- Convoy ON 67
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"ON 67" redirects here. For the highway in northern Ontario, see Ontario Highway 67.
TU 4.1.5 commander's ship USS Edison.
USS Bernadou
USS LeaConvoy ON-67 was a trade convoy of merchant ships during the second World War. It was the 67th of the numbered series of ON convoys Outbound from the British Isles to North America. Ships departing Liverpool on 14 February 1942[1] with convoy rescue ship Toward were escorted to the Mid-Ocean Meeting Point by escort group B4.[2]
Contents
The Escort Group
On 19 February American task unit 4.1.5 assumed escort responsibility with Gleaves class destroyers Edison and Nicholson, Wickes class destroyers Lea and Bernadou and the Canadian Flower class corvette HMCS HF/DF high-frequency direction finding set, and Nicholson had the only functional radar.[7] Lea carried a British ASV aircraft radar with fixed antennae, but the coaxial cable to the antennae was repeatedly shorted by salt water spray.[8] Edison had no depth charge throwers, and was limited to a linear pattern rolled off the stern.[9] The American ships did not have enough binoculars. Bernadou had a 7x50 pair for the officer of the deck and a 6x30 pair for the junior officer of the deck. There were none for the lookouts.[10]
U-155
U-155 found and reported the convoy on 21 February.[11] Toward obtained a bearing on the contact report, and Lea searched the bearing unsuccessfully at dusk.[12] U-155 approached the port quarter of the convoy in the pre-dawn hours of 22 February and torpedoed British tanker Adellen and Norwegian freighter Sama.[13][14] Both ships sank quickly.[15] Algoma rescued eleven of Adellens crew of 31 while Nicholson and Toward found twenty survivors from Samas crew of forty.[16][14] U-155 crash-dived to avoid Bernadou, but the destroyer never saw the U-boat.[17] U-155 made another emergency dive while shadowing the convoy at 1042, but Edison did not detect the U-boat. edit] U-558
U-558 approached the convoy at 2120, but repeatedly turned away to avoid Bernadous patrols until a squall provided cover at midnight. U-558 torpedoed Norwegian tanker Inverarder at 0045 24 February.[18][14] The tanker sank slowly, and Toward rescued all 42 of the crew. U-558 approached again at 0230 and fired a single torpedo at Edison.[19] The torpedo missed, and Edison was unaware it had been fired.[20] U-558 torpedoed Norwegian tanker Eidanger at 0255.[21] U-558 reloaded and at 0550 torpedoed British tanker Anadara, tanker Finnanger, and British freighter White Crest.[22][14] All three ships straggled and were sunk. Later that morning, the convoy commodore sent a signal to the escort commander regarding the performance of U-558: "That chap must be one of their best ones. I do hope you have done him in."[23]
U-158
U-158 located the convoy at 0425 24 February and torpedoed British tanker Empire Celt.[24] Empire Celt was testing a new Admiralty Net Defense system by streaming a strong steel net from 50-foot (15 m) poles along either side of the ship.[25] One torpedo broke through the net and hit amidships.[26] Empire Celt later broke in half, but a tug from Newfoundland rescued 31 from the crew of 37.[27][28]
As U-558 was torpedoing ships on the starboard side of the convoy, U-158 approached the port side and torpedoed British tanker Diloma at 0635.[29] Diloma was the only one of the torpedoed ships to successfully reach Halifax.[30] Both U-158 and U-558 dived to avoid being seen in the early daylight.[31] U-558 found and sank the drifting, abandoned Eidanger astern of the convoy with gunfire and a torpedo.[32] All of Eidangers crew had been rescued.[14] Lea investigated a DF bearing from Toward at 1515 and spotted U-558 twenty miles (32 km) astern of the convoy at 1707. Lea dropped eight depth charges at 1746, and then surprised the U-boat on the surface at 1813 and dropped fourteen depth charges at 1847. U-558 was undamaged.[33]
Nicholson investigated a DF bearing from Toward and sighted U-158 at 1323. U-158 dived and evaded Nicholson. Nicholson then slowed to listen. U-158 surfaced at 1550 and was surprised to find Nicholson waiting 1500 meters away. U-158 crashed-dived before Nicholson saw the U-boat. U-158 surfaced again at 1817 and was surprised to find Edison 2,000 yards (1,800 m) away. U-158 again avoided detection by crash-diving. Edison finally spotted U-158 making another convoy approach at 2008 and dropped 25 depth charges over the following six hours. U-158 was undamaged, but had been prevented from making further attacks on the convoy.[34]
Admiral Karl Dönitz ordered his U-boats to discontinue the attack on 25 February.[35] The escort was reinforced on 26 February by the USCG Treasury Class Cutter Spencer.[36] The remainder of the convoy reached Halifax on 1 March 1942.[37]
Ships in convoy
Name[38] Flag[38] Dead[14] Tonnage[38] Cargo[14] Notes[38] Adellen (1930) 
