BEGINNING
and END, 1939 and 1945
In
September 1939, the heart
of
the British & Commonwealth Navies were their
centuries old traditions and 200,000 officers and
men
including the Royal Marines and Naval Reserves. At
the
very top as professional head was the First Sea
Lord,
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Dudley Pound.
Warship
Strengths
The Royal Navies, still
the largest in the world in
September 1939, included:
15
battleships & battlecruisers, of which only
two
were post-World War 1. Five 'King George V'
class
battleships were building.
7
aircraft carriers. One was new and five of the
planned six fleet carriers were under
construction.
There were no escort carriers.
66
cruisers, mainly post-World War 1 with some
older
ships converted for AA duties. Including
cruiser-minelayers, 23 new ones had been laid
down.
184
destroyers of all types. Over half were modern,
with
15 of the old 'V' and 'W' classes modified as
escorts. Under construction or on order were 32
fleet
destroyers and 20 escort types of the 'Hunt'
class.
60
submarines, mainly modern with nine building.
45
escort and patrol vessels with nine building,
and the
first 56 'Flower' class corvettes on order to
add to
the converted 'V' and 'W's' and 'Hunts'.
However,
there were few fast, long-endurance convoy
escorts.
Included in the totals
were the Commonwealth Navies,
including:
Royal
Australian Navy
- six cruisers, five destroyers and two
sloops;
Royal
Canadian Navy
- six destroyers;
Royal
Indian Navy
- six escort and patrol vessels;
Royal
New Zealand Navy,
until October 1941 the New Zealand
Division of the Royal Navy - two cruisers and
two
sloops.
Strengths
and Weaknesses
The Fleet was
reasonably
well-equipped to fight conventional
surface
actions with effective guns, torpedoes and fire
control,
but in a maritime war that would soon revolve
around the
battle with the U-boat, the exercise of air power,
and
eventually the ability to land large armies on
hostile
shores, the picture was far from good.
ASDIC,
the
British answer to the submarine, had limited range
and
was of little use against surfaced U-boats, and
the
stern-dropped or mortar-fired depth charge was the
only
reasonably lethal anti-submarine weapon available.
The
Fleet Air Arm (FAA), recently returned to full
control of
the Navy, was equipped with obsolescent aircraft,
and in
the face of heavy air attack the Fleet had few,
modern
anti-aircraft guns. Co-operation with the RAF was
limited
although three Area Combined Headquarters had been
established in Britain. Coastal Command, the RAF's
maritime wing, had only short range aircraft,
mainly for
reconnaissance. And there was little combined
operations
capability.
On the
technical side, early air warning radars were
fitted to a
small number of ships. The introduction by the
Germans of
magnetic mines found the British Navy only
equipped to
sweep moored contact mines. Finally, the German
Navy's
B-Service could read the Navy's operational and
convoy
codes.
Main
Wartime Developments
As the war progressed,
the
British & Commonwealth Navies expanded rapidly
with
large construction programmes, particularly escort
carriers, destroyers,
corvettes, frigates, submarines,
landing ships and craft.
By
mid-1944, 800,000 officers and men and 73,000
WRNS
were in uniform.
Vastly
improved
radars and anti-submarine weapons had been
introduced, and the tactics to use them
effectively,
were honed to a fine pitch.
Ship-borne
and
land-based aircraft became vital in the life and
death struggle against the U-boat, the only
concern
Prime Minister Winston Churchill retained
throughout
six years of war.
Huge
combined operations landings took place with air
superiority usually assured.
Although
not
defeated, magnetic, then acoustic and finally
pressure mines were kept under control.
Perhaps
of
greatest single significance, the 'Ultra'
operation
against the German Enigma codes allowed the Allies
to
penetrate to the very heart of German and Axis
planning
and operations.
In
short, in a war that started with
Polish cavalry and ended with the Anglo-US
atomic
bomb, the British & Commonwealth Navies
faced new
and continuing threats and learnt to deal with
them
technically, operationally and above all,
successfully.
But
the human price was high ....
