This Day in the War in Europe: The Beginning

[parsifal]

28 December 1940
UBOATS
Arrivals
Lorient: U-52

At Sea 28 December 1940
U-37, U-38, U-65, U-94, U-95, U-96, U-100, U-105, U-124.
9 boats at sea.

OPERATIONS
Baltic
Western Baltic
DKM BCs SCHARNHORST and GNEISENAU departed Kiel to raid in the Atlantic. However, the KM ships had to return to Kiel on 2 January when GNEISENAU was damaged by heavy weather.

North Sea
FN.370 departed Southend, escort DD GARTH. DD VERSATILE and patrol sloop WIDGEON joined on the 29th. The convoy arrived at Methil on the 30th.

Northern Patrol
BB NELSON and DDs BEDOUIN, TARTAR, SIKH, BEAGLE departed Scapa Flow to patrol eastward of the Iceland Faroes Channel. CL EDINBURGH was ordered to join this force at noon on the 29th. This force remained at sea until the 31st when it returned to Scapa Flow.

Northern Waters
CLA CURACOA departed Scapa Flow at 1000 and escorted convoy WN.60 from the Pentland Firth. The cruiser was detached after dark, but due to poor visibility, she could not enter Scapa Flow until the next morning.

DDs VIMY and BULLDOG departed Scapa Flow to meet CL MAURITIUS in Pentland Firth and escort her to the Clyde, arriving on the 29th. DDs SOUTHDOWN and TYNEDALE, which had been escorting MAURITIUS proceeded to Scapa Flow. DD VIMY left the Clyde to refit at Portsmouth where she arrived on the 31st. DD BULLDOG left the Clyde to refit at Liverpool where she arrived on the 30th.

West Coast UK
OB.266 departed Liverpool escort DDs SCIMITAR and SKATE, corvette CLARKIA, armed boarding vessel CRISPIN, ASW trawler MAN O WAR. The convoy was joined on the 29th by corvettes ARABIS and MALLOW, ASW trawlers NORTHERN DAWN, NORTHERN PRIDE, ST ELSTAN. The escort, less the armed boarding vessel, were detached on the 31st. CRISPIN was detached the next day.

British steamer LOCHEE was damaged on a mine four miles NNE of Bar Light Vessel, Mersey. ORP DD PIORUN departed Greenock to work up at Scapa Flow, where she arrived on the 29th.

Channel
A LW raid on the Thornycroft yard at Southampton heavily damaged DDs NORSEMAN and OPPORTUNE, under construction. DD NORSEMAN was almost blown in half. DD VALOROUS was damaged in a collision with MSW trawler LIBYAN in Sheerness Harbour. The DD was repaired at Chatham completing on 11 January.

Tug CANUTE was damaged by the LW at Southampton.

Central Atlantic
CL NEPTUNE departed Freetown.

Sth Atlantic
CA CORNWALL arrived at Simonstown.

Med- Biscay
Ocean boarding vessel CAMITO intercepted and captured trawler SENATEUR DUHAMEL (Vichy 913 grt) in 33‑44N, 10‑26W. The trawler was taken to Gibraltar. Monitor TERROR bombarded the Bardia area. CL SOUTHAMPTON after joining convoy WS.4B in mid-December, arrived at Suez with the convoy on the 28th. CVL FURIOUS escorted by DDs FAULKNOR and FIREDRAKE arrived at Gibraltar on the 28th. The DDs FAULKNOR and FIREDRAKE with HASTY and JAGUAR immediately went back out to sea on the 29th and escorted CV ARK ROYAL and BC RENOWN into Gibraltar the next day.

 

[parsifal]

29 December 1940
Known Reinforcements
Neutral
Soviet M (Malyutka) Class Subs M-102 and M-103

Allied
Type I Hunt Class Escort DD HMS COTTESMORE (L 78 )

HMS COTTESMORE was sold to the Egyptian Navy postwar and renamed IBRAHIM EL AWAL. She was initially loaned to the Chinese Navy but repossessed in 1949 after the Communist takeover. She fought for the Egyptians in the 1956 war against Israel, captured and used by the Israelis. Under Israeli control during the 6 day war. Her ultimate fate is uncertain, but believed to have been either sunk or broken up 1968-69

Losses
Steamer ADRIANA (Ger 997 grt) was sunk on a mine off the Elbe.

Tug MONARCH (UK 41 grt) was sunk by the LW off Radcliffe Cross Buoy.

Liner SARDEGNA (FI 11,452 grt), in company with steamers ITALIA and PIEMONTE departed Valona for Brindisi for Valona escorted by TB ANTARES on the 29th. RHN submarine PROTEUS sank the SARDEGNA east of Saseno in the Southern Adriatic.

However, TB ANTARES sank Sub PROTEUS (RHN 750 grt) in the counterattack. ANTARES rammed and sank the PROYEUS in the southern Adriatic some 40 miles east of Brindisi, Italy.

UBOATS
Arrivals
Lorient: U-96

At Sea 29 December 1940
U-37, U-38, U-65, U-94, U-95, U-100, U-105, U-124.
8 boats at sea.

OPERATIONS
North Sea
FN.371 departed Southend, and arrived at Methil on the 31st. Convoy FS.374 departed Methil, escort DDs VIMIERA, WORCESTER and sloops HASTINGS and WESTON, and arrived at Southend on 1 January. FS.375 departed Methil, escort DDs VESPER, VORTIGERN and sloop LONDONDERRY, and arrived at Southend on 1 January.

Northern Waters
DD BLENCATHRA departed Scapa Flow to search for an a/c in the sea 10° east of Sth Ronaldsay. The a/c was not located and she was ordered to return to Scapa Flow later that day.

DD ESKIMO, escorting BC REPULSE, was detached to escort DD WORCESTER to the Minches. ESKIMO arrived at Scapa Flow on the 31st.

West Coast UK
Steamer TREVARRACK, straggling from convoy SLS.58, was damaged by the LW in 55‑34N, 09‑30W. DDs HIGHLANDER and HARVESTER went to her assistance.

Steamer CATRINE was damaged by a mine in Liverpool Bay and next day, the 30th, struck a second one near Q.1 Buoy, Queen's Channel, Liverpool.


SW Approaches
A total of 31 ships of convoy OG.48 joined up from Liverpool, Oban, Glasgow and Bristol, and were escorted by DD WESTCOTT and corvette CANDYTUFT from 29 December to 2 January. Sloop SCARBOROUGH escorted the convoy from 29 December to 4 January when she was detached.

Sloop FOLKESTONE escorted the convoy from 30 December to 9 January. Corvette BLUEBELL joined the convoy on the 30th and was detached on 2 January. The convoy arrived at Gibraltar on 9 January.

Central Atlantic
Submarine TRIDENT stopped Panamanian steamer ROUTER off Ponta Delgada (a port in the Azores) and fired torpedoes at her when she tried to enter port without clearance.

Sloop BRIDGEWATER from convoy SLS.60 escorted the convoy on 3 January before transferring to convoy SW 5B.
DDs GEORGETOWN and ANTHONY, CAM ship PEGASUS, corvettes HEATHER and PICOTEE, ASW trawlers LADY MADELEINE and ARAB joined the convoy from convoy OG.49 on 11 January. These ships remained with the convoy until its arrival at Liverpool on 15 January.

Med- Biscay
CVE ARGUS and CL DUNEDIN with DDs FORTUNE and FOXHOUND arrived at Gibraltar with steamers NORTHERN PRINCE, CLAN MACDONALD, EMPIRE SONG of the WS.5 A convoy on the 29th. CVL FURIOUS, CL DUNEDIN, DDs FORESTER and FURY departed Gibraltar for Freetown. CLA BONAVENTURE arrived at Gibraltar. Submarine UNIQUE departed Gibraltar for Malta, arriving 6 January. Convoy HG.49 of 28 ships departed Gibraltar. The convoy was given a local escort by ASW trawlers KINGSTON JACINTH, KINGSTON CHRYSOLITE, KINGSTON TURQUOISE, KINGSTON TOPAZE on the 29th. Sloop LEITH escorted the convoy from 29 December to 15 January.

DDs JERVIS, NUBIAN, MOHAWK, JUNO, GREYHOUND, GRIFFIN departed Alexandria to carry out an ASW sweep. The sweep was covered by RAN CL PERTH and RN CLA COVENTRY. COVENTRY's suffered damage in heavy seas and she was forced to return to Alexandria. The DDs returned to Alexandria on the 30th.

RAN DD VOYAGER intercepted and brought in ketch ZINGARELLA (FI 190 grt) which was transporting British prisoners of war from Bardia to Tobruk.

Red Sea/Indian Ocean
BN.11B departed Aden, escorted by CL CALEDON and sloops AUCKLAND and SHOREHAM. RAN Sloop YARAA joined on the 31st. The escorts were detached on 1 January. The convoy arrived at Suez on 4 January.

Malta
RA SM79s returned to the skies over Malta, after an extended break. The air raid alert sounded just before 1100, the first time since 20 December. The alert was followed by the appearance of three formations of enemy bombers. Malta fighters and AA guns scrambled, and were in action were swiftly, forcing the raiders to turn away with no bombs released.

 

[Njaco]

December 29 Sunday
UNITED KINGDOM: The lull in the blitz over the Christmas period came to an abrupt end on the evening of the 29th. But bad weather recalls some of the bombers after two hours. Some bombers do make the flight, all carrying incendiary bombs. Bombers from KGr 100 follow the X-Gerat approach beam but a stiff wind starts blowing and throws the bomber force off course. In the event, 244 German Luftwaffe bombers dropped 30,000 incendiaries on the historic city center of London, England, destroying the London Guildhall and eight Wren churches. St. Paul's Cathedral, however, was saved by clergymen who successfully prevented the flames on the roof from spreading. Some compared the firestorm to the Great Fire of 1666. That so many fires took hold was largely because the raid was on a Sunday evening when the commercial area of the City of London was mostly unoccupied, without the usual "fire-watchers" on every building. If incendiary bombs were tackled as soon as they fell they caused little damage. This required sufficient people to be in the immediate vicinity and able to get to the burning bomb in the first few minutes. With most of City buildings locked up and vacant, numerous fires soon started in the roof space of adjacent buildings and then merged into enormous conflagrations. The problems faced by the fire Brigade were exacerbated by a low ebb tide on the Thames, making it difficult to draw water to fight the fires. In the aftermath the Government ordered that "fire-watchers" be stationed on all factories, offices, and shops to act as spotters to provide early warning. This order proved to be very unpopular with Trade Unions.

GERMANY: RAF Bomber Command sends aircraft to attack Frankfurt and Hamm overnight.

WESTERN FRONT: RAF Bomber Command sends aircraft to attack Boulogne and other targets overnight.

Vichy France created a commission for Jewish affairs.

