September 1941
General Events
| 8 | September | The siege of Leningrad began. |
| 8-10 | September | Operation STATUS I: HMS Ark Royal flew off Hurricane fighters for Malta. |
| 21 | September | U-boats began entering the Mediterranean. |
| 24-28 | September | Operation HALBERD, a strongly defended convoy from Gibraltar to Malta. |
Mediterranean
Italian submarine patrols in the Mediterranean during September 1941
| Emo (…1 September)[1] | Brin (…1 September)[2] | Squalo (…5 September) |
| Sirena (…5 September) | Bandiera (…5 September) | Fisalia (2-5 September)x |
| Topazio (2-17 September) | Alagi (2-4 September) | Serpente (2-12 September) |
| Settembrini (3-18 September) | Dagabur (4-14 September) | Aradam (4-17 September) |
| Dessié (5-9 September) | H.2 (7-8 September) | Otaria (7-19 September) [3] |
| C.B.4 (8-10 September) | H.2 (8-9 September) | C.B.1 (9 September) |
| Fisalia (10-14 September) | Scirè (10-17 September)[4] | Turchese (11-16 September) |
| Adua (11-18 September) | Axum (11-16 September) | Corridoni (12-15 September) Pt.1 |
| Ambra (12-14 September) | Diaspro (12-15 September) | Colonna (12-15 September) |
| H.1 (12-15 September) | H.6 (12-15 September) | Nereide (14-19 September) |
| H.2 (14-15 September) | Smeraldo (15-26 September*) | Alagi (15-26 September) |
| C.B.2 (15-16 September) | H.2 (16-17 September) | Diaspro (16-17 September) |
| Serpente (17 September) | Ascianghi (17-25 September) | H.2 (17-18 September) |
| Scirè (18-25 September)[5] | Onice (18-19 September) | Ambra (18-19 September) |
| Onice (19-20 September) | Dessié (20-21 September)x | C.B.1 (20-21 September) |
| C.B.4 (20-21 September) | Onice (20-21 September) | H.2 (21 September) |
| Ametista (21-22 September) | Onice (21-22 September) | Onice (22-23 September) |
| Malachite (22 September…) | Tricheco (22 September…) | Dandolo (23 September…) |
| Fisalia (23-28 September*) | Ambra (23-24 September) | Onice (23-24 September) |
| Turchese (23 September…) | Adua (23-30 September*) | H.2 (23-24 September) |
| Narvalo (24 September…) | Delfino (24 September…) | C.B.5 (24-25 September) |
| Onice (24-25 September) | Speri (25-28 September) | Jalea (25-28 September) |
| C.B.6 (25-26 September) | Medusa (25-28 September) | Squalo (25 September…) |
| Bandiera (25 September…) | Axum (25 September…) | Serpente (25 September…) |
| Aradam (25 September…) | Diaspro (25 September…) | Onice (25-26 September) |
| Ametista (26-27 September) | Da Procida (26-29 September) | Beilul (26-29 September) |
| C.B.2 (26-27 September) | H.6 (26-29 September) | H.1 (26-29 September) |
| H.4 (26-29 September) | Onice (26-27 September) | Onice (27-28 September) |
| Ametista (28-29 September) | Onice (28-29 September) | C.B.5 (29-30 September) |
| C.B.3 (29-30 September) | Onice (29-30 September) | Onice (30 September…) |
This month would see a notable increase in German participation in the southern theatre as U-boats began entering the Mediterranean. On 14 September, Admiral Weichhold informed Supermarina that the Führer had given X Fliegerkorps the responsibility of protecting all convoys to North Africa and of interdicting British supplies to Egypt. A special effort was also made to interdict the supply of Malta by using submarines, torpedo boats, and MAS boats. The submarines were assigned Zones K.1 (between 37°14′ N and the coast and between 11°00′ E and Ras Iddà) and K.2 (between 36°57′ N and the coast and between 11°00′ E and 12°00′ E).
After being transported by train from La Spezia to Naples, midget submarines began a series of fruitless anti-submarine patrols in the Gulf of Salerno. Salerno had perhaps the best stretch of beaches suitable for a large-scale landing in the Mediterranean. This fear would prove fully justified in 1943, but for the time being, enemy submarines or raiding forces failed to materialise. Eventually, six boats (C.B.1 to C.B.6) formed the 3o Squadriglia of Comando 3o Gruppo Cacciasommergibile (3rd Squadron of 3rd Antisubmarine Group). The first patrol was carried out by C.B.4 (S.T.V. Ennio Suriano) on 8-10 September.
