DIVE EGYPTS SHIPWRECKS Part 5 - Alexandria to Sollum by Maxshow Limited

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DIVE! EGYPTSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; SHIPWRECKS PART 5 Alexandria to Sollum

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FORWARD by JOHN WOMACK I am John Womack Snr, BSAC First Class Diver, Advanced Instructor & owner of Otter Dry suits in Yorkshire, having dived the Britannic, Prince of Wales, Repulse and the Victoria plus many more over the last 40 years I would not go anywhere in the Red Sea without one of Peter's guide books. I have been on numerous successful trips of Peter's including wreck searching in Truk Lagoon. Peter's new book is awesome, there are so many wrecks and to give detailed descriptions of all the wrecks themselves is great, it makes y ou feel like you have dived them already. I remember doing a night dive on the Thistlegorm which was just fantastic it was pitch black with pin points of light from fellow divers lights.In the south, Peter, Tom and myself went looking for the wreck of the Maidan on Rocky Island, we followed the debris trail down to 65mtrs and there before us was the huge shadow of the wreck hanging over the abyss starting at 80 mtrs. We could only look down in wonder, but we had found what we were looking for after 10 years. Peter's trips are a must and very much like his trips his books are a must read, Peter is a walking encyclopaedia on all things diving and ship wrecks. A lot of great ships were made in the North East and it comes as no surp rise to me that this is where Peter came from too, we have been friends/fellow wreck divers a lot of years and hope to be sharing experiences and books for many more years to come.

John Womack MD Otter Watersports Yorkshire.March 2018 Otter Drysuits, UK This series of guides is respectfully dedicated to this great man. I am proud to have called him friend and shared his last dive. JOHN MICHAEL WOMACK 23 MARCH 1943- 30 TH NOV.2018

CONTENTS 5

www.deeplens.com HMS ZULU. S.S.HIGHBURY DELP HINULA M.VSHEFIF’ M.V. FATIMA M.V.CALYP SO TRADER’,S.S. LADY FRANCES S.S.ELIFINI.F,M.V.ORKANGER,S.S. EL GIZA S.S..PASS OF BALMAHA HMS JAGUAR S.S.SAMOS: S.S.POLARIA MV SVANA SS REGAL,M.V EL IMAN ALY,THE FRENCH WRECK S.S.SAINT CLAIR S.S.CASSIANI, S.S.ABEL KADER M.V. NADIA,S.S STANDISH HALL,S.S.ZAMBESI: S.S.VERIA S.S. VOLO: TB56: S.S. WINDSOR HALL: S.S. VELORE MARSA MATRUH AREA HMS CROMER S.S.CITTA DI AGIGENTO S.S.KIRKLAND H.M. S GAZA U75 U577 S.S SHUNTIEN ADEL LATEEF LOTFI S.S.BERT WILLIAMS,TIBERIO,S.S.STURLA S.S.HAVRE. HMS SALVIA : H.M.S FIONA HMS JACKAL H.M.S HUNTLEY HMS KIPLING HMS LIVELY S.S AYLING H.M.S GURKHA U652 H.M.S.TIBERIO Solum/Libyan border RAMB IV: S.S.CITY OF AMSTERDAM HMS BARHAM H.M.S HERIONE HMS DEFENDER SLAVOL,BAYNESK, HMS TARA U35, EL GIZA, MV EXP RESS, MV PANB V SS TIBERIO HMS WATERHEN S.S. ECOCINE HMS CALCUTTA U49 HMS GROVE HMS HEYTHROP CHARLES TELLER

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S OLLUM S IDI BARINI

U79 HMS FIONA CHAKDINA HMST TARA HMS HEYTHROP HMS WATERHEN ECOCENE HMS GURKA AYLINE U577 HMS GROVE HMS DEFENDER HMS BARHAM SHUKIEN HMS CALCUTTA

MARTUTH BERT WILLIAM HMS HUNTLEY VOLO HMS JAGUAR U75 STURLA HMS KIPLING VISION HMS CROMER

RAS EL HEKNA BUSIRIS ROSALIND REAPWELL CYPRUS TRADER SAMOS PASS OF BALAMA SLAVOL RAMB IV

EL ALAMIEM LANDING CRAFT IMAN ALY

SALVIA

HMS ATTACK ZAMBESI

MUREX

VERIA ORKANGER

CASIANI DELPHINULA ALBARHERIA

KEFALLINIA

ALEXANDRIA

AREA M AP

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INTRODUCTION In the final section of our journey we reach the area of Egypt most effected by World War 2. At its centre El Al AM EIN. After the defeat at Gazala, British forces retreated to El Alamien where a better defence could be made. Axis positions near El Alamein, only 66 mi (106 km) from Alexandria, were dangerously close to the ports and cities of Egypt, the base facilities of the Commonwealth forces and the Suez Canal, and the Axis forces were too far from their base at Tripoli in Libya, to remain at El Alamein indefinitely. The Royal Navy was instrumental in the defence, but also suffered many casualties. The approaches to Alexandria Harbour too meant easy pickings for the U boats, but they too were targets for the Royal Navies sub hunting aircraft and destroyers. So like the previous section, we have a wealth of shipwrecks, in an area which is totally under developed in diving terms and a wealth of discovery potential. There is little or no diving info in this section. Our reliance on the so called diving centres was a disaster, our best discovery was indeed a landing craft in 8 mtrs. One dive could have been snorkelled from the beach-although it was the remains of a Uboat! Perhaps someone will take up the mantle and find a plathora of wrecks along this coastline. The waters are clear and warm, if lacking in corals and marine life. With modern equipment, there must be great potential here. Any one up for the challenge? Go o d luck Pe ter Collings

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H.M.S ZULU.

A tribal class destroyer, built at Glasgow by A. Stevens & Son, launched in 1937. She was initially based in M alta She was 1870 tons 355 ft long, with a 36 ft beam her turbine engines could deliver 44,000shp giving her a sp eed of 36 knots. She was armed with eight 4.7 inch guns, 7 guns smaller and 4 torpedo tubes .She was under the command of captained by Lt. A R M oore

She is best known for her part in the hunt for the German raider Bismark During the attacks on Tubruk, she was damaged by the coastal batteries and then attacked by seven German aircraft. A bomb struck her in her engine room and the ensuing explosion rendered her dead in the water. HM S CROONE took of most of her crew and HM S HURSLEY took her under tow, an emergency crew trying to keep her afloat, when she was struck again by enemy aircraft. She rolled over and sank, taking 39 of her crew and Captain M oore with her.

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S .S .HIGHBURY Built in 1877 on the Ty ne at the Tyne Iron Shipbuilding yard, the 1967 ton , 287 ft long steamship was owned by Watts, Ward &co. Her final voyage was from Newp ort with a cargo of coal and coke and as she reached Alexandria, her final destination she was wrecked near M arabout on Feb 17th 1894.

CLAN MC BRIBE Official No. 144233. Grt 4635 Nrt 2775 384.8 X 52.0 X 26.7 Feet. 11.11.1920 Launched and 12.1920 completed by Lithgows Ltd, Port. Glasgow. (Yard No 728 ) for The Clan Line Steamers Ltd. 27.4.1943 lost after fire and stranding at Alexandria. DELPHINULA Built in 1939, 8120 tons (gbi) JOURNEY FROM Haifa to Alex cargo Benzine 18th may 1943, caught fire after an internal explosion near Alexandria M.VS HEFIF The Cypriot cargo ship Sherif capsized off Alexandria with a cargo of fruit juice on the 29th June 1979 M.V. FATIMA A 387 TON Lebenese dry cargo motor vessel built in 1958, the M V Fatema was on a voyage from Iskenderun to Alexandria with a cargo of lentils when she foundered in heavy weather on the 31st July 1981 M.V.CALYPSO TRADER Built in 1959, the 2880 ton Panamanian motor cargo vessel was on a voyage from Crotone to Basram with a cargo of Sodium Tripoly-phosphate in bags when she sank of Alexandria on the 21st July 1978 at 33.30N 27 40E S .S . LADY FRANCES Built in 1876 by W Gray and Co at M iddlesborough, for Jackson Bros & Cory, she was 246 ft long, 1375 tons and fitted with compound inverted steam engines. Her final voyage to Alexandria with a cargo of coal from the Tyne ended 150miles west on the Ishailah rocks on the 11th September 1885. The crew put to the boats, 8 got ashore,7 drowned and 2 men were rescued days later by a tug

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www.deeplens.com S .S .ELIFINI.F The Greek steamship of 7549 tons ,485 ft long was inbound to Alexandria from Rotterdam when she struck a floating wreck. Her engine room and no. 4 hold flooded and she was beached near the Great Pass leading into the harbour on January 3rd, 1968 During a storm 3 days later she broke in two the stern sinking into deeper water and the fore-section capsizing. M.V.ORKANGER Norwegian motor vessel, 8030 tons, 458 ft x 60 x 34, built 1928 by Ateliers & Chantiers de la Siene M aritime for the Westfal-Larsen Co, she was torpedoed by a U boat off Alexandria on the 12th June 1940, with the loss of 5 crewmen. S .S . EL GIZA An Egytian motor general cargo vessel built in 1963, she was 2030 tons , 78 mtrs long and carrying a cargo of peanuts and cotton. She was 5 miles north of Alexandria when fire broke out, in her engine room sweeping through her holds on Jan 2nd 1977. The crew abandoned ship and the vessel drifted until she finally ran aground at Abu Qir. S .S . PAS S OF BALMAHA The Pass of Balmaha was a steam tanker of 758 tons built at Blythswood Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., Scotstoun Yard No. 33, Glasgow for the Bulk Oil Steamship Co. Ltd., (Cook), London. Launched 24 August 1933, and completed the following September, she was single screwed vessel of 192.2 feet in length and 40.4 feet in beam. On 16 October 1941 the Balmaha departed Alexandria with the Greek steamer Samos and the anti-submarine whaler KOS 19 enroute to M ersa M atruh to rendevouz with the gunboat Gnat and lighters A.13, A.17, and A.18 before proceeding to Tobruk. At 0055 on 17 October 1941, the U-97 (Udo Heilmann) sp otted a small convoy, consisting of the Samos and Balmaha under escort by the British Armed Trawler HMS Cocker (or KOS 19?) about 50 miles west of Alexandria. A first sp read of torpedoes were fired at 0217 and missed the ships. A second sp read of torpedoes were fired at 0325 and hit and sank the Samos. At 0400 a third sp read of torpedoes was fired in which one torpedo hit the Balmaha and disappeared in a flaming inferno, a cloud of smoke and flames was seen rising about 300 meters into the air. The Balmaha sank at p osition 31.14N/28.50E in over 1000 meters of water taking the Master, Stanley Kirby Hardy, 15 crew, and 2 gunners with it (all hands lost).

