Friday, 13 September
Battleship NELSON, battlecruiser HOOD, anti-aircraft cruisers NAIAD, BONAVENTURE, with destroyers KASHMIR, KIPLING, ZULU, SIKH, SOMALI (D.6), and ESKIMO were ordered from Scapa Flow at 0700 to Rosyth for anti-invasion duties. They left on the 13th and were joined at sea by destroyers JACKAL and ELECTRA, after refuelling at Scapa Flow. Anti-aircraft cruiser CAIRO joined off Noss Head, and the force arrived at Rosyth that same day.
This force joined battleship RODNEY, which had arrived at Rosyth on 25 August, the same day destroyers COSSACK and MAORI reached there from other duties. Destroyers MATABELE, ASHANTI, TARTAR, and PUNJABI arrived on 11 September. Meanwhile destroyer BEDOUIN undocked from the Scapa Flow floating dock at 1600/15th and proceeded to Rosyth at 1945 on the 15th. On the 16th, CAIRO returned to Scapa Flow for convoy anti-aircraft protection duties.
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Anti-aircraft cruiser CURACOA arrived at Scapa Flow to work up.
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Destroyer AMAZON and troopship ULSTER MONARCH (3244grt/总吨位) departed the Clyde for Iceland, with AMAZON arriving back on the 17th.
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The following destroyers were engaged in anti-invasion operations - CAMPBELL, GARTH, and VESPER at sea during the 13th/14th to bombard Ostend, but cancelled due to bad weather, BROKE, WITHERINGTON, VANSITTART, and the Polish BURZA and BLYSKAWICA swept the French coast westward from Roches Douvres, HIGHLANDER, HARVESTER, BULLDOG, and BEAGLE swept from Cherbourg to Le Havre, and MALCOLM, WILD SWAN and VENOMOUS from Boulogne to Cape Griz Nez. Off Boulogne, the latter force engaged German trawlers from 0115 to 0135, but the action was broken off when they came under shore gunfire.
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Convoy OB.213 departed Liverpool escorted by destroyer WINCHELSEA plus corvettes GLADIOLUS and GLOXINIA.
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Convoy FN.279 departed Southend, escorted by destroyers VEGA, VERDUN, VORTIGERN, sloop BLACK SWAN, plus patrol sloops GUILLEMOT and MALLARD, and arrived in the Tyne on the 15th.
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Convoy MT.168 departed Methil, and arrived in the Tyne the next day.
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Convoy FS.280 departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyer WINCHESTER and sloop EGRET, and arrived at Southend on the 15th.
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Submarine PORPOISE laid minefield FD.26 with 48 mines off Ile d'Yeu, north of La Rochelle.
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German torpedo boats T.1, T.2, and T.3 departed Rotterdam on the 12th. Off the Scheldt on the afternoon of the 13th, they were attacked by an RAF Blenheim which near missed T.2, damaging her with splinters, both underwater and on the bridge. She proceeded to Vlissingen, was temporarily repaired at the Wilton yard, and continued on to Wilhelmshaven, arriving on the 25th for repairs completed in May 1941. The other two arrived at Le Havre on the 15th.
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Steamer INISHTRAHULL (869grt/总吨位) was damaged by German bombing in Belfast Lough.
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German auxiliary minesweeper M.1306 (trawler HERMANN KRONE: 449grt/总吨位) was sunk on a mine off Hanstholm.
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Convoy HX.73 departed Halifax at 1400 escorted by Canadian destroyer ASSINIBOINE plus auxiliary patrol vessels FRENCH, LAURIER, and REINDEER which later turned the convoy over to ocean escort, armed merchant cruiser ASCANIA on the 14th. The armed merchant cruiser was detached on the 24th.
Convoy BHX.73 departed Bermuda on the 12th escorted by ocean escort, armed merchant cruiser AUSONIA, and rendezvoused with HX.73 on the 17th, when AUSONIA detached.
On the 23rd, destroyers ANTELOPE and ANTHONY joined the convoy, followed on the 24th by destroyer WALKER with corvettes ANEMONE and MALLOW, and on the 25th by sloop FOWEY and corvette PEONY. The sloop and corvettes detached on the 26th, and anti-submarine trawler MAN O WAR joined the convoy in Home Waters, which arrived at Liverpool on the 28th.
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Destroyers HYPERION and DIAMOND departed Alexandria for Port Said to escort convoy LW 16.
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Anti-aircraft cruiser COVENTRY arrived at Aden and joined destroyer KIMBERLEY. They departed the same day and joined troopships ANDES, EMPRESS OF BRITAIN, and EMPRESS OF CANADA of convoy WS.2A. COVENTRY remained with the convoy until the 14th when it had passed Massawa, and then proceeded to Port Sudan.
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Escorting convoy BS.4, Australian sloop PARRAMATTA attacked a submarine contact in the Red Sea. The convoy continued with New Zealand light cruiser LEANDER, which returned to Aden when the convoy was dispersed.
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Vichy French steamers GINETTE LE BORGNE (1619grt/总吨位) and CASSIDAIGNE (1417grt/总吨位) were sunk, and CAP TOURANE (8009grt/总吨位) damaged on mines west of Sardinia. They were carrying demilitarized troops from North Africa to France.
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Heavy cruiser CUMBERLAND departed Freetown for the UK, but next day, was ordered for join Force M.