Action off Cape Bougaroun facts for kids

Quick facts for kids

Action off Cape Bougaroun

Part of the Battle of the Mediterranean of World War II

USS Beatty in January 1943.

Date	6 November 1943
Location	off Cape Bougaroun, Algeria, Mediterranean Sea
Result	German tactical victory

Belligerents

United States

United Kingdom

Greece

Netherlands

Germany

Commanders and leaders

Charles C. Hartman

unknown

Strength

1 cruiser
10 destroyers
4 destroyer escorts
26 transports

25 aircraft

Casualties and losses

17 killed
~9 wounded
1 destroyer sunk
2 transports sunk
1 destroyer damaged
2 transports damaged

~10 killed
6 aircraft destroyed

The Action off Cape Bougaroun was a battle during World War II where German planes attacked a group of Allied ships. This happened on November 6, 1943, near the coast of Algeria in the Mediterranean Sea. A large convoy of ships from the United States, United Kingdom, Greece, and the Netherlands was sailing when 25 German aircraft attacked them.

During this attack, six Allied ships were either sunk or damaged. The Allies managed to shoot down six German planes. Even though the Germans won this battle in a tactical sense, the Allied warships did a great job defending their convoy. They also reacted very quickly to help those in trouble. This fast response led to the rescue of over 6,000 soldiers and civilians. No more lives were lost during the rescue.

Why Was This Convoy Important?
The Attack Begins
Ships Under Fire
After the Battle
Images for kids
See also

Why Was This Convoy Important?

The group of ships, called Convoy KMF-25A, was very important. It included 26 transport ships and 15 warships protecting them. The convoy was sailing from Liverpool in the UK all the way to Naples, Italy.

These 26 transport ships were carrying about 28,000 American, British, and Canadian soldiers. They also had war supplies and nurses on board. Most of the ships had small naval guns and anti-aircraft guns. American and Dutch ships had armed guards to operate these weapons.

The convoy was led by United States Navy Captain Charles C. Hartman. His main ship was the USS Mervine. The warships included the British light cruiser HMS Colombo and several destroyers. Among them were Davison, Parker, Laub, Beatty, Tillman, McLanahan, and HMS Haydon. There were also four destroyer escorts, including USS Frederick C. Davis.

The convoy left Great Britain on October 27, 1943, heading for Egypt and then Italy. After passing Gibraltar, Royal Air Force planes provided air support. However, these planes had to rotate, leaving the convoy unprotected for a few minutes at a time. It was during one of these unprotected moments that German planes found the convoy. Nine German torpedo planes and 16 bombers attacked.

The Attack Begins

The convoy sailed in columns, with seven to nine ships in each column. The Laub was about 5 nmi (9 km; 6 mi) ahead of the main group. Its job was to act as a radar screen, looking for enemy aircraft. The USS Mervine led the warships, moving in circles around the three columns of ships.

Just after sunset, around 5:45 PM on November 6, the convoy was sailing in cloudy weather. They were about 35 nmi (65 km; 40 mi) from Philippeville off Cape Bougaroun. The Laub detected six enemy aircraft attacking from the north. The commander of the Laub quickly radioed Captain Hartman. Captain Hartman then ordered the destroyers to make smoke screens and get ready for battle. The thousands of soldiers and civilians on board were told to go below deck for safety.

A moment later, the Tillman also spotted an enemy plane. It opened fire from about 8,000 yards (7,000 m) away. This was too far to hit anything, but it served as a warning to other nearby escort ships.

German forces used different types of planes. They had Heinkel He 111s with F5B torpedoes, Dornier Do 217s with Henschel Hs 293 glide bombs, and Junkers Ju 88s. These planes attacked in small groups, flying low, about 1,000 feet (305 m) above the sea.

At first, the American ships sent out "friend or foe" signals to the approaching aircraft. But when one plane was identified as German, Captain Hartman ordered his ships to open fire. As the German planes got closer, both the escort ships and the transport ships began firing. They used machine guns, anti-aircraft guns, and naval guns. Seconds later, the Germans launched their missiles and torpedoes. The battle lasted less than 30 minutes.

The Beatty, commanded by Commander William Outerson, saw machine gun fire at 6:03 PM. A minute later, a bomb exploded. At 6:05 PM, the Beatty opened fire on two more incoming Ju 88 torpedo planes. These planes were trying to pretend they were friendly.

