January 9th From: http://www.seawaves.com/newsletters/TDIH/january/09Jan.txt 1940 1939 - Destroyer HMS Kingston launched 1940 - At 0221, SS Manx was hit by one torpedo from U-19 off Kinnaird Head and sank within two minutes. Eight survivors managed to grab hold of an upturned lifeboat, but were scantily clad and in the stormy weather four of them gave up. After 8 hours the remaining four survivors were picked up by the Norwegian steam merchant Leka along with two men rescued from a raft 1940 - Destroyer HMS Fernie launched 1940 - Unescorted merchant ships in the North Sea are attacked by an unknown number of Luftwaffe aircraft. Three British vessels are sunk; two Danish vessels are damaged; many casualties 1940 - HMS Starfish is scuttled in the Heligoland Bight after depth charge attack by a German minesweeper. Submarine operations in the area are abandoned. S class submarine HMS Starfish attempted an attack on minesweeper M7, but due to faulty drill, no torpedoes were actually fired. After a number of depth charge attacks by the minesweeper and some other vessels, conditions inside the submarine became serious, and while attempting to surface after dark, Starfish finds herself under machine gun fire from enemy vessels on either bow. The Commander decides to abandon the submarine and scuttles in the North Sea southwest of Heligoland. This is the third RN submarine to be lost within as many days 1940 - The first colonial contingent of Cypriot troops arrives to reinforce the BEF in France 1940 - British ocean liner SS Dunbar Castle mined and sunk off the southeast coast of England. It is feared that 152 people have lost their lives 1941 1941 - Churchill also writes to Roosevelt explaining that many of the 50 destroyers handed over in 1940 had not yet entered service. This is because they need extensive refitting to prepare them for service in the northwestern approaches. "This is inevitable in the case of ships laid up for long periods, and the Admiralty is giving your Naval Attaché here details of the work found to be necessary ...in case you want to work up any of the remaining destroyers in your yards" 1941 - "Speck" Purnell, Chief of Staff to ADM Hart, Commander of the US Asiatic Fleet, meets this month with Dutch military representatives in Java. These meetings begin today and continue for the next 9 days 1941 - Transport USS William Ward Burrows (ex-SS Santa Rita) arrives at Wake Island with the first increment of workmen (80 men and 2,000 tons of equipment of Contractors Pacific Naval Air Bases) to begin building a naval air station there 1941 - At 1814, the unescorted SS Bassano was torpedoed & sunk by U-105 NW of Rockall. One crewmember was lost. The master, 48 crewmembers, two gunners & five passengers were picked up by HMS Wild Swan & landed at Liverpool 1941 - U-410 laid down 1941 - Destroyer HMS Bath transferred to Norway with same name 1941 - The Royal Navy's Force H, including the carrier HMS Ark Royal, provided cover for Operation Excess, a convoy of supply ships headed for Malta and Greece. Ark Royal dispatched six Swordfish torpedo bombers to reinforce 830 Squadron of the Fleet Air Arm, based on Malta, which was conducting a successful campaign of night attacks on Axis shipping and installations in Sicily. Italian SM79 bombers attacked Force H, but were intercepted by Ark Royal's Fulmar fighters and two were shot down by Lieutenant Tillard. Other Italian aircraft, including Stukas, attacked Malta, inflicting some damage to RAF aircraft on the ground. An air combat with 261 Squadron's Hurricanes saw two Macchi MC200 fighters shot down 1941 - French submarine Narval is sunk by Axis forces. The Narval had been the first French naval vessel to side with General Charles de Gaulle's Free French forces 1941 - Minesweeper HMCS Quatsino launched Prince Rupert BC 1942 1942 - Lieutenant General Arthur Percival, General Officer Commanding Malaya, issues instructions for withdrawal of the Indian 3 Corps into Johore, where a final stand before Singapore Naval Base is to be made 1942 - Submarine USS Pollack torpedoes & sinks a Japanese merchant ship 40 miles south-SW of Inubozaki, Japan 1942 - U-274, U-391, U-650 laid down 1942 - Submarine USS Pollack torpedoes and sinks a Japanese merchant ship 40 miles southsouthwest of Inubozaki, Japan 1942 - Five of nine USAAF Far East Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses, based at Singosari Airdrome on Java and staging through Kendari Airdrome on Celebes Island, Netherlands East Indies, strike shipping in Davao Bay, Mindanao. The other four aircraft turn back with mechanical problems 1942 - Destroyer HMS Vimiera sunk by mine in Thames Estuary 1942 - U-183, U-612 launched 1942 - Corvette HMCS Moose Jaw ran aground St John's, Newfoundland 1943 1943 - At 0619, U-522 fired three torpedoes at the convoy TM-1 and reported three hits, which were also observed by U-575 & claimed three tankers sunk. It is probable that two torpedoes hit the Minister Wedel, which started to burn fiercely and the other the Norvik. HMS Havelock unsuccessfully tried to scuttle both badly damaged ships by gunfire. In the afternoon, U-522 reported the sinking of three damaged tankers in grid DG 9510 at 1515, 1650 & 1730 by coup de grâce. But again, the U-boat probably attacked one of the tankers twice, so only Norvik and Minister Wedel were finished off. Minister Wedel was hit on the starboard side forward & was abandoned by all 33 crewmembers and five gunners. HMS Havelock picked up the survivors & went alongside, allowing the master & four others to reboard the vessel to see if she could be saved, but nothing could be done. Two days later the master returned on another escort vessel, but the tanker had been sunk in the meantime 1943 - At 0727, U-442 attacked Convoy TM-1 west of the Canary Islands (grid DG 9411) & claimed hits on two tankers, but in fact only one torpedo had hit the Empire Lytton. The chief officer, 12 crewmembers and one gunner were lost. The master, 30 crewmembers and three gunners were picked up by the HMS Saxifrage & landed at Gibraltar. HMS Havelock failed to sink the wreck with gunfire. At 1450, U-442 found the drifting tanker and torpedoed her again, but the tanker remained afloat and only sank after a further torpedo hit at 1938 1943 - Destroyer escorts USS Bebas, Buckley, Carlson, Griswold, Steele launched 1943 - At 2025, the unescorted Louise Lykes was hit by two of four torpedoes fired by U-384 from a distance of 1800 meters, while proceeding on a zigzagging course at 15 knots. The ship exploded with a terrible blast, forcing the U-boat to crash dive because debris was falling onto the deck and into the water around her. As the U-boat resurfaced after five minutes, the ship had disappeared. The ten officers, 41 crewmen and 32 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 4in, two 3in and eight 20mm guns) all perished 1943 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Property commissioned 1943 - At 0433, U-124 attacked the convoy TB-1 and hit the Broad Arrow with two torpedoes and sank the Birmingham City with one torpedo at 0436. The Broad Arrow in station #31 was struck on the port side by the first torpedo at the after magazine. The explosion tore open the entire after end of the vessel and she flooded rapidly and settled by the stern. The explosion probably killed seven of the eight armed guards on board (the ship was armed with one 5in and two .30cal guns). Moments later the second torpedo struck forward of amidships and set the cargo on fire, so that the tanker lit up the entire convoy. The explosions killed all hands standing on watch on the bridge (including the master) and in the engine room. She began to settle more evenly and sank stern first at 07.00 hours. The survivors of the eight officers and 31 men abandoned ship within five minutes without orders in two lifeboats and two rafts. Some men stranded on the burning tanker and in the water, because the lifeboats were launched with only a few men in it. Three officers, 22 crewmen and one armed guard were picked up by the American submarine chaser USS PC-577 about ten hours later and landed them at Paramaribo the next day. The Second Mate died on board and the Pumpman died from burns in the hospital. Both were buried in Paramaribo. Birmingham City was hit on the port side amidships at the #3 hatch and the ship began to blaze. The explosion blew the port lifeboats overboard, destroyed the fireroom bulkhead and caused her to sink on an even keel in three minutes about 50 miles north of Paramaribo, Dutch Guyana. The most of the nine officers, 29 crewmen and 18 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 4in, one 3in and four .50cal guns) immediately abandoned ship as she rapidly settled. The #1 motor lifeboat capsized on launching, pitching men into the water and contributing to the drowning of several crewmen. The remaining survivors left in #3 boat or jumped overboard and swam to several rafts. The #1 boat was later righted and the men from the rafts were transferred to it. Three officers, two crewmen and five armed guards died, most from drowning. All survivors were picked up by subchaser USS PC-577 ten hours later and landed at Paramaribo 1943 - At 0557, U-124 fired two torpedoes in a second attack on Convoy TB-1 about 100 miles NE of Paramaribo and two minutes later another torpedo. Mohr thought that he had hit three ships, but in fact the first torpedo passed astern of the Collingsworth, the second hit