Tp: Atlantic Battle

HMS Wolverine, destroyer of the old "V" and "W" class prewar (Courtesy Cyberheritage). The class played a major role throughout the war. HMS Wolverine is credited with sinking "U-47" (now disputed) and "U-76" in Atlantic convoy battles in early 1941.

Royal Navy Campaign Honour

Atlantic 1939-45

1939

SEPTEMBER 1939

14th - After an unsuccessful attack on carrier "Ark Royal" off the Hebrides, NW Scotland, German "U-39" is depth-charged and sunk by screening destroyers "Faulknor", "Firedrake" and "Foxhound".

17th - Three days after the sinking of "U-39", fleet carrier "COURAGEOUS" is sent to the bottom to the southwest of Ireland by "U-29" with heavy loss of life. Carriers are withdrawn from anti-U-boat patrols as it becomes accepted that the best chance of sinking U-boats is to attract them to well-defended convoys where the escorts can hunt them down.

20th - After sinking trawlers off the northern Hebrides, German "U-27" is located and sunk by destroyers "Fortune" and "Forester".

German Heavy Warships - Pocket battleship "Admiral Graf Spee" sinks her first ship in the Atlantic off Brazil on the 30th September.

Axis Loss Summary - 2 German U-boats.

OCTOBER 1939

German Heavy Warships - Pocket battleship "Graf Spee" claims four more merchant ships in the South Atlantic before heading into the southern Indian Ocean. Seven Allied hunting groups are formed in the Atlantic and one in the Indian Ocean to search for her. In total the Royal and French Navies deploy three capital ships, four aircraft carriers and 16 cruisers. Meanwhile sister ship "Deutschland", after accounting for two ships in the North Atlantic is ordered home. She reaches Germany in November and renamed "Lutzow".

8th-24th - The anti-U-boat mine barrage in the Strait of Dover is completed and accounts for three U-boats, starting with "U-12" on the 8th."U-40" is also mined and sunk in the Strait of Dover on the 13th.The third U-boat sunk in the Strait of Dover is "U-16" on the 24th. No more attempts are made to pass through the English Channel and U-boats are forced to sail around the north of Scotland to reach the Atlantic.

13th - Two U-boats attacking convoys to the southwest of Ireland are sunk by escorting destroyers. On the 13th, "U-42" is sent to the bottom by "Imogen" and "llex" sailing with Liverpool-out convoy OB17

14th - Next day "Icarus", "Inglefield", "Intrepid" and "Ivanhoe" escorting Kingston, Jamaica/UK convoy KJ3 account for "U-45"

Axis Loss Summary- 2 German U-boats

NOVEMBER 1939

German Heavy Warships - Pocket battleship "Graf Spee" sinks a small tanker southwest of Madagascar and heads back for the South Atlantic. More Allied hunting groups are formed.

23rd - Armed merchant cruiser "RAWALPINDI" (Capt E. C Kennedy) on Northern Patrol is sunk by the 11in battlecruiser "Scharnhorst" as she and sister ship "Gneisenau" try to break out into the Atlantic. After the action to the southwest of Iceland, they turn back and return to Germany after avoiding searching ships of the British Home Fleet.

29th - On patrol to the north of Scotland to support an earlier attempted breakout German battlecruisers "Scharnhorst" and "Gneisenau", "U-35" is found east of the Shetland Islands and sunk by destroyers "Kashmir", "Kingston" and "Icarus".

Axis Loss Summary - 1 German U-boat.

DECEMBER 1939

Canada - The first Canadian troop convoy TC1, sails from Halifax, Nova Scotia for Britain, heavily escorted and accompanied part of the way by Canadian destroyers.

4th - Returning from the hunt for the German battle-cruisers after the sinking of "Rawalpindi" on the 23rd November, battleship "Nelson" is damaged by a mine laid by "U-31" off Loch Ewe, northwest Scotland.

River Plate 1939 - Royal Navy Battle Honour

13th - Battle of River Plate - Now back in the South Atlantic, “Graf Spee” claims three more victims to bring the total to nine ships of 50,000 tons, before heading for the South American shipping lanes off the River Plate. Cdre Harwood with Hunting Group G - 8in-gunned cruisers “Exeter” and “Cumberland” and 6in light cruisers “Ajax” and New Zealand “Achilles” - correctly anticipates her destination. Unfortunately “Cumberland” is by now in the Falklands.

At 06.14 on the 13th, 150 miles east of the Plate Estuary, “Graf Spee” (Capt Langsdorff) is reported to the northwest of the three cruisers [1]. Faced with “Graf Spee's" heavier armament, Cdre Harwood decides to split his force in two and try to divide her main guns. “Exeter” closes to the south [2] while the two light cruisers work around to the north [3], all firing as they manoeuvre. “Graf Spee” concentrates her two 11in turrets on “Exeter”which is badly hit [4]. By 06.50 all ships are heading west [5], “Exeter” with only one turret in action and on fire. She has to break off and head south for the Falklands [6].

click for enlargements

HMS Exeter

HMS Achilles

Map details from "The War at Sea" by Capt Roskill

Image
© Gordon Smith 2001; to use, please quote www.naval-history.net

“Ajax” and “Achilles” continue to harry the pocket battleship from the north [7], but at 07.25 "Ajax" loses her two after turrets to an 11in hit [8]. “Achilles” already has splinter damage, but still the German ship fails to press home its advantage. By 08.00, still with only superficial damage, she heads for the neutral Uruguayan port of Montevideo, the cruisers shadowing [9].

“GRAF SPEE” enters port at midnight. As other Allied hunting groups head for the area, much diplomatic manoeuvring takes place to hold her there. Finally, on the 17th, Capt Langsdorff edges his ship out into the estuary where she is scuttled and blown up. Only “Cumberland” has arrived by this time. Langsdorff then commits suicide.

Axis Loss Summary - 1 German pocket battleship

1940

JANUARY 1940

30th - Attacking Thames-out convoy 0A80 to the west of the English Channel, “U-55” is destroyed in a joint action by an RAF Sunderland of No 228 Squadron, sloop “Fowey“ and destroyer “Whitshed”. This is the first successful air/sea attack which will not be repeated for another five months.

