SECRET

WEEKLY INTELLIGENCE REPORT

(W.1. R.)

rSSlTEPBY THE NAVAL INTELLl;GENCE DIVISION, NAVAL STAFF,

A.DMIRALTY, FOR THE INFORMATION OF ALL OFFICERS IN H.M. NAVY

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NAA.006.0335

NUMBlm 61 9TH MAY, 1941

Attention is called to the penaltiesattafhing to any infraction of the

Ojjicial Secrets Ac/!

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NAA006,0336

REPORT is for the information of

and British Officials.

E FLAG OR COMMANDING OFFICER'S copies of vV.I.R.,copies in H. M. Ships where a Captain is in

command, may be retained for reference. All other copies

are to be collected in each Ship or Establishment and burnt

before the next issue is put into circulation. Personal copies

are always to be burnt on receipt of a subsequent number.

le,Jrrlct:inn certificate is not required.)

SUGGESTED that lectures should be given to Ships'

on the contents of W.I.R., care being taken to

any matter which Commanding, Officers consider

unimiltabJe for the purpose.

CONTENTS

WEEKLY NAVAL J;OTES

Current EventsThe Lofol(:n Islands Raid I

Hovv the' Palm-stan ,vasSaved

Naval Episodes(I) .Brock's Bencnt at

Cherbourg(II) Good-bye, Arligliere /

MERCHANT SHIPPING

German ShippingShippingLosses up to

30th AprilConvoys

~:J:~:~~eon Merchantmen

Ilriti"h (;or,tn,b,cnd Control1m,Darts in Convoy

PART III: NAVAL INTELLIGENCE

Pa.ge 19: Germany26: Icc Conditions27: Italy30: France31 : Enemy Submarine

Activities32: U,S,S,R.

PART IV: POLITICAL

Page 35: Germany3H: Czechoslovakia38: Scandinavia41: France43: Spain44 : Switzerland45: Italy47: U.s.S,R.47: Egypt48: Iraq49: Far East

PART V: SPECIAL CONTRIBUTIONS

Page 51 : Bomber Command

WEEKLY

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INTELLIGENCE

SECRET

REPORT

I,I,

\Face page l.j

ISSUED BY THE NAVAL INTELLIGENCE DIVISION, NAVAL

STAFF, ADMIRALTY, FRIDAY, 9TH MAY, 1941

PART I: WEEKLY NAVAL NOTES

Carrent EventsH.M. submarine Upholder has now reported that at 1533 on 25th

April she allacked and hit a northward-bound merchantman in theposition 34: 50 N.-II : 47 E., about 20 miles east of KerkenabIsland. The ship, which was probably 13ainsizza (7,933 tons),sank [,ve hours later. On the following day Upholder surveyedthe wreckage left by the 14th Destroyer Flotilla's attack on 16thApril. The wreek of the A ria was visited. The cargo was foundto be mainly motor-cycles, staff cars and lorries. A considerablenumber of German dead were seen. The ship was set on fire andbumt fiercely. It was found impossible to approach the gronndeddestroyer. On 1st May Upholder attacked a northbound Convoyof five merchantmen and four destroyers in 34: 41 N.-ll : 3R E.One Fels Line ship of about 6,000 tons was sunk and one of' the13urgenland type (7,320 tons) was damaged. Later the damagedship was seen making towards the south-west with a destroyer incompany. H.M.S. Upholder approached agairr and sank her withtwo torpedoes. H.M. submarine Taku sank an euemy transportbefore 0450/7 off the north coast of Sicily, but no details are yetavailable.

In addition to these successes of H.M. submarines Upholder andTak1f., the enemy has suffered other losses of merchant ships, in thecourse of the week, chiefly by air allack, though the rtahan tankerReaD (S,S9R lons) was intercepted by H.M.S. Hilary on ::lrd May andscuttled herself. On tbe 2nd May, two small ships of about 500 tonsare believed to have been sunk by aircraft off Borkum, and on thefollowing day another o[ similar size 0[£ Gravclines, and probablya ship of 5,000 tons off Roulogne. On the 5th May, a ship of over1,000 tons was sunk off Tcrneuzen. In addition to these, fourenemy ships with an approximate total tonnage of 10,700 tons,received direct hits by bombs in Home Waters, and a ship of about200 ft. in length was hombed and sel on fire of[ Benghazi on 3rd May.

