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HMS Dunedin On This Day 1941: 24th November: The story of the events of this day is long, complex and tragic. At the break of day, Dunedin was seemingly on a routine patrol; by early afternoon, Dunedin had gone, taking many men with her. As we know from the movements of U-124 in the preceding days, Captain Mohr's sighting of HMS Dunedin was a chance affair. A mast in the distance, an underwater pursuit, and then three torpedoes fired at great distance, two of which slammed into Dunedin at 1326. The ship's end was a quick one - about a quarter of an hour from first hit to sinking. We don't know how many men went down with her, but the number will have been big. Perhaps two hundred and fifty made it to the rafts and the open water. Many were wounded and most would not make it home. Sailors, Marines, Officers, huddled on the Carley rafts and hoped for the best. On one raft, twenty-two men clung to each other and watched as Dunedin slid below the waves. Three days later, only three of those men were left to tell the tale. And it was a similar story on the other rafts. By the time the SS Nishmaha, a passing American merchant, came across the sorry flotilla of rafts on the 27th, only seventy-two men were left. The next night claimed five more, leaving sixty-seven. Today, 24th November 2011, three of those men will stand with relatives of their former comrades and pay homage to the men of Dunedin. We all do the same today: To the memory of the men of HMS Dunedin. 23rd November: Dunedin continued her patrol in the vicinity of St Paul's Rocks. The Admiralty received no decrypts from Bletchley Park today, but they knew something about the movement of a number of U-boats converging for a raid on southern Atlantic shipping lanes. The sinking of Atlantis had probably damaged these plans. The Admiralty knew that the U-boats would need fuel and provisions; they knew roughly where (south of St Helena), but not when. Further north, Captain Mohr in U-124 received new orders to change course slightly to rendezvous with U-126 (and Python) to help in the rescue of the Atlantis survivors. Unknown to Mohr, this minor course change would put a lone and ageing British Light Cruiser in his path the next day. 22nd November: a day of frantic activity in the South Atlantic, with HMS Devonshire tracking down and sinking Atlantis. U-126 was close by, so Devonshire left the scene quickly. U-126 began towing Atlantis' survivors with the intention of reaching Brazil.
Meanwhile, Dunedin continued her search for Python further north. U-124 received orders to change course, taking her in a more southerly direction (unknowingly in the direction of Dunedin). 21st November: Throughout most of the day, Dunedin remained at Freetown. Back in London, the Admiralty was being bombarded with decrypts from Bletchley Park. Each one by itself meant very little, but pieced together over several hours, they began to reveal a picture of what was happening in the Atlantic. The surface raider (ie, Atlantis) was on her way north; U-124 and U-129 were on their way south, having re-provisioned from another surface ship (ie, Python); and U-126 was due to re-provision from the raider coming up from the south, on 22nd November, ie tomorrow. The Admiralty despatched HMS Devonshire to go to the U-126 rendezvous with the intention of sinking the surface raider; Dunedin was sent from Freetown to look for the other surface ship in the vicinity of St Paul's Rocks.
At around 10.00pm, Dunedin left Freetown for what turned out to be the last time.
Further north, U-124 was now 500 miles south-west of Cape Verde, 900 miles north of St Paul's Rocks, still heading south. 20th November: While Dunedin remained in Freetown, the Admiralty were reading decrypted and translated German messages sent to them from Bletchley Park. The messages were not conclusive, but the Admiralty were able to make a reasonable suggestion that a surface raider was on its way north, probably on its way home. Unknown to the Admiralty at the time, the raider was Atlantis, on her way back from a long voyage in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Having re-fuelled U-68 on the 13th, she had now been ordered to do the same for U-126.
Meanwhile, U-124 continued her voyage south and was some 700 miles south west of Cape Verde and 1,000 miles north west of St Paul's Rocks. 19th November: Dunedin in Freetown U-124 completes re-fuelling and re-provisioning from Python by mid-morning and moves off.