MEDITERRANEAN: Greek submarine "Proteus" attacked Italian ships "Sardegna", "Italia", and "Piemonte" 40 miles east of Brindisi, Italy, sinking "Sardegna". Escort torpedo boat "Antares" dropped 11 depth charges, forcing "Proteus" to the surface, which was then rammed and sunk by "Antares", killing the entire crew of 48.

RAF bombers attack Valona.

NORTH AMERICA: US President Roosevelt broadcast a fireside chat, urging the country to increase production in preparation for war, but also promising to keep the United States out of the fighting. Roosevelt stated:

"We must be the great arsenal of Democracy...."

In his broadcast he declared that the United States would not be deflected, by Axis threats, from its policy of providing Great Britain and her Allies with all possible aid short of war. He further declared that the risk of war would not deter America in the slightest degree, and that victory by those resisting aggression was of paramount interest to the United States, and that he was confident that the Axis powers would not win the war. FDR Arsenal of Democracy, December 1940

NORTH AFRICA: Operation Compass. British aircraft bomb Bardia and Italian airbases at Tobruk, Derna and Benina. Italian defensive perimeter at Bardia consists of a continuous antitank ditch and barbed wire fences in front of 2 lines of 'posts' (open concrete pits with 1-2 antitank guns and 2-4 machineguns, 800 yards apart and protected to the South by lines of barbed wire, antitank ditches and sometimes mines - the expected British line of attack from Egypt). However, the posts can be picked off individually from the rear by a breakthrough. Australian 6th Division rehearses storming these defenses. Engineers practice blowing the wire with Bangalore torpedoes and knocking down antitank ditches and stone obstacles while Infantrymen and tankers learn to neutralise the posts and artillery batteries.

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[parsifal]

30 December 1940
Known Reinforcements
Allied
Flower Class Corvette HMS KINGCUP (K 33)

Type I Hunt Class Escort DD HMS MEYNELL (L 82)

U Class Sub HMS UNDAUNTED(i) (N 55)

UNDAUNTEDspent much of her short career operating in the Mediterranean. On 1 May 1941, she sailed from Malta to patrol off Tripoli, Libya. She was due to return to Malta on 11 May but she failed to do so and is presumed lost on mines. It is also possible that she was sunk by the RM TB PEGASO, which had sailed from Tripoli on the 12th. PEGASO had signalled that she had attacked a submarine with DCs and that a large patch of oil had been observed, an indication of the submarine's destruction. Against this theory is the fact that by that date UNDAUNTED should have been back at Malta, but it is possible that a decision to remain at sea longer had been taken, or that she had suffered mechanical problems preventing her return. It is also possible that she was sunk by the RM TB PLEIADE off Tripoli on the 13th but this is not very likely

Losses
Steamer CALCIUM (UK 613 grt) was sunk on a mine in 53‑25N, 03‑45W. One crewman was killed on the British steamer.

UBOATS
At Sea 30 December 1940
U-37, U-38, U-65, U-94, U-95, U-100, U-105, U-124.
8 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
North Sea
FN.371 A departed Southend. The convoy arrived at Methil on 1 January.

West Coast UK
DD VENOMOUS, which had departed the Clyde on the 29th, was mined at the entrance to Liverpool harbour near the B.2 Buoy. VENOMOUS was repaired at Liverpool completing on 18 February.

OB.267 departed Liverpool escort DDs AMAZON and AMBUSCADE, corvettes HEARTSEASE, HOLLYHOCK, MARGUERITE, ASW trawler LADY LILLIAN. The escort was detached on 2 January.

British tkr DORCASIA was damaged on a mine three miles 250° from Bar Light Vessel, Mersey.

SW Approaches
Steamer CITY OF BEDFORD (UK 6402 grt) of convoy SL.58 was sunk in an accidental collision south of Ireland with British steamer BODNANT of OB.264 in 60‑03N, 23‑01W when the two convoys converged. Rear Admiral J. C. Hamilton Rtd, convoy Commodore in steamer CITY OF BEDFORD, was lost in the steame

A few sources claim it was the slightly smaller BODNANT that sank after this collision. BODNANT is shown above

Central Atlantic
CA HAWKINS arrived at Freetown.

Med- Biscay
Force H, with BC RENOWN, CV ARK ROYAL, DDs FAULKNOR, DUNCAN, HASTY, HERO, JAGUAR, FIREDRAKE arrived at Gibraltar. CL SHEFFIELD arrived escorting steamer ESSEX. As previously stated, RENOWN had suffered weather damages in the hunt for ADM HIPPER and went directly into dock at Gibraltar.

RAN DD WATERHEN sank ASW trawler BANDOLERO (RN 913 grt) in an accidental collision in the Gulf of Sollum. There were no casualties in the trawler. WATERHEN was escorted from the area by DD MOHAWK and arrived at Alexandria on 1 January. The destroyer was repaired at Port Tewfik in a month.

Pacific/Far East/Australia Station
As a result of the German raider activities in the Nauru Is area on 6 to 8 December, the allies were forced to extend convoying to the Australia Station, extending to the Tasman Sea.

Convoy VK 1 departed Sydney for Auckland on the 30th with steamers EMPIRE STAR, PORT CHALMERS, EMPRESS OF RUSSIA, MAUNGANUI escorted by NZ manned CL ACHILLES.

Malta
1130 hrs Air raid alert for three enemy SM 79 bombers escorted by five fighters which cross the Island from north to south at 16000 feet. Six Hurricane fighters are scrambled to intercept. A Glenn Martin aircraft is approaching the Island; five Swordfish and one Magister are also airborne.

1146 hrs Three bombers and six fighters are reported over Luqa at 16000 feet; Three bombs are dropped on the aerodrome itself and some 7 more high explosives and incendiaries across the area. One building of the Royal West Kent Regiment is damaged. A direct hit demolishes an anti-aircraft post; there are no casualties. Considerable blast effect is felt across the whole area but there are no casualties. The raiders are engaged by heavy anti-aircraft fire; no claims.

1158 hrs A second formation of six enemy aircraft is reported approaching the Island but turns away without crossing the coast.

1220 hrs Raiders passed sounds. A search is organised for unexploded bombs and two are reported to the Southern Infantry Brigade: one at the entrance to a quarry and the second between a cookhouse and dining hall. All friendly aircraft are confirmed landed safely.

1500 hrs Major Jacobs, Royal Engineers, visited Luqa to inspect the unexploded bombs and confirmed they must be left for four days before being dealt with. Sentries are posted to prevent any traffic movements near the bomb sites and all ranks serving in the area are ordered to wear steel helmets until further notice.

1640 hrs Eight Wellington bombers take off from Luqa.

 

[Njaco]

December 30 Monday
GERMANY: Speaking to the command armed forces staff on the situation in the Atlantic, Admiral Dönitz of the German Navy announces,

" Just let me have a minimum of twenty Fw 200s solely for reconnaissance purposes, and the U-boat successes will shoot up!"

UNITED KINGDOM: Naval Intelligence in Singapore sent a secret telegram to the Admiralty in London advising that one of the Norwegian prisoners taken from the "Ole Jacob" had been interviewed by Mi-6 agents in Tokyo and had reported that all the mail on board the "Automedon" had been seized by the Germans before it was sunk. From this date onward, London cannot have been in any doubt that the Chiefs of Staff report (see December 12 1940) had fallen into enemy hands and that a copy would certainly have been passed to the Japanese.

General Oliver Leese takes command of West Sussex County Division of the Home Defense.

Destroyer HMS "Venomous" hit a mine off Liverpool, England but did not sink. She would remain in Liverpool for repairs until 18 Feb 1941.

Christopher Clarkson become the first British pilot to fly the Bell P-400 Airacobra despite Britain having inherited a French order for 170 aircraft, later expanded to 675 aircraft. The P-400 was armed with one Hispano-Suiza Mk 404 (M1) 20mm cannon in the nose. The four .30in machine guns in the wings were replaced with British standard .303in guns. The P-400 entered British service as the Airacobra I, after a brief spell when it was known as the Caribou. Before entering RAF service the Airacobra received a great deal of positive publicity, but when it arrived in Britain the lack of high altitude performance soon became clear, and the type only ever equipped one front line squadron (No. 601 "City of London" squadron). The aircraft was soon withdrawn from RAF service.

MEDITERRANEAN: Following period of bad weather, Greek II Corps opens new attacks in central sector of the front and captures over 600 Italian prisoners.

NORTH AFRICA: Operation Compass. Australian 6th Division continues perfecting tactics to breach Italian defenses at Bardia while RAF bombs these positions as well as Italian airbases at Tobruk, Derna and Benina. Australian 16th Infantry Brigade and 17th Infantry Brigade besiege Italian garrison at Bardia. Elements of British 7th Armored Division patrol toward Tobruk.

British anti-submarine trawler HMT "Bandolero" collided with Australian destroyer HMAS "Waterhen" off Sollum, Egypt. "Bandolero" sank with no casualties. HMAS "Waterhen" entered Port Taufiq on the Suez Canal in Egypt for repairs, which would be completed in Jan 1941.

Australian destroyer HMAS "Voyager" captured Italian sailing craft "Zingarella" on the Libyan coast, transporting British prisoners of war from Bardia to Tobruk. "Zingarella" would later serve in the British Royal Navy as a store carrier.

SOUTH PACIFIC: Troop convoy US 8 departs Australia for Egypt with Australian and NZ units.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: British ship "Calcium" hit a mine in the North Sea (killing 1), and then collided with British ship "Sodium". "Calcium" would ultimately sink.

NORTH AMERICA: U.S. Vice Admiral Claude C. Bloch wrote a letter to the Navy Department complaining of inadequate defenses at Pearl Harbor.

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[parsifal]

31 December 1940
Known Reinforcements
Neutral
M (Malyutka) class Submarine M-34 (Soviet)

Assigned to the Black sea Fleet, she departed Sevastopol on November 3rd, 1941 after which nothing was ever heard of the Russian submarine M-34 again. Presumed lost to mines, off Constanza.

S (Stalinec) class Submarine S-54 (Soviet)

Initially assigned to the Pacific Flt she transferred to the Northern Flt. Lost by unknown reasons with all hands (50 men) in the Kongsfjord area in March 1944. Most likely mined. S-54 had departed base on 5 March 1944. This photo was taken by Michael Chekalin, who agreed to release it under Creative Commons license to Wiki. It shows Soviet WWII-era S-56 sub and guard ship "Krasnyi Vympel" on display in Vladivostok.

Allied
BPB 70' Type (ex-French order) Motor Anti-Submarine Boat HMS MA/SB 62

Sister ship S-32 shown

Losses
MV VALPARAISO (SD 3760 grt) Sunk by U-38 (Heinrich Liebe); Crew: 35 (35 dead - no survivors); Cargo: General Cargo; Route: Montreal - Halifax - Glasgow; Convoy: HX-97 (straggler); Sunk in the Nth Atlantic; At 2112 hrs the VALPARAISO, a straggler from convoy HX-97 since 29 December, was hit aft by one G7a torpedo from U-38 and sank by the stern. The master, 32 crew members and two passengers were lost.

