This Day in the War in Europe: The Beginning

Brilliant Parsifal, excellent info on Judgement.

14 november 1940
Losses
Steamer ST CATHERINE (UK 1216 grt), en route to join convoy WN.35, on passage from Aberdeen to Kirkwall, with a general cargo, she was sunk by a torpedo launched from a LW a/c, half a mile sth of the Outer Buoy, Aberdeen Swept Channel. 15 of the crew were lost. .

Steamer BUOYANT (UK 300 grt) was sunk on a mine off Skegness.

Boom defence vessel RISTANGO (RN 178 grt) was lost when she fouled the Medway Boom, Sheerness.


Drifter SHIPMATES (UK 82 grt) was sunk by German bombing in Dover Harbour.

Drifter THE BOYS (UK 92 grt) was lost in heavy weather in the Downs.

UBOATS
Departures
Lorient: U-123

At Sea 14 November 1940
U-28, U-29, U-43, U-47, U-65, U-93, U-100, U-103, U-104, U-123, U-137, U-138.
12 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
Baltic
Eastern Baltic
As part of Bomber Command, a night raid on Berlin was carried out. losses were heavy, including , two British naval officers amongst the were crews lost. 13 bombers were lost on the raid. .

North Sea
FN.334 departed Southend, escort DD WATCHMAN and sloop EGRET. The convoy arrived at Methil on the 16th. FS.335 departed Methil, escort DD WOOLSTON and sloop LOWESTOFT. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 16th. There was an unsuccessful attempt to refloat DD FAME on the 14th. Heavy swells prevented the successful operation. Another attempt to refloat destroyer FAME on the 16th also failed when the pumps failed to control flooding. British steamer FAIRY was damaged by a mine near Chequer Buoy, off the mouth of the Humber.

Northern Waters
CLA CURACOA transferred to convoy EN.25 and proceeded with this convoy to Pentland Firth. DD WINDSOR arrived at Scapa to refuel on passage from the Clyde to Grimsby and departed the following morning. Minefield BS.46 was laid by MLs TEVIOTBANK and PLOVER and DD ICARUS. DD IMPULSIVE was in dock for vibration problems. After the minelay, TEVIOTBANK was attacked by LW a/c at 1730. There was no damage.

Western Approaches
British steamer FISHPOOL was damaged by the LW. After being hit, she was assisted by Corvette GARDENIA.

Nth Atlantic
HX.87 of 16 steamers departed Halifax escort RCN DDs COLUMBIA and ST FRANCIS and aux PV ELK. On the 15th, the local escort turned the convoy over to AMC ALAUNIA, which in turned was detached on the 26th. DDs BROKE and HAVELOCK and corvettes ANEMONEand MALLOW joined on the 26th. These escorts were detached to convoy HX.88 on the 27th. DDs WITHERINGTON, HESPERUS, HURRICANE joined on the 27th. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on the 29th. HX.88 departed Halifax at 1505 escorted by RCN DD ASSINIBOINE and aux PVs FRENCH and HUSKY. RCN DD ASSINIBOINE turned the convoy over to AMC AUSONIA on the 15th. The AMC was detached on the 25th. BHX.88 departed Bermuda on the 12th escort AMC MONTCLARE. The convoy rendezvoused with HX.88 on the 17th at which point MONTCLARE was detached. On 26 November, DDs SALADIN and SCIMITAR joined the escort. DD BROKE and corvettes ANEMONE, ARABIS, MALLOW joined on the 27th. DD BROKE was detached on the 28th and corvette ARABIS on the 29th. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on the 30th.

Med- Biscay
The Med Flt arrived back at Alexandria at 0700 after COATS and JUDGMENT. CVE ARGUS escorted by DDs WRESTLER, VIDETTE, WISHART arrived at Gibraltar for operation WHITE. A Greek DD flotilla under Admiral Kavadias made a sweep through the Otranto Strait and into the Adriatic Sea as far as the island of Sasseno. No contact was made and the Greek force returned to port. Egyptian steamer ZAMZAM (8299grt) was damaged by enemy a/c at Alexandria. Some reports say these a/c were German.
Norwegian tkr TEDDY , which had been captured by DKM Raider ATLANTIS on the 8th, was scuttled by the ATLANTIS.

Malta

Additional RDF equipment installed

November 13 Wednesday
WESTERN FRONT: Hptm. Walter Adolph of III./JG 27 is awarded the Ritterkreuz for fifteen victories.

RAF Bomber Command sends 72 aircraft to attack various targets overnight.

The Swiss government bans the Communist Party and the pro-Nazi National Movement of Switzerland.

UNITED KINGDOM: He 111s from KG 55 participates in a night attack on Bristol and lose a bomber to RAF fighters. Oblt. Johannes Seifert of 3./JG 26 destroys a Hurricane of RAF No. 249 Squadron over Folkestone.

RAF pilot Guy Gibson begins operations with No. 29 Squadron, Fighter Command.

GERMANY: Hitler, Ribbentrop, and Molotov continued their meeting in Berlin, Germany. Hitler proposes Russia join the Tripartite Pact. Molotov says it could be possible, with careful definition of the Pact. Hitler attempted to divert Soviet aggression out of the Balkan Peninsula and Finland, and instead focus, together with Germany, to defeat the United Kingdom, with the ultimate prize being the partition of the British Empire among Germany, the Soviet Union, Italy, and Japan. Molotov, who was not moved, asked Hitler whether Germany would feel comfortable with a Soviet guarantee of Bulgarian borders much like how Germany had recently guaranteed Romanian borders. Unable to answer that question, Hitler again broke off the discussion on the excuse of potential British bombings as the hours were getting late. Indeed, having known that Molotov was visiting Berlin, the British RAF launched bombers to attack Berlin as a show of force to convince Molotov that Britain was still in the fight. Ribbentrop and Molotov continued the meeting in an underground bunker amidst the bombing where Ribbentrop failed to entice Molotov with a four-power (Germany, Italy, Japan, and Soviet Union) military alliance proposal. Conversation again turns to England, which "is finished" according to Ribbentrop. Molotov replies;

"if that is so, why are we in this shelter and whose are these bombs which fall"?

Click to expand...

MEDITERRANEAN: By the end of the day, Greek troops had pushed most Italian troops in northern Greece back to the Albanian border.

Italian bombers damaged British destroyer HMS "Decoy" at Alexandria, Egypt, killing 8 and wounding 3.

RAF aircraft bomb the Italian naval base at Taranto.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-137 torpedoed and sank British ship "Cape St. Andrew", which was under tow by tug HMS "Salvonia", 100 miles northwest of Ireland at 2108 hours. 14 crew and 1 gunner were killed. 53 survivors were picked up by "Salvonia".

British submarine HMS "Tigris" sank French trawler "Charles Edmonde" 100 miles west of Bordeaux, France.

"Garland" was seriously damaged by a storm while escorting battleship HMS "Revenge" in the Atlantic Ocean. Two men were killed.

EASTERN EUROPE: Soviet submarine D-1 sinks during exercises.

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November 14 Thursday
WESTERN FRONT: Operation Cold Water: RAF attempts (with little success) to pre-empt the 'colossal raid' predicted by British Intelligence by bombing enemy bases, scrambling 121 night fighters and jamming radio transmissions.

MEDITERRANEAN: As Greek troops began to cross into Albanian borders, the Axis suffered its first land defeat of the war. All the Greek forces have gone over to the offensive against the Italian invaders. Reinforcements have been brought from the troops facing Bulgaria. British aid to Greece begins to arrive. Over the course of the next two days, four cruisers ferry 3400 troops and airfield staff from Alexandria to Piraeus. By November 20th another 4000 have arrived.

German bombers raided Alexandria, Egypt, sinking Egyptian steamer "Zamzam".

NORTH AMERICA: The first contingent of aircrews to graduate from advanced training in Canada embarked for Britain.

UNITED KINGDOM: Spitfire squadron routs 30 Stukas over Dover. Hans Philipp of 4./JG 54 downs a British Hurricane for his thirteenth victory and Herbert Huppertz of 6./JG 51 destroys a British Spitfire.

Neville Chamberlain's funeral was held at Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, or Westminster Abbey, in London, England, United Kingdom.

ASIA: In Singapore, the new British Commander in Chief for the Far East, Air Marshal Brooke-Popham arrives.

GERMANY: Admiral Raeder meets with Hitler to recommend postponing invasion of Soviet Union until UK has been strangled by U-boat blockade.

Keitel and Badoglio confer at Innsbruck about joint operations in North Africa.

RAF Bomber Command sends 82 aircraft to attack Berlin, Hamburg, and other targets overnight.

..

15 November 1940 (Part I)
Known Reinforcements
Neutral
Seaplane tender USS CURTISS (AV 4)


Elco 70' MTB PT13
[SEE IMAGES FOR 14 NOVEMBER]

Tambor Class Sub USS TROUT (SS 202)


Allied
Flower Class Corvette HMS DELPHINIUM (K 77)


Losses
MV KOHINUR (UK 5168 grt) Sunk by U-65 (Hans-Gerrit von Stockhausen) Crew:85 (17 dead and 68 survivors) Cargo: General Cargo Route: Port Talbot - Alexandria - Port Said ;Convoy OB-235 (dispersed); Sunk In the Central Atlantic, SW of Sierre Leone
At 1511 hrs the KOHINUR, dispersed on 31 October from convoy OB-235, was torpedoed and sunk by U-65 about 250 miles nth of the Equator. The second officer was taken prisoner by the U-boat. The master, 45 crew members and two gunners were lost. 31 of them died in the explosion of the tkr HAVBOR, which was also torpedoed by U-65 3 hrs later, while picking up the survivors. 36 crew members were picked up on 16 November by the British merchant CITY OF PITTSBURG and landed at Freetown on 19 November.

