Page 283 - Il Mediterraneo quale elemento del Potere Marittimo - Atti 16-18 settembre 1996

SOUTH AFRICA'S NAVAL ROLE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR 269

cheir destination and every care were to be taken that no knowledge of their desti-
nation leaked out (25>. On 5 December 1940, Hallifax notified Cunningham that
che four South African auxiliary AS vessels, ordered to report to him would be
under che command of Lt Cdr Trew and mentioned that, though che vessels were
fitted with Asdics, the crews had little experience because of "che absence of any
training apparatus co provvide any opportunities for exercises [apd] owing to shor-
26
tage of ammunition supples, very few firing practices have been carried out" < >.
The 22nd Anti-Submarine Group left Durban and sailed for the Mediterra-
27
nean o n 15 December 1940 a t 09:00 < >. They arrived in Alexandria o n 11 Ja-
nuary 1941 when the ships were placed under the command of the C-in-C
Medicerranean. Admiral (Adm) Cunningham regarded their arrivai as ''most wel-
2
come" < 8>, Soon after their arrivai Trew met Cunningham, who enquired about
the age of the officers and men. After being informed they were mostly in their
early twenties, Cunningham responded "Good- that's what you want in small ships.
2
Young men, hard work, hard fighting!" < 9>. Trew quickly realised that, this, in-
deed was che case.

South African vessels in the Mediterranean: type of vessels, operations, duties
and casualties
The discussions of the operations in which South Mrican vessels participated
in che Mediterranean and duties they performed, are in the form of short narrati-
ves. As che focus cannot fall on ali events, cercai n of the more interesting incidencs
and che tasks of more importane vessels, are discussed in some detail. Other occur-
rences are merely mentioned. Attention is also briefly paid co South African vessels
that sank in che Mediterranean during che war.

The Southerns and the HMSÀS Protea

Shortly after che four vessels of the 22nd Anti-Submarine Group arrived in
Alexandria on 11 January 1941, two of che ships, the Southern Maid and the Sou-
thern Isles, were assigned cheir first escorting duty: The escorting of a troopship to
Tobruk <3°>. These ships soon parcicipated in severa! spiriced exploics and carried
ouc a variety of casks such as AS pacrols; escort duties; che repelling of enemy aircraft
(ofcen as che sole escorc of a ship or small convoy); towing disabled ships; and the
ferrying of prisoners of war and stores <30. On the Tobruk run, their duty princi-
pally involved the escorting of small convoys of one or two ships carrying supplies
to Tobruk. They would then spend four or five days in Tobruk, on local pacrols,
often experiencing heavy air attacks. Thereafter they returned co Alexandria as escorcs,
2
often taking back prisoners-of-war and experiencing air attacks ac sea <3 >.
The first South Mrican casualty ~n the Mediterranean war at sea, was che Sou-
thern Floe under the command of Lieutenant (Lt) J.EJ. Lewis. She had probably hit
a mine offTobruk, in the early hours (about 04:00) of 11 February 1941 (33>. The
explosion broke che ship in cwo and she immediately sank, leaving no cime co