18th November: U-124 850 miles west of Cape Verde; finds Python; U-129 with Python when U-124 arrives; U-124 re-provisions, re-fuels and repairs some broken pistons. U-124's crew work into the night; Mohr visits U-129 Captain Clausen on board Python while U-129 is re-fuelled. Dunedin arrives back at Freetown; little is happening, but the ship's company look forward to mail (which wasn't in the end, landed at Bathurst) and to sending letters home. None is landed in Freetown either. Leslie Russell wrote to his fiancée: "I think we are arriving in harbour soon and I want this letter to leave the ship as soon as possible, just in case there's another ship to take it home." Lt-Cmdr Broadway was in a similar mood: "Now that there's a chance to, I'd better finish this letter and send it off. God knows what there is to talk about......it doesn't look as if we're getting any mail this time. I'll be seeing you some day." Back in London, the Admiralty is trying to understand the strategic meaning of the messages decoded by Bletchley Park. They conclude that a German surface ship will appear in the vicinity of St Paul's Rocks some time before the 22nd. HMS Canton is despatched from Freetown to search. 17th November: Bathurst; mail arrives. U-124 600 miles west of Cape Verde; receives instructions (encoded via Enigma) to rendezvous with "Python" for re-provisioning 16th November: Called into Bathurst 15th November: At sea. Not much to see or do..... 14th November: At sea. Seriously dull patrol work. 13th November: At sea. 12th November: At sea. 11th November: At sea. 10th November: Back at sea with Dorsetshire. 9th November: Back at Freetown. 8th November: Still at sea; with Dorsetshire 7th November: Still at sea 6th November: Olwen probably attacked by submarine; Dunedin continuing to search 5th November: twelve ships now looking for Olwen (or rather, her attacker) 4th November: Sailed with Princess Beatrix and Queen Emma in response to distress signal from the oiler Olwen, some 800 miles south west of Freetown; Olwen thinks she was attacked by a surface ship; Canton and Dorsetshire, already at sea, sent to investigate too. 3rd November: Freetown; eight hours notice to steam. 2nd November: Freetown; eight hours notice to steam. 1st November: Freetown; eight hours notice to steam. 31st October: Freetown; eight hours notice to steam. 30th October: Freetown; eight hours notice to steam. U-124, under Captain Johann Mohr, sails from German U-boat base in Lorient, Northern France, en route to the South Atlantic; U-124 is a Type IXB, carrying twenty-two torpedoes and around fifty crew
29th October: Freetown; eight hours notice to steam. 28th October: Freetown; four hours notice to steam. 27th October: Freetown. 26th October: At sea; heading for Freetown..........again. 25th October: At sea; nothing to report. 24th October: In company with Vimy and Brilliant in further search for U-boats; still nothing found. 23rd October: Operation Corridor, with HMS Brilliant and HMS Vimy (Force F); sweep of Cape Verde Islands looking for U-boats and supply operations; boarding party (armed with cutlasses) on standby; nothing found;
22nd October: at sea, en route to Cape Verde Islands for operation Corridor; 21st October: sailed from Bathurst at 2145 with orders to search for U-boats on surface around Cape Verde islands in Force F with Brilliant, Vimy and two Sunderland aircraft;
20th October: Bathurst; four hours notice to steam; 19th October: entered Bathurst; fuelled, then to anchor berth 18th October: at sea with HMS Dorsetshire; heading for Bathurst 17th October: at sea with HMS Dorsetshire; 16th October: sailed from Freetown in convoy with HMS Dorsetshire; 15th October: Freetown; four hours notice to steam; 14th October: Freetown; four hours notice to steam; 13th October: Freetown; four hours notice to steam; gun torpedo exercises 12th October: Freetown; four hours notice to steam 11th October: Freetown; four hours notice to steam 10th October: Freetown; four hours notice to steam 9th October: Re-entered Freetown 8th October: At sea; heading back to Freetown 7th October: At sea; parted company with Eagle; 6th October: At sea with Eagle, steaming and rattling along at top speed! 5th October: With Eagle, escorting her to Gibraltar (from where she will go to Cammell Laird) 4th October: Finally left Freetown; sailed with Eagle. 3rd October: Freetown; four hours notice to leave. 2nd October: Freetown; four hours notice to leave; searchlight exercises. 1st October: Freetown; four hours notice to leave. 30th September: Freetown; four hours notice to leave. 