Sunday, 17 December 1939
Destroyers
Ellis (DD‑154) and Cole (DD‑155) relieve Lea (DD‑118) and Philip
(DD‑76) of shadowing German passenger liner Columbus.
British RFA oiler Olynthus
refuels New Zealand light cruiser HMNZS Achilles off Rouen Bank, the
southernmost channel of the River Plate estuary. Light cruiser HMS Ajax and
heavy cruiser HMS Cumberland cover the evolution.
German armored ship Admiral
Graf Spee, her allotted time in neutral Uruguayan waters for repair of
damage received in the Battle of the River Plate having expired, and her crew
transferred to freighter Tacoma, puts to sea from Montevideo, Uruguay,
and is scuttled about five miles west‑southwest of the entrance of Montevideo
harbor, 35°11'S,56°26'W. The destruction of Admiral Graf Spee comes, as
First Lord of the Admiralty Winston S. Churchill later declares "like a
flash of light and colour on the scene, carrying with it an encouragement to
all who are fighting, to ourselves, and to our Allies" (see 30 December
1939 and 1 January 1940). Admiral Graf Spee had sunk nine British
merchantmen during her cruise, totaling 50,089 tons of shipping. Not a single
life had been lost in the process. In World War I, the famed German raider Emden
had sunk 16 ships of 66,146 tons before her demise under the guns of
Australian cruiser HMAS Sydney.
U.S. freighters Meanticut
and Excalibur are detained by British authorities at Gibraltar (see
18 and 31 December, respectively).
Monday, 18 December 1939
Destroyers
Greer (DD‑145) and Upshur (DD‑144) relieve destroyers Ellis (DD‑154)
and Cole (DD‑155) of shadowing German passenger liner Columbus. Later
that same day, heavy cruiser Tuscaloosa (CA‑37) replaces the destroyers
in trailing the passenger ship.
U.S. freighter Meanticut,
detained by British authorities at Gibraltar the previous day, is released.
Tuesday, 19 December 1939
British
destroyer HMS Hyperion intercepts German passenger liner Columbus 450
miles east of Cape May, New Jersey; the latter is scuttled to prevent capture.
Two crewmen perish in the abandonment. Heavy cruiser Tuscaloosa (CA‑37)
rescues Columbus's survivors (567 men and 9 women stewardesses) and sets
course for New York City, the only U.S. port that can handle such a large and
sudden influx of aliens.
British light cruiser
HMS Orion intercepts German freighter Arauca off Miami, Florida;
the latter puts in to Port Everglades to avoid capture. Destroyer Truxtun (DD‑229)
has trailed the merchantman at one point; destroyer Philip (DD‑76) is
present when Arauca reaches sanctuary. USAAC B‑18 (21st Reconnaissance
Squadron), however, witnesses the shot that Orion fires over Arauca's
bow (in the attempt to force the latter to heave‑to) splashing inside
American territorial waters off Hialeah, Florida. Learning of this incident,
Secretary of State Cordell Hull instructs U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St.
James Joseph P. Kennedy to remind the British Foreign Office that, as neutrals,
the American republics are entitled to have their waters "free from the
commission of any hostile act by any non‑American belligerent nation." The
U.S. Navy eventually commissions Arauca as refrigerated storeship Saturn
(AF‑40).
U.S. freighter Nishmaha
is free to sail from Marseilles to continue her voyage, but port conditions
and weather prevent her from sailing as scheduled.
Wednesday, 20 December 1939
Submarine
tender Bushnell (AS‑2), operating out of Tutuila, Samoa, as a survey
ship under the auspices of the Hydrographic Office, completes Pacific Island
surveys, having covered a total of 76,000 nautical square miles since
commencing that work on 1 July.
Heavy cruiser Tuscaloosa
(CA‑37) disembarks scuttled German passenger liner Columbus's "distressed
mariners" at Ellis Island, New York City.
Destroyer Twiggs (DD‑127),
on neutrality patrol in Yucatan Channel, relieves Evans (DD‑78) of duty
trailing British RFA tanker Patella.
German armored ship Admiral
Graf Spee's former commanding officer, Kapitan zur See Hans
Langsdorff, commits suicide at Montevideo, Uruguay.
U.S. freighter Exochorda
arrives at Naples with the 45 tons of tin plate condemned by the British
prize court at Gibraltar among her cargo, having been permitted to sail by her
master's agreeing to ship the 45 tons of tin to Marseilles from Genoa. Another
100 tons of tin, however, consigned to a Swiss buyer, are put on the
"detained list” and held in Genoa at the disposal of the British consul.
That turn of affairs prompts U.S. Ambassador in Italy William Phillips, to take
up the matter with the British Ambassador, who expresses his awareness of the
"irritation and resentment...in American commercial and shipping
circles" over the seemingly "arbitrary, careless, and casual” methods
shown by the British contraband control people.
U.S. freighters Oakwood,
bound for Genoa, Italy, and Executive, bound for Greece, Turkey, and
Rumania, are detained by British authorities at Gibraltar (see 23 December 1939
and 3 January 1940, respectively).
Thursday, 21 December 1939
Destroyer
Twiggs (DD‑127), on neutrality patrol in Yucatan Channel, continues
trailing British RFA tanker Patella.
Friday, 22 December 1939
Destroyer
Philip (DD‑76) relieves Twiggs (DD‑127) of neutrality patrol duty
trailing British RFA tanker Patella off east coast of Florida; while en
route to Fort Lauderdale, Twiggs observes British light cruiser HMS Orion
off Port Everglades and anchors to keep an eye on the British warship as
the latter prowls the coast.
Saturday, 23 December 1939
Typhoon
passes within 100 miles of Guam, M.I.; although the gale force winds cause
little damage to Navy property, they cause widespread crop and property damage
in the native quarters.
U.S. freighters Explorer (detained at Gibraltar since 9 December) and Oakwood (detained there since 20 December) are released by British authorities.
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