On The Week of 10-16 December 1939

US NAVY

Sunday, 10 December 1939

            U.S. freighter Steel Engineer is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities (see 11 December).

Monday, 11 December 1939

            U.S. freighter Azalea City, detained at London by British authorities since 27 November, is released to proceed to Antwerp, and Rotterdam, Holland, after certain cargo is detained for guaranties. Freighter Steel Engineer, detained at Gibraltar by the British the previous day, is released.

Wednesday, 13 December 1939

            British heavy cruiser HMS Exeter, light cruiser HMS Ajax, and New Zealand light cruiser HMNZS Achilles (Commodore Henry H. Harwood, RN, flag in Ajax), which had rendezvoused the previous day, engage German armored ship Admiral Graf Spee in the Battle of the River Plate. The "pocket battleship" knocks Exeter out of action and damages her consorts, but is compelled by the damage inflicted by her lesser‑gunned adversaries (which are fought, as First Lord of the Admiralty Winston S. Churchill writes, "with the utmost resolution and skill") to retire toward Montevideo, Uruguay. Exeter, badly damaged, withdraws to the Falkland Islands (see 14 December.). The U.S. Navy studies the Battle of the River Plate from a perspective of drilling gunners to maintain fire by local (rather than a centralized director) control. To this end, a scenario similar to the River Plate engagement is included in an exercise in 1940. In addition, the Director of Fleet Training considers the "proper use of smoke either as a defense measure or as a means of covering movements of an attacking force" extremely important, and points out the demonstrable effectiveness of a smoke screen "as a means of protection for light forces" employed by Commodore Harwood in the battle with Admiral Graf Spee.

            U.S. freighter Exochorda, detained at Gibraltar by British authorities since 5 December, is released.

Thursday, 14 December 1939

            League of Nations, in response to the Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November, expels the USSR from its membership.

            Heavy cruiser Vincennes (CA‑44) and destroyers Evans (DD‑78) and Twiggs (DD‑127) (the latter destroyer having shadowed British destroyer HMS Hereward a short time before) trail Australian light cruiser HMAS Perth which is prowling the Gulf of Yucatan waiting for the emergence of German passenger liner Columbus. The Americans maintain such a close and persistent surveillance of the Australian warship that Perth's commanding officer, Captain Harold B. Farncomb, RAN, is said to have remarked in exasperation, "Queer idea of 'neutrality' these Americans have!" German freighter Arauca departs Vera Cruz, Mexico, followed subsequently by passenger liner Columbus, the third largest ship in Germany's merchant marine. Destroyer Benham (DD‑397), soon joined by destroyer Lang (DD‑399), trails Columbus. A succession of U.S. ships will, over ensuing days, send out plain‑language position reports (see 15‑20 December).

            German armored ship Admiral Graf Spee puts in to Montevideo, Uruguay, for repairs. British light cruiser HMS Ajax and New Zealand light cruiser HMNZS Achilles maintain patrol off the 120‑mile wide River Plate estuary. British heavy cruiser HMS Cumberland reinforces Ajax and Achilles that night.

            Interior Department motorship North Star (U.S. Antarctic Service), with the permission of the British government, visits Pitcairn Island to take on water and discovers the islanders in need of certain foodstuffs and medical supplies, which she provides. The provisions include flour, sugar, potatoes, matches, lard, gasoline and lubricating oil. The supplies will be replaced in New Zealand with funds turned over to Rear Admiral Byrd by the Chief Magistrate.

            U.S. freighter Extavia, detained at Gibraltar by British authorities since 29 November, is released.

Friday, 15 December 1939

            Destroyer Jouett (DD‑396) relieves Benham (DD‑397) at sea; the latter attempts to locate German freighter Arauca, while Jouett joins Lang (DD‑399) in shadowing passenger liner Columbus.

            British RFA oiler Olynthus refuels light cruiser HMS Ajax at Samborombon Bay, off the coast of Argentina; heavy cruiser HMS Cumberland covers the evolution lest German armored ship Admiral Graf Spee should attempt to sortie.

            U.S. freighter Exmoor, detained at Gibraltar by British authorities since 7 December, is released.

