World War II in real time

Day 430 of World War II, November 3rd 1940

Italian/Greek Campaign

In the Pindus Mountain sector, by far the most strategically significant prong of the Italian invasion, the Greeks counterattack. The Italian Julia Division is stretched out along a snowy valley, and the Greeks (The Pindus Detachment, supported by the 1st Infantry Division and attached units) swoop in behind and cut them off. There is a steady flow of Greek reinforcements. The Italians immediately request a relief attack from headquarters, which is unsuccessful. The local Greek civilians help the Greek troops to position their forces and block the attempted Italian relief by the Bari Division. The trapped Italians, cold, subjected to fire from the surrounding heights, and with no supplies, begin surrendering quickly. Many Italians in the division are killed. The Greeks begin recapturing the villages of Samarina and Vovousa, which is done methodically over the next couple of days.

On the Kalpaki front in the Negrades sector, the Albanian battalion which seized the Grabala heights on the 2nd is forced off of it and the Greeks re-occupy the hill. This is the start of a seesaw battle for possession of the heights which is to the Greeks' advantage, as it is keeping the Italians penned into a restricted area and preventing re-allocation of forces to more strategically significant areas.

This is part of a larger attack on the Elaia-Kalamas Front, where the Italian Ferrara Division is trying to piece a well-fortified Greek defensive line of Kalamas–Elaia–Grabala–Kleftis hill (north of Ioannina). The Italians try using light L3/35 tankettes and medium M13/40 tanks, but the ground is too muddy and hilly. They make no progress. Directly to the right, the Italians continue their attempt to cross the Kalamas River and make some progress.

The Italians bomb Salonika again.

The British, with the approval of the Greek government, begin landing troops in the Peloponnese (west of Athens). A British tanker docks at Piraeus, the port of Athens, permitting the transfer of RAF units to mainland Greece.

Air War over Europe

The weather is poor, so the Luftwaffe bombers stay in their bases throughout the night. It is the first night with no bombing of London after 57 straight nights. The average attack during that time was 165 planes dropping 13,600 tons of high explosives and additional incendiary bombs. Many people are now basically living in the subway system and thus their routine alters little.

RAF Bomber Command attacks the dockyards at Kiel and oil installations/railway targets in Naples, Italy. The latter attacks are mounted from Malta.

The South African Air Force shoots down two Italian bombers over Kenya.

Wilfrid Rhodes Freeman, 1st Baronet, moves from RAF Research and Development to become Vice-Chief of the Air Staff. Lord Beaverbrook replaces him (with eventually poor results). Freeman is opposed to this staffing change, but it is the first of a series of related changes in the RAF high command. Freeman has been the research and development guy most responsible for development of the Hawker Hurricane, Supermarine Spitfire, De Havilland Mosquito, Avro Lancaster, Handley-Page Halifax and Hawker Tempest, as well as the P-51 Mustang Fighter. He is one of the most far-sighted and insightful men in the RAF. While it is an institutional decision, the decision to replace the Mustang's Allison V-1710 engines with the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine essentially flows from his desk. Freeman is one of those unsung heroes that sets the stage for all the heroes to take their bows, while nobody remembers his name.

Battle of the Atlantic

U-99 (Kptlt. Otto Kretschmer) is on its 6th patrol, operating out of Lorient, and is about 370 km west of Bloody Foreland, County Donegal, Ireland. Kretschmer, the top U-boat commander of the time (the best of them all, in fact) previously had been heavily involved in the Convoy SC 7 destruction in mid-October. He already has been to base and back to re-stock, not wasting any time. The pickings remain easy for such a talented commander on the poorly protected mid-Atlantic sections of the convoy system, and once again he takes full advantage. This is the "Happy Time" for U-boats in the North Atlantic.

U-99 torpedoes independent 5376 ton British banana boat Casanare around 21:40 (the British love their bananas, no joke). It is a rather ordinary attack, but it leads to something much greater. Independents (unescorted ships not in convoys) are easy prey for U-boats because the U-boats don't have to be worried about being spotted and attacked, so they can set up the target at their leisure. They also can serve another, larger purpose to a U-boat, which Kretschmer proceeds to demonstrate like a professor in the classroom.

The Casanare takes its time sinking, which provides nice bait for Kretschmer's real prey. If you put out some cheese, you never know how many mice may show up. Casanare manages to get a distress call out and waits for rescue. It is sinking slowly, completely defenseless and an obvious target, but Kretschmer bides his time. Armed Merchant Cruiser (AMC) HMS Laurentic (F 51) (Capt E.P. Vivian) picks up the distress message. The Laurentic is a 18,724 ton White Star ocean liner converted into an auxiliary cruiser, which involves some changes to the superstructure and addition of various weapons such as guns and depth charges. Conversion, however, does not make an AMC any more difficult to sink. Joining the Laurentic is 11,314 ton HMS Patroclus (Capt. G.C. Wynter), another AMC. The two AMCs arrive on the scene quickly, by 22:50.

Kretschmer waits patiently. As the two AMCs arrive in the darkness, he sits quietly until the Laurentic is within 1500 meters, with no idea that he is there, and then puts a torpedo into it. Patroclus, meanwhile, busies itself picking up survivors from the Casanare. The Laurentic takes its time sinking - liners now have watertight compartments much more effective than the Titanic's - so after thirty minutes Kretschmer pumps another torpedo into it. This has little effect, so Kretschmer puts a third torpedo into the Laurentic which goes into the same hole as the first torpedo. The Laurentic settles but remains afloat.

Kretschmer, meanwhile, brazenly is keeping his U-boat on the surface in the darkness. A lookout on the Laurentic spots it and the slowly sinking liner opens fire with its deck guns. Slinking away in the darkness, Kretschmer decides to pay the Patroclus a visit. Absorbed in picking up men from the water, this AMC's crew does not notice U-99 sneaking up on it either. Kretschmer maneuvers to within 300 meters and fires a torpedo into the Patroclus at 00:22 on the 4th, which again does not cause it to sink immediately. All three British surface ships are now dead in the water and helpless. Kretschmer now maneuvers around them, casually pumping another torpedo into the Patroclus at 00:44 and then another at 01:18. The gunners on the Patroclus spot U-99 and fire at it, but once again Kretschmer slinks away in the darkness. All three ships are sinking, but taking their sweet time about it.

Kretschmer once again bides his time. The AMCs get off distress messages of their own, which draws a Short Sunderland flying boat at 02:39 which overflies the scene and forces U-99 to submerge. The Casanare eventually sinks, but the two AMCs are more solidly built and remain afloat for the time being. However, they aren't going anywhere. At 03:30, Kretschmer resurfaces and surveys the scene. He waits, then at 04:35 he casually approaches to within 250 meters of the Laurentic and pumps another torpedo into it just to hurry it along. This torpedo does the trick, hitting the stern and setting off its depth charges. The Laurentic sinks quickly by the stern.

By this time, more Royal Navy units are approaching, as is daylight. Kretschmer pumps two more torpedoes into the Patroclus, the last at 05:25 which sinks the ship quickly. Royal Navy destroyers HMS Hesperus (H 57, Lt.Cdr. D.G.F.W. Macintyre) and HMS Beagle (Lt. C.R.H. Wright) arrive on the scene. Hesperus forces Kretschmer to submerge while Beagle picks up survivors.

In total, there are, 54 survivors and 9 deaths on the Casanarem , 368 survivors and 49 deaths on the Laurentic and 263 survivors and 56 deaths on the Patroclus.

Eventually, HMS Achates also appears on the scene to pick up survivors from the three sunken ships. The Achates joins the Hesperus and also drops depth charges. Kretschmer survives the depth charge attacks and then goes on his way. He still has some torpedoes left and knows the destroyers will soon be gone, with other ships using these same sea lanes. The Laurentic is the 10th largest ship sunk by the U-boat fleet during the entire war.

Elsewhere, the day also is active at sea.

The Luftwaffe attacks Convoy WN 29 in the North Sea east of Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire. Heinkel He 115 seaplanes of KG 706 bomb and sink 3877 ton British freighter Kildale. There are 1-8 deaths as a result of the attack out of the 37-man crew (sources vary).

The same Luftwaffe attack that sank the Kildale also torpedoes and damages 5888 ton British refrigerated fruit carrier Eros in the same general location. The Eros previously had been torpedoed and damaged by U-48 on 7 June 1940, but put back into service. The Eros survives this attack as well, later repaired and returned to service. It is a lucky ship, perhaps because of the natural buoyancy of its construction.

A Luftwaffe Focke Wulf Fw 200 Condor also damaged 19,141 ton British freighter Windsor Castle near Scoland. It manages to return to the Clyde.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Sturgeon (Lt.Cdr. D. St Clair Ford) torpedoes and damage 1337 ton Danish freighter Sigrun in Oslofjord about 19 km southeast of Larvik, Norway.

Belgian 132 ton fishing trawler Van der Weyden hits a mine (apparently) and sinks off Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire. There is one survivor and eight deaths. The boat rests in shallow water.

British 394 ton freighter Cairngorm hits a mine and is damaged in the Bristol Channel.

Some sources say that British 1535 ton coaster Hilfern sinks today in the North Sea off Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire due to an explosion, probably a mine. Other sources say it occurred on 31 October, which is where we have it.

German freighter Helgoland, which has left Colombian waters in a risky bid to make it to France, passes St. Thomas of the US Virgin Islands. It so far successfully has eluded the Neutrality Patrol vessels which have been alerted to its voyage.

Convoy FN 326 departs from Southend, Convoy FS 327 departs from Methil,

Battle of the Mediterranean

At Malta, two Wellington bombers setting out to raid Naples crash just after takeoff from Luqa and destroy some houses in the nearby village of Qomi. The bombers apparently were overloaded. Six civilians are killed. One of the airmen survives by hanging to the edge of a quarry right the houses. A rescue worker has to be lowered to tie a rope around him so that he can be hauled up. After the raid by the surviving bombers, Italian fighters chase the bombers all the way back to Malta and strafe military installations before heading back to Sicily.

