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1943

EUROPE - JANUARY 1943

Merchant Shipping War - By now the attack was being carried into the waters of German-occupied Europe by Royal Navy coastal forces, strike aircraft of RAF Coastal Command and minelayers of Bomber Command. German aircraft, E-boats and mines continued to threaten shipping around the coasts of Britain, but few ships were now being lost due to the combined effort of the RAF fighters, convoy escorts and minesweepers.

MEDITERRANEAN - JANUARY 1943

 

Axis Supplies to Tunisia - Attempts by the Italian Navy to supply the Axis armies in Tunisia led to heavy losses, especially on mines laid between Sicily and Tunis by fast minelayers "Abdiel" and "Welshman", and submarine "Rorqual". 9th - Destroyer "CORSARO" hit one of "Abdiel's" mines northeast of Bizerta. 31st - Torpedo boat "PRESTINARI" and corvette "PROCELLARIA" went down on mines laid by "Welshman" in the Strait of Sicily.

ATLANTIC - FEBRUARY 1943

22nd - Mines laid by "U-118" in the Strait of Gibraltar sank three merchantmen and on the 22nd Canadian corvette "WEYBURN" as she escorted North Africa/UK convoy MKS8.

MEDITERRANEAN - FEBRUARY 1943

1st - As cruiser-minelayer "WELSHMAN" sailed from Malta to Alexandria after minelaying operations in the Strait of Sicily, she was sunk by "U-617" north of Bardia. 3rd - Italian destroyer "SAETTA" and destroyer escort "URAGANO", supplying Axis forces in Tunisia, sank on cruiser-minelayer "Abdiel's" mines northeast of Bizerta.

Southern Tunisia Campaign - 9th - Corvette "ERICA" on escort duty sank on a British mine off Benghazi.

MEDITERRANEAN - MARCH 1943

Royal Navy Submarine Operations - The Royal Navy lost three 'T' class submarines, including "TIGRIS" which set out from Malta on 18th February for a patrol off Naples. She failed to return to Algiers on the 10th March, possibly mined off the Gulf of Tunis as she returned.

Tunisia - 8th - Cruiser-minelayer "Abdiel" laid more mines in the Axis supply routes to Tunisia. The field north of Cape Bon sank three destroyers in March, starting with destroyer escort "CICIONE" on the 8th. 24th - "Abdiel's" field sank two more Italian destroyers - "ASCARI" and "MALOCELLO".

ATLANTIC - APRIL 1943

Monthly Loss Summary: 14 German and 1 Italian U-boats including 1 by RAF-laid mine in the Bay of Biscay.

MEDITERRANEAN - APRIL 1943

Submarine "REGENT" on patrol in the Strait of Otranto may have attacked a small convoy near Bari, Italy on the 18th, but there was no response from the convoy escorts. She failed to return to Beirut at the end of the month and was presumed lost on mines in her patrol area.

MEDITERRANEAN - MAY 1943

Merchant Shipping War - By mid-month minesweepers had cleared a channel through the Strait of Sicily, and the first regular Mediterranean convoys since 1940 were able to sail from Gibraltar to Alexandria.

DEFENCE OF TRADE - January 1942 to May 1943

Total Losses = 2,029 British, Allied and neutral ships of 9,792,000 tons ( 576,000 tons per month)

By Cause

Causes in order of tonnage sunk (1. 4. ... - Order when weapon first introduced)	Number of British, Allied, neutral ships	Total Gross Registered Tonnage
1. Submarines	1,474	8,048,000 tons
4. Aircraft	169	814,000 tons
5. Other causes	228	348,000 tons
6. Raiders	31	202,000 tons
2. Mines	71	172,000 tons
3. Warships	31	130,000 tons
7. Coastal forces	25	78,000 tons

 

MEDITERRANEAN - JULY 1943

10th - Invasion of Sicily, Operation 'Husky' - 12th - Italian submarine "BRONZO" was captured off Syracuse by minesweepers "Boston", "Cromarty", "Poole" and "Seaham";

ATLANTIC - AUGUST 1943

Early August - "U-647" on passage out may have been lost on the Iceland/ Faeroes mine barrage around the 3rd of the month. If so she was the only casualty of this vast minefield throughout the war.

MEDITERRANEAN - SEPTEMBER 1943

12th - "U-617" was damaged by a RAF Wellington of No 179 Squadron and beached on the coast of Spanish Morocco. She was destroyed by gunfire from trawler "Haarlem", supported by corvette "Hyacinth" and Australian minesweeper "Wollongong".

