Convoy SL 78
| Convoy SL.78 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of World War II | |||||
| |||||
| Belligerents | |||||
 Germany |
 Royal Norwegian Navy Royal Navy | ||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||
| Admiral Karl Dönitz | Vice-Admiral G T C P Swabey CB DSO | ||||
| Strength | |||||
| ~4 U-boats |
26 merchant ships 19 escorts | ||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||
| 8 ships sunk | |||||
Convoy SL 78 was the 78th of the numbered series of World War II convoys of merchant ships from Sierra Leone to Liverpool. Ships carrying commodities bound to the British Isles from South America, Africa, and the Indian Ocean traveled independently to Freetown to be convoyed for the last leg of their voyage. Twenty-five merchant ships departed Freetown on 18 June 1941.[1] U-boats sank eight ships before the convoy reached Liverpool on 12 July.[2]
Ships in the Convoy[3]
| Name | Flag | Tonnage (GRT) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aliakmon (1913) |  Greece |
4,521 | |
| HMS Arbutus (K86) | Royal Navy |
Escort 09 Jul - 11 Jul Corvette | |
| HMS Armeria (K187) | Royal Navy |
Escort 18 Jun - 28 Jun Corvette | |
| Arundo (1930) |  Netherlands |
5,163 | |
| HMS Asphodel (K56) | Royal Navy |
Escort 18 Jun - 28 Jun Corvette | |
| HMS Aster (K188) | Royal Navy |
Escort 18 Jun - 28 Jun Corvette | |
| Atle Jarl (1919) |  Norway |
1,173 | |
| Baron Napier (1930) |  United Kingdom |
3,559 | |
| Batna (1928) | United Kingdom |
4,399 | |
| HMS Begonia (K66) | Royal Navy |
Escort 09 Jul - 12 Jul Corvette | |
| Blackheath (1936) | United Kingdom |
4,637 | Collision with HMS Arbutus on 11 Jul |
| HMS Bridgewater (L01) | Royal Navy |
Escort 18 Jun - 21 Jun Sloop | |
| HMS Burdock (K126) | Royal Navy |
Escort 18 Jun - 28 Jun Corvette | |
| Camerata (1931) | United Kingdom |
4,875 | |
| HMS Chelsea (I35) | Royal Navy |
Escort 09 Jul - 12 Jul Destroyer | |
| HMS Convolvulus (K45) | Royal Navy |
Escort 09 Jul - 12 Jul Corvette | |
| Criton (1927) | United Kingdom |
4,564 | Captured from the Vichy French by HMS Cilicia ( Royal Navy) on 19 June 1941, and being sailed back to Europe from West Africa. However she was intercepted by two Vichy French warships, Air France IV and Edith Germaine, near Freetown on 21 June and sunk by their gunfire.[4][5] Also see Commander Bernard Peter de Neumann GM RN |
| Empire Ability (1931) | United Kingdom |
7,603 | Sunk by U-69[6] |
| Esneh (1919) | United Kingdom |
1,931 | |
| HMS Esperance Bay (F67) | Royal Navy |
Escort 18 Jun - 27 Jun Armed merchant cruiser and troopship | |
| HMS Fleur De Lys (K122) | Royal Navy |
Escort 30 Jun Corvette | |
| George J Goulandris (1913) | Greece |
4,345 | Sunk by U-66[7] W of Canary Islands |
| HMS Jasmine (K23) | Royal Navy |
Escort 09 Jul - 12 Jul Corvette | |
| Kalypso Vergotti (1918) | Greece |
5,686 | Straggler was sunk by U-66.[8] All 36 crew lost |
| Keilehaven (1919) | Netherlands |
2,968 | |
| HMS Larkspur (K82) | Royal Navy |
Escort 09 Jul - 12 Jul Corvette | |
| Leonidas N Condylis (1912) | Greece |
3,923 | |
| HNoMS Mansfield (G76) | Royal Norwegian Navy |
Escort 09 Jul - 12 Jul Destroyer | |
| Mary Slessor (1930) | United Kingdom |
5,027 | Vice Commodore |
| Michael Jebsen (1927) | United Kingdom |
2,323 | Did Not Reform With Convoy |
| Oberon (1911) | Netherlands |
1,996 | Sunk by U-123[9] |
| P.L.M.22 (1921) | United Kingdom |
5,646 | Sunk by U-123[10] |
| Parthenon (1908) | Greece |
3,189 | |
| HMS Pegasus | Royal Navy |
Escort 09 Jul - 12 Jul | |
| HMS Pimpernel (K71) | Royal Navy |
Escort 09 Jul - 12 Jul Corvette | |
| HMS Rhododendron (K78) | Royal Navy |
Escort 09 Jul - 12 Jul Corvette | |
| Rio Azul (1921) | United Kingdom |
4,088 | Sunk by U-123[11] post-dispersal from this convoy |
| River Lugar (1937) | United Kingdom |
5,423 | Sunk by U-69[12] |
| Rolf Jarl (1920) | Norway |
1,917 | |
| HMS Shropshire (73) | Royal Navy |
Escort 26 Jun - 27 Jun County-class heavy cruiser | |
| Sobo (1937) | United Kingdom |
5,353 | Vice-Admiral G T C P Swabey CB DSO (Commodore) |
| St Anselm (1919) | United Kingdom |
5,614 | Sunk by U-66[13] |
| Stad Arnhem (1920) | Netherlands |
3,819 | Joined Convoy HX 135 after dispersal |
| Venus (1907) | Netherlands |
1,855 | |
| HMS Verity (D63) | Royal Navy |
Escort 09 Jul - 12 Jul Destroyer | |
References
- ↑ Hague, pp.138&142
- ↑ Blair, pp.302&303
- ↑ "Convoy SL.78". Arnold Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
- ↑ "Merchant Seamen as Prisoners of War - British Merchant Navy Graves in Timbuktu - SS Criton". Gordon Mumford (MN). Retrieved 31 October 2013.
- ↑ "SS Criton [+1941]". www.wrecksite.eu. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
- ↑ "Empire Ability - British Steam merchant". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
- ↑ "George J Goulandris - Greek Steam merchant". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
- ↑ "Kalypso Vergotti - Greek Steam merchant". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
- ↑ "Oberon - Dutch Steam merchant". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
- ↑ "P.L.M.22 - British Steam merchant". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
- ↑ "Rio Azul - British Steam merchant". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
- ↑ "River Lugar - British Steam merchant". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
- ↑ "St Anselm - British Steam merchant". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
Bibliography
- Blair, Clay (1996). Hitler's U-Boat War:The Hunters 1939–1942. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-394-58839-8.
- Hague, Arnold (2000). The Allied Convoy System 1939-1945. ISBN 1-86176-147-3.
External links
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