29th September: Freetown; four hours notice to leave; Dunedin's boiler tubes continue to deteriorate and corrode - fifteen will need to be renewed. Sadly, the old girl was showing her age. 28th September: Freetown; four hours notice to leave; learn that Eagle will probably have to go to Gibraltar 27th September: In and out of harbour; various exercises, including launching and recovering torpedo, then to anchor; otherwise, still at Freetown. 26th September: Freetown; four hours notice to steam; serious hangar fire on Eagle. 25th September: Freetown; four hours notice to steam and first degree of Anti-Aircraft readiness. 24th September: Freetown; four hours notice to steam. 23rd September: Freetown; four hours notice to steam. 22nd September: Freetown; embarking stores, including more coal; not quite so hot; four hours notice to steam. 21st September: Freetown. Sunday Divisions, prayers and pipe down; four hours notice to leave 20th September: Freetown. Four hours notice to leave. Refuelled; replenished food and water. 19th September: Freetown. And, yes, the mail was waiting. Word from home at last. 18th September: Identified French convoy, but since it was escorted, left it alone. Getting close to Freetown. The ship's company thinking again about mail from home. Will it be there this time? 17th September: Nothing to report; still at sea. 16th September: Two seaplanes sighted from USS Nashville 15th September: Prize crew in rifle practice. 14th September: Patrol extended because of possible presence of enemy supply ship. The following three extracts illustrate very well the mood of the ship at this time. The first is from a letter to his wife from Lt-Commander Broadway: ".....We're still at sea and likely to be for another week, although the Admiralty keep altering their orders to us. It's been a week of alarums and excursions, but our only casualty has been one of the kittens which fell overboard and drowned. There are inherent possibilities of excitement yet but I don't suppose they'll mature. As we can only provision up with fresh food for about a week and they are now in the habit of sending us off for from 3 to 7 weeks at a time, we get down to iron rations fairly soon, and a diet composed almost exclusively of corned beef, sweet potatoes and beans gets a little monotonous after a while and even, perhaps, inadequate. But if our bellies and gustatory organs remain unsatisfied, our aesthetic senses have been titillated by the sight, in the evenings, of some of the loveliest sunsets I have ever seen - outside of Bermuda that is. Our ship's company gave a concert, at least the 'Swing Sextet', now with the addition of a leading stoker who is an absolute wizard on the piano, a swing septet did the other evening, and if not purely aesthetic, the entertainment was thoroughly enjoyable and appreciated by all. These things help to brighten our otherwise monotonously tranquil days. One sees a lot of one's fellow men in ship life, and can't get away, like Greta Garbo, to be alone. It's worse than marriage for that. Especially if you join a ship which only gives shore leave in a place where no one ever wants to be ashore......" The second piece is from a letter to his fiancée from Supply Assistant, Leslie Russell: "......Very little happening at the moment - we are wandering up and down the oggin (sea to you). The weather is fine and there are a number of red and raw backs. Life is boring but there is the consolation that some mail may be waiting when we arrive back in harbour......." Finally, the third piece is an extract from Midshipman Keith Mantell's log: ".......Very little ha happened during recent days. Sweltering sun and very little wind have made conditions very oppressive. At Divisions this forenoon, the Commander announced that our patrol had been extended, due to the presence of an enemy ship in an area which we reached this morning......" 13th September: Not much happening. 12th September: Having been at sea for two weeks, the ship's company is getting a bit jaded, looking forward to getting to port and seeing some mail. Food supply is getting low and a kitten is lost overboard. Not a good atmosphere on board. 11th September: Dunedin ordered to Bathurst to refuel 10th September: Action Stations. Submarine sighted on surface. Captain Lovatt's mid-morning signal records the events: Nothing seen of the convoy but when in position 235 deg Cape Verde 24 miles at 0900Z/10 observed smoke from one possibly more ships close under land to southward Dakar and 2 aircraft patrolling in vicinity. Simultaneously French type of submarine on surface closed Dunedin from similar bearing diving when 4 miles distant. At 0938Z sighted French Cruiser Montcalm class flying flag of SO 4th Squadron, French light forces, who informed me French submarines were present. Another large unidentified warship closer in shore and many general reconnaissance aircraft also sighted.
