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(c) crown copyright

Catalogue Reference:cab/66/14/29 Image Reference:0001

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S E C R E T . Copy No. ^W . P . 41) 6Also Paper No. G O S 41) 25)

January 9, 194 1

T Q B E K E P T U M B E R L O C K A M P K E Y .I t i s reque s ted th a t specia l care ma y be tak en to

ensure the secrecy of this document.

W A R C A B I N E T

WEEKLY RESUMEN o . 71of the

NA VA L MILITARY A N D AIR SITUATIONfrom 1 2 no on January 2n d to

12 noon January 9th1 9 4 1

[Circulated with the approval ofthe Chiefs of Staff.]

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N A Y A L S I T U A T I O N .General Review.There has been cons iderable nava l ac t iv i ty in the Medite r ranean, where thefleet co-operated in the capture of Bardia and has been occupied in the supportand supply of our land forces.Shipping losses a re cons iderably be low the average and enemy mine layinghas been slig ht. A Ge rm an 8 inch cruiser has docked at Brest .

H o m e W a te r s .2 . D ur in g the per iod s t ron g uni ts of the Home Flee t have been cover ingconvoys and ac t ing in suppor t of mine laying opera t ions .On the 3 rd and 4 th Janua ry H .M. Des t roye rs Kelvin an d Kipling searchedthe no r the rn pa r t o f the Bay of Biscay fo r an enemy tanke r and I t a l i a n U-boa twhich had been repo r ted by a i rc ra f t , but s ighted no thin g. An oth er unp rod uc t iv esearch for a merchant ship reported off Gris Nez was made by two destroyers on

the n ig h t o f the 6 t h / 7 t h Ja nu a r y .H.M. Sloop Lowestoft was mined in the Tham es Es tua ry on the 5 th J an ua ryand towed into harbour ; two of her c rew were wounded.H.M. Des t roye rs Mashona a n d Sikh were in col lis ion on the 6th J an u ar y a ndboth were cons iderably damaged.Mediterranean.

3. H . M . S . Terror carr ied out a bom bardmen t of B ar di a with the ass is tanceof nava l a i rc ra f t on the evening of the 2nd January as a pre lude to the assaul t .On the 3 rd Janua ry H .M. Sh ips Warspite, Valiant, Barham, Illustrious and10 des troyers carr ie d out a concen tra ted a t tack on enemy sup por t t roop s , tanks ,motor t ra ns po r t and coas ta l defences . Bo mb ardm ent had to cease a f te r 1600owing to th e pos it ion of our troo ps. Several ineffective ai r a t ta ck s we re m adeon the Flee t and the only casua l t ies were in H.M.S. Aphis, wh ich h ad a fewwounded by a near bomb miss.Pr io r to the captu re , the enemy ran 200-300 ton motor schooners from B ar di ato To bru k by nig ht, some of wh ich were inter cep ted by ou r De stroy ers. One ofthese was sunk by Waterhen on the 26th Decem ber; Voyager cap tured ano the ron the 29th , which had e ight Br i t ish pr isoners of war on board; and Daintycaptured two more on the 31st.

4. H . M . S h ip s Terror, Aphis an d Ladybird, a n d H . M . A u s t r a l i a ndes troyers covered the passage of supply ships f rom Alexandr ia to Sol lum dur ingthe la t ter p a r t of December. Over 3,000 tons of w at er wa s pu m pe d ash or e forthe Arm y, and 18,000 pr ison ers were evacua ted f rom Me rsa M atr uh . Th e wa ters i tua t ion was c r i t ica l unt i l the 23rd December , when water-barges , which hadbeen wea ther-bo und a t M ersa M atr uh , a r r ived in the Gulf of Sol lum. U n ti l thenH . M . S . Protector landed wa ter , and gun-b oa ts pu m ped water ashore f romH.M. Sh ips Terror, Fiona, Cha kla and pe tro l c a r r ie r Petronella, which was ju s tsufficient to keep the A rm y sup plie d. A fte r the 23 rd storag e asho re w as in creasedand the s i tu a t io n improved. W hi ls t the Ar my can prov ide s tores , c, by road,addi t iona l suppl ies by sea have been and s t i l l remain essent ia l .Torpedo bombers made severa l unsuccessful a t tacks on our ships a t Sol lumat daw n an d dusk . One torp edo bomber is believed to hav e been sho t dow n.East Africa.

5. H . M . S . Chantala Arm ed Bo ardin g vesse l) bombarded B ul ha r Br i t ishSoma l i land) on the morn ing o f the 4 th Janua ry and demol i shed the Res iden tshouse. She wa s att ack ed by ai rc ra ft but suffered no dam age .Anti Subma rine Operations.

6 . On the 6 th Ja nu a r y a Sun de r land a i r c ra f t dep th-cha rge d a subm ar ine200 miles we st of the Bu tt of Lewi s w ith the resu lt th at a lar ge piece of me tal w as

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blown in to the a i r and a la rg e o i l pa tch app ea red . Tw o o ther a t ta ck s we re mad eby air cr af t , one off the Bloody For el an d a nd one in th e B ay of Biscay, bu t innei ther case wa s the re any v is ib le resu l t .A p romis ing a t t ack on a U-boa t was made by H.M. Corve t t e Anemone andthe Free French Corve t t e La Malouine in the W es te rn Ap proa che s on the7 t h J a n u a r y .Repor ts have a lso been received of a promis ing a t tack car r ied out by theA / S t r a w l e r Jade off M al ta on the 29th Decem ber.Enemy In te l l igence .German.

7. Th ere ha s been l i t t le ev idence of the pos i t ion s of G erm an sur fac e un i ts ,except for the locat ion of a Hipper Class cru iser in dry dock a t Bres t on the3rd Jan ua ry . I t i s be l ieved th a t t h is i s the cru iser w hich Avas eng age d byH . M . S h i p s Berwick a n d Bonaventure on the 25th December . Seve ra l a i r a t t ac kshave been made on th is sh ip , and she i s thought to have been h i t a t leas t once;deta i l s o f the a t ta ck s wi l l be found in the Ai r S ect ion of th is resume. D u r i n gthese a t tacks two des t royers were a lso repor ted to have been damaged.I t is believed th a t the G erm an s ha ve f if teen des troy ers now ava ilable , ofwhich up to the 4 th Ja n u a ry th e fo l lowing have been located . Fo ur a t K ie l , a tHa m bur g , 2 a t W i lhe lms haven , 6 a t B rem en 4 ap pa ren t ly f i t t ing ou t ) andat Brest .Italian.

8. A ir reconna issances covered mos t of the I ta l i an p or ts in the course of theweek. A t N aple s on 6 th J anu ary) the re w ere two bat t lesh ips , one cru ise r in drydock , and th ree des t roye r s ; a t Ca g l i a r i on 8 th J a nu ary ) two des t roye r s and e igh ts eap lanes ; a t T ra pa n i on 8 th J a nu ar y ) fou r des t roye r s ; a t M es s ina on8 th J an ua ry ) th r ee c ru i s e r s and th re e des t roye r s ; a t T a r an to on 8 th J a nu ar y )four cru isers an d two des t roye rs ; and a t Tr ip ol i on 6 th Ja n ua ry ) f ive or s ixdes t royers . I n the Re d Sea an a i r recon naissanc e over M ass aw a showed th rees ubmar ines and fou r des t roye rs . The r em ain in g I t a l i a n ba t t l e s h ips , wh ich a r ebelieved to be a t S pez ia and T ara nt o , were not observed in the per io d exce pt forone damaged Cavour in the ou te r ha rbour o f Ta ran to .V Boats.

9. Th rou gh ou t the week the re have been thre e to four Ge rm an U-b oats inthe No r th -W es t Ap proac hes , and the s ame numb er o f I t a l i a ns . The G erm ansseem to have been conc entra te d in the no r th ern p a r t o f the are a ra th er fu r the r tothe eas tw ard than h i th e r to . One Ge rma n U-boa t has been m a in ta in ed in theF r e e t o w n - C a p e V e r d e a r e a , a n d o n e I t a l i a n i n t h e A z o r e s - M a d e i r a - C a n a r i e sarea . A t the la t te r end of the per iod ev idence wa s ex t re me ly scarce , bu t i t i sposs ib le th a t re l ie fs m ay be on the i r wa y nor t h-ab out f rom G erm any to the N or th -W e s t e r n A p p r o a c h e s .E n e m y A t t a c k o n S e a b o r n e T r a d e .

N O T E . T he following figures give the losses tvhich have been reportedduring the period the 2nd to the 8th January. They should not be confusedwith the figures show n for the last week in the diagrams of shipping lossesattached at the back of the Resum e which sh ow the actual losses for eachcomplete week since the outbreak of war and are only made up to midnightof Sunday-M onday of the week immed iately preceding that covered by thisResum e. Later figures are not included in the diagrams as they are likelyto be unreliable owing to delayed notifications and uncertainty regarding theresult of recent attacks.10 . E ig ht sh ip s an d two smal l c raf t , a to ta l of 41,908 tons , a re rep or tedlost by enemy ac tio n; of these, al l bu t tw o shi ps 12,564 tons) w ere Bri t is h. Onlyfour of these sh ip s we re sunk du r in g the per iod und er rev iew.Tw o sh ips 10 ,994 tons) were sunk by I t a l ia n U -boats , one off the C ap e V er deI s l an ds and one in the N or th -W es te rn Ap proac hes . Th e fo rmer , the Br i t i s hS.S. Shake spear ap pe a r s to have fough t a ga l l an t ac t ion wi t h the U-b oa t for .

two hours un t i l her gun was put ou t of ac t ion . Th ree sh ips an d two smal l c ra f t[22106] B

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(9,899 tons) were mined, the m ajo r i ty being sunk in the Th am es Es tuar y .Tw o sh ips (14 ,274 tons) were sun k by ra id er , one in the I nd ia n Ocean inOctober an d one off Fre etow n in December. One shi p (6,941 tons) prev ious lyreported damaged by a i r a t tack i s now a to ta l loss .In add i t io n , e igh t sh ips and 3 smal l c ra f t a re repor t ed dam aged ; w i t h twoexcept ions these casual t ies occurred during an a i r a t tack on the ports in whichthe sh ips wer e ly ing . Convoys were unsuccessful ly a t ta ck ed by enemy a i rc ra f ti n the Thames Es tua ry and in the Nor th -Wes te rn Approaches on the 5 th JanuaryDeta i l s of sh ipping losses are g iven in Appendix I .

