Convoy HX 79
Convoy HX.79 | |||||||
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Part of The Battle of the Atlantic in the Second World War | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Admiral Karl Dönitz | |||||||
Strength | |||||||
5 U-boats |
50 ships (49 during attack) 17 escorts (11 during attack) | ||||||
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 the Second World War. The convoy suffered many 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 Atlantic campaign.
Prelude
HX 79 was an east-bound convoy of fifty ships which sailed from Halifax on 8 October 1940 making for Liverpool. On 19 October, four days from landfall, HX 79 entered the Western Approaches and caught up with 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 these had departed when HX 79 was sighted by U-47, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Günther Prien. Prien sent a sighting report and shadowed the convoy, while Konteradmiral Karl Dönitz ordered a Wolfpack to assemble. 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 and U-100 (Joachim Schepke), U-46 (Engelbert Endrass), U-48 (Heinrich Bleichrodt) and U-38 (Heinrich Liebe) joined U-47 during the day. The Admiralty, concerned by the fate of SC 7 and anticipating an attack sent escorts to the convoy and eleven ships arrived piecemeal during the day.
Action
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 previously served with Prien as his deputy), 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, a fifth was finished by U-48). 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
Allied merchant ships
Fifty merchant vessels joined the convoy, either in Halifax or later in the voyage.[1] The SS Erna III returned to Halifax before the convoy was attacked by the assembled German wolfpack.
Name | Flag | Tonnage (GRT) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Athelmonarch (1928) | ![]() |
8,995 | Arrived with torpedo damage by U-47 |
Atland (1910) | ![]() |
5,203 | |
Axel Johnson (1925) | ![]() |
4,915 | Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia |
Baron Carnegie (1925) | ![]() |
3,178 | Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia |
Benwood (1910) | ![]() |
3,931 | Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia |
Biafra (1933) | ![]() |
5,405 | |
Bilderdijk (1922) | ![]() |
6,856 | Sunk by U-47[2] |
Blairnevis (1930) | ![]() |
4,155 | Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia |
Brittany (1928) | ![]() |
4,772 | Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia |
Cadillac (1917) | ![]() |
12,062 | |
Cairnvalona (1918) | ![]() |
4,929 | Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia |
Campus (1925) | ![]() |
3,667 | Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia |
Cape Corso (1929) | ![]() |
3,807 | |
Caprella (1931) | ![]() |
8,230 | Sunk by U-100[3] |
City Of Lancaster (1924) | ![]() |
3,041 | |
Egda (1939) | ![]() |
10,050 | |
Empire Swan (1921) | ![]() |
7,964 | |
Empire Trader (1908) | ![]() |
9,990 | Joined Ex BHX 79 |
Enseigne Maurice Prehac (1924) | ![]() |
4,578 | Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia |
Erna III (1930) | ![]() |
1,590 | Returned |
Flowergate (1911) | ![]() |
5,161 | |
Gunda (1930) | ![]() |
1,770 | |
Harbury (1933) | ![]() |
5,081 | |
Harlesden (1932) | ![]() |
5,483 | |
Hoyanger (1926) | ![]() |
4,624 | Joined Ex BHX 79 |
Induna (1925) | ![]() |
5,086 | Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia |
Janus (1939) | ![]() |
9,965 | Sunk by U-46 |
Kiruna (1921) | ![]() |
5,484 | Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia |
La Estancia (1940) | ![]() |
5,185 | Joined Ex BHX 79, Sunk by U-47 |
Loch Lomond (1934) | ![]() |
5,452 | Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia. Sunk by U-100 |
Marathon (1919) | ![]() |
7,926 | |
Matheran (1919) | ![]() |
7,653 | Sunk by U-38 |
Ravnefjell (1938) | ![]() |
1,339 | Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia |
Rio Blanco (1922) | ![]() |
4,086 | Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia |
Ruperra (1925) | ![]() |
4,548 | Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia. Sunk by U-46 |
Rydboholm (1933) | ![]() |
3,197 | |
Salacia (1937) | ![]() |
5,495 | |
San Roberto (1922) | ![]() |
5,890 | |
Sandanger (1938) | ![]() |
9,432 | |
Shirak (1926) | ![]() |
6,023 | Joined Ex BHX 79. Sunk by U-47 & U-48 |
Sir Ernest Cassel (1910) | ![]() |
7,739 | Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia |
Sitala (1937) | ![]() |
6,218 | Joined Ex BHX 79. Sunk by U-100 |
Thyra (1920) | ![]() |
1,655 | Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia |
Tiba (1938) | ![]() |
5,239 | Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia |
Tribesman (1937) | ![]() |
6,242 | Joined Ex BHX 79 |
Triton (1930) | ![]() |
6,607 | Joined Ex BHX 79 |
Uganda (1927) | ![]() |
4,966 | Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia. sunk by U-38 |
Wandby (1940) | ![]() |
4,947 | Joined Ex BHX 79. Sunk by U-47. Wreck sank 21 Oct |
Wellington Court (1930) | ![]() |
4,979 | Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia |
Whitford Point (1928) | ![]() |
5,026 | Sunk by U-47 |
Convoy escorts
Warships escorted the convoy at times during its journey.[1]
Conclusion
Despite the number of escorts, they had been ineffective; the ships were uncoordinated, 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.
The failure of the escort led to a number of changes in escort policy. The first to take effect was the formation of permanent escort groups, which would operate together under defined leadership. This led to the development of consistent tactics, and teamwork, with an increasing effectiveness.
References
- ^ a b "Convoy HX.79". Arnold Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
- ^ "Bilderdijk – Dutch team merchant". www.uboat,net. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
- ^ "Caprella – British motor tanker". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
Bibliography
- Edwards, Bernard (1996). Dönitz and the Wolf Packs – The U-boats at War. p. 47. ISBN 0-304-35203-9.
- Arnold Hague : The Allied Convoy System 1939–1945 (2000). ISBN (Canada) 1 55125 033 0 . ISBN (UK) 1 86176 147 3
- Lund, Paul; Ludlam, Harry (1973). The Night of the U-Boats. ISBN 0-450-01833-4.
- Rohwer, Jürgen; Hümmelchen, Gerhard; Watts, Anthony John (1972). Chronology of the War at Sea, 1939-1945: 1939-1942. ISBN 0-711-00368-8.
- Roskill, S. W. (1957) [1954]. Butler, J. R. M. (ed.). The War at Sea 1939–1945: The Defensive. History of the Second World War United Kingdom Military Series. Vol. I (4th impr. ed.). London: HMSO. OCLC 881709135. Archived from the original on 27 February 2022.
- van der Vat, Dan (1988). The Atlantic Campaign. ISBN 0-340-37751-8.