Convoy SC 121
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.[2] The ships departed New York City 23 February 1943;[3] 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.[4][5] Three of the escorts had defective sonar and three had unserviceable radar.[6]
| Convoy SC 121 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Battle of the Atlantic | |||||||
 A depth charge being loaded onto a depth-charge thrower aboard the corvette HMS Dianthus | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 United Kingdom United States Canada |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Germany | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Capt. H.C. Birnie RNR Capt. P.R. Heineman USN | Admiral Karl Dönitz | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
69 freighters 2 destroyers 3 cutters 4 corvettes | 27 submarines[1] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
12 freighters sunk (55,673 GRT) 270 killed/drowned | |||||||
Background
As western Atlantic coastal convoys brought an end to the second happy time, Admiral Karl Dönitz, the Befehlshaber der U-Boote (BdU) or 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 find convoys with the advantage of intelligence gained through B-Dienst decryption of British Naval Cypher Number 3.[7] Only 20 percent of the 180 trans-Atlantic convoys, from the end of July 1942 until the end of April 1943, lost ships to U-boat attack.[8]
Battle
On 6 March U-405 sighted the convoy,[5] which had been scattered by nine consecutive days of northwesterly Force 10 gales and snow squalls.[9] The storm damaged the radio communication system aboard the escort commander's ship Spencer and Dauphin had to leave the convoy with damaged steering gear.[6] U-230 torpedoed the British freighter Egyptian on the night of 6–7 March.[10] The British freighter Empire Impala stopped to rescue survivors and was torpedoed after dawn by U-591.[10]
U-190 torpedoed the British freighter Empire Lakeland when the gale subsided on 8 March and four more stragglers were sunk by U-526, U-527, U-591, and U-642.[5] On 9 March the convoy escort was reinforced by No. 120 Squadron RAF B-24 Liberators from Northern Ireland and by the Wickes-class destroyer USS Babbitt and the Treasury-class cutters USCGC Bibb and USCGC Ingham from Iceland.[5]
U-530 torpedoed straggling Swedish freighter Milos on the evening of 9 March. That night U-405 torpedoed the Norwegian freighter Bonneville while U-229 torpedoed the British freighter Nailsea Court and U-409 torpedoed the British escort oiler Rosewood and American ammunition ship Malantic.[11]
The Flower-class corvettes HMS Campion and Mallow reinforced the convoy escort on 10 March,[5] and the convoy reached Liverpool on 14 March.[10] Only 76 of the 275 crewmen of the sunken ships were rescued.[6]
Ships in convoy
| Name[12] | Flag[12] | Dead[10] | Tonnage (GRT)[12] | Cargo[10] | Notes[12] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alcoa Leader (1919) | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} United States |
5,041 | Petrol | ||
| Astrid (1942) |  Norway |
2,861 | Sugar | ||
| Badjestan (1928) |  United Kingdom |
5,573 | Wheat | ||
| Baldbutte (1919) | United States |
6,295 | |||
| Bengkalis (1918) |  Netherlands |
6,453 | General cargo | Survived this convoy and convoy ONS 5 | |
| Bonneville (1929) | Norway |
36 | 4,665 | 7,196 tons explosives & general cargo | Carried convoy commodore Capt H.C. Birnie DSO RD RNR; sunk by U-405 10 Mar |
| Brant County (1915) | Norway |
5,001 | General cargo | Returned to Halifax | |
| British Freedom (1928) | United Kingdom |
6,985 | Furnace fuel oil | ||
| British Progress (1927) | United Kingdom |
4,581 | Petrol | Veteran of convoy SC 104 | |
| Camerata (1931) | United Kingdom |
4,875 | Iron ore | ||
| Clunepark (1928) | United Kingdom |
3,491 | Phosphates | ||
| Coulmore (1936) | United Kingdom |
3,670 | General cargo | Torpedoed, but towed and salvaged | |
| Dilworth (1919) | United States |
7,045 | Gas oil | ||
| Egton (1938) | United Kingdom |
4,363 | Iron ore | ||
| Egyptian (1920) | United Kingdom |
44 | 2,868 | Oilseed, palm oil & tin ore | Sunk by U-230 7 Mar |
| El Grillo (1922) | United Kingdom |
7,264 | Fuel oil | ||
| Empire Advocate (1913) | United Kingdom |
5,787 | General cargo | Survived this convoy and convoy ONS 5 | |
| Empire Bunting (1919) | United Kingdom |
6,448 | General cargo | Arrived in tow after steering failure on 11 March | |
| Empire Caxton (1942) | United Kingdom |
2,873 | Bauxite | ||
| Empire Forest (1942) | United Kingdom |
7,025 | General cargo | ||
| Empire Grebe (1918) | United Kingdom |
5,736 | General cargo | ||
| Empire Impala (1920) | United Kingdom |