British
& Commonwealth Naval
Casualties, not including RAF and Army
personnel
killed in maritime operations, for example,
Coastal
Command, Defensively-Equipped Merchant Ships
(DEMS) etc.
were:
Royal
Navies
- 50,758 killed, 820 missing, 14,663
wounded
Women's
Royal Naval Service -
102 killed, 22 wounded
Merchant
Navy
- 30,248 lost through enemy action
BATTLE
HONOURS,
Single Ship Actions & Royal Marine Corps
Memorable
Dates,
1939-45
1939
ATLANTIC
1939-45 - Theatre,
escort & support group ships in North Atlantic
from
Equator to Arctic Circle, 3rd September-May 1945
NORTH SEA
1939-45 - Theatre, all
waters from Southend-on-Sea, Thames Estuary north
to
Shetland Isles, excluding Norwegian coastal waters
ENGLISH
CHANNEL 1939-45 -
Theatre, Southend-on-Sea, Thames Estuary round to
Bristol, Bristol Channel; Western limit line from
Ushant,
France to Scilly Islands, SW England
RIVER
PLATE 1939 or
"Graf Spee" Action - Battle, off Uruguay, S
America, 13th December 1939
1940
NORWAY
1940-45 - Campaign
& theatre, North Sea from 8th April to June
1940,
thereafter Norwegian coastal waters as far N as
Tromso,
8th April 1940-May 1945
ADMIRAL
HIPPER 1940 - HMS Glowworm,
Single-ship action off
coast of Norway, 8th April 1940
NARVIK
1940 - Two battles, N
Norway, 10th & 13th April 1940
DUNKIRK
1940 (Operation
Dynamo) - Evacuation, N coast of France, 28th
May-4th
June 1940
SCHARNHOST
1940 - HMS Acasta &
Ardent, Single-ship action off coast of Norway,
8th June 1940
BISCAY
1940-45 - Theatre,
Ushant to Cape Ortegal, from 12W to French coast
MEDITERRANEAN
1940-45 - Theatre,
entire Mediterranean to line Cape Trafalgar/Cape
Spartel
just W of Gibraltar, June 1940-May 1945
CALABRIA
1940 or Punto Stilo -
Battle, off SW Italy, 9th July 1940
SPADA 1940 or Cape
Spada -
Battle, off N coast of Crete, 19th July 1940
LIBYA
1940-42 - Campaign,
Inshore Squadron (Force W) sailing in inshore
waters
between Benghazi, Libya and Port Said, Egypt, from
around
September 1940-June 1942
ADMIRAL
SCHEER 1940 - HMS Jervis Bay,
Single-ship action in
North Atlantic, 5th November 1940
TARANTO
1940 - Fleet Air Arm
attack, SE Italy, 11th November 1940
SPARTIVENTO
1940 - Battle, SW tip
of Italy, 27th November 1940
1941
MALTA
CONVOYS 1941-42
MATAPAN
1941 or Cape Matapan -
Battle, S tip of Greece, 28th-29th March 1941
GREECE
1941, April 1941 -
Evacuation
SFAX 1941 - Battle, off
E coast of Tunisia,
15th-16th April 1941
CRETE 1941 - Battles
and evacuation, SE of
Greece, 20th May-1st June1941
"BISMARCK"
1941 or Denmark Strait
- Battles, North Atlantic,23rd-27th May 1941
ARCTIC
1941-45 or Russian
Convoys - Theatre, N of Arctic, but excluding
Norwegian
coastal waters S of Tromso, August 1941-May 1945
KORMORAN
1941 - HMAS Sydney,
Single-ship action off
Western Australia in Indian Ocean, 19th November
1941
CAPE BON
1941 - Battle,
Tunisia, 13th December 1941
1942
MALAYA
1942-45 - Theatre,
Malacca Straits between Malaya and Sumatra, from
7N to
7S, and 95E to 108E, January 1942-August 1945
PACIFIC
1942-45 - Theatre,
January 1942-August 1945
SUNDA
STRAIT 1942 - HMAS Perth,
Single-ship action between
Sumatra and Java, 28th February/1st March 1942
SIRTE 1942 - Battle, N
of central Libya, 22nd
March 1942
ST NAZAIRE
1942 - Raid, W coast
of France, 28th March 1942
CORAL SEA
1942 - Battle, between
Australia and Solomons Islands, 4th-8th May 1942
DIEGO
SAUREZ 1942 or
Madagascar - Invasion, off East Africa, 5th-7th
May 1942
NEW GUINEA
1942-44 - Campaign, N
of Australia, June 1942-1944
GUADALCANAL
1942-43 - Campaign,
southern Solomons Islands, August 1942-February
1943
SAVO
ISLAND 1942 - Battle,
off Guadalcanal, southern Solomons Islands, 9th
August
1942
DIEPPE
1942 - Raid, N coast
of France, 19th August 1942
NORTH
AFRICA 1942-43 (Operation
Torch) - Invasion, Morocco, Algiers, Tunisia, 8th
November 1942-20th February 1943
HOKOKU
MARU 1942 - HMIS Bengal,
Single-ship action in
Indian Ocean, 11th November 1942
BARENTS
SEA 1942 - Battle, N
of Norway and Russia, 31st December 1942
1943
SICILY
1943 - Invasion, S tip
of Italy, 10th July-17th August 1943
KULA GULF
1943 - Battle, central
Solomons Islands, 13th July 1943.
