Under construction

Turkish submarine SALDIRAY started her sail under German flag but under the command of a Turkish officer to Turkey. On 5 June 1939 she was commissioned into Turkish Navy.

Eileen. Inward bound from Koepang to Darwin was lost near Point Charles, NT. (Wooden ketch, 13 tons. Built Fremantle 1892.)[Some references date this wreck in 1937]

French passengership PARIS capsized and sunk at berth in Le Havre where she lay throughout World War II. Hulk cleared 1947.

Germany denounced the Anglo-German naval agreement of June 18, 1935

A passengersloop with 14 passenger from the Swedish torpedo cruiser JACOB BAGGE capzised at Vålö off Oskarshamn and 10 men killed.

Germany and Italy announced a military and political alliance known as the Rome-Berlin Axis

Turkish submarine ATILAY was launched in İstanbul, 21 months after her keel was laid. She was commissioned in 1940. On 14 July 1942 she was lost all hands off the mouth of Dardanelles after striking a moored mine. This was the first deadly accident of the Turkish submarines. 38 submariners died in TCG ATILAY.

USS Squalus (SS-92) sinks off Portsmouth, NH, with loss of 26 lives

Turkish government signed a contract with Vickers shipyard for 4 submarines and 4 destroyers. The first three submarines TCG ORUÇREİS, TCG MURATREİS and TCG BURAKREİS were laid down on 24 May 1939. The last one TCG ULUÇALİREİS was laid down on 30 September 1939.

First and only use of VAdm Allan McCann's Rescue Chamber to rescue 33 men from sunken USS Squalus (SS-192)

The English submarine Thetis founders after flooding through the #5 forward tube, killing a total of 99 crewmembers, civillian technicians, and senior naval observers.  One observer, one officer, and two crewmembers escaped.  Thetis is salvaged and recommissioned as HMS Thunderbolt.

The French submarine PHENIX sinks off Saigon. On board was a crew of 71.

Minesweepers USS Raven & Osprey laid down.

Submarine HMS Thunderbolt launched.

Light cruiser HMAS Perth commissioned.

Aircraft carrier HMS Unicorn laid down.

Minesweeping trawler HMS Buttermere launched.

U-116, U-117 laid down.

The German tanker ALTMARK sails from Wilhelmshaven and steams down the English Channel.

ADMIRAL GRAF SPEE passes between Faeroes and Iceland.

The Panzerschiffe Deutschland and WESTERWALD sails from Wilhelmshaven in preparation for raider activities in the North Atlantic in the event of a declaration of war.

German Torpedoboot TIGER sunk in colission with German destroyer MAX SCHULTZ off Bornholm.

ADMIRAL GRAF SPEE fuels from ALTMARK N.W. of Azores, DEUTSCHLAND passes through Denmark Strait.

RMS Queen Mary sets sail from Southampton for New York City on her last commercial voyage. The ship will remain berthed at New York until the end of the year while it was decided what role the ship would play in the war

Poland sends all 4 of their destroyers, and 1 submarine to the UK. Their other 4 submarines are sent to positions in the western Baltic.

DEUTSCHLAND and WESTERWALD reach waiting area south of Greenland.

Gotaverken AB, Goteborg, Sweden deliver motor tanker BERA to Transmark, Goteborg.

The bridge “Sandöbron”, under construction over Ångermanälven, Sweden, collapse and 20 workers is killed.

Old German battleship Schleswig-Holstein in a "friendly" visit at Danzig begins Second World War by opening fire on Polish coastal defences Westerplatte at Danzig.

German armored ship Admiral Graf Spee, which has left Wilhelmshaven on 21 August for the South Atlantic, makes rendezvous with tanker Altmark southwest of the Canary Islands. The fuel oil carried in Altmark's bunkers was obtained in August at Port Arthur, Texas. Admiral Graf Spee's sistership Deutschland, which had departed Wilhelmshaven on 24 August, is deployed to raid commerce in the North Atlantic.

German torpedoboat V105 bombed and sunk by German aircraft.

The first British convoy of the war leaves Gibraltar for Cape Town.

Polish Submarine ORP Wilk damaged by German depth charges.

The German ship POMONA built by Deutche Werft AG Betrieb Finenwarder 3457 tons owned F Laeisz. Seized in London UK and renamed EMPIRE MERCHANT, sunk 16/8/40 by the German Submarine U-100 7 dead 48 survivors.

Great Britain and France declare war on Germany in accordance with their prewar pledges to Poland. Australia and New Zealand follow. Irish Free State, however, a British dominion, declares its neutrality.

German submarines (previously deployed to operating areas in late August) begin attacks upon British shipping: during these early operations, U-30 torpedoes (without warning) British passenger liner Athenia south of Rockall Bank, 56°44'N, 14°05'W; 28 American citizens are among the dead. U.S. freighter City of Flint, Swedish yacht Southern Cross, Norwegian freighter Knute Nelson, and British destroyers HMS Electra and HMS Escort rescue survivors. Despite having been given strict orders that all merchant vessels are to be treated in accordance with naval prize law (giving a warning before attacking) Lemp's torpedoing Athenia in the belief that she is an armed merchant cruiser gives the British the erroneous impression that Germany has commenced unrestricted submarine warfare (see 16 and 22 September and 8 November).

ATHENIA, British passenger liner, 13,581 tons, belonging to the Anchor-Donaldson Line, sunk by German submarine U-30 south of Rockall Bank. 1,300 survived, 112 lives lost. No warning was given in spite of the fact that it was only a few hours after the outbreak of war, and contrary to Admiral Doenitz' orders. At the highest German level it was considered a blunder and they stuck throughout the war with the lie that it was nothing to do with them. She was not sunk immediately with torpedoes, but rather she was at first shelled, and most of the lifeboats were lowered. Whilst causing considerable outrage in Britain, the fact that the Germans had not observed the rules of engagement as they then existed, should not have come as a surprise, since they had, as a population and as individuals, been planning and preparing for war for many years. Their tactic of unrestrained aggression had already been seen to bear fruit elsewhere, and they were rejoicing in the benefits, so the immediate opportunity to attack British interests, after years of resentment and hatred was too difficult to resist. The British were almost entirely unprepared and had barely begun to grasp just how desperately serious matters were and the 'outrage' should be seen in this context. It was born out of complacency. Later in the war in the Battle of the Atlantic Captain Lemp surrendered his submarine to HMS Broadway and HMS Bulldog. It yielded information of vital importance to Britain resulting in German codes being broken.

Less than three hours after the British declaration of war on Germany, light cruiser HMS Ajax intercepts German freighter Olinda, outward bound from Montevideo, Uruguay, off the River Plate, 34°58'S, 53°32'W. Not having a prize crew available to seize the enemy merchantman, Ajax shells and sinks her (see 4 September).

U.S. freighter Saccarappa, with a cargo of phosphates and cotton, is seized by British authorities (see 8 September).

German Stuka divebombers sink Polish minelayer Gryf, destroyer Wicher and several other small craft at Hela.

Polish Submarine ORP Rys set a mine barrier (20 mines) 10 miles east from the tip of Hel Peninsula.

U-14 probably attacked the first warship in World War Two when she attacked the Polish submarine Sep (Cdr. Wladyslaw Salamon) at 2022hrs. The torpedo exploded prematurely about 200m from the Polish sub. The German commander (Kptlt. Horst Wellner) found wreckage (from the torpedo) and some oil from Sep's damaged oil tank. Believing he had sunk the boat, he radioed his claim in.

Newfoundland enters World War II by virtue of Britain's declaration of war. The Newfoundland Constabulary seizes the SS Christopher V. Doornum, a German freighter anchored at Botwood, as a prize of war.

U.S. freighter Black Osprey, bound for Rotterdam, Holland, and Antwerp, Belgium, is stopped by British warship off Lizard Head and ordered into the port of Weymouth, one of the five "contraband control bases" (the others are Ramsgate, Kirkwall, Gibraltar and Haifa) established by the British government (see 13 September and 31 October). Freighter Lehigh, bound for Hamburg, Germany, is detained by the British (see 7 September).

Philippine motorship Don Isidro, on her maiden voyage en route from her builders' yard at Kiel, Germany, to Manila, P.I., clears the Suez Canal; U.S. government immediately protests British authorities having removed, at Port Said, two German engineers (on board "to guarantee construction and demonstrate proper manning" of the new vessel) from Don Isidro (which is under the American flag) as illegal and a violation of the neutral rights of the United States (see 29 April 1940).

U.S. steamship President Roosevelt off-loads British Scott-Paine-type motor torpedo boat PT 9 at New York; PT 9 will be the prototype for the motor torpedo boats constructed by the Electric Boat Company.

French authorities remove two seamen of German nationality from U.S. freighter Exochorda at Marseilles, France.

British Northern Patrol (7th and 12th Cruiser Squadrons) commences operation between Shetland and Faeroe Islands, and Iceland. Light cruisers HMS Caledon, HMS Calypso, HMS Diomede, HMS Dragon, HMS Effingham, HMS Emerald, HMS Cardiff and HMS Dunedin are the ships that undertake this work. The patrol stops 108 merchantmen over the next three weeks, ordering 28 into the port of Kirkwall to have their cargoes inspected.

British steamer Olivegrove is stopped, torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-33 200 miles northwest of Spain, 49°05'N, 15°58'W; upon receiving Olivegrove's distress signal, U.S. passenger liner Washington, en route to the British Isles to evacuate American citizens from the European war zone, alters course and increases speed to reach the scene. Meanwhile, U-33's commanding officer, treats the British survivors courteously, and aids in their rescue by having distress rockets fired to guide Washington to the two lifeboats containing the 33-man crew, which she picks up without loss.

German torpedoboat A-64 scuttled in Danzig Bay.

German torpedoboat A-68 scuttled off Danzig.

President Roosevelt declares Pan-American Neutrality Zone.

U-47 sank British steamer Bosnia N.W. of Ferrol. (Cunnard S.S. Co., 1928; J. L. Thompson & Sons; 2.407 tons; 292.3 x 45 x 20.3 ft; 403 n.h.p.; Triple-expansion engines.)

U-48 sank SS Royal Sceptre

The British steamship MANAAR, Capt. C. Shaw, D.S.C., was torpedoed by the German submarine U-38,  65 miles W.N.W. of Cape Roca, Portugal. The torpedo exploded amidships and the submarine then surfaced and commenced to shell the vessel. Three other submarines also surfaced and joined in the shelling. Mean-while the crew of the MANAAR were endeavouring to launch the four port lifeboats, the starboard side being under fire, but the vessel swung round exposing the men to the fire of the submarine. One European and six lascars were killed and four Europeans and three lascars wounded, Mr. T. G. M. Turner, wireless operator, exhibit­ing great bravery in the saving of a wounded lascar. The boats managed to get clear without further loss and the MANAAR was struck by another torpedo which broke her in two. One lifeboat with 23 occupants was picked up by the Italian steamship CASTELBIANCO and others by the Dutch steamship MARS and the Portuguese steamship CARVALHO ARAUJO. Altogether 85 survivors and the body of one of the lascar seamen were landed at Lisbon on the 8th. The MANAAR was not in convoy. (T. & J. Brocklebank; 1917; Chas. Connell & Co.& 7,242 tons;470 x58 x 32^.1; 787 n.h.p. ; 12 knots; turbine engines.)

British steamer Rio Claro, on a voyage Sunderland to the River Plate, was torpedoed and sunk by U-47, NW of Cape Finisterre. (Thompson S.S. Co.; 1922; Blyth S.B. & D.D. Co.; 4.086 tons; 363.1 x 53.2 x 26.3 ft; 474 n.h.p.; triple-expansion engine.)

German liner Bremen breaches the British blockade and puts into Murmansk after a dash from New York.

Dutch minesweeper Willem van Ewijck sunk near Terchelling when she runs into her own mine barrage

U-48 sank SS Winkleigh.

U-34 sank SS Kennebec.

British Steam tanker Regent Tiger, on a voyage from Trinidad to Avonmouth with 14.000 tons of gasoline and diesel fuel, was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-29, about 400 miles W. of the Bishop Rock.

US freighter SS Saccarappa, which had been detained by the British since 3 September, is released after her cargo of phosphates and cotton are deemed contraband and unloaded.

British submarine HMS Ursula fired the first British submarine torpedoes of the war when attacking German U-35. The U-boat escaped.

US freighter SS Wacosta bound from Glasgow, Scotland to New York City is stopped by a German U-boat and detained while the Germans search the ship and examine her papers. She is allowed to proceed after 3 hours

US freighter SS President Harding is detained by French officials who confiscate 135 tons of copper and 34 tons of petroleum products. The ship is then released

Submarine HMS Oxley sunk off Obrestad, Norwegian coast, south of Stavanger (58-30'N, 5-30'E) - torpedoed in error by HMS Triton. Submarines Oxley and Triton were patrolling off Norway and had been in regular contact when Triton spotted an unidentified submarine off the coast of Norway.

SS Magdapur (8,641t) cargo ship, South Shields to Southampton hit a mine and sank off Aldeburgh with the loss of six crew members.

U-15 sank SS Goodwood.

US freighter SS Hybert is stopped by a German U-boat in the Atlantic. After 2-hours, she is released but the captain is warned not to use his radio for 24 hours

U.S. tanker R.G. Stewart is stopped by shot fired across her bow by German submarine U-38 about 253 miles west of Ushant, France, 48°17'N, 11°16'W. Soon thereafter, U-38 shells, torpedoes and sinks British motor tanker Inverliffey; R.G. Stewart rescues the tanker's crew and later transfers them to U.S. freighter City of Joliet for transportation to Antwerp, Belgium.

German armored ship Admiral Graf Spee provisions from tanker Altmark; security measure of launching the warship's AR 196 pays dividends, as British heavy cruiser HMS Cumberland is spotted closing the area. Admiral Graf Spee and her consort alter course and are thus not sighted.

U.S. freighter Black Eagle is detained by British authorities at the Downs, the roadstead in the English channel off the coast of Kent (see 19 September).

British steamer Blairlogie was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-30, W. of Bishop Rock. (Clydesdale Nav. Co.; 1929; Craig, Taylor & Co.; 4.425 tons; 380.3 x 52 x 25.3 ft; 373 n.h.p.; triple-expansion engine.)

SS Firby (4,869t) steamer, Tyne to Fort Churchill was sunk by torpedo and gunfire from U-48, about 400 miles NW of Scotland.
The Firby, owned by the Ropner Shipping Company, Limited. The master, Captain Prince, has 15/9 informed the owners that he and the crew of 40 all got away and had landed safely. Shells, however, had injured four. The chief officer, Mr. James Woodruff, stated that the crew, after taking to the boats, pulled alongside the German submarine, the commander of which was most considerate. Members of his crew handed nine loaves of black bread to the sunken ships crew and three rolls of bandages for the injured men. Before they moved away the commander sent an SOS to Mr. Churchill at the Admiralty giving the position where the sinking had occurred. After 13 hours in a heavy sea a destroyer rescued the men.

