Monday, 12 January

Heavy cruiser NORFOLK departed Hvalfjord for Scapa Flow. On the 13th, outside Hvalfjord, she reported serious damage to her A turret and forecastle in heavy seas and five casualties. The ship was considered unseaworthy if the weather deteriorated and returned to Hvalfjord, arriving on the 13th.

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Convoy WS.15 sailed from Liverpool on the 10th and the Clyde on the 11th, forming up off Oversay on the 12th with steamers AAGTEKERK, ARAWA, AUTOLYCUS, BRITANNIC, CHRISTIAAN HUYGENS, DORSET, ELISABETH BAKKE, EMPIRE WOODLARK, HMNS COLOMBIA, LACONIA, LETITIA, LLANGIBBY CASTLE, MELBOURNE STAR, ORONTES, OTRANTO, PARDO, PASTEUR, PORT CHALMERS, STAFFORDSHIRE, STIRLING CASTLE, STRATHMORE (Commodore), STRATHNAVER (Vice Commodore), and VICEROY OF INDIA.

The A/S escort force was made up of destroyers VANOC and WALKER 12 to 15 January, VANQUISHER, VOLUNTEER and WITHERINGTON 12 to 17 January, ANTHONY 17 to 18 January when she arrived at Gibraltar, GARLANDandNORMAN 17 to 25 January, VANSITTART and VIMY 21 to 25 January.

Ocean escort was also provided by the armed merchant cruisers ASCANIA and CHESHIRE, Dutch AA cruiser HEEMSKERK and the destroyer BOREAS from 12 to 25 January, while battleship RESOLUTION joined on 17 to 25 January. The convoy arrived at Freetown 25 January.

The first casualty for some time in WS convoys, and the first due to submarine attack, took place on 16 January when LLANGIBBY CASTLE was hit right aft by a torpedo from U.402. She retired damaged to Ponta Delgada. On 2 February, the troopship departed Horta with destroyers CROOME, EXMOOR, and WESTCOTT and tug THAMES. They were joined by destroyers LAFOREY and BLANKNEY, which departed Gibraltar on 4 February, and corvette PENTSTEMON, returning from escort duty.

Destroyers LIGHTNING and WHITEHALL departed Gibraltar on 7 February, WISHART and VIDETTE from convoy OG.79 were ordered to join on 7 February. Destroyer WESTCOTT arrived at Gibraltar on 7 February. Destroyer WIVERN and the 37th Escort Group, just arriving with convoy OG.79, of sloops BLACK SWAN and FOWEY and corvettes BLUEBELL, CAMPION, CARNATION, LA MALOUINE, MALLOW, MYOSOTIS, and STONECROP departed Gibraltar on 8 February.

All ships arrived safely on 8 February.The troopship was later sent on to the UK for repairs.

The troops in liner LLANGIBBY CASTLE departed Gibraltar on 10 February to return to England in troopships BATORY, ROYAL SCOTSMAN, ROYAL ULSTERMAN, and ULSTER MONARCH, escorted by destroyers WISHART, WIVERN, WHITEHALL, and VIDETTE. Troopship ROYAL SCOTSMAN returned with defects on 10 February.

A number of the warships listed as ocean escort were in fact on passage to the Indian Ocean for duty; also included was the Turkish destroyer DEMIR HISAR, recently completed in Britain. She was temporarily commissioned with a British crew for the delivery passage and operated as part of the escort.

The convoy sailed from Freetown 29 January with its formation unchanged, escorted by battleship RESOLUTION, armed merchant cruiser CHESHIRE and destroyer DEMIR HISAR for Capetown off which port it arrived 9 February when DORSET, ELISABETH BAKKE, LACONIA, ORONTES and PASTEUR plus the Dutch submarine depotship COLOMBIA were detached to enter Capetown under escort of RESOLUTION, arriving 10 February while the remainder of the convoy went on to Durban, arriving 13 February, accompanied by armed merchant cruisers DUNNOTTAR CASTLE, WORCESTERSHIRE and sloop MILFORD.

The five Capetown ships (ELISABETH BAKKE remained at Capetown) sailed 14 February escorted by armed merchant cruiser CHESHIRE and made their rendezvous with the Durban contingent (less ARAWA and LETITIA) off that port on 17 February.

The escort from Durban consisted of cruiser CERES and destroyer NORMAN with the CHESHIRE from Capetown.

During the northward passage, a three part division of the convoy took place:

Convoy WS 15 A was formed with DORSET, LACONIA, MELBOURNE STAR, ORONTES, OTRANTO, PASTEUR and VICEROY OF INDIA detached 26 February escorted to the vicinity of Aden by cruisers CERES and COLOMBO, dispersing off Aden 1 March to proceed independently to Suez.

Convoy WS.15 B was formed with BRITANNIC, STIRLING CASTLE and STRATHMORE detached on 26 February and proceeded to Bombay escorted by armed merchant cruiser WORCESTERSHIRE which was joined on 28 February by the CORFU until 2 March, the convoy arriving at Bombay 4 March.

