The Whale Has Wings Vol 1 - Rebirth (28 page)

The final decision is taken out of the Admirals hands by the arrival of a new raid (fortunately for the small fleet, the last of that day). This time it is a force of He-115 torpedo planes. After the retrieval of the earlier CAP, Colossus has on
ly been able to put up another four planes - due to the unexpected arrival of the Venerables fighters, they do not have the usual replacement CAP spotted), and there are 18 planes in the raid.

The fighters do their best - the floatplanes are easy targets, and the pilots are a lot more experienced than they were at the start of the Norwegian affair, but even so only manage to intercept a third of them. Two more are shot down by the desperate fire of the fle
et AA guns, but the remaining ten head straight for the burning HMS Venerable. Hardly able to manoeuvre, the ship is an easy target, although one of her 40mm guns does destroy one of the torpedo planes before it releases, Nine torpedoes are launched. Four of them hit as the planes bore in with impressive dedication - indeed, two are shot down or crash after they release.

Three of the torpedoes hit her on the port side, one on the starboard. To the amazement of the officers watching from HMS Renown, although she takes on a list, she isn't obviously
sinking (although certainly lower in the water), as her anti-torpedo measure prove most efficient. Sadly that doesn't matter, as one of the torpedoes has already doomed her, hitting next to her aft machinery space and cutting off the remaining power (while the ship does have a diesel generator, this was destroyed in the earlier bombing). As a result, there is no way to stop the inexorable flooding, or to allow the fires in the ship to be brought under control.

The captain orders the crew to abandon ship, and two destroyers close to pick them up; the ships scuttling charges are set (given her protection against torpedoes, charges against the hull were intended for use if possible as the usual way of sinking a damaged ship by torpedo would prove difficult). Fifteen minutes after the last survivors are rescued, the ship shudders, heels over, and sinks quickly, taking 245 of her crew with her.

Chapter 18

May 1940, Norway and France
.

After the retreat to Trondheim, t
he Norwegian campaign stabilised for a time. The allies were still reinforcing with British and French forces, and the Norwegians are regrouping what troops have made it to the north, while the German forces are consolidating their grip on the south of the country and making local probing attacks to keep the allies on their toes. There is a noticeable drop in Luftwaffe activity, and as a result the forward naval force is reduced to a battlecruiser and a single fleet carrier plus supporting ships, while the convoys to Narvik are escorted by the light carriers (two more are now available from Atlantic convoys, so the loss of HMS Venerable does not affect operations).

HMS Glorious has finished her refit, and is loaded with fighters; 16 Goshawk Mk IA, and 16 Gladiators, headed for Malta. She will act as escort for the convoy also delivering arms, supplies and troops and RAF personnel to the island.

British troops occupy Iceland; this is viewed with mixed feelings by the inhabitants, and the British forces start a campaign of winning them over to the allied cause.

The most important even
t happens on the 7th May, when a debate in the House of Commons on 'the conduct of the war'. Prime Minister Chamberlain is castigated for the poor preparation and performance of the forces 'which have only been saved by the professionalism of the Royal Navy', as it is put by Leo Avery. He follows this with pointing at Chamberlain and quoting Oliver Cromwell 'You have sat too long for any good you have been doing. Depart, I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!'

There were startling moments before that. Admiral of the Fleet Sir Roger Keyes, a Tory MP and hero of the last war, arrived in the House in full uniform with six rows of medal ribbons on his chest. He denounced the Prime Minister and volunteered personally to lead another naval assault on the enemy in Norway. The First Lord, Winston Churchill, takes responsibility for the performance of all the forces involved, RAF and Army as well as the Royal Navy. While the gesture of him trying to protect the government is recognised, he is one of the few people to come out of the Norway operation with any credibility.

In the vote at the end of the debate, the governments majority is reduced from over 200 to 81, many Tory MP's abstaining. It is a devastating blow to Chamberlain. As a result, on the 9th may Chamberlain asked the Labour party to join him in a coalition government. They refused to do so as long as he was Prime Minister. The next day he was chairing a meeting of the War Cabinet when he was handed a note informing him that the Labour party will only accept Winston Churchill as Prime Minister of a coalition government. His situation was made worse by the news of Germany's attack in the west; he broadcast to the nation that evening announcing his resignation.

German forces continue
d to advance through Holland and Belgium. The Royal Navy's participation is mainly to aid in helping Dutch and Belgian shipping to be recovered to the UK, and to evacuate items such as gold and diamonds. The Italian propaganda machine, growing increasingly pro-German, announces that Britain’s Royal Navy is largely obsolete and no match for their impressive array of battleships which are taking part in well-publicised exercises in the Adriatic. The FAA find this somewhat amusing, as the Italian fleet does not have any carriers.

While the armies are moving west, the RAF (and also the French Air Force) attempt
ed to intervene to destroy bridges and generally aid the army. The operations are ineffectual, and merely result in the loss of trained and brave airmen .

The FAA had
been mounting small raids to harass the Germans in Norway; there has been little Luftwaffe activity, and it is assumed that all but a small force has been withdrawn to take part in the operations in France and the low Countries. On the 12th, an interesting raid was mounted from HMS Sparrowhawk (RNAS Hatston). Twelve SeaLance, carrying 500lb bombs, were sent to attack a ship carrying supplies and AA artillery off Bergen. They were escorted by six Goshawks which join them from HMS Illustrious. What makes this raid different is that it is the first one to be based on information gained by ULTRA intercepts. They catch the target, escorted by two torpedo boats, as it is about the enter the fjord, just before noon, and by 1230 the ship is sinking into the waters of the fjord. The accompanying fighters finished by strafing the torpedo boats.

On May 13th the government of the Netherlands and Queen Wilhemina are evacuated to the UK by British destroyers.

