THE RIDE OF THE PRINCES
Day Four, 0800 hours December 5, 1941 Sea State 7 (21 feet)
The USS Randolph was carrying her own air group (down in the hanger) and an additional thirty aircraft to be transferred off the ship once they arrived at Scapa Flow. Upon hearing of the destruction of convoy DF-54, the Randolph's captain notified his CAG to prepare to push off every single plane being transported and to have four Avengers armed and fueled on the Flight Deck to be launched in the event of trouble. Trouble came in waves on this voyage.
In a 24 hour period, two Randolph sailors had been swept overboard, one sailor had been crushed to death when a torpedo laden cart broke loose, and several planes broke loose on the flight deck and were swept over board.
The rain, wind and the waves essentially made the radars useless. As it was, it was the USS Roe that first spotted the Prinz Johan Georg 400 yards away. Both sides were shocked to see each other. Before the Germans could fire the Roe disappeared into the storm. On board the Roe, the crew went to battle stations as they sent out a contact report.
On board the Randolph, crews began pushing their “cargo” off the flight deck as pilots and flight crews ran to their planes. There they discovered they had a major problem – taking off while the ship was being tossed around by the waves was damn near impossible. The first Avenger cleared the flight deck only to be smacked down by a twenty foot wave. The second Avenger managed to lift off only to be hit by the leading edge of the flight deck which flipped the Avenger like a coin before it too crashed into the Atlantic. The third Avenger never made it into the air. The Randolph was hit hard by waves which forced the Randolph to heel over to such a degree, that every single aircraft on her flight deck went overboard. *
The Captain ordered flight operations suspended, there was no point in trying to get aircraft into the air in this weather. Knowing that the USS Florida was only 60 or 70 nautical miles to the west of them, the Randolph's skipper came up with a desperate plan. Ordering the Abilene and the two destroyers to attack the German cruiser (The Americans were unaware of the second German cruiser.) The carrier would fall back on the Florida's task force and hopefully the Florida would sink the German cruiser.
The Roe would score first blood. She had gone to battle stations, armed her torpedoes and the guns were loaded. Her captain decided to use the weather to his advantage by coming out of the storm, firing and ducking back in before the Germans could react. The Roe came out of the storm front and fired four torpedoes and her forward guns. The guns were firing the minute the Roe broke into sight of the German cruiser. Her first shot hit the armored belt, her second shot wiped out an anti-aircraft gun position. The Roe launched six torpedoes, four of them missed, one hit, but had failed to arm. The sixth torpedo detonated in the Prinz Johan Georg's wake. The explosion rattled the cruiser causing some shock damage to her aft engine room. The Prinz Georg was able to respond quickly. She fired back and an 11 inch shell ripped the forward superimposed turret right off the ship. The shrapnel from the hit decapitated the helmsman and the captain and wounded most everyone else on the Bridge. As Roe wallowed out of control, the Prinz Georg fired four times at the Roe. An 11 inch shell passed through (but did not detonate) the ship's funnel reducing the oxygen to the ship's boilers. It was at this time, Torpedoman 1st class Simon Nelson ordered the depth charges to be jettisoned over the stern. Both Nelson and Torpedoman 2nd Class Oscar Jenkins who helped him, were heading back toward the “safety” of the superstructure when a 5.9 inch shell detonated over the stern, killing both men. They were awarded posthumous Navy Crosses. The explosion wrecked the stern and killed everyone above deck. The badly damaged Roe was almost back in the storm when another 11 inch shell blew off the stern. The Roe's actions were not in vain, just as her stern sank into the stormy Atlantic, the light cruiser Abilene fired at the German cruiser. The Abilene did not have a clear picture of where the German ship was, but their guess was good and bad. Their first salvo bracketed the Prinz Georg, unfortunately one of their shells finished what the Germans started with the Roe. A six inch shell punched through the forward magazine and detonated. Only 13 sailors survived the night to be rescued.
0830 hours December 5, 1941 Sea State 6 (19 feet)
The American and Royal Navies had sortied from Scapa Flow right after the confirmation of the bombardment of Jan Mayen Island.