Axis Loss Summary - 1 German U-boat

FEBRUARY 1940

5th - “U-41” sinks one ship from Liverpool-out convoy OB84 south of Ireland, but is then sent to the bottom by the lone escort, destroyer “Antelope”.

23rd - Destroyer “Gurkha” on passage south of the Faeroe Islands encounters “U-53” returning from patrol in the Western Approaches. The U-boat is sunk.

Axis Loss Summary - 2 German U-boats.

MARCH 1940

German Raiders -Converted from a merchantman and heavily armed, auxiliary cruiser “Atlantis” sails for the Indian Ocean round the Cape of Good Hope. In 1941 she moves into the South Atlantic, and operations last for a total of 20 months until her loss in November 1941. She is the first of nine active raiders, seven of which go out in 1940. Only one ever breaks out for a second cruise. Their success is not so much due to their sinkings and captures - a creditable average of 15 ships of 90,000 tons for each raider, but the disruption they cause in every ocean. At a time when the Royal Navy is short of ships, convoys must be organised and patrols instituted in many areas. In 1940 raiders account for 54 ships of 370,000 tons. The first German raider is not caught until May 1941 - 14 months from now.

20th - Home Fleet battlecruisers to the north of the Shetlands cover a cruiser sweep into the Skagerrak. German U-boat “U-44”is sighted and sunk by escorting destroyer “Fortune” .

Axis Loss Summary - 1 U-boat

APRIL 1940

German Raiders - “Orion” sails for the Pacific and Indian Oceans around South America's Cape Horn. She is out for 16 months before returning to France.

10th - “U-50” on patrol off the Shetlands in support of the Norwegian invasion, is sunk by destroyer “Hero”.

Axis Loss Summary - 1 German U-boat.

MAY 1940

German Raiders - “Widder” heads for central Atlantic operations before returning to France six months later. On her way into the Indian Ocean, “Atlantis” lays mines off South Africa.

JUNE 1940

German Raiders - Two more set sail. “Thor” makes for the South Atlantic and returns to Germany eleven months later. “Pinguin” leaves for the Indian Ocean around the Cape of Good Hope, later operates in the Antarctic and is finally lost in May 1941. Meanwhile “Orion” which set out in April 1940 is laying mines off New Zealand that account for the gold-bullion carrying liner “Niagara”.

6th - Three armed merchant cruisers on Northern Patrol are lost to U-boats in the waters between Ireland (R) and Iceland (C) over the next nine days, starting with “CARINTHIA” on the 6th/7th to “U-46”

13th - “SCOTSTOUN” is torpedoed three times by “U-25” and sinks north west of the Hebrides

15th - “ANDANIA” is sunk by German “U-A”, a Turkish submarine building in Germany and taken over

Axis Loss Summary - 2 German U-boats, dates and causes of loss uncertain.

JULY 1940

1st - Corvette Gladiolus claims the first success for the 'Flower' class when with the support of an RAF Sunderland, she sinks “U-26” southwest of Ireland.

5th - Detached from a UK outward-bound OB convoy to search for a reported U-boat, destroyer “WHIRLWIND” is torpedoed by “U-34” and lost to the west of Land's End.

German Raiders - Only 11 months before German attacks Russia, “Komet” sails for the Pacific through the North East Passage across the top of Siberia with the aid of Russian icebreakers. She operates in the Pacific and Indian Oceans until returning to Germany in November 1941, the last of the first wave of surface raiders to leave Germany.

28th - Off the coast of Brazil, German raider “Thor” badly damages armed merchant cruiser “Alcantara” in a gun duel.

Axis Loss Summary - 1 German U-boat.

AUGUST 1940

10th - Two more ex-liners recommissioned as armed merchant cruisers of the Northern Patrol are lost to U-boat attack to the north of Ireland. "TRANSYLVANIA" is torpedoed and sunk by "U-56" on the 10th. The second is lost at the end of the month.

20th - Submarine "Cachalot "on Bay of Biscay patrol sinks the returning "U-51" off Lorient, western France

24th- An attack by "U-37" on the first Slow Cape Breton/UK convoy SC1 to the southeast of Greenland leads to the loss of a merchantman and sloop "PENZANCE".

27th/28th - The second AMC of the Northern Patrol lost to the north of Ireland is "DUNVEGAN CASTLE" to "U-46" on the night of the 27th/28th.

Axis Loss Summary - 1 German U-boat.

SEPTEMBER 1940

1st - Cruiser "Fiji" is torpedoed by "U-32" out in the North Atlantic off Rockall as she escorts troop transports for the Dakar, West Africaexpedition, Operation "Menace". Her place is taken by Australian heavy cruiser "Australia".

6th - Escorting convoy 0A205, corvette "GODETIA" is rammed and sunk by merchantman "Marsa" north of Ireland, the first 'Flower' class lost.

15th - "U-48" attacks convoy SC3 northwest of Ireland and sinks sloop "DUNDEE". Both "Dundee" and "Penzance", lost the previous month were long endurance ships used as anti-submarine (A/S) ocean escorts for the slow and vulnerable SC convoys.

OCTOBER 1940

22nd - Canadian destroyer "MARGAREE" escorting Liverpool-out convoy OL8, is lost in collision with merchantman "Port Fairy" to the west of Ireland. This is the last of the short-lived fast OL's sailing from Liverpool.

30th - Destroyers "Harvester" and "Highlander" sink "U-32" northwest of Ireland during a convoy attack. Two days earlier, the U-boat had finished off the damaged 42,000-ton liner "Empress of Britain" (below).

German Surface Warships & Raiders - Pocket battleship "Admiral Scheer" sails from Germany for the Atlantic and later Indian Oceans. She gets back home in March 1941. Meanwhile German raider "Widder" arrives in France after six month's operations in the central Atlantic where she sank or captured 10 ships of 59,000 tons.

Axis Loss Summary - 1 German U-boat.

