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From: http://www.seawaves.com/newsletters/...uary/15Jan.txt

January 15th

1939/40/41

1939 - Lord Halifax, British Foreign Minister, urged Georges Bonnet, French Foreign Minister, to satisfy some of Italy's claims - port facilities at Djibouti, Suez tolls, and status of Italians in Tunis

1940 - Joint amphibious exercise begin in the Monterey, California, area to (1) provide training for the Army and Navy in planning and executing Joint operations, (2) train Army troops in embarking and disembarking, and (3) afford an opportunity for elements of the General Headquarters Air Force (GHQAF) and Navy patrol squadrons to work together and with ground forces
1940 - SS Gracia in Convoy OB-71 was damaged by a mine laid on 6 January by U-30 about 5 miles WSW of the Bar Lightvessel, Liverpool
1940 - 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
1940 - Destroyers HMS Offa & Oribi laid down
1940 - At 0705 hours, the neutral Arendskerk was spotted by U-44 about 100 miles SW of Ouessant and tried to escape when the U-boat was sighted. It needed seven shots across her bow to stop the vessel. When the papers were checked it became clear that she carried contraband and the crew was ordered to abandon ship. At 1010, one torpedo struck in the engine room, breaking the ship in two. The afterpart sank, but the forepart remained afloat and had to be sunk 30 minutes later by 18 shells from the deck gun. The survivors were picked up by the Italian merchant Fedora, transferred to the Dutch merchant Poelau Bras and landed at Lisbon

1941 - Minesweepers HMCS Gananoque & Goderich laid down Toronto ON
1941 - U-179 laid down
1941 - Cruiser minelayer HMS Adventure is damaged for the second time on a mine while on passage from Milford Haven to Liverpool
1941 - The Admiralty announces the promotion of Vice-Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham, C-in-C of the British Mediterranean Fleet to admiral
1941 - The Italian motorship Citta di Messina, escorted by the torpedo boat Centauro, is torpedoed & sunk by submarine HMS Regent. It is the first sinking of a supply ship bound for North Africa in 1941
1941 - AMC HMCS Prince Henry arrived Bermuda for workups
1941 - Destroyers HMCS Assiniboine, St Francis & Columbia departed Halifax for EG-4 Greenock
1941 - Corvette HMS Godetia laid down
1941 - Destroyer USS Gwin commissioned
1941 - Corvette HMS Anchusa launched
1941 - Minesweeper HMS Felixstowe launched
1941 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Hoxa launched
1941 - U-151, U-554 commissioned

