Plymouth. DD HIGHLANDER escorted the convoy from 17 to 19 June, when it arrived at Liverpool.

UK-France
The British demolition party XD.L departed Chatham for Portsmouth, and then proceeded on to Cherbourg. FF.1 of British troopships DUCHESS OF YORK, SOBIESKI, BATORY, GEORGIC escort DDs BEAGLE, HAVELOCK, HAMBLEDON, WREN departed the Clyde for Brest. HAMBLEDON was later detached and returned to the Clyde on escort duties. She arrived in the Clyde on the 14th.

Nth Atlantic
HX.50 departed Halifax escort RCN DDs ASSINIBOINE and OTTAWA. On the 14th, they turned the convoy over to the ocean escort, AMC VOLTAIRE, which was detached on the 24th. BHX.50 departed Bermuda on the 12th ocean escort AMC COMORIN. The convoy rendezvoused with HX.50 on the 17th and the AMC was detached. On 25 June, DDs VOLUNTEER and WHIRLWIND and corvettes ARABIS and HEARTSEASE provided inbound escort until 27 June. The convoy reached Liverpool on the 30th. Fr CV BEARN was at Halifax. She had brought 250 tons of gold to Halifax in late May. Some of the 50 SBC4 dive bombers and 93 A17A attack bombers, ordered from the United States, had been embarked by this date.

On left a U.S. Navy Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver (BuNo 1813) assigned to Naval Air Reserve Air Base New York, Floyd Bennett Field, in flight. Note the NRAB New York insignia on the fuselage of the aircraft. The SBC-4 BuNo 1813 was one of the aircraft transferred to USAAC on 8 June 1940 and then to the French Navy. 44 were loaded aboard the French aircraft carrier Béarn at Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. France surrendered while Béarn was crossing the Atlantic; she turned south to Martinique, where the SBC-4s corroded in the humid Caribbean climate while waiting on a hillside near Fort-de-France. 5 aircraft left in Canada were used by the Royal Air Force as instructional airframes. On right is the updated export version of the A-17, as it would have appeared in June 1940

Ne CL SUMATRA departed Halifax for the NEI, via Bermuda and Curacoa. She reached Curacoa on the 22nd, and after patrols from there, departed on 7 August for the NEI via South Africa. SUMATRA arrived at Surabaya on 15 October.

Med- Biscay
Fr sub TURQUOISE laid 30 mines off Trapani. Fr sub PERLE laid 32 mines off Bastia. FI subs FINZI and CAPPELINI had departed Cagliari on 5/6 June. FINZI passed the Straits of Gibraltar for patrol in the Atlantic, and passed back through on 6 July on her return, to arrive at Spezia on 13 July. She was the first FI sub to operate in the Atlantic, and was soon followed in June by CALVI, CAPPELINI, MALASPINA and VENIERO. In all 27 FI subs operated in the Atlantic. Steamer GOUVENEUR GENERAL LAFERRIERE (Fr 3463 grt), en route from Oran to Marseilles, arrived at Alicante after being followed by an Italian submarine. The crew and troops were interned.

RAN CL SYDNEY left station off Benghazi to undertake a recon sweep of the Ionian Islands. RAN DD STUART on ASW patrol off Alexandria sighted gun flashes in the distance and reported a contact, which later proved to be RAN DD VOYAGER, herself pursuing a sub contact. DDs DAINTY and DECOY and RAN DD VAMPIRE were dispatched to assist. STUART and VOYAGER made attacks on a sub contact. Early on the 14th, VOYAGER, STUART and DECOY attacked on another sub contact.

Indian Ocean
RAN CL HOBART and CLA CARLISLE at Aden were unsuccessfully attacked by 4 RA SM81 a/c. CARLISLE shot down one a/c, and 1 is lost to CAP. The attacks fail to hit their targets, but a defending 94 sqn Glad ftr is damaged when it lands. Of the 4 RA a/c that attacked, 2 were shot down, and 1 crashed whilst on return approach at Massawa. There were 59 SM81s on strength in IEA in June 1940, of which 43 were airworthy.

Italian East Africa
8 Wellesleys of 47 Sqn hit 3 Italian airfields destroying 780 gallons of gasoline. This effort was complemented by 4 SAAF Ju-86s bombing Italian positions near the Kenyan border, 6 hrs before South Africa officially declared war on Italy while 6 Blens from Aden attacked Italian targets along the Red Sea coast.

A Wellesley Mk.I of no. 47 Squadron RAF (as can be seen by the code letters 'KU') over the East African desert

Pacific/Far East/Australia Station
DKM Raider ORION laid mines in Hauraki Gulf, Auckland, New Zealand as CL ACHILLES was entering harbour. On the 18th, steamer NIAGARA (13,415grt) was lost on this minefield. After her loss, CL ACHILLES and RAN PERTH and AMC HECTOR searched for ORION without success. Later, on 14 May 1941, New Zealand minesweeper PURIRI was lost on this minefield.

Malta
1210 hrs Air raid on Kalafrana and near Benghaisa.

1400 hrs A Glad is scrambled to intercept another raid, which is driven off

 

[parsifal]

14 June 1940
Losses
MV ANTONIS GEORGANDIS (Gk 3557 grt) Crew: Not Known Cargo: Maize and wheat Route: Rosario - St. Vincent - Limerick
Sunk in the SW Approaches about 400 miles NW of Cape Finnesterre. At 0854 hrs the unescorted ANTONIS GEORGANDIS was stopped with two rounds from the 20mm AA gun by U-101. The ship had been missed by a G7e torpedo at 08.20 hrs. The crew abandoned ship before the Germans had obtained the ships papers, which in any case showed the ship as proceeding into prohibited zone. The U-boat then sank the ship with 91 rounds from the deck gun.

MV MOUNT MYRTO (Gk 5403 grt) Crew: 24 (4 dead and 20 survivors) Cargo: General cargo and timber Route: Galveston - London . Sunk in the SW Approaches approximately 60 miles Sth of Ireland. At 1911 hrs MOUNT MYRTO was missed by 2 stern torps from U-38, which had followed her for 5 hrs. The U-boat then surfaced and began shelling the ship with 53 rounds. no warning was given due to the ship being within the declared area. At 1958 hrs, the ship was hit by a further torp as a coup de grâce near the bridge, but the ship still did not sink due her load of timber. Liebe decided to leave the wrecked vessel because HX-47 came in sight.
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MV BALMORALWOOD (UK 5834 grt) Crew: 41 (0 dead and 41 survivors) Cargo: 8730 tons of wheat and 4 a/c as deck cargo Route: Sorel, Quebec - Halifax - Falmouth . Sunk in the SW Approaches, approx 70 miles sth of the Irish Coast. At 1944 hrs BALMORALWOOD, a straggled from HX-47, and was hit amidships by 1 stern torp from U-47 and sank after 2 hrs. The ship sank fairly slowly, allowing all of the crew to be picked up by GERMANIC.

MSW trawler MYRTLE (RN 550 grt) MSW Gp 2 was sunk on a mine in the Thames Estuary.There were no survivors.
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Fr sloop D'ENTRECASTEAUX captured Steamer FORTUNATA (FI 4786 grt) in the Atlantic and took her to Port Lyautey. Ultimate fate unknown
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Sub PORPOISE laid minefield FD.18 and then then patrolled off Fro Havet. MSW M.5 (DKM 682 grt), 28 crew lost and Steamer SONJA (Sd 1828 grt) were lost on this minefield on the 18th.

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UBOATS
Arrivals
Wilhelmshaven: U-56

At Sea 14 June 1940 1940
U-25, U-28, U-29, U-30, U-32, U-38, U-43, U-46, U-47, U-48, U-51, U-52, U-58, U-61, U-62, U-65, U-101, U-122, UA.
19 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
Baltic
Eastern Baltic

Western Baltic

North Sea
CL CARDIFF arrived at Sheerness. MLs TEVIOTBANK and PLOVER and DDs EXPRESS and INTREPID departed the Humber on minelaying operation BS.15, carried out during the night of 14/15 June. The ships arrived back in the Humber on the 15th. Sloops LOWESTOFT and WESTON departed Rosyth for the Tyne. FN.195 departed Southend, escort sloops BLACK SWAN and HASTINGS. On the 15th, the convoy became separated in fog. BLACK SWAN took one section and HASTINGS the second. The convoy arrived at Rosyth on the 16th. BLACK SWAN's section, together with MSW SHARPSHOOTER arrived during the early afternoon. HASTINGS section arrived hours later. FS.195 departed the Tyne, escort DDs WALLACE and WOLFHOUND. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 16th. Sloop STORK departed Scapa to join the CinC, Rosyth, and arrived at Rosyth on the 15th. ASW trawlers ELM, HAZEL, WINDERMERE and ST LOMAN escorted cable ship MONARCH laying cable in Fair Isle Channel.

Northern Waters
CV ARK ROYAL arrived at Scapa escorted by DDs KELVIN, ESCORT and CAMPBELL.

West Coast UK
DD HIGHLANDER departed the Clyde for Plymouth. Sub H.28 departed Blyth on patrol.

UK-France
FF.2 of British troopships FRANCONIA, LANCASTRIA, ORONSAY and ORMONDE departed the Clyde for Brest escorted by DDs VANOC, WOLVERINE and WHIRLWIND. Steamers PORT MONTREAL and EURYADES departed Falmouth in the morning for Brest. Steamers BAHARISTAN and FLORISTAN also departed Falmouth, in the afternoon for Nantes.

Nth Atlantic
CVL FURIOUS departed the Clyde with £18,000,000 of gold bullion for Halifax for safekeeping. She was accompanied by CA DEVONSHIRE and DDs HAMBLEDON, ECHO and WITHERINGTON to 15W. DEVONSHIRE was detached for Iceland and arrived at Halifax on the 23rd. The DDs detached at the same time; ECHO arrived at Scapa and HAMBLEDON and WITHERINGTON in the Clyde. FURIOUS safely arrived at Halifax on the 21st.

Central Atlantic
CVL HERMES and CL DELHI were ordered to leave their patrol off the Canary Is when fuel necessitated and proceed independently to Dakar.

Med- Biscay
Operation "VADO" was the Fr bombardment of Genoa on Cape Vado. On the 13th, the Fr ships departed Toulon. 3rd Squadron was divided into two groups. Group 1 - CAs ALGERIE and FOCH with DDs VAUBAN, LION, AIGLE of the DesDiv1 and TARTU, CHEVALIER PAUL, CASSARD of DesDiv5. Group 2 - CAs DUPLEIX and COLBERT with DDs ALBATROS and VAUTOURof the DesDiv 7 and GUEPARD, VALMY, VERDUNof the DesDiv3. Fr subs IRIS, VENUS, PALLAS, ARCHIMEDE operated in the area of Savona in support. Early on the 14th, VADO was conducted. Fr DD ALBATROS was the only casualty when an Italian 152 mm shell f4 from a shore battery exploded in a fireroom and 10 men were burnt alive. In response to the operation, RM TB CALTAFIMI and MAS Sqn 13 (MAS.535, 539, 534, 538) sortied from Spezia to attack the French force. After a brief encounter with the Italian ships, the French units retired and returned to Toulon. RM TBDiv 11 (TBs ALTAIR, ANDROMEDA, ANTARES, ALDEBARAN) departed Trapani and proceeded to Spezia. RM subs NEGHELLI and VENIERO were at sea and subs IRIDE and SCIRE departed Spezia, but none contacted the French force.

The Med Flt and the Fr forces in the Eastern Med arrived at Alexandria. Fr sub NAUTILUS laid mines off Tripoli. RM DDs TURBINE, NEMBO and AQUILONE of DesDiv 2 shelled Sollum. RM Sub CAPPELINI was damaged from DC attacks by ASW trawler ARCTIC RANGER near Gib. DD VIDETTE joined to assist, but CAPPELINI was able to escape and arrive at Ceuta on the 15th. After emergency repairs, she departed on the 24th. CL cruiser ARETHUSA departed Gib for Verdon, where she arrived on the 16th.

Indian Ocean
Italian East Africa
When Italy declared war on 10 June 1940, the Italian troops were not prepared for a prolonged war in Nth Africa or East Africa. As a consequence, Mussolini ordered only limited aggressive actions to capture territory along the borders of Egypt, Kenya, and Sudan.

