64-663: Captain Frederic John Walker , CB , DSO & Three Bars (3 June 1896 – 9 July 1944) (his first name is given as Frederick in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography and some London Gazette entries) was a British Royal Navy officer noted for his exploits during the Second World War . Walker was the most successful anti-submarine warfare commander during the Battle of
128-806: A Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) "for leadership and daring in command of H.M.S. Starling in successful actions against Enemy submarines in the Atlantic." On 6 November 1943, Walker's group sank U-226 and U-842 . In early 1944 Walker's group displayed its efficiency against U-boats by sinking six in one patrol. On 31 January 1944, Walker's group gained its first kill of the year when it sank U-592 . On 9 February his group sank U-762 , U-238 , and U-734 in one action, then sank U-424 on 11 February, and U-264 on 19 February. On 20 February 1944, one ship of Walker's group, HMS Woodpecker ,
192-517: A Liberator of 120 Squadron , 19 Group Coastal Command based at RAF Nutts Corner in Ireland (750 nmi (1,390 km; 860 mi) away) arrived over the convoy and saw off a Condor. After two hours the Liberator attacked a U-boat and at 4:20 p.m. was relieved by a second Liberator, which forced another three U-boats to submerge. The Liberator turned for home with minimal fuel but next day
256-477: A Type XIV, and U-504 , a Type IX/C40 , were then sunk by Walker's group, and the second Type XIV, U-461 , by an Australian Short Sunderland flying boat. Upon his return to Gladstone Dock, Walker was informed that his son, Timothy Walker, had been killed when the submarine HMS Parthian was lost in early August 1943 in the Mediterranean Sea . On 14 September 1943, Walker was appointed as
320-516: A chase began; Walker tried to ram the U-boat but found that it could turn inside the turning circle of Stork , nearly as fast. The ship fired on the U-boat, illuminated it with snowflake Flares and managed to ram it just forward of the conning tower, scraping over the hull of the submarine. As the U-boat emerged from under the stern, depth charges set for shallow were dropped, blowing up the U-boat. The bows of Stork were crushed and bent sideways and
384-454: A convoy and shadow it rather than attack. The commander was to send short homing signals every thirty minutes, to guide other U-boats to the convoy. When the pack had assembled, Dönitz gave the order to attack, usually at night, so that the U-boats could fire their torpedoes on the surface. For the tactic to work, U-boats had to signal their positions to Dönitz at Kerneval (across the river from
448-429: A determined, and innovative anti-submarine specialist such as Walker proved to be a potent force. One eccentric aspect of his charismatic nature was the playing of the tune A Hunting We Will Go over the ship's Tannoy when returning to its base. In June 1943, Walker's own ship Starling was responsible for the sinking of two U-boats. The first, U-202 , was destroyed on 2 June 1943 by depth charges and gunfire, and
512-891: A statue by Liverpool sculptor Tom Murphy of Walker in a typical pose was unveiled at the Pier Head in Liverpool by the Duke of Edinburgh . Memorabilia associated with Captain Walker including two paintings of Walker, naval ensigns, the General Chase signal flags and the ships's bell from HMS Starling , which was given to the former Bootle County Borough Council on 21 October 1964 by Admiral Sir Nigel Henderson . Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth, can be viewed in Bootle Town Hall . Captain (Royal Navy) Captain ( Capt )
576-534: A sub-lieutenant went on to join the destroyers Mermaid and Sarpedon in 1916 and 1917 respectively. Following the end of the First World War , Walker joined the Queen Elizabeth -class battleship Valiant . He married Jessica Eileen Ryder Stobart, with whom he had three sons and a daughter. During the interwar period Walker entered the field of anti-submarine warfare . He took a course at
640-610: A time and their focus was on the North Atlantic convoy route. Gibraltar convoys had suffered only occasional adventitious attacks by individual U-boats that had met them while crossing their route. By the summer 1941 U-boat Command ( BdU ) had sufficient boats to form several patrol lines but this coincided with Hitler ordering U-boats into the Mediterranean to support Axis forces operating in North Africa and attack