9th September: Nothing found around Gran Canaria. Still looking. 8th September: Still looking for unidentified convoy; nothing seen south of Canary Isles or close to them 7th September: Dunedin ordered to continue search between Las Palmas and Tenerife for unidentified convoy. 6th September: In an extraordinary incident, Dunedin and Rapidol almost collide. Only Dunedin's engines slammed astern avert a disaster. Later, Boy Pike spots a submarine and Rapidol is ordered to clear the area. The Admiralty report an unknown convoy has been sighted nearby, but after a search, nothing is found. 5th September: Fuelled from Rapidol; recovered an empty lifeboat 4th September: In convoy with Rapidol 3rd September: In convoy with Rapidol 2nd September: First contact with convoy 1st September: Exercising emergency turns with Rapidol 31st August: still with RFA (Royal Fleet Auxilliary) Rapidol; B4 boiler has a burst tube.
30th August: Lost Rapidol in heavy rain but rejoined later and made rendezvous with Repulse fifteen hours late; 29th August: Fuelled from Echodale then put to sea; sailed north with Rapidol towards convoy WS11 with intention of making rendezvous with Repulse and then Sheffield to escort the slow portion of the convoy; 28th August: Freetown; four hours notice to steam; preparations are now moving apace for Dunedin to relieve HMS Repulse escorting convoy WS11 sailing south to Durban;
27th August: Freetown; four hours notice to steam; 26th August: Freetown; four hours notice to steam; abandon ship exercise 25th August: Freetown; four hours notice to steam; 24th August: Freetown; four hours notice to steam; 23rd August: Freetown; four hours notice to steam; 22nd August: Freetown; four hours notice to steam; twenty-five ratings join 21st August: Freetown; four hours notice to steam [As you can see, the excitement of Dunedin's times at sea were punctuated by long periods of boredom and inactivity - but stay patient, she gets going again....eventually] 20th August: Freetown; four hours notice to steam 19th August: Freetown; four hours notice to steam 18th August: Freetown; still hot, still sticky, still a long way from home
17th August: Freetown; shifted to anchor berth 16th August: Freetown; four hours notice to steam 15th August: Freetown; ammunitioning, victualling and watering; four hours notice to steam 14th August: Freetown; all quiet 13th August: Freetown; provisions, fuel, ammunition; four hours notice to steam 12th August: Freetown; shifted berth again and went alongside HMS Vindictive (below);
Freetown was not the favourite place of Dunedin's men. Lt-Cmdr Broadway summed up the feeling when he wrote home: "This place is the Devil's private little Hell on earth, and I've never before seen such continuous unceasing rain, nor realised it could be so hot out of hell....." 11th August: Freetown; shifted berth; fours hour notice to steam 10th August: as Force Z is stood down, Dunedin arrives in Freetown; it's hot, it's humid and there are cockroaches in the sickbay, but the mail has arrived! At last, news from loved ones. 9th August: at sea, approaching Freetown 8th August: at sea with Eagle; joined by HMS Vansittart and HMS Velox 7th August: at sea with Eagle 6th August: at sea with Eagle
5th August: at sea with Eagle 4th August: departed St Helena with Eagle 3rd August: St Helena; immediate notice for steam; no leave 2nd August: back at St Helena 1st August: at sea en route to St Helena; sighted troopship Empress of Russia (with, possibly, Midshipman Philip Mountbatten, later the Duke of Edinburgh, aboard), pictured below
31st July: at sea with Eagle 30th July: at sea with Eagle 29th July: at sea; exercised AA guns 28th July: at sea with Eagle 27th July: at sea with Eagle 26th July: at sea with Eagle 25th July: at sea 24th July: departed St Helena with Eagle 23rd July: Reported capture of Ville de Rouen; arrived St Helena; immediate notice to steam 22nd July: At sea; parted from Ville de Rouen; re-joined Eagle
Ville de Rouen had been on her way from Madagascar to the South of France with fifty-two crew, thirty-two passengers and a cargo of sugar and beans. The Captain made no attempt to scuttle but he was unwilling to cooperate when Dunedin approached. Captain Lovatt fired a blank round at her and sent over a boarding party. The prize crew had to force the French stokers at gunpoint to keep the boilers going. Eventually, Ville de Rouen was taken to Cape Town. Dunedin continued on her regular patrol duty. 21st July: At sea; intercepted French Vichy ship Ville de Rouen 20th July: At sea; rejoined Eagle 19th July: At sea; position 24.24.5 South; fired test torpedo and recovered it from sea; otherwise all quiet again. 18th July: At sea. 17th July: At sea; another day with little to note. 16th July: At sea. 15th July: At sea. 14th July: At sea. 13th July: At sea; parted company with Eagle and Alcantara. 12th July: At sea; more exercises with HMS Eagle (I have been unable to establish Dunedin's connection to Force Z, which I understood to operate in South East Asia; I imagine she and Eagle sailed with Force Z coincidentally for a short time out of St Helena; all ideas welcome to hmsdunedin.society@ntlworld.com). 11th July: At sea; exercises with HMS Eagle.
