Convoy HX 201 - warsailors.com (original) (raw)

Convoy HX 201 Cruising Order
Departed Halifax on Aug. 2-1942 and arrived Liverpool on the 14th (Arnold Hague gives 30 ships).

List received from Ted Agar, supplemented by info received from Roger Griffiths (his source: Public Records Office, Kew.

~~Crossed out~~ ships did not sail, underlined ships returned to port.
(Stations may have changed as the voyage progressed).

Br=British, Du=Dutch, Bel=Belgian, Norw=Norwegian, Sw=Swedish, Am=American, Hon=Honduran, Gr=Greek.

For info, some of the ships in this convoy later returned to the U.S. on Aug. 21 with the westbound Convoy ON 123, others with ON 125.

11
Prins Willem III
Mersey
(Du)

21
Tivives
Belfast
(Am)

31
Torr Head
Mersey
(Br)

41
Santa Isabel**
Mersey
(Am)

51
Manchester Port
Holyhead
(Br)

61
Jean Jadot
Liverpool
(Bel)

71
Jamaica Producer
Belfast
(Br)

81
Cartago
Belfast
(Am)

91
Mount Kyllene
Belfast
(Gr)

12
Carrillo
Belfast
(Am) *

32
Contessa
Belfast
(Hon)

Hindanger

*
Mersey
(Norw)

52
Ceramic
Mersey
(Br)

62
Charles F. Meyer
Belfast
(Br)

72
Empire Sailor
Holyhead
(Br)

82
Metapan
Mersey
(Am)

92
Tulsa
Mersey
(Am)

13
John Davenport *
(Am)
Belfast

23
Gulf of Mexico
Belfast
(Am)

33
Argon
Mersey
(Am)

43
British Vigilance
Mersey/Manchester
(Br)

53
William Floyd
Mersey
(Am)

63
Charles H. Cramp
Mersey
(Am)

73
Elona
Belfast
(Br)

83
Cymbula
Mersey
(Br)

93
Artemus Ward
Belfast
(Am)

14
Ocean Trader
Belfast
(Br)

24
Tawali
Belfast
(Du)

34
Fort Amherst *
St. John's
(Br)

44
~~Elisabeth van Belgie~~
Liverpool
(Bel)

54
Skiensfjord
Mersey
(Norw)

64
Expositor
Belfast
(Am)

74
Baltrover *
(Br)
ret. to Halifax

84
~~Nanking~~
(Sw)

94
Rio Novo
Belfast
(Norw)

Notes:
Commodore Vice Admiral W. de M. Egerton RNR was in Manchester Port, Vice Commodore was F. W. Fairley, the captain of Empire Sailor.

* Baltrover was unable to maintain convoy speed and was ordered back to Halifax on Aug. 3.
Fort Amherst detached for St. John's at 09:00 on Aug. 5. For info, she's also listed in HX 198 (she shows up again in HX 205, leaving Halifax on Aug. 30).
Hindanger lost the convoy in fog in the night of Aug. 4/5 and put in to St. John's; she subsequently joined the next convoy.
John Davenport also lost the convoy in fog in the night of Aug. 4/5. Additionally, Metapan, Contessa and Tawali straggled, but rejoined later (ref. log, Page 2).

* The ship in station 12 is listed as Corilla in the diary, but as American Carrillo on the A 1 form.

Rio Novo had cancelled from the previous convoy, HX 200.

Nanking sailed in the next HX convoy, while Elisabeth van Belgie and Recorder are listed in the slower Convoy SC 95, leaving Halifax on Aug. 4-1942.

The ships went out in the following order:
The first to leave at 14:18 was the Commodore Vessel Manchester Port, followed at 14:21 by Empire Sailor, then with a few minutes between each ship, Artemus Ward, Mount Kyllene, (invasion barges), Gulf of Mexico, Prins Willem III, Rio Novo, Charles F. Meyer, Contessa (V on stack, 7 liferafts, horizontal under awning behind stack), Santa Isobel (4 goal posts and 8 samson posts, B flag=explosives), Cartago (Red Cross ambulances on deck), Torr Head, Metapan, Jean Jadot, Tivives, Tulsa, J. Davenport, Jamaica Producer, Expositor, Tawali, Skiensfjord, Ocean Trader (torpedo nets), _Fort Amherst, Baltrover, Argon, Corilla, (_should probably be Carrillo) Elona, Charles H. Cramp (KDHH), Hindanger (LDKC), British Vigilance, and Cymbula as the last ship at 17:40. (Ceramic is not included in the diary. William Floyd is said to have cancelled, but it looks as though she did sail - ref. entries for Aug. 7 in the log on Page 2. This log shows times of departure a little differently - however, they are all GMT, whereas the diary probably gives the local times.).

