December 4 1939UK: Admiral Forbes with battleship NELSON and heavy cruiser DEVONSHIRE, en route to the Clyde with destroyers FAULKNOR, FURY, FIREDRAKE and FORESTER, entered Loch Ewe to enable the destroyers to refuel. At the entrance, NELSON struck a mine 5.4 cables 38° from Rudha nan Sasan triangulation station laid by U.31 on 28 October. She was seriously damaged, but due to the shortage of minesweepers could not immediately be moved for repairs. No boilers, engines, electrical, steering, or power machinery were affected, but 52 crew were injured, nine seriously. By the end of the year, the Allied shipping lost to mines will amount to 79 ships of 262,700 tons.
Moscow: The Soviet government rejects a Swedish offer to mediate in the war with Finland.
In response to representations made on December 1, by Mr. Laurence B. Steinhardt, Ambassador of the United States to the USSR, on behalf of President Roosevelt, protesting the alleged bombardment of civilians in Finland by Soviet airmen, Mr. Molotov made the following reply:
"Mr. Roosevelt’s suggestion that air bombardment of the population of Finland’s towns should not be permitted, insofar as it is addressed to the Soviet Government, is caused by a misunderstanding. Soviet airplanes have bombed airdromes, but they have not bombed towns and do not intend doing so, because our Government values the interest of the Finnish population no less than any other Government does. Certainly one may fail to see this from America, which is over 8,000 kilometers away from Finland. Nevertheless, facts are facts. In view of this, Mr. Roosevelt’s statement is, as can be seen, pointless."
Moscow' Daily News, December 4, 1939.
Western Front: British King George VI arrives to inspect the British Expeditionary Force and RAF units deployed in France.
Winter War: Finns fortify Aaland Island in the Gulf of Bothnia. Only about 50,000 people remain in the Finnish capital of Helsinki which is being evacuated because of Soviet bombing.
Poland: On December 4th, 1939, the last Jewish school in Warsaw was closed. By then there were some 60,000 children, 5-12, in the Ghetto, including thousands who were unsupervised and exposed to the dangers of the street. Many teachers were unemployed. Appeals were made to the Judenrat and to the Federation for the Care of Orphans to begin a clandestine schooling program under the guise of child protection. A number of kitchens were opened at the initiative of the Federation and former school organizations. They provided several hours daily of unofficial schooling. In September, 1941, the Germans permitted opening 16 schools - three using Hebrew, four Yiddish, four Polish, and five religious schools. Ten thousand children, or one fifth of the Ghetto's total, were organized into three grades. Cold, lack of heat, lack of shoes and clothes were among the reasons that kept attendance low, despite the fact that for the kids, school constituted the only bright spot in the day. Secondary education was forbidden, so it was conducted clandestinely in the form of "student contingents" of six to twenty, organized by former teachers. There were several hundred such contingents in 1941, with about 20% of former secondary students "enrolled." There were also two clandestine university- level courses in medicine and technology, as well as an education course to train teachers for Jewish schools.
The chief problem was finding school accommodations; since much of the activity was clandestine, it was necessary to avoid the watchful eyes of the Gestapo and Jewish spies. Other problems involved getting textbooks and other supplies, finding teachers (many had fled eastward), using the "school" location in shifts, and deciding on the languages of instruction. The main achievement of the clandestine school networks was in giving some shelter to pupils and teachers from the demoralizing reality of daily ghetto life.
NavalSalvage tugs RANGER (409grt) on other duties, and DISPERSER (313grt) were diverted to Loch Ewe to assist. Destroyer ECHO escorted RANGER from Kilchattan Bay, arriving on the 5th. FAULKNOR remained at Loch Ewe and stood by from the 4th to 28th.
The damage to NELSON also forced sister ship RODNEY to remain at the Clyde deferring her docking at Liverpool until NELSON's status was determined. Also, the light cruisers of the Northern Patrol in Loch Ewe could not sail until minesweeping operations cleared the harbour. Attempting to clear the field, armed patrol drifters GLEN ALPYN (82grt) and PROMOTIVE (78grt) were mined and sunk on the 23rd. Five more mines were swept and it was not until 4 January 1940 that NELSON could be safely moved.
Old German steamer ILSENSTEIN (8216grt) sailed ahead of NELSON to detonate any remaining mines. She had been purchased pre-war, departed Rosyth on the 11th escorted by destroyers ESCORT and WOOLSTON for Loch Ewe, and arrived on the 15th. Escorted by FAULKNOR, FOXHOUND and IMPULSIVE, the damaged NELSON proceeded to Portsmouth, and arrived on 7 January for repairs beginning on the 14th. She was repairing until early June 1940, arrived at Greenock on 8 June for refitting and departed on the 29th to rejoin the Home Fleet at Scapa Flow.
FAULKNOR, FOXHOUND and IMPULSIVE were ordered to remain at Portsmouth for two days, then return to the Clyde. Destroyers ISIS, FAME and FORESIGHT proceeded independently at the same time to Devonport and returned to the Clyde with FAULKNOR, FOXHOUND and IMPULSIVE.
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After leaving Gibraltar and sailing via Halifax, which she left on 18 November, battleship WARSPITE arrived in the Clyde, escorted by destroyers EXMOUTH, ECLIPSE and ECHO, which had departed the Clyde on 30 November. The battleship had been originally ordered to go to Portsmouth, but orders were changed in early December due to RODNEY's rudder defect.
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Submarines TRITON and TRIBUNE departed Rosyth on patrol.
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Destroyers IMPERIAL and IMPULSIVE arrived at the Clyde from Scapa Flow.
