Convoy SC 104
| Convoy SC 104 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofWorld War II | |||||||
 HMSFame(September 1942) | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Germany |
 United Kingdom | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| CinC:AdmiralKarl Dönitz |
Commodore: CAPT F H Taylor RN Escort: CDR R Heathcote | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 8 U-boats |
48 freighters 2 destroyers 4 corvettes | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
2 U-boats sunk 2 U-boats damaged 50 dead |
8 freighters sunk 2 destroyers damaged 216 dead | ||||||
Convoy SC 104was the 104th of the numbered series ofWorld War IISlow Convoysof merchant ships fromSydney,Cape Breton IslandtoLiverpool.[1]During October 1942, a U-boat wolf pack sank eight ships from the convoy. The convoy escorts sank two of the attacking submarines.
Background[edit]
As western Atlantic coastalconvoysbrought an end to thesecond happy time,AdmiralKarl DönitztheBefehlshaber der U-Boote(BdU) or commander in chief ofU-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 effectively search for convoys with the advantage of intelligence gained throughB-Dienstdecryption of British Naval Cypher Number 3.[2]However, only 20 percent of the 180 trans-Atlantic convoys sailing from the end of July 1942 until the end of April 1943 lost ships to U-boat attack.[3]
Forty-seven ships departedNew York Cityon 3 October 1942 and were met byMid-Ocean Escort ForceGroup B-6 consisting of theE and F-classdestroyerFameandV and W-classdestroyerViscount,with the Norwegian-mannedFlower-classcorvettesPotentilla,Eglantine,Montbretia,andAcanthusand theconvoy rescue shipGoathland.
Opposing this force was the U-boatWolf packWotancomprising 8 boats:U-221,U-258,U-356,U-607,U-618,U-661,U-353,andU-254.[4][5]
Action[edit]
The convoy was found and reported byU-258on 11 October, and the otherWotanboats were ordered to join. By the evening of 12 October,U-258had been joined byU-221andU-356,and during the night of 12/13 October these boats attacked.U-258andU-356were unsuccessful, being driven off by the escorts, butU-221was able to sink three ships: the Norwegian freightersSenta,[6]andFagersten,and the British freighterAshworth.
On the 13th the three U-boats continued to shadow the convoy, and were joined during the day by five other boats. On the night of the 13/14 October the wolf pack attacked again. This timeU-221sank two ships: the American freighterSusanaand the British whale factory shipSouthern Empress.U-607torpedoed the Greek freighterNellie,which later sank, but was itself attacked and severely damaged, and was forced to return to France for repairs.U-661torpedoed the Yugoslavian freighterNikolina Matkovic,andU-618torpedoed theEmpire Mersey.
Throughout 15 October theWotanboats shadowed SC 104, but were unable to mount any successful attacks that night. On 15 October,ViscountdetectedU-661in fog, and attacked with gunfire, ramming and depth charges.U-661was destroyed, butViscountwas also damaged, and had to finish the voyage as part of the convoy.
On 16 OctoberU-353was sighted byFame,which attacked and destroyed her by ramming, again suffering damage in the process. Command of the escort passed to LtCdr C.A. Monsen inPotentilla,who was able to make an attack on a contact later that day. No identification was made, or result credited, but post-war examination shows thatU-254was severely damaged in this attack and forced to retire to base.
On 16 and 17 October SC 104 came in range of allied air patrols, long–rangeB-24 LiberatorsandCatalinaflying boats. These were able to break up any further attacks and on the 17th, Dönitz ceased further operations against SC 104.[5][7]The remainder of the voyage was unhindered, and the convoy reachedLiverpoolon 21 October. SC 104 lost 8 ships of 44,000 tons, with 2 escorts damaged, and saw the destruction of 2 U-boats with the damaging of 2 more.