1942/43

1942 - At 0941, the unescorted tanker Coimbra was hit by one torpedo from U-123, which had spotted the lights of the tanker astern while the U-boat was proceeding eastbound following the southern shore of Long Island. The torpedo struck on the starboard side just aft of the superstructure. A huge towering explosion lit up the night sky and the cargo of oil quickly caught fire and spread across the water. Residents from the Hamptons on Long Island could see the fire at sea 27 miles away and alerted the authorities. A second torpedo hit the tanker and her stern immediately sank, striking the sea floor. Like his previous victim, the Norness, the bow of the Coimbra was sticking out of the water. Hardegen suggested that, "it was a good thing that my wrecks were partly sticking out of the water. Otherwise how would other ships find the harbor?" The tanker later sank completely. The master, 29 crewmembers and six gunners were lost. Ten survivors, six of them wounded were rescued from the rough seas. Two crewmembers were picked up by destroyer USS Rowan & landed at Argentia, Newfoundland. The remaining survivors were rescued by another American destroyer and landed at St John's
1942 - At 1134, U-203 torpedoed a ship, which exploded & sank immediately. Mützelburg thought that he had sunk an ammunition ship, but his victim was the trawler Catalina
1942 - At 0138, the unescorted Dayrose was torpedoed and sunk by U-552 west of Cape Race. Altogether, the U-boat fired five torpedoes of which two struck the vessel and broke her in two. The master, 31 crewmembers and six gunners were lost. Four crewmembers were picked up by destroyers USS Ericsson & USS Stockton and landed at Argentia, Newfoundland
1942 - At 2317, tanker Diala was torpedoed & damaged by U-553 about 300 miles ESE of Cape Race in 44°50N/46°50W (grid BC 8524). The vessel was proceeding at maximum speed (12 knots) after the convoy ON-52 was dispersed on 11 January. The bow was blown off and the superstructure was extensively damaged. The tanker was abandoned but remained afloat and was reported drifting NE. 48 crewmembers and nine gunners were lost. The master, six crewmembers and one gunner were picked up by the British SS Telefora de Larrinaga and landed at New York. Four survivors from the Athelcrown, which had been sunk by U-82 on 22 January, boarded the abandoned, drifting wreck of the Diala. They remained on board for eight days before they were rescued by the Swedish merchant Saturnus and landed on the Faroes Isles. On 19 March, Allied ships in position 47°N/37°W last saw the drifting wreck, after attempts to tow her were unsuccessful.
The wreck of the Diala was sunk on 23 March by U-587
1942 - U-93 sunk in North Atlantic, in position 36.10N, 15.52W by destroyer HMS Hesperus. 6 dead, 40 survivors
1942 - Minesweeper USS Auk commissioned
1942 - Battleship Tirpitz moves to Norwegian waters
1942 - The State Department issues a memorandum outlining its position with respect to French sovereignty over bases the United States intends to build in French Oceania
1942 - Destroyers USS Blean & Tickham launched
1942 - Escort carrier USS Bogue launched
1942 - Destroyer USS Caldwell launched
1942 - Submarine USS Herring launched
1942 - U-605 commissioned
1942 - Submarine FS Surcouf arrived Halifax NS for refit
1942 - SS Barra Island, Canadian Atlantic Transportation Co, wrecked in a storm in the Hebrides Sea, two miles off Barra Island, west of Scotland. There was no loss of life in this incident
1942 - U-211, U-413 launched
1942 - Corvette HMS Chrysanthemum commissioned. Taken over by Free French Navy 26 Jan 42 & renamed Comandant Drogou
1942 - U-577 sunk in the Mediterranean NW of Mersa Matruh, in position 32.40N, 25.48E, by depth charges from an RN 815 Sqn Swordfish. 43 dead (all hands lost)
1942 - Lieutenant Goodman RNVR was awarded the George Cross for his bravery in dismantling an unexploded Italian torpedo of unusual design, fitted with a self-destruct mechanism

1943 - U-1004 laid down
1943 - Escort carrier USS Manila Bay laid down
1943 - Submarine USS Manta laid down
1943 - Aircraft carrier USS Shangri-La laid down
1943 - Submarine USS Tang laid down
1943 - On the Virginia side of the Potomac River outside Washington, DC, a new Headquarters building for the Armed Forces of the US is completed. Due to the 5 sided architectural design, it will become known as "The Pentagon". The size of this building will allow the US Army, US Navy and US Army Airforces to move their command functions into one place. Due to segregation in Virginia at the time, separate bathroom facilities were built for whites & blacks. These have been located all over the greater Washington, DC area. Many of them are housed in temporary buildings, "on the mall", between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. These temporary buildings were erected during WWI and were not expected to be in use much longer than the duration of that conflict
1943 - Destroyer USS Nields commissioned
1943 - Submarine USS Tinosa commissioned
1943 - Lighters HMC HC 185, HC 186, HC 204 & HC 205 ordered
1943 - A crewmember of U-134 committed suicide
1943 - U-716, U-851 launched
1943 - The unescorted Ocean Courage was torpedoed & sunk by U-182 about 200 miles south of the Cape Verde Islands. The master, 41 crewmembers, two gunners and two stowaways were lost. Six crewmembers and one gunner were picked up by the British merchant Silverwalnut and landed at Norfolk VA
1943 - At 1031, U-617 fired four torpedoes at a small convoy, consisting of two merchantmen, the Annitsa and Harboe Jensen, escorted by armed trawler HMS Southern Isles. Brandi observed two hits on each merchantman that had a great effect. Both merchantmen were sunk in the attack. One crewmember from the Annitsa was lost. The trawler rescued 31 survivors and a lifeboat picked up two survivors from the Harboe Jensen. The trawler later also picked up the survivors in the lifeboat. Harboe Jensen (Master Sverre Aanonsen) was hit by two torpedoes on the port side and sank immediately. The master and 17 crewmembers were lost. Five Norwegians and one British jumped overboard and found an upturned lifeboat, which they righted. They picked up two survivors from the Greek ship, before the trawler rescued them. Gunner Falkensten, who had also jumped overboard kept himself afloat on a plank and was rescued after about an hour

