This Day in the War in Europe: The Beginning

10 December 1940
Western Desert Force - Capture of Sidi Barrani
On 10 December 16 Inf Bde was brought forward from 4th Indian XX reserve and with elements of 11th Indian Bde under command was sent forward in lorries to attack Sidi Barrani. Moving forward that morning across exposed ground the force took some casualties but with support from artillery and 7 RTR it was in position barring the sth and SW exits to Sidi Barrani by 1330. At 1600, supported by the whole of the division's artillery, the attack, again with the support of 7th RTR, went in. The town was captured by nightfall and the remains of the two Libyan XXs and the 4th Blackshirt XX were trapped between the 16th Infantry Bde and the Selby Force. On 11 December Selby Force supported by some tanks attacked and secured the surrender of the 1st Libyan XX. By evening the 4th Blackshirts had also ceased resisting.

The Libyan Divs were, for the most part raised from Italian settlers in Libya rather than the native population. Native troops were used, but were not in the majority.

On 10th December 4th Armoured Bde, having lent its two cruiser regiments to 4th Indian Division and Selby Force, continued to operate with armoured cars across the coast road, while its artillery and light tanks engaged various Italian camps a few miles to the south and east of Buq Buq. Early on 11th December 7th Armoured Bde (Brigadier H. Russell) moved out to deal with the enemy remaining in the Buq Buq area and made large captures of men and guns. The 4th Armoured Bde had been ordered overnight to withdraw towards Bir Enba, but a further order to cut off the enemy from the west of Sofafi was unaccountably delayed and arrived too late to be acted on.


Some of the more than 38000 Italian prisoners taken in the opening days of the campaign

Known Reinforcements
Axis
RaumBoat R-61

R-38 showing the 1941 dazzle camouflage scheme

Allied
Bathurst Class Corvette HMAS BALLARAT (J 184)


LCT MkI HMS LCT 14 (LCT 14)

Losses
Trawler TOR I (Faeroes 287 grt) was sunk on a mine in 65-20N, 12-40W.

Coastal steamer THOR (Ger 109 grt) (not to be confused with DKM Raider THOR) was sunk by gunfire near Cherbourg. The source of that gunfire is not provided.

Steamer MARANGONA (FI 5257 grt) was sunk 27 miles sth of Pantelleria on an Italian mine.

UBOATS
At Sea 10 December 1940
U-37, U-43, U-52, U-65, U-94, U-96, U-99, U-100, U-103, U-140.
10 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
Baltic
Eastern Baltic

Western Baltic

North Sea
FN.356 departed Southend, escort DDs VALOROUS and VERSATILE. The convoy arrived at Methil on the 12th. FS.358 departed Methil, escorted by destroyers BROADWAY, VERDUN, WOLSEY. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 12th.

Northern Waters
BC REPULSE with DDs SOMALI, MASHONA, BEDOUIN, ESKIMO arrived at Scapa Flow from the SN.10A covering operation. CL NIGERIA arrived at Scapa Flow after repairing defects at Devonport since 1 November. CL KENYA departed Scapa Flow for Devonport to correct defects similar to those of cruiser NIGERIA. The cruiser was taken in hand for repairs on the 13th.

DD COTSWOLD departed Scapa Flow to meet British steamer BEN MY CHREE and escort her to Lerwick. Following disembarkation at Lerwick, the steamer was escorted back to Aberdeen. DDs SOUTHDOWN, BRILLIANT, EXMOOR, PYTCHLEY departed Scapa Flow to rendezvous with BB QUEEN ELIZABETH in 52-28N, 5-28W. The DDs relieved the existing escorts on the 12th and escorted the BB to Rosyth. After a crossing of M.3 Loop , DD TYNEDALE departed Scapa Flow to patrol Nevi Kerry Boom. DD ESCAPADE was brought to one half hour notice. Later that evening TYNEDALE was withdrawn from the patrol and ESCAPADE stood down to one hour notice.

[HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH at anchor in Alexandria, surrounded by Torpedo Netting. At this time she was just completing an extensive rebuild and was undergoing final fitout and ascceptance trials. Between the wars she was the flagship of the Atlantic Fleet from 1919 to 1924. The future First Sea Lord John H. D. Cunningham served aboard her as Master of the Fleet, in 1922. From 1924 she was the flagship of the Mediterranean Fleet. Following a refit, she rejoined the Mediterranean Fleet in 1927, went to the Atlantic Fleet in 1929, and later that year returned to the Mediterranean, where she served until 1937. During the 1930s she participated in the non-intervention blockade during the Spanish Civil War.

She was rebuilt twice between the world wars; in 1926–1927 bulges were added, the funnels were trunked, four 4 inch guns were added, and a new foretop was installed. In her 1937–1941 rebuild she was fitted with a tower bridge in place of her old bridge; her 6 inch (152 mm) guns were removed and replaced by 20 (10 x 2) 4.5 in (114 mm) guns and several smaller anti-aircraft guns; horizontal armour was added; engines and boilers were replaced; and the elevation of her main battery was increased to 30 degrees. Deck armour was increased to 5 inches over the magazines, 2.5 inches over the machinery, while the new 4.5" guns had between 1 and 2 inches of armour. She also received facilities for aircraft with a launching catapult amidships. New fire control equipment was installed, including the HACS MkIV AA fire control system and the Admiralty Fire Control Table Mk VII for surface fire control of the main armament. Extensive radar suites were also included in the second rebuild. Her reconstruction was not completed until January 1941, when Britain had been at war for over a year]

Nth Atlantic
HX.95 departed Halifax at 1401 escorted by RCN DD RESTIGOUCHE and aux PV FRENCH. At 1700, FRENCH detached from the convoy and at 1555 on the 11th, the DD departed the convoy. Ocean escort was AMC AUSONIA, which was detached on the 22nd. DD VETERAN, sloop ABERDEEN, corvettes ARBUTUS and CAMELLIA joined on the 24th for inbound legs of the convoy. DD WOLVERINE joined on the 25th. The sloop and corvette ARBUTUS were detached on the 26th. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on the 27th.

Central Atlantic
CL NEWCASTLE departed Freetown for patrol in the Rio area.

Med- Biscay
HM Sub UPHOLDER departed Portsmouth for patrol in Biscay. After the patrol, the submarine arrived at Gibraltar on the 23rd. HM Sub TRIBUNE attacked a German tanker off Ile de Yeu in the Bay of Biscay, without success.

Force C (BBs BARHAM and VALIANT, CLA COVENTRY, DDs GALLANT, WRYNECK, DAINTY, JUNO, RAN DDs VAMPIRE, VENDETTA and VOYAGER) departed Alexandria to bombard Sollum. DSs HYPERION, MOHAWK, DIAMOND departed Alexandria on the 11th to join Force C.

Force D (CV ILLUSTRIOUS with CLs GLOUCESTER and CA YORK and DDs ILEX, HERO, HASTY departed Alexandria to attack El Adem airdrome at Tobruk.

On the 12th, Forces C and D.sailed for Alexandria leaving DDs HYPERION, MOHAWK, DIAMOND to patrol between Ras el Melh and Mersa Matruh. CLA COVENTRY remained to search for an X lighter reported in distress between Mersa Matruh and Barrani. On the 13th, Forces C and D.arrived at Alexandria. DD HEREWARD departed Alexandria and joined DDs JERVIS, NUBIAN, JANUS forming Force B.

Organisational changes in the Italian Naval Staff were made.

Naval Chief of Staff, Admiral Cavagnari was replaced by Admiral Riccardi. The Commander of the Italian Fleet became Admiral Iachino, former commander of the 2nd Squadron. His predecessor Admiral Campioni became Deputy Chief of Staff, replacing Admiral Somigli.

BB VENETO with two DD divs : Adm Iachino

5th Division - BBs CESARE and DORIA with one DeDiv: Adm Bruto Brivonesi

Cru Div 1 - CAs ZARA, POLA, FIUME, GORIZIA with two DesDivs: Adm Cattaneo

Cru Div 3 - CAs TRIESTE, TRENTO, BOLZANO with one DesDiv: Adm Sansonetti

Cru Div 7 - CLs EUGENIO, AOSTA, MONTECUCCOLI with two Des Divs: Adm Casardi

Cru Div 8 - CLs ABRUZZI, GARIBALDI, ATTENDOLO with one Des Div: Adm Legnani

Cru Div 9 - CLs BANDE NERE and DIAZ with two Des Divs: Adm Marenco

Red Sea/Indian Ocean
CL SOUTHAMPTON, en route from Aden to meet Troop Convoy WS.4B, bombarded Kismayu. Japanese steamer YAMAYURI MARU was damaged during the bombardmernt.

Malta

December 10 Tuesday
GERMANY: Georg von Bismarck was named the commanding officer of the 20th Rifle Brigade.

Wilhelm Keitel issues a brief order stating that Operation Felix, the capture of Gibraltar, would not be carried out at this time, as Spanish leader Francisco Franco refused to allow a German invasion of Spain.

NORTH AFRICA: Operation Compass. British and Indian troops overrun the last 2 Italian camps on the coastal plain. Overnight, the isolated forward base at Maktila is abandoned by 1st Libyan Division (colonial troops fighting for Italy) after shelling from British monitor HMS "Terror" and gunboats HMS "Ladybird" and "Aphis". In the afternoon, Indian 4th Infantry Division and British 7th Royal Tank Regiment captured Sidi Barrani, pushing Italian 4th Blackshirt Division and another Libyan colonial division into the desert. Italian troops from the camps at Sofafi and Rabia flee west as the 7th Armoured divisions thrust threaten to encircle them.

Adolf Hitler issues Directive No. 19: "Undertaking Attila", detailing plans to occupy more of France if French forces in colonies show signs of revolt. Preparations are to be made to prevent the French fleet sailing to British hands, and to take control of French airports. He also orders German Fliegerkorps X to Southern Italy, to attack British ships in the Mediterranean. http://der-fuehrer.org/reden/english/wardirectives/19.html

Hitler condemns British aristocracy and 'financial magnates' in speech to Berlin munitions workers, and predicts:

'...there will be no defeat of Germany, either by military or economic means, or by time.'

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UNITED KINGDOM: A shell fired randomly across the English Channel from one of Germany's massive 280mm rail guns fell within a few feet of the British 13.5in "Peacemaker" rail gun at Martin Mill, England severely damaging one of its bogies and mortally wounding one of the Royal Marine gunners.

The first executions under the Treason Act took place. Jose Waldberg, 25, a German national, and Karl Heinrich Meier, 24, a Dutchman of German origin, were hung at Pentonville Prison following their conviction at the Old Bailey in November. Waldberg and Meier had landed by rowing boat at Dungeness on the Kent coast on the 3rd September 1940. They had been escorted across the Channel and only had to row the last distance up to the shore. It was intended that they would pose as refugees and move around the country reporting on British troop movements and military installations. They had a substantial amount of cash that was supposed to sustain them until the German invasion, which they were told was to be on the 15th September. They would then make themselves known to the Germans with a secret password. They did not get far. Meier was apprehended when he tried to get into conversation with an ARP warden who promptly asked for his Identity Card. When Waldberg said "we have only just arrived" he not only aroused further suspicion but gave away the fact that he was not alone. The police were called. After a short interrogation he led them to Waldberg. Two other German spies who arrived further along the coast the same day got no further. Kieboom and Pons were seen landing, and the police were called when they asked locals where they were. Kieboom was executed a week after the other two. Pons was able to successfully argue that he had been coerced into the role, having been threatened with a concentration camp by the Germans, and had always intended to give himself up.

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11 December 1940 (Part I)
Western Desert Force -
BUQ BUQ
On 11 December 7 Armoured Brigade was ordered out of reserve and relieved 4th Armoured Brigade in the Buq Buq area to clear it of remaining opposition and made large captures of men and guns.

