Convoy ON-154

Convoy ON-154 was a convoy of ships during the second World War. Its name came from it being the 154th of the numbered series of merchant ship convoys Outbound from the British Isles to North America.

the convoy

Forty-six ships departed Liverpool on 18 December 1942; [Hague 2000 p.158] and were met by the RCN Mid-Ocean Escort Force Group C-1 consisting of the Canadian River class destroyer "St. Laurent" with Flower class corvettes "Battleford", "Chilliwack", "Kenogami", "Napanee", and "Shediac". [Milner 1985 p.287] ON-154 included the convoy rescue ship "Toward" and the French-crewed 2456-ton Special Service Vessel "Fidelity" (D57). [Rohwer&Hummelchen 1992 p.183] "Fidelity" was armed with four 4-inch (10-cm) guns and four torpedo tubes, equipped with a defensive torpedo net, and carried two landing craft, two OS2U Kingfisher float planes, and Motor Torpedo Boat 105. [Lenton&Colledge 1968 p.279]

ON-154 was routed south to avoid storms, and remained distant from escort support groups and out of range of allied patrol bombers for longer than most convoys. [Milner 1985 p.3] "U-662" reported the convoy on 26 December. [Rohwer&Hummelchen 1992 p.183] That night "U-356" torpedoed the 5,952-ton British freighter "Empire Union", the 2,473-ton British freighter "Melrose Abbey", the 7,051-ton Dutch freighter "Soekaboemi", and the 5,254-ton British freighter "King Edward" before being sunk by the convoy escorts. [Rohwer&Hummelchen 1992 p.183] Thirty-seven merchant sailors were lost with 3,403 tons of coal and 5,940 tons of general cargo. [Hague 2000 p.161]

During the night of 27/28 December, "U-225" torpedoed the 7087-ton oiler "Scottish Heather" which survived the convoy. [Rohwer&Hummelchen 1992 p.183] During the coordinated night attack of 28/29 December "U-406" torpedoed the 5029-ton British freighter "Lynton Grange", the 4871-ton British freighter "Zarian", and the 3385-ton British freighter "Baron Cochrane" while "U-591" torpedoed the 5701-ton Norwegian freighter "Norse King", "U-260" torpedoed the 4893-ton British freighter "Empire Wagtail", and "U-225" torpedoed the 5273-ton British freighter "Melmore Head", the 5598-ton British freighter "Ville de Rouen", the 7068-ton convoy commodore's freighter "Empire Shackleton" and the 4919-ton Belgian freighter "President Francoui". [Rohwer&Hummelchen 1992 p.183] One-hundred-forty merchant sailors were lost with 9829 tons of coal, 13497 tons of general cargo, and 2000 tons of ammunition and aircraft. [Hague 2000 p.161] As many as twelve U-boats were in contact with the convoy, and the outnumbered escort was running out of fuel. [Milner 1985 p.4] "St. Laurent"'s captain, as commander of Escort Group C-1, suffered a nervous breakdown at the scale of losses. Following loss of the convoy commodore, he invited two fast ships with large passenger complements to escape if they found an opportunity. [Milner 1985 pp.4&209] The escort was reinforced by the M class destroyers HMS "Milne" and "Meteor" on the morning of 29 December. [Rohwer&Hummelchen 1992 p.183] "Fidelity" suffered engine trouble while operating independently rescuing survivors. The motor torpedo boat and float planes were launched to deter U-boat attacks, and the torpedo net was deployed to foil cautious attacks by "U-225" and "U-615". Three-hundred-thirty-four men were lost when "Fidelity" was torpedoed by "U-435" on 30 December. [Milner 1985 p.209] The remainder of the convoy reached New York City on 12 January 1943. [Hague 2000 p.158]

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References

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* [http://www.gordonmumford.com/ons-154.htm Gordon Mumford's account of Convoy ONS-154]