Operation Stonewall
Second World War | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of Operation Stonewall of the Atlantic campaign | |||||||
The Bay of Biscay | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
Germany Italy Japan |
Britain US Canada Australia New Zealand Czechoslovakia Brazil | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Karl Dönitz | Ralph Leatham | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
Fliegerfuhrer Atlantik ) | (in British service) | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
1 blockade-runner 1 Destroyer 2 torpedo boats 1 U-boat | 2 destroyers | ||||||
Neutral ships from Ireland and Spain rescued German survivors |
Operation Stonewall was an Allied naval and air operation in the
At the west end of the Bay of Biscay,
On 27 December, Alsterufer was spotted by a fighter from an American escort carrier, then attacked by Australian, British and Canadian, Coastal Command,
The German destroyers and torpedo boats that had escorted Osorno to port sailed to rendezvous with Alsterufer, the Germans being unaware of the bombing of the ship. Using Enigma decrypts of their positions, the German ships were bombed by US Liberators and then intercepted by the cruisers HMS Glasgow and Enterprise of Operation Stonewall. In the Battle of the Bay of Biscay one of the destroyers and two torpedo boats were sunk during a severe storm. Sailings of blockade-runners from France were cancelled and three runners from Japan were sunk by the US Navy in the south Atlantic in January 1944.
Background
Allied blockade of Germany
From the start of the war on 3 September 1939, the
Blockade-running
After sailing from Japan, through the Pacific and the Indian Ocean to the Cape of Good Hope, blockade-runners kept radio silence and passed rearranging points at planned times. When a ship was due, U-boats and aircraft were barred from attacking merchant ships in a 200 nmi (370 km; 230 mi) lane in the mid-Atlantic, to the north-east from a line level with the Canary Islands, east of the Azores and then east to Bordeaux. Escorts were laid on through the Bay of Biscay and the ships received occasional support further out from U-boats. After the cargo has been discharged, the ship was re-fitted for the next journey. More accommodation was built for crew and passengers, decks were reinforced, guns and ammunition stores were installed. A minimum of four scuttling charges of up to 165 lb (75 kg) were placed in the bottom of the hull and armed when the ship sailed with 7–9-minute fuzes; the crew kept their belongings ready in case they abandoned the ship. The vessel went into dry dock to have the hull cleaned to increase its speed and the ship underwent sea trials, sometimes incorporating the delivery of goods to Bassens or to another Biscay port. When ready to sail, the ship waited in the Gironde for an escort of minesweepers. Early in the war, the sailing schedule was little different from a peacetime commercial service.[4]
1943–1944 season
U-boats were used to transport small amounts of commodities in 1943 while bigger transport submarines were built but by winter German industry would need several shiploads of rubber and other cargoes. Despite the risks several ships would have to be despatched from Japan. There were five motor vessels in Japan and it was thought that if they left at fairly frequent intervals, the Allies might be distracted by the hunt for one and let another slip through their blockades. The ships would be on their own on the voyage but the run through the Bay of Biscay could be assisted by surface ships and aircraft. The five ships would carry 33,095 long tons (33,626 t) of rubber and other goods and sail at intervals that would allow the Biscay escort forces to meet one about 400 nmi (460 mi; 740 km) out from Bordeaux, escort it to port and then sail to meet the next one. The best time for the attempts to run the blockade would be midwinter 1943–1944.[5][a] MV Osorno (6,951 GRT, code-name Bernau, Kapitän Paul Hellmann) of the Hamburg America Line (HAPAG) with 3,882 long tons (3,944 t) of rubber, 1,797 long tons (1,826 t) of tin and 177 long tons (180 t) of tungsten, sailed from Kobe on 2 October, disguised as the British ship Prome, rounding the Cape of Good Hope on 15 November.[7] Osorno was followed by the refrigerated cargo ship (reefer) Alsterufer (2,729 GRT, code-name Trave, Kapitan Piatek) of the Robert M. Sloman Jr. line of Hamburg, carrying 344 long tons (350 t) of tungsten a year's worth of consumption in the German war economy.[8] Rio Grande sailed third on 4 October 1943 from Yokohama; Weserland and Burgenland departed later in the month. Allied spies reported the arrival of the first three ships at Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City), raising the alarm.[9]
Ultra