Ambra (T.V. Mario Arillo) and Ametista (C.C. Virgilio Spigai) also initiated fruitless anti-submarine patrols in the Straits of Messina, and later in the month, Onice would do the same off Benghazi.
Before midnight on 4 September, Settembrini (C.C. Alcide Bardi) was on her way for a patrol off Ras Mustafa (Tunisia) when she came across the Italian tug Nettuno towing the sailing vessel Giuseppe Bertolli proceeding from Hammamet to Pantelleria. The tug opened fire on the submarine, mistaking it for British. Settembrini fired back with her deck gun and machine guns, scoring one hit on the tug, which was soon abandoned. When the mistake was realised, the crew climbed back on board and resumed their trip without further incident.
On the morning of 5 September, Topazio (C.C. Emilio Berengan) came under attack from Blenheim ‘Y’ of 203 Squadron, piloted by Flying Officer Duke-Woolley. On the first run, the bombs failed to release. On the second run, five bombs were dropped, missing the submarine by about 60 metres as Topazio replied with her machine guns. Berengan took his boat deep before another attack could materialise.
HMS Ark Royal, screened by four destroyers, sailed from Gibraltar at dawn on 8 September and was joined a few hours later by the light cruiser HMS Hermione. The aircraft carrier could only fly off fourteen Hurricane fighters to Malta as a pair of Blenheim assigned to lead them failed to locate them (Operation STATUS I). The submarine Serpente (T.V. Renato Ferrini), already at sea and patrolling between the 4° and 6° E meridians, was informed of the sortie, but again was too far to the east to intervene.
Ark Royal was back at Gibraltar on the 10th, but only for a few hours. She sailed again, this time with HMS Furious, the battleship Nelson, the light cruiser Hermione, and seven destroyers. The two aircraft carriers launched forty-seven Hurricanes to Malta (operation STATUS II). Only one would crash on take-off, but the remainder reached their destination safely, and Force H returned to Gibraltar on the 14th. Maricosom was informed of the sortie and ordered three submarines to form a patrol line (Adua, Axum, and Turchese) between Cape Bougaroni and Minorca. Again, they were too far to intercept.
On 12 September, south of Sardinia, Diaspro (C.C. Antonio Dotta) was proceeding to a position off La Galite Island when she was mistakenly attacked by CANT Z.506 3/188 Squadriglia, which dropped two bombs set to explode at a depth of fifteen metres. The submarine went down to seventy metres, and the plane observer was reprimanded for failing to identify the submarine.
In the afternoon of 15 September, Corallo (T.V. Gino Andreani) was exercising near Capri when she was seen by HMS Unique (Lt A.F. Collett, RN). The Italian submarine was observed exercising with a Generale-class destroyer (probably the torpedo boat Cascino), but the British submarine could not gain an attacking position. She was sighted again later in the afternoon but again too far to be attacked. Andreani was not aware of the danger that he and his crew had escaped.
Loss of Smeraldo
From S.I.M. sources in Algeciras, there were indications of the imminent departure of an important convoy for Malta. On 15 September, Alagi and Smeraldo were sailed respectively for areas off Tunisia, in zones K.1 (Cape Bon) and K.2 (Kelibia). In addition, Adua and Serpente sailed from Cagliari at about midnight on 16/17 to form a patrol line off Minorca but were recalled within 24 hours when the report appeared premature.
On 16 September, Adua (T.V. Luigi Riccardi) was patrolling off Cape Bougaroni when, with a warning shot, she stopped a suspicious vessel. She turned out to be the French Penerf on passage from Tunis to Sète and was allowed to proceed. In fact, during the night of 13/14 September, the transport Empire Guillemot entered the Mediterranean carrying supplies from Glasgow to Malta (Operation PROPELLER). Without stopping at Gibraltar, she passed through the straits of Gibraltar at night to not alert the Italians. She was successively disguised as a French, then as an Italian ship. The ruse worked; on 19 September, she reached Malta without mishaps[6].
