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AUTRESDOCUMENTS SOUMIS
PARTIII
OTI-IERDOCUMENTS SUBMITTED
TO THE COURT SECTION 1
DOCUMXNTS SUBMITTED BY THE GOVERVIfENT
OF THE T;rNlT-ED KTBGDOM
A-l3ECORE THE OPENING OF THE HEAMNGS
.---
x, 1)OST-WAR MINE CLEARANCE
IN EUROPEAN WATERS
TNIm mRTi\ll RESPOXT RY THE YNTBRNATIONAL CENl'RkL
(1stOCTOBER, xoqb,TO 30th JmE, 19471
CONTENTS
BntiçIiSub-atea ..................... ir
h'orwegianSub-mes .................... 12
Uanish Sub-arca ..................... IZ
BelgiariSuh-area ..................... xz
NethmllanilJ Sab-area.................. 13
Gwman Sub-arca junder Rritish Cantrol].......... - 73
13rit;isSiibarea..................... 13
Frbfi~hSilb-ate~ ..................... f4
Greek Snb-=ea ..................... I4
Kugo~hv Sub-area .................... 14 I
ItalianSubarea .................. 14
KA~EGAT, BALTIC ÇTRNTS AND TAPXR ,~PPROACHES ZONE
....................
SwodishÇSub-am€L....................... rj
Sdileswig-Holstei(under BritishCnritrol).......... tg
nmts~~~. ...................... 15
Baltic Sen ..........-.. : ......... 16
Black Sen ....................... rfi
1 Aitdi& from khisdocuhcnt has been fileda.Annex 33 .h the British
Reply. Sm V01.IL, p. 311. ïhs~asrrroi.01:MTNBSW~EPIN FORCES
' Page
33st htlanticiZone ..................... 18
Mediterrnnean 7~ne ................ . . 20
Rattegat, Baltic StraitS arid theApproacliesZme . ..... .22
. Bareiiu,altic and 131acl~SeasZone .............. 23
Appmdix Il !
Shipsand fishing v~ls, etc.of all nationalities, sor dnnaged bymines
between 1stOctober, 1946,and 30th Juune,~947,in Empean waters. . 24
Rep& of camaltiesredvtd forthe period priortn 1st October, rg46,
which have not ben inclnded inthe 1st and 2nd Intmim Reprb . . 28
List ofSwiet anciFinniçh minesweepcrs mhed dgring the pdad gtb &y,
rgqç, ta 3rst Decmber, r346 ............... 3c
4. "Datigcronsam exWng in Scptember, 1g46.[&d ~@~od~~ed.]
5. Dangerous areas existinin June, r94T. [Nor~eprodtrcd.]
NOTK,-Ckaridefs 1 mà z aP5cmt~id is th hel"sI*tcrim R@o*~,
Chartlei 3ismfccined 1s th8 Secoxd .71rrie~Repove.
A geneml dcsçriptiod ofthe International Organization, which was
established fo directand contra miine-cleara operations inEuropean
waters, was contained in the fist Interim Keport of the International
Centrai Board, The first Report dso contained chartlets {numbend
I to 35 dirstrating the various zones and sub-areas into which the
waters to be cleared were divrded, and descrihed the propsç oi the
work from its inception up tu the 31stMarch, 1946. The second
Xnterim Report covered the period from that date to 30thSeptcrnber,
I rg46. The present Report covers the period from 1stOctober, rg46, -
tci30th June. 1947. The International Central Mine Clearance Board
intends to issue furthe Irterim Reports ha-yearly on the 30th June
and 31st December each ycar.
Change of Policy
2: Resr~lting from tests carieclout with batteries ofgrounct miacs,
it was found that mine of the plain rnag~etic variety, botli British
and Grman, laid in .the waters of North-Western Europe have a life
in excess of 31fzyears and'rnap mssibly "live" for 8-12 yem, ltwas ,
decided that to sweep a11 areas where these mines tvere considered
to have been dropped by aircmft was a task too formidable for the
farces avallable, The foUowing pislicy \vas thefifore adapt ed :- (a) that shipping should continue to use swept boyed charnels
nntil it is consid~rethat ailrnincshave bccome irractivedue to age;
(Xi)fht an amml trialswwp of a chosen area be mnducted to
6nd out when mines become inactivedue to age.
The frst trialsweep waç camed out in May, 1947, over a mal1
part ofan area IO milesN.W. of Terschelling, whme magnctic ground
mines tvere known to have becn laid in 1944. Seven mines were
detonated.
3. During thepenod under mview thcrewere two seriousincidents,
hoth of\%;hich caused international cconcerir. The"Enriooccumed on
the ~2nd Dctobef,1946 , hen two British desfroyers whileun passage
through the Straitsof Gmfu tve~ mined, sesuItirig inheavy loss of
Jifc and severc damage. Subsequent minesweeping revealed that a
miriefield existedin the Medn Routes 18/32 and 18/34 a,nd these
routes were therefore caricetlecl. This incident leto an exchange
of diplornaticcorrespondence between His Majesty's Governent and
the People's Rcpublic ofAlbania. The case \vas bmught befose the
Secunty Council of the United Nation$ tvho recommended that it
be taken to the InternationalCourt ~f Justice at The Bague.
The second incident was caused by sevm weathe~ conditions in
the North Sea driring February and March, 1947. Navigational
buoys muking the main coastal route dffBelglm and HoUand, and
also thuse marking the ways in thc Xattegat and in the Ealtic,were
rnoved out of position By clrifthgi~e formations. As a result several
shiys passed through unswcpt water and 11 vessels rvere mined before
the buoys mld be put back in thcir correct positions.
Casualtiesçansed by inines between 30th September, 4946, and
the 30th Jurle, 1947,were 42 merchant ships darnaged or çunk, 18
fishing maft damaged or sunk and the twa destroyers refemed to
above. Of aü these casualties, apart from the 11 zcferred tojn the
water.inDetailsrof these casualties areolisted in Apfiendix II.wept
4. Mincs\veeping in the four mnes had pmgressed satisfactarily,
cnabling a further 50,000 square miies tcibe dedared open for the
free rnovernent of international shipping. This is iuustrdted in the
chzrtlets numbered 4 and 5, hcluded as Appendices to this Report,
depictirig the danger areas existingat the end of September, 1946,
and at the end of June, 1947. -4" outhe of the ~vofk.in each zone
for the period covererl by this report iç asffollows:-
5. (iBritish Sub-area. The British Fleet 1Tinesveepashave accum-
plished the clearances describcd below :-
South oof Treimd. The clearance, tvhich cmenced inMarch,
1946o ,f the extensivedeep minefields, hascontinued satisfact- mily and 90 per cent. of the area drevîndy dnngemur isnow
considcsedcEear of mines.
North Coast of Ireland. The detp p!indields have been cleared
with tlie exception of a mal1 area tvhere,becauw of strrong
cvrsentsandpinnacle rocks, a ~oo pcr cent.check swep cauld
not be guamntecd. This areawas opened to surfacenavigation,
but ha$ been prohibited to fishing until 1952.
West Coasl of ScoUamd (Bdb of ~chis). The minefreldç have
been swept and the area isconddered clearof mines.
Soetth-Easl oJIcelmd mrl North nnd South ofZhe Fnrm 7dands.
Extensive mine-cle&ranm operation< have enablcd the danger
areasNorth of tlieFaroes to be greatly reduceto aZlowpassage
forshippiirg,and the danger arca Soutl-rof the Faro= to he
çancelied. No further sweeping is intended and danger areas
areto rernain clnsedto shipping until 1952.
The B.Y.M.S., I.M.S. and M.L. ~lotblaï carried out influenw
minesweeping operationsover German groundminefields off the North
coast ofFrance, East coastof England and in tlzc Thames Approach,
resulhng ina Iiirgproportion ofthe danger areas being declared open
to shipping.
Miriesweeping apentions continue off the South coaçt of Irelmd, .
off the East CO& of Englsnd and in the'Thames Esm.
(ii)Norwegizn Sub-area. 'Ilielasm$eliy in the Norwegian section
of theSkagersa-kmoored niilticbarrage ~Pdçclexred in October, ~946.
During the first haIfof 1947, a Checksweep over the rvholesection
was urried out by a farce of ,five "Bangoi"Class Minesaeeprs, five
Nonvegian Y.M.S.s and one additional daplayer.
One mine was slirept.
(iii)Danish Sub-area. The sweeping. of the Danish section of the
Skagerrakbarrage was discnntinued on 3. Qctober, zg46, ad started
again an the 12th May, 1947. Up tif130thJiine nine Gemtçn "RI"
class and twelve German"R" class rninesweepersunder Danish control
cleaed mine barriers D.6, Dm, D.20, D~I and -13.43. No mines
were smpt. Minesweeyilng continues. I
(iv) Belgian Su%-area.mie 1~8th NL.J!Iicilotillaswept a new
inshore route from Ostend to Zeebrugge and opened an alternative
coastdacchanne1ehasobeen widened. FourmaBritiduminEtfieldsand oneg
Gemm miriefieldwere cletlwd, including the Ostend Bsnk area.
No mines were s~vept. Rfkesweeping continues.
(VI FrenchSub-area. Clearance of the àeey Gennan minefields in
the French Zone of the Chsime1 has been completed. In all,zx
minefields were mept and 13 mines destroyed. Clearance of the
deep British minefieldsinthe North of Seine Bay hasbeen started
by theGerrnan '"BI"classrninesweepers. U1 to 30th June rz mine- ,
fields had been svept.
In the Bav ofBiscayapproach channels to ;Brest,Lorient, St.Nazaire
and La Pallicehave been widened, andlocal caastalchannels established
ùetweerr theseports. Maintenanceacoustic ,smceping has ben emied
out inthe Garonne. By these operations p8 mines -were destroyed.
1
I
1
I (vi)Netherlands Sub-area. M.M.S.and8.Y,M.S.class mbesweepers
of thc I-ZoyalNetlic-rlanNavy cIeared fourdanger areas off the Dutch
coast. ~videiiedthe Dutch coastal route and established two new
charnels to Scheveningen and Ilom'ourg. In all,43 mines tmc swept.
Meantirne, the Germ "R" boat5 undet Dntch contml cleared two
Gesman minefields, accountingfor 35 rnoored mines,Moored mine-
snteeping @vertwo. further danger areas producecl ncgative results.
- (vii)Germa SI&-area. In fhe German sub-*mes, Jearance of the
Germa11 mmred mine banicr in, the North Sea \vas continned by
- ex-Germnn mincstwepers under British control. Four German mine-
fields and some oId British lays were swept.
Pc British flotilcleared three Gerrnm minefieldsrvestof Cuxhaven
in October, 1946, and a further t.wo in Juue, 1.7 From mid-
Novemher until the end ofMarch, severc weather condit~onsprevented
minesweeping operations king executed."
The approaches 50 the Elbe have been wideiied by the German
"Ru boat flotillas,aiid inApril ttvosmll operations tverecmied out
in cannemon with thc Heliplarid Uemolitions. K.F.l&. from the
US. Enclave continued operations in the Rotor Sand area nt the
eutrance to the Wmr and ainong the Fast Frisim 'Islancls.
(viii)Thenumber of mines reportcd swept or detonated by the
respective nations in the East Atlantic Zone beheen 1st Octobet,
1946, and 30th June, 1947, was as follows:-
Fmces Mines srtiept
J36tish. ...:........ - 757
French . , ............ 41
Netl-ierlands ............ 78
Norwegian. ......... , . I
German, . , . , ....... 6
in6.mine clcamnce, esptcially in the It&nd pareamof responsibility,
dlowing several danger areas tri Le cuicelledand a nmber of others
to be ~educed in size. With the completion of mine-çletlranceopera;
tiçins by tlie British mincsweepers*off Tripoli al1 known German,
Italian and Allied minefieIClç 'dong the North-Aftican coaçt werc
cqnsidemd to lzave been cleaed. 7'he Medzon Board have met five
thcs at their Heaclquarters in1bme to consider reports and arrange
for priority of min~leitranw opemtions.
' (ii)Briüsh Sobarea. Al1rninesweepii~g commitmenis inthe British
arca of reçponsibrlityhave bcen completed. Early inOctober, 1946,
the 5th Minestvceping Fiotilla carriedout a check w-cep of adanger
area South of Pantekria with 'a negative resuIt. l3y th! end of
October , the jth and 8th Minesweeping Flotillas had çornpleted
cIearance of a section of theremaining miliefieldoff Tripoli (Lihya).
During the winter months eight shiys from these flotillas werere-
formerl into the 2nd Ihcsweeping Flotilla and returned tocornplete
the clearanceof the remaining ra rnint-fieldsThis work was cumpleteid
byMay, x947, 46 mines and one conical float beingcut from three of and 156ths B.Y.M.ÇhadFlotdias completed pound minesweepin The igthe
1 .
rtreaoff SahwleriPoint,asOnwecompletion oftthese operationspearly in
1947, d B.T.bfII$.were returned to the, U.S. Navy for disposal.
(iii)French Sub-area. A man field off Porta Veçchia {C~rsica)
was ccleared andchccked and four mines were cut. Off the coasts of
Çouthern France further check sweeping at a greater depfb than
previously swept was completed betsvsen Port Vendreç and rade .
dlI-Iy&resand a total of 72mines 2nd onè obstrncter urerecut.Ail
zones of the French Sub-area now considered to be dcar of mines.
(iv) GneL Sub-an& Gieek minesdpers ivhich, during q46.
had been supplemented by eight Y,M.S.?., were unable ta produce
the expccted results owing tcinumerom bre&do~r.ns ofthe ships and
the difficuIty oobtaininlg spare partsfor ~&ts. However, moored
mine clearances in the P,woi; and Naxos ama, Melos, Petali Gulf,
Volos, Trikiri and Skiathos Channels and the Gu1 of Salonika have
becn carried out. In May, operations were commençed on the
establishment of achannelEromLape Sphigmerr'lran the MonteSanto
Peninsula, to Chai Aghizi in the Golf of Ruphani. Up to 30th June
two mines and one conicalAoat have been cut. Ground minesweeping
was carriedout in the EleusWBay, VfiIosMelos, Paros,Naxos, Salamis
Bay and Gulf of Salonika areas anfivemirleswere detonated. During
these operations169 rnoored mines and 98 obstmtors wre çwept.
YuptavYugorninesweepers is one cavering, operationsdtci estabIisha
one-milewide channel fmm Bakar Bay through the Krk and Temi
Chxnnels,theme between Rab and Laganj Islands and hetlvecrnYag
and Dolphin Islands through the Maan Channel tojoin up tvith Medsi
route xgh off Vir Island, During tkis o@eration, svhichwas carriecl
out in1946 , totalof 104 mines, 33 obsttuctors ain21 conical floats
were slmeptas well asseven A(Ç net buoys.
(vi) ItalianSub-area. ne Ttalian minesweeping Pore, divided
into cieightgraups,mmpleted .mine cleardnce of the following number
ofrninefields in their respective neas :-
fa) 12 miritfields by the 1stM.$+ @oup offthe Sicilian cm,
cotreringan ma of r70 square miles ;
(6) on the West coast of Italy-47 minefidds by-the 2nd, 4th
and 6th MaS. group ; !
(c) on the East cozt of Itdy-24 &ineficl& by the 3rd, 5th
and 8th groups ; I
(dl offSadinia-4 minefields by the 17tBh'I-Sp.up.
1 4
This work hduded completion of mind clea~ancsoff the hee1 of
Ttalyby the 3rd Minesweeping Gronp and thiç goup wassub,seqziently
disbanded and the vessek transferredto the$th MinesweepingGraup
hased on Ancona.
The nurnber of mines acconntd for in the Mediterranean Zone
between the 1stOctober, 1946,and 30th J~ne, zg47,by the respective
national forces, wasas f6ll0wst
! 16
OTHER DOCWMEEùT% SUEMI.4-ED (u.K)
(4 Channel fhrough the Danger Arei between IZaninland and
Kolguev Island ;
.(f) Minefield at Ostv Ludky in the white Sea.
(iii) BalticSea 1
/o/ 2 miuefieldsEagt of Eland ~sland!:
(b) Channel from en@ of Gulf of Finland to Leningrad;
in the Irbensky Strait; '
lannelfrm Swii~ernimcleto ZrisHitz;
(e) Approach charinel itoRenne Port ;l
(f) Harbours of port of Gdynia; I
(p)ChanneltaportofRostock: 1
- (h) Channel to Wismar Pwt. I
(iv) Black Sea
(a) Widening of channeis into the dorts of Odes=, Nikoiaev,
Feodosia and Nnrrorassisk; I
(b) Establishment of a chairne1acmss ithe Kerch Strait from the
Black Sea to the Azov Sea.
(v) In addition,the followingareas wcre /s\oepinrgq6, but opened
tu navigation in the firsthalf of rgq :-
1
Barents Sea
Danger Areas from PechengI anlet to ~bbbholmç Fjord.
1
Baltic Sea 1
(a) The majority ofthe Danger Are% Icontainhg moored miriw
inthe Gulf of Fiand; !
(hi)Fart of the Danger Areas contaidg moored mines In Danzig
Bay ; 1
{c) Danger Areas ofnon-contact mine? in the Gdynia raadstead,
Btack Sc!a i
Part of the Danger -Areas aloiigthe Caucasian and Crimean consts
~nd in the Sea af Azov. . I
Danzig Bay and, aaechanne]hintofStralsund 1y~1-openedfor navigationf
without s~eeeping on the assumption that Ii'feofmines in these areas
had expired. -1
(vii) The mine~eepcr.~ aliocatcd for rnlnes\veepingin 1947 corn-
menced mine-clearance operationsin the nionths of April anclMay.
Lnaccordance with the plan deçided npon dg the Board for srveeping
in x947, priority was given to the sweepihg of moored rninefields.
This hadbeenplanned for tiva reasons: firstlto reduce tlihmediate
danger to shippingIrom moored mines, an$ secondly, to reduce ü~e
risk inother neiglibouringareas of ships strjkhgfloating mines. As
a result of sweeping during the firstsix rnanths of 1947 ,n ,mit of
4,430 square miles \vas opened to navigatio~i.
(viüj The nnmber ofmines accoimted fo? in the areas of national.
resporrsibilytof the' Barents, Baltic and BIack Seas Zone between
1st Oçtober, rg46, ailci30th June, 1947, $aç as follow :- (a] U,S.S.R. ara:
U,S.S,R, minesmepers swepf . - , zqj rnoored mines
20 ground mines.
76 obstnictors
Finnish minesrvoepesçswept . . , 156 moored mines
8 ground mines
60 'abstmctorç
In addition, 190ffoating mines and roo flmthg obstrüctors were
clestroyedin this cira2
(b) Palish area:
Polisa minesweepersswept , . 26 momed mines
T obstructor
In addition,seven fioaiingmines and two floaiingobstmctars werc
destroyed.
(c) Swedish Zea:
Two Aciatingmines md one flaating ohtructorwere destroyed.
cd) TurlUsh area:
Jn the period 1st October to 3rd December, approximately
70 floating mineswere destroyed.
Between 1st Jmuaxy and 30th June, a further 85 Roatingmines
were d~strayed.
Signed on hehalf of the Centrai Board.
CR H. Du~E~ (Presinetsi),
I
Captain, Royd Navy.OTRER DOCUMENTS SUBNITTED (u.R.) FDRCRS ALLOCA~D na. or SEIPS
German dubarsa under
British caatrol
5thG.M.S.F. , , , . 8'M" Clas9 . . . . . Cleating Germztn moased mine- Ttis~pec2edt~comp~eteclearance
fieId Wcst ofCuxhaven . of moored minefields by thc end
fih G.1I.S.P.' . . . . $ 'W CZcm . . . . . Refitting of August, 1g47. Widening and
12th G.N.S.F. . . . , 7 'MXlass . . . , . rtefitting- impro~ing of the cxistirig chanriels
1st G.R.R.F, . . . . 8 "R' boats . . . . . Wideniug mstal chand throiigh mapctic rnirieficlds wîl3
Sperrbmherç,F ,.,, . . IMinervaoa-. .. ., . . . Wideuingg coas£hIchannd available.as long as farces are .MX
M
BORCKS fiUOCA'IEQ NO. OF S~TTFS
BritishSub-erea
Frenchbubsrea -
5tli Bl[ineswee$ing ci
G~OUP- w!
J3rd Div.. . . . . 5 Y.n.I.5. . . . . . . Chetk çuaeeping of de- mine- 1.tisexpected that al1 milicsweeping
heIdsbetween Toulon andMar- willbe complcted by rst Octriber,
eh k1.L Div,. , . 3S.c~. Bcrats-. . . . seilles 1947. .
GreekSubarea
S F . , , 5 C.Y.hT.S. . . . . . Clearance of minefielda in th r7&rymteflsive mirieriareas stil1to
~8th M.S.M.L.1:. . .. 6 M.L.S. Trikeri and Skiathris area- be cieared inthe Egcan and on
Danlayers . . . . . 4 31.hZ.S. W. coast.III (a) BARENTS, BALTIO AND BLACK SEAS ZOlYE 30.6,47
BARENTS SEA
gdybl ......... 8 Mine sweepers .......a. Clearanceof minefields ithe follhg
areas:-Area S-NE of Rypachi Penin-
sula. 5'
E
BAZTLC iSEA s'
Soviet ........... 40Mine smwen ......... Swinemund-Zaçnita Channel ana Saufh- a
3.3r.h. East partof BalticSea. 9
rG
21Mine sweapers ..m...... Wdern prt af theGnli af Fînhd. Z
26 hZ.Ls. z
Eastern part oftheGaH of FiJiland. CR
--
Saadhamrneren to Wray32. 4
PattsigskyInlet andappr~schestwVkdis- Pl
lavorPO* 'd
Approarhes to the Po& qf the Gulf of3
Finland. iid
V
BLACK 3EA
........... 26Mine sweeprstç . ...... Approaches toSevastopol aninthe lCerch
loiet 67 MLs, Straits. f
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9
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OTRER DOCUMENTS SUBMIFD (u.K.)
IL;
1g snw AND TD~ACE GENERAI. LOCUTV FATE RmIA RKÇ
Outside dept chamel.
British PBXBGR~ (890 OiTTerschelI~ng. . . . . , . Damagd . . .
tuns] In clcar -ii.atw.
Xonvcgian TITANTA N4,880 North sea. . . . . . . .. Damaged . . .
tons) Sunk . . . . Outside swçpt ch~d.
Çwedish AWXA (2,078 Smth Sweden , . . . . . .
tons) Snnk . . . . IPdenr \vater.
Brtons)Tm VICEROP (QOO West Feheldc River . . . -
Damaged . . . Fishing in ~lisweptwater.
DaNEFTVNishing vesnei ICatcgat . . . . . . . . .
Gmt Bclt . . . . . . . Dmaged . . . Iti swept charnel.
Dabas) TVE~TRAI.~.~ 16,358
SoutliÇweden . . . . . . . Sank . . , . Qutçide swept charnel.
Danish fishhg vesse1ESTER Swk . , . . In mincfreld.
Rn~QZJ~RXisAYAg vessd lierch Straits . , . . , . .
Gmn cutter LABQE 20 IGef Bay . . , . . . . . - Snnk . . . . Outçidc swept charrneE.
(260tons)
Daish M.V. PARKESTON Off Esbjq . . . . . . . . Damaged . . . In swopt chmer.
(2,762 tons)
Rrîtish tfawlrrleÇVJ (rm NosthSca. - . . . . . - , Sunk . . . . Fsohbly mine in trawl.
tons)
Italian schooner CuorlsDi Off Leghorn , . . . . . . . Snnk . . . . Nu dekailsamilable.
GESU
D&h M.V. ROTA (99tond Kattegat . . . , . . . . , Sunk . . . . Outside smbeptchannel.
French tanker S.4l~T-Yfr~5 Off La Failice . - . . . . . Sunk , . . . tn swept chanael.
(1,642 tons)
h'arwegian BKSTEM (2,215 River Ems approacfi . . . . Darnnged . . , Outside swept clmuneI.
tom)
Norwegmn M.S. RAVMASS North Sea. . . . . . . . . Damageed . , . Outside swept chamel.
(5,60 0ons) SWIY AN13 TONNAGE CENRRIL LOCALITY FATE REMARKS
Saviet tng . . . , . . Iioertigsbcrg Clhame1 . . . . Snnk . , . . Outside supept channel.
Gemn motor boat . . . Stettin Bay . . . . . . . Sunk , . . In minsd arm.
Soviet barge . + . . . Jfhen~kS ytrait. . . . . - Sunk . , . . Ontside snrept chmnol.
Soviet fiçhtng scllooner Bhcli Çea. . . - . , . . Damaged . . . Ontvide swept channel.
Soviet bargc . - . . . Stettrn Chaiinel. . . . . . Sunk . . . . Outçide swreptchannel.
%%<et &TAI . . . . . Xrbensky Sttait . . . . . . iSaniaged . . . Flmtiq mine in channcl.
Sovict Mm. . . . . . Kolkq . . . . 4 . . . Sunk . . . , Outside swept chaiineL 8
Daaish cnaster BP~GTTTE Kattegat . , . . . . + . Sunk . . . . Outside wept watw. i3
(49 tnfis) Wb
Soviet txnkcr >[ARS , . . Baltic . . . . . . , . Snnk . . .'. Oubide sivept channel. 0
Soviet barge . . . . . Rlmck 5ca . . . . , . . . Su& . . . . Ontsicle swept channd, C
PoIish motor boat . . , Gdynia - . . . . . . , Sunk . . . . Probably oiitsidc swcpt chmel.
Ontside swept channel. Z
Soviet barge . , . . , Baltic 5ea . . . . . - - Damageci . . .
Soviet barge . . . . . Baltic Sea- . . . . . . . Damaged . . . ~utsidc wcpt dannid. 2
Sovict barge . , . . . Baltic Sea . . . , . . . Damaged , . . Outside swept channel. C
Soviet barga . , . . . Baltic Sca . . . . . . . Damapcd . , . Outside mept cliannel. z
Dnnish fisliing boat F.N26 East ofthe Skaw . . . , , Damaged . . . Ouhide çwpt channet. =i
-BIHTWJ! 2
ïtalian M.F.Y. Umm South-Weçt Coast ofSatdinia . Sunk . . . . Fishing inunsivept watw- u
Soviet tanker ICREML BIack Sea . . . . . . . . Damagcd. . . Floating mine in cliannel. c:
Soviet bargc . + , . . Mtfc Sea . . . . : . . Siiiik..., Outsidc swept channet. +
Soviet fishing boat . . . Black Sea . . . . . . ,.. Sodk . . . . Outside srircpt cl'iatinel. V
Ceman fishingvesse1 Kicl Bay . . . . a a , -. Sunk , . . .
STRANDE 5c l - a.AFPTDAWT BY KAREL KUVACIC, FORMER LIEUTENANT-
COMMANDER IN THE YUGOSLAVNAVY
In jhematterof iheCorfzlChwxeJ CRSBbefoyettheIdernatioïzdCoW
of J~siicc.
1, Kmel Komcic, of eq. Emperor7s Gate,'London,S.??'7, at present
of no occupation, formerly lieutenant-commander in the YugoçIav
Navy, make oath and say as follows:-
T >vasbçim inLjubljanaon JO July, 19~4 ,nd enteredthe Dubrovnik
Natd Academy on r Octùber, 1933, aftestudying at theGymnasium
in Ljubljana. I ww promoteà to sub-lieutenant on 28 jrine, 1936,
anclmy hrstcommission was asduty officeron the destroyehb~ovnik.
Later 1 semd as instnictorin se.amanshipcourses forpetty ofiçers
and remlits atSibcnik @ring-autumn 1937) .From autumn 1937
Torpedo Boat39 lFtillundertoommand ofÇaptain IvanicerKern.e Fiomr
Decemhcr 1933 until thekginning of tthewar bbettveeGemany and
Yugoslâvia1 servedatthe Petty OficersEngineering Çchoolat Ktimbor,
Gu11 of Kotor. In April rg@ 1 was appointed navigating ofhoer of
the minerayer Jastreb,which laid mines at the entranccto the Gulf
of Kotor. On saveral days 1 performed the same duty onminelayen
of theMxjan Class,ofwhich there were then ei.l[Thetwo shipsMjei
and Jteljiwa, mentiuned beIoware of thisdass,) After the capitula-
tion ofYugodavia (18 'April,r94r).I escaped from the GulfofKotor
and managea to reachLjubljana. Xwas srrestedby the Italianpolice
an ag Pehruary, 1942 ,nd sentToaconcentration camp,ai Gonaps,near
Udine. 1 escnped and \vasrecaphired in June rgqa, In Nsvember
r942I was moved ts a camp atChiesanova, nearPadua. 1 escaped
on 3September,1943 ,ter thecamp hadbeen ocçi~piedbythe Germans.
I passed the GermanjALIied lineson 16Novmber, 1943, and reached
New Zdasid units near the village Qiiadri,on the River Sanp.
I was sent toBari, where 1 joined tlie RoyaEYugoslavNavy. 1: waç
thensent to Taranto and Malta.
2. Tn Malta1was promotcdlieutenant-commander on xq Marçh,1944-
(1had been promoted lieutenant o28 J'iine1939.) Zn Malta 1 servecl
riscaptain ofthe totpedo boat T I and as instructoinresewe naval
officerscoriwe and ratiags' courses, aI completed the Rritiçli tor-
pedo and operational radarcourses. IVhiIe I was stilcaptain ofthe
S I, th shp \va sttached (June1945) to theRoyal Kavy's 8th Mine-
sweeping a;'lotiandacted asfast mitrkerforrnines\veepitlgoperations
amund Malta. I studied tliBritish mineçu.eepiag manuals in pre-
paration for thwork and was present ata11operationalconferences.
3. At the end of thc mar I deWded ta retnrn tr?yugoslai7iaand
w reached Sibenik gn the rninelayerOmo un r8 August, 1945, Bettveen
6 September and r5Notrembcr, ~945,1 set'ueas navigatorançlmine-
sweeying offiter ii~raoformines~veepingoperations in the Northern
Adriaticin waters nearEinme (Rijeka)and Bakar. 1 was alsaincllarge
of a Gernian lieutenant-commander atid bvo Grman petty-officer
prisoners,minelaying and rninesweepin s cialist.;, lvho bard volun-
teeredto show where mines had been 7a.crand how to use Grman gear for sweeping magnetic and amustic mines. 1 donot rememher
the Ceman aacer's nme, but he was a formerMerchant Marine cap
tain and river pilotan the River Elbe. Al1 three mrnaining mine-
laym of the Marjan class which had suxirvivethewar (Marjan, MLjst
and Meiii+ae),ogether with 0740 and about 8 ex-ltalian wooden motor
fishing boats, forrnea minesweepingflotilla wrvorkin gnthe Northern
Adriatic.
