Convoy HX 79

Convoy HX.79
Part of World War II
Date19–20 October 1940
LocationWestern Approaches
Result German Victory
Belligerents
 Kriegsmarine  Royal Navy
Commanders and leaders
Admiral Karl Dönitz
Strength
5 U-boats 49 ships
11 escorts
Casualties and losses
none 12 ships sunk
1 damaged

HX 79 was an Allied North Atlantic convoy of the HX series which ran during the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II.

It suffered major losses from a U-boat attack, and, with the attack on convoy SC 7 the previous day, represents the worst two days shipping losses in the entire Atlantic campaign.

Prelude

HX 79 was an east-bound convoy of 49 ships which sailed from Halifax on 8 October 1940 making for Liverpool with war materials. On 19 October, 4 days from landfall, HX 79 was entering the Western Approaches, and had caught up with the position of SC 7, which was under attack.

The escort for the crossing had been meagre, being provided by two armed merchant cruisers against the possibility of attack by a surface raider, but even these had departed when HX 79 was sighted by U-47, commanded by submarine ace Kapitänleutnant Günther Prien.

At this point HX 79 was unescorted; Prien sent a sighting report and set to shadowing the convoy, while Konteradmiral Karl Dönitz ordered the pack to assemble. Those U-boats which had attacked SC 7 and were still able to fight (three had departed to re-arm having expended all their torpedoes) were directed to the scene. Four did so, U-100 (Joachim Schepke), U-46 (Engelbert Endrass), U-48 (Heinrich Bleichrodt) and U-38 (Heinrich Liebe) joining U-47 during the day.

However the Admiralty, concerned by the fate of SC 7 and anticipating an attack, rushed reinforcements to the scene; throughout the day a large escort force of 11 warships also gathered to provide cover. This consisted of destroyers Whitehall, Sturdy; corvettes Hibiscus, Heliotrope, Coreopsis, and Arabis; also three armed naval trawlers, a minesweeper and a submarine.

Action

Undeterred by their presence however, the pack attacked as night fell; using the darkness to cover an approach on the surface, Prien penetrated the escort screen from the south to attack from within the convoy, while Endrass (who had learned his trade as Prien’s 1st officer), did the same from the north.

Over the next six hours, 13 ships were torpedoed; 6 by U-47 alone (4 of which were sunk). 10 ships were sunk from the convoy, and 2 stragglers were lost later in the day. These were Shirak, which had been torpedoed in the night, and Loch Lomond, sailing with the convoy as a rescue ship. Another, Athelmonarch, was damaged but was able to make port.

HX 79 had lost 12 ships out of 49, a total tonnage of 75,069 gross register tons (GRT).

None of the attacking U-boats were damaged.

Ships in the convoy[1]

