Friday, 6 September

Corvette GODETIA (Lt Cdr G. V. Legassick RNR), which had been escorting convoy OA.207, was sunk in an accidental collision with steamer MARSA (4405grt/总吨位), a straggler from convoy OA.209, three miles off Altacarry Head off Northern Ireland in 55?18N, 5?57. Probationary Temporary Surgeon Lt A G. Bellamy MRCS, LRCP RNVR, Acting S/Lt P. D. Hincks RCNVR, Acting S/Lt F. S. Ker RCNVR, and eleven ratings were killed, and eighteen ratings were missing with the corvette. Leggasick, Probationary Temporary S/Lt D. M. Edwards DSC RNR, and about fifteen ratings were rescued.

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Aircraft carrier FURIOUS, battleship NELSON, anti-aircraft cruisers NAIAD and BONAVENTURE, and destroyers SOMALI, TARTAR, BEDOUIN, PUNJABI, ASHANTI, ESKIMO, and MATABELE departed Scapa Flow at 0900 on Operation DF to raid shipping off Trondheim.

At 0500/7th in 62?00N, 00?50E, FURIOUS flew off nine Skuas of 801 Squadron and twelve Swordfish of 816 and 825 Squadrons. Two ships were sighted and one was reported sunk between Sognefjord and Grip Light, but no confirmation exists for this claim.

The aircraft returned directly to Hatston, and the force arrived back at Scapa Flow at 2000/7th.

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Destroyers JACKAL and JAGUAR departed Rosyth at 1800 escorting submarine depot ship FORTH and submarine TUNA to the Clyde, and safely arrived at 0600/9th.

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Convoy OA.210 departed Methil escorted by escort ship JASON.

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Convoy FN.274 departed Southend, escorted by destroyers VALOROUS, WESTMINSTER and patrol sloop PUFFIN, and arrived in the Tyne on the 8th. There were no convoys FN.275 and FN.276.

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Convoy MT.162 departed Methil, and arrived in the Tyne later that day. There was no convoy MT.163.

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Convoy FS.274 departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyers VERDUN and WALLACE, and arrived at Southend on the 7th. There was no convoy FS.275.

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Submarine TRIBUNE, returning from patrol west of the Hebrides, attacked a German submarine in 57?58N, 08?13 off the Butt of Lewis.

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Australian heavy cruiser AUSTRALIA departed the Clyde for Freetown to replace light cruiser FIJI in the MENACE operation. On 8 September, U.56 unsuccessfully attacked AUSTRALIA, which arrived at Freetown on the 14th.

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In German air attacks on convoy SL.44A, 15 miles east of Aberdeen, steamer ST GLEN (4647grt/总吨位) was sunk in 57?25N, 01?38. Three crew were lost, and sloop SANDWICH rescued the survivors. Steamer GANNET (1336grt/总吨位) was damaged in 57?25N, 01?45 and towed to Peterhead.

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Trawler IWATE (314grt/总吨位) was damaged by German bombing in 53?30N, 14?00.

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Trawler ILFRACOMBE (165grt/总吨位) was damaged by German bombing in 51?20N, 11?22.

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Convoy SC.2, which had departed St Johns on 25 August, was escorted by Canadian destroyer SKEENA, destroyer WESTCOTT, sloops LOWESTOFT, SCARBOROUGH, corvette PERIWINKLE, plus anti-submarine trawlers ST APOLLO (580grt/总吨位) and BERKSHIRE (466grt/总吨位) when it was attacked by U.65. U.47 arrived that night, followed on the 9th by U.28 and U.99, which made attacks. In all five merchant ships were sunk.

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German minelayers TOGO, KAISER and torpedo boats GREIF, FALKE, ILTIS, and JAGUAR of the 5th Flotilla, escorted by torpedo boats T.1, T.2, and T.3 of the 1st Torpedo Boat Flotilla, laid minefield SW 0 in the southwest North Sea. Escort was provided by destroyer GALSTER and torpedo boat KONDOR, and the force arrived at Rotterdam on the 8th.

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Force H units, aircraft carrier ARK ROYAL, battleships BARHAM and RESOLUTION, with destroyers FAULKNOR, FORESIGHT, FORESTER, FORTUNE, FURY, GREYHOUND, ECLIPSE, ESCAPADE, and INGLEFIELD, departed Gibraltar on MENACE. Destroyer ECHO with defects was able to depart the next day and joined the force at sea.

The Italian reaction to this sortie, which was viewed as an incursion into the Mediterranean was the sortie of battleships VENETO, LITTORIO, CESARE, and DUILO, with six heavy cruisers, and eighteen destroyers.

Force H joined the MENACE “MP” convoy at sea on the 13th. In addition, Heavy cruisers DEVONSHIRE, with the convoy, and heavy cruiser CUMBERLAND, which joined at sea, travelled in company with Force H and the convoy.

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Submarines TRIAD and TRUANT arrived from Home Waters at Gibraltar escorted by destroyer WRESTLER, which departed Gibraltar on the 5th to join, for duty with the 8th Submarine Flotilla to operate from Gibraltar.

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Light cruiser DELHI arrived off Pointe Noire, French Congo, but two of the three Vichy steamers there had departed prior to her arrival.

Vichy French steamer JEAN LABORDE (11,591grt/总吨位) departed during the night of 5/6 September and arrived at Dakar on the 8th. Steamer TOUREG (5135grt/总吨位) departed on the 5th and was later intercepted by light cruiser DELHI on the 16th. Steamer CAP PADARAN (8009grt/总吨位) departed on the 9th for Dakar, via Tabu, but was forced to put into Conakry on the 23rd to avoid contact with British forces.

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Heavy cruiser HAWKINS departed Montevideo on patrol and arrived back later that day.

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Heavy cruiser CUMBERLAND arrived at Freetown.

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Light cruiser LEANDER, escorting convoy BN.4 with Sloop AUCKLAND, was unsuccessfully attacked by Italian bombers north of Jebal at Tair. Two Italian aircraft were shot down.

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New Zealand light cruiser ACHILLES departed Auckland with staff officers of the New Zealand Government for government conferences in Tahiti, arriving on the 10th. She departed on the 15th for further talks at Raratonga, arrived on the 17th and returned to Auckland on the 23rd.

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Italian submarine GUGLIELMOTTI sank Greek tanker ATLAS (4008grt/总吨位), a straggler from convoy BN.4, at 15?10N, 41?50E, 14 miles north of Jebel Tier. The crew was landed at Aden.