He Who Would Valiant Be: The Wartime Diary of Midshipman T. T. Lewin, HMS Valiant 1940

THE COMMISSION BEGINS

1 9 3 9

September and October

HMS VALIANT

Under refit and reconstruction at Devonport.

Main armament elevation increased to 30¼ giving her 15in battery a range of 32000 yards.

Casemated 6in guns removed and openings plated over. 20 x 4.5in high angle guns fitted amidships in 5 x 2 turrets on each beam. Her close range AA capability was increased with 4 x eight barrelled 2 pounder and a number of 20mm Oerlikons.

An aircraft catapult and hanger for two Walrus aircraft was fitted after torpedo tubes removed.

Deck armour increased in thickness.

Aircraft warning radar Type 79Z was fitted during the refit.

November

Under refit and reconstruction at Devonport.

25th - Refit completed.

30th – Re-commissioned. Captain Henry Bernard Rawlings, OBE, RN.

(Captain Morgan appointed 26/08/40).

December

At Devonport undertaking harbour trials.

11th – VALIANT escorted by destroyers ACASTA and ARDENT sailed from Plymouth to carry out working up exercises in the Channel.

Whilst VALIANT was at sea a U-boat was sighted in the vicinity of the Plymouth indicator loops. All exercises were cancelled and VALIANT remained at sea with ACASTA and ARDENT.

In the evening the destroyers ENCOUNTER and GRENADE joined VALIANT’s screen.

VALIANT, ACASTA, ARDENT, ENCOUNTER and GRENADE then sailed for Portland.

12th – At 0300 hours VALIANT, ACASTA, ARDENT, ENCOUNTER and GRENADE arrived at Portland.

14th - VALIANT escorted by destroyers ACASTA and ARDENT sailed from Portland for Bermuda.

16th – At longitude 20W destroyers ACASTA and ARDENT detached and returned to Plymouth.

21st – In position 33-30N, 60-45W, approximately 250NM and 18 hours steaming from Hamilton, Bermuda, VALIANT RVed with the destroyer HYPERION.

22nd – VALIANT and HYPERION arrived at Hamilton, Bermuda.23rd – VALIANT screened by HYPERION commenced working up exercises centred on Bermuda.

1 9 4 0

January

Based at Bermuda carrying out working up exercises.

23rd – VALIANT, light cruiser ENTERPRISE and destroyers HUNTER and HEREWARD departed Bermuda for Halifax.

26th - VALIANT, ENTERPRISE and destroyers HUNTER and HEREWARD arrived at Halifax.

30th – Battleships MALAYA and VALIANT, ENTERPRISE and destroyers HUNTER and HMCS ST LAURENT, FRASER, OTTAWA and RESTIGOUCHE sailed from Halifax escorting Canadian troop convoy TC 3; which comprised troopships EMPRESS OF BRITAIN 42,348grt, 1588 troops embarked, MONARCH OF BERMUDA, 22,424grt, 1334 troops embarked, EMPRESS OF AUSTRALIA 19,665grt, 1577 troops embarked, AQUITANIA 45,647grt, 2733 troops embarked and Polish CHROBRY 11,442grt, 118 troops and civilian labour embarked.

31th – The destroyers ST LAURENT, FRASER, OTTAWA and RESTIGOUCHE detached from convoy TC 3 and returned to Halifax.

February

2nd – In approximate position 49N, 48W the ENTERPRISE detached from convoy TC 3 and returned to Halifax.

5th – At 0830 hours in approximate position 55-30N, 23W MALAYA, VALIANT and HUNTER escorting convoy TC 3 were joined by destroyers FAULKNOR (D8), FEARLESS, FURY, FOXHOUND, FAME, FORTUNE, FORESIGHT, FIREDRAKE, DARING and DIANA.

At 1030 hours HUNTER detached and headed for Plymouth.

7th – At 0700 hours, off Ailsa Craig the destroyers FAME and KELVIN joined the escort.