SOFAFI
On 11 December a patrol from 7th Support Group (SG) entered Rabia to find it empty. The Cirene XX had withdrawn from there and Sofafi overnight. An order to the withdrawing 4th Armoured Bde to cut them off west of Sofafi arrived too late and they were able to make their way along the top of the escarpment to link with Italian forces at Halfya.

EXPLOITATION
Over the next few days the British 4th Armoured Bde, on top of the escarpment, and 7th Armoured Bde, on the coast, endeavoured to pursue vigorously. They encountered acute supply problems exacerbated by the large number of prisoners (twenty times the number planned for) and found it extremely difficult to advance.

Italian forces crowded into the coast route while retreating from Sidi Barrani and Buq Buq were easy targets for the HMS TERROR and the two gunboats which bombarded the Sollum area all day and most of the night of 11 December causing many casualties. It was at about that time that the RM issued a bounty for the sinking of the TERROR. By late 12 December the only remaining Italian positions in Egypt were at the approaches to Sollum and a force in the region of Sidi Omar.

BRITISH REDEPLOY INDIAN DIVISION TO THE SUDAN
O'Connor wanted to continue attacking. He wanted to get at least as far as Benghazi. However, on 11 December Genl Wavell whose command stretched down into Africa, had ordered the Indian 4th Inf XX to withdraw to take part in an offensive against Italian forces in IEA. O'Connor would state, "[This] came as a complete and very unpleasant surprise . . . It put 'paid' to the question of immediate exploitation . . . ". Far from being seen as the main front, the western desert was given fairly low priority by both Whitehall and the Army leadership at this time.

The Australian 6th Inf XX (AIF) replaced the Indian troops from 14 December. But there were doubts about the Australians, who had barely finished training, were missing their armoured recon regt, and as yet had only one artillery regiment equipped with the new 25 pdr fld guns.

The exploitation continued nevertheless by the two armoured bdes and the SG of 7th Armd XX with the infantry of 16th Inf Bde (which had not gone with 4th Ind XX to the Sudan) following up. By 15 December Sollum and Halfya had been captured as well as Fort Capuzzo while all Italian forces had been cleared from Egypt. 7th Armd XX was concentrated SW of Bardia awaiting the arrival of 6th Aus XX to make the attack on Bardia. By this time the WDF had taken 38,300 prisoners and captured 400 artillery pieces and 50 tanks and destroyed 73 others while suffering casualties of 133 killed, 387 wounded and 8 missing. Over 1000 soft skinned vehicles were captured (not all in operational condition), the most important capture was when, on 12 December, a Reserve Mechanical Transport company captured at gunpoint 80 Italian 5- and 6-ton diesel trucks at Sidi Barrani. They were joined on 15 December by 50 7½-ton trucks that arrived from Palestine. These were to prove critical in the coming phases of the battle.

Fiat 611C Heavy truck, representative ofr the of the type captured at Sidi Barrani

7th Armoured was able to move quickly west along the Via della Vittoria, through Halfaya Pass, and captured Fort Capuzzo before enveloping Bardia.

Known Reinforcements
Axis
Type IID U-147
2 ships sunk, total tonnage 6,145 GRT
1 ship damaged, total tonnage 4,996 GRT
1 ship a total loss, total tonnage 2,491 GRT
Sunk on 2 June 1941 in the North Atlantic NW of Ireland, by DC attack from the HM DD WANDERER and the HM corvette PERIWINKLE, with all hands lost.

Neutral
Leningrad Class Flotilla Leader TBLISI


Allied
KGV Class BB HMS KING GEORGE V (41)


N Class DD HMAS NAPIER (G 97)


HMAS NAPIER received the following Battle awards during the war:
CRETE 1941
LIBYA 1941
INDIAN OCEAN 1942–44
BURMA 1944–45
PACIFIC 1945
OKINAWA 1945

LCTs Mk I HM Ships LCT 1, 2, 15

Fairmile B HDML 144 (ML 144) , 155 (ML 155)

Losses
MV EMPIRE STATESMAN (UK 5306 grt) Sunk by U-94 (Herbert Kuppisch); Crew: 32 (32 dead - no survivors); Cargo: Iron Ore; Route: Pepel - Freetown - Oban - Middlesbrough; Convoy SLS-56 (straggler); Sunk In the Western Approaches; At 1912 hrs the unescorted EMPIRE STATESMAN, a straggler from convoy SLS-56 due to engine troubles since 21 November, was torpedoed and sunk by U-94 west of Ireland. The master, 30 crew members and one gunner were lost.


Hybrid Liner-Steamer ROTURUA (NZ 10890 grt) Sunk by U-96 (Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock); Crew: 131 (23 dead and 108 survivors); Cargo: Passengers and refrigerated meat and butter. Extra cargo of wood; Route: Lyttelton, New Zealand - Panama - Halifax - Barry - Avonmouth; Convoy HX-92; Sunk In the Western Approaches; At 1512 hrs the ROTURUA in convoy HX-92 was hit by one G7e torpedo from U-96 while steaming at 9.5 knots about 110 miles NW of St. Kilda, Outer Hebrides. The ship had been in station as the ship of the convoy commodore (Rear-Admiral J.U.P. Fitzgerald, CB, RN) with 20 passengers (service personnel), but the convoy had been scattered in a gale on 7/8 December and she was leading a group of about twelve merchant ships without escort when attacked. The lookout in the crow's nest spotted the torpedo only 100 yards away and tried to telephone the bridge but it struck on starboard side forward before he got through. The explosion shattered the bulkhead to the engine room that was flooded, causing all lights to fail and an immediate list of 15-20° to starboard. The wireless room was completely wrecked, but nevertheless the operator attempted to send a distress signal before the crew, passengers and three gunners (the ship was armed with a fairly modern 4.7in gun and an ancient 12pdr gun) began to abandon ship about 10 minutes after being hit. One of the port lifeboats had been damaged by the gale and #7 starboard boat had its after davit carried away by the explosion, so they launched the remaining six lifeboats but had some difficulties due to moderate sea with a choppy swell that kept crashing the boats against the side of the ship. The ROTURUA sank by the stern after about 20 minutes. The master, the commodore, three naval staff members, 14 crew members, one passenger and two gunners were lost. At 1540 hours, the U-boat surfaced to question the survivors in the boats but had to dive again before they could do so because the CARDITA had turned back to come to assistance and opened fire with her deck gun. 15 minutes later U-96 fired one G7e torpedo at the tanker which was missed and managed to escape after laying a smoke screen.

During the afternoon the lifeboats were sighted by a Sunderland flying boat that led three armed trawlers to them. The 25 survivors in #5 boat in charge of the fourth officer were picked up by Armed Yacht VARANGA at 1940 hrs. ASW MSW Alsey then rescued the 34 survivors in #1 and #6 boats at 2030 hrs, while Armed Yacht EBOR WYKE picked up 49 survivors from #3 and #4 boats, but one of them subsequently died. All survivors were landed at Stornoway in the evening of 12 December.


MV TOWA (NL 5419 grt) Sunk by U-96 (Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock); Crew: 37 (18 dead and 19 survivors); Cargo: Grain 48 trucks Route: Sorel - Sydney - London ; Convoy HX-92; Sunk In the Western Approaches; At 2052 hrs the TOWA in convoy HX-92 was hit amidships on the starboard side by one G7e torpedo from U-96 and stopped. When the ship did not sink after a coup de grace hit at 2130 hrs, the U-boat surfaced and began shelling the ship at 2202 hrs. 16 rounds were fired that caused the ship to sink at 2242 hrs. The crew abandoned ship in three lifeboats, but one of them capsized when it was lowered incorrectly, the occupants fell into the sea and drowned. The men in one of the other boats were questioned by the Germans, but the Germans misunderstood the name of the vessel as Dover. The master and four men were picked up by DD MATABELE, and then somewhat later the remaining survivors and landed them all at Scapa Flow on 16 December.


Trawler ROBINIA (UK 208 grt) was sunk on a British defensive minefield in 65‑20N, 12‑40W. The entire crew was rescued.

December 11 Wednesday
ATLANTIC OCEAN: German freighter "Rhein", already being monitored by American destroyers "Simpson" and "MacLeish", was intercepted by Dutch destroyer "Van Kinsbergen" near the Florida Straits. Her crew scuttled the ship to avoid capture.

German submarine U-96 attacked Allied convoy HX-92 125 miles northwest of the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, sinking British liner "Rotorua" at 1512 hours (16 crew, 2 gunners, convoy HX-92 commodore Rear-Admiral Fitzgerald and 3 service personnel passengers killed). 108 survivors are picked up by British armed trawlers HMT "Varanga", HMT "Ebor Wyke" and HMT "Alsey". 2 crew are taken prisoner by the U-boat and landed at Lorient on 29 December. At 2242 hours U-96 sinks Norwegian SS "Towa" carrying 7778 tons of grain and 48 trucks (18 killed, 19 survivors picked up by destroyer HMS "Matabele").

German submarine U-94 sank British ship "Empire Statesman" 225 miles west of Ireland at 1912 hours, killing the entire crew of 31.

NORTH AFRICA: The small town of Sidi Barrani on the Egyptian coast was the first of the main Italian positions to fall during the British 'Operation Compass'. British 7th Armored Brigade attacked Buq Buq, Egypt, forcing Italian 64th Infantry Division to surrender. Meanwhile, Indian 4th Infantry Division and British 7th Royal Tank Regiment forced the surrender of Italian 4th Blackshirt Division and two colonial Libyan divisions in the desert. Free French troops attached to British Eight Army play a key role in victory over the Italians at Sidi Barrani. However, the British advance begins to lose steam; Indian 4th Infantry Division is ordered to Sudan by General Wavell, to take part in offensives against Italian forces in East Africa. They will be replaced by the raw Australian 6th Division.

On the coast, British battleships HMS "Barham" and HMS "Valiant" escorted by anti-aircraft ship HMS "Coventry" and 7 destroyers, bombarded Italian positions at Sollum, Egypt. The Allied forces had now captured 38,000 Italian prisoners of war, 237 guns, and 73 tanks.

Aircraft from aircraft carrier HMS "Illustrious", escorted by 2 cruisers and 3 destroyers, attack Italian-held El Adem airfield at Tobruk, Libya.

UNITED KINGDOM: 278 German aircraft attacked Birmingham, England, dropping 277 tons of high explosives and 685 incendiary bombs. 6 churches, 11 schools, and several hundred houses are damaged.

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11 December 1940 (Part II)
UBOATS
At Sea 11 December 1940
U-37, U-43, U-52, U-65, U-94, U-96, U-99, U-100, U-103, U-140.
10 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
North Sea
FN.357 departed Southend, escort DD VIMIERA and sloop WESTON. The convoy arrived at Methil on the 13th. FS.359 departed Methil, escorted by DD VORTIGERN and sloop EGRET. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 14th.

Northern Waters
DDs ESCAPADE, ELECTRA and BULLDOG departed Scapa Flow to meet BB RODNEY and escort her to Scapa Flow. CLA CURACOA departed Scapa Flow to cover convoy WN.51. The cruiser parted company with the convoy after dark and returned to Scapa Flow.

West Coast UK
OB.257 departed Liverpool escort DDs ACHATES, ACTIVE, ANTELOPE, corvettes HEATHER and PICOTEE, ASW trawlers LADY MADELEINE and NORWICH CITY. The escort was detached on the 13th.

Channel
Due to the threat of the LW attacks, BB QUEEN ELIZABETH was moved from Portsmouth to complete her refit. On the 11th, BB departed Portsmouth, escort DDs KASHMIR, KIPLING, PUNJABI, JUPITER. They were joined by DD HOLDERNESS from Devonport. However a report of a Uboat sighting by aircraft in 50‑26N, 5‑20W, FNFL DD LE TRIOMPHANT and DDs JERSEY, WRESTLER and MONTGOMERY undertook comprehensive searches. The submarine hunt delayed the BB's progress 24 hrs. Because of the delay, the Scapa Flow DDs went to Greenock to refuel, and later departed Greenock on the 12th. En route to the Clyde, the original escorting destroyers were relieved by DDs SOUTHDOWN, EXMOOR, PYTCHLEY BRILLIANT on the 13th. The British force safely arrived the next day. The BB went on to Rosyth arriving on the 15th. The BB's refit was completed at the end of January.

