Jump to content

Convoy HG 73

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Lyndaship (talk | contribs) at 17:57, 11 July 2018 (dab). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Convoy HG.73
Part of World War II
Date17 September 1941 – 1 October 1941
Location
Belligerents

 Kriegsmarine

 Regia Marina
United Kingdom
Commanders and leaders
Admiral Karl Dönitz
Strength
5 U-boats
3 Italian submarines
25 merchant ships
16 escorts
Casualties and losses
9 ships sunk

Convoy HG 73 was a trade convoy of merchant ships during the second World War. It was the 73rd of the numbered HG convoys Homeward bound to the British Isles from Gibraltar. The convoy departed Gibraltar on 17 September 1941[1] and was found on 18 September by a Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor of Kampfgeschwader 40 (KG 40). The 25-ship convoy was attacked by five U-boats of 1st and 2nd U-boat Flotillas, operating out of Brest and Lorient, respectively. They were initially assisted by Italian submarines Luigi Torelli, Morosini and Leonardo da Vinci, that were en route to the Mediterranean. Nine ships were sunk from the convoy before the submarines exhausted their torpedo inventory on 28 September.[2] Surviving ships reached Liverpool on 1 October.[1]

Battle

18 September

One day after they had left Gibraltar, a Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor aircraft of KG 40 located the ships off Cape St. Vincent but was chased away by the Fulmar fighter from HMS Springbank. Four Italian submarines, on patrol west of Gibraltar, were ordered to search for it: Leonardo Da Vinci (CC Ferdinando Calda), Alessandro Malaspina (TV Giuliano Prini) *, Morosini (CC Athos Fraternale) and Luigi Torelli (CC Antonio De Giacomo).

19 September

Morosini made the first contact with the convoy, but one of the electrical engines broke down and the submarine returned to base. The same day, U-371 sighted the convoy as well, but the U-boat was en route to the Mediterranean and ordered to continue its mission.

20 September

In the evening, Torelli found the convoy and was badly damaged by depth charges from HMS Vimy when she tried to attack the convoy during the night of 21/22 September, forcing the submarine to abort its patrol.

23 September

Da Vinci sighted the convoy again and kept contact for U-124 and U-201, which were directed to it by the BdU, coming from the battle against Convoy OG 74.

24 September

A Fw200 aircraft located the convoy and sent homing signals.

During the following night, only U-124 reached the convoy and reported unsuccessful attacks on a cruiser sailing ahead of the convoy, possibly misidentifying the fighter catapult ship HMS Springbank and a destroyer, before sinking the first ship. The U-boat was joined by U-203 the next night and together they sank five ships, while U-201 also reached the convoy, but was chased away by the escorts.

26 September

In the night of 26/27 September, all three U-boats attacked again sinking two more ships and HMS Springbank, while the outbound U-205 made contact but lost the convoy in bad visibility.

27 September

Allied flying boats arrived to screen the convoy and they kept the U-boats at distance, only U-201 managed to attack the following night, sinking another steamer. Three of the four participating U-boats were now out of torpedoes and the BdU ordered U-124 and U-201 to return to base, while U-203 shadowed the convoy for U-205, but this U-boat had been bombed and damaged in the evening on 28 September and the operation was broken off at dawn on 29 September.

Conclusion

The three attacking U-boats claimed the sinking of 10 ships with 62,000 tons, however the actual tonnage lost was just 25,218 tons, plus one corvette possibly sunk and another ship damaged. This reflects the reappearing problem of overestimating the targets in the Gibraltar convoys, the commanders mistaking coasters with the engine aft as tankers and claiming normal ship sizes for North Atlantic convoys, while the average size of the ships in the convoy HG 73 was about 2,200 GRT, for example.

On this occasion the cooperation between the U-boats and air reconnaissance of the Luftwaffe worked as intended, the Fw200 aircraft of KG 40 being in contact with the convoy after it left Gibraltar, sending homing signals and helping the U-boats to get into a favorable position for the night attacks. Moreover, the Italian submarines were complimented by the BdU for their shadowing work in the early phase of this battle. None of the submarines reported a successful attack on the convoy, but a Fw200 reported two ships in sinking condition and one burning ship behind the convoy on 24 September, so they were wrongly credited to Malaspina, which did not return from her patrol. Allied sources mention no ships being lost or damaged in this area on that day.

Italian submarine Malaspina

Unknown at this time was that Malaspina had already been lost on 10 September, bombed and sunk with all hands by the Australian Sunderland aircraft W3986 (10 Sqdn RAAF/U, pilot F/L A.G.H. Wearne, RAAF) while outbound in the Bay of Biscay in position 46°23′N 11°22′W / 46.383°N 11.367°W / 46.383; -11.367. The submarine was reported missing after leaving Bordeaux on 7 September and for some time it was thought that she had been sunk by the British destroyer HMS Vimy during the night of 21/22 September in the vicinity of convoy HG 73, but this attack was in fact directed against Torelli. Her fate was revised in March 2004 by Dr. Axel Niestlè and Eric Zimmerman.