German Military

General von Thoma, just back from an inspection tour of Libya, briefs Hitler on the state of Italian forces there. He reports that the Italians were hostile to him, are inadequate to their mission, and do not want German troops in North Africa. He also comments on the supply difficulties faced in North Africa. Hitler will use this information during a major OKW meeting scheduled for the 4th.

British Military

General Richard O'Connor becomes commander of the British Western Desert Force, which is opposing the Italian advance from Libya.

US Military

General George S. Patton, Jr. becomes acting commander of the 2nd US Armored Division.

Heavy cruiser USS Louisville departs Montevideo, Uruguay for Buenos Aires on its "Show the Flag" mission.

Rear Admiral John W. Greenslade concludes his talks with French Vice Admiral Georges A.M.J. Robert. In exchange for Greenslade recommending a relaxation of sanctions on the Vichy territory, the French will permit daily patrol plane overflights.

Day 432 of World War II, November 5th 1940

Italian/Greek Campaign

On the coastal sector, the Italian Littoral Group establishes a secure bridgehead across the Kalamas (Thyamis) River. They advance on Igoumenitsa. The Italians continue trying to re-take the Grabala Heights without success. The Italians are using light tanks, with little effect.

In the Pindus sector, the Italian disaster continues. The Italians are surrounded and surrendering. Relief forces are unable to reach them. General Georgios Stanotas launches cavalry attacks on them in the Vovousa Valley. The Italian position is hopeless.

In the Koritsa sector, the Greek 9th Infantry Division and 15th Infantry Division attack across the Albanian border.

The Regia Aeronautica bombs the Greek border town of Monastir, and the ports being used by the British - Piraeus and Patra. The RAF bombs Brindisi, Naples and Bari.

Air War over Europe

RAF Bomber Command attacks various ports, including Hamburg, Boulogne, Dunkirk, Antwerp, Flushing, Bremerhaven, Bremen, and Emden.

The Luftwaffe bombs London, East Kent and Ramsgate. Night attacks resume, with London, East Anglia, Scotland, South Wales and the Midlands hit. The Corpo Aereo Italiano attacks Harwich again with 8 bombers.

Losses for both sides are roughly a handful.

Battle of the Atlantic

The British Home Fleet for some time has been aware (either through spies or Ultra intercepts or both) that German heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer (KzS Theodor Krancke) was going on a raiding mission in the Atlantic. The British have made various fleet moves as a result. However, the Kriegsmarine cruiser has broken out despite attempts to block it. Today, the Admiralty finally locates Admiral Scheer - though it wishes it hadn't.

Having broken through the Denmark Strait on 31 October, Admiral Scheer has intercepted radio messages indicating the nearby presence of Convoy HX 84. Her Arado Ar 196 seaplanes have located it about 1400 km southwest of Iceland. Convoy HX 84 only has one escort, armed merchant cruiser (AMC) HMS Jervis Bay.

On the way to attack the convoy, Admiral Scheer gets an unexpected bonus. It finds independent British 5389-ton banana boat Mopan. The entire crew is taken as POWs and Krancke then sinks the abandoned ship.

Upon intercepting Convoy HX 84 around noontime, Jervis Bay radios the Admiralty and then instructs the convoy to scatter - a planned maneuver upon the presence of an imminent threat. Then, the AMC heads straight for the heavy cruiser despite the virtual certainty of its own destruction.

Admiral Scheer's gunfire is accurate. Its first shots destroy the AMC's wireless and steering control, and the next salvo hits the bridge and wounds/kills Captain Edward Fegen (posthumous VC). Jervis Bay sinks fairly quickly(65 survivors, 136 dead, accounts vary) after 22 minutes. It causes little damage to Admiral Scheer with its 6-inch guns (Admiral Scheer's radar goes out), which then hunts down the scattered freighters. It picks off five ships, which is quite reasonable considering that the freighters are all racing at top speed in different directions.

Captain Fegen's citation reads in relevant part:

Any ships it was his duty to protect. On the 5th of November, 1940, in heavy seas, Captain Fegen, in His Majesty's Armed Merchant Cruiser Jervis Bay, was escorting thirty-eight Merchantmen. Sighting a powerful German warship he at once drew clear of the Convoy, made straight for the Enemy, and brought his ship between the Raider and her prey, so that they might scatter and escape. Crippled, in flames, unable to reply, for nearly an hour the Jervis Bay held the German's fire. So she went down: but of the Merchantmen all but four or five were saved.

This is another in a series of Royal Navy encounters in which a ship sacrifices itself for the greater good. The Jervis Bay is reasonably well-remembered, ships like HMS Rawalpindi which did basically the same thing, less so. There are memorials to the crew of the Jervis Bay in several countries, including London, England, Hamilton, Bermuda, and Saint John, New Brunswick.

Ships sunk in Convoy HX 84 by Admiral Scheer:

- British 1042 ton freighter Beaverford (all 77 perish).

- British 4955 ton freighter Fresno City (1 dead, 36 survivors).

- British 5225 ton freighter Kenbane Head (24 survivors, 23 dead).

- British 7861 ton freighter Maidan (all 91 perish).

- British 4202 ton freighter Trewellard (16 perish, 25 survive).

However, the ships sunk are only part of the story. The Beaverford (Captain Hugh Pettigrew) uses its 3-inch bow gun against the cruiser, then tries to outrun Admiral Scheer. It manages to elude it in the darkness for four and a half hours, drawing fire whilst running in and out of smoke screens, before being sunk by a torpedo. This helps other ships to escape to a much greater extent than the Jervis Bay and its quick end did - but the Jervis Bay is the ship everyone remembers.

In addition, Admiral Scheer shells 8073-ton British tanker San Demetrio. Tankers are notoriously difficult to sink due to their compartmentalized construction, and Admiral Scheer departs with the ship ablaze and the crew abandoning ship. However, after a day at sea, one of the lifeboats drifts back near the San Demetrio and the men - after a great deal of hesitation, as blazing tankers are not the safest place to be - re-board the ship. The crewmen take the badly damaged tanker in hand, put out the fires, and manage to re-start the engines (the Chief Engineer is in the lifeboat). They eventually reach the River Clyde on the ship's own power. The crew, incidentally, gets rich due to being able to claim salvage rights. Second Officer Arthur G. Hawkins receives the OBE, Chief Engineer Charles Pollard and Deck Apprentice John Lewis Jones receive the Lloyd's War Medal for Bravery at Sea.

The San Demetrio ultimately is repaired and returns to service. The episode concerning the San Demetrio becomes perhaps the most well-known part of the entire encounter because it is adapted into the 1943 film "San Demetrio London" starring Walter Fitzgerald, Mervyn Johns, Ralph Michael, and Robert Beatty.

During the entire day-long incident, Admiral Scheer sinks seven ships. This is often reduced to five in most accounts by the magic of ignoring the sinking of the Mopan and the Jervis Bay. Krancke, satisfied with his day's haul and running low on ammunition, heads off to a scheduled rendezvous with a supply ship.

The Royal Navy sends massive forces (including battlecruisers HMS Hood and Repulse) to look for Admiral Scheer. For those who disparage the effect of surface raiders as a waste of money and resources versus U-boats, forcing the Royal Navy to allocate a large fraction of its resources to searching for raiders like Admiral Scheer is a major benefit that is usually overlooked.

Elsewhere, the British also lose several ships, though in not quite as dramatic a fashion.

U-99 (Kplt. Otto Kretschmer), which has just finished sinking two AMCs and a freighter, comes across Convoy HX 83. Kretschmer torpedoes and sinks 6993-ton British freighter Scottish Maiden. There are 16 deaths and 27 survivors - who are also rescued by HMS Beagle, which had helped to rescue the survivors of Kretschmer's earlier victims.

U-123 (Kptlt. Karl-Heinz Moehle), on her second patrol, is shadowing Convoy HX 83 also. While it does not make an attack, it is attacked by HMS Beagle. The U-boat is damaged and returns to Lorient.

British 1117 ton cargo ship Haig Rose is en route from Barry, Glamorgan to Plymouth, Devon when it disappears without a trace. It is likely that it hits a mine and sinks quickly.

British diesel freighter Lady Drusie hits a mine and sinks off Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire.

German collier Palime hits a mine near Stavanger, Norway. The ship makes it back to port but is declared a total loss.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Sturgeon fires on Norwegian freighter Uly off Lister but misses.

Royal Navy submarine L.27 is attacked by depth charges in the Bay of Biscay. It is lightly damaged and returns to Portsmouth.

Convoy FS 328 departs from Methil, Convoy HX 86 departs from Halifax (but is immediately recalled due to the presence of Admiral Scheer), Convoy BHX 66 departs from Bermuda (but also is recalled).

Convoy HX 85, already at sea from Halifax, is recalled.

The Germans put captured French submarine La Favorite back into service as UF-2.

Battle of the Mediterranean

Free French invasion of Gabon. Free French troops captured Lambaréné, French Equatorial Africa (in present day Gabon) about 100 kilometer inland up the Ogooué River. Since October 27, they have advanced 200 miles from their starting point in Cameroon and now threaten Gabon’s capital Libreville. Meanwhile, Free French commanders Colonel Marie Pierre Kœnig and Major Philippe Leclerc sail from Douala, Cameroon, with French Foreign Legion, Senegalese and Cameroonian troops to attack Libreville from the sea.

Royal Navy cruiser HMS Ajax and HMAS Sydney continue ferrying troops and supplies from Alexandria to Suda Bay, Crete.

The RAF bombs Italian bases in Libya and Abyssinia.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Rorqual lays mines off Tripoli.

HMS Eagle is put out of action temporarily due to damage discovered that resulted from Italian near-misses on 12 October.

Convoy MB 8, which has numerous subsidiary operations such as Operation Judgment (attack on Taranto), continues proceeding from Alexandria to Malta.

At Malta, there are two air raid alerts, one at night and one during daylight. However, they both are false alarms because the Italian aircraft, as they often do for unknown reasons, turn back while still offshore. During the evenings, one bomber does get through and drops a bomb on Grand Harbour. It is the first air attack in several days. An Italian CR 42 strafes flying boats lying off Kalafrana after following a Wellington bomber back from a raid on Italy.