NOTE: In all other
reference sources, the Battle of Kula Gulf was
fought on
the night of the 5th/6th July. The battle on the
night of
the 12th/13th July when HMNZS Leander was in
action and
damaged is referred to as the Battle of
Kolombangara.
AEGEAN
1943-44 - Campaign,
Aegean Sea N of 35N and from 22E to 30E, 7th
September-28th November 1943, and January-December
1944
SALERNO
1943 - Invasion, W
Italy, 9th September-6th October 1943
TIRPITZ
1943 - HM Midget
Submarines X6, X7, Single-ship action in N Norway,
22nd September 1943
NORTH CAPE
1943 or
"Scharnhorst" Action - Battle, N of Norway,
26th December 1943
1944
ANZIO 1944
- Invasion, Italy,
22nd January 1944
ADRIATIC
1944 - Theatre,
Adriatic Sea N of 40N, January-December 1944
NORMANDY
1944 (Operation
Overlord) - Invasion, N France, 6th June 1944
LANDINGS
IN NORMANDY, N France
- Royal
Marine Corps Memorable Date, 6th June 1944
SABANG
1944 - Fleet Air Arm
attack, Sumatra, 25th July 1944
SOUTH
FRANCE 1944 -
Invasion, 15th-27th August 1944
LEYTE GULF
1944 - Battles,
central Philippines, 20th-27th October 1944
BURMA
1944-45 - Campaign, SE
Asia, October 1944-April 1945, May-August 1945
WALCHEREN
1944 - Amphibious
landing, island, SW Holland, 1st November 1944
ASSAULT ON
WALCHEREN, SW Holland
- Royal
Marine Corps Memorable Date, 1st November 1944
1945
LINGAYEN
GULF 1945 - Invasion,
northern Philippines, 5th-9th January 1945
PALEMBANG
1945 - Fleet Air Arm
attack, Sumatra; restricted to four fleet carriers
present and their FAA Squadrons, 24th and 29th
January
1945
OKINAWA
1945 (Operation
Iceberg) - Campaign, island chain SW of Japan,
24th
March-21st June 1945
JAPAN 1945 - Fleet Air
Arm operations,
restricted to four fleet carriers present and
their FAA
Squadrons, 16th July-11th August 1945
TAKAO 1945 - HM Midget
Submarines XE1, XE3,
Single-ship action off
Singapore, SE Asia, 31st July 1945
VICTORIA
CROSS AT SEA, 1940-45
1940
EUROPE
- APRIL 1940
Norwegian
Invasion & Campaign,
Operation 'Wilfred' - Royal
Navy destroyers
laid minefields, simulated and real at three
points off
the Norwegian coast, including near Bodo on the
8th.
Battlecruiser “Renown” and other destroyers
provided cover. One of the screen, “GLOWWORM”
(Lt-Cdr Roope) was detached to search for a man
overboard
just as 8in-gunned cruiser “Admiral Hipper”
headed into Trondheim. They met to the northwest
of the
port and the destroyer was soon sunk, but not
before she
rammed and damaged “Hipper”.
