14 February 1939

UNITED KINGDOM: British citizens are given permission to join the Finnish Foreign Legion.

Corvette USS Saucy (ex-HMS Arabis) launched.

NORTH SEA: A Lockheed Hudson Mk. III of RAF No. 220 Squadron Coastal Command, based at Thornaby, Yorkshire, locates the German supply ship Altmark in Norwegian waters.

FRANCE: The first four "groupes francs" of French airborne troops are today operational. The troops are called "infanterie de l'air" and the original two groupes (GIA) were formed on 1st April, 1937. They are named the 601st and 602nd GIA. (Stuart Millis)

GIBRALTAR: The U.S. passenger liner SS Manhattan is detained at Gibraltar for several hours by British authorities but allowed to proceed; not as fortunate is freighter SS Exermont, which is also detained there.

CANADA: The RCAF’s No.110 (Army Co-Operation) Squadron sails from Halifax, Nova Scotia, for Britain. This is the first RCAF squadron to be sent to Europe.

Flower-class corvettes HMCS Wetaskiwin (ex-Banff), Agassiz, Chilliwack, Trail, Kamloops, Dawson, Alberni, Nanaimo, Edmunston ordered.

At 0800, the Langleeford, a straggler from convoy HX-18, was torpedoed by U-26 about 70 miles northwest of Fastnet, Ireland and sank after 13 minutes. Four crewmembers were lost. The master and 29 crewmembers were landed at Ross, Co Clare

SS Sultan Star sunk by U-48 at 48.54N, 10.03W.

SS Martin Goldschmidt sunk by U-53 at 55.53N, 12.37W.

At 0135, the Gretafield, a straggler from convoy HX-18, was torpedoed and set on fire by U-57 southeast of Noss Head. Ten crewmembers were lost. The master and 30 crewmembers were picked up by armed trawlers HMS Peggy Nutten and Strathalladale and landed at Wick. The burning Gretafield drifted ashore at Dunbeath, Caithnesshire at 58°14´15N 03°25´45W. On 19 March, the tanker broke in two and was declared a total loss.

Ron Babuka adds: An interesting story:

M/S Borgestad NS * 3924 gt
Built in Copenhagen, Denmark 1925.

Captain Lars Grotnæss. Commodore ship in Convoy SLS 64, which left Freetown with 19 ships on January 30-1941 bound for Liverpool without an escort. 12 ships were British, 4 Greek. The Norwegian D/S Bur and D/S Varangberg had ended up so far behind by February 12 they barely had contact with the convoy. Borgestad had a cargo of cotton. Early on the morning of February 12, in position 37 12N 21 20W (between Madeira and the Azores) the German Admiral Hipper attacked, at a distance of 2500 meters. (In fact, the captain on Hipper had just previously been notified of Convoy HG 53 and was given orders to attack, so when SLS 64 showed up in his course, he initially thought he had encountered HG 53 - see D/S Tejo). Captain Grotnæss must have given the order to disperse, because ship after ship turned around and desperately tried to get away, but Borgestad and the other ships at the head of the convoy had no time for such manoeuvres, as Hipper was quickly advancing, and Grotnæss chose to fight, in spite of Borgestad's inferior armament. He headed directly towards Admiral Hipper, in an effort to get that ship as far away from the convoy as possible, with the gunners loading and firing, loading and firing. When after a fierce battle Borgestad eventually sank, 30 men and 1 woman went down with her. (Other ships lost were the Greek Perseus, 14 died, the British Derrynane, 36 died - Schrewsbury, 20 died, Oswestry Grange, 5 died - Warlaby, 36 lost and Westbury with 5 dead).

The 1st mate on Borgestad, Harald Nergaard had his American wife Norma (born Hayes) with him on the ship. She was employed as a stewardess, was 21 years old and from Tacoma. They are both listed under the first "related link" below. The captain was posthumously awarded the highest ranked Norwegian decoration "Krigskorset" for his actions during this battle, which were officially acknowledged as having saved the convoy from total destruction by the Hipper (Meisel). As it was, 7 went down, while 12 escaped (2 of which were damaged). The distress calls from the fleeing ships were received by the Admiralty, which dispatched the battle ship Renown and the aircraft carrier Ark Royal from Gibraltar that same afternoon, as well as some destroyers, partly to assist the convoy, and partly to catch the German ship. But Admiral Hipper, which had spent a tremendous amount of ammunition in this battle and had no interest in being engaged by the British force in such a state, quickly headed for Brest, arriving there without having been located. For days there was great fear for the remains of Convoy SLS 64. Varangberg finally reached Gibraltar on Febr. 17, while Bur, as one of the last ships, arrived St. Miguel (Azores) on Febr. 18.

