Convoy SC 77 - warsailors.com (original) (raw)

CONVOY SC 77 Advance Sailing Telegram & Cruising OrderDeparted Halifax on March 30-1942 and arrived Liverpool on Apr. 16
(Arnold Hague's "The Allied Convoy System" says 51 ships).

Advance Sailing Telegram

Transcribed from original documents received from Tony Cooper, England (Advance Sailing Telegram) - His source: Public Records Office, Kew.
Station numbers and names of escorts have been extracted from documents recived from Don Kindell, based on the late Arnold Hague's database - see his listing for SC 77 at ships in all SC convoys.

Further details have been added with the help of:
"Lloyd's War Losses", Vol I.
"Convoys to Russia 1941-1945", Bob Ruegg & Arnold Hague.

~~Crossed out~~ ships did not sail, underlined returned to port, except those that are linked, which will automatically be underlined. The Norwegian Solstad, however, did return.

MoWT = Ministry of War Transport

Ship

Nationality

Cargo

Station

Destination

Remarks

Agios Georgios

Greek

grain

Immingham

Norwegian

phosphates

Tyne

Chagres

Panamanian

general - mail 4958

Mersey

~~Scottish Heather~~

British

Adm. tanker B

–

Hvalfjord

From SC 76
(does not show up again on this site until SC 98)

El Oriente

Panamanian

general

Archangel

Not listed in any convoy to Russia
in this period

Alcoa Cadet

American

general

Archangel

From SC 76
(Joined Convoy PQ 15,
hit mine June 21
006° Mishuka Pt., 8 cables,
broke in 2 & sank)
See also Notes

Oneida

general

Iceland

–

Zebulon B. Vance

general

Archangel

From HX 181
(Joined Convoy PQ 15)
See also Notes

Emmy

Greek

grain

Methil d. g. / London

Norwegian

Adm. tanker B - 2 passengers
(FFO)

Hvalfjord

From SC 76
(See also RU 21)

Carlton

American

general

Archangel

From SC 76
(Joined Convoy PQ 16,
damaged by aircraft,
towed to Iceland.
Joined PQ 17- sunk)
See also Notes

Mormacsul

general

Archangel

From HX 181
(Joined Convoy PQ 16 - sunk)
See also Notes

Lifland

Danish / MoWT 1940

grain

Newcastle

From SC 76

Hainaut

Belgian

general

Milford Haven f. o. (Southampton)

From SC 76

Lucijana

Yugoslavian

wheat

London

From SC 76

H. M. Flagler

Panamanian

Tanker B
(fuel oil)

Lamlash / Ardrossan

From SC 76

Winsum

Dutch

sugar - 2 passengers

Greenock

From SC 76

Norwegian

phosphates

Aberdeen

–

~~Badjestan~~

British

general

–

Liverpool

From SC 76
Listed in SC 78

Mattole

American

Gov. stores

Iceland

–

Mormacrey

general

Archangel

(Joined Convoy PQ 15)
See also Notes

British Honour

British

Tanker B - mail 13
(dieso)

Dingle

Zypenberg

Dutch

general

101

Newport

From SC 76

Texas

American

general

Archangel

(Joined Convoy PQ 15)
See also Notes

Norwegian

sulphur

Ardrossan

From SC 76

Empire Cougar

British

steel - general

Manchester

From SC 76

Spokane

Panamanian

general

104

Liverpool

From SC 76

Norwegian

Tanker B
(lub. oil)

Loch Ewe f. o.

From SC 76
Returned to Halifax w/leaking main eng.
Listed in SC 79

Dramatist

British

general - 1 passenger - mail 73

Liverpool

From SC 76

Bayou Chico

American

general

Archangel

From HX 181
(Joined Convoy PQ 15)
See also Notes

Uskside

British

flour

Leith

–

Alresford

phosphates

Belfast d. g. / Garston

–

Timok

Yugoslavian

grain

Ipswich

–

Norwegian

flour

102

Bristol

–

Empire Ptarmigan

British

general

Glasgow

Gloucester City

general

Newport

–

Alcoa Banner

American

general

Archangel

(Joined Convoy PQ 16)
See also Notes

~~Dean Emery~~

Panamanian

Tanker B

–

Clyde

Alamar

American

general

Archangel

(Joined Convoy PQ 16 - sunk)
See also Notes

Norwegian

general

103

Manchester

–

Suecia

Swedish

general - 12 passengers

Liverpool

–

Alamo

American

Army stores

Iceland

–

Capira

Panamanian

general

Archangel

(Joined Convoy PQ 15)
See also Notes

~~Sonja Mærsk~~

Danish / MoWT 1940

flour

–

London

~~Empire Johnson~~

British

general - 12 passengers

–

Liverpool

Fort Binger

French

general - mail 1409

Liverpool

–

Topa Topa

American

general

Archangel

(Joined Convoy PQ 15)
See also Notes

Empire Antelope

British

steel - general

Garston

–

Norwegian

general

Liverpool

–

Lornaston

British

grain

105

London

–

~~Ville d'Anvers~~

Belgian

general

–

Archangel

Listed in SC 79
(Not listed in any convoy to Russia
in this period)

~~Widestone~~

British

phosphates

–

Loch Ewe f. o.