Saturday, 16 December 1939

            Destroyers Schenck (DD‑159) and Philip (DD‑76), soon joined by Lea (DD‑118), relieve destroyers Jouett (DD‑396) and Lang (DD‑399) in trailing German passenger liner Columbus off Key West, Florida. Jouett and Lang steam to join destroyer Davis (DD‑395) in attempting to locate freighter Arauca. Schenck soon proceeds on other assigned duties.

            British light cruiser HMS Ajax, heavy cruiser HMS Cumberland and New Zealand light cruiser HMNZS Achilles patrol off River Plate estuary; Ajax's Seafox reconnoiters the area.

On The Week of 3-9 December 1939

US NAVY

Sunday, 3 December 1939

            German armored ship Admiral Graf Spee stops British freighter Tairoa; the warship then sinks the merchantman at21°30'S, 03°00'E. Ironically, the same day Commodore Commanding South Atlantic Station, Commodore Henry H. Harwood, orders his three cruisers to concentrate off the River Plate estuary on 12 December (see 13 December).

Monday, 4 December 1939

            U.S. freighter Examiner, detained at Gibraltar since 17 November by British authorities, is released.

Tuesday, 5 December 1939

            U.S. freighter Exochorda is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities, who maintain that the 45 tons of tin plate among the vessel's cargo is contraband. The latter maintain that the cargo must be taken to Marseilles and unloaded there; the manager of the shipping firm (Export Lines) maintains that the ship cannot proceed to a belligerent port without violating the Neutrality Act. Until the impasse is resolved, the merchantman remains at Gibraltar (see 13December). Freighter Exmouth, detained at Gibraltar since 22 November, is released.

            U.S. freighter Yaka is detained at the Downs by British authorities (see 6 December).

Wednesday, 6 December 1939

            U.S. freighter Yaka, detained at the Downs by British authorities the previous day, is released.

            German armored ship Admiral Graf Spee refuels from tanker Altmark in South Atlantic, roughly 1,700 miles from Montevideo, Uruguay.

Thursday, 7 December 1939

            Rear Admiral George J. Meyers, Commander Base Force, dies of coronary thrombosis on board his flagship, auxiliary Argonne (AG‑31), San Pedro, California (see 28 December).

            U.S. freighters Effingham and Winston Salem, detained at Ramsgate, England, by British authorities since 27 and 28 November, respectively, are released; the latter proceeds to Rotterdam where her cargo of 2,782 bales of cotton is seized by British authorities.

            U.S. freighter Exmoor is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities (see 15 December).

            German armored ship Admiral Graf Spee stops and sinks British freighter Streonshalh at 25°01'S, 27°50'W.

Friday, 8 December 8,

            Duties of the former Technical Division, Office of Naval Operations, concerned with matters of research and invention, is transferred to Office of the Technical Aid to the Secretary of the Navy.

            Secretary of State Hull urges U.S. Chargé d'Affaires in the United Kingdom Johnson to urge the Contraband Commission in London to release U.S. freighter Nishmaha (then at Marseilles, France), which has been held 25 days “a most unreasonable detention" (see 19 December).

            U.S. Consul General in Hamburg Keblinger reports that German prize control authorities are detaining more than 125neutral ships in German ports: at least 40 Swedish, 12 Danish, 5 Norwegian, 40 Finnish, 14 Estonian and 14 Latvian, comprising practically all neutral vessels clearing Baltic or Scandinavian ports with cargoes of goods that are on the German contraband list (see 27 December).

Saturday, 9 December 1939

            U.S. freighter Explorer is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities (see 23 December).

            German tanker Nordmeer sails from Curaçao, N.W.I. (see 5 January 1940).

On The Week of 26 November – 2 December 1939

US NAVY

Sunday, 26 November 1939

            German armored ship Admiral Graf Spee and tanker Altmark rendezvous in South Atlantic (see 27 and 29 November).

Monday, 27 November 1939

            U.S. freighter Effingham is detained at Ramsgate, England, by British authorities (see 7 December);

            Freighter Azalea City is detained at London (see 11 December). Freighter Excambion, detained at Gibraltar by the British since 20 November, is released.

            German armored ship Admiral Graf Spee refuels from tanker Altmark in South Atlantic (see 29 November).

Tuesday, 28 November 1939

            USSR denounces its 1932 Non‑Aggression Pact with Finland (see 30 November).

            U.S. freighter Winston Salem is detained at Ramsgate, England, by British authorities (see 7 December).