4.On15 Novembr, Ig45,rwas tmnçferred to thecorvette P~~t;t~a.~ka
(exATada, and formerly H,M.S, Mnllm) in Sibenik as instructor in t
navigation forpartisan officef(that is, men w-118had becorne officers
ofthe partisan navyin $vartirnebut ivhe haclno naval technicalquali-
fications) andas instructor for radarand as& operators. In RTarch
I~B 1 was tr;insferrcto Sibenik naval base,in charge of the Signals
Workshop ad Stores,wherc 1 remained untd February 1947. In
Febrtray ~947 T was tmnsfesred te Dubrovnilr as instmctor inelectro-
technics andradio-electronic aidsto navigationat the Naval Awdemy,
On October 6,1947, 1 came to England.
5. Inthe earlp niorning of Wednesday 16or Tliursday17 Octokr,
1946, therearived at the Mandalina naval base, Sibenik,thme naval
ships:Vfs (formerlythe water carrierSz'tfla, baseship ofthe Yugo-
slav minesrveeping flotilla, andtwa unitsO1 the same flotillaML$ 4
and ~Metjiwe,From talbg with members of the cm 1 learned that
these ships had corne £rom the Nortliern Adriatic. Ail three ships
required certain repairs totheirWfl setsand winrlg of suppiy cablev
for thesets. These were tobe undertaken by my stafffrom the Signals
'arrivedwas peither IWednesdaycortThursday becauseon1 estimated thats
the work would take at leasttl~reedays and might involve my staff
working on Satnrday after8nun. On ~a'rurday it\vas usual for the
Sipals Workshop staff tofinishwork at 1300and on weekdays atr6o0.
6.Every morning 1 passedby the quayon my way frm breakfast
{rithe mess ta my office. 1firstsaw the ships at about 0730. I \$;as
told that they had arrived a few houïs earlier. Vis was lving dong-
side Hvar, the headquarters ship of the Yugoslav Eleet command,
and MIjef and Meljbae wel-estem to thequay immediately to the soutii.
During thernorning 1 receivedordersfrom HQ Fleet Command to start
the Mifl repairs at once and to completework assSaon aspossible. Na
specific time\vas 6seà for completion. Work on Pis began the sme
Nidshipman Xeric, ahclouof my staff, began workonMi361&noand -%f~kjifle
at 0700 the next morning, Thursday17 or Fsiday rGOctober.
7. Just before noonan the ~7th os r8th 1 received twa telephone
cails, One from the Signals Officeof Fleet Gmmrtnd, Sul>-Lieutenant ,
Skracic, and the other from the Chief ofStaff, Fleet Corninand, Com-
mander Viktor Kohol. These caLIswerc to say that-work muçt be
finished ternpmily and atonce, and the W/Topentors must be irnrne.
cliateEyinstruçtedhow to accommodate tIiemselves to the temporary
adjustments already made. The WJT apparatus would havebem good
enaugb to enable instructionsto be received en route. Permanent
repairs wre to hepostponed, Kkc, wlio had been working on Mljd
and ?Melji~~,rehrned tùthe Signalç Workshop atabout rgoo and told ame that he had finishedthe work temporarily and that the ships had
already left the Uvda Sveti Pelar (St. Peter's Cove} Mandaline
Naval Base. Mystaff werepleaseda% thisnews,onc of themrernrtrking
"Thank God, we don't have tciimrk on Saturday,"
8. That aftemoon (17 or rSDctober) at r6x5 I hoarded as umaI a
(FornazaunCove), Sibenik. This quay tis near to the Naval Sjgnalsa
hkrkshops. 1proceeded in themotor launch to Sibeniktown. (1spent
every niglitinSibenik.) 'CVhenthe launch reached a pointabout rûo
metres begond Kulina Point at the tip of Manddina Poluot~k
(Mandalina Peninsula) 1 saw the two ships Mijei and Mdjine in
Panikovac Cove, abeut Sm met-resto the west. I am osikive fhaart
this distancewithsun about 30degrees totheleft Icoufd easilyseethe
mines and the rails anddistinpkh the round contactmines from aval
mqnetic mines. -
g. The two ships were pa~tlyloaded dithmines. There were ahut
20 &es ineaçh, mostly contact moored mines,with horns, global in
undoubtediy'GinesthrmanweYe typeumines.et1rknow they couldhnot be
Britishmines as nostocks of Britishrnoored mines were2eftin Yugo-
slavia and there rvere, 1knuwPlarge stocks of German Y typemines
in storeat Fiume, Bakar, Sibenik and Boka Katorska. Fholographs
of themines swept in the CorfuChannel are of atype of mine exactly
similar tothoseivhich Isaw being loaded on theAfljet andMekjz"n ct
Sibenik onthe 17/18 Qctober. I notice in twofthe photographs that
the swastika sign isronghlymarked on the mine casing of oneof the
mines recavered. This was cornmon practice in Yuguslavia. arnongst
the sailorstomark wlth swastikas material which they knew to be of
Geman origin. There were men in the ihips and on the smd quay
in thecaveat the entranceto a tunneltvhere1knew mines were storecl.
I QW one mineloacled on to each ship bymeans of the ship'derrick.
In view of thebright surishineI cannotsay preciçelythecober of the
mines, bnt from thglitter onthemI hew that they rvenewEy painted.
.mie rails forlaunchirigmines werviçible ontheininelayers.
ro. My intere sas roused particularlyby the fact thatIhemines
hacl contact-firinhorm btted, and because 1 knew that the mine-
Imnehing rails had previozisly been removed and the ships used as
miaesweepers in Northern Adriatic andSibenik waters. The 61s had
not been fittd when last X had seen the shipsst 090 that rnorning.
1 knew that there were fitting screws ithe de&, and the rds could
have been fittedon Fsotlllihipsin aboan l~our.
II. The same evening at about 1830 white sitting onae temace
ofa psivate home in Sibeniktom E saw the t~vo minelayerçagain,
They werestiLlin Panikovac Cove,a distanceofabut Ikirneter away
from me. I observecl thathey wese fullylloadedwith mines, and as .
1 knew thateachship couldcarryfrom40 to45,I estimated that together
they mre carsfing 80 to go mines.
12.On viçitinthe HQ ship Hvm at about p8oo the next morning,
1learned that the tvoships11IZjetnd Meljiqehad left Sibenikduring
the night, 1confimiedbypersona1 observationthatthey were nolonger
present.
a3 34 OTHER DOCUMENTS SiTBMIlTED (u.E.)'
rg. On theeveningof 22 Octobe~I listenedin,as usud, totheB.B.C.
broadcasts in Serbo-Croat, Enghsh, German and Italian,and heard
the announcementof the mining of two Britishdestroyers in thLorfir
Charinel. Myimrridiate reacticlnwas toconnect this disastewiththe
hasty departute ofMljetand MsEjineand the mines 1hadseenin them- .
14. Laterthe same eveniiig 1thoughtoves the problernofwhocould
have Laid the mines. From conversation withfeiiow-officer1knew
that the Albanian had no minelayers or personnel trained inlaying
mines, To the bestof my IrnowLedge o,nly thfoliawingships inthe
Yugoslav Navy were qilipped for minelaying :
Omo (now cdled Pio~id, primarily bu;jltas a rninesweeper but:
eqJiMarjanitclass ships {Marjm, ~Wje1nand IMdji~e],which could be
used asboth minesweepers and rninelayas ;
TorpedoBoat T r, which codd carry only 4 mines,and thenoniy
afterdepthcha~gcslipsfittedby the BritisinMalta,hadbeenremaved ;
MTBs Dimi-a and Kqrjrmakcala~ w,hiçhpuld carry and lay mly z
mines each ;
Severai smaUlaunches without populsioh and therefore unable to,
. saii exçeptwhm to~ved.
Adrintic ateitherFiurneor Baka.fmyErten if IIiadnotiseenthgminesn
being loaded in Panikovac Cove, 1should therefore have been driven 1
to conclude thattlietwo sl~ipsMijet ana Meljint! liad probably been
responçihlefoslaying the mines.
. 15. MIjd and MeEjimretmed to Sibenik about four days after
the .B,B.Ç. announcement. 1 did not Xe thern arrive and believe
theycameduringthenight. f sa\vthemArstonthemorningafter
.wreicertainlysti11in positionon onee ship,agid May haveinbeen on
the other, butthere weTe no mines on either ship.
6 In conversation at a private partythat evenkg or the next
day, theengineer aficer ~f oncofthe two minelayers '(Sub-Lieutenant
Drap Blazevic) toldme that afterleaving Sibenik the ships sailed
sailedkagaintfrom Boka Kotorska for) twhatfuhhedescribedeasen'"an
important dut$'., (To refuel aBokaKatorska would bequite nomd.
There is a maintenance station there and the operation would take
' about z honrs. I questioned Blazevic about tlinature oftlils irn-
portant duty, iut he dechneclto tell me.
17.On thernorning after the partan oacer,who hadalsoattended
tke party, and who was a frjend of 13Eazeviçtold me in confidence
I- that the engin- officer1iadsaid to him thatthe two shipshad ben
lmded ofinthese minelayers iç 6 knots, 1 hew that theyucould haved
reached the Corfu Channel and-lalt he mines before zz October.
The distance.fiom Sibenikto Sarmda by Boka Kotorska is nrit more
than 350 miles, forwhich two and a hdf days' sailing would suffice.
, .
~8. With regard to the mines in store ai PanikovaCove, Sihenik,
1 beliwe thakstores ivereleftthereby the Gemanç when tiiey with-drew atthe end of 1944. Stocks'were increa.se.ddurin1945-xp+7
by the hnsfer of mines 'hm Fiume and Bakar*wherelarge numbers
liacl ben left bthe Gemms. In articulara dump of about 2,aoo
mines had been leftnear Fiume ($ijeka) railway station. and aiter
an explosion naby had shom the danger af leaving this store in
the heart of the town, about x,ooo of thesemines were transferred
to Bakar in 1945, When 1 wàs in Ra& in 19451 saives-German
barges leavingthe port,towed by tagç, and cwrying from 50 ta 100
mines each.In conversation with crewsof the tugs I learnecthat
these mineswerc being sent teSibenilc andthe Gulf of Kotor. When
T was at Sibenik ir1947 1 often saw sucl?barges togetherwitlithe
tug R x, theri known hp the name Jaki, sometimes at Mandalina
Nad Base md sometimes in Panikovac Cove, The barges, ~vhiçlz
1 believeto lia%-been forrnerly GermarSIebelferriescarried mines,
scrap metal, çpxrparts for motortrucks,cans of petroland l~arbour
obstructiongear.
19. The iines'%" to "53" and "'R'tto"C" on the attachedmap
markcd "2" indicate the route whkh the ships wodd most Jikely
folow hum Sibenik-Boka Kotorska-Cerfu CI-iannel.1 am very
famiIiarwith thisroute.
(Siped) KAREL XDVACIC.
Sworn nE Whitehall in
the County ai London
tkisfourth day of October,
one thausand, nine hundred and
fcirty-eight.
Before me:
(Sigpad}[hUeglble],
Commissimer ior Oatils,
12,W~itehall, London, S.W. 1.
CHART SHOWING ROUTE PROBAELY FOT.i-û\VITD 'THE TrESSELS
GOTKG PROIE STBENEIC.O BOXA XOTOHSXA AND T6 CORFU ÇHANmE
3. COPy QI? -4NOTE FROhl: TITE MINISTRE* FOR 1:OREIGN
AFFAIRS OF GREECE TO THE BRITISH EMBASSY IN ATHEHS
Knistkreraya1
des Affairesétmng&rer;.
No. 42473.
NOTE
The Royal HellenicJlinisw @ ForeignAffaiLsptlseilt th& compli-
ments to Hi5 BritannicMajesty's Embassy and have the honourtostate tkatthe Hoyd HeUenic Govanment havingbeennotifiecibefbre
hand in 1946 of the intention of His Brifannic MajesryGovernrnent
to sweep the Corfu Channel ofthe miries which had been laid there,
gave thek fullapproval to thisprop-1.
The Royal HellenicNinlstrjrfor ForeignAffairsavail themelues of
this qqmrtunity to renew to His Britannic Majesty's Embassy the
assura.nceof theirhighest consideration.
British Embassy.
Athens.
4. AYFïl3AVI'T BE' COMMANDERSWORDER REGAaCDING'
J41NES\TTEEPDTI GN THE CORFU CL4ESNEL LU OCTUBERrg44,
JANUAR17AND FEBRUARY-1945
IN themiter of theCorf.~t hmfzatcasabefm $71Iatematio-ptdCuwt
of Jusiiw.
1, Commander Edward Robert Denys 'Snrorder, O.B.E. D.,S.C.,
a Commander inthe Royd Naval VoIunteerReserve, make oath and
say as IoUows:-
r. 1 was a minesmeping officer inthe Mediterraneanfrum the
8th November, 1942,to the1st June,1946 ,nd hm the 26th October.
1943 ,o therslJune, r946,I \vason thestaffofthe AlliedNaval Com-
mander-in-Cbicf, Jlediterrmean. In October, 19~~ 1 \vasthe Staff
Mineswecping Officer, and respoasiblto the Cornmander-in-Chieffor
the sweeping ofsafe channels tlirougliminefieand,for reçommending
these channelssafefor navigation for Allistiippiilg..
2, 1 attach the relevantextractskorn AdrnitaltyConfidentialBook
No. 4031 wliichIaysdom the procedure to be followedin fomarding
minesweeping reports. ItwiU bc seen that, nrllen negative sesults are
abtained in a sweep,MinesweepingReport No. rjs rendered, and that
thi seport isstnt anly to thauthorityorderingthe operation and not
to any highe~authority. The iirst telegram ihnex 27of the United
ICingdom RepEyis ofthis characte1 and iis apure accident that this
was picked up by the Admirnlty wirelcss, Other reportsof a similar
character wouId no doubt have been destroyed when routes 18/32and
18/34 werc declared safe, no purpose would have been semed by
keeping them.
3. On the otherhand, upon cornpletionof a minesweeping Operation
when mines had ken encountered, a detailed report known as Mine-
sweeping Report No. zwas fonvarded by the,Senior OKwr of the Mine-
sweeping Flotllla concerneto the Ailied NavalCommander-in-Chief.
This reportand the tracing metecarefullyesamhed by rriysclfasÇtaf£
hinesweqing ORcer, the Fleet Torpedo Offiçerand the Fleet Navi-
gating Oficer. Ifwe al1three were satisfied that tchannel had been
pperly swept. a message (such asa Q.8.L. was broadcast:toAilied
çluppingthat itwas a safe route.Thc prefixB.B.C.irTaused todenate
a swept channel in theEastern section of thMediterranean Station.
An example ofthe use ofthis reportisfrrundonpages IIJ-II?kf the
1Sm Vol.T,pp, r6r-167. OTHER DOCUMENTS SUBMXITEIS (U .K.)
37
United Kingdom Mernorial,,it having been usd, acccirdingtu instruc-
tions,rvhenmines were swept onthe 13th November, 1946.
4. On the 7th November, IW, when a safe routethrough the North
hrfa Channel \vasdeclared asQ.B.C. 925 there were also rz4 othes
swept channels alreadyyl use. Tliese124 channels had been swept by
Allieclrnineswepers and during tliis rninestveepingthey ha8 swept
4,732mines. It codd be said, therefore,that the mineçweepers at
this stageof the war had had considerableexperieaceof establiçhing
swept chmels. For indace, the B.Y .M.'S. the 153rdMinesweeping
Flotillabeforesweeping the North Corfu Cliannel between th10th and
15th October,1944 ~l~erno minesmere found, had drrrinthe previous
fourwwks establishedswept çhanaels furthernorththroughthe Splitska
Channel, the Hvav Channel, and Korcula Channel and the Scedro
Channd, During these operations, which çommenccd on the 20th
Sc.ptemberand cmpleted on the 8thfictoher, 194,1j6 mines were
swept. The actual area swe t by the r53rclMhesweephg IilotiUa
betwecn the 12th and 15th &tober, ~gqqi .sshotvn on the aitached
chartlet,
5.The Senior OEcer of this FZotilla, Lieutenant Commander
F,R. Calis,R.N.R,, isnd availahleto give a yersonaltestirnonyof
the efficienwork of his flotillaOn the 17th Octaberhe prmeded
socinthwardswifh hisflotillto SI~YEEa ch;uinel tbrough the Narrows
betrveen the Gnlf ofPatras and the Gulf ofCorintliwlierehe and hJs
ship mterelost. But there can heno possibledaufit that the sweeping
of the North Cbrfu th~nnel by the rgyd MinesweepingFlotilla \vas
efficientlcamied out.
6. When the Airicc1Na~d Commander-in-Cliief, Mediterranean,
received themessa. e onthe 7th Novembes, rgw (inAiincx 27 ofthe
United Ringdom from the Flag Mficerof the area in which
the Corfu Channel was srtuatedhe 11adno hesitationin~sinithis route
for hilisdestroyerand other ships.
7. During Jannary and Februq) 1945, 33.Y.M.S. of therpnd
FlotilIaand Motor Launches of the 24th Motor Launch B7;lotiUwa erc
based atCorfu and periodically searcliedthe Channel,but no mines
were found. Na recordof the sweepings carried out by üiese ffotillns
cm be traced and, for tiw mson giwn inparagraph 2 hereof, itis
unIiicelythxt they rvill btraced.
8. By Febmary, ~945,the AIlieshadadvmced tothe northern part
af the Adriatic. There mere ne U-boats left in the Mediterraneau
inpanyecaseIthe GermanemYnetype minelcmoterebe laidrbyoaircraft. Itd
muld therefore be impossible for anymines to have been laidby the
enemy in tlteNorth Carfu Channel after Febmary, rg45.
(Sipcd) E, R. D. SWORDER,
Swom atWhitelidl
inthe County of hndrin
this 22nd day ef October,
nineteenhundred and forty-eight.
Reforeimc :
(Sigwd) F. R. Grwrs,
A Csmmissioncrfor Oaths. WAR-TIME ~'SmtUCTIONB ON THE PORWAR13ING OF
MINXSWEEPING REPORTS
~Wi~szeietfii~gafiortNo, r.
Minesweeping Report No.r istobe'rende& on completion ofroutine
search ofas establislied charnel anexploratorysea~chof achamel or 1
areap,rovided that no rnoosed or groundmineshave been encountered.
Mines~veepingR. eport No, rshodd be rendered inorigind on1y to thc
Aut hority orderingthe operatioa.
Mincswqbi~g R@rt No. 2.
~inembe~in~ Report No. 2 isto be rendaed on completion of any
minesweeping operationwhen mines have been encomtered, Mine-
weeying Report Wo: z t~ be rencleredin triplicate (trainioriginal
only) to theoffrceordering theoperation, oncompletion ofany mine-
sweeping operation when moored mines have heen encountered. The
original shauldbe forwardecl to the Admlralty as soon as-possible.
Concerning gsound mines this reportis only required aftea definite
clearance operation has been orderd
M.imsrnea$i~~ Report No. 3.
This report is requircdin originalonIy hy vfiselsfinding drifting
mines during war. Mhm~eping Report No, 3 should be rendered
ta theofficerordering the operatirin.
Miatesw&$i$zgRepovt +No,4.
This report is Eobe ~&de~d Intriplicate by sweepersenconntering
moored mines. When sarçlzing forcesdiscovca minefield thireport
is to belorwarded to amplifyitemç of Minestme rng Report No. 2 for
a typical mine, This latterreport is alsoto t e fonvarded. Mine-
sweepingReport No. 4 sliould be rendercas forfifinesweepinReport
No, 2.
Mimw+'sg RojborLATO.5.
Minesweephg Report Ne, 5 is tobe rendered whenever a graund
mine Lsswept.
Ma'mswc~~GR ~@wi No. 6,
MinesweepingReport No. 6 is to be rendcred by the seniorofEcer
ai thernincsweepersconçernedto the Authority orderingtheopration,
rvhen encountering enemy, anti-sweeping devices and obslmcto~~
This Autharity \vil1fornard the reportto.the Admi~alty.
.textrelating to minesnreeping reports innt
ChapZerro of C.B .03s issued bythe Adrnir-
alty in January, 1943. 5. AFFIDAYIT l3Y D, G. JACOBS, FTRST LIELTENANT OF
B.Y .Mas zoo9 OF 153rd MINESWEEPING FXOTILLA,
IN UCTO'BER 1944
Tathe w&tw uf theÇm/zt Chrasaw cIase&fore theIfiter~nltomCoart
of Jz~stici.,
1, D&nond George Jacob, of gr The Towers, Gmd Avenue,
Suss~~,makeoath and say asfollows:-
During the Second tVorldM'srI rvasalieutenant intheRoyd Naval
Volunteer Reserve. 3n October 1944 1 was First-Lieutenantof Hiç
Majesty's Ship B.Y.M.S. 2009 ofthe 15yd Afinesweeping Flotilla,
On the 11th October,rwl we comeilced tr)sweepthe old Geman
route thrciughtlie North CorfuChannel. Dmhoys sverelaid to mark
the extent of sweyt waterand avecpin contintied onthe next day in
the channel opposite theBay of Saranda as far southas Denta hirit.
This operation culminatein acfiecksrveepwith doubleOsopesa çcveeps,
i.e.aciitting swap onboth sidesof the ship,
On the mornin of thexjtli Oçtober B.Y,M.S, 2oogproceeded to
mep the Coifrikhanne1 soutiiwards hm Denta Point ; I rernember
the date because it\vasFriday the 13th ad some ofmy crew were
superstitious.B.Y.M.S. 2077 ~arried out an independen starch ta
westward efthe Channel in orderto detemine its extent, During this
apration die cut minesnorth of Ruchetta Rock, i.e.jirst outside the
German channel. Ihave since studiedçhattsof the known minefields
inthis aea and I consider tl~at these mineswere probably part of
Q,B.Y. 539. Sxveeping was cenlinued southwardsto Corfu and was
cornple~edon the 15th Octaber.
From this time oriwards thischannel wastb my persona1 kûo~dedge
constantly iisedby Allied shippinsinclubg rny own ship on twa
occasiurisonce atthe end of October1944 and again inJanuary rw5.
Swom at 40 Carey Street
in the Gaunty ofLondon
thi swentv-second day of October
nineteen-hirndred and fo@-eight.
Befure me:
(Si*) NEADOWS MAETIREAU,
A Comrnissioner for Qathç, Ia thc matteof ljJCOP~C Klaamel msa bejoretlzeJrahwtiowE C026rt
of Justice.
1, Commander Ed~vard Robert Denys Sworder, .O.E.E. D.S.C.,
a commander inthe Boyai Haval Volunt<.r Reserve, m&e oath and
say as follaiv:- .I
MEDRf,
% r. 1 was the staff minenveepkg officer on the staffof ille'&lied
Naval Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean, during I945, and waa res-
ponsible tuhirufor the srvqing of safe rorites th>ongli the minefields
in the Meditenmean sea. I WRS, therefclre, cancerneinthe transfer
of the controlof tbese routes from the Aliied Naval Commander-in-
Chief, Mediterranean, to the InternationalRoziteing and Reporting
Authority.
A brief descriptionof the transfesof control of theseroutes 2,as
tollon~s.
2. OR the 26th dy, 1~5, a wamittm was setup inLondon calléid
the International6ontehg and Reporting Autholritymçl lielditsfmt
meeting. The I.R.R.A. consisted of ,representat oiveBelgium,
Denmark, France, Great Britain, Grnece, Holiand, Nomay, Sweden,
the United Statesand th. U,S.S.R. The object of the 1-R.R.A.was to
take over thecontrriland souteing ofmerchant shippingwhich, durhg
the war anciup tiUthat tune,hadken under the authonty ofthe AlIied
Naval Comrnarrd. At this firsmeeting the I.R.R.A. took over the
contrbl of theroutes inNorth-Europn waters and the responsibility
of issuhg North-Eur~pean Coastal Rauteing Inshcticins (short titIe
N.E.C.R.I.).
3. At the secondmeeting of the I.R.R.A. on 14th August, 1945 tlie
Authority decided totake over ah control of throntes intlie Mediter-
ranean. Thisdeciçionwas communicated to the AILieNavalCornman-
jZ.13.C. 25,NorthCorfiChannel.twereincorporatedinbtIieMediterranean
Routeing Instructiims.
N~tc. The prefixQ.B.C. was used ta denote a mept channe1 inthe
eaçtern section of the MediterrarieaStation.
4. At thefonrtb meeting of the T.R.R.Aheld onthe 28tli September,
1945, a proposed Notice to Mariners was adopted- This Ulclr~dedthe
folowing statement-
hfeditentrnean Routeing Instructions (lkdril wlll sliortfbe
iççued ta promdpte routesin the Merliterranem.
5- At the Mth meethg affie I.R.R.A. held onx8th October,1945,
fhc chaiman reposted that the positioregardingpul~licratioof3ledri
was mucir better than had been thought ossïble and it was hopedto
have Mdri andtfierelevantchartsready Por distributioon 1stNovem-
ber,~945. 6. The fist issueof Medri infive partsiç dated 17th October,
1945a ,ncPart V crintains Route cvhicisidentical witthe route
throug1.ithe Norkh CadChaanel. (SeeAnnex 27 ofthe I<eply,Q.B.C.
gz5.) Thisroute was later renumbemd~8134asidon the z3rd October,
~946,after hvo shipshad been minecl wllile navigating this roite,
w&ducaCliannel had,tlierefnrbeen uncl-iangedandringcontinual usa
from the 7th Wov.inaber,944(den Q.B.C. 925 \vasissued)up tilthe
~3rd Octobcr, 1w6.
.7. At the frstmeeting ofthe Mcditerranean ZoneMine Clearance
Board on thc 5thNovember, 1g45 copies ofthe first Medri booklets
and index chartswere çhown and exphinecl to the membcrs of tlie
Board, when representativefrom Great Britain, Greece, France,
U.S-A. and U.5.5.R. attended,
At neitherthe meetings of T.R.R.A. QT the RfediterraneanZone
. Mine ClearanceBoard were any abjectionsraisedregardingthe issue
of the PiIedbwklet and indexchartç,orthe inclusion of throute
throughthe CorfuChannel, McdrIri 8/5in thipublication.
(Sigwdj E. R. D. SWORDER.
Sjyornat Whitekallin
theCountyof London
thisWnty-second. day of Oettobet,
nineteen hmdred ariafcirty-eight.
7. LOG-BOOKS OZ TEE "VOLAGE", "MAURITIUS",
AND 'TEANDER"
8-AFFIDAVST BY LIEUTENANT GODSAL,OEFI[CER OF mE
WATCH ON BOARD THE "SAU'MAREZ" ON OCTOBER zznd, x946,
FROM 14.00 HOUKS TO 14.53HOURS
Iw f& mdtw ofala sor@ CIimnd C&S&beJOrthe IrblmdioriaCaad
of Jrsstice.
1,Walter Edmrd Browning Godsal,of TscoydPwk, Whitchursh,
Sl~ropçlirm&e oath and say as follow:-
1am a lieutenanin theRoyal Nsvy, On the~2nd Octaber,1946,
1 was semirtginH.M.S.S~~mrez and from 14.00Zo14.5 3'vasoficer
of the watch andsciresponsiblfor keepinthe shipon itspresaibed
course. Myordersweretokeep theshipinthervakeafH.M.S, Mztztritilas
which was alicad. 1 kept the ship continually inposition as orslertdand it was in
positionwhen strilckby a mine at 14.53.
Wben the ship returnedta Ccirfa commission was setup composed
of CommanderM, L. Hardie, D.S..,R.N., theFleet NcruigatirigOfficer,
and Lieutenant Warrington-Shang, D.S.C., R.N., NavigatingOfficer
of H.M.S. La'v~r$ootl, . report upon the coursemahtained bÿ the
ships and theposition ofthe destroyerswhen rnined. I attended and
gave evïdence on oath before .,this commissioand upon tlie infor-
mation cvhich1 suppliedand other available information thcommis-
sion made the report dated the 24th October,1946, the original of
which 1 now produce inarkeilA.
Swomat WhitehalE in
the County ofLondon
this twenty-secondday of Octaber,
nineteen-hundred and forty-eigh t.
Beforeme:
(Si0pd) pllegible],
A Commissienerforûaths. \
REPORT OF .4 BOARD OF ENQULHY SET WP
Oh* THE AREIF;aT,OF THE '*JAUMAKEZ''IN CORFIT
H.M.S. Li~~~fiut,at Corfit,24thOctaber,rgq6.
Sir,
Ive have the hononx to submit th followingreportin accordance
with yaur Number 06160~ dated 24th October,1946.
After full and careful e~amirsation of a11 the navigationcharts
and documents availablefrom H.M.5. Sa~wccrezand X-E.M.5m, age,
we are agreed that the formerrvasmirred inposition 008" 3.9miles
and the latter inpositi~n o16&"3.63 miles fmm Barchetta Rock.
The above positions areshown on the attachedcutthg From Chart
Nurnber so6 on.which the appropriateMedriroute and adjacent QBY
areas have alsobeen plaf ed.
In our ~~lculations regardinHg.M.5, Sau.iTeavwae Bave taken Elje
records availablefrom H.M.S. Ma~ritaksinto careful account and we
consider the positiongiven tobe accurate,aIthongh there isa passi-
bility that thactual positiasmay have infactken up to tur Oables
to the northivestward.
En the case ofH.M.S. Vokp the positioncan be stxted ~4thconfi-
dence, since a rellable three-beafLnuasobtained irnmediatdybefore
the explosiontook place. OTFlEX DOCUMENTS SURMTTZ'ED((1.11.) 43
Frum theinformationavailsbk tûus ithaç no+ &en fovnd possible
to detemine thetzacksof thetwo destroyers ftomtl~emoment when
H.M.S. VolagefirsreachedH.M.S. Sauwearezudtil she had takaher
intow for the setond tirne and had finsetycourseforCorfu.
The attaçhedtrxingç therefore onlyshott- the track of H.M,S.
Snuwarexfrom the vicinitof Vedo Islandto the moment of the
explosion,and thatof H.M,S, VuLngc,withW.M.S.Sazkmares intow,
from the viciiiitof Denta Pointto CorfuRoad.
AS H.M.S. TIolagc followcd the Medriroutefrom thémament of
Ieaving harbourunti1reaching H.M.S.Samauez, no track chartof her
rnWeemhavetherhonour to be, Sir,itted.
Your obedient Servants,
(Si@) J. MT.~RTNGI.S OINRONG,
Lieutenant (N,) Royal Navy.
..
(Skgzed)M. L. Bmm,
Çommander (N. R)oyal Navy.
