|
Date of Arrival |
Place |
Date of Departure |
Remarks, Orders etc |
|
27.9.40 |
Middlesbrough |
8.7.41 |
15.5.41 Completes ex
trials 3/6
5/6 Delayed – machinery
defect
7/6 HALCYON should be
sailed for Stornoway on completion landing LL tails and reels at
Aberdeen.
30/6 Completed 30/6 –
anticipate her sailing for Stornoway 0900 6.7.41 if trials
satisfactory.
3/7 Ship will be delayed
48 hours – degaussing trouble
5/7 Intend to sail TLC105
& 108 8/7 escorted by HALCYON to Stornoway for onward sailing escort
to Belfast. |
|
8.7.41 |
Aberdeen |
10.7.41 |
|
|
12.7.41 |
Stornoway |
13.7.41 |
|
|
? |
Aberdeen |
15.7.41 |
As HALCYON’s gear is at Middlesborough intend sailing her there a.m. 15/7 to embark gear and
complete fitting of R/T |
|
15.7.41 |
Middlesbrough |
22.7.41 |
17/7 HALCYON taken in
hand Smithsons Dock South Bank Middlesborough, completes 21/7 |
|
23.7.41 |
Scapa |
28.7.41 |
From C in C Home Fleet –
request R.A. (D) Home Fleet will sail HALCYON from Seidisfiord when
ready.
28/7 from R.A.(D):
Salamander with HALCYON to proceed passing Switha 2000 28/7 to
Seidisfiord Iceland |
|
SALAMANDER, NIGER,
HARRIER and HALCYON spent most of August providing A/S protection for
the port of Seidisfjord in Iceland. In the middle of the month
Salamander and HALCYON escorted the RFA tanker BLACK RANGER to
Hvalfjord.
Ruegg |
|
30.7.41 |
Seidisfiord |
12.8.41 |
For Hvalfiord |
|
19.8.41 |
Hvalfjord |
20.8.41 |
|
|
20.8.41 |
At sea |
31.8.41 |
HALCYON, Harrier and
Salamander provided part of the ocean escort for Operation Dervish,
the first convoy to North Russia, arriving Archangel 31/8 without
being attacked.
They sailed to the White
Sea to conduct mine searching operations at its entrance in
preparation for future Arctic convoys. |
|
Source:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/ww2/A2021446
[...David
Moore wrote this account of his visiting North Russia in 1941 with
convoys. He was flotilla navigating officer in HMS HALCYON aged
about twenty four.]
I was in or based on Archangel in North Russia between August and
October 1941 and the abiding impression is of a pleasant and
stimulating period, no doubt due to the surprisingly warm climate in
Archangel at the time, the lack of enemy activity and the excitement
of penetrating the Communist USSR and having to deal with its
people.
On the voyage out in the first convoy to Russia we were issued with
lots of intelligence material, but it was straight from the
experiences of the Allied and British forces that had been in
Archangel in about 1918-1920 trying to keep the port from falling
into Bolshevik hands. They failed; but the intelligence stuff was
quaint and old-fashioned in 1941 and had little to relevance to what
we would find.
After a few days in the
timber yards some of us took a boat into the city for a 'run
ashore'. There was Fred Bradley our big RNVR First Lieut., who in
civilian life was a wealthy Lloyds underwriter. Also I think Lt.
Mason, the 'Guns', and myself. Fred was always good for a laugh and
could make any party go. On reaching the landing-stage we were met
by a good-looking Russian girl and our first impression was that we
were being picked up by one of the locals. However, it did not take
us long to realise that she was a KGB (or whatever it was then)
agent and that she had been detailed off to escort us to a café
where she stood us some insipid lager. Our questions about the USSR,
the Stalin-Hitler pact of 1939 and so on, were neatly parried.
Archangel was really a rather dilapidated place with old buildings
which appeared to date from prosperous times before WW1. It was
obviously a somewhat neglected outpost of the empire. The afternoon
did not develop into any jolly night-life, because there wasn't any,
and we returned to the ship without having met any genuine Russians.
|
Report of the proceedings of HM
Ships Harrier, Salamander and HALCYON is submitted herewith.
MINESWEEPING OPERATION OF SEPT 24TH – 27TH
Preparatory to the arrival of HMS
LONDON
The three sweepers sailed p.m. 24th; on 25th
searched QZF38 and then north to Cape Gorodetski with Oropesa and SA.
Sweeping was abandoned p.m. owing to strong northerly winds. Ships
anchored south of Veshnyak for the night. As stated in the sailing
directions, this is an uncomfortable anchorage owing to strong tides.
On Sept 26th a high percentage search of QZF 38 was carried
out with LL and SA. On completion ships returned to the North Dvina
Lightship, arriving a.m. Sept 27th.