Wednesday, 29 November 1939

            Submarine S 38 (SS‑143) is damaged by explosion of after storage battery, Olongapo, P.I.; four sailors suffer injuries.

            U.S. freighter Nishmaha is detained by French authorities at Marseilles; her cargo (cotton, paraffin and beef casings) is held pending the decision of the Contraband Committee in London (see 8 December).

            U.S. freighter Extavia is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities (see 14 December).

            German armored ship Admiral Graf Spee re‑embarks from accompanying tanker Altmark all British merchant marine officers from the six ships that the "pocket battleship" has sunk up to that point. The officers are to be taken back to Germany; the crewmen remain imprisoned on board Altmark (see 16 February 1940).

Thursday, 30 November 1939

            USSR invades Finland, which will receive not only American aid but British and French as well; the Finnish struggle (albeit against an initially inept Soviet invasion force) arouses the admiration of many (see 14 December).

            Destroyer Reuben James (DD‑245) is damaged by grounding, Lobos Cay, Cuba.

            U.S. freighter Extavia, with cargo destined for Istanbul, Turkey, and the Piraeus, Greece, is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities.

Friday, 1 December 1939

            Submarine Division 14 arrives on the Asiatic Station, the first modern reinforcements received by the Asiatic Fleet in many years. Submarines comprising the division are Pickerel (SS‑177) (flag), Porpoise (SS‑172), Perch (SS‑176), Pike (SS‑173), Tarpon (SS‑175) and Permit (SS‑178).

Saturday, 2 December 1939

            German armored ship Admiral Graf Spee stops British freighter Doric Star; the warship then torpedoes, shells, and sinks the merchantman at 19°15'S, 05°05'E.

On The Week of 19-25 November 1939

US NAVY

Monday, 20 November 1939

            U.S. freighter Excambion is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities (see 27 November).

Tuesday, 21 November 1939

            "Navicert" system is instituted by U.S. in an attempt to avoid incidents at sea. U.S. merchant ships are to obtain clearances for their cargoes (certificates of non‑enemy origin for all items) prior to leaving port.

            U.S. freighter Express, detained by British authorities at Malta since 12 November, is released and allowed to proceed on her voyage after declaring the nature of her cargo (see 23 November).

Wednesday, 22 November 1939

            Auxiliary Bear (AG‑29) departs Boston, Massachusetts, as part of the U.S. Antarctic Service [Rear Admiral RichardE. Byrd, USN (Ret.)] to investigate and survey the land and sea areas of Antarctica (see 14 January 1940).

            U.S. freighter Exmouth is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities (see 5 December).

Thursday, 23 November 1939

            U.S. freighter Express, released from her detention at Malta on 21 November by British authorities, continues on her voyage to Greece, Turkey, and Rumania.

            U.S. Consul at Gibraltar William E. Chapman declines to consent to execute agreement wherein the master of freighter Nishmaha (detained since 11 November) will agree to proceed via Barcelona, Spain, to Marseilles to unload cargo deemed contraband by the Gibraltar Contraband Control board (see 24 November). Secretary of State Hull subsequently (27 November) approves Consul Chapman's action with respect to U.S. merchantmen which left the U.S. with cargoes prior to the Neutrality Act of 4 November.

Friday, 24 November 1939

            U.S. freighter Nishmaha, her master having signed agreement (see 23 November) under protest to proceed to Marseille, France, via Barcelona, Spain, clears Gibraltar.

Saturday, 25 November 1939

            Destroyer Yarnall (DD‑143) drifts aground in Lynnhaven Roads; refloated that same day, she enters the Norfolk Navy Yard for repairs on 26 November. Yarnall had only been in commission since 4 October 1939.

On The Week of 5 -11 November 1939

US NAVY

Sunday, 5 November 1939

            U.S. freighter Black Condor is detained by British authorities at Weymouth, England (see 17 November); freighter Scanmail is detained by the British at Kirkwall, Orkneys. Part of her cargo is seized; steamship President Polk is detained by the British at Port Said, Egypt, and certain items of her cargo confiscated for inquiry; freighter Black Eagle, detained by the British since 26 October, is released.

Monday, 6 November 1939

            U.S. freighter Exeter is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities. She is released the same day after 700 bags of U.S. mail are removed from the ship (see 8 and 10 November). Freighter Exminster, detained at Gibraltar by the British since 1 November, is released without any confiscation of cargo.