The fiesident,
The Board ofEnqiùry,
B.M,S. L<DW$OU~.-
(This istlieexhibitrnarked"A" referseto inthe affidaviofWalter
Edward Rrowning Godçd sworn beforeme the zznddajrof Octaber,
(Sig~ed] [Uegible],
Commissionet for Oaths,)
C'HARTPRGPARED BY THE MILEMBERSOF THE BO.UD OF
ENQUTRY SHOWENG THE ROUTE EOLLDWEU BY -TITE"SAU~EZ"
g. AFFXDL4VlT BY COMMANDERPAUL,IN COMMAMI OF
"VOLAGE" ON f;lCTOBER zgnd, 1946
1, Commander 3Cegndd Trevor Prtul, C.B,E., R.N., at present
serving inthe Signal Division of the Naval Staff at the Admiralty,
make oath and say as follows :-
I was the Commandhg OEcer of Es Majesty's Ship VoIcdgewhen
she and Ris Majesty'sShip Smwarez were mined in the NorthCorfu
Channel on the zznd ûctobes, 1946,44 OTHeR DOCUMENTS $UBMIT;~"ED (u.K.)
I have reçently gtudied again the logiifH.M.S, Tb@ for that
day and preparedfr~mit andfrom rny knopledge ofthe events which
tmk place the attachedtrack chart. It wiii be seen that H.M.S,
Valfigewas in the Medri Channel opposite Denta Point when H.M.S.
ofsH.M.S. Saumurex; that when theetowd\rasbeing pssedhfromsR.1i.S.
VoEagc to H.M.S. Sazc~mez, bth ships drifted outside the Medfi
Channel ; that H.M.S. Vuhge towed H.M.S. Sawmarez:back into the
swept channel; that after R.M,S.Volage was mincd, both ships again
driftedtowards the Alb,uiianshore but did natgo ontside the Medri
route ;and that afteI had succeededinpassinganothe tonrtoH.M.S.
Swumar~x bath ships proceeded stem frrstto C~rîudong the Medn
Channel.
(Simerl)R. T. PAUL,
Commander R.N.
Svom atWhitehali in
the Çounty of Lkndon
this twenfy-second day of Qctober,
nineteen Iiundred and forty-eight.
{Sig~ed)pegl ble],
A ICommissionefror Oaths.
ro. ÇERTIFIED SKUE COPY OF T& LElTEli FROM TKE
COMMANDER-IN-CWJ.EPM , EDImaRANEAN, TO TEE
ADninWIY, TRANSMITTING THE PROGIWMME FOR THE
AUTUMNCRUISE OF WIS FLEET
Cestifiedtfve copy of khe Commander-in-ChiefMediterranean's
Iettcrto the Aihiralty cfthe 15th August, ~946,transmittîng the
programme for the aiitumn crmse ofhls flee; the originalof these
docuwnts are in my custody.
(S&ard) "G. L- B. Doms,
Principal,Military Branch,Admiralty. Officeof the Cornmander-in-Chief,
Meditenanean Station.
15th August, 1946.
No. 245.1/~ed-461559@60
SECRETAR OF TILEADMIRACTY
BIEWTERRAKEAV FLEET CRUISE
mander-in-Chief,Meditermncank Lsignal$tirned24ï501 June, qrjro-
June, paragraph z, and Admimlty Message 161023 July,1946 hat
it iqinttnded that al1 units othc Meditemanean FIeet, which can
be made availabIefrom operational ctimmitmenis,should carry out
an exercise cruisein the Eastern Mediterraeau, from x$th Sep-
tembcr, 1946, to rstNovembw, ~946,inclusive,
2. The programme of the muisc isattached at .4ppendix'"A" to
the Letter.
3, Action to notify theGreek and Eyptian authoritiesofthese
rno~ements is king takea. separately,The Senior British Naval
OfFicer,Greece, isbeing instmcteclte npproach the Royal HelIenic
Navy with a ~iew to their pa-rticipatingin exerciwith theships
of the Meditermean Fleetduring the cruise-
APPENDIX "A" TO THE CO~A~ER-~-CIEF, MEDITERHANBAN'S 5UB-
JlT.5$IONO, 2454/h1~~.46/55~ D/16D/1,5thAUGUST, 1946
Secret.
Offiteof he Commander-in-Chief,
MediterraneanStation,
AU tîmes Baker.
Exerciseonapassagdistance M500 miles-time aUowedabout 56tehours.
Al ships arrive Nauplia p.mFriday 20thSeptember.
WhrIe at Nauplia excrcisewill 'Demalysed and discussed.
Ml ship leaveNauplia and 0800 Thorsday
disperse asfoh!~~.: . 26th September.
rCm-in-C .n L2oeP.pod to Sp, Tinos,
a a h Szcrpbse 1 Suda Bay and
~8%% z destruperç ) Héraklion
0 Ma~~itim (C.rS]. to Monemvasla then
Ne X Leumdc7 1 Mirabella Bay*
uC1 5 BlucsRuwgdrs ) to Volo.carrying out
~$2 Trsisand Asis J exercises on passage to Rhodes.
1
to Skiathos (N.B. if
Wolfe ?) Wd/a is iot ready
Tla?ttiay Kan@ura wiil
TempEar accornpariythe
0 z destroyers sulimarines*
4;
-h -,-. Xan$arm (seenote ) to I<alamata then L.s.T.~
PE'X 2 L.S.T.s and L.C.1.s to
4 !-6 3 L.Ç,I,s. Mirabella Bay*
3%
rd to Port Vathi*
{Samos Island}
2 sloops or friptes
tu Cypnrs ts preparr:
.the bonibardmen t
mnge at Cape
Arnauti.
Mn~ri~m (CS.x), Lamd~, L.S,T.s and L.C.1.sconcentrate at Mira-
this, ships will safromotheir respective ports imdcretaicaryAfout
exercises ithe Cypms areaduring the4th Octobcz.
follows: wiiiandior at cyprio; portsam. Saturday,5th October, as
1 Famagusta
Larnaka Phoebe(R.A.D-J
Blw Ra5zgerers and escorks-
Rnqbara
Maim
Limsol Wolfe '(Rwn@raif
Woifeis not
availiible)
2"nnZivy
Commander-in-Chief in Livmfiwl with SicrpriscinCompany may
visit Haifa, Pwt Saiandlor Aïesandria. QTHER DOCUMENTS SUBMMTED (u+K.) 47
'
while in Cypnis full use wiU bemade of thebonibardinentrange.
Al1ships leaw Cypriot dm Monday
ports anddisperseasfollous; r4tl-October
C.-in-C.inLivtievjbool
1 Surfirise to Rhodes
MaairtPati(&s.I) , ta ~oriu
2 destroyers
PfaoeBe(R.A.D,) to Heraklion
1 to Zante
to Samos (Ccphdonia)
Wolfe and submarhes
t~ Patras (orto take
YCfolit9's
Bhie Rmger
3 destroyers , 1 to Fort Drepmo*
O
+ /2 slwpçor £@tes ta Ifea*
) 2 sloops orfrigatcs to Dragamesti*
Hn z sloops or frigrrtes ta ZaverdaBay*
ta Katakola Bay
r L.S.T.
to Monemvâsia
to Navarin
as required.
Blue Rqer and destroyerwillcmy outfuellinexerciseon passage.
Ships will leavethe above ports iorder toamive ofihrgostoliand
form up beforeentering harbouram. Wednesddy, zgrd October.
Alisbips anive . Arpstoll am. Wednesday
Pulling Regatta - 23rd Octaber
, Thursday andFridayqt h and
25th October
Monday and Tuesday 28th
and 29th Oct.
Argostoli am. Wednesday
goth October Exercises on passage aMdta a.m. Friday 1st
AU shipçarrive November
Rrok: Portsmzrkedwith an asterishave tiotken swept. Na mines '
are known tahave been laid there and intekgence isbelietred
to be accurateand complete, butshipsshouldtake preçautions
and proceed at slowspeed.
rr. PHOTOSTAT ÇOPY OF REPORT OF PROCEEûmGS OF
"VOLAGE'" BB COMMANDERPALCL(OCTOBER~3rd~ 1946)
[Sec No. 47, fi78, am3 spedaE voZzs.]
Endomre to the Commanding OfficerH.M.S, Volage" setter dated
23d Octtober, ~946
O@C&X
Commander K. T. Paul, Royd Navy comanding officer
Lieutcnmt W. D. S,Scott,Royal Navy first lieutenant
Lieutenant P. S. Hicks-Beach,Royal Navy gunnery officer
AILieutenant:[E) S.A, Nash, Royal Nav engineer officer ,
Rathgs
Pettg OfficerR. R. HcppleP/JX 1~~460 gunnery instnictor
Pet~Q%~erE.A.TliatclierP/_T;(Tr54g57 torpedoinstructor
Petty Pficer Steward G. Mignace E/X 25061 wmdroom petty
oficer steward
1 have to submitthe followingreportof the circumstancein wbich
R.M:S. Sawmnrez was damaged whikt Cinpaçzapethrou h the North
Cl~annel£rom Corfuunder the ovderofthe Rear-Admiral f'oramanding,
1st Cruiser Squadrm, on Monday, zznd Oçtober.1g44.
2. Destroyersleft harbouan irouexlier than the cruiseto prepare
for actionih accordance with the orclelaid dorm in "XCU" issued
by the Rear-Admirai 1stCruiserSquadron.
3. At 1330 Sa~mtnrztook stationri,cablesastern ofMazb.~i&mf,or-
ming Crroup r,and procecded at IO krintthroyli the wept channe130 OTNER DOCUMENTS SUB~$TZ;D (w.K.)
13. An exwllent piece of ship-handlingby Volageresdteil in her
again taking Satz&naareiztow bow tostem and proceeding stem first
south though the swept chmel to Corfu.
14. An intervalof some z& hours elapseàbeforcan ernergencylead
conld be run from Volageancipumps and lights supplie; after which
h-frghfing mntinued. from the break af the foc'sle and the bridge,
and ready use ammunition at"A" and "B" guns {vathen thrown over-
board except for a fewrounds atthe f~rmeswhich were unapproacfiable
due to heat. .
15. As the for'ardbulkhead ofNo. 2 biler roam sas intact except
for asmd leakthrrriugh étseleckcic:Iand, 1décidedthat the shipcould
well begot to Corlu, althoughprolstIVthe forepart would haveto burn
itçelfout assisted bytiiemodcrate wFnd from astem. Ma~witiws boat
arrivedat dirskwitl~portableDiesel pum &CL medical assistanceboth
of which were invaluable.
36. At approximately 2030Raider joinecl and was asked to close
starboard borv ofSafimurexand endeamrrr to cod theship's sidefrom-
outboa~d- Excellent ship-handling by the Cmm=nrrrldingdfficer fci~
three or more hours kept Raider close enoughta be of great value in
this, From zrao cruisers and Ociean's boats arrived, transposting
casualties toshore and Oceus fetchingfire-fightinstores,etc.,whilst
Ocea-lzprovided astrong firefightingteam with foam, who by working
inshiftsf~nallgot thefireunder conbol. Volageand SRZ~F~Z secureci
astern of Lennder forthe nighion arrivai.
17. Ail remaining casualtieswere then evacuatec to Ocetanand the
rnajorltyof the ship's Company followedforthe night, leavin4 officers
and appruximately 30 ratings on board,
18. Before securingthe foremost brtlkheadofNo. 2hoilerroom ms
çhored up with assistancefsom Leander,as by this time thcboiler tvas
coolenti~ighto work arourrclandthe ship had settIedmore by the baw.
rg, The follo~ringmorning the Kear Admirai 1st Cruiser!%padron
and later the Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean visitecl Scaumrez;
by ivhichtime alEfireswere wellunder control.andarrangements tvere
of Ha%$ura.w both ships to a çmoother anchorage to await the arrival
20. Ai1 thes given above are ofaeclsity appmximate only, and
my in. some cases be considerably inërror awisg to the dificulties
of estimating time comctly under such circumsta~es.
Zr. A list ofsuggeste d.tnesses isenclosed.
1 have the honour 50be, Sir,
TOUTo'bedient servmt,
(Sigwed ) .R. SELBY,
Captaln (Il).
The Presidentof the Boad (3 copies).
Copies to:-The Commander-in-Chief,Mediterranean{afloat},
Thc Rear-Admi. rst CruiserSqudron.
The ComrnandIng Officer, H.M. Ship VaE~ge.
Encl.-List of suggsted wi&esses. A~ZT%GX
LIST OF SUGGBSTED WTNESSES
Enclosure toCaptain (d) ThirdDestroyerFlotilla'sletter NoI/S of
~3rd October, 1946
Commander (E) J.E. H. H.Madien, RN.
LieutenantE.F, Guaitz, D.S.C,RN.
Lieutenant (E)C. ,r13, SIiackleton, RN,
SurgeonaLieutenant M. D.-0.7 Riorden R,.N,V.R.
Ç.E.R.A. G. F. FotvleDfifX.qgsgg.
R.R.A. j.A. Grifin, DJniiX.665~4.
A.B. - Whee'terOff. No.Xot availahle,
F.O. Tel; JCoade, D/JX.nj+jy).
P,O. - Richards,D/J;Y.r.tgp2.
F.O. - Gill,Off.NO.NK,
A.B, 33.C,Stralccr,D/JX.~ZS@~.
A.B. R. A.Muntcn, D/JXh707g~.
A.B. - Yorthcote, OffNo. N k,
S.P.O.G. H, ITfrlli~iD,/KX,89jg~.
Ch. Stoke r Carter, Off.No.NH.
Lack of particulars of some othe above ratings isdueto entire
destructioof al1ratin,psparticulaand sliùrt tim available com-
pilixirireportprevent,ingtlreir numbeheiog ascer'tainedfroship
of the Reetaccommodating them.
rj.PHOTOSTKit COPY OF REPORT OF PROCEEDINÇS OF
"LEANDER", BY CAPTAIN OTWA'17 RUTHVEN
(OCTQBERegrd, 1946)
[Set No, 46;p. 78, ad +id volume.]
14. REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS OF "OCw",
BY CAPTAIN JOHN
Frorn: The Commanding Oflicer,H.M.S. 0cea.n.
Date ; 24th October, 1946. No. 5/2/5208.
To : The President&ard of Eaqiliry, R.M.S.Lim$md.
(Capies t: Commarider-in-Chief&diterrane-.
Rear--Admiral CornmanclingzstCr'iiiseSqudrcrn,l3.M.S.
~14#,?4v;t~~. The followingrepartisfaxwadecl in accordancewith theCommander-
in-Chief, Mediterranean's2312x6,
z. H.M.S. Ocfian'smain tasks were collecting and rlealingwith
- cmalties, providingfire-fightiancldamage çontrolpartiesequipment,
food and fresh lirater, Al1the ship's powboatç were wsed,reinforcecl
by lxiats fromMscarilSacsLalzd6v and Sazcmaver- Boat work\vas not
easy dueto wind forcc 5 with a shorsteep sea.
3. .4 tdal of 44 casaalties and83 uninjurd nfficersand men nas
received on board- Serious casualtiewere hoisted in by crame and
sent down to the sickbay and mess decks by fornard aircraft lift and
bcimb Lift.Two medical officerfrom H.M.S, Owaw, ane.from H.M.S.
Leander and one frfrrKM-S. Saumra dealt with çasuaIties, A Greek
doçtorand sixattendantsfrom Corfuasçistedfora period. Al1çasnalti~s
were rtrtaineinH.M.5. Oc~nlz for the night witlt texceptionof three
mho svex takento Corfuby aboat hum H.M.S, Maatm'ta' #sforeH.M.S.
Owm arrived,
4. Casualtieswere tmnsf&d to H.M.I~. Maim amm. on ~3rd
Octaber.
5. Great difficult{vasexprienced in dealingwith the fireinH.M.S.
Sa~tmarez,and it was n~t findly got cornpletelyunder control tintil
tiftethe ships liasecuredastern of H.M.S.Leundm,
6. 1 considerthat the Comrnancling OffiçerH.K.S. V~lc~gedid a
firçt-rate jobin-briftginhis crm ship and towing H.M.S. Satmarez
back to Corfu Roads,
(Sig&) C. JORK.
Cap tain.
Encl. ÇhminologicaIseries ofetrents.
(Enclosnre ta the Çommanding Offmr, H.nT.5, Océan'sNo. 5/zj52oS
dated 24th Octciiber1946,)
~2nd Octolxr 1533 liaider detached to assistanceof Swnmrez.
1547 hirmaft completrd landing on in position
zp" CorfuCitadel 33 miles,
Ship proceeded at 22 bots to assi&ance of
SaumaY~z.
1935 Ship in positinn 007"Çorfu Citadel 6 miles.
Two motor boats and three motor cutters
lotvered and sent Co Vduge and S&kmaru
wiitlimedical and salvage partiesand equip
ment,
Thereafter, baats ran a continuois shuttle
service witcasualtics,fie-fighting and salvage
parties, food-an Dd. C. Gear.
Ocem remained invicinity ofdama@ ships.
2140 lieafirbroined,stmd by damaged ships and
sent Iioats.
23rd Octaber About
0300 Vola--and Sawnmezsecuredastern ofLtimder.15. CERTIFIED TRUE COPY OF REPORT OJ? REAII-AUMIRAL
KINAHAN, COIlM'ANDING I;TRST CRWTSERSQUDRON IN
W.M.S, "RIAURITJUS", ON THE EXPLOSIONS CAUSED ON
BOARDTITE "SAUMAREZ" AND "VOLAGE" BY JlTNES
Ce~-t.ifitme mpy ofa Ietter datedthe qrd October, 1946 ,rom
the Rear-Admird commanding the First Cruiser Squadron to the
Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean,cùncerning the inining of H.M.S.
Sa~marezand Volage,the originaof wkrch isinmy cwtody,
(Sipad) G. L. B. DODDS,
Psiriclpal,MilitaBrmch, Admimlty.
~rok : The liear-Adniiml Çomrnanding Fist Cruiser Sqiradron,
H.M.Ç. Muacriiritsat Co~fri-
~3rd October, 1946~hfo. 321113
Date :
To : The Commander-in-Çhief, Mediterranean Station (afoat}.
fifiaaswithH.M.2nShips Leader,46Sauma~cz& andoaVolags inccirnpmy
and praceedtd in accordance with my rnemoranda X.C,U: clated
5th Octaber,2946,md X.C,U.K .atecl 13th Octobe1946-
.2. At r445B Gmup 1, consisting ofR.M. Slilps Matdius and
Smmmez, aItered courseInsuccession to 30; degrees.inthe Sfedri
route offDcnta Point. After the turnthe Stsmnrcz was seen tobe
inproperstation incloseorderssternof the Ma~~iti~is.
3.. At almut 3452 my staff ol%cer (opmtions) reported thathe
had seen a largemobile gun ashore and wfiile1was endeavouring tn
lotateit from rnyposition onthe air defence positioH.M.S+ Mawe-
6izdI 1iearadlarge explosion and lookinaft1 saw rtverg largesheet
of red flame anda large quantity of black smoke corn*out from the
starboard side ofH.M.S. Sazmmyex abreast the fore superstructnre.
The time was recorded as ï4533.K ..M.S. Saumr~z was then within
a very fax*yxds ofthe track ofR.M.S, Maawitius, asis shown hy thc
attttaçlicdphotogsapk which tvtaken within abont30 seconds ofthe
sovnd of the explosion by H. Penigo, photbgraphe L[,X 549198.
4. H.19.S.Sa.isnzar117aquicklyentvelopedin moke and was seen
to be settlinrapidly by the bows. 1imrnediately assumed that S~C
Ilad striica mine,but asshe a~ed to be in imminent dangér of
sinkingand hes werebreaking out,I orderedH.M.S. Volage toctrise
the Sa~~ic~lmand iater at1502 ordered her to take theSamurez in
tow and tu ret~irn toCosfu Roads via thenorth channel. T reaiized
that thlsmeant endangein& H.M.S. Volagebut cansidered that the
siskwas necsssary. The wind \vas from ssa degrees,force about 4, and H.M.S. S~woznuex rvason a lee sliare and probably a hostile one
at that.
5, H.3l.S. Leader was follo~vingtwo miles,astern of me. I cari-
. sideredordering herto tum back toCorfu, butin QEew of theprortimity
of knawn minefields Inthe QBY +areasas weU as the unbown dangers
ofirreshmines in the Medsi route, 1decided that thesalest course was.
for her to çang on tn the. north-westwards and therefore at r4571
directcd herto keep carefullyin theMedri channel to windward oithe
Sawmwrexand warnd the Le~ftderthat thé S&$iwx~ez had probahly
stnick a mine,
6. At ryo 1 directecl E-M.S. Leader ta prçmd we~k aht to
Cwfu Raads and tobe r~dv to rcnder assistanceto the Sawara.
7. After direçtinW.M.S. Oceaa to recailher aircraft1ordered her
att1532 toproceed to Corfu Roads vin the soutIchannel with despafçh
and ta senclH.M.S .aidey ahead to the assistanceot Sat*muvez.
8. 1 proceeded inH.M.S. Maavil-a'm dong the Medri route unti1
nùrth ofCape Kiephali and then turnecltowindward to watcli @vents, I
my intention being toremain inthe vicinity until thetow \vas clear
ofthe north çhannel in case the Aibanian batteries atternpted to
jnterfere. â
9. 1 was not able toobserve closely theactions o'the Volage:and
the Sawrez, but I observed that the Voiag ead the Scamarex in
tow Stem fi~stand was daking slow progess southwards. H.II,Ç.
Sa~naarex waç observed to be on fire farwardand there !vasalsrian
czlarniinlookingoil fuel fireothe water to uindrvard of lier.
IO. The position in\hich the Sazl~navexliit thsupposed mine wx
fixcd by rny Squadron Navigafhg Offictsr, Lieutenant Comrnanclcr
P. K. Lankder, asbeing ooz degrees Bal-chéttaRock 4.1 miles.
lost her~QM*Sonaanother mine. rMotliing was.çecnofthis incident ft0n-r
sny bridge, TJie Volngg report4 lier positioxt 1643 as being ozo
degrces Barchetta Rock 3.7mites.
12. Subsqucntly H,M.S. Volragc\vas able to hko the Sn.ctntarez
intow again and both ships then proceeded stem ftrst towards Corfii.
Z consider that Commander R. S. Paul, CARLE., ofH.3I.S. filage,
sfiorveda very high degree aI perseverance and shlE incarrying out
this rnaneuvre.
13, Until the Volagehd got theSawm~exLntow again, the situa-
tion waça most unplmsant one,a itappeared mûst probable that both
shps ~voulddrift ashore. I ordered the two rnotahoats of H.M.S.
,Wawdiws and my barge ta hhes.ento thedanjageddestroyers to render
such assistance awas possibleeitherby tort-hg or life-savirigThese '
boats alsotook mit:hthcm medicd parties and saivage gear. At 1637
I also ordered3I.hI.S.aider to raceed ~4th dl dqatch tothe ares
ri&h ofCorfu town via the saut1 channel and later directed him also
to rendera11possible assistance to the damagedestroyers,adding that
beivasnot to go northofDenta Point unlms orde~edto doso by Captain
(D),3rd Des troy-er FIotilla.
14. Earlier inthe aftemoon at r506 Iordered H.1f.H.S. ~%îaintto
leaveZariteanandroceedwitlid deqatch to Corfu. At 1730 1 infrlrmed
Greno, Corfn, thatH.M. Ships Ocena,Lelt?zd$r dKa3:der were arriving
that afternùon to rcnder asSistanceta tlie Saumm~z and Volage,who
Iiad been damaged by mines in the nortli chmnel. Grho promptly
1tmk action taprepare toreceivecat~altieat the lwal h~pital and
offeredany assistance.1 thea requested hTmto send hisH.D.M.L.
toclose tldarnageddestroyersafterthey had passed through the no-th
chanwl.
xg. Periodicareports of progresswewreceived from H.M,S.Vdage
who made goodspeed ofbetween hvo and three knots.By 1957 the
dmaged destroyershad pasçedBarchettaRock southboun nd H,M.S.
Raidsr was incompany. 1 rernaineto thenorth ofCorfain accord-
ance withyonr instrdctians until ordetodproceedto CorfuRoads.
H.M,S. Ocean \vasthen in chargof operations iCorfu roadstead.
16. Copies of relevant messageare attacl~x+
16. ORIGINAL COPY OS? A GERMANCHART CA'PTUREDBY
'!XIEALLIES AT TETEGERM-AN ADMIRALTI',BE'RLFN(TONUN
SEA AND GVLF OF 'rARANTO, SOUTH-WESTERN. COASL' OF
GREECE)
17.AFFIDAVIT BY CO~TBUNDER 'I5fHXTFORD,SENIOR
OFFIGER OF THE 5th MINE!YEEPlNG FLUTTLLA FKOM
MmCH TO PECEMBER 7946,EXPMNING THE DIFFJZRBNCE
BETWEEN MINES TçECE&ï'CkYUID AAND THOSE TWT HATE
BEEN W)NG IF!THE ÇVATER
1, Quintin Pasco IVkitford,O.B.E.,a comrtnder inthé Royal
Navy, make oath and sayas foUowç:- .
I was the senioofficeofthe =jfhMinesmepingFlotillfrom March
taDecember, 1946 .have beenasçociatcd with minand-mineçtveeping
shce 1930as a torpedoand mining specialist officer.
Fmrn February,r 43, toAugust. 1945,1was head ofthe Couter-
measus Section o? the Sortwdo and Mining Department of the
Admirdty and wasintimatelconcerned with rnineslveepingdeveloprnent
aiidtechniqueF .romDecember, 1945,toMay, I947,1was incommand
Meditcrrmean. the ~ztli5th and 2nd hlineç~veepinFlotillas ithc
1Nok ïqroduceci.'
During thispmod the ship under my cornand sweptscveral hundred
mines, and I had ample opportunity to ob.wrvethe ccindition,after
sweeping,of Geman mines laiclinthe Nediterranean.
I have also hadconsiderableexpcrience asa miningqecialist offieer
of theeficctsonmines of seaimmersion for short and lonpriods,
Canc~rning the mines rvhich1srveptin thCorfu Channel,1con& fie
&&mentsin my report (BritishMerriorial,p.III that "dl appeared
to be brand new" and "1can persunally vouch for the fact thataU
'mirlesretained theicoat ofblack paint inpracticallyfreslicondition.
month".opinion,none ofthe mines could have been laidlongerthan two
I would refer the Cburtta the seven *hotograPh inExhibit VI {e)
in Ai~nex 15 ofthe records of the SecurityÇmncil, It will be seen
that these hotogtaphs of mine? swept inthe Corfu Charnelon the
13th Novem et, 1946, bearout my statment regardi the new con-
dition and the fmsh painton thecase oftlie mines.
I now produce two çetsof photogsaphs ofmines ivhichhave &en
sweptafter beingsubmerged inthe Mediterranean sea fortwo years or
more inarder that theCourtmay cnrnpre the différencein appearance
between a newly-laidmineand amine cnt from an old minefield,
1produce photopphs M r, z,3,
These photograp ahe a£a Germn ZtWe moored cbntact mlnehid
by the German minelayer Drnskein theNorth-Bgean Scaon 27th Jdy,
1944. and swept by the rnineweepers of *theRoyalHellenic Navy in
August, 1946, The basnacles and marine ,gowth which have been
accumulated during a pcriod of twa years can clearly be seenon the
outer casingof the mine. Ttwiil be observedthat theyarecertifieby
Captain Golemis,Deputy Chief ofNaval Staff,
I produce photographs PA4:,~,6, 7, 8.
Thesephotograpa hse ofaGeman Y typernooredcontact mine cut
from a minefieldlaidby the German minelayes Drucke ad BzslgarZon
the ~bthJune, rg45 offthe weçt eoaçtof Greece and mept by Britisli
miuesrveepers on the 3rd August, 1948,after a period of fiveyears'
immersion.
Annex r tothiç Affidavitisalettcr fsom the Commanding Officerof
HiJ MajestyTs Ship Swsay dated 16th Septernber,1948,authenticating
the fivephotugraphs M 4,5, 6, 7, 8, .
Xt willbe obsesved Irom these trvbsetsof photographs that thereis
considesablemarine powth and barnacleson the oufer casingof mines
after being sl~bmerged in sea tvater for any ]en@ of time. If the
mines swept on 13th November, x946, by my flotilla weratilt from the
old minefieldslaid durinthe war, theyivouldlooklike tliis.
In this connexionit iswell known that the wters of theEastern
aecomparativelyrshort time.cles and weeds an immersed objects after
In tfiecase ofH.fif.S.Saamurez, one afthê destroyersmin4 in the
CorfuCliannel on 2znd Octobw,1946t, his factis borne out.
1personallyinspectedthewreck ofthis sbip atCorfu onrqthNowm-
ber, 1g46, and saw that therewere distincttracesofmarine g-rowth
t~getllerwith niséing onthoseportions of the wrmkabove the nomal
waterline which had been subrnwged afterthe esplosion; i.e, this effect
Ilad occurred after only threweeks' immersion.
See Vol.1,p. 159.
1 Inatl rnyesperiencein stveepingmines there isno possible daubt
that thmiiieswhidi tli5th MinesrveepingFlotilla swept inthe North
CorfuChannel on 13th Novembcr, 19.46were nwly bid.
(SigiecdQ.P, WHITFORD.
Swom ai \%'hitehall,
in the Corintyof London,
this ~2nd day ofOdober,
nineteen htmdred and forty-eight.
.Befare me ;
(SigiaedF.H, GMIP,
A Commissionerfor Oaths.
PHOTOÇRAPHS M 4, 5, 6,7 AND 8 OF d GERMM MIRI? THATHAD BEEN
FWE YEARS IN THE WATER, WTH A CERTIFICATE BY LIEUTENANT-
COMMANDERLITTLEBOY
1,Lieutentint Robert David Oliver Simmons, Royal Navy, certify
that the enclosecifive photagmphnegatives markd G.Y. 3/8/48are
fronlfilmstaken on the thirdday of August, 1948, in position087
+ degrees, LapKeri Li ht (ZanteIsland), 8.miles.
2. Th- are ofa 3.Y. mine.
3. 'Fhemine was cutin minefieldZ.E.6.
4. M.I.M.Section IV page 8, hlinefield 2.E.S laid the teday
ofJune 3943,Amendment: Nurnhet II,
(Sigwd] R.D. 0. SDIMONS,
LieiltenantRoyal Navy.
1,J,ieir'cenaCornmander Nfrd Kelson Littleboy, Royaf Navy,
Cornmanding Officer of HiçMaj&yrs Ship Swsay, confirm that the
ahove statement istrue, (Sigmd)A. N. LrrnEsoY,
Lieutenant-Commander1 ,ZoyaNlavy.
From : The Captain (MjS'çS,ewnd Minestvecping FlotillaH.M.S,
F'zme-
Date: r7tlSepternber,1948. No. 2647/2M/7A.
To : The Commander-in-Chief,Medi tenanean,
PHoTOGRAPHS OF MINE-TYPE G.Y.
-
The enclosednegativesaresvbrnittedinaccordance witli Admiralty
signal 141747Septernber:rgq8.