Tkr HAVBOR (UK 7614 grt) Sunk by U-65 (Hans-Gerrit von Stockhausen) Crew: 64 (60 dead and 4 survivors) Cargo: Crude Oil Route: Abadan - Capetown - Freetown - UK ;Convoy Independant; Sunk In the Central Atlantic, SW of Sierre Leone; At 1816 hrs the HAVBOR was hit on the port side aft by one torpedo from U-65, while picking up 31 men from rafts from the KOHINUR, which had been torpedoed 3 hrs earlier by the same U-boat. The men on the raft had warned the HAVBOR that the U-boat was nearby, but boats were lowered anyway. The ship immediately caught fire after being hit and some of the rafts and lifeboats were trapped by burning oil. The Germans initially planned to question the survivors but after observing the results of their attack left the burning tanker, which sank about 7 hrs after the attack. The master, 27 crew members and all the rescued men died in the flames. Three Norwegian and two Danish crew members of the tkr jumped overboard and swam towards the abandoned raft from the other ship, tore a plank loose and paddled for life away from the burning oil.

Later the survivors encountered a lifeboat from KOHINUR and asked to be taken on board, but after having inquired how much water they had on the raft, the lifeboat sailed away from the raft, because it was already filled to capacity. The raft kept drifting and on 16 November, one of the Danish men died, he had been badly burnt. On 24 November, the remaining survivors were picked up by the British steam merchant Baron ARDROSSAN and taken to Freetown.


Steamer AMENITY (UK 297 grt) was sunk on a mine in the Nth Sea. The entire crew of seven was rescued.

Liner APAPA (UK 9333 grt), was sunk from convoy SL.53 by the L:W in the Weatern Approaches. ASW trawler ST APOLLO stood by the steamer. 18 crew and 5 passengers were missing from the steamer. Survivors from the steamer were rescued by British steamers MARY KINGSLEY and NEW COLUMBIA.


Steamer BLUE GALLEON (UK 712 grt), in convoy FN.34, was sunk by the LW in the Nth Sea. Three crew were lost on the steamer.

Trawler DUNGENESS (UK 263 grt) was badly damaged by the LW at Haisborough and considered a constructive total loss. There were no casualties on the trawler.

Tug GUARDSMAN (UK 102 grt) was sunk on a mine off Nth Foreland, one half cable ENE of Spit Buoy. Two crew were lost on the tug.

UBOATS
Arrivals
Wilhelmshaven: U-28

At Sea 15 November 1940
U-29, U-43, U-47, U-65, U-93, U-100, U-103, U-104, U-123, U-137, U-138.
11 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
North Sea
FN.335 departed Southend, escort DDs VERDUN and WOLSEY. The convoy arrived at Methil on the 17th. FS.336 departed Methil, escort DDs WALLACE and WESTMINSTER. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 17th. ML cruiser ADVENTURE laid a series of minefields. ADVENTURE conducted 16 operations in sixty days. The cruiser, returning from ZME.15, was badly damaged on 16 January entering Liverpool Bay when she struck a mine. ML PLOVER took over the ZME.minelays beginning with ZME.16. The series was completed with ZME.31 on 21 April. CLA CURACOA transferred to convoy WN.37 and escorted it from Pentland Firth to Buchanness.

Northern Patrol
ASW trawlers ELM and WISTARIA arrived from Iceland for support on the 16th. On the 16th, CLA NAIAD chased and drove ashore Trawler HINRICH FREESE (Ger 384 grt). The ships returned to Scapa Flow on the 19th. NAIAD was weather damaged in this operation.

Northern Waters
CLA NAIAD departed Scapa on the 11th. On the 13th, the cruiser was detached from the BC REPULSE gp to raid the wireless station on Jan Mayan Island. This raid was covered by BC REPULSE and DDs SIKH, MATABELE, PUNJABI. On the 15th, the cruiser arrived, a landing party put ashore and the station was burnt.

DD VIMY departed Scapa for Lerwick. At Lerwick, VIMY joined British steamer BEN MY CHREE and escorted her to Aberdeen. VIMY and the steamer arrived off Aberdeen at 0303 on the 16th and destroyer VIMY continued on to Rosyth.

West Coast UK
In Operation STRIPE, CVL FURIOUS departed Liverpool with 34 Hurricanes of 73 Sqn and 3 Fulmars. The carrier joined CLA DIDO which departed the Clyde also for Takarodi. British steamer NEW ZEALAND STAR departed with the carrier and DDs HAVELOCK and HESPERUS escorted the ships from Liverpool. CLs MANCHESTER and SOUTHAMPTON departed Scapa Flow. At Gibraltar they would embark troops carried in troopship FRANCONIA. They were joined by DDs JAGUAR and KELVIN from Plymouth. British steamers CLAN FORBES, CLAN FRASER, FRANCONIA also proceeded to Gibraltar. The two forces rendezvoused in North Channel and escorted the merchant ships to Gibraltar. FURIOUS arrived at Freetown, escort DDs FOXHOUND and FORTUNE, on the 25th. FURIOUS arrived at Takoradi on the 27th and the aircraft flown off to Takoradi on the 29th. FURIOUS arrived back at Liverpool on 15 December.

DD SOUTHDOWN called at Holyhead (In Wales) to land passengers. Later, she encountered ASW trawler LORD COLLINGWOOD and took her in tow towards the Clyde. SOUTHDOWN arrived with the trawler in tow on the 16th. SOUTHDOWN refuelled at the Clyde. She departed at on the 16th and arrived at Scapa on the 17th

15 November 1940 (Part II)
OPERATIONS (Cont'd)

Med- Biscay
In operation BARBARITY, CAs BERWICK and YORK and CLs GLASGOW and GLOUCESTER and RAN CL SYDNEY departed Alexandria at 1500 with 3400 troops for Piraeus. All five cruisers arrived on the 16th at Piraeus, having averaged 30 knots during the passage across the Med. After disembarkation, the cruisers patrolled in the Aegean before arriving back at Alexandria on the 18th. CLs ORION and AJAX departed Alexandria to take general control of the operation and to call at Suda Bay, Pireaus, Candia as necessary. The cruisers arrived at Piraeus on the 16th. After disembarking the troops, cruisers BERIWCK, GLOUCESTER, GLASGOW that day departed for Alexandria. CA YORK departed that day for Port Said. All arrived on the 17th. CLA COVENTRY with RAN DD VAMPIRE RN DDs NUBIAN and MOHAWK departed Alexandria on the 15th with steamers CLAN MACAULAY, IMPERIAL STAR, NIEUW ZEELAND. Steamer JOAHNN DE WITT, escort RAN DD WATERHEN, departed Port Said on the 14th and joined the convoy at sea. The convoy arrived at Piraeus on the 16th.

On their return, VAMPIRE, MOHAWK and NUBIAN conducted an ASW sweep in the Aegean. WATERHEN had been detached to Suda Bay to refuel and rejoined before the DDs arrived back at Alexandria on the 18th. AN.7 of 5 transports carrying 830 men and 710 vehicles and a bulk petrol carrier departed Alexandria and Port Said, escort ASW trawlers, CLA CALCUTTA, DD ILEX. The convoy was covered by CLs ORION and AJAX. The convoy arrived at Piraeus on the 19th. The trawlers returned to Suda Bay. CALCUTTA and ILEX proceeded to Alexandria.

BBs BARHAM and VALIANT, CVL EAGLE (now repaired), DDs HYPERION, DAINTY, DIAMOND, JERVIS, GREYHOUND, GALLANT, GRIFFIN and RAN VENDETTA departed Alexandria early on the 16th to cover these movements. The covering force called at Suda Bay on the 17th. Later that day, engine problems in BARHAM forced The ships to return. 9 Greek troopships, escorted by 8 RHN DDs and other escort vessels, departed Suda Bay on the 17th for Salonika. CLA COVENTRY departed Pireaus and joined this convoy on the 18th until arriving in the Petali Gulf. The cruiser arrived back at Alexandria on the 19th. The convoy completed unloading by the 20th.

Fce H. led by BC RENOWN, and including CV ARK ROYAL and CVE ARGUS (acting as aircraft transport), CLs SHEFFIELD (radar equipped) and DESPATCH, DDs FAULKNOR, FORESTER, FURY, WISHART, FIREDRAKE, FOXHOUND, FORTUNE, DUNCAN departed Gibraltar on Operation WHITE. This was a failed aircraft resupply operation. The forces were divided into Force A with CVE ARGUS, CL DESPATCH, DDs FAULKNOR, FORESTER, FIREDRAKE, FOXHOUND, FORTUNE. Fce B was BC RENOWN, CV ARK ROYAL, CL SHEFFIELD, DDs FURY, WISHART, DUNCAN. This was a flyoff of Hurricanes from ARGUS to Malta. Flyoff took place on the 17th in two flts of 6 Hurricanes each, each lead by a Fleet Air Arm Skua. Two Hurricanes crashed short of Malta in the first flight; the pilot of one was rescued by a Sunderland Flying Boat. The rest of this flight, the Skua and four Hurricanes, arrived at Malta. The second flight was lost en route to Malta through a navigational error, with no survivors from the Hurricanes. The Skua crashed landed on SW coast of Sicily. The drew were taken prisoner. SHEFFIELD arrived back at Gibraltar on the 18th and the rest of Force H.arrived back on the 19th. DDs VIDETTE and WRESTLER departed Gibraltar to meet BB ROYAL SOVEREIGN, arriving from Freetown, having completed her repairs. The ships arrived at Gibraltar on the 18th.

