German submarines at sea “on this day in history” 24 August 1939-44

“On this day in history” 24 August, the following U-boats were at sea:

1939 20
1940 14
1941 45
1942 99
1943 70
1944 69

“On this day in hisstory” German submarines at sea during Battl of the Atlantic

German submarines at sea “on this day in history” 22 June during the Battle of the Atlantic.

1940 21
1941 41
1942 74
1943 99
1944 81
1945 2

The two U-Boats still at sea in 1945, more than six weeks after the official German surrender, were U-530 and U-977, both on their way to Argentina.

“On this day in history” Battleship USS Missouri (BB 63) commissioned into US Navy, 1944

“On this day in history” 11 June 1944, the Iowa-class battleship USS Missouri (BB 63) was commissioned into the United States Navy at the New York Navy Yard.

USS Missouri commissioning ceremony, 11 June 1944 (NH 96795).

“On this day in history” German U-Boat losses, 8 June

German submarine losses “on this day in history” 8 June.

U-373 (Oblt. Detlef von Lehsten) lost 8 June 1944. Sunk with depth charges by a Liberator from No. 224 Squadron RAF. There were 4 killed and 47 survivors.

U-740 (Kptlt. Günther Stark) lost 8 June 1944. Sunk with depth charges by a Liberator from No. 224 Squadron RAF. All hands (51) lost.

U-970 (Kptlt. Hans-Heinrich Ketels) lost 8 June 1944. Sunk with depth charges by a Sunderland from No. 228 Squadron RAF. There were 38 killed and 14 survivors.

Destroyers bombarding German shore batteries, 6 June 1944

Destroyers Bombing Shore Batteries, 6 June 1944. Oil on canvas by Norman Wilkinson in collection of National Maritime Museum.

HMS Vendetta 1917-1933, HMAS Vendetta 1933-1946

HMS/HMAS Vendetta was an Admiralty V-class destroyer that saw service during the First World War and the Second World War. Vendetta served in the Royal Navy from 1917 to 1933 and then transferred to the Royal Australian Navy as HMAS Vendetta in 1933. She was sold for scrap in 1946 and scuttled off Sydney Heads in 1948.

HMS Vendetta, June 1919 (IWM Q73903).

First World War

HMS Vendetta was commissioned in 1917 and assigned to the Thirteenth Destroyer Flotilla which was attached to the Grand Fleet. In October 1917, the flotilla consisted of the light cruiser HMS Champion as flagship, the depot ship HMS Woolwich, two flotilla leaders, twenty-one M-class destroyers, seven R-class destroyers, and six V-class destroyers (including Vendetta). Her first action was against German minesweepers operating in the Kattegat.

On the night of 17th November 1917, Vendetta formed part of the destroyer screen for the First Light Cruiser Squadron at the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight.

In March 1918, the flotilla was transferred to the Battle Cruiser Force (Rear Admiral William Pakenham).

HMS Vendetta, June 1919 (IWM Q73907).

Interwar

Following the First World War, Vendetta was assigned to the Baltic in support of White forces during the Russian Civil War. On 12th December 1918, she rescued 430 crew from HMS Cassandra when the cruiser struck a mine and sank. Vendetta also took part in the capture of the Bolshevik Orfey-class destroyer ‘Spartak’ and the Izyaslav-class destroyer ‘Lennuk’ which were transferred to the Estonian Navy.

Between 1924 and 1933, Vendetta served with First Destroyer Flotilla and the Fifth Destroyer Flotilla assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet.

In 1933, Vendetta was transferred to the Royal Australian Navy. Together with the destroyer leader Stuart and the destroyers Vampire, Voyager, and Waterhen, she departed Chatham on 17th October and arrived in Sydney on 21st December. The 5 ships formed the Australian Destroyer Flotilla, later to become the infamous “Scrap Iron Flotilla.”

HMAS Vendetta ship’s company 1937 (RAN photo).