(Sa'&) A~R,
Capt& (MIS) 58 DTHEB 'DOCUMENTS ÇUBRIITTEU (u.K.)
A~tnex 2
PREYTOç,RAFH 31 1,S AND 3 OF A GERMAK T3AT RAD BEE;A TiVO
=ARS IN TEE IVATEB,IVITR A CERTiFICATE BY CAPTAI'KGOLEMIS
Mïnistryof the Royal HelIeaiç Navy,
Athens, znd September, 1948.
The attachaiphotograph is of a Gedn type G.Z.mine, laid in
easttlongitndt by the Geman shipDYUG~ti,nd27theJe,s 1944.iItwas
photographed onthe day it W~S swept by theRoyal HelIenic Navy in
August 1945. Ttwas laidat ;zdeptliof 3metres.
18. TELEGXAMS PASSING BETWEEN' THE CORWNDER-m-
CHEF, MEDITERRANEAN, THE D31IRALTY, YRTOK TO
. THE INCIDENT OF OCTOBER zznd, 1g46, EMBODYING THE
TNSTIZUCTIOWO SF THE mMIx.a-rY REGARDING TI= PAS-
SAGE OF H.M. SHIPS THROUGH TÉhE CORFU CHANNEL
'fie document mark4 r athched isa cutifiedtrne çopy of a
telegram sentby the Abniralty ta the Chmander-in-Çhief, Méditer-
ranem, the origind ofwhich is in my mstodv.
Tlie documnentsmatlred z,-3and 4 areaccurate paraphrasesofthe
text of telegram eschanged betwecrr the. Admirdtywid the Corn-
mmdkr-in-Chief, The osiginals are imy custody but because ofthe
need to safeplird the secutitofsecret nabalcipherstheycnnnot be
produced. '
(~igfiq G. L, B.Doms,
27th OcSobcr,1948. PrincipalMiltmy Branch , Admimlty .
1st:August, 1946.
Admi~altymessagt?06x531 Jdy.
H.MM Atnbacjsdorlias nombmn inskructd Q presenta note tothe
AlbaniaG novernment givingthe reasons tvhy11;sMajesty's Govem-
ment do not consider therepiy of the AlbanianGoveinment to be
satisfactoryruidconclud~ngwiththe words "furthemore the Albanian OlTE?K DOCUMENTS SIJBPI.ÿITTED (uK.) 59
Gowrnrnent sliould take nate that should Albanian mastal batteries
in the futureopen fie onany ofHis Xlajesty'vesselspassing through
the CorfaChannelfirewillbe retmed by the British vessels involvecl".
You wiU be infomed as soon as itis knawn that the Ambasador
has pmsentedhis note, Inthe meantirneyou çhould continue torefrain
from using the chanriel.
TO COMMAETDER-IN-CHEF,MEDI:mnmNE.ih', FROM ADMIRALTY
AEPEATEW FOR ~ORM-~~TTON TO THE FMG mgImn comrmmç THE
FIRST CRUISER SQUADRON Ah- FLAC OfFIçER, LIAISON, lTALY
The Aibanian have now reccivedthe note. HarthCurfu Strait rnay
rtbw be usecLby shipsof yotirfleetbut only when essential and witl-i
annament in fore and aft positmn,
If coastal gunsfrrat ships passing throrigthe strait, ships shorild
fireback.
3.
~1stSeptember, rg46.
Establishment of diplornaticrelationswith Albaniais again under
consideration byHis Majestyk Gavemment rvllowishtoknow whether
the Albanian Govem1erit have lcarntta behave themçelves.Informa-
tion is requested whether any ships nnder your çmmmd have
passed through tlie North CorfStraisinceAugustand,if not, ~I~ether
you intend them to da so shartly.
22nd September, 1946.
RTithreferesicetoAhiralty message ...The have not done so $et,
but rny intention isihît Admiral Kinahan, &ing his flagin1I.M.S.
Mmritiss, with H.M.S. Leaatdc~in comymy and ttvodestroyers,
should do so wlien tl.licydepart fmm Corfu on the zzndOctober.
TELEGRAMS PASSING BETWEEN TH77 COMRWER-IN-
CTIIEF,MEDLTERKANEAX,AND THE A_DMIWT'Sr,EMBODY-
LUG THE INSTIPLTCTIONS OF THE ADMIRALTY EEGAKDING
OPEKATTONRETAIL
The document mark4 8attachedis a ccrtified trne copyof atelcgmm
sent by the Admiralty tothe Commatider-in-Cirief,Mediterianeantlze
original of tvhicis inmy cmtmly. The docments marked $, 6, 7 and g are accutate paraphrases of
the text of teleglmsexchanged between the Admudty and the Corn-
mander-in-Chief. The originalare in my custody but because of the
need to safeguarilthe security of secret cyphers they cannot
h produced.
(Sigxea) G. L. B, Doms,
97th October, 1948. PrincipM alilitq Bmnch, Admirdty.
REPEA'TED FOR INFORMPiTIONT0 FLAG QFPECER, LlfllSOKZTALY, =AG
OFFILER COBlMAhrDrNGFLKST CRUISER SQUADRON, khT) FOREIGN OFFICE
FOR .~MZRAL MOORE CIO Mrurmu STA~ CQMRUTTEE, NEW YORK
I
Immediuta 8th November, rg46,
I
Operation Retail.
Ir ha ben decided by His Msjesty'sGavemmentthat yousliiuld
now mdertake rninesveeping of North Corfu Channel. As soon as
possible therefwin thelight of yonrsignal of13thNovemberregardhg
Remembrance Day you sliouldproceed with this operation.
2. A note is being convcyed to the Albanian Govemment which
statesthatthe operationwilZhe carriedout startinon 12th Novembw
and makes the folloiving pain'amgt others.
(a)the Cmtral Mine Clearance Board isunanhous instating that
the interests ofinternational navigatiorequire the resweeping
of the channe! defined inMedri 18/32and ~$134.
(hl-he operation wiU be carried ailon simiIar lineto the original .
rclearanceof rg4-4s and no ships will be stationein Albanian
territorial waters:
3. POU should arrangefor ncutral obsirvers, preferab mym the
Meditermean Zone Board, to fvitness thoperation with a view to
avoiding my cfiarges of d~pii~ity il iresh mineam cut and unjust-
ifiable chargeof violatioiof Alhanian sovereignty.
4.Signa ilediately tvhetheryou a.rprepared trrstart this op-
ation on xztli November, AU developnsentç should be reported to
Admiraity.
5.Flag Ofhcer, ~iais~tr, Itaiyshould keep Medlterranean Zone
Board informed.
6.
- .
TO .$Z)XTIRALW~OM COWNDER-XX-~KIEF B~DX'ERR~INUN STATION
REPEATEW FOR INFORK4TION TO PLAG QiTïCER, EWTÇOX, ITALY, AND
FLAG OFFIGER COMMANLSrn7G k7RST CRUISER SQUADROR
Imme&ate. 9th November, 1946.
Lastsentenceofsecond paragmpti ofAdmirdty message af8thNom-
ber,promulgntingH. M. Goverfiment decisionto proceed with mine-
sweeping of Harth Coriu Channel, was received by me as quole no
ships willbe çtationecin Albanian tcmita~iaiwaters wzgtzote. MEER ISOC~E~TTS SUBMTZTBD (u.K.) 61
2. Inview of fact thaton Àay ttvoofOperation Retail, thesweepers
wiil have to be well inside Mhanian territoriawaters for the greater
part of the day, request 1 may be infomed of precise uwding of
relevant portion of note paçsd ttaAlbanian Governrncnt.
3. First phaseof operation will.beginon 12th Movemberif iveather
conditions satisfactoryand will consist ofa searchingsweep for the
supportingcntisersand destroyers of an area inside QBY 257 between
Morlera I.and Cape Kitphdi, Albania.
4. Second phase will follow onnextday whenthe actad Meclriroute
will be cleared.
7-
REPEAED FOR INFORMAnOM TO FLAE OFFICER 'COMhlANDIPG mS1'
CRUISER SQUADRON AND FiAG OWICER, LIAISON, ITUY
lm&;&. gth November, 1946.
Your quotation04 wording iscorrectand ArbanianGovernmmt have
received identicalinformation. They have also been informed '"that
the area to beswept will Be Medri 18/32 ancl~8134 areasas ddened in
chasts of the Central Board".
2. Operatiin of wnesweeprzrs iri Albanian waters is Mly covered
by thisbut makcsclwr thatminemepers rvil nolt, forexample, be
anchored for theriigl~in such waters which lie outsidethe limitsof
Medrj ~813 2r 18/34.
3, Unless itis later fnund necessary t$apport rninmveepen, oper-
ations insideAlbanian imters should be limited to charnels detailed
above. In such m eventreport fact immediatelyand give briefreasons.
Most imwaeda'ate, xzth Novernber, ~946.
My x1161a.Cariy out Rebil assoon RS French observeris present.
120215
Duty Gpt. for 1st:S.L,
9.
~PEATED FOR INl?ORDd,4TfOTO AIIZflRAT.TAND BEhTOR BRITISH HAVAI
OPFICEH, GBEECE
Most iwvtadini8., - 12th November,1946.
OperationRetad. Intend tu e~~ctite ht phase p,m. to-day 12th
November.
2. FsencIrobserverwill be presmt.au. mID,4VTT BY PROFESSORJ. E.HARRIS, PROFESSOR OF
ZOOLOGY AT THE LINIVERSITY OF BRISTOL, CONCEritLUING
THE $TATE OF TEE MINES Ç~VEPT IN 'I'HECORFU CHANNEL
ON NOiQWER rjth, 1946
1, John Edward Harris, Professor ofZbology at:the University of
Bristol, somefime Xnvestigatoson FouLing of Ships to the Ccirrosion-
Committ.ee of the Iron and Steel Iirstitute anBritish Iran & Steel
Fecleratioii anduntilrecentiyChairman ai the Marine Corrmion Sub-
Cornmittee and Cponsultant an Fouling to the BritishImn and Steel
Research Association, make ùath and say as follo~v:-
Xhave been consulted by the -4drniralty abeutthe condition of tlie
mines swept inthe North Çorfu C.hamel onthe 13th Novmbcr, 1946,
by the rninesrvepers of the Koyd Nc'avy.
the mine,e1 was informed that tliis mine $ad beensweptain the Notth
Corfu Channel hy H,M.S. SKipja~k ât 11-24 OR the 13thNovember,
1946 ,nd thatit had beq ,lrept since then in the open aiat Malta.
The surfaceof the mine was wmtheied and msty, wliich isconsistent
with itshaving beeil expo& to the open air aiid with the employment
of a rather inferior protectivpainting systém.
The surface asseerion thc 26th October, 1948, still showedintact
areas ofthe originalpaint film, particularlyin the crwicets aroùncl the
bases ol the lzorns andon parts ofthe main casing.There is no trace
ofmarine growth visiblean any of these areas oron any other part
of tlisurface inspite of the fact tlrat çreviqespecdkarlyfavourable
sitesfor the settlement and growth of fouling arganisms.Tets Ilave
sliown that insuclipositioi~çfoulincan xttleeven overpaint surfaces
otherwke having excellentan tifouling properties-
TIie factthat the surface of themine iscornpleteIkee fiom marine
growth is cleu and unequivocalevidence thatit had been in the water
for only a short period.
The period preccding the sweeping of the mine covers the most
intens feulingseascn inMeditenmeam wate~s,which occursthroughout
tliespring, summcr and early autumn rnrinths. Il'hroughout this time
the scttlir-rgorganismwillinclude foms which are highly resistanto
anti-fading methodç as tvelas thosc which âre more susceptible.
There isno body ofwatet oflow salinityin 4hisarea to hl1 offor
preveat fouling organisms from settling anclthe mines wersuffrciently
ofaorganismskofpdiffemtlxkinds.ed to analmad continuous settlement
The tidal cursent isthe neighbourliood areof low veïocity andthe
depthofwater-greater thnn 30iathoms everyuiiherinthe areamined-
issuch that nosand scouring ofthe rnetalsurfacesof a contact mine
conid have taken place. This iaisa borne outby the perfectcondition
of the surface paintfilm and tlicpresenm of-grease still adhering to
parts of tl-ierncchanism plateetc.
The paint Hm remaining on the snria& sh- that only a thin
coating was employed. There isno anti-fding paint which, at the OTEER DOCU&~EXTSSURMZTTED (u.R.) 63
thickncss employed un the mine exarnined,coulclprovide absolutely
complcte protectionagainst alifoulinggrowths on kregular surfaces
suc11asthe mechanhm plate fora periodof more than 3-6 months.
It is my lrarefullyçcmsidemd opinion thaunder the circümstances
described above,tlie maximum period during wliichthe mine could
have been in jtspositionwas g n~onths and it is hghly probablethat
the achar period was islcsthm thiç.
(Sig~d) Jorn E.HALGUS,
- Sworn atEristol,
'in the County of Gloucestc~,
this twenty-seventh day ofOctober,
nineteen hundred and forty-eight.
21. AFFIDAVIT BY MR. N. 1,KENTIEY, OF THE ADhlIRALTI'
CENTRAL METALLURGLCAL LKBORATORU, ERfSWORTII,
GIVTNG SUE REASONSFOR TECEABSENCE OF FOULING ON
MINES IN THE BLACK SEA
1,Nomian ingram Hendey, of Admidty CentralMetdlurgiçalLabo-
ratory,Ernsntartliinthe Coniztyof Hants,marine biologismake oath
and say asfoIlori:- ,
I, I am ir ihe emptag of thc Adrniralty asa marine bidogistand
have ken soernployed for the pstthrceFars and upwds. Indiiding
such period ofemployment 1 have had some twmty yearç experiwce
as a microbiolaght.
2, Raving bean asked by Military Branch,Admirdty, on the 13th
ofyfoulinonbminesqinthe Black Sea,andias trwhether such conditions
would apply to mines founcl ithe Corfu Chaml, I say tliat, Lnview'
of my above-rnentioned qualifications aexperienm, 1 m qualified
ta give an expert opinionthereon and I say as follows:
3. (a)Hydropphic conditionsiirthe Black Sea axe such as to
rend= the arcaunsnitable as a habitatfor marine life.
(b)Precipitationandrun-offgrcatlyexcepcevaporation,mil exchange
of >vaterwith the Meditersanean thrtiugh the Bosphomsrnal1(outflow
hm Blaçk Sea 12,600 rn3fsec.idow 6,r;oo rnslçeare the most
probable values}.
c These conditions resultin a very marked lowering of salinlty
of'$lack Sea waters.Surface waters averageabout ,16parts perrmo
and bottoin waters %bout23 partsper rooo.
(dj Species ofmarine organisrnkcapable of erjsting nnder these
conditionsoflotvsalinityare muçh fewer thanthoseinhabitingnomal
shallow watms mch as thc Corfn Chmnel. (e}The differenccinsalinity between surfaceanid bottom waters
prevents much vertla1 rnixingwith theseçultthat at a depth of zow
200 rnetresthe crxygencontent of the watersfalIs tozeroE.elorvthis
level onlyanaerobicbacteriaexist and thewaters containsulphnretted
hydrogcn .
4- In support of mg opinion I qmte the fullarvinextract from
Zobell "Marine Rlicrobiolug"(ChronicaBotaTiiça Co., IWdtham, hfass.
rgq6) at p. zoo:-
"The Black Sea :-Pemliar hydrographie conditions, wupled
with microbiologicalactivitire en,er nine-tenthsof the Blaçk
Sea virtualluninhabita bylany tom of lifeexcept-batteria.
exceedshevaporatioi?,the dençity of the surfacewaters (salinitye
aboùi r6 %) is sufficientIesstiianthat of bottom\vater (salinity
up to 23%) so tkatthere islittlverticalmixing.As a result,the
oxygen content of ihe water belaw the photo-sgrnthetizone is
renewed only vev slowly."
5. h my opinion the above extractaccurate stsr,outreasons for
Ehe absence of foulingin the Elack Sea ,md 1 sity tEat the "photo-
synthetir; mne" rnentionedthereinextends tueighty mettes dept1-iin
ciear oceariicwaters but that in coastal waters such zone may be
restrictedtuabout half,or les5 tlian haltl~adepth, depending upon
the degree of turbidity'
6. Tt therefore follows tiiat (a]tgrowth of fo+g organisms in
the Black Sea isrestricteci in shaiiwatelr,by the law salinity or
(b)in deeper watersfoulingis limited bythevery low oxygen content
orr~tricted by the absace: of oxygen to al1but anaerobic bacteria.
(Sig~ed~ IJ.INGRA MIEKDB;.
Sworn at Ravant,
inthe Comty of Mants,
thiç 25thday of: October,
nineteen hundred andforty-eig-ht, I
Beforeme : I
(Sipzed) D. V. WADEÇQP ,
A Comissioner foiO:aths.
-
22.AFFTDAYIT By COMMANDEKMOLONEY, CERTIFYING
THAT NO DUMFS OF GERMAN MINES HAD BEEN LEFT IN
GREECE
In IhemaW ufth Corfi4 CAannd crlsBefme the.TntfimzalimaCm&
of Jtvsfica.
1, WilliamHugh Moloney, D.S.Ç., Commander in tlreRoyal Navy,
make oath ad Say as follo w-s
I.1 was appointed to R.M.S. NiLe as Commander Enesweeping,
Greece, ail the zznd Februaq, 1945 . he,Allieshad advanced iiito
Greece iiiOctober, 1944) ancl taken over controlof the ÆgeanSea. 2. 1 tookup my headquartersinthe Piraeusand my duties included
operathg the British ïninemeping forceand trainingthe Greekmine-
sweepers. Iwas responsibleto the Flag Oficcr, Levarnand Eastern
Meditenanean,for a0 matters connecteclwithmines and rninesweeping
and one ofmy frrsclutiewm to locateGermari minefields and invest-
, igatewhether any stocksof mines had hm left iGreece, There were
no dumps of German mines ofany typeleft in Grecce.Tlieconcentration
ofmine fieldin the approaclietothe majorports shoiveà that hefore
the Gerrnans puiied outof Greeçe they used every mine avnllzsblin
ailendeavour to check tlie Allieadvance.
(Siglzd) W. H. MOLONEY.
Swom at the City and County of Bristol,
this29th day of OcSober,
nineteen hrindred andforty-eight.
24, TELEGRAM$ FROM THE BRITISHADMIRALTYRELATINE
TO THE "MLJET" AND "MELJIBF,"
.
1
Cypher O.T.P.
From : Foreign ClfaceTa : The Bagne.
Despakhed : 6.21 p.m.GhfT gJrrl48.RecJd; 6.45p.m. glxn/48.
No. 1223 of 9th Novaber, 1948.
I~mdiub
Swe~
FollowingfromAdmiraltytelegsam No.T.O.O .g13,zs7.
Begins
Following forDodds, The Hague.
Your telegram 397 to Forcign Office,
Çornmander-in-Chef, Meditertanean, reports : "Few records pnor
to 1534 5vailable. Evidence shows that bothminesmepars in Mdta
[gp, undec.? Junc] 1945, Investigations proceeding, Further signal
wilibe made."
566 OTAER DOCUMENTS SWMI~ED (u,K.).
z. ItalianMini5h-yof Marine records, copy ofwhich is hdà by
Admudty, d~otvedhth shipsIn Itdian liandsfrom Mzy 3~3, 1941,
to September gth, 1943.Consignedto Malta to Britishanthorities
December 17th. repeat December 17th~1943.
3. Adrnirdtyrecordshipshand~d toYugoslaviaat.tomedate between
April z~st,iw~) and Aphl 1946.
4, Intendto make fur thsignal whm C.-in-C.Mediterraneareports
again.
$ECRE~ARY OF-STA~ FOR FOREIG Nm~rns.
II- 1
Cypher O.T.P,
From :Foreign Ofice.To :Tlie Hape.
Dtspatched :8-15 am. GMT 9/1-1/4 Rec'd : gam. 9/11/48.
No. 1225 of 9th Navcmber, 1948.
S#mt
Following from Admirdty for Dodds telegram og1741Z.
Bqks
m~m,miranow reports : "ART08r839Av.and furthertoCmyef0~82,230A..
Furthersearc reveals that both these ships grMdtad fràm Taranto
ex-Levant November rxth,1943 .ommander Saksida,K,Y.N.i,spected
tl~ernaEMalta in Januarp, 1944.
"2, The siiips remaineatMalta inview of YugoslavGovemment's
refusa1toallowI2.Y.Nshipsto [gpundec 7iransfmto]Tito.Agreement
rcached inJuiy 1945that the shipshould be saileto Sibmik. Ships
accoxdingly lefMalta in Aogust for13arifor onward routeing."
1
as. TELEGRAM5 FROM TE AIR MTNSSTRY, UNITED KING-
DOM, CONCERNIMG IVEATHER CONDITIONS AND THE ANGLE
OF TIE Sm AT SIBENRI ON OCTQBER rdth,
17th AND 18th1946 .
I
Cypher O.T.P,
Rom : Foreign OfficTo : The Hague.
Deçpatdled 8.18 p.m. GMT 8/~1/48. RecfdVgP.m+ 8/rx/48.
No. 1219 of 8th November 1948,
Most immdiate
sècret
PoIlowing $romAir Ministry telegram No.M.E.T.X. 5948,Novem-
'ber 8thBe*$
For Sir F. Nichoh.
Reference yyor signalof November 5th requesting informationfor
SiWeather at Sebnico,. Yngoslavia, on October 16th, October rSh
and October 18th, rgq&r6th, Little low cloud and variablamount
of liigh cIonduring da?, clearatnight, no min. GoodvisiliîlitLight
nind at firstinçreasingta strùrtg north-ea during the day. x~th,
clor~dlessexcellentvisihilit,fresh north-est at fi~i falling hght
dusing clay,Calm at night. rsthno low cloud and high or medium
çloud only insmaUamounts. Clex at night. Very goodvisibilityLight
variablewirids.No reportsrifmcmed sunshine,but sunshin oen 17th
)vasprobably the.maximum possiblemount, somewhat les on rSth,
md less on 16191b,ut stdi substantial arnounts.
InformatiSn about angle of sun folIows.
'Tirneof arigin 08x700.
Ends.
II
Çypher 0,T.P.
From : For&@ Office.To : TheHague.
Despatched rI p.m, G.M,T, 81x1 48.Rec'd 12.5 anm. gJrrJ4S.
No. 1221 of 8th November, 1941.
Most immedi&
Sr&
FoIIowing for Air Attache frorn Air Ministry, London, telegram
METX 5957 of November8th.
Jlegim
For Sir P.Nichols.
Reference yùur signai November 8th regiiesthg information for
Sir Hartley Sl-iawcross.
Azirnath ofsun from North an Weber 17th was 233 degrees at
1515hours and 244 degree a+ 1615hours. Sun's elevation abave the
horizonon the same date \vas ZIdegreesat 1515 hoursand rrdegrees
at 161j hoursl. The values on neighbouririgdays were substantially
the samc.
,4li times areIOC~not repeat not Greenwich mean the,
T.O.O .81gooZ.
Tkrn; hve to becor~ectetaconformw* smer timewhich wasinZme
duringOctobeinYugoslavia baddingone hourire. f"rgt5"read"1615"and
for"16r~"read"r~xg",[Noieby~eAge~bufMeB~fis~iGooemm~f.] ' 27.PHOTOGRAFHS OF MINES FQUND DURING
THE SWEEF ON NOWBIBER xgth, 1946
CorncilIn T1947 andtwcre rnarkedVIee(b) andtVId(cl* the Se&@
[sa sfidti*o~u,W~?I]
28. TREATY OF FRIENDSHIP AND MUTUAL ASSISTANCE
BETWEEN YUCiOÇLAVIA AND ALBANIA
(JW gfi,1946 l)
[Sa Uniid NaWclzsTreaty Series, Vol.I (~g&-r~~~),#, 81.1
29. ECONOMTC AGEEMENT BETWEEN YUGOSLAVTA
AND ALBANIA (NOVEMBER~7th ~9461)
I
Both High Contracthg Parties bind thekselves to harmonize tlie
economic plansof both corntrieon a mutual bais. For the realizatia~r
of thisaim co-srdinationaorgans(bodies)shalbe fomed. The CO-ordi-
nationd organ (body) for the hamonizationof the economic plms of
both countrieçloi1be formed beforethe 15th Decernber,1946.
Within threemonths fram theday of s-g ofthii Agréement the
1 Governent of the People'sRepublicof AlbaniashaUequalize invdue
its currencyunit, theAlbanian lek,with the Yugoslav dinar.
The Government of F.P.R.Y. binds itself to exteto the Govern-
ment of the1-eople" sepublicof Albania, hy means of impart.into
the People's Republic ofAlbania, goods and matenal isitmded for
economic =habilitationin a marner and to an extent which shail'be
prakided for by economic plans (hamnized) in conformaricewith
Articler,ail the indispensableaifor the realization of the Atknian
economic plan, and alsota ensure themovement of go& (traffic in
goods or trade in goods) indispensableto the maintenance of the
Albanianlek on a parity withthe Yugoshv dinar.
Currencycirculation inthe People's sepublic of AEbaniashall be
equal (proportionalto. thecirrrencycirculation in F.P.R.Y. hatring
1Thedatedidnokappw onthecopy filcd.
1regattdforthe numericalposition ofthe population and economic pùwer
of hoth msountries.
Until such tirne as the rnonetary refom prwided for in Article2, a
Clause 1, of thisAgreement is carried into effect, thGomment of
the People's Republic of Abania shall introduce on its territory the
p~ice systm and the prieeswhich exist on the territoryof F.P.R.Y.
The Gomment of F.P.R.Y, and the Gomment of the People's
Republicof mania bind themçelves taabolish withinone month from
the day of the signing of this Agreement the custonis fronhei and
=toms dutiesbetwecn bûth çountries, thuscreating a singlecustoms
tercitory.
Tlie system and the customçtariffs in force on the single&mm
.taritory shaU be those which apply (arein force)in F.P.R.Y. Goods
shallbe passed through castoms by the eompetent organs of tlreHigh
Contracting Party through whoçe frontier they are imported, and the
sums coUeckd shall helong to that High Çontracting Party for whom
the goods areintended.
In order that the efficacious applicatioO£ the of the
preceding clauseshalt k ensured an Albano-Yugoslav Mixed Custorns
Commission shd be fomed on the territory ofthe People'sRepublic
of Albania.
A&& 4
This Agreement shd mi for th* pars from the dayof signature.
II shd be automatidly pmlariged for a period of ten years, except
in the event of revocation.
Revocation muçt be notifIed inwriting at1-t one par &fore the
expiry ai each period formen inthe preceding clause,
This Agrment cornesin. force from the day of signature, andthe
exchangeof ratification instsuments shdl be carried out in Belgrade,
at the latest,one mont11fmm the day of signature,
30- "MARINKALEETDERrg47"
[No# ?s@odd -1
--
3". "XFIOOL ~ND* COLLEGE ATLAS"
(LONDON: 6. nt,BACON & CO.)
[Nui refirdwcad.] 33."SERIAL MAP SERVICE ATLAS"
(I.o~~N, 19471
[Nat ye?prdzccd,j ,
34. "THE CITIZEN'S ATLAS OF THE WORLD"
35. ROUGH WPY OF LOG OF THE: "MAURITIUS" ,
[Seesp&l SI~HPPF~,]
36, DOCUMENTSR417ING THE Dll?BEREMCESBEmEN
THE ENTRES TN THE LOGBOOK (FAIR COTY) AND THE
.ROUGH LOG OF TEE "MAURITIUS"
, 1345-Handsetto General Quar-
ters, assumeQ.G. Stat1.
. qm-aJc. 026"
- 1430-ale .x4'
x#F"/c. 310~
1636-Cape Drasti2rg0
CapeKiqhali 123'
1650-skp stopped 165~hip stopped,mursesand
speedsvarioustomaintain
r71j-shipstopped approxhate position
approximateposition 39% 'N q054
3g055 'N 19~5'4E
Coursesand speerlvarious
to maintainposition. OTHER DOCUMENTS SU'BMJXTED (v-K.)
37. TBKEE FRAGMENTS OF THE MINE
WHICH STRUCK"VOLAGE'"
38. EXTRACT FKOM REPORT DATED MAYzgth, 1946~
FROM REAR-ADMIRALHLNAHAN,ADDRESSED TO THE
COMMANDER-IN-CEIIE O F Tm MEDITERKANEAN
KEPORTIKG THllPnOCEEY3WG.S OFTFlE SQUADRON UNDER BTS CUKWAND
. FOR THEFERIOD ,4PRl2gtb ToMAY ~5th~1946 (PARAGRAFE23, RELATING
TO THE PASSAGE OF THE SQtJADRON THROUGH THE COKl?Q'CHANNEL ON
PUY 15th 1946)
At 0825 on 15thMay a I was approaching Corfuby the northem
&amel, and followIxigMedriroute18/34~.M. Ships Ohm and S@erb
xveiefireon fvithormtning fromthc vicinity PortoEdda, Albxnia
(Chart206).The splasheswpa ï~nmistakabl~those of N-E,shell of
about +inch cdibre. Fmm IZ tczo roundswel fired. the filasting
until 0837,and judging from thenumber of shortstowards the end,
iteeasedonly when the s11ipwere outof range,?lioughtheremre a
nurnba of ovm as weiias shorts, the shweve nothit.Three minutes
&fore the first romd a turn of about roo'to starboard had been
started t, foilqw thMedn route; this brmght theships' steon to
Port Edda and aconsiderable increaseispeed\vas themost *pro-
priate actiontotake o\virmto tlieproximityof minefields,No gnn
flashecould be seen.AnimAdiate reportko yosiand to thAdmiralty
was made in m message150904 May. Subsequentenquiriesand action
have hem dea t with by signalbut a sommari& reportwiUbe for-
warded ,orrecordpurpnses.The incidenwas tvitnesseby the Greek
H,D.M,L.Rarya, nhich had corneoutfrom Corfu tomeet rne.It was
alsoseen from the Greek military postç thenorthetn end of Corfu
and was alreadycvidelknown when Imchcci the anchorage.
3g, "WARSHTPS OF 'TRE WORLD"
(VIÇT~RYEL)fTTO3,ud.~.)
[Nd rt$;vodw&diJ
40. TWO SKETCmÇ MADE 'RTS LIEmNANT-COhTMAESZIER
KOVACTC AT THE REAMNG ON NOVEMXER zqth, 1948,
MORNING1, SHOWLFTG ONE OF THE YüGUSLAVSHIPS FUTH
THE RAILS AND MINELAPING MECHANISM 4r. PHOTOGIZAPH OF PANIKOVAC COTE ON WKïCK
LIEmANT-COMMANDER KOVACICDREW AN ARROW
SHOWING THE ENTWCE TO THE TUNNEL USED -AS
A MINE STORE
(HEARING OF NOVEMI3ER 24th.r948,MORNINGl)
LSms$acid vohrns:]
42.TWQ PIANS OF THE REGION OF SIBENIR ON WHICK
LIEUï'ENANT-COINMANDEK ROVACICW MARKET3 r
43.REPORT OF THE 153rdMNEWEEPING FLOTZLLA
(OçTOBER 8th, ~gqqjON THE SWEEPING OF Tm3 .KORCLEA
AND SCEDROCIWNELS
ENCLOSURENO.-3TO MEDITERRANEAN LETTER
DATEII ~1sNOVEMBER, 1944
Subject:153rdMISF~LLA-ININE~IVEEPIF~ GEPORT
Fm : TheCaptainMIS Meditercanean.