NOVEMBER 1940

2nd - Attacking a convoy northwest of Ireland, "U-31" is sunk for the second and final time, on this occasion by destroyer "Antelope" in co-operation with shore-based aircraft of RAF Coastal Command. RAF Bomber Command first sank her in March 1940.

3rd - Two armed merchant cruisers returning from patrol are sunk west of Ireland by Kretschmer's "U-99". The first is "LAURENTIC" on the 3rd.

4th - Next day, "PATROCLUS" is lost west of Ireland to an attack by "U-99". A third AMC is sunk next day.

Admiral Scheer 1940 - Royal Navy Single Ship Action

5th - Loss of the "Jervis Bay" - Halifax/UK convoy HX84 with 37 ships and its solitary escort, armed merchant cruiser "Jervis Bay" (Capt Fegen) is attacked by the 11in-gunned pocket battleship "Admiral Scheer" in mid-Atlantic. The convoy is ordered to scatter as "JERVIS BAY" heads for the "Scheer", guns firing. The end is in no doubt and she goes down, but her sacrifice saves all but five of the merchant ships. Capt Edward Fegen RN is posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.

It is in this action that tanker "San Demetrio" is damaged by gunfire and abandoned. Later re-boarded by a few of her crew, they get her into port in spite of the greatest difficulties and privations.

"Admiral Scheer" heads for the central and later the South Atlantic.

In separate North Atlantic operations, German submarine "U-104" and the Italian "FAA DI BRUNO" are lost. In both cases the circumstances are uncertain, but "U-104" is claimed by corvette "Rhododendron" and the Italian by destroyer "Havelock". "U-104" is the last German U-boat lost until March although the Italians have casualties.

Axis Loss Summary - 2 German and 1 Italian U-boats

DECEMBER 1940

German Raiders - "Kormoran" is the first of the second wave of raiders to leave for operations. She starts in the central Atlantic and later moves to the Indian Ocean, where she is lost in November 1941. Much further afield in the South West Pacific, "Komet" and "Orion" share in the sinking of five ships near the phosphate island of Nauru. Later in the month "Komet" shells the installations on Nauru.

1st - Armed merchant cruiser "Carnarvon Castle" is badly damaged in action with raider "Thor" off Brazil, the German ship's second and equally successful fight with an AMC.

2nd - Cdr Kretschmer and "U-99" claims a third armed merchant cruiser when "FORFAR"is sent to the bottom west of Ireland; the others were "Laurentic" and "Patroclus" a month earlier. At the same time nearby convoy HX90 is attacked just before the Western Approaches escorts arrive. Eleven ships are lost to the U-boats.

15th - Italian submarine "TARANTINI" returning from North Atlantic patrol is torpedoed and sunk by submarine "Thunderbolt" in the Bay of Biscay.

German Heavy Warships - Earlier in the month the 8in heavy cruiser "Admiral Hipper" left Germany and passed into the Atlantic through the Denmark Strait. On Christmas Day the 25th December, 700 miles to the west of Cape Finisterre, northwest Spain she encounters Middle East troop convoy WS5A, one of 'Winston's Specials', escorted by cruisers. They are accompanied by carrier "Furious" ferrying aircraft to Takoradi in West Africa. In an exchange of gunfire the heavy cruiser "Berwick" and two merchantmen are slightly damaged. "Hipper" retires and soon reaches Brest. She is the first of the Gerrnan big ships to reach the French Biscay ports. From there she and her companions will pose a major threat to the Atlantic convoy routes right up until the Channel Dash of February 1942.

HMS Berwick

Axis Loss Summary - 1 Italian U-boat

1941

JANUARY 1941

German Heavy Warships & Raiders - Pocket battleship "Admiral Scheer" is hunting in the South Atlantic, while battlecruisers "Scharnhorst" and "Gneisenau" in Germany and heavy cruiser "Hipper" in Brest, France prepare to sail. At the end of the month the two battlecruisers head out into the Atlantic for two months operations before returning to Brest.

Six of the original seven raiders are still at sea - "Orion" and "Komet" in the Pacific, "Atlantis" at the desolate island of Kerguelen in the southern Indian Ocean, "Kormoran" in the central and "Thor" in the South Atlantic. Finally "Pinguin" is in the Antarctic. All six move to different areas over the next few months.

Until June 1941, German warships sink 37 ships of 188,000 tons and raiders 38 ships of 191,000 tons. Thereafter neither type inflicts many losses as worldwide convoys are organised and the raiders' supply ships are sunk.

7th - Italian submarine "NANI" attacks a convoy west of North Channel and is sunk by corvette "Anemone".

Axis Loss Summary - 1 Italian U-boat.

FEBRUARY 1941

German Heavy Warships - At the beginning of the month, heavy cruiser "Admiral Hipper" sails from Brest. On the 12th, far to the west of Gibraltar, she sinks seven ships from slow unescorted convoy SLS64 bound for Britain from Sierra Leone. Returning to Brest, in March she heads back to Germany via the Denmark Strait and takes no further part in independent commerce raiding.

On the 8th, battlecruisers "Scharnhorst" and "Gneisenau" sight convoy HX106 escorted by the lone battleship "Ramillies" south of Greenland, but decline to attack in case of possible damage. Two weeks later, five unescorted ships are sunk east of Newfoundland, before they heading for the Sierra Leone routes. Meanwhile pocket battleship "Admiral Scheer" in the Indian Ocean operates successfully off Madagascar before preparing to return to Germany.

22nd - Italian submarine "MARCELLO" is believed sunk to the west of the Hebrides by ex-US destroyer "Montgomery" and other escorts of Liverpool-out convoy OB287. The convoy is reported by Kondors which sink two and damage four merchantmen. No more U-boat attacks are made.

Axis Loss Summary - 1 Italian U-boat.

