Naval Battle of Casablanca
Encyclopedia
The Naval Battle of Casablanca was a series of naval engagements fought between American
ships covering the invasion of North Africa
and Vichy French
ships defending the neutrality
of French Morocco
in accordance with the Second Armistice at Compiègne during World War II
. The last stages of the battle consisted of operations by German
U-boat
s which had reached the area the same day the French troops surrendered.
Allied military planners anticipated an all-American force assigned to seize the Atlantic
port
city of Casablanca
might be greeted as liberators. An invasion task force of 102 American ships carrying 35,000 American soldiers approached the Moroccan coast undetected under cover of darkness. French defenders interpreted the first contacts as a diversionary raid for a major landing in Algeria
; and regarded the surrender of six Moroccan division
s to a commando
raid as a clear violation of the armistice. An escalating series of surprised responses in an atmosphere of mistrust and secrecy caused loss of four U.S. troopship
s and death of 462 men aboard 24 French ships opposing the invasion.
was a colony of France at the time of World War II. The French government at Vichy
had surrendered to Germany after the Battle of France
, signing an Armistice with Nazi Germany. General Charles de Gaulle
led French forces opposed to the surrender and to the Vichy government, continuing the war on the side of Great Britain and the Allies
. The Vichy regime—which controlled Morocco—was thus officially neutral, but in practical terms the Armistice obliged Vichy to resist any attempt by France′s erstwhile allies to seize French territory or equipment for use against Germany. British forces had attacked the French at Mers-el-Kébir for refusing to surrender to them or join the Allies, leading to much ill-will between France and Britain. The U.S.
government had previously recognized the Vichy regime as legitimate. Military planning for Operation Torch
in 1942 emphasized American troops in the initial landing forces on the basis of intelligence estimates they would be less vigorously opposed than British soldiers.
convoy UGF 1
left Chesapeake Bay
on 23 October 1942 and was joined on 26 October by a covering force of battleship
s and cruiser
s sailing from Casco Bay
and on 28 October by the aircraft carrier
s , , , , and sailing from Bermuda
. These ships were screened by 38 American destroyer
s. The resulting Task Force 34 (TF 34) included 102 ships for the invasion of Morocco under the command of Rear Admiral Henry Kent Hewitt aboard the flagship heavy cruiser
. As TF 34 sailed, the British submarine
landed Major General Mark W. Clark near Algiers
to meet with pro-American French military officers
stationed in Algeria. French officers shared information about defensive arrangements; but the Americans did not share critical invasion details of timing, strength and distribution of forces. No information was provided to key French leaders including Armed Forces Commander in Chief Admiral François Darlan
, North African Commander in Chief General Alphonse Juin
, or Moroccan Resident General Charles Noguès.
. Naval gunners manned the El Hank coastal artillery
battery of four 7.6 in (193 mm) guns and four 5.3 in (134.6 mm) guns; and one quadruple 15 in (381 mm) gun turret of the modern battleship was operational, although the battleship remained incomplete following escape from the Saint-Nazaire
shipyards during the German invasion of 1940. One light cruiser, two flotilla leaders, seven destroyer
s (two already damaged by collision), eight sloops
, 11 minesweeper
s, and 11 submarines were in port on the morning of 8 November.
Most French personnel attending General Clark′s pre-invasion meeting were army officers. Information subsequently conveyed in pre-invasion contact with army personnel stationed in Morocco was interpreted as a request for recommendations. No pre-invasion contact has been documented with Vice Admiral Michelier, who commanded naval forces responsible for the defense of Casablanca. Admiral Michelier was not yet in the confidence of North African officers in contact with the Americans, since he had been a member of the Armistice Commission until assuming his Casablanca post less than a month before the invasion.
