Order of battle for Convoy SC-7

Convoy SC-7 was the seventh of the SC convoys, bound from Sydney, Nova Scotia across the
North Atlantic to a number of British ports, mainly Liverpool. [ [http://www.junobeach.org/e/4/can-tac-con-e.htm Canadian convoys] ] They were designated SC as their departure point was designated Sydney, Cape Breton in order to avoid confusion with Sydney in Australia . [The Allied Convoy System] The convoys formed part of the battle of the Atlantic during the Second World War. Large numbers of merchants travelled together with naval escorts to protect against U-boat attacks. They were often slow, the merchants often only being capable of a speed of around eight knots and so were particularly vulnerable to attack. [The Allied Convoy System] This problem was exacerbated by a shortage of suitable escorts from either the Royal Canadian Navy or the Royal Navy in the early stages of the war. [ [http://www.naval-history.net/WW2CampaignsAtlanticDev.htm Battle of the Atlantic] ]

Convoy SC-7 left Sydney on 5 October 1940, consisting of 36 merchants initially escorted by the Canadian armed yacht HMCS "Elk" and the British sloop HMS "Scarborough". [ [http://www.convoyweb.org.uk/sc/index.html Convoy web] ] Having seen the convoy out of Canadian waters, "Elk" turned back on 7 October leaving the convoy to spend three quarters of the crossing escorted by the lone "Scarborough". [ [http://www.convoyweb.org.uk/sc/index.html Convoy web] ] One of the merchants, SS "Winona" had developed engine problems and also turned back. [ [http://www.convoyweb.org.uk/sc/index.html Convoy web] ] The crossing was uneventful to begin with, the only casualty being the SS "Trevisa" which was straggling behind the main convoy and was torpedoed and sunk on 16 October by "U-124". [ [http://uboat.net/allies/merchants/596.html Sinking of Trevisa] ]

The main convoy was spotted the following day by "U-38", which sank the SS "Aenos". [ [http://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/599.html Sinking of Aenos] ] Further sporadic attacks continued that day and the following, despite the arrival of the sloop HMS "Fowey" and the corvette HMS "Bluebell". The night of 18/19 October saw the successful use of the wolf pack tactics of Germany's U-boat fleet. Five U-boats; "U-46", "U-99", "U-100", "U-101" and "U-123" attacked en-masse, overwhelming the escorts, newly reinforced by HMS "Leith" and "Heartsease". [ [http://www.worldwar-2.net/timelines/war-at-sea/atlantic/battle-of-the-atlantic-index-1940.htm Timeline of World War II] ] They sank 16 merchants in a six hour period, bringing the total to twenty merchants sunk and a total tonnage lost of 79,592 Gross registered tons. The U-boats only broke off their attacks to intercept Convoy HX-79 that had arrived in the area. They went on to sink a further 12 ships from this convoy, for a total of 28 ships sunk on 18/19 October, making this the deadliest two days of the battle of the Atlantic. [ [http://www.worldwar-2.net/timelines/war-at-sea/atlantic/battle-of-the-atlantic-index-1940.htm Timeline of World War II] ] The surviving merchants were gathered up by the remaining escorts and brought into port several days later.

Merchants

Notes

References

* Paul Lund, Harry Ludlam : The Night of the U-Boats ( 1973) ISBN 0 572 00828 7
* Stephen Roskill : 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) . Canada ISBN 1 55125 033 0 . UK ISBN 1 86176 147 3

External links

* [http://www.warsailors.com/convoys/sc7.html A report on the convoy from public records]
* [http://uboat.net/ops/convoys/convoys.php?convoy=SC-7 Convoy SC-7 at Uboat.net]
* [http://www.convoyweb.org.uk/sc/index.html SC-7 at Arnold Hague's convoy database]