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. There has been a sligh t decline in the <lir scare against the German'III tbe Mediterranean area to 23 ; 8 with 15 damaged compared wit~25 ; 4 With four damaged last week and 53 : 19 for the week before.

~~~'IJU 88I n '126!Me 109.[Me 110fus~ec I Total. jDamag,a.1-- I~--\2:- --

2: _: ;:J4: 1 25 :-

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II.M.S. Southdown, during the night of 415th ~!<ly shot d .~ p _. "ft f . 'r. _. ,own <in

tnem.,;. alf:Td" 0 un~pecl11ed type winch had unsuccessfully attackedher. Anti-aircraft firc ashore shot down 6 . '1 du' th kb II 't d " . - flng e wee_a aon nnl s an. unknown causes" accounted for 4 : - and ni ht

fighters arc credited ,with 30 ; 12 and 12 damaged during the w~ekcompared With 16 : :; and five damaged last week, and 14; 22 withfour damal;ed the week before. It is now known that H.M. anti­airClaft ship Palia destroyed the enemy arrer<lft of unspecified t )ewhich bombed and sank her on 28th Apri!. YI

. \Vith. the waxing. of the moon there has been a welcome increase1n the air score agaInst the Germans in raids over this: Kingdom andthe Home area. , It comes t~ 48 ; 11 with 16 damaged, comparedWith the reVised score of 22 : 3 With 15 damaged last week and 2-1 . 4With 14 damaged in the week hefore. .

The German broadcast of 0700 on 1st May from Stavanger, inNorwegian for Norw<lY, informed listeners on the supposed <luthorityof a message from New York that German raiders had sunk eightBritIsh ships in the Indian Ocean. The ships were named and theirrespective tonnages were given, amounting in <lll to 52,903 tons.Five of the names can readily be identified: City of Baghdad, KingCity, Scientist, Benarty and Commissaire Ramel, and the other threemay have been misheard or garbled versions of Athelking, Kemmen­dine and Teddie, although in these last three C<lses the tonnagesgiven in the broadcast are incorrect. All eight ships were actuallysunk, and by Gcrulan raiders in the Indian Ocean, but to havebroadcast the fact on 1st May, 1941, as if it were hot news, looksvery much like a propagandist attempt to rcap double credit forthe successes of raiders which were achieved between the beginningof M<lY and the middle of October, 1940.

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The photograph facing page 1 shows the camouflaging of theGerman battlecruisers in Brest. Nets have been spread betweenthe Gneisenau and the walls of the dock, so that this dock itself,unlike its neighbour, is only with difficulty distinguishable from thesurrounding buildings. The Scharnhorst has been made to appear" built in" to the quay, with the result that she looks like an extension

olthe quay itself.

In addition to its other activities during the week, the CoastalCommand of the RAY. provided air escort for convoys as follows ;­On 30th April for 21 ; on 1st May for 23; on 2nd May for 20; On;3rd and 6th May for 17 on each day; on 4th May for 16, and on 5thMay for 18; or for 132 during the week as compared with 124 lastweek and 163 the week before.

The e~emy occupation of the islands of the Aegean now appearsto be fairly complete. Thc first to be taken was Samothracc,will,*, :wa~ occ1fpied on 19th April by 400 Germans who came fromKayaJIa in seven motor caiques after a preliminary leaflet raid byaircT,"ft to explain that they were fighting only the British and notthe/&teeks. On 23rd April Lemnos, with Mudros, was taken by2;O()O,(}ertnans also from Kavalla, transported in two steamers.

Theltalians claim that they have occupied Mitylene and Chios,and the small and undefended islands of the Cyclades, Amorgos,Anaphe, los, Thera, Naxos and Paros.

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·A··' ···t.·. •••..•..•.. ft fire I'S credited with a score of 5 : 5 and three damaged. n H"TcI;a • . J 88 M It\r'hir2dwith fighters the destructiOn of a u. over a a on

~~ik~itll.i In .addition to all these, two Ju. 52's were destroyed on..•..····i·.P 'd 'd' .'. the night of 2/3rd May and at least five other

the.OToun . urmg ., I I" t' t.i·"·-f··d· th t of 4/5th May. It ,s parbcu ar y mteres Illg a,Brcra t unng a W If Cd'rtot'e<"that among these were one or Inore Focke u on ors.

The Regia Aeronautica once again almost faded out of the pictureduring the week. One S. 79 was shot down over Jimma in Abyssllllaon 30th April and one Cant. Z 501 was prohahly shot d~wn byBlenheims off Kerkenah Island on 2nd May. Thus the a.1T scorewas 1'1 for the weck compared WIth 1 : - last week and 6 . 3 Wlthtwo damaged for the week before. Apart from thesc, two Hahanaircraft were destroyed on the ground and five others were damagedon the ground during the week. This ground score may be comparedwith the two damaged and oue damaged on the ground last weekand 11 destroyed on the ground 111 the week before.

A minor problem which has arisen owing to the action of theItalians in so carefully scuttling their merchantmen at Massawabefore its occupation by the British, is the prOVIsiOn of shipP111~ f~rthe transport of Italian civilian refugees who WIsh to leave Abyssima.U to the end of April it was esbmated that there were 44,600 ofU;"se of whom 26,200 are women and 7,100 children. In addltl?nto these civilians there is at present unspeClfied, but steachlyincreasing, number of Italian military pnsoners and 1,500 policemenfor whom transport away from Abyssinia or Entrea WIll have to be

provided.

The fishing vessels Violet and Promote II of Fraserburgh, which

k 'ng wI'th the Naomi were attacked between 1100 andwere war 1 ., .' h 'th1130 on 22nd April by a German aircraft WhICh rmssed t em Wi

I b b ' No damage was done but the explOSiOns killed orsevera omS.' ddTstunned quantities of cod and codling which formeda useful a I lOnto the catch of the two fa'st-mentioned craft wInch contmued towork after the attack.

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The Lofoten Islands RaidAs we approached Norway ap the Vestfjord during the middle

watch of 4th March, landing parties and all hands were given ashake at 3.15, and by 4,45-with a first class breakfast of porridgeand bacon and eggs inside us-we were in our boals at the davitheads and waiting to be lowered, So far the operation had proveduneventful. A week's training at Seapa; a few hours at the Faroesfor the destroyer escort to refuel; and then the final leg across.

We were to raid Stamsund and Heningsvaer whilc the landingparties from our consort were to deal with Svolvaer and Brettesnes.At exactly the pre-arranged time we eased down and our landingcraft were lowered into the water. Weather conditions were ideal,falls failed to jam; motors started up at the first turn; in facteverything seemed to be going almost ominously according to plan.The first (and only) hitch in the proceedings occurred during thetrip inshore. We had left the parent ship in complete darknesswith the intention of scrambliug ashore at the fIrst stretch of dawn.Half way in, however, the Northern lights got busy and we couldsee every detail of the land for miles around. We were wrapped upin leather jerkins, Balaclava helmets, and all lhe rest of the landingparaphernalia, but the loss of the most important covering of darknessmade us feel uncomfortably naked. As we approached the shore, atot of rum was issued. This proved most welcome as by noweveryone was beginning to feel the effects of the extreme cold. Asudden rat-tat-tat of machine gun fire brought all hands to the alert.The troops fingered their Tommy guns hopefully, but it proved tobe nothing more than a suspicious fishing craft being stopped.

A few moments later we had swung into the narrow entrance ofStamsund with its high rocks on either side. What a gift for hiddenmachine-gun posts 1 Then all unexpected sound met our ears-thesound of cheering from the crews of countless" Puffers" about toput to sea for the early morning catch. As we passed close to a" Puffer" our Norwegian pilot shouted for information as to thenumber of German troops ashore. The old skipper cleared his throatslowly and ominously. We waited feverishly for the reply. Thenat last it came-" TWO!" An embarrassing silence, broken bysomeone whispering~" Take IIO notice, it's obviously a plant"­then, as the boats came alongside the quays, ladders shot up and weclambered out prepared for anything. The tops of the quays werecovered with frozen cads' heads, a most difficult surface to negotiatewith. either speed or dignity. Personally, f fell fiat on my face inthe first few paces and found myself staring at unpleasantly closequarters into a pair of glisteIling cod's eyes which viewed rne withunquestionable hostility.

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j3yno.,vrhecheers of the fishermen had awakened the rest of thet?""".jVj'hoden shutters flew open and sleepy hearls peered out tos~ewharallthe commotion was about and before the last men werea!>'J"fqFe;the owncrs of the sleepy hearls Were rushing down to greetu~: 'j3lqndes and brunettes and children of all shapes and sizeschtSfere~ Tound and greeted our sinister appearance and weapons ofd¢ath with gay shollts and happy laughter. All rather embarrassingwhen one is full of rum and bloodthirsty intentions.

In a matter of minutes every vantage point and approach to thetown was occupied and the Commanding Officer was setting upmilitary headquarters in the local Police Station-cum-Fishery ControlOffice. The Mayor proved most helpful and while his wife brewedcountless cups of coffee the Norwegians, who had landed with uSwere rounding up the Quislings and bringing them in for investigation.There was one awkward moment. A local inhabitant, who spokeperfect English and had been pointing out suspicious characters,was asked if there were any more Quislings at large.

" You have yet to arrest the principal one," he replied, andpointed up to the Mayor's cap which was hanging on a peg. As at themoment we were drinking his wife's coffee, this was rather a bomb­shell, but on closer investigation it transpired that the informer hadrecently been heavily fined by the Mayor, so his efforts to removehim were more personal than politicaL

Meanwhile the main work of blowing up the cod oil factories wasin full swing, and it was amazing how well the Norwegians took it.That they cheered on our arrival was hardly surprising. Anyoneliving in an isolated village wbo failed to do so when overrun by astrong and heavily armed body of troops would obviously beunbalanced. But how would they react to the blowing up of theirfactories and their livelihood? That would surely provide the trueanswer to their sentiments. Well, the answer was never in doubt.The way those Norwegians appreciated the necessity of what wewere doing and went out of their way to help was the most inspiringexample of how a small community-separated by hundreds ofmiles frorn the real centre of hostilities--can maintain completeloyalty and faith in their country's cause and that of her Allies.

The demolition was in the hands of the Sappers, In each caseample warning was given [or neighbouring householders 10 removetheir belongings in case of fire and they were warned that a longblast on the whistle would indicate a quartel of an hour to go.Short blasts were given as the fuse was hit. Since the night of mysmall son's Guy Fawkes paTty, when one of }.IIr. Brock's lImiti­coloured rainbow glories went off in my hand, I have always treatedfuzes with a wholesome respect. Not so the Sappers; it's atradition with them that a good Sapper never runs from his own

6

fuse~. This they certainly lived up to at Lofotcn, for while I wasbeatmg a hasty retreat to the nearest effective cover they ambledaway: WIthout a care in the world. As the thirrl fact~ry was aboutto dlsmtegrate, tW() of them paused to light cigarettes. I wasdehghted when a complete door fell on their heads.

Meanwhile the Germans and QuiSlings had been marched downto the boats and taken off to the parent ship. At one house wherethree Germans were discovered and led oul into the snow, ,; fourthSUSpICIOUS character was seen lurking in the background. A soldierapproached Inm menacingly :._

« Are you a Nazi? II

::he wretched man retreated petrified. lilllllillllllllllllllllll~No, no, no, I am an Anti-Nazi." NAA.o06.0340

" I don't give a - what sort of a Nazi. Fall in with the others! "By. noon, ,whe~ we were. due to leave, the (illays presented an

~mazmg.spectac1c- -NorwegIan volunteers bidding farewell to theirfamIlIes, crowds cheenng and smging alternately anI' own and theNorwegian NatIOnal Anthem; and in the background countlessNorwegJd.n flags, the remams of the German-controlled ships andfa~tones, and clouds of black smoke pouring froni the oil tanks.

Ihe following night we listened in to the Be C -" 0]" ht f h' . . -. . news. urIg orees ave earned out a daring raid on the Lofnten islands "........ ?

H

How the Palmston Was Savedfaptain J. Gregory, Master of ihe British Palmstoll 430 ton,

tel show hzs shIp was so much damaged by the near miss~s of bomb;dropped by an aircraft whzch the ship engaged that she began to sink.She was, howe"er,left on some rocks at high water.- this made it possiblefor the. crew to plug the holes when the tide fell and the ship was jinaU<>towed tnto harbour. 'J

;We left Swansea on 27th March bound for Milford Haven.AL, went well until 1500 on the same day when we were two milesS.E. of 51. Govans Light Vessel. There was a heavy swell at thetIme, ,md the wllld was N.W. force 'J The cloud wI' h dt' . ·bT ,.... as l.lg allne VIS1 _Llty clear. I. was in the wheel.house at the tinH~ whe~ I

saw three aeroplanes anead of us, bombing other ships. The planesthen turned back to us and dropped three or four bomhs more orlCci' toge;ther which. fell nght aft hy the engine room on the port51.e. Tne Mate, wllo was aft, saw columns of water 10--1'/ ft inheIght thrown up from the bombs. As the 'planes approached' we

7

opened fire on them and I am sure that we must have hit one ofthem as a piece of bomb rack fell on to the deck opposite theHotchkiss gun. After attacking us the enemy 'planes went onand attacked others further astern of us. I think the aeroplaneswhich attacked us were Ju.88's. I did not see any markings Gnthem.

Immediately after the attack the Mate came and reported to methat the engine room and stokehoJd were flooded and that the shipwas sinking rapidly by the stern; she was not listing but was goingdown on an even keel. I ordered a lifeboat to be lowered and allthe crew, including myse.lf, got into it. We were then picked upby the motor ship Edenvale. When I get on board I went to theMaster and asked him whether he could tow my ship to Milford Havenand he told me that he would try to do so. I asked for volunteersto return to my ship, and I picked four of my best men to returnwith me. We got aboard my ship and managed to get a tow rope fastto the Edenvale, and she towed us in towards :Vlilford Haven, butby this time the capstan was under water, so we agreed to put heron the rocks.

When the tide left the ship the men and myself went under thebottom of the ship and plugged the ship. The ship remained onthe rocks until 0500 the next morning, when I signalled to a patrolboat and asked her to tow us in to Milford Haven and from therewe went on to Pembroke, where \ve are nov,! in dry dock.

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Naval EpisodesI.-" BROCK'S BENEFIT" AT CHEBOURG

During the bombardment of Cherbour~ in the small hoclrs of11th October, 1940, H.M.S. Revenge was escorted by Captain (D)in H.M.S. javelin and six other destroyers of the Fifth Flotilla-­jupiter, Kelvin, Kipling, Jackal, jaguar and Kashmir-while MotorGunboats Nos. 46, 40, 42, 43 and 44 of the Third :vJ.G.B. Flotillaperformed sweeping or screening duties and forces of cruisers anddestroyers covered the operation at a suitable distance to the eastand west. Excellent co-operation on the part of the RA.F. causedCape de la Hague to be illuminated at exactly the moment that lightwas required in order to check the position of the bombarding forceand a bomb-fire was started in or near the target area. Indeedit seems probable that for some time the Germans wereunder the impression that the bombardment from the sea was acontinuation of the preliminary air raid and, in consequence, repliedto it with an intensification of the anti-aircraft barrage in the course

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~llllllilllllll!IIIII~1111NAA.006.0342IT.-" GOOD BYE, , ARTTGLIERE ' ! "

At 0829 on the 12th October, 1940, H.M.S. York was sent to dealwith an Italian destroyer which had been disabled by H.M.S. Ajaxon the previous night. The destroyer had been reported lyingstopped in a position 35' 55' N., 16' 29' E.

H.M.S. York was told to order the destroyer to abandon shipand then to sink her. H.M.S. York" elosed " the damaged destroyer,circled round her and identified her as the Artigliere. The forecastleof the ship appcared to be scorched and discoloured and it wasevident that there had been a serious internal fire forward and alittle smoke was still rising from it. The [orepart of the bridgestructure had collapsed forward, but there were no visible signs ofshell-bursts on the ship and she seemed quite undamaged abaft thebridge. Right aft on the quarter-deck there was a crowd of menand a few more were on the after main deck, ma.king about 80 ill all.Some of them were waving white sheets and towels in obvioussurrender. They seemed to be thoroughly demoralized and noofficers were to be seen. There were also soUle nlcn on a float ill thewater and others all various pieces of wood. An empty fioat layalongside the ship and another one a short way astern of her.

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of which "flaming onions" and multi-coloured tracers were firedand" searchlights gave a display worthy of a Tattoo-the wholecombining to make a veritable 'Brock's Benefit,' a sight worthseeing."

H,M.S. Revenge began to bombard at 0333 and fired for eighteenminutes at an average range of 15,700 yards, spreading for line andladdering for range. In all, 120 rounds of c.P.c. IS-inch were firedin salvoes. The destroyers fired for the first four minutes of thebombardment-in all, 801 rounds of 4·7 H.E.. at an average rangeof 14.400 yards. The bomb-fire started by the R.A.F. died downafter a little, but a second fire was started by the bombardment to thewestward of the first and sent up flames several hundred feet into theair. By the light of these several salvoes were seen to fall in the targetarea and the fire itself could be seen from forty miles away. Whenthe enemy realized that a bombardment was in progress he openedfire with what may have been 13'5-inch guns and continued to doso during the withdrawal of the ships up to a range of about 36,000yards. The extreme accuracy of the enemy's fire was taken toindicate that some form of R.D.F. was being employed but as theflashes were observed avoiding action was taken by frequentalterations of course. Tn spite of her age H.M.S. Revenge was ableto retire at 21·5 knots and no casualties or damage were inflictedon any of the ships engaged in the bombardment.

