This Day in the War in Europe: The Beginning

July 25 Thursday
THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN: http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/ww2-general/day-battle-britain-25360-post696710.html#post696710
UNITED KINGDOM: Aircraft from Kesselring's Luftflotte 2 attack a convoy in the Dover Straits very fiercely. They have help from German light naval forces. Stukas and German MTBs launch the series of attacks on Convoy CW.8. These attacks are driven off during the day but return to do damage during the night. The British lose 11 of 21 ships in the convoy. Eight coasters are sunk, five coasters and the destroyers "Boreas" and "Brilliant" are damaged.

The United Kingdom evacuated women and children from Gibraltar.

GERMANY: The German Reich Economic Minister outlined the New Order for Europe, citing use of forced labor from occupied nations.

WESTERN FRONT: Commander of the Swiss military General Henri Guisan vowed that Switzerland would defend against any German or Italian invasion. General Guisan addresses all Army officers on the Ruetli Meadow - the birthplace of Swiss independence in 1307 - and exhorts them to be ready, at a moment's notice, to defend Swiss independence and liberties.

NORTH AMERICA: The United States prohibits the export of oil and metal products in certain categories, unless under license, to countries outside the Americas generally and to Britain. This move is seen as an anti-Japanese measure, particularly because of Japan's needs for foreign oil. From this time Japanese fuel stocks begin to decline. There are similar problems with other raw materials. Japanese attention is, therefore, drawn south from China to the resources of the Netherlands East Indies and Malaysia.

USS "Trenton" arrived at Annapolis, Maryland, United States and disembarked members of the royal family of the Duchy of Luxembourg.

NORTHERN EUROPE: German battleship "Gneisenau" completed its torpedo damage repairs and departed Trondheim, Norway for Kiel, Germany for more thorough repairs. She was escorted by cruiser "Nürnberg" and destroyers "Galster", "Lody", "Jacobi", and "Ihn". Torpedo boats "Luchs", "Jaguar", "Kondor", "Iltis", and T.5 would join the convoy overnight near Stavanger, Norway.

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July 26 Friday
THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN: http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/ww2-general/day-battle-britain-25360-post697147.html#post697147

UNITED KINGDOM: The British Admiralty order that no ships are to pass Dover during daylight. This is not a direct response to the previous day's losses but has been under preparation for some time because of the extra organization involved.

NORTH AMERICA: Joseph Avenol, the Secretary-General of the League of Nations, resigned from his post.

US President Roosevelt, using powers granted to his office by the Export Control Act, restricted the export of aviation gasoline and certain classes of iron and steel scrap to Japan without special license.

NORTHERN EUROPE: British submarine HMS "Thames" detected the convoy centered around German battleship "Gneisenau" 50 miles southwest of Stavanger, Norway; it was bound for Kiel, Germany. A torpedo was fired at "Gneisenau", but it hit torpedo boat "Luchs" instead, sinking her immediately. "Thames" was never heard from again. It was not certain whether she was lost during this action or hit a naval mine shortly after.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-34 attacked convoy OB-188 with three torpedoes 320 miles west of Ireland at 1447 hours, sinking British passenger ship "Accra" (which was also carrying 1,700 tons of cargo on this trip), killing 24; 465 survivors were rescued by British ship "Hollinside", Norwegian ship "Loke", British sloop HMS "Enchantress", and British corvette HMS "Clarkia". British merchant ship "Vinemoor" was also hit but without any fatalities. She would remain afloat until the following day after her crew of 32 were rescued by HMS "Clarkia".

German E Boats attacked shipping off Shoreham, England sinking SS "Lulonga" (821t) steamer, Humber to Shoreham, SS "Broadhurst" (1,013t) cargo ship, travelling from Seaham to Shoreham and SS "London Trader" (646t) steamer, sailing to Shoreham from the Tyne. SS "Haytor" (1,189t) cargo ship, London to Blyth, sunk by a mine in North Sea.

WESTERN FRONT: Joachim von Ribbentrop was updated by German agents in Spain and Portugal regarding the attempt to dissuade the Duke of Windsor, the former King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, from leaving for the Bahamas.

ASIA: New Japanese Prime Minister Prince Fumimaro Konoye unveils his plan to take advantage of the European powers' weakness in Asia. The Japanese government formally adopts policy documents giving priority to solving their China problem by blocking supplies reaching the Chinese through Indochina and to securing their own raw materials by a more aggressive stance in the Dutch East Indies.

GERMANY: RAF daylight raid on Dortmund power station.

SOUTH PACIFIC: Formation of the Royal Australian Air Force Nursing Service (RAAFNS).

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July 27 Saturday
THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN: http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/ww2-general/day-battle-britain-25360-post697634.html#post697634
UNITED KINGDOM: 15 German dive bombers attacked 6 British minesweeping trawlers and escort destroyers in the English Channel 20 miles off Aldeburgh, Suffolk, England. Destroyer HMS "Wren" sank after one of the several near misses she suffered made a large hole below the waterline (killing 37), while destroyer HMS "Montrose" lost her bow and had to be towed to Harwich, Essex.

The first five Beaufighter IF fighters were handed over to the RAF for evaluation.

A Board of Enquiry was held regarding the sinking of HMS "Effingham" two months prior.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-34 attacked Allied convoy OB-188 350 miles west of Scotland before sunrise, sinking British ship "Sambre" at 0258 hours and British tanker "Thiara" at 0313 hours. British destroyer HMS "Winchelsea" rescued "Sambre's" entire crew of 48 and 36 of 61 of "Thiara's" crew (25 were killed).

NORTH AMERICA: US President Franklin Roosevelt, Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox, and US Congress House of Representatives' Naval Affairs Committee chairman Carl Vinson departed Washington Navy Yard, Washington DC, United States aboard presidential yacht "Potomac" for Norfolk Navy Yard, Virginia, United States.

GERMANY: Spain and Germany begin planning a joint invasion of Gibraltar. Code name of the operation is Felix.

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July 28 Sunday
THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN: http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/ww2-general/day-battle-britain-25360-post698134.html#post698134
UNITED KINGDOM: All British destroyers are withdrawn from Dover to Portsmouth. This is a significant achievement for the Luftwaffe implying that they may be able to dominate the Channel Narrows during the hours of daylight.

Twenty-five HEs were dropped almost in a straight line across the city of Newcastle. Three women were killed including one of the very first females to be killed in Newcastle due to enemy action. Mary Mackay, who was warning others of the danger when the caretaker's house at Heaton Secondary Girls School was hit and she was killed. Bombs also fell in the quadrangle and on the dining hall. A second woman was killed in Forsyth Road, West Jesmond. One German bomber possibly mistaking the long ribbon of the West Road for the River Tyne, pitched a string of bombs, eight in all, along the line of the road from Benwell Grove westwards to Condercum Road. Four of these produced craters in the road surface, one of which was outside the Plaza Cinema on the West Road and one near the Milvain Club at the top of Baxter Avenue. The last of the three women mentioned above, was killed in nearby Farndale Road. No air raid warning was sounded in Newcastle.

WESTERN FRONT: All rail lines between occupied France and Vichy France were cut by the Germans.

GERMANY: President Jozef Tiso and Prime Minister Vojtech Tuka of the Slovak Republic met with Hitler and Ribbentrop at Berchtesgarden.

The German Army examined closely the German Navy's draft plan for an invasion of England, United Kingdom, but it was horrified to note that the Navy estimated that it would take ten days to put the first assault ashore in the Dover area.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: British HMS "Alcantara" was hit by 3 shells from German armed merchant ship "Thor" 740 miles off Brazil, near the island of Trindade. 2 were killed and 7 were wounded. As "Thor" turned away to disengage from battle, "Alcantara" fired and hit "Thor" with 2 shells, killing 3. Both ships survive and will be repaired. On the same day, German submarine U-99 sank British merchant ship "Auckland Star" 80 miles west of Ireland at 0557 hours. The entire crew of 74 were taken to lifeboats and would make it to the Irish shore.

Three Italian subs begin operations in Azores-Madeira area, sinking two ships.

ASIA: More than 100 Japanese bombers attacked Chongqing, China in five waves. 16 fighters from Chinese 4th Pursuit Group and 5th Pursuit Group rose to intercept, claiming one bomber shot down.

Japanese police arrested nine British nationals residing in Japan.

NORTH AMERICA: USA and 20 Latin American Republics in conference at Havana agree to take immediate action if any European colony in the Americas is threatened with aggression.