www.deeplens.com H.M.S . JAGUAR

The HM S Jaguar (F34/G34) was a British Roy al Navy Destroyer of the "J" (or Javelin) Class built by William Denny & Brothers of Dumbarton, Scotland under the 1936 Build Programme. Her keel was laid down on 25 November 1937, launched 22 November 1938, and completed on 12 September 1939 at a total cost (less Admiralty sup plied equipment) of 392,363 GBP. Standard sp ecifications for this class were: 1,692-1,830 Grt, 356 feet in length, 37 feet 9 inches in beam and 9 feet in draught (12 fully loaded), 2 screws at 40,000 shp . Weapons and Armament consisted of: M ain Guns 6 x 4.7 inch (119 mm) in 3 mounts; Generally 4 (some 6) x 4.7 inch (119 mm) or 4 x 4.5 inch (114 mm) Other Guns: 4 x 2 pound (0.91 kg) pom-poms in 1 mount; 8 x 0Âˇ5 inch (13 mm) machine guns in 2 mounts; Varied AA armament (generally 40mm (1.6 inch) and 20mm (0.8 inch), some pom-poms) Torpedo Tubes: 10 x 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes in 2 mounts; 4 to 8 tubes (generally 8 in 2 mounts) Depth Charges: 2 mortars; 1 rack (20 depth charges, + 10 additional during wartime) 2 to 4 mortars (generally 4); 1 (45 depth charges) to 3 racks (120 depth charges) (generally 2, with up to 70 depth charges) M agazine: 1140 Semi-Armour Piercing; 60 High Explosive Direct Action; 300 High Explosive Time Fuse; 50 Star Shell; 195 Practice Low Angle; 69 High Angle Varies. Designed compliment was 183 personnel. However, at the time of her sinking she was carrying 246 personnel onboard. SINKING; On 26 M arch 1942 the HM S Jaguar under the command of LtCdr. Lionel Rupert Kny vet Tyrwhitt (DSO, DSC, RN) was escorting the HM RFA Slavol with Greek Destroyer Queen Olga when the ships came under attack by German submarine U652. The Slavol caught fire after having been hit by a torpedo and, as the HM S Jaguar was rescuing survivors from the RFA, was herself hit by two torpedoes from the U652, sinking immediately in postion 31.53N/26.18E with the loss of 193 lives. 53 survivors were rescued by the HM Whaler KLO (DANF) S .S . S AMOS: The Samos was a steam cargo ship of 921/1,208 Grt. which was originally completed in 1889 as the Oldham by Earle's Shipbuilding & Engineering Co., Ltd., Hull Yard No. 315 for M anchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway Co., Grim. Launched 01 November 1888 and completed January 1889, she had a single screw and a cruising sp eed of 12 knots. Sold to Greece in 1913 and re-named Eleftheria. Re-named Samos in 1929. Owner at time of sinking was D. Inglessi Fils, 13

www.deeplens.com On 17 October 1941 while enroute to Tobruk via M ersa M atruh carrying a cargo of government store. The convoy that the Samos was sailing with (Pass of Balmaha, and either the KOS 19 or HM S Cocker) was sighted at 0055 by the German submarine U97 (Udo Hellmann) about 50 miles west of Alexandria. At 0217 a first sp read of three torpedoes were fired from the U-97 which all missed. A second spread of two torpedoes was fired at 0325 which hit and sank the Samos at position 31.14N/28.50E in over 1000 meters of water. A third spread of two torpedoes was fired at 0400 which sank the Pass of Balmaha (all hands lost) The ships were on their was to rendezvous with the HM S Gnat and lighters A13, A17, and A18 off of M ersa M atruh in support of Serial 4 of the Cultivate program. Twentyfour crew, three gunners, and four British personnel were lost on the Samos. S .S .POLARIA A British cargo ship, built in 1893 by Workman, Clarke & Co, for Houlder Middleton & co, she was 3546 tons, 360 ft long, with a cargo of coal and wagons bound for Alexandria from Cardiff as she approached her destination she was wrecked on Jan 5th, 1918. MV S VANA The S vana was a whaling vessel of 268 Grt. built at Smiths Dock Co., Ltd., (South Bank-on-Tees, UK) Yard No. 934 for the South Georgia Co. Ltd., (Christian Salvesen & Co., Leith, UK). She was launched 30 July 1930 and completed the following month. The ship was requisitioned by the British Admiralty in april 1940 and converted for mine sweeping service during WWII. Assigned to the Royal Naval Patrol Service (Pennant FY 1707) under the command of Lt. John M cDonald Ruttan, DSC RCNVR. Bombed and sunk by Italian aircraft on 08 Ap ril 1942 off of Alexandria.. S .S . REGAL The British cargo ship,2412 tons, 300ft long was built in 1883 by Cambell, M ackintosh & Bowstead for the Conaway Co. Her final voyage was from Antwerp with a general cargo. When she neared her final destination, Alexandria, she foundered just at the bar on the16th Feb 1894 M.V EL IMAN ALY The Egyptian motor tanker El Iman Ali was built in 1928 by Wm Doxford & Son. at Sunderland. She was an 80 mtrs long motor tanker and had an un eventful 35 year career until she ran aground at Ras el Hekma , near Alexandria on January 26th 1983, during heavy seas and strong winds. Her bottom plates torn out the engine room flooded and she was deemed to be a total constructive loss

THE FRENCH WRECK Very little is known about this wreck, it may indeed be recorded elsewhere in this chapter. It is best described as an â&#x20AC;&#x153;armed Rosalie M oller. She is an old cargo ship about 300ft long, severely damaged amidships suggesting a torp edo hit or large bomb. Guns 14

www.deeplens.com are mounted for and aft. She has a raised stern and f’o’csle. She appears to have 4 holds and twin props although these would appear to have been removed. There are two boilers feeding the triple expansion engine With the exception of some machine parts there is little sign of any cargo. Some items indicating French pharmaceuticals “PHARM ACY DU FRANCE”. The crews quarters appear to be towards the stern where there are several heads behind the gun deck. The bridge and engine house have collapsed and are partially submerged in to the sand. The general depth of the wreck is 32 mtrs and she is surrounded by huge shoals of fish. However there are two dangerous aspects of this wreck. She is covered in monofilament line and lies right in the fairway of Alexandria’s west harbour!(One of the few worthwhile wrecks we were taken too on the expedition-and one of the hairiest locations I’ve ever dived! PC) S .S .SAINT CLAIR A French steamship with a cargo of Benzene, caught fire and ran aground on the Mex near Alexandria on the 11th August 1921, inbound from Barcelona. S .S .CASSIANI A 538 ton Egyptian general cargo steamship, was bound for M arsa M atruth when she foundered west of Alexandria on the 6th Feb 1928 S .S .ABDEL KADER A small Egyptian iron hulled vessel of 217tons, built in 1884, the Abdel Kader sank at Alexandria on the 4th M arch 1933.

M.V. NADIA A Panamanian cargo ship built in 1947 of 719tons. Her final voyage from Rotterdam to Alexandria with a cargo of coke ended on 14th M arch 1958, when she struck a submerged object near Alexandria S .S S TANDISH HALL The Standish Hall was a cargo ship of 3,996 Grt. built at William Doxford & Sons Ltd., Sunderland, Yard No. 438 for the Standish Hall Steamship Co., Ltd., (E. Nicholl & Co.), London. She was launched 19 Ap ril 1912 and completed the next month. The ship was 106.6 meters in length, 15.5 meters in beam, single screw with a cruising sp eed of 12 knots. Requisitioned for war service by the British Admiralty and defensively armed. On 04 February 1918, struck without warning by a torpedo fired from German submarine U-33 (Hellmuth von Doemming). The Standish Hall sank approximately 38 miles West-by-North of Alexandria.

S .S .ZAMBES I: The Zambesi was a cargo ship built 22 December 1900 and launched in 1901 by the Bartram Yard (South Dock) for Turner, Brightman & Co., London. A single screw vessel of 3727 tons, 109.8 meters in length and 14 meters in beam, she was contracted to the British Navy and defensively armed for use during WWI. On 01 Ap ril, 1917 she was torpedoed by German submarine U-63 (Otto Schultze) 15 15

www.deeplens.com miles North-by-West of Alexandria at 31.26N/29.49E in over 225 meters of water while carrying a cargo of coal Tyne-Port Said route. S .S . VERIA s. The Veria was a steel hulled steam cargo ship of 3,229 Grt built at Armstrong, Whitworth & Co., Ltd., Newcastle, England for the Cunard Steam Ship co., Ltd., Liverpool. She was launched 15 November 1898 and completed in Ap ril 1899 with a length of 100.8 meters, 13.8 meters in beam, powered by a a triple-expansion steam engine which provided 361 Nhp to a single screw. Cruising sp eed of 10.5 knots. The ship has a single funnel and 2 masts, and was able to carrying 2,150 tons in cargo. The ship was op erated on the Mediterranean route in 1899 as a "Combi-cargo" vessel. In 1914 the ship was hired as a MOWT vessel, defensively armed, and used as a troop transport ship in WWI for the Royal Navy. On 07 December 1915, while steaming in ballast on the Patras-Alexandria route, the Veria was captured by German submarine U-39 (Walter Forstmann) approximately 24 miles Northwest-byWest of Alexandria and was subsequently scuttled at p osition 31.30N/29.28E in approximately 800+ meters of water by the U-boat crew using four bombs attached to the ship's hull. M aster and Chief Engineer were taken prisoner.

S .S . VOLO The S.S. Volo was a cargo ship of 1,587 Grt. built at Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson, Newcastle-upon-Tyne for Ellerman's Wilson Line Ltd., Hull. The ship was launched 15 February 1938 and completed in Ap ril of that same year. She was 86.5 meters in length, 12.3 meters in beam, with a single propeller and a crew compliment of 38 personnel. On 28 December 1941, under the command of M aster George Ronald Whitfield (M BE),the S.S. Volo was sailing from Tobruk to Alexandria in ballast with convoy M E-8 under the escort of HM S Legion and HM S Kipling. The convoy was attacked in the early morning by the German submarine U-75 (Helmuth Ringelmann). The U-75 reported that two ships with 9000 Grt. had been sunk and another ship of the convoy had been damaged. However, on the S.S. Volo had been hit and sunk approximately 45 miles northwest of M ersa M atruh at position 31.45N/26.48E (Grid CO-92) with the loss of the ship's master, 20 crew members, and three gunners. The remaining 9 crew members and five gunners were rescued by the British landing craft HM S LCT-11 and tran sported to Alexandria S .S . WINDS OR HALL: The Windsor Hall was a cargo ship of 3,693 Grt. built at W. Doxford & Sons, Ltd., Sunderland for the Windor Hall Steamship Co. Ltd., (Hansen Brothers, Ltd), Cardiff, London. Launched 21 July 1910 and completed the following August, the ship was 105.2 meters in length, 14.7 meters in beam, with a single screw and a cruising sp eed of 9.5 knots. On 17 January 1918, while on the Karachi-M arseille route with a cargo of barley and grain, the Windsor Hall was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine UB-66 (Fritz Wernicke) 45 miles Northwest of Alexandria with the loss of 27 lives. M aster taken prisoner

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www.deeplens.com TORPEDO BOAT TB56 The TB-56 was a TB-50 Class 2nd Class Torpedo Boat p lanned in 18789 possibly at Yokosuka NYd, Japan. The vessel was 52 Grt, 34 meters in length, 3.5 meters in beam, and 0.9 meters in draught. Steam powered by a single boiler which provided 650 hp output to a single shaft for a maximum sp eed of 20 knots. Armament was a single 42mm gun and two 36-cm torpedo tubes. Crew compliment was 16 men. TB-50 Class 2nd class torpedo boats The TB-46 foundered on 17 M ay 1906 off of Damietta (Dumyat) while in tow by the HM S Arrogant. S .S . VELORE

The Vellore was a steel hulled steam powered cargo ship of 4,926 Grt. built at Russell & Co., Port Glasgow (Yard No. 564) for the Vellore Steam Ship Co., Ltd., (Gow, Harrison & Co.), Glasgow. The ship, which was launched 25 Ap ril 1907, and completed shortly thereafter, was 400 feet in length, 52 feet in beam, 27.3 feet in draught, and was propelled by triple expansion 3-cylinder engines (Rankin & Blackmore, Greenlock) providing an outp ut of 369 nhp to a single propeller. Sister ship to the Brescia. On 25 march 1917, the Vellore was sailing the Tyne-Alexandria route via M alta with a cargo of coal, when she was attacked, torpedoed and sunk by U-63 (Otto Schultze) approximately 20 miles Northwest-by-North of Alexandria and position 3.28N/29.37E in 400-450 meters of water. No casualties reported. .