Date: 7th November,1944. Nb :5225)17/7
To: The Conimander-in-Chie,editcknean.
The enclostdminesweeping reporframthe senioroficer, ISF$
MIS Flotillwith ttacing anaccompanyingcorrespondencek for-
warded.
2.It iregxettethatR.M. I3,Y.M.S.2077has sincbem nink by
mine, resultiinthe death af Litenant-CommanderCall.
(~zgjzè)IllegibEe],
&mander,
{AbsentonCsick leave),
- w-
= Sm VolIII,p. 333.,
i~ m mm.PP-530and 533. OTKEIC DOCUMENTS St78nITTED (u.E.) 7 3
hm : The Senior Naml Oficer, Via
Date : 9th Oçtober, 1944. Na. zS3/oz.
TU ! The FllagOficer, Taranto and Adriatic.
(Copy to: Commander, Jlinesweeping, Adriatic.
Senior Officarr53 Minesweepng Flotilla,)
A copy of a minesweepingreport re&iveclfrom fie senior officer,
x55Minewetping Flotilla, ifomrded hemmith, for onward tms- .
mission fo Admiraity.
2, The objcco tf the operationswas to dear the channels between
the DaIrnation Islandfarpsible futureoperations andforthe eventual
passage of relief shipto Yugoslav parts.
Tlie mines swveptwerein aictws from oldpre-\vaYugslav defensive
mincfields,Sot one mine exploded whm sunk by gunfirefrom the
M.Ls,and from their condition it id~ubtful whether in fact anofthe
mines were stillactive.
5- Thc clexance:of this largenumbcr of mines, çmkd ont by a
unit whichfor the greate prrt ofthe the tonsisted onlyal two ships,
reflectçvery creditablyupm the senior o%ccr, Lieut.-Commander
F. J.Call,R.N.R, Thecompletionof the eperation In ninedaps involvied
very liard ivork by ail personnconcerncd, partictilaras no separate
dan-laying crafttyere;tvailable,and the swmpershad to recovertheir
own dans on cmpIetion ofeach days çweeping. .
4. In general I was particirlarlyfavourably irnpresed with the
eficiency of the craft which carried out this operatio: Theit mine-
swee-ping was excellent,their W/T communications and coding wete
exemplary, and the hard warking enthmiasrn of al1personnel was very
commendable indeed, During their short stayin Vis the various craft
swept a totalof 156 mines.
(Sigfidj XURGA NILES,
Lieut.-Commander, R.N.,
Senior naval officerVis,
From : Senior I0ffimr153rri MJSFlotilla.
Date : 8th October r,44.
To: S,N.O., Vis.
The followinginfsmaticin isrequiredby y outo enableyou to fonvard
report ta Adrniraltyand Local Minesweepingduthority in accordarice
with paras. rom and 1oo3{z )fC.B, 04031 :
Ir)Rraw ofchumd beifig char&.
IComla and Sdro thnefs between latitudes42658'30" aNd
43°07'30'''Nandlongitudes16'3g'30'E and 16'45'30r'E,AdmITalty
Cliast2712 Adriatic. (2) Szeieepifoumaiim and $eed mic7 pecnd made
G fornation,8 knotç s,e remarks for check weep.
(3) T$e of WEI# us& and sj5awSgof mtkrs.
MarkIIIx and with V cutterat end of sweep.
(4)(b) "O" 5wsufiDepth ofKit6ami akfers.Amant of me@ mirs.
Xite 13 fathoms.Multiplane 4 fatlioas. Sweepwirezjo fathom.
Onlap wlieredoubleoropesa wasused 21 fathoms kite wiveered.
(6)Nmes of sweefie7enupJoyd.
See diary ofeve~lts,
(7)Sirmgth a.tidir~cta'mofii&l ~&eams sncomte~d.
See rmarks.
(8) FFind,sea,weather(Beauf0B. tede). ..
See diary of events.
(9)Pos3io-uof mck whe aqht qb.
As indicated on tracing andsee remwks.
(IO) Ty#e ofmiwas mfit u$.
Mooced mines, appearance above wattteylindrical, with.fit
top and hande-shaped construction disposihoned céntmtly'lm
prominerit white pieceofmaterial iike porcelain terminais visible
centrally. Five korns equally spaceand protrudinghorizontaiiy
from top of mine.
(II)DlsfssaL ofma'ws.
Sunk by gun fire.
[fa)CozarsesBehg shwd whenmirna mm swqbtt+5.
I No. ofminm
1 XXX OTHER DOCUhlENTS SUBMlTTEIl (V.13.) 75
hp Na. Comx No. ofmina
23 - 280 3 (seeremarks)
25 280 2
26 IO0 3
27 280 4
z'3 230 1
31 280 3
33 280 2 '
36 X(M 2
37 280 3
38 100 1
39 280 I
41 280 1
44 280 L (secremarks)
51 090 5
52 270 5
53 2
55 090 I
54 270 2
57 0-Y 4
58 27'3 3
59 IO0 3
60 280 3
7 180 1
74 180 ,. 2
75 ooa 1:
(x3) Rawwks. .
Iriap 23,4 mines wereactuaUyswept, but r mine fauledBYMS
zoog's sweep and inattempting to clear srne,sweep parted and
mine remoored. Mine was reswept in Lap 44 by BYMS zQ71
(swdiagamj.
Jhe to mall number ef vesxk avaiiabie,the checkweep was
carrieclontsweeping double,oropesa, G formation, albeit consort
was stationed loo yards oukide offlciat.
Five laps were carriedout in Scedro Charnel with n~gative
rcsulh .
Sirteen laps were arried out in~or&la Channel, Imine being
cut in theath and tenth laps andtwo mines inthe nintlapT.wo
of these were obviously dxagged in stveep andrernoored,being
cutclosc to line ofdans tbatwere Iaidfor clearancesveep.
Station lceepinhyconsort left a lot to bc desireand It may
be due to this that the othetwo were notcut inclearancesweep.
The tidd streams cncouatered have varid from to I hot,
€lidirection beirimled by the wind ofthe moment. Sincethis
ha been variable isfrengthanddirection,aday-to-day assesment
is not practicable.
(15) Diu~y of nrslets.
28.9.44.Weatherunfavourablefor sweeping operations.z 4.44. Jind vasiable€romeasterly, forc2, sea and swd 20.
deather cloudy. Sweepe-BYMÇ. 2077 and zmg. H.D.Y.L.
1163 for mine didisposl. laps, 1mines.
30.9'4 4.ind N,E,forceI.Sea calm.Weatherclondy.Visibilif8.
SwecrperBsYMS 2077 and zogg.H.D.M.L. 1163 formine disposal.
8 laps,zx mine.
r.xo,44. WindN.E, forcex. Sea ch. ,Weatherfine. VisibiliS..
SweepersBYMÇ 2077 and zoog . .D.M.E.1163 formine disposal,
reiievedat 1500 Sy R-D.M.L. 1241. gblaps,31mines.
2.~0.44.Wind vasiable, increasintci$orce3 at 1800, Weather
beginning cloirdy, deterioratyith rain and splls. Sea and
sweU 20.StileeperBYMÇ 2077 and 2009.H.D.M,L. 1241 formine
disposal. 8 laps13mines. .
3.IO.@. qao-Weathet unitable fors\vee:ping.
11où-Weather moderating; an-ivedmine area ts corn-
mence sweeping . tVind variable frm North. Weathm cIoudy .
Visibilit7. Seriand swell30. SweepersEYMS 2077 and 2009.
H.D.M.L. 1241for mine disposal.7 lapsICImines*
4.10,~. Joined am. b BYMS 2287; Wind N,N.E., force T,
Weather fine, visibilitSea and sweIioo.rj laps4 mines.Ares
south ofSCEDROIsland:cleared apartfimmchecksweep.Sweepm
RYMS 2077,2009, 2187.H.D.MIL. r241for mine disposai*
5.~0.44.Weather tmsuitabk for sweeping operations.
6.1b.44.Wind variable. with veloeitup to fone 2. Weather
cloudy. VisibiliiySeaand dl 10.SweepersBYMS 2077 ,009,
2187,H.D.M.L. 1241fw mine disposaiIO laps ,8rnines.2nd lap
of day was considerd unsatisfactory aqwas reswept on 4th Iâp
wlth negativeresult,
7.ro&. Wid E,N.E., force r, Weaiher clondy. VisibiQty7,Sea
and swelloo. Sweeprs BYMS 2077,203, 2187. H.D.M.L. 124~
for mine disposal, EYMS mq detailedto recovesdans. BYMS
2077 and 2187 carriedout check sweep of SCEDRO Channel.
Check meep completedwith negative resultsCornmencd check
sweep ofKORCULA ChanneI,and &ter 7lapsBYMS 2x87 repo-ted
defective enginBWS 2187 retumed toVELA JJKA toinvwt-
igate,sweeping beingabandaned for day.
8.10.44.~ind E., forceI.Weatherdoudy. Visibilit7,aea and
swellIO.BYMS 2187returnd to KOMTZA with defectivereductian
gear.BYMS2077 and zoog completedchecksweep, 4 mines king
swcpt inRORCULAChannel (seerwnarksj.Total mines foma-
SCEDRO Charnel 28, ICORCULACl-iannel noo. Ships retvrned
to KOMTZA.
(Sigwd) FR'EDK JAS. CAf-t,
Act, Temp, Lt,-Comdr.,R.N.R,,
S.O. ~~3rd MISMotilla. CîTRER DOCUMENTS SURhflTTED (u.K,) 77
5a~~e
MIKESWEEPliuc REPORT
(Senior naval office^is' letter Naz53Joa datd 9th October, 1944)
11
No.T.A. 836146.
C6mmanderJn-Chief,
Meditemanean Station. q
(through Captain ME, Meditmean,
copy to :Senior Naval OfhLer,Vis,)
Taranto,
~3rd October, 1944. For Rem-Admiral.
(Enclosure to the commanding officm H.M.5, Volage's letter dated
~3rd October, zg46.j
ofiws
Commander R, T, Paul,Royal Navy. Commandingofficer
Lieutenant W, D. S. Scott,Royal Bavy. First lieutenant
Lieutenant P. S.Hicks-Beach, Royal Navy. Gunnery officer
AlLieutenant (E) S.A, Nash, Royal Navy. Engin~er officer
Rdqs a,
Petty Officer8. R. Hepple. PIJX. r44460 Gunkery iristrrlctor
Pet@ OfficerE. A. Thatcher. PjJX. 154957 Torpedo h~tructor
Petty OfficmStewardG,Nignace. E/LX 2306 r Wardroom petty
afficer steward.
45. GERMANFILES RELATING TO MINE STOCKS
[Sse spscial dol~m.]46.ORIGINAL OF Tm REPORT OF PROCEEDTNG5 OF THE
"LEANDER" MADE BYCAPTAIN OTWAYXUTNVEN(QCTOBER
23rd1946l,WITH SIGNATURECERTIFED BI-CAPTAIN SELBY
[SespaAateioluw,]
47. TYPEITRfITEN COPY OF 'IHË REPORT OFTHE "VOUGE'
ME ON OCTOBERa3d, 1946RY COlTMmTD.ER PAULa,IVTTEI
CERTIFTCATEBY COIIUKTANDE RP4UL
[Sespeciasiolwme.]
48.ORIGJXAL OP REPORT SEFI'BY TUCAR-ADMXW
IiINAXAN ON MAl' 29th. ~~46TU COMMANDER-IN-CHIEP,
~IIITERRANEAN, ON PROCEEDSNGS OF HIS SQUBf)RON
FROM URIL 39th TO MAY zgth,rg46, MTTR SIGNATURE
CERTIFIED l3Y COhlMAnsDER WHI'îFORD
[Setsfieciabztolcwze.]
49.SKETCH WE RY LIEWENANT-COMR5ANDE1P ROVACfC
AT THE HEARING ON TRI? MORNING OF NOWMBER zBth,
1948"SAOJWNGT.HXPOSITION OF "MLJET" AND "MELJIME"
AS HE SACYTHEM ON THE EVENING OF OCTOBER 17thOR
r8th,1946~BOUT 18.30 HQURS
50.PLXN OF ENVIRONS OF S~ENIK, ON WHICH LEUTE-
NANT-COMMANDER KOVACIC 'RIARKEDTEE SITE OF THE
WOUSEFROM WHKH HE SAW SIIE "mmT" AND THE
"MELJIW' ON OCTOBER 17thOR 18th.1946,ABOUT 18.30
ROURS (FITARING OP NOVEIcfl3ER z6th, 1948MORNING4)
SRqe15akrioh~tze,!
A photmphaddreadbeenfifseNo.13,pgr.
This trareplace the hackmade oDecibe25th1~46,anfiled
nqhA photowpy had alroady beNo.rrp.48.see
'SetVol. Ip.621. OTHER DOCUMENTS JUBMImED (u.K.) 79
$1,SICETCHMADE BY LIEUTENANT-COMMANDERHOVACIC
AT THE HEARING IN THE AEFERNOONOF NOVEMBER 291, .
19481.SHOWINGTHE POSITION OF "MLJET" AND "MELJINE'"
IN RELATION TO THE MOUTH OF Tm TUNNEL OF
PANIKOVAC COVE, ON OCTOBER 17thOR x8tI1,1946,
ABOUT 16-30HOURS.
52.TWD SKETCFES MADE BY LIEUTENANT-COASMASDER
KOVACTC AT THE HEARING THTEE AFTERNOON OF NOVEM-
BER z6tlix94G2,SHOfVING 'ÇHE MmU3WRE MADE BY THE
"&ILJET"'AND "MELJINE" TO FACILITATE 'I'E'LEOADING OF
THE MINES, AND THE POSITION UT TEE TITI0 VESSELS
DURING THE LOADXNG
[Ses@eciadua1~me.]
53.SKETCH SHOWING A lTINES1VEEl3ERWTH TTS CABLE
CUTTING THE MOORIMG OF A MINE. AND A MINEALREADY
SWEPT
(SKETCHII-~DBY COMMANDERSWQKDER A~V SHOWN aoTHE corn AT
TEE KEARINE ON THE MORNINC01;NOVEMBER 22nd, 194'1
[Se:q5ecrtioZumd.]
54. DIAGRAMSROWINGSWEEPS OF MOOFED MINES,
rao% SAPE
(MADE BY COMMANDER SWORDER AND SFTOWNTO TTIECOURT AT THE
KEAIUNG ON THE MORNING OF NOVEMBER ~2nd~19489)
55.PHOTWRAPH SHOIVIMG"MAURITJUSA "ND'TAUMAREZ"
AT1TER TEE EXPLOSION
[SeespeticPOEUMC.~
--
Sec VoIH, p.584.
r, i, iriPP.663-6644..
a ,+,P.439.
AThisgiotograwas subrnittoth Security Coninl5947 anwas
dumbercd II ,. 4.56. MAF OF SIBENIK, FROM US. ARm (SCALE r/jo,ooo)
[Sees$scidsùlwme.]
57.ADMIRALTI' CHART No. 158~:APPROACH TO SIBEMIK
HArnOITR
58.AIRPHOTOÇWK (No.4025OPSIBENIK AND PANIKOVAC
COVE
59.PAGEOF AN ILLUSTRATED PAPER, SHOWINGTHEVXEW
OVE'RTHE SEA FROM A HOUSE SITUATEDNEAR KERIÇ'S
-HQUSE
-p.
60.TRACING OF PLAN ON DIAGRAM OF PANEL<OVA COVE
MADE E1i' YUEOSLAVHYDROGIZAPRICINÇTITUTE, '
NOVEMRER mth, ~9481
I
61.TELEGRAMRECETVEDFROM ROM32 BY KINGDOM
DELEG-ATXON C,ONCERNING WEATHERREPORTS PUBLISITEb
AT SIBENfK ON OCTOBER 17th r8th, 1946
c4%twaud -3 Rome
Normal dist.O . ,.. The Bape
of24th November,194 a05924.11.48
Eu clàr
Addreçseto The Hague tel. Na. ro 24thNovcmi>er.repeated
immediateF.O. NoISIS and GvintoBelgradNo. 70.
My telegraNo.g [oNovember qrd] : CorMining,W. , '
The following rneteort31ogîclulletinwere issued frm Siberiikon
the 17th and 18th ûctober1946 ,or &ra Spalatoand Lagosta :
r@k Octobm
At 13.00 hoursSpalato wind NNW. forcee doua mil.
Lagosta and Zara no record.
At 19-00hourç 5pIato calm dodd nil.
Zara calm cloud nil.
Lagcista wind NfV. force3 claud ni!.
At 13.00 houn Spalafs norecord.
Zara tvind N. forcer clorid7/10 liigh.'
bgosta wind NNW, force 2 chud ~/rothç.
At rg.oohoun Spalatowind NNW. forc ecloud xlxothç.
Zam and Lagmta no record.
F.0, please pass Savinto Belgradeas my tel. No.70,
62. REPLIr BY TECE UNITED RINGDOM EXPERTS TO QUES-
TIONS PUT TD THE MIXED COhfMI'I'TEE OF EXPERTS BY
JUDGE &ER ON NOVEMBER 30th,1948:
(1) TVATHE LTGRT SUVICIENT AT 17'3 5OW Tû ENABLE LiEUTENANL'
COMMANDER XOVAGIC T0 SEETIIE VESSELSMOORE0 IN PANIKUVAC COVB ?
(2) ITHE LlGHT \V,QSSUFFICIEErTWQULD &E YlEW HAVE BEEN INTER-
RUPTED BY THE LIE OF LAND ?
A, In examiningthe firspoint ra_isedinthcsquestionsnamely, was
1 the suficient lighat17-35 forCommander Kovacic tu seethe sbip
lying in Pandcovac Çove, the naval experts of the United Kingdorn
Uelegation have taken intoconsiderationthe foHowing fact:
x, The sky was mclouctccl;
2.The time-17.35-was only 24mimtcs after snnse;
3- The observerwas locjking acrasmater from a height not les
than 2r0 feet above sea level;
4.Tt is known from experiencethat objech over ivatercm
over land.een foalonger timeaftersunsetthan theycm be seen
The naval expertsof the United Ilingdom Delegaiion therefore
cansiclerthat there was sufficientlight at 1an17th Octisber,1946,
for Commander Kovacic to have seenthe shipsin Panikovac Cove and
tohave distinpishedsufficiendetailto have established in Es om
rnind thatliey werfullyloadedwith mines.
R, \?ritregardto the secondpomt raised inJudgeEEer'sqnestions,
namely,if there ms suffiçient ligmuid Commander Kovacic'sview
have ken obstfuctedby land, thenavalexpertsof the UnitedKingdorn
Delegationstate asfollows:Inorder todetermine whether or nut land
woulcihave obstructedthe view fromKeric'shoux it is firsnecessnry
6to ascerta he positionof thesliipsin Pmikovac Coveand secondiy to
trace theline of sight bebveenthat position andthe terrace of Keric's
houst. '
1. (T) The posiii& of theski$$ in the cos1:
Inorder to ascertainthisthefoUoiving da& 4riadditionto Commander
Ke~acic's evidence 11asbeen used : ,
(a)TheYugoslav plan of Panikovat Cove provided by the.Ubanian
Delegation ;
(b)The p.oition of the three-fathm line abrainecfrom Phai-
rdty Çhart No. 1581 ;
(c)The positionand extent of mider-water obstrnctianin the head
of thecove ftom the aenzl phhotographNe. qoa5 can bt seen by
magnifying glas (çee note r on page 843;
Id) A tracing preparedhm the plan referredto in(a)above show-
ing the positionof the three-fathom line andthe obstnictiunç.
Super-impoçed on thistxacingare the trvaskips, positiorreas
fari11thecave as isconsideredreasonable forsifety.
(a)The Yugoshv plan of Panikovac Cave gives noinformation
tegarding the depths af >vaterin tlie cove~lor ofany under-
water obstructions 'therei:
(b) The aerialyhotograph No,4025 isprecke h its positioning11-E
the obstructions. fSee note z on pagc 84.5
Taking into acconnt :-
(a)the obstructir oefrred to in1 (1) (6)above
(b) the positionof the three-fathm iine refend to in I Ir) Eh)
above
[c)thc probable gradient of the bottam of the sea inmds from
half way up tlic cove feet)line,giving twO fathoms (12 leet}
Cd}infairnation supplied by Commander Kovzcic tlrat the head
of Me cove and the western çide were shdow and that the
quay on the norkh-east sirnwas a made-up quay,i,e. not
water edgeor sloping beaçh as might appear (çee note 3 on
Page 84)
(6) the infomiatkn @va in "Jans's Fighting Ships" that the
M-classminelayer rcqnied over 13 feetof water to float
tve mider thd the M-clas minelayers couid certainiynrithave
been berthed atthe head of the cove and could only have bcen
berthed in the 'outet half vitsafety tram grounding.
TVehave, thercfore, selectedthe positions of the ship çhown
on the traçingas the furthestinw~ardpositionsin whichthex ships
could have been berthed. (1)It isnecessary'to establiçhthe contours an the point of land
(marked "X" onthe tracingsubmitttd by the United Kingdom
Delegation asDocumentNo. 5) and for this purposthe Yngo-
slav plan of Panikovac Cove has been mployed. It isalso
necessary to establiçh tlie height above twater of the mines
when embarked in the minelayers.
(2)The Yugoslav plan ofPanikovac Covc shom on the lower
half ofthe Document No, r submitted by the Albanian Govern-
ment appears reaçanably accurate exçept that itis obsetved.
that the contours on the point north-east of Panikovac Cove
(marked "X on the tracing referredto in (1)above) are ob-
tained fromonly hri spof heights anddo not comform with the
configuration of the point as seen in photographs Nos. 11,
III and V, submitted by the Albanian Govemment, The
pliotogra hs show that thispoint 'XX"is 1ow to the south-ext .
and reaJIes the positions of the spot heights in a concave
gradient,{Seenotes 4 and 5 an page 84.)
(3) The deck of the bT-classmineTayers is estuaated from the
photograpliin "jsme's Fighting Ships" to'oesix feetabove .the
mter and the top ofthe mines would thcrefore have been
1x1lfeet above the water.
(4)The lineof sight fromthe temaceof Keric's houseto the ships
is inthe direction of214 degrces,\Irecalculatecl that any land
top oftthe minesghbutanothing lowerouwould. (PholgraphofthV
submitted by the Albania Gnuvernment shows thisview.)
We have dram on thctrachg ~eferredto in 1 Cr)fd)above a
line ivhich show where the view of the mineson deck becornes
obstruçtedl>ythe point. It can Ireseen from this lineon the
traclng thatabout ja feet of Illafter porhori ofthe ships is
esyosed to view and of the rsstof the shipsthe funnets and
super-stmcture were also probably visible.
(a) a view of continuons rows ofmines on deck ;
(b) the csssationvf activiey with the derricks;
(c) the rcberthing ofthe outsideshipcompletclyside by side with
the insideship as clistinchm dongside but stem projecting
to rearof stem of inner ship.
TI. It is çonsidered thatail thesepoints could have been observecl
from thetenace ofKeric'shouseat17.35 It k iurtherconsidered
thatin fact the view may we1I have been more extensive than
as indicated: (cmbecanse the Yugoslavplan .shows a convex gradient, whereas
the Nbanian photographs Nos, II,III and V show a mncave
gradient ;
(b) because tbpositionsof theships fhgkhave been &osenare the
furthestintllatthey are considered compatiblewith a respon-
sibledegree of çafety.
X. The under-water~'tistrwctionsin the aerial photopph No, qozg
can be seen by using a rnagnifyingglas, 3t wiii be observedthat tlre
obmctions are positionedso asto preclude the useof the qnay an the
south-western-side ofthe cove.
2. In aerialphotùgraph No. 4025 a shîp is shownalmgside the quay
on the north-eastern sideat the head of the cove. Examination by
mag-nifyingglas of the shadvwcast by Ilhship inthe photograph shows
that this shiresembles a landingcraftof a typewhich the Itaiianç and
Germans are known to have possessed.This type of shiprcquites only
g ta 6 feet ofwatcr in which ta float,Th ship cannot be an M-class
minelayer.
3. Infornation has sincebeen given by Commander Kavacic, not in
his evidence, thatthe north-east side of the quahad been buiLtup in
order that ships might berth there. The built-up part of'the quay is
clearlyshow on the Yugoslavplan of Panikovac Cove and is rnarked
OD the tracing, Dacummt 5,submitted by tlie United Kingdam Delega-
tion.
4. On the Yugostav diagram, Kroki Uvale Fanikovac, submitted as 1
Document I by the Albani& Goumment, there are twti sketclieç111
the fmt sketch in the top Iialfothe document isshown in elewtion
the siopeofland to the soufk-westof the cove,with trees ontop of the
slope,and a ship berthed on the south-western side of thecove.The
angle ofthe sun isshown as8 degrees.h1one of theçe facts are admitted
*by the naval expertsto tlie United KingdomDelegation, who maintah
that the elevation ofthelandis doubtful, the heighof the trees inw-
curate, and the berthingof an M-cIaçsminelayer on the south-western
side of the cove impossibleIn the second sketch onthe hwer half of
the document a plan of Panikovac Cove isshown and this is referred
lo in para. II(2)on page $3.
5, In statingconclusion(LXin para. C.1,above, we haveassumdl tkat
the Yugodav plan of Panikovac Cove is accurateas tacontours but
would refertoconclusion inpara, C 11 [a). i
($i'g~ad) E. K. D. SWORDER,
Commander, K,N.V.R.,
Naval representative of the
United Kingdom Delegation. 63. LETTER FROMCOMMANDER SWORDER TO =AR-
ADMIRAL,i\lOULLEC, FORJVARDTNGA REVISION OF THE
COMMONREPLIr 2TO QUESTION 5 OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE 3
BY *J"HE AGENTS SU33MISTEI) ON NOVEMBER&th, 1948, TO
THE EXPERTS OF THE TWO PARTIES
Hotel Wittebrug,
TheHague,
8th December, 1948.
In our joint letterfwwarding agreed Questions md Anwers sub-
rnitt~dto the Court ori 27th Novernber,1948, and filcda$ document
numbcr E. II/r/Yzyau wiUreçalithat we could nwtagreeon theanswer
to Question5. infact, we eac1.ifnrbmitted separate answeasfollowa:
(5) Two diagrams, inoriginalonly,Appedi~~ "A"' and "Bu are
çuhitted to show the time a! wklch a shadow would liave
been caston to a jettytvheze minesrwere being loaded.
Appendix"A"attached to the çopyof the reportsubmitted
to the United Kingdom Delcgation isbad on Adrniralty
Chart 1581and shows thistime to have ben 1631-
Appendix 'B" attached to thecopy of the reporsubmittcd
to the Albanian Delegation was prepared by the Yugosiav
HydrographieInditute md shws that the shadowwouldhave
betn cast when the sua bad an altitudeof about 8" which
occurredat about 1620.
Bot11these times can onlybeconsidcredapprodte :
(a)"1631"because App.mdix "A" is based on incomplete
and inexactdata ;
(b)"r6zo" because we.are unable ta check Apphdix
not baving the data on which itwas based.
III ourjoint letter submittetoth Court en the 6th Decernber,we
fïied certaidocumentsincluding aUnited StatesArmymap of Sihik
md the Yqodav document Kroki Uvale Panikovnc. 'ïhesetwo docu-
ments show the contoars tn the\vestwad of Panikovac Cwe, which
detailed informatiowas not available befnrIn the lightofthisfrch
information ~t wodd appear necessary 'for the previousansrver to
Question 5 tobe revisedI attach the revision mhichi-vesuggestand
1 wtiuld he grateful you cauld inform me whether you are prepared
to agreeitcrwhethex you propose toçubmit anindependent answer or
to maintain the ansrveralreaciyfiled.
Decemhro ngth,1ashd assume thatheyoumaintainortheanswerrwhichdyou
have already Med and transmita copy of thisletterand itsannex to
the Agent of the UnitecKingdom, who may desiretoforwardit to the
Registrat.
1 remain, etc.
(Sigrasd)E, R.D. SWORDER.
. ~mrnmder, R.N.V.R.
-
1See No.2, p.i?q
z hi i, T.p.123 . Anw x
REWÇED REPLY BY COMMANDER S'IVORDERTO QUBST~OK 5 OF THE
QVESLIOb4NAIRESUBMITTED TO THE EXPERTS OF TTiX PARTES
With reference ta theanswerto question.No. 5, submittedby the
naval expertsof theUnited Kingdom Delegation inthe agreed Questions
and Answersandsubmitted ta the Court ou 27th Novernber, 1948,in
- Domment No. E,TL/I/p, the Unitcd Kingdoni Delegation wishes to
sevise itstatement regarding the the of 16.31wheri a sliadow cm-
rnenced to be cast over 13mikovac Cove.
2. Informationfded withthe Court on 6th December by the Albanian
Delqation and the United Kingdom Delegation included the Yugashv
Document No. E,II/l/ 7ncl thU,S, Amy mapof Sibenik, Apperidix1
to Annex I tol3ocument No. E,II/I]?8. On these two documents are
shown the contoursofthe land to tlie westaf Panikovac Cave. This -
detailedinformation wasnot available before.Thenaval experts tothe
United Kingdom Delegatian are now, therefore,ableto put in a more
definiteanswer.
3. The U.S.-by map al Sibenikshows th& thehills tothe w&wafd
- ofPanikovac Coverise to a heightof between zo and .q~metres ~vhere
they intercepttlierays of the settiag sun.By asswing the greatest I
possibleheightof 40 metres or12s feet, ihas been calculatedthatthe
shadow should commence ta be cxt overpart of the cove where the
ships were lying when the altitude of thsurireached amanglçof qlJ,
degres. Ry inspectioof thediagram, Appendk~ AtoDohiment E.11/I J7z
refcrredtotn Para. 1,itcan be seen that thisdtitude occws at 16-45.
The United Kingdom naval experts,thmefore,wish to statthatintht3ir
opinion the shadow cocommence ds be cast at about 16.45 o,bserving
thatthe tr,Smp isthemost secent ad accuratesource ofinformafian.
