| Convoy HX.65 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofWorld War II | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Kriegsmarine |  Royal Canadian Navy Royal Navy | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| AdmiralKarl Dönitz | V-Adm. B G Washington (Comm.) | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 5U-boats | 51 merchant ships 7 escorts | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 1 U-boat damaged | 8 ships sunk 3 damaged 197 killed | ||||||
Convoy HX 65 was aNorth Atlanticconvoy of theHX series which ran during thebattle of the Atlantic inWorld War II. It was the 65th of the numbered series of merchant convoys run by theAllies fromHalifax toLiverpool. The convoy was attacked byGermanU-boats and aircraft, losing eight of its 51 ships sunk and a further three damaged. One U-boat was damaged.
HX 65 formed of three sections sailing from the Americas, and was to divide into two sections for the landfall in theUnited Kingdom. The main body, of 13 ships, departed Halifax on 12 August 1940;[1] with ships gathered from the US eastern seaboard; it was led byconvoy commodoreVice Admiral BG Washington in the steamshipHarpalyce. It was accompanied by its ocean escort, thearmed merchant cruiserVoltaire, and a local escort of twoRoyal Canadian Navy (RCN) warships. It was joined on 14 August by 16 ships fromSydney, onCape Breton Island, also with a local escort. These had gathered from ports on theSt Lawrence and theGreat Lakes.[2]On 16 August the convoy was joined by BHX 65, 22 ships from theCaribbean and South America, that had gathered atBermuda, departing there on 11 August escorted by the armed merchant cruiserHMS Montclare.[3]
Ranged against HX 65 were U-boats of theGerman Navy's1st,2nd and7th U-boat Flotillas, operating fromKiel andWilhelmshaven.
On 22 August HX 65's Western Approaches escort began to arrive; the destroyerSkeena and the corvetteGodetia left the outbound OA 201, arriving later that day. On 24 August the destroyerWestcott and the corvetteGladiolus arrived from OB 201.[4]
On the morning of 24 August, the tankerLa Brea (one of two ships that had dropped out of HX 65 five days earlier) was sighted byU-48 in the North West Approaches west northwest ofRockall. She was attacked and sunk, leaving two boats of survivors in bad weather and rough seas. They made landfall in theHebrides over the next two days.[5][6]
On the evening of 24 August the convoy divided, one section (referred to in some sources as HX 65A) of 20 ships bound forMethil on Scotland's east coast viaCape Wrath and the north of Scotland, and a second section (HX 65 B) of 22 ships bound for Liverpool.
The Methil section, led byHarpalyce and escorted bySkeena andGodetia was found byU-48, which attacked during the night of 24/25 August, sinking two ships,Empire Merlin andAthelcrest. She was counterattacked byGodetia but escaped without damage.Later, on the morning of 25 August the convoy was sighted twice more, byU-28 andU-32, but the convoy had been joined by aSunderland fromCoastal Command, and both submerged on sighting the aircraft.U-32 made a perfunctory attack, which failed.That evening the convoy was found again, byU-124, and attacked just before midnight.U-124 fired four torpedoes and claimed four ships sunk; the actual success was two ships sunk (Harpalyce andFircrest) and another (Stakesby) damaged.Harpalyce andFircrest went down quickly with heavy loss of life.Stakesby was abandoned, but was later salvaged by the tugThames and repaired.U-124 was counterattacked byGodetia and damaged when she ran onto a rock. After the corvette had left,U-124 was unable to continue convoy operations relegated to weather reporting.