HX 112 was a
North Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and ...
convoy of the HX series which ran during the
battle of the Atlantic
The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allied naval blockade ...
in the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. It saw the loss of
U-boat
U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...
s commanded by two of the
Kriegsmarine
The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...
's most celebrated commanders and propaganda heroes: under
Otto Kretschmer
Otto Kretschmer (1 May 1912 – 5 August 1998) was a German naval officer and submariner in World War II and the Cold War.
From September 1939 until his capture in March 1941 he sank 44 ships, including one warship, a total of 274,333 tons. For ...
(POW), and under
Joachim Schepke
Joachim Schepke (8 March 1912 – 17 March 1941) was a German U-boat commander during World War II. He was the seventh recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves.
Schepke is credited with having sunk 36 Allied ships. Durin ...
(KIA).
Prelude
HX 112 was an east-bound convoy of ships which sailed from
Halifax on 1 March 1941, making for
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
with war materials. Many of the ships in HX 112 were tankers carrying fuel oil to Britain.
It was escorted by
5th Escort Group which consisted of two destroyers, and and two corvettes, and was led by Commander
Donald Macintyre of HMS ''Walker''. 5th Escort Group was reinforced on this occasion by an additional two destroyers, in view of the importance of the cargo, and met the convoy as it entered the
Western Approaches.
On 15 March 1941 HX 112 was sighted by commanded by
Fritz-Julius Lemp
Fritz-Julius Lemp (19 February 1913 – 9 May 1941) was a captain in the Kriegsmarine during World War II and commander of , and .
He sank the British passenger liner in September 1939, in violation of the Hague conventions. Germany's respon ...
, who sent in a sighting report and commenced shadowing the convoy. He was joined throughout the day by four other boats; ''U-99'' (Kretschmer) ''U-100'' (Schepke) (
Clausen Clausen is a Danish language, Danish patronymic surname, literally meaning ''child of Claus'', Claus being a German language, German form of the Greek language, Greek Νικόλαος, Nikolaos, (cf. Nicholas), used in Denmark at least since the 16t ...
) and (
Kentrat).
Action
On the night of 15th/16th the attack started; ''U-110'' was able to torpedo a tanker, which burst into flames, but survived to reach port; all other attacks that night were frustrated by the activities of the escorts.
Keeping up with the convoy on the surface during the day, the pack tried again as night fell on the 16th.
''U-99'' managed to penetrate the convoy from the north, on its port side, and sank three tankers and a freighter and damaged another tanker in under an hour. Remaining with the central column of the convoy she sank another freighter 15 minutes later before making her getaway.
Meanwhile, the escorts, searching for U-boats outside the convoy perimeter, found ''U-100'' around 1.30am moving in on the surface. She dived, but ''Walker'' attacked with a depth charge pattern at close range. ''U-100'' evaded further damage, and surfaced, to be sighted and rammed by ''Vanoc'' just after 3am; Schepke was killed when ''Vanoc'' smashed into his periscope structure and ''U-100'' went down with most of her crew.
As this was happening, ''U-99'' was making her escape; she nearly collided with a destroyer in the dark and dived. Picked up on
ASDIC by ''Walker'', she was depth-charged and severely damaged. Saving ''U-99'' from being crushed as she sank deeper and deeper, Kretschmer brought her to the surface, where she was fired on by the encircling warships. ''U-99'' was sunk, but Kretschmer and most of his crew were saved, to be taken prisoner.
There were no further attacks on HX.112 and the convoy arrived in Liverpool on 20 March.
Ships in the convoy
Allied merchant ships
A total of 41 merchant vessels joined the convoy, either in Halifax or later in the voyage.
Convoy escorts
A series of armed military ships escorted the convoy at various times during its journey.
[
]
Conclusion
HX.112 had lost six ships totalling 50,000 tons. However, the loss of two of the Kriegsmarine's successful U-boat commanders and propaganda heroes was a severe blow to the Kriegsmarine offensive. The defence of HX.112, coupled with the successful defence of Convoy OB 293
OB 293 was a North Atlantic convoy which ran during the battle of the Atlantic in World War II.
It was notable for seeing the loss to the Kriegsmarine (KM) of , with her commander KL Günther Prien, the person responsible for the sinking of ...
and the loss of U-boat commander Günther Prien along with his sub the previous week, marked a minor turning point in the Atlantic campaign.
References
Bibliography
* Stephen Roskill
Captain Stephen Wentworth Roskill, (1 August 1903 – 4 November 1982) was a senior career officer of the Royal Navy, serving during the Second World War and, after his enforced medical retirement, served as the official historian of the Royal ...
: ''The War at Sea 1939–1945'' Vol I (1954). ISBN (none)
* Dan van der Vat
Daniel Francis Jeroen van der Vat (28 October 1939 – 9 May 2019) was a journalist, writer and military historian, with a focus on naval history.
Born in Alkmaar, North Holland, Van der Vat grew up in the German- occupied Netherlands. He attended ...
: ''The Atlantic Campaign'' (1988).
* Arnold Hague : ''The Allied Convoy System 1939–1945'' (2000). ISBN (Canada) 1 55125 033 0 . ISBN (UK) 1 86176 147 3
* Paul Kemp : ''U-Boats Destroyed'' ( 1997).
* Axel Neistle : ''German U-Boat Losses during World War II'' (1998). {{ISBN, 1-85367-352-8
HX112
Naval battles of World War II involving Canada
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