1944/45

1944 - Tugs HMCS Listerville, Martinville, Neville, Bonnyville, Merrickville, Johnville, Plainville, Hartville, Innisville, Queensville, Kayville & Youville ordered
1944 - HMC MTB 745 commissioned
1944 - Corvette HMCS Peterborough launched Kingston ON
1944 - U-485, U-1102 launched
1944 - Destroyer HMAS Bataan launched
1944 - Submarine USS Thresher, patrolling in the Luzon Strait during her eleventh patrol, bores in on a Japanese convoy. Thresher lets loose seven torpedoes in a night surface radar attack. Two of four torpedoes strike and sink Toho Maru and all torpedoes in a salvo of three hit Tatsuno Maru sinking her. These ships are sunk about 75 miles north of Luzon in position 19°45'N, 120°40'E
1944 - Submarine HMS Tally Ho, on her third patrol and cruising the waters around the Andaman Islands, fires six torpedoes at what is believed to be a motor vessel. One torpedo hits & sinks Ryuko Maru south of Port Blair in position 10°50'N, 93°00'E
1944 - Frigate USS Alexandria launched
1944 - Destroyer escorts USS Charles J Kimmel, Connolly & Daniel A Joy launched
1944 - Frigate USS Eugene commissioned
1944 - Destroyer USS Prichett commissioned
1944 - Destroyer escort USS Francis M Robinson commissioned
1944 - Corvette HMCS Drumheller completed forecastle extension refit New York City
1944 - Submarine HMS L-27 arrived Philadelphia for refit
1944 - The Canadian-owned, British-registered Victory-class freighter Fort St Nicholas (7,154 GRT), Captain Kenneth H. Pengelly, Master, was torpedoed and sunk by U-410, OLtzS. Horst-Arno Fenski, Knight's Cross, in the Gulf of Salerno, in position 40.34N, 014.37E. There was no loss of life from the 63 crewmembers and four passengers onboard. Fort St Nicholaswas a Victory-class cargo ship built by Burrard Dry Dock Co., Ltd, at North Vancouver, BC She was completed in Sep 43. Fort St Nicholaswas one of 32 Victory-class ships provided to Great Britain under the terms of a Bare Boat Charter. John Cory & Son, Ltd., of Cardiff, Wales, managed the ship for the British government. Two of these ships were lost and another two were damaged. The ship was proceeding from Hull, U.K., to Naples, Italy. She was loaded with 4,000 tons of military stores. U-410 was a medium-range type VIIC submarine built by Danziger Werft, at Danzig. She was commissioned on 23 Feb 42, KptLt. Kurt Sturm, CO. U-410 conducted seven patrols and compiled a record of ten ships sunk for a total of 57,861 tons and one ship damaged for a further 7,134 tons. U-410 was bombed and sunk on 11 Mar 44 by USAAF aircraft while alongside in Toulon, France. There is no record of casualties associated with her loss. Horst-Arno Fenski was born in 1918, at Königsberg, East Prussia. He joined the navy in 1937. His operational service began in Dec 39 in the battlecruiser Gneisenau. Fenski transferred to the U-boat force in Apr 40, serving as the First Watch Officer in the successful Type VIIC boat U-752 (seven patrols, eight ships sunk), commanded by KptLt. Karl-Ernst Schroeter. Fenski was promoted to OLtzS on 01 Apr 42 and was selected for command, completing his U-boat commander’s course between Jun-Jul 42. His first appointment was command of the Type VIIA training boat U-34. Next, on 05 Feb 43, Fenski was appointed to command U-410, at the age of 24. He was awarded the Knight's Cross on 26 Nov 43 (the 106th awarded in the U-boat force). After U-410 was bombed in port, Fenski was assigned to command the veteran Type VIIC boat U-371 (19 patrols, 12 ships sunk). On her first patrol under Fenski's command, U-371 was sunk in operations against convoy GUS-9. Fenski was detained after the capitulation and was released on 04 May 46. Horst-Arno Fenski died on 10 Feb 65, in Hamburg. He sank nine ships for a total of 53,684 tons and damaged four ships for a further 13,356 tons, which ranked him as the 84th highest scoring U-boat 'ace' of the war. U-371 was unlucky enough to be the first victim of a new allied sub-hunting tactic known as ‘Swamp’. This tactic packed the vicinity of a known or
suspected U-boat with as many surface escorts and patrol aircraft as possible. The escorts and aircraft then systematically searched the area until the U-boat’s submerged endurance was exhausted. On the night of 02/03 May, U-371 was closing the 43-ship Oran to Hampton Roads convoy GUS-9. After being forced to submerge by an escort, Fenski waited until the convoy passed overhead before resurfacing astern of it. He began to reposition U-371 for another attack but was sighted by the American Edsall-class destroyer escort Menges. Fenski dove the boat and fired a T-5 acoustic-homing torpedo at Menges, which struck her aft, causing extensive damage but did not sink her. Another Edsall-class destroyer escort, USS Pride and the Treasury-class cutter USCGC Campbell joined the attack and forced U-371 to break contact with the convoy. Ultimately, six escorts and three aircraft squadrons were dedicated to the hunt. Fenski bottomed his boat near the African coastline and remained quite for 21 hours. Finally, the depleted air in the boat forced an emergency surfacing at 0315 04 May. The resourceful Fenski handled his boat brilliantly but the odds were overwhelming. A wild gun battle took place during which Fenski fired another T-5 torpedo that hit and heavily damaged the Free French escort Senegalais. Fenski ordered the boat abandoned and scuttled. Amazingly, there were only three casualties from U-371’s crew of 51 men
1944 - Submarine HMS P-554 arrived Halifax NS for ASW training
1944 - U-871 commissioned