704-654: Is a senior officer rank of the Royal Navy . It ranks above commander and below commodore and has a NATO ranking code of OF-5. The rank is equivalent to a colonel in the British Army and Royal Marines , and to a group captain in the Royal Air Force . There are similarly named equivalent ranks in the navies of many other countries. In the Royal Navy, the officer in command of any warship of
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#1732771801224768-628: Is sometimes described as the first true Allied convoy victory in the Battle of the Atlantic . He was given the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) on 6 January 1942, "For daring, skill and determination while escorting to this country a valuable Convoy in the face of relentless attacks from the Enemy, during which three of their Submarines were sunk and two aircraft destroyed by our forces". Walker's group succeeded in sinking at least three more U-boats during his tenure as commander of
832-632: The Shoreham -class sloop Falmouth based on the China Station . In April 1937 Walker became the Experimental Commander at HMS Osprey . In 1940, he was appointed as Operations Staff Officer to Vice-Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay . Even so, Walker still had not been given a command, despite his expertise in antisubmarine warfare that would no doubt be indispensable in the Battle of the Atlantic . During Walker's time in that role,
896-616: The 36th Escort Group , commanding from the Bittern -class sloop Stork . The escort group which consisted of two sloops ( HMS Stork and Deptford ) and six corvettes was based in Gladstone Dock, Bootle near the home of the Western Approaches Command . Initially his Group was primarily used to escort convoys to and from Gibraltar . Walker's first chance to test his innovative methods against
960-671: The Operation Dynamo evacuation took place from Dunkirk , in which the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was evacuated from France . The evacuation was a success, with over 338,000 British and French troops being rescued and brought back to England, or to Brittany . He was Mentioned in Despatches for his work during this operation. Walker received his own command in October 1941, taking control of
1024-661: The U-boat menace came in December 1941, when his group escorted Convoy HG 76 (32 ships). During the journey five U-boats were sunk, four by Walker's group, including U-574 which was depth-charged and rammed by Walker's own ship on 19 December 1941. The Royal Navy's loss during the Battle for HG 76 was one escort carrier , Audacity , formerly the German vessel Hannover ; one destroyer, Stanley , and two merchant ships . This
1088-434: The barrage attack , in which three or more sloops in line launched depth charges to saturate the area where the submarine might be. Walker was also adept at the 'hold down': after making contact with a U-boat, keeping it at a depth below depth charge detonation range until it was forced to surface and become susceptible to attack by running out of air or battery power. Walker was the most successful anti-submarine commander of
1152-464: The 32-ship escort force for an Arctic convoy of 49 merchant ships, codenamed Convoy JW 58 . The powerful escort also included two escort carriers and two flotillas of fleet destroyers, as well as the U.S. Navy light cruiser USS Milwaukee which was on its way to Russia as part of the Lend-Lease programme. The whole force was commanded by Rear-Admiral Frederick Dalrymple-Hamilton on
1216-461: The 36th Escort Group. In June 1942, Walker was promoted to captain dating from 30 June 1942 and he was awarded the first Bar to his DSO in July 1942. In October 1942, Walker left the 36th Escort Group and became Captain (D) Liverpool, granting him some time to recuperate. He finally returned to a ship command when he became commander of the 2nd Support Group in 1943, consisting of six sloops, which
1280-552: The Asdic dome under the hull was smashed. Soon afterwards, U-108 torpedoed Ruckinge , which was abandoned and sunk later by Samphire . Condors arrived, one was shot down in another head-on attack and a second aircraft was damaged. When more Condors reached the convoy in the afternoon, a Martlet pilot made such a determined head-on attack that he collided with the Condor, destroying it and coming back with its aerial round his tail-wheel;
1344-599: The Atlantic , and was known popularly as Johnnie Walker (after the Johnnie Walker brand of whisky). Walker was born in Plymouth , the son of Frederic Murray and Lucy Selina (née Scriven) Walker. He joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in 1909 and was educated at the Royal Naval Colleges at Osborne and Dartmouth , where he excelled. First serving on the battleship Ajax as a midshipman , Walker as
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#17327718012241408-697: The Gibraltar traffic. This phase of the campaign had commenced with a pack attack on Convoy OG 69 . For the Allies the introduction of specialist escort groups had created the conditions for better of convoy protection tactics, giving a measure of success in countering the wolf pack threat. It was recognised that air cover was needed to counter shadowing aircraft, to seek out approaching U-boats and for reinforcement of convoys under attack. Sufficient escorts were needed to hunt U-boats to destruction rather than driving them off, as so often happened. The first requirement
1472-519: The Mediterranean and about to pass the Straits. U-77 sank one ship from the Cape Town convoy, but U-74 was unable to attack Convoy HG 76; Swordfish aircraft of RAF Gibraltar Command were escorting the convoy and on three occasions during the night of 14/15 December, drove off the U-boats. The Seerauber boats formed a patrol line south of Cape St Vincent but Convoy HG 76 passed through
1536-588: The Second World War, being credited with 20 U boats destroyed, from various ships. Walker suffered a cerebral thrombosis on 7 July 1944, and he died two days later at the Royal Naval Hospital at Seaforth, Merseyside , at the age of 48. His death was attributed to overwork and exhaustion. His funeral service, attended by about 1,000 people, took place at Liverpool Cathedral with full naval honours. A naval procession followed, escorting
1600-418: The area to both sides. U-567 saw the silhouette of Audacity at close range torpedoed it at 8:37 p.m. . As the carrier sank by the stern, two more torpedoes from U-751 hit it, a big explosion blew off the bows and the ship began to sink at the head. At 10:10 p.m., Audacity sank head first at 43°45'N, 19°54'W, about 500 nmi (930 km; 580 mi) west of Cape Finisterre . At 12:40 a.m. on
1664-590: The coffin through the streets of the city to the Pier Head , by the River Mersey, where it was embarked aboard the destroyer Hesperus , for a burial at sea. As Walker's Group had already steamed out for combat duty, most of the naval personnel who manned the funeral procession were from the Royal Canadian Navy . A final honour was a posthumous Mention in Despatches on 1 August 1944. In 1998
1728-511: The convoy (claiming to have spent the previous night inside the convoy, homing other U-boats) and had been the U-boat attacked earlier. On the night of 17/18 December, the U-boats attacked again but failed to torpedo any ships; U-107 was forced under water by Pentstemon and after a failed torpedo attack, U-67 was forced to retire by Convolvulus . At 9:06 a.m. on 18 December, Stanley gained an Asdic contact at 6 nmi (11 km; 6.9 mi) and fifty depth charges were dropped by
1792-497: The convoy came into range of continuous air support. On 23 December, Dönitz, shaken by the loss of five U-boats and the lack of success against the convoy, called off the attack, U-67 , U-107 , U-108 and U-751 returned to bases in France. Despite the loss of Audacity and the three merchant ships, the safe arrival of thirty ships and the destruction of three U-boats ( U-127 was not included and U-567 not confirmed until after
1856-401: The convoy for about two hours, searching for U-boats and Condors, the danger mainly coming from deck landings. The weather was atrocious and at times pitched the flight deck 65 ft (20 m) and rolled it through 16 ° as spray swept over the deck. Two Martlets took off on patrol and one managed a safe landing but the other touched down when the stern was rising and was thrown overboard,
1920-422: The convoy. Just after 9:00 a.m. a Martlet from Audacity sighted a surfaced U-boat about 20 nmi (37 km; 23 mi) from the convoy and circled over the area for the escort ships to gain a good radar fix; a corvette made an Asdic attack to no apparent effect. At 12:47 p.m. on 17 December, Stanley sighted U-131 on the surface and Walker ordered a Martlet to attack while Stork , with Pentstemon and
1984-421: The corvettes HMS Carnation and La Malouine , also at Gibraltar, 17 ships in all. A U-boat hunter group of Force H destroyers from Gibraltar, comprising HMS Croome , Gurkha , Foxhound and Nestor sailed independently. Since August 1940, Dönitz had ended the practice of U-boats freelancing and sending only one report per day. U-boat commanders were ordered to signal whenever they found