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28 July 1940
Known Reinforcements
Allied
ORP Motor Anti-Submarine Boat S 3


Losses
MV AUCKLAND STAR (UK 13212 grt) Crew: 74 (0 dead and 74 survivors) Cargo: 10.700 tons of general cargo, including lead, steel, hides, refrigerated goods and wheat Route: Townsville (25 May), Australia - Panama - Liverpool . Sunk in the western Approaches whilst operating independantly. At 0557 hrs the unescorted AUCKLAND STAR was hit in the stern by one torp from U-99 80 miles WNW of Valentia Island, Co. Kerry. The ship was then hit by two further G7e torps at 0633 and 0711 hrs and finally capsized and sank at 0733 hours. 55 Survivors landed at Dingle, Co. Kerry and 19 crew members landed at Slyne Head near Clifden, Co. Galway.


Steamer ORLOCK HEAD (UK 1563 grt) was badly damaged by the LW off Strathy Point in the far nth of Scotland. She was hit by three bombs and also hit by strafing, and sank later that day 6.7 miles 320° from Strathy Pt. Six crew were lost. DDs BERKELEY and AMAZON departed Scapa to assist, but although they did not locate the ship, did find the survivors in their boats, who were landed at Thurso.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Armed patrol trawler STAUNTON (RN 283 grt) was sunk on a mine eight cables 50° from East Knoll Buoy in the Solent (between the English Mainland and Isle of Wight) All 13 crew were lost.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Small steamer ERMIONI ("Ex Gk" 440 grt), in service for the italians, carrying military supplies to Italy, was intercepted and captured by CLs NEPTUNE and RAN SYDNEY in the Aegean. Together with DD DECOY, they had been detached from the Main Flt to intercept the ship and were sweeping in the Aegean. ERMIONI was scuttled.


UBOATS
At Sea 28 July 1940
U-34, U-52, U-56, U-57, U-59, U-62, U-99, UA.
8 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
North Sea
Sub URSULA departed Rosyth for Blyth, arriving later that same day. Sub H.44 departed Harwich for patrol nth of Hinder.
NL subs O.21 and O.22 were undocked at Rosyth. Sub depot ship TITANIA departed the Tyne for Blyth, where she arrived later the same day. OA.191 departed Methil. No escorts were allocated. MT.123 departed Methil, and arrived in the Tyne on the 29th. FS.235 departed the Tyne, and arrived at Southend on the 30th.

Northern Patrol
CA NORFOLK and DD WATCHMAN departed Greenock with British steamer GEORGIC and NL steamer KONINGIN EMMA for Reykavik. Off the Mull of Kintyre , DD VORTIGERN joined the force from Belfast. .

Channel
CLA cruiser COVENTRY arrived at Plymouth for drydocking. On 19 August, COVENTRY departed for Greenock arriving on the 21st

Nth Atlantic

Central Atlantic
DKM Raider THOR damaged AMC ALCANTARA in an engagement off Trinidade, off the coast of Brazil. THOR encountered the RN AMC, which was armed with eight six-inch (150 mm) main guns. The THORS skipper (Kähler) turned away from ALCANTARA and tried to outrun her for 3 hrs until he realized ALCANTARA was faster than THOR. At that point Kähler decided to turn and fight, hoping to inflict enough damage on ALCANTARA to allow THOR to escape. The disguised raiders had the best crews in German Navy, and this rapidly revealed itself in this engagement. THOR scored 3 early hits on ALCANTARA: 1 between her bridge and funnel, a second aft, and a third on her waterline that caused flooding in her engine room, forcing ALCANTARA to reduce speed. THOR turned away from ALCANTARA and received two hits from the RN Cruisers 6" guns, killing 3 DKM crewman. Instead of risking further combat, THOR made her escape under cover of a dense smokescreen.After the battle with ALCANTARA, THOR repaired her battle damage, cleaned her boilers and changed her disguise. THOR rendezvoused with the supply ship REKUM on 25 August and then returned to Brazilian waters. It had been a close shave for her, however.

CA DORSETSHIRE returned to Freetown for refuelling, arriving on the 29th, and left to search for the THOR, but did not make contact. ALCANTARA arrived at Rio de Janiero for repairs on 1 August.

Due to the political situation with the Vichy French at Duala, CL DRAGON departed Duala and proceeded to Lagos, arriving on the 29th. She was relieved by sloop BRIDGEWATER on 1 August.

SLF.41 departed Freetown escorted by AMC PRETORIA CASTLE to 10 August. AMC BULOLO joined on the 8th when SL.41 merged. On the 10th, both escorts were detached. DDs HESPERUS, SKEENA, WARWICK and corvettes CLARKIA and CLEMATIS joined the same day and escorted the convoy to Liverpool, arriving on the 14th.


Red Sea / Indian Ocean
Steamer MATHURA (UK 8890 grt) was damaged by the RA at Aden.

Malta
1130-1155 hrs Air raid alert for one bomber and ten fighters which approach the Island from St Paul's Bay towards Hal Far. They are engaged by HAA fire. One raider is brought down and crashes in the sea 15 miles south of Malta. The rest turn back before crossing the coast. No bombs are dropped.

AIR HQ Aircraft casualties 1 Sunderland 0430 hrs One Sunderland on patrol over the Ionian Sea, then reconnaissance of Augusta and Syracuse, where five flying boats are spotted. The Sunderland attacked three waterships near Augusta, dropping three 250lb bombs: no result. A second Sunderland on reconnaissance sighted a submarine off Cape Spartivento and dropped five bombs: no results visible. One Sunderland on reconnaissance. All three Sunderlands were attacked; one returned to Malta damaged; repairs began immediately.

KALAFRANA Sunderland aircraft of 228 and 230 Sqns operating 12 hour naval patrols over wide area covering Greek coast, sth Italian coast and Sicily under direct instructions from Middle East and HQ Mediterranean.

29 July 1940
Known Reinforcements
Allied
Flower Class Corvette LA MALOUINE
Laid down as LA MALOUINE for the French Navy, but completed as HMS LA MALOUINE for the Royal Navy after France was invaded by Germany


Losses
MV CLAN MENZIES (UK 7336 grt) Crew:94 (6 dead and 88 survivors) Cargo: 4000 tons of wheat and grain, 2000 tons of dried fruit, 1500 tons of zinc and 840 tons of general cargo Route: Sydney NSW - Melbourne - Panama - Liverpool. Not attached to a convoy when lost. Sunk in the Western Approaches. At 0215 hrs the unescorted CLAN MENZIES was hit aft by one G7e torpedo from U-99 sank sank by the stern after 1 hr about 150 miles west of Loop Head, Co. Clare. The ship had been spotted 5 hrs earlier and missed with a first G7e torpedo at 0203 hrs. Survivors landed at Enniscrone, Co. Sligo.


Trawler LEACH'S ROMANCE (UK 44 grt) was sunk on a mine 10½ miles due south of Kemp Town. The crew of four were lost.

Special service vessel UMVOTI (UK 5183 grt) was sunk as a blockship at Dover .

UBOATS
Departures
Lorient: U-58

At Sea 29 July 1940
U-34, U-52, U-56, U-57, U-58, U-59, U-62, U-99, UA.
9 boats at sea

OPERATIONS

North Sea
RN sub SEALION sighted U-62 as the latter was returning from patrol on the surface. SEALION launched a spread of 3 torps, but the UBoat had seen her periscope and avoided the salvo. SEALION then surfaced and engaged with her deck gun. U-62 dived and eluded the SEALION with only 27 mins worth of battery life remaining.

Sub PORPOISE laid minefield FD.23 off the Norwegian coast. After this minelay, the minelaying submarines were diverted to the Bay of Biscay, and there was no further sub ML ops off Norway until January 1941. Sub TRITON sighted a German submarine off Korsfjord steering west. Sub H.50 arrived at Harwich. Sub L.26, NL sub O.23, and NL TB Z.6 arrived at Rosyth. A Swordfish a/c was lost in a torpedo exercise near Lady Isle. Probationary Temporary Midshipman (A) G J A Shelley RNVR, was killed.

FN.236 departed Southend, and arrived in the Tyne on the 31st. MT.124 departed Methil, and arrived in the Tyne later that day.
FS.236 departed the Tyne, escort DD WINCHESTER and sloop WESTON, and arrived at Southend on the 31st.

DD ZULU departed Scapa at 1600 for the Tyne where she arrived on the 30th for a refit. Part of the refit included the placement of a twin 4in anti-aircraft gun in her X gun position (which was copied in the wartime Tribals built by the RAN and RCN). DD FERNIE departed Scapa for Dover to join the Dover Command, but en route, was diverted to Portsmouth.

Steamer MOIDART (UK 1262 grt) was sunk on a mine off Felixstowe, Suffolk. 11 crew were killed.