Sub UNIQUE departed Portsmouth for patrol in Biscay. After the patrol, the sub arrived at Gibraltar on the 23rd. Sub USK departed Portsmouth for patrol off Fecamp. After the patrol, the submarine also arrived at Gibraltar on the 23rd. British steamer SAXON QUEEN was damaged by the LW near Sunk Head Buoy, Thames Estuary. Similarly, Swedish steamer TOR was damaged by the LW also near Sunk Head Buoy, Thames Estuary.

Med- Biscay
Two Swordfish a/c of 818 Sqn from CV ARK ROYAL collided whilst training off Europa Point. Sub TRUANT damaged RM TB ALCIONE in 35-29N, 24-11E.

Red Sea/Indian Ocean
Convoy BS.10A departed Port Sudan, escorted by sloop YARRA. The convoy was dispersed on the 16th.

HMAS YARRA early 1941 in her dazzle camouflage scheme. A most gallant ship of the RAN.

Malta

Delivering Xmas presents in London during the blitz

December 12 Thursday
GERMANY: The plan for the Russian invasion is named 'Fritz' and given as Directive 21.

EASTERN EUROPE: Hungary and Yugoslavia signed the Treaty of Eternal Friendship.

NORTH AFRICA: British 7th Armored Brigade moved into the desert to outflank Italian forces at Sollum, Egypt and to cut the road to Bardia, Libya. Sollum is strategically important, having a small bay and jetty which will allow Royal Navy to bring supplies to O'Connor's forces. The port was subjected to carrier aircraft attack by HMS "Illustrious" bombing barges in the harbour. Still heavier attacks by combined forces of Blenheims and Wellingtons from Egypt were made on Benina and El Adem aerodromes, where concentrations of enemy aircraft were known to exist. Considerable damage was caused to hangars, administrative buildings, bomb and petrol dumps and aircraft on the ground. It is believed that at Castel Beninto alone thirty-five aircraft were destroyed or damaged. Repeated daylight attacks have also been made on other enemy aerodromes and landing grounds. Meanwhile, the first groups of Italian prisoners of war began to arrive by truck at the British headquarters at Mersa Matruh, Egypt and 650 are evacuated to Alexandria by destroyers HMS "Janus" and "Juno".

ATLANTIC OCEAN: 12 miles south of the tiny Scottish island of St.Kilda, Outer Hebrides, U-96 continues its attack on convoy HX-92 overnight. U-96 sinks Swedish MV "Stureholm" at 0156 hours (4 lifeboats launch but all 32 hands are lost) and Belgian SS "Macedonier" at 0431 hours (4 dead, 2 lifeboats are spotted by an aircraft leading to 37 survivors picked up by Icelandic ship "Súlan").

WESTERN FRONT: Philippe Pétain received an invitation from Adolf Hitler to attend the ceremony in which Napoleon II's remains were to be returned from Austria to the Les Invalides cemetery in Paris, France.

ASIA: Vichy-France established diplomatic relationship with the Japanese-sponsored puppet state of Manchukuo.

The German Ambassador in Tokyo Adm Wenneker hands over to Vice Adm Kondo, Vice Chairman of the Japanese Naval General Staff a copy of a British War Cabinet report that was captured on the freighter "Automedon". The report stated that Britain was not in a position to go to war against Japan for French Indochina or Siam. Only appeasement could be considered. The report also made it quite clear that no reinforcements could be spared from the European theater of war, that the RN could not produce a Far East fleet, and that Hong Kong, Malaya, Singapore, and the Dutch East Indies were all indefensible in the face of a Japanese attack. Hitler had also ordered a copy to be given to the Japanese naval attaché, Captain Yokoi. Yokoi sent his own shortened version to Tokyo enciphered as 97 – Shiki In-ji-ki san Gata (Coral to the Americans) which could not be read by the US Navy until the spring of 1943. By any standards, the incident remains one of the worst intelligence disasters in history. On several occasions Kondo told Wenneker how this particular document had enabled Japan to open hostilities against the US so successfully. Wenneker's diary recalls:

"Kondo repeatedly expressed to me how valuable the information in the (British) War Cabinet memorandum was for the (Japanese) navy. Such a significant weakening of the British Empire could not have been identified from outward appearances."

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UNITED KINGDOM: British monitoring stations detected X Verfahren radio beams being laid across northern England, and suspected a German attack would take place on the city of Sheffield. In the evening, 13 He-111 bombers of Kampfgruppe 100 arrived over the Sheffield suburbs of Norton Lees and Gleadless at 1941 hours, dropping 16 SC50 high explosive bombs, 1,009 B1 E1 ZA incendiaries, and 10,080 B1 E1 incendiaries. Shortly after, three groups of German bombers, the main force, attacked. The first group consisted of 36 Ju 88 bombers and 29 He 111 bombers; the second group consisted of 23 Ju 88 bombers, 74 He 111 bombers, and 7 Do 17 bombers; the third group consisted of 63 Ju 88 bombers and 35 He 111 bombers. The 280 German aircraft heavily damaged the city center and residential districts through the night through 0400 hours on the next day. Although over 200 incidents were reported, the main Steel Valley largely escaped, and only four cases of substantial damage were reported. Many streets were blocked by debris and wrecked tramcars.

Lord Lothian, British Ambassador to USA, died aged 58.

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12 December 1940
Known Reinforcements
Allied
M Class DD HMS MARTIN (G 44)

Sunk 8 November 1942. HMS MARTIN was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-431 NE of Algiers. 161 Officers and men went down with the ship. There 63 survivors.

Bangor Class MSW HMCS CHIGNECTO (J 160)

The similar Bangor Class HMCS MELVILLE

Losses
MV MACEDONIER (BE 5297 grt) Sunk by U-96 (Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock); Crew: 41 (4 dead and 37 survivors); Cargo: Phosphates; Route: Tampa, Florida – Charleston - Halifax – Oban - Billingham; Convoy HX-92 (Dispersed); Sunk In the Western Approaches ; At 0431 hrs the unescorted MACEDONIER was struck between #4 and #5 holds by one G7e torpedo from U-96 about five miles NW of St. Kilda, Outer Hebrides. The ship, armed with one 4in gun, had been in station #12 of convoy HX-92 which was scattered earlier that night after the ship of the convoy commodore was sunk. The crew immediately abandoned ship in two lifeboats as the ship quickly settled aft, sinking by the stern six minutes after being hit. Four crew members were lost. The boats remained in the vicinity until dawn, rescued two men clinging to wreckage and then set sail. A Hudson aircraft spotted the survivors about five hours after the attack and directed the Icelandic trawler Súlan to the boats. They were picked up and landed at Fleetwood on 15 December.


MV STUREHOLM (SD 4573 grt) Sunk by U-96 (Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock); Crew: 32 (32 dead - no survivors); Cargo: Steel Scrap Iron Route: Boston - Halifax - Grangemouth - Hull; Convoy HX-92; Sunk In the Western Approaches; (STUREHOLM had been part of HX-84 which had been attacked by DKM CS SCHEER, she had escaped but returned during the night to rescue 65 of the crew of sunken AMC JERVIS BAY); At 0156 hrs , U-96 fired a G7e torpedo at the STUREHOLM in convoy HX-92 and observed a hit in the stern and the sinking of the vessel after eleven minutes. The launch of four lifeboats was also observed by the U-boat but no survivors were ever found.


UBOATS
Arrivals
Lorient: U-99 , U-103

At Sea 12 December 1940
U-37, U-43, U-52, U-65, U-94, U-96, U-100, U-140.
8 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
North Sea
AA ship ALYNBANK departed Methil to escort EN.40. FN.358 departed Southend, escort DD VIVIEN and sloop LONDONDERRY. The convoy arrived at Methil on the 14th.

Northern Waters
CV FORMIDABLE joined the Home Fleet at Scapa Flow escort DDs DOUGLAS, KEPPEL, VIMY. FORMIDABLE detached with CA NORFOLK to Freetown as Force K and departed Scapa Flow on the 18th. CL EDINBURGH arrived back at Scapa Flow. She had left Home Waters on the 17 November to escort convoy WS.4B. CLA CURACOA arrived at Scapa after escorting WN.51.

West Coast UK
OB.258 departed Liverpool escort DDs VANQUISHER, VISCOUNT, WHITEHALL, WINCHELSEA and corvettes GENTIAN and HIBISCUS. The escort was detached on the 15th.

Channel
In a minelaying mission to Brest, a Swordfish of 812 Sqn was lost and both crew were killed.

Med- Biscay
A/C from CV ILLUSTRIOUS bombed Italian barges off Bardia. DD JANUS after refuelling gunboats APHIS and LADYBIRD evacuated 200 pows from Mersa Matruh to Alexandria. DD JUNO arrived at Alexandria from Mersa Matruh on the 13th with 450 pows. Armed boarding vessel CHAKLA and netlayer PROTECTOR departed Alexandria for Sidi Barrani with supplies and to embark pows. Armed boarding vessel FIONA, off Gavdo Island, also proceeded to Mersa Matruh to embark pows. Monitor TERROR and minesweeper BAGSHOT arrived back at Alexandria.

Sub PROTEUS, which had arrived at Gibraltar on the 9th, departed Gibraltar for refitting at Portsmouth, arriving on the 20th. BS.10B departed Suez. The convoy was joined on the 14th by RAN CL PERTH, CLA CARLISLE, DD KINGSTON. Sloop INDUS joined on the 17th. The convoy was dispersed on the 17th.

Red Sea/Indian Ocean
RAN CL PERTH arrived at Aden for escort duty in the Red Sea until 22 December. The cruiser passed through the Suez Canal on the 23rd and arrived at Alexandria on the 24th for duty with the Med Flt. RAN CL HOBART departed Aden for Fremantle where she arrived on the 28th.

Malta

13 December 1940
Known Reinforcements
Allied
Fairmile "B" HNoMS ML 122 , HNoMS ML 125 and HNoMS ML 128

Royal Norwegian Navy motor launches off Dover. ML 125 is visible in centre

Losses
RN sub TRUANT sank steamer SEBASTINO BIANCHI (FI 1546 grt) ENE of Cape Spartivento.

UBOATS
At Sea 13 December 1940
U-37, U-43, U-52, U-65, U-94, U-96, U-100, U-140.
8 boats at sea.

OPERATIONS
Baltic
Western Baltic
Steamer SCHWALBE (Ger 842 grt) was lost in a stranding off the Finnish south coast.

North Sea
DD MAORI was machine gunned by a LW a/c while repairing in the Tyne. FS.360 departed Methil, escort DD WOOLSTON and sloop LOWESTOFT. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 15th. DD KEPPEL departed Scapa Flow for Rosyth for repairs. The DD arrived at Rosyth on the 14th.

Northern Waters
CL MANCHESTER arrived at Scapa Flow. The cruiser had been absent from Home Waters since departing on 15 November for COLLAR operations in the Med. CLA CURACOA arrived at Scapa Flow after escorting convoy WN.51.

The DD COTSWOLD arrived at Scapa Flow after escorting British steamer BEN MY CHREE from Lerwick to Aberdeen. DD LINCOLN arrived at Scapa Flow from Milford Haven to work up. British Lt G. F. Russell was killed when his Martlet of 802 Sqn crashed near Inverary.

SW Approaches
Hybrid Liner- Cargo Vessel ORARI was damaged by U-43 whilst enroute from Melbourne (Aus) to Avonmouth. The U-boat had followed her for six hours and was then not able to finish her off because no torpedoes were left and the deck gun could not be used due to the rough seas. The crew of ORARI managed to cover the hole by tarpaulins and made it under own power to the Clyde, where she was repaired and returned to service in March 1941.

Med- Biscay
DDs FAULKNOR, FORESTER, FURY, ISIS departed Gibraltar on the 12th. They were ordered to intercept a French convoy six miles off Cape Tresforcas, offshore of Spanish Morocco. At 0956, DD FORESTER intercepted and captured trawler AVANT GARDE (Vichy 780 grt), which was taken to Gibraltar and some time later passed on to the FNFL.

DDs HEREWARD and HYPERION were investigating a barge near Bardia. Italian submarine NEGHELLI torpedoed CLA COVENTRY causing extensive damage, but no casualties. Cruiser COVENTRY was joined and assisted by DDs HYPERION, DIAMOND, MOHAWK from at 0015 on the 14th and DDs JERVIS, JANUS and HEREWARD from 0535.

COVENTRY lost most of her bow below the waterline. The cruiser returned stern first to Alexandria arriving on the 14th, escorted by DDs JERVIS and JANUS. She was docked for Temp repairs at Alexandria on the 15th. The ship departed Alexandria on the 29th, but her Temp repairs would not stand up to the heavy sea. COVENTRY returned to Alexandria. Repairs were completed on 20 January.

An a/c and its crew attached to 830 Sqn based in ST ANGELO were lost, in an attack on Tripoli Harbour

Malta

December 13 Friday
GERMANY: Führer Directive 20 was issued to prepare for Operation Marita, the invasion of Greece. http://der-fuehrer.org/reden/english/wardirectives/20.html The purpose is to prevent the English establishment of an air base in the Balkans, which would threaten Italy and Romania. To achieve this, the forces in Romania must be increased, to be moved across Bulgaria to the north coast of Aegean when weather permits.

Twenty four German divisions begin their redeployment to Romania, through Hungary as part of Directive No. 20, Hitler's order for the preparation of Operation 'Marita', the attack on Greece.

NORTH AFRICA: British General Richard O'Conner decides his tank raid against Italian troops is going so well he will make it a full-fledged offensive. One of O'Conner's officers reports having captured "five acres of officers, 200 acres of other ranks," as the Italians surrender en masse. Repeating yesterday's successful manoeuver by 7th Armored Brigade, it is 4th Armored Brigade's turn to cross the desert (between Halfaya and Sidi Omar) to outflank the important Italian position at Bardia and cut the road to Tobruk. To counter the British naval bombardment, Italian submarine "Neghelli" attacked British cruiser HMS "Coventry" 40 miles northeast of Sidi Barrani, Egypt at 2042 hours, nearly blowing off her bow. She was able to sail under her own power to Alexandria, Egypt for repairs.

MEDITERRANEAN: British submarine HMS "Truant" sank Italian ship "Sebastino Bianchi" 20 miles off the southern tip of Italy.

UNITED KINGDOM: Douglas Bader was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-43 torpedoed and damaged British ship "Orari" (carrying 10,908 tons of food and general cargo) 450 miles west of Land's End, England at 2046 hours. "Orari" is patched up and sails to the Clyde for repairs lasting until March 1941.

WESTERN FRONT: Pierre Laval was dismissed as the Vice President of the Council, which in effect was the Prime Minister of France and appoints Flandin. He was placed under arrest shortly after. The German Ambassador subsequently intercedes on Laval's behalf.

.

14 December 1940
Known Reinforcements
Axis
Type VIIC U-71


6 May 1942; Bay Of Biscay. Outward Bound German U71 under attack by MG Fire From A Sunderland Captained By F/O S. R. C. Wood Of No. 10 Sqn RAAF. The Uboat had suffered repeated DC attacks which forced it to the surface. The U-Boat fought back with its AA, and had managed to regain trim with its bows awash. Although severely damaged, she was able to return to La Pallice, because the Sunderland had expended all of its DCs

Type 1935 MSW No. 251

Allied
Type II Escort DD HMS BLENCATHRA (L 24)

THis ship participated in the sinking of two Uboats both in 1944 and both in the Med

Mk I LST HMS LST 11

BPB 70' class MA/SB 16

Foundered off Sollum on 16 December 1941
Losses
MV KYLEGLEN (UK 3670 grt) Sunk by U-100 (Joachim Schepke); Crew: 36 (36 dead - no survivors); Cargo: Empty; Route: Middlesbrough - Oban - Baltimore, Maryland ; Convoy OB-256 (dispersed); Sunk In the Mid Atlantic; t 0816 hrs on 14 December the unescorted KYLEGLEN dispersed on 12 December from convoy OB-256, was hit on port side amidships by one G7e torpedo from U-100 about 300 miles west of Rockall. Schepke observed how the vessel, misidentified as IMPERIAL VALLEY, settled by the stern and the crew abandoned ship in the lifeboats. The U-boat then fired a G7e torpedo from the stern torpedo tube to finish off the teamer at 0906 hours, which struck KYLEGLEN on port side underneath the aft mast and caused her to sink quickly by the stern. The lifeboats were never seen again: the master and 35 crew members were lost.


MV EUPHORBIA (UK 3380 grt) Sunk by U-100 (Joachim Schepke); Crew: 4 (34 dead - no survivors); Cargo: Coal; Route: Swansea - Milford Haven - Lynn, Massachusetts; Convoy OB-256 (dispersed); Sunk In the Mid Atlantic; At 1955 hrs the unescorted EUPHORBIA, dispersed on 12 December from convoy OB-256, was hit on starboard side in the foreship by one G7e torpedo from U-100 about 310 miles west of Rockall. The U-boat had spotted the freighter about four hrs earlier in bad visibility and missed with one G7a torpedo at 1948 hrs. Schepke observed how the ship caught fire and stopped, so he waited nearby but the flames went out and the EUPHORBIA remained afloat despite a high sea and heavy swell. The ship sank quickly after being hit on port side aft of amidships by a coup de grace at 2028 hrs. The Germans then questioned the survivors in the lifeboats before leaving the area. However, the boats were never found.


Liner/Cargo Vessel WESTERN PRINCE (UK 10926 grt) Sunk by U-96 (Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock); Crew: 169 (15 dead and 154 survivors); Cargo: base metal, foodstuffs and general cargo; Route: New York - Halifax - Liverpool ; Convoy Independent; Sunk In the Western Approaches; At 0855 hrs the unescorted WESTERN PRINCE was hit in the forward part by one G7e torpedo from U-96 about 400 miles 280° from Cape Wrath. The U-boat had encountered a small freighter during the night and missed it twice with a G7e torpedo before the bigger ship was spotted and also missed with a first G7e torpedo at 0720 hrs. While the ship settled by the bow and stopped, the U-boat dived to reload the torpedo tubes and then waited until the crew abandoned ship in lifeboats. At 1021 hrs, the stricken vessel was hit again in the forward part of the vessel and caused her to sink within one minute. The master, eight crew members and six passengers were lost. 98 crew members and 55 passengers were picked up by the BARON KINNAIRD and one crew member by DD HMS ACTIVE and landed at Gourock.


UBOATS
At Sea 14 December 1940
U-37, U-43, U-52, U-65, U-94, U-96, U-100, U-140.
8 boats at sea.

OPERATIONS
North Sea
FN.359 departed Southend, escort DDs VERDUN and WOLSEY. The convoy arrived at Methil on the 16th. FS.361 departed Methil, escorted by DDs VANITY and WESTMINSTER. Patrol sloop WIDGEON joined on the 15th. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 16th. AA ship ALYNBANK arrived at Scapa Flow from convoy EN.40. Due to the weather, she was moored nth of Cava Island. ALYNBANK was damaged when British steamer EMPIRE HAWKBILL dragged anchor and fouled the anchor cable of the AA ship.

Northern Patrol
DDs DOUGLAS and BEAGLE departed Scapa Flow to rendezvous with AMC WOLFE off the Butt of Lewis and escort her to Reykavik.

Northern Waters
CLA CURACOA departed Scapa Flow to rendezvous with BB QUEEN ELIZABETH off Tiumpan Head and provide additional escort to Rosyth.

West Coast UK
BB RAMILLIES, CVL FURIOUS and CVE ARGUS arriving from the Med, CLAs DIDO and CAIRO, DDs KELVIN, ECLIPSE, COSSACK, SIKH arrived in the Clyde. RAMILLIES went to Plymouth for a refitting completed 3 January. FURIOUS went to Liverpool escort DDs KELVIN and BRADFORD arriving on the 15th, however BRADFORD sustained damage to her propellers and was taken in tow by tugs EMPIRE HENCHMAN and ABBEVILLE. She was delivered to Belfast for repair. DDs COSSACK and SIKH departed Greenock later in the day and arrived at Scapa Flow on the 15th. CLA DIDO was escorted by DD ECLIPSE and proceeded to Scapa Flow.

OB.259 departed Liverpool escort corvette ARABIS. The corvette was detached that night. On the 15th, DDs SCIMITAR, SHIKARI, SKATE, corvette MALLOW, ASW trawlers NORTHERN DAWN and WELLARD joined. SHIKARI was detached on the 16th and the remainder of the escort on the 17th.

Western Approaches
At 2102 hrs on 14 Dec 1940 the unescorted EMPIRE RAZORBILL , dispersed the day before from convoy OB-257, was attacked by U-96 with six rounds from the deck gun, observing three hits about 120 miles nth of Rockall. The U-boat had not been able to get into a favorable attack position due to bad weather and tried to stop the ship with gunfire, but ceased the attack when they saw that EMPIRE RAZORBILL was armed. U-96 decided to wait for the weather to improve, but lost contact in a snow squall during the night. The slighty damaged ship escaped and safely arrived in St. John on 24 December.

SW Approaches
Liuzzi Class sub CAPITANO TARANTINI (RM 1148 grt) was sunk by RN Sub THUNDERBOLT off Bordeaux. Attached to the Atlantic squadron of Italian submarines, the RMs CAPITANO TARANTINI had sailed 31 August 1940 from the Sicilian port of Trapani to Bordeaux under the command of Lieutenant Commander Alberto Jaschi. On 15 December, having made its first real mission in the Atlantic, the boat surfaces to negotiate the south Mine Barrier of the Gironde estuary, under the guidance of two pilot boats. At 1045, a huge explosion rang out and destroyed the stern of the sub. The British submarine HMS THUNDERBOLT having put the RM Sub under observation for some time torpedoed the CAPITANO TARANTINI . 51 men of the 56 man crew are lost.


La Melpomine Class TB BRANLEBAS (Free French 680 grt) under RN control, had her back broken and was lost in a storm 25 miles SSW off the Lizard off Eddystone Rocks. Most of the 105 man crew were lost in the French ship. On the 18th, Fr DD MISTRAL arrived at Plymouth with three survivors.


Nth Atlantic
HX.96 departed Halifax . Ocean escort was AMC RANPURA, which was detached on the 29th. The convoy was escorted into Liverpool by DDs VENOMOUS and WILD SWAN, sloop ROCHESTER, corvettes FLEUR DE LYS and GARDENIA. They arrived at Liverpool on the 30th.

Med- Biscay
CV ARK ROYAL, BC RENOWN, CL SHEFFIELD, DDs FAULKNOR, FIREDRAKE, FORESTER, FOXHOUND, FORTUNE, FURY, DUNCAN, ISIS, ENCOUNTER departed Gibraltar to patrol in the area of the Azores following reports of an invasion force near the islands. BC RENOWN and CV ARK ROYAL arrived back at Gibraltar on the 19th without contact.

DDs HYPERION, HEREWARD, DIAMOND, MOHAWK were detached from screening CLA COVENTRY for a sweep off the Libyan coast. DDs HEREWARD and HYPERION sank Sirene Class sub NAIADE (RM 680 grt) off Bardia. Three officers and twenty two ratings were rescued. The four DDs arrived at Alexandria on the 15th.