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MARSA MATRUH AREA After M ajor-General Hendrik Klopper’s surrender at Tobruk, both sides were very much exhausted and much reduced in numbers. Nevertheless on 23 June 1942, lead elements of the Deutsche Afrika Korp s sallied into Egypt. Field M arshal Erwin Rommel’s plan was to strike at the eastern end of the southern escarpment south of the M ersa M atruh p osition, where the 1st British Armored Division and New Zealand Division of Lieutenant-General William Gott’s XIIIth Corps were, to force a gap through which the 15th Panzer, the Italian Trieste and Ariete Divisions could pass, and then completely cut off and encircle M ersa M atruh. M ost of Rommel’s troops were by now using captured British vehicles as their own vehicles were worn out. The Axis forces consisted of the 15th and 21st Panzer and 90th Light Divisions, and the Italian Brescia, Trento, Trieste, Ariete and Littorio Divisions. The Germans only had 44 operational tanks, and Italian forces could only muster fourteen M 14 tanks when they reached M ersa Matruh. To complicate matters further, the three German divisions had no more than 2,500 infantry still on their feet. But the Italian divisions, had 6,000 infantry. Axis troops, had arrived at M ersa M atruh on the afternoon of 26 June; consisting of motorized infantry and artillery units from the Brescia and Trento Divisions. Before dawn on Saturday 27 June, the 90th Light Division made a series of attacks against the 9th Battalion Durham Light Infantry position, about 27 kilometers (seventeen miles) south of M ersa M atruh and captured, after some bitter fighting, some 300 British troops. The New Zealander force was in process of taking up positions 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of M ersa M atruh, when a report was received that a large enemy armored force was approaching M inqar Qaim, where the 2nd New Zealand Division was. The Brescia and Trento Divisions undoubtedly played an important role in the battle, and the M ersa M atruh positions came under heavy artillery fire. The whole of Lieutenant-General William Holmes’ Xth Corps, encircled at M ersa M atruh, could have withdrawn on this day, but it was still hoped that the 1st Armored and New Zealand Divisions would come to their rescue, and it was not until 0430 hours on 28 June that news was received that the XIIIth Corps was in full retreat, and their southern flank was now open. With XIIIth Corps in some disarray, Rommel sent his 21st Panzer Division to pursue the British and overran elements of the 29th Indian Brigade.

H.M.S .CROMER The HM S Cromer was a 672 GRT. Blyth Class (Bangor Class Type II) Minesweeper built at Lobnitz & Co. Ltd., Renfrew, Scotland (Yard No. 1028) for the British Navy. Her keel was laid down on 16 M ay 1940, launched 07 October 1940, and completed 04 Ap ril 1941. The ship was 49.4 meters in length, 8.5 meters in beam, and 2.51 meters in draught. Prop ulsion was provided by 2 Admiralty 3-drum small tube-type boilers, 2 triple-expansion engines (2,400 IHP), and twin screws for a top sp eed of 16 knots.

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Armament consisted of a single QF 12-pdr 3-inch (76.2 mm) gun, one quadruple 0.5 in (12.7 mm) Vickers machine gun, and a single QF 2-pdr gun (M ark VIII). Crew compliment was typically 60 officers and men for this class of ship. The "HMS Cormer (J128)" Up on commissioning the ship, under the command of Lt.Cdr. Arthur Edward Coles (RNR), was assigned minesweeping duties with the 9th M inesweeping Flotilla at Scapa Flow and for East Coast Convoy routes as far as Aberdeen, England. The ship's duties during this period also included clearing the gunnery firing ranges off of Cape Wrath. In 01 July 1941, the HM S Cromer changes commanding officers and, under the command of Cdr. Robert Henry Vivian Sivewright, RN (retired), the ship continued conducting minesweeping operations with the 9th M inesweeping Flotilla in the home waters off of Britain in the English Channel. Sometime prior to October 1941 the Cromer is transferred to the 14th M inesweeping Flotilla. The ship changed commanding officers again on 24 October 1941 with Cdr. Robert Hearfield Stephenson (DSO, RN) replacing CDR. Sivewright. December 1941 finds the Cromer based at Rosy th, England conducting minesweeping operations between the Thames Estuary and Aberdeen until early 1942 when the ship is detached from the Flotilla and directed to proceed to Durban, South Africa, with HM S Cromarty and HM S Poole, arriving in April for service with the Eastern Fleet. On 03 September 1942, the ship participates in Exercise TOUCHDOWN with Force "M " ships in preparation for landings at M ajunga, M adagascar (Op erations STREAM). However, it is not known if the ship participated in the actual taking of M ajunga and Diego Suarez (now Antsiranana, M adagascar). HM S Cromer and HM S Cromarty are recognized as being the "Outstanding ships in the gallant 14th Flotilla" for the clearance of nearly 60 mines in Courrier Bay. In October 1942 the 14th M inesweeping Flotilla is directed to proceed to the M editteranean to join the Inshore squadron and conduct minesweeping duties along the Egyptian and Libyan coasts. On 09 November 1942, the HM S Cromer deployed from Alexandria with HMS Cromarty and HM S Boston to conduct mine clearance operations off of M ersa M atruh. The minesweepers were late joined off of Ras Alam EL-Rum by two additional minesweepers of the South African Navy, the HM SAS Imhoff and HM SAS Treen. The area west of M ersa M atruh had previously been mined on 07 August 1942 by the Italian destroyers Antonio Pigafetta (Capt. Enrico M irti della Valle) and Giovanni da Verazzano (CDR. Carlo Rossi). The Flotilla had swept 46 mines off the coast of M ersa 20

www.deeplens.com M atruh and was nearing the end the day's minesweeping activities when the ship set off a magnetic mine. The resulting explosion killed CDR Stephenson and 44 members of the ships company and immediatley sank the ship. The HM SAS Imhoff was able to rescue a number of survivors (exact number not known). The ship sank at position 31.26N/27/16E in 70-100 meters of water. S .S .CITTA DI AGIGENTO The Citta di Agrigento was an Italian steamship of 2,480 tons. She was sunk during a night raid on 20 July 1942 by British aircraft while moored in the harbour of M arsa M atruh.

In this photo taken in late summer of 1942, the Italian MS-15 lies in the foreground in Marsa Matruh harbor. The sunken Citta di Agrigento lies in the background. S .S .KIRKLAND The Kirkland was a 1,361 Grt. steam cargo ship/freighter built by Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Co., Ltd., Dundee for James Currie & Co., Leith (Leith, Hull & Hamburg S.P. Co., Ltd.). Launched 09 August 1934 and completed the following month. The ship had a length of 79.7 meters and beam of 12.3 meters, with a single screw and a cruising sp eed of 10 knots. On 22 Ap ril 1942, on the Tobruk-Alexandria route in Convoy TA-36 while either in ballast or carrying a load of ammunition, the Kirkland (M aster James Stuart Brown) was hit at 0255 by a sp read of 2 torpedoes fired from German submarine U-565 (Wilhelm Franken) 35 miles east-northeast of Sidi Barrani. A hit was observed on the stern by the submarine, developed a list, and stopped at 0301. A second sp read of two torpedoes was fired by the submarine and a second explosion was heard by the submarine after 4 minutes and 15 seconds, followed by a heavier explosion. Franken reported two ships sunk but only the Kirkland was hit and sunk at position 31.52N/26.37E. The M aster, 15 crew members, and six gunners were rescued by the British Armed Trawler HM S Falk (Lt. H. S. Up perton) and delivered to M ersa M atruh. 1 life lost. Gaza: 21

www.deeplens.com H.M.S . GAZA The Gaza was built as a BYM S-1 Class M otor M inesweeper: Laid down 04 M arch 1942 as BYM S-13 by Associated Shipbuilders, Seattle, Washington, USA; Launched 27 M ay 1942; Completed 29 October 1942 and transferred to the Royal Navy in Great Britain 30 October 1942 and reclassified BYM S-2013; Sold to Egypt in May 1947 and renamed Gaza. Returned to U.S. custody 06 June 1947 and struck from the U.S. Navy inventory on 10 June 1947. Destroyed by fire 26 July 1950 after a fuel tank explosion off of Marsa M atruh. S pecifications: Disp lacement: 270 tons (DWT 320 tons) Lenfgth: 136 feet Beam: 24.6-feet Draught: 8 feet Speed: 15 Knots Construction material: Wood Compliment: 32 Armament: one single 3"/50 gun mount, two 20mm AA guns, and two depth charge racks. Prop ulsion: Two 880 bhp General M otors 8-268A diesel engines, Snow and Knobstedt single reduction gear, and two shafts.

U75

A V11B class submarine built in Bremen by Bremer Vulkan in 1939, launched a year later. She was 66 mtrs long, with a max sp eed of 17 knots surfaced,7.5 submerged, fitted with 5 torpedo tubes, one 88mm gun, one 20mm machine gun.

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Helmuth Ringelmann Born on 2 1 Apr, 1 912 in M unich. C rew 3 1. Korvettenka itĂ¤ n D ied on 2 8 D ec, 1 941, M editerranean.

