Convoy HX 79 facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Convoy HX.79 |
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| Part of World War II | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Kriegsmarine |
 Royal Navy |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Admiral Karl Dönitz | |||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 5 U-boats | 50 ships (49 during attack) 17 escorts (11 during attack) |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| none | 12 ships sunk 1 damaged |
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HX 79 was an Allied North Atlantic convoy of the HX series which ran during the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II.
It suffered major losses from a U-boat attack, and, with the attack on convoy SC 7 the previous day, represents the worst two days shipping losses in the entire Atlantic campaign.
Prelude
HX 79 was an east-bound convoy of 50 ships which sailed from Halifax on 8 October 1940 making for Liverpool. On 19 October, 4 days from landfall, HX 79 was entering the Western Approaches, and had caught up with the position of SC 7, which was under attack.
The escort for the crossing had been meagre, being provided by two armed merchant cruisers against the possibility of attack by a surface raider, but these had departed when HX 79 was sighted by U-47, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Günther Prien.
At this point HX 79 was unescorted; Prien sent a sighting report and set to shadowing the convoy, while Konteradmiral Karl Dönitz ordered the pack to assemble. Those U-boats which had attacked SC 7 and were still able to fight (three had departed to re-arm having expended all their torpedoes) were directed to the scene. Four did so, U-100 (Joachim Schepke), U-46 (Engelbert Endrass), U-48 (Heinrich Bleichrodt) and U-38 (Heinrich Liebe) joining U-47 during the day.
However the Admiralty, concerned by the fate of SC 7 and anticipating an attack sent escorts to the convoy; throughout the day they arrived piecemeal eventually totaling 11 warships.
Action
The pack attacked as night fell; using the darkness to cover an approach on the surface, Prien penetrated the escort screen from the south to attack from within the convoy, while Endrass (who had previously served with Prien as his deputy), did the same from the north.
Over the next six hours, 13 ships were torpedoed; 6 by U-47 alone (4 of which were sunk, a fifth was finished by U-48). 10 ships were sunk from the convoy, and 2 stragglers were lost later in the day. These were Shirak, which had been torpedoed in the night, and Loch Lomond, sailing with the convoy as a rescue ship. Another, Athelmonarch, was damaged but was able to make port.
HX 79 had lost 12 ships out of 49, a total tonnage of 75,069 gross register tons (GRT).
None of the attacking U-boats were damaged.
Ships in the convoy
Allied merchant ships
A total of 50 merchant vessels joined the convoy, either in Halifax or later in the voyage. The SS Erna III returned to Halifax before the convoy was attacked by the assembled German wolfpack.
| Name | Flag | Tonnage (GRT) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Athelmonarch (1928) |  United Kingdom |
8,995 | Arrived with torpedo damage by U-47 |
| Atland (1910) |  Sweden |
5,203 | |
| Axel Johnson (1925) | Sweden |
4,915 | Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia |
| Baron Carnegie (1925) | United Kingdom |
3,178 | Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia |
| Benwood (1910) |  Norway |
3,931 | Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia |
| Biafra (1933) | United Kingdom |
5,405 | |
| Bilderdijk (1922) |  Netherlands |
6,856 | Sunk by U-47 |
| Blairnevis (1930) | United Kingdom |
4,155 | Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia |
| Brittany (1928) | United Kingdom |
4,772 | Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia |
| Cadillac (1917) | United Kingdom |
12,062 | |
| Cairnvalona (1918) | United Kingdom |
4,929 | Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia |
| Campus (1925) | United Kingdom |
3,667 | Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia |
| Cape Corso (1929) | United Kingdom |
3,807 | |
| Caprella (1931) | United Kingdom |
8,230 | Sunk by U-100 |
| City Of Lancaster (1924) | United Kingdom |
3,041 | |
| Egda (1939) | Norway |
10,050 | |
| Empire Swan (1921) | United Kingdom |
7,964 | |
| Empire Trader (1908) | United Kingdom |
9,990 | Joined Ex BHX 79 |
| Enseigne Maurice Prehac (1924) | United Kingdom |
4,578 | Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia |
| Erna III (1930) | United Kingdom |
