This Day in the War in Europe: The Beginning

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6 February 1941
Known Reinforcements
Axis
Type VIIc U-556

A beautifully built 1:72 scale model of U-556 from the Hellenic Modellers Website. The model is 36 inches long. 6 ships sunk, total tonnage 29,552 GRT, 1 ship damaged, total tonnage 4,986 GRT Sunk on 27 June 1941 in the Nth Atlantic SW of Iceland, by depth charges from the British corvettes HMS NASTURTIUM , HMS CELANDINE and HMS GLADIOLUS. 5 dead and 41 survivors.

Type I Hunt Class Escort DD HMS QUANTOCK (L 58)
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Shakespeare Class ASW Trawler HMS CORIOLANUS (T 140)

Harbour Defence Motor Launch HDML 1017 (ML 1017)
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Tug HMS ALLIGATOR (W 51)

Losses

MV MAPLECOURT (UK 3388 grt) Sunk by U-107 (Günter Hessler); Crew: 38 (38 dead - no survivors); Cargo: Steel and General Cargo Route: Convoy:SC-20 (straggler) Lost in the Western Approaches At 1752 hrs the unescorted MAPLECOURT, a straggler from convoy SC-20, was hit just aft of the engine room by one stern torpedo from U-107 and sank rapidly by the stern about 120 miles west of Rockall. The U-boat had chased the ship for about 8 hrs and missed with one torpedo during a first submerged attack at 1353 hrs. The Germans observed how the survivors managed to abandon ship in two lifeboats, but they were never seen again: the master, 35 crew members and three gunner were lost. The MAPLECOURT was reported missing and erroneously presumed sunk in somewhat different location and time in the Admiralty report.

DKM S-Boat Flotilla 2 made a sortie against the English east coast with S.30, S.54, S.58, S.59. Steamer ANGULARITY (UK 501 grt) was sunk by S.30 off the east coast between Ipswich and Newcastle. One of the crew were picked up by the S-boat and taken prisoner. Two crew were lost.

UBOATS
At Sea 6 February 1941
U-37, U-48, U-52, U-93, U-94, U-96, U-101, U-103, U-106, U-107, U-123.
11 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
Northern Waters
BB KGV, escorted by DDs SOMALI, ECLIPSE, ESKIMO arrived at Scapa Flow. A fourth DD, NAPIER, was detached nth of the Minches to the Clyde. DD BEAGLE departed Scapa Flow for Aberdeen. At 2300 that evening, the DD met steamer BEN MY CHREE and escorted her to Lerwick. The ships arrived at Lerwick the next morning on the 7th. The DD remained to escort the steamer back to Aberdeen. DD BEAGLE was recalled from Lerwick on the 8th and arrived off Scapa Flow at 1730. She was sent to Aberdeen to meet troopship AMSTERDAM and escort her to Scapa Flow. The DD and troopship arrived at Scapa Flow on the 9th. The BEAGLE then sailed for Liverpool for refitting. BEAGLE arrived at Liverpool on the 10th.

CLA CURACOA departed Scapa Flow at noon and joined convoy WN.80 far as the latitude of Buchan Ness. CURACOA returned to Scapa Flow before dawn on the 7th.

West Coast UK
Seven ships departed Avonmouth, five ships from Liverpool, ships from the Clyde to form Convoy WS.6A. The convoy was composed of steamers LLANDAFF CASTLE, NOVA SCOTIA, ASCANIUS, LEOPOLDVILLE, CONSUELO, OPAWA, CITY OF ATHENS, BURDWAN, KINA II, CAPE HORN, CITY OF MARSEILLES, SCYTHIA, ALMANZORA, Norwegian BERGENSFJORD, LLANGIBBY CASTLE, RUAHINE, SALWEEN. The convoy was escorted by CA NORFOLK, CLA PHOEBE, and CLs EDINBURGH and BIRMINGHAM. EDINBURGH was to proceed with the convoy as far as Freetown, then return. BIRMINGHAM was to proceed with the convoy to Capetown. DD BROADWATER escorted the convoy from 6 to 9 February. DDs COTTESMORE, ATHERSTONE, KEPPEL escorted the convoy from 6 to 12 February. The DDs arrived back at Londonderry on the 13th after the escort duty. DDs RESTIGOUCHE and ST LAURENT escorted the convoy from 7 to 12 February. DDs LEGION and ORP PIORUN escorted the convoy from 8 to 12 February.DD GARLAND escorted the convoy from 8 to 9 February. Cruiser EDINBURGH was detached for fleet operations after the enemy sighting by BB RAMILLIES. When convoy SLS.64 was attacked on the 12th, the convoy turned back for 24 hs. BB RODNEY and DDs ELECTRA, ECLIPSE, BRILLIANT, which departed Scapa Flow on the 12th, were with the convoy on the 15th until dusk on the 16th.

SW Approaches
HG.53 departed Gibraltar, escort DD VELOX and sloop DEPTFORD. The DD was detached on the 11th. The convoy was joined on the 18th by sloop LONDONDERRY, on the 20th by DD FURY, on on the 22nd by DDs LEAMINGTON and SABRE and corvette ANEMONE. FURY was detached on the 23rd, and arrived at Liverpool on the 24th.

Med- Biscay
Benghazi was captured by the British Army. The series of losses suffered by the Italians triggered the decision to evacuate the Cyrenaica of Libya. As the remainder of the Italian Tenth Army fled west, the British 7th Armoured Division was dispatched to give chase inland via Msus and Antelat, while the Australian 6th Division advanced along the coastal road. Major General Creagh formed the Combe Force under Lieutenant Colonel John Combe of the 11th Hussars regiment with about 2,000 men and ordered it to race for the area south of Benghazi. The Combe Force reached the Benghazi-Tripoli road in the afternoon of 5 Feb and set up road blocks near Sidi Saleh about 32 kilometers north of Ajedabia. 30 minutes later, the leading elements of the Italian Tenth Army arrived, engaging them in combat. By the evening, the British 4th Armoured Brigade reached Beda Fomm overlooking the road about 16 kilometers north of the road blocks, thus threatening the rear of the Italians. On 6 and 7 Feb, Italians attempted breakouts with tanks; the fighting was fierce, but generally without positive results. The final breakout attempt took place in the morning of 7 Feb when the last 20 Italian medium tanks of the Italian Special Armoured Brigade broke through the first line of Allied infantry, but the British field guns positions near the regimental headquarters behind stopped the tanks. Discouraged with this latest failure, the Italians surrendered. Both Babini and Bergonzoli were captured. O'Connor dispatched the 11th Hussars regiment toward Agedabia and El Agheila further to the west to wipe out the small groups of Italians that managed to flee.

Force H departed Gibraltar in three groups for a repeat attempt at the bombardment of Genoa, Operation RESULT. Gp 1 was composed of BC RENOWN, BB MALAYA, CV ARK ROYAL, and CL SHEFFIELD. G 2 was DDs FEARLESS, FOXHOUND, FORESIGHT, FURY, ENCOUNTER, JERSEY. Gp 3 was DDs DUNCAN, ISIS, FIREDRAKE, JUPITER.

Gps 1 and 2 departed with convoy HG.53 into the Atlantic, but turned back into the Mediterranean. The convoy continued escorted by DD VELOX and sloop DEPTFORD. Gp 3 carried out an ASW sweep of the Straits of Gibraltar and then joined Gps 1 and 2.

CA YORK and CLA BONAVENTURE departed Alexandria for Suda Bay to operate in the Aegean. These cruisers relieved CLs AJAX and RAN PERTH which proceeded to Alexandria, arriving that day. DDs DECOY and DIAMOND departed Alexandria for duty in the Inshore Squadron in the Western Desert.

Hopper barges No.34 (UK 1500 grt) and No.39 (UK 1500 grt), which was involved in minesweeping, were sunk in the Suez Canal on mines.

Malta
GOVERNOR CONCERNED ABOUT FOOD SUPPLIES
Lt Gen Dobbie expresses concern that the carefully planned system of rolling supplies, designed to ensure sufficient stocks in Malta, is at risk. He writes to the War Office, copy to the Commander in Chief Middle East, the Rear Admiral in charge of Alexandria and the Secretary of State for Colonies:

"I request an immediate decision in regard to the source of supplies for Malta. The success of the current scheme is dependent on efficient co-ordination by staff for all the Island's requirements. Supplies of refrigerated products must be made by the specified dates if the stocks in Malta are to be maintained at the required level. If this is not done, the rolling programme of convoys set up to keep the Island supplied will break down."

AIR RAIDS DAWN 6 FEBRUARY TO DAWN 7 FEBRUARY 1941
Weather Wet with strong north westerly wind; low cloud and poor visibility.
1801-1845 hrs Air raid alert for three approaching enemy aircraft which cross the Island once or twice but drop no bombs.
1945-2045 hrs Air raid alert for three approaching enemy aircraft which fly over the Island in very bad weather. They drop bombs in countryside near Tarxien and in the sea off Kalafrana and Delimara causing no damage or casualties.

OPERATIONS REPORTS THURSDAY 6 FEBRUARY 1941
LUQA 69 Squadron One Maryland sea patrol between Tripoli and Benghazi.

 

[parsifal]

7 February 1941
Losses
Steamer BAY FISHER (UK 575 grt) was sunk by the LW 3.5 miles NE of Bell Rock. 7 crew and one gunner were lost.

UBOATS
At Sea 7 February1941
U-37, U-48, U-52, U-93, U-94, U-96, U-101, U-103, U-106, U-107, U-123.
11 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
Northern Waters
CLA CAIRO arrived at Scapa Flow to work up after refitting

West Coast UK
British steamer SCOTTISH COOPERATION (513grt) was damaged on a mine two miles southwest of Workington Pier, Solway Firth. The steamer was beached and then returned to Workington later on the 7th.

Nth Atlantic
AMC LETITIA was badly damaged in a grounding on Litchfield Shoal at Hallifax during a winter gale. The cruiser was refloated on the 9th and arrived at Halifax that day. No dockyard space was available and repairs were not begun until 15 April. The ship departed Halifax on 24 April for Newport News. The cruiser was arriving on 30 April for repairs and conversion to a troopship completed on 1 December.

Med- Biscay
RAN CL PERTH arrived at Alexandria for inspection by the Australian Prime Minister Menzies.
The cruiser was docked for refitting and repairs from 7 to 23 February after the bomb damage received at Malta on 16 January.

DDs JERVIS, JANUS, JAGUAR, MOHAWK departed Alexandria to act as an ASW force, then proceed to Suda Bay.

The DDs were ordered to undertake sweeps of the Kithera and Elaphonisos Channels during the night of 8/9 February, through Kaso Straits and around Rhodes on 9/10 February, sweep through Scarpanto Straits and around Stampalia on 10/11 February. The sweep on 9/10 February was cancelled due to bad weather. These sweeps were supported by CA YORK and CLA BONAVENTURE. On 11/12 February, a sweep of Kithera Channel was also conducted. Netlayer PROTECTOR departed Suda Bay to load anti torpedo nets captured at Tobruk and transport them to Alexandria.

Red Sea/Indian Ocean
CLA CARLISLE departed Aden for Suez for repairs prior to reinforcing the Med Flt. The cruiser could operate on only one propeller shaft. The cruiser arrived at Suez on the 11th and was docked. It was found that one shaft would have to be replaced, due to the half of the starboard A bracket bush was missing. The shaft was removed and a cover plate was fitted on the hull gland. A replacement was brought from Malta on CLA BONAVENTURE in March. However, CARLISLE was unable to be docked for the work until 0825 on 13 March. The cruiser was undocked at 1700 on 15 March.

Australia/Pac/Far East
NZ manned CLL ACHILLES departed Auckland escorting a liner towards Panama. The cruiser was detached at Chatham Island and returned to Wellington to refuel.

Malta
AIR RAIDS DAWN 7 FEBRUARY TO DAWN 8 FEBRUARY 1941
Weather Unsettled; strong wind from the north west and heavy swells.
1725-1741 hrs Air raid alert; raid does not materialise.
1841-1900 hrs Air raid alert for one enemy aircraft which passes briefly over the north coast and then retreats over St George's. No bombs are dropped.
2115-2250 hrs Air raid alert for enemy aircraft which approach over Marsaxlokk and drop bombs between Marnisi Palace and Luqa aerodrome. Soon afterwards the raider returns and drops bombs between Tarxien and Tal Handaq before retreating over Qrendi.
2306-0115 hrs Air raid alert for approaching enemy aircraft. Three heavy high explosive bombs are dropped near Verdala Palace causing slight damage to the Palace and military property, and killing one child. Bombs are also dropped on the areas of Luqa and Hal Far. Raiders also machine gun Luqa, Hal Far and San Pietru. Four bombs are dropped in a field near post R12 and fail to explode.

OPERATIONS REPORTS FRIDAY 7 FEBRUARY 1941
AIR HQ Arrivals 8 Whitley for special operation. Sunderland patrol off Tunisian coast for shipping.

 

[Njaco]

February 7 Friday
NORTH AFRICA: The Battle of Keren: The decision whether to advance on Keren or to cut the Keren-Asmara road after the Acqua Gap had been taken, was left to the discretion of the Commander of the 5th Indian Infantry Brigade. Between Mounts Falestoh and Zelale was a col named Acqua Gap, over which a secondary track ran from the south-east to Keren. The approaches to Acqua Gap were over very rocky and broken ground. Mounts Falestoh and Zelale overlooked the whole area on both sides. In fact, it was a very strong defensive position. But, as far as was known at the time, Italian forces holding Acqua Gap consisted of two Colonial battalions, whose morale was considered to be very low on account of many desertions from them. It was therefore planned to secure Acqua Gap by a surprise attack and then break through and capture Keren. The operation was to be carried out in three phases; In the first phase, the Brigade Group was to start concentrating in the area of Pt. 1260 at 1200 hours on 7 February. In the second phase, 4 Rajputana Rifles was to capture the Acqua Gap. Other units were to move up behind 4 Rajputana Rifles and keep clear of the battle. In the third phase, after the Acqua Gap had been taken, 12 Field Company was to build a road from the foot of the Acqua Gap to over and beyond it. 4 Sikh was to secure the next bound--the high ground about Pt. 1560. After the completion of the third phase, 1st Royal Fusiliers was to advance on the orders of Brigade Headquarters. The first phase was completed by 1700 hours on 7 February. No transport had been allowed. All arms, ammunition and equipment had to be manhandled. The weather was hot and the march very exhausting. The plan was for D Company, leading the attack, to capture an intermediate objective--a ridge south of, and below, Sangar and north of, and above, the southernmost feature (Rajputana Ridge). D Company was to be followed by C Company which was to secure Sangar and the outlying features--the line of advance stretching from the mouth of the gorge to Sangar. B Company was to follow initially the advance of C Company and on the capture of that Company's objective was to exploit eastwards along the Acqua Gap to the right. By 1930 hours, 4 Rajputana Rifles was at its forming-up place at the foot of the gorge. D Company went straight on to its objective and captured it without opposition. At 2000 hours, C Company advanced towards Pt. 1565 followed by B Company and the rest of the battalion. As these companies were moving from the bottom of the gorge the Italians opened heavy mortar, grenade and machine-gun fire. This caused considerable confusion. Battalion Headquarters opened on a ledge about 400 yards to the right of D Company at about 2200 hours but even then by 0030 hours (8 February) only 3 officers and 16 other ranks of A Company had been rallied, the rest having been dispersed by the heavy mortar, grenade and machine gun fire. The position was not reassuring particularly as D Company was under very heavy machine-gun and mortar fire in an exposed position. The Commanding Officer of 4/6 Rajputana Rifles therefore ordered D Company to move to Battalion Headquarters, whence they could support the forward companies by first light. D Company got split into two parts en route and therefore did not complete its move until approximately 0530 hours. Meanwhile C and B Companies too encountered stiff opposition. C Company came under heavy fire when it was about half way to its objective. Subedar Richpal Ram showed exemplary courage in leading the attack. With two platoons he pushed on through heavy mortar, grenade and machine-gun fire and captured Pt. 1565 about midnight at the point of the bayonet. The situation at daybreak was that A and D Companies were holding Rajputana Ridge with Battalion Headquarters in the centre. The remnants of B and C Companies were collected and placed in reserve.