Off the coast of France, US merchant steam tanker R.G. Stewart is stopped by shot fired across her bow by German submarine U-38 about 253 miles km) west of Ushant, France. Soon thereafter, U-38 shells, torpedoes and sinks British motor tanker Inverliffey; SS R.G. Stewart rescues the tanker's crew and later transfers them to US freighter SS City of Joliet for transportation to Antwerp, Belgium.

US Submarine Squalus (SS-192), which had accidentally sunk off Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on 23 May during a scheduled test dive (of her 59-man crew, 26 men perish and 33 are rescued by McCann Rescue Chamber), arrives under tow at Portsmouth Navy Yard for extensive repairs. She is decommissioned on 15 November 1939, renamed Sailfish (SS-192) on 9 February 1940, and recommissioned on 15 May 1940.

U.S. freighter Sea Arrow is launched at Oakland, California, the first major ocean-going vessel of that type completed on the west coast since World War I. The ship is later acquired by the Navy on 8 July 1940 and converted to the seaplane tender Tangier (AV-8).

U.S. freighter Black Osprey, detained at Weymouth, England, by British authorities since 5 September 1939, is released.

Norwegian motor vessel Ronda strikes mine off Terschelling island, Netherlands, 54°10'N, 04°34'E; two U.S. citizens perish. Survivors (including four Americans) are subsequently rescued by Italian freighter Providencia.

German submarine U-27 sank SS Davara.

German submarine U-29 sank the British steamtug Neptunia. (1938 / 998 tons)

U.S. freighter City of Joliet is detained by French authorities and her cargo examined.

U-30 shot down two FAA Blackburn Skua aircraft

U-39 was the first U-boat sunk in the war, after an unsuccessful attack against the British aircraft carrier HMS ARK ROYAL.

U-28 sank SS Vancouver City.

British steam tanker British Influence (8,431t), Hull to Abadan was sunk by torpedo and gunfire by U-29, in the SW Approaches.

U-30 sank SS Fanad Head.

U-39, was sunk northwest of Ireland, in position 58.32N, 11.49W, by depth charges from the British destroyers HMS Faulknor, Foxhound and Firedrake. 44 survivors (No casualties)

British submarine Sturgeon attacks British submarine Swordfish, but her torpedoes miss.

The Wilson Line freighter TRURO (974 grt). Torpedoed and sunk by U-36 at pos. 59-20N 02-00E nnw of Aberdeen.

The Belgian passenger ship Alex van Opstal struck a mine and sank five miles E. of the Shambles lightship. Capt. Delgoffe was the master and the ship was sailing from New York to Antwerp. (Another source says: Synk by the German submarine U-26) (Cie. Maritime Belge (Lloyd Royal) Soc. Anon.; 1937; Nakskov Skibs. A/S; 5,965 tons; 420 x 57,1 x 26,4; 1,026 n.h.p.; oil engines.)

U-53 sank SS Cheyenne.

German submarine U-31 inaugurates U-boat campaign against convoys when she attacks westbound convoy OB-4, torpedoing and sinking British merchant steamer Aviemore in the North Atlantic, 49°11'N, 13°38'W.

U.S. freighter Shickshinny is detained at Glasgow, Scotland, by British authorities (see 18 September).

SS Arkelside (1,567t) steamer, Tyne to Gibraltar with a cargo of coal was sunk by gunfire from U-33, W of Ushant.

SS Bramden (1,594t) cargo ship, Dunkirk to Blyth, hit a mine off Dunkirk. Two of her crew died.

HMS COURAGEOUS. Aircraft Carrier, 22,500 tons. Sunk by German submarine U-29 150nm WSW of Mizen Head, Ireland. Two minutes before 8.00pm she was struck on the port side by two torpedoes. It was an opportunist attack as U-29 was principally lying in wait for merchant shipping in the area, but it was no less skillful for that. Courageous. The carrier went down in only twenty minutes and 518 of her 1,202 compliment went with her, including her commander Captain W T Makeig-Jones. Aircraft carriers were afterwards withdrawn from anti-submarine patrols.

U.S. freighter Black Condor is detained by British authorities.

U-41 captured Finnish freighters Suomen Poika & Vega.

The British steamship KAFIRISTAN, Capt. John Busby, was torpedoed and sunk about 300 miles off south-west Ireland of the German submarine U-53. The crew numbered 35 and of these six were drowned by the capsizing of the first lifeboat, launched while the vessel was still moving. The remaining boats got away without incident and the commander of the German submarine, which had surfaced, offered to tow them toward the land. He also offered to send out an S.O.S. call but these things were never carried out as a British bomber appeared and, after spraying the submarine with machine-gun bullets as she lay on the surface, dropped two bombs close along-side. The submarine dived and was not seen again. The survivors of the Kafiristan were picked up and landed at New York by the United States steamship American Farmer, Capt. Pederson, which witnessed the aeroplane attack. (Hindustan S.S. Co.; 1924; Short Bros.; 5,193 tons; 390 x 53^.5 x 28^.6; 363 n.h.p.; 10 knots; triple-expansion engines.)

Polish submarine Orzel escapes Tallinn, where it has been interned. The Soviet Union seizes this incident, as an excuse that proves Estonia is not able to uphold its neutrality.

U.S. freighter Warrior, detained by British authorities since 7 September, is released after her cargo of phosphates is requisitioned. Freighter Shickshinny, detained since 16 September at Glasgow, Scotland, is permitted to sail without unloading cargo deemed by British authorities to be contraband. Shickshinny, however, is to unload those items at Mersey, England.

U.S. freighter Eglantine is stopped by German submarine, ordered not to use her radio, and to send her papers to the U-boat for examination. The Germans allow Eglantine to proceed, but advise her not to use her radio for three hours.

The British steamship KENSINGTON COURT, on a voyage from Rosario to Liverpool, was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-32, about 100 miles S.W. of the Bishop Rock. (Court Line; 1927; Napier & Miller; 4,863 tons; 396.5 53.2 x 26.5; 416 n.h.p. ; triple-expansion engines.)

The british steamtrawler Arlita & steamtrawler LORD MINTO was shelled and sunk by the German Submarine U-35 off St. Kilda. (ARLITA; J. Marr & Son; 1916; Cochrane & Sons; 138.5 x 23,7 x 12,8 ft; 87 nhp; triple-expansion engine)

U.S. freighter Black Hawk is detained by British authorities (see 4 October); freighter Black Eagle, detained by the British since 12 September at the Downs, is released.

U.S. freighters Ethan Allen and Ipswich are detained by British authorities.

U-26 damaged HMS Kittiwake.

U-27 sunk west of Scotland, in position 58.35N, 09.02W, by depth charges from the British destroyers HMS Fortune & Forester. 38 survivors (No casualties).

German armoured ship ADMIRAL GRAF SPEE refuels from ALTMARK.

Destroyer HMS Ardent took wounded from SS Teakwood after it was torpedoed by U-35 in Convoy OA-7. Accompanied damaged Teakwood back to Falmouth.

German submarine U 30 arrives at Wilhelmshaven, Germany, where her commanding officer, Kapitanleutnant Fritz-Julius Lemp, informs Commander U-boats, in private, that he [Lemp] believes himself responsible for sinking British passenger liner Athenia.

U.S. freighter Syros is detained by French authorities.

U-4 sank SS Martti Ragnar

SS Akenside (2,694t) steamer, on a voyage Blyth to Bergen with a cargo of coal was torpedoed by U-7. She sank SW of Bergen.

Finnish steamer WALMA seized by German submarines 9 miles W Hållö lighthouse when on voyage Finland-England with a cargo of cellulos. at 23.20 the same day sinked by explosives placed on board by the crew from U-4. Crew saved.

Swedish steamer Gertrud Bratt (1.519 grt) torpedoed by the German submarine U-4 off Jomfruland at the Norwegian South coast. The crew of 20 was saved by a Norwegian boat and landed at Langesund. She was on a voyage Norrsundet - Bristol with a cargo of pulp, paper and general cargo.

U.S. freighter Black Condor, detained by British authorities since 17 September, is released.

The French steamer Phryné struck a mine and sank off Aldeburgh, Suffolk, on a voyage from Immingham to Bayonne with coal. Two empty ship’s boats were later recovered. [Another report says she was sunk by the German submarine U-13] (Société Navale Caennaise; 1938; Chantiers & Ateliers de St. Nazaire; 2.660 tons; 306 x 43.5 x 21.2 ft; 225 nhp; triple-expansin engine.)

The British steamship Hazelside on a voyage from Tacoma to Liverpool, was torpedoed  and sunk by the German submarine U-31, 12 miles off the Fastnet. Eleven of her crew were killed. (Charlton S.S. Co.; 1928; Short Bros.; 4.646 tons; 395 x 52.7 x 25.9 ft; 388 nhp; triple-expansion engines.)

U-33 sank SS Caldew.

U-34 captured SS Hanonia.

U.S. freighter Executive is detained by French authorities at Casablanca, French Morocco (see 29 September).

Swedish steamer NYLAND, , torpedoed and sunk by a submarine 17 miles off Hvidingø near Stavanger when on voyage Narvik-Antwerp. (build 1909 at Sunderland, turret-ship, owned by Tirfingbolaget)

U-32 stopped the Norwegian merchant ship JERN at 15.00 hours and sank her by scuttling charges at 15.37 hours.

U.S. freighter Executive, detained at Casablanca, French Morocco, since 27 September, is released by French authorities, provided that she proceed to Bizerte, Tunisia.

U-7 stopped the Norwegian merchant ship TAKSTAAS at 08.55 hours and sank her later by torpedo and gunfire.

U-10 attacked in the North Sea a group of four British destroyers, but the single torpedo fired missed its target.

RAF Heligoland Bight patrol attacks two German destroyers. Second formation of five shot down in battle with German fighters. Two German fighters destroyed. Five out of 11 Hampdens lost. No damage to the destroyers.

British warships continue to stop neutral shipping in the North Atlantic. During the next 2-weeks, 63 ships are stopped; 20 of them are detained in the U.K. for inspection of their cargo.

While berthed at San Pedro, California, the engineering plant of battleship USS Arizona is sabotaged. The FBI is called in and they determine that the act was an attempt to embarrass certain ship's officers rather than cause serious damage.

British boy’s training ship HMS CALEDONIA (ex: MAJESTIC) gutted by fire and sank at Rosyth, refloated and towed to Inverkeithing for demolition 1943.

British spritsail barge AZARIAH (53 grt) mined and sunk on a voyage Greenhithe – Ipswich, the mine was laid by German submarine U-13.

German armored ship Admiral Graf Spee stops and sinks British steamship Clement (5.051 grt/1934, Booth SS Co. Ltd.), 75 miles southeast of Pernambuco, Brazil, at pos. 09°05'S, 34°05'W.

U.S. freighters Ethan Allen and Ipswich, detained by British authorities since 20 September, are released. Cargo destined for Bremen and Hamburg, however, is seized and taken off Ipswich.

The Swedish steamer Gun torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-3, off Hanstholm, Denmark. (Rederi AB Vinga; 1891; J. Blumer & Co.; 1.222 tons; 237.2 x 34.2 x 16.2 ft; 142 nhp; triple-expansion engines)

U-3 sank SS Bendia.

At 2255hrs in the North Sea, U-3 sighted a British submarine and fired a torpedo at it, but missed.

The Dutch steamship Haulerwijk torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-32, on a voyage from Newport to Tampa. (N.V. Stoomvaart Maats. “Oisterwjik”; 1924; Clyde S.B. & E. Co.; 3.278 tons; 325 x 48.2 x 23.7 ft.; 307 nhp; triple-expansion engines.)

Belgian merchant ship SUZON (2.239 grt) was torpedoed and sunk on  by German submarine U-35, 42 miles west of Ouessant (France).

British Admiralty deduces that one raider is in the Atlantic.

German minesweeper M85 mined and sunk N. of Heisternest.

The Swedish admiralty reports that 8 ship of Finnish, Estonian and Norwegian nationality have been seized by German naval ship today in the Baltic Sea.

USS River gunboat Tutuila (PR-4) is damaged when she is accidentally rammed by Chungking Ferry Boat Co. Ferry No. 2 at Chungking, China.

Norwegian motor vessel Hoegh Transporter is sunk by mine off St. John Island, entrance to Singapore harbor; the two Americans among the passengers survive, one is uninjured.

Greek merchant ship DIAMANTIS (4.490 grt) was torpedoed and sunk by german submarine U-35, 40 miles West of Skellings.

U.S. freighter Black Hawk, detained by British authorities since 19 September, is released.

U-23 sank SS Glen Farg.

British Admiralty and French Ministry of Marine form eight "hunting groups" in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans to counter the threat posed by German armoured ship Admiral Graf Spee. That same day, the object of that attention, Admiral Graf Spee, captures British freighter Newton Beech (4.651 grt/1925, J. Ridley Son & Tulley) south of Freetown. in the South Atlantic at 09°35'S, 06°30'W. She was sunk at 9/10 1939.

U.S. freighter Exeter is detained by French authorities at Marseilles, France (see 6 October); freighter City of Joliet, detained by the French since 14 September, is released.

Secretary of State Cordell Hull requests Chargé d'Affaires ad interim in Germany Alexander C. Kirk, to ascertain why German authorities have detained Swedish motorship Korsholm (at Swinemünde), Estonian steamship Minna (at Kiel), and Norwegian steamship Brott (at Svinemünde). All of the neutral merchantmen carry cargoes of wood pulp or wood pulp products consigned to various American firms. These are the first instances of cargoes bound for the United States held up for investigation by German authorities. While no U.S. ships are detained, cargoes bound for American concerns in neutral (Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, and Norwegian) merchant ships come under scrutiny by the Germans (see 10 October and 8 and 27 December).

U-32 damaged SS Marwarri.

The British merchantsteamer STONEGATE on a voyage from Antofagaste to Alexandria with nitrate, was sunk the German armoured ship DEUTCHLAND 400 miles E.S.E of Bermuda. (Turnbull, Scott Shipping Co.; 1928; W. Doxford & Sons; 5.044 tons; 410 x 55.5 x 26 ft; 602 nhp; triple-expansion engines.)

U.S. freighters Black Gull and Black Falcon are detained by British authorities (see 10-11 and 17 October, respectively).

U.S. freighter Exeter, detained at Marseilles, France, the previous day, is released. She subsequently reports having been examined several times by French naval authorities.

U-32 damaged SS Lochgoi.

German armoured ship Admiral Graf Spee stops and boards British freighter Ashlea (4.222 grt/1929, J. Morrison & Son) in the South Atlantic at 09°00'S, 03°00'W, and after transferring her crew to Newton Beech, sinks Ashlea with demolition charges.

U.S. freighter Black Heron is detained by British authorities at Weymouth, England (see 16 October).