She was responsible for sinking 7 merchant ships and two warships over 5 missions amounting to 39000 tons between Dec 1940 and M arch 1941. She was the front boat for the 7th and 23rd Flottilles On December 28th, 1941 she was attacked by the destroyer HM S KIPLING near M arsa M atruh. She was sunk by depth charges. 14 crew were killed. There were 30 survivors

U577 Built by Blohm und Voss at Hamburg in 1940, launched 1941.S he was a V11-C class submarine, 67 mtrs long and disp laced 769 ton surfaced and 871 submerged. She had a depth rating of 220mtrs. Armed with 5 torpedoes, one 88mm gun and two 20mm machine guns. She completed three missions between 3rd July 1941 and 15th Jan 1942 with 7th and 29th Flottilles without any kills Herbert Schauenburg Born on 29 M ay, 1912 in Delmenhorst. Crew 31. KorvettenkapitĂ¤n (1 Jan, 1942) Died on 9 Jan, 1942, Mediterranean. Commands; U-20, U-577 On the 15th January 1942 while north west of M ersa M artuh a British Fairley Swordfish from 815/g squadron attacked and sunk her with depth charges, with the loss of all 43 hands

www.deeplens.com S .S S HUNTIEN On December 23rd 1941 the British steamship Shuntien was making for Alexandria , having departed Tobruk, with between 800 and 1000 prisoners of war on board, when she was torpedoed, The captain , 4 officers and the chief steward were all killed. As a result. The survivors were taken on board a navy escort vessel, itself then becoming a victim of the same assailant. Her last known p osition was between Sollum and Marsa M atruth. Built in 1934 at the Taikoo Dock, she was 3059 tons, 303 ft long and registered to the China Nav. Co. ADEL LATEEF LOTFI Built in 1915, a 209 ton general cargo ship on a voyage from Alexandria to M arsa M atruth foundered on 26th October 1936 S .S .BERT WILLIAMS Built in 1944, the Bert Williams was a 717 ton steamship. Her final voyage started at Freemantle bound for Copenhagen. On the 10th Ap ril 1948 she ran aground off Quessir, in the Red Sea. The vessel was then taken in tow bound for Italy, but after clearing the Suez Canal, it was decided to head for Alexandria in an attempt to save the vessel from breaking up. The stern section broke off and later drifted ashore at M arsa M atruth, close to Rommels secret lair. The vessel was systematically salvaged by locals and only her keel plates and part of her engine block remained when we were shown the wreckbilled as a â&#x20AC;&#x153;World War 2 wreck of El AL Amainâ&#x20AC;?. Clear water, no fish life, but good sunlight-worthy only of snorkelling! S .S .TIBERIO A small (237TON) general cargo ship built in 1902 was caught in a storm in December 1941 and foundered off M arsa M atruth on the 23rd. M.V.VIS ION The Admiralty tug Vision was attacked and sunk by gunfire on M ay 11th 1942 off M arsa M atruh. S .S .STURLA Built in 1933,as the ESTRID, by Helsingors, the 1397 ton Danish steamship was seized by the French and re named St.Guilaume. She was then taken over by the Italian Government and re named the STURLA. On July 12th 1942, she was attacked and bombed by British aircraft and finally sunk by a British M TB off M arsa M atruh. She was 1397 tons, 262 ft long and fitted with compound engines. S .S .HAVRE. Built in 1905 at Hartlepool by w. Gray and Co. for the Anglo Saxon Petroleum Co. The Harve was a 2073 ton, 288 ft long steam tanker. While under the command of Captain G C Pearson, she was torpedoed and sunk off M arsa M atruh by a German submarine. 25 of the crew including the captain were killed.

www.deeplens.com H.M.S . S ALVIA (K-97)

The HM S Salvia (K-97) was a Flower Class (sometimes called Gladiolus class) corvette 955 Grt. built at Willam Simons & Co., Renfrewe (Yard No. 731) for the British Royal Navy. Launched 06 August 1940. A British Navy corvette of 926 tons, she was 193 ft long, 925 tons, and her quadruple expansion engine gave her a sp eed of 17 knots. Her main armament was a 4â&#x20AC;?A.A gun and she had a compliment of 85. S pecifications: Disp lacement: 925 long tons (940 t/1,036 ST) Length: 205 feet (62.48 m)o/a Beam: 33 feet (10.06 m) Draught: 11.5 feet (3.51 m) Prop ulsion: (1939-1940 program) single shaft 2 x fire tube Scotch boilers 1 x 4-cycle triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine 2,750 ihp (2,050 kW) 1940-1941 program single shaft 2 x water tube boilers 1 x 4-cycle triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine 2,750 ihp (2,050 kW) Speed: 16 knots (29.6 km/h) Range: 3,500 nautical miles (6,482 km) at 12 knots (22.2 km/h) Complement: 85 S ensors and processing systems: 1 x SW1C or 2C radar 1 x Type 123A or Type 127DV sonar Armament: 1 x 4" BL M k.IX single gun 2 x .50 cal machine gun (twin) 2 x Lewis .303 cal machine gun (twin) 2 x M k.II depth charge throwers 2 x depth charge rails with 40 depth charges originally fitted with minesweeping gear, later removed 25

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LOSS OF THE SALVIA On 23 Dec, 1941, HM S Salvia (LtCdr John Isdale M iller DSO DSC) was escorting the convoy TA-5 (Tobruk to Alexandria) when Shuntien was sunk by U-559 (Heidtmann). The ship carried 850 prisoners of war and the HM S Salvia stayed behind to collect survivors but was not seen again, only oil and wreckage was found by HM S Peony (K 40) about 100 miles west of Alexandria at postion 31.46N/28.00E H.M.S . FIONA The HM S Fiona was originally built as the Juna in 1927 by Swan Hunter WR, Low Walker (Yard No. 1230) for the British India Company. The ship was launched 16 May 1927 and completed on 16 June. She was a Passenger/Cargo vessel of 2190 GRT, 85.3 meters in length, and 13.3 meters in beam, and 6.8 meters in draught, with a cruising sp eed of 11 or 13 knots. Prop ulsion machinery was 2 North-Eastern M arine SE cylindrical boilers (200 PSI) and a single shaft reciprocating VTE, IHP 1,250. Requisitioned by the British Navy 31 August 1939 and redesignated a RVRN Armed Boarding Vessel/Convoy Service Ship in 1940 after being defensively armed at Caledon, Dundee. Defensive weapons were 2x4 (2x1), 1 x 12 pdr AA, and 4x .303 AA guns. Attacked by possibly 7 German dive bombers on 18 april 1941 approximately 50 miles northwest of Sidi Barrani.

H.M.S . JACKAL A J class destroyer, built at Clydebank by John Brown shipbuilding and Engineering, launched in 1938. She was 1690 tons, 348 ft long with a 35 ft beam, her turbines could deliver 40,000 shp , making 36 knots. Her armament included six 4.7 inch guns , 6 smaller and 10 torpedo tubes On M ay 11th 1942, along with Lively and Kipling she was attacked by Junkers Ju 88 bombers. She was severely damaged and sunk the next day of M ARSA M ATRUH. All remaining crew were safely rescued , 9 ratings having died in the attack

www.deeplens.com H.M.S . HUNTLEY HM S Huntley (J-56) was originally laid down as the 710 GRT Hunt class minsweeper Helmsdale at Joseph T. Eltringham Ltd., Willington, U.K. (Yard No. 339) for the British Royal Navy under the Emergency War Program. The 87 Hunt Class ships ordered were constructed in two groups, the Belvoir group designed by Ailsa Shipbuilding Company, and the Aberdare group after design changes were made by the British Admiralty . The Huntley was constructed under the Aberdare group. The ship was renamed the Huntley prior to commissioning as a result of some confusion between ships concerning orders and signals. The Belvoir ships were originally named after fox hunts and the Aberdare ships being named after coastal towns. Coincidentally, some of the fox hunts and coastal towns had the same, or similiar names. As a result, all ships of this class were renamed after inland towns.

Launched 18 January 1919 and commissioned on 22 M ay 1919, the ship had a length of 70 meters, beam of 8.7 meters, and draught of 2.4 meters. Prop ulsion was p rovided by Yarrow coal-fired boilers and 2 vertical triple-expansion engines (2200 I.H.P) coupled to twin screws for a maximum sp eed of 16 knots. The ship would typically carry 185 tons of coal onboard for the boilers, which usually being of lower grade crushed coal, burned poorly with gave off excessive exhaust smoke. This resulted in the ship class being nick-named "Smokey Joes".

Armament of the class varied somewhat from ship-to-ship but was typically a single 4inch AA gun, a single 2-3 pounder, 6 pounder, or 12 pounder AA gun (the majority had 6-pounders), and two twin-mount .303 caliber machine guns (Probably Vickers). Crew compliment was typically 73-74 officers and crew. The ship was not launched in time to see service during WWI. However, she was deployed to M alta sometime prior to 1925 where she sp ent p art of the interwar years until sometime after 1935, when the ship was transferred to "Straits Settlement Royal Naval Volounteer Reserve" (SSRNVR) unit in Singapore and laid up with other M ineweepers of the 2nd M inesweeping Flotilla (Aberdare, Abingdon, Bagshot, Derby, Fareham, Harrow, Stoke, and Widnes). At the outbreak of WWII, she was recommissioned on 24 September 1939 under the command of Lt.CDR Harold Robert Austin King (RNR). After completion of outfitting, the Huntley departed Singapore in February 1940 for Aden (East Indies Station) where the ship served as part of the Aden Force until 19 October 1940 when she, and the minesweeper HM S Derby, joined the 32 ship as escort for Convoy BS.7 during transit through the Red Sea. On 23 October the Huntley and Derby broke off from the Convoy and steamed independently to Suez. After transitting the Suez Canal, the ship arrived at Alexandria during the second week of November. In January 1941, command of the ship was turned over to Lt.CDR Ernest Sprent Cotsell (RNR). In the same month, in addition to minesweeping duties, carried stores and personnel between Egypt and Tobruk, M ersa M atruh and Bardia to sup port local garrisons there. On 29 January the Huntley relieved the HM S Stoke off of Tobruk after that ship had suffered an equipment casualty and lost her sweep gear. 27

www.deeplens.com On 31 January 1941 the ship was enroute from M ersa Matruh to Derna when it was attacked by German HE-111's and JU-88's from KG.26. The ship is reported to have been sunk 30 miles west of M ersa M atruh The ship sank taking 12 crew with her with an additional 5 listed and missing presumed killed (M PK). Lt.CDR Cotsell initially survived the attack but died on 02 February from his wounds H.M.S . KIPLING

A K class British destroyer, built at Scottstown by Yarrow Shipbuilders ltd, launched in 1939. She was 1690 tons, 348 ft long with a 35 ft beam. Her tubines delivered 40,000 shp making 36 knots. Her armament consisted of six 4.7 inch guns, 6 smaller and ten torpedo tubes.

Under the captaincy of Cdr St Ford d.s.o, she was involved in the assault on Cherburg harbour in October 140 along with HM S KASHM IR, JAGUAR and BROKE, and the battleship HM S REVENGE. On 28 December, 1941 she sank the German submarine U-75 was sunk near M ersa M atruh, in position 31.50N, 26.40E, by depth charges under the command of Sir A. St Clair-Ford, RNOn M ay 11 1942 while patrolling of the Egyptian coast, with JERVIS, LIVELY and JACKAL she was attacked and sunk by Junkers Ju 88 bombers, severely damaged she sank of Marsa M atruth, with the loss of 2 officers and 23 ratings

www.deeplens.com HM S LIVELY Built at Cammel Laird, Birkrnhead, launched in 1941,she was an L-Class destroyer of 190 tons. She was362 ft long,36 ft beam draught 10ft.She could attain 36 knots though he twin geared steam turbines , had a range of 5500nm and a compliment of 221 Armament: 8 x QF 4-inch (101.6 mm) M k.XVI guns, twin mount HA/LA M k.XIX 4 Ă&#x2014; QF 2 pdr M k.VIII L/39 (40 mm), quad mount M k.VII 8 Ă&#x2014; QF 0.5 in Mk.III Vickers (12.7 mm), quad mounts M k.III 8 (2x4) tubes for 21 in torpedoes M k.I She was allocated to join the 22nd Destroyer Flotilla in Alexandria on the 24th of February 1942 and sailed for Tobruk, arriving on the 27th.to sup port the beleagured garrison she left Tobruk the next day and got back to Alexandria on the 2nd of M arch. On M arch 10th 1942 HM S Lively sailed from Alexandria as part of the escort of a cruiser force commanded by Admiral Vian in the Dido Class anti-aircraft cruiser HM S Naiad, to attack an Italian cruiser reported to be damaged, the force consisted of 3 cruisers, the flagship, HMS Dido and HM S Euryalus, (Also Dido Class ships)with and escort of 8 destroyers including HM S Lively, the others being the Javelin class HM S Kipling, HM S Kelvin, HM S Sikh, HM S Zulu, which were both Tribal class, and the H class destroyers HM S Hasty, HMS Havock and HM S Hero, the force was later joined by the Dido class anti-aircraft cruiser HMS Cleopatra and the Javelin class destroyer HM S Kingston from Malta. The report of the damaged cruiser proved to be incorrect however and the task force turned back for Alexandria, repelling several air attacks from German bombers and Italian torpedo planes. On the 11th of M arch however the Flagship was hit by a torp edo from the German U boat U565 and sank North of M ersa M atruh at 32.00N 26.19E, 82 members of the crew of were lost in the attack, and 582 survivors were picked up by HM S Lively, HM S Kipling and HM S Jervis. They returned to Alexandria, arriving on the 12th HM S Lively sailed from Alexandria in company with the destroyers Sikh, Zulu and Havock on the 14th, escorting the cruisers Euryalus and Dido. The next day this force bombarded Rhodes then returned to Alexandria on the 16th By this stage, the pace of the war in the M editerranean was increasing as the axis powers attempted to stop the British resupplying their forces in North Africa. The Island of M alta, from which the Royal Navy was attacking the Italian and German convoys, was coming under an increasing number of air raids, which resulted in a shortage of ammunition and aircraft fuel. A convoy, M W10, to resupply the island was organised from Alexandria, aware that an attempt to sup ply Malta would be attacked by both the German and Italian air forces and could also be attacked by Italian surface forces, although this threat was considered to be less than that from the air. 29

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.She was torpedoed and sunk by U565 north of Sidi Barrani with the loss of2 officers and 75 ratings on M arch 11th 1942 While under the command of Lt Cmdr G.GL FARNFIELD S .S AYLING The 2626 ton Chinese steamship was torpedoed and sunk on march 18th 1943 between the Libyan border and Alexandria, by U boat with the loss of seven crew and two gunners. She was 310 ft long, fitted with turbine engines

H.M.S GURKHA Built at Birkenhead as the HM S LARNE, by Cammell Laird in 1939,she was 1920 ton, 354 ft long with a 37 foot beam, her tubines delivering 48,000shp making a top sp eed of 36.5 knots. Her armament consisted of six 4.7 inch guns, one 4 inch A.A and 4 torpedo tubes. She became HM S GURKA when the trible class HM S GURKHA was sunk in april 1940 off Bergen. On Sept 29th 1941, under the command of Cdr Lentaigne, she attacked the Italian submarine Diaspro, in a co-ordinated attack with the Dutch destroyer HNM S ISAAC SWEERS. Next day she joined forces with her sister ship HM S LEGION and successfully sunk the Italian submarine Adua. On jan th 1942, while off Sidi Barrani, she was torpedoed by U-133, her fuel tanks erupting causing the ship to blaze along her length. M ost of the crew were rescued by the Isaac Sweers, five officers and four rating were killed

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www.deeplens.com U652 V11C CLASS German submarine built at Hamburg by Howaldtswerke, launched in 1941.This class of U boat was 67 mtrs long, displaced 769 tons surfaced and 871 tons submerged. She had 5 torpedo launchers, one 88mm gun and 2 20mm machine guns. Her maximum rated depth was 220 mtrs.

She sank 21000tons of shipping over 8 missions, including the HM S HEYTHORP, before she was attacked by depth charges from a Fairley Swordfish.The crew were rescued by U81 and she was scuttled at 31 55 N 25 11E

On 4 September 1941, the American destroyer USS Greer had been signaled by a British bomber, that a German submarine was hiding in the vicinity. Greer found sound contact, and pursuedU-652 from close range. The aircraft dropped 4 depth charges, and left the scene, leaving the two fighting ships. Soon after the Uboat fired a torpedo at the US warship, s believing she ha attacked. After this USS Greer went into attack, and a 2 hour battle followed, during which she dropped 19 depth charges, and the U-boat fired another torpedo, without results

Georg-Werner Fraatz Born on 30 M ar, 1917 in Hamelin. Crew 35. KorvettenkapitĂ¤n (1 M ar, 1943) Died on 15 Feb, 1943, North Atlantic. Commands: U-652, U-529

H.M.S .TIBERIO The Tiberio was a schooner of 237 tons built in 1902 and was utilized by the Italian Navy during WWII. On the evening of 31 December 1940 the Italian ships M aria Giovanna and Tiberio departed from Porto Bardia on coastal patrol sailing towards Tobruk. The ships were attacked and captured by the HM Destroyer Dainty and 3 other ships off Bardia after a brief gunfight. Both vessels were taken to Alexandria and commissioned as auxiliary ships (store carriers) in the British Roy al Navy, but retaining their original names. On 23 December 1941 the HM S Tiberio foundered and capsized in heavy weather off of M ersa M atruh. One casualty reported.

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Solum/Libyan border CITY OF AMSTERDAM Built by Richardson, Duck & Co. Ltd., Thornaby (Stockton-On-Tees) in 1877 she was a steamship of 884 tons gross, fitted with a 2 cylinder compound engine, 213ft long .She was wrecked 16th M arch 1913, 100 miles west of Alexandria on passage Alexandria for Sollum with rice.

H.M.S . WATERHEN Built by Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Co at Jarrow in 1917, launched a year later. She was 1090 tons, 312 ft long, with a 30 ft beam. Her turbines delivered 27,000 shp making a top sp eed of 34 knots. Her armament consisted of four 4 inch guns, one 2 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; pounder six 21 inch torpedoe tubes, triple mounted

Waterhen was paid off into reserve on 9 October 1934 but recommissioned on 14 April 1936. She w as decommissioned again on 1 June 1938, and returned to service between 29 September and 10 November 1938 On 14 November, Waterhen sailed to Singapore, then after rendezvousing w ith the rest of the Australian Destroyer Flotilla (referred to as the "Scrap Iron Flotilla" by German propagandists), headed for the Mediterranean. While en route, Waterhen detached to participate in the [

unsuccessful hunt for the German w arship Admiral Graf Spee During the early part of her Mediterranean deployment, Waterhen was involved in convoy escort and anti-submarine patrols, but these w ere mostly uneventful until Italy entered the w ar in August 1940. On 17 August, the destroyer performed shore bombardments of the Libyan coast. On 21 August, they did the same at Bardia. In October,Waterhen escorted supply ships to Crete, w here a forward base was being set up to assist in the Allied reinforcement of Greece. On 25 December, the ship captured the Italian supply ship Tereremo Diritto. On 30 December, Waterhen unintentionally rammed and sank the anti-submarine traw ler HMS Bandalero, and w as f orced to dock for repairs. In April, Waterhen became

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involved in Allied evacuations fromGreece and Crete. After this, she w as assigned to the Tobruk Ferry Service; supply runs to the Allied force besieged at Tobruk.[ On 29 June, Waterhen and HMS Defender w ere making the run to Tobruk when they were attacked off Sollum by 19 Axis Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers (tw elve German and seven Italian).] The attack heavily damaged the Australian destroyer (although the only casualty w as a w ound from a flying can of bully beef); Waterhen was hit in the stern by a single 500 kg (1,100 lb) bomb dropped by the Ju 87 piloted by MarescialloEnnio Tarantola (239th Dive Bombing Squadron, Regia Aeronautica), which caused the immediate flooding of the engine and boiler rooms. Defender took Waterhen in tow , but at 13:50 on 30 June 1941, the destroyer rolled over and sank. She w as the first ship of the Royal Australian Navy to be lost by enemy action in World War II

HM S BARHAM

A Queen Elizabeth class Battleship, sister-ship to the Valiant and Queen Elizabeth, She was built on Clydebank by John Brown Shipbuilding and Engineering Co Ltd during 1913 and launched in 1914.She was 640 ft long, 104ft in the beam , had a displacement of 31,000 tons and a compliment of 1184 She was rebuilt during 1930/1933 emerging with a single smokestack, enhanced protection against long-range gunfire, bombs and torpedoes, an improved anti-aircraft gun aircraft battery and an aircraft catapult. A High Angle Director Control Tower wasfitted to the foremast and the pole mainmast was replaced with a tripod mast to sup port a second HA DCT. Her fire power was also increased with two 8-barrelled 2 pdr pom pom mounts, one on either side of the the funnel, eight 0.5" (2x4) machine guns (aft of the forward conning tower. During the war sixteen 2 pdr pom pom guns (2x8) replaced the eight 0.5" (2x4) machine guns (aft of the forward conning tower), twelve 0.5" machine guns (3x4) were added, 2 mounts on B turret and 1 mount on X turret.

www.deeplens.com THE LOS S OF HMS BARHAM

In 1914 the Battleship Barham, Capt. G.C. Cooke, was the flagship of Vice-Admiral H.O. Pridham-Whippell, commanding the Eastern M editerranean. On Novermber 25th, 1941, at about 4:25pm, the battle-squadron consisting of Barham, Queen Elisabeth and Valiant was carrying out exercises off the Egyptian coast. The force had left Alexandria to cover an air-operation against an Italian convoy. The vessels were in the act of altering course together, the sp eed being 17 knots, when a submarine U331managed to penetrate the destoyer screen and press home her attack. The U-331was sighted from Valiant at a distance of 700 yards. She fired three torpedoes at Barham, all of which appeared to strike. The battleship rolled over on her side and sank in five minutes, her magazines causing an enormous explosion as she went down.

Only about 300 were saved, including the Admiral. Those lost numbered 56 officers, incl. The Captain, 658 ratings and 134 mariners, a total of 848. M any men had scrambled on the upturned hull as she Â´turned turtleÂ´. The Valiant made an unsuccessful attempt to ram the submarine.