The defeat of the German U-boat offensive in the Battle of the Atlantic in 1943 was followed by the last attempt by the Germans to pass blockade-runners through the Bay of Biscay to and from the Japanese empire. From May 1943 decrypts of Japanese diplomatic wireless traffic revealed to the Allies that the losses of the 1942–1943 season had not deterred the Axis from making another attempt in the autumn. Seven merchant ships were to sail from Europe carrying 50,000 long tons (51,000 t) of exports and that the Germans were building special U-boats to import 3,000 long tons (3,000 t) of goods from Japan in 1943. In July and August, photographic reconnaissance and agent reports from the French Atlantic ports that sailings for the far East were being prepared and by 6 September it was clear that seven ships were close to sailing.[10]
On 4 October, after the blockade-runner Kulmerland had been hit by Allied bombers, a signal from the Japanese Ambassador in Berlin showed the Allies that the export programme had been cut to 35,000 long tons (36,000 t) because of the bombing.[10] On 18 July the British and Portuguese reached a basing agreement for the Azores, which came into force on 8 October and which had the potential to deter the Axis from trying to run the blockade.[11] On 23 October, the Germans introduced new W/T methods for signalling between U-boats and blockade-runners in the Bay of Biscay and in early November Dresden, thought to be a blockade-runner, struck a mine. The British thought that five ships were preparing to leave the Bay and that four ships were preparing to return from the Far East. Later in November, another decrypt from the Japanese Ambassador revealed that the German export programme had been reduced again, to 29,000 long tons (29,000 t). US Navy patrols in the South Atlantic were increased.[12]
Prelude
Allied intelligence
The
Operation Barrier
Operation Barrier began with
Operation Freecar
Freecar began soon after Barrier with the armed merchant cruisers HMS Corfu and Cilicia, the French cruiser Suffren and the Italian cruisers Abruzzi and d'Aosta.[14] Barrier and Freecar were suspended, letting Alsterufer pass unseen.[14] On 18 December, a Sunfish message sent on 13 December to Osorno and Asterufer was decrypted and on 22 December a decrypt of the U-boat Shark cypher showed that the U-boat restrictions were in force west of the Bay of Biscay.[16]
Operation Stonewall
Plymouth Command
Coastal Command prepared
Osorno
Code | Route |
---|---|
ON | Outward North (UK to US) |
HX | Halifax to UK |
SC | Sydney/Halifax/New York to UK |
GUS | Port Said to US Slow |
UGS | US to Port Said/Gibraltar |
KMF | UK to Mediterranean Fast |
MKS | Mediterranean to UK Slow |
SL | Freetown to UK |
CU | Curaçao/New York to UK (tankers) |
KMS | UK to Mediterranean Slow |
OS | Outbound South (UK to Freetown) |
After Osorno managed to pass the Natal–Freetown narrows, Leatham began Operation Stonewall. Gambia and Glasgow sailed from Plymouth to Horta in the Azores taking turns to patrol, fuelling from a tanker at Horta. Osorno turned eastwards at the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. From 16 to 17 December, Osorno (Bernau) crossed the US to Gibraltar convoy route undetected.[20][13] On 18 December Osorno passed itself off as the British Landsman en route from Cape Town to Liverpool to a Sunderland flying-boat that investigated it. During the night a British destroyer passed close by and warned Osorno that a U-boat was in the vicinity before beginning a depth-charge attack on the suspected submarine; Osorno managed to steal away.[17]
Coastal Command attacked the outbound Pietro Orseolo on 18 December, with six Torbeau torpedo-bombers of 254 Squadron and six Beaufighters of 248 Squadron for Flak suppression, escorted by eight Typhoon fighters, hitting it amidships twice with torpedoes; the ship exploded and sank off Lorient the next morning.[21] On 19 December Osorno passed through the US–UK route near Convoy ON 215, following a day behind Convoy HX 270 and a day in front of Convoy SC 149.[22] From 21 to 22 December, Osorno turned east for the Bay of Biscay and crossed the paths of Convoy KMF 27 and Convoy MKS 33/SL 142, which was accompanied by Escort Group B4 and a support group based on HMS Fencer. The Germans were as ignorant of the position of Osorno as the Allies and Wolfpack Borkum was formed from the southernmost boats of Wolfpack Coronel to attack Convoy MKS 33/SL 142 to cover the return of Orsorno.[22][d]
