This Day in the War in Europe: The Beginning

May 15 Thursday
ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-105 sank British ship "Benvenue" 400 miles off Sierra Leone, British West Africa at 2029 hours; 2 were killed, 55 survived and rescued by British liner "Empire Trader". To the north, 430 miles west of Brest, France, German submarine U-43 sank French sail "Notre Dame du Châtelet"; 28 were killed, 10 survived.

EASTERN EUROPE: In Russia a document from military planners was issued recommending a short strike against any assembling forces threatening Soviet territory.

Stalin informed by Richard Sorge in Tokyo that Hitler will invade the Soviet Union on 21 or 22 June.

GERMANY: Dr. Sigmund Rascher requested Heinrich Himmler via a letter requesting concentration camp prisoners to be placed in his disposal to conduct experiments in decompression chambers which simulated high altitude environments.

RAF aircraft conducted raids on Berlin, Cuxhaven, and Hannover in Germany. RAF Bomber Command sends 101 aircraft to attack Hannover and 14 aircraft to attack Berlin.

The Dame of Sark Sibyl Mary Hathaway was reported to be transferred to a German concentration camp as reprisal for civil disobedience.

Adolf Hitler addresses the Reichstag in the Kroll Opera House in Berlin, Germany. Part of his address states;

"Germany can no longer be subjugated. She is so strong that no combination of Powers could ever successfully prevail against her.".

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MEDITERRANEAN: There were powerful German air attacks on the island of Crete. These are in preparation for the coming landing and designed to subdue the garrison, hopefully to compel the RAF to withdraw its few aircraft from Crete. This will continue until the launch of the Operation. German Luftwaffe aircraft attacked Salamis Navy Yard at Suda Bay, Crete, sinking Greek destroyer "Leon".

At midnight, British cruisers HMS "Gloucester" and HMS "Fiji" completed the transfer of the 2nd Battalion Leicester Regiment from Alexandria, Egypt to Heraklion.

MIDDLE EAST: An Iraqi Bristol Blenheim bombs and strafes Kingcol, British column advancing from Rutbah to Habbaniya (no damage or casualties). British Fairey Swordfish, from aircraft carrier HMS "Hermes" in the Indian Ocean, bomb the Al Qushla (Ottoman Barracks) in the Iraqi city of Samawah. 1 Swordfish is shot down but Lieutenant James Dundas (Fleet Air Arm air-sea rescue) wins the DSC for rescuing the crew. The RAF has bombed Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground at three airfields in Vichy-French Syria: Damascus, Rayak, east of Beirut, and Palmyra. General Dentz, Petain's High Commissioner in Syria, protested last night at the raids, which were a response to German efforts to ship aircraft, tanks, and other arms to Iraq to bolster Rashid Ali, the anti-British politician who seized power in Iraq last month.

NORTH AFRICA: Operation Brevity: General Archibald Wavell—the commander-in-chief of the British Middle East Command—conceived Operation Brevity as a rapid blow in the Sollum area. The key to holding the border between Libya and Egypt is Halfaya Pass, where the coastal road cuts up the steep escarpment onto the desert plateau, which is currently held by Italian and German troops under German Colonel Maximillian von Herff. Operation Brevity would be carried out by the 22nd Guards Brigade and elements of the 7th Armoured Division. Its armoured component consisted of 29 cruiser tanks of the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment (2RTR) and 24 infantry tanks of the 4th Royal Tank Regiment (4RTR). The Royal Air Force (RAF) allocated all available fighters and a small force of bombers to the operation. The main Axis opposition was Kampfgruppe von Herff, positioned on the desert plateau. It included 30–50 tanks of the 2nd Battalion 5.Panzerregiment, an Italian motorized infantry battalion of the Trento Division, and supporting arms. At 0600 hours, the three columns began their advance, supported overhead by a standing patrol of Hawker Hurricane fighters. The British forces advanced and captured Halfaya Pass and Fort Capuzzo before noon, capturing 347 Axis prisoners (mostly Italians). Concealed in hull down positions behind a ridge near the fort were 20–30 German tanks, supported by anti tank guns. These engaged A Squadron, disabling five tanks, but were forced to withdraw as the squadron pressed its attack. In the afternoon, one company of the 2nd Scots Guards probed toward Bardia, the infantry coming under heavy machine gun fire from three positions as they neared Sollum barracks. A group of Universal Carriers—commanded by Sergeant F. Riley—charged the gun positions and quickly neutralized them. On the desert flank, 2RTR advanced with the 7th Armoured Brigade group. Most of the German force had pulled back, but three tanks were located and brought under fire. One Panzer IV was disabled and the other two driven off, for the loss of one British tank. A second force of 15 German tanks was engaged by two tanks of No 2 Troop, destroying a Panzer III and forcing the remainder to withdraw. By midday on 15 May, Axis command was showing signs of confusion. It erroneously believed that the offensive involved more than 100 tanks and repeated requests were made to both the Luftwaffe and the Regia Aeronautica for a concerted effort to defeat it. Axis forces around Tobruk were redeployed east of the besieged city, to block any attempt at relief and to prevent the garrison from breaking out to meet the British advance. The Germans concentrated their riposte against the central column. Von Herff—who had been prepared to fall back—instead launched a local counter-attack toward Fort Capuzzo during the afternoon with the 2nd Battalion 5.Panzerregiment. By 1445 hours 5.Panzerregiment was reporting that it had recaptured Capuzzo, inflicting heavy casualties on the British and taking 70 prisoners. Colonel von Herff—believing the British had two divisions operating in the area—had then grown uneasy. He broke contact with the British, expecting to join up with Cramer's 8.Panzerregiment to mount a concentrated counter-attack the following morning. Colonel von Herff later praised the Bersaglieri anti-tank gunners and protecting riflemen, saying they defended Halfaya Pass;

"...with lionlike courage until the last man against stronger enemy forces. The greatest part of them died faithful to the flag."

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South African and Indian troops linked up at Triangle Hill near Amba Alagi, Abyssinia; they were also joined by Abyssinia guerrilla forces. Meanwhile, Allied shelling of the Italian fortress damaged an oil tank, causing a major oil leak into the garrison's only source of drinking water.

NORTH AMERICA: Roosevelt broadcast criticizes Vichy France for collaborating with Germany as US government seizes eleven French vessels in American ports. Roosevelt tells Vichy France to 'choose between Germany and US'.

At the chemical warfare research facility in Suffield, Alberta, Canada, metallic cadmium mixed with explosive RDX is test-fired in shells. If used against humans they would create harmless-looking smoke which would cause fibrosis of the lungs.

During a parachute training flight in a Douglas R2D-1 over Kearny Mesa in San Diego, California, United States Marine Corps Second Lieutenant Walter S. Osipoff is pulled out of the aircraft by a cargo pack being dropped overboard and is left dangling in the plane's slipstream by a tangle of static lines. Seeing Ossipoff's plight, United States Navy Lieutenant John Lowery and Aviation Chief Machinist's Mate John McCants take off from North Island in a Curtiss SOC-1 Seagull and rendezvous with the R2D. McCants grabs Ossipoff at an altitude of 3,000 feet (914 meters), but finds it impossible to untangle him and lower him into the SOC's rear cockpit until the SOC accidentally bucks upward and its propeller saws off a small part of the R2D's tail cone and cuts the static lines. Both planes return safely, and the badly injured Ossipoff eventually fully recovers. Lowery and McCants receive the Distinguished Flying Cross for the flight.

USN Patrol Squadron Fifty Two (VP-52) deploys to Naval Air Station (NAS) Argentia, Newfoundland from NAS Quonset Point, Rhode Island with ten PBY-5A Catalinas. Support is provided by the seaplane tender USS "Albemarle" (AV-5). These aircraft will fly antisubmarine warfare (ASW) patrols over the North Atlantic.

WESTERN FRONT: British losses in France and Norway were publicly announced to be 13,250 killed and 41,000 captured out of 437,000 deployed.

RAF Fighter Command conducted Rhubarb operations. RAF Bomber Command sent 20 aircraft on anti-shipping missions along coast of occupied Europe.

Admiral Darlan returned from meeting with Hitler and Ribbentrop. Vichy-French cabinet approved German concessions as well as French counter-concessions.

Near Saint-Omer on the French channel coast, a Junkers Ju 52 7U+OM was shot down by F/Lt Jerzy Jankiewicz, flying a Supermarine Spitfire II P8130, and Sgt Wacław Giermer, flying a Spitfire II P7786, from the No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron. Onboard was Generaloberst Ulrich Grauert who was killed. Generaloberst Grauert was Commander of I. Fliegerkorps and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

UNITED KINGDOM: The British attempted to keep the Nazis guessing as to what Rudolf Hess had told them by having Labour Minister Ernest Bevin say in the government's first official statement on the matter:

"I do not believe that Hitler did not know that Hess was coming to England. From my point of view Hess is a murderer. He is no man I would ever negotiate with and I don't change even for diplomatic reasons. I am not going to be deceived."

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Luftwaffe night operations by thirty-nine bombers and fourteen night fighters. They took part in minor scattered attacks which included Newcastle, Scarborough and Middlesbrough's dock installations.

Gloster's E.28/39 prototype jet fighter took its first flight at RAF Cranwell. The test pilot was Lieutenant Gerry Sayer who flew the aircraft for 17 minutes. This was not the first jet-powered aircraft to fly, however; that honor fell to the German-built Heinkel He 178 in August 1939. The Gloster is powered by a single 860-lb thrust Whittle W. 1 turbojet engine. Afterwards Wing-Cdr frank Whittle, Britain's jet engine pioneer, said:

"I was very tense, not so much because of any fears about the engine, but because this was a machine making its first flight."

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Afterwards there was an impromptu celebration in the officers' mess. Further test flights will now be made.

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May 16 Friday
ATLANTIC OCEAN: 10 miles off Aberdeen, Scotland, German bombers sank British troopship SS "Archangel" carrying troops back from the Orkneys (40 crew and 12 troops killed, 35 crew and 400 troops rescued by destroyer HMS "Blankney").

German submarine U-105 attacked British ship "Rodney Star" 400 miles west of Sierra Leone, British West Africa between 0548 and 0930 hours, hitting her with torpedoes and gunfire. "Rodney Star" sank and the entire crew of 83 survived.

ASIA: Japanese aircraft conduct major attack against Chungking.

EASTERN EUROPE: Vsevolod Merkulov reported to Joseph Stalin regarding the final deportation plan for the Baltic States, which targeted political leaders, land owners, officers, and others, plus their families. He recommended 8-year imprisonment in labor camps for them, and the exile to faraway lands in the Soviet Union for their families.

GERMANY: Lindemann reported that the damaged port side crane aboard "Bismarck" was repaired. Lütjens informed High Command that the ships were operational. Thereupon, Group North wired 'Marburg 5297', meaning that the task force was to pass through the Great Belt on 19 May. The date for the beginning of Operation Rheinübung was set to be 18 May.

RAF Bomber Command sends 93 aircraft to attack Köln (Cologne) and Bramsfield in Germany; at the latter target the Atlantik rubber works was damaged. The RAF attack on Cologne caused fires on both banks of the Rhine.

Karl Haushofer, a close friend of Rudolf Hess, was arrested by the Nazis.

MEDITERRANEAN: The final British reinforcements arrived on Crete, Greece. Luftwaffe bombs British anti-aircraft emplacements and RAF airfields on Crete, to weaken British air defenses in preparation for the invasion (2 Hurricanes of RAF No. 33 Squadron at Maleme are shot down). Suda Bay is also bombed, sinking several freighters and causing further damage to crippled British cruiser HMS "York".

German bombers damaged British destroyer HMS "Encounter" in drydock at Malta.

Wing Commander J. Warfield was named the commanding officer of RAF Station Takali on Malta.

MIDDLE EAST: German Bf 110 and He 111 bombers attacked RAF Habbaniyah in Iraq, surprising the British; (1 British Gloster Gladiator shot down, 1 Heinkel is damaged and ditches in the desert). Meanwhile, German aircraft strafed British reinforcements traveling eastward from Palestine. Then the aircraft of the British Fleet Air Arm raided the Iraqi airfield at Mosul and destroyed one He 111 bomber and 2 Bf 110 destroyers of the Junck force.

German vessels stranded at Bandari Shahpur were ordered to scuttle themselves in the Shatt al-Arab to block the channel and prevent British tankers from reaching refineries.

NORTH AFRICA: Operation Brevity: Rommel is instructed to concentrate the German Afrika Korps against the British at Sollum and leave Italians to guard Tobruk. Italian sappers cleared barbed wires and mines as the subsequent attack on Tobruk saw Italian troops capturing several bunkers. 'Brescia' infantry and Guastatori with flamethrowers attack the Australian 2/9th and 2/10th Battalions, forcing the Australians to abandon the S8, S9 and S10 strongpoints. Colonel von Herff wants to withdraw, believing the British force to be bigger than it really is. Rommel suspects the Allied attack is a major breakout from Egypt to relieve the besieged forces at Tobruk and orders von Herff to counterattack. German 5.Panzerregiment and 8.Panzerregiment counterattack. In the face of German reinforcements, Brigadier Gott withdraws British tanks and infantry from the desert around Sollum and Fort Capuzzo, to consolidate a hold on Halfaya Pass on the Egyptian-Libyan border. British 22nd Guards Infantry Brigade withdraws from Fort Capuzzo and Sollum and British 7th Armored Brigade withdraws from Sidi Aziz.

The Italian army in Ethiopia is seeking terms of surrender. The Italian Viceroy Duke of Aosta and his 18,000 troops had made a last stand in the arid mountains of Tigre. The defenses seemed unscaleable, but the morale of the Italians weakened. With drinking water fouled in the Italian stronghold of Amba Alagi, Abyssinia, the Duke of Aosta requested the British to send in fresh water. When the British refused, he called for a ceasefire in order to begin surrender negotiations. By this point, his forces had suffered incurring 289,000 casualties. With over-stretched defenses, and believing that the main attack would come through the Falaga Pass in the east, the Italian western defenses crumbled when attacked by Indian and British troops.

NORTH AMERICA: The first P-43 Lancer fighter delivery was made to the United States Army.

US President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared the defense of China to be vital to the United States.

General Krueger takes command of US 3rd Army.

SOUTH PACIFIC: Percival takes up appointment as General Officer Commanding, Malaya.

UNITED KINGDOM: The May Blitz: German fighter-bombers raid southeastern England. The last bombing of the "night Blitz" on British cities is carried out by 111 Luftwaffe aircraft striking Birmingham and West Midlands. Most Luftwaffe bomber formations in France and Belgium were being transferred to airfields in eastern Germany and occupied Poland. Luftwaffe night raid on Birmingham overnight with 111 aircraft effectively ended the Blitz. Mr. Percy Barnard Weller (d. 1979), a worker in an explosives plant, rescued a man from a blazing building after a blast. Unfortunately the man died. (Edward Medal).

WESTERN FRONT: Iceland severs personal union with Denmark. Government proclaims that a Regent will be elected and the union with Denmark will be abrogated.

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May 17 Saturday
ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-107 attacked Dutch tanker "Marisa" with a torpedo at midnight, killing 2; U-107 allowed the 47 survivors to abandon ship before sinking her with guns.

GERMANY: RAF Bomber Command sends 95 aircraft to attack Cologne overnight. British bombers attacked Bramsfeld, 12 kilometers northwest of Köln, Germany. The Atlantik rubber plant was hit with 2 high explosive and 44 incendiary bombs. RAF Bomber Command sends 70 aircraft to attack Kiel overnight.

Hitler ordered the arrest of Willi Messerschmitt because Rudolf Hess took off from the company airfield at Augsburg, but the aircraft chief knew nothing of his plan. Hess's aides have also been arrested. Everybody, British and German alike, remain baffled by Hess's flight to Scotland.

Hitler issued Directive No. 29, Proposed Military Government of Greece. Führer Directive x

MEDITERRANEAN: The German air attacks on the island Crete continued. These are in preparation for the coming landing and are designed to subdue the garrison and compel the RAF to withdraw its few aircraft from Crete.

During an RAF bombing attack on Athens-Tatoi airfield the one remaining Junkers G38 transport of Lufthansa the 'Generalfeldmarschal von Hindenburg' is destroyed.

In Albania, King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and Albanian Prime Minister Shefqet Vërlaci survived an assassination attempt when 19-year old Albanian nationalist Vasil Laçi fired four shots at a car they were riding in. Laçi was arrested immediately and executed ten days later.

MIDDLE EAST: Sonderkommando Junck, a special formation of German Luftwaffe fighters, bombers and transports which had been hastily painted with Iraqi markings, commenced (with a dozen Bf 110 aircraft of 4./ZG 76) air attacks on British positions, especially those at Habbaniya, Iraq. For the next ten days the Bf 110 aircraft attacked, losing several aircraft in the process. Late in the evening, Kingcol, the British mobile column from Palestine, arrives at Habbaniya late the evening. Overnight, elements of the Gurkha battalion, a company of RAF Assyrian Levies, RAF Armoured Cars towing captured Iraqi howitzers cross the River Euphrates using improvised cable ferries to advance 10 miles East on the town of Falluja.

NORTH AFRICA: Operation Brevity: German Colonel Maximilian von Herff launched a counterattack in the area near Bir Wair and Musaid after 1600 hours. British Brigadier General William Gott withdrew his troops into the Halfaya Pass, Egypt, ending his offensive operation.

Australian destroyer HMAS "Vampire" delivered fresh Australian troops to Tobruk, Libya at 0100 hours; the artillery pieces of the 2/12th Field Regiment that arrived with the destroyer were deployed on the front lines as early as 0530 hours to support a failed probing attack on the German salient. This is the first time Australian artillery supports Australian infantry at Tobruk.

Elements of Sudan Defense Force and Ethiopian troops advance eastward from Gallabat and unsuccessfully attack Italian positions at Chilga west of Gondar.

Viceroy of Italian East Africa Duke of Aosta surrendered Amba Alagi, Abyssinia to the British at 1730 hours.

NORTH AMERICA: Arthur Compton and the United States National Academy of Sciences published a report noting the success rate of developing an atomic weapon was favorable. On the same day, Vannevar Bush created the Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD).

SOUTH PACIFIC: First shipment of P-40's (31 P-40B's) arrives in the Philippines. Because no Prestone was included, these planes were unflyable.

UNITED KINGDOM: Pilot Officer Mike Kolendorski, an American serving in the British RAF, became the first No. 121 Squadron RAF member to be killed. Approximately 10,000 US citizens are fighting under the British flag. Most of them are attached to the RAF as pilots, observers and aerial gunners, or assigned to the training camps. Some US citizens have joined the ranks of General de Gaulle's Free French.

The prisoner in the Tower of London today is Rudolf Hess, brought by train from Scotland after his "peace flight" from Germany. He is kept in a room near the White Tower and spends much of his time watching guardsmen drilling. He will remain in the Tower until a Hampshire country house has been fortified for his detention.

WESTERN FRONT: RAF Bomber Command sends 14 aircraft to attack Rotterdam and 15 aircraft to attack Boulogne overnight.

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11 MAY 1941
Known Reinforcements
Allied
Flower Class Corvette FFL MIMOSA (K-11)


MMS I Class MSW HMS MMS 5
(NO IMAGE FOUND]

Losses
U-103 sank the Steamer CITY OF SHANGHAI (UK 5876 grt) off the West African Coast whilst on passage from the Tyne to Turkey via the Cape, carrying government equipment and military deck cargo. She was sailing independently, having previously been dispersed from OB-313. She a crew of 76, 8 of whom were to be lost. On 10 May 1941 the unescorted CITY OF SHANGHAI, was spotted by U-103, but the lookouts of the vessel also spotted the U-boat and tried to escape. At 0130 hours on 11 May, after a hunt of over 16 hours, the U-boat fired its last torpedo and hit the CITY OF SHANGHAI, which was then finished off with the deck gun off St. Paul Rocks. Six crew members were lost and two more died of wounds in one of the lifeboats. 28 crew members were picked up by the NL steam merchant STAD ARNHEM and landed at Freetown. The master and 17 crew members were rescued by the RICHMOND CASTLE and landed at Glasgow. 22 crew members were picked up by the Argentinian steam merchant JOSEFINA S. and landed at Pernambuco.


UBOATS
Arrivals
Bergen: U-147
Lorient: U-123, U-141

Departures
Lorient U-43

At Sea 11 May 1941
U-38, U-69, U-74, U-75, U-93, U-94, U-95, U-96, U-97, U-98, U-103, U-105, U-106, U-107, U-109, U-111, U-143, U-201, U-556, UA

21 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
North Sea
Aux petrol base ship GYPSY (UK 361 grt) was sunk by the LW at Tower Pier, London.
(NO IMAGE FOUND]

Northern Patrol
CA SUFFOLK relieved CA EXETER on Denmark Straits patrol.

Northern Waters
DDs INGLEFIELD, INTREPID, IMPULSIVE, and ESCAPADE departed Scapa Flow Hvalfjord to act as a special anti-submarine striking force. The destroyers arrived at Hvalfjord on the 13th.

DD CHURCHILL arrived at Scapa Flow escorting steamer BEN MY CHREE. After refuelling, the DD departed Scapa Flow for Hvalfjord.

West Coast
OB.321 departed Liverpool, escort DD READING and corvettes CAMPANULA, FREESIA, HIBISCUS, and PIMPERNEL. DDs VANQUISHER and WINCHELSEA, sloop LONDONDERRY, and corvettes GENTIAN and RHODODENDRON joined on the 12th. DD WINCHELSEA, sloop LONDONDERRY, and corvettes CAMPANULA, FREESIA, HIBISCUS, and PIMPERNEL were detached on the 16th. DDs MASHONA and TARTAR were with the convoy on the 16th only. The remainder of the escort was detached on the 17th when the convoy was dispersed.

Western Approaches
Steamer SOMERSET (UK 8790 grt) was in convoy SL.72, when she was attacked on 11 May 1941 by LW FW200 Kondor bomber a/c, off West-Ireland. She broke in two, the aft part sank immediately. The fore part remained afloat and was sunk by escorting HMS ALISMA. There were no casualties.


British steamer CAITHNESS was damaged by LW Kondor a/c whilst travelling with SL-72. The steamer arrived in Belfast on the 12th.

Channel
Tug DENCADE and FV SILVER LINING and Belgian trawler HERNIEUWEN IN CHRISTUS were damaged by the LW at Brixham off the southern Cornish coast.

Med/Biscay
Sub RORQUAL departed Port Said on the 5th to lay mines in the Gulf of Salonika, whilst Sub PANDORA made an unsuccessful attack on a tanker off Naples.

ANF.30 departed Alexandria escorted by RAN DDs STUART and VENDETTA. Early on the 12th, CLAs DIDO and CALCUTTA and DDs JANUS and ISIS joined the convoy. On the 14th, the convoy and its escort arrived at SudaBay.

MTB Flotilla 10 with MTB.67, MTB.68, MTB.213, MTB.214, MTB.215, MTB.216, and MTB.217 departed Alexandria for Suda Bay, refuelling at Mersa Matruh and Tobruk, en route. MTB 68 and MTB.215 broke down at Mersa Matruh and were sent back to Alexandria for overhaul. Two more were defective, but were able to arrive with the other three at Tobruk. MTB.67, MTB.213, MTB.214, MTB.216, and MTB.217 refuelled during the night of 12/13 May and sailed for SudaBay.

A German-Italian convoy departed Naples with steamers PREUSSEN, WACHTFELS, ERNESTO, GIULIA, TEMBIEN, and COL DI LANA escorted by RM DDs AVIERE, GENIERE, GRECALE, CAMICIA NERA, and DARDO.

Distant cover was given by CLs BANDE NERE, CARDONA, DUCA DEGLI ABRUZZI, and GARIBALDI and DDs ALPINO, FUCLIERE, SCIROCCO, BERSAGLIERE, MAESTRALE, DA RECCO, USODIMARE, PESSAGNO, and PANCALDO. The convoy arrived at Tripoli on the 14th.

Malta

AIR RAIDS DAWN 11 MAY TO DAWN 12 MAY 1941
Weather Fine.

0905-0915 hrs Air raid alert for two SM 79 bombers which approach the Island but do not cross the coast or drop any bombs. Two anti-aircraft gun positions engage; no claims.
0919-1005 hrs Air raid alert for six unidentified enemy aircraft which approach from the north and patrol to the east. One JU 88 bomber crosses the Island from Marsaxlokk to St Paul's Bay and is engaged by anti-aircraft guns; no claims. Hurricanes are scrambled; one chases a JU 88 out to sea and severely damages it.
1830-1850 hrs Air raid alert triggered by the return of friendly aircraft.
2032-2230 hrs Air raid alert for 19 unidentified aircraft which approach the Island and launch a bombing attack dropping bombs on Spinola, Luqa, Grand Harbour, Fleur de Lys, Clements, Ta Qali, Zeitun and St Paul's Bay. Searchlights effect two short illuminations and anti-aircraft guns engage; no claims.

0017-0128 hrs Air raid alert for 15 enemy aircraft which cross the coast at various places from the north and east in a continuous stream, dropping bombs on Luqa and Safi, Grand Harbour and Valletta, and the Tarxien area. Searchlights illuminate the raiders on two occasions.

0154-0235 hrs Air raid alert for unidentified aircraft which cross the coast at Marsaxlokk and drop bombs on Kalafrana and Luqa.
0553-0610 hrs Air raid alert; raid does not materialise.
Military casualtiesLance Bombardier Saviour Mangion, 4 Battery, 5 Coast Regiment, Royal Malta Artillery.
Civilian casualties Zeitun Dolores Degabriele, age 5; Joseph Degabriele, age 2; Bernarda Mifsud, age 33.
OPERATIONS REPORTS SUNDAY 11 MAY 1941
AIR HQArrivals3 Bombay.Departures5 Blenheim to Gibraltar.21 Squadronleft for UK.69 SquadronMaryland reconnaissance Cape Bon to Trapani. Maryland shuttle service Zante and back. Maryland patrol Greek coast.0330-1600 hrsBeaufighters standing patrol over fifth destroyer flotilla. Operations by Wellingtons and Swordfish against Tripoli.

12 MAY 1941
Known Reinforcements
Axis
Type IXC U-128

12 ships sunk, total tonnage 83,639 GRT. Sunk on 17 May 1943 in the Central Atlantic sth of Recife, Brazil, by DCs from two USN Mariner a/c (VP-74 USN/P-5 & P-6) and gunfire from the USN DDs MOFFETT & JOUETT with 7 dead and 47 survivors.

Allied
Flower Class Corvette HMCS BARRIE (K-138)


Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHICOUTIMI (K-156)


Flower class Corvette HMCS NAPANEE (K-118)


Flower Class Corvette HMS BERGOMOT (K-189)


Banff Class Sloop HMS SENNEN (Y-21)


Banff Class Sloop HMS TOTLAND (Y-88)


Banff Class Sloop HMS WALNEY (Y-04)


Thornycroft 75' RNorN MTB-50


Losses
None

UBOATS
Departures
Bergen: U-138

At Sea 12 May 1941
U-38, U-69, U-74, U-93, U-94, U-95, U-96, U-97, U-98, U-103, U-105, U-106, U-107, U-109, U-111, U-138, U-143, U-201, U-556, UA

21 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
North Sea
Steamer FOWBERRY TOWER (UK 4484 grt) was sunk by the LW one mile WSW of Humber Light Vessel.On the 12th May 1941 the ship had just left Hull on passage for the USA when attacked and sunk. The attack was at night, just outside the Humber estuary. She was in ballast and carrying two passengers and a crew of 48, with six of her crew being lost. It was a moonlit night and the LW could easily pick up coal burning ships from their smoke. The SS ROYSTON met the same fate eight days earlier on the 4th May.


Steamer RICHARD DE LARRINGA (UK 5358 grt) was sunk by the LW four cables north of 20R Buoy, Tyne. No lives were lost on the steamer. She was towed until her back broke at Herd Sands.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Northern Patrol
CA EXETER departed Hvalfjord after being relieved in the Denmark Strait by CA SUFFOLK. CA NORFOLK departed Scapa Flow on the 17th to reinforce the patrol.

Northern Waters
RIN sloop SUTLEJ arrived at Scapa Flow at 0800 to work up. DD BULLDOG arrived at Scapa Flow at 1800 to refuel. DD BRIGHTON arrived at Scapa Flow from Loch Alsh to carry out underwater repairs in dock.

A Walrus aircraft carrying Rear Admiral, DDs Home Fleet, made a forced landing in the sea ten miles NW of Dunnet Head while on passage to Scapa Flow. The passengers and crew of the a/ct were taken aboard British trawler ST OLA. The aircraft was salved by DDs BLANKNEY and BROCKLESBY which departed Scapa Flow that evening. The DDs arrived back with the aircraft at 2330.

West Coast
OB.322 departed Liverpool, escort DDs RAMSEY and WALKER. On the 13th, DD CALDWELL, sloop ENCHANTRESS, corvettes BLUEBELL, CANDYTUFT, HONEYSUCKLE, HYDRANGEA, and WALLFLOWER, MSW SALAMANDER, and ASW trawlers KING SOL, NORTHERN SUN, and NORTHERN WAVE joined. Corvette ARABIS joined on the 14th. DDs CALDWELL, RAMSEY, and WALKER, sloop ENCHANTRESS, corvettes BLUEBELL, CANDYTUFT, HONEYSUCKLE, HYDRANGEA, and WALLFLOWER, and trawler KING SOL were detached on the 18th. DD BURNHAM, BURWELL, and SCIMITAR and corvettes HELIOTROPE and MALLOW joined on the 20th. The escort was detached when the convoy dispersed on the 20th.

Western Approaches
DD RIPLEY, which departed Londonderry on the 10th, was damaged by the near miss from a LW a/c. The DD spent no time out of service and returned to Londonderry on the 16th after her duties.

SW Approaches
CVL FURIOUS, CA LONDON, dummy BB ANSON (old battleship CENTURION), and DDs TARTAR, MASHONA, LEGION, and BRILLIANT departed the Clyde at 2030. The carrier was en route to Gibraltar. DDs TARTAR and MASHONA were detached at daylight on the 15th to act as an ASW striking force for convoy OB.321 until noon on the 16th. The DDs, less DD BRILLIANT, returned to the Clyde on the 18th. FURIOUS, LONDON, dummy BB ANSON, and r BRILLIANT arrived at Gibraltar on the 18th.

Channel
CA BERWICK departed Spithead escort DDs WIVERN, WILD SWAN, BERKELEY, and BLENCATHRA. WIVERN and WILD SWAN escorted the cruiser only until Smalls Light Vessel and then returned to Portsmouth. The two HUNTS escorted the cruiser until dark on the 13th when they were relieved by RAN DD NESTOR off Dunnet Head. The CA arrived at Rosyth on the 14th.

13 MAY 1941
Known Reinforcements
Allied
L Class DD HMS LANCE (G-87)


Black Swan Class Sloop RIN JUMNA (U-21)


Flower Class Corvette HMS CLOVER (K-134)


Dance Class ASW Trawler HMS VALSE (T-151)
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Losses
U-105 sank Steamer BENVRACKIE (UK 6434 grt) in the Central Atlantic mid way between the West African and Brazilian Coasts. She was on passage from London to Beira (in Mozambique) via Capetown carrying general cargo, silver and a gypsy moth aircraft. A crew of 83 was embarked of which 28 were to lose their lives in the attack. At 0748 hrs the BENVRACKIE (Master William Edward Rawlings Eyton-Jones), dispersed from convoy OB-312, was hit aft by two G7e torpedoes fired byU-105 and sank after 4 minutes about 700 miles SW of Freetown. On 9 May, the ship had picked up 25 survivors from the LASSELL, which had been sunk by U-107 on 30 April. U-105 had spotted the zigzagging ship in the evening on 11 May, missed with one G7a and one G7e torpedo at 2030 and 2054 hrs on 12 May and finally sank her after a chase of 34 hours. 13 crew members and 15 survivors were lost. The survivors were questioned by the Germans. The master, 40 crew members, four gunners and ten survivors were rescued after 13 days in lifeboats by the British hospital ship OXFORDSHIRE and landed at Freetown.
The master William Edward Rawlings Eyton-Jones was awarded the Lloyds War Medal for bravery at sea.


U-111 sank steamer SOMERSBY (UK 5170 grt) in the Nth Atlantic. The ship was a straggler from SC-30 with a crew of 43. She was on passage from Halifax to Hull via the West Coast, carrying a cargo of grain when lost. At 1141 hrs the SOMERSBY, was hit amidships by one of two torpedoes fired by U-111 SW of Reykjavik. The ship capsized and sank after being hit in the bow by a coup de grace at 1246 hrs. The master, 38 crew members and four gunners were picked up by the Greek steam merchant MARIKA PROTOPAPA and landed at Loch Ewe.


U-98 sank AMC HMS SALOPIAN (RN 10549 grt). At 0400 hrs, the AMC was spotted by U-98 while escorting the convoy SC-30 about 400 miles SE of Cape Farewell and missed with a first spread of two torpedoes because the ship zigzagged every 7 to 12 mins. The next two torpedoes at 0619 and 0622 hrs also missed and the skipper of U-98 took the considerable risk to reload two bow tubes at the surface while running at high speed to search the vessel in the fog. At 0720 hours, the AMC was again sighted and five minutes later both reloaded bow torpedoes were fired like MTB style on the surface. The torpedoes hit amidships and in the bow but the U-boat had to dive because the ship opened fire. At 0800 and 0805 hrs, two torpedoes were fired that both hit in the engine room, but the ship remained afloat. The U-boat then reloaded the tubes and observed how more than ten boats were launched and a motor boat tried to cover the ship by laying a smoke screen. At 1043 hrs, a coup de grace was fired that struck amidships and caused the ship to break in two and sink in two minutes. Early on 14 May, HMS INGLEFIELD, HMS INTREPID, HMS IMPULSIVE and HMS ESCAPADE arrived in the area and unsuccessfully searched for the U-boat. The commander and 277 officers and ratings were picked up by HMS IMPULSIVE and taken to Hvalfjord. One officer and two ratings were lost.


UBOATS
Arrivals
Bergen : U-143
St Nazaire: U-95

Departures
Bergen: U-43
Kiel: U-66, U-587

At Sea 13 May 1941
U-38, U-43, U-66, U-69, U-74, U-93, U-94, U-96, U-97, U-98, U-103, U-105, U-106, U-107, U-109, U-111, U-138, U-201, U-556, U-557, UA

21 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
North Sea
MSW FRANKLIN was damaged by the LW near misses in the Nth Sea. The MSW spent no time out of service. British steamer LOTTINGE was damaged by the LW 3 miles off the mouth of the Tyne. The steamer returned to the Tyne

Northern Waters
DDs ELECTRA, ANTHONY, and ANTELOPE departed Scapa Flow at 2215 for Loch Alsh. The DDs returned the next day..

West Coast
Hopper barge F (UK 496 grt) was sunk on a mine 350 yds sth of Dingle Oil Jetty (in Liverpool). 5 of an 11 man crew were lost.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Trawler FORT RONA (UK 203 grt) was sunk by the LW 15 miles WSW of Bardsey Island. (Wales) The entire crew were rescued.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Med/Biscay
FV NUEVA ELISA (Sp 55 grt (est)) was sunk on a mine in the Bay of Biscay.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

CLs ORION and AJAX and RAN CL PERTH with DDs JUNO, KANDAHAR, and KINGSTON departed Alexandria in Operation MD.8 to bombard El Fateyah airdrome near Derna. The bombardment, scheduled for the night of 13/14 May was not carried out as a position could not be fixed accurately. Gunboat GNAT bombarded the Gazala airdrome during the night of 13/14 May. MTB Depot ship trawler VULCAN arrived at Suez to join the Med Flt.

Tug CORNFLOWER (UK 150 grt (est)) was sunk by German bombing at Mersa, Malta.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Central Atlantic
Steamer BOURBONNAIS (Vichy4484 grt), which had departed Dakar without escort for Tamative on the 12th, was seized by AMC BULOLO at 13-07N, 19-22W on the 13th.
A distress signal from the steamer caused DDs FANTASQUE and TERRIBLE to depart Dakar on the 13th to assist. CL s GEORGES LEYGUES and GLOIRE departed Dakar on the 14th. On the 14th, CL DRAGON relieved the AMC and both arrived at Freetown on the 16th. The French ships returned to Dakar without contacting the French steamer.

Red Sea/Indian Ocean
Indian sloop CLIVE and Armed merchant cruiser KING GRUFFORD proceeded to Dante, seventy miles south of Cape Guardafui (Somalia). The ships arrived on the 16th and embarked Italian prisoners of war.

Malta
AIR RAIDS DAWN 13 MAY TO DAWN 14 MAY 1941
Weather Fine.
0735-0753 hrs Air raid alert for a JU 88 bomber which carries out recon escorted by 3 ME 109 fighters. AA guns engage; no claims.

