Escort group B2
Encyclopedia
B-2 Escort Group was a British formation of the Royal Navy
which saw action during the Second World War, principally in the Battle of the Atlantic.
The group was under the command of Cdr Donald Macintyre
, one of Britains most successful anti-submarine warfare
commanders.
which served with the Mid-Ocean Escort Force
(MOEF), which provided convoy protection in the most dangerous mid-section of the North Atlantic route.
B-2 EG was formed in the spring of 1942 and
originally consisted of the Havant class destroyer HMS Hesperus with
Town class destroyer
Leamington
,
V and W class destroyer
Veteran
,and
Flower-class corvettes HMS Gentian (K90)
, HMS Clematis,
Sweetbriar and
Vervain
.
Later in the year
the low-endurance destroyers Leamington and
Veteran were replaced by
long-range V&W destroyer
s Vanessa and
Whitehall and corvettes
HMS Heather
, HMS Campanula, and HMS Mignonette joined the group.
and St Johns
Newfoundland
.
The spring and early summer B-2’s first convoys, in the spring of 1942, were uneventful, and as the pace of the Battle of the Atlantic hotted up in the summer and autumn the group's convoys were escorted without loss.
In October 1942, ON 138 came under attack, but a vigorous defence by B-2 ensured no ships were lost.
In December 1942, accompanying HX 219 the convoy came under attack. Hesperus responded and counter-attacked and destroyed U-357 by ramming.
As a result Hesperus was out of action for 2 months.
In February 1943 a depleted B-2 under temporary command of Cdr Proudfoot escorted Convoy SC 118
. This convoy came under attack by wolfpack Pfeil and lost 8 ships for 3 U-boats destroyed in one of the hardest fought battles of the campaign.
In April during an attack on ONS 4, B-2 ships sank U-191.
In May in an attack on SC 129 B-2 sank U-186 and damaged U-402 and U-223 for the loss of 2 ships.
A series of uneventful convoys followed, as the U-boat Arm withdrew from the North Atlantic after Black May
, a state of affairs which continued until the end of the year
During this period B-2 EG had escorted over 30 convoys, totalling over 900 ships of which just 10 were lost.
No warships were lost from the group, which accounted for 3 U-boats destroyed and 2 others damaged, and shared in the destruction of 3 others, in its 2 year career.
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...
which saw action during the Second World War, principally in the Battle of the Atlantic.
The group was under the command of Cdr Donald Macintyre
Donald Macintyre (naval officer)
This page is about the World War II naval officer. For others of similar name see Donald MacIntyreDonald George Frederick Wyville Macintyre DSO & Two Bars, DSC was a Royal Navy officer during the Second World War and a successful convoy escort commander.Following the war, he was also an author of...
, one of Britains most successful anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....
commanders.
Formation
B-2 Escort Group (B-2 EG) was one of seven British escort groupsEscort Group (naval)
Escort Groups for convoy protection were a British development in the war at sea during World War II. They were a tactical innovation by the Royal Navy in anti-submarine warfare, to combat the threat of the German Navy's "wolfpack" tactics....
which served with the Mid-Ocean Escort Force
Mid-Ocean Escort Force
Mid-Ocean Escort Force referred to the organization of anti-submarine escorts for World War II trade convoys between Canada and the British Isles...
(MOEF), which provided convoy protection in the most dangerous mid-section of the North Atlantic route.
B-2 EG was formed in the spring of 1942 and
originally consisted of the Havant class destroyer HMS Hesperus with
Town class destroyer
Town class destroyer
The Town class destroyers were warships transferred from the United States Navy to the Royal Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy in exchange for military bases in the Bahamas and elsewhere, as outlined in the Destroyers for Bases Agreement between Britain and United States, signed on 2 September 1940...
Leamington
USS Twiggs (DD-127)
The first USS Twiggs was a Wickes-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War I. She was named for Major Levi Twiggs. She was later transferred to the Royal Navy, as HMS Leamington and to the Soviet Navy as Zhguchiy, before returning to Britain to star in the film The Gift Horse,...
,
V and W class destroyer
V and W class destroyer
The V and W class was an amalgam of six similar classes of destroyer built for the Royal Navy under the War Emergency Programme of the First World War and generally treated as one class...
Veteran
HMS Veteran (D72)
HMS Veteran was a V class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was the third ship to carry the name Veteran. She was launched in 1919 and therefore missed the First World War. She served as a convoy escort in the Second World War before being sunk by the German U-boat U-404 while rescuing survivors...
,and
Flower-class corvettes HMS Gentian (K90)
HMS Gentian (K90)
HMS Gentian was a Royal Navy Flower-class corvette that served in the Battle of the Atlantic, during World War II.One of the first batch of wartime corvettes laid down, she served most of the time in the Western Approaches, escorting convoys across the North Atlantic with Escort Group B2 and was...
