Fantasque Time Line (France Fights On) - English Translation

[Wings]

July 24th, 1942

Off the east coast of Australia, 20:30 (Operation Oni, phase 3c) - Despite very poor weather and rough seas, the I-6 attacks the Edgemoor (7,038 GRT, US Maritime Commission
Commission, going from San Diego to Melbourne with military equipment) off Gabo Island. It fires four torpedoes at less than 3,500 meters and obtains a hit, but the cargo ship does not sink and heads towards the coast. The I-6 pursues it on a parallel course to try to overtake it, despite the Edgemoor's 4-inch gun, which forces the submarine to move slightly out of the way.
23:10 - The I-6, which succeeded in overtaking its prey, fires two new torpedoes at 1 200 meters.
One hits, stopping the Edgemoor, but there is no sign that it is sinking.
The I-6 then fires two torpedoes from its stern tubes, both of which hit; the freighter breaks in two and sinks quickly.
23:50 - A Botha, arriving late, attacks the I-6, but the submarine is not damaged and escapes by diving.
(From Research for Australian Official Histories, 1949, notes by Mr Norman)

 

[Wings]

July 24th, 1942

Barbarossa
- Baltic Sea
Second battle of Ventspils (2/2)
00:01 - The Svirepy is hit by two torpedoes fired by the German torpedo boats and sinks.
00:03 - The Stroyny and the Spokoiny are in flames, silhouetting the German ships in the eyes of the Smertlivyi, Steregushchyi and Silnyi, which arrive from the southeast. All three open fire with 130 mm while launching their torpedoes. The closest target is the unfortunate Z-25, which tried to take cover and fell from Scylla to Charybdis; it takes at least seven 130 mm shells and its speed dropped to 10 knots. The Z-30, which accompanied it, tries to cover it.
00:05 - The two German cruisers have turned their fire on the new arrivals and hit the Smertlivy hard, which also starts to burn.
00:06 - Finally a Soviet torpedo hits the target ! It is for the Köln. Seriously hit, the cruiser has to slow down to 6 knots.
00:07 - A fireball marks the end of the Stroyny, the second Soviet destroyer to disappear. But the situation of the Ciliax fleet becomes worrying. One of its two cruisers and one of his destroyers are seriously damaged. He orders the torpedo boats to leave the Spokoiny and to attack the three new Soviet destroyers, while the Nürnberg assists the Köln.
00:10 - By the time the four torpedo boats reach the Z-30, the latter is alone with the Z-25 agonizing against the three Soviets. It hits the Steregushchy, but receives several 130 mm shells and must seek refuge behind a curtain of smoke.
00:11 - The four torpedo boats attack, just as the Kirov group enters the scene. The Steregushchy, torpedoed in the middle, stops (it will sink at 00:37).
00:12 - The Kirov fires two salvos on "the nearest German light cruiser." In fact, it is the Z-30, whose front turret is torn off by a 180 mm shell.
00:13 - The Kirov engages the Nürnberg. The distance falls to less than 6 000 meters, and the shots are all the more precise.
00:14 - The Nürnberg returns fire and destroys the A turret of the Kirov, but receives two shells in exchange and flees behind a smoke screen stretched by its torpedo boats. During this time, the Z-30 is hit by the 130 mm of the Ognevoj and Obrazsovyj and also escapes in the smoke.
00:16 - The Soviet fire directors then see another cruiser, which tries to move away at low speed. It is the Köln, of which only the front turret is still operational. The unfortunate ship is soon hit by 180 mm and 130 mm shells.
00:20 - The Ognevoj and the Obrazsovyj each fire half a burst of torpedoes. Hit at the stern, the Köln starts to sink.
00:21 - At this moment, the Kirov is also hit by a torpedo, apparently coming from nowhere, which seriously damages its bow. The Soviets believe at first that it is a submarine, a mine or a speedboat, until the Obrazsovyj discovers the culprit: it's the Z-25, almost immobile and which the Soviets were wrong to forget. The German destroyer is fired at with 130 mm guns, the German destroyer answers only with its 37 mm AA. It is finally finished off by a torpedo from the Ognevoj.