The Royal Navy
Force A, consisting of the battleship HMS Queen Victoria and the battlecruisers HMS St. George and HMS Hawkins,one heavy cruiser, three light cruisers and five destroyers, had sailed with orders to proceed into the North Sea to intercept the German raiders.
Force B, consisting of the battleship HMS Agincourt and the newly commissioned HMS Dreadnought, the battle cruiser HMS Beatty 1 Heavy cruiser, 2 light cruisers, 6 destroyers ,were proceeding north toward the Faroe Islands.
Force C ,consisting of the battleships HMS Prince of Wales and Revenge and the newly commissioned battle cruiser HMS Lion, 3 light cruisers, and 8 destroyers, were proceeding to an area west of Ireland.
Force D , consisting of the battle cruiser HMS Jellicoe, battleships HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Rodney, 3 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers, and 9 destroyers was approaching the main North America to the UK convoy routes.
Force E consisting of the battleship HMS Warspite, the battle cruiser HMS Vanguard, 2 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers and 7 destroyers had picked up the USS Randolph's distress call and was proceeding at their best possible speed to intercept the carrier.
The US Navy
Task Force 10 (Sea State 7 – 19 feet), consisting of the the battle cruisers USS Hawaii, and USS Samoa, 3 heavy cruisers, seven light cruisers, and 15 destroyers sailed from Scapa Flow and were now cruising in the Denmark Strait looking for the Germans.
Task Force 18, sailing from Mers El Kebir (Sea State 3 – waves 4 feet) and consisting of the aircraft carriers USS Bunker Hill and Franklin, the battle cruiser USS Guam, the battleship USS Colorado, 2 light cruisers and six destroyers, with orders to patrol off the coast of Spain to prevent the Germans arriving there.
Task Force 24, sailing from Mayport (Sea State 4 – waves 7 feet) to prevent any German ships from getting into the South Atlantic, consisted of the aircraft carrier USS Constellation, the battleships USS Iowa and USS South Dakota, 3 heavy cruisers, 1 light cruiser and 8 destroyers.
Task Fore 25 (sea state 4 – waves 7 feet), sailing from Mayport with orders to proceed into the mid-Atlantic, consisting of the battleships USS New Mexico, USS Tennessee, and USS Delaware, 1 heavy cruiser, 3 light cruisers and 8 destroyers.
Task Force 34 (Sea state 6 – waves 16 feet) , consisting of the battleship USS Florida, 1 heavy cruiser, 1 light cruiser, and 3 destroyers.
The Scapa Flow based carriers, both American and British, had been left behind in harbor on the orders of Admiral Ingersoll who felt that the seas were far too rough to permit flight operations. The task forces sailing norrth were sailing in better conditions that allowed flight operations.
In the meantime, the USS Abilene and the Prinz Georg were continuing their fight. The Abilene had managed to knock out one of the Prinz Georg's 5.9 inch guns and put holes in her superstructure, destroying the hanger (which, thanks to the aviation fuel stored there was now a growing fire) and causing casualties among the anti-aircraft gunners. The Georg was causing damage as well. Turret #1 had been hit by an 11 inch shell which destroyed the turret and killed the crew, thankfully for the ship, the blast door to the magazine was closed. Another hit had punched a hole through her side armor and destroyed two of her four boilers cutting her speed to 13 knots. While both ships were fighting in close quarters the USS Buck emerged out of the storm front along the Georg's starboard side and before either ship could react, the Buck collided with the Georg's starboard side. Her bow punched a hole just ahead of the starboard aft engine room. The Buck, her bow smashed in, put her engines in reverse and tried to pull away. As she did so, the Germans sprayed her superstructure with automatic weapons. The forward five inch mount fired at the Georg”s bridge at point blank range. The shell passed through the Bridge without exploding. However the shell did wound the Captain and killed the OOD.
The collision sprung water tight doors all over the ship as it became obvious that the Buck was sinking. Her captain gave the orders to abandon ship. And while the Buck was sinking, both the Abilene and Prinz Georg continued firing at each other from less than 2 miles. Most of Abilene's shells impacted alongside the Georg's armored belt causing minor damage. They did manage to jam the Georg's after 5.9 inch turret (Ceaser) when a six inch shell hit at the base of the turret but did not explode, however due to the battle, the shell couldn't be removed and the turret was jammed.