Alagi and Smeraldo remained on patrol. Smeraldo (T.V. Bartolomeo La Penna) disappeared with all hands. She was supposed to leave the patrol on 25 September and return to base by the 27th. She is believed to have been mined (five officers and forty ratings were killed), probably on minefield 5 AN bis (laid by Italian destroyers in August 1940), which was less than 4 miles east of her patrol area. Alagi in the adjacent area detected nothing unusual. Only an Italian convoy returning from Tripoli and a French ship were seen.
The Battle of the HALBERD convoy
A powerful force was assembled at Gibraltar to cover the important HALBERD convoy to Malta. Shortly before midnight on 24 September, the battleship Nelson (flagship of Vice Admiral Somerville) sailed to take over command of the force covering the convoy that entered the Mediterranean[7].
At 1530 hours on the 26th, an Italian reconnaissance aircraft signalled a force of a battleship, an aircraft carrier, two cruisers, and six destroyers in position 37°30’ N, 05°51’ E, course 270°, 14 knots. This indicated that their operation was completed but could also be a feint. The latter appeared to be confirmed when, the next day, at 0810, an aircraft carrier and seven other ships were reported on course 090° in 37°45’ N, 07°45’ E A, and this was followed by another signal at 1045 hours that an aircraft carrier, a battleship, two cruisers, and four destroyers were seen in 37°30’ N, 08°25’ E, on course 090°, 16 knots.
In the meantime, in the early hours of 27 September, Narvalo (T.V. Bartolomeo La Penna) fired two single stern shots in quick succession at a large steamer off Cape Bon. Both missed the target; this was probably Melbourne Star, who had sailed from Malta for Gibraltar.
Enemy reports kept reaching the Comando Supremo, and large-scale air attacks were coming. At 1330 hours on 27 September, an Italian torpedo bomber hit the battleship Nelson, which was forced to limp away. Italian submarines were unable to intercept and finish her off.
The same day, the Italian battle fleet was at sea, and Admiral Iachino had positioned his ships to the southeast of Sardinia. It would not intervene as the enemy force was considered superior in strength. Yet, the Italian Admiral had at his disposal the 9th Battle Division (the modern battleships Littorio and Vittorio Veneto), the 3rd (Heavy) Cruiser Division (Trento and Gorizia), the 8th (Light) Cruiser Division (Duca Degli Abruzzi, Muzio Attendolo) and ten destroyers.
Two days later, it was Diaspro’s (C.C. Antonio Dotta) turn to fire two torpedoes at a destroyer. She heard two explosions, but the result was negative. Bandiera (T.V. Carlo Forni) was detected and depth-charged by HMS Gurkha. In the adjacent area, Squalo (T.V. Lodovico Grion) heard the depth-charging, and Grion mistakenly assumed his boat to be the object of the hunt. The same afternoon, Serpente (T.V. Renato Ferrini) attacked a destroyer of the Javelin class, firing two torpedoes and claiming a hit. They had missed. These were the destroyers HMS Legion and Lively escorting the HALBERD convoy and they hunted the submarine, but without result. The transport Imperial Star was hit by a torpedo bomber and had to be scuttled. The remaining ships of the convoy reached Malta unscathed.
On 30 September, Turchese (T.V. Pier Vincenzo di Domenico) observed two cruisers of the Arethusa class off the Algerian coast between Oran and Algiers. As the submarine was trying to close, it was suddenly attacked by an aircraft that dropped six bombs. Turchese escaped damage by going down to fifty metres but lost contact with the formation.
After midnight, Perla (T.V. Bruno Napp), returning to her base, was near Cape de Gata when she fired two torpedoes from her bow tubes at a westbound merchant vessel, followed by a third torpedo from a stern tube. They all missed. She then fired a few rounds from her deck gun without much success. The target was the steamer City of Pretoria, who had run the blockade from Malta to Gibraltar with Port Chalmers. City of Pretoria quickly made smoke and dropped smoke floats. She managed to take refuge in Almeria Bay and reached Gibraltar later in the afternoon.
Loss of Adua
At about 0350 hours on 30 September, Adua (T.V. Luigi Riccardi), while patrolling northwest of Cape Tenes (Algeria), attacked a formation of eleven destroyers with four torpedoes; they missed. She reported it in a signal at dawn, giving the position as Quadratino 5093/4 (36°55’ N, 00°45’ E), but then was heard no more. At 0928 hours, in 37°10’ N, 00°56’ E, the destroyer HMS Gurkha obtained an Asdic contact at 2,000 yards and five minutes later attacked with a pattern of fourteen depth charges. She was then joined by HMS Legion, who dropped fourteen depth charges at 0955 hours and another fourteen at 1009 hours. A large patch of oil was observed. Wreckage was recovered, including an Italian dictionary, a mattress pillow, and numerous pieces of wood, including one with a piece of human scalp attached to it by a metal splinter. There was little doubt that Adua was sunk in this attack. There were no survivors of her crew of five officers and forty-two ratings.