10th July: Sailed from St Helena as part of Force Z, with HMS Eagle and HMS Alcantara. 9th July: St Helena: immediate notice for steam. 8th July: St Helena; death of Ordinary Signalman Brown; immediate notice for steam. 7th July: At sea; heading for St Helena. 6th July: At sea; heading for St Helena; came across US ship, Wolverine. 5th July: At sea; still heading for St Helena. 4th July: At sea; identified SS President Tyler (US); Dunedin heading for St Helena. 3rd July: At sea; close range firing practice. 2nd July: Dunedin parted company from D'Entrecasteaux around midday. 1st July: Second Vichy ship intercepted. This time Dunedin fired a warning shot at D'Entrecasteaux, who was en route to France. She stopped and Lt Commander Watson led the boarding party and headed for Cape Town via St Helena, with Dunedin for company. 30th June: Early morning, Dunedin identified and boarded the French Vichy ship, Ville de Tamatave, bound for Dakar from Madagascar. Tamatave had twenty passengers and fifty seven crew. Boarding party led by Lt Cuthbert; Tamatave sent into Freetown. 29th June: At sea 28th June: At sea 27th June: Still at Freetown; four hours notice to leave; been raining most of the week 26th June: At Freetown; four hours notice to leave 25th June: At Freetown; four hours notice to leave 24th June: At Freetown; four hours notice to leave 23rd June: At Freetown. Lothringen due in Bermuda. 22nd June: Dunedin in Freetown. U-107 reports that she made the rendezvous as instructed but that Lothringen wasn't there. Lothringen is ordered to a new position (which means that the Germans still didn't know that she had been captured). Dunedin on four hours notice to leave. 21st June: Dunedin in Freetown. U-103 reports that she made the rendezvous as instructed but that Lothringen wasn't there. 20th June: Dunedin arrives at Freetown in the afternoon in an appalling rainstorm, not having been asked to "meet" the U-boats. We don't have documentary evidence, but it seems as if the Admiralty had decided that the mission would be too dangerous and would have jeopardised the Bletchley Park secret. For the men of Dunedin, Bletchley Park and Enigma would have meant nothing to them; but they would have known that they had been involved in some real action. They had the prisoners to prove it! And, finally, waiting in Freetown for the ship's company were fifty-one bags of mail. A last, word from home. 19th June: Dunedin closing on Freetown. Lothringen continuing towards Bermuda.
