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 a ...

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 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 Allies of World War II, ...

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 opposi ...

. 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 ro ...

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 It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic.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 (POW), and under Joachim Schepke (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 status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

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 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 ...

. On 15 March 1941 HX 112 was sighted by commanded by Fritz-Julius Lemp, 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) 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 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 ...

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 and the loss of U-boat commander

Günther Prien Günther Prien (16 January 1908 – presumed 8 March 1941) was a German U-boat commander during World War II. He was the first U-boat commander to receive the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and the first member of the ''Kriegsmarine'' to r ...

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 : ''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 C