Convoy | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of World War II | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
Kriegsmarine | Royal Navy Royal Canadian Navy | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Admiral Karl Dönitz | Comm: R Adm. WB Mackenzie SOE: Lt.Cmdr. JC Hibbard | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
Markgraf group 14 U-boats | 65 merchant ships 4 escorts | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
2 U-boats sunk 53 killed | 16 merchant ships sunk (68,259 tons) 4 ships damaged (14,132 tons) 276 killed |
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. [1] 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.
Sixty-five ships departed Sydney (Nova Scotia) on 30 August 1941 [2] under local escort, bound for Liverpool. The convoy commodore was Rear Admiral WB Mackenzie in Everleigh. A week later, they were met just east of the Strait of Belle Isle by the Canadian 24th Escort Group consisting of the River-class destroyer Skeena (Lt Cdr JC Hibbard, senior officer) with Flower-class corvettes Alberni, Kenogami, and Orillia. [3] Corvettes Chambly and Moose Jaw were conducting training exercises in the convoy path at the direction of Commander James D. Prentice, RCN, and were prepared to reinforce the escort as the convoy entered an area where U-boats were known to be waiting. [4]
Ranged against them was the Markgraf wolf pack, a group of 14 U-boats in a patrol line southeast of Greenland.
Early on 9 September U-85 sighted the convoy near Cape Farewell, Greenland, and made an unsuccessful torpedo attack. [3] She then commenced shadowing, while other Markgraf boats moved in. The moon rose on the southern side on the convoy that night, and U-432 torpedoed the silhouetted 5,229 GRT British freighter Muneric. Muneric and her cargo of 7000 tons of iron ore sank rapidly with all 63 of her crew. [5] Kenogami commenced firing on a surfaced U-boat without benefit of star shell or flashless powder, and quickly lost contact as the crew lost their night-vision in the flash of gunfire. [5]
The convoy made two emergency turns over the next half-hour as ships in the convoy reported sighting three more surfaced U-boats. [6] Another emergency convoy turn ninety minutes later caught Skeena pursuing a contact at speed. While maneuvering to avoid collision, Skeena passed a surfaced U-boat on a reciprocal course, being fired upon by ships in the convoy so closely that Skeena's guns could not be depressed to bear. [7] U-652 torpedoed Baron Pentland and Tahchee during the excitement. The tanker Tahchee was towed back to port by Orillia [3] but the 3,410 GRT British freighter Baron Pentland sank with 1,512 standards of lumber and two of her crew. [8]
Another emergency turn by the convoy brought two hours of suspenseful quiet while Orillia aided Tahchee and searched for survivors astern of the convoy. [7] Then U-432 torpedoed the 3,205 GRT Dutch freighter Winterswijk and the 1,113 GRT Norwegian freighter Stargard. [7] The freighter Regin stopped to rescue Starguard's survivors and opened fire on a surfaced U-boat. [7] While Skeena and Kenogami searched for U-boats around stricken Winterswijk and Stargard, U-81 torpedoed the 3,252 GRT British freighter Sally Maersk, and the convoy made another emergency turn to avoid a surfaced U-boat. [9] U-82 torpedoed the 7,465 GRT British CAM ship Empire Hudson [3] less than two hours after Skeena regained station ahead of the convoy. [9]
Daylight on 10 September brought several periscope sightings and emergency turns by the convoy before U-85 torpedoed the 4,748 GRT British freighter Thistleglen. [10] Skeena and Alberni counterattacked and damaged U-85 with depth charges. [3] Thistleglen sank with 5,200 tons of steel, 2,400 tons of pig iron, and 3 of her crew. [8]
U-82 torpedoed the 7,519 GRT British tanker Bulysses that evening. [3] U-82 then torpedoed the 3,915 GRT British freighter Gypsum Queen shortly after the convoy ordered an emergency turn. [11] Gypsum Queen sank quickly with 5,500 tons of sulfur and ten of her crew. [8] Bulysses sank with 9,300 tons of gas oil and 4 of her crew. [8] Other ships in convoy rescued the survivors. [11] The corvettes Chambly and Moose Jaw observed the fireworks of these attacks and surprised U-501 while steaming to reinforce the escort. [3] U-501 was first depth-charged by Chambly then rammed by Moose Jaw as the damaged submarine surfaced. The captain of U-501 jumped from the conning tower to Moose Jaw's deck; and Moose Jaw sent a boarding party to enter the submarine. Eleven Germans and one of the Canadian boarding party (Stoker William Brown) were lost when U-501 sank. [12] U-501 was the first U-boat sunk by Canadian escorts. [13]