1342-1421 hrs Air raid alert for a small formation of bombers escorted by 25 ME 109s approaching the Island from the east. Bombs are dropped on the Luqa aerodrome damaging one Wellington bomber, and on Tal Handaq, Marsa Creek and Ta Qali, Qormi and Hamrun, where 10 houses are destroyed, one civilian is killed and 12 injured, five seriously. Qormi New Chapel and Government School are destroyed. Hurricane fighters are scrambled; ME 109s swoop down from 20000 to 10000 feet to attack them. Two Hurricanes are shot down; pilot P/O P J A Thompson is killed, the other pilot bales out and is slightly injured.
0001-0402 hrsAir raid alert for 18 enemy a/c approaching from the NE. They head directly for Luqa, dropping 12 HE bombs on the airfield. Three Maryland aircraft are damaged – two will be unserviceable for at least 12 days; one is destroyed, two barrack blocks and the NAAFI are damaged. Bombs are also dropped on Imtarfa Hospital, destroying the Royal Engineers office and one lorry. Two Hurricanes are scrambled, one of which engages and damages one Heinkel HE 111 bomber which is illuminated by searchlights. AA guns fire several barrages. Two Beaufighters are scrambled and pursue the raiders back to their base in Sicily where they attempt to attack them during landing; no claims.

OPERATIONS REPORTS TUESDAY 13 MAY 1941

AIR HQ Arrivals 1 Sunderland. Departures 1 Sunderland. 69 Squadron Maryland reconnaissance Tripoli reported two convoys. Maryland eastern Tunisian coast.

HAL FAR F/Lt Westmacott injured in aerial combat.
LUQA Two Beaufighters 252 Sqn patrolled Sicilian coast to intercept enemy raiders returning from Malta; no interceptions.

14 MAY 1941
Known Reinforcements
Axis
Type VIIC U-82

8 ships sunk, total tonnage 51,859 GRT
Sunk on 6 February 1942 in the North Atlantic NE of the Azores, , by depth charges from the British sloop HMS ROCHESTER and the British corvette HMS TAMANISK. 45 dead (all hands lost).


Allied
T Class Sub HMS THRASHER (N-37)


Losses
Examination vessel M. A. WEST (UK 96 grt) was sunk by the LW one mile 105° from Great Yarmouth Harbour entrance. There were no casualties on the drifter.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Harbour defence patrol vessel MINICOY (RN 5 grt) was sunk on a mine eleven cables 94° from St Ann's Head. The skipper and some ratings were lost in the vessel.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Steamer KARLANDER (Nor 1843 grt) was badly damaged by the LW in the western approaches. The entire crew was rescued. The steamer was sunk by an escort vessel on the 14th.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Steamer RABAUL (UK 6809 grt) was sunk by DKM Raider ATLANTIS in the Sth Atlantic. Nine crew were killed. One was taken prisoner and 46 crew were rescued.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Aux MSW PURIRI (RNZN 927 grt) was sunk on a mine off Auckland. CL ACHILLES rescued the survivors.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

UBOATS
At Sea 14 May 1941
U-38, U-43, U-66, U-69, U-74, U-93, U-94, U-96, U-97, U-98, U-103, U-105, U-106, U-107, U-109, U-111, U-138, U-201, U-556, U-557, UA

21 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
Northern Waters
DD BULLDOG departed Scapa Flow for Iceland. DDs SOMALI, BEDOUIN, and ESKIMO departed Scapa Flow for Rosyth to escort the new carrier VICTORIOUS.
The DDs arrived on the 14th.
CV VICTORIOUS departed Rosyth on the 15th, escorted by CL AURORA, and DDs SOMALI, BEDOUIN, and ESKIMO for Scapa Flow where she arrived the same day at 2200.

DD BLANKNEY departed Scapa Flow at 1400 for Aberdeen to meet steamers AMSTERDAM and ARCHANGEL at 2100 off the harbour entrance. The DD escorted the steamers northward. Steamer ARCHANGEL was detached to Kirkwall. Steamer AMSTERDAM was escorted on to Lerwick.

The DD and steamer AMSTERDAM arrived at Lerwick on the 15th and departed later that day for Aberdeen. BLANKNEY returned to Scapa Flow on the 16th to escort steamer ARCHANGEL from Kirkwall to Aberdeen. The two departed that evening.

AA ship ALYNBANK departed Scapa Flow to escort WN.26 from the Pentland Firth southwards. Early on the 15th, the ship transferred to convoy EC.Special 2 and provided cover until arrival in the Pentland Firth. DD BROCKLESBY departed Scapa Flow on the 15th to provide additional escort for convoy EC.Special 2. ALYNBANK returned to Scapa Flow on the 15th. BROCKLESBY after escort proceeded to Plymouth for duty in the south of the country.

SW Approaches
Convoy HG.62 departed Gibraltar escorted by sloop DEPTFORD, corvette FLEUR DE LYS, and Dutch submarine O.24. The submarine was detached that day and the corvette on the 21st. On the 26th, the convoy was joined by DDs LEAMINGTON and SALADIN, corvettes CLARKIA and GLADIOLUS, and ASW trawler ST ZENO. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on 2 June.

Med/Biscay
On the 14th, BBs QUEEN ELIZABETH and BARHAM, CLAs NAIAD and PHOEBE, and DDs JERVIS, JAGUAR, GREYHOUND, HASTY, RAN NIZAM, DEFENDER, and IMPERIAL cleared port. PHOEBE developed cracks in her hull plating aft and was forced to return to Alexandria, arriving on the 16th. RAN CL PERTH was detached from the CruSqn 7 as a replacement for cruiser PHOEBE. After refuelling, the cruiser joined the QUEEN ELIZABETH gp. This ships constituted Forces A and D for the defence of Crete.

AS.31 departed Suda Bay with merchant ships British LOSSIEBANK and Dutch NIEUW ZEELAND escorted by CLA DIDO and RAN DDs STUART, VENDETTA, RN DDs JANUS, and ISIS. CLA DIDO was carrying £7,000,000 sterling of Greek bullion. LOSSIEBANK broke down and DD STUART was sent ahead with steamer NIEUW ZEELAND. The convoy was attacked by air on the 15th, but no damage was done. British Forces A and D.joined the convoy for support. CLAs DIDO and CALCUTTA were detached from the convoy at dark on the 15th. They proceeded to Alexandria to refuel, arriving early on the 16th.

Three RHN DDs departed Alexandria on the 15th. They relieved RAN DDs VENDETTA and RN ISIS at daylight on the 16th. DD JANUS had already been detached and arrived at Alexandria on the 16th with damaged steamer CAPE HORN. DDs STUART, ISIS, and VENDETTA arrived at Alexandria on the 16th. Convoy AS.31 arrived at Port Said escorted by the RHN DDs on the 16th.

Submarine UNBEATEN attacked two schooners in Khoms Roads. The submarine claimed sinking one with torpedo and the other with gunfire. Neither ship was lost.

Steamer DALESMAN (UK 6343 grt) was badly damaged by the LW in Suda Bay. She settled on an even keel and for three days efforts were made to salvage as much cargo as possible. She was abandoned by her crew 17/05/1941. The crew were taken prisoner on Crete and the ship was raised on 17/6/1941 by Italian salvors and towed to Trieste and repaired. She was torpedoed by British MTB 406 on 7/2/1945 off Novigrad, towed to Trieste. 20/2/1945 bombed and sunk (again!) during an Allied raid on Trieste.
1945 raised by the Royal Navy and repaired, returned to owners in 1946
Scrapped at Ghent in 1959


Gunboat GNAT bombarded a mobile enemy battery near the entrance of Tobruk Harbour. Gunboat APHIS rejoined the Inshore Squadron after repairs.

British steamer CAPE HORN (5643grt) was damaged by German bombing at Port Said.

Red Sea/Indian Ocean
NZ manned CL LEANDER arrived at Colombo

Malta
AIR RAIDS DAWN 14 MAY TO DAWN 15 MAY 1941
Weather Fine.
0724-0755 hrs Air raid alert for two JU 88 bombers and 12 ME 109 fighters which cross the coast at Marsaxlokk and drop small bombs on Luqa aerodrome; reports indicate that some are dropped by ME 109s. One bomb falls 50 feet from the camp of 1stBn Hampshire Regiment and cuts a high-tension cable. Company Quartermaster Flatman is electrocuted and killed while trying to put out a fire caused by the broken cable. Hurricanes are scrambled and Bofors guns engage; no claims.
1253-1320 hrs Air raid alert for one JU 88 which carries out reconnaissance escorted by three Me 109s. Anti-aircraft guns engage; no claims.
1625-1710 hrs Air raid alert for 18 ME 109s which approach the Island from the east and drop bombs on the Ta Qali area. Four Hurricanes are destroyed on the ground. Hurricane fighters are scrambled and engage; two are destroyed by raiders. Pilot P/O C E Hamilton, 185 Squadron, is killed, the other bales out and is injured. Anti-aircraft guns engage; no claims.
2356-0020 hrs Air raid alert for six-eight enemy aircraft which approach the Island singly, crossing the coast from the south west and passing over Grand Harbour. Hurricanes are scrambled and engage one raider without result. Anti-aircraft guns engage; no claims.
0033-0115 hrs Air raid alert; for 16 unidentified enemy aircraft which cross the coast singly and carry out a bombing raid on the Dockyard, Valletta, Luqa, Salina Bay, St Thomas's Bay and Zabbar, where 31 houses are destroyed. The old civil barracks at St Elmo are damaged, Valletta police depot and several houses in the City destroyed. Two civilians are killed, seven seriously injured. Heavy anti-aircraft guns fire one barrage; no claims.
0145-0210 hrs Air raid alert for a single unidentified enemy aircraft which approaches from the east and drops bombs on the Grand Harbour area and on Safi, where Malta Tank troop billets are destroyed by a mine (not a parachute type, probably a G mine). Heavy anti-aircraft guns fire one barrage; no claims.
0354-0418 hrs Air raid alert; raid does not materialise.
0434-0515 hrs Air raid alert for two unidentified enemy aircraft which approach from the north, passing over Gozo, and drop bombs on Anchor Bay.
OPERATIONS REPORTS WEDNESDAY 14 MAY 1941

AIR HQ Departures 6 Hurricanes, 1 Wellington to Mersa Matruh.69 SquadronMaryland reconnaissance Naples reports convoy vessels. Maryland reconnaissance eastern Tunisian coast. Two Marylands afternoon patrol off eastern Sicilian and eastern Tunisian coasts.
HAL FAR P/O Hamilton killed as a result of aerial engagement with enemy.

15 MAY 1941
Known Reinforcements
Axis
Type VIIC U-570

No ships sunk. Captured by British forces on 27 August 1941 in the Nth Atlantic south of Iceland, after being damaged by a CC Hudson a/c (269 Sqn RAF). Towed to Thorlakshafn, Iceland and salvaged. 44 survivors (no casualties). The ship was commissioned into the RN as HMS GRAPH but was stricken after she ran aground in 1944

Allied
Flower Class Corvette HMCS BADDECK (K-147)

HDMLs 1010 & 1073
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Losses
U-105 sank steamer BENVENUE (UK 5920 grt) in the central Atlantic off the West Coast of Africa. She was sailing independently but had previously formed part of OB-314. She was on passage from London via the west coast ports to India, carrying general cargo and some aircraft as deck cargo. She had a crew of 57 of which 2 were to lose their lives. At 2029 hrs the BENVENUE, was torpedoed and sunk by U-105 about 420 miles WSW of Freetown. One crew member and one gunner were lost. The master, 47 crew members, one gunner and six passengers (Army personnel) were picked up by the EMPIRE TRADER and landed at Freetown.


U-43 sank the Schooner NOTRE DAME DU CHÂTELET (Vichy 488 grt) , en route from St Malo to the Grand Banks in the SW approaches 28 of her 38 man crew were lost. After 0415 hrs the three masted NOTRE DAME DU CHÂTELET was sunk by U-43 with 45 rounds from the deck gun and AA gunfire about 400 miles east of Ouessant. Lüth suspected the vessel to report the position of U-boats to Allied forces, while some of the survivors thought they had been attacked by a British submarine. The day before, the sailing vessel had encountered the RM Sub CAPPELLINI. The ten survivors abandoned ship in three dories: Two men were picked up by the Italian submarine OTARIA 23 May, three men were rescued by the French fishing trawler PETITE BERNADETTE off Belle-Île on 24 May and the remaining five men reached the Berlengas archipelago off Portugal on 28 May, after sailing approx. 600 miles in their dory. The survivors reported that they were attacked without warning and that their dories were machine-gunned while they abandoned ship


UBOATS
Departures
St Nazaire: U-46

At Sea 15 May 1941
U-38, U-43, U-46, U-66, U-69, U-74, U-93, U-94, U-96, U-97, U-98, U-103, U-105, U-106, U-107, U-109, U-111, U-138, U-201, U-556, U-557, UA

22 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
Baltic
Steamer OSSIAN ("Ex-Sd" 1564 grt) was sunk whilst working for the Germans, by British aircraft near Bremen. Two crew on the steamer were killed and another died later.


North Sea


Northern Patrol
MLs AGAMEMNON, MENESTHEUS, and PORT QUEBEC of the 1st Minelaying Squadron laid minefield SN.9 B, escorted by DDs ANTHONY, ELECTRA, ANTELOPE, and ST MARYS. CLA HERMIONE, which departed Scapa Flow on the 14th, covered the MLs. CLs NIGERIA and KENYA, which departed the Iceland-Faroes Channel patrol on the 15th, provided support for the operation. Following the minelay, the cruisers returned to their patrol stations. HERMIONE arrived back at Scapa Flow on the 17th, and ANTELOPE, ANTHONY, and ELECTRA on the 18th

Northern Waters
DD ICARUS arrived at Scapa Flow for Home Flt operations in DesFlot 3

DD PUNJABI departed Scapa Flow after night exercises to meet CA BERWICK off Dunnet Head on the 16th and escort her to Rosyth. She was escorted as far as May Island, and PUNJABI arrived back at Scapa Flow early on the 17th.

West Coast
BC REPULSE, CVE ARGUS, and liners MONARCH OF BERMUDA and EMPRESS OF JAPAN arrived at the Clyde from Gibraltar.

SW Approaches
Convoy OG.62 departed Liverpool escorted by sloop BIDEFORD, and was joined on the 16th by DDs BOADICEA and ST FRANCIS, sloop EGRET, corvettes ARROWHEAD, ASTER, HEPATICA, SNOWBERRY, SPIKENARD, and WOODRUFF, and ASW- trawlers ARAB, AYRSHIRE, and STELLA CARINA. AYRSHIRE detached later on the 16th, the two DDs, SPIKENARD and ARAB on the 19th, and EGRET, ARROWHEAD, HEPATICA, and SNOWBERRY on the 20th. On the 22nd, Dutch submarine O.24 joined the convoy escort. The convoy arrived at Gibraltar on the 29th, escorted by sloop BIDEFORD, submarine O.24, corvettes ASTER and WOODRUFF, and trawler STELLA CARINA. The sloop and the corvettes were temporarily assigned to the 13th Destroyer Flotilla.

Med/Biscay
The Med Flt was divided on the 15th into groups in anticipation of enemy action against Crete.

Force A - BBs QUEEN ELIZABETH, BARHAM and DDs JERVIS, JAGUAR, RAN NIZAM, DEFENDER, and IMPERIAL – were deployed to the west of Crete by daylight on the 16th.

Force B - CLs GLOUCESTER and FIJI embarked the Second Battalion, Leicester Regiment at Alexandria and departed forenoon on the 15th. The troops were landed at midnight of 15/16 May at Heraklion. This movement was covered by Force A.

Force C - CLA COVENTRY and DDs KANDAHAR, NUBIAN, KINGSTON, and JUNO departed Alexandria at 2000 and proceeded towards the Kaso Straits. The force was to sweep Kaso Straits at dark and sweep north of Crete. CLA DIDO joined the force on the 16th.

Force D – CLA NAIAD, RAN CL PERTH and DDs GREYHOUND and HASTY patrolled between Antikithera and Piraeus.

DDs ILEX, HOTSPUR, and HAVOCK departed Alexandria on the 15th. ILEX joined Force A and HOTSPUR and HAVOCK Force B after the disembarkation of the troops.

In Reserve (as casualties were expected) - BBs WARSPITE, VALIANT, CV FORMIDABLE, and CLs ORION and AJAX.

Sub RORQUAL was on patrol off Lemnos.

ML ABDIEL departed Alexandria on the 17th for Haifa to embark mines for a minefield between Cephalonia and Levkos (on the western side of the Peloponnese). She laid 150 mines east of Cape Dukato during the night of 19/20 May and returned to Alexandria, arriving on the 21st.

DD MIRABELLO (RM 1811 grt), escorting steamers ANNARELLA (5999grt) and LAURA C (6181grt) and tankers DORA C (5843grt) and STROMBO (5232grt) with armed merchant cruiser BRINDISI from Brindisi for Patrasso, was sunk on this minefield off Cephalonia on the 21st.


The following axis steamers were lost on this minefield on the 21st:
Steamer KYBFELS (Ger 7764 grt)


Steamer MARBURG (Ger 7564 grt)
[N O IMAGE FOUND]

These losses were more significant than they would seem, though admittedly ther is a lot of confusion in the records. Elements of 2nd Panzer Div appear to have been on the ships in transit back to Germany for refit. The confusion amongst sources is quite extreme for this movement of the division from Greece to Germany. According to one divisional history, (Die 2.Panzer-Division - Bewaffnung-Einsatz-Manner, by Franz Steinzer),

''The wheeled elements of the 2nd Panzer Division moved back to Jugoslavia via Albania and were entrained in Split. The tracked elements of the division were taken aboard the freighters "MARBURG" and "KYBFELS"in Patras harbour. They were to be ferried to Tarent in Italy from where they should be brought back to the Reich via rail. During their second voyage both ships were lost to enemy action en route with a full load of panzers, APCs and artillery tractors aboard. While personnel losses were moderate, all of the "hardware" had to be written off''.

Jentz agrees with this. The losses in the tracked components of this division were very severe and an event seldom acknowledged in the losses for the greek campaign. It was a major impediement in the depoloyment of 2 pz Div in the upcoming Barbarossa operation.

Halders Diary also mentions these losses.

Aetos Class DD LEON (RHN 1038 grt), was damaged on 18 April 1941 when she collided with the passenger ship ARDENA. Two depth charges rolled overboard and in the explosion her stern was blown off. LEON was towed from the Salamis Navy Yard to Suda Bay, Crete where she was bombed on the 22 April and again on thye 15th when she was finally sunk. She was run aground a total loss.