00:30 - Fearing that torpedo boats would attack his damaged ships, Feldman orders his squadron to regroup and return to Tallinn as quickly as possible. He lost three destroyers, two others are damaged and the Kirov is seriously damaged. However, he thought he had sunk a light cruiser (the Köln), as well as two large destroyers (the Z-25 and Z-30 - in fact, the latter managed to reach Memel). In addition, he damaged another light cruiser (the Nürnberg).
Meanwhile, the fight between speedboats cost the Soviets seven G-5 speedboats, but the S.106 is sunk and the S.75 had to be scuttled.
All in all, the second battle of Ventspils is a real disaster for the Germans, despite the losses inflicted on the Soviet Baltic Fleet. The Kriegsmarine finds itself with, for operational ships in the Baltic, a heavy cruiser with capricious machinery, the Hipper, and a light training cruiser, the Leipzig, accompanied by a handful of torpedo boats. Even the S-Boat flotillas see their numbers gradually decrease.
On the Soviet side, if the Kirov is unavailable for three months, its twin, the Maksim Gorky will soon be operational.
...
- Northern sector
While the German ships return to Gotenhafen [Gdynia] and Memel, the I Corps starts to attack Ventspils again, but its progress remains slow. Worse, in the south, von Chappuis's forces are on the move. Leeb, in agreement with Both and Chappuis, decides to suspend operation Bruno until he has more artillery, and in particular howitzers of 210 mm.
...
- Central sector
The PanzerGruppe 2 begins to withdraw from the Smolensk salient, replaced by the XX and IX Army Corps. Still hoping to obtain the support of the OKH, Guderian harasses Halder: "It is clear! A rapid resumption of the offensive in our sector could open the road to Moscow!" In fact, he is preaching to the choir: Halder himself is convinced that the fall of Moscow before the autumn rains came would give Germany its best chances of strategic success. But he also knows that this idea is contrary to the will of Hitler, now concerned about Ukraine above all.
On the Soviet side, Zhukov tours his units south of Smolensk (Eremenko's 43rd Army) and reorganizes his forces. He asks the Stavka for authorization to divide the 1st Belorussian Front into two entities, but does not obtain it.
...
- Southern sector
South of Zhitomir, Rokossovsky pushes his advantage. During the night he creates an improvised force with 11 KV-1, 17 T-34 and 19 T-50, on which infantrymen will cling during the assault itself (first use of this tactic which allows to compensate a little for the lack of assault transports). At dawn, the Soviet artillery shows again its power, in the form of a three-hour barrage that fell mainly on the positions of the 75. ID. Then the 47 tanks break through. The light anti-tank guns prove to be unable to stop even the small T-50s, and the 88 mm are bludgeoned by the long-range field guns as soon as they open fire. For the first time since May 17th, the German infantry panicks and a huge hole opens in the middle of the XLVIII. PanzerKorps.
Rokossovsky is too weak to exploit, but Kempf, with the agreement of von Kleist, orders the whole PanzerKorps to withdraw to its starting point.
On the Vinnitsa side, Kirponos' counter-attack is not as successful. His troops attack before dawn and manage to regain control of the road to Uman, but they are unable to drive the German forces back across the South Bug. A salient 15 km deep and 30 km wide is created south of Vinnitsa. The losses of the IV Corps are so heavy that von Stülpnagel orders his men to go on the defensive and entrench themselves.
...
- Black Sea
The Soviet submarine S-32 attacks a Romanian convoy going from Constantza to Sulina along the coast. The commander of the submarine claims to have sunk "a large cargo ship", but Romanian sources only mention the loss of the small tug T-7, torpedoed at 22:56.

 

[Wings]

July 24th, 1942

Sicily - New day of raids against the Sicilian logistics. Only the raid against Palermo is intercepted. MC.202s and Re.2001s confront the allied fighters and destroy two P-40, but the Italians lose five planes, three of which are shot down by Mustang II of the GC II and III/5. The Italian fighters cannot approach the allied bombers, which lose only one Beaumont I, shot down by the flak.

