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Old 13th May 2019, 11:47
Laurent Rizzotti Laurent Rizzotti is offline
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Join Date: Dec 2004
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Re: KG30 sunk HMS Trinidad 14/5/42

This is what is written in the British Admiralty War Diaries (available on fold3 in the WWII War Diaries section) for 14 May 1942:

"Trinidad was reported by enemy aircraft at 1750 today. In the evening she was attacked by dive bombers and torpedo bombers and was hit by a bomb in approx. 73° 37' N 23° 25' E and at 2327B reported that she was stopped and set badly on fire."
https://www.fold3.com/image/1/301330313

More details some pages later:
"Have been hit by a bomb. My P.C.S. at 2255, 73° 37' N. 23° 25' same.
(TRINIDAD 2254B/14)
TRINIDAD hit by bomb in 073° 37'?, 023° 27' E.
(Capt.D.6. 2255B/14 to Admty, C.S.10, C. in C.H.F.)"
https://www.fold3.com/image/1/301330327
(then followed the message of 2327B reported above)

This seems to confirm that the Trinidad was hit by the latter attack, as it reported the bomb hit 14 minutes later, while the two claims against destroyers were done 30 minutes earlier. By the way, the latter were in error, as no other ship than Trinidad was hit in the action.

In the translated War Diary of the German Naval Staff Operations Division for May 1942, the sunk cruiser is identified as an US Pensacola-class one, with the following remark:
"This sinking is all the more gratifying since it involved an American cruiser; this is the first engagement of an American cruiser with German forces in European waters, and the outcome was a bitter lesson for the U.S."

As for identifying the crew who scored the fatal hit, maybe you can check the awards of the Knights Cross to KG 30 crews in the next months.
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