The submarine deployment against the HALBERD convoy had been disappointing; two submarines had been lost with nothing to show for.
Activities in the eastern Mediterranean
Italian submarines renewed their activities in the eastern Mediterranean before the arrival of their German counterparts.
Topazio (C.C. Emilio Berengan) had sailed from Augusta to patrol off the Syrian and Palestinian coasts before rallying Leros. On 5 September, when she was south of Crete, she was attacked by Blenheim ‘Y’ (Z6445) of 203 Squadron piloted by Flight Lieutenant Duke-Woolley. Five bombs were released, but they fell wide. After replying with her anti-aircraft guns, Topazio dived without further incident. However, she later reported some damage due to the concussions of the bombs. During the night of 10/11 September, she was off Beirut when she intercepted the Palestinian coastal ferry Murefte (691 GRT, 1941), on passage from Port-Said to Istanbul. The vessel was bringing two 6-inch guns, three 4-inch guns, and their ammunition to be delivered to the Turks. She was sunk by a combination of gunfire and torpedoes. Of her crew, one was killed and another wounded; the seventeen survivors were rescued by the steamer Talodi.
In the afternoon of 7 September, some 100 miles north-northwest of Alexandria, Dagabur (C.C. Alberto Torri) observed a submarine breaking surface. This was HMS Torbay (Lt Cdr A.C.C. Miers), who had sailed for a patrol in the Aegean and opened fire immediately. The Italian submarine dived and lost contact.
Dessié (T.V. Adriano Pini) sailed from Leros for a patrol off Kandeluisa on 8 September when she ran aground on Makri Sophrano Islet (the southernmost of the Sopkrana Nisia group). She managed to free herself, but the patrol was abandoned. Prini and two subalterns were reprimanded.
Near Beirut, during the night of 21/22 September, Ascianghi (T.V. Olinto Di Serio) sank the Palestinian tanker Antar (385 GRT, built 1890) with a combination of torpedoes and gunfire.
Onice (C.C. Loris Albanese) had been sent to Benghazi where she conducted nightly anti-submarine patrols for a month. The experience proved disappointing. On 25 September, HMS Thrasher was sighted lurking in the vicinity. The Italian submarine could not gain an attacking position. A couple of hours later, Thrasher attacked an Italian convoy about to enter the Libyan port, but without success.
Loss of Fisalia
Fisalia (C.C. Girolamo Acunto), on patrol off the Levant coast, was probably the submarine depth charged by the corvette HMS Hyacinth at 2200 hours on 28 September, some thirty miles northwest of Jaffa. She may have been sunk in this attack, as she disappeared with all hands (see also the attack of 2 October). Five officers and forty-one ratings were missing. An ULTRA intercept had indicated her departure for patrol on 23 September, but the exact area could not be determined.
Arrival of German submarines in the Middle Sea
The Mediterranean was not a favourite posting for German submariners[8], as they felt that the difficult conditions of this theatre prevented them from competing effectively in the tonnage war with their colleagues operating in the Atlantic. Nevertheless, their efforts eclipsed Italian submarines as they operated with deadly effects on the Alexandria-Tobruk route and, later, the communication lines between Egyptian and Levantine ports. Almost immediately, they scored spectacular successes, notably the sinking of the battleship Barham and the aircraft carrier Ark Royal. These submarines were based in La Spezia, Pola, and Salamis. Later, when southern France was invaded in November 1942, submarines were moved from La Spezia to Toulon.
The first U-boat based in the Mediterranean, U-371 (Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Driver) crossed the Straits of Gibraltar on 21 September. She was followed five days later by U-97 and U-559. Three more would join in the first week of October to form the Goeben Group.