Italy - Surrender and Invasion - Early on the 9th, in conjunction with the Italian landings, the Eighth Army's 1st Airborne Division was carried into Taranto by mainly British warships (Operation 'Slapstick'). Shortly afterwards the Adriatic ports of Brindisi and Bari were in Allied hands. 9th - Around midnight in Taranto harbour, cruiser-minelayer "ABDIEL", loaded with 1st Airborne troops, detonated one of the magnetic mines dropped by E-boats "S-54" and "S-61" as they escaped, and sank with heavy loss of life.

MEDITERRANEAN - OCTOBER 1943

Early October - Submarine "USURPER" which left Algiers on 24th September for the Gulf of Genoa, failed to answer a signal on the 11th. She may have been mined or fallen victim to German A/S forces.

British Aegean Campaign - 22nd - Greek 'Hunt' "ADRIAS" was badly damaged off Kos on mines laid by the German "Drache", and as sister ship "HURWORTH" went to her aid, was also mined. She sank with heavy casualties. 24th - Destroyer "ECLIPSE" fell victim to the same minefield.

EUROPE - NOVEMBER 1943

Merchant Shipping War - E-boats and mines were still capable of taking a toll of coastal shipping. On the night of the 4th/5th, Channel convoy CW221 lost three ships off Beachy Head to E-boat attack, and later in the month two more were mined off Harwich.

MEDITERRANEAN - NOVEMBER 1943

Mid-November - Submarine "SIMOOM" sailed from Port Said on the 2nd for the Aegean and failed to answer a signal on the 19th. She was presumed mined although German records claim she was torpedoed by "U-565" off Kos on the 15th.

EUROPE - FEBRUARY 1944

5th - Escort carrier "Slinger" was mined and damaged in the Thames Estuary off Sheerness.

INDIAN & PACIFIC OCEANS - FEBRUARY 1944

11th - As German and Japanese submarines continued to attack Allied shipping in the Indian Ocean, two Japanese boats were sunk. "RO-110" attacked a Calcutta/Colombo convoy in the Bay of Bengal and was sunk by the escorts - Indian sloop "Jumna" and Australian minesweepers "Ipswich" and "Launceston".

EUROPE - MARCH 1944

28th - Submarine "SYRTIS" was on Norwegian patrol. After sinking a small ship off Bodo a few days before, she was sunk in the minefields flanking the port.

EUROPE - APRIL 1944

26th - Two surface actions took place in the English Channel off the coast of Brittany, both involving Canadian destroyers. On the 26th, cruiser "Black Prince" with four destroyers - three from the Royal Canadian Navy - was on Western Channel patrol out of Plymouth. Early that morning they run into German torpedo boats "T-24", "T-27" and "T-29" on a minelaying mission. "T-27" was damaged and "T-29" sunk by the Canadian 'Tribal' class "Haida". 29th - This time "Haida" and sister ship "Athabaskan" were covering Allied minelaying, when they were surprised by the surviving "T-24" and repaired "T-27". "ATHABASKAN" was hit by a torpedo from "T-24" and blew up, but "Haida" managed to drive "T-27" ashore where she was later destroyed. The surviving "T-24" hit a mine but got into port.

German Coastal Shipping - RAF Bomber Command continued to lay mines in the Baltic.

DEFENCE OF TRADE - June 1943 to May 1944

Total Losses = 324 British, Allied and neutral ships of 1,733,000 tons (144,000 tons per month)

By Cause

Causes in order of tonnage sunk (1. 4. ... - Order when weapon first introduced)	Number of British, Allied, neutral ships	Total Gross Registered Tonnage
1. Submarines	216	1,219,000 tons
4. Aircraft	64	378,000 tons
2. Mines	19	55,000 tons
6. Raiders	4	35,000 tons
5. Other causes	9	20,000 tons
7. Coastal forces	11	18,000 tons
3. Warships	1	8,000 tons

 

 

EUROPE - JUNE 1944

6th - Normandy Invasion: Operation 'Overlord'

Other warships, incl. minesweepers & coastal forces - Western Naval Task Force - 260 (135 RN, 124 US, 1 Allied); Eastern - 248 (217 RN, 30 US, 1 Allied)

Naval & Maritime Forces - The two Naval Task Forces totalled 672 warships for assault convoy escort, minesweeping, shore bombardment, local defence, etc, and 4,126 major and minor landing ships and craft for initial assault and ferry purposes: a grand total of 4,798.