MORE on Norma Nergaard ("Krigsseileren" No. 3, 1998): Those of you who live in Scotland and have access to a library might be able to find some articles written by Norma Nergaard in Glasgow Sunday Mail, dated July 16, 23 and 30, and Aug. 6-1938. Her parents were born in England and after having graduated from High School in Tacoma in the summer of 1938 she and her elder sister Mabel travelled to England on board Borgestad, in order to visit relatives in Scotland. Since the ship was not certified for passengers they were hired as mess girls, sailing south along the U.S. coast, stopping in San Pedro, Calif., Panama, Jamaica and through the Caribbean before heading north to London, arriving 45 days later. Once in England they purchased 2 used bicycles and headed for Scotland where Norma was subsequently hired as a journalist for the newspapers Edinburgh Record and Glasgow Sunday Mail, and it was in the latter that she wrote some articles about her travels. When the war broke out she returned to Tacoma, and when Borgestand showed up on the west coast in the spring of 1940 she met up with Harald Nergaard again, and at the end of June that same year they were married. Again she was hired as a mess girl so that the bride and groom could be together. They had a 10 days "honeymoon" in Ceylon while Borgestad was there. Norma was posthumously awarded Krigsmedaljen in May-1946 .

U.S.A.: In baseball, the entire Brooklyn Dodger team leaves New York City to train in Havana, Cuba for most of the spring.

PUERTO RICO: Fleet Landing Exercise (FLEX) No. 7, which had begun on 4 February, concludes in the Culebra-Vieques area.

At 2257, the Holystone, a straggler from convoy OB-284, was torpedoed and sunk by U-101 west of Ireland. The master, 35 crewmembers, two gunners and two passengers were lost.

UNITED KINGDOM: Bomber Command after a period of conserving its strength, is being sent back into the attack. It has today been issued with a new directive instructing it to focus its attacks "on the morale of the enemy civil population and, in particular, of the industrial workers."

The Area Bombing Directive is based on the introduction into service of the new four-engined Avro Lancaster bomber and a radio-beam navigational device known as "Gee". It has been recognized for some time that the RAF's bombers have great difficulty in finding their targets at night. According to the directive: "The introduction of this equipment on operations should be regarded as a revolutionary advance in bombing technique which ... will enable results to be obtained of a much more effective nature."

The directive also means that open season has been declared on civilian as well as military targets in Germany.

FRANCE: During the night of 14/15th, 15 RAF Bomber Command aircraft attack Le Havre while one Manchester flies a leaflet mission. There are no losses.

GERMANY: During the night of the 14/15th, 98 aircraft of RAF Bomber Command attack Mannheim; a Hampden and a Whitley are lost. Sixty seven aircraft claimed to have bombed the city in difficult conditions however, the Germans report only a light raid, with two buildings destroyed, 15 damaged, some railway damage and with one man wounded and 23 people bombed out.

SINGAPORE: The city is surrounded by the Japanese 18th Division in the west, the 5th Division in the northwest and the Guards Division to the north and northeast. The Japanese burst into Alexandra Military Hospital and bayonet a number of the staff and patients, including one patient lying on the operating table. They then herd 150 into a bungalow and execute them tomorrow.
General Archibald Wavell, Commander in Chief ABDA Command, signals Lieutenant General Arthur Percival, General Officer Commanding Malaya Command, to fight on in Singapore, but adds it would "be wrong to enforce needless slaughter." If it is no longer possible to resist, "I give you discretion to cease resistance...Whatever happens I thank you for gallant efforts of last few days." Brigadier Ivan Simson tells Percival that there's only enough water for 48 hours. "While there's water," Percival says, "We fight on." Supplies of food and ammunition are also dwindling rapidly.

Tugs HMS Pengawal, St Breock and St Just sunk by Japanese aircraft near Singapore.