48 | 6,116 | 7,628 tons general cargo | Sunk by U-591 while picking up survivors 7 Mar |
| Empire Keats (1942) | United Kingdom |
7,035 | West African produce | Carried convoy vice commodore Capt A Cocks DSC RD RNR | |
| Empire Lakeland (1942) | United Kingdom |
7,015 | Refrigerated and general cargo | Straggled and sunk by U-190 | |
| Empire Opossum (1918) | United Kingdom |
5,644 | Grain | ||
| Empire Planet (1923) | United Kingdom |
4,290 | General cargo | Survived this convoy and convoy ONS 5 | |
| Eskdalegate (1930) | United Kingdom |
4,250 | Iron ore | ||
| Fort Lamy (1919) | United Kingdom |
5,242 | Steel & general cargo | Veteran of convoy ON 154; straggled and sunk by U-527 8 Mar | |
| Fort Remy (1943) | United Kingdom |
7,127 | General cargo | ||
| Garnes (1930) | Norway |
1,559 | Veteran of convoy SC 104 | ||
| Gascony (1925) | United Kingdom |
4,716 | General cargo | ||
| Gatineau Park (1942) | United Kingdom |
7,128 | General cargo | Fitted with Admiralty Net Defence | |
| Guido (1920) | United Kingdom |
3,921 | Sugar & cotton | Romped and sunk by U-633 8 Mar | |
| Hallfried (1918) | Norway |
2,968 | Flour | ||
| Harpefjell (1939) | Norway |
1,333 | General cargo | ||
| Harperly (1930) | United Kingdom |
4,586 | Bauxite | Survived to be sunk 2 months later in convoy ONS 5 | |
| Hollywood (1920) | United States |
5,498 | General cargo | Veteran of convoy PQ 18 | |
| Katendrecht (1925) | Netherlands |
5,099 | Gas oil | ||
| Kingswood (1929) | United Kingdom |
5,080 | General cargo | ||
| L V Stanford (1921) | United States |
7,138 | Furnace fuel oil | Veteran of convoy SC 107 | |
| USS Laramie (1919) | United States |
5,450 | Detached for Greenland | ||
| Leadgate (1925) | United Kingdom |
2,125 | Flour | Straggled and sunk by U-642 8 Mar | |
| Lobos (1921) | United Kingdom |
6,479 | Tin & general cargo | ||
| Lombardy (1921) | United Kingdom |
3,379 | General cargo | ||
| Lorient (1921) | United Kingdom |
4,737 | Steel & lumber | Veteran of convoy SC 42; survived to be sunk 2 months later in convoy ONS 5 | |
| Malantic (1929) | United States |
25 | 3,837 | 8,000 tons ammunition | Veteran of convoy SC 107; sunk by U-409 9 Mar |
| Manchester Progress (1938) | United Kingdom |
5,620 | General cargo | ||
| Melrose Abbey (1929) | United Kingdom |
1,924 | convoy rescue ship | ||
| Miguel de Larrinaga (1924) | United Kingdom |
5,231 | Tobacco | Veteran of convoy SC 42 | |
| Milos (1898) |  Sweden |
30 | 3,058 | 804 tons steel & lumber | Sunk by U-530 11 Mar |
| Morska Wola (1924) |  Poland |
3,208 | General cargo | Veteran of convoy HX 84 | |
| Nadin (1904) |  Greece |
3,582 | Steel & lumber | ||
| Nailsea Court (1936) | United Kingdom |
45 | 4,946 | 7,661 tons copper & general cargo | Sunk by U-229 10 Mar |
| Parkhaven (1920) | Netherlands |
4,803 | General cargo | ||
| Porjus (1906) | Sweden |
2,965 | Steel & pulp | Veteran of convoy SC 104; returned to port & sailed with convoy SC 122 | |
| Raranga (1916) | United Kingdom |
10,043 | Refrigerated & general cargo | ||
| Ravnefjell (1938) | Norway |
1,339 | General cargo | Veteran of convoy HX 79 & convoy ON 154; survived this convoy & convoy SC 130 | |
| Reaverley (1940) | United Kingdom |
4,998 | Bauxite | Returned to port | |
| Rosewood (1931) | United Kingdom |
42 | 5,989 | Furnace fuel oil | Escort oiler; sunk by U-409 9 Mar |
| San Tirso (1913) | United Kingdom |
6,266 | Furnace fuel oil | ||
| Scorton (1939) | United Kingdom |
4,813 | Sugar | ||
| Sinnington Court (1928) | United Kingdom |
6,910 | General cargo | Veteran of convoy SC 104 | |
| Suderoy (1913) | Norway |
7,562 | Fuel oil | Veteran of convoy SC 104 | |
| Sutlej (1940) | United Kingdom |
5,189 | General cargo | ||
| Thraki (1941) | Greece |
7,460 | Grain & general cargo | ||
| Trontolite (1918) | United Kingdom |
7,115 | |||
| Vancolite (1928) | United Kingdom |
11,404 | |||
| Vojvoda Putnik (1916) | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Yugoslavia |
5,879 | Wheat | Straggled and sunk by U-591 | |
| Zouave (1930) | United Kingdom |
4,256 | Iron ore | Returned to port to be sunk sailing with convoy SC 122 |
See also
Sources
- 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; Hummelchen, G (1992). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-105-X.
- Tarrant, VE (1989). The U-Boat Offensive 1914–1945. Arms and Armour. ISBN 1-85409-520-X.
References
- Milner p.235
- Hague 2000 p.133
- Hague 2000 p.135
- Milner 1985 p.291
- Rohwer & Hummelchen 1992 p.196
- Morison 1975 p.342
- Tarrant p.108
- Hague pp.132, 137-138,161-162,164&181
- Morison 1975 p.341
- Hague 2000 p.137
- Hague 2000 pp.137-8
- "SC convoys". Arnold Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved 29 May 2011.