This Day in the War in Europe: The Beginning

[Njaco]

September 18 1940 Wednesday
THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN: This Day in the Battle of Britain

WESTERN FRONT: Günther "Fränzl" Lützow of JG 51 is awarded the Ritterkreuz.

The American Library in Paris, France reopened.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-48 hit the British passenger liner "City of Benares", a ship evacuating 90 British children and their families to Canada, with a torpedo 600 miles west of Ireland at 0001 hours. The ship listed heavily, which prevented many of the lifeboats from being launched. She sank at about 0030 hours, taking down 121 crew and 134 passengers (including 77 children). Destroyer HMS "Hurricane" arrived on the following day and rescued 105 survivors. After this incident, the British government suspended the policy of sending children aboard. U-48 sank British ship "Marina" at 0007 hours; 2 were killed and 37 survived. At 1849 hours, U-48 struck a third time, sinking British ship "Magdalena", killing the entire crew of 31.

Italian submarine "Bagnolini" sank Spanish ship "Cabo Tortosa" off Porto, Portugal; all members of the crew survived the attack and were rescued by Spanish ship "Monte Ayala".

ASIA: Chinese Emperor Kangde presided over the dedication ceremony of the National Martyr Shrine of Manchukuo in Xinjing, the capital of the puppet state.

"Akagi" departed Kure, Japan.

NORTH AFRICA: The advance of the Italian 10th Army comes to a halt, officially because of supply difficulties. They occupy themselves building various fortified camps and make little effort to keep in touch with the British forces which have pulled back before their superior strength.

Vichy Toulon task force is intercepted by Cunningham's and ordered to return to Casablanca. Two cruisers comply but the remaining of the Vichy ships manage to return to Dakar.

EASTERN EUROPE: Soviet Minister of Defence Marshal S.K. Timoshenko and Chief of General Staff K.A. Meretskov submit a war plan to Josef Stalin and Prime Minister Vyacheslav Molotov, proposing an attack on Germany north of the Pripet marshes, with a strong defence to the south, or vice-versa. The plan is accepted by the politburo in October.

.

 

[parsifal]

WESTERN DESERT 17-26 SEPTEMBER 1940

First LRDG patrols
The first patrol began during the Italian invasion of Egypt. 'W' Patrol commanded by Captain Mitford set out on 15 September 1940 to carry out a recon of Kufra and Uweinat. Finding no trace of the Italians, they turned sth and attacked fuel dumps, aircraft and an Italian convoy carrying supplies to Kufra. 17 a/c were reported destroyed. 'T' Patrol, commanded by Captain Clayton, reconnoitred the main route between Kufra and Uweinat, then drove sth to meet up with 'W' Patrol; both units returned to base, having captured two Italian trucks and official mail. The Italian response to these raids was to reduce their front line forces and increase the number of troops garrisoning the area from 2,900 men in September to 5,500 by November 1940, because of the activities of 32 men.

The loss of the advanced landing grounds at Sidi Barrani had adverse effects. The distance to which fighters could give protection to bombers or to which tactical reconnaissance sorties could penetrate was reduced by nearly one hundred miles, while the bombers themselves were deprived of a very useful refuelling base. Blenheims were forced to operate at extreme range to reach Benghazi. Hurricanes which could hitherto have reached Malta in emergency with the aid of extra fuel tanks could no longer be expected to do so; henceforth any reinforcing Hurricanes for Malta would have to be flown from a carrier or sent by ship in convoy. Ships engaged in bombarding the Libyan coast had formerly had fighter protection as far as Bardia; now this did not extend even to Sidi Barrani. Derna was too far for aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm to attack. The enemy, on the other hand, could give fighter escort to his bombers for attacks on the British advanced base at Matruh.

This naturally made the Commanders-in-Chief more conscious than ever of the weakness of the air defence all over the Middle East. In September they set up an inter-Service body to keep the problem constantly under review and to ensure the best use being made of the available resources, but the fact remained that there were not enough fighter aircraft, or guns, or searchlights, or radar sets for all the tasks. The efforts of the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief to build up his fighter strength have already been mentioned. As regards guns, the minimum requirements for the air defence of the ports, the base in Egypt, the Western Desert, Palestine, the Sudan, and Crete, were estimated early in November to be 174 heavy and 356 light antiaircraft guns; the numbers available were about one-half of the heavy and less than one-third of the light. The anti-aircraft searchlight situation was worse still; apart from batteries at Aden and Malta there were no searchlights other than those manned by the Egyptian Army. General Wavell regarded this as so unsatisfactory that in October he suggested that the cargo space allotted in one of the next convoys to a heavy A.A. battery should be used instead for 24 searchlights.

 

[Njaco]

September 19 1940 Thursday
THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN: This Day in the Battle of Britain

UNITED KINGDOM: British Minister of Labour Ernest Bevin announced that, as of the end of Aug 1940, there were 51,261 registered conscientious objectors in Britain.

WESTERN FRONT: Wellington, Hampden, and Whitley bombers of the British RAF attacked German invasion barges in ports along the French coast. One Hampden bomber was lost. After the attack, Adolf Hitler ordered the barges to disperse to minimize further losses. Thus far, 214 of the 1,918 barges assembled for the planned invasion had been destroyed by British aerial attacks. Similarly 21 out of 170 transports have been lost.

British bombers sank German torpedo boat T-3 at Le Havre, France, killing 9 and wounding 12. T-3 would later be raised and repaired.

NORTH AFRICA: French landed troops at Naval port Dakar (West Africa), to counter a possible landing of the "Free France" troops of Charles de Gaulle.

Italian submarines "Archimede" and "Guglielmotti" and destroyers "Leone", "Pantera", "Battisti", and "Manin" searched in the Red Sea for Allied Convoy BN-5. They failed to locate their target.

Italian submarine "Serpente" mis-identified Italian submarine "Marcantonio Colonna" as hostile and fired a torpedo 59 miles south of Italy. The torpedo missed.

MEDITERRANEAN: Italian submarine "Comandante Faa Di Bruno" attacked a ship 700 miles west of Gibraltar without success.

In Rome, Ribbentrop meets Mussolini and Ciano in Rome and warns them not to attack Greece or Yugoslavia. The Italian leaders dutifully reply that they will conquer Egypt first.

ASIA: During the Imperial Conference, Prince Hiroyasu of Fushimi expressed concerns regarding the alliance between Japan and Germany.

Japan notifies Indochina that their forces would cross the border.

.

 

[parsifal]

19 September 1940
Known Reinforcements
Allied
Fairmile B Motor Launch ML 126

This is a photo of the similar ML 121, of the RCN

Losses
Tkr SHELBRIT I (UK 1025 grt) was sunk on a mine in the North Sea. The coastal tkr SHELBRIT 1, on a voyage from Grangemouth to Inverness in ballast, blew up, after hitting a mine caught fire and sank on September 19th, 1940, in the Moray Firth. All her crew of 20 and the gunner were lost.

1935 Type TB T.3 (DKM 844 grt) was sunk by the RAF at Le Havre, with nine men killed and twelve wounded. T.3 was later salved and returned to service on 12 December 1943.

RM sub MARCONI sank trawler ALMIRANTE JOSE DE CARRANZA (Sp 330 grt) 16 miles NW of Cape Villano. There was only one survivor from the Spanish trawler.
[NO IMAGE]

UBOATS
At Sea 19 September 1940
U-29, U-31, U-32, U-43, U-47, U-48, U-58, U-59, U-60, U-65, U-99, U-100, U-138.
13 boats at sea.

OPERATIONS
North Sea
DDs TARTAR and MAORI, which departed Rosyth on the 18th, escorted the new CL NIGERIA from the Tyne for trials. After the trials, they returned to to Rosyth. DD SOMALI sank four British mines in area "C".

OA.217 departed Methil escort sloop FOWEY and corvette PEONY from 19 to 24 September. OB.216 departed Liverpool escort DD VANQUISHER, sloop SCARBOROUGH, and corvette ARABIS. The convoy was joined on the 21st by escorted ship GLEANER and corvettes CAMELLIA and FLEUR DE LYS. The escort was detached on the 23rd. FN.285 departed Southend, escort DD VIVIEN and sloop LONDONDERRY. The convoy arrived at Methil on the 21st. MT.174 departed Methil. The convoy arrived in the Tyne later that day.

Northern Waters
CLA CAIRO departed Scapa Flow at 2100 to act as AA protection for convoy WN.16. ML TEVIOTBANK laid minefield ZMD (B) in channels in the Faroes Islands. This minefield was an extension of ZMD (A) laid on the 14th.

West Coast UK
British steamer WEST KEDRON was damaged by the LW in Nth Channel.

Western Approaches
OL.3 departed Liverpool escort DDs SKATE, SCIMITAR, KEPPEL, and ACTIVE from 19 to 21 September. DDs SKATE and SCIMITAR were detached to convoy HX.72 as it ran inbound to the West Coast. DDs KEPPEL and ACTIVE proceeded to convoy SC.4.

SW Approaches
HG.44 of 28 ships departed Gibraltar escort DD VELOX from 19 to 23 September. Sloop LEITH escorted the convoy from 19 September to 4 October. DD SKATE, corvette GLADIOLUS, and ASW trawler LADY LILLIAN escorted the convoy after being detached from convoy OB.220 from 1 from 4 October. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on 4 October.

Channel
DKM Zerstorers LODY, ECKHOLDT, GALSTER, RIEDEL, and IHN departed Cherbourg for a strike for the area between the Lizard and Start Point. The sweep was cancelled due to poor weather.

Nth Atlantic
SC.5 departed Sydney escort RCN armed yacht LYNX and ocean Sloop FOLKESTONE as the convoy cleared port. The convoy was joined on the 30th by DDs ARROW and VANQUISHER for the inbound leg. On 1 October, DD KEPPEL, sloop ROCHESTER, corvette BLUEBELL, and ASW trawlers ELLESMERE and ULLSWASTER. The sloop and the corvette were detached on 2 October. The rest of the escorts arrived with the convoy at Liverpool on 4 October.

Central Atlantic
SL.48 departed Freetown escort AMC MALOJA to 8 October. On 5 October, DDs WALKER and SABRE, sloop FLEETWOOD, corvette MALLOW, and ASW trawlers SPHENE and ST APOLLO joined the convoy. The trawlers were detached that night, DD SABRE on 7 October, and DD WALKER on 9 October. On 8 October, corvette COREOPSIS joined the convoy. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on 9 October. British MENACE convoy MS of 5 mechanical transports OCEAN COAST, NEVADE, CASANANCE, FORT LAMY, and ANADYR departed Freetown escorted by Sloop BRIDGEWATER, boom defence vessel QUANNET, and French patrol ship PRESIDENT HOUDACE.

Med- Biscay
The Med Flt arrived back at Alexandria. RM sub SERPENTE in error launched a torpedo against RM sub COLONNA 59 miles sth of M. di Leuca. Fortunately, the torpedo did not strike COLONNA. RM sub FAA DI BRUNO attacked unsuccessfully a steamer off the coast of Portugal.

Red Sea/Indian Ocean
RM DDs LEONE, PANTERA, BATTISTI, and MANIN departed Massawa to operate in the Red Sea searching for convoy BN.5 of 23 ships escort by NZ manned CL LEANDER, Sloop AUCKLAND, and RAN sloops YARRA and PARRAMATTA. RM Subs ARCHIMEDE and GUGLIELMOTTI also searched without success for this convoy. The DDs returned to t Massawa on the 21st.

BN.5 A departed Bombay, escort CL COLOMBO and AMC KANIMBLA. AMC ANTENOR was with the convoy on the 20th only. On 25 September, the escort was detached when met by CL AJAX, CLA COVENTY, and DD KANDAHAR. The escort was detached on the 28th. The convoy arrived at Suez on the 29th.

Malta
No air raids.

Arrivals 1 Sunderland. KALAFRANA One Sunderland arrives from Middle East with spares for grounded Sunderland.

 

[parsifal]

20 September 1940
Known Reinforcements
Allied
Flower Class Corvette HMS GENTIAN, Flower Class Corvette HMS SALVIA

Losses
MV BOKA (Pan 5560 grt) Sunk by U-138 (Wolfgang Lüth) Crew: 34 (8 dead and 26 survivors) Cargo: Coal Route: Barry (Sth Wales) - Sierra Leone - Takoradi. Convoy OB 216, Sunk in the Western Approaches. Between 2120 and 2126 hrs, U-138 fired 3 torps at the OB-216 52 miles NW of Rathlin Island and reported three ships totalling 20.000 tons sunk. The three ships sunk were NEW SEVILLA, BOKA and CITY OF SIMLA. 8 crew members from BOKA were lost. The survivors were picked up by Corvette HMS ARABIS and landed at Londonderry.

