Convoy ON 166 was the 166th of the numbered
ON series of merchant ship convoys Outbound from the British Isles to North America. Sixty-three ships departed
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 ...
11 February 1943 and were met the following day by
Mid-Ocean Escort Force
Mid-Ocean Escort Force (MOEF) referred to the organisation of anti-submarine escorts for World War II trade convoys between Canada and Newfoundland, and the British Isles. The allocation of United States, British, and Canadian escorts to these co ...
Group A-3 consisting of the s and and the s , , , and .
Background
As western Atlantic coastal convoys brought an end to the
second happy time
The "Second Happy Time" (; officially Operation Paukenschlag ("Operation Drumbeat"), and also known among German submarine commanders as the "American Shooting Season") was a phase in the Battle of the Atlantic during which Axis submarines att ...
, Admiral
Karl Dönitz
Karl Dönitz (sometimes spelled Doenitz; ; 16 September 1891 24 December 1980) was a German admiral who briefly succeeded Adolf Hitler as head of state in May 1945, holding the position until the dissolution of the Flensburg Government follo ...
, the ''
Befehlshaber der U-Boote
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 and Second World Wars. The term also referred to the Command HQ of the U-bo ...
'' (''BdU'') or commander in chief of U-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 through ''
B-Dienst
The ''B-Dienst'' (german: Beobachtungsdienst, observation service), also called x''B-Dienst'', X-''B-Dienst'' and χ''B-Dienst'', was a Department of the German Naval Intelligence Service (german: Marinenachrichtendienst, MND III) of the OKM, t ...
'' decryption of British Naval Cypher Number 3. 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.
[Hague pp.132, 137-138,161-162,164&181]
21 February
On 20 February sighted the convoy scattered by sailing eight days in a northwesterly gale. torpedoed the straggling Norwegian ''Stigstad'' on the morning of 21 February. was sunk by a
No. 120 Squadron RAF
Number 120 Squadron or No. CXX Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Air Force which was established as a Royal Flying Corps unit late in World War I, disbanded a year after the end of the war, then re-established as a RAF Coastal Command squadro ...
B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...
that afternoon, and ''Campbell'' attacked a U-boat that evening. Postwar analysis concluded that ''Campbell'' sank , but more recent re-evaluation indicates the attack may have destroyed .
torpedoed the British
''Empire Trader'' at 2032 and the Norwegian ''NT Nielsen Alonso'' at 0153 on the night of February 21–22. Both ships were hit by a single torpedo on the port side, flooding the forward hold, and boiler room, respectively.
from the following convoy ONS 167 was ordered to reinforce the convoy escort.
22 February
torpedoed the British
''Empire Redshank'' and American ''Chattanooga City'' and ''Expositor'' after sunset 22 February, but was damaged by
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 Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...
s from the recently arrived ''Burza''. ''Campbell'' was disabled in a collision with ''U-606''. Twelve men were rescued from the crew of the sinking U-boat. ''Burza'' left the convoy to tow ''Campbell'' back to port. The
convoy rescue ship
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 ...
''Stockport'' was sunk by ''U-604'' while returning to the convoy after rescuing men from the three ships torpedoed by ''U-606''.
23 February
torpedoed the Panamanian ''Winkler'' at 0420 and Norwegian ''Glittre'' at 0425. torpedoed the American ''Hastings'' about 0430 and British ''Eulima'' at 0458 on 23 February.
''Spencer'', ''Rosthern'' and ''Chilliwack'' remained with the convoy and ''Dianthus'' left to refuel.
[Hague 2000 pp.161-162]
24 February
torpedoed the Norwegian ''Ingria'' at 0520 before dawn on 24 February.
torpedoed the straggling American
Liberty ship
Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Mass ...
''Jonathan Sturges''.
25 February
''U-628'' hit the British ''Manchester Merchant'' with two torpedoes on the starboard side at 0527 before dawn 25 February.
Aftermath
The U-boats discontinued the attack on 26 February. The surviving ships in the convoy were joined by 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 ...
on 28 February with escorts , and .
They reached
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
on 3 March 1943.
[Hague 2000 p.159]
Ships in convoy
See also
*
Convoy Battles of World War II
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
* {{cite book, title=The U-Boat Offensive 1914–1945 , author=Tarrant, V.E. , publisher=Arms and Armour , year=1989 , isbn=1-85409-520-X
ON166
Naval battles of World War II involving Canada
C