H.M.S . HERIONE HMS Hermione was a Dido-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy, She was built by Alexander Stephen and Sons, (Glasgow, Scotland), with t he keel laid down on 6 Oct ober 1937. She was launched on 18 May 1939 and commissioned 25 March 1941. She was 5450 ton, 506 long, with

a 51 ft beam. Her turbines could deliver 62,000shp making a sp eed of 33 knots. She was armed with ten 5.25 inch guns, 16 smaller guns and 6 torpedo tubes. She had a compliment of 450 16 June 1942, Hermione was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-205 in the Mediterranean. Eight y-seven crew members perished.

www.deeplens.com H.M.S . DEFENDER

HMS Defender was a Dclass destroyer built for the Royal Navy in the early 1930s built at Barrow In

Furness by Vickers Armstrongs in 1932. She was 1375 ton, 326 ft long fitted with turbine engines and 3 drum boilers, delivering some 36000shp giving her a sp eed of 35 knots. Her armament included four 4.7inch guns, 7 smaller and 8 T.T. guns. The ship was initially assigned to the M editerranean Fleet before she was transferred to the China Station in early 1935. She was temporarily deployed in the Red Sea during late 1935 during the Aby ssinia Crisis, before returning to her assigned station where she remained until mid1939. Defender was transferred back to the M editerranean Fleet just before World War II began in September 1939. She briefly was assigned to West Africa for convoy escort duties in 1940 before returning to the M editerranean. The ship participated in the Battles of Calabria, Cape Spartivento, and Cape M atapan over the next year without damage. Defender assisted in the evacuations from Greece and Crete. On 7 January 1941, Defender escorted Convoy M W.5 with her sister Diamond and the anti-aircraft cruiser Calcutta from Alexandria to M alta during Op eration Excess. The ship was refitted in M alta from 4 February to 19 M arch and participated in the Battle of Cape M atapan on 27â&#x20AC;&#x201C;29 M arch. During Op eration Demon, the evacuation of Allied troops from Greece, she escorted Convoy GA15 on 29â&#x20AC;&#x201C;30 Ap ril from Souda Bay, Crete, to Alexandria. An Italian destroyer and two torpedo boats attacked the convoy at night as it was transiting Kaso Strait east of Crete, but were rebuffed by the defenders without inflicting any damage. The following month Defender assisted in the evacuation of troops from Crete to Egypt after the Germans invaded on 22 May (Op eration M erkur). On 10 June, Defender, and the other three ships of the 10th Destroyer Flotilla, arrived off the Lebanese coast to reinforce Royal Navy forces sup porting Op eration Exporter, the invasion of Vichy French-controlled Syria and Lebanon, but the ship was not engaged during her time off Lebanon and Syria. Later that month, she began escorting convoys to and from Tobruk and on 29 June the Australian destroyer Waterhen was badly damaged by Italian Junkers Ju 87 "Stuka" dive bombers off Tobruk. Defender took Waterhen in tow, but the next day she capsized and sank. On 11 July 1941, Defender was returning from Tobruk in company with the Australian destroyer Vendetta.They were attacked by a singleJunkers Ju 88 bomber of I./Lehrgeschwader 1 piloted by Gerhard Stamp on a reconnaissance flight along the coast before dawn. The bomber scored a near-miss on Defender which detonated under 36

www.deeplens.com the ship, just forward of the engine room. The shock broke the ship's back and flooded the engine room, although there were no casualties among her crew or passengers. Vendetta took Defender in tow, leaving a skeleton crew aboard the damaged ship, but she started to break up and Vendetta was forced to scuttle her with a torpedo and gunfire off Sidi Barrani about five hours later.

www.deeplens.com S .S .SLAVOL The 320 ft, 2623 ton British tanker, was on Admiralty service carrying fuel oil to Tobruk , having left Alexandria .On march 26th 1942, she was sunk by enemy action at Sollum, near the Libyan border. 40 of her 56 compliment were lost. She was built in 1917 in Scotland at the Greenock and Grangemouth Dockyard. Fitted with triple expansion engines delivering 541 nhp. S .S . BAYNES K Launched 01 January 1906 and completed in February 1906 as the Glenesk. Built by Doxford at Pallion Yard No. 352 as a turret style cargo ship of 3,286 GRT for the Glenesk Steamship Co., Ltd. (M ilburn, Lund), Whitby. Sunk on 09 January, 1917 by torpedo attack by German submarine U39 (Walter Forstmann) approximately 130 miles North by West from Alexandria with 7 lives lost

H.M.S . TARA The HM S Tara originally built as the 1,862 GRT steel-hulled steam passenger ship S.S. Hibernia. Built at William Denny & Bros., Ltd. (Yard No. 618), Dumbarton, Scotland for the London & North Western Railway Co., Dublin, Ireland, the ship was launched 10 October 1899 and completed on 12 January 1900 with a length of 100.3 meters and beam of 11.9 meters. Prop ulsion was provided by two triple-expansion steam engines and two shafts and propellers for a speed of 21 knots. The S.S. Hibernia was ordered and built to replace older ships of the London & North Western Railway line on the Irish Sea Passage express route between Holyhead, Scotland and North Wall Dublin, Ireland. Up on her completion, the Hibernia immediately replaced the older ship S.S. Lily (built 1880) where she provided service on this passage, and later on the Holyhead-Kingston (later known as Dun Laoghaire) service for the better part of the following 15 years. S.S. Hibernia at Holyhead Soon after the outbreak of the First World War, the Hibernia was requisitioned by the British Admiralty on 08 August 1914 for use as an Armed Boarding Steamer and was recommissioned as the HM S Tara along with 3 other ships of the L&NWR Line and defensively armed with three 6-pounder guns. (For those that don't know, "Tara" is Ireland's previous name.) S.S. Hibernia colorized postcard of the photo above. For the first year of the war, Tara patrolled the waters off of Ireland and Scotland until being deployed in late October 1915 to the Mediterranean where she patrolled along the Egyptian and Libyan coasts. 38

www.deeplens.com On 05 November 1915 the HM S Tara, under the command of Captain R. S. Gwatkin Williams, was sailing off the coast of Sollum with a crew of 104 men, most of the men being from Anglesy , Wales. The ship was steaming along at 7 and a half knots when, just after 1000 the lookouts on deck and aloft in the crow's nest, screamed that a torp edo was inbound. The ship attempted to avoid the torpedo, but due to the slow sp eed at which she was moving, the helm didn't answer in time. At 1010 in the morning the ship was struck on the starboard side amidships by a torpedo launched by German submarine U-35 (Waldemar Kop hamel), which surfaced after the explosion. The ship's crew were able to man the 6-pounder guns and 9 rounds were fired at the submarine, all of which missed. When the torp edo exploded it immediately ruptured the ship's hull, flooding the engine room and killing the 6 personnel in the space, as well as 3 crewmembers who were in the cabins located above the engine room. One of the ship's 4 lifeboats was also lost in the explosion, with the remaining lifeboats being able to be lowered over the side where 93 of the 104 man crew were able to abandon ship. The Tara took approximately 7-8 minutes to sink by the stern approximately 8-miles off Sollum. M eanwhile, the U-35 had surfaced and approached the men in the lifeboats flying the German flag. U-35 moved through the wreckage of the Tara's sinking with its gun trained on the lifeboats without attempting to rescue any men in the water, leaving that to the ship's crew. German Submarine "U-35" (date unknown) The U-35's commanding officer, KorvettenkapitĂ¤n Waldemar Kop hamel, ordered the Tara's lifeboats to be taken in tow and for some of the ship's crew to onto the submarine's deck to lighten the overcrowded lifeboats. The U-35 then towed the lifeboats and crew to Port Soliman (Bardia) approximately 8-miles away, picking up the body of a cook along the way. Prior to entering the port channel, the U-35 lowered the German flag and replaced it with the Turkish flag. Up on arrival at the port, the crew of the Tara was then turned over to Turkish authorities. And this is where the real saga of the crew of the HM S Tara begins...... The ship's crew buried the body of the cook and were given some food, water, and clothing by the U-35's crew before being turned over to the Turkish authorities. The Turkish authorities turned to prisoners over to members of the local Senoussi tribe junder the command of a Turkish Officer, Nouri Basha, and were made to march into the Libyan Desert over the next few days, sleeping in the open desert and given very little food. They eventually joined other Senoussi prisoners, survivors of the sinking of the S.S. M oorina (sunk off of Crete 05 November 1915) during these first few weeks. The Tara's crew would sp end 135 days in captivity near Bir Hakkim, Libya, with four men dying during this time. They would eventually be rescued in a daring operation on 21 M arch 1916 in which the Duke of Westminster, leading a force of men from the Yorkshire Yeomanry, with 9 Rolls Royce armoured cars, 10 ambulances, and 20-plus other vehicles, raced across 120-miles of desert, avoiding the Senoussi tribesman, and rescued the the captive survivors of the HM S Tara and S.S. M oorina without suffering any casualties during the rescue. Survivors of the "HMS Tara" The rescued men were suffering from dysentery, hunger, dehydration, lice investation, and various other ailments, were considered to be in reasonably good health considering their situation. They were then transferred to the British hosp ital in Alexandria where they remained until they were fully recovered from their ordeal. 39

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EL ABAS S : El Abbas was 298 GRT gunboat of the Egyptian Coast Guard during WWI. Based out of Sollum, the ship was attacked and sunk on 05 November 1915 by the German UBoat U-35 (Waldemar Kop hamel). Another Egyptian gunboat was also damaged in the attack, the Nour el-Bahr, but survived the attack. Some sources state that the ship was sunk off of Sollum, while others state that the ship was sunk while anchored. U35 The U-35 (a Type U-31 U-Boat) was considered one of the most successful U-Boats of WWI with 236 ships to its credit. Previously on the same day, the U-35 had attacked and sank the HM S Tara and towed the lifeboats and survivors ashore at Bardia. M.V EL GIZA A 7197 TON, 441 FT long general cargo vessel, owned by The Egyptian Navigation Co, The M V El Giza was bound from Alexandria to Italy with a cargo of peanuts. Five miles out she caught fire and was abandoned, blazing and partly submerged she drifted for over a month until she ran aground to the east of Boghas Pass near AL

