22.5.1941 Kreta

[Enrico Cernuschi]

Hello Gentlemen,

on 22 May 1941 the Lufwaffe Gruppen sunk the British DD Greyhound and the cruisers Gloucester and Fiji.

May someone write me about the air raid made that day by the I./LG 1 and KG.2. I know they did a total of 84 sorties, that they lost two bombers by ack ack and a third during a crash landing.
What i would love to discover are the hours of their attacks, in the morning and in the afternoon, and how many aircrafts partecipated at the various waves.

I know too that 7 Ju 88 of the III./KG 30 attacked once, that day, but being based in Sicily I have yet got the time of their leaving and return.   

    Thank you for the help,

         greetings

           Enrico

[Bergedorf]

Hello Enrico,

some details from Peter Taghon: "Die Geschichte des Lehrgeschwaders 1":

On the 22nd May 1941 there were 84 sorties of LG 1, with 33 crews. From the 33 crews 18 belonged to I./LG 1, and 15 to II./LG2. Together with 7 crews from III./KG 30 they dropped 128 tons of bombs, of which 6,8 tons should have hit the mark.

The Commander of LG1 reported to Fliegerkorps VIII. at the evening (I try to translate the sense as good as I can and hope not to miss the mark to far...):
- 1 cruiser in Qu 3611 sunk at 18:00 after two hits of 1 SC 500 and 1 SC 250 at 11:35 on the stern of the ship and heavy fires.
- 1 cruiser sunk at 18:00 in Qu 3521 after beeing hit from 3 SC 500 and 1 SC 250 at 15:10 and 18:00
- 1 Destroyer (have been hit before) sunk thru 3 hits of SC 500 ant 13:40 in Qu 2623

Further Hits on other ships were mentioned.

Taghom mentioned that also StG 2 should have been envolved in the sinking of HMS Gloucester (shpuld be the cruiser in Qu 3611). The first hit on HMS Fiji (should be the cruiser in Qu 3521) should have been set from an Jabo of I./LG1 at 18:00.

As always it is very difficult to find the thruth in the reports.

I hope my english is not to bad to understand the sense of my posting.

Best regards

Dirk

[Enrico Cernuschi]

Hello Dirk,

your answer was fantastic. A last, decisive detail: when did the attacks begun?

     Greetings

      Enrico

[Bergedorf]

Hello Enrico,

it is reported in this book, that the planes started at Eleusis at about 07:30 and that they sighted the enemy ships one hour later. The first planes for the second attack started at 10:06 and 1./LG 1  attacked between 11:30 and 14:47.

The plane that crash landed was L1+NK. The planes shot down were L1+LL and L1+IK

Greetings

Dirk

[byron]

Hello Enrico,

here the crews of the shot down planes

2. Staffel / L.G. 1
FF. Ltn. Wolfgang Schweickhardt, Ju 88 A5 (L1+IK, 6329) 100%, BO. Gfr. Werner Boll ,
BF. Uffz. Karl-Heinz Knüttel (+), BS. Gfr. Josef Bullinger, Flakbeschuss, alle anderen (v.) 22.05.41 Kreta,   

3. Staffel / L.G. 1
FF. Ofw. Heinrich Boecker, Ju 88 A5 (L1+LL, W.Nr. 2262) 100%  m. BO. Uffz. Ernst Mössner,  BF. Fw. Fritz Jährling, BS. Gfr. Hans Tesch, Flaktreffer Flotteverband, alle (v.) 22.05.41 Kreta

Byron

[Enrico Cernuschi]

Many thanks gentlemen.

Your answers were beyond my hopes. Now I can try a confrontation of times between the British, Italian and German reports. You were great.

       Sincerely

         Enrico 

[Bergedorf]

Many thanks gentlemen.

Your answers were beyond my hopes. Now I can try a confrontation of times between the British, Italian and German reports. You were great.

       Sincerely

         Enrico 

Please tell us the result of this research! 

[igor]

In "Bericht des VIII Fliegerkorps gegen die engl. Seestreitkrafte im ostl. Mittelmeer 18.05. - 01.06.1941" stated, that on 22.5.41 was sunk:
1) 0?.05 1 cruiser in Qu. 47 81 after attack from III./KG 3 in 06.28 with 3 direct hits 50 kg (+ torpedo hit from italians under ?)
2) 1 cruiser in qu. 36 11 after 3 direct hits 250 from Jabo JG 77 - 13.45 only debris and little boats seen on place.
3) 1 light cruiser between 14.20 and 14.30 in qu 26 23 after 3 direct hits 500 from II/LG 1. LG 1 reported that its planes sunk a Destroyer, but pilotes from II./ZG 26, who seen attack and sinken, reported that it was cruiser.
4) 1 heavy cruiser (GLOUCESTER - this confimed by aerial photo and POW statements) in qu. 36 14 damaged with 5-6 direct hits so bad, that she sunk 16.15 in qu. 36 31.
5) 1 cruiser in 11.35 in qu. 36 13 heavily damaged by direct hits 500 and 250 in Achterdeck, near miss 500, in 16.00 burned and in 18.00 as sunk reported, in 18.45 only oil on sea.
6) 1 cruiser in 15.10 in qu. 36 31 heavily damaged by I/LG 1 with 2 direct hits 500 and 250, oil path thru 36 52 to 36 79, here 17.36 2 near miss 500. 18.00 sunk.
7) 1 Destroyer damaged with 3 near miss 500 from I/StG 1 in 12.30 in qu. 36 11, after 10-15 minuts sunk.
1 Destroyer sunk by I/StG 2 in qu. 36 12 with 2x500, 4x50, 1x250. Confirmed by III/KG 3
9) 1 Destroyer sunk by I/StG 2 in qu.36 12 with 250 direct hit
10) 1 Destroyer sunk by II/LG 1 in 13.42-45 in qu. 26 23 with 1 direct hit 250, 1 near miss 250.