the ship and the third missed also, but hit the Minotaur. The torpedo was seen about 200 yards from the Minotaur & the helmsman put the wheel hard to port, but it was too late and it struck on the port side in the #1 hold. The explosion opened a large hole and flooded the hold rapidly. The engines were secured and the eight officers, 28 crewmen, 15 armed guards (the ship was armed with two 3in and two .50cal guns) and one passenger (naval medical officer) began abandon ship in two lifeboats, but the ship sank by the bow within four minutes, fouling one boat and capsizing the other. The men were thrown in the water and had to swim to three rafts that floated free. Two officers and four crewmen drowned. The survivors were picked up by submarine chaser USS PC-577 later that day and landed at Paramaribo, Surinam. The Collingsworth was struck by the second torpedo on the port side between the #1 and #2 holds. The helmsman spotted the third torpedo, swung the ship hard to port and it missed by ten feet but hit a ship in the next column. The engines were secured and an inspection found no serious damage other than flooding to the compartments. But the ship began to settle fast, sinking by the head four minutes after the hit. Her crew of eight officers, 35 men and 24 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 4in, one 3in and four 20mm guns) abandoned the ship almost immediately. The #1 boat got away with 21 men, but the #3 boat fouled while launching, forcing the men to jump into the water. 34 survivors were picked up by the American submarine chaser USS PC-577 from the wreckage and one raft 13 hours later. The survivors in #1 boat were picked up by the Norwegian steam merchant Dalvangen 36 hours after the attack. The master, another officer, 6 crewmen and four armed guards did not survive 1943 - U-250 laid down 1943 - U-236 commissioned 1943 - U-511 sank SS William Wilberforce in position 29.20N, 26.53W - Grid DG 9116 1943 - Submarine USS Seahorse launched 1943 - Minesweeper USS Climax launched 1943 - Destroyer HMS Achates in action with strong enemy force off the North Cape while escorting a convoy to Russia. Damaged in the defense of the convoy & subsequently sank. 7 officers & 106 ratings lost their killed 1943 - Tokyo radio announced that Nanking Government in China had declared war on the United States and Britain, and that a Sino-Japanese declaration had been signed for cooperation between the Chinese Government and Japan, the abolition of extraterritoriality, and the retrocession of concessions and settlements 1943 - Decorations were awarded to Canadian naval officers: Commander of the Bath: VAdm. Percy Walker Nelles, RCN. Commander of the Order of the British Empire: RAdm. (E) George Leslie Stephens, RCN. Order of the British Empire: Cdr. Charles Henry Brown, RCN; A/Capt. Edmund Johnstone, RCN; A/Capt. Horatio Nelson Lay, RCN; Capt. Edmund “Rollo" Mainguy, RCN; A/Capt. George "Gus" Ralph Miles, RCN; LCdr. (E) Alfred Borden Arnison, RCNR; LCdr. Charles Copelin, RCNR; LCdr. Norman Vincent Clark, RCNR; Lt. (E) Louis Gerard Fabian Despres, RCNR; and LCdr. (E) Joseph Mobry Maheu, RCNR. Distinguished Service Cross: A/Cdr. James "Jimmy" Calcutt Hibbard, RCN; and A/Cdr. Dickson Carlisle Wallace, RCNR 1944 1944 - Destroyer escorts USS Rinehart & Roche launched 1944 - Corvette HMS Abelia lost her rudder after being hit by a U-boat torpedo. It is not known which U-boat fired the torpedo. The convoy, OS-64, had been shadowed by U-757 that was lost on 8 January and by U-731, which was attacked by an escort vessel on 10 January and was lucky to escape 1944 - Destroyer USS De Haven launched 1944 - Submarine USS Hawkbill launched 1944 - Patrol Vessel District YP-281 foundered in heavy weather 1944 - U-81 sunk at 1130 at Pola in position 44.52N, 13.51E by US bombs. Raised on 22 April 1944 & broken up. 2 dead, unknown number of survivors. U-boat pens there were hit and 4 men from U-407 killed & 1 wounded. The boat sailed for the next time on 29 Jan. [Oberleutnant (Ing) Heinz Weser, Leutnant zur See Eberhard Baumgart, Maschinenobergfreiter Rudolf Güttge, and Maschinenobergefreiter Heinz Bönisch] 1944 - Prime Minister Churchill and General de Gaulle met at Marrakesh, Morocco, for discussions on the cooperation of a French expeditionary force in the invasion of Europe, and the degree of authority of the French committee in the control of civil affairs inside France after the invasion 1944 - Minesweeper HMCS Lockeport, enroute Baltimore MD for refit, broke down & traveled 190 miles under improvised sail before being towed 1944 - Frigate HMCS Port Colborne arrived Halifax from builder Esquimalt BC 1945 1945 - Submarine HMS Totem commissioned 1945 - Destroyer USS Chevalier commissioned 1945 - US landing on Luzon at Lingayen Gulf begins. This is Operation Mike1. 1945 - U-2353 commissioned 1945 - U-679 sunk in the Baltic Sea in position 59.26N, 24.07E by depth charges from Soviet ASW vessel MO 124. 51 dead (all hands lost) 1945 - Free French patrol vessel L'Enjoue (ex-USS PC-482) hit by a Gnat from U-870 while escorting Convoy GC-107 and sank off Cape Spartel 1945 - At 1815, SS Jonas Lie in station #35 of convoy ON-277 was torpedoed by U-1055 at the entrance to the Bristol Channel. One torpedo struck on the starboard side in the #3 deep tank and ripped open the bulkhead between the engine room and the #4 hold, killing two men on watch below. The explosion created a hole 20 feet long at the waterline and broke steam and electrical connections. As the ship lost way she listed 10° to port and 25 minutes after the attack the majority off the 41 crewmembers, 27 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 5in, one 3in and eight 20mm guns) and one passenger (US Army security officer) abandoned ship in three lifeboats. The current swept the boats away from the freighter and armed trawler HMS Huddlersfield Town picked up these men. The skeleton crew (master, chief officer, bosn and one seaman) left the ship three hours after the attack by order from the British Admiralty officials and were landed at Milford Haven the same evening. One survivor, which had been blown overboard by the explosion, was picked up by the Norwegian motor merchant Fosna and landed in New York on 23 January. On 10 January, the master and 13 men departed on tug HMS Storm King to board the Jonas Lie, but overnight the vessel had drifted into a minefield. The next day, they boarded the vessel and the tug took her in tow, but on 12 January, the cable parted in heavy seas. The British tug HMS Empire Sprite came to assist, but to no avail. At 1300 on 13 January, a lifesaving boat took the boarding party off and landed them at St. Mary's Island. The vessel foundered the next day 1945 - Carrier aircraft begin 2-day attack on Japanese forces, Luzon, Philippines 1945 - American forces began landing at Lingayen Gulf in the Philippines
January 10th January 10th 1940/41 1940 - U-144 laid down 1940 - RAF Bomber Command 4 Group daylight anti-shipping sweep over the North Sea. 77 Sqn, 2 a/c. 102 Sqn, 2 a/c. No enemy shipping sighted 1940 - Four passenger liners depart Sydney, New South Wales, carrying the Australian 16th Brigade bound for Egypt. The ships, escorted by the heavy cruiser HMAS Australia, will rendezvous with the convoy carrying the New Zealand 4th Brigade that sailed from Auckland on 6 January 1941 - Minesweepers HMCS Vegreville, Medicine Hat, Red Deer & Drummondville laid down 1941 - Operation Excess has reached the Strait of Sicily and is attacked by Italian torpedo boats. Escorting cruiser HMS Bonaventure & destroyer HMS Hereward sink Vega. Still to the west of Malta, heavy attacks by German and Italian aircraft are launched. HMS Illustrious is singled out and soon hit six times by thirty Ju87 and Ju88 bombers of the Luftwaffe's elite X Fliegerkorps, a unit specially trained to dive-bomb surface ships. It began with a feint attack by two Italian torpedo bombers, which drew off Illustrious' fighters, leaving her without air protection. She struggles into Malta with 200 casualties, her steering gear smashed. Illustrious was badly damaged, but managed to reach Valletta, where despite continuous further air attack, she was patched up sufficiently to retire to Alexandria for major repairs 1941 - Destroyer HMS Gallant damaged by a mine & taken to Malta and destroyed there during an air raid. Declared a constructive total loss on 5 April 1942 1941 - Appearing before the US House committee on naval affairs, Rear Admiral Towers stated that, in the past year, only 445 planes were obtained by the navy. He attributed the small output to "indecision and vagueness" on the part of the administration. Admiral Towers said that the Navy's goal is 16,000 fighting planes. At present there are 2,590 in use, and, of these, very few are modern 1941 - U-560 launched 1942/43 1942 - Destroyer HMS Middleton commissioned 1942 - AA cruiser USS San Diego commissioned 1942 - U-92, U-354 launched 1942 - U-513 commissioned 1942 - U-392 laid down 1942 - During heavy weather in the North Atlantic a lookout on U-582 broke his arm 1942 - Soviet submarine M-175 sunk by U-584 in Arctic Ocean 1942 - Landing ship HMAS Kanimbla sails from Melbourne, Victoria, escorting Convoy MS-1 consisting of three ships bound for Singapore and four for the Netherlands East Indies. Meanwhile, the heavy cruiser HMAS Canberra sails from Sydney, New South Wales, escorting convoy MS-2 to Singapore 1942 - Submarine USS Pickerel torpedoes & sinks a Japanese gunboat at the mouth of Davao Gulf, off Cape San Augustin, Philippine Islands 1942 - Submarine USS Stingray torpedoes & sinks a Japanese cargo ship in the South China Sea off southern Hainan Island 1942 - Submarine HNLMS O-19 torpedoes & sinks a Japanese army cargo ship & torpedoes a merchant cargo ship at the mouth of the Gulf of Siam 1942 - USN Bureau of Ships orders that the Cleveland-class light cruiser Amsterdam, which is under construction in Camden NJ, be completed as an aircraft carrier (CV). She will be commissioned as USS Independence (CV-22) on 14 January 1943 and be reclassified as a small aircraft carrier (CVL-22) on 15 July 1943. This is the first of nine light cruisers that are completed as small aircraft carriers 1943 - HMCS Surf paid off. Constructive total loss after grounding on Vancouver Island. Only Fisherman’s Reserve vessel lost in the war. Sold Sidney BC 1943 - Destroyers USS Wadsworth, McCord, Killen & Howorth launched 1943 - Destroyer escort USS Pillsbury launched 1943 - Minesweeper HMS Gazelle launched 1943 - Destroyer escorts USS Seid, Smartt, Walter S Brown, William C Miller laid down 1943 - Submarine USS Pogy commissioned 1943 - Submarine USS Argonaut sunk by Japanese destroyers Isokaze and Maikaze escorting a convoy south of St. George's Channel. 