German Military

Subsequent to the OKW (military high command) meeting with Hitler on 4 November, General Halder has Colonel Adolf Heusinger, the chief of the operations unit at OKH (the army high command), draft up a plan for the invasion of Greece. This will become Operation Marita. Having OKH draft the plan, and not OKW (which also has good operational planners) is the start of a bifurcation of German planning between OKW and OKW which will last throughout the war and cause many issues, especially in terms of force allocation.

At this point, the plan is to invade just Greece and not Yugoslavia (though Hitler already has expressed the idea of invading the latter as well). The attack would be launched from Bulgaria - another somewhat iffy German ally - because of its border with Greece. Heusinger has all sorts of idle forces to choose from - four army groups, in fact - but the invasion will only require a small fraction of them. He chooses XXXXth army corps, which will be joined by another as-yet-unspecified corps under the command of Colonel General (Generaloberst) Ewald von Kleist. He is to command Panzergruppe Kleist, which would be somewhere in size between a corps and an army.

The allocation of such a small force to invade an entire county, which is being supported by the British, and not even under a full field marshal (of whom the Wehrmacht has many doing essentially nothing) is indicative of the high levels of confidence in the Wehrmacht at this time. However, von Kleist has one of the sharpest minds in the Wehrmacht and now has a chance to show it. Colonel Kurt Zeitzler is Panzergruppe Kleist's chief of staff. While their ranks may be small, the talent assembled for this operation is huge.

Vichy French Homefront

Hermann Goering, an art lover, orders the German command there to loot the Louvre for distribution to museums and individuals in the Reich. The French already have removed many treasures, but hardly all. Naturally, Goering's Carinhall will get a big slice of the art.

American Homefront

President Roosevelt is elected for an unprecedented third term. His majority in the popular vote is 10 percent -- 27,000,000 to Willkie's 22,000,000. In the Congressional elections the Democrats lose four Senate seats and gain eight seats in the House. They retain their majority in both chambers.

Day 434 of World War II, November 7th 1940

Italian/Greek Campaign

The slow Italian advance against stiffening Greek resistance reaches its point of maximum advance along the coast. The Italians that have crossed the Kalamas River reach Margariti. On the Greek side, the Thesprotia Sector begins receiving reinforcements from Katsimitros. On the other fronts the situation remains unchanged, with the Greeks gradually destroying the remnants of the Julia Division on the Pindus front.

The RAF raids Valona, Albania, a big Valona air base. The planes come in low and strafe the field in addition to bombing it.

Air War over Europe

After dark, RAF Bomber Command sends 50 bombers against the Krupp munitions factory at Essen, synthetic oil installations at Cologne, Dusseldorf blast furnaces, the Oberhausen docks in the Dortmund-Ems Canal, the port of Duisburg, Dunkirk Harbor, Lorient U-boat installations, and various airfields in northwestern Europe.

The Luftwaffe attacks across the Thames Estuary and sends two attacks against Portsmouth. The attacks accomplish little. After dark, the Luftwaffe concentrates on London, hitting a children's hospital, and sends a few bombers against the Midlands and southwest. Overall, the Luftwaffe loses seven planes and the RAF five.

Ten-victory ace Wilhelm Müller is killed in combat over England.

Battle of the Atlantic

The Luftwaffe (KGr 506) attacks Convoy FS 28. It bombs and damages 1673 ton British freighter Astrologer. The crew manages to beach the ship, but a storm wrecks it on the 15th. Everyone survives. Other ships in the convoy also are damaged: 1993 ton British freighter Dago II and 2163 ton British freighter Medee. The Germans lose a Junkers Ju 88 to gunfire from sloop HMS Egret, which takes some damage.

British 2645 ton freighter Herland hits a mine and sinks in the Thames Estuary northeast of Sheerness, Kent. There are 18 deaths.

Free French 350 ton auxiliary minesweeper Poulmic hits a mine and sinks in the English Channel off Plymouth, Devon. There are 7 survivors and 11 men perish.

Royal Navy 99 ton trawler HMT Reed hits a mine and sinks in the North Sea off Clacton-on-Sea, Essex. All 15 on board perish.

Royal Navy 364 ton trawler HMT William Wesney hits a mine and sinks in the North Sea off Felixstowe, Suffolk. There are five men dead, the survivors are picked up by HMS Sheldrake and two nearby trawlers.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Swordfish hits a mine and sinks in the English Channel off St. Catherine's Point, Isle of Wight. All 41 crew perish.

Working in conjunction, a RAF Supermarine Walrus and destroyer HMS Milford damage Vichy French submarine Poncelet off Gabon. The submarine manages to surface, and then the crew scuttles the sub later. The crew is picked up by HMS Foxhound and Fortune except for Commander de Saussine, who intentionally goes down with his ship.

Early in the morning just past midnight, German torpedo boat T-6 hits a mine and sinks in the North Sea forty miles off Kinnaird Head, Aberdeenshire. The torpedo boat is travelling with several other torpedo boats ( T.1, T.4, T.9, T.10 of the 1st Torpedo Boat Flotilla and T.6, T.7, T.8 of the 2nd Torpedo Boat Flotilla) operating out of Trondheim on a sweep off the Scottish coast. T=7 and T-8 pick up the survivors and then head back to France.

Royal Navy submarine Utmost, damaged in the Bay of Biscay on the 6th in a "friendly fire" incident by HMS Encounter, makes it to Gibraltar.

Convoy FS 330 departs from Methil.

U-551 (Kapitänleutnant Karl Schrott) is commissioned.

Royal Navy minesweeper HMS Bangor (J 00, Commander Jack Peterson) is commissioned.

American submarine USS Gar is launched. It has been sponsored by the wife of Rear Admiral George Pettengill.

Battle of the Mediterranean

The Italians attempt to retake Gallabat, on the Abyssinia/Sudan border, which the British have just taken. There are fierce dogfights overhead. The 10th Indian Brigade which took the base finally retreats under pressure due to tank losses and RAF losses. At the end of the day, the Italians occupy the town.

Force H departs from Gibraltar, led by aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal and battleship HMS Barham. The Barham actually leads a separate group that will split off from Force H. This is Force F, and it is carrying 2000 troops to Malta. The Italians are aware of these movements and send three destroyers to intercept Force F.

At Malta, Governor Dobbie sends a letter to Secretary of State for War. He expresses the impression that "it would not take a great deal to get the Italians to quit." He suggests replacing the large Wellingtons operating on the island with Blenheims (two of the Wellingtons recently crashed upon take-off).

Battle of the Pacific

British refrigerated freighter Cambridge hits a mine in eastern approaches of the Bass Strait. The mine recently was laid by German raider Pinguin. There are 55 survivors and one man perishes. HMAS Orara picks up the survivors.

The Pinguin and the Passat head for a pre-arranged meeting 700 miles west of Perth in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

Spy Stuff: Tyler Kent, a cipher clerk at the US Embassy, is convicted of espionage in the Central Criminal Court in the Old Bailey. He is sentenced to seven years.

Anglo/Irish Relations

Irish Taoiseach Éamon de Valera refuses a British request that it be allowed to use naval ports and airfields in Ireland.

German Military

OKH Chief of Staff General Franz Halder has a meeting with Colonel Heusinger and his adjutant, Major Gehlen. They review Heusinger's preliminary plans to invade Greece from Bulgaria, as adjusted by Halder. Key issues are the fact that German troops would have a long march through Poland or Hungary and through Romania. Once they reached Bulgaria, moreover, the launching points themselves would be remote and conspicuous to the enemy. In addition, the Greeks have fortified the border with the "Metaxas Line" chain of barriers and fortresses. Even after the German troops broke through this line, they would be far removed from their allies, the Italian troops in the west, and require breaking out of Thrace over inhospitable terrain. This would create supply issues, no small matter with an advance by 100,000 men or more. Thus, the Wehrmacht would face large problems even before they began the campaign.

All of these issues point to a single solution: take the short route through Yugoslavia. That is something that Hitler already has considered, and of course the decision rests with him. This all eventually comes under the rubric of Operation Marita.

Free French

Free French troops of the Foreign Legion land at Libreville. They arrive in troopships Fort Lamy, Casamance and Nevada. These troops are necessary to complete the conquest of the territory, as Vichy French troops still control key areas. The Free French forces are under the command of Colonel Leclerc.

The Vichy naval forces are operating in the area. Submarine Poncelet attacks troopship Milford but misses. It then is attacked as described above under "Battle of the Atlantic."

Australia

In the "Blue Draft," which is the training of RAAF pilots in Canada, Draft No. 3, which had embarked at Sydney on 16 October, arrives in Vancouver.

Day 436 of World War II, November 9th 1940

YouTube (Britain’s First Victory, Germany Plunders Europe & Mussolini’s Folly)



Italian/Greek Campaign

The Italians have stopped advancing into Greece, and in fact are withdrawing to their starting points in most areas. The Greek 8th Division on the Epirus sector begins launching local counterattacks to recover lost ground and push the Italians back over the Kalamas River. The Italian troops in the Vovousa Valley are trapped and gradually surrendering. The Greeks basically have recovered all the ground lost in this sector with the exception of areas still controlled by surrounded Italian formations, which are now little more than armed prison camps.

Air War over Europe

RAF Bomber Command and Coastal Command raid the U-boat pens at Lorient, the ports of Boulogne and Calais, and various airfields along the coast such as the one at Le Havre, where a Bf 109 is shot down.

The Luftwaffe only sends some lone raiders across the Channel during the day, with minor damage caused in London, the Home Counties, eastern areas of England, the Midlands, and Liverpool and nearby areas. After dark, the Luftwaffe hits the usual targets such as London and Liverpool.

The Luftwaffe continues consolidating its fighters in France. two groups of JG 77, 5 and 6, transfer south from Stavanger airfield to Brest. 4,/JG 77 also moves to Brest (from Herdla and Mandal). All of JG 77 now is in France except for III,/ JG 77, which remains for the time being in Norway.