Additionally was many direct hits gained in cruisers and destroyers by StG 2 (9 times), LG 1 (4 times), KG 2 (12 times), ZG 26 (2 times), JG 77 (2 times).

This report was made after reworking all battle reports from units.

[Enrico Cernuschi]

Mamma mia!

I will be able to e-mail the result of this research this evening.

For e definitive answer I would need, however, the following, further infos:   

a) "1) 0?.05 1 cruiser in Qu. 47 81 after attack from III./KG 3 in 06.28 with 3 direct hits 50 kg (+ torpedo hit from italians under ?)"   the right timing of 0?.05 and the place of Qu. 47 81

b) As I'm unable to attach in the Forum the file of a British log may I send it to a member of the company forthis purpose?     

   Greetings

    Enrico

[kgvm]

Enrico, yes to your second question.
But do you have general problems to attach a file or only with this file? If so, it may be to big (not more than 450 KB).

[igor]

a) "1) 0?.05 1 cruiser in Qu. 47 81 after attack from III./KG 3 in 06.28 with 3 direct hits 50 kg (+ torpedo hit from italians under ?)"   the right timing of 0?.05 and the place of Qu. 47 81

In day-by-day report i can find time - 08.05, place uncertain for me (this is LW quadrats i am not familiar with them). This place must be somewhere north from Kreta. Attacked group of ships move from Heraklion to Milos island.

[Enrico Cernuschi]

Well Gentlemen,

here are the facts. I confide in your suggestions, critics and help.

The RN Cruiser Squadron 15, alias Force C, at the order of Rear Admiral E.L.S. King, formed by the cruisers Naiad (flagship) and Perth and the DDs Kingston, Kandahar, Nubian and Juno entered in the Aegean Sea on 20/21 May 1941 night by teh Kaso strait. They encountered five Italian MAS boats (520, 523, 536, 541, 546). During that action 520 and 523 suffered some minor splinter damages while in the melee HMS Kandahar was hit by a 40 mm burst fired by Juno suffering some casualties, damages and a fire which induced the Italians to believe, wrongly, one of their torpedoes had hit its target. This accident, common among any navy, was sanitarized in the following London Gazette report published on 1948 and in the many commonly available strories and memories, all copied one from the other. Only commander George Stett, in his Under Cunningham's Commmand, published on 1944, reminded it before the politically correct version (the Royal Navy cannot suffer any damage or losses by the Italian sugar cake navy) dominated the panorama.

The next day Force C lose HMS Juno at h 12. 51 (*) by a bomber raid made by five Cant Z 1007 bis aircrafts of the 50° Gruppo BT from Rhodes. A poor photo is available (I can send it to KGVM), but the British, suffering the usual inferiority complex, preferred to put that destroyer on the Luftwaffe bill.

The next day Force C had, at least, her great chance. Her task was, since the beginning, to intercept and destroy any German and Italian landing convoy bound for Crete.
During the 21/22 May 1941 night an other British squadron had been able to discover and attack one of the convoys at sea formed by a rag bag of Greek MFVs, small steamers ect. escorted by the Regia Marina torpedo boat Lupo. The action is a well known one. Not so known, anyway, is the fact HMS Orion suffered some damages by a torpedo launched by Lupo and exploded in that cruiser's wake just behind the propellers. That RN warship lamented: "...a near miss bomb in a night action off Crete. Superficial damage was caused by splinters. The foremast was weakened due to shock, and some damage was caused to aerials and rigging. Fighting efficiency slight impaired. The speed was reduced to 25 knots". (PRO ADM 234/444). The unfortnate cruiser was then hit by the 40 mm pom poms of its mate Dido who was trying to fire at the speedy Lupo which was crossing its stern between those two Mediterranean Fleet's cruisers. This accodent too was forgotten in the London Gazette reports and the damges to Orion too. No Luftwaffe or Regia Aeronautica's aircraft partecipated at that night action.

