Afternoon all....
Naval Events-Friday, 20 October 1939
Light cruisers COLOMBO and DELHI departed Sullom Voe for Northern Patrol.
Light cruiser DRAGON departed Sullom Voe for Northern Patrol and arrived back on the 25th.
Two light cruisers were on Northern Patrol between the Shetlands and the Faroes, light cruiser COLOMBO and AMCs AURANIA, CALIFORNIA, CHITRAL between the Faroes and Iceland, and light cruiser SHEFFIELD and AMCs SCOTSTOUN, RAWALPINDI, TRANSYLVANIA in the Denmark Strait.
While escorting convoy BC.10S with destroyer VIVACIOUS from Quiberon Bay to Barry, destroyer MONTROSE attacked a submarine contact.
Convoy FN.24 departed Southend. Shortly after, escorting sloop PELICAN was damaged when she struck submerged wreckage. The convoy arrived at Methil on the 22nd.
Convoy FS.24 departed Methil, escorted by destroyer BROKE, sloops BITTERN and ENCHANTRESS, and arrived at Southend on the 22nd.
U.34 sank steamer SEA VENTURE (2327grt) east of the Shetlands and Swedish steamer GUSTAF ADOLF (926grt) 50 miles NE of Sullom Voe. All the crew of GUSTAF ADOLF were rescued, while the survivors from SEA VENTURE rowed in their lifeboats to a nearby island.
German auxiliary patrol boat Vp.701 (trawler ESTE, 426grt) was sunk on a mine between Moen and Falsterbo.
German steamer BIANCA (1375grt) had departed Rotterdam pre-war for Lisbon, called at El Ferrol and refuelled in an attempt to return to Germany before the start of the war. She reached Reykjavik on 7 September and remained there until 18 October when she made her attempt. At 1150/20th in the Denmark Strait, she was captured by armed merchant cruiser TRANSYLVANIA, taken to Kirkwall by a prize crew commanded by Lt Cdr D M MacLean RNR, and renamed EMPIRE WARRIOR in British service.
Greek steamer OMONIA (3699grt) was seized in the Baltic by German warships, taken to Swinemünde and later renamed OLSA for German use.
Light cruiser CARADOC arrived at Bermuda, and left the same day for Kingston, Jamaica.
Light cruiser DESPATCH departed Bermuda and arrived at Kingston on the 26th.
Light cruiser GALATEA departed Alexandria, reached Malta on the 27th, left again on the 28th and arrived back at Alexandria on the 30th.
Light cruiser DURBAN departed Mauritius for Colombo to examine the Cargados, Caarajos and Chagos groups for German activity.
The Admiralty ordered destroyers HOTSPUR and HAVOCK from the South America Station to the West Indies.
Of actions listed "today," ships I could check out survived the war, except this one:
December 15, 1941: "Hit by salvo of torpedoes fired by U557 whilst entering swept channel 30 miles NW of Alexandria [Egypt]. Sank In three minutes. 150 survivors were rescued by HMS GRIFFIN and HMS HOTSPUR."
U557 was accidentally sunk that same day by an Italian torpedo boat, all hands lost.
Model of Type VIIC: