page_title: Action of 1 November 1944
section_title: Prelude
hierarchical_section_title: Action of 1 November 1944 / Prelude
caption_attribution_description: English: Photograph of British Hunt class destroyer HMS Wheatland.
context_page_description: The Action of 1 November 1944, also known as the Ambush off Pag Island, was a naval engagement in the Kvarner Gulf of the Adriatic Sea, between the islands of Pag and Lussino on 1 November 1944. It was fought between a British Royal Navy destroyer flotilla and a Kriegsmarine force of two corvettes and a destroyer. The German flotilla was deployed to escort a convoy retreating from Šibenik to Fiume. The British managed to destroy all three German ships in return for no loss.
  The action caused the death of more than 200 German crewmen. The attacking force rescued 90, and an additional 20 sailors were rescued two days later by German vessels sent to search for survivors. The convoy of 19 landing craft, which was expected to be escorted by the three vessels sunk by the Royal Navy, was not intercepted and it reached its destination by 2 November.
context_section_description: The German withdrawal from the Dalmatian cities of Zadar and Šibenik to Fiume, codenamed Operation Viking (Operation Wikinger) involved transporting troops and materiel on board two ship convoys, protected by the Kriegsmarine. The withdrawal was a consequence of imminent capture of Zadar and Šibenik by Yugoslav Partisans. The Wikinger II convoy set sail from Šibenik at 17:00 on 1 November. The convoy consisted of Marinefährprahm landing craft MFP 522, MFP 554, MFP 484 and MFP 354, representing group "A" of the convoy, and 13 Combat engineer Landing Craft (Pionier-Landungsboot) and two large Sturmboot assault landing craft, arranged into the group "B".
  In the first part of the route, the convoy was protected by the 2nd Group of the 3rd E-boat Flotilla, before the escort duty was turned over to the 2nd Escort Flotilla (Geleitflottille) based in Fiume. The 3rd E-boat Flotilla originally consisted of S 154, S 156 and S 158 E-boats, but during the 25 October Royal Air Force attack on Šibenik, de Havilland Mosquitos sunk S 158 and damaged S 156, leaving only one operational E-boat for the convoy duty. At the time, the only operational vessels of the 2nd Escort Flotilla were Torpedoboot Ausland destroyer TA20 (ex-Italian Urakaze-class destroyer Audace), with a crew of 113, and U-Boot Jäger corvettes UJ 202 and UJ 208  These were ex-Italian Gabbiano-class corvettes Melpómene and Spingarda, with crews of about 110 each, and fast minesweeper R 187. The TA20 was commanded by Oberleutnant zur See der Reserve (Sub-Lieutenant) Heinz Guhrke, the UJ 202 by Oberleutnant zur See der Reserve Heinz Trautwein and UJ 208 by Oberleutnant zur See der Reserve Klaus Wenke.
  The TA21 (ex-Italian destroyer Insidioso) remained in port due to problems with fuel quality. The fuel problems also caused the force to depart the port at different times. The corvettes left at 16:00, R 187 sailed a half an hour later, while the TA20 left port at 19:00, with the flotilla commander Korvettenkapitän der Reserve (Lieutenant Commander) Friedrich-Wilhelm Thorwest on board.
caption: HMS Wheatland at anchor
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