At 1200 hours convoy TC 3 and escort arrived off Greenock.

27th – Whilst in the Clyde VALIANT was visited by King George V1 and Queen Elizabeth.

28th - VALIANT was visited by the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill.

THE JOURNAL OF MIDSHIPMAN T. T. LEWIN

Summary - December 4th 1939 until February 19th 1940

I joined HMS Valiant at Devonport from HMS Belfast, on December 4th. Valiant commissioned November 25th and the first week was spent in ammunitioning. On Monday, December 4th the ship moved from alongside number seven wharf to a buoy in the stream. Four days after the ship was put under sailing orders, and in the afternoon moved out to a buoy in Plymouth Sound. While at this buoy the ship was swung with the aid of tugs for the adjustment of magnetic compasses. Gun trials were held off Eddystone Light on Monday 11th December, and the ship did not return to Plymouth because enemy submarines were reported to be in the vicinity. Instead she proceeded to Portland, arriving early next morning. On Wednesday, December 13th the ship left Portland for Bermuda. When just over half way across we were ordered to alter course along the fortieth parallel to try to intercept the German liner Colombus which was trying to return to Germany. She was stopped by the destroyer HMS Hyperion, but set fire to and scuttled herself, the crew being taken off by an American cruiser. HMS Hyperion rendezvoused with HMS Valiant on December 22nd and acted as a screen. The Bermudas were sighted just before dark two days later, and the ship entered harbour next morning, anchoring in Murray’s anchorage. The time in Bermuda was spent building up to fighting efficiency, practice firings at a battle practice target and an aircraft-towed sleeve target. A full power trial was held, during which the ship reached a speed of twenty three point six knots. During Valiant’s stay at Bermuda, HMS Orion arrived from patrol in the Gulf of Mexico, and went into dry-dock for bottom cleaning, and HMS Enterprise came from Halifax for practice firings. When carrying out practice firings outside the harbour, the destroyers Hereward and Hunter acted as a screen. The working up programme was completed on January 23rd and, on that day the ship sailed for Halifax, Nova Scotia. HMS Enterprise, Hereward and Hunter in company. From the time the ship left Bermuda until 1800 on the following day the barometer fell fifty two millibars reaching 972 millibars at that time. The wind backed from the North nor’ East to due East and in gusts reached hurricane force. The height of the seas was considerable and both quarterdeck accommodation ladders were smashed, one of them was washed over the side. Owing to the poor visibility and the danger of taking close station, Valiant lost touch with all but HMS Hunter. The destroyer Hereward lost her main mast and her two forward magazines were flooded. She managed to reach harbour without assistance. Valiant and Hunter arrived at Halifax in the afternoon of January 26th, Enterprise a few hours previously.

HMS Royal Sovereign was already at Halifax, flying the flag of the Rear Admiral commanding the third Battle Squadron. He subsequently transferred his flag to the yacht Seaborn and became RA Halifax. HMS Malaya arrived on the day after Valiant.

After four days at Halifax, Valiant hoisted the flag of the Commodore of the Third Canadian Troop Convoy. The Canadian Troops took passage in the Aquitania, Empress of Britain, Empress of Australia and Monarch of Bermuda. There were also seven hundred Newfoundland lumbermen going to England for forestry work, in a Polish ship, the Chobry.