Foa page 9:;

The AtlanticThe Natal, 3,172 tons, speed 10 knots, arrived at Santos, Brazil, on

29th April. A report graded B.2 states that she was accompanied by twosubmarines and a press message says that she was 32 days out fromHamhnrg. This is the third ship to cross the Atlantic from East to West,the others being the Hermes (ex Karnak) which arrived at Rio de Janeiroon 9th April and the Leeh which reached the same port on 3rd JlIarch fromBordeaux and sailecl again Witll a cargo of hides on 28th April. Accordingto a B.2 report the Leek, 3,290 tons, was to meet the submarines whichhad escorted the Natal, but an unconfirmed press report from Rio statesthat she was encountered and sunk.

The Maceio, 3,236 tons, at Bahia, Brazil, is reported to have asked forher clearance papers and the Norderney, 3,667 tOllS, at Para, to havestowed and secured her derricks and raised steam, though it is not knownwhether her clearance papers have arrived.

A report dated 3rd May and graded C.4 stated that there had been greatactivity on board the Windhuk, 16,662 tons, at Santos, during the previoustwo nights. The shlp is, however, still under an embargo and Customsand Police Guards are remaining on board.

season is now almost at an end, these ships and oUIers engaged in thefruit trade between Spain and Italy may be used regularly for carrying orc.

The Lisboa, 1,799 tons, which ieft Castellon for Marseilles with fruiton 28th April, arrived at Cartagena on 3rd May. The Spezia, 1,825 tons,left Valencia on 28th April and t.he rinDS, 2,826 tons, sailed from Cartagenaon 1st May, both bound for Marseilles with orauges. The Savona, 2,120tons, arrived at Cartagena on 29th April and is being loaded withmagnesite and the SuUberg, 1,662 tons, is also being used in the orc trade.

The Ernst Hugo Stinnes 11,3,295 tons, and the Else Hugo Stinnes 15,3,291 tons, are reported to be sailing soon to GothenburR for conversionto salvage ships for usc in Norwegian waters.

Th.e tanker Nord Atlantic, 9,897 tons, sailed from Vigo 011 4th May, andarrived at Ferrol the same day, and the Gerda Vith, 1,312 tons, left Ferro!on the night of 3rd/4th May for an unknown destination.

The Black SeaThe Delos, 2,589 tons, which entered the Bosporus from the Black Sea

on 5th May loaded with petrol, provisions, and fodder for Salonika, wasreported to have been used for landing troops in Lemnos. The Ithaka,1,773 tom, passed Chanak on the morning of 6th May, hound for Constanza.

The Salzburg, 1,756 tons, sailed from Batum on 27th Apri! for Poti andthe Yalova, 3,750 tons, was loading at Batum on 26th April and oncompletion was expected to load 1,000 tons of kernels at Trebizond.

The agents at Burgas received instructions from Hamburg on 28th Aprilto send the Arkadia, 1,756 tons, and the Cordelia, 1,357 tons, to ConstanzBin ballast. On arrival tile masters were ordered to report in person at theConsulate. The Cordelia is known to have left Istanbul on 3Id May rorBraila and at Constanza her crew is to be augmented by three cngiIl(''ers,three sailors and one stoker.

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The starboard ,boats had been lowered and the starboard accommo­dation ladder was down. A motor boat and.a skIff were at theport davits and three apparently undamaged Carley floats were mtheir stowage posltlOns on the funnel.

RM.S. York approached with the International signal" Abandonship" and also made a signal by light" Andate del batello." Afterthis signal had been made repeatedly, it was apparently taken m onbelard the destroyer which replied that dead and wounded were onboard and other signals were added which were quite incompre­hensible. It was, however, clear that the Italians hoped to be takenon board the British ship.

At 0850, when it was obvious that the Italians would make nomelve to help themselves or to abandon ship, a warning shot wasfired wide of the ship from a 4-inch gun and H.M.S. York steamedclose under the Italian's stern and dropped a large and a smallCarley float and another raft, after which thc signal was n;~de

1(' Vado cannonere .. to show that she was about to open fire. I heItalians then started to abandon ship on to the floats and into thewater, but made little effort to get clear of the ship.

At about 0910 H.M.S. York circled across the destroyer's bowsand at 0915 opened fire with her 8-inch guns at the Artigliere's portside. Fourteen rounds were fired from a range of about 1,500 yardsand hits were obtained amidships and fires started. A torpedo wasfired at 0918 as it was clear that gunfire would take too long to sinkthe ship, and at the same time one or two hits were obtained withanother salvo of 8-inch. The torpedo appears to have hit the aftermagazine as a trernendous sheet of flame and a colurun. of stllokeseveral hundred feet high burst from the stern of the Shlp and shesank almost immediately. The lateral force of the explosion wassurprisingly small; hardly any shock was felt in H.M.S. York andthe Cariey floats near the destroyer were still afloat when the smokecleared away.

H.M.S. York then proceeded.

European WalasA report ddted 24th April states that since 1st January, 1.6 ore sl~ivs

have left Narvik, and that three ore trains reach the Gfotcn raIlway dally.According to one report the Savona, 2,120 tons, the Bellona, 1,297 tons,

the Spezia, 1,825 tons, and the 'Finos, 2,B26 tOll.';;, are to be taken over bythe German Navy hut there are other indications that, as the orange

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PART II: MERCHANT SHIPPING

German Shipping

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~ONVOYS. The following table shows the number of ships. British,Allied and Neutral, which have sailed in escorted convoys during the lastweek and sbce the beginning of the war; together with the losses fromenemy action :-

In addition, 37 ships of 66,000 tons under enemy control or useful tothe enemy have been sunk.

Some 53 ships totalling nearly 300,000 tOIlS have been placed underprotective custody in U.S.A. and South Atnerican ports in order to preventsabotage by their crews.

I1II111111111 ~!1I11111111111111111111NAA.006.0344British Convoys

Captured or seized .. 61 274,000 39 184,000 100 458,000Scuttled or :iunk 102 587,000 70 384,000 172 971,000Unidentifwd ships reported

by submarine, aircraft,etc., as sunk or destroyed.(Tonnage estimated) 171 855,000 95 475,000 266 1,330,000

334 1,716,000 204 1,043,000 1 538 2,7059,000

Enemy Losses up to 30th April,/94/

--~----.--------

I Gennan. I Italian. I TogetheL

I I I Gross I IN0'1 Tons. No. No. Tons.Tons.--- --~----

Arcola, 6,349 tons, Taigete, 4,672 tons and Todaro, 5,162 tons, werereported on 5th May to be making preparations for departure fromTeneriffe.

The Monbaldo, 6,214 tons, at Para, Brazil, raised steam on 4th May.

Gulf of MexicoThree more Italian tankers besides the two mentioned last week which

have been seized by the Mexican Government, arc to be used for Coastaland Gulf trade and as a reprisal Italy is said to have confiscated the three10,000 ton tankers now building lor Mexico in Haly.

The PacificThe Conte Verde, 18,765 tons, which was reported to have left Shanghai

on 1st Apnl escorted by Japanese warships, was still in that port on3rd April.

I

The AtlanticAt Las Palmas ou 29th April, the. Trovatore, 4,700 tons, was coaling the

Orata, 8,631 tons, and the Ernani, 6,619 tons, was loading manganeseare from the Chercha, 5,346 tons.

The tanker Sangro, 6,466 tons and 10 knots, which left Teneriffe loadedwith fuel oil 011 19th April, was intercepted by lLM.S. Cavina on 1st Mayabout 275 miles north of the Azores. The crew tried to scuttle the shipand the pump room was flooded but a prize crew was put on board andthe water was soon under control. On the night of 5th/6th May, however,while being escorted to a port, the Sangro was torpedoed by a submarineand sank in position 50 : 42 N., 20 : 20 W. The tanker Reeco, 5,595 tons,speed 9t knots, sailed from Tcneriffe with fuel oil fot Belle Isle on 19thor 20th April and was intercepted by H.M.S. llilary at 1130/3 abont350 miles north of the Azores. The crew scuttled the ship and all effortst.o savc her werc unsuccessful. The master, eight officers and 21 men,were taken prisoners.

The Andalusia, 4,499 tons, and the Teresa SchiaJfino, 5,189 tons, atTeneriffe, are reported to have been earmarked Jor use as accommodationships for interning pro-British Spaniards and possibly also for .Britlshsubjects should Spain become involved in the war. The three tankers,

12

Tk~:MHdit"rtanean

Tbed)erna, 1,769 tons, left Barcelona on 30th April, and the Luigi,4,2$3 t?n~,left Valencia on 4th May, both bound for Genoa.

FroJ11. .!he captured Port Records of Benghazi for January it is knownthat the Maria Eugenia, 4,702 tons, was sWlk in the harbour before theBritish occupation on 7th February and that the Gloriastella, 5,490 tons,and the Snia Amha, 2,532 tons, were damaged at the same tinlC. TheSnia Amba was believed to have been sunk by H.M. subnlarinc Tdrarckon 4th Nov., 1940, but must bave reached harbour and was probablydestroyed- in latcr air raids, and it is possible that the Gloriastella wasone of the derelict vessels reported by aircraft on 16th April.

The Black SeaThe Abbazia, 3,706 tons, the Caterina Madre, 4,020 tons, and the Pier

Luigi, 2,571 tons, have all been chartered by the Deutsche Levante Linie.The Abbazia, which left Istanbul for Braila on 29th April, was due to sailagain from Braila on 4th May for Cherson with grain, and the Pier Luigi,2,571 tons, was ordered to Cherson on 30th April for wheat to be dischargedat Braila.

The tanker Celena, 3,741 tons, left Constanza for Batnm on 26th April.

The Persian GulfOn 26th April the Lloyd Triestino Agent at Teheran enquired 01 the

Head Office at Trieste whether it was willing to sell the Hilda, 4,901 tons,at Banda Abbas, and the Caboto, 5,225 tons, at Bandar Shahpur, as therranian Government wished to make sure of possession.

Italian Shipping

BRITISH

Attacks on Merchantmen

~!IIIII!II~!lIII~~i!!I~Home Waters NAA006.0345

On 28th April, Convoy HX.121 was attacked by submarines about130 miles N.W. of the Butt of Lewis, and three British ships were sunk­The Caputet, 8,190 tons, bound from Curacao to Scapa Flow with benzine,the Port Hardy, 8,897 tons, bound from Dunedin to Avonmonth, witha general cargo, and the tanker Oitfield, 8,516 tons, bonnd from Arubato Loeh Ewe with benzine. Ninety-seven survivors from the Port Hardy,17 from the Caputet and eight from the Oilfield were landed at Greenock,and 18 others from the Caputet reached Londonderry on 30th April.

The British Grange, 10,160 tons, bound independently from the Tyneto Bnenos Aires was torpedoed and snnk on the 28th April about 300 milesW.N.W. of the Butt of Lewis. Forty-one survivors were picked up.

During an attack by E-boats on Convoy E.C.13 on the night of 28th _29th April, near No. 58 Buoy, off Cromer, the Ambrose FleminK, 1,555 tons,was torpedoed and sunk. Eleven survivors were picked up and elevenare missing. The Ambrose Fleming which was bound from London toBumtisland was the only casualty out of the convoy which consistedof 57 ships.

The Katua, 722 tons, was bombed and sunk OIl 29th March, of[ theTyne, but there were no casualties. During the same attack the Corglen.2,822 tons was damaged by a direct hit and one of the crew was killedand two others were wouIHled.

The Nerissa, 5,583 Lons, bound independently from Halif~x toLiverpool, was torpedoed and sunk on 30th Apdl about 92 milesKW. by W. of the Bloody Foreland. Ninety survivors have been landed atLondonderry.

Three men in a lifeboat from the Henri lYfory, 2,564 tons, have beenrescued and report that their ship, bound from Pepel to BemlUda,was torpedoed on 28th April, abont 300 miles W. of Achill Head. It isfeared that there are no other survivors.

The Sea Fisher, 2,952 tons, bound from Greenock to the Tyne, wasmined on the night of 1st/2nd May, 12 miles S.E. of Holy Island, but hasbeen refloated.

The Lycaon, 7,350 tons, homeward bound from Hong Kong andFreetown, reported being shelled and chased by a submarine from 2155/3to 01l8/4 about 315 miles S. W. of Rockall.

The Coaster Corbet, 468 tons, was mined and sunk in the HerculaneumDock entrance, Liverpool, on ~kd May. It is feared that there was onlyClne sl1rvivor.

The British Royston! 2,730 tons, was attacked by aircraft 17 milesE.N.E. of Spurn Point during the night of 4th/5th May and was laterreported to have sunk. There were no casualties.

15

----- -

.8

14

I

11111111111111111111111111111

NAA.006.0346

Result.

--- ---

by aircraft and sunk

Date.

--'--

___N_a_me. __~onn:ge'l Position.

Constantinos Louloudis I4~ P" --1--"-'-Teti 2,747 p;~~~:~ss. . Seriously damaged.Ky iak· • Seriously damagod.

t' . ~ .' 5,528 Suda Bay Sunk.T eti N omikou .' 1,882 PDimitrios Nomicos 1,171 iraeus.. Sunk.Piraeus Sunk.George A. Dracaulis 1,570 Piraeus Sunk.Danapris 2,113 Not known LYpanis .. 1,459 Not known L~:~:Matolis " 1,712 Not know" I tKanist • -os.ra 3,5~n 5\1(1a Bay Went ashore.

---'------_.--

Iv!editerraneanThe Turkish Trahzon, 2,485 tons, was bombed

between Istanbul and the Piraeus on 4th May.

17

The Greedk ships Messarya Nomikou, 985 tons and Sofia 17?? tonsare reporte to have been sunk b e f .'. G " ........26tl A·1 d h G . . y nerny ac IOn III Trcck waters before

lpn, an t e reek Aghtos Markos 4514 tons is re orted hLloyds to have been lost through enemy action' before :iOth Aprh. l y

NEUTRAL

Overdue Ships~!Thbe Carld/ord Chirle, 3,.364 tons, overduc in the River Platc since 19th. arc, an the NorwegIan Horda 4 :101 t - - ' .... d ..1st A ·1 1. b - , - "~.. OTIS, 0\,,[ ue at HalIfax SlIlce. prJ, lave now een posted overdue by Lloyos.

N There is no furt~er news of the PastLea, 4,267 tons (due at New ort

2' ews on 17th Apnl), the Craftsman, 8,022 tons (uue at Capetowlon

1st Apnl), tbe Swedish J'yolteh I - 0"7" (don 17th A ill th. E - . ~,o m, ;:}, 1: tons ue at Capetown21 t A 'IP)r , Ie Ggyptlan .Lamzam, 8,299 tons (due at Capetown on

s prJ, or be reek N,eotaus D L 5 4Q 6 t (don 24th April). . ., , 0 ons ue at Capetown

(C.tI20I-2J c

6th April 122nd April24th April24th April24th April25th April27th April27th April27th April29th April

MediterraneanDuring tl~e ,evacuation of Imperial Forces from Greece. the Dutch

i1:~~~\~;p~3~:::~I~,;;;a;~eis~ntfire by daircraft and abandoned and theb b d d "ons an Costa R,CIl, 8,672 tons. were

om e an sunk, but therc were no serlous casualties in either ship.

Thek

followi.ng .Gr~ek ships arc casualties as the result ofattac s on shll'pmg m Greek waters :_ enemy air

The No~egianCaledonia, 9,892 tons, bound from Aruba to the Cl dewas sil.uk ill the submarme attack on Convoy nx. 121 all 28th 1 rll130 mIles N.W. of tbe Butt of Lewis Twenty-fi . planded at Greenock. . ve surVIvors wereResult,

Burnt out.Burnt out.Burnt out.Badly damaged.Submerged in docks.Submerged in docks,Slightly damaged.Slightly damaged.Slightly damaged.Blown up.Burnt Qut.Slightly damaged.Burnt out.Submerged.Damaged.Damaged.Reported to be on nre.

Tonnage.6,5981,453

10,2244,6727,9247,8018,663

12,4356,4797,6493,5636,4473,778

274208582

6,770

Home n'atersOn 3rd May the Norwegian Tarangcr, 4,873 tons, independently routed

from Liverpool to Los Angeles, which was chased and machine-gunnedby a submarine about 180 miles S.'S.vV. of Reykjanes, Iceland, is nowknown to have been sunk. Some survivors were picked up and a boat'Nith 17 of the crew was seen under sail on 4th May.

Tbe F.S. 79 Convoy was attacked by aircraft on 3rd May about 19 milesN.N.E. of Crmner and the NUfwcgian ships Trajan, 1,317 tons, andSitona, 1,143 tons. were sunk. Both crews were picked up.

16

The foll(j)¥ing sbips were sunk or damaged on the night of 3rd/4th Mayintheair'r'aidon Liverpool :-

Name.-< Elstree Grange - .. Domino'EuropaC14n MacinnesTacoma Star ..Roxburgh CastleBaronesaWaiweraLobos

~, MalakandRomnanie (Belgian)Salland (Dutch)

"Bra-Kar (Norwegian)Bison (tug)Wapiti (tug)Skirmisher (tender)Silversandal

Western ApproachesOn 29th April the City of Nagpur, 10,146 tons, was torpedoed about

600 mile':'> W. of Valentia and 462 survivors (crew and passengers) fromnine lifeboats have been picked up. Three men were killed and 13 of thenative crew are missing.

MediterraneanDuring the evacuation of the Imperial Forces from Greece, the

Glenearn, 9,784 tons, was bombed before embarkation and taken in tow,and the Gkngyle, 9,919 tons. was damaged by near misses, but managed

to reach Alexandria.The crew of the tanker British Lord, 6,098 tons, which was bombed by

aircraft and abandoned S.W. of Crete on 21st April, returned later andthe ship arrived at Port Said on 29th ApriL

Ajrican WatersThe Wray Casile, 4,253 tons, bound independently from Mauritius to

Freetown, was torpedoed and sunk 110 miles S.S.W. of Freetown on3rd May, forty-three survivors were picked up by tbe PortugueseA ngola. and onc man is missing.

ALLIED SHIPS

British Conlraband ControlDuring the months of March and April, 4,470 tons of cargo destined

for the enemy were seized in prize. The main items were 2,183 tons ofoilseeds, mostly from French ships, 821 tons of metals, 428 tons of gumsand resins and 362 tons of fats and oils. The total seizures siIlce thebeginning of the war amount to 781,211 tons.

and

illlllllllililiIIIIIIMI!~NAA.006.0347

Three (one fitting out).Six (three fitting out).Nil.Two.Three.

Reported at Gdynia, 20th April (B.2)again at Gdynia, 24th April (C.2).

Reported at Gdynia, 20th April (B.2).

• !

At Brest m dry dock, 5th May.At Brest alongside, 5th May.

Believed at Gdynia.

At Kiel in dry dock, 3rd May.Reported in Baltic, 3rd May (B.2).

At Kiel, 3rd May.At Kiel, 30th April, not seen there on 3rd May

but harbour was not completely covered.At Bremen, 2nd May.

At Kid, 18th March, not since located.Reported in Eastern Baltic, 20th April (13.2).Reported at GdYllia, 20th April (B.2).Reported in Baltic, 20th April (B.2).

30th April.2nd May.30th April.30th April.21st ApriL

Tirpitz

Battle-cruisers :­GneisenauScharnhorst .

Pocket BattleshipsAdmiral ScheerLiUzow

8-in.· Cruisers :­Prinz EUKenHipper

Seydlitz

6-in. Cruisers :­LeipzigNurnberg.KOlnEmden

Aircraft Carrier:Gra] Zeppelin

Destroyers:-­KidBremen "BremerhavenWilhelmshavenLa Pallice

Based on Information received up w 5th May, 1941

Main Units

1. Battleships:~

Bismarck

PART III: NAVAL INTELLIGENCE

Germany

19 ';1;

Gne£senau and Scharnhorst2. Examination of all the eVIdence available points to the Gneisenau

having been hit on three occasions in April, once on the night of4th/5th, once on the night of 6th/7th and again on the nightof 10th/lith. It is possible Scharnhorst may have suffered underwaterdamage from a hit or near miss.