Lt P. F. Scott of 806 Sqn was killed when the Gladiator he was ferrying between Maleme and Egypt crashed 100 miles south of Crete.

Steamer SAN GIUSTO (FI 861 grt) was sunk on a mine 15 miles 25° from Tripoli.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Nth Atlantic
RM submarine BARBARIGO attacked steamer MANCHESTER PORT without success in the Nth Atlantic.

Central Atlantic
DD VELOX departed Gibraltar for Freetown to join the Sth Atlantic command.

USN CAs QUINCEY and VINCENNES and USN Desron 11joined the Bermuda based Central America Neutrality Patrol.

Red Sea/Indian Ocean
In a dive-bombing attack on the Sumawar barracks, Iraq, a Swordfish of 814 Sqn from CVL HERMES, operating from Shaibah, was shot down. Sub Lt (A) G. R. Coy, Lt J. H. Dundas, and Leading Airman L. E. Lasson were rescued.

Malta
AIR RAIDS DAWN 15 MAY TO DAWN 16 MAY 1941
Weather Fine.
0743-0810 hrsAir raid alert for a JU 88 bomber which approached and carried out recon over the Island while escorting enemy fighters patrol out to sea. AA guns engage the bomber without result.
1211-1240 hrs Air raid alert for 25 ME 109 fighters which cross the coast at various points and drop bombs on the Luqa area. One Wellington is burned out and three Beaufighters damaged. Hurricanes are scrambled and engage the raiders; one Hurricane is destroyed in combat but pilot survives. A ceiling barrage by AA guns is unsuccessful.
1523-1615 hrsAir raid alert for 15-20 ME 109s which carry out a bombing raid on Luqa and Hal Far aerodromes, where a Fleet Air Arm store is badly damaged. AA guns engage; no claims.Enemy fighters then scout the island in small formations, one of which attacks Hurricanes on patrol. One Hurricane is shot down and the pilot killed.
0312-0500 hrsAir raid alert for 12 enemy a/c in three formations which approach from the nth, cross the coast at various points and drop bombs and mines on Grand Harbour, Valletta and the Luqa area. In the Dockyard, a bomb on Hamilton Wharf damages a generator station. HMS Encounter is hit by a small bomb in the boiler room, causing considerable damage. MV Amerika suffers superficial damage from a near-miss. More mines are laid at the entrances to Grand Harbour and Marsamxetto Harbour. A new type of mine is dropped in the raid, identified as G mines, rather than the parachute mines used recently. Two Hurricane night fighters are scrambled. There is only one illumination low down: Bofors and light anti-aircraft guns engage the raiders; no claims.
OPERATIONS REPORTS THURSDAY 15 MAY 1941
AIR HQ 69 Squadron Maryland patrol east Sicilian coast. Maryland reconnaissance eastern Tunisian coast. Hurricane photo-reconnaissance Gela aerodrome; photos reveal 18 unidentified aircraft, believed fighters.

May 18 Sunday
ATLANTIC OCEAN: British battleship HMS "Nelson" and aircraft carrier HMS "Eagle," en route from Cape Town, South Africa to Freetown, Sierra Leone, British West Africa in search of German armed merchant cruiser "Atlantis", sailed within 7 kilometers of the German ship without detecting her.

German submarine U-107 sank British ship "Piako" 130 miles west of Freetown, Sierra Leone, British West Africa at 2227 hours; 10 were killed, 65 survived and rescued by British sloop HMS "Bridgewater".

EASTERN EUROPE: Soviet leadership began a purge against Soviet Air Force officers.

GERMANY: Unternehmen Rheinübung: The aim of Unternehmen Rheinübung was for German Battleship "Bismarck" and heavy cruiser "Prinz Eugen" to break into the Atlantic and attack Allied shipping. Grand Admiral Erich Raeder's orders to Admiral Günther Lütjens were that;

"...the objective of the 'Bismarck' is not to defeat enemies of equal strength, but to tie them down in a delaying action, while preserving her combat capacity as much as possible, so as to allow 'Prinz Eugen' to get at the merchant ships in the convoy" and "The primary target in this operation is the enemy's merchant shipping; enemy warships will be engaged only when that objective makes it necessary and it can be done without excessive risk."

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The original plan was to have the Kriegsmarine battleships "Scharnhorst" and "Gneisenau" involved in the operation, but "Scharnhorst" was undergoing heavy repairs to her engines, and "Gneisenau" had just suffered a damaging torpedo hit days before which put her out of action for 6 months. Lütjens had requested that Raeder delay Rheinübung long enough either for "Scharnhorst" to complete repairs to her engines and be made combat worthy and to rendezvous at sea with "Bismarck" and "Prinz Eugen" or for Bismarck's sister ship "Tirpitz" to accompany them. Raeder had refused, as "Scharnhorst" would not be ready until early July. The crew of the newly completed "Tirpitz" was not yet fully trained, and over Lütjens's protests Raeder ordered Rheinübung to go ahead. At 1000 on the morning of 18 May 1941 in Gotenhafen, Admiral Lütjens inspected "Prinz Eugen's" crew. Afterwards, a commanders' conference was held on "Bismarck". In attendance were Kapitän zur See Harald Netzband (Lütjens Chief of Staff), Generaladmiral Alfred Saalwächter (Commanding Officer, Group West) and the two commanding officers concerned. It was then that Lütjens revealed the details of Unternehmen Rheinübung to Lindemann and Brinkmann. It was decided that if the weather proved favorable, they would not stop in the Korsfjord (today Krossfjord). They would, instead, sail north to refuel from the "Weissenburg" before cruising into the Denmark Strait between Iceland and Greenland. Between 11:12 hours and 11:15 hours "Bismarck" and "Prinz Eugen" left their berths in Gotenhafen (Gdynia) and anchored in the roadstead to embark supplies and fuel. While refueling in the roadstead, one of the fuel-oil hoses broke and "Bismarck" could not be refueled to her full capacity. After sundown, "Bismarck" and cruiser "Prinz Eugen" departed for the North Atlantic. "Prinz Eugen" sailed at about 2100 hours followed at 0200 hours, 19 May, by "Bismarck". The entire fleet was commanded by Admiral Günther Lütjens aboard "Bismarck". Both ships proceeded under escort, separately and rendezvoused off Cape Arkona on Rügen Island in the western Baltic. It was then that Captain Lindemann informed "Bismarck's" crew by loudspeaker that they were going into the North Atlantic to attack British shipping for a period of several months. Various supply ships were already at sea.

MEDITERRANEAN: Italy annexed Dalmatia into its borders.

In Rome, The Duke of Spoleto accepts the crown of Croatia from a Croatian delegation; he will be King Tomislav I. Count Ciano writes:

"The Croatians arrive with Pavelich at their head. They are in good humour and well-disposed toward us. I should say that they are better disposed than the Albanians when they offered the crown. The ceremony is more or less the same as that with the Albanians. In the streets, few and undemonstrative people. Not many realize the importance of the event. When His Majesty designated the Duke of Spoleto and the delegates saw him, there was a murmur of approval among them. Let us hope that it will be the same when they hear him speak. Everything went in due form; also the signing of the Acts, the content of which seemed to those who had knowledge of them to bear a better political meaning than was expected. It now remains to be seen if what we have built will be lasting. Maybe I am mistaken in my personal impression, but there is a feeling in the air that Italian domination in Croatia is to be temporary. And this is why the public is indifferent..."

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German dive bombers attacked British hospital ship "Aba" 50 miles south of Crete, Greece. Petty Officer Alfred Sephton of British light cruiser HMS "Coventry" won the Victoria Cross for directing anti-aircraft fire against the German aircraft despite being partially blinded by a machine gun bullet. He would die from his injuries on the next day.

In anticipation of a German invasion of Crete, Greece, 700 Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders were transported from Port Said, Egypt, on troopship "Glengyle"; they would land at Tymbaki, Crete after sundown.

MIDDLE EAST: In addition to forces crossing the River Euphrates, 4 Vickers Valentia biplanes land a company of King's Own Royal Regiment on the Baghdad road. British aircraft from RAF Habbaniya bombed Iraqi positions in Falluja throughout the day. Meanwhile, Arab troops loyal to Britain relieved the besieged RAF Habbaniyah which was defended only by out-of-date training aircraft. The base had been under attack from the pro-German forces of General Rashid Ali using Bf 110 and He 111 aircraft.

General Dentz broadcasts, warning his troops in Vichy French controlled Syria to meet force with force. Airfields in Syria are bombed again by the RAF.

NORTH AFRICA: General Mosley Mayne, British commander of 5th Indian Division, lunches with Duke of Aosta in his mountain cave at Amba Alagi, Ethiopia, while Italian troops bury their dead and prepare to leave. Italians honour the Duke's agreement not to destroy guns or stores and to dismantle or identify mines and boobytraps.

UNITED KINGDOM: At Scapa Flow, Admiral Tovey was considering how best to cover the possibility of a German warship breakout. Tovey ordered the cruiser HMS "Suffolk", which was on patrol in the Denmark Strait, to keep a special watch on the passage close to the ice pack.

.

16 MAY 1941
Known Reinforcements
Allied
Flower Class Corvette HMCS LEVIS (K-115)


Flower Class Corvette HMS JASMINE (K-23)


Flower Class Corvette HMS LAVENDER (K-60)


Isles Class ASW Trawler HMS BALTA (T-50)
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Losses
U-105 sank the MV RODNEY STAR (UK 11803 grt) sw of Freetown. The ship was on passage from Uruguay to Glasgow, with a cargo of refrigerated meat and a crew of 83. All crew members survived the attack. At 0548 hrs the unescorted RODNEY STAR was hit in the stern by one of two torpedoes fired by U-105 about 420 miles WSW of Freetown. The ship was hit in the bow and amidships by two coups de grace at 0620 and 0746 hours, but remained afloat. The U-boat surfaced and fired 91 high explosive rounds and 22 incendiary rounds from the deck gun into the waterline. Shortly before the ship sank by the stern in a shell exploded in the barrel which was tore apart and wounded six men of the gun crew. The survivors were picked up six days later by HMS BOREAS and BATNA and landed at Takoradi on 23 May.i


Steamer ARCHANGEL (UK 2448 grt) was sunk by the LW in the Nth Sea, ten miles NE of Aberdeen. Forty of a crew of seventy five and twelve of four hundred troops on board were lost. The survivors were rescued by DD BLANKNEY which landed them at Aberdeen. She attempted to take the steamer in tow, but she was beached off Black Dog, five miles south of Newburgh, and broke in four pieces.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Steamer ETHEL RADCLIFFE (UK 5673 grt) had been damaged by a DKM S boat on 17 April. She was sunk by LW at Great Yarmouth on the 16 May, written off as a total loss.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

UBOATS
At Sea 16 May 1941
U-38, U-43, U-46, U-66, U-69, U-74, U-93, U-94, U-96, U-97, U-98, U-103, U-105, U-106, U-107, U-109, U-111, U-138, U-201, U-556, U-557, UA

22 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
North Sea
Sloop BLACK SWAN arrived at Scapa Flow at 1930 from Rosyth after large repairs for working up.

MLs TEVIOTBANK and PLOVER, escort DD CATTISTOCK, laid minefield BS.56 off the east coast of England. Paddle minesweepers SNAEFELL and THAMES QUEEN accompanied them.

Northern Waters
CLs EDINBURGH, GALATEA, and AURORA departed Scapa Flow to investigate a large warship reported by aircraft to the nth. BC HOOD, CL BIRMINGHAM, and DDs ACHATES, ICARUS, and ACTIVE came to half hour's notice which was cancelled at 1600. The cruisers returned to Scapa Flow on the 17th after an unsuccessful search.

AA ship ALYNBANK departed Scapa Flow to escort convoy WN.27 to the south. On the 17th off Tod Head, the ship transferred to convoy EC.20. In the Pentland Firth, she was detached and returned to Scapa Flow on the 18th.

West Coast
Steamer JOFFRE ROSE was damaged by the LW off St David's Head, (on the Welsh coast) beached in Dale Bay on the 16th, and damaged again on the 18th in Dale Bay. She was refloated and drydocked.

Steamer OBSIDIAN was damaged by the LW off the west coast of the UK

Channel
ML LATONA, which had completed construction on the 4th, departed Portsmouth for Alexandria, via the Cape. She arrived at Gibraltar on the 20th and Alexandria on 21 June.

Med/Biscay
CLs GLOUCESTER and FIJI, after landing troops at Heraklion, were able to clear the anchorage before dawn on the 16th. They met DDs HAVOCK and HOTSPUR and then joined Force A and Force D. DD ILEX joined these forces on the 16th. During the day, the 10 DDs of Forces A, B, and D refuelled from the two battleships of Force A. CLA DIDO and DD JUNO departed Alexandria during the morning of 16 May to join Force C.
During the night of 16/17 May, the British cruiser forces swept off the north coast of Crete. No contact was made.

The stricken CA YORK was damaged by a near miss from the LW at Suda Bay.

Troopship GLENGYLE departed Alexandria for Port Said, escort DD DECOY to embark new landing craft. She departed Port Said on the 17th, escorted by RAN DDs VOYAGER and WATERHEN and sloop AUCKLAND. CLA COVENTRY from Force C was detached to join this group at daylight on the 18th. During the night of 18th/19th, GLENGYLE landed 700 Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders at Tymbaki, then withdrew to Alexandria with COVENTRY, VOYAGER, WATERHEN and AUCKLAND, arriving on the 20th.

RAN DD VAMPIRE carried troops and supplies to Tobruk during the night of 16/17 May.

Submarine UNBEATEN unsuccessfully attacked escorted two transports near Tripoli.

Lt A. H. M. Ash and Lt H. J. C. Richardson of 805 Squadron, attached to the RAF 33 Squadron at Maleme, were killed when their Hurricanes were shot down on the 16th.

In air raids on Malta, DD ENCOUNTER was damaged again in the dockyard. She had already been damaged during raids on 29 and 30 April. Corvette GLOXINIA, minesweeping at Malta, was damaged by the explosion of a mine close aboard. She remained in service.

MSW WIDNES was damaged by LW near missews and machine gunning in the eastern Med.

Steamer LOGICIAN (UK 5993 grt) was badly damaged by the LW at Suda Bay. She was bombed again on the 25th and sank two miles and two cables, bearing 303° from Kalani Prism Five crew were killed and one was missing. Twenty five Australian troops were killed.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Steamer KYTHERA (Gk 1070 grt) was sunk by German bombing at Suda Bay.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Steamer NICOLAOU OURANIA (Gk 6397 grt) was badly damaged by the LW at Suda Bay, beached, later refloated and towed to Piraeus. She was used under the name of NIKOLAUS for German use.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Nth Atlantic
Convoy HX.127 departed Halifax, escorted by BB RAMILLIES, DD ST CROIX, and corvettes AGASSIZ and WETASKIWIN. The corvettes detached on the 18th. Convoy BHX.127 departed Bermuda on the 13th escorted by AMC CHITRAL as ocean escort. The convoy rendezvoused with HX.127 on the 20th and CHITRAL detached. DD LINCOLN and corvettes SUNFLOWER joined on the 23rd and detached on the 27th. DD SALISBURY joined on the 27th. On the 28th, DDs OTTAWA and RESTIGOUCHE, sloop STORK, corvette BEGONIA, anti-submarine trawler ST KENAN, and ASW yacht PHILANTE joined the escort. DD SKATE and corvette LARKSPUR joined on the 29th. RCN DD OTTAWA and the yacht were detached on the 29th. DDs FARNDALE and HAMBLEDON were with the convoy on the 30th. Sloop SUTLEJ was with the convoy in Home Waters. On 1 June RESTIGOUCHE, SKATE and STORK detached. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on 2 June.

Central Atlantic
CV ARK ROYAL, BC RENOWN, CL SEHFFIELD, and DDs WRESTLER, FEARLESS, FORESTER, and FURY sailed from Gibraltar for exercises, returning on the 17th.

DDs HAVELOCK, HESPERUS, and HARVESTER departed Gibraltar to join CVL FURIOUS, CA LONDON, dummy battleship ANSON (old battleship CENTURION with wooden guns), and DD BRILLIANT arriving from the Clyde and escorted them to Gibraltar, arriving on the 18th. On the 19th, "ANSON" departed Gibraltar for Freetown, escorted by DD WRESTLER and corvettes JONQUIL and GERANIUM as local escort.

Ocean boarding vessel MARON arrived at Gibraltar from Western Patrol.

Malta
AIR RAIDS DAWN 16 MAY TO DAWN 17 MAY 1941
WeatherFine.
0725-0750 hrs Air raid alert; raid does not materialise.

0952-1056 hrs Air raid alert for two JU 88 bombers which cross the Island singly, apparently on reconnaissance. Five Hurricanes are scrambled; no interception. Anti-aircraft guns engage; no claims.

1124-1155 hrs Air raid alert for 15 ME 109 fighters which circle to the east of the Island, then cross the coast near Kalafrana before splitting into several formations. Ten 250kg high explosive bombs are dropped on Hal Far from 15000 feet, damaging three Swordfish and killing two contractors' labourers. Seven Hurricanes are scrambled; no engagement. 17 anti-aircraft gun positions engage the raiders with two heavy barrages; no claims.

OPERATIONS REPORTS FRIDAY 16 MAY 1941
AIR HQArrivals5 Blenheims 139 Squadron arrived from Gibraltar to replace 21 Squadron.69 SquadronMaryland photo-reconnaissance Tripoli. Maryland patrols eastern Sicilian coast AM and PM. Maryland patrols eastern Tunisian coast AM and PM.

LUQATwo Beaufighters 252 Squadron left for an operation from Crete attacking enemy aircraft on Hassani, Argos and Moladi.

17 MAY 1941
Known Reinforcements
Axis
Type VIIC U-206
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

2 ships sunk, total tonnage 3,283 GRT. Missing since 29 November 1941 in the Bay Of Biscay. Precise date and details of loss are not known, but possibly sunk on or about 30 November sw of St. Nazaire, by an air-laid mine in the British minefield "Beech". 46 dead (all hands lost).

Allied
Flower Class Corvette HMCS DAUPHIN (K-157)


ML 219
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Sub Tender HMS ANTEOUS
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Losses
U-107 sank tkr MARISA (NL 8029 grt) in the Central Atlantic SW of Freetown. She was empty and outward bound, with a crew of 49 of which two were to lose their lives. At 0036 hrs the unescorted MARISA was hit in the engine room by one torpedo fired by U-107, killing the fourth engineer and one crew member. The U-boat had followed the tkr since 1249 hours the day before. The tkr stopped and was hit in the stern by a coup de grace at 0115 hrs, after the crew abandoned ship in three lifeboats. 15 minutes later the U-boat surfaced, opened fire with the deck gun and hit the ship with 20 rounds, but the next shell burst in the barrel and made the deck gun useless. The burning tkr settled by the stern, but the bow remained afloat. At 0217 hours, the 20mm AA gun was used to open holes in the empty tanks until the weapon was damaged too by a round that exploded in the barrel. A part of the barrel hit a man standing on the conning tower, but fell off without wounding him. Hessler wrote in the KTB: What kind of weapons and munitions do we have, when we must be afraid of them. On 20 May, one lifeboat was found by HMS COLUMBINE and a second by the British patrol yacht HMS SURPRISE. The third lifeboat with the master landed at the coast of French-Guinea on 23 May.


UBOATS
At Sea 17 May 1941
U-38, U-43, U-46, U-66, U-69, U-74, U-93, U-94, U-96, U-97, U-98, U-103, U-105, U-106, U-107, U-109, U-111, U-138, U-201, U-556, U-557, UA

22 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
Northern Waters
BB RODNEY departed Scapa Flow escorted by DDs SOMALI, BEDOUIN, and ESKIMO for the Clyde, arriving on the 18th. DD BLANKNEY arrived at Scapa Flow after assisting sunken ship ARCHANGEL. DD LANCE arrived at Scapa Flow for work up.

West Coast
OB.323 departed Liverpool escort corvette SUNFLOWER. On the 18th, DD VETERAN, CAM ship SPRINGBANK, and corvette HEATHER joined the escort. DDs VENOMOUS, KEPPEL, LINCOLN, and SABRE, corvettes DIANELLA, KINGCUP, and PETUNIA, and ASW trawlers LADY ELSA, MAN O.WAR, and WELLARD on the 19th. DDs VENOMOUS and VETERAN and corvettes DIANELLA, KINGCUP, and SUNFLOWER were detached on the 22nd. Also on the 22nd, DDs MANSFIELD and WOLVERINE and corvettes BEGONIA, and LARKSPUR joined. On the 23rd, DDs KEPPEL and SABRE, corvettes HEATHER, PETUNIA, and SUNFLOWER, and trawlers LADY ELSA, MAN O.WAR, and WELLARD were detached. The remainder of the escort was detached on the 25th when the convoy was dispersed.

Western Approaches
Steamer STATESMAN (UK 7939 grt) was sunk by the LW. The attack was carried out west of Ireland when on route from New Orleans for Belfast and Liverpool.. One crewman was lost on the steamer.


Channel
British steamer ARTHUR WRIGHT was damaged by German bombing five miles south of Shoreham near Brighton.

Norwegian steamer ALA was damaged by the LW in the same location. One crewman was killed on the steamer. The steamer was beached about one and a half cables west of entrance pier, Shoreham. The steamer was refloated on the 19th and eventually towed to Southampton for repairs.

Med/Biscay
Hospital ship ABA (7938grt), on passage to Haifa, was attacked fifty miles south of Crete south of Kaso Strait by the LW. The ships status was clearly marked.

Force C cruisers DIDO and COVENTRY came to the hospital ship's assistance. CLA COVENTRY suffered some casualties to strafing. British Forces C and D were recalled to Alexandria. Force C with CLA NAIAD, CL PERTH and DDs GREYHOUND and HASTY arrived at Alexandria on the 18th. Force D with CLAs DIDO, and COVENTRY, and DDs KANDAHAR, KINGSTON, JUNO, and NUBIAN arrived at Alexandria on the 18th.

Tkr ELEONORA MAERSK (UK 10,694 grt) was sunk by the LW at Suda Bay. 23 crew were missing and seven were made prisoners of war. 17 crew were rescued.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Steamer THEMONI (Gk 5719 grt) was sunk by the LW at Suda Bay. She was partially loaded with ammunition when lost. There were no casualties as the crew was not on board. The wreck was scrapped after the war.


Submarine REGENT arrived at Gibraltar from Malta.

Submarine PANDORA arrived at Gibraltar from patrol in the Tyrrhennian Sea

Nth Atlantic
Ocean boarding vessel REGISTAN intercepted aux schooner IZARRA (Vichy 488 grt) and sent her to St John's, Newfoundland, under armed guard. The schooner arrived on the 27th.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Central Atlantic
Convoy SL.75 departed Freetown escort AMC CATHAY to 12 June and corvettes CROCUS, CYCLAMEN, and MARGUERITE to 25 May. BB NELSON joined the convoy on 1 June to 5 June. Corvette ARABIS joined on 8 June to 12 June. On 9 June, DDs ROXBOROUGH, SALISBURY, and SKATE, and corvettes ANEMONE, CLARKIA, and VERONICA joined; all to 12 June. On 12 June ASW trawler VIZALMA joined to 13 June. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on 13 June.

Malta
AIR RAIDS DAWN 17 MAY TO DAWN 18 MAY 1941

Weather Fine.

0716-0740 hrsAir raid alert for one JU 88 bomber escorted by three ME 109 fighters which carries out reconnaissance across the Island. Malta fighters on standing patrol are in position above the approaching enemy raiders. Wireless trouble prevents interception.
OPERATIONS REPORTS SATURDAY 17 MAY 1941

AIR HQ252 SquadronOffensive operations.69 Squadron2 Marylands reconnaissance eastern Tunisian and Sicilian coast. Maryland reconnaissance between Malta and Corfu reports convoy. Dawn operation by Beaufighters 252 Squadron against aerodromes in Greece.

May 19 Monday
ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-96 sank British ship "Empire Ridge" 50 miles northwest of Ireland at 0324 hours; 31 were killed, 2 survived and rescued by destroyer HMS "Vanquisher".

U-69 on her long voyage that paved the way for long-range U-boat operations off the US East Coast, refuelled from German tanker "Egerland". At this time several German tankers and supply ships were at sea partly in preparation for the breakout of "Bismarck" and "Prinz Eugen".

HMS "Norfolk", flying the flag of Rear-Admiral W.F. Wake-Walker, Rear-Admiral Commanding First Cruiser Squadron, was ordered to proceed from Hvalfjord, Iceland and relieve "Suffolk". "Suffolk" was to return to Hvalfjord to refuel and then rejoin "Norfolk" on patrol.

EASTERN EUROPE: Soviet NKGB agent Richard Sorge in Japan again warns Josef Stalin that nine German armies with 150 divisions are preparing for war with the Soviet Union. Stalin rejects the credibility of the information.

GERMANY: Unternehmen Rheinübung: Battleship "Bismarck" departed Gotenhafen at 0200 hours and made rendezvous with heavy cruiser "Prinz Eugen". After this, "Bismarck" and "Prinz Eugen" sailed west escorted by the destroyers Z-23 (Commander Friedrich Böhme) and Z-16 "Friedrich Eckoldt" (Commander Alfred Schemmel). At 2230 hours, the destroyer Z-10 "Hans Lody" (Commander Werner Pfeiffer) with the Chief of the 6th Flotilla (Commander Alfred Schulze-Hinrichs) on board, joined the formation. The German task force approached the Great Belt at 2234 hours. All German maritime traffic had been suspended in the Danish Belts for the night.

"Guidelines for the behavior of the troops in Russia" - published today - demanded that German troops use "ruthless and energetic action against Bolshevik agitators, guerrillas, saboteurs (and) Jews" and approved the complete liquidation of any "active or passive resistance".

MEDITERRANEAN: This is the last day of the bombing raids on Crete. This air campaign succeeded and forced the Royal Air Force to move its planes to Alexandria. The remaining British fighters on Crete, four Hurricanes and three Gloster Gladiators leave the island for Egypt. This leaves the island with no air defense for the upcoming invasion. The land assault on the island itself is about to begin, the next day.

To support the German invasion, eleven Italian submarines ('Nereide', 'Tricheco', 'Uarsciek', 'Fisalia', 'Topazio', 'Adua', 'Dessie', 'Malachite', 'Squalo', 'Smeraldo' and 'Sirena', take up their assigned positions off Crete and the British Sollum and Alexandria bases in Egypt.

Operation Splice: Force H departs Gibraltar with Hurricane fighters for Malta. 48 Hurricane Mk IIs of RAF No. 249 Sqdrn set sail on HMS "Ark Royal" and "Furious".

Axis Convoy, delayed since 16 May, departs Palermo for Tripoli with seven vessels escorted by Italian destroyers "Folgore", "Euro", "Fulmine", "Strale", and "Turbine' supported by two cruisers and three more destroyers.

MIDDLE EAST: Iraqis surrender the town of Fallujah after 57 RAF aircraft drop 10 tons of bombs and field guns bombard their positions. 300 Iraqi troops were taken prisoner. On the same day, German bombers attacked RAF Habbaniya in Iraq. RAF aircraft attack Luftwaffe and Vichy French aircraft at Damascus.

NORTH AFRICA: The largest Italian army still fighting in Ethiopia formally surrendered today. 4,777 Italian and colonial troops formally surrendered at Amba Alagi, Abyssinia at 1115 hours, parading out of the fortress with rifles on their shoulders. They march down the hill with their rifles passing British General Mayne, who takes their salute, and a guard of honour (1 officer and 25 men from each battalion of the 5th Indian Division). The pipe band of the 1st Transvaal Scottish plays. The Duke of Aosta surrenders with 7,000 more Italian troops. Of the 230,000 Italians that started this campaign in East Africa only 80,000 remain. Few Italian troops now remain to be "mopped up" in Ethiopia. Many of the prisoners returned to India or Australia or aboard the 'Queens' passenger liners that had taken the commonwealth soldiers to the North Africa and the Middle East. About 20,000 were in Australia. The rest went to other Commonwealth countries. From May 1943 the Italian prisoners were employed as farm laborers without supervision but under the supervision of nearby control centers staffed by the army. They were paid a minimum of one pound and the scheme was generally considered a success by the Government the prisoners and the farmers. The prisoners were not repatriated immediately after the war because of shortages of shipping, but all had returned home by January 1947. Duke of Aosta spends 1 more day in his mountain stronghold and formally surrenders next day. He will die from tuberculosis in a POW camp in Nairobi, Kenya, on March 3, 1942.

British Army Sergeant Nigel Leakey was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross after being killed in action single-handedly knocking out Italian tanks in Abyssinia.

NORTH AMERICA: The New York Times reports an address by Dr. Fritz Reinhardt, German State Secretary of Finance in which states that;

"...with the German tax and other ordinary revenue estimated at the record sum of 40,000,000,000 marks for 1941 and the war debt considerably smaller than that of Britain, the finances of the Reich are in a healthier condition than ever and there can, therefore, be no question of using the printing press for the financing of the war."

Click to expand...

WESTERN FRONT: Vichy France announced the repatriation of 100,000 French prisoners of war.

18 MAY 1941
Known Reinforcements
Allied
HDMLs 1010, 1073
NO IMAGE FOUND]

Losses
U-107 sank Steamer PIAKO (NZ 8286 grt) SW of Freetown whilst on passage from Albany (West Australia) to Liverpool via Freetown . She was carrying a mixed cargo of primary produce and mail with a crew of 75 of whom 10 were to perish. At 2227 hrs on 18 May 1941 the unescorted PIAKO was hit underneath the bridge by one torpedo from U-107 about 130 miles SW of Freetown, stopped, sent distress signals and was abandoned by the crew. A coup de grace was fired at 2243 hours, which hit in the after part, broke off the stern and caused the ship to sink. Ten crew members were lost. The master, 62 crew members and two gunners were picked up by HMS BRIDGEWATER and landed at Freetown.


UBOATS
At Sea 18 May 1941
U-38, U-43, U-46, U-66, U-69, U-74, U-93, U-94, U-96, U-97, U-98, U-103, U-105, U-106, U-107, U-109, U-111, U-138, , U-556, U-557, UA

21 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
Baltic
BISMARCK's Departure.
At 1000 on the morning of 18 May 1941 in Gotenhafen, Admiral Lütjens inspected PRINZ EUGEN's crew. Afterwards, a conference was held on board the BISMARCK, where the Admiral briefed the operative plan to the two ships' commanders, Captains Ernst Lindemann and Helmuth Brinkmann. It was decided that if the weather proved favourable, they would not stop in the Korsfjord. They would, instead, sail north to refuel from the WEISSEBURG before cruising into the Denmark Strait between Iceland and Greenland with the intention of making the breakout undetected.

Operation Rheinubung 18-27 May 1941

North Sea
British steamer ESKBURN was damaged by the LW off Blyth (Newcastle on Tyne). The steamer arrived in the Tyne in tow on the 19th.

Northern Waters
CL EDINBURGH departed Scapa Flow to patrol in the Bay of Biscay.

West Coast
OB.324 departed Liverpool, escort DD WANDERER and covettes AURICULA, DIANTHUS, MARIGOLD, NASTURTIUM, and PERIWINKLE. The escorted was joined on the 19th by DDs CAMPBELTOWN and WESTCOTT, sloops FLEETWOOD and ROCHESTER, and sloop PRIMROSE. On the 24th, DDs CAMPBELTOWN, WANDERER, and WESTCOTT, sloops FLEETWOOD and ROCHESTER, and corvettes AURICULA, DIANTHUS, MARIGOLD, NASTURTIUM, PERIWINKLE, and PRIMROSE were detached. DDs CHELSEA, VERITY, and VETERAN, and corvette CONVOLVULUS joined. The escort was detached on the 27th when the convoy was dispersed.

Naval drifter JEWEL (RN 84 grt) was sunk on a mine one mile 215° from Pile Light, Belfast Lough. Cresswell and 13 ratings were lost.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Steamer BEGERIN (UK 483 grt) was sunk by the LW 17 miles 295° from South Bishops. The entire crew were rescued.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Channel
Free French fishing vessel LA BRISE was damaged by the LW ten miles west, NW of Seven Stones Light Vessel (WNW of Lands End). The vessel arrived at Newlyn on the 19th.

Med/Biscay
BBs WARSPITE and VALIANT, CL AJAX, and DDs NAPIER, KIMBERLEY, JANUS, ISIS, HEREWARD, DECOY, HERO, and GRIFFIN departed Alexandria at 2000 as Force A 1 to relieve Force A off Crete.

Near misses caused by LW air strikes on Suda Bay again damaged CA YORK and corvette SALVIA. The cruiser was further damaged on 18, 19, 20, and 22 May.

Naval tanker OLNA (RN 12,667 grt) was badly damaged by the LW in Suda Bay and run aground. She was a total loss, the wreck being broken up after the war.


Submarine TETRARCH sank steamer GIOVINEZZA (FI 2362 grt), which departed Tripoli for Benghazi escorted by TBs POLLUCE, off Benghazi.


Nth Atlantic
After being relieved by German tanker EGERLAND, German tanker NORDMARK returned to Germany. The tanker was met on the 18th by DDs ERICH STEINBRINCK, BRUNO HEINEMANN, and FRIEDRICH IHN in the Bay of Biscay. The DDs were relieved on the 19th by DKM MSWs M3, M.4, and M.20. The tanker proceeded up the coast and arrived at Hamburg on the 20th.

Sth Atlantic
BB NELSON and CVL EAGLE departed St Helena to proceed to Freetown. DDs DUNCAN and HIGHLANDER joined on the 21st and were detached for refuelling on the 23rd. On the 24th, DDs BOREAS and VELOX joined the BB and CVL and later that day DDs DUNCAN and HIGHLANDER rejoined after refuelling. All ships arrived at Freetown on the 25th.

Malta
AIR RAIDS DAWN 18 MAY TO DAWN 19 MAY 1941

Weather Cloudy; very poor visibility.

0713-0736 hrsAir raid alert for one JU 88 bomber with a small escort of ME 109 fighters which carries out reconnaissance across the Island at 26000 feet. Malta Hurricanes are scrambled; no interceptions. Anti-aircraft guns engage; no claims.

0825-0845 hrs and 1654-1708 hrs Air raid alerts; raids do not materialise.

OPERATIONS REPORTS SUNDAY 18 MAY 1941

AIR HQ 139 Squadron 5 Blenheims patrolled 90 miles south east of Malta for possible ships detected by RDF; nothing seen.69 Squadron2 Marylands patrol eastern Tunisian coast. Maryland patrol eastern Sicilian coast AM reports hospital ship 70miles from Malta.

May 20 Tuesday
ASIA: A Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" fighter is shot down by the Chinese over the city of Chengdu, north of Chungking. From the wreckage, and from interrogating Japanese prisoners, the Chinese managed to assemble a very accurate data sheet and three-view drawings of the new Japanese fighter. The drawings were given to the U.S. naval attaché, Marine Corps Major James McHugh, who passed them on to the Navy Department in Washington. (for a review of the data sheet - A6M: sussing out the "Chengdu Zero")

PO1c Ei-ichi Kimura (Otsu 5) of the 12th Kokutai was shot down and killed by AA fire over Central China during the day.

The Japanese Army of the North China Theater launched the Jidong (the eastern part of Hebei Province) Operation.

The Central Committee of the CCP Central China Bureau was established.

Japanese ambassador to Washington Kichisaburō Nomura sent confirmation to Tokyo that the Americans were reading some of their coded messages. Nomura replied that while its low-level coded messages may be compromised, its high-level diplomatic messages are secure.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarines U-94, U-98, U-109, and U-556 attacked Allied convoy HX-126 250 miles southeast of Cape Farewell, Greenland, sinking 7 ships. At 0458 hours, the "Norman Monarch" in station #91 of convoy HX-126 was torpedoed and sunk by U-94. The "Harpagus" in station #93 was the designated rescue ship for the column and dropped back to rescue survivors. After picking up the whole complement of 48 men, she set course to regain the convoy. At 2320, the "Harpagus", having almost regained position, was struck by two torpedoes from U-109 in the starboard side and sank very quickly. 25 crewmembers, four gunners, three passengers and 26 survivors were lost. The master, 17 crewmembers and 22 survivors were picked up by destroyer HMS "Burnham" and landed at Reykjavik. At 1448 hours, 1450 hours and 1516 hours, U-556 fired torpedoes at Convoy HX-126 south of Cape Farewell and sank three ships, the "Darlington Court", "British Security" and "Cockaponset". The "British Security" caught fire after she was hit and burned for three days until she sank. The master, 48 crewmembers and four gunners were lost. The master and 40 crewmembers from the "Cockaponset" were picked up by the Dutch rescue ship "Hontestroom" and landed at Reykjavik. The master Charles Hurst, ten crewmembers and one gunner from the "Darlington Court" were picked up by the rescue ship "Hontestroom" and landed at Reykjavik. 22 crewmembers, three gunners and three passengers were lost. At 1817, the "John P. Pedersen", dispersed from Convoy HX-126 was torpedoed by U-94 about 160 miles south of Greenland. One British gunner was lost and 37 survivors abandoned ship in two lifeboats. The U-boat sank the tanker with two coup de grâce fired at 1850 and 1920. 16 survivors in one boat were picked up by the Dutch rescue ship "Hontestroom" on 23 May and taken to Reykjavik. Four of them joined the Norwegian Navy there, while eight continued to Gourock on board the Dutch vessel. Another three were sent to Preston, while one was briefly admitted to a hospital at Reykjavik. The other lifeboat with 21 survivors, including the master (13 Norwegians, two Dutch, two Swedish and four British) was never found.