The remaining ships formed the third reinforcement convoy for Singapore under the title DM.3, composed of the ships AAGTEKERK, AUTOLYCUS, CHRISTIAAN HUYGENS, COLOMBIA, EMPIRE WOODLARK, PARDO, PORT CHALMERS, STAFFORDSHIRE, and STRATHNAVER (Commodore) and formed on 22 February. The convoy was escorted by battleship RAMILLIES and destroyer NORMAN, both of which joined 22 February.

Singapore surrendered while the Capetown ships were on their way to Durban; the orders for the convoy were therefore amended prior to the Durban sailing to proceed to Batavia to bolster the Allied garrison of the East Indies islands. Even this intention was overtaken by theJapanese advance, and the convoy was again diverted to Colombo.

The escort left the convoy to fuel at Addu Atoll on 28 February and rejoined 29 February, on which day armed merchant cruiser CORFU also joined the escort.

Orders were again changed on 2 March, CORFU to detach at once with convoy DM.3B with AAGTEKERK, CHRISTIAAN HUYGENS, EMPIRE WOODLARK, PORT CHALMERS and STRATHANAVER to proceed to Bombay, arriving there 6 March. RAMILLIES and NORMAN took the remaining ships of DM 3, of which STAFFORDSHIRE now became Commodore, to Colombo where they arrived 4 March. Dutch light cruiser HEEMSKERK arrived at Colombo on 6 March.

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Convoy ON.56 departed Liverpool, escorted by destroyer CALDWELL and corvettes FENNEL, GENTIAN, HONEYSUCKLE, LOOSTRIFE, and THYME. The convoy was dispersed on the 16th.

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Steamer QUICKSTEP (2722grt/总吨位) was sunk on a mine in 51-46N, 1-26E. There were sixteen crew rescued of a crew of twenty eight.

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U.123 sank steamer CYCLOPS (9076grt/总吨位) in 41-51N, 63-48. Forty crew, 46 passengers, and one gunner was lost in the steamer.

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U.43 sank Swedish steamer YNGAREN (5246grt/总吨位), a straggler from convoy HX.168, in 57N, 26. A British trawler picked up two survivors on 11 February. The other 38 crew and passengers were lost.

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Submarine UTMOST arrived at Gibraltar from Malta.

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Anti-submarine trawler STELLA CARINA departed Gibraltar to meet tanker SAN ADOLFO for inward escort. Destroyer FORTUNE was directed on the 15th to provide additional escort. The tanker arrived on the 19th, escorted by corvette SPIRAEA. STELLA CARINA arrived the same day with tanker SLEMDAL.

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Steamer DERWENTDALE (8393grt/总吨位), carrying fifteen MLCs (LCMs), departed Alexandria for Benghazi, escorted by destroyers FARNDALE, DULVERTON, and ERIDGE and escort vessel MALINES. She was attacked by German bombers on the 14th and 15th, but safely arrived at Benghazi on the 15th. After disembarking the MLCs, she departed to return.The steamer was attacked, again unsuccessfully on the 16th. She was ordered to Port Said, escorted by DULVERTON and MALINES, arriving on the 18th. FARNDALE and ERIDGE were ordered to Alexandria on the 17th, arriving that day.

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Near Tobruk, U.77 damaged destroyer KIMBERLEY, which had escorted collier MAUSANG to Benghazi and was returning with destroyer HOTSPUR conducting an anti-submarine sweep. Lt A.B. Henley, Midshipman C.A.L. Davis, and one rating were killed and two ratings were wounded. The destroyer, whose stern was blown off, was taken in tow by destroyer HEYTHROP and screened by destroyers ARROW, HERO, and HOTSPUR.

ARROW was near missed by a submarine torpedo off Mersa Matruh at 1540/13th and ARROW and HERO were detached to hunt the submarine. HOTSPUR was detached to Alexandria.

The tow was taken over on the 13th by tug BRIGAND, and KIMBERLEY arrived at Alexandria on the 14th with HERO, ARROW, and HEYTHROP.

On 25 February, KIMBERLEY left Alexandria in tow for Aden, arriving on 13 March. She was taken on to Bombay for repairs completing in January 1944.

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Light cruiser DESPATCH refuelled at Talara. She departed the next day to resume patrol in the Galapagos area.

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Light cruiser DURBAN and destroyers JUPITER and STRONGHOLD departed Singapore carrying a party of naval ratings and Army personnel. JUPITER was recalled to Palembang where six tankers had been attacked by Japanese aircraft. Two tankers were badly damaged. JUPITER escorted the remaining tankers to Batavia.

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Destroyer TENEDOS and base ship ANKING departed Singapore escorting Norwegian steamer HAI HING (2561grt/总吨位) and the British KLANG (1451grt/总吨位), carrying RAF personnel and stores, for Batavia. They arrived on the 14th.

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Dutch steamer TOBOALI (984grt/总吨位) was sunk by Japanese bombing at Bagan Siapi, south of Sineboi. She was raised and repaired by the Japanese as AKI MARU.