. Destinations remained unclear, and TF 34 remained undetected as it split into three groups on 7 November. Concealed by darkness, a northern group (six troopships and two cargo ships escorted by the battleship , the light cruiser and six destroyers) prepared to land 9,000 troops of the 60th infantry Regiment reinforced with 65 light tanks to seize the Port Lyautey airfield; and a southern group (four troopships and two cargo ships escorted by the battleship , the light cruiser and six destroyers) prepared to land 6,500 troops of the 47th Infantry Regiment reinforced with 90 medium and light tanks near the phosphate port of Safi
to cover the southern approaches to Casablanca, while the center group prepared to land the Casablanca occupation force of 19,500 troops of the 3rd Infantry Division reinforced with 79 light tanks near Fedala 15 mi (24.1 km) northeast of Casablanca. Naval coastal defense batteries flanked both ends of the Fedala landing beach with four 5.3 in (134.6 mm) guns at Point Blondin to the east and three 4 in (101.6 mm) and two 2.95 in (75 mm) guns in Fedala on the point sheltering the western end of the beach.
(GMT) time; but, at 7° 35′ West, Casablanca was 30 minutes behind the prime meridian. Astronomical sunrise was 06:54 GMT on the day of the invasion. TF 34's clocks were apparently set to UTC-1
. The commencement of Massachusetts′ shelling of Casablanca harbor is reported as 08:04 by Auphan & Mordal, but 07:04 by USN sources Karig and Potter & Nimitz. Times specified in those references have been adjusted to GMT to conform to other references and clarify the sequence of events. Fedala coast defense batteries were alerted by the noise of landing craft engines and illuminated the beach approaches with searchlights but the searchlights were extinguished when the landing craft support boats opened fire with machine gun
s. Three-thousand-five hundred American troops were ashore by dawn; but early morning mist concealed the size of the invasion force. Fedala coast defense batteries opened fire on the landing craft shortly after 07:00. At 07:20, Admiral Hewitt authorized four American destroyers supporting the landing craft to open fire on the French shore batteries. French gunners damaged the destroyers and , and at 07:25< the destroyers were defended by the heavier guns of the cruisers Augusta and screening the troopships. Ludlow and silenced the Point Blondin battery, while Augusta silenced the Fedala battery. Murphy, , and other U.S. vessels engaged two French aircraft just before 07:00 on 8 November, ultimately driving them off.
The French submarines Amazone, Antiope, Meduse, Orphee and La Sybille sortied to defensive patrol stations at 07:00. At 07:50, French fighters rose to intercept a force of bombers from Ranger and Suwanee. The French fighters were engaged by fighters from Ranger in a dogfight that felled seven French and four or five American planes. Bombs started falling on Casablanca Harbor at 0804. Ten civilian freighters and liners were sunk and French submarines Amphitrite. Oreade, and La Psyche were destroyed at their moorings before they could get underway. The American covering force of , and screened by destroyers , , Wainwright, and appeared offshore and Massachusetts′ 16 in (406.4 mm) guns were added to the bombardment. The El Hank battery observed gunfire from the covering force and straddled Massachusetts with its first salvo. The operational turret aboard the incomplete battleship also opened fire and was targeted by Massachusetts. Her fifth salvo jammed the turret rotating mechanism on Jean Bart. The covering force then targeted El Hank Battery from 08:40 to 09:25.
While the covering force engaged El Hank Battery west of Casablanca, seven ships of the French 2nd Light Squadron sortied from Casablanca harbor at 09:00 under cover of a smoke screen to attack the troopships anchored off Fedala to the east. The French destroyer sortied with destroyers Fougueux and Boulonnais. At 09:20, the French squadron was strafed by fighter planes from Ranger. French gunners sank a landing craft and scored hits on Ludlow. Milan beached after being damaged by gunfire from Wilkes, Wichita, and Tuscaloosa. Massachusetts and Tuscaloosa engaged the French destroyers Fougueux at 10:00 and Boulonnais at 10:12. Fougueux sank at 10:40. The French light cruiser
sortied with flotilla leader destroyer Albatros and destroyers Brestois and Frondeur. Engaged by Massachusetts, the Primauguet force was outgunned; Primauguet had been under refit and was not fully operational but returned fire nonetheless. The French flotilla was also engaged by Augusta and Brooklyn from 11:00 to 11:20. Albatros beached to avoid sinking. The remaining ships returned to Casablanca harbor where Primauguet beached and burnt out and the two destroyers capsized. Forty-five crew members were killed aboard Primauguet, and more than 200 more wounded. The French submarine Amazone missed Brooklyn with a salvo of torpedoes. La Sybille disappeared on a patrol station between Casablanca and Fedala, but the cause of her destruction remains uncertain. Surviving French submarines Sidi Ferruch and Le Conquerant sortied without torpedoes to avoid destruction in the harbor. Le Tonnant managed to load a few torpedoes before leaving.
