On This Day

1941 > WW2

February 12, 1941

Australian troop convoy US.9 departed Fremantle with troopships AQUITANIA (44,786grt), MAURETANIA (35,739grt), NIEUW AMSTERDAM (36,287grt), QUEEN MARY (81,235grt) escorted by HMAS CANBERRA until 20/2/41 off Colombo

February 11, 1941

HMAS STUART, (destroyer), picked up one survivor from the South African trawler SOUTHERN FLOE at night off Tobruk.

February 10, 1941

HMAS SYDNEY arrived in her namesake city, Sydney, to an enthusiastic welcome. The Governor-General, Lord Gowrie, thanked the men on behalf of King George VI, and Sydney’s Lord Mayor unveiled a plaque on the quarterdeck, commemorating the victory over the Italian cruiser BARTOLOMEO COLLEONI. Every man in the crew received a replica of the plaque.

Three sailors from the minesweeper HMAS LISMORE drowned in Jervis Bay. They were returning to the ship in one of the ship’s boats that was swamped in heavy seas. Those who lost their lives were ERA Edward Dunn, AB John Irving, and AB Tom Lee.

February 7, 1941

The Australian Prime Minister, Mr. R. G. Menzies, inspected HMA Ships PERTH, STUART, VAMPIRE, and VOYAGER at Alexandria, Egypt.

February 5, 1941

HMAS SYDNEY arrived in Fremantle from the Mediterranean.

The destroyers HMAS Stuart and HMS Wryneck departed Alexandria for Tobruk where they were to land minesweeping gear. They arrived off Tobruk the next day in a heavy sandstorm but were able to land the minesweeping gear after which they departed for Alexandria.

February 4, 1941

Australian troop convoy US.9 departed Sydney with troopships AQUITANIA (44,786grt), MAURETANIA (35,739grt), NIEUW AMSTERDAM (36,287grt), QUEEN MARY (81,235grt) escorted by HMAS Hobart until 6/2/41

February 3, 1941

The N class destroyer HMAS NESTOR, (CMDR G.S. Stewart, RAN), was commissioned at Fairfield Shipbuilding on the Clyde, Scotland. She was laid down in Fairfield’s in 1939, and launched on 9 July 1940.

HMAS NAPIER, (destroyer), escorted HMS KING GEORGE V, (battleship), from the Faroe Islands to Greenock, Scotland. The British Prime Minister, Mr Winston Churchill, was returning from a diplomatic visit to the USA in the battleship.

January 31, 1941

The auxiliary minesweeper HMAS TERKA was commissioned. TERKA (ex- SIR DUDLEY DE CHAIR), was laid down in the State Dockyard, Newcastle, NSW, in 1925, for Dorman Long & Co, and renamed TERKA in 1928 under the Adelaide Steamship Co ownership. She was requisitioned in December 1940 by the RAN.

January 24, 1941

The Bathurst class minesweeper, (corvette), HMAS LISMORE, (LCDR S. H. Crawford, RANR(S)), was commissioned. LISMORE, was paid off in 1946, and transferred to the Netherlands Navy. She was renamed BATAAN.

January 23, 1941

HMAS NIZAM, (destroyer), sustained underwater damage in a collision with the wreck of HMS ROYAL OAK in Scapa Flow.

January 21, 1941

HMA Ships STUART, VAMPIRE, and VOYAGER, (destroyers), took part in the assault on Tobruk, breaking through the outer defences at dawn.

The Australian Forces Club opened in Alexandria, Egypt. A sailor from HMAS STUART later wrote: “Within a few minutes of reaching the city we were sampling a glass of Australian beer. It was our first Australian liquor for 15 months, and it was thoroughly appreciated.”

January 19, 1941

ADML A. B. Cunningham, RN, (C in C, Mediterranean), reported to the Admiralty that the Inshore Squadron had ferried 35000 Italian POWs to Alexandria in 10 days, as well as supplying 5 tons of stores daily to the advancing Army in Libya. The Inshore Squadron was commanded by CAPT H. M. L. Waller, RAN, and had the “Scrap-Iron Flotilla”, HMA Ships, STUART, VAMPIRE, VENDETTA, VOYAGER, and WATERHEN, (destroyers), operating with it.

January 18, 1941

The Australian armed merchant cruiser, ARAWA sighted searchlight beams and gun flashes from the German raider KORMORAN in the South Atlantic. The raider escaped before ARAWA could close her.

January 16, 1941

HMAS PERTH, (cruiser), suffered damage during an air raid while berthed at Malta. An enemy bomb landed between her and the merchant ship ESSEX, causing underwater and internal damage to PERTH. ESSEX was hit by other bombs and set on fire. Personnel from PERTH were involved in the efforts to extinguish the fire onboard ESSEX.

January 15, 1941

The British Prime Minister, Mr Winston Churchill, Mrs Churchill, Lord and Lady Halifax, and American Special Envoy Harry Hopkins, embarked in HMAS NAPIER for passage from Thurso to Scapa Flow.

January 14, 1941

HMAS Perth, with machinery defects, was berthed at Malta from 14 to 17 January 1941.
The auxiliary minesweeper HMAS TOORIE was commissioned. TOORIE, (ex-SIR ARTHUR DORMAN), was laid down in Dorman Long, Sydney, in 1925. She was renamed in 1928 under Adelaide steamship ownership, and was requisitioned by the RAN in late 1940.

January 13, 1941

HMA Ships STUART and VAMPIRE (destroyers), intercepted the Italian supply schooner SAN DIEGO attempting to enter Tobruk under cover of darkness. The schooner was later sunk by VAMPIRE.

January 12, 1941

HMAS SYDNEY passed through the Suez Canal to return to Australia after duty with the Mediterranean Fleet

January 8, 1941

The N class destroyer HMAS NIZAM, (LCDR M. J. Clark, RAN), was commissioned. NIZAM was laid down in John Brown & Co Ltd, Clydebank, Scotland, on 27 July 1939, and launched on 4 July 1940.

January 7, 1941

HMAS NAPIER, (destroyer), arrived at Reykjavik, Iceland, as escort for a convoy.

January 3, 1941

HMAS VOYAGER, (destroyer), was part of the screen for the battle-fleet which bombarded Italian defences, at Bardia, Libya.

January 2, 1941

HMAS VOYAGER, (destroyer), joined HM Ships DAINTY, (destroyer) and TERROR, (monitor) in a bombardment of Bardia.

January 1, 1941

HMAS VOYAGER, (destroyer), bombarded Sollum, Libya.