P ro t e c t i o n of Seaborne Trade.11. D ur ing the week ended noon Wednesday , . t he 8 th Ja nu ary , 663 sh ips ,including 128 al l ied and 22 neutral , were convoyed, of these 2 were lost by enemyaction.One ba t t l e sh ip , one A / A c ru i se r , 9 a rm ed m erchan t c ru i se rs , 20 des t royers

and 37 sloops and corvet tes were employed on escort duty.Imports in to Great Bri ta in by sh ips in convoy during the week ending the4th January to ta l led 636,082 tons , compared wi th 627,360 tons during the weekbefore, and an average of 750,197 during the previous ten weeks.Oil imports, in twelve tankers, were 115,862 tons compared with 138,985 tonsdu rin g the week end ing the 28th December . M ine ra l im por ts were 143,658 tons ,of which 100,550 tons were steel, scr ap iron, pig i ro n and iron ore. T hecorresponding figures for the previous week were 166,551 tons and 112,844 tons.Timber imports were 60,619 tons and cereals imports were 149,207 tons, elevenship s bein g ful ly laden w ith gr ai n. Oth er food imp or ts we re 114,677 tons, ofwhich 57,698 tons were sugar and molasses,8 747 tons were meat and 5,591 tonswere tea. Im p or ts of eggs tot al l i ng 7,995 tons includ ed a ful l cargo of 6,747 tonsof. ref r ige ra te d eggs from N orth Chin a . The re were large quan t i t ie s ofaeroplanes , machine tools and muni t ions f rom Canada and the Uni ted S ta tes .British Minelaying.

12 . D ur ing the week H .M .S . Adventure la id 1,000 min es in the St . G eo rg e sChannel area ; the 1st Minelaying Squadron la id over 2 ,000 in the v ic in i ty of theFaroes ; H .M. Des t royers Icarus a n d Intrepid la id 108 off the No rw eg ian co ast ;a n d H .M .S . Teviot Bank l a id 270 in the Ea s t Co as t Ba r r i e r .In ad di t i on M .T.B . s have la id mine s off the Fren ch Coast , and min elay ingby a i r cra f t has been cont inued on a somew hat increased scale in the W es ter nBal t ic , off the North-Western coast of Germany, and the Channel and At lant iccoasts of France.Enemy Minelaying British Minesweeping.

13. Fog and w int ry condi t ions have aga in reduced the ac t iv i t ies of enemymine lay ing a i rc ra f t .There have been six casual t ies this week, including a destroyer which reachedharb our . Fo ur of the sh ips sank.During sweeping opera t ions mines have been detonated off the Humber,Penza nce Bay , Bris to l C hannel , Liverpool and Loch E w e; the las t nam ed i sthought to have been one of the original lay of November 1939.The totals of mines now accounted for are :844 m agn etic, 775 con tact a nd 119 acoust ic.On the 4 th January a mine was exploded by sweeping craf t 40 mi les southeast of H ob art , Tasm ania . A dangerou s are a wa s a t once declared and a cha nnelhas now been establ ished.

Enemy M erc ha n t Sh ipp ing .German

14. D ur in g the week four Ge rm an me rch an t sh ip s have been ser iouslydam aged or sunk at sea by our a irc raf t , thre e off the coas t of Norwa y, and on e,:a tank er, off th e Hoo k of Ho llan d.

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5 172The whale factory ship Jan Wellem . 11 776 tons and the JApye 7 849 tonswhich were sunk at Narv ik last Apri l are reported to have been salved and tohave recently left that port.As the result of an aerial reconnaissance of Cherbourg which was made onthe 29th December the tanker Brake 9 925 tons was identified. She ha d left

Vigo where she had take n refuge at the outbreak of war on the 11th Decemberand had been reported from Ferrol the following day.The latest report on ice conditions in Scandinavia up to the 7th Januaryo ives the nor the rn Swedish and Finnish por ts in the Gulf of Bothnia as closedwith thick ice though Hernosand and the southern ports ar e being kept open byicebreakers. In Denmark all the large fiords are frozen up and no longernavigable. The Danish press says that their icebreakers are out of action forwant of coal.Italian.

15 . Wa r material s are being carried by small It al ia n and Yugoslav shipsmostly aux il iary sai ling ships the main route being from Tr ies te to San Giovannidi Medua on the coast south of Scuta ri.Four dhows which ha d sailed from Dahlak. Isl and were intercepted in theEed Sea by one of H.M. Ships as they were suspected of t radin g with It al ia nEast Africa.

Aircraft Casualties from Naval Gunfire.16. From the st ar t of the war unti l the 31st December 1940 193 enemyairc raf t were certainly and 91 probably destroyed and 105 were damaged. Themajority of these casualties were inflicted by LT.M. Ships bu t naval-manned A.A.guns ashore destroyed 14 and D.E.M.S. and fishing vessels cer tainly destroyed17 with a further 10 probable and 24 damaged. Dutch Norwegian and Polishwarships accounted for 11 certa in 2 probable and 7 damaged.

British Contraband Control17. Du ri ng the month of December 2 483 tons of cargo dest ined for theenemy were seized in prize. - The main items were 1 442 tons of food produc tsand beverages which were mostly from French and Por tuguese ships 590 tonsof chemical and allied products almost ent irely from Japanes e ships and 372 tonsof non-metallic minera ls from Uni ted Stat es French and Swedish ships.

MILITARY SITUATIONThe Balkan States

A Ibania.18. The exceptional ly severe win ter making movement difficult an daggravat ing the already serious problem of supplies coupled wi th the steadyflow of It al ia n reinforcements has for the time being brought the Greek advancealmost to a stands til l. The Greeks however continue to hold the ini tia tive havesuccessfully repelled local counter-attacks have gained ground at var ious pointsand taken a number of prisoners and valuable war material.The total number of Italian divisions in Albania is now 19.

Hungary.19. The rumour broadcast by the B.B.C. on the 30th December last r eg ardi ngthe mobilisation of the Hungarian army is officially stated to be completelyuntrue the only increase in effectives being tha t due to the normal intake ofrecruits for training.20. The report th at a German Mil it ary Mission was being sent to Hu ng ar yto reorganise the Hungarian army on the lines of the Roumanian army is

categorically denied in Hungarian military circles. It is believed that the German

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General Staff has been trying to negotia te for the despatch of a mission of thiskin d for some t im e; the H un g ar ia n s have re fused as they rea l ise th a t the a r r iva lof such a mission would probably mean the loss of the last vestiges ofindependence that they sti l l possess. .Roumania

21 . Fu r th e r r epo r t s have been received ind ica t ing tha t Ge rm an re in force men t cont inues espec ia lly in the A ra d- Te m es va r a rea . Ac cord ing to a repor tof the 5 th Ja nu a r y i t is the Ge r man in ten t io n to concen t ra te twe lve d iv is ionsinc lud ing motor i sed d iv i s ions be tween the Ro um an ian f ron t ie r an d the l ineO r a d e a - A lb a J u l i a - T u r n a S e v er in . T h e r e a r e f u r t h e r r e l ia b le i n d i c a t i o n s t h a tthe to t a l number of t roo ps to be. con centr a ted on the Bu lg ar ia n an d Yugo slavborders may eventua l ly am ou nt to 120 divis ions p22. Th us the th re a t to Yug os lav ia and /o r B ulg a r ia con t inues and an a t t a ckon the la t t e r migh t be un de r tak en a s a p re l im ina ry ope ra t ion . A t the same time

wea the r cond i t ions in the Ba lkans make la rge - sca le win te r ope ra t ions ve rydif ficult and the prese nt ra te of pr ep ara t io n for such op era t io ns sugg es ts th a tthe final s tag e of rea din ess w ill no t be reach ed before the end of Feb ru ary . I tmu st be emp has ised th a t G erm any may cons ider herse lf forced by c i rcum stancesto ac t before in which case she may lau nch he r a t t ac k in t ime to comple te hercam paig n before the snow s ta r t s to mel t in the la t te r ha lf of Fe bru ary .Yugoslavia

23. Th e w int e r s t ren gt h of the Yu goslav a rmy is now confirmed a t abo ut5 00 0 00 . R e g u l a r f o r m a t io n s o n t h e G e r m a n H u n g a r i a n R o u m a n ia n a n dB ul ga r ia n f ront i e rs a re to rem ain re inforced. Reserve divis ions hav e a l l beendemobilised.Bulgaria

24. Inf orm at io n tend s to show th a t the problem of ra i lw ay goods-w agons ispa r t i cu la r ly acu te in Bu lga r ia and tha t abou t 50 pe r cen t o f the wago ns req u i rerepa i r .25. H eav y ra in has fa llen in Sofia an d the th aw ext en ds to. 4 000 feet.Pre ss repo r ts of floods in the S .E . a re unconf irmed bu t main roa ds wo uld in anycase soon become im pra ctic abl e if used con tinu ou sly by me cha nical traffic . E ar lyin the week the Danube was repor ted to be f rozen.

