Convoy SC 118
| Convoy SC 118 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Battle of the Atlantic | |||||||
 USS Schenck (DD-159) | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 United Kingdom Canada United States |
.svg?lang=en){kind=small} Germany | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
CAPT H C C Forsyth RNR CDR Proudfoot RN | Admiral Karl Dönitz | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
64 freighters 5 destroyers 2 cutters 4 corvettes | 20 submarines | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
8 freighters sunk (51,592GRT) 445 killed/drowned |
3 submarines sunk 101 killed/drowned 45 captured | ||||||
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.[1] Ships departing New York City on 24 January 1943[2] were met by Mid-Ocean Escort Force Group B-2 consisting of V class destroyers Vanessa and Vimy, the USCG Treasury Class Cutter Bibb, the Town class destroyer Beverley, Flower class corvettes Campanula, Mignonette, Abelia and Lobelia, and the convoy rescue ship Toward.[3]
Background
As western Atlantic coastal convoys brought an end to the second happy time, Befehlshaber der U-Boote (BdU) shifted focus to the mid-Atlantic to avoid aircraft patrols. Although convoy routing was less predictable in the mid-ocean, BdU anticipated the increased numbers of U-boats being produced would be able to effectively search with the advantage of intelligence gained through B-Dienst decryption of British Naval Cypher Number 3.[4] Only 20 percent of the 180 trans-Atlantic convoys sailing from the end of July 1942 until the end of April 1943, lost ships to U-boat attack.[5] On 2 February U-456 sank three ships from convoy HX 224. A survivor of one of the sunken ships was picked up by U-632 and told his rescuers a slower convoy was following behind HX-224.[6]
Battle
A careless merchant seaman of convoy SC-118 accidentally fired a pyrotechnic snowflake projector aboard SS Annik in the pre-dawn darkness of 4 February.[6] U-187 observed the snowflake display, reported sighting the convoy, and was promptly sunk by Beverly and Vimy after Bibb and Toward triangulated with High-Frequency radio Direction-Finder (HF/DF or Huff-Duff) her location from the sighting report.[3] The destroyers rescued 44 of the submarine crew.[7] Polish freighter Zagloba was torpedoed on the unprotected side of the convoy by U-262 and U-413 torpedoed straggling American freighter West Portal.[3]
On 5 February the convoy escort was reinforced by the USCG Treasury Class Cutter Ingham and the Wickes class destroyers Babbitt and Schenck from Iceland.[3] The reinforced escort damaged U-262 and U-267.[8]
In the pre-dawn hours of 7 February, U-boat Ace Kapitänleutnant Siegfried von Forstner's U-402 torpedoed British freighter Afrika, Norwegian tanker Daghild, Greek freighter Kalliopi, American tanker Robert E. Hopkins, American cargo liner Henry R. Mallory, and Convoy rescue ship Toward.[9]
Henry R. Mallory was capable of 14 knots but had been straggling well astern of the convoy for several days and was not zig-zagging in that exposed position.[10] Mallory would normally have been assigned to one of the faster HX convoys, but there had been no Iceland section of the preceding convoy HX-224.[10] No commands came from the bridge after Mallory was torpedoed, no flares were sent up, no radio distress message was sent out, and no orders were given to abandon ship.[11] There were heavy casualties from Mallorys crew of 77, 34 Navy gunners, and the 136 American soldiers, 172 American sailors, and 72 American Marines she was transporting to Iceland.[12]
