May 23rd, 1941 (FRIDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: The "black propaganda" station GS1 makes its first broadcast to Germany, calling Churchill a "flat-footed bastard of a drunken old Jew." (More on German propaganda radio stations.)London:
The Admiralty invites the governments of Canada and Newfoundland to use St. John's, Newfoundland as an advanced base for joint escort services. This will enable continuous naval escort over the whole of the north Atlantic route.
In May 1941, the enemy started dropping a new type of mine, known as 'G' type, which had no parachute and which if it did not explode on impact, buried itself deeply in the ground (twenty to thirty feet or more). On 22 May 1941, Lt Frederick Ronald Bertram Fortt, RNVR, and Lt Denis James Patrick O'Hagan RCNVR were sent to Nuneaton to deal with one of the first 'G' mines dropped on land and unexpended. It was already known that it contained a new anti-handling mechanism activated by a photo-electric cell, which would explode when exposed to daylight and it was necessary to remove the unit of the mine containing this device before the mine would be safe to handle. Instruction showed that it was necessary to work in darkness and also that the mine would probably be magnetically alive and sensitive to any magnetic influence. The Nuneaton Bomb Disposal Squad (Lt R.A. McClune) volunteered to work on the preliminary heavy excavation, up to the point of locating the mine. The mine was found at twenty-two feet and Fortt and O'Hagan freed the end from the surrounding sub-soil; then widened the bottom of the shaft sufficiently for the necessary operations to be carried out upon the magnetic unit. The soil being in the form of petrified clay, work could only be carried out with picks and shovels regardless of any effect which the vibrations would have upon the mechanism of the mine -- then very largely and unknown quantity. To add to the difficulties, those parts which had to be removed in the early and most dangerous stages of the operation were very heavy, in practice too heavy for one man alone -- this was why two officers were sent. Working in the dark, they successfully removed the magnetic unit and primer and, after further excavation, the fuse. Dealing with an unknown mine, courage of a very high order is required. The operation was brought to a successful conclusion. Fortt has been in Land Incident Section for eight months and has dealt with thirty mines. O'Hagan for ten months and has dealt with twenty-three mines.
Authorization of construction or acquisition of 550,000 tons of auxiliary shipping for Navy.
FRANCE: Admiral Darlan tells why France chose collaboration freely. For "ameliorations of the consequences of defeat and of the conditions of the armistice. . . . It is necessary for her to choose between life and death. The Marshal and the Government have chosen life".
GERMANY: Göring issues a directive for economic exploitation of the USSR, in which he says that famine and the deaths of millions of Russians are inevitable.
Hitler orders military support for Rashid Ali's rebels in Iraq.
GREECE: CRETE: King George of the Hellenes flees to Egypt.
Destroyer HMS Kelly (commanded by Captain Lord Louis Mountbatten, second cousin of King George VI and the only man other than the King to hold rank in all three military services simultaneously) in company with HMS Kashmir is attacked by a force of 24 Ju.87 dive-bombers. Kelly is struck amidships by a single bomb whilst turning under full helm at 30 knots and rolls over to port. She remains afloat upside down for half an hour before sinking 13 miles south of Crete at 34 40N 24 10E. There are 128 survivors, including Mountbatten who is thrown in to the Mediterranean.Mountbatten was still on the bridge of the ship when it finally flipped over; nevertheless, he managed to swim to shore and take control of the rescue operation.
Destroyer HMS Kashmir (in company with Kelly) sinks within two minutes of the air attack. There are 153 survivors who are rescued by HMS Kipling which is also attacked, but escapes by some nifty handling. It leaves her so short of fuel that net layer HMS Protector has to be sent out from Alexandria to supply her with fuel. Kipling lands 281 survivors from both destroyers.Many of the survivors are rescued by HMS Kipling after being machine-gunned in the water.
HMS Hasty (Capt. Nigel Austen) in company with HMS Hotspur sink U-79 after a a long and determined pursuit in which both warships almost exhausted their supply of depth charges. For this Capt. Austen will receive his first DSO and a personal visit from the Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham, who is delighted at this first U-boat kill in the eastern Mediterranean.
MEDITERRANEAN SEA: Gunboat FS Meuliere wrecked off Ajjacio, Corsica.
CANADA: HMCS Woodstock laid down Collingwood, Ontario.
NEWFOUNDLAND: Newfoundland Command and Newfoundland Escort Force (NEF) established. There were virtually no naval facilities in existence in St. Johns and initially, ships of the Royal Navy provided from operational support alongside. The RN auxiliary oiler Teakwood arrived on 29 May and the stores ship City of Dieppe arrived on 03 Jun. A second oiler, Clam, arrived on 9 Jun and on 14 Jun the submarine depot ship FORTH arrived. She was replaced in Sep by the destroyer depot ship Greenwich, which, despite her smaller size and greater age, was more suited to the needs of the NEF. A Great Lakes passenger steamer, known as HMCS Avalon II, was added to serve as an afloat barracks. Cmdre Leonard Warren Murray RCN arrived to assume command on 15 Jun. For a number of months his entire staff consisted of his deputy, Cdr Robert Edward Bidwell RCN (who did not arrive until Jul 41), and his flag secretary. The first escort of a convoy by the NEF was quickly undertaken on 02 Jun when HMC ships Chambly, Orillia and Collingwood put to sea to join with the 57-ship Halifax to Liverpool Convoy HX-129. This convoy, which left Halifax on 27 May, was the first to have continuous close escort all the way across the Atlantic. It arrived safely in Liverpool on 12 Jun 41.
Destroyer HMCS Saguenay departed Greenock for St John's.
Corvettes HMCS Aggasiz, Alberni, Chambly, Cobalt, Collingwood, Orillia and Wetaskiwin departed Halifax for St John's to join Newfoundland Escort Force.
U.S.A.: Submarine USS Grampus commissioned.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: In the early evening, heavy cruisers HMS Suffolk and shortly HMS Norfolk sight BISMARK and Prinz Eugen north west of Iceland and shadow them southwestwards through the Denmark Strait. HMS Hood and HMS Prince of Wales, escorted by destroyers HMS Electra, HMS Anthony, HMS Echo, HMS Icarus, HMS Achates and HMS Antelope, press on to intercept west of Iceland.
HMS Ark Royal, Renown and Sheffield, accompanied by HMS Faulknor, Foresight, Forester, Fortune, Foxhound and Fury, are dispatched to the Atlantic to search for BISMARK.
At 1951, the Berhala was hit by one torpedo from U-38 in the engine room at the port side, killing the third engineer, the fifth engineer and the donkeyman 1st class. The port lifeboat was destroyed and immediately after the hit Chinese crewmembers cut through the ropes of the other lifeboat and rowed away in it. At 2020 a second torpedo struck the vessel and the remaining crewmembers had to jump overboard, because the ship sank within eight minutes about 250 miles off Freetown. Shortly after the sinking, the survivors were picked up by a British warship and taken to Freetown.
During heavy weather in the North Atlantic, a lookout on U-46 broke his arm.