Sub-Lieut. John Sidney Brew and the sinking of HMS Avenger, 1942

An Account of the Loss of Temp. Acting Sub-Lieut. (E) John Sidney Brew, R.N.V.R. aboard HMS Avenger.

Sending the Royal Navy’s 12,850 ton auxiliary aircraft carrier H.M.S. Avenger to the bottom of the Atlantic was a prize strike for 32-year-old, Knights Cross-decorated U-Boat Kapitänleutnant Adolf Piening.

H.M.S. Avenger was originally launched in November 1940 as the American motor passenger liner Rio Hudson but was loaned to the United Kingdom under the Lend-Lease programme barely a year later. She was extensively renovated in a Pennsylvania dockyard in the Winter of 1941-42 and converted to an auxiliary aircraft carrier for the Royal Navy. In March 1942 she was commissioned H.M.S. Avenger. Following sea trials, she left New York in a tanker convoy and arrived on the Clyde in May 1942 where further modifications took place.

On 3 September, Avenger left Scapa Flow on her first official active duty, as an escort to convoy PQ18 to the north of Russia. She was equipped with 12 Sea Hurricanes from 883 Squadron, and 3 Swordfish from 825 Squadron.

She arrived back in Scapa Flow on 3 October after a very active first operation. Her Swordfish had flown 32 sorties and attacked 6 of the 16 U-Boats sited, while the Hurricanes had destroyed and damaged 26 aircraft in 31 combats during 59 sorties. They had engaged German U-Boats, flying boats, Junkers Ju88 bombers and Heinkel He111 bombers. In all 13 merchant ships were lost, but the convoy claimed 42 German aircraft destroyed.

In her second operation, Avenger was ordered to take part in Operation "Torch", the invasion of North Africa. She left the Clyde on 22 October with her sister-ship Biter and the Fleet Carrier Victorious, to join the slow assault convoy KMS1.

On 7 November, Avenger left the convoy and sailed to join HMS Argus off Algiers. From here, the combined ships' 30 Sea Hurricanes and Seafires would provide fighter cover for landings planned for dawn on 8 November.

No airborne opposition was encountered on 8 or 9 November and the Vichy French in Algiers surrendered earlier than expected. The Royal Air Force assumed responsibility for air defence, and with her aircraft ashore, Avenger was excused from duties. On 10 November she entered Algiers harbour to undertake repairs to problems with her engines, which had reduced her maximum speed to only 14 knots.

Avenger reboarded her aircraft and left Algiers on 12 November for Gibraltar. After a short stay, she departed Gibraltar on 14 November, bound for the Clyde, with convoy MFK 1(Y), made up of HM ships Almaak, Argus, Avenger, Dempo, Etterick, Letitia, Macharda, Orbita, Samuel Chase, and Ulster Monarch.

The region off Gibraltar, however, was home to the "Westwall" U-Boat Group, comprising U86, U91, U92, U98, U155, U185, U218, U263, U411, U413, U515, U519, U564, U566, U613, and U653. Reacting on reports of the Allied landings in North Africa, all available U-Boats with sufficient fuel were ordered to the area at full speed.

On the same afternoon Avenger left Gibraltar, U155, under the command Kapitänleutnant Piening, was located south of Cape St. Vincent, cruising at periscope depth, searching for a target. It had been a quiet afternoon, though, and the crew saw nothing of the allied shipping it so eagerly sought. But they would not have to wait long.

U155's log books show that Piening received a radio message early in the evening stating, "To all boats in Cäsar Gustav [a code name for the area], on 14 November at 1800 a convoy made up of an aircraft carrier, two auxiliary cruisers, two destroyers, two corvettes, and five large transports put to sea in the Atlantic."

Piening immediately headed for the vicinity and began hunting for the convoy. Then, at 1920, he received a signal from U564. He noted in his log, “Feind im Sicht meldet um 1920h U 564” [Enemy in sight reported by U564 at 7.20pm] and he steered U155 in that heading. Piening noted in his log that evening, "dark night, [wind] SW 4, sea 3, some rain-showers."

Within hours, he found what he had been looking for. At 0255, on 15 November, Piening penned, "Zwei Schatten (Zerstörer) in RW 80° in Sicht" [Two shadows (Destroyers) at right angle 80° in sight].

Piening estimated his distance from them at some 30 nautical miles. He advanced on the ships at 20-30 knots, manoeuvring in a long zigzag pattern on a general westerly course.

The times stated in U155's log book seem to be running an hour ahead of those stated by the Royal Navy, which would imply that the U-Boat was operating on German time, i.e. Greenwich Mean Time +1 hour (or Central European Time) and the British ships operating on British time, i.e. GMT. This would also imply that the time 0255, above, would actually be only 0155 in the British logs, and that U155 shadowed the convoy and prepared it's attack for about an hour before commencing it.

At 0345 (CET), 0245 (GMT), the convoy lay ahead of U155 at 75° to the right of its position. Piening recorded, “8 große Schatten, breite Formation” [8 large shadows, wide formation]. He set up his attack ahead of and perpendicular to the convoy, at a distance of some 1000 metres.