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES: Sumatra: The Japanese invade Sumatra. More than 700 Japanese paratroopers trying to capture Palembang, the last oilfield in the Dutch East Indies still in Allied hands, are facing stiff resistance.

At 0800 hours, Japanese bombers attack Palembang airdrome, codenamed P1, followed by fighters which strafe the airfield and provide cover for by 34 Kawasaki Ki-56, Army Type 1 Freight Transports (export version of the Lockheed Model 14 later given the Allied Code Name “Thalia”) carrying paratroopers. The paratroops are dropped at three points to capture the airfields in readiness for sea landings tomorrow by Vice-Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa's western force.. The first drop of 260 paratroopers was over the airdrome and the second drop of 100 paratroopers was over an oil refinery nearby. Palembang, which produces 55% of the Dutch East Indies' oil, has been heavily fortified. The Japanese appear unaware of a second airbase, codenamed P2, where 50 Hurricanes are waiting to attack Ozawa's fleet. The airfield is defended by about 150 British AA troops, 110 Dutch soldiers and 60 RAF ground crew. The Japanese attack the airdrome all day, suffering 80 percent casualties, but are unable to capture it. The Japanese capture the refinery but it is later taken by Dutch troops from Palembang II airdrome. The Allied troops attempt to destroy the oil refinery but only the oil storage tanks are set ablaze. During ensuing Allied air attacks on the Japanese invasion convoy, RAF Blenheims bomb and sink a merchant ship off Palembang.

Yesterday Ozawa's 25-ship task force was bombed by Australian aircraft from Palembang as it stood off the Anamba Islands.

If Palembang falls Australia's oil supplies will have to come from the United States or the Persian Gulf.

After escaping from the fall of Singapore, river gunboat HMS Dragonfly is sunk in an air attack off Posik Island, East Sumatra. Again the number of survivors is uncertain as it is not known how many escapees she was carrying or how many were shot after the sinking or their fate during captivity.

After escaping the fall of Singapore, river gunboat Grasshopper is sunk in an air attack off Posik Island, east of Sumatra. The ship’s dog Pointer is amongst the survivors and proved invaluable in locating sources of freshwater. (Alex Gordon)(108)

On Java, Vice Admiral Conrad E. L. Helfrich of the Royal Netherlands Navy succeeds Admiral Thomas C. Hart USN as commander of the American-British-Dutch-Australian (ABDA) Combined Naval Striking Force.

ABDAFloat orders a task force (Rear Admiral Karel Doorman, RNN) to proceed and attack the Japanese Palembang-bound expeditionary force. As Doorman's ships, heavy cruiser HMS Exeter, light cruisers HMAS Hobart, HNMS De Ruyter, HNMS Java and HNMS Tromp and ten destroyers heads toward its objective, destroyer HNMS Van Ghent runs aground on a reef north of Banka Island; irreparably damaged, she is scuttled and sister ship HNMS Banckert takes off the crew.
The small vessel SS Vyner Brooke, carrying about 300 civilians escaping from Singapore, is bombed and sunk off Banka Island. Passengers include 65 nurses of the 2/13th Australian General Hospital; 22 of them survive as a group and reached Radjik Beach in a boat.

JAVA SEA: Lt. Thomas Wilkinson (b.1898), RNR, Comm ander of HMS LI WO, and auxiliary patrol vessel armed only with one 4-inch gun, engaged Japanese warships escorting a convoy; he set a transport on fire before LI WO was sunk by a heavy cruiser. He went down with her. There were ten survivors. (Victoria Cross)

Another casualty on the LI WO was A.S. William Thomas Snow (B.E.M.), the helmsman. (Diane Snow)

On I4th February, 1942, H.M. Ship Li Wo, a patrol vessel of 1,000 tons, formerly a passenger steamer on the Upper Yangtse River, was on passage from Singapore to Batavia. Her ship's company consisted of eighty-four officers and men, including one civilian; they were mainly survivors from His Majesty's Ships which had been sunk, and a few from units of the Army and the Royal Air Force. Her armament was one 4 inch gun, for which she had only thirteen practice shells, and two machine guns.

