Hello Gentlemen,
the British cruiser Naiad was damaged by Luftwaffe bombers off Crete on 22 May 1941. May you tell me the times of the air attacks and the Gruppen?
Many thanks
Enrico
Servo Enrico,
It would be 0830 before the convoy was sighted as it headed away northwards, and only one troop-filled caique was sunk by Perth's gunfire before German bombers located Force 'C' and attacks commenced. Admiral King ordered his force to retire and head west towards the Antikythera Channel. Harried by Ju88s from I and II/LG 1, and by Do. 17s of KG 2 which bombed from higher level, the force soon began to sustain casualties, the cruisers Naiad and Carlisle both being hit, the former suffering serious damage. In return two Ju88s were shot down, Lt Wolfgang Schweickhardt's LI +IK failing to return, while Ofw Heinrich Bocker's LI + LL ditched in the sea just off Monemvasia, after struggling back to the Greek coast; he and his crew were rescued.
Source: Shores/Cull/Malizia Air War for Yugoslavia, Greece and Crete 1941
Danke Spee,
the problem now is the hour.
Greetings
Enrico
Hello Enrico,
1. Sea-battles in close up - The Battle for Crete:
ZitatThe light cruiser Naiad hat two turrets put out of action, and near misses caused several of her compartments to be flooded and her speed to be reduced to 17 or 18 knots. In the course of ten minutes there were 36 misses, and during a period of two hours 181 bombs were counted. Only two of her turets remained in action. At 11.25 hrs, as he was unable to keep up with the remainder of his force King ordered the ships back to his force.
2. David A. Thomas: Crete 1941 - The Battle at sea:
ZitatAs the squadron retired on a south-westerly course waves of Ju 88s of Captain Hoffman´s I./LG 1 and Do 17s from Colonel Rieckhoff´s KG 2 rained down bombs from the clear, blue sky. At one time the Naiad counted thirty-six misses, many of them near ones, in a single period of time. She became damaged by the battering she was getting. Some of her hull pltes started and some compartments flooded. Her speed was reduced while damage up top put several turrets out of action.
--> map on page 160
3. The Royal Navy in The Meditteranean, Vol. 2:
ZitatAt 1000/22nd, Force C (four cruisers, Naiad, Perth, calcutta, Carlisle and three destroyers, Kandahar, Kingston, Nubian) was 25 miles south of Milo. Naiad was some way astern of the remainder, being heavily attacked by aircraft. Ten minutes later an enemy torpedo boat, Sagittario, with four or five caiques, was sighted to the northward. The British destroyers gave chase, while Perth and Naiad engaged the torpedo boat, which opened fire within 8,000 yards but shortly broke off the action and retired behind smoke. Force C was by now running shortly of A/A ammunition, and air attacks were incessant. Its speed was limited, owing to the Carlisle being limited to 21 knots. For these reasons Admiral King considered that he would jeopardize his whole force if he proceeded any further north, and he therefore decided to withdraw to the westward and ordered the destroyers to abandon the chase. A signal form the Commander-in-Chief (T.O.O.0941/22), was of considerable size, was not seen by him until 1100. During its withdrawl to the westward, Force C was continuosly bombed for three and a half hours, the Naiad having two turrets put out of action and several compartments being flooded as result of near misses. Altogether it was estimated that during two hours 181 Bombs were aimed at the Naiad.
4. --/>/> http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWW2-4105-32MAY02.htm
ZitatBritish Force C, composed of light cruisers NAIAD and PERTH, anti-aircraft cruisers CALCUTTA and CARLISLE, and destroyers KANDAHAR, KINGSTON, and NUBIAN attacked the Italian SAGITTARIO convoy at 1045 in 36-30N, 24-20E.
Torpedo boat SAGITTARIO was hit several times and at least one caique was set on fire.
The attack was broken off due to air attacks. The force withdrew to the southwest, but was hampered in that CARLISLE's maximum speed was only twenty one knots, due to various defects.
Light cruiser NAIAD sustained four near misses and her speed was limited to 16 knots. Two of her turrets were knocked out. The damage was structural. T/Sub Lt W. F. Page RCNVR, and six ratings were killed and thirty one were wounded.
Light cruiser NAIAD was able to proceed to Alexandria arriving on the 23rd.
:MG:
Darius
David A. Thomas, "Crete 1941 - The battle at sea", writes that the attacks from Ju 88 (I./LG 1 [Captain Hoffmann]) and Do 17 (KG 2 [Colonel Rieckhoff]) started at 10 o'clock and went on almost continuously until midday.
(Darius was faster with typing :wink:)
I take a guess that from german primary sources the exact minutes of Naiad's damages would be very difficult to extract in such prolonged attacks and that only british sources like her war diary would reveal them if you need them minute by minute.
So maybe in Kew the references ADM 53/114750 (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/displaycataloguedetails.asp?CATID=2176596&CATLN=6&Highlight=%2CNAIAD&accessmethod=0&Summary=True) (Records of the ship) and ADM 267/82 (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/displaycataloguedetails.asp?CATID=-687797&CATLN=7&Highlight=%2CNAIAD&accessmethod=0&Summary=True) (Department of the Director of Naval Construction, later Director General Ships: Damage Reports and Files "Shell and Bomb") would be helpful for you (if nobody else has them).
Nachschlag :-D
22 May found the four groups of warships (' Forces A ro D') still gathered in Cretan warers. Heartened by the Luftwaffe's relarively poor performance the previous day, the Royal Navy had remained on station, determined ro frustrare the Axis attempts to follow up the airborne, landings on Crete with an invasion by sea. One convoy of small craft crowded with German troops had already been repulsed wirh heavy losses during the night. Not long after dawn the strengthened 'Force C', now comprising four cruisers, plus destroyers, was caught to the north of Crete by aircraft of I./LG I and subjected to the firsrt of a serie of sustained attacks lasting nearly three-and-a-halfhours in all. Some sources suggest that III./KG 30 was called in from Sicily to add its weight to the assault, which resulted in considerable damage to the cruisers Naiad and Carlisle.
Osprey Combat Aircraft 75 "Ju 88 Kampfgeschwader in North Africa an the Mediterranean"
"... Naiad ...; and more extensive damage from bomb splinters an 22/5/41 to the wholly welded fore end, which partially flooded the ship up to No.34 bulkhead put her out of service for three weeks. Off Crete extensive but superficial damage from bomb splinters were sustained between the bridge and "Y" turret, but no time was lost out-of-service.
Ensign 02 "Dido-class cruisers"
Addenum to have another source:
"Supplement to The London Gazette" of friday, 21st of may, 1948.
This contains:
"The following despatch was submitted to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty on 4th August, 1941, by Admiral Sir Andrew B. Cunningham, G.C.B,. D.S.O., Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean:
[...]
28.) Force C was bombed practically continuously from 0945 for three and a half hours. Naiad was damaged by near misses which put two turrets out of action, flooded several compartments and reduced her speed to 16 knots. Carlisle was hit but not seriously damaged. At 1321 Force A1 was sighted coming up to the Kithera Channel from the westward, in response to an appeal for support from C.S. 15"
[...]
Yes, yes, the war diary would be very helpful... ;)
Hello Gentlemen,
thank you very much for such a large type of answer. The problem of timing about that action is an important one and the very British sources you quoted (9.45; 10.00; after 10.00 AM) confirm ther's (as usual) a mess of contradictory infos on the English side. This is why the German sources would be decisive. During the action fought by the Italian Torpedo Boat Sagittario the photos made from that little ship did not show any aircraft of the black clouds of ack ack fire above the Royal Navy ships. Some of the a.m. British sources say they were attacked, in the meanwhile, by the Luftwaffe.
A Luftwaffe report would be decisive. I'm asking myself, then, is some one among the German sailors on that torpedo boat did not shpot any photo, as the only one known were made by an Italian journalist, Vero Roberti.
With renewed thanks
Enrico
PS Peter K. by now you can put all the pages of the last article by me and Vince in the forum as the next issue of th emagazine is available now. :O/Y
Did you already have access to the war diary or the damage report or do you know that they don't contain any more detailed information?
Hello,
no I haven't, but I think the Luftwaffe reports only could be decisive.
Greetings
Enrico