Convoy ON 122 | |||||||
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Part of Battle of the Atlantic | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
CAPT S.N. White RNR LCDR J.V. Waterhouse RN | BdU : Karl Dönitz | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
37 merchant ships [1] 5 escort ships | 9 submarines | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
4 merchants sunk (17,235 GRT) 40 killed/drowned [2] |
Convoy ON 122 was a trade convoy of merchant ships during the second World War. It was the 122nd of the numbered series of ON convoys Outbound from the British Isles to North America. The ships departed Liverpool on 15 August 1942 [2] and were joined on 17 August [3] by Escort Group B6 of the Mid-Ocean Escort Force. [4]
As western Atlantic coastal convoys brought an end to the second happy time, Admiral Karl Dönitz, the Befehlshaber der U-Boote (commander in chief of U-Boats), shifted focus to the mid-Atlantic to avoid aircraft patrols. Although convoy routing was less predictable in the mid-ocean, Dönitz anticipated that the increased numbers of U-boats being produced would be able to effectively search the area with the advantage of intelligence gained through B-Dienst decryption of British Naval Cypher Number 3. [5] However, of the 180 trans-Atlantic convoys sailing from the end of July 1942 until the end of April 1943, only 20 percent lost ships to U-boat attack.
The Norwegian-manned corvettes of Escort Group B6 fought three of these convoy battles in sequential voyages with convoys SC 104, ON 144, and HX 217. [6]
U-135 discovered and reported the convoy on 22 August while patrolling a formerly assigned station after having missed the signal to change position. The initial report caused some confusion because of the unexpected position and a coding error, but after U-135 sent two clarifying messages while shadowing the convoy, the wolf pack Lohs was ordered to converge on the convoy. [7]
While the Norwegian corvettes investigated HF/DF bearings provided by Viscount and Stockport on 23 August, Viscount conserved fuel by declining to engage in long daylight stern chases with U-boats. Viscount and Potentilla attacked HF/DF contacts more aggressively through the hours of darkness, but were satisfied by simply forcing the U-boats to submerge rather than conducting sustained depth charge attacks. [4]
Visibility was reduced to 7,000 yards with patchy squalls under overcast skies on 24 August. As dusk approached, the escort had located only four of the nine U-boats in contact with the convoy. The convoy's course was altered to 267° at 2300Z. U-605 torpedoed Katvaldis and Sheaf Mount on the starboard side of the convoy an hour after the course alteration. Viscount obtained a RADAR contact and forced the submarine to submerge. As Viscount was dropping depth charges, U-176 and U-438 entered the front of the convoy to torpedo Trolla and Empire Breeze. [4]
The convoy escorts effectively intercepted attacks through the pre-dawn hours of 25 August. The calm sea conditions were favourable for the Type 271 centimeter-wavelength RADAR with which all the escorts were equipped, and prompt counter-attacks prevented the U-boats from reaching torpedo launch positions. A depth charge attack by Eglantine holed the conning tower of U-605. [1] U-135, U-174 and U-438 were also damaged by depth charges. [7] The shadowing U-boats lost contact after the convoy entered heavy fog after daybreak on 25 August, and discontinued pursuit on 26 August. [4] U-256 was under repair for more than a year after being bombed in the Bay of Biscay on 31 August following depth charge damage from Viscount and Potentilla. U-438 aided U-256 reaching port, and U-174 refueled three Lohs U-boats before returning to France to repair damage. [1] U-705 suffered several casualties when hit by gunfire from the convoy escorts; and was sunk in the Bay of Biscay by Armstrong Whitworth Whitleys of No. 77 Squadron RAF on 3 September. [7]
The ships in the convoy dispersed off Cape Cod on 3 September to proceed independently to North American ports. [2]
A total of 37 merchant vessels joined the convoy, either in Liverpool or later in the voyage. [3] [2]
Name | Flag | Dead | Tonnage (GRT) | Cargo | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Amberton (1928) | 5,377 | Destination Halifax | |||
Athelprince (1926) | 8,782 | Carried convoy commodore CAPT S.N. White RNR | |||
Atland (1910) | 5,203 | Coal | Destination Saint John | ||
Baron Herries (1940) | 4,574 | Destination New York City | |||
City of Lancaster (1924) | 3,041 | General cargo | Destination New York City | ||
Empire Breeze (1941) | 1 | 7,457 | In ballast | Sunk by U-176 or U-438 [8] | |
Empire Chamois (1918) | 5,684 | Destination New York City | |||
Empire Flamingo (1917) | 4,994 | Returned to the Clyde | |||
Empire Wagtail (1919) | 4,893 | Destination New York City | |||
Fintra (1918) | 2,089 | Destination Saint John | |||
Gloxinia (1920) | 3,336 | Destination New York City | |||
Inger Elizabeth (1920) | 2,166 | Coal | Destination Halifax | ||
