The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II. Robert J. Cressman
4.1.1 (Captain Marion Y. Cohen) assumes escort duty for convoy ON 22 at the MOMP. Although there are no U-boat attacks on the convoy, ships of TU 4.1.1 carry out depth charge attacks on suspicious contacts (see 8 and 9 October).
8 Wednesday
ATLANTIC. Destroyer Dallas (DD 199), in screen of convoy ON 22, depth charges a contact (later evaluated as “non-submarine”) about 450 miles southwest of Reykjavik, Iceland, 58°54′N, 29°31′W.
Oiler Salinas (AO 19), with convoy HX 152, is damaged by heavy seas and is convoyed to Iceland by destroyer Broome (DD 210).
9 Thursday
ATLANTIC. Destroyer Upshur (DD 144), in screen of convoy ON 22, carries out depth charge attack (like Dallas’s the previous day, evaluated as non-submarine”) about 405 miles southeast of Cape Farewell, 56°47′N, 34°05′W.
10 Friday
ATLANTIC. TG 14.3 (Rear Admiral H. Kent Hewitt), comprising carrier Yorktown (CV 5), battleship New Mexico (BB 40), heavy cruiser Quincy (CA 39), light cruiser Savannah (CL 42), and Destroyer Divisions 3 and 16, sails from Argentia, Newfoundland, for Casco Bay, Maine. Encountering heavy weather en route, Yorktown, New Mexico, Quincy, Savannah, and destroyers Rhind (DD 404), Hammann (DD 412), Anderson (DD 411), Sims (DD 409), Mayrant (DD 402), Rowan (DD 405), Hughes (DD 410), and Trippe (DD 403) will all suffer varying degrees of topside damage before the force reaches Casco Bay on 13 October.
PACIFIC. Captain Lester J. Hudson relieves Captain Richard E. Cassidy as Commander South China Patrol on board river gunboat Mindanao (PR 8) at Hong Kong, B.C.C.
14 Tuesday
ATLANTIC. German submarine U 553 encounters convoy SC 48 and summons help (see 15–18 October).
15 Wednesday
ATLANTIC. German submarine U 553 begins onslaught against convoy SC 48, torpedoing and sinking British motorship Silvercedar at 53°36′N, 30°00′W, and Norwegian freighter Ila at 53°34′N, 30°10′W, before the U-boat is driven off by Canadian destroyer HMCS Columbia [ex-U.S. destroyer Haraden (DD 183)]. U 432, U 502, U 558, and U 568, followed by U 73, U 77, U 101, and U 751 converge on the convoy, and one of these boats, U 568, torpedoes and sinks British steamer Empire Heron at 54°55′N, 27°15′W, before being driven off by British corvette HMS Gladiolus. Consequently, TU 4.1.4 (Captain Hewlett Thebaud), comprising four U.S. destroyers, is directed to proceed to SC 48’s aid as the west-bound convoy it had been escorting, ON 24, is dispersed (see 16–18 October).
16 Thursday
ATLANTIC. Battle to protect convoy SC 48 continues. German submarines U 502 and U 568 reestablish contact before retiring upon arrival of TU 4.1.4 (Captain Hewlett Thebaud). Destroyer Livermore (DD 429) sweeps ahead of the convoy, depth charges U 553; destroyer Kearny (DD 432), sweeping astern, drops charges to discourage tracking submarines. Later, U 502 and U 568, augmented by U 432, U 553, and U 558, renew attack upon SC 48. The U-boats commence a determined assault on SC 48 during the night of 16–17 October.
Destroyer Charles F. Hughes (DD 428), while escorting convoy HX 154, rescues the only seven survivors of British freighter Hatasu (torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U 431 on 2 October, 600 miles east of Cape Race), at 51°56′N, 35°58′W.
PACIFIC. Destroyers Peary (DD 226) and Pillsbury (DD 227) are damaged in collision during night exercises in Manila Bay, P.I.
17 Friday
PACIFIC. General Tojo Hideki becomes Japanese Premier as Konoye Government resigns.
Commander in Chief Pacific Fleet (Admiral Husband E. Kimmel) sends two submarines to Midway and two to Wake on “simulated war patrols” (see 26 October).
