Convoy HX 300 facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Convoy HX.300
Part of World War II
Date 17 July 1944-3 August 1944 Location North Sea
Belligerents
Germany	United Kingdom
Commanders and leaders
Admiral Karl Dönitz	Rear-Admiral Sir A T Tillard KBE DSO
Strength
unknown	159 merchant ships 32 escorts
Casualties and losses
unknown	none

Convoy HX 300 was a very large group of merchant ships that sailed together during World War II. It was the 300th convoy in a special series called HX convoys, which traveled from Halifax Harbour in Canada to Liverpool in the United Kingdom. This convoy started its journey on July 17, 1944, and was the biggest convoy of the entire war, with 166 ships traveling together!

Why Convoys Were Important

HX convoys were set up soon after World War II began in 1939. The main reason for them was safety. Ships traveling alone were easy targets for German submarines, known as U-boats. By grouping many ships together, they were much harder to attack.

Early in the war, it was tough for the Allies (like Britain and the US) to find enough warships to protect all the convoys. Scientists studied how convoys were attacked. They found that if convoys were larger, fewer ships were lost overall. This was because the number of ships lost didn't change much, no matter how big the convoy was. So, if you had more ships in one convoy, the percentage of ships lost was smaller.

This idea led to creating much bigger convoys. By the summer of 1944, especially when ships were needed to support the Invasion of Normandy, convoys grew huge. Convoy HX 300 was the largest, with 166 merchant ships. They sailed in 19 long lines, forming a giant group about 9 miles (14 km) wide and 4 miles (6 km) long! Ships joined from different places like New York City, Halifax Harbour, Sydney, Nova Scotia, and St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Canadian ship Pictou was a corvette, a type of small warship. It had survived three tough winters fighting U-boats in the North Atlantic. This made it a trusted ship to help protect the biggest trade convoy of World War II.

The Escorting Warships

To keep such a huge convoy safe, many different warships were needed. These escort ships protected the merchant vessels from enemy attacks.

Ships starting from New York were guarded by United States Navy submarine chasers. Other ships from Halifax and Sydney were escorted by Canadian minesweepers and corvettes. A corvette is a smaller warship, good for escorting convoys. As the convoy moved across the ocean, different groups of warships took over the escort duty. This was like a relay race, with one group of escorts handing off the convoy to the next.

For example, Canadian ships like Portage and Pictou were among the early escorts. Later, a group called the Mid-Ocean Escort Force, including frigates and more corvettes like Dunver and Wetaskiwin, took over. Finally, British naval trawlers guided the convoy into ports in the United Kingdom.

It's amazing to know that Convoy HX 300 was not attacked by any submarines! All the ships arrived safely in British ports by August 3, 1944.

What Happened Next

After the seven Canadian warships of escort group C5 successfully brought the largest convoy of the Battle of the Atlantic safely across the ocean, the ships began to unload their valuable cargo. These supplies were vital for the people of the British Isles and for the Allied armies fighting in Europe.

Many ships delivered food, fuel, and other materials to support daily life in Britain. Some ships carried supplies to specific places. For instance, one ship went to Loch Ewe to take supplies to the United States military base in Iceland. Nine ships waited in the Firth of Clyde to join another convoy, convoy JW 59, which would carry war materials to the Soviet Union. A large group of 46 ships waited at Oban until channel ports were ready for them. They unloaded food, fuel, and ammunition for the Allied armies moving east from France. They also carried important vehicles like trucks, jeeps, half-tracks, and even locomotives to help move supplies to the front lines.

Convoy HX 300 was just one of about six hundred trade convoys that traveled from North America to the British Isles during World War II. These convoys were essential for winning the war.

Merchant Ships and Their Cargoes

The ships in Convoy HX 300 came from many different countries, including Britain, America, Norway, Greece, the Netherlands, Panama, Poland, Yugoslavia, France, and Sweden. They carried all sorts of important goods needed for the war effort and for daily life.