Destroyer screen was provided by a flotilla of destroyers of the R.C.N. and HMS Hunter. HMS Malaya provided Ocean Escort for the whole crossing and HMS Enterprise for five days. On the morning of the sixth day out, at dawn action stations, the destroyers of the inward screen were sighted. They were the F flotilla with Captain D8 in Faulknor, and two K class destroyers. On February 6th, the convoy divided into two divisions, Malaya, Aquitania and the Empress of Britain the first, and Valiant, Chobry and Monarch of Bermuda and Empress of Australia the second. Valiant, as leader of the second division, was put in the position of keeping in touch with the first division and trying not to lose the Chobry, whose maximum speed was sixteen and a half knots. The night of February 6th and 7th proved the truth of the saying that the speed of the convoy is the speed of the slowest ship. Shortly after sighting the Inishtrahull Light, the stern lights of the first division disappeared from sight. After this, visibility lessened considerably. However, at daylight next morning, the Chobry and Monarch of Bermuda were still with the Valiant. HM destroyers Fury, Kingston and Diana, the Empress of Australia were no longer in company and were later found to have proceeded to the Clyde independently. Valiant passed the boom in the Clyde at 1635 and anchored soon after. Already in the anchorage at the Tail o’ the Bank were HM ships Rodney, flying the flag of the Commander-in-chief, Home Fleet, Hood, Warspite and Malaya, and the cruisers Devonshire and Berwick, who sailed shortly after Valiant entered. On Friday 9th February, HMS Warspite and Hood sailed, with the 8th Destroyer Flotilla.

During the first few days hands were employed cleaning and painting ship in readiness for the Commander in Chief’s inspection on Sunday 11th. Since then, gunnery training, and advancement classes have been held. In the middle watch on Sunday, HMS Suffolk entered harbour, having been in collision with a merchant ship off the Cumbrae. She was badly holed forward, just abaft B turret on the port side, in the seamen’s and torpedo men’s messdecks.

On Tuesday 13th February the Court of Inquiry into the collision was held on board Valiant.

On Thursday of that week, gear for degaussing the ship started to arrive from Rodney, who was then finishing. In the Sunday forenoon the ship was ordered to raise steam, but shortly afterwards this was cancelled and we were ordered to stay in harbour to carry out degaussing. HM ships Rodney and Hood sailed on the next day, in the afternoon. Degaussing started that day, and the ship’s aircraft were disembarked to HMS Furious, from which ship they carried out anti-submarine patrols during the week. HMS Devonshire entered harbour on Monday 19th and the following day HMS Berwick. On Friday the flag of the Vice-Admiral commanding the first Cruiser squadron was transferred from Devonshire to Berwick, and all Devonshire’s crew proceeded on ten days leave, the ship being taken over by the Suffolk’s crew, now undergoing repairs up the Clyde.

Degaussing finished on Saturday, 24th February, and the day following, the aircraft were re-embarked. The day was also spent in ammunitioning. In the forenoon gear was prepared and whips rigged, empties got up onto the upper deck. In the afternoon the ammunition ship Benedown came alongside. Ammunition embarked was 15" practice shell and full charges to replace that used in working up, and 1000 rounds of H.A. shell. 4.5 empty cases, pom-pom empties and cordite cases were disembarked.

26th February 1940

Today, the ammunitioning started yesterday was continued and finished. One thousand and fifty nine rounds of High and Low angle practice shells were embarked. One round of High angle was lost overboard when the whip was not hove in far enough and the carrier containing two shells hit the ship’s side.

One of the shells jumped out of the container and dropped into the sea. The spot was buoyed by a buoy from a picket boat which is carried especially for marking the position of magnetic mines. This is a small dan buoy painted with red and white quarters. The boats should be sent away from the ship during an air raid and, if an aircraft is seen to drop a mine, the spot is buoyed by a boat. This, I imagine, applies especially at night.

While fixing the ship by horizontal sextant angles in the afternoon it was found that Greenock has a great number of conspicuous spires and chimneys which are very difficult to recognise from the chart, and are more likely to confuse the navigator than aid him. Gourock, however, has only one such steeple. It also became apparent that at low tide there is little depth of water at Prince’s Pier, for an hour before low water springs today sounding with a boat hook gave only three feet of water.

Tuesday 27th February 1940

At noon today HMS Malaya proceeded to sea, with the flotilla leader and three of the eighth flotilla, and HMS Mohawk as local escort. The Mohawk appeared to be just freshly painted; perhaps she has only finished her refit after being bombed in the Firth of Forth last year.