Battle of Beda Fomm: The Italian Special Armoured Brigade saw some initial success in a dawn attempt to break out of the encirclement of the Italian Tenth Army on the Benghazi-Tripoli road in Libya, but the breakthrough was quickly contained by Allied field guns. The remaining Italian tanks made a final, unsuccessful attack in the morning to break through British roadblocks. 20 Italian medium tanks break the British cordon but are stopped by artillery fire. More than 25,000 troops of Italian 10th Army, trapped along the coast road at Beda Fomm, eventually surrendered. Italian General Bergonzoli surrenders with his command. Over 25.000 prisoners, 100 tanks, 216 guns, and 1.500 other vehicles were captured. Although the Allied force now lacks serviceable vehicles and has suffered 555 dead and 1.400 wounded, its modest numbers have decimated an Italian group 5 times larger. Since the start of the '5 day raid' two months ago, Operation Compass has destroyed 10 Italian divisions, 400 tanks and 1290 artillery pieces with a mixed force of British, Indian and Australian troops never more than 2 divisions strong. Allied losses for the whole campaign are 555 dead and missing, plus 1,373 wounded, while taking 130,000 POWs (including 22 Italian Generals). General O'Connor signals his victory to British Commander-in-Chief Middle East General Wavell in Cairo using a hunting metaphor (both are fox hunters) "Fox killed in the open".

Leclerc's Free French force besieges Kufra oasis in southern Libya as elements of British 7th Armored Division enter Agedabia.

General Graziani asks Mussolini for substitution as a commander of the Italian forces at North Africa, and as Libyan Governor.

UNITED KINGDOM: The first Beaufighter IF fighter (T4623) built at the Fairey factory in Stockport near Manchester, England, made its maiden flight.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German raider "Kormoran", supply ship "Nordmark", and captured vessel "Duquesa" rendezvous and transfer prisoners.

British vessel "Bay Fisher" is sunk by Luftwaffe aircraft.

WESTERN FRONT: RAF Bomber Command sends 27 aircraft to attack Dunkirk and 37 aircraft to attack Boulogne overnight.

ASIA: In Tokyo, representatives of Thailand and Vichy French Indochina negotiate final settlement to their brief campaign.

Battle of Southern Honan: Japanese 11th Army departs Tangho and moves toward Tungpo without opposition.

 

[parsifal]

8 February 1941
Known Reinforcements
Axis
Type VIIB U-83

Three 100lb A/S bombs dropped from 1500 feet in the initial attack are falling short of U-83 which was subsequently sunk by three depth charges dropped during a second attack run. Photo from Imperial War Museum, uploaded from UBoat Net

5 ships sunk, total tonnage 8,425 GRT
1 auxiliary warship sunk, total tonnage 96 GRT
1 ship damaged, total tonnage 2,590 GRT
1 auxiliary warship damaged, total tonnage 6,746 GRT

Sunk on 4 March 1943 in the Mediterranean south-east of Cartagena, in position 37.10N, 00.05E, by depth charges from a British Hudson aircraft (500 Sqn RAF/V). 50 dead (all hands lost)

Losses
None

UBOATS
Departures
From Helgoland, Germany: U-73

At Sea 8 February 1941
U-37, U-48, U-52, U-73, U-93, U-94, U-96, U-101, U-103, U-106, U-107, U-123.
12 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
Northern Waters
DKM BCs SCHARNHORST and GNEISENAU sighted convoy HX.106 east of Newfoundland. Under strict orders not to engage warships of similar size and power, the German ships were forced to withdraw after the escort was discovered to include the veteran BB RAMILLIES. The SCHARNHORST attempted a ruse to try and draw off the RAMILLIES (an action that drew curt rebuke from the DKM Admiralty) but a few belches of smoke from the old Battleship were enough to ward off this attack. RAMILLIES, sighted and reported the BCs. No attack was attempted. The DKM BCs moved on, and began searching for convoy SC.22 expected to soon arrive in the area.

This report sparked a complicated reaction from the RN

BC REPULSE, CLs GALATEA, NIGERIA, ARETHUSA, and AURORA, and DDs MATABELE, PUNJABI, and ESKIMO departed Scapa Flow in respponse. BB NELSON, CL MAURITIUS CLA DIDO, DDs ELECTRA, ECLIPSE, TARTAR departed about an hr later. About an hour after that BBs RODNEY and KGV and DDs BEDOUIN, MAORI, ZULU, BRILLIANT, BOREAS departed Scapa Flow during the forenoon of 9 February. CL EDINBURGH was ordered to leave convoy WS.6 A and join the battleship gp.

DDs KELLY, KIPLING, KASHMIR departed Plymouth on the 9th for Scapa Flow. DD JACKAL departed Plymouth separately on the 9th also for Scapa.

DDs INTREPID, ICARUS, IMPULSIVE were ordered to Scapa Flow from the Humber. The DDs arrived at Scapa Flow on the 10th.

Subs URGE and CACHALOT were ordered to patrol areas off Stadlandet. 801 Sqn which had just arrived in Cornwall were ordered to return to Hatston. The Squadron arrived back at Hatston on the 10th.

DDs KELLY, KASHMIR, KIPLING arrived at Skaalefjord to refuel at Skaalefjord on the 10th. The three K class DDs were ordered to depart Skaalefjord that evening to search for a Uboat reported by BB NELSON. DD JACKAL was ordered to join the Ks at this location.

In the early morning of the 10th, British steamer EMPIRE PRODUCER reported she was being chased by a surfaced U boat. DDs KELLY, KASHMIR, KIPLING, JACKAL were sent to assist.

On the 10th, CL MAURITIUS attacked a submarine contact in 60-59N, 12-44W. DDs JACKAL and KELLY were sent to search for the Uboat. After no contact, the Fleet returned to Scapa Flow, less DD BOREAS which joined the DD KELLY group and CLs ARETHUSA and NIGERIA
sent to Reykjavik on the 12th to refuel prior to resuming patrol in the Denmark Strait.

CLA DIDO and CL MAURITIUS arrived at Scapa on the 11th. BB NELSON and DDs ELECTRA, ECLIPSE, TARTAR also returned to Scapa Flow on the 11th. CL EDINBURGH arrived at Scapa Flow on the 11th, Also on the 11th, BBs RODNEY and KGV with DDs BEDOUIN, ZULU, MAORI, INGLEFIELD, BRILLIANTreturned to Scapa Flow.

On the 12th, DD JACKAL arrived at Scapa Flow to refuel. She departed at that night to rejoin DD KELLY at Londonderry, where she arrived on the 13th. DDs KELLY, KASHMIR, KIPLING, BOREAS were conducting ASW sweeps in the Western Approaches. Following the sweep, BOREAS returned to Scapa Flow and the other DDs proceeded to Londonderry. However, BOREAS developed boiler defects and the search was called off. The DD was sent to Scapa Flow, escorted by DD KIPLING. DDs KELLY and KASHMIR proceeded to Londonderry, via the Minches. On the 13th, off Dunnet Head, DD KIPLING with BOREAS in tow rendezvoused with tug BANDIT. KIPLING proceeded to Londonderry arriving on the morning of the 14th. BOREAS in tow of tug BANDIT arrived at Scapa Flow at that night.

CLs AURORA and GALATEA arrived at Scapa Flow in the early hours of the 13th. BC REPULSE and DDs ESKIMO, MATABELE, PUNJABI returned to Scapa Flow on the 13th. DD PUNJABI was docked with defects which prevented her from sailing through the end of February. DD SOMALI departed Scapa Flow that evening for repairs at docking at Rosyth.

West Coast UK
OB.283 departed Liverpool, escorted by DDs BURNHAM, SALADIN, SARDONYX, SKTA, corvettes KINGCUP and LA MALOUINE, ASW trawlers NORTHERN PRIDE, ST ELSTAN, VIZALMA. BURNHAM was detached on the 11th. The remainder of the escort was detached when the convoy dispersed on the 12th.

MSW HEBE, which had just completed a major refit and was en route for trials when she was damaged in a collision with an unknown ship in Great Fraserburgh Bay. The MSW was repaired at Rosyth from 8 to 22 February.

Belgian steamer HENRI JASPAR was damaged by a mine off Sully Island. One crewman was missing. The steamer was beached at Sully Island. She was later refloated and docked at Cardiff on the 23rd.

SW Approaches
Ocean boarding vessel MARSDALE arrived at Gibraltar from Western Patrol.

Nth Atlantic
Convoy SC.22 departed Halifax, escorted by submarine SEVERN, which was detached later that day. DDs ACHATES, ANTELOPE, GEORGETOWN and corvette HEATHER joined on the 24th. The DDs were detached on the 28th. ASW trawler LEEDS UNITED joined the convoy on the 28th. Later that day, the convoy arrived at Liverpool.

Med- Biscay
In operations of 830 Sqn from St ANGELO, Sub Lt (A) C. C. Thornton RNVR, was shot down in a raid on Tripoli. Thornton and Leading Airman F. W. Pickles were made a pows.

RM BBs VENETO, CESARE, DORIA with DDs MAESTRALE, LIBECCIO, GRECALE, SCIROCCO GRANATIERE, FUCLIERE, BERSAGLIERE, ALPINO of the 10th & 13th DesDivs departed La Spezia. DD CAMICIA NERA of DesDiv 11 departed Naples to join this powerful force. RM CAs TRENTO, TRIESTE, BOLZANO with DDs CORAZZIERE and CARABINIERE of DesDiv 12 departed Messina for rendevous west of Bonifacio Strait on the 9th.

A convoy containing major elements of the Afrika Korps (DAK) troops departed Naples with German steamers ANKARA, ARCTURUS, ALICANTE escort DD TURBINE and TBs ORSA, CANTORE, MISSORI. The convoy put into Palermo to avoid Force H on the 8th, remaining until 10 February. The convoy was unsuccessfully attacked by Malta a/c on the 14th when the convoy was returning.

Sub URSULA made an unsuccessful torpedo attack on Italian shipping off Tunisia. Sub ROVER made an unsuccessful torpedo attack on Italian shipping off Calabria.

ORP DD WARSAWA and British petrol ship HANNE departed Alexandria for Tobruk, escorted by RAN DD VAMPIRE. Dutch tanker ADINDA was damaged by two mines at Tobruk. 17 crew were lost.Tkr ADINDA departed Tobruk on the 26th escorted by tug ST ISSEY. They arrived at Alexandria on the 27th. The tanker was temporarily repaired at Alexandria and Suez and was sent on to Bombay in September for permanent repairs. Ex-Italian steamer RODI was damaged by a mine exploding close aboard in Tobruk Harbour.

Australia/Pac/Far East
CL DANAE completed refitting at Singapore.

Malta
AIR RAIDS DAWN 8 FEBRUARY TO DAWN 9 FEBRUARY 1941
Weather Fine.
1505-1525 hrs Air raid alert for one JU 88 bomber which approaches from the south east over Delimara and makes a reconnaissance flight over the Island.
1649-1722 hrs Air raid alert for enemy aircraft seven miles west of the Island. Marsaxlokk reports a single plane flying in high from the south west. Four Hurricanes, two Fulmars and six Swordfish are scrambled; no engagement.
1810-0315 hrs Air raid alert. Four formations of three enemy aircraft approach the Island a few minutes apart. Bombers swoop in very low and drop bombs on Hal Far, damaging a hangar and causing considerable damage to civilian property. One civilian guard is killed, three civilians and two soldiers are wounded. Searchlights engage and illuminate four of the raiders.
Bombers attack Luqa aerodrome, damaging the runway and two Glenn Martin Marylands. Bombs are also dropped near Luqa reservoir, west of Qormi, between Mqabba and Zurieq, on Marnisi and Hamrun, and between Paola and Corradino. Six Hurricanes and two Fulmars are airborne and shoot down two JU 88 bombers plus another probable. One aircraft is reported crashing near San Pietru.
Through the night a series of enemy aircraft approach the Island in ones and twos and dive-bomb Luqa aerodrome and the surrounding area. The Leper Hospital, St Vincent de Paule hospital and some civilian houses are damaged. One civilian is killed and another severely injured. 30 goats are killed. In another attack bombs are dropped in Marsa, on Tarxien and near Hompesch Arch. During the attacks Swordfish aircraft returning from a mission landed safely at Hal Far.

OPERATIONS REPORTS SATURDAY 8 FEBRUARY 1941
ROYAL NAVY 830 Squadron Fleet Air Arm fired five torpedoes on Tripoli harbour. One aircraft force-landed in Tunisia.
AIR HQ Departures 1 Sunderland. Maryland photoreconnaissance Tripoli Harbour. Maryland photoreconnaissance Palermo, west Sicily and Trapani; eight Whitleys arrived for operation "Colossus". 148 Squadron Six Wellingtons left for Middle East.
KALAFRANA One Sunderland left for Gibraltar and UK with passengers and mail.
LUQA 69 Squadron One Maryland photoreconnaissance Tripoli; one Maryland reconnaissance of western Sicily ports.

