Article in the Advertiser, Tuesday,22, June 1943. U-Boats Sunk in Atlantic.

From the tail end of the article.
The Biter is one of the Navy's new weapons, an escort aircraft carrier. Many of these vessels have been, and are being built, or converted, from fast merchant ships and tankers. They are known to the Navy as Woolworth carriers, being considerable smaller than fleet aircraft carriers. The tactical object of escort carriers is then explained.

I think the Navy nickname, Woolworth carriers, comes from the cheap discount department store aspect. According to Wikipedia. Woolworth was a British high street retail chain and originally a division of the American F.W Woolworth company. The 400th branch, at Southport, Lancashire, opened on 12th July 1930.

The full article mentions, Destroyer Broadway, Frigate Lagan, Canadian Corvette Drumheller, Destroyer Hesperus and Destroyer Pathfinder. The full article describes the battle which took place during May. Which ranged over a hundred miles and extended intermittently throughout five days and five nights.

Philip L

APA citation
U-BOATS SUNK IN ATLANTIC (1943, June 22). The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1931 - 1954), p. 1. Retrieved January 16, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article48757504

 

To add a short anecdote.  My father, Peter Johns, was Anti-Submarine Control Officer on HMIS Cauvery, the second sloop involved in this action (as mentioned in the referenced HMS Shah account).  In his wartime memories he wrote that:

“We believed that there were captured British Merchant seamen on board the U-Boat [quite possible as the U-boat had recently torpedoed and sunk the merchant ships MV EMPIRE CITY and the MV EMPIRE DAY].  Very traumatic - would have liked to have blown it to the surface with depth charges and captured it, but the ‘hedgehog’ attack was lethal”.

Mine Sweeper destroys 2 enemy Aircraft. Advocate. Tuesday, 22 April 1941.

Philip L

APA citation
MINE-SWEEPER DESTROYS TWO AIRCRAFT (1941, April 22). Advocate (Burnie, Tas. : 1890 - 1954), p. 1. Retrieved January 4, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article68503286

Thanks for your reply.

Manual of Seamanship 1937. By Authority of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. Volume one. 1941 Edition.

Some more interesting examples.

Page 58 and Flags and Pendants used in the international code is already posted above. The Numeral Pendants, Substitutes, Code and Answering Pendant follows Page 58, and the Flags and Pendants used in the international code.

Ensigns. Man of war and Merchant then follows on next (After page 58). The last Ensigns plate (Man of war and Merchant) is already posted above with Page 59 (Bends and Hitches).

Plate 10 and 11. And Plate 12 with Page 39 follows Page 38 and Plate 9 (Alphabetical and Numeral flags used in Naval signaling). Page 38 with Plate 9 is already posted above.

Philip L

That is amazing. Thanks so much for your assistance. This will help with my compiling a combination of his statements along with this and other historical references. I also have some photos but unfortunately he lost his camera on the Maori so many were lost.