However as a result of advice from the Commander in IEA the Duke Of Aosta, this rigid defensive strategy was changed a kittke on the 14 June. Amedeo, Duke of Aosta—the Governor-General and Viceroy of IEA, convinced Comando Supremo to plan a campaign to conquer British Somaliland. Victor Emmanuel III—the King of Italy—and Mussolini agreed but it take until early August before all the supplies troop movements were in place.

The Italian force attacking British Somaliland in August 1940 was commanded by Lt Gen Nasi, GOC Eastern Sector. The force included 23 col bns of regular native troops in five bdes, 3 Blackshirt battalions, and 3 bands (bande) of dubats and other locally recruited irregulars. The Italians also had armoured vehicles (a small number of both lt and med tanks), artillery, and, most importantly, superior air support. The Italian troops numbered about 24,000.

On Italy's declaration of war in June 1940, the British forces in British Somaliland were placed under the command of Lt-Col Arthur Reginald Chater, the commander of the Somaliland Camel Corps. At the start of August, the newly promoted Brigadier Chater commanded a contingent of about 4,000 soldiers comprising the lightly armed Somaliland Camel Corps, the 2nd (Nyasaland) Bn King's African Rifles (KAR), the 1st Bn Northern Rhodesian Regt (KAR), the 3/15th Punjab Regiment, and 1st East African Lt Bty (four 3.7 in (94 mm) howitzers). They were joined from Aden on 7 August by the 1/2nd Punjab Regt and 8 August by 2nd Bn Black Watch. Chaters' force was not only critically short of artillery, it had no tanks or armoured cars nor did it have any anti-tank weapons to oppose the Italian medium and light tanks. There were also some 24 M11/39 medium tanks in IEA

L3 Lt Tank. In both Libya and East Africa the Italians fielded large numbers of these AFVs. Italian soldiers derisively referred to them as "Sardine Tins", a not inaccurate description

Malta
The Governor and CinC informs London that Malta urgently needs ftr a/c. In a telegram he urged the War Office to divert 3 Hurricane ftrs currently en route for Egypt at least temporarily to Malta, to defend the Island.

0827-0856 hrs 2 RA bombers approach at 8000 ft then dive to 4000 ft over Grand Harbour and Valletta dropping 3 bombs near the NAAFI and one opposite St John's Cathedral, which fails to explode. Objectives appear to be HMS TERROR, the Dockyard and the Power House. HE bombs are also dropped on the Harbour, Ta' Xbiex and Fort St Angelo, where one naval rating and one civilian are wounded by an incendiary bomb. An MSW on patrol reports sighting 1 enemy a/c damaged, and losing height rapidly, a portion of the port wing falling into the sea. The a/c flew off in a northerly direction at low altitude and is later observed coming down in the sea off St Paul's Bay.

 

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June 13 Thursday
NORTHERN EUROPE: Final act of the Norwegian campaign. Coastal Command Beauforts raid the airfield at Trondheim doing little damage. Bf 109s of 4./JG 77 and Bf 110s of a Zerstörerstaffel give chase to the Beauforts and come across fourteen Skua dive bombers of FAA Nos. 800 and 803 Squadrons from the aircraft carrier HMS 'Ark Royal' attacking the 'Scharnhorst' and "Gneisenau" at Trondheim. "Scharnhorst" was hit by a 500-pound bomb, but it failed to explode. 8 Skua aircraft were shot down by 4./JG 77 with five dive-bombers lost in 3 minutes. Fw. Menge claims two and Ofw. Sawallisch claims one, being the fifth victories for both pilots. 6 airmen were killed and 10 were taken prisoner. The remaining 7 aircraft returned to "Ark Royal" at 0345 hours. Nearby, "Ark Royal's" escorting destroyers HMS "Antelope" and HMS "Electra" collided in fog. Both sustained damage that would take them out of action until Aug 1940. A German seaplane picks up one of the Skua pilots. The same seaplane also picks up 2 survivors from HMS "Ardent" (sunk June 8 ). One later dies from exposure. Able seaman Roger Hooke is "Ardent's" only survivor. He will be repatriated in 1943 due to ill health.

WESTERN FRONT: The French forces west of Paris are now retreating to the Loire. The British decide to abandon attempts to rebuild a BEF in France and begin to evacuate the British and Canadian troops which still remain in the country.

Maxime Weygand declared Paris, France an open city. British Prime Minister Churchill flew to Tours, France for what would become the last meeting of the Supreme War Council. Both Britain and France now acknowledged that defeat would be imminent. Churchill encourages the French to withdraw to their colonies in North Africa to fight on. However, French PM Paul Reynaud asks to be released from the March 28 agreement and allowed to negotiate armistice terms with Germany. Churchill refuses, appraising this solely from the British point of view.

The fighters of JG 27 claim twenty-three aircraft destroyed during the day including six Fairey Battles destroyed by fighters from I Gruppe that are found attacking German armour east of Paris. Oblt. Walter Oesau of JG 51 claims his Geschwader's last French victim, a French Amiot bomber.

Again following the frontlines, the planes and personnel of JG 26 move to new airbases. Major Witt's Stabstaffel and Hptm. Noack's II./JG 26 transfer from Bois Jean and settle in at the airfield near Morgny Bezue la Foret. Major Galland's III./JG 26 leave the base at Capelle and move to the airfield at Les Thilliers .

Spain's Generalissimo Francisco Franco changes Spain's status from neutral to nonbelligerent.

MEDITERRANEAN: British submarine HMS "Odin" attacked Italian cruisers "Fiume" and "Gorizia". "Odin" was sunk by destroyers "Strale" and "Baleno", killing the entire crew of 56. It was the first naval skirmish in the Mediterranean Sea.

Italian aircraft attacked the naval base at Toulon, France.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: British armed merchant cruiser HMS "Scotstoun" (originally Anchor Line passenger ship "Caledonia") is attacked all day by U-25 and finally sinks 80 miles West of Outer Hebrides, Scotland (7 lives lost). 345 survivors were rescued by British destroyer HMS "Highlander" and would be landed at the Clyde on 14 Jun.

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[Njaco]

June 13 Thursday (continued)
NORTH AMERICA: Rear Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr. relieved Vice Admiral Charles A. Blakely as Commander Aircraft, Battle Force of the US Navy on board carrier USS "Yorktown" at Lahaina Roads, Maui, US Territory of Hawaii. Halsey received the temporary rank of vice admiral for this assignment.

The battleship USS "North Carolina" was launched at the New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.

Roosevelt signs a new $1,300,000,000 Navy bill providing for much extra construction. Meanwhile, in response to Churchill's pleas in his telegrams to President Roosevelt, surplus stocks of artillery weapons and rifles have been assembled from US government stores. The first shipment now leaves the USA on the SS "Eastern Prince" for the voyage to Britain. The US Neutrality Laws have been subverted by first "selling" the arms to a steel company and then reselling them to the British government.

EASTERN EUROPE: Soviet troops began amassing on the borders of Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania.

SOUTH PACIFIC: Britain sends information to Australian Prime Minister Menzies, with the first revelation that Britain would hold its Mediterranean interests at the possible cost to interests in the Far East. If Japan declares war, Britain would likely have to rely on the USA for safeguarding British interests.

The German raider "Orion" lays mines off Auckland, New Zealand.

ASIA: Japanese forces begin experimenting with glider and parachute troop units.

Japanese bombers make devastating fire raid on city of Chungking.

UNITED KINGDOM: From today, the ringing of church bells is prohibited, except as a warning to the populace that enemy troops are invading.

GERMANY: Hitler gives interview to American journalist Carl von Wiegand. He had no desire to smash the British Empire but would 'destroy those who are destroying that Empire'. US aid to Britain would not affect the outcome of the war.

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[Njaco]

June 14 Friday
WESTERN FRONT:After the declaration of Paris as an "open city", Germans enter the city unopposed. General von Bock, CO Heeresgruppe B, reviews victory parades in Place de la Concorde and at Arc de Triomphe. Von Studnitz leads the 87th Infantry Division in its triumphal entry march into Paris. While French troops organize a fighting retreat further South, Parisian restaurants and shops do a brisk trade with the German troops who act more as tourists than a force of occupation. Only 700,000 people remain in the city out of a population of 5 Million.

New instructions are issued to the German armies. While most of the armored forces are to continue their advance into the center of the country, Guderian's two corps are to swing east to cut off any attempt by the Maginot garrisons to retreat. Heeresgruppe C, General Leeb, attacks the Maginot defenses. To the east, the German 1.Armee under General Erwin von Witzleben broke through the Maginot Line near Saarbrücken. To the north, the coastal city of Le Havre fell under German control. Germans capture intact Renault tank factory at Billancourt and Schneider-Creusot armament works. The French government moved from Tours to Bordeaux and appealed for the United States to enter the war.

Adolf Hitler issues Directive No. 15, ordering the Army to prevent the withdrawal of enemy forces from the Paris area, and prevent the establishment of a new front on the lower Seine. A second objective is to destroy forces facing Heeresgruppe A and C, and see to the collapse of the Maginot Line. http://der-fuehrer.org/reden/english/wardirectives/15.html

In Brest, British General Alan Brooke orders Canadian forces to withdraw from France. Much of the Canadian equipment and 216 vehicles are destroyed, to prevent their use by German forces.

An He 111 from Stab./KG 55 on a reconnaissance flight of French artillery in the St. Avold area is shot down by anti-aircraft fire and crashes, killing the entire crew.

The fighters of I./JG 1 add three more Allied planes to the Gruppe's victory score. By the end of the day Hptm. Balthasar is awarded the Ritterkreuz and promoted to Oberleutnant becoming the second pilot in the Geschwader to be presented with the award after Major Werner Mölders. It is given to Oblt. Balthasar for his total victory score which includes twenty-two planes destroyed in the air, thirteen destroyed on the ground and seven aircraft shot down by Balthasar during the Spanish Civil War.

French and Polish 'Enigma' code breakers leave Paris. They fly from Toulouse to Algiers.

MEDITERRANEAN: Operation Samoyède. At dawn, the 3rd French squadron, including cruisers "Foch", "Algérie", "Dupleix" and "Colbert" (4 heavy cruisers and 11 destroyers in total), supported by the French Naval Air Arm, bombarded Genoa, Italy, damaging oil storage tanks and military facilities. French destroyer "Albatros" was hit by Italian coastal artillery, killing 12, but she was able to return. British Fleet Air Arm Swordfish aircraft from "a training squadron" (later to become No. 830 Squadron on Malta) made the first air attack on Italy, also hitting Genoa with French bombs. The giant French Farman F.220 bomber "Jules Verne" attacked Italian oil storage tanks at Porto Marghera, Venice, Italy. Eight bombs were dropped and at least one oil tank was seen to be set on fire.

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June 14 Friday (continued)
ATLANTIC OCEAN: Despite a series of errors, U-38 manages to sink Greek steamer "Mount Myrto" carrying a cargo of timber southwest of Ireland (4 killed). In the same area, German submarine U-47 sank British ship "Balmoralwood" carrying 8730 tons of wheat and four aircraft (all 41 crew rescued by British steamer "Germanic" and landed at Liverpool).

German submarine U-101 stopped Greek ship "Antonis Georgandis" 300 miles west of Cape Finisterre, Spain with two warning shots from the submarine's 20mm deck gun. After the crew abandoned the ship, U-101 sank her with the deck gun.

EASTERN EUROPE: Stalin desires to restore pre-1918 Tsarist borders and plans to incorporate Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia into Soviet Union. Soviets begin by imposing a sea and air blockade of Estonia. 2 Soviet DB-3T torpedo bombers shoot down Finnish civilian Junkers Ju 52 plane "Kaleva" shortly after takeoff at Tallinn to show that the threat was not empty. "Kaleva" crashes into sea (all 9 passengers and crew killed, including American and French diplomats). Soviet submarine Щ-301 surfaces and collects French diplomatic mail from the sea.

A group of 728 Polish political prisoners from Tarnów become the first prisoners of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland.

NORTH AMERICA: US President Roosevelt signed the Naval Expansion Act, which increased the carrier, cruiser, and submarine tonnage of the US Navy by 167,000 tons, increased auxiliary shipping by 75,000 tons, and increased the number of authorized naval aircraft to 4,500 planes.