18th June: Dunedin continued her passage to Freetown. Dunedin's prize crew on Lothringen headed for Bermuda. Lothringen turned out to be the former Dutch ship, Papendrecht, seized by the Germans in 1940. She was carrying thirty-two torpedoes,11,000 tons of fuel for surface craft, and a replacement U-boat crew. She was also carrying important Enigma material, which Lothringen's wireless operator had destroyed and thrown over the side, including the ship's Enigma machine. One of Dunedin's telegraphists, Percy Jackson, had nevertheless found, on the 15th, a cipher book that the wireless operator had missed. This would be useful for Bletchley Park. Meanwhile, back in Bletchley Park it was becoming clear that Lothringen had still not been missed by the German High Command. The U-boats were due at the rendezvous point. Would Dunedin be there too? 17th June: Lothringen continued towards Bermuda; Dunedin (with prisoners) and Eagle headed for Freetown; no word from the Admiralty about a surprise attack on the U-boats. On board Lothringen, Dunedin's prize crew begin finding out more about their prize. 16th June: Lothringen, Eagle and Dunedin sailing together after midnight. 1.30am: Lt Beveridge confirms that Lothringen can sail alone; Dunedin and Eagle turn and head back towards Freetown. Meanwhile, staff at Bletchley Park notice from further decrypted messages that the German High Command don't know that Lothringen has been captured and that, therefore, the four U-boats are still headed for a rendezvous with Lothringen as if nothing had happened. Bletchley Park later suggests to the Admiralty that Lothringen might - with her prize crew from Dunedin - keep the appointment with the U-boats as part of a surprise operation against the U-boats. 15th June: A day of great action. 1.00pm: One of Eagle's Swordfish came across a tanker, 1800 miles north west of Freetown. Swordfish opened fire and dive-bombed with two 250-pound bombs, scoring two direct hits. Ship began to list and circle. 1.47pm: Dunedin ordered to pursue the tanker. She set off at 24 knots - the most she could make with one boiler shut off - catching up with the tanker by 5.00pm. Dunedin circled Lothringen.
6.00pm: Lt-Commander Sowdon led boarding party to Lothringen; encountering no resistance, Sowdon entered the bridge and informed the captain that he was taking command of his ship. Captain Friedrichsen acquiesced and told Sowdon that scuttling charges had been put in place, but not set to go off. Lt-Commander Hughes led the anti-scuttling operation, including Commissioned Gunner Lowey, who tackled the six charges, throwing them overboard. 10.00pm: Lothringen was fully in the hands of Dunedin's prize crew, led by Lt Beveridge, who set about making her ready to sail. At around midnight, Dunedin, Eagle and Lothringen sailed off in the direction of Bermuda. 14th June: Crucial new intelligence from Bletchley Park to the Admiralty: 1.20am: decrypt sent to the Admiralty confirming that two U-boats (U-69 and UA) would rendezvous with Lothringen on 18th June; 2.05am: second decrypt, confirming that U-103 and U-107 would rendezvous with Lothringen on 17th June; Lothringen was to provide supplies and eight torpedoes to each boat; Further decrypts arrived in the Admiralty during the day confirming the 17th and 18th June meetings between the U-boats and Lothringen; Dunedin and Eagle continued south in search of Lothringen, but nothing was found all day. 13th June: By 1.00am, in Bletchley Park, just four hours after they had been sent, Lothringen's instructions were with the Admiralty at the Operational Intelligence Centre, de-crypted and translated. A further de-crypt, at 4.30am, revealed that Lothringen was to rendezvous with a U-boat on the 17th. The OIC now knew the precise intentions of the Germans and Lothringen's role. What could Dunedin and Eagle do? For most of the rest of the day, Dunedin and Eagle re-fuelled once more from RFA Bishopdale, while Eagle's Swordfish were in the air. The search continued, but by evening, nothing had been found. 12th June: Unknown to most of the the ship's company, Dunedin was now deeply embroiled in the operation to attack Bismarck's supply ships and was being guided by the intelligence gleaned through Bletchley Park. Today, another German supply ship, Friedrich Breme, had been sunk by HMS Sheffield, some 1,700 miles to Dunedin's north. Only one supply ship remained, Lothringen, carrying supplies, torpedoes and a fresh U-boat crew. The Germans had switched tactics after the loss of Bismarck (and her accompanying ship, Prinz Eugen) and had allotted Lothringen the task of re-supplying four U-boats who were on their way to southern waters. Lothringen was instructed late today to head south "with all speed" to a specified point north west of the Cape Verde Islands to re-provision the southern-bound U-boats. The Admiralty didn't know these details yet, but the men and women at Bletchley Park were working through the night on the intercepted messages. Dunedin and Eagle sailed on. 11th June: At sea with Eagle 10th June: At sea with Eagle 9th June: At sea with Eagle; re-fuelled again from Bishopdale 8th June: At sea with Eagle 7th June: At sea with Eagle; sighted and investigated American ship, Exello 6th June: Dunedin's turn to take on fuel from Bishopdale; more nerves among the ship's company as Eagle stands guard this time. Meanwhile, Eagle's Swordfish aircraft come across German blockade runner, Elbe, disguised as the Norwegian SS Kristine Fjord, thirty miles away. Swordfish attacked Elbe in the afternoon and later sighted survivors in lifeboats. Once free of Bishopdale, Dunedin headed for the survivors but neither she nor Eagle found any trace. Dunedin then headed towards Freetown. 5th June: At sea; Eagle and Dunedin rendezvous with RFA Bishopdale 750 miles north west of the Cape Verde islands for re-fuelling; Eagle goes first while Dunedin patrolled in a wide circle to watch for U-boats. These were nerve-racking moments for both ships' companies; motionless in the middle of the ocean for several hours, not knowing whether danger lurked beneath. By the time Eagle had finished it was too late for Dunedin to refuel, so she would have to wait until the next day. Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Atlantic, the Navy had embarked on an operation to mop up Bismarck's supply ships on the back of very up to date Enigma-based intelligence from Bletchley Park. Five German ships had been sunk or captured so far. Would Dunedin and Eagle get their turn or would they miss all the action? 4th June: At sea with Eagle 3rd June: Re-joined Eagle; in search of supply ships 2nd June: At sea; steaming at high speeds; ordered to re-join Eagle 1st June: At sea; parted company with Eagle 31st May: At sea; re-joined Eagle For weeks, life had become pretty dull for Dunedin and her men - and still no mail had arrived for them. Lt Commander Broadway captured the feelings in his letter of 29th May to his wife: "It hasn't been too bad a trip so far; no major scares or excitements, but one gets a bit bored with just the sea to look at and the same old faces in the wardroom...The News hasn't been too cheerful this week - the loss of the Hood, Fiji, Gloucester and York and several destroyers only partially set off by the sinking of the Bismarck. If we lose many more cruisers they'll be putting this old tub onto some rather more exciting work." Indeed, life would change in the coming days and weeks. Dunedin and Eagle had formed Force F to patrol parts of the South Atlantic in search of enemy surface raiders and their supply ships. And now, specific intelligence had put them on the trail of a fast German oiler some 900 hundred miles to the west of the Canary Islands some time after 2nd June, ready to refuel Prinz Eugen. 30th May: Bathurst for fuel; on immediate notice to sail 29th May: At sea, but ordered to proceed, at speed, to Bathurst to re-fuel 28th May: At sea; news of the sinking of Bismarck reaches Dunedin; ordered to join HMS Eagle; information received indicated a fast enemy oiler in the vicinity; ordered to search for it with Eagle 27th May: At sea 26th May: At sea, with HMS Eagle, in search of enemy oiler 25th May: Finally, after two and a half weeks in Gibraltar, Dunedin sailed at 2120 in company with Force H (HMS Renown and HMS Ark Royal). Once clear of the Rock area, Dunedin parted company as Renown and Ark Royal headed north in pursuit of Bismarck. No mail had arrived for the disappointed ship's company; nothing had been heard from home since they had left Devonport nearly two months earlier. Dunedin sailed south, but with one boiler blanked off. More significantly, the extraordinary activities of the men and women in Bletchley Park in England would soon change the course of Dunedin's history. 24th May: Gibraltar; four hours notice to leave 23rd May: Gibraltar; four hours notice to leave After all this time in Gibraltar, Dunedin is now preparing to leave, but no mail has arrived. This means that the ship's company has not heard from home since they left England on 8th April. One member of the crew, Leslie Russell, wrote to his fiancé: "The big grouse at the moment is the mail question. Since we have been here two ships have arrived from home waters with mail. They each had quite a number of bags but nothing for us and we feel that something should have come by now - we have been here for over two weeks." 