Convoy KMS 21 - warsailors.com (original) (raw)
CONVOY KMS 21
| Convoy KMS 21 Cruising Order Left Liverpool as Convoy OS 52 / KMS 21 on July 19-1943, split up July 28. The Gibraltar ships arrived there on July 29, convoy continued same day and arrived Port Said Aug. 9 (OS convoy arrived Freetown on Aug. 7). (Arnold Hague gives 66 ships in the combined convoy, 42 in the KMS convoy). | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The A 1 form was received from Robert Martin - His source: Public Records Office, Kew. Robert's information has been compared to (and on the whole agrees with) a list of ships received from Don Kindell, based on Arnold Hague's own research. (Don's work, which covers "Royal & other Navies Day-by-Day in World War 2" can be viewed at this website). Note that this is KMS 21 only. This form appears to show the formation as per July 28-1943, when OS 52 / KMS 21 split up. See also this external site for a list of ships in the combined convoy. For info, a few of the ships in this convoy show up in some SC convoys from the same time period (for instance SC 133 and onwards). See also MKS 15, MKS 21 and MKS 22. Br=British, Norw=Norwegian, Du=Dutch, Po=Polish, Am=American. As will be seen from the next table on this page, several of these ships continued to other ports on July 29. | |||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| 11 | 21 Temple Arch (Br) | 31 Lwow (Po) | 41 Fort Brule (Br) | 51 Avristan (Br) | 61 | 71 Fort Enterprise (Br) | 81 City of Lyons (Br) |
| 12 Ottinge (Br) | 22 Empire Kingsley (Br) | 32 | 42 Empire Carpenter (Br) | 52 Parklaan (Du) | 62 Forresbank (Br) | 72 Fort Wrigley (Br) | 82 Masirah (Br) |
| 13 Glaisdale (Br) | 23 Kofresi (Am) | 33 Empire Heath (Br) | 43 Spero (Br) | 53 Empire Glen (Br) | 63 Fort Longueuil (Br) | 73 Ocean Vigour (Br) | 83 Pegu (Br) |
| 14 Grodno (Br) | 24 Nurjehan (Br) | 34 Empire Celia (Br) | 44 Fort Buffalo (Br) | 54 Nurani (Br) | 64 Magician (Br) | 74 Mandalay (Br) | 84 Empire Mountain (Br) |
| 15 | 25 Kana (Br) | 35 Recorder (Br) | 45 Levernbank (Br) | 55 Empire Voice (Br) | 65 | 75 Finland (Br) | 85 Hughli (Br) |
| 16 Spurt (Norw) | 26 Baron Haig (Br) | 36 Hallfried (Norw) | 46 | 56 Borgholm (Norw) | 66 Clan Macbrayne (Br) | 76 | 86 |
| 17 | 27 | 37 Empire Highway (Br) | 47 | 57 | 67 | 77 | 87 |
| The Norwegian Spurt and Borgholm, and the British Baron Haig and Empire Highway are not included in A. Hague's list of ships for this portion. However, he has 2 ships that are not listed on this A 1 form, namely the British Contractor and Highwear. (Note that Highwear shows up in the A 1 form for Convoy KMS 22).Commodore W. C. Meek, R.N.R. was in Avristan (Gibraltar), Vice Commodore was the captain of Empire Heath (Algiers). Escorts: July 28-July 29: Isis, Jonquil, Shippigan, Tadoussac. July 28-July 30: Bryoni. |
| This appears to be the portion mentioned above as leaving Gibraltar on July 29-1943, arriving Port Said on Aug. 9. Transcribed from the document received from Don Kindell; his source: Arnold Hague's own research. (Automatically assuming that his info is correct, I have not checked the spelling and nationalities of these ships, like I usually do). Some of these ships came from Convoy UGS 12, which had left Hampton Roads on July 12-1943, the ships joining up with KMS 21 on July 29. As can be seen from the first table above, some of them had been present with KMS 21 from the U.K., July 19. | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ship | Nationality | Destination |
| A lexander H. Stephens | American | Port Said |
| Alexander Hamilton | " | Port Said |
| Alexander White | " | Algiers |
| Andrew Hamilton | " | – |
| Argon | " | Oran to Bizerta |
| Brockholst Livingston | " | Port Said |
| Cape Howe | British | – |
| Cerion | " | Tunis to Alexandria |
| Charles Bulfinch | American | Port Said |
| Chateau Pavie | British | Oran |
| City of Kimberley | " | Port Said |
| Clan Macbrayne | " | Port Said |
| Daniel H. Lownsdale | American | Bizerta |