Africa.Libya

26. B ar di a has been cap tu red by the B r i t ish forces the num ber of pr ison erstaken being e s t ima ted a t 32 000 inc lud ing 1 200 wound ed . Br i t i sh an d A us t ra l i anwo und ed are unde r 600. A s soon as they could be released from the op erat ion sa round Ba rd ia our a rmo ured t roops advan ced tow ards Tobruk and fo rwarde lements a re now west of th a t town. No de ta i led infor ma t ion is ye t ava i lab lereg a rd i ng cap tu red equ ipm ent . I t i s. r epor te d th a t th ree p rom inen t Black sh i r tCommanders made good the ir escape f rom Bardia by a i r or sea probably dur ingth e n ig h t t h e 4 t h / 5 t h J a n u a r y d e s e r t i n g t h e i r t r o o ps a n d le a v in g r e g u l a rCommanders to f ight on.

27. Ser ious de te r ior a t io n of mora le wh ich ha s never been hig h ap pe arsto have contr ib uted to the I t a l ia n defea t .28. I t is not ye t kno wn wh eth er any re inforcem ents a re be ing sent to Liby ato replace the cons iderable was tag e in m an power suffered by M ars ha l G raz ian i .W ith ou t these i t i s d if ficult t o see wh ere the I ta l i an s can hope to ma ke a s ta ndas the ut i l isa t ion of the ir remaining resources in Libya would deple te the garr isonof T r ipo l i t an ia .

Sudan29. Our a r t i l l e ry and pa t ro l a c t iv i ty con t inues .

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East Africa30 . In the No r the rn Sec to r our i r r eg u la r compa nie s have reached thefront ie r be tween the Hu r i H i l ls (110 miles S S W of Lake S te fan ie ) and Dukana(60 miles fu r th er no r th) . One of our pa tro ls f rom G ar is sa re turn ed wit h th re eCaproni engines which they had sa lvaged f rom a plane shot down on the22nd November.A byssitiia

31. The I ta l i a ns , ho ld ing the t e r r i to r ie s of c e r ta in f r i end ly ch ief s , a reman ag ing to m a in ta i n the i r comm unica t ions , though un ce r t a in of the i r ow nnat ive t roops .32. Ab yss in ian pa t r io t s con t ro l mos t o f the coun t ry aw ay from the roadsand ga r r i sons ; they a re th rea ten ing the sma l le r ga r r i sons and fo rc ing the I t a l i ansto use very la rg e convoys on the road s . They a re con t inu a l ly wi nn ing over f reshadherents to the ir cause , and chie fs f r iendly to the I ta l ians a re now in a s ta te of

considerable fear.33. M ora l e is low but not ye t a t bre aki ng poin t . Giv en good ra t i on s , s t r on gde fensive pos i t ions to ho ld and l i t t l e a i r oppos i t ion , I t a l i a n t roop s may m a i n t a i nsome mo rale indefinite ly, bu t if repuls ed w hen att ac ki n g they are l ikely to becomedemoralised.Turkey.

34. Th e ' ' s ta te of s iege ' ' proc la im ed in Is t an bu l an d Thra ce s t i l l con t inue s ,though b lack-ou t r egu la t ion s have been temp ora r i ly r e laxed . Pu b l ic op in ioncont inues to s t r en gth en in favour of the All ies , and Li by an successes have a rousedconsiderable enthus iasm.The Far EastChina

35. Th ere has been no ma jor cha nge in the s i t ua t io n du r in g the las t th reeweeks . Ja p an es e form at ion s a re be l ieved to oelocated as follows :Ind o-C hin a : O ne mixed b r ig ade .H a i n an : Tw o d iv i s ions (maximum ) .Ca nton A re a : Three d iv i s ions and one mixed b r ig ade .

The re a re in d ica t io ns tha t one o f the d iv is ions now in Ha in an may bere tu rn ing to Formosa .

A I R S I T U A T I O N .General Review36. Op era t ion s were ag a in cons iderably reduced by unf avo urab le Avea thercondi t ions . Tw o a t ta ck s on Bre men we re m ade on successive nig hts wi th h igh lysa t is fac to ry resul ts . Our bombers a lso conc entra ted on a H ip p er c lass c ruis e ra t Bre s t an d on the shi pb ui l din g ya rds a t W ilhe lm shav en. A num ber of successful a t tacks were made on enemy merchant vesse ls .Enemy a t tacks on th is country were aga in on a low sca le , a l though they

were heavie r than in the previous week.Uni t s o f the Roya l Ai r Force and o f the Roya l Aus t ra l i an Ai r Force took aprominen t pa r t in the cap ture o f Ba rd ia , the i r a t t a cks on th i s and o the r t a rge t sin Libya be ing in tens ive and accura te .Op e ra t io na l a i r c ra f t c a sua l t i e s , ex t r ac t s f rom recen t Ra id AssessmentRepor t s , and a g raph showing Enemy Air Ope ra t ions ove r Grea t Br i ta in a reg iv en i n A p p e n d i c e s V I , V I I a n d V I I I .Germany and Occupied Territory

37. Bom ber Co mm and flew 20 day and 288 n ig ht sor t ies du r in g the per io d.W in t ry w ea the r cond i t ions we re r e spons ib le for th i s fu r th e r d rop in the to ta lof n ight sor t ies .[22106] c

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38. The very successful a ttack on Bremen on the night of the1s t /2nd January, repor ted in las t week 's Resume, was cont inued on two success ivenig hts . In ad di t io n to h ig h explos ive bombs man y tho usan ds of in cend ia r ieswere drop ped. The dock a rea , ra i lw ay s ta t ion and fac tor ies were a t tac ked ,cu lm in ati ng in the whole ta rg et becoming a mass of f lames. Tw o of our a i rc ra ftwere missing as a result of these operations.39. On the 4th Ja n u a ry e ighteen Blenhe ims f rom Coas ta l Com mand weredespa tched to a t t a ck a H i p p e r c la s s c ru i se r in d ry dock a t Bre s t . Onea irc ra f t es t imated a direc t h i t on the c ruise r , and hi ts were a lso repor ted on twodes troyers an d a smal l m erch ant vesse l. Th is a t t ack was cont inued a t n ig ht bya i rc ra f t of Bomber Comm and. Un for tun a te ly , th e wea the r was so unfavou rab leth a t i t was not poss ible to iden t i fy the c ruise r , but the es t im ated pos i t ion wa sbombed by for ty heavy bombers and a lar ge tire resu lted . Th e ne xt day B lenh eim saga in re turned to the a t tack and some direc t h i ts a re be l ieved to have beenobta ine d. D ur in g these day l igh t a t ta cks enemy f ighter oppos i t io n wa s encou nteredas a resul t of wh ich two M e. 109's were destroyed an d one pro bab ly destro yed .

Severa l Blenhe im s sus ta ined dam age , but only one was repor ted miss ing .40. Wilhehnshaven was the main objec t ive on the night of the8 t h / 9 t h Jan ua ry and v i s ib i l i ty was good ove r the t a rge t a rea . Twe nty heavybombers concentra ted on the shipbui lding yards and many la rge and smal l f i reswere sta rte d. Th e dock are a wa s also bombed an d the irpitz is believed to ha vebeen s t ra dd led by a s t ick of 500 lb . bombs. Th ir tee n other a i rc ra f t a t ta ck ed theDocks at Emden where two very large f ires were observed.41 . L ig h t a t t a cks we re made on o i l t a rge t s a t H am bu rg and R ot t e rd amand on the petroleum sheds at Em den . A.A . ba tte rie s we re also bombed on anumber of occasions.42. On two nig hts Blenhe im s of the Fi gh te r Co mm and carr ie d out offensivepa tro ls over aerodromes in N or th ern F ranc e . Only one combat occurred an d th eenemy ai rc ra ft is believed to hav e crash ed. These Blen heim s subse quen tly bom bedseveral enemy aerodromes with good results .43. A successful day at ta ck w as m ad e by a Blen heim on a 5,000-ton Ta nk eroff the Ho ok of Holl and , wh en a dir ect hi t was obtain ed on the vessel's bow. ABlenheim also scored near misses on another Tanker in the same area.44. Coas ta l Com mand a ir c ra f t m ade several successful a t ta cks on shipping-Six direc t h i ts were made on a merchant vesse l near Obres tad, and three hi ts onano the r vessel ne ar Lis ter Lig ht . On e sh ip of over 1,000 tons w as att ac ke d n ea rBergen and l i f ted out of the wa ter . An oth er smal le r vessel sus ta in ed dam age

to he r b r idg e and supe rs t ruc tu re .45. On two success ive day s ind ivi du a l a t tack s were ma de by two Be auf or t son an 8,000-ton Ta nk er in th e Bay of Bisc ay. N ea r misses we re rep or ted an d th ebr idge was a t tacked with machine-gun f i re .I t a ly .