On 14th the new coalition government is formed. Also formed is a new Ministry of Aircraft Production under Lord Beaverbrook.

On May 15th a number of Dutch and British warships are sunk off Holland by the Luftwaffe; the Royal Navy loses the destroyers HMS Valentine (had to be beached and abandoned ) and HMS Winchester (seriously damaged). The Navy demands (politely, so far) to know why the RAF is not covering its ships, and asks if maybe the RAF would like the FAA to help them. The answer is stony silence.

May 16th

The government authorises another four squadrons of Hurricane fighters to go to France, leaving Fighter Command with only 22 squadrons of the 52 considered necessary for defence. Meanwhile the British and French armies in the north of France and Belgium are retreating towards the coast.

May 18th

Belgium surrenders. The BEF and the French
Army fall back onto the coast of Belgium, as they now have to cover the gap left by the Belgian surrender. While this is happening Bomber command was attacking strategic targets in Germany, with little success or impact on the attacking German Army.

May 19th

The destroyer HMS Whitley is bombed two miles off Neiuport on the Belgian coast. After taking severe bomb damage she has to be beached and sunk by gunfire from another destroyer. After their last inquiry as to air support of their ships, the Admiralty decide to try a different approach and talk directly to Air Marshall Dowding, head of fighter command. They are shocked when they find how few fighters he has to protect the country. As a result of this meeting, they offer two squadrons of Goshawks (these are the two they maintain in Scotland as a replacement reserve for the carriers operating out of the UK) to help cover the ships and coast. Dowding asks the Air Ministry to allow this, but the request vanishes into the maze of the Air Ministry bureaucracy.

May 22nd

German panzers reach Calais and Boulogne. The BEF is now cut off from retreat to the south. By the 24th the BEF and French army were falling back on the port of Dunkirk.

May 26th

After the way in which the situation on land has been deteriorating, the Navy has been making plans for an evacuation of as much of the BEF as is possible. The operation will be controlled by A
dmiral Ramsey at Dover, and it was hoped that as many as 45,000 men could be lifted off before the rest of the force is forced to surrender. With the situation now so critical, the Navy again brought up the issue of loaning two squadrons of fighters directly to the Prime Minister, as they point out that their earlier offer seems to have been lost by the RAF. The PM is shocked, and on being informed that Dowding was already in favour (but awaiting permission from the Air Ministry), tells them to expedite it immediately. The 'or else' is left implied. Arrangements were made to fly the squadrons down to East Anglia the following day

May 27th - June 4th France.

Over this period the Royal Navy, aided by merchant ships, the French navy, and numerous allied ships evacua
ted 340,000 men; the entire BEF plus many French troops. The total number evacuated is almost ten times what was originally thought possible. The operation was given limited air cover; due to the distance from the UK, only the Goshawks had the range to effectively cover the operation, and strong Luftwaffe formations meant RAF fighters could only be committed in small numbers. The Goshawks have mainly been used to cover the sea areas against the Luftwaffe as their endurance and familiarity in operating over the sea has made them the logical choice, allowing the RAF fighter squadrons to concentrate over the beaches and the BEF.

The operation has not been witho
ut naval loss; the RN has lost four destroyers and numerous other craft. Fighter command has lost nearly 100 aircraft, and the FAA squadrons 12. However between them they have cost the Luftwaffe the best part of 200 planes.

It had already been decided when the BEF was retreating towards the coast that it would be impossible to continue any major support of the forces in Norway. Accordingly plans were made for an evacuation. The Norwegian government was not informed until the 1st June, when the Dunkirk operation made it obvious no forces could be spared for Norway. While the campaign had gone reasonably for the allies, the German occupation of the southern part of the country meant that it would be far easier for Germany to supply and reinforce its forces than it would be for the allies, and that there was no reasonable likelihood of being able to force the Germans out.

The meetings to inform the Norwegians of this were emotional, especially after all that had been done to retain the northern part of the country. However the logic was clear; the Germans could resupply via a short sea route to Oslo that would be almost impossible for the Allies to interdict, while allied forces had to go a long distance to Narvik. While the Royal Navy had sufficient forces to do this, the real problem was that after Dunkirk there were simply no land or air forces or supplies available. The meeting was finally concluded when the Norwegian King informed his staff and the British that he agreed there was no choice; he, his family and the Norwegian government would evacuate to the UK to continue the war. He stated he was not prepared for the allies to risk all to try and hold Northern Norway in view of the circumstances. When the text of his statements was later sent to Churchill, he replied with a personal message that' Britain would not cease to wage war against Germany until Norway was again free'. It also made a deep impression on the commander of the French forces in Norway, which would have later consequences when they were withdrawn to Britain.

The evacuation, both men and equipment, would take around two weeks; first from Narvik, leaving only the Norwegian forces in control, then the allied forces around Trondheim were taken off by sea, again with as much of their equipment as possible. The operations and convoys were covered by the Royal navy and its carriers. There was only fitful effort from the Luftwaffe (the bulk of which was heavily engaged in France), and while the army units did mount some attacks, these were held off by the Norwegian army.

Due to the heavy escort provided, there were no losses to aircraft during the evacuation. However there was damage to one of the carriers due to a U-boat attack. Although the carriers were flying a constant A/S cover of four swordfish (in all weathers), U-46 must have been waiting undetected as the last convoy left from Narvik. She fired 4 torpedoes at HMS Formidable; one struck. The carriers TDS did about as well as expected, however the heavy torpedo hit her amidships, quickly flooding the forward port boiler room and some adjacent spaces. Flooding was limited, and although the carrier quickly took on a 10 degree list, this was brought under control by counter-flooding and shifting fuel, leaving her listing only by 5 degrees, the situation she returned to Britain in.