Convoy HX 253 - warsailors.com (original) (raw)

CONVOY HX 253 Departed New York on Aug. 20-1943 and arrived Liverpool on Sept. 4.
Arnold Hague's "The Allied Convoy System" gives 50 ships in this convoy.

Transcribed from several documents received from Roger Griffiths - His source: Public Records Office, Kew.

~~Crossed out~~ ships did not sail, underlined ships returned to port.

As can be seen from the station numbers, the convoy had 6 rows and 12 columns.

For info, some of the ships in this convoy later returned to the U.S. with Convoy ON 202 / ONS 18 on Sept. 15.

Ship

Nationality

Cargo

Station

Destination

Remarks

Port Darwin

British

frozen - general - zinc

Avonmouth

Vice Commodore

~~Fresno Star~~

frozen - general

–

Mersey f. o.

Umtali

lead - frozen meat

102

Swansea

–

Ruahine

frozen meat

Glasgow

Commodore

Umgeni

frozen meat

Cardiff

–

Scottish Heather

Tanker B

Londonderry

–

~~Eros~~

refrig.

–

Mersey f. o.

–

Raby Castle

general

Liverpool

–

~~Empire Heritage~~

Tanker B

–

Swansea

Sailed in HX 254

Drupa

Tanker W

104

Stanlow / London

–

Empire Manor

refrig. - general

101

Manchester

–

~~Empire Benefit~~

Tanker W

–

Milford Haven f. o.

Sailed in HX 254

British Destiny

Tanker W

Stanlow

–

British Promise

Tanker W

Avonmouth

–

British Power

Tanker W

Bromborough / Manchester

–

~~HMS Emperor~~

planes

–

Velma

Norwegian

Tanker B

Invergordon

–

Morgenen

Tanker B

Birkenhead

Gallia

Tanker W

113

Avonmouth

–

~~Carlier~~

Belgian

general

–

Liverpool

Sailed in slow convoy SC 141
Sept. 3

~~Villanger~~

Norwegian

general

–

Liverpool

Sailed in HX 254

Lista

general

114

Liverpool

–

Elisabeth Bakke

general

Glasgow

–

Curacao

Dutch

general

Cardiff

–

Lechistan

Polish

general

Liverpool

–

~~Sälen~~

Swedish

general

–

Glasgow

~~Washington Express~~

Norwegian

general

–

Liverpool

–

James A. Farrell

American

general

London

–

Robert Eden

general

Manchester

–

William N. Pendleton

general

121

London

–

Hegira

general

Mersey f. o.

From HX 252
Returned to port (Halifax)
Listed in slow convoy SC 141
Sept. 3

Eugene Field

general

Liverpool

–

F. T. Frelinghuysen

general

Barry Dock

From HX 252

~~Alcoa Trader~~

general

–

Mersey f. o.

Sailed in HX 254

John Catron

general

122

Liverpool

James Smith

general

Liverpool

–

Peter Donahue

sugar

111

Mersey f. o.

To St. John's - See Notes

John Philip Sousa

general

London

–

~~Charles W. Eliot~~

general

–

London

Sailed in HX 254

~~Bernard N. Baker~~

general

–

Mersey f. o.

Sailed in HX 254

~~Georgian~~

general

–

Loch Ewe f. o.

Sailed in HX 254

~~Anthony Wayne~~

general

–

Cardiff

Sailed in HX 254

~~F. J. Luckenbach~~

general

–

London

Sailed in HX 254

~~Chagres~~

Panamanian

general

–

Mersey f. o.

Sailed in slow convoy SC 141
Sept. 3

Frederick Douglass

American

general

124

Avonmouth

–

~~Roger Williams~~

general

–

Mersey f. o.

Sailed in HX 254

~~George F. Patten~~

general

–

Mersey f. o.

Alcoa Leader

general

Newport

~~Theodore Foster~~

general

–

Mersey f. o.

Sailed in HX 254

~~Laura Keene~~

general

–

Mersey f. o.

Sailed in HX 254

Esso Montpelier

Tanker W

112

Belfast / Southend

–

Gulfpoint

Tanker B

103

Scapa

–

Sinclair Opaline

Tanker W

Mersey

–

Sunetta

Dutch

Tanker W

Bowling

From HX 252

Jim Bridger

American

general

Newport

From HX 252

~~Tropic Star~~

Norwegian

general

–

Barry Roads

Sailed in slow convoy SC 141
Sept. 3

Nathaniel Bacon

American

general

Cardiff

~~Franz Klasen~~

Panamanian

Tanker W

–

Avonmouth

Sailed in HX 254

Naranio

British?