Class sister RM ZAFFIRO

RAN DDs VAMPIRE, VOYAGER, VENDETTA departed Alexandria to carry out an ASW sweep, and cover the bombarding squadron between Sollum and Mersa Matruh.

Destroyer GALLANT departed Alexandria to join convoy AN.10 of eight ships, three British, which departed Port Said on the 15th. The convoy was covered by CLs AJAX and RAN SYDNEY. Convoy AN.10's escort was taken over by RHN DDs on the 15th and GALLANT returned to Suda Bay. The convoy arrived at Pireaus on the 17th. Armed boarding vessel FIONA with 1600 prisoners and auxiliary schooners FAROUK with 200 and FAWZIA with 1300 arrived at Alexandria. After disembarking the prisoners, the ships returned to Mersa Matruh.

RM CA POLA was damaged by British bombing at Naples, resulting in the Fleet being divided into two sections to protect it from air attack, half to Maddalena and the other half to Cagliari. CAss ZARA and GORIZIA departed Naples for Maddalena. They returned to Naples on the 20th and departed again on the 22nd, when they proceeded to Taranto, arriving on the 23rd.

Red Sea/Indian Ocean
DKM raider ATLANTIS was damaged in grounding at Kerguelen Island in the Indian Ocean.

Malta

December 14 Saturday
NORTH AMERICA: Plutonium-238 was first produced and isolated.

Convoy HX 96 departs Halifax for Liverpool.

WESTERN FRONT: Philippe Pétain declined Adolf Hitler's invitation to attend the ceremony during which the remains of Napoleon II would be re-interned at the Les Invalides cemetery in Paris, France. In the same message, he also told Hitler that Pierre Laval had been dismissed from his leadership position in Vichy France, which angered Hitler.

German vessel "Rio Grande" arrives in France from Brazil with 300 prisoners taken from raider "Thor" during South Atlantic rendezvous.

NORTH AFRICA: It had always been the intention to transfer the 4th Indian Division from Egypt to the Sudan in December. They were designated to join the 5th Indian Division for the attack on Italian occupied Abyssinia. That move was confirmed on the 14th December and the Indian troops withdrawn from the battle in western Egypt. They had been in the forefront of the action over the past four days, including the assault on Sidi Barrani. In total they had suffered casualties of 41 officers and 391 men. The 6th Australian Division, who were to replace the Indian troops, were widely dispersed, some units had not yet arrived in Egypt. However the decision was now made to continue the pursuit of the Italians forces into Libya. The Italians were now falling back in disarray. Advanced elements of the British forces led by the 11th Hussars were now way out in the desert, travelling parallel to the main coast road. On the 14th December they crossed the coast road to the west of the Italian base at Bardia. Soon another huge Italian force would be trapped in their coastal garrison. A Vickers light tank (3rd The King's Own Hussars, 7th Armored Brigade) captures Fort Capuzzo, in Libya just across the border with Egypt.

The Royal Navy starts shuttling Italian POWs back to Alexandria, Egypt. Armed boarding vessel "Fiona" and auxiliary schooners "Farouk" and "Fawzia" deliver 3100 POWs from Mersa Matruh and then return. Italian submarine "Naiade", sent out yesterday to harass British warships, is detected by destroyers HMS "Hereward" and HMS "Hyperion" 20 miles Northeast of Bardia, Libya, and brought to the surface with depth charges. "Naiade" is scuttled and all 41 crew are rescued by HMS "Hereward".

8 Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers from 830 Naval Air Squadron at Malta attack the harbour at Tripoli, Libya.

MEDITERRANEAN: The RAF conducts a night raid on Naples. The cruiser "Pola" is damaged.

Greek III Corps mostly suspends offensive operations due to severe weather conditions in mountains in northern sector of the front.

UNITED KINGDOM: IRA internees set fire to Curragh Camp near Dublin and fight with troops and Garda (police); 4 injured (one IRA man shot dead in further clashes next day).

General Richard McCreery takes command of British 8th Armored Division.

Corpo Aereo Italiano attacks Harwich overnight with 11 bombers.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: 400 miles West of Ireland, U-100 sinks British steamers SS "Kyleglen" at 0816 hours (all 36 hands lost) and SS "Euphorbia" at 1955 hours (all 34 hands lost).

At 0855 hours, 200 miles South of Iceland, U-96 stops British liner "Western Prince" with a torpedo (14 killed). After allowing 100 crew and 55 passengers to abandon ship in lifeboats, U-96 sinks "Western Prince" at 1021 hours. 154 survivors are picked up by British steamer "Baron Kinnaird" and 1 by destroyer HMS "Active".

HMS "Branlebas", a torpedo boat captured from the French off Portsmouth on July 3 1940, sinks in rough weather in the English Channel 30 miles Southwest of Plymouth (97 hands lost, Free French destroyer "Mistral" rescues 3 survivors).

Kriegsmarine heavy cruiser "Admiral Scheer" is replenished by supply ship "Nordmark".

.

15 December 1940
Axis
IJN Kagero Class DDs TOKITSUKAZE URAKAZE

URAKAZE on her commissioning day


Neutral
Soviet S (Stalinec) class S-101


Allied
Mk I Class LCT HMS LCT 12

Losses
MV SAN CARLOS (SP 223 grt) Sunk by U-37 (Asmus Nicolai Clausen); Crew: 28 (1 dead and 27 survivors); Cargo: Empty; Route: Cape Juby - Canary Islands; Convoy Independent; Sunk off the coast of Morocco; Exercising the DKM unrestricted mercantile policy to the limit, by sinking a vessel of a nation friendly to Germany deliberately, U-37, at 1950 hrs missed the SAN CARLOS with one torpedo off Cape Juby and decided to attack the vessel at 2000 hrs from a distance of 800m with the deck gun and the 37mm AA gun, but the deck gun broke down after 21 shots. The 15 crew members and 13 passengers abandoned ship in two lifeboats, but one man was lost. The Germans rowed in a dinghi to the ship and placed scuttling charges on the vessel that later sank the ship. Doing so they noticed that both the 88mm and 37mm rounds had not been able to penetrate the 20cm strong wooden hull of the ship.

Steamer N. C. MONBERG (Den 2301 grt), in convoy FS.360, was sunk by DKM S Boat S.58 east of Yarmouth . Eight crew and the naval gunner were lost on the British steamer.


UBOATS
At Sea 15 December 1940
U-37, U-43, U-52, U-65, U-94, U-96, U-100, U-140.
8 boats at sea.

OPERATIONS
North Sea
BB QUEEN ELIZABETH and her escorts arrived at Rosyth. CLA CURACOA departed Methil escorting convoy EN.41, after completing escort of BB QUEEN ELIZABETH.

Northern Waters
BB RODNEY and DDs MATABELE, ESCAPADE, ELECTRA, BULLDOG arrived at Scapa Flow. DDs SOUTHDOWN and BRILLIANT arrived at Scapa Flow after escorting BB QUEEN ELIZABETH. On the passage from Rosyth, BRILLIANT picked up a fighter pilot crashed off May Island. DD ECLIPSE arrived at Scapa Flow after duty with Force H. DD LEAMINGTON arrived at Scapa Flow after escorting Convoy SL.56 with DD BURNHAM, and began working up at Scapa Flow. MSW BRITOMART was in a collision with MSW SEAGULL. She was repaired at Aberdeen completing on 11 January. In a flying accident nth of Kirriemuir, a Swordfish of 767 Sqn crashed killing the 3 man crew.

Nth Atlantic
SC.16 departed Halifax with ocean escort of BB ROYAL SOVEREIGN. On the 29th, DDs ACTIVE, ANTELOPE, GEORGETOWN joined the convoy for tyhge inbound run. They were detached on the 30th. Corvettes HEATHER and PICOTEE and ASW trawler LADY MADELEINE joined on the 29th and escorted the convoy into Liverpool arriving on the 31st.

Central Atlantic
SL.59 departed Freetown escorted by ASW trawlers KELt and SPANIARD to 17 December. The convoy was joined on the 20th by AMC CATHAY to 31 December. On 1 January, DDs SCIMITAR and SKATE, ocean boarding vessel CRISPIN, corvettes ARABIS, CLARKIA, MALLOW, ASW trawlers MAN O WAR, NORTHERN DAWN, NORTHERN PRIDE, ST ELSTAN joined. The ocean boarding vessel and corvette CLARKIA were detached on 3 January. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on 5 January.

SLS.59 departed Freetown escorted by ASW trawler BENGALI to 17 December. On 2 January, corvettes HEARTSEASE and HOLLYHOCK joined the convoy; HOLLYHOCK was detached on 5 January. Corvettes BLUEBELL and CANDYTUFT joined on 3 January and were detached on 4 January. Destroyers AMAZON and AMBUSCADE and anti-submarine trawler LADY LILLIAN joined on 5 January. The convoy arrived on 7 January.

Med- Biscay
Monitor TERROR bombarded Bardia from 1220 to 1717. British Port Said section of convoy MW.5B of steamers VOLO, RODI, PONTFIELD, ULSTER PRINCE departed Port Said in Operation HIDE. CL ORION departed Alexandria for Suda Bay and Piraeus.

Requin Class Sub NARVAL (FNFL 974 grt) , which had departed Malta on her third patrol on the 2nd, was lost to mines off Kerkenah. The submarine was to have arrived back at Malta on the 16th.


CL SHEFFIELD arrived at Gibraltar from Azores patrol.

Malta

December 15 Sunday
ATLANTIC OCEAN: British submarine HMS "Thunderbolt" patrolling the Bay of Biscay on 15th December, attacked a U-Boat which was in close company with three trawlers. At 0835 hours when diving 12 miles south-west of the mouth of the Gironde, an object resembling the conning tower of a U-Boat was sighted. HMS "Thunderbolt" altered course to close, and later observed two trawlers on the same bearing. Smoke appeared to be coming from the vessel originally sighted. Assuming that these were the three armed trawlers which had been seen on previous occasions, HMS "Thunderbolt" reset course for patrol position. At 0909 hours, however, when the range of the enemy vessels had decreased considerably, a U-Boat, in company with three trawlers was clearly visible 5,000 yards away, bearing Red 110°. Course was altered directly towards the target and all tubes were brought to the ready. Whilst approaching the firing course, another sight was taken, which showed that the target was now stern on. HMS "Thunderbolt" continued to close at half speed grouped-down. When 130 degrees on the U-Boat's starboard quarter, periscope range estimated to be 4,000 yards, the disposition of the trawlers was thought to be reminiscent of the start of an A/S exercise. HMS "Thunderbolt" therefore allowed the enemy a low nominal speed of 6 knots, and altered a few degrees to reach the firing course. Commencing at 0920, six torpedoes were fired at 12 second intervals, an alteration of three degrees to port being made after the third torpedo. After what seemed an interminable delay, a tall column of water was seen to rise into the air, followed by an explosion four minutes nine seconds after firing the first torpedo. Part of the U-Boat, either bow or stern was seen to protrude out of the water, and subsequently no trace of her could be seen. Five minutes nine seconds after the first, fifteen further explosions were heard, and HMS "Thunderbolt" could not determine whether these were all depth charges, or if some were torpedoes striking the sea bed, the depth of water being 18 fathoms. The enemy trawlers could not have known from which direction the torpedoes came, as all the depth charges sounded fairly distant. The Italians' very early admission that one of their U-Boats - Italian submarine "Tarantini" - had not returned from the Atlantic is explained by the fact that their patrol craft witnessed the sinking.

German motor torpedo boat S.58 sank Danish ship "N. C. Monberg" off Yarmouth, England, killing 9.

NORTH AFRICA: Operation Compass. British attention now focuses on the port of Bardia, Libya, which they have surrounded. From 1220 hours to 1717 hours, monitor HMS "Terror" begins the bombardment of Bardia which is defended by 40,000 Italians commanded by General Annibale Bergonzoli, known as 'Electric Whiskers' due to his flaming red beard (now white) worn parted in the middle.

