Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Day 479 December 22, 1940

Overnight, convoy MG1 (including destroyers HMS Hyperion, Ilex & Janus) runs the Strait of Sicily under cover of darkness. At 1.56 AM 24 miles East of Cape Bon, Tunisia, Italian submarine Serpente torpedoes HMS Hyperion (2 killed, 14 injured). Hyperion sustains major structural damage and cannot be towed despite 2 attempts. Ilex takes off the survivors and Janus scuttles Hyperion before dawn, to prevent her falling into Italian hands.

Overnight, Luftwaffe bombs the industrial city of Manchester in the English Midlands. Following the usual pattern, pathfinder aircraft drop incendiary canisters to start fires, which act as beacons for the following waves of bombers. In all, 270 aircraft drop 1,032 incendiary canisters and 272 tons of high explosive bombs. The Piccadilly area is set ablaze and many shelters collapse. The Gibsons shelter, part of Hulme Town Hall, receives a direct hit trapping 450 people but all are rescued alive. Liverpool is also bombed again but less than the last 2 nights.

No comments:

Post a Comment