 

[Njaco]

February 8 Saturday
NORTH AFRICA: The Battle of Keren: At 0445 hours on 8 February, Headquarters 4th Indian Division informed the 11th Indian Infantry Brigade of the failure of the 5th Indian Infantry Brigade attack to secure Acqua Gap and said that the Divisional Commander did not wish to risk heavy casualties or involve the reserve. In view of this, the Commander of the 11th Indian Infantry Brigade was asked to consider if the attack by the company of 3/1 Punjab on Brig's Peak should be proceeded with. The Brigade Commander, thereupon, decided to cancel the attack. On the 5th Indian Infantry Brigade front 4 Rajputana Rifles was ordered to hold the positions on Rajputana Ridge and the rest of the brigade was told to defend its areas in the bottom of the valley. Artillery maintained a steady fire throughout the day to neutralize any Italian activity. The 5th Indian Infantry Brigade found itself in a very precarious position in the valley. The whole area and the lines of communication were commanded by Italian positions all around. The surprise attack on Acqua Gap had failed. The Commander of the 5th Indian Infantry Brigade was of the opinion that a frontal attack with the resources available was not feasible. One battalion had already lost heavily. Therefore he recommended a night withdrawal to the original positions on 8 February. Accordingly the Commander of the 4th Indian Division ordered Gazelle Force to relieve the 5th Indian Infantry Brigade in the Acqua Gap area by 2000 hours on 9 February.

General O'Connor has plans for Operation Compass to push onwards to Tripoli, Libya, and drive Italian forces from North Africa. However, Hitler has already decided to provide assistance to his ally Mussolini.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German battlecruisers "Scharnhorst" and "Gneisenau" detected Allied convoy HX-106, but did not attack due to the presence of British battleship HMS "Ramillies".

EASTERN EUROPE: Bulgaria agreed to allow German troops to transit within its borders. Bulgaria signs an agreement with Germany for military co-operation. In particular, the German 12th Army is allowed to concentrate along the frontier with Greece.

NORTH AMERICA: Mr. Malcolm MacDonald was appointed to be the British High Commissioner in Canada.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted 265-165 in favor of the Lend-Lease bill.

WESTERN FRONT: Darlan consults with German Ambassador Otto Abetz, and Berlin agrees that Darlan will become head of Vichy government, but decides to retain Laval for possible future use. Philippe Pétain offered Philippe Laval a cabinet seat in the Vichy government, but the offer was declined.

MEDITERRANEAN: The first Afrika korps troops sail for Tripoli from Naples, Italy, aboard German steamers "Ankara", "Arcturus" and "Alicante" (escorted by Italian destroyer "Turbine" and 3 torpedo boats). Adolf Hitler puts Erwin Rommel in command of the new Deutsches Afrika Korps (German Africa Corps) with 15th Panzer Division and 5th Light Motorized Division, to rescue the Italians in North Africa.

The Luftwaffe begin attacks on Malta.

Stalemate continues between Greeks and Italians in the deep mid-Winter of the mountains in Southern Albania.

UNITED KINGDOM: In Britain, Lord Moyle became Secretary of State for the Colonies, Ernest Brown became Minister of Health, and the Duke of Norfolk became the Joint Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture.

ASIA: Battle of Southern Honan: Japanese 11th Army, having razed more towns and destroyed more Chinese units, withdrew toward bases around Hsinyang.

GERMANY: RAF Bomber Command sends 15 aircraft to attack Mannheim overnight.

.

 

[parsifal]

9 February 1941
Known Reinforcements
Axis
S-Boat S-39

S-39 was the second boat in the S-38-S-53 series. She was finally lost in late 1944 at Le Havre. Pictured is her sister S-42 in the Black Sea. Ive uploaded this image from Die Schnellboot-Seite - Sboats-KM-Data S38 who in turn credit the image to Kpt. z.S. K.F. Künzel

Losses
MV COURLAND (UK 1325 grt) Sunk by U-37 (Asmus Nicolai Clausen) Crew: 34 (3 dead and 31 survivors). Cargo: General Cargo Route: Convoy: HG-53 Lost WSW of Gibraltar, At 0430 hrs, U-37 fired two G7a torpedoes at two ships in convoy HG-53 about 160 miles SW of Cape St. Vincent, Portugal and sank both ships, COURLAND and ESTRELLANO. At 0500 hours, another G7e torpedo was fired, but it missed the ships being aimed at and did not hit a ship beyond them, as Clausen thought.
Three men of the 25 crew members, two gunners and seven passengers aboard COURLAND were lost. 31 survivors were picked up by the BRANDENBURG which was sunk by the same U-boat the next day. The only survivor of the second sinking was a passenger from COURLAND, who was picked up this time DD VELOX and landed at Gibraltar

MV ESTRELLANO (UK 1953 grt) Sunk by U-37 (Asmus Nicolai Clausen) : Crew: 27 (6 dead and 21 survivors)
Cargo: General Cargo and Fish Route: Leixoes - Liverpool Convoy: HG-53 Lost WSW of Gibraltar; [See above for a description of her circumstances] 5 crew members from ESTRELLANO were lost. The master, 20 crew members and one gunner were picked up by HMS DEPTFORD and landed at Liverpool. One further crew member died of wounds aboard the sloop and was buried at sea on 10 February.

Attacks on HG 53 by Kondor bombers:
Steamer JURA (UK 1759grt), 15 crew and 2 gunners were lost on steamer JURA.

Steamer DAGMAR I (UK(2471grt); 4 crew and 1 gunner were lost on steamer DAGMAR I.

Steamer VARNA (UK 1514 grt), All crew on steamer VARNA were rescued. Steamer VARNA did not sink until 16 February in 44-55N, 22-30W.

Steamer BRITTANIC (UK 2490 grt), 1 crewman was lost on the steamer BRITTANIC.

Steamer TEJO (Nor 1409 grt); 4 crew were lost on steamer TEJO.

The stated position for this attack is 35-42N, 14-38W, in the SW Approaches HMS VELOX picked up 26 survivors from these ships and arrived back at Gibraltar on the 13th. On Febr. 9, HG 53 was attacked by U-37 (Clausen), and thanks to reports from the U-boat, 5 or possibly 6 FW 200 bombers under Hauptmann Fliegel were sent out from Bordeaux, with the result that 4 ships were sunk, and 1 damaged (later sank) in addition to the 2 already sunk that morning by U-37. At about 1500 hrs, TEJO became the victim of 2 bombs from Fliegel's plane, 1 exploding behind the wheelhouse on the main deck, blowing up the bridge deck and everything above it, the other near the forward mast, between hatches No. 1 and 2, According to the 1st mate's statements at the subsequent inquiry, he believed the captain had been in the chart room, which was set on fire by the 1st explosion. The 1st mate was rendered unconscious, but when he came to again he ordered the hoses to be used. However, before the water came on deck the fire had spread to the 1st engineer's cabin and it was impossible to work the hoses on the bridge deck. He never saw the captain again. The 1st mate and the 1st engineer went aft as they could not get to the forepart where the rest of the crew had assembled. The ship was on fire and in a sinking condition, listing heavily to starboard, all the lifeboats on the bridge deck were destroyed, and the motorboat on the No. 3 hatch could not be used because the steam pipes were broken so that the boat could not be lifted. At this point, DD VELOX came close and launched a boat, so the 2 men jumped overboard. The 1st engineer was taken over to the DD by this boat, and seeing the 1st mate in the water the DD approached him and rescued him. The lifeboat later saved the remainder of the crew who had stayed on the forecastle head to await assistance, except the 2nd engineer who had also jumped overboard and was picked up by another steamer. He was subsequently transferred to the DD because he was injured. Able Seaman Gulbransen, who had been at the wheel, was also injured, having been blown through a hole in the bridge deck and into the saloon. Through the hole blown in the saloon, he had then been able to walk over to the port side and forward to the rest of the crew. They were taken care of by the doctor on board, and on arrival Gibraltar on Febr. 13 the Norwegian Consul met them and sent them to the Colonial Hospital, including the 1st mate, who was suffering from concussion and shock.

Coastal steamers IV NOVEMBRE (FI 61 grt), TENAX (FI 115 grt), and ROSANNA (FI 205 grt) were lost in stranding on the Sirte coast.

UBOATS
Departures
From Kiel, Germany: U-147

At Sea 9 February 1941
U-37, U-48, U-52, U-73, U-93, U-94, U-96, U-101, U-103, U-106, U-107, U-123.
12 boats at sea.

OPERATIONS
Northern Waters
DD ESCAPADE departed Scapa Flow to search for the survivors of a crashed a/c off Wick, however no trace was found. Troopship AMSTERDAM departed Scapa Flow and ESCAPADE joined her and escorted her to Aberdeen.
The DD arrived back at Scapa Flow that afternoon. CLA CURACOA departed Scapa Flow at 0945 to escort convoy WN.81 until dark. The ship then escorted convoy EN.69 from off Buchan Ness to Pentland Firth. On the morning of the 10th, the ship transferred to convoy WN.82 and remained with it until dark. That eveining on the 10th, the ship arrived back at Scapa Flow.

West Coast UK
OB.284 departed Liverpool, escort DDs VANOC and VOLUNTEER, sloop ABERDEEN, corvettes FLEUR DE LYS and TULIP. DD CALDWELL joined on the 10th. Sloop ABERDEEN and the corvettes were detached on the 12th. The remaining escort was detached on the 13th when the convoy dispersed.

Nth Atlantic
HX.108 departed Halifax, escort AMC MALOJA and corvettes MAYFLOWER and SNOWBERRY. The AMC was detached on the 18th. BB RODNEY proceeded with the convoy on the 18th to 20 February. On the 24th, DDs MONTGOMERY, WANDERER, WITCH and ASW trawler YORK CITY joined the convoy. Corvette PERIWINKLE joined the escort on the 25th. Corvette PERIWINKLE was detached on the 26th. The remainder of their escort was detached when the convoy arrived at Liverpool on the 27th.

Central Atlantic
Ocean boarding vessel MARON departed Gibraltar for Western Patrol.

Med- Biscay
In Operation RESULT, Genoa was bombarded by BC RENOWN and BB MALAYA of Force H from 0714 to 0744. RM BB DUILO was at Genoa at this time, but was not damaged in the bombardment, but also did not respond to the attack. CL SHEFFIELD bombarded Pisa simultaneously. CV ARK ROYAL escorted by DDs DUNCAN, ISIS, ENCOUNTER, raided Leghorn and laid mines in the entrance to La Spezia. A/Sub Lt (A) N. G. Attenborough, A/T/Sub Lt (A) S. W. Foote RNVR, Leading Airman G. W. Halifax in a Swordfish of 820 Squadron were lost in the ARK ROYAL raid on Leghorn. DDs JUPITER and FIREDRAKE were off Majorica simulating radio traffic for Force H.
There wwas extensive damage to port facilities and shipping losses, however all of the shipping was repaired and returned to service.

​

Armed boarding vessels ROSAURA and CHAKLA, escorted by RAN DD VOYAGER, departed Alexandria for Tobruk.
British troopship ULSTER PRINCE with 1300 troops, escorted by RAN DD STUART, departed Alexandria for Tobruk.
Submarines USK and TRUANT off Tripoli and UTMOST off Tunisia made unsuccessful attacks on Italian shipping.
British steamer CRISTA (2590grt) was damaged on a mine at Tobruk.

Red Sea/Indian Ocean
Convoy BN.15 departed Aden, escorted by sloops SHOREHAM and RAN YARRA, and arrived at Suez on the 16th.

Malta
AIR RAIDS DAWN 9 FEBRUARY TO DAWN 10 FEBRUARY 1941
Weather Fine and clear.
0725-0740 hrs; 1032-1050 hrs Air raid alert; raids do not materialise.
1430-1535 hrs Air raid alert for a large number of enemy a/c approaching the Island in two formations. 12 Hurricanes and 3 Fulmars are scrambled and the raiders turn back without crossing the coast.
1620-1650 hrs Air raid alert for an enemy aircraft flying southwards very slowly over Delimara; raid does not materialise.
1835-1930 hrs Air raid alert for an unidentified aircraft approaching the Island; raid does not materialise.

OPERATIONS REPORTS SUNDAY 9 FEBRUARY 1941
AIR HQ Departures 2 Sunderlands. 69 Squn Maryland despatched for photoreconnaissance special mission (Operation Colossus) believed successful. Sunderland patrol for enemy shipping depth of 100 miles north and south Tunisian coast.
KALAFRANA One Sunderland left for Middle East with passengers and freight. One Sunderland left for Gibraltar with passengers.
LUQA 69 Squadron One Maryland special mission successfully accomplished.

 

[Njaco]

February 9 Sunday
ATLANTIC OCEAN: Due to the apparent success of 1./KG 40, sinking 363,000 tonnes of shipping to this date, two additional Staffeln are formed. 2nd Staffel flies its first sortie this morning.

German submarine U-37 attacked Allied convoy HG-53 435 miles west of Gibraltar at 0430 hours, sinking British ships "Estrellano" (5 killed, 21 survived) and "Courland" (3 killed, 27 survived). U-37 had also reported the sighting to aircraft based in Bordeaux, France. Five Fw 200 'Condors' from the newly formed 2./KG 40 take off from the airfield at Bordeaux, led by Obst. Fritz Fliegel. Contacting the convoy, HG 53, off Lisbon the bombers sink five freighters – the HMS "Jura", "HMS Dagmar I", HMS "Varna", HMS "Britannic" and HMS "Tejo".

German battlecruisers "Scharnhorst" and "Gneisenau" detected Allied convoy HX-106 off Newfoundland at 0830 hours. Because it was escorted by British battleship "Ramilies", the German fleet withdrew at 1000 hours per orders not to engage British capital ships.

MEDITERRANEAN: The fourteen brand new Bf 109Es of 7 Staffel of JG 26, led by Oblt. Müncheberg arrives at Gela airfield in Sicily from Rome to supplement X Fliegerkorps and immediately assist the Italians on their assault on Malta.

Erwin Rommel was promoted to the rank of Generalleutnant.

British Force H, from Gibraltar (battleships HMS "Malaya" and HMS "Renown" and cruiser HMS "Sheffield", escorted by aircraft carrier HMS "Ark Royal" and 10 destroyers) bombarded Genoa, Italy at 0815 hours. 273 15-inch shells and 782 6-inch shells were fired. Four merchant ships and a training vessel were sunk, 18 ships were damaged, harbor facilities and nearby industrial areas were damaged, and the cathedral was also hit. 144 Italians were killed, most of whom were civilians. The British lost 1 Swordfish torpedo bomber. Italian fleet (battleships "Vittorio Veneto", "Cesare" and "Doria", cruisers "Trento", "Trieste" and "Bolzano" and 10 destroyers) attempts to intercept the British warships returning to Gibraltar but fails due to lack of air reconnaissance, poor visibility and confusion over a French merchant convoy of 6 ships heading to Corsica.