On 24 September, some 100 miles north of Bougie, U-371 discerned an Italian submarine on the opposite course; this was most probably Adua, who disappeared with all hands. Three days later, the U-boat rescued forty-two survivors of the Italian submarine chaser Albatros, sunk by HMS Upright some eight miles northeast of Rasolcomo (Straits of Messina). The Italian vessel was to provide her escort to Messina; this was a sobering introduction to the war in the Mediterranean. A couple of hours later, the U-boat reached Messina, where Driver had the opportunity to meet T.V. Mario Arillo of Ambra and compare notes. He was warned that in the clear waters of the Mediterranean, submarines could be sighted from the air up to a depth of fifty metres. The German commander was surprised to learn that the Italian submarine’s longest patrol was only nineteen days. He was misinformed; the longest patrol by Ambra up to that date had lasted twenty-five days. Since the 6th of the month, Ambra had arrived at Messina to conduct anti-submarine patrols in the Straits. The U-boat’s stay at Messina lasted only a few hours before she sailed for a fruitless patrol off Tobruk and joined her new base at Salamis.
Atlantic
Italian submarine patrols in the Atlantic during September 1941
| Finzi (…11 September) | Tazzoli (…11 September) | Calvi (…12 September) |
| Cappellini (…22 September) | Da Vinci (…) | Archimede (2-7 September) |
| Topazio (2-17 September) | Alagi (2-4 September)x | Serpente (2-12 September) |
| Ferraris (2-7 September) | Baracca (2-8 September*) | Torelli (5-6 September)x |
| Morosini (6-27 September) | Malaspina (7-24 September*) | Perla (8-13 September) |
| Guglielmotti (10-14 September) | Argo (12-24 September)x[9] | Archimede (18 September…)[10] |
| Perla (20 September…)[11] | Guglielmotti (22 September…)[12] |
During this month, Admiral Parona relinquished his post as head of Betasom and was replaced by Capitano di Vascello Romolo Polacchini.
Operation B.G.4
Scirè (C.C. Junio Valerio Borghese) crossed the Straits of Gibraltar on 16 September and entered Cadiz the following night to pick up nine men of the Decima Flottiglia MAS from the supply ship Fulgor. This elaborate masquerade was to give the maximum rest to the maiali operators, as the cramped quarters of the submarine had been stressful enough in the past. Two nights later, Scirè launched three SLCs to carry out Operation B.G.4, an attack on Gibraltar. The objectives were the battleship HMS Nelson and the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal. The Vesco/Zozzoli team attacked the tanker Fiona Shell (2444 GRT, built 1892), who was sunk. The Catalono/Giannoni team targeted the supply ship Durham (10,893 GRT, built 1934); she had to be beached to prevent her from sinking. Visintini and Magro managed to seriously damage the tanker Denbydale (8,145 GRT, built 1941), and she would be a total loss, later to be broken up at Blyth. All six men reached the shore and were recovered without mishaps. Vesco and Zozzoli were stopped by the Spanish police but were quickly released. Following this attack, Borghese was promoted to Commander, and the six men were awarded the Medaglia d’Argento. This would be the last attack launched by a submarine on Gibraltar. The Italian tanker Olterra had been scuttled at Algeciras when the war began. Very cleverly, a team was sent from Italy on the pretext of raising her with the permission of Spanish authorities, but instead transformed the ship as a base ship from which they could launch human torpedoes against Gibraltar. A special underwater hatch was made from which the maiali could exit without being observed outside. After assembling the torpedoes smuggled into Spain in small sections, the first attack was launched in December 1942. The Olterra was a well-kept secret and was revealed only after the Armistice. British Intelligence had suspected that the attack of 20 September had been launched from one of the two Italian ships berthed at Algeciras as large cases had been seen to be unloaded before the attack[13]. In addition, Italian combat swimmers known as ‘Gamma’ men used the Villa Carmela as a base to launch attacks on the British anchorage. In July 1942, they succeeded in damaging four merchant ships.
September 1941 was a difficult month for the Betasom submarines.
Loss of Baracca
On 2 September, a convoy (HG.72) was reported to have sailed from Gibraltar. The submarines Finzi, Cappellini, and Calvi were in position to intercept. However, Finzi was short of fuel and was ordered back, and replaced by Baracca. On the morning of 8 September, HMS Croome had left convoy HG.72 a few hours before and was proceeding to join convoy OG.73 when Baracca (T.V Giorgio Viani) was spotted at 8,500 yards and attacked with depth charges. The submarine dived to a depth of 110 metres and tried to escape. Her damages soon forced her to surface, and she attempted to defend herself with her guns. She barely had time to fire a single round of 100mm before her deck was swept by machine gun fire from the British escort vessel. HMS Croome finally rammed her, and thirty-four survivors were picked up. Twenty-eight were killed. Due to the bad weather, neither Italian nor German submarines managed to sink a single ship from HG.72. A S.I.M. report of 16 September 1941 noted the arrival of HMS Croome at Gibraltar, showing damage from apparently ramming and from an unexploded torpedo but did not connect this with the loss of the submarine.