Normandy Beaches - In spite of the vast number of warships lying off the Normandy beaches and escorting the follow-up convoys, losses were comparatively few, although mines, especially of the pressure-operated variety were troublesome: 6th - Destroyer "WRESTLER" escorting a Canadian assault group to 'Juno', was badly damaged by a mine and not repaired. 12th - By now the battleship "Warspite", the ship that ended the war with the greatest number of Royal Navy battle honours, had left her gunfire support duties off the Normandy beaches to be fitted with replacement gun barrels. On passage to Rosyth, Scotland she was damaged by a mine of Harwich and out of action until August. 18th - Battleship "Nelson" was slightly damaged by a mine as she fired her guns off the beaches. 21st - Destroyer "FURY" was mined and driven ashore in the gales that played havoc with the Mulberry harbours. She was refloated but not repaired. 23rd - Adm Vian's flagship, the AA cruiser "Scylla", was also mined in Seine Bay. Seriously damaged, she was out of action until after the war and then never fully re-commissioned. 24th -mines claimed another victim. Destroyer "SWIFT's" back was broken and she went down five miles off the British beaches. Nine days after carrying King George VI on a visit to Normandy, cruiser "Arethusa" was slightly damaged by a mine or bomb while anchored off the beaches.

MEDITERRANEAN - JUNE 1944

Early/Mid June - Submarine "SICKLE" on patrol in the Aegean failed to return to Malta when recalled on the 14th, and was presumed lost on mines.

18th - Destroyer "QUAIL", damaged by a mine in the southern Adriatic seven months earlier in November 1943, foundered off south-eastern Italy on tow from Bari around to Taranto.

EUROPE - JULY 1944

Attacks on the beachhead shipping by E-boats and small battle units such as the newly introduced "Neger" and "Marder" human torpedoes had limited successes, but mines still caused the most damage: 20th - Destroyer "ISIS" was sunk by a mine or possibly a Neger off the beaches. 24th - Escort destroyer "GOATHLAND" was badly damaged by a mine and although saved, was not repaired.

U-boat Operations against the Normandy Beachhead - 26th - As "U-214" tried to lay mines off Start Point, she was sunk by frigate "Cooke" of the 3rd EG. Three more U-boats were sunk in the Bay of Biscay; one each to RAF and RAAF aircraft and the third mined off Brest.

EUROPE - AUGUST 1944

U-boat Operations - 8th - Canadian corvette "REGINA" was sunk off Trevose Head, north Cornwall by "U-667" as she escorted Bristol Channel convoy EBC66. The U-boat was lost on mines off La Pallice later in the month. 21st/22nd - Off the Isle of Wight, "U-480" sank Canadian corvette "ALBERNI" on the 21st and British fleet minesweeper "LOYALTY" next day. Apart from "U-667" which sank "Regina" on the 8th, one more was mined in the Bay of Biscay.

27th - In a tragic mistake off Le Havre, RAF Typhoons attacked and sank fleet minesweepers "BRITOMART" and "HUSSAR" and severely damaged "SALAMANDER" (constructive total loss).

 

ATLANTIC - SEPTEMBER 1944

Monthly Loss Summary: 7 U-boats including 1 cause unknown and 1 mined off Iceland.

EUROPE - SEPTEMBER 1944

27th - Ex-US destroyer "ROCKINGHAM" was the last of her class to be lost while flying the White Ensign, when she hit a mine off Aberdeen and went down in the North Sea. At the time she was acting as a target ship for aircraft training.

MEDITERRANEAN - OCTOBER 1944

Italy - 12th - Returning from bombarding shore targets on the northeast coast of Italy, destroyer "LOYAL" was mined in the Adriatic and not repaired.

INDIAN & PACIFIC OCEANS - OCTOBER 1944

Leyte, Central Philippines - Because of faster-than-planned progress, the Americans decided to by-pass the southern Philippines island of Mindanao and go straight for Leyte. The one Royal Navy representative was fast cruiser-minelayer "Ariadne" serving as an assault troop carrier.

EUROPE - NOVEMBER 1944

1st, Assault on Walcheren, Operation 'Infatuate' - ..... by the time the Germans surrendered on the 8th, Allied casualties totalled 8,000. By then the Canadians had crossed over to the eastern side of Walcheren from the mainland and 10 flotillas of minesweepers had begun the job of clearing 80 miles of the Scheldt.

MEDITERRANEAN - DECEMBER 1944

14th - 'Hunt' escort destroyer "ALDENHAM" was the 67th and last Royal Navy destroyer lost in the Mediterranean. Returning from bombarding a German-held island off Fiume in the northern Adriatic, she was mined and sunk northwest of Zara.

 

EUROPE - JANUARY 1945

6th - Destroyer "WALPOLE" was the last of the 18 old 'V' and ' W' class vessels lost or not repaired in the war. Mined off the Scheldt Estuary on North Sea patrol, she was saved but went to the breakers.

British Isles Inshore Campaign - One U-boat was lost in UK waters, possibly mined off the Moray Firth.

Merchant Shipping War - E-boats and small battle units continued operating out of Holland against Allied shipping in the North Sea and English Channel, and were now joined by Seehunde midget submarines. The new craft enjoyed some success, but mines remained the biggest problem for the Allies at sea. Allied air and sea patrols and minesweeping kept all these dangers under control.

INDIAN & PACIFIC OCEANS - JANUARY 1945

16th - The last submarine sinking was on or around the 16th. Minelayer "PORPOISE" on patrol in the Malacca Strait and minelaying off Penang, was probably sunk by Japanese aircraft. (Some sources suggest the 19th.)

ATLANTIC - FEBRUARY 1945

22nd - In operations against convoys south of Portugal, "U-300", one of a small number of U-boats scattered across the North Atlantic was sunk by escorting minesweepers "Recruit" and "Pincher".

EUROPE - MARCH 1945

British Isles Inshore Campaign - The campaign continued: 10th/12th - Deep minefields laid by the Royal Navy to protect UK inshore waters from the U-boats claimed two victims. On the 12th, the deep minefields damaged "U-260" off Fastnet Rock, southern Ireland, and she had to be scuttled.

Merchant Shipping War - E-boat laid mines continued to cause a high proportion of merchantmen sinkings. Monthly Loss Summary: 23 British, Allied and neutral ships of 84,000 tons in UK waters.

MEDITERRANEAN - MARCH 1945

18th - Two ex-Italian torpedo boats and a destroyer minelaying off the Gulf of Genoa were engaged by destroyers "Meteor" and "Lookout". In the last Royal Navy destroyer action of the Mediterranean, torpedo boats "TA-24" and "TA-29" were sunk.

EUROPE - APRIL 1945

U-boat Campaign - Throughout the month over 40 U-boats were lost in and around the waters of northwest Europe. The Royal Navy was directly involved in 12 of the sinkings: 5th - "U-1169" went down off the southeast coast of Ireland in a deep-laid minefield in St George's Channel.

DEFENCE OF TRADE - June 1944 to May 1945

Total Losses = 210 British, Allied and neutral ships of 942,000 tons ( 78,000 tons per month)

 

Causes in order of tonnage sunk (1. 4. ... - Order when weapon first introduced)	Number of British, Allied, neutral ships	Total Gross Registered Tonnage
1. Submarines	120	629,000 tons
2. Mines	50	162,000 tons
4. Aircraft	14	96,000 tons
5. Other causes	15	28,000 tons
7. Coastal forces	11	27,000 tons
3. Warships	-	-
6. Raiders	-	-

INDIAN & PACIFIC OCEANS - JULY 1945

24th/26th, Last Major Warship Casualties of the RN in the War - In East lndies Fleet operations against the Phuket Island area off the west coast of southern Thailand, including mine clearance, fleet minesweeper "SQUIRREL" was mined and sunk on the 24th. Two days later on the 26th, kamikaze aircraft attacked for the first and last time in the Indian Ocean theatre. Fleet minesweeper "VESTAL" was hit and scuttled. Heavy cruiser "Sussex" was very slightly damaged by a near miss.

TOTAL MERCHANT SHIP LOSSES
SEPTEMBER 1939 to AUGUST 1945

Summarised here in all its immensity are the losses in ships suffered by Britain, its Allies and neutral countries throughout the war. Of the grand totals that follow, Britain's losses amounted to around 50% of tonnage, with a similar percentage applying to sinkings in the North and South Atlantic. Both figures point to the critical importance of the Battle of the Atlantic and the price Britain paid for keeping open the sea-lanes. In concentrating on losses, it should not be overlooked that taking the war as a whole, well over 99 percent of merchantmen reached their destination safely. On the other side of the balance sheet, more than 30,000 officers and men of the British Merchant Navy did not come home plus the many men of Allied and Neutral nations. Axis losses were also considerable.

Total Losses = 5,150 British, Allied and neutral ships of 21,570,000 tons (300,000 tons per month)

 By Cause

Causes in order of tonnage sunk (1. 4. ... - Order when weapon first introduced)	Number of British, Allied, neutral ships	Total Gross Registered Tonnage
1. Submarines	2,828	14,686,000 tons
4. Aircraft	820	2,890,000 tons
2. Mines	534	1,406,000 tons
5. Other causes	632	1,030,000 tons
6. Raiders	133	830,000 tons
3. Warships	104	498,000 tons
7. Coastal forces	99	230,000 tons