4. The vafidity of the Yugoçlav Dcicument No. E.II/1/77 is not
accepteclùy the United Kingdam naval experts,but nevertheles the
problem has dso beenworked out onthe assumption that thisdocument
iscorrect with the followiriexceptions :
(a)The height oftlieh-eeshas been taken as4 metres asappearing
Irom photographs to be a more probable heightthan that of
8 rnetres.
(b)Thedistance of the shipswhich were on the eastsidehas been
taken as go metses frm the quay ciathe tveçtçide othe çove
as in Appndix 5 tç, Arinex1 toDocument E.PZ/Tj78 tracing,
observingthat the shipscouldnot have been alongsidethe quay
on the west sidedue to tliobstructionsshownon aeriaphoto-
@:ph ALppendix 3, Annex 1 to Document E.11/1/78,and that
thls position, gometres fro~ the quay, is considerd to have
bem the position othe shipsforthe reasonsgivenin Document
E.IX/I/78.
(clForthe purposeof ais questionit isimportant to know when
the liglrof thesunlast shone on themines and we have taken
the height of the tops of the mines, which, as explainedin
Documents E,II/I/78, ,was 3metres.
The height of the topsof trem above the heightb-fthe tops of
the minw was on tlieabove date
35 4- 4- 3 metra - '16metres. The distance of the shiPsfrom the point of intertepdan was
85 f gornetrm =:175metres.
The angle ofthe sun at which fhe shadow would have reached
,thetOpsofthemin& is thereforesuch thatits tangentis equato
16 :175 = o,q
This angle istherefore,~ 1 degrtew sh,ich,fm an inspeci5on
ofDiapm Apyendix A taDocument E.ILjI/7 czrreponrled
to tlie time16.36.
rvishto statesthat,in thekl opinion, takinginto account dl the data
avaaahle, the sharlow could mrtainlpnot Imve been cast befme about
16.36and was more ptobably castat about r6.45.
64. APFIDAVSI BY M. XIVAN PAVLOV (DEC'Ehfl3ER rooth,rg48),
CERTWE-ING THAT BETJYEEN OCTQBER ~3rd AND zath, 1946,
IN THE GULFOF KOTOR,HE SAWA YUGOSLAVMINELAYER
OP THE "MELJINE'GLASÇ, MOVING TOWARDS THE FUEL
REFILLING POINTS AT UDKA KOTORSTiA1
ITrmslaiàon.]
1, Zivm Pavlov,merchan t seaman,make cath and Say asfollows:-
I mas boni onthe 16th March,1916I.served sevm yem in the Royd
'thertutmnvy,of1940inandmAprilr94ra 1eservcd on boardthe minelayeren
~sieb, InApril'$41 Trvaç takenprisonerby tlieGenntins and was held
in Gkrmany witil194j incamp No. 20near GreisiiaIdinPornonia.1was
tlienliberatecby the Russians and 1returned to YugoslaviaIn Septem-
ber rgqs. I went ,tomg fatberrvho isa famer in XÇikinda and stayed
the= helping liirn,nntil ayear later,at Split, 1 joined the merchant
sertrice,myfirst ship being t5.5.TirnoirOn joining tliishipI becme
a. mernber of the Union of the Harbour 'LVorkersand Seamen of the
People's Republic of Yugoslavia and I annex my rnenibeehk tard
No.83051t iogether witli a Frenchtranslationofthis document.
1 remained in thernerchant sen4çe until 28th October bast, thati3,
28th Octokr, rg48.1 sailecl frorn Fiumcon 24th October in a cargo
ship in wliichk \vas servingas chlei wirelessoperator.TVe arrived in
Triesteon tlie25thfora stajroffourdays, and 1wcnt ashore onthe night
before the shisailecand repasted tothe local police.
1 lefiny skip at Trieste because I ivasout of syrnpathywith the
regime in Yupslri~rirand had decided not to retum to my country.
1 was finally leçi te&e this decisionbecause I was w;arned thataii
non-party rnmbers would shortly be dismissed fmm the rnerchant
service and sent to fosced labour.
The first merchant ship in which I sert:ed.was, as çtated above,
S.S. Timok. I joinedthis ship asradio operator at Spliton Thursday.
17th October, ~gqts, am certainof this datbecauseit isstampedin my
OriginainSerbo-Croxt Iangiiagnotreproducd. Translation intn Engrish
~ubmittedivitltheoriginaky the ilgenof theUnited Krigdom Governmcnt.Ynemberskip card mentioned above. Tîire or four day~ later, thatis
onthe 20thor ~1st October, wesailed forZdenika in theGulf of Kotor
where we arrived in the'aftmoon of Monday, zrst, or Tuesday, ~2nd
bauxite..%Irmoored alotgside the guay at Zelcnikaand çtarted toload
Two or tb daysafter we dvtd atZdenika on a drtydich $vasa
wo~kingday and tberefore before' Sunday, 27th October, 1oherved
a Yugoslav warship entering the Gulf of Kotor. Several of us were
standing nettr theTimok's gdey just befofe lunch-time, thai:isabout
rz.30,when the warship was seennearKobila Point. There isno doubt
that she was coming in directly from the sea At firswe could not
recognizewhat sort ofship she was and kgan to discuss her.As the
ship stearned eastward pp the Gulfof Kotor she passed within about
x,ooo rnetresofus, near enough for usto be 'ableto riethat the crew
were naval mtiflgs.
The visibilitivasgood andwe recognized the shipasa miningtender
of the Melja'fclass.thew thisclas ofship weU becauseof my service
with the Royal Yug-cislavNa9 before the war.AS apupil inthe petty
ofticers'school, 1had in factserved on a ship of this class and had
frequentlyvisited tlze sarshipslater. am quite positive that tship
which I saw onthrit dayintheGulf ofKotor waç one of the Mcljindass.
1do not rememlxr noticingwhether this miningtender had then any
minebying equipment, but I4ho\v that this classof shipwas dsigned
to be able to Iay mines,
ïhe mining tender wu in sight faa consid&ble the and disappemd
Wand up the Kumbur Straits in the directionofDjenovic and Tivat,
where the fuelingpoints inBoka Kotorska lie.
TRAXSLATTONY NT0 FKEPJCROF THE RELEVANT PORTION3 OF TKE MEMBER-
SNIP CARD OF THE YVGOSLW SEAMEN'S AND PORT-WOKKERS' UNION,
BEhRlNG NAME OF WVAH PAVLOV '
T~~djldhttBW~Jra*çaisdes +assages+ediwents de IQ cm.% & membre de
1'Unzm spdicde desrnnri~tset irauaiJieusm ports de Za Rbp~bEiqzle
po$duire de You-godavieaf4 aom de Sa'eianPavlov.
Page z
(Lie u'estampe des branches de funion syndicale)
NodeI'Umon syndicale: 16174
Nom etprénom : .PAVLOV Zivan
Profession: radiotélégraphiste
Né l'année1gr6 : Lieu de naissance : VelilkKikinda
Tnscri. 17- X :1946
Lieu de I'inscripfio: S.S. Tirnui2 '
Tçignaturepersonnelle.]
-e Seçr&tair :e [Nom illisibJe. Le PréSdent : Zwrc.
1 OriginainSerbdroatlangnage,iiot reprodncTtaridationitFrenchofthe
televant portisubmittedtvititacoriginal,tho AgentoftheUnitedichgdorn
Governrnent. L'Union syndicale:
LSceauj
L'W~iion syndiçd? des marinset da employks des
travaiueursdesportset &s chantierde Yougoslavie
Leduplicatadelacarte d'identitdm'mbre 5eddivrepas ladécision
de Iadirection del'Unionsyndicale.
Fa4F3
Membre de 1'Union
Date LE nom de labranche dèl'Union No de l'Union
sjvdicale
q. X-46 L'union svndicaldes marins ettravailleurs' 16174
des ports'e deschantiersde laRkpublique
populaireyougoslave
This is the exhibit (French tmnslatioreferreto in
the afidavitof Zivan Pavlosworn beforeme the teneh
day of Decernber,1g4S.
(Signedl.. ..
-Fi .. ConsulGencraI,
Rotterdam.
65. "INSTRUCTlUNÇ FOR REN13ERiNG SAIT UNDERWATER
bVEAPONS-GERMAN BUOYANTMINES-~943''
66. AIR PHOTOGWPH OF THE ENVIRONS OF SARANDA
SEOWNG CERTAIN YATHS hLVD RON3S (1943)
67.MAP OF SARAND-4DISTRICT (rJfjo,cios Albaiiia dreet ab-tv
SAFUNDA)
68.AhENDMENTS SUBMITrED ON DECEMBER qth, 1948,BY
Tm UNITED KINGDOM NAVALEXPERTS TO THE REPLIES
TH~Y RAD GIVEN TQ QUESTIONS BY JUDGE ECER~
REPORT QN PgSïrIOhOF SHIPS IN PRh?MOVAC CQn REVISEI) IN THE
LIGHTOF TITE DIMENSIONOF THE "fi1'-GLAMIUUAYERS SUBMITTEDTO
THE COURT BY AIIICL1RMOULLEC
We desireinview of the nedimcnsiorroftheMljetand Meljim,to
mzbmitanamended report. Oupreviousreporwas basedontheassrimp-
3% No. bz,p,Sr. tion thatinview ofthe factthat the draught of thessbips was 13 feet,
it follorvedthatthe7 coald nat either of them havc been right at the
western end of the letty sincethe three-fathm line Irvaas shown on
Admiralty Çhart Xa. 1581 ust outside thecove and we were infamed
by Commander Romcic that Sie water in the cave became shaUower
towards Itswestern end. Inview of the fact that the ships-raught
turns outta be8 feetithas beennecessary tore-examiiieourconclusions.
Weaccordwgly, in submittlngour revised reporthave yroceede by the
following steps:
(1) IVe accept that, if the contours shown an the Yugmlar plan
haveuseen the shipsfrom7the terraceat,Sibenik ibothCshipçwerelaiong-
side one anotherat the exheme west end of the cuvesincethe contoim
of therisinglandat p~int X wodd interferewithhis Iinof view.
(2) LVe cannot accept that thesaco~~toum at point X are accurate
hecanse (a) they are atvariance ~viththe configuration of theland as
shown inphotographsz,3 ancl 5subrnittedby the Aibanian Governrnen t,
in thatthe land içshown inthese pliotographs as rkinat anlya gradua1
inclinri from the shoreline fardistance whichwe estimateat approxi-
. rnately ;O rnetres.(WreIiave calculat this distance of 50rnetres by
endeavouring to pinpoint onthe pliotogmphs the approximate position
of the spot height13 and 14metres as they appear ttbe shown by the
configurationof the land onthe photographs,)The distalicebetween thc
shore and this pointisshown on tlie Yugodav plan (rvhichfor tliis
pdrpose we have taken asjccurate) as 120 me- and the photagraph
shows thai the land bcgins ta rise steeplat approximately just under
half way between these tkvopoints, rneasuring fromthe shore. (B)Our
estimate as in (a)above appears tobe comborated in grnerai by the
contouls shown on the UnitedStates Army map of Sibenik (Appendix1
to Annex 1 to Document E, 11/1/78),and alsa by the shadirigon the
low-lying coastland showfon tbe ltalianrnapNo. 558.
(3)Ifourestimate of the lie othe land as setciutin (2)(a)and (b)
above is accurate, namely th~t ittses at a gradua1 incline forsome
50 metres from the coast and only thereaffer beginsto rise abrtiptly,
the position would be aç follows:
(a)If both shipswere alongsideone ankther at the&me west
end of the coue, neitlitwodd have been visible. As show in
paragtaph a(4) below, hosvever, itwonld have been impossible
for the ship to be in thisposition.
(b) CommanderKovacic inhis thirdsketch(document E. TIiI168in
which he reprcsent ehe position othe ships when he hirnself
was on the tenace, drew the ships as moored vne behiiid the
ofier.On the assumption (rvhicliaswe show in paragaph (4)
extremeswestiendyofttheçove,lCommanderKovacicitsbwouldathavee
been ableta see the mineson the upperdeckof the secondship.
IteqiiaUyfollows that(parapph (4)below) we do notthink the
second ship could have been so farrvcst as inthis açsumed
position.
(4) 'LVeproceed tu consider whaf. tvasthe probable position of the
ships, and in doing ço have taken into accourlt the fullowing facto:s were asshown in hissketcN ho-3 (document E.IIJ1/66)moord
one behind theother and the bows of theinnermost ship were
natlessthan xl/s,ip'slengths from the extremwest end ofthe
eove,Commander Kovacic would be ableto seethe topsof tlie
mines an hoth ships and the fumer and bridge of the second
ship. As appears from wliat we have already saidabove, we
tlhk thismay well be the approximate position thattheships
occapied,and in any event there isnotl-iingimposiblr:about
such a position. Taking into acwmt Commander Kovaciç's
evidenceofwhat he mas able tosee, we concludethat theships
were,ivhen Commander Kovacic saw them from the terracé,
moesed one behind the other, the innemmh ship beiiig ap-
proximately rl/,'ship'lengtihs from theextremc west end of
- . thecoire,lYt?refer t~sketchesNor;,randzannexedtotfiis
report.
(5) In consequmce ipùn the assumption abwe made, we conclude
that Commander Kovaçic çould, from the tenace,have seen what he
deçcribed.We woald add tht even ifthe contoursatpoint X were not
aswe havewtimâted them butwere asportrayedin the diagranprepred
by Admiral MoitUec (Amex I todocument No. E.I1]1/88) Commander
Kovacic ~vouldstillifthe ships werein the position~vehave assumecl
above, havebeen ableto seethemines in the secand ship,
(Sig.laedE.R. D. SIVDK~ER,
Naval repreentative of United
Kingdm Deiegation,Cm&. R.N.V.R.
SKETCH NO. f.-~bCWG OF YUGOSLAT PLAN OFPANJKUVAC CO- SEOW-
lMG Tm WSITlON 06 "X"-CL.~SSMlNEUYERG IN PANIKOVAC COVE
SXlGTCfNO. 2.4FCH SROIVMG TETATTHE LAND ON POINT X DLr,HOT
BLOCKTm LlNE OF SlÇHT BETWEEM KERIC'S HOUSE IN STBENlK AND THE
TWO "M"-CMSS MINELAYERS BEHTXED M PANIKOVAÇ COVE
6g. PHDTOGRAPHSOF H.M.S. YMAURT~Uç"Nos. A r,A z,A 3
AND A4l
[See sfisciakr~olu.e 70. OBSERVATlONS OF THE GOVERIVMLYT OF THE UNITED
KINGDOM OF GREAT ERITAIN AND NORTHERN IREUND
ON THE REPORTS OF THE NAVAL EXPERTS DATED
8th FEBRUARY AND 12th FEBRUARY, 1949
(Refemes are tothe pointof irivestigationrefemto in threport.)
I (a)No observation.
'
1 (b) Thoughthepoint doesnot appeartobe ofany practid importance
in view of the concLusionsreachcd inother portions of the report, it
appears tobe the casethat shipscouldbemoored againsttheforeshore
adjoiningthe north-easternquay even ifthere was no extension oftlie
qnay. Oilpatcheç on the stones at this point suggesttI-iatsiich mooiings
liad frequently takenplace.
1 (c) ItwiU beSeen (Annex rof the reportthat thedepth at thehead
aithe cove ibetween r and 1.5mebes and therefortao sl~allotcitake
a vesse1of the RI.çlassdrawing 2.4metres. Tlie bows of an M.-class
vesse1wouId have to beat le& onethirdof the lengtof thecove away
from the head ifshe were notto go a~ound.
1 jd) Ttis noted tliatthis finding relateto the date of inspectian
(24th Jmuary, 1949 and is notnecessarily qplicableto the periodof
October 1946.Nothing was sem which con1daccount for the apparent
obstmctions shownon the aerial photographNo. 4025of 1944 am=-
panying the jointlettersubmitted to tlieCourtby the Parties' experts
on 6th December,1948, and the inference is thawhat waç shown on
the photograph liasince been removed,
1 te) Itis observed that accaunthas not been taken ofthe düference
in the snn'sazimut11on the two dates 24thJannary md 19th (or 17th)
October.
The attached chart show the aximuth on the 24th January and
r7tl"tober respectively. It will hseen that the mn declines qc
further te the west~vardon the 17th Octrlbr,1946 hm on the 24th
Jannary, 1949,at approxiinatd the me time before suaisetThe
configuration of thlandwest of 6anikovac Cdve is such that wherexa
shadow may be cast ata certaintime mer a ship'lyinginthe wve on
24th Jannary it wouldnot doço on ~7thOçtobes.
'Che attachedph~tograph, whichwas taken atapproximately xl/hours
tlefore sunset on24th Jariuawy.$5 alsoof interest in this connexion.
It shows thesnn shining on Lieutenant-Colonel Ivekovic's ledecoat
andits buttons011 the Mt ofthe photopph may IÈeseentreesand the
slope oa hillkliind awhite building.A line £romwhere the members
of the Court'sMiwion are standing over the corner of the building
would point appro~imately in the directionofthe an at 16-45on the
- ~7th October when the azhuth of the Sun was agreed to lx 2~3'/~
degrees(5eetlie agreedanswersof theFarties'experts: E.II/I/pdated
23thMovember, 1948, I)is note4 that theconfiguration ofthe hdi is
gradua1and the trees thinly pkanted. Taking into consideration thedifferencein azimut$ andthe slspe of
the hitl,asillirstrated inthe phutograph, the conclmion is.maintained
that ;tshipmoored on thenorth-east oftlie covewould certainlyhave
beenin the sun55minu tes before srinseon 17thO.ctober,1946.
I If) It isnoted that nocomplete examination of the tunnels, or of
the materialstored therein,was mrtied out.The experts fonnd no rails
laid outsidethe tunnelsatall,and the referenccinthe reportI Ifto laid
railsare torails laid insitlietunnels tvhicftwerenet entirelycovered
by sheet iron. As show inAnnexr therewas alsoa pileof milsstacked,
nhich would be put down when required foruse,and could be laiddom,
eitheron the south-west or thenarth-eastside ofthe cave, there being
an ampleriurnberfor this purpose.
(i) The point isonly ofminosimportmce as tothe accuracy of Com-
mander Kovacic's recolledion on points of-exact detail, andclm not
affectthe essentiaifeaturesof Iiis evidencebut itis submittd that it
isnot establishedthat an MYE.-clarssineiayc eruld have beenmood
dong the south-~vestern quay onthe. 17th October, 1946 , he absence,
ai tliat date in October 1946, of the obstructions, show in the air
photograph No. 4025 of rg* accornpanying the joint lettersubmitted
to the Courtby the expertsofthe Parties on 6th Decembw, 1g48 ,snot
proved, An M.-zIassmineIayet could not have ben rnaored at tiie head
of the north-east qerny as tliewater istoo shalkiw (seeobservation
on 1 Cc)abovc). 1t would have been possible,on the othes liand, for
two minelagers to moorcd aff the north-eastern çluay, one almgside
the mve but sornedistance from its head,theother witliitsstem nver-
lapping the stem of the fitst rninelayeand lying closeto the end of
the quayas.Commander Kovacic has desctibcd.
(it T)his conclusion,itis submitted, isnot established. Taking into
açcount the true azhuth of the sun on the 17th OctoberI a ship lying
at the north-eastem quay in the cove tvould havc been in the sun at
r6.rj kovrs and the paint on the mines would have been seen. (Vide
comrnentson 1 (e}above), In any we Commander Kovacic's tzmes are
only approxirnateand the time may have *en a fer, minutes easlier
tlian lie thought,
(iii Xa connexion with the expertshtatement that the aval mines
wodd have had to be brought out and deposited on the quay whle
G.Y. mines were beingfoaded, it 4pointed outthat Commander Kovacic
stated that he saw ovalmines on the quay- (Record, Rearing of the
Witnesses and Experts, page #g 1.)
1 {g) Mthong1-iwcounr has;not been taken of the diffaenceof thesun's
azimuth (see1 (G)above) the ol~servationsare acceptedexcept that it
isnot agreed (forthe rasons alreadystated)thaf the shipr,would have
ben in theshade and, conseqnently,that it wouldhave beem impossible
to see (e)that the mines wcre newly paifited, oIf)horns or rails.On
the contrary it is nibmitteci that bothof these wodd have been seen
becam the ships would have been inthe sun (see I (e)above). The
t Se Vol. III,p. 651. ' and that th& home was 489 feet above sea Ievel andonly 300 yards 1
from tlie shore.
II Cg)No observation.
II (h) Na observation.
Gmsral:Theconclusionof,the Naval experts thatBarchetta Rock was
used asa datzcmdaft fotabulating aiposifion$is correct.
Co~dqtsioa s
The Govmment of the United Kingdomacwpts, and dnws attention
to,theconclusionof the experts under D @, 14) :
-"lfthe rninelaying\v,vedonefrom the south (whichis most feasible,
as theships w~uld not have to cross theirown minefields if mturning
to the norlih), the ninelayerswould have ken observed from Cape
Kiephdi, Denta Point and San GiorgioMonctstery.It must be borne in
mind that inthiscase theships wouldhave passed the above-mentioned
pointsturice,Th eexpcrf sorzsideitta 6e indisflatlubthafifa mmal
look-o~twerekept alCapa Kiqhli, Dwta Poi~ut t.nSm GzmgioMomsf-
ery, ard if the LooiZ-oztseveeqsi&be wth b%nocul#r ss hclsbeeasfuted,
umdev .izormaweather candibiotcs/or lharea, th miwhyi+zg opefataans
shom i+xAmex IX bo the Uf$itcdKiwgdo~ ~Wmria~ ~mt A~E beerr.
.notic& By thesecoastgztartk."
It isubrnittedas dealy establishedthat in fact alook-out u7askept
onDenta Point, and that the observationpost atthe San GiorgioAhna-
stety wasin the tower, thus giving anevenbetterview tliawas available
tthe United Kingdom, Ieavessnoroomn tforclouuttltat thecaserorlgindly
.putfonvard by the Governmen tof the United Kingdom, inthe Security
Councii and in its Mernorialiscorrect,namely tkat itwodd have becn.
impossible far this operationof laying the mines in question to have
been carried out withotit the knowledgeand cornpliçity of Alhania. It
is, fiirtherquite inconceivah tlet anybody would have undertaken' ,
the risk of detection, and tliereforeone would have attempted to Eay
this rnindeld without the knowledge of the Albanian Government.
The conduct of the AIbania nutliorititzs during tcourse of the
examination of this localify by theCourt'sexperts psoviclesadditional
confimatiori, iftk is required, ofAlbanian complicity. In the first
place cvery effortwas made fo prevent the discovery of the pùst on
Denta Point. Commander Sworcler reports that Çaptain Polena first
said that thereuxere riobuildingson Denta Point, and then, when the
experts insisted on tryintrifind the buildings which tliey hadobçerved
fsom the sea,Çaptain Polena led them tothe wrong hillFurtherefforts
were made to prevent the discoveryof the past in the tawer ofthe San
Giorgio Monastery,-Theexperts' report,page 9,indirates this. Thdoor,
in fact.\vasforceci, pen by Lieutenant-Commmder Elffericli. Further,
with reference to pageIOofthe report, it to be noted thatCamm-mder
Swurderreports that theAlbanian autlioritiestefused to allow the look-
out party under Commodore Farsheil to make observations from the
towe~ of the monastery, The rep~rts of Commander Sworder on these
pointscanbeverifred bytheCourt by referencetcthe expertsthcmselves.
B. Thn.Rafiott ofth r2th Febpzmy.
As to tl~cReply of the expertsto Question 7 addresçed to them by
Judge Krylov. Thereappears to be some enor, peçurnabty a Spin& error,in-the
English text on page 6. The cornparison of operations I and III reads
as fo110~~5,
(CL)Mzrnelaying/mm Ikie asorth: (a)MimL19~g from 1115 outh:
r, aperatian might not be seen r.by the Iook-outatiSan Giorgia
by the look-outat San Giorgia Moriastiery.
- 2.minelayers wciuld be seal 2.operation would not lx seen
from Cape Kiephdi from Cape Kiephali.
3.rninelayer must have kn 3. minelayer must have been
seen from Denta Foint. sen from Denta Point."
It isnotunderstoodwliy, wder 3,in each casethe werd "minelaym"
(singulark used whereas elsewhwe "rninelayerç'"plurala)re refend ta.
Itappears that what isintend~l is "minelaying" in eaçh case.
"(b)mWdapng !rom the sozlth : (b)mi~el~g~g/rom the soakt1
x. minelayen wouldbe seen by x. minelayerçmust have
the look-on tt San Giorgio seen by the Iriokaut at San
Monastery. Giorgi0Monasterg.
a 2.rniirelayer must have been 2. minelayer must have hen
seen frem Denta Point, seen by thelook-ouh tm
Denta Point.
3.minelayers ~vouId havebmn 3. operation would not have
seen fram Cape Xiephali. beenseenhm CapeRiephaE."
Here also,nnder 2,in each case wliarcthe word''mineIayerP is' used,
"minelaying" sems to be intencld,
Under x, in each case,it alsoappears qnite dear that tvhere "mine-
layers"are referredto"minelaying" ismeant, because the finasentence
onthe page, which sums up the effectofthe "comparison" reads : ''ifthe
ma'aelayingwcre startedfrom the south,iGmust in bot1cases have been
çeen from the San Giorgio Monastery". It appears infacr quite dearly
from conc1u';ionD on page 5 (English text)tliat Operation1 (b)(i)ancl
III (B)Ci(on page 6) isLntended tcbe the precisecounterpartofopera-
tion 1(a) (iaud III(a) (i). The oprationmight not have been seen in
the onc case, but mwt have been seen in the other.
The Goverurnent of the United Kingdom hrther dratva attention tu
thefact that, in teferrintothe San Giargio Monastery, the experts are
referriilto thelook-out pmt aEthe fool(seepage 5, English text,con-
clusionC (0) H.aving regardto themuch more ~xten~ivevie~ ebtainable
from the look-out tom, and tlie likelihoodthat this was ifactirsed.
the pmbability that the operation117ouldbe detected £rom San Giorgio
Monastery was infaçt greater,ineach case,thm is stated inthe experts'
report.
It isclex, finally, that nothing in the experts'reply dated 12th
Febmay, 3949, isintended to affect,or infact affects,the condusion
(underlined)whichappearsat the fost ofpage rq-and the top of page 15
(Engllsh text)of their report dated 6thÇebruary, 1949. This ismade
obvious (inlm alz'a)Ily the statement apage 8 tbat "the conclusiai~s
whichtheyha~~edrawninrega~dtothepossibiIityofseeingtheopera- 98 OTHER DOCUMENTS SUBMIfLED (u.R.)
tion" [note the word "operation'J'kpppear to them to deprive the
question whether the operation wdd be heard of any furtherimpor-
tance". The expertscImt1yrnaintau~edthe viewthat theoperationrnust
have been seen.
If,however, the Cod .arin any donbt on the question whether
page 6 of threportcontainsthe typingerrorwT-iichave bmn miggested
above, the Governmentof the United Hingdom requesk the Courtto
referto the experts.
(~&rd) W. E. BECKETT.
17 Febmary, 1949. Agent for the Govmment of
the: UnitedKingdom.
1CHART $301~~~ Tm SUN'S A2IhlUTH ON JAMUARY 24th, 1949, AND
OCTOBER 17th~ 1946
[SM sp&al ml~me.] AU~S DOCUMENTS SOUMIS (ALBAXIE) 99
SECTIONII
DOCUMENTSSOUMIS PAR LE GOUVERIVEMJZNT
DE L'ALBANLE
A. - AVANT LWOUVERTURE DES Au'DIEYCBB5
r. NOTE ADR.ESS~E PAR LA ~GATION DE YOUGOSLAVIE
A LA HAYE A L'AGENT DU GOUVERNEMENTALBANAIS,
TRANSMETTANTUN COMMUNXQ~ DU GOUVER.NEMENT
YOUGOSLAVE CONCERNANT LA DÉPOSZTION DU CAPITAINE
DE CORVET'l'E ROVACIC
La légationde la Républiquefédfiratieapdaire de Yougoslavie:
I'honnew de vous faire parvenirci-inclustexted'un communiqué
du Gouvernement de Yougoslavie,ronccrnantlaquestionde l'affaire
des Détroitsde Corfou.
En même temps, lalégationde Yougoslavieal'horineur de porter
votre conr~aissanque letexteidenticlue et6port&à Ia connaissance
des deux Partieen cause, aujourd'hui.
La IégatioridYougoslavie saisit ceoccarsicpour vousrenouveler
lesassumaces de sa l-iaute considémtion.
La Haye, Ie 8 novembre 1g48.
Légation de la RépubliqtlfBdérative
populairede Yougoslavieaux Pays-Bas.
Les miliemx officide Grande-Bretigriea la fidu mois d'octobre
1946décladrent que deux contre-torpilleurbritxnniques lieurtérent
des mines marines danslechenalde Corfou, damles eaux territorids
albanaises, présdu lien de SaranAacetteoccasionleGouvernement
du Royaume-Uni porta une accusation coiltne la Rkpublique populaire
d'Albanie, premikremenau Conseil de Sécuriet peu aprèsrl lCour
bilitéduGouvernementtalbanais poulesendomagementsprodesenavires
etpourles victimes. Toutes les tentafaitejusqti'aujourd'huipale
Gon17ernement du Royaume-Uni pnnr atteindrece but sontrest&s
sans rhultat.
Lorsde lapréparationetau momentdxintenterle proc&ç,l ressortait
clairementdèsle debut quel'accusatfutporteeavecdes butsparticu-
liers politiqueLe cours du procès atbano-britanniqumontre sans
équivoquequ'ilskagissaiicieiipremier lieu, commeil est connude
viohtionsystkmatiquedesqdroitssouverains de l*Aibadans ses aux .territdes, Ap& deux ans d'e-flortç infrfictuewxde prouver par
n'importequelmoyen laculpabilitéde laRt4pnbliquepopulaire d'Alba-
nie, lesfacteur britanniques cornpétentscammencérent des derniers
temps A tenter, par des chemins détournks le mE1er la Rkpublique
fédérative populaire de Yougoslavie dans ce procilis.Dans sondernier
Uniloaxait expsi:lunounouveau moment le danscrl'affaireet rnhe une
nouvelle affirmationd'a@ laqude les navires yougoslavesportant les
noms deMIjet etde Me.!iifiauraientimrntdiatement ailant l22 ocfobre
1946 monille des mines dans lechenal de Çqdou au su et avec la com-
plicitédu Gouvernement de la Rkpublique populaire d'Albanie. f1eçt
clair qua ce deniier agissement du Gouvernement britannique, par
lequel celai- ciux ans aprèscet incident encluestisnessaieà présent
d'accuser indirectement la Yougoslavie, ne fait que représenterune
nouvelle manwumeayant lès mgmes buts politiques, En meme temps,
lapreuveprésentéedkvoileelle-mhe la nmi-validitet le caracthepen
solide de cet agissement de autoritéshritanniques.-
Un an et demi aprêssa fuite de YougosIavie,le 4octobre 1948, le.