Battle of the Atlantic

German acoustic mines - detonated by the sound of passing propellers - are becoming an increasing problem. The British adopt several countermeasures, including using modified jackhammers to set them off.

Luftwaffe Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condors attack 26,032 ton liner RMS Empress of Japan off the west coast of Ireland. They drop two 250 kg bombs that hit the ship but deflect off of a stern railing and a lifeboat, respectively. The planes also strafe the ship, forcing the helmsman, Ho Kan, to steer the ship in evasive maneuvers from a prone position. The ship sustains non-critical damage in the same region where the Empress of Britain had been bombed and sunk two weeks earlier. Captain Thomas receives the CBE, Ho Kan receives the BEM.

British 1699 ton freighter Baltrader hits a mine and sinks in the North Sea. There are two deaths. The minefield was "Alfred" laid by Kriegsmarine torpedo boats on 29/30 October.

Vichy 1970 ton French Navy colonial-service patrol boat (aviso) Bougainville is operating off Libreville in opposition to the Free French landings there when it is attacked and sunk by Free French sister ship Savorgnan de Brazza and sloop Commandant Dominé.

The Commandant Dominé captures 3081 ton Vichy French armed merchant cruiser Cap Des Palmes off Libreville. The crew of the Vichy ship tried to scuttle it, but failed.

British 1811 ton collier Gartbrattan collides with freighter Melrose Abbey to the west of Cape Clear, Ireland in the Atlantic. It sinks without any casualties. This was the ship's second collision during the war, clearly an unlucky ship.

Finnish 2139 ton freighter Minerva hits a mine and suffers severe damage off Borkum, Germany. The ship, en route from Jakobstad to Emden carrying pit props, is a total loss, but there are no casualties. The ship was built in 1889.

British 504 ton freighter Beal hits a mine off Tees and is damaged.

The Luftwaffe attacks Cleveland Wharf, Shoreham and damages 695 ton British tanker Shelbrit II.

Italian submarine Marconi, which narrowly escaped destruction by Royal Navy vessels on the 8th, comes across the disabled Swedish 2734 ton freighter Vingaland. The Vingaland, travelling in Convoy HX 84, had been damaged by Luftwaffe bombing on the 8th. The Marconi sends the Vingaland to the bottom. There are six deaths total on the ship.

U-65 (Korvettenkapitän Hans-Gerrit von Stockhausen), on her fifth patrol, refuels at sea from German tanker Nordmark. The U-boat has been at sea since 15 October 1940. Since she has not sighted any targets, all U-65 needs is some fuel and food/water and it can continue at sea for some time. In fact, this patrol will last into January, an extremely long patrol since most patrols are only about a month long.

Convoy OB 241 departs from Liverpool, Convoy FN 330 departs from Southend, Convoy FS 332 departs from Methil, Convoy SC 11 departs from St. John.

The Royal Navy commissions corvette HMS Columbine (K 94, Lt. Louis A. Sayers) and minesweeper HMS Rhyl (J 36, Lt. William L. O'Mara).

Canadian corvette HMCS Collingwood (K 180, Lt. Norman G. Bennett) is commissioned.

Battle of the Mediterranean

General Koenig's Free French forces fight the Vichy French forces holding Libreville. There is street fighting. Free French Westland Lysanders based in Douala, Cameroon bomb the airfield. The Free French Foreign Legion troops ultimately capture the airfield, which decides the battle. General Tetu formally surrenders to Free French Admiral Georges Thierry d'Argenlieu aboard the aviso Savorgnan de Brazza on the 10th.

Photo: 1e Compagnie de Chars de Combat de la France Libre during the Battle of Gabon



Greek 489 ton coaster Vivi hits a mine and sinks in the Gulf of Patras. The mine had been laid by the Greeks, so this is a "friendly fire" incident. There is some controversy over whether the ship was sunk by a mine or by air attack, but it appears to have been off course and sunk in the "Araxos" minefield.

The RAF raids Agordat, Assab and Keren. Gibraltar Force H aircraft carrier Ark Royal launches aircraft to attack Cagliari.

At Malta, there are two air raids by Italian CR 42 biplane fighters. There are some bombers, but they turn back well short of the island. The Italian fighters strafe Hal Far airfield, damaging a Swordfish torpedo bomber. One Italian fighter is damaged by anti-aircraft fire. A Glenn Martin Maryland reconnaissance plane is lost at sea with the crew lost.

Battle of the Indian Ocean

German raider Atlantis, operating in the Bay of Bengal, captures 6750 ton Norwegian tanker Teddy. The Atlantis currently is disguised as armed merchant cruiser HMS Antenor. The 32 men aboard the Teddy are taken prisoner. The 10,000 tons of fuel oil on the tanker will come in handy.

Blueprint of the Atlantis




Battle of the Pacific

American ship “City Of Rayville” hit a naval mine (laid by German ship “Passat”) and sank 20 miles off Cape Otway, South Australia, Australia; 1 was killed and 39 survived.

Romania

The Bucharest/Ploesti region is hit by a massive earthquake. This causes massive damage and 400 deaths.

British Homefront

Neville Chamberlain passed away of cancer. Winston Churchill eulogized Chamberlain in the House of Commons, three days after his death;

“Whatever else history may or may not say about these terrible, tremendous years, we can be sure that Neville Chamberlain acted with perfect sincerity according to his lights and strove to the utmost of his capacity and authority, which were powerful, to save the world from the awful, devastating struggle in which we are now engaged. This alone will stand him in good stead as far as what is called the verdict of history is concerned.”

Day 438 of World War II, November 11th 1940

Operation Judgment (Battle of Taranto)

The British Mediterranean Fleet attacks the Italian base at Taranto. At 2300 hours, 21 Swordfish aircraft of British carrier HMS “Illustrious” escorted by 4 cruisers and 4 destroyers flew over Taranto Italy, where the Italian fleet was harbored. 6 Italian battleships and 3 cruisers lie at anchor in the outer harbour (Mar Grande). 2 cruisers, 21 destroyers and 16 submarines rest in the smaller inner harbour (Mar Piccolo), protected from torpedoes. 11 aircraft attacked with torpedoes. The aircraft attack in two waves and gain three torpedo hits on the brand new battleship “Littorio” and one each on “Caio Duilio” and “Conte di Cavour”. Two other ships are damaged. However, bombing of the inner harbour is ineffective. 10 aircraft attacked the inner harbor, causing minor damage on shore facilities. 2 aircraft were shot down (2 killed, 2 captured). This brilliant attack will be studied by other navies and the potential for such an attack on an enemy fleet in harbor is clear to the Japanese. Italian Fleet subsequently leaves Taranto for Naples and Genoa.

Aerial detection

The Italian navy did not have radar, relying instead on electronic listening devices (airphonic stations) located at thirteen points along the Gulf of Taranto coastline. These devices could detect incoming aircraft at a range of several miles out to sea.

Searchlights

22 searchlights and their crews were installed on land and others on floating pontoons. Their function was to illuminate incoming aircraft for their own gunners while dazzling the pilots.

Anti aircraft

21 batteries armed with 102 mm guns.
84 37mm and 20mm cannon.
109 machine-guns of various calibres both in fixed and floating positions.
Plus hundreds more of all calibres aboard the warships.
27 anti aircraft balloons. There were originally 87, but a storm in early November destroyed of damaged 60 of them.

Anti-torpedo netting

4,200 metres of the scheduled 12,000 metres were installed. A full rectangular fence was to have been constructed around each ship, but Taranto’s commander decided that laying any more netting would hamper the navy’s own daily routine operations.

Defensive weaknesses

The anti-torpedo netting reached down only about 26ft, leaving a space of about 14ft between the bottom of the net and the bottom of the lagoon. These nets provided protection only for the sides of a ship against torpedoes armed with contact pistols. Because they did not prevent a torpedo passing beneath a ship, the netting provided no defence against deeper running torpedoes with proximity pistols. The Royal Navy had developed dual action pistols with both contact and proximity detonators, of which the Regia Marina were unaware.

It had been generally thought that torpedoes could not be launched in less than 100ft of water and Taranto, at 40ft, was safe. What the Italians did not know was that the Royal Navy had overcome the problem of a torpedo diving deep when launched from an aircraft, before running at its preset depth. Their lack of knowledge about modern torpedo warfare, instilled a misplaced confidence in the ability of the torpedo nets to provide an adequate defence for their ships.

The Final Plan

The Raid on Taranto, codename Operation JUDGEMENT, was to be the first aerial raid from the sea against a Fleet in a defended harbour. The operation was to be disguised by integrating it with a deliberately complex convoy supply operation (MB8) to confuse Italian intelligence. Separate convoys sailing from Gibraltar, Port Said and Alexandria were to supply Malta, Greece and Crete, while other movements were to return the empties – merchantmen which had unloaded their cargoes. In all, there were ten separate, but integrated, movements. Two of which were:-

Force A(To cover convoy MW3 from Alexandria to Malta.)
CV ILLUSTRIOUS, CVL EAGLE, BBs WARSPITE, MALAYA, VALIANT, RAMILLIES, CA YORK, CL GLOUCESTER, DDs NUBIAN, MOHAWK, JERVIS, JANUS, JUNO, HYPERION, HASTY, HERO, HEREWARD, HAVOCK, ILEX, DECOY and DEFENDER.

Force F (To transport troops and supplies from Gibraltar to Malta, and reinforce the Alexandria fleet.)
BBs BARHAM, CA BERWICK, CL GLASGOW, DDs GREYHOUND, GALLANT, GRIFFIN. DDs FAUKNOR, FORTUNE, FURY had been detached from Force H.

Force F, after leaving Malta, was to join up with Force A for their return to Alexandria, but detaching a Force X for Operation JUDGEMENT beforehand.

Actual Forces

Force X: CV - ILLUSTRIOUS, (24 Swordfish and 806 Sqn of Fulmars). EAGLE had pulled out of the attack due to damage but had transferred some aircraft and pilots and used some other a/c as a reserve for ILLUSTRIOUS. CAs - YORK, BERWICK, CLs - GLASGOW, GLOUCESTER, DDs HASTY, HAVOCK, HYPERION, ILEX.