Steamer PORJUS (Ger 764 grt) was sunk in a collision near Brunsbuttel

RHN sub KATSONIS sank tkr QUINTO (FI 531 grt) with gunfire at Antivari in the Bay of Valona. The captain of the now burning QUINTO managed to run his ship aground, off San Giovanni di Medua, Albania (Antivari, Bay of Valona).

UBOATS
Arrivals
Lorient: U-94

At Sea 31 December 1940
U-37, U-38, U-65, U-95, U-100, U-105, U-124.
7 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
North Sea
DD WHITSHED departed the Nore to work up at Scapa Flow. FN.372 departed Southend. The convoy arrived at Methil on 2 January. FS.376 departed Methil. The convoy arrived at Southend on 2 January.

Northern Waters
CLA CURACOA departed Scapa Flow to escort convoy WN.61 from Pentland Firth until dark. The cruiser returned to Scapa Flow late that evening.

Central Atlantic
At 2300 hrs the unescorted BRITISH ZEAL , dispersed on 19 December from convoy OB-260, was hit on the starboard side underneath the bridge by a stern torpedo from U-65 while steaming on a non-evasive course at 10.5 knots east of the Cape Verde Islands. The U-boat had chased the tkr for about 8 hrs and missed with a spread of two torpedoes of which one was a tube-runner at 1752 hrs. A lookout had spotted a torpedo track and the helm was put hard to starboard, but it nevertheless struck and the crew (the ship was armed with one 4.7in, one 12pdr and two machine guns) immediately abandoned ship in the lifeboats in rough seas. The Germans could not use the deck gun in the darkness and a first attempt to finish her off missed due to a malfunction, but a second struck on the starboard side at the bulkhead between #3 and #4 tanks about 30 mins after the first hit. They had observed how the crew abandoned ship in a well-disciplined manner and left the area without questioning the survivors, assuming that the tanker will sink.

However, the crew spotted the still floating tanker at daylight, rowed towards her in heavy seas and reboarded the her about noon on 1 Jan 1941. Three tanks had been flooded through two large holes in the starboard side and the deck was torn open by the explosions, however the engine room was found intact. The crew raised up steam and tested the engines and steering, but then abandoned ship again for the night in case the U-boat was still nearby. At dawn the next day, the men quickly reboarded her and headed towards Bathurst at 5 knots. A few hours later HMS ENCOUNTER (H 10) arrived, offered assistance and departed shortly afterwards to search for the attacker. The tkr continued alone until joined by the rescue tug HMS HUDSON (W 02) from Freetown on 4 January and was accompanied to that harbor, arriving four days later. On 16 July 1941, she left Freetown after temporary repairs to Baltimore for permanent repairs via Trinidad and New York, arriving on 18 August. The ship returned to service in February 1942. She survived the war.

Med- Biscay
CA BERWICK, escorted by DDs FORESTER and FURY, arrived at Gibraltar to land her wounded from the 25 December encounter with DKM CA ADM HIPPER. BERWICK arrived at Portsmouth on 17 January for repairs continuing until 10 May. She proceeded to Rosyth arriving on 11 May and completed repairs on 23 June. DDs VELOX and VIDETTE departed Gibraltar for Freetown. DDs JAGUAR, FOXHOUND, FIREDRAKE, DUNCAN, HERO departed Gibraltar to intercept French ships entering the Straits of Morocco and bring them to Gibraltar for contraband control.

During the night of 31 December/1 January, DD DAINTY captured schooners TIBERIO (FI 231 grt) and MARIA GIOVANNI (FI 255 grt) running between Bardia and Tobruk. The schooners were taken to Sollom.

British SubFlot 8 was formed at Gibraltar with shore establishment HMS PIGMY. Sub OLYMPUS arrived at Gibraltar for operations on the 29th, OTUS on 4 January, PANDORA on 14 January. CL AJAX and RAN CL PERTH departed Alexandria to take over Aegean duty and cover the passage of troopship ULSTER PRINCE, which departed Port Said escorted by DD GALLANT. Monitor TERROR and DD DIAMOND arrived at Alexandria. Gunboats APHIS and LADYBIRD, escort DD DAINTY, departed Alexandria for Sollum. Submarine PARTHIAN attacked an Italian convoy off Spartivento, without success.

Repair ship VINDICTIVE and DDs ISIS and ENCOUNTER, which departed Gibraltar on the 25th, arrived at Freetown.

Malta
KALAFRANA Sunderland a/c of 228 Sqn operated on 10 days during the month, carrying out 11 long recons mainly to the NE of Malta, including one night naval co-operation patrol. In addition, one search patrol for missing Swordfish was undertaken but was not successful. Two communication flights were carried out by Sunderlands between Middle East and Gibraltar with passengers and mail.

 

[parsifal]

Summary Of Losses December 1940
Allied
Allied Warships
AMC FORFAR (RN 16402 grt), Special service vessel EMPIRE SEAMAN (RN 1927 grt), Rainbow Class Sub HMS REGULUS (RN 1769 grt), "A" Class DD HMS ACHERON (RN 1337 grt), Boom defense vessel THOMAS CONNOLLY (RN 290 grt), MSW trawler REFUNDO (RN 258 grt), T Class Submarine TRITON (RN 1090 grt), GHI Class DD HMS HYPERION (RN 1335 grt), MSW trawler PELTON (RN 358 grt), Aux MSW MERCURY (RN 350 grt (est), MTB 5 (RN 18 grt) (Reclassified Minesweeper Attendant Craft MAC 5 in 1940), ASW trawler BANDOLERO (RN 913 grt), Sub PROTEUS (RHN 750 grt)

La Melpomine Class TB BRANLEBAS (Free French 680 grt), Requin Class Sub NARVAL (FNFL 974 grt),

26797(RN)), 1654 (FNFL) (Total 28451 grt Naval Tonnage)

Allied Shipping
Tkr APPALACHEE (UK 8826 grt) , MV PALMELLA (UK 1578 grt), Paddle steamer HER MAJESTY (UK 235 grt), Tanker BRITISH OFFICER (UK 6990 grt), steamer TRIBESMAN (UK 6242 grt), MV KAVAK (UK 2782 grt), MV LADY GLANELY (UK 5497 grt), Tkr CONCH (UK 8376 grt), MV GOODLEIGH (UK 5448 grt), MV TASSO (UK 1586 grt) , MV STIRLINSHIRE (UK 6022 grt), MV WILHELMINA (UK 6725 grt), MV PACIFIC PRESIDENT (UK 7113 grt), Tkr VICTOR ROSS (UK 12247 grt) , MV SAMNANGER (UK 4276 grt), MV JEANNE M (UK 2465 grt), Steamer JOLLY GIRLS (UK 483 grt), Trawler KILGERRAN CASTLE (UK 276 grt), steamer VICTORIA CITY (UK 4739 grt), Steamer SILVERPINE (UK 5066 grt, Steamer SUPREMITY (UK 554 grt), MSW trawler CAPRICORNUS (RN 219 grt), MSW trawler CORTINA (RN 213 grt), Hybrid Liner/Cargo Vessel CALABRIA (UK 9515 grt), MV ASHCREST (UK 5652 grt), Coastal steamer ACTUALITY (UK 311 grt), MV EMPIRE JAGUAR (UK 5186 grt), Ferry ROYAL SOVEREIGN (UK 1527 grt), MV EMPIRE STATESMAN (UK 5306 grt), Trawler ROBINIA (UK 208 grt),
MV KYLEGLEN (UK 3670 grt), MV EUPHORBIA (UK 3380 grt), Liner/Cargo Vessel WESTERN PRINCE (UK 10926 grt), Steamer INVER (UK 1543 grt), Steamer MALRIX (UK 703 grt), Steamer BENEFICENT (UK 2944 grt), steamer AQUEITY (UK 370 grt), Steamer BELVEDERE (UK 869 grt), FV CARRY ON (UK 93 grt), MV NAPIER STAR (UK 10116 grt), Tanker OSAGE (UK 2950 grt), Drifter PROFICIENT (UK 57 grt), steamer AMICUS (UK 3660 grt), hopper barge OVERDALE (UK 315 grt), steamer CARLTON (UK 5162 grt), Hybrid Ferry/Steamer INNISFALLEN (UK 3071 grt), Barge TIC.12 (UK 118 grt), Tug RIVER THAMES (UK 88 grt), Tug SUN IX (UK 196 grt), Steamer SILVIO (UK 1293 grt), Steamer ALPERA (UK 1777 grt), Tkr BRITISH PREMIER (UK 5662 grt), Drifter LORD HOWARD (UK 98 grt), MV WAIOTIRA (UK 12823 grt), Drifter TRUE ACCORD (UK 92 grt), Steamer ARABY (UK 4936 grt), Steamer KINNAIRD HEAD (UK 449 grt), teamer ARDANBHAN (UK 4980 grt), Tug MONARCH (UK 41 grt), Steamer CALCIUM (UK 613 grt), Steamer CITY OF BEDFORD (UK 6402 grt),

Steamer TRIONA (Aus 4413 grt), MV TRIADIC (Aus 6378 grt), MV TRIASTER (Aus 6032 grt)

MV VILLE D'ARLON (Be 7555 grt), MV MACEDONIER (BE 5297 grt),

Steamer ANASTASSIA (Gk 2883 grt),

MV FARMSUM (NL 5237 grt), MV TOWA (NL 5419 grt), Tkr ARINIA (NL 8024 grt), Steamer BREDA (NL 6941 grt), Trawler YSTROOM (NL 400 grt), steamer STAD MAASTRICHT (NL 6907 grt),

Liner OSLOFJORD (Nor 18,673 grt), MV SKRIM (Nor 1902 grt), steamer VINNI (Nor 5181 grt),
MV RISANGER (Nor 5455 grt)

Steamer KOMATA (NZ 3900 grt), Hybrid Liner-Steamer ROTURUA (NZ 10890 grt),

209675 (UK), 16823 (Aus), 12852 (Belg), 2883 (Gk), 32928 (NL), 31211 (Nor), 14790 (NZ)
321162 grt (Mercantile)
Total Mercantile and Military losses: 349613 grt

Prizes captured
schooner TIREREMO DIRITTO (FI 65 grt (est)), trawler SENATEUR DUHAMEL (Vichy 913 grt) , ketch ZINGARELLA (FI 190 grt), schooners TIBERIO (FI 231 grt) and MARIA GIOVANNI (FI 255 grt),

Neutral shipping
Lighthouse Tender ISOLDA (Eire 734 grt),

Tkr CHARLES PRATT (Pan 8982 grt),

MV DAPHNE (SD 1518 grt), MV GWALIA (SD 1258 grt), MV STUREHOLM (SD 4573 grt), MV VALPARAISO (SD 3760 grt), steamer MANGEN (SD 1253 grt),
steamer FRISIA (SD 1059 grt) Captured