Liner CITY OF SIMLA (UK 10138 grt) Sunk by U-138 (Wolfgang Lüth) Crew: 350 (3 dead and 347 survivors) Cargo: Passengers and 3000 tons of general cargo Route London - Glasgow - Capetown - Bombay Convoy OB 216, Sunk in the Western Approaches. At 2120 hrs, U-138 attacked the convoy OB-216 52 miles NW of Rathlin Island and reported three ships totalling 20.000 grt sunk. The three ships sunk were NEW SEVILLA, BOKA and CITY OF SIMLA. The CITY OF SIMLA remained afloat for a short time but sank later. One crew member and two passengers were lost. 165 crew members and 153 passengers were rescued by the British steam merchant GUINEAN , transferred to HMS VANQUISHER and landed at Londonderry two days later. 17 crew members and 12 passengers were picked up by the Belgian trawler VAN DYKE and landed at Liverpool.

Whaling Ship NEW SEVILLA (UK 13801 grt) Sunk by U-138 (Wolfgang Lüth) Crew: 284 (2 dead and 282 survivors) Cargo: Whaling stores and ballast Route: Liverpool - Aruba - South Georgia Convoy OB 216, Sunk in the Western Approaches. Between 2120 and 2126 hrs, U-138 fired torpedoes at OB-216 52 miles NWt of Rathlin Island and reported three ships totalling 20,000 grt sunk. The three ships sunk were NEW SEVILLA, BOKA and CITY OF SIMLA.

NEW SEVILLA was taken in tow, but sank the next day 9 miles from the Mull of Kintyre. Two crew members were lost. The master and 22 crew members were picked up by Corvette HMS ARABIS and landed at Liverpool. 44 crew members were picked up by the Icelandic trawler BELGAUM and later transferred to the INDUSTRIA, which had already picked up 215 crew members and landed at Belfast.

U.138 in attacks on OB.216 sank steamer EMPIRE ADVENTURE (UK 5145 grt) off Islay, Steamer EMPIRE ADVENTURE was first taken in tow by British tug SUPERMAN, but sank on the 23rd. 21 crew were lost on steamer EMPIRE ADVENTURE. The survivors were rescued by corvette ARABIS. DD ISIS en route to Scapa assisted tug SUPERMAN before arriving at Scapa Flow on the 22nd.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Steamer TRITO (NL 1057 grt) was sunk by the LW. 3 crew were rescued from the Dutch steamer. Two British naval ratings were lost with the crew.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Drifter INNISDHU (UK 96 grt) was sunk by the LW one hundred yards west of Westward mine marking buoy, itself S 16° W from Hole Haven Signal Tower. The crew of four was lost.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

UBOATS
Arrivals
Lorient: U-58

Departures
Lorient: U-46

At Sea 20 September 1940
U-29, U-31, U-32, U-43, U-47, U-48, U-59, U-60, U-65, U-99, U-100, U-138.
12 boats at sea

U.58, leaving Lorient, was attacked by a submarine.

The battle for HX 72 began on this day. HX 72 was an east-bound convoy of 43 ships which sailed from Halifax on 9 September 1940 bound for Liverpool and carrying war materials. The convoy, made up of contingents from Halifax, Sydney and Bermuda was led by Commodore HH Rogers RNR in TREGARTHEN. Escorts at this stage of the campaign were very meagre; convoys generally were unescorted for most of the transAtlantic passage, or had just an AMC as protection against surface raiders until reaching the Western Approaches for the last 2 or 3 days of the inbound leg of the crossing.

HX 72's ocean escort was the AMC JERVIS BAY, which detached at sunset on 20 September, leaving the convoy devoid of any defences until the following evening. HX 72 wasn't due to meet the Western Approaches escort until the afternoon of 21st, so HX 72 was unprotected when it was sighted at last light by Prien of U-47. As fate would have it, the assigned inbound escort was late in arriving and the convoy had already scattered, resulting in a heavy defeat for the Allies.

The U boat Arm (UBW) was also sparse, able to maintain only a few boats at any one time in the North Atlantic, operating at the edge of the Western Approaches to intercept convoys before their escort had joined. U 47 was on weather duty, her armament depleted after an attack on Convoy SC 2 earlier that month, and was able only to report contact.

After reporting the convoy Prien shadowed the convoy, while U-boat Control (BdU) summoned all available U-boats. During night and following day a pack of 6 boats was gathered, U-99 and U-65, which were nearby, and others en route from Germany. The attacks began the following morning during the early hours of the 21st. It was to be Kretschmer at his most deadly.

OPERATIONS
North Sea
FN.286 departed Southend. The convoy arrived at Methil on the 22nd. MT.175 departed the Methil. The convoy arrived in the Tyne the next day. FS.286 departed the Tyne, escort DDs VIVACIOUS and WOOLSTON. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 21st. FS.287 departed Methil, escort DD WINCHESTER and sloop EGRET. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 22nd.

Northern Waters
In Operation DT, CVL FURIOUS, CAs BERWICK and NORFOLK, and DDs SOMALI, MATABELE, and ESKIMO departed Scapa at 1230.
At 0300 on the 22nd FURIOUS flew off 11 Swordfish of 816 and 825 Squadrons and 6 Skuas of 801 Sqn to attack Trondheim. Bad weather spoiled the operation and no results were observed. Worse, 5 Swordfish and 1 Skua were lost; of these, one Swordfish and one Skua landed in Sweden. Lt (A) M. A J. J. Hanrahan, Midshipman (A) A O. Atkins, and Naval Airman A R. Purchase of one Swordfish of 816 Sqn, Acting S/Lt (A) H. A Cheetham and S/Lt (A) H. N. C. Hearn, air gunner Naval Airman C. D. Jago in a Swordfish of 825 Sqn, and Temporary Lt (A) H. Detering RNVR, Acting S/Lt (A) D. A Poynter, and Naval Airman H. W. Brown of another Swordfish of 825 Sqn were captured. Temporary S/Lt (A) R. L. R. Morgan RNVR, Acting S/Lt (A) I. M. MacLeod Rees, and Leading AirmanB R. Laing of one Swordfish of 825 Sqn and Probationary S/Lt (A)B F. Wigginton RNVR, and Naval Airman K. R. King of 801 Sqn were interned. They were eventually returned to Britain. Lt (A) J. Read, Probationary Temporary S/Lt (A) G. A Busby RNVR, and Leading Airman L. A Webber of 816 Sqn were lost when their Swordfish crashed into the sea after failing to locate the carrier. The ships arrived back at Scapa on the 23rd.

CLA CAIRO covered convoy OA.217 to Pentland Firth where she joined convoy HX.71A. CAIRO remained with convoy HX71 A until dark when she returned to Scapa. DD ISIS departed Devonport at 1100. After carrying out a full caliber shoot, she then proceeded to Scapa Flow to work up. DD VIMY departed Scapa for Lerwick. From Lerwick, VIMY escorted British steamer LADY OF MANN to Aberdeen, after which VIMY arrived back at Scapa Flow on the 21st.

SW Approaches
OG.43 of 46 ships departed Liverpool. The convoy was given escort in the Liverpool approaches by ASW trawlers DRANGEY and SOUTHERN PRIDE. Sloop FOWEY and corvettes ANENOME, MALLOW, and PEONY escorted the convoy from 20 to 24 September. DDs HIGHLANDER and HARVESTER escorted the convoy from 20 to 25 September. DD HURRICANE joined the escort on the 21st and departed on the 25th.

Escort vessel GLEANER joined the convoy from OA.216 and escorted the convoy from 24 September to 3 October. DD VIDETTE joined the convoy on the 30th and remained with it until its arrival at Gibraltar on 3 October. On arrival, VIDETTE escorted three ships of the convoy to Melilla.

Central Atlantic
BB BARHAM and DDs FORTUNE and FURY arrived at Freetown. CA DEVONSHIRE and DDs INGLEFIELD, GREYHOUND, and ESCAPADE arrived at Freetown at 0800. CL DRAGON arrived at Freetown.

Med- Biscay
Sub TETRACH departed Gib for patrol . DD WISHART departed Gib to land French officers four miles outh of Agadir. Following repairs at Singapore, sub ROVER arrived at Alexandria on the 20th for duty with the Med Flt.

Red Sea/Indian Ocean
CLA COVENTRY departed Aden with a northbound convoy. She was detached at Bab el Mandeb for patrol between Perim and Massawa. The cruiser arrived back at Aden on the 22nd.

British steamer BHIMA was damaged near misses from the RA and grounded to prevent sinking. She was later taken in tow by British steamer ASHBURY and taken to Aden and beached. She was repaired and returned to service. BHIMA was in BN.5 being sought after by the Italian forces in the Red Sea. CL LEANDER escorting the convoy was unsuccessfully attacked by the RA. BS.5 departed Suez, escorted by sloops CLIVE and GRIMSBY. These sloops were relieved on the 23rd by CL LEANDER and sloops AUCKLAND, PARRAMATTA, and SHOREHAM. The convoy was dispersed off Aden on the 28th.

DKM Raider ATLANTIS sank Liner COMMISSAIRE RAMEL (Fr 10,061 grt) under British service in the Indian Ocean. Three crew were lost and 63 crew were interned in Italian Somaliland. A British hunter gp was formed to locate the ATLANTIS. The gp was composed of RAN CA CANBERRA, CLs CAPETOWN and DURBAN, and RAN AMC WESTRALIA.

Malta
No air raids.
LUQA Three unexploded bombs are cleared.

 

[Njaco]

September 20 1940 Friday
THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN: This Day in the Battle of Britain

ATLANTIC OCEAN: First successful U-boat Wolf-pack operation: three of the 'ace' commanders - Schepke (U-100), Prien (U-47) and Kretschmer (U-99) - scatter Convoy HX.72 in the Northwestern Approaches and sink ships over the course of a three day period. Altogether 12 ships of 78,000 tons are sunk, seven of them during the night of September 20-22 by Schepke's U-100 without him even being detected by the convoy escorts.

German submarine U-A sank Panamanian collier "Tuira" 400 miles west of Ireland at 0027 hours, killing 2. German submarine U-46 torpedoed and damaged Greek ship "Leonidas M. Valmas" 50 miles northwest of Ireland at 2150 hours. She would not sink due to its cargo of wood, but 16 crew members died in the fire; 2 survivors were rescued by British destroyer HMS "Arrow". 10 miles north of Malin Head, Ireland, German submarine U-138 fired three torpedoes at Allied convoy OB-216 between 2120 and 2126 hours; all three torpedoes hit, sinking Yugoslavian collier "Boka" was sunk (8 killed, 26 survived) and British passenger liner "City of Simla" (3 killed, 182 crew and 165 passengers survived); British whale factory ship "New Sevilla" was damaged but would remain afloat until the next day (2 killed, 282 survived).

NORTH AFRICA: Allied convoy BN-5, which had so far successful in evading the Italian destroyers and submarines in pursuit, was detected and attacked by Italian aircraft in the Red Sea. British ship "Bhima" was damaged by near misses and had to be towed to Aden to be beached. Escorting New Zealand cruiser HMS "Leander" was attacked but did not sustain any damage. One Italian bomber was shot down.

INDIAN OCEAN: German armed merchant cruiser "Atlantis" sank French passenger liner "Commissaire Ramel" in the Indian Ocean about halfway between Madagascar and Australia, killing 3. 63 crew members, mostly Australians, were imprisoned aboard "Atlantis". Fregattenkapitän Rogge of Atlantis had wanted to transfer his 230 prisoners to "Commissaire Ramel" and send the French ship back to German as a prize ship, but situation did not allow him to do so. On the same day, the British Royal Navy formed a task force composed of Australian cruiser HMAS "Canberra", Australian armed merchant cruiser "Westralia", British cruiser HMS "Capetown", and British cruiser HMS "Durban" to find and sink "Atlantis".

ASIA: Japanese ultimatum to Vichy authorities in French Indo-China, demanding air bases, use of Haiphong harbour and freedom to transport troops to China via Indo-China. Jean Decoux allowed Japanese forces to enter Haiphong harbor, French Indochina.

NORTH AMERICA: In Canada, the War Technical and Scientific Development Committee approves a request by Frederick Banting to begin bacterial warfare research.

.

 

[parsifal]

21 September 1940
Losses
Battle For Convoy HX72
Beginning with Kretschmer, in U-99, the following succesful attacks were carried out:

0312 hrs in the pre-dawn Tkr INVERSHANNON (UK 9,154 grt) Sunk by U-99 (Kretschmer) Crew: 15 lost Cargo (Motor Spirit) Route: Curacao-Scapa. Convoy commander Rogers, still devoid of any escort, then ordered a turn to port to try and shake off the attack, but this failed.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

At 0419 hrs hit pre-dawn MV BARON BLYTHSWOOD (UK 3668 grt) Sunk By U-99 (Kretschmer) Crew: 56 (34 Dead) Cargo: Iron Ore Route: Wabana-Port Talbot. The ship sank within 40 seconds.

0447 hrs MV ELMBANK (UK 5,156 grt) sunk jointly by U-99, U-47 (Kretschmer, Prien) Crew: 56 (1 Dead) Cargo:Timber Metals Route: Cowichan-Belfast. The ship withstood more than 8 hours of shelling by both U-47 and U-99, not finally sinking until after 1500 hrs, when U-99 expended the last of her torpedoes and set course for Lorient.
New Photo source: Ships In Convoys - mv ELMBANK 1925

At 0614 hrs MV BLAIRANGUS (UK 4,409 grt) Sunk by U-48 (Bleichrodt) Crew: 34 (7 lost) Cargo: Pit Props Route: Newfoundland-Methil. U-48 arrived before dawn, and sank BLAIRANGUS, which was straggling. Rogers dropped smoke and turned again, to try and shake off his pursuers, but failed once more; U-47 and U-48 continued to shadow throughout the daylight on the 21st.

