Convoy SC-7
Encyclopedia
SC-7 was the code name for a large Allied World War II
convoy
of 35 merchant ships and six escorts which sailed eastbound from Sydney, Nova Scotia
for Liverpool
and other United Kingdom
ports on 5 October 1940. While crossing the Atlantic, the convoy was intercepted by one of the German Navy's submarine
wolfpacks. During the ensuing battle
, the escort was completely overwhelmed and 20 of the 35 cargo vessels were sunk or damaged. The disastrous outcome of the convoy demonstrated the German submarines' potential of being able to work more efficiently using wolf pack tactics
and the inadequacy of British anti-submarine tactics at the time.
on 5 October 1940 bound for Liverpool and other British ports. The convoy was supposed to make 8 knots, but a number of its 35 merchant ships were much slower than this. The convoy consisted of older, smaller ships, mostly with essential cargoes of bulk goods. Much of the freight on these ships originated on Canada
's east coast, especially from points to the north and east of Sydney. Typical cargoes included pit props from eastern New Brunswick
for the British coal mines, lumber, pulpwood, grain from the Great Lakes
ports, steel and steel ingots from the Sydney plant, and iron ore from Newfoundland
bound for the huge steel plants of Wales
. The largest ship in the convoy was the 9,512-ton oil tanker MV Languedoc
, belonging to the British Admiralty
, which was bound for the Clyde
with fuel for the Royal Navy
. Another ship, the British SS Empire Brigade
, carried a valuable cargo of trucks.
Many of the ships were British, but the convoy also included Greek, Swedish, Norwegian and Dutch vessels. The convoy commodore
, Vice Admiral
Lachlan Donald Ian Mackinnon
, a retired naval officer who volunteered for this civilian duty, sailed in the SS Assyrian
, a British ship of 2,962 tons. As convoy commodore
, Mackinnon was in charge of the good order of the merchant ships, but did not command the escort.
The sloop HMS Scarborough was sole naval escort for the first three quarters of the journey. There was no aircraft protection in 1940 for Allied ships in the Atlantic Ocean after leaving coastal regions. Scarborough would have had little chance against a surface attack by a German raider
.
Many of the merchant ship captains were resentful at having to sail in convoy, and would have preferred to take their chances on their own rather than risk such a slow crossing with a weak escort. They were often uncooperative; at one point early in the voyage Scarborough's captain was shocked to find a Greek
merchant ship in the convoy travelling at night with her lights on.
On the first day, one ship, the SS Winona
dropped out with mechanical trouble, and had to return.
As bad weather set in on the 11th, several ships became separated, and were forced to sail independently.
One of these, the SS Trevisa, was a small Canadian Laker
of 1,813 tons with a cargo of lumber destined for Scotland
. She was sighted by U-124 on the 16th and sunk.
Another, the Greek
freighter SS Aenos was seen by U-38, and sunk on 17th; but SS Eaglescliff Hall
, another Laker, avoided this fate, and was able to rescue survivors from Aenos, before arriving safely at Rothesay
on the 19th. A fourth straggler regained the convoy on the 15th.
On the 17th as the convoy entered the Western Approaches
Scarborough was joined by the sloop Fowey
and the new corvette
Bluebell
.
Later that day they were sighted by U-48, which attacked, sinking two ships including the tanker Languedoc.
Scarborough counter-attacked, driving U-48 deep so she was unable to shadow or report.
However the attack was prolonged unwisely, and the convoy moved so far ahead Scarborough was unable to rejoin.
On the 18th SC 7 was joined by the sloop Leith
, and the corvette Heartsease
, and Leith assumed command.
Later that day U-38, sighted the convoy and attacked, damaging SS Carsbreck
.
Leith and Heartsease attacked without success, though U-38 was driven off, and Heartsease was detailed to escort Carsbreck home, weakening the escort further.
They were U-46, U-99, U-100, U-101 and U-123. U-99 was captained by the famous ace Korvettenkapitän Otto Kretschmer
. The attack was coordinated from Lorient
by Admiral Karl Dönitz
and his staff.