1,590 | Returned |
| Flowergate (1911) | United Kingdom |
5,161 | |
| Gunda (1930) | Sweden |
1,770 | |
| Harbury (1933) | United Kingdom |
5,081 | |
| Harlesden (1932) | United Kingdom |
5,483 | |
| Hoyanger (1926) | Norway |
4,624 | Joined Ex BHX 79 |
| Induna (1925) | United Kingdom |
5,086 | Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia |
| Janus (1939) | Sweden |
9,965 | Sunk by U-46 |
| Kiruna (1921) | Sweden |
5,484 | Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia |
| La Estancia (1940) | United Kingdom |
5,185 | Joined Ex BHX 79, Sunk by U-47 |
| Loch Lomond (1934) | United Kingdom |
5,452 | Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia. Sunk by U-100 |
| Marathon (1919) |  Greece |
7,926 | |
| Matheran (1919) | United Kingdom |
7,653 | Sunk by U-38 |
| Ravnefjell (1938) | Norway |
1,339 | Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia |
| Rio Blanco (1922) | United Kingdom |
4,086 | Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia |
| Ruperra (1925) | United Kingdom |
4,548 | Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia. Sunk by U-46 |
| Rydboholm (1933) | Sweden |
3,197 | |
| Salacia (1937) | United Kingdom |
5,495 | |
| San Roberto (1922) | United Kingdom |
5,890 | |
| Sandanger (1938) | Norway |
9,432 | |
| Shirak (1926) | United Kingdom |
6,023 | Joined Ex BHX 79. Sunk by U-47 & U-48 |
| Sir Ernest Cassel (1910) | Sweden |
7,739 | Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia |
| Sitala (1937) | United Kingdom |
6,218 | Joined Ex BHX 79. Sunk by U-100 |
| Thyra (1920) | Norway |
1,655 | Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia |
| Tiba (1938) | Netherlands |
5,239 | Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia |
| Tribesman (1937) | United Kingdom |
6,242 | Joined Ex BHX 79 |
| Triton (1930) | Norway |
6,607 | Joined Ex BHX 79 |
| Uganda (1927) | United Kingdom |
4,966 | Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia. sunk by U-38 |
| Wandby (1940) | United Kingdom |
4,947 | Joined Ex BHX 79. Sunk by U-47. Wreck sank 21 Oct |
| Wellington Court (1930) | United Kingdom |
4,979 | Sailed Sydney, Nova Scotia |
| Whitford Point (1928) | United Kingdom |
5,026 | Sunk by U-47 |
Convoy escorts
A series of armed military ships escorted the convoy at various times during its journey.
| Name | Flag | Type | Joined | Left |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HMS/HMT Angle | Royal Navy |
ASW (anti-submarine warfare) trawler | 19 Oct 1940 | 19 Oct 1940 |
| HMS Arabis | Royal Navy |
Flower-class corvette | 19 Oct 1940 | 23 Oct 1940 |
| HMS/HMT Blackfly | Royal Navy |
ASW trawler | 19 Oct 1940 | 19 Oct 1940 |
| HMS Coreopsis | Royal Navy |
Flower-class corvette | 19 Oct 1940 | 22 Oct 1940 |
| HMCS French |  Royal Canadian Navy |
Armed yacht | 8 Oct 1940 | 9 Oct 1940 |
| HMS Heliotrope | Royal Navy |
Flower-class corvette | 19 Oct 1940 | 23 Oct 1940 |
| HMS Hibiscus | Royal Navy |
Flower-class corvette | 19 Oct 1940 | 23 Oct 1940 |
| HMCS Husky | Royal Canadian Navy |
Armed yacht | 9 Oct 1940 | 10 Oct 1940 |
| HMS Jason | Royal Navy |
Halcyon-class minesweeper | 9 Oct 1940 | 9 Oct 1940 |
| HMS/HMT Lady Elsa | Royal Navy |
ASW trawler | 19 Oct 1940 | 19 Oct 1940 |
| HMS Montclare | Royal Navy |
Armed merchant cruiser | 9 Oct 1940 | 18 Oct 1940 |
| HNLMS O 14 | Royal Netherlands Navy |
O 12-class submarine | 9 Oct 1940 | 18 Oct 1940 |
| HMCS Reindeer | Royal Canadian Navy |
Armed yacht | 9 Oct 1940 | 10 Oct 1940 |
| HMCS Saguenay | Royal Canadian Navy |
Canadian River-class destroyer | 8 Oct 1940 | 9 Oct 1940 |
| HMS Sardonyx | Royal Navy |
Admiralty S-class destroyer | 20 Oct 1940 | 20 Oct 1940 |
| HMS Sturdy | Royal Navy |
Admiralty S-class destroyer | 19 Oct 1940 | 19 Oct 1940 |
| HMS Whitehall | Royal Navy |
Modified W-class destroyer | 19 Oct 1940 | 21 Oct 1940 |
Conclusion
Despite the number of escorts, they had been ineffective; the ships were uncoordinated, being unused to working together, and having no common battle plan or tactics. The escorts had arrived singly, being dispatched as and when available, this being the common practice at the time. Command of the escort force fell to the senior officer present, and could change as each new ship arrived. Any tactical arrangements had to be made on the spot, and communicated by signal lamp to each ship in turn.
The failure of the escort led to a number of changes in escort policy. The first to take effect was the formation of permanent escort groups, which would operate together under defined leadership. This led to the development of consistent tactics, and teamwork, with an increasing effectiveness.