734 (Eire), 13421 (SD), 8982 (Pan),
(23137 Mercantile)

Neutral warships
None

Total Neutral Mercantile + Military: 23137 grt
Total Allied + Neutral: 372750 grt

Prizes taken
None

Allied and Neutral Quarterly and Cumulative Summaries
New Construction 4rd Qtr 1940
358000 tons (all sources)

Total Allied and Neutral losses 4th Qtr 1940
1244817 tons

Cumulative Losses since 9/39
5833295 Allied and Neutral Mercantile and Naval tonnage losses

Axis Warships
DKM
None

RM
TB CALIPSO (RM 679 grt), Liuzzi Class sub CAPITANO TARANTINI (RM 1148 grt), Sirene Class sub NAIADE (RM 680 grt), Rosalino Pilo Class DD (re-rated to TB) CAIROLI (RM 770 grt)

(3277 grt)

Vichy
AO RHONE (Vichy 2785 grt), Redoubtable Class Sub SFAX (Vichy 1340 grt)

(4125 grt)

IJN
None

7402 grt (Total)

Axis Shipping
GER
Steamer KLAUS SCHOKE (Ger 5830 grt), Steamers IDARWALD (Ger 5033 grt) and MV RHEIN (Ger 6031 grt), Steamer PARANAGUA (Ger 6062 grt), Trawler JUPITER (Ger 218 grt), Trawler HELTRAUD (Ger 103 grt), Steamer BIRKENFELS (Ger 6322 grt), Steamer FREIENFELS (Ger 7563 grt), Steamer GEIERFELS (Ger 7605 grt), Steamer BADEN (Ger 8803 grt), Steamer ADRIANA (Ger 997 grt), Steamer PORJUS (Ger 764 grt),

(53331 grt)

(FI)
steamer SEBASTINO BIANCHI (FI 1546 grt), tkr BONZO (FI 8177 grt), Steamers GALATA (FI 618 grt), GIUSEPPINA D. (FI 431 grt), VINCENZINO (FI 190 grt), steamers NORGE (FI 6511 grt), Steamer PEUCETA (FI 1926 grt), steamer ANTONIETTA (FI 70 grt), Liner FIRENZE (FI 3952 grt), Liner SARDEGNA (FI 11,452 grt), tkr QUINTO (FI 531 grt), (Captured by the allies) [schooner TIREREMO DIRITTO (FI 65 grt (est)), ketch ZINGARELLA (FI 190 grt), schooners TIBERIO (FI 231 grt) and MARIA GIOVANNI (FI 255 grt)],

(36194 grt)

Spain:
MV SAN CARLOS (SP 223 grt)
(223 grt)

(Vichy)
tug CHASSIRON (Vichy 172 grt), trawler JOSEPH DUHAMEL (Vichy 928 grt),
(Captured by the allies), trawler SENATEUR DUHAMEL (Vichy 913 grt)

(2013 grt)

Finland
steamer OSCAR MIDLING (FN 2182 grt),

(2182 grt)

Denmark
Steamer N. C. MONBERG (Den 2301 grt),

(2301 grt)

Total Axis Mercantile (96244 grt)
Total Axis Mercantile and Naval Tonnage losses: ( 103646 grt)

Captured ships
steamer FRISIA (SD 1059 grt),

 

[Njaco]

December 31 1940 Tuesday
NORTHERN EUROPE: Pro-Moscow Finland - Soviet Peace and Friendship Society disbanded by Helsinki.

GERMANY: Hitler proclamation:

"1941 will see the German army, navy, and air force enormously strengthened and better equipped...."

Captain Lindemann returned to "Bismarck" from his Christmas leave and assumed command of the battleship.

RAF bombers attacked the bridge over the Rhine River at Emmerich and Köln, Germany.

MEDITERRANEAN: Greek offensive operations mostly suspended due to poor weather and Italian counterattacks. RAF bombers attacked Vlorë, Albania.

Italian vessel "Quinto" sunk by Greek submarine "Katsonis".

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-38 sank Swedish ship "Valparaiso" 200 miles south of Iceland at 2312 hours; 35 survivors drown in the freezing water.

German submarine U-65 damaged British tanker "British Zeal" with two torpedoes 200 miles off Dakar, French West Africa. The crew abandoned the ship, but after U-65 departed the scene, the crew reboarded and successfully maneuvered the damaged ship to Freetown, British West Africa.

WESTERN FRONT: RAF bombers attacked Rotterdam and Ijmuiden, the Netherlands.

NORTH AFRICA: British destroyer HMS "Dainty" stopped Italian schooners "Tiberio" and "Maria Giovanni" between Bardia and Tobruk, Libya and forced them to sail to Sollum, Egypt for capture.

UNITED KINGDOM: HMS "Hood", known within the Royal Navy as 'the Mighty Hood' was a 860 foot long, 46,000 ton battlecruiser launched in 1918. In late 1940 she was the flagship for the Home Fleet that stood in reserve for a possible invasion and assisted with convoy protection. The Home Fleet was based in the Orkney Islands anchorage of Scapa Flow in the far north of Great Britain, ready to intercept German ships seeking to make their way into the Atlantic. On board was a United States Naval officer, Joseph Wellings, who recorded the day in his diary:

"Last day of 1940 – up at usual time 0745 – breakfast, a good mile and a quarter walk on quarterdeck, more snow last night – Hills are really very pretty – wish I were home. On bridge watching ship shift berths – Not a very good job – cut mooring buoy. Watched the crew get their ration of rum – quite a ritual.
Called on the Warrant Officers – had a gin(s) (2). Lunch, read, nap – First Lieut. In for a cup of coffee at 1730. Dressed for dinner – at 1830 called on the midshipmen in the gunroom and the Warrant Officers before dinner. Had a very fine turkey dinner. After dinner remained in wardroom – talked with Warrand, the navigator, and Owens. Just before midnight the officers returned from the C.P.O. party. Browne (Lt. Paymaster) rigged up ships bell in Anteroom of wardroom. At 2400 bell was struck 16 times, an old custom. Captain, Admiral, his staff, exec, and practically all officers returned to Wardroom. We all drank a toast to 1941 – Peace and Victory. One of the midshipmen from the gunroom came in with a bagpipe and played Scotch tunes. Everyone started to dance the various Scotch dances from the Admiral down to the lowest midshipman. The Wardroom tables were cleared away and a regular party was in full swing. It was a very unusual sight to see the Admiral, Captain, staff, Wardroom, gunroom, and Warrant officers dancing. Included in the party but not dancing was the Chief Master-at-Arms and Sergeant Major of the Marines. Such a comradeship one would never suspect from the English who are supposed to be so conservative. I was impressed very much. Such spirit is one of the British best assets. This spirit will go far to bring about victory in the end. At 0145 I left the party in full swing and turned in but not before thanking God for his many blessings in 1940 and saying goodnight to my two sweethearts".

Joseph Wellings was later to become an Admiral. The remainder of those at the party were less fortunate – all of HMS "Hood's" officers would be lost when she was sunk by the "Bismarck" on 24th May 1941. Midshipman William Dundas was one of just three survivors out of the total crew of 1,418 – but he did not join the ship until 6th January 1941.

.

 

[parsifal]

1 January 1941
UBOATS
Arrivals
Kiel: U-100

At Sea 1 January 1941
U-30, U-32, U-34, U-46, U-56, U-58.
6 boats at sea.

OPERATIONS
North Sea
FN.373 departed Southend, escort DD VIMIERA and sloop WESTON, and arrived at Methil on the 3rd. FS.377 departed Methil, escort DD WOLFHOUND and sloop EGRET, and arrived at Southend on the 3rd. DD MEYNELL arrived at Scapa Flow from Rosyth for working up. DD WHITSHED arrived at Scapa Flow from the Nore for working up.

Northern Waters
CLs ARETHUSA and AURORA and DDs BEDOUIN, MASHONA, MATABELE and TARTAR departed Scapa Flow to cover DDs INTREPID and ICARUS who were to lay mines off Jaederens Point and Obrestad in Operation DZ (off the coast of Norway in the vicinity of Stavanger. This was a dangerous offensive operation for the RN) . DD ICARUS damaged her mine rails casting off from depot ship MAIDSTONE. The ships returned to port at 1109 while DD ICARUS was repaired. The force departed again at 0800 on the 2nd for the operation. During the morning, DDs BEDOUIN and MASHONA were detached for 45 mins to search for a UBoat reported by a trawler in 58-57N, 2-12W. The mines were laid and all ships arrived back on the 3rd.

CLs MANCHESTER and NIGERIA arrived at Scapa Flow from patrol. NIGERIA had serious engine room defects. CLA CURACOA departed Scapa Flow to carry out exercises, then join convoy WN.62 until dark. The ship arrived back at Scapa Flow later that evening.

West Coast UK
OB.268 departed Liverpool, escort DDs VETERAN and WOLVERINE, sloop DEPTFORD, corvettes ARBUTUS, DELPHINIUM, ERICA. The escort was detached when the convoy dispersed on the 4th.

Western Approaches
RM sub BAGNOLINI attacked armed boarding vessel NORTHERN PRIDE without success

Channel
British steamer ATTENDANT was damaged on a mine one cable east of 9 Buoy, Sheerness. The steamer was beached, was later refloated and towed to Gravesend for drydocking.

Nth Atlantic
HX.100 departed Halifax, escort AMC COMORAN, corvette COLLINGWOOD, escort vessel OTTER. The corvette and the escort vessel were detached the next day. The AMC was detached on the 12th. BHX.100 departed Bermuda on 30 December escorted by ocean escort AMC MONTCLARE. The convoy rendezvoused with convoy HX.100 on the 4th and the AMC was detached. On the 13th, DDs VANQUISHER, VISCOUNT, WHITEHALL, WINCHELSEA and corvettes GENTIAN and RHODODENDRON joined the convoy. DD WHITEHALL was with the convoy on the 13th. DDs VANQUISHER and WINCHELSEA and corvette RHODODENDRON were detached on the 16th and DD VISCOUNT and corvette GENTIAN the next day, with the convoy arriving at Liverpool on the 18th.

Central Atlantic
SL.61 departed Freetown escort AMC BULOLO to 18 January and ASW trawlers KELT and TURCOMAN to 3 January. On the 18th, DD VETERAN and corvette DELPHINIUM joined the convoy. On the 19th, corvette ARBUTUS joined and on the 20th, corvette CAMELLIA joined. These four were detached on the 21st. On the 22nd, DD WOLVERINE joined and on the 23rd, ASW trawler LEEDS UNITED joined. These escorted the convoy to arrival at Liverpool on the 24th.

Convoy SLS.61 departed Freetown escorted by ASW trawlers BENGALI and SPANIARD to 7 January, and arrived at Liverpool on the 26th.

Med- Biscay
DDs DUNCAN, FIREDRAKE, FOXHOUND, JAGUAR, HERO departed Gibraltar on 31 December on Operation RATION (the interception of Vichy ships). CLA BONAVENTURE departed Gibraltar on the 1st to support. On the 1st, the DDs intercepted French convoy K.5 of four ships, capturing steamer CHANTILLY (Vichy 9986 grt), tkrs OCTANE (Vichy 1950 grt) and Tkr SUROIT (Vichy 554 grt). Steamer SALLY MAERSK (Den 3252 grt), escorted by armed trawler LA TOULONAISE, in the Gibraltar Straits, coming from Casablanca, having departed on 30 December, for Oran was also apprehended.

DD JAGUAR fired on steamer CHANTILLY. Two on the steamer were killed and four were wounded. The convoy was taken towards Gibraltar. A storm caused dispersal of the convoy. Steamer CHANTILLY arrived at Gibraltar on the 2nd and tankers OCTANE with an armed guard from DD HERO and SUROIT with an armed guard arrived on the 3rd. The Danish ship with an armed guard from destroyer FIREDRAKE also arrived at Gibraltar.

CV ARK ROYAL, CL SHEFFIELD, DDs FAULKNOR, FORTUNE, FURY departed Gibraltar to support this operation and sweep in the western Mediterranean. The ARK ROYAL force arrived back at Gibraltar on the 4th. Steamer CHANTILLY and tanker OCTANE proceeded to England in convoy HG.57 on 24 March.

Malta
Malta based Wellingtons from Malta bommbed Tripoli

 

[Njaco]

1941
January 1 Wednesday
GERMANY: Adolf Hitler's year of triumph had been incomplete. In his New Year's order of the day to the German armed forces, he makes promises:

"A momentous year in German history has come to an end. The enormous uniqueness of the events and their revolutionary significance for the future development of mankind will be fully acknowledged only by later generations. We who live the history of this time cannot but help feel that the workings of Providence are stronger than the intentions and the will of individuals. The gods not only strike him with blindness whom they wish to destroy, but they also help him whom Providence calls upon to strive for goals far from his original desire. When British propagandists try to make the situation look as though France needlessly stopped fighting, then all one can say to this claim is that the first units which stopped fighting were British divisions. From the moment we attacked in the west, the British army had just one thought: to evacuate the continent speedily and to assure the necessary cover by the Dutch, the Belgians, and the French. Just as they regarded the Norwegian army as a colonial force for their retreat a few weeks before, so now with their allies in France and Belgium. When the French government asked for peace, there were no more French troops, and, above all, there had not been English ones for a long time. Thus, the war will be continued until the destruction of the responsible elements! The German Wehrmacht has proved that it is good enough. That it will be better yet in the coming months is our resolve. This resolve will be realized with zealous thoroughness and untiring diligence. The year 1941 will see the German army, the German navy and Luftwaffe step up enormously reinforced and with improved equipment. The last of the war criminals will collapse under its blows, and thus the prerequisites for a true understanding among nations will be created".

Over 100 British bombers hit Bremen, Germany, causing large fires and damaging the Fock-Wulf factory.

The commander of Jagdfliegerführer 1, Generalmajor Theo Osterkamp is made commander of Jagdfliegerführer 2.

Negotiations began between Germany and Bulgaria to use Bulgarian territory as a staging area for Operation Marita, the German invasion of Greece.

NORTH AFRICA: British General O'Connor's Western Desert Force in Egypt was reorganized as the British 13th Corps. Meanwhile, in Libya, RAF aircraft continued to bomb the port of Bardia and the airfields at Tobruk, Derna, and Benina.

In order to support the Italians in their campaign in North Africa, several Luftwaffe units are pulled from the Western front in France and transferred to the Mediterranean and finally to North Africa. The first units to transfer are medium and dive bomber units long with a few Zerstörer units. Single-engined fighter units are not sent at this time. The first twin-engined fighter unit to the area, III./ZG 26 under Major Kaschka, leaves from France to the Treviso coast then during January they then fly to Palermo in Sicily. By the end of the month, III./ZG 26 is joined by 2./ZG 26 and fly to bases in Tripoli.

UNITED KINGDOM: German bombers drop bombs on Ireland, in four counties and the capital, Dublin. Bombs fell in Counties Meath, Carlow, Kildare, Wicklow, Wexford and Dublin. In Meath, five bombs fell at Duleek and three at Julianstown, without casualties. In Carlow, a house in Knockroe was destroyed, killing three people and injuring two others. In Kildare three high explosive, as well as many incendiary, bombs fell in the Curragh area; two sea mines were dropped by parachute near Enniskerry in Kildare. Ballymurrin in Wexford saw three German bombs fall without casualties and in Dublin, German bombs hit Terenure, two falling at Rathdown Park, with another two at Fortfield Road and Lavarna Grove, with injuries but no loss of life.

The United Kingdom suppressed the Daily Worker, a Communist publication.

The BBC aired the Brains Trust for the first time. This radio programme which had five men discussing such diverse subjects as philosophy, art and science was surprisingly a great success, frequently having a regular audience of ten million listeners.

George Giffard was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath. Arthur Coningham was Mentioned in Despatches.

MEDITERRANEAN: In the Gibraltar Strait, British destroyers HMS "Duncan", HMS "Firedrake", HMS "Foxhound", HMS "Jaguar", and HMS "Hero" stopped a French convoy from Casablanca, French Morocco. The convoy was consisted of French ship "Chantilly", French tankers "Octane" and "Suroit", and Danish ship "Sally Maersk". HMS "Jaguar" attacked "Chantilly", causing 2 killed and 4 wounded, leading to the convoy's capture.

WESTERN FRONT: During the early evening at 1840 hours, Lt. Stradner of 1./NJG 2 begins his scoring after shooting down a British Wellington 75 km east of Lowestoft.

.

 

[Njaco]

January 2 Thursday
WESTERN FRONT: The night-fighters of NJG 2 again take to the skies against British bombers. At 1845 hours, Uffz. Arnold of 1./NJG 2 destroys a RAF Wellington for his first score. Fifteen minutes later, Lt. Hans Hahn of 3./NJG 2 shoots down a British Whitley over the East Anglia coast for his second kill.

GERMANY: German leaders Himmler and Heydrich categorized concentration camps into three categories for different types of prisoners, but in practice this categorization had little actual effect.

British Bomber Command aircraft make attacks on Bremen, Germany.

UNITED KINGDOM: Cardiff, Wales was bombed. German bombing severely damaged the Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff. A rescue party dug for six hours to rescue a six-year-old child trapped under the staircase where he had taken shelter from the bombing. Throughout the rescue the child was heard singing "God Save the King". He later explained that his father, a coal miner, had told him that when men were buried underground they kept singing to guide the rescuers, and this was the only tune that he knew the words. Western Cardiff was the worst hit area, particularly Canton and Riverside, where 116 people were killed, an estimated 50 of which were killed in one street in Riverside, De Burgh Street. The 10-hour air raid had started at 1837 hours and Grangetown was the first area to be hit by 100 German aircraft.

For the second time, German bombs fall on Ireland.

London offers a British expeditionary force to Greece, to repel the Italian invasion.

NORTH AFRICA: Operation Compass. British air, land and sea forces prepare for the assault on Bardia. Overnight artillery moves into position in a depression 450 m from the Western edge of the Italian defenses. During the day, British monitor HMS "Terror" and British gunboats HMS "Ladybird" and HMS "Aphis" bombarded Bardia. Italian aircraft responded without success. After sun down, Wellington bombers of No. 70 Squadron RAF and Bombay bombers of No. 216 Squadron RAF attacked Italian positions at Bardia. Troops of the Australian 6th Division began to prepare for the ground assault.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-65 sank British ship "Nalgora" 250 miles west of Port-Étienne, French West Africa at 2207 hours. As the military equipment destined for British troops in Egypt went down with the ship, 105 survivors took to lifeboats and would eventually make land at the Cape Verde Islands or rescue by other ships. This would be U-65's eighth and final sinking during the 49-day-long patrol.

German submarine U-38 was detected by a convoy escort ship 300 miles northwest of Ireland, which attacked with depth charges. U-38 was slightly damaged but was able to continue with the patrol without needing immediate repairs.

.

 

[parsifal]

2 January 1941
Known Reinforcements
Axis
Type IXC U-66

Photo is of U-66 when she met with Milch Cow U-117 on 7 August 1943 for fuel, provisions and medical aid. While alongside the pair were attacked by a/c from USS CARD. U-117 was sunk but U-66 managed to escape.

In her career, U-66 sank 33 ships , total tonnage 200,021 GRT, and damaged 2 ships, total tonnage 22,674 GRT. She damaged 2 warships total tonnage 64 tons.

U-66 was sunk on 6 May 1944 in the Atlantic west of the Cape Verde Islands, , by DCs, gunfire and ramming from Avenger and Wildcat aircraft (VC-55 USN) of the CVE USS BLOCK ISLAND and by the DE USS BUCKLEY, suffering 24 dead and 36 survivors.

Neutral
Tambor Class Sub USS TUNA (SS-203)

Allied
Dance Class ASW Trawler HMS SARABANDE (T 125)

Sister Ship HMT ARRAN

Losses
MV NALGORA (UK 6579 grt) Sunk by U-65 (Hans-Gerrit von Stockhausen) ; Crew: 105 (0 dead and 105 survivors). ; Cargo: Boom defence gear ; Route: Leith - Rosyth - Aden - Alexandria ; Convoy OB-261 (dispersed); Sunk in the Central Atlantic, off the west coast of Africa; At 2207 hrs the NALGORA, (dispersed from convoy OB-261 on 22 December), was hit by one stern torpedo from U-65 about 350 miles nth of the Cape Verde Islands and sunk 20 mins later by 70 rounds from the deck gun. The master, 101 crew members and three passengers were rescued after eight days adrift in lifeboats. 52 survivors were picked up by the British merchant NOLISEMENT and landed at Freetown, while 34 survivors were picked up by the British merchant UMGENI and landed in Glasgow on 13 January. 19 crew members in a lifeboat reached shore at San Antonio, Cape Verde Islands.

Steamer ALBANO (FI 2364 grt) was sunk on a mine one mile east of Cape Laghi, Albania.

UBOATS
At Sea 2 January 1941
U-37, U-38, U-65, U-95, U-105, U-124.
6 boats at sea

Depth charging from a convoy escort left U-38 with minor damage.

OPERATIONS
Northern Waters
The 1st Minelaying Squadron, escort DDs DOUGLAS, KEPPEL, OURAGAN, which had arrived at Loch Alsh on the 1st, departed Loch Alsh to lay mines in SN 6 and SN 65.

Destroyer BEAGLE departed Scapa Flow at 0900 to reinforce the escort forces. The operation was screened by CL EDINBURGH, which departed Scapa Flow at 1000/2nd. BC HOOD and DDs ECHO, ELECTRA, SIKH, ESKIMO departed Scapa Flow to provide cover for the operation. The minefield was laid and the minelayers returned to Loch Alsh on the 5th. The BC force also arrived back at Scapa Flow on the 5th. DD OURAGAN arrived at Scapa Flow on the 5th after being detached from the MLs due to a shortage of fuel. DD BEAGLE and the MLs arrived at Loch Alsh on the 5th. DD BEAGLE was then sailed for Greenock to join the escort of convoy WS.5B. CL EDINBURGH arrived on the 5th at Scapa Flow. Also on the 5th, DDs DOUGLAS and KEPPEL arrived at Scapa Flow after escorting the MLs to the Minches.

CLA NAIAD departed Scapa Flow and relieved CLA PHOEBE at Oban on guard duties. PHOEBE had been at Oban on AA guard duties since 24 December. On relief, PHOEBE proceeded to Scapa Flow.

DD SOMALI departed Scapa Flow at 1530 for Rosyth to carry out repairs to a damaged gun shield. The DD arrived at Rosyth on the 3rd. British P/T/Midshipman J. E. R. Rainford RNVR, was killed when his Fulmar of 807 Sqn collided with another Fulmar at Yeovilton. The other Fulmar safely landed.

West Coast UK
ML cruiser ADVENTURE laid mines in minefield ZME.10 in St Georges Channel (the southern entrance to the Irish Sea).
CL EMERALD was recommissioned at Devonport after a refit lasting from October to the end of December.

British steamer LOCH DEE was struck by a German delayed action bomb at Cardiff, and suffered damage. The bomb exploded on the 3rd. One crewman was killed.

Nth Atlantic
SC.18 departed Halifax, escorted by AMC LACONIA, which was detached on the 14th. On the 14th, DD WESTCOTT and corvettes CANDYTUFT and HONEYSUCKLE joined the escort. Ocean boarding vessel CRISPIN and sloop WELLINGTON joined on the 15th. DD WESTCOTT was detached on the 17th and the remainder of the escort on the 18th, and arrived at Liverpool on the 19th.

Med- Biscay
The Med Flt departed Alexandria to cover ground operations in Libya for operation MC.5. CV ILLUSTRIOUS, escort DDs GREYHOUND, GRIFFIN, ILEX, JUNO departed in the morning to embark a/c. BBs WARSPITE, BARHAM, VALIANT, CL GLOUCESTER and CA YORK of the CruSqn 3, CLA CALCUTTA, DDs JANUS, NUBIAN, MOHAWK, WRYNECK, DIAMOND, RAN VENDETTA, GALLANT departed Alexandria at 1830. Monitor TERROR and gunboats LADYBIRD and APHIS bombarded Bardia. RAN DD VOYAGER and monitor TERROR were unsuccessfully attacked by RA a/c.

Red Sea/Indian Ocean
DKM tkr NORDMARK refuelled German raider THOR. The tkr also embarked diesel oil from captured Norwegian tkr STORSTAD.

Malta
Glenn Martin 167 recon a/c from Malta confirmed the presence of three enemy cruisers in Tripoli Harbour. The photo-recon mission was ordered to identify the damage done overnight by Wellingtons of 148 Sqn and to confirm the presence of further targets for bombing operations.

The recon photographs revealed a large oil patch covering one third of the harbour area. One large merchant vessel from north of the harbour and one DD from the eastern jetty were observed at sea

The ships observed in Tripoli Harbour include nine merchant vessels over 6000 tons, seven merchant vessels 4000 tons, 12 merchant vessels under 2000 tons, eight small naval craft and two destroyers. Six Cant aircraft were moored at the seaplane base.

 

[parsifal]

3 January 1941
Known Reinforcements
Allied
HDML 1003 (ML 1003), HDML 1037 (ML 1037)

Flower Class Corvette HMS HYDRANGEA (K 39)

Thornycroft 55 feet-type HMS MTB 216

Losses
Drifter NEW SPRAY (UK 70 grt) was lost in a gale off Sheerness.

Steamer PINEWOOD (UK 2466 grt) was sunk on a mine one and a half miles south of Pier, Southend. Six crew were lost. Eighteen crew were rescued.

Steamer LIISA (Fn 1460 grt), in German service, was sunk by BC at Bremen.

Steamer YRSA (Fn 2803 grt) in German service, was sunk by BC in the Kiel Canal. The bridge across the Kiel Canal received a direct hit and fell upon the steamer. The steamer sank in the canal. The steamer was subsequently raised and the canal reopened.

UBOATS
At Sea 3 January 1941
U-37, U-38, U-65, U-95, U-105, U-124.
6 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
North Sea
FN.374 departed Southend, and arrived at Methil on the 5th. FS.378 departed Methil, escort DD WOLSEY and sloop LOWESTOFT, and arrived at Southend on the 5th.

Northern Waters
DD LEGION arrived at Scapa Flow from the Clyde to carry out working up exercises. DD LINCOLN departed Scapa Flow for Belfast after completing work up exercises. The destroyer arrived at Belfast on the 4th. DD COSSACK departed Scapa Flow for Southampton for refitting.

West Coast UK
OB.269 departed Liverpool, escort corvette ANEMONE. On the 4th, DDs SARDONYX and SHIKARI, corvette LA MALOUINE, ASW trawlers ST KENAN, ST ZENO, VIZALMA, WELLARD joined. The escort was detached when the convoy dispersed on the 6th.

Med- Biscay
The Med Flt bombarded Bardia. Destroyers JANUS, JUNO, GREYHOUND, ILEX, GRIFFIN streamed twin speed destroyer sweep equipment.

CV ILLUSTRIOUS, CL GLOUCESTER, CA YORK, DDs WRYNECK, DIAMOND, GALLANT, RAN VENDETTA parted company with the Fleet to operate aircraft as necessary. DDs VOYAGER (RAN) and DAINTY joined from Sollum.

BBs WARSPITE, VALIANT, BARHAM, escort DDs ILEX, GREYHOUND, JUNO, JANUS, GRIFFIN bombarded Bardia from 0810 to 0855. AA protection was provided by CLA CALCUTTA, escort DDs NUBIAN and MOHAWK and DAINTY and RAN VOYAGER after being detached from Force W. Monitor TERROR, escorted initially by DD DAINTY and RAN VOYAGER, gunboats LADYBIRD and APHIS bombarded Bardia before and after the fleet bombardment, as Force W.
Gunboat APHIS received slight damage from a near miss from the RA. Two crew were killed and three wounded on the gunboat. At 1000, CL GLOUCESTER, CA YORK, CLA CALCUTTA were detached to Alexandria. DDs WRYNECK and RAN VENDETTA were detached to Sollum. Monitor TERROR and the gunboats returned to Alexandria that evening.

Submarines TRIUMPH and UPHOLDER departed Gibraltar for patrol west of Sicily. Following the patrol, the subs arrived at Malta on the 12th.

Convoy BS.12 departed Suez. Sloops CLIVE and GRIMSBY joined on the 4th. The sloops were relieved by CL LEANDER, DD KIMBERLEY, sloops FLAMINGO, HINDUSTAN, RAN YARRA on the 6th. The convoy was dispersed on the 11th.

Malta
Gale force winds and heavy seas damaged four Sunderland aircraft moored in Marsaxlokk Harbour this evening. Force 8 gales whipped up waves to 15 feet within the harbour, subjecting the seaplanes to heavy pounding.

One Sunderland broke its main pennant and anchor chain simultaneously and was in danger of being destroyed. Its Wireless Operator sprang into action, and single-handedly managed to start the outboard engines. He skilfully manoeuvred the plane out of danger and held it steady until help arrived from another boat which managed to take a line and make fast to another mooring.

 

[Njaco]

January 3 Friday
UNITED KINGDOM: German bombers attacked Bristol, England overnight for 12 hours, targeting the docks and the railway station. 149 were killed and 351 were wounded. The granary on Princes Wharf was destroyed, along with most of the 8,000 tons of grain inside. A 4,000 lb bomb which fails to explode is nicknamed 'Satan' by the people of Bristol and will be displayed in the victory parade in London in 1945.

Dublin was again hit by the German Luftwaffe, with bombs falling on Donore Terrace in the South Circular Road area with 20 people injured, but no loss of life.

The Corpo Aereo Italiano, which had been participating in the Battle of Britain alongside Luftwaffe units at Belgian bases, was recalled to Italy after suffering heavy losses.

Lt. Gerhard Böhme of 3./NJG 2 destroys a British Whitley bomber south east of Flamborough Head for his first kill.

GERMANY: The Swedish aircraft company Saab delivers the last of the Junkers Ju 86 bombers to the Luftwaffe, these being the fastest of the type, the Bristol engined 'K' series.

RAF bombers attacked Bremen and the Kiel Canal in Germany. The Kiel Canal Bridge suffered a direct hit and collapsed on Finnish ship "Yrsa".

A decree (Normalschrifterlass) promulgated by Martin Bormann on behalf of Adolf Hitler requires replacement of blackletter typefaces by Antiqua.

MEDITERRANEAN: Luftwaffe X Fliegerkorps arrived in Italy.

The Italians launched a counter-offensive to the north and west of Korcë, Albania. Two fresh Italian divisions were committed to the Klissoura sector on the Vlorë road to regain the initiative.

NORTH AFRICA: Operation Compass. Battle of Bardia Day 1: The initial phases of Operation Compass had been very successful. The Italians had been surprised in the fortified encampments which they had established inside Egypt. They were pushed back over the border into Libya but they had had the opportunity to consolidate in a string of fortified positions along the coast. The need to bring up the Australian 6th Division to replace the 4th Indian Division had given them something of a breathing space. The British forces no longer had the advantage of surprise but were determined to press on. The Australian troops were put into battle almost as soon as they arrived. In the early hours, Australian troops formed up for a assault on the garrison of Bardia, the first small port town in the line of the advance along the coast. It was a bitterly cold night in the desert and some men found the water freezing in their water bottles. At 0530 hours, the British artillery barrage began, hitting Italian defensive positions at Bardia, Libya. At 0600 hours, Australian 6th Division began its assault from the west, clearing anti-tank obstacles for the 23 tanks of the British 7th Royal Tank Regiment that began attacking at 0650 hours. Then the main infantry assault moved forward with Bangalore torpedoes which blew apart gaps in the Italian wire. Very soon the Italian defensive positions had been breached. Resistance was very mixed. Some units surrendered in their bunkers immediately, elsewhere there was fierce fighting. As the day progressed increasing numbers of Italians sought to escape further along the coast. Between 0810 and 0855 hours, battleships HMS "Warspite", HMS "Valiant", and HMS "Barham", along with destroyers, monitors, and gunboats, bombarded Bardia with 244 15-inch shells, 270 6-inch shells, 250 4.5-inch shells, and many smaller caliber shells. The ground forces would penetrate 2 miles into the Italian lines.

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[Njaco]

January 4 Saturday
WESTERN FRONT: At 1120 hours in the morning, Uffz. Rudolf Schmidt of 5./JG 77 shoots down a British Blenheim bomber.

GERMANY: The German Admiralty states: "To enable our naval command centers to prosecute the war in the Atlantic systematic reconnaissance is essential."

NORTH AFRICA: Operation Compass. Battle of Bardia Day 2. Amid heavy fighting all day in the Italian defensive perimeter posts to the North and South, a mixed force of Allied infantry plus Bren gun carriers and a few tanks pushes forward the final mile to the town of Bardia at 1600 hours, splitting the Italian defenders into two groups, shaking Italian morale, and causing large numbers of Italian troops to surrender. Although it was progressing well the 6th Australian Division still sustained over 500 casualties in the assault. While the Italians were poorly led and lacked a coherent strategy, the front line troops were capable of putting up fierce resistance. General Wavell had to juggle limited resources around a wide theatre. He was building up troops in Sudan for an assault on Italian occupied East Africa. He was already deploying troops to Crete, along with a strong RAF contingent in Greece itself. Lieutenant General Richard O'Connor was masterminding the fast moving Operation Compass, pushing the Italians out of Egypt and pursuing them into Libya. He had already had to contend with the diversion of the experienced 4th Indian Division to Sudan just as soon as the 'important raid' looked like becoming something more significant. The Australian troops who replaced them were under equipped and lacked experience in the desert, although this did not seem to affect their performance. There was a lack of good transport to sustain the momentum but improvisation and the capture of Italian motor transport allowed him to continue to exploit his successes. Advanced tank units were already beginning the siege of the next Italian garrison along the coast, Tobruk. Jokingly emulating Winston Churchill, British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden said "…never has so much been surrendered by so many, to so few." On the same day, Italian General Bergonzoli and his staff withdrew from Bardia toward Tobruk.

The Murzuk Raid. A small force of Tuareg and Tibesti tribesmen under Free French officers cross 485 km of desert from Chad to Murzuk Oasis, South Libya, and destroy Italian air base.

Off Cape Bon, Tunisia, British torpedo bombers unsuccessfully attack Italian supply convoy returning from Tripoli (freighters "Ezilda Croce" and "Pallade", escorted by torpedo boat "Pegaso").

ASIA: Chinese Communist New Fourth Army moved out of Yunling, Anhui Province, China.

Field Marshall Sir Harold Alexander is appointed Commander of the British I Corps, Burma.

MEDITERRANEAN: On the Greek-Albanian front, the Greeks launch an attack towards Valona from Berat to Klisura against the Italians.

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[parsifal]

4 January 1941
Known Reinforcements
Axis
DKM Type VIIc U-72

Revell's 1/72 scale Type VIIc by Matt Del Rio. Even though the front line Uboats were still small in number, there was an urgent need for large sized training boats as well. U-72 was launched on 22 November 1940 and commissioned on 4 January 1941. U-72 served with 24th U-boat Flotilla (a training unit), and later with 21st U-boat Flotilla (also a training unit), from 2 July 1941 to 30 March 1945. U-72 was used throughout World War II as a training boat until it was damaged in a daylight American bombing raid on 30 March 1945. U-72 was scuttled on 2 May 1945

Allied
Flower Class Corvette HMS LARKSPUR (K 82)

Transferred to the USN as USS FURY on 17 March 1942. Returned on 22 August 1945. Sold on 22 July 1946.
Became the mechant LARKSLOCK. Scrapped at Hong Kong in 1953.

UBOATS
Departures
Kiel: U-106

At Sea 4 January 1941
U-37, U-38, U-65, U-95, U-105, U-106, U-124.
7 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
North Sea
FN.375 departed Southend, escort DDs VANITY and WESTMINSTER, and arrived at Methil on the 6th. FS.379 departed Methil, escort DDs VIVIEN and WALLACE, and arrived at Southend on the 6th.

Northern Patrol
DD NAPIER and ORP DD PIORUN departed Scapa Flow to meet and escort AMCs WOLFE and CILICIA from the North Minches to their Northern Patrol stations. The DDs then escorted AMCs LETITIA and CHITRAL from the patrol area to the North Minches.

Northern Waters
CL ARETHUSA departed Scapa Flow to relieve CLA NAIAD on guard duties at Oban. When relieved, NAIAD proceeded to the Clyde. CLA CURACOA departed Scapa Flow to join convoy WN.63 from Pentland Firth until dark. The ship arrived back at Scapa Flow early on the 5th. DDs ICARUS and INTREPID departed Scapa Flow at 0200 for Rosyth en route to the Nore. DD LEAMINGTON departed Scapa Flow at 1800 for Londonderry after completing working up exercises.

Central Atlantic
Lt I. Easton and Naval Airman J. A. Burkey in a Fulmar of 803 Sqn, in operations from CV FORMIDABLE, failed to return from a reconnaissance flight over Dakar. It was later found that they had been shot down and interned at Dakar by French Vichy forces. Both were liberated at the end of 1942.

Med- Biscay
BBs WARSPITE, BARHAM, VALIANT, CV ILLUSTRIOUS, DDs ILEX, JANUS, JUNO, GREYHOUND, GRIFFIN, DIAMOND, GALLANT, RAN VOYAGER and DAINTY arrived at Alexandria.

RM TB PEGASO, escorting FI steamers EZILDA CROCE and PALLADE from Tripoli, was attacked by British torpedo planes near Cape Bon. No damage was done, and the convoy arrived at Palermo on the 5th and Naples on the 9th.

Red Sea/Indian Ocean
Convoy BN.12A departed Suez, escorted by RAN sloop YARRA, and arrived at Port Sudan on the 6th.

Pacific/Far East/Australia Station
DD STRONGHOLD began minelaying around Singapore. By 8 March, the DD had laid Minefield No.2 of six lines of mines and Minefield No.3 of eleven lines of mines.

Malta

 

[parsifal]

5 January 1941
Losses
RM sub CAPPELLINI sank steamer SHAKESPEAR (UK 5029 grt) from dispersed convoy OB.262 at 18-05N, 21-10W. 18 crew and two gunners were lost on the steamer. The survivors were towed in their boats to within sight of land.

Aux PVl Vp.306 (DKM 391 grt) was sunk on a mine near Ymuiden.

UBOATS
At Sea 5 January 1941
U-37, U-38, U-65, U-95, U-105, U-106, U-124.
7 boats at sea.

OPERATIONS
North Sea
FN.376 departed Southend, escort DD WOLFHOUND and sloop EGRET, and arrived at Methil on the 7th. Sloop LOWESTOFT, arriving with FS.378, was damaged by a mine in the Thames Estuary. The sloop was able to arrive at Sheerness on the 5th. The sloop was repairing to 3 October at Chatham.

Northern Waters
DD CHURCHILL departed Scapa for the Clyde following working up. DD SOUTHDOWN departed Scapa Flow for Rosyth following working up. DDs BLENCATHRA and TYNEDALE departed Scapa Flow for Portsmouth following working up. DDs COTTESMORE and BELMONT arrived at Scapa Flow to work up.

West Coast UK
OB.270 departed Liverpool, escort DDs WILD SWAN and WITCH, corvettes CAMPANULA, FLEUR DE LYS, GARDENIA, PERIWINKLE. Sloop ABERDEEN joined on the 6th. The escort was detached when the convoy dispersed on the 8th.

ML ADVENTURE laid mines in minefield ZME.11 in St Georges Channel.

British steamer TEMPLE MOAT was damaged by the LW in 55-20N, 18-55W. One crewman was killed. The steamer arrived at Gareloch on the 9th.

Dutch steamer ALIOTH was damaged by the LW near Cork Light Vessel. The steamer grounded in entrance to the fairway at Harwich. Steamer ALIOTH was refloated and arrived at Ipswich on the 10th.

Channel
CL EMERALD was damaged while leaving dockyard at Plymouth. The damage was assessed to require four to seven days to repair. She was able to depart Portsmouth on the 12th for the Sth Atlantic.

Lt Cdr W. E. Fletcher, CO of barrage balloon vessel trawler HASLEMERE, drowned attempting to rescued a downed pilot near East Knock John Buoy in the English Channel.

Central Atlantic
USN CA LOUISVILLE arrived at Simonstown to embark British gold to be deposited in American banks. The heavy cruiser departed Simonstown on the 6th and arrived in New York on the 22nd.

Med- Biscay
CL KENYA and corvettes CLEMATIS, CYCLAMEN, GERANIUM, JONQUIL arrived Gibraltar escorting British troopship EMPIRE TROOPER from Ponta Delgada. The troopship's troops were disembarked at Gibraltar and the troopship began repairs completed in March. CVE ARGUS, CA BERWICK, DDs FORESTER, FURY, FOXHOUND, WISHART departed Gibraltar to cover as they proceeded northwards. On the 6th, DDs FORESTER, FURY, FOXHOUND arrived back at Gibraltar. On the 7th, WISHART was detached and returned to Gibraltar. BERWICK proceeded to Portsmouth. Repairs to the cruiser were begun on the 17th and were completed on 10 May. CVE ARGUS proceeded to the Clyde, arriving 14 January.

Coastal steamer VULCANO (FI 273 grt) was sunk on a mine at Tobruk.

Malta

 

[Njaco]

January 5 Sunday
NORTH AFRICA: Operation Compass. Italian garrison at Bardia surrenders. Having split the fortress in half yesterday, Australian 6th Division moves North and South with the 6 remaining Matilda tanks to capture the last Italian gun 'posts' and the remaining Italian force surrendered soon afterwards. In the battle for Bardia, the Italians suffered 1,000 killed, 3,000 wounded, and 36,000 taken prisoner; 2,000 Italians were able to withdraw to Tobruk, Libya. Australians suffered 130 killed and 326 wounded. The Allies captured a large quantity of Italian equipment, including 26 coastal guns, 7 medium guns, 216 field guns, 26 anti-aircraft guns, 41 infantry guns, 146 anti-tank guns, 12 medium tanks, 115 tankettes, 708 trucks, and water pumps capable of producing 400 tons of fresh water per day.

Italian ship "Vulcano" hit a mine and sank off Tobruk, Libya.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Italian submarine "Cappellini" sank British ship "Shakespeare" 100 miles northeast of the Cape Verde Islands at 1045 hours with her two 100-mm deck guns, killing 20. Before "Shakespeare" sank, her return fire hit "Cappellini's" aft gun and killed gunner Sergeant Ferruccio Azzolin. "Cappellini" rescued 22 survivors and took them to Sal Island nearby.

British sloop HMS "Lowestoft", while operating with Allied convoy FS.378, was damaged by a mine in the Thames Estuary in England. She would be under repair at Chatham, England until 3 Oct.

ASIA: A 9,000-strong contingent of the Chinese Communist New Fourth Army became surrounded by overwhelming Chinese Nationalist force at Maolin, Anhui Province, China.

UNITED KINGDOM: Amy Johnson, record-breaking aviation pioneer of the 1930s, was killed when the Airspeed Oxford trainer she was delivering as an Air Transport Auxiliary ferry pilot came down in the Thames Estuary in Southern England. It was sadly ironic that a woman who navigated her way solo from England to Australia got lost in bad weather. Running out of fuel, she baled out thinking she was over London. Landing in the freezing water, she was dragged under a rescue boat by her parachute and chopped to death by the propellers. Her body was never found.

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[parsifal]

6 January 1941
Known Reinforcements
Allied
Flower Class Coirvette HMS DIANELLA (K 07)

Name changed from HMS DAFFODIL on 26 October 1940 prior to commissioning. Sold for scrapping in early 1947, arrived for scrapping at Portaferry on 24 June 1947. 29 Mar, 1941 DIANELLA picks up 35 survivors from the British merchant GERMANIC that was torpedoed and sunk by U-48 south of Iceland. DIANELLA also picks up 44 survivors from the British merchant HYLTON that was torpedoed and sunk by U-48 south of Iceland. 5 Jul, 1942
The British merchant EMPIRE BYRON is torpedoed and sunk by U-703 in the Barents Sea. 63 survivors are later picked up DIANELLA.

Hecla Class Destroyer Depot Ship HMS HECLA

Losses
MV EMPIRE THUNDER (UK 5965 grt) Sunk by U-124 (Georg-Wilhelm Schulz); Crew: 39 (9 dead and 30 survivors); Cargo: Empty ; Route: Sunderland - Oban - William Head, Washington ; Convoy OB-269 (straggler); Sunk in the Western Approaches; at 1137 hrs the unescorted EMPIRE THUNDER , on her maiden voyage and a straggler from convoy OB-269 due to an engine breakdown, was torpedoed and sunk by U-124 about 100 miles NNE of Rockall. Nine crew members were lost. The master and 29 crew members were picked up by HMS KINGSTON ONYX and landed at Stornoway, Hebrides on 8 January.

UBOATS
At Sea 6 January 1941
U-37, U-38, U-65, U-95, U-105, U-106, U-124.
7 boats at sea.

OPERATIONS
North Sea
FN.377 departed Southend, and arrived at Methil on the 8th.

Tug LION (UK 87 grt) was sunk on a mine two and a half cables 320° from No. 5 Medway Buoy. All crew were lost.

Trawler GADRA (UK 219 grt) was sunk on a British mine one and a half miles off Myling Head, Faroes.
Seven crew of a ten man crew were lost.

Northern Waters
Signal Intercepts suggested another raider breakout, and as a result, BC REPULSE with DDs BEDOUIN, ELECTRA, ESCAPADE departed Scapa Flow at 0401 to cover the inbound HX.99. DD MASHONA setting out on this sortie collided with DD HMS SIKH at one of the mooring buoys at Scapa Flow. The DD was unable to proceed and was taken to West Hartlepool for docking on the 9th. DD SIKH was docked at Scapa Flow for temporary repairs. The DD departed Scapa Flow for the Tyne on the 18th, escort DD PUNJABI but was forced to return due to a snow storm. The destroyer sailed again on the 20th escorted by destroyer WHITSHED and arrived in the Tyne at noon on the 21st. DD WHITSHED continued to Chatham to return to the Nore Command. CLs MANCHESTER and EDINBURGH departed Scapa Flow and proceeded to position 63N, 04W.

AMCs CHITRAL, LETITIA, WOLFE, CILICIA at sea were advised of the signals. AMCs CHITRAL and LETITIA returned to the Denmark Strait. Later this day, DDs NAPIER and PIORUN and AMCs CHITRAL and LETITIA refuelled at Reykjavik. When refuelling was completed, the DDs escorted the cruisers to the Minches. The DDs arrived back at Scapa Flow after this duty on the 11th. BC RENOWN and DDs BEDOUIN, ESCAPADE, ELECTRA arrived back at Scapa Flow on the 7th.

DD BRILLIANT departed Scapa Flow for Greenock to join DD BEAGLE in the escort of WS.5B. DD BRILLIANT arrived at Greenock at 1700. DD SOMALI arrived at Scapa Flow from Rosyth following repairs to her gun shield. CLA CURACOA departed Scapa Flow to escort WN.64 from the Pentland Firth to moonset. The ship arrived back at Scapa Flow on the 7th.

Nth Atlantic
HX.101 departed Halifax, escorted by AMC AUSONIA, corvette COLLNGWOOD, patrol vessel OTTER. The corvette and the patrol vessel were detached the next day. BHX.101 departed Bermuda on the 3rd escort AMC RAJPUTANA. The convoy rendezvoused with convoy HX.101 on the 9th and the AMC was detached.

On the 17th, the AMC was detached and DD AMBUSCADE, corvettes AUBRETIA, HEARTSEASE, HOLLYHOCK, ASW trawlers ANGLE, DANEMAN, LADY LILLIAN joined. Corvette AUBRETIA and the three ASW trawlers were detached later that day. DD AMBUSCADE was detached on the 20th, corvette HOLLYHOCK on the 21st, corvette HEARTSEASE on the 22nd, and arrived at Liverpool on the 22nd.

Central Atlantic
DKM AO NORDMARK replenished DKM CS ADM SCHEER at sea.

Sth Atlantic
Steamer ANTONIS (Gk 3729 grt) was sunk by DKM raider KORMORAN at 8-17N, 23-32W. The entire crew was made prisoners of war. CA NORFOLK, which departed the UK on 18 December for the Sth Atlantic, was attached to the Sth Atlantic Cmd. The CA was involved immediately in searching for the surface raider KORMORAN on the SL.convoy route. DEVONSHIRE participated in this search until 29 January.

Med- Biscay
CVL EAGLE with four DDs protecting her departed Alexandria for flying exercises. CLs GLOUCESTER and SOUTHAMPTON embarked 25 officers and 484 other ranks of Army and RAF personnel for Malta. The CLs and DDs ILEX and JANUS departed Alexandria at 1315. This gp was designated Gp B for Operation MC.4.

RM DesDiv 9 with DDs ALFIERI, CARDUCCI, FULMINE, GIOBERTI and the TBDiv 14 with TBs PARTENOPE, PALLADE, ROMEDA, ALTAIR shelled Greek positions at Porto Palmermo in Albania.

Red Sea/Indian Ocean
NZ manned CL LEANDER departed escort of convoy BN.12 and took over convoy BS.12 in the Red Sea. BS.12 arrived at Aden on the 11th.

Pacific/Far East/Australia Station
NZ manned CL ACHILLES departed Auckland escorting British steamer EMPRESS OF RUSSIA to Fiji. They arrived on the 9th. The CL departed Fiji on the 10th to return to Auckland.

Malta

 

[Njaco]

January 6 Monday
GERMANY: Deciding the question of air support in the Battle of the Atlantic, Hitler orders that I./KG 40, with its Fw 200s, will be under the command of the Commander in Chief of the Navy. To appease Reichsmarschall Göring with this change, Hitler also orders Kampfgruppe 806 with its Ju 88s, be removed from Naval command and brought back to Sperrle's Luftflotte 3 for the bomber raids on England. Now that Admiral Dönitz has gained control of KG 40 he is soon disappointed with its compliment. Although carrying a full establishment of from twenty to twenty-five aircraft only about eight serviceable aircraft are ever available for duty.

NORTH AFRICA: Operation Compass: British 4th Armoured Brigade advanced 50 miles from Bardia, Libya to capture Belhamed to the east of Tobruk and the airfield at El Adem 8 miles to the south. Patrols were now conducted 10 miles west of Tobruk at Acroma. Churchill demanded that troops be released from Wavell's offensive and sent to Greece.

A Free French force under Lieutenant Colonel Jean Colonna d'Ornano attacked Murzuk airfield in southwestern Libya from Chad, capturing the airfield, but d'Ornano was killed in action.

MEDITERRANEAN: Overnight, Greek destroyers shelled the Albanian port of Vlorë. 20 miles south, Italian destroyers "Alfieri", "Carducci", "Fulmine", and "Gioberti", and torpedo boats "Partenope", "Pallade", "Romeda", and "Altair" shelled Greek positions at Porto Palmermo. The Greek offensive against Italian positions in the mountains of Albania reached the strategically important Klisura Pass on the river Vjosë, which, if captured, would allow Greek forces in the center of the front to link up with troops on the coast. They meet stiff Italian resistance, including the new Fiat-Ansaldo M13/40 tanks which are devastated by Greek artillery.

The "Illustrious" Blitz: Convoy MC 4 left Gibraltar feinting toward the Atlantic before turning toward Malta after darkness concealed them from the view of Axis agents near Gibraltar. Force B containing British cruisers HMS "Gloucester" and HMS "Southampton", escorted by destroyers HMS "Ilex" and HMS "Janus", departed Alexandria, Egypt, at 1315 hours to carry 510 Army and RAF personnel to Malta and to meet Excess convoy which had departed from Gibraltar on the same day. The Luftwaffe launches its first attacks against the British convoys bound for Malta.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-124 sank British ship "Empire Thunder" 200 miles northwest of Outer Hebrides, Scotland, at 1137 hours; 9 killed and 30 survived.

German raider "Kormoran" stopped Greek ship "Antonis" in the Atlantic Ocean 200 miles northwest of Cape Verde Islands. "Antonis" was scuttled when 4,800 tons of British coal was found on board. All 29 crew and 7 sheep were taken on board "Kormoran".

NORTH AMERICA: In his State of the Union address, US President Franklin Roosevelt enunciated the Four Freedoms. Roosevelt recognized the need to support Britain and other countries in the war. At this time he sought to persuade many Americans that it was in their interests to align themselves against Nazism and dictatorship. Earlier he had argued the case for Lend Lease, which would allow military aid to foreign nations. In his fireside chat of the 29th December 1940 he had declared that America would become the 'Arsenal of Democracy'. Now he went further with his vision of what America stood for. The Four Freedoms include two values that went beyond the United States' constitution – freedom from want and freedom from fear. The ideas expressed here were to become the cornerstone of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the establishment of the United Nations. They assert a moral purpose that was in direct contradiction Hitler's rambling war aims:

"In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression – everywhere in the world. The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way – everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want – which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants – everywhere in the world. The fourth is freedom from fear – which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor – anywhere in the world. That is no vision of a distant millennium. It is a definite basis for a kind of world attainable in our own time and generation. That kind of world is the very antithesis of the so-called new order of tyranny which the dictators seek to create with the crash of a bomb".

This was not a call to war but it was an unmistakable declaration of which side the United States stood by.

US 22nd, 23rd, and 32nd Fighter Squadrons, both operating P-40 Warhawk fighters, was assigned to Losey Field in Puerto Rico.

UNITED KINGDOM: Neutral Ireland sent a note of protest to Germany after Dublin was "accidentally" bombed three nights in succession by "stray" Luftwaffe aircraft.

British destroyers HMS "Mashona" and HMS "Sikh" collided in the naval base at Scapa Flow, Scotland.

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