B:AIRANGUS under her former name PORT REGIS

During the daylight of 21 September, Prien and Bleichrodt were joined by 4 other boats of Sub Flot 2 (U-65, U-38, U-43 and U-32), while U-100 arrived at nightfall. However that afternoon the Western Approaches escort also finally began to arrive, causing the U boats to draw back a little. by evening 5 warships had arrived, sloop LOWESTOFT, DD SHIKARI and 3 corvettes, CALENDULA, HEARTSEASE and LA MALOUINE. However the escorts had not had time to work out any defensive plan or take up logical positions around the convoy.

At 2217 hrs Schepke raced ahead of the other assembling boats penetrating to within the defences of the convoy and leading the second night of attacks on the convoy. She struck the MV CANONESA (UK 8,286 grt) Sunk by U-100 (Schepke) Crew: 63 (1 lost) Cargo: Refrigerated General Goods Route: Montreal-Liverpool.

The remaining attacks of the day soon followed. At 2226 hrs Tkr TORINIA (UK 10,364 grt) Sunk by U-100 (Schepke) Crew: 55 (none lost) Cargo: Fuel Oil Route: Curacao-Clyde

At 2313 hrs the MV DALCAIRN (UK 4,608 grt) was sunk by by U-100 (Schepke). Crew: 42 (none lost) Cargo: Wheat Route: Montreal-Hull

At nightfall on 21/22 September U-100 struck, entering the convoy to attack at close range. Attacking before moonrise Schepke hit 3 ships within minutes as outlined above. These attacks created panic and confusion within the convoy. The convoy began to scatter in confusion. The escort sought to retaliate, but were searching outside the convoy perimeter, where the rest of the pack was gathered; they were unable to find Schepke, but were able to frustrate further attacks. U-48 hit and damaged MV BROOMPARK but no other U-boat was successful. Just after midnight U-100 struck again, sinking 3 more ships, EMPIRE AIRMAN, MV SCHOLAR, and FREDERICK S FALES (see entry for 22 September). Finally at this point U-100 was spotted; HARLINGEN avoided the torpedoes aimed at her, and returned fire with her stern gun, scoring several hits on Schepkes Boat.

UBOATS
Arrivals
Lorient: U-59
St. Nazaire: U-46

Departures
Kiel: U-103, U-123
Stavanger: U-137

At Sea 21 September 1940
U-29, U-31, U-32, U-43, U-47, U-48, U-60, U-65, U-99, U-100, U-103, U-123, U-137, U-138.
14 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
North Sea
DD PUNJABI departed Rosyth during the afternoon for the Tyne to escort British troopship EMPIRE TROOPER to Liverpool. However, the troopship's boilers would not hold water and they returned to the Tyne, arriving on the 22nd.
PUNJABI then proceeded to Scapa for repairs to her rudder, arriving on the 23rd. DD WOOLSTON's engines were damaged by the explosion of a mine close aboard in the Thames. The DD proceeded to the Humber for repairs.

FN.287 departed Southend, escorted by DDs VEGA and VORTIGERN. The convoy arrived at Methil on the 23rd. FS.288 departed Methil, escort DDs VALOROUS and WESTMINSTER. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 23rd.

Western Approaches
OB.217 departed Liverpool escort DD WALKER and ASW trawlers ARCTIC EXPLORER and MAN O WAR. The trawlers were detached that day. RCN DD OTTAWA joined the escort on the 22nd. DD WALKER was detached on the 24th and OTTAWA on the 25th.

Channel
British steam barge ENCHANTRESS was damaged by the LW in the London Victoria Dock.

Nth Atlantic
HX.75 departed Halifax escort RCN DDs ASSINIBOINE and SAGUENAY and aux PVs ELK and HUSKY. On the 22nd, the DDs were detached and left the convoy to the ocean escort, AMC AURANIA, which was detached on 3 October. BHX.75 departed Bermuda on the 20th escort AMC VOLTAIRE. The convoy rendezvoused with convoy HX.75 on the 25th and the AMC was detached. DDs AMAZON and ANTHONY, corvettes ARABIS, CALENDULA, and CLEMATIS, escort ship JASON, and ASW trawler LADY ELSA joined on 3 October. The escort ship was detached later that day and the trawler the next day. The remainder of the escort arrived with the convoy at Liverpool on 7 October.

Central Atlantic
CA CUMBERLAND arrived at Freetown. CA DEVONSHIRE, DDs FAULKNOR, FORESTER, and FURY, sloop MILFORD, with transports ETTRICK, KENYA, SOBIESKI, and KARANJA departed Freetown on Operation MENACE at 0645. FNFL sloops COMMANDANT DOMINE, COMMANDANT DUBOC, and SAVORGNAN DE BRAZZA departed Freetown at the same time with transports WESTERNLAND and PENNLAND and foot ship BELGRAVIAN. At 0930, CV ARK ROYAL, BBs BARHAM and RESOLUTION, and DDs INGLEFIELD, FORTUNE, FORESIGHT, GREYHOUND, ECHO, and ESCAPADE cleared port on a support mission for this operation. CA CUMBERLAND departed Freetown at 1430. Early on the 22nd, the MENACE convoys were joined at sea by CAs CUMBERLAND and RAN AUSTRALIA and CL DRAGON.

Sth Atlantic
CA HAWKINS arrived at Simonstown from Montevideo. CA DORSETSHIRE departed Simonstown for Freetown.

Med- Biscay
Sub TRITON departed Gibraltar for patrol off Gibraltar. Sub RORQUAL attacked two Italian transports off Ras el Hilal and claimed sinking them, however there are no records of losses to verify this.

Red Sea/Indian Ocean
BM.1 departed Bombay with steamers BATORY , ORCADES , and STRATHDEN , escorted by RAN AMC WESTRALIA. The convoy arrived at Colombo on the 24th. The convoy set off on the 28th, joined by steamer ELLENGA, and escorted again by WESTRALIA and CL CAPETOWN and AMC ARAWA. The convoy arrived at Singapore on 1 October.

 

[Njaco]

September 21 1940 Saturday
THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN: This Day in the Battle of Britain

UNITED KINGDOM: The British government officially sanctioned the usage of the Tube underground rail stations as air raid shelters, though this usage had already been in place for some time; many stations had already been equipped with first aid stations, food canteens, bunks, and toilets. The Tube tunnel near the Aldwych branch of the Piccadilly Line was reinforced with concrete and was used to store antiques and artifacts from the British Museum such as the Elgin Marbles.

WESTERN FRONT: Over the past 17 days, British aircraft have sunk 12.5 percent of 1865 German transport vessels preparing for an invasion of England. The German invasion fleet in Channel ports now totals 155 steamers, 1,277 barges, 471 tugs and 1,161 motor boats.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-138 attacked Allied convoy OB-216 10 miles off Malin Head, Ireland at 0227 hours, damaging British ship "Empire Adventure", killing 21. "Empire Adventure" was taken in tow, but would sink on 23 Sep.

Convoy HX-72 (41 merchant ships from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Britain, protected by 4 Royal Navy destroyers, 1 sloop and 2 corvettes) is mauled by a wolf pack of 9 U-boats, 400 miles West of Ireland. German submarine U-47 detected Allied convoy HX-72 400 miles west of Ireland. With only one torpedo left and seeing so many potential targets, commanding officer of U-47 Günther Prien radioed the finding to eight other German submarines. Between 0312 and 0447 hours, German submarine U-99 sank British tanker "Invershannon" (16 killed, 32 survived), British ship "Baron Blythswood" (entire crew of 34 killed), and British ship "Elmbank" (2 killed, 54 survived). At 0614 hours, German submarine U-48 sank British ship "Blairangus" (6 killed, 28 survived). At 2310 hours, German submarine U-100 sank British ship "Canonesa" (1 killed, 62 survived), British ship "Dalcairn" (entire crew of 48 survived), and British tanker "Torinia" (entire crew of 55 survived). At 2338 hours, U-48 struck again, damaging British ship "Broompark" (1 killed).

NORTH AFRICA: British carrier HMS "Ark Royal", battleship HMS "Barham", battleship HMS "Resolution", cruiser HMS "Devonshire", French sloop "Commandant Domine", French sloop "Commandant Duboc", and French sloop "Savorgnan De Brazza", and several destroyers and troop transports departed Freetown, West Africa for Dakar.

SOUTH PACIFIC: In Australia the election results are declared. Menzies remains prime minister. Labor is the largest party in both the House and the Senate but has no overall majority. Also, it is announced that the 9th Australian Division will be raised.

.

 

[Njaco]

September 22 1940 Sunday
THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN: This Day in the Battle of Britain

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Allied convoy HX-72 continued to be attacked by German submarines in the Atlantic Ocean after being detected and attacked on the previous day. Between 0022 and 0214 hours, German submarine U-100 sank British ship "Empire Airman" (33 killed, 4 rescued), British tanker "Frederick S. Fales" (11 killed, 32 rescued), British ship "Scholar" (entire crew of 45 survived), Norwegian ship "Simla" (5 drowned after jumping overboard, 31 survived), and three other ships. At 0740 hours, U-32 attacked British ship "Collegian" with her deck gun, but return fire from "Collegian" drove off the attack.

100 miles South of Faroe Islands, U-31 sinks the tiny Faroese sailing trawler "Union Jack" with the deck gun. The crew of 7 abandons ship in a small rowboat and reach the tiny Flannan Isles in the Outer Hebrides 36 hours later.

1 mile off the French coast near Bordeaux, British submarine HMS "Tuna" sank Norwegian passenger liner "Tirranna". The commanding officer of HMS "Tuna" did not know that "Tirranna" was a prize ship taken by German armed merchant cruiser "Atlantis" back in Jun, and it carried 274 prisoners; of the 88 killed, only one was German; the remainder were all civilians of friendly nations.

NORTHERN EUROPE: British Royal Navy launched 11 Swordfish torpedo bombers and 6 Skua fighters/dive bombers from carrier HMS "Furious" at 0300 hours to attack German positions at Trondheim, Norway. Rough waters due to bad weather forced HMS "Furious" to turn back for Scotland ahead of schedule. When the aircraft returned, 1 Swordfish aircraft ran out of fuel while looking for HMS "Furious" (3 killed), 3 Swordfish aircraft crash landed in Norway (9 captured), and 1 Swordfish and 1 Skua aircraft cash landed in Sweden (5 interned).

In Helsinki, Finland agrees to allow transit rights to German troops en route to north Norway in return for arms supplies.

EASTERN EUROPE: Moscow radio reported that RAF bombing had largely destroyed the German invasion fleet along the English Channel.

ASIA: France tentatively agreed to meet increased Japanese demands for Indochina. Japanese forces prepare to move into French Indo-China after the Vichy French government negotiated an agreement with the Japanese government to turn over three airfields and other concessions to the Japanese.

NORTH AFRICA: British destroyers HMS "Jervis", HMS "Janus", HMS "Juno", and HMS "Mohawk" bombarded Italian positions at Sidi Barrani, Egypt.

In Egypt, Saadist Party ministers withdraw from Coalition Government in protest against Prime Minister's failure to declare war on Italy.

MEDITERRANEAN: British submarine HMS "Truant" sank Italian ship "Provvidenza" 10 miles west of Naples, Italy.

British submarine HMS "Osiris" sank Italian destroyer "Palestro" in the Adriatic Sea 75 miles east of Bari, Italy.

.

 

[parsifal]

22 September 1940
Known Reinforcements
Allied
Fairmile B Motor Launch ML 112
Image source: Little Ships

Designed by the Fairmile Construction Company, the 'B's measured a mere 112' in length by 18' across the beam. In normal service they carried a crew of 16. However, for clandestine commando raids, for which they were used often, that number would effectively be doubled by the inclusion of extra officers and ratings as well as by squads of up to 15 Commandos. Normally armed with obsolescent 3-pounder Hotchkiss cannons forward. Later they were fitted with single 20mm Oerlikon cannons forward and aft, a weapon that proved useful against aircraft and unprotected structures. These quickfirers would, however, prove wholly ineffective when faced with fortified German gun positions and blockhouses.

Losses
FV UNION JACK (Faerose 87 grt) Sunk by U-31 (Wilfried Prellberg) Crew: 7 (0 dead and 7 survivors) Cargo Fish Route: Northern Fishing Banks At 1755 hrs the UNION JACK was stopped with MG by U-31 about 100 miles NNW of the Hebrides. The crew immediately abandoned ship in a small rowboat. Only a few rounds of the about 25 rounds fired from the deck gun hit the vessel, but she sank by the bow after 10 mins. The Germans did not question the crew and just left the area. The survivors had no food or water in the rowboat but nevertheless managed to reach the Flannan Isles after 36 hrs. From there they were taken by Armed Yacht GROSMONT CASTLE to Stornoway, arriving on 25 September.