Inger Toft (1920) | 2,190 | Destination Sydney | |||
Ingerfire (1905) | 3,835 | Coal | Destination Sydney | ||
Ingman (1907) | 3,169 | Destination Sydney | |||
Isobel (1929) | 1,515 | Destination Halifax | |||
Jan (1920) | 1,946 | Destination Herring Cove, Nova Scotia | |||
Katvaldis (1907) | 3 | 3,163 | In ballast | Sunk by U-605 [9] | |
Kolsnaren (1923) | 2,465 | Destination New York City | |||
Lifland (1920) | 2,254 | Destination Montreal | |||
Mariposa (1914) | 3,807 | Destination New York City | |||
Merchant Royal (1928) | 5,008 | Destination Boston | |||
Modlin (1906) | 3,569 | Destination Halifax | |||
Parismina (1908) | 4,732 | Destination Boston | |||
Ramava (1900) | 2,141 | Destination Sydney | |||
Rio Branco (1924) | 3,210 | Destination Sydney | |||
Rolf Jarl (1920) | 1,917 | Coal | Destination Halifax | ||
Sheaf Mount (1924) | 31 | 5,017 | In ballast | Sunk by U-605 [10] | |
Silverelm (1924) | 4,351 | General cargo | Destination New York City | ||
Sirehei (1907) | 3,888 | Destination Sydney | |||
Souliotis (1917) | 4,299 | Destination Halifax | |||
Stad Arnhem (1920) | 3,819 | Destination New York City | |||
Start Point (1919) | 5,293 | Destination Botwood | |||
Stockport (1911) | 1,583 | convoy rescue ship | |||
Tenax (1925) | 3,846 | Destination Sydney | |||
Trolla (1923) | 5 | 1,598 | In ballast | Sunk by U-438 [11] | |
Van de Velde (1919) | 6,389 | General cargo | Destination New York City |
The armed military ships of Escort Group B6, from the Mid-Ocean Escort Force, escorted the convoy during much of its journey. [3] [4]
Name | Flag | Type | Joined | Left |
---|---|---|---|---|
HNoMS Andenes (K01) | Flower-class corvette | 17 Aug 1942 | 3 Sep 1942 | |
HNoMS Eglantine (K197) | Flower-class corvette | 17 Aug 1942 | 3 Sep 1942 | |
HNoMS Montbretia (K208) | Flower-class corvette | 17 Aug 1942 | 3 Sep 1942 | |
HNoMS Potentilla (K214) | Flower-class corvette | 17 Aug 1942 | 3 Sep 1942 | |
HMS Viscount (D92) | Modified long-range V-class destroyer | 17 Aug 1942 | 3 Sep 1942 | |
German submarine U-438 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
Convoy ON 166 was the 166th of the numbered ON series of merchant ship convoys Outbound from the British Isles to North America. Sixty-three ships departed Liverpool 11 February 1943 and were met the following day by Mid-Ocean Escort Force Group A-3 consisting of the Treasury-class cutters Campbell and Spencer and the Flower-class corvettes Dianthus, Chilliwack, Rosthern, Trillium and Dauphin.
Convoy SC 121 was the 121st of the numbered series of World War II Slow Convoys of merchant ships from Sydney, Cape Breton Island to Liverpool. The ships departed New York City 23 February 1943; and were met by the Mid-Ocean Escort Force Group A-3 consisting of the United States Coast Guard (USCG) Treasury-class cutter USCGC Spencer, the American Wickes-class destroyer USS Greer, the British and Canadian Flower-class corvettes HMS Dianthus, HMCS Rosthern, HMCS Trillium and HMCS Dauphin and the convoy rescue ship Melrose Abbey. Three of the escorts had defective sonar and three had unserviceable radar.
Convoy SC 107 was the 107th of the numbered series of World War II Slow Convoys of merchant ships from Sydney, Cape Breton Island to Liverpool. The ships departed New York City on 24 October 1942 and were found and engaged by a wolfpack of U-boats which sank fifteen ships. It was the heaviest loss of ships from any trans-Atlantic convoy through the winter of 1942–43. The attack included one of the largest non-nuclear man-made explosions in history, when U-132 torpedoed ammunition ships SS Hobbema and SS Hatimura - both were sunk, one exploded, with the German submarine also being destroyed in the explosion.
Convoy SC 94 was the 94th of the numbered series of World War II Slow Convoys of merchant ships from Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, to Liverpool. The ships departed Sydney on 31 July 1942 and were met by Mid-Ocean Escort Force Group C-1.
Convoy SC 42 was the 42nd of the numbered series of World War II Slow Convoys of merchant ships from Sydney, Cape Breton Island to Liverpool. SC 42 was attacked over a three night period in September 1941, losing 16 ships sunk and 4 damaged. This was the worst Allied loss following the attack on convoy SC 7 the previous year. Two attacking U-boats were destroyed.
Convoy SC 104 was the 104th of the numbered series of World War II Slow Convoys of merchant ships from Sydney, Cape Breton Island to Liverpool. During October 1942, a U-boat wolf pack sank eight ships from the convoy. The convoy escorts sank two of the attacking submarines.
Convoy SL 125 was the 125th of the numbered series of World War II SL convoys of merchant ships from Sierra Leone to Liverpool. Ships carrying commodities bound to the British Isles from South America, Africa, and the Indian Ocean travelled independently to Freetown, Sierra Leone, to be convoyed for the last leg of their voyage. Thirty-seven merchant ships departed Freetown on 16 October 1942 and were joined at sea by five more.