Second World War

HMAS Vendetta served in the Royal Australian Navy throughout the Second World War. In November 1939, the RAN approved an Admiralty request to transfer Australian destroyers to the Mediterranean Fleets. HMAS Venedtta took passage with Stuart, Voyager, and Waterhen via the Red Sea and Suez, arriving at Malta on 14th December.

During her time in the Mediterranean, Vendetta earned battle honours for the Libya campaign (1940-41), the Battle of Cape Matapan (1941), the Battle of Greece (1941), and Crete (1941). She also served as a convoy escort between Gibraltar, Malta, and Alexandria, and as a member of the famous ‘Tobruk Ferry Service’ ferrying supplies into the besieged city and evacuating wounded. After 2-years continuous service in the Mediterranean, Vendetta was nominated for refit and, after transit of Suez and Bombay, arrived at Sembawang Dockyard, Singapore on 12th November 1941.

HMAS Vendetta, Tobruk Ferry Service, 1941 (RAN photo).

When war with Japan broke out, Vendetta was still under refit at Sembawang. When the Japanese bombed Singapore on 8th December 1941, a stick of bombs fell within 200-yards of the destroyer. There was a further air raid on 31st December, during which time Vendetta‘s anti aircraft armament went into action. During an air raid on 21st January 1942, Vendetta shot down a Japanese bomber with a direct hit on its bomb bay. With Japanese forces approaching Singapore from landward, the stripped-down Vendetta was towed from the dockyard on 2nd February, reaching Batavia on 10th February, Fremantle on 4th March, and Melbourne on 15th April. Her refit recommenced at Williamstown and was finally complete in September 1942.

HMAS Vendetta (RAN photo).

Vendetta‘s refit involved a reduction in main armament and an increase in anti aircraft armament. She would now serve as a well-armed dedicated escort vessel instead of a “workhorse” destroyer. During her service in the Far East, Vendetta earned the battle honours Pacific (1941-43) and New Guinea (1943-44). In September 1945, Vendetta transported Australian representatives to Rabaul to accept the surrender of Japanese forces.

HMAS Vendetta paid off on 17th November 1945 and was placed on the disposal list. The ship was sold for scrapping in 1946 and her hulk was scuttled off Sydney Heads on 2nd July 1948.

HMS Vendetta / HMAS Vendetta Details
Admiralty V and W-class destroyer.
Built by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Govan.
Laid down November 1916.
Launched 3rd September 1917.
Completed 17th October 1917.
Sold for scrap, scuttled off Sydney 1948.

HMS Vendetta / HMAS Vendetta Specifications
Displacement: 1,090t
Length: 312ft o/a
Beam: 29ft 6in
Draught: 14ft 8in
Machinery: 3 Yarrow boilers, 2 Brown-Curtis turbines, 29,417 SHP, 2 shafts
Speed: 35kn
Complement: 6 officers and 133 ratings
Armament:
as built: 4 QF 4-inch Mk V guns, 1 QF 2-pounder Mk II, 2 triple 21-inch torpedo tubes
added later: 2 depth charge rails, 4 depth charge throwers
post-1942 refit: 2 4-inch guns, 2 pom-poms, 4 Oerlikon guns, 7 .303-inch guns, depth charges

HMS Vendetta, January 1919 (IWM ART1657).

Links

• HMAS Vendetta (navy.gov.au)
• HMAS Vendetta (vendettaveterans.com)
• HMAS Vendetta (naval-history.net)

US Navy WAVES in photographs 1943-45

Photo #: NH 89582-KN (Color). “WAVES’ Anniversary”, 1943. Cartoon by Sixta, USNR, depicting events and activities in the first year following the 30 July 1942 authorization of the WAVES. Courtesy of the Navy Art Collection, Washington, DC. U.S. NHHC Photograph.

Photo #: 80-G-K-13754 (Color). WAVE Specialist (Photographer) 3rd Class. Saluting, as she stands among the springtime cherry blossoms near the Jefferson Memorial, Washington, D.C., during World War II. Note her Specialist “P” rating badge. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives collection.

