Convoy HG 76
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HG 76 was an Allied convoy of the HG (Homeward from Gibraltar) series during World War II. It was notable in seeing the destruction of four German U-boats for the loss of four ships, which was regarded as the first major victory for the Allies in the Battle of the Atlantic.
Contents
Background
HG 76 comprised 32 ships homeward bound from Gibraltar, many in ballast, or carrying trade goods.
There was a strong escort, consisting of 36th Escort Group, usually two sloops (Stork and Deptford) and seven corvettes (Convolvulus, Gardenia, Marigold, Penstemon, Rhodedendron, Samphire and Vetch) under the command of FJ Walker; this force was augmented by the new escort carrier Audacity, and her three escorting destroyers, Blankney, Stanley and Exmoor II plus four other warships, the sloops Fowey and Black Swan, and the corvettes Carnation and La Malouine; a total of 17 warships.
Ranged against them was the wolfpack Seeräuber (Sea Robber, or Pirate) of six U-boats (U-67, U-107, U-108, U-131, U-434 and U-574), reinforced later by a further three boats.
Action
HG 76 sailed from Gibraltar on 15 December 1941, and was reported almost immediately by German agents across the bay in neutral Spain; they reported the convoy’s composition, escort strength and departure time. HG 76 was also sighted later that day by U-74, en route to the Mediterranean, but was lost in poor visibility, while BdU was confused by an agent's report that the convoy had returned to port.
The wolfpack was arrayed in a patrol line south of Cape St Vincent, but HG 76 was able to pass through the line without detection. Meanwhile one of the boats, U-127 was detected on a routine ASW sweep by a group of four destroyers from Gibraltar and after a brief but devastating attack U-127 was destroyed by the Australian destroyer HMAS Nestor.
On 16 December, HG 76 was sighted by a German long-range Condor aircraft patrolling from Bordeaux; from this U-108 gained contact and commenced shadowing the convoy and reporting its position so other U-boats could join the attack. During the night of the 16th/17th the wolfpack closed in, until by morning on the 17th four boats were in contact.
However, vigorous patrolling by the escorts and by aircraft from Audacity led to U-131 being detected. She was attacked by Stork, with Penstemon and the three destroyers in concert. U-131 was driven to the surface and sunk, though not before shooting down one of the Martlets.
On the night of 17/18th the U-boats attacked again but aggressive counter-measures by the escort group prevented any hits, while at dawn on the 18th U-434 was sighted by the destroyers; she was attacked and rammed by Blankney, which was damaged in the process. During the rest of the day several of the escorts had to leave; the sloops Black Swan, Fowey, with the corvettes Carnation and La Malouine returned to Gibraltar to re-fuel, while Blankney departed for repairs, escorted by Exmoor II.
On the night of 18/19 Stanley sighted U-574 astern, shadowing the convoy and attacked the submarine, but was herself torpedoed and sunk. Stork and Samphire followed up the attack and destroyed U-574, picking up survivors from both ships. Also during the night U-108 torpedoed the Ruckinge, which was abandoned, to be sunk later by Samphire.
On the 19th the convoy was attacked by a force of Condors; they caused no damage, but two were shot down, and another damaged, by Martlets from Audacity. Also that day, the wolfpack was joined by three more U-boats from Bordeaux, U-71, U-567 (captained by U-boat ace Engelbert Endrass), and U-751. Over the next three days the three original wolfpack boats U-67, U-107 and U-108 continued to shadow, attacking without result.
On 21st the three boats from Bordeaux, and the U-boats again prepared to attack. Walker attempted to draw off the attack by having Deptford make a demonstration some way off from the convoy. This was unsuccessful, as some of the merchant ships were confused by the display, and also fired star-shells, revealing their position. U-567 was able to sink Annavore, while Bigalk, in U-751 sighted Audacity, zig-zagging behind the convoy without her escort. He fired and Audacity was hit by three torpedoes and sunk. Marigold, Vetch and Samphire counter-attacked, but without result.
Later that night Deptford spotted a U-boat and attacked, dropping depth-charges, with no apparent result; however, post-war analysis revealed that she had sunk U-567. Following this Deptford collided with Stork, damaging them both.
During 22 Dec U-71 and U-751 remained in contact, to be joined by U-125 (en route to America), while HG 76 was reinforced by the destroyers Vanquisher and Witch. On 23 December, Donitz, shaken by his losses and the lack of success, called off the attack with U-67, U-107, U-108 and U-751 returning to bases in France.
Conclusion
Despite the loss of Audacity and the three other ships, the safe arrival of 30 ships and the destruction of three U-boats (U-127 was not included, and U-567 not confirmed until after the war) was judged to be an outstanding victory. It also confirmed Walker as the Royal Navy’s foremost expert in anti-submarine warfare.
By contrast Admiral Donitz and the U-boat forces was shaken by their losses, particularly that of Endrass, who was the leading U-boat ace at that time.