In the afternoon His Majesty the King paid a visit to ships of the fleet. My Picket-boat provided an escort for the C-in-C’s barge, in which he travelled. He embarked from the pier at the torpedo factory, and we formed in astern of the barge. Unfortunately, we still had only two engines, and as the King was a little late in his programme, the barge proceeded as fast as her three engines would take her, leaving us far astern an ignominious position for an escort. His Majesty first visited Warspite, and then on to the Valiant, where he inspected the ship’s company at divisions. We lay off the quarter while he was inboard, while the barge lay alongside the gangway. After visiting Valiant he went to Rodney, passing Furious and Hood on the way.

The Queen went to Rodney from the Torpedo factory pier in Hood’s barge, escorted by Furious’ motor boat. After an hour on Rodney, Their Majesty’s went on to Albert harbour in the C-in-C’s barge.

HM Submarine Tetrarch berthed alongside Valiant in the evening. She is a lately completed submarine of the Thetis class, and has been doing trials but is now working up.

Wednesday 28th February 1940

In the forenoon the Captain of the Tetrarch gave a lecture on submarines in the gunroom. He described submarine construction and the work the various classes are designed for. I was surprised to learn the great range that patrol submarines have. The S class can leave their base for a patrol three thousand miles away, stay there three to four weeks on patrol and then return.

They were designed for work on the China station. The Tetrarch has ten torpedo tubes, six bow, and four upper deck. She carries six spare torpedoes for the bow tubes. She can also lay eight mines, but this is not her designed purpose and requires lengthy preparation. The mine laying submarines carry about fifty mines under their upper deck casing.

Also during the forenoon we went to General Quarters and exercised breakdowns. Stop watches were started in the various parts of the ship by an order from the bridge and at stated times after this, envelopes previously issued to those quarters were opened and the nature of the breakdown disclosed. I was in the port 4.5 inch casemate where the power ammunition supply failed and it had to be worked by hand, power ramming failed and two men were seriously wounded. One of these men, however, was already in cells under punishment, so the question as to who had the right to use the only stretcher did not arise.

In the afternoon the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill visited the ship. He walked around while the hands were at action stations, and also saw a 4.5 turret crew at loader drill. He then addressed the assembled ship’s company on the quarterdeck. During his speech he intimated that we would all see some sort of fleet action before the end of the year, a pleasing prospect.

Thursday 29th February 1940

In the forenoon HMS Norfolk entered harbour from Northern patrol. For the last week of her patrol she had been in very bad weather, and she still had a large amount of ice on her decks and superstructure. At one time during her patrol it had been impossible to train any of her turrets or directors because of the ice. Her patrol is a sector in the Denmark Strait, from Iceland up to the edge of the ice-pack. Ships trying to evade the patrol hug either the edge of the ice or the high Icelandic coastline, against which they are very difficult to see, and at night virtually invisible. Norfolk was due for China at the outbreak of war, and even got as far as Alexandria, but was brought home and sent on Northern patrol.

I expect the County class cruisers were put on Northern patrol because it was found that the weather was too bad for the C and D class cruisers that were doing it at the beginning of the war. Another disadvantage of the C and D class is that they have no cutters at davits, and have to use whalers for boarding. The Berwick was recalled from the West Indies for Northern patrol.

About ten o’clock in the forenoon HMS Punjabi came down the Clyde. She has been in dock up the river since her collision with a merchant ship late in last November. It is possible to see the new plating on her bows, stretching from the stem to abreast A gun.

During the afternoon the first part of the Starboard watch took away the kedge anchor. It was the first time this evolution had been attempted since commissioning and several snags were discovered. In the first place it was found necessary to lift the anchor well clear and onto the catapult deck before stocking it. It was stocked in its chocks, but then the stock got caught under the catapult rails, and when cleared from there it was impossible to hoist it out, so it had to be unstocked and lifted clear. Then, when the anchor was lowered to the stern of the cutter, the strop was not long enough to go round under the stock, and so had to be passed through the ring. The blacksmith then shackled the 3½ wire straight on to the ring with no swivel piece. The cutter was towed into position by the second picket boat and the strain was found too much for her two engines. The buoy rope was not correctly middled and when the anchor was let go, the buoy sunk. The anchor was weighed by bringing the 3½ wire to the after capstan.