105 officers and men died; there were no survivors 1944/45 1944 - Prime Minister Churchill and President Roosevelt, in a joint announcement, reported that merchant shipping losses due to U-boats were 60 percent less than losses for the preceding year. 1944 - The report of the Anglo-American Caribbean Commission was issued - A Caribbean Research Council had been set up (representing Britain, United States, and the Netherlands); steps had been taken to establish an organization for coordinating and expanding the purchase of imported food; an inter-island distribution system was developed 1944 - Submarine HMS Sanguine laid down 1944 - Escort carrier USS Cape Gloucester laid down 1944 - Destroyer minelayer USS Robert H Smith laid down 1944 - Destroyer escort USS Kenneth M Willett laid down 1944 - Destroyer escort USS Jack Miller launched 1944 - Frigate HMS Trollope commissioned 1944 - Minesweeper USS Defense commissioned 1944 - Destroyer escort USS Strickland commissioned 1944 - U-1273 launched 1944 - The damaged U-277, which had gone aground and stranded in Norwegian waters, was towed free by another vessel 1944 - U-956 assisted the weather reporting ship Hessen, which was experiencing some difficulties 1945 - Heavy cruiser USS Chicago commissioned 1945 - At 1603, SS Blackheath in Convoy KMS-76 (the convoy was combined with OS-102) was torpedoed & damaged by U-870 west of Gibraltar. She was set aground two miles south of Cape Spartel, Algeria, but broke in tow and was declared a total loss. Frigate HMS Ballinderry & sloop HMS Kilbirnie picked up the master, 41 crewmembers & nine gunners. Landed at Gibraltar 1945 - U-510 sailed from Jakarta on her final patrol 1945 - U-3032, U-3527, U-3528 launched 1945 - U-2531, U-4701 commissioned
January 11th January 11th 1940 1940 - Three German destroyers are bombed off Horn's Reef by RAF Coastal Command 1940 - Luftwaffe aircraft performed reconnaissance of East Scotland, Firth of Forth, Humber, South Shields, Newcastle, Thames Estuary. Two trawlers were machine gunned but escaped. Enemy aircraft driven off 1940 - The USN's Fleet Landing Exercise (FLEX) No. 6 begins at Culebra, Puerto Rico. Lack of transports compels the Navy to substitute combatant ships in that role for purposes of the exercise; an important exception is the prototype high speed transport USS Manley (APD-1), converted from a World War I-emergency program "flush-deck, four-pipe" destroyer, which amply proves her worth 1940 - U-755 laid down 1940 - At 1632, SS Fredville (enroute to obtain a cargo of coal for Oslo) was torpedoed by U-23 about 100 miles east of the Orkney Islands and broke in two. The forepart remained afloat and five survivors left their lifeboats several times to go back on board and look for more survivors. The survivors were picked up by a Swedish ship and taken to Kopervik 1940 - At 1100, tanker El Oso in Convoy HX-14B, struck a mine laid on 6 January by U-30 and sank six miles 280° from the Bar Lightship, Liverpool. Three crewmembers were lost. The master and 31 crewmembers were picked up by HMS Walker & landed at Liverpool 1940 - Escort carrier USS Long Island launched 1941/42 1941 - Light cruiser HMS Southampton sunk Central Mediterranean east of Malta by German Ju-87 divebombers. 81 killed 1941 - U-598 laid down 1942 - Japan declared war against the Netherlands Celebes and Borneo; the same day that Japanese forces invaded the Dutch East Indies 1942 - Operation Paukenschlag ("roll of the kettledrums") descends upon the eastern seaboard of the US like a "bolt from the blue." The first group of five German submarines takes up station off the East Coast of the United States on this date. Over the next month, these boats (U-66, U-109, U-123, U-125 and U-130) will sink 26 Allied ships. The presence of the enemy off the eastern seaboard takes US Navy antisubmarine forces by surprise. The first ship, the British freighter SS Cyclops, is sunk by U-123 300 miles east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts 1942 - Seven USAAF Far East Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses based at Singosari Airdrome, Java, are dispatched to attack the Japanese landing forces on Tarakan Island. Four abort due to mechanical problems and the other three abort due to poor weather over the target 1942 - USN Patrol Squadron Twenty Two (VP-22), with PBY-5 Catalinas, joins Patrol Wing Ten (PatWing-10) at Ambon Island, the first aviation reinforcements from the Central Pacific to reach SW Pacific Forces opposing the Japanese advance through the Netherlands East Indies. (PatWing-10 had been based at Cavite, Philippine Islands on 8 December 1941.) Unfortunately, the PBY-5 aircraft they received in Hawaii were the early models without self-sealing fuel tanks and armor. PatWing-10 later received five newer model PBY-5 Catalinas from the Dutch in Java. All of the rest of the PatWing's original aircraft were the older PBY-4 models. Almost immediately after arrival several of the VP-22 Catalinas were caught at anchor at Ambon and destroyed 1942 - While sailing for a rendezvous with USS Enterprise 500 miles SW of Hawaii, aircraft carrier USS Saratoga is torpedoed by submarine HIJMS I-6. Although six men are killed and three firerooms are flooded, the carrier returns to Oahu under her own power 1942 - US Naval Station Pago Pago, Samoa, is shelled by a Japanese submarine 1943/44/45 1943 - Minesweeper HMCS Fort William damaged collision with SS Lisgar at Halifax. Fort William was under repair for a month following the incident. Fort William was transferred to the Turkish Navy after the war and renamed Bodrum. She was removed from service and scrapped in 1971 1943 - U-1226 laid down 1943 - At 2025, the CS Flight was shelled and sunk by U-105 1943 - At 0033, the Ocean Vagabond, a straggler from Convoy SC-115, was torpedoed by U-186 south of Iceland & sank at 0307 following two coups de grâce at 0059 & 0145 hours. One crewmember was lost. The master, 41 crewmembers and four gunners were picked up by HMS Wanderer & landed at Liverpool 1943 - At 0040, U-522 attacked Convoy TM-1 NW of the Canary Islands (grid DH 5110) and reported one tanker sunk and one other damaged. In fact, the British Dominion was struck by three torpedoes and was abandoned. After 0300 the wreck was sunk by U-620 by a coup de grâce and gunfire. 33 crewmembers and four gunners were lost. The master, ten crewmembers and five gunners were picked up by corvette HMS Godetia & landed at Gibraltar 1943 - Escort carrier HMS Hunter commissioned 1943 - USS PT-43 damaged by Japanese warships beached destroyed to prevent capture on Guadalcanal 1943 - USS PT-112 destroyed by Japanese warships off Guadalcanal Solomon Islands 1943 - Destroyer USS Stockton commissioned 1943 - Corvette HMCS Louisburg laid down 1943 - Minesweepers HMS Pincher & Pickle laid down 1943 - Destroyer USS Caperton laid down 1943 - Destroyer escort USS Huse laid down 1943 - Minesweeper HMS Ready launched 1943 - Treaty with China with Britain and the US relinquishing extraterritorial rights 1944 - Corvette HMCS Lunenburg attacked by U-953 Oblt Karl-Heinz Marbach CO, 50N-18W, the attack was unsuccessful & there was no further contact. U-953 was a type VIIC U-boat built by Blohm & Voss at Hamburg, commissioned 17 Dec 42, She conducted 11 Patrols & had a record of 1 ship sunk for 1,927 tons, on 29 May 45 she was transferred from Trondheim, Norway to England. She was broken up in 1950 following RN Trials. Karl-Heinz Marbach was born in 1917, at Kolberg. He joined the navy in 1937. His first operational service was from Jun to Sep 39 in the light cruiser Leipzig, after which he served in the personnel branch of the Fleet Headquarters until he transferred to the U-boat in Oct 40. After conversion training, he served from May to Dec 41 as the Second Watch Officer in U-101, commanded by the 'ace' Kptlt. Ernst Mengersen (14 ships sunk for 77,000 tons, plus two damaged). He served as the First Watch Officer from Jan to Mar, & was the Acting/CO for part of this time. OLtzS Marbach was selected for command & underwent his U-boat Commander's Course from Apr to May 42. He commanded the training boats U-28 & U-29 between May & Nov 42 & was then appointed to command the new type VIIC U-boat U-953 on 30 Nov 42, at the age of 25. He was awarded the Knight's Cross "for acts of bravery" on 22 Jul 44 (the 124th presented in the U-boat force) & was promoted to Kptlt. on 01 Sep 44. After completing his tour of duty in U-953, he commissioned the new type XXI boat U-3014 in Dec 44. After the surrender, he became a POW & detained until Feb 48, being among the last U-boat men to be set free. Karl-Heinz Marbach died in 1995 1944 - Escort carrier USS Hoggatt Bay commissioned 1944 - Destroyer escort USS Doyle C Barnes laid down 1944 - Corvettes HMS Bamborough Castle & Pevensey Castle launched 1944 - Destroyer escorts USS Stafford & Richard W Suesens launched 1944 - HMS Tally Ho, one of the Royal Navy submarine flotilla based at Trincomalee, caught the Japanese light cruiser Kuma in the Malacca Strait, one of the very few large Japanese warships then operating in the area, and sank her with two torpedo hits 1944 - Aircraft from USS Block Island make first aircraft rocket attack on German submarine 1944 - U-879 launched 1944 - U-246, U-1006 commissioned 1944 - SS Triona damaged by U-532 at 00.03N, 80.43E - Grid LO 52 1945 - Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-356 was commissioned at New York with LT RV Flouton, USCGR, as her commanding officer. She operated in the Southwest Pacific and Western Pacific area during the war. She was decommissioned 30 October 1945. 1945 - Destroyers HMCS Algonquin & Sioux departed Kola Inlet with Convoy RA-63 for the Clyde 1945 - Soviet minesweeper T-76 Korall sunk by U-745 at 59.45N, 24.47E - Grid AO 3528 1945 - U-2362, U-4705 launched 1945 - U-2352, U-2354 commissioned 1945 - At 1515, U-1055 attacked some ships from a just dispersed coastal convoy in the Irish Sea west of Anglesey and reported two ships sunk. A first torpedo exploded behind the Yugoslavian steam merchant Senga, while other torpedoes sank the Roanoke & Normandy Coast. The Normandy Coast sank within two minutes, taking 18 crewmembers and one gunner with her. The master, five crewmembers and two gunners were picked up by patrol ship HMS PC-74 and landed at Holyhead on 12 January 1945 - High Speed Transport USS Belknap damaged beyond repair Kamikaze attack at Lingayen Philippines 1945 - USS YMS-14 sunk collision Boston
January 12th January 12th 1940/41 1940 - At 0650, SS Denmark was hit by one torpedo from U-23 when she was anchored in a Bay in the Shetlands. She exploded, broke in two and drifted ashore. On 21 January, the afterpart sank and the forepart was refloated, taken to Inverkeithing and used as storage hulk 1941 - RAF Hurricane fighters based on Malta attack Catania airfield on Sicily in an attempt to prevent German and Italian planes from attacking Malta while temporary repairs are carried out on the crippled aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious 1941 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Celia commissioned 1941 - SS Manhattan ran aground off Palm Beach FL 1942/43 1942 - Destroyer HMS Venus laid down 1942 - Minesweeper USS Zeal laid down 1942 - During heavy weather in the North Atlantic a lookout on U-654 broke his arm 1942 - U-649 laid down 1942 - SS Yngaren sunk at 57N, 26W - Grid AL 1938 by U-43 1942 - At 0157, U-77 sighted two destroyers off Tobruk and fired at 0238 hours a spread of four torpedoes of which one hit the stern of HMS Kimberley. The explosion blew her stern off and immediately stopped the vessel, which was missed by a coup de grâce at 0245. HMS Heythrop towed the destroyer to Alexandria. After temporary repairs towed in February 1942 to Bombay, where she was repaired and returned to service in January 1944 1942 - Submarine HIJMS I-121 mines Clarence Strait, the body of water connecting Van Diemen Gulf and the Timor Sea, off Australia's Northern Territory, at the approaches to Darwin, the Asiatic Fleet's main logistics base 1942 - Hitler orders the battle cruisers Gneisenau & Scharnhorst to sail from Brest, France, to Norway 1942 - U-374 (Type VIIC) is sunk in the western Mediterranean east of Cape Spartivento, in position 37.50N, 16.00E, by torpedoes from the British submarine HMS Unbeaten. 43 dead, but 1 survivor taken into captivity 1942 - Amchitka Island is occupied by a small American force. The AMULET FORCE consisted of 2,000 men under command of Brigadier General Lloyd E. Jones. The invasion was covered by the USN's Task Group 8.6 (TG 8.6) consisting of the heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis, light cruisers USS Detroit & Raleigh with four destroyers, which patrolled off Amchitka & Kiska Islands. The transport group consisted of the transports USS Arthur Middleton, USAT Delarof, SS Lakona, cargo ship USS Vega escorted by destroyers USS Dewey, Gillespie, Kalk & Worden. There is no enemy opposition but a fierce storm hits and continues for two weeks. The transport USS Arthur Middleton, manned by a US Coast Guard crew, runs aground as it rescues 175 sailors from the destroyer USS Worden. USS Worden was guarding the transport USS Arthur Middleton as that transport put the preliminary Army security unit on the shores of Constantine Harbor Amchitka Island. The destroyer maneuvered into the rock-edged harbor and stayed there until the last men had landed and then turned to the ticklish business of clearing the harbor. A strong current, however, swept USS Worden onto a pinnacle that tore into her hull beneath her engine room and caused a complete loss of power. USS Dewey passed a towline to her stricken sister and attempted to tow her free, but the cable parted, and the heavy seas began moving USS Worden totally without power inexorably toward the rocky shore. The destroyer then broached and began breaking up in the surf; Commander William G. Pogue, the stricken destroyer's commanding officer, ordered abandon ship, and, as he was directing that effort, was swept overboard into the wintry seas by a heavy wave that broke over the ship. Commander Pogue was among the fortunate ones, however, because he was hauled, unconscious, out of the sea. Fourteen of his crew drowned. USS Worden, herself, was a total loss 1942 - HMCS Red Deer, a Bangor-class minesweeper, rescued survivors from the British merchant ship SS Cyclops, 125 miles south-east of Cape Sable. Cyclops was the first ship sunk in the German U-boat campaign against the East Coast of North America, known as Operation Paukenschlag (Drumbeat). She was sunk by U-123, Kptlt. Reinhard Hardegen, CO. The first group of five German submarines comprised U-66, U-109, U-123, U-125 and U-130. In total they sank 26 Allied ships U-123 was a long-range Type IXB submarine built by AG Weser, at Bremen. She was commissioned on 30 May 40. U-124 conducted 12 patrols and compiled a most impressive record of 45 ships sunk for a total of 227,174 tons and six ships damaged for a further 53,568tons. U-124 survived the war and was taken out of service at Lorient, France, on 17 Jun 1944. She was scuttled at Lorient on 19 Aug 1944. U-124 was salvaged by the French and entered service with the French navy as Blaison. She was subsequently renamed Q165, and was stricken on 18 Aug 59. Reinhard Hardegen was born in 1913, at Bremen. He joined the navy in 1933. When the war began, he was serving as the Signals Officer at the naval airfield at Kamp, in Pomerania. He joined the U-boat force in Nov 39 and completed his conversion training in Jun 40. He was selected immediately for command and completed his U-boat Commander's Course in Aug 40. Next, Hardegen served as the First Watch Officer, and simultaneously underwent U-Commander sea training, in U-123 Kptlt. Georg-Wilhelm Schulz, Knight's Cross, CO. On 11 Dec 40, he was appointed to command the Type IID training boat U-147. Next, Hardengen was appointed to command U-123 on 17 May 41, at the age of 27. He completed his tour of duty in U-123 after four very eventful patrols. His first patrol off West Africa resulted in five ships sunk for a total of 21,507 tons. On his next patrol he heavily damaged the armed merchant cruiser HMS Aurania (13,984 tons). He was awarded the Knights Cross 23 Jan 42, the 44th presented in the U-boat force. Due to injuries suffered during a plane crash in 1936, Hardegen was actually unfit for service in U-boats. He suffered from a shortened leg and chronic stomach bleeding. Hardegen's success on his first two patrols resulted in Admiral Donitz granting him special permission to carry out two further patrols. These were also extremely successful and he was awarded the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves on 23 Apr 42, the 11th awarded in the U-boat force. Hardegens' health deteriorated further and he was posted ashore in Aug 42 as the Training Officer for the 27th U-Flotilla. In Mar 43, he was promoted to KKpt. and assigned to the Torpedo School at Mürwick. In Oct 44, he was transferred to the naval headquarters where he was an advisor to the Office of Torpedo Ordnance. At the end of the war he was assigned to command a battalion of naval infantry. KKpt. Hardegen was detained after the capitulation and was released on 9 Nov 46. After the war, Hardegen built a successful oil trading company and was also the Member of Parliament for Bremen for 32 years. He sank 23 ships for a total of 119,014 tons and damaged five ships damaged for a further 46,500 tons. Reinhard Hardegen was the 23rd highest-scoring U-boat 'ace' of the war 1942 - Barrage balloon cuts power to Seattle and causes air raid scare 