The British troops destroy 8 Italian Divisions, take 130,000 Italian prisoners of war, and capture 470 tanks and 1300 guns. British losses: 500 dead, 1371 wounded, 55 missing.

UNITED KINGDOM: 16 German He 111 bombers dropped 11,520 incendiaries on the city of Sheffield in central England, between 1900 and 1950 hours, starting large fires as a beacon for the main force of 50 He 111 bombers and 11 Do 17 bombers. The German raid ended at 2215 hours and lasted three hours, and was mainly in the east and east centre. Many factories were hit, but only nine of these suffered substantial damage.

General Harold Alexander named to command Southern Command.

RN destroyer "Cameron", previously damaged by Luftwaffe aircraft, capsizes at Portsmouth.

MEDITERRANEAN: Free French submarine "Narval" hit a mine and sank in the Mediterranean Sea 40 miles northeast of Sfax, Tunisia, killing the entire crew of 54.

Another RAF night raid on Naples again leaves an Italian cruiser damaged.

Two German officers, Baron von Gronau, who was German air attaché at their embassy in Tokyo, and Colonel Johann Jebsen from Canaris's intelligence staff were sent down to Taranto to find out exactly how the harbor defenses had been penetrated. They surveyed the wreckage at Taranto harbor and forwarded a report to Japan with their recommendations.

Greek I Corps launches new offensive in southern sector of the front. Strong Italian counterattacks against Greek I Corps.

WESTERN FRONT: The remains of Napoleon II were relocated to the Les Invalides cemetery in Paris, France. Benito Mussolini continued to assert his objection to this friendly gesture by Adolf Hitler to France.

Pierre Laval was freed from imprisonment.

GERMANY: RAF Bomber Command sends 71 aircraft to attack Berlin, Frankfurt, and Kiel overnight and accidentally bomb the railroad station in Basil, Switzerland.

.

16 December 1940
Known Reinforcements
Neutral
S (Stalinec) class S-102 (Soviet)


Allied
Mk I Class LCT HMS LCT 16

Losses
Trawler HELTRAUD (Ger 103 grt) was sunk by unspecified enemy action.

RN Sub TRUANT sank tkr BONZO (FI 8177 grt) off Punta Stilo.


Coastal steamer ARRIGONI (FI 103 grt) was lost in a marine accident at Francavilla.

UBOATS
Departures
U-95, U-124

At Sea 16 December 1940
U-37, U-43, U-52, U-65, U-94, U-95, U-96, U-100, U-124, U-140.
10 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
North Sea
FN.360 departed Southend, escort DD VORTIGERN and sloop EGRET. The convoy arrived at Methil on the 18th.

Northern Waters
BB RODNEY and DDs ESCAPADE, ELECTRA, ECLIPSE departed Scapa Flow at midnight and arrived at Rosyth at noon on the 17th. Newly completed DD BLENCATHRA arrived at Scapa Flow from Liverpool to work up. AA ship ALYNBANK departed Scapa Flow to meet WN.53 in Pentland Firth. The ship covered WN.53 to Methil where she then met EN.42.

West Coast UK
CL BIRMINGHAM completed a refit at Liverpool begun in September. The cruiser rejoined Cru Sqn 18 at Scapa on the 27th. OB.260 departed Liverpool escort DDs CALDWELL and VANSITTART, sloop SCARBOROUGH, corvettes BLUEBELL and HONEYSUCKLE. CALDWELL was detached on the 18th and the remainder of the escort of 19 December. British steamer BIC ISLAND was damaged by the LW.

Channel
Sub TRIBUNE attacked German tanker KARIBISCHES MEER without success

Nth Atlantic
Canadian troop convoy TC 8 departed Halifax escort RCN DDs RESTIGOUCHE and ASSINIBOINE with troopships PASTEUR (30, 447grt), CAPETOWN CASTLE (27, 000grt), PENNLAND (16,082grt) carrying 2995, 1415, 1865 troops, respectively. Liner COLOMBIA (10,782grt) was also in the convoy. Ocean escort was BB REVENGE. In Home Waters, the convoy was divided into two sections. TC 8 A (fast) was escorted by DDs OTTAWA, ST LAURENT, FNFL LE TRIOMPHANT, ORP PIORUN,RN WORCESTER, WATCHMAN with liners PASTEUR and CAPETOWN CASTLE. TC 8B (slow) was escorted by DDs BATH (SO), ST MARYS, MONTGOMERY, WITHERINGTON, WITCH with liners PENNLAND and COLOMBIA. The liners, less CAPETOWN CASTLE which was detached to Glasgow, arrived safely at Greenock on the 25th.

Central Atlantic
BB RESOLUTION, repair ship VINDICTIVE, DDs FORTUNE and FOXHOUND arrived at Gibraltar from Freetown. Departing Freetown on the 10th, CL NEWCASTLE arrived on the Sth American Station on the 16th.

Med- Biscay
In Operation HIDE, BBs WARSPITE and VALIANT, CV ILLUSTRIOUS, CA YORK, CL GLOUCESTER, DDs JERVIS, JANUS, JUNO, MOHAWK, GREYHOUND, DAINTY, HYPERION, ILEX, HERO, HASTY, HEREWARD departed Alexandria at 0100 to cover the Convoy MC 2 movements. At 0745, YORK, GLOUCESTER, with DAINTY and GREYHOUND were detached to Suda Bay to refuel.

The Alexandria section of convoy MW.5B with steamers DEVIS and HOEGH HOOD and submarine PARTHIAN, escorted by DD HAVOCK, departed Alexandria in the morning. When it was found HOEGH HOOD could not keep up, she was detached on the 17th with HAVOCK to proceed independently. MW.5 A of steamers WAIWERA and LANARKSHIRE, escorted by BB MALAYA and DDs DEFENDER and DIAMOND departed later in the day. CL ORION arrived at Piraeus and transferred correspondence to CLs AJAX and RAN SYDNEY. Cruisers AJAX and SYDNEY then departed for Suda Bay. Allied convoys AS.9 and AN.10 made passage during these movements. ILLUSTRIOUS launched air attacks on Rhodes and Stampalia between 0345 and 0430 on the 17th, but the attacks were hindered by bad weather. CA YORK, CL GLOUCESTER, DDs DAINTY and GALLANT arrived at Suda Bay at 0500, and refuelled, following which they sailed at 0700. The cruisers carried out a sweep west of Kithera Channel and the DDs carried out an ASW patrol while the Fleet refuelled at Suda Bay. ORION arrived at Suda Bay at 0600 and sailed again at 1130 joining cruisers AJAX and SYDNEY west of Crete. At 0830, the Main Fleet entered Suda Bay. CV ILLUSTRIOUS, BB VALIANT, DDs JERVIS, JUNO, JANUS, MOHAWK proceeded independently at 1130. BB WARSPITE and the ships of DesFlot 2 departed at 1415. The two groups rendezvoused on the 18th. DD GRIFFIN departed Malta at 1600 to join the Main Force. On the 18th at 1600, CLs ORION, AJAX, RAN SYDNEY and DDs JERVIS, JUNO, MOHAWK were detached to sweep in the Adriatic. CV ILLUSTRIOUS, CA YORK, CL GLOUCESTER, DDs DAINTY, GREYHOUND, GALLANT, GRIFFIN were detached at 1800 for operations in MC 3.

In Operation MC 3, BBs WARSPITE and VALIANT fired 115x15" at Italian positions at Valona from 0113 to 0120. DDs HEREWARD and HASTY were sweeping ahead of the BBs with minesweeping equipment. At noon, CA YORK, CLs GLOUCESTER, ORION, AJAX, SYDNEY, DDs DAINTY, GALLANT, GREYHOUND, GRIFFIN, HASTY were detached to cover the convoys to Malta. As a diversion for the movement of BB MALAYA to the western basin, RHN DDs VASILEVS GEORGIOS I, VASILLISA OLGA, YDRA, PSARA, SPETSAI, KONDOURIOTIS made a sweep in the Adriatic towards Valona.

Malta

December 16 Monday
GERMANY: Korvettenkapitän Adalbert Schneider became the acting commanding officer of battleship "Bismarck" while Captain Lindemann was away on Christmas leave.

134 RAF bombers attacked Mannheim, Germany in retaliation for German raids on British cities. The sole objective was the industrial centre of Mannheim on which 108 tons of high explosive and over 13,000 incendiary bombs were dropped. 8 pathfinder bombers miss the city center with incendiary canisters, causing most of the other bombers to miss the target. Countless fires were started and aircraft which arrived late in the night reported that many blocks in the Western and South-Eastern areas were ablaze. Large fires were started on both banks of the Rhine. 34 civilians were killed, 81 were injured, and 1,266 homes destroyed by 100 tons of high explosive bombs and 14,000 incendiary bombs. This was the first Allied area bombing raid of the war against a populated target, as opposed to targets of military or industrial value. Other targets included Speyer-am-Rhein and Heilbronn, but Basle (Switzerland) was also accidentally bombed: 4 killed. Learning from this failure, RAF develops the concept of "bomber stream" to drop the maximum amount of bombs in the smallest area over the shortest time.

NORTH AFRICA: The British begin winning battle after battle as Italian tanks were no match to the British Matilda's and British naval bombardments. Within 2 weeks of combat, the Italians are forced back 200 miles to Tobruk and lose 139,000 Italian and African colonials who have surrendered or been captured. 4th Armoured Brigade captures the Italian camp at Sidi Omar, which was leapfrogged in the rush into Libya to surround Bardia. They attack from the South and West, while the Italian artillery is facing east. The battle lasts 10 minutes (50 Italians killed, 900 taken prisoner). Italian forces withdraw from Sollum and Capuzzo.

British troops carry out an air raid on Italian Somalia.

NORTH AMERICA: US Marine Corps Reserve aviation units were disbanded, and their men were assigned to active duty in the regular US Marine Corps. On the same day, US Marine Corps established the 7th Defense Battalion at San Diego, California, United States. The infantry-artillery battalion was to be assigned to Tutuila, American Samoa.

MEDITERRANEAN: German submarine U-37 stops wooden Spanish steamer "San Carlos" at 1950 hours, with 1 torpedo and then tries to sink her with 21 rounds from the deck gun (1 killed). German sailors, rowing over to place scuttling charges, notice that the shells did not penetrate the wooden hull. 15 crew and 13 passengers abandon ship in 2 lifeboats.

British submarine HMS "Truant" sank Italian tanker "Bonzo" in the Ionian Sea 2 miles off the coast of Calabria, Italy.

Special Army Corps of Italian 11th Army formed under General Giovanni Messe.

ASIA: Admiral Kiyoshi Hasegawa was named the governor-general of Taiwan.

NORTHERN EUROPE: Nobel committee cancels Peace Prize for 1940.

.

17 December 1940
Known Reinforcements
Neutral
ELCO 70 ft USS PT 18

USS PT-17 shown

Allied
Flower Class Corvette HMCS WETASKIWIN (K 175)

During her career, WETASKIWIN had three significant refits. The first began in February 1942 at Liverpool, Nova Scotia. The second began in mid-January 1943 and was completed in March at Liverpool. Further repairs were needed at Halifax after the refit was completed. In December 1943, WETASKIWIN was sent to Galveston, Texas to refit. This refit took until 6 March 1944 during which her fo'c'sle was extended. It was to be her final major refit of the war.

After working up in the Pacific, WETASKIWIN was transferred to the Atlantic Ocean in March 1941. She arrived at Halifax 13 April 1941. In May she was assigned to the Newfoundland Escort Force as a convoy escort on the route between St. John's and Iceland. She remained with this unit until January 1942, when she departed for refit. During this assignment, WETASKIWIN participated in the battles for convoy SC 42 in September 1941 and convoy SC 48 in October 1941.

