The official AHF Allied & Neutral Navies quiz thread

[Polar bear]

hi, Olivier,

hm ... not quite a "battle" which is in my mind ... the engagement of "Second Sirte" on March 22, 1942 ?

greetings, the pb

[AVV]

Hello!
Battle of Barents Sea - December 31, 1942?

Best regards, Aleks

[mescal]

pb is correct, 2nd Sirte is the engagement I was thinking of.

On that day, the wind blowing from the S/SE enabled the outnumbered & outgunned british force to maintain a huge smokescreen behind which the convoy sheltered and from which the destroyers & light cruisers kept the Italian battleship & heavy cruisers at arm's length.
And the weather also helped the british in the aftermath of this engagement, as two Italian destroyers sank in stormy weather while returning to Taranto.

Barents Sea could perhaps also qualify, as Burnett's squadron benefitted from its northerly position, but it's more a question of light than wind direction. I'm not sure that another wind would have changed the outcome whereas at 2nd Sirte, with the wind blowing from any other quarter, I cannot see how Vian would have repelled the Italian fleet.

Thus ... it's up to the pb again !
(sorry Aleks).

[Polar bear]

hi,

let´s stay with this kind of question.

In one decisive battle, one of several Allied units took a straight way towards the enemy (and did not return) while the others made roundabouts or didn´t enter the fight, at all ...

greetings, the pb

[Rob Stuart]

You're talking about Midway, I think. The units you refer to would be the various squadrons from the US carriers.

Rob

[Polar bear]

hi, Rob,

correct; the absolutely "straight way" took AFAIK only VT-8 (Waldron) while the Dauntless squadrons took the roundabout (McCluskey/ENTERPRISE, arriving late but decisively) or did not reach the fight at all (Ring/HORNET), YORKTOWN´s squadrons joining just in time.

over to you,

greetings, the pb

[Rob Stuart]

Okay, here we go.

Which service's first confirmed kill of WW2 was actually its second kill?

Hint #1: the first encounter involved units from three services, the second involved units from two services.


Rob

[Rob Stuart]

Hint # 2: both victims were Axis submarines, but not from the same Axis navy.

Rob

[Polar bear]

hi, Rob,

to clear things up a little bit: are you considering e.g. the RN and the RAF as two different services ?

greetings, the pb

[Rob Stuart]

Yes, but ...

Hint #3: all of the services I'm talking about were navies.


Rob

[Rob Stuart]

Hint #4: The first encounter was in November 1940, the second in September 1941.

[Rob Stuart]

Penultimate hint: The first encounter involved an Italian submarine and two Allied destroyers. The secoond involved a German submarine and two Allied corvettes.


Rob

[Polar bear]

hi, Rob,

I presume you might be thinking of the RCN.

however your hint

Hint #1: the first encounter involved units from three services, the second involved units from two services.

leaves me doubtful ... are you considering the Kriegsmarine and the Regia Marina as a "service" , as well ?

Following your hint, I had looked for a sinking with participation of three Allied navies ...

greetings, the pb

[Rob Stuart]

You're right, PB, it's the RCN - and yes, I'm counting the two Axis navies as services.

To give you the full story, on 6 November 1940 the destroyers HMCS Ottawa and HMS Harvester sank the Italian submarine Faa di Bruno, but the assessment commitee did not allow the claim and it was not until 40 years later that research in the Italian records confirmed the sinking. The sinking of U-501 was the first RCN submarine kill to be confirmed by the assessment committee. It was sunk by the corvettes HMCS Chambly and HMCS Moose Jaw on 10 September 1941 and was long thought to have been the RCN's first kill.

My source for the above is No Higher Purpose, which is the relevant volume of the official operational history of the RCN.

Over to you again,

Rob

[Polar bear]

hi,

next, a straightforward question , again ... what ship ?

greetings, the pb