MARCH 1941

7th/8th - With better weather the spring U-boat offensive starts and 41 ships of 243,000 tons sunk. However, in the space of a few days they suffer their first major defeat at the hands of the escorts and lose five submarines (1-5) in the month including three aces. From now on, escort versus wolf-pack battles will predominate in the North Atlantic. Attacking Liverpool-out convoy OB293, the first sinking is "U-70"(1) by corvettes "Arbutus" and "Camellia" on the 7th. Continuing the hunt, next to go is "U-47"(2) (Cdr Prien who sank battleship "Royal Oak" in Scapa Flow) to destroyer "Wolverine" on the 8th.

German Heavy Ships - battlecruisers "Scharnhorst" and "Gneisenau" are sighted by aircraft of battleship "Malaya" escorting convoy SL67 off the Cape Verde Islands. The German ships return to the Newfoundland area and on the 15th and 16th sink or capture 16 unescorted ships. They return to Brest on the 22nd, having accounted for 22 ships of 116,000 tons, but never again take part successfully in commerce raiding.

17th - Germany loses two more U-boat aces during operations against Halifax/UK convoy HX112. "U-99" (3) (Lt-Cdr Kretschmer) and "U-100" (4) (Lt-Cdr Schepke) are sunk by the 5th Escort Group commanded by Cdr Macintyre. Destroyers "Vanoc" and "Walker" are mainly responsible.

20th - Following her earlier sighting of the "Scharnhorst" and "Gneisenau", "Malaya" is now sailing with convoy SL68 off the west coast of Africa. Torpedoed and damaged by "U-106", she becomes the first British ship repaired in the United States under Lend-Lease arrangements. The convoy loses seven merchantmen to the U-boats.

23rd - The fifth U-boat loss of the month is "U-551" (5) to armed trawler "Visenda". All five U-boat sinkings take place to the south of Iceland, the first German casualties since the November 1940 - four months earlier.

Axis Loss Summary - 5 German U-boats-including three of the most experienced commanders.

APRIL 1941

4th - Armed merchant cruisers again suffer heavy losses at widely scattered locations and in different circumstances. On the 4th "VOLTAIRE" is sunk in a gun duel with German raider "Thor" west of the Cape Verde Islands.

5th - Slow Halifax/UK convoy SC26 is attacked by U-boats for two days and loses 10 merchantmen. On the 5th, "U-76" is sunk by escorting destroyer "Wolverine and sloop "Scarborough" south of Iceland.

6th - Only two days later,"COMORIN" catches fire and finally goes down west of Ireland - the rescue of her crew and passengers in raging seas an epic in its own right.

13th - The third AMC is"RAJPUTANA" of the Northern Patrol lost in an attack by "U-108" in the Denmark Strait separating Greenland and Iceland.

German Raiders - "Thor" now returns to Germany after an absence of 11 months, having accounted for 11 ships of 83,000 tons plus the "Voltaire". Pocket battleship "Admiral Scheer" also gets back to Germany after five months in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans credited with 16 ships of 99,000 tons and the "Jervis Bay".

28th - Fast Halifax/UK convoy HX121 loses four ships but "U-65" is sunk in return by corvette "Gladiolus", like "U-76", south of Iceland.

Axis Loss Summary - 2 German U-boats

MAY 1941

8th - On patrol north of the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean, heavy cruiser "Cornwall" finds and sinks German raider "PINGUIN". This is the first raider to be hunted down, having accounted for 28 ships of 136,000 tons.

9th - Capture of "U.110" and the German Enigma - South of Iceland, "U.110" (Lt-Cdr Lemp of the "Athenia" sinking) attacks Liverpool out convoy OB318 protected by ships of Capt A. J. Baker-Creswell's escort group. Blown to the surface by depth charges from corvette "Aubretia" on the 9th, "U-110's" crew abandon ship, but she fails to go down. A boarding party from destroyer "Bulldog", led by Sub-Lt Balme, manages to get aboard. In a matter of hours they transfer to safety "U-110's" entire Enigma package - coding machine, code books, rotor settings and charts. The destroyer "Broadway" stands by during this hazardous operation.

Two days later "U-110" sinks on tow to Iceland, knowledge of her capture having been withheld from the crew and Lt-Cdr Lemp dying at the time of the boarding. The priceless Enigma material represents one of the greatest intelligence coup ever and is a major naval victory in its own right.

"U-110's" capture is far and away the most successful of the attempts to capture Enigma codes. In the March 1941 raid on the Norwegian Lofoten Islands, spare coding rotors were found. Then two days before the "U-110" triumph, a cruiser force had tried to capture the weather trawler "Munchen" off Iceland. At the end of the coming June a similar operation is mounted against the "Lauenberg". In both cases useful papers are taken but the real breakthrough only comes with "U-110". Included with the material captured are all rotor settings until the end of June 1941.

A number of codes are used with Enigma. The U-boat one is 'Hydra', also used by all ships in European waters. From the end of June, Bletchley Park is able to decipher 'Hydra' right through until the end of the war. Unfortunately the U-boats move off this version to the new 'Triton' in February 1942. The big ship 'Neptun' and Mediterranean 'Sud' and 'Medusa' codes are also soon broken.

13th - Armed merchant cruiser "SALOPIAN" on passage to Halifax after escorting convoy SC30 is torpedoed a total of six times by "U-98". Eventually she goes down southeast of Cape Farewell, the sad but appropriately-named southern tip of Greenland.

Bismarck 1941 - Royal Navy Battle Honour

18th-28th - Hunt for the "Bismarck", Phase 1 - On the 18th, new German 15in battleship "Bismarck" and heavy cruiser "Prinz Eugen" sail from Gdynia in the Baltic for the Atlantic via Norway. A simultaneous sortie by the battlecruisers "Scharnhorst" and "Gneisenau" from Brest is fortunately prevented by the damage inflicted by the RAF. On the 20th, they are sighted in the Kattegat by a Swedish warship.

21st - In the evening the German ships are sighted in a fiord south of Bergen, Norway. Two of the Home Fleet's capital ships, "Hood" and "Prince of Wales" (the latter still not fully completed and working up), sail from Scapa Flow towards Iceland to support the cruisers on Northern Patrol.