 

[Wings]

July 24th, 1942

Off Argostoli (island of Cephalonia) - The interruption of the convoys to Patras and Piraeus removes one of the targets of the Allied submarines and aircraft, but there are still convoys in the Adriatic and Ionian Sea. Thus, the submarine HMS P-43 (Lt. A.C. Halliday) attacked in vain north of Corfu, one week earlier, the cargo ship Chisone (6 168 GRT, damaged by the MN Narval in December 1940) and that French DB-73s damaged the mixed cargo ship Città di Agrigento (2,480 GRT) in the port of Preveza.
In particular, the reinforcement of the Cephalonia garrison led to additional needs in terms of supplies for the island, which became the destination of several ships. Returning from a mine-laying mission on the coasts of Montenegro and Albania, the submarine MN Turquoise (CC Louis Deroo) is in a good position to intercept a convoy composed of the motonave (motor cargo ship) Vettor Pisani (6,339 GRT) and the auxiliary cruiser Francesco Morosini (D.12). After careful and patient maneuvers, Commander Deroo is able to launch the two forward torpedoes on the cargo ship. One of them hits just in front of the engine room. Still able to move, the Vettor Pisani manages to reach the port of Argostoli. But this effort is fatal.
The bulkhead separating the engines from the flooded hold was badly damaged and the latter are invaded by water. The ship sinks in shallow water, its commander managing to make it sink straight down, which makes it possible to recover the major part of the cargo.*

* The Italians were able to raise and repair the Vettor Pisani in 1951-1952. It will be in service until 1971.

 

[Wings]

July 25th, 1942

Battle of Singapore - III - The withdrawal of the Allied forces from Johore to the island of Singapore is completed without major incident.
On the other side, the seven infantry divisions and the armored brigade under Yamashita slowly begin to take up positions on the shores of the Straits of Johor in preparation for a new assault.

 

[Wings]

July 25th, 1942

Manila Bay - Fort Drum surrenders, its food supplies completely exhausted. The Japanese can finally enter and leave the bay freely. The Philippines campaign seems to be over.

 

[Wings]

July 25th, 1942

Guadalcanal - Four Whitleys and three Manchesters of the RAAF attack Tenaru at night, causing some minor damage.
.........
Southwest Pacific - Four G4M1s bomb Brisbane, but cause no significant damage. Four others attack Noumea, but are forced to jettison their bombs to escape, as there is a fighter patrol on guard this time.
Finally, four Bettys search for allied ships, but without result.
South of Nouméa, the Japanese submarine I-169, on a reconnaissance mission in New Caledonian waters, sinks the Dutch cargo ship Tjinegara (9227 GRT), chartered by the US Army. It was fitted out as a troop transport but only took on board 477 horses, an earth moving machine and... two thousand cases of beer for the Rockhampton-Nouméa trip. The members of the crew are saved by the destroyer USS Worden, alerted by a plane. The I-169 does not linger and takes the direction of Efaté (Port-Vila).
.........
Sydney - Coming from Fremantle, the seaplane Golden Horn (RAF X-8273) lands without incident.

 

[Wings]

July 25th, 1942

Zhejiang and Jiangxi Campaign - One of the attacks of the Japanese 13th Army advances 15 km before being halted at Hangfang. Meanwhile, Anami's forces also attack in the direction of Hangfang, and are also blocked. But this is a feint: at the same time, Anami launches his best troops towards the south.

 

[Wings]