After returning to service, WETASKIWIN joined the Mid-Ocean Escort Force (MOEF) escort group C-3. While escorting Convoy ON 115, on 31 July 1942 she shared the destruction of U-588 with HMCS SKEENA. She also participated in the battle for Convoy SC 109.

After yard overhaul, WETASKIWIN was assigned to MOEF escort group A-3 for the battle of Convoy HX 233. When group A3 disbanded, WETASKIWIN was assigned to MOEF group C-5 in May 1943 and participated in the battle for Convoy HX 305. WETASKIWIN escorted Nth American coastal convoys with the Western Local Escort Force (WLEF) from October 1944 until May 1945. As a member of WLEF she was assigned to escort group W-7 for the majority of her time with the force.

Following the end of hostilities, WETASKIWIN was paid off at Sorel, Quebec 19 June 1945. In 1946 she was sold to the Venezuelan Navy and renamed VICTORIA. She was finally discarded and sold for scrapping in 1962

Fairmile B HMS ML 139


Losses
Running trials after refit, "A" Class DD HMS ACHERON (RN 1337 grt) of DesFlot 1 was lost in mining at 0640 off the Needles off the Isle of Wight 152 officers and crew, and 22 dockyard workers were lost. There were only 16 survivors. .


There were losses to mines this day. The following ships were lost between the No.1 and No.2 Sea Reach Buoy off Southend:

Steamer INVER (UK 1543 grt) was lost outside the boom at Southend. 15 crew and the naval gunner as well as the pilot were lost.

Steamer MALRIX (UK 703 grt) was lost 1.75 miles 081° from Nore Light Vessel. Eight crew were lost on the steamer.

Steamer BENEFICENT (UK 2944 grt) was lost about two cables off Southend Gate. Six crew were lost on the steamer.

steamer AQUEITY (UK 370 grt). Six crew were lost.

Steamer BELVEDERE (UK 869 grt) was lost fifty yards WNW from M.Boom Vessel off Southend. Four crew were lost on the steamer.

FV CARRY ON (UK 93 grt) was sunk on a mine east of Nore Sand Light Vessel. Seven crew were missing on the vessel.

Boom defense vessel THOMAS CONNOLLY (RN 290 grt) was sunk on a mine in Medway Channel off Sheerness.

UBOATS
Arrivals
Bergen: U-140
Lorient: U-43

At Sea 17 December 1940
U-37, U-52, U-65, U-94, U-95, U-96, U-100, U-124.
8 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
North Sea
CLA CURACOA arrived at Scapa Flow after covering convoy EN.41. The cruiser departed Scapa Flow later that day to meet convoy WN.54 in Pentland Firth and cover the convoy until dark. CURACOA returned to Scapa Flow late that evening. AA ship ALYNBANK arrived at Methil that afternoon with convoy WN.53. ALYNBANK departed Methil later that night with EN.42. FN.361 departed Southend. The convoy arrived at Methil on the 19th. FS.362 departed Methil, escort DDs VALOROUS and VERSATILE. Patrol sloop SHEARWATER joined on the 18th. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 19th. FS.363 departed Methil, escort DD VIMIERA and sloop WESTON. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 19th.

Northern Waters
DDs DOUGLAS and BEAGLE arrived at Scapa Flow after escorting AMC CHITRAL. DD TARTAR arrived at Scapa Flow after refitting at Plymouth. DD GEORGETOWN departed Scapa Flow for Greenock where the DD's work up was completed. .

West Coast UK
Greek steamer MENTOR was damaged by the LW.

Western Approaches
DDs ACTIVE and ANTELOPE with convoy HX.93 attacked a UBoat contact in 55-58N, 13-34W.

Med- Biscay
Monitor TERROR and gunboat LADYBIRD, escorted by RAN DDs VOYAGER and VENDETTA bombarded Bardia. Steamers GALATA (FI 618 grt), GIUSEPPINA D. (FI 431 grt), VINCENZINO (FI 190 grt) were sunk in the bombardment.

CA BERWICK departed Gibraltar for the Azores patrol.

Vichy DD ALBATROS departed Toulon escorting submarines AURORA, LA PSYCHE, OREADE. The ships called at Oran on 19 to 21 December and passed Gibraltar on the 22nd. All arrived at Casablanca on the 23rd.

Malta

18 December 1940
Known Reinforcements
Axis
Type VIIB UBoat U-75

"Sunset Departure" by Michel Guyot. U-75 achieved 7 ships sunk, total tonnage 37,884 GRT . 2 warships sunk, total tonnage 744 tons
She was sunk on 28 December 1941 in the Med NW of Mersa Matruh, by DCs from the RN DD HMS KIPLING. 14 dead and 30 survivors.

Type IXB U-111

The illustration is an image of a painting of the surrender of German submarine U-111 on the 4 October 1941. the original painting was by Charles Pears and is owned by the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London 4 ships sunk, total tonnage 24,176 GRT 1 ship damaged, total tonnage 13,037 GRT. U-111 was sunk 4 Oct 1941 SW of Tenerife. Having been ordered to rendezvous there with two other U-boats, U-67 and U-68. She was struck by the British submarine HMS CLYDE which had accidentally dived onto her after unsuccessfully attacking U–67. U-111 was so badly damaged she was left unable to dive, and was obliged to head for home. On 4 October 1941, she was hunted down and sunk by DCs from the British ASW trawler HMS LADY SHIRLEY sw of Tenerife. Of a crew of 52 men, eight died; 44 survived. They were subsequently interrogated; it was the first time prisoners of war were captured from a U-boat operating in the Sth Atlantic.

Neutral
Soviet M (Malyutka) class M-33

Sister ship M-35 pictured

Allied
Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHAMBLY (K 116)

HMCS CHAMBLY in as-built condition, early 1941. Note that the ship is still fitted with minesweeping gear, and that no armament has yet been installed in the "bandstand" aft of the engine room.

LCT Mk I Class HMS LCT 13 and LCT 14

Fairmile B HMS MLs 152 and 156,Fairmile B HMNeS ML 164


Losses
MV NAPIER STAR (UK 10116 grt) Sunk by U-100 (Joachim Schepke); Crew: 85 (71 dead and 14 survivors); Cargo: General cargo; Route: Liverpool - Panama - New Zealand ; Convpy Independent; Sunk in the Nth Atlantic; At 2020 hrs the unescorted NAPIER STAR was hit amidships by one of two torpedoes fired by U-100 321 miles 285° from Rockall. The U-boat had followed the ship since 1043 hrs. A further torpedo was required to finish off the vessel, which hit and sank the vessel at 2049 hours. The master, 58 crew members and twelve passengers were lost. Nine crew members, one gunner and four passengers were picked up by the VAALAREN and landed at Liverpool on 23 December.


Sub TUNA attacked RM sub BRIN, which was returning from Ceuta with sub BIANCHI near Bordeaux,. No damage was done to the Italian sub.
Later in the day, submarine TUNA sank tug CHASSIRON (Vichy 172 grt) off the Gironde.

Tanker OSAGE (UK 2950 grt), formerly the OLTERRA, was sunk by the LW four miles NE of Arklow Light Vessel, County Wicklow. The entire crew of the tanker were rescued.


MSW trawler REFUNDO (RN 258 grt) was sunk on a mine off Harwich. Two ratings were killed in the trawler. The trawler was taken in tow, but sank ten yards west of Beach End Buoy.

Steamer BIRKENFELS (Ger 6322 grt) was lost on a mine, laid by British MTBs off the Schelde.


RM Sub VENIERO sank steamer ANASTASSIA (Gk 2883 grt) from dispersed convoy SC.15 in 54‑24N, 19‑04W. 16 crew were lost, two crew were missing, ten crew were made pows. British steamer FLOWERGATE sighted the wreck of steamer ANASTASSIA awash on the 20th.


UBOATS
Departures
Lorient: U-38

At Sea 18 December 1940
U-37, U-38, U-52, U-65, U-94, U-95, U-96, U-100, U-124.
9 boats at sea.

OPERATIONS
North Sea
British steamer TWEED was damaged by the LW.

Northern Waters
CV FORMIDABLE and CA NORFOLK departed Scapa Flow at 2000 to operate as Force K in the Sth Atlantic to search for the DKM surface raiders.
The carrier and cruiser were escorted from Scapa Flow by DDs BEDOUIN, MATABELE, MASHONA, and ESKIMO, which parted company in 55N, 25W.
The British ships travelled with convoy WS.5A for the first part of the voyage, but had been detached prior to the attack on the convoy on the 24th. DDs ESCAPADE, ELECTRA, ECLIPSE arrived at Scapa Flow at 0130 after taking BB RODNEY to Rosyth. BB NELSON, BC REPULSE, DDs COSSACK, SIKH, TARTAR, BRILLIANT, BULLDOG, BEAGLE, DOUGLAS, ESCAPADE, ELECTRA, ECLIPSE departed Scapa Flow to carry out tactical exercises west of the Orkneys. The British force arrived back at Scapa Flow on the 20th.

DD TYNEDALE departed Scapa Flow to rendezvous with British steamer BEN MY CHREE off Aberdeen on the 19th and take her to Kirkwall. Following disembarkation, the steamer was taken to Aberdeen. TYNEDALE arrived at Scapa Flow on the 20th after this duty. DD VIMY departed Scapa Flow to rendezvous with AMC SALOPIAN at noon on the 20th, however the VIMY could not locate her. When cruiser SALOPIAN reported she had already passed the Butt of Lewis at 1900, VIMY was ordered back to Scapa Flow. VIMY arrived at Scapa Flow on the 22nd.

West Coast UK
The slow units of Convoy WS5A departed the Clyde and Liverpool on the 18th. The Clyde section was escorted by CLA CAIRO and DDs BATH, ST MARYS, ST ALBANS, WORCESTER, WATCHMAN. The Liverpool section was escorted by DDs WITHERINGTON and WITCH, sloop WELLINGTON, corvettes CLEMATIS, JONQUIL, CYCLAMEN, GERANIUM. The corvettes travelled with the convoy for duty in the Sth Atlantic. Ships from Belfast were escorted by DD VENOMOUS. The slow units were met at daylight on the 19th by CLA BONAVENTURE and DDs VESPER, HARVESTER, HIGHLANDER, with the DDs detached on the 21st. These steamers were British steamers TAMAROA , aux ML HMS ATREUS , SETTLER, BHUTAN , DELANE, ORBITA, CITY OF LONDON, NEURALIA , ANSELM , STENTOR , MENELAUS , CITY OF DERBY , ARABISTAN , EMPIRE TROOPER and CITY OF CANTERBURY; Belgian steamer ELISABETHVILLE , Dutch steamer COSTA RICA . British steamer ERNEBANK sailed but was forced to return to Liverpool. Liner RANGITIKI proceeded from Avonmouth and travelled with this section. Belgian steamer LEOPOLDVILLE departed with this convoy and proceeded to Halifax. She arrived on the 28th escorted into harbour by BB ROYAL SOVEREIGN.

The fast units were British steamers ESSEX, NORTHERN PRINCE, CLAN MACDONALD, CLAN CUMMING, EMPIRE SONG which departed the Clyde and Liverpool on the 19th. The convoy was met at daylight on the 20th by escorts CLA NAIAD, CVE ARGUS, DDs RCN OTTAWA, ST LAURENT, ORP PIORUN from the Clyde, DDs HIGHLANDER, HARVESTER, FNFL LE TRIOMPHANT from Londonderry, CVL FURIOUS and DDs BEVERLEY, KELVIN, KIPLING from Liverpool. FURIOUS was carrying aircraft to Takoradi for Operation MONSOON. The DDs were detached on the 22nd. The fast section and the slow section rendezvoused on the 23rd.