German signals to establish Wolfpack Borkum were decrypted by the Allies and TG.21.15, comprising the escort carrier USS Core with the destroyers, USS Greene, Belknap, George E. Badger and Goldsborough detached from Convoy GUS 24 to hunt the U-boats. TG.21.14, with the escort carrier Card and the destroyers Leary, Schenck and Decatur joined the hunt and Wolfpack Borkum was assisted by five FW 200 Kondor bombers flying by day, a BV 222 flying boat flying on the night of 20/21 December and more aircraft during the next day but no ships were sunk.[22] German aircraft reported the escort carrier groups three times on 22 and 23 December.[22] Gambia and Glasgow were behind Osorno.[20] On 23 December, a F4F fighter from Card sighted a ship about 500 nmi (930 km; 580 mi) south-west of Ushant; Osorno failed to give the right answer to the challenge, despite flying the Red Ensign. The destroyers of TG.21.14 were too short of fuel and could not leave Card when U-boats were known to be close. Card had to close its flight-deck after accidents then the Task Group was distracted by the attacks of Wolfpack Borkum which had the benefit of aircraft flying from land bases.[23][e] During the evening of 24 December, Convoy OS 62/KMS 36 from the north with Escort Group B1 and the support group of the escort carrier HMS Striker ran into Wolfpack Borkum. U-415 sank HMS Hurricane with a T5 torpedo.[25]
Unternehmen Bernau
At noon on 24 December, the 8. Zerstörerflotille (8th Destroyer Flotilla, Captain Erdmenger) Z 27, Z 23, Z 24, Z 32, Z 37 and ZH 1 were sent to escort Osorno The 4. Torpedobootsflottille (4th Torpedo Boat Flotilla, Korvettenkapitän Franz Kohlauf) with T 22, T 23, T 24, T 25, T 26 and T 27 also took part in Unternehmen Bernau, departing from the Biscay ports to rendezvous with Osorno and escort it to port. From dawn on 25 December, Sunderland flying boats from 201 Squadron RAF, 422 Squadron RCAF and 461 Squadron RAAF were in contact with Osorno and one was claimed shot down by Osorno after it came too close and appeared to crash into the sea. At noon on a cloudy day, when about 450 nmi (520 mi; 830 km) west of the French coast, the lookouts on Osorno spotted destroyers with characteristic German funnel caps.[23]
An hour later, Osorno was encircled by eleven destroyers and torpedo boats. The ships had an array of 207 guns from 20 mm to 150 mm and 76 torpedoes; long-range Ju 88 fighters sent by Fliegerführer Atlantik flew overhead.[23] Despite the air cover, Halifax GR.Mk.II bombers, including eight from 502 Squadron attacked from 4:20 to 7:15 p.m., "Q" claiming a hit one a ship. As night fell, 58 Mosquitos and Torbeau torpedo-bombers of 19 Group Coastal Command failed to find the German ships. Osorno reached the swept channel of the Gironde estuary, then ran into the wreck of Sperrbrecher 21 and had to be beached at Le Verdon-sur-Mer at the entrance to the estuary.[26] Bomber Command sent five Stirling mine-layers on the night of 29/30 December and the waters around the ship were mined to obstruct the unloading of its cargo of rubber but the Germans got most of it ashore.[27]
Alsterufer
Alsterufer passed the South Atlantic narrows undetected and crossed the US–Gibraltar route on 20 December, not far from TG.21.16, which included the carrier USS Block Island and four destroyers. Alsterufer was behind the westbound Convoy GUS 23 and near the eastbound Convoy UGS 27. By 23 December Alsterufer was distant from Convoy CU 9 to the east, TG.21.16 to the south-east and Convoy SC 149 to the north.[28] The 8th destroyer Flotilla (8. Zerstörerflotille) and the 4th Torpedo boat Flotilla (4. Torpedobootflottille), less ZH 1, which had engine-trouble, sailed into the Bay of Biscay again on Unternehmen Trave (Operation Beam) on 26 December to meet Alsterufer and escort it into the Gironde.[29] Alsterufer was spotted at 10:15 a.m. on 27 December about 500 nmi (580 mi; 930 km) north-west of Cape Finisterre and kept Sunderland "T" of 201 Squadron at a distance with anti-aircraft fire. The Sunderland circled the ship for 2 1/2 hours, being joined by "Q" from 422 Squadron RCAF and "U", also from 201 Squadron. When "T" had to turn for home it attacked but missed, Alsterufer making 15.5 kn (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph).[30]
Piatek was concerned about discipline amongst the crew, because they had hoped to make port before Christmas and he had refused to allow them to sample any of the 6,000 bottles of beer on board to avoid the rigours of the Bay of Biscay crossing "with a tipsy crew". During the morning, Alsterufer was attacked by Sunderland "Q" of 422 Squadron RCAF and "U" of 201 Squadron flown by Leslie Baveystock who wrote later,
By the time we had spotted the ship we were down to 200 feet with our quarry dead ahead in what should have been an ideal position. If I released our bombs we just couldn't miss, but their forward speed, being the same as that of our aircraft, would have resulted in explosions directly under us, with the consequent dire damage to ourselves. This I could not risk.[31]
the gunners strafed Alsterufer and the Sunderland climbed to 1,000 ft (300 m), bombing and depth-charging by radar, to little effect. Baveystock "cursed the stupid Armaments Office for not giving us delay fuses on our bombs, as he should have done".[31][f]
Unternehmen Trave
Fliegerführer Atlantik promised aircraft but Marinegruppe West could offer no ships until the next morning.
