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Convoy HX 126

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Convoy HX.126
Part of World War II
Date10–-28 May 1941
Location
North Sea
Belligerents
Germany United Kingdom
Commanders and leaders
Admiral Karl Dönitz Rear-Admiral F B Watson
Strength
9 U-boats 33 merchant ships
22 escorts (1 during attacks)
Casualties and losses
9 merchant ships sunk

Convoy HX 126 was the 126th of the numbered series of World War II HX convoys of merchant ships from HalifaX to Liverpool.

Prelude

The ships departed Halifax on 10 May 1941.[1] At this time, there were no ecorts to provide protection against U-Boats for the whole duration of the journey across the North Atlantic. For the first leg of the crossing, the only escort was the armed merchant cruiser Aurania ( later renamed in HMS Artifex ) which task was to provide protection against merchant raiders.

On the U-Boat side, U-boats were reorganized in the group West after the attack on convoy OB-318 and were sent to scout for convoys ever more westward.[2]

Action

On 19 May, the U-94 found the convoy and she homes in other boats of the group West. The group starts attacking on 20 May :

  • The first attack of U-94 in the early morning misses, but in a second attack she can sink 1[3] or 2 ships.[4][2] Then contact with the convoy is lost.
  • Next U-556 finds the convoy at noon. In 2 attacks she can sink 3 ships.[3] As the convoy is still unescorted at the time, it starts to break up.
  • U-111 finds the large 13,000 ton tanker San Felix and damages it with a torpedo, but the tanker does not belong to HX-126, it is an outbound vessel from the dispersed convoy OB-322.[5]
  • In the evening U-98 sinks the freighter Rothermere.
  • Around the same time U-94 regains contact with the convoy and sinks the tanker John P. Pedersen.
  • Just before midnight, U-109 sinks the straggler Harpagus with 2 torpedoes. The Harpagus had fallen behind to rescue survivors from the Norman Monarch.
  • The 12th escort group, which comprised at the time 5 destroyers, 4 corvettes and 2 A/S trawlers, arrives and starts to round up all dispersed ships and reforms the convoy. 5 of the escorts find the U-109 and manage to damage it with depth charges. As a result U-109 aborts to France.[6]
  • In the early morning of the 21th, U-93 hits the tanker Elusa which is later scuttled.
  • U-74 is damaged and forced to abort to France by depth charge attacks of the corvette Verbena and a 4-stack destroyer ( the Churchill[4] or the Burnham [7] )

When the German command learns that a strong escort has arrived, it disengages the U-Boats and reforms them in a new patrol line further South. Only the U-111 is left in place in order to transmit decoy radio signals. On 22 may U-111 finds and sinks the Barnby which has either straggled or romped from the convoy.

Ships in the convoy

Allied merchant ships

A total of 33 merchant vessels joined the convoy, either in Halifax or later in the voyage.[8]Surviving ships reached Liverpool on 28 May.[1]

Name Flag Tonnage (GRT) Notes
Athelprincess (1929)  United Kingdom 8,882
Barnby (1940)  United Kingdom 4,813 Straggled and sunk by U-111[9]
Baron Carnegie (1925)  United Kingdom 3,178
Baron Elgin (1933)  United Kingdom 3,942
Bente Maersk (1928)  United Kingdom 5,722
British Freedom (1928)  United Kingdom 6,985 Straggled 20 May
British Security (1937)  United Kingdom 8,470 Sunk by U-556[10]
British Splendour (1931)  United Kingdom 7,138
Cockaponset (1919)  United Kingdom 5,995 Sunk By U-556[11]
Darlington Court (1936)  United Kingdom 4,974 Sunk By U-556[12]
Dorelian (1923)  United Kingdom 6,431
Eemland (1906)  Netherlands 4,188 Straggled 20 May
Elusa (1936)  Netherlands 6,235 Sunk By U-93[13]
Empire Kudu (1919)  United Kingdom 6,622
Gretavale (1928)  United Kingdom 4,586
Hada County (1921)  Norway 4,853
Harpagus (1940)  United Kingdom 5,173 Sunk By U-109.[14] Rescue Ship
Havsten (1930)  Norway 6,161
Hindustan (1940)  United Kingdom 5,245 Rear-Admiral F B Watson DSO (Commodore)
John P Pedersen (1930)  Norway 6,128 Sunk By U-94[15]
Karabagh (1932)  United Kingdom 6,427
Morgenen (1930)  Norway 7,093
Nicoya (1929)  United Kingdom 5,364
Norman Monarch (1937)  United Kingdom 4,718 Sunk By U-94[16]
Regent Panther (1937)  United Kingdom 9,556
Ribera (1940)  United Kingdom 5,559 Straggled 20 May
Rosewood (1931)  United Kingdom 5,989 Iceland
Rothermere (1938)  United Kingdom 5,356 Sunk By U-98[17]
Salando (1920)  Netherlands 5,272 Returned
Tongariro (1925)  United Kingdom 8,720
Toward (1923)  United Kingdom 1,571 Rescue Ship
Westport (1918)  United Kingdom 5,665 Joined Ex Convoy SC 31
Winona County (1919)  United Kingdom 6,159 Returned