DDs INTREPID, ICARUS, and IMPULSIVE of DesFlot 20 departed Immingham on the 22nd to lay mines in Operation P R off Oost Gat on the Dutch coast near Borkum. This operation was screened by DDs VETERAN, VENOMOUS, and WILD SWAN, which patrolled off Dogger Bank. DD VETERAN sank Aux MSW M.1604 (DKM trawler OESTERREICH 474 grt) 40 miles west of the Hook of Holland The operation was suspended while DKM SBoats attacked Patrol sloops MALLARD and SHELDRAKE which were also screening the operation. The minelay was successfully completed during the night of 23/24 September.

Steamer TIRRANA (Ex-Nor 7230 grt), now with a DKM Prize crew, which was captured by DKM Raider ATLANTIS on 10 June, was sunk by RN Sub TUNA near the mouth of the Gironde River, 10 miles sth of Bordeaux. 187 were killed on the loss of the Norwegian steamer. Among these were 3 crew from the steamer TALLYRAND, 18 crew, 11 passengers, and one DBS from steamer KEMMENDINE, and some crew from steamer SCIENTIST.

HX-72 the final night
Just after midnight U-100 struck again, sinking 3 more ships, EMPIRE AIRMAN, SCHOLAR, and FREDERICK S FALES. Schepke also attacked the HARLINGEN, but was spotted and the Uboat attentions avoided. HARLINGEN even managed to return fire with her deck gun, causing light damage to U-100. The convoy began to scatter at this point, and as it did, two more ships were hit; U-100 sank SIMLA, while U-32 damaged COLLEGIAN .

This was the end of the action; HX 72 was scattered, but the U–boats were unable to pursue, as the presence of the escorts had forced them to submerge. The remaining ships of HX 72 proceeded independently, while the escorts tried to gather the convoy back together, but no further attacks took place and all remaining ships reached port safely.

HX 72 had lost 11 ships of 72,727 gross register tons, of which Kretschmer sank three and Schepke seven ships. Whilst undoubtedly a victory, and a vindication of Donitz's rudeltactik, most of the successes were achieved by two of its aces using their high-risk approach of penetrating the convoy to attack from within. The Uboat arm was to repeat this tactic many times, taking out over 20% of the ships that saled over the coming 7 months. The other boats following the more traditional approach from the flank, and at longer range, had achieved virtually nothing. It would take the fitting of radar to the escorts, and the partial breaking of the UBoat communications codes to reign in this threat.

Summary Of HX 72 Losses for 22 September
MV EMPIRE AIRMAN (UK 6586 grt) Sunk by U-100 (Joachim Schepke) Crew: 37 (33 dead and 4 survivors) Cargo: Iron Ore Route: Halifax - Cardiff Convoy HX 72 Sunk in the Western Approaches. At 0022 hrs the EMPIRE AIRMAN was damaged by one torpedo from U-100 about 340 miles west of Bloody Foreland. The ship was taken in tow but sank on 23 September. The master, 31 crew members and one gunner were lost. Four crew members were picked up by Corvette LA MALOUINE and landed at Greenock.
Image Source Steamships of Italy

MV SCHOLAR (UK 3840 grt) Sunk by U-100 (Joachim Schepke) Crew: 45 (0 dead and 45 survivors) Cargo: bales of cotton, steel, arsenic, wood pulp and lumber Route: Galveston - Halifax - Manchester Convoy HX 72 Sunk in the Western Approaches . At 0050 hrs the SCHOLAR was hit by a stern torpedo from U-100 about 340 miles west of Bloody Foreland. The ship was hit near the bridge, caught fire and developed a sharp list. She was taken in tow the next day by HMS MARAUDER but on the 24 September, the tow was abandoned and the wreck scuttled by DD SKATE. The entire crew was rescued and landed at Londonderry.

Tkr FREDERICK S FALES (UK 10525 grt) Sunk by U-100 (Joachim Schepke) Crew: 49 (21 dead and 28 survivors) Cargo: Fuel Oil Route: Curaçao - Halifax - Clyde Convoy HX 72 Sunk in the Western Approaches At 0152 hrs the FREDERICK S FALES was hit on the port side aft by two torpedoes from U-100 and sank by the stern within 5 mins about 340 miles west of Bloody Foreland. The master 19 crew members and one gunner were lost, most of them died when the sinking ship capsized to starboard and hit a lifeboat lying alongside. 28 crew members were picked up after about 12 hrs by Corvette LA MALOUINE and landed at Belfast on 25 September.

MV SIMLA (Nor 6031 ngrt) Sunk by U-100 (Joachim Schepke) Crew: 31 (5 dead and 26 survivors) Cargo: Scrap metal and Steel Route: Philadelphia - Halifax - Methil. Convoy HX 72 Sunk in the Western Approaches. At 0214 hrs the SIMLA was hit on the starboard side forward of the bridge by one torpedo from U-100 and sank within minutes about 600 miles west of Inishtrahull. Although the crew was alerted due to the other attacks on the convoy, they had no time to launch the lifeboats and were forced to jump overboard. The master and four crew members were lost. Survivors were picked up after 45 minutes by Corvette HEARTSEASE.

UBOATS
At Sea 22 September1940
U-29, U-31, U-32, U-43, U-47, U-48, U-60, U-65, U-99, U-100, U-103, U-123, U-137, U-138.
14 boats at sea.

OPERATIONS
Baltic
Western Baltic
DKM Zerstorers STEINBRINCK and JACOBI departed Wilhelmshaven for Brest, where they arrived on the 23rd.

North Sea
CLA CAIRO departed Scapa at 1200 to give cover to convoy OA.218 from Buchan Ness to Duncansby Head. Convoy OA.218 departed Methil escorted by sloop WESTON and corvette PRIMROSE. CLA CAIRO provided support for this convoy. The corvette was detached on the 26th and the sloop on the 28th. FN.288 departed Southend, escort DDs VIVACIOUS, WALLACE, and WOOLSTON. The convoy arrived at Methil on the 24th. DD VERSATILE departed Scapa to search for a Swordfish from Hatston that had come down SW Fair Isle Channel. The search was unsuccessful and the DD arrived back at Scapa on the 23rd. DD EGLINGTON and monitor EREBUS departed Scapa after working up. Monitor EREBUS proceeded to Sheerness and EGLINGTON to Harwich. DD VIVACIOUS was damaged by the near explosion of a mine at Rosyth.

Channel
NL tkr BARENDRECHT was damaged by the LW at Long Reach, River Thames.

Central Atlantic
CL DELHI arrived at Freetown at 1700. After refuelling, she sailed at 2225 to rejoin CA CORNWALL escorting a Vichy CL and tanker.

Med- Biscay
DDs JERVIS, JANUS, JUNO, and MOHAWK, which departed Alexandria on the 21st for Mersa Matruh, bombarded the airfield at Sidi Barrani early on the 22nd. After the attack, the DDs returned to Alexandria.

RN Sub TRUANT sank steamer PROVVIDENZA (FI 8459 grt) 3.5 miles 150° from Punta Imperatore off Ischina, Naples.

RN Sub OSIRIS, departed Malta on patrol on the 9th, sank TB PALESTRO (RM 1075 grt) in the southern Adriatic off Durazzo.

Indian Ocean
CL CERES arrived at Durban from Mombasa.

Australian troop convoy US 5 departed Fremantle with NL liners CHRISTIAAN HUYGENS, INDRAPOERA , NIEUW HOLLAND , and SLAMAT, with 4262 troops embarked. The convoy was escorted by a heavy cruiser (one source says AUSTRALIA, but this seems wrong) from 22 September to 2 October. The convoy departed Colombo on 1 October.
CA SHROPSHIRE relieved the RAN CA on 2 October and remained with the convoy until 8 October. On 8 October, the convoy was joined by RAN CL HOBART, CLA CARLISLE, DDs KANDAHAR and RAN VOYAGER, and sloop FLAMINGO. US 5 arrived at Suez on 12 October.

Pacific/Far East/Australia Station
New Caledonia joined the Free French rule after RAN CL ADELAIDE arrived at Noumea on the 19th. The only Vichy ship there was sloop DUMONT D' URVILLE which escaped to Saigon, departing Noumea on the 25th. The CL patrolled in the area until 5 October. ADELAIDE returned to Sydney on 8 October.

 

[parsifal]

23 September 1940
Known Reinforcements
Allied
Ex-USN over Age DDs transferred to the RN : DDs BATH, BRIGHTON, CHARLESTON, GEORGETOWN, HAMILTON, ROXBOROUGH, ST ALBANS, ST MARYS

HMS ST ALBANS
On the 29th ROXBOROUGH, BRIGHTON, BATH, ST ALBANS, ST MARYS, and CHARLESTON departed St Johns, all but ROXBOROUGH which had to turn about with excess fuel consumption, reached Belfast on 8 October and Devonport on 12 October. DDs ST ALBANS, ST MARYS, BATH, and CHARLESTON were permanently assigned to the ML sqn 1.
DD ROXBOROUGH finally departed Halifax on 7 December for Belfast. The other 2 DDs of this group GEORGETOWN and HAMILTON damaged their propellers in a collision on 1 October while preparing to fuel at St Johns. DD GEORGETOWN arrived at Devonport on 13 November. DD HAMILTON undocking from repairs at St Johns ran aground and broke her back on 26 October. She was salvaged and HAMILTON was transferred to the RCN in late October and was under repairs under June 1941. She was formally commissioned HMCS HAMILTON on 6 July 1941.

Colony Class CL HMS NIGERIA

Losses
Steamer HEIMDAL (Ger 2186 grt) was sunk 7 miles NW of Terschelling by Sub H.49.
[NO IMAGE]

UBOATS
Departures
St. Nazaire: U-46

At Sea 23 September 1940
U-29, U-31, U-32, U-43, U-46, U-47, U-48, U-60, U-65, U-99, U-100, U-103, U-123, U-137, U-138.
15 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
North Sea
Sub CACHALOT laid minefield FD.27. This minefield was 50 mines in a one and a half mile line. Due to demands for submarines for patrol duties, the minelaying submarines were for the moment returned to patrol duties on the 26th.
FN.289 departed Southend, escorted by DD WINCHESTER and sloop EGRET. The convoy arrived at Methil on the 25th.

Northern Waters
AA ship ALYNBANK arrived at Scapa from the Clyde to provide AA protection to convoys between Pentland Firth and Methil

Channel
DDs BROKE, VANSITTART, and WHITEHALL and ORP DDs BLYSKAWICA, GARLAND, and BURZA departed the Lizard late on the 23rd on operation G (a sweep north off the French coast north from Ushant. for shipping). DD BLYSKAWICA sank a Vichy cutter. During the night of 23/24 September, DDs WOLVERINE, VISCOUNT, WITHERINGTON, and BRILLIANT attempted to intercept a German merchant ship going down Channel. however, the
DDs did not contact the merchant ship.

British steamers CORINIA and PACIFIC GROVE were damaged by the LW at Gravesend Reach and Tory Is respectively.

Nth Atlantic
OB.216 was dispersed at 17W, escort Sloop SCARBOROUGH and other escorts were dispersed to assist other inbound convoys.

Central Atlantic
The store ships and British tanker OCEAN COAST departed Freetown for MENACE operations on the 18th. On 21 September, RN M.and the troopships for MENACE departed Freetown. CV ARK ROYAL, BBs BARHAM and RESOLUTION, CAs CUMBERLAND, RAN AUSTRALIA, and DEVONSHIRE, CL DRAGON (DRAGON was a replacement for DD ECLIPSE which developed engine problems), DDs GREYHOUND, INGLEFIELD, FORESIGHT, FORESTER, FORTUNE, FAULKNOR, FURY, ESCAPADE, ECHO, and ECLIPSE, FNFL sloops SAVORGNAN DE BRAZZA, COMMANDANT DUBOC, and COMMANDANT DOMINE, armed trawlers VAILLANT (943grt) and VIKINGS (1150grt), NL liners PENNLAND and WESTERNLAND , transports KENYA, SOBIESKI, KARANJA, and ETTRICK, cargo ships carrying tanks, crated a/c, guns, and other stores, ANADYR , CASAMANCE , FORT LAMY , and NEVADA , and tkr OCEAN COAST comprised the allied ships for MENACE. At Dakar opposing the Anglo French force were Vichy controlled BB RICHELIEU, CLs MONTCALM and GEORGES LEYGUES, Contre Torpilleur DDs AUDACIEUX, FANTASQUE, MALIN, LE HARDI, sloops GAZELLE, SURPRISE, ANNAMITE, D'IBERVILLE, and COMMANDANT RIVIERE, and submarines PERSEE and AJAX with sub BEVEZIERS in dock.

The Vichy CLs attempted to leave Dakar when the allied attack began. The FNFL sloops SAVORGNAN DE BRAZZA, COMMANDANT DUBOC, and COMMANDANT DOMINE attempted to land troops without success and COMMANDANT DUBOC was damaged. Redoubtable Class Sub PERSEE (Vichy 1476 grt) attempted to torpedo CL DRAGON, but was sunk by DRAGON and DDs FORESIGHT and INGLEFIELD.