Red Sea/Indian Ocean
CL COLOMBO was off Mogadishu and carried out several bombardments. Several ships were damaged before COLOMBO was replaced by the CERES.

Malta
Weather Bright and fine.

1350-1407 hrs Air raid alert for four or more enemy fighters, believed to be Italian CR42s, which approach the Island ad 21000 feet. AA guns engage the raiders which turn away before crossing the coast.

November 15 Friday
UNITED KINGDOM: A clear moonlit night provides ideal conditions for Operation Moonlight Sonata, a major Luftwaffe raid on the ancient industrial city of Coventry in the English Midlands. At 1820 hours, 13 Heinkel He-111 bombers (of Kampfgruppe 100) drop marker flares to illuminate the city. After KG 100 drop the incendiaries, the resulting fires guide in three streams of 449 bombers from KG 1, KG 26, KG 27, KG 55, LG 1 and KuFlGr 606, flying multiple sorties in small groups all night and returning to bases in France to reload. They drop 450 tons of high explosive bombs (to damage water mains and crater roads, hindering firefighting efforts), 50 parachute bombs (to blast off rooftops over a wide area), 36,000 incendiary bombs (to ignite the old wood timbered buildings) and 127 parachute land mines. The massive night time raid killed 568, injured 863, and destroyed 60,000 buildings (including the city's 14th Century cathedral). The whole city lays in flames and the main spire of the brownstone cathedral is the only thing left standing. The rest of the city, built between 1373 and 1450, is ruble and debris. RAF night fighters lack radar and are ineffective; only 1 He111 is shot down by anti-aircraft fire. British intelligence officers received this information two days prior from a captured German airman, but they incorrectly thought the information was meant for deceit and the actual target would be London. German propaganda gloats, using the term "Coventrate" for the strategy of leveling British cities. It is a strategy that will come back to haunt Germany.

Fw. Karl Hier of JG 76, who was captured after mistakenly landing at a French airfield in November of 1939 and released in June 1940, is killed in combat with Spitfires over London. Fw. Hier had fifteen aerial victories against the Allies. Also killed is Uffz. Rudolf Miese of 4./JG 2 when he is shot down on a mission to Selsey Bill, England.

British tug HMS "Guardsman" hit a mine and sank in the mouth of the Thames Estuary, England, killing 2.

ASIA: IJN "Ryujo" returned to active duty after a long time of repairs. Constituting the 3rd Carrier Division, together with the IJN "Hosho", she was posted to the 1st Fleet. IJN "Ryujo" carried sixteen A5M4 fighters and eighteen B5N1 carrier attack planes. "Akagi" was assigned as special duty ship in Yokosuka Naval District, Japan.

Isoroku Yamamoto was promoted to the rank of admiral. Hiroaki Abe became the commanding officer of Japanese Navy Destroyer Squadron 6. Captain Tamotsu Takama was named the commanding officer of "Nachi". Rear Admiral Shigeki Ando was named the chief of staff of Chinkai Guard District in southern Korea.

Vice Admiral Teruhisa Komatsu succeeded Vice Admiral Boshiro Hosogaya as the commanding officer of the Ryojun Military Port (previously known as Port Arthur; now Lushunkou, Liaoning Province, China), Kwantung Leased Territory in northeastern China. Vice Admiral Tsunejiro Ishii was made the commanding officer of Maizuru Naval Arsenal in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan.

MEDITERRANEAN: A convoy of 5 transports, escorted by British warships, departed from Alexandra, Egypt for Pireaus, Greece, carrying 4,230 troops, 700 trucks, gasoline, and other supplies.

19 days after the Italian invasion from Albania, Greeks have cleared the invaders from their soil. Reinforced with troops from the border with Bulgaria, Greece now has a numerical advantage. Greek forces go on the offensive, taking advantage of confusion caused by the Italian retreat to attack their defenses on the Albanian border. The Greek counteroffensives continue with especial success for the advance from western Macedonia in the area around Mount Morava. Greek 8th Infantry Division attacked in the Kalamas and Negrades sectors, Greek 1st Infantry Division attacked in Pindos sector and the Greek 9th Infantry Division, 10th Infantry Division, and 15th Infantry Division attacked in the Koritsa sector.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-65 sank British ship "Kohinur" 200 miles southwest of Sierra Leone at 1511 hours; 17 were killed. As Norwegian tanker "Havbør" stopped to pick up the 68 survivors, U-65 attacked her with a torpedo at 1816 hours, igniting her cargo of 11,500 tons of crude oil, killing 28 of her crew and 31 survivors of "Kohinur". Only 36 from "Kohinur" and 4 from "Havbør" would ultimately survive.

GERMANY: 67 British Wellington, Whitley, and Hampden bombers attack Hamburg, Germany, doing extensive damage to the city and shipyards, with no loss of aircraft.

EASTERN EUROPE: The Warsaw ghetto in Poland was sealed from the rest of the city, enclosing 400,000 Jews inside.

NORTH AMERICA: In the Caribbean, US flying boats begin patrols from bases in Bermuda.

NORTH AFRICA: Italian air force attacked Matruh with 25 CR-42 fighters.

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November 16 Saturday
MEDITERRANEAN: The Italians retreat on the Pindus and Epirus fronts. A Greek Cavalry Division enters Konitsa in Pindos sector while Greek 1st Infantry Division captures Kamenik Heights. In Albania, Greek 3rd Army Corps breaks through the defenses of Italian 9th Army near Korçë in the Morava Mountains. Greek 8th Infantry Division continues attacking in the Kalamas and Negrades sectors. Greek 9th Infantry Division, 10th Infantry Division, and 15th Infantry Division are attacking in the Koritsa sector.

500 miles away, residents of the town of Menton on the French Riviera 1 mile from the Italian border mock their Italian neighbors with a sign "This is French territory. Greeks, do not advance any further". Far to the south, 4,230 British troops arrived at Pireaus, Greece by sea.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Four German cargo ships leave the port of Tampico, Mexico but fail to evade the British blockade. German vessels "Phyrgia", "Idarwald", "Orinoco", and "Rhein" depart Tampico and attempt to reach Germany. American destroyer "Punket" intercepted German tanker "Phrygia". The "Phrygia" is scuttled while the "Idarwald" and "Rhein" return to Tampico.

German submarine U-65 sank British ship "Fabian" with torpedo and her deck gun 250 miles southwest of Sierra Leone, killing 6. 33 survivors were briefly interrogated, given food and water, and placed in lifeboats. They would later be rescued by British tanker "British Statesman".

German submarine U-137 sank British ship "Planter" 30 miles north of Ireland at 2015 hours; 13 were killed and 60 survivors were picked up by British destroyer HMS "Clare".

British anti-submarine trawler HMT "Arsenal" collided with Polish destroyer "Burza" 4 miles south of Toward, Clyde River estuary, Scotland. "Arsenal" sank as her depth charges were detonated, which damaged HMS "Arrow" which came to rescue survivors. Tug "Superman" also participated in the rescue.

German weather vessel WBS-4 sunk by RN cruiser "Naiad" in the North Atlantic.

WESTERN FRONT: Colonel General Heinz Guderian takes command of 2.Panzerarmee. Colonel General Hermann Hoth takes command of 3.Panzerarmee.

GERMANY: RAF carries out daylight attacks on Cologne and Bremen and night raids on Hamburg and Antwerp. RAF bombers attacked Hamburg, for the second day in a row. 131 British Bomber Command aircraft made raids on four Hamburg targets.

EASTERN EUROPE: The borders of the Warsaw ghetto are shut off from the rest of the city by walls 10 feet high.

UNITED KINGDOM: Luftwaffe carries out heavy attacks on the south coast and appear over the Hebrides for the first time. Luftwaffe aircraft attack London overnight with 87 aircraft.

King George VI visits devastated Coventry.

RAF creates a Spitfire photo-reconnaissance unit.

NORTH AFRICA: Italian bombers attack Alexandria overnight.

..

16 November 1940
Known Reinforcements
Neutral
Raven Class MSW USS OSPREY (AM 56)


Allied
Type I Hunt Class Escort DD HMS COTSWOLD (L 54); Fairmile B HDML 1011

HMS COTSWOLD departed Greenock to work up at Scapa Flow. She arrived at Scapa Flow on the 17th. Following working up, she was assigned to DesFlot 21 operating in the Nore.

Motor Anti-Submarine Boat MA/SB 53
(New Source:British Power Boat Co )

MGB 53 originally ex French Navy MA/SB+ requisitioned by the Royal Navy c1940. Built Hythe

Losses
MV PLANTER (CDN 5887 grt) Sunk by U-137 (Herbert Wohlfarth) Crew: 3 (13 dead and 60 survivors) Cargo: Fruit and Veg from Egypt Route:Suez - Freetown - Manchester ;Convoy SLS-53; Sunk In the Western Approaches; At 2015 hrs the PLANTER, a romper from convoy SLS-53, was torpedoed and sunk by U-137 about 30 miles NNW of Bloody Foreland. Twelve crew members and one passenger were lost. The master, 58 crew members and one gunner were picked up by HMS CLARE and landed at Liverpool.