M.V. EXPRES S 11 On a journey from Libyia to Beirut, the 976 ton ,224 ft Cypriot motor vessel, used for transporting live stock, ran aground â&#x20AC;&#x153;45 miles west of Alexandriaâ&#x20AC;? on January 17th, 1974 in heavy weather returning in ballast. She was owned by the Cattle Sea Transport Co, and was built in 1953. M.V. RAMB IV: She was laid 14 January 1937, launched 7 June 1937, and completed 27 October 1937. She was 3,676 Grt, diesel powered, 116.8 meters in length, 15.2 meters in beam, with twin screws and a cruising sp eed of 17-18.5 knotsThe Ramb IV was originally built as a cargo ship at M onfalcone by the Re-United Yards of the Adriatic (Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico, CRDA) as a banana boat for Regia Azienda Monopolio Banane (Govt), Genoa in 1937 for transporting refrigerated bananas from Samaliland and Eritrea in Italian East Africa.. The Ramb IV was converted into a hospital ship for service during WWII by the Italian Royal Navy's Red Sea Flotilla at the Eritrean port of M assawa, and and she was re-named Aquileia. The ship was to be used for transporting Italian wounded from the Port of M assawa back to Italy. However, this proved to be not possible due to British control of the Suez Canal. When the Port of M assawa fell on 10

www.deeplens.com Ap ril 1941, the British captured the ship off of Aden and pressed it into service where she operated in the Red Sea and later in Libya. On 10 M ay 1942, while enroute Tobruk to Alexandria, the Ramb IV was attacked and bombed by German JU-88 aircraft and damaged. Fire resulting from the bombing broke out onboard the ship and she had to be abandoned. One source records that the HMS Kipling was disp atched to assist the ship and placed a fire fighting party on board the ship to assist ship's crew combat the fire. Never-the-less, the ship was abandoned and was later sunk by British Royal Navy ships at position 31.17N/29.23E in approximately 400 meters of water off the coast of what is now Sidi Krier. The ship was carrying 360 staff and wounded patients when attacked. 155 wounded men and 10 crew were lost. S .S . TIBERIO The Tiberio was a schooner of 237 tons built in 1902 and was utilized by the Italian Navy during WWII. On the evening of 31 December 1940 the Italian ships M aria Giovanna and Tiberio departed from Porto Bardia on coastal patrol sailing towards Tobruk. The ships were attacked and captured by the HM Destroyer Dainty and 3 other ships off Bardia after a brief gunfight. Both vessels were taken to Alexandria and commissioned as auxiliary ships (store carriers) in the British Roy al Navy, but retaining their original names. On 23 December 1941 the HM S Tiberio foundered and capsized in heavy weather off of M ersa M atruh. One casualty reported S .S .SLAVOL The Slavol was built as a 2,623 Grt. Fleet Oiler for the British Admiralty (Royal Fleet Auxiliary) by Greencock & Grangemouth Dockyard Co., Ltd., Greencock. The ship was launched 21 Ap ril 1917 and completed 01 November 1917. She was 320.1 feet in length, 41.6 feet in beam, and 21 feet in draught. Steam triple expansion engines, single screw with a cruising sp eed of 14 knots. On 26 M arch 1942 the Slavol was entoute from Alexandria to Tobruk with a cargo of fuel oil under the escort of the HM S Jaguar and the Greek Destroyer Queen Olga. There are conflicting reports of her sinking; First (From the sinking of the HMS Jaguar: During escort of HM RFA SLAVOK with Greek destroyer QUEEN OLGA came under attack by U652 .Whilst rescuing survivors from RFA which had been set on fire aft being torpedoed by U652 was herself hit by two torpedoes from same submarine in position north east of Sollum (31.53N 26.18N.)Sank immediately with only 53 survivors who were rescued by HM Whaler KLO (SANF). 193 of ship's company lost their lives. AND.....,At 02.27 hours on 26 M ar, 1942, HM S Jaguar (F 34) (LtCdr L.R.K. Tyrwhitt, DSO, DSC, RN) was attacked by U-652 with a spread of four torpedoes northest of Sollum. Two of the torp edoes struck in the bow, the ship caught fire and sank in a short time. Three officers and 190 ratings were lost. Eight officers and 45 ratings were picked up by HM S Klo and taken to Tobruk. The destroyer had been part of the escort for the tanker Slavol, which was sunk some hours later by U-205 (Reschke). Second:At 05.10 hours on 26 M ar, 1942, the escorted Slavol (M aster George Sydney 41

www.deeplens.com Perry) was hit by one stern torpedo from U-205 and sank within five minutes off Sidi Barrani, Egypt at location 32.01N/25.55E. The ship had been missed by a sp read of four bow torpedoes three minutes earlier. 36 crew members were lost. The master and 19 crew members were picked up by RHS Vasillisa Olga (D 15) and landed at Alexandria. The fleet oiler was enroute to Tobruk to bring fuel for the 5th Flotilla.

HMS WATERHEN

Built by Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Co at Jarrow in 1917, launched a year later. She was 1090 tons, 312 ft long, with a 30 ft beam. Her turbines delivered 27,000 shp making a top sp eed of 34 knots. Her armament consisted of four 4 inch guns, one 2 –pounder six 21 inch torpedoe tubes, triple mounted. She was leased by the Royal Australian Navy in 1933, joining the “Scrap Iron Flotilla”- Vampire, Vendetta, and Voyager, .and based in Alexandria. Commanded by Lt. Cdr. J.H. Swain r.a.n.. She had a compliment of 134.

Waterhen arrived in M alta on 14 December 1939. From 2 January 1940 the Flotilla formed the 19th Destroyer Division for service with the M editerranean Fleet.On 27 M ay 1940 the 19th Destroyer Division and the 20th Destroyer Division ( Dainty, Decoy, Defender and Ddaimond) combined forces to form the 10th For more than a year the ‘Scrap Iron Flotilla’ took part in the struggle for possession of the ancient sea route linking east and west. WATERHEN was almost constantly at sea, either operating with the fleet or on escort and patrol duties. On 17 August 1940 Waterhen was one of the destroyers screening the British battleships Warsp ite, M alaya and Ramilies and the cruiser Kent ,when they bombarded Italian troop concentrations in Libya at Capuzzo and near Bardia. A week later, in the early hours of the morning of 24 August, Waterhen provided covering fire for the gunboat HM S Ladybird as the latter ship cleared Bardia Harbour under fire from shore batteries after shelling buildings at p oint blank range. 42

www.deeplens.com On 28 October 1940 the Italian Army invaded Greece from Albania and, as part of British p lans for the support of Greece, a convoy sailed from Alexandria the following day to establish a fuelling base at Suda Bay, Crete. Waterhen was among the escorting destroyers. By the evening of 1 November 1940 the laying of anti-submarine nets was completed despite enemy air attacks. The following day along with Vampire she sailed for Alexandria escorting the net layer HM S Protector, the armed boarding ships HMS Chakla and HM S Fiona and a fleet oiler. In November 1940 she acted as escort for several M alta convoys. As a unit of the Inshore Squadron, she participated in the Western Desert campaign in North Africa in December 1940. Along with the rest of the Squadron they bombarded Rommels forces with night offensive patrols, p rotected the sup ply ships and water carriers and generally maintained the sea sup ply lines to the shifting battle front. Three hours after leaving Sollum, Egypt, on Christmas night 1940, Waterhen intercepted an Italian sup ply vessel Tireremo Diritto and sank her by gunfire after removing twenty-four men and four officers, one Fascist officer and one dog. WATERHEN was forced to withdraw from operations for repairs lasting a month at Port Tewfik, Egypt (at the southern end of the Suez Canal), after colliding with and sinking the anti-submarine trawler HM S Bandolero on 30 December 1940. On 5 M arch 1941 Waterhenleft the Inshore Squadron to take part in operations in the Aegean. She returned early in April and with Stuart, Vendetta and Voyager, was engaged in the bombardment of enemy positions in sup port of the army and in sup plying Tobruk. .On 19 April 1941 Waterhen, Stuart and Voyager participated as escorts in a commando raid on Bardia by troops carried in the landing ship HM S Glengyle. During the campaigns in Greece and Crete Waterhen had escorted convoys on several occasions. When the Greek campaign was finally seen to be a lost cause, she played her part in evacuating the Allied troops by embarking seventy men at M egara, Greece, on 26 Ap ril 1941 and disembarking them at Suda Bay. The following month she assisted in the evacuation of Crete.In M ay 1941 the regular ‘Tobruk Ferry Service’ for the supply and reinforcement of the beleaguered Australian garrison at Tobruk was instituted by destroyers of the Inshore Squadron. This duty occupied Waterhen for the remainder of her career. On 28 June 1941 Waterhen left Alexandria for Tobruk with Defender on her last mission. At 7:45 pm on the 29th, off Sollum, both ships were attacked by JU 87 Stuka dive bombers and Waterhen, was holed by near misses and immobilized. Her ship’s company and embarked troops were taken off by Defender. There were no casualties. As darkness fell, Defender took her in tow, but it was soon apparent that she could not be saved and the working party was taken off. At 1:50 am on 30 June 1941 the twentythree year old ‘Chook’, as she was affectionately known to her crew, rolled over and sank. She was the first ship of the RAN to be lost by enemy action in World W

www.deeplens.com S .S ECOCINE The Eocine was originally built as the 4,218 Grt. Tanker S.S. Fort M cHenry at the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., Ltd., Baltimore, M aryland, US, (Yard No. 125). The ship was launched on 01 February 1922 and completed the following August with a length of 103.7 meters, beams of 15 meters and draught of 8.4 meters. Prop ulsion was provided by two 200-PSI Boilers and a triple-expansion engine provided by Ellicott M achine Corp., Baltimore, M aryland, which generated 395 NHP. (Cylinder diameters: 23, 39, and 65-inches with a 42-inch stroke.) Single Shaft and Propeller and a maximum sp eed of 10 knots. The ship was designed to carry fuel and other petroleum products in bulk. She had two decks below the main deck and her propulsion machinery and engineering compartments were located aft. In 1923, the ship was sold to the Vacuum Oil Co., Inc., New York, New York, and renamed Vacoil. In 1929 the ship was sold again to the Deutsche Vacuum Oel A.G., Hamburg, Germany, and renamed Schulau. Sold again in 1935 to the British company of Standard Transportation Co., Ltd., Hong Kong, (Later to become M obil Oil Corp.) and renamed Eocene. The ship was transferred in 1941 to the Socony-Vacuum Transportation Co.(Also p art of M obil Oil) and was requisitioned for war use by the M inistry of War Transport (M oWT). No Photo Available Not much information has been located concerning this ship's history. However, one item found concerns the Eocene undertaking a sp ecial mission in the early years of WWII. On 01 September 1939, the ship under the command of Captain Robert E. Brett, was on p assage to the Baku oil fields located in the Black Sea when Captain Brett was directed to proceed to the port of Constanza, Romania where the ship was met by the local British Consul. Unbeknownst to Captain Brett, arrangements between the British and Polish governments had been made to use the Eocene to transport 75 tons of gold bullion reserves belonging to the Bank of Poland beyond the reach of the invading Nazi forces. The gold bullion was loaded onboard the ship and on the night of 16 September, under the cover of darkness, slipped the ship's mooring lines and quietly departed Constanza and set a course for Istanbul. The ship held to coastal waters and arrived at her destination on 19 September where the gold was transferred to Turkish authorities who had arranged for further transport of the gold bullion to French ships waiting in Beruit. Between 25 November 1939 and 18 M ay 1942, the Eocene made 55 voyages throughout the M editerranean Sea carrying fuel and sup plies for the Allied forces. The Eocene's final voyage would be on 18 M ay 1942. Departing from Alexandria as part of Convoy AT-46/M under the command of M aster H.W. Wilcox with a cargo of 1,980 tons of benzine and 3,700 tons of water, the ship was enroute to Tobruk when, at 2019 on the afternoon/evening of 20 M ay, she was attacked, torpedoed, and sunk at approximate position 31.57N/25.11E or 31.56N/25.14E in 300-plus meters of water by German U-Boat U-431 (Wilhelm Dommes) off of Sollum. The ship's M aster, 34 crew members, 6 gunners, and two army engineers were rescued by the British armed trawler HM S Coccker (ex-KOS XIX*) and delivered to Tobruk. No casualties reported. (* The HM S Cocker would later be sunk just off of Tobruk on 04 June 1942.)

