Convoy SC 7 - warsailors.com (original) (raw)

CONVOY SC 7 Departed Sydney, C.B. on Oct. 4 (5?)-1940, arrived rendezvous on Oct. 17, Liverpool on Oct. 21.

Transcribed from several original documents (Advance Sailing Telegram and misc. reports) received from Roger Griffiths - His source: Public Records Office, Kew.
The station numbers and names of escorts have been extracted from documents recived from Don Kindell, based on Arnold Hague's database - see ships in all SC convoys.

Further details have been added with the help of:
"Axis Submarine Successes of World War Two", Jürgen Rohwer
"The Allied Convoy System", Arnold Hague
"The World's Merchant Fleets 1939", R. W. Jordan.

Rowher states in a footnote: "Because of contradictory reports in the archives, it is very difficult to establish with certainty the U-boats responsible for the attacks on SC 7. Our evaluation has been made in concert with the efforts of Mr. Robert Coppock and Vice Admiral Sir Peter Gretton RN and represents the most plausible conclusion using the available documents on both sides."

~~Crossed out~~ ships did not sail, underlined ships returned to port (except those that are linked, which are automatically underlined).

† = dead, s=survived

Ship

Nationality

Cargo

Station

Destination

Remarks

Fate

Thalia

Greek

steel

Garston

Sunk - U-99, Oct. 19
22 † - 4 s
(rescued by Snefjeld)

Convallaria

Swedish

pulpwood

Medway

Sunk - U-46, Oct. 18
0 †

Winona

American

lumber

Glasgow

From SC 6
Returned to Sydney
Listed in SC 8

–

~~Eugena Cambanis~~

Greek

iron ore

–

From SC 6
See also SC 12

–

~~Fanefjeld~~

Norwegian

lumber

–

To SC 8 - did not sail
Listed in SC 9

–

Dioni

Greek

grain

Belfast for Dublin

From SC 6

–

Botusk

British

lumber

Hull

–

Clintonia

pulpwood

Manchester

–

straggled,
damaged - U-99,
sunk - U-123, Oct. 19
1 † - 34 s

Soesterberg

Dutch

pit props

Hull

From HX 77

Sunk - U-101, Oct. 19
6 †

Blairspey

British

lumber

Grangemouth

From HX 77

straggled,
damaged - U-101, Oct. 18
& U-100, Oct. 19

Norwegian

pit props

Mersey

–

lumber

Sharpness

–

~~Vassilios A. Polemis~~

Greek

iron ore

–

From HX 77
Listed in SC 8

–

Languedoc

British 1940
(ex French)

Adm. Tanker B.

Clyde

From HX 77

Sunk - U-48, Oct. 17
0 † - 41 s

Gunborg

Swedish

pulp wood

Medway

–

Sunk - U-46, Oct. 18
0 † - 23 s

Eaglescliffe Hall

British

lumber

Preston

From SC 6

–

Fiscus

steel

Clyde

–

Sunk - U-99, Oct. 18
38 † - 1 s
(rescued by Snefjeld)
Survivor report below

Niritos

Greek

sulphur

Garston

–

Sunk - U-99, Oct. 18
1 † - 27 s

~~Parthenon~~

phosphate

–

Scoresby

British

pit props

Sunderland

–

Sunk - U-48, Oct. 17
0 †

Trevisa

Canadian

lumber

Grangemouth

–

straggled,
Sunk - U-124, Oct. 16

Creekirk

British

iron ore

Cardiff

–

Sunk - U-101, Oct. 18
36 †

Aenos

Greek

grain

Manchester

–

straggled,
Sunk - U-38, Oct. 17

Corinthic

British

steel - scrap iron

Hull

–

Empire Miniver

steel - pig iron

Newport

–

Sunk - U-99, Oct. 18
3 †

~~Newton Ash~~

lumber

–

Listed in SC 8

–

Sedgepool

grain

Manchester

–

Sunk - U-123, Oct. 19
3 † - 36 s

~~Marga~~

Norwegian

wet pulp

–

Listed in SC 8

–

~~Mirupanu~~

British

grain

–

Listed in SC 8

–

Empire Brigade

general - trucks

Tyne

–

Sunk - U-99, Oct. 19
6 †

Norwegian

pit props

Methil / W. Hartlepool

–

~~Tautra~~

–

Listed in SC 8

–

Trident

British

lumber - steel

Barry

–

~~Porjus~~

Swedish

lumber

–

Beatus

British

steel - lumber

Tyne

Sunk - U-46, Oct. 18
0 † - 37 s

Flynderborg

British 1940
(ex Danish)

pulpwood

Medway

–

Carsbreck

British

lumber

Grimsby

–

Damaged - U-38, Oct. 18

Valparaiso

Swedish

general

Glasgow

–

Assyrian

British

Liverpool

–

Commodore vessel
Sunk - U-101, Oct. 19
17 † - 31 s
(2 died in HMS Leith - see report Page 2)

Norwegian

lumber

London

–

Sunk - U-99, Oct. 19
0 †

Tanker B.