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2048-455: The cruiser HMS Diadem , who initially tried to direct Walker's ships into a tight screen, but soon allowed him to independently command the two support groups from Western Command. Walker's own ship Starling sank the U-961 on 29 March, the group's first day with the convoy, and subsequently the ships under his command sank U-360 and U-288 before they arrived at Murmansk without
2112-414: The early hours of 18/19 December, Stanley sighted U-574 astern at 4:00 a.m., sent a sighting report, was hit by a torpedo and blew up. Stork following behind, swung behind the stern of Stanley , gained an Asdic contact and dropped a pattern of depth charges, then turned after 0.5 nmi (0.93 km; 0.58 mi) to attack again. A U-boat shot to the surface 200 yd (180 m) ahead and
2176-569: The escorts.After thirty minutes U-434 surfaced and the crew abandoned ship just before it rolled over and sank, north of Madeira , 42 members of the crew being rescued and taken prisoner. Before noon, the radar on Audacity indicated two aircraft and Martlets were scrambled to intercept but the guns on both aircraft jammed and the Condors escaped. The rest of the day was quiet but the Admiralty signalled that three more U-boats were en route. In
2240-411: The flight deck with hand torches and again the night was quiet. U-107 maintained contact and the wolf pack was joined by U-71 , U-567 (commanded by the ace Engelbert Endrass ) and U-751 from Bordeaux and the three original wolf pack boats U-67 , U-107 and U-108 re-joined Seeräuber by 21 December. On 21 December, 802 NAS was down to three operational Martlets, take-off and landing
2304-466: The it down to Gibraltar in November with Convoy OG 76 . He had exercised the group there in anti-submarine patrols that had resulted in the destruction of U-433 by Marigold . The close escort was augmented by a support group comprising the new escort carrier HMS Audacity and her escorting destroyers , Blankney , Stanley and Exmoor , plus the sloops Fowey , Black Swan and
2368-502: The line without detection. At 8:15 a.m. Hudson and Catalina aircraft took over from the Swordfish and for the next two days co-operated with the 802 NAS Martlets on Audacity , forcing U-boats to submerge. U-127 was detected on a routine anti-submarine sweep by a Short Sunderland from Gibraltar late in the day; next morning it was detected on Asdic by Nestor and sunk at 11:00 a.m. At noon on 16 December, Convoy HG 76
2432-586: The loss of a single ship. The groups returned with the 36-ship convoy RA 58 , but despite intelligence of 16 U-boats in their path, no contacts were made due to adverse conditions affecting the ASDIC (sonar). Walker's last duty was protecting the fleet from U-boats during the Normandy landings , the immense Allied invasion of France . This he did successfully for two weeks; no U-boats managed to get past Walker and his vessels, and many U-boats were sunk or damaged in
2496-597: The more junior Army and Royal Marines rank , and in naval contexts, as a "four-ring captain" (referring to the uniform lace) to avoid confusion with the title of a seagoing commanding officer. In the Ministry of Defence , and in joint service establishments, a captain may be referred to as a "DACOS" (standing for deputy assistant chief of staff) or an "AH" (assistant head), from the usual job title of OF5-ranked individuals who work with civil servants. The rank insignia features four rings of gold braid with an executive curl in
2560-560: The newly founded anti-submarine warfare training school of HMS Osprey , on the Isle of Portland , which was established in 1924. Walker consequently became an expert in this particular type of warfare, and was appointed to a post specialising in this field, serving in a number of capital ships. In May 1933 he was promoted to commander and took charge of the First World War destroyer Shikari . In December 1933 Walker took command of
2624-416: The night of 18/19 December was quiet. At 7:30 a.m., a Condor appeared to shadow the convoy and a Martlet chased it away before returning for lack of fuel. In the afternoon a Martlet spotted two U-boats and the convoy made an emergency turn. The U-boats were forced to submerge and Martlets patrolled overhead keeping them down for as long as their fuel lasted. It was so dark that the aircraft were guided to
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2688-447: The night of 21/22 December, U-567 was sunk by depth charges from Deptford , two hours after gaining an Asdic contact; Deptford then collided with Stork , damaging them both. U-67 fired torpedoes at a CAM ship but missed. During 22 December, U-71 and U-751 remained in contact, to be joined by U-125 (en route to America), while Convoy HG 76 was reinforced by the destroyers HMS Vanquisher and Witch . At 10:54 a.m.