Lt-Cdr
Gerard Roope RN was
posthumously awarded the
Victoria Cross.
First
Battle of Narvik - The 2nd
Destroyer Flotilla (Capt. Warburton-Lee) with
“Hardy”, “Havock”,
“Hostile”, “Hotspur” and
“Hunter”, entered Ofotfiord on the 10th to
attack the German ships assigned to the occupation
of
Narvik. These included 10 large destroyers.
Several
transports were sunk together with destroyers
“ANTON
SCHMITT” and “WILHELM HEIDKAMP” in Narvik
Bay. Other German destroyers were damaged, but as
the
British 2nd Flotilla retired, “HARDY” was
beached, “HUNTER” sunk by the remaining German
ships and “Hotspur” badly damaged.
Capt
Bernard Warburton-Lee RN
was posthumously
awarded the Victoria Cross.
EUROPE
- MAY 1940
Norwegian
Campaign, continued - In
three days and nights the last 10,000 British and
French
troops were evacuated from Namsos and around
Andalsnes by
the 2nd/3rd, following the failure to attack
towards
Trondheim and hold central Norway. Other troops
were
later landed further north, including at Bodo in
an
attempt to block the German advance from Trondheim
towards Narvik. The Allies continued to build up
forces
for the attack on Narvik. Lt-Cdr
Richard Stannard
RNR,
commanding officer of HM trawler Arab of
the 15th Anti-Submarine Striking Force, was
awarded the
Victoria Cross for gallantry under air attack
during
operations off Namsos.
EUROPE
- JULY 1940
Battle of Britain -
Anchored off the
SE breakwater within Portland Harbour,
auxiliary AA ship "FOYLE BANK" (Capt H P
Wilson) was attacked by 33 Ju87 divebombers on the
4th
and hit by a total of around 22 bombs. With one of
the
attackers shot down, she sank to the bottom with
176 men
killed out of a total crew of 19 officers and 279
crew.
Leading
Seaman Jack Mantle,
gunner in the "Foyle
Bank", continued in action although mortally
wounded
and was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.
ATLANTIC
- NOVEMBER 1940
Loss
of the "Jervis Bay" - Halifax/UK
convoy HX84 with 37 ships and its solitary escort,
armed
merchant cruiser "Jervis Bay" (Capt Fegen) was
attacked by 11in-gunned pocket battleship "Admiral
Scheer" in mid-Atlantic on the 5th. The convoy was
ordered to scatter as "JERVIS BAY" headed for
the "Scheer", guns firing. The end was in no
doubt and she went down, but her sacrifice saved
all but
five of the merchant ships. Capt
Edward Fegen RN
was posthumously
awarded the Victoria Cross.
1941
EUROPE
- APRIL 1941
German Heavy Ships -
The
arrival of battlecruisers "Scharnhorst" and
"Gneisenau" in Brest led to a long series of
heavy RAF bomber raids. These did not end until
the
Channel Dash in February 1942. During this time
both
ships sustained varying amounts of damage. On the
6th
April "Gneisenau" was torpedoed and badly
damaged by an RAF Beaufort of No 22 Squadron,
Coastal
Command. Flg
Off Kenneth Campbell RAFVR,
Canadian pilot of
the Beaufort, was posthumously awarded the
Victoria
Cross.
MEDITERRANEAN
- MAY 1941
Battle for Crete -
On
patrol south of
Crete, AA cruiser "Coventry" was heavily
attacked from the air on the 18th. Petty
Officer
Alfred Sephton
continued to carry
out his duties in the director after being
mortally
wounded. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria
Cross.
Submarine Operations
- "Upholder" (Lt-Cdr Wanklyn) attacked a
strongly escorted troop convoy off the coast of
Sicily on
the 24th May and sank 18,000-ton liner "Conte
Rosso". Lt-Cdr Malcolm Wanklyn RN
was subsequently awarded the
Victoria Cross for this and other successful
patrols in
"Upholder".
1942
EUROPE
- FEBRUARY 1942
"The
Channel Dash" -
The Brest Squadron (Vice-Adm
Ciliax) with "Scharnhorst",
"Gneisenau" and "Prinz Eugen",
heavily escorted by air and other naval forces,
left late
on the 11th for Germany in Operation 'Cerberus'.