** I've received an E-mail from Arthur Searby in N.C., U.S., who served on Santa Isabel at the time, and will add it here in case someone is researching this ship:
I just found your site while trying to hunt down some information concerning U-boats in WWII. My first crossing during WWII was in an August 1942 North Atlantic convoy out of Halifax. I never knew the number of the convoy until finding your Web page. I sailed as an engine cadet aboard the American freighter SS Santa Isabel in convoy HX201. We are listed in your chart as being ship number 41 (fourth column, first row). I have a problem with that as I recall we were astern of another ship. Due to the fog, as noted in the Commodore's Log, the ships were trailing railroad ties on a cable so that we could hold position when we couldn't see the ship ahead of us, and I remember our efforts to keep the proper speed and distance astern of the ship we were following. Maybe changes were made as we progressed. We were in the center of the convoy as we were carrying munitions. I always thought the ship off our starboard quarter carrying Canadian troops was the Empress of Canada, but now find she was the SS Ceramic. I recall feeling quite sorry for those guys in seas that got heavy at times. Another thing that surprises me is that no mention was made in the Log about our British lead escort (a four-piper ex-US destroyer, possibly HMS Burnham) spending a morning dropping depth charges. I was on the 8 to 12 watch in the engine room and felt the explosions and when I got off watch and went on deck the destroyer came up from astern, between the Ceramic and us, playing "Britain Rules the Waves" over her loud speaker system. Someone on our ship said they had gotten a sub. They may have thought they did, but that doesn't seem to be true according the many books on the subject. Having been built in 1939, our ship was quite fast for those days. The skipper was allowed to run home to NYC alone after discharging our cargo (and much bunker-C fuel oil) at Brocklebank dock on the River Mersey. Our next run was back to Liverpool and we did it alone in the delightful Gulf Stream. After that, loaded with munitions and a deck cargo of aviation fuel in barrels, we took part in Operation Torch, the armada that went to North Africa in November '42. This time we had the USS Arkansas (BB-33) and about a dozen modern destroyers to shepherd our convoy. I spent the remaining war years in the US Navy and calmer waters of the Pacific. I'll be 82 in a few weeks, am feeling fine and, of course, thankful; and thoughtful of friends and sailors who are no longer with us".

In another mail Arthur adds: "Just to correct something that I didn't make clear...we left for North Africa after loading our cargo at Craven's Point, NJ, just across the harbor from the Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York, not England. According to records regarding the USS Arkansas, we left on 3 November, 1942, with convoy UGF-2. Upon arriving off Casablanca the convoy was split and we, and a Robin Lines ship, were dispatched to Safi, a small port 128 miles south of Casablanca. There were problems discharging our cargo in Safi and we were later sent back to Casablanca where we attempted to discharge on to lighters. We never did get completely unloaded and the Commodore ordered us to join the convoy returning to the States, which we did and arrived back in NY in mid-December".

Commodore's Notes:
The convoy had 33 ships on departure, 29 were present at rendezvous with local escort.

Average speed: 9.22 knots.

Station keeping was "very bad first 4-5 days" but improved later. "Some of the American ships were evidently having their first experience of convoy". But he had "No complaints. Consider all ships, some of whom were strangers to convoy were doing their best. Jean Jadot, guide to 6th column kept particularly good station."

The Commodore does not approve of the practice of the ships sounding their whistles in fog, considering it to be dangerous, and recommends that Mersigs article 99 might be ammended so as to discourage this from continuing, though adds that this particular convoy was very good in this respect.

As for signalling, the Commodore says "American ships, especially Carrillo, Gulf of Mexico and Tivives very slow in repeating signals".

Western Escorts: HMS Vanquisher, Caldwell, HMCS Prescott and Camrose
Mid ocean: HMS Burnham, Polyanthus, HMCS Drumheller, Dauphin, Brandon
East ocean: HMS Hurricane, Watchman, Snowflake, Wallflower, Anchusa, Dahlia.

Western Escort joined at 19:05 on Aug. 2 - parted company when mid ocean excort joined at 19:00 Aug. 5 in 48 50 N 50 36W.
Mid ocean escort parted company at 11:00 Aug. 10 in 52 26N 25 50W when East ocean escort joined.

Local Escort: HMS Molle(?) joined off Londonderry.

Catalina was in company for 2 or 3 hours from 15:45 Aug. 7.
Also, a Sunderland was in company from 07:30 Aug. 12 (54 32N 14 18W) - "appeared to be an aircraft in company most of day".

Log is available on Page 2

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