Convoy HG 53

Convoy HG 53 was the 53rd of the numbered series of World War II HG convoys of Homeward bound merchant ships from Gibraltar to Liverpool.[1] Convoy HG 53 lost nine ships during a coordinated attack in February 1941. HG 53 was one of the few Atlantic convoys to have ships sunk by submarines, by aircraft, and by surface ships.

Convoy
Part of World War II
Date8–11 February 1941
Location
North Atlantic
Result German victory
Belligerents
 Kriegsmarine  Royal Navy
Commanders and leaders
KL Nicolai Clausen R Adm. OH Dawson
Strength
1 U-boat
5 bombers
1 heavy cruiser		 21 merchant ships
2 escorts
Casualties and losses
1 bomber 9 merchant ships sunk (15,217 tons)

Background

Twenty-one ships departed Gibraltar on 6 February 1941 bound for Liverpool and escorted by the V and W-class destroyer Velox and the Grimsby-class sloop HMS Deptford. The convoy commodore was Rear Admiral Sir OH Dawson aboard Dagmar.[2]

Action
Convoy HG 53 was attacked by five of these KG 40 bombers.

While southbound to African waters[3] on the evening of 8 February German Type IX submarine U-37 sighted the convoy southwest of Cape St. Vincent and torpedoed the British freighters Courland and Estrellano after midnight.[4] U-37 reported the convoy to Bordeaux-Mérignac Air Base and commenced shadowing the convoy providing beacon signals for Kampfgeschwader 40. Five Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor bombers took off at dawn and found the convoy at noon 400 miles (640 km) southwest of Lisbon. The Fw 200s bombed from an altitude of 150 feet (46 m) because they lacked bombsights. Each flight mechanic fired at their target ship with a ventral machine gun during the approach to discourage anti-aircraft gunners; but one of the bombers was hit in a wing fuel tank[5] and crash-landed in Spain when fuel was exhausted on the return trip.[3] Six of the twenty bombs dropped hit ships,[5] sinking the convoy commodore's freighter Dagmar, the Norwegian freighter Tejo, and British freighters Britannic, Jura, and Varna. U-37 sank the British freighter Brandenburg after dark and continued sending beacon signals for the German cruiser Admiral Hipper. Admiral Hipper found and sank the straggling British freighter Iceland on 11 February.[4]

Aftermath

Hipper was distracted from further search by finding convoy SL 64 and sinking seven ships from that unescorted convoy.[4] The escort of convoy HG 53 was reinforced by the Grimsby-class sloop Londonderry on 18 February, by the F-class destroyer Fury on 20 February, and by the S-class destroyer Sabre, the Town-class destroyer Leamington, and the Flower-class corvette HMS Anemone from convoy OG 53 on 22 February. The surviving 12 ships of convoy HG 53 arrived in Liverpool on 24 February 1941. Nine ships totaling 15,217 GRT had been sunk.[2]

Merchant ships in convoy
Name[2] Flag Casualties[6] Tonnage (GRT) Cargo Sunk by...
Brandenburg United Kingdom231,473OreU-37
Britannic II United Kingdom12,490OreKG 40 bomber
Courland United Kingdom301,325GeneralU-37
Coxwald United Kingdom1,124Scrap iron
Dagmar I United Kingdom52,471OrangesKG 40 bomber
Dago United Kingdom1,757Oranges
Disa Sweden2,002Ore
Egyptian Prince United Kingdom3,490Oranges
Empire Lough United Kingdom2,824Ore
Empire Tern United Kingdom2,479Ore
Empire Warrior United Kingdom1,306Ore
Estrellano United Kingdom61,982GeneralU-37
Iceland United Kingdom1,236OrangesAdmiral Hipper
Jura United Kingdom171,759OreKG 40 bomber
Marklyn United Kingdom3,090Ore
Ousel United Kingdom1,533Ore
Sally Maersk United Kingdom3,252General
Tejo Norway4967GeneralKG 40 bomber
Vanellus United Kingdom1,886Ore
Varna United Kingdom1,514Pit propsKG 40 bomber
Wrotham United Kingdom1,884Ore

See also

Notes
  1. Hague 2000 p. 177
  2. "HG Convoy Series". Arnold Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  3. Blair pp. 234 & 235
  4. Rohwer & Hummelchen p. 50
  5. Bekker pp. 371–373
  6. Hague 2000 p.179

Sources
  • Bekker, Cajus (1964). The Luftwaffe War Diaries. New York: Ballantine Books.
  • Blair, Clay (1996). Hitler's U-Boat War — The Hunters 1939–1942. Random House. ISBN 0-394-58839-8.
  • Hague, Arnold (2000). The Allied Convoy System 1939–1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-019-3.
  • Rohwer, J.; Hummelchen, G. (1992). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-105-X.
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