SLS 64 & WS5A Convoy battle with Admiral Hipper

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Andy H
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#16

Post by Andy H » 07 Sep 2004, 00:47

The captain of the Volturno, Ivor Price, was awarded the George Medal for his actions that day.

Basically he fired at the Hipper, who resoponded, Price then ordered that smoke canisters/floats be lit, to give the impresssion the ship was badly hit. Price gave the order to abandon ship, and the Hipper beliveing the ship to be lost, sailed away. Later the crew returned to the ship. The ships's owners -Kaye,Son & Company actually sacked Price, because they thought his actions could have left the company open to a large salvage claim if another crew had boarded her 8O , in the middle of a battle 8O

Andy H

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David C. Clarke
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#17

Post by David C. Clarke » 07 Sep 2004, 01:49

No good deed goes unpunished Andy! But what was he thinking of, firing on a Heavy Cruiser? He must have been English and stubborn. :lol:

Best Regards,
David


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Andy H
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#18

Post by Andy H » 09 Sep 2004, 00:59

Hi David

Price was Welsh.

In fact David, the Derrynane, Margot & Borgestad all opened fire upon the Hipper. When the Borgestad went down she took with her a 20yr old female stewardess Norma Nergrad.

Andy H

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#19

Post by Peter » 12 Oct 2004, 18:18

Surely Captain Ivor Llewellyn Price was Master of the "Margot" and not the "Volturno" ??

He received his OBE (Civil) in the London Gazette 8 Oct 40 for his services landing troops from the "Margot" under air attack in Norway in Apr 1940 and then his GM in the London Gazette 10 Jun 41 for his actions with a raider. My notes show him still in command of the "Margot". His Cook/Steward William Smith received a BEM (Civil) for the same action.

cheers
Pete

Roy M
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Convoy SLS64

#20

Post by Roy M » 15 Oct 2004, 17:20

The nineteen ships of SLS64 were


42 Bur [No] arr. Ponta Delgada
52 Anna Mazaraki [Gr] arr. Funchal ex SLS63 joined HG54
22 Blairathol arr. Funchal [Master awarded G M] joined G54
12 Clunepark arr. Funchal joined HG54 Damaged by Hipper
41 Westbury, SUNK Hipper
?? Derryname, SUNK Hipper
63 Kalliopi [Gr] arr Gibraltar
62 Perseus [Gr] SUNK by Hippers ex SLS63
43 Polyktor [Gr] arr Funchal
53 Oswestry Grange SUNK Hipper ex SL63
21 Shrewsbury SUNK Hipper ex SLS63
23 Varangberg [No] ex SLS63
31 Warlaby [Cdre] SUNK Hipper ex SL63 Captain Murray Commodore killed on bridge
51 Borgestad [RC?] SUNK Hipper
32 Nailsea Lass SUNK later by U-boat ex SLS63 bottom badly fouled General
61 Empire Energy arr Barry Roads 27/2 ex SLS63
11 Margot [VC] arr Funchal [Master GM] joined HG54
33 Lornaston arr Azores? arr Funchal *joined SL65 damaged by HIPPER
13 Volturno arr Funchal joined HG54

Numbers on left were pennant numbers, Gairsoppa was in SL64, which was escorted by the AMC Arawa, G was the only loss.

Hope that helps

Roy

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Re: Hipper & WS5A, 25.12.40

#21

Post by CharlesRollinsWare » 03 Jun 2005, 04:54

I thought that some additional details for the action of 25.12.40 might be interesting, particularly the FAA role.