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On Northern Patrol, the six armed merchant cruisers which were ordered to search for a suspected German battleship on the 3rd were returning to their patrol stations between the Faroes and Iceland. Heavy cruiser SUFFOLK and AMC LAURENTIC were west of the Shetland Islands, proceeding to the Denmark Strait.
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Heavy cruiser BERWICK departed Portsmouth for duty with the Northern Patrol, reached Scapa Flow and departed for patrol on the 12th.
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Light cruiser ENTERPRISE arrived at Portland from Portsmouth.
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Anti-aircraft cruiser CALCUTTA departed the Thames and arrived at Loch Ewe on the 5th to provide protection for damaged battleship NELSON.
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Destroyers ESKIMO and MATABELE joined destroyers ICARUS and ILEX searching for a submarine in the Firth of Forth.
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Destroyer VETERAN, which departed Plymouth on the 3rd, was damaged in a collision with steamer MIRIAM (1903grt) in the English Channel. VETERAN suffered minor damage, arrived back at Plymouth on the 4th but was able to depart on patrol on the 5th. She arrived at Dover on the 9th after convoy duty.
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Patrol sloop MALLARD attacked a submarine contact in Liverpool Bay.
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Submarine SALMON departed Harwich on the 2nd for patrol, and at 1330/4th fired six torpedoes at U.36 and sank her 75 miles SW from Lister Light in 57?00N, 05?20E; forty crew were lost and there were no survivors. U.36 had been sailing for northern Norway, where she was to join U.38 on patrol and then proceed to a base at Zapadnaya Litsa Bay in Northern Russia for replenishment. At it happened, the base was never used by U-boats.
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Convoy OA.47 of nine ships departed Southend escorted by destroyer WREN and sloop ABERDEEN from the 4th to 7th. Destroyer WATCHMAN was with the convoy from the 4th to 5th, and sister ship WIVERN, from OA.46, joined on the 5th, and remained until the convoy dispersed on the 7th.
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Convoy OB.47 departed Liverpool escorted by destroyers WINCHELSEA and VANOC until the 7th.
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Convoy SA.20 of one steamer departed Southampton, escorted by destroyer ANTHONY, and arrived at Brest on the 5th.
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Convoy FN.49 departed Southend, escorted by destroyer WHITLEY and sloop STORK, and arrived in the Tyne on the 5th.
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Convoy FS.49 departed the Tyne, escorted by sloops GRIMSBY and WESTON. Due to increased German activity in the North Sea, the convoy was supported by destroyers JUNO and JUPITER. It arrived at Southend on the 5th.
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Destroyer BROKE was investigating a submarine contact one mile east of Slapton Sands Hotel near Dartmouth.
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Destroyers ESKIMO, MATABELE, ICARUS and ILEX departed Rosyth to search for a suspected submarine in the Firth of Forth.
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French large destroyer LE TRIOMPHANT departed Cherbourg escorting light cruiser GLOIRE to Brest, arriving on the 5th.
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Steamer HAMSTERLEY (2160grt) in convoy FN.48 was damaged by collision off Great Yarmouth, with one crewman lost. She was still afloat the next day but seriously damaged.
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Steamer TONGARIRO (8719grt) reported she had a disabled rudder 180 miles SW of Land's End. At 0315/5th, destroyers VERITY and WOLVERINE from the Plymouth command were ordered to assist. She was taken in tow, but broke away. At 1957/10th, she was 15 miles off the Lizard and as a tug could not tow her, destroyer KEITH was ordered to, escorted by WOLVERINE.
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U.31 (
link) sank Norwegian steamer PRIMULA (1024grt) in 57?15N, 01?50E, 125 miles east of Aberdeen; eight crew were lost and seven survivors picked up by Danish steamer WM TH MALLING (1034grt) and taken to Methil.
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German light cruiser NÜRNBERG laid mines in the Skagerrak off Kristiansand from the 4th to 6th.
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German auxiliary submarine chaser UJ.117 (trawler GUSTAV KORNER, 450grt) sank on a German defensive minefield in the Belt. Later, in June 1940, she was salved and repaired.
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Convoy HX.11, escorted by destroyer HYPERION and Canadian destroyers ST LAURENT and SKEENA, departed Halifax at 1000. HYPERION was detached early on the 5th and at 1600/5th the Canadian ships turned over the convoy to ocean escort by battleship REVENGE and French submarines SFAX and CASABIANCA as protection against German battleships. The submarines were detached off the Lizard on the 16th and arrived at Brest on the 17th, being escorted into port by French sloop COMMANDANT RIVIERE. Meanwhile destroyers WOLVERINE, WANDERER, WALPOLE and ARDENT provided escort in Home Waters from the 16th to 18th, when the convoy reached Liverpool.
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Heavy cruiser KENT departed Colombo on escort duties, and arrived back on the 14th.
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Destroyer DIAMOND, having completed her refit, departed Singapore en route to the Mediterranean.
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Destroyer DELIGHT departed Aden to return to the Mediterranean Fleet.
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Sloop WELLINGTON departed Malta for Gibraltar, where she arrived on the 8th. Next day, she sailed for Freetown to escort convoy SL.13 to the UK.
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Minesweepers SUTTON and ELGIN arrived at Gibraltar from Malta, and departed on the 8th for Portsmouth.
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French convoy 34.KF of four steamers had departed Casablanca on the 3rd, but next day, still near Casablanca, destroyer ORAGE was damaged in collision with French steamer MARRAKECH. The convoy turned back and arrived on the 6th. Steamers JAMAIQUE and LIPARI left with 37.KF on the 8th, and MARRAKECH and MALGACHE with 38.KF on the 10th. ORAGE was able to leave on the 28th for repairs at Bizerte, arriving on the 30th