The aim
was to pass through the Strait of Dover around
noon the
next day. A number of problems conspired to
prevent the
RAF standing patrols detecting their departure.
The first
intimation of the breakout came with a RAF report
around
10.45 on the 12th as the German force steamed
towards
Boulogne. This left little time for attacks to be
mounted. Soon after midday the first was made by
five
motor torpedo boats from Dover and six Swordfish
torpedo-bombers of 825 Squadron (Lt-Cdr Esmonde),
but no
hits were made. All Swordfish were shot down. Lt-Cdr
Eugene
Esmonde
was posthumously awarded the
Victoria Cross
MEDITERRANEAN
- FEBRUARY 1942
Submarine Operations
-
Royal Navy submarine "Thresher" was
counter-attacked by the
escorts of a convoy off northern Crete on the
16th. Two
unexploded bombs lodged between the casing and
hull, and
with the likelihood of drowning should
she have to
submerge, two of the boat's crew managed to remove
them.
Lt Peter
Roberts RN and
Petty
Officer
Thomas Gould
were awarded the Victoria Cross.
INDIAN
& PACIFIC OCEANS - FEBRUARY
1942
Evacuation of
Singapore
- Attempting to escape
to Batavia, auxiliary patrol
ship "LI WO" with a single 4in gun attacked a
troop convoy south of Singapore and was soon sunk
by a
Japanese cruiser. Commanding officer Lt
Thomas
Wilkinson RNR
was posthumously awarded the
Victoria Cross.
EUROPE
- MARCH 1942
Raid
on
St Nazaire - Concerned about the
possibility of
battleship "Tirpitz" breaking out into the
Atlantic, the decision was made to put out of
action the
only dry-dock in France capable of taking her -
the
'Normandie' at St Nazaire. Ex-US destroyer
"Campbeltown" would be loaded with high
explosives and rammed into the lock gates while
British
commandos, carried over in Royal Navy ML's or
motor
launches landed to destroy the dry-dock
installations.
The force sailed from southwest England on the
26th, and
by a number of ruses penetrated the heavily
defended port
early on the 28th. In the face of intense fire,
"Campbeltown" was placed exactly in position
and many of the commandos got ashore to carry out
their
mission. Losses in men and coastal forces' craft
were
heavy, but when "CAMPBELTOWN" did blow up, the
lock gates were put out of commission for the rest
of the
war and many Germans killed. + The Victoria Cross
was
awarded to three members of the Royal Navy taking
part -
Cdr Robert
Ryder RN,
Commanding Officer, Naval Forces sailing
with his staff on board "MGB-314",
Lt-Cdr
Stephen Beattie RN,
Commanding Officer, HMS
Campbeltown, and posthumously to Able
Seaman
William Savage,
gunner on "MGB-314" for
gallantry under heavy fire.
MEDITERRANEAN
- MARCH 1942
RN Submarine
Operations
- Another
submariner
won the Victoria Cross. HM Submarine Torbay
(Cdr Miers) carried out a difficult attack on
shipping
off Corfu on the 4th and torpedoed two
merchantmen. This
was only the latest of a number of successful
patrols.
Cdr Anthony
Miers RN
was awarded the Victoria Cross.
MEDITERRANEAN
- NOVEMBER 1942
Oran,
Algeria,
"Operation Torch" - Within
the Mediterranean, the
landings to the west and east of Oran on the 8th
were
followed by an attempt to smash through the
harbour boom
and land troops directly
from ex-US Coast Guard cutters
"WALNEY" (Capt Peters) and
"HARTLAND". Both were disabled by ship and
shore gunfire and soon sank.
Capt Frederick
Peters RN
of the
"Walney" was awarded the Victoria Cross for
gallantry. Five days later he was kiIled in an
aircraft
accident.
ATLANTIC
- DECEMBER 1942
Battle
of the Barents Sea & Russian
Convoy JW51B - JW51B (14 ships) left on the
22nd
escorted by six destroyers, a minesweeper and four
smaller vessels under the command of Capt St. V.