| Daniel Huger | " | Algiers |
| David G. Farragut | " | Bizerta |
| Derwentdale | British | – |
| E . Kirby Smith | American | Port Said |
| E dward Bates | " | Bone |
| Edward L. Grant | " | Port Said |
| Edwin Booth | " | Port Said |
| Empire Adur | British | Tripoli to Alexandria |
| Empire Candida | " | Algiers to Bizerta |
| Empire Carpenter | " | Algiers |
| Empire Celia | " | Malta |
| Empire Commerce | " | Algiers to Philippeville |
| Empire Falcon | " | Tripoli to Port Said |
| Empire Glen | " | Algiers |
| Empire Heath | " | Algiers |
| Empire Kingsley | " | Bone |
| Empire Mountain | " | Port Said |
| Empire Voice | " | Alexandria |
| Ensis | " | Tripoli to Alexandria |
| Ezra Cornell | American | Bizerta |
| Formalhaut | French | Algiers |
| Fort Brule | British | Philippeville |
| Fort Buffalo | " | Bone |
| Fort Enterprise | " | Port Said |
| Fort Longueuil | " | Alexandria |
| Fort Nipigon | " | Tunis |
| Fort Wrigley | " | Port Said |
| Gallium | French | Algiers to Bone |
| George Vancouver | American | Algiers |
| George Walton | " | Algiers to Bone |
| Glenogle | British | Port Said |
| Haym Salomon | American | Oran |
| Henry Middleton | " | Algiers |
| Henry St G. Tucker | " | Port Said |
| Henry W. Longfellow | " | Bizerta |
| HMS Aracari | " (water boat) | Algiers |
| HMS Moorfly | British | Algiers |
| HMS Slebech | " (water boat) | Algiers |
| Houston Volunteers | American | Bizerta |
| Hughli | British | Port Said |
| Isaac Coles | American | Algiers |
| James Fenimore Cooper | " | Port Said |
| James Monroe | " | Algiers |
| Jason Lee | " | Port Said |
| Joel Chandler Harris | " | Bizerta |
| John A. Donald | " | Port Said |
| John Bakke | Norwegian | Not given, but she was bound for Port Said (see John Bakke) |
| Joseph Le Conte | American | Port said |
| Kofresi | " | Bone |
| Levernbank | British | Port Said |
| Lou Gehrig | American | Algiers |
| Lucretia Mott | " | Algiers |
| Magician | British | Alexandria |
| Mandalay | " | Port Said |
| Masirah | " | Port Said |
| Miriam | " | Algiers |
| Morrison R. Waite | American | Port Said |
| Nassa | British | Bizerta |
| Nathaniel Alexander | American | Port Said |
| Norbryn | Norwegian | Port Said |
| Nurani | British | Alexandria |
| Ocean Vigour | " | Algiers |
| Ocean Volga | " | Bougie to Bone |
| Oliver Wolcott | American | Port Said |
| Parklaan | Dutch | Algiers |
| Pegu | British | Port Said |
| Peter J. McGuire | American | Algiers |
| Prince de Liege | Belgian | Bizerta to Alexandria |
| Queen Adelaide | British | Bougie to Bone |
| Recorder | " | Port Said |
| Robert J. Collier | American | Port Said |
| Robt M Lafollette | " | Algiers |
| Solør | Norwegian | Bizerta |
| Spero | British | Algiers |
| Starstone | " | Alexandria |
| Temple Arch | " | Algiers |
| Theodore Sedgwick | American | Port Said |
| Thomas J. Jarvis | " | Port Said |
| Torfinn Jarl | Norwegian | Bougie |
| Vermeer | Dutch | Alexandria |
| Wearfield | British | Bizerta |
| William D. Moseley | American | Bizerta |
| William H. Seward | " | Algiers |
| William H. Webb | " | Algiers |
| William M. Stewart | " | Bizerta |
| Yankee Arrow | " | Algiers - Bone See * below |
| * Yankee Arrow struck a mine, on fire and back broken - total loss. According to this external site this happened at Bizerta on Aug. 3-1943, and she was later salvaged, while this site claims she was in Convoy KMS 20 at the time, adding that she made it to port under her own power, but was unfit for further service - 7 killed. Escorts: July 29-Aug. 7: Bluebell, Brecon, Hambledon, Mendip July 30-Aug. 2: Velox July 30-Aug. 5: Active July 30-Aug. 7: Blencathra Aug. 7-Aug. 9: Bergamot, Bryony, Cleveland, Exmoor, Krakowiak, La Malouine, Slazak |
| Aa–Al | An–Ar | As–Av | Ba | Be | Bi–Bl | Bo | Br–Bu | C | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E | F | G | Ha | He | Hi–Hy | Hø | I | J | K |
| L | M | N | O | PQ | R | Sa–Sc | Se–Sj | Sk–Sn | So |
| Sp–St | Su–Sø | Ta–Te | Th–Ti | To | Tr–Tø | U | V | W | Ø |
