Postby Pioneer » Tue Mar 17, 2009 8:32 pm
Hello 'jdcboss' - Welcome Aboard
The CF 16 that you quote may just be an early base number given for easy identification and for ease of transmission — I stand to be corrected on that — but I shall try and get some further information.
The story of HMS St Angelo is a little more easier to state with some conviction however. HMS Egmont, the receiving and depot ship at Malta did not move ashore until 1912. Previously this establishment had been in the form of a hulk, a decommissioned ship moored to the famous Maltese fortifications. In 1933 the Admiralty changed her name to HMS St Angelo, which was the name of the fort in which the establishment was housed. The shore establishment was the main administration centre for Royal Naval 'big ship' activities in the Mediterranean, but Coastal Forces were based at HMS Gregale, not at St Angelo. Early during WW2, two flotillas of CF boats were detached from HMS Mosquito at Alexandra, and these formed up in a seperate and temporary base known as HMS Mosquito II.
HMS Gregale was commisioned in 1941 The establishment played a major part in CF events but as the war progressed into the Italian theatres of the Adriatic and Dalmation Sea etc the base became mainly a Repair-Rest and Recuperation base.
Glad that you found us 'jcdboss' - enjoy the trip.