Twenty minutes later, at 0305 (GMT), the convoy escort's Senior Officer ordered an emergency turn to avoid a possible U-Boat contact. Piening realised he had been discovered and recorded, "Forward convoy ship is searching with a spotlight, shooting outwards with machine guns and is throwing depth-charges....convoy turning 45° starboard. My firing distance is now as a result about 2500 metres instead of under 1000 metres."

Getting into the best position he could under the circumstances, Piening took his best shot and fired off two torpedoes. A few minutes later he fired another, though this time at a lesser distance of only 1500 metres.

It was no longer safe to be on the surface. To escape his own destruction, Piening had U155 make a steep emergency dive to 50 metres.

Underwater, Piening and the crew clearly heard each of the three torpedoes detonate. It was 0320 GMT. British accounts later confirmed that two ships were hit, followed a few moments later by Avenger, which was struck amidships.

U155’s torpedo struck Avenger's bomb room which, astonishingly, ran across the middle of the ship from one side to the other and lay above the oil fuel tanks. It contained about thirty 500 lb. bombs, seventy 250 lb. bombs, one hundred & twenty 40 lb. bombs, and 100 depth charges.

Not surprisingly, the explosion blew out the centre section of the ship. Her bow and stern sections rose high in the air. One report stated, "an inclination of about 30° up towards the stern and...shortly after this the angle jumped to 60°....the propeller above water". Avenger quickly sank and within a mere 3 minutes she was gone.

The findings of an enquiry into to loss of the Avenger a few months later would state that Avenger "disappeared entirely within three minutes of the explosion. It may have been even less than two minutes."

At 0440 (GMT), about an hour and a half after the attack, a "Most Secret Message" was sent by HMS Auckland stating "MFK one (Y) attacked by U-boats at 0320. Position 036 degs. 15' north 007 degs. 45' west. H.M.S. AVENGER blew up. ALMAAK torpedoed H.M.S. GLAISDALE standing by."

Many signals were sent back and forth attempting to verify the order of events as everything had occurred so quickly. Even the Americans expressed an interest in the sinking. On 17 November, a "Secret" signal from "B.A.D. Washington" to the Admiralty stated " U.S. Authorities are particularly interested to know details of sinking of AVENGER and any lessons learnt which might apply to other ships of the Class."

An internal "Most Secret" signal requested "Was Submarine sighted on surface and were any contacts obtained by Asdic or R.D.F."?, "Was the presence of more than one U-Boat detected or estimated"? The ships addressed were requested to report by signal.

A reply came back from HMS Wrestler, "Contact by R.D.F. 271 and later U-boat sighted....At no time did this U-boat approach within 5,000 yards of convoy....0306 U-boat dived. 0307 Dropped 14 charges pattern accurate attack....U-boat appeared to be German 500 Tons."

It is difficult to tell from U155's log books if she was working alone or with other U-Boats. However, her logs note that after diving she heard "about 12 depth-charges, far away, could have also been meant for another [U]boat", which would imply that she was not alone. Where was U564, who signalled at 1920, "Enemy in sight"?

In fact, British accounts show that they, too, were not sure of the number of U-Boats involved in the attack. It was only revealed after the war that U155 was responsible for sinking both Avenger and Etterick, but it is still not clear who hit and damaged Almaak. It was, however, revealed that depth charges from Wrestler damaged U218.

On 6 December, the Commanding Officer of the HMS Ulster Monarch, Lieutenant Commander N. F. Kingscote, wrote to the Admiralty. "At approximately 0310Z a 45 degree emergency turn to Starboard was made, and at 0312 a white rocket fired by ALMAACK, to indicate that she was hit....At 0313 a white rocket was seen on the Starboard bow, which was thought to be from ARGUS."

"At 0315, a vivid reddish flash appeared on the Starboard side of AVENGER, stretching the whole length of the ship and lasting for about 2 seconds. This flash made a perfect silhouette of the ship, and was followed by a pall of black smoke."

"After the flash, nothing more was seen of AVENGER, but one or two small twinkling lights were observed in the water, obviously from floats. H.M.S. ULSTER MONARCH passed over the position of AVENGER within 3 minutes and nothing was seen...."

Macharda sent a signal to the Admiralty on 8 December, pitifully adding "Men were seen jumping through the flames into the sea and others sliding down the flight deck into the flames."

However, the most disturbing thing of all, perhaps having caused a greater catastrophe than had to be, is indicated by a report received from Wrestler on 19 November stating, "0257 ordered J for James alarm but not passed due to communication failure in WRESTLER."

Interestingly, though, due to U155's emergency dive after firing her torpedoes, she was not able to assess the damage she had caused. Her log book records, "To what extent the transports were damaged, respectively sunk, was not observed due to defensive action [diving], but hope for the latter." U155 did not resurface until 0615.