The Dutch steamship Binnendijk struck a mine and sank, three miles S.E. of the Shambles light. [Another report says that she was sunk by the German submarine U-26] (Holland-Amerika Lijn; 1921; N.V. Werf de Noord; 6.875 tons; 400.4 x 54.3 x 36.6 ft; 648 nhp; turbine engines.)

German armored ship Admiral Graf Spee takes on board crews of British freighters Ashlea and Newton Beech in the South Atlantic and sinks the latter with demolition charges.

In the North Atlantic, the British Northern Patrol continues operations between the Shetlands, Faeroes, and Iceland. The light cruiser HMS Belfast successfully intercepts the German liner SS Cap Norte that is trying to return to Germany disguised as a neutral vessel. The liner is boarded and sent under armed guard to a British port. Cap Norte is the largest enemy merchant ship intercepted to date and under Admiralty law HMS Belfast's crew received "prize money" in the form of a cash gratuity for her capture. The ship is renamed Empire Trooper by the British.

US flagged SS City of Flint captured by the German pocket battleship Deutschland as part of efforts to damage British trade. The Germans searched the ship and seized her when found supplies for Britain which they said were "contraband" under the Prize Rules for war at sea. Now the City of Flint is headed for the Russian port of Murmansk with a German Prize crew, which is hoping eventually to bring her to a German port.

The British steamship NEWTON BEECH on a voyage from Table Bay to London with 7.080 tons of Maize, was sunk by the German raider GRAAF SPEE off the coast of Angola. (Tyneside Line; 1925; W. Pickersgill & Sons; 4.651 tons; 372.8 x 54.6 x 26.8 ft; 346 nhp; triple-expansion engines.)

Aircraft from HMS ARK ROYAL sights ALTMARK west of Cape Verde Islands, But belives her to be US tanker.

German armored ship Admiral Graf Spee stops and puts prize crew on board British freighter Huntsman  (8.196 grt/1921, Thomas & James Harrison) in the South Atlantic at 08°30'S, 05°15'W. She was sunk 17/10 1939.

U.S. freighter Patrick Henry is detained by British authorities (see 22 October). British authorities remove from freighter Black Gull (detained since 6 October) 293 sacks of American mail addressed to Rotterdam, Holland, and 10 to Antwerp, Belgium. This is among the first instances of the British removing mail addressed to neutral countries and opening and censoring sealed letter mail sent from the United States (see 11 October).

U.S. freighter Syros, detained by French authorities since 14 September, is released.

Norwegian freighter Brott, detained at Swinemünde, Germany, since early October with a cargo of wood pulp/wood pulp products, is released by German authorities to proceed on her voyage to the United States.

USS Submarine rescue vessel Pigeon (ASR-6), driven aground at Tsingtao, China, by a severe hurricane on 31 August, is refloated.

U.S. passenger liner Iroquois arrives safely in New York harbor, having been accompanied for three days by Coast Guard cutter Campbell and destroyers Davis (DD-395) and Benham (DD-397). Iroquois will later be acquired by the Navy on 22 July 1940 and will be converted to a hospital ship. As Solace (AH-5) she will play an important role at Pearl Harbor (see 7 December 1941).

U.S. freighter Sundance is detained at London, England, by British authorities (see 25 October); freighter Black Tern is detained at Weymouth, England (see 12 and 28 October); freighter Black Gull, detained by the British since 6 October, is released.

German submarines attack convoys of French and British shipping; U-48 shells and sinks French motor tanker Emile Miguet (from convoy KJ 2S) at 50°15'N, 14°50'W, and later torpedoes and sinks British freighter Heronspool (convoy OB 17S) at 50°13'N, 14°48'W. U.S. merchantmen rescue the survivors: freighter Black Hawk rescues Emile Miguet's crew, passenger liner President Harding rescues Heronspool's.

The Greek steamship Aris was shelled and sunk by the German submarine U-37 in the North Atlantic. (Michael M. Xylas; 1914; Richardson Duck & Co.; 4.810 tons; 380.2 x 50.9 x 28 ft; 385 nhp; triple-expansion engines.)

The French motor tanker Emile Miguet on a voyage from Corpus Christi to Le Havre in Convoy KJ-2, was torpedoed, set on fire and sunk by the German submarine U-48. Two lives were lost. (Cie. Navale des Pétroles; 1937; Atel. & Chant. De France; 14.115 tons; 546.1 x 73.8 x 40.1 ft; 982 nhp; Oil engines.)

U.S. freighter Iberville is detained by British authorities, freighter Oakman is detained by the British.

German submarine U-42 sunk by HMS Imogen & Ilex at pos. 49 12 00 N, 16 00 00 W, southwest of Ireland. 26 dead and 20 survivors.

U-40 sunk in the English Channel, in position 50.41,6N, 00.15,1E, by mines. 45 dead and 3 survivors

German submarine U-42 damaged Steamship Stonepool in Convoy OB-17. (Pool Shipping Co.; 1928; Smith’s Dock Co.; 4.803 tons; 405 x 53.5 x 26.4 ft; 507 nhp; 11 knots; triple-expansion engines.) [see also 11/9 1941]

U-48 sank SS Heronspool & SS Louisiane in Convoy OB-17.

U-47 scores a major propaganda victory by penetrating the RN base at Scapa Flow, but as the most of the major ships were at sea, there were few targets. The surfaced U47 fired off a salvo of three torpedoes, only one of which exploded when it hit an anchor chain, and U47 remained undisturbed on the surface of the Fleet anchorage to reload torpedoes. The second salvo fired about an hour after the first, sank HMS Pegasus and the battleship Royal Oak with 833 crew lost. This penetration of the RN Home Fleet base gave Germany a major propaganda victory, and the Home Fleet was temporarily relocated to Loch Ewe on the west coast of Scotland until Scapa's defenses were improved. On his return to base, Cdr Prien and his entire crew were taken to Berlin, and fêted after Hitler personally presented Günther Prien with the award of the Knight's Cross. At Scapa Flow, HMS Royal Oak and her 833 dead remain a war grave and a memorial of this incident

German submarine U-45 sunk by HMS Inglefield, Ivanhoe, Intrepid, Icarus at pos. 50 58 00 N, 12 67 00 W. 38 dead (all hands lost).

German armoured ship Deutschland sinks Norwegian freighter Lorentz W. Hansen 420 miles east of Newfoundland, 49°05'N, 43°44'W.

U.S. freighter Scanstates is detained at Kirkwall, Orkneys, by British authorities; freighter Exporter is detained at Gibraltar by the British (see 20 and 27 October, respectively).

U.S. freighter Nashaba is detained at Le Havre by French authorities (see 25 October).

German steamer MARION TRABER run aground on a ground off Nyköping, Sweden. She was wrecked.

U-23 was attacked in the North Sea by the British submarine HMS Sturgeon with three torpedoes, but all three missed.

The French liner Bretagne of the Cie. Transatlantique was formerly the Flandria of the Royal Holland Line. She was torpedoed by the German submarine U-45 some distance S.W. of Fastnet when on convoy KJF-3. The attack took place about dawn, the submarine sur­facing and firing two shells at the ship's wireless aerial which missed their mark and fell among the women and children getting into the boats. The falls of one boat parted and its occupants were flung into the sea. From all causes two passengers and five crew lost their lives. A wireless call was sent out, in response to which a British warship came on the scene and picked up 123 of the vessel's 125 passengers, as well as the crew. Many of the survivors were seriously injured. The warship then turned back to pick up the boats of the Royal Mail liner Lochavon which she had passed on her way to the Bretagne. (Compagnie Generale Transatlantique; 1922; Barclay Curle; 10,108 tons; 450.4x 59.2 x 41.7; 1,292 n.h.p.; 14.5 knots; turbine engines.)

The British motorship Lochavon was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-45, about 200 miles W. of the Bishop Rock on a voyage in convoy KJF-3 from Vancouver to Liverpool. (Royal Mail Lines; 1938; Harland & Wolff; 9,205 tons; 477.7x 66.3 x 30.2; 2,052 n.h.p. ; oil engines.)

U-48 sank SS Sneaton.

US freighter SS Nashaba is detained at Le Havre by French authorities.

In Gibraltar, the US freighter SS Exporter is detained by the British.

US freighter SS Scanstates is detained at Kirkwall, Orkneys, by British authorities.

German armored ship Admiral Graf Spee meets tanker Altmark and refuels (see 17 October).

German tanker Emmy Friedrich, whose cargo includes refrigerants needed for the magazine cooling systems in armored ship Admiral Graf Spee, then on a raiding foray into the Atlantic, departs Tampico, Mexico. Neutrality Patrol assets, including carrier Ranger (CV-4) and heavy cruiser San Francisco (CA-38), are mobilized to locate and trail the ship if the need arises (see 24 October).

U.S. freighter Gateway City is detained by British authorities (see 31 October); freighter Black Heron, detained by the British at Weymouth, England, since 7 October, is released.

U.S. freighter Cranford is detained by British authorities (see 21 October); freighter Black Falcon, detained by the British since 6 October, is released.

German armored ship Admiral Graf Spee transfers crew of British freighter Huntsman to tanker Altmark; Huntsman is then sunk with demolition charges at 16°00'S, 17°00'W.

The liner Yorkshire, Capt. V. C. P. Smalley, with 278 persons on board, of whom 160 were crew, was torpedoed by the German submarine U-37, 700 miles W. of Bordeaux when in Convoy HG-3. The ship sent out a wireless call for help and the steamship Independence Hall, 5,753 tons, came to the rescue, but too late to save many of those on board. Fifty-eight persons lost their lives, of whom 33 were passengers and 25 crew, including Capt. Smalley. The 220 survivors were landed at Bordeaux on the night of October 20th, together with those from the City of Mandalay (which see) whom the Independence Hall reseled at the same time, not far from the position of the Yorkshire. (Bibby Line; 1920; Harland & Wolff; 10,183 tons; 482.4 x 58.3 x 40.4; 946 n.h.p. ; 15 knots; turbine engines.)

The British steamship City of Mandalay was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-46, off the Bay of Biscay when in convoy HG-3. Seven of her crew were lost. (Ellerman Lines; 1925; Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson; 7,028 tons; 443.2x 57.9 x 31.9; 751 n.h.p.; triple-expansion engines & L.P. turbine.)

The steamship Clan Chisholm was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-48, off the Bay of Biscay on a voyage in convoy HG-3 from Calcutta to Liverpool. (Clan Line Steamers; 1937; Greenock Dockyard Co.; 7,256 tons; 463^.7 x 63 x 29^.9; 1,362 n.h.p.; triple-expansion engines & L.P. turbine.)

Shortly after midnight U-46 fired three torpedoes at a British cruiser, but all missed.

Ju-88s strike at Scapa Flow and the old gunnery training ship & ex-battleship HMS Iron Duke has to be beached. 25 naval casualties. Estimated 4 enemy a/c attacking, 1 destroyed

USS Naval landing force from gunboats Asheville (PG-21) and Tulsa (PG-22) and destroyer Whipple (DD-217) is withdrawn from Kulangsu, China, where it had been protecting the American Consulate and the Hope Memorial Hospital since 17 May.

U.S. freighter West Hobomac is detained by British authorities.

German armored ship Admiral Graf Spee transfers crews of British freighters Newton Beech and Ashlea to tanker Altmark. The two German ships then part company for a time.

U-48 attacked the British steamer Rockpool with gunfire at 1332hrs. The steamer fired back, forcing the U-boat to crash dive. When it surfaced and opened fire once more, a destroyer arrived, sending the U-boat into a second dive

Soviet submarine SC-424 rammed and sunk by Soviet fishing trawler RT-43 at the entrance of Kola Bay. 10 crewman (another source says 7) survived, including the commander. She sank in 3 minutes to a depth of 250 meters.

U.S. freighter Scanstates, detained at Kirkwall, Orkneys, by British authorities since 14 October, is released.

U-34 sank SS Gustaf Adolf. After sinking the steamer Gustaf Adolf, U-34 towed the ship's lifeboats for three hours until a Norwegian ship came in sight and could rescue the survivors.

SS Sea Venture (2,327t) cargo ship, Carrying coal from the Tyne to Tromso in Norway was sunk by torpedo and gunfire from U-34. E of the Shetlands.

U.S. freighter City of Flint, under prize crew from German armored ship Deutschland, puts in to Tromsø, Norway, for water. Norwegian government, however, orders the ship to leave; she sails for Soviet waters.

U.S. freighter Meanticut is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities and ordered to proceed to Oran to discharge certain cargo earmarked for delivery to Italy.

SS Orsa (1,478t) struck a mine and sank about 20 miles off Flamborough Head, with the loss of sixteen of her crew. She was on a voyage from the Tyne to Bordeaux with a cargo of coal. [Also reported as sunk by German submarine U-15]

U-19 sank SS Capitaine Edmond Laborie & SS Deodata.

Ammunition lighter HMC NAD 01 ordered from Halifax Shipyards. Completed, 21 Mar 40 renamed HMC HC 82, lost 18 Jul 45 Bedford Basin explosion.

Crew of LORENZ W. HANSEN landed in Orkneys

U.S. freighters Endicott and West Gambo are detained by French authorities and portions of their cargo ordered ashore as contraband; 750 bales of carbon black from West Gambo and 2,276 bars of copper and 1,796 bags of carbon black from Endicott.

U.S. steamship President Hayes is detained by British naval authorities at Alexandria, Egypt, and searched for contraband (see 23 October); freighter Patrick Henry, detained by the British since 10 October, is released.

German armored ship Admiral Graf Spee stops British freighter Trevanion (5.299 grt/1937, Hain SS Co.) on Cape – U.K. trade, embarks her crew, and sinks the ship at 19°40'S, 04°02'W.

The German merchant ship EMMY FRIEDERICH is intercepted by the British warship CARADOC and scuttled by own crew.

SS Whitemantle (1,692t) cargo ship, Carrying coal from the Tyne to London was sunk by a mine near the Withernsea Light. Fourteen of her crew lost their lives.

Swedish steamer ALBANIA mined or torpedoed and sunk off the eastcoast of England on voyage Northfleet – Tyne. (Rederiaktieb. Svenska Lloyd; 1903; Schömer & Jensen; 1,241 tons; 237,7 x 35,2 x 15,4; 186 n.h. p. ; triple-expansion engines).

Swedish steamer JUPITER (2 191 ton). departured Karlsborg 14th Oct., destinated to England, captured in East North Sea by the German Navy and confiscated as a German prize.

U.S. freighter City of Flint arrives at Murmansk (see 24, 27 and 28 October and 3 November).

U.S. freighter Tulsa is detained at London by British authorities (see 9 November).