MOIDART was damaged in a collision in 1918. Her damage in 1918 is shown above

Steamer CLAN MONROE (UK 5952 grt) was badly damaged on a mine near Harwich. 13 crew were lost. She anchored off Sth Shipwash on the 30th with a broken back, was taken in tow on the 31st but grounded 3.8 miles 224° from Orfordness Light House.


Northern Waters
In yet another invasion scare the Home Flt was brought to 4 hr's notice at 0905.

West Coast UK
OB.191 departed Liverpool escort DD WALKER and corvette PERIWINKLE from 30 July to 2 August. The escort was detached to inbound SL.40.

Steamer OUSEBRIDGE (UK 5601 grt) was sunk on a mine in Queen's Channel, Liverpool. Her bow was blown off and back broken. Two crew were killed.


Western Approaches
DDs SIKH and AMAZON departed Scapa at 0400, INGLEFIELD and KEPPEL the Clyde at 0535, and HIGHLANDER, VISCOUNT, VANQUISHER, and WANDERER from Liverpool to join inbound Cdn troop convoy TC.6. The convoy was met in the western approaches during the early evening of the 30th, and safely arrived at Greenock at 1430 on 1 August.

Channel
Steamer GRONLAND (Den 1264 grt), which had been damaged on the 25th, was sunk in outer Dover Harbour by the LW with 19 crew killed.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Patrol yacht GULZAR (RN 197 grt) was sunk by the LW in the submarine basin in Dover Harbour. The entire crew was rescued.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

"D" Class DD DELIGHT (RN 1375 grt) of DesFlot 3 departed Portsmouth at 1500 for the Clyde, but was sunk by the LW off Portland. According to "Seekrieg", the new "Freya" radar, 60 miles away, detected the DD and vectored in the bombers). 8 ratings were killed, four missing, and six died of wounds. 59 other crew were wounded. Her survivors were rescued by ML.102, ML.105, MA/SB.1, MA/SB.5, DDs BROKE, VANSITTART, and aux PVs PILOT and CONQUEROR .


ASW trawler DANEMAN engaged DKM S-Boats 22 miles WSW of Beachy Head between 0044 and 0315.

Malta
0952-1027 hrs Air raid alert for nine enemy fighters and two bomber which approach from the nth in two formations. Malta fighters are scrambled but do not engage. AA guns at Tigne, San Giacomo, San Pietru, Marsa, Spinola, Manoel and HMS Terror engage the raiders. No bombs are dropped.

1000-1027 hrs Air raid alert for two formations of five enemy fighters which cross the Island. No bombs are dropped.

July 29 Monday
THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN: http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/ww2-general/day-battle-britain-25360-post698556.html#post698556
UNITED KINGDOM: At 1700 hours, destroyer HMS "Delight" left Portland in southern England. At about 1830 hours, she was hitting by a bomb from a German aircraft from Cherbourg, France. A bomb penetrates the foredeck causing an explosion below deck killing 18 and wounding 59, but she was able to return to Portland under her own power.

Another British destroyer is sunk and the whole eastern half of the English Channel is placed out of bounds for Royal Navy destroyers in daylight. Minesweeping operations continue, however, ensuring that access can be gained if necessary.

British Air Ministry accused Germany of using rescue aircraft with Red Cross markings for reconnaissance purposes. The Ministry announced that German air-sea rescue machines (Heinkel seaplanes) behaving suspiciously will be shot down despite their Red Cross markings - 4 have already been destroyed.

The weapons firm Albright Wilson of Oldbury, England, demonstrated to the British Royal Air Force a self-igniting explosive containing petrol and phosphorus.

GERMANY: At a conference held in a converted railway carriage, Colonel-General Alfred Jodl, Adolf Hitler's Chief of Operations, announced that the Führer had decided "once and for all" to rid the world of the Soviet menace. However, recognizing that the war against the United Kingdom took a higher priority at this point in time, Hitler pushed the invasion date to the spring of 1941. German naval command (Oberkommando der Kriegsmarine) issued a memo noting that the mid-Sep 1940 invasion date for Britain as demanded by Adolf Hitler was possible, but considering the present state of affairs, a postponement to May 1941 was suggested. Meanwhile, a special economic board was set up to oversee the looting of British industry upon conquest.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: British submarine HMS "Sealion" detected German submarine U-62 on the surface 60 miles southwest of Stavanger, Norway and attacked with 3 torpedoes (which all missed) followed by shots from the deck gun. U-62 dove and escaped the area.

German submarine U-99 sank British ship "Clan Menzies" 80 miles west of Ireland at 0215 hours; 5 were killed and 88 took to lifeboats.

MEDITERRANEAN: Sea Gladiator fighters from HMS "Eagle" shot down an Italian SM.79 bomber while escorting a convoy in the Mediterranean Sea.

WESTERN FRONT: Portugal and Spain added a clause to the 1939 friendship treaty. It was later known as the Iberian Pact.

Vichy Government establishes Supreme Court to try former leaders of French Third Republic on 'war-guilt' charges.

ASIA: The Japanese reported that Mr. Melville Cox, one of nine British residents arrested in Japan on the previous day, had "committed suicide" by throwing himself out of a police station window.

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30 July 1940
Known Reinforcements
Axis
Type 1935 MSW M-22


Type VIIc U93


Losses
No recorded losses

UBOATS
Departures
Kiel: U-60

At Sea 30 July 1940
U-34, U-52, U-56, U-57, U-58, U-59, U-60, U-62, U-99, UA.
10 boats at sea.

OPERATIONS
North Sea
Minefield BS.29 was laid by MLs PLOVER and NL WILLEM VAN DER ZAAN with DDs INTREPID and ESK. Sub URSULA departed Blyth on patrol off sthn Norway. NL subs O.21 and O.22 departed Rosyth on patrol. A Swordfish of 812 Sqn collided with another Swordfish sth of Nth Coates during an exercise. Both aircrews were killed. MSW NIGER was damaged in a collision with MSW trawler LAUREL in the Nth Sea. NIGER was repaired at Grimsby completing in August.

OA.192 departed Methil escorted by DD ST LAURENT and sloop SANDWICH from 30 July to 3 August, then ASW trawler ST KENAN from 30 July to 1 August. The DD and sloop were detached to inbound HX.60.
(The first vessel named "SANDWICH" in the RN was the famous HM Bark "ENDEAVOUR of Capt James Cook fame. She was renamed SANDWICH in 1778 shortly before being expended as a blockship off Norfolk VA).

FN.237 departed Southend, escort DD VIVIEN and sloop LOWESTOFT. DDs JAVELIN and JUPITER joined on the 31st, and the convoy arrived in the Tyne on 1 August. MT.125 departed Methil, and arrived in the Tyne later that day. FS.237 departed the Tyne, and arrived at Southend on 1 August.

Northern Patrol
CA NORFOLK arrived at Reykavik.

Northern Waters
DDs MAORI and FURY departed Scapa to sweep for a U-Boat reported at 2050 by ASW LE TIGER , astern of her convoy off Cape Wrath. The destroyers were recalled at 1238 later that day. BC REPULSE with DDs FORTUNE, ECHO, and FIREDRAKE departed Scapa at 1800 for low angle and high angle full calibre firings.

Channel
AMC MOOLTAN departed Devonport for Freetown. Off Land's End, she was damaged by the LW, and was diverted to Liverpool for repairs which were completed 23 August. MOOLTAN departed Liverpool on 30 August to return to Freetown. MSW TEDWORTH was damaged by the LW at Dover, and repaired at Portsmouth from 6 August to 12 December.

Med- Biscay
Belgian motor trawler JOHN was damaged by the LW 35 miles WNW of Bull Rock, SW Ireland. CVE ARGUS, with DDs ENCOUNTER, HOTSPUR, GALLANT, and GREYHOUND arrived at Gibraltar.

HG.40 with 24 ships departed Gib local escort DD WISHART and ASW trawler LEYLAND, which was detached on 3 August. Sloop WELLINGTON escorted the convoy from 30 July to 14 August. DD WESTCOTT from outbound convoy OG.40 provided inbound escort for the convoy from 10 to 14 August, which arrived at Liverpool on 14 August. Units of the Med Flt, including BB RAMILLIES and the CLs and DDs operating in the Aegean on the 28th, arrived back at Alexandria. Sub OSWALD departed Alexandria on the 19th for patrol in the Straits of Messina. On the 30th, she sighted an RM cruiser and later in the day, four other cruisers escorted by DDs, but was unable to attack either contact. She then made an attack against an Operation TVL convoy of steamers MARIA EUGENIA, GLORIA STELLA, MAULY, BAINSIZZA, COL DI LANA, FRANCESCO BARBARO, and CITTA DI BARI en route to Tripoli from Naples escort DDs MAESTRALE, LIBECCIO, GRECALE,and SCIROCCO with TBs PROCIONE, ORIONE, ORSA, and PEGASO but this attack was also unsuccessful.