If my notes are correct, convoy WS 5 A, left Liverpool on 18 December with 35 ships: the Convoy flagship, RMS Tamaroa, three Blue Funnel Steamers: Menelaus, Stentor, and Arreus, the Elllerman Line’s liners City of Canterbury, City of Derby, City of Winchester, and City of London, as well as Orbita, Elizabethville, Anslem, Aribistan, Barrister, Benrinnes, Bhulan, Charleton Hall, Costa Rica, Delane, Empire Adaptity, Empire Court, Empire Square, Alfred Holt’s Glaucus, Royal Mail Line’s Gascony, Leopoldville, Llandaff Castle, Louisville, Ocean Vespa, Ocean Viking, Ocean Vigil, New Zealand’s Shipping Company’s Rangitiki, British India Steam Navigation Company’s Empire Trooper and Neuralia, and T & J HARRISON’S Advisor, Settler, and Volendam. On December 25, escort was provided by heavy cruiser HMS Berwick, light cruiser HMS Bonaventure (en route to the Mediterranean Fleet, via Cape Horn), light cruiser HMS Dunedin, and corvettes HMS Geranium, HMS Jonquil, HMS Cyclamen, and HMS Clematis, (all en route to the South America Station). Also travelling with the convoy were the British carriers HMS Argus and HMS Furious.

Argus was bound for Gibraltar carrying a small detachment of two Swordfish Is of 825 Squadron for anti-submarine patrol duty, as well as a cargo of six new Swordfish Is of 821X Flight for transfer to Malta. In her role as a transport carrier, no offensive operations had been envisioned, and her own aircraft were not equipped with torpedo couplings and the ships bomb magazines contained no anti-ship bombs or torpedoes, only ASW depth-charges.

Meanwhile Furious was bound for Takoradi carrying 9 FAA Fulmar Is and 40 RAF Hurricane Is as part of Operation “Monsoon”. As such, she had disembarked virtually all of her normal air group, including all her TSR aircraft (Swordfish), retaining only six Skua IIs fighter-dive bombers of 801 Squadron. The Skuas, whose primary duty was to act as fighter defense against Condor attack, were stored in the forward portion of her hangar without bomb crutches attached. The rest of her hangars were entirely filled with her aircraft cargo. Interestingly, the leader of the RAF contingent was Group Captain Kenneth Brian Boyd “Bing” Cross, RAF, only now back on active duty after recuperating from his three-day excursion in the North Sea as a survivor of the sinking of HMS Glorious off Norway in June!

Seven hundred miles west of Finisterre, Admiral Hipper attacked the convoy. At the time, Empire Trooper, escorted Clematis, was straggling astern of the convoy due to engine defects. The German cruiser first contacted the convoy on radar during the afternoon of 24 December. She did not realize at this time that the convoy was a strongly escorted troop convoy. After an unsuccessful torpedo attack at 0353, the decision was to wait until dawn to attack.

When visual contact was made with the convoy at 0808, the Germans were surprised to sight Berwick. After some minutes, Hipper took Berwick under fire at 0839. Due to poor visibility, complicated by smoke and spray, she briefly shifted fire to Clematis, but instead hit and damaged troopship Empire Trooper (the former German Cap Norte of 13,994 tons, captured in October 1939) at 43-58N, 24-15W. She also managed to hit British steamer Arabistan (5,874 tons) which was slightly damaged by both fragments and an 8-inch shell which passed threw her bows. When the convoy scattered, the damaged Empire Trooper was escorted by Cyclamen to Ponta Delgada, arriving on 27 December. The ships for Gibraltar proceeded direct to their destination.

Between 0842 and 0956, Berwick, three miles ahead of the convoy, was in action intermittently for thirty-three minutes, Bonaventure, on the starboard side of the convoy, for twenty-four minutes, and corvette Clematis briefly. Throughout, Dunedin laid smoke. At 0905, Hipper scored her first of four hits on Berwick. The hits were on X turret, abreast of B turret below the waterline (disabling B turret), amidships (putting a four-inch gun out of action), and on the side belt, which was deflected into the bulge. Casualties were four marines killed and one seriously wounded. None the less, at 0914 Hipper broke off the action.

Meanwhile, caught by surprise in the pre-dawn light, Furious’s Air Department quickly got to work trying to scramble her Skuas to attack the German cruiser. Unfortunately, the route from the bomb magazines was entirely cluttered with RAF aircraft. Further, no bombs could be fitted until the bomb crutches brought up and attached. Added to the fact that Captain Thomas Hope Troubridge, RN was far more concerned with avoiding any possibility of another Glorious disaster, contact had been lost before the planes could belatedly take off to attempt to regain contact. Cross’s memoirs concerning this time are especially interesting as he was, to say the least, less than enthusiastic at the thought of taking another swim courtesy of the Kriegsmarine!

Meanwhile, aboard Argus, work immediately began to get their two Swordfish ready for action. Initially thoughts were given to having the aircraft depart with ASW bombs, hoping that if the aircraft released the depth bombs ahead of the German cruiser they might damage her. In the event, however, it was decided that they needed a real anti-ship weapon. Thus, the two Swordfish were ranged and sent off with orders to fly over to Furious to be equipped with torpedoes. Once they were recovered by the later, a virtual comedy of errors ensued. First, some of the RAF fighters had to be brought up to the deck and ranged forward to clear space in her after hangar for the Swordfish to be equipped with torpedo couplings and then armed. Once completed, the Swordfish needed to be lifted up and ranged forward, the RAF fighters moved aft and then brought below. In the event, by the time the Swordfish could actually be ranged, the searching Skuas had reported their inability to make contact and the entire operation was scrubbed. All in all, it was hardly a banner day for the FAA!

Meanwhile, as Hipper contacted and sank independent steaming British steamer Jumna (6,078 tons) at 44-51N, 27-45W. Jumna was the commodore’s flag from dispersed convoy OB 260, and Rear Admiral H. B. Maltby (ret) was among those lost.


Mark

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#22

Post by Andy H » 01 Jul 2005, 16:20

Thanks for that very interesting post Mark

Regards

Andy H

Andreas
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#23

Post by Andreas » 31 Jan 2006, 11:33

Split from 'Let's build Admiral Hipper':

http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?p=842927

All the best

Andreas

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#24

Post by ohrdruf » 02 Feb 2006, 22:40

The mystery surrounding SLS 64 is quite intriguing.

To answer a point made by Varjag earlier regarding "Blairatholl", this was the last ship of the convoy still afloat and able to make port, according to Meisel. Being a warship with space aboard, he was required under international law to make arrangements to secure the safety of the survivors of the ships he had sunk and, for all he knew being in immediate danger from superior warships of the British Fleet, fulfilled his obligation by delegating it to "Blairatholl".

"Admiral Hipper" was first sighted by "Margot" at 0600 in the dark - "Admiral Hipper" had been tracking the convoy by radar through the night - and commenced firing at 0615 at a range of less than three kilometres. Meisel stated that he sailed through the columns, firing all he had to both sides. The assault was broken off at 0740, eighty-five minutes later, by when Meisel had discharged all his torpedoes and a large quantity of nose-fuzed HE. Observers aboard "Admiral Hipper" kept a careful watch on the successes for the War Diary and the final claim agreed upon was for 14 ships sunk, or obviously in a sinking condition: it is difficult to discredit this believe the claim since, as far as Meisel was concerned, there was nothing left afloat, and it was time to make for Brest and celebrate.

Since the Germans claimed 14 ships sunk, and the British Admiralty admitted seven, one might suppose that the actual loss was probably ten. So where could the other ships have come from, accepting that the convoy was in the region of nineteen, some of which were straggling well astern of the main body?

The quarry of "Admiral Hipper" had actually been HG 53 (Gibraltar-Liverpool). This was an unescorted convoy of 21 ships departing Gibraltar 6 February and attacked by U-37 on 9th. Clausen sank "Courland", "Estellano" and later "Brandenburg", while four other ships, "Britannic", "Dagmari", "Jura" and "Varna" fell victim to aircraft. The convoy had then dispersed, and the day before the attack of SLS 64 "Admiral Hipper" sank an eighth ship, "Iceland".

Author Blair reports that HG 53 was "scheduled to merge with SLS 64" and it is possible that some of the surviving ships of HG 53 did so before "Admiral Hipper" arrived. One would now have to discover what ships were in HG 53 and how each of the surviving 13 fared in order to finally decide on the tally.

It is worthwhile mentioning that the Norwegian "Borgestad" appears to have been a DEMS with orders to protect the convoy. Whether the captain's orders extended to tackling a heavy cruiser must be in doubt, but upon the appearance of the German cruiser he engaged her. The Norwegian captain received posthumously the highest Norwegian award for bravery. There were no survivors from "Borgestad".

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