The BX convoys were a World War II series of convoys across the Gulf of Maine from Boston to HalifaX. These convoys were escorted by the Western Local Escort Force (WLEF) of the Royal Canadian Navy to protect coastal shipping in transit between North American loading ports and trans-Atlantic convoy assembly points in Nova Scotia. [1]
Allied war materials had been transported from North America to the United Kingdom in HX convoys since 1939 and in slower SC convoys since 1940. These convoys were escorted by the Royal Navy and Royal Canadian Navy. The United States Navy provided a few escorts to HX and SC convoys beginning in September 1941. Declaration of war on 8 December 1941 removed United States neutrality assertions which had previously protected trade shipping in the Western Atlantic. Although the United States was slow to convoy coastal shipping, the Royal Canadian Navy established the WLEF in February 1942. [2]
WLEF escorted the first BX convoy from Saint John, New Brunswick, on 21 March 1942 and reached Halifax the following day. Ten of the first twelve BX convoys originated in Saint John. BX 4 was the first convoy originating in Boston on 3 April 1942, and BX 8 sailed from Boston on 18 April. BX 13 was the first convoy of the series to sail in multiple sections. The main convoy of eleven merchant ships left Boston on 3 May, and two ships left Saint John as convoy BX 13A on 5 May. BX 14 was the first of the series to sail from Portland, Maine, on 7 May. These early WLEF convoys sailed with as few as a single ship as the United States struggled to efficiently control sailing dates. BX 20 on 24 May was the first to include more than eleven ships. June convoys sailed in two sections with a main convoy like BX 25 with 43 ships leaving Boston on 17 June and a smaller convoy of seven ships leaving Boston two days later as BX 25B. [1]
The Mystic Steamship Company's collier USS Stephen R. Jones was grounded and sank in the Cape Cod Canal on June 28, 1942. Temporary closure of the canal interrupted the flow of coastal shipping from Long Island Sound. Thirty-two ships of BX 27 left Buzzards Bay on 2 July, 15 ships of BX 27B left Boston on 3 July, BX 27C left Newport, Rhode Island on 4 July, four ships of BX 27D left Boston on 2 July, 2 ships of BX 27E left Portland on 1 July, and BX 27J left Saint John on 1 July. In the confusion, SS Alexander Macomb of BX 27 was torpedoed by U-215 on July 3 as the first loss from a BX convoy. The canal reopened on July 31, after the wrecked Stephen R. Jones was removed with the help of 17 tons of dynamite. [3]
Five ships sailed from Saint John as convoy BX 28F on 8 July, followed by 48 ships from Boston on 9 July as BX 28, 8 ships from Boston on 10 July as BX 28B, and 3 ships from Boston on 11 July as BX 28C. This four-section pattern of one Bay of Fundy section and three Boston sections continued until the BX convoy series was temporarily suspended on 11 September 1942 by shifting assembly of HX convoys from Halifax to New York City. [1]
The series resumed with convoy BX 38 from Boston on 25 March 1943 when the assembly point for SC convoys shifted from New York City to Sydney, Nova Scotia. For the remainder of the war, single-section BX convoys sailed at intervals of four to ten days collecting shipping from Gulf of Maine ports destined for SC convoys. Approximately 8 percent of the ships traveling in SC convoys loaded in the Gulf of Maine, including explosives loaded at Searsport, Maine. [4]
The most damaging attack on a BX convoy was made by U-1232 on 14 January 1945. Convoy BX 141 was within visual range of Chebucto Head, Nova Scotia when Kapitän zur See Kurt Dobratz torpedoed the 6985-ton British tanker British Freedom at 1035, the 7176-ton American Liberty ship Martin van Buren at 1041, and the 8779-ton British tanker Athelviking at 1052. The two tankers sank, and the Liberty ship was destroyed by the surf after grounding. U-1232 managed to survive ramming by the River-class frigate HMCS Ettrick and escaped in difficult ASDIC conditions off Halifax. [5]
Canadian warships of the WLEF escorted a total of 3464 ships across the Gulf of Maine in 206 BX convoys until convoy BX 164 made the last departure from Boston on 22 May 1945. [1]
Ships traveling westbound (often empty) on similar routes were designated XB convoys. A total of 2194 ships crossed the Gulf of Maine westbound in 196 XB convoys. [1]
The HX convoys were a series of North Atlantic convoys which ran during the Battle of the Atlantic in the Second World War. They were east-bound convoys and originated in Halifax, Nova Scotia from where they sailed to ports in the United Kingdom. They absorbed the BHX convoys from Bermuda en route. Later, after the United States entered the war, HX convoys began at New York.