[7] Later that day the convoy was reinforced byJaguar andJavelin, two destroyers fromScapa Flow.[8]On the evening of 26 August the convoy came under air attack nearKinnaird Head byLuftwaffe aircraft from occupied Denmark; eightJu 88s of KG 30 based atAalborg. four ships were hit; one was sunk and three damaged.Nellie andCity of Hankow made port safely, butCape York sank under tow on the following day. Later on the night of 26/27 August a second air attack by fourHe 115 torpedo bombers of KuFlGr 506, based inStavanger, hitRemuera, which sank. The remaining 16 ships arrived at safely at Methil on 27th.[9]
Meanwhile, on 25 August the Liverpool section, led by V.Adm. Leir inManchester Merchant and escorted byWestcott, was found byU-57 which gave chase. Several tankers had fallen out of the convoy, to be chivvied by the escort, and one of these,Pecten, was torpedoed byU-57. The escort counter-attacked, butU-57 escaped. This section was also reinforced on 26 August, by the sloopLowestoft. No further attacks developed and the 21 ships arrived without further incident at Liverpool on 27 August.[10][11]
Of the 51 ships that set out, two turned back and eight were sunk. 41 ships made a safe and timely arrival. HX 65 was one of three HX convoys attacked during August: HX 60 lost 3 ships in one attack, while HX 66 lost 4 ships over three days.During the month as a whole the UBW sank 55 ships in the Atlantic; about half of these were unescorted vessels sailing independently (including ships hit after dispersal, or straggling).[12] August 1940 was the third month seeing a marked increase in successes by the U-boat Arm, referred to by them as "The Happy Time".[12]
Convoy information is from Arnold Hague's Convoyweb[13]
| Name | Flag | Tonnage(GRT) | Section | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agapenor (1914) |  United Kingdom | 7,391 | HX | |
| Alfred Olsen (1934) |  Norway | 8,817 | BHX 65 | |
| Anna Mazaraki (1913) |  Greece | 5,411 | SHX | |
| Aspasia Nomikos (1938) | Greece | 4,855 | SHX | en route to Dublin |
| Athelcrest (1940) | United Kingdom | 6,825 | BHX 65 | Sunk 25 August byU-48[14] 30 dead, 6 survivors |
| Atlantic (1939) | United Kingdom | 5,414 | HX | |
| Axel Johnson (1925) |  Sweden | 4,915 | SHX | |
| Blairatholl (1925) | United Kingdom | 3,319 | SHX | |
| British Lord (1922) | United Kingdom | 6,098 | BHX 65 | |
| Canford Chine (1917) | United Kingdom | 3,364 | SHX | Returned toSydney, Nova Scotia |
| Cape York (1926) | United Kingdom | 5,027 | BHX 65 | Bombed 26 August byLuftwaffe aircraft 10 nautical miles (19 km) offKinnaird Head near Peterhead[15] sank under tow 27th. |
| Cetus (1920) | Norway | 2,614 | HX | |
| Chama (1938) | United Kingdom | 8,077 | BHX 65 | |
| City of Hankow (1915) | United Kingdom | 7,360 | SHX | Bombed 26 August, but made port |
| Conus (1931) | United Kingdom | 8,132 | BHX 65 | |
| Cymbula (1938) | United Kingdom | 8,082 | BHX 65 | |
| Eclipse (1931) | United Kingdom | 9,767 | BHX 65 | |
| Empire Merlin (1919) | United Kingdom | 5,763 | BHX 65 | Straggled:[16] sunk 25 August byU-48[17] 35 dead, 1 survivor |
| F J Wolfe (1932) | United Kingdom | 12,190 | BHX 65 | |
| Fernbank (1924) | Norway | 4,333 | HX | |
| Fircrest (1907) | United Kingdom | 5,394 | HX | Cargo of iron ore. Torpedoed amidships byU-124[18] and sank very rapidly. All 40 crew died |
| Gard (1938) | Norway | 8,259 | HX | |
| Gitano (1921) | United Kingdom | 3,956 | HX | |
| Harpalyce (1940) | United Kingdom | 5,169 | HX | Sunk 25 August byU-124.[19] 42 of 47 crew dead. Vice-Admiral B G Washington CMG DSO (Commodore) |