During the day the hands were employed staining our decks with a dark stain so that they will not provide a target for enemy aircraft. This dark stain is an alternative to the camouflage paint of Rodney and Hood, and comes as a result of photographs taken by the German airman in their first raid on the Firth of Forth. One of the photographs was published and it was seen how much the wooden decks of the Southampton and Edinburgh stood out white against the dark water.

March 1940

2nd – At 1600 hours VALIANT and battlecruiser HOOD with destroyers KELLY (D5), KANDAHAR, SIKH, FAULKNOR (D8), FAME and FORESTER sailed from Greenock to provide distant cover for the Northern Patrol and the Norwegian convoys ON 17, ON 17A and HN 17.

3rd – At 1133 hours in position 58-27N, 5-46W the destroyer FORESTER obtained a sonar contact which was believed to be a submarine. FORESTER was joined by FAME and together they carried out DC attacks at 1240, 1320, 1423 and 1500 hours without result.

At 2138 hours in position 61-06N, 3-58W, KELLY obtained a sonar contact which was believed to be a submarine. KELLY made several DC attacks without result.

7th – At 1600 hours VALIANT, HOOD with destroyers KELLY (D5), KANDAHAR, SIKH, FAULKNOR (D8), FAME and FORESTER arrived at Scapa.

(HOOD and VALIANT were the first capital ships to use Scapa Flow since the AA defences had been improved)

19th – At 1445 hours RODNEY, WARSPITE and VALIANT escorted by destroyers HARDY (D2), HERO, HUNTER, HASTY, HOTSPUR, HYPERION and HOSTILE sailed from Scapa Flow.

This sailing was on Admiralty instructions, following the Luftwaffe attack on the 16/3/40, that the Fleet should be at sea during the moonlight period between 19th and 26th March, because it was thought that the German air force might try to drive the Fleet out of Scapa Flow)

During the period of maximum moonlight the Fleet cruised to the North of the Shetlands and provided heavy cover for the Norwegian convoy HN 20 and ON 21 and the Operation DU activities.

Operation DU was a sweep by 4 cruisers of the 2nd CS and 8 supporting destroyers into the Skagerrak that was carried out on the 21/22 March)

27th – At 1100 hours RODNEY, WARSPITE and VALIANT escorted by destroyers FEARLESS, FORESTER, HUNTER, HASTY, HERO, HOTSPUR, HARDY, HOSTILE and HYPERION arrived back at Scapa Flow.

Friday 1st March 1940

In the afternoon we did two evolutions. The first was to put out a collision mat. This went quite smoothly except that the mat had been wrongly stowed. Instead of being folded as a diamond shape, leaving the corners in the correct positions for quick bending-on of the fore and afters, it had just been rolled up as a square. It was found difficult to get the mat inboard again, and finally the paravane derrick had to be used, but this difficulty could be overcome by using more hands. After collision mat practice, we provided gear for oiling a destroyer at sea by the trough method. This is often carried out in war-time although in home waters destroyers are sent in to oil and then rendezvous with the squadron again because of the submarine danger. In the trough method, the oiling ship steers with the wind slightly on one bow at about twelve knots, depending on the weather. The destroyer comes up, steering a compass course, on the lee quarter until she is about fifty feet away with her bridge abreast the mainmast. A line is then passed over, by Coston gun or other means, and the destroyer makes fast a 3½ inch wire tail to an 11 inch manila spring. The inboard end of the spring is shackled to a 4 inch picking up rope which is brought to the centre line capstan. A breast of eight inch manila tailed with 3½ inch wire is lead out of the bollards on the catapult deck to the destroyer’s amidships bollards. The oiling hoses pass over a trough which is suspended from the crane. As soon as the spring is made fast the destroyer reduces speed to about two knots less than Valiant, and her position is adjusted for her oiling connection by veering the centre-line capstan. The destroyer steers a course about one degree out from that of the Valiant.