1943 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Prophet commissioned 1943 - ASW trawler HMS Kingston Jacinth mined & sunk off Portsmouth 1943 - Destroyer escort USS Pope launched 1943 - Destroyer escorts USS Brackett, Donaldson, Mitchell & Reynolds laid down 1943 - Submarine USS Guardfish, patrolling the waters of the Bismarck Archipelago on her third patrol, fires three torpedoes during a night underwater radar attack. One torpedo finds the mark and destroys the ex-destroyer Shimakaze, now re-named patrol boat P 1. She sinks about 10 miles SW of the Tingwon Islands near New Hanover in position 02°51'S, 149°43'E 1943 - U-342 commissioned 1943 - USS PT-28 damaged beyond repair in a storm at Dora Harbor Alaska 1943 - Destroyer USS Worden wrecked off Amchitka Aleutian Islands 1943 - Patrol Vessel District YP-183 destroyed by grounding on the west coast of Hawaii 1943 - During heavy weather in the North Atlantic a lookout on U-258 broke his arm 1944/45 1944 - Leighton McCarthy presented his letters of credentials to President Roosevelt as the first Canadian Ambassador to the United States 1944 - Submarine USS Albacore, sailing through the waters between Truk and the Admiralty Islands on her eighth patrol, conducts a twilight periscope attack firing eight fish. The Japanese vessel Choko Maru #2 is rocked by four torpedoes about 350 miles SW of Truk in position 03°30'N, 147°27'E. Albacore's attack also apparently damages PGM Hayabusa-Tei #4. The motor gunboat had been under tow by Choko Maru #2 proceeding from Truk to Rabaul. Gunfire from a Japanese escort latter scuttles the gunboat in position 03°37'N, 147°27'E 1944 - Submarine USS Hake, on her third patrol cruising at night on the surface in the northern reaches of the Philippine Sea, fires four torpedoes at SS Nigitsu Maru. Two torpedoes hit and down goes the aircraft transport south of the Daito Islands in position 23°15'N, 132°49'E 1944 - U-323 launched 1944 - U-1271 commissioned 1944 - Frigate HMS Inglis commissioned 1944 - Minesweeper USS Devastator commissioned 1944 - Destroyer escorts USS Marsh & Price commissioned 1944 - Destroyer HMS Trafalgar launched 1944 - Escort carrier USS Rudyerd Bay launched 1944 - Destroyer escorts USS George A Johnson & Metivier launched 1944 - Submarine USS Lagarto laid down 1944 - Escort carrier USS Makin Island laid down 1944 - Destroyer escorts USS Tabberer & Robert F Keller laid down 1945 - Submarine USS Swordfish missing south of Kyushu Japan 1945 - USS LCI(L)-600 sunk by undetermined explosion at Ulithi 1945 - Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-284 was commissioned at Wheeler Shipyard, Whitestone NY with LTJG Byron G. Crawford, USCGR, as commanding officer. She was assigned to and operated in the Southwest Pacific area during the war. She was decommissioned 22 August 1945 1945 - 3 Commando Brigade of the Royal Marines conducted an amphibious assault at Myebon in Burma, seizing the position from the Japanese and threatening their line of retreat 1945 - Minelayer Louhi hits a mine off Hanko and sinks with loss of 10 men 1945 - Aircraft from Task Force 38, under the command of Vice Admiral John S. McCain, hits Japanese shipping, airfields, and other shore installations in the South China Sea and in SE French Indochina. Among the sunken vessels is the Ch 43. This subchaser, with the help of Ch 15 and W18, sank the submarine USS Wahoo in La Perouse Strait on 11 Oct 43 1945 - U-2355, U-2356, U-3021, U-3520, U-4702 commissioned 1945 - U-427 attacked heavy cruiser HMS Norfolk off Egersund (Norway) with five torpedoes, but all missed 1945 - Submarine USS Swordfish reported missing, presumed lost. Believed sunk by Japanese ASW forces near Okinawa. No survivors 1945 - Minesweeper HMS Regulus (ex-HMCS Long Branch) is mined during clearance operations off Sista Island near Corfu and loses her propellers. She is taken in tow, but capsizes an hour later
January 13th January 13th 1940/41/42 1940 - US freighter SS Narbo, bound for Italy, Yugoslavia & Greece, is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities. The Freighter SS Tripp, detained at Gibraltar by the British since 11 January, is released, but not before some items of her cargo are seized as contraband 1940 - U-101 launched 1940 - SS Sylvia sunk by U-20 NE of Aberdeen. All 20 crewmembers lost 1940 - The icebreaker Georgy Sedov completes an 812-day expedition 1941 - RAF bombers strike the U-boat base at Lorient during the night of 13/14 January 1941 - U-597 laid down 1941 - Destroyers USS Laffey & Woodworth laid down 1942 - Despite opposition, Admiral Karl Donitz, Flag Officer U-boats, begins Operation "Drum Roll" (Paukenschlag), the use of U-boats in the waters off the eastern coast of North America. The submariners are surprised to find peacetime conditions on the US coast, with lighthouses and marker buoys still lit. In addition there is no radio silence and positions of merchant ships are frequently given away in radio communications. These conditions and the inexperience of the USN escort vessels lead to a loss of 150,000 tons in the first month of the operation. The fact that "Drum Roll" could not begin until some weeks after the German declaration of war on the US indicates how unprepared the Navy was for this sudden development 1942 - Nineteen West Coast shipyards adopt around-the-clock, seven-day-a-week work schedules 1942 - At 0118, SS Frisco was hit by two torpedoes from U-130 off Long Island & sank. The master, the first mate, the second mate/radio operator and an ordinary seaman were killed. In the afternoon of 14 January, the Danish merchant Mjoanes picked up three survivors in a lifeboat in 46°24N/57°20W and taken to North Sydney, arriving two days later. Another lifeboat with 9 men was never seen again 1942 - At 0948, the unescorted & unarmed SS Friar Rock was sunk by U-130 about 110 miles SW of Cape Race. Two of three torpedoes fired by U-130 had hit the vessel, which sank later in 45.51N/50.52W. A ship rescued only seven survivors. One of them, the second mate, died ashore 1942 - Corvette HMCS Shawinigan arrived St John's for Newfoundland Command 1942 - Destroyer USS Forrest commissioned 1942 - Inter-Allied Conference met in London 1943/44/45 1943 - U-507 sunk NW of Natal, in position 01.38S, 39.52W, by depth charges from a USN VP-83 Catalina aircraft. 54 dead (all hands lost). U-507 (along with U-156 and U-506 and Italian submarine Cappellini) took part in the rescue operations after the sinking of SS Laconia in September 1942 off Africa. About 1500 men were saved by these boats and French ships from Dakar (which arrived on Sept 16, 4 days after the sinking) 1943 - Submarine USS Triton, on her fifth patrol, in the Bismarck Archipelago area, spots a large tanker while on the surface. In the morning twilight, Triton fires eight torpedoes. One hits & lightly damages Akebono Maru north of the St. Matthias Island group in position 00°45'S, 148°56'E 1943 - Submarine USS Whale, carrying out a submerged daylight patrol in the Marshalls on her second patrol, sinks SS Iwashiro Maru with three of four fish fired. The Japanese naval collier sinks about 40 miles north of Kwajalein in position 09°54'N, 167°07'E 1943 - U-421, U-536 commissioned 1943 - Corvette HMCS Ville de Quebec sank U-224 OLtzS Hans-Carl Kosbadt CO, West of Algiers, 36-28N 00-49E. Of U-224's crew of 45 there was 1 survivor. Ville de Quebec was escorting Gibraltar to North Africa convoy TE-13 when she detected U-224. She attacked with depth charges, which blew the submarine to the surface. Ville de Quebec then rammed the submarine just as the Weapons Officer, LtzS Dankworth, emerged from the conning tower hatch to survey the damage. He was thrown clear of the boat & became the only survivor. He was rescued 30 minutes later by HMCS Port Arthur. U-224 a VIIC type U-boat, built by F. Krupp Germaniawerft AG, Kiel, launched 7 May 42, commissioned 20 Jun 42, in service 7 months, with a record of sinking 2 ships, for a total of 9,614 tons. OLtzS Kosbadt was her only commanding officer. Hans-Carl Kosbadt was born in 1917, at Warnemünde. He joined the navy in 1937. At the start of the war, he served at the Second Torpedo Officer in destroyer Wolfgang Zenker from Apr to Oct 39. From Oct 39 to Oct 40 he served in two different training posts before transferring to the U-boat force. After introductory training he served in UAA (Mar-Jun 41) and then as the First Weapons Officer in U-94 (Jun 41 - May 42) commanded by the 'Ace' OLtzS Otto Ites, Knights Cross. He was promoted to OLtzS on 19 Sep 41. Selected for command, he took his U-boat Commander's course from May to Jun 42 & was appointed as the commissioning CO of U-224 on 20 Jun 42 1943 - Destroyer escort USS Frost laid down 1943 - During a meeting of the milk cow U-117 & U-455, the doctor from U-117 transferred to U-455 & remained onboard 1943 - Sloop HMS Whimbrel commissioned 1944 - U-1201, U-1229 commissioned 1944 - U-1053, U-1208 launched 1944 - Destroyer escorts USS Albert T Harris & Charles E Brannon laid down 1944 - Light cruiser USS Duluth launched 1944 - While serving as a Flak boat, U-621 was attacked by an RAF 59 Sqn Liberator & suffered 1 man killed and 6 wounded. Matrosengefreiter Heinz Thomas was mortally wounded and later buried at sea. The commander decided to abort the patrol. U-621 took ten days to limp back to Brest 1944 - Frigate HMS Inman commissioned 1944 - Destroyer escort USS Hissem commissioned 1944 - Submarine HMS Vigorous commissioned 