Just after midnight on 10/11 September U-207 torpedoed the 4924-GRT British freighter Berury and the 4,815 GRT British freighter Stonepool, while Chambly and Moose Jaw were attacking U-501. Then U-432 torpedoed the 1,231 GRT Swedish freighter Garm and U-82 torpedoed the 5,463 GRT British freighter Empire Crossbill and the 1,980 GRT Swedish freighter Scania two hours later while Alberni, Kenogami and Moose Jaw were rescuing survivors of Berury and Stonepool. [3] [14] U-43 launched torpedoes unsuccessfully, U-433 damaged the Norwegian 2,200 GRT freighter Bestum, U-202 sank the crippled Scania, while U-105 sank the Panamanian-flagged straggler Montana. [15]
On 11 September, the escort was reinforced by the naval trawler Buttermere and Flower-class corvettes HMCS Wetaskiwin, HMCS Mimosa, and HMS Gladiolus from convoy HX 147 and by the 2nd Escort Group consisting of the Admiralty type flotilla leader HMS Douglas (Commander WE Banks senior officer), the Town-class destroyer HMS Leamington, the V and W-class destroyer HMS Veteran and R-class destroyer HMS Skate and S-class destroyer HMS Saladin. [3] Leamington and Veteran dropped 21 depth charges on the afternoon of 11 September while investigating an RAF Coastal Command aircraft report of a U-boat ahead of the convoy. Postwar analysis indicated their attacks probably destroyed U-207. [3]
With the arrival of these reinforcements further attacks by Markgraf were stifled. Though the group continued to shadow, it was unable to mount any further assaults.
The arrival on 12 September of the naval trawler Windermere and Town-class destroyers St. Croix from convoy SC 41 and Columbia from convoy HX 147 allowed the remaining original escorts Skeena, Alberni, and Kenogami to leave for refuelling . [3] On 13 September destroyers of the 2nd Escort Group departed for refuelling following the arrival of American destroyers Sims, Hughes and Russell. [3] The last incident of the voyage took place three days later when U-98 torpedoed the 4392-ton British freighter Jedmore as the convoy approached North Channel on the late afternoon of 16 September. [13]
Convoy SC 42 arrived in Liverpool on 20 September 1941. Sixteen ships totalling 68,259 GRT had been sunk and four ships (14,132 GRT) damaged. One ship had turned back. Forty four ships arrived safely and unharmed, and two U-boats had been destroyed, though one of these sinkings was not confirmed until after the war.
Date | Time | Name | Flag | Casualties | Tonnage (GRT) | Cargo | Sunk by... |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
9 Sept 1941 | 06:55 | Empire Springbuck | United Kingdom | 42 | 5,591 | Steel and explosives | U-81 |
9 Sept 1941 | 21:37 | Muneric | United Kingdom | 63 | 5,229 | Iron Ore | U-432 |
9 Sept 1941 | 23:48 | Baron Pentland | United Kingdom | 2 | 3,410 | Lumber | U-432 |
10 Sept 1941 | 02:10 | Winterswijk | Netherlands | 20 | 3,205 | Phosphates | U-432 |
10 Sept 1941 | 02:10 | Stargard | Norway | 2 | 1,113 | Lumber | U-432 |
10 Sept 1941 | 02:45 | Sally Maersk | United Kingdom | 0 | 3,252 | Wheat | U-81 |
10 Sept 1941 | 05:04 | Empire Hudson | United Kingdom | 4 | 7,456 | Wheat | U-82 |
10 Sept 1941 | 10:30 | Thistleglen | United Kingdom | 3 | 4,748 | Steel & Pig Iron | U-85 |
10 Sept 1941 | 20:57 | Bulysses | United Kingdom | 4 | 7,519 | Gas Oil | U-82 |
10 Sept 1941 | 21:00 | Gypsum Queen | United Kingdom | 10 | 3,915 | Sulphur | U-82 |
11 Sept 1941 | 00:10 | Stonepool | United Kingdom | 42 | 4,815 | Grain, oats & trucks | U-207 |
11 Sept 1941 | 00:10 | Berury | United Kingdom | 1 | 4,924 | General | U-207 |
11 Sept 1941 | 02:10 | Scania | Sweden | 0 | 1,980 | Lumber | U-82 |
11 Sept 1941 | 02:10 | Empire Crossbill | United Kingdom | 49 | 5,463 | Steel | U-82 |
11 Sept 1941 | 02:30 | Garm | Sweden | 6 | 1,231 | Lumber | U-432 |
16 Sept 1941 | 19:00 | Jedmore | United Kingdom | 31 | 4,392 | Iron Ore | U-98 |
Date | Number | Type | Captain | Casualties | Fate | hit by... |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10 September 1941 | U-501 | IX | K/L Hugo Förster [16] | 12 | Destroyed | HMCS Chambly (K116) and HMCS Moose Jaw (K164) |
11 September 1941 | U-207 | VIIC | K/L Fritz Meyer [17] | 41 | Destroyed | HMS Leamington (G19) and HMS Veteran (D72) |
This is a timeline for the Battle of the Atlantic (1939–1945) in World War II.