NORTH AFRICA: The Battle of Keren: The relief of the 5th Indian Infantry Brigade in the Acqua Gap area was completed within two hours and the 5th Indian Infantry Brigade moved into the rest area behind Gazelle Force. The Italian Colonial troops had been withdrawn owing to heavy casualties and desertions. By 9 February some 700 deserters had already come in (mainly from the 11th Colonial Brigade), and on this day several Eritrean deserters surrendered for the first time. But the Italian 105th Battalion had arrived and moved up to the Sanchil-Amba area during the night. A defensive position was being constructed across the plain just west of Keren, covering the rail and road approaches. It was well dug and manned by the 35th and 101st Battalions of the 42nd Colonial Brigade, which had been at Agordat, together with eight pack-guns. The road was heavily mined. The 111th Battalion, the remaining battalion, was further east on Mt. Canabai. The Commander of the 4th Indian Division planned a coordinated divisional operation for the capture of Keren. It was to take place in four phases. The capture of Brig's Peak by The 11th Indian Infantry Brigade, the capture of the Acqua Gap by Gazelle Force with 4/6 Rajputana Rifles and 4 Sikh, the 5th Indian Infantry Brigade was to exploit towards Keren and then all available forces were to be used in pursuit to cut roads leading eastwards from Keren. According to the divisional plan the 11th Indian Infantry Brigade was to launch the attack on Brig's Peak at 1500 hours on 10 February 1941.

Operation Compass. British and Australian troops reach El Agheila, 100 miles along the coast from Beda Fomm but this is as far as they will advance. While General Wavell is supportive of O'Connor's plans to move on Tripoli, Churchill has already decided to send troops to Greece from North Africa, marking an end of Operation Compass.

GERMANY: 13 British aircraft from Scampton, Lincolnshire attacked battleship "Tirpitz" at Wilhelmshaven, Germany. The air crews reported to have caused damage, but in actuality no hits were scored.

WESTERN FRONT: Admiral Darlan became the new Vice Premier of Vichy France in addition to Navy Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Navy.

Nazi collaborators destroyed the pro-Jewish cafe Alcazar Amsterdam. Alcazar had refused to hang "No Entry for Jews" signs in front.

UNITED KINGDOM: Churchill gave an international radio address that concluded with a direct appeal to the United States:

"Put your confidence in us. Give us your faith and your blessing, and under Providence all will be well. We shall not fail or falter; we shall not weaken or tire. Neither the sudden shock of battle nor the long-drawn trials of vigilance and exertion will wear us down. Give us the tools and we will finish the job."

Churchill warns Bulgaria against joining the Tripartite pact.

Luftwaffe conducts night raids against Plymouth, Birmingham, and Humberside.

ASIA: Battle of Southern Honan: Chinese 5th War Area carefully pursues Japanese 11th Army as it withdraws toward bases around Hsinyang.

.

 

[parsifal]

10 February 1941
Known Reinforcements
Allied
Harbour Defence Motor Launches HDML 1012 (ML 1012), HDML 1048 (ML 1048), HDML 1051 (ML 1051)

BPB 70' Ex-French type Motor Gun Boat HMS MGB 63 (MGB 63)

Fairmile B Motor Launch HMS ML 183 , Fairmile B Motor Launch HMS ML 184

Sister ship Ml 187

Losses
Drifter BOY ALAN (UK 109 grt) was sunk in a collision in the Thames Estuary

MV BRANDENBURG (UK 1473 grt) Sunk by U-37 (Asmus Nicolai Clausen) : Crew: 54 (53 dead and 1 survivor). Cargo: Pyrites and Sulphur Route: Convoy: Lost west of Gibraltar near the Azores; At 0633 hrs, U-37 fired two G7e torpedoes at a large tanker in convoy HG-53 west of Gibraltar but missed and heard later two detonations. Clausen thought that he had hit two other ships in the convoy. In fact, the BRANDENBURG had been hit by both torpedoes and sank immediately. The master, 21 crew members and one gunner were lost. The day before, the ship had picked up 31 survivors from COURLAND and all except one were lost in the second sinking. The Uboat was forced to turn away and lose contact with the convoy when Sloop DEPTFORD made an anti-submarine attack on the submarine.The sole survivor was picked up by DD VELOX and landed at Gibraltar.

MV CANFORD CHINE (UK 3364 grt) Sunk by U-52 (Otto Salman) : Crew: 36 (36 dead - no survivors) Cargo: General cargo and Coal Route: Cardiff - Buenos Aires Convoy:OG-52 (Straggler) Lost in the SW Approaches; At 1435 hrs the unescorted CANFORD CHINE, a straggler from convoy OG-52 since 8 February, was hit underneath the bridge by one G7e torpedo from U-52 about 165 miles SW of Rockall. The ship broke in two and sank after being hit amidships by a coup de grace at 1535 hours. The Germans later observed a lifeboat under sails at the sinking position, but the survivors were never seen again. The master, 33 crew members and two gunners were lost

Axis shipping losses in Italian East Africa
During the night of 10/11 February, eight Italian and two German ships escaped from the East African port of Kismayu. However, only two managed to make any real escape, the following ships were captured. According to Italian wiki, were ordered to the Vichy controlled port of Diego Suarez to avoid capture

Steamer ADRIA (FI 3809 grt); captured by HMS CERES, 1943 base ship at Bombay and renamed GOMBROON.
(New image source: Adria (piroscafo) | Wikiwand )

MV SAVOIA (FI 5490 grt); Steamer SAVOIA was later used by the British as EMPIRE ARUN.

MV ERMINIA MAZZELLA (FI 5644 grt); Steamer ERMINIA MAZZELLA was used as IMPALA and later as AGULHAS.

Steamer MANON (FI 5594 grt); captured on the 13 February. She was torpedoed by the Japanese submarine I-162 on 7 October 1942 and sank in 15N 80 30E, when on voyage from Calcutta and Visakhapatnam to Colombo with 7100tons of coal. Three crew members were lost, but 76 crew and 3 gunners survived.

MV LEONARDO DA VINCI (FI 7515 grt); Steamer LEONARDO DA VINCI was later used by the British as EMPIRE CLYDE.

Steamer UCKERMARK (Ger 7021 grt) scuttled herself on the 12th off Italian Somaliland when intercepted by a/c from CVL EAGLE and CL CERES. ( Image from : COASTERS & OTHER SHIPS REVIVED » UCKERMARK – 1930 – IMO 0000000)

Steamer PENSILVANIA (FI 6861 grt) was sunk on the 13th by Aircraft from CVL EAGLE and CA HAWKINS.

Steamer ASKARI (Ger 590 grt) was sunk on the 13th by Swordfish from CVL EAGLE air.

Of the ten ships from Kismaya, only Italian steamers DUCA DEGLI ABRUZZI (2315grt) and SOMALIA (2699grt) escaped and arrived at Diego Suarez.

UBOATS
Arrivals
Lorient: U-106

Departures
Kiel:: U-69

At Sea 10 February 1941
U-37, U-48, U-52, U-69, U-73, U-93, U-94, U-96, U-101, U-103, U-107, U-123.
12 boats at sea

U-93 was forced to bring forward her return to Lorient for repairs after being damaged by an RAF Whitley bomber (RAF 502 Sqn, pilot J. A. Walker) bombing and strafing the boat whilst on the surface. The action accelerated her return to base at Lorient and required three months of dockyard attention to repair. .

OPERATIONS
North Sea
Steamer BENMACDHUI was damaged by the LW in 52-42N, 2-00E.The steamer arrived at Tees on the 12th under her own power

SW Approaches
SL.65 departed Freetown escorted by armed merchant cruiser BULOLO to 2 March, sloop MILFORD to 13 February, corvettes ASPHODEL and CALENDULA to 13 February. Convoy SLS.65 also departed Freetown on the 10th. The convoy rendezvoused with convoy SL.65 on the 13th.

CL KENYA joined on the 13th to protect convoys SL.65 and SLS.65. The CL was relieved on the 20th by CL SHEFFIELD, which departed Gibraltar on the 18th, to 1 March. CL KENYA arrived at Gibraltar on the 22nd. On 2 March, CLA DIDO joined and continued to 7 March.

DDs BRIGHTON, BROADWAY, CALDWELL, ROCKINGHAM, VANOC,VOLUNTEER, WALKER, sloop FLEETWOOD, corvettes DIANELLA and TULIP, ASW yacht PHILANTE, catapult ship PEGASUS joined the escort on 4 March. DDs MANSFIELD and WOOLSTON joined on 5 March. Cruiser DIDO, DDs MANSFIELD and WOOLSTON, ASW yacht PHILANTE were detached on 7 March, and the convoy arrived on 8 March.

Med- Biscay
DD DIAMOND at Tobruk reported her stern glands were leaking seriously on the 10th. DD HEREWARD was sent immediately from Alexandria to relieve her. DIAMOND departed Tobruk on the 12th escorting tug ST ISSEY and damaged steamers CRISTA and RODI for Alexandria.These ships arrived at Alexandria on the 16th.

Submarine REGENT departed Alexandria to relieve submarine TRUANT on patrol off Tripoli. Submarine TRUANT proceeded to Malta, arriving on the 13th. Submarine ROVER unsuccessfully attacked an Italian submarine off Calabria

Red Sea/Indian Ocean
BS.15 departed Suez, escorted by sloops CLIVE and HINDUSTAN. The convoy was dispersed on the 16th.

Malta
AIR RAIDS DAWN 10 FEBRUARY TO DAWN 11 FEBRUARY 1941
Weather Fine; good visibility.
Enemy aircraft carried out continual reconnaissances during daylight hours all round Malta, particularly the south, approaching at times sufficiently close to trigger the air raid alert.
0745-0815 hrs Air raid alert; raid does not materialise.
1840-1920 hrs Air raid alert for one enemy aircraft which approaches the Island and drops bombs on Hal Far and Kalafrana.
OPERATIONS REPORTS MONDAY 10 FEBRUARY 1941
AIR HQ Eight Whitley aircraft left on a special operation.
LUQA Eight Whitleys left for Operation Colossus; one failed to return, force landed south east of Naples.

 

[Njaco]

February 10 Monday

MEDITERRANEAN: Hitler signs the orders for 'SONNEBLUME' (Operation Sunflower). The German forces in Italy and Sicily are ordered to move to Tripoli to execute Hitler's Directive 22, an effort to assist the Italian forces in North Africa. The first German convoy, carrying German troops and with one Italian destroyer and three torpedo boats in escort, departed Palermo, Sicily, Italy for Tripoli, Libya.

Operation Colossus was the codename given to the first airborne operation undertaken by the British military. The target chosen for the operation was a fresh-water aqueduct near Calitri in southern Italy, which supplied water to a large portion of the Italian population as well as several ports used by the Italian military. The plan for the operation called for six Whitleys of No. 51 Squadron RAF to transport 38 paratroopers of British No. 11 Special Air Service Battalion (X Troop) from Malta to the target area on 10 February, while another two bombers would carry out a diversionary raid against railway yards at Foggia, approximately 60 miles (97 km) to the north of the aqueduct. At 2130 hours the troop would be dropped around the objective, attack and demolish it, and then withdraw 50 miles (80 km) to the coast to the mouth of the Sele River, where the submarine HMS "Triumph" would pick them up on the night of 15 February. The airborne troops were delivered by the bombers to the target but equipment failures and navigational errors meant that a significant portion of the troops explosives, and a team of Royal Engineer sappers, landed in the wrong area. Despite this setback the remaining members of the troop successfully destroyed the aqueduct and withdrew from the area, but the aqueduct was rapidly repaired before local water reserves ran out. The three groups moved as fast as possible towards the coast, but were all captured within a few hours of the aqueduct being demolished. Even if any of the groups had managed to make their way to the coast and the rendezvous point, they would not have been picked up by HMS "Triumph". One of the two Whitleys conducting the diversionary raid at Foggia suffered engine trouble after bombing the railway yards. The pilot radioed Malta, informing his airfield that he was ditching in the mouth of the River Sele, coincidentally the area where the rendezvous was to occur. Fearing that the message had been monitored by the Italians and that the submarine might sail into a trap, the decision was made by senior officers not to send it to the rendezvous point.

NORTH AFRICA: The Battle of Keren: Battle resumes in the Dongolaas Gorge near Keren, Eritrea. 1st Punjab Regiment of Indian 3rd Battalion captured Brig's Peak near Keren, Eritrea, Italian East Africa. The Punjabis captured the ridge from Brig's Peak to Hog's Back by 1615 hours in spite of strong opposition and heavy shelling by the Italian pack artillery. At 1715 hours, the Italians launched a counterattack on the right feature of Brig's Peak. D Company offered resistance but ran out of ammunition and was forced to retire to the centre of Brig's Peak. Some of the Colonial troops who pursued D Company were scattered by mortar fire. At the close of the day the situation was that, with the exception of the right feature of Brig's Peak, the Punjabis had been able to consolidate their position on the ridge from the centre of Brig's Peak to Hog's Back.

To the south, British General Cunningham launched Operation Canvas against Italian positions on the Juba River in Italian Somaliland.

WESTERN FRONT: The Stirling aircraft made its operational debut as bombers of No. 7 Squadron RAF bombed oil storage facilities at Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

RAF Circus operation: Daylight raid by six Blenheim bombers to Dunkirk heavily escorted by fighters. RAF Roadstead operation: Daylight raid by six Blenheim bombers with fighter escort against shipping off Calais. Werner Mölders claimed his 56th victory.

The Luftwaffe bombed British-held Iceland.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-37 attacked Allied convoy HG-53 600 miles west of Gibraltar at 0633 hours, sinking British ship "Brandenburg", killing entire crew of 23 plus 26 of the 27 passengers on board. The passengers were survivors of the ship "Courland", which had just been sunken by U-37 on the previous day.

German submarine U-52 sank British ship "Cranford Chine" 200 miles west of Ireland at 1435 hours, killing the entire crew of 35.

GERMANY: Over 222 British aircraft bomb Hanover, Germany, doing great damage. Seven bombers are shot down. This is the largest aerial raid against a single target so far.

UNITED KINGDOM: Churchill orders General Wavell to prioritise helping Greece over continued operations in North Africa. In addition to honouring British commitments to Greece, Churchill hopes to sway American opinion and establish a Balkan coalition against Hitler.

EASTERN EUROPE: Britain severed diplomatic relations with Romania due to the presence of 500,000 German troops in the country.

Romania's indigenous fighter, the IAR 80, saw service for the first time in defense of its homeland and against the Soviets.

NORTH AMERICA: Merwin K. Hart told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the Lend-Lease bill would probably lead the country into the war and eventually result in the establishment of a fascist or communist dictatorship in the United States.