Ships Under Fire

Most of the German planes seemed to be targeting the Tillman. But the Tillman avoided being hit because its captain skillfully steered the ship through the bombing. One German Dornier plane dropped a gliding bomb about 1,000 yards (900 m) away from the Tillman. The Tillmans machine guns hit the bomb when it was 600 yards (550 m) from the ship. The bomb then fell into the water and crashed 150 yards (140 m) off the ship's side. The Tillmans 5-inch (130 mm) guns then hit and blew up the bomber. Another bomb exploded 500 yards (460 m) off the ship's other side. Even though the Tillman was not directly hit, the force of the explosions damaged its radar and parts of its back end.

At 6:13 PM, a German torpedo plane launched a torpedo at the Beatty from 500 yards away. Thirty seconds later, the torpedo hit the Beatty near its engine room. The explosion made a hole in the ship. Sadly, 11 men were killed right away, and one more died later from his injuries. Another sailor, Radioman 3rd Class Samuel Poland, was blown overboard. One officer and six men were wounded. The Beatty slowly began to sink.

Crews immediately worked to fix the hole and put out fires. They also threw heavy items overboard to keep the ship from sinking faster. The engine room flooded, which caused all the ship's electronics to stop working. One of the ammunition storage areas also filled with water, making the Beatty lean to one side. The destroyer stayed afloat for over four hours. Its crew left the ship at 7:00 PM, and it finally sank at about 11:00 PM. The ship broke in half as it went down. The wounded sailors were moved to the Parker.

The SS Monterey, a troopship, was also in the convoy. One German torpedo bomber attacked the Monterey, but its gunners shot down the plane before it could drop a torpedo. As the plane fell, it passed over the Monterey and tore off some radio equipment. The captain of the Monterey, Elis R. Johanson, later received a special medal for his bravery.

The Santa Elena, another troopship, was hit twice. It sank hours later while being towed into Philippeville harbor. The Santa Elena was carrying 1,848 Canadian troops and 101 nurses. Four crewmen were killed.

Two armed Dutch transport ships were also hit. The SS Marnix van St. Aldegonde, with 2,900 troops on board, was badly damaged but no one died. It made it to shore but then sank in Philippeville's outer harbor as its commander tried to beach it. Thousands of soldiers and sailors ended up in the water. The other damaged Dutch ship was the steamer SS Ruyz. One man was killed, but the ship made it to port.

Around 6:30 PM, a German bomber near the SS Almanzora was hit by heavy fire from the transport ship. The plane crashed into the ship's side. A piece of its wing landed on the ship's front, and the pilot's logbook was later found.

The sunken transport ships were not completely destroyed but were damaged enough to sink. The Germans dropped many missiles and torpedoes, but most of them missed. At least four hits were made on the Allied fleet. In return, the Allies destroyed six German aircraft, and about ten German pilots were killed. British and Greek forces did not suffer any damage or casualties. The HMS Colombo shot down at least one enemy plane. The Davison also destroyed one German plane. By 6:20 PM, all the German planes had left the area and were returning to their base.

In total, 17 Americans and Dutchmen were killed, and at least nine others were wounded. Captain Hartman reported that the German planes focused on the escort ships so they could attack the transport ships more easily. But because the Allies fired back accurately, the Germans suffered heavy losses. In the end, only six out of 41 Allied ships were damaged.

After the Battle

Rescuing the survivors began even while bombs were still falling. American destroyers went alongside the damaged transport ships and helped evacuate the crews. British rules said that survivors should not be rescued until after the fighting stopped. This rule proved very dangerous a few weeks later when the same German squadron attacked and sank the SS Rohna. Because the British escorts did not rescue survivors right away, 1,016 American soldiers and 122 crewmen drowned.

The crew of the Beatty was rescued around 8:00 PM by the Laub and Parker. Four more U.S. Navy destroyers and tugboats from Philippeville and Algiers were sent to help. The minesweeper USS Pioneer rescued men from the Santa Elena. The destroyer USS Boyle rescued Radioman Samuel Poland the next morning. Other survivors were saved by the Ruyz and Aldegonde before it ran aground. While the Monterey was picking up survivors, a nurse fell from a climbing net. A Chinese cook bravely jumped overboard and saved her.

In total, 6,228 people were rescued without any more lives lost. During the battle off Cape Bougaroun, an unknown sailor aboard the Beatty put a message in a bottle into the sea. The message read: "Our ship is sinking. SOS didn't do any good. Think it's the end. Maybe this message will get to the U.S. some day." In 1944, the bottle was found on the beaches of Maine. This means it had floated hundreds of miles across both the Mediterranean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean before reaching the U.S.

Images for kids

SS Monterey in the 1930s
Ju 88s over the Mediterranean in 1943
HMS Colombo in July 1943