Archive for the ‘torpedo’ Category

Kenneth Campbell attacks the Gneisenau

Wednesday, April 6th, 2011
The Bristol Beaufort torpedo bomber used by RAF Coastal Command.
Bad weather caused the six aircraft in the raid to become separated. Kenneth Campbell arrived at the grouping point off the harbour alone and, after waiting for any other aircraft to arrive, launched a single aircraft attack against the target knowing that the defences had not been eliminated. He flew directly into one of the most heavily defended targets in the whole of europe, encircled with up to one thousand anti-aircraft and other guns.

Posted in 1941, April 1941, torpedo, Victoria Cross | No Comments »

Italian Fleet attacked in Taranto harbour

Thursday, November 11th, 2010
The Fairey Swordfish biplane in flight with torpedo
The torpedo aircraft then had to launch their torpedoes from a steady height of 150 feet while travelling at 90 knots in order to cope with the relatively shallow water. This should have made them sitting ducks for the Anti-Aircraft guns of the Battleships and Cruisers that they were attacking, and heavy casualties were anticipated. In fact only two aircraft were shot down, the crew from one of them surviving as prisoners. Three battleships were hit by torpedoes, one was sunk and the two others seriously damaged.

Posted in 1940, battleships, November 1940, torpedo | No Comments »

Naval Intelligence monitors Gunther Prien

Friday, October 1st, 2010
The Anti-Submarine Warfare Branch of Naval Intelligence monitored the patrols of individual U-boats. The October 1940 report shows the known sinkings by Kapitanleutnant Prien during his 28 day September patrol.
He started operations by sinking the Belgian Ville de Mons on the 2nd of the month, N.E. of Rockall. Proceeding westward he sank the British Titan on the 4th when N.W. of Rockall, and it is thought that he then fell in with convoy S.C.2, ... sinking on the 7th the Norwegian Gro and two British ships, the Jose de Larrinaga and the Neptunian. Following the convoy south-eastwards towards Ireland until after dark on the 8th, he sank two more British vessels, the Poseidon and the Mardinian, about 100 miles N.W. of Malin Head.

Posted in 1940, September 1940, torpedo | No Comments »

Four ships for three torpedoes in Bomba

Monday, August 23rd, 2010
Fairey Swordfish with Torpedo - three planes with one torpedo each sank four ships on 23rd August 1940.
Approaching the harbour Patch saw an Italian submarine on the surface. This was an unexpected bonus. It was later learnt that this was the submarine Iride, exercising with frogmen who were planning to make a covert attack on the British base at Alexandria. Patch released his torpedo from 30 feet at a distance of 300 yards and scored a direct hit below the conning tower.

Posted in 1940, August 1940, torpedo | No Comments »