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H.M.S . CALCUTTA

The HMS Calcutta was a C-class British light cruiser, built in Barrow by Vickers Armstrong during 1917, and launched during 1918.She was 4200 tons, 450 ft long, fitted with turbine engines and Yarrow boilers, and could make 29 knots. Her armament included eight 4â&#x20AC;? AA guns During 1938, she was converted in anti-aircraft cruiser in Chatham Dockyard

On 25th June 1940, the Calcutta left St. Jean de Luz at night with two destroyers of the Canadian Navy, HM CS Fraser and HM CS Restigouche to aid in the rescue of refugees trapped in the Bordeaux area by the German military. In rough seas, at night and in poor visibility, HM CS Fraser, collided with Calcutta with such force that the lighter vessel was sliced into three . Forty-five crew members were killed on Fraser and nineteen men from the Calcutta lost their lives. 16 officers and 134 men were rescued. She returned to Plymouth and underwent repairs and refit until the end of July 1940. On 15 September 1940 the British battleship HM S Valiant, the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious, the heavy cruiser HM S Kent and 7 destroyers left Alexandria. The next day, while south off Crete they were joined by the Anti-Aircraft cruisers HM S Calcutta and HM S Coventry . The force then sailed toward Benghazi. During the night of 16/17 September, aircraft from the Illustrious, mined the harbour of Benghazi. They also attacked shipping in the harbour with torpedoes. The Italians lost 2 destroyers and two merchants. Her final duty, while under the command of CPT.D.M .LEES, was assisting in the evacuation of British and Greek forces from Crete in M ay 1941.She was attacked by Junkers JU88 bombers north west of Alexandria, being struck by 2 bombs she was sunk on the 29th M ay with the loss of two officers, and 114 ratings .There were 255 survivors

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U79

The U-79 was A VII-C class German submarines: she was built in Bremen by Bremer Vulkan during 1940, and launched during 1941.The submarines of the VII-C class were 67.10m long; displacement 769 tons (surfaced) 871 tons (submerged); max sp eed 17.7kn (surfaced) 7.5kn (submerged); five 533mm torpedo launchers; one 88mm gun, plus one or two 20mm or one 37mm machine gun. They were designed to dive down to 220m.

The U-79 sank three enemy ships in six missions, totalling 10000 tons. 13 M ar, 1941 - 30 Jun, 1941 1. Flottille (training) 1 Jul, 1941 - 30 Sep, 1941 1. Flottille (front boat) 1 Oct, 1941 - 23 Dec, 1941 23. Flottille (front boat) 2 ships sunk for a total of 2.983 GRT 1 ship damaged for a total of 10.356 GRT 1 warship a total loss for a total of 625 tons

Wolfgang Kaufmann Born on 23 Jun, 1912 in WĂźrzburg. Crew 33. KapitĂ¤nleutnant (1 Dec, 1940) Died on 27 Mar, 1963 Commands: U-9, U-19, U-79

On December 23, 1941, the British destroyers HM S Hotsp ur and HM S Hastey sp otted U-79 when she was North of Sollum, and attacked her with depth charges. The entire crew OF 44 abandoned the submarine, without loss of life..

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SOLLUM H.M.S .HERIONE

A Dido class light cruiser, built in Glasgow by A Stephen and son launched in 1939. She was 5450 ton, 506 long, with a 51 ft beam. Her turbines could deliver 62,000shp making a speed of 33 knots. She was armed with ten 5.25 inch guns, 16 smaller guns and 6 torpedo tubes. She had a compliment of 450

After her work up period was completed in May 1941, HM S Hermione joined the 2nd Cruiser Squadron attached to the Home Fleet. In June she joined the M editerranean Fleet, 1st Cruiser Squadron Force H, and was involved in the escorting of the carriers HM S Ark Royal and HM S Furious, bound from Gibraltar to M alta enabling their aircraft to be flown off and based at the island as a means of defence. In July she operated as a cover group for the battle cruiser Renown, battleship Nelson and the carrier HM S Ark Roy al in the western Mediterranean while these ships were tasked to attack an airfield at Aghero (Sardinia). On August 2nd the Italian submarine the Tembien was sp otted by one of the Ark Royal’s aircraft, and Hermione rammed and sunk the submarine. In September she again escorted the Ark Royal with more aircraft for defensive duties at M alta, the remainder of the month was sp ent escorting a supply convoy from Gibraltar to M alta. In November she was involved in the escorting of the battleship M alaya and the carriers Argus and Ark Royal again reinforcing the air force defending M alta. Due to the loss of HM S Ark Royal, a renewed attempt to re stock M alta’ s depleted air defence this time the carriers HM S Argus and HM S Eagle were used, and at the second attempt, 16 Spitfires reached M alta under the watchful eye of Hermione. Later that month the cruiser escorted the invasion convoy for operation “Ironclad” from Gibraltar to Durban. Ap ril 1942 found the cruiser based at Freetown, and on the 19th, she arrived at Simonstown, South Africa for dry docking. After three days she was bound for an area North West of M adagascar to rendezvous with an Invasion Fleet. By June she was back in the Mediterranean with the 15th Cruiser Squadron with her sister 49

www.deeplens.com ships Dido and Euralus. They were tasked to cover the convoys bound for M alta from Alexandria. On June 16th, whilst returning to Alexandria, HM S Hermione was torpedoed by the German submarine U-205, north of Sollum. She sank stern first87 Crewmembers, including 8 officers went down with the ship. H.M.S .GROVE (L77): The HM S Grove (L77) was a Type II Hunt Class Escort Destroyer of 1,050 GRT and 85.3 meters in length completed 05 February 1942 for the British Royal Navy by Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd., Wallsendon-Tyne, Sunderland under the War Emergency Programme. Laid down as Admiralty No. J4199 on 28 August 1949 and launched 29 M ay 1941 as the first RN ship to carry the name of a fox-hunt in Nottinghamshire. She was one of 16 ships of this class ordered by the Royal Navy in 1939. She carried an as built complement of 170 officers and crew. On 12 June 1942, under the command of CDR. J. W. Reynolds, the HM S Grove was escorting sup ply convoy MW-11 from alexandria to M alta. The convoy was spotted by enemy aircraft and attacked by bombers, submarines, and units of the Italian Navy. The HM S Grove was hit by two torpedoes from the German submarine U-77 (Kp tlt. Heinrich Schonder) which blew off the bow of the ship which floated perpendicular in the water behind the ship's main sup erstructure. Listing strongly to port and with the stern down, the ship sank in only minutes at location 32.05N/25.30E in over 2500 meters of water. Two officers and 108 ratings (crew) went down with the ship.

www.deeplens.com H.M.S . HEYTHROP

The 1050 ton British destroyer was built in 1940 at Vickers Armstrong she was fitted with turbine engines delivering 19,00nhp and could make 27 knots. She was 272 ft long and armed with four 4 inch AA guns and 8 other smaller guns. She was a Hunt Class, type11 After an initial working up period at Scapa and in the Irish Sea, she arrived at Gibraltar in August 1941 where she underwent minor repairs. On 13 September, she went to sea with the Gibraltar local escort force covering the cruiser HM S M anchester and the destroyer HM S Firedrake, en route to the U.S.A. as far as 25Â° West. On 25 September, she joined the heavy forces assembled in Gibraltar Strait to cover a convoy to M alta during Op eration Halberd. Two days later, the British merchant steamship Imperial S tar was torpedoed by German aircraft north of Cape Bon, HM S Heythrop took off 300 soldiers arriving at M alta on 28 September. The ship immediately left as part of a force escorting three merchant empty ships in ballast back to Gibraltar. Early in October, HM S Heythrop sailed via South Africa for Alexandria, arriving on 15 November, where she joined the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla and took part in two offensives in Lybia. From November 1941 to January 1942, the destroyer made several sortiesfrom Alexandria to Tobruk, constantly under attacks by enemy torpedo bombers. She made her last run to Tobruk on 30 January 1942, escorting the steam merchant Antwerp (carrying 370 personnel) and returned to Alexandria seven days later. At 1054hours on 20 M arch 1942, HM S Heythrop was hit by one of four torpedoes from U-652 about 40 miles northeast of Bardia and was then taken in tow by the British destroyer HM S Eridge towards Tobruk, but foundered five hours later, with he loss of 16 ratings. She was under the command of Lt Cdr R S Stafford Malta convoy S .S .CHAKDINA Built in 1914 by Ramage and Ferguson for the British India Steam Navigation Co. she was 330 ft long, 3033 tons and fitted with triple expansion engines delivering 668 n.h.p giving her a speed of 14 knots. She had been taken over for Admiralty duties and was under the command of Lt..Cdr. W.R. Hickley when she was torpedoed of Sollum on Dec 5th 1941. ship was torpedoed and sunk, the survivors put to the boats and were towed to Bardia by the U boat , and became prisoners of the Turks. 10 crew were lost. During June 1940,along with HM S DAINTY AND ILEX she was escorting a large squadron of warships including 2 battleships and one aircraft carrier. Between the 27th and 29th they attacked 4 Italian submarines patrolling the coast of Libya.The LIUZZI and UEBI SCEBELI were sunk off Derna, eastern Libya. Later they sunk the ARGONAUTA, and damaged the SALPA. she was bombed by Junkers 88â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and sunk of Sidi Barrini on July 11th,1941. She was safely abandoned without the loss of life. S .S . MIS S IR The Missir was a small steamship of 786 tons built in 1864 at Barclay Curie & Co. and operated by the Khedivial M ail Steam Ship & Graving Dock Co. The ship was 51

www.deeplens.com 226.5 feet in length, 28 feet in beam, and 15.6 feet in draught. She had compound engines with 135 n.h.p. which provided a 9 knot cruising sp eed. On 29 M ay 1918 the ship was torpedoed and sunk by German submarine UB-51 (Ernst Krafft) approximately 80 miles North-by-West of Alexandria. 34 lives lost but the captain survived S .S .CHARLES TELLIER Built in 1915 by Lamberet Bros for Wood skinner &Co,.The 1366 ton British steamship was238 ft long fitted with a triple expansion steam engine delivering 178 nhp. She was on a journey from Port Said to the Persian Gulf with a cargo of frozen meat. She was wrecked at Ras El Khebba, June 28th 1919 Badly damaged by depth charges from a British Swordfish aircraft and scuttled on 2 June, 1942 by U-81.Her 46 crew survived.

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PETER COLLINGS BIBLIOGRAPHYPUBLICATIONS 1986- 2015

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COMING SOON

30 YEARS OF PUBLISHING

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PETER COLLINGS. Peter began diving in 1970. In 1983 he wrote the first of 12 diving related books and has won several international awards for his publications and underwater photography. His articles and photographs have appeared consistently thought the international diving press, Including SCUBA WORLD, DIVER ,DIVE, SPORT DIVER, SCOTTISH DIVER , H20, TAUCHEN DYKE & OCTOPUS A BSAC Advanced instructor, ( Red Sea Wreck Academy) SSI PRO 5000 DIVER and TDI Advance Trimix diver, Peter has lead over 500 wreck and photo safaris around the world, logging over 6700 dives, and along with his regular team of experts has located and identified many of the shipwrecks in Egyptian waters. To date Peter has written and published 24 diving related guide books.