Saturday 2nd March 1940

At eleven fourteen in the forenoon Valiant received instructions to raise steam and prepare for sea. In the afternoon both watches were employed securing for sea. My boat was hoisted about two o’clock and the rest of the afternoon was spent in griping it down and providing provisions. In the event of abandoning ship my boat has to take ninety, almost an impossibility in any sort of a sea.

We weighed and proceeded at sixteen hundred, and took station four cables astern of Hood. The destroyer screen was provided by Kelly (Captain D), Kandahar and Sikh on the starboard side and Faulknor (Captain D8), Fame and Forester to port. The whole force is proceeding to back up the Northern patrol and cover a Scandinavian convoy. We expect to operate in an area North of the Shetlands and East of the Faeroes. We went to Night Action Stations at 1850 and remained at four watch low angle attack during the night.

Sunday 3rd March 1940

During the forenoon Forester got a contact and she and Fame were detached to attack it. They saw a patch of oil and stayed behind to investigate. Soon after Kelly got a contact but this was found to be non-submarine. During the day the squadron met the outskirts of a depression, and the wind slowly increased and veered from the East to North-West. There were frequent snow showers and the temperature dropped to below freezing point. The effect of the coldness was increased by the keen wind and high humidity. Kelly obtained another contact just before dusk and left to investigate.

General

During the week, with the improvement of weather conditions in Finland, the Russian army pushed on towards Viipuri, the second largest town in the country. The Finns consider the town lost, but its fall not of vital importance as there are still positions of the Mannerheim line behind. At the moment the Russians have entered the suburbs but the town itself is still holding out.

The Northern Patrol stopped two German ships, both were unfortunately scuttled. The Wolfsburg was stopped by HMS Berwick in the Denmark Strait, near the pack-ice. Her crew took to boats and when the Berwick’s boarding party reached the ship she was found to be in flames and making water. The Berwick finished her off with gunfire. Later in the week the Arucas, another German ship, sent out an SOS from a position South of Iceland. HMS York went to her aid. The crew had abandoned ship but the York sent some of them back to try and stop the leaks. They were too late however, and she too was finished off by gunfire. One of the boats containing survivors capsized and fifteen were drowned.

Monday 4th March 1940

Early in the morning there was a hailstorm, during which the fore-stay glowed with increasing intensity. This was due to it becoming electrically charged. The wind was still strong and the bow sea did an amount of damage, more to Hood than to Valiant. Our after gangway, which was secured on the quarterdeck, was smashed in two and one half lost over the side, carrying away one guardrail stanchion. A large oiling fender was carried from the port side of the catapult deck over the rails to S4 turret where it got wedged by the stern anchor. The outboard lip of the port crane platform was bent up and back and the angle iron round the edge torn like paper.

During the patrol Hood and ourselves took turns as being guard ship. The duty ship being in two-watch attack stations, the stand-off ship in four watches. This only applied to the daylight hours; we were both in two watches at night. The duty ships changed at twelve thirty each day. On Monday morning we were stand-off during the forenoon but unfortunately visibility was bad and the port watch had to close up.

Tuesday 5th March 1940

A signal was received from Forester saying that she and Fame had been standing by an Asdic contact during Sunday night and lubricating oil was still coming up. The contact was on the bottom at sixty fathoms and both destroyers had dropped four patterns of depth charges on it. There was a possibility that it was not a submarine but a wreck, so Fame was leaving to rejoin us. Forester had developed condenseritis, so she proceeded into Scapa for temporary repairs and to recharge with depth charges.

In the afternoon both Hood and ourselves carried out trials with close range weapons. We fired S1 pom-pom, the results of the trial being satisfactory.

At the end of the afternoon Kelly was sighted and she rejoined the screen, her contact proving to be negative. Sikh was detached to investigate two merchantmen, one a Finn, homeward bound and the other a Dane, Westward bound. Both gave satisfactory replies.