Vichy Contre Trorpilleur DD AUDACIEUX was hit and disabled by gunfire from RAN CA AUSTRALIA and DDs GREYHOUND and FURY and set afire. 81 of her crew were killed. 186 survivors from AUDACIEUX were rescued by Vichy sloop SURPRISE. After emergency repairs, DD AUDACIEUX departed Dakar on 7 August 1941 and arrived at Casablanca on 11 August. She departed on 17 August and arrived at Oran on 18 August. Departing on 20 August, she arrived at Bizerte on 22 August. CA CUMBERLAND was hit in the engine room by a 9.4 inch shell. The shell severed a steam pipe which temporarily cut off all electrical power to the ship. One crewman was killed. CUMBERLAND was forced to retire at 10 knots to Bathurst for repairs, arriving on the 24th. She left Bathurst on the 26th and arrived at Freetown on the 27th.

CL DRAGON was damaged by splinters from French gunfire. One Crewman was wounded. While pursuing Vichy subs AJAX and PERSEE, DDs INGLEFIELD and FORESIGHT were hit by shore gunfire, but neither required immediate repair. 7 crew were wounded on INGLEFIELD. 3 ratings were killed in the FORESIGHT. DD INGLEFIELD departed Gibraltar on 31 October for London where she was under refit and repair until 20 January 1941. DD FORESIGHT departed Gibraltar on 31 October for Liverpool where she was under refit and repair until 30 December.

S/Lt (A) G. W. Brokensha of 803 Squadron, returning to aircraft carrier ARK ROYAL, crashed landed his Skua at sea but was rescued by DD GREYHOUND. Steamer TACOMA (Ex-Daniush 5905) now under Vichy control after its seizure in July was sunk at Dakar. Vichy steamers PORTHOS KORSHOLM and TAMARA were damaged.

Med- Biscay
RAN CL SYDNEY completed a refit at Alexandria begun earlier in the month. RN gunboat LADYBIRD, which had departed Alexandria for Mersa Matruh on the 20th, bombarded Sidi Barrani.

Indian Ocean
Convoy BN.6 departed Bombay, escort AMC HECTOR. The convoy was joined on the 25th by AMC ANTENOR. Both were detached on 1 October when RAN CL HOBART joined the convoy. Sloops HINDUSTAN and RAN PARRAMATTA joined on 3 October and DD KINGSTON and sloop AUCKLAND on 4 October. HOBART was detached on 4 October and sloop HINDUSTAN was detached on 8 October. The remainder of the escort was detached on 9 October when sloops CLIVE and GRIMSBY joined. The convoy arrived at Suez on 11 October.

Pacific/Far East/Australia Station
CL DURBAN arrived at Hong Kong.

Malta
(22 September (carried over)
Malta
115-1135 hrs Air raid alert for a formation of 4 CR 42 fighters escorting 5 SM 79 bombers which drop 25 bombs around Luqa aerodrome from 15000 ft. One bomb hits the aerodrome and the remainder fall around Luqa village, demolishing 10 houses and killing one civilian boy. Two bombs fail to explode. AA guns engage; no hits claimed. Malta fighters are scrambled and are about to attack at 16000 feet when they are drawn off by a false alarm of a dive-bombing attack. One Gladiator at 10000 feet is surprised and attacked by three enemy fighters but not hit. 3 reported unexploded bombs at Luqa are found to have their safety pins intact.

1210 hrs Hal Far and Luqa areas are declared clear of unexploded bombs. Three dug out by the bomb disposal team were found to have their safety pins in place. 2045 hrs An enemy sub is reported 1.5 off Ghallis Tower heading sth east. Coastal guns are ordered not to open fire in case the submarine fires back at them but to report the vessel's location immediately. At 2240 hrs A coastal defence post reports the sound of engines offshore.

AIR HQ Departures 1 Sunderland. KALAFRANA Latecoere aircraft carried out 5.75 hr leaflet patrol over Bizerta and Tunis. One Sunderland left for Middle East.

Malta
23 September
In a note to the CIGs Churchill wrote "The telegram (from Malta Cmd) confirms my apprehensions about Malta. Beaches defended on an average bn front of 15 miles, and no reserves for counter-attack worth speaking of, leave the Island at the mercey of a landing force. You must remember that we do not possess the command of the sea around Malta. The danger therefore appears to be extreme. I should have thought four battalions were needed…."

And to Secretary of State for War the PM wrote: "Do you realise there is no command of the sea at Malta, and it might be attacked at any time by an expeditionary force of twenty or thirty thousand men from Italy, supported by the Italian Fleet?"

1045 hrs 3 Wellington bombers arrive at Luqa. One crashes on landing and is badly damaged but repairable, though not with the materials currently available on the Island.

KALAFRANA Two Sunderlands 228 Squadron arrived from Middle East for a prolonged stay, bringing a maintenance party of 16 and an important Naval officer en route for Gibraltar.

 

[Njaco]

September 23 1940 Monday
THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN: This Day in the Battle of Britain

WESTERN FRONT: Oblt. Hans 'Assi' Hahn of 4./JG 2 shoots down his twentieth victory and is awarded the Ritterkreuz.

UNITED KINGDOM: JG 3's Hans-Herbert Landry, who was shot down on 28 August, 1940 and severely injured, dies of his wounds in a British POW camp.

King George VI of the United Kingdom instituted the George Cross award as the equivalent of the Victoria Cross for civilians. He also instituted the George medal to award those who displayed courage not in the face of the enemy.

The United Kingdom received 7 American destroyers at Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

ASIA: Japanese troops invaded Indochina despite French agreement to Japanese demands during negotiations on the previous day. The Japanese aim is to prevent aid reaching the Chinese through Indochina. There are to be 6000 troops stationed in the country and they are to have transit rights. They take Tonkin Province quickly. Vichy French garrison at Da Nang, Central Vietnam, offers fierce resistance to Japanese occupation forces.

NORTH AFRICA: Operation Menace: British and Free French forces try to bring the port of Dakar over to the Allied cause. The operation is code named Menace. The British are led by Admiral J. Cunningham and the French by General de Gaulle. The forces involved include three small Free French warships but the main power is provided by two British battleships and one carrier. There are 3600 Free French troops aboard the various transports and a further 4300 British who, for political reasons, are not to be used unless absolutely necessary. The Vichy forces include the battleship "Richelieu" (unfinished), two cruisers and some destroyers and submarines. Admiral Landriau commands these vessels and Governor Boisson is in overall charge. General Charles de Gaulle arrived with his 3,600 Free French troops at Dakar, held by Vichy France. The Vichy French forces imprisoned the crew of two Free French aircraft that had landed at Dakar, and then fired upon a boat containing Free French personnel approaching to negotiate (wounding 2). At 1000 hours, British warships approached the harbor, and were also fired upon (killing 5) by the shore batteries which are supported by the guns of the crippled "Richelieu" which the Vichyites have towed into the middle of the harbor. At 1130 hours, British ships fell back out of the range of shore batteries. A Vichy cruiser manages to clear the harbor and threatens to cut the Gaullists off from the task force. At about the same time, Vichy French submarine "Persee" was sunk while attempting to torpedo the cruiser "Dragon". In the afternoon, cruiser HMAS "Australia" attacked Vichy French destroyer "L'Audacieux", forcing her to beach after 81 were killed. De Gualle's first attempt at a landing, at Rufisque Bay, was repulsed, and he began to show reluctance of killing fellow countrymen. Having heard of this sentiment, Winston Churchill urged de Gaulle to "stop at nothing".

ATLANTIC OCEAN: British submarine H-49 sank German ship "Heimdal" 7 miles northwest of Terschelling Island, the Netherlands.

NORTH AMERICA: Bantam delivered a prototype, officially named the "Pilot" but nicknamed the "Blitz Buggy", to the US Army vehicle test center at Camp Holabird, Maryland, United States for a requirement that would result in the Jeep.

GERMANY: The British RAF Bomber Command sent 129 bombers for a night raid against Berlin, Germany, causing minimal damage.

.

 

[parsifal]

24 September 1940
Known Reinforcements
Axis
Type IXB U-106

A Type IXB submarine, believed to be U-106, under attack by a Sunderland flying boat
U-106 was one of the most successful Uboats of WWII. She completed 10 wartime patrols and sank 22 ships totalling 138,581 gross register tons (GRT). U-106 helped to catalyze Mexico's entry into World War II on the side of the Allies by sinking one of two oil tankers; the FAJA DE ORO. (The other was the POTRERO DEL LIANO, sunk by U-564).

Allied
Ex-USN DDs transferred to the RCN: DDs ANNAPOLIS, COLUMBIA, NIAGARA, ST CLAIR, ST. CROIX, ST FRANCIS

Town Class DD HMCS ST CROIX
US DesDiv 69 and the first section of DesDiv 73 were transferred to the RCN at Halifax under the Destroyers for bases deal. On 30 November, ST CLAIR, ST CROIX, and NIAGARA departed St Johns for England. DD ST CROIX broke down en route when she had insufficient suction on her fuel lines and had to return to St Johns. She was taken under repair at Halifax and did not enter service until March 1941. DD ST CROIX remained in Canadian waters for her service. DDs ST CLAIR and NIAGARA arrived the Clyde on 11 December and were assigned to the 4th Escort Group.

Losses
Catapult Seaplane tender OSTMARK (Ger 1280 grt) was sunk by HM Sub TUNA off Belle Ile (off the southern coast of Brittany).

Steamer CONTINENTAL COASTER (UK 555 grt) was sunk by DKM S-Boat S.30. Four crew were lost on the British steamer.

MTB.14, MTB.15, MTB.16, and MTB.17 were returning from a raid against German shipping between Ostend and Dunkirk. MTB 15 (RN 18 grt) was sunk by a mine 30 miles NE of North Foreland.

Armed patrol trawler LOCH INVER (RN 356 grt) was sunk by a mine in the Harwich area. the skipper and fourteen ratings were lost.

Trawler BASS ROCK (UK 169 grt) was sunk by the LW 23 miles SW of Old Head of Kinsale. Four crew were lost on the British trawler.

UBOATS
Departures
Lorient: U-37, U-61

At Sea 24 September 1940
U-29, U-31, U-32, U-37, U-43, U-46, U-47, U-48, U-60, U-61, U-65, U-99, U-100, U-103, U-123, U-137, U-138.
17 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
North Sea
DDs ASHANTI and BEDOUIN departed Rosyth to search Dogger Bank for a downed Blenheim air crew. The RAF dinghy was not located, but three Norwegian aviators in an open boat were rescued on the 26th. The DDs later located the dinghy and rescued one alive and one dead airman. The survivors were landed at Newcastle and the DD proceeded to Rosyth. Both DDs arrived back at Rosyth on the 28th. OA.219 departed Methil escort sloop ABERDEEN from 24 to 28 September and DD SCIMITAR from 25 to 28 September. FN.290 departed Southend, escort DDs VALOROUS and WESTMINSTER. The convoy arrived at Methil on the 26th. FS.289 departed the Tyne, escort DD VIMIERA and sloop PUFFIN. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 25th.

Northern Waters
CL GLASGOW departed Scapa Flow at 2030 for the Humber to join the Nore Command. DDs DUNCAN and ISIS departed Scapa Flow for Skolpenfjord, Faroes, to meet British troopship ULSTER MONARCH and escort her to Invergordon. The ships arrived at Invergordon on the 26th, and the DDs then proceeded to Scapa.

Floating mines were seen in one of the exercise areas causiung a temporary cessation of training activities outside of Scapa.

West Coast UK
OB.218 departed Liverpool escort DD SABRE, corvettes ERICA, GLOXINIA, and PICOTEE, and ASW trawlers FANDANGO and WOLVES. ERICA was detached on the 24th and GLOXINIA on the 26th. DD SABRE left the convoy on the 27th and corvette PICOTEE and the two trawlers were detached on the 28th.

SW Approaches
Convoy OL.4 (?) departed Liverpool escort DDs HAVELOCK and SABRE from 24 to 27 September. The convoy was dispersed on the 27th. Sub CACHALOT attacked a German submarine in 46-58N, 5-56W without success.

Channel
ASW trawler LOCH MONTEITH was damaged by the LW. Six ratings were killed and another died of wounds.

Central Atlantic
In MENACE operations.

At 0700, Redoutable class sub AJAX (Vichy 1384 grt) was bombed at periscope depth by Swordfish from ARK ROYAL and badly damaged. She surfaced before scuttling and her crew, 5 officers and 56 ratings, were rescued aboard DD FORTUNE, later transferred to BB BARHAM. These crewman were later persuaded to join the FNFL in the latter part of the war.