NORTH AFRICA: Spain sends a 3,000-man force to occupy the former international city of Tangier, a port of Morocco.

Three Italian destroyers shell Sollum, Egypt.

ASIA: Japanese High Command advises British, American, Russian and German Embassies to evacuate their nationals from Chungking to places of safety.

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June 15 Saturday
NORTHERN EUROPE: Future Experte, Ofw. Anton 'Toni' Hackl of JG 77, claims two of the three RAF No. 233 Squadron Hudsons lost near Stavanger in Norway.

WESTERN FRONT: Another German pincer closes on France. The German 7.Armee under General Friedrich Dollmann crossed the Rhine River into France about 40 to 50 miles north of the Swiss border and penetrated the Maginot Line, fanning out on the Alsace plain to join up with Guderian's Panzers making their way South towards Switzerland. Strasbourg and Verdun are taken in the converging German advance on the Maginot defenses. On the coast of the English Channel, the Allies launched Operation Ariel to evacuate troops from Cherbourg and St Malo. Over the next 3 days, 23,630 men, mostly British, are embarked from Cherbourg. Adolf Hitler gave the German Army permission to demobilize some divisions once the French campaign drew closer to its end. French Army GHQ moves south from Briare, on the Loire, to Vichy.

The French fighter plane Dewoitine D. 520 gives a good account of itself as pilots of French GC I/3 claim ten kills, five of them Bf 109s.

Construction began on the new Führer Headquarters Wolfschlucht II in France. It would be halted within days, however, as the German campaign in France would soon end.

The crew and personnel of I./JG 1 continue to move to new airbases, following the battle lines. This day they leave Abbeville and move to the airfield at Romily-sur-Seine.

NORTH AMERICA: US President Franklin Roosevelt approved a revised copy of the Naval Expansion Act which he had approved on the previous day; it increased naval aviation to a strength 10,000 aircraft instead of the previously lower quantity of 4,500. He also replied to the French Premier's "last appeal", saying that America would redouble her efforts if the Allies continue to resist the dictators.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-38 attacked Allied convoy HX-47 60 miles west of the Isles of Scilly off of southwestern England at 0100 hours, sinking Norwegian tanker "Italia" (killing 19, 16 were rescued) and Canadian ship "Erik Boye" (21 were rescued). British sloop HMS "Fowley" would bring the survivors to Plymouth, England on the following day. "Erik Boye" is the first Canadian merchant ship sunk in the Battle of the Atlantic.

UNITED KINGDOM: Quintin Brand was appointed the commanding officer of the No. 10 Group at the rank of acting air vice marshal.

The decision is made to bring home the remaining British Expeditionary Force in France. 136,963 British and 38,500 Allied troops are transported across the English Channel.

British Prime Minister Churchill sent a telegram to US President Roosevelt to again request destroyers, noting that the United Kingdom would carry on the struggle;

"whatever the odds... but it may well be beyond our resources unless we receive every reinforcement and particularly do we need this reinforcement on the sea".

EASTERN EUROPE: Soviet troops began the occupation of Lithuania. Kaunas and Vilna are occupied by Soviet troops. The United States refused to recognize the Soviet occupation. Soviet troops engaged Latvian border guards at Maslenki, Latvia.

MEDITERRANEAN: Eight RAF Wellingtons were dispatched from aerodromes in Southern France to bomb Genoa, Italy. Heavy thunderstorms were encountered and only one aircraft bombed the target. Several hits were registered.

SOUTH PACIFIC: The Communist Party of Australia is declared as illegal.

.

 

[parsifal]

15 June 1940
Known Reinforcements
Axis
Type IID U-137

Allied
Fairmile A Motor Launch ML 102 Minelayer SOUTHERN PRINCE

Losses
U.38 sank tkr ITALIA (Nor 9973 grt) and steamer ERIK BOYE (Den 2238 grt), both under British control, from convoy HX.48 in the SW Approaches. 19 crew from the Norwegian tanker were lost. The survivors were rescued by sloop FOWEY. The entire crew of the Danish steamer were rescued by sloop FOWEY.

Sub MORSE (Fr 947 grt) The Requin class sub of the SubDiv9 was sunk on a mine off Sfax with all hands lost.

UBOATS
At Sea 15 June 1940
U-25, U-28, U-29, U-30, U-32, U-38, U-43, U-46, U-47, U-48, U-51, U-52, U-58, U-61, U-62, U-65, U-101, U-122, UA.
19 boats at sea.

OPERATIONS
Baltic
Eastern Baltic
DKM Raider PINGUIN departed Gydnia and was escorted by Sperrbrecher IV to Bremen. PINGUIN was joined by TBs JAGUAR and FALKE on the 18 June in the Skagerrak for the passage to Bergen. On the 19th, PINGUIN was joined by MSWs M.17 and M.18 off Skudesnes.

North Sea
DD ESK escorted cable ship ARIEL from St Peter's Point, Guernsey to Southend. FN.196 departed Southend, escort DD VIMIERA and sloop LONDONDERRY. The convoy arrived at the Tyne on the 17th. FS.196 departed the Tyne, escort sloops WESTON and LOWESTOFT. The convoy became separated in fog and anchored, one section with sloop WESTON and the other with sloop LOWESTOFT. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 17th.

Northern Patrol
U.A torpedoed AMC ANDANIA (RN 13950 grt) NW of Ireland in proximity to Iceland. Icelandic trawler SKALLAGRIMUR rescued the entire crew of 347 men before she sank. DD FORESTER departed Thorshaven to assist. A transfer of the crew was attempted on the 16th when FORESTER met the trawler, but the weather was too rough. The crew were transferred on the 17th and FORESTER arrived at Scapa on the 17th with the survivors, who were taken by MSW HAZARD to Scrabster.

ANDANIA left and the unique bridge of the U-A. U-A was intended to be sold to the Turkish Navy but was taken over 21 September 1939. She was by far the most successful of the so-called "Foreign Boats" in the Kriegsmarine

DD AMAZON, escorting oiler ROSEWOOD, came from Sullom Voe and DD KELVIN departed Scapa to assist. Armed boarding vessel DISCOVERY II also arrived on the scene. Oiler ROSEWOOD, now escorted by ASW trawlers SCOTTISH and LOCH OKAIG, arrived at Sullom Voe later that day. DD AMAZON reported later on the 16th that her starboard turbine bearing had run and she was returning to Scapa arriving on the 17th. DDs BEDOUIN and ASHANTI had departed Scapa for Reykavik and attempted to locate trawler SKALLAGRIMUR en route. However, they were unable to locate the trawler due to low visibility. ASW trawlers CAPE CORMORIN and AYRSHIRE in Iceland were sent to the area. CA SUSSEX, CL NEWCASTLE, AMC CIRCASSIA patrolled in the area in case this attack was a forerunner of an attempt by a surface raider to enter the Atlantic.

Northern Waters
CL NEWCASTLE and DDs AMAZON and KELVIN departed Scapa for firing practices in Pentland Firth. BB RODNEY, BC RENOWN, DDs TARTAR, FEARLESS, ASHANTI, BEDOUIN, MASHONA, MAORI arrived at Scapa. DD AMAZON departed Scapa for Sullom Voe with oiler ROSEWOOD and ASW trawlers SCOTTISH and LOCH OSKAIG. DDs ATHERSTONE, ACHERON, WALKER, VISCOUNT and ASW trawlers KING SOL, ST CATHAN, ST ELSTAN, LOCH MONTEITH departed Scapa with a convoy for the Clyde. It was composed of 9 steamers

ASW trawler ARAB attacked a submarine contact. The trawler was joined by patrol sloop PINTAIL.

Sd DDs PSILANDER, PUKE, ROMULUS, REMUS with supply ship PATRICIA and tkr CASTOR had arrived at Cobh (Queenstown) on the 2nd to embark Sd citizens to return to Sweden. They departed on the 15th, en route to Sweden from Italy.

Psilander as the Italian SELLA

Channel
DD GRIFFIN arrived at Dover, as the first arrival of the newly reconstituted DesFlot 1. The Flotilla was to be composed of CODRINGTON , GREYHOUND, GALLANT, GRIFFIN, BULLDOG, BRILLIANT, BOADICEA, BOREAS, BEAGLE, BRAZEN, BLYSKAWICA, BURZA. however most of these DDs were under repair on this date.

UK-France
Fr Contre Torpilleur DD MILAN took French General De Gaulle from Brest to Plymouth. De Gaulles family followed four days later, being collected by RAAF Sunderland a/c from near the Bordeaux region. DDs MACKAY and WINCHELSEA were ordered from Plymouth to escort convoys from France to England, and departed on the 16th. Steamers EMPIRE ABILITY and CITY OF FLORENCE departed Falmouth for Brest, while steamers ETTRICK, KONINGIN EMMA, ROYAL ULSTERMAN, ROYAL SCOTSMAN departed Falmouth for La Pallice in the afternoon. Next day, the morning of the 16th, and also from Falmouth, troopship ORMONDE departed for Plymouth and then to Quiberon Bay, and troopship ORONSAY for Quiberon Bay. Troopships ARANDORA STAR, OTRANTO , STRATHAIRD were ordered to Brest from Cardiff. OF 34F was formed from convoys OA.168GF and OB.168GF with 19 ships.

British steamer CITY OF WINDSOR (7218grt) was diverted to Cherbourg from convoy OA.168 GF. The convoy was escorted by sloop DEPTFORD from 15 to 22 June. The convoy arrived at Gibraltar on the 24th. BC 41 departed Bristol Channel escorted by ASW trawlers AGATE and CAMBRIDGESHIRE for Loire. This was the last convoy of the BC series.

Central Atlantic
SL.36 departed Freetown escort AMC DUNVEGAN CASTLE. The convoy arrived at Liverpool 3 July.
Sth Atlantic

Med- Biscay
Fr DDs FORBIN, FORTUNE, BASQUE departed Alexandria for Beirut. Sub RORQUAL reported unsuccessfully attacking an RM sub in the Otranto Strait. DD WRESTLER attacked a sub contact 7 miles 138° from Europa Point (the southernmost point of Gib).

Indian Ocean
Sub MACALLE (RM 680 grt) The Adua Class Sub had departed Massawa on the 10th, was stranded on a reef near Port Sudan. The entire crew were rescued by RM sub GUGLIELMOTTI on the 22nd. The abandoned sub was shelled on 27 June by DDs KANDAHAR, KINGSTON, CL LEANDER. A?C from the cruiser also bombed the beached sub.

Malta
Weather Early thundery showers, then clear sky with considerable haze to 5000 feet. Gale force winds at times.

1035-1045 hrs Air raid alert. One enemy aircraft is already over the Island at 15000 feet and drops nine bombs on an approximate line from the Dockyard to Delimara Point, killing two civilians and injuring six more. The raider immediately dives to 4000 feet.

1539-1353 hrs Air raid alert. Fighters take to the air but no aircraft area sighted.

1530 hrs RAOC explode a bomb successfully near HQ of B Company, 2nd Bn Devonshire Regt.

1640 hrs A loud explosion heard from the direction of Hal Far is reported as a possible delayed action bomb but later confirmed as a controlled explosion by the bomb disposal squad.

1716-1757 hrs One enemy reconnaissance aircraft crosses over Mellieha. Two enemy aircraft approach from the north east at 15000 feet and drop six bombs on open ground between Birzebugga and Hal Far. One enemy raider is intercepted by Malta fighters and is hit but not shot down, and releases its bombs in the sea south of the Island. The British pilot identifies the enemy aircraft as German from its twin water-cooled engines and swastika on the wings.

1920 hrs One Gladiator carries out flying practice around Hal Far aerodrome and the Kalafrana seaplane base. A Sunderland flying boat is also tested at Kalafrana Slipway.

 

[parsifal]

16 June 1940
Known Reinforcements
Axis
MSW R-50, R-51, R-52, R-53, R-54, R-55, R-56, R-57, R-58, R-59 (exact commissioning dates uncertain)

R 178 pictured

Neutral
Kirov Class CL VOROSHILOV

Allied
AA ship ALYNBANK

Losses
LA COUBRE (Fr 150 grt (est) The dredger struck a mine and sank in the Bay of Biscay off Saint-Nazaire, Loire-Atlantique with the loss of three of her crew.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Sub TETRARCH encountered a southbound German convoy. TETRARCH fired 4 torpedoes, one of which struck and sank tkr SAMLAND (Ger 5978 grt) off Korsfjord, five miles west of Lister.