1944 - U-231 sunk NE of the Azores, in position 44.15N, 20.38W, by depth charges from RAF 172 Sqn Wellington. U-231 also shot down a Wellington from the same squadron in this action 1945 - Destroyer USS Myles C Fox launched 1945 - Heavy cruiser USS Bridgeport laid down 1945 - Lighter Covered (Non Self-Propelled) YC-912 lost in the North Pacific 1945 - U-2357, U-3024 commissioned 1945 - U-2540, U-2541 launched 1945 - The following U.P. report was released to the newswires - Despite punishing Allied blows, the Nazis are still able to operate as many as one hundred U-boats in the Atlantic, constituting a continued serious menace to Allied supply lines, British naval circles said tonight. However, insofar as is generally known here, there is no evidence that the Germans ever have attempted to launch flying bombs from submarines, despite Vice Admiral Jonas H. Ingram's warning that the US Atlantic coast might be hit by V-bombs landed from U-boats. There is also a general tendency here to doubt the statement attributed to Admiral Ingram that the Nazis have three hundred submarines in the Atlantic. British naval spokesmen and commentators are more inclined to believe that Germany's overall submarine strength is three hundred - a force that probably would permit from fifty to one hundred undersea craft to be actually operative at one time. To keep a force of three hundred U-boats within the Atlantic operating zone, a total force of approximately one thousand submarines would be necessary, one spokesman said, and added that Germany's submarine strength at its peak was 1500. The spokesman said that although the Allies had captured or bottled up all of Germany's Bay of Biscay submarine bases, she still had more and better bases than during the first World War, when she launched a highly successful U-boat campaign. The latest improvement publicized is a device enabling U-boats to recharge batteries beneath the surface 1945 - U-275 sailed on her final patrol 1945 - U-532 sailed from Jakarta on her final patrol 1945 - Just before 0900, a kamikaze carrying two 250 kg. (551-pound) bombs crash Casablanca-Class escort aircraft carrier USS Salamaua's flight deck killing 15 and wounding 80+. Damage is extensive; the flightdeck, the hangar deck, and spaces below blazed with a multitude of fires. One of the bombs, failing to explode, punches through the starboard side at the waterline. Power, communications, and steering fail; one of her engine rooms floods and the starboard engine quits. But, by 0910 hours, her gunners had splashed two of the kamikaze's compatriots. Temporary repairs enable the ship to return to San Francisco; arriving on 26 February
January 14th January 14th 1940/41/42 1940 - The US freighter SS Narbo, detained at Gibraltar by British authorities the previous day, is released to continue her voyage to Italy, Yugoslavia, and Greece, but not before some items from her cargo are removed as contraband 1940 - Japanese Prime Minister, General ABE Nobuyki, and all his Cabinet resign and Admiral Yonai Mitsumasa is chosen to form a new government 1940 - The British Minister in Panama, Charles Dodd, transmits the response of the British government to a note sent by the President of Panama on behalf of the 21 American Republics concerning the violation of American neutrality that occurred in the Battle of the River Plate. The British "reserve their full belligerent rights in order to fight the menace presented by German action and policy and to defend that conception of law and that way of life, which they believe to be as dear to the peoples and Governments of America as they are to the peoples and Governments of the British Commonwealth of Nations" 1940 - U-432 laid down 1941 - George Crosses are Gazetted for Sub-Lt John Bryan Peter Duppa-Miller (b. 1903) and AB Stephen John Tuckwell (b.? d.1966), RNVR who dealt with a mine which had fallen into soft mud in a tributary of Barling Creek. In all, they disposed of ten mines in their work together 1941 - Motor minesweepers ordered in Canada - HMS MMS 104, MMS 105, MMS 106, MMS 102, MMS 103, MMS 99, MMS 100 & MMS 101 1941 - Swordfish aircraft from HMS Eagle lost while searching for an Italian convoy 1941 - Destroyer HMS Onslaught laid down 1941 - Minesweeping trawler HMS MacBeth commissioned 1941 - Corvette HMS Jasmine launched 1941 - Destroyer HMS Oribi launched 1941 - Submarine HMS Torbay commissioned 1942 - The Japanese force slated to invade Rabaul on New Britain Island in the Bismarck Archipelago, departs Guam 1942 - U-381 launched 1942 - U-257 commissioned 1942 - At 0834, the unescorted tanker Norness was hit by one of two stern torpedoes fired by U-123 about 60 miles from Montauk Point, Long Island and began listing to port. At 0853, a coup de grâce hit the tanker underneath the bridge and the ship began settling on even keel, allowing the survivors to abandon ship in the starboard lifeboat and row away from the ship. The port lifeboat had capsized during the launch due to the heavy list and threw the occupants into the cold sea, drowning two Norwegian crewmembers. At 0929, the vessel was hit by a third torpedo in the engine room, after a second coup de grâce at 0910 proved to be a dud. Shortly thereafter, the tanker sank by the stern with the bow still visible over the surface. 30 survivors were spotted in the afternoon by a US Navy blimp, which directed USS Ellyson & USCGC Argo to them, while nine men were picked up by the American fishing boat Malvina. All survivors were landed at Newport RI 1942 - At 0254 U-43 attacked Convoy ON-55 south of Iceland and sank SS Empire Surf. At 0304 the U-boat attacked again and heard a heavy detonation after 40 seconds, but a few minutes later was unable to see the target. The KTB has the marginal comment Apparently not a hit. The master, 37 crewmembers and nine gunners from the Empire Surf were lost. Six crewmembers were picked up by HMS Alisma & landed at Londonderry 1942 - At 0453, U-43 attacked Convoy ON-55 a second time and sank SS Chepo 1942 - Trawler HMS Ironbound launched Kingston ON 1942 - Newfoundland Trawler (Motor Minesweepers) ordered from Steers Shipbuilding St John's, Newfoundland - HMS MMS 238, MMS 239, MMS 240 & MMS 241 1942 - Corvettes HMCS Sherbrooke & Hepatica departed St John's to escort Convoy SC-64 to Londonderry 1942 - Coast Guard plane, a Hall PH-3 No. V-177, dropped food to raft with 6 persons 1942 - Canada orders Japanese Canadians out of British Columbia coastal region; now defined as a 'protected area' 1943/44/45 1943 - U-965, U-966 launched 1943 - U-958 commissioned 1943 - Corvette HMCS Norsyd laid down Quebec City PQ 1943 - Corvette HMCS Sackville arrived Liverpool NS for refit 1943 - Casablanca Conference President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Churchill, accompanied by the Combined Chiefs of Staff 1943 - In first submarine resupply mission, USS Gudgeon lands 6 men, 2,000 pounds of equipment and supplies on Negros Island 1943 - Destroyer escort USS Atherton laid down 1943 - Aircraft carrier USS Independence commissioned 1943 - Minesweeper USS Swallow commissioned 1943 - Submarine USS Gudgeon lands men and equipment near Catmon Point, Negros, Philippines 1943 - Submarine USS Pike is damaged by bombs and depth charges off Ichie Saki, Honshu. Pike returns to base 1943 - Submarine USS Searaven, on her sixth patrol moving through the waters around the Palaus, attacks a Japanese convoy between the Palaus and the Philippine island of Mindanao. Searaven fires a total of four torpedoes. All torpedoes hit targets. Two hit the sole escort, Ganjitsu Maru #1 and two strike SS Shiraha Maru [some sources name the vessel Shirahane Maru]. They sink in position 09°12'N, 130°38'E 1944 - Minesweeper HMCS New Liskeard launched Port Arthur ON 1944 - Frigate HMCS (ex-HMS) Loch Alvie launched 1944 - Destroyer USS Massey laid down 1944 - Destroyer escorts USS Abercrombie & Halloran launched 1944 - Frigates HMS Tyler & Spragge commissioned 1944 - Minesweeper HMS Recruit commissioned 1944 - Submarine USS Crevalle, on her second patrol, lays mines off Kega Point, east of Saigon, French Indochina on the night of 14-15 January. The field is laid in position 10°33'N, 108°01'E 1944 - Submarine USS Scamp, embarked on her sixth patrol, attacks a convoy several hundred miles south of Woleai Atoll. In a daytime periscope attack, Scamp fires 6 torpedoes with two hits sinking tanker Nippon Maru in position 05°02'N, 140°50'E. Several hours later, USS Guardfish, on her seventh patrol, sets upon the same convoy and sinks tanker Kenyo Maru in position 05°22'N, 141°27'E after a twilight periscope attack. Five of six torpedoes obliterate the naval tanker. USS Albacore, nearby on her eighth patrol, sinks destroyer Sazanami in position 05°15'N, 141°15'E, near Woleai Atoll 1944 - Submarine USS Seawolf, on her twelfth patrol, attacks a Japanese convoy approximately 300 miles NE of Okinawa in a night surface radar attack. Two of three torpedoes hit home, sinking tanker Yamazuru Maru in position 28°30'N, 133°40'E 1944 - Barge, Fuel Oil (Self-Propelled) YO-159 lost off the New Hebrides Islands 1944 - Submarine USS Swordfish, on her tenth patrol, attacks a Japanese convoy in the waters south of Honshu. In a night periscope attack, Swordfish fires four fish, of which, two hit and sink Yamakuni Maru near Hachijo Jima in position 33°16'N, 139°30'E 1945 - HMC ML 081 begins refit 1945 - Corvette HMCS Trillium, while escorting the 47-ship Southend to New York City Convoy ON-278, suffered a collision with coaster, which sank. No record of either name of the vessel or loss of life, in this incident 1945 - Submarine USS Chivo launched 1945 - U-3521 commissioned 1945 - At 1035, U-1232 attacked Convoy BX-141 east of Halifax, sank SS British Freedom & badly damaged SS Martin Van Buren six minutes later. The U-boat then sank SS Athelviking and missed HMCS Ettrick. Later in the action, HMCS Ettrick, while conducting an attack, ran over the conning tower of U-1232, which was forced to depart for home badly damaged. Dobratz reported sinking four ships totaling 30.400 tons. The master & three crewmembers from SS Athelviking were lost. 39 crewmembers & eight gunners were picked up by HMC ML-102 & landed at Halifax 1945 - U-1208 sailed from Norway on her first & only patrol 1945 - Submarine USS Cobia, making her third patrol, fires a salvo of five torpedoes in a daytime periscope attack against SS Yurijima off the east coast of Malaya SE of Kota Bharu. One torpedo explodes and sinks the coastal minelayer in position 05°51'N, 103°16'E