AJAX just before she went down

BBs BARHAM and RESOLUTION engaged Vichy BB RICHELIEU at 13,500 yds. Shortly later, CAs DEVONSHIRE and RAN AUSTRALIA engaged a CL and a DD, damaging the destroyer. Subsequently, AUSTRALIA, DEVONSHIRE. and DDs FORESTER, INGLEFIELD, and FORESIGHT bombarded Vichy positions in Goree Bay. Vichy BB RICHELIEU was damaged by a hit of a 15 inch shell and the near misses of two air bombs. BB BARHAM received medium damage from four shell hits. In British air attacks during the day, three Swordfish and three Skuas a/c from ARK ROYAL were lost to Vichy ftrs and 2 a/c to Vichy AA fire. Lt Cdr A Yeoman, leading a strike of 9 Swordfish of 810 and 820 Sqs, escorted by 3 Skuas, forced landed his Swordfish en route due to engine failure and was picked up by DD ESCAPADE. On the return, Acting Lt R. S. Hankey of 810 Squadron was able to land his damaged Swordfish in the water and was picked up by DD ECHO. Lt N. R. Corbet-Milward and LtB J. Prendergast of 810 Squadron landed in the water and were picked up by DD ESCAPADE. One Skua crew of 800 Sqn was picked up by DD ECHO and another from 803 Sqn by DD FORESTER.

In Swordfish of 810 Squadron, Acting S/Lt (A) I. H.B England and Naval Airman F. C. Moore of one Swordfish, S/Lt (A) A L. Cross and S/Lt (A) G. M. M. C. Wheeler of another were lost. Naval Airman G. P. Dawson of the Wheeler Swordfish and and Acting S/Lt (A) D. G. Richardson of the England Swordfish were taken prisoner. Lt J. S. L. Crabb, Lt (A) H. H. Jackson, and Naval Airman N. Jarvis of CVL HERMES's 814 Sqn were shot down and taken prisoner.

2 air raids were carried out by the Vichy AF on Gib in retailtion for the attacks in Dakar, one on September 23rd one on September 24th.

The raid on the 23rd was under taken by some 40 bombers , causing no damge of note whilst the raid on the 24th with over 100 a/c (of which 60 were bombers) damaged several buildings and 2 bombs just missed HMS RENOWN which was in the harbour at the time. details on these attacks are contradictory and sketchy, but it seems that on the 23rd 60 french (LeO 45 DB-7 Glenn Martin 167) bombers escorted by Dewointine 520 and Curtiss H-75 fighters (from N-Africa) attacked Gib with 40 bombs, 6% hitting the target. Next day 60 bombers came with 80t load. 19% success. The french losses were about 5%. Enough to stop further attacks.

BC RENOWN with DDs HOTSPUR, FIREDRAKE, GRIFFIN, and ENCOUNTER sortied from Gibraltar at 1550 to avoid further air attack. Vichy DDs EPEE, FLEURET, FOUGUEUX, and FRONDEUR departed Casablanca on the 24th to demonstrate off Gibraltar for MENACE. Following a contact report by armed boarding vessel CHARLES MCIVER , DD WRESTLER contacted the Vichy DDs at 0500 on the 25th. DD EPEE opened fire at 0518 on the 25th on DD WRESTLER off Gibraltar. DD EPEE fired 14 rounds, DD FLEURET was unable to fire due to fire control equipment defects, and DDs FOUGUEUX and FRONDEUR fired six rounds between them. The Vichy DD sustained no damage, and neither was any damage inflicted. DDs WRESTLER and WISHART pursued the withdrawing Vichy DDs.

BC RENOWN with her DDs proceeded in support, but made no contact. DDs FIREDRAKE and WISHART joined on the 27th, relieving DDs HOTSPUR and GALLANT which returned for refuelling. DD WISHART was detached on the 28th to investigate a sub contact near BC RENOWN. The RENOWN force arrived back at Gibraltar at 1745 on the 28th. DD GRIFFIN was detached and returned to assist DD WISHART. All four Fr DDs returned to Casablanca on the 25th.

Med- Biscay
RAN CL SYDNEY departed Alexandria to patrol off Cyprus. SYDNEY covered British netlayer PROTECTOR on patrol near Beirut from 24 to 26 September searching for Vichy steamer THEOPHILE GAUTIER, which was depart Beirut for Marseilles. The RAN CL returned to Alexandria on the 26th after it was learned that the French ship was delayed in sailing. CA YORK arrived at Suez and departed for Alexandria on the 25th. The cruiser departed Port Said on the 26th and arrived at Alexandria on the 27th. DDs HASTY and HAVOCK departed Alexandria for Port Said to escort convoy AN.4 of four steamers, which departed on the 27th. CLA CALCUTTA departed Alexandria on 28 Septembr to join this convoy. The convoy arrived on 2 October.

CLA COVENTRY was detached on the 27th to Port Tewfik. COVENTRY and British gunboat GNAT passed through the Suez Canal and arrived at Alexandria on the 30th. The convoy and CL AJAX safely arrived at Suez on the 29th.

 

[Njaco]

September 24 1940 Tuesday
THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN: This Day in the Battle of Britain

UNITED KINGDOM: In Britain, gasoline price rose to 2 shillings and 2 pence per gallon.

As the British government announced plans to expand evacuation, 444,000 children had already been evacuated from the London area.

GERMANY: The Staffelkapitän of 4./JG 2, Oblt. Hans 'Assi' Hahn, is awarded the Ritterkreuz.

ASIA: Japanese troops occupied Lang Son, Indochina.

NORTH AFRICA: Operation Menace: Overnight, Governor of French West Africa, Pierre Boisson, rejected Free French demand for the surrender of Dakar. At 0700 hours, British destroyer HMS "Fortune" detected Vichy French submarine "Ajax", which was forced to surface by depth charges and then sunk with gunfire after the crew of 61 was captured. British battleship HMS "Barham" shelled French battleship "Richelieu" in Dakar harbor. "Richelieu" was damaged with two shells and a misfire of her own. French coastal batteries was able to force back the British fleet at 1000 hours. In the afternoon, the British fleet returned. French coastal artillery opened fire again, hitting "Barham" with four shells, and forced back the British fleet once again. The British battleship "Resolution" is hit by shellfire in the ongoing battle. Far to the north, 64 Vichy French bombers from Algeria and Morocco bombed Gibraltar in retaliation, damaging one ship.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: British submarine HMS "Cachalot" attacked a German submarine in the Bay of Biscay off France without success. Meanwhile, British submarine HMS "Tuna" sank German catapult ship "Ostmark" 35 miles west of Saint-Nazaire, France. 10 miles off Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England, German motor torpedo boat S-30 sank British ship "Continental Coaster" in the North Sea, killing 4.

.

 

[parsifal]

25 September 1940
Known Reinforcements
Neutral
USN Submarine chaser PC 449

some sources refer to this ship as SC 449

Losses
MV EURYMEDON (UK 6223 grt) Sunk by U-29 (Otto Schuhart) Crew: 93 (29 dead and 64 survivors) Cargo: General Cargo Route: Liverpool - Capetown - Batavia, Java OB-217 (dispersed), Sunk in the Nth Atlantic. At 1402 hrs the unescorted EURYMEDON, dispersed from convoy OB-217, was hit aft by one torpedo from U-29 about 366 miles west of Achill Head. At 1600 hours the ship was hit amidships by another torp, but still remained afloat until she foundered two days later. 20 crew members and nine passengers were lost. The master, 41 crew members and 22 passengers were picked up by RCN DD OTTAWA and landed at Greenock on 27 September, where one crew member later died of injures. The master John Faulkner Webster was awarded the Lloyd's War Medal for bravery at sea.

MV MABRITON (UK 6694 grt) Sunk by U-32 (Hans Jenisch) Crew: 37 (12 dead and 25 survivors) Cargo: Ballast Route: Tyne - Father Point, New Brunswick ; OB-216 (dispersed) Sunk in the North Atlantic. At 0325 hrs the unescorted MABRITON, dispersed on 23 September from OB-216, was hit by one torpedo from U-32 in the stern, broke in two and sank WSW of Rockall. The master, 23 crew members and one gunner were rescued: the master and 17 survivors by HMS JASON and 7 others on 30 September by HMS ROCHESTER and landed at Londonderry

MV SULAIRIA (UK 5802 grt) Sunk by U-43 (Wilhelm Ambrosius) Crew: 57 (1 dead and 56 survivors) Cargo: General Cargo and Livestock Route: Glasgow - Montreal ; OB-217 (dispersed) sunk in the Nth Atlantic; At 1330 hrs the unescorted SULAIRIA , dispersed from convoy OB-217 on 24 September, was hit in the stern by one G7e torpedo from U-43 and sank slowly about 356 miles west of Achill Head, Co. Mayo. The master and 55 crew members were picked up by RCN DD OTTAWA and landed at Gourock on 27 September.

Drifter WHITE DAISY (UK 79 grt) was lost near Lerwick in heavy weather.

Ocean going Trawler FINLANDE (Vichy 1344 grt) was seized by the RCN in the Newfoundland Banks area. She was placed at the disposal of the FNFL initially but remained laid up until April 1941 when she was transferred to the Ministry of War Transportation.

UBOATS
Arrivals
Lorient: U-47 , U-48 , U-65 , U-99 , U-100

Departures
Lorient: U-38

At Sea 25 September 1940
U-29, U-31, U-32, U-37, U-38, U-43, U-46, U-60, U-61, U-103, U-123, U-137, U-138.
13 boats at sea.

OPERATIONS
North Sea
FS.290 departed the Tyne, escort DDs VANITY and WOLFHOUND. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 26th. FN.291 departed Methil, escort DDs VEGA and WATCHMAN. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 27th.

Northern Waters
CLA CAIRO arrived at Scapa Flow at 1006 after covering convoy OA.219 on the east coast of Scotland. DD VERSATILE departed Scapa for Middlesbrough to refit and correct defects, arriving at 0930 on the /26th, but was ordered to return to Rosyth, arriving at 1700 on the 26th. DDs SOMALI and ESKIMO departed Scapa Flow at 0220 to search for a downed enemy a/c, which crashed in the sea at 2000 on the 24th, 22 miles 90° from Kinnaird Head. At the same time a German safety boat departed Stavanger at 2100 on the 24th to also find and rescue them. The German crew was rescued before the British ships, the crew taken prisoner and the DDs arrived back at Scapa Flow at 2300 on the 25th

West Coast UK
OB.219 departed Liverpool escort DD WINCHELSEA and corvette PERIWINKLE. The convoy was joined the next day by corvette GERANIUM and ASW trawlers INDIAN STAR and ST ZENO. The trawlers were detached on the 28th and the remainder of the escort on the 29th.

Channel
Operation LUCID was a plan to send fire ships to French ports to destroy German landing craft. The forces departed on the 25th. Force A, old tkr WAR NIZAM and DDs CAMPBEL, and GARTH, MSWs SUTTON, SALAMANDER, and SELKIRK, and MTBs departing Sheerness. Force B, old tkr WAR NAWAB, DDs BEAGLE and WOLVERINE, MSWss NIGER and ELGIN, and MTBs departed Portsmouth early on the 25th, but was recalled when WAR NAWAB was found unfit for the trip. Force C was a covering force of DDs VETERAN, VENOMOUS, and WILD SWAN which departed Sheerness. The operation was cancelled late on the 25th when the second tanker, WAR NIZAM, broke down.
For British minefield MU, MLs PLOVER and WILLEM VAN DER ZAAN departed Immingham and arrived at Sheerness at noon on the 26th. At 2200 on the 26th, the MLs departed Sheerness for MU. However, en route both MLs ran aground at the northern end of the Goodwins. Tug LADY BRASSEY got the MLs off and they arrived back at Sheerness at 0600 on the 27th, without having carried out their mission.

RN sub UTMOST departed Portsmouth for patrol in Biscay. The sube arrived back on 5 October with propeller defects. The submarine was under repair from 6 October to 26 October.

U.138, leaving Lorient, was attacked off Penmarch by RN Sub CACHALOT.

Central Atlantic
Operation MENACE:

RAN CA AUSTRALIA was damaged by two six inch shell hits, but the damage did not require her withdrawal. BB BARHAM was hit by a 15 inch shell. A Walrus from AUSTRALIA was shot down astern of BARHAM by Vichy fighters. Flight Lt G. J. I. Clarke, RAAF, Lt Cdr W. G. Fogarty, RAN, and Petty Officer Telegraphist C. K. Bunnett were killed. DDr FORESTER was sent to pick up the survivors, but came under heavy fire from the defending shore batteries and was forced to withdraw. After MENACE, AUSTRALIA proceeded to Liverpool to correct defects. She was in the Clyde at the end of October with turbine problems. She was refitting at the Clyde from 22 November to 29 December.

Vichy sub BEVEZIERS torpedoed BB RESOLUTION off Dakar. There were no crew killed in the BB. DDs FORESTER and INGLEFIELD laid a smoke screen. BB RESOLUTION was taken in tow late on the 26th by BARHAM to Freetown arriving early on the 29th. Vichy sub SIDI FERRUCH from Konakry tried to intercept the British ships, but a/c from CV ARK ROYAL forced the sub to submerge 10 miles short of the British ships. After temporary repairs at Freetown, RESOLUTION arrived at Gibraltar on 16 December. She departed Gibraltar in March 1941 for Portsmouth, but due to heavy bombing on Portsmouth, she was sent on to the United States. BB RESOLUTION was repaired and updated at Philadelphia from April to September 1941.