HMCS Alberni was a Flower-class corvette that served in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) during the Second World War. The Flower-class corvettes were warships designed for anti-submarine warfare. The ship was constructed by Yarrows Ltd. in Esquimalt, British Columbia, laid down on 19 April 1940, launched on 22 August and commissioned on 4 February 1941. The corvette sailed east to join the RCN's fleet in the Atlantic via the Panama Canal, where upon arrival, the vessel began escorting trans-atlantic convoys in the Battle of the Atlantic. Alberni took part in the key convoy battle of Convoy SC 42. In 1942, the corvette was transferred to Allied convoy assignments associated with Operation Torch in the Mediterranean Sea. In 1944, Alberni was among the Canadian naval vessels assigned to Operation Neptune, the naval component of the invasion of Normandy and escorted support ships to and from the United Kingdom on D-day.
HMCS Skeena was a River-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) from 1931 to 1944. She was similar to the Royal Navy's A class and wore initially the pennant D59, changed in 1940 to I59.
HMCS Moose Jaw was a Royal Canadian Navy Flower-class corvette which took part in convoy escort duties during World War II. Together with HMCS Chambly, she achieved the RCN's first U-boat kill of the war. She was named after Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.
German submarine U-96 was a Type VIIC U-boat of the German Navy (Kriegsmarine) during World War II. It was made famous after the war in Lothar-Günther Buchheim's 1973 bestselling novel Das Boot and the 1981 Oscar-nominated film adaptation of the same name, both based on his experience on the submarine as a war correspondent in 1941.
German submarine U-515 was a Type IXC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine built for service during World War II. She was commissioned on 21 February 1942 and sunk on 9 April 1944. U-515 completed seven operational patrols and sank 23 ships, badly damaged two ships which later sank, and damaged two additional ships.
HX 79 was an Allied convoy in the North Atlantic of the HX series, which sailed east from Halifax, Nova Scotia. The convoy took place during the Battle of the Atlantic in the Second World War. One ship dropped out and returned to port, leaving 49 to cross the Atlantic for Liverpool. Two armed merchant cruisers and a submarine escorted the convoy to protect it from German commerce raiders.
The River class was a series of fourteen destroyers of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) that served before and during the Second World War. They were named after Canadian rivers.
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 118 was the 118th 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 January 1943 and were met by Mid-Ocean Escort Force Group B-2 consisting of V-class destroyers Vanessa and Vimy, the Treasury-class cutter Bibb, the Town-class destroyer Beverley, Flower-class corvettes Campanula, Mignonette, Abelia and Lobelia, and the convoy rescue ship Toward.
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 ON 154 was a North Atlantic convoy of the ON convoys which ran during the battle of the Atlantic in the Second World War. It was the 154th of the numbered series of merchant ship convoys Outbound from the British Isles to North America. It came under attack in December 1942 and lost 13 of its 50 freighters; one U-boat was sunk.
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.
Mid-Ocean Escort Force (MOEF) referred to the organisation of anti-submarine escorts for World War II trade convoys between Canada and Newfoundland, and the British Isles. The allocation of United States, British and Canadian escorts to these convoys reflected preferences of the United States upon United States' declaration of war and the organisation persisted through the winter of 1942–43 despite withdrawal of United States ships from the escort groups. By the summer of 1943, United States Atlantic escorts were focused on the faster CU convoys and the UG convoys between Chesapeake Bay and the Mediterranean Sea; and only British and Canadian escorts remained on the HX, SC and ON convoys.
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 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.
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.
An Escort Group consisted of several small warships organized and trained to operate together protecting trade convoys. Escort groups were a World War II tactical innovation in anti-submarine warfare by the Royal Navy to combat the threat of the Kriegsmarine's "wolfpack" tactics. Early escort groups often contained destroyers, sloops, naval trawlers and, later, corvettes of differing specifications lacking the ability to maneuver together as a flotilla of similar warships, but rigorously trained in anti-submarine tactics to use teamwork emphasizing the unique sensors, weapons, speed, and turning radius of each ship. The development of these 'escort groups' proved an effective means of defending shipping convoys through the Battle of the Atlantic.
Arctic naval operations of World War II were the World War II naval operations that took place in the Arctic Ocean, and can be considered part of the Battle of the Atlantic and/or of the European Theatre of World War II.
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.