1945 - The unescorted Maja was torpedoed & sunk by U-1055 SE of Drogheda. 17 crewmembers and eight gunners were lost. The master, 37 crewmembers and two gunners were picked up by the Belgian trawler Hendrik Conscience and landed at Holyhead
1945 - Escort carrier HMS Thane damaged beyond repair by U-1172 55.08N, 05.25W - Grid AM 65. After being deemed unworthy of repair she was decommissioned at Faslane. Eventually she was scrapped there in 1946
1945 - Tanker Spinanger damaged by U-1172 at 55.08N, 05.25W - Grid AM 65
1945 - Tug HMCS Barkerville assigned to Prince Rupert BC
1945 - HMCS Fundy & Comox, both Fundy-class minesweepers, rescued survivors from the three ships torpedoed in Convoy BX-141 by U-1232. The ships lost were the British tankers British Freedom & Athelviking as well as the US Liberty ship Martin Van Buren. The two tankers were sunk in position 44.28N, 063.28W. The Liberty ship was towed into port but was declared a Constructive Total Loss. The four ships of the Fundy-class (Comox, Fundy, Gaspe & Nootka (renamed Nanoose in 1944)) were ordered before the outbreak of WWII as part of a modest naval build-up. All four ships were laid down and commissioned during 1938. With a displacement of only 460 tons and a length of 163 feet, they were even smaller than the Western Isles-class armed trawlers (545 tons 164 feet). The Fundy-class sweepers were coal-fired, which gave them significantly less endurance than comparably sized oil-fired vessels (although the Western Isles-class also used coal). They served in the local approaches to Esquimalt and Halifax and were paid off in 1945
1945 - Battleship USS Illinois laid down
1945 - Destroyers USS Sarsfield & Stribling laid down
1945 - Italian battleship Conte Di Cavour was sunk during an aerial bombardment at Trieste. This was the third time that the ship was sunk and she was raised for a third time afterwards. Laid down 10 Aug 1910, Cavour was launched on 10 Aug 1911, and completed on 01 April 1915. As originally built, she displaced 23,000 tons, had a top speed of 21.5 knots, and was armed with thirteen 12.8-inch guns. As a result of the naval limitations treaties that restricted new construction, Cavour was extensively modernized at Trieste between Oct 1933 and Jul 1937. She emerged with a radically altered profile and a displacement of 28,000 tons, a top speed of 28 knots, and was armed with ten 12.8-inch guns. Conte Di Cavour was among the ships sunk by FAA Swordfish aircraft from HMS Illustrious at Taranto on 11 Nov 1940. She was refloated in mid-1941 and transferred to Trieste in Dec 1941 for repairs and modernization. Upon the Italian Armistice, Cavour was scuttled on the night of 09 Sep 1943 to prevent her from being seized by the Germans. The hulk was raised and repair efforts were begun again. Cavour was bombed and sunk by USAAF heavy bombers and, in 1947, she was raised for a third and final time. The hulk was broken up for scrap between 1950 and 1952
1945 - Destroyer USS Vogelsgang launched
1945 - Aircraft carrier HMS Vengeance commissioned
1945 - Submarine USS Argonaut commissioned
1945 - Frigate USS Lorain commissioned
1945 - Minesweeper USS Ptarmigan commissioned
1945 - Mines laid by HMS Porpoise on 9 January sink Japanese Kyo Maru #1 south of Penang, Malaya, 05°18'N, 100°20'E. Porpoise would never return from this patrol, her fourth