46. On the n ig h t o f the 8 th /9 th Jan ua ry ten W e l l ing ton s f rom M al t asuccessful ly a t tacked shipping, docks and ra i lway communica t ions a t Naples .One stick of bombs was observed, to drop on or very near the stern of a . Littorioc lass ba t t l esh ip . Severa l h i ts were a lso regis te red on bu i ldin gs ne ar the An glo in iQuay, an d on the ra i lw ay s ta t io n an d t rack s . Th ere were severa l explos ions an da gasom eter was f ired. A t Pa le r m o, wh ich was a t ta cke d by one a i rc ra f t , a h i twas regis te red e i the r on the mi dd le je t ty or on a ship moored a longs ide . A l l .o ura i rc ra f t r e tu rned undamaged f rom these ope ra t ions .U n i t e d K in g d o m .

47 . Fi gh te r C omm and flew 426 pa tro ls involvin g 1 ,086 sor t ies by day an d184 pa tr ols involving 197 sor t ies by nig ht . These to ta l s a r e s l ight ly high er th anthose of last week.48. Th e sca le of ope ra t ion s of the Ge rma n A ir Force du r in g the weekunder review, a l though approximate ly double tha t of the previous week, was , 's t i l l a t a low leve l. Recon naissance wa s the chief da yl ig ht ac t iv i ty , and i this ;w as ;)

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mainly off tJhe ea ste rn an d sou th-e aste rn coasts of E ng la nd . Th ere were, how ever ,a few penet ra t ions in land by s ingle a i rcraf t and bombs were dropped in var iouspa r t s of the coun t ry . On the 7 th J a nu a ry a t t ac ks were ma de on ae rod romesin the Hom e Count ie s bu t no ser ious dam age w as done. O ur figh ters w erehampered by bad v is ib i l i ty , bu t they succeeded in des t roy ing tw o enem y a i rc ra f tand probably des t roying another .49. O pera t ion s by the long -range bombers cons is ted of a t ta ek s ' on Londonand Cardiff on one night each and on the Bris tol area on two successive nights .On the three remain ing n ights there was no enemy act iv i ty over th is country .Coas ta l Reconna i s s ance , Pa t ro l s and Mine lay ing .

50. A irc ra f t o f the Coa s ta l Comm and flew 200 pat r o ls involv ing 445 sor t ies .These sor t ies inc luded 219 convoy escor ts which were main ta ined throughout theweek in spit e of very unfav ou rab le f lying co ndi t ion s on m any days. M ines we resuccessfully laid by both Bomber and Co asta l Co mm and a ir cr af t off Lo rie nt ,Bres t , S t . Naza i r e , the E lbe Es tua ry and the J ade and Wes er R ive r s .51. Ene my minel ay in g was on a smal ler sca le th an the prev iou s week .

Greece and A lba nia .52. Ex t r em ely bad we a the r has r e s t r i c t ed ope ra t ions . E lb as an was heav ilybombed on three occas ions and d i rec t h i t s were reg is tered on mi l i ta ry bui ld ingsand road comm unica t ions . A t Va lona am mu ni t ion dump s were bombed by n ineBlenheims an d severa l f ires we re s tar ted . Fi gh te r oppo s i t ion and in tense an t i a i rc raf t fi re were enco untered , and tw o of our a i rc ra f t a re miss in g . One enemyfighter was prob ably destroye d.

E g y p t and L ibya .53. B ar d i a was the m ain objec t ive of our A ir Forces in the ear ly pa r t ofthe week , and , in su pp or t o f the land forces, op era t ion s were d i rec ted w i th theobject of enforcing the ear ly surrender of the town, which had been bombedcon tinuous ly s ince the 1 s t J a nu ar y . D ur i ng thes e day and n igh t a t t ac ks theBlenheims , Bombays and Wel l ing tons success fu l ly bombed s tores , dumps , motort ran spor t , for t i f ica t ions a nd t roops , wh i ls t the H ur r ic an es provide d pa t ro ls forthe i r p ro tec t ion . Th e accura cy of the bombing m ay be gau ged by the fac t tha t ,a l though f ew mi l i t a ry t a rge t s o f impor tance a t Bard ia s t i l l s t and , the town hashard ly been touched .54. La te r in the week the p r in c ip a l t a rge t s were Tobruk , where much

damage was done to severa l mi l i ta ry objec t ives , and Tr ipol i , which was bombedby W el l ing tons f rom M al t a on the 5 th J a nu ar y and the fo llowing n igh t . Di r ec th i ts were reg is tered on a la rge merchant vesse l in the harbour , on the Powerstat i on an d on th e custom s house. M any bombs also fel l am ong des troy ers a ndme rchan t vesse ls. On the 8 th a heavy ra id was m ade on Be ngh as i , when d i rec thits we re ob tain ed on four or five ship s in the. ha rb ou r a nd f ires s t ar te d in th ewarehouses .55. Ae rodrom es an d lan din g grou nds we re a lso heavi ly a t tac ked on severaloccas ions , and many enemy a i rcraf t on the ground were e i ther comple te lydes t royed or badly dam aged. Fo r ty unserv iceable a i rc raf t , ab and oned by theenemy, were captured by the army a t El Adem.56. I t a l ia n a i r op era t ion s have been sur pr i s in g ly smal l . Th ei r bombershave ha rd l y m ade an ap pea ran ce . Th ei r fighters have opera ted , somet imes inforce, but their effor ts have been ineffective and our f ighter patrols have taken aheavy toll.

Gibraltar57. T he usu al pa t r o ls an d reconnaissances were flown an d escor ts providedfor convoys an d nav al un i t s . A ph oto gra phi c reconnaissance of O w na ga a ndTe tua n was mad e on the 5 th J a nu ar y . A hos ti l e a i r c r a f t ca r r i ed ou t areconnaissance of Gibra l tar on the 2nd and another was engaged and dr iven of fon th e 6th . .

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Malta58. D ur i ng the week reconnaissances were ma de of the harb ours a t NaplesPa le rmo Cag l i a r i T ra pa n i Ta ran to and Tr ipo l i ; of the ma in ae rod romes inSici ly; and of the Ionian Sea.59. A smal l format ion of enemy a i rc ra f t appro ache d the I s land on the7th Ja nu ar y but re t i re d before they could be in terc epte d .

Sudan and East Africa60. Ou r act ivi ty in th is are a ha s been on an increased scale. En em y cam pson the Su da n-A by ss in ia f ront ie r were a t tac ked on severa l occasions an d theaerod rom e a t Gubba was successfu lly a t tacked three t imes . Stores dum ps a ndm i l i t a ry bu i ld ings were bombed a t Berbe ra and Ha rg e i s ha in Br i t i s h Som al i l and .A t Gun di le in Sou thern Ab yss in ia a qu an t i ty of am m un i t io n wa s success fu l lydroppe d to f r iendly t r ibesmen.61. Our a t t ack s on E r i t r e an t a rge t s have been ma in ta ine d . M as s aw a wasattacked on three occasions and bombs fel l near the submarine moorings and adestroyer .62. Pou r H ur r i c ane s of the Sou th Af r i can A i r Fo rce mach ine -gun ned theae rod rome a t Ba rde ra in I t a l i a n Som al i land . One a i r c r a f t wa s des t royed on thegroun d and two more were dam aged. Three enemy f ighters man age d to app roa chour format ion unseen and two Hurr icanes were shot down.In addi t ion severa l reconnaissances were ma de and convoy escor ts wereprovided over the Red Sea.

Air Intell igenceItaly

63. There are f irm indica t ion s of the ar r iva l o f un i ts of the G erm an A irForce in I ta ly . For some t ime pa s t Ge rm an t ran spo r t a i r cr af t have been f ly ingbe tween S ic ily and the M ain land p res umab ly t r an s po r t in g advanced pa r t i e san d i t is possible th at i t is inte nde d to op era te these un its f rom Sicily . T heI ta l ians are repor ted to be making every endeavour to increase the aerodromeaccommodat ion a t Rhodes .

Bulgaria64. A repor t h i th er to unconf irmed but be l ieved cor rec t s ta te s th a t th r eeGerm an a i rc raf t be lieved to be M .E. 110s have recent ly been op era t in g f romPlovdiv engaged on a pho togr aph ic survey of the Gr eek -B ulg ar ia n f ront ie r .65. The Ge rma ns have ins ta l led seventeen observat ion pos ts equ ipp ed w i t hrad io ac ros s No r the rn B u lga r i a f rom the No r th -W es te r n co rne r to the B lack Sea .The ar r iva l o f an t i -a i rcraf t un i ts i s a lso repor ted .

Japan66. I t i s learned tha t in recent mon ths Ja pa ne se vesse ls have bro ug ht pe t ro l

oil t y r es and M / T to po r t s in I t a l i a n Somal i l and .