Augusta sank Boulonnais at noon and the only French destroyer remaining operational was L'Alcyon. Three small French warships emerged from Casablanca harbor in the early afternoon to rescue sailors from the sunken destroyer Fougueux, but the rescue ships were turned back by shellfire from the American covering force.Potter and Nimitz refer to a destroyer and two sloops, and Auphan and Mordal identify the destroyer as L'Alcyon. Cressman identifies the three ships as the 1969-ton colonial sloop La Grandiere with second class sloops La Gracieuse and Commandant Delage. La Grandiere was about the size of a destroyer with three 5.5 in (139.7 mm) guns and a maximum speed of 15 knots. Jane's Fighting Ships refers to the second class sloops as 20-knot, 630-ton minesweepers armed with two 3.5 in (88.9 mm) guns. Workmen had repaired Jean Bart′s turret by sundown, and El Hank Battery remained operational. Nearly half of the 347 American landing craft had been destroyed, and fewer than 8,000 troops had been landed. Five French submarines still stalked the invasion fleet.
Casablanca surrendered on 11 November, that day German submarines were able to reach the troopships before they completed offloading cargo. In the early evening, torpedoed the destroyer , the oiler and the troopship Joseph Hewes; around 100 men went down with Joseph Hewes. At this time, Bristol spotted a surfaced submarine and engaged with her deck guns and finally with depth charges. Bristol is not believed to have sunk the French submarine though. Sidi Ferruch was sunk by Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bomber
s from Suwanee on 11 November.
—torpedoed the troopships Tasker H. Bliss, Hugh L. Scott, and Edward Rutledge on the afternoon of 12 November, killing 74 additional American service men. All four troopships sank, but the oiler and destroyer were repaired. French submarines Amazone and Antiope reached Dakar, and Orphee returned to Casablanca after the city surrendered. Le Conquerant was sunk on 13 November by a PBY Catalina flying boat
off Villa Cisneros. Le Tonnant was scuttled off Cadiz
on 15 November. On 16 November, U-173 was sunk off Casablanca by American destroyers.
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
ships covering the invasion of North Africa
Operation Torch
Operation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North African Campaign, started on 8 November 1942....
and Vichy French
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
ships defending the neutrality
Neutrality (international relations)
A neutral power in a particular war is a sovereign state which declares itself to be neutral towards the belligerents. A non-belligerent state does not need to be neutral. The rights and duties of a neutral power are defined in Sections 5 and 13 of the Hague Convention of 1907...
of French Morocco
French Morocco
French Protectorate of Morocco was a French protectorate in Morocco, established by the Treaty of Fez. French Morocco did not include the north of the country, which was a Spanish protectorate...
in accordance with the Second Armistice at Compiègne during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The last stages of the battle consisted of operations by German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
s which had reached the area the same day the French troops surrendered.
Allied military planners anticipated an all-American force assigned to seize the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
port
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
city of Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
might be greeted as liberators. An invasion task force of 102 American ships carrying 35,000 American soldiers approached the Moroccan coast undetected under cover of darkness. French defenders interpreted the first contacts as a diversionary raid for a major landing in Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
; and regarded the surrender of six Moroccan division
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
s to a commando
Commando
In English, the term commando means a specific kind of individual soldier or military unit. In contemporary usage, commando usually means elite light infantry and/or special operations forces units, specializing in amphibious landings, parachuting, rappelling and similar techniques, to conduct and...
raid as a clear violation of the armistice. An escalating series of surprised responses in an atmosphere of mistrust and secrecy caused loss of four U.S. troopship
Troopship
A troopship is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime...
s and death of 462 men aboard 24 French ships opposing the invasion.
