Convoy HX 126
Convoy HX.126 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of World War II | |||||
| |||||
Belligerents | |||||
![]() | ![]() | ||||
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 |
- v
- t
- e
- Americas
- Northern Barrage
- Blockade of Germany
- Gibraltar
1939
1940
1941
- SC 19
- SC 20
- Berlin
- HG 53
- OB 293
- HX 112
- 4 April
- OB 318
- HX 126
- Rheinübung
- Denmark Strait
- Bismarck
- HX 133
- OG 69
- OG 71
- SC 42
- HG 73
- SC 48
- HX 156
- HG 76
1942
- Postmaster
- 2nd Happy Time
- Torpedo Alley
- SC 67
- Neuland
- ON 67
- 27 March
- OG 82
- ON 92
- 6 June
- HG 84
- SL 78
- QS 15
- ON 113
- ON 115
- SC 94
- ON 122
- Bell Island
- QS 33
- ON 127
- Laconia
- SQ 36
- SC 100
- SG 6/LN 6
- SC 104
- HX 212
- SL 125
- SC 107
- ON 144
- ON 153
- ON 154
1943
- TM 1
- SG 19
- SC 118
- ON 166
- UC 1
- SC 121
- HX 228
- UGS 6
- HX 229/SC 122
- HX 231
- Black May
- Faith
- ONS 18/ON 202
- SC 143
- ONS 20/ON 206
- Sept-Îles
- ON 207
- SL 138/MKS 28
- SL 139/MKS 30
- SL 140/MKS 31
- Stonewall
1944
- Lyme Bay
- 26 April 1944
- Capture of U-505
- HX 300
- WEP 3
- BX 141
1945
- Teardrop
- Point Judith
- 5–6 May 1945
- 7–8 May 1945
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 escorts 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 HMS Aurania which task was to provide protection against merchant raiders.
On the U-boat side, the submarines 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-boat U-94 found the convoy and she directed the other boats of the group West. The group began their attacks on 20 May. The first attack of U-94 in the early morning misses, but in a second attack she sank one[3] or two ships.[4][2] Then contact with the convoy is lost. The next U-boat, U-556 found the convoy at noon. In two attacks U-556 sank three ships.[3] As the convoy was still unescorted at the time, it started to break up.
U-111 discovered the large 13,000-ton tanker San Felix and damaged it with a torpedo, but the tanker did not belong to HX 126. It was an outbound vessel from the dispersed convoy OB 322.[5] In the evening U-98 sank the freighter Rothermere. Around the same time U-94 regained contact with the convoy and sank the tanker John P. Pedersen. Just before midnight, U-109 sank the straggler Harpagus with two torpedoes. Harpagus had fallen behind to rescue survivors from Norman Monarch. The 12th escort group, which comprised at the time five destroyers, four corvettes and two anti-submarine trawlers, arrived and started to round up the dispersed ships and reform the convoy. Five of the escorts find U-109 and damage the submarine with depth charges. As a result U-109 aborted to France.[6]
In the early morning of 21 May, U-93 struck the tanker Elusa which was later scuttled. U-74 was damaged and forced to abort to France by depth charge attacks from the corvette HMS Verbena and a destroyer (either HMS Churchill[4] or HMS Burnham[7]). Upon learning that a strong escort has arrived, German command disengaged the U-boats and reformed them in a new patrol line further south. Only U-111 is left in place in order to transmit decoy radio signals. On 22 May U-111 found and sank Barnby which 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) | ![]() | 8,882 | |
Barnby (1940) | ![]() | 4,813 | Straggled and sunk by U-111[9] |
Baron Carnegie (1925) | ![]() | 3,178 | |
Baron Elgin (1933) | ![]() | 3,942 | |
Bente Maersk (1928) | ![]() | 5,722 | |
British Freedom (1928) | ![]() | 6,985 | Straggled 20 May |
British Security (1937) | ![]() | 8,470 | Sunk by U-556[10] |
British Splendour (1931) | ![]() | 7,138 | |
Cockaponset (1919) | ![]() | 5,995 | Sunk By U-556[11] |
Darlington Court (1936) | ![]() | 4,974 | Sunk By U-556[12] |
Dorelian (1923) | ![]() | 6,431 | |
Eemland (1906) | ![]() | 4,188 | Straggled 20 May |
Elusa (1936) | ![]() | 6,235 | Sunk By U-93[13] |
Empire Kudu (1919) | ![]() | 6,622 | |