MV FABIAN (UK 3059 grt) Sunk by U-65 (Hans-Gerrit von Stockhausen) Crew: 39 (6 dead and 33 survivors) Cargo: Mixed Goods Route: Liverpool - Capetown - Port Said - Istanbul ;Convoy OB-234 (dispersed); Sunk In the Central Atlantic SW of Sierra Leone
At 1429 hrs the unarmed FABIAN, dispersed from convoy OB-234, was hit in the foreship by one torpedo from U-65 about 350 miles SSW of Freetown. At 1554 hours, the U-boat surfaced and sank the ship with five of eight rounds fired. The Germans then questioned the survivors, treated two injured men and provided food and water. The master and 32 crew members were picked up by the British steam tkr BRITISH STATESMAN and landed at Freetown.


ORP DD BURZA accidently sank ASW trawler ARSENAL (RN 550 grt) in a collision off the Clyde, four miles sth of Toward. The trawler sustained no casualties. DD ARROW and tug SUPERMAN stood by. ARROW was damaged by the explosion of trawler ARSENAL's DCs. Repairs to her machinery were done in the Clyde, completing on 14 January 1941. BURZA was repaired in the Clyde completing on 27 January 1941.

UBOATS
At Sea 16 November 1940
U-29, U-43, U-47, U-65, U-93, U-100, U-103, U-104, U-123, U-137, U-138.
11 boats at sea.

OPERATIONS
North Sea
CA NORFOLK completed repairs in the Tyne begun in October.

The LW was again out in the Nth Sea, and on this day attacked FS.335. British steamer SHERBROOKE was damaged by German bombing 8 miles SE of Orfordness. British steamer DAGENHAM was damaged on a mine two and a half cables ENE of Mouse Light Vessel.

Northern Waters
CLA CURACOA transferred from convoy WN.38 to convoy EN.26 and escorted it to Pentland Firth. AA ship ALYNBANK departed Scapa Flow at 0545 to meet convoy WN.38 in Pentland Firth and escorted it to Methil. DD SIKH was detached from the BC REPULSE's screen to refuel at Skaalefjord. The DD refuelled and departed on the 17th to rejoin the force.

Central Atlantic
Steamers PHRYGIA (Ger 4137 grt), along with other german steamers IDARWALD, and RHEIN botled up in Tampico, made a run from the harbour in an attempt to return to Germany. A fourth German steamer, steamer ORINOCCO also departed Tampico, but broke down near the mouth of the Rio Panuco which connects Tampico with Gulf of Mexico. She was towed back to Tampico by the tug that was accompanying her to sea. USN DDs PLUNKETT , MCCORMICK and BROOME were on patrol off Tampico, and immediately began shadowing of the runners, transmitting course and position in the clear. steamer PHRYGIA thought she had been intercepted and scuttled herself. After unsuccessful attempts to throw off the US DDs, steamers IDARWALD and RHEIN arrived back at Tampico on the 18th.


Med- Biscay
Sub TRIUMPH arrived at Gib from England.

Pacific/Far East/Australia Station
NZ Manned CL ACHILLES departed Sydney to patrol off Auckland Island on the 20th and Campbell Island on the 21st. The cruiser arrived at Lyttleton on the 23rd.

17 November 1940
Losses
MV SAINT GERMAIN (UK 1044 grt) Sunk by U-137 (Herbert Wohlfarth); Crew: 18 (0 dead and 18 survivors); Cargo: Mine Support Timbers Route: Leixoes, Portugal - Port Talbot ;Convoy HG-46 (Straggler); Sunk In the Western Approaches; At 1730 hrs , U-137 spotted two ships from the convoy HG-46 and sank them both, expending one torpedo on each kill. The ships were hit NNW of Tory Island. The SAINT GERMAIN was hit at 2014 hours and the VERONICA at 2040 hrs. The SAINT GERMAIN was hit in the bow, developed a list to port and stayed afloat abandoned until she sank the next day. The master and 17 crew members were picked up by Flower Class Corvette HMS MALLOW (K 81) and landed at Londonderry.



MV VERONICA (SD 1318 grt) Sunk by U-137 (Herbert Wohlfarth); Crew:20 (17 dead and 3 survivors); Cargo: Iron Ore Route: Aguilas, Spain - Gibraltar - Barrow-in-Furness ;Convoy HG-46 (Straggler); Sunk In the Western Approaches; The unarmed VERONICA was struck by the torpedo on the port side at the after end of #2 hold while steaming in a moonless night on a non-evasive course at 7 knots and sank by the bow in 30 secs about 36 miles NNW Tory Island. The master had sighted the U-boat about 200 meters off the port beam just a few moments before the torpedo explosion, which destroyed the bridge and trapped his leg under wreckage. He was dragged down, but managed to get free and came to the surface beneath a raft with two slightly injured men on it who hauled him aboard. In the early morning of 23 November, they were picked up by the Icelandic motor fishing vessel ERNA about 11 miles NNW of Oversay Island and taken to a hospital after being landed at Londonderry in the afternoon.


UBOATS
Departures
Kiel: U-52

At Sea 17 November 1940
U-29, U-43, U-47, U-52, U-65, U-93, U-100, U-103, U-104,, U-123, U-137, U-138.
12 boats at sea.

OPERATIONS
North Sea
FN.336 departed Southend, escort DD WOOLSTON and sloop LOWESTOFT. The convoy arrived at Methil on the 19th. FS.337 departed Methil, escort DDs VALOROUS and VERSATILE. The convoy arrived at Southend on 19 November. DD VIMY departed Rosyth for the Tyne to escort British steamer KYLEFISHER. VIMY departed the Tyne at 1700 on the 18th. In the early hours of the 19th she rendezvoused off May Island with DD SOMALI and submarine depot ship TITANIA from Rosyth.

Northern Waters
British minefield BS.47 was laid by ML TEVIOTBANK and DD ICARUS. AA ship ALYNBANK transferred from convoy WN.38 to EN.27 and then to WN.39 off Buchanness. CLA CURACOA departed convoy WN.38 in Pentland Firth and arrived at Scapa Flow on the 17th.

West Coast UK
OB.244 departed Liverpool escort DDs CASTLETON, VISCOUNT, WHITEHALL, sloop SANDWICH, corvettes CYCLAMEN, HIBISCUS, RHODODENDRON. The escort, less sloop SANDWICH, was detached on the 21st. Sloop SANDWICH was detached on the 22nd. DD DOUGLAS departed Liverpool for Scapa Flow where she arrived on the 18th.

Ships of WS.4B departed Liverpool on the 17th and ships from Clyde departed the next day. The two sections met on the 18th. The convoy was composed of troopships ANDES , VICEROY OF INDIA , DUCHESS OF ATHOLL , OTRANTO , ORCADES , STRATHALLAN , STRATHAIRD , EMPRESS OF CANADA , REINA DEL PACIFICO , STRATHNAVER . The convoy was escorted by CA DEVONSHIRE, which was relieved on the 20th by CA NORFOLK , CL EDINBURGH from the Clyde and given local escort by British and Canadian DDs OTTAWA, SKEENA, ST LAURENT, SAGUENAY, ST ALBANS, ST MARYS, BATH.

Channel
DD BURNHAM departed Plymouth to work up at Scapa Flow, ariving on the 19th.

Nth Atlantic
HX.89 with 12 steamers departed Halifax escort by RCN DDs COLUMBIA and ST FRANCIS and aux PVs ELK and HUSKY. The Canadian DDs were detached on the 18th. Ocean escort was AMC COMORIN, which was detached on the 28th. BHX.89 departed Bermuda on the 15th, but returned to Bermuda later that same day and did not join HX.89. On the 28th, DD WARWICK and corvettes CAMPANULA, FLEUR DE LYS, PERIWINKLE joined the convoy. On 29 November DD WANDERER and corvette CLEMATIS joined. Corvette CAMPANULA was detached on the 30th. ASW trawler HUDDERSFIELD TOWN escorted the convoy in Home Waters. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on 1 December.

Malta
Eight Hurricane fighter aircraft which were due to land in Malta were reported missing. The fighters were part of an operation to deliver twelve Hurricanes as reinforcements for the Island's RAF fighter defence force. The Hurricanes arrived in the western Mediterranean on board the aircraft carrier HMS ARGUS escorted by part of the Mediterranean fleet. The first of two waves of six Hurricanes and a Skua took off from ARGUS at 6.15 this morning to fly onward to Malta. The second wave set off an hour later.

Just after 9am the pilot of a Short Sunderland flying boat sent to guide the first formation to Malta saw two Hurricanes ditch into the sea. He was able to rescue one of the pilots, Sergeant R A Spyer, who reported that he had run out of fuel. The remaining four Hurricanes and the Skua landed safely at Luqa at 9.20am.

November 17 Sunday
UNITED KINGDOM: There is a nighttime raid on Southampton by 150 German aircraft and attacks on London overnight with 49 aircraft. Corpo Aereo Italiano attacks Harwich overnight with 6 bombers.

Oblt. Eberhard Henrici, Staffelkapitän of 1./JG 26 is killed in combat over the Channel. He had seven victories flying Bf 109s with JG 26. Also killed this day is Roloff von Aspern of JG 54 who is shot down in combat. He had eighteen victories against the Allies.

British Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding was removed as the head of RAF Fighter Command after losing a political struggle with Sholto Douglas and other Big Wing proponents, despite his brilliant performance conserving fighters and pilots in the Battle of Britain. Nonetheless, he will be rewarded with a peerage in 1943 as Baron Dowding of Bentley Priory. Dowding is sent to work for the Ministry of Aircraft Production in the section dealing with orders for American planes. A new RAF Command for Army Cooperation is created, to be led by Air Marshal Arthur Barratt.