This is a timeline for the Battle of the Atlantic (1939–1945) in World War II.
USS Edison (DD-439), a Gleaves-class destroyer, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for Thomas Alva Edison, an inventor and businessman who developed many important devices and received the Navy Distinguished Service Medal for his contributions to the Navy during World War I. Edison was one of the few U.S. Navy ships to be named for a civilian.
HMCS Saguenay was a River-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) from 1931–1945.
HMCS Border Cities was an Algerine-class minesweeper that served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. The ship served as a convoy escort in the Battle of the Atlantic. After the war she was discarded and broken up. The ship was named for Windsor, Ontario but due to conflicts with other ships with that name, the actual name of the ship was chosen to commemorate the city, instead of naming it directly.
HMCS Moncton was a Flower-class corvette that served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She served on both coasts of Canada. She is named after Moncton, New Brunswick.
USS West Lianga (ID-2758) was a cargo ship for the United States Navy during World War I. She was later known as SS Helen Whittier and SS Kalani in civilian service under American registry, as SS Empire Cheetah under British registry, and as SS Hobbema under Dutch registry.
Western Local Escort Force (WLEF) referred to the organization of anti-submarine escorts for World War II trade convoys from North American port cities to the Western Ocean Meeting Point near Newfoundland where ships of the Mid-Ocean Escort Force (MOEF) assumed responsibility for safely delivering the convoys to the British Isles.
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. These convoys assembled in Hampton Roads near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay and terminated in various North African locations as Axis forces retreated from 1942 through 1945.
The CU convoys were a World War II series of fast trans-Atlantic convoys to the British Isles. The earliest convoys of the series were tankers sailing directly from petroleum refineries at Curaçao to the United Kingdom. Most convoys of the series assembled in New York City and included fast freighters and troopships, with tankers arriving from Aruba via TAG convoys to Guantánamo Bay and GN convoys from Guantánamo to New York.
Inchmay was a 7,058 GRT refrigerated cargo liner that was built in 1943 by Short Brothers Ltd, Sunderland, Co Durham, United Kingdom as Empire Cromer for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). In 1946, she was sold into merchant service and renamed Corrientes. In 1955 she was sold to Hong Kong and renamed Inchmay. In 1966, she was sold to Pakistan and renamed Kaukhali, serving until 1966 when she was scrapped.
Convoy HX 300 was the 300th of the numbered series of World War II HX convoys of merchant ships from Halifax to Liverpool. It started its journey on 17 July 1944 and was the largest convoy of the war, comprising 166 ships.
HMCS Wetaskiwin was a Flower-class corvette of the Royal Canadian Navy that served during the Second World War. She served primarily as a convoy escort in the Battle of the Atlantic. She was named after the city of Wetaskiwin, Alberta. Wetaskiwin was the first Pacific coast built corvette to enter service with the Royal Canadian Navy.
HMCS Eyebright was a Flower-class corvette that served mainly with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War in the Battle of the Atlantic. She was named after the medicinal flowering plant genus Euphrasia.
HMCS Napanee was a Flower-class corvette of the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She saw service primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic as a convoy escort. She is named after Napanee, Ontario.
HMCS Shediac was a Flower-class corvette of the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She served primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic as a convoy escort. She was named after the town of Shediac, New Brunswick.
HMCS Arrowhead was a Flower-class corvette that was originally commissioned by the Royal Navy but served primarily with the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) during the Second World War. She fought primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic as a convoy escort. She was named for Sagittaria, which is an aquatic water plant that is sometimes known as Arrowhead.
HMCS Hepatica was a Flower-class corvette that served primarily with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She saw service in the Battle of the Atlantic as an ocean escort. Originally commissioned into the Royal Navy, she was loaned to Canada in 1941.
HMCS Sherbrooke was a Flower-class corvette that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She served primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic as an ocean escort. She is named for Sherbrooke, Quebec.
HMCS Burlington was a Bangor-class minesweeper constructed for the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. The minesweeper entered service in 1941 and took part in the Battle of the Atlantic and the Battle of the St. Lawrence as a convoy escort. The ship was decommissioned in 1945 and sold in 1946. The vessel was broken up for scrap in 1946.