Force X would detach from the combined Forces A and F, and arrive in the evening of the same day, 40 miles west of Kabbo Point on the coast of the island of Cephalonia, the initial launch point, from where two waves of aircraft would be launched for the night-time attack. The small number of attacking warplanes raised serious concerns by the operations planners that the operation would only alert the RM without achieving any significant results. Following which, the defences would be strengthened, making it more hazardous for future RAF bombing raids.

The Aircraft

The Fairey Swordfish first flew in April 1934, developed as a private venture by Fairey to meet Air Ministry specifications for a Spotter Reconnaissance aircraft (designated SR1). However, the specifications were later amended to include the torpedo dropping role, and the design modified accordingly, to become TSR2. So the Swordfish entered service in 1936 as a Torpedo Spotter Reconnaissance aircraft. It was a fabric covered, open cockpit biplane, an anachronism when other navies were bringing metal skinned monoplanes into service. At the start of WW2 it was already obsolete, intended to be replaced by the Fairey Albacore.

The apparent obsolescence of the "stringbag" (as it was affectionately known) belied its deadly capability. The Swordfish was rugged, reliable, a steady platform, able to operate in rough weather, and by dint of the crews, also operate accurately at night. Its slow speed actually assisted it in delivering ordinance more accurately. It was docile and well suited to carrier operations with an enviable safety record. but it was also agile and highly manoeuvrable as many attacking fighters discovered; Italian, German and British alike. Its weapon carrying capabilities included bombs, torpedoes, depth charges, mines and (later) rockets. It could e fitted with floats and used as a seaplane. Its nickname, the Stringbag was due to its appearance, and, , also named after the popular shopping bag of the time that could hold just about anything. later in 1941 it was fitted with ASV radar that was to improve even further to locate and attack targets under near blind conditions.......

The Swordfish normally had a complement of three aircrew, but for Operation Judgement 60 gallon extra fuel tanks were needed and, for the torpedo carriers, fitted into the central observer’s cockpit and the observer moved into the rear Telegraphist Air Gunner’s cockpit. The bomb carriers had an extra tank fitted externally underneath and between the wheels where a torpedo would normally be.

Its slowness did not matter as there were no Italian night fighters to worry about, and its fabric covering was an advantage as cannon fire just went through it without exploding.

The Torpedoes

The standard torpedo for the first half of WW2 was the 18 inch Mark XII weighing 1,548 lbs with a warhead of 388 pounds of TNT. The maximum range of the Mark XII was 1,500 yards at 40 knots and 3,500 yards at 27 knots.

The torpedoes used for Operation Judgement were fitted with a duplex pistol (contact and proximity) detonator, and were set to remain armed at the end of their run. This is the first time the duplex pistol was used in the Mediterranean. The torpedoes were set to run at 27 knots at a depth of 33 feet (the RN had good intelligence on the torpedo netting shortcomings). The minimum launch distances were set at 300 yards from the target, and only contact with the water was needed to start the motor running.

These depth and speed settings were obtained from the experience gained from the torpedoing of the RICHELIEU at Dakar. There, the water depth was 42ft, the torpedoes set to run at 40 knots at a depth of 38ft. Both these settings were too high for the Mar Grande where the water depth was only 40ft, so the torpedoes were adjusted to 27 knots at 33ft.

The torpedo was modified for launching in shallow water by fitting a wooden box ‘air tail’ (something the IJN copied almost exactly for their Pearl Operations), which added vertical planes to the ends of enlarged horizontal fins to improve its stability through the air so that it entered the water cleanly at the correct angle to run true. This prevented the torpedo diving too deeply before attaining its running depth; an essential requirement when launching in shallow waters. But testing had shown that, even with this ‘air tail’, the torpedo’s excessive dive beyond depth setting was 18ft when set to 40 knots, and at 27 knots it was 6ft. But 6ft was still too much for the shallow (40ft) waters of Taranto.

To eliminate entirely the excessive dive, each torpedo was connected to the launching aircraft by a spool of fine wire, the length and breaking strain of which was precisely calculated. After releasing the torpedo, the pilot had to hold the aircraft straight and level for five seconds while the wire unwound and the torpedo stabilised. When it had completely unwound, the wire came off spool, the torpedo continued independently and the pilot could make his escape.

All this required the torpedo to be launched at low speed, at low altitude in level flight, a requirement that made the Swordfish's characteristics essential to the operations success.

The Bombs

These were the standard 250lb semi armour piercing types, unsuitable for bombing armoured ships, but usually adequate for cruisers and smaller ships, but were later shown to be unreliable.

The Flares

These were parachute flares with a 1,000ft time delay which, by the time they ignited, allowed the aircraft to be some distance away. They burned for three minutes and illuminated the target, balloons, cables, and helped the pilots judge their height above water.

Prelude

The original plan was scheduled for October 21st 1940, the anniversary of Trafalgar, using 30 Swordfish bombers from two carriers, (ILLUSTRIOUS and EAGLE). However, while fitting one of the extra fuel tanks, a spark ignited some spilled fuel in the hangar deck of ILLUSTRIOUS which caused a serious hangar fire, destroying two a/c, the rest, having been saturated with sea water, had to be completely stripped down, necessitating the postponement of the operation until the night of 11-12 November, when next the moon was suitable.

More seriously, on 1 November while escorting a military convoy to Crete, EAGLE sustained bomb damage from near misses and contamination of her avgas tankage, and had to be withdrawn for repairs at Alexandria. Five of her a/c and 8 of her most experienced night capable aircrews, from 813 and 824 sqns, were transferred to ILLUSTRIOUS. Because of these changes, instead of having 30 attack a/c for the operation, only 24 could be mustered for the attack, mainly from 815 and 819 Sqns. More could not be accommodated because of the necessary presence of 806 Sqn’s Fulmars for defence.

Force A left Alexandria on 6 November, but on 9, 10 and 11 November respectively, three Swordfish were lost from ILLUSTRIOUS when they suffered engine problems and had to ditch in the sea, thus further reducing the number available to 21. The problem was traced to contaminated fuel, necessitating all the remaining aircraft having their fuel systems hurriedly drained and refuelled.

Several times, Italian recon a/c approached but were shot down by the defending Fulmars. Force A rendezvoused with Force F, SE of Malta as scheduled.

The Attack

The first strike of 12 a/c would be flown off at 2030, and make their attack at about 2245. The second strike of 9 a/c would be flown off one hour later at 2130, making their attack at about 2345. The returning a/c would be landed on 20 miles west of Kabbo Point, Cephalonia.

Both attacks were to be carried out as follows:-
" The sqn of 12 aircraft to pass up the centre of the Gulf of Taranto and approach the harbour from the SW. The primary attack to be by six torpedo aircraft against the BBs in the Mar Grande. This attack to be immediately preceded by two a/c dropping flares (and bombs) along the eastern side of the Mar Grande in order to illuminate the targets and distract attention from the torpedo a/c, and by 4 a/c making a dive bomb attack on the attractive target presented by the line of cruisers and destroyers in the Mar Piccolo. It was expected that this attack would also distract attention from the torpedo attack."

This was classic torpedo attack tactics by a/c on warships. First, the bombers would attack from a high level then, while the attention of the defences were directed upwards, the torpedo bombers would attack from sea level. In rugby parlance it’s the "up and under".

Force X detached at 1800, arriving at the flying off point, 40 miles west of Cephalonia, some 180 miles SE of Taranto, at 2030. ILLUSTRIOUS changed course to ENE and increased speed to 28 knots and the first wave flew off.
　
The First Wave

The Sqn Ldr, Lcdr Williamson had opted to split his six torpedo bombers into two sub-flights of three, approaching from the west at low altitude to delay detection. The first sub-flight would approach over San Pietro Island, fly through the balloons and attack the southernmost of the battleships, while the second sub-flight would simultaneously approach more to the nth, fly around the balloons and attack the northernmost BBs. By this method it was hoped to divide the defensive AA fire. It was left to individual pilots to select their own target. it was a good plan of attack.

The first wave of 12 Swordfish flew off at 2035 and formed up soon afterwards. At 2115 when at a height of 4,500 feet the squadron entered the base of cumulus cloud and 4 a/c became separated. These were L4M (torpedo), L4L, L4H, E5Q (bombs) which then made their way to the target independently. The squadron commander (Williamson) continued with the remaining eight, arriving at Taranto at 2250 to be greeted by heavy AA fire already in progress. (The defences had detected either the recon a/c or one of the detached Swordfish arriving early, or probably both).

At 2256 the flare droppers started to lay their flares along the eastern side of the harbour. The torpedo bombers split into their sub-flights and started their attack simultaneously with the illumination of the first flares. The first sub-flight of three, approaching over San Pietro Island attacked the southernmost of the BBs as planned, while the second sub-flight, approaching slightly more to the nth, attacked the northernmost. Meanwhile, the other 4 a/c having lost their leader, all made their attacks independently.

All aircraft met with intense AA fire virtually the whole time. The torpedo bombers came under almost continuous intense AA fire from both land, ships and moored positions. The fire from ships followed the a/c down to sea level, continuing until, in some cases, the Italians were firing on their own ships. Much damage was done to the town of Taranto by AA fire in the process.

Map: Attack directions of the British planes



Results of Individual Attacks

L4A (815) Lt-Cdr. Williamson (Commander) and Lt. Scarlett.
Arriving at 2250, they flew over San Pietro Island at 4,000ft, making a slow decent, and flying almost straight across the bay through the Tarantola balloon barrage before launching their torpedo which passed between the destroyer FULMINE and the TB LAMPO striking BB CONTE DI CAVOUR (RM 29100 grt) between the bridge and B turret. Turning away after the attack, they dipped a wing tip in the water. The result being they crashed into the sea, survived, rescued and taken prisoner.

L4C (815) Sub-Lt. Sparke and Sub-Lt. Neale
They flew at 4,000ft over San Pietro Island and started to dive. The aircraft was down on the water about half way across the Mar Grande and crossed the Tarantola breakwater. Unable to identify BB LITTORIO, the BB CAVOUR was seen and attacked at a range of 700 yards. The torpedo missed its target.

