Convoy SL 140/MKS 31
Convoy SL 140/MKS 31 | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of World War II | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
Nazi Germany | United States | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Adm. Karl Dönitz |
Comm: Escort:Cdr EC Bayldon | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
13 U-boats |
65 ships 18 escorts | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
6 U-boats lost, 2 U-boats damaged | none |
Convoys SL 140/MKS 31 was a combined
These two convoys rendezvoused off Gibraltar on 24 November 1943 and sailed north.
They were the subject of a U-boat attack, as part of the Kriegsmarine's renewed Autumn offensive.
Background
Following the renewal of the U-boat offensive in the Atlantic, convoys on the UK/Gibraltar routes had again come under attack, leading to clashes over Convoy SL 138/MKS 28 and Convoy SL 139/MKS 30. The SL/MKS convoys sailing at this time were of great importance in the Allied war effort for two reasons. First, the ships comprised in the SL portion carried important raw materials for Britain. Even more important were the landing ships: Thirty-four LSTs were part of these three SL/MKS convoys, moving from the action in North Africa, Sicily and Italy to now prepare for D-Day at Normandy, which would happen the next June. LSTs would be crucial in Operation Overlord. By the time of the final planning stages for the invasion of France, D-Day couldn’t take place until there were enough LSTs available to get the job done.[1] Winston Churchill was frustrated that the fate of the war effort depended on bringing a sufficient number of LSTs to England.
German U-boat Control (
Protagonists
SL 140 left
Opposing this force was wolf pack
Action
The combined convoy was sighted by German aircraft in the late afternoon of 26 November, west of
On 27 November the convoy was discovered again by aircraft, which brought in U-262. She commenced shadowing until other Weddigen boats could be homed-in. Also during the 27th the convoy was joined by 4 EG, a Support Group of five frigates led by HMS Bentinck (Cdr EH Chavasse). By evening the U-boats had gathered and started their assault.
With this large number of escorts – including several with much experience in sinking German submarines – plus Allied aircraft defending the combined convoy, there was significant danger for the German U-boats. Three additional boats assigned to wolf pack Weddigen were destroyed in the final week of November 1943. If we add to that U-391, which was sunk on 13 December by a British Liberator aircraft on its voyage back to base, six of the submarines assigned to Weddigen never returned.
date | fate | ||
---|---|---|---|
U-538 | 21 Nov | sunk by HMS Foley & HMS Crane | 17 crew rescued |
U-648 | 23 Nov? | last transmission 22 Nov | all hands lost (50) |
U-600 | 25 Nov | sunk by HMS Bazeley & HMS Blackwood | all hands lost (54) |
U-542 | 28 Nov | sunk by British Wellington aircraft | all hands lost (56) |
U-86 | 29 Nov | sunk by HMS Tumult & HMS Rocket | all hands lost (50) |
U-391 | damaged by British Wellington on 28 Nov; sunk by British Liberator 13 Dec | all hands lost (51) | |
U-238 | 30 Nov | damaged by aircraft from USS Bogue | 2 killed, 5 injured |
During the night the convoy was again reinforced by the arrival of
In addition to the ships, Allied aircraft were overhead during the night to assist in defending the convoy. In the darkness of the night of November 27/28 a British Wellington bomber piloted by airman Thomas Wilkin discovered U-764 and attacked. The aircraft was equipped with high intensity lights to illuminate their target. The U-boat returned fire and the bomber crashed. Officer Wilkin and three others in his crew perished.[8] Other German submarines were very near the crash site, and the two crew members from the Wellington who survived were picked up by U-238 to become POWs.
U-238’s skipper, Horst Hepp, radioed a long account of his interrogation of the captured airmen, which was intercepted and tracked by
Also on 28 November, 2 EG located U-842 and subjected her to a prolonged attack, but she also was able to escape.
By now with significant losses, and outnumbered by the convoy escort, Weddigen had little chance of achieving any success; BdU ordered a halt to the attack. Convoy SL.140/MKS.31 continued their passage and despite being slowed by a huge Atlantic storm made it safely to England without further incident, the individual ships each then moving to their intended destinations. It is noted in the deck log of U.S.S. LST-311 that they passed the Isles of Scilly on 4 December and the thirteen LSTs then anchored in Plymouth on the 5th.
Aftermath
Wolf pack Weddigen was a complete failure.[10] Despite the energy of the attack on SL 140/MKS 31 no ships in this convoy were even damaged. The escort had successfully beaten off every attack. Six of the U-boats assigned to this group were destroyed, a major loss for the German navy.
All of the raw materials transported by the merchant ships in the combined convoy reached Britain. Everyone of the landing ships, crucial for the upcoming invasion of Normandy, arrived safely. Each LST carried an LCT plus several other smaller landing ships, so as many as sixty or seventy landing ships and landing craft used in Operation Overlord arrived in England with this convoy.
Notes
- ^ Symonds, C. (2018, June). The unloved, unlovely, yet indispensable LST. HistoryNet.Com. https://www.historynet.com/unloved-unlovely-yet-indispensable-lst.htm
- ^ Deck Log of U.S.S. LST-311; 22 November 1943 (https://www.fold3.com/image/270791191/war-diary-111-3043-page-29-wwii-war-diaries)
- ^ Arnold Hague convoy database - SL convoys (convoyweb.org.uk)
- ^ Wolfpack Weddigen - German U-boat Operations. https://www.uboat.net/ops/wolfpacks/157.html
- ^ Blair, Clay (1998). Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunted 1942-1945. ISBN 0-304-35261-6, pp. 450-452
- ^ Blair, p. 450
- ^ Blair, p. 451
- ^ "The Type IXB U-boat U-110 - German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net".
- ^ Blair, p. 451
- ^ Blair, p. 452
References
- ISBN 0-304-35261-6.
- Arnold Hague : The Allied Convoy System 1939–1945 (2000) ISBN (Canada) 1 55125 033 0 : ISBN (UK) 1 86176 147 3
- Kemp, Paul (1997). U-Boats Destroyed, German submarine losses in the World Wars. Arms and Armour. ISBN 1-85409-515-3.
- Stephen Roskill : The War at Sea 1939–1945 Vol III (1960) . ISBN (none)