Convoy SC 95 - warsailors.com (original) (raw)
CONVOY SC 95 (Will be updated - please compare with A. Hague's listing for this convoy at ships in all SC convoys. See also SC escorts).
Departed Halifax on Aug. 4-1942 and arrived Liverpool on the 19th.
(Arnold Hague's "The Allied Convoy System" gives 41 ships)
Ships sunk: Balladier, on a voyage from New York for Reykjavik (via Halifax) with general cargo (incl. lumber and pipes), was sunk by U-705 on Aug. 15. She had a crew of 45, incl. Armed Guard - 9 crew and 2 Armed Guard perished (number varies according to source).
The Swedish Suecia, on a voyage from Baltimore and New York for Liverpool (via Sydney, C.B.) with general cargo became a straggler and was sunk by U-596 on Aug. 16. All 65 survived, but several died later (again, number varies according to source - R. W. Jordan gives 12 casualties, 37 survivors).
The Halifax ships left port in the following order (as per T. Agar's diary):
Cowrie went out at 09:45 for gun trials as the first ship to leave, then at 11:07 the Commodore vessel Recorder went out (carrying 4 invasion barges), followed at 11:16 by a British freighter (71 - star on stack), and with a few minutes between each vessel, Mathilda (see note below), a British freighter (72), British tanker (82), British freighter (31), British freighter (21 - lumber), the Polish freighter, U.S. tanker (62), Sheaf Crown, S.S. (92 - is this just part of a steamship name, with the name missing?), Norwegian freighter (33), Dutch freighter (61), British freighter (81), U.S. freighter (13), Elisabeth van Belgie, Danae II (FOPR), a Dutch freighter (43), Paulsboro, a Panamanian freighter (23), British freighter (91), Kirsten Mærsk, Sneland I, Balladier, Cyrus Field, James Hawson, then Mathilda at 13:23. There's a note for the latter saying "Mathilda anchored in Harbor 26 at 11:28 and sailed last". Another note states "The 11:48 sailing and the 12:10 sailing both fly flags for position 33, have no idea why??" (the 11:48 sailing refers to the unnamed Norwegian freighter in station 33 and the 12:10 sailing to Elisabeth van Belgie).
To the next SC convoy in my list SC 96