Monday, 10 March

Captain . N. T. Beckett MVO, DSC, commanding officer of the heavy cruiser EXETER completing repairs at Devonport, died.

Captain O. L. Gordon took over command of the cruiser on the 11th.

On the 24th, cruiser EXETER departed Devonport to work up at Scapa Flow.

————

Convoy OB.296 departed Liverpool, escorted by destroyer VANQUISHER and corvettes CAMPANULA, FREESIA, and PIMPERNEL. The escort was joined on the 11th by destroyers WHITEHALL and WINCHELSEA and on the 12th by destroyer VICEROY. On 13 March, destroyer VICEROY was detached. The three corvettes were detached on the 14th. The remaining three destroyers were detached on the 15th when the convoy was dispersed. destroyer CALDWELL joined on 10 February.

————

Destroyer WORCESTER, escorting convoy FN.428 drove off three German S-boats off the coast of Norfolk.

Destroyer SOUTHDOWN, escorting convoy FS.429A drove off German S-boats off Sheringham.

There was no damage to either convoy.

————

Submarine H.28 was in a collision with an unknown merchant ship in the Irish Sea.

The submarine was repaired at Belfast from 12 March to 14 April.

————

British steamers CORINIA (870grt/总吨位), SPARTA (708grt/总吨位), and WATERLAND (1107grt/总吨位) were sunk on mines in 50-55N, 00-35E.

Nine crew and five gunners were lost on steamer CORINIA.

Nine crew were missing on steamer SPARTA.

Five crew and two gunners were lost on steamer WATERLAND.

————

U.552 sank Icelandic trawler REYKJABORG (687grt/总吨位) 459 miles southeast of Iceland.

Two crew from the trawler were saved.

————

German tanker NORDMARK met German supply ship ALSTERUFER (2704grt/总吨位) on the 10th. On 11 March, the tanker replenished the supply ship.

————

Norwegian steamer BUR (4343grt/总吨位) was damaged by German bombing in 52-12N, 5-52.

The ship put into Fishguard during the evening of 10 March in a sinking condition. The ship was beached on Goodwick Sands and later repaired at Barry.

————

Dutch steamer LIBRA (391grt/总吨位) was damaged by near misses of German bombing in 52-05N, 5-51.

The steamer was towed into Swansea.

————

German minelayers KONIGIN LUISE and COBRA, escorted by the 5th Minesweeping Flotilla, laid minefield PREGEL during the night of 10/11 March extending the Westwall minefield northwards.

————

Damaged Aircraft carrier ILLUSTRIOUS departed Alexandria, escorted by destroyers JUNO and GRIFFIN, for Port Said.

Due to mining, the transit of the aircraft carrier through the Canal was delayed. The destroyers returned to Alexandria on the 11th.

Aircraft carrier ILLUSTRIOUS was able to begin her transit of the Canal on the 15th.

The aircraft carrier was en route for repairs in the United States. These repairs required eleven months to complete.

————

Battlecruiser REPULSE, aircraft carrier FURIOUS, anddestroyers DUNCAN and FOXHOUND departed Gibraltar to protect the SL.convoy route.

They relieved battleship MALAYA of convoy SL.67.

Battleship MALAYA and destroyers FAULKNOR and FORESTER then proceeded to Gibraltar.

Destroyers VERITY, VETERAN, HESPERUS, HAVELOCK, and HURRICANE from convoy OB.298 joined convoy SL.67.

Convoy SL.67 was also soon joined by destroyers DOUGLAS, CHELSEA, WOLSEY, MANSFIELD, SALISBURY, BROKE, and SALADIN.

————

Dutch submarine O.23 arrived at Gibraltar from England.

————

Convoy SC.25 departed Halifax, escorted by armed merchant cruiser LACONIA and submarine THUNDERBOLT. The submarine was detached on the 15th and the armed merchant cruiser on the 24th. On 26 March, destroyers CHESTERFIELD, GARLAND, and OTTAWA, sloop WESTON, and corvettes HEATHER, HEPATICA, and PICOTEE joined the escort. The escorts were detached when the convoy arrived at Liverpool on the 29th.

————

Convoy BN.19 departed Aden, escorted by sloop AUCKLAND. The convoy arrived at Suez on the 17th.

————

Australian heavy cruiser CANBERRA and New Zealand light cruiser LEANDER departed Mauritius to patrol 400 miles southeast of Madagascar with armed merchant cruiser CITY OF DURBAN.

On 20 March, light cruiser LEANDER left for patrol and returned to Mauritius arriving on the 22nd. She refuelled and departed the same day to patrol a line between Mauritius and Madagascar.