22nd - "Bismarck" is reported at sea and the main body of the Home Fleet under Adm Tovey leaves Scapa Flow and heads west. Battleship "King George V", fleet carrier "Victorious", cruisers and destroyers are later joined by battlecruiser "Repulse". "Victorious" is also a recent addition to the Fleet and still working up.

23rd - In the early evening, heavy cruisers "Suffolk" and shortly "Norfolk" sight the German ships north west of Iceland and shadow them southwestwards through the Denmark Strait separating Iceland from Greenland to the west. "Hood" and "Prince of Wales" press on to intercept west of Iceland.

24th - That morning the big ships meet and open fire. Around 06.00, after firing two or three salvos, "Bismarck" hits "HOOD" which blows up with only three survivors. Now it is "Prince of Wales" turn to be the target. After being hit several times she turns away but not before damaging "Bismarck" and causing her to lose fuel oil to the sea.

Phase 2 (map to be added) - German Adm Lutjens decides to make for St Nazaire in France, with its large dry-dock, and heads southwest and later south out of the Denmark Strait. The two Royal Navy cruisers, and for a while the damaged "Prince of Wales", continue to shadow. Adm Tovey hurries west with the rest of Home Fleet.

With "Hood's" loss, Force H (Adm Somerville) with battlecruiser "Renown", carrier "Ark Royal" and cruiser "Sheffield" is sailing north from Gibraltar. Battleship "Ramillies", released from convoy escort duties, and "Rodney", then to the west of Ireland, head towards "Bismarck's" expected track. "Ramillies" plays no part in later operations.

At 18.00, still an the 24th, "Bismarck" feints north towards her shadowers for long enough to allow "Prinz Eugen" to get away. (The cruiser goes south, later refuels from a tanker and cruises for three days before reaching Brest on 1 June. There she joins the two battlecruisers under heavy RAF attack until the Channel Dash of February 1942.)

Around midnight, southeast of Cape Farewell, Swordfish from Adm Tovey's "Victorious" get one hit on "Bismarck" after she has resumed her southerly course. The damage is negligible. Shortly after in the early hours of the 25th, she alters course to the southeast for France and the cruisers lose contact. At this point Adm Tovey's heavy ships are only 100 miles away.

25th - "Bismarck" holds her southeasterly course, but breaks radio silence. Unfortunately the British direction-finding service puts her on a northeasterly heading. Adm Tovey sails in that direction for a while before turning to the southeast in pursuit. Now he is well astern of his quarry. Only by slowing her down can destruction become possible. In the meantime, Force H continues to sail north to take up a blocking position between "Bismarck" and her new goal of Brest.

26th - After a 30-hour interval, "Bismarck" is once more sighted, this time by a RAF Catalina of No 209 Squadron, and only 30hr from home. In the afternoon a Swordfish strike from Force H's "Ark Royal" attacks cruiser "Sheffield" in error. They miss. A second strike takes place in the evening by 810, 818 and 820 Squadrons with 15 Swordfish led by Lt-Cdr Coode. They torpedo "Bismarck" twice and one hit damages her propellers and jams the rudder. As "Bismarck" circles, destroyers of the 4th Flotilla (Capt Vian) come up around midnight, and make a series of torpedo and gun attacks but with uncertain results. Capt Vian's "Cossack", "Maori", "Sikh", "Zulu" and Polish "Piorun" have been detached from troop convoy ("Winston's Special") WS8B, an indication of the seriousness of the "Bismarck's" threat. By this time Adm Tovey's force of heavy ships has lost "Repulse" to refuel, but been joined by "Rodney". They now come up from the west but do not attack just yet.

27th - "King George V", "Rodney" and the still circling "Bismarck" all open fire around 08.45. Only the German ship is hit and by 10.15 she is a blazing wreck. Heavy cruiser "Dorsetshire", having left convoy SL74 the previous day, fires torpedoes to finish her off. "BISMARCK" sinks at 10.36 to the southwest of Ireland. Shadowing cruiser "Norfolk" is there at the end.

28th - The many warships deployed from all parts of the North Atlantic return to other duties. As they do, heavy attacks by German aircraft sink destroyer "MASHONA" off the west coast of Ireland.

Axis Loss Summary - German battleship "Bismarck" and "U-110"

JUNE 1941

2nd - Destroyer "Wanderer" and corvette "Periwinkle" sink "U-147" northwest of Ireland during a convoy attack.

13th - Pocket battleship "Lutzow" attempts to break out. Attacked on the 13th off the Norwegian coast by an RAF Beaufort, she is hit by one torpedo and only just makes it back to Germany.

18th - As Force H heads into the Atlantic to help search for German supply vessels already in position to support "Bismarck's" breakout, they come across a U-boat located through the recently captured "Enigma" codes off the Strait of Gibraltar. Screening destroyers "Faulknor", "Fearless", "Forester", "Foresight" and "Foxhound" share in the destruction of "U-138".

27th - Italian submarine "GLAUCO" is scuttled west of Gibraltar after being damaged by destroyer "Wishart".

27th-29th - Attacks on Halifax/UK convoy HX133 - A total of 10 U-boats attack Halifax/UK convoy HX133 south of Iceland. Five ships are lost but the convoy escort sinks two U-boats. Corvettes "Celandine", "Gladiolus" and "Nasturtium" account for "U-556" on the 27th, and destroyers "Scimitar" and "Malcolm", corvettes "Arabis" and "Violet" and minesweeper "Speedwell" sink "U-651" on the 29th. The escort had been reinforced to a total of 13 ships as a result of 'Ultra' intercepts of Enigma codes. This, the first of the big convoy battles, leads to the development of additional convoy support groups.

Axis Loss Summary - 4 German and 1 Italian U-boats

JULY 1941

Axis Loss Summary - no U-boat sinkings

AUGUST 1941

3rd - Southwest of Ireland, ships of the 7th Escort Group escorting Sierra Leone/UK convoy SL81 - destroyers "Wanderer" and Norwegian "St Albans” and corvette "Hydrangea" sink "U-401".

7th - Submarine "Severn" on patrol for U-boats attacking HG convoys west of Gibraltar, torpedoes and sinks Italian submarine "BIANCHI".