3.. It w':lllld seem that, after being damaged on the night of 4th/5thApnl Gne1,senau was moved into the Radc Abri, either 'Ni.tt the objectof an early departure from the port or to minimize danger of furtherdamage. The possible hit on the night of 6th/7th April mav have causedher to re....enter dock to repair underwater damage. ~

-[-_. IProbableTo Date Due. Date of

Attack.

Convoy•InImports

··-[:;:n-I __F_romName.

Imports into Great Britain by ships in convoy during the week ending3rd May, totalled 557,968 tons compared with 796,426 tons during theprevious week and all average of 663,114 tons during the past ten weeks.Fourteen tankers brought in only 171,809 tons ot oll compared with340,093 tons last week. Mineral imports were 123,180 tons comparedwith 178,893 tons in the previous week but 12 ships were fully laden withiron ore, three with pyrites, one with pig-iron, one with copper and Oile

with manganese ore. Timber imports totalled no morc than 9,582 tOIlS

and cereals, 97,566 tons, the corresponding figures last week being27,186 ton, and 134,361 tons. Six ships were fully laden with wheatand two with grain. Other food imports amounted to 106,405 tons, asatisfactory innease on the 48,058 tons of last week Two ships werefully laden with sugar and one with sweet oranges, and the total includedquantities of ground nuts, tea, butter, cheese and cocoa.

Among unclassified imports were many tons of rubber, cotton, copra,jute, 10,807 bales of wool and 424 crates of garlic. There were also lorries,tractors, petrol tanks, 22 heavy lifts, field kitchens and aeroplanes.

18

Stanpark .. .. -5,103 Capetown. 12th Jan. Freetown 27th Jan. 19/1/41LuslYous {tanker) 6,156 Loch Ewe. 13th Fcb. Curacao 9th Mar. 22/2/41Sandefjo'Yd (Norwe- 8,038 Capetown. 9th Jan. Freetown 23rd Jan. 17/1/41

gian tanker).8,685 Swansea. 18th Feb. Freetown 9th Mar. 5/3/41Grootekerk (Dutch)

Marathon (Greek) 7,926 Azore;;, 5th Mar... Freetowil . 13th Mar. 10/3/41

----

Tll"t\\)}k"r(o?\l's, 8,132 tons and to knots, under Government charterwhichleft)\ifilford Haven on 29th March has been overdue at Curacaosince 24thAptil and the Clan B"chanan, 7,266 tons and 16 knots, whichsailed from Du;ban on 19th April, has not reached Colombo where shewas due on 1st May.

The following ships, long overdue at their destinations, are now presumedto have been the victims of enemy raiders :-

U-Boats20. During the week there have been about eleven U-boats present

in the N. W. Approaches and activity has tended to be closer to theBritlsh Isles than in the recent past. .

21. A daylight attack was made ou the 28th by one or more V-boatson a homeward bound convoy about 300 miles ,"-Y. by N. of Butt of Lewis,where four shiP.s, the Bri~i~h tankers Capulet and Oilfield, the Norwegiantanker Caledonza, and :BntIsh 5.s. POtt Hardy, v,Iere torpedoed and sunk.Destroyers carried out two promising counter attacks.

22. On the 28th or 29th April the independent outward bound BritishBeacon Grange was torpedoed and sunk in the same vicinity as the attackon the convoy.

.23. During the morning of the 29th a flying-boat sighted a lifeboatWith snrVIvors (probably from the Henry Mary) about 300 miles west ofAchlllHead, also lifehoats of snrvivors from the sunk City of Nagpur,600 mIles west of Valentia.

by two or three aircraft each day, operating from Stavanger andGardemocn and working in an area to the south and south-west of theFaroe Isles. No report of shipping being attacked has been received.A F.W. aircraft was engaged and damaged by a Sunderland 90' W. ofthe Faroe.s on. 28th April and jettisoned its bombs before disappearing ina N.E. drrectlOn. From the search made by another F.W. aircraft inthis area on the following morning iUs supposed that this aircraft crashedas a result of the combat.

16. During the last few days reconnaissance aircraft from the Brestarea have been active on flights off the sonth-west and west coast ofIreland. This activity, which has taken place in the afternoons, maybe a continuation of the previous activity in this area by F.W. aircraftwhich has practically ceased in the past fortnight, as most of the F.W.aircraft have moved to bases in Norway.

17. There ha.', been almost a complete cessation of attacks on shippingby day and the previous tendency for these attacks to be made at duskand during the night has continued. Several convoys on the east coasthave been bombed; two ships were lost and several damaged.

18. Offensive activity overland by day has been on a very small scaleindeed; attacks were made at a few points on the east coast of Scotlandon 28th April and at Weymouth ou 1st May, wheu some damage wasdone to an important factory.

19. The increased scale of night bombing activity has included anattack on Portsmouth on the night of 27th April, two further heavyraids on the Plymouth/Devonport area on the nights of 28th and 29thApril, and one small and two heavy raids on the Merseyside area on thenights of 1st, 2nd and 3rd of May, the latter being combined with anattack on the Tyncside area and further minor attacks at Portsrllouthand Barrow-in-Furness. During the night of 3[(1/4th May, no less thanfifteen aircraft were shot down by our night fighters, by A.A. fire, and onehy hitting a balloon wire; there were also four prohables and threedamaged.

~iI

i

2111111111111111111111111_1111111

NAA.006.0348

Raider A otivity4. From its appearance, a mine washed ashore near Norah Head,

New South Wales, on 7th April had been recently laid..5. S.S. Trafalgar (British, 4,530 tons) made a disguised merchant

raider distress message on 30th April in position 44 0 43' N., 2W 32' W.(about 550 miles N.N.W. of the Azores) and reported being followed by asuspicious vesseL ThIs message has not yet been cancelled. TheTrafalgar is not due at Capetown till 30th May and her fate is still unknownon going to press.

6. An incomplete raider distress message was intercepted at 0102G.M.T. on 28th ApriL It is now thought that this message was madeby S.S. Clan Buchanan (British, 3,692 tons) who was in estimated position005 0 24' N., 062 0 46' E. (about 1,000 miles W. of Colombo), and who hasbeen overdue at Colombo since 1st May. If her loss is due to a raider,an armed merchant cruiser must have been concerned.

E-Boat A<tivity·-28/29th April, 19417. On 29th April at 0015, Captain D.16 in Worcester with Cotswold

sighted six E-boats ahout 15 miles north of Cromer, but lost contact at0044. It is cousidered that one E-boat was damaged.

8. At 0203 Eglington and Whitshed engaged one E-boat in about thesame position. It is considered certain that the enemy was damaged,but he was lost in a smoke screen.

9. At 0207 Wallace drove off two E-boats to the eastward.10. At 0345 the 1st Motor Launch Flotilla, patrolling near Smith's

Knoll, engaged two E-boats for about seven minutes, claiming one hitwith a three-pounder before the enemy escaped.

11. At 0500 M.G.B's 61 and 59, on patrol abont 45 miles east ofLowestoft, had a running fight at high speed with two E-boats; theaction lasted for 25 minutes endinR within about 25 miles of Ymuiden,when the enemy escaped to the eastward. Several hits with Oerlikonand machine guns were observed.

12. During these engagements an attack on Convoy E.C.13, of57 ships, materialized, bnt only one casualty was sustained-the BritishAmbrose Fleming (1,550 tons) heing sunk. No casualties were sustainedin H.M. ships.

Air Activity13. The scale of enemy air activity against this COll11tf}r during the week

has remained the same with a slight intensification of night bombingactivity.

14. Meteorological activity has continued on a normal basis. Theflight from Trondheim opef8Jing to the west and north-west of its baseon 2nd 1fay covered the area of the Faroe Isles in some detail, and on4th May operated to the north, reaching a point 200' to the west of theLofolcn !.sles and extending almost to the Jan Mayen Isles.

15. A F.W. aircraft operating frorn Norway now appears to be makinga regular daily weather flight covering the area between the Faroe Islesand the south-cast coast of Iceland. Other activity by P.W. aircraftduring the week has been confined to shipping reconnaissance flights

20

are some, thr~e .divisions. but as these troops include a large proportionof reserVIsts It IS not felt that an overseas operation is contemplated atpresent.

!:>painWhile repo~ts conti:lUe to .be receiv~d th~t Germany is putting pressure

on Franco to Induce 111m to sIgn. the Tnpartite Pact and pennit the passageof German troops through Spalu to GIbraltar, there has been no definitereport of, a ~erman,ultimatum ;. ?ut there is good grouud for believingthat Spam IS res~rvmg her deCISIon until the outcome of the Genuanattack on Egypt IS known.

Reports have been received" of military preparations in Southern Spainand of the presence there of German officers; in Madrid the members ofthe German FIfth ColUmn are reported to have had a mobilizationrehearsal on 20th April, Hitler's birthday.

It lSreported, tholl((h not confinued, that on 22nd April Franco declinedan lllvItatlOn from HItlcrto VIsIt Berlin, but that he will probahly agreet~ receIve Rlbbentrop, ::illlCe that date the tenSIOn seems to have easedsltghtly.

Reconl?-aissance of the Franco-Spanish frontier shows numerous dumpso~ ffiCl:tenal, ~nd other reports S"t:ggest that troop movements in thatdl~~chon arc mte~ded or are pOSSIbly already in progress,

Ihough ther~ IS u<;> reason to believe that Germany has abandonedher predatory 1TItentIo~s t?wards Spain, the prospect that aggressionmay be postponed awhIle 15 slightly brighter.Portugal

Althongh the possibility of a German drive towards Gibraltar and thebattle III the .Western Des~rt are at present to the fore, a surprise attackon Portugal IS also a contmgcncy to be reckoned with.

One r~port alleges t,holt two German residents in Portugal were invitedby the German LegatIon to complain of ill-treatment at the hands 01 thePortuguese, and Gcrrna~l propaganda still stresses British designs onPortugal and the neceSSIty of affording her Genua.n "protection."MoroccoGerma~ in~tration i_~lto French Mo[occiJ continues, and the Germans

:=tre sh<:wmg mte.rest 1ll th~ commu~ication.s of that country, The~nfiltratlO~ apP~~Hs to he ,talnng plaCl~ In part through Spanish Moroccoand TangIer: Ihe~e tacttcs, :nay be m preparation for German activityon the SpaI~lsh m~lIlland, .1 hey .are also no doubt intended eventuallyto weaken Fre~'lch mfiuence ill Afnca and thcrehy deprive Marsha.l Paaino,f ,:"hat constItutes a most valuable bargaining counter.Syna

..~I~h:)Ug~ <:ur. consular representative in Beirut minimizes GermanactIVIties III Syna, rep~rts indicate that the Disarmament Commissionh~ been makmg certaIn preparations to fac.ilitate the arrival ofAxi-'aIr-borne troops. - ::)Iran

The persistence of German interest in Iran is illustrated inter alia by areport of Gcrm;;n infiltration through the U.S.S. R. and by the Pressreport tha.t a German delegation, which includes a well-known Nazipropagandist and a Foreign Office official, is leaving Ankara for Iran,

23i\lllllilll\llilllllll\l~

NAA.006.0349

GERMAN ACTIVITiES AND POSSIBLE INTENTIONS

United KingdomInformation has been received that the movement of German fighter

aircraft to the Mediterranean theatre continues, but reliable reportssuggest that the invasion of Britain has only been postponed and that adecision will be taken when the situation in the Mediterranean hasbecome clearer. There are no indications at the moment of the returnto the Low Countries and France of German Air Force or armoured units,which it is considered wouW be the surest indication that the operationis projected.

NorwayThere has been continuance of shipping activity in Oslo, Kristiansand

(S), Stavanger and Bergen, but no significant c.oncentration has so farbeen observed. In North Norway (i.e. J north of Narvik inclusive) there

22

24. The independent British Nerissa was torpedoed and sunk On the30th about 90 miles N.W. of Bloody Foreland.

25'. Iti the nis-ht of 2nd/3rtl May the Norwegian Taranger was chased180 miles S.S.W. of Reykjanes.

26. The British Lycaon reported that she Was fired on and chasedduring the night 3rd/4th May, 300 miles W.s.W. of Rockall.

27. Two U-boats are patrolling in the Freetown area and one to thewestward 01 Cape Verde Islands.

Mining28. Parachute mines were dropped in the course of bombing raids

last week on Portsmouth and Liverpool. A harbour launch wasdestroyed between the dockyard and Horsea Island, and a coaster wassunk in the Mersey.

29. The suspected area reported last week fifty miles west of the Buttof Lewis has been searched without result.

30. Numerous German conical explosive floats have appeared recentlybetween Dover and the North Foreland. They are in good condition,but not newly laid. Searches to the north-east have not yet loc8.ted thesource of these floats.

31. Casualties remain low, and were mainly amongst small craft.32. Two further mines have been swept off Cape Otway, Melbourne)

near the position where the City oj Rayville was mined on 8th March,1940, and on 26th March a trawler was mined off Newcastle, New SouthWales, through an old and encrusted mine fouling her trawl. On 7thApril, however, ten miles farther south, a mine was washed ashore whichhad the appearance of having been recently laid.

33. During the week ending 25th March, according to the Air Ministry,there was a decrease in the number of minelayers to 20 from a total of 205in the previous week. Germany is believed virtnally to have exhaustedher stock of magnetic mines and to be relying on· current production,which has been previously estimated at 200 per week. The suddendrop in the scale of minelaying attack may therefore have been due toexcessive expenditure of mines in the previous week.

il

24

GERMAN AIR FORCE

. The following notes are based on information obtained from prisonersof war and are not necessarily established facts;-

Tactics against ShippingFlights against shipping arc usually carried out at a height of less than

300 feet. It is easier when flying low to detect ships silhouetted againstthe horizon, and lt is also bel1evcd that British Detector Stations on thecoast are unable to detect aircraft flying below 300 feet.

I~

II,

illllllll~~~I~IIIIIIII!1NAA.OO6.0350

(C41201_2) D

(e) BOULOGNE. Photographs show that two or three pen-typeconstructions arc being built into the Bassin Loubet, butdimensions cannot yet be distinguished.

(d) LORIENT. Reports, though varied as to position, numbers andtjrpe of shelters, ha~ been persistent, and recent photographsof work at the site of a projected dry dock south of Keroman,at the radial slips at Keroman and north of the oiling jetty onthe east bank of the Scorff, indicate that the erection of sheltershere is probahle.

The work south of Keroman may prove to be for a dry dockor for shelter pens. A dry dock had been previously projectedby the French.

At Keroman Fishing Basin radial slips have been completed.and it seems likely that two long buildings over both theseslips act as shelters for any boat hanled out and slid underneaththeln.

The work at the oiling jetty suggests two or three small drYdocks which. may he eventually roofed in and measure 400 ft·by 80 ft.

(e) ST. N'AZAIRE. Photographs now show rallid work at the westbay of the Bassin de St. Nazaire which has been dammed anddrained. ft seems that about seven pen shelters will beconstructed, 250 ft. by 25 ft., and the speed at which the workprogresses is remarkable.

2. Submarine shelters at Le Havre, St. Malo, Brest, Vannes (near Brest),Alderney (Channel Islands), La Rochelle and La Pallice have also beenreported; but they are as yet quite unconfIrmed by aerial reconnaissance,with the exception of Brest, where the jetty opposite the Torpedo BoatStation has been widened possibly for the building out of pens.

3. It will be seen that the dimensions vary, but it is considered thathoth V-boats and E-boats could use these shelters as the Brugcs shelterswere used in the last war. Reports of the thickness of the roofing varyfrom 6 ft. to 26 ft. and it appears that reinforced concrete is being used.

Floating DocksST. NAZAIRE.--Photographs show, under construction, eight probable

floating docks (three ~I 200 ft. by 40 It., and four of 280 It. by SO ft.)and one of 280 ft. hy 00 ft. recentlv launched. The distI;blltion of thesedocks along the coast for r-boats ~or E-hoaLs seems very probable.

HOLLAND, BELGIUM, FRANCE

Construction of Shelter Pens

In January, 1941, reports began to COll1e in of submarine shelters at lvarious occupied ports. . 1

Reconnaissance at an early stage showed work at Ostend, but that ill .:

other ports work has only recently begun. . ..These reports varied considerably in the. position:, of the pens ~d I?, 1

details of construction, but all referred to theIr use for small submannes .•

or " subnlarines."l..•.·.fA B.3 report has stated that the costs ~f these works .in France are •..being debited to the French Govefl.lment; It appears pOSSIble that thesepens are an insurance and that theIr eXIstence docs not necessanly meanthe establishment of a U-boat base. They coul~, of course! be used forE-boats DI similar small craft intended for combIned operatlons·'l

The sheltN pens consist of parallel walls built out either from a. qua.y .~.O'r into a w-?:t basin, and covered over. The speed of constructIOn IS 'iremarkable, particularly at St. Nazaire. .~

The following is an analysis of the present position :-- l1. The construction of pens has becn confIrmed at:j

(a) ROTTERDAM. Sixteen pens in the Vilaalhaven are now being *covered over. l'

Measurements: 140 by 15 to 20 ft. .IHeight IS to 20 It. 1

(b) OSTEND. Five, possibly six, covered shelters in the Bassin de la I,',Marine. 5

Measurements: 330 by 40 ft. _ jHeight estimated as between to and 20 ft, ;1

It has also been reporled that shelters built in 1914-18 at I".""'.'

Bruges have been restored for use, •••

11

r;'rkey T k' h " ''-',There:has ,been nO further news of. a Gcr:nan- ur 15 non-aggre.:.51Onact. 'andin spite of a report of a thmly veIled threat to Turkey not to

;bst~cttheGerman adv~ce on Palestine and Egypt, the two countnesareAncoIIlmereial negotiatIOn; thlS suggests that Germany may endeavourto,;G0l1tro1 Turkey by economic pressure. .

'Unconfirmed reports have been received of the assem.blmg of boats,tank-carrying craft and other war material at Gennan-controlled Black

Sea ports. .. 'I

The general conclusion is that the Germans arc usmg pressu~e

litics" towards Turkey and that every sort of political and economiC~ d" 'pressure is being and will be usc In Increasmg measure.

Russia ., h 'l't' b tThere are no reliable indications of Immment ash 1 les e ",~een

Gennany and the U.S.S.R., but there se~ms little doubt that the relabonsbetween the two countries remam straIned. The return t~ ~osco~ ofthe German ambassador and delegation may reveal the posItion a littlemore clearly.

