Just a couple of points, which I think are worthwhile if the subject is to be linked to a description of Britain’s Empire. ‘England, as a holder of vast colonial possessions was apprehensive about jeopardizing her already reduced Empire. ‘ The British Empire was at war, so it was already in jeopardy, and this had been the case for two years prior to the entry of the USA and Japan into
Forum: General Discussions

The BRITISH (not English) carriers were fully occupied throughout the war, with their over-riding responsibility being trade protection. This didn’t stop them from aggressively and effectively intruding into Axis territory, such as the raids on Petsamo, Kirkness and Taranto. After the Norwegian campaign, and the consequent needless loss of HMS Glorious, the Royal Navy’s use of it’s carrie
Forum: General Discussions

Hello Don, "May I reiterate that I am more interested in establishing the source of the metal than the identity of the sitter." Research can be painfully slow, and I sympathise with the frustration you may be feeling while we chew over he identity of the sitter. However, as there are no conclusive markings, and the provenance is missing, the sitter is all we have to work on. I o
Forum: WWI forum

Hello Ken, this looks like the one. Salvage vessel HELP, launched 5/5/1943, completed 12/1943 783 tons, 53.8 ft length oa, 10.9 ft beam, single screw turbine. Built for the Royal Navy by Smith’s, broken up in 1968 Sorry I have nothing else at the moment. Hope this helps, Bruce
Forum: Warship forum

Does anyone know if the RAF raid on Kiel the night of 13/14 October 1942 affected any U-boats? I am interested in any damage to boats, whether under construction or repair. Any information concerning the raid is welcome. Thanks in advance, Bruce
Forum: General Discussions

See link on your other post in Technology forum. Bruce
Forum: General Discussions

Here it is... Bruce
Forum: Technology and Operations

Hello Ken, youv'e got mail. Regards, Bruce
Forum: Warship forum

This news story is very interesting. In theory, crew lists can be compiled from these source documents for ships lost in either World War. Bruce
Forum: General Discussions

You probably already know this, but some of the ships logs are at The National archives, Kew. Bruce
Forum: WWI forum

Hello Nick, S142 sank both Emerald (806 BRT) and Pine that night, under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Hinrich Ahrens. Hope this helps, Bruce
Forum: General Discussions

H. M. S. C A I S T O R C A S T L E ( K 6 9 0 ) ”CASTLE” Class Frigate ordered from Lewis Shipbuilders, Aberdeen on 19th December 1942 and laid down on 26th August 1943. The ship was launched on 22nd May 1944 and was the 1st RN ship to bear this name. Build was completed on 29th September 1944. She was not adopted by a civil community in UK in 1941-42 following a National Savings WARSH
Forum: Warship forum

Best wishes to all for the New Year, and especially to the new sailor and his crewmates. Regards, Bruce
Forum: General Discussions

Ken, RE, I will look at the book and website. Thanks and season’s best wishes, Bruce
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Gudmundur Hearty congratulations, and Seasons Greetings. All the best to you and yours, Bruce
Forum: General Discussions

Many congratulations, and seasons greetings to you and your family. Regards, Bruce
Forum: General Discussions

Hello, If you have access to The National Archives, in Kew, southwest of London, there are several files there on the subject. ADM178/211 to 217 are all described as "Allied naval personnel: reports on morale etc" for various dates between 1940 and 1944. They include reports from the various liaison officers for the Allied forces operating with the RN. These have been quite useful
Forum: Warship forum

Hello, Can anyone tell me something about The Kerneval Headquarters of Doenitz near Lorient? There was a 200 man signals unit stationed there according to various websites, but so far no unit identity or indications of what equipment was installed. Also, I understand the building survived, but that there is no access to the public: is this right? Thanks in advance, Bruce
Forum: General Discussions

glider1 Wrote: > I had known about the Typex Wrens travelling with > him, but confess that I did not know about this. > Is it referred to in any of the literature? > > RE I think so, I will look at my notes and post the source. Regards, Bruce
Forum: General Discussions

Hello RE, There seems to be a muddle of dates and the identity of various bodies drawn into this interesting discussion, so, to ensure there is no confusion over what I am saying, I will repeat my point: You suggest that Churchill was not aware of the potential insecurity of Naval Cypher No 3, and I find this highly unlikely, for the reasons I gave in the earlier summary. Yes, Tunny was o
Forum: General Discussions

Hello RE, The problem is, Hinsley also doesn’t say that the PM wasn’t told, so I will rely on what he does say on the matter, plus my own trawling of the files at Kew. I think the point that you are making is interesting, but it is unlikely that the PM was in the dark, as I will explain below. Firstly, the responsibility for reacting to the insecure Naval cyphers rested squarely with t
Forum: General Discussions

Hello RE, In response to David’s post, you say… “It's extremely unlikely that Churchill knew, or was told, in time to order action. He may never have been told.” May I ask on what you base this statement? Regards, Bruce
Forum: General Discussions

Thanks Denis. Regards, Bruce
Forum: General Discussions

Tony, As Freddy says, lighthouses received instructions to show lights at times that coincided with operations. This was for navigational purposes, as you suggest, and all ships involved in an operation that night would be told in advance if a particular light was to be used. The instructions were usually as simple as ‘one light NW three minutes at 02:35, repeat at 04:40’. For some operat
Forum: General Discussions

Denis, do you have any dates/places that you suspect U-96 may have been active? Bruce
Forum: General Discussions

Platon, Further efforts to find my original source haven’t helped: it was some time ago and my system of cross referencing has improved greatly since then. It may be pointless to tell until I find the source, but the way I remember it, the liaison officer was on an operational boat, and it seemed that the reason for his presence was to do with an all out effort to get a convoy through. I am
Forum: Warship forum

Platon, I am having trouble finding the reference to the U-boat liaison officer, but National Archives file HW 18/161 ‘German naval communications 1942 Feb 06-1943 Nov 16’, (ZWTG 1-50) gives multiple accounts of German liaison or communication staff with their own Enigma equipment on Italian destroyers in the Med. There are also Italian personnel on German ships and on merchant ships. The
Forum: Warship forum

Platon, You are correct to say the source was SIGINT, as that was the name for the collection of information from all the radio and signals sources, whether quoting directly from intercepted text (as in Enigma decrypts, referred to as ULTRA) or interpreting information and making a deduction (as in direction finding and Traffic Analysis). The Italian section at Bletchley Park was very successful
Forum: Warship forum

Hello Platon, "The Ultra reference comes from ADM223/31 although not specified as such, it is obvious that it came from Sigint." I have not seen that ADM file: is the message quoted in full? If so, there should be a part of the message at the top or bottom that includes at least one Z and then a further number. This 'Z' reference was assigned by BP at the time of dec
Forum: Warship forum

A Liberator from 224 Sq failed to return from anti-submarine patrol of Skagerrack area on this date: did any U-boat report an encounter? Thanks in advance, Bruce
Forum: General Discussions