Ships in convoy[edit]
| Name[8] | Flag[8] | Dead[9] | Tonnagegross register tons(GRT)[8] | Cargo[9] | Notes[8] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senta(1917) |  Norway
|
3,785 | Steel & woodpulp | Sunk byU-22112/13 October | |
| Ashworth(1920) |  United Kingdom
|
49 | 5,227 | Bauxite | Sunk byU-22113 October |
| Fagersten(1921) | Norway
|
19 | 2,342 | Steel & lumber | Sunk byU-22113 October |
| Susana(1914) |  United States
|
38 | 5,929 | Valuable general cargo | Sunk byU-22114 October |
| Southern Empress(1914) | United Kingdom
|
48 | 12,398 | Fuel oil | Sunk byU-22114 October |
| Nellie(1913) |  Greece
|
32 | 4,826 | Steel & lumber | Sunk byU-60714 October |
| Nikolina Matkovic(1918) |  Yugoslavia
|
14 | 3,672 | Sugar & lumber | Sunk byU-66114 October |
| Empire Mersey(1920) | United Kingdom
|
16 | 5,791 | General cargo including government stores | Sunk byU-61814 October |
| Merchant Royal(1928) | United Kingdom
|
5,008 | General cargo | Carried convoy commodore Capt F H Taylor DSC RN | |
| Mariposa(1914) | United Kingdom
|
3,807 | Explosives, steel & timber | Ship's master was convoy vice-commodore | |
| Aghios Spyridon(1905) | Greece
|
3,338 | Grain | Veteran ofconvoy SC 94 | |
| Anna(1919) | Greece
|
5,173 | Grain and general cargo | ||
| Anna N Goulandris(1921) | Greece
|
4,358 | Grain | Survived this convoy andconvoy HX 300 | |
| Bernhard(1924) | Norway
|
3,563 | Bauxite | Survived this convoy andconvoy HX 300 | |
| Bonde(1936) | Norway
|
1,570 | General cargo | Returned to Canada; sunk 7 months later inConvoy ONS 5 | |
| Boreas(1920) | Norway
|
2,801 | Sugar | ||
| Boston City(1920) | United Kingdom
|
2,870 | General cargo including explosives | Veteran ofconvoy SC 94andconvoy ON 127 | |
| British Progress(1927) | United Kingdom
|
4,581 | petrol | ||
| British Renown(1928) | United Kingdom
|
6,997 | petrol | ||
| Campus(1925) | United Kingdom
|
3,667 | Steel and wood | Survived this convoy andconvoy ONS 5 | |
| Carslogie(1924) | United Kingdom
|
3,786 | Steel and wood | ||
| Charles Carroll(1942) | United States
|
7,191 | Cased petrol & explosives | Liberty ship | |
| Cydonia(1927) | United Kingdom
|
3,517 | Grain | Survived this convoy andconvoy ONS 5 | |
| Disa(1918) |  Sweden
|
2,002 | Flour | ||
| Empire Lightning(1940) | United Kingdom
|
6,942 | phosphates | Collided withMilcrestof convoy ON 132 | |
| Empire Mouflon(1921) | United Kingdom
|
3,234 | Explosives & general cargo | Survived this convoy andconvoy HX 300 | |
| Empire Waterhen(1920) | United Kingdom
|
6,004 | General cargo | ||
| Garnes(1930) | Norway
|
1,559 | Survived this convoy andconvoy SC 107 | ||
| George B. McClellan(1942) | United States
|
7,181 | Vitriol, cased petrol & explosives | Liberty ship | |
| Georgios P(1903) | Greece
|
4,052 | General cargo | Survived this convoy andconvoy SC 122 | |
| Gothland(1932) | United Kingdom
|
1,286 | Rescue ship | ||
| Gudvor(1928) | Norway
|
2,280 | Survived this convoy,convoy SC 122andconvoy ONS 5 | ||
| Inger Lise(1939) | Norway
|
1,582 | lumber | Veteran ofconvoy SC 94 | |
| Ingerfem(1912) | Norway
|
3,987 | Grain | Veteran ofconvoy SC 94 | |
| John Hathorn(1942) | United States
|