MV WELLINGTON STAR (UK 13212 grt) Crew: 69 (0 dead and 69 survivors) Cargo: Refrigerated and general cargo Route: Sydney - Melbourne - Panama - Falmouth Sunk in the mid Atlantic, west of Spain. In the afdternoon of the 16th the unescorted WELLINGTON STAR was hit in the bow by a G7a torp fired by U-101. After the crew abandoned ship in four lifeboats, the U-boat fired three coups de grâce shots, but the ship did not sink. Two were duds. The U-boat surfaced, questioned the survivors and then finally sank the ship with 31 rounds from the deck gun with the ship sinking at 16.45 hours. The entire crew were rescued some days later.

Wellington Star 1 after being torpedoed 16/06/1940

UBOATS

At Sea 16 June 1940
U-25, U-28, U-29, U-30, U-32, U-38, U-43, U-46, U-47, U-48, U-51, U-52, U-58, U-61, U-62, U-65, U-101, U-122, UA.
19 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
North Sea
MT.89 departed Methil, escort DD WOOLSTON and sloop FLEETWOOD. DD ENCOUNTER traveled in this convoy for passage to Chatham. The convoy arrived in the Tyne on the 17th. Sub TRUANT and ORP Sub WILK departed Rosyth for exercises in the Firth of Forth. After the exercises, TRUANT set off on patrol and WILK returned to Rosyth. Sub L.23 and submarine tender WHITE BEAR arrived at Scapa Flow. Sloop BLACK SWAN and MSW SHARPSHOOTER arrived at Rosyth with part of convoy FN.195. Sloop HASTINGS with rest of the convoy arrived later. MSWs HALCYON and HEBE and DD ESK with cable vessel ARIEL were held for several hrs at Dover while the Downs was cleared.

Northern Waters
CA SUSSEX and CL NEWCASTLE departed Scapa to patrol along 59N from 16 to 20W. They arrived on station at early on the 17th to search for a raider. After no contact, they were ordered on the 18th to return to Scapa, arriving back on the 19th. Armed boarding vessel NORTHERN DUKE picked up a raft from Norwegian steamer KRISTIANIAFJORD.

West Coast UK
The ANZAC troop convoy US.3 arrived in the Clyde. CA CUMBERLAND departed the Clyde on the 16th for Liverpool arriving on the 17th. Escorting DDs BROKE and WESTCOTT then proceeded to Plymouth. Escorting DDs WANDERER, WITCH, RCN DDs ST LAURENT, RESTIGOUCHE, SKEENA, FRASER departed the Clyde to join Cdn troop convoy TC.5. DD DELIGHT departed the Clyde with British steamers NAILSEA LASS and LOMBARDY for Plymouth. Escorting DD WARWICK proceeded to Liverpool.

SW Approaches
HG.34 departed Gib with 15 ships, escort DDs VIDETTE and WRESTLER until 18 June. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on the 26th.

Nth Atlantic
Steamer KONIGSBERG (Ger 6466 grt) was scuttled when intercepted by Fr aux PV PRESIDENT HOUDUCE. KONIGSBERG had earlier refuelled DKM Raider WIDDER.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Fr CV BEARN and CL JEANNE D'ARC departed Halifax to return to France, but arrived in the Antilles on the 27th. Fr Gen De Gaulle ordered new French liner PASTEUR , en route from Halifax to Bordeaux, to put into a British port. Previously, PASTEUR on the first half of the voyage, her maiden passage, carried 400 tons of gold to Halifax.

Central Atlantic
CA DORSETSHIRE arrived at Gib after US.3 convoy duty until 14 June, then a patrol off the Canary Is.

Med- Biscay
Steamer RASTRELLO (FI 1550 grt), prewar, the Norwegian Atle Jarl was sunk in an air raid by the british off Genoa.

RM sub DURBO attacked a Fr DD in the Gulf of Hammanet, NE of Sousse. Sub GRAMPUS, (RN 1520 grt) which had laid mines off Port Augusta on the 13th,was sunk by RM TBs POLLUCE, CALLIOPE, CIRCE, CLIO off Augusta. After the minelay, the sub had unsuccessfully attacked RM sub BAUSAN on the 13th and torpedo boat POLLUCE on the 13th. DD DIAMOND was sent on the 18th to search for the missing sub. GRAMPUS was declared lost on the 24th and presumed mined. 58 crew were lost. .

In the afternoon of the 16th, DDs from various formations departed Alexandria to carry out ASW sweeps. Force MDs NUBIAN, MOHAWK, JANUS, JUNO. Force HDs HYPERION, HAVOCK, HEREWARD, HASTY. Force S:RAN DDs STUART, VAMPIRE, , VOYAGER RN DDs DAINTY. DDs ILEX and IMPERIAL were already at sea to cover tanker movements between Port Said, Alexandria, Haifa. On the 17th, CL GLOUCESTER also departed Alexandria to join the sweep.

CL ARETHUSA arrived at Le Verdon from Gibraltar

Indian Ocean
Italian submarine GALILEI sank tkr JAMES STOVE (Nor 8215 grt) sth of Aden whilst transporting Aviation spirit to Suez. The entire crew of 34 were rescued by ASW Trawler MOONSTONE. NZ manned CL LEANDER was searching for GALILEI from 16 to 18 June, ASW trawler MOONSTONE captured this submarine on the 19th.

 

[parsifal]

16 June 1940 (Part II
OPERATIONS [CONT'D]
France-UK
Operation Ariel (sometimes Operation Aerial) was the name given to the WW II evacuation of Allied forces from ports in western France, from 15–25 June 1940, following the military collapse in the Battle of France . It followed Operation Dynamo, the evacuation from Dunkirk and Operation Cycle, the evacuation from Le Havre, which finished on 13 June. The number of people evacuated from France to Britain during Operation Ariel were:
British – 144,171
Polish – 24,352
French – 18,246
Czech – 4,938
Belgian – 163
In total, 191,870 allied soldiers, airmen and civilians. Although much equipment was lost, it was still possible to save 310 artillery guns, 2,292 vehicles, 1,800 tons of stores,13 light tanks and 9 cruiser tanks.

Troop evacuation on SS Guinean during Operation Ariel, Abandoned British Army motorcycles at Monce-en-Belin near Le Mans, 13 June 1940

Unlike DYNAMO, ARIEL was undertaken mostly by some of the largest ships in the British Merchant Marine

On the 16th, DDs WOLVERINE, VANOC, WHIRLWIND were detailed to escort loaded ships from France to the UK. From 15 to 18 June, 30,630 troops were evacuated from Cherbourg and taken to Portsmouth. On 16 and 17 June, 21,474 troops were lifted from St Malo and taken to Portsmouth. The demolition party for St Malo was XD.M , delivered on DD WILD SWAN on the 17th, after calling at St Helier en route. On 16 and 17 June, 32,584 troops were evacuated from Brest and taken to Plymouth. From 16 to 18 June, 57,235 troops were evacuated from St Nazaire and Nantes to Plymouth. DDs VEGA, FERNIE, SABRE and sloops FOXGLOVE and ROSEMARY were employed as escorts along the evacuation route. DDs HAVELOCK, WOLVERINE, BEAGLE with troopships GEORGIC, DUCHESS OF YORK, BATORY, SOBIESKI of convoy FF.1 were at Quiberon Bay on the 15th. These liners departed St Nazaire very early on the 17th, escort DDs WHIRLWIND and BEAGLE. On the 16th, DDs HIGHLANDER and VANOC joined the force. British troopship FRANCONIA of convoy FF.2 was damaged by German bombing at Brest on the 16th. She was temporarily out of action due to mainshaft and gearing out of line. However, on the 17th , she was able to proceed independently to Plymouth. British troopships LANCASTRIA and ORONSAY of convoy FF.2 were damaged by air bombing at Quiberon Bay on the 17th. ORONSAY departed St Nazaire on the 17th. On the 17th 2 hrs after being damaged by bombing, troopship LANCASTRIA (UK 16,243 grt) was sunk by German bombing at St Nazaire with a heavy loss of life.

The great pity about the LANCASTRIA is that the disaster was quite possibly avoidable (though we can never be sure) By the mid-afternoon of 17 June she had embarked an unknown number (best estimate appears to be that 5310 were aboard) of civilian refugees (including embassy staff and employees of Fairey Aviation of Belgium), BEF l-o-c troops (including Pioneer and RASC soldiers) and RAF personnel. The ship's official capacity was 2,200 including the 375-man crew, but her skipper had been instructed by the RN to "load as many men as possible without regard to the limits set down under international law". At 13:50, during an air-raid, the nearby ORONSAY, a 20,000-ton Orient Liner, was hit on the bridge by a German bomb. LANCASTRIA was free to depart and the she was advised to do that, but without DD escort, as all escorts were fully engaged at that moment. The LANCASTRIA decided to wait. It was a fatal decision. A fresh air raid began before 16:00. LANCASTRIA was bombed at 15:48 by Ju 88 a/c from II Gp /KG30. 3 direct hits caused the ship to list first to starboard then to port; she rolled over and sank within 20 mins. Over 1,400 tons of fuel oil leaked into the sea and was set partially on fire. Many drowned, were choked by the oil, or were shot by strafing German a/c. Survivors were taken aboard other evacuation vessels, the trawler Cambridgeshire rescuing 900. There were 2,447 survivors. The death toll is beieved to account for roughly a 25% of the total losses of the BEF in France. She sank around 5 nmi (9.3 km) sth of Chémoulin Point in the Charpentier roads, around 9 nmi (17 km) from St. Nazaire. Best estimates of fatalities is 2899 lost. Rudolph Sharp survived the sinking and went on to command the RMS LACONIA, losing his life on 12 September 1942 when that ship was torpedoed and sunk off West Africa. The immense loss of life was such that the British govt suppressed news of the disaster through the D-Notice system, but the story was broken in the US by The New York Times and in Britain by The Scotsman on 26 July, more than five weeks after the sinking. Other British newspapers then covered the story, including the Daily Herald (also on 26 July), which carried the story on its front page, and Sunday Express on 4 August; the latter included a photograph of the capsized ship with her upturned hull lined with men under the headline "Last Moments of the Greatest Sea Tragedy of All Time", but the full story of the LANCASTRIA was released. As part of the govt-ordered cover-up, survivors and the crews of the ships that had gone to the aid of LANCASTRIA were instructed at the time not to discuss the disaster. Finally, in 2015 9just recently) the British MOD has admitted that there are no further classified documents being held

Malta

Malta's four operational Gladiator a/c cannot be expected to last long under the current pressure from enemy attacks, Air chiefs stated at the time. The introduction of Macchi fighters to protect RA bomber formations placed the Island's 4 defenders under severe threat. Although the 4 Gladiators were being conserved as much as possible, they are not expected to last long under present conditions.

Weather Fine.

0810-0935 hrs Air raid alert for 13 enemy a/c which cross the Island 3 formations, flying east to west at 15,000 feet. The lead formation is reported as "five Heinkel bombers". The raiders are attacked by fighters. They drop 6 high explosives and 6 incendiary bombs over Luqa and Kalafrana, where one 250lb bomb damages the north slipway and damages four vehicles. Two fall on Kirkop; one fails to explode. The power house is also damaged but still functioning. The second formation, identified as 5 SM 79s, are also attacked by fighters and disperse. The final 3, thought to be MC 200 fighters, also disperse when engaged by Malta fighters.

1445 hrs A message is received by 2nd Bn Royal West Kent Regt that the unexploded bomb at a Kirkop defence post will be dealt with in the next 30 mins.

1450-1545 hrs Air raid alert. 3 enemy bombers fly across the Island from SW to NE at 10000 feet and drop six bombs on Mosta, believed to be intended for Ta Qali. Fighters engage the raiders without result.

2115 hrs Infantry companies are informed that a DD is due in Grand Harbour at 2200hrs and will depart before daylight.

