Sunday, 8 October

Sortie by German battlecruiser GNEISENAU, light cruiser K?LN, and destroyers PAUL JACOBI, MAX SCHULTZ, BERND VON ARNIM, WILHELM HEIDKAMP, FRIEDRICH IHN, DIETHER VON ROEDER, ERICH STEINBRINCK, FRIEDRICH ECKHOLDT and KARL GALSTER from Kiel to operate off the south coast of Norway. They were to sink Allied shipping and entice the British Home Fleet into the range of Luftwaffe bombers. Destroyers HANS LODY and ERICH GIESE were to have sailed but suffered equipment defects. In addition, U.10, U.18, U.20, U.23 were deployed in a patrol line to attack the Home Fleet.

Admiral Forbes, informed of these movements by a RAF Coastal Command Hudson sighting, went to sea from Scapa Flow with the Home Fleet. Battleships NELSON, RODNEY, battlecruisers HOOD, REPULSE, aircraft carrier FURIOUS, light cruisers AURORA, SHEFFIELD, NEWCASTLE and destroyers SOMALI, MASHONA, ASHANTI, ESKIMO, BEDOUIN, PUNJABI, FAULKNOR, FURY, FORESTER, FAME, FORESIGHT, FORTUNE and FIREDRAKE. Heavy weather damaged FORTUNE at the start and she detached to the Clyde arriving on the 9th, and repairing until 2 November.

HOOD, REPULSE, AURORA and SHEFFIELD with SOMALI, MASHONA, ESKIMO, ASHANTI sailed for a position 50 miles NW of Stadlandet in 63?00N, 04?00E. At the same time, NELSON, RODNEY, FURIOUS and NEWCASTLE with FAULKNOR, FURY, FORESTER, FAME, FORESIGHT, FIREDRAKE, PUNJABI and BEDOUIN sailed for a position north of Muckle Flugga in 61?00N, 00?00E,. Both forces were to reach their positions by dawn on the 9th, then steam towards each other in a pincer movement.

Light cruisers SOUTHAMPTON, EDINBURGH, GLASGOW with destroyers JERVIS, JUPITER, JAGUAR departed Rosyth, while destroyers JACKAL and JANUS departed Grimsby and joined at sea to operate off the mouth of the Skagerrak in 57?45N, 05?00E, before sweeping north. At 0605/9th, JAGUAR was detached to Rosyth for refuelling and en route, was attacked by German bombers, but not damaged. JERVIS and JUPITER were ordered to search for Danish steamer TEDDY (557grt/总吨位) which had picked up the crew of a German Dornier flying boat shot down on the 8th. They too were attacked by German bombers at 1518, but again without damage. However, JUPITER broke down at sea at 1650 and was taken in tow by JERVIS.

JAGUAR, refuelling completed and JERSEY, which just finished repairs after her 22 September collision, were ordered to join the Humber Force off the Pentland Skerries to screen the withdrawal of JERVIS and JUPITER. Departing Rosyth, JAGUAR struck a small islet above the Forth bridge and damaged her starboard propeller shaft, arriving at Leith on the 11th for repairs. Just as unfortunate was JERSEY. Leaving at the same time she struck the Rosyth boom, and her repairs at Leith were not completed until the 16th.

SOUTHAMPTON, GLASGOW, EDINBURGH and JACKAL and JANUS of the Humber Force were heavily bombed by the Luftwaffe between 1120 and 1645/9th off the mouth of the Skagerrak. SOUTHAMPTON and GLASGOW were near missed, but neither was damaged. Shortly before arriving at Scapa Flow on the 10th, JUPITER was able to proceed on her own, screened by SOUTHAMPTON, GLASGOW, JACKAL and JANUS.

Battleship ROYAL OAK with destroyers MATABELE and STURDY sortied from Scapa Flow on the 9th to patrol to the west of the Shetlands in Fair Island Channel, but in heavy seas, ROYAL OAK's destroyers lost touch and she returned to Scapa Flow, arriving on the 10th.

Home Fleet destroyers FOXHOUND and FEARLESS undergoin minor repairs at Scapa Flow were absent from this operation. Destroyer TARTAR with major machinery defects was repairing at Scapa Flow until the 23rd.

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After a possible periscope was sighted six miles 180° from St Catherines, destroyer SALADIN was sent to investigate.

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Convoy BC.8S of steamers BARON MACLAY, CLAN MONROE and TRELAWNY departed the Loire escorted by destroyers WESSEX, VISCOUNT and VENETIA, and arrived safely in the Bristol Channel on the 10th.

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Convoy OG.2 was formed from the merging of OA.16G and OB.16G. The 30 ships proceeded to Gibraltar without an ocean escort, but were met by destroyers WATCHMAN and VELOX and escorted into Gibraltar on the 17th.

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Convoy FN.18 departed Southend and arrived at Methil on the 10th. There was no convoy FN.19.

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Convoy FS.18 departed Methil and arrived at Southend on the 10th. There was no convoy FS.19.

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U.15 completed a survey of the English east coast and Straits of Dover lightships and buoys.

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Finnish steamer INDRA (2026grt/总吨位) was badly damaged by a mine near Terschelling; six crew were injured and they, together with 14 other crew were taken to Ymuiden, where INDRA was towed for repairs.

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U.37 sank Swedish steamer VISTULA (1018grt/总吨位) 45 miles north of Muckle Flugga, NNE of Unst, with the loss of nine crew men.

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U.12 was mined and sunk off Dover with the loss of her 27 crew. The body of commanding officer, Kptlt von der Ropp was found near Bleriot Plage near Calais on the 29th.

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Convoy HX.4 departed Halifax at 0900, escorted by heavy cruiser YORK and Canadian destroyers FRASER and ST LAURENT, the latter detaching on the 8th. YORK and FRASER detached on the 10th with YORK arriving back on the 13th. The bulk of the dispersed ships of the convoy reached Liverpool on the 22nd and one ship on the 24th.

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Convoy KJ.4, the last of the KJ series which only began on 15 September, departed Kingston. Because of German raiders in the Atlantic, ships from the Caribbean now went north along the American coast and joined the HX convoys from Halifax before beginning the Atlantic crossing.

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Convoy Green 4 departed Gibraltar with 39 ships, including 14 from OG.1, escorted by French destroyers CASSARD, KERSAINT and British sloop ABERDEEN. The French ships were relieved on the 13th by British destroyer GRENADE, and the convoy reached Port Said on the 17th escorted by GRENADE and ABERDEEN.