| Housatonic (1919) | United Kingdom | 5,559 | HX | |
| Inverlee (1938) | United Kingdom | 9,158 | BHX 65 | |
| Juno (1908) |  Netherlands | 1,763 | SHX | |
| La Brea (1916) | United Kingdom | 6,665 | BHX 65 | Straggled 19 August, sunk 24th byU-48.[20] 2 dead, 31 survivors |
| Lodestone (1938) | United Kingdom | 4,877 | BHX 65 | |
| Manchester Merchant (1940) | United Kingdom | 7,264 | SHX | Rear-Admiral E W Leir DSO (Vice-Commodore) |
| Maplewood (1930) | United Kingdom | 4,566 | HX | |
| Nellie (1913) | Greece | 4,826 | SHX | Bombed 26 August but made port |
| Nerissa (1926) | United Kingdom | 5,583 | HX | Armed passenger/cargo steamer carrying 190 Canadian troops from Newfoundland. |
| Nikoklis (1921) | Greece | 3,576 | HX | |
| Nordlys (1916) | United Kingdom | 3,726 | SHX | |
| Pecten (1927) | United Kingdom | 7,468 | BHX 65 | Straggled and sunk 25 August byU-57.[21] 48 dead with 8 survivors. |
| Prins Maurits (1936) | Netherlands | 1,287 | SHX | |
| Rangitane (1929) | United Kingdom | 16,712 | BHX 65 | |
| Reedpool (1924) | United Kingdom | 4,848 | HX | |
| Regent Panther (1937) | United Kingdom | 9,556 | BHX 65 | |
| Remuera (1911) | United Kingdom | 11,445 | BHX 65 | Sunk 26 August byLuftwaffe aircraft offRattray Head. All 93 crew and one gunner were saved, some byFraserburgh lifeboat.[22] |
| Sitala (1937) | United Kingdom | 6,218 | BHX 65 | |
| Solarium (1936) | United Kingdom | 6,239 | BHX 65 | |
| Stakesby (1930) | United Kingdom | 3,900 | HX | Torpedoed 25 Aug byU-124[23] Salvaged |
| Statesman (1923) | United Kingdom | 7,939 | BHX 65 | |
| Taria (1939) | Netherlands | 10,354 | BHX 65 | |
| Torr Head (1937) | United Kingdom | 5,021 | SHX | |
| Torvanger (1920) | Norway | 6,568 | HX | |
| Uskbridge (1940) | United Kingdom | 2,715 | SHX | Returned toSydney, Nova Scotia |
| Welsh Prince (1940) | United Kingdom | 5,148 | HX | |
| Winkleigh (1940) | United Kingdom | 5,468 | BHX 65 |
Escort information is from Arnold Hague's Convoyweb[24]
| Name | Flag | Ship Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| HMCS Assiniboine | Royal Canadian Navy | C-classdestroyer | Halifax local escort, 12 Aug – 13 Aug |
| HMCSFrench | Royal Canadian Navy | Auxiliary | Halifax local escort, 12 Aug – 13 Aug |
| HMS Gladiolus | Royal Navy | Flower-classcorvette | Western Approaches escort, 24 Aug – 27 Aug |
| HMS Godetia | Royal Navy | Flower-classcorvette | Western Approaches escort, 22 Aug – 27 Aug |
| HMS Jaguar | Royal Navy | J-classdestroyer | Reinforcement, 26 Aug – 27 Aug |
| HMS Javelin | Royal Navy | J-classdestroyer | Reinforcement, 26 Aug – 27 Aug |
| HMCSLaurier | Royal Canadian Navy | Auxiliary | Sydney local escort, 12 Aug – 14 Aug |
| HMS Lowestoft | Royal Navy | Grimsby-classsloop | Reinforcement, 26 Aug – 27 Aug |
| HMS Montclare | Royal Navy | Armed merchant cruiser | Ocean escort, 11 Aug – 16 Aug |
| HMCS Saguenay | Royal Canadian Navy | River-class destroyer | Sydney local escort, 12 Aug – 14 Aug |
| HMCS Skeena | Royal Canadian Navy | River-class destroyer | Western Approaches escort, 22 Aug – 27 Aug |
| HMS Voltaire | Royal Navy | Armed merchant cruiser | Ocean escort, 12 Aug – 23 Aug |
| HMS Westcott | Royal Navy | V and W-classdestroyer | Western Approaches escort, 24 Aug – 27 Aug |
| Number | Type | Navy | Contact date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U-28 | VIIA | Kriegsmarine | 25 August 1940 | |
| U-32 | VIIA | Kriegsmarine | 25 August 1940 | |
| U-48 | VIIB | Kriegsmarine | 24 August 1940 | |
| U-57 | IIC | Kriegsmarine | 25 August 1940 | |
| U-124 | IXB | Kriegsmarine | 25 August 1940 |