An early casualty was the iron ore ship, SS Creekirk, bound for Cardiff
, Wales. With her heavy cargo, she sank like a stone, taking all 36 crew members with her. Later that night, SC 7 lost many of its members, including the SS Empire Brigade
with her cargo of trucks and six of her crew and the SS Fiscus
with her cargo of steel ingots from Sydney. She sank like a stone as well, taking with her 38 of her 39 man crew. Also among the casualties was the commodore's ship, SS Assyrian, down with 17 crew (though Commodore Mackinnon was rescued after a long immersion in the chilly waters). In all, 16 ships were lost in this six hour period.
On 18 October, was torpedoed by U-101 and was abandoned. She was torpedoed again on 19 October by U-100 but remained afloat. She was towed to the Clyde
and later repaired at Greenock
.
The escorts were unable to prevent any of these losses; their responses were uncoordinated and ineffective. They never realised that the attacking submarines did not attack submerged or from outside the convoy, but were actually running surfaced between the ships inside the convoy. Therefore the escorts were unable to mount any serious attacks on the U-boats, and had to spend much of their time rescuing survivors.
Fowey collected eight ships and made for the Clyde
, arriving there a few days later. Scarborough passed through the scene of the battle later on the 19th; she found wreckage, but no survivors. Later that afternoon Leith met Heartsease, still escorting the damaged Carsbreck; together they headed for the Gourock
, collecting two more stragglers on the way. Bluebell with over 200 survivors on board, headed directly for the Clyde, arriving on the 20th.
SC 7 had lost 20 ships out of 35, of which seven fell to Kretschmer's U-99. The total tonnage lost was .
in the vicinity had diverted the U-boat
s and they went on to sink 12 ships from HX-79 that night.
No U-boats were lost in either engagement.
The loss of 28 ships in 48 hours made 18th and 19 October the worst two days for shipping losses in the entire Atlantic campaign.
By contrast the convoy escort was ineffective in guarding against the attack. Convoy tactics
were rudimentary at this early stage of the war. The escorts' responses were uncoordinated, as the ships were unused to working together with a common battle-plan. Command fell to the senior officer present, and could change as each new ship arrived.
The escorts were torn between staying with the convoy, abandoning survivors in the water, as DEMS
regulations demanded, and picking them up, leaving the convoy unprotected and risking being torpedoed themselves.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
convoy
Convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
of 35 merchant ships and six escorts which sailed eastbound from Sydney, Nova Scotia
Sydney, Nova Scotia
Sydney is a Canadian urban community in the province of Nova Scotia. It is situated on the east coast of Cape Breton Island and is administratively part of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality....
for Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and other United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
ports on 5 October 1940. While crossing the Atlantic, the convoy was intercepted by one of the German Navy's submarine
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
wolfpacks. During the ensuing battle
Naval battle
A naval battle is a battle fought using boats, ships or other waterborne vessels. Most naval battles have occurred at sea, but a few have taken place on lakes or rivers. The earliest recorded naval battle took place in 1210 BC near Cyprus...
, the escort was completely overwhelmed and 20 of the 35 cargo vessels were sunk or damaged. The disastrous outcome of the convoy demonstrated the German submarines' potential of being able to work more efficiently using wolf pack tactics
Naval tactics in the Age of Steam
The development of the steam ironclad firing explosive shells in the mid 19th century rendered sailing tactics obsolete. New tactics were developed for the big-gun Dreadnought battleships. The mine, torpedo, submarine and aircraft posed new threats, each of which had to be countered, leading to...
and the inadequacy of British anti-submarine tactics at the time.
Ships of the convoy
The slow convoy SC-7 left Sydney, Nova ScotiaSydney, Nova Scotia
Sydney is a Canadian urban community in the province of Nova Scotia. It is situated on the east coast of Cape Breton Island and is administratively part of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality....
on 5 October 1940 bound for Liverpool and other British ports. The convoy was supposed to make 8 knots, but a number of its 35 merchant ships were much slower than this. The convoy consisted of older, smaller ships, mostly with essential cargoes of bulk goods. Much of the freight on these ships originated on Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
's east coast, especially from points to the north and east of Sydney. Typical cargoes included pit props from eastern New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
for the British coal mines, lumber, pulpwood, grain from the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
ports, steel and steel ingots from the Sydney plant, and iron ore from Newfoundland
Dominion of Newfoundland
The Dominion of Newfoundland was a British Dominion from 1907 to 1949 . The Dominion of Newfoundland was situated in northeastern North America along the Atlantic coast and comprised the island of Newfoundland and Labrador on the continental mainland...