The Georg's broadsides were causing tremedous damage to the Abilene. Within thirty minutes of the Abilene engaging the Prinz Georg both of her after turrets were destroyed and the stern of the ship was on fire. Their last signal, which was picked up by the Royal Navy's Task Forces D & E and Task Forces 25 & 34 (as well as the German Navy's signals intelligence unit in France and the Prinz Octavio), was simple and to the point. After giving out their estimated position (they were off by 15 nautical miles), they reported “USS Abilene, to all Allied ships. Have engaged German heavy cruiser. Have damaged her. We are sinking. We are abandoning ship.” All of the closest Allied naval units changed course to intercept the Germans. They had no sooner changed course when the USS Randolph sent out a distress signal indicating she was under attack by an unknown warship. Since the positions were 25 miles apart, it was apparent that there were at least two German heavy units loose.
The Prinz Octavio had the picked up the Randolph on her radar and had closed the range to just over a mile before engaging. The Randolph was making 15 knots in the stormy seas and her radar had picked up a contact but their radar operator wasn't sure if it was a ship or just interference from the storm. He had reported it to his supervisor who told him to keep an eye on it and send reports every ten minutes. His supervisor reported the “contact” to the Bridge. The Captain promptly changed course to see if the contact followed. Since the ship was already at battle stations the captain ordered more lookouts topside, with visibility less than half a mile, every eye was needed.
It was a wasted effort. The Octavio approached within three quarters of a mile and then fired her forward 11 inch turret. Several lookouts spotted the flashes but were not able to report them before the shells arched over the carrier and landed 100 yards to port. The captain ordered a turn to port figuring that he could comb the shells. He also ordered a distress call to be sent. He also knew that his ship was doomed but he ws not going to make it easy for the Germans.
For a short time, the carrier was able to avoid being hit when Kapitan Zur See Dieter von Foerster ordered Turret Anton to fire to port (they had just fired to port) and Turret Bruno (5.9 “) to fire to starboard. His tactic worked. A single 11 inch shell impacted on the stern. The engines and power were knocked out immediately. As the carrier began to slow down, von Foerster ordered all guns to fire on their now helpless target. For fifteen minutes the Randolph was pounded into a wreck. When she capsized, von Forerster ordered the Octavio to pass by the sinking Randolph and his crew threw life vests and lift rafts over board before changing course to meet up with the Prinz Georg.
The Abilene went down fighting. Seconds before the magazine exploded, Turret #2's captain fired his guns. Both shells impacted with the Georg. The first shell impacted against the armored belt and did no damage, the second impacted with the Bridge killing everyone there. The Abilene went down less than a minute later.
Less than an hour later, the Octavio met up with the damaged Georg. While it was obvious that the Georg could not continue the mission, she could still perform a valuable service for the Reich. During the battle, German Naval Forces West based in Paris, had sent out an intelligence report to all German surface ships and u-boats an estimate of Allied naval units currently deployed in the Atlantic. The estimate was pretty accurate and Captain von Foerster came up with a plan, it wasn't one he was liked, but it would do. They had sunk an American carrier and her escorts, they had sunk a convoy, they had disrupted the Allied convoys and forced the Allies to react to them. It was time to go home. Once her fires were under control, the Georg would proceed deeper into the convoy routes for another day before setting course for home (von Foerster didn't believe in suicide missions, but he knew that his ship had a better chance of getting home if the Georg provided a diversion.) The Octavio would swing south west before turning north for home. After transmitting his orders to the Prinz Georg via blinker light, the Octavio started south west. Four hours later, von Foerster sent out a quick sitrep, the Allies were unable to pinpoint his location.
0900 December 6, 1941 Sea State 6 (17 feet)
The Prinz Georg was making her way slowly south when her Captain ordered a course change. The had not found any Allied ships and with no radar or search aircraft, they had been limited in their search efforts. After looking at the latest intelligence received from Admiral Doenitz he decided to go west for eight hours before swing north east.