12th - Corvette "PICOTEE" with the 4th Escort Group accompanying convoy ONS4 is detached to search for a reported U-boat south of Iceland. She is sunk without trace by "U-568".

19th-23rd - Attacks on UK/Gibraltar convoy OG71 - A total of nine merchantmen are lost. Of the ships with the 5th Escort Group Norwegian destroyer "BATH" is sunk on the 19th by "U-204" or "U-201", and corvette "ZINNIA" by "U-564" to the west of Portugal on the 23rd.

25th - South of Iceland, armed trawler "Vascama" and a RAF Catalina of No 209 Squadron sink "U-452".

27th - Capture of German "U-570" - "U-570" on patrol south of Iceland surfaces and is damaged by depth charges from an RAF Hudson of No 269 Squadron, piloted by Sqn Ldr Thompson. She soon surrenders and is towed into Iceland. After refitting, "U-570" is commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Graph.

German Raiders - "Orion" returns to France from the Indian Ocean via the Cape of Good Hope. In 16 months she has accounted for 9 1/2 ships of 60,000 tons, some in co-operation with "Komet".

Axis Loss Summary - 3 German and 1 Italian U-boats

SEPTEMBER 1941

8th - As Italian submarines patrol to the west of Portugal for HG convoys, "BARACCA" is depth charged and rammed by destroyer "Croome". A second Italian submarine may have been sunk later in the month.

10th-19th - Attacks on Halifax/UK Convoys - Attacks on these convoys southwest of Iceland lead to the first success and loss by Royal Canadian Navy forces in the Battle of the Atlantic. Against SC42, "U-501" is sunk by Canadian corvettes "Chambly" and "Moosejaw" on the 10th. Next day RN destroyers "Leamington" and "Veteran" of 2nd EG sink "U-207". But in exchange, SC42 loses 16 of its 64 merchantmen.

A few days later, on the 19th, Canadian corvette"LEVIS" with SC44 is lost to "U-74" southeast of Cape Farewell.

HMCS Louisburg, Flower class corvette

21st - Destroyer "Vimy" claims to have sunk Italian submarine "MALASPINA" during attacks on Gibraltar/UK convoy HG73. She may in fact have been lost earlier through unknown causes.

Axis Loss Summary - 2 German and 2 Italian U-boats

OCTOBER 1941

4th - Supply U-boat "U-111" returning from the Cape Verde area is sunk off the Canaries by armed trawler "Lady Shirley".

14th-27th - Attacks on Gibraltar/UK Convoy Routes - Two escorts and two U-boats are lost in attacks on the UK/Gibraltar convoy routes. In operations against Gibraltar-bound OG75, "U-206" sinks corvette "FLEUR DE LYS" off the Strait of Gibraltar on the 14th. In the same area on the 19th, "U-204" is lost to patrolling corvette "Mallow" and sloop "Rochester". Six days later on the 25th, Italian submarine "FERRARIS" is damaged by a RAF Catalina of No 202 Squadron and sent to the bottom by the gunfire of escort destroyer "Lamerton".

UK-bound HG75 loses five ships, and on the 23rd the famous destroyer "COSSACK" is torpedoed by "U-563". Struggling in tow for four days she founders to the west of Gibraltar.

16th-31st - First US Navy Casualties - In mid-Atlantic, convoy SC48 of 39 ships and 11 stragglers is reinforced by four US destroyers. On the 16th corvette "GLADIOLUS" is torpedoed by "U-553" or "U-568" and goes down. There are no survivors. Next day - the 17th, the US "Kearny" is damaged and damaged by a torpedo from "U-568", and on the 18th British destroyer "BROADWATER" is lost to "U-101". Nine merchantmen are sunk.

Convoy HX156 is escorted by another US group, and on the 31st the destroyer "REUBEN JAMES" is sunk by "U-552". This first US loss in the Battle of the Atlantic comes only two weeks after the torpedoing of "Kearny". The United States is virtually at war with Germany.

Axis Loss Summary - 2 German and 1 Italian U-boats

NOVEMBER 1941

22nd - While replenishing "U-126" north of Ascension Island, raider "ATLANTIS" is surprised and sunk by heavy cruiser "Devonshire". The raider's operations in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans have cost the Allies 22 merchantmen of 146,000 tons.

24th - On her way to rescue "Atlantis'" survivors, "U-124" sights cruiser "DUNEDIN" on patrol off the St Paul's Rocks, half way between Africa and South America. The cruiser is sunk with heavy loss of life.

German Raiders - "Komet" returns to Germany through the Atlantic having reached the Pacific across the top of Siberia some 17 months earlier. Her score is just 6 1/2 ships, some in operations with "Orion".

German Heavy Warships - As the completed "Tirpitz", sister-ship to "Bismarck" prepares for operations, units of the Home Fleet sail for Iceland waters to cover any possible breakout. They are supported by a US Navy battle squadron.

30th - RAF aircraft of Coastal Command are now flying regular patrols in the Bay of Biscay equipped with effective airborne depth charges and the long wavelength ASV radar. The first success is by a Whitley of No 502 Squadron. "U-206" on passage to the Mediterranean is detected and sunk.

Axis Loss Summary - 1 German raider, 1 German U-boat and 1 Italian (cause unknown)

DECEMBER 1941

7th - Canadian corvette “WINDFLOWER“ with Halifax/UK convoy SC58 is lost in collision with the SS Zypenburg east of Newfoundland.

15th-21st - Battle for Convoy HG76: Closing of the Gibraltar/UK Air-Gap - Gibraltar/UK convoy HG76 (32 ships) is escorted by the 36th Escort Group (Cdr F. J. Walker) with a support group including escort carrier “Audacity”. In advance of the convoy leaving Gibraltar, destroyers of Force H including the Australian “Nestor” locate and destroy “U-127” on the 15th. In the four days from the 17th, four more U-boats are sunk for the loss of two of the escorts and two merchantmen. The battle takes place to the far west of Portugal, north of Madeira and the Azores

17th - “U-131” is sunk by destroyers “Blankney”, “Exmoor” and “Stanley”, corvette “Pentstemon” and sloop “Stork” together with Grumman Martlets flying from “Audacity”.