L4R (815) Sub-Lt. Macaulay and Sub-Lt. Wray
They followed the same approach route taken by the previous aircraft, and again the target was the CAVOUR which they attacked from 600 yards. The torpedo missed its target.

L4K (815) Lt. Kemp and Sub-Lt. Bailey
They came in from the west, north of San Pietro Island at a height of 4,000ft. Passing north of the cruisers and their balloons they flattened out on a line for the BB LITTORIO. The torpedo was dropped at 2318 from 1,000 yards and struck the ship on her starboard bow.

L4M (815) Lt. Swayne and Sub-Lt. Buscall
Having become detached from the leader they waited off the harbour for 15 minutes for the arrival of the other aircraft. When the first flare was seen, they came in at 1,000 feet over the westerly breakwater. Flying easterly across the Mar Grande and losing height until reaching the end of the Tarantola breakwater they made a sharp turn to port so as to approach the LITTORIO from the east. The torpedo was dropped at about 2215 from 400 yards and they continued passing directly over the ship. The torpedo struck the Littorio abaft the funnels on the port quarter.

E4F (813) Lt. Maund and Sub-Lt. Bull The last of the torpedo bombers came in over Rondinella Point, nth of the cruisers and launched its torpedo from 1,300 yards at the BB VITTORIO VENETO, but the torpedo exploded upon contact with the bottom.

L4P (815) Lt. Kiggell and Lt. Janvrin (16 flares and 4x250lb bombs)
Their objective was to drop flares along the eastern shore and bomb any convenient target. They came in at 7,000ft over San Vito at 22.58 flying NE and commenced dropping a line of eight flares at half mile intervals from near the point where the Tarantola breakwater meets land. After the flares had been dropped, they turned to starboard looking for a target, and made a dive bombing attack on the most southerly oil storage depot. No results were observed.

L5B (819) Lt. Lamb and Lt. Grieve(16 flares and 4x250lb bombs)
They were the stand by flare droppers. Coming in astern of L4P (Kiggell and Janvrin), they saw that the first flares appeared to be illuminating satisfactorily, so no more flares were dropped. They then bombed the same oil storage tanks, but again no results were observed.

E5A(824) Capt. Patch and Lt. Goodwin ( 6x250lb bombs)
Their task was to bomb the line of cruisers and destroyers moored against the quay side on the sth of the Mar Piccolo. They came in at 8,500 feet over San Pietro Island at 2306, crossed the Mar Grande and the canal and to the middle of the western portion of the Mar Piccolo. Two minutes later the target was identified and a dive bombing attack was made from 1,500 feet obliquely across two cruisers from N.W. to S.E. at 2315. The DD LIBECCIO was hit but the bombs failed to explode.

L4L (815) Sub-Lt. Sarra; Sub-Lt. Bowker (6x250lb bombs)
Their initial objective was to attack the cruisers and destroyers in the Mar Piccolo. But coming in at 8,000ft over the western mainland and diving to 1,500 feet over the Mar Piccolo, they were unable to identify the target. Continuing along the southern shore of the Mar Piccolo they attacked the seaplane base from 500ft. They achieved several hits causing an explosion and fire in a hangar.

L4H (815) Sub-Lt. Forde and Sub-Lt. Mardel (6x250lb bombs)
They were separated from the leader and arrived as the first flare was dropped and came in east of Cape San Vito. On reaching te Mar Piccolo they turned, and flying at 1,500ft from NE to SW, delivered their attack on two cruisers. The first bomb hit the water short of the target but the remainder hit the cruiser although no immediate results were observed. Intense A.A. fire from the cruisers moored in the Mar Piccolo was met throughout the dive. They were uncertain whether their bombs had released and circled the western basin of the Mar Piccolo and repeated the attack.

E5Q (824) Lt. Murray and Sub-Lt. Paine (6x250lb bombs)
They came in east of Cape San Vito when the attack was already in progress and the flares were dropping. They continued until the eastern end of the Mar Piccolo was reached and turning to port flew along the southern shore. Their objective was the cruisers and destroyers, which they attacked from 3,000ft, the bombs dropping in a line running from E to W. commencing by the most eastern jetty and extending across four of the destroyers to the most westerly cruiser in the line, hitting the LIBECCIO but the bomb failed to detonate.

With their individual tasks completed, the last aircraft left Taranto 2335, landing on ILLUSTRIOUS 0155.

Painting: Swordfish from HMS "Illustrious" cripple the Italian Fleet,



Second Wave

The second wave of 9 a/c started flying off at 2128 and 8 a/c were off by 2134. L5F was accidentally damaged before take off in a collision with L5Q and had to be struck down to the hangar for repairs to the wing fabric. It was eventually flown off at 2158. At 2205, L5Q, lost its external overload tank when it became detached, forcing the a/c to return to the CV which fired on it as it was not expected, but landed safely. That left only 8 a/c to take part in the 2nd strike. At 2250 the Sqn commenced to climb and at 2315 when 60 miles away sighted flares and AA fire , which continued until at 2350. When the NW shore of the Gulf of Taranto was sighted, the Sqn turned to the NE at 8,000ft and detached the flare droppers at 2355.

Lcdr Hale’s plan was for the all his torpedo bombers to approach from the NW at high altitude. They were to pass nth of Rondinella Pt and, skirting the cruisers to the nth, fly over the balloons, turn sth and dive quickly to sea level and attack the BBs from the nth, as this gave them overlapping targets and a greater chance of hitting something.

L5A (819) Lcdr. Hale (Commander) and Lt. Carline
They came in a mile nth of Rondinella Point at 5,000ft, glided down over the commercial basin, and steering directly for the LITTORIO, dropped their torpedo from about 700 yards. [See note after L5K.]

L5K(819) Lt. Torrens-Spence and Lt. Sutton. Following the Flight Leader L5A (Hale and Carline), they came in over Rondinella Point, and glided down to a point south of the canal. Their torpedo was aimed at the Littorio but failed to release at first attempt, so they held their course, tried again and finally released the torpedo manually from 700 yards.

What is certain is that one torpedo from either L5A or L5K struck the LITTORIO on its starboard side. But what is not known is who to credit with the hit, as they both launched their torpedoes from similar positions at about the same time.

E4H (813) Lt. Bayly and Lt. Slaughter
As they approached, they were hit by intense AA fire and crashed into the harbour killing both crew. The body of SLt Bayly was found and buried with full military honours, while the body of Lt Slaughter was never found. They were the only aircrew fatalities during the course of the entire raid.

L5H(819) Lt. Lee and Sub-Lt. Jones
They came in astern of L5A (Hale and Carline) over Rondinella Pt, gliding down to a point sth of the canal, dropping their torpedo from about 800 yds at the BB DUILIO, striking the ship on the starboard side.

E5H (824) Lt. Wellham and Lt. Humphreys
They came in over Rondinella Point, over Mar Piccolo, and the Town of Taranto, and turned to starboard to the centre of the Mar Grande. Diving to attack, the a/c was hit by AA fire causing severe aileron damage, putting the a/c temporarily out of control. Regaining partial control, the torpedo was dropped from about 500 yards aimed at the VITTORIO VENETO which missed. After which they received further wing damage from AA fire and, heavily damaged, limped home.

L5B (819) Lt. Hamilton and Sub-Lt. Weeks (16 flares and 4x250lb bombs)
They came in over Cape San Vito at 7,500 feet, and dived to 5,000 feet, dropping a line of flares at intervals of 15 seconds to the east of the harbour. After dropping all flares successfully, they delivered a dive bombing attack from 2,500ft on the oil storage depot, starting a fire.

L4F(815) Lt. Skelton and SLt. Perkins (16 flares and 4x250lb bombs)
Their approach was similar to L5B (Hamilton and Weeks) except that the flares were dropped SE of the harbour, from between 6,500 feet and 5,000 feet. They then bombed the oil storage depot.

L5F(819) Lt. Clifford and Lt. Going (6x250lb bombs)
Due to their flight deck collision with L5Q, they started 25 mins late and arrived at Taranto when the second attack was already in progress. They came in over the land about 5 miles east of the harbour entrance, and steered straight over the dockyard to the far side of the Mar Piccolo. Turning to port an attack was made from 2,500 feet along the line of cruisers and destroyers from west to east. A stick of bombs was dropped across the cruisers TRENTO and MIRAGLIA. One bomb hit the TRENTO . 　

The Result

The BBs LITTORIO, CAIO DUILIO and CAVOUR were either sunk or beached to prevent them sinking. The CA TRENTO was hit by bombs , damaging a fuel tank. Two DDs (LIBECCIO PESSAGNO) had also sustained damage from bomb hits. Two fleet auxiliaries were damaged with their sterns seen to be under water. However of the 42 bombs dropped, a quarter failed to explode, which was later attributed to faulty manufacture.

Picture: Damaged Littorio



The seaplane hangars had been hit several times causing a fire and the loss of seaplanes. This was the base from which these a/c conducted aerial recon. Damaged also were the docks, the oil fuel depot and the aqueduct.

The bombers had only attacked a handful of warships, the seaplane hangars and some of the oil depots, yet damage to the harbour and even to the city looked much more extensive. That was because many of the estimated 14,000 rounds of all calibres (two thirds of which were 3 inch or greater) fired by shore AA defences, and unrecorded numbers by warship defences, had landed on the merchantmen and in the city, causing severe damage to both ships and installations.

CONTE DI CAVOUR
The CAVOUR was the most seriously damaged. The torpedo had blown a hole of about 40 x 25 feet near the keel by the forward ammunition magazine. She was brought closer to shore, but not close enough to avoid partial sinking. After she had settled to the bottom, water reached the main deck submerging most of the hull.

She was not re-floated until July 1941. She was then sent to Monfalcone, Trieste where two years were necessary to fully repair the ship. When Italy surrendered, on 8 September 1943, she was still there. She was taken over by the Germans to be once again sunk, this time by USAAF heavy bombers in 1945. She was effectively a loss after the Taranto raid

CAIO DUILIO
The DUILIO suffered damage from a torpedo hit which caused a hole of about 35 x 24 feet in the starboard quarter. The ship was run aground to prevent sinking. In January she was re-floated and left Taranto for Genoa and entered dry dock. It took another six months for her to return to service, in July 1941, still requiring about 2 months of work up and shake down after that. She was effectively out of action for nearly a year.

