Late April/early May - Two British submarines operating out of Malta were lost, possibly due to mines - HMS USK in the Strait of Sicily area and HMS UNDAUNTED off Tripoli. “Usk” may have been sunk by Italian destroyers west of Sicily while attacking a convoy.
2nd May - Returning to Malta with cruiser HMS Gloucester and other destroyers from a search for Axis convoys, HMS Jersey was mined and sunk in the entrance to Valletta’s Grand Harbour.
Royal Navy Operations in the Mediterranean - Early in the month, Force H and the Mediterranean Fleet carried out another series of complicated supply, reinforcement and offensive operations. (1) Five fast transports sailed from Gibraltar with tanks and supplies urgently needed for the Army of the Nile (Operation ‘Tiger’). Four arrived safely. (2) On passage they were accompanied by battleship HMS Oueen Elizabeth and two cruisers sailing to join the Mediterranean Fleet. (3) Two small convoys were escorted westward from Egypt to Malta. (4) Other units of the Mediterranean Fleet shelled Benghazi, Libya on the night of the 7th/8th. (5) After covering the ‘Tiger’ convoy, aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal joined by another carrier HMS Furious , was once again south of Sardinia and flying off a further 48 Hurricanes to Malta on the 21st. Five days later, HMS Ark Royal’s Swordfish were crippling the “Bismarck” in the North Atlantic!
Malta - The transfer of many German aircraft from Sicily for the attack on Russia brought some relief to Malta.
North Africa - A British offensive started from the Sollum area on the 15th in an attempt to relieve Tobruk (Operation ‘Brevity’). Two weeks later both sides were back to their original positions. The first of many supply trips to besieged Tobruk were made by Australian destroyers HMAS Voyager and HMAS Waterhen and other ships of the Inshore Squadron.
18th May - On patrol south of Crete, AA cruiser HMS Coventry was heavily attacked from the air. + Petty Officer Alfred Sephton continued to carry out his duties in the director after being mortally wounded. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.
21st May-1st June - Battle for Crete- On the 21st, in the opening stages of the attack on Crete, cruiser minelayer HMS Abdiel laid mines off the west coast of Greece sinking Italian destroyer “MIRABELLO” and two transports. Most of the Mediterranean Fleet with four battleships, one carrier, 10 cruisers and 30 destroyers fought the Battle for Crete. For the Navy there were two phases , both of which took place under intense air attack, mainly German, from which all losses resulted.
Phase One was from the German airborne invasion on the 20th until the decision was taken on the 27th to evacuate the island. During this time the Royal Navy Mediterranean Fleet managed to prevent the sea-borne reinforcement of the German paratroops fighting on Crete, but at heavy cost. Most of these losses happened as the ships tried to withdraw from night-time patrols north of the island out of range of enemy aircraft.
Phase Two was from 27th May to 1st June when over 16,000 British and Dominion troops were evacuated. Ten thousand had to be left behind - and again the naval losses were heavy.
21st May - In the morning, destroyer HMS Juno was sunk and cruiser HMS Ajax slightly damaged by Luftwaffe air raids as they withdrew southeast of Crete. Later that evening HMS Ajax, with HMS Dido, HMS Orion and four destroyers, savaged a German troop convoy of small craft. 22 caiques carrying German troop reinforcements to Crete , was sunk from this convoy and , appox 1.000 German troops (mostly German Mountain Troops) were killed. General Kurt Student leading airborne invasion operation of Crete remarked , “loss of so many reinforcements , heavy equipment and heavy weapons on sea , delayed our operations and caused heavier casaulties among our units” More such vessels were sunk by Royal Navy patrols over the next few days off the north coast.
22nd May - Early that morning another force of four cruisers and three destroyers swept to the north and was attacked on their return. Cruisers HMS Naiad and HMS Carlisle were damaged, and as they reached their support force to the northwest, battleship HMS Warspite was badly hit. Later, destroyer HMS GREYHOUND was caught on her own in the same area by Luftwaffe aircraft and soon sent to the bottom. Other destroyers went to rescue her survivors, covered by cruisers HMS Gloucester and HMS Fiji. As the cruisers withdrew, first HMS GLOUCESTER was sunk northwest of Crete by Ju87s and Ju88s. Three hours later HMS FIJI was surprised by a single Me109 fighter-bomber and sank to the southwest. All ships were very short of AA ammunition by this stage.
23rd May - Withdrawing from the usual night-time patrols led to the loss of two more destroyers. Capt Lord Louis Mountbatten’s five ship flotilla was attacked to the south and destroyers HMS KASHMIR and HMS KELLY (Lord Mountbatten’s own ship) sunk. Over the next few days the north coast sweeps continued, and supplies and reinforcements were brought into Crete.
26th May - Carrier HMS Formidable, accompanied by battleships HMS Barham and HMS Queen Elizabeth, flew off aircraft from a position well to the south for an attack on the Axis held Scarpanto Island airfields. More than 20 German aircraft was destroyed on ground by naval gunfire. In the aerial counter-attack HMS Formidable and destroyer HMS Nubian were damaged.
27th May - As battleship HMS Barham covered a supply mission, she was hit to the northwest of Alexandria.
28th May - The decision to evacuate was made (Admiral Andrew Cunningam declared “It takes three years to build a ship , it takes three hundred years to build a tradition. His Majesty’s Navy must go to aid of army”) , and cruisers and destroyers prepared to lift off the troops from Crete , sailed from Alexandria. As they approached Crete, cruiser HMS Aiax and destroyer HMS Imperial were damaged to the southeast by Luftwaffe air raids.
29th May - Early in the morning, 4,000 men were lifted off from Heraklion on the north coast. As they did the damaged HMS IMPERIAL had to be scuttled, and HMS HEREWARD was hit and left behind to go down off the eastern tip of Crete. Shortly after, cruisers HMS Dido and HMS Orion were badly damaged to the southeast.
30th May - Early in the day, more troops were lifted from the southern port of Sphakia/Sphaxia by another cruiser force. Well to the south the Australian cruiser HMAS Perth was bombed and damaged.
1st June - As the last men were carried from Crete, cruisers HMS Calcutta and HMS Coventry sailed from Alexandria to provide AA cover. HMS CALCUTTA was sunk north of the Egyptian coast. Some 16,800 troops were saved but at a cost to the Royal Navy of 2,000 men killed.
Royal Navy Submarine Operations - HMS Upholder (Lt-Cdr Wanklyn) attacked a strongly escorted troop convoy off the coast of Sicily on the 24th May and sank 18,000-ton liner “Conte Rosso”. (more than 1.500 Italian troops en route to North Africa were drowned) + Lt-Cdr Malcolm Wanklyn RN was subsequently awarded the Victoria Cross for this and other successful patrols as commander of HMS Upholder.
25th May - Sloop HMS Grimsby and the supply ship she was escorting on the Tobruk run were sunk by bombers northeast of the port.
Monthly Loss Summary
19 British or Allied merchant ships of 71,000 tons.