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received extensive damage and had 15 killed and 23 wounded. Extensive damage was done to the Dockyard area and the city.
South Atlantic.
6. H.M. Armed Merchant Cruiser Asturias boarded the French S.S. Mendoza (8,199 tons) on the 18th January, 16 miles off Ponta das Cabecudas Light (350 miles S.W. of Rio de Janeiro). The French Captain refused to navigate his ship so Asturias reinforced her steaming party when outside the 50-mile limit and ordered her to Freetown.
French
The 50-mile restriction off the Brazilian Coast has been cancelled. meat ships may be intercepted anywhere outside territorial waters except W. of the line Cape Santa Maria-San Antonio.
H.M.S. Newcastle reports that one of her aircraft crashed on landing on the 22nd January and sank; the crew were picked up.
Anti-Submarine Operations.
7. H.M. Corvette Fleur de Lys made three attacks on a contact on the 19th January in the North Channel without visible result. An aircraft sent to assist sighted a U-boat on the surface. The U-boat dived and destroyers and other craft continued the search.
Attacks were also made during the week in various positions in the North- Western Approaches by H.M. Destroyers Somali, Legion and Charlestown and the Corvette Delphinium without definite result.
The Norwegian tanker Dalfonn, which had lost touch with her convoy in bad weather about 700 miles south of the Azores, reports that she engaged with her gun a U-boat for which a large armed tanker, flying Dutch colours, was apparently acting as decoy. The Dalfonn escaped unscathed. An unknown British freighter, 10 miles away, also saw and engaged the U-boat.
Enemy Intelligence.
German.
8. There has been no certain information as to the whereabouts of the German main units since the air reconnaissance at Kiel on the 9th January, except for the Hipper Class cruiser, which is still in the dry dock at Brest. Reports from various sources have suggested that the battle cruiser Scharnhorst and Gneisenau may have been off the Norwegian coast on the 29th December and back in Kiel Bay on the 10th January. It is thought that these ships may have been carrying out a trial cruise after the long period they have spent in dockyard hands repairing damage.
Italian.
9. There has been no evidence of the positions of Italian main units during the period under review, except for an air reconnaissance of Taranto, which showed four cruisers, five destroyers, seven T/Bs. and five fleet auxiliaries in the port.
U-boats.
10. A larger force of enemy U-boats than has previously been reported is now operating against our trade. Throughout the week there have been as many as 15, 5 Italian and 10 German, in the North-Western Approaches. In addition to these, two, one German and one Italian, have been in the north-west Africa area. Of these an Italian put in to Puerto de la Luz, Las Palmas, on the 20th January, in a damaged condition. It was said that the damage would take seven days to repair, but the latest reports suggest that the submarine will sail on the 23rd or 24th January.
Air reconnaissance on the 22nd January showed fifteen submarines in Bordeaux.
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