To SC 78 - did not sail
Listed in SC 80

~~Havsten~~

Norwegian

Adm. tanker B

–

Hvalfjord

Listed in SC 79
(See also * below)

North Devon

British

grain

Tyne

Pegasus

American

general

Reykjavik

–

Norwegian

none given

Clyde

–

sugar

Milford Haven f. o. (Southampton)

–

Empire Franklin

British

wheat

–

Manchester

Joined from Wabana
(See also SC 63)

Nadin

Greek

steel - pulp

–

Swansea (Southampton)

From Wabana

Sydland

Swedish

general

–

Hull

From Wabana
See also SC 63

* Havsten had arrived Halifax on March 28 with survivors from D/S Thursobank, whom she had rescued on March 25-1942. My page about Havsten has more.

Notes:
Commodore was in Dramatist, Vice Commodore in Mattole and Rear Commodore in Gloucester City.
Loch Ewe Commodore was in Uskside, Clyde Commodore in Empire Ptarmigan.

* For info, "Convoys to Russia" by Arnold Hague and Bob Ruegg lists these ships as sailing in Convoy PQ 15 which assembled at Oban and sailed for Reykjavik on Apr. 10-1942. They had probably left SC 77 en route and proceeded to Reykjavik. PQ 15 departed from there on Apr. 26, arriving Murmansk on May 5.
** These ships are listed in PQ 16, which left Reykjavik on May 21-1942, the Archangel section arriving there on June 1, while the Murmansk bound ships arrived on May 30.
Some of these ships (a few had been sunk) later returned with Convoy QP 12, sailing from Kola on May 21, others with QP 13, which left Archangel on June 26.
Some of the above convoys are not included in my own Arctic Convoys section, but Mike Holdoway's section on the Russian Convoys has more information - see the external link below.

The ships left Halifax in the following sequence (according to the diary):
The first ship to go out at 10:01 was the American freighter Zebulon B. Vance (Liberty ship), followed at 10:20 by Texas and with a few minutes between each ship the following went out:
Agios Georgios, Dramatist, Empire Cougar (tanks), Gloucester City, Bernhard (LJSB), Aun, Zypenberg, Timok, Alresford, Winsum, El Oriente, Evanger (plane crates), G. C. Brøvig, Oneida, Lucijana, Mormacrey, Carlton, H. M. Flagler, Emmy, Spokane, Hainaut, Mormacsul, Alamar (tanks on deck), Fort Binger (flying large Free French flag on mainmast), Uskside, British Honour, Alamo (WDFF), Pegasus, Alcoa Cadet, Topa Topa, Mattole (Jack at bow), Selis, Lifland, Ledaal (LCXY), Rio Verde, Empire Ptarmigan, North Devon, Alcoa Banner, Solstad, Empire Antelope, Selbo, Hardanger, Capira (with a notation saying: "Her decks are loaded with tanks, greenish gray with some bright blue, the greatest number I have ever seen on a freighter), Lornaston, Bayou Chico, Suecia. The last ship to leave at 16:05 was Chagres.

The convoy arrived rendezvous on Apr. 11.

A. Hague names the following escorts (extracted from this list of SC convoy escorts, received from D. Kindell; dates are European style, day/month/year):
Amherst - From 03/04/42 to 15/04/42
Assiniboine - From 03/04/42 to 12/04/42
Brandon - From 03/04/42 to 15/04/42
Butser - From 15/04/42 to 16/04/42
Calgary - From 30/03/42 to 03/04/42
Columbia - From 30/03/42 to 03/04/42
Cowichan - From 02/04/42 to 03/04/42
Dianthus - From 03/04/42 to 12/04/42
Fennel - From 03/04/42 to 15/04/42
Halifax - From 30/03/42 to 03/04/42
Midland - From 30/03/42 to 03/04/42
Orillia - From 03/04/42 to 15/04/42
USS Badger - From 11/04/42 to 14/04/42
USS Decatur - From 11/04/42 to 14/04/42
USS Leary - From 11/04/42 to 14/04/42
USS Schenck - From 11/04/42 to 14/04/42
Walker - From 30/03/42 to 03/04/42

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