Name Flag Tonnage (GRT) Notes
HMS Angle (FY201)  Royal Navy Escort 19 Oct
ASW trawler
HMS Arabis (K73)  Royal Navy Escort 19 Oct - 23 Oct
Athelmonarch (1928)  United Kingdom 8,995 Arrived with torpedo damage by U-47
Atland (1910)  Sweden 5,203
Axel Johnson (1925)  Sweden 4,915 Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia
Baron Carnegie (1925)  United Kingdom 3,178 Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia
Benwood (1910)  Norway 3,931 Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia
Biafra (1933)  United Kingdom 5,405
Bilderdijk (1922)  Netherlands 6,856 Sunk by U-47[2]
HMS Blackfly (FY117)  Royal Navy Escort 19 Oct
ASW trawler
Blairnevis (1930)  United Kingdom 4,155 Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia
Brittany (1928)  United Kingdom 4,772 Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia
Cadillac (1917)  United Kingdom 12,062
Cairnvalona (1918)  United Kingdom 4,929 Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia
Campus (1925)  United Kingdom 3,667 Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia
Cape Corso (1929)  United Kingdom 3,807
Caprella (1931)  United Kingdom 8,230 Sunk by U-100[3]
City Of Lancaster (1924)  United Kingdom 3,041
HMS Coreopsis (K32)  Royal Navy Escort 19-22 Oct
Corvette
Egda (1939)  Norway 10,050
Empire Swan (1922)  United Kingdom 7,964
Empire Trader (1908)  United Kingdom 9,990 Joined Ex BHX 79
Enseigne Maurice Prehac (1924)  United Kingdom 4,578 Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia
Erna Iii (1930)  United Kingdom 1,590 Returned
Flowergate (1911)  United Kingdom 5,161
HMCS French (S01)  Royal Canadian Navy Escort 8-9 Oct
Gunda (1930)  Sweden 1,770
Harbury (1933)  United Kingdom 5,081
Harlesden (1932)  United Kingdom 5,483
HMS Heliotrope (K03)  Royal Navy Escort 19-23 Oct
HMS Hibiscus (K24)  Royal Navy Escort 19-23 Oct
Hoyanger (1926)  Norway 4,624 Joined Ex BHX 79
HMCS Husky (S06)  Royal Canadian Navy Escort 9-10 Oct
Induna (1925)  United Kingdom 5,086 Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia
Janus (1939)  Sweden 9,965 Sunk by U-46
HMS Jason (J99)  Royal Navy Escort 9 Oct
Kiruna (1921)  Sweden 5,484 Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia
La Estancia (1940)  United Kingdom 5,185 Joined Ex BHX 79, Sunk by U-47
HMS Lady Elsa (FY124)  Royal Navy Escort 19 Oct
ASW trawler
Loch Lomond (1934)  United Kingdom 5,452 Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia. Sunk by U-100
Marathon (1919)  Greece 7,926
Matheran (1919)  United Kingdom 7,653 Sunk by U-38
HMS Montclare (F85)  Royal Navy Escort 9-18 Oct
Armed merchant cruiser
HNLMS O 14  Royal Netherlands Navy Escort 9-18 Oct
Submarine
Ravnefjell (1938)  Norway 1,339 Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia
HMCS Reindeer (S08)  Royal Canadian Navy Escort 9-10 Oct
Rio Blanco (1922)  United Kingdom 4,086 Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia
Ruperra (1925)  United Kingdom 4,548 Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia. Sunk by U-46
Rydboholm (1933)  Sweden 3,197
HMCS Saguenay (D79)  Royal Canadian Navy Escort 8-9 Oct
Salacia (1937)  United Kingdom 5,495
San Roberto (1922)  United Kingdom 5,890
Sandanger (1938)  Norway 9,432
HMS Sardonyx (H26)  Royal Navy Escort 20 Oct
Shirak (1926)  United Kingdom 6,023 Joined Ex BHX 79. Sunk by U-47 & U-48
Sir Ernest Cassel (1910)  Sweden 7,739 Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia
Sitala (1937)  United Kingdom 6,218 Joined Ex BHX 79. Sunk by U-100
HMS Sturdy (H28)  Royal Navy Escort 19 Oct
Thyra (1920)  Norway 1,655 Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia
Tiba (1938)  Netherlands 5,239 Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia
Tribesman (1937)  United Kingdom 6,242 Joined Ex BHX 79
Triton (1930)  Norway 6,607 Joined Ex BHX 79
Uganda (1927)  United Kingdom 4,966 Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia. sunk by U-38
Wandby (1940)  United Kingdom 4,947 Joined Ex BHX 79. Sunk by U-47. Wreck sank 21 Oct
Wellington Court (1930)  United Kingdom 4,979 Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia
HMS Whitehall  Royal Navy Escort 19-21 Oct
Whitford Point (1928)  United Kingdom 5,026 Sunk by U-47

Conclusion

Despite the strength of the escort, it was ineffective; the ships were un-co-ordinated, being unused to working together, and having no common battle plan or tactics. The escorts had arrived singly, being dispatched as and when available, this being the common practice at the time. Command of the escort force fell to the senior officer present, and could change as each new ship arrived. Any tactical arrangements had to be made on the spot, and communicated by signal lamp to each ship in turn. Finally, the presence of an Allied submarine was less than helpful; O 14 had no targets, and was twice attacked by mistake by other escorts.

The failure of such a substantial escort led to a number of changes in escort policy. The first to take effect was the formation of escort groups, collections of escort ships that would operate together, under defined leadership. This would allow the development of consistent tactics, and teamwork, and an increasing effectiveness.

References

  1. ↑ "Convoy HX.79". Arnold Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
  2. ↑ "Bilderdijk - Dutch team merchant". www.uboat,net. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  3. ↑ "Caprella - British motor tanker". www.ubaot.net. Retrieved 3 November 2013.

Bibliography

External links

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