36 7,984 gross register tons (GRT) (in ballast) sunk by U-155 22 Feb Anadara (1935) 62 8,009 GRT (in ballast) sunk by U-558 & 8,325 GRT destination West Indies Consuelo (1937) 4,847 GRT general cargo destination New York City; survived this convoy and convoy HX 228 Cristales (1926) 5,389 GRT carried convoy vice commodore Capt R H R MacKay OBE; in collision 24 Feb; destination Halifax Daghestan (1941) 7,248 GRT CAM ship; destination Halifax Dekabrist (1903) 
7,363 GRT destination New York City Diloma (1939) 8,146 GRT damaged by U-158; made Halifax Dolabella (1939) 8,142 GRT destination Curacao Dromus (1938) 8,036 GRT destination Curacao Eidanger (1938) 
(none) 9,432 GRT (in ballast) sunk by U-558 24 Feb Empire Celt (1941) 6 8,032 GRT (in ballast) sunk by U-158 24 Feb Empire Druid (1941) 9,813 GRT destination Port Arthur 8,134 GRT destination Baton Rouge 7,242 GRT CAM ship; destination Halifax 8,138 GRT destination Port Arthur Finnanger (1928) 39 9,551 GRT (in ballast) sunk by U-558 24 Feb Glittre (1928) 6,409 GRT destination Aruba; survived to be sunk one year later in convoy ON 166 Gloucester City (1919) 3,071 GRT general cargo destination Philadelphia Hamlet (1934) 6,578 GRT joined from Iceland 19 Feb Hektoria (1899) 13,797 GRT destination New York City; survived to be sunk 7 months later in convoy ON 127 Idefjord (1921) 4,287 GRT china clay destination Saint John, New Brunswick Inverarder (1919) (none) 5,578 GRT (in ballast) sunk by U-558 24 Feb Lancastrian Prince (1940) 1,914 GRT destination New York City; survived this convoy and convoy HX 228 Manchester Exporter (1918) 5,277 GRT general cargo carried convoy commodore RADM Sir O H Dawson KBE; destination Halifax Mentor (1914) 7,383 GRT general cargo destination Singapore USS Mizar (1932) 
6,982 GRT joined from Iceland 19 Feb Nueva Andalucia (1940) 10,044 GRT destination Port Arthur Orari (1931) 10,350 GRT china clay destination Trinidad USS Pleiades (1939) 3,600 GRT joined from Iceland 19 Feb; survived this convoy and convoy SC 107 Rapana (1935) 8,017 GRT destination Curacao Sama (1937) 20 1,799 GRT china clay sunk by U-155 22 Feb Skandinavia (1940) 10,044 GRT destination Aruba; survived this convoy and convoy ON 166 Strinda (1937) 10,973 GRT destination Key West Stuart Prince (1940) 1,911 GRT general cargo destination Halifax; survived this convoy and convoy HX 228 Thorhild (1935) 10,316 GRT destination Curacao Torr Head (1937) 5,021 GRT destination Norfolk, Virginia Toward (1923) 1,571 GRT convoy rescue ship White Crest (1928) 4,365 GRT coal straggled 18 Feb; sunk by U-558 24 February Notes
- ^ Hague (2000) p.157
- ^ Rohwer&Hummelchen (1992) p.114
- ^ Abbazia (September 1975) p.50
- ^ Abbazia (September 1975) p.50
- ^ Murdaugh (January 1976) p.75
- ^ Joslin (February 1976) p.80
- ^ Abbazia (September 1975) p.50
- ^ Hagerman (February 1976) p.80
- ^ Murdaugh (January 1976) p.74
- ^ Joslin (February 1976) pp.79-80
- ^ Rohwer&Hummelchen (1992) p.125
- ^ Abbazia (September 1975) p.51
- ^ Abbazia (September 1975) p.51
- ^ a b c d e f g Hague (2000) p.161
- ^ Abbazia (September 1975) p.51
- ^ Abbazia (September 1975) p.51
- ^ Abbazia (September 1975) p.51
- ^ Abbazia (September 1975) p.53
- ^ Abbazia (September 1975) p.53
- ^ Abbazia (September 1975) p.53
- ^ Abbazia (September 1975) p.53
- ^ Abbazia (September 1975) p.54
- ^ Murdaugh (January 1976) p.74
- ^ Abbazia (September 1975) p.53
- ^ Blair (1996) p.510
- ^ Blair (1996) p.511
- ^ Blair (1996) p.511
- ^ Abbazia (September 1975) p.57
- ^ Abbazia (September 1975) pp.54-55
- ^ Abbazia (September 1975) p.57
- ^ Abbazia (September 1975) p.55
- ^ Abbazia (September 1975) p.55
- ^ Abbazia (September 1975) p.56
- ^ Abbazia (September 1975) p.56
- ^ Abbazia (September 1975) p.57
- ^ Abbazia (September 1975) p.57
- ^ Hague (2000) p.157
- ^ a b c d "ON convoys". Andrew Hague Convoy Database. http://www.convoyweb.org.uk/on/index.html. Retrieved 2011-05-26.
References
- Abbazia, Patrick (September 1975). When the Good Shepherds Were Blind. United States Naval Institute Proceedings.
- Blair, Clay (1996). Hitler's U-Boat War The Hunters 1939-1942. Random House. ISBN 0-394-58839-8.
- Hague, Arnold (2000). The Allied Convoy System 1939-1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-019-3.
- Hagerman, George M., CAPT USN (February 1976). Comment and Discussion. United States Naval Institute Proceedings.
- Joslin, H.B., CAPT USNR (February 1976). Comment and Discussion. United States Naval Institute Proceedings.
- Murdaugh, Albert C., RADM USN (January 1976). Comment and Discussion. United States Naval Institute Proceedings.
- Rohwer, J. and Hummelchen, G. (1992). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939-1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-105-X.
Categories:- North Atlantic convoys of World War II
- World War II Battle of the Atlantic
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