Unknown to the Captain and crew of the Prinz Georg, there were eyes in the sky looking them over. An RAF Coastal Command Short Sutherland had found them not too long before. The RAF crew, after carefully noting the cruiser's position, flew a circular search patern looking for the other cruiser. They searched 20 nautical miles around the Prinz Georg and found nothing. Then they broke radio silence and informed their base of the Georg. RAF Coastal Command passed on the contact report to the Admiralty. The RN's Force E was 35 nm away and closing. Force C was 60 nm behnd them. The USN's Task Force 34 was 36 nm west of the reported position. Task Force 25 was 40 nm south west of the position.All four task forces were ordered to intercept. Word was transmitted sent out stating that the second German cruiser had separated from the first and to search for it and destroy it. The Georg had heard the transmission and prepared to be attacked from the air.
One hundred nm north west of the Georg was the Prinz Octavio. They didn't know it, but they and Force E had passed within 30nm of each other during the night. At 0800 the both the Octavio and Georg had received a message from Hitler and Grand Admiral Doneitz via Enigma.
To: Commanding Officers and crews of the Prinz*Johann Georg and Prinz*Octavio
From: Adolph Hitler, Supreme Commander
I want to offer my congratulations on the most successful mission in the entire history of the German Navy! You have made the people of Germany proud and put fear into the hearts of our enemies!
By my order the commanding officers of both ships have been awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords!
By my order, the officers of both ships have been awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross!
By my order, the crews of both ships have been awarded the Iron Cross First Class!
As your Commander-in-Chief I would also like to congratulate you on your very successful cruise! Your brothers-in-arms are very proud of you!
(There was an additional part of the message that was not shared with the crews of the ships, just the senior officers.)
By order of the Fuehrer you are ordered to return to the Fatherland. However, if you are unable tp break through the Allied blockade you are ordered to proceed to a neutral port in Portugal or Spain. You are also authorized to proceed to Italy. Your final option is to proceed to Japan and assist them in their fight against the Allies.
Heil Hitler!
Signed
Doenitz
The newly promoted Captain of the Georg and his senior officers decided that they were going to go home and changed course to take them home. The Otavio's officers, after carefully weighing their options, decided that they could slip through the blockade, but the also prepared to make run for Spain. Since the seas were calming down, Captain von Foerster ordered the painting of the name Canarias over the Octavio's name on the stern and the raising of the Spanish Naval ensign.
2:55pm December 6, 1941 Sea State 5 (12 feet)
The seas were getting calmer and visibility had improved to two miles. The Georg was still under observation, the original Sutherland had been replaced by another and this one was in direct radio contact with the Allied Naval forces approaching from two sides. Five miles to the north east was the Royal Navy's Force E under the command of Vice Admiral John Godfrey. Seven miles to the south east was the US Navy's Task Forces 25 and 34 under the overall command of Vice Admiral William Ainsworth. After coordinating their plans via the Sutherland, both American task forces closed within five nautical miles. Admiral Godfrey had graciously acceded Ainsworth's request of allowing the Americans the opportunity to fire first. Godfrey's forces would remain to the fifteen nm north east to prevent the German cruiser from escaping.
Thus began the Battle of the Mid-Atlantic, perhaps the most one sided battle in modern naval history. On the German side was the damaged, but still dangerous Prinz Johann Georg with 6x11 inch guns vs five battleships, 1 battle cruiser, 4 heavy cruisers, 6 light cruisers and 18 destroyers.
The Germans were expecting an air attack, they were therefore somewhat surprised when 14 inch and 16 inch shells began raining down around them. They immediately changed course to the north. Admiral Ainsworth ordered half of his light cruisers and destroyers to attack the cruiser while the battleships continued to fire.
The German cruiser changed course again to allow both 11” and both 5.9” turrets to fire unimpeded at the approaching ships. Her course change also allowed her torpedo tubes to fire. Once the port torpedo crew had a target – the light cruiser USS Orlando – that was in front of the other US ships.