Convoy escorts

A series of armed military ships escorted the convoy at various times during its journey.[8] Only one escort was present during the German attacks.

Name Flag Type Joined Left
HMS Arabis (K73)  Royal Navy Flower-class corvette 21 May 1941 23 May 1941
HMS Artifex (F28)  Royal Navy Armed merchant cruiser 10 May 1941 21 May 1941
HMS Burnham (H82)  Royal Navy Town-class destroyer 21 May 1941 22 May 1941
HMS Burwell (H94)  Royal Navy Town-class destroyer 21 May 1941 26 May 1941
HMCS Chambly (K116)  Royal Canadian Navy Flower-class corvette n/a n/a
HMS Dianella (K07)  Royal Navy Flower-class corvette 23 May 1941 23 May 1941
HMS Gladiolus (K34)  Royal Navy Flower-class corvette 23 May 1941 26 May 1941
HMS Heliotrope (K03)  Royal Navy Flower-class corvette 21 May 1941 23 May 1941
HMS Keppel (D84)  Royal Navy Shakespeare-class destroyer leader 23 May 1941 26 May 1941
HMS Kingcup (K33)  Royal Navy Flower-class corvette 23 May 1941 28 May 1941
HMT Lady Elsa  Royal Navy ASW (Anti-Submarine Warfare) trawler 23 May 1941 23 May 1941
HMS Malcolm (D19)  Royal Navy Scott-class destroyer leader 20 May 1941 22 May 1941
HMS Mallow (K81)  Royal Navy Flower-class corvette 21 May 1941 23 May 1941
HMT Northern Gem  Royal Navy ASW trawler n/a n/a
HMT Northern Wave  Royal Navy ASW trawler n/a n/a
HMCS Orillia (K119)  Royal Canadian Navy Flower-class corvette n/a n/a
HMS Sabre (1918)  Royal Navy Admiralty S-class destroyer 23 May 1941 27 May 1941
HMS Scimitar (H21)  Royal Navy Admiralty S-class destroyer 22 May 1941 24 May 1941
HMS Springbank  Royal Navy Seaplane tender/prototype fighter catapult ship 23 May 1941 23 May 1941
HMS Tribune (N76)  Royal Navy T-class submarine 10 May 1941 10 May 1941
HMS Venomous (D75)  Royal Navy Modified W-class destroyer 26 May 1941 28 May 1941
HMS Verbena (K85)  Royal Navy Flower-class corvette 21 May 1941 23 May 1941

References

  1. ^ a b Hague p.127
  2. ^ a b Rohwer &Hummelchen, p.62
  3. ^ a b "HX-126".
  4. ^ a b Blair, p.286
  5. ^ "San Felix".
  6. ^ Hirschfeld, Wolfgang (1985). Feindfahrten. Logbuch eines U-Bootfunkers (in German). Miunchen: Heyne. pp. 48–70. ISBN 3-453-02051-0.
  7. ^ "U-74".
  8. ^ a b "Convoy HX.126". Arnold Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  9. ^ "Barnby – British steam merchant". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  10. ^ "British Security – British motor tanker". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  11. ^ "Cockaponset – British steam merchant". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  12. ^ "Darlington Court – British motor merchant". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  13. ^ "Elusa – Dutch motor tanker". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  14. ^ "Harpagus – British steam merchant". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  15. ^ "John P Pedersen – Norwegian motor tanker". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  16. ^ "Norman Monarch – British steam merchant". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  17. ^ "Rothermere – British steam merchant". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 3 November 2013.

Bibliography

  • Hague, Arnold (2000). The Allied Convoy System 1939–1945. ISBN 1-86176-147-3.
  • Rohwer, J.; Hummelchen, G. (1992). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-105-X.
  • Blair, Clay (2000). Hitler's U-Boat War [Volume 1 ]: The Hunters. Cassell. ISBN 0-304-35260-8.
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