WESTERN FRONT: RAF made day attacks on the invasion ports and night raids on the Ruhr, Lorient and German airfields.

Adolf Galland claimed his 53rd, 54th, and 55th victories.

Pierre Barjot was assigned to Marseille, France to oversee merchant shipping.

MEDITERRANEAN: Greek 3rd Army Corps engaged in heavy fighting with Italian 9th Army near Korcë, Albania. The Greek Liuba Detachment attacked toward lower Kalamas River in Thesprotia sector and Greek 8th Infantry Division attacked in Kalamas sector while the Greek 2nd Infantry Division attacked in Negrades sector. The Greek 9th Infantry Division, 10th Infantry Division, and 15th Infantry Division continued attacking in Koritsa sector.

British aircraft carrier HMS "Argus" launched 12 Hurricane and 2 Skua aircraft to reinforce Malta, but 6 Hurricane aircraft were ditched at sea and 1 Skua aircraft crash landed on Sicily, Italy after becoming lost.

General DeGaulle departs Free French Africa for London.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-137 attacked Allied convoy HG-46 40 miles north of Ireland, sinking British ship "Saint Germain" at 2014 hours (entire crew of 18 survived) and Swedish ship "Veronica" at 2040 hours (17 killed, 3 survived).

GERMANY: Overnight, RAF bombers raided Hamburg, Germany for the second consecutive night. British bombers also conduct a raid on the Gelsenkirchen oil plant, in the Ruhr, during the night. Egmont Prinz zur Lippe-Weißenfeld scored his first victory; his victim was a British Wellington bomber.

EASTERN EUROPE: The USSR demands control of Bulgaria and the withdrawal of German troops from Finland before it will join the Tripartite Pact.

EAST AFRICA: The Royal Navy announces that it has carried out a heavy bombardment of Mogadishu, Italian Somaliland.

ASIA: The Battle of South Kwangsi reaches a conclusion as the Japanese 22nd Army burns down Chinhsien and completes withdrawal to Hainan Island.

..

18 November 1940
Known Reinforcements
Axis
MSW Type 1935 M-25, S Boat S-58
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Neutral
Soviet S (Stalinec) class S-33


Allied
Flower Class Corvette HMS TULIP (K 29)


Losses
MV CONGONIAN (UK 5065 grt) Sunk by U-65 (Hans-Gerrit von Stockhausen); Crew: 36 (1 dead and 35 survivors); Cargo: Empty Route: Liverpool - Freetown ;Convoy Unescorted; Sunk off the Coast of Sierra Leone; At 1802 hrs the unescorted CONGONIAN was hit in the engine room by one stern torpedo from U-65 WSW of Freetown and sank after being hit aft by a coup de grace at 1812 hours. One crew member was lost. The master and 34 crew members were picked up by CA DEVONSHIRE and landed at Freetown on 29 November.


RM submarine BARACCA sank Steamer LILIAN MOLLER (UK 4866 grt) from dispersed convoy SL.53. While en route from Calcutta, India, to London, via Cape of Good Hope Freetown, Sierra Leone, dispersed from Convoy SL.53, LILIAN MOLLER was sunk by 2 torpedoes fired by MAGGIORE BARACCA. Exact location of the loss is confused. The entire crew of the British steamer were lost


Steamer NESTLEA (UK 4274 grt), became a straggler from SL.53, and was then sunk by the LW in 50‑38N, 10‑00W. The entire crew of the British steamer were rescued.

Motor barge ABILITY (UK 293 grt) was sunk on a mine in 51‑45ZN, 01‑11E. The entire crew of seven were rescued. The mine was laid by DKM TBs on 29/30 October in minefield "Alfred."

Drifter GO AHEAD (UK 100 grt) was sunk in a collision at Sheerness.

UBOATS
At Sea 18 November 1940
U-29, U-43, U-47, U-52, U-65, U-93, U-100, U-103, U-104, U-123, U-137, U-138.
12 boats at sea.

OPERATIONS
North Sea
AA ship ALYNBANK transferred to convoy EN.28 at Methil. The convoy was escorted to Pentland Firth.

FN.337 departed Southend, escort DDs WALLACE and WESTMINSTER. The convoy arrived at Methil on the 20th. FS.338 departed Methil, escort DD VIMIERA and sloop WESTON. The LW hit convoy FN.337. British steamer S. N. A. 8 was damaged off Swin Light Vessel, steamer LANGLEETARN was damaged off Lowestoft, Norwegian steamer FAVORIT was damaged also near Lowestoft.
Sloop LOWESTOFT, escorting convoy FN.336 off Lowestoft, shot down a HE111 bomber. British steamer BIELA was damaged in 52‑26N, 16‑31W. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 20th.

West Coast UK
Minelaying in St Georges Channel (at the southern end of the Irish Sea, between Ireland and Wales) began to extend the SN.1 and SN.2 minefields. On the 18th, MLs SOUTHERN PRINCE, AGAMEMNON, PORT QUEBEC, PORT NAPIER, MENESTHEUS laid minefield SN.3 in the NW approaches, escorted by DDs BRILLIANT, BULLDOG, BEAGLE. The DDs had departed Scapa Flow on the 17th for Loch Alsh, arriving at 1800. The MLs and DDs departed Loch Alsh on the 18th for the minelaying. The force arrived back at Loch Alsh on the 19th having successfully carried out the operation.

RAN CA AUSTRALIA docked at Liverpool for refitting from 22 November , but soon after commencement of the refit was struck by a 3000 pound dud bomb which then bounced off the ship onto the dry dock. The CA was under repair and refit until 27 December, and cleared from Liverpool docks on the 29 December.

OB.245 departed Liverpool escort DD SABRE and corvettes ASPHODEL and PICOTEE as well as ASW trawler VIZALMA. Corvettes ASPHODEL and PICOTEE was detached later that day. On the 19th, DDs MALCOLM and SARDONYX, corvette HELIOTROPE and ASW trawler WELLARD which joined the escort. On the 20th corvette MALLOW joined. The escort was detached on the 22nd.

Med- Biscay
CA YORK departed Port Said with a bn of troops for Suda Bay and AA guns for placement in the Athens port of Piraeus. The cruiser arrived at Suda Bay on the 19th and departed that day for Piraeus. The guns were delivered and cruiser YORK departed Piraeus on the 20th. On the 10th, CA DORSETSHIRE turned over convoy WS.3 to Red Sea escorts. The CA then departed Aden for Durban.
In operation ROPE on the 18th, CA DORSETSHIRE bombarded Dante in Italian Somaliland. British tkr EL NAWRAS was damaged by the RA at Alexandria.

Coastal steamer ARDITA IV (FI 54 grt) was sunk by Greek bombing at Valona.

Red Sea/Indian Ocean
Convoy BN.9 departed Aden, escorted by CL LEANDER, DD KINGSTON, sloops AUCKLAND, HINDUSTAN, SHOREHAM. KINGSTON and SHOREHAM were detached on the 20th. LEANDER and the two remaining sloops were detached on the 22nd. Sloop CLIVE joined on the 22nd and arrived with the convoy at Suez on the 25th. BS.9B departed Port Sudan, escorted by DD KIMBERLEY and sloop YARRA. The convoy was joined on the 21st by sloop INDUS. The convoy was dispersed off Aden on the 21st.

DKM Raider PINGUIN sank steamer NOWSHERA (UK 7920 grt) in the Indian Ocean in 31‑02S, 100‑51E. All Europeans on the steamer were made prisoners of war. RAN CA CANBERRA was in the area returning to port after searching for the ship that sank Norwegian tanker OLE JACOB, but no contact was made.

November 18 Monday
GERMANY: Overnight, RAF bombers raided Gelsenkirchen in the Ruhr region of Germany, bombing the Scholven/Buer hydrogenation plant, which made aviation fuel, and Gelsenberg-Benzin-AG plant, which converted bituminous coal to synthetic oil. RAF Bomber Command sends 11 aircraft to attack Leuna synthetic oil facility in Merseburg overnight.

Hitler meets with Italian Foreign Minister Ciano over Mussolini's disastrous invasion of Greece. At their meeting in Obersalzberg, Hitler excoriated Ciano for opening an opportunity for the British to enter Greece and establish an airbase in Athens, putting the Brits within striking distance of valuable oil reserves in Romania, which Hitler relied upon for his war machine. It also meant that Hitler would have to divert forces from North Africa, a high strategic priority, to Greece in order to bail Mussolini out. Hitler considered leaving the Italians to fight their own way out of this debacle—possibly even making peace with the Greeks as a way of forestalling an Allied intervention. But Germany would eventually invade, in April 1941, adding Greece to its list of conquests.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: In an Atlantic operation a U-boat approaching a convoy is detected by a Sutherland flying boat fitted with an Air to Surface Vessel (ASV1) radar set. This is the first time such a location has been achieved by airborne radar in operational conditions.

German submarine U-65 sank British tanker "Congonian" 125 miles west of Freetown, Sierra Leone at 1802 hours; 1 was killed and 35 survived.

Italian submarine "Baracca" sank British ship "Lilian Moller" 250 miles northwest of Ireland, killing the entire crew.

MEDITERRANEAN: British cruiser HMS "York" departed Port Said, Egypt with a battalion of troops for Suda Bay, Crete, Greece, and anti-aircraft guns for Piraeus, Greece.