Pacific/Far East/Australia Station
Sub REGULUS, which arrived from Hong Kong at Singapore on the 2nd, departed Singapore on the 3rd, but on the 4th encountered bad weather with damage to her superstructure. She arrived Colombo on 9 July, departed Colombo on the 10th, arrived Aden on the 20th, departed Aden on the 23rd, and Port Said on the 28th. REGULUS arrived at Alexandria for duty with the Med Flt on the 30th.
Sub REGENT, which departed Hong Kong on 30 June, arrived Singapore on the 6 July, departed Singapore on the 11th, Colombo on the 18th, then arrived with RAN sloop PARRAMATTA at Aden on the 30th. She left Aden on the 31st for Suez and duty with the Med Flt, while PARRAMATTA began escort duties in the Red Sea.

Nice catch-up Chris.

July 30 Tuesday
THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN: http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/ww2-general/day-battle-britain-25360-post699042.html#post699042
UNITED KINGDOM: A Blenheim from RAF No 219 Squadron based at Catterick airfield, Yorkshire suffered a damaged undercarriage on take-off, it force landed at base at 1320 hours. Sgts T. Birkett and E.R. Lacey were unhurt, the aircraft was repairable.

A Ju 88 (F6+BK) from 2(F)./122 on sortie to the east coast of England in search of shipping, crashed into the sea, having suffered a sudden engine failure while flying in cloud at approximately 500ft, in the vicinity of some shipping. The crew took to their life raft as the aircraft sank within a few minutes and the crew spent the next 103 hours in the dinghy not being rescued until 1600hrs on August 3rd.

NORTH AMERICA: The Act of Havana was signed by the representatives from 21 nations in the Americas. It provided an emergency establishment of a regime of provisional administration;

"when islands or regions in the Americas now under the possession of non-American nations are in danger of becoming the subject of barter of territory or change of sovereignty".

Click to expand...

ATLANTIC OCEAN: British Captain C. Caslon, with four destroyers, compels Swedish naval crews to hand over four destroyers en route from Italy to Sweden. This act of piracy infuriates the Swedish Admiralty, but the ships are later returned, and the British government pays for damage to the ships.

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31 July 1940
Known Reinforcements
Neutral
Soviet M Class Subs M-62 and M63

Allied

HMCS AMC PRINCE ROBERT


Losses
MV JAMAICA PROGRESS (UK 5479 grt) Crew: 55 (8 dead and 47 survivors) Cargo: 179 tons of fruit, including bananas Route: Kingston, Jamaica - Bermuda - Avonmouth . Sunk in the Western Approaches. At 0138 hrs the unescorted JAMAICA PROGRESS was hit on port side aft by one torpedo from U-99 about 40 miles SW of Barra Head. The ship was sunk by a coup de grâce at 0244 hrs. 6 crew members, one gunner and one passenger were lost. The master, 24 crew members, one gunner and four passengers were picked up by the British trawler NEWLAND and landed at Fleetwood. The chief officer and 16 crew members landed at Barra, Hebrides.


MV JERSEY CITY (UK 6322 grt) Crew: 45 (2 dead and 43 survivors) Cargo: Ballast Route: Newport, Mon. - Baltimore . Attached to Convoy OB-191. Sunk in the Western Approaches. At 1324 hrs the JERSEY CITY in convoy OB-191 was hit by one G7e torpedo from U-99 and sank 70 miles NW of Tory Island. Two crew members were lost. The master and 42 crew members were picked up by the British steam merchant GLOUCESTER CITY, then transferred to DD WALKER and landed at Liverpool.

Following this successful attack on convoy OB 191, escorts dropped 20 DCs but U-99 escaped unscathed. In the evening the boat surfaced to attack the convoy again, but was twice forced to dive and bombed by a flying boat, unable to inflict further losses that day, but remained undamaged herself.



UBOATS
At Sea 31 July 1940
U-34, U-52, U-56, U-57, U-58, U-59, U-60, U-62, U-99, UA.
10 boats at sea.

OPERATIONS

North Sea
DDs WHITSHED and WILD SWAN of DesFlot 18 and AMBUSCADE of DesFlot 16 departed Harwich late on the 30th to conduct a sweep in the Nth Sea off the Zuider Zee. Returning to Harwich after the sweep, WHITSHED was mined off Harwich and badly damaged with the forward part of the ship collapsing. Partly under her own power until it was gradually lost and partly in tow of WILD SWAN, she was taken stern first to Harwich, screened by AMBUSCADE. Patrol sloop PUFFIN and two MTBs also assisted, and tug KROOMAN was also sent to assist. WHITSHED repaired at Chatham completing on 21 December.

Sub H.28 arrived at Harwich.

FN.238 departed Southend, and arrived in the Tyne on 2 August. MT.126 departed Methil, and arrived in the Tyne later that day.
FS.238 departed the Tyne, escorted by sloop FLEETWOOD. On 1 August, DDs WOOLSTON, JUPITER, and KELVIN joined. DDs JUPITER and KELVIN were detached later that day. On 2 August, DDs AMBUSCADE, MALCOLM, and WILD SWAN joined, and arrived at Southend on 2 August.

West Coast UK
OB.192 departed Liverpool escort DD VANOC with corvettes MALLOW and GLADIOLUS from 31 July to 4 August. The DD was detached to inbound convoy HX.60.

Channel
Steamer STALHEIM (Nor 1298 grt) was sunk on a mine one half mile WSW of South Pier, Port Talbot (Bristol Channel). Five crew were lost


Nth Atlantic
HX.62 departed Halifax local escort RCN DD SAGUENAY and aux PV FRENCH at 0715. At midnight the convoy was turned over to AMC AURANIA. FRENCH detached on 1 August and SAGUENAY on the 2nd. BHX.62 departed Bermuda on the 30th escorted locally by sloop PENZANCE, and with ocean escort provided by AMC MONTCLARE. The convoy rendezvoused with convoy HX.62 on 4 August when MONTCLARE detached. AURANIA continued on with the convoy until the 11th, when she detached. HX.62 reached Liverpool on the 15th.

Sth Atlantic
DKM Raider PINGUIN sank steamer DOMINGO DE LARRINGA (UK 5358 grt) in the Sth Atlantic. Eight crew were lost, and 30 made prisoners of war.


Med- Biscay
CruSqn 7, CLs ORION, NEPTUNE, and RAN SYDNEY, with DDs NUBIAN, JUNO, and GARLAND departed Alexandria at 0600 to operate in the Aegean as a diversion for operation HURRY, the transfer of a/c to Malta by Force H. BBs ROYAL SOVEREIGN and MALAYA, CVL EAGLE, with DDs JERVIS, HERO, HASTY, HEREWARD, IMPERIAL, ILEX, HOSTILE, and RAN VENDETTA departed Alexandria at 1420 to carry out gunnery practices and proceed westward towards Gavdo Island until after dark on 1 August.

Convoy BS.2 departed Suez, escorted by sloops GRIMSBY and CLIVE. The sloops were detached on 3 August when CLA CARLISLE, CL LEANDER, and sloop FLAMINGO joined. The convoy was dispersed on 9 August.

Malta
The pilot of one of Malta's 3 Gladiator fighters was badly burned today in a hard fought air battle. All 3 Gladiators were scrambled when a formation of 7 enemy fighters escorting a single bomber was reported heading for the Island. Flying Officer Peter Hartley led Flg Off Woods and Flg Off Taylor into the attack which quickly developed into a dogfight at 18000 feet over Valletta.

One of the enemy fighters was quickly shot down and while two others held back to protect the bomber, the rest engaged the Gladiators in a fierce fight. Flg Off Hartley's aircraft NN5519 ('Charity') was hit in the fuel tank and burst into flames. Despite suffering severe burns, he managed to bale out and parachuted down off Xrobb l'Ghagin. His Gladiator crashed into the sea off Fort St Leonardo.