Background
MoroccoMorocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
was a colony of France at the time of World War II. The French government at Vichy
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
had surrendered to Germany after the Battle of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
, signing an Armistice with Nazi Germany. General Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
led French forces opposed to the surrender and to the Vichy government, continuing the war on the side of Great Britain and the Allies
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
. The Vichy regime—which controlled Morocco—was thus officially neutral, but in practical terms the Armistice obliged Vichy to resist any attempt by France′s erstwhile allies to seize French territory or equipment for use against Germany. British forces had attacked the French at Mers-el-Kébir for refusing to surrender to them or join the Allies, leading to much ill-will between France and Britain. The U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
government had previously recognized the Vichy regime as legitimate. Military planning for Operation Torch
Operation Torch
Operation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North African Campaign, started on 8 November 1942....
in 1942 emphasized American troops in the initial landing forces on the basis of intelligence estimates they would be less vigorously opposed than British soldiers.
American forces
TroopshipTroopship
A troopship is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime...
convoy UGF 1
UG convoys
The UG convoys were a series of east-bound trans-Atlantic convoys from the United States to Gibraltar carrying food, ammunition, and military hardware to the United States Army in North Africa and southern Europe during World War II...
left Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
on 23 October 1942 and was joined on 26 October by a covering force of battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
s and cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
s sailing from Casco Bay
Casco Bay
Casco Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Maine on the southern coast of Maine, New England, United States. Its easternmost approach is Cape Small and its westernmost approach is Two Lights in Cape Elizabeth...
and on 28 October by the aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
s , , , , and sailing from Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
. These ships were screened by 38 American destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
s. The resulting Task Force 34 (TF 34) included 102 ships for the invasion of Morocco under the command of Rear Admiral Henry Kent Hewitt aboard the flagship heavy cruiser
Heavy cruiser
The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm calibre . The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930...
. As TF 34 sailed, the British submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
landed Major General Mark W. Clark near Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
to meet with pro-American French military officers
Operation Flagpole (World War II)
Operation Flagpole was part of the run-up to Operation Torch, the planned Allied invasion of North Africa during World War II. It involved arranging for and carrying out a top-secret high-level meeting between U.S. General Mark W. Clark, representing the Allies, and Général Charles E...
stationed in Algeria. French officers shared information about defensive arrangements; but the Americans did not share critical invasion details of timing, strength and distribution of forces. No information was provided to key French leaders including Armed Forces Commander in Chief Admiral François Darlan
François Darlan
Jean Louis Xavier François Darlan was a French naval officer. His great-grandfather was killed at the Battle of Trafalgar...
, North African Commander in Chief General Alphonse Juin
Alphonse Juin
- Early years :Juin was born at Bône in French Algeria, and enlisted in the French Army, graduating from the École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr in 1912.- Career :...
, or Moroccan Resident General Charles Noguès.
French forces
In 1942, Casablanca was the principal Vichy-controlled port on the Atlantic (all of France′s Atlantic coast having been occupied by Germany since 1940) and the most important Vichy-controlled naval base after ToulonToulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
. Naval gunners manned the El Hank coastal artillery
Coastal artillery
Coastal artillery is the branch of armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications....
battery of four 7.6 in (193 mm) guns and four 5.3 in (134.6 mm) guns; and one quadruple 15 in (381 mm) gun turret of the modern battleship was operational, although the battleship remained incomplete following escape from the Saint-Nazaire
Saint-Nazaire
Saint-Nazaire , is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France.The town has a major harbour, on the right bank of the Loire River estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean. The town is at the south of the second-largest swamp in France, called "la Brière"...
shipyards during the German invasion of 1940. One light cruiser, two flotilla leaders, seven destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
s (two already damaged by collision), eight sloops
Sloop-of-war
In the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. As the rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above, this meant that the term sloop-of-war actually encompassed all the unrated combat vessels including the...
, 11 minesweeper
Minesweeper (ship)
A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...
s, and 11 submarines were in port on the morning of 8 November.
Most French personnel attending General Clark′s pre-invasion meeting were army officers. Information subsequently conveyed in pre-invasion contact with army personnel stationed in Morocco was interpreted as a request for recommendations. No pre-invasion contact has been documented with Vice Admiral Michelier, who commanded naval forces responsible for the defense of Casablanca. Admiral Michelier was not yet in the confidence of North African officers in contact with the Americans, since he had been a member of the Armistice Commission until assuming his Casablanca post less than a month before the invasion.