U.S. steamship President Hayes, detained by British naval authorities at Alexandria, Egypt, the previous day, is released, but not before a consignment of rubber earmarked for delivery to Genoa, Italy, is unloaded. The cargo is held at Alexandria for about two weeks, and then reloaded on board steamship President Polk. The President of the shipping concern involved (American President Lines) subsequently requests the Department of State to protest methods employed by the British naval authorities at Port Said and Alexandria in searching that company's vessels. "The fact that [the] British...allowed this eventual delivery," the shipping company executive complains, "indicates that [the] shipment ought never have been interfered with in [the] first place."

British light cruiser HMS Orion and Canadian destroyer HMCS Saguenay locate German tanker Emmy Friedrich in the Yucatan Channel; British light cruiser HMS Caradoc subsequently intercepts Emmy Friedrich whose crew scuttles her to avoid capture.

German submarine U-16 sunk by HMS Puffin & Cayton Wyke at pos. 51 09 00 N, 01 28 00 E.

British steamships Ledbury were attacked and sunk by German submarine U 37 at 36°01'N, 07°22'W.

The British steamship Menin Ridge, on a voyage from Djidjelli to Port Talbot with iron ore, was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U 37, 80 miles W. of Gibraltar. Twenty of her crew were lost. (Ridge S.S. Co.; 1924; Burntisland S.B. Co.; 2,474 tons; 298.5 x 44 x 21.2; 251 n.h.p. ; triple-expansion engines.)

U.S. freighter Crown City rescues the only five survivors from the 27- man crew of Menin Ridge and Ledbury's entire 33-man crew.

Soviet authorities intern U.S. freighter City of Flint's German prize crew from armored ship Deutschland at Murmansk (see 27-28 October and 3 November).

U.S. freighter Wacosta is detained by British authorities (see 8 November); freighter Iberville, detained by the British since 13 October, is released after cargo due to be discharged at Antwerp and Rotterdam, Holland, is seized as contraband. British authorities at Kirkwall remove 468 bags of U.S. mail destined for Gothenborg, Sweden and 18 for Helsinki, Finland, from Finnish freighter Astrid Thorden.

The Greek steamship Konstantinos Hadjipateras struck a mine and sank, about three miles S. of the Inner Dowsing Light. [Also reported as sunk by German submarine U-19] (J. C. & A. Hadjipateras; 1913; J. L. Thompson & Sons; 5,962 tons; 388.5 x 54.1 x 26; 455 n.h.p. ; triple-expansion engines.)

U-37 sank SS Tafna.

The anti-U-boat mine barrage in the Straits of Dover claims U-16. No more U-boats attempt the passage of the English Channel, and have to sail around the North of Scotland to reach the Atlantic.

U.S. freighter Sundance, detained at London, England, by British authorities since 11 October, is released; freighter West Hobomac, detained by the British since 18 October, is released.

U.S. freighter Nashaba, detained at Le Havre by French authorities since 14 October, is released.

U-16 sunk in the English Channel near Dover, in position 51.09N, 01.28E, by depth charges from the British submarine chasers HMS Cayton Wyke & Puffin. 28 dead (all hands lost).

British corvette HMS Bluebell laid down.

Three days after leaving Kiel, U-60 had to return to the base due to serious engine trouble.

U.S. freighter Black Eagle is detained by British authorities (see 5 November).

U-24 laid a field of 9 mines in Hartlepool Bay, resulting in one ship sunk on 9 November.

British destroyer HMS Kashmir commissioned.

British corvettes HMS Anemone, Campanula, Crocus & Honeysuckle laid down.

German submarines U-355, U-356, U-357, U-358 ordered.

U.S. freighter City of Flint is again placed under German naval prize crew from armored ship Deutschland (see 28 October and 3 November).

U.S. Consul at Gibraltar William E. Chapman meets informally with British Colonial Secretary there, and objects to protracted delay in detention of U.S. merchantmen, especially freighter Exporter, which has on board diplomatic pouches bound for Athens, Greece. Consul Chapman's low-key approach bears fruit. Exporter, detained since 14 October, is released later that day, as are freighters Oakman (detained since 13 October) and Meanticut (detained since 21 October).

U-31 laid a very successful field of 18 mines in Loch Ewe. This minefield later accounted for two ships sunk and one damaged.

U-34 sinks SS Bronte in Convoy OB-25.

British corvette HMS Aubretia laid down.

British AMC HMS Arawa commissioned.

U.S. freighter City of Flint, again under German control, sails from Murmansk for Norwegian waters. At no time during City of Flint's enforced stay at Murmansk has the ship's master, Captain Joseph A. Gainard (an inactive USNR officer) been allowed to communicate with the U.S. Embassy in Moscow (see 3 November).

U.S. freighter Black Tern, detained at Weymouth, England, by British authorities since 11 October, is released.

German armored ship Admiral Graf Spee makes rendezvous with tanker Altmark near Tristan de Cunha. The warship refuels from the auxiliary, and transfers British freighter Trevanion's crew to her.

British patrol vessel HMS Guillemont commissioned.

British AMC HMS Queen of Bermuda commissioned.

U-59 sank steamer Lynx II & steamer St Nidan.

The British steamship Malabar, Capt. H. H. Armstrong, O.B.E., was bound for London in convoy HX-5A with a general cargo when she was torpedoed by the German submarine U-34, 60 miles W.N.W. of the Bishop Rock, Scilly Isles. The attack took place at 3 a.m. without warning, the torpedo striking the ship on the starboard side and exploding in the engine room. The crew numbered 75, of whom five were killed and two wounded. The survivors, including Capt. Armstrong, took to the boats and were picked up without further loss. (T. & J. Brocklebank; 1938; W. Hamilton & Co.; 7,976 tons; 475.8 x 62.7x 32.3; 1,035 n.h.p.; 12 knots; turbine engines.)

A new type of German mine, set off by the noise of a ship is discovered near Porthcawl, Wales.

U.S. freighter Scanpenn is detained by British authorities at Kirkwall, Orkneys; freighter Hybert is detained by British authorities at the Downs the same day (see 11 and 5 November, respectively).

British steamer Cairnmona was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U 13, off Rattray Head, E of Stonehaven. She was on a voyage from Montreal to the Tyne in convoy HX-5. (Cairn Line of Steamships; 1918; Sunderland S.B. Co.; 4.666 tons; 390.2 x 53.1 x 33.7 ft; 550 nhp; triple-expansion engines.)

British corvettes HMS Calendula & Clarkia and submarines HMS Upholder, Urge & Unique  laid down.

USN Corvette USS Ready laid down.

U-59 sank British HMS Northern Rover.

U.S. freighter Black Osprey is detained at the Downs by British authorities; freighter Gateway City, detained by the British since 16 October, is released after cargo billed for delivery at Antwerp and Rotterdam, Holland, is seized as contraband.

French steamer Baoulé was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U 25, about 45 miles W.N.W of Corunna. Thirteen of her crew were killed. (Chargeurs Réunis; 1921; Atel. & Ch. de la Loire; 5.874 tons; 393.6 x 55.9 x 29 ft; 325 nhp; triple-expansion engines.)

Colonel Gwido Langer, the leader of the brilliant Polish cryptologists who have been working with their French and British counterparts to solve the mysteries of the German Enigma enciphering machine, arrived in France this month with his team and two Enigma machines. The Poles have thus fulfilled the orders of their General Staff that "in the case of a threat of war the Enigma secret must be used as our Polish contribution to the common cause of defense and divulged to our future allies." It is hoped the Poles, helped on their journey by the British Secret Service, will carry on with their work to enable the Allies to read the German's secret codes.

British corvettes HMS Candytuft, Dianthus, Carnation & Delphinium laid down.

British submarine HMS Truant commissioned.

U.S. freighter Exminster is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities (see 6 November).

German armoured ship DEUTSCHLAND recalled to Germany.

U.S. freighters Endicott and West Gambo, detained by French authorities since 22 October and portions of their cargo ordered ashore as contraband, are released and clear LeHavre, France.

U.S. freighter City of Flint is restored to U.S. control at Haugesund, Norway.

ADMIRAL GRAF SPEE enters Indian Ocean.

U-37 suffered slight damage after an air attack.

U-23 laid nine mines off Cromarthy Firth, but without result.

The Norwegian Admiralty reports that it has interned the German crew of the captured US freighter City of Flint after she docked at Haugesund, en route from Murmansk to Germany.

U.S. freighter Black Condor is detained by British authorities at Weymouth, England (see 17 November); freighter Scanmail is detained by the British at Kirkwall, Orkneys. Part of her cargo is seized; steamship President Polk is detained by the British at Port Said, Egypt, and certain items of her cargo confiscated for inquiry; freighter Black Eagle, detained by the British since 26 October, is released.

The German merchant ship UHENFELS is intercepted by the British warship ARK ROYAL and scuttled by own crew.

U.S. freighter Exeter is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities. She is released the same day after 700 bags of U.S. mail are removed from the ship (see 8 and 10 November). Freighter Exminster, detained at Gibraltar by the British since 1 November, is released without any confiscation of cargo.

U-21 encountered the British submarine HMS Sealion in the North Sea. The Sealion fired six torpedoes at U-21, but all missed.

Captain Joseph H Gainard, in Norway, told today how his US cargo ship, City of Flint, was taken by the German armored ship Deutschland. A party from the Deutschland came aboard on 9 October and declared the ship a prize of war. The Germans painted out all US insignia and headed for Murmansk in Russia, and then for Germany. But the Norwegian Navy stopped them, and another German ship ordered them to Haugesund where the US ship was returned to her captain.

Naval Attaché, Berlin, is informed by an official of the German Navy Ministry that it had been "definitely established that no German U-boat had torpedoed the Athenia." The German Navy considers the incident "closed as far as the Navy was concerned" and possesses only "an academic interest in how the ship was sunk."

The anti-U-boat mine barrage in the Strait of Dover is completed and accounts for three U-boats, starting with "U-12".

U.S. freighter Exeter is detained by French authorities (see 8 and 10 November).

U.S. freighter Express is detained by British authorities at Gibraltar but is released the same day after her cargo is examined; freighter Tulsa, detained at London by the British since 23 October, is released; freighter Wacosta, detained by the British since 24 October, is released after cargo billed for delivery to Rotterdam, Holland, is seized as contraband.

German armoured ship DEUTSCHLAND returns through Denmark Straits.

British trawler Kingston Arogonite, Hull, lost.

U-24 sank SS Carmarthen Coast (961t) on a voyage from Methil to London, [Another source said: was mined and sank three miles off Seaham Harbour]. Two of the crew were lost.

U-34 captured SS Snar.

German steam tanker BISCAYA, captured as a "Prize" by H.M.S. Scotstoun , off the Faroe Islands  (build 1927 by Act Ges "Weser" Bremen. Owners : BremerOL- Transport GMBH(John T. Essberger managers). 1940 renamed. EMPIRE UNITY . M.O.W.T. 1947 renamed. STORDALE. Storships Transport Ltd. London. 1951 renamed MAGEOLIA. Mageolia Naviera, Panama ( T. Pappadrinitriou managers) 1963 became a static bulk oil storage vessel at Piraeus. 1966 scrapped at Burriana, Spain.

U.S. freighter Exeter, detained by French authorities since 8 November, is released after 1,400 bales of cottonseed hulk consigned to a Swiss buyer are removed as contraband.

U.S. freighter Nishmaha is detained by British authorities at Gibraltar (see 17 November); freighter Yaka is detained by the British and her cargo examined (see 5 and 6 December).

U.S. freighter Express, with cargo earmarked for Greece, Turkey, and Rumania, is detained by British authorities at Malta (see 23 November).

Norwegian motor tanker ARNE KJØDE badly damaged by a torpedo from the German submarine U 41on a voyage from Aruba to Nyborg. Five of her crew were lost. The tanker was later sunk by British naval ships. (A/S Inger; 1938; Deutsche Werft A.G.; 11.019 tons; 508.1 x 69.2 x 36.5 ft; 1.360 nhp; oil engines.)

German submarine U-41 sank Cresswell. After sinking the British steamer Cresswell, U-41 took seven survivors on board. Some hours later the U-boat stopped another ship and turned the survivors over to that vessel.

British destroyer HMS BLANCHE. Sunk by a mine in the Thames Estuary whilst escorting HMS ADVENTURE which had earlier been damaged by a mine. She was the first Royal Navy destroyer to be sunk in the war. Had been turning at high speed when a the mine exploded well aft. The main dynamo was destroyed and the ship was plunged into darkness. She took a 20 degree list and sank two hours later. One rating was killed and 12 injured.

The British steamship Sirdhana, Capt. P. Fairbairn, was leaving Singapore harbour with a large number of passengers on board, of whom 137 were Chinese deportees and 10 U.S. citizens (a troupe of magicians), when she struck a mine some three miles off shore and sank in 20 minutes. Twenty Asiatic deck passengers were killed. (British India Steam Navigation Co.; 1925; Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson; 7,745 tons; 436.1 x 57.8 x 33.5; 801 n.h.p. ; 13 knots; triple-expansion engines.)

U.S. freighter Black Hawk is detained by British authorities at Ramsgate, England.

German destroyers Karl Galster, Wilhelm Heidkamp, Hermann Kunne and Hans Ludemann lay a minefield in the South and Edinburgh channels. Soon after the minefield had been laid, the Minelaying Cruiser HMS Adventure (Capt A. R. Halfhide) ran into a mine. Temporally disabled the injured were transferred to the destroyer HMS Basilisk while destroyer HMS Blanche stood by. As the force made its way towards safety HMS Blanche was mined and settled by the stern. The tug Fabia went to the destroyer’s assistance but as she was towed the destroyer capsized and sank. HMS Blanche lost two crew killed and twelve injured.

German submarine U-49 was attacked by a British aircraft. The boat dived to 160 meters and suffered some damage.

The French steamship Loire was on charter to the Cie. Generale d'Armement Maritime when she left Oran on November 12th, 1939, for Dunkirk carrying minerals. She did not arrive but wreck­age was found near Malaga and it was assumed that she had capsized. [Another report says that she was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U 26] (Cie. Generale Transatlantique; 1928; Lithgows; 4,285 tons; 370 x 51 x 25.4; 310 n.h.p.; triple-expansion engines.)

German minesweeper M132 stranded in the North Sea.

Returning to Scapa Flow after guarding the Fair Isle passage during "Gneisenau's" recent sortie, anchored battleship "ROYAL OAK" is torpedoed and sunk by "U-47" (Lt-Cdr Prien) in the early hours of the 14th with the loss of 833 men. The Home Fleet moves to Loch Ewe on the W Scottish coast.

Canadian destroyer HMCS Fraser damaged in a collision with the armed trawler HMCS Bras D'Or. Fraser was under repairs until 04 Dec 39.

Interior Department motorship North Star (U.S. Antarctic Service) departs Boston, Massachusetts for the south polar regions (see 12 January 1940).

German armored ship Admiral Graf Spee stops and sinks British tanker Africa Shell (706 grt/1939, Shell Co. of East Africa) 160 miles northeast of Lourenco Marques in Mozambique Channel, 24°45'S, 35°00'E; Japanese freighter Tihuku Maru happens upon the scene of the action but is unmolested.