On 22 May HMS Naiad sighted with her radar, at 4.39, two aircrafts (German ones) firing at them. It was full night and her guns did not achieve nothing, of course, but betrayed the squadron's position. It was a silly act, but that ship had just arrived in the Med. and the admiral was a novice too (his last command at sea dated 1937) and had only recently joined the MF to replace his collegue Renouf after he had been sacked by Admiral A.B. cunningham after, according ABC own words, the "rotten business" of castelorizo on Feb. 1941. 

By 5.00 AM the LW was alerted.

According the infos found by Igor (many thanks again) Force C was attacked by some Ju 88 of the III./KG 3 at 07.05; the British, according a report attached at HMS Naiad's log, say 7.21 - 7.35, with no effect (and as a matter of fact to sunk a cruiser with three 50 kg bombs seems a little optimistic).

The there was at 7.34 - 8.01 an happy shooting by Naiad and Perth agaist a MFV straggler of the Lupo's convoy. The British claimed many German Air Force attacks which are not confirmed in the LW records. They wrote to have been attacked by torpedo bombers too, but this piece of news is fiction too, as the LW espended her last torpedo in the Med. the day before (Schmidt, Achtung-Torpedos los) and the Regia Aeronautica did only three torpedo bombers  sorties that day, all after noon.
The a.m. British document stated, anyway, the TBs were actually Ju 52 flying low and bound to Crete. The second convoy at sea, escorted by the Italian torpedo boat Sagittario, had previously observed those same aircrafts. The British (and Australians) fored at the transposrt planes and all the dramatic description of bombs and torpedoes falling around HMS Naiad are literature. We can presume so the RN sailors were a little nervous while sailing towards Milos island.

More later, probably tomorrow evening.

     Enrico             

                       






* British Cairo time. The German one was the same; the Italian was an hour before. i.e. 9.00 AM for Rome was 10.00 for the Germans and the Mediterranean Fleet. All the timing of this e mail are the Italian ones.

[kgvm]

Und hier die Anlagen von Enrico. Da sie jeweils rund 7 MB groß sind und beim verkleinern auf 450 KB ein Teil der Lesbarkeit verloren ging, habe ich sie nur auf rund 5 MB verkleinert und auf imageshack gespeichert:





Uploaded with ImageShack.us

[Leandros]

Terrific work, Enrico - correct or not. This is research at its best.

Fred

[Enrico Cernuschi]

Danke, mein Kapitan.

One of the problems of the previous narrative is the Italian Comando Supremo's Diary states that the X Fliegerkoprs trasmitted a report about 22 May 1941 stating 7 Ju 88 of the III./KG 30 leaved Sicily at 11. 58 AM attacking north of Crete a BB. Are those aircrafts the same quoted by Igor (III./KG 3 or 30?) for 07.05 (08.05 German time?)

At 8.35 Sagittario sighted ack ack fire beyond the horizon. The weather was good with low clouds.
8.40 No aircraft was seen according that Italian navy warship's proceeding.
8.47 sighted three cruisers coming from south (actually they were, in the order, the DD Kingston, Perth and Naiad; the cruisers Calcutta and Carlisle followed and the DDs Kandahar and Nubian closed the British line).
8.53 The Italians (and the German Navy signalling party on board - by the way is comander von Lipinski's report available?- )  
8.56 the Sagittario charges the enemy squadron, by now appreciated as formed by four cruisers and two DDs (Nubian is still too far) at 18.000 meters.
9.03 12.450 meters. The British fire at the Italian ship (but according the Naiad's attached report the British sighted the Sagittario only at h 9.10). When range is 12.000 meters the Sagittario's forward gun begun to fire.
9.07 7.000 meters. The Sagittario launches two torpedoes and pursies her action as the purpose is to cover the convoy with smoke. According the Naiad's report that ship is facing a non stop LW's bombardment since 8.16. No German Air Force conformation about such an ordalia. The small bombs around Naiad observed since 9.07 until 9.21 are actually the grenades by Sagittario.
9.10 The British are at least aware about the Italian torpedo boat firing against her two minutes later and recording she is making smoke to cover the convoy.
9.14 The Italian and german sailors on the torpedo boat see two water columns and appreciate the second cruiser is hit. The British warships is seem to alter course to south while the remainder of the RN squadron is always on the original route towards the convoy.
According Cajus Bekker's Angriffshoehe 4000, quoting the VIII War Diary, the Ju 88 crews of the II/LG.1 see four cruisers and two DDs fighting against the Italian Torpedo boat which is covering the covoy and note two water columns along a cruiser's side.    
9.23 The Squadron turns to south except for the British DD Kingston alone ahead which is running towards the Sagittario and opens her fire against the torpedo boat. Sagittario switch her fire, now by all her three 3.9 in guns as her A arcs are by now open, against the DD.
9.26 The DD is observed hit and stops to shot turning south.
9.28 both sides cease to fire. Sagittario fired a total of 56 rounds.
9.29 German aircrafts are seen, first time after the Ju 52 sighted almost two hours before, from the Sagittario.  
9.30 The German bombers attacks the Britosh ships and (five times) the Italian one.

Question: how many were the bombers which dropped their weapons during the first wave?

More tomorrow

 Enrico