Gladiator Charity lost 31 July

Summary Of Losses July 1940
Allied
Allied Warships
SSV TWEEDLEDEE (RN 163 grt), SSV TWEEDLEDUM (RN 163 grt), SSV JAMES 83 (RN 397 grt), Aux AA ship FOYLE BANK (RN 5582 grt), DD WHIRLWIND (RN 1100 grt), SSV EMERALD WINGS (RN 2139 grt), sub SHARK (RN 670 grt), SSV JAMES 9 (RN 85 grt), DD ESCORT (RN 1350 grt), Sub SALMON (RN 670 grt), ASW yacht WARRIOR II (RN 1124 grt), DD IMOGEN (RN 1335 grt), Sub PHOENIX (RN 1475 grt), RFA STEADY (RN 758 grt), MSW trawler CRESTFLOWER (RN 550 grt), DD BRAZEN (RN 1360 grt), Sub NARWHAL (RN 1520 grt), Armed patrol trawler CAMPINA (RN 289 grt), MSW trawlers FLEMING (RN 356 grt), MSW Trawler BERBERIS (RN 540 grt), ASW trawler KINGSTON GALENA (RN 550 grt), MSW trawler RODINO (RN 230 grt), sub THAMES (RN 1850 grt), DD CODRINGTON (RN 1540 grt), DD WREN (RN 1188 grt), Armed patrol trawler STAUNTON (RN 283 grt), Patrol yacht GULZAR (RN 197 grt), DD DELIGHT (RN 1375 grt)

(29139(RN)) (Total 29139 grt Naval Tonnage)

Allied Shipping
MV CLEARTON (UK 5219 grt), steamer BEIGNON (UK 5218 grt), Tkr ATHELLAIRD (UK 8999 grt), Liner ARANDORA STAR (UK 15501 grt), Steamer AENEAS (UK 10,058 grt), Steam barge BIJOU (UK 98 grt), Dredger COQUET MOUTH (UK 477 grt), FV REMEMBRANCE (UK 7 grt), Steamer ELMCREST (UK 4343 grt), Steamer HARTLEPOOL (UK 5500 grt), Steamer DALLAS CITY (UK 4952 grt), steamer, Tug SILVERDIAL (UK 55 grt), MV SEA GLORY (UK 1964 grt), steamer DELAMBRE (UK 7032 grt), MV HUMBER ARM (UK 5758 grt), MV AYLESBURY (UK 3944 grt), Steamer WATERLOO (UK 1905 grt), Tkr TASCALUSA (UK 6499 grt), Tkr BRITISH CHANCELLOR (UK 7085 grt), steamer DAVISAN (UK 6433 grt), Steamer MALLARD (UK 352 grt), steamer CITY OF BAGHDAD (UK 7506 grt), Steamer HORNCHURCH (UK 2162 grt), Trawler VOLANTE (UK 255 grt), steamer KEMMENDINE (UK 7769 grt), steamer KING JOHN (UK 5228 grt), Steamer ISLAND QUEEN (UK 779 grt), steamer GRACEFIELD (UK 4631 grt), Steamer BELLEROCK (UK 1199 grt), steamer HEWORTH (UK 2855 grt), Tkr SCOTTISH MINSTREL (UK 6998 grt), steamer WENDOVER (UK 5487 grt), MV FELLSIDE (UK 3509 grt), MV MANIPUR (UK 8652 grt), MV WOODBURY (UK 4434 grt), MV PEARLMOOR (UK 4581 grt), Tkr WAR SEPOY (UK 5574 grt), Steamer PULBOROUGH (UK 960 grt), Steamer TROUTPOOL (UK 4886 grt), MV ELLAROY (UK 712 grt), Steamer TERLINGS (UK 2318 grt), Steamer THE LADY MOSTYN (UK 305 grt), steamer CORHAVEN (UK 991 grt), Steamer POLGRANGE (UK 804 grt), Steamer LEO (UK 1140 grt), Steamer HENRY MOON (UK 1091 grt), Steamer PORTSLADE (UK 1091 grt), LULONGA (UK 821 grt), Steamer BROADHURST (UK 1013 grt) MV LONDON TRADER (UK 646 grt), Liner ACCRA (UK 9337 grt), Steamer VINEMOOR (UK 4359 grt), Steamer HAYTOR (UK 1189 grt), Steamer SAMBRE ( UK 5260 grt), Tkr THIARA (UK 10364 grt), Sand dredger DURDHAM (UK 477 grt), Factory Ship SALVESTRIA (UK 11,938 grt), MV AUCKLAND STAR (UK 13212 grt), MV CLAN MENZIES (UK 7336 grt), Trawler LEACH'S ROMANCE (UK 44 grt, Blockship UMVOTI (UK 5183 grt), Steamer MOIDART (UK 1262 grt), Steamer CLAN MONROE (UK 5952 grt), Steamer OUSEBRIDGE (UK 5601 grt), MV JAMAICA PROGRESS (UK 5479 grt), MV JERSEY CITY (UK 6322 grt), Steamer STALHEIM (Nor 1298 grt), steamer DOMINGO DE LARRINGA (UK 5358 grt)

MV ANGELE MABRO (EG 3154 grt)
MV MAGOG (Cdn 2053 grt),
Steamer DEUCALION (NL 1796 grt), Steamer BRITSUM (NL 5255 grt), Tkr LUCRECIA (NL 2584 grt), MV ALWAKI (NL 4533 grt), Steamer BILL S. (NL 466 grt), steamer TELA (NL 3777 grt),
Trawler PROVIDENTIA (Be 139 grt), steamer BRUGES (Be 4983 grt), FV CHARLES MADELEINE (Be 99 grt)
steamer CHEIK (FF(?) 1058 grt),
MV JANNA (Nor 2197 grt), Tkr SARITA (Nor 5824 grt), MV GYDA (Nor 1591 grt), Steamer BALZAC (Nor 963 grt),
Steamer ZBARAZ (Pol 2088 grt)

268968 (UK), 3154 (EG), 2053 (Cdn), 16675 (NL), 5221 (Be), 1058 (FF), 8595 (Nor), 2088 (Pol),
307816 grt (Mercantile)
Total Mercantile and Military losses: 336955 grt

Prizes captured
None

Mercantile Tonnage seized: None

Neutral shipping
steamer ADAMASTOS (Gk 5889 grt), MV IA (Gk 4860 grt), MV THETIS A (Gk 4111 grt), MV NAFTILOS (Gk 3531 grt)
MV SANTA MARGARITA (Pan 4919 grt), steamer FOSSOULA (Pan 1282 grt), Tkr BEME (Pan 3039 grt)
Steamer KOLGA (Est 3526 grt), MV VAPPER (Est 4543 grt), MV TIIU (Est 1865 grt), MV MERISAAR (Est 2136 grt), Steamer LEOLA (Est 554 grt),
MV BISSEN (Sd 1514 grt), MV O A BRODIN (Sd 1960 grt),
Steamer TALVALDIS (Lat 534 grt)
MV PETSAMO (FN 4596 grt), Steamer WIIRI (FN 3525 grt), Steamer TRIO (FN 1451 grt),
Steamer CITY OF LIMERICK (Eire 1359 grt) ,
Steamer ALPHA (Pt 853 grt),
Liner MEKNES (Vichy 6127 grt),
Steamer GRONLAND (Den 1264 grt)

18391 (Gk), 9240 (Pan), 12629 (Est), 3474 (Sd), 534 (Lat), 9572 (FN), 1359 (Eire), 853 (Pt), 6127 (Vichy), 1264 (Den)
(63443 Mercantile)

Neutral warships
BB BRETAGNE (Vichy 23936 grt), Aux MSW ESTEREL V (Vichy 30 grt), Aux PV TERRE NEUVE (Vichy 780 grt),
( 24746 Military)
Total Neutral Nercantile + Military: 88189 grt
Total Allied + Neutral: 425144 grt

Prizes taken
steamer ARGYLL (UK 2953 grt), MV GAMBIAN (UK 5452 grt), MV TAKORADIAN (UK 5452 grt), HARALD (Den 1970 grt), TACOMA (Den 5905 grt), ULRIK HOLM (Den 1502 grt), Steamer TEMPLE PIER (UK 4312 grt)

Axis
Warships
DKM
Type 1A Uboat U-26 (DKM 862 grt) , Type VIIB U.102 (DKM 753 grt), SBoat S-23 (DKM 92 grt), Aux PV UJ.D (DKM 356 grt), PV UJ.126 (DKM 446 grt), TB LUCHS (DKM 933 grt), MSWs M-61 (DKM 500 grt), MSW 89 (DKM 500 grt), MSW M 132 (DKM 500 grt)
(4942 grt (DKM))
RM
DD ZEFFIRO (RM 1070 grt), CL BARTOLOMEO COLLEONI (RM 6844 grt), DD OSTRO (RM 1070 grt), DD NEMBO (RM 1070 grt),
(9054 grt (RM))

13996 (Total)

Axis Shipping

GER
Tug DRAUGEN (Ex-Nor (Ger) 184 grt), Steamer MONTAN (Ger 1275 grt),

(FI)
MV MANZONI (FI 3,955 grt), MV SERENITAS (FI 5,171 grt), MV LIGURIA (FI 15,354 grt), Steamer AXUM (FI 249 grt) Sailing Vessel SANT ANTONIO (FI 500 grt (est)), steamer SERENO (FI 2333 grt), steamers CELIO (FI 3872 grt), LEOPARDI (FI 3298 grt), Liner CELIO (FI 3864 grt), Small steamer ERMIONI ("Ex Gk" 440 grt),

1459 (Ger), 39036 (FI)
40495 (Mercantile), 54487 (Total Axis losses)

Captured ships
steamer KERTOSONO (NL 9289 grt), steamer ESTER THORDEN (FN 1940 grt)

1 August 1940
Known Reinforcements
Axis


Neutral
Benson Class DD USS NIBLACK , SU M (Malyutka) class Sub M-98


Allied
Type I Hunt Class Escort DD CATTISTOCK, Motor Anti-Submarine Boat MA/SB 54 (MGB 54)


CATTISTOCK was completed on this day. She worked up at Scapa with the DesDiv 23, before she departed on the 30th for the Nore and duty in DesFlot 21.