 

[parsifal]

17 June 1940
Known Reinforcements
Neutral
NEI ML SOEMENEP - USN PT 9
[NO IMAGE FOR THE SOEMENEP]

Losses
Tug ATHLETE (UK 350 grt (est)) The tug was scuttled at Brest.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

MV CAPITAINE MAURICE EUGENE (Fr 4499 grt) carrying holds full of wine, was holed by an explosion near Vandée reef. Listing badly and with rising waters inside she was abandoned by her 39-crew and sank.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Steamer CHAMPLAIN (Fr 28,124 grt) was badly damaged on a mine off the entrance to La Pallice and settled to the sea bed. 11 crew were lost on the French steamer. 359 crew and passengers were rescued.

MV ELPIS (Gk 3651 grt) Crew: 28 (0 dead and 28 survivors) Cargo:6100 tons of wheat Route: San Lorenzo, Argentina – Rosario – St. Vincent - Avonmouth Sunk approximately 300 miles west of Cape Finisterre The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean west of Cape Finisterre by U-46 . All 28 crew were rescued.

Steamer KOMET (Nor 1147 grt) was sunk by the LW in the English Channel off Caen. 2 of the 16 crew, including the Master of the vessel was lost. Survivors were rescued by a French trawler.

Tug LUTTEUR (Fr 350 GRT (EST)) The tug was scuttled at Brest.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

MSW MURMANSK (348grt) was accidently grounded and abandoned at Brest without loss. She was later salvaged by the Germans and entered service as KFK-76, changed to "FB-06" later. The trawler did not survive the war.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Fr sloop LA CURIEUSE, which with sloop COMMANDANT BORY was escorting French convoy IR.2F to North Africa, damaged and captured Marcello Class sub PROVANA (RM 1043 grt) 30 miles nth of Cape Palos near Oran. PROVANA sank in tow before she could be gotten into port.

Steamer TEIRESIAS (UK 7405 grt) was badly damaged by the LW. 1 crewman killed on the British steamer. The steamer was abandoned one mile northwest Wreck Buoy off the entrance to St Nazaire. British steamer HOLMSIDE rescued the survivors.

UBOATS
Arrivals
Kiel: U-58

At Sea 17 1940
U-25, U-28, U-29, U-30, U-32, U-38, U-43, U-46, U-47, U-48, U-51, U-52, U-61, U-62, U-65, U-101, U-122, UA.
18 boats at sea.

OPERATIONS

North Sea
DDs KASHMIR and JUPITER departed the Tyne for the Humber where they arrived later the same day. DDs GALLANT and WALPOLE arrived at Rosyth from the Humber. ML PORT NAPIER arrived at Rosyth from the Tyne. Sub SALMON departed Rosyth on patrol. OA.169 departed Southend escort sloop FOWEY from 17 to 20 June. The sloop was then detached to convoy HX.49. FN.198 departed Southend, escort DDs WALLACE, WOLFHOUND, VALOROUS. The convoy arrived in the Tyne on the 18th. FS.197 departed the Tyne, escort DD WOOLSTON and sloop FLEETWOOD. DD ENCOUNTER traveled in this convoy en route for refit. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 19th.

Northern Patrol
AMC CANTON reported she was attacked by a UBoat.

Northern Waters
DDs FOXHOUND and DIANA departed Scapa for the Clyde, but were recalled to escort CV ARK ROYAL. ARK ROYAL with DDs FAULKNOR, FEARLESS, ESCAPADE departed Scapa for the Clyde. FOXHOUND joined the screen outside Scapa. DIANA entered Scapa.

DKM CL NURNBERG and two steamers took the 2nd Inf Regt and an artillery regt of the 3rd Mountain Div from Trondheim to Narvik and Tromso. The CL arrived in Harjangsfjord on the 17th.

West Coast UK
DDs HAMBLEDON and WITHERINGTON arrived in the Clyde. DD VISCOUNT departed the Clyde for Plymouth. OB.169 departed Liverppol escort sloop SANDWICH from 17 to 20 June. The sloop was then detached to convoy HX.49

SW Approaches
OG.34F was formed at sea from convoy OA.168GF which departed Southend on the 15th escort corvette PERIWINKLE, OB.168GF which departed Liverpool on the 15th, escort sloop DEPTFORD. Sloop DEPTFORD escorted the convoy from 17 to 22 June. The convoy arrived at Gib on the 24th.

Channel
DD BRILLIANT arrived at Dover to join the DesFlot1. DD WILD SWAN, en route from Portsmouth to Harwich, spent the night at Dover. The DD arrived on the 17th and departed the next morning at 0535. On patrol, DD VESPER rescued 3 British officers, one British NCO, 5 Fr soldiers and took them to Dover. DD VIVACIOUS, en route from Portsmouth to Harwich, reported sighting enemy boats 7 miles east of Dungeness late on the 17th. DD VIVACIOUS reported a torpedo missed ahead. In support of the Cotentin Peninsula (Cherbourg area), Fr BB COURBET, AA ship AMIENS, SCs CH.13 and CH.43 operated off the east coast and Contre Torpilleur DD LEOPARD, TBs BRANLEBAS, FLORE, INCOMPRISE, sloop SAVORGNAN DE BRAZZA operated off the west coast. On the 19th, these ships proceeded to Portsmouth.

UK-France
Fr steamers SAUMUR, ENSEIGNE MAURICE PRECHAC, VULCAIN , PAUL EMILE JAVARY , ARMENIER , SAINTE CLAIR departed the Clyde for Brest escort RN trawlers. DD WESTCOTT was damaged in a collision with British steamer NYROCA at Brest. The DD could steam only 8 knots and returned to Plymouth, where she was under repair from 18 to 30 June. A convoy of 26 ships departed Quiberon Bay escort DD WOLVERINE for Bristol Channel. At St Nazaire on the 17th were British liners ULSTER PRINCE, ULSTER MONARCH , ROYAL SCOTSMAN , ROYAL ULSTERMAN. In the Loire anchorage was British tanker CYMBULA and British steamers CLAN FERGUSON , BAHARISTAN FLORISTAN , GLENAFFARIC , JOHN HOLt , TEIRESIAS. DDs HIGHLANDER, HAVELOCK, BEAGLE worked in the anchorage. British steamer DUNDRUM CASTLE had been diverted from Dunkirk and was waiting in St Nazaire to discharge her military cargo. Hospital ship SOMERSET was also at St Nazaire. A convoy was arriving from the Bristol Channel. It was composed of British steamers ROBERT L. HOLt , CITY OF LANCASTER , DAVID LIVINGSTON , FABIAN , GLENLEA. DDs HAVELOCK and HIGHLANDER were involved in ferrying troops to the evacuating ships in the harbour.

At 0630/18th, British steamers OLIVE, ROYAL ULSTERMAN, ULSTER PRINCE, FLORISTAN, BAHARISTAN, CLAN MACPHERSON, DUNDRUM CASTLE, DAVID LIVINGSTONE, FABIAN, CITY OF MOBILE, GLENAFFARIC departed St Nazaire, escorted by destroyers VANOC and BEAGLE. These ships were each carrying 3000 troops, DAVID LIVINGSTON carrying 800 troops, destroyer BEAGLE carried 600 troops. DD STURDY was ordered to join DD MACKAY at Brest. DDs IMOGEN and GRIFFIN were ordered towards Brest for ASW patrols. DDs PUNJABI and HARVESTER were ordered to patrol between Ushant and the Loire.

Nth Atlantic
DDs BEDOUIN and ASHANTI were sent at 0047 to hunt for a UBoat reported off Reykavik. BEDOUIN and ASHANTI arrived off Reykavik on the 18th and maintained an ASW patrol off Reykavik of one DD and one trawler. The DDs were then to escort British troopship EMPRESS OF AUSTRALIA from Iceland to Halifax. CA DEVONSHIRE was sent to Halifax to escort troopship EMPRESS OF AUSTRALIA on her return voyage to Iceland with Cdn troops.

HX.51 departed Halifax escort RCN DDs ASSINIBOINE and OTTAWA and aux PVs ACADIA and FRENCH. On 18 June, the DDs turned the convoy over to the ocean escort, AMC JERVIS BAY, which itself was detached on the 28th. BHX.51 departed Bermuda on the 16th escorted locally by sloop PENZANCE and ocean escort AMC ASCANIA. The convoy rendezvoused with HX.51 on the 21st and at that time the AMC was detached. On 29 June, DDs VERSATILE and VIVACIOUS and sloop SANDWICH joined the convoy. VERSATILE was detached on 1 July. The other escorts were detached on 2 July when the convoy arrived at Liverpool.

Central Atlantic
CVL HERMES, returning from patrol off the Canary Islands to Dakar, was ordered to Freetown due to the peace terms

Med- Biscay
DD DIAMOND was near missed and slightly damaged by RA bombing at Malta, but remained in service. Sub PARTHIAN unsuccessfully attacked RM DD NEMBO off Tobruk. RM Sub ADUA attacked a Fr convoy between Marseilles and Toulon. A detonation was heard but there is no confirmation on damage.

Malta
0625-0700 hrs Air raid alert for 5 enemy bombers escorted by 2 MC 200 ftrs in two formations which approach the Island from the SSE. The raiders approach at 16000 ft then swoop into a shallow dive, increasing speed. One formation attacks Luqa and Ta Qali, where bombs fall close to the water reservoir and cause slight damage to a water main. 11 bombs are dropped between Corradino and Luqa and another 34 near Ta Qali aerodrome, where two fail to explode. 2 Gladiator ftrs intercept but no results are reported.

1400-1426 hrs Air raid alert for 3 enemy a/c which attack a DD 3 miles sth of Delimara at 15000 ft but drop their bombs in the sea.

1525-1545 hrs 3 enemy a/c approach from the east and drop bombs on the Ta Qali area: four near the reservoir, eight in the centre of the airfield and four opposite the Consezione Church. One raider is brought down by AA fire.

 

[parsifal]

18 June 1940
Known Reinforcements
Allied
RN Flower Class Corvette CAMELLIA

CAMELLIA shot taken 23 September 1943

Losses
MV SARMATIA ( FN 2417 grt) Crew:23 (0 dead and 23 survivors) Cargo: Ballast Route: Liverpool - Sheet Harbour, Nova Scotia Sunk in the SW Approaches approximately 200 Sth of the Irish coast. The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk by U-28. All 23 crew were rescued by the trawlers FELIX and PASTOR MONTENEGRO (both Spain).

MV ALTAIR (Nor 1522 grt) Crew:18 (0 dead and 18 survivors) Cargo: lumber Route: Nova Scotia - Halifax - Weymouth - Kings Lynn Sunk in the SW Approaches about 100 miles SW of the Irish Coast. At 1750 hrs on 18 June 1940, U-32 tried to stop the unescorted and unarmed ALTAIR with a shot across her bow sth of Ireland, after one torp had missed at 1722. She did not stop and was then shelled by the U-boat until the crew began to abandon ship in two lifeboats. At 19.02 hours, the ship was hit amidships by a coup de grâce and settled with a heavy list, but remained afloat because of her cargo of lumber. The wreck was scuttled by HMS CAPE HOWE on 20 June.

At 19.12 hours, U-32 had sighted the two trawlers SALVORA (Sp 108 grt) and Trawler NUEVO ONS (Sp 108 grt) and sank them because they were outside of the allowed area of fishing. 6 of the 13 crew of the NUEVO ONS were lost whilst all 12 of the SALVORA were rescued. The survivors were rescued by the lifeboats of the ALTAIR. They were picked up later that same night by the Spanish trawler IPARREKO-IZARRA, which also located an empty lifeboat of BALMORALWOOD. The men were later transferred to the Spanish trawler PIEDI and landed at Pasajes, Spain on 21 June.
[NO IMAGES FOUND]

Amiens Class sloop VAUQUOIS (Fr 850 grt) hit a mine leaving the channel from Brest off Le Conquet. She returned to Brest Channel and scuttled herself.

Scuttled at Brest to prevent their capture were the incomplete BB CLEMENCEAU (Fr 43293 grt)

Bourrasque-class DD CYCLONE (Fr 1319 grt) which had been damaged by DKM S Boat S-24, and was undergoing repairs was scuttled

Redoubtable Class subs under repair at Brest that were scuttled to prevent capture were repairing sub PASTEUR (Fr 1384 grt), sub ACHILLE (Fr 1384 grt), sub OUESSANT (Fr 1384 grt), and sub AGOSTA (Fr 1384 grt)

Amiens Class (?) sloop ETOURDI (Fr 1025 grt) was scuttled at Brest.

Also scuttled at Brest were Aux PV MOUETTE (Fr 1205 grt), Aux ML ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLE (Fr 1256 grt), aux MSWs INGENIEUR REIBEL (Fr 675 grt) and ROCHE NOIRE (Fr 208 grt), tkr DORDORGNE (Fr 7333 grt).

SC CH-16 (Fr 107 grt) The CH-5 class sub chaser was scuttled off Ile de Croix.

Naval vessels scuttled at Lorient were Dubourdieu-class gunboat ENSEIGNE HENRY (Fr 453 grt), aux MSWs KERGROISE (Fr 261 grt) and aux MSW PLUVOISE (Fr 150 grt),, water carrier ONDINE II (Fr 150 grt (est)), tug LA VALETTE (Fr 100 grt)

Aux MSW MARQUITTA (Fr 74 grt) was scuttled at Cherbourg and aux MSW GAULOIS (Fr 301 grt) was scuttled at St Servan.

Steamers HESTER (UK 1199 grt) and RONWYN (UK 1766 grt) and steamer JACOB CHRISTENSEN (Nor 3594 grt) were damaged and abandoned after scuttling at Rochefort. HESTER was taken in prize by German forces and used under the same name for German service. RONWYN was renamed HOCHHEIMER for German use. JACOB CHRISTENSEN was renamed BALDUR for German use. Steamer DIDO (UK 3554 grt) was damaged and abandoned at Brest. The British steamer was salved by German forces and renamed DORPAT for their use.

From left to right:HESTER, JACOB CHRISTENSEN, NO IMAGE FOUND FOR THE RONWYN

MV DIDO (UK 3554 grt) The cargo ship was damaged and abandoned at Brest. She was subsequently salvaged by the Germans and re-entered service as Dorpat.

UBOATS
Departures
Kiel: U-99
U.99 sailed from Kiel on her first mission, passed through the Kiel Canal and reached Brunsbuttel on the 19th. Heading for Bergen she was mistaken for a British boat and attacked on the 21st by a German Arado flying from SCHARNHORST. U.99's attack periscope jammed, the lens broken and both compasses put out of action. After being repaired at Wilhelmshaven, she left for her patrol some time later.

At Sea 18 June 1940
U-25, U-28, U-29, U-30, U-32, U-38, U-43, U-46, U-47, U-48, U-51, U-52, U-61, U-62, U-65, U-99, U-101, U-122, UA.
19 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
North Sea
MLs TEVIOTBANK and PLOVER and DDs ESK and INTREPID departed the Humber on minelaying mission BS.16. The minefield was laid during the night of 18/19 June. The ships arrived back in the Humber on the 19th. AK EMPIRE TROOPER towed by tugs SCOTSMAN, SEAMAN, PRIZEMAN and escort DDs GALLANT and WALPOLE departed Rosyth for the Tyne. DD VESPER on patrol reported an enemy S Boat near No. 10 Buoy, 23 miles 160° from Dungeness. DDs VESPER and VIVACIOUS engaged S Boats without result off Dungeness. DD ANTHONY, en route from Portsmouth to Harwich, anchored at Dover at 2053. The DD continued from the 19th. Subs SPEARFISH and NARWHAL arrived at Blyth after patrols. Subs SUNFISH, TRIDENT, TRITON and ORP sub WILK departed Rosyth on patrol. FN.199 departed Southend, escorted by sloops LOWESTOFT and WESTON. Sub L.26 departed Harwich and traveled with this convoy for Dundee. The convoy arrived in the Tyne on the 19th. FS.198 departed the Tyne, escorted by DDs VIVIEN and VEGA. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 20th. MT.90 departed Methil, escort sloops BLACK SWAN and HASTINGS. The convoy arrived in the Tyne the next day. OA.170 departed Southend escort corvette HIBISCUS from 18 to 20 June.

Northern Waters
DD ZULU departed Scapa for Aberdeen. Off Aberdeen, she met steamer LOCHNAGAR which she escorted from Aberdeen to Lerwick.
Steamers CORMINSTER and BALTEAKO, escort ASW trawlers LEICESTER CITY and COVENTRY CITY, departed Scapa. ASW trawler ELM departed Scapa to escort oiler ROSEWOOD from Sullom Voe for onward routing to Curacao.

West Coast UK
BC HOOD with RCN DDs ST LAURENT, FRASER, RESTIGOUCHE, SKEENA and RN DD WANDERER departed the Clyde. Shortly after departure, DD ATHERSTONE departed the Clyde and relieved WANDERER. A Swordfish from ARK ROYAL crashed into the sea on the 18th and ATHERSTONE rescued the crew. BC HOOD and the CV ARK ROYAL gps met, the RCN DDs were detached to meet convoy TC.5 and DD ATHERSTONE proceeded to Liverpool. DD FOXHOUND called at Milford Haven to refuel. DD WARWICK arrived at Liverpool. OB.170 departed Liverpool escort DD WARWICK from 18 to 21 June. The DD was detached to convoy SL.35. The convoy dispersed on the 23rd.

Western Approaches

SW Approaches

Channel
CL GALATEA and DDs IMOGEN and GRIFFIN were ordered to Plymouth from Portsmouth with all dispatch. Fr BB RICHELIEU although not fully complete was made ready for sea and departed Brest escort DDs FOUGUEUX and FRONDEUR. The DDs were detached at Casablanca. BB RICHELIEU arrived at Dakar on the 23rd. Fr BB PARIS with hurried repairs of her 11 June bomb damage departed Brest for Plymouth, escort Fr aux PVs HEUREUX and GROENLAND. Fr depot ship JULES VERNE and subs CASABIANCA and SFAX , PERSEE, PONCELET, AJAX , CIRCE, THETIS, CALYPSO , SIBYLLE, AMAZONE, ANTIOPE, ORPHEE, MEDUSE and AMPHITRITE departed Brest for Casablanca. Sub SURCOUF, which was unable to depart with the JULES VERNE gp, departed Brest for Plymouth, where she arrived on the 20th.

Fr subs MINERVE in the tow of Fr tug ZEELEW and JUNON in the tow of Fr tug NESSUS departed Brest, escort aux PVs PESSAC and SAUTERNE. They later were taken in tow by tugs QUEENS CROSS and WATERCOCK. Off Ushant, they were joined by DD BROKE, which departed Brest on the 19th after the demolition of the port with the XD. O demolition party. DD STURDY took over the tow of sub JUNON as her tug was short of coal. BROKE and the subs arrived at Plymouth on the 20th. Fr submarines ORION and ONDINE also departed Brest under tow and safely arrived at Portsmouth.

Carrying 1200 tons of Fr gold, Fr AMCs EL D'JEZAIR, EL MANSOUR, EL KANTARA, VILLE D'ALGER, VILLE D'ORAN departed Brest escort Fr DDs MILAN and EPERVIER. Fr AMC VICTOR SHOELCHER, carrying 200 tons of Belgian gold and 75 tons of Polish gold,departed Lorient on the 17th escort DD EPEE. VICTOR SCHOELCHER joined the AMCs from Brest for the voyage to Casablanca where they arrived on the 21st. DD EPEE was detached and went to St Nazaire to escort the incomplete BB JEAN BART also evacuating to Fr Nth Africa. DD OURAGAN departed Brest under the tow of Fr tug ABEILLE 22 escort aux PV POMEROL, which had engine problems.
On the 20th, RN DDs IMOGEN and GRIFFIN were ordered to take over the tow of the DD. They safely arrived at Plymouth at 2100/19th.

Malta
1118-1123 hrs Air raid alert. One large unidentified a/c crosses the Island from nth to sth and then NW. It drops one bomb from 15000 feet, 400 yds NE of the Officers' Mess of Hal Far. The bomb explodes some 10 mins after impact. It is also observed dropping possible bombs over a ridge near Kalafrana.

 

[Njaco]

Sorry. Didn't have Internet for a few days.

 

[Njaco]

June 16 Sunday
WESTERN FRONT: Pro-armistice elements in French cabinet push for peace. British Ambassador presents Draft Declaration of 'Act of Union' between Britain and France but the French reject it. Prime Minister Paul Reynaud is unwilling to negotiate a separate peace with Germany (either to preserve his honor or unable to face the failure of his policies). He is asked to resign by French President Albert Lebrun and replaced with 84 year-old Philippe Pétain, WWI hero of Verdun, who is determined to end hostilities with Germany. Reynaud will be arrested on Pétain's orders in September 1940 and imprisoned by the Germans in the Itter Castle near Wörgl, Austria, until the end of the war. Pétain will be imprisoned after the war as a traitor and German collaborator, dying in prison in 1951 .François Darlan was named the Vichy French Minister of the Navy.

Germans broke through to Dijon and reach Besancon in France, while continuing a wide assault on the Maginot Line. Dijon is taken and to the east Guderian's units have reached the Saone. Major General Erwin Rommel having captured the port of Le Havre, France received a fresh order to take another French Port, Cherbourg, some 150 miles away.

Operation Ariel: Operation Ariel continues evacuating Allied troops from Cherbourg and begins at the ports of St Malo, Brest and St. Nazaire. Over the next 3 days, 21,474 are embarked at St Malo, 54,411 at St. Nazaire and 32,584 from Brest – mostly British.

The fighters of I./JG 1 spend only one day at Romily-sur-Seine before moving forward again at Auxerre. But not before tragedy strikes the Gruppe. While strafing the French airfield at Chateauroux, the Messerschmitts of Uffz. Fritz Stahn and Hans Brandt collide and crash to the ground. Both pilots from 2./JG 1 are killed.

The Curie Laboratory in France transferred 410 pounds of Norwegian heavy water to the British. British SS "Broompark" leaves the Gironde (western France) carrying 26 containers of 'heavy water', previously obtained from Norway by Joliot-Curie, the atomic physicist.

Portuguese consul general in France issues 30,000 transit visas in Bordeaux to refugees escaping European war.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: After tracking British armed merchant cruiser HMS "Andania" for 3 days, UA (Foreign U-boats - U-A - German U-boats of the Kriegsmarine - uboat.net) finally sinks her just after midnight, 230 miles west-northwest of the Faroe Islands. All 347 crew are rescued by Icelandic trawler "Skallagrímur" and transferred to British destroyer HMS "Forester" arriving at Scapa Flow June 17. At 1645 hours, U-101 sinks British MV "Wellington Star" with torpedoes and deck gun, 300 miles west of Cape Finisterre, Spain. All 69 crew drift in 4 lifeboats for 8 days. On June 24, 52 crew are picked up by the French steamer "Pierre L.D." and the other 17 in 1 lifeboat make land at Figuera da Foz, Portugal.

EASTERN EUROPE: Soviets have established bases in Estonia and Latvia, following agreements in 1939. Soviet army invades Estonia and Latvia, assisted by Soviet troops breaking out from these bases. Soviet Premier Josef Stalin demands Romania cede Bessarabia and northern Bucovina. Romania gives in to the demands.

ASIA: 114 Japanese aircraft attacked Chongqing, China after sundown. Four I-16 fighters of Chinese 24th Pursuit Squadron rose to intercept, shooting down one bomber near Fuling County near the city, with one fighter shot down by the Japanese.

MEDITERRANEAN: French sloop "La Curieuse" forces Italian submarine "Provana" to surface 30 miles South of Cabo de Palos, Spain. "La Curieuse" rams "Provana", sinking her. British submarine HMS "Grampus" is sunk by depth charges from Italian torpedo boats "Polluce" and "Circe", 105 miles East of Sicily (all 59 crew lost).

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[Njaco]

June 17 Monday
GERMANY: General Jodl's assistant speaks to the German Naval Staff;

"With regard to an invasion. . . The Führer had no so far uttered any such intention, as he is fully aware of the extreme difficulties inherent in such an operation. That is also why the High Command has as yet undertaken no studies or preparations (the Commander-in-Chief, Luftwaffe, has put certain things in hand, e.g. the activation of a parachute division)."

The deposed German Emperor Wilhelm II sent a congratulatory telegram to Adolf Hitler regarding the victory over France. Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov sent German Ambassador Friedrich Werner von der Schulenburg a message of congratulations for the successful German conquest of France.

British Bomber Command launches 138 aircraft on Germany, primarily on oil targets. Only one plane does not return.