Prelude
French defenders were placed on alert status when Algerian invasion convoys were detected passing through the Strait of GibraltarStrait of Gibraltar
The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Spain in Europe from Morocco in Africa. The name comes from Gibraltar, which in turn originates from the Arabic Jebel Tariq , albeit the Arab name for the Strait is Bab el-Zakat or...
. Destinations remained unclear, and TF 34 remained undetected as it split into three groups on 7 November. Concealed by darkness, a northern group (six troopships and two cargo ships escorted by the battleship , the light cruiser and six destroyers) prepared to land 9,000 troops of the 60th infantry Regiment reinforced with 65 light tanks to seize the Port Lyautey airfield; and a southern group (four troopships and two cargo ships escorted by the battleship , the light cruiser and six destroyers) prepared to land 6,500 troops of the 47th Infantry Regiment reinforced with 90 medium and light tanks near the phosphate port of Safi
Safi, Morocco
Safi is a city in western Morocco on the Atlantic Ocean. The capital of the Doukkala-Abda Region, it has a population of 282,227 , but is also the centre of an agglomeration which has an estimated 793,000 inhabitants ....
to cover the southern approaches to Casablanca, while the center group prepared to land the Casablanca occupation force of 19,500 troops of the 3rd Infantry Division reinforced with 79 light tanks near Fedala 15 mi (24.1 km) northeast of Casablanca. Naval coastal defense batteries flanked both ends of the Fedala landing beach with four 5.3 in (134.6 mm) guns at Point Blondin to the east and three 4 in (101.6 mm) and two 2.95 in (75 mm) guns in Fedala on the point sheltering the western end of the beach.
8 November
Center group troopships , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and anchored 8 mi (7 nmi; 12.9 km) off Fedala at midnight. Loaded landing craft rendezvoused and left the line of departure at 06:00.Morocco observed Greenwich Mean TimeGreenwich Mean Time
Greenwich Mean Time is a term originally referring to mean solar time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London. It is arguably the same as Coordinated Universal Time and when this is viewed as a time zone the name Greenwich Mean Time is especially used by bodies connected with the United...
(GMT) time; but, at 7° 35′ West, Casablanca was 30 minutes behind the prime meridian. Astronomical sunrise was 06:54 GMT on the day of the invasion. TF 34's clocks were apparently set to UTC-1
UTC-1
UTC−01 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of −01. This time is used in:-As standard time :*Greenland**Eastern Greenland *Azores...
. The commencement of Massachusetts′ shelling of Casablanca harbor is reported as 08:04 by Auphan & Mordal, but 07:04 by USN sources Karig and Potter & Nimitz. Times specified in those references have been adjusted to GMT to conform to other references and clarify the sequence of events. Fedala coast defense batteries were alerted by the noise of landing craft engines and illuminated the beach approaches with searchlights but the searchlights were extinguished when the landing craft support boats opened fire with machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
s. Three-thousand-five hundred American troops were ashore by dawn; but early morning mist concealed the size of the invasion force. Fedala coast defense batteries opened fire on the landing craft shortly after 07:00. At 07:20, Admiral Hewitt authorized four American destroyers supporting the landing craft to open fire on the French shore batteries. French gunners damaged the destroyers and , and at 07:25< the destroyers were defended by the heavier guns of the cruisers Augusta and screening the troopships. Ludlow and silenced the Point Blondin battery, while Augusta silenced the Fedala battery. Murphy, , and other U.S. vessels engaged two French aircraft just before 07:00 on 8 November, ultimately driving them off.
