CAB80-13 — Page 351

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22. H.M. Submarine Odin, which has been operating in the Eastern Mediterranean, has failed to report and is presumed lost. H.M. Submarine Grampus is also overdue and must be considered lost.

Other Stations.

On the 23rd June a torpedo air vessel burst on board H.M. Destroyer Khartoum and caused serious damage. She is now beached at Perim and salvage is considered impossible. Casualties were one killed and three seriously wounded.

24. On the same day H.M. Indian Corvette Pathan when off Bombay was seriously damaged by an explosion (cause uncertain) and subsequently sank. Casualties were two officers and three ratings killed and 22 wounded.

Enemy Attack on Seaborne Trade.

25. This has been intensified throughout the week and particularly off the Spanish coast and in the Western Approaches. Five British ships (34,961 tons). and fifteen others (51,928 tons) were sunk by U-boats. Two neutral ships (12,405 tons) were mined, three British ships (6,856 tons) were torpedoed and sunk by E-boats, one British (7,405 tons) and three others (9,729 tons) were bombed and sunk by aircraft, and three British ships (6,519 tons) and two Norwegians (4,896 tons) were lost by causes as yet unknown.

26. Total tonnage lost amounts to 135,699 tons, of which 55,741 tons was British. Details are given in Appendix I.

Convoys.

27. A total of 882 ships, including 142 Allied and 43 neutral, were convoyed during the week, of which four ships were lost by U-boat action. Eleven armed merchant cruisers, 15 destroyers, 18 sloops and 8 corvettes were employed on escort duties.

28. Since the commencement of hostilities 26,355 ships have been convoyed, of which 21,177 were British.

29. Imports in the United Kingdom by ships in convoy amounted to 959,498 tons. Nineteen tankers brought 219,646 tons of oil, and mineral imports were 255,037 tons. Imports of cereals amounted to 196,576 tons and other food imports were 56,284 tons, of which 10,300 tons were sugar and 20,883 tons were refrigerated and canned meat.

Anti-Submarine Operations.

30. Nine attacks on U-boats have been carried out in home waters, one of which is considered successful and another promising. Anti-submarine patrols have been in operation between Ushant and the Lizard and Ushant and the Loire. Two destroyers have been hunting a U-boat which was reported to be interrupting traffic off the mouth of the Gironde. In the Mediterranean H.M. Submarine Parthian reported that she had torpedoed and sunk an Italian submarine off the north-east coast of Libya on the 20th June.

31. On the 26th June H.M. Destroyer Kingston attacked an Italian submarine with gun and depth charge in the southern Red Sea and believes the submarine was destroyed. On the same day our aircraft attacked submarines in Assab Harbour.

Enemy Minelaying and British Minesweeping off the British and French Coasts.

32. Minelaying by enemy aircraft has not been as extensive during the week the 19th to 26th June as might have been expected. Portsmouth was subjected to a heavy raid on the night of the 21st/22nd and was closed to all traffic for over six hours. On the 22nd LL trawlers exploded six mines in the approaches, two more being exploded on the 23rd. The anti-submarine yacht Campeador V,

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