White SeaNavlgation will probably be resumed towards the middle of this month. ;'£

..~

Raltici(i) GULF OF BOTHNIA. Poris In the sonthern part to southward of ~

Henlosand are now open with icebreaker assistance. Lulea may be ~...-:expected to be opened at the end of this month. _

(ii) GULF OT FINLAND. Ports at the eastern end will be open within ~.~~~~~ I~ 1

.~

I27

~lllllllrullllllll~111NAA.006.0351

Location.

Italy

At Monfalconc, 18th January (A.2).At Leghorn, 19th February (C.3).At Spezia, 18th January (A.2).

:: }At Naples, 4th }fay (A.I).

Damaged 11th/12th November, 1940. Sailedfrom Taranto hetween 10th and 16thJanuary for unknown destination. Reportedrepairing at Trieste, 28th February (C.2) .

'. At Taratlto, 19th Fehruary (C.2).

: . }At Messina, 7th February (B.2) .

At Naples, 26th January (B.2).

Littorio

Battleships.CesareDoriaDuilio

.8~in. Cruisers :­GoriziaTriesteTrentoBalzano

u-in. Cruisers :­D-i GiussanoC'adornaD'Aosta

(C41201-2) D2

Based on information received up to 5th May, 1941.

Enemy Surface Craft.The following are the latest known disposit.i.DIls of main units of the

Italian I11eet: -

Unit.Battleships. Lit/orio Class :-

Vittorio Veneto Damaged by F.i\..A. during battle of CapeMatapan, 28th March (A. I ); reported tohave arrIved Taranto having been. hit bytwo torpedoes (C.2.)

Reported will proceed to Trieste for repairs.Not at Taranto 19th ApriL

Damaged 11th/12th Novemher, 1940.At Ta.ranto 26t.h March, repairs nearly

completed (C.3). Not at Taranto, 19thApriL

Cavour dass :

(iii) BALTIC Sl·:A. Normal except to northward of Gotland where iceis still causing some hindrance near the Swedish coast.

North SeaNorma1.

Denmark S'trait

, The edge of the pa~k ic:- probably rUns f~~m the vicinity of Jan MaycnU1 a sOl1th-wcsterlydlrectlOn throl1g·h a positlon 50 to 60 miles north-westof Iceland, and thence in a direction about 240 0 for at least 150 miles.

ConditionsIce

The chief difficulty of Jow flying over sea at night is that a change inthe: weather can throw out the altimeter by as much as 600 feet. Onreally dark nights it is largely a matter oj luck if ships are located, becausey~e1\,if their position has previously been reported, by the time theatt<ic'lcing aircraft arrives the ships will h.ave moved OIl, and from a lowlevel. are hard to locate.

The form .pf attack now most generally adopted is across the beam ofthe, ship, approaching with the airscrews almost touching the water,and rising to mast-head level just before the bombs are released.

This method is considered to afford the greatest chance of obtaining.direct hits, owing to the forward throw imparted to the bombs by thespeed of the aircraft.

It is also thought that at this height it is most difficult for the vesselor its escort to bring A.A. fire to bear, especially in view of the elementsof speed and surprise. During part of the attack the aircraft is screenedby the ship itself from any escort au the far side.

After passing over the ship, the aircraft would again come down to I'.'water level. •.

The most feared defensive armament for merchant shipping i" the2·cm. A.A. gun, and both Kondor and He. 111 crews have expressed ·1the opinion that their present tactics would become suicidal if merchant ;ships were generally equipped with these guns. 1

Submarines would never be attacked unless from their position, e.g. .in harbour or obviously escorting a convoy, they were obviously enemy. :,I

l

.•,

Co-operation bdween Aircraft and Na1Jal Units .C:

It dhas allready been repodrtejd thhat tdhe Kondors of K.G. 40 habvle behen 1jplace une er the comman 0 teE..U. It now seems proba e t at •

since two further Gruppen have been added to K.G.40 these Gruppen 1also come under the same command. i

There seems nO doubt that there is a form of communication hetween:~

aircraft of K.G.40 and V-boats, and it has been stated more than once ',}that in the case of the Kondors this communication is dired.

Tn the case of other aircraft of the Gcschwader, messages are sent :,from the air(:raft to the ground station and relayed to the U-boat JCommand.*

)

29

1IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIImliliNAA.006.0352

In theSollum area there hasheen a slight increase in activity south ofthe escarpment. H.MS. A phis bombarded this arca on 29th ApriL

Enemy Aircraft ActivityMALTA. Thcre have becn several attacks by cnemy aircraft during the

week. On the evening of 29th April eight Ju.88s escorted by tenMe. 109s high levcl bombed the dockyard. A.A. engaged, splitting upthe bombers. One Ju. 88 was hit and after being attacked by Hurricanescrashed on land. The crew of four baled out and were made prisoners.One Me. 109 was also probably destroyed by Hurricanes. The same nighta heavy raid was carried out by two waves of about seventy In. 885 andHe. 1115 beginning at 1850 and lasting until 0115. The main target wasthe dockyard and Takali aerodrome, and some bombs were dropped atI.:uqa. A.A. barrages and searchlights were employed over GrandHarbour. One In. 88 'vas destroyed. Again during the day of 30th Aprilthere were two high level raids on the dockyard by a total of ninc J u. 885.six Me. 109s and ten Macchi 200s. All the raiders were heavily engagedby A.A. Damage and casualties were caused in all raidf;.

Attacks on Enemy Ports and other Objectiv3SLIBYA. On 23rdj24th April four Wellingtons, unable to locate

Benghazi owing to cloud, bomhed 1JLT. on the road. east of Tobrukcausing several explosions. Another Wellington bombed M.T. on the roadea..-;t of Benghazi. On the 27th April a Hurricane, which was despatchedto Benina aerodrome with the specia1 object of interfering with movelnentof transport aircraft to t.he forward area, machine-gunned eight lu. 52'sembarking troops. The Hurricane destroyed one and severely damagedthe remaining seven, inflicting casualties. Three enemy motorisedcolumns moving eastwards during the day along the Ruq Buq road andescarpments were harassed by our mobile covering forces. The latterwere 2.ttacked by Me.110's, one of which was shot down by a Hurricane,and the enemy withdrew to the Capuzzo area.

During the day of 30th April fourteen Hurricanes machine-gunnedabout three hundred M.T. moving eastwards in small columns betweenGa:z..-"1la and Bardia: a la.rge nm-nber of vehi.clcs was damaged and the

. convoy thrown into confusion. One Henschel 126 was destroyed overGambut.

South of Sollum on the 30th April, one Hurricane eng<lgcd four Me. 110'5machine-gunning our troops and probably destroyed one and damagedanother. At dusk on the sam.e date Blenheims bombed Gazala landinggrounds and M.T. on the Tobruk-Bardia mad; one Fighter Blenheimequipped with cannon destroyed ten velricles.

BENGHAZI. On 1st April Blenheims bombed Benghazi harbour, settingfire to a ship.It-alt"an Submarines

Five Italian V-Hoats have been present in the North \IVestern Approachesduring the week. On 4th May one was in the M.adeira area and one tonorthward of the Canaries.Mining

SICILIAN CHANNEL. A contact mine was cut on 4th May, nineteen milesto the· north-east of Cape Bon in the northern approach to the SicilianChanneL

Reported pa.'Sing Keliba (Tunisia) 24th:February (B-2). At Pola, undergoing minorrepairs, 20th March (C3).

Possibly damaged in Battle of Cape Matapan,28th March.

Proceeded to diller Taranto or Spezia forrepairs before 29th July, 1940.

Reported at Naples, 11 th March (C3).

Attendolo

Bande Nere

6-in, Cruisers---'-Contd.Da· Barbiano

M ontecuccoli

Tunisian CoastRecent reconnaissances reported the sighting of the following convoys

and ships of the Eastern Tunisian Coast :-1st May.~Six medium M.V.s escorted by six destroyers, course

180°, speed 12 knots; five small M.V.s unladen.. escorted by fourdestroyers, course 060°, speed 10 kJ!.ots; and SIX destroyers werealso seen near Lampedusa, course 210°, speed 15 knots.

2nd May.-One destroyer, 6 miles S.E. of Keliba; one patrol vesseland four medium M.V.s west of Djerba.

3rd May.-Five small M.V.s of 500 tons, also three minesweepers <lndtwo sloops.

Western SicilyA Glenn Martin speCial patrol north and south of \Veslcrn Sicily

reported having sighted a convoy of one large and three small M.V'sescorted by two destroyers.

TripoliA reconnaissance of Tripoli on 2nd May reported sIghling Utree

destroyers, nine T.B.s, eleven medium M.V.s and sIxteen smaller M Y.sobviously intended for Benghazi traffic.

TobrukThere has been considerable activity in this area during the past week.

Enemy defensive positions opposite the western perimeter have bee?developed, \vhile aUf own active patrolling continues. On the 27th Aprilour A.A. positions were di.ve bornbed by Gennan ai.rcraft and there wassome damage to guns and equipment which is being repaired.

There were six enemy attacks on Tobruk d.uring the night of 29th/30thApril, including three by twenty to thirty Ju.87s escorted hy fighters.A.A. fire destrovcd two and damaged two. Our casualtles were fourkilled and twelve wounded.

On 1st 1Iay the enemy launched a deterruined attack from Ute directionof Acroma and captured our forward linc of defended localities OIl a fivethousand va:d front. Our tanks counter-attacked, ann a portion of theenemy withdrew afteI" losing four ta.nks in minefields, at least threc byMolotov coc.ktails and four knocked out by our tanks. We lost threeinfantry tanks and four cruiser tanks. ~nemy ai~c:raft made several d~ve

bombing attacks on our troops and artll~ery r?SltlOns. On the IIlOn~ll1gof 2nd May thirty tanks and two compames ot mfantry advanced agamstour new linc but were stopped by artillery fire.

28

France

f{eported by aizcraft.

I1ritish Henri Maryattacked.

Reported by aircraft.

In full commission.

In full commission.

18 \.Y.

One at Casablanca. In full commission.

Two at Dakar. In fnll commission.

One at Dakar. In dry dock.

Four at TOUlon.

Three at Toulon.

At Toulon. Last seen on 20th March 1941(air recotmaissancc) in dry dock undc~goingrepair. Completion date reported (B.2) tobe 25th April, 1941.

,,}"

31

NOKIH-VVESTERN AREA

GO 10 N.- -15 45 W. (approx.), British Beacon Grange~mo tn. vV,N.VV. of Butt of I.e,vis. attacked.

60 1-1 N,- IS 20 Vi., 300 III, British Oilfield andW.N.W. of Butt of Lewis. Port Hardy and Nor­

wegian Caledonia at­tacked.

59 , 55 N. -IS . 40 vV., 290 fn. R.eported by H.M. ship.W.N.~r. of Butt of Lewis.

VIlest of 53 50 N.-IS300 m. V'l. of Achill Head,

59 36 N.----12 50 W., 210 m.W.N. W. of Butt of Lewis.

59: 21 N.-07 : 48 W., 70 Ill. 318'"Butt of Lewis.

~,1!11111!1!11!1~1~llllr

NAA.006.0353

Enemy Submarine Activities ~I}

Provence

8-in. Gun Cruisers :~AlgerieFochDupleixColbert

6-in. Gun Cruisers:~

La Galissonniere . . }Jean de Vienne ..Marseillaise ..Primauguet ..(;eo1'ges J.eygues .. }~fJ,1ontcalm. . . .Claire

" Vlcstr.rn Area"

" NOTth Sea"

" The Channel"

Tn the regional grouP"ing of. the followin~ reports of submarines or of shipsattacked by them the lollowmg geographIcal cXllresslOus are used :_" North-Western Area" North of 55 : 00 N., and West of the Orkneys and

Shetlands, and of 0 [ : 00 \V.The area East of 02: 00 E., to the North of

50: 00 N., and East of C1 -, GO W., to the Northof61:00N.

The area between that line and a lille runningfrom Dover to Cap Gris Nez.

'Nest of that lille as far as ;>~ line running from theLizard to Ushant.

,,,,'-est of the Channel, South of 55 00 N awlNorth of 36.00 N. .,

The area South of ::So : 00 N., and \Vest of Tariia,Straits of GibralLar.

2116/28

" Coast of Norway"

About 28

" Afriean Coast"

1202/29

1524/30

28th or29th AnriJi

l8.10/28·

At Dakar. One IS-in, gun in forward lowerturret out of action. Otherwise both mainand secondary armament complete. Steelplate being fitted to hole on starboard sideby means of a caisson. It is not knownwhether this work has yet been completed.Three shafts are believed serviceable andship capable of 14/18 knots. She has netyet been seen to move under her own steam,

At Casablanca. Forward lower turret onlymounted, but guns have no breech blocks.There is no centralised fire control and"secondary armament as such does net 3exist. Anti-aircraft defence has been limprovised loeajlly . BRoth stid; andbd

leCk

f~.'..'

annonf are 1ll p ace.epor eu capa eo .It'

20/25 knots. Upper stmeture has been ~~painted ydlow to blend with nearby ;;fbuildings. Hull grey. §

At Toulon. In full commission. Reported Ii..(B.2) to he at two days' notice,,;

At Mers-el-Kebir (Oran). In full commi~sion·iTemporary repairs believed completed, but Iiship requires dry docking. In present Icondition believed capable of 18 knots on .~.'three shafts. Starboard outboard shaft is 'Iout of commission from effects of shell fire ...•during action last July. i ..

II

Strasbourg

DutLkcrque

Jean Bart

30

THE VICHTEN FLEETThe following is the latest information regarding the state of readiness

of the prirrcipal units of the Vichy French Fleet in home and Africanwaters :­

Richelieu

MALTA. Aircraft mining of the Grand Harbour has become moreintensive.

RED SEA. On 30th April thirty moored mines were found in 13° 11' N.,42°'54' E.--'---43 miles north west of Perin.

IRAQ. The intransigence of the Iraqi Government led by Rashid Aliclllmiriatcd in an attack on the Habbaniya aerodrome by Iraqi forces,and hostilities which bega.n in the early hours of 2nd May arc stillproceeding, Some artillery moved up from Baghdad has been silenced byour bombers. British troops have occupied the airport, docks and powerstahon at Basra. TIle Regent, the Emir Abdul I\blt illegally deposed hyAli's coup d'etat, has issued a proclamation calling upon the people todrive out" the group of military tyrants led by Rashid Ali who have beenhought by foreign gold." He decla-red that his duty was to restore thehonour of his native land and to lead it back to peaceful prosperity undera lawfully constituted Government.

That all is not well with the Soviet Mercantile Marine was openlyadmitted once again, as in previous years, at the recent Conference ofthe Bolshevik Party held ill Moscow. The Commissar of the MerchantFleet was severely reprimanded and warned that if the work of his Com­missariat did not improve he would be expelled from his position as amember of the Revisionary (Anditing) Committee of the Party.

32

1IIIIIIIIiill\\III~\I~NAA.OO6.0354

.I.I~.,hisadd~css ~. Dukelski stated that .the present unsatisfactory stateoJ; hIS .Commlssanat was due to two mam Causes:-

(1) The Mercantile Marine in general is not. fUIlctioning properlysmce for eIght months out of the year ships are to be found inharbour and not at sea.

(2) Casualties t.o vessels, unsat.isfaet.ory and lengthy refits and badorganization of the shipping industry as a whole all make forinefficiency.

M. Dukelski also alluded to the following interesting points ;_(1) The most backward Fleet of the Soviet Union is t.hat of t.he

Caspian, .Practically all the ships are well over age and?ailly eqUIpped. New harbour plant for dealing with cargoesIS urgently required in the Caspian (and also for that matteron all the inland waterways).

(2) A special Commission left Moscow OIl the 20th February thisyear ~or. Baku to take immediate action in regard todIe b11l1dmg of tugs and barges urgently reqUired for work onthe Caspian. .

(Note.-Owing to the rapid decline of the level of the CaspianSe.a, vessels with cargoes bound for Astrakhan and the Volga~lvcr have to unload into lighters when over 60 milesdIstant from the southern limits of the Volga Delta. Hencethe urgency of the tug and lighter quest.ioIl.)

(3) Although inland water transport throughout. the Soviet Unionir,lCreased in 1940 the position is still unsatisfactory. In 1940tne plan for t.he transport of oil from Astrakhan to the UpperVolga was not fulfilled since the full navigation season (May-­November) was n~t m~de use of. The majority of ships hadnot completed theIr wlIlte-r refits when the rivers were fit fornavigation.

It is quite evident from the adrnissiuns cited above that ;_(I) Th~ level of the Caspian remains a serious problem and the

~lfficulty of the falling water is to be met by the usc of tug andlIghter transport. The passage of destroyers and submarinesfrom the. Bla.ck S.ea to the North i~ an impossibHlty as long asthe CaspIan contmnes to fall; until about two or three vearsago it w~,s hoped to .ac1~ieve this project hy the completi~n ofthe Mamch Canal Imklng the Azov and Caspian SCSi), hutthere are now insufficient depths in the Volga Delta Canc<J forthe transit of such vessel".

(2) The expansion of the Soviet Ivlercalltile IVlarine which has beenplanned cannot be carried out on an immense scale and atgreat speed since so illllc:h effort has to be used to maintain theexisting merchant service.

During the Conference a reference was made by M. Malcnkov to theheavy load that the railways arc carrying and he stated that mOre useShOll1rl be made of the Marinski system {connecting the Upper Volga to

:J:J

British W ray Castleattacked.

British Slim! attacked.

Ita.lian prize Sangroattacked.

Norwegian Ta·ranget·attac~ed,

British L ycaon attacked.

U.S.S.R.

WESTERN AREA51 : 00 N.-21 . 52 "V., 440 m. 263 0 Reported by H.M. ship.

Valencia.46: 29 N.-06 : 34 W., 125 m. 2090 Reported by aircraft.

Ushant.

SOVIET MERCANTILE MA1UNE

COAST OF NORWAY; 58; 10 N.-04 : 40 E., 40 m. W.S.W. 'I Reported by aircraft.I of Egersund.

AFRICAN COAST06:4SN.-13:55W.,1l0m.S.S.W.

of FrL'Ctuwn.08: 33 N.-~15. 17 W, 13\l m. W. of

Freetown.

NORTH-WESTERN AREA-con/d.

i'S9 : 30N.--O~ :20 W., 85m., 317 0 I Reported by ail"Craft.

Butt ofLewIS. .2330f30 56 : OS N.-tO : 27 W., 92 m. 306° British Nerissa attacked.

IBloody.Foreland.

2145/1 May 55: 45 N.-12: 30 W., 150 m. W. by Reported by aircraft.'. N. of Bloody Foreland. . .

0030/2 ' 55: 13 N.~16: 14 W .. 275 m. W. of Reported bv aircraft.

IBloody Foreland.

1512/2 55: 57 N.-I3 : 33 W., 150 ill. 285 0 Reported by aircraft., Bloody Foreland.I 61 : 07 N.-25 : 20 W., ISO m. 2050

I

Reykjanes, Iceland.55: 00 N.-22 : 01 W., 315 m. 241 0

Rockall.62: 20 N.-20: 15 W., 475 1l1. 298 0 Reported byR.M.ships.

Butt of Lewis.62: 11 N.-14: ·44 W., 330 ill. N.W. Reported by H.M. trawler.

01 Butt of Lewis.59 : 18 N.--··08 : 40 '.iV. 90 Ill. 3000 Reported hyaircraft.

Butt of Lewis.62: 58 N.-- -16 : 35 W., 405 m. 3120 Reported by H.M. ship

Butt of Lewis.50 : 34 N.-21 : 40 YV., 425 m. 260" Reported by H.M. ship.

Valencia.50: 42 N.~21 : 20 \V., 420 ffi. 26r~

Valencia.

1345/4

2354/29

1220j30

2230/4

1019/5

2045/3

032.5j6

2155/3

1900/30

1700j5

030016

04IOj6

0050/3

0722/5

Leningrad). Only in the U.S.S.R. can a responsible Government adminis­trator '. get away with such a misleading statement. Actually thereConstruction of the Marinski system-was only projected just over twoyears ago and is not due for completion until 1942--43. In fact the workon this important waterway was only started last year and it 15 more thanp1'{Jbable that nothing has actually been done, for another Party memberhas referred to the distressing question of the modernization of thereaches of the Uppcr Volga, which, although planned several years ago,has not even been begun.