The French ship Alaska was in collision with the British Dotterel, and sank about 12 miles S.E. of Owers light­ship. A ship's boat was washed ashore. (ALASKA, Cie. Generale Transatlantique; 1922; SunderlandS.B. Co.; 5,399 tons; 425 x 55 x 26,6; 629 n.h.p. ; triple-expansion engines.)

German armoured ship DEUTSCHLAND arrives at Gotenhaven (Gdynia), Poland.

U.S. freighter Lafcomo is detained by British authorities at Weymouth, England; freighter West Harshaw is detained by the British at Ramsgate.

German armored ship Admiral Graf Spee stops Dutch freighter Mapia in Indian Ocean but, since the latter is a neutral ship, permits her to proceed unharmed.

The British steamship Arlington Court, Capt. Hurst, was torpedoed by the German submarine U 43 in the Atlantic 320 miles S.W. of Start Point off the Irish coast when on a voyage in convoy SL-7A from Argentina to Hull. The vessel was struck by two torpedoes, the first of which wrecked the wireless. The second was not discharged until after the crew had taken to the boats. The vessel sank in 30 minutes. Of the 34 men who had formed the crew 22 were picked up by the Dutch steamship Alengib and landed at an Irish port. The chief engineer, Mr. H. Pearson, died from exposure during the time that the boats were adrift, and three others were lost from various causes. Another boat was piloted by an 18 year-old apprentice, Malcolm Morrison, for six days until close to land where she was picked up by a Norwegian vessel. Morrison worked out his course with a small compass and steered the boat himself, though suffering severely from frostbite. There were five men in the boat beside Morrison and all survived. (Court Line; 1924; Workman Clark & Co.; 4,915 tons; 396.6 x 53.1 x 26.5; 414 n.h.p. ; 11 knots; triple-expansion engines.)

U.S. freighter Black Gull is detained by British authorities.

U.S. freighter Nishmaha, detained at Gibraltar since 11 November, is given option of submitting to further detention or proceeding to Barcelona and thence to Marseilles to unload items seized by British authorities. Nishmaha's master chooses the latter (see 23 November). On the same day the British allow Nishmaha to clear Gibraltar, however, they detain U.S. freighter Examiner and seize 11 bags of first-class mail (see 4 December). Freighter Black Condor, detained by the British at Weymouth, England, since 5 November, is released after part of her cargo and 126 bags of mail are seized.

The Dutch motor tanker Sliedrecht, with benzine and kerosene for Trondheim, was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-28, about 200 miles S. of Rockall, with the loss of 26 lives. (Phs. Van Ommeren; 1924; Rotterdam Droogdok Maats.; 5,133 tons; 402.1 x 53.2 x 27-9; 489 n.h.p.; oil engines.)

The Lithuanian steamship Kaunas struck a mine and sank, about six and a half miles W.N.W. of the Noord Hinder Light. [Another report says that she was sunk by the German submarine U 57] (AB Lietnros Baltijas Lloydas; 1931; Porsgrund Mek. Verksted; 1,566 tons; 246.6 x 37.9x 18.2; 66 n.h.p. ; compound engines).

The passenger liner Simon Bolivar, Capt. H. Voorspuiy, was on a voyage from Holland to Paramaribo when she struck a mine off Harwich. The liner carried 400 persons, passengers and crew. The explosion was of such violence that many persons on deck were killed, and Capt. Voorspuiy was mortally wounded and died very soon afterwards. The Simon Bolivar's masts were blown down and she began to settle by the stern, there being considerable difficulty in getting out the boats. The ship's radio was damaged by the explosion and the S.O.S. could not be sent out, nevertheless other vessels were quickly on the spot. About 15 minutes after the first explosion there came a second one which hastened the end of the ship, and badly damaged some of the remaining lifeboats. The evidence of the ship's officers was that the vessel struck two mines, one on the port side and one on the starboard, there being an interval of about a quarter-of-an-hour between the strikings. Survivors were taken either to Harwich or to London by passing ships. Throughout the night a search for survivors went on but no-one was found. The injured were taken to Shotley Naval Hospital and Essex County Hospital at Colchester. Later the Simon Bolivar sank by the stern with the loss of 84 lives. (Koninklijke Nederlandsche Stoomb. Maats.; 1927; Rotterdam Droogdok Maats.; 8,309 tons; 419.9 x 59.1 x 27.7; 856 n.h.p.; 14 knots; quadruple-expansion engines.)

The british steamer Blackhill (2,492t), on a voyage to Tees from Salta Caballo, was sunk by a mine in the Thames Estuary. One member of the crew died.

British steamship Stanbrook left Antwerp in ballast for the Tyne, 8 miles from her destination she was torpedoed by U 57. None of her crew of twenty survived. (Stanhope Steamship Co.; 1909; Tyne Iron Shipbuilding Co.; 1.383 tons; 230.1 x 34 x 21.8 ft; 163 nhp; p knots; triple-expansion engines.)

Swedish steamer B. O. BORJESSON struck a mine and sank 4½ miles off Spurn Head near the Humber Lightvessel, English east coast, when on passage from Northfleet to Hull in ballast. Six of the 24 crew is lost. (Rederi AB Gefion; 1907; Akt. Ges. “Neptun”; 1.585 tons; 261.4 x 38.1 x 16.5 ft; 132 nhp; triple-expansion engines).

German submarine U-13 sank SS Bowling.

SS Torchbearer (1,267t) a collier bound for London from Seaham was sunk by a mine, off Harwich, with the loss of four of her crew.

British Home Fleet submarines gain their first success in the Heligoland Bight when "Sturgeon" sinks German patrol ship "V-209".

U.S. freighter Excambion is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities (see 27 November).

German submarine U 33 sank SS Delphine, Sea Sweeper & Thomas Hankins.

The first magnetic mines are parachuted into the Thames Estuary by the Luftwaffe. The minesweeper HMS Mastiff is blown up by a magnetic mine while attempting to recover it into a fishing net.

U-18 and U-57 both attacked a British destroyer in the North Sea, but without success.

The Danish Navy Supreme Command ("Søværnskommandoen") gives the orders to place mine fields in the Storebælt, between Langeland and Lolland, and in Lille Bælt between Als and Ærø.

German armoured ship ADMIRAL GRAF SPEE returns to South Atlantic.

British cruiser BELFAST is badly damaged in the Firth of Forth on a magnetic mine laid by "U-21". With her back broken and machinery mountings shattered she is out of action for three years.

U.S. freighter Express, detained by British authorities at Malta since 12 November, is released and allowed to proceed on her voyage after declaring the nature of her cargo.

U 33 sank SS Sulby & William Humphries.

U-41 sank SS Les Barges II.

U-20 laid 9 mines off Yarmouth, resulting in two ships sunk later that year.

Destroyer HMS Gipsy mined in the channel to Harwich. The Polish destroyer ORP Burzas took off the crew.

Japanese liner Terukuni Maru. Capt. Matsukura, with 28 passenger and crew of 177 struck a German mine one and a half miles off the Sunk Lightship. The explosion occurred in Nos. 2 and 3 holds and the vessel began to sink. Eight boats were lowered and 206 persons, including the pilot, were safely landed. The ship sank in 45 minutes. (Nippon Yusen K.K.; 1930; Mitsubishi Zosen Kaisha; 11.930 tons; 507 x 64 x 37 ft; 2.492 nhp; 16 knots; oil engines.)

German battleship GNEISENAU and SCHARNHORST leave Wilhelmshaven.

SS Geraldus (2,494t) steamer, on a voyage from Tyne to Bruges was sunk by a mine off the 'Sunk Lightvessel'.

U.S. freighter Exmouth is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities (see 5 December).

German merchant freighter ADOLPH WOERMANN (owned by German Africa lines, Hamburg, build 1922, 8577 ton). Sunk by the crew in the Atlantic Ocean, when the British destroyer Ajax requested them to stop. She was trying to return to Hamburg from Mombasa where she had taken on a number of passengers.

Minesweeping trawler HMS Aragonite mined in the English Channel off Deal.

The Greek steamship Elena R, struck a mine and sank off the Shambles, on a voyage from Rosario to Antwerp. [Also reported as sunk by the German submarine U 26]. (A. Roussos & Co.; 1917; Newport News S.B. & D.D. Co.; 4.576 tons; 370 x 53.2 x 27 ft; 471 nhp; triple-expansion engines.)

The French steamship SS Arijon was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U 43 in the Bay of Biscay. (Cie. De Navigation d’Orbigny; 1938; W. Gray & Co.; 4.374 tons; 410.8 x 55 x 22.7 ft; 553 nhp; triple-expansion engines. )

HMS NEPTUNE intercepts the German steamship ADOLPH WOERMANN.

Armed merchant cruiser RAWALPINDI (Capt E. C Kennedy) on Northern Patrol is sunk by the  battlecruiser Scharnhorst as she and sister ship Gneisenau try to break out into the Atlantic. After the action to the southwest of Iceland, they turn back and return to Germany after avoiding searching ships of the British Home Fleet.

Soviet destroyer Groznyi stops Finnish ship Suursaari that is evacuating the outer islands. Suursaari is allowed to proceed after half an hour.

U.S. freighter Express, released from her detention at Malta on 21 November by British authorities, continues on her voyage to Greece, Turkey, and Rumania.

U.S. Consul at Gibraltar William E. Chapman declines to consent to execute agreement wherein the master of freighter Nishmaha (detained since 11 November) will agree to proceed via Barcelona, Spain, to Marseilles to unload cargo deemed contraband by the Gibraltar Contraband Control board (see 24 November). Secretary of State Hull subsequently (27 November) approves Consul Chapman's action with respect to U.S. merchantmen which left the U.S. with cargoes prior to the Neutrality Act of 4 November.

U-33 torpedoed SS Borkum. Total loss.

The magnetic mine dropped at Shoeburyness arrives at HMS Vernon. This marks a vital step in the battle against these particular mines, which are causing heavy losses and long delays. In November alone 27 ships of 121,000 tons are sunk and for a time the Thames is virtually closed to shipping.

Swedish steamer IRIS (off.no: 768) stranded at Pater Noster,  Moonsund in the entrance to Tallinn when on a voyage Tallin - Riga. Crew saved. Later refloated and towed to Tallinn for temporary repair and then for own power to Varberg, Sweden where she was laid up.

German submarine U-16 sunk in the Strait of Dover. No more attempts are made to pass through the English Channel and U-boats are forced to sail around the north of Scotland to reach the Atlantic.

U.S. freighter Nishmaha, her master having signed agreement (see 23 November) under protest to proceed to Marseille, France, via Barcelona, Spain, clears Gibraltar.

SS Mangalore (8,886t) cargo ship, at anchor in the Hawke Roads, Spurn, was struck by a drifting mine and broke in two.

American destroyer Yarnall (DD-143) drifts aground in Lynnhaven Roads; refloated that same day, she enters the Norfolk Navy Yard for repairs on 26 November. Yarnall had only been in commission since 4 October 1939.

The British steamship Royston Grange, on a voyage from Buenos Aires to Liverpool in Convoy SL-8B, was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U 28, about 50 miles S.W. of the Scilly Islands. (Houlder Line; 1918; Hawthorn, Leslie & Co.; 5.144 tons; 400.1 x 52.3 x 28.5 ft; 518 nhp; triple-expansion engines.)

SS Uskmouth (2,483t) steamer, Sunderland to Southern France was sunk by torpedoes and gunfire from U-43 in the Bay of Biscay. Two of her crew died.

Ten die when the Polish liner SS Pilsudski (14,294t) a Polish liner under charter to the Royal Navy struck a mine and sank off the Humber.

German armored ship Admiral Graf Spee and tanker Altmark rendezvous in South Atlantic (see 27 and 29 November).

Belgian steamer QUENAST, at 04.15 foundered in heavy storm 3 m N of Noord Hinder lightvessel when on voyage Tees - Antwerp with salt. 3 casualties (5 crew members were salved by Belgian fishing boat B 24 ADELINE and Swedish steamer PARIS) (Armement L. Hermans S.A.; 1903; Bow, McLachlan & Co.; 509 tons; 165.5 x 28.2 x 12 ft; 78 nhp; Compound engines.)

The Dutch liner Spaarndam, on a voyage from Tampico to Antwerp, struck a magnetic mine three miles east north-east of the Tongue light vessel. The vessel was ripped open as far as her upper deck and sank in shallow water, being only partly submerged. At just before midnight the wreck caught fire and continued to burn throughout the night. She burnt out, but later her cargo of cotton was salvaged. Seven lives were lost. (Nederlandsche-Amerikaansche Stoomv. Maats.; 1922; New Waterway S.B. Co.; 8,857 tons; 450.3 x 58.2 x 37.2; 880 n.h.p. ; 13 knots; turbine engines.)

On patrol off the Skaw, the British submarine HMS Triad became disabled due to fracture of her after hydroplane shaft. The British destroyers HMS Inglefield, and HMS Maori were sent to assist the sub.

U.S. freighter Effingham is detained at Ramsgate, England, by British authorities (see 7 December);

U.S. freighter Azalea City is detained at London (see 11 December). Freighter Excambion, detained at Gibraltar by the British since 20 November, is released.

German armored ship Admiral Graf Spee refuels from tanker Altmark in South Atlantic (see 29 November).

Swedish motor ship Gustaf E. Reuter struck a mine and sank 14 miles W.N.W of Fair Isle. [Also reported as sunk by the German submarine U 48]. (Rederi AB Reut; 1928; Eriksbergs M.V.; 6.336 tons; 418.9 x 55.1 x 32.1 ft; 543 nhp; oil engines)

German battleship GNEISENAU and SCHARNHORST return to Wilhelmshaven.

U.S. freighter Winston Salem is detained at Ramsgate, England, by British authorities (see 7 December).

German submarine U-47 fired one torpedo at cruiser HMS Norfolk, but failed to hit it.

USS Submarine S 38 (SS-143) is damaged by explosion of after storage battery, Olongapo, P.I.; four sailors suffer injuries.

U-20 sank SS Ionian (3,114t) in Convoy FN-43. India to London and Hull (Another source said: was sunk by a mine off the Newarp Lightvessel in the North Sea.

USSR invades Finland, which will receive not only American aid but British and French as well; the Finnish struggle (albeit against an initially inept Soviet invasion force) arouses the admiration of many (see 14 December).

SS Sheaf Crest (2,730t) steamer, Tyne to London, was sunk by a mine in the Thames Estuary.

The Soviet cruiser Kirov together with destroyers Smetlinyi & Stremitelnyi bombard the coast artillery battery at Russarö on the southern Finnish coast. After a brief exchange of fire, Russarö's 234-mm guns score a hit on Kirov, and the Soviets withdraw. Kirov loses 17 KIA and some 30 WIA, while the Finns suffer no losses.