Fairmile A Motor Launch ML 109, T Class Submarine TUNA


ML121 of similar appearance to ML 109. HMS TUNA, with her Jolly Roger flying after success against a U-Boat, approaches the depot ship HMS FORTH at Holy Loch in early 1943. During the evening of 7 December 1942 HMS TUNA delivered the "Cockleshell Heroes" to the mouth of the Gironde for their daring raid on Bordeaux, in which 6 German ships were mined. The raid was called Operation Frankton, but only two of the 12 men returned.

Losses
S Class Sub SPEARFISH (RN 670 grt) At 1904 hrs, Sub SPEARFISH was hit in the forepart by one torpedo from U-34 and sank immediately about 180 miles WSW of Stavanger. The U-boat was returning from its last patrol as a combat boat and only had one torpedo remaining, when they first spotted a periscope at 1817 hrs and dived. At 1848 hours, the conning tower of the RN Sub became visible and U-34 fired the last torpedo over the bow. One minute after the hit, the Germans surfaced and approached the sinking position where they picked up the sole survivor Able Seaman William V. Pester (on his first patrol) and took him as prisoner to Wilhelmshaven. The commander, four officers and 36 ratings were lost.


Odin Class Sub OSWALD (RN 1475 grt) The Odin-class submarine was rammed and sunk in the Strait of Messina sth of Cape Spartivento by DD UGOLINI VIVALDI. VIVALDI was part of an ASW sweep of RM DDs DA NOLI, USODIMARE, DA RECCO, PESSAGNO, which departed Augusta 1 August. Three ratings were lost with OSWALD, but the remainder of the crew (55 officers and men), were rescued by VIVALDI and made prisoners of war.


MV SIGYN (SD 1981 grt) Crew: 23 (0 dead and 23 survivors) Cargo: Timber supports for mine construction Route:Buctouche, New Brunswick - Sunderland. Unescorted . Sunk in the Western Approaches. At 0345 hrs the unescorted SIGYN was hit in aft part by one torpedo from U-59 and sank by the stern with a sharp list about 70 miles NW of Tory Island. The ship had been spotted at 0157 hrs and missed with two torps at 0217 and 0343 hrs. The survivors were picked up by DD WARWICK later that day and landed at Liverpool on 3 August.


MV ROULA (Gk 1041 grt) The cargo ship was shelled and sunk by RM Sub MAMELI off Crete.



UBOATS
Departures
Kiel: U-46
Wilhelmshaven: U-25, U-37, U-38

At Sea 1 August 1940
U-25, U-34, U-37, U-38, U-52, U-56, U-57, U-58, U-59, U-60, U-62, U-99, UA.
13 boats at sea.

OPERATIONS
North Sea
At 1602 hrs NL sub O-21 sighted U-60 en route for Bergen. 13 mins later, O-21 fired 2 torps from 2000m , but both missed. U-60 was unaware of the attack. Later that day at 1800 hrs, O-22, patrolling nth of her sister ship, also sighted U-60, but the range was too great for an attack. On the evening of the 2nd, U-60 was attacked off Hagesund by LW Ju 88 aircraft of KG30 flying from Stavanger, Norway to raid the Orkneys, but the boat suffered no damage.

DD DUNCAN departed Rosyth to rendezvous with DD MAORI and escort steamer LOCHNAGAR from Aberdeen to Lerwick. DD MASHONA departed Scapa on the 2nd to relieve DUNCAN escorting LOCHNAGAR. DUNCAN proceeded to Scapa but was delayed entering harbour due to fog. She did arrive at Scapa on the 3rd. On arrival at Lerwick on the 2nd, DDs MAORI and MASHONA proceeded to an ASW search in the vicinity of the one hundred fathom line nth of the Shetlands. No contact was made.

Tkr GOTHIC was damaged by the LW 12 miles 310° from Flamborough Head. FN.239 departed Southend, escort DD WINCHESTER, sloop WESTON, patrol sloop MALLARD. Steamer HIGHLANDER was damaged by the LW. One German plane was shot down or crashed on the poop deck of HIGHLANDER. DD WESTON also shot down a German bomber. The convoy arrived in the Tyne on the 3rd. MT.127 departed Methil. The convoy arrived in the Tyne later that day.

West Coast UK
DD FEARLESS was in a minor collision with Armed PV FLYING WING off the Mull of Kintyre. DD FAULKNOR stood by to assist. FEARLESS proceeded to the Clyde and then was taken to Glasgow where she was under repair until 8 October.

SW Approaches
Steamer KERRY HEAD was damaged by the LW four miles ESE of Old Head of Kinsale, off the sth coast of Eire.

Med- Biscay
Fce H departed Gib on 31 July for Operation HURRY with BC HOOD, BB VALIANT, CV ARK ROYAL and CVE ARGUS, CLs ARETHUSA and ENTERPRISE, DDs FAULKNOR, FORESTER, FEARLESS, ESCAPADE, ACTIVE, WRESTLER, ENCOUNTER, GALLANT, GREYHOUND, HOTSPUR. CL ENTERPRISE was SE of Minorca simulating activity in the northern part of the Western Basin in Operation SPARK. The CL was also to have contacted Fr steamer GENERAL GUEYDON, but contact was not made. Diversion for HURRY was by the Med Flt which departed Alexandria on 31 July with CLs NEPTUNE, RAN SYDNEY, ORION, DDs NUBIAN, JUNO, GARLAND as Fce A and BBs ROYAL SOVEREIGN and MALAYA, CVL EAGLE,HERO, HEREWARD, HOSTILE, HASTY, ILEX, IMPERIAL, JERVIS, RAN VENDETTA as Fce B. However, when a mechanical breakdown occurred on BB MALAYA, Fce B returned to Alexandria on the 1st. Force A returned the next day. On the 2nd, HURRY, the flyoff of 12 Hurris from ARGUS to Malta was conducted with all a/c reaching Malta. While the rest of Force H turned nth, CVE ARGUS, escort DDs ENCOUNTER, GALLANT, GREYHOUND, HOTSPUR, conducted the operation. CV ARK ROYAL, screened by BC HOOD, CL ENTERPRISE, DDs FAULKNOR, FOESTER, FORESIGHT, FOXHOUND, launched strikes against Cagliari in Operation CRUSH. 12 Fairey Swordfish from the ARKROYAL make the first night raid on Italian soil in the early morning hrs, attacking Cagliari in sthn Sardinia. They inflict heavy damage on the airfield and on Italian seaplanes (destroying 6 on the water) anchored in the harbor and drop naval mines into the harbor. However 2 Swordfish are lost. 9 accompanying Blackburn Skuas shoot down an airborne Cant Z.501 search plane. The downed Swordfish crews are taken prisoner. Fce H arrived back at Gibraltar on the 4th. After HURRY, Somerville took Fce H with BCs HOOD, BB VALIANT, CVE ARGUS, CL ARETHUSA, DesFlot 8 back to England. CV ARK ROYAL, CL ENTERPRISE, DDs GREYHOUND, GALLANT, ENCOUNTER, HOTSPUR sailed with Fce H, but returned to Gib on the 8th after parting with the rest of Fce H. On 9 August, Fce H was met west of Ireland by DDs PUNJABI, TARTAR, BEDOUIN which escorted BC HOOD, CL ARETHUSA, DDs ESCAPADE and FOXHOUND to Scapa on the 10th. BB VALIANT, CVL ARGUS, DDs FAULKNOR, FORESIGHT, FORESTER arriving at Liverpool on the 10th.

Malta
Eight HAA and ten LAA guns are on their way to Malta, with more heavy guns to follow. All will be accompanied by supplies of ammunition. Welcoming the news, the Governor and Commander in Chief informed the War Office that there is significant doubt whether the Island will have sufficient servicemen to man the guns.