German submarine U-138 sank British ship "Javanese Prince" 155 miles northwest of Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Italian submarine "Otaria" sank British ship "Starcross" 430 miles west of Ireland; the entire crew survived.

The USN's Task Force 2 consisting of the aircraft carrier USS "Wasp" (CV-7); the heavy cruiser USS "Quincy" (CA-39); and the destroyers USS "Kearny" (DD-432) and USS "Livermore" (DD-429) departs Bermuda for a 4,000+ mile neutrality patrol that concludes in Bermuda on 3 June. The Wasp Air Group consists of Marine Bombing Squadron Two (VMB-2), Fighting Squadron Seventy One (VF-71) and Scouting Squadron Seventy Two (VS-72).

GERMANY: Unternehmen Rheinübung: The German force and their escorting aircraft and ships continued north and west through Scandinavian waters. Though Group North had attempted to keep the route clear of shipping in order to preserve secrecy, to Lütjens's dismay, there was a hole in Group North's net. A squadron of Swedish aircraft flying a routine reconnaissance mission about 20 nautical miles west of Vinga spotted the German ships and reported their sighting to the naval headquarters in Stockholm. The weather was clear, and at 1300 hours, the German ships were sighted by the Swedish cruiser "Gotland" (Captain Agren) which reported the sighting to Stockholm. Lütjens assumed this ship would report his position, and at 1737 hours radioed this incident to Group North, the German Naval command station based in Wilhelmshaven then under the command of Generaladmiral Rolf Carls. The Swedish then leaked it to the British Naval Attaché, Captain Henry W. Denham. Later in the day, from the British embassy in Stockholm, Denham transmitted the following message to the Admiralty in London:"Kattegat, today 20 May. At 1500, two large warships, escorted by three destroyers, five ships and ten or twelve planes, passed Marstrand to the northeast. 2058/20." Meanwhile, at 1615 hours in the afternoon, the 5th Minesweeping Flotilla (Fregattenkapitän Rudolf Lell) joined the German battle group temporarily to help. Admiral Lütjens gave the order not to pass through the cleared opening in the Skagerrak mine barrier out of fear that British submarines might be lurking just beyond. Instead, he ordered Fregattenkapitän Lell to open a new passage through the field. It was a time-consuming operation. The German ships, now making 27 knots and heading due west, finally passed the Kristiansand minefield. The three destroyers, Z-10, Z-16, and Z-23, were ahead, followed by "Bismarck" and "Prinz Eugen" respectively. They were then sighted from the coast by Viggo Axelssen, of the Norwegian resistance, who duly reported the sighting to the British in London via Gunvald Tomstad's secret, unregistered personal transmitter at Flekkefjord. The British now had independent confirmation of Denham's earlier report. During the night the Germans headed north following the Norwegian coast.

Polish Lieutenant J. Just, a prisoner of war of Oflag IV-C at Colditz Castle in Germany, escaped from the hospital at Villingen, Germany but was captured near Basel on the Swiss-German border.

MEDITERRANEAN: THE INVASION OF CRETE:
Unternehmen Merkur: Hitler invades the island of Crete (Unternehmen Merkur). The German plan of assault was actually a compromise of two plans. Generaloberst Alexander Lohr of Luftflotte 4 favored landings around Canea and Maleme in the western part of the island with the forces striking east. Generalleutnant Kurt Student, the founding father of the German airbourne forces, proposes landing at three points – Canea-Maleme, Retimo in the west and Heraklion in the center. The compromise is a two phase attack, phase one consisting of a drop on Canea-Maleme in the morning and drops on Retimo and Heraklion in the afternoon. The forces used in the attack consist of General Student's XI Fliegerkorps containing VII Fliegerdivision – three parachute regiments and an Airborne Assault Regiment of three parachute battalions and a gliderborne battalion totaling 8,100 men. Generalmajor Conrad's transport corps has available 493 Ju 52 transports and seventy-two DFS 230 gliders of KGzbV 1, 101, 102, 105 106, the specially formed KGzbV 40 and 60 and Luftlandgeschwader 1 . A follow-up of two battalions of mountain troops and a mountain division under Generalleutnant Julius Ringel will come by sea escorted by the Italian Navy. There is massive air support from the Luftwaffe which has over 400 bombers and 200 fighters. Air support is to be provided by VIII Fliegerkorps with bombers from I and III./KG 2, and III./KG 3. X Fliegerkorps would also provide bombers from LG 1, II./KG 26 and III./KG 30 flying out of Foggia, Brindisi and Apulia. Close fighter cover is provided by II and III./JG 77 and I(J)./LG 2 totaling 119 Bf 109s along with Stukas from StG 2. Generalleutnant Student is in command and has 5th Mountain Division in reserve. Altogether the Germans employ 23,000 troops. The garrison consists mostly of troops recently evacuated from Greece. There are 32,000 British and Commonwealth troops and about 10,000 Greeks. General Freyberg is in command.

The invasion begins at dawn with air raids against Maleme and Canea by General Wolfram von Richthofen's VIII Fliegerkorps with Bf 109s of JG 77 and Bf 110s of ZG 26. The drop of the first wave of German paratroops by forces of the 7th Paratroop Division from German 11th Air Corps went off almost without a hitch and contrary to expectations, losses of transport aircraft were few. Only 7 of the Ju 52s deployed failed to return to their bases in Greece. But during descent and landing, the paratroops were met by strong defensive fire. 500 glider troops of Group West landed at the airfield at Maleme along with 1,800 paratroopers. Many companies of troops were too widely dispersed. They suffered heavy losses and were virtually incapable of going on the offensive, thus they failed to capture the important Hill 107 near Maleme airfield which was being held by New Zealanders. Despite this the Germans were able to gain a toehold on the Canea-Maleme area. The paratroops were hard hit by the defenses. The survivors were reduced to two groups who take refuge in a chapel and an olive oil factory. German airborne infantry, who made glider landings in the rocky terrain, met surprisingly vigorous Allied fire and suffered far higher losses than they predicted. Instead of carrying out their assignment to secure the landing zone, they were immediately put on the defensive. General Meindl was one of the casualties of the first wave. When news reached Greece that Meindl was out of action, Hermann Bernhard Ramcke, who was then between assignments, decided to accompany the next wave of Fallschirmjäger jumping into the Maleme perimeter. He landed at Maleme and took charge of that sector. Meanwhile the second wave of German paratroop regiments were standing by at Greek airfields, waiting for the return of the transport aircraft that were due to drop them on Crete that same afternoon. But the first wave transports were delayed in arriving back at their takeoff bases and most had to be refueled out of portable fuel drums, which was a slow process. It was no longer possible to relay new orders because British agents had cut all the telephone cables between Luftwaffe XI Corps. The Germans therefore attacked Rethimnon and Heraklion at 1615 hours and 1730 hours. It took almost an hour for the 1,500 troops of Group Centre to land at Retimo because of the heavy traffic back at the Ju 52 airbases. The 2,000 men of Group East also suffered heavy casualties landing at Heraklion. The second wave was expected by the defenders and they were shot to pieces by tanks which appeared before they could free themselves from their parachutes. The attacks on the airfields failed. Regia Aeronautica aircraft bomb and strafe British, Australian and Greek troops defending the Rethimnon-Heraklion sector. As a result, the paratroops of the second wave were often dropped unprotected and, because of the large dust-clouds at the Greek airfields, with considerable delays. 1,856 German airborne troopers were killed during the second attack wave. General Freyberg, still misreading Ultra signals and expecting amphibious landings, holds back artillery and reserve troops. Overnight, amid confusion about who controls Maleme airfield, New Zealand defenders fall back to regroup for an attack in the morning (but reinforcements do not arrive).

The 7th (British) General Hospital, west of Canea, was bombed and machine-gunned from the air and then overrun by German paratroops of III Battalion, 3rd Parachute Regiment. They drove out patients able to walk, herded them and hospital staff into the nearby area of 6th (NZ) Field Ambulance, and later marched their captives towards Galatas. At Suda Bay, Crete, German bombers sank British minesweeper HMS "Widnes". She is later salved by the Germans and commissioned into the Kriegsmarine as UJ.2109.

After sundown, British destroyers HMS "Jervis", HMS "Nizam", and HMS "Ilex" bombarded the German-controlled airfield on the Greek island of Karpathos. Italian torpedo boats unsuccessfully attack RN Force C off Crete overnight.

At Luftflotte 4's operational headquarters at Athens, it is learned that a Ju 52 flown by Captain Kleye is able to land at Maleme under small arms fire and it is this information that convinces General Student to reinforce Group West only.

Flt. Lt. Montague T St. John "Pat" Pattle of 80 Sqn., a South African and the RAF's greatest ace with 41 confirmed victories, is killed in action.

MIDDLE EAST: RAF aircraft attack Luftwaffe aircraft at Mosul as Air-to-air combat between RAF fighters and Luftwaffe fighters occurs over Fallujah. Luftwaffe aircraft attack RAF base at Habbaniya.

NORTH AFRICA: British General Wavell orders 7th Aust Division (Maj-Gen John Lavarack) to move from Mersa Matruh to Palestine in preparation for invasion of Syria.

UNITED KINGDOM: Prime Minister Churchill noted that he was not prepared to make a statement on the arrival of Rudolf Heß in Britain.

Thomas Adlerson of British Air Raid Precautions was presented the George Cross award by King George VI.

WESTERN FRONT: The Gestapo arrest the Communist and Resistance leader Gabriel Peri in Paris.

A circular issued by the central office of emigration tells German consulates that Göring has banned all emigration of Jews from France and Belgium because of the "doubtless imminence of the final solution."

Italian submarine "Perla" arrives Bordeaux from Eritrea and German vessel "Dresden" arrives Bordeaux with prisoners captured from "Zamzam" by raider "Atlantis".


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May 21 Wednesday
ASIA: Seven I-153 fighters of 21st Pursuit Squadron of Chinese 4th Pursuit Group and one I-15 from the 29th Squadron flying in 2 formations on patrol, intercepted 27 unescorted G3M bombers of Japanese Mihoro Kokutai (based in Tainan, Taiwan) over Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China. The first group of I-15s led by Squadron Commander Chen Sheng-hsing shot down one of the Japanese Mitsubishi G3M long rang bombers and damaged another (70 bullet holes were found). This was the first Chinese claim with the Polikarpov I-153.

"Kaga" was made the flagship of Carrier Division 1 of the Japanese Navy First Air Fleet at Sasebo, Japan.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-69 sank unarmed American freighter "Robin Moor" by torpedo and gunfire 800 miles off the coast of British West Africa at 0525 hours. "Robin Moor" was the first American merchantman to be sunk by a German submarine in WW2. All 46 aboard survived. The ship was enroute to South Africa and Mozambique and U.S. flags were prominently painted on her sides. US President Roosevelt protested the sinking and unsuccessfully demanded compensation from Germany. He describes this as "an act of intimidation" to which "we do not propose to yield". At midnight at the very end of the day, U-69 struck again, sinking British ship "Tewkesbury"; all 42 aboard survived. U-69 continued on her secret mission to mine Takoradi and Lagos, but with her position compromised, she radioed back in plain text (she'd passed over her ENIGMA machine and code books earlier because of the risk of capture) to Doenitz that she had sunk "Robin Moor" too. Both "Tewkesbury's" lifeboats were independently picked up. Captain Pryse's boat was spotted by USS "Exhibitor" after five and a half days. Chief Officer Howlett's boat was spotted by USS "Antinous" after thirteen and a half days. Howlett eventually received an MBE for his leadership, whilst Bosun Ramirez received a King's Commendation for Brave Conduct for grappling a shark that mounted the sternsheets of his lifeboat, thereby saving the occupants. One of "Robin Moor's" boats was picked up by a British merchantman on 3 June and the other on 8 June by a Brazilian merchantman.

German submarine U-93 sank Dutch tanker "Elusa" off Greenland; 5 were killed, 49 survived. German submarine U-98 sank British ship "Marconi"; 22 were killed, 56 survived and rescued by US Coast Guard patrol boat "General Greene".

EASTERN EUROPE: At a meeting of the Central Committee War Section in Moscow, Russia, the intelligence reports, provided by Communist sympathizers in Germany, that an attack on the Soviet Union was imminent was greeted with much apprehension. Stalin however still refused to accept the intelligence, believing that the reports must be either deliberate provocation of misinformation by the British to get the Soviet Union involved in the war. When General Proskurov, the head of Soviet Intelligence, argued personally with Stalin, he was duly arrested and shot.

GERMANY: Unternehmen Rheinübung: German battleship "Bismarck" and cruiser "Prinz Eugen" stopped in Grimstadfjord, Norway to refuel. While at their anchorages, "Bismarck" and "Prinz Eugen" were repainted, took on additional supplies, and "Prinz Eugen" topped up her fuel tanks, but "Bismarck" did not. It was now very important for the British to locate the two German ships and to keep track of their movements. The Royal Air Force began to undertake reconnaissance missions along the coast of Norway in an attempt to locate and positively identify the reported German warships. On the morning of 21 May, RAF photographic-reconnaissance Spitfires took off from northern Scotland to scout the lower portion of the Norwegian coastline, especially its fjord systems which could easily hide the ships. At 1315 hours, RAF Flying Officer Michael Suckling, flying a Spitfire fighter, spotted the warships in Grimstadfjord. After this discovery, RAF Bomber Command was immediately ordered to attack her anchorage. British Home Fleet commander Admiral John Tovey dispatched all available warships to prevent the Germans from breaking out to the North Atlantic. The German ships completed refueling at 1900 hours and the formation continued on its way, moving westwards. Later that evening, the weather worsened and the sky became completely overcast. At about 2300 hours they turned away from the rocky shoreline with the destroyers in the lead, followed by "Bismarck" and "Prinz Eugen". After dark, British bombers attacked the empty Grimstadfjord. Two of the Home Fleet's capital ships, HMS "Hood" and HMS "Prince of Wales" (the latter new and still working up), sailed from Scapa Flow towards Iceland to support the cruisers on Northern Patrol.

MEDITERRANEAN Unternehmen Merkur: Overnight, the 22nd New Zealand Infantry Battalion withdrew from Hill 107, leaving Maleme airfield undefended. During the previous day, the Germans had cut communications between the two westernmost companies of the battalion and the battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Leslie Andrew VC, who was on the eastern side of the airfield. The lack of communication was assumed to mean that the battalion had been overrun in the west. With the weakened state of the eastern elements of the battalion and believing the western elements to have been overrun, Andrew requested reinforcement by the 23rd Battalion. Brigadier James Hargest denied the request on the mistaken grounds that the 23rd Battalion was busy repulsing parachutists in its sector. After a failed counter-attack late in the day of the 20 May, with the eastern elements of his battalion, Andrew withdrew under cover of darkness to regroup, with the consent of Hargest. Captain Campbell, commanding the western-most company of the 22nd Battalion, out of contact with Andrew, did not learn of the withdrawal of the 22nd Battalion until early in the morning, at which point he also withdrew from the west of the airfield. This misunderstanding, representative of the failings of communication and coordination in the defense of Crete, cost the Allies the airfield and allowed the Germans to reinforce their invasion force unopposed with elements of the 5. Gebirgsjäger Division. Student decided to concentrate on Maleme, as this was the area where the most progress had been made and because an early morning reconnaissance flight over Maleme airfield was unopposed. He commits the last reserve of his 1,880 paratroops into Maleme. General Student sends in 2 more companies of paratroops who are slaughtered as they land among New Zealand Maori troops. Student then ignores German doctrine not to reinforce failure and sends 40 Ju52 transports to land 650 5. Gebirgsjäger Division troops on Maleme airfield. The men of German 5. Gebirgsjäger Division landed in time to support the paratroopers already in position against a British counter attack on the airfield. The wounded General Meindl was succeeded by Colonel Ramcke. Ramcke and 500 Fallschirmjäger reinforcements drop into Crete west of the Tavronitis and east of the airfield at Maleme. Upon landing, Ramcke was briefed on the current situation by Oberleutnant Göttsche, the Nachrichtenoffizier of Luftlande Sturmregiment Stab. Maleme airfield had been captured but allied artillery spotters were dug in on the slopes of Hill 107, which overlooked the airfield and were directing fire on to the airstrip. Many of the transport aircraft that delivered the troops were damaged or destroyed on the airfield before they could take off as the Allies continued to pour artillery fire into the area. One German assault group was about to launch an attack on Hill 107 and the first of the Ju 52's carrying the badly needed Mountain Troops had just landed, although under heavy artillery fire. Once grouped, the Gebirgsjäger were ordered to head south and outflank the enemy positions. Two battle groups of Fallschirmjäger were ordered eastwards to try and break through to Group Centre at Chania. Meanwhile New Zealand General Freyberg had held back his reserves despite the German presence at Maleme, believing that the main German invasion was still to come at the beaches but by the afternoon, Freyberg ordered a counter-attack to retake Maleme airfield. The 2/7th Battalion was to move 18 miles (29 km) north to relieve the 20th Battalion, which would participate in the attack. The 2/7th Battalion had no transport and vehicles for the battalion were delayed by German aircraft. By the time the battalion moved north to relieve 20th Battalion for the counter-attack, it was 23:30 hours and the 20th Battalion took three hours to reach the staging area, its first elements arriving around 02:45 hours. The counter-attack began at 03:30 but failed because of German daylight air support. Gunfire from HMS 'Juno' bombards the Scarpanto airfield. StG 2 responds with air attacks. Italian bombers from 41 Gruppo based on Rhodes finally sink HMS 'Juno'. Out at sea, German aircraft damaged HMS "Dido", HMS "Orion", and HMS "Ajax".