Ships In The Convoy[1]
| Name | Flag | Tonnage (GRT) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adjutant (1922) |  United Kingdom |
1,931 | |
| Algerian (1924) | United Kingdom |
2,315 | |
| Alresford (1922) | United Kingdom |
2,472 | |
| Annavore (1921) |  Norway |
3,324 | Sunk by U-567[2] |
| HMS Audacity (D10) |  Royal Navy |
Escort 14 Dec - 21 Dec. Escort Carrier. Sunk by U-751[3] | |
| Baron Newlands (1928) | United Kingdom |
3,386 | |
| Benwood (1910) | Norway |
3,931 | |
| HMS Black Swan (L57) | Royal Navy |
Escort 14 Dec - 16 Dec. Sloop | |
| Blairatholl (1925) | United Kingdom |
3,319 | |
| HMS Blankney (L30) | Royal Navy |
Escort 14 Dec - 18 Dec. Destroyer | |
| HMS Campion (K108) | Royal Navy |
Escort 15 Dec - 16 Dec. Corvette | |
| HMS Carnation (K00) | Royal Navy |
Escort 14 Dec - 15 Dec Corvette |
|
| Cisneros (1926) | United Kingdom |
1,886 | |
| Clan Macinnes (1920) | United Kingdom |
4,672 | |
| HMS Coltsfoot (K140) | Royal Navy |
Escort 16 Dec - 16 Dec. Corvette | |
| HMS Convolvulus (K45) | Royal Navy |
Escort 14 Dec - 30 Dec. Corvette | |
| Cressado (1913) | United Kingdom |
1,228 | Rear-Admiral Sir O H Dawson KBE |
| HMS Deptford (U53) | Royal Navy |
Escort 14 Dec - 22 Dec. In collision with HMS Stork on 22 Dec | |
| Disa (1918) |  Sweden |
2,002 | |
| Empire Darwin (1941) | United Kingdom |
6,765 | CAM ship |
| HMS Exmoor (L08) | Royal Navy |
Escort 14 Dec - 18 Dec. Destroyer | |
| Fagersten (1921) | Norway |
2,342 | |
| Finland (1939) | United Kingdom |
1,375 | |
| HMS Fowey (L15) | Royal Navy |
Escort 14 Dec - 16 Dec. Sloop | |
| Fylingdale (1924) | United Kingdom |
3,918 | |
| HMS Gardenia (K99) | Royal Navy |
Escort 14 Dec - 19 Dec.
Detached to Convoy ON 48. Corvette |
|
| HMS Hesperus (H57) | Royal Navy |
Escort 16 Dec - 16 Dec. Destroyer | |
| HMS Jonquil (K68) | Royal Navy |
Escort 14 Dec - 30 Dec. Corvette | |
| HMS La Malouine (K46) | Royal Navy |
Escort 14 Dec - 16 Dec. Corvette | |
| Lago (1929) | Norway |
2,552 | |
| Lisbeth (1922) | Norway |
2,732 | |
| HMS Marigold (K87) | Royal Navy |
Escort 14 Dec - 30 Dec. Corvette | |
| Meta (1930) | United Kingdom |
1,575 | |
| Ocean Coast (1935) | United Kingdom |
1,173 | |
| Ogmore Castle (1919) | United Kingdom |
2,481 | |
| Ottinge (1940) | United Kingdom |
2,870 | |
| Ousel (1922) | United Kingdom |
1,533 | |
| HMS Penstemon (K61) | Royal Navy |
Escort 14 Dec - 30 Dec. Corvette | |
| Portsea (1938) | United Kingdom |
1,583 | |
| Ruckinge (1939) | United Kingdom |
2,869 | Sunk by U-108[4] |
| HMS Samphire (K128) | Royal Navy |
Escort 14 Dec - 30 Dec. Corvette | |
| San Gorg (1919) | United Kingdom |
615 | |
| Sheaf Crown (1929) | United Kingdom |
4,868 | |
| Shuna (1937) | United Kingdom |
1,575 | |
| Spero (1922) | United Kingdom |
1,589 | Vice-Admiral Sir R Fitzmaurice KBE DSO (Commodore) |
| HMS Stanley (I73) | Royal Navy |
Escort 14 Dec - 19 Dec. Sunk by U-574[5] On 19 Dec | |
| HMS Stork (L81) | Royal Navy |
Escort 14 Dec - 22 Dec. Sloop. In collision with HMS Deptford on 22 Dec |
|
| Switzerland (1922) | United Kingdom |
1,291 | |
| Thyra (1925) | Sweden |
1,796 | |
| Thyra (1925) | Sweden |
1,796 | |
| Tintern Abbey (1939) | United Kingdom |
2,471 | |
| Vanellus (1921) | United Kingdom |
1,886 | |
| HMS Vanoc (H33) | Royal Navy |
Escort 23 Dec - 29 Dec. Destroyer | |
| HMS Vanquisher (D54) | Royal Navy |
Escort 23 Dec - 29 Dec. Destroyer | |
| HMS Vetch (K132) | Royal Navy |
Escort 14 Dec - 30 Dec. Corvette | |
| HMS Volunteer (D71) | Royal Navy |
Escort 25 Dec - 29 Dec. Destroyer | |
| HMS Witch (D89) | Royal Navy |
Escort 23 Dec - 29 Dec. Destroyer |
Axis Submarines Destroyed
| Date | Number | Type | Captain | Casualties | Sunk by… |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 December 1941 | U-131 | IX | Fregattenkapitän Arend Baumann[6] | 0 | HMS Stork |
| 18 December 1941 | U-434 | VIIC | Korvettenkapitän Wolfgang Heyda[7] | 2 | HMS Blankney, HMS Stanley |
| 19 December 1941 | U-574 | VIIC | Kapitänleutnant Dietrich Gengelbach[8] | 27 | HMS Stork |
| 21 December 1941 | U-567 | VIIC | Kapitänleutnant Engelbert Endrass[9] | 47 | HMS Deptford |
External links
References
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<references />, or <references group="..." />- Clay Blair : Hitler’s U-Boat War Vol I (The Hunters 1939-1942) (1996) ISBN 0-304-35260-8
- Dan van der Vat : The Atlantic Campaign (1988) ISBN 0-340-37751-8
- Paul Kemp : U-Boats Destroyed ( 1997) ISBN 1-85409-515-3
- Rohwer, J. and Hummelchen, G. Chronology of the War at Sea 1939-1945 (1992) ISBN 1-55750-105-X
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