Friday, 13 October

Aircraft carrier FURIOUS sailed at 0140 from Scapa Flow for Loch Ewe, escorted by destroyers FEARLESS and FOXHOUND, and arrived later that day.

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Light cruiser SOUTHAMPTON and destroyers MATABELE, JERVIS, JUPITER, JACKAL and JANUS departed Scapa Flow for patrol at 1016.

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Light cruiser BELFAST arrived at Scapa Flow at 1500.

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Light cruiser CALYPSO departed Scapa Flow for Northern Patrol, and arrived at Sullom Voe on the 20th.

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Light cruisers DELHI and CALEDON arrived at Scapa Flow.

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Convoy OA.19 of 13 ships departed Southend escorted by destroyers ELECTRA and ESCORT until the 17th, when they detached to convoy HG.3.

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Convoy OB.19 departed Liverpool escorted by destroyers VANOC and WARWICK from the 14th to 16th.

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U.40, which departed Wilhelmshaven on the 10th for her second war patrol, was mined and sunk at 0200 in the Dover Strait in the Folkestone-Gris Nez deep minefield. Thirty eight crew including commanding officer Kptlt Wolfgang Barten were lost, with destroyers BRAZEN and BOREAS picking up three survivors and five bodies at 0945/13th, 9 miles 155° from the S Goodwin Light Vessel.

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Destroyers ILEX and IMOGEN encountered U.48 on the surface 400 miles west of Land's End at 1016, and drove her down with gunfire, but without inflicting any damage.

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U.42, which departed Wilhelmshaven on 30 September for her first war patrol, damaged steamer STONEPOOL (4803grt/总吨位) from dispersed convoy OB.17 with gunfire in 48?40N, 15?30. The escorts had left to join inward convoy HX.3, but returned and counter-attacked. Destroyers IMOGEN and ILEX delivered the fatal attack, 290 miles SW of Fastnet in 49?12N, 16?00 at 1928. Twenty five crew were lost and ILEX picked up three officers and 14 ratings. IMOGEN escorted the STONEPOOL to Barry, and both destroyers reached Plymouth on the 15th

U.48 sank French steamer LOUISIANE (6903grt/总吨位) from dispersed convoy OB.17, 240 miles SW of Fastnet in 50?14N, 15?05, with one crewman lost and survivors rescued by destroyer IMOGEN.

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Destroyer KELLY, escorting a convoy in the English Channel, attacked and claimed to have sunk a submarine. She and sister ship KINGSTON arrived at Dover on the 15th.

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Destroyer SABRE, at anchor at Rosyth, was rammed by armed merchant cruiser JERVIS BAY and sank to deck level. She was taken to Grangemouth for repairs, completing on 6 May 1940.

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Destroyer AFRIDI, in company with GURKHA, attacked a submarine contact 3.4 miles 173° off Beachy Head. Salvage ship TEDWORTH conducted diving operations and discovered it had been a wreck.

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Destroyer ECLIPSE, escorting convoy BC.9S from Quiberon Bay to Barry with sister ship EXMOUTH attacked a submarine contact off the Lizard, in 49-38N, 5-45.

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Anti-submarine trawlers BLACKBURN ROVERS (422grt/总吨位) and GRIMSBY TOWN (422grt/总吨位) attacked a submarine contact in 51-16N, 5-48.

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Patrol sloops PC.74, KINGFISHER and anti-submarine trawler LADY BERYL (417grt/总吨位) were submarine hunting off Liverpool.

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Norwegian steamer GRESSHOLM (619grt/总吨位) was sunk by a mine 90 miles NW of Texel in 53?55N, 02?55E; three crew were lost and eight survivors rescued by Finnish steamer EMMI.

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Convoy HG.3 of 25 ships departed Gibraltar escorted by destroyers KEPPEL and WISHART. After attacks on the 17th while it was only under aircraft protection, destroyers ELECTRA and ESCORT joined the convoy on the 18th from OA.19, leaving on the 19th with the Channel section of HG.3 after being relieved. Destroyer KEITH joined that same day, the 19th and stayed until the 21st. Before then, French destroyers LE TRIOMPHANT and LéOPARD had been with the convoy from the 17th, arriving back at Brest on the 20th. Destroyers ACASTA, WAKEFUL and anti-submarine trawler LORD WAKEFIELD joined on the 20th and remained until the 21st, destroyer WREN joined the same day, and the convoy arrived at Liverpool, still on the 21st.

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Aircraft carrier GLORIOUS, battleship MALAYA, destroyers BULLDOG and DARING were detached from the Mediterranean Fleet for operations in the East Indies, arriving at Aden on the 13th.

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Heavy cruisers SUSSEX and SHROPSHIRE arrived at Simonstown after sailing from the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal.

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Light cruiser DURBAN departed Simonstown for Mauritius.

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New Zealand light cruiser ACHILLES left Valparaiso to join Commodore Harwood on the South America Station. She refuelled from British tanker ORANGEMOOR off Coquimbo on the 15th, passed the Straits of Magellan on the 19th and arrived in the Falklands on the 21st. Leaving on the 23rd after refuelling; ACHILLES rendezvoused with heavy cruiser EXETER off Lobito Island on the 26th. They joined heavy cruiser CUMBERLAND on the 27th and all three operated together until 5 November.