January 15th From: http://www.seawaves.com/newsletters/TDIH/january/15Jan.txt January 15th 1939/40/41 1939 - Lord Halifax, British Foreign Minister, urged Georges Bonnet, French Foreign Minister, to satisfy some of Italy's claims - port facilities at Djibouti, Suez tolls, and status of Italians in Tunis 1940 - Joint amphibious exercise begin in the Monterey, California, area to (1) provide training for the Army and Navy in planning and executing Joint operations, (2) train Army troops in embarking and disembarking, and (3) afford an opportunity for elements of the General Headquarters Air Force (GHQAF) and Navy patrol squadrons to work together and with ground forces 1940 - SS Gracia in Convoy OB-71 was damaged by a mine laid on 6 January by U-30 about 5 miles WSW of the Bar Lightvessel, Liverpool 1940 - At 0013, SS Fagerheim was hit by one torpedo from U-44 about 80 miles SW of Quessant, broke in two & sank. The survivors were rescued and taken to Vigo, Spain 1940 - Destroyers HMS Offa & Oribi laid down 1940 - At 0705 hours, the neutral Arendskerk was spotted by U-44 about 100 miles SW of Ouessant and tried to escape when the U-boat was sighted. It needed seven shots across her bow to stop the vessel. When the papers were checked it became clear that she carried contraband and the crew was ordered to abandon ship. At 1010, one torpedo struck in the engine room, breaking the ship in two. The afterpart sank, but the forepart remained afloat and had to be sunk 30 minutes later by 18 shells from the deck gun. The survivors were picked up by the Italian merchant Fedora, transferred to the Dutch merchant Poelau Bras and landed at Lisbon 1941 - Minesweepers HMCS Gananoque & Goderich laid down Toronto ON 1941 - U-179 laid down 1941 - Cruiser minelayer HMS Adventure is damaged for the second time on a mine while on passage from Milford Haven to Liverpool 1941 - The Admiralty announces the promotion of Vice-Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham, C-in-C of the British Mediterranean Fleet to admiral 1941 - The Italian motorship Citta di Messina, escorted by the torpedo boat Centauro, is torpedoed & sunk by submarine HMS Regent. It is the first sinking of a supply ship bound for North Africa in 1941 1941 - AMC HMCS Prince Henry arrived Bermuda for workups 1941 - Destroyers HMCS Assiniboine, St Francis & Columbia departed Halifax for EG-4 Greenock 1941 - Corvette HMS Godetia laid down 1941 - Destroyer USS Gwin commissioned 1941 - Corvette HMS Anchusa launched 1941 - Minesweeper HMS Felixstowe launched 1941 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Hoxa launched 1941 - U-151, U-554 commissioned 1942/43 1942 - At 0941, the unescorted tanker Coimbra was hit by one torpedo from U-123, which had spotted the lights of the tanker astern while the U-boat was proceeding eastbound following the southern shore of Long Island. The torpedo struck on the starboard side just aft of the superstructure. A huge towering explosion lit up the night sky and the cargo of oil quickly caught fire and spread across the water. Residents from the Hamptons on Long Island could see the fire at sea 27 miles away and alerted the authorities. A second torpedo hit the tanker and her stern immediately sank, striking the sea floor. Like his previous victim, the Norness, the bow of the Coimbra was sticking out of the water. Hardegen suggested that, "it was a good thing that my wrecks were partly sticking out of the water. Otherwise how would other ships find the harbor?" The tanker later sank completely. The master, 29 crewmembers and six gunners were lost. Ten survivors, six of them wounded were rescued from the rough seas. Two crewmembers were picked up by destroyer USS Rowan & landed at Argentia, Newfoundland. The remaining survivors were rescued by another American destroyer and landed at St John's 1942 - At 1134, U-203 torpedoed a ship, which exploded & sank immediately. Mützelburg thought that he had sunk an ammunition ship, but his victim was the trawler Catalina 1942 - At 0138, the unescorted Dayrose was torpedoed and sunk by U-552 west of Cape Race. Altogether, the U-boat fired five torpedoes of which two struck the vessel and broke her in two. The master, 31 crewmembers and six gunners were lost. Four crewmembers were picked up by destroyers USS Ericsson & USS Stockton and landed at Argentia, Newfoundland 1942 - At 2317, tanker Diala was torpedoed & damaged by U-553 about 300 miles ESE of Cape Race in 44°50N/46°50W (grid BC 8524). The vessel was proceeding at maximum speed (12 knots) after the convoy ON-52 was dispersed on 11 January. The bow was blown off and the superstructure was extensively damaged. The tanker was abandoned but remained afloat and was reported drifting NE. 48 crewmembers and nine gunners were lost. The master, six crewmembers and one gunner were picked up by the British SS Telefora de Larrinaga and landed at New York. Four survivors from the Athelcrown, which had been sunk by U-82 on 22 January, boarded the abandoned, drifting wreck of the Diala. They remained on board for eight days before they were rescued by the Swedish merchant Saturnus and landed on the Faroes Isles. On 19 March, Allied ships in position 47°N/37°W last saw the drifting wreck, after attempts to tow her were unsuccessful. The wreck of the Diala was sunk on 23 March by U-587 1942 - U-93 sunk in North Atlantic, in position 36.10N, 15.52W by destroyer HMS Hesperus. 6 dead, 40 survivors 1942 - Minesweeper USS Auk commissioned 1942 - Battleship Tirpitz moves to Norwegian waters 1942 - The State Department issues a memorandum outlining its position with respect to French sovereignty over bases the United States intends to build in French Oceania 1942 - Destroyers USS Blean & Tickham launched 1942 - Escort carrier USS Bogue launched 1942 - Destroyer USS Caldwell launched 1942 - Submarine USS Herring launched 1942 - U-605 commissioned 1942 - Submarine FS Surcouf arrived Halifax NS for refit 1942 - SS Barra Island, Canadian Atlantic Transportation Co, wrecked in a storm in the Hebrides Sea, two miles off Barra Island, west of Scotland. There was no loss of life in this incident 1942 - U-211, U-413 launched 1942 - Corvette HMS Chrysanthemum commissioned. Taken over by Free French Navy 26 Jan 42 & renamed Comandant Drogou 1942 - U-577 sunk in the Mediterranean NW of Mersa Matruh, in position 32.40N, 25.48E, by depth charges from an RN 815 Sqn Swordfish. 43 dead (all hands lost) 1942 - Lieutenant Goodman RNVR was awarded the George Cross for his bravery in dismantling an unexploded Italian torpedo of unusual design, fitted with a self-destruct mechanism 1943 - U-1004 laid down 1943 - Escort carrier USS Manila Bay laid down 1943 - Submarine USS Manta laid down 1943 - Aircraft carrier USS Shangri-La laid down 1943 - Submarine USS Tang laid down 1943 - On the Virginia side of the Potomac River outside Washington, DC, a new Headquarters building for the Armed Forces of the US is completed. Due to the 5 sided architectural design, it will become known as "The Pentagon". The size of this building will allow the US Army, US Navy and US Army Airforces to move their command functions into one place. Due to segregation in Virginia at the time, separate bathroom facilities were built for whites & blacks. These have been located all over the greater Washington, DC area. Many of them are housed in temporary buildings, "on the mall", between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. These temporary buildings were erected during WWI and were not expected to be in use much longer than the duration of that conflict 1943 - Destroyer USS Nields commissioned 1943 - Submarine USS Tinosa commissioned 1943 - Lighters HMC HC 185, HC 186, HC 204 & HC 205 ordered 1943 - A crewmember of U-134 committed suicide 1943 - U-716, U-851 launched 1943 - The unescorted Ocean Courage was torpedoed & sunk by U-182 about 200 miles south of the Cape Verde Islands. The master, 41 crewmembers, two gunners and two stowaways were lost. Six crewmembers and one gunner were picked up by the British merchant Silverwalnut and landed at Norfolk VA 1943 - At 1031, U-617 fired four torpedoes at a small convoy, consisting of two merchantmen, the Annitsa and Harboe Jensen, escorted by armed trawler HMS Southern Isles. Brandi observed two hits on each merchantman that had a great effect. Both merchantmen were sunk in the attack. One crewmember from the Annitsa was lost. The