Tanker W

Stanlow

–

Akaroa*

frozen meat

Liverpool

–

* Please see the end of this page for an E-mail from George Reed, who served on Akaroa.

Joining from Halifax - Sailed Aug. 22 joined at 11:00 Aug. 23 in 43 15N 59 20W

~~Tungsha~~

Norwegian

general

–

Avonmouth

From HX 252
Sailed in HX 254

Elm Park

British

general

Glasgow

Corrales

metal - meat - mail

Liverpool

–

~~Robert Lowry~~

American

general

–

London

From HX 249
Sailed in HX 254

Riverview Park

British

general

Liverpool

–

~~Alabaman~~

American

general

–

Mersey f. o.

~~Chester O. Swain~~

Tanker B

–

Clyde

Listed in SC 140

Cavina

British

general

Liverpool

–

Fort Rouille

grain

Hull

–

Flomar

American

general

London

–

George Poindexter

general

115

Mersey

Returned to port (St. John's)
See Notes
Sailed in HX 254

Gyda

British

general

Manchester

–

Ionion

Greek

steel - lumber

Manchester

–

John Langdon

American

general

Immingham

–

Nelson Dingley

general

105

Mersey f. o.

Returned to port (St. John's)
See Notes
To HX 255 - did not sail

Empire Tristram

British

grain - timber

Newcastle

From SC 140
(Sydney, C.B. portion)

Kafiristan

flour

Clyde

From SC 140
(Sydney, C.B. portion)

Fort Souris

grain

Manchester

From SC 140
(Sydney, C.B. portion)

Tweedsmuir Park

general

125

Hull

From SC 140
(Sydney, C.B. portion)

Bury

British

Rescue Vessel

Clyde

See Notes

Robert Fulton

American

general

London

From HX 252
Joined from Wabana

Additionally, the Commodore mentions 2 ships that are not listed in the Advance Sailing Telegram (from which the information in this table is taken), nameley the British Fort Amherst (station 24) and the Norwegian Bañaderos. These ships parted company for St. John's at 15:30 on Aug. 25 in 46 18N 49 22W - I'm not sure where they had originated.

Notes:
Commodore, Rear Admiral C. N. Reyne was in Ruahine, Vice Commodore was the captain of Port Darwin. (The Commodore says his ship was not suitable as Commodore's vessel "except in hot weather. Very exposed bridge and unheated accomodation").

The convoy had 55 ships.
Averag speed: 9.5 knots.

Daily positions of this convoy are available on request via contact address provided at the end of this page. Note that Mike Holdoway has plotted its course, his chart can be reached through this page of his website (external link).

The Rescue Vessel Bury was on her 10th voyage as such, having started this voyage from Clyde on July 16-1943 with the westbound Convoy ON 193 to Halifax (July 28), then sailed with HX 252 from Halifax Aug. 16, but broke off her voyage in order to go to St. John's with injured survivors from HX 252 - follow link for details. According to the Commodore's notes she joined HX 253 at 15:30 Aug. 25 in 46 18N 49 22W, Robert Fulton joining at the same time.

Hegira parted company with engine defects.
Nelson Dingley and Peter Donahue parted company for St. John's due to effects of collision. It seems odd that these 2 ships could have collided with each other, as Nelson Dingley was in station 105, the last ship in column 10, and Peter Donahue is listed in station 111, the first ship in column 11 - perhaps they each collided with another ship? George Poindexter, for instance, was in station 115, right next to Nelson Dingley.
George Poindexter parted company for St. John's owing to boiler defects.

William Pendleton, John Langdon, John Catron, Tweedsmuir Park, Gyda and Fort Rouille straggled in a gale on Aug. 31.

Escorts (handwriting difficult to decipher):
HMS Toray? (S.O.), Keppel, Orchis, Lobelia, Narcissus, and an F.F. ship, looks like Remnante or similar.
Ocean Escort met at 15:30 on Aug. 25 in 46 18N 49 22W.

Note that all the Norwegian ships sailing in this convoy are discussed on this website. More info on them can be found via the alphabet index at the end of this page, or go to the Master Ship Index.

Related external links:
Liberty Ships - Most of the ships listed as American in the table above were Liberty Ships. This website lists them alphabetically. As will be seen, quite a few of the Liberty Ships in this convoy had just recently been delivered.
This site has more on the the "Fort" and "Park" ships (again, some had just been delivered).
Empire Ships listed in alphabetical order. The site also has a section listing the Liberty ships.

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