ASIA: Battle of Southern Honan ends as Japanese 11th Army returns to bases around Hsinyang.

Four Japanese cruisers visit Bangkok.

INDIAN OCEAN: Royal Navy forms Force T to support operations along the coast of Italian Somaliland. Eight Italian and two German vessels sail from Kismayu in attempt to avoid advancing enemy ground forces and reach Madagascar. Italian vessel "Leonardo da Vinci" and Italian vessel "Adria" were captured by RN warships en route to Madagascar from Kismayu.

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[Njaco]

February 11 Tuesday

ATLANTIC OCEAN: British submarine HMS "Snapper", en route from the River Clyde in Scotland to the Bay of Biscay off France. The crew of 41 was never seen again. She probably ran into a minefield or was sunk by German minesweepers M-2, M-13, and M-25.

German cruiser "Admiral Hipper" sank British ship "Iceland" of Allied convoy HX53 800 miles west of Gibraltar; the entire crew of 23 survived and were picked up by "Admiral Hipper". "Admiral Hipper" would soon detect the rest of the convoy on radar at the distance of 15 kilometers.

NORTH AFRICA: The Battle of Keren: At 0530 hours, B Company 3/1 Punjab reinforced by a platoon launched a counter-attack and recaptured the right feature of Brig's Peak without much opposition. Two officers and twenty other ranks (including Bersaglieri) were captured. Indian 3rd Battalion captured Sanchil hill in the Dongolaas Gorge near Keren, Eritrea, but the Italian Savoia Grenadiers counterattack and recaptured the hill as well as Brig's Peak by the end of the day. To the South, British troops from Kenya captured the road junction at Afmadow at the north end of the Juba River after South African air attacks drove off Italian forces. South and east of the road, Gazelle Force had planned an attack for the capture of Acqua Gap. At 2200 hours, the Commander of the 4th Indian Division informed Gazelle Force and the 5th Indian Infantry Brigade of the partial success of the 11th Indian Infantry Brigade's attack on Brig's Peak and of the further attacks being planned to complete its capture. He added that, until the situation north of the road was cleared up, 2 Mahratta could not be released for operations in the Acqua Gap area. In view of this the attack on Acqua Gap was postponed to 12 February. At 1230 hours a conference was held at Headquarters 4th Indian Division where the Commander of the 5th Indian Division and Brigadier General Staff Headquarters and the Troops Sudan were also present. The 5th Indian Infantry Brigade made slight alterations in Gazelle Force plans for the capture of Acqua Gap. 4/6 Rajputana Rifles was still to open the attack from Rajputana Ridge at 0530 hours and capture Pt. 1565, but 4 Sikh was now to be concentrated at the foot of Rajputana Ridge by 0645 hours and to attack Acqua Gap and the lower slopes of Mount Zemale. The attack by 4 Sikh was to be launched irrespective of the success or failure of 4/6 Rajputana Rifles. During the night the 11th Indian Infantry Brigade was counter-attacked on Brig's Peak and forced to withdraw to its original line. The Commander of the 4th Indian Division informed the 5th Indian Infantry Brigade of the situation and ordered the attack on Acqua Gap to proceed according to plan.

The first German troops arrived at Tripoli, Libya.

WESTERN FRONT: British monitor HMS "Erebus" bombarded Ostend, Belgium between 0100 and 0140 hours.

Jews fought Germans and Dutch fascists in Amsterdam's Waterlooplein.

GERMANY: RAF Bomber Command sends 79 aircraft to attack Bremen and 29 aircraft to attack Hannover overnight.

NORTH AMERICA: Wendell Willkie, having returned from England, appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and urged that the United States provide Britain with five to ten destroyers a month.

SOUTH PACIFIC: Fearing imminent invasion, Netherlands East Indies officials alert armed forces for increased readiness, order Dutch shipping to safe waters, and close ports to Japanese vessels.

.

 

[parsifal]

11 February 1941
Known Reinforcements
Axis
Type IXC U-68

U-68 attacks, with torpedoes and gunfire, sinking ss BALUCHISTAN on 8th March 1942
32 ships sunk, total tonnage 197,453 GRT
1 auxiliary warship sunk, total tonnage 545 GRT
Sunk on 10 April 1944 in the North Atlantic north-west of Madeira, Portugal, in position 33.24N, 18.59W, by depth charges and rockets from two Avenger and a Wildcat aircraft (VC-58 USN/T-22, T-24 & F-4) of the US escort carrier USS Guadalcanal. 56 dead and 1 survivor

Allied
BPB 70' Ex-French Type Motor Gun Boat HMS MGB 64

Fairmile B Motor Launch ML 187 (ML 187)
(See photo for 10 Feb)

CL JACOB VAN HEEMSKERK

Losses
Sub SNAPPER (RN 670 grt) was sunk by DKM MSWs M.2, M.13 and M.25 SW of Ushant after SNAPPER fired torpedoes at them. All hands were lost
(This is photograph from the collections of the Imperial War Museum)

Steamer ICELAND (UK 1236 grt), a straggler from HG.53, was sunk by DKM CA ADMIRAL HIPPER in 37-03N, 19-50W.The crew was taken prisoner.

Trawler JOHN DUNKIN (UK 202 grt) was sunk by the LW 13 miles NE of Buckie. One crewman was lost.

Trawler EAMONT (UK 227 grt) was badly damaged by the LW in 58-15N, 3-26W.The crew of ten were all rescued, however, after the The trawler dragged ashore in bad weather on the 12th she broke in two and was lost.

South African manned Naval whaler SOUTHERN FLOE (RN 344 grt) was sunk on a mine off Tobruk. All but one crew member were lost, this man being rescued by RAN DD VOYAGER,

UBOATS
At Sea 11 February 1941
U-37, U-48, U-52, U-69, U-73, U-93, U-94, U-96, U-101, U-103, U-107, U-123.
12 boats at sea.

OPERATIONS
North Sea
Monitor EREBUS, escort DDs QUORN, EGLINTON and one other, bombarded Ostend between 0100 and 0140 in Operation PX.

West Coast
OB.285 departed Liverpool, escort DDs ARROW, ORP BLYSKAWICA, FNFL MISTRAL and ASW trawlers DANEMAN and ST APOLLO. BLYSKAWICA was detached on 13 January. Most of the other escorts were detached prior to dispersal on the 17th when only MISTRAL was still with the convoy.

ML PLOVER laid minefield ZME.16 in the Irish Sea. This series continued in February with the ML laying ZME.17 on the 15th, ZME.18 on the 18th, ZME.19 on the 21st, ZME.20 on the 24th. This series also continued in March and April.

British steamer CANTICK HEAD was damaged by the LW 30 miles NW of Kinnaird Head.

Western Approaches
British steamer JAMAICA PRODUCER was chased by a U-Boat German in the Western Approaches. DD JACKAL was sent to assist her. No damage was done to the steamer. DD BURNHAM was also sent to search for the U Boat. BURNHAM was unable to locate the UBoat. She left the area to reinforce the escort of HX.106, whilst JACKAL after an unsuccessful search proceeded to Skaalefjord.

Med/Biscay
Force H returned to Gibraltar after RESULT. Italian Admiral Iachino, which had been at sea with considerable forces, was misled by aerial reports which mistook French convoys for Force H. Force H had escaped undamaged.

DDs ILEX and HERO departed Alexandria for exercises. DD HEREWARD was sent from Tobruk to Alexandria to collect the advance clearance party for Operation SHELFORD, the clearance of Benghazi harbour. The DD arrived at Alexandria, collected the personnel and the stores from armed boarding vessel FIONA and had departed before dawn. DD DECOY left Tobruk with MSW trawlers ARTHUR CAVANAGH and MILFORD COUNTESS for Benghazi.

Submarine TRIUMPH departed Malta on a special operation. However the operation was cancelled on the 13th and the submarine was recalled.

Submarine TRUANT made two unsuccessful attacks against Italian steamer BAINSIZZA. The steamer had departed Tripoli on the 11th for Palermo and Naples with SABAUDIA, MOTIA, UTILITAS, escorted by escort ship DEFFENU and TB MISSORI. After the attacks, the convoy returned to Tripoli until just before midnight night. The remainder of the convoy's passage was uneventful.

RN Sub UNIQUE unsuccessfully attacked German steamer ANKARA arriving in convoy (see entry 8 February) off Tripoli.

Vichy French DD Le' TERRIBLE departed Toulon and arrived at Oran on the 12th. She departed on the 14th and arrived at Casablanca on the 15th. The DD went on and joined Force Y at Dakar, arriving on the 25th, replacing DD AUDACIEUX which was damaged on 23 September during MENACE.

Pacific/Australia
DD THRACIAN and ML MAN YEUNG laid more mines in the approaches to Hong Kong.

Malta
AIR RAIDS DAWN 11 FEBRUARY TO DAWN 12 FEBRUARY 1941
Weather Fine; clear and warm.
1610-1700 hrs Air raid alert for four enemy bombers which approach from the south west and cross the Island. Before the air raid warning is heard in the area, two JU 88s and one JU 87 swoop down on St Paul's Bay and machine-gun the Sunderland mooring sub-station causing minor damage; no Sunderlands are at the mooring. One petrol lighter in the Bay is slightly damaged but serviceable.
Six Hurricanes are airborne and engage. Light automatic machine guns on the ground open fire and succeed in silencing the rear gunner of one JU 88 as well as damaging the aircraft. An aircraft is seen in flames over the sea; two crew bale out. The bomb rack falls off one of the enemy aircraft and the rack and bombs are hit by an Ack Ack shell. Pieces of the rack are later gathered up in the Pembroke area.
2012-2029 hrs Air raid alert for three approaching enemy aircraft. One Hurricane is scrambled. Bombs are dropped in the sea off Della Grazia and the raiders retreat.
2055-2155 hrs Air raid alert for approaching enemy aircraft which do not cross over the Island. Explosions are heard to the north east of Gozo
2300-2315 hrs Air raid alert triggered by returning friendly aircraft.
2352-0006 hrs Air raid alert; no raid materialises.
OPERATIONS REPORTS TUESDAY 11 FEBRUARY 1941
AIR HQ Arrivals 5 Wellingtons; 7 Whitleys. Operations from Malta by Wellington bombers and Swordfish overnight. Wellingtons attacked aerodromes in Comiso and Catania; five tons of bombs dropped starting fires and destroying aircraft.
LUQA Five Wellingtons arrived from UK.

 

[parsifal]

12 February 1941
Known Reinforcements
Axis
Type VIIC U-651
(Source :
U-boat Archive - U-651 - Interrogation Report . This is an interesting read)

2 ships sunk, total tonnage 11,639 GRT
Sunk on 29 June 1941 in the North Atlantic sth of Iceland, , by DCs from DD MALCOLM, with assistance from DD SCIMITAR, Corvettes ARABIS and VIOLET and MSW SPEEDWELL 45 survivors (no casualties).

The after action interrogation of the crew includes the following general comments: "The six officers and thirty-nine Petty Officers and men of "U 651" formed one of the most fanatically Nazi and truculent crews interrogated for many months. Some of the more than usually unpleasant characteristics were thought to have been due partly to the teaching and example of the Captain, and partly to the extent to which Nazi propaganda had been applied and the hold which it had obtained upon the imagination of these men.

It was established that this crew had received a weekly lecture on security and on the line of conduct to be followed in the event of capture. It appears that at the time they were imbued with a highly exaggerated idea of their personal dignity and importance as Germans in general, and as members of the armed forces in particular. They had all been lectured on details of the International Convention of July, 1929, relative to the treatment of Prisoners of War. Thus they had become a set of "sea-lawyers," and attempted to argue on every possible pretext; they had a lively sense of privilege, and not the slightest sense of obligation.

The Captain, Kapitänleutnant (Lieutenant-Commander) Peter Lohmeyer, aged 30 years, was born in Zanzibar. At the age of sixteen he went straight from school to the Merchant Service, joining as a seaman, where he served for seven years. He then joined the Navy and was absolved from some preliminary training on account of his experiences in the Merchant Service.

He served in the Naval Air Arm during the Spanish was and transferred to U-Boats after the outbreak of the present war. He was at times a somewhat troublesome prisoner, and extremely security-conscious; his aggressive manner changed to apologetic concern when he was given to understand that his behaviour, though entertaining, would result in the loss of various amenities and in the application of a stricter discipline to his whole crew. Like all his officers and men he was a fervent Nazi, almost unable to listen to any other point of view, and utterly incapable of reasoned argument".

Allied
N Class DD HMAS NESTOR G 02)
(Photo Source: HMAS Nestor | Royal Australian Navy )

HMAS NESTOR was bombed on 15 June 1942 by Italian a/c in the eastern Med about 95 nautical miles NNE of Tobruk. The ship was straddled by heavy bombs which caused heavy damage to her boiler rooms. Taken in tow by the RN DD HMS JAVELIN at 0530 hrs the next morning the DD began to settle by the bow. Permission was granted to scuttle the ship later that morning. The crew was taken off by the JAVELIN and at 0700 hrs HMAS NESTOR was scuttled by DCs using their timer switches.

Flower Class Corvette HMS AMARANTHUS (K 17)

(Source: 50)CORVETTE AMARANTHUS K 17 - ROYAL NAVY SHIPS (133 Pages / 150 Images) - THE ROYAL NAVY IN SOUTH ATLANTIC - Articles - Sixtant - War II in the South Atlantic )

Bangor Class MSW HMS BUDA (J 116)

(Source: http://www.naval-history.net/Photo22MSBude1NPMarkTeadham.JPG )

Fairmile B Motor Launch HMS ML 163
[NO IMAGE]

Losses
FV CALEDONIAN (UK 8 grt) was lost on a mine.

Submarine TIGRIS sank FV RENE CAMALEYRE (Vichy 243 grt) in 43-30N, 1-42E in the Bay of Biscay.

Steamers INTEGRITAS (FI 5952 grt), Steamer MARGHERA (FI 4531 grt), Steamer CARSO (FI 6275 grt) were scuttled at Kismaya. Steamer CARSO was salved as EMPIRE TANA.

