Convoy HX 229 A - warsailors.com (original) (raw)
CONVOY HX 229 A
Departed New York City on March 9-1943 and arrived Liverpool on the 26th.
Arnold Hague's "The Allied Convoy System" gives 34 ships in this convoy.
Source: "The Critical Convoy Battles of March 1943" by Jürgen Rohwer, with written permission from the author.
Info has been supplemented by details found in:
"The World's Merchant Fleets", R. W. Jordan.
"Convoy - The Greatest U-Boat Battle of the War", by Martin Middlebrook
The stations shown for the New York section below are stations at time of departure New York - numbers in parenthesis show stations after meeting Ocean Escort vessels on March 15 (combinded convoy). Where there's only one number, stations remained the same after juncture.
Note that some ships only went as far as Halifax or St. John's. (This convoy was not attacked).
Underlined ships returned to port.
(See also westbound Convoys ON 166 and ON 181).
Ship
Nationality
Cargo
Station
Destination
Remarks
Fort Amherst
British
?
11
Halifax
See * below
Esso Baltimore
American
fuel oil
12
Halifax
See * below
Regina
Dutch
13
Loch Ewe
–
Shickshinny
American
military stores
–
Iceland? Grangemouth?
Lost contact in fog (off Sable Isle) March 12
Returned to port (Halifax)
Fort Drew
British
timber
21
Loch Ewe
straggled?
Iris
Norwegian(?)
–
22
Halifax
See also * below
Tonnage given (1479 gt) and year built (1940) does not fit the Norw. Iris - however, see this document showing her voyages in this period.
Esso Belgium
Panamanian
fuel oil
23
Halifax
See * below
Pierre Soule
American
general
–
Swansea
Lost contact in fog (off Sable Isle) March 12
Returned to port (Halifax, or St. John's?)
Fairfax
"
–
32
St. John's
–
Michigan
"
general
33
–
Returned to port (St. John's)
Pan Florida
"
Navy fuel
41
Loch Ewe
–
Daphnella
British
aviation fuel
42
Belfast
North King
Panamanian
military stores
43
Iceland
Returned to port (St. John's)
Tortuguero
British
general
44
Belfast
(M. Middlebrook lists this ship in the Halifax section)
Esperance Bay
"
meat - general
51
Liverpool
Commodore vessel
Orville Harden
Panamanian
crude oil
52
Clyde
Empire Airman
Belgian
aviation fuel
53
Iceland? Mersey?
From HX 228
(Also shows up in Halifax portion below)
Lone Star
American
general - explosives
54
–
(Listed as sailing from St. John's by M. Middlebrook)
Damaged by ice - detached to Iceland
Pan Maine
"
fuel oil
61
Mersey
–
Esso Baytown
"
Navy fuel
62
Belfast
–
Clausina
British
aviation fuel
63
Belfast
–
Port Melbourne
"
meat - general
64
Clyde
From HX 228
(M. Middlebrook lists this ship in the Halifax section)
Socony Vacuum
American
diesel oil
71
Manchester
–
Empire Nugget
British
aviation fuel
72
Belfast
–
Svend Foyn
"
fuel oil
81
–
From HX 228
Vice Commodore vessel
Damaged by iceberg - sank March 19
See ** in notes
Henry S. Grove
American
refrig. - general
82 (83)
Mersey
–
John Fiske
"
steel - general
91
Manchester
–
Tactician
British
general
92 (93)
Clyde
–
Martin Middlebrook also lists the following as sailing from New York (not mentioned in J. Rohwer's book)
Franz Klasen
Panamanian
aviation fuel
–
–
straggled to Halifax
Southern Sun
Amerian
fuel oil
–
–
From HX 228
Returned to New York
Sunoil
"
Navy diesel
–
–
fell out with engine trouble
Joining from Halifax March 12 stations shown are stations in combined convoy
Belgian Airman
Belgian
steel - timber
11
Reykjavik
From HX 228
Damaged by ice - detached to Iceland
Ganymedes
Dutch
sugar
12
Loch Ewe
From HX 228
Alcedo
Panamanian
?
14
Reykjavik
Lady Rodney
British
?
22
St. John's
–
Taybank
"
grain
22
Mersey
From HX 228
Bothnia
"
nuts
23
Loch Ewe
From HX 228
Manchester Trader
"
general
24
Manchester
–
Akaroa
"
meat - general
31
Belfast
Tudor Star
"
meat - general
32
Manchester
From HX 228
Fresno Star
"
meat
34
Belfast
From HX 228
Rosemont
Panamanian
steel - general
73
Mersey
From HX 228
Arabian Prince
British
sugar - general
74
Mersey
From HX 228
City of Oran
"
general
82
Clyde
From HX 228
Lossiebank
"
wheat - ore
84
Mersey
From HX 228
Tahsinia
"
sugar - ore
92
Mersey
From HX 228
Norwegian
"
general
94
Clyde
From HX 228
Martin Middlebrook also lists the following as sailing from Halifax (not mentioned in J. Rohwer's book)
Ribera
British
flour
–
?
arrived destination
Notes:
Commodore D.A. Casey R.N.R. was in Esperance Bay, Vice Commodore in Svend Foyn.
* The ships destined for Halifax (Esso Baltimore, Esso Belgium, Fort Amherst and Iris) left the convoy on March 12, accompanied by the Canadian corvettes Snowberry and Barrie, and minesweepers Gananoque and Digby.
** Arnold Hague says that 187 died when Svend Foyn was lost - not sure if this is correct(?). J. Rohwer indicates her crew and passengers (195) were rescued. However, the Stavern Memorial for Seamen lists 8 Norwegian casualties from this ship (external link). See also the external link about the Coast Guard cutter Algonquin at the end of this text.
Local (North) Escort Vessels (Halifax section): Destroyer HMCS St. Clair, corvettes HMCS The Pas and Kamsack, and minesweeper HMCS Blairmore.
Local (South) Escort Vessels: Destroyer USS Cowie, corvette HMCS Snowberry, minesweepers HMCS Noranda, HMCS Digby.
Ocean Escort (sailed from St. John's on March 14): HMS Aberdeen, HMS Lulworth, HMS Landguard, HMS Moyola, HMS Waveney, HMS Hastings.
From March 21: U.S Coast Guard cutter Geo. M. Bibb.
(The above is according to Jürgen Rohwer. Martin Middlesbrooks divides the local escorts as follows:
New York to Halifax: USS Cowie, HMCS Barrie, HMCS Kamsack, HMCS Snowberry, HMCS Digby, HMCS Gananoque, HMCS Noranda
Halifax to St. John's: St. Clair, The Pas and Blairmore).
Related external link:
Algonquin - WPG 75 - This vessel picked up several survivors from Svend Foyn, scroll down for an account of the rescue.
Will be added: HX 230, HX 231 & HX 232
To the next available HX convoy in my list HX 233