As far as I can see from his Service Record, he served on

Oct 1939 – June 1940   DRAKE 2   Barracks at Devonport   
June 40 – Feb 42   MAORI      Destroyer
Note: various ‘parent’ establishments noted during this time, they would have been responsible for admin / pay etc:
TYNE – depot ship
 DRAKE – Devonport barracks
 NILE – base at Alexandria, Egypt
Feb 42 – Jan 43      HERO      Destroyer
Jan 43 – Dec 43   WOOLWICH   Depot Ship; then based in Egypt
Dec 43 – Fen 44   NILE
Feb 44 – Jan 45      DRAKE
Jan 45  - Sep 46   MAYINA   Camp at Colombo, Ceylon [Sri Lanka]
Sep 46 (1 day)      LANKA      Base at Colombo
Sep 46 – Mar 47   DRAKE
Mar 47 – Apr 47   VICTORY   Barracks at Portsmouth
Apr 47 – Oct 47      DRAKE
Oct 47 – Feb 48   IMPERIEUSE   Training establishment at Devonport, which consisted of
               several ships, RENOWN, VALIANT and UNICORN
Feb 48 – Jun 48      DRAKE
Jun 48 – Jul 48      RENOWN   Battlecruiser; static training ship at this time
               Parent establishment for admin was
               UNICORN – aircraft repair ship
Jul 48 – Jan 49      DRAKE
Jan 49 – Jul 49      CAMPERDOWN   Destroyer
               Parent establishments for admin and pay were:
               UNICORN
               HOWE – battleship
Jul 49 – Sep 49            DRAKE
Sep 49 – Apr 52   GRAVELINES   Destroyer
               Parent establishments for admin and pay were:
               DRAKE
               ST ANGELO   Base at Malta
               PHOENICIA   Base at Malta
Apr 52 – Jul 52      DRAKE
Jul 52 – Aug 52      CALEDONIA   Training establishment Rosyth
Aug 52 -  Jul 54      DRAKE
Jul 54 – Nov 54      PRESIDENT   HQ and Reserve units London
Nov 54 – Nov 56   CUMBERLAND       Cruiser
Nov 56 – May 57   OCEAN    Aircraft carrier
May 57 – Oct 59   HOGUE   Destroyer
Oct 59 – Jan 60      VERNON   Base Portsmouth
Jan 60 – Mar 61      MURRAY   Frigate
Mar 61 – Oct 61      DRAKE   

You mention other ships - Cleopatra - Sphinx - Rockwood - Emperor - Atheiing - but they do not show on his record - I would think that this is because he would have been 'loaned' to those ships, while remaining on the books of his parent establishment

Not an expert on German minesweeping gear - they did copy the paravane idea, so it may well be their version

Hello all,

Apologies if this is long winded but hoping to have answers to any follow ups.

I'm wondering if people can assist me with ship names. I've recently received my grandfather's service record and 20 years or so ago I had his notes from service during WW2 and I currently have typed around 30 pages of history that I'd like to finish off so other can read it. Not everything coincides directly although his memory for dates was pretty strong and other recent data backs up his notes such as being in the Bismarck campaign on HMS Maori and getting a hit on the Bismarck.

I've attached the ships lists here and I'll add below a summary from his notes. Prior to joining he worked at Fielding's in Gloucester in hydraulics. He became a Chief Ordnance Artificer.

2/10/1939 Entered Devonport
6 weeks basic training
Leave at Christmas and transfer to Gunnery School for Ordnance for 5 months
End of course sent to Scapa Flow to join HMS Maori part of the 4th Destroyer Flotilla
December 1940 Refit in Newcastle for Twin 4" MTG as tribals had no afterward firing guns
1941 escort duty to Centurion pretending to be King George V
25th May 1941 Sailing from the Clyde with a troop ship and then into the Bismarck chase
Summer 1941 Force K to Malta
December 1941 Battle of Cape Bon
14th December 1941 Arrival in Malta
11th/12th February 1942 Maori bombed in Grand Harbour
Then on board HMS Cleopatra to Alexandria and HMS Sphinx March 1942
Transferred to Canopus
Sick in Victoria College 64th General Hospital
In charge of Armory at Canopus
Drafted to HMS Hero to Haifa in Palestine sinking a U-boat along the way
1943 transferred with Chief Stoker to HMS Woolwich and made CPO
Autumn 1943 drafted to HMS Rockwood
January 1944 23 day trip to Plymouth
HMS Drake and shore leave
Passed Chief OA course
Drafted to Ceylon SPDC
1945 HMS Emperor to Ceylon
HMS Mayina transit camp then to Veyangoda
January 1946 on HMS Atheling back to Plymouth

I know that he later was stationed in Malta as my mother went to school there and he was involved in the Suez mentioning about getting ASCs out for sailing.

I am assuming some are stops such as Tyne for the Maori refit but the dates for HMS Lanka don't fit as my notes include an Anglo/Indian CPO on Aethling coming back for the Victory parade which was in June. Saying that I note that Lanka is only 1 day long so maybe voyage related? Hopefully this is found interesting to assist and thanks in advance.

Hello, I wonder if the structure on the foredeck of this German minesweeper is for streaming paravanes from the bow. Any ideas?