bound for the huge steel plants of Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. The largest ship in the convoy was the 9,512-ton oil tanker MV Languedoc
MV Languedoc
The MV Languedoc was a motor tanker which initially sailed under the French flag prior to the Second World War. She was taken over by the British after the fall of France in 1940 and sailed for them in a number of convoys, before being sunk by a German u-boat later that year.-Early career:The...
, belonging to the British Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
, which was bound for the Clyde
River Clyde
The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
with fuel for the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
. Another ship, the British SS Empire Brigade
SS Empire Brigade
Empire Brigade was a 5,184 GRT cargo ship which was built in 1912 as Hannington Court. She served through the First World War and was sold in 1936 to Achille Lauro, being renamed Elios. In 1940, she was interned by the United Kingdom as a result of war being declared against Italy...
, carried a valuable cargo of trucks.
Many of the ships were British, but the convoy also included Greek, Swedish, Norwegian and Dutch vessels. The convoy commodore
Convoy commodore
A Convoy Commodore was the title of a civilian put in charge of the good order of the merchant ships in the British convoys used during World War II. Usually the convoy commodore was a retired naval officer or a senior merchant captain drawn from the RNVR...
, Vice Admiral
Vice Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...
Lachlan Donald Ian Mackinnon
Lachlan Donald Ian Mackinnon
Lachlan Donald Ian Mackinnon, CB, CVO was a Royal Navy officer, especially noted for his role as a convoy commodore during the Second World War.-Family and early career:...
, a retired naval officer who volunteered for this civilian duty, sailed in the SS Assyrian
SS Assyrian
The SS Assyrian was a steam merchant ship, originally German-built, which sailed under the British flag during the Second World War.-Early years:She was originally built by Blohm + Voss, Hamburg as the German motor merchant Fritz, in 1914...
, a British ship of 2,962 tons. As convoy commodore
Commodore (rank)
Commodore is a military rank used in many navies that is superior to a navy captain, but below a rear admiral. Non-English-speaking nations often use the rank of flotilla admiral or counter admiral as an equivalent .It is often regarded as a one-star rank with a NATO code of OF-6, but is not always...
, Mackinnon was in charge of the good order of the merchant ships, but did not command the escort.
The sloop HMS Scarborough was sole naval escort for the first three quarters of the journey. There was no aircraft protection in 1940 for Allied ships in the Atlantic Ocean after leaving coastal regions. Scarborough would have had little chance against a surface attack by a German raider
Merchant raider
Merchant raiders are ships which disguise themselves as non-combatant merchant vessels, whilst actually being armed and intending to attack enemy commerce. Germany used several merchant raiders early in World War I, and again early in World War II...
.
Many of the merchant ship captains were resentful at having to sail in convoy, and would have preferred to take their chances on their own rather than risk such a slow crossing with a weak escort. They were often uncooperative; at one point early in the voyage Scarborough's captain was shocked to find a Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
merchant ship in the convoy travelling at night with her lights on.
The first attacks
The convoy sailed on Saturday 5 October 1940.On the first day, one ship, the SS Winona
SS Winona
The SS Winona was an American steam merchant vessel. She was built at the end of the First World War, surviving to see action during the Second World War...
dropped out with mechanical trouble, and had to return.
As bad weather set in on the 11th, several ships became separated, and were forced to sail independently.
One of these, the SS Trevisa, was a small Canadian Laker
Lake freighter
Lake freighters, or Lakers, are bulk carrier vessels that ply the Great Lakes. The best known was the , the most recent and largest major vessel to be wrecked on the Lakes. These vessels are traditionally called boats, although classified as ships. In the mid-20th century, 300 lakers worked the...
of 1,813 tons with a cargo of lumber destined for Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. She was sighted by U-124 on the 16th and sunk.