July 25th, 1942

Barbarossa
- Northern sector and Baltic Sea
While in Courland (and in general in the northern sector of the front) reigns a deceptive calm, it is not the same at the German headquarters.
.........
Rastenburg - Hitler summons once again Grand Admiral Raeder and Vice Admiral Ciliax. He orders them to "immediately eliminate the Soviet fleet from the Baltic!" But for this, it would be necessary to strengthen the units operating in this sea. However, the state of the surface forces of the Kriegsmarine is pitiful. Since 1939, the battleship Bismarck, the heavy cruisers Admiral Graf Spee (formerly a pocket battleship), Blücher and Prinz Eugen as well as the light cruisers Karlsruhe, Königsberg and Köln, not to mention numerous light units, were sent to the bottom by their adversaries: English, French, Norwegians or Russians...
For two and a half months, the Hipper, the Leipzig, four destroyers and six torpedo boats were going to have to try to control the Baltic alone. Moreover, the Baltic fleet will not be able to receive as many S-Boats as planned, following the decision to send a flotilla to the Black Sea... to help the Romanians.
In the afternoon, it is von Leeb's turn to appear before the Führer. The field marshal is ordered to resume Operation Bruno as soon as possible.

- Central sector
General Francke, commander of the 162. ID, informs General Materna, commander of the XXth Corps, that his unit is suffering a lot from the Soviet artillery fire. The 162. ID has to be deployed south of Roudn'a, at the base of the Smolensk salient. The fact that the sector is the object of all Soviet attention is confirmed by the commanding general of the 87. ID (XLII Corps), deployed west of the city: "From sunrise to noon, my division has already received more than 3,000 122 mm shells, without prejudice to other calibers."
At the end of the day, the 9th Army staff is informed in detail of the extent of activity of the Soviet heavy artillery. The 87. And the 162. ID have lost 150 to 200 men each, victims of this drum fire, and the German ammunition reserves are so low that the artillery of both divisions cannot react.
...
- Southern sector
The XIV. PanzerKorps tries to intensify its attack north of Zhitomir to relieve the XLVIII. Panzerkorps, which is badly hit, but the Soviet defense zones are so extensive and covered so well that von Wietersheim has to interrupt his effort after very limited gains.
By late afternoon, it is clear that the German offensive has failed. The Soviet forces are severely tested, but the German forces no longer have any offensive potential.
The inability of the Luftwaffe to provide as strong a support as usual was a key factor in the German failure. But it must be added that the Soviet defense was well planned and prepared in depth. Kirponos won, with the help of Rokossovsky, a defensive battle against an Army Group South bled dry by more than two months of fighting. Von Rundstedt was unable to dismantle the Soviet defenses and he was no longer in a position to launch offensive operations.
No doubt the Soviets had been pushed out of most of western Ukraine, but they were able to re-establish an effective defense line well ahead of Kiev. The German Army faced the prospect of having to fight another breakthrough battle to capture the Ukrainian capital.
...
- Black Sea
Six I-16 SPB launched by TB-3 Aviamatka coming from Yevpatoria attack at dawn the port of Sulina. They sink two Siebel ferries and seriously damage the minelayer Regele Carol I (2,369 GRT); the ship (an ex-liner) has to be beached. The lack of equipment at Sulina and the regular attacks by the Soviet air force and navy leads the Romanians to not attempt to salvage the ship.

 

[Wings]

July 25th, 1942

Grodno (Belarus) - After training at the camp in Grafenwöhr (Bavaria), the Spanish Division, which in the organizational chart of the OKH is the 250th Infantry Division (250. ID), despite the fact that its strength is more like a brigade, disembarks from the train and continues on foot to Minsk. They hope to plant the "Sangre y Oro" flag over Moscow.

 

[Wings]

July 25th, 1942

Greece - Allied aircraft keep up the pressure on Axis logistical lines. They fly 371 combat missions during the day, losing nine aircraft in exchange for four German fighters.

 

[Wings]