,déserteurmilitaire, Xard Kovacic, apparaitetpromet deçtémoignages
aux autorités britanniques.Ce témoin,auqi~el ila fallupresque un an
et demi pur offrirau Gouvernementbritannique son témoignage, réside
à l'ktrmger jusqu'i présent, etest d'aprèssapropre déclaration sails
profession, se procurant les moyens de vie d'une manière suspecte.
Cependant c,ci contorcleentièrement avec lescirconstances dans les-
quellesil a vbcueta travailléplendailetapr+s laguerre.Kard Kovacic
&tait détenupendant l'occupation de la Yougaslavie dans un camp
itaiienà ChiesaNuova, pr&s de Padova, d'oh il réussitàs'évadcrdans
des conditions suspectestandis quesa femme légitime TonckaICovacic,
nke Kozul, fut condamnée à mort en tant qu'agent dela Gestapo.Apr4s
son retour en Yougoslavie, KareI Rovacic se mit en liaison avec des
agentsd'un servicede renseigriement &ranger qui I'aidPrent déert~r
l'arméeyougoslave et&fuir Ùe Yougoslavie, faits pour lesquels il existe
des piEces judiciairedu procèsintentécontre l'espionneErika Milutin,
La non-validitéde la deposition d'untel individest irrkfutable11est
par là incompr6hensible que le Goiivemement du Qyaurne-Uni ait
pu se d&der à inculperie gouvernement d'un antreEtat, sus la base
des dépmiticins dhn tel sujet,qui estau service d'un pays ktrangw,
-qui et déserteurmilitaire etqui a fui sou pays à l'aide d'un service
.d'espionnageftranger.U ne faitaucun doute qiihn te1acteest conhaire
non seulement aux principes fondamentauxde la morde dans les rap-
portsinternationaux, mais humilie égalementl'institutiinternationale
au sein de laquellan essaiede le réaliser.
Dans ses dépositionsmensonghres,Karel 'Rovaciçmentionne que le
mécanicien sous-lieutenantDraga Blar~evirl:ui avaitcommuniqué que
lesdragueurs de mines étaient partis vers l17 oule 18 octobre 1946
de Çibeni pour Boka Kotorskaet plus loin pour effectuer nnmission
importante, bienqu'en réalitlesous-lieutenantDmgo BIazevic n'existe
pas dans La marine de guerregoagoslave. '
Xarel Kovacic affirmeensuite que les dragueursdemines portant les
noms de Mljet et de Meljine auraient çliargkA bord aux dates sus-
mentionnçesdes mines dansla baie de Panikotmc. Toutefois, il n'exiçte
pas dans la marinede guerre yougoslave des drapeufi de mines aysnt
de tels noms et un tel sipdemei~t. Les chpeurs de .minesde la rnaf.int guerreyougoslave setrou-
vaialt sans i~itemi~tiodu z7 septembre au g novembre x946, dans
les chantiers de Sibenikoiileurs chaudiéresont &tésoumises à un
nettoyage intkienr, oh leurs machuides étaient serriséeset QUfut
effectitkeunséried'autr ksparationstmdis quele premiermouillage
d'essa eit Iieu epdsence aune commission seulement le gnovembre
rg46, d'oùrésultequ'ils étaient pendantout cetemps complètement
hors tY&t de naviguer.
Karel Kovacic afirrnebgalern~navoir vn ler7 oh Ie16 octobr les
soi-disantnavirelWljelet Meljittdans Inbaie de Panikovac, et qu'il
auraitvu distinctementcTaLumiérr diudei1 souunanglede 30 deph,
les formes de rninavec Ieursmèches montées etc.Toutefois, le 17ou
le18 octobre,I'mgIedu wleil étaitA16-1h5. decirca7 degrksLa baie
de Pxnikovac,h causedes montagnes environnantesetde lapositi-du
soleilsetrouve normalement a cetteépoque dans l'ambre&'en ~utre,
aux dates prkitêesIe temps &taitnuageux etplnvieiuc.
Tous lesfaits ci-dessexposésprouvententièrement que lanouvelle
affirmation duGouvernement britannique estcontraireA S, i~éritet
est fond& sur ladPposition menson ère et inventéede toutes @&ces
de Karel Kovacir q" a rendu'au k ouvernement britannique, entre
ar son témoignage 11xmauvais service.
anhee?!'uvernement de la.RépubBque féd6rativepopdairedeYougo-
slavierejettdans son ensemble l'agissemendu Gouvernement britan-
nique et faitressortir que les moyenemployésdans ce casconcret
et demauvaiserfoiettnepeuvent 6tTeclansaucunlcasprisenUconsidhra-
tion parun organeinternational qui,parsorOIe-esesfonctions qului
ont &téattfibugs, doit tenir compte ses actes enepeut permette
que son prestigeet son autoritédans le moiide soientgossikremient
atteintsparde telles rnétiiodesinadmissibousemblables,
Lggation de la RbubZiquefédkative
popuIairede ï'ougoslavieaux Pays-Bas.
2. CALQUE uA o INDIQUANT LE CHENAL ~ÉhTlXfi ET LA
VOIE NORMALE DE LA NAVIGATION PASSANT AU MILLEU
Dl7 CANAL NORD DE CORFOU .
3. ~QUE, aB nINDIQUANT LE CHE~ D~MINE ETLA ZONE
DU CAiiAL NORD DE CORFOU DVNE PPROPNDEWR
INFÉREURE' A 25 BRASSES 102 AUTRES DOCUMENTS SOUMIS (ALBANIE)
4. CALQUE # C smDIQUANT LES POSITIONS RESPECTIVES
DU CHENAL ALLEMAND EL JlZJCHENAL DÉMINI?
[VoirnoEumespécial]
5. CALQUE R D n LA POSITION DU CRAW DE
MINES ET LE TXAJET SUIVI PAR LES NAVIRE
KMAURITLUS s,aLUNDER B*a SUPERB »ET tiORION u
[Voe'adune8 s$&ilal.]
.6. PROCES.VERBAUX DU CONSEIL DE sÉcuIUTE; PREMI~~RE
ANNEE, SECONDESERIE, SUPPL~~MEN T o4
B. - APRÈS- L'OUTERTUREDES AUDIEfi7CES
7. RAPPORTDE M. JACQUESÇHAPELON, PROFESSETJR
.. D'ANALYSE A ,L*ÉCOLEPOLYTECI*IQVF, Z)17PARIS, AU
SUJET DU PASSAGE DU nMAZIRLTILJ nDA8S UN CHAMP
DE MINES1
8. EXTRAIT DE L'ORDONNANCEN" 892 DU RIINISTRRE DE
LA D~!&ENsE NATIONALEYOUEOSLr,4V EONCERNmT LES
DRAGUEURS DE MINES A1I,M z ET M3l
[T~udwction,]
L'Ordonnan ce,&rv6 ; 892,
du ministèrede iD6fensenationale pour
le 17 novembre1945.
Aux besoins dservicet surlaproposition
du Commmdement de IaMarine
J'ordonne
que surlalistdelaflotte de lx Mayougos1;tvsoient inscrites les
unit& nades suivante: s
- -
Tate enlangue sérh-cr(non rcprodtritradl~ctfran&ivisée
à lalégationde 'l'csnT;HayecommecoriformI'ongnal, AUTRES ?UQCWKEWTF SOUMIS (ALBANIE) TU^
A - Les wnitéso$éraiS~~&
.,..... omis
27) leporteurdcmineç M-1
18) n D II B M-2
19) a n ID 1i K-- 3
....*., omis
mis
II:
Le Prkident du Conseil
des Ministreet Ministre de la
Défense nationale :
Le Markchal dr Yougo$lavi:
J. B. TITO S.t.
I--s.1
Le Grand &tat-major de
1'Armïeyougoslave.
Vu pour 1a ~Erificationde Ia copie :
Le Cummandant en chef de la Mdne
de guerse yougoslave :
Le Vice-Amime JOSIP CTRNI.
F- ç.3
L'Etat-major
du Commandcrnent de laMarine
de guerre yougoski~~e.
g. ATITSTATIQN RELATIVE A LA RETARATION DES BÂTI-
MENT5DE LACLASSE ET DU TITE M,DAhfSLES CHANTIERS
DE SIBENIK,DU 27 SEPTEMBRE AU 9 NOVEMBRE rgqG
[Traduction.]
Nous attestonque lesbâtiments dlaclasseetdu typeirM nontBt6
enrbpm~tions au chantierdertparationçde Sibmikdu 27[vingt-sept)
septembreau g (neuf) net-mbre 1946,ainclti'résultdu registredu
T&c ailangue sedia-cr(nonrqroduitavectraductifrançsise
àlalkgntiondcYûugmlwiBLa Rzp cmme cunfmmeL l'original. travaidu chantier deréparationsde Sibenikde i'année1946,sons les
nosgzo,921 et922 du regrstre. I
Sibmik,
le17 novembre 1948.
IL.S.] (La Directiondu chantier,
secteurtechnique.)
Le Directeur du chantief
de rkparation:
Le Capitaine SA~N~I? B~amo.
Certifi:tattest la vdracitk
du présentcertificat:
Le Cornandan tLieutenant-Colone:
L PURISIC Ivo. C
&. S.1(LeCmmandmebt iiaval
de l'Adriatiquceiitrde.)
IO. PHOTOCOPE D'UNE FAGE DU REGISTRE'DES
RÉ~'ARATIONS DES CHANTIERS DE SIBENIK
(CERTIFI~E CONFORME A L'ORIGINAL)
TRAEWWI-QÈJFRAN@iîÇE DES INSÇRTPTIONSCONCERNANT LES BATIMYIYTS
M a, hi2 ET M 3, VIS~E A LA T,I~GATIOI E YOUGOSLAVIE
A L+ HAYE COMME CO~TORME A L'ORIGWAL
Appellath des objee
Mo da navigabledesunitCs Dgçignation
1s commande Date ou dc l'org~nism dutravail
896 16,9, 46........m...........,............
................................................
Po 26.946 M. x La dparation desma-
chinesprincipaleset ac-
cesoixes ;les petitré-
parations de la chau-
dière et de l'installa,ion
61ectriquedesbàtiments
(nettoyage intérieude
la chaudi& sera fait
par l'équipage). Appellation des objets
ETude navigable,desunités Désigiiation
la commande Date oudc l'organisme du travail
9z1 264.46 M. -2 Les réparationssur
auxiliairesl[nettoyages
intCrieude 1achaudière
sera fait parl'6quipage
du bàtirnent),
Les réparations par-
tiellede la &andPire.
pz2 26.9,46 .Ma 3 La dparation desma-
chines principales &
atrxiiiaires,
Réparation sur la
chaudi&re et rechange
des pièces kclatéeçdes
tnyaux ; 6 pièces,
(Le nettoyage de la
chaudièresera fait par
ITquipage,)
Certifique Ia phot-pie ci-contre
esttonforme àson original,
(~eMinisGre de la~éf~~ Le Directeur<IIDépartement jiiridique
-nationale: Dép.tement du Ministérede laDéfensenationale;
juridique.) Le Colonel Z~ONIMIO Rsmrc.
rr. CALCULSUR LA HAUTEUR DU SOLEIL A
SIBEN'IKLE 18OCTOBRE 1946 A rs H, xj, BTABLI
PAR LE CAPITAINE ORMANOV ra. ATTEST.4TION RELATIVE A L'QFFIÇIETç
DRAGOBLAZEVIC '
[Trad~dim.]
Le Commandement de la Marke
de guerre yougoslave.
Département perxinnel
(trésconfdentiel ri"-94~).
Le 17novembrer948.
Nous attestons que dansle rang du cadreda officierçde Ia Mdne
de guerre yougoslave, nese trouve pas -enserviceet n'a jamais été
en serviceun certainsous-lientellant rn4canicien-mach iunnsome
de D~sco BL.AZEVTC.
I
Split, ,Le Directeur
le 17 novembre 1948. dumpartement personnel du
Cornmaridementde Ea Marine,de
[L. 3.1 @erre yougoslave :
Certifieetatteste la véracitdu ' SIMURDF IETER.
présent çertifificat,
Le Cmnmde guerrehyougosiave:Ma-ine
Le VieAmira1 : CERFJ IOSIP.
p. S.] '.
État-major du commandement de la
Marine de guerre yougoslave.
Vu i la légationde laR&p~bliqnefédérative
populaire de Yougoslaviepour traductioncon-
forme a son texte en langue serbo-croateLa
truiede ...(gratisa étéperçue conformément
à l'artT ne ...du tarif de lloi surIestaxes,
A rio14448
Le 24 novembre 1948, D'ordreda Ministre,
La Haye. Le Secrétairede légation;
[Signatnreillisible.]
[Sceau]
Leation de la R&publique
fedérativpopulaire de
Yougoslavieaux Pays-Ras.
Tcxteenlanguexrbwoate (non feprduithveebdiirtionfrançaise visée
k laIGgrtiode~ougoçlavie La 'Hqc Gomme canfosmc I'crigind. AUTRES DOCUMENTSSOVEcTn ~B~NE)
13. CERTIFTCAT RELATIF AUX MOUVEWNTS DES
BATX~NTS DE LA CLASSE ET DU TYPE M EN
OCTOBRE1946 l
[Tr&wEion;l
Le Commaridemmt maritime de
l'Adriatiqumbidi onale.
N" 49Mi
le 17novembre 1948.
Nous attestonsque les bhtirnents dela clse et du type nM a
n'&aient pas en ravitaillement chlesunités deh Wine de gtierre
yougoslave i Rob Kotorska. pendant la période du ~cr (premier)
au 31 {trenteetun)octobre 2946(mil neufcent quarante~six)etpue
dans letemps susm~ntionn6, ils n'ont pas passt(n'étaient pasen
passage) parBoka Kotarska.
MeIjine*le 17 novembre 1948.
Cmmandant,le Capitainede
%. 5.1 iln eang:
VUL~X IVAN.
Certifieetattcstcla véracit6du
prkent certificat:
Commandanten cheEde la Marilie
de guerre yougoslave :
Le Vice-Amiral :CERM JOSTP.
I- --1
État-major du Commandement clt la
Marine de guerreyoiigosave.
Vu à lalkgati6nde la RépubliquefEdérative
populaire de Yougoslaviepour traductioncon-
forme & san texteen langue serbo-croateLa
taxede ...Lgratis) étéperçue confornénent
ili'artT. n ...du tarif dlaloi surletaxes.
A no r4m/48
Le 24 novembre xgg3, D'ordre du Ministre.
La Haye, . Le Secrétaire de légation:
[Sigiiatii~e illisible-]
[kealq
Ligation de laRkpnbliqae
fédérativpopulaire dt;
YougoslavieauriPays-Bas.
1Texte enlangu~boaciate (nanr~proctuayec traduction'fran~vis&
Lla ldgationde YougosALa Ha~rcomme conformeà l'original. 14.CARTE DE L7AMIRAU~& BRITAIWIQCTENo 1581:
ABORDS DU POliT DE SlBENIK
'15.CROQUISDE PANIKOVAC&'TABL IAR-LTNSTITUT
HYDROGRAPHIQUEYCIUGOSIAW EN DAZXDU
20NOVEMBRE1948
I
xB. Pm DE WASTRE DE LA VILLE DE SIBENIR
'7.PFIOTOGRAPH NLEIS IIET'IIIDE PANIKOVAC.
PRISESDU QUAI DE CIPAD OU DES ENVIRONS
18.PHOTOGRAPHIES NosIVET Y, PRISES EN
DIRECTION DE PANIROVACDE LA TERRASSE 00 SE
TROUVAIT LE CAPITAINE DE COR'irE'lUEOVACIC
rg.CARTEITALIENNE DE SIBENIK (No558)
20.lL4PFOXT DE LA ICOMiKiSSIONaYOUGOSLAVE AU
SUJET DE L'INDISPONIBILITÉDES BATIMENTS
M r,M z ET M32x,FICHES DE TRAVAIL DES CHANTIERS DE SIBEXTKPOUR
&S COMMANDES Nm 920,gz~ET 922CONCERNANT LES
'BATIRENIS M I,M zET Bf 3
zz. FICHE DE TRAVAIL CONCERNANT .LE BATIMENS M VI,
PORTANTLA SIGNATURE DU CAPITAINE DE CORVETTE
TCOVACIC
(~OGU~~IE0RinIGINENLANGUE SERBO-CR0.4TE, AVEC
TRADUCTIOEflANÇAISVIS~EA LA&GATION DE YOUGOSLAVIE
A ICA RATCCiHMECOnORME A L'OREGIXAL)
[Vai170lumsp&téal,]
23.NCUMHANDES DE TRAVAIL nNosgzolpz ET 922
APREs~ÉES A LA DIRECTION DES CHANTIERS DE
SLBENX ENR DATE DU z6SEPTEMBRE 196 ET
ÇONCERNAMTLES R~PARKSIONS A EFFECTUER AUX
CHA'ITDI~RED SES BÂTIMENTS M r,M zET M 3
(TROIS DQCU~N-OWGINAUX E~ LANGUE SERBOCROATE,
AVEC TRADUCTIONS FRANÇAIVISEEA LA L~GA~ON DE
YOTTGOS1-4PA~4 RAYE COMME CONFORMESAUX CIRIGINAUX)
14.AFFIDAVI:îDE LA PR~~ÇIDENcEDU GOWVERNEI~EN TE
LA R~?PuBLIQUE FEDERATIV EOPtTUIRE DE
YOUGOSLAVIE AU SUJET DE L'HEURE I;I?GALEF,h'
YOIJGOSLAVIE
(TExTFEN LANGUE ÇERBO-CROAmDA^ DU 27 NQ'lrIskm1948
AVEC TBADiJCTIFRANÇAiSEVIS^&A 1.4L~~ATION DE YOUGOSLAVE
RLA HAYE COMAE CONFORME AL'ORIGINAL)
[Vaivolumesfiéca'd.] ZS. &PON~E DoNWE PAR LIS EXPERTS DE LA
DI~LÉGATION ALBANAISEAUX QUESTIONSPUSEESPAR 'LE
JUGE ECER AU COMITEMIXTE WEXPERTS, -
LE 30 NOVEMBRE ~946:5
1) LA LUM~RE ÉTAIT-ELLE SUFFISANTE A l7h. 35 POUR PEmmRB
RE CAPITAINE DE CORVETTE KOVACIC OE VOIR LES NAWRES MQUIUÈS
DANS L'ANSE DE PANLKOVAC ?
2) SILA LUMIERI LZTA ESU5WSGNTE, ICATERRE AURBZL-ELE FU
&TER LA YUE ?
1".Mêmeen plein jorir,ileût kt&absolumentimpossiblepour
Ravacic dese faire unopinionsurdasituatiodes navire:
a) la distanceentre Pmikavacet etmaison dont ila hdiqu6 18
positiosurla carteestrl'enviro1-350mttres.
b) la pointe de Panikouac interçete lerayonvisuel joignant
l'observateaux bgtiments. Or, altitudau-dessusdu niveau
dela mer' clelapointe dePaikovac varientre5 etrqrnEtres,
altitudsufisantpotIrmasquerlepont dm mmouilletlremines.
Les dcuxphotos TV etV (jointauprhn t rapport°)onf &téprises
de laterrassoù se trouvait Kovacic. Elles montrent lapointe de
Yanikomc forne écrandevant l'emplacement desnavires.
29 Le 17 octobrele soleis'estcouché à r7 h. rI elécrépuscule
civila en lieuà r71140.
A 17 h,35,Kovncic voyait les collinesde Panikrivacdms l'obscurit6
au-dessousd'un ciellégèrementcelairé.
11liepouvait I&re aucune obscsvation.
La Haye, le 4 dkcmbre 1948. 1
26. CROQUIS MONTRANT LA PARTIE D'UN BATIMENT DE
LA CLASSE 151UI AURAIT PU ÊTRE APERÇE, LANUIT, DE
LA COTE, D'UNE .ALTITUDE DE 15 PIEDS, LE IESAT~ENT
ETANT x':A 550M. DE LA COTE ;) Ar,5MLLLE DE LA COTES
[Voir zrolitsp&inl,j
27.REGISTREDE CHANTIERS NAVALS DE STBEN?K
~oz'r,dimsb adanse spktiadluphotoc@k d'hnc $age du ~egi~e /ai&
par b Gefle de laCour.] .
Voit croquis de PaiiihétablparleServichydr~grplphiquc yongnslavç.
(no15, pro8).
?O& noIS,p.z08,
W~roq~~saiparlecapitaiOrmanovetmontré (lCourlm deI'andknw du
8décembre1948apr2s-midi(vvollV,p.334). 28.CARTE KEUROPEET AFRIQUE DU NORD n,FEUTLtE 4,
PUBI~I&EPAR L7INSTITUT GÉUGRAFKIQUE NATIONAL
FRhYÇ4ïS EN 1g4r- AVEC INDICATIQN DES LIGNES
XARITIrnS
' 1
29"QUATRE PHOTOGRAPHIES MONTRhlT LA COTE P&S DE
SA'RAhrnA
30. CROQUIS ETABLISSA .NPPROXIMkTIVEMENT LES
HAUTEURS DE L'ANSE DE PmIKOVAC EN DIRECTION DE
SZBENIK
[Voir ziolwsfie'cial.]
3z.OBSERVATIONS DU cowrm-m MUTILSEC SUR LES
RAPPORTSDU CAPITAIW EEFR&GATESWORDERRELATIFS
PLAPOSITIONDESNAVIRESDANSLESEAUX DE PhVIKOVAC
Apds examendes deuxrapports du commandant S~vorderelati5fs
la positiodesnavires dans l'anie Panikovac,nous disirons faire
lesremarquessuivantes:
roNous nc pouvons en aucullmanière acceptelescunclunons de
ceEnapparticulier, l'expert britannaffiLrngratuitementsqu'un
nouveauquai a &téçonstrnit veIrpartienord-esde i'mse dePwi-
kovacet, danlecroquis donnAl'annexena5 au'domment E. rr/1/7S,
isitaelesdeux bdtiments llongde cenouveau quai.
Or,nous sonunes enmesuredaffrrmer quecenouvean qui finexiste
pas. Commenous l'avons dkjdit,le quai nord unelongueur de45 -
rnBtreet,plus2 l'estin'y aqu'une plage oul'accostadesnavires
estimpossible.
Nons soutenonsdonc quFifn'est pas vraisemblableqle premier
navire apu&tre accostéàmielonpeiiretdemie del'anglenord-ouest
de la baie (commeiest dtt dans le second rappCette longueuet
demiecorrespondexactementh 45 métre,soit hlatotalitde lalon-
gueurdu quai.On ne voitpas cammcnt un chargement de mineseût
pu êtreeffectuédans untelleposition.
2'De lamhe rnmière,nousn'acceptons pas les mnclusionstirées
dela photopplrieaériennede Fanïkomcpriseen Tg++.
a Croquisfait parlc contrMoullec, II2 AUTRES DOCUMENTS SOU3tIS ('ALBANIE)
Nolis avons mamin& cette photographieEtlaloupe et nous estimons
que lestaches qui setronrfentprPlsdu quai sudne représententni.des
obstructionssous-marinesni desépaves qui n'ont jainais existà cet
, endroit.Noas croyons pluk8tqu'il s'agitde chdttds cumouflkk qui, en
1944 ,vaient éteentreposésparles Allemands sur de nombreux points
de la &te.
Nous sommes d'ailleuren mesured'affirmerque des bAtin~entsde
la classeM auraient pu êtreaccostessans dificulté sur n'importe que1
. point du quai sudde Panikovac, laprofondeurde l'eau le long duquai
étant largement supérieureau tirant d'eau des navires. C'étaitlàle
point d'ammage normal et nous corisidéron~que lefait de pr6tendTe
qu'un chargement de minesait pu &treeffectu8an quai nord constitue
une des nambreuseserreurs.dil tbmoignage de Kovacic.
3'D'une rnaniéregénérale,nous ne pouvons accepterleshypthém
audacieusement b;lties pal'expert--britanniquan sujetde données
matérielles telleque langueur du quai,profondeur de l'eau, reliede.
la cate, etc.
Nous admettons qu'il estparfoislegitimede fairede commentaires
sur des kvknementspassk pour lesqueIsdes inte-prbtitatidifférentes
sont concevables:
Par contre,lorsçyu'i~"rrgite donn4es matéridles existantencore
aujourd'liiim, seulcritère nous paraTtvalable,celuide I'exfirience
et de la vérificatiosur place.?
Nous a17ons fait faircettev6r%cationI et c'esce quinousa permis'
d'afi~mer forniellemet que,même enplein jourd,esbâtiments accoçtCs
au quai nord de Panikovac ne pcuvent aucunement etre vus de la
terrasse de Iamaison Keric.
nique, quegcettev6cificationsur place soit reprpar lesexpertsde la
CoSuivant les assurancesqui ontCttrdonnées à ladélégationalbanaise,
L'accomplissement d'une tellemission rie rencontrerait pas d'obstacle
de lapart du Gouvernement yougoçlave-
Le Contre-Amid Mouliec,
expert nant auprésde Fa
Delégation aibanaise,
(Sigtzi) Momc. 32. RAPPORT DU COMMANDANTDU rcr RÉGIMENT
13'PIWAhf~~ EN DATE DU rj. MAI 1946 l
ARM~ NATIONALE;, COMM~~WDEBTEN DT' LA In: DIVISION X'[NF-~~ERTI~, a
CQ&TM-mDEAfENT DU Icr R&GIME~T
R&fkrenm à notre câblena 67 Rez. en date dece jourxg.5.xg44 n,aus
vous donnons lesdktails suivants;
Aujourd'hui vers 8.30 heures deux navires de guerreinconnusnavi-
guaientdans nos eaux venant du cap Kiephali et se meaient vers la
baie de Samda à me distance d'environ un km. de lac6te. Losqu'ils
sont mivQ en face de la baie deLimioni ilschmgèrent brusquement de
route sedirigeantvers le port de Saranda. ce moment iln'&aient pas
pIus de800 m de h terrefermedela collimede Limioniet l'onapercevait
trèsbien leur armement en artillerie, maisils neportaiaucun pavijlon
çî l'onne pouvait pas savoirleur nationalité,
Dmç cesconditions etYU qu'ilssedirigeaient verJeport on leura
fait les signauxhabituelspwr s'éloignernéanmoins, ils continuaient
clans lamime directionet c'estallirs que l'artillerie de la coldene
Limioni tiraquelques colips de semonce pour leur faire comprendre
qu'ilsdevaient s'kloignerA cemornext i ilchangèrentde &recticineten
mêmetemps ris arborhent le pavillon qui futideiitifiOtrecelui de
l1Angldc2rre;ils lrtiss$reechapper aussi une masse de fumee pm se
masquer et s'en allhent ensuiteendirection de Corfou,mais toujours
suivant de près notre cote jusqu'à une distance d'environ zoo m. en
face du mariastère de St.-Georges.
Le Commandant,
Cap. S~NDLR BACICA,
Pour comaissmce nous transmettons L lettre du IQ~ Rkgiment
d'i~~ai~twic,seséf&rantb la n6frenooz-IId It.16.V. rg46.
P. leCommandant,
Lt.-ColonelNMI IJLAMT.
' Origind en langealbanaiçc (nreproduit)avecfraduCtionfrançaise vis&
:i laIdgatian dxnlbanPa+ comme codarmc àl'original. [Voir letI'agrsnt:
'velumc.)nenicnd'AlbaniaenGrcficen date drj I49,no300, p253du prbsent
8 Lbgation de lz'Répttbliqapeopulaired'Albanie àParis.
No RBg, - 313 - taxe perçue: ,mtisis,
VIXponr traduction conforme kson texte origlna1enlanguealbanaise.
I
Paris, Ieq janvier xg4g.
D'ordre do Ministre,
[Cachet.] le ~arSecretairede légation,
(Sigd] MARK ULI.
33. LETTRE ~XESSEE LE 16 MAL 1946 PAR LE COMMANDANT
DE LA IP DIVISION D'INFANTERIE AU COMWDEKENT
GCNIIRAL DE TIRANA 1
ARM~E NATTONALE,
IW DTVISJON D'INFANTERIE, Gjinokastra,le rO.V.1946.
GJIWOWSTKA.
Urgent- Co~fiderta'eE,
Na Prof. oz-xri. A
Nous portmis de nauvean 5 votre connaissance que nous kwns 6t6
aviséspar tél4pmme ddcommandement du xw R4gimentd'infanterie
cjulliimatin deux navires Se guerrevenant du nordont ps6 de trés
de ~iotrec0te.Les naviresne portaientpas de pa17illoet antant
qu'on nons infonne, ilsont étéidentifiéplus tard comme des navires
britanniques. Qumd le commandement de la batteriede BalacTPia 1-
quc les naviressedirigeaient vers Çarandailleur fids signaux pour
qu'ilss%eIoÎgnen, aisiln'apaseu de réponseetAIR finila tiréquelques
coups autour desnavires qui sesontéloignés etont lm& échapper dé
la fumée.Je me suis assuréqu'aucun ohus n'atouché les navireset
qu'il n'ya pas eu une telle intentiode la artde notre battene. Le
passage des navires britanniques si prèclf irnioniet endirectionde
Saranda semlile avoir étéeffectud intentionnellement,
Pour d'auf red&t.ttlj'attenclIe rapportécridu co~dement du
rSgirnent queje vous transmettraipar le premier moyen,
P. Ie Commandant de h Dirtision,
(SigdJ Lt.-Colonel Nr-4n km.
Ldgation de la R+ublique populaire d1Alb&nie à Paris.
No Rdg. - r12 - taxe perçue; gratis.
Vu pour traductionconforme à son textorigind en languealbanaise,
D'ordre du Ministre,
[Cachet.] . le IO?Secrétaire:de légation,
- (Sigxé) MARK ULI
1Originaen langnalbanais(ncrrepoddt.)avec+raductîoafran~aviste ii.la
ldgationci'Alk~e& Pwis comme conforme k I'arigi~ial.['lroil'agent du
Gouvernemeiit d'Albanie an GreffierCourcn datedu rjIqg,nn3m, p. 253
ditp-t vuhime.] 34. TEXTE ORIGINALDU RAPPORT DU CAPITAINE
ALI SHTINO EN DATE DU 23 OCTOBRE1946, RELATIF AUX
INCIDENTS DU 22 OCTOBRE 1946
[l'Voltra$rod&t
35. ORSERVATIQ-I Ç U GOUVERNEMENT DE LA REPUBLI~UE
POPULAIRE D1AkBANIE AFFERENTES AU RAPPORT DES
EXPERTS NAVALS DE LA COUR INTERNATIONALE DE
JUSTICE EN DATEDU s F~VRIER rgqg
Les vkrificati~nsa~~~quelleont procedé, à Sibeniket Saranda. le
experts comis par la Cour ont confirmé,sur le^pointsessentielsles
indicatimisfourniesau cours des débatspar lesexperts etles conseils
du Gouvernement albanais.
