Convoy HX 197 - warsailors.com (original) (raw)

Convoy HX 197 Cruising Order
Departed Halifax on July 6-1942 and arrived Liverpool on the 17th (Arnold Hague's "The Allied Convoy System" gives 24 ships).

List received from Ted Agar. (His source: A diary).

Cargoes and some aditional info have been extracted from a document received from D. Kindell, based on the late Arnold Hague's database - see his listing for HX 197 at Ships in all HX convoys.

Underlined ships returned to port (according to A. Hague), including the Norwegian Belinda.

(The stations given below are at time of departure, and may have changed as the voyage progressed).

See also Convoy ON 99.

Br=British, Fr=French, Du=Dutch, Norw=Norwegian, Sw=Swedish, Am=American, Gr=Greek.
MoWT=Ministry of War Transport.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

11

Empire Ray

grain
CAM ship
(Br)

21
Ville de Tamatave
general
12 passengers
(Fr / MoWT 1941)

31
Manchester Citizen
general
3 passengers
(Br)

41
Cairnesk
general
2561 mails
5 passengers
(Br)

51
Corrales
refrig. - general
(Br)

61
Beaverhill
general
2804 mails
22 passengers
(Br)

71
Lancastrian Prince
general
(Br)

81
John A. Brown
aviation gas
(Br)

91
Pacific Enterprise
general
(Br)

12

Gerassimos Vergottis

general
(Gr)

22
Myrmidon
general
140 passengers
(Br)

32
Dorcasia
petrol
(Br)

42
San Ambrosio
petrol - naphtha
(Br)

52
Ocean Volunteer
general - timber
(Br)

62
Gdynia
general
(Sw)

72
Pan Georgia
petrol
(Am)

92
Ulysses
general
(Du)

13
Bretwalda
steel - general
(Br)

23
Settler
general - grain
(Br)

33
Ocean Courage
general
(Br)

43
Anniston City?
general
(Am)

Diloma?
alcohol
petrol
(Br)

53
Waterland
general
(Du)

63
Empire Dickens
petrol
(Br)

73

83

93
Empire Plover
general
(Br)

14

24

34

44

54

64
Ocean Veteran
general
(Br)

74

84

94

Anniston City and Diloma have both been given station 43 in the diary - hence my question marks (but see A. Hague's details below).

A note in connection with the slow Convoy SC 91 states that the American Thomas Ruffin, sailing in that convoy, originally came from HX 197.

When comparing this information with A. Hague's listing for HX 197 at Ships in all HX convoys, we see that he has also included Egyptian Prince in this convoy (general cargo and explosives), but no station number is given. This ship had returned to port from Convoy HX 194, following a collision.

He says Empire Ray returned following a collision with Waterland, which also returned (this seems odd, because as can be seen, they sailed quite a distance apart). He says Belinda also returned as did Gerassimos Vergottis - reason not given for the latter 2 ships. Empire Ray is listed in HX 199, while the other 3 joined HX 198.

A. Hague adds that Empire Plover became a straggler (no date given). He has Diloma in station 43, Anniston City in station 73 and agrees with Myrmidon in station 22, but has also listed the British Saint Bertrand in the same station, general cargo (this ship is not mentioned for HX 197 in the diary, but in the next convoy).