Greek Liuba Detachment forces Italian defenders to retreat from Igoumenitsa and across Kalamas River in Thesprotia sector as the Greek 8th Infantry Division continues attacking in Kalamas sector. Greek 9th Infantry Division, 10th Infantry Division, and 15th Infantry Division make no progress in Koritsa sector.

.

19 November 1940
Known Reinforcements
Allied
Flower Class Corvette HMCS COLLINGWOOD (K 180)

COLLINGWOOD showing her as she appeared with her extended fo'cstle. Shge was The first RCN corvette to enter service, and served in the North Atlantic throughout the war.

Flower Class Corvette HMS FREESIA (K 43)


Flower Class Corvette HMS HOLLYHOCK (K 64)


HOLLYHOCK was bombed and sunk by Japanese naval aircraft on 9 April 1942 east of Ceylon in the Indian Ocean, along with the CVL HERMES, the RAN DD VAMPIRE and two tankers.

Fairmile B Motor Launch ML 138


Motor minesweeper MMS 1 (J 501)

MMS1 was the lead ship in a class of over 330 ships

Rescue Tug HMS PRUDENT (W 73)

Losses
DDs CAMPBELL and GARTH on patrol in the Thames Estuary ambushed DKM S Boats S 38, S 54, and S 57 as they were positioning themselves in readiness to attack merchant shipping. During the ensuing fight SBoat S-38 (DKM 115 grt) 1was sunk.

FS.339 departed Methil, escorted by DDs VANITY and WOLFHOUND. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 21st. MSW trawler FONTENOY (RN 276 grt) was sunk by the LW off Lowestoft. There were no casualties on the trawler.

UBOATS
At Sea 19 November 1940
U-29, U-43, U-47, U-52, U-65, U-93, U-100, U-103, U-104, U-123, U-137, U-138.
12 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
North Sea
CLA CURACOA departed Scapa Flow to join convoy WN.40. The convoy was attacked by the LW from 1740. The attacking planes were driven off by CURACOA's gunfire and escorting British Blenheim NF a/c. DD COSSACK, MAORI and ESKIMO departed Scapa Flow on Operation DL, a sweep off the Norwegian coast commencing at 2135 in 63N and passing Budgrunden Bank and Langgrunds Bank until 0200/20th when the course was altered to the west. Only one fishing boat was sighted and the weather was too rough to permit boarding. The destroyers arrived back at Scapa Flow on the 21st. DD PUNJABI departed Scapa Flow to boiler clean at Rosyth. The DD arrived at Rosyth at 1100. DD BEDOUIN departed Portsmouth at 1700 to return to Scapa Flow after repairs, and arrived at Scapa Flow at 1400 on the 21st. DD DOUGLAS departed Scapa Flow to take over the escort of British steamer KYLE FISHER and submarine depot ship TITANIA to the Clyde. DD SOMALI arrived at Scapa Flow. DDs DOUGLAS and VIMY parted company with the convoy during the later afternoon of the 21st. The DDs arrived back at Scapa Flow during the late morning of at 22nd. DDs BEVERLEY and BROADWAY departed Plymouth to work up at Scapa Flow. The ships arrived at Scapa Flow late on the 21st.

British steamer FOLDA was damaged by the LW in 51‑47N, 01‑30E.

SW Approaches
OG.46 with 39 ships departed Liverpool, Clyde, Oban, Bristol with Corvette CANDYTUFT from the Clyde and corvette CALENDULA from Oban escorting the convoy from Home Waters. DD CALDWELL escorted the convoy from 19 to 24 November. Corvette HONEYSUCKLE escorted the convoy from 19 to 24 November. Corvette CALENDULA was relieved on the 20th by corvette BLUEBELL, which remained with the convoy until 24 November. Corvette CANDYTUFT escorted the convoy until 24 November. Sloop DEPTFORD escorted the convoy from 19 November to 5 December. DD WESTCOTT escorted the convoy on the 22nd. Near Gibraltar, the convoy was joined by DD WISHART on 3 December. WISHART escorted the convoy until its arrival at Gibraltar on 5 December.

Central Atlantic
SLS.56 departed Freetown. DD LEAMINGTON escorted the convoy from 5 to 9 December. SLS.56 rendezvoused with convoy SL.56. The combined convoy arrived at Liverpool on 12 December.

Med- Biscay
CL NEWCASTLE departed Gibraltar on the 17th, arrived at Malta with 200 airmen and stores as part of Operation WHITE. NEWCASTLE was to have arrived at the same time as the a/c flown off from CVE ARGUS on the 17th, but German minelaying around Plymouth delayed her departure from Plymouth until 13 November, arriving at Gibraltar on the 16th. After delivery of this ground force to Malta, the CL proceeded to Alexandria arriving on the 22nd. DDs DUNCAN and FORESTER departed Gibraltar to meet arriving CL MANCHESTER and troopship FRANCONIA. They arrived at Gibraltar on the 21st. CL SHEFFIELD departed Gibraltar to meet CL SOUTHAMTPON relieving her as escort of steamers CLAN FORBES, CLAN FRASER, NEW ZEALAND STAR. SOUTHAMPTON arrived at Gibraltar on the 22nd. On 22 November, DDs WISHART, WRESTLER, VELOX departed Gibraltar to join CL SHEFFIELD. DD VIDETTE sailed on the 23rd to relieve DD WISHART. CL SHEFFIELD arrived at Gib on the 24th after detaching from the convoy. DDs DUNCAN and HOTSPUR with corvettes PEONY, SALVIA, HYACINTH, GLOXINIA departed Gib to join the steamers and escort them through the Straits of Gibraltar in darkness. Sub UPRIGHT departed Gibraltar for patrol, then proceeding to Malta.

Red Sea/Indian Ocean
Convoy BS.9 departed Suez, escorted by sloops CLIVE and GRIMSBY. The sloops were detached when the convoy was joined by CL LEANDER, CLA CARLISLE, DD KINGSTON, sloops AUCKLAND and HINDUSTAN. RAN CL HOBART joined on the 26th. The convoy was dispersed off Aden on the 26th.

Malta

November 19 Tuesday
UNITED KINGDOM: 357 German aircraft bombed Birmingham, England, overnight, dropping 403 tons of high explosive bombs and 810 incendiary bombs. KG 100 again leads the group of bombers from KG 26, KG 54, KG 55 and KuFlGr 606. About 900 were killed and 2,000 injured. Five bombers are shot down including a He 111 from 2./KG 55, shot down by anti-aircraft fire and crashing in Warwickshire. Another bomber, a Ju 88 A-4 is shot down by a Beaufighter IF of RAF No 604 Squadron becoming the first radar kill of the war.

German motor torpedo boats S-38, S-54 and S-57 venture into the Thames Estuary. They are attacked by British destroyers HMS "Campbell" and HMS "Garth", sinking S-38.

Noor Inayat Khan joined the British Women's Auxiliary Air Force, receiving the rank of Aircraftwoman 2nd Class.

MEDITERRANEAN: Greek I, II and III Corps troops defeat the invading Italians and mount a counter-attack against the Italians, driving the greater part of Italian Ninth Army back into Albania. Italian troops were driven across the Kalamas River in northwestern Greece by Greek troops. Greek Liuba Detachment prepared to cross Kalamas River in Thesprotia sector while Greek 8th Infantry Division continued attacking in Kalamas sector. Greek 2nd Infantry Division captured Agios Kosmas in Negrades sector and Greek 11th and 13th Infantry Divisions became committed to operations in Koritsa sector. There was heavy fighter combat in the air over the Koritsa area. To the south, British cruiser HMS "York" arrived at Suda Bay, Crete, Greece and disembarked a battalion of troops.

EASTERN EUROPE: RAF bombers attacked the Skoda armament plant at Pilsen, Czechoslovakia with little effect. The Skoda works will remain undamaged until almost the end of the war.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German bombers attacked an Allied convoy in the North Sea 12 miles off the coast of East Anglia, England, sinking minesweeping trawler HMT "Fontenoy" and damaging 3 freighters. Sloop HMS "Lowestoft" shot down one German bomber.

NORTH AMERICA: The Canadian government approves initiation of mass production of war bacteria.

WESTERN FRONT: Pro-Nazi Swiss National Movement is banned in Switzerland.

GERMANY: Adolf Hitler tells Spanish Foreign Minister Serano Suner to make good on an agreement for Spain to attack Gibraltar, a British-controlled region. This would seal off the Mediterranean and trap British troops in North Africa. Hitler was keen on pushing Spain in this direction. But when the Fuhrer emphasized the need to move quickly, the Spanish foreign minister, on orders from Franco, insisted that Spain would need 400,000 tons of grain before it could wage war against Britain. Hitler knew this was merely a delaying tactic; Franco did not want to commit his country to the war, even as he allowed German subs to refuel in Spanish ports and German spies to keep tabs on British naval forces in Gibraltar.

.

November 20 Wednesday
UNITED KINGDOM: The bombers of I./KG 55 return to raid Birmingham. 116 German bombers dropped 132 tons of high explosive bombs and 296 incendiary bombs on Birmingham, England, overnight and suffer one He 111 destroyed upon returning to Dreux airfield.

WESTERN FRONT: Oblt. Josef 'Pips' Priller of 6./JG 51 is transferred to JG 26 as Staffelkapitän of 1st Staffel in place of Oblt. Henrici, lost on 17 November.