U-614 sank straggling British freighter Harmala[9] while Lobelia sank U-609.[3]
B-17 Flying Fortress J of No. 220 Squadron RAF sank U-614 on 7 February.[3] U-402 sank British freighter Newton Ash that night. On 9 February Kapitänleutnant von Forstner was awarded the Knight's Cross for ships sunk by U-402 from this convoy and from Convoy SC-107 on the previous patrol. SC-118 reached Liverpool without further loss on 12 February.[2]
Ships in convoy
| Name[13] | Flag[13] | Dead[9] | Tonnage[13] | Cargo[9] | Notes[13] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acme (1916) |
|
6,878 gross register tons (GRT) | petrol & oil | ||
| Adamas (1918) | 
|
(none) | 4,144 GRT | steel & lumber | sank 8 Feb after collision with Samuel Huntington |
| African Prince (1939) | 
|
8,031 GRT | bauxite and ammunition | carried convoy commodore Capt H C C Forsyth RD RNR | |
| Afrika (1920) |
|
23 | 8,597 GRT | 4,000 tons steel & 7,000 tons general cargo | sunk by U-402 7 Feb |
| Ann Skakel (1920) |
|
4,949 GRT | general cargo | veteran of convoy SC 107; detached to Iceland 9 Feb | |
| Annik (1940) | 
|
1,333 GRT | general cargo | detached to Iceland 9 Feb | |
| Arizpa (1920) |
|
0 | 5,437 GRT | stores | |
| Athelprince (1926) |
|
8,782 GRT | diesel & naptha | convoy vice commodore was ship's master | |
| Baron Haig (1926) |
|
3,391 GRT | sugar | ||
| Baron Ramsey (1929) |
|
3,650 GRT | iron ore | veteran of convoy SC 42 | |
| Bestik (1920) |
|
2,684 GRT | steel & lumber | ||
| Blairdevon (1925) |
|
3,282 GRT | steel & lumber | ||
| Celtic Star (1918) |
|
5,575 GRT | refrigerated & general cargo | ||
| Cetus (1920) |
|
2,614 GRT | sugar | veteran of convoy HX 84; survived this convoy and convoy SC 130 | |
| City of Khios (1925) |
|
5,574 GRT | sugar | ||
| Daghild (1927) |
|
(none) | 9,272 GRT | 13,000 tons diesel | veteran of convoy ON 127; sunk by U-402, U-614 & U-608 |
| Dallington Court (1929) |
|
6,889 GRT | wheat | survived this convoy and convoy SC 130 | |
| Danae II (1936) |
|
2,660 GRT | bauxite | veteran of convoy HX 84 | |
| Danby (1937) |
|
4,281 GRT | linseed & grain | ||
| Daylight (1931) |
|
9,180 GRT | general cargo | escort oiler; detached to Iceland 9 Feb; survived this convoy and convoy SC 130 | |
| Deido (1928) |
|
3,894 GRT | petrol | ||
| Dettifoss (1930) | 
|
1,564 GRT | general cargo | detached to Iceland 9 Feb | |
| Dordrecht (1928) | 
|
4,402 GRT | palm oil | returned to Halifax | |
| Empire Gareth (1942) |
|
2,847 GRT | bauxite | ||
| Empire Liberty (1941) |
|
7,157 GRT | general cargo | ||
| Glarona (1928) |
|
9,912 GRT | fuel oil & diesel | ||
| Gogra (1919) |
|
5,190 GRT | general cargo | ||
| Gold Shell (1931) |
|
8,208 GRT | petrol | ||
| Grey County (1918) |
|
3 | 5,194 GRT | general cargo | |
| Gulf of Mexico (1917) |
|
7,807 GRT | oil & petrol | ||
| H M Flagler (1918) | 
|
8,208 GRT | furnace fuel oil | escort oiler | |
| Harmala (1935) |
|
53 | 5,730 GRT | 8,500 tons iron ore | straggled and sunk by U-614 7 Feb |
| Helder (1920) |
|
3,629 GRT | general cargo | ||
| Henry Mallory (1916) |
|
272 | 6,063 GRT | 383 passengers & general cargo | veteran of convoy ON 154; sunk by U-402 7 Feb |