In a telegram sent today, he reports that the rate of recruitment is slowing considerably in Malta, due to the limit of the local population and requirements of other units on the Island. As a result it has been impossible to build up any reserve forces and no reinforcements are in place to man the new guns. Without additional Royal Artillery or signals personnel from the Middle East, the all-important artillery will sit idle.

2 August 1940
Known Reinforcements
Allied
Flower Class Corvette PEONY


Losses
Type IA U-25 (DKM 862 grt) Around 2 August 1940, while on a ML mission near Norway, U-25 passed through British mine barrage no7 and struck a mine. The boat sank, taking all hands with it. Barrage Field No. 7, had been laid by the HM DDs EXPRESS, ESK, ICARUS and IMPULSIVE. All 49 crew perished. The body of one of its crewmen was washed ashore on Helgoland on 19 Aug 1940. This mine field probably accounted for several U-boats on their outbound or return journey and remained hidden to german SIGINT. Despite the Type 1A being judged unsuitable, it was necessary to use them operationally from early 1940 due to Uboat shortages. U-25 sank 8 vessels for a total of 50,255 grt and damaged one for 7,638 grt


ASW trawler CAPE FINISTERRE (RN 590 grt) was sunk by the LW off Harwich. One rating was lost in the trawler.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Steamer CITY OF BRISBANE (UK 8006 grt) was sunk by the LW off Sth Longsand Buoy, Thames Estuary. The steamer went ashore at South Longsand. CITY OF BRISBANE was still afire on the 5th. 8 crew were lost on the British steamer.


Drifter EMBRACE (UK 94 grt) was lost after stranding at Loch Alsh (off the west coast of Scotland).
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

DKM Raider ATLANTIS captured steamer TALLYRAND (Nor 6732 grt) in the Indian Ocean. TALLYRAND was scuttled on the next ady and the crew were transferred to steamer TIRRANNA. When TIRRANNA was lost, 3 of the steamer TALLYRAND crew were lost.

Steamer TALLYRAND on fire and sinking after scuttling charges had been set off

UBOATS
Arrivals
Kiel: U-62

At Sea 2 August 1940
U-34, U-37, U-38, U-52, U-56, U-57, U-58, U-59, U-60, U-99, UA.
11 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
North Sea
At 1508 hrs, SW of Norway: U-37 and U-38 were sailing together when they were attacked by a CC Hudson from 220 Sqn. No damage. 1600 hrs following an earlier unsuccessful attempt the day previous to waylay U-34, NL sub O-22 sighted either U-37 or U-38, and after difficulty getting into a firing position fired two torps from the extreme range of 3600m at 1620. Both missed, and the U-boat remained unaware of the attack.

FN.240 departed Southend. The convoy arrived at the Tyne on the 4th. MT.128 departed Methil. The convoy arrived in the Tyne on the 2nd. FS.239 departed the Tyne, escort DDs VEGA and WESTMINSTER. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 3rd.

Northern Waters
The DDs under Home Flt control were reorganised.
DesFlot 3 (DDs INGLEFIELD, ISIS, DUNCAN, ECHO, ECLIPSE, ELECTRA and ENCOUNTER (on her return to England)).

DesFloty 4 (DDs COSSACK, ZULU, SIKH, MAORI, FAME, FORTUNE. Temporarily attached DDs FURY and FIREDRAKE, FOXHOUND (on return to England)).

DesFlot 6 (DDs TARTAR, ASHANTI, MATABELE, MASHONA, BEDOUIN, PUNJABI, ESKIMO, SOMALI).

DesFlot 12 (DDs KEPPEL, DOUGLAS, ARROW, ACHATES, ACTIVE, ANTHONY, AMAZON. Temporarily attached DDs VORTIGERN and WATCHMAN).

DDs MAORI and MASHONA departed Lerwick for an ASW sweep north of the Shetlands. No contact was made. DDs BEDOUIN and PUNJABI departed Scapa to search in the area of Nth Minch, then join convoy WN.4. The DDs would stay with WN.4 until Rattray Hd when they were detached to join OA.193. British minefield BS.30 was laid by MLs PLOVER and WILLEM VAN DER ZAAN and DDs EXPRESS, ESK, ICARUS, INTREPID, IMPULSIVE.

West Coast UK
OG.40 of 21 ships departed Liverpool. The convoy was escorted by sloop ENCHANTRESS from 2 to 14 August. DD WESTCOTT escorted the convoy from 2 to 7 August when she was detached to HG.40. The convoy arrived at Gibraltar on the 14th.

Western Approaches
Kretschmer in U-99 made repeated attacks on Convoy OB 191 but was very unlucky.
At 0251 hrs, U-99 fired one G7e torpedo at the biggest tanker in convoy OB-191 (Nor tkr STRINDA) about 340 miles west of Inishtrahull and hit the STRINDA amidships on the port side. All power was lost because the explosion had stopped the engines. One of the port lifeboats was destroyed and the crew abandoned ship in the remaining boats. Waiting nearby, the master and some men reboarded the tanker after 4 hrs, brought her on an even keel by shifting the ballast and restarted the engines. The rest of the crew rejoined some time afterwards and the lifeboats were hoisted up at 0900 hrs. The ship returned to port under her own power with two other torpedoed tankers from the same convoy and arrived at Gourock in the evening of 4 August. On 21 October, the STRINDA arrived in Cardiff for repairs and returned to service in March 1941. At 0343 hrs on 2 Aug 1940 the MV LUCERNA in convoy OB-191 was hit amidships by one G7e torpedo from U-99. She initially stopped and was later attacked by the U-boat with gunfire, but managed to escape and reached Greenock on 8 August. The tkr was repaired at Liverpool and returned to service in May 1941. At 0427 hrs on 2 Aug 1940, tkr ALEXIA in convoy OB-191 was torpedoed by U-99 and fell out of the convoy, where she was shelled by the same U-boat but did not sink.

Central Atlantic
Convoys SL.42 and SLF.42 departed Freetown escort CL DELHI to 8 August when she was relieved by AMC MALOJA. The CL refuelled at St Vincent on the 11th and arrived back at Freetown on the 20th, patrolling en route. On 18 August corvettes BLUEBELL and CLARKIA and escort vessel GLEANER joined the convoy. on the 19th, DD VISCOUNT also joined the escort. AMC MALOJA was detached on the 20th. The convoy arrived on the 21st at Liverpool.

Sorry once again.

July 31 Wednesday
THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN: http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/ww2-general/day-battle-britain-25360-post699552.html#post699552

UNITED KINGDOM: American ambassador in London, England, Joseph Kennedy relayed to US Secretary of State Cordell Hull another request from British Prime Minister Winston Churchill for destroyers.

"If we cannot get reinforcement," Churchill noted, "the whole fate of the war may be decided by this minor and easily remediable factor."

Click to expand...

Fighter output for July is found to be 50 percent above the target figures. Since May 1st 1200 fighters have been produced. This is more than have been made in Germany and the RAF is therefore closing the numerical advantage of the Luftwaffe.

At night there was some minelaying in the Tyne area by the Luftwaffe.

NORTHERN EUROPE: Hptm. Johannes Janke's I./JG 77 moves from Döberitz to new airfields at Aalborg joining the II./JG 77 in operations for Luftflotte 5. The Gruppe uses Bf 109Es for operations. The Messerschmitts of 9./JG 77 leave the Aalborg airfield and move to Trondheim airfield joining the fighters of 8./JG 77.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-99 sank British ship "Jamaica Progress" at 0138 hours (killing 7) and British ship "Jersey City" at 1324 hours (killing 2) 50 miles north of Ireland. She was attacked by depth charges by escort vessels and a bomb from a flying boat, but she was able to escape undamaged.

British destroyer HMS "Whitshed" hit a mine off Harwich, Essex, England and lost most of her bow, but she able to be towed to Harwich by the stern by destroyer HMS "Wild Swan". She would remain under repair at Chatham, Kent, England until 21 Dec 1940.

German armed merchant cruiser "Pinguin" sank British ship "Domingo De Larringa" in the South Atlantic 1,000 miles east of Pernambuco, Brazil. 8 were killed and 30 were taken prisoner.

GERMANY: At Adolf Hitler's residence near Berchtesgaden, München-Oberbayern, Germany, German military leaders were advised of Hitler's plan to attack the Soviet Union. Hitler made it clear that an invasion of the USSR was a way of securing mastery of Europe, as the fall of the USSR would certainly force Britain to surrender. The military leaders were told to expect the invasion to start in May 1941, and would likely last about five months. Hitler announced that he would decide whether the invasion of Britain was to take place in mid-Sep 1940 or May 1941 in a few days; the progress of the Luftwaffe campaign over Britain would be among the key factors in his decision process. While German Army and Navy leadership continued to disagree over the plans for the invasion of Britain (with Admiral Erich Raeder convincing Hitler to delay the invasion until mid-Sep 1940), the Luftwaffe moved forth with its plans and began to shift the main target from English Channel shipping to RAF airfields in southern England.

