Convoy SC 130 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
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 ...
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
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 opposin ...
. It was the 130th of the numbered series of
Slow Convoys of merchant ships from
Sydney,
Cape Breton Island to
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 ...
. SC 130 was one of several convoy battles that occurred during the crisis month of
May 1943.
Background
SC 130, comprising thirty-seven ships, departed
Halifax Harbour
Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality. Halifax largely owes its existence to the harbour, being one of the largest and deepest ice-free natural harbo ...
on 11 May 1943 in the care of a
Western Local Escort Force
Western Local Escort Force (WLEF) referred to the organization of anti-submarine escorts for World War II trade convoys from North American port cities to the Western Ocean Meeting Point (WOMP or WESTOMP) near Newfoundland where ships of the Mi ...
, led by
RCN destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort
larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...
. The Convoy Commodore was HC Forsyth in the freighter ''Sheaf Holme''. They were met on 15 May 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
B-7, led by Commander
Peter Gretton
Vice Admiral Sir Peter William Gretton (27 August 1912 – 11 November 1992) was an officer in the Royal Navy. He was active in the Battle of the Atlantic during the Second World War, and was a successful convoy escort commander. He eventually ...
in the
D-class leader and consisting of the , the , and s , , , and two
armed trawlers. As B-7 was one vessel short for the voyage, the corvette was seconded from the local group for the crossing. SC 130 also included two
oilers
Oiler may refer to:
Ships
* Replenishment oiler
* Tanker (ship)
Sports
* Cape Breton Oilers, a former American Hockey League team
* City Oilers, Ugandan basketball team
* Edmonton Oilers, a National Hockey League team based in Edmonton, Alberta, ...
for mid-ocean re-fueling and re-arming, and 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 ...
''Zamalek''.
Ranged against them were 25
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 in three patrol lines, which had been organized by 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 ...
on 15 May. This was in response to intelligence from the signals intelligence group
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 ...
which reported a westbound convoy (ONS 7) and two eastbound (HX 238 and SC 130) approaching the
Air Gap. One group, ''Iller'', of six newly arrived boats was just arriving, while two other groups, ''Donau I'' and ''Donau II'', were formed from boats already on station plus reinforcements.
ONS 7 came under attack on 13 May, and, warned by this and by intelligence from
HF/DF
High-frequency direction finding, usually known by its abbreviation HF/DF or nickname huff-duff, is a type of radio direction finder (RDF) introduced in World War II. High frequency (HF) refers to a radio band that can effectively communicate ov ...
readings and
Enigma
Enigma may refer to:
*Riddle, someone or something that is mysterious or puzzling
Biology
*ENIGMA, a class of gene in the LIM domain
Computing and technology
* Enigma (company), a New York-based data-technology startup
* Enigma machine, a family ...
decrypts, the
Admiralty
Admiralty most often refers to:
*Admiralty, Hong Kong
*Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964
*The rank of admiral
*Admiralty law
Admiralty can also refer to:
Buildings
* Admiralty, Traf ...
was able to divert
HX 238 (which arrived without incident) and to reinforce SC 130.
Action
The convoy was found and reported on the evening of 18 May, by which commenced shadowing, while the other U-boats gathered during the night. The B7 group mounted an aggressive defence, chasing down all contacts in order to frustrate any attacks. In this they were successful and none of the U-boats were able to attack that night.
On 19 May long-range aircraft were able to join the action and commenced patrolling, attacking ''Donau'' boats as they moved to join the assault. A
Hudson
Hudson may refer to:
People
* Hudson (given name)
* Hudson (surname)
* Henry Hudson, English explorer
* Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back
* Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudso ...
of
269 Sqdn destroyed , and a
Liberator of
120 Sqdn attacked another: This was thought to have sunk ''U-954'', but later judged to have hit , causing little damage. Later that day the convoy escort was reinforced by the 1st Support Group consisting of the
sloop
A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...
(Capt. G Brewer) with the River-class frigates , and . Within hours was sunk by
hedgehog
A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are seventeen species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introducti ...
attacks from ''Sennen'' and ''Jed''. 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 ...
's son Peter Dönitz was among those lost aboard ''U-954''. An attack by ''Snowflake'' and ''Duncan'' delivered a hit with a Hedgehog bomb, and was thought to have destroyed a U-boat () but this was later claimed to have hit , which survived with damage. That evening ''Tay'' attacked and damaged her so badly she had to retire from the action and return to base.
On 20 May the assault continued, but without success, while
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 ...
J sank . At midday on 20th BdU called off the action, and the U-boats withdrew.
The convoy reached
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 ...
without loss on 26 May.
Aftermath
SC 130 was seen as an Allied victory. No ships had been lost, though two had returned to port; all 35 that made the crossing arrived safely. On the other hand, at least three U-boats were destroyed.
This was a major blow which contributed to BdU's decision to abandon the assault on the North Atlantic convoy route, a turning point in the Battle of the Atlantic.
Table
U-boats destroyed
References
Notes
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
* {{cite book
, title = Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945
, first1 = J.
, last1 = Rohwer
, first2 = G.
, last2 = Hummelchen
, publisher = Naval Institute Press
, location = Annapolis, Maryland
, year = 1992
, isbn = 978-1-55750-105-9
SC130
Naval battles of World War II involving Canada
C