Light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
sortied with flotilla leader destroyer Albatros and destroyers Brestois and Frondeur. Engaged by Massachusetts, the Primauguet force was outgunned; Primauguet had been under refit and was not fully operational but returned fire nonetheless. The French flotilla was also engaged by Augusta and Brooklyn from 11:00 to 11:20. Albatros beached to avoid sinking. The remaining ships returned to Casablanca harbor where Primauguet beached and burnt out and the two destroyers capsized. Forty-five crew members were killed aboard Primauguet, and more than 200 more wounded. The French submarine Amazone missed Brooklyn with a salvo of torpedoes. La Sybille disappeared on a patrol station between Casablanca and Fedala, but the cause of her destruction remains uncertain. Surviving French submarines Sidi Ferruch and Le Conquerant sortied without torpedoes to avoid destruction in the harbor. Le Tonnant managed to load a few torpedoes before leaving.
Augusta sank Boulonnais at noon and the only French destroyer remaining operational was L'Alcyon. Three small French warships emerged from Casablanca harbor in the early afternoon to rescue sailors from the sunken destroyer Fougueux, but the rescue ships were turned back by shellfire from the American covering force.Potter and Nimitz refer to a destroyer and two sloops, and Auphan and Mordal identify the destroyer as L'Alcyon. Cressman identifies the three ships as the 1969-ton colonial sloop La Grandiere with second class sloops La Gracieuse and Commandant Delage. La Grandiere was about the size of a destroyer with three 5.5 in (139.7 mm) guns and a maximum speed of 15 knots. Jane's Fighting Ships refers to the second class sloops as 20-knot, 630-ton minesweepers armed with two 3.5 in (88.9 mm) guns. Workmen had repaired Jean Bart′s turret by sundown, and El Hank Battery remained operational. Nearly half of the 347 American landing craft had been destroyed, and fewer than 8,000 troops had been landed. Five French submarines still stalked the invasion fleet.
10 November
The French mineweepers Commandant Delage and La Gracieuse sortied at 10:00 to open fire on American troops advancing from Fedala to the outskirts of Casablanca. The cruiser Augusta and destroyers and chased the minesweepers back into Casablanca harbor before being forced to retreat by gunfire from Jean Bart. Nine dive bombers from Ranger hit Jean Bart with two 1000 lb (453.6 kg) bombs and sank her at 16:00. Jean Bart settled into the harbor mud with decks awash. French submarines Le Tonnant, Meduse and Antiope launched unsuccessful torpedo salvos at Ranger, Massachusetts and Tuscaloosa, respectively. Meduse was crippled by counterattacks and beached off Cape Blanc.11 November
Torpedo bomber
A torpedo bomber is a bomber aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes which could also carry out conventional bombings. Torpedo bombers existed almost exclusively prior to and during World War II when they were an important element in many famous battles, notably the...
s from Suwanee on 11 November.
Final actions
—under Ernst KalsErnst Kals
Ernst Kals was a Kapitän zur See with the Kriegsmarine during World War II. He commanded the Type IXC U-boat on five patrols, and sank twenty ships, for a total of 145,656 tons of Allied shipping, becoming the sixteenth highest scoring U-Boat ace of World War II...
—torpedoed the troopships Tasker H. Bliss, Hugh L. Scott, and Edward Rutledge on the afternoon of 12 November, killing 74 additional American service men. All four troopships sank, but the oiler and destroyer were repaired. French submarines Amazone and Antiope reached Dakar, and Orphee returned to Casablanca after the city surrendered. Le Conquerant was sunk on 13 November by a PBY Catalina flying boat
Flying boat
A flying boat is a fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a float plane as it uses a purpose-designed fuselage which can float, granting the aircraft buoyancy. Flying boats may be stabilized by under-wing floats or by wing-like projections from the fuselage...
off Villa Cisneros. Le Tonnant was scuttled off Cadiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
on 15 November. On 16 November, U-173 was sunk off Casablanca by American destroyers.
French 2nd Light Squadron
| Name | Class | Displacement | Speed | Guns | Torpedoes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primauguet | Duguay-Trouin Duguay-Trouin class cruiser The three Duguay-Trouin class light cruisers were built for France in the early 1920s.The fate of these three ships after the French surrender illustrates the dichotomy within the French armed forces at the time: one ship was interned, then joined the Free French, another twice resisted Allied... |
7,249 tons | 33 knots | 8 × 155 mm (6.1 in) | 12 | |
| Albatros | Aigle Aigle class destroyer The Aigle class destroyers of the French navy were laid down between 1928 and 1929 and commissioned in 1931 and 1932... |
2,441 tons | 36 knots | 5 × 138 mm Mle 1927 guns | 6 | |
| Milan | Aigle | 2,441 tons | 36 knots | 5 × 138 mm Mle 1927 guns | 6 | |
| Boulonnais | Adroit | 1378 tons | 33 knots | 4 × 130 mm (5.1 in) | 6 | |
| Brestois | Adroit | 1378 tons | 33 knots | 4 × 130 mm (5.1 in) | 6 | |
| Fougueux | Adroit | 1378 tons | 33 knots | 4 × 130 mm (5.1 in) | 6 | |
| Frondeur | Adroit | 1,378 tons | 33 knots | 4 × 130 mm (5.1 in) | 6 | |
| Alcyon | Adroit | 1378 tons | 33 knots | 4 × 130 mm (5.1 in) | 6 | did not sortie |
| Simoun | Bourrasque Bourrasque class destroyer The Bourrasque class was a group of twelve French navy destroyers laid down in 1923 and commissioned from 1926 to 1936. Along with the heavier Chacal class, they were part of a plan to modernise the French fleet after World War I. The Bourrasques were smaller and slower than the Chacals, but were... |
1,319 tons | 33 knots | 4 × 130 mm (5.1 in) | 6 | repairing collision damage - did not sortie |
| Tempête | Bourrasque | 1,319 tons | 33 knots | 4 × 130 mm (5.1 in) | 6 | repairing collision damage - did not sortie |
American covering force
| Name | Class | Displacement | Speed | Guns | Torpedoes | Launched | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Dakota South Dakota class battleship (1939) The South Dakota-class was a group of four fast battleships built by the United States Navy. They were the second class of battleships to be named after the 40th State; the first class was designed in the 1920s and canceled under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty. The class comprised four... |
35000 tons | 28 knots | 9 × 16"/45 cal 16"/45 caliber Mark 6 gun The 16"/45 caliber Mark 6 gun was a naval gun designed in 1936 by the United States Navy for their Treaty battleships. It was first introduced in 1941 aboard their North Carolina-class battleships, replacing the originally intended 14"/50 caliber Mark B guns and was also used for the followup South... 20 × 5"/38 cal |
(none) | 23 September 1941 | Defeated half-armed French battleship Jean Bart in gun duel, sank Jean Bart (later refloated), a floating dry dock and up to seven merchant ships in the harbor. Engaged French 2nd Light Squadron, sank at least one destroyer, assisted in engaging light cruiser and other destroyers. |
|
| (unique) | 10000 tons | 34 knots | 9 × 8"/55 cal 8"/55 caliber gun The 8"/55 caliber gun formed the main battery of United States Navy heavy cruisers and two early aircraft carriers... 8 × 5"/38 cal |
(none) | 16 November 1937 | ||
| New Orleans New Orleans class cruiser (1931) The New Orleans class cruisers were a class of seven heavy cruisers built for the United States Navy in the 1930s, the last built under the Washington Naval Treaty before World War II. They were an improvement on the heavy cruisers... |
9975 tons | 32 knots | 9 × 8"/55 cal 8 × 5"/25 cal |
(none) | 15 November 1933 | ||
| Benham Benham class destroyer Ten Benham-class destroyers were commissioned into United States Navy during 1938 and 1939. Much of their design is based upon the previous Gridley- and Bagley-class destroyers... |
1500 tons | 36 knots | 4 × 5"/38 cal | 16 | 14 May 1938 | ||
| Benham | 1500 tons | 36 knots | 4 × 5"/38 cal | 16 | 28 July 1938 | ||
| Sims Sims class destroyer The Sims-class consisted of 12 destroyers in the United States Navy, built in seven various shipyards, and commissioned in 1939 and 1940. It was the last United States destroyer class completed prior to World War II. All Sims-class ships saw action in World War II, and seven survived the war... |