WESTERN FRONT: Joachim von Ribbentrop, upon learning that the Duke of Windsor, the former King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, was departing for the Bahamas soon, issued an order to send the British royalty another message overnight, stressing the fact that Germany was attempting to avoid armed conflict with the United Kingdom, which could be achieved with the duke was willing to assist, beginning by not departing Europe for the Bahamas.

ASIA: Mitsubishi delivered the first production Zero fighter to the Japanese Navy.

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August 1 Thursday
THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN: http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/ww2-general/day-battle-britain-25360-post700010.html#post700010

EASTERN EUROPE: Soviet Foreign Minister reaffirmed Soviet neutrality while bad-mouthing the United States and the United Kingdom.

UNITED KINGDOM: A convoy consisted of 6 troop transports carrying 8,077 Canadian troops arrived in Scotland from Nova Scotia.

The British Order in Council declares the start of the grouse shooting season to be August 5th instead of the 12th.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-34 detected British submarine HMS "Spearfish" on the surface in the North Sea and sank "Spearfish" with her last torpedo at 1904 hours, killing 41. One survivor, Able Seaman William Pester, was taken aboard U-34 as a prisoner of war. German submarine U-59 sank Swedish ship "Sigyn" at 0345 hours 60 miles northwest of Ireland; the entire crew was rescued.

MEDITERRANEAN: Operation Hurry: British carrier HMS "Argus" set sail for Malta with 12 Hurricane fighters for reinforcement. She was escorted by Force H with battlecruiser HMS "Hood", battleship HMS "Valiant", aircraft carrier HMS "Ark Royal", cruisers HMS "Arethusa" and HMS "Enterprise", and 10 destroyers. Meanwhile, the Mediterranean fleet departed Alexandria, Egypt to conduct diversionary maneuvers in the area of Crete, Greece.

Italian destroyer "Ugolino Vivaldi" detected British submarine HMS "Oswald" on the surface 15 miles south of Sardinia in the Mediterranean Sea, charging batteries and performing routine maintenance. "Oswald" was sunk by ramming and depth charges. 3 were killed and 52 were taken prisoner.

Italian submarine "Goffredo Mameli" sank Greek ship "Roula" 40 miles south of Crete, Greece; the entire crew was rescued.

NORTHERN EUROPE: Dutch submarine O-21 fired two torpedoes at German submarine U-60 at the distance of 2 kilometers off Norway, but both of them missed their target.

NORTH AMERICA: The US Navy established the new Alaskan Sector command within the Thirteenth Naval District.

GERMANY: Franz Halder and his staff began planning for the invasion of the Soviet Union.

Helmuth Brinkmann was named the commanding officer of German cruiser "Prinz Eugen".

RAF bombers attacked the Krupp factory in Essen, Germany.

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August 1 Thursday (continued)
WESTERN FRONT: The Duke of Windsor, the former King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, received German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop's message. He turned down Ribbentrop's request for him to help bring peace between Britain and Germany, citing his loyalty to the British government. He did, however, maintain a channel of communications with Germany in the future should his assistance be helpful once again. To Ribbentrop's dismay, the duke departed for the Bahamas by the end of the day, ending the German attempt to use him to form a new pro-German leadership in Britain.

Major Adolf Galland is awarded the Ritterkreuz.

In the morning, a British Spitfire fighter on a photo reconnaissance mission found a build-up of German aircraft on the Cotentin Peninsula in France. At 1540 hours, 13 Blenheim bombers of RAF No. 59 Squadron escorted by 10 Blenheim fighters of RAF No. 236 Squadron attacked, causing some damage but in turn losing 1 bomber and 2 fighters. The RAF also bombs the airfield at Leeuwarden, Holland at night and damages three aircraft from II./JG 27.

General Guisan, the Commander in Chief of Switzerland's armed forces, declares in a broadcast that the Army will;

'...defend the passage of the Alps to the end' and uphold the country's strict neutrality'.

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ASIA: Day 260 of 382 of the 1st Battle of South Guangxi. The Battle of South Guangxi was one of the 22 major engagements between the National Revolutionary Army and Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War. In November 1939, the Japanese landed on the coast of Guangxi and captured Nanning. In this battle, the Japanese successfully cut off Chongqing from the ocean, effectively severing foreign aid to China's war efforts by the sea, rendering Indochina, Burma Road and The Hump the only ways to send aid to China. The Chinese were able to launch several major offensives that maximized Japanese casualties.

A public policy declaration is made concerning Japan's support for a "New Order" in East Asia.

Yoshijiro Umezu was promoted to the rank of general.

Japanese Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka asked French Ambassador to Tokyo Arsène Henry whether Japanese troops might be allowed to enter Indochina to occupy certain airfields; Henry implied that his government would reject such a request. Meanwhile, Japanese Army aircraft were transferred from Northern China to Southern China.

SOUTH PACIFIC: Papua and Mandated Territory of New Guinea became incorporated in the Australian defense system as the 8th Military District.

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August 2 Friday
THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN: http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/ww2-general/day-battle-britain-25360-post700534.html#post700534

UNITED KINGDOM: Lord Beaverbrook was appointed to the British War Cabinet.

Josef Frantisek joined the British Royal Air Force and was assigned to RAF No. 303 Squadron based at RAF Northolt in South Ruislip near London, England. Formed on August 2, 1940 in Northolt, RAF No. 303 'Kosciuszko' Squadron was the second polish fighter squadron to be formed on British soil. Its personnel recruited mostly from 111 and 112 Squadrons of the Pursuit Brigade, which had fought with distinction in the Polish campaign of 1939. In spite of some difficulties, mostly stemming from inadequate command of English, conversion to Hurricanes and training in the RAF tactics proceeded smoothly, and a month later the squadron entered the Battle.

WESTERN FRONT: French military court sentences General Charles de Gaulle to death in absentia for leading the Free French movement in London.

German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop informs the German ambassador in Madrid, Spain, that Germany desires Spain's early entry into the war.

NORTHERN EUROPE: Overnight, British submarine HMS "Thames" hit a mine and sank southwest of Stavanger, Norway, killing the entire crew of 62.

German Ju 87 aircraft attacked German submarine U-60 with bombs by mistake off Hagesund, Norway. U-60 was able to escape without damage.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-99 torpedoed British merchant ship "Alexia", British merchant ship "Lucerna", and Norwegian merchant ship "Strinda" of convoy OB-191. All three were damaged but none of them sank. No men were killed as the result of the attack.

NORTH AMERICA: US President Roosevelt and his cabinet discussed the methods to which the transferring 50 or 60 destroyers to the United Kingdom could be conducted.

In Canada, Montreal mayor Camillien Houde publicly urges Quebecers to not sign up for national registration for war duty.

MEDITERRANEAN: Operation Hurry: 12 British Hurricane fighters were launched from carrier HMS "Argus" southwest of Sardinia in the Mediterranean Sea and flew about 300 miles to Malta. They were to form the new No. 261 Squadron. The escorting surface warships turned back for Gibraltar and England, while the escorting carriers (escorted by battlecruiser HMS "Hood", cruiser HMS "Enterprise", and 4 destroyers) launched an attack consisted of 8 Swordfish torpedo bombers on the Italian airfield at Cagliari, Sardinia, destroying several aircraft and deploying several mines.

EASTERN EUROPE: Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic was formed.

GERMANY: The Chief of the German Ministry of Economics and Armament is requested to set a programme in train which will increase the army's strength to 180 divisions; this in preparation for the invasion of Russia.

Hitler orders the 'destruction of the RAF and the British aircraft industry' and states that the necessary air offensive must start on 5 August. The significance of this is that it accords the Luftwaffe an independence of role and action that has not been permitted hitherto. Its 'offensive force', rapidly assembled in France, the Low Countries and Norway, will consist of almost 1,700 aircraft including bombers, fighters, Stuka dive-bomhers and fighter-destroyers. Field Marshal Kesselring's Luftflotte 2 will play the major role because its bases are the closest to England; in support will be Field Marshal Sperrle's Luftflotte 3; General Stumpffs Luftflotte 5 wil operate from Norwegian bases against sites in the English Midlands. At this point the Germans remain unaware that the fighters which will be ranged against them are controlled by ground radar, a crucial asset in the weeks to come.

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Njaco said:

Sorry once again.

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Its all good Chris. I hope you are on the mend good friend