18th - “U-434” is accounted for by “Blankney” and “Stanley”.

19th - Destroyer “STANLEY” is torpedoed and sunk by “U-574”, but then sent to the bottom, rammed by sloop “Stork”.

21st - The sole escort carrier “AUDACITY” is torpedoed by “U-751” and lost, but in the general counter-attack “U-567” is sunk by corvette “Samphire” and sloop “Deptford”.

The sinking of five U-boats in exchange for two merchant ships is a significant victory for the escorts, and proves beyond any doubt the value of escort carrier aircraft against the submarine - as well as the patrolling Focke Wulf Kondors, two of which are shot down.

Axis Loss Summary - 5 German U-boats plus two transferring to the Mediterranean

1942

JANUARY 1942

German Surface Warships - The German big ships give the Admiralty much cause for concern. "Scharnhorst", "Gneisenau" and "Prinz Eugen" all now repaired, are ready for a possible break-out from Brest into the Atlantic. At the same time the new battleship "Tirpitz" moves to Trondheim in the middle of the month from where she can prey on the Russian convoys. In fact Hitler has ordered the Brest squadron back to Germany. By early February the Admiralty has got wind of the proposed "Channel Dash" and prepares accordingly.

German Raiders - Raider "Thor" sails from France for her second cruise. She is the only raider to do so successfully. Operations in the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean continue until her loss in November 1942. No German raiders have been at sea since the previous November, and "Thor" is the first of three to break out in 1942. In the first six months of the year they sink or capture 17 ships of 107,000 tons.

15th - Destroyer "Hesperus" escorting convoy HG78 sinks "U-93" north of Madeira.

31st - Canadian troop convoy NA2 sailing for Britain is attacked by "U-82" southeast of Nova Scotia. Destroyer "BELMONT" is lost with all hands.

31st - Ex-US Coast Guard cutter "CULVER" is sunk by "U-105" west of the Bay of Biscay as she escorts Sierra Leone convoy SL93.

Axis Loss Summary - 1 German U-boat.

FEBRUARY 1942

2nd - As she attacks a damaged troopship sailing from the Azores, "U-581" is sunk by escorting destroyer "Westcott".

5th - "U-136" on patrol off Rockall sinks two escorts. The first is corvette "ARBUTUS" detached with destroyer "Chelsea" from UK/Halifax convoy ONS63 to hunt for a reported U-boat.

6th - Returning from the American coast where she sank destroyer "Belmont", "U-82" encounters UK/Sierra Leone convoy OS18 north of the Azores and is destroyed by corvette "Tamarisk" and sloop "Rochester".

11th - "U-136's" second success less than a week later is Canadian corvette "SPIKENARD" escorting Halifax/UK convoy SC67.

Axis Loss Summary - 2 German U-boats

MARCH 1942

German Raiders - Raider "Michel" sails for the South Atlantic and later Indian and Pacific Oceans.

27th - UK/Middle East troop convoy WS17 is on passage southwest of Ireland. As "U-587" heads for American waters her sighting report is detected and she is sunk by the convoy escort including destroyers "Aldenham", "Grove", "Leamington"" and "Volunteer". This is the first success using HF/DF - ship-borne, high frequency direction-finding.

Axis Loss Summary - 3 U-boats, including 2 by US aircraft off Newfoundland

APRIL 1942

14th - "U-252" attacks UK/Gibraltar convoy OG82 southwest of Ireland and is sunk by sloop "Stork" and corvette "Vetch" of the 36th EG (Cdr Walker). This is one of the first successful attacks using 10cm Type 271 radar. From now on the new radar and HF/DF will play an increasing part in the sinking of U-boats.

14th - The US Navy has its first warship success against U-boats when destroyer "Roper" sinks "U-85" off the east coast of America.

Axis Loss Summary - 2 German U-boats

MAY 1942

Axis Loss Summary - 1 German U-boat by US Coast Guard off east coast of America

JUNE 1942

17th - As destroyer "WILD SWAN" heads for Gibraltar/UK convoy HG84 she is attacked and sunk off south west Ireland by German Ju88s, but not before she has shot down a number of them. The convoy loses five ships to U-boats.

21st - Ex-US submarine "P-514" on passage around the coast of Newfoundland from Argentia to St Johns is rammed and sunk in error by Canadian sloop "Georgian".

Axis Loss Summary - 2 U-boats by US forces off Cuba and Bermuda

JULY 1942

3rd - "U-215" sinks an escorted ship south of Nova Scotia and is lost in the counter-attack by British armed trawler "Le Tiger" (or Free French trawler "Le Tigre" according to some sources).

11th - Northwest of the Canaries, UK/West Africa convoy OS.33 is attacked and "U-136" sunk by frigate "Spey", sloop "Pelican" and Free French destroyer "Leopard".

14th - Damaged in action with the cutter "Lulworth" and other escorts, Italian submarine "PIETRO CALVI" is scuttled south of the Azores.

24th - Canadian destroyer "St Croix", with the Canadian C2 group escorting UK/North America convoy ON115, sinks "U-90" off Newfoundland.

31st - In mid-Atlantic, Canadian destroyer "Skeena" and corvette "Wetaskiwan" of the C3 group (see below for "C" designation) with ON113 sink "U-588".

31st - On passage out, "U-213" stumbles across a convoy west of the Bay of Biscay, where she is sunk by the escort including sloops "Erne", "Rochester" and "Sandwich".

Axis Loss Summary - 11 German and 1 Italian U-boats, including 2 by RAF Bay of Biscay patrols; 1 by RCAF off Nova Scotia; and 3 by US forces in the Caribbean and off the east coast of America

AUGUST 1942

3rd - On anti-U-boat patrol between the Shetlands and Norway, submarine "Saracen" torpedoes "U-335" on passage out.