July 26th, 1942

Dijon - Captain Rebattet is liberated by a team of six volunteers recruited by Network No. 7 in the NEF army, thanks to friendships made during the Drôle de Guerre - six officers and non-commissioned officers of the mounted squadron group of the 8th Inter-Arms Regiment, garrisoned in Autun. Armed with about fifteen OF grenades, an FM 24/29 and a pistol each, they ambush the Citroën that was taking Rebattet for interrogation from the prison to the KdS headquarters. The driver seconded by the NSKK, two police officers from Barbie's group and the interpreter, an Alsatian from the Sundgau region who had once been an autonomist, are deliberately shot during the operation.
Rebattet, stuffed into a Renault gasoline truck driven by a former brigadier of the 28th GRDI, will be hidden in a farm near Cluny, the time to treat the light wounds inflicted by shrapnel from grenades. In September, Georges-Louis Rebattet, promoted to squadron leader, is assigned to command a maquis being formed at Mont Mouchet, in the Massif Central, by Major Le Ray, with the agreement of Algiers.
Contrary to the information, however, provided at the last minute by two of the prison guards to the lieutenant who led the attackers, the Traction did not form a convoy with another car that would have transported Colonel Fouré. The volunteer informants did not know that another Resistance fighter - one of their colleagues whom they did not know - had introduced a handful of sand* into the oil filler hole of this valveless Panhard Dynamic, which ruined its timing sleeves: it did not start behind the Citroën.
Fearing punishment, Barbie takes no chances: Colonel Fouré is sent to Germany via Paris the next day. Transferred to the Buchenwald concentration camp, he died in January 1944.

* Sugar has become too scarce to be used for fuel sabotage...

 

[Wings]

July 26th, 1942

Washington, D.C. - Among the directives signed today by the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the most noteworthy is not the one that links General Wainwright's U.S. Forces Command in the Philippines to the Central Pacific Area (CENPAC) to Admiral Nimitz's Pacific Ocean Areas. However, it is the final touch to the coherent organization of Allied forces in the Pacific. It is the end of a four months of silence during which the American political and military leaders preferred to procrastinate rather than write that McArthur was subordinate to Nimitz...

 

[Wings]

July 26th, 1942

Brisbane - Four G4M1 from Tenaru bomb Brisbane again. They hit the city center. There are few casualties, but the rupture of a gas pipe causes a fire which, fanned by the wind, ravages four blocks of buildings.
.........
Southwest Pacific - Two groups of four G4M1s take off from Tenaru, armed with bombs to save the torpedoes. In the late morning, one of these groups spots American ships 200 nautical miles east of New Caledonia. The USS Brazos (an old oil tanker loaded with crude oil) was escorted by the DM Sicard and Pruitt (old "four-pipers" converted into minesweepers). The G4M1s attack them. Two bombs hit the Brazos, which catches fire. The Pruitt receives a bomb and three others just miss it; it stops, its machines hit. The two ships are abandoned and sink during the day. The human losses are very low, thanks to the Sicard which recovered the shipwrecked.
But the Americans defend themselves energetically, and two G4M1s are seriously damaged. They cannot reach Tenaru and land at sea - H6K seaplanes will succeed in recovering the crews. The two other Bettys are actually less lucky. The calls for help from the American ships are heard, and the bombers are overtaken by two DB-73M2 of the AB8, which shoot them down without any other form of trial. The 20 mm shells shred the fragile structure of the Mitsubishi bombers and the two planes crash into the sea without giving their crews time to jump.
But the episode of the day should not hide the fact that Tenaru's G4M1s have no more naval targets. Allied ships are diverted to not pass within 1,300 nautical miles of Tenaru, unless it is impossible to avoid it. Ships obliged to go to this zone choose a route that minimizes their time of vulnerability and the DB-73M1/2 of the AB8 patrol the area to protect them.
Nevertheless, the Japanese Navy has a good idea of the movements of Allied ships in this area. Its planes were able to observe that Nouméa was crowded with ships and that the Allies were concentrating large forces in the area. However, the staff of the Imperial Navy concludes that these forces are preparing the defense of New Caledonia against a futuree Japanese offensive (which suited the Japanese very well, who saw the prospect of a Decisive Battle corresponding to their objectives). At the very most, some consider the risk of a landing of commandos on Guadalcanal. The units defending Tenaru are alerted accordingly. The Japanese intelligence services rule out any large-scale amphibious action by the Allies before the end of 1942.

 

[Wings]

July 26th, 1942

Barbarossa
- Northern sector and Baltic Sea
On the proposal of three submarine officers, Admiral Tributs approves the creation of an "infiltration unit" composed of sailors from the Baltic Fleet, for "special operations".
...
- Central sector
The Soviet pressure continues to increase. The 24th and 49th Armies, on the northern flank of the salient, launch attacks to probe the German defenses. The attackers break through 3 km into the positions of the 256. ID (the most eastern) before being vigorously rejected on their starting line. However, while the Soviets suffered heavy losses, the Germans lost 500 men in the affair, under an incessant rain of shells. Their artillery also suffers losses under the blows of the 122 mm long-range field funs firing in counter-battery mode.
At the end of the day, General Materna meets in Borisov with his Army Group Leader, Field Marshal von Bock. The latter agrees to assign to the XXth Corps units from the reserves of the Army Group, the 15. and 112. ID. The 112. ID is to be deployed to the left of the 162. opposite Roudn'a, at the hinge between the XXth Corps and the XLIIth); the 15. ID must be deployed to the right of the 162, between this one and the 256.
In the Soviet camp, Zhukov welcomes the arrival of the 274th and 277th Artillery Divisions. They are to be deployed in support of the 43rd and 50th Armies, south of Smolensk.
...
- Southern sector
For the first time in five weeks, the front is relatively quiet.
In Moscow, after listening to the report of Kirponos, the Stavka decides to send General Vasilevsky to Kiev to assess the situation.
...
- Black Sea
The Soviet submarine S-31 claims to have hit the Romanian destroyer Marasesti, but the latter, decidedly lucky, escapes again without a scratch.

 

[Wings]

July 26th, 1942

Benghazi - After several training flights with simulated attacks by Armee de l'Air fighters, Colonel Kane, commanding officer of the 98th BG, meets with officers of the Aegean Air Force, who describe to him the tactics used by the German fighters against the daytime bombers. Kane then proposes to the other American and French officers of the B-24 force assembled for Blowlamp a major change in their attack formation. His idea is to modify the standard formation of the USAAF Bomber Groups for a better concentration of defensive fire.
The two American Groups will provide 48 aircraft and the French Wing as many.
The 96 aircraft will form four formations (or boxes) of 24, separated by about 1,200 meters and staggered in altitude, the first box the lowest, the last the highest. The P-38 escorts will be able to better protect the whole formation.

 

[Wings]

July 27th, 1942

Battle of Singapore - IV
Kuching Bay - Admiral Kondo's squadron (which had been waiting in Kuching for three weeks) sets sail for an operation to reduce the defenses of Singapore. The Imperial Army Command has promised that the second offensive against Singapore, which has been delayed several times, would finally begin.

 

[Wings]

July 27th, 1942

Guadalcanal - During the night, six Whitleys and four Manchesters of the RAAF attack Tenaru and, for the first time, Tulagi. Two bombs hit a gasoline store near Tanimbogo, causing a fire which destroys half the fuel stored there in barrels. One of the Manchesters is lost due to an engine fire over New Caledonia, but the crew is able to jump and all the men are saved.
During the raid, a French PBY-5 carries out a "radar sniffing" mission to identify the equipment of the Japanese station operating in Guadalcanal.

Nouméa - Four G4M1s from Tenaru, again detected late, attack the port a few minutes after dawn, taking advantage of the morning fog which prevents the take-off of the P-40 of the AC-20. But this same fog hides the targets of the bombers, and they do not inflict any damage.
At the end of the morning, the seaplane carrying General Martial Valin and the officers of his commission of inquiry arrive in New Caledonia.

South West Pacific - A Japanese seaplane spots Allied transports, but the bombers sent to attack them do not find them. In return, the Japanese reconnaissance seaplanes escape the patrols of the French DB-73M1/2.

Brisbane - Four G4M1 attack Brisbane. They cause only slight damage and are targeted for the first time by some flak guns.
This same day is marked in Brisbane by a discreet event, but of much greater importance than the Japanese harassment. Rear Admiral Charles A. Lockwood, commander of the US Navy's submarines in the South West Pacific, receives a long radio message from the Bureau of Ordnance stating that: "(...) the depth control of the torpedoes appears to be defective.
The depth setting of the torpedoes seems to be defective and tends to be excessive. In recent tests, it was found that torpedoes were found to be firing ten feet deeper than desired. The anti-counter-explosion device [preventing gyroscope malfunction in the event of an explosion in the area] is erratic and its inactivation is allowed at the discretion of the commander of the submarine."
This message confirms the fears expressed by most submarine officers since the beginning of the war. Thus, as early as December 1941, the commander of the USS Sargo (Lt-Commander T.D. Jacobs), who had noted the non-explosion of thirteen (!) torpedoes, had experimented with modifications to the depth control. Moreover, he had disconnected the magnetic influence detector. The device was supposed to trigger the explosion of a torpedo passing under the keel of the targeted ship, and then cause much greater damage than its explosion on contact with the side of the hull. But this meant that the torpedoes had to be set for a deep run.
Numerous discussions between American, English and French submariners, in Fremantle or in Brisbane, had convinced the former that there was "something rotten in the kingdom of our torpedoes", as Rear Admiral Lockwood put it. Finally, on 20 and 21 June, Captain Fife, in Brisbane, fired torpedoes against a special target fishing net, and observed that these torpedoes were really going too deep.
In his report sent with Lockwood's approval to Pearl Harbor, which was sent to Admiral King's desk, Captain Fife adds: "The French submarines operating from Eastern Australia [Brisbane] are no more modern than our newest oceanic submarines. To some extent they are equivalent to our pre-war Perch class submarines. Their torpedoes, whether of French origin or English Mk-VIII adapted to French dimensions, cannot be considered more advanced than those used by our own oceanic submarines. Therefore, it would be erroneous to suppose that the results obtained by the submarines of our allies are the result of any technical superiority over our best equipment.
French commanders are extremely aggressive and frequently ready to approach at very close range before firing, but this is also the case with our own officers. However, the French crews are all highly trained and use spray firing. They openly despise all too complex firing devices and rely on the percussion fuse.
If combat experience can account for the use of better tactics at the beginning, one cannot escape the conclusion that our allies' torpedoes are far more reliable than ours. This superiority cannot be linked only to a faulty depth control, even if this factor is certainly responsible for at least 50% of the failures our submarines have suffered so far. If we cannot rule out that a defective maintenance, in the very hard conditions of combat, could have caused a bad detonation of certain torpedoes, the reliability of the magnetic influence detector is today questioned by all the submarine commanders of the Southwest Pacific Command."
Unfortunately, the Bureau of Ordnance, while accepting the results of the depth setting tests conducted in Brisbane, remains reluctant to admit Fife's second conclusion. The magnetic influence detector is still considered one of the most important secrets of the US Navy.

Pearl Harbor - The "submarine cruisers" USS Argonaut, USS Nautilus and MN Surcouf begin training for amphibious assaults with the 2nd Raider Battalion under Lt. Col. Evans F. Carlsons, USMC. The three large submarines are to be assigned a strategic diversion in the Gilbert Islands.

 

[Wings]

July 27th, 1942

Buna (north coast of Papua New Guinea) - Japanese transports land several thousand men in preparation for an offensive towards Port Moresby through the Owen Stanley Range.

 

[Wings]

July 27th, 1942

Off the east coast of Australia, 12:15 (operation Oni, phase 3c) - The Ro-65 attacks a freighter and its escort off the coast of Newcastle shortly after they left port, in shallow water. It firesa six-torpedo salvo at 3,200 meters. The Sontay (8,917 GRT), half filled with coal, going from Newcastle to Brisbane, where it was to load flour for Noumea is hit by two torpedoes, one in the middle, the other in the front. With its bow broken, it stops. The escorting aviso escapes a torpedo that passes under its hull.
The Sontay, very seriously damaged, runs aground at Stockton Beach; it is beyond repair. However, there are no casualties.
Instead of escaping to the open sea, the Ro-65 gets closer to the coast and lands on the bottom. This tactic proves to be effective, as the aviso, soon joined by a plane, searches for it towards the open sea. The submarine escapes in the night and, having no more torpedoes, leaves for Kwajalein.
(From Research for Australian Official Histories, 1949, notes by Mr Norman)