7,176 | Cased petrol & explosives | Liberty ship | |
| Lido(1930) | Norway
|
1,918 | Flour | ||
| Liverpool Loyalist(1932) | United Kingdom
|
1,416 | |||
| Llangollen(1928) | United Kingdom
|
5,056 | General cargo | ||
| Mars(1925) |  Netherlands
|
1,582 | Flour | Veteran ofconvoy SC 94 | |
| Nea(1921) | Norway
|
1,877 | lumber | Veteran ofconvoy SC 26 | |
| Ozark(1919) | United States
|
2,689 | Lost rudder and diverted to Iceland | ||
| Peterston(1925) | United Kingdom
|
4,680 | Grain & lumber | ||
| Porjus(1906) | Sweden
|
2,965 | phosphates | Returned to Canada; also returned fromconvoy SC 121and survivedconvoy SC 122 | |
| Prinses Maria-Pia(1938) |  Belgium
|
2,588 | Sugar & bombs | ||
| Ramava |  Latvia
|
2,141 | lumber | ||
| Reigh Count(1907) |  Panama
|
4,657 | Explosives & valuable cargo | ||
| Robert Morris(1942) | United States
|
7,176 | Cased petrol & explosives | Liberty ship | |
| Rocha(1933) | Panama
|
1,471 | |||
| Roxane(1929) | United Kingdom
|
7,813 | Fuel oil | ||
| Saintonge(1936) | United Kingdom
|
9,386 | Fuel oil | Survived this convoy andconvoy HX 300 | |
| Saluta(1906) | United Kingdom
|
6,261 | Fuel oil | ||
| Sinnington Court(1928) | United Kingdom
|
6,910 | Survived this convoy andconvoy SC 121 | ||
| Souliotis(1917) | Greece
|
4,299 | Steel & lumber | ||
| Suderoy(1913) | Norway
|
7,562 | Fuel oil | Survived this convoy andconvoy SC 121 | |
| Theomitor(1910) | Greece
|
4,427 | Steel & lumber | ||
| Vinga(1927) | Norway
|
7,321 | Furnace fuel oil | ||
| William Johnson(1942) | United States
|
7,191 | Cased petrol & explosives | Liberty Ship |
Losses[edit]
| Date | Number | Type | Captain | Casualties | Position | Cause | By |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 October 1942 | U-661 | VIIC | Oberleutnant zur See Erich Lilienfeld[11] | 44 | 53°42′N35°56′W/ 53.700°N 35.933°W | Gunfire, depth charge, ramming | HMSViscount |
| 16 October 1942 | U-353 | VIIC | Kapitänleutnant Wolfgang Römer[12] | 6 | 53°54′N29°30′W/ 53.900°N 29.500°W | Depth charge | HMSFame |
See also[edit]
Notes[edit]
- ^Hague 2000 p. 133
- ^Tarrant p.108
- ^Hague pp.132, 137-138, 161-162, 164, 181
- ^Hague 2000 p.135
- ^abRohwer & Hummelchen 1992 p.167
- ^Showell 2002 p.113
- ^Blair p 39-41
- ^abcd"SC convoys".Andrew Hague Convoy Database.Retrieved26 May2011.
- ^abHague p.161
- ^Kemp p 92
- ^"Oberleutnant zur See Erich Lilienfeld".uboat.net.Retrieved31 October2013.
- ^"Kapitänleutnant Wolfgang Römer".uboat.net.Retrieved31 October2013.
References[edit]
- Blair, Clay(1998).Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunted 1942-1945.ISBN0-304-35261-6.
- Hague, Arnold (2000).The Allied Convoy System 1939–1945.Naval Institute Press.ISBN1-55750-019-3.
- Kemp, Paul (1997).U-Boats Destroyed, German submarine losses in the World Wars.Arms and Armour.ISBN1-85409-515-3.
- Showell, Jak P. Mallmann (2002).U-Boat Warfare.Naval Institute Press.ISBN1-55750-001-0.
- Milner, Marc (1985).North Atlantic Run.Naval Institute Press.ISBN0-87021-450-0.
- Rohwer, J.; Hummelchen, G. (1992).Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945.Naval Institute Press.ISBN1-55750-105-X.
- Tarrant, V.E. (1989).The U-Boat Offensive 1914–1945.Arms and Armour.ISBN1-85409-520-X.