Some four weeks later, on 18 December 1942, The Belfast Weekly Telegraph wrote, "OFFICER MISSING. Intimation has been received by Mrs. J. S. Brew... that her husband, Sub-Lieut. John Sydney [sic] Brew, R.N.V.R. (E), is reported missing, presumed killed, in action with the Aircraft-carrier H.M.S. Avenger... He was on the Dunvegan Castle when she was torpedoed, and served on a merchant cruiser, before being transferred to H.M.S. Avenger".

He did not come home.

A mere twelve men, the most senior a Petty Officer, were rescued by HMS Glaisdale. Although a search for survivors continued until after daybreak, no more were found. Avenger's Commanding Officer, Commander Colthurst, 67 Officers, including Temp. Acting Sub-Lieutenant (E) John Sidney Brew, R.N.V.R., and 446 ratings were lost. Avenger’s loss was the heaviest British naval loss connected with the North African landings.

The names of the survivors were: C. J. Brackie, A.B., C/JX241076; B. Burgess, Air Mechanic, FX78537; J. F. Davis, P.O., FX80202; A. Greenfield, Air Mechanic, FX2686; P. J. Greenwood, Leading Radio Mechanic, FX88186; T. H. Jacob, A.B., C/JX178752; A. J. Mace, A.B., C/JX145316; L. Mawson, P.O., FX75504; N. McGregory, A.B., 313809; J. C. Norris, Air Mechanic, FX78226; W. W. Russell, A.B., C/JX181140; and W. F. Whitmore, Ordinary Seaman, C/JX350872.

The wreck is located in the North Atlantic, 45 nautical miles south of Cape Santa Maria, Portugal.

Born in 1910, Adolf Piening became a Kapitänleutnant (Naval Lieutenant) in April 1939. He was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class in November 1939, the Iron Cross 1st Class in June 1940, and the Knights Cross in August 1942. He was promoted to Korvettenkapitän (Lieutenant Commander) in April 1943 and became the Commander of the 7th Flotilla in March 1944. He was active until the end of the war, after which he spent two years in allied captivity. He died in Kiel, Germany, in 1984.

U155 was laid down in October 1940 and commissioned in August 1941. Piening was with her from commissioning until February 1944, but she had a further five commanders before the war ended. During her career U155 sunk 26 ships and damaged one. Despite several attacks from the air, she survived the war and was scuttled in Scotland in June 1945.

John Sidney Brew was born in Liverpool in 1916. He served an engineering apprenticeship with Harland and Wolff, and later joined the Union Castle Line. When war broke out, he joined the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve and was commissioned Temporary Acting Sub-Lieutenant (E). He served on several ships, including the merchant cruiser HMS Dunvegan Castle, which was torpedoed and sunk while he was aboard, in August 1940.

Personnel records of Royal and Merchant Navy servicemen are held by the Ministry of Defence, Bourne Avenue, Hayes, Middlesex, England, UB3 1RF. Access to records may be restricted, and World War II records can only be accessed with permission from the serviceman himself, should he still be alive, or otherwise from the next of kin.

Histories of Royal Navy ships are available from the Ministry of Defence, Naval Historical Branch, 3-5 Great Scotland Yard, London, SW1A 2HW. From here I received five pages of information pertaining to Avenger from building to sinking, including details of her operations during the war.

Records of enquiries into Royal and Merchant Navy shipping casualties and losses are available from the Public Record Office, in Kew, London, amongst their ADM (Admiralty) files. Their address is Ruskin Ave., Kew, Richmond, Surrey, England, TW9 4DU. However, it is also possible to find documents on their website’s catalogue search engine. Entering a keyword will result in a brief summary of documents including file numbers. The web address is: http://www.pro.gov.uk. From here I received 19 pages of data, some of which were once “Top Secret” communiqués.

Photographs and pictures of Royal Navy and merchant ships are available from the Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road, London, SE1 6HZ. However, other sources are the Naval Historical Branch (mentioned above), the Royal Naval Museum, HM Naval Base, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, PO1 3LR, and the National Maritime Museum, Park Row, Greenwich, London, England, SE10 9NF.

Through the above records, you should be able to identify the U-Boat involved in an incident or an attack on Royal Navy or other Allied shipping. Armed with this, the next place to check is the greatest U-Boat web database available, at http://uboat.net. Uboat.net is the best source of information on all the German U-Boats active during the Second World War. Here you can find the history of the U-Boat itself, as well as the commanders, of whom there are often pictures.

Logs of Second World War U-Boats are available from the U-Boat Archive in Germany. Although the service is slow, the results are good. Be patient! The Archive is not a business and relies on donations to survive. A DM40.00 “donation” is payable up front, and requests for information without an SAE and postage (I suggest using an IRC) will not be replied to. The director, Horst Bredow, who replies to all letters personally, was himself a U-Boat officer during the war, and is getting on. In the letter accompanying copies of log books, he asks for understanding for these ‘rules’ for reason of cost recovery, and his own age and health. The Archive is closed from 10-25 November every year, as well as all of January and February. The logs will, of course, be in German. The address is: