Convoy HX 279 - warsailors.com (original) (raw)
CONVOY HX 279
Departed New York on Febr. 12-1944 and arrived Mersey on the 27th.
Arnold Hague's "The Allied Convoy System" gives departure date as Febr. 13, arrival Liverpool on the 29th - 59 ships.
Transcribed from several documents received from Roger Griffiths - His source: Public Records Office, Kew.
The ships are listed in the order in which they appear on the various documents.Crossed out ships did not sail, underlined ships returned to port.
A 1 form is not available and, therefore, the station numbers are not known.
For info, some of this ships in this convoy later joined JW 58 to Murmansk, returned with RA 59
(see also JW 59, as well as RA 59A on the Arctic Convoys page).
Ship
Nationality
Cargo
Destination
Remarks
F. J. Wolfe
British
Tanker B
Swansea
From HX 278
Put back to Halifax
Sailed in HX 280
Jamaica Planter
"
refrig.
Avonmouth
Commodore Vessel
Comanchee
"
Tanker B
Mersey / Manchester
–
Roxane
French
Tanker B
Londonderry
–
Lacklan
British
Tanker B
Clyde
–
Lucellum
"
Tanker B
Heysham
–
Fort Wrigley
"
general
Liverpool / Swansea
–
Fort Biloxy
"
lumber - phosphates
Mersey
Arrived Halfiax Febr. 17
(Shows up again in HX 284)
Novelist
"
sugar - general
Greenock
–
Athelregent
"
Tanker (molasses)
Greenock
–
Buenos Aires
Norwegian
general
Liverpool
See Notes
Axel Johnson
Swedish
general
Liverpool
–
Laurits Swenson
Norwegian
general
Liverpool
–
Ivaran
"
general
Liverpool
–
Herbrand
"
Tanker B
Milford Haven / Devonport
Somerville
"
general
Liverpool
–
John F. Myers
American
general
Glasgow / Milford Haven f.o.
–
Ben Robertson
"
general
Manchester
–
David B. Johnson
"
general
Milford Haven / Southampton
–
Royal S. Copeland
"
general
Mersey f. o.
Jamaique
French
general
Liverpool
–
Anniston City
American
general
Hull
–
John Barton Payne
"
general
Belfast
–
James Bowie
"
general
Newport
–
John Laurance
"
general
Avonmouth
–
Winfield Scott
"
general
Mersey f. o.
Sailed in HX 280
Ralph Izard
"
general
Cardiff
–
Charles Robinson
"
general
Manchester
–
Walt Whitman
"
general
Milford Haven / Southampton
–
George Rogers Clark
"
general
Avonmouth
–
Elijah White
"
general
Manchester
–
Edwin W. Moore
"
general
Newport
–
Aldebaran
"
general
Barry Dock
–
James Caldwell
"
general
Swansea
–
Laura Keene
"
general
Liverpool
–
Steel Ranger
"
general
Hull
–
Hall J. Kelley
"
general
Mersey f. o.
Sailed in HX 280
William C. Endicott
"
general
Milford Haven / Plymouth
–
Moses Cleaveland
"
general
Barry Dock
Returned to New York
(shows up again in HX 282)
Thomas Bailey Aldrich
"
general
Mersey f. o.
Sailed in HX 280
Anthony Wayne
"
general
Mersey f. o.
From HX 278
Sailed in HX 280
Augustus S. Merrimon
"
general
Liverpool
–
Samuel Blatchford
"
general
Liverpool
–
Salmon P. Chase
"
general
Newport
–
Vacport
British
Tanker W
Clyde / Humber / Saltend
From HX 278
British Confidence
"
Tanker B
London (Thameshaven)
–
Saint Bertrand
"
lumber - general
London
–
Emma Bakke
Norwegian
general
Liverpool
Vice Commodore
John McDonogh
American
general
Clyde for N. Russia
–
Michael Pupin
"
general
London
According to a note for Convoy HX 280, it looks like the British Cairnesk (from Convoy HX 278) was also scheduled for HX 279, but did not sail.
Joining from Halifax - Sailed Febr. 14
Moveria
British
general - meat
Cardiff
–
Tungsha
Norwegian
general - mail
Liverpool
Empire Bittern
British
general
London
–
Empire MacCallum
"
grain
Liverpool
–
Samuel Nelson
American
grain - general
London
From HX 278
Sailed in HX 280
Delilian
British
general
Liverpool
High Park
"
grain - flour
Avonmouth
–
John McLoughlin
American
grain - general
Tyne
–
Joseph R. Lamur
"
grain - general
Glasgow
–
Matthew J. O'Brien
"
steel - general
Liverpool
–
Mary Lyon
"
general
London
–
Susan Colby
"
general
Glasgow
Returned to Halifax
Sailed in HX 280
City of Omaha
"
general
Liverpool
From SC 153
Additionally, Rescue Vessel Pinto (not listed in Advance Sailing Telegram) - see Notes below.
Notes:
Commodore, Captain A. J. Baxter, R.N.R. was in Jamaica Planter, Vice Commodore in Emma Bakke.
According to Arnold Hague, the Norwegian Buenos Aires detached from this convoy at some point and joined up with the slow Convoy SC 153. See my page about Buenos Aires.
Arnold Hague's "Convoy Rescue Ships 1940-1945" states that the Rescue Vessel Pinto also joined this convoy from Halifax. She was on her 2nd voyage as such, having started this voyage from Clyde with the westbound Convoy ON 221on Jan. 24-1944, to Halifax Febr. 8 - returning with HX 279 from Halifax on Febr. 14, to Clyde Febr. 29.
Commodore's notes are not available - escorts not known.
Note that all the Norwegian ships in this convoy are discussed on this website - use alphabet index below to find them.
Related external links:
Liberty Ships - The vast majority of the ships listed as American in the table above were Liberty ships. This website lists them alphabetically. (The Advance Sailing Telegrams do not always spell the ships correctly, and I always check the spelling of each and every Liberty Ship against what is found on this site before I upload a convoy).
This site has info on the "Fort" ships, as well as the "Park" and "Ocean" vessels.
Empire Ships
To the next HX convoy in my list HX 280