H O M E S E C U R I T Y S I T U A T I O NGeneral67 . W ea the r cond i t ions by day on the 5 th 6 th and 7 th J a nu ar y enab ledthe enemy to r e s ume ha ras s in g tac t i c s wi th s ing le a i r c r a f t . On the 7 th J a nu ar ydur in g the mos t ex tens ive day l igh t ra id in g th a t we have known for some weeksLondon was ra i ded in term i t ten t ly for 3^ hours an d bombs were dropp ed inf ifteen d is t r ic ts . On the same day ma ny inc ide nts were repor t ed f rom E as t

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Angl ia and the Ho me Coun t i e s , and one f rom Coven t ry . No im po r ta n t dam ageand few casual t ies were caused by these dayl igh t ra ids .68. By n i gh t the enem y ' s ma in ob ject ives were Cardiff Bris tol and, to alesser ex ten t , Lon don. On th e n ig ht the 2nd /3 rd J a n u a ry a heavy a t tac k w asmade on Cardiff; on t h e n i g h t s 3 r d / 4 t h a n d 4 t h / 5 t h J a n u a r y th e m a i n a t t a c k

was on Br i s to l , Av onm ou th and W es ton -Su per -M are ; and on the n ig h t 5 t h / 6 t hLondon w as the m ain objec tive of a br ief bu t w ide spr ea d a t tac k . On o the r n i gh tsthere was l i t t le or no ac t iv i ty .Damage .Cardiff

69. The bui ld ings of B r i t i sh Oxy gen Co., Ltd . , Ea s t Moo rs , were complete lydemol ished , and m us t be cons idered out of pro du ct io n for an indef in i te pe r iod .Apar t f rom th is , d i rec t damage occur red a t on ly two fac tor ies , and in both caseswas s l ig ht . N in e key po in ts we re affected, in mo st cases ind ire ctl y th ro ug h lossof ut i l i ty supplies , or the presence of TJ.X.B's .

70. The mos t im po r ta n t dam age wa s done a t the Ga s L ig h t an d CokeCompany ' s Works a t Grange town where th r ee gas ho lde r s were damaged , l eav ingthe c i ty for some t ime w i th ou t suppl ies . El ec t r ic i ty gr id- l in es were dam ag ed intwo p laces and severa l mains were a lso h i t , wi th resu l t ing local fa i lures ofsupply . No im po r ta n t dam age wa s done to the w ate r sys tem. No ser ious dama gewas rep or te d f rom Cardi f f Docks or P e n ar th Docks .Bristol Avonmou th and Weston-Super-Mare.

71. On the n igh t of 3 r d / 4 t h J a nu a ry the a t t a ck was ma in ly w i th I .B ' s . onthe cent re of the c i ty and r ivers ide areas of Br is to l , and a l though many f i res weres tar ted these do not ap pe ar to have in t er f ere d w i th the gen era l wo rkin g of theDocks . Th e dam age to u t i l i ty serv ices wa s l ig h te r th an in prev io us ra i ds , a l thoug hdam age to w ate r m ain s h in dere d fire-f ight ing. No im po r ta n t dama ge wa s doneto key points .72. On the n i gh t of 4 th /5 th Ja n u a ry a few bombs fe ll in Br is t o l , bu t them ain a t t ac ks were on Avo nmo u th and W es ton -Sup er -M are . Th e a t t a ck onAvonmouth was main ly wi th I .B 's . , which s tar ted many f i res , bu t a l l were veryquickly ex t inguished and the only appreciab le damage was a t Shel l Mex andB.P. ' s o i l ins ta l la t ion , where the bar re l - f i l l ing shed was gut ted , bu t wi th no ef fec ton deliveries .A t Wes ton -Sup er -M are dam age wa s a lmos t en t i r e ly to p r iv a te p rop er ty .

London.73. Th ree shell-f il l ing sheds we re des troy ed by f ire a t the Th am esA m mu ni t io n Work s , L td . , E r i th , Ke n t , an d p roduc t ion may be r e t a rde d fo r aweek. A l l wo rk was suspen ded for 24 hours a t Burg oyne, Bu rb r id ge Co., Ltd . ,Eas t Ham (Medical Suppl ies ) , bu t no fur ther ef fec t on product ion is expected .Apar t f rom thes e two inc iden t s the damage was neg l ig ib le .

Elsewhere.74. In du s t r ia l key poi n ts have been h i t in Ches ter , D ar l ing ton , Pur f lee t ,Newcas t l e , B i rmingham, Coven t ry and Mann ing t r ee , bu t damage in a l l cas es wasvery s l igh t excep t a t Whes s oe Fo und ry a nd Eng inee r ing Co ., L td . , D ar l in g to n(Bombs) , wh ere there i s loss of n i gh t wo rk t i l l b lack-out ar ra ng em en ts arer es to red ; and a t B .X. P la s t i c , L td . , M ann ing t r ee , Es s ex (Glass s ubs t i tu t e s ) , wherea par t o f the p lan t was demol ished .

Casual t ies .75. The es t im ate d casu al t ies for the week end ing 0600, the 8 th Ja nu ar y ,ar e 398 kil led and 691 ser iously in ju re d. The se f igures includ e 103 kil le d a tCardiff; 127 kil led a t Bri s to l .

[22106] D

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Unexploded Bombs .76. The num ber of unexp loded bombs rem aini ng for d isposa l aga i n showsa decrease . A t 1800 the 6th Ja nu ar y the num ber wa s 1 267 as comp ared w ith1 544 a week e arl ie r.

Civil Defence Operations.77. I n a l l ra id ed a reas th i s week i t has been evident th a t people have tak ento hear t the lessons of ea r l ie r ra ids and have concentra ted on the task ofext inguishing f i res in the ir in i t ia l s tages .At Cardiff nearly all the fires were successfully confined to the premises inwh ich they sta rte d an d tho ug h full re info rcem ents for the f ire services we res tanding by the ir he lp was not needed.

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A P P E N D I X I .Enemy Attack on Trade.

Merchant Vessels exclud ing Comm issioned Merchant Vessels) of all tonnag es reported lost by enemy action.Note.Tonnages are gross unless otherwise stat ed.)

By Submarine.N a m e a n d I n C o n v o yD a t e . N a t i o n a l i t y . C a r g o . F r o m T o H o w s u n k . P o s i t i o n . F a t e o f C r e w a n d o t h e r R e m a r k s .T o n n a g e . or not . - ) -

J a n . 5 Shakes-pear B r i t i s h C o a l a n d B a r r y A l e x a n d r i a T o r p e d o . . . N o t 1 8 0 m i l e s N . E . o f 1 9 k il l e d , 2 3 s u r v i v o r s .( 5 , 0 2 9 t o n s ) g e n e r a l C a p e V e r d e I s l a n d sJ a n . 6 Empire Thunder B r i t i s h O b a n W i l l i a m T o r p e d o Y e s 1 0 5 m i l e s N . N . E . of 3 0 s u r v i v o r s . O n e b o a t w i t h 9 m e n( 5 , 9 6 5 t o n s ) H e a d , B . C . E o c k a l l s u n k b y t o r p e d o , m e n m i s s i n g .

By MineJ u l y 2 9 . . . Clan Munroe ... B r i t i s h M a n g a n - L o n d o n M i d d l e s - Y e s T h a m e s E s t u a r y C r e w 7 8 a n d 2 A r m y g u n n e r s , o f w h o m( 5 , 9 5 2 t o n s ) e s e o r e f a r o u g h 1 2 c r e w m i s s i n g a n d 1 A r m y g u n n e r

k i l l e d .J a n . 3 . . . Pinewood B r i t i s h L o n d o n B l y t h N o t 1 J m i l e s S o u t h o f 1 8 s u r v i v o r s , 5 i n j u r e d .( 2 , 4 6 6 t o n s ) S o u t h e n d P i e rJ a n . 6 T u g Lion B r i t i s h ... N o t . . . R i v e r M e d w a y N o s u r v i v o r s .( 8 7 t o n s )

B a l l a s t . . .J a n 6 . . . S t e a m t r a w l e r B r i t i s h N o t . . . O ff F a r o e I s l a n d s . . .Gadra 3 s u r v i v o r s f r o m c r e w o f 1 0 .( 2 1 9 t o n s )J a n . 6 - 7 . . . H. H. Petersen B r i t i s h G o o l e R o c h e s t e r . . . Yes O f f H a r w i c h . . .( 9 7 5 t o n s ) N o c a s u a l t i e s .

* P r e v i o u s l y o n d a m a g e d l i st ( S e c t i o n B ) .t T h i s i n f o r m a t i o n i s p r o v i s i o n a l a n d m a y b e m o d i f i e d o n r e c e i p t of C o m m o d o r e s r e p o r t .C o a l

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By Surface Craft .

D a t e . N a m e a n dT o n n a g e . N a t i o n a l i t y . C a r g o . F r o m T o H o w S u n k .I n C o n v o y

o r n o t . f P o s i t i o n . F a t e of C r e w a n d o t h e r R e m a r k s .

A b o u tO c t . 1 2D e c . 1 7

. . .. . .

Durmitor( 5 , 6 2 3 t o n s )Duquesa

( 8 , 6 5 1 t o n s )

Y u g o - S l a v . . .

B r i t i s h E e f r i g .a n dG e n e r a l

T o r r e v i e j a . . .

M o n t e v i d e o

B a t a v i a

F r e e t o w n . . .

R a i d e r

R a i d e r

N o t

N o t

I n d i a n O c e a n9 1 E .

A b o u t 6 0 0 m i l e so f F r e e t o w n

9 S.

S . W ,

S h i p b e l i e v e d c a p t u r e d a n db a b l y s e n t t o K i s m a y u .

R a i d e r s i g n a l i n t e r c e p t e d b yW / T .

c r e w p r o

F r e e t o w n

AircraftD e c . 1 2 . . . Breda ...

( 6 , 9 4 1 t o n s )D u t c h . . . B o m b O b a n A n c h o r a g e .

P r e v i o u s l y o n d a m a g e d l i s t ( S e c t i o n B ) . f T h i s i n f o r m a t i o n i s p r o v i s i o n a l , a n d m a y b e m o d i f i e d o n r e c e i p t o f C o m m o d o r e s r e p o r t .