Again the Germans fire their guns and launched their torpedoes as the American ships did the same. Two shells, one American 6 inch and a German 5.9 inch actually collided during their flight. The German shells crashed among the American ships causing shock damage and sprayed shrapnel everywhere. The German torpedoes had better luck. One torpedo blew the bow off of the Orlando, and two other torpedoes blew the USS Madison out of the water. The Georg's victory was very short lived. In the space of 90 seconds, the Georg was hit by a single 14” shell from the New Mexico, three 6” shells from the light cruiser USS Roswell and two torpedoes from the destroyers USS John R. Yale and USS Patrick H. Grace. The Georg was pulverized and only 22 sailors survived.
One German heavy cruiser had been sunk but where was the other one? The “Spanish cruiser Canarias” was six hours from Cadiz. She had in fact slipped past TF 18 which had not yet gotten into their patrol area. They had heard the final signals from the Prinz Georg, but they were maintaining radio silence.
At 1645 hours, they were overflown by the British Airways Corporation's London to Lisbon's Armstrong Whitley Ensign. The flight crew took note of the “Spanish cruiser but since they were under orders to maintain radio silence until they were off the Portuguese coast, they did not report it. Two hours later, once they were on the ground in Lisbon, the crew reported the sighting to the embassy official who met the plane. The embassy official in turn reported the sighting to the British Naval Attache twenty minutes after getting back to the embassy. The attache recalled seeing an intelligence report that Spain's only heavy cruiser the Canarias was visiting the Canary Islands. He immediately notified the Admiralty about the possible German cruiser. Aircraft were launched from Southern England and from the carriers Bunker Hill and Franklin. The Allied task forces, after leaving behind two destroyers to search for survivors, changed course for the Spanish coast.
The British and American aircraft spent the rest of the day searching in vain for the cruiser. Thanks to the very poor visibility, the cruiser was not sighted. Captain von Foerster had increased speed and changed course as soon as the British plane was out of sight. By dawn on December 7, the Prinz Octavio was 15 nm (three miles outside of Spain's territorial waters) off the Spanish port of Huelva.
At 0700, one of the Bunker Hill's scouting Dauntlasses found the Prinz Octavio, and since their orders had been to get a positive identification, they dropped to 5,000 feet and changed course to fly over the cruiser. As they were approaching the cruiser, the rear gunner quickly spotted the four fighters on an intercept course.
The four He-112 fighters flew past the Dauntlass without firing. Then the Spanish flight leader radioed the Dauntless asking them if they were lost and did they need an escort? The American pilot replied that they were leaving the area. Once the fighters left, the Dauntlass radio operator contacted the Bunker Hill and filled them in. Both carriers began launching their air groups. They were going to sink the Octavio before she crossed into Spanish territorial waters.
On board the Octavio, Captin von Foerster knew the Americans had found them. The Prinz Octavio was less than 60 nm from Spains main navy base at Cadiz which was where he wanted to go, but he would settle for Huelva if needed. He ordered the Spanish naval ensign lowered and the German flag raised. He gave orders to take his ship into the port. Twenty minutes later, they were bringing a harbor pilot on board, forty-five minutes after that, they were lowering the anchor. The first person to come aboard was the port's harbor master who informed von Foerster that under Article 17 of the Hague Convention the Prinz Octavio was required to leave the port within the 72 hours or be interned. Von Foerster simply replied that he needed to contact the German Embassy in Madrid.
The American air groups were recalled and Admiral Ingersoll ordered that the four Allied Task Forces (the RN's Forces C & E and the American Task Forces 25 & 34) were ordered to maintain a position 15 nm off the port of Huelva and if the Octavio entered international waters, she was to be sunk. Ingersoll also dispatched two British aircraft carriers – HMS Inflexible and HMS Bulwark – to join the British forces.
The Germans regarded Winter's Breath a success. The Allies decided that they needed to take care of the German surface fleet once and for all.
TRANSCRIPT OF MEETING BETWEEN THE SPANISH FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINSTER AND THE AMERICAN AND BRITISH AMBASSADORS
1pm December 7, 1941
Foreign Affairs Minister Ramon Serrano Suner: Good afternoon Ambassador Weddel and Ambassador Hoare. What is this urgent matter that you wanted to discuss?
British Ambassador Sir Samuel Hoare: Minister Suner, earlier today a German warship entered Spanish territorial waters. Under Article 17 of the Hague Convention, that ship must leave your territoril waters within 72 hours or be interened. Both Her Majesty's Government and the United States Government would like to know what preperations your Government is making to carry out this task?”
