Convoy SC 130
Part ofWorld War II
HMSDuncan in March 1943
Date 18–20 May 1943 Location North Atlantic Result Allied victory
Belligerents
Germany	United Kingdom  Canada
Commanders and leaders
AdmiralKarl Dönitz	Comm: HC Forsyth B-7 Group: Cdr.P Gretton
Strength
25 U-boats	37 ships 8 escorts
Casualties and losses
3 U-boats destroyed 1 U-boat damaged 142 dead	no ships sunk

Convoy SC 130 was aNorth Atlanticconvoy which ran during thebattle of the Atlantic inWorld War II. It was the 130th of the numbered series ofSlowConvoys of merchant ships fromSydney,Cape Breton Island toLiverpool.^[1] SC 130 was one of several convoy battles that occurred during the crisis month ofMay 1943.

SC 130, comprising thirty-seven ships, departedHalifax Harbour on 11 May 1943 in the care of aWestern Local Escort Force,^[2] led byRCNdestroyerNiagara. TheConvoy Commodore was HC Forsyth in the freighterSheaf Holme. They were met on 15 May byMid-Ocean Escort Force GroupB-7,^[3] led by CommanderPeter Gretton in theD-class leaderHMS Duncan and consisting of theV and W-class destroyerHMS Vidette, theRiver-classfrigateHMS Tay, andFlower-classcorvettesHMS Snowflake,HMS Sunflower,HMS Pink,HMS Loosestrife and twoarmed trawlers. As B-7 was one vessel short for the voyage, the corvetteHMCS Kitchener was seconded from the local group for the crossing.^[4] SC 130 also included twooilers for mid-ocean re-fueling and re-arming, and theconvoy rescue shipZamalek.^[3]

Ranged against them were 25U-boats in three patrol lines, which had been organized by U-boat CommandBdU on 15 May. This was in response to intelligence from the signals intelligence groupB-Dienst which reported a westbound convoy (ONS 7) and two eastbound (HX 238 and SC 130) approaching theAir Gap. One group,Iller, of six newly arrived boats was just arriving, while two other groups,Donau I andDonau II, were formed from boats already on station plus reinforcements.^[5]

ONS 7 came under attack on 13 May, and, warned by this and by intelligence fromHF/DF readings andEnigma decrypts, theAdmiralty was able to divertHX 238 (which arrived without incident) and to reinforce SC 130.^[5]

The convoy was found and reported on the evening of 18 May,^[4] byU-304 which commenced shadowing, while the other U-boats gathered during the night. The B7 group mounted an aggressive defence, chasing down all contacts in order to frustrate any attacks. In this they were successful and none of the U-boats were able to attack that night.

On 19 May long-range aircraft were able to join the action and commenced patrolling, attackingDonau boats as they moved to join the assault. AHudson of269 Sqdn destroyedU-273,^[6] and aLiberator of120 Sqdn attacked another: This was thought to have sunkU-954, but later judged to have hitU-731, causing little damage.^[4] Later that day the convoy escort was reinforced by the 1st Support Group consisting of theBanff-classsloopHMS Sennen (Capt. G Brewer) with the River-class frigatesHMS Wear,HMS Jed andHMS Spey.^[4] Within hoursU-954 was sunk byhedgehog attacks fromSennen andJed.^[4][6] AdmiralKarl Dönitz's son Peter Dönitz was among those lost aboardU-954.^[7] An attack bySnowflake andDuncan delivered a hit with a Hedgehog bomb, and was thought to have destroyed a U-boat (U-381)^[6] but this was later claimed to have hitU-636, which survived with damage.^[8] That eveningTay attackedU-952 and damaged her so badly she had to retire from the action and return to base.^[9]

On 20 May the assault continued, but without success, whileNo. 120 Squadron RAFB-24 Liberator J sankU-258.^[4][6] At midday on 20th BdU called off the action, and the U-boats withdrew.

The convoy reachedLiverpool without loss on 26 May.^[2]

SC 130 was seen as an Allied victory. No ships had been lost, though two had returned to port; all 35 that made the crossing arrived safely. On the other hand, at least three U-boats were destroyed.This was a major blow which contributed to BdU's decision to abandon the assault on the North Atlantic convoy route, a turning point in the Battle of the Atlantic.

U-boats destroyed

• Blair, Clay (1998).Hitler's U-Boat War, The Hunted 1942–1945. New York: Random House.ISBN 978-0-679-45742-8.
• Gretton, Peter (1964).Convoy Escort Commander. London: Cassel.
• Hague, Arnold (2000).The Allied Convoy System 1939–1945. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN 978-1-55750-019-9.
• Kemp, Paul (1997).U-Boats Destroyed: German Submarine Losses In The World Wars. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN 978-1-55750-859-1.
• Niestlé, Axel (1998).German U-Boat Losses During World War II: Details of Destruction. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN 978-1-55750-641-2.
• Rohwer, J.; Hummelchen, G. (1992).Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN 978-1-55750-105-9.

• North Atlantic convoys of World War II
• Naval battles of World War II involving Canada
• Naval battles of World War II involving the United Kingdom

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