Convoy HX 90 was a
North Atlantic convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...
of the
HX series which ran during the
Battle of the Atlantic in
World War II
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 opposing ...
.
Background
HX 90 was an eastbound convoy of 41 ships which sailed from
Halifax,
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, on 21 November 1940 bound 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 populat ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, and carrying war materials. The convoy, made up of contingents from Halifax,
Sydney and
Bermuda
)
, anthem = "God Save the King"
, song_type = National song
, song = "Hail to Bermuda"
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, mapsize2 =
, map_caption2 =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name =
, es ...
was led by
convoy commodore V. P. Alleyne in ''Botavon''.
The escort for the crossing had been sparse, as was common at this stage of the campaign, and the
Western Approaches
The Western Approaches is an approximately rectangular area of the Atlantic Ocean lying immediately to the west of Ireland and parts of Great Britain. Its north and south boundaries are defined by the corresponding extremities of Britain. The c ...
escort did not generally meet incoming convoys until south of
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
, reckoned to be the limit of any patrolling U-boat's endurance. In HX 90's case the ocean escort was the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
armed merchant cruiser , and she was due to rendezvous with the Western Approaches escort on 2 December.
Also at sea were several other convoys;
Convoy SC 13 was to the north of HX 90, also heading east, while heading towards them was the westbound
Convoy OB 251. To the south, heading to the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
from
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
, was
Convoy HG 47.
Ranged against them was a pack of seven German
submarines –
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 ro ...
s – reinforced by three Italian submarines operating with them in the
Atlantic Ocean
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 ...
. These were deployed in a patrol line at the fringe of the Western Approaches, hoping to intercept eastbound convoys before they met their escorts.
Action
On 1 December 1940, some 500
nautical miles (926 km) south of Iceland, HX 90 was sighted by
''U-101'', which reported its position. Her skipper, Mengersen, was ordered to shadow and report. During the day, the first Western Approaches escort, the Royal Navy
destroyer under
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding ran ...
M. S. Townsend, arrived from OB 251.
That evening, Mengersen was no longer able to resist attacking. He fired all twelve of his
torpedo
A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...
es, claiming four ships sunk and two damaged; in fact he sank three ships during the night – ''Apalachee'', ''Kavak'', and ''Lady Glanely'' – and damaged another, ''Loch Ranza''.
Just after midnight on 2 December,
''U-47'' joined, skippered by
Gunther Prien; his attack sank one ship, ''Ville D'Arlon'', which had become separated from the convoy, and damaged another, ''Conch''. Prien attacked a third ship, ''Dunsley'', with his deck gun, but was driven off by an escort ship.
Later
''U-95'' joined, attacking the damaged ''Conch''; ''Conch'' was again hit, but remained afloat.
''U-99'', commanded by another ace,
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 ...
, was en route to join the attack, but encountered the Royal Navy armed merchant cruiser on her way to join OB 251 as ocean escort. Kretschmer attacked her, and hit ''Forfar'' five times with torpedoes; she sank with the loss of 172 of her crew, leaving 21 survivors.
''U-43'' also missed the convoy, but fell in with OB 251, sinking two ships, while the , having attacked HG 43, also missed HX 90, but found SC 13, attacking and sinking one ship.
On the morning of 2 December the pack was joined by
''U-52'', which sank two ships, ''Tasso'' and ''Goodleigh''. The convoy was joined by a further two escorts, the British
sloop and
corvette , also from OB 251. They were assisted by the
Royal Canadian Navy
The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack submar ...
destroyer , which had been travelling with ''Forfar'' but had detached to reinforce HX 90's escort. ''Viscount'' and ''St. Laurent'' attacked numerous
asdic
Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects on ...
contacts, making thirteen
depth-charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive hydraulic shock. Most depth charges use h ...
attacks over four hours. No U-boats were hit, but all were kept submerged and silent, allowing HX 90 to escape.
Later that evening, however, the convoy was sighted again, by newcomer
''U-94''; she attacked during the night of 2–3 December and sank two more ships, ''Stirlingshire'' and ''Wilhelmina''. Also that night, ''U-99'' found and sank a straggler, ''Victoria City'', (though other sources say she was sunk by
''U-140'') and the damaged ''Conch'', which she also sank.
No further U-boat attacks developed for HX 90, though on 3 December ''W Hendrik'' was bombed by German aircraft and sunk. The convoy met its local escort on 5 December and arrived in Liverpool later that day.
Conclusion
U-Boat Command (
BdU
The ''Befehlshaber der Unterseeboote'' or BdU (Eng: "Commander of the U-boats") was the supreme commander of the German Navy's U-boat Arm (''Ubootwaffe'') during the First World War, First and Second World Wars. The term also referred to the Comma ...
), in the person of
Rear Admiral Karl Dönitz, was delighted with the attack, believing his U-boats had sunk eighteen ships of over 120,000
GRT. In fact the confirmed loss to HX 90 was eleven ships of 73,495 GRT (other sources give 73,958 GRT
[uboatnet]). During the same period the pack had also sunk HMS ''Forfar'', two ships from OB 251, and another from SC 13, and had damaged an escort from HG 47. None of the attacking U-boats had been sunk or damaged. However, 30 ships of HX 90 arrived safely, as did 41 ships of SC 13, the 30 ships of HG 47, and 31 ships of OB 251. Nevertheless, the attack on HX 90 was a setback for the
Allies, and one of the more serious convoy losses of the Atlantic campaign.
Table
Notes
External links
HX 90 at convoyweb HX 90 at uboatnet
References
*
Clay Blair : ''Hitler's U-Boat War'' Vol I (1996)
*Arnold Hague : ''The Allied Convoy System 1939–1945'' (2000) . (Canada) . (UK)
*
Stephen Roskill : ''The War at Sea 1939–1945'' Vol I (1954) ISBN (none)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Convoy HX 090
HX090
Naval battles of World War II involving Canada
Naval battles of World War II involving the United Kingdom