World War II Database

ww2dbaseEver since his school days in the United Kingdom, Hugh Martyr had been interested in history, particularly naval history. His interest in history later expanded to cover the American Civil War and the German V-weapons campaign against London. He is also an re-enactor and organizer of major re-enactment events, including the 200th anniversary of Waterloo event where over 8,000 were on the field. He joined the WW2DB team in 2018.

Photographs/Maps Contributions

Timeline Contributions

Hugh Martyr has also contributed 881 entries in the WW2 Timeline. A small sample of his timeline contributions is shown below.

» 21 Feb 1940: British cruiser Manchester and destroyer Kimberly of the Northern Patrol captured 4,709-ton German merchant ship Wahehe in the Atlantic Ocean. Wahehe had sailed out of Vigo, Spain on 9 Feb in an attempt to break the Allied blockade.

» 29 Jul 1942: The 2,445-ton Norwegian merchant steamer Bill had left Ceara, Brazil on 22 Jul 1942 with general cargo including 500 tons of manganese ore, for Trinidad and New York. At 2000 hours she was hit by a torpedo from U-155 (Kapitänleutnant Adolf Piening), it struck her port side amidships in No. 3 hold and the vessel sank within ten minutes, 170 miles south-east of Barbados. The master, Christian Hartvig, was taken on board the submarine and kept as a prisoner. The Germans gave the survivors a course on which to steer for Barbados. The three lifeboats were separated but all survived. One boat of seven was found by the American merchant steamer West Durfee on 1 Aug, eight more made into land three days later and the remainder landed on Saint Vincent island in the Lesser Antilles. Christian Hartwig was taken to hospital after the submarine docked but died in Rennes, France from heart trouble.

» 29 Aug 1944: One of the last V-1 flying bombs to fall on south-east London, England, United Kingdom glided down in a shallow dive at 1440 hours, its wing collided with the steeple of Eltham's Parish Church; the subsequent blast killed 2 and injured 50 more. 200 houses were badly damaged by blast in the town of Lydd, a village on the Romney marshes in Kent in southern England. Flight Lieutenant D. F. Ruchwaldy, 129 Squadron RAF shot down 4 V-1 flying bombs as he crossed the English Channel; the first over Dungeness and two more in mid-Channel. As he approached the French coast he sighted a fourth and gave chase and opened fire, he then came under friendly fire from a Royal Navy vessel; the bomb blew up and he flew through the blast. Upon landing he claimed the last bomb, saying that the Navy's shooting was not up to much and the could not possibly have hit the thing.

» 24 Nov 1944: In Britain, the batteries in Suffolk and Essex coastal areas brought down 11 V-1 flying bombs during the evening and another German He 111 aircraft was brought down by a Mosquito night fighter of 456 Squadron flown by Flight Officer Fred Stevens RAAF and Flight Officer Andy Kellett RAAF who had chased the German aircraft for 20 minutes. The Heinkel aircraft of 1/KG53, with its V-1 flying bomb still attached, fell into the sea ten miles off Egmond Aan Zee, the Netherlands. However, the Mosquito aircraft from the same Unit was posted missing, the reasons for the loss have never been found, it was thought at the time that it was lost due to damage sustained in its target's explosion.

» 22 Mar 1940: The first boats of the French 10th Submarine Flotilla, Sibylle, Antiope, and Amazone, arrived at Harwich on the east coast of England, United Kingdom together with their depot ship Jules Verne. The boats would reinforce the British Home Fleet. 5 more boats would arrive during the next 10 days plus some boats of the 2nd Submarine Flotilla. The Sibylle would be the first to go out on active war patrol.

» 13 Apr 1941: In the Mediterranean Sea, HMS Grimsby, towing the damaged 8,324-ton Norwegian motor tanker Pericles in British service, fell out of her convoy due to poor weather.

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