Suter: With all due respect gentlemen, this is a matter of discussion between the Spanish and German Governments. The Spanish Government is concerned about the build up of Allied naval forces off our Atlantic coast.
US Ambassador Alexander Weddel: Minister Suner, Dispositions of Allied naval forces is a matter of discussion between the United States and British governments.
Suter: Gentlemen, I will take your concerns to el Caudillo, I can promise you that you will have an answer within 24 hours.
Ambassador Hoare: We will be waiting for your answers sir.
JOINT USN & ROYAL NAVY INTELLIGENCE ESTIMATE
DECEMBER 7, 1941
The German Navy is divided in to five major groups
German Naval Forces Northern Russia
RADM Helmuth Brinkmann
Murmansk - Frederick the Great (currently en route from the Atlantic), Deutschland, 8 destroyers, 6 U-boats
German Naval Forces Norway
VADM Otto Schneiewind
Bergen - Admiral Scheer, 4 destroyers, 10 U-Boats
Trodenheim – Tirpitz, Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Seydlitz, destroyers, 18 U-Boats
German Naval Forces France (Atlantic Coast)
VADM Wilhelm Marschall
Brest – 6 destroyers, 18 U-Boats, 12 E-Boats
Cherbourg – 6 U-Boats, 12 E-Boats
La Rochelle – 12 U-Boats, 6 E-Boats
Lorient – 6 U-Boats, 8 E-Boats
Saint Nazaire 12 U-Boats, 24 E-Boats
Bordeaux – 24 E-Boats
German Naval Forces Southern France
VADM Otto Ciliax
Marseille – 30 E-Boats
Toulon – 2 light cruisers (ex-French – Montcalm & Joan of Arc), 4 destroyers (Ex-French Chacal class) 8 U-Boats, 10 E-Boats
German Naval Home Forces
ADM Hans Georg von Friedburg
Danzig – 12 U-Boats (Training), 8 E-Boats
Kiel – Lutzow, 4 destroyers, 24 U-Boats, 18 E-Boats
Rostock – 18 U-Boats (Training)
Wilhelmshaven - Admiral Hipper, 8 Destroyers, 24 U-Boats, 18 E-Boats
At this time, German forces based in Murmansk and German home waters cannot be attacked. It is recommended that Allied Forces based in Northern Europe be tasked with the destruction of the German surface ships based in France and Norway. Allied Forces based in North Africa should concentrate on the German forces based in Southern France and the Italian surface fleet.
EXCERPTS OF TOP SECRET MESSAGE
FROM THE SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER EUROPE
TO: Vice Admirals Ainsworth and Godfrey
From: Admiral Ingersoll
Date: 1600 December 7, 1941
Re: Operation Suner
By order of Prime Minister Churchill and President Roosevelt you are to begin planning Operation Suner. Admiral Godfrey, as the senior admiral in the area, is in over all command.
Admiral Ainsworth's forces are ordered to plan to attack the German Cruiseer Prinz Octavio if she leaves Spanish territorial waters. They are also to prepare to attack the Prinz Octavio if the Spanish refuse to intern her.
Admiral Godfrey's forces are to provide back up support forr Admiral Ainsworth's forces. In the event that the ship is attacked in the harbor, Admiral Godfrey's forces are to attack the two Spanish airfields outside of the port as well as preventing Spanish naval forces from providing assistance to the Prinz Octavio.
Your forces ARE NOT to enter Spanish territorial waters unless specifically authorized by Prime Minister Churchill and President Roosevelt. Have your plans ready witihin 24 hours.
OPERATION STARBURST
DECEMBER 8, 1941
0030 HMS Seal was in the waters between Corsica and Sardinia. She along with her sister submarine HMS Narwhal had been tasked with laying minefields of 25 mines each in four areas between the islands.
Three other minelaying submarines, HMS Grampus, HMS Starfish, and HMS Orca were laying minefields between Italy and Corsica and around the port of Calvi. They would be assisted later by RAF, USAAF and French Air Force minelaying aircraft.