LITTORIO
The Littorio was hit by 3 torpedoes, 2 to starboard, one under the second turret, and the second one aft of the first turret. The third hit the ship to port near the rudder control mechanism, causing the partial destruction of the primary rudder. Although not in danger of sinking, it was decided to let her rest on the muddy bottom of a shallow section of the harbour. Repair work was hampered by the presence of an unexploded torpedo underneath her keel. (Which apparently had hit her but did not explode. It was found in the mud under the stern with its striking cap impact damaged, and there was a dent in the Littorio’s starboard quarter.) Repairs to her were given priority and were completed in five months. It took another month to complete work and shake down, she was effectively out of the fight for 7 months.

Photo: TARANTO, ITALY. 1940-11. AERIAL VIEW SHOWING AFTERMATH OF ACTION AGAINST THE ITALIAN FLEET IN TARANTO HARBOUR. NOTE THE TWO DAMAGED CRUISERS IN THE INNER HARBOUR.



Cunningham's further estimate that Italians would be unwilling to risk their remaining heavy units was quickly proven wrong. Only five days after Taranto, Campioni sortied with two BBs, six cruisers and 14 DDs to disrupt a supply convoy to Malta. The follow-up to this operation led to the Battle of Cape Spartivento on 27 November 1940.

Measured against its the critical objective of disrupting Axis convoys to Africa, the Taranto attack had very little effect. In fact, Italian shipping to Libya increased between the months of October 1940 – January 1941 to an average of 49,435 tons per month, up from the 37,204-ton average of the previous four months.

The IJN's staff carefully studied the Taranto raid during planning for the attack on Pearl Harbor because of the issues with a shallow harbour. Japanese Lieutenant Commander Takeshi Naito, the assistant naval attaché to Berlin, flew to Taranto to investigate the attack firsthand and wrote a report outlining the main elements of the attack. Naito subsequently had a lengthy conversation with Commander Mitsuo Fuchida about his observations in 1941. Fuchida led the Japanese attack on 7 December 1941. More significant, perhaps, was a Japanese military mission to Italy in May 1941. Japanese Navy officers visited Taranto and had lengthy discussions with their Italian Navy opposite numbers. The IJNs success at Pearl allowed them to complete their conquest of SE Asia untroubled by USN interference.

YouTube (The Battle of Taranto: When Biplanes Crippled a Fleet)



Italian/Greek Campaign

The Greeks continue pushing the Italians back to the Kalamas River along the coast. Elsewhere, the Italians have taken up defensive positions except at Elea in the Negrades sector, where they make some small tactical gains. In the central Pindos sector, the Greek 1st Infantry Division continues attacking.

The Greeks, meanwhile, are bringing up reinforcements for a counter-offensive without too much hindrance from the Regia Aeronautica. The RAF sends night raids against Italian supply ports at Valona and Durazzo in Albania.

Air War over Europe

At 1330 hours, British radar at Essex, England picked up incoming aircraft, which turned out to be 12 Corpo Aereo Italiano Fiat BR.20M bombers and 42 Fiat CR.42 biplane fighters (other fighters including German Bf109s abandon their escort duties due to bad weather) heading for Harwich. Hurricane fighters from No. 257, No. 46, and No. 17 Squadrons RAF were launched to intercept over the Thames Estuary, shooting down 3 bombers and 3 fighters, while damaging 2 bombers, without incurring any losses. Winston Churchill would later quip that the Italian aircraft;

"…might have found better employment defending the fleet at Taranto",

referring to the successful British raid to take place later on the same day. The Italians make other attacks, mostly by night, on east-coast ports during the next nine weeks.

Two large formations of Luftwaffe fighter-bombers attempt to reach London. A few aircraft drop bombs in three London districts. Stukas make an unsuccessful raid on a convoy off Kent. British vessels “Trebartha” and “Creemuir” are sunk by Luftwaffe aircraft.

During a dogfight against the British, Oblt. Georg Claus shoots down a British warplane for his eighteenth aerial kill. But Oblt. Claus is shot down soon after over the English Channel in the Thames estuary. Distraught and visibly sick, JG 51’s Kommodore, Major Mölders issues impossible orders and demands that his pilots try to recover his friend. When nobody is able to find Oblt. Claus, Major Mölders climbs into his Bf 109 and takes to the air with his wingman, Lt. Eberle, to search for the downed pilot. They find nothing and finally return to base.

The pilots of JG 53 also lose Werner Kaufmann when he is listed as missing after action over England. He had seven victories.

British destroyer HMS “Vega” hit a mine and was badly damaged 5 miles north of Westgate-on-Sea, Kent, England while escorting a convoy; she would later be towed to Sheerness, Kent for repairs. On the same day, British minesweeping trawler HMT “Stella Orion” hit a mine and sank in the Thames Estuary without any casualties.

RAF No. 640 Squadron recorded the first Beaufighter "kill" when a German Ju 88A aircraft was shot down with the aid of the A.I.IV radar.

Battle of the Atlantic

In Operation Medium, British battleship HMS Revenge and half a dozen destroyers bombard Cherbourg from 03:33 to 03:51.

It is a big day for aerial attacks on shipping. Aside from the RAF success at Taranto, the Luftwaffe also uses its seaplanes to sink a number of ships. While largely forgotten to the general public, the Heinkel He 115 seaplane was a fearsome Luftwaffe weapon during the war's early years.

The Luftwaffe (Heinkel He 115 seaplanes of KGr 706) attacks convoy EN 23 in the North Sea 7.4 km south of Aberdeen. The convoy is defenseless except for the serendipitous fact that it is passing Convoy WN 34, which has as an escort anti-aircraft ship HMS Alynbank.

The seaplanes torpedo and sink 4327 ton British freighter Trebartha. (The ship's bell is recovered in 1999 and occasionally changes hands). Four crew perish.

The same Luftwaffe attack sinks 3997 ton British freighter Creemuir about 15 miles southeast of Aberdeen. There are 27 deaths. The Creemuir was the lead ship of the port column of the 31-merchant-ship convoy. The torpedo hits amidships and the ship sinks within three minutes. The ship is discovered and dived the wreck in 2009; the divers retrieved the ship's bell and gave it to surviving crew member, Radio Officer Noel Blacklock.

Another ship, British 1141 ton freighter Harlaw in Convoy WN 34, also is damaged in this attack.

Elsewhere, the Luftwaffe (possibly Heinkel He 115 seaplanes of 3,/KGr 906) torpedoes and sinks 3371 ton Norwegian freighter Ravnanger off Redcar, Yorkshire in Tees Bay. There are 26 survivors and one death.

British 2474 ton freighter Corsea is damaged in Barrow Deep off Middlesborough by Heinkel He 115 seaplanes of KGr 506. The Luftwaffe loses two Junkers Ju 88s and a Bf 109 during this attacks.

British freighter Colonel Crompton also is damaged in the same attack off Southend.

British 2345 ton freighter Corduff also is damaged in the same attack off Southend. (This ship was sunk in March 1941; it is a bit unclear what happened to it during this convoy on 11 November 1940, the damage, if any, must have been light).

There are other Luftwaffe attacks which damage 932 ton British freighter Pitwines east of Yarmouth.

British 314 ton trawler Iwate also is damaged by the Luftwaffe five miles southwest of Old Head of Kinsale.

Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condors also get into the aerial action. A Condor of 1,/KG 40 bombs and sinks 1925 ton British freighter Balmore about 560 km west of Ireland. One of the great strengths of the Condors is their extensive range out over the convoy routes when operating from France. All 27 crew on the Balmore perish.

Royal Navy 417 ton trawler HMT Stella Orion hits a mine and sinks in the Thames Estuary off Herne Bay, Kent. Everyone survives.

British 118 ton coaster Skarv hits a mine and sinks in the Bristol Channel. Five men perish.

British 406 ton coaster Porthcarrack runs aground and is lost near Porthcawl, Glamorgan, off the mouth of Ogmore River, Ogmore-by-Sea. There are four deaths and four survivors. Attempts are made to refloat the vessel, but it is too badly damaged to remain afloat.

Greek 5186 ton freighter Dionyssios Stathatos loses its rudder in the Atlantic west of the Outer Hebrides and is abandoned. Some sources place this loss on 12 December 1940.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Vega hits a mine off Sunk Head Buoy while escorting Convoy FS 332. It is taken in tow by tug St. Mellons and brought to Harwich for repairs. The ship is badly damaged and takes two full years to return to service.

British 50-ton coaster Grit detonates a mine and is damaged just off Margate Buoy.

British freighter Ardmore sails out of the Port of Cork and then disappears. Some flotsam and jetsam is found, but nobody knows what happened to the ship until much later. Many accounts state that it was sunk by the Luftwaffe. In 1998, the wreck is found in 83 feet of water two miles south of Saltee Islands. It finally is learned that the ship struck a (likely magnetic) mine. As a coincidence, the wreck is near another ship named the Ardmore that sank 23 years earlier, almost to the day, during World War 1. All 24 men on board perish.

British liner Empress of Japan, attacked by the Luftwaffe on the 10th, makes port with light damage. German radio claims to have sunk her.

British corvette HMS Rhododendron spots U-103 and attacks it with depth charges 200 miles northwest of Ireland, but the U-boat escapes undamaged.

Convoy OB 242 departs from Liverpool, Convoy FN 332 departs from Southend, Convoy FS 333 departs from Methil, Convoy HX 85, recalled due to the Admiral Scheer attack, departs from Sydney, Canada.

American minesweeper USS Raven (AM 55) is commissioned.

Battle of the Indian Ocean/Pacific

German raider Atlantis encounters 7528 ton British freighter Automedon about 400 km west of Sumatra around 07:00. The crew of the Automedon has no idea that the Atlantis, disguised as another ship, is a German raider until they are only 5000 meters apart and the crew of the Atlantis runs up its German pennant. The Germans quickly block the Automedon's transmissions so it can radio for help. Because the Automedon does not surrender, the Atlantis opens fire and hits the bridge, killing the captain and many others. There are 6-8 deaths and 12 other casualties, who are taken prisoner. In all, there are 75 crew, a gunner, and 21 passengers taken prisoner.

The Automedon is carrying 15 bags of Top Secret mail for the British Far East Command, decoding tables, Naval Intelligence reports - all sorts of valuable information. The most valuable information is an envelope addressed to the Commander-in-Chief of the British Far East Command which details the British War Cabinet's detailed evaluation of British assets in the Far East. The captain of the Automedon almost certainly would have thrown this overboard if he hadn't been killed by the Atlantis' first shot. The Atlantis takes off all the useful information and supplies and then scuttles the Automedon at 15:07.

Captain Rogge of the Atlantis gives the captured intelligence to the a prize crew which he puts on the captured Ole Jacob. He then sends that ship off to Kobe, Japan. The ship makes it there and delivers the intelligence to the German embassy on 4 December 1940. The ambassador, in turn, gives it to a courier to take to Berlin via the Trans-Siberian Railway. A copy is given to the Japanese.

While all this may seem a bit esoteric and perhaps irrelevant, in fact the incident is seen by many as playing a huge factor in the Japanese decision to attack the British (and Americans) on 7 December 1941. The material taken shows how weak the British position is in the Far East and how easy it would be to conquer the region.

Soviet/German Relations

Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov boards a train to take him to Berlin for his high-stakes meeting with Hitler and Ribbentrop.

Czech/Polish Relations

General Sikorski and Edouard Benes of Czechoslovakia sign an agreement in London calling for post-war union between the two nations. Neither man will be involved in his country's post-war government and the agreement is a nullity.

Italian Military

The Italian military forms its first Focke-Wulf 87 Stuka dive-bomber squadron.

Spain

The Spanish Ministry of the Navy submits a report to Franco indicating that the Germans must capture the Suez Canal before an operation against Gibraltar would be feasible.

Vichy France

There is an anti-German demonstration in Paris by students on Armistice Day. Many participants are arrested and sent to prison. This is an extremely dangerous thing to do, as a similar protest a year earlier in Prague - on International Student's Day - induced vicious repression by the SS.

Day 440 of World War II, November 13th 1940

Italian/Greek Campaign

Today generally is considered the definitive end of the Italian offensive into Greece. In fact, the offensive has been crumbling almost since the day it began, but today is when the Greeks set the stage for their own offensive.

The Greeks complete the occupation of the Grammos and Smolikas mountain ranges in the Pindus sector. The Julia Division is wiped out, losing 5,000 men, and the Greeks forces now occupy the initial positions that they held before the war. This concludes the Battle of Pindus with a total Greek victory. Many attribute a large part of the Greek victory to the efforts of civilians, particularly women, who help with logistics, scouting, shelter and in other ways.

On the coastal sector, the Greek forces stand all along the Kalamas River, having pushed the Italians back across everywhere.

Air War over Europe

RAF Bomber Command has 72 bombers in operation over the Continent during the night. It launches a major raid on Berlin to disrupt the Molotov visit.

The RAF Wireless Intelligence and Development Unit sends two planes (RAF No. 80 Signals) Squadron) on a special mission. The bombers hone in on German radar transmissions to attack German radar installations on the Cherbourg Peninsula.

The Luftwaffe raids Bristol during the night. Both sides lose a plane in a so-far rare night dogfight.

Hauptmann Walter Adolph (III,/JG 27) receives the Ritterkreuz (Knight's Cross) for 15 victories.

RAF flight lieutenant Guy Gibson, a bomber pilot who has been shuttling between units, has volunteered to fly night fighters. This is in response to an appeal b Air Marshal Sholto Douglas and AVM Leigh-Mallory for new recruits to the night units from bomber pilots, who are used to flying at night. Arthur "Bomber" Harris, currently Air Officer Commanding (AOC) No. 5 Group (and not yet known by the nickname "Bomber,"), writes a letter of recommendation calling Gibson "the best" of the volunteers. Today, Gibson is ordered to report to No. 29 Squadron at RAF Digby (actually at RAF Wellingore). He will be commander of 'A' Flight. As usual with Gibson, he is not particularly liked at this unit at first, partly for reasons beyond his control (the others resent his being promoted over them).

Battle of the Atlantic

The Luftwaffe continues its successful recent string of seaplane attacks against British convoys in the North Sea. Heinkel He 115 seaplanes of KGr 706 attack Convoy WN 35 (out of Methil) off Aberdeen and sink two ships (some sources say this was an attack by Junkers Ju 88s and Heinkel He 111s of KG 26 out of Stavanger).

The seaplanes sink 4398 ton Belgian freighter Anvers (Captain De Jonghe) about 9.3 km northeast of Rattray Head, Aberdeenshire. There are 36 survivors and one man perishes (other sources say that there are 15 survivors and 20 deaths - when multiple ships sink in the same area and are picked up by multiple ships records are often confused).

The seaplanes also torpedo and sink 82 ton 1216 ton British freighter St. Catherine nearby. There are 15 deaths.

The Luftwaffe (probably fighter-bombers) bombs and sinks British drifter Shipmates at Dover (some sources place this on the 14th).

A Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor (1,/KG 40, Oberleutnant Hans Buchholz)) operating out over the Atlantic shipping routes bombs and sinks 7359 ton British freighter Empire Wind. Everybody survives, rescued by HMS Arrow.

U-137 (Kptlt. Herbert Wohlfarth), on her third patrol operating out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 5094 ton British freighter Cape St. Andrew northwest of Aran Island and west of Tory Island, Ireland. The freighter is a straggler from Convoy OB 240 and is under tow and accompanied by an escorting destroyer. There are 53 survivors, picked up by escort HMS Salvonia, and 15 men perish.

British 1951 ton tanker Leon Martin hits a mine and sinks off Falmouth, Cornwall. There are 16 deaths (some sources place this sinking on the 11th).

British 300 ton coaster Buoyant hits a mine and sinks off Skegness, Lincolnshire just off the mouth of the Humber. This is the date that the Buoyant was last sighted, it is presumed that she hit a mine. There are no survivors.

Royal 178 ton Navy Boom Defence Vessel HMT Ristango fouls the Medway boom at Sheerness, Kent and sinks.

German 325 ton tanker Wilhelmsburg runs aground at the entrance to Boulogne Harbor, capsizes, and is lost.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Tigris torpedoes and sinks 201 ton Vichy French schooner Charles Edmond in the Bay of Biscay, about 110 km off the mouth of the Gironde.

Soviet Submarine Dekrabist (the lead ship of the class) sinks for unknown causes in Motovosky Bay (near Murmansk) during a training mission. All 53 aboard perish.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Garland sustains damage due to harsh weather conditions in the Atlantic and loses two men overboard. The ship returns to Govan for repairs, which take until 26 December.

Five Royal Navy minelayers establish minefield SN 45 off the northwest coast of Ireland.

Convoy OB 243 departs from Liverpool, Convoy FN 333 departs from Southend, Convoy SC 12 departs from Halifax.

U-149 (Oberleutnant zur See Horst Höltring) is commissioned.

Battle of the Mediterranean

Italian bombers raid Alexandria Harbour and bad damage Royal Navy destroyer HMS Decoy. There are 8 deaths and 3 other casualties. The destroyer heads to Malta for repair.

The RAF bombs Taranto again. The Italians have moved the major warships to other ports following the 11 November carrier raid that sank three Italian battleships.

Malta's new Royal Engineers Bomb Disposal Officer, Lt. E.E. Talbot, who just arrived at the island on Sunday, tackles his first unexploded bomb. Talbot has been decorated for defusing a bomb in South Wales. The procedure goes off without a hitch, a big relief to the island's military because unexploded bombs have become a major issue.

The Malta military government also segregates certain bars as for officers only, and others for non-officers.

US/Vichy French Relations

Sumner Welles, acting Secretary of State, asks the US Chargé d'Affaires ad interim in Spain, H. Freeman Matthews, to tell the French that the US would be willing to purchase its battleships Jean Bart (Casablanca) and Richelieu (Dakar).

British Military

The Handley Page Halifax bomber becomes operational with RAF No. 35 Squadron at Linton-on-Ouse. However, the Halifax takes time to work up and its first mission will not be until March 10/11, 1941. The Handley Page Halifax suffers by comparison with some other bombers, but becomes an integral part of RAF Bomber Command's fleet. Many in the RAF consider it inferior to the Avro Lancaster, but it fills a role primarily in secondary theaters.

US Military

Heavy cruiser USS Louisville continues its "Show the Flag" mission in Latin America, arriving at Santos, Brazil.

Switzerland

The government bans both the Communist Party and the fascist National Movement of Switzerland.

German/Soviet relationship

Hitler, Ribbentrop, and Molotov continued their meeting in Berlin, Germany. Hitler proposes Russia join the Tripartite Pact. Molotov says it could be possible, with careful definition of the Pact. Hitler attempted to divert Soviet aggression out of the Balkan Peninsula and Finland, and instead focus, together with Germany, to defeat the United Kingdom, with the ultimate prize being the partition of the British Empire among Germany, the Soviet Union, Italy, and Japan. Molotov, who was not moved, asked Hitler whether Germany would feel comfortable with a Soviet guarantee of Bulgarian borders much like how Germany had recently guaranteed Romanian borders. Unable to answer that question, Hitler again broke off the discussion on the excuse of potential British bombings as the hours were getting late. Indeed, having known that Molotov was visiting Berlin, the British RAF launched bombers to attack Berlin as a show of force to convince Molotov that Britain was still in the fight. Ribbentrop and Molotov continued the meeting in an underground bunker amidst the bombing where Ribbentrop failed to entice Molotov with a four-power (Germany, Italy, Japan, and Soviet Union) military alliance proposal. Conversation again turns to England, which “is finished” according to Ribbentrop. Molotov replies;

“if that is so, why are we in this shelter and whose are these bombs which fall”?