Another, the Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
freighter SS Aenos was seen by U-38, and sunk on 17th; but SS Eaglescliff Hall
SS Eaglescliffe Hall
The SS Eaglescliffe Hall was a bulk freighter initially built to serve for the Canadians on the Great Lakes. She had an active life, leaving the lakes during the Second World War to transport goods around Britain.-Pre-war service:...
, another Laker, avoided this fate, and was able to rescue survivors from Aenos, before arriving safely at Rothesay
Rothesay
Rothesay or Rothsay may refer to:Places*Rothesay, Argyll and Bute, on the Isle of Bute, Scotland*Rothesay, New Brunswick, Canada*Rothesay , Canada*Rothsay, Minnesota, USA*Rothsay, Western AustraliaPeople*Duke of Rothesay...
on the 19th. A fourth straggler regained the convoy on the 15th.
On the 17th as the convoy entered the Western Approaches
Western Approaches
The Western Approaches is a rectangular area of the Atlantic ocean lying on the western coast of Great Britain. The rectangle is higher than it is wide, the north and south boundaries defined by the north and south ends of the British Isles, the eastern boundary lying on the western coast, and the...
Scarborough was joined by the sloop Fowey
HMS Fowey (L15)
HMS Fowey was a Shoreham-class sloop of the Royal Navy. She served during the Second World War.-Construction and commissioning:Fowey was ordered on 4 December 1929 under the 1929 Programme. She was laid down at Devonport Dockyard on 24 March 1930, and was launched on 4 November that year by a Mrs...
and the new corvette
Corvette
A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...
Bluebell
HMS Bluebell
Two ships of the British Royal Navy have been named HMS Bluebell, after the bluebell flower.* The first Bluebell was a sloop in service from 1915 to 1930....
.
Later that day they were sighted by U-48, which attacked, sinking two ships including the tanker Languedoc.
Scarborough counter-attacked, driving U-48 deep so she was unable to shadow or report.
However the attack was prolonged unwisely, and the convoy moved so far ahead Scarborough was unable to rejoin.
On the 18th SC 7 was joined by the sloop Leith
HMS Leith (U36)
HMS Leith was a Grimsby-class sloop of the Royal Navy. She served during the Second World War.-Construction, commissioning and early service:...
, and the corvette Heartsease
HMS Heartsease (K15)
HMS Heartsease was a Flower-class corvette of the Royal Navy. She served with both the Royal Navy and the United States Navy during the Second World War, with the latter navy as USS Courage...
, and Leith assumed command.
Later that day U-38, sighted the convoy and attacked, damaging SS Carsbreck
SS Carsbreck
The SS Carsbreck was a British steam merchant ship. She was sunk while carrying supplies to the UK during the Second World War.-Early years and convoy SC-7:...
.
Leith and Heartsease attacked without success, though U-38 was driven off, and Heartsease was detailed to escort Carsbreck home, weakening the escort further.
The night of the U-boats
On the night of 18th/19th five boats made a concerted attack.They were U-46, U-99, U-100, U-101 and U-123. U-99 was captained by the famous ace Korvettenkapitän Otto Kretschmer
Otto Kretschmer
Flotilla Admiral Otto Kretschmer was a German U-boat commander in the Second World War and later an admiral in the Bundesmarine. From September 1939 until being captured in March 1941, he sank 47 ships, a total of 274,333 tons. For this he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak...
. The attack was coordinated from Lorient
Lorient
Lorient, or L'Orient, is a commune and a seaport in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.-History:At the beginning of the 17th century, merchants who were trading with India had established warehouses in Port-Louis...
by Admiral Karl Dönitz
Karl Dönitz
Karl Dönitz was a German naval commander during World War II. He started his career in the German Navy during World War I. In 1918, while he was in command of , the submarine was sunk by British forces and Dönitz was taken prisoner...
and his staff.