Fame was still trying to find us at nightfall, and at nine o’clock a strong D/F bearing of her was obtained by Valiant, showing that she was quite close.

Wednesday 6th March 1940

Soon after dawn we reduced speed and altered course while Hood got in her paravanes and we attempted to clear our bow chains, one of which had jumped from its own fairlead to the after one. Time would not allow the complete clearance but wires were shackled on outboard ready for the next opportunity. During the forenoon a Saro London aircraft on patrol duty was sighted. This was no surprise as the plotting office had previously warned the bridge of the likelihood of its appearance.

Fame left just before dark to investigate a contact, but soon rejoined, the contact being non-submarine.

In the afternoon watch the 4.5 guns exercised alarms, firing at smoke burst targets, the exercise being to get off the first salvo quickly, speed coming before accuracy.

Thursday 7th March 1940

After dawn action stations we reduced speed while Hood got out her paravanes and continued with our attempt to clear our bow chains, still without success. Visibility was poor and when Hood had finished getting up her PV’s we pushed on at seventeen knots. Just before nine we sighted our air escort, the ex-Imperial Airways flying boat Cabot, now an RAF aircraft. The three C class flying boats are almost exactly the same as Short Sunderland’s, except that they have no tail turret. Both classes are built at Shorts works at Rochester and I was told when I saw them under construction there that the Cabot class can be converted for patrol duties in twenty four hours. The Cabot escorted us all day until we entered Scapa Flow.

In the afternoon we carried out a pom-pom shoot at a sleeve target towed by a Swordfish aircraft from Hatston, the aerodrome at Kirkwall. Both Hood and ourselves used the high-angle guns at the same time, the rate of fire of Hood’s twin four-inch being noticeably higher than our own. Our pom-pom shoot was very successful, as we managed to hit the sleeve.

When we were in the Pentland Firth, Kelly made a signal to the effect that she has sighted a submarine, so we altered course and increased speed to twenty knots. It was a false alarm, however, and we resumed former course and speed. Soon after we reduced to in-paravanes, and first, to finally clear away our bow chains. When we came to use the capstan we found power had failed, so hands started to rig a three-fold purchase, but by the time it was down from the stowage the capstan was working again. This time the chains were cleared quite easily and paravanes came in without a hitch, and so we entered Scapa Flow by Hoxa gate, the first battleship inside since Royal Oak was sunk.

Inside already we found Southampton and Newcastle with brown and green camouflage and two mock R class battleships, built up on merchant ship hulls. From a distance they appear to be perfect in every detail of superstructure, although they are rather too high out of the water and seen bows or stern on they have obviously not enough beam. From the air they are no doubt perfect.

Friday 8th March 1940

Today we and Hood were A.A. guard-ships and so our high angle personnel was closed up during the forenoon and first dog. At the end of the forenoon an aeroplane was seen flying over the flow at about three thousand feet with British markings and looking like a Bristol Blenheim, when over the middle of the flow she dropped something which might have been bombs or mines. The plane was later found to be a Heinkel and was shot down by our fighters. Mine-sweepers and magnetic mine sweeps went out to the spot where the objects were seen to fall and our 2nd picket boat buoyed the spot with a dan buoy. Rodney, Repulse and Renown delayed their entry into Scapa because of this and spent the night outside. In the late afternoon Berwick and Norfolk came in through the Switha gate. Berwick had life boats from the Wolfsburg on her deck.

Saturday 9th March 1940

During the forenoon, Rodney, Repulse and Renown entered the harbour. The two battle-cruisers are straight from Devonport where they have been giving leave. They stopped at Greenock on the way up. Repulse had painted white ready to go to Freetown and take Renown’s place in the South Atlantic but she was sent North and had to repaint. Renown will shortly be having the flag of the battle-cruiser squadron, as Hood is due for a docking period.

The first Lord of the Admiralty has