Tuesday, 7 November
Destroyers COSSACK, MAORI and ZULU departed Rosyth for Scapa Flow at 1745 to escort the west coast section of convoy HN.1. COSSACK was damaged in collision with steamer BORTHWICK (1097grt/总吨位)
off May Island in the Firth of Forth at 2015, and five ratings killed. ZULU assisted COSSACK in rescuing one of the crew trapped in plating curled back in the collision. Sister ship AFRIDI took COSSACK's casualties ashore, while MAORI and sloop GRIMSBY assisted COSSACK. She was towed stern first by two tugs to Leith where she repaired until 15 January. MAORI and ZULU left to escort the convoy, joined later by sloop FLAMINGO.
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Destroyers GRENVILLE and GRENADE collided at Devonport during the night of the 7th/8th. GRENVILLE's starboard side was damaged below the water line and number three boiler room flooded; she repaired at Devonport completing on 1 December. The stem of GRENADE was twisted and the fore peak flooded; her repairs at Falmouth were completed on 9 December.
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Light cruiser EFFINGHAM departed Devonport after boiler cleaning, and arrived at Halifax on the 15th.
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On Northern Patrol, three cruisers were on patrol between the Orkneys and the Faroes, two cruisers and one AMC between the Faroes and Iceland, and light cruiser NEWCASTLE and two AMCs in the Denmark Strait.
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Light cruiser SOUTHAMPTON arrived at Rosyth after Northern Patrol duties.
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Destroyer IMOGEN, her defects corrected, departed Liverpool for Scapa Flow, arriving on the 8th.
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Minelaying cruiser ADVENTURE departed Rosyth, was met by destroyers JUNO and JUPITER off Inchkeith, and safely escorted to Grimsby.
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Destroyer STURDY departed Rosyth, via the Humber for Portsmouth to escort aircraft carrier ARGUS to Toulon.
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Convoy HN.1 of six British and one Polish steamer departed Bergen and was joined just outside Norwegian territorial waters by destroyers TARTAR, SOMALI and PUNJABI. Sister ship ASHANTI joined the escort at daylight on the 8th. Four steamers were detached to their destinations on the west coast and the convoy arrived safely at Methil on the 10th.
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Convoy FN.33 departed Southend escorted by destroyer VIVIEN and sloops BITTERN and FLEETWOOD. On the 8th, destroyers JERVIS and JERSEY of the 7th Flotilla and KEITH and BOADICEA of the 22nd Flotilla departed Immingham, and Polish destroyers BLYSKAWICA, BURZA, GROM from Harwich to reinforce the convoy, which was being shadowed by German aircraft, and to counter an anticipated German surface attack. The convoy arrived at Methil on the 9th without incident. Convoy FS.33 was cancelled due to too few ships being ready.
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Destroyers GRENADE, EXMOUTH and WREN were submarine hunting in 49?37N, 5?20. GRENADE attacked a contact at this location.
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Convoy BC.14 of steamers ADJUTANT, BATNA, BELLEROPHON (Commodore)
, BRIARWOOD, COXWOLD, HARMATTAN, JADE, LOCHEE, OUSEL, PACIFIC COAST and PEMBROKE COAST departed the Bristol Channel escorted by destroyers EXPRESS, VIVACIOUS and VESPER. The convoy safely arrived in the Loire on the 10th.
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In bad weather, convoy HG.5A had difficulty making the Downs, and steamer CITY OF MELBOURNE (6630grt/总吨位)
ran aground on the South Goodwins.
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Convoy HXF.7 was delayed due to bad weather, and during the afternoon of the 7th, only four ships out of the 13 in convoy were in company. Escorting armed merchant cruiser ASTURIAS sustained minor weather damage which required dockyard repair.
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On the 7th, Polish destroyers BLYSKAWICA and GROM on patrol 70 miles east of Lowestoft were attacked by German torpedo planes. No damage resulted in this first recorded aircraft torpedo attack of the war. Returning to Harwich, they fouled the buoy, GROM's port propeller was damaged, and she required docking. BLYSKAWICA was docked for examination after GROM completed her repairs.
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Submarine SEAL, returning from Dogger Bank patrol, was bombed by a German seaplane while waiting for submarines CACHALOT and L.26 off Orfordness.
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Submarine H.28 reported defects, and was repairing until 11 November.
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Heavy cruiser BERWICK departed Bermuda and arrived at Portsmouth for docking on the 14th, where she was under repair until 9 December. She departed Portsmouth the same day to join the 1st Cruiser Squadron.
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Depot ship MAIDSTONE departed Malta escorted by sloops ABERDEEN and DEPTFORD, and arrived at Gibraltar on the 10th. On the 12th, they departed Gibraltar, accompanied by light cruiser CAPETOWN. West of Gibraltar, the sloops were detached and proceeded to England for duty in Home Waters. CAPETOWN escorted MAIDSTONE halfway to Freetown where she was relieved by light cruiser NEPTUNE.
CAPETOWN returned to Gibraltar while MAIDSTONE and NEPTUNE proceeded to Freetown, arriving on the 16th.
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Sloop FOWEY arrived at Malta en route to England from Alexandria. She was delayed by boiler defects and did not leave for Gibraltar until the 12th, arriving on the 15th. She departed on the 16th, escorting ammunition stores issuing ship (ASIS)
PACHECO to Freetown.
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Light cruiser BIRMINGHAM departed Singapore for Hong Kong and en route, investigated a Japanese whaling convoy. She arrived at Hong Kong on the 10th.
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Light cruiser CAPETOWN departed Malta for Gibraltar where she arrived on the 9th.
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French heavy cruiser SUFFREN arrived at Singapore after departing Saigon on the 5th.
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French heavy cruiser FOCH, light cruiser LA GALISSONNIèRE and destroyer LION, passed Gibraltar. The heavy cruiser and destroyer had departed Oran on the 7th and the light cruiser, Toulon on the 6th. FOCH was en route to Dakar, and LA GALISSONNèRE to Brest for repairs. All three arrived at Casablanca on the 8th. The light cruiser arrived at Brest on the 12th for repairs, completed 3 March, and arrived back at Oran on 7 March.
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French submarine SIDI FERRUCH arrived at Trinidad, and departed on patrol on the 8th.