Sherbrooke in "Onslow". Adm Burnett with
"Jamaica" and "Sheffield" joined the
convoy south west of Bear Island on the 29th to
provide
close cover through the Barents Sea. By now
"Tirpitz", pocket battleship
"Lutzow", heavy cruiser "Admiral
Hipper", light cruisers "Koln" and
"Nurnberg" and a number of 5in and 5.9in gun
destroyers were in Norwegian waters. Convoy JW51B
was
reported an the 30th and 8in "Hipper" (Adm
Kummetz), 11in "Lutzow" and six destroyers put
to sea from Altenfiord to intercept north of North
Cape.
Early on the 31st, New Year's Eve, the British
ships were
in four groups. The main convoy with five
remaining 4in
or 4.7in destroyers "Achates",
"Onslow", "Obdurate",
"Obedient" and "Orwell" headed due
east. (Some of the escort and merchantmen had been
scattered by gales and never regained the convoy).
Northeast of the convoy, detached minesweeper
"Bramble" was searching for missing
ships. Adm Burnett's two 6in cruisers covered
to
the north. Further north still a straggling
merchant ship
and escorting trawler tried to reach the convoy.
Capt
Sherbrooke planned to use the same tactics as Adm
Vian in
the Second Battle of Sirte and head for the enemy
while
the convoy turned away under smoke. Unfortunately
Adm
Kummetz divided his force in two and
planned to
attack from astern on both sides - "Hipper" and
three destroyers in the north and "Lutzow" with
the other three in the south. On the 31st around
09.30,
the action started with "Hipper's" three
destroyers heading north across the rear of the
convoy,
and opening fire on "Obdurate". The convoy
later turned as planned, but south towards
"Lutzow". Then "Onslow",
Orwell" and Obedient" sighted Hipper" and
held her off until, at 10.20, "Onslow" was hit
and Capt Sherbrooke badly wounded (Capt
Rupert
St. V. Sherbrooke RN was
awarded the
Victoria Cross for gallantry). Adm Burnett's
cruisers
meanwhile, following a radar contact, had diverted
north
towards the straggler and escort. They only headed
towards the action at 10.00.
Still
to
the north of the convoy, "Hipper" and
her destroyers came across the hapless
"BRAMBLE" and sent her to the bottom around
10.40. They headed south, and 40min later the 8in
cruiser
approached JW51B, opened fire and hit
"ACHATES" which sank after the battle was over.
Lutzow had already come up on the convoy
from
the south but did not join battle until 11.45. She
was
driven off by the remaining destroyers. By now
"Jamaica" and "Sheffield" had arrived
on the scene. They quickly hit "Hipper" and
sank destroyer "FRIEDRICH ECKOLDT".
"Hipper" tried to get back to the convoy but
again the destroyers skillfully kept her at bay.
By
midday the German ships were withdrawing with the
two
cruisers in pursuit. Contact was shortly lost.
None of
the merchantmen were more than lightly damaged and
all 14
reached Kola on the 3rd January.
1943
MEDITERRANEAN
- MARCH 1943
Submarine Operations
-
"TURBULENT" (Cdr
Linton)
attacked an escorted ship off Maddalena, Sardinia
on the 12th and was presumed sunk in the
counter-attack
by Italian MTB escorts. Cdr John Linton
RN was awarded the Victoria
Cross for his
record as commanding
officer of "Turbulent". The award was not
gazetted until May 1943.
ATLANTIC
- AUGUST 1943
Battle
of the Atlantic -
"U-468" was sunk off Dakar, West Africa on the
11th by a RAF Liberator of No 200 Squadron. The
final
attack was carried out with the aircraft in flames
and
just before she crashed. The Liberator's
commanding
officer, Plt
Off Lloyd Trigg RNZAF,
was posthumously
awarded the Victoria Cross, solely on the evidence
of the
U-boat's survivors.