trawler rescued 31 survivors and a lifeboat picked up two survivors from the Harboe Jensen. The trawler later also picked up the survivors in the lifeboat. Harboe Jensen (Master Sverre Aanonsen) was hit by two torpedoes on the port side and sank immediately. The master and 17 crewmembers were lost. Five Norwegians and one British jumped overboard and found an upturned lifeboat, which they righted. They picked up two survivors from the Greek ship, before the trawler rescued them. Gunner Falkensten, who had also jumped overboard kept himself afloat on a plank and was rescued after about an hour 1944/45 1944 - Tugs HMCS Listerville, Martinville, Neville, Bonnyville, Merrickville, Johnville, Plainville, Hartville, Innisville, Queensville, Kayville & Youville ordered 1944 - HMC MTB 745 commissioned 1944 - Corvette HMCS Peterborough launched Kingston ON 1944 - U-485, U-1102 launched 1944 - Destroyer HMAS Bataan launched 1944 - Submarine USS Thresher, patrolling in the Luzon Strait during her eleventh patrol, bores in on a Japanese convoy. Thresher lets loose seven torpedoes in a night surface radar attack. Two of four torpedoes strike and sink Toho Maru and all torpedoes in a salvo of three hit Tatsuno Maru sinking her. These ships are sunk about 75 miles north of Luzon in position 19°45'N, 120°40'E 1944 - Submarine HMS Tally Ho, on her third patrol and cruising the waters around the Andaman Islands, fires six torpedoes at what is believed to be a motor vessel. One torpedo hits & sinks Ryuko Maru south of Port Blair in position 10°50'N, 93°00'E 1944 - Frigate USS Alexandria launched 1944 - Destroyer escorts USS Charles J Kimmel, Connolly & Daniel A Joy launched 1944 - Frigate USS Eugene commissioned 1944 - Destroyer USS Prichett commissioned 1944 - Destroyer escort USS Francis M Robinson commissioned 1944 - Corvette HMCS Drumheller completed forecastle extension refit New York City 1944 - Submarine HMS L-27 arrived Philadelphia for refit 1944 - The Canadian-owned, British-registered Victory-class freighter Fort St Nicholas (7,154 GRT), Captain Kenneth H. Pengelly, Master, was torpedoed and sunk by U-410, OLtzS. Horst-Arno Fenski, Knight's Cross, in the Gulf of Salerno, in position 40.34N, 014.37E. There was no loss of life from the 63 crewmembers and four passengers onboard. Fort St Nicholaswas a Victory-class cargo ship built by Burrard Dry Dock Co., Ltd, at North Vancouver, BC She was completed in Sep 43. Fort St Nicholaswas one of 32 Victory-class ships provided to Great Britain under the terms of a Bare Boat Charter. John Cory & Son, Ltd., of Cardiff, Wales, managed the ship for the British government. Two of these ships were lost and another two were damaged. The ship was proceeding from Hull, U.K., to Naples, Italy. She was loaded with 4,000 tons of military stores. U-410 was a medium-range type VIIC submarine built by Danziger Werft, at Danzig. She was commissioned on 23 Feb 42, KptLt. Kurt Sturm, CO. U-410 conducted seven patrols and compiled a record of ten ships sunk for a total of 57,861 tons and one ship damaged for a further 7,134 tons. U-410 was bombed and sunk on 11 Mar 44 by USAAF aircraft while alongside in Toulon, France. There is no record of casualties associated with her loss. Horst-Arno Fenski was born in 1918, at Königsberg, East Prussia. He joined the navy in 1937. His operational service began in Dec 39 in the battlecruiser Gneisenau. Fenski transferred to the U-boat force in Apr 40, serving as the First Watch Officer in the successful Type VIIC boat U-752 (seven patrols, eight ships sunk), commanded by KptLt. Karl-Ernst Schroeter. Fenski was promoted to OLtzS on 01 Apr 42 and was selected for command, completing his U-boat commander’s course between Jun-Jul 42. His first appointment was command of the Type VIIA training boat U-34. Next, on 05 Feb 43, Fenski was appointed to command U-410, at the age of 24. He was awarded the Knight's Cross on 26 Nov 43 (the 106th awarded in the U-boat force). After U-410 was bombed in port, Fenski was assigned to command the veteran Type VIIC boat U-371 (19 patrols, 12 ships sunk). On her first patrol under Fenski's command, U-371 was sunk in operations against convoy GUS-9. Fenski was detained after the capitulation and was released on 04 May 46. Horst-Arno Fenski died on 10 Feb 65, in Hamburg. He sank nine ships for a total of 53,684 tons and damaged four ships for a further 13,356 tons, which ranked him as the 84th highest scoring U-boat 'ace' of the war. U-371 was unlucky enough to be the first victim of a new allied sub-hunting tactic known as ‘Swamp’. This tactic packed the vicinity of a known or suspected U-boat with as many surface escorts and patrol aircraft as possible. The escorts and aircraft then systematically searched the area until the U-boat’s submerged endurance was exhausted. On the night of 02/03 May, U-371 was closing the 43-ship Oran to Hampton Roads convoy GUS-9. After being forced to submerge by an escort, Fenski waited until the convoy passed overhead before resurfacing astern of it. He began to reposition U-371 for another attack but was sighted by the American Edsall-class destroyer escort Menges. Fenski dove the boat and fired a T-5 acoustic-homing torpedo at Menges, which struck her aft, causing extensive damage but did not sink her. Another Edsall-class destroyer escort, USS Pride and the Treasury-class cutter USCGC Campbell joined the attack and forced U-371 to break contact with the convoy. Ultimately, six escorts and three aircraft squadrons were dedicated to the hunt. Fenski bottomed his boat near the African coastline and remained quite for 21 hours. Finally, the depleted air in the boat forced an emergency surfacing at 0315 04 May. The resourceful Fenski handled his boat brilliantly but the odds were overwhelming. A wild gun battle took place during which Fenski fired another T-5 torpedo that hit and heavily damaged the Free French escort Senegalais. Fenski ordered the boat abandoned and scuttled. Amazingly, there were only three casualties from U-371’s crew of 51 men 1944 - Submarine HMS P-554 arrived Halifax NS for ASW training 1944 - U-871 commissioned 1945 - The unescorted Maja was torpedoed & sunk by U-1055 SE of Drogheda. 17 crewmembers and eight gunners were lost. The master, 37 crewmembers and two gunners were picked up by the Belgian trawler Hendrik Conscience and landed at Holyhead 1945 - Escort carrier HMS Thane damaged beyond repair by U-1172 55.08N, 05.25W - Grid AM 65. After being deemed unworthy of repair she was decommissioned at Faslane. Eventually she was scrapped there in 1946 1945 - Tanker Spinanger damaged by U-1172 at 55.08N, 05.25W - Grid AM 65 1945 - Tug HMCS Barkerville assigned to Prince Rupert BC 1945 - HMCS Fundy & Comox, both Fundy-class minesweepers, rescued survivors from the three ships torpedoed in Convoy BX-141 by U-1232. The ships lost were the British tankers British Freedom & Athelviking as well as the US Liberty ship Martin Van Buren. The two tankers were sunk in position 44.28N, 063.28W. The Liberty ship was towed into port but was declared a Constructive Total Loss. The four ships of the Fundy-class (Comox, Fundy, Gaspe & Nootka (renamed Nanoose in 1944)) were ordered before the outbreak of WWII as part of a modest naval build-up. All four ships were laid down and commissioned during 1938. With a displacement of only 460 tons and a length of 163 feet, they were even smaller than the Western Isles-class armed trawlers (545 tons 164 feet). The Fundy-class sweepers were coal-fired, which gave them significantly less endurance than comparably sized oil-fired vessels (although the Western Isles-class also used coal). They served in the local approaches to Esquimalt and Halifax and were paid off in 1945 1945 - Battleship USS Illinois laid down 1945 - Destroyers USS Sarsfield & Stribling laid down 1945 - Italian battleship Conte Di Cavour was sunk during an aerial bombardment at Trieste. This was the third time that the ship was sunk and she was raised for a third time afterwards. Laid down 10 Aug 1910, Cavour was launched on 10 Aug 1911, and completed on 01 April 1915. As originally built, she displaced 23,000 tons, had a top speed of 21.5 knots, and was armed with thirteen 12.8-inch guns. As a result of the naval limitations treaties that restricted new construction, Cavour was extensively modernized at Trieste between Oct 1933 and Jul 1937. She emerged with a radically altered profile and a displacement of 28,000 tons, a top speed of 28 knots, and was armed with ten 12.8-inch guns. Conte Di Cavour was among the ships sunk by FAA Swordfish aircraft from HMS Illustrious at Taranto on 11 Nov 1940. She was refloated in mid-1941 and transferred to Trieste in Dec 1941 for repairs and modernization. Upon the Italian Armistice, Cavour was scuttled on the night of 09 Sep 1943 to prevent her from being seized by the Germans. The hulk was raised and repair efforts were begun again. Cavour was bombed and sunk by USAAF heavy bombers and, in 1947, she was raised for a third and final time. The hulk was broken up for scrap between 1950 and 1952 1945 - Destroyer USS Vogelsgang launched 1945 - Aircraft carrier HMS Vengeance commissioned 1945 - Submarine USS Argonaut commissioned 1945 - Frigate USS Lorain commissioned 1945 - Minesweeper USS Ptarmigan commissioned 1945 - Mines laid by HMS Porpoise on 9 January sink Japanese Kyo Maru #1 south of Penang, Malaya, 05°18'N, 100°20'E. Porpoise would never return from this patrol, her fourth