An early casualty was the iron ore ship, SS Creekirk, bound for Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, Wales. With her heavy cargo, she sank like a stone, taking all 36 crew members with her. Later that night, SC 7 lost many of its members, including the SS Empire Brigade
SS Empire Brigade
Empire Brigade was a 5,184 GRT cargo ship which was built in 1912 as Hannington Court. She served through the First World War and was sold in 1936 to Achille Lauro, being renamed Elios. In 1940, she was interned by the United Kingdom as a result of war being declared against Italy...
with her cargo of trucks and six of her crew and the SS Fiscus
SS Fiscus
The SS Fiscus was a steam merchant ship that sailed under the British flag, and saw service in the Second World War, when she was sunk.-Career and sinking:...
with her cargo of steel ingots from Sydney. She sank like a stone as well, taking with her 38 of her 39 man crew. Also among the casualties was the commodore's ship, SS Assyrian, down with 17 crew (though Commodore Mackinnon was rescued after a long immersion in the chilly waters). In all, 16 ships were lost in this six hour period.
On 18 October, was torpedoed by U-101 and was abandoned. She was torpedoed again on 19 October by U-100 but remained afloat. She was towed to the Clyde
River Clyde
The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
and later repaired at Greenock
Greenock
Greenock is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in United Kingdom, and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland...
.
The escorts were unable to prevent any of these losses; their responses were uncoordinated and ineffective. They never realised that the attacking submarines did not attack submerged or from outside the convoy, but were actually running surfaced between the ships inside the convoy. Therefore the escorts were unable to mount any serious attacks on the U-boats, and had to spend much of their time rescuing survivors.
Aftermath
During the daytime of the 19th the escorts, loaded with survivors, gathered together those ships that remained.Fowey collected eight ships and made for the Clyde
River Clyde
The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
, arriving there a few days later. Scarborough passed through the scene of the battle later on the 19th; she found wreckage, but no survivors. Later that afternoon Leith met Heartsease, still escorting the damaged Carsbreck; together they headed for the Gourock
Gourock
Gourock is a town falling within the Inverclyde council area and formerly forming a burgh of the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It has in the past functioned as a seaside resort on the Firth of Clyde...
, collecting two more stragglers on the way. Bluebell with over 200 survivors on board, headed directly for the Clyde, arriving on the 20th.
SC 7 had lost 20 ships out of 35, of which seven fell to Kretschmer's U-99. The total tonnage lost was .
The blackest days
Meanwhile, the arrival of Convoy HX-79Convoy HX-79
HX 79 was a 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...
in the vicinity had diverted the U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
s and they went on to sink 12 ships from HX-79 that night.
No U-boats were lost in either engagement.
The loss of 28 ships in 48 hours made 18th and 19 October the worst two days for shipping losses in the entire Atlantic campaign.
Conclusion
The attack on SC 7 was a vindication of the U-boat Arm's wolf-pack tactic, and was the most successful U-boat attack of the Atlantic campaign.By contrast the convoy escort was ineffective in guarding against the attack. Convoy tactics
Naval tactics in the Age of Steam
The development of the steam ironclad firing explosive shells in the mid 19th century rendered sailing tactics obsolete. New tactics were developed for the big-gun Dreadnought battleships. The mine, torpedo, submarine and aircraft posed new threats, each of which had to be countered, leading to...
were rudimentary at this early stage of the war. The escorts' responses were uncoordinated, as the ships were unused to working together with a common battle-plan. Command fell to the senior officer present, and could change as each new ship arrived.
The escorts were torn between staying with the convoy, abandoning survivors in the water, as DEMS
Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships
Defensively Equipped Merchant Ship was an Admiralty Trade Division program established in June, 1939, to arm 5,500 British merchant ships with an adequate defence against enemy submarines and aircraft...
regulations demanded, and picking them up, leaving the convoy unprotected and risking being torpedoed themselves.
Sources
- Paul Lund, Harry Ludlam : The Night of the U-Boats ( 1973) ISBN 0 572 00828 7
- Stephen RoskillStephen RoskillCaptain Stephen Wentworth Roskill, CBE, DSC, FBA, DLitt was a career officer in the Royal Navy, serving during the Second World War and, after his enforced medical retirement, served as the official historian of the Royal Navy from 1949 to 1960...
: The War at Sea 1939-1945 Vol I (1954) ISBN (none) - Dan van der Vat : The Atlantic Campaign (1988) ISBN 0-340-37751-8
- Arnold Hague : The Allied Convoy System 1939-1945 (2000) . ISBN 1-55125-033-0 (Canada). ISBN 1-86176-147-3 (UK)