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HX 79 was an Allied
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
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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. It suffered major losses from a
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 ...
attack, and, with the attack on convoy SC 7 the previous day, represents the worst two days shipping losses in the entire Atlantic campaign.


Prelude

HX 79 was an east-bound convoy of 50 ships which sailed from Halifax on 8 October 1940 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 ...
. On 19 October, 4 days from landfall, HX 79 was entering 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 ...
, and had caught up with the position of SC 7, which was under attack. The escort for the crossing had been meagre, being provided by two
armed merchant cruiser An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in lo ...
s against the possibility of attack by a surface raider, but these had departed when HX 79 was sighted by , commanded by ''
Kapitänleutnant ''Kapitänleutnant'', short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( en, captain lieutenant) is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the German Bundeswehr. The rank is rated OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to Hauptmann in the Heer an ...
''
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 ...
. At this point HX 79 was unescorted; Prien sent a sighting report and set to shadowing the convoy, while ''
Konteradmiral ''Konteradmiral'', abbreviated KAdm or KADM, is the second lowest naval flag officer rank in the German Navy. It is equivalent to ''Generalmajor'' in the '' Heer'' and ''Luftwaffe'' or to '' Admiralstabsarzt'' and '' Generalstabsarzt'' in the ' ...
''
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 fo ...
ordered the pack to assemble. Those U-boats which had attacked SC 7 and were still able to fight (three had departed to re-arm having expended all their torpedoes) were directed to the scene. Four did so, ( Joachim Schepke), ( Engelbert Endrass), (
Heinrich Bleichrodt Heinrich Bleichrodt (21 October 1909 – 9 January 1977) was a German U-boat commander during the Second World War. From October 1939 until retiring from front line service in December 1943, he was credited with sinking 25 ships for a total of . ...
) and (
Heinrich Liebe __NOTOC__ Heinrich Liebe (29 January 1908 – 27 July 1997) was a German naval officer during World War II. He served as a U-boat commander. Liebe was credited with sinking of 34 ships for a total of . Awards * Wehrmacht Long Service Award 4th ...
) joining ''U-47'' during the day. However 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 ...
, concerned by the fate of SC 7 and anticipating an attack sent escorts to the convoy; throughout the day they arrived piecemeal eventually totaling 11 warships.


Action

The pack attacked as night fell; using the darkness to cover an approach on the surface, Prien penetrated the escort screen from the south to attack from within the convoy, while Endrass (who had previously served with Prien as his deputy), did the same from the north. Over the next six hours, 13 ships were torpedoed; 6 by ''U-47'' alone (4 of which were sunk, a fifth was finished by ''U-48''). 10 ships were sunk from the convoy, and 2 stragglers were lost later in the day. These were ''Shirak'', which had been torpedoed in the night, and ''Loch Lomond'', sailing with the convoy as a rescue ship. Another, ''Athelmonarch'', was damaged but was able to make port. HX 79 had lost 12 ships out of 49, a total tonnage of . None of the attacking U-boats were damaged.


Ships in the convoy


Allied merchant ships

A total of 50 merchant vessels joined the convoy, either in Halifax or later in the voyage. The SS ''Erna III'' returned to Halifax before the convoy was attacked by the assembled German wolfpack.


Convoy escorts

A series of armed military ships escorted the convoy at various times during its journey.


Conclusion

Despite the number of escorts, they had been ineffective; the ships were uncoordinated, being unused to working together, and having no common battle plan or tactics. The escorts had arrived singly, being dispatched as and when available, this being the common practice at the time. Command of the escort force fell to the senior officer present, and could change as each new ship arrived. Any tactical arrangements had to be made on the spot, and communicated by
signal lamp Signal lamp training during World War II A signal lamp (sometimes called an Aldis lamp or a Morse lamp) is a semaphore system using a visual signaling device for optical communication, typically using Morse code. The idea of flashing dots and da ...
to each ship in turn. The failure of the escort led to a number of changes in escort policy. The first to take effect was the formation of permanent escort groups, which would operate together under defined leadership. This led to the development of consistent tactics, and teamwork, with an increasing effectiveness.


References


Bibliography

* * Arnold Hague : The Allied Convoy System 1939–1945 (2000). ISBN (Canada) 1 55125 033 0 . ISBN (UK) 1 86176 147 3 * * *
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) *


External links


HX 79 at convoyweb
{{DEFAULTSORT:Convoy HX 079 HX079 Naval battles of World War II involving Canada C