Tuesday, 7 November 1939

            Naval Attaché, Berlin, is informed by an official of the German Navy Ministry that it had been "definitely established that no German U‑boat had torpedoed the Athenia." The German Navy considers the incident "closed as far as the Navy was concerned" and possesses only "an academic interest in how the ship was sunk."

Wednesday, 8 November 8, 1939

            U.S. freighter Exeter is detained by French authorities (see 8 and 10 November).

            U.S. freighter Express is detained by British authorities at Gibraltar but is released the same day after her cargo is examined; freighter Tulsa, detained at London by the British since 23 October, is released; freighter Wacosta, detained by the British since 24 October, is released after cargo billed for delivery to Rotterdam, Holland, is seized as contraband.

Friday, 10 November 1939

            U.S. freighter Exeter, detained by French authorities since 8 November, is released after 1,400 bales of cottonseed hulk consigned to a Swiss buyer are removed as contraband.

Saturday, 11 November 1939

            U.S. freighter Nishmaha is detained by British authorities at Gibraltar (see 17 November); freighter Yaka is detained by the British and her cargo examined (see 5 and 6 December).

On The Week of 12-18 November 1939

US NAVY

Sunday, 12 November 1939

            U.S. freighter Express, with cargo earmarked for Greece, Turkey, and Rumania, is detained by British authorities at Malta (see 23 November).

Monday, 13 November 1939

            British steamship Sirdhana, bound for Hong Kong, blunders into British minefield off Singapore; 10 U.S. citizens (a troupe of magicians) are among the survivors. There are no casualties.

            U.S. freighter Black Hawk is detained by British authorities at Ramsgate, England.

Wednesday, 15 November 1939

            Interior Department motorship North Star (U.S. Antarctic Service) departs Boston, Massachusetts for the south polar regions (see 12 January 1940).

            German armored ship Admiral Graf Spee stops and sinks British tanker Africa Shell 160 miles northeast of Lourenco Marques, 24°45'S, 35°00'E; Japanese freighter Tihuku Maru happens upon the scene of the action but is unmolested.

Thursday, 16 November 1939

            U.S. freighter Lafcomo is detained by British authorities at Weymouth, England; freighter West Harshaw is detained by the British at Ramsgate.

            German armored ship Admiral Graf Spee stops Dutch freighter Mapia in Indian Ocean but, since the latter is a neutral ship, permits her to proceed unharmed.

Friday, 17 November 1939

            U.S. freighter Black Gull is detained by British authorities.

            U.S. freighter Nishmaha, detained at Gibraltar since 11 November, is given option of submitting to further detention or proceeding to Barcelona and thence to Marseilles to unload items seized by British authorities. Nishmaha's master chooses the latter (see 23 November). On the same day the British allow Nishmaha to clear Gibraltar, however, they detain U.S. freighter Examiner and seize 11 bags of first‑class mail (see 4 December). Freighter Black Condor, detained by the British at Weymouth, England, since 5 November, is released after part of her cargo and 126 bags of mail are seized.

 

On The Week of 29 October – 4 November 1939

US NAVY

Monday, 30 October 1939

            U.S. freighter Scanpenn is detained by British authorities at Kirkwall, Orkneys; freighter Hybert is detained by British authorities at the Downs the same day (see 11 and 5 November, respectively).

Tuesday, 31 October 1939

            U.S. freighter Black Osprey is detained at the Downs by British authorities; freighter Gateway City, detained by the British since 16 October, is released after cargo billed for delivery at Antwerp and Rotterdam, Holland, is seized as contraband.

Wednesday, 1 November 1939

            U.S. freighter Exminster is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities (see 6 November).

Thursday, 2 November 1939

            U.S. freighters Endicott and West Gambo, detained by French authorities since 22 October and portions of their cargo ordered ashore as contraband, are released and clear LeHavre, France.

Friday, 3 November 1939

            U.S. freighter City of Flint is restored to U.S. control at Haugesund, Norway.

Saturday, 4 November 1939

            Neutrality Act of 1939 becomes law. It repeals the arms embargo and substitutes a policy of "cash and carry," prohibits U.S. vessels and citizens from entering combat zones, and establishes National Munitions Control Board composed of the Secretaries of State, Treasury, War, Navy and Commerce.

            President Roosevelt declares area around British Isles a combat zone.