US NAVY
15 October 1939
German
armored ship Admiral Graf Spee meets tanker Altmark and refuels
(see 17 October).
Monday, 16 October 1939
German
tanker Emmy Friedrich, whose cargo includes refrigerants needed for the
magazine cooling systems in armored ship Admiral Graf Spee, then on a
raiding foray into the Atlantic, departs Tampico, Mexico. Neutrality Patrol
assets, including carrier Ranger (CV‑4) and heavy cruiser San
Francisco (CA‑38), are mobilized to locate and trail the ship if the need
arises (see 24 October).
U.S. freighter Gateway
City is detained by British authorities (see 31 October); freighter Black
Heron, detained by the British at Weymouth, England, since 7 October, is
released.
Tuesday, 17 October, 1939
U.S.
freighter Cranford is detained by British authorities (see 21 October);
freighter Black Falcon, detained by the British since 6 October, is
released.
German armored ship Admiral
Graf Spee transfers crew of British freighter Huntsman to tanker Altmark;
Huntsman is then sunk with demolition charges at 16°00'S, 17°00'W.
Wednesday, 18 October 1939
Naval
landing force from gunboats Asheville (PG‑21) and Tulsa (PG‑22)
and destroyer Whipple (DD‑217) is withdrawn from Kulangsu, China, where
it had been protecting the American Consulate and the Hope Memorial Hospital
since 17 May.
U.S. freighter West
Hobomac is detained by British authorities (see 25 October).
German armored ship Admiral
Graf Spee transfers crews of British freighters Newton Beech and Ashlea
to tanker Altmark. The two German ships then part company for a time
(see 28 October).
Thursday, 19 October 1939
Gunboat
Erie (PG‑50) arrives off Manzanillo, Mexico, on neutrality patrol; she
will monitor movements of German freighter Havelland until 11 December.
Commander Special Service Squadron (Rear Admiral John W. Wilcox Jr.) commends
the gunboat's work as "the outstanding event" of offshore patrol work
conducted by the Squadron.
Friday, 20 October 1939
Commander
Atlantic Squadron informs his ships to use plain language radio reporting of
contacts.
U.S. freighter Scanstates,
detained at Kirkwall, Orkneys, by British authorities since 14 October, is
released.
Saturday, 21 October 1939
U.S.
freighter City of Flint, under prize crew from German armored ship Deutschland,
puts in to Tromsø, Norway, for water. Norwegian government, however, orders
the ship to leave; she sails for Soviet waters (see 23, 24, 27 and 28 October
and 3 November).
U.S. freighter Meanticut
is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities and ordered to proceed to
Oran to discharge certain cargo earmarked for delivery to Italy (see 27
October).
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