Battle of the Bay of Biscay
Gambia departed from Faial Island in the Azores on 27 December, its Captain, William Powlett, being made commander of Force 3, the ships already at sea, the light cruiser Penelope and the fast minelayer Ariadne from Gibraltar and the Free French large destroyers, Le Fantasque and Le Malin from the Azores.[29]The Allied cruiser captains were told that about a dozen German destroyers could be on the way to rendezvous with the blockade runner.[29] Naval Group West did not find out about the loss of Alsterufer until morning on 28 December and cancelled Unternehmen Bernau, ordering the ships to return. The flotilla was spotted by a US Liberator of VPB-105 and attacked by fifteen more Liberators from that squadron and VPB-103, which enabled Glasgow and Enterprise to intercept them at noon.[36]
The eleven ships of the flotilla had twenty-five 150 mm and twenty-four 105 mm guns against the nineteen 6-inch and thirteen 4-inch guns of the cruisers. The German flotilla tried to attack the cruisers from both flanks but the stormy seas prevented the ships from sailing at their maximum speed. Z 27 (Captain Günther Schultz, with the flotilla commander, Captain Erdmenger, aboard), T 25 and T 26 were sunk. Z 24, T 23, T 24 and T 27 returned to Brest; Z 32, and Z 37 got to the Gironde and Z 23 with T 22, which had turned south, made port at St Jean de Luz. Sixty-four survivors were rescued by Royal Navy minesweepers, 168 by the Irish coaster, Kerlogue, six by Spanish destroyers and 55 by German submarine U-505 and German submarine U-618. Glasgow, Enterprise and Ariadne returned to Plymouth under glider-bomb attack and Penelope, Le Fantasque and Le Malin to Gibraltar. Gambia and Mauritius patrolled north of the Azores for blockade-runners until 1 January.[37]
Aftermath
Analysis
Morale in the Kriegsmarine was depressed further with the news that the battleship Scharnhorst had been sunk on 26 December at the Battle of the North Cape.[38] Osorno was the last blockade-runner to reach port, its cargo of rubber meeting German needs until November 1944.[39] In 1984, Harry Hinsley wrote in the official history of British intelligence in the war that the defeat of the German destroyer flotilla, like the sinking of Scharnhorst, could only have happened because the Admiralty was receiving decrypts of Enigma messages almost as quickly as their German addressees. The engagement also finally made the Admiralty admit that the German Type 1936A destroyers (Narvik-class to the British) carried 6 in (150 mm) guns.[40]
Casualties
Three men on Alsterufer were killed and 74 were rescued.[41] Of the 672 men on the three German warships, 93 were rescued from Z27, 100 from T25 and 90 from T26.[42] About 62 survivors were picked up by British minesweepers, 168 were rescued by Kerlogue a small Irish steamer and four by Spanish destroyers.[43] In 2003, Gerhard Koop and Klaus-Peter Schmolke wrote that there were 740 men in the three ships and that 293 men survived, 21 rescued by U-618, 34 by U-505, six by Spanish destroyers, 64 by British minesweepers and 168 by an Irish merchant ship.[44]
Subsequent operations
