Battle of the Bay of Biscay

Part of the Battle of the Atlantic of World War II

Battle of the Bay of Biscay 1943 – Painting by Norman Wilkinson

Date	28 December 1943
Location	Bay of Biscay, Atlantic
Result	British victory

Belligerents

United Kingdom

Germany

Commanders and leaders

Charles Clark

Harold Grant

Franz Kohlauf

Hans Erdmenger †

Strength

2 light cruisers

5 destroyers
6 torpedo boats
1 aircraft

Casualties and losses

1 cruiser damaged
2 killed

1 destroyer sunk
2 torpedo boats sunk
1 torpedo boat damaged
532 killed, wounded, drowned or captured

The Battle of the Bay of Biscay was a naval action that took place on 28 December 1943 during World War II as part of the Atlantic campaign. The battle took place in the Bay of Biscay between two light cruisers of the British Royal Navy, and a destroyer and a torpedo boat flotilla of the German Kriegsmarine hoping to intercept and escort a blockade runner. The battle was fought as part of the Allied Operation Stonewall which was to intercept German blockade runners off the west coast of France. In the confused action that followed the two British cruisers HMS Enterprise and HMS Glasgow respectively sank T-26, together with her sister ship T-25 and the destroyer Z27.

In late December 1943 a German Kriegsmarine destroyer flotilla, reinforced by six large Elbing-class torpedo boats were ordered to the Bay of Biscay in order to escort into a French port the blockade runners Osorno and Alsterufer which were carrying vital cargo from Japan. The Germans codenamed this Operation Bernau. The blockade runner Osorno reached the Gironde on 26 December, but struck a wreck in the estuary after being attacked by the RAF. She was beached and subsequently unloaded offshore. Meanwhile, Alsterufer, carrying tungsten (Wolfram) and rubber, was still much further behind.

Korvettenkapitän Franz Kohlauf sailed from Brest on the morning of 27 December with the torpedo boats T23, T24, T26 and T22. The 8th Destroyer Flotilla under Kapitän zur See Hans Erdmenger put out from the Gironde with destroyers Z24, Z37, Z32 and Z27, accompanied by two torpedo boats, T25, under the command of Korvettenkapitän Wirich von Gartzen, and T27.

...
Wikipedia