WESTERN FRONT: The Petain Cabinet takes office. Weygand is Minister of Defense. They announce that they are asking Germany for armistice terms. The British government understands that these will only be accepted on the condition that the French Fleet does not fall into German hands. Equally it is the German policy to stop the French Fleet and colonies from joining Britain and this is the reason for their comparative leniency in allowing the establishment of Vichy as a focus for the loyalty for the French. French representatives in the USA do allow the British to take up arms orders they have made under the "Cash and Carry" rules.

Prime Minister Philippe Pétain ordered the French Army to stop fighting and sued for an honorable peace as the Germans crossed the Loire River near Orleans, France. Rumors of surrender demoralize the French troops and embolden the Germans. Taking advantage of the initial demoralizing effect and confusion this caused, the German 7.Panzerdivision under Erwin Rommel advanced toward Cherbourg. Rommel (recuperating and re-equipping 7.Panzerdivision since June 11) decides to gamble all and head for Cherbourg to prevent the Allied evacuation. His tanks and trucks laden with infantry travel 125 miles. To the east, tanks under Heinz Guderian reached the Swiss border at Pontalier, encircling 17 French divisions on the Maginot Line. Other units have nearly reached the Loire and still more are advancing in Brittany and Normandy.

Meanwhile, the Allied evacuation operation, Operation Ariel, continued in Cherbourg, Saint-Malo, Brest, and Saint-Nazaire. At Saint-Malo, private vessels of the Royal Channel Islands Yacht Club of Jersey arrived to assist with the evacuations. British Cunard liner "Lancastria" embarks 4,000 to 9,000 British civilians, troops and RAF personnel in the Loire estuary. At 1548 hours, she is hit by 3 bombs from Junkers Ju 88s (1 bomb goes down her funnel and explodes in the engine room) and sinks in 20 minutes. There are 2,477 survivors (ASW trawler "Cambridgeshire" rescues 900). It is the worst tragedy in British maritime history and the single greatest loss of life for UK forces in any single engagement in WWII. It was recognized as a catastrophe at the time and Churchill ordered a news blackout about the incident, fearing the impact such an incident would have on morale. Although it was reported in the foreign press later in May, many people in Britain did not learn of the disaster until after the war. Blue Funnel Line ship "Teiresias" is attacked by German aircraft while evacuating British Expeditionary Force troops from Saint Nazaire. The ship is abandoned when the engine room is flooded.

Determined to continue fighting, General Charles de Gaulle and other senior French officers refuse to serve the new French government and leave for London with 100,000 francs in gold provided by the ex-PM Paul Reynaud. Winston Churchill decides Charles de Gaulle should be recognized as speaking for France, not Marshal Pétain.

The three Gruppen of JG 26 are finally brought together when they are ordered to the large airbase outside Paris known as Villacoublay.

French Minister for Foreign Affairs Paul Baudouin privately informed Deputy US Ambassador to France Anthony J. Drexel Biddle, Jr., that the French fleet;

"…would never be surrendered to Germany".

EASTERN EUROPE: Soviet troops entered Latvia and Lithuania without little resistance. In Estonia, the government surrenders and agrees to Soviet occupation. Most of the Estonian army and the volunteer militia Estonian Defence League lay down their arms. The Single Signal Battalion will hold out in Tallinn until June 21. NKO Commissar Semyon Timoshenko ordered the disbanding of the military organizations of the Baltic States, leaving the task of border protection to NKVD troops. In North America, the United States refused to recognize the Soviet occupation of the two Baltic countries.

UNITED KINGDOM: Winston Churchill announced to the British people that the United Kingdom would continue to fight until Adolf Hitler was removed from power. Churchill broadcasts:

'We have become the sole champions now in arms to defend the world cause.'

British Purchasing Commission takes overall outstanding French arms contracts and offers to purchase as much war material as US can produce.

British unemployment figure decreased by 114,000 in May 1940 to a new low of 767,000.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-46 sank Greek ship "Elpis" 250 miles west of Cape Finisterre, Spain; the entire crew of 28 survived.

NORTH AMERICA: US Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Harold R. Stark asked for US$4,000,000,000 to construct a "Two-Ocean Navy".

Civilian contractors began working on the expansion of the US Navy airfield on Maui, US Territory of Hawaii.

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[Njaco]

June 18 Tuesday
WESTERN FRONT: The German 7.Panzerdivision under Rommel advanced another 75 miles since the prior date, reaching Cherbourg, France but not before most of the Allied personnel had already evacuated the city. 30,600 British and Allied troops were evacuated from Cherbourg. French battleship Courbet gave covering fire. Also on this date, Le Mans, Belfort, Metz, and Dijon fell under German control. Elsewhere, the Allies completed the Operation Ariel evacuation of La Pallice and Saint-Nazaire, but all the heavy equipment were left behind in the latter location. All large French towns are to be surrendered without resistance. Civil administrators and military forces are ordered to await arrival of Germans.

In Brest, with 5.Panzerdivision only a few hours away, French cruisers "El Djezair", "El Kantara", "El Mansour", "Ville d'Oran", and "Ville d'Alger" departed 1,200 tons of French gold for Casablanca, French Morocco while the cruiser "Victor-Schoelcher" transported 198 tons of Belgian gold (originally held in French banks) from Lorient to the port of Dakar in French West Africa. The French gold would arrive in Casablanca on 21 Jun 1940, but the Belgian gold would be captured by the Germans (much to the chagrin of the Belgians who sue the Banque de France in 1941, demanding in return French gold being held in the USA).

Evacuation of last RAF squadrons from France completed. The remnants of the RAF Hurricane squadrons in France evacuate their bases, having provided cover for the final Allied retreat from France. The last to leave are Nos. 1 and 73 Sqns, which had been the first to arrive in 1939. The fighting in France cost the RAF a total of 1,029 aircraft and over 1,500 personnel.

New French battleship "Richelieu" leaves Brest for Dakar (arrives June 23). Uncompleted battleship "Jean Bart" is towed out of St Nazaire; fuelled under German air attack and sails under half-power for Casablanca (night June 18-19; arrives 22).

NORTHERN EUROPE: German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop informs the Swedish Minister in Berlin, Germany, that if Sweden resists the German use of Swedish railways to transport troops and supplies to Norway, it would have dire consequences. Sweden allowed passage of German troops between Oslo, Norway, and Trelleborg, Sweden, on Swedish rail lines, with the only demand being that the number of troops coming from Germany must equal to the number being evacuated, so that it could not be said that Sweden was helping Germany reinforce the front lines. Sweden receives a reply from Britain regarding expectations in Norway, indicating that Britain might have to make peace with Germany.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-28 sank Finnish ship "Sarmatia" southwest of Ireland. German submarine U-32 sank Spanish trawler "Sálvora", Spanish trawler "Nuevo Ons", and Norwegian ship "Altair" southwest of Ireland. French troopship "Champlain" (28,100 t) crippled by mine (finally sunk by U-65, June 21) in Bay of Biscay.

NORTH AMERICA: US Secretary of State Cordell Hull directed Deputy US Ambassador to France Anthony J. Drexel Biddle, Jr. to inform the French government that if France failed to keep its fleet out of German hands, France would;

"…permanently lose the friendship and goodwill of the Government of the United States".

French Minister for Foreign Affairs Baudouin reiterated that the French fleet "would never be surrendered to Germany".

In Canada, Prime Minister William King introduces the National Resources Mobilization Act in the House of Commons. The bill would require Canadians to register for national service within Canada, and give the government control of Canadian property for the duration of the war.

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[Njaco]

June 18 Tuesday (continued)
SOUTH AMERICA: US Minister in Uruguay Edwin C. Wilson reported that Uruguayan government had arrested eight Nazi leaders and that Uruguay's Chamber of Deputies, in secret session the day before, had begun considering a report on Nazi Party activities in their country.

GERMANY: Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini met in Munich, Germany to discuss the French peace request.

The British Royal Air Force attacks Hamburg and Bremen, Germany.

UNITED KINGDOM: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill's 'This Was Their Finest Hour' speech was given before the House of Commons. This quotation includes the famous phrase:

"The white fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us. Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this island or lose the war. What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, 'This was their finest hour'."

On the same day, Churchill wrote to the Commander-in-Chief Home Forces asking for ideas for the creation of "Storm Troops" to be;

"…ready to spring at the throat of any small landing or descent".

Secretly he intended to use such a force as the basis for Commando raids on the continent. http://www.fiftiesweb.com/usa/churchill-finest-hour.mp3

Charles de Gaulle made the "Appeal of June 18" speech. French General Charles de Gaulle broadcasts on BBC radio in London, appealing to French officers, soldiers, engineers, and others to resist Marshal Pétain and to fight on for France.

The British War Office placed an order for 300 Canal Defence Light (CDL) tanks, Matilda tanks mounting a large searchlight in the turret that had been suggested by a Mr. Mitzakis in September 1939.

SOUTH PACIFIC: British liner "Niagara" (13,400 t), carrying £ 2.25 Millions of gold, mined and sunk off Auckland, New Zealand (gold salvaged from record depth of 148 yd in 7 weeks).


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[parsifal]

18 June 1940 (Part II)
Churchill gives a speech to the House Of Commons. It is the now famous "Finest Hour Speech" of which the following is the final paragraph. The full speech is over 30 mins long.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjXKnTqvRSU
"What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin. Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization. Upon it depends our own British life, and the long continuity of our institutions and our Empire. The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us. Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this Island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands. But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, "This was their finest hour."

[OPERATIONS CONT'D]
UK-France
When Brest fell on the 19th to German forces, the only naval vessel left afloat was the old six stack cruiser JEANNE DE ARC (1899) . Thus far, French assurances that they would not allow their fleet to be captured were holding firm. DD MACKAY and steamer ROYAL SCOTSMAN arrived at Plymouth from Brest. British demolition party XD.P departed Plymouth at 0115 on Armed yacht CUTTY SARK for Lorient, but were forced to return due to near miss damage. The party arrived back at Plymouth on the 19th. The demolition party transferred to DD VISCOUNT who carried the gp to to Lorient.

Fr Aurore class sub LA CREOLE had only been launched on the 8th but was towed by tug MAMMOUTH from Le Havre on the 9th, escort PV RAMIER. They arrived at La Pallice on the 11th, and from there departed again under the tow of Fr tug ABEILLE 21 on the 22nd. They both safely arrived at Swansea. She was not completed until 1949. DDs SABRE and FERNIE took off the last of the evacuatees, 800 troops and 50 naval demolition personnel, from Cherbourg that evening.

Med- Biscay
Fr steamers PIERRE L.D. , SAN ANTONIO , INDOCHINOIS , which had just arrived from Halifax with American a/c, departed St Nazaire on the 18th (with the a/c) for Casablanca where they safely arrived on the 23rd. Also departing St Nazaire were steamers ROYAL ULSTERMAN, CITY OF LANCASTER, BELTOY, MAURICE ROSE, GLANLEA, HARPATHIAN, GELNDENNING, POLLUX, LECHISTAN carrying troops, hospital ship ROBERT E. HOLT, oiler CASPIA, Polish steamer LEWANT, trawlers ST MELANTE, CLOUGHTON WYKE, OSAMA, ARMENA, DDs HIGHLANDER and WREN. Fr steamers MARGUERITE FINALY, VILLE DE HAVRE, BOURGOGNE, GROIX, MARIS STELLA, TADORNE, PIERRE CLAUDE, MAURICE DELMAR, CARIMARE departed Le Verdon in convoy for Dakar.

Steamer RENO (FI 1002 grt) was sunk on a mine 28° from Faro Monte Cappuccino, 11 miles off Arcona in the Adriatic.

Indian Ocean
RM sub GALILEI stopped trawler DRAVA (Yu 199 grt) in the Red Sea but released her after inspection. That night, submarine GALILEI was surprised on the surface by DD KANDAHAR, but managed to escape in the darkness without damage.

Pacific/Far East/Australia Station
Steamer NIAGARA (UK 13,415 grt) was sunk on a German mine in the Hauraki Gullf near Auckland, NZ. NZ manned CL ACHILLES departed Auckland. The CL towed the lifeboats of the steamer from Maro Tiki towards Hauraki Bay. There were 201 crew and 53 passengers on the steamer. All were rescued. The CL arrived back at Auckland on the 24th after searching the area near Kermadec Is. The steamer NIAGARA was carrying gold bullion. £2,379,000 sterling was recovered from the sunken vessel.