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Merchant Vessels excluding Commissioned Merchant Yesseis) of all tonnages REP OR TE D dam aged by Enemy A ction .

ttD a t e . N a m e a n dT o n n a g e . N a t i o n a l i t y . C a r g o . E r o m - T o - C a u s e .

I n C o n v o yo r n o t . * P o s i t i o n . E x t e n t o f D a m a g e .

C a s u a l t i e s t oC r e w a n d

O t h e r R e m a r k s .S N o v . 2 3 Llanclovery B r i t i s h A/ C. . . S o u t h a m p t o n . .. S e v e r e f i r e d a m a g e , V e s s e l w a f itt ed

Castle s o m e b o w p l a t e s t o r n o u t a s H o s p i t a l( 1 0 , 6 4 0 t o n s ) a w a y s h i p , n o c a B u a l

t i e s t o c r e w .D e c . 2 Francois Tixier B r i t i s h A/ C. . . B r i s t o l . . . D a m a g e t o p l a t e s a n d V e s s e l w a s u n d e r

( 4 9 9 t o n s ) s u p e r s t r u c t u r e r e p a i r a t B r i s t o l .D e c . 2 3 M / V Pacific B r i t i s h G e n e r a l . . . A / C. . . M a n c h e s t e r N o . 2 ho l d f il led t o dr y

Pioneer d o c k l e v e l .( 6 , 7 3 4 t o n s )

D e c . 2 8 T u g Canute B r i t i s h A / C . .. S o u t h a m p t o n . . . S u b m e r g e d , s a l v a g e( 2 7 1 t o n s ) o p e r a t i o n s i n h a n d .

J a n . 1 M / V T a n k e r B r i t i s h M . . . N o t O ff S h e e r n e s s . . . S u b m e r g e d in 3 - 4 C r e w r e p o r t e dAttendant f a t h o m s , s a l v a b l e s a f e .

( 1 , 0 1 6 t o n s )J a n . 2 algora B r i t i s h G o v e r n - L e i t h A l e x a n d r i a S/M G Y e s 2 45 m i l e S h e l l e d b y 2 S . M s , 3 4 s u r v i v o r s , r e

( 6 , 5 7 9 t o n s ) m e n t W . N . W . C a p e l a s t s e e n b u r n i n g m a i n i n g 7 1 m a ys t o r e s B l a n c o , W e s t b e i n 2 b o a t s

A f r i c a d r i f t i n g E a s t .I n a d d i t i o n t o C a s u a l t i e s p r e v i o u s l y r e p o r t e d t h e f o l lo w i n g v e s s e l s w e r e d a m a g e d d u r i n g a i r r a i d s o n L i v e r p o o l a n d M e r s e y b e t w e e n 2 0 / 2 2 n d D e c e m b e r , 1 9 4 0 .

H o p p e r N o . 9 . . B r i t i s h A / C . . . . : S u b m e r g e d i n d o c k ,( 6 7 1 t o n s ) s a l v a b l e .Pardo B r i t i s h A / C . . . . S u p e r f i c i a l d a m a g e .( 5 , 4 0 0 t o n s ) B o m b p a s s e d t h r o u g h3 s t e e l d e c k s a n de m e r g e d t h r o u g h s h e l lp l a t i n g o n p o r t s i d e .H o p p e r B a r g e B r i t i s h A / C . . . . S u b m e r g e d , c o n s i d e r e d

Overdale s a l v a b l e .Tosari A / C . . . . S u p e r f i c i a l d a m a g e .D u t c h( 7 , 0 2 9 t o n s )Muncaster

Castle B r i t i s h A/ C. . . . D a m a g e d by n e a r m i s s .( 5 , 8 5 3 t o n s )

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Merchant Ships (all sizes) other than Merchant Ships Commissioned for NavalService, Sunk by Enemy Action up to Noon , Wednesday , 8th J a n u a r y ,1941.

B r i t i s h . Al l ied . N e u t r a l . T o g e t h e r .

B y - N o . Gros sT o n n a g e . N o .G r o s s

T o n n a g e . N o .G r o s s

T o n n a g e . N o .G r o s s

T o n n a g e .

S u b m a r i nu b m a r i n e 286 1 ,578 ,000 6 9 343 , 000 173 561 , 000 528 2 , 482 , 000M i ni ne . . .. . .S u r f a cu r f a c e C r a fra f t

1636 6

419,000356 , 000

3 115

94 , 00084 , 000

7 96 232 , 00018,000 2738 7 745,000458 , 000A i r c r a fi r c r a f t 108 311 , 000 39 169 ,00 0 2 6 71 , 000 173 i 551 , 000O t h et h e r c a u s e sa u s e s , o r c a u sa u s e 3 0 64 , 000 9 40 ,000 25, 000 47 i 129 ,00 0

u n k n o wn k n o w n65 3 j 2,7 28, 000 1 16 3 730 ,00 0 1 29 2 j 907 , 000 1,108 1 4 , 365 , 000

N O T E . A l l i e d figures i n c l u d e P o l i s h ; a l l F r e n c h u p t o J u n e 2 5 , 1 9 4 0 ; " F r e e " F r e n c hf r o m J u n e 2 5 , 1 9 4 0 ; N o r w e g i a n f r o m A p r i l 9 , 1 9 4 0 ; D u t c h a n d B e l g i a n f r o m M a y 1 0 , 1 9 4 0 ; andG r e e k f r o m O c t o b e r 2 8 , 1 9 4 0 . " N e u t r a l " figures i n c l u d e I t a l i a n u p t o J u n e 1 0 1 9 4 0 ; and

V i c h y " F r e n c h f r o m J u n e 2 5 , 1 9 4 0 .

A P P E N D I X I I I .(1 ) Additions to and deductions from British Sea-going Merchant Tonnageships of 500 gross tons and o v e r ) , including Merchant Ships Commissionedlor Naval Service from 2nd September, 1939, to 5th J a n u a r y ,1941.

T a n k e r s . O t h e r s .

Gros s G r o s sN o . N o .T o n s . T o n s .

B r i t i sr i t i sr i t i sr i t i sr i t i sr i t i sr i t i s h s h i ph i ph i ph i ph i ph i ph i p s o n S e p t e m b ee p t e m b ee p t e m b ee p t e m b ee p t e m b ee p t e m b ee p t e m b e r 2 ndn dn dn dn dn dnd, 1939393939393939 51 9 j 3 , 2 7 4 0 0 0 3 ,578 1 5 , 3 9 8 , 0 0 0Additionsdditionsdditionsdditionsdditionsdditionsdditions

N eeeeeee w s h i ph i ph i ph i ph i ph i phips . ....... . . ....... . . ....... . . ....... . . ....... . 9 73 ,000 172 937 ,0 00E n e mn e mn e mn e mn e mn e mn e m y s h i ph i ph i ph i ph i ph i ph i p s c a p t u r ea p t u r ea p t u r ea p t u r ea p t u r ea p t u r ea p t u r e d . ........ 1 6 0 0 0 4 8 247 , 000S h i ph i ph i ph i ph i ph i ph i p s t r a n s f e r r er a n s f e r r er a n s f e r r er a n s f e r r er a n s f e r r er a n s f e r r er a n s f e r r e d f r or or or or or or o m o t h et h et h et h et h et h et h e r f l a g sl a g sl a g sl a g sl a g sl a g sl a g s

D a n i sa n i sa n i sa n i sa n i sa n i sa n i s h 5 42,000 113 302 , 000F r e n cr e n cr e n cr e n cr e n cr e n cr e n c h . ....... . . ....... . . ....... . 10 5 7 0 0 0 79 369,000R o u m a n i ao u m a n i ao u m a n i ao u m a n i ao u m a n i ao u m a n i ao u m a n i a n . ....... . 2 11 ,000 1 4 , 000E s t o n i as t o n i as t o n i as t o n i as t o n i as t o n i as t o n i a n 2 0 32 , 000L a t v i aa t v i aa t v i aa t v i aa t v i aa t v i aa t v i a n 3 6 ,0 0 0O t h e rt h e rt h e rt h e rt h e rt h e rt h e r s 12 8 3 0 0 0 106 541,000

O t h et h et h et h et h et h et h e r a d d i t i o nd d i t i o nd d i t i o nd d i t i o nd d i t i o nd d i t i o nd d i t i o n s . ....... . 11 17,000 92 191,000T o t ao t ao t ao t ao t ao t ao t a l a d d i t i o nd d i t i o nd d i t i o nd d i t i o nd d i t i o nd d i t i o nd d i t i o n s . ....... . 50 289, 000 634 2 ,6 29, 000

DeductionseductionseductionseductionseductionseductionseductionsS h i ph i ph i ph i ph i ph i ph i p s s u nu nu nu nu nu nu n k b y t hhhhhhh e e n e m yn e m yn e m yn e m yn e m yn e m yn e m y

(iiiiiii) M e r c h a ne r c h a ne r c h a ne r c h a ne r c h a ne r c h a ne r c h a n t s h i ph i ph i ph i ph i ph i ph i p s c o m m i s s i o n eo m m i s s i o n eo m m i s s i o n eo m m i s s i o n eo m m i s s i o n eo m m i s s i o n eo m m i s s i o n e d fooooooorN a v aa v aa v aa v aa v aa v aa v a l S e r v i ce r v i ce r v i ce r v i ce r v i ce r v i ce r v i c e 2 13,000 23 207 , 000