D'autre part, aucune des constatationsmatériellesconsignés dans
leursrapports n'esten contmdiction avec la&&se dheloppée aa nom
du Gouvernemena tlbanais,5savoir quelemnoniilagdes mines draguées
dans Ie D&tt~it:deCorfou lors deZ'opératio netaila pu etreeffectué
sans Ctrenécessairementohervé ouentendu de la &te.
Toutefois,dans cerapport carne dans leurs réponsesam qnes~ons
posées par troisde Messieursles Juges, les experts donnentde ces
constatations uneinterprétatioii qui excèleslimitesde leur mission,
Il appartient ila Cour, e& cIle seuled'interprételesfaits qui,lui
sont soumis.
Dans ces conditionsilestnécessai drpdciser IFSCO~CIUS~O que le
Gouvernementalbanais secroitfond6 à tirer desrésultats devkrifica-
fions complémentairesordonnéespar laCour. Si denouvelles questions
devaient'etreposéespar la Couraux experts,leGouvernement albanais
seréservede présenterdm observationscomplémmtaiie~sur les réponses
?Lcesquestions ainsiquesur Iesobservationséventuella du Gouverne-
ment hi tannique.
L'expertisesurplacea permis d'btabliiesfaitssuivants:
r"Les qtra3s de Panimvac ont apprcir;irnativement ledimensions
indiquk par l'ami~aMoullec. Il n'existetn'existaien 1946 aucune
prolongationde tesquais.
Lcs experts admettent que la methode laplu rapide pour charger
desmines aitrait consis6éamarrer lesdeux navires Sun derrièrel'autre
le long du quai sud-ouesCest.précisémen te quiavait kt&indiquépar
l'expert du Gouvernementalbanaisaucours de son audition pala Cour.
Ilestdonc invraisemblableque lesdeus bgtirnentsde laclasse M dont
parle le thoinICovacicaientét&amarréd sans la positiodécriteparlui
(levant la Cour.
"~a kidiictian françadeecerapport avaiêt4reproduitenannexe 7au.
Contre-Mémoire duGuavernementalbanai(volTI,p. r~q)Voir.àcesujet,la
lettrde l'agendu Gouvernemenk d'Albaniau Gwffier de bus endatedu
14 I49{no303,p.253dup"snt i~olumc), 2" A I'hewe oh le témoinKovacicprétend avoirvu pourla premihe
fbiscesdeux navires ençoumde chargemerit ceru;-cse seraienttrouvés
dans l'ombre.
Les expertsmnstatent doncque si lveclette bord de laquelianrait
pris placKovacic asuivi letrajet(i)ou (ii).il aurait kt4impbsslbde
voir que lesmines étaient fraîchementpeintess,et letkmain n'aurait
pu apercevoiru Iesantwnes etlesrails1; si lvedette a suivi letrajet
(iiiqui apparaktcomme le plusprobabh, piiisqu'iln'y apas de débar-
cadkrcà h pointe Kulina, ilanrait seulement étépwmible, disent les
experts, devoir lemines en train d'etrechargées,mais naucune autre
obsrvation n'auraitpu Btrefaite ensuivant cetraje n,
Ainsi, même si l'onenvisqe lestrajetscomportant lescondiiionsleç
plusfavorables pour observer lesnavires, c'est-à-d lirtrajets (iou
(ii),Ie témoiKovacic n'a pas ditla véritélorsqu'ia déclarédans son
&davit, puis devantla Cour, navoir VU ~UC les minesscintillaientce
qui signifiqu'elleétaient re@tees d'une couche de peinturefmiche D,
avoir vales railet avoir vulesantennesdesmines (Distr,435bis,ppjgo
et 403 '1.
3.En raisan dela configuratiodu terraiindes naviredela dwe M, l
amarrésdam l'ansecI,Pmicovac, n'airraientpu à aucun moment être
vus de h terrasse de'lamaison de Keric.De cetendroit,lese.xpertne
purent apercevoirle navirethoin que lorsque ap& avoirquitte l'anse
de Panicovac ilse futdirige, seloleurs instructionsversi'intkrieude
la rade de Sibenik,rnmeuvrri qu'en tuut dtat de tales naviresdécrits
par Kovacic n'auraient certainement pas4sricut.pour aller accomplir
une misçion semete (voirphotographie en annexe). Si, au conkaire, le
navire témoin sxtaitdirigévers la sortie de larade,c'est-A-d vmre
le cmal deSaint-Antoine,il serait restédans 1-ombredescollinesenviron-
nantes et n'auraitpaspu 8treobsesvk,
Letémoin Kovacic n'a donc pas ditlavéritéIorsqri5a prgtendn avoir-
vu de la temse dela maison de Reric,au moment où ils setrouvaient
dans Sansede Pa~covac, les'navirechargés de mines dont IIa précisé
la positionpar un croquis(Distr. 435bisp,.qrg *).
Qu'il sesoit trauv4 surla terrasd sela maison de Keric 18h. 30,
ckd-à-dire en pleine nuit,cme II l'in& uait dans son affidavet le
confirmaitdevant laCour à l'audiencedu 2 novembre xg48 ,u nn peu
plus tOt selonsa déposition rectifi6e dtt lendemaince témoin n'a pu
voir lesdragueursde minesdans l'anse de Panicovac.
4' Les navires de laclse Mpouvaientcontenirde r8 20 mines du
type GY.
Le ternoin Kovacicn'adoncpas.dit la vat& lorçqa'il .a&é dans
son rinidavit,puisdevant laCour (Distr- 43&s, p. 421 avoirvu sur
chacun des naviresde 40 3.5 0 ines. a
dansssoniaffidavitmaistdevanlétaCour, alorsqu'ildéposaitsousmla foi
de serment, et répondaitA des questionsprkiçes dont l'importance ne
Voir vol.III,pp. 592et605.
i a r.~.62r. AUTRES DOCUMENTS SOUMTS(ALBANIE) II?
pouvait lni échapper: permettent de condure que ce-Smoiri eçt un
imposteur.
La Cour ni:peut teniraucun compte de sesd6ctmatjons.
B. - VI?RTFICAT IO~NÉES A SARANDA
1
An eouk de sadéposition,lecapitaineÇhtino,enréponsa eu questions
poséespar siFrankÇoskice, aprécis&qu'en octobre 1946,en dehm des
postesdeBo& et Himara situésaunordda cap Kiephali etde labatte-
rideBaladha, ilp avait seulementtrois postde garde :aucapKiephali,
a.Saranda mhe, et au rnonaçtéreSt-Georges(Distri43j hi$,pagepz1).
'Le capitaine Polena a confim6 cesindicationsen précisantqu'ily
avait 8 A rz hommes au cap Kiephali et au monast&i-eSt-Georges,
15 d.zo Saranda,etqwh.tl 'ymleiipas deposted lapointéDmta (Distr.
435 bis, p%c 71s 9-
Ilajoutaitqu'iln'y avait pas de maison habitéeà Iapointe Denta,
que leroutes les plu$prochespassaient& 1.500ouz,om metres l'inth-
rieur (pp.724-723 9 3Que les postesfaisaientune patrouillepar nuit
IP-744%
Les constatationeffectuéessur placeparles expertsn'ont en am&
maniéreinfirmé les indicationainsifournies3 laCour par deuxtémoins
quiont déposé sousla foidu sement. Euesontçonfrrmc ce qui pouvait
fairl'objetd'unc vérificatronmat&ielle,
a)Les e~perts n'ont trouvk nn poste de garde qu'au monastkre
St-Geo~g~s1 ,1 5'avait sixsoldats,ce qui comspnd, compte tenu des
corvées et absencesusneIles,à 1"effeçtmoyen indiqud parle capitaine
l'olena.
Les experts rchtent qu'anmoment cleleur premièrevisite, clansla
jousnke du 28janvier rgqg, ces soldatsétaientendormis ; ils ajoutent
que dans la soiréun des cleitu groupes dla Cornmissiond'Expertise
a été mête par deux soldatsam& procédant sansdoute A la patrouille
habituelle indiquéepar le capitaine Polena.
que les postes assurent une garde vigilante pendalanuit.les esperts,
Aussi bien. un effectif ausrkdurtne permethait pas d'assurerme
surveillance coiitinue.
Le récitdesexpertsskv2le au coi-itrailafaible densitetJe5 lacunes
de cette surveillance: c'est onsurveiUance du temps de paix qui ne
peut en aucune manière &tre comparée à celleque pourrait établir le
long deseschtes~IIpays disposantdhe armke mobiisde et exp5rimerrCée
et d'tlne dCfeiisebien organisée.
Ce récitprouve au surpius quc feGouvernement albanais n'a pris
aucune dispsition particulièreen vue de lavisite de la Commission
d'Expertise qui aeu ainsi toutefacilitpourprodder à ses opérations
sans risquercl'eti.duiteen erreur parunemisc en scéne.
Ii)Les expertsaiitco-nçtatriqu'iln'esistpas desentier convenable w
pour se rendre de l'intérieàlapinte Denta.
E) Les expertsn'ont pastrouvé den maisonhabitke 1A lapin teDm ta.
VoirVQ~.IV,p. 219.
' n Rm 1)235.
' un # 9#p..r26r-4~. d) Les experts signalentl'existencA lapointeDenta, A prosimi téd'us
bâtiment qu'ils n'ontprisvisité,d'un n vieux bâtiment toit,pouvant
servir de logement pour des I-iommes et des mulets »,d'aplaments
pour fairedu feu,etd'une lignede tranchéeset depostes de mitrailleuses,
auxquels il estpossible d'acdder par la mer. Ils onttrouv4 dans une
tranchéeun journal albanais duII septembre 1948.Lw experts pr6ten-
dent encondure que ades gardes oudespostes deveillefrtretmailitenus -
au cap Dentajusqu'auxr septembre 1948n.
Cette opinion ne sauraitétreadoptéepar laCour.
L'impr~cisd iesnindications fournies pales expertssurles constata-
tions faites pareux à la pointeDenta ont conduit M. ile Juge ILryIov
lem poser desquesti~ns suppléme i~iresauxquelles ils n'oiit répondu
que partiellement.
En réalité,quelsbâtiments onttmuvk les experts Blapointe Denta.
au momentde leurvisite, c'est-à-diilfaut le souiigner,enjanviergqg,
et non en octobre 1946 ?
D'une part{tun vieuxMtiment LL toit8disentlesexperts,d'autrepart,
pour reprendreleu= propres tertrieuunesecondc maison beaucoup plus
importanteque laprécédente etqui pourraitêtreutiliséewmme canton-
nement estsituéeplus Liàiitsur la penten,
Lesexpertsn'ont pas visitBcettemaison, Pour expliquer cetteabstm-
-fion,ilindiquent dans letirréponseaux questions de M, Juge Krylov
que ules constatations faitquant àl'existeiice~d'upested'observation
leur paraissaientsu%re aux finsde leurenquete 1).
Cette explication traduit de lapart des experts une idée préconçue,
cw cL'exiStencerl'tposte d'observati nonn 1946n'a jamais étéétablie, -
etil appartientk la Courseule de tiredes conclusionsde leursconnstnta-
tions,
Les experts pourraient peut-êtred'ailleurs préciserj.la Çou~ qu'ils
n'ont pas visit1Lettem,aison,distante seulement de qnelques centaines
Se métres, parce qu'ils ont constaté qu'il s'agissaitd'un b3tirnent en
constructi etnque clas ouvriers étaientencore wcupk à ce travail,
Quant au a vieux h5timent u, dans leur réponse aux questions de
M- le Juge Krylov, les experts en préciséniesdimensions très exigues.
Cette descriptionne correspondnullement 3,celled'un bâtiment militaire.
IE s'agit en r4alitS d'unabri. sansfenêtre, sans véritable porte (une
simple onverturedans une des façades), couvert d'un toit decham,
Il était utilicomme &curiepour les mules par lesouvrier occupés5 la
construction du bàkimeirt situeplus haut.
Si la Cour ledemande, le Gouvernemea nbanais setient àsa disposi-
tion pow lui communiquer tous chmments relatifs jl%poqueoii aétP
entreprisel'édificationdu b%timent en constructioii etailxconclitionç
daris Lesquellea étéédifik et utiliséla cabaneque lesexperts considé-
sent abusivemerit comme un rposte d'observationn.
Ceci prétisé,Yexistenceà la pointe Denta d'une ligne de tranchéeset
de poste$ de mitrailieuses s'expliqupar la présencen Albanie pendant
plusieurs ann&esdes troupes italienna. Celles-cdisposaient deffectifs
sufisants poirr occuper ln cbte plus complètement que les quelques
soldatsaffect& en rg46 à la défensealbanaisedans la régionde Saranda.
Les ~xperts admettent dJaill~urque les tranchées etles emplatemen ts
pour mitrailleusesont étéconstruitspas lesItaliens.Leursconstatations
n'ktablissel~tpasque ces défensesaient &teut iliskspostérieurementau
dkpart des koupes italiennes. Les tranchées figurantsur 1s cartesbritanniques:lm exktence n'a
jamais kt6 contestie.
Des feuxont pu tire iilluniet un journal laid dans une tranchée,
.enseptembre I 8, soipar des bergers, soit pdesouvriers qui &avait-
laient à cette9 %oque et continuaientA travailler amoment de la
visitd eesexperts à la constructiond'un batiment,
Tont celane prauve niillement l'existenca cet endroit d'un poste
-d'observationen1946,
Tout an plus pourrait-on encwclure quhn aurait pu établirun
poste d'observatioiPcet endroit.
Mais ily a certainement beaucoup d'endroitsle long de Ia cbte
~Ibanaise ab iy a de vieux jaurnaux, des traces dfeu,une chrtumi&re
servant d'abriPOUTdes mules ..,.tpas deposte militaire.
I;a preuve de l'existencd'un poste de garde au capDenh en 1946
ne sauraitdavantage Etretir& clnfait que cet emplacement aurait
.constitué,selolkxpressiondes experts, Kunendroit tout indique pour-
unZ1faut serappelerqqv la dtlifencbiièrealbanaisedisposaitd'effectifs,
d'armement et demoyens techniqute rssréduits.
Compte tena de ca effectifs de ces moyens, les dispositions prises
apparaissent normales :en dehors du poste central de Sarandaetde la
batterie deBaladha, unpostc au cap Kiephati pourcouvrir labaie au
nord, etun posteau sud du secteurde Sasanda pour couvrir le détroit,
au monastéte St-Georges où se trouvaitdéjà un bgtirnent utilisable,
Un poste mppltirmentaire lapointe Dmta n'aurait pu êtreenvisagé
que si l'onavait eud'autreseffectifet d'autresmoyens disponibkes,ce
qui ni'kaitpas le casetétaitparsurcroîtinutile. Eneffetainsi queles
expertslbnt indiquéen répondant 9la deuxièmequestionde M.le Juge
Z~riCit, lestrois postes dhbservations existant (Kicpltali,Samndd.
St-Georges) permettent d'observ e'nsemble du dEtroit etde la Ilaie.
Enmre se serait-onheurtéiunedificulte le cap Denta n'est accessible
que par la mer, endébarquantsur une plage. Un poste établiau cap
Denta auraitdonc dû ètre ravitaiIl6ereIcv6par mer ;ilrisquait d'etre .
,mupéen cas de mauvais temps empêchant de débarquer sur une plage,
puiqu'il n'y ak cetendroitniquai ni débarcad&re.
L'int4ckd'avoir un poste supphentaire Denta n'est ztppartitimx
autorités albanaiçesque larsquJelleont su qu'un mouillagede mines
Svait pu êtreeffectuédans-le Détroit de Corfousarisattirel'attention
des gardes-cbtesce qui expliqueladCcisionpriseultériewementde faire ,
,construirun bâtiment gcet endroit.
Si,comme le pr6tendent les expertsutiposte de veilleou de garde
.avaitété t(mairitenu au cap Denta jusqu'au IL septembre 1948 ii,il
seraitinvraisemblablequeles autoritésalbmaises n'aientpas fait tracer
un chemin pour en permettre I'accésparla route,alorsque l"acc& sar
1smer en auraitététoujours compliqué etimpossible encasde mauvais
temps.
Ilseraitinvraisemblable qu'me ligne tél4phoniqueFvce a,alogue fi
cellequi existeau monasth Saint-Georges,n'ait pas étinstalléepour
reliera Saranda le poste supposk de Denta, qui sms cela n'auraitpu
par mer. Et leseexperts n5uraientopasmanquél qde signaler cette ligne.
U serait encore plus invraisemblableque lesdites autorités aient:
supprimé ce poste au moment mêmeoù elles faisaient construire un
bâtiment à cet endroit. AUTRES DOCUMENTS SOUMIS (ALBAX~E) 121
Oï, dans leurs rkponsesaux questionsdes membres de Za Cour, les
experts indiquent plusieurs façons dontles minesont pu etreposées.
L'une de ces façons(traduction françaisp. 6,façon cleprocéder III
au rnouiIlagedes mines en partantdu nord) permettait de procéder A
l'opérati mon medans les conditions de visibilit6 envisagéespar les
experts,sansêtre ni nidu monastére St-Georges,ni du cap Kiephali,
mais seulement de lapointeDen taoù iln'y avaitpasde poste.
Des navires, même provenant du sud, auraientpu procéder ahsi en
contournal n'iede Corfou pour éviter de passerdevant le rnonast4re
St-Georges.
Rappelons d'ailleursque dans I'liypothesd'un rn~uillagsecret, les
navires pouvaient dansune certainemesure prendrelerisque cl'etrvus,
puisque detoutes façons ldéfensecbtièrealbanaisene disposaid'aucun
moyen pour lesidentifieret les arrêter.
Les vérificationssur place desexpertsne permettent pas davantage
d%tablir qu'uneopkratiolide mouillagede mines aurait été necessaire-
,ment entendue de la cbte.
Les experts signalentque le bruit du moteur de leur bateau a &te
entcncludu rnonnçtéreSt-Georgesà une distancc de r.800mètres.Cette
observationn'est paspertinente, car le bateauutilid par les esperts
étaitmu parun moteur a explosionAdeux temps, bruyant comme tous
les moteurs à explosion (dans l'espils'agissaid'un moteur Bolinder
connu comme particuliBr~ brueyatt).
Aracon traire, lnavires normalement utilisEpour lesmouillagesde
mines sont desnaviresà vapeur, par suite silencieuet qui n'kmettent
pas de fumée en usagenormal.
Dans leurs rbyonsesC1 M. le Juge EEer,lesexperts reconnaisselit
d'ailleurque lesobservations faites pareux A Samnda n'apportent
aucun blkment susceptiblede modifier,au point de vue de Yaudibilité,
cellesconsignéesdans leurpremier rapport, dont nous rappelons les
résitats :le bruit des rails serait perccptifaiblementjusqu'h izoo
mr!tres eilviron, celui causépar l'immerdesmines jusqu'iG3o mttres
environ.
Mais, pour apprdcierces indications,ainsi qul'ontsignaléau cours
des clébatsles conseidu Gouvernementalbanais, il fauttenir compte
descirconstancessuivaitesafinde lescorriger :
a) Aucune précautionne paraît avoir été pnse par les experts au
coursde IeurexpériencepourréduireIe bruit du glissementde la mine
sur le tail'
S) L'exp6riençe a étéfaite A bord d'unnavire et non terre.Les
experts signalentque dans ces conditionsBl'écho provenant des bâti-
ments et celui des collines derrihreles mouillede mines a probable-
ment renforcbla perceptibilip.En outre, enprtickdantcomme ils I'on.
fait, lesexpertsonéliminéune cause susceptiblede rendre lperception
plusdifficile,bruitduressac sur unechte rocheuse.
G) L'expériencae et6 faite par leespertsavec un ventportant les
bruitsvers ID~bsemateur alors qu'A Saranda, l'époqueenvisagée,et
la nuit, lvent soufflaiprobablement de la terrece qui évidemment
change tout. Comptetenu de ces 86ments decorrection,ilfaut admettrelapmi-
bilitde procéde r unmouillagede mines A500m&tres sans&treentendu
de la côte. Il faut d'aupart çonsid4rer que les brucausés parune
opérationde cete nature;memes'ilsavaientété perceptiblen'auraient
pasobligatoirementéveiU6Ikttention d'un auditeurnonaverti. 11faut
eiifin tenir comptdu faitque deux mines seulement se trouvaient h
moins de 800rnhtresdela cdtc.
Les experts concèdentdweurs dans leursréponse sux questionsdes
membres de la Courque, vu I'insuffisandesrenseignements touchant
les conditionsdans lesquelles lmines ont étéposkes, il n'était pas
possiblededonnerune répons erécisesurlapossibilitd'entendrel'opé-
ration de mouillagen,
deOla Coursur lavisibilitdde l'opération,n'aipascru devoir donnern
l'avisqui letir était demandé paM. leJuge EEer sur ales objections
faites parM. Cot i leur rappordu 8janvier 1949en ce qui concerne
I'audibilitde l'opération.
Lesvérificationesffectuésarles e-vertsdelaCour Sarandalaissent
entihre la démonstratioiiapportéepar lesconseils du Gouvernement
albanais etadmiseimplicitement,semble-t-il,pasirFrank Soskicedans
saplaidoirie:desmiiies ontpu Ctremouilléesdans Ie DétroitdeCorfou
en octobre 1946sansque l'opérationaitétévue ou entenduede lacdte.
Paris, lex7 f&vrier1949. I
L'Agen dtu Gouvernemen albanais,
(Sig?d) BEHAR SHTYLTA. SECTION III
DOCUbENTS SUBMITTED JOINTIAIT BY TITE PARTIES
DURING TEIE HEARTNGS
I. QUESTIONNAIRE PWARED BE' M. PIERRE COT AND'
SIR ERIC BECKETT, AND SUBMIT'FED TO THE EXPERTS OF
THE T\VOPARTIES ON NOVEMBER 26th. rg@ :IXEIGRT OF
THE SUN AT .IBENIK ON OÇTOBER I@ AND18th, 1946
(1) Was therein forceatSibenikon 17tb andlor18th October,1946,
any (ad if50what) systernof "'summertimt" ? Inconsequence, what
an the saicî date ivas thafficitirne lrepat Sibeni knrelation to
O G.M.T. ?
(2) What waisthe attitudeof the nrat 1615,1630 and1645 respec-
tivelyafficiatke at Sibenikascertainedas in(1)?
officia1timeatSibenikandnwhatc%vastheendaofciviltwilightbyofficial
,tirna?ascertained i(1)at Sibcnion the17thand 18thOctober, 1946?
(4) What was the azimut11(tm bearhg) 05 the sun at1615, 1630
and r645 officid timeasascertainecl i(1)atSibenikon Octaber r;.th
and x8th, 19461
(5) Canthe expertspreparean agreed &%rani showingchangesfrom
16x5 to 1645in the sun'sazimuth and altitudein relatiotoskyline '
so as to show at what pointor points shdows iuonldbe caçton the
.jet@ where mines *ese beingloaded1 .
(6) Assuming thatCommander Kovaçic mas on board a motorlaunch
wl~ichtravelled ataçpeed of 5 knots,for how longa period :
a) woald vessels alongçide tjettyinPanikovac Cove be risible
in the sense thattlieview W~S not obscurecl by any land;
(b) ïmuld any partof tlie jetat Panikovac Cove be ina direct
line bettveenthe observand thesunon the following courses :
(i) on the course marked on the sketch by Commander
KDvacicand handed in to theCourt;
jii)ona coursewhich would follow a straightline betmteen
Knlina Point and Mo10liska ;
[iii) andirectcourse from Forma Works to Mo10Krka
(7)Ilrtia(was)oneach of the thrw cour5esrnerltioneinQuestion
(6) would be thedistance between thjettyat Panikovac Cave and the
nearest pointfmm which ille jetty would be visione thatcourse ?
(SEWhat were the anglesbetween the sunin Panikovac Covejet@
on the mean of thethree courses givetiQuestion (6)above :
, (fi)whm the jettyfirsberne visibl;
(b),when the jettyceased to be visible? It is agreed that theexperts sh-ailendeavonr to pradure agreed
answerçta al1the above questions.If theyare not ableto agree on
manyerof theqiiestionasthey,çan.Ifvtherearemyapquestionsonswhich
they arenot able toproduce agreedanswers,thete shalbe incIudedin
the report thseparateanswerswhich theexpertson eitliw side propose.
Tt isagreed that thexperts sliallpresent tIireport ttheirDele- .
gationsas soun as po-sible andin any casenot laterthan Saturday,
27th Novembes, 6 p.m.
The experts for tlic UnitedKirigilomwtU be CommanderS~vorder
and Lt.-Commander Lankester andLt. Gdsd, and for AIbania,Admirai
NoulIec and Captain Omanov.
2. REPLIES ESTABLISHED jornn.,Y BY THE PARTIES TO
TWEQUESTIONNAIRE PREPARED BY M. PIEFKRE COL AND
SIR ERICBECKB'LT,AND SUI3MITTEDTO THE EXPERTS OF
LWE TtVO PARTIES (NOVElfBER 27th.1948)
(1) Summer time wes not in force on qth/r#th Octobcr, 1946 .t
Sibenik.The official tikept wasone hour in advanceof G,M.T.
(2) The altitude of tsun atthevarious times is aped asfoilmvs:
-- 17th ûctobet 1615 Sa 57' 18thOctober 8" 39'
'16306" 29' 6' IL'
1645 56' 3"38'
b] 'rime ofsunset byoffciathe at Sibenikwas otithe 17thOctober
37x1and on the 18th October r7xoEnd ofcivil EwiIightms on 17th
October 1741 and an 18thOctober 1739.
(4)The azimrith (truebearing) of the sun at the various times
qiioted$vasas follows:
17thJ18 Othtober
1615 248"
1630 251'
1645 253'12' r
(5)Two dixgrams, h originalaiilyAppendices "A" and "B" are
submitted to sliow ththe at which a shadow ~louldhave been cast
onto a jettyivheremines were beingIoarled.
Appencb 'X'httached tothe çopy of the report submittedtothe
United Kingdom Delegation is based an Admîralty Chart 1581 and
shows this tiaeto have been 1631.
Appendiv "B" attachecl tthe copy of thereportsubmlttd to the
Albanian Ddegation \vas prepared by the Yugoslav HydrographieInstitute andshows that the shadow tvouldhave been castwhen the
son had analtitude of about 8"whiçli occurredatabout ~620,
130t hese tirnescan onlybe considercdapptosirnate:
(a) "1631"because Appendix 'AA"is based an incornpieteand
inexactdata
(B) '1~620'because we are unable to cheik Appendix "B" not
having the data on wliicli was based.
(6) [a}Vesçels atongside the jetty in Panikovac Cuve would be
visiblefrom Commairder Kovacic'slaunch(rissuming a speed
of 5 knots) for the foilowing periods on each of the three
courses :
(i)2 minutes 38 seconds
(ii)z minutes 38 seconds
(iii) 3 minutes 5s seconds.
(6)Part a€ the jetty at Panikova cove ivouId be in a direct
line between tlie obçerver and the sunon each of the three
coursesfor ashort periodnot moretlian 5seconds.
(7) Thedistancebetween tlijetty atPariikovaçCove and the nearest
points frornmliich the jetfy \i:ould be visiloneeach caurse are as
follows:
(r) 2.5cables = 500 yards
' (2) 2.9 cables= 580 yards
(3) 3.9çables = 780 yards.
(S)For the purposeof anwering tllis only questionwas agreedto
assume that if the motor launcli in which Commander Iiovacic \vas
travelling firssighted Panikovac Cove at 1620,
(a)the angle between thesun and Panikavac Cave whenthe jetty
first becamevisible wa29' tothe rigl~of the sun,
(b)whenthe jetty ceasedto bevisiblewaç rzOto the left of tSun.
If,however, the tirneof first sightiPanikovacCove had been rG45
(a) would be 24 rJzo and (b)lvould be IG 1jz0.
Signedon behalf cfthe members 01 the teçiinical Naval Experts
Commit tee-
(Signedl MOULLEC, .(Signecl)E. R. D. SIYORDEH,
Rear-Admiral (Ktd.), .Commander R.N.V.R,,
Counsel & Naval expert Navai representtitiveto
to theAlbanianDelegat ion. the United Kingdom Delegation.
LW0 DIAGRAMS SHOWING THE MOMENT WAEN A SHADO'IVWOULD HAVE
FdZLEN ON THE JE- %ii\'HEEHE MINES WEKE BEINC LOADEDSKETCH OFTHE ENVIRONS OF SlBENXK SHOWING NISAREST POINTS FRDM
\YfllÇHTHE JEïTY IYPULD HAVE BEEN VISIBLEDURING THE JOURNEP
OF fHE MOTOR-BOAT THAT LIEUTENANT-COMMAWBEK KOVACIC \VASIM
(THIUTEPOSSIBLE ROUTES ARE GIVEN IN THE QUESTIONNAIRE)
3. JOINT NOTE OF UNITED KINGDOMAND ALBANIAN
EXPERTS ON THE QUESTION PUTBU JUDGE ECER TO THE
MIXED COMMISSION 01; EXPERTS ON NOVEMBER3oth, 1948
There are tmo points ~aiseby these questions.
Firstly\vas there sufficielightat 17.35for CommanderKovacic
to seethe sliips lyiin Panikovac Cove.
Secondly, if therewas sufficient lighwouId his view have been
obstmcted by land.
Since this cluest$vasmised,furtherdociimentshavebcen presented
foresamination bythe Haval esperts on bothsides and these arnom
submitteclto the Court.
Ddmmaittssubmtted by the Uaited Iti~gdomDel~gotimit
r. U.S. Amy map.of Sibenik,Yugoslavia.Scale x So,oao.
2.AdmiraltyChart No. 158~. Approaches trPort Sibenik.
3. Adal photograph No..4025 of Sibenik and Panikovac Cove.
4,Page ofiiiustrated paper showinin bottom left-hand corner,
view from house to scaïvards,near where Kerilived.
5. TmcingofplanonYugoslavdiagram"KrokiUvalePanikovac".
No. r Document submitted by Albanian Delegation.
6.Telegram received by United Kingdom Delegation reporting
rneteorolog buletins issueby Sibenikon r7tI1, r8tOcto-
ber, 1946.
Doczcmenkst~bmittedby the AEGuwia+ aclegaliort:
r. Yugoçlav diagram,Kroki Uvale Panikovac, dated20thNovem-
ber, 1946,showing:
(a)angleof sun at8' ovetPanikovac Cove; Scaleï : xm.
(b)plan of PanikovacCave. Scde I:2,500.
2.Photographs1 to III, Panikovac Coveand environs.
3. PhotographsIV and V, Panikovaç Cove from Sibenik.
4.Yugoslav map of Sibenik tom.
Documents soumis à la Cour par les Parties