Ships in the convoy

Allied merchant ships

A total of 25 merchant vessels joined the convoy in Gibraltar.[3]

Name Flag Tonnage (GRT) Notes
Avoceta (1923)  United Kingdom 3,442 Passenger ship. Sunk by U-203[4] on 26 Sep, with 123 dead.
Convoy Commodore's ship (Rear-Admiral K E L Creighton MVO)
Cervantes (1919)  United Kingdom 1,810 Sunk by U-201[5] on 27 Sep, with 8 dead
Cortes (1919)  United Kingdom 1,374 Sunk by U-203[6] on 26 Sep, with all 43 crew dead.
Coxwold (1938)  United Kingdom 1,124
Cressado (1913)  United Kingdom 1,228
Ebro (1920)  Denmark 1,547
Empire Lake (1941)  United Kingdom 2,852
Empire Stream (1941)  United Kingdom 2,911 Sunk by U-124[7] on 25 Sep, with 8 dead
Finland (1939)  United Kingdom 1,375
Lanarhone (1928)  Ireland 1,221 Bound For Dublin
Lapwing (1920)  United Kingdom 1,348 Straggler. Sunk by U-203[8] on 26 Sep, with 24 dead,
including survivors she had rescued from Cortes and Petrel.
Leadgate (1925)  United Kingdom 2,125
Margareta (1904)  United Kingdom 3,103 Sunk by U-201[9] on 27 Sep, no deaths.
Survivors picked up by HMS Hibiscus and landed at Gibraltar
Marklyn (1918)  United Kingdom 3,090
Meta (1930)  United Kingdom 1,575
Panos (1920)  United Kingdom 4,914
Penhale (1924)  United Kingdom 4,071
Petrel (1920)  United Kingdom 1,354 Sunk by U-124[10] on 26 Sep, with 22 dead
Rudby (1924)  United Kingdom 4,846
Siremalm (1906)  Norway 2,468 Sunk by U-201[11] on 26 Sep, with all 27 crew dead
Spero (1922)  United Kingdom 1,589
Starling (1930)  United Kingdom 1,320
Switzerland (1922)  United Kingdom 1,291
Vanellus (1921)  United Kingdom 1,886 Ship’s Master is convoy's Vice-Commodore
Varangberg (1915)  Norway 2,842 Sunk by U-203[12] on 26 Sep, with 21 dead

Convoy escorts

A series of armed military ships escorted the convoy at various times during its journey.[3]

Name Flag Type Joined Left
HMS Begonia (K66)  Royal Navy Template:Sclass2- 17 Sep 1941 30 Sep 1941
HMS Duncan (D99)  Royal Navy D-class destroyer leader 17 Sep 1941 20 Sep 1941
HMS Farndale (L70)  Royal Navy Template:Sclass2- 17 Sep 1941 20 Sep 1941
HMS Fowey (L15)  Royal Navy Template:Sclass- sloop 17 Sep 1941 30 Sep 1941
HMS Gentian (K90)  Royal Navy Template:Sclass2- 17 Sep 1941 30 Sep 1941
HMS Hibiscus (K24)  Royal Navy Template:Sclass2- 17 Sep 1941 30 Sep 1941
HMS Highlander (H44)  Royal Navy H-class destroyer 22 Sep 1941 26 Sep 1941
HMS Jasmine (K23)  Royal Navy Template:Sclass2- 17 Sep 1941 30 Sep 1941
HMS Larkspur (K82)  Royal Navy Template:Sclass2- 17 Sep 1941 30 Sep 1941
HMS Myosotis (K65)  Royal Navy Template:Sclass2- 17 Sep 1941 30 Sep 1941
HMS Periwinkle (K55)  Royal Navy Template:Sclass2- 17 Sep 1941 30 Sep 1941
HMS Springbank  Royal Navy Fighter catapult ship 17 Sep 1941 Sunk by U-201[13] on 27 Sep 1941, with 32 dead
HMS Stonecrop (K142)  Royal Navy Template:Sclass2- 17 Sep 1941 30 Sep 1941
HMS Vimy (D33)  Royal Navy V-class destroyer 17 Sep 1941 22 Sep 1941
HMS Wild Swan (D62)  Royal Navy Modified W class destroyer 20 Sep 1941 22 Sep 1941
HMS Wolverine (D78)  Royal Navy Modified W class destroyer 28 Sep 1941 01 Oct 1941

References

  1. ^ a b Hague, pp. 177–178
  2. ^ Rohwer & Hummelchen, p. 86
  3. ^ a b "Convoy HG.73". Arnold Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  4. ^ "Avoceta – British Steam Passenger Ship". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  5. ^ "Cervantes – British Steam Merchant". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  6. ^ "Cortes – British Steam Merchant". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  7. ^ "Empire Stream – British Steam Merchant". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  8. ^ "Lapwing – British Steam Merchant". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  9. ^ "Margareta – British Steam Merchant". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  10. ^ "Petrel – British Steam Merchant". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  11. ^ "Siremalm – Norwegian Steam Merchant". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  12. ^ "Varangberg – Norwegian Steam Merchant". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  13. ^ "HMS Springbank – British Fighter Catapult Ship". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 6 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. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-105-X.