| Ioannis Frangos (1912) |
|
3,442 GRT | grain | ||
| Julius Thomsen (1927) | 
|
1,151 GRT | detached to Greenland | ||
| Kalliopi (1910) |
|
4 | 4,965 GRT | 6,500 tons steel & lumber | sunk by U-402 7 Feb |
| King Stephen (1928) |
|
5,274 GRT | grain | ||
| Kiruna (1921) | 
|
5,484 GRT | general cargo | veteran of convoy HX 79 and convoy ON 154 | |
| Lagarfoss (1904) |
|
1,211 GRT | general cargo | detached to Iceland 9 Feb; survived this convoy and convoy SC 130 | |
| Makedonia (1942) |
|
7,044 GRT | flour | ||
| Mana (1920) | 
|
3,283 GRT | general cargo | detached to Iceland 9 Feb | |
| Maud (1930) |
|
3,189 GRT | sugar | ||
| New York City (1917) |
|
2,710 GRT | general cargo | veteran of convoy SC 107 | |
| Newton Ash (1925) |
|
32 | 4,625 GRT | 6,500 tons grain, mail & military stores | sunk by U-402 7 Feb |
| Norbryn (1922) |
|
5,087 GRT | tea & rubber | ||
| Permian (1931) |
|
8,890 GRT | survived this convoy and convoy SC 122 | ||
| Petter II (1922) |
|
7,417 GRT | gas oil | ||
| Polyktor (1914) |
|
4,077 GRT | grain | sunk by U-266 | |
| Radmanso (1914) |
|
4,280 GRT | sulphur | ||
| Radport (1925) |
|
5,355 GRT | general cargo | ||
| Redgate (1929) |
|
4,323 GRT | general cargo | ||
| Robert E. Hopkins (1921) |
|
(none) | 6,625 GRT | 8,500 tons furnace fuel oil | escort oiler; sunk by U-402 7 Feb |
| Samuel Huntington (1942) |
|
7,181 GRT | general cargo | Liberty ship | |
| Sheaf Holme (1929) |
|
4,814 GRT | potash & general cargo | survived this convoy and convoy SC 130 | |
| Sommerstad (1926) |
|
5,923 GRT | lubricating oil | ||
| Stad Arnhem (1920) |
|
3,819 GRT | phosphates | ||
| Tilemachos (1911) |
|
3,658 GRT | grain | ||
| Toward (1923) |
|
58 | 1,571 GRT | rescue ship; sunk by U-402 7 Feb | |
| Vacuum (1920) |
|
7,020 GRT | petrol | ||
| West Portal (1920) |
|
5,376 GRT | stores | straggled and sunk by U-413 4 Feb | |
| William Penn (1921) |
|
8,447 GRT | petrol | ||
| Yemassee (1922) |
|
2,001 GRT | general cargo | detached to Iceland 9 Feb | |
| Zagloba (1938) | 
|
2,864 GRT | ammunition & general cargo | sunk by U-262 4 Feb |
Notes
- ^ Hague 2000 p.133
- ^ a b Hague 2000 p.135
- ^ a b c d e f Rohwer & Hummelchen 1992 p.191
- ^ Tarrant p.108
- ^ Hague pp.132, 137-138,161-162,164&181
- ^ a b Waters December 1966 p.96
- ^ Waters December 1966 p.97
- ^ Waters December 1966 p.98
- ^ a b c d Hague 2000 p.137
- ^ a b Waters December 1966 p.102
- ^ Waters December 1966 p.103
- ^ Morison 1975 p.336
- ^ a b c d "SC convoys". Andrew Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved 2011-05-29.
References
- Hague, Arnold (2000). The Allied Convoy System 1939-1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-019-3.
- Milner, Marc (1985). North Atlantic Run. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-450-0.
- Morison, Samuel Eliot (1975). History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Volume I The Battle of the Atlantic 1939-1943. Little, Brown and Company.
- Rohwer, J. and Hummelchen, G. (1992). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939-1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-105-X.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Tarrant, V.E. (1989). The U-Boat Offensive 1914-1945. Arms and Armour. ISBN 1-85409-520-X.
- Waters, John M. Jr., CAPT USCG (1966). "Stay Tough". United States Naval Institute Proceedings.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)