Norwegian steamer ARCTURUS  torpedoed by German U-boat U- 21 east of Peterhead, UK on voyage London-Stavanger with coal. 9 men died. 8 survived after british planes spotted their raft and called up a nearby Danish vessel, who rescued them and took them to Fredrikshavn, Denmark. (Bergens Mek. Verksted, Solheimsviken, Bergen (#166) as cargovessel ARCTURUS to Det Bergenske Dampskibsselskab, Bergen (1277 grt).

German armored ship Admiral Graf Spee stops British freighter Doric Star (10.086 grt/1921, Blue Star Line) the warship then torpedoes, shells, and sinks the merchantman at 19°15'S, 05°05'E.

SS San Calisto (8,010t) tanker, Hull to Houston, Texas, was sunk by a mine off the Tongue Lightvessel.

German armored ship Admiral Graf Spee stops British freighter Tairoa (7.983 grt/1920, Shaw Savill & Albion Co.) the warship then sinks the merchantman at 21°30'S, 03°00'E. Ironically, the same day Commodore Commanding South Atlantic Station, Commodore Henry H. Harwood, orders his three cruisers to concentrate off the River Plate estuary on 12 December (see 13 December).

SS Moortoft (875t) steamer, lost by an unknown cause in the North Sea after leaving the Humber for Calais. All thirteen of her crew died.

German submarine U-36 sunk by HMS Submarine SALMON at pos. 57 00 00 N, 05 20 00 E, off Heligoland.

SS Horsted (1,670t) on a voyage from London to Sunderland, struck a mine and sank SE of Flamborough Head.

Estonian steamer AGU departured from Tyne on voyage to Gothenburg with cargo of coal. Not heard of after this date. Her crew was 19 men. (Ed. Lass; 1885; W. Gray & Co.; 1,575 tons; 261,5 x 36,8 x 18,2; 173 n.h.p.; compound engines.)

German freighter USSUKAMA intercepted by the British warship AJAX and CUMBERLAND and scuttled by her own crew.

Finnish submarine Saukko and three MTB's move to Koivisto. Minsk and two destroyers Saarenpää island off Koivisto.

U-59 sank SS Washington.

Finnish VETEHINEN tries to attack Soviet icebreaker JERMAK, but attack fails due to poor visibility. Soviet Union declares unlimited submarine warfare in Finnish territorial waters, except Ahvenanmaa area.

In the North Sea, the destroyers HMS Juno and HMS Jersey were attacked by the German destroyers Erich Giese and Hans Lody which had been laying mines off Cromer. HMS Jersey was damaged by a torpedo and was towed into the Humber by the HMS Juno.

German merchant freighter ADOLF LEONHARD owned by Leonhardt & Blumberg, Hamburg, build 1921, 2990 ton. Sunk by the crew on the height of Angola in position 130 S, 110 30' E.

SS Corea (751t) steamer, Humber from Boulogne hit a mine and sank off Cromer. Eight of her crew died.

U.S. freighter Explorer is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities (see 23 December)

German freighter ADOLF LEONHARDT is intercepted by the British warship SHROPSHIRE and scuttled by her own crew.

Saarenpää battery, Finland shelled by Soviet Oktjabrskaja Revolutsija. Finnish Saukko tries to attack, but freezing of air vent prevents. Estonian steamer Kassari sunk by gunfire of Soviet submarine  Shtsh 323 between Utö and Hiidenmaa. Shtsh 322 torpedoes a merchantmen off Helsinki, probably German Reinbeck. German s/s Bolheim sunk by sub. S 1 in Gulf of Bothnia.

U-20 sank SS Willowpool (4,815t) & Føina. Bona, Algeria to the Tees, (Another source said that WILLOWPOOL hit a mine and sank E of Newarp Lightvessel).

U.S. freighter Azalea City, detained at London by British authorities since 27 November, is released to proceed to Antwerp, and Rotterdam, Holland, after certain cargo is detained for guaranties. Freighter Steel Engineer, detained at Gibraltar by the British the previous day, is released.

U-38 sank SS Garoufalia.

HMS DUCHESS. Destroyer, sinks after a collision with battleship HMS BARHAM, 9 miles off the Mull of Kintyre, Scotland.

U-13 laid a mine barrier off the Firth of Tay, which later claimed one ship sunk.

Swedish motor tanker ALGOL mined and sunk off Falsterbo on a voyage Stockholm – Gothenburg in ballast, she was later refloated and repaired.

British heavy cruiser HMS Exeter, light cruiser HMS Ajax, and New Zealand light cruiser HMNZS Achilles (Commodore Henry H. Harwood, RN, flag in Ajax), which had rendezvoused the previous day, engage German armored ship Admiral Graf Spee in the Battle of the River Plate. The "pocket battleship" knocks Exeter out of action and damages her consorts, but is compelled by the damage inflicted by her lesser-gunned adversaries (which are fought, as First Lord of the Admiralty Winston S. Churchill writes, "with the utmost resolution and skill") to retire toward Montevideo, Uruguay. Exeter, badly damaged, withdraws to the Falkland Islands (see 14 December.). The U.S. Navy studies the Battle of the River Plate from a perspective of drilling gunners to maintain fire by local (rather than a centralized director) control. To this end, a scenario similar to the River Plate engagement is included in an exercise in 1940. In addition, the Director of Fleet Training considers the "proper use of smoke either as a defense measure or as a means of covering movements of an attacking force" extremely important, and points out the demonstrable effectiveness of a smoke screen "as a means of protection for light forces" employed by Commodore Harwood in the battle with Admiral Graf Spee.

U-38 sank SS Deptford.

U-57 sank SS Mina.

Swedish motortanker ALGOL mined and sunk at Falsterboleden, Sweden when on a voyage from Stockholm to Gothenburg in ballast. She was later refloated and repaired. (Trelleborgs Angfartygs Nya AB; 1937; Hamburg; 1.240 dwt.)

Two Soviet 'G'-class destroyers, Gnevnyi and Grozjastshij, approach Utö fortress, Finland. Fortress opens fire at 11.40 hours, and one of them is damaged.

In the afternoon of the 14th, the tanker SS Atheltemplar (8939 tons) and built in 1930, struck a mine and was lying helpless eleven miles off the Tyne. The tugs Joffre and Langton, lying at Blyth and the tug Great Emperor from the Tyne, set off to help the tanker, they were met by the destroyers HMS Kelly and HMS Mowhawk acting as the escorts. It was 16.30 and nearly dark when the Atheltemplar was reached, her stern was high out of the water, her forecastle was awash and she was rolling badly. A short distance away another tanker SS Inverlane (9141t) and built in 1938 had also struck a mine and was lying derelict. Whilst deciding what course of action to take, over the casualties, the Kelly then had the misfortune to hit a mine. Meanwhile the tugs Joffre and Langton were having difficulty in making fast the tow for Atheltemplar until some of the Mowhawk's crew boarded the tanker to lend a hand. This done, the tow commenced, they reached the Tyne entrance at 23.00, only to be told not to enter, so they towed the stricken ship another two miles to a location between the river entrance and Souter Point and stayed there throughout the night. The following morning brought dense fog and by mid-day it was thought to be too risky to bring the tanker into the Tyne so it was decided to beach her south of the river. With the assistance of two more tugs, the Great Emperor and the George V the task was completed by 19.15, the tugs standing by again throughout the night in case she refloated. The Joffre and Langton were not yet finished with the Atheltemplar for after some of her load was recovered and the ship lightened, she was able to be towed by them into the Tyne where the rest of the cargo was salvaged and the ship then towed to a repair yard. The Kelly was to be taken in tow by the Great Emperor, after the tow was made fast it was found possible to maintain a speed of about three knots. Reaching the Tyne just before mid-night, with the assistance of the tugs Robert Redhead and Washington, the Kelly was taken to her builders, Hawthorn-Leslie's shipyard, for repairs.

Swedish steamer URSUS, on voyage from Uddevalla to Rochester torpedoed in south west North Sea. 9 men killed. 11 men rescued by Dutch steamer BRINDA and taken to Rotterdam. [Another source says she struck a mine about seven miles off the Thames Estuary] (Red. AB. Ursus, Gothenburg; 1902; A.G. Neptun; 1500 grt; 260.6 x 37.2 x 17.1 ft; 136 nhp; triple-expansion engine.)

USS Destroyer Jouett (DD-396) relieves Benham (DD-397) at sea; the latter attempts to locate German freighter Arauca, while Jouett joins Lang (DD-399) in shadowing passenger liner Columbus.

Norwegian steamer H.C. Flood struck a mine and sank in the North Sea off the Tyne, at 55°02'00"N - 01°12'00"W. (D/S A/S Falkeid; 1917; Bergens Mek. Verksted; 1.907 tons; 266.9 x 42.1 x 18 ft; 162 nhp; triple-expansion engines.)

USS Destroyers Schenck (DD-159) and Philip (DD-76), soon joined by Lea (DD-118), relieve destroyers Jouett (DD-396) and Lang (DD-399) in trailing German passenger liner Columbus off Key West, Florida. Jouett and Lang steam to join destroyer Davis (DD-395) in attempting to locate freighter Arauca. Schenck soon proceeds on other assigned duties.

SS Amble (1,162t) hit a mine and sank off Sunderland.

USS Destroyers Ellis (DD-154) and Cole (DD-155) relieve Lea (DD-118) and Philip (DD-76) of shadowing German passenger liner Columbus.

SS Serenity (487t) a cargo ship on a journey from Methil to London, was bombed and sunk by German aircraft, E of Whitby.

Götaverken AB, Gothenburg launch motortanker K. J. KNUDSEN, ordered by Knut Knutsen O.A.S., Haugesund, Norway.

U.S. freighter Meanticut, detained by British authorities at Gibraltar the previous day, is released.

British destroyer HMS Hyperion intercepts German passenger liner Columbus 450 miles east of Cape May, New Jersey; the latter is scuttled to prevent capture. Two crewmen perish in the abandonment. Heavy cruiser Tuscaloosa (CA-37) rescues Columbus's survivors (567 men and 9 women stewardesses) and sets course for New York City, the only U.S. port that can handle such a large and sudden influx of aliens.

Danish steamship Jytte, en route for the Tyne, struck a mine and sank 18 miles off Souter Point, River Tyne. Eight survivors of the Jytte were landed at Tynemouth, two of them were taken to Preston Hospital, North Shields. (D/S Ove Skou A/S; 1884; J. Laing; 1.877 tons; 270 x 36.4 x 21 ft; 173 nhp; compound engines)

Swedish steamer VEGA. On voyage to Antwerp with cargo of wood, Mined and sunk off Terscheiling. Crew saved by the Swedish steamer VENERN, and transported to Ymuiden. (Rederi AB. Falkvik, Sölvesborg; l 300 grt.)

U.S. freighters Oakwood, bound for Genoa, Italy, and Executive, bound for Greece, Turkey, and Rumania, are detained by British authorities at Gibraltar (see 23 December 1939 and 3 January 1940, respectively).

Swedish steamer CARL HENCKEL. Mined and sunk, on voyage Leith to Stockholm with cargo of coal, about 90 miles E Aberdeen. 10 men killed,  7 saved by the Norwegian steamer HOP. (Rederi AB  Henal, Helsingborg, 1882; Whitby; 1 380 grt)

U-21 sank HMS Bayonet.

U-46 sank SS Rudolf.

Minesweeping trawler Dromio was lost in a collision with an unnamed vessel north of Whitby.

British steamer LONGSHIPS. Stranded and broken in two at the Seven Stones.

Minesweeping trawler HMS Dromio sunk in collision off Whitby.

U.S. freighters Explorer (detained at Gibraltar since 9 December) and Oakwood (detained there since 20 December) are released by British authorities.

SS Pandora renamed Dolphin (4,580t) was heading for Blyth under tow to start her new career as a submarine accommodation ship for the submarine base at Blyth, when she struck a mine at 55°06'05"N - 01°27'09"W. Much of the wreck still remains and lies 19 metres of water.

The British steamship Stanholme, struck a mine and sank in the Bristol Channel. Thirteen men were killed, Capt. Hook and 12 others were rescued. [Another report says that she was sunk by U-33 at 51.20N, 03.39W.] (Stanhope Steamship Co; 1927; Burntisland Shipbuilding Co.; 2.473 tons; 298.5 x 43.9 x 21.2 ft; 259 nhp; triple-expansion engines.)

ASW trawler HMS Loch Doon hit a mine and sank, off Blyth, with the loss of fifteen of her crew.

The Royal Navy starts laying a mine barrier from the Moray Firth to the Thames Estuary.

Finnish submarine Vesihiisi lays 19 mines off Paldiski

The German merchantman Glücksburg (2680 GRT) was intercepted by destroyer HMS Wishart & was run aground by her crew near the Chipiona Lightship, Spain.

Götaverken AB, Gothenburg deliver motortanker ARISTOPHANES, ordered by A. S Onassis, Buenos Aires, for norwegian ownership.

Danish steamer Hanne, struck a mine, laid on 20 December by U-22, about 1 mile E of Blyth Pier at 55°06'25"N - 01°29'14"W and sank in shallow water with the loss of fifteen lives. (D/S af 1937 A/S; 1905; Fredrikstad Mek. Verksted; 1.080 tons; 230.1 x 35.1 x 14.5 ft; 104 nhp; triple-expansion engines).

U.S. steamship President Adams is detained at Port Said, Egypt, by British authorities. Cargo suspected of being contraband is discharged at Alexandria, Egypt.

Uruguayan government gives German freighter Tacoma 24 hours to leave the port of Montevideo, deeming the ship an auxiliary war vessel since she had assisted various maneuvers of armored ship Admiral Graf Spee and embarked her crew when that warship was scuttled (see 1 January 1940).

HM Submarine Seahorse which had sailed from Blyth on the 26th December for a patrol in the Heligoland Bight, was sunk, presumably by German minesweepers.

U.S. freighter Excalibur, detained at Gibraltar by British authorities since 17 December, is released.

British steamer Box Hill , St John, on a voyage New Brunswick to Hull, was sunk by a mine in the North Sea, off the Humber Lightship. All crew, 22, killed. (Surrey S.S. Co.; 1920; Hawthorn, Leslie & Co.; 5.677 tons; 450 x 55 x 26.4 ft; 548 nhp; triple-expansion engines)

AB Fredrikstads Mekaniska Verksted launch a newbuilding for Rederi AB Kare, Stockholm. She is named Lena,

AA cruiser COVENTRY is damaged in an air raid on the Shetland Islands, north of Scotland.

Convoy OB.64 departed Liverpool escorted by destroyer VERSATILE and sloop DEPTFORD until the 4th.

Soviet submarine S.2 was lost on a mine laid by Finnish minelayer LOUHI off Market Island in the Sodra-Kvarken Passage into the Gulf of Bothnia.

SS SVARTÖN, (Grängesbergsbolaget, Stockholm, 2 469 grt). Whith a cargo of iron ore for England. Torpedoed by the German submarine U-58, 12 miles NE of Kinnaird Head at pos. 57.48N, 01.47W off the Scottish northern coast. 19 men died, 11 saved.