Mersey

–

Somersby

British

flour

Leith

–

Boekelo

Dutch

lumber

London

straggled,
damaged - U-100, Oct. 18
Sunk - U-123, Oct. 19
0 † - 25 s

Norwegian

sulphur

Newport

–

Shekatika

British

steel - pit props

W. Hartlepool

Joined at sea
from HX 78

Damaged - U-123 & U-100, Oct. 18
Sunk - U-123, Oct. 19
0 † - 36 s

A. Hague has also included the British Melmore Head in this convoy (station number not given), but note that this ship is listed on the original document for Convoy HX 78. He says Shekatika became a romper on Oct. 19, and adds that the damaged Blairspey arrived Clyde in tow on Oct. 25. Carsbreck also arrived in tow, but date is not given (see also HMS Leith's report). He does not mention that Creekirk was sunk. Again, see Hague's listing for SC 7 in the section naming ships in all SC convoys.

Notes:
Commodore Vice Admiral L.D. I. Mackinnan was in Assyrian.

According to Arnold Hauge's "The Allied Convoy System", Convoy SC 7 had 34 ships. Stragglers are not included in this source, but the following details are given for the other ships that were torpedoed in this convoy:
British Assyrian, general cargo - 17 dead
British Beatus, steel and wood - no casualties
Dutch Boekelo, timber - no casualties (was hit after having stayed behind to rescue survivors from Beatus)
Swedish Convallaria, pulpwood - no casualties
British Creekirk, iron ore - 36 dead
British Empire Brigade, copper and steel - 6 dead
British Empire Miniver, iron and steel - 3 dead
Swedish Gunborg, pulp wood - no casualties
British Languedoc, fuel oil - no casualties
Greek Niritos, sulphur - 1 dead
British Scoresby, pitprops - no casualties
British Sedgepool, wheat - 3 dead
Dutch Soesterberg, pitprops - 6 dead
Greek Thalia, steel, lead and spelter - 22 dead (the 4 survivors rescued by Norwegian Snefjeld).

Please see the external link at the end of this page for more information on the attacks.

Survivor Report - Fiscus
Deposition of Ordinary Seaman Edward Sidney King - Sworn at Cardiff, Nov. 19-1940

This vessel had reached a point about 350 miles West of Eire. Position in Convoy, third ship in column three from port. Other columns having from three to six ships in each. Deponent was lying dozing in his bunk when a violent explosion occurred and ship took a heavy list to starboard. One packing case was lying alongside No. 2 hatch. It was not lashed to the deck. Deponent got on to the packing case, when the sea washed him into No. 2 hold, the hatches of which had been blown off by the explosion. Evidently, the torpedo had struck No. 2 hold, starboard side, blowing off beams and hatch covers. The hold was full of water. Deponent sank and rose to the surfce when he grabbed the rope lashing around the packing case. The case floated away, the fore deck of the ship being by this time under water. The packing case swept clear of the ship and when deponent looked around the ship had disappeared, and the sea was a mass of wreckage. In deponent's opinion vessel sank within a minute of the explosion. After about two hours on the packing case deponent sighted three Indian firemen clinging to the ice box about 20 yards away. He called to them and helped them on to the packing case. They died from exposure the next morning. Deponent did not see any other members of the crew. He remained on the packing case until picked up on 21/10/40 by a lifeboat full of survivors from Norwegian ship Thalia (incorrect - see *). This vessel had been in deponent's convoy and had been sunk about an hour and a half after the Fiscus. The lifeboat was sighted by a flying boat on 24/10/40 and the occupants picked up on the same day by one of H.M.S. (this was HMS Clematis). The boats of the Fiscus were swung out ready for launching. One raft was in the starboard fore rigging and two others aft in main rigging, one on each side. Master had given strict orders on 17/10/40 that every man was to wear his life-saving waistcoat continuously and deponent knows that all deck personnel wore them accordingly.

* Please note that the sole survivor from Fiscus was rescued by the Norwegian Snefjeld - follow the link for an account on the loss of this ship, as well as details on the rescue of the survivor from Fiscus. Snefjeld was torpedoed after having stopped to pick up survivors from Thalia, and had 4 survivors from this ship in the lifeboat - this may have caused Fiscus' survivor to believe he had been rescued by Thalia's lifeboat. D/S Sneland I can also be found on this website, as can all the other Norwegian ships sailing in this convoy.

The convoy arrived rendezvous on Oct. 17.

Escorts: Sloops HMS Scarborough, Leith, Fowey and corvettes HMS Bluebell and Heartsease.

A. Hague names the following escorts (extracted from this list of SC convoy escorts, based on Arnold Hague's database, received from D. Kindell; dates are European style, day/month/year):
Bluebell - From 18/10/40 to 20/10/40
Elk - From 05/10/40 to 07/10/40
Fowey - From 18/10/40 to 20/10/40
Heartsease - From 18/10/40 to 21/10/40
Leith - From 18/10/40 to 21/10/40
Scarborough - From 05/10/40 to 21/10/40

HMS Leith's report is available on Page 2

Related external link:
Convoy SC 7 - Uboat.net's account on the battle. Note that info for each ship lost or damaged in this convoy can be found by entering the names in the Allied ships hit by U-boats search section.

Back to Convoy Index

To the next SC convoy in my list SC 8