( i ii ii ii ii ii ii i ) O t h e rt h e rt h e rt h e rt h e rt h e rt h e r s 5 8 442,000 480 2 , 224 , 000S h i ph i ph i ph i ph i ph i ph i p s c a p t u r ea p t u r ea p t u r ea p t u r ea p t u r ea p t u r ea p t u r e d b y t hhhhhhh e e n e mn e mn e mn e mn e mn e mn e m y . ....... . . ........ 1 6 ,000 5 16 , 000O t h et h et h et h et h et h et h e r d e d u c t i o n se d u c t i o n se d u c t i o n se d u c t i o n se d u c t i o n se d u c t i o n se d u c t i o n s

(iiiiiii ) C o m m i s s i o n eo m m i s s i o n eo m m i s s i o n eo m m i s s i o n eo m m i s s i o n eo m m i s s i o n eo m m i s s i on ed fooooooo r N a v aa v aa v aa v aa v aa v aa v a l S e r v i ce r v i ce r v i ce r v i ce r v i ce r v i ce r v i c e 1 10 , 000i ii ii ii ii ii ii i ) Othert h e rt h e rt h e rt h e rt h e rt h e rs ........ . . ....... . . ....... . . ....... . . ....... . 8 22,000 131 434 , 000

T o t ao t ao t ao t ao t ao t ao t a l d e d u c t i o ne d u c t i o ne d u c t i o ne d u c t i o ne d u c t i o ne d u c t i o ne d u c t i o n s 69 483,000 640 2 , 891 , 000N eeeeeee t a d d i t i od d i t i od d i t i od d i t i od d i t i od d i t i od d i t i o n ( - f --f --f --f --f --f -- f - ) o r d e d u c t i oe d u c t i oe d u c t i oe d u c t i oe d u c t i oe d u c t i oe d u c t i o n ( ------- ) ........ . - 19 - 194,000 - 6 - 262 , 000

B r i t i sr i t i sr i t i sr i t i sr i t i sr i t i sr i t i s h s h i ph i ph i ph i ph i ph i ph i p s o n J a n u a ra n u a ra n u a ra n u a ra n u a ra n u a ra n u a r y 5 t ht ht ht ht ht ht h , 1949 49 49 49 49 4941 500 3 , 080 , 000 3,572 1 5 , 1 3 6 , 0 0 0 ** Of t h e t o t a l Non Tanker t o n n a g e , v e s s e l s r e p r e s e n t i n g a b o u t 3 ,8 5 0 t h o u s a n d g r o s s t o n s a r e

e n g a g e d o n N a v a l , M i l i t a r y o r R . A . F . S e r v i c e s ( i n c l u d i n g s o m e c o m m i s s i o n e d fo r N a v a l S e r v i c e ) ,s o m e of w h i c h b r i n g c a r g o e s t o t h e U n i t e d K i n g d o m o n t h e i r h o m e w a r d v o y a g e . A f t e ra l l o w i n g f o r v e s s e l s ( 1 ) t r a d i n g p e r m a n e n t l y a b r o a d , (2 ) d e t a i n e d i n F r e n c h p o r t s a n d (3 ) u n d e r go i ng o r aw a i t i ng r ep a i r , i n c l ud i n g t h e fitting o f de f ens i ve p r o t ec t i on , t h e ba l a nc e i s a l i t t l e i ne x c e s s o f 7 m i l l i o n g r o s s t o n s , s o m e p a r t of w h i c h i s e n g a g e d i n t h e c o a s t i n g t r a d e o f t h eU n i t e d K i n g d o m a n d E i r e .

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(2) Total losses of, and other deductions from, British sea-going Merchantships of 500 gross tons and over, including Merchant ships Commissioned forN a v a l Service, expressed as approximate annual rates of loss.

T o t a l l o s s e s s u n k o r A p p r o x i m a t e a n n u a l .c a p t u r e d b y t h e e n e m y ,P e r i o d . l o s s i f c o l u m n (2 ) l o s s e sa n d o t h e r d e d u c t i o n s i n c o n t i n u e f o r a y e a r .p e r i o d .( 1 ) (2) . ( 3 )

F i r s t 9 m o n t h s o f w a r : T h o u s a n d g r o s s t o n s . T l i o u s a n d g r o s s t o n s .i.e. f r o m S e p t e m b e r 3 , 1 9 3 9 t o M a y 3 1 , 1 9 4 0 1 , 09 3 1 , 5 0 0

F o l l o w i n g 3 m o n t h s :i.e. f r o m J u n e 1 , 1 9 4 0 t o A u g u s t 3 1 , 1 9 4 0 . . . 9 7 7 3 , 9 0 0M o n t h o f S e p t e m b e r , 1 9 4 0 . . . . . . . . . 3 1 7 3 , 9 0 0

O c t o b e r , 1 9 4 0 3 3 1 3 , 9 0 0,, N o v e m b e r , 1 9 4 0 3 7 3 4 , 5 0 0,, D e c e m b e r , 1 9 4 0 ( 2 4 9 f 2 , 9 0 0 )

f T h i s f ig u r e r e l a t e s t o l o s s e s s o f a r n o t i f i e d a n d m a y b e i n c r e a s e d b y l a t e n o t i f i c a t i o n s .(3) Merchant Ships (all s izes) under construction in British yards in the

United Kingdom and abroad on 4th January, 1941.Tankers. 0iher8.

No . Gross Tons. No . Gross Tdns.C o l l i e r s a n d c o a s t i n g s h i p sO t h e r s h i p s

. . . . . . 3 3 6

2 , 0 0 02 9 8 , 0 0 0

4 51 2 4 * 5 7 , 0 0 08 0 1 , 0 0 03 9 3 0 0 , 0 0 0 1 6 9 8 5 8 , 0 0 0

* I n c l u d i n g 4 v e s s e l s ( 2 6 , 0 0 0 g r o s s t o n s ) b u i l d i n g a b r o a d , 2 m e r c h a n t s h i p s ( 1 8 , 0 0 0 g r o s st o n s ) t a k e n o v e r b y t h e N a v y d u r i n g c o n s t r u c t i o n a n d 1 1 s h i p s ( 2 4 ,0 0 0 g r o s s t o n s ) of m e r c h a n tt y p e i n t e n d e d f o r N a v a l u s e .

I n a d d i t i o n , t h e r e a r e 1 5 5 m e r c h a n t s h i p s t o t a l l i n g 9 7 6 , 0 0 0 g r o s s t o n s o n o r d e r o r p r o p o s e dt o o r d e r i n t h e U n i t e d K i n g d o m a n d a b r o a d ( i n c l u d i n g 1 6 t a n k e r s of 9 5 , 0 0 0 g r o s s t o n s ) .

A P P E N D I X IY .Merchant Ships (all s izes) lost by the enemy up to 5th January, 1941.

G e r m a n . I t a l i a n . T o g e t h e r .

G r o s s G r o s s G r o s sN o . N o . N o .T o n n a g e . T o n n a g e . T o n n a g e .

C a p t u r ea p t u r e d o r s e i z ee i z e d 6 0 2 6 9 , 0 0 0 3 0 1 5 1 , 0 0 0 9 0 4 2 0 , 0 0 0S c u t t l ec u t t l e d o r s u nu n k . .. . i ; 7 5 4 1 3 , 0 0 0 1 5 7 7 , 0 0 0 9 0 4 9 0 , 0 0 0U n i d e n t i f i en i d e n t i f i e d s h i ph i p s r e p o r t ee p o r t e db y S / M/ M , A / C/ C , cc , a s s u nu n k

o r d e s t r o y ee s t r o y e d ( t o n n a gt o n n a g ee s t i m a t e ds t i m a t e d ) 1 1 8 5 9 0 , 0 0 0 4 6 2 3 0 , 0 0 0 1 6 4 8 2 0 , 0 0 0

2 5 3 1 272 000 3 1 4 5 8 , 0 0 0 3 4 4 1 730 0 00

I n a d d i t i o n , 2 8 s h i p s o f 4 6 , 0 0 0 g r o s s t o n s u n d e r e n e m y c o n t r o l o r u s e f u l t o t h e e n e m y h a v e;b e e n s u n k . - . . . - *

U n c o n f i r m e d P r e s s r e p o r t s s t a t e t h a t f u r t h e r I t a l i a n s h i p s h a v e b e e n s u n k i n t h e A d r i a t i c ,b u t p e n d i n g o f fi c ia l c o n f i r m a t i o n t h e s e h a v e n o t b e e n i n c l u d e d i n t h e a b o v e figu res.

[22106]

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No casua l t i e s to H .M. Auxi l i a iw Pa t ro l Vesse l s have been repor ted dur ingthe week.Casualties to Naval Personnel.

The fol lowing casua l t ies have been repor ted :Officers : 3 kill ed 2 wo un de d.R a t i ng s : 3 k i l l ed 8 mis s ing 5 wounded .

A P P E N D I X Y I .Operational Aircraft Battle Casualties .

0600 hrs. , Thursday, 2nd Ja nua ry, 19 41, to 0800 hrs., Thursday, 9th Jan uar y,1941.Metropol i tan Area.

British. In the Air. On the Ground.B o m b e r s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p ....F i g h t e r s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1C o a s t a l . . . . . . . . . -- -- 1

T o t a l 5 N i l

German.B o m b e r s . . .F i g h t e r s . . .M i s c e l l a n e o u s

. . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . .

Destroyed. 1 3 . . .

.

ProbablyDestroyed.

, : 8 1

. . .