In a Vichy air attack on Gibraltar on the 25th, three bombs fell in the Dockyard. Paymaster Cdr J. E. Davie - Smith and a rating of CORMORANT were killed. ASW trawler STELLA SIRIUS (RN 550 grt) of ASWGp 7 was sunk by Vichy air attacks at Gibraltar. The survivors were rescued by ASW trawler ARCTIC RANGER. One rating was killed in trawler ARCTIC RANGER during these attacks. Temporary S/Lt K. F. W. Wilcox RNVR, and eleven ratings of trawler STELLA SIRIUS, was killed.

Mounting losses in the Dakar operation and complete failure of the FNFL forces to get ashore caused Operation MENACE to be cancelled.

CVE ARGUS departed Freetown for the UK, escorted by AMC CICILIA. On 28 September, the carrier was escorted by DD WISHART, which was in turn detached to hunt a reported Uboat contact during the voyage.

Convoy SLS.49 departed Freetown escort AMC CILICIA to 12 October, when it rendezvoused with convoy SL.49. The convoys arrived at Liverpool on 17 October.

Sth Atlantic

Med- Biscay
DDs HEREWARD, HYPERION, JUNO, and MOHAWK, departed Alexandria on the 24th for Mersa Matruh, and on the 25th bombarded a motor convoy west of Sidi Barrani, destroying a number of vehicles.

Steamer RINA CROCE (FI 569 grt) (renamed Tyne built coaster SOUTWARK transferred to Italain service 1926) was lost on a mine 2.5 miles off Brindisi laid by HM sub ROQUAL on 14 June.
Image source: Tyne Built Ships Shipbuilders

Pacific/Far East/Australia Station
CL DANAE arrived at Penang. Steamer SAARLAND (Ger 6725 grt) at Dairen was sold to Japan as TEIYO MARU.

Malta
1132-1219 hrs Air raid alert for one formation of 8 enemy MC 200 fighters which flew over the Island at 20000 feet. 3 Hurris and two Glad a/c scramble and engage the raiders in a dog fight at 22000 ft, shooting down one Macchi which crashes on land near a military defence post at Delimara, killing the pilot. The Fort reports incendiary bombs near the AA searchlight half a mile away. AA guns also engage the enemy: one aircraft is believed damaged but is not seen to crash. Maresciallo Gino Lagi, 79th Squadriglia, 6th Gruppo, 1st Stormo, pilot of MC 200 shot down and Killed.

FNFL sub NARVAL sailed on first patrol under Free French colours.

 

[Njaco]

September 25 1940 Wednesday
THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN: This Day in the Battle of Britain

UNITED KINGDOM: Operation Lucid: The British Royal Navy filled each of the two old tankers "War Nizam" and "War Nawab" with 2,000-3,000 tons of heavy fuel oil, diesel oil, and gasoline, then dispatched them from Sheerness in southeast England and Portsmouth in southern England with destroyers, minesweepers, and torpedo boats as escorts. These two oil tankers were meant to act as fire ships against the German invasion barges which had gathered in French ports along the English Channel, but the operation was canceled when "War Nizam" broke down.

WESTERN FRONT: The crews of II./JG 52 completes its refitting and returns to its airfields at Peupelinge, France.

Vichy France instituted a court-martial body for crimes committed against the state. There was no appeal, and sentence was to be carried out within 24 hours.

NORTH AMERICA: The German merchant ship "Weser" was captured off the coast of Manzillo, Mexico by the Royal Canadian Navy armed merchant cruiser "Prince Robert".

US Signals Intelligence first reads Japanese Purple code.

ASIA: France surrendered Indochina to Japan, but fighting continued.

NORTH AFRICA: Operation Menace: The British fleet bombarded Dakar in French West Africa in the morning. At 0900 hours, French submarine "Beveziers" attacked British battleship HMS "Resolution", damaging her. She had to be towed back by battleship HMS "Barham" while the rest of the British warships fell back. The British War Cabinet decided to cancel the operation after all attempts to enter Dakar failed.

MEDITERRANEAN: Vichy French bombers from Algeria and Morocco again bombed Gibraltar in retaliation to the British and Free French attacks on Dakar, lighting damaging port facilities and sinking British anti-submarine trawler "Stella Sirius".

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-32 sank British R. Chapman Son cargo ship "Mabriton" in convoy OB-217 500 miles west of Ireland at 0325 hours; 12 were killed and 25 survived. German submarine U-43 sank British ship "Sulairia" in convoy OB-217 400 miles west of Ireland at 1330 hours; 1 was killed and 56 survived. Shortly after at 1400 hours in the same general area west of Ireland, German submarine U-29 attacked British ship "Eurymedon" in convoy OB-217. She would sink two days later; the final casualty list included 20 crew and 9 passengers killed; 42 crew and 22 passengers survived.

GERMANY: Joachim von Ribbentrop alerted the German embassy in the Soviet Union that Japan was likely to join Germany and Italy in an alliance. Should this happen, the ambassador was to alert the Soviet Union of this news, and to ensure the USSR that this alliance was meant to deter the United States from entering the war and in no way was meant to be formed against Soviet interests.

NORTHERN EUROPE: In Oslo, Terboven, the Reichs Commissioner, deposes the King of Norway formally and appoints Quisling to lead the new Norwegian government. The Administrative Council are deposed, the government is declared illegal, and political parties are dissolved except for the Nasjonal Samling and 13 commissars are appointed to governor the country.

.

 

[parsifal]

26 September 1940 (Part I)
Known Reinforcements
Allied
Boom Defence Vessel HMAS KANGAROO

HMAS Kangaroo in company with her sister ships HMAS Koala and HMAS Karangi

BPB 70' Type Motor Anti-Submarine Boat MA/SB 59

Flower Class Corvette HMS NASTURTIUM

Laid down in British yards for the french Navy until taken over by the RN after the fall of France

Losses
MV MANCHESTER BRIGADE (UK 6042 grt) Sunk by U-137 (Herbert Wohlfarth) Crew: 62 (58 dead and 4 survivors) Cargo: General Stores Route: Manchester - Montreal ; Convoy OB 218 Sunk in the Western Approaches. Between 0050 and 0052 hrs, U-137 fired three torpedoes at the convoy OB-218 west of Malin Head, sank MANCHESTER BRIGADE and damaged the ASHANTIAN (see below). The MANCHESTER BRIGADE was the ship of the convoy commodore Vice-Admiral Humphrey Hugh Smith, DSO, RNR. Four crew members were picked up by the FNFL hospital ship CANADA and landed at Gibraltar.

Tkr STRATFORD (UK 4753 grt) Sunk by U-137 (Herbert Wohlfarth) Crew: 34 (2 dead and 32 survivors) Cargo: Ballast Route: Liverpool - Aruba Convoy OB218 Sunk in the Western Approaches. At 0135 hrs the surfaced U-137 fired a G7e torpedo at the STRATFORD in convoy OB-218 85 miles WSW of Bloody Foreland. The torpedo hit in the aft part of the tkr and caused such a heavy detonation that oil and debris fell near the U-boat. The stern was seen to caught fire and settle deep before the ship finally sank. Two crew members were lost. The master and 14 crew members were picked up by Corvette GLOXINIA and 17 other crew members by HMS WOLVES.

MV CORRIENTES (UK 6863 grt) Sunk by U-37 (Victor Oehrn) Crew: 50 (0 dead and 50 survivors) Cargo: General Cargo and Bricks Route: Glasgow - Halifax - Montreal Convoy OB 217 (dispersed). Sunk in the Nth Atlantic . At 0234 hrs the unescorted CORRIENTES, dispersed from convoy OB-217, was hit in the engine room by one torpedo about 600 miles west of Achill Head, Co. Mayo. The U-boat had chased the ship for 6 hrs and left the vessel in a sinking condition after the crew abandoned ship, but she remained afloat. At 2000 hours on 28 September, the abandoned CORRIENTESs was struck underneath the bridge by one torpedo from U-37 and was finally sunk by gunfire at 2140 hrs. The master and 49 crew members were picked up by the Swedish MV KOLSNAREN and landed at Philadelphia.

MV DARCOILA (UK 4084 grt) Sunk by U-32 (Hans Jenisch) Crew: 37 (37 dead - no survivors) Cargo: Ballast Route: Barry - Milford Haven - Philadelphia OB 217 Sunk in the Nth Atlantic. At 1337 hrs the unescorted DARCOILA , dispersed the day before from convoy OB-217, was hit on port side amidships by one G7e torpedo fired from the stern torpedo tube of U-32 about 600 miles west of Ireland. The ship sank within 5 minutes by the stern after a boiler explosion. There were no survivors.

MV TANCRED (UK 6094 grt) Sunk by U-32 (Hans Jenisch) Crew: 36 (0 dead and 36 survivors) Cargo: Empty Route: Liverpool - New York Convoy OB-217 (dispersed) Sunk in the Nth Atlantic. At 0811 hrs the TANCRED, dispersed the day before from OB-217, was hit on the port side by one torpedo from U-32 about 600 miles WNW of Valencia, Ireland. The torpedo struck amidships and caused the ship to settle by the bow due to the flooding of the forward holds. No distress signals could be sent and within 8 mins the 36 crew members abandoned ship in three lifeboats. The U-boat began shelling the ship with 48 rounds from the deck gun, scoring many hits and then left the area before the ship sank to chase another ship of the dispersed convoy. The vessel remained afloat and was re-boarded by the master and a few men to recover extra provisions, the ship´s log book and other valuable papers from a safe in the cabin of the master, but found no access to the cabin due to the damage. The lifeboats remained near the ship until it sank and then sailed eastward. The survivors were picked up the next morning by the Norwegian MV TRICOLOR and landed in New York about a week later.

MV COAST WINGS (UK 862 grt) Sunk by U-46 (Engelbert Endrass) Crew: 16 (16 dead - no survivors) Cargo: General Cargo Route: Gourock (Glasgow)- Lisbon OG-43 (straggler) Sunk in the SW Approaches. At 0153 hrs the COAST WINGS , a straggler from convoy OG-43, was hit in the bow by one torpedo from U-46 SW of Ireland. The ship disintegrated almost immediately. There were no survivors.
Image Source: Stichting Maritiem-Historische Databank

MV SILJAN (SD 3058 grt) Sunk by U-46 (Engelbert Endrass) Crew: 27 (9 dead and 18 survivors) Cargo:Coal Route: Cardiff - Lisbon; Sailing independently Sunk in the SW Approaches. At 2120 hrs the SILJAN was hit in the bow by one torpedo from U-46 about 350 miles SW of Ireland. The ship developed a list and the crew began to abandon ship when the U-boat went closer to read her name. They suddenly realized that the ship was still making headway at 6-8 knots and turned towards the U-boat, which had a hard time avoiding a collision and went onto a parallel course just beneath the vessel and came clear after a few minutes, but the diving planes were damaged and the U-boat was forced to abort the patrol. The ship sank after 25 minutes without having been properly identified.

UBOATS
Arrivals
To Lorient: U-138

At Sea 26 September 1940
U-29, U-31, U-32, U-37, U-38, U-43, U-46, U-60, U-61, U-103, U-123, U-137.
12 boats at sea

U-138. A few hours before reaching base at Lorient, U-138 encountered the British submarine HMS Tribune which fired four torpedoes at her. None hit the U-boat, which docked shortly afterwards

OPERATIONS
North Sea
DD VETERAN, returning to Harwich after the aborted LUCID operation, was damaged by a mine exploding close aboard off Barrow Deep Light Vessel. The feet of the starboard turbine snapped and the steering engine was damaged. VETERAN was under repair for 8 days at Chatham. DDs BEDOUIN and ASHANTI rescued three Norwegian airmen in an open boat in the Nth Sea. OA.220 departed Methil escort sloop ROCHESTER, corvette BLUEBELL, and ASW trawlers CAPE ARGONA, HORNPIPE, and PENTLAND FIRTH from 26 to 28 September. CLA cruiser CURACOA provided support for the convoy on 26 and 27 September. FN.291 departed Southend, escort DDs VIMIERA and WOLSEY. The convoy arrived at Methil on the 28th. FS.292 departed Methil, escort DDs VERDUN and VIVIEN. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 28th. S/Lt H. W. Richardson and Probationary Temporary Midshipman (A) D. S. T. Wells RNVR, were killed when their Miles Master of 759 Sqn crashed near Martock.

Northern Waters
CLA CURACOA departed Scapa Flow at 1100 on the 26th to support OA.220. The LW carried out attacks on the convoy at 2000, steamer PORT DENISON (UK 8043 grt) was damaged six miles NE of Peterhead, and then sank on the 27th, seven miles 260° from Rattray Head (the most easterly point of the Scottish Coast, nth of Aberdeen). 16 crew, including a naval rating, were lost on the British steamer. Survivors were rescued by ASW trawler PENTLAND FIRTH.

British steamers WELSH PRINCE and SUVA were also damaged by a near misses in these LW atacks. After escorting convoy OA.220, CLA CURACOA arrived back at Scapa on the 27th.