Without much fanfare, Reichsmarschall Göring rescinds his order of 31 July in which the emblem of JG 53 was to be removed from all the Geschwader's aircraft and replaced by a red band. The response to this malicious command was an order by the Kommodore of JG 53, Hptm. Wolf-Dietrich Wilke, to remove the Swastika from the tailfins of the aircraft along with the Geschwader emblem. With the removal of Göring's order, the Swastika slowly begins reappearing on the "Pik As" fighters. As if in celebration, the Geschwader shoots down its 500 aircraft of the war.

EASTERN EUROPE: Hungarian Prime Minister Teleki and Foreign Minister Csaky signed a protocol in Vienna, Austria, joining the Tripartite Pact.

MEDITERRANEAN: British cruiser HMS "York" delivered anti-aircraft guns to Piraeus, Greece and returned to Alexandria, Egypt.

Italian torpedo boat "Confienza" sank after colliding with Italian armed merchant cruiser "Capitano A. Cecchi" off Brindisi, Italy.

No. 261 Squadron RAF was transferred to RAF Station Takali.

RAF Air Marshal Boyd is captured by Italians when his plane makes a forced landing in Sicily.

INDIAN OCEAN: German armed merchant cruiser "Pinguin" stopped British ship "Maimoa" with gunfire in the southern Indian Ocean after a long chase. The crew of 87 were taken prisoner and the ship was scuttled.

British bombers sank Italian ship "Ardita III" in the Red Sea off Assab, Italian East Africa.

NORTH AMERICA: U.S. Secretary of War Henry Stimson and British Minister of Supply Sir Walter Layton agreed to a partial standardization of British and American military weapons and equipment. The agreement established a general policy of pooling British and American technical knowledge, patents, and formulas for weapons production.

ASIA: In what will become known as the "100th Regiment Offensive," Chinese Communists stage guerrilla raids against Japanese forces. They succeeded in blowing up bridges and tunnels and ripping up track, and went on to attack Japanese garrisons frontally. About 600 mi (970 km) of railways were destroyed, and the Jingxing coal mine—which was important to the Japanese war industry—was rendered inoperative for six months. It was the greatest victory the CCP fought and won during the war.

.

20 November 1940
Known Reinforcements
Allied
Flower Class Corvette HMS MARGUERITE (K 54)


MSW Whaler Hektor 7
[NO IMAGE]

Losses
TB CONFIENZA (RM 875 grt) was sunk in an accidental collision with Italian armed merchant cruiser CAPITANO A. CECCHI (2321grt) off Brindisi.


Coastal steamer ARDITA III (FI 57 grt) was sunk by British bombing at Assab.

DKM Raider PINGUIN sank steamer MAIMOA (UK 8011 grt) in the Indian Ocean at32‑14S, 100‑56E. The entire crew were made prisoners of war. RAN CA arrived at Fremantle. On hearing of this attack the cruiser put out to sea. The heavy cruiser departed the same day for steamer MAIMOA's position.On 22 November, CANBERRA rescued some crew from steamer PORT WELLINGTON sunk the next day and searched for the German ship until 24 November. The Australian cruiser returned to Fremantle on the 27th.


MSW HMAS GOORANGI (RAN 223 grt) was lost in a collision off Port Phillip with British troopship DUNTROON. The entire crew of some 23 were lost in the ex-trawler.


UBOATS
Departures
Kiel: U-94, U-95, U-140

At Sea 20 November 1940
U-29, U-43, U-47, U-52, U-65, U-93, U-94, U-95, U-100, U-103, U-104, U-123, U-137, U-138, U-140.
15 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
North Sea
FN.338 departed Southend, escort DDs VALOROUS and VERSATILE. The convoy arrived at Methil on the 22nd. FS.340 departed Methil, escort DD WINCHESTER and sloop EGRET. The convoy arrived at Southend on 22 November.

British tanker CHESAPEAKE was damaged by a German bomb off the Lizard.

Northern Patrol

Northern Waters
CLA CURACOA transferred to convoy EN.29. AA ship ALYNBANK arrived at Scapa Flow as AA component of the EN.28 escort. DDs BRILLIANT, BEAGLE, BULLDOG departed Loch Alsh and joined DD ELECTRA which departed Scapa Flow at 1430. The DDs rendezvoused off the Butt of Lewis and proceeded to 60N, 17W to meet BB RODNEY and escort her into Scapa Flow. The four DDs met RODNEY on the 22nd as planned, but BULLDOG lost touch after the rendezvous during the night and arrived at Scapa Flow at 1400/23rd. The BB and the other DDs arrived at Scapa Flow on the 23rd. DDs BRADFORD and BROADWATER departed Plymouth at 1800 to work up at Scapa Flow. BROADWATER put into Milford Haven on the 21st to correct defects. BRADFORD arrived at Scapa Flow on the 22nd.

West Coast UK
OB.246 departed Liverpool escort DD WALKER. On 21 November, sloop CHEVREUIL and corvettes CROCUS and HEARTSEASE joined the escort. The escort was detached on the 24th.


SW Approaches
HG.47 departed Gibraltar with 30 ships. Sloop ROCHESTER escorted the convoy from 20 November to 4 December. DD HOTSPUR escorted the convoy on the 20th only. DDs HIGHLANDER and SAGUENAY joined the convoy on the 30th. DD SAGUENAY was torpedoed on 1 December and was assisted by DD HIGHLANDER to port. DDs ACHATES and ANTHONY were detached from convoy SL.55 to replace the destroyers. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on 4 December.

DDs FOXHOUND and FORTUNE departed Gibraltar to join CVCL FURIOUS and escort her to Freetown.

Malta

November 21 Thursday
WESTERN FRONT: The I Gruppe of JG 77 was redesignated as IV./JG 51 with Hptm. Johannes Janke retaining his post as Gruppenkommandeur. Based at Marquise, the unit uses Bf 109Es for operations against the Allies.

GERMANY: German warships "Scharnhorst", "Gneisenau", "Köln", and "Leipzig" departed for a sweep against Allied shipping between Iceland and the Faroe Islands.

The German 6.Armee exercised a simulated invasion of Ireland.

MEDITERRANEAN: Greek troops defeated the Italian IX Army and captured Koritza, Albania. The surviving elements of the Italian IX Army was able to escape without being harassed as the Greeks were poorly motorized and could not give chase.

INDIAN OCEAN: German armed merchant cruiser "Pinguin" attacked British freighter "Port Brisbane" in the southern Indian Ocean. "Port Brisbane", carrying a cargo of 5000 tons of frozen meat, 3000 tons of wool, butter and cheese from Adelaide to Britain, is armed with two 6-inch guns. Well after dark, "Pinguin" approaches "Port Brisbane" and, seeing her armaments, shells her to a standstill (killing the radio operator). 67 were taken prisoner and 27 escaped in a lifeboat. "Port Brisbane" was sunk by torpedo after scuttling charges failed to sink her. 27 crew escape in a lifeboat and are picked up by Australian cruiser HMAS "Canberra", which has been sent to locate "Pinguin". However, "Pinguin" gets away.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-103 fired torpedoes from a surfaced position at Allied convoy OB-244 200 miles northwest of Ireland at 0740 hours, sinking British ship "Daydawn" (2 killed, 36 survived) and Greek ship "Victoria" (entire crew of 27 survived). A ship in the convoy attempted to ram U-103, but U-103 dodged the ramming attack. U-103 fired a torpedo at her attacker, but that torpedo, though striking the target, failed to detonate.

UNITED KINGDOM: A German aircraft bombed the British Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire, England, damaging the diplomatic section, the telephone exchange, and the typists room. There were no casualties. The attack was almost certainly accidental, as the Germans did not know of the importance of this site. Diplomatic section suffers a direct hit, damaging the telephone exchange and typists' room and a bomb damages the nearby vicarage. A bomb lands near Hut 4, lifting it off the foundations. 3 other bombs fail to explode.

The British No. 2 Commando Battalion was redesignated 11th Special Air Service Battalion for training as paratroopers.

NORTH AMERICA: In the United States the Dies report on German and Communist espionage and subversive activities is published. As in the similar investigations which have been made in Britain, the strength of these disruptive elements is wildly overestimated and accompanied with call for preventive measures.

SOUTH PACIFIC: In Sydney the Australian government presents its war budget for the coming year. Twenty percent of the national income is to be devoted to war expenditure and it to be financed by considerable increases in taxation.

..

21 November 1940
Known Reinforcements
Axis
Type IXB U-110

3 ships sunk, total tonnage 10,149 GRT, 2 ships damaged, total tonnage 8,675 GRT U-110 was captured on 9 May 1941 in the Nth Atlantic east of Cape Farewell, Greenland by the HM DDs BULLDOG and BROADWAY and the corvette HMS AUBRETIA. After obtaining vital information, the boat was allowed to sink the day after to preserve the secret of her capture.

Raum Boat R-60

R60 R-boat (Räumboot) was built by Abeking Rasmussen shipyard located in Lemwerder, Germany as a MSW and SC escort vessel. The vessel served in the 5. Räumbootsflottille during World War II. On the 14 September 1941, the R60 was sunk due to sabotage at 0230 hrs in Helsinki, East Dock, along with R61 and R62, 61 personnel killed.