ATLANTIC
- SEPTEMBER 1943
Midget
Submarine
Attack on Tirpitz, Operation 'Source'
- Battleship
"Tirpitz"
posed such a threat to Russian
convoys and held down so much of Home Fleet's
strength
that almost any measures to immobilise her were
justified. Now it was the turn of midget
submarines - the
X-craft each with two 2-ton saddle charges. Six
left for
northern Norway towed by 'S' or 'T' class
submarines. Two
were lost on passage, but on the 20th off
Altenfiord,
"X-5", "X-6" and "X-7" set
out to attack "Tirpitz" and "X-10"
the Scharnhorst. "X-5" was lost and
"X-10" was unable to attack, but
"X-6" (Lt Cameron) and "X-7" (Lt
Place) penetrated all the defences to reach
"Tirpitz" laying in Kaafiord at the far end of
Altenfiord on the 22nd. Both
dropped
their charges under or near the battleship before
they
sank and some of their crews escaped. "Tirpitz"
managed to shift position slightly, but not enough
to
avoid damage when the charges went up. She was out
of
action for six months. Lt
Donald Cameron RNR and
Lt
Basil
Place RN
were awarded the Victoria Cross.
1944
ATLANTIC
- JUNE 1944
Battle
of
the Atlantic - U-boats passing through the
Bay of
Biscay were the target for aircraft covering the
Normandy
invasion, and also continued to suffer badly at
the hands
of the aircraft of the Northern Transit Area
patrol.
Throughout the month, seven were sunk and one
severely
damaged by RAF, RCAF and Norwegian aircraft. In
the case
of "U-1225" to the northwest of Bergen on the
24th, the attacking Canadian Canso (or Catalina)
was
badly hit and crashed but not before sinking her.
Flt Lt
David Hornell RCAF,
pilot of the Canso of No 162
Squadron, Coastal Command, was posthumously
awarded the
Victoria Cross.
ATLANTIC
- JULY 1944
FAA
Attack on "Tirpitz"
- Barracuda
torpedo
bombers from Home Fleet carriers "Formidable",
"Indefatigable" and "Furious"
attempted to hit "Tirpitz" in Altenfiord on the
17th, but failed, partly because of
defensive
smokescreens. U-boats were sent to attack the
carrier
force, but over a period of four days, RAF Coastal
Command sank three in the Northern Transit Area
and won
another Victoria Cross. On the 17th, west of
Narvik,
"U-347" was lost to a RAF Catalina of No 210
Squadron. Flg
Off John Cruickshank RAFVR,
pilot of the
Catalina, continued to attack in spite of his
wounds from
the return fire and was awarded the Victoria
Cross.
1945
MEDITERRANEAN
- APRIL 1945
Italy - The last
and decisive Allied offensive aimed at clearing
the
Germans from Italy got underway with commando
assaults
near Lake Comacchio on the 1st. In these
operations the
Royal Marines won their only VC of the war. Cpl
Thomas
Hunter, 43
Commando, was posthumously awarded the
Victoria Cross
for gallantry
in
action against German forces on the 2nd.
INDIAN
& PACIFIC OCEANS - JULY 1945
Sinking
of
the "Takao" - Japanese
heavy cruiser "Takao",
previously damaged by US submarines on passage to
the
Battle of Leyte Gulf, was now laying off Singapore
in the
Johore Straits. On the night of the 30th/31st,
midget
submarines "XE-1" (Lt Smart) and
"XE-3" (Lt Fraser) were released by towing
submarines "Spark" and "Stygian" and
managed to reach the cruiser to drop their
charges.
"XE-3" was almost trapped beneath the hull of
"Takao" on a falling tide.
"TAKAO"
was badly
damaged in the resulting
explosions and sank to the bottom. Lt Ian
Fraser RNR
and his diver, Leading Seaman James
Magennis were awarded the
Victoria Cross.
INDIAN
& PACIFIC OCEANS - AUGUST 1945
Japan -
As US Third Fleet and the British Pacific Fleet
continued
to bombard Japan, the British and Commonwealth
Navies won
their last Victoria Cross of World War 2. Lt
Robert
Gray RCNVR,
Corsair fighter-bomber pilot with
"Formidable's" 1841 Squadron pressed home an
attack on shipping in Onagawa harbour,
north-eastern
Honshu on the 9th. Under heavy fire, he sank his
target
before crashing in flames and was posthumously
awarded
the Victoria Cross.
|