2752-504: The other Martlet. About three hours later, another Condor was shot down by a Martlet making a head-on attack and a fourth Condor escaped. KG 40 had lost a third of its operational aircraft and failed to direct any U-boats onto either convoy, Convoy OG 76 making a safe arrival at Gibraltar late on 11 November. The presence of Audacity was now known to KG 40 and to BdU. Convoy HG 76 comprised 32 ships homeward bound from Gibraltar , some in ballast and some carrying cargo. The Convoy Commodore
2816-499: The pilot being rescued just before the Martlet sank. On 8 November, Kampfgeschwader 40 (KG 40) sent six Condor reconnaissance bombers to locate Convoy SL 91 , bound for Liverpool from Freetown , Sierra Leone . Near noon, the radar on Audacity detected two Condors and a Martlet patrol was sent to intercept. One Condor escaped into a cloud but two Martlets caught the second, which shot down one Martlet before being shot down by
2880-471: The process. During this concerted effort Walker's dedication to his tasks was tremendous; he took no respite from his duties, which ultimately contributed to his death. In May, he was informed by the Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches that he was to take a two-month rest starting August and subsequently take command of an aircraft carrier. Later that year, once accustomed to air procedures, he
2944-458: The rank of commander and below is informally referred to as "the captain" on board, even though holding a junior rank, but formally is titled "the commanding officer" (or CO). Until the nineteenth century, Royal Navy officers who were captains by rank and in command of a naval vessel were referred to as post-captains ; this practice is now defunct. Captain (D) or Captain Destroyers, afloat,
3008-508: The second, U-119 , on 24 June 1943 by depth charges and ramming. Another U-boat, U-449 , was sunk by his group on the same day. On 30 July 1943, Walker's group encountered a group of three U-boats on the surface (two were type XIV replenishment boats known as "Milk Cows") while in the Bay of Biscay . He signalled the " General Chase " to his group and fired at the submarines, causing damage that prevented them from diving. Two of them, U-462 ,
3072-520: The submarine base at Lorient in Brittany ). Closer to land, when Condors on tracking patrol ( Fühlungshalter ) sighted a convoy, the wireless operator reported its position and course to the BdU and relays of Condors remained over the convoy. When the pack had rendezvoused near the convoy, surface attacks would be made on successive nights, the U-boats withdrawing during the day. In mid December, BdU
3136-437: The three destroyers, made their best speed to the location. The Martlet pilot dived towards the U-boat and both opened fire at the same time, the Martlet being shot down and the pilot killed. The British ships opened fire at extreme range, then U-131 was driven to the surface and sunk. Observers saw the crew of U-131 abandon the vessel before it sank at 1:30 p.m. and took on survivors who said that they had been shadowing
3200-425: The upper ring. When in mess dress or mess undress, officers of the rank of captain and above wear gold-laced trousers (the trousers are known as "tin trousers", and the gold lace stripes thereon are nicknamed "lightning conductors"), and may wear the undress tailcoat (without epaulettes). Convoy HG 76 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 Convoy HG 76 (19 to 23 December 1941)
3264-492: The voyage, along with a destroyer and two merchant ships. Despite the loss of Audacity , it was regarded as the first big convoy victory for the Allies in the Battle of the Atlantic . The attack on Convoy HG 76 was the last in a series of U-boat pack attacks on Gibraltar convoys which had started in the summer of 1941. Before this the U-boat Arm ( U-bootwaffe ) had only enough boats operational to form one patrol line at
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#17327718012243328-524: The war) was judged by the Admiralty to be an outstanding victory. It also confirmed Walker as the Royal Navy's foremost expert in anti-submarine warfare. The loss of five of the nine U-boats and Endrass, one of the most experienced U-boat commanders, was considered a grievous blow by Dönitz; his loss was concealed from the U-boat men for several weeks. Gruppe Seerauber was assembled on 14 December 1941, comprising seven U-boats and reinforced on 21 December by three more. Four U-boats were sunk when attacking
3392-504: Was Vice-Admiral R. Fitzmaurice in the steamship Spero . The convoy had a large escort force, consisting of the 36th Escort Group (Commander Frederick "Johnnie" Walker ), usually composed of two Bittern -class sloops ( HMS Stork and Deptford ) and seven corvettes ( HMS Convolvulus , Gardenia , Marigold , Pentstemon , Rhodedendron , Samphire and Vetch ). Walker, an experienced escort commander, had taken command of Escort Group 36 in October and brought