Convoy SLS 64 and
Just before midnight, following the sinking of the ICELAND (See 11 Feb) HIPPER's radar located another couple of targets and as the night wore on - several more. She circled the convoy at night and established it was a slow one - 7 knots on average with a base course due nth . This was not the convoy HIPPER was looking for (she was searching for HG53) but another, SLS64 from Freetown. As dawn broke on Feb. 12th Kpt. Meisel couldn't believe his luck. SLS64 wasn't only larger (19 ships) than he thought - it was completely without escort. . HIPPER, approaching from the west began the slaughter at 0615 hrs with her heavy armament followed by torpedoes and 10.5cm guns as well. The convoy Commodore immediately ordered 'scattering' but meanwhile HIPPER cut a swathe of destruction through the defenceless merchant ships. By 0700 hrs HIPPER had fired all her tube-loaded torpedoes, about 2/3rds of her 8" head-fuzed HE shells and, since the convoy had by then completely scattered and the weather and visibility deteriorated with rain squalls HIPPER broke off action at 0740. The Germans thought they had sunk thirteen ships of about 75 000 tons, but the actual tally was seven ships (and 32500 tons). Shorty after this action Kpt. Meisel signalled OKM his 'intention to return to Brest'. This, understandably, raised some eyebrows - and the quick reply read; 'assume pressing reasons for return. Otherwise fuel and re-ammunitionn from BREME ( a supply-tanker) and remain at sea...'

Meisel decided to break off and return anyway. OKMs directions in this case appear justified, - HIPPER was as sea, supply ships were available and for the first time there were no major problems with her machinery. Despite these positive factors, Kpt. Meisel stuck to his plan and HIPPER docked at Brest on the 14th of Feb. In this battle DKM CA ADMIRAL HIPPER managed to sink the following

Steamer WARLABY (UK 4876 grt) in 37-12N, 21-20W. Three crew were rescued from the steamer WARLABY.

Steamer WESTBURY (UK 4712 grt) in 37-10N, 21-20W, Five crew from steamer WESTBURY were lost.

Steamer OSWESTRY GRANGE (UK 4684 grt) in 37-10N, 21-20W, Five crew were lost on steamer OSWESTRY GRANGE. Thirty seven survivors landed at Madiera by British steamer LORNASTON (4934grt).

Steamer SHREWSBURY (UK 4542 grt) in 36-46N, 20-12W, Twenty crew were lost from this steamer..

Steamer DERRYNANE (UK 4896 grt) in 37-12N, 21-20W. All the crew from steamer DERRYNANE were lost.

Steamer BORGESTAD (Nor 3924 grt) in 37-10N, 21-20W, All the crew from steamer BORGESTAD were lost.

BORGESTAD under attack (received from Erling Skjold, Norway).

Steamer PERSEUS (Gk 5172 grt) in 37-10N, 21-20W. Fourteen crew were lost on the Greek steamer.

British steamer LORNASTON was damaged by the heavy cruiser in 37-12N, 21-20W, but managed to escape.
Ocean boarding vessels CAMITO, CORNINTHIAN, CAVINO, MARON were sent to search for survivors from this convoy. Ocean boarding vessel CAMITO rescued some of the survivors from the British ships. CL SHEFFIELD was sent to escort the surviving ships of the convoy. She arrived back at Gibraltar on the 17th.

UBOATS
Departures
Kiel, Germany: U-46

At Sea 12 February 1941
U-37, U-46, U-48, U-52, U-69, U-73, U-93, U-94, U-96, U-101, U-103, U-107, U-123.
13 boats at sea.

OPERATIONS
Northern Waters
CLA CURACOA departed Scapa Flow at Dawn to meet convoy EN.70 and provide AA support from daylight until the convoy arrived in Pentland Firth. The ship arrived back at Scapa Flow just after midday

Med/Biscay
For Operation SHELFORD, CLs ORION and AJAX departed Alexandria to rendezvous in the Aegean in 34-00N, 21-00E with CA YORK, CLA BONAVENTURE, DDs JERVIS, JAGUAR, JANUS, MOHAWK which departed Suda Bay that afternoon to join the forces from Alexandria.

Gunboat APHIS entered Benghazi Harbour at daylight on the 12th. Armed Boarding Vessel CHAKLA with RAN DDs STUART, VOYAGER, VAMPIRE, RN MSW FAREHAM, corvettes PEONY and HYACINTH (fited out for minesweeping) departed Tobruk at 0730 to arrive at Benghazi early on the 13th. British troopship ULSTER PRINCE arrived at Alexandria with prisoners from Tobruk.

British steamer CINGALESE PRINCE (8474grt) departed Haifa for Tobruk, unescorted. The steamer was carrying a number of lighters and other important cargo. DD DAINTY was sent from Alexandria to escort the steamer. CL GLASGOW departed Alexandria for Port Said and Suez. She had received partial repairs only for her December 1940 torpedo damage. The cruiser was being detached for convoy work only. British gunboat CRICKET arrived at Port Said to join the Mediterranean Fleet. However, due to her poor condition, she remained at Port Said and was placed in care and maintenance status on the 18th.

Submarine UTMOST damaged Italian steaamer MANFREDO CAMPIERO (former MAULY, off Tripoli in 35-41N, 23-01E.

The 2nd Afrika Korps convoy departed Naples with steamers ADANA, AEGINA, KYBFELS, RUHR escorted by DD CAMICIA NERA and TB PROCIONE, and arrived at Tripoli on the 14th.


Vichy subs IRIS, VENUS, PALLAS, CERES departed Toulon on the 6th and arrived at Oran on the 9th. They departed Oran on the 11th, escorted by armed trawler LA HAVRAISE and passed Gibraltar on the 12th. They arrived at Casablanca on the 13th.

Central Atlantic
Force H with BC RENOWN, CV ARK ROYAL, CL SHEFFIELD, DDs WISHART, JERSEY, FOXHOUND, FIREDRAKE, FURY departed Gibraltar to cover convoy HG.53. That evening, Force H was ordered to cover convoy WS.6, relieving BB RODNEY. RENOWN and ARK ROYAL covered convoy WS.6 from 17 to 21 February. SHEFFIELD was detached on the 13th. The DDs returned to Gibraltar on the 16th.

BB MALAYA, escort DDs FIREDRAKE, FOXHOUND, JERSEY, was detached from Force H to escort convoy HG.53. MALAYA and her DDs returned to Gibraltar on the 15th. The convoy was joined by DDs LEAMINGTON and SABRE and corvette ANEMONE from convoy OG.53 and sloop LONDONDERRY. Force H was involved in escorting convoy WS.6 A for a time and was relieved on the 19th by BB MALAYA, which departed Gibraltar on the 17th.
Ocean boarding vessel MARSDALE departed Gibraltar on Western Patrol.

Pacific/Australia
NZ Manned CL ACHILLES departed Wellington with convoy ZT 2. The convoy safely arrived at Sydney on the 18th. LEANDER relieved CL DAUNTLESS of the escort of a troopship 300 miles east of Ceylon.

Malta
AIR RAIDS DAWN 12 FEBRUARY TO DAWN 13 FEBRUARY 1941
Weather Fine and clear.
0813-0830 hrs Air raid alert; raid does not materialise.
1530-1610 hrs Air raid alert for three JU 88 bombers escorted by twelve fighters which approach Malta. Some of the fighters are identified as LW Me109s – the first which have been seen over the Island. Six Hurricanes are scrambled and there are several engagements, including a dog fight over Hal Far and another north of the Island. Two Hurricanes are missing after the raid; one pilot is rescued from the sea off Fort St Elmo, slightly wounded. A third Hurricane makes a forced landing at Luqa; the pilot is slightly wounded and the aircraft damaged but repairable. No bombs are dropped on the Island.
1909-2000 hrs Air raid alert for enemy aircraft which approach the Island and drop bombs near the control tower of Luqa aerodrome. Malta fighters are scrambled; searchlights do not illuminate the aircraft and there are no interceptions.
Military casualties Flight Lieutenant Gerald Watson, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve.
OPERATIONS REPORTS WEDNESDAY 12 FEBRUARY 1941
AIR HQ Sunderland patrol western Ionian Sea. 0815-1327 Maryland photoreconnaissance of the results of Operation Colossus: excellent photographs show the bridge intact.
KALAFRANA Marine Craft Section pinnace rescued a Hurricane pilot from St Paul's Bay.
LUQA One Maryland photoreconnaissance for results of Operation Colossus. 148 Squadron Four Wellingtons bombing raid on Catania and Comiso aerodromes.

 

[Njaco]

February 12 Wednesday

MEDITERRANEAN: The newly arrived fighters of the Luftwaffe tangle with the RAF for the first time in the Mediterranean. Three Ju 88 bombers are intercepted by a flight of four Hurricanes from RAF No. 261 Squadron. As the German bombers lead the Hurricanes out over the sea, the British fighters are bounced by Bf 109s from 7./JG 26. Three Hurricanes are destroyed including that of the flight leader, a former Wellington bomber pilot. One of the Hurricanes is shot down by Oblt. Müncheberg, his first in the Mediterranean.

The second German convoy, consisted of ships "Adana", "Aegina", "Kybfels", and "Ruhr" with German troops on board, departed Naples, Italy for North Africa. Italian destroyer "Camicia Nera" and torpedo boat "Procione" escorted the transports.

Former King of Spain Alfonso XIII, living in exile in Rome, renounced the throne in favour of his third son Juan.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German cruiser "Admiral Hipper" attacked Allied convoy HX53 800 miles west of Gibraltar at 0618 hours, sinking 7 ships (British ships "Arlaby", "Westbury", "Oswestry Grange", "Shrewsbury", and "Derrynane"; Norwegian ship "Borgestad"; and Greek ship "Perseus"). At 0740 hours, "Admiral Hipper" broke off the attack as rain helped the remaining Allied transports escape. "Admiral Hipper" had nearly expended all of her 203-mm shells in this attack.

NORTH AFRICA: Lieutenant-General Erwin Rommel arrived in Tripoli, Libya, to take command of the Afrika Korps. Rommel received assistance from Fliegerkorps X and long range aircraft from Sicily. General Gariboldi was named the new Italian Army Commander in North Africa.

Battle of Beda Fomm: Again, the Italians make further breakout attempts, which all fail. Later in the day the Italians surrender 20,000 men, 200 guns and 120 tanks to just 3,000 British troops. Anthony Eden makes a speech parodying Winston Churchill's famous 'Battle of Britain' speech. He says "Never has so much been surrendered, by so many, to so few". Churchill orders that the bulk of Allied forces in North Africa must be transferred to Greece. Churchill congratulates Wavell for his success, and orders him to prepare to help the Greeks.

German planes attack Benghazi, the first action by the Luftwaffe in Africa.

.

 

[Njaco]

February 12 Wednesday continued
NORTH AFRICA: The Battle of Keren: At 0530 hours the artillery bombardment began on Rajputana Ridge, and the forward companies crossed the start line followed by the Advanced Battalion Headquarters and the reserve platoon. The artillery barrage was greeted by a hail of machine-gun bullets and mortar bombs all along the front. The battalion fought gallantly, pushing home the attack with great determination, but it suffered heavy casualties and was only partially successful. On the right, A Company secured about two-thirds of its objective and beat off several counter-attacks. At 0730 hours B/C Companies asked for artillery support for a final assault on Sangar. Not much progress was however made and at 0815 hours B/C Companies reported that they were being heavily bombed. Naik Maula Baksh played a notable part in this attack. He was in command of a section. He advanced with a light machine-gun and took two Italian posts in the enfilade. He then attacked a third post and when the Colonial troops retired to dead ground he stood up and continued to fire on them until he was killed. Captain Richhpal Ram led an Indian attack despite having his right foot blown off. Even when he was fatally wounded he still encouraged his men on to victory. Captain Ram would be posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. Meanwhile D Company had also encountered stiff opposition. It came under heavy machine-gun and mortar fire from the exposed left flank as soon as its men crossed the start line. They pushed on with determination despite heavy casualties. At 0845 hours, the Commanding Officer 4/6 Rajputana Rifles asked for a fresh battalion or at least a company to push home the attack. This could not be provided. It was, however, arranged for all the artillery to fire concentrations on 4/6 Rajputana Rifles' objectives from 0920 to 0930 hours. The reserve platoon reinforced D Company for an attack at 0930 hours and B/C Companies were also ordered to attack at the same time. Only a few rounds fell on the target. The attack failed. The Italians were seen massing for counter-attack behind Pt. 1565. But no more than some mortar fire could be put down upon them. The attack was made by C Company on the right and A Company on the left. Strong resistance was met in hand-to-hand fighting. The Italians had emplacements, trenches and wire on the crest and machine guns in defiladed positions. The advance was conducted with great determination and part of C Company managed to reach the crest, but was soon driven back by hand grenade, machine-gun and mortar fire. A Company got to within fifty yards of the objective but could not advance any further. At 1000 hours the battalion was forced to withdraw some distance. Brigade Headquarters suggested another attack with all available artillery support with 1400 hours as the starting time to enable all its men to be collected and organized. But in view of the current attacks having not been successful so far, the Commander of the 4th Indian Division decided, at 1120 hours, to cancel the operation. The casualties suffered by 4/11 Sikh were 9 killed, 84 wounded and 9 missing. The casualties of 4/6 Rajputana Rifles were 37 killed, 176 wounded and 4 missing.

One British company with two sections - carrier platoon 1st Royal Sussex and one platoon Brigade Anti-Tank Company - were despatched to Nacfa. This force was lorried and later called Cubcol. As reports indicated that Nacfa was unoccupied, the force was redirected to Cam Ceua. Meadowforce was ordered up the Nacfa road, on camels.

UNITED KINGDOM: The British foreign Secretary, Anthony Eden and General Sir John Dill, Chief of the Imperial General Staff leave London for a tour of the Balkan capitals in order to try and establish an anti-axis pact. However, Yugoslavia refuses to see them and Turkey refuses their proposals. Only Greece shows any interest.

Reserve Constable Albert Alexander, a patient at the Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford, becomes the first person treated with penicillin intravenously, by Howard Florey's team. He reacts positively but there is insufficient supply of the drug to reverse his terminal infection. A successful treatment is achieved during May.

WESTERN FRONT: Mussolini met Franco for a two-day conference at Bordighera in another attempt to persuade Spain to join the Axis and enter the war. Franco once again insisted that his country was simply not in a position to do so.

Germans closed off the Jewish Quarter of Amsterdam with barbed wire.

.

 

[parsifal]

13 February 1941
Known Reinforcements
Axis
M-35 Class MSW M-27
(Source: Bundesarchiv, Bild 101II-MW-5896-33 / Moes, Eberhard / CC-BY-SA 3.0 )

Type VIIC U-557

U-557 commissioned in February 1941, and was assigned to Uboat Flo1 , then based at Kiel l. She spent the next four months at Konigsberg, working up in the Baltic. During this period she suffered a diving accident, during which one crewman died.[3] Werner describes this incident graphically in his book: He tells us that a routine dive in the Baltic turned into an emergency when the boat sank out of control. She hit the bottom stern-first with a thump. The depth gauge read 142 m (466 ft); the submarine was in severe difficulty, having taken on tons of water, poisonous chlorine gas was leaking from the batteries and there was the danger of an explosion. U-557 had also suffered her first death; a mechanic sustained fatal head injuries in the after torpedo room. A human chain of sailors was formed, passing buckets of sea water to each other, in an attempt to shift some of the weight from the stern to the bow. After many hour's toil, the boat pivoted so that the bow hit the bottom. But the sheer weight of water (about 40 tons) prevented U-557 from reaching the surface. The boat, having exhausted its supply of compressed air, stayed on the sea bed. The crew, under the direction of the Chief Engineer, rocked the boat by moving rapidly from stern to bow and back again. The submarine eventually worked herself free. After 20 hours, U-557 surfaced and sailed on to Kiel

During her operational career she sank
6 ships sunk, total tonnage 31,729 GRT and 1 warship sunk, total tonnage 5,220 tons

U-557 sank on 16 December 1941 in the Mediterranean Sea west of Crete after erroneous ramming by the RM TB ORIONE . 43 dead (all hands lost).