Nth Atlantic
At 1615 hrs the NL tkr PENDRECHT, (dispersed the day before from convoy OB-259), was hit aft on the starboard side ahead of the engine room by a single G7e torpedo from U-96 (Lehmann-Willenbrock) after being chased by the U-boat for about 1 hr. The tkr had left Cardiff for New York in ballast on 7 December. The U-boat surfaced in some distance because they had no torpedoes left in the tubes, only one G7a torpedo stored in a deck canister and the tanker was armed. The crew initially abandoned ship but reboarded the vessel when two other (armed) tankers arrived and one of them fired two shots at U-96, keeping her at distance while the Germans moved the spare torpedo into the boat. The U-boat then tried to locate the damaged tanker again but lost her during the night. HMS LEGION (G 74) then met PENDRECHT, and escorted her to Rothesay, arrving on 21 December. There were no casualties. The tkr had a hole of 14 meters in her side and went to Glasgow for temporary repairs, later to Swansea because it was planned to transfer her to the USA for permanent repairs.

HX.97 departed Halifax at 1300 escorted by RCN corvette HEPATICA, which proceeded through for refitting and arming at Greenock. Ocean escort was AMC WORCESTERSHIRE, which was with the convoy from 18 to 28 December. DDs VANQUISHER, VISCOUNT, WHITEHALL and corvette GENTIAN were with the convoy from 30 December to 3 January. Corvette RHODODENDRON was with the convoy on 1 and 2 January. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on 3 January.

Sth Atlantic
DKM CS ADMIRAL SCHEER captured steamer DUQUESNA (UK 8651 grt) in the Sth Atlantic. 91 crew and 8 passengers were made pows. CVL HERMES, CL DRAGON, AMC PRETORIA CASTLE from St Helena were searching for the DKM surface raider. CA CUMBERLAND and CLs NEWCASTLE and ENTERPRISE were searching in the Rio-Montevideo area. CA DORSETSHIRE and CL NEPTUNE were also searching. CA BERWICK was to have joined this group, but did not.

Med- Biscay
CA YORK and CL GLOUCESTER with 3 DDs were detached from the Med Flt to sweep in the Adriatic.

T Class Submarine TRITON (RN 1090 grt) Left Malta on 28 November 1940 for a patrol in the southern Adriatic. Most likely mined and sunk in the lower Adriatic or the Otranto Strait on or around 18 December 1940. 54 officers and crew, the entire ships company were lost with TRITON.


RM CLs EUGENIO and MONTECUCCOLI and DDs PIGAFETTA, DA RECCO, PESSAGNO, RIBOTY bombarded Greek positions near Corfu.

Red Sea/Indian Ocean
BN.11 departed Aden, escort CL CALEDON and sloops AUCKLAND, FLAMINGO, SHOREHAM. These escorts were detached on the 22nd when joined by sloops CLIVE and GRIMSBY. The convoy arrived at Suez on the 25th.

Malta

December 17 Tuesday
UNITED KINGDOM: British Home Office announced the hanging death of a third German spy. On the same day, a British housewife was sentenced to death for spying.

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill instructs a British delegation of military officers who will meet with American counterparts in Washington that they not request American protection of Singapore, Australia, or India. Only minimum force should be used against Japan, with all efforts directed toward the defeat of Germany.

The British government announced a ration increase for Christmas week.

Air Vice Marshal Richard Saul became the commanding officer of No. 12 Group RAF.

10,969 evacuees have now arrived from Gibraltar.

GERMANY: Fifty British Bomber Command Whitley and Hampden bombers attack German seaplane bases on the island of Sylt, part of the Frisian Islands.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Numerous vessels are lost to mines. At 0640 hours, in darkness and heavy seas 5 miles southwest of the Isle of Wight, British destroyer HMS "Acheron" hits a mine while running sea trials following repairs. "Acheron" sinks within 4 minutes, killing 153 crew and 22 shipyard workers (13 crew and 3 shipyard workers survive). British vessels "Inver", "Malrix", "Beneficient", "Aqueity" and "Belvedere" were sunk by mines in the Thames estuary.

NORTH AFRICA: Operation Compass. British capture the coastal village of Sollum and have forced all Italian troops out of Egypt after 7 days of fighting. The unexpected success of this "5 day raid", including surrounding the major port of Bardia in Libya, persuades General Wavell (Commander in Chief, Middle East) to continue the operation and 6th Australian Division replaces 4th Indian Division which has been sent to defend Sudan. On the same day, the British announced that they had captured 20,000 Italian prisoners, including three generals, in Egypt.

British monitor HMS "Terror" and gunboat HMS "Ladybird" bombarded Bardia, Libya, sinking Italian ships "Galata", "Vincenzino", and "Giuseppina D" in the harbor.


NORTH AMERICA: President Roosevelt held a press conference in Washington DC, United States, revealing the Lend-Lease program to journalists. Famously Roosevelt used the analogy of helping a neighbour whose house was on fire:

"In the present world situation of course there is absolutely no doubt in the mind of a very overwhelming number of Americans that the best immediate defense of the United States is the success of Great Britain in defending itself; and that, therefore, quite aside from our historic and current interest in the survival of democracy, in the world as a whole, it is equally important from a selfish point of view of American defense, that we should do everything to help the British Empire to defend itself… Suppose my neighbor's home catches fire, and I have a length of garden hose four or five hundred feet away. If he can take my garden hose and connect it up with his hydrant, I may help him to put out his fire. Now, what do I do? I don't say to him before that operation, "Neighbor, my garden hose cost me $15; you have to pay me $15 for it." What is the transaction that goes on? I don't want $15—I want my garden hose back after the fire is over. All right. If it goes through the fire all right, intact, without any damage to it, he gives it back to me and thanks me very much for the use of it. But suppose it gets smashed up—holes in it—during the fire; we don't have to have too much formality about it, but I say to him, "I was glad to lend you that hose; I see I can't use it any more, it's all smashed up." He says, "How many feet of it were there?" I tell him, "There were 150 feet of it." He says, "All right, I will replace it." Now, if I get a nice garden hose back, I am in pretty good shape. In other words, if you lend certain munitions and get the munitions back at the end of the war, if they are intact haven't been hurt—you are all right; if they have been damaged or have deteriorated or have been lost completely, it seems to me you come out pretty well if you have them replaced by the fellow to whom you have lent them".

Click to expand...

The Lend Lease Act was not passed until March 1941 and Britain would not start to see the material benefits of it for many months after that. Nevertheless this was a very important signal that Britain would have the ability to keep fighting in the long term.

Admiral Ernest King takes command of Patrol Force, U.S. Fleet.

MEDITERRANEAN: Greek I Corps captures Hormova and a large Italian supply depot in southern sector of the front.

.

December 18 Wednesday
GERMANY: Hitler's Directive 21 for the Invasion of Russia is signed and renamed 'Unternehmen Barbarossa' http://der-fuehrer.org/reden/english/wardirectives/21.html :

"The German Armed Forces must be prepared, even prior to the conclusion of the war against England, to crush Soviet Russia in a rapid campaign . . . It is of decisive importance that our intention to attack not be known. . .
The Luftwaffe will have to make available for this Eastern campaign supporting forces of such strength that the Army will be able to bring land operations to a speedy conclusion and that eastern Germany will be as little damaged as possible by enemy air attack. This build up of a focal point in the East will be limited only by the need to protect from air attack the whole combat and arsenal area which we control, and to ensure that attacks on England, and especially upon her imports, are not allowed to lapse.
I. General Intentions:
The preparations of the High Commands will be made on the following basis:
1. The bulk of the Russian Army stationed in western Russian will be destroyed by daring operations led by deeply penetrating armored spearheads. Russian forces still capable of giving battle will be prevented from withdrawing into the depths of Russia.
2. The enemy will then be energetically pursued and a line will be reached from which the Russian Air Force can no longer attack German territory. The final objective is to erect a barrier against Asiatic Russia on the general line Volga-Archangel.
3. The effective operation of the Russian Air Force is to be prevented from the beginning of the attack by powerful blows. . .
II. Conduct of Operations
Luftwaffe:
It will be the duty of the Luftwaffe to paralyze and eliminate the effectiveness of the Russian Air Force as far as possible. It will also support the main operations of the Army, i.e. those of the central Army Group and of the vital flank of the Southern Army Group. Russian railways will either be destroyed or, in accordance with operational requirements, captured at their most important points (river crossings) by the bold employment of parachute and airborne troops.
In order that we may concentrate all our strength against the enemy Air Force and for the immediate support of land operations, the Russian armaments industry will not be attacked during the main operations. Such attacks will be made only after the conclusion of mobile warfare, and they will be concentrated first on the Urals area."

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In preparation for Barbarossa, the German military stockpiled 91,000 tons of ammunition, half a million tons of fuel (40% of all fuel available to Germany at the time), and 600,000 trucks and 750,000 horses to carry supplies. German Armed Forces are to be prepared to crush Soviet Russia in a rapid campaign. The final objective is to erect a barrier against Asiatic Russia on a line of Volga to Archangel. Rumania and Finland will give active support on the flanks of the German attack. The operation is named for the conquering 12th century Teutonic Emperor Frederick Barbarossa.

RAF Bomber Command sends 17 aircraft to attack Mannheim overnight.

NORTH AMERICA: The first prototype Curtiss SB2C Helldiver made its maiden flight. It crashed on 8 February 1941 when its engine failed on approach, but Curtiss was asked to rebuild it. The fuselage was lengthened and a larger tail was fitted, while an autopilot was fitted as a result of the aircraft's poor stability.

WESTERN FRONT: Otto Skorzeny departed the Netherlands for northern France as a member of 2nd SS Division "Das Reich".

Vichy government appoints De Brinon ambassador to Germans in Paris.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German cruiser "Admiral Scheer" captured British ship "Duquesna" in the South Atlantic 800 miles south of Cape Verde Islands, capturing 91 crew and 8 passengers. Captain Theodor Krancke of "Admiral Scheer" purposefully allowed "Duquesna" to radio to help in order to distract the Royal Navy, hoping to indirectly help cruiser "Admiral Hipper" to break out into the Atlantic Ocean from the Denmark Strait. "Duquesna", with 3,500 tons of frozen beef and 15 million eggs on board, was kept in operation by the Germans in the South Atlantic until 18 Feb 1941 to supply German ships in the area.

British submarine HMS "Tuna" sank French tug "Chassiron" and attacked (in failure) Italian submarines "Brin" and "Bianchi" in the Bay of Biscay 40 miles off of the Gironde Estuary, France.

British minesweeping trawler HMT "Refundo" was damaged by a mine, killing 2. Another ship attempted to tow her, but she sank 1 mile off the coast of Suffolk, England.

German submarine U-96 damaged Dutch tanker "Pendrecht" at 1615 hours with torpedo. The crew began to abandon ship, but as two armed tankers arrived to drive away U-96, the crew reboarded, set her toward Scotland for repairs.

German submarine U-100 sank British ship "Napier Star" at 9820 hours, killing 59 crew and 12 passengers; 5 survived.

Italian submarine "Veniero" damaged Greek ship "Anastassia" in the North Atlantic with a torpedo, killing 18. 10 were taken prisoner. The Italians let the disabled ship drift away.

MEDITERRANEAN: Italian cruisers "Eugenio" and "Montecuccoli" and destroyers "Pigafetta", "Da Recco", "Pessagno", and "Riboty" shelled Greek forces on the Albanian coast near Corfu.

British submarine HMS "Triton" sank in the Otranto Strait off Taranto, Italy; the exact cause was unknown.

Vichy French submarines "Vengeur", "Monge", "Pigase", and "L'Espoir" begin transfering from Dakar to Madagascar.

UNITED KINGDOM: Keith Park is relieved of command of No. 11 Group of RAF Fighter Command, and replaced by Leigh-Mallory. In a related story, Dowding departs for US aboard "Leopoldville" to work on aircraft production, acquisition, and technical issues.

William Donovan meets with Churchill who gives British support for a long fact-finding and intelligence-gathering tour of Spain, Turkey, Balkans, etc.

NORTH AFRICA: Operation Compass: British Western Desert Force continued advancing toward Bardia and Tobruk.

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