During the night, a German convoy attempting to reach the island is intercepted and turned back without loss by a force of cruisers and destroyers. In the early hours, 3 British cruisers and 4 destroyers intercepted and sank 11 small Axis vessels, killing 297 Germans. At the nearby island of Milos, 19 fishing boats and 2 small passenger ships disembarked 2,331 German infantry.

The Brothers von Blücher were a trio of German brothers and Fallschirmjäger of the Luftwaffe who fell in combat within hours of the same day during the fierce Battle of Crete. The first to fall was youngster Hans-Joachim Graf von Blücher, who was attempting to resupply his brother, Oberleutnant Wolfgang Graf von Blücher, with ammunition when the latter and his platoon were surrounded by members of the British Black Watch. The 17-year-old Hans-Joachim had commandeered a horse, which he attempted to gallop through British lines. The talented equestrian almost reached his brother's position, and in fact was shot before his brother's very eyes. 24-year-old platoon commander Wolfgang and his men of the Fallschirmjägerregiment 1, who had arrived with the first wave and were hopelessly surrounded, were at last out of ammunition. The rest of their platoon was overrun by British armoured vehicles and killed around midday. Wolfgang's younger brother, the 19-year-old Leberecht Graf von Blücher, had also arrived with the second wave. He was reported killed in action on the same day but his body was never recovered. In 1974, Wolfgang and Hans-Joachim were reunited in a single grave at the German War Cemetery on a hill behind the airfield at Maleme, Crete. For years afterward, Cretan villagers reported seeing a ghostly rider galloping at night down a road near the spot where the young Fallschirmjäger Hans-Joachim Graf von Blücher was shot. Yet until they were told the story of the German von Blücher brothers, they had assumed that the ghostly rider was British.

German vessel "Marburg" sunk by a mine while en route from Patrai to Taranto with loss of 61 tanks and 654 men of 2.Panzerdivision. German vessel "Kybfels" was also sunk by a mine while en route from Patrai to Taranto with the loss of 61 tanks and 683 men of 2.Panzerdivision.

Operation Splice: Forty-eight Hurricane fighters take off from RN aircraft carriers "Ark Royal" and "Furious" of Force H, all landing safely at Malta. In the air fighting over Malta since January the Germans have lost 62 aircraft and the Italians 15. The British losses in the air have been 32 machines, as well as an equal number destroyed on the ground.

MIDDLE EAST: Wavell orders General Maitland Wilson to prepare plans for invasion of Syria. Wilson will have 7th Australian Division (less one brigade), 5th Indian Brigade and 5,000 Free French. Altogether the initial invasion force will be about 34,000 – 18,000 Australians, 9,000 British, 5,000 Free French and 2,000 Indians. The Vichy commander General Dentz has about 35,000 troops comprising 20 battalions of French-led Senegalese, Algerian and Moroccan troops, plus four battalions of 6th French Foreign Legion Regiment. These 3,000 mixed French, Spanish, Germans, Russians and Irish will prove the best troops on the Vichy side and will frequently be shifted to threatened sectors. Crucially, General Dentz has 90 first-line tanks, whereas the British have none, and only limited Australian light armour. The allies have 70 aircraft versus 100 French aircraft. The French Dewoitine S520 will prove the equal of Commonwealth Hurricanes and Tomahawks. Both sides will make use of naval bombardment on the coastal axis, however the allies have a stronger naval force. Vice-Admiral King RN has three cruisers, six destroyers and a landing ship versus several French destroyers. A French defector, Colonel Collet, informs the Free French that the Vichy French army in Syria would not oppose arrival of German air units and would fight the Allies. They had already assumed defensive positions along the border.

NORTH AFRICA: The 3rd Staffel of I./JG 27 shoots down five RAF Blenheims.

East African 22nd Infantry Brigade captures Colito in Galla-Sidamo.

NORTH AMERICA: President Roosevelt promises six additional small aircraft carriers to PM Churchill. The first three should be available in three or four months. These were six Bobue/Prince William Class ships that the US Navy identified as BAVG's, i.e., British Aircraft Escort Vessels. The ninth Lake-class US Coast Guard Cutter, USCGC "Shoshone" (CGC-50), is transferred to the Royal Navy as HMS "Languard".

The USN begins work on a liquid-fuelled assisted takeoff unit for use on patrol planes which became known as jet assisted takeoff.

NORTHERN EUROPE: Norway Theatre Strike: A theatre strike began in Norway as a response to the revocation of working permits for six actors who refused to perform on Nazi-controlled radio. The six actors were called to meet at the police headquarters Victoria Terrasse for interrogation, and all six were revoked of their working permits as actors. From the next day onward, the theatres in Bergen and Trondheim also joined the strike. This was the first time during the occupation that a complete occupational group went on strike. The conflict quickly escalated, as the Nazi authorities did not accept such behavior.

SOUTH PACIFIC: Grunert recommends to Marshall that a conference be held at the Philippine Department Headquarters at Fort McKinley to develop plans for defense of the islands, this to be paid for from the $52 million in impounded "Sugar Excise Funds". This was either ignored or not approved. Marshall informs Stimson that MacArthur would command when the Philippine forces were mobilized.

UNITED KINGDOM: The Women's Land Army in the United Kingdom was declared to have over 11,000 members.

WESTERN FRONT: A Vichy French military court sentenced 56 enlisted soldiers who sided with de Gaulle to death or hard labor, in absentia.

Vichy France government confiscated all property owned by Free French troops.

The Germans request that foreign diplomatic agents in Paris evacuate by June 10.

RAF Fighter Command conducted Circus operations against Gosnay power station as RAF Bomber Command sent 45 aircraft on anti-shipping missions.

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May 22 Thursday
ASIA: At 1020 hours, the Chinese 4th PG ordered its aircraft to fly to dispersal strips. Liu Chi-Sheng, Squadron Commander of the Chinese 24th Pursuit Squadron, led seven I-16s towards Wu Wei with a Tupolev SB-III flown by Yang Chung-An, Squadron Commander of the Chinese 9th Bomb Squadron, providing navigational support. One of the I-16s could not retract its gears and diverted to Hsi Ku Cheng Airfield at Lanzhou. At 1102 hours the remaining I-16s found bad weather in the vicinity of Wu Wei and diverted to Chung Chuan Chun Airfield north of Lanzhou. Shortly after 1210 hours when everyone had landed, 25 Japanese G3M bombers from the unit of Mihoro Kōkūtai (based in Tainan, Taiwan) with A6M Zero fighters in escort attacked Lanzhou. As the Japanese bombers were sighted overhead, one of the I-16s flown by Kao You-hsing having just landed with the engine still running, took off to attack the Japanese planes, anticipating that the Japanese would turn back to attack the Chinese planes on the ground. Sure enough, nine bombers returned flying at 5,000 meters and were attacked by Kao. The first pass was made from the left side, followed by a pass from the front. Kao fired from 400 meters and dived under the formation after the pass. Two G3Ms; the leader and no. 2 of the 3rd shotai, were seen to emit smoke. Kao made three more passes from the side disrupting the Japanese bomb runs. With the precious time bought by Kao's attack, the Chinese ground crews were able to get the remaining I-16s started. All five remaining fighters got away with only one of them suffering damage from the fragments of 45 bombs that the G3Ms dropped on the airfield. One G3M, flown by Lieutenant Shin-Taro Hashimoto, went down between Hai Yuan and Ching Yuan. All onboard were killed. Most of the G3M bombers, however, bombed the city uncontested.

As a result of air attacks, 17 aircraft (I-153s) of the 5th PG were sent to Nanzheng (Henan Province) during the day in order to defend it from the Japanese attacks. While refuelling at Tianshu (Gansu Province) they were all destroyed on the ground. The newly appointed commander of the group, Lu Enlung was relieved of command. The Japanese didn't suffer any losses in this attack.

The 12th Kokutai attacked Chengdu during the day. During the attack PO3c Shizuo Ishi-I claimed an SB bomber for his first victory (totally 29 – 3 in China).

ATLANTIC OCEAN: HMS "Edinburgh" intercepted German ship "Lech" in the Bay of Biscay.

German submarine U-111 sank British ship "Barnby" 400 miles southwest of Ireland at 1340 hours; 1 was killed, 44 survived.

German submarine U-103 sank British tanker "Grenadier" 50 miles off Sierra Leone, British West Africa at midnight; the entire crew of 49 survived.

EASTERN EUROPE: Vyacheslav Molotov met with Friedrich Werner von der Schulenburg in Moscow, Russia. Schulenburg, the German ambassador, reported that Molotov was extremely friendly.

Jews in Croatia were required to wear yellow badges.

GERMANY: Unternehmen Rheinübung: British aerial reconnaissance finally confirmed that the German battleship "Bismarck" and cruiser "Prinz Eugen" had left Grimstadfjord, Norway. Around 0500 hours, Lütjens released the destroyers that had shielded the formation from British submarines. From now on, the "Bismarck" and "Prinz Eugen" were alone, and the squadron continued northwards at 24 knots. Lütjens was still uncertain whether to go north or south of Iceland. At noon, Lütjens advised the "Prinz Eugen" that he intended to go direct for the Denmark Strait but not to oil from "Weissenburg" (German tanker) unless the weather lifted. At 1237 hours, "Bismarck" sounded her submarine and aircraft alarms - a periscope sighting had been reported. The task force turned to port and steered a zigzag course for half an hour, but nothing transpired and at 1307 hours it resumed its former course. Due to poor weather and thick fog the "Bismarck" shone her big searchlights astern to help the "Prinz Eugen" keep position. They were now in the northern latitudes, where the nights are almost as light as the days, so they could stay in a tight formation and maintain 24 knots even in poor visibility.

A German aerial reconnaissance to Scapa Flow, Scotland, seeing dummy warships in port, reported that the British fleet was still in port. The main body of the Home Fleet had already left Scapa Flow and were heading west. Admiral Tovey had ordered HMS "Hood" and HMS "Prince of Wales" to take station south of Iceland. There they would be in a position to cover the Denmark Strait passage or turn east to back up the forces covering the Faeroes-Iceland passage should "Bismarck" appear in that area. The "Suffolk" was ordered to join the "Norfolk", in the Denmark Strait. The light cruisers "Arethusa", "Birmingham" and "Manchester" were directed to resume their patrol of the Faeroes-Iceland passage after refueling at their bases in Iceland. Admiral Tovey then formed his second task force from the remainder of the Home Fleet that was still at Scapa Flow. This included the battleship "King George V", aircraft carrier "Victorious", light cruisers "Aurora", "Galatea", "Hermione", "Kenya", and "Neptune", and six destroyers. This second force left port some time before midnight. The "Repulse", about to embark on convoy duty, was recalled from the Firth of Clyde near Glasgow and ordered to join Admiral Tovey's force at sea north-west of Scotland. There the task force would lie in wait behind the light cruiser screen, ready to pounce on the "Bismarck" should she attempt the Iceland-Faeroes passage, or be prepared to turn westward and support the "Hood"-"Prince of Wales" task force should the Germans come through the Denmark Strait. At 2322 hours Lütjens ordered a course change to the west: a course toward the Denmark Strait.

Himmler formed a Norwegian SS organization, modeling it after the German counterpart.

Erich Raeder responded to Adolf Hitler's inquiry regarding a German occupation of the Azores islands as long range bomber bases (although Germany had no such bombers at that time) as difficult, as the German Navy was not strong enough to guard the islands should they be taken.

Kesselring moves the headquarters of his air fleet east to Posen.

MEDITERRANEAN Unternehmen Merkur: Australian and New Zealand troops counterattacked at Maleme at 0330 hours, but German 5. Gebirsgäger Division troops repulsed the attack. Australian and New Zealand troops were then pulled back from Maleme to Suda Bay to protect the main supply point while regrouping for another counterattack. The empty positions on Hill 107 were found early in the morning. With control of Maleme airfield, General Student sends more Junkers Ju 52 transports bringing in 2 battalions of fresh troops. The airfield is still under Allied artillery fire and many Junkers are destroyed with considerable casualties but, during the day, Germans establish control on the West end of the island. The Gebirgsjäger commander, General Ringel, lands and Ramcke hands over command of German forces in the west of the island. He then joins his battlegroups who had broken out to the east and taken part in the fierce fighting for the Platanias Ridge, which overlooked the northern coast toward Chania. Additional Ju 52 aircraft brought two more battalions of troops (2,000 paratroops) at Maleme. Allied commanders, many miles from Maleme, are mistakenly under the delusion that Germans are using Ju 52 transport planes to withdraw from the island. They withdraw the ANZAC troops to prepare a counterattack to regain the airfield.

The British Eastern Mediterranean Fleet, commanded by Admiral Andrew B. Cunningham, was given the task of destroying the seaborne follow-on element of the German force. The RN would operate without air support, which had been withdrawn to Egypt. To cover all avenues of approach, Cunningham divided his fleet into four separate forces. Two cruiser-destroyer forces were used to cover the west end of Crete and one was placed in the east. A battleship support force was kept to the southwest of Crete in the event that the Italian Fleet put to sea to support the invasion force. Cunningham directed that the British forces should retire south of Crete by day beyond the range of German aircraft. He also directed his forces to concentrate for better anti-aircraft barrage fire. Force A, made up of the battleships "Warspite" and "Valiant" with the destroyers "Napier", "Kimberley", "Janus", "Isis", "Imperial" and "Griffin", was positioned 100 miles southwest of Crete. Vice-Admiral H.B. Rawlings commanded with his flag in "Warspite". Force B, made up of the light cruisers "Gloucester" and "Fiji" with the destroyers "Greyhound" and "Griffin", carried out sweeps between the mainland of Greece and Kythira Island. Captain H.A. Rowley commanded with his flag in "Gloucester". Force C, made up of the light cruisers "Naiad" and "Perth" plus four destroyers covered the Kaso Strait at the east end of Crete. Rear Admiral E.L.S King commanded with his flag in "Naiad" Force D, made up of the light cruisers "Dido", "Orion" and "Ajax" with the destroyers "Hasty", "Hero" and "Hereward", was positioned off the west end of Crete. Rear-Admiral I.G. Glennie commanded with his flag in "Naiad". Dawn on the morning of 22 May found Forces B, C, and D off the northwest coast of Crete. Admiral King's Force C intercepted a German convoy in the mid-forenoon and destroyed approximately half of the force before threat of air attack forced King to break off the pursuit. In order to prevent the Royal Navy from attacking the German support fleet, the Luftwaffe sent bombers against the British fleet. A force of four cruisers and three destroyers from the British Mediterranean Fleet were spotted to the north of the island. They are attacked by Ju87s of St.G 2 and later by Do 17s of KG 2 and Ju88s from Hptm Cuno Hoffman's I./LG 1 from Eleusis, damaging HMS "Naiad" (6 killed), HMS "Calcutta" (14 killed), and HMS "Kingston" (1 killed) at 1000 hours. ZG 26's Bf 110s, based at Argos, in company with Bf109s from I.(J)/LG 2 and II. and III./JG 77 escort the bombers and dive-bombers of VIII Fliegerkorps. At 1200 hours, HMS "Greyhound" was sunk (76 killed) and HMS "Warspite" was damaged (43 killed). The cruiser HMS "Gloucester", going to pick up Greyhound's survivors was rendered dead in the water by a heavy aircraft attack west of Crete and was sunk by bombs from St.G 2 and I. and II./LG 1 (722 killed). Three hours later cruiser HMS "Fiji" (257 killed) was caught by a single Bf 109 fighter-bomber which reduced her speed to 17 knots and a heavy list. Then she took three hits above the A boiler room and rendered dead in the water. With no ammunition left on board she finally rolled over and sank. There are 248 casualties, but HMS "Kingston" and HMS "Kandahar" returned after dark and rescue 523 officers and men, amongst them Stoker Walter Arnold who had survived the sinking of HMS "Thetis". In the afternoon Bf 109E Jabos from I(J)./LG 2 attack the battleship HMS 'Warspite'. Led by Wolf-Dietrich Huy, the four Messerschmitts approach the ship head-on and destroy several guns on the battleship. Continued attacks by bombers, Stukas and Bf 110s from ZG 26 and Bf 109E-4 Jabos of JG 77 – led by Major Kurt Ubben - finally seriously damage the battleship. The British battleship HMS 'Valiant' is also heavily damaged.

New Zealand Second Lieutenant Charles Upham commanded a forward platoon in an attack on Maleme, during which he led his unit in advancing 3,000 yards, destroying many enemy defensive positions along the way, including wiping out a machine gun post with a grenade by himself. While falling back, he helped a wounded man out of the battle zone under fire and helped an isolated company back to friendly lines. He would later win the Victoria Cross award.

MIDDLE EAST: General Wilson meets Maj-Gen Lavarack for the first time at Sarafand in mid-Palestine. Australian troops are ordered not to wear slouch hats within 10 miles of the frontier. General Wilson's planning will be based on the assumption that the French in Syria will show little resistance. Therefore he proposes to advance in three separate brigade columns along isolated roads with no lateral communications.

Iraqi 6th Infantry Brigade counterattacked the British troops at Fallujah, Iraq with Italian-made light tanks, unsuccessfully. There is fighting all day but the British hold the town with reinforcements from RAF Habbaniya (capturing 6 light tanks).

Six sailors from HMAS "Yarra", (sloop), disguised as Arab fishermen, carried out a daring reconnaissance of Maqil, Iraq. This was in preparation for Operation Scoop, which was the British invasion of Iraq to prevent the country siding with Germany.

NORTH AFRICA: East African 22nd Infantry Brigade captures Soddu in Galla-Sidamo in Ethiopia. Italian 21st and 24th Colonial Divisions ordered to withdraw west across the Omo River in Galla-Sidamo.

RAF bombers raid Benghazi in Libya.

NORTH AMERICA: The first batch of the Curtiss Hawk 81 fighters, known as Kittyhawk I to the British and P-40D to the Americans, was ordered by both the British Royal Air Force and the US Army.

US Navy transferred ships from the Pacific Fleet to the Atlantic Fleet.

President Roosevelt orders immediate preparations for American occupation of the Azores.

NORTHERN EUROPE: Norway Theatre Strike: Theatre directors were summoned to the Gestapo and instructed to order the actors to resume performing. The instructions were accompanied with threats of strongest reprisals.

WESTERN FRONT: RAF Fighter Command conducted Rhubarb operations while RAF Bomber Command sent 16 aircraft on anti-shipping missions.

The British government warned the Vichy government of consequences if it continues to collaborate with Germany.

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I never get tired of the Bismarck story.....

