| Convoy HX.126 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofWorld War II | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Germany |  United Kingdom | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| AdmiralKarl Dönitz | Rear-Admiral F B Watson | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 9U-boats | 33 merchant ships 22 escorts (1 during attacks) | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 9 merchant ships sunk | |||||||
Convoy HX 126 was the 126th of the numbered series ofWorld War IIHX convoys of merchant ships fromHalifaX toLiverpool.
The ships departed Halifax on 10 May 1941.[1] At this time, there were no escorts to provide protection againstU-boats for the whole duration of the journey across theNorth Atlantic. For the first leg of the crossing, the only escort was thearmed merchant cruiserHMS Aurania which task was to provide protection againstmerchant raiders.
On the U-boat side, the submarines were reorganized in thegroup West after the attack onconvoy OB 318 and were sent to scout for convoys ever more westward.[2]
On 19 May, the U-boatU-94 found the convoy and she directed the other boats of the group West. The group began their attacks on 20 May. The first attack ofU-94 in the early morning misses, but in a second attack she sank one[3] or two ships.[4][2] Then contact with the convoy is lost.The next U-boat,U-556 found the convoy at noon. In two attacksU-556 sank three ships.[3] As the convoy was still unescorted at the time, it started to break up.
U-111 discovered the large 13,000-ton tankerSan Felix and damaged it with a torpedo, but the tanker did not belong to HX 126. It was an outbound vessel from the dispersed convoy OB 322.[5] In the eveningU-98 sank the freighterRothermere. Around the same timeU-94 regained contact with the convoy and sank the tankerJohn P. Pedersen. Just before midnight,U-109 sank the stragglerHarpagus with two torpedoes.Harpagus had fallen behind to rescue survivors fromNorman Monarch. The12th escort group, which comprised at the time fivedestroyers, four corvettes and twoanti-submarinetrawlers, arrived and started to round up the dispersed ships and reform the convoy. Five of the escorts findU-109 and damage the submarine withdepth charges. As a resultU-109 aborted to France.[6]
In the early morning of 21 May,U-93 struck the tankerElusa which was laterscuttled.U-74 was damaged and forced to abort to France by depth charge attacks from the corvetteHMS Verbena and a destroyer (eitherHMS Churchill[4] orHMS Burnham[7]). Upon learning that a strong escort has arrived, German command disengaged the U-boats and reformed them in a new patrol line further south. OnlyU-111 is left in place in order to transmit decoy radio signals. On 22 MayU-111 found and sankBarnby which either straggled or romped from the convoy.
A total of 33 merchant vessels joined the convoy, either in Halifax or later in the voyage.[8] Surviving ships reached Liverpool on 28 May.[1]
| Name | Flag | Tonnage(GRT) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Athelprincess (1929) |  United Kingdom | 8,882 | |
| Barnby (1940) | United Kingdom | 4,813 | Straggled and sunk byU-111[9] |
| Baron Carnegie (1925) | United Kingdom | 3,178 | |
| Baron Elgin (1933) | United Kingdom | 3,942 | |
| Bente Maersk (1928) | United Kingdom | 5,722 | |
| British Freedom (1928) | United Kingdom | 6,985 | Straggled 20 May |
| British Security (1937) | United Kingdom | 8,470 | Sunk byU-556[10] |
| British Splendour (1931) | United Kingdom | 7,138 | |
| Cockaponset (1919) | United Kingdom | 5,995 | Sunk ByU-556[11] |
| Darlington Court (1936) | United Kingdom | 4,974 | Sunk ByU-556[12] |
| Dorelian (1923) | United Kingdom | 6,431 | |
| Eemland (1906) |  Netherlands | 4,188 | Straggled 20 May |
| Elusa (1936) | Netherlands | 6,235 | Sunk ByU-93[13] |
| Empire Kudu (1919) | United Kingdom | 6,622 | |
| Gretavale (1928) | United Kingdom | 4,586 | |
| Hada County (1921) |  Norway | 4,853 | |
| Harpagus (1940) | United Kingdom | 5,173 | Sunk ByU-109.[14] Rescue Ship |
| Havsten (1930) | Norway | 6,161 | |
| Hindustan (1940) | United Kingdom | 5,245 | Rear-Admiral F B Watson DSO (Commodore) |
| John P Pedersen (1930) | Norway | 6,128 | Sunk ByU-94[15] |
| Karabagh (1932) | United Kingdom | 6,427 | |
| Morgenen (1930) | Norway | 7,093 | |
| Nicoya (1929) | United Kingdom | 5,364 | |
| Norman Monarch (1937) | United Kingdom | 4,718 | Sunk ByU-94[16] |
| Regent Panther (1937) | United Kingdom | 9,556 | |
| Ribera (1940) | United Kingdom | 5,559 | Straggled 20 May |
| Rosewood (1931) | United Kingdom | 5,989 | Iceland |
| Rothermere (1938) | United Kingdom | 5,356 | Sunk ByU-98[17] |
| Salando (1920) | Netherlands | 5,272 | Returned |
| Tongariro (1925) | United Kingdom | 8,720 | |
| Toward (1923) | United Kingdom | 1,571 | Rescue Ship |
| Westport (1918) | United Kingdom | 5,665 | Joined Ex Convoy SC 31 |
| Winona County (1919) | United Kingdom | 6,159 | Returned |
A series of armed military ships escorted the convoy at various times during its journey.[8] Only one escort was present during the German attacks.