Losses
MV DAYDAWN (UK 4768 grt) Sunk by U-103 (Viktor Schütze); Crew: 38 (2 dead and 36 survivors); Cargo: Coal Route: Barry - Rio Santiago, Argentina; Convoy OB-244; Sunk In the Western Approaches; At 0740 hrs, U-103 fired torpedoes at the convoy OB-244 about 250 miles west of Bloody Foreland and sank the DAYDAWN. Schütze reported a hit on an unknown steamer running directly for the U-boat, but the torpedo glanced off and did not explode. U-103 was attacked and claimed sunk by Corvette RHODODENDRON, which was escorting convoy HX.87/OB.244 with DDs VANQUISHER, VISCOUNT, WHITEHALL, CASTLETON and corvette HIBISCUS. U.103 was not damaged. However, U.104, which is generally credited to corvette RHODODENDRON in this attack, survived several more days to sink two tkrs on the 27th. U.104 was to be lost on the 28th NW of Tory Island to a mine. The submarine on her first war patrol was lost with all hands of forty nine crew. After the convoy duty, the corvettes arrived at Liverpool on the 26th and the DDs arrived at the Clyde on the 28th.

At 0750 hrs another attack was made and the DAYDAWN. 36 crew members from the DAYDAWN were picked up by Corvette RHODODENDRON.

MV VICTORIA (UK 6085 grt) Sunk by U-103 (Viktor Schütze); Crew: 27 (0 dead and 27 survivors); Cargo: Ballast Route: Avonmouth - Botwood, Newfoundland ;Convoy OB-244; Sunk In the Western Approaches ; During an attack on convoy OB 244 NW of Ireland (in which two ships were sunk), MV VICTORIA of the convoy vessels attempted turned to ram the surfaced U-103. U-103 evaded this atack before she fired a torpedo at the vessel, which missed, and just managed to evade ramming. At 0750 hrs, after the attack on the DAYDAWN, another attack on the convoy was made and the VICTORIA was sunk. The VICTORIA was abandoned by the crew, later located in 56°08N/14°20W and a tug was sent out to recover the ship, but failed to find her on 23 November. The survivors were picked up by HMS CASTLETON.


U.103 attacked a third steamer at the same area, but the torpedo glanced off the steamer's hull and did not explode.

Steamer DAKOTIAN (UK 6426 grt) was sunk on a mine in Dale Roads, Milford Haven. The entire crew was rescued.
(Photo Source: WW2 Loss: - ss DAKOTIAN)


Drifter XMAS ROSE (UK 96 grt) was sunk on a mine in the Thames Estuary. the skipper and 3 other ratings were lost.

Schooner BRIGETTE RAABE (Ger 375 grt) was badly damaged in a collision eighteen miles south of Utklippan. She was not salvable and her wreck was sunk. She was sunk when on route from Stugsund for Germany with a cargo of timber. She was built by Gartha Verft of Arendal and owned by Fritz Raabe of Rostock, Germany.

UBOATS
At Sea 21 November 1940
U-29, U-43, U-47, U-52, U-65, U-93, U-94, U-95, U-100, U-103, U-104, U-123, U-137, U-138, U-140.
15 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
North Sea
CLA CURACOA transferred to convoy WN.41. FN.339 departed Southend, escort DD VIMIERA and sloop WESTON. The convoy arrived at Methil on the 23rd. FS.341 departed Methil, escort DDs VERDUN and WOLSEY. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 23rd.

West Coast UK
Greek steamer PELEUS was damaged on a mine at Milford Haven.

Nth Atlantic
HX.90 departed Halifax escorted by RCN DD ASSINIBOINE, aux PV FRENCH, corvette WINDFLOWER. The convoy was given ocean escort by AMC LACONIA which was detached on 1 December. BHX.90 departed Bermuda on the 19th escort AMC MALOJA. The two convoys merged on the 24th and at that point the AMC was detached. DDs VANQUISHER and VISCOUNT joined on 1 December and sloop FOLKESTONE and corvette GENTIAN on 2 December. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on 5 December.

Central Atlantic
SL.56 departed Freetown escort AMC BULOLO to 8 December and sloop BRIDGEWATER to 22 November. The convoy rendezvoused with convoy SLS.56. On 9 December DD HIGHLANDER and on 10 December DD BURNHAM joined the convoy. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on 12 December.

Med- Biscay
Gk DD AETOS claimed sinking an Italian submarine between Skiathos and Trikeri Channel.


ASW trawler LYDIARD attacked a submarine contact, near Port Said. The trawler was damaged by the explosion of one of her DCs and was forced to return to harbour. DDs HAVOCK and HASTY departed Alexandria on the 22nd to search in the area.

Red Sea/Indian Ocean
DKM Raider PINGUIN sank steamer PORT BRISBANE (UK 8739 grt) in the Indian Ocean. One crewman was lost from the British steamer. 58 crew, 2 gunners and a passenger were made POWs. RAN CA CANBERRA refuelling at Fremantle and lRAN CL PERTH on convoy duty were dispatched to search for the German ship. PERTH escorted her convoy away from the danger area before joining the search. No contact was made, but CANBERRA was able to rescue the survivors from PORT WELLINGTON and take them to Fremantle.
(Photo Source: PORT BOW VIEW OF THE BRITISH CARGO VESSEL PORT BRISBANE WHICH WAS SUNK IN THE INDIAN OCEAN BY THE GERMAN AUXILIARY CRUISER PINGUIN ON 1940-11-21, HER SURVIVORS BEING RESCUED BY HMAS CANBERRA. ...)


Malta

22 November 1940
Known Reinforcements
Neutral
ELCO 70' class USS PT 14


Allied
Flower Class corvette HMCS ARROWHEAD (K 145)

After commissioning as HMS ARROWHEAD on this day, the ship sailed to Sunderland to fully fit out which took two months. She worked up at Tobermory and joined EG-4 of Iceland Command. She was transferred to the RCN in June 1941, after commissioning in the RCN, ARROWHEAD joined Newfoundland Force and spent the majority of 1941 escorting convoys from St. John's to Iceland. In late December, she was sent to Charleston for a refit. She returned to Halifax in February 1942 and did one more cross-Atlantic convoy before being reassigned to Western Local Escort Force (WLEF). In July she joined the Gulf Escort Force and participated in the Battle of the St. Lawrence. She underwent two major refits which included the fitting of radar and ahead throwing ASW weaponary. Her Fo'c's'le was extended at Baltimore (Maryland, U.S.A.) on 25 May 1944. She was decommissioned and returned to the RN on 27 June 1945. Sold in May 1947. Became the merchantile Southern Larkspur in 1948. Scapped at Odense, Denmark in November 1959.

Losses
MV CREE (UK 4971 grt) Sunk by U-123 (Karl-Heinz Moehle); Crew: 45 (45 dead - no survivors); Cargo: Iron Ore; Route: Pepel - Freetown (27 Oct) - Workington ; Convoy SL-53 (Straggler); Sunk In the Western Approaches; At 0021 hrs the CREE, a straggler from convoy SL-53, was torpedoed and sunk by U-123 about 365 miles west of Bloody Foreland. The master, 42 crew members and two gunners were lost.


ML.127 (RN 75 grt) was sunk on a mine in the Thames Estuary. The skipper and ten ratings were lost in the motor launch.

Trawler ETHEL TAYLOR (UK 276 grt) was lost on a mine 7.5 cables 090° from the Tyne Pier Light. Two crew were lost on the trawler.

Steamer PIKEPOOL (UK 3683 grt) was sunk on a mine 23 miles ESE of Smalls Light, on a voyage from Glasgow to Barry in ballast. 16 crew and the naval gunner were lost on the steamer.


Tug HERCULES (UK 82 grt), towing 116 Hopper Barge, was sunk on a mine in 55‑01N, 01‑23W. Four crew were listed missing (and never found) and one was killed on the tug.

The Barge was towed into the Tyne.

UBOATS
Arrivals
Bergen: U-137

At Sea 22 November 1940
U-29, U-43, U-47, U-52, U-65, U-93, U-94, U-95, U-100, U-103, U-104, U-123, U-138, U-140.
14 boats at sea.

OPERATIONS
North Sea
CLA CURACOA transferred to convoy EN.30. AA ship ALYNBANK departed Scapa Flow for gunnery practice then joined convoy WN.42 in Pentland Firth. FN.340 departed Southend, escort DDs VANITY and WOLFHOUND and patrol sloop SHEARWATER. The convoy arrived at Methil on the 24th. FS.342 departed Methil, escort sloop LONDONDERRY. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 24th.

West Coast UK
Swedish steamer BIFROST was damaged by the LW at Alfred Dock, Birkenhead.

Nth Atlantic
Convoy SC.13 departed St Johns at 1145 escorted by RCN armed yacht HUSKY. On the 23rd, HUSKY left the convoy. No ocean escort was provided. In heavy weather, three steamers foundered in this convoy. Steamer KOLCHIS (Gk 2219 grt) on the 23rd, Steamer LISIEUX (UK 2594 grt) on the 27th and Steamer EUGENIA CAMBANIS (Gk 3470 grt) on the 28th. 23 crew were lost in KOLCHIS; none in the other two steamers. On 5 December, DDs SABRE, SCIMITAR, SHIKARI, sloop WELLINGTON, corvettes CLARKIA and HELIOTROPE joined. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on 7 December.

Med- Biscay
Steamer CHARLES PLUMIER (Vichy 4504 grt), a former AMC in Maritime Nationale service was captured by DDs FAULKNOR and FORESTER 110 miles off Gibraltar. This was a RATION operation and CL DESPATCH was at sea to cover the DDs. Vichy DD BOULONNAIS escorting the steamer was permitted to retire unmolested. She in turn allowed her charge to be captured. CHARLES PLUMIER arrived at Gibraltar on the 22nd and was renamed LARGS for British use. British tanker ZAHRA was damaged by RA bombing at Alexandria.


Malta