DKM Raider ORION captured steamer TROPIC SEA (Nor 5781 grt). TROPIC SEA was sent back to France as a prize but was scuttled on 3 September 1940 just as she was as she arriving off Bordeaux when intercepted by sub TRUANT. At the time of her loss, TROPIC SEA had 24 crew from the British steamer HAXBY intercepted by ORION on 24 April.

 

[parsifal]

19 June 1940
Known Reinforcements
Neutral
SU Serie XII Bis Subs M-59, M-60, SU Serie IXbis Subs S-31, S-32

Losses
Tkr BRUMAIRE (Fr 7638 grt) U-25 attacked a small convoy and hit the BRUMAIRE with one torp, before the U-boat collided with another steamer in the convoy. The conning tower and periscope were damaged and the U-boat had to abort her patrol. The tkr was torpedoed and damaged in the Bay of Biscay. She was abandoned but did not sink, and was sunk the next day by the LW.

MV ADAMANDIOS GEORGANDIS (Gk 3433 grt) Crew: ? men (1 dead and ? survivors) Route: Rosario - Cork Sunk in the SW Approaches. The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean south west of Ireland by U-28. The vessel was displaying clear neutrality markings at the time of her loss. Ireland sought an explanation from Germany.

MV LABUD (Yu 5334 grt) Crew: 34 (0 dead and 34 survivors). Cargo: Maize Route:Table Bay - Liverpool. Sunk in the SW Approaches due sth of Ireland.. The cargo ship was torpedoed, shelled, and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean SW of the Fastnet Rock by U-32. All 34 crew were rescued.

MV BARON LOUNDOUN (UK 3164 grt) Crew:33 (3 dead and 30 survivors) Cargo: 5050 tons of iron ore Route:Bona - Barrow
At 0256 hrs the ship in convoy HG-34F was torpedoed and sunk by U-48 WNW of Cape Ortegal. The master and 29 crew members were picked up by HMS SCARBOROUGH and landed at Liverpool.

MV TUDOR (Nor 6607 grt) Crew: 39 (1 dead and 38 survivors) Cargo: 3800 tons of steel and 600 tons of general cargo Route: Australia - Marseilles - Lisbon - Gibraltar - Liverpool Sunk in the SW Approaches The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean NW Cape Finisterre, by U-48. The survivors were rescued by HMS ARABIS and HMS CALENDULA .

Roland Morillot Class Sub ROLAND MORILLOT (Fr 1817 grt) The incomplete sub was scuttled at Cherbourg to prevent capture by German forces.

Roland Morillot Class sub LE MARTINIQUE (Fr 1817 grt): The incomplete sub was scuttled at Cherbourg to prevent capture by German forces.

Roland Morillot Class sub LA PRAYA (Fr 1817 grt): The incomplete sub was scuttled at Cherbourg to prevent capture by German forces.

UBOATS
At Sea 19 June 1940
U-25, U-28, U-29, U-30, U-32, U-38, U-43, U-46, U-47, U-48, U-51, U-52, U-61, U-62, U-65, U-99, U-101, U-122 , UA.
19 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
Baltic
Western Baltic
Aux MSW M.1802 (DKM 497 grt) was sunk on a mine northwest of Helgoland.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

North Sea
Troopship EMPIRE TROOPER, ex-German liner CAP NORTE, arrived in the Tyne in tow of tugs SCOTSMAN, SEAMAN, PRIZEMAN escort DDs GALLANT and WALPOLE. The DDs returned to Rosyth arriving that same day. Steamer PATELLA reported a Uboat 20 miles SW of Ailsa Craig (an island in the Firth of the Forth). Escort vessels JASON and GLEANER were sent to search.

FS.199 departed the Tyne, escort sloop BLACK SWAN and HASTINGS. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 21st. MT.91 departed Methil, escort DD VIMIERA and sloop LONDONDERRY. The convoy arrived in the Tyne the next day.

Steamer ROSEBURN (UK 3103 grt) was badly damaged by DKM S Boats S.19 and S.26 5 miles off Dungeness. The stricken vessel was taken in tow by DD VESPER. Tug LADY BRASSEY later took over the tow. West of Dungeness the steamer ran aground a total loss. British drifter LORD HOWE picked up all the crew members which had abandoned ship.

Motor barge GOLDEN GRAIN (101grt) was damaged by the LW off Felixstone. DD VETERAN departed Rosyth for Harwich. Sub SWORDFISH arrived at Blyth after patrol. Sub H.31 departed Blyth on patrol.

Northern Waters
Repoirts of 8 unidentified vessels east of the Orkneys, caused BC RENOWN with DDs TARTAR, MAORI, MASHONA to intercept.
It was later determined these unknown ships were DD ZULU, proceeding sth from Lerwick, MSW BRAMBLE, SEAGULL, SPEEDY in the swept channel. The RENOWN force returned to Scapa that day. DD HIGHLANDER departed Aberdeen for Lerwick.

SW Approaches
U.43 refuelled from tkr BESSEL (Ger 1878 grt) at Vigo.

U.52 sank British steamer THE MONARCH (UK 824 grt) with the loss of all 12 crew, sth of Brest. Some sources conflict with this, stating she was sunk whilst enroute from Cardiff to Falmouth.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Steamer BRITISH MONARCH (UK 5661 grt) Crew: 40 (40 dead - no survivors) Cargo: 8200 tons of iron ore Route: Bougie (Algeria) - Glasgow : Sunk in the SW Approaches. In convoy HG-34F was torpedoed and sunk by U-48 about 200 miles NNW of Corunna.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Liner VILLE DE NAMUR (Be 7463 grt) Crew: (79 (25 lost) Cargo: Route: New York - Bordeaux - Liverpool sunk by U-52 off La Rochelle. The German commander suspected that the ship carried weapons behind large wooden structures on deck, but these were stables for horses.The ship was unescorted at the time of her loss.

Channel
In a raid by 801 Sqn against Boulogne and Calais, Lt J. W. Collett was wounded. The Skua he was observer in forced landed at Manston on its return.

Operation ARIEL
From Bayonne and St Jean de Luz 19,000 troops were evacuated from 19 to 25 June. Although DYNAMO was more widely known, the later CYCLE and AERIAL operations succeeded in evacuating 191,870 troops before France fell. DD HIGHLANDER arrived at Plymouth from St Nazaire. DD GREYHOUND arrived at Dover at 1331 to join the reforming DesFlot 1. MDWFlot 10 , composed of aux MSWs MEDWAY QUEEN and PRINCESS ELIZABETH arrived at Dover. 2 more aux MSWs of this Flotilla would join when refitting was completed. MSWFlot 11 , composed of aux MSWs JEANIE DEANS, SCAWFELL, GOATFELL, HELVELLYN, MERCURY departed Dover for Portland.

Central Atlantic
CL DELHI departed Gibraltar for Dakar. The destination was later changed to Freetown in view of the Armistice.

Western Desert
On the 19 June the first serious clashes between the RA and the RAF occur. 5 CR42s of 84a squadriglia escorting 5 BA65s from Tobruk tangle with 4 Gladiatoirs of No 33 sqn. and a single Hurri of No 80 sqn. 1 Gladiator is shot down (credited to Ace Franco Lucchini, who achieved 27 kills and 51 other shared victories) in exchange for 2 CR42s. One of the CR42s was forced down and captured by the RAF. It was repaired and extensively tested over the coming months.
Test-pilot Captain Eric M. Brown, RN, had an opportunity to fly the captured CR.42 MM5701. He reported that the aircraft was an aerobatic gem. It was remarkably fast for a biplane with a top speed of 270 mph at 12,400 ft and a marginal stability, the hallmark of a good fighter. The CR.42 was a superb biplane that gave an outstanding performance for its type, and its service in the RA noteworthy, but as a fighter it was under-gunned. Though highly manoeuvrable, like all aircraft with a lot of fabric covering it was very vulnerable to enemy fire.

CR.42 damaged by 33 Sqns Gloster Gladiators, Libya, 1940. BA 65 shown right

No 3 sqn Gladiator RAAF, SALUM, EGYPT. C. 1941-01. NO.3 SQUADRON RAAF PILOTS EXAMINE A MAP ON THE TAIL-PLANE OF A GLOSTER GLADIATOR FIGHTER AIRCRAFT, BEFORE AN OPERATION OVER BARDIA.
LEFT TO RIGHT ARE: FLYING OFFICER (FO) J. R. PERRIN; FO J. MCD. DAVIDSON (SQUATTING); FO W. S. ARTHUR (ALMOST OBSCURED); FO P. ST. G. TURNBULL; FLIGHT LIEUTENANT (FLT LT) G. H. STEEGE [WEARING BALACLAVA]; FLT LT A. C. RAWLINSON; FO V. EAST; (UNKNOWN); S/L I. D. MCLACHLAN; FO A. H. BOYD. Air Vice Marshal Steege, the last of the "3 sqn originals" finally passed away in September 2013

Over the course of the next week, the Italians claim 6 Blens in the defence of Tobruk, whilst the RAF admit the loss of just 2 a/c.
In a change of heart, Mussolini orders Marshal Balbo to prepre for a major offensive into Egypt, with the aim of capturing Suez.

Malta
The first raid free day since the entry of Italy

 

[parsifal]

19 june 1940 (Part II)
OPERATIONS (CONT'D)
Med- Biscay
Liner MEXIQUE (Fr 12,220 grt) entering Verdon Roads, was sunk on a mine. The entire crew was rescued.

Trawler LE TANCHE (Fr 277 grt) was sunk on a mine at Lorient.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]


At 0300, Fr BB JEAN BART , in an incomplete state, sailed from St Nazaire. DD VANQUISHER, had been sent to assure that JEAN BART sailed or was destroyed. Tugs had also been dispatched to St Nazaire to assist JEAN BART and joined French tugs MINOTAURE , URSUS , TITAN. VANQUISHER left St Nazaire with JEAN BART, Fr DDs LE HARDI, MAMELUCK and EPEE , tkr ODET. However, ODET could only make 8 knots and oiler TARN was substituted at the last moment. JEAN BART was attacked repeatedly by the LW in the St Nazaire Channel and was hit once by bombs that failed to pierce the armour deck. JEAN BART was refuelled. VANQUISHER remained in company until the French ships turned south for Casablanca where they arrived on the 22nd. DD WATCHMAN, departing Gib on the 23rd, was stationed off Casablanca to observe the French ships. British steamers CITY OF MOBILE, FLORISTAN, ESSEX DRUID, DUNDRUM CASTLE embarked troops at St Nazaire, protected by DD VANOC. Steamer FLORISTAN was damaged by German bombing at St Nazaire.

Italian submarine ZOEA, which departed Taranto on the 18th, arrived at Tobruk with supplies. Fr Contre Torpilleur DD GERFAUT, departed Brest, passed Gib en route to Toulon, where she arrived on the 21st.

Odin Class Sub ORPHEUS (RN 1475 grt) was sunk by RM DD TURBINE off Tobruk. The sub was declared lost on the 27th and presumed mined. All hands were lost.
View attachment 295265 View attachment 295266

Sub PARTHIAN fired 2 torp into Tobruk Harbour at coastal defense ship SAN GIORGIO. The torps exploded in the harbour mud and no damage was done.

Indian Ocean
Archimede Class Sub GALILEI (RM 920 grt) had departed Massawa on the 10th. She had attacked the Yugoslavian vessel DRAVA on the 18th which had attracted the attention of ASW Trawler MOONSTONE. There were several DC attacks throughout the day, culminating in the sub electing to surface for a surface engagement. In the ensuing gunfight the sub skiper was fatally injured and the guncrew with 1st officer killed , The sub was unable to dive or return fire and with both senior officers dead, her crew surrendered. She was towed to Aden by DD KANDAHAR. From information gained from documents from GALILEI, 4 other RM subs were located. These included the stranded MACALLE (recorded lost on the 14th) and sub TORICELLI and GALVANI.
View attachment 295264
The Galileo Galilei being taken under tow by HMS Kandahar

RAN CL HOBART bombarded Centre Peak Island W/T Station off Massawa.

Pacific/Far East/Australia Station