5th-10th - Attacks on Halifax/UK convoy SC94 - In the space of five days slow Halifax/UK convoy SC94 (33 ships) is attacked by a total of 17 U-boats and loses 11 merchantmen. Southeast of Greenland two U-boats are sunk by ships of the Canadian C1 group. On the 6th, Canadian destroyer "Assiniboine" shells and rams "U-210". Two days later on the 8th, British corvette "Dianthus" also with C1 group, depth charges and rams "U-379" to destruction. Four more U-boats are damaged in defence of the convoy.

28th - "U-94" attacks Trinidad/Cuba convoy TAG15 off Jamaica. Damaged by a US Navy Catalina, she is finished off by Canadian corvette "Oakville".

Axis Loss Summary - 9 U-boats including 1 by RAF Bay of Biscay patrols; 3 by US aircraft in Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean and off Iceland; 1 Italian by unknown causes, possibly by RAF Bay of Biscay patrols.

SEPTEMBER 1942

3rd - "U-162" attacks destroyer "Pathfinder" north of Trinidad, but is sunk by her and accompanying destroyers "Quentin" and "Vimy".

11th - Canadian corvette "CHARLOTTETOWN" on passage with a minesweeper in the Gulf of St Lawrence is sunk by "U-517".

"Laconia" Incident - Off West Africa on the 12th, "U-156" sinks liner "Laconia" loaded with 1,800 Italian POWs. The CO calls for assistance in clear and other U-boats come to the rescue. An American aircraft makes an attack and Adm Doenitz subsequently forbids U-boats to help ships' survivors. He is indicted for the 'Laconia order' at the Nurnberg trials.

14th - "U-91" sends Canadian destroyer "OTTAWA" to the bottom, east of Newfoundland. She is with the Canadian C4 group protecting UK/North American convoy ON127, which loses seven ships to U-boats.

26th - U-boats attack convoy RB1 of Great Lakes steamers bound for the UK. In mid-Atlantic, escorting destroyer "VETERAN" is lost to "U-404". There are no survivors and only postwar-captured German records reveal her fate.

German Raiders - After sinking just three ships, German raider "STIER" encounters American freighter "Stephen Hopkins" in the South Atlantic on the 27th. The "HOPKINS" is sunk, but not before her single 4in gun damages the raider so severely she has to be abandoned.

Axis Loss Summary - 1 German raider and 9 U-boats including 3 by US and RAF aircraft in the North Atlantic; 1 by RAF Bay of Biscay patrols; 1 on an RAF-laid mine in the Bay of Biscay

OCTOBER 1942

2nd - Off northwest Ireland the 81,000-ton liner "Queen Mary", sailing as a fast unescorted troopship meets Western Approaches escort AA cruiser "CURACOA" and accidentally rams and sinks her with the loss of over 300 men.

8th - "U-179" torpedoes and sinks a merchantman off Cape Town, South Africa and is then depth-charged and rammed by destroyer "Active". Four other U-boats have preceded "U-179" to South African waters and in just four weeks sink over 20 ships.

15th/I6th - Attacks on Halifax/UK Convoy SC104 - The convoy with 47 ships escorted by the British B6 group loses eight merchantmen to U-boats. However, in mid-Atlantic on the 15th, destroyer "Viscount" rams and sinks "U-619", and next day destroyer "Fame" accounts for "U-353", also by ramming. (Note: the identity of "U-619" is sometimes reversed with "U-661" sunk in the vicinity by the RAF.)

Early October - Submarine "UNIQUE" on passage from Britain to Gibraltar is last reported on the 9th off Land's End, south west England. She is never heard from again.

23rd - Two U-boats are on patrol off the Congo Estuary. "U-161" torpedoes and badly damages cruiser "Phoebe" on passage to French Equatorial Africa.

Axis Loss Summary - 15 U-boats including 6 by RAF in North Atlantic; 1 by RAF Bay of Biscay patrols; 1 by RAF-laid mine in the Bay of Biscay; 2 by RCAF off Newfoundland; 1 by US aircraft off French Guiana; 1 by unknown causes, possibly by US aircraft

NOVEMBER 1942

15th - The Germans react to the 'Torch' landings on French North Africa by concentrating U-boats off Morocco and to the west of Gibraltar. A number of empty transports are sunk, and on the 15th escort carrier "AVENGER" sailing with return convoy MKF1 is torpedoed by "U-155" and goes down off the Strait of Gibraltar. Only 12 men survive. That same day, destroyer "Wrestler" also with MKF1 sinks "U-411". Over the next few days US destroyers account for "U-173" and the RAF for "U-98".

15th - Canadian destroyer "SAGUENAY" escorting an iron ore convoy off Cape Race, Newfoundland, is badly damaged in collision. She is not repaired.

18th/20th - Attacks on UK/North America Convoy ONS144 - Slow convoy ONS144 is heavily attacked in the mid-Atlantic and loses five ships. Escort is provided by the British B6 group composed largely of Norwegian-manned corvettes. On the 18th the Norwegian "MONTBRETIA" is lost to "U-624" or "U-262", but two days later Norwegian sister-ship "Potentilla sinks "U-134".

21st - Aircraft of 817 Squadron from fleet carrier "Victorious" account for "U-517" southwest of Ireland.

Axis Loss Summary - 7 U-boats including one by US aircraft off Iceland, and one possibly by the RAF in the North Atlantic

DECEMBER 1942

16th - In attacks on UK/North America convoy ON153, "U-211" sinks destroyer "FIREDRAKE" in mid-Atlantic on the night of the 16th/17th.

26th - Outward bound "U-357" is detected by HF/DF to the northwest of Ireland. Destroyers "Hesperus" and "Vanessa" of the British B2 group (Cdr Macintyre) with convoy HX219 locate and sink her.

27th - "U-356" attacks slow convoy ONS154 escorted by the Canadian Cl group to the north of the Azores. Destroyer "St Laurent" and corvettes "Battleford", "Chilliwack" and "Napanee" all share in her sinking. It is a poor return for the convoy's loss of 13 of its 45 ships.

Axis Loss Summary - 5 U-boats including 1 by US and 1 indirectly by RAF aircraft in attacks on HX217; 1 by US Coast Guard in mid-Atlantic