3456-549: Was already in position after a failed attack on Convoy OG 77; U-434 and U-574 from Gruppe Steuben had refuelled from a clandestine depot ship in Vigo harbour, U-127 and U-131 had arrived from Germany and U-107 and U-108 from bases in France. Five of the seven were Type IX boats, which Dönitz considered unsuitable for pack attacks and five of the seven crews were inexperienced, being on their first patrols. The pack had orders to sink Audacity at all costs and
3520-506: Was an Allied convoy of the HG (Homeward from Gibraltar ) series, during the Second World War . It was notable for the destruction of five German U-boats , although the true total was not known to the British until after the war. Two Condor long-range reconnaissance aircraft were shot down by British Martlet fighters from the escort carrier HMS Audacity , which was sunk later on
3584-553: Was an operational appointment commanding a destroyer flotilla or squadron , and there was a corresponding administrative appointment ashore, until at least a decade after the Second World War . The title was probably used informally up until the abolition of frigate and destroyer squadrons with the Fleet FIRST reorganisation circa 2001. Ashore, the rank of captain is often verbally described as "captain RN" to distinguish it from
3648-559: Was based at Gladstone Dock, Bootle. Walker led from Starling , a newly commissioned Black Swan -class sloop. The group was intended to act as a reinforcement to convoys under attack, with the capacity to actively hunt and destroy U-boats, rather than be restricted to escorting convoys. Walker had suggested the innovative idea to the Commander-in-Chief Western Approaches Command, Sir Max Horton . The combination of an active hunting group and
3712-403: Was dangerous in the heavy swell and the pilots were very tired. After the last patrol, the commander of Audacity ordered the ship out of the convoy 10 nmi (19 km; 12 mi) to the starboard as usual but no escorts could be spared. At 8:33 p.m. during the night of 21/22 December, a ship at the rear of the convoy was torpedoed by U-751 and nearby ships fired snowflakes, illuminating
3776-602: Was informed that a convoy was assembling at Gibraltar. German agents in Algeciras , in neutral Spain, could see the harbour, without hindrance from the Spanish authorities. BdU began to assemble a patrol line, code-named Seeräuber (Pirate), preparatory to launching a pack attack. Seeräuber was an ad hoc group, as the previous Gruppe Steuben , had disbanded following a fruitless pursuit of southbound Convoy OS 12. Gruppe Seeräuber comprised seven U-boats; U-67
3840-708: Was met with the commissioning of Audacity , the first merchant aircraft carrier, the second by reinforcing the escorts and by the formation of an anti-submarine Hunting Group at Gibraltar, which would sweep ahead of a homeward bound convoy, to attack and destroy patrolling U-boats. The new measures had been introduced by the time Convoy HG 76 sailed. Audacity participated in the escort of Convoy OG 76 of twenty merchant ships, which sailed from Liverpool for Gibraltar on 31 October. The escort carrier embarked 802 Naval Air Squadron (802 NAS), Fleet Air Arm (FAA) with eight Martlets and ten pilots. The fighters were usually split into standing patrols of two aircraft, which flew over
3904-493: Was reinforced later by three more boats; U-108 sank a Portuguese freighter sailing independently on 14 December. Convoy HG 76 sailed from Gibraltar on 14 December 1941, in company with a small convoy bound for Cape Town. Agents across the bay, reported the composition, escort strength and departure time of the convoy. BdU was confused by an agent report that the convoy had returned to port. The first sightings of Convoy HG 76 were made by U-74 and U-77 , both en route to
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#17327718012243968-450: Was sighted and its position reported by a Focke-Wulf Condor of I/KG 40 patrolling from Bordeaux , which guided U-108 to the convoy to begin reporting its position to other U-boats. During the night of 16/17 December, the wolf pack closed in and U-574 was ordered to the area; by morning on 17 December, the convoy had passed beyond the range of Gibraltar-based aircraft and four U-boats made contact, U-67 and U-108 being forced away from
4032-512: Was to be promoted to flag rank and given command of a carrier task force to be taken to the Pacific . He was awarded the third bar to his DSO on 13 June 1944, and was again Mentioned in Despatches on 20 June 1944. One highly successful tactic employed by Walker was the creeping attack , in which two ships would work together to keep contact with a U–boat while attacking. Another approach was
4096-516: Was torpedoed and sank seven days later while being towed home. All of her crew were saved. They returned to their base at Gladstone Dock to the thrilled jubilation of the local inhabitants and the Admiralty . The First Lord of the Admiralty was present to greet Walker and his ships. Walker’s seniority as a captain was backdated from 30 June 1942 to 30 June 1940 and he was awarded a second bar to his DSO. In March 1944, Walker's group provided part of
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