Navy orders all U.S. merchant ships in Asiatic waters to put into friendly ports.
ATLANTIC. Battle to protect convoy SC 48 continues. SC 48 is the first U.S. Navy–escorted convoy to engage German submarines in battle, but despite the presence of the three modern U.S. destroyers, two flush-deckers—Decatur (DD 341) and HMCS Columbia [ex-U.S. destroyer Haraden (DD 183)]—and four Canadian corvettes, the enemy torpedoes six ships and an escort vessel in a total elapsed time of four hours and 47 minutes. U 432 sinks Greek steamer Evros at 57°00′N, 24°30′W, and Panamanian steamer Bold Venture and Norwegian motor tanker Barfonn at 56°58′N, 25°04′W; U 558 sinks British tanker W. C. Teagle at 57°00′N, 25°00′W, and Norwegian steamship Rym at 57°01′N, 24°20′W. U 553 sinks Norwegian steamer Erviken at 56°10′N, 24°30′W, and conducts unsuccessful approach on destroyer Plunkett (DD 431). Destroyer Kearny (DD 432) is torpedoed by U 568 southwest of Iceland, 57°00′N, 24°00′W; 11 of Kearny’s crew are killed and 22 injured (see 18 October). Soon thereafter, U 101 torpedoes and sinks British destroyer HMS Broadwater [ex-U.S. destroyer Mason (DD 191)], at 57°01′N, 19°08′W.35 Escorted by Greer (DD 145), the damaged Kearny limps to Hvalfjordur, Iceland.36 Iceland-based PBYs (VP 73) arrive to provide air coverage for SC 48.
Destroyers Charles F. Hughes (DD 428) and Gleaves (DD 423), while screening convoy HX 154, depth charge suspicious contacts at 54°40′N, 33°59′W, and 54°40′N, 33°59′W (see 19 October).
18 Saturday
ATLANTIC. PBY (VP 73) drops package containing blood plasma and transfusion gear for use in treating the wounded on board damaged destroyer Kearny (DD 432); Monssen (DD 436) retrieves the package, but the gear becomes disengaged and sinks. PBM (VP 74) repeats the operation a few hours later; this time the drop is successful and Monssen retrieves the medical supplies intact. Destroyers Plunkett (DD 431), Livermore (DD 429), and Decatur (DD 341), meanwhile, make concerted depth charge attacks on sound contacts at 54°53′N, 33°08′W, with no visible results. German submarines break off operations against SC 48.
19 Sunday
ATLANTIC. Destroyers Charles F. Hughes (DD 428) and Gleaves (DD 423), while screening convoy HX 154, depth charge suspicious contacts at 59°58′N, 23°15′W; 60°00′N, 23°20′W; and 59°57′N, 22°41′W.
Unarmed U.S. freighter Lehigh is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U 126 about 75 miles off Freetown, Sierre Leone, 08°26′N, 14°37′W. While there are no fatalities, four men are slightly injured.
Destroyer Kearny (DD 432) lies careened alongside repair ship Vulcan (AR 4) at Hvalfjordur, Iceland, undergoing repairs to her damaged starboard side. (NA, 80-G-425654)
20 Monday
ATLANTIC. PBYs (VP 73) provide air coverage for convoy ON 26.
22 Wednesday
PACIFIC. Battleships Oklahoma (BB 37) and Arizona (BB 39) are damaged in collision in Hawaiian Operating Area.
25 Saturday
ATLANTIC. TF 14 (Rear Admiral H. Kent Hewitt), formed around carrier Yorktown (CV 5) (VF 42, VB 5, VS 5, and VT 5), battleship New Mexico (BB 40), light cruisers Savannah (CL 42) and Philadelphia (CL 41), and nine destroyers, departs Portland, Maine, to escort a convoy (“Cargo”) of British merchantmen (see 2 November).
TU 4.1.3 (Commander Richard E. Webb) escorts convoy HX 156; destroyer Hilary P. Jones (DD 427) carries out depth charge attacks on suspicious contact but, after spying a school of porpoises, ceases fire.
South and Northeast Greenland Patrols are merged and renamed Greenland Patrol; it is designated as TG 24.8 of the Atlantic Fleet.
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