HG 76 was an Allied convoy of the HG series, during the Second World War. It was notable for the destruction of five German U-boats.
Convoy ON 127 was a trade convoy of merchant ships during the second World War. It was the 127th of the numbered series of ON convoys Outbound from the British Isles to North America and the only North Atlantic trade convoy of 1942 or 1943 where all U-boats deployed against the convoy launched torpedoes. The ships departed Liverpool on 4 September 1942 and were met at noon on 5 September by the Royal Canadian Navy Mid-Ocean Escort Force Group C-4 consisting of the Canadian River-class destroyer Ottawa and the Town-class destroyer St. Croix with the Flower-class corvettes Amherst, Arvida, Sherbrooke, and Celandine. St. Croix's commanding officer, acting Lieutenant Commander A. H. "Dobby" Dobson RCNR, was the senior officer of the escort group. The Canadian ships carried type 286 meter-wavelength radar but none of their sets were operational. Celandine carried Type 271 centimeter-wavelength radar. None of the ships carried HF/DF high-frequency direction finding sets.
Escort Group B6 was a British convoy escort group of the Royal Navy which saw action during the Second World War, principally in the Battle of the Atlantic.
Convoy TM 1 was the code name for an Allied convoy during the Second World War. Nine tankers, escorted by Royal Navy warships, attempted to reach Gibraltar from Trinidad. The convoy was attacked by a U-boat wolf pack in the central Atlantic Ocean, and most of the merchant vessels were sunk. This was one of the most successful attacks on Allied supply convoys throughout the entire war. The convoy was defended by the destroyer HMS Havelock, and three Flower-class corvettes, HMS Godetia, HMS Pimpernel and HMS Saxifrage. Seven tankers were sunk during the attacks, two surviving to reach Gibraltar. Two U-boats were damaged during the attacks.
Convoy HX 212 was the 212th of the numbered series of World War II HX convoys of merchant ships from HalifaX to Liverpool. The ships departed New York City on 18 October 1942 and were met on 23 October by Mid-Ocean Escort Force Group A-3 consisting of the United States Coast Guard Treasury-class cutter USCGC Campbell, the destroyer Badger and the Flower-class corvettes Dianthus, Rosthern, Trillium, Dauphin, Alberni, Summerside and Ville de Quebec. The first five escorts had worked together previously, but the last three corvettes were attached to the convoy only for passage to the eastern Atlantic in preparation for assignments on Operation Torch. Summerside was the only escort equipped with modern Type 271 centimeter-wavelength radar.
Convoy ON 144 was a trade convoy of merchant ships during the Second World War. It was the 144th of the numbered series of ON convoys Outbound from the British Isles to North America. The ships departed Liverpool on 7 November 1942 and were joined on 8 November by Mid-Ocean Escort Force Group B-6 consisting of the Flower-class corvettes Vervain, Potentilla, Eglantine, Montbretia and Rose and the convoy rescue ship Perth. Group B-6 had sailed without the destroyers Fame and Viscount which had been damaged in the battle for eastbound convoy SC 104. The United States Coast Guard cutters Bibb, Duane, and Ingham accompanied the convoy from the Western Approaches with ships that detached for Iceland on 15 November.
Convoy HX 126 was the 126th of the numbered series of World War II HX convoys of merchant ships from HalifaX to Liverpool. The ships departed Halifax on 10 May 1941 and were escorted across the North Atlantic by the armed merchant cruiser Aurania intended to provide protection against merchant raiders. Aurania was poorly equipped to defend the convoy from attacks beginning on 19 May by U-boats of the 1st, 2nd and 7th Flotillas, operating out of Brest, Lorient and St Nazaire, respectively. U-boats sank nine ships prior to arrival of the 12th Escort Group on 21 May. Surviving ships reached Liverpool on 28 May.
Convoy OG 71 was a trade convoy of merchant ships during the second World War. It was the 71st of the numbered OG convoys Outbound from the British Isles to Gibraltar. The convoy departed Liverpool on 13 August 1941 and was found on 17 August by a Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor of Kampfgeschwader 40. Starting on August 19, it became the first convoy of the war to be attacked by a German submarine wolfpack, when reached by eight U-boats from 1st U-boat Flotilla, operating out of Brest. Ten ships comprising a total tonnage of 15,185 tons were sunk before the U-boats lost contact on 23 August.
Convoy HG 73 was a trade convoy of merchant ships during the Second World War. It was the 73rd of the numbered HG convoys Homeward bound to the British Isles from Gibraltar. The convoy departed Gibraltar on 17 September 1941 and was found on 18 September and was attacked over the next ten days. Nine ships were sunk from the convoy before the submarines exhausted their torpedo inventory on 28 September. Surviving ships reached Liverpool on 1 October.
Convoy ON 92 was a trade convoy of merchant ships during the Second World War. It was the 92nd of the numbered series of ON convoys Outbound from the British Isles to North America. The ships departed from Liverpool on 6 May 1942 and were joined on 7 May by Mid-Ocean Escort Force Group A-3.
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