The unsatisfactory condition of the Mercantile Marine must rcact onthe Red Navy. In war time a Navy always requires immediate reservesof transports, oilers, tugs and every variety of small craft. The presentposition must be regarded with some anxiety by the Soviet Naval Staff.

PART IV: POLITICAL

Germany i J~~rl~~~III~~~In his address to the Reichstag Hitler said that in these times

deeds are everything and words count for nothing. He couldnot have given a happier description of his own speech, whichwas the usual mixture of boasts and lies. Many of these dp,altwith the Balkans, but the stress laid Dn the actual and pot~ntial

econDmic advantages of that area to Germany was no doubtsincere enough. According to a German news agency, anadministrative council has already been formed in Serbia, itsduty bemg not on ly to co-operate with t.he German military com­mand, hut to " take measures to utilize to the fullest extent theeconomic possibilities of the country."

Individual reports on German morale, even when made byreliable observers, necessarily vary according to circumstances,particularly the length of the period in which it has been studied.On some points there is common agreement-for example, thatGerman clvihan morale does not stand up well to bombing, butthat practically everyone in Germany believes that she will winthe war. One very good source considers that only 30 per cent.of the German pcopie are really Nazi sympathizers, and that therest arc merely acquiescent. Another report says that thehigher one goes in the social scale the marc criticism there is,and tha:t criticism is most vocal among well-to-do people inHamburg. This report says that the absolute belief in Hitlertakes extraordinarv fonns. A solid Gennan business Inanassured the writer that the Fuehrer himsel[ had thought ont all theplans of attack on Norway, the Low Countries and France, thatthe General Staff had been horrified at first at these proposals,but the more they had studied them the more they had convincedthemselves that the plans were the work of a military genius:Hitler, moreover, was never shown the plans of a new submarineor aeroplane withont being able to suggest alterations andlmprovements.

This ahsolute belief in Hitler, which is nearer to religious faiththan common sense, may be partly attrihuted to the fact thatnothmg sllcceeds like success, but it is largely the creation ofGerman propaganda., which does everything possible to main­ta!n it. Thus Dr. Ley, in an article in the Angritf in honour ofHltler', birthday, calls Hitler" the grcotest military commanderof all time ": --

35

11,

The shortage is noticeable in many ways: for instance, visiting.cards may no longer be printed. a tailor"made suit takes threeIUpnths to be finished, shoe repairs average one month, and clocksarid Watches are nO longer accepted for repair." An indicationoJ .the shortage of raw materials is to be found in reports from anumber of sources which reveal that the Germans aremtensifying their efforts to obtain Spanish ore. It is apparentlyproposed to ship Bilbao ore to Nantes in German bottoms.From Nantes the ore will be railed to Paris, thence by river1ighte~s to the Ruhr a:,d the Saar. These complicated. routes,irnPosmg a severe stram on mternal transport faCilitIes, mdIcatethe German need for high grade are.

Recent R.A.F. raids aTe reported to have made a tremendousimpression on the population of Berlin, who are said to bebewildered at the extent of the damage. Reports continue to bereceived of major damage to railway stations, factories, andhouse property. The German Minister of Health was woundedas a result of a hit on his house in the Knrfiirstendamm. Theraid on Emden, when the new H.E. was tried out, is reported tohave been very effective. The great destruction caused by fewbombs is described. as " amazing." A bomb which fell nearthe post office turned the whole quarter into a heap of ruins, andhouses which were 300 and even 500 metres from where thebomb fell had window frames, doors and parts of their roofsblown out. Seventy houses were completely destroyed, and25 of these were just heaps of bricks: altogether, 200 houses aresaid to have been damaged (broken windows not included).Photographs taken Oil 25th April reveal major damage, notpreviously reported, at the Germania Yard at Kiel. They alsoshow that larger areas at Gaarden (south-east Kiel) have beencompletely wrecked than were at first reported, and that through­out the western districts of the town there is lIlajar damage tohouse property.

Great damage was caused to the whole of the Navy Yard atWilhelmshaven. The provision and equipment depot was badlydanlaged and large quantities of clothing lllaterial \veredestroyed. After the two January mid, over 5,000 men wereout of work. At the end of February and the begining of Marehconsiderable damage was caused to wharves and foundries OIl theright bank of the Rhine at Cologne. and to steel works atMulheim. Casualties were said to be 600 killed and 1,900injured. One of the power statious at Hamburg was hit in theMarch raiels, and in the middle of April half of it was stinaffected.

37111111111111~11111111~1~

NAA.006.0356

:<f;lt is simply incredible, unique and overwhelming how this TitanHitler turneu his will into action . . .. He knows everything ....Feidherr Adolf Hitler designed, in the course of mouths of labour,every pillbox iu the West Wall, aud worked out to the smallestdetail the plans for attack au Poland, Norway and the West. Thereis 00 weapon, either on our side or the enemy's that the Fuehrer doesnot know exactly down to its .last detail. I am convinced that theFuehrer is better acquaiuted with the Balkans thau all the Balkanpeoples together. There is not a single mule-track in the wilds ofthe Balkans that has not received consideration in his plan. Inshort~ it is inconceivable with what absolute pedantic care 'theFuehrer works out every problem aud every responsibility. Thesignificance of this can only be estimated. when one realizes thegreatness of this man as an artist . . .. The greatest and uniquepheuomeuou iu the history of maukiud till uow is Adolf Hitler."

Abjectfiattery could go no further, but even these excesses donot appear to have persuaded the bulk of the German people notto hope for an early end to the war.

It is believed that all managing directors of German heavyindustries have been told! that, since replacement work oftentakes up as much as 20 per cent. of the whole productivecapacity, such work is to be reduced, provided that the effect isnot felt in production. Although the postponement of certainreplacements may very well not affect production for somemonths, a time must come when production will inevitablydecliue. It is kuown that ever since the war began the Germanwar effort has partly been fmanced at the expense of industrialreplacements. This would be natural in the case of iudustriesnot connected with war production, but its extensiou to heavyindustry is of great signiflcance.

The recently published annual reports of various German firmsreveal the difficulties of carrying out renewals and improvementsnnder wartime conditions. The Krupp report states that therepairs which can be carried out are quite inadequate in the faceof the very considerable wear and tear which is being caused byw"rtime production. (According to a reliable neutral source.Krupp's are" catering for a short W3r and making no provisionfor the future. ") The .report of the Stahlverein at DusseldorLwhile emphasizing the difficulty of carrying out repairs, alsostates that extensions which became urgent owing to the increasedwar requirements could only be carried out in part during 1940.Krupp's balance sheet shows a fIgure of 10 million rcichsmarksfor" repairs which have not been carried out," for want, itappears, of sufficient labour and raw materials.

"The German labour shortage," a Swedish newspaperobserves, "becolnes more apparent Managements of largeconcerns are compelled to take more drastic steps to fill vacancies.

36

IIIIIIIIIIIIIII!I~IIIIIIIIIII~~IINAA.006.0357

CzechoslovakiaS~nW¢e)<ploiting the news of their military successes in order

to, tty <!-nd, win over the less resolute Czechs, the Germans con­timially complain of Czech obstinacy. The" intellectuals " not0111y f<Iil to exhibit any ability to co-operatc with the Germansalldpersist in an unaccountable fidelity to Dr. Benes, but areaccused of making " spiteful attacks calculated to underminepublic confidence in the representatives of tl,1e autonomousGovernment." The irritated German authorities have issueddecrees instituting penalties of imprisonment up to five years forsuch attacks, and punishment will even be inflicted for utterancesmade in private which have later been circulated in public. But,according to a report from a Czech who arrived recently inSweden, morale is still high in the Protectmate in spite of theAllied reverses in the Balkans, <Ind 80 per cent. of the populationarc still behind Benes. In Slovakia too there are complaints ofwhispering propaganda by " ignorant and naive people" whopersist in spreading falsehoods about their" German friends,"thereby running the risk of severe punishment and" exclusionfrom the national community." .

It is stated that in the Protectorate there are now at least amillion and a half refugees from Berlin and other bombed areas,and some Czechs in the Protectorate have bcen expressing a wishfor a reminder from the R.A.F. to the Germans in this area thatit is not as safe as it appears. The inftux of refugees from theReich has caused a further dcterioration in the already straitenedfo,?d situation; th~re is a very serious shortage of meat, andpnces are still soanng on the black market. One instance 01 theshortage of commodities is a newspaper article entitled" Pr,:ctical Hints for Protectorate Shopkeepers," urging thatunratlOned goods should not be exhibited in the windows unlessthey are for sale, as the sight of them only causes dLscontentamong passers-by; articles marked" Sold" or " For decorationonly" must no longer be shown.

ScandinaviaThe authorities in Norway decreed that work should continue

as usual on 1st May (Labour Day) and 17th May (ConstitutionDay), and forbade demonstrations. On 1st May, Terboven, theReIehskommlssar, deltvered a speech in which he made anumber of admissiotE which show that Norwegian dissatisfac­tIon WIth the present regime is undiminished. He complained

38

\':':':.":/~f,wro.-British feeling,. of loyalty to King Haakon and his~i1:Iij\ters, and of a whlspenng campaIgn which allegcs that the

!:';."~Y)+lians are fostering public works in Norway solely for their!i"!~~i;lJ.enefit. "I can forbid nobody," he said, " to bank his!;,,~OP~s on a British victory, but I can warn you most urgently",,,against actmg m accordance with such hopes," and he hinted

}.tl1,~tin future greater severity might be displayed towards the3j"position.

.. ' .;."The Swedish. press reports that 22 organizations, representing,State and publIc employees and officials, doctors, nurses, archi­

tects, engineers, jurists and the chief trade union, have sentTerboven a joint letter protesting strongly against the presentnlythod of making political opinion, instead of skill and know­ledge, the deciding factor in public appointments or promotions.The dvctors appear to have taken a particularly strong line, andto have threatened to resign if the medical profession were nottreed from political interference. Under Quislingite law, pro­fessional secrecy has been abolished, and doctors are told thatthey must, if required, give evidence against their patientsto the police or judicial authorities. Both the Norwegian andthe Swedish newspapers continue to afford many instances of therestlessness of the people, of oppression by the Germans andQuislingites, ana of wretched living conditions. At variousplaces German placards have been destroyed and the inhabitantspunished; a Quislingite complains of an attempt to dynamite hishouse; and 150 people arrested in the Lofoten Islands are saidto be in a concentration camp near Oslo, denied elementarycomforts, and awaItmg tnal by a German court-martial.Stomach troubles, caused by the excessive use of substitutefoods, are said to be prevalent, and although it is in the north of!'!orway that privation is I?~eatest, an exhibition is to be openedm Oslo showmg the posslbllIltes of thIS regJOn. It was explainedto press representatIves that the fish supplies of North Norwayare important, not only for Norway herself, but for the wholeof Central Europe-" We ho.ve much to defend up there, notonly for ourselves but for the whole German race."

The action of M. Kauffmann, the Danish Minister in Washing­ton, In concludmg the Greeuland agreement with the UnitedStates IS reported to have greatly increased his popularity inDenmark, and no fewer thall 35 members of the l-<igsdag haveeXJ,lIessed theIr approval of his action. M. Stauning, the DanishPnme Mlmster, m SpIte at hIS recent advocacy of co-operationwith Germany, is said to be widely regarded by the Danes as anobshcle in the way of a rapiel advance of German c<mtrol andNazification. This vi~w is believed to be shared by the Germanauthontles, who arc shl! reported to be working for his removal.

:'\9

IIt~<

I,t

T~.~reis some. apprehension that Sweden may be asked by'.,~?rlfl~ny to Jam the.T.hree Power Pact, but in the present state8f•.~~~dlsh pUbhc OpUllon the ~wcd!sh Government could hardlyY'.~ntme to accept ~uch an inVItation. Finland could only take

t,11(C11, a step by VIOlating thc terms of her peace treaty with\~~~Ia, WllIch laId down that she should not bind herself to any

. )·pre1gn alhance. A fresh run of rumours that Germanv intendsJpattaek Sweden before taking any other action in fhe north

.;;uggests that Gemlany may be trying to test Swedish reactionsas a prelude to imposing political Or military dema nds onSweden.

The First 01 May is more of an occasion in Continentalcountries than it is in England, and is a"sociated particularly withmovements of SOCIal revolutlon and lIberation. It was chosenthis year, iro~ically enough, for the delivery of a speech byMarshal Petam on the theme, "What is the New Order? "Marshal Petain had previouslv shown himself skilled in the artof saying nothing: he recently capped a series of broadcastsdIrected agall1st General de Gaulle with a speech which com­pletely Ignored General de Gaulle, and the omission had to beingeniously explained away byth" propagandists of Vichy andPans. HIS May Day oratIon dId, It IS true, tOuch on traditionalsocial-revolutionary topics: French workers, he said, wished to~ave 1!'an-to-man relations WIth theIr employers, to partake,

'Ylthm reasonable lImIts," of the fruits of the enterprises inwhlell they worked, and to exchange unemployment forsecunty. But though he declared that these legitimate aspira­tIons would be satIsfied by the New Order, he was speaking, asIt appeared, of a localIzed and utopIan New Order in France­the hoped-for achievement of the R(ivulution. N ationale, based onpurely. domestic administrative reorgani7,ation. Of the chieffactor In the future of Francc~Hit!er'sNew Order in Europe­the Marshal said nol a word, nor did the" collaboration" whichIS the daily theme of the propagandists find a single mention inhiS .speech. These omissions were, however, made good hyr~dlo speakers bter; and the first week in May saw manv freshsIgns of Vichy's subservience, political and economic, 'to theGerman order.

Adn;iral Dar!an has paid Z~rther visits to Paris, the importof whIch remams obscure. 1here IS Some evidence that hisefforts at " collaboration" have not been altogether successful:certamly he continues to give more than to take. The French

41

!I,IIIIIIII!!I!I!IIIII~IIIII~NAA.006.0358France

l'l\er~ is a widespread belief in Denmark that a reconstructionottheGovemment, giving it a ':lore pro-German character, lS

iJ;tullinent. According to.a Sweclish.press re!;>?rt, Dem;;alk andGermany made in Apnl some kmd of contract,whichinllolved a yielding to ce;,taIn German demaIlcds, b,t;t not to anyclaims affecting Damsh fundamental pnnCIples. . The samereport stresses the "eal with which· G<:rman exammers watchwhat is written in-and between-the hnes of newspapers, andgives instances of heavy fines for '!'mor offences, of the suspen­sion of a newspaper and the d,smlssal of Its edItors,. and of the.penalizing of a number of Damsh broadcasters for fallmg to talkoptimistic~lly . about Denmark's agncultural. prospects. Arecent arilde m a Copenhagen reVIew com1;'lams of the pro­British leanings of the Danish Youth Association.andlts .leader,Hal Koch. " National meetings and commumty smIPng ~re

being arranged everywhere in Denmark in collaboratIOn WIthpoliticians and ~ayors. These are really Bntlsh evemngs whIchdevelOp and umte the qmet expectatlons of all .pro-Bntish Daneswho hope that the British will bom~ and Invade Denma~k.This national movement tnes to prevent people from buymgGerman goods, and is fostering a fi~m be!ief that Bnt~I,n afterthe war will resume her former tradmg WIth Denmark.

German propaganda has led IDany pcople in both Sweden andFinland to believe that Germany mtends to attack RUSSIa In thencar future. At the same time it hints at aggressive intentionson the part of Russia, hoping thus to persuade both Sweden andFinland that Germany is the true protector of theu' mterests.This propaganda is particularly active in Finhnd, where Itnaturally makes some appeal to those numerous hnns who hadto leave their native regions as a result of the Russo-Fmmshwar, and who cherish hopes that the lost terntory may berestored to Finland. The President and the Fmmsh Govern­ment-which, under a new Emergency Powers Bli!, has. beengiven practically dictatorial powers over the economIc hfe ofthe country~are mamly concerned to keep out of the war, bulin the event of a conflict between Germany and RUSSIa theIr Isympathies conld not be expected to lie with the latter. TheRussians arc showmg sorTIe Signs of awar~ness of Gern1an~,activities, and Pravda and the Moscow WIreless ha.ve hcen ~

putting ont a story, which appears to have no foundatIOn, of a .•·f.~'•.•~"'.'recent landing in Finland of 12,000 German troops, WIth tanks .'and eqllipment. The Germans have long had an agreementwith the Finnish Govemment allowing the transit of troops toNorthern Norway, and it is conceivable that wintrv conditionshave until recently held np these movements. 1

Swedish opinion as a whole remains solidly anti-Nazi, but has .~been somewhat discouraged by the news from the Balkans.,

~ I

I

.'.•....:.:;

ij}(;reasing to. an alarming extent eyesight· ff t I .f9:~lU.(){skiIl-disease is becoming' COM ,ISt ec ec , and a ViOlent

""~viefil potatoes were unobtaina.ble .. ~~: 'm or two months .on theC'a:Btpl1rposes, personal and laund .'. onthly soap rallon for/c..'oaJ is very short though the b rt