Source ADM 199/264
Report of Proceedings |
|
28.9.41 |
At sea |
2.10.41 |
Local eastern escort from Archangel for QP1 (14 ships) with HALCYON
and Salamander until 30/9. No enemy activity. |
| |
The three sweepers formed
part of the escort of convoy QP1, parting company at 1300 on Sept 30th.
I had intended to carry out a further search of Gorodetski – QZF 38
area before the return of HMS London but, owing to the bad
visibility, only an acoustic search was possible. Ships returned to
Archangel a.m. Oct 2nd.
Source ADM 199/264
Report of Proceedings |
|
3.10.41 |
DEPARTURE OF THE
ANGLO-AMERICAN MISSION
HMS London arrived p.m. October 3rd.
SALAMANDER and HALCYON were sent to the North Dvina Lightship to
provide A/S protection, while HARRIER remained at Archangel as W/T
link and to take the mission down river on Oct 4th.
Source ADM 199/264
Report of Proceedings |
|
8.10.41 |
HARRIER and HALCYON sailed on October 8th
to buoy the newly established QZF 39 and to search QZF 38 before the
arrival of convoy PQ1. This was done at dusk on Oct 9th
and HALCYON was sent back to Archangel, while HARRIER proceeded to
position Z to meet the convoy.
The convoy was picked up by RDF at a
range of 10,000 yards at 0400 Oct 10th. HARRIER joined up
and formed part of the escort until arrival off Dvina at dawn on Oct
11th.
The weather
was too bad to embark pilots outside the bar, so HARRIER led the
minesweepers across the bar where they embarked pilots, and in turn
led the ships of the convoy across the bar.
Source ADM 199/264
Report of Proceedings |
|
|
One of the first minesweeping operations given to Harrier, HALCYON and
Salamander was to investigate ‘objects’ dropped by enemy aircraft in
the Kara Strait. Lt Bill Mellalieu RNVR on HALCYON recalls:
‘As we sailed east from
the White Sea the sea began to freeze appearing like a thick viscous
sugar/water mixture. When we reached the Strait we found the sides
frozen solid with ice but with pack ice in the centre. We made several
passes with LL streamed and SA hammering away with no result and were
about to call ‘false alarm’ when there was a heavy explosion ahead
which flung huge chunks of ice skyward. Men on the upper deck sought
shelter as the ice fell inboard. The next pass produced an explosion
in the LL tail. I believe we triggered about seven mines altogether.’
Source: Fleet
Sweepers at War, Jack Williams
|
|
14.10.41 |
HM Ships HARRIER,
SALAMANDER, BRITOMART and HALCYON sailed from Archangel p.m. Oct 14th,
with orders to return to Scapa via Seidisfiord. SALAMANDER had only
temporary repairs to her forepeak and was compelled to reduce speed
in any head sea; HALCYON could only steam 11 knots owing to a
distorted tail shaft: BRITOMART has no A/S: HARRIER’s Type 271 was
out of action owing to lack of spares.
Soon after sailing, orders were received from the
Commander in Chief, Home Fleet to search Brentsburg and Longyearby
for possible enemy occupation. It was obvious that SALAMANDER and
HALCYON would be unable to make the extra distance so at noon on
October 18th HARRIER and BRITOMART parted company and
increased to 13 knots to make landfall at Spitzbergen before (?) on
October 18th.
Source ADM 199/264
Report of Proceedings
|
|
22.10.41 |
Seidisfiord |
23.10.41 |
|
|
25.10.41 |
Scapa |
29.10.41 |
24/10 From C in C Home
Fleet: Request sail HALCYON on to Aberdeen for repairs.
31/10 From Flag Officer
In Charge Aberdeen: If repairs to HMS HALCYON are undertaken by Messrs
John Lewis and Sons (the only firm available) the work will take seven
weeks. An immediate decision on this matter is requested. |
|
? |
Aberdeen |
1.11.41 |
1/11 HALCYON can be taken
in hand at Messrs Green Silley & Weir London for repairs and fitting
out for Arctic service. Should be sailed for London forthwith. |
|
3.11.41 |
Sheerness |
4.11.41 |
For Royal Albert Dock |
|
4.11.41 |
London |
14.12.41 |
From F O I/C London:
Vessel completes on 16/12 and should sail on 18/12.
23/11 HALCYON is required
to sail 14/12 |
|
14.12.41 |
Sheerness |
17.12.41 |
HALCYON reports that
intermediate starboard propeller shaft is out of line and bearings are
running hot. Ship is being retained at Sheerness.
16/12 HALCYON reports
intermediate shaft slightly bent but full power trial carried out
today as otherwise satisfactory. Ship is considered fit for service. |
|
? |
Scapa |
22.12.41 |
22/12 Left Scapa with
Arethusa, 6 destroyers, 2
corvettes, Harrier, Scott and Speedwell and two LSIs for the raid on
Vaagso (Operation Anklet, the landing of commandos on the Lofoten
Islands); entered Vestfjord on 26/12 and the Commando raid began.
Force left 28/12 and arrived Scapa 1.1.42 |