Loss of Alessandro Malaspina
Malaspina (T.V. Giuliano Prini) sailed from Le Verdon on 7 September and disappeared without a trace. She was probably sunk by a Sunderland ‘U’ of 10 Squadron (RAAF) piloted by Flight Lieutenant A.G.H. Wearne in position 46º23’ N, 11º22’ W (435 miles from Bordeaux) at 1000 hours on 12 September[14]. Eight officers, fifty-two ratings, and one military passenger were lost. She was also reported as sunk by HMS Vimy on 21 September. During the night of 13 September, she should have been in position 35°55’ N, 09°05’ W. On 24 September, a German aircraft reported seeing two ships sunk and a third set afire (from a convoy that had sailed from Gibraltar on 17 September) in an area where no ships were reported sunk by Italian or German submarines. It was thought at the time that these were hit by Malaspina, but this has not been confirmed.
On 9 September, Perla (T.V. Bruno Napp), on a training patrol in the Gulf of Biscay, was attacked in error by a German aircraft but escaped without damage.
C.C. Alfredo Musotto replaced the sick C.C. Vocaturo and took Otaria from La Pallice back to Naples. At dawn on 12 September, the submarine was detected and attacked by HMS Vimy, thirty miles from Cape St. Vincent. The depth-charging appeared to have been ineffectual, and the Italian submarine escaped damage by diving to ninety metres.
Da Vinci (C.C. Ferdinando Calda) was more fortunate when she was attacked on 19 September by Catalina ‘F’ (W.8409) of 202 Squadron piloted by Squadron Leader M.F.C. Farrar. The bomb fell wide and did not explode. She managed to keep the aircraft at bay by using her 13.2mm machine guns and deck gun before diving to make her getaway.
The following day, Torelli, Malaspina, Morosini, Baracca, and Da Vinci were deployed on a patrol line to intercept a convoy. This was HG.73; it had sailed from Gibraltar on 17 September. At dawn on 21 September, Torelli (C.C. Antonio De Giacomo) gained contact with the convoy and trailed it to attack it in the evening. But after dark, she was detected by HMS Vimy who opened fire, the submarine went down to 150 metres and suffered serious damage to her battery, forcing her to abandon her patrol. Da Vinci discerned the distant smokes of the convoy on 23 September but could not come within range.
[1] Returned from the Atlantic.
[2] Returned from the Atlantic.
[3] Returned from the Atlantic.
[4] Scirè entered briefly the Atlantic to pick up divers at Cadiz.
[5] Scirè again briefly entered the Atlantic to pick up divers at Cadiz.
[6] Cf. ADM223/522. Empire Guillemot was sunk by aircraft off Galite Island on her return trip (24 October 1941).
[7] Convoy WSX.11: HMS Breconshire (Commodore), Queen Emma, Princess Beatrix, Ulster Monarch, Royal Scotsman and S.S. Imperial Star (Vice Commodore), Rowallan Castle (Rear Commodore), Clan MacDonald, Clan Ferguson, Ajax, Leinster, City of Lincoln, Dunedin Star and City of Calcutta. It was covered by two forces:
Force A: Battleships Nelson, Rodney, Prince of Wales, and eight destroyers.
Force B: Light cruisers Kenya (CS.10), Edinburgh, Sheffield, Hermione, Euryalus, and ten destroyers.
[8] Cf. Oberleutnant zur See Baur (U-660) ‘s interrogation in ADM199/2059 (TNA, November 1942, page 34).
[9] Argo had sailed for the Mediterranean before turning back because of defects.
[10] Sailed for the Mediterranean.
[11] Sailed for the Mediterranean.
[12] Sailed for the Mediterranean.
[13] Cf. reports of 12 November 1941 in ADM223/583 (TNA). Actually, their suspicions were mistaken as the submarine Scirè had been used in this instance.
[14] I am indebted to Dr. Axel Niestlé and Eric Zimmerman for the re-assessment of this attack.