Which planes sank the MV Leda?
 

Hi,
Colleagues,
Italians write:
Il 1° febbraio 1944 la TA 14, insieme a TA 15 e TA 16, salpò da Lero per scortare a Samo la motonave Leda, carica di munizioni; fatto scalo in quest’isola, il piccolo convoglio proseguì per Iraklion, ma l’indomani venne attaccato da aerei britannici a nordest di Amorgos: la Leda venne affondata, mentre la TA 14 fu gravemente danneggiata da razzi che la colpirono in sala macchine, costringendola a rientrare al Pireo.
https://conlapelleappesaaunchiodo.bl...5/turbine.html
Please help me find out which planes sank the ship "Leda" guarded by three torpedoboats on 2 February 1944 off the island of Amorgos.

sergey

Re: Which planes sank the MV Leda?
 

Hello,
No 47 Sqn RAF (Beaufighter) was on offensive sweep and attacked shipping (mostly caiques) near Amorgos on 1.2.1944.
Zoran

Re: Which planes sank the MV Leda?
 

The attack took place on 2 February .

Re: Which planes sank the MV Leda?
 

From the 47 Squadron Reports for February, 1944.

On February 1, four aircraft lead by F/Sgt Thomas on offensive sweep Central Aegean, scored cannon hits on a boom vessel at Stampalia (Astypalea) causing an explosion and further cannon attacks were made and hits obtained on a 150 ton caique in Amorgos and on caiques of 150, 60 and 50 tons in Naxia. 2 masts seen from sunken caique in Amorgos confirming attack by 47 sqdn on 26th January, 1944.

2nd February: Crews on stand-by, but no operations.

The Leda was a ship listed at 4573 Gross Registered Tonnage (GRT) and was escorted by 3 German torpedo boats TA-14, TA-15, TA-16. Here is a photo of the Italian ship Turbine which the Germans operated as TA-14.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italia...navigation.jpg

As mentioned, the Leda was sunk (and TA-14 was damaged) on 2 February in an attack NE of Amorgos. So...... It appears the attacking squadron is still a mystery and the search still is on.

Re: Which planes sank the MV Leda?
 

I'm sorry.

Re: Which planes sank the MV Leda?
 

I believe the attack was carried out by seven Wellingtons from 38 Squadron on the night of February 2/3. Two failed to return (one Wellington was seen to crash into the water near the scene of the attack and the other apparently attempted to fly to Turkey.) (An eighth Wellington had an early return and never took part in the attack.)

You can download for free the 38 Squadron records of the attack from here once you create a sign-on.

https://discovery.nationalarchives.g...ils/r/D8411369

The records describe a somewhat confused situation as the visibility was not good. They describe an attack on a large MV (estimated to be 3000-4000 GRT) escorted by what they claim was 4 (not 3) smaller escort ships. Flak was heavy. After the MV was set on fire by bombs they could see the flames from 25 miles away.

It would be interesting if we could find a detailed description from the German side to compare the narrations in particular to compare the times given for the attack and the exact location. The attack was also observed by the Dutch submarine Dolfijn but I can't find any detailed description from that point of view either.

Re: Which planes sank the MV Leda?
 

Try the Mediterranean naval Ultra (messages with ZTPGM serial numbers) in DEFE 3/638 which covers 28 January–6 February 1944. You can view or download this free from the National Archives website.

Re: Which planes sank the MV Leda?
 

Hello,

Brief account of action on 2-3 February, 1944, here:

https://www.wlb-stuttgart.de/seekrieg/44-02.htm

Scroll down to 1.2.-29.2.1944 - Mediterranean/Aegean.

No.38 Sqn Losses (incomplete):

MEDITERRANEAN ALLIED AIR FORCES.
Wed 2/Thu 3 February 1944.
Shipping strike in the Aegean.
38 Squadron, RAF (Berka III [Benghazi], Libya - 247 Wing, AHQ Eastern Mediterranean, Middle East).
Wellington XI MP569 - took off at about 1800 and sent a sighting report at 2230. Twenty minutes later signalled an SOS, the bearings indicating a heading towards Turkey. However, nothing further was heard or seen of the Wellington or its crew, who are commemorated on the Alamein Memorial.

Captain: NZ413150 Flt Sgt Lawrence Rodney TAYLOR, RNZAF - Age 22. 709hrs. 20th op(?)*.

Balance of crew:

133973 F/O (Nav.) Ronald William MORRISON - Missing
1078641 F/Sgt Henry Greenwell BELL RAFVR - Missing
1365619 Sgt Henry Leggat DUFF RAFVR - Missing
1334140 F/Sgt George William Henry FORD RAFVR - Missing
1434995 Sgt George Dennis WRIGHT RAFVR - Missing.

*
See:
For Your Tomorrow Volume Two: Fates 1943-1998
Martyn,Errol W.
Christchurch:Volplane Press,1999.
p.189.

38 Squadron
Wellington XIII JA108

Missing from shipping strike in the Aegean. Operation on enemy shipping off the island of Patmos.

158026 F/O (Pilot) Claudian George BARNETT RAFVR + Phaleron War Cemetery
205854V Lt (Pilot) Cedric Noel VICE SAAF - Missing - Alamein Memorial
139220 F/O (Nav.) Austen Kolbe BARRY RAFVR + Rhodes War Cemetery
171291 P/O Denis Francis READ RAFVR + Rhodes War Cemetery
1033287 F/Sgt Clifford Beilby ROWLSTON RAFVR - POW
1064107 Sgt D ALLATT RAFVR - POW

Corrections/Additions welcomed.

Col.

Re: Which planes sank the MV Leda?
 

Nick, I'll see what I can find in the Ultra messages.

Re: Which planes sank the MV Leda?
 

Dutch sub Hr Ms Dolfijn already had a close encounter with MV Leda and escorts on 26 Jan 1944 according https://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/2908.html

No record on website of sub for 2 Feb 1944.

Regards,
Leendert

Re: Which planes sank the MV Leda?
 

The Germans write that the torpedo boat TA-14 was hit by a rocket in the boiler room. From this it can be assumed that the "Beaufighters" took part in the attack. In addition to the 47th squadron, the 227nd, 252nd and 603nd squadrons of "Beaufighters" also operated in the Aegean Sea. Unfortunately, in this book
https://books.google.com.ua/books?id...ch%208&f=false
the desired page has been skipped.
I will try to find out from German colleagues
https://www.forum-marinearchiv.de/sm...cseen.html#new
attack time.

Re: Which planes sank the MV Leda?
 

I started to wade through the Ultra reports Nick mentions. Very interesting reading. Several mention the "Leda" and the convoy. The fourth escort ship was the R-195, so there were four escorts arranged in a square with the Leda in the center (as 38 squadron reports). The reports are not exactly in order and are mixed in with a lot of other messages, so you need to do a lot of digging to first find them, then do a little "rearranging" to get the exact sequence of events.

The 252 Squadron reports do record an attack on the escorts of the then burning Leda. When they arrived the Leda was already totally engulfed in flames so they carried out attack(s) on the escort ship(s). One attacker used rockets and another used cannons. Not clear if they attacked two different escorts or just one.

Re: Which planes sank the MV Leda?
 

German colleagues report that the TA-14 (escort ship) was attacked by a pair of Beaufighters from No 252 Squadron at 23:00 (German time).