Since leaving Singapore .the previous day, the ship had beaten off four air attacks, in one of which fifty-two machines took part, and had suffered considerable damage. Late in the afternoon, she sighted two enemy convoys, the larger of which was escorted by Japanese naval units, including a heavy cruiser and some destroyers. The Commanding Officer, Lieutenant T. Wilkinson, R.N.R., gathered his scratch ship's company together and told them that, rather than try to escape, he had decided to engage the convoy and to fight to the last, in the hope that he might inflict damage upon the enemy. In making this decision, which drew resolute support from the whole ship's company, Lieutenant Wilkinson knew that his ship faced certain destruction, and that his own chances of survival were small.

H.M.S,. Li Wo hoisted her battle ensign and made straight for the enemy. In the action which followed, the machine guns were used with effect upon the crews of all ships in range, and a volunteer gun's crew manned the 4 inch gun, which they fought with such purpose that a Japanese transport was badly hit and set on fire.

After a little over an hour, H.M.S Li Wo had been critically damaged and was sinking Lieutenant Wilkinson then decided to ram his principal target, the large transport, which had been abandoned by her crew. It is known that this ship burnt fiercely throughout the night following the action, and was probably sunk.

H.M.S. Li Wo's gallant fight ended when, her shells spent, and under heavy fire from the enemy cruiser, Lieutenant Wilkinson finally ordered abandon ship. He himself remained on board, and went down with her. There were only about ten survivors, who were later made prisoners of war.

Lieutenant Wilkinson's valour was equalled only by the skill with which he fought his ship. The VICTORIA CROSS is bestowed upon him posthumously in recognition both of his own heroism and self-sacrifice, and of that of all who fought and died with him.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: On Bataan, the I Corps further reduces the Japanese salient in the main line of resistance, which is now about half its original size.
On Mindanao, submarine USS Sargo (SS-188) delivers one million rounds of 30-calibre (7.62 mm) ammunition to Polloc Harbor and evacuates 24 USAAF ground crewmen of the 14th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy). Meanwhile, submarine USS Swordfish (SS-193) torpedoes and sinks a Japanese transport off Davao.

PACIFIC OCEAN: Japanese submarine HIJMS I-23 is last reported south of Oahu, Territory of Hawaii. She is not heard from again, and her fate is unknown.

WAKE ISLAND: A B-17 Flying Fortress of the USAAF 7th Air Force based in Hawaii flies a photo reconnaissance mission over the island.

"Blues In The Night (My Mama Done Tol' Me)" by Woody Herman And His Orchestra reaches Number 1 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart in the U.S. The song was from the motion picture "Blues In The Night" starring Priscilla Lane, Lloyd Nolan and Jack Carson. This song, which debuted on the charts on 10 January 1942, was charted for 11 weeks, was Number 1 for 1 week and was ranked Number 8 for the year 1942.

“This Is War!,” a 30-minute 13-week anti-fascist radio series, debuts this Saturday night at 1900 hours Eastern Time. This is the only radio series to air on all four networks, The Blue Network, CBS, Mutual and NBC. The program features such Hollywood stars as James Stewart, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., and Tyrone Power in shows that promote the Army, Navy, and Air Force and help Americans understand themselves and the enemy.

Washington: The U. S. Armys Western defence Command sends a memorandum to the Secretary of War recommending the evacuation of Japanese and other subversive persons from the Pacific Coast area. February 19, 1942:

President Franklin D. Roosevelt issues Executive Order 9066, which empowers the Secretary of War or any military commander authorized by him to designate military areas and exclude any and all persons from them. Shortly before signing the Executive Order, the President received a memorandum from his advisers which said, In time of national peril, any reasonable doubt must be resolved in favor of action to preserve the national safety, not for the purpose of punishing those whose liberty may be temporarily affected by such action, but for the purpose of protecting the freedom of the nation, which may be long impaired, if not permanently lost, by nonaction.. (Scott Peterson) More...

Anti-aircraft cruiser USS Juneau commissioned at Berth 16, alongside Pier 2, Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York. First and only commanding officer was Captain Lyman Knute Swenson, USN (born 23 October 1892, Pleasant Grove, Iowa). The first and only Executive Officer was Commander Walter Ellery Moore, USN (born 9 April 1900, California).

Fleet tug USS Menominee launched.

Minesweeper USS Reliable launched.

Seaplane tender USS Rockaway launched.