The last three blockade-runners, Weserland, Burgenland and Rio Grande were known to the Allied through decrypts of their sailings from the Far East. US naval forces intercepted them in the south Atlantic from 3 to 5 January 1944. After another nine days, Sunfish decrypts revealed that the Germans did not know of the interceptions and had ordered two of their blockade-runners to prepare to sail. On 21 January it was discovered that all four blockade-runners preparing for the voyage top the Far East had been ordered to stand down because of the risk of interception.[40][i]
Orders of battle
Data from Rohwer and Hümmelchen (2005) unless indicated.[46]
Allied
USN ships
- 7th Fleet Air Wing
- Task Force.41
- Task Group.41.1
- USS Jouett Destroyer
- TG.41.3
- USS Memphis Cruiser
- USS Somers Destroyer
- TG.41.4
- USS Marblehead Cruiser
- Winslow Destroyer
- TF.21
- TG.21.14
- USS Card Escort carrier
- USS Leary Destroyer (sunk)
- USS Schenck Destroyer
- USS Decatur Destroyer
- TG.21.15
- USS Core Escort carrier
- USS Greene Destroyer
- USS Belknap Destroyer
- USS George E. Badger Destroyer
- USS Goldsborough Destroyer
- TG.21.16
- USS Block Island Escort carrier
- USS Paul Jones Destroyer
- USS Parrott Destroyer
- USS Bulmer Destroyer
- USS Barker Destroyer
- Escort Group B1
- Escort Group B4
- HMS Fencer Escort carrier
- HMS Striker Escort carrier
- HMS Hurricane Destroyer (sunk by U-415)
- 4 Corvettes RCN
Operation Stonewall (Plymouth Command)
Ships (Force 3)
- HMS Glasgow Town-class Cruiser
- HMNZS Gambia Fiji-class Cruiser
- HMS Enterprise Emerald-class Cruiser
- Penelope Arethusa-class Cruiser
- Ariadne Abdiel-class Fast minelayer
- Le Fantasque Le Fantasque-class Large destroyer/light cruiser
- Le Malin Le Fantasque-class large destroyer/light cruiser
Aircraft
- Coastal Command
- 86 Squadron RAF, 19 Group, B-24 Liberator
- 201 Squadron RAF, 15 Group, Sunderland flying boat
- 248 Squadron RAF, 19 Group, Beaufighter Heavy fighter
- 254 Squadron RAF, 19 Group, Torbeau torpedo-bomber
- 311 (Czech) Squadron RAF, 19 Group, Liberator GR Mk V"H"
- 422 Squadron RCAF, 15 Group, Sunderland flying boat
- 461 Squadron RAAF, 19 Group, Sunderland flying boat
- 502 Squadron RAF, 19 Group, Halifax GR.Mk.II
- Fighter Command
- Typhoon fighter escorts
- Bomber Command
- Stirling minelayers
Operation Freecar
Operation Barrier
- US Navy
- Brazilian Air Force
Neutrals
- Kerlogue Ireland
- 6 destroyers Spain
German
Blockade-runners
- Osorno
- Alsterufer
Befehlshaber der U-Boote
Wolfpack Borkum
Marinegruppe West
- 8th Destroyer flotilla
- 4th Torpedo Boat flotilla
Fliegerführer Atlantik
Data from Forsyth (2017) unless indicated.[47]
- II Gruppe Kampfgeschwader 40 (II.KG 40) Heinkel He 177 Greif
- III Gruppe KG 40 (III.KG 40) FW 200 Kondor
- 5. Staffel (squadron) /KG 40 (5./KG 40) Junkers Ju 88 C-6
- 2. Staffel/Fernaufklärungsgruppe [long-range reconnaissance wing] 5 Atlantik (2./FAGr 5) Ju 290
- 1. Staffel (F)./Seeaufklärungsgruppe 129 (1.(F)./SAGr 129) Blohm & Voss BV 222
Notes
- ^ each ship would carry a man under arrest to Europe; one prisoner was alleged to have been a communist and member of the spy ring run by Richard Sorge. The Gestapo in Japan ordered that the men were to be left in confinement if ships were scuttled, to prevent them talking to the Allies. Admiral Paul Wenneker, the Naval Attaché in Tokyo, questioned the orders with Seekriegsleitung in Berlin and passed on the orders but implied that they might not have to be followed.[6]
- ^ The sailing of five blockade runners had been revealed to US code-breakers by the Purple and Bertok/Barnacle cyphers.[14]
- ^ The U-boat was German submarine U-510 a large Type IXD2 sailing to the Far East to collect cargo to bring to Europe.[17]
- ^ Wolfpack Coronel was operating further north and Borkum comprised U-801, U-107, U-667, U-618, U-270, U-541, U-645, U-962, U-415, U-305, U-275, U-382 and U-641.[22]
- ^ During the night of 23/24 December U-305 sighted TG.21.14 but was deterred by one of the destroyers, which detected it with HF/DF (Huff-Duff). U-415 fired three FAT (Flächenabsuchender Torpedo [area searching torpedo]) at Card but missed and also missed Decatur with a G7es torpedo (T5) acoustic torpedo. U-645 missed Schenk with a T5 and was sunk by depth charges; U-275 hit the destroyer Leary with a T5 and it was later sunk by a torpedo from U-382; TG.21.14 then had to withdraw because of fuel shortage.[24]
- ^ Baveystock headed for base Castle Archdale in Northern Ireland but short of fuel, landed near St Mary's in the Scilly Isles.[31]
- ^ Captain, Pilot Officer Oldřich Doležal with Sergeant Robert Prochazka, co-pilot, Flying Officer Zdeněk Hanuš, Navigator/Bomb Aimer, Warrant Officer Josef Kosek, Air Gunner, Flight Sergeant Jindřich Hahn, Radar Operator/Air Gunner, Flight Sergeant Marcel Ludikar, Wireless Operator/Air Gunner, Flight Sergeant Ivan Schwarz, Wireless Operator/Air Gunner and Sergeant František Veitl, Flight Engineer.[33]
- ^ The survivors gave great praise to the Czech Liberator crew who had flown "unperturbed through the heaviest barrage".[35]
- ^ After the war it was found that Dönitz had suggested to Hitler on 18 January 1944 that blockade-running be cancelled.[45]
Footnotes
- ^ Roskill 1957, pp. 64–65, 551–552.
- ^ Brice 1981, p. 100.
- ^ Roskill 1962, pp. 273, 4483–484.
- ^ Brice 1981, pp. 100–101.
- ^ a b Brice 1981, p. 18.
- ^ Brice 1981, pp. 17–18.
- ^ Forsyth 2017, p. 113; Rohwer & Hümmelchen 2005, p. 290.
- ^ Forsyth 2017, p. 114.
- ^ Brice 1981, pp. 18–19.
- ^ a b Hinsley 1984, p. 247.
- ^ Roskill 1960, pp. 46–47.
- ^ a b Hinsley 1984, pp. 247–248.
- ^ a b Brice 1981, p. 137.
- ^ a b c d e f g Rohwer & Hümmelchen 2005, p. 290.
- ^ Roskill 1960, p. 74.
- ^ a b c Hinsley 1984, pp. 248–249.
- ^ a b Brice 1981, p. 19.
- ^ Roskill 1960, pp. 72–73.
- ^ Hague 2000, pp. 109–114.
- ^ a b Rohwer & Hümmelchen 2005, p. 292.
- ^ Nesbit 2000, p. 123.
- ^ a b c d e Rohwer & Hümmelchen 2005, p. 293.
- ^ a b c Brice 1981, p. 20.
- ^ Rohwer & Hümmelchen 2005, pp. 293–294.
- ^ Rohwer & Hümmelchen 2005, p. 294.
- ^ Rohwer & Hümmelchen 2005, p. 294; Saunders 1975, p. 71.
- ^ Roskill 1960, pp. 73–74.
- ^ Rohwer & Hümmelchen 2005, pp. 293, 292.
- ^ a b c d Rohwer & Hümmelchen 2005, p. 295; Waters 1956, p. 354.
- ^ Brice 1981, p. 21.
- ^ a b c McKinstry 2023, p. 204.
- ^ Saunders 1975, pp. 70–71.
- ^ a b c Vančata 2013, p. 64.
- ^ Vančata 2013, p. 64; Rohwer & Hümmelchen 2005, p. 295.
- ^ Saunders 1975, p. 71.
- ^ Rohwer & Hümmelchen 2005, p. 295.
- ^ Waters 1956, p. 355; Rohwer & Hümmelchen 2005, p. 295.
- ^ Whitley 1983, pp. 193–199.
- ^ Müller 2003, p. 581.
- ^ a b Hinsley 1984, p. 251.
- ^ Waters 1956, p. 354.
- ^ O'Hara 2004, pp. 277–279.
- ^ Waters 1956, p. 355; Whitley 1983, pp. 193–199.
- ^ Koop & Schmolke 2014, p. 104.
- ^ Hinsley 1984, pp. 251–252.
- ^ Rohwer & Hümmelchen 2005, pp. 290–295.
- ^ Forsyth 2017, pp. 113–115.
References
- Brice, Martin (1981). Axis Blockade Runners of World War II. London: B. T. Batsford. ISBN 0-7134-2686-1.
- Forsyth, Robert (2017). Shadow over the Atlantic: The Luftwaffe and the U-boats: 1943–45 (pdf ed.). Oxford: Osprey. ISBN 978-1-4728-2046-4.
- Hague, Arnold (2000). The Allied Convoy System 1939–1945. London: Chatham. ISBN 1-86176-147-3.
- Hinsley, F. H.; Thomas, E. E.; Ransom, C. F. G.; Knight, R. C. (1984). British Intelligence in the Second World War, Its Influence on Strategy and Operations (Part I). History of the Second World War. Vol. III (1st ed.). London: HMSO. ISBN 0-11-630935-0.
- Koop, Gerhard; Schmolke, Klaus-Peter (2014) [2003]. German Destroyers of World War II. Translated by Brooks, Geoffrey (Repr. Eng. trans. ed.). Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing, Pen & Sword. ISBN 978-1-84832-193-9. Translated from Die deutschen Zerstörer 1939–1945 Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Bonn (1995). Originally published in English by Greenhill books, Lionel Leventhal (2003)
- Kroener, Bernhard R.; Müller, Rolf-Dieter; Umbreit, Hans (2003) [1999]. Organization and Mobilization of the German Sphere of Power: Part 2 Wartime administration, economy and manpower resources1942–1944/5. Germany and the Second World War. Vol. V. Translated by Cook-Radmore, Derry; Osers, Ewald; Smerin, Barry; Wilson, Barbara (Eng. trans. Clarendon Press, Oxford ed.). Stuttgart: Deutsche-Verlags-Anstalt GMBH for Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt (Research Institute for Military History) Potsdam, Germany. ISBN 0-19-820873-1.
- Müller, Rolf-Dieter. "Part II Albert Speer and Armaments Policy in Total War, III Basic Conditions of Wartime Production, and Civilian Factors. 4, Organization and Exploitation of 'Fortress Europe'. (c) The Decline in Wartime Foreign Trade (xiii) Japan". In Kroener, Müller & Umbreit (2003).
- McKinstry, Leo (2023). Cinderella Boys: The Forgotten RAF Force that Won the Battle of the Atlantic (e-book ed.). London: John Murray. ISBN 978-1-5293-1938-5.
- Nesbit, Roy Conyers (2000) [1997]. RAF Coastal Command in Action 1939–1945 (repr. Budding Books, Stroud ed.). Cheltenham: Sutton Publishing. ISBN 1-84015-112-9.
- O'Hara, Vincent P. (2004). The German Fleet at War, 1939–1945. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-651-8.
- ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
- from the original on 27 February 2022.
- OCLC 174453986. Retrieved 4 June 2018 – via Hyperwar.
- OCLC 987392618.
- Saunders, H. St George (1975) [1954]. Royal Air Force 1939–45: The Fight is Won. Vol. III (pbk. repr. HMSO ed.). London: HMSO. ISBN 978-0-11-771594-3.
- Vančata, Pavel (2013). 311 Squadron. Sandomierz: Stratus, for Mushroom Model Publications. ISBN 978-83-61421-43-6.
- Waters, S. D. (1956). "Chapter 23, The New Zealand Cruisers". Royal New Zealand Navy (online scan). The Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939–1945 (New Zealand Electronic Text Collection ed.). Wellington: Historical Publications Branch. pp. 352–356. OCLC 173284131.
- Whitley, M. J. (1983). Destroyer!: German Destroyers in World War II. London: Arms & Armour Press. ISBN 978-0-85368-258-5.
Further reading
- ISBN 0-304-35261-6.
- Lambert, Andrew (1986). Warship. Vol. X. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-449-7.
- ISBN 978-0-316-58301-5– via Archive Foundation.
- Oldfield, Paul (2013). Cockleshell Raid. Battleground: French Coast. Barnsley: Pen & Sword. ISBN 978-1-78159-255-7.
- Šulc, Jiří (2011). Operace Stonewall (in Czech). Prague: Knižní klub. ISBN 978-80-242-5788-4.