yt, IS a

lplCce the size of a matchbox;

.. , ,... , ' e er c ass hotels Wltl th' I' t'lofGerman refugees fr011l R A F b' . , 1 elr c len e eX·C'''' . . '.' ombmg have bee bl t. "l1ccntral heating after 4.0 m Thi" ..n a e ° puttb,a:t both men and women aY~ il;solent ~~~serve~ saJ:s of the r~fugeeshe a:dds, would riot i[ it Were not for th . o¥er Ieanng. The .hench,Petain and their confidence I'n a 0 ·t. hell at ,"0 ute faith m Marshal

. un IS ViC ory' they kover, that If they did riot the Gc . Id . now,. mOrc-. ,rmans Wall occupy the tIII force. Another observer reports thal ' . . coun rycommodity is taxed, it <lisa ears alt~Sesoon as any food or otherreappear at f<tntastic prices it the bl f .lher

kfrom the shops: to

senous hardship [01' tI,e p I ac mar et. The resull lS a. .. ~ - oorer c asses.

A reconstruction of th S . h C' .Serior Vale~ltin Garlarza a~ Mk~~t~rof ~bl~ct IS announced, withheld by Senor SU11er before he moved t~e tl)~t~lOL T~.P?stwas193.9. Senor Galarza is believed t 1 orelgn mlstry Inpolicy of his predecessor to be on 0 f~hgerjerafllJi 0l.'posed to theanti-Gernlan 0 in' .'d eo. e c 11e clvlhanlcaders ofanti-German Cen~~~\sanA}aoncl~e 111 dI~loVse tOlllch with the leading

• , " a an are a Oth .ments recently reported include Ge 1 C·) . er appo111t-" . , .nera rgaz ao Hl h CIlllSSlOner m Morocco, and G .' .> • g .0111-General Staff, Madrid. both ~fe:a~ DaVila, as ChIef of theopposed to giving wav to Gerlnan borrt.' are conSldered to be

J • an1 1 LOns.

The 2nd May was celebrated thron h t S .Spanish Independence, this bein u thegq,:'u i pam as the fiesta oflllg to the Spanish wireless, "the"v' .'1 y ~ 1808 when, accord­rose up in arms. not only agaiIi'st't'l' e ~nd dactlve SpaI11sh peopleal ' . t I - le mva mg Frol'chme h tso agams tie 1< rancophl'ls 'th' th' v" .n, ,u. . WI m elr g·ltps" A I' I .:~lass meetlllg was addressed bv Seno . S _. •.. .. <a anglst

pInto-democratic nations whi I h [. ~ner, ,,:,ho attacked theand which are now t' c I ave (elUed Spam everythinrrdeclared tl t S·· . rymg to rretend to want to save us" He'", la pam was purs f' . .,national interests. In 1808' ~l:~;'l 2,rclg,n polley hased ?n herhad no wlsh to be dominat';d bar s demonstrated thal theyfought in order that Spain sho ld h Y ~hPDlcon:. 1ll 1936 theyIncidentally. during these his~oric~ 'fl·l I er RUSSian no; English.Inuependence Senor Suner . d . Ig lts over Spa111 s War ofhelp, in aCkn~wledgr';entof~~i~hn~h~"8~J;on Off ,fj,rell,:t Britain's

,-,On e Ington was

43

~11f11111~~lil!lmlllll~NAA.006.0359Spain

motor industry-largely concerned in alwS production since thewar-has been forced to sign away its inde~,endence to an AxiscQmmission under German presidency; but nothing further(save the usual blackmail in the Paris press) has been heard ofthe promised reward for good collaboration-the return of thefrench prisoners. On the other hand a less welcome return­that of Laval---<:ontinues to be rumoured as likely in the verynear future. One of Laval's henchmen, who shared in his fallin December, lean Montigny, is reported to be the chief organizerin Vichy of aJ new Groupe de Collaboration whose aims areEurope for the Europeans, and America for the Americans;" pan-Continental" organization of commerce and industry;the exclusion of Great Britain from the Continent; a radicalchange in the relationships between small powers and great; andthe adherence of France, as of all deserving European andEastern powers, to the Three Power Pact. So far as these aimsare economic, they will not appear to Marshal FHain to be incon­sistent with his obligations either under the armistice or to his ownpeople and conscience; and it is becoming daily more doubtfulwhether he will be able to withstand the pressure designed to leadhim irrevocably beyond those obligations. His frequentlyexpressed determination not to quarrel openly with his country'sformer ally assorts ill with the known anti-British feeling, andincreasingly anti-British policy, of his second-in-eommand.

There is perhaps some comfort to be extracted from theextent of anti~British propaganda in France. It is obvious thatrepeated press articles on the treachery ·of the British atDunkirk are occa.sioned, not by popular demand, but by theGermans' determined effort to counteract a widespread andgrowing return of pro-British feeling. One of the best known ofFrench weekly newspapers, L'Illustration, now in German hands,has nqt been content to give a great part of its space to praise ofGermany and photographs of Ribbentrop: in an issue as recentas the end of March it printed atrocity stories and atrocitypictures of .the Oran incident, with the evident intention ofreviving popular indignation. Similarly, attempts are made toconnteract sympathy with General de Gaulle's movement byatrocity stories of the Free French seizure and administrationof Eqnatorial Africa,

Reports of the lood situation in the unoccupied zone are conflicting,thongh all agree th<lt it varies from district to district, chiefly owingto the f<lilure of transport. According to an English observer, whoonly recently left the south of France, the bread ration is small andthe quality of the bread poor; milk is not issued to anyone betweenthe ages of three and 75; the lack of Vitamin A, dne to sh()rt;lI,eof dairy produce and of oils, is undermining health, rickets

42

: f

?S'f'(;';;,

>,.:,<.:,

i"S:W:iss people that relations between the two countries shonld hayepeelldisturbed by the agltahon of cerlam sectIOns of SWISS

::".R~blic opinion,',:"Z'A.if il-greemen~ has been signed hetween Spain and S,,:itzerla.nd:\f~';':atding !l'anslt traffic. In return for a dDllar creart whic!:,:.wilI'be provided by Switzerland, Spam ha~ pro~nised to penmt

l:he transIt over her raIlways of goods destined ,or SWItzerland,;1"rl to place at the dis,posal of the Swiss ~O ,000 tollS of shipping

.' $pace monthly for shlpment between LIsbon, Barcelona, andGenoa.

~illlll!ll!i~11111111111NAAOO6,0360Italy I

Members of the Italian colony in Berlin are reported to begivin" themselves the airs of " conquerors," and in Italy itselfthe F"'ascist Party is exultant over' the turn of events in theBalkans, The Fascists no doubt feel that, in spite of Italian,SUbservience to Germany, their position is now much more securethan when Italian morale was at a low ebb. Their enthusiasm,however, does not appear to be shared by all of the Italianpeople, and indeed the pr~ss and wireless 12r?pagandists tempe~their reJolcmgs over Italy s terntonal acqUlsltlOns-thc latest otwhich appears to be the island of Corfu-with warnings that the.struggle may still be long and hard, and their malignant ahuse ofPresident Eooscvelt is a sign of their anxiety over American aidto Britain and the possibility of direct American intervention inthe war. Meanwhile therc is a revival of agitation for theacquisition by Haly of Nice; Switzerland is being told bhllltlythat the Axis now dominates Europe, with implied warnings thatshe had better behave herself; and hints are givcn out to Portugalthat she cannot expect to remain aloof.

The budget estimates for the financial year 1940-41 show alessening uf revenue and a large increase in expenditnre, with aconsequent deficit (65 milliard lire) more than double that forthe preceding year. It is evident that, unlike Germany, Italy isfinding it impossible to cover any of her increased war expendi­ture by taxation. Although consurnptioll and private invest.ment have been cut down drastically, expenditure for the currentfinancial year can only be met by heavy drains on capitalresonrces. The Government absorbs at least 84 per cent. of thenational income, compared with a little over 60 per cenf. in the-case of Germany. For the present the liquidation of stocks andthe postponement of capital maintenance is providing theGovernment with adequate resources to cover the deficit. At thepresent rate of expenditure these resources will rapidly be

4S

Switzerland, not had an encouraging effect on

Events m the Balkans. ~av~h r to abandon their neutrahty orthe Swiss, who do not W1S e, e here are reports that in recentto see their country mvaded.iard t t~ in Switzerland have takenweeks German and. Itahan l).~~h~eatwas more explicit in ana somewhat menacmg tone, Z '/ wrlioh advised the SWISS.' h B I' Boersen e1 uno, '. 1 . "article III t e e~ In f tl" c~tastrophe of Yugos aVla,people to take a lesson rom e~ewhen there is a " dangerous andand to reahze what may happ r f 'he Government and thefatal rift between the foreign POthY °re~s and public opinion."internal pohcy represented by' e p "stated that a Wilhelm­Transocean, the German new, edg~~f';;;ish~entat anti-Germanstrasse spokesman, h",d express nd had said that" one day theutterances III the Sw~ss pr~~s, a - ,Reich might lose pahence. . .

I h h their country 15 ISolated andThere is no doubt that a t DUg 's ,,' f r the most partd b the AxIS the . W1SS 0

and surrounde Yh .- d- . t',C traditions. The German-. h ' k to + elr cmocra , . tt't de

W1S to SdC .' 'f th' g a firmer an!l-Axls a 1tlspeaking cantoIls show

f, 1 anfYAln 't'11' reats however the SWISS

th Tn aGe 0 X1S '" ' bl'than the a ers. . ,. t' t dl'scretion in pll Ied b [the opllllOn ""-

are no o.u to. f - I "nr example, a recent. th better load 0 va our. ,', - " A'utterances IS C ' ~'. wireless ran as foHows: Ifwar commentary .on the SWdsS d by the Germans over.activity by the BIlt~sh o;er II :~~~ny B~th sides claim that littleBntalll was on a fa.dTYh·;matt'~tudo 1'~ understandable, ,mee oned done 1S a Ie' " S hamage \V,as .1 '-~ - rtime is to keep up n10ral~. >_ I;: {'of the mam obJeeb m w~!'ttl to the bste of the AXIS, and me,objectiveness, however'k's I e sho' 'v' 'of friendliness, at least

• " T rna 71ng some 1 v I .SWISS press lS now l'd that Italy has been helpfu mtowards Italy, ?-nd acknow e ges , According to the Rome:allowing Swiss nnports ,~hrfoughoGI·r~ffinoctl inspiration" has been;

, 1 .. a statement a ser . . h t f th'."Ire ess, '. 's 't I d expre'smg t e regre 0 00,widely pubhshed ll1 • Wl zer an" ~

44

d' eneralisimo of the Spanish Army andcreated a grandee !in :Jlusia. Other Falangist speakers wereawarded anestate III A " Great Britain as the eternal enemyequallY belhcose, denouncmgthe readiness of the Falange to fight

S ain arid laymg stress on ,of ·fte redestined greatness of Spam. ,for p her hold on Tangier by as~uml1~g

Spain has strengthene1t' believed however, that thlS onlycontrol of the Customs. lS I d that there will be nO change. olves a change of personne anmv h'in the customs du es.

EgyptThe arrival of a second Axis invasi .

?f Egypt which alarmed the bl~ . on on the western frontierm the provision of shelt pu lC and sharply reVIved l1ltcrestmuch so tl'at "6000(10 ers, bPumps "

dnd other A.R.P. work so

.. -, , was orrowe fr th B" h 'ment for these purposes, has roducc ~m e ntis Gove~n­pohtrcal CIrcles that the possibU'ty f dciuch uneasmess III hIghof the Cabinet has agal'11 beo d" O. Wd' cnmg the pohtical basis

. 'd] ISCUSS Tl K'so far as to receive Mustaph p. h'- eN' 1e lllg; even wentWafd, who had for some'. ':' as, cl 1 ahas, the leader of theas well as Ahmed Pasha tMwlehDceIA'Zl'dersona zngrata at the PalaceH 'I ., a er ) ul A Ph" 1 '.1 my Pasha Issa-the leade~ , , . ZIZ asa t'a Imy andLlbeml, and the lttchadists \'h;~)ectivelJ1'of theSaadlsts, themay produce satisfactory re;ults t~ move Hl the nght direction?';ileved to have consentd ' ~e more so as Nahas Pasha isl'lflnister btl e to sel vc under the present I' .. . ~ , u un ess the press fl' . .'. runepohtrcal progress may well 'b~r~l~w I '! I11vaSlOn IS Increased,may, however, push into the b~ckgr~ ~ethnew developments

, un e personal quarrel

47

,::,:,".:;:rllCMoscow wireless has announced d -, .G."vernment prohibiting the transit of w' a ectree lof the :;OvletU C' C' R 'fh' . ar n'a ena s through the. • ;'>.D.. e mobvcs for thIS step a e t 1 .. G' "J' - r no c ear. Poss'bly 1,•••••.•.••• erman, proteste( agamst SOme l)roJ'ccted t .'t f '1' 1 t ,e

. 'T k If ranSl 0 ml Itary r·t" ur cy. so, the Russians may have f It t' 1 d supp lest'h' UT S S R h . e en It e to 01' t t<.c _ .' .~. . elng used as a corridor fa' r _. ~ )Jec 0or Japan. According t. r S~]PP les eIther to Germany

o press reports lrcrrnany l'send aeroplane parts across Siberia to' 'J' 'dwas p anlllllg to

d .'" apan, an m return J'was to sen naval UIlltS to Germany It thO . ,Ipan. IS 15 true the new dmust cause extra annoyance to both tl G ' eCreeBy a whispering campaign and l1e ,ennansand the)apanese.

parations on her eastern fronti~rs G._}Y ostentahous mlht.ary pre­sedulously fostering the belief that s~;~~? has for sOIlle trme beenon RUSSIa m the near future. It see i ~oIlt~~Platlllg an attackattack would in fact soon take plac ~~u ~~s I ely that such anmade to frighten Russia, b a war (,tne an. . at efforts werc beingcollaboration. Thc Germ!n Amb.' d rv~, mto a closer economicaftc.f what. appears to have been a (~~~~il~rv ..~s re~rn~d to Mase.ow~10 ImmedIate increase in pressure on thelSlt to .erhn, portendmgIII order to postpone conflict with G. .' Kremlm. Nevertheless,willing to make further concession' s,eT',lllY, RUSSIa may well bean excessive. measure of inte~nal ?on~roonf as ,they do not invol.vcor transport m the U.S.S.R. I 'y Germany of sUl'phes

U.S.S.R.IIIIIII!I"I!I!IIIIIIIIII~

NAA.006.0361exhausted aud the Government will then be forced either into,inflation or into taking far more drastic measures to cut downconsumption and to control prices. In either case it is evidentthat the war effort cannot be maintained on the present scalewithqut German help. Italian war expenditufC for 194(}-41,itrhay be noted, is estimated as approximately one-eighth that ofGermany.

Some prisoners of war taken in Libya have complained thatItalian trooJ.'s are being employed in digging trenches andgenerally domg coolie work for the Germans. They report alsothat there has been considerable discontent and lack of disciplinein Jtalian labour battalions. It appears that Italian Air Forcepilots were given a silver medal for each separate raid onAlexandria. The medals were not therefore held in the highestesteem. One oflicer, now a prisoner, had collected three ofthem. Thc diary of a young Italian Air Forcc officer who arrivcUin Italian East Africa in December, 1940, provides a tale of quickdisillusionment. He was keen on his job when he left Italy butItalian civil and military administration in East Africa soondamped his ardour. He was contemptuous of the state 01Addis Ababa, where he found the Italians" living like natives."Even early in December he speaks of the prevailing nervousnessof the Italians at the activities of the Abyssinian patriots. HecedIs the sItuation" very grave," and says that roads within40 kilometres of Addis Ababa were unsafe: a Residency near thecapItal was being stormed by " rebels," and aerodromes werebeing sniped. The bad news from Albania and Libya and theknowledge that the Italians in Abyssinia could expect no helpfrom outside were obviously having a bad effect on morale. Afew days before his capture he wrote: "The 5.79 will carr'!out another action to-morrow. The flight will give us anotherchance of admiring the disorganization which reigns in every partof what ought to bc the backbone of our Empire defence, and theenormous incapacity and ignorance of our commanders."A.lmost the last entry in his diary records a conversation with 2

brother officer who said: " I, of course, don't know how a wo."should be run, but if it's like this everywhere, unless the Germanswin, we certainly shan't." Apparently it was" like that"everywhere. Acircular telegram from Graziani, issued in Libyain Novernber, ran: .

"Troops in general continue to write home on theprohibited subject of lice and fleas. Since the world beganthese have always been the happy companions of troops.There IS only one remedy therefore. Support them likemon ks or undert".ke a d1.ily slaughter. These puerilitiesmust cease. Moralize.-GKAZIANl."

46

. . . d' th Senate owing to theI '·1 h arisen and 15 bemg aue me, .w ~lC 1 MiS ister's 'attempt to relegate Ali Pasha Ma~er, the anti-BPnmt'~ b nther of Ahmed Pasha Maher, to rural retirement.n Isn TO

.J'~1ie,,~ the Ininds of the British and at the same time be compat­±lJI~.~ththe independence of Iraq, and infonned the press that

?~i,,;itppealwas based on the cordial and brotherly relations exist-{il{\hetween Egypt and Ir~q. King Ibn Saud renewed his

Iraq .i\Sst;lrances of unchanged fnendshlp to H.M. Government andremarked on the apparent failure of the Baghdadi Administra-

. h I i Artillery gon to secure the support of some of the tribesmen in the BasraEarly on the morning of Fnday, 2nd May,. t e ra~ t .area.

the ridge which dominates the Bntish aero rome ~ ! IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIWMJ'Iabbaniya opened fire on the cantonment. The sl~aholifm Far East I I (IU mlIra thus passed out at diplomatlc control and the ash ~es I NAA.006.0362spr~ad to other parts of the country. Th;e BaghdadI Adm:nty'S af The extension at Japanese military operations along the coasttion which on 29th April had questioned the proPIC'e a of -the prmince of Chekiang may be: intended, as has beenSir Kinahan Cornwallis's action in maklllg repres;t~af11n~ton alleged in Tokyo, to put a stop to the smuggling of goods intobehalf of H.M. Government before he had presente h' ISwieel:~ and from free China. It may also be intended to increase theof Credence as Ambassador, on 3rd May. seIzed 15 r d pressnre on Chinese morale, which was adversely affected bya Jparatus on 4th May declined to allo.w hIm to receIve oJ s~? the Russo-japanese pact. Other aims of the campaign may bea~y telegr~ms except those en clair, and on 5th May forba e n~ to relieve the Japanese Navy, which has hitherto been chieflyto fly the British flag over the Embassy. The progres~ of responsIble for the blockade of southern Chinese ports, and tohostilities is dealt with elsewhere III W.I.R . . Th? de!I{~ts '\ ensure that these ports WIll be avaIlable to japan Jf she embarksdi lomaey to restraiu the Baghdadi Adrmmstrahon a,l In

lucet' On her mam southward advance.