Here are some examples of the types of ships and what they carried:

Name	Flag	Destination	Tonnage (GRT)	Cargo	Notes
Agia Marina (1912)	Greece	Avonmouth	4,151	Grain & armoured fighting vehicles	Joined from Sydney
Albert S. Burleson (1943)	United States	Europe	7,244	General cargo	Liberty ship fitted with Anti-torpedo Net Device
Ancylus (1935)	United Kingdom	Clyde	8,017	USN fuels	Merchant aircraft carrier tanker ferrying a deck-load of non-operational aircraft joined from St.John's, Newfoundland
Anthony Wayne (1942)	United States	Liverpool	7,181	Landing craft and locomotives	Liberty ship
Athelregent (1930)	United Kingdom	Greenock	8,881	Molasses	Carried 59 spare depth charges for escorting warships
British Promise (1942)	United Kingdom	Soviet Union	8,443	Alcohol	Cargo loaded at Philadelphia
Charles Brantley Aycock (1942)	United States	Newport	7,176	Explosives and poison gas	Liberty ship
Charles Dauray (1944)	United States	Soviet Union	7,176	General cargo including locomotives	Liberty ship
Chesapeake (1928)	United Kingdom	Firth of Clyde	8,955	Diesel oil and aircraft	Serving as escort oiler carrying 58 spare depth charges for escorting warships
Clark Howell (1944)	United States	Soviet Union	7,198	General cargo including locomotives	Liberty ship
Eastern Guide (1918)	United States	Loch Ewe	3,704	General cargo including lumber and 300 depth charges bound for Iceland
Empire MacCallum (1943)	United Kingdom	Liverpool	8,252	Grain	Merchant aircraft carrier joined from Halifax
Ferncourt (1938)	Norway	Manchester	9,918	Diesel oil & armoured fighting vehicles	Serving as escort oiler
Frontenac (1928)	Norway	Portsmouth	7,350	USN fuel	Serving as escort oiler carrying 10 spare depth charges for escorting warships
Gerard Dou (1941)	Netherlands	Thames	7,242	Sugar & general cargo	Carried convoy vice-commodore Vice-Admiral Sir R H O Lane-Poole KBE CB
John La Farge (1943)	United States	Firth of Clyde	7,176	Locomotives & building materials	Liberty ship
Junior Van Noy (1919)	United States	Europe	2,372	Military stores & explosives	Army repair ship
Kronprinsessen Margareta (1914)	Sweden	Swansea	3,746	General cargo
Leo J. Duster (1943)	United States	Soviet Union	7,176	General cargo including explosives and locomotives	Liberty ship
Lucerna (1930)	United Kingdom	Thames	6,556	Gas oil	Serving as escort oiler carrying 50 spare depth charges for escorting warships
Macoma (1936)	Netherlands	Firth of Clyde	8,069	USN fuel	Merchant aircraft carrier joined from Halifax
Nacella (1943)	United Kingdom	Soviet Union	8,196	Aviation gasoline	Fitted with Anti-torpedo Net Device
Nanceen (1929)	France	Thames	2,895	Woodpulp & motor vehicles	Joined from Halifax
Ovula (1938)	Netherlands	Southampton	6,256	Diesel fuel and aircraft	Serving as escort oiler
Rapana (1935)	United Kingdom	Firth of Clyde	8,017	USN fuel	Merchant aircraft carrier joined from Halifax
Saintonge (1936)	United Kingdom	Thames	9,386	USN fuel	Serving as escort oiler carrying 60 spare depth charges for escorting warships
San Valerio (1913)	United Kingdom	Isle of Grain	6,493	Furnace fuel oil	Serving as escort oiler
Silas Weir Mitchell (1943)	United States	Firth of Clyde	7,176	Locomotives and explosives	Liberty ship fitted with Anti-torpedo Net Device
Thorshov (1935)	Norway	London	9,955	Diesel fuel and aircraft	Serving as escort oiler carrying 60 spare depth charges for escorting warships
Voco (1925)	United Kingdom	Birkenhead	5,090	Lubricating oil	Carried 60 spare depth charges for escorting warships
Warren Delano (1944)	United States	Soviet Union	7,210	General cargo including locomotives	Liberty ship
Wind Rush (1918)	United States	Cardiff	5,586	Motor vehicles and explosives	Veteran of convoy JW 51A and convoy ON 166
Winona (1919)	United States	Liverpool	6,197	General cargo including ammunition and motor vehicles	Veteran of convoy SC 7
Zamalek (1921)	United Kingdom		1,567		convoy rescue ship; veteran of convoy PQ 17 and convoy SC 130