Submarine USS Wahoo launched.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: At 0337, the Empire Spring, dispersed from convoy ON-63 (convoy commodore), was torpedoed and sunk by U-576 southeast of Sable Island. The master, the commodore, 41 crewmembers, five gunners and five naval staff members were lost.

GERMANY: No. 15 Squadron RAF tonight operate the Short Stirling Mk III in it's first operation when they attack Cologne. (22)

TUNISIA: Axis forces launch an offensive, taking Sidi Bou Zid and driving a wedge into the Allies.
The 10th and 21st Panzer Divisions attack the US II Corps west of Faid.

Submarine USS Thresher attacks submarine I-162 off the Lesser Sundas in position 06.05S, 105.47E. Thresher fires two torpedoes, unfortunately one is a dud and the other misses.

Submarine USS Trout torpedoes and damages the Japanese auxiliary gunboat Hirotama Maru at south entrance to Makassar Strait in position 04.11S, 117.45E. Trout surfaces to sink the ship with gunfire but 7 of her crew were wounded by gunfire from the Japanese ship. Trout then finished off the Japanese ship with a torpedo.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: SS Duchess of York Canadian-owned, British-registered CPR passenger liner was heavily damaged off Cape Finisterre when she was bombed by Luftwaffe a/c. She was sunk later in 1943 in another air attack in the same general area.

FRANCE: Marseilles: German officials have told the Vichy government that they are taking direct control of the Mediterranean coast which they say is threatened with invasion. Martial law will be declared tomorrow in the seven coastal departments between Italy and Spain: "non-essential" people have been urged to leave the coast.

GERMANY: U-738 sunk near Gotenhafen, in position 54.31N, 18.33E, after collision with SS Erna. 22 dead and 24 survivors.

U.S.S.R.: Soviet troops enter the Korsun pocket, meeting strong resistance from the Germans trapped inside.

INDIAN OCEAN: Salvage vessel HMS Salviking torpedoed and sunk by U-168 SW of Ceylon at 03.30N, 76.30E.

MALACCA STRAITS: A German crewed ex-Italian submarine, UIT-23, launched as the Reginaldo Giuliani on 13 March, 1939 is sunk in position 04.27N, 100.11E, by torpedoes from the British submarine HMS Tallyho. 26 dead, 14 survivors. She has been taken over by the Germans following the Italian capitulation, at Singapore on 10 September, 1943. (Alex Gordon)

While operating off Cape Santiago, Luzon, USS Flasher torpedoes and sinks army cargo ship Minryo Maru (2224 BRT) in position 13.43N, 120.39E and the Japanese tanker Hokuan Maru (3712 BRT) in position 13.44N, 120.29E.

Submarine USS Snook torpedoes and sinks the Japanese merchant cargo ship Nittoku Maru (3591 BRT) SW of Tsushima, Japan in position 33.48N, 128.50E.

U.S.A.: Corvette HMCS Mayflower completed refit and forecastle extension Norfolk, Virginia.

Destroyer escort USS Mack laid down.

Destroyer USS Wallace L Lind laid down.

Destroyer USS Jarvis launched.

Seaplane tender USS St George launched.

Submarine USS Shark commissioned.

USS PCE-877 commissioned.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: RAF 10 Sqn Liberator attacked U-845 with 8 depth charges. One man died and another wounded.

ENGLISH CHANNEL: Destroyer HMCS Assiniboine damaged in a collision with the merchantman SS Empire Bond. She was under repair in Sheerness until early March.

GERMANY: Dresden is attacked by the RAF (773 bombers), during the night of the 13th-14th. The US 8th AF follows up on the 14th and again on the 15th with raids exceeding 600 bombers each day.
Eighth Air Force's 1st Air Division dispatched 461 B-17s to hit the marshalling yard at Dresden; 311 hit the primary target dropping 771 tons of bombs; 124 others hit targets of opportunity.

Dresden, a city so rarely attacked that its citizens took no notice when air-raid warnings sounded, was devastated last night in the fiercest firestorm ever created by RAF Bomber Command. Over 18,000 people are confirmed dead in this city whose population of 700,000 had been swollen by as many as 500,000 refugees from the east. Conditions were perfect for Wing-Commander Maurice Smith and his 244 Lancasters. Most of Dresden's flak guns had been sent to the front, and the few available nightfighters did not arrive until too late.

The marker flares went down dead on target, then Smith ordered the destruction to start. High explosive bombs opened up the buildings; then the incendiaries went down and soon the city was ablaze. "That's good bombing," said the controller. The bombers wheeled away and then came another wave of 529 Lancasters. In all, 1,478 tons of HE and 1,182 tons of incendiaries were dropped. Then the firestorm started. People were sucked into the inferno like leaves into an autumn bonfire. Many took shelter in cellars, only to die of suffocation.

Why has such devastation been visited on Dresden, a city of great architectural but little military value? The attack stems from plans for Operation Thunderclap designed to precipitate Germany's surrender by a series of heavy raids on the railway network. Dresden is a transit centre for part of the eastern front, but last night's attack was also explicitly aimed at hastening the end of the war by destroying German morale. There was opposition to this plan, especially from the Americans, who called it "terroristic"; but it was ultimately endorsed on the grounds that it might help the Russians militarily, by attacking German communications, and politically, by being seen to support the Red Army. Thus, today the USAAF also played its part in the terror.

In response to a Red Cross inquiry concerning British and American prisoners of war who are too ill to march with others being evacuated from the camps at Sagan and Lamsdorf, Hitler personally decides, contrary to both the Geneva Convention and previous official German policy, that they are not to be left behind. They are to be brought back with the first available train returning after delivering supplies to the front. (175, p.73)(Peter Kilduff)

ARCTIC OCEAN: Between 1247 and 1304, U-968 fired torpedoes at the convoy BK-3 off Kola Inlet and reported one Liberty probably damaged, one Liberty probably sunk, a tanker identified as Norness sunk and a Liberty damaged. However, the only ships hit at this time were Norfjell and the Horace Gray. This attack was probably misinterpreted by U-992, which herself attacked the convoy and claimed one tanker sunk. The Horace Gray in station #13 was hit by one torpedo on the port side at the bulkhead between the #4 and #5 holds, only minutes after the tanker ahead of her had been hit. The explosion blew the hatch covers off and opened a hole 20 feet by 60 feet in the port side and another 20 feet by 20 feet on the starboard side. The ship settled rapidly by the stern until water reached the after deck. 20 minutes after the hit the eight officers, 33 crewmen and 28 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 5in, one 3in and eight 20mm guns) abandoned ship in the four lifeboats and were picked up by two Soviet escort vessels. One hour after being hit, the master and some crewmen returned to the ship and after raising steam, a small Soviet tug towed her to Kola Inlet. While under tow a crack appeared on the starboard side and the vessel began to sink. Eight hours after being hit, the ship was beached at Tyuva Bay in 69°11.7N/33°36.5E and two days later declared a total loss after all holds were completely flooded. The Horace Gray had arrived Molotovsk on 19 January in convoy JW-64 from New York via Swansea, Wales. In 1959, the bow of the wreck of Horace Gray was fitted to Tbilisi, which had been badly damaged by U-956 (Mohs) on 30 Dec 1944. The Norfjell was hit by one torpedo in the engine room, killing two men on watch below and opening a hole of about 14 to 5 meters. The tanker remained afloat was taken in tow by the escort and beached near Tree Roochia in the Kola Inlet. The damage was temporarily repaired at Murmansk and she left in tow on 20 Oct 1945 to Stavanger for permanent repairs, arriving on 15 November. The Norfjell with 41 crew members and eight gunners had arrived North Russia in convoy JW-63 and was on the outbound voyage in convoy BK-3 in order to join convoy RA-64.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: USS YMS-48 sunk by USS Fletcher north of Corregidor at 14.24N, 120.33E, after being damaged by Japanese shore batteries.

U.S.A.: New York: William C. Colepaugh and Erich Gimpel, German spies who landed by U-boat on 29 November, are sentenced to death.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-989 Kl. VIIC is sunk 14 Feb, 1945 in the Northern Sea at the Faeroe Islands, in position 61.36N, 01.35W by depth charges from the British destroyers HMS Bayntun and Braithwaite and the British frigates HMS Loch Eck and Loch Dunvegan. 47 dead (all hands lost).
[When the boat was sunk 2 men managed to escape from the boat. They both died reaching the surface, presumably from escaping the boat too deep. One of the men was the commander, von Roithberg. He died on his 27th birthday.] (Alex Gordon)