Thursday, 7 December

Admiral Forbes transferred his flag to battleship WARSPITE in the Clyde. At this time, his only other capital ship was battlecruiser HOOD, badly in need of attention after her scheduled refit in November had been cut short.

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On Northern Patrol, light cruiser SHEFFIELD and seven AMCs were between the Faroes and Iceland, and heavy cruiser SUFFOLK and AMC LAURENTIC in the Denmark Strait.

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Anti-aircraft cruiser CAIRO departed Scapa Flow for Loch Ewe.

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Destroyer IMPERIAL arrived in the Clyde from Rosyth.

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Battleship RODNEY, destroyers IMPERIAL, IMPULSIVE, GURKHA, three more destroyers and two tugs departed the Clyde for Liverpool.

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Destroyer INGLEFIELD escorted tanker DAGHESTAN (5742grt/总吨位) from Invergordon to Scapa Flow.

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Convoy FS.51 departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyers VALOROUS, VIVIEN and sloop BITTERN, arriving at Southend on the 8th. Convoy FN.51 was delayed 24 hours due to the danger of mines.

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U.23 sank Danish steamer SCOTIA (2400grt/总吨位) in 57?31N, 02?17E. Danish steamer HAFNIA (2031grt/总吨位) was nearby and searched unsuccessfully for any survivors. She also observed U.23 searching.

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U.38 sank British steamer THOMAS WALTON (4660grt/总吨位) south of Vestfjord in 67?53N, 14?29E. Thirteen crew were lost, with 12 survivors picked up by German steamer SEBU (1894grt/总吨位) and landed at Bodo, and another 22 rescued by Norwegian steamer IRMA (1392grt/总吨位).

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U.47 sank Dutch steamer TAJANDOEN (8159grt/总吨位) in the English Channel in 49?09N, 04?51. Six crew were lost, but British steamer LOUIS SCHEID (6057grt/总吨位) rescued 62 survivors. Dutch steamer NAALDWIJK (2041grt/总吨位) searched for those who were missing, but without success.

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From the 8th to 21st, 38 eastbound merchant ships were sighted by the Northern Patrol and 24 sent in for inspection. The low numbers was partly due to the fact that from the 9th to 17th, the armed merchant cruisers had been withdrawn from the Patrol.

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German pocket battleship ADMIRAL GRAF SPEE sank steamer STREONSHALH (3895grt/总吨位) south of Trinidad in 25?01S, 27?50.

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Heavy cruisers EXETER and CUMBERLAND were on patrol in the Falkland Island area. The Admiralty anticipated that the German pocket battleship might attack Port Stanley on the anniversary of the Falkland Island naval battle in which a British force under Vice Admiral Sir Doveton Sturdee defeated a German force under Vice Admiral Graf Maximilian von Spee on 8 December 1914. When the attack did not materialize, they entered Port Stanley on the 9th. EXETER left late that morning to escort Falkland Island Company ship LAFONIA (1961grt/总吨位) to Rio de la Plata.

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Light cruiser ARETHUSA, which departed Alexandria on the 1st on patrol, arrived at Malta for refitting from the 7th to 18th.

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Light cruiser DAUNTLESS, now attached to the 9th Cruiser Squadron, departed Singapore on patrol, arriving back on the 23rd.

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Sloop LOWESTOFT completed her lengthy refit in Hong Kong on the 2nd, and sailed on the 7th. Reaching Singapore on the 13th and Colombo on the 18th, she departed Bombay on 2 January 1940 and arrived at Port Said on the 13th. She arrived at Malta on 18 January and Gibraltar on the 28th, and made Plymouth on 5 February for refitting, completed on the 21st.

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After leaving the East Indies Command, sloop EGRET completed a refit at Malta on the 7th, arrived at Gibraltar on the 10th and departed on the 11th to reach Freetown on the 16th. She sailed on the 19th escorting convoy SLF.13 and arrived at Cardiff on 2 January 1940 for duty with Convoy C.