Action off Cape Bougaroun
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (October 2010) |
Action off Cape Bougaroun | |
---|---|
Part of the Cape Bougaroun, Algeria, Mediterranean Sea | |
Result | German victory |
United Kingdom
Greece
Netherlands
~9 wounded
1 destroyer sunk
2 transports sunk
1 destroyer damaged
2 transports damaged
6 aircraft destroyed
The action off Cape Bougaroun (Cap Bougaroûn), or the Attack on Convoy KMF-25A[1] was a Luftwaffe operation against an Allied naval convoy off the coast of Algeria during World War II. The convoy of American, British, Greek and Dutch ships was attacked on 6 November 1943 by 25 German land-based aircraft. Six Allied vessels were sunk or damaged and six German aircraft were destroyed. German forces achieved a tactical victory, though the Allied warships involved received credit for defending their convoy and reacting to their losses quickly. The quick response led to the rescue of over 6,000 servicemen and civilians without further loss of life.
Background
Convoy KMF-25A consisted of 26 transports escorted by 15 warships. It sailed from
On 27 October 1943, convoy KMF-25A left Great Britain for Egypt and ultimately to
Action
The convoy sailed in columns of seven to nine ships each from
German forces included
Most of the attacking aircraft seemed to be after Tillman, but she avoided being hit due to her captain who expertly steered his ship through the bombing. The first aircraft sighted by Tillman was a Dornier, which dropped a gliding bomb about 1,000 yards (900 m) off the beam while under heavy fire from the destroyer's main battery. When the projectile was 600 yards (550 m) from the ship, machine gun fire from Tillman struck the bomb and it fell into a steep dive, crashing 150 yards (140 m) off the port side. The bomber was then struck and blown up by Tillman's 5-inch (130 mm) guns while another bomb exploded 500 yards (460 m) off the starboard beam. Though Tillman escaped being hit, concussion damaged the destroyer's fire-control radar and aft plates. At 18:13, one of the German torpedo planes launched a torpedo from 500 yards at Beatty, 30 seconds later, the missile struck the after engine room near frame 124. The explosion blew a relatively small hole in Beatty; 11 men were killed in action, one died later of wounds and a third sailor,
SS Monterey, a War Shipping Administration (WSA) allocated Matson ocean liner operated as a troopship,[2] was in the convoy under Captain Elis R. Johanson and armed with 20 millimeter antiaircraft guns. One torpedo bomber came in for an attack on Monterey but her gunners downed the plane before a torpedo could be dropped. The aircraft began to lose altitude and as it passed over Monterey: it struck and tore off some radio equipment. Captain Johanson later received the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal. Santa Elena, a WSA allocated Grace Line liner converted to a troopship,[3] under William C. Renaut, was hit twice and sank hours later at position 37°13′N 6°21′E / 37.217°N 6.350°E while being towed into Philippeville harbour. Santa Elena was carrying 1,848 Canadian troops and 101 nurses. Four crewmen were killed and the American armed guard on board freed several men who were trapped below. Two armed Dutch transports were struck: MS Marnix van sint Aldegonde, with 2,900 troops on board, was heavily damaged but suffered no deaths; Aldegonde initially survived long enough to make it to shore, where she grounded and sank within Philippeville's outer harbour as her commander was trying to beach her. Thousands of soldiers, merchant sailors, and regular navy sailors became stranded in the water. The other damaged Dutch ship was the steamer SS Ruyz; one man was killed but the ship made it to port.
At around 18:30, a German bomber close to SS Almanzora, was hit by concentrated fire form the armed transport, the plane struck abreast of No2 hatch, port side. A portion of wing landed on the bow, the pilot's log book and other items from the cockpit were later discovered and handed to Military Intelligence at port.
Both of the sunken transports were not heavily damaged but sustained enough to cause a sinking. The Germans dropped dozens of missiles and torpedoes but most of them failed to hit further targets. At least four hits were made on the Allied fleet which destroyed six aircraft in return: an estimated ten German aviators were killed. British and Greek forces sustained no damage or casualties. HMS Colombo steamed ahead of the centre column of ships and provided accurate anti-aircraft fire: she shot down at least one enemy aircraft. USS Davison destroyed one German plane as well. By 18:20, all of the torpedo planes and bombers were out of the convoy's sight and returning to base. Seventeen Americans and Dutchmen were killed and at least nine others were wounded. Captain Hartman reported that the German planes focused on the escorts so they could attack the transports unopposed but because the Allies returned fire accurately, the Germans suffered heavy losses and ultimately only six vessels of 41 were damaged.
Aftermath
Operations to rescue adrift survivors began while bombs were still falling. American destroyers came alongside the damaged transports and helped evacuate the crews while British policy dictated that no survivors were to be rescued until after the fighting had ceased.[citation needed] This protocol proved deadly a few weeks later off Algeria when the same German squadron attacked and sank SS Rohna. Because the British escorts failed to rescue survivors immediately, 1,016 American soldiers drowned with 122 crewmen.[note 1]
USS Beatty's crew was rescued at about 20:00 by Laub and Parker. Meanwhile, four more U.S. Navy destroyers and tugs from Philippeville and
See also
- Action off Bougainville
- Mediterranean naval engagements during World War I
Notes
- ^ Contemporary accounts by British and U.S. officers state that a substantial number of the casualties, half has been suggested, were a direct result of the bomb strike and others resulted from the unauthorised release of lifeboats by U.S. soldiers who were untrained in the launch procedure.
References
- ^ Chant, Christopher (2020). "Action off Cape Bougaroun". Operations & Codenames of WWII. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ Maritime Administration Ship History Monterey.
- ^ Maritime Administration Ship History Santa Elena.
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
- Lubeski, Ray, "Linebackers of the Sea", Author House Publishing Bloomingfield, Indiana (2010), pp. 83–85 ISBN 978-1-4520-0422-8
- Olver F., Edward, "Cruise Travel Magazine: History of the Great Liners" (1983) pp. 49–50
- Maritime Administration. "Monterey". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
- Maritime Administration. "Santa Elena". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
- Morison Eliot, Samuel, "History of United States Naval operations in World War II: The Atlantic Battle Won", Little, Brown and Company Inc. (1984), pp. 261–264 ISBN 0-252-07061-5
- Roscoe, Theodore, "United States destroyer operations in World War II", United States Naval Institute (1953) pp. 341 ISBN 0-87021-726-7