t} respect even its own. declaratIOns. have so far fal ed a Taken as a whole,. the Far Eastern situation shows littleeffect any llllprovement m the SItuatIOn. On the. contra~, -ch~g;e. Japan JS 1ll an advanced ;;~te of preparation,the official broadcasting stahon. has become vo~al on lmes dln~~ aW~lting the sllltable moment for stnkIng south, possiblymight well have been prescnbed by Dr. Goebbels, an . h . ~galllst Malaya or Bunna, hut, partly oWlllg to politicalnh May agency messages transmItted from Baghdad to VIC:Y lllfluences, hesltatmg to do so yet, and hoping, if possible,~l1nounced that the Administration _proposed to resume. dlplo- to settle the" Chin,1 incident" first. The japanese press hasmatic relations with Ge~many. It IS mterestmg to nda°~ ~dt ever~ bee~ amng the sUIj!1eshon tha~ Mr. Matsuoka, the Foreignas late as 1st May RashId Ah, the hea~ of the 13agh 1 mllllS Mlm;;ter, should VlSlt the Umted States for a talk withtration was assuring the TurkIsh Mlmster that he was det~~1l1ed PresIdent Roosevelt on Amenean-japanese relations and on theto -ho~ his good faith, that the only steps taken. by t c raql whole world situatIOn. Even if such a visit were to lake place itauth~rities were in no way directed against the Bntish but d~~e would not signify that Japan intends to modify her aggressivedesigned merely tocalm the pubbe, and that h(' could not un - deSIgns, but rather that Mr. Matsuoka might try On hIS returnstand why the BntIsh appeared to dIstrust hlm_ . _ _. to represent _to hIS Own people tha t Japap could pnrsue. those

in view of this It is possible that the d0111111ant rml.'tansts 111 ?eslgns (whIch would conflIct WIth Bnl1sh mterests) Wlth,?utEa 'hdad may not have kept theIr CIVIlian accom~hces fully lUcu.rnng Ame!""" n lllt~rventIon. Also, he IS bcheved to chenshi..nf~rllled of their intenlIons and. moved more qmckly than" IllUSIOns abont the possIbilIty of medIatIon lfl the w;,r 1ll Europe,Rashid AlI had expected. OtherWIse these f'ssurances may be I and he mIght hope to persnade some lllflue;nhal Amcncans tocom ared to lhose of the Germans to the Governments of the - share th:m Hv.lnmself has suggested that lllslead of his goingN tlferlands and Kelgium on the eve of the lllVaSlOn of these to Amenca, PresH]ent Roosevelt or Mr. CordeIl Hull should visit: e t'· 'n May 1940 and may have heen given 111 a delIberate Japan.' oun nes 1 1 " . Th" dOl G rnments' I th ti t' f J . .'mitation of his p,,_ymaster in Berlm. ,',nen y ,ove n e mean me same ~ec IOns 0 apanese OpUllon arc by no;110st closely concerned by these, new developments rea.cted to means satI,fied. eIther w~th the Russo-Japanese pact or ~ththero ill differcnt ways. The 1 urks pnvately put thclr g?od Mr. Matsuoka h'Inself. Some argue that the pact was too eaSIlyoffices at the disposal of both sides. The EgyptIan Pnme negotiated to he of mnch worth, and that Russia waul? be onlyM' "ter sent friendly advice to Baghdad suggestmg. that thC

Itoo ple~sed to sec Japan commg mto conflict WIth Bntain and

:i\~~\~,IraqiTreaty might be put in force in a way whIch would the Umted States. The more fiery and intransigent Japanese

g •

~i 11111111I!i~111111111IiiNAA.OO6.0363

patriots are as. ever mistrustful of any .policy in any way,avouring Russla. And recent d]sparagll1g observatIOn byMr. Matsuoka on the administrative methods of the Goverlli"TIentin which he is a Minister-methods which he apparently wouldlike to see more closely modelled on those of the Nazis-havearoused unfavourable comment in the more conservative papers,and, it is reported, among his colleagues.

Reports continue to be received of German instructors andtechnicians in Japan. That German aid is far from being anunmixed blessing is shown by a recent report of the activitiesin Japan of members of the Gestapo who are ferreting outanti-Axis tendencies and drawing the attention of Japaneseauthorities to persons suspected of them. Even Japaneseofficials feel that this is a little presumptuous. The more far­sighted Japanese can hardly fail to see the possibilities of futurefriction with Germany. The sharing of Indo-China's exportablesnpplies of strategic materials, particularly rubber, is a case inpoint, for Germany estahlished prior claims on the French underthe Wiesbaden Armistice Agreement, and may not be altogetherenthusiastic over Japanese plans for southward expansion,particularly if it were to extend in the direction of the Dutch EastIndies. Kokumin even declares that Russian or Germanaggression should not extend to Iran or Iraq, which, as part ofan "Arabia for the Arabs," should form a "huffer zOlle"between Asia and Europe. The Japanese Government, says thepaper, should" look beyond Singapore to the Indian Ocean andthe Persian Gulf. "

So far as her economic interests are concerned, Japan COll-­

tinues to look beyond the Pacific to Central and South America,and there is evidence that she has made intensive efforts toincrease her purchases of metals in Mexico. Early this year aJapanese mission offered four million ponnds of rayon, far belowInarket price, in return for war nlatcrials, particularly rnica,mercury, antimony and oil, and Japan is reported to h3.ve beenpaying for Mexican lTICrcury considerabl:;l rnorc than theNew York price.

In China, as everywhere else, Nazi propaganda is active. AtChungking it is endeavouring to exploit the depression which wasnaturally caused by the Russo-Japanese pact, and which is notlessened by the bad economic situation, with rice prices soaring;iand the financial machinery in a disordered condition. More­over, doubts are spre<J.ding as to the ability of Great Britain todefeat Germany or to win quickly enough to succour China.

50

PART V: SPECIAL CONTRIBUTIONS

Bomber Command: "A'hile the fu']ction of Coast<J.l Command is to search and 't 'k1fl close co-operation with the ROy<J.I Navy B b C s n e

,';wor~ toa s'trate,grc plan aimed at the resour~cs~fnthe:e~~:::mand, .at hIS W]l1 to reS1St. They strike the ene d . h ~ y and

h b 'h' d my own rn b factones.." <J.I ours, , Ipyar sand aerodrornes l' d t 1 d . '.., d t' . . ., n or er 0 s ow own h]

aipro llC 10n and hmder rernforcements. sj'", Bomber Command do ot fi h' . .. ./hlo day and night bombn cofn tnhe t elr acliv1tres ent1rely,(. "" th" . . mg 0 IS nature, although of',) iJourse, IS]S their maJn function L' '. '" .d'· th I . . J' or rns tance, one group

........ urmg east SIX weeks has been em I d . k' . '. d I th " p oye ill attac rng sh]p-yar s a ong e coasts of German F .1; Norway during daylight and has achi~' d ranc~, Holland andDuring a recent daylight patr~l Bomb~~ Cc~~~~e~~b~l:u~c,:,ss:obtamed dJrect hJts On two merchant vessels, one destro·

ne1m~

a battahon of German troops in HoI! d I!' yer andefforts such as this have definitel be ~]n t a ,m ~ne day, an,dcoastal shipping I 'd t II y g n 0 harass the enemy s. nCJ en a y every bomber has t freport all warships, when sighted by Wjl" ms ruc lOns ,to

t ti (0 . , 1mmedIately t ts_a on

b· n the other hand nothing is reported west f

O] s

mme arrage on the East Coast.) , 0 our

Bomber Command He<J.dqua rters has a direct t I h .to each of the Bomber [YfOUpS of which th e ep one linehas d]rect lines to th~ Adm'iralt War ere are sc.ven. .It alsoCoas.tal Comm<J.nd and Fighter Coi'dmand O~~eBoAlb MGllStIy ,cons]st of five operational and two adv~nced t nl or ,roups

. Four of the operational groups are employed at ~~~~~;]~ i~ro,!ps.tiberatIOE" ~nd one IS:rollp is employed solely on dayiight 0 np~~~~

ns.. 3C] group IS dlvJc!ed mto stations (the b'~~s .mne stations) and most stations have tw Iggest groupnellmgton Bombers, Blenheims (which I 0 sq,,,a rons.c!ayhght coastal patrols) Whitle s are a so emp'?j1e<,1 onH<J.lifaxes and Manchesters ~re empl~~d. Hampdens, St,rlmgs,

At Bomber Command there is a ve ffi' . .Operations Room with larg~ se~le blalbo c'd'nt hnd .1mpreSS]ve~p~ratlOns, . strength data, location of a;p:r~ti~;~fgb~~~~;i~1 adro~". <l'hcurre::t weather forecast chart round the Britishthee%~~tha c rrht s owmg moonhght at all times on e<J.ch day ofL . ere are a Duty Wmg Commander Sleader and Flight Lieutenant on watch all the time' t~adron

a SO aNaval Staff Officer attached to Bomber Com - . d ere]sTh d l"b . m<J.n .

eel eratlOns of the WarCabinet first determine the major

51

i

III,

I

I

ooN

oQ

on

oo

-\0c<1

I

+-

~lllllllli~I~I~IIIIIIIIII~NAAOO6.0364direction of our air olfensive. The Directorate of Bombing

Operations at the Air Ministry issue a directive to BomberCommand based on the Cabinet decision. The operation of hisforces to fulfil this directive is the responsibility of theA.O.C.-in-C., Bomber Command.

Plans for night opeljations are prepared in the OperationsRoom by the Commander-in-Chief every forenoon, and orders,are then issned to the groups, who in their turn issue them to theselected stations. Plans arc usually prepared for two or morealternative areas, and arc passed to the various groups, and thedecision rests with the groups as to which stations they employeach night. The reason for the alternative areas is to offer achoice, in case, at the time of the operation, the weather is,unfavourable for attacking the prima.ry target. While the'secondary targets arc in a different area from the primary, it ispreferable that both should require the same type of bombs(i.e., H.E. or A.P., etc.) as " bombing up" is a long process;a change-over of different types of bomb at the last minute cansesconsiderable delay. .

Some knowledge in detailed planning 01 the night's operationsis helpful in appreciating the operational control which isexercised, as this is somewhat intricate. When a SquadronCommander receives his orders to attack a particular target hemust consider many things. First of all, the distance he mustfly to reach his target and return to bases. From this he musdetermine the fuel required to get him there and back with anadequate margin for contingencies. This in its hun raises fresh;questions. HDW easily can he expect to locate and identify histarget? Is there sufficient moon to make it easy or must hbudget for more than the normal 30-40 minutes in the targetarea? When he returns to base, is the weather certain to begood, or must he budget once more for the possibility of beingdiverted to another aerodrome? If so, how much? Havingdecided these questions and thus determined his fuel loa.d.he can then, but not before, decide the bomb load he cancarry. Until these decisions are taken, the maintenance crew:cannot begin their work on the preparation of the aircraft for the:operation. Furthermore, when once the target is chosen. anthis preparatory work is put in hand, the target must not bchanged at short notice for another which requires a differenluelload or bomb load.

Before crews proceed on operations, they are" briefed" in avariety of ways. The Intelligence Room at Bomber Cornmaninitiates a number of records which give vital information to thpilots, and these records are duplicated in the various groups anstations. There is, for instance, an " Opposition Map" whic

52

KIELx = SUBMARINE BUILDING AREA.

1lllllmllllll~11NAA.006.0365 ­I:{\,\'J I

. ' .

7

6

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4

5

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KJELER

FOH DE.

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~ -l-~~\~-17r-----#~_*---b-~----::-.~~, I ~.

THESE PERSPECTIVE APPROACHES ARE ALL GIVENON A VISION ANGLE OF 45° TO TARGET CENTRE

All NORTH POINTS ARE SHOWN IN PERSPECTIVE

_ TARGET

~{}/,\j WOO OS

~' BUILT-UP AREAS

~ WATER

2400

RAILWAYS

UIIIIII lillNAA.OO6.0366

'""'­~~

ALL NORTH POINTS ARE SHOWN IN PERSPECTIVE REFERENCE

AT I MILE

CIRCLE OF I MILE RAOIUS ANO

INTERVALS, FRON TARGET MAP.

I'

'.'"

GERMANIA WERFT(F.KRUPP\ - KIELt.GI ~ ermany).

Lat: 5+0 19' Nlong' 10" 06' E·"It, Sea level.·(.1,.cJll$; I ,";l~

Sa.1.; I, b!o.M>o.. toI.R..r. Reproduce<! 3/4-1

from 1l/1'l!3" IS!l9-*>I: 100,000

to scate 01 "b3.'!l€.O.

"ZO·10·

7 ~

230

111m i INAA.OO6.0068

120'

~111111I11!!1~1~lllllil illlNAA.OO6.0369

records pictorially the opposition that our bo!ubers haVB

encountered recently over enemy terntory, from mght fighters,balloon barrage and Flak. .(A considerably reduced photographof this map accompanies this article.) Night fighter areas areclearly shown and flags on this map denote where night intercep­tion of our aircraft has been reported. Balloon barrages thathave been reported Me recorded by a white headed pin, and thosewhich have been conflfmed by photographic reconnaissance bya red headed pin. Flak over enemy territory must, of course, beexpected over towns, and the lines shown radiating out fromEngland indicate the routes reported free from Flak by ourbomber aircraft on previous night operations. Another map isthe " Order of Battle." On this is recorded the disposition ofthe German Air Force in Germany and occupied countries, withthe Air Fleet (LuftfJotte and Fliegerkorps) boundaries andHeadquarters.

Finally, tbe pilots are given tbe Target Maps, the only item ofinformation which they may take with them to identify theirtargets. These are in various colours, to represent woodland,water, built-up areas, and other easily distinguishable features,with the target area itself clearly marked in red. tI~4c;;,rWt.t-map

of. .Kiel, r"pTOduced.llere ,is ·an eJfactcopy; but printedin two, instead of four colours. The actual target inthis case WaS the submarine building area);

In addition to these maps such target photographs as areavailable are examined carefully by the crews. The SignalsOfficer must inform the WIT Operators of frequencies to beused for normal trafnc, for identification, and for W IT fixing,homing and distress procedure. The Navigating Olllcer mustproduce current details of the position and characteristics of themany nayigational aids available, of which almost all arechanged nightly for security. The Meteorological Officer mustproduce his forecast for consultation on the many operationalaspects which it raises. Then each Captain of Aircraft with hisNavigator must prepare his Flight Plan, select those landmarkswhich will assist identification of the target, plan the rontes toand from the target accordingly, plot the tracks on the maps andthen study them, and think about them, and study them somemore. Finally, certain broad considerations of timing andheight of attack must be co·ordinated, since it is obviouslyundesirable to helVe certain aircraft approaching to attack whileothers at higher altitudes/arc dropping flares which will silhouettethem as a visible target for A.A. defences.

All the above constitutes the detailed planning required.Command planning, on the other hand, involves the selection ofthe target, and, while there are various factors which may vary,

53ii

1..0~

the changing phases of war; the caprices of weather;may make one area profit:>ble andl another useless; the

ffiiOOJG, as it waxes, may make vISIble certam targets whIch on awould be impossible; but there is one factor which is

,",(kjv'Mlriding and that is the number of hours of darkness whichThus, as the nights grow shorter, high speed is

to exploit the darkness. The modern aero engine cannr~>uel an aeroplane at very high speeds, but it can do this only

a disproportionate increase in fuel consumption which mayas great as four times the normal economical rate.

The ordinary practice of strategic bombing requires manyroutine, though always dangerous journeys. At any time,however, even the dullest moment may be enlivened by anunexpected turn of events. For example one of our heavybombers on the way to Berlin a few months ago became weigheddown with ice on the wings when only 100 miles over theGerman frontier, and the pilot was forced to turn back. As hereached the Dutch coast the weather improved and heimmediately decided to have a go at Emden, but an enemycruiser sighted at that moment was too tasty a morsel to bemissed. In a series of diving turns the bomber carne down toattack and let !fa his first salvo of bombs. Immediately shellswere bursting aJ round the bonlber, then came a huge explosionand the tail gunner felt a crashing blow on his head whichtemporarily knocked him out; when he carne round he said thatit felt as if the top of his head had been blown away. Twosearchlights picked up the bomber, and the tail gunner, in anattempt to put them out, grasped the turret control to swing hisguns round; but nothing happened as the turret was out ofaction. He shouted through his inter-communication that hehad been hit, and the pilot twisted and turned the bomber toavoid the anti-aircraft fire. A few minutes later the pilot madeanother attempt and there were cheers from all the crew, evenfrom the wounded tail gunner, when it seemed that they hadscored a direct hit. All this time the tail gunner had stuckdoggedly to his post, but after the attack was over he moved to­the front cabin to get his wound dressed. They found a haH­inch copper-plated bullet had struck his head: all he had saidwas" it had made quite a neat hole in his helmet.' ,

When the bomber landed it was found that both tyres werepunctured, the floor of the fuselage was covered in oil from theturret which had been hit, and there was a cannon hole in thetail with many bullet holes to show how lucky the tail gunnerhad been to get away with only a " neat hole" in his helmct.There was also a large hole in one of the wings, about a foot ofthe leadmg edge of the port rudder had been ripped away and

54

both wings were riddled with machine .had made a safe landing but oth -gun bullets. ThIS bomherTh '1 ,ers are not always so lu k

e Plot of another bomber f d . c y.order to abandon aircraft and thatOtU~ that he had to give theleft before the inevitable crash T~ Ie ~ere only a few minutescrew had to tug for dear life b~fore ~heuse ag~door. jammed: theafter the other they sat down on the st y co~ I ge~It open. Onefeet first. Then they had a curi ep an et t emselves dropthem and held them against th~~s expenence: the wind caughtseconds; gradually they felt thIde °t the aIrcraft for severalmachme, until at last they w e'fse v:s lressed under thedescent. The wireless 0 erato ere re~ an could make theirfound he was fallin intb a de r had an ~XIOUSmoment when hethe cords and guidegthe arac~~~ wood, he Just managed to pullthe trees and landed in l'field 1sOt~at ~e skImmed the top ofmg miles away from an whe . no er 0 . the crew, after larid­chute and went to -I y re, h'rapped hanseH up in his para­~rotesquelygarbed i~ t:;~ °a~a~hu~y-staCk. Next morning, stillline to a signal cabin wher~ he er e, he walked alopg the railwayth:>t he was British, and the !ex:uaded the surpnsed sIgnalmanthiS strange visitor from the skies. express tram was stopped for

After the bomber returns the crew' . .fimshed. There is the interr~ ation b s job l~ by no meanswhIch they tell him whethor t~ y an IntellIgence Officer inthink they did when they~got ~he~ot tvthe targ8t and what theyfilled m, one form for instance. anous forms have to be?perations, another 'giving intelli e~nt~V1l1g the result?f themformatJon must be recorded for lte O· mfDTIn,itJon. hJrtherof Battle. Intelligence is iven of allPpoSlhon Map and Orderbut not encountered' alt g". I '. aircraft seen m tho aIrcircumstances and t- .ternallvel y, enemy aircraft encount~redb 11 ,ac ICS emp oyed' detail f A A . ,

a oon barrages, searchlights d: fty' so. . artillery,raIlways etc actl'",'"y at ' a, IVI on aerudromes roads. ~., ' _ ,L < sea or at rt· d ' ,mformatlOn. . . po S, an any other useful

Th]e following particulars may be .emp oyed by Bomber Command: _ given of the aircraft

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