May 23 Friday
ATLANTIC OCEAN: Unternehmen Rheinübung: Early in the morning German battleship "Bismarck" and cruiser "Prinz Eugen" entered the Denmark Strait. By the late afternoon, "Bismarck" and "Prinz Eugen" were approaching the pack ice off the coast of Greenland. From there, they turned on a southerly course. The German squadron proceeded cautiously down the dangerous channel during the rest of the afternoon. The narrow passage was the most dangerous part of the breakout, being at this time of year not more than 48 kilometer (30 miles) to 64 kilometer (40 miles) wide. In the early evening, the alarm bells on "Bismarck" sounded again. "Bismarck" and "Prinz Eugen" had been spotted by British cruisers HMS "Suffolk" and HMS "Norfolk" in the Denmark Strait. "Bismarck" sighted "Suffolk" on her portside at 1922 hours, then cruiser "Norfolk" at 2030 hours. As soon as the lookouts on "Suffolk" spotted the German ships, "Suffolk" turned toward the coast of Iceland to hide inside the fog. "Suffolk" later came around and fell astern of the German task force to begin shadowing it. A few minutes before 2030 hours, the radar of the "Bismarck" detected a new contact closing from the port bow. It was the "Norfolk", which had come up to assist the "Suffolk" after receiving her sighting report. The British cruiser was in the clear, and "Bismarck" immediately took her under fire with her main armament. Her main battery fired at "Norfolk" but did not score any hits. The "Norfolk" fell back and joined "Suffolk" shadowing the German squadron. The blast from "Bismarck's" guns when firing at "Norfolk" had put her forward radar out of action, and she was now blind ahead. A desire to have eyes in front of him and also perhaps a fear that the shadowing British ships might creep up on "Prinz Eugen" in bad visibility, caused Lütjens to signal to "Prinz Eugen" to take station ahead. Now "Prinz Eugen" was in the lead, "Bismarck" astern of her, "Norfolk" and "Suffolk" ten to fourteen miles astern of "Bismarck", all going at nearly thirty knots. HMS "Hood" and HMS "Prince of Wales", escorted by destroyers HMS "Electra", HMS "Anthony", HMS "Echo", HMS "Icarus", HMS "Achates" and HMS "Antelope", continued to press on to intercept west of Iceland. Throughout the rest of the evening, both forces continued on their convergent courses. The Germans made several attempts during the night to shake off their pursuers, but to no avail. At about 2200 hours, "Bismarck" doubled back on her course hoping to catch the British cruisers by surprise, but they were nowhere in sight. The "Suffolk" had detected the maneuver on her radar, and both cruisers disappeared in the fog as the German ship approached. When the "Bismarck" returned to her original course, both British cruisers resumed their shadowing duties astern of the German task force. The Germans kept on a course, about parallel to the coast of Greenland.

German submarine U-38 sank Dutch ship "Berhala" 200 miles off Guinea, French West Africa at 2020 hours; 3 were killed, 59 survived.

GERMANY: Adolf Hitler issued Directive 30 to send forces to aid Iraq in its war against the British. http://der-fuehrer.org/reden/english/wardirectives/30.html

Göring issues a directive for economic exploitation of the USSR. Göring ordered the plunder and destruction of Soviet industrial centers since the conquered Soviet population would be no more than low laborers for Germany. He says that famine and the deaths of millions of Russians are inevitable.

Finnish military delegation, headed by Lt. Gen. Erik Heinrichs, travels to Germany. In the next two days they're engaged in negotiations with generals Jodl and Halder about the Finnish military dispositions in the event of a Russo-German war. While the Finns are not empowered to make any binding promises, it is understood that Finland shall prepare to go to war against Soviet Union. Since the end of the Winter War in March 1940, Finland had looked for an opportunity to seek redress for issues, one way or another. During the Winter War Germany had been very cool towards Finland, respecting the pact it had with Stalin. But in late 1940 the attitude began to change. Hitler had decided to go to war with the Soviet Union, and the Finns were in that case valuable allies. Germany began to sell arms to Finland, and soon began dropping hints about a possible change in the Russo-German relations. In the spring of 1941 the Fenno-German co-operation had become quite concrete, and German troops were streaming into northern Finland.

RAF Bomber Command sends 51 aircraft to attack Cologne overnight.

MEDITERRANEAN Unternehmen Merkur: On Crete, bitter fighting continued. The Allies are pushed back to Galatas as German forces build-up around Maleme. During the night Ramcke's forces break though to Oberst Heidrich at Galatos. German Sturm Regiment links up with 3rd Fallschirmjäger Regiment and begins pushing NZ forces toward Canea. During the day, German reinforcements arrived at Maleme airfield, but the attempts to land troops by sea were rebuffed. The first Luftwaffe fighters land at Maleme as RAF bombers and long-range Hurricanes attack German positions at the airfield. The Germans now controlled the west end of the island as German 1st Fallschirmjäger Regiment is holding a coastal perimeter east of Heraklion. Paratroops push along the North coast against the British and ANZACs while mountain troops tackle the hilly backbone of the island held by poorly-armed Greek troops and Cretan guerrillas. The New Zealand defence line is smashed by Stuka dive bombers and the way to Chania is open. German bombing of Suda Bay sank 5 British motor torpedo boats. 24 Ju87 dive-bombers of Oblt. Oscar Dinort's StG 2 attacked the British 5th Destroyer Flotilla and sank the HMS 'Kelly' and HMS 'Kashmir'. HMS "Kelly" commanded by Lord Louis Mountbatten, great grandson of Queen Victoria and the only man other than the King to hold rank in all three military services simultaneously, was sunk 35 miles south of Crete at 0800 hours. There are 128 survivors, including Mountbatten who is thrown in to the Mediterranean. Mountbatten was still on the bridge of the ship when it finally flipped over; nevertheless, he managed to swim to shore and take control of the rescue operation. Destroyer HMS "Kashmir" sinks within two minutes of the air attack. There are 153 survivors who are rescued by HMS "Kipling" which is also attacked, but escapes by some nifty handling. It leaves her so short of fuel that net layer HMS "Protector" has to be sent out from Alexandria to supply her with fuel. "Kipling" lands 281 survivors from both destroyers.

Twelve Fiat CR-42 fighters of 155th Squadriglia depart Italy for Iraq.

HMS "Hasty" (Capt. Nigel Austen) in company with HMS "Hotspur" sink U-79 after a long and determined pursuit in which both warships almost exhausted their supply of depth charges. For this Capt. Austen will receive his first DSO and a personal visit from the Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham, who is delighted at this first U-boat kill in the eastern Mediterranean.

MIDDLE EAST: At Fallujah, Iraq, fighters of the German Fliegerführer Irak squadron strafed British positions.

NORTH AMERICA: Newfoundland Command and Newfoundland Escort Force (NEF) established. There were virtually no naval facilities in existence in St. Johns and initially, ships of the Royal Navy provided from operational support alongside. The RN auxiliary oiler "Teakwood" arrived on 29 May and the stores ship "City of Dieppe" arrived on 03 June. A second oiler, "Clam", arrived on 9 June and on 14 June the submarine depot ship "Forth" arrived. She was replaced in September by the destroyer depot ship "Greenwich", which, despite her smaller size and greater age, was more suited to the needs of the NEF. A Great Lakes passenger steamer, known as HMCS "Avalon II", was added to serve as an floating barracks. Cmdre Leonard Warren Murray RCN arrived to assume command on 15 June. Corvettes HMCS "Aggasiz", "Alberni", "Chambly", "Cobalt", "Collingwood", "Orillia" and "Wetaskiwin" departed Halifax for St John's to join Newfoundland Escort Force.

NORTHERN EUROPE: Norway Theatre Strike: At a meeting between directors and actors in Oslo, the German threats were communicated to the actors. The meeting decided to keep on striking, with 110 against 18 votes.

UNITED KINGDOM: The "black propaganda" station GS1 makes its first broadcast to Germany, calling Churchill a "flat-footed bastard of a drunken old Jew."

The Admiralty invites the governments of Canada and Newfoundland to use St. John's, Newfoundland as an advanced base for joint escort services. This will enable continuous naval escort over the whole of the north Atlantic route.

In May 1941, the Germans started dropping a new type of mine, known as 'G' type, which had no parachute and which if it did not explode on impact, buried itself deeply in the ground (twenty to thirty feet or more). On 22 May 1941, Lt Frederick Ronald Bertram Fortt, RNVR, and Lt Denis James Patrick O'Hagan RCNVR were sent to Nuneaton to deal with one of the first 'G' mines dropped on land and unexpended. It was already known that it contained a new anti-handling mechanism activated by a photo-electric cell, which would explode when exposed to daylight and it was necessary to remove the unit of the mine containing this device before the mine would be safe to handle. Instruction showed that it was necessary to work in darkness and also that the mine would probably be magnetically alive and sensitive to any magnetic influence. The Nuneaton Bomb Disposal Squad (Lt R.A. McClune) volunteered to work on the preliminary heavy excavation, up to the point of locating the mine. The mine was found at twenty-two feet and Fortt and O'Hagan freed the end from the surrounding sub-soil; then widened the bottom of the shaft sufficiently for the necessary operations to be carried out upon the magnetic unit. The soil being in the form of petrified clay, work could only be carried out with picks and shovels regardless of any effect which the vibrations would have upon the mechanism of the mine -- then very largely and unknown quantity. To add to the difficulties, those parts which had to be removed in the early and most dangerous stages of the operation were very heavy, in practice too heavy for one man alone -- this was why two officers were sent. Working in the dark, they successfully removed the magnetic unit and primer and, after further excavation, the fuse. Dealing with an unknown mine, courage of a very high order is required. The operation was brought to a successful conclusion. Fortt has been in Land Incident Section for eight months and has dealt with thirty mines. O'Hagan for ten months and has dealt with twenty-three mines.

WESTERN FRONT: Vichy Vice-Premier François Darlan made a radio broadcast to the French people denying that he was ever asked to hand over the French Navy or any colonial territory during his recent conversations with Hitler.

"France freely is choosing the road she is taking," Darlan stated. "On her depends her present and her future. She will have the peace which she makes herself. She will have the place in the organization of Europe which she will have made for herself. It is necessary for her to choose between life and death. The Marshal and the Government have chosen life".

Click to expand...

Gillian Gerson -- a citizen of Chile and pre-war resident of Paris, still holding valid French visa -- enters the unoccupied zone of Vichy as the first female SOE agent in France.

RAF Bomber Command sends 20 aircraft on anti-shipping missions along coast of occupied Europe.

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19 MAY 1941
Known Reinforcements
Allied
MGB 316, ML231, ML241, ML 266
[NO IMAGES FOUND]

Losses
U-96 sank the MV EMPIRE RIDGE (UK 2922 grt) in the Western Approaches. The ship was attached to convoy HG-61, and was on passage from Melilla Spain to Liverpool carrying iron ore. A crew of 33 were embarked, of which 31 were to perish in the attack. At 0324 hrs the EMPIRE RIDGE in convoy HG-61 was hit by one of two torpedoes fired by U-96, broke in two and sank about 90 miles west of Bloody Foreland. The master, 27 crew members and three gunners were lost. One crew member and one gunner were picked up by HMSVANQUISHER, transferred to HMS LEGION and landed at Greenock.


Armed yacht SEA ANGLER (RN 23 grt) was destroyed by fire.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Steamer WINKFIELD (UK 5279 grt) was sunk on a mine one mile SW of B4 Buoy, Thames Estuary, whilst on a voyage from Bombay to London..Ten crew were lost on the steamer.


Paddle minesweeper CITY OF ROCHESTER (RN 194 grt) was sunk on a parachute mine in Acorn Yard, Rochester. The MSW had been paid off and was awaiting scrapping. There were no casualties.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

UBOATS
At Sea 19 May 1941
U-38, U-43, U-46, U-66, U-69, U-74, U-93, U-94, U-96, U-97, U-98, U-103, U-105, U-106, U-107, U-109, U-111, U-138, U-556, U-557, UA

21 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
Baltic
Operation Rheinubung
At noon, the BISMARCK left the berth under the tunes of the fleet band, and then she anchored in Gotenhafen's roadstead to take on supplies and fuel. Operation Rheinubung had begun. At about 2100, the PRINZ EUGEN weighed anchor and BISMARCK followed suit at 0200 in the early morning of 19 May. Both ships sailed independently until they joined together off Rügen Island at noon on 19 May. It was then that Captain Lindemann informed BISMARCK's crew by loudspeaker that they were going into the Nth Atlantic to attack British shipping for a period of several months. After this, the BISMARCK and PRINZ EUGEN sailed west escorted by the DDs Z-23 and FRIEDRICH ECKOLDT (Z-16). At 2230, DD HANS LODY (Z-10) joined the formation. During the night of 19/20 May the German ships passed through the Great Belt, which remained closed to merchant ships, and then reached the Kattegat in the morning of 20 May.

Bismarck in Gotenhaven shortly before her departure

North Sea
British steamer DIXCOVE was damaged on a mine in the North Sea. The steamer arrived at Gravesend on the 20th in tow.

Northern Patrol
CL ARETHUSA departed Scapa Flow with the Vice Admiral Commanding Orkneys and Shetlands for the Faroes and Iceland. The CL arrived and departed the Faroes on the 20th. ARETHUSA arrived at Reykjavik on the 21st.

DDs INGLEFIELD, INTREPID, and ESCAPADE departed Hvalfjord to provide ASW protection for convoy HX.125. INTREPID with engine defects returned to Hvalfjord at 2200. After repairs to her forecastle, destroyer INTREPID departed Hvalfjord on the 20th for Scapa Flow.

Northern Waters
DD WALPOLE departed Scapa Flow on completion of work up for London to carry out machinery repairs. Sloop STORK arrived at Scapa Flow to carry out work up.

Finnish tanker JOSEFINA THORDEN was damaged by the LW. The steamer arrived at Thorshavn (Faeroes) in tow on the 22nd. She left on 1 June for Kirkwall in tow. Repaired in the Tyne.

Channel
Between 19 May and 22 August, MTBs and MLs laid minefields PW 9 to PW 14 in the English Channel.

Med/Biscay
BC RENOWN, CV ARK ROYAL, CL SHEFFIELD, and DDs HESPERUS, HAVELOCK, and HARVESTER departed Gibraltar to feint westwards prior to commencing Operation SPLICE.

CVL FURIOUS, CA LONDON, and DDs FAULKNOR, FOXHOUND, FURY, and FORESTER departed later to rendezvous with Force H. On joining, CA LONDON and DDs HAVELOCK and HARVESTER were detached to sail westward to cover the movement of dummy BB ANSON and troopship ARUNDELCASTLE. DD BRILLIANT joined Force H. on the 20th. CA LONDON and DDs HARVESTER and HAVELOCK returned to Gibraltar on the 20th. CV ARK ROYAL flew planes off to Malta on the 21st.

After the flyoff, CVL FURIOUS and DDs BRILLAINT and HESPERUS were detached to return to Gibraltar for a quick docking for the carrier to repair damage and repack her stern glands from the bombing on the 5th at Belfast. DD FORESIGHT departed Malta and returned to Gibraltar during this operation. Force H.arrived back at Gibraltar on the 22nd.

Naval forces off Crete reorganise and units on station since 16 May were sent to Alexandria to refuel.

Force A-1 - BBs WARSPITE, VALIANT, CL AJAX, and DDs NAPIER, KIMBERLEY, JANUS, ISIS, HEREWARD, DECOY, HERO, and GRIFFIN.

Force A - BBs QUEEN ELIZABETH and BARHAM retired to Alexandria, detaching DDs HOTSPUR and IMPERIAL to the WARSPITE force. Force A arrived at Alexandria on the 20th

Force B - CLs FIJI and GLOUCESTER to Alexandria to refuel, then join A-1. Force B departed Alexandria to return on the 20th.

Force C – CLA NAIAD, CL PERTH and DDs KANDAHAR, NUBIAN, KINGSTON, JUNO departed Alexandria from refuelling on the 19th.

Force D – CLA DIDO, CL ORION and DDs HASTY and GREYHOUND departed Alexandria on the 19th. They were joined by AJAX, HERO and HEREWARD at sea from A-1.

An Axis convoy departed Naples on the 16th with steamers PREUSSEN, SPARTA, CAPO ORSO, CASTELVERDE, and MOTIA, and tanker PANUCA escorted by RM DDs EURO, FOLGORE, FULMINE, STRALE, and TURBINE. Tkr SUPERGA joined at Palermo. Distant cover was given by CLs DUCA DEGLI ABRUZZI and GARIBALBI and DDs GRANATIERE, ALPINO, and BERSAGLIERE. On the 19th at 1130, while evading submarine attack, steamer PREUSSEN and tanker PANUCA collided.
Both ships were able to continue. On the 20th, submarine URGE unsuccessfully attacked steamer CAPO ORSO and tanker SUPERGA. The convoy arrived at Tripoli on the 21st.

Submarine UNBEATEN unsuccessfully attack Italian steamer SILVIO SCARONI off Tagiura. The steamer had departed Tripoli on the 19th, escorted by torpedo boat PLEIADI, for Bengasi, where they safely arrived on the 15th

Nth Atlantic
SC.32 departed Halifax, escorted by AMC LACONIA, submarine TALISMAN, and corvettes COBALT and COLLINGWOOD. The corvettes were detached the next day. Corvettes HELIOTROPE, PETUNIA, and VERBENA joined the convoy on the 29th. The submarine was detached on the 30th and arrived back at Halifax on 9 June. The AMC was detached on the 31st. Corvettes HEPATICA, MAYFLOWER, and TRILLIUM joined on 1 June. On 1 June, DDs BEAGLE and BOADICEA and corvette WINDFLOWER joined. Sloop EGRET, minesweepers BRAMBLE and GOSSAMER, and anti-submarine trawlers LADY MADELEINE and ST LOMAN joined on 3 June. MSW GOSSAMER was detached on 6 June. The escort was detached when the convoy arrived at Liverpool on 7 June.

Malta
AIR RAIDS DAWN 19 MAY TO DAWN 20 MAY 1941

Weather Dull with slight rain and wind.

1702-1711 hrs Air raid alert; raid does not materialise.

0405-0429 hrsAir raid alert for four enemy aircraft which approach singly from the north west, diving in to drop bombs on Valletta, demolishing a church and 15 houses, blocking three streets and damaging a water main. Two civilians are killed and two others missing, two more are severely injured. Bombs are also dropped on St Julian's Bay. Heavy anti-aircraft guns engage with three barrages; no claims.

OPERATIONS REPORTS MONDAY 19 MAY 1941
AIR HQ 69 Squadron2 Marylands reconnaissance eastern Tunisian and Sicilian coast. Maryland reconnaissance Malta to Corfu to Zante. Operations hampered by poor visibility due to mist haze.