Lurrssen S Boat S-39
(Source: Die Schnellboot-Seite - Grundseite - UK )

Caption for this image reads ""S 39" of 6. SFltl with "B" as Insignia without Flotilla Coat of Arms - Picture: Archives Enno Brandi"

Allied
Flower Class Corvette HMS ALISMA (K 185)
(Source: HMS Alisma in Flower Class Corvette Images Forum )

Fairmile B Motor Launch HMS ML 143 (ML 143)
[NO IMAGE]

Losses
U.96 sank Motor tanker CLEA (UK 8074 grt), which was straggling behind convoy HX.106, in the Western Approaches. Whilst on route from CURACAO & BERMUDA 28th january 1941 for LOCH EWE and SCAPA FLOW carrying a cargo of fuel oil she was torpedoed by German submarine U-96 and sunk. All the crew of 59 were lost.

U.103 damaged Motor tanker ARTHUR F CORWIN (UK 10516 grt), straggling behind convoy HX.106. U.96 sank this tanker three hours later, with all hands lost. DDs ELECTRA, ECLIPSE, BRILLIANT en route to refuel at Skaalefjord made a sweep through this area on the 14th. The vessel was torpedoed and sunk on 13 February 1941, 700 miles west of Liverpool. A number of vessels had become separated from the the convoy after a heavy gale on the 11 February. On 13 February, they were trying to make a pre-arranged rendezvous when an explosion from the direction of CORWIN occurred. The vessel, fully loaded with high octane fuel burst into flames from stem to stern. Following Admiralty instructions for vessels in the Western Approaches and Home Waters, there was no attempt made by other vessels to rescue the stricken ship, Distress signals were sent behalf of CORWIN and all vessels altered course to put her astern using all available speed to leave the area. 30 mins later CORWIN broke in two, with both sections fiercely burning independently. Those aboard surrounding merchant ships watched helplessly as the two columns of smoke rising until they were about 20 miles away.Later, escort vessels reached the spot where CORWIN went down but no survivors were found. There had been 46 men aboard.
.

UBOATS
Departures
Kiely: U-552

At Sea 13 February 1941
U-37, U-46, U-48, U-52, U-69, U-73, U-93, U-94, U-96, U-101, U-103, U-107, U-123.
13 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
Northern Waters
CLA CAIRO departed Scapa Flow for Greenock on completion of work up. CLA CURACOA departed Scapa Flow to provide cover for convoy WN.83. Later that evening, the ship transferred to convoy EN.71. In Pentland Firth on the 14th, CURACOA left convoy EN.71. While transferring to convoy WN.84, damage was caused by heavy seas and she returned to Scapa Flow, arriving thatr afternoon. CA NORFOLK arrived at Scapa Flow after duty in the Sth Atlantic.

West Coast
Convoy OB.286 departed Liverpool, escorted by destroyer WOLVERINE, sloop FLEETWOOD, corvettes ARBUTUS, CAMELLIA, ERICA. DD HARVESTER joined on the 15th. The convoy was dispersed on the 17th.

DD ANTHONY was damaged by splinters from a near miss of a LW bomber at Glasgow. The destroyer spent no time out of service from this damage, but did begin refitting at Glasgow.

ASW trawler RUBENS (RN 320 grt) was sunk by the LW off the UK West Coast. The trawler had separated from convoy OG.52 as a result of a misunderstood signal. All hands were lost

Channel
DD RIPLEY was damaged in a collision with DD BURWELL and ASW trawler NOTRE DAME DE FRANCE at Devonport. The DD was repaired at Devonport completing on 3 March.

British steamer WESTCLIFFE HALL was damaged by the LW 2 miles 10° from Whitby High Light. She arrived in the Tees with damaged steering gear.

British steamer CAPE RODNEY was damaged by the LW off Girdleness.

Med/Biscay
CL GLOUCESTER departed Alexandria for Port Said to fit damaged cruiser LIVERPOOL's DCT.
The CL returned to Alexandria on the 15th with the unit in place.

Nth Atlantic
HX.109 departed Halifax, escort AMC AUSONIA, DD ANNAPOLIS, PV OTTER. The DD and PV were detached on the 14th. On 26 February, DDs BURNHAM, DOUGLAS, MALCOLM, corvettes CLARKIA, MALLOW, PETUNA, ASW trawler NORTHERN SPRAY joined the escort. The trawler was detached later that day. On the 2nd, DD DOUGLAS was detached, DDs BURNHAM and MALCOLM and corvettes CLARKIA and PETUNA were detached. Corvette MALLOW was detached when the convoy arrived at Liverpool on 4 March.

Red Sea/Indian Ocean

British operation COMPOSITION.

A/C from CV FORMIDABLE raided Massawa in IEA. Steamer MONCALIERI (FI 5723 grt) was damaged by the bombing and later scuttled. Demonstrating that the Italians still had some considerable powers of resistance, A/Sub Lt (A) J. H. Jefford, Sub Lt (A) C. P. Simpson, Leading Airman F. H. Shiel of 826 Sqn and A/Sub Lt (A) D. M. R. Wynne-Roberts RNVR, P/T/A/Sub Lt (A) M. G. C. Keeley RNVR, Leading Airman W. M. Brown of 829 Sqn were shot down and made pows. They were liberated when Massawa fell to British forces in April.

Malta
AIR RAIDS DAWN 13 FEBRUARY TO DAWN 14 FEBRUARY 1941
Weather Fine and clear.
1508-1522 hrs Air raid alert for a single JU 88 bomber accompanied by six ME 109 fighters which approach the Island from the north on recon at 22000 feet. Hurricane fighters are scrambled but on sight of them the ME 109s turn away and fly off. AA guns open fire, hitting the JU 88 which is last seen losing height with smoke pouring from one engine. No bombs are dropped on the Island.
1915-1932 hrs; 1942-2001 hrs; 2200-2235 hrs; 2331-2325 hrs; 2340-0040 hrs Air raid alerts for a series of nuisance raids over the Island. Hurricane fighters are airborne in turn throughout. In the first raid bombs are dropped between Mosta and Naxxar. In the second, from Rinella to Della Grazia and one enemy bomber is damaged by a Hurricane. In the third, raiders cross the coast over Dingli; bombs are dropped to the west of Ta Qali aerodrome; three fall on B block of Imtarfa Hospital, killing three patients, seriously wounding six and slightly wounding another six. The third attack approaches from the south and drops bombs in the sea off Fort Leonardo. In the fourth, bombs are dropped on the Grand Harbour area. Searchlights pick up a single bomber heading away over the north coast. During the raids bombs are also dropped on Pembroke and on Luqa aerodrome, seriously damaging one Wellington and slightly damaging one Whitley.

OPERATIONS REPORTS THURSDAY 13 FEBRUARY 1941
ROYAL NAVY Swordfish 830 Squadron Fleet Air Arm attacked and believed sank a merchant convoy heading for Libya.
AIR HQ Arrivals 2 Sunderlands. Sunderland patrolled western Ionian Sea. 69 Squadron Maryland photoreconnaissance Comiso and Gela aerodromes: Comiso eight JU 88s of which one burned out, 11 HE 111s, one SM 79, plus 16 unidentified fighters; Gela seven bombers, nine fighters unidentified but with dark camouflage.
KALAFRANA One Sunderland arrived from Middle East en route for UK. One Sunderland 230 Squadron arrived from Middle East with passengers.
LUQA 69 Squadron One Maryland photoreconnaissance Gela and Comiso.

 

[parsifal]

14 February 1941
Known Reinforcements
Neutral
Benson Class DD USS GRAYSON (DD 435)
(Source: http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/0543505.jpg )

Photo of the GRAYSON dated 17 April 1941

Allied
Harbour Defence Motor Launch HDML 1007
[NO IMAGE]

Losses
U107 sank steamer BELCREST (UK 4517 grt), which was straggling behind convoy SC.21, in 54N, 21W. At 2257 hrs the unescorted BELCREST , a straggler from SC21 since 11 February, was hit on the port side by two torpedoes from U107 about 300 miles west of Ireland. The torpedoes struck the bow and just aft of amidships and caused the ship to break in two and sink within 90 seconds. The master, 35 crew members and one gunner were lost.

MTB.41 (RN 40 grt) was sunk on a mine in the Nth Sea. 3 crew were lost. There are no other details on this loss.

Steamer ELISABETH MARIE (UK 616 grt) was sunk by the LW in 54-58N, 12-30W. One crewman was lost on the steamer. RCN DD OTTAWA rescued the survivors.

RM submarine BIANCHI sank Steamer ALNMOOR ( UK 6573 grt) . There are at present no further details for this attack Other sources claim this cargp vessel was sunk by U-123, but new research claimed by UBoat Net allocates this victory to the RM Sub. The crew of 42 were missing presumed lost. At the time of her loss she was a straggler from SC21, When on route from NEW YORK & HALIFAX for GLASGOW carrying a cargo of flour and a general cargo including steel and ferralloys she was torpedoed

U-123 sank steamer HOLYSTONE (UK 5462 grt) in the Nth Atlantic. There were no survivors. There is some confusion as to who sank this boat and when. Some sources claim the U-101 on the 14th, others the BIANCHI whilst Uboat net credits it to U-123. Uboat net bases its claim on new research.

At 0038 hrs on 15 February 1941 the unescorted HOLYSTONE , dispersed from convoy OB-284 on 13 February, was hit on port side aft by one torpedo from U-123 about 500 miles SSW of Iceland. The U-boat had unsuccessfully attacked the PEVOLVER from the same dispersed convoy on 14 February and was chasing this ship when spotting the HOLYSTONE. Moehle decided to go after the bigger freighter, but then missed her with five single fired torpedoes between 2215 hrs on 14 February and 0012 hrs on 15 February. The sixth torpedo eventually struck the ship which disappeared in a very heavy explosion, presumably caused by the detonation of the magazine for the stern gun. The master, 35 crew members and four gunners were lost.

UBOATS
Arrivals
Lorient: U-93

At Sea 14 February 1941
U-37, U-46, U-48, U-52, U-69, U-73, U-94, U-96, U-101, U-103, U-107, U-123.
12 boats at sea.

OPERATIONS
Northern Waters
DD ECHO departed Scapa Flow for Loch Alsh to act as additional escort for operation SN.68, and arrived the next day.

West Coast
ML TEVIOTBANK departed Immingham, escort DD WHITSHED. She was damaged by two near misses from LW A/C off Flamborough Head. The ML was repaired in the Humber completing on 8 March.

Western Approaches
DD KEPPEL at Londonderry was transferred to the Western Approaches, while DD COTTESMORE departed Londonderry for the Nore following work up.

RCN DD ST LAURENT was damaged by the near miss by the LW in the Western Approaches. The destroyer spent no time out of service. The destroyer arrived at Greenock on the 15th.

SW Approaches
British steamer MOORLANDS was damaged by the LW two miles north of Sands End Bay, off Banff. The steamer was bombed again on the 20th in Buckie Harbour.

Med/Biscay
Submarine ROVER damaged Italian tanker CESCO off Calabria in 38-45N, 17-25E.

Convoy AN.15, composed of six British and fourteen Greek ships, departed Port Said escorted by DDs GREYHOUND and RAN WATERHEN and from Alexandria escorted by DD HASTY. CLA CALCUTTA joined the convoy on the 16th, which arrived at Suda Bay on the 18th and Pireaus on the 19th.

Convoy AC.1 departed Alexandria for Benghazi escorted by anti-aircraft cruiser COVENTRY, minesweeping corvettes SALVIA and GLOXINIA, minesweeping whalers SOUTHERN ISLE and SOUTHERN MAID. Two steamers were diverted to Tobruk.

The other two steamers, British PALERMO and Belgian ESCAUT, of the convoy arrived at Benghazi on the 18th.

A Convoy of a small store ship and Belgian petrol carrier ESCAUT for Benghazi departed Alexandria. Monitor TERROR and CLA COVENTRY accompanied this convoy. Monitor TERROR arrived on the 17th

Nth Atlantic
DKM BCs SCHARNHORST and GNEISENAU refuelled at sea from German tankers SCHLETTSTADT (8028grt) and ESSO HAMBURG (9847grt).

Central Atlantic
Convoy SLG.1A of troopships KENYA and SOBIESKI departed Gibraltar escorted by CL DUNEDIN and DDs FORESIGHT and FORTUNE. The two F class destroyers were detached on the 16th. DDs WISHART and VIDETTE departed Gibraltar at the same time and covered in the local approaches before proceeding south to Freetown.

On the 20th, ORP DD GARLAND and PIORUN RN DD HESPERUS, HURRICANE, LEGION, joined the convoy, and arrived at the Clyde on the 22nd.

Red Sea/Indian Ocean
Kismayu, Italian East Africa, was captured by the British.

British Force T for these operations was composed of CAs SHROPSHIRE and HAWKINS, CVL HERMES, CLs CERES and CAPETOWN, and DD KANDAHAR.

Malta
AIR RAIDS DAWN 14 FEBRUARY TO DAWN 15 FEBRUARY 1941
Weather Dull at first, clear later.
1426-1513 hrs Air raid alert; raid does not materialise.
2040 hrs Air raid alert for the first of three air raid alerts in which a total of ten enemy aircraft, believed to be JU 88 bombers, head towards the Island in close succession under clear night skies. They approach the coast at 10000 feet and then glide along it at heights varying between 300 and 2000 feet, dropping bombs, parachute mines and flares.
Bombs are dropped near Camerata, destroying the Elementary School, then two mines are dropped in the Dockyard area. One mine is dropped in Grand Harbour near Ricasoli and another a quarter of a mile off the coast. Bombs are dropped on Grand Harbour, St Elmo, Fort Leonardo, the Dockyard and Tigne areas, as well as in St Thomas' Bay. Five civilians are killed and 20 injured; one serviceman is slightly injured at Tigne Barracks.
2150 hrs One mine lands on lower Merchants Street in Valletta damaging the Model School and five houses and badly damaging the billet of B Company, 4th Bn The Buffs. One man is cut by broken glass, the others are slightly shaken. Two mines land in Senglea, destroying 25 houses badly damaging 30; 150 more have windows and doors blown in but are still habitable. Malta fighters are airborne through the raids; no interceptions. An inspection later confirms that mines have been laid in the sea off Fort St Elmo.
One Fulmar is despatched to patrol the southern coast of Sicily with the aim of attacking aircraft returning from the raids: no results.
2340 hrs All clear.
0014-0036 hrs Air raid alert for a single enemy aircraft which crosses over Luqa aerodrome. Searchlights locate the plane, anti aircraft guns engage and the raider turns away without dropping any bombs.
0530-0600 hrs Air raid alert; raid does not materialise.