West Coast UK
LW air attacks on Liverpool damaged British steamers DIPLOMAT and PETERTON at Brunswick Dock, Liverpool. British steamer WEST KEDRON and tug WELLINGTON were also damaged by the LW in other attacks in the Liverpool area.

Western Approaches
British Steamer ASHANTIAN was torpedoed by U-137 and heavily damaged whilst attached to the outbound OB 218. She remained afloat however and was towed 220 miles to Rothesay, where she was beached in Kames Bay on 30 September. In May 1941 the ship was refloated and towed to Glasgow where she was repaired and returned to service in September 1941.

Nth Atlantic
HX.76 departed Halifax escort RCN DD SAGUENAY, armed patrol boat FRENCH, and aux PVs HUSKY and REINDEER in the harbour. FRENCH returned to harbour after dark. At 1930 on the 27th, SAGUENAY departed the convoy leaving the ocean escort, AMC AUSONIA. BHX.76 departed Bermuda on the 24th escort AMC ALAUNIA. The convoy rendezvoused with convoy HX.76 on the 29th and the AMC cruiser was detached.

For the inbound leg, DD SCMIITAR, corvettes FLEUR DE LYS, HEARTSEASE, and HELIOTROPE, and ASW trawlers HUDDERSFIELD TOWN, KING SOL, and ST ZENO joined on 7 October. Trawler ST ZENO was detached on 8 October and corvette FLEUR DE LYS and trawler KING SOL were detached on 9 October. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on 10 October.

Central Atlantic
CL ENTERPRISE arrived at Rio de Janiero. DD FURY arrived at Freetown after MENACE operations and departed later that day to rejoin the MENACE force returning to Freetown.

Sth Atlantic
CL NEPTUNE arrived at Durban. DKM Raider THOR sank tkr KOSMOS (Nor 17,801 grt) in the Sth Atlantic.

 

[parsifal]

26 September (part II) 1940
OPERATIONS [CONT'D]

Med- Biscay
RAN DD WATERHEN departed Alexandria to relieve DD ILEX in convoy LW 17 from Haifa to Port Said. ILEX arrived at Alexandria on the 27th.

Pacific/Far East/Australia Station
Steamer WESER (Ger 9179 grt), which was to supply DKM Raider ORION, was captured as she departed Manzanillo, Peru, by RCN AMC PRINCE ROBERT. WESER was renamed VANCOUVER ISLAND for use by Canadian forces.

Malta

Extract from an editorial from the Sydney Morning Herald

""Before the entry of Italy into the war, it had been considered very doubtful by defence experts whether Malta could be held against Italian attack from the air. Today, Malta is able to resist all attacks and the Italian air force rains its bombs harmlessly upon Malta, which is still a British naval base and which never sees an Italian warship. The Mediterranean, far from being a Roman sea, has become a closed lakes in the reeds and unfrequented corners of which lurks the Italian Navy…Within the last week, a series of talks have been held at Rome in which the Axis powers had been credited with making new plans; but everything that has been suggested as a possible decision or intention of the Axis powers marks the loss of initiative."

 

[parsifal]

27 september 1940
Known Reinforcements
Allied
Dido Class CLA HMS PHOEBE

PHOEBE departed the Clyde on 2 October to work up at Scapa Flow. She arrived at Scapa Flow on 4 October. She worked up at Scapa Flow and was assigned to the 15th Cruiser Squadron.

Colony Class CL HMS KENYA

CL KENYA arrived at Scapa Flow on the 29th for working up and assignment with CruSqn 10. KENYA was sent to Freetown for working up and departed Freetown on 27 October for Plymouth arriving on 5 November.

U Class Sub HMS UNIQUE

A unit in the second group of the U class subs, UNIQUE was built by Vickers Armstrong, Barrow-in-Furness. She was laid down on 30 October 1939. She spent most of her career operating in the Med from mid 1941 under the command of Capt Arthur Hezlet, where she sank the Fascist passenger/cargo ship FENICIA and the Italian troop transport ESPERIA. She also damaged the Fascist Italian Steamer ARSIA, which was later declared a total loss. On 5 January 1942, she made an unsuccessful attack on the RM BB Littorio. U class subs were small and manouverable, easy and cheap to build, and well suited to Med conditions. They were originally intended as a training submarine UNIQUE was lost in October 1942.

Losses
Steamer DIANA (Nor 1155 grt) was sunk on a mine between Lizard and Fowey.

U.31 sank steamer VESTVARD (Nor 4319 grt) 300 miles west of Ireland. One crewman was killed on the Norwegian steamer, but 28 crew survived. She was on voyage from Manchester to Montreal in ballast. Before she was torpedoed VESTVARD had been in Convoy OB 218, which left Liverpool on Sept. 24 and had scattered after U-137 attacks on the near unescorted convoy on Sept. 26. VESTVARDwas continuing on individual course to the convoy's determined rendevous point , when she was hit by 2 torpedoes. The first torpedo struck on the port side near Hatch 3, the 2nd (after the boats had been launched) in Hatch 4. The port lifeboat, which had drifted behind the ship was hit by something flying through the air during the second detonation and was destroyed, so the 7 occupants had to jump into the water but were able to get on a raft, and were later picked up by the starboard boat. Others who had not yet managed to get in the lifeboats had to jump overboard from the heavily listing ship (to port); an able seaman was pulled under as she sank after 10 mins and he was never seen again..
(Source; this image is from the Norwegian Homefleet site and the picture was supplied to that site by a person called Sverre Johansen)

U.37 sank steamer GEORGES MABRO (EG 2555 grt). Crew: Unknown (no survivors) Cargo: Unknown Route: Huelva (Spain) - Leixos (Portugal) - Glasgow At 2259 hrs the unescorted GEORGES MABRO was hit underneath the bridge by one torpedo from U-37, broke in two and sank within 30 seconds.

UBOATS
At Sea 27 September 1940
U-29, U-31, U-32, U-37, U-38, U-43, U-46, U-60, U-61, U-103, U-123, U-137.
12 boats at sea.

U-99. During a night air raid on Lorient by BC, two bombs fell close to the moored boat and debris caused slight damage to the deck.

U.46 on patrol in the Atlantic lost two crew overboard in heavy weather.

OPERATIONS

North Sea
DD SIKH was damaged by British tug FLAMER, alongside at Rosyth. SIKH's temporary repairs were completed by the 29th. DD VERSATILE departed Rosyth for the Tyne. FN.292 departed Southend, escort DDs VANITY and WOLFHOUND. The convoy arrived at Methil on the 29th. FS.293 departed Methil, escort DD WINCHESTER and sloop LONDONDERRY. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 29th. At the Tyne, DD VERSATILE met troopship EMPIRE TROOPER and escorted her to Pentland Firth. MSW HALCYON was mined in the mouth of the Tees in the Nth Sea and badly damaged. Many of the crew were wounded. The MSW was under repair at Southbank until 30 June 1941.

Northern Waters
CLA CAIRO departed Scapa Flow to meet convoy WN.18 and escort the convoy through to Methil, after which CAIRO went to Rosyth to correct some defects.

West Coast UK
OB.220 departed Liverpool escort DD SKATE, sloop WELLINGTON, corvette GLADIOLUS, and ASW trawlers LADY LILLIAN and NORTHERN GEM. All but WELLINGTON were detached on the 30th and the sloop was detached on 1 October. Sub TRIUMPH, her repairs from the December mining completed, worked up in Holy Loch (near Greenock). TRIUMPH departed Holy Loch on 6 November for the Med. The sub arrived at Gib on 16 November.

Nth Atlantic
SC.6 departed Sydney escorted by RCN armed yacht ELK and ocean escort Sloop ENCHANTRESS. On 9 October, to cover the inbound leg of the convoy DDs SKATE, VANQUISHER, and WINCHELSEA, sloop HASTINGS, and ASW yacht PHILANTE joined the convoy. On 11 October, DD WINCHELSEA was detached. The remainder of the escort arrived with the convoy at Liverpool on 12 October.

Central Atlantic
CA CUMBERLAND, CORNWALL, CLs DRAGON, DELHI, DD ESCAPADE, FNFL Sloops sloops SAVORGNAN DE BRAZZA, COMMANDANT DOMINE, and COMMANDANT DUBOC, FNFL armed trawler PRESIDENT HOUDACE, transports KENYA, KARANJA, SOBIESKI, ETTRICK, PENNLAND, OCEAN COAST, CASAMANCE, ANADYR, NEVADA, FORT LAMY and WESTERNLAND arrived at Freetown. DD ESCAPADE sailed again at 1020 to cover other ships at sea.

SL.49 departed Freetown escort AMC MORETON BAY to 14 October. On 12 October, SL.49 rendezvoused with SLS.49.
On 13 October, DD ANTELOPE and sloop ABERDEEN joined the convoy. Corvette GLOXINIA and ASW trawler NORTHERN GEM also escorted the convoy in Home Waters. The convoy arrived on 17 October.

Malta
1030-1100 hrs 3 Blenheim and 3 Wellington bombers land at Luqa.
1701-1723 hrs Air raid alert for two enemy formations, one of 6 SM79s and one of 3 SM79s, all accompanied by 12 to 15 fighters, which approach at 17000 feet from the nth over Madliena and bomb the Hal Far and Luqa areas. There are three direct hits on hangars and buildings at Luqa; incendiary bombs cause several fires. Twelve bombs land on the runways but do not hold up operations. One Hurricane awaiting repair is written off; one unserviceable Glen Martin is damaged by an incendiary. Sandbag pens prevent serious damage to other aircraft. One unexploded bomb is removed. Malta fighters are scrambled and engage, along with AA. One CR42 fighter is shot down by fighters, the pilot captured near Delimara. Two SM79 bombers hit by AA fire are damaged. One Hurricane is also damaged in combat.

Departures 1 Sunderland. Aircraft casualties 1 Sunderland.

KALAFRANA One Sunderland left for Middle East. One Sunderland sent out to search for a Blenheim was forced to land in the sea off Sicily. No trace was found.

 

[Njaco]

September 26 Thursday
THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN: http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/ww2-general/day-battle-britain-25360-post721237.html#post721237

NORTHERN EUROPE: A Bf 109E of II./JG 77 catches fire at Oslo-Fornebu while attempting a take-off. The pilot, Gefr. Rudolf Schmidt is injured.

GERMANY: RAF No. 61 Squadron, based in Hemswell northwest of Lincoln, was ordered to attack two targets in Germany with twelve Hampden bombers. The primary objective was the battleship "Scharnhorst" which was in Kiel Harbour. One bomber was lost.

Admiral Erich Raeder met with Adolf Hitler, noting that the Italian territories in the Mediterranean Sea was in danger of being attacked by the British as he deduced from the importance the British had placed on the region historically. To prevent this, he recommended Hitler to make plans to seize Gibraltar, the Canary Islands, and the Suez Canal.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: British submarine HMS "Tribune" fired four torpedoes at German submarine U-138 off Lorient, France. All torpedoes missed.

German armed merchant cruiser "Thor" sank Norwegian whaling factory ship "Kosmos" 400 miles northwest of Natal, Brazil with her deck gun after imprisoning the crew of 89. Captain Kahler of "Thor" would later be criticized for not transferring "Kosmos'" valuable cargo of whale oil aboard before sinking the ship. German submarine U-137 fired three torpedoes at Allied convoy OB-218 10 miles off the Mullet Peninsula, Ireland between 0050 and 0052 hours, sinking British ship "Manchester Brigade" (44 crew and 8 navy personnel killed, 4 survived) and damaging British ship "Ashantian" (4 killed). At 0135 hours, U-137 struck again, sinking British ship "Stratford" of the same convoy; 2 were killed and 32 survived. About 20 minutes later, German submarine U-46 sank British ship "Coast Wings" 350 miles southwest of Ireland at 0153 hours, killing the entire crew of 16. U-46 is damaged in a near collision with "Siljan" and is forced to return to base. Further out to sea, at 0234 hours, German submarine U-32 attacked an Allied convoy 400 miles west of Ireland, damaging British ship "Corrientes" (entire crew of 50 rescued by Swedish ship "Kolsnaren"), sinking Norwegian ship "Tancred" (entire crew of 36 survived) at 0811 hours, and sinking British ship "Darcoila" (entire crew of 31 killed) at 0137 hours. In the evening at 2120 hours, U-64 struck again, sinking Swedish ship "Siljan"; 9 were killed and 18 survived.

EASTERN EUROPE: In the late evening, the German ambassador in the Soviet Union shared the news that Japan was about to join Germany and Italy in a military alliance. The Soviet Union immediately complained that, according to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the text of such an alliance should have been shared with the USSR prior to the pact being signed, including any secret clauses.

ASIA: Japan conducted an amphibious landing at Dong Tac, Indochina; later that day, Japanese troops captured the Gia Lam airfield and several rail yards near Hanoi. In the evening, Emperor Showa ordered fighting to stop in Indochina since the French had already surrendered on the previous day.

NORTH AMERICA: The Roosevelt administration expanded the Pittman Act by authorizing the Export-Import Bank to lend American republics up to $500 million and to permit these countries to acquire munitions up to a total value of $400 million for their defenses.

.