5 October 1944

5 October 1944 Channel Islands Sea Defence diary

08:00 weather: north-north-east force 8, sea 4–5, visibility eight nautical miles, heavily overcast, cloud base 800 metres. The planned Jersey–Guernsey convoy carrying Lieutenant-General von Schmettow, Guernsey–Alderney supply convoy and Guernsey–Sark convoy postponed 24 hours owing to weather. 12:00 weather: north-east force 6, sea 4, visibility twelve nautical miles, heavily overcast, cloud base 1,000 metres.

12:38: Elsass anti-aircraft weapons, Alderney, fired on an eastbound Dakota. No hits observed; thirty-one 2-cm rounds expended. 13:20: Alderney sighted three corvettes north-eastbound in BF 2636. At midday a destroyer on the southern waiting station briefly sighted. 18:00 weather: north-east force 5–6, sea 3–5, visibility nine nautical miles, heavily overcast, cloud base 800 metres.

19:30: Alderney Artillery Group reported sea-target alert, with detections of a larger target north-west of Alderney heading east. 19:33–19:34: 3rd and 4th anti-aircraft batteries of Battalion 197, Alderney, fired on two motor torpedo boats in grid 3543; boats withdrew north at high speed. 19:45: Alderney Group authorised six salvos on the detected target, reporting its behaviour after the third. 19:48: Annes, Elsass and Blücher opened fire; the first anti-aircraft battery also participated on the artillery commander's order. Under fire the target withdrew north, making large course and speed changes. No special observations after the third salvo. Fire ceased after the sixth salvo at 19:53. Ammunition expenditure: Elsass, twelve 17-cm high-explosive shells; Annes, sixteen 15-cm high-explosive shells; Blücher, twelve 15-cm Kan.Gr. 18 shells.

Enemy convoy traffic observed from Cherbourg during the day: three corvettes, one destroyer and two motor torpedo boats.

Roll 2422, scans 0852–0853, original pages 186–187.