23 May 1944 Part 2

23 May 1944 Channel Islands Sea Defence diary

Weather: wind from 315°, 2 metres per second. 03:15: convoys M-Aufgabe 28 and Gr.-Aufgabe 6 encountered enemy motor torpedo boats in BF 3813, upper left, and immediately fired on them with all weapons. The boats turned west under smoke. No hits observed. Convoys entered St Helier. No naval radar set detected the enemy boats.

03:25–03:55: Batterie Lothringen at alert stage II because of the observed sea action in BF 3813, upper left. 03:46: Alderney Group alerted after detection of an unidentified target in direction 12–1 [source notation], range ten to eleven kilometres. 03:55: Lothringen alert ended. 04:17: Lothringen again at alert stage II after illuminating-shell fire observed on St Aubin's Bay roadstead. 04:22: Alderney alert ended; target not detected since 03:55. 04:25: engine noises in BF 2696; warning broadcast on K.W.A. and H.S.K. frequencies.

04:30: Lothringen's searchlight searched BF 3813, upper left, without result. 04:37–04:43: at the escorts' request, Batterie Lothringen fired spreads of illuminating shells bearing 120°–220°, without observations. Ammunition expenditure: fourteen 15-cm illuminating shells; two illuminating-shell failures. 05:40: Lothringen's alert stage II ended.

Makeshift land mountings for 2-cm weapons completed in the week 13–20 May: artillery arsenal command, seven Oerlikon pedestal mountings and one mobile Oerlikon mounting complete, six mobile Oerlikon mountings under construction; island workshop, eight mobile mountings for 2-cm 30/38 complete and five under construction.

Roll 2422, scans 0841–0842, original pages 53–54. [Date overtyped but supported by sequence.]