Damaged.41

N o a c c o u n tT o t a l

i s t a k e n o f . . .

a i r c r a f t . . .

d e s t r o y e d 4

o n t h e g r o u n d .4 5

I t a l i a n .N o a i r c ra f t w e r e d e s t r o y e d o r d a m a g e d o v e r t h e U n i t e d K i n g d o m .

Middle East .Brit ish .

. B o m b e r s . . -F i g h t e r s . . iC o a s t a l . . .

. . . . . .

. . . . . .

I . . .

.... ; . . .

. . . ... . . .

. . . ... . . .

In the 5

: 1.. .

Air. On the . . .

Ground.

T o t a l . . . . . . :O f t h e a b o v e t o t a l , 2 b o m b e r s w e r e

. . . . . . 6 l o s t i n t h e- G r e c i a n c a m p a i g n .

N i l

I t a l i a n .B o m b e r s . . .F i g h t e r s . . .

M i s c e l l a n e o u s . . .

. . . . . . . . . .

. . . ...

. . . : ,

Destroyed. .1 2

1 5 4 9 ( a ) .

. . . .

Probably Destroyed. i

' 8 i 3.

Damaged.58

.

T o t a l s . . . . . 7 6 1 1 1 3( a) I n c l u d e s 4 0 a i r c r af t , c a p t u r e d J a n u a r y 6 , 1 9 4 1 .

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Air Attacks on Enemy Territory in EuropeExtracts from Recent Raid Assessment Reports

Results of RaidsThe fo l lowing repor ts of damage have been received dur ing the week f romA ir Reco nnaissanc e and In te l l igen ce Sources :

GermanyBerlin On the 13 th /14 th November a br idg e in the K on igs t r ass e over theSpree Can a l was des t royed . Ra i lw ay t r a ck s nea r M oab i t we re dam aged and th ePr i edr ich s t ras se St a t i on s l igh t ly dam age d. Th e area s mos t affec ted we re theLe ipz ige rp la tz and the Le ipz ige r s t r a s s e .Th e ra id on the 1 5t h/ 16th Dece mber h ad been described by two sources a smost successful; th e di s tr ic ts of Tege l an d Ste gli tz suffered heav y at t ac ks . Th eSchoneberg and Pa pe s t r as se Sta t io ns w ere h i t and t raff ic be tween Ber l in an dPo tsda m w as suspen ded . Bombs in the cent re of the c i ty d id cons iderable d am ageto W er th eim s s tores an d to the Pol ice Pres id ency . Traff ic on the un de rgr ou ndfrom the W it t en be rg P la tz to the Zoo w as s topped for two day s and cons iderabledamage was done to shops , houses and the c inema in the Tauentz ien St rasse .Casual t ies are s ta ted to have been 100 k i l led and 200 in jured in th is ra id .On the 20th /21s t December the Law Cour ts were h i t and bombs fe l l near agas works in the Gi tsc h ine r St rasse . No. 44 Sc hm idt St ra sse w as complete ly

des troyed and bombs f e ll i n the Feh rbe l l ine r , t he Ka i s e r F r i e d r i ch and th e Ta un usStrassen . Th e ca the dra l , wh ich w as h i t , wa s only s l igh t ly dam age d, tho ug h forp ropaganda pu rpos es the Germans g rea t ly exaggera ted i t .Hamburg On the 16th Nov emb er eig ht heavy bombs scored dir ec t h i t s onBlohm and Voss. L at er in the m onth two D utch Ea s t In d ie s vesse ls and a G erm anauxi l ia ry cru iser were sunk in the harbour , and a neutra l seaman saw f ivepa r t i a l ly -bu i l t s ubm ar ines a t B lohm an d Vos s wh ich ha d been dam aged .Cologne Photographs tak en by Bom ber Co m ma nd show the success ofa t ta ck s upo n th e o i l ta r ge t a t W esser l ing . M any cra te rs are c lear ly v is ib le inthe centre of the plant , and there is no s ign of act ivi ty or movement save for alocomotive und er s team and some t ruc ks in the s id ings . Severa l bu i ld in gs ,

inc luding the power s ta t ion , have received d i rec t h i t s , and the power p lan t doesno t ap pea r to be ope r a t ing .Railways As a resu l t o f the heavy a t ta cks on M an nh eim , the l ine f romLud wig shafen to K ais ers lau ter n wa s h i t. in four p laces . I t wa s c losed to t raff icand ha d no t r eopened by the 2nd J a nu ar y . Da ma ge to the l ine be tween M annhe im and . Fr an k f u r t w as coun te red by the u s e of a l t e r n a t e rou tes . On theMannhe im-Heide lbe rg l ine goods t r a in s had to be d ive r t ed owing to damage2 kms . f rom M annh e im .

FranceBoulogne -Short ly pr io r to C hr i s tm as the Ho te l M eur ic e received a d i rec thit and 33 German Officers were kil led.Le Havre Photographs ta ke n by P R .U. d isc lose addi t ional damage to theroof of the harbour passenger s ta t ion , cons iderable damage to the hangars of theC.G.T. , to the roof of a la rge bui ld ing in the Wire Drawing Mil l and to sheds a tthe South end of Schne ide r Works .

ItalyBari -The oil ref ineries were so much dam ag ed t h a t a num ber of theworkmen had to be t rans fer red to Leghorn , where the ref iner ies were a l readywork ing to fu l l capac i ty .

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Milan.^Some of the s tocks of rubber in the Pi rel l i works were des t royed.A large quant i ty of the s tock f rom these works has been t ransfer red to Tr ies teand S y r acus e IS l resul t of our raids .Naples.The las t ra id on N ap les is sai d to ha ve been second only in i tssuccess to the famous r a id on T ar an to by the F lee t A i r A rm . The C ru i ser Polasus ta ined dam age tha t wi l l r eq u i re a t l eas t s ix weeks to r ep a i r . The re were m anycasua l t i es am ong the per sonnel inc lu d ing the Com man der .Fiv e min e-swe epers were sunk. .Seventy people we re ki l led by oiie bomb tha t hi t the I lv a am m un i t io n wo rks .Th e ai rc ra f t fa cto ry sus ta ine d two hi ts and traf fic w as held up for ten hour sby damage to the Naples -Bar i r a i lway l ine .

NorwayOn the 27 th December the Norwegian S teamer Arnfinn Jarl of 1 200 ton s

was sunk at Egersund as a resul t of a i r a t tack.Mining

In October a cargo boat of 5 000 t ons loaded w i th p igs r equ i s i t ioned by theGe rma ns from the Bre ton s sank off S t . N az a i re on i t s de pa r tu re fo r Ge rma ny.Many p igs were washed up on the coas t and co l l ec ted by the inhab i t an t s .I n November an a r med mer chan t man was s unk nea r L o r i en t .Ph oto gr ap hs t ak en by Bomber Com man d d i sc lose the p resence of a sunk enmo tor vessel about 2 000 ya rd s f rom th e coas t due W est of Jul i an ad or f ne arH el de r. Th e vessel is ab ou t 540 feet long.A photographic r econnai s sance of the Kie l Canal conf i rms the obs t ruc t ionrepor ted therein and the presence of a vessel sunk across the canal can be seen.I t was al leged by the Germans that the s inking took place as a resul t of acol l is ion bu t th is i s so unl ik ely tha t coupled w i th the fact th at the s inki ng tookplace at the exac t po s i t ion in the can al wh ere a mine ha d been la id i t i s cons idered that the blockage of the canal was a successful resul t of a mine- layingopera t ion .

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Milan.^Some of the stocks of rubber in the Pirel l i works were destroyed.A large quant i ty of the s tock from these works has been t ransferred to Tries teand Syracuse IS l resul t of our ra ids .Naples.The last ra id on N ap les is said to hav e been Second only in i t s

success to the famous ra id on T ar an to by the F lee t A ir A rm . Th e Cruis er Polasusta ined dam age th at wi l l req ui r e a t leas t s ix weeks to re pa i r . Th ere we re manycasua l t i e s amon g the pe rsonne l i nc lud ing the Com mander .F ive mine-sw eepers were sunk. .Seventy people were k i l led by o iie bomb that h i t the I lva am m un i t ion wo rks .Th e a i rc ra f t fac to ry susta ined two h i t s and traffic wa s held up for ten hour sby damage to the Nap les -Bar i ra i lway l i ne .N o rw a y .

On the 27th December the Norwegian S teamer Arnfinn Jarl of 1 200 ton swas sunk a t Egersund as a resul t of a i r a t tack .Min i n g

In October a cargo boat of 5 000 tons loaded wi th p ig s requis i t io ned by theGe rm ans from the Bre tons san k off S t. N az ai r e on i t s de pa rtu re for Ge rm any .Many p igs were washed up on the coast and col lec ted by the inhabi tan ts .In November an a rmed merchan tman was sunk nea r Lor i en t .Ph ot og ra ph s taken by Bomber Com man d d isc lose the presence of a sunke nmotor vesse l about 2 000 ya rd s f rom the coast due W est of Ju l ia na do rf ne arH eld er . Th e vessel is abo ut 540 feet long.A photographic reconnaissance of the Kie l Canal confi rms the obst ruct ionreported there in and the presence of a vesse l sunk across the canal can be seen .I t was a l leged by the Germans tha t the s inking took p lace as a resul t of acol li s ion but th is i s so unl ikely tha t coupled w i th the fac t th a t the s ink ing tookplace a t the exact pos i t ion in the can al wh ere a mine ha d been la id i t i s considered that the blockage of the canal was a successful resul t of a mine-layingopera t ion .

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