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1.
This account of the meeting is, I believe, authentic. However
it seems odd that Admiral Horton, with his knowledge of the Baltic
should have made this statement. The ice was already melting in
the Baltic and the route from Lulea to Germany was about to come
into
use. The British minelaying therefore, however effective, would
not have stopped the traffic in summer anyway. It seems more likely
that Admiral Horton had correctly assessed the various intelligence
reports and was convinced that the Germans intended to invade
Norway in
any case.
2. In addition Porpoise
was escorting a convoy to Norway and H33
was on anti U-boat patrol with a trawler on the west coast of
Ireland.
3. Orzel to patrol off Lillesand, Sunfish
to the north of the declared area, Unity
and Sealion
to the east of the declared area and Narwhal
to lay mines as previously arranged in the Heligoland Bight.
4. Snapper
to join Unity
and Sealion
east of the declared area sailing on 4th April. Truant
and Seal
to sail on 6th April. Spearfish
and Seawolf
to sail on 7th April. Sterlet
to sail on 8th April.
5. Trident
to Larvik, Sealion
to the Kattegat, Sunfish
to the east of the Skaw, Snapper
to take Sealion’s
place in the Heligoland Bight.
6. A 250 ton U-boat northbound on the surface. The weather was
rough, the range 2000 yards and three torpedoes were fired.
7. 100 fighters, 400 bombers and 500 transport planes.
8. Shark,
Severn,
Tarpon,
Clyde,
Thistle
and Ursula,
Tarpon
and Severn
were half way up the east coast with a convoy.
9. Seal
had not yet got to her patrol position north of the declared area
in which she might have sighted the German ships and Truant
had not reached her patrol position off Egersund. There were no
other British submarines to the northward.
10. Sealion
also sighted these ships but thought that they were neutrals.
11. Neutral ships always had their national flag painted on their
sides and their name in large letters.
12. Remember she had not been told about the possibility of an
invasion of Norway.
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13. Her silhouette
resembled that of Altmark and it was thought she must be a naval
auxiliary in support of the breakout into the Atlantic believed
to be in progress.
14. Trident
did not report this sinking immediately.
15. The Germans thought that the torpedoes had been aimed at Lutzow.
16. The author, of course, realises that there was another alternative
that was to gain air superiority by using a very strong carrier
borne air force as the Americans later did in the Pacific.
17. This was a 90 degree angled shot.
18. Of the other ships, we have already followed the misfortunes
of Karlsruhe and Lutzow. Blucher had been sunk entering Oslo Fjord
by the coastal defences on 9th April. Konigsberg had been bombed
and sunk in Bergen by Fleet Air Arm dive-bombers from the Orkneys
(10th April). Emden was probably still in Oslo but she got back
to Germany safely.
19. The name of this ship cannot be found in German records.
20. The Norwegian submarine B6 was still operating inside the
leads protecting the southern approaches to Andaisnes.
21. She did not actually sink for seven hours.
22. Sterlet
had in fact strayed into the Triad’s area and the Triad got
caught up in the subsequent hunt as well.
23. The list of casualties in the Staff Monograph credits her
with sinking a ship of 4000 tons but does not give its name.
24. Her gyrocompass was out of action.
25. The Germans now had nearly a hundred auxiliary anti-submarine
vessels in commission.
26. L’Indomptable, Le Mallin and Le Triomphant.
27. The Captain and senior surviving officer were court martialled
on their return from Germany in May 1945 and were acquitted.
28. It was thought at this time to be necessary to stop all machinery
when being hunted, to avoid making any noise that could be heard
by the enemy’s hydrophones. The result was sometimes that
control of the submarine was lost temporarily.
29. She too stopped all machinery and lost control diving to well
over 350 feet.
30. Including one Polish and six French submarines.
31. Actually two may have been by anti-submarine vessels or may
have struck mines.
32. Not all by submarines. The figures are for losses from all
causes and for up to mid June
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