1570 tons | 38 knots | 5 × 5"/38 cal | 12 | 1 June 1939 | ||
| Fletcher Fletcher class destroyer The Fletcher class were a class of destroyers built by the United States during World War II. The class was designed in 1939 as a result of dissatisfaction with the earlier destroyer leader types... |
2050 tons | 37 knots | 5 × 5"/38 cal | 10 | 21 June 1942 | ||
| Northampton Northampton class cruiser The ' was a group of six heavy cruisers built for the U.S. Navy in the 1930s. The design of the ships was heavily influenced by the Washington Naval Treaty, which limited cruisers to a maximum of 10,000 tons displacement and a maximum main battery caliber of . The Northamptons were a reaction to... |
9050 tons | 32 knots | 9 × 8"/55 cal 8 × 5"/25 cal |
(none) | 1 February 1930 | operated independently as Task Force 34 flagship | |
| Brooklyn Brooklyn class cruiser The Brooklyn-class cruisers were seven light cruisers of the United States Navy which served during World War II. Armed with 5 triple turrets mounting 6-inch guns, they and their near sisters of the St. Louis class mounted more heavy-caliber guns than any other US cruisers... |
9700 tons | 33 knots | 15 × 6"/47 Mark 16/1 triple 6 in /47 Turret The Mark 16/1 triple 6-inch /47 gun turret was a feature of many U.S. cruisers during World War II. The from that period had four such turrets.Each turret carried three 6 inch /47 Mark 16 guns... 8 × 5"/25 cal |
(none) | 30 November 1936 | assigned as escort for center group troopships engaged 2nd Light Squadron |
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| Benham | 1500 tons | 36 knots | 4 × 5"/38 cal | 16 | 5 May 1938 | screened center group troopships off Fedala engaged 2nd Light Squadron |
|
| Gleaves Gleaves class destroyer The Gleaves-class destroyers were a class of 66 destroyers of the United States Navy built 1938–1942, and designed by Gibbs & Cox. The first ship of the class was the USS Gleaves . The U.S. Navy customarily names a class of ships after the first ship of the class; hence the Gleaves class... |
1620 tons | 37 knots | 4 × 5"/38 cal | 10 | 12 February 1941 | screened center group troopships off Fedala | |
| Gleaves | 1620 tons | 37 knots | 4 × 5"/38 cal | 10 | 11 November 1940 | screened center group troopships off Fedala engaged Point Blondin Battery engaged 2nd Light Squadron |
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| Gleaves | 1620 tons | 37 knots | 5 × 5"/38 cal | 10 | 23 November 1940 | screened center group troopships off Fedala | |
| Gleaves | 1620 tons | 37 knots | 5 × 5"/38 cal | 10 | 31 May 1940 | screened center group troopships off Fedala engaged Fedala Battery engaged 2nd Light Squadron |
|
| Gleaves | 1620 tons | 37 knots | 5 × 5"/38 cal | 10 | 2 November 1940 | screened center group troopships off Fedala engaged Fedala Battery engaged 2nd Light Squadron |
|
| Gleaves | 1,620 tons | 37 knots | 5 × 5"/38 cal | 10 | 25 July 1941 | screened center group troopships off Fedala | |
| Benson | 1,620 tons | 37 knots | 4 × 5"/38 cal | 5 | 15 June 1942 | screened center group troopships off Fedala | |
| Benson | 1620 tons | 37 knots | 4 × 5"/38 cal | 5 | 29 April 1942 | screened center group troopships off Fedala engaged Point Blondin Battery |
|
| Gleaves | 1630 tons | 37 knots | 4 × 5"/38 cal | 5 | 20 December 1941 | screened center group troopships off Fedala | |
| (unique) | 14500 tons | 29 knots | 8 × 5"/25 cal | (none) | 25 February 1933 | provided air cover for center group while operating 130 mi (209.2 km) offshore of Casablanca | |
| Sangamon Sangamon class escort carrier The Sangamon class were a group of four escort aircraft carriers of the United States Navy that served during World War II.-Overview:These ships were originally MARAD type T3-S2-A1 oilers, launched in 1939 for civilian use. They were acquired and commissioned by the U.S. Navy in 1940-41... |
11400 tons | 18 knots | 2 × 5"/51 cal | (none) | 24 September 1942 | provided air cover for center group while operating 130 miles (200 km) offshore of Casablanca |