 

[Njaco]

February 13 Thursday

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Two German submarines attacked Allied convoy HX-106 225 miles south of Iceland. U-96 sank British tanker "Clea" at 1508 hours, killing the entire crew of 59. U-103 stopped British tanker "Arthur F. Corwin" by two torpedoes, allowing U-96 to sink her at 1950 hours, killing the entire crew of 46.

A German Fw 200 aircraft sank British antisubmarine trawler HMT "Rubens" 275 miles southwest of Ireland, killing the entire crew of 21.

MEDITERRANEAN: British carrier HMS "Formidable" launched 14 Albacore aircraft against Massawa, Italian East Africa, sinking Italian ship "Moncalieri" and damaging others. Two Albacore aircraft were shot down with six crew members taken prisoner.

Greek I and II Corps organized into Epirus Army while Western Macedonia Army continues to control units at the northern end of the front.

WESTERN FRONT: German authorities ordered all gentiles to leave Amsterdam's Jewish Quarter.

Petain and Franco confer at Montpelier.

UNITED KINGDOM: The British minister to Sofia said in a statement that;

"If the Germans occupy Bulgaria and make it a base against our ally, obviously we shall have to break off relations with Bulgaria and take whatever measures the situation requires."

Heavy Luftwaffe night raid against London.

GERMANY: Italian Naval Chief of Staff, Admiral Riccardi, confers with German Naval Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Raeder.

NORTH AFRICA: The Battle of Keren: All efforts to break through to Keren had thus been unsuccessful. The Italians had fought stubbornly and aided by the natural strength of their positions, had held out. The British still held Cameron Ridge though they had lost Brig's Peak and other features to Italian counter-attacks. After the failure of these efforts it was clear that any further assault on Keren would be a major operation. So preparations for the next attack were planned and undertaken. It was decided to withdraw Gazelle Force and the 5th Indian Infantry Brigade during the night of 13/14 February from the Acqua Gap area. Early in the morning, the 29th Indian Infantry Brigade left in mechanical transport for Barentu. At 1900 hours the Italians opened heavy artillery fire and it was thought that they were probably going to launch a counter-attack. But no counter-attack materialised and the fire died down an hour later.

Gold Coast 24th Infantry Brigade captures Bulo Erillo.

.

 

[Njaco]

February 14 Friday

UNITED KINGDOM: During the night, the pilot of a He 111 becomes very disoriented. He lands at an airfield and as he taxis up to the control tower he realizes he is at an RAF airfield in eastern England. Quickly taking off again, he performs the same feat at several other British airfields before disappearing into the night.

General Percy Hobart recalled to active duty and appointed General Officer Commanding, 11th Armored Division.

NORTH AFRICA: The newly arrived German forces led by Lieutenant-General Erwin Rommel, are supplemented with Bf 110s of III./ZG 26. This is in addition to a few Ju 87 Stukas, Hs 123 recon planes and Fieseler Storches. Rommel begins planning an attack against the British to relieve the Italians. The second convoy of German troops arrived at Tripoli, Libya, which included the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion and the 39th Anti-Tank Battalion. Lead elements of three Italian divisions leave Tripoli, heading toward Sirte. Leading elements of the German 5th Light Division are immediately moved up to Sirte to take up defensive positions.

Italian forces withdrawing from Kismayu. The 22nd East African Brigade captured the port city of Kismayu, Italian East Africa, with gunfire support from cruisers HMS "Shropshire", HMS "Hawkins", HMS "Ceres", and HMS "Capetown" and captures fifteen Axis vessels. South African 1st Infantry Brigade captures Gobwen, but Italian troops from Kismayu have already crossed the Juba River.

The 14th Demi-Brigade de marche de la Légion Étrangère under the command of Colonel Raoul Magrin-Vernerey landed unopposed at Port Sudan, Sudan.

The Battle of Keren: The withdrawal of the 5th Indian Infantry Brigade and Gazelle Force was completed by 0100 hours on 14 February without any loss. Both concentrated in the area of kilometre 110. At 1500 hours Cubcol made contact with the Italians two miles north of Cam Ceua. The road was heavily mined and Cubcol was held up. South African 2nd Infantry Brigade and 5th Infantry Brigade begin advancing on Mega overnight while Indian 7th Infantry Brigade enters Mersa Dersa on the Red Sea coast.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-101 sank British ship "Holystone" 400 miles west of Ireland at 2257 hours, killing 40.

Italian submarine "Bianchi" sank British ship "Belcrest" west of Ireland.

British motor torpedo boat MTB.41 hit a mine and sank in the North Sea, killing 8.

German raider "Thor" replenished by supply ships "Eurofeld" and "Alsterufer".

GERMANY: Hitler pressured Yugoslavia to join the Tripartite Pact. Hitler met with the Yugloslavian Prime Minister Dragiša Cvetković at the Berghof, but was unable to convince Cvetković to sign on to the Tripartite Pact. They still refuse to commit their country, in the hope that Hitler will soon be preoccupied with relations with the Soviet Union and that they can get aid from Britain and the USA. US President Roosevelt sends a message to Prince Paul of Yugoslavia warning against cooperation with the Axis.

RAF Bomber Command sends 44 aircraft to attack Gelsenkirchen oil plants and 44 aircraft to attack Homberg oil plants overnight.

ASIA: Food transport ship Irako was launched at the Kawasaki Kobe Shipyard, Japan.

NORTH AMERICA: The new Japanese ambassador to the United States, Kichisaburo Nomura presented his credentials to Franklin Roosevelt at the White House, Washington DC, United States. The president told the ambassador that "there are developments in the relations between the United States and Japan which cause concern," and Nomura replied that he would do all he could to establish better understandings between the two nations.

SOUTH PACIFIC: The rear echelon of the US Marine Corps 3rd Defense Battalion arrived at Midway.

The Australian Advisory War Council makes a press statement to inform the public of the country's poor defence situation.

Singapore's leader Brooke-Popham meets with the Australian War Cabinet. He says that Singapore is designed to withstand an attack for six to nine months, and a landward attack is not likely.

EASTERN EUROPE: RAF aircraft conducts first air drop of supplies to Polish underground forces.

MEDITERRANEAN: Greek Epirus Army and Italian 11th Army heavily engaged west of Klisura.

INDIAN OCEAN: German armed merchant cruiser "Atlantis", with a fleet of two prize ships and one supply ship, made rendezvous with German cruiser "Admiral Scheer". The ships transferred supplies amongst each other while prize ship tanker "Ketty Brøvig" refueled "Admiral Scheer".

.

 

[parsifal]

15 February 1941
Known Reinforcements
Axis
Type VIIC U-78
[NO IMAGE]
Used as a training boat and a school boat for the entire war

Type 1935 MSW M252
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

UBOATS
Arrivals
Helgoland U-552

Departures
Wilhelmshaven U-108

At Sea 15 February 1941
U-37, U-46, U-48, U-52, U-69, U-73, U-94, U-96, U-101, U-103, U-107, U-108, U-123.
13 boats at sea.

OPERATIONS
Baltic/Norwegian Coast
Sub CACHALOT laid 50 mines off Norway in minefield FD.30. She also made an unsuccessful torpedo attack at Fro Havet.

North Sea
Steamer STOCK FORCE was damaged by the LW near Outer Dowsing Float, Humber.

Northern Waters
DDs INTREPID, IMPULSIVE, ICARUS of DesFlot 20 departed Scapa Flow for Plymouth, and arrived on the 18th.

The 1st Minelaying Squadron of MLs SOUTHERN PRINCE, PORT QUEBEC, AGAMEMNON departed Loch Alsh at 1815 to lay minefields SN.7B and SN.68 A, escorted by CL AURORA and DDs BRIGHTON, LANCASTER, CHARLESTOWN, and ECHO. They were covered by CLs EDINBURGH (which departed Scapa Flow on the 15th) and NIGERIA (which had departed Reykjavik after refuelling on the 14th). The minefield was laid on the 17th, and the ships returned to harbour on the 18th; EDINBURGH and NIGERIA at 1617 and AURORA at 1914.

West Coast
Convoy OG.53 departed Liverpool escort DDs LEAMINGTON, SABRE, SCIMITAR, sloops EGRET and FOLKESTONE, corvettes ANEMONE, DELPHINIUM, DIANELLA, GLADIOLUS, VERBENA, and ASW trawlers NORTHERN GEM, NORTHERN WAVE, ST KENAN, WELLARD. CL ARETHUSA departed Scapa Flow on the 18th, and joined the convoy on the 21st and thereon accompanied it to Gibraltar. SCIMITAR was detached on the 19th, SABRE on the 20th, LEAMINGTON, EGRET, NEMONE, DIANELLA, GLADIOLUS, NORTHERN GEM and NORTHERN WAVE on the 22nd, and VERBENA on the 24th. VERBENA arrived at Gibraltar on the 28th after losing touch with the convoy and temporarily joined DesFlot 13. She arrived at Gibraltar on 1 March, escorted by ARETHUSA, FOLKESTONE, and DELPHINIUM.

Med/Biscay
DDs HEREWARD and DECOY arrived at Alexandria from Operation SHELFORD.

DDs JERVIS, JAGUAR, JANUS, MOHAWK patrolled in the Kithera Straits during the night of 15/16 February.

Monitor TERROR departed Derna for Benghazi, escorted by RAN DDs STUART, VOYAGER, and VAMPIRE.

Central Atlantic
DKM CA ADMIRAL HIPPER arrived in Brest after sinking 8 ships of 34,042grt. DDs KELLY, KIPLING, KASHMIR, JACKAL had departed Plymouth to attempt an interception of her, but no contact was made. The CA was sent to Germany through the Channel in March to refit her turbines.

Sth Atlantic
Convoy WS.5B with 9 troopships departed Durban escorted by RAN CA AUSTRALIA and CL EMERALD. On the 21st, CA HAWKINS joined the convoy. EMERALD and four transports were detached to Mombasa.

DKM AO NORDMARK replenished DKM Disguised Raider PINGUIN at sea.

Malta
AIR RAIDS DAWN 17 FEBRUARY TO DAWN 18 FEBRUARY 1941

Weather Dry, with poor visibility; wind rising towards evening.

1125-1150 hrs Air raid alert for enemy aircraft approaching the Island; raid does not materialise.

OPERATIONS REPORTS MONDAY 17 FEBRUARY 1941

ROYAL NAVY Drifter Ploughboy with a skid sweep and by firing a Lewis gun into the water detonated one mine off the breakwater.

 

[Njaco]

February 15 Saturday

WESTERN FRONT: German cruiser "Admiral Hipper" arrived at Brest, France, after a short but successful cruise that sank 8 Allied ships totalling 34,000 tons, despite efforts to intercept her by British destroyers HMS "Kelly", "Kipling", "Kashmir" and "Jackal".

RAF Bomber Command sends 43 aircraft to attack Boulogne overnight.

UNITED KINGDOM: The United Kingdom broke off diplomatic relations with Romania. Britain announced that beginning the next day it would consider Romania to be "territory under enemy occupation" and would regard the country as an "enemy destination for contraband purposes."

German aircraft raided a Northumberland mining district which embraced Blyth, Tynemouth, Wallsend, Newsham, and the Bedlington area. 130 enemy aircraft were engaged in the action on the coast from Hull to Berwick. Tynemouth suffered severely, and at the last named pit village, blocks of houses were demolished. In Blyth shopping centre many shop windows were shattered and at Tynemouth hundreds of people had to evacuate their homes because of delayed action bombs. HEs and PMs caused damage at Sunderland, Hawthorn, Seaham, Chester le Street, Blyth, Bedlington, Ashington, Seaton Delaval, Newbiggin, Cresswell, Lynemouth, where a woman died, and South Shields, where two women and a man died. Elsewhere many IBs were dropped but, thanks to the volunteer firewatchers, the few fires that were started, were soon put out. This night will be long remembered in South Shields. The port wing of a Heinkel He 111P from 6./KG 4 (5J+GP) struck a balloon cable situated at the North Foreshore, South Shields. It dived and crashed into Bent's Park, South Shields at 0035 hours. On impact, the wreckage caught fire. 25 minutes later a mine that the aircraft had been carrying exploded, killing Auxiliary Firemen Purvis, Renwick and Wharton, and a policeman, PC Lamb. Four of the plane's crew were already dead, a fifth, believed to be the pilot Oberfw W. Beetz, bailed out but was electrocuted by falling onto live trolley bus wires. Windows were broken as far away as Tynemouth and North Shields. Other enemy aircraft appeared to use the burning wreckage as a target marker, so that within minutes further attacks took place. Three people were killed in Brodrick Street and several injured nearby.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-123 sank British ship "Alnmoor" 600 miles west of Ireland at 0038 hours, killing the entire crew of 55.

German raider "Pinguin" along with captured Norwegian whaling vessels rendezvous with supply ship "Nordmark" and prize ship "Duquesa".

NORTH AFRICA: British General Platt suspended the piecemeal attacks on Italian positions at Dongolaas Gorge near Keren, Eritrea, Italian East Africa. Instead, he began to plan for a larger offensive.

British and German troops engaged each other in North Africa for the first time in a skirmish near Sirte.

NORTH AMERICA: An advance echelon of the US Marine Corps 1st Defense Battalion departed San Diego, California, United States aboard USS "Enterprise" for Johnston Island and Palmyra Atoll via Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii.

The US Congress approved the construction of a new base for the US Marine Corps' Fleet Marine Force at New River, North Carolina, United States.

Roosevelt sends James B. Conant, President of Harvard University, to Britain to exchange views on war technology.

MEDITERRANEAN: Italy forced the United States to close consulates in Naples and Palermo.

Greek Epirus Army and Italian 11th Army heavily engaged west of Klisura.

GERMANY: RAF Bomber Command sends 73 aircraft to attack Sterkrade oil plant and 70 aircraft to attack Homberg oil plant overnight.

EASTERN EUROPE: RAF aircraft, based in Britain, drop leaflets over Cracow and Katowice in southern Poland during the night.

.