Operation EM (i)

'EM' (i) was a British unrealised naval sweep to locate and sink German shipping off the coast of German-occupied Norway (14 January/1 February 1942).

Two armed merchant cruisers, the 5,850-ton City of Durban and 4,398-ton Cape Sable, supported by the escort destroyer Calpe, departed Scapa Flow in the Orkney islands group on 14 January and reached Sullom Voe in the Shetland islands group on the following day in preparation for a foray into the Inner Leads but, after several postponements, the operation was finally cancelled on 1 February after the the ships had twice been spotted by a German aeroplane. The loss of the element of surprise had now rendered the undertaking too dangerous to be undertaken.