Photo #: 80-G-K-14518 (Color). U.S. Naval Training Center, Women’s Reserve, The Bronx, New York. Some of the schools trainees march in formation behind their color guard, during World War II. This Training Center, located in the facilities of Hunter College, provided basic training for Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard women recruits. Note the Center’s flag, featuring the fouled anchor and propeller device of the Women’s Reserve. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives collection.

Photo #: 80-G-K-13879 (Color). Navy WAVE trainee. Leans on a swab while cleaning her barracks, soon after she arrived at a Naval Training Center during World War II. Photographed prior to April 1944. Note suitcases at right, and dungaree working uniform with button fly. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives collection.

Photo #: 80-G-K-5568 (Color). WAVES on liberty in Honolulu. Yeoman 3rd Class Margaret Jean Fusco photographs three friends by King Kamehameha’s statue in Honolulu, circa spring 1945. Posing are (left to right): Yeoman 2nd Class Jennie Reinhart; Yeoman 2nd Class Muriel Caldwell and Yeoman 2nd Class June Read. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives collection.

Photo #: 80-G-K-4563 (Color). USS Missouri (BB-63). WAVES visiting the ship in an east coast port, during her shakedown period, circa August 1944. They are standing on the main deck at the bow, with the Navy Jack flying behind them. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives collection.

Photo #: 80-G-272753. Transporting WAVES by air, November 1944. WAVEs en route to Naval Air Station, Olathe, Kansas, in a Douglas R4D-6 transport plane, accompanied by their instructor, Lieutenant (Junior Grade) N.J. Merrill. Most of the enlisted WAVES are strikers for the rate of Specialist (Transport Airman). Those present are (from left to right): LtJG Merrill; Yeoman 2nd Class Carolyn Fish; Seaman 2nd Class Gale Collier; Seaman 2nd Class Margaret Chapman; Seaman 2nd Class Gloria Marx; Yeoman 2nd Class Helen Niravelli; Seaman 2nd Class Marilyn Wheeler; and Seaman 2nd Class Helen Ranlett. Note cargo track in the plane’s deck. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives collection.

Photo #: 80-G-K-5793 (Color). Yeoman 1st Class Marjorie Daw Adams, USNR(W). Obtains a receipt from Mailman 2nd Class Wilbur L. Harrison, who is picking up classified mail for his attack transport, at Fleet Post Office, San Francisco, California, on 13 June 1945. He is armed with a handgun for security reasons. Much of the official Navy mail going to the Pacific Fleet passes through the Fleet Post Office’s Registry Office. Note WAVES recruiting poster in the background. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives collection.

Photo #: 80-G-K-5460 (Color). U.S. Naval Hospital, San Diego, California. WAVE Pharmacist’s Mate 3rd Class Winifred Perosky prepares to X-Ray Marine Private First Class Harold E. Reyher, circa spring 1945. She is one of 1000 WAVES assigned to the Naval Hospital at San Diego. PFC Reyher had been wounded by an enemy sniper on Iwo Jima. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives collection.

Photo #: 80-G-K-5675 (Color). WAVE air station control tower crew. At a Naval Air Station in the Hawaiian islands, circa mid-1945. Specialist 2nd Class Mary E. Johnson uses a microphone to speak to an incoming plane, as Specialist 2nd Class Lois Stoneburg operates a signal lamp. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives collection.

Photo #: 80-G-43935. Aviation Machinist’s Mate 3rd Class Violet Falkum. Turns over the Pratt & Whitney R-1340 radial engine of a SNJ-4 training plane, at Naval Air Station, Jacksonville, Florida, 30 November 1943. This photograph was used in a World War II recruiting poster. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives collection.

Photo #: 80-G-K-14222 (Color). WAVES study aircraft mechanics. At Naval Air Station, Lakehurst, New Jersey, during World War II.
Seaman 2nd Class Elaine Olsen (left) and Seaman 2nd Class Ted Snow are learning to take down a radial aircraft engine block. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives collection.