Gretavale (1928) | ![]() | 4,586 | |
Hada County (1921) | ![]() | 4,853 | |
Harpagus (1940) | ![]() | 5,173 | Sunk By U-109.[14] Rescue Ship |
Havsten (1930) | ![]() | 6,161 | |
Hindustan (1940) | ![]() | 5,245 | Rear-Admiral F B Watson DSO (Commodore) |
John P Pedersen (1930) | ![]() | 6,128 | Sunk By U-94[15] |
Karabagh (1932) | ![]() | 6,427 | |
Morgenen (1930) | ![]() | 7,093 | |
Nicoya (1929) | ![]() | 5,364 | |
Norman Monarch (1937) | ![]() | 4,718 | Sunk By U-94[16] |
Regent Panther (1937) | ![]() | 9,556 | |
Ribera (1940) | ![]() | 5,559 | Straggled 20 May |
Rosewood (1931) | ![]() | 5,989 | Iceland |
Rothermere (1938) | ![]() | 5,356 | Sunk By U-98[17] |
Salando (1920) | ![]() | 5,272 | Returned |
Tongariro (1925) | ![]() | 8,720 | |
Toward (1923) | ![]() | 1,571 | Rescue Ship |
Westport (1918) | ![]() | 5,665 | Joined Ex Convoy SC 31 |
Winona County (1919) | ![]() | 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) | ![]() | Flower-class corvette | 21 May 1941 | 23 May 1941 |
HMS Artifex (F28) | ![]() | Armed merchant cruiser | 10 May 1941 | 21 May 1941 |
HMS Burnham (H82) | ![]() | Town-class destroyer | 21 May 1941 | 22 May 1941 |
HMS Burwell (H94) | ![]() | Town-class destroyer | 21 May 1941 | 26 May 1941 |
HMCS Chambly (K116) | ![]() | Flower-class corvette | n/a | n/a |
HMS Dianella (K07) | ![]() | Flower-class corvette | 23 May 1941 | 23 May 1941 |
HMS Gladiolus (K34) | ![]() | Flower-class corvette | 23 May 1941 | 26 May 1941 |
HMS Heliotrope (K03) | ![]() | Flower-class corvette | 21 May 1941 | 23 May 1941 |
HMS Keppel (D84) | ![]() | Shakespeare-class destroyer leader | 23 May 1941 | 26 May 1941 |
HMS Kingcup (K33) | ![]() | Flower-class corvette | 23 May 1941 | 28 May 1941 |
HMT Lady Elsa | ![]() | ASW (Anti-Submarine Warfare) trawler | 23 May 1941 | 23 May 1941 |
HMS Malcolm (D19) | ![]() | Scott-class destroyer leader | 20 May 1941 | 22 May 1941 |
HMS Mallow (K81) | ![]() | Flower-class corvette | 21 May 1941 | 23 May 1941 |
HMT Northern Gem | ![]() | ASW trawler | n/a | n/a |
HMT Northern Wave | ![]() | ASW trawler | n/a | n/a |
HMCS Orillia (K119) | ![]() | Flower-class corvette | n/a | n/a |
HMS Sabre (1918) | ![]() | Admiralty S-class destroyer | 23 May 1941 | 27 May 1941 |
HMS Scimitar (H21) | ![]() | Admiralty S-class destroyer | 22 May 1941 | 24 May 1941 |
HMS Springbank | ![]() | Seaplane tender/prototype fighter catapult ship | 23 May 1941 | 23 May 1941 |
HMS Tribune (N76) | ![]() | T-class submarine | 10 May 1941 | 10 May 1941 |
HMS Venomous (D75) | ![]() | Modified W-class destroyer | 26 May 1941 | 28 May 1941 |
HMS Verbena (K85) | ![]() | Flower-class corvette | 21 May 1941 | 23 May 1941 |
References
- ^ a b Hague p.127
- ^ a b Rohwer &Hummelchen, p.62
- ^ a b "HX-126".
- ^ a b Blair, p.286
- ^ "San Felix".
- ^ Hirschfeld, Wolfgang (1985). Feindfahrten. Logbuch eines U-Bootfunkers (in German). Miunchen: Heyne. pp. 48–70. ISBN 3-453-02051-0.
- ^ "U-74".
- ^ a b "Convoy HX.126". Arnold Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
- ^ "Barnby – British steam merchant". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
- ^ "British Security – British motor tanker". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
- ^ "Cockaponset – British steam merchant". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
- ^ "Darlington Court – British motor merchant". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
- ^ "Elusa – Dutch motor tanker". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
- ^ "Harpagus – British steam merchant". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
- ^ "John P Pedersen – Norwegian motor tanker". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
- ^ "Norman Monarch – British steam merchant". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
- ^ "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.
External links
- HX.126 at convoyweb[permanent dead link]