22nd May: Gibraltar; decision imminent that Dunedin should return to Freetown soon; this means there will be no time to repair her defective boiler, which will have to be blanked off 21st May: Gibraltar; four hours notice to leave 20th May: Gibraltar; ship's concert in evening; four hours notice to leave; 19th May: Gibraltar; shifted berth again; four hours notice to leave 18th May: Gibraltar; four hours notice to leave; cat has kittens 17th May: Gibraltar; four hours notice to leave; shifted berth 16th May: Gibraltar; four hours notice to leave 15th May: Gibraltar; ship painted and provisioned 14th May: Gibraltar; painting ship; four hours notice to leave As you can see, these were quiet times for Dunedin's men before returning to the open sea. In the meantime, have a look at the Pathé newsreel coverage of Gibraltar in 1941 13th May: Gibraltar; painting ship; four hours notice to leave 12th May: Gibraltar; four hours notice to leave; shifted berth 11th May: Gibraltar; four hours notice to leave 10th May: Gibraltar; four hours notice to leave 9th May: Gibraltar; one rating sent to hospital; four hours notice to leave 8th May: arrived Gibraltar; four hours notice to leave 7th May: At sea 6th May: At sea 5th May: At sea 4th May: At sea 3rd May: In convoy with escorts Highlander and Boreas (and later Velox and Wrestler). Four boiler tubes burst, causing steam to escape from the foremast funnel and taking out one boiler; maximum speed down to 24 knots 2nd May: Sailed from Freetown around lunchtime and proceeded with convoy, heading north towards Gibraltar 1st May: Freetown for fuel 30th April: At sea 29th April: Crossed the Equator
The ship's company participated in the traditional Crossing the Line ceremony. It is best described in the words of Lieutenant-Commander Sowdon, in a letter to his wife, a few days later. Click here to read it (in a new window) and here for more photos (in a new window). 28th April: At sea; Lewis gun practice 27th April: At sea 26th April: Left Freetown around 1730-1800 to pick up Convoy CFI 3 25th April: Freetown, on four hours notice to leave 24th April: Freetown, on four hours notice to leave 23rd April: Freetown, on four hours notice to leave Today, Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leoene, is a busy commercial and cultural city and is a major port on the Atlantic coast of West Africa. In 1941, it was the home of a British Naval base and saw ships coming and going throughout the war, among them, HMS Dunedin. The ship's company had mixed feelings about Freetown. On the one hand, it raised the men's hopes of getting letters from home; as the ship approached Freetown, the thought uppermost in most of the men's minds was whether the mailbags were waiting for them ashore. Often there was none. 22nd April: Freetown, on four hours notice to leave 21st April: Freetown, on four hours notice to leave 20th April: Arrived Freetown in the afternoon 19th April: Dunedin escorting Queen Elizabeth en route to Freetown 18th April: At sea; position 16.50.5N 18.44.5W NE 5., heading south towards Freetown and carrying army personnel 17th April: At sea; boarded a Spanish vessel, position 22.34.5N 17.29.01W NE 5 By now the weather was becoming increasingly hot, with the temperature rising steadily each day; the men were wearing less and less, just white shirts and shorts; the crew were issued with white sun helmets too, so there could be no doubt that Dunedin was heading for a tropical climate! 16th April: At sea; boarded another Vichy vessel 15th April: At sea; boarded Vichy vessel 14th April: Entered Gibraltar harbour early morning; oiled, gathered provisions and away again by nightfall, heading for Strait of Gibraltar before turning south again 13th April: At sea; closing on Gibraltar 12th April: At sea; spotted French aircraft; French cruiser reported in area; position - 36.16.2N 12.21.9 W 11th April: At sea; stormy weather, force seven winds, davits holding lifeboat ripped away 10th April: At sea; dropped depth charge
9th April: At sea, heading south. 8th April: HMS Dunedin left the shores of England for the last time, heading for Gibraltar. It was around 8.00pm and the buzzes around the ship suggested she would be back in November or December.
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Atlantis survivors
HMS
Devonshire
HMS
Dunedin, Freetown 1941
Bletchley Park
Atlantis
U-124 with
Python
HMS Vimy
HMS Brilliant
French cruiser, Montcalm
RFA Rapidol
HMS Repulse