, HMS Clematis,
Sweetbriar and
Vervain
HMS Vervain (K190)
HMS Vervain was a Flower-class corvette of the Royal Navy. She served during the Second World War.On 28 February 1943 the liberty ship SS Wade Hampton was torpedoed by U-405 while sailing in a convoy from New York to Murmansk, Russia...
.
Later in the year
the low-endurance destroyers Leamington and
Veteran were replaced by
long-range V&W destroyer
V and W class destroyer
The V and W class was an amalgam of six similar classes of destroyer built for the Royal Navy under the War Emergency Programme of the First World War and generally treated as one class...
s Vanessa and
Whitehall and corvettes
HMS Heather
HMS Heather
Two ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Heather after the flower: was an Aubrieta-class sloop launched in 1916 and sold in 1932. was a Flower-class corvette commissioned in 1940 and sold in 1947....
, HMS Campanula, and HMS Mignonette joined the group.
Service history
B-2 EG commenced convoy escort duties in April 1942, in the critical mid ocean section of the North Atlantic route, operating between RN LondonderryLondonderry Port
Londonderry Port at Lisahally is a port near Derry, Northern Ireland. It is the United Kingdom’s most westerly port, has capacity for 30,000 ton vessels and accepts cruise ships. The current port is on the east bank of the River Foyle at the southern end of Lough Foyle, by the small village of...
and St Johns
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
St. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...
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...
.
The spring and early summer B-2’s first convoys, in the spring of 1942, were uneventful, and as the pace of the Battle of the Atlantic hotted up in the summer and autumn the group's convoys were escorted without loss.
In October 1942, ON 138 came under attack, but a vigorous defence by B-2 ensured no ships were lost.
In December 1942, accompanying HX 219 the convoy came under attack. Hesperus responded and counter-attacked and destroyed U-357 by ramming.
As a result Hesperus was out of action for 2 months.
In February 1943 a depleted B-2 under temporary command of Cdr Proudfoot escorted Convoy SC 118
Convoy SC 118
Convoy SC-118 was the 118th of the numbered series of World War II Slow Convoys of merchant ships from Sydney, Cape Breton Island to Liverpool.-Prelude:...
. This convoy came under attack by wolfpack Pfeil and lost 8 ships for 3 U-boats destroyed in one of the hardest fought battles of the campaign.
In April during an attack on ONS 4, B-2 ships sank U-191.
In May in an attack on SC 129 B-2 sank U-186 and damaged U-402 and U-223 for the loss of 2 ships.
A series of uneventful convoys followed, as the U-boat Arm withdrew from the North Atlantic after Black May
Black May (1943)
‘Black May’ refers to a period in the Battle of the Atlantic campaign during World War II, when the German U-boat arm suffered high casualties with fewer Allied ships sunk; it is considered a turning point in the Battle of the Atlantic.-Background:After February battles around convoys SC 118, ON...
, a state of affairs which continued until the end of the year
During this period B-2 EG had escorted over 30 convoys, totalling over 900 ships of which just 10 were lost.
No warships were lost from the group, which accounted for 3 U-boats destroyed and 2 others damaged, and shared in the destruction of 3 others, in its 2 year career.
U-boats destroyed
- U-357, sunk by Hesperus and Vanessa on 26 December 1942
- U-191German submarine U-191German submarine U-191 was a Type IXC/40 U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine built for service during World War II.She was ordered on 4 November 1940 from AG Weser, Bremen laid down on 2 November 1941 and launched on 23 July 1942. She was commissioned under Kptlt...
, sunk by Hesperus on 23 April 1943 - U-186 sunk by Hesperus on 12 May 1943
Convoys escorted
| Outbound | Homebound |
|---|---|
| ON 83 | SC 81 |
| ON 97 | SC 86 |
| On 107 | HX 198 |
| ON 118 | HX 203 |
| ON 128 | HX 208 |
| ON 138 | HX 213 |
| ON 148 | HX 219 |
| ON 159 | SC 118 Convoy SC 118 Convoy SC-118 was the 118th of the numbered series of World War II Slow Convoys of merchant ships from Sydney, Cape Breton Island to Liverpool.-Prelude:... |
| ON 170 | SC 123 |
| ONS 4 | SC 129 |
| ONS 9 | SC 134 |
| ONS 13 | SC138 |
| ON 198 | SC141 |
| KMS 28 | MKS 27 |
| ONS 22 | HX 267 |
| ONS 25 | HX 273 |
| SL 157 | . |
Senior Officer Escort
| From | To | Captain |
|---|---|---|
| April 1942 | April 1944 | Cdr D MacIntyre Donald Macintyre (naval officer) This page is about the World War II naval officer. For others of similar name see Donald MacIntyreDonald George Frederick Wyville Macintyre DSO & Two Bars, DSC was a Royal Navy officer during the Second World War and a successful convoy escort commander.Following the war, he was also an author of... |