World War II Database

ww2dbaseEver since his school days in the United Kingdom, Hugh Martyr had been interested in history, particularly naval history. His interest in history later expanded to cover the American Civil War and the German V-weapons campaign against London. He is also an re-enactor and organizer of major re-enactment events, including the 200th anniversary of Waterloo event where over 8,000 were on the field. He joined the WW2DB team in 2018.

Timeline Contributions

Hugh Martyr has also contributed 881 entries in the WW2 Timeline. A small sample of his timeline contributions is shown below.

» 27 Apr 1943: The 17,526-ton Japanese troop carrier Kamakura Maru departed Manila, Philippines with 2,500 oil production workers and army medical personnel, heavy vehicles, and ammunition on board, bound for Balikpapan, Borneo, Dutch East Indies.

» 19 Apr 1945: German submarine U-251 was sunk in the Kattegat south of Göteburg, Sweden by rockets fired from eight RAF and RNAF Mosquito aircraft from 325, 248, and 143 Squadrons. 39 of the boats crew were killed; four survivors were picked up.

» 20 Feb 1940: Operation Normark was called off after the German fleet consisted of Gneisenau, Scharnhorst, and Admiral Hipper failed to spot any British convoys in the North Sea. The ships headed for Wilhelmshaven, Germany.

» 16 Jul 1945: USS Baya (Lieutenant Commander B. C. Jarvis, USN) detected the 945-ton Japanese coastal patrol vessel Kari in the Java Sea via her SJ radar, beraing 273 degrees at the range of 20,100 yards; she shared this report with USS Becuna. USS Becua attacked at 0210 hours, but all torpedoes with a depth setting of four feet missed the target; this information was shared with USS Baya. Beginning at 0221 hours, USS Baya fired a total of 9 torpedoes, all set at zero depth, at the range of 3,000 yards, scoring one hit. At 0426 hours, two more stern torpedoes were launched, scoring an additional hit right below the funnel. The second hit nearly disintegrated Kari at about 220 nautical miles west-southwest of Makassar of Dutch East Indies.

» 23 Sep 1943: Two Norwegian vessels, the 5,096-ton merchant ship Skjelbred in ballast and the 2,642-ton ship Oregon Express were torpedoed by German submarine U-238 (Horst Hemp) south-east of Cape Farewell, Greenland. U-238 had fired at the convoy ON 202 and claimed four ships sunk. The steering gear of the Skjelbred was put out of action and an attempt to set up an emergency rudder was halted when the escorting ship HMS Northern Foam ordered the crew to abandon her. The master, Torjus Emil Johnsen and 37 crew members with five gunners left the vessel, which was last seen in a sinking condition. The captain later stated that Skjelbred, being capable of 16-17 knots, should not have been placed in such a slow convoy. The Oregon Express also in ballast was hit on the starboard side in the engine room. The explosion killed one man on the bridge and two on watch below and blew others overboard. The survivors among the 41 crew members and four gunners on board tried to abandon ship in the only two lifeboats that remained intact, but one became filled with water and the other contained only a few men. The most survivors had to jump overboard when the ship broke in two and sank within three minutes. Both lifeboats fished others out of the water until 25 men were in the boats, while eleven rescued themselves on a raft that had floated free, including the injured master.

» 9 Aug 1940: Italian torpedo boats Antares and Sagittario provided escort for minelaying vessels operating off of the Italian island of Pantelleria.

Did you enjoy this article or find this article helpful? If so, please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 per month will go a long way! Thank you. Share this article with your friends:  Facebook  Reddit  Twitter Stay updated with WW2DB:  RSS Feeds

Posting Your Comments on this Topic

Your Name
Your Email
	Your email will not be published
Comment Type	General comment/question Additional information about this page Looking for more information on this topic Looking for information about my relative
Your Comments
	Submit

Notes:

1. We hope that visitor conversations at WW2DB will be constructive and thought-provoking. Please refrain from using strong language. HTML tags are not allowed. Your IP address will be tracked even if you remain anonymous. WW2DB site administrators reserve the right to moderate, censor, and/or remove any comment. All comment submissions will become the property of WW2DB.

2. For inquiries about military records for members of the World War II armed forces, please see our FAQ.