U.S. freighter Mormacsun is intercepted by British naval vessel and diverted to Kirkwall, Scotland, into the zone designated as a combat area. Freighter Nashaba is detained by British authorities at Gibraltar; freighter Executive, detained at Gibraltar since 20 December 1939, is released to proceed on her voyage to Greece, Turkey, and Rumania.

U.S. freighter Exiria is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities.

German steamer QUITO (1230grt) departed Guayaquil, Ecuador, and arrived at Coquimbo, Chile on the 12th. The only German ship remaining at Guayaquil was steamer CERIGO (1120grt) which was later scuttled on 1 April 1941 and salved as 29 DE MAYO for Ecuadorian use.

Swedish steamer FENRIS, (Sveabolaget, Stockholm, 484 grt). Sunk by gunfire from the Russian submarine SC-311, at international waters in north Kvarken. All crew saved.

Anti-submarine trawler KINGSTON CORNELIAN (449grt, Skipper W Green RNR) was sunk in accidental collision with French liner CHELLA (8920grt) east of Gibraltar. One or more depth charges exploded in the water and all hands - one officer and seventeen ratings, were lost. CHELLA had to go into Gibraltar for repairs.

S/S Frankenwald ended her days in the waters outside Ytre Sula in the Sognefjorden. The German vessel looses her control and drives straight in to Brattholmen, where the vessel quickly starts to take in water. Emergency signals are thereafter sent which are heard by Bergen Radio, and shortly after all electricity is gone. The crew are ordered  into the lifeboats and thereafter taken onboard by the fishing vessels who comes to assist and thereafter they are brought in to Bergen. First after the war has ended, Frankenwald gets visitors. Then by the Anda Brothers whom cuts of the propeller.

British Tanker British Liberty, (8485 grt) – (British Tanker Co.) sank after hitting a British laid mine two miles off the Dyck Lightvessel, killing 21 of her crew.

U.S. freighter City of Flint departs Narvik for Baltimore, Maryland. For his "skill, fine judgement [sic], and devotion to duty" during City of Flint's ordeal, Captain Joseph A. Gainard, the freighter's master, will receive the Navy Cross.

Submarine HMS Undine sunk in North Sea 20 miles SW of Heligoland Island by depth charges of German minesweepers M-1201, 1204 & 1207.

Steamers GITANO (3956grt) and TYNEHOME (628grt) collided in fog with the loss of TYNEHOME. Ten survivors were picked up by GITANO.

German submarine U.19 sank Norwegian steamer MANX (1343grt) in 58‑30N, 01‑33W. Thirteen crew were lost and six crew rescued. (See 9/1 1940)

German steamer SAO PAULO (4977grt) had departed Pernambuco on 16 November 1939 and arrived at Cabedelo the next day. Leaving there on 8 January, she safely arrived at Cuxhaven on 3 March.

HM submarine STARFISH (S-class). Built by H.M. Dockyard, Chatham. Depth charged and sunk by German minesweeper M 7 in the Helgoland Bight, The crew survived to be taken prisoners-of-war.

German bombers of the FliegerKorps X attacked British shipping off Stonehaven, and sank steamers GOWRIE (689grt) four miles east of Stonehaven and OAKGROVE (1985grt) seven miles NW by W of North Leman Buoy. The entire crew of GOWRIE was rescued, but one man on OAKGROVE was lost. They also damaged Danish steamers IVAN KONDRUP (2369grt) east of Stonehaven and FEDDY (955grt) two and a quarter miles ESE of Aberdeen. Trawler THRIFTY (139grt) rescued the survivors from  IVAN KONDRUP.

U.S. steamship President Van Buren, bound for Genoa, Italy, and New York, is detained at Port Said, Egypt, and subsequently discharges items of cargo, deemed as contraband, at Alexandria, Egypt, before being allowed to proceed.

Kockums Mek. Verkstad deliver motortanker BRACONDA to Ludvig G. Braathen, Oslo, she is the biggest ship untill now build by the yard..

At 1100, tanker El Oso in Convoy HX-14B, struck a mine laid on 6 January by U-30 and sank six miles 280° from the Bar Lightship, Liverpool. Three crewmembers were lost. The master and 31 crewmembers were picked up by HMS Walker & landed at Liverpool.

Swedish steamer Dalarö (Rederi AB Rex, Stockholm) sunk after a explosion in the Atlantic Ocean W of Ireland. The ships captain Nils Werner Nilsson was killed by the explosion. The crew was saved by a belgian trawler, and landed at Ireland.

British steamer GRANTA (2,719 grt) on voyage London to Blyth was sunk by a mine off the Wash. Ten of her crew were lost.

Kockums Mek. Verkstad launch a 16.000 tons ­motortanker, B. P. NEWTON for Skibs A/S Navalis (Tschudi & Eitzen), Oslo.

German submarine U-101 launched.

Auxiliary Bear (AG-29) reaches Bay of Whales, Antarctica. Along with Interior Department motorship North Star, Bear will establish the two bases to be used in the U.S. Antarctic Service's 1939-1941 expedition under Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd, USN (Ret.)

The British  Destroyer Greyhound brings in the German freighter Phaedra (619 grt) as a prize.  She becomes registered in the "Ministry of War Transport" (MoWT) as Empire Sentinel.

Eriksberg AB, Gothenburg deliver motortanker KOLLSKEGG, 15.500 dwt, ordered by Odd Bergs Tankrederi A/S., Oslo. The ship has been built in one of Eriksbergs floating dock.

At 0013, SS Fagerheim was hit by one torpedo from U-44 about 80 miles SW of Quessant, broke in two & sank. The survivors were rescued and taken to Vigo, Spain.

The British cruiser Kelvin and Kimberley are damaged in a collision in the North Sea.

At 1619, the unescorted SS Inverdargle struck a mine laid on 9 Nov, 1939 by U-33, broke in two &sank in the Bristol Channel SW of Nash Point. The master and 48 crewmembers were lost. The stern section lies in 51°16´31N/03°47´15W and the bow lies 1300 meters NE.

U.S. passenger liner Manhattan and freighter Excambion are detained at Gibraltar by British authorities; the former is kept there for only a few hours before being allowed to proceed.

US passenger liner SS Manhattan & freighter SS Excambion are detained at Gibraltar by British authorities; the former is kept there for only a few hours before being allowed to proceed.

Swedish steamer FLANDRIA mined and sunk on the night between 18 och 19 january about 100 miles off Ymuiden. All officers on board was killed. Of a crew of 21 only 4 is saved, (3 swedish and 1 russin stokker). The survivors was taken on board at the Norwegan steamer "BALZAC" after 48 hours on a raft.

At 2030, SS Patria was spotted on a southerly course by U-9 and was suspicious because no national markings could be seen from the distance of 500 meters. At 2223 & 2240, the U-boat fired one torpedo each, but missed with both. 30 minutes later, the Flandria was spotted & sunk with one torpedo at 2.53 about 95 miles north of Ymuiden before the Patria was hit underneath the bridge by one torpedo at 0145 hours on 19 January, which caused the ship to sink rapidly north of Ymuiden.

Seven ships of the First Destroyer Flotilla was operating out of Harwich with six other ships of the Flotilla were returning from an operation off the Dutch coast when in calm weather a mine exploded, HMS Grenville quickly capsized. Her bow was the last part of the ship to disappear. Two ships from the Flotilla disregarded their safety and lowered boats to pluck 118 men from the water. Seventy-seven officers and crew lost their life in the sinking.

At 2109, the unescorted SS Quiberon was hit in the stern by one torpedo from U-59 & sank within four minutes off Great Yarmouth.

U.S. freighter Examelia is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities (see 31 January); passenger liner Washington, bound for Genoa, is detained only a few hours before being allowed to proceed.

At 2026, SS Miranda was hit by one torpedo from U-57 & sank within five minutes about 30 miles NW of Peterhead. The three survivors were picked up by a unknown vessel and taken to Kirkwall.

Rederi AB Svenska Lloyd, Gothenburg report that there steamer ANDALUSIA probably have sunk. The steamer left 17 januari Bordeaux for a voyage to Gothenburg. She had a crew of 21.

US freighter SS Nishmaha is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities.

Rederi AB Svenska Lloyd’s motorship GOTHIA torpedoed by the German submarine U-51, 30 miles SW of St. Kilda. Three men killed by the explosion. The rest of the crew was going into two lifeboats, one of the boats with 11 men landed at the Scottish NE coast, but the other boat with 9 men is missing.

At 0855, SS Pluto was hit amidships by one torpedo from U-19 & sank by the bow after 14 minutes east of Longstone Island. The survivors were picked up by a Finnish vessel and taken to Seahouses.

USS Destroyer J. Fred Talbott (DD-247) arrives at Wreck Bay, Galapagos Islands, to assist U.S. tuna boat City of San Diego (see 24 January).

Mines, laid by the German submarine U-56 8/1-40 near Cross Sand, sink the Finnish steamer ONTO (1.333 grt).

Finnish steamer NOTUNG (Rederi AB Notung (Ernst Sohn), Helsinki, Finland. 1.278 grt / 1882) bombed and sunk by Russian aircraft East of Sottunga in the Aland archipelago.

SS Bisp sunk by U-23 at 60.47N, 04.34W.

USS Auxiliary Bear (AG-29) (U.S. Antarctic Service) reaches 77°43'S, 143°52'W; it marks the deepest penetration by any ship into the Antarctic region.

SS Tourny sunk by U-44.

USS Minesweeper Quail (AM-15) arrives at Palmyra Island with first construction party to begin building a naval air station there.

SS Durham Castle struck a mine laid by U-57 on 22 January off Cromarty & sank. The ship was in tow for Scapa Flow for use as an accommodation ship.

U.S. freighter Cold Harbor, bound for Odessa, is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities (see 30 January).

The Greek steamship Adamantios J. Pithis, Capt. Glykas, was wrecked near St. Ann's Head, Milford Haven. She was on a voyage from Rosario to Sharpness with grain. (Pithis Bros. & Co.; 1908; Napier & Miller, Ltd.; 4,537 tons; 385^.2 x 51^.2 x 26^.4; 320 n.h.p. ; triple-expansion engines.)

SS City of Flint arrives back at her homeport of Baltimore following her adventures in the Baltic.

U.S. freighter Sarcoxic is detained temporarily at Gibraltar for several hours by British authorities; freighter Waban, bound for Italy and Greece, is also held there briefly but is allowed to proceed after one item of cargo is seized as contraband and 34 detained for investigation.

British steamer ESTON from Hull to to Blyth hits a mine layed by the German submarine U-22 2,000 metres E of Whitley Bay at 55 03'24"N - 01 24'56"W.

Light cruiser Helena (CL-50) steams from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Montevideo, Uruguay, on her shakedown cruise (see 2 February).

British Admiralty orders that no American ships should, under any circumstances, be diverted into the war zone delineated by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the provisions of the Neutrality Act.

U.S. freighters Examelia (detained at Gibraltar since 20 January) and Cold Harbor (detained there since 27 January) are released by British authorities.

British Tanker Voreda, 7216 grt – (Gow Harrison & Co.) had been sailing from Constantza to the UK when she was attacked and sunk by German aircraft North-East of Great Yarmouth. There were no casualties.

U.S. passenger liner Washington is detained for several hours at Gibraltar by British authorities, but is allowed to proceed the same day; freighter Jomar is also detained there..

SS Start sunk by U-13.

Swedish steamer Fram sunk by U-13 at 57.43N, 02.06W when on anchor. 14 of her crew saved but 9 men lost.

British steam tanker CREOFIELD (638 grt) on voyage Southend to Middlesbrough was sunk, believed torpedoed by U-59 off Great Yarmouth. All sixteen of her crew were lost.

USS Light cruiser Helena (CL-50), at Montevideo, Uruguay, on her shakedown cruise, sends party to inspect wreck of German armored ship Admiral Graf Spee.

Belgian steamer CHARLES (Armement L. Hermans, Bruges, Belgium) left Newcastle o/T for Bruges with coal. At 21.30 struck a rock near Whitby (Cape Whitby) in heavy weather total loss. 6 casualties.

USS Light cruiser Helena (CL-50) departs Montevideo, Uruguay, for Brazilian waters as her shakedown cruise continues (see 5 February).

Minesweeper HMS Sphinx under the command of Cdr. John Robert Newton Taylor, was sweeping an area 15 miles north of Kinnairds Head when attacked by enemy aircraft. A bomb pierced the foc'sle deck and exploding; destroying the fore part of the ship. She remained afloat and was taken in tow by HMS Halcyon but steadily flooded and capsized & sank. The wreck was later washed ashore north of Lybster and was sold for scrap. The commanding officer & forty of the men were killed in the explosion.

German submarine U-41 sink one ship from Liverpool-out convoy OB84 south of Ireland.

German submarine U-41 sunk by HMS Antelope at pos. 49 21 00 N, 10 04 00 W.

At 0332, the unescorted & unarmed Dutch tanker Ceronia was hit by a torpedo, but made it to Rotterdam under her own power. The attacker must have been U-41, which was herself lost during a second attack on Convoy OA-84 the same day.

Swedish steamer Wirgo sinks north from Ahvenanmaa due to damages of previous days Soviet air attack.

German freighter Konsul Horn, which had departed Aruba on 7 January, reaches Norwegian waters having eluded or deceived the U.S. Neutrality Patrol as well as British and French warships.

U.S. freighter Scottsburg, detained at Gibraltar by British authorities the previous day, is released.

The British coaster Agnes Ellen, Capt. G, Robertson, left Holyhead on February 9th, 1940, for Workington. She was not seen again. The Agnes Ellen had a crew of seven. (John S. Monks Ltd.; 1908; Scott & Sons; 293 tons; 130,4 x 23,1 x  10,1 ; 77 r.h.p. ; compound engines.)

Öresundsvarvet AB, Landskrona deliver motorship PANAMA EXPRESS to Rederi A/S Sigurd Herlofson & Co., Oslo.

USS Light cruiser Helena (CL-50) departs Santos, Brazil, winding up her shakedown cruise.

German submarine U-33 sinks in the Firth of Clyde, in position 55.25N, 05.07W, by depth charges from the British minesweeper HMS Gleaner. 25 dead and 17 survivors.

U.S. Ambassador to Brazil Jefferson Caffery reports to Secretary of State Hull on 20 March 1940 that the Brazilian government's protesting Dorsetshire's stopping Wakama had not pleased the British. The British maintained that they were protecting Brazilian commerce. "Indeed you are not," the Brazilian Minister for Foreign Affairs Oswaldo Aranha retorts, "you are definitely not protecting our commerce by maintaining your warships off our coast. It is apparent to me that your blockade of Germany is plainly ineffective. If it were effective, you could stop the German boats [sic] on the other side before they entered German ports."

German submarine U-54 sunk after mining at North Sea (Wrekage found).

British steamer LANGLEEFORD (4,622 grt) on voyage Boston to the Tyne was torpedoed by U-26 about 70 miles from Fastnet. Four of her crew died.

HMS Cossack rescues more than 300 British prisoners from the German naval auxiliary ship Altmark in Norwegian waters.

President Roosevelt embarks in heavy cruiser Tuscaloosa (CA-37) at Pensacola, Florida, for a cruise to Panama and the west coast of Central America to discuss Pan-American defense and to inspect the Panama Canal.

German steamer BALDUR from the Hamburg-company "Frigga" was on it`s way to Narvik for a load of ore.
They were about 5 Km`s west of the "Jössingfjord" when their propeller was jammed by a large net ( Placed by HMS Seal the day before to stop Altmark) At 13:30 a plane from Coastal command (C.W.Mc Neill) spotted the stuck Baldur and radioed a message to the surface vessels that they had found the Altmark (Baldur looked allmost the same). The cruiser Arethusa which was nearby went to check the message. When the captain of Baldur saw the approaching cruiser, he decided to scuttle his ship! The entire crew was taken as prisoners by the HMS Arethusa.

At 2125, U-14 attacked two ships north of Kinnaird Head and torpedoed first SS Osmed & ten minutes later SS Liana. Liana sank 24 miles north of Kinnaird Head, taking ten crewmen with her. SS Santos picked up the survivors, which was herself sunk by U-63 on 24 February with the loss of six men from the Liana. Osmed sank after one torpedo hit 20 miles north of Kinnaird Head, taking 13 crewmen with her.

The Danish steamship AASE was torpedoed and sunk by a sub­marine off the N.W. coast of France. All of the crew were killed. (D/S Torm A/S; 1924; Kjobnhavns Flydk. & Skibs.; 1,206 tons; 235^.4 x 36^.2 x 13^.7; 83 n.h.p. ; triple-expansion engines.)

At 1553, SS Pyrrhus in Convoy OG-18 was hit by one torpedo from U-37 NW of Cape Finisterre and broke in two. The afterpart sank immediately and the forepart two days later. Eight crewmembers were lost. She was the ship of the vice-commodore Rear-Admiral R.A. Hamilton RN. The master, the vice-commodore, five naval staff members and 70 crewmembers were picked up by the British SS Uskside & Sinnington Court & landed at Gibraltar.

U-23 torpedoed & sank destroyer HMS Daring which was escorting a Bergen to Methil convoy in position 58.40N 01.40E. There were only 15 survivors, 157 men lost.

At 0045, SS Ellin was torpedoed by U-37 & sunk 25 miles NW of Cape Finisterre.

SS Tiberton sunk by U-23.

U-54 believed sunk by mine in North Sea. No survivors.

Soviet planes attack troop convoy off Turku harbour. One man lost and two wounded in icebreaker VoimaVoima.

SS Tara sunk by U-50 at 42.45N, 10.25W.

North Sea trawlers are attacked by Luftwaffe aircraft. Little damage is done to the trawlers, the bombers are driven off by the trawlers' machine guns, and two are shot down by fighters.

At 0020, steam tanker British Endeavour in Convoy OGF-19 was torpedoed & sunk by U-50 about 100 miles west of Vigo. Five crewmembers were lost. The master and 32 crewmembers were picked up by the British SS Bodnant & landed at Funchal, Maderia on 26 February.

German submarine U-53 sunk by HMS Gurkha, in North Channel at pos. 60 32 00 N, 06 10 00 W.  42 dead (all hands lost)

U-53 sunk in the North Sea in the mid Orkneys, in position 60.32N, 06.14W, by depth charges from destroyer HMS Gurkha. 42 dead (all hands lost).

U.S. freighter Scottsburg is detained for several hours at Malta by British authorities, but is allowed to proceed the same day.

SS Royal Archer struck a mine 6.7 miles off Inchkeith Island, Firth of Forth laid by U-21 on 4 Nov, 1939 and sank at 56.06N, 02.55W. She had loaded a general cargo in London for Leith. The wreck was later dispersed. All 27 crew were saved. (2,266grt, London & Edinburgh Shipping Co. built 1928 at Greenock by Scotts S/B. yard.no: 535)

German submarine U63 sunk in the North Sea south of the Shetland Islands, in position 58.40N, 00.10W, by depth charges and torpedoes from the British destroyers, HMS Escort, Inglefield and Imogen and the British submarine HMS Narwhal. 1 dead and 24 survivors.

U.S. freighter Exochorda is detained for several hours at Gibraltar by British authorities, but is allowed to proceed.

Swedish steamer STORFORS (1,508 grt) sank in 40 metres of water, due to a collision 10 miles E of Beadnell at 55 32'00"N - 01 20'00"W.

Britain returns nine of the 21 Germans removed from the SS Asama Maru on 21 January after the Japanese government agrees not to transport German military reservists attempting to return home.

U.S. freighter Cold Harbor is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities.

Britain returns nine of the 21 Germans removed from the SS Asama Maru on 21 January after the Japanese government agrees not to transport German military reservists attempting to return home.

U.S. freighter Exeter is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities (see 4 March).

At 0315, SS Mirella was hit in the bow by one torpedo from U-20, but did not sink. The U-boat waited submerged during the daytime, returned to the abandoned ship in the evening and sank her at 2114 hours by a coup de grâce. The wreck in position 52°26´09N/02°05´02E was later dispersed.

The Wilson Line freighter ALBANO (1.176 grt) Mined and sunk 4 miles east of Hartlepool at 55 15'17"N - 01 22'21"W., 9 deads. (Ellerman's Wilson Line; 1912; Earle's Co.; 1,176 tons; 250,2 x 37,2 x 14,7; 168 n.h. p. ; triple-expansion engines).

British India liner SS Domala is bombed by Luftwaffe aircraft off the Isle of Wight; 100 are killed on the ship.

CATO. (710 tons.) Sunk by one of eight mines off Bull Point in the Bristol Channel, laid by U29.

SS Cato struck one of eight mines laid on the same day by U-29 & sank 2.5 miles SE of Nash Point in the Bristol Channel. The master, ten crewmembers & two gunners were lost. Minesweeping trawler HMS Akita picked up two crewmembers.

U.S. freighter Exeter, detained at Gibraltar by British authorities since 1 March, is released, but not before 155 sacks of mail for Germany are removed, as are 95 sacks for Italy and 59 for Switzerland. Some 140 sacks previously removed from other neutral ships, however, are brought on board and the ship is permitted to sail.

At 1208 & 1209, U-29 fired one torpedo each at two ships in a group of three dispersed from Convoy HX-19 and observed a hit on the Pacific Reliance and a small detonation near the second (the xB-Dienst reported the sinking of the San Florentino, but the vessel was in fact not hit). The torpedoed vessel first stopped and the crew prepared to launch the lifeboats, but then returned to the ship and proceeded. The U-boat hit her with a stern torpedo at 1239, which was a dud. However the ship broke in two amidships & sank slowly north of Lands End. The Pacific Reliance had been the ship of the convoy commodore R.P. Galer CBE RNR RD. The master, the commodore, four naval staff members and 47 crewmembers were picked up by the British SS Macville and landed at Newlyn, Cornwall. The second ship sunk was the SS Thurston.

The 1965 tons steamship VECHT from the "Maatschappij Houtvaart" at Rotterdam set course to Lobito for a load of government wheat. The ship was build by A. Vuyck en Zonen at Capelle aan de IJsel and delivered in 1917 named Graakallen to the Norwegian shipping company A/S Orkla at Trondheim. The ship, equipped with a triple expansion engine of 225 n.h.p., build by the "Arnhemse Stoomsleephelling Maatschappij" at Arnhem, measured over 85 meters long and 12 meters wide.  The German submarine U-14 hited the Vecht, who was cruising at 8.5 knots and heading towards the Thorntonbank, on March 7th 1940 at 00.34 hours (German time) with a torpedo. The torpedo was launched from a distance of 800 meters. The coordinates as in the logbook were: 51.45 north and 3.05 east. For a long time existed a discord about place and time because of the fact, submarine commanders twisted the facts sometimes. The size of the ship was one of the facts that very often been exaggerated . This was done in the hope to get a faster recommendation for an Iron Cross. This time however, the commander reported the actual size of the ship about 2000 Brt. The Vecht was hit by the torpedo about 30 meters past midship and it took approx. 20 minutes before the ship sank. Nobody survived the disaster and all 22 crewmembers died that night.

German a/c attack shipping in the North Sea. One enemy a/c is destroyed. There are casualties in the trawlers; an Italian vessel is fired and a Dutch vessel damaged.

War again comes to the Americas: Canadian destroyer HMCS Assiniboine stops German freighter Hannover in Mona Passage, off the coast of the Dominican Republic, at which point the merchantman's crew sets fire to the ship and abandons her. Boarding party from British light cruiser HMS Dunedin, however, saves Hannover from destruction. Conflicting representations by British and German diplomats as to Hannover's exact position prompt the Dominican government to drop the question of violation of territorial waters (see 24 May). Hannover will ultimately be converted into the escort carrier HMS Audacity. The effort expended to capture Hannover, however, allows German freighters Mimi Horn and Seattle to escape the Caribbean and make a break for Germany. German freighter Mimi Horn is scuttled to avoid capture in Denmark Strait on 28 March; Seattle is lost during the early phases of the invasion of Norway on 8-9 April.

British freighter Abbotsford ex-Cyrille Daneels. Owners George Gibson & Co. Leith. Torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-14 (Wohlfarth) in the North Sea N. of Zeebruge, while sailing independently on a voyage from Ghent to Grangemouth, with a cargo of steel and flax. The Master Alexander John Watson, and crew of 17 were lost. Pos. 51,44 N, 03,22 E.

At 2113, steam trawler Leukos was attacked without warning by U-38 about 12 miles NW of Tory Island. At 2000, the U-boat had spotted six trawlers all with their light set near Tory Island and thought that they were forming a patrol line. He decided to give one of them a warning & fired one shot from its deckgun at the Leukos from a distance of 200 meters. The shot hit the trawler in the engine room and she disappeared in a cloud of steam and smoke. The U-boat waited until the trawler sank after one hour and then continued the patrol. Leukos was reported missing on 12 March, when she failed to arrive in Dublin. On 21 March, a lifeboat bearing the logo of the ship was washed ashore on Scarinish Tiree off the West Coast of Scotland.

Svenska Amerikalinjens passengership STOCKHOLM launched.

U.S. freighters Explorer, Exchester, and West Cohas are detained at Gibraltar by British authorities; all are released, however, after only several hours.

German submarine U-31 is bombed and sunk by a RAF Blenheim of Bomber Command in the Heligoland Bight . She is salvaged and recommissioned, but finally lost eight months later.

At 0317, motor tanker Eulota was hit by a torpedo from U-28 about 120 miles west of Ouessant. The torpedo, fired from about 1000 meters, struck amidships, broke her in two and set her on fire. The crew abandoned ship, but returned later that morning. An Allied aircraft sighted the burning tanker in the afternoon and directed HMS Broke & Wild Swan to the ship. They picked up the survivors and scuttled the still floating bow section.

Russo-Finnish War ends. Finnish desire to win back territory lost to Soviet encroachment (city of Viborg and areas along Finland's eastern borders) will push them closer toward the Axis.

A British warship today landed in Capetown, South Africa, with 46 German prisoners - the crew of the scuttled steamer Wakama, which was scuttled off the Brazilian coast on February 12th. She also landed 16 British sailors from the Ajax, the Achilles, and the Exeter, who had been wounded in the battle of the River Plate. They were brought here for convalescence from Port Stanley, in the Falkland Islands, as there are better facilities for treatment here. The German prisoners were cheerful and obviously pleased with their treatment on board the warship. They had been given the greatest freedom, and even allowed to help the warship's crew at their work. They were freely supplied with cigarettes and received the same rations as the warship's crew. It was their captain, Captain Eschact, who, when he learnt that the German reports alleged his crew had been fired on in their lifeboats, sent a special message to the Woermann Line, denying the reports and saying that the whole crew had been rescued by a British warship.

USS Fleet Landing Exercise (FLEX) No. 6 concludes at Culebra, Puerto Rico. The Fleet Marine Force makes progress in developing techniques for rubber boat landings, getting heavy combat materiel ashore, and improving ship-to-shore supply.

German submarine U-44 is hit by a mine, laid by the destroyers HMS Express, Esk, Icarus and Impulsive, 47 dead (all hands lost).

French fishing vessel Effeuillee (35 brt) was sunk on a mine.

15 Ju-88 of I./K.G.30 attack the british fleet in Scapa Flow.Hits on the heavy cruiser Norfolk.

The Government of Argentina deports the German crew of Admiral Graf Spee into the interior and forbids them to wear their uniform.

The Dutch freighter Sint-Annaland (built in 1916 - 2248 grt) hit a mine and sunk in the North Sea in pos. 51.23N 02.1 E when on a voyage Tyne for Sluiskill with a cargo of coal. Crew saved. The mine was laid by the German Schiff 11.

On 13 Mar 1940, MS Argentina left Copenhagen & radioed for the last time on 17 March. She was reported missing thereafter west of Scotland. At 2325 hours on 17 Mar 1940, U-38 torpedoed & sunk an unknown steamer of 5000 grt west of Scotland. This must have been the Argentina.

British Home Fleet battlecruisers to the north of the Shetlands cover a cruiser sweep into the Skagerrak. As they do, screening destroyer HMS Fortune sinks U-44 at pos. 63 27 00 N, 00 30 00 E.

British freighter BARN HILL,  (5439 tons), carrying a general cargo including canned goods, copper and aluminium. Attacked by aircraft 3 miles ssw of Beachy Head in pos. 50'34N-0'2W. She was towed to shore and beached 300 yards of Langney Point on March 21st. Her back broke on March 26th and she became a total loss. The Eastbourne Lifeboat took off several of the crew of 34 but 5 were lost. Her cargo was largely salved.

The 4,947 ton German steamer Heddernheim was torpedoed off the Danish coast by the British submarine HMS Ursula. Though the steamer is not large, her sinking represents the first coup in a major step-up in British efforts to cripple Germany's vital iron-ore supplies. Germany's armaments depend on imported iron ore. No less than nine million tons come from Sweden, much of it brought through Narvik, a Norwegian port that is ice-free all year round. The Royal Navy is now moving in destroyers and submarines to make the route dangerous if not impossible. Germany's armaments depend on imported iron ore. No less than nine million tons come from Sweden, much of it brought through Narvik, a Norwegian port that is ice-free all year round. The Royal Navy is now moving in destroyers and submarines to make the route dangerous if not impossible

USS Auxiliary Bear (AG-29) and Interior Department motorship North Star (U.S. Antarctic Service) depart Bay of Whales for the United States. Staying behind are the men who will spend the long winter night at East and West Bases.