Convoy SC 48

SC 48 was a North Atlantic convoy of the SC series which ran during the battle of the Atlantic in World War II.
It was notable for being the occasion of the "Kearny" incident, which brought the United States one step closer to war with Germany.
Prelude.
SC 48 was an east-bound convoy of 52 ships, carrying war materials and sailed from Sydney, Cape Breton on 5 October 1941 bound for Liverpool. It was under the command of Commodore HM Sanders in the MV "Castalia".
It was escorted by a Canadian escort group consisting of the (Lt Cdr SW Davis as Senior Officer Escort), and seven s; , , , , , and the Free French Naval Forces' "Mimosa".
Opposing this force was the patrol line "Mordbrenner", which was to have comprised eight U-boats and was in the process of forming south of Iceland near the Mid-Ocean Meeting Point. This was the point at which North Atlantic convoys were handed over between the Ocean and the Western Approaches escorts at this stage of the Atlantic campaign.
Allied intelligence became aware of the presence of "Mordbrenner", and started to divert the convoys then at sea, but a loss of Ultra intelligence on 12/13 October left SC 48 in the dark; and on the night of 14/15 October it was sighted by "U-553" (K/L Karl Thurmann).
At this point in time SC 48 was in some disarray; 11 of its ships, including "Castalia", were straggling following heavy weather on the night of 9/10 October. "Columbia" and two of the corvettes, "Camrose" and "Rosthern", were detached looking for them. A third corvette, "Shediac" was also separated by the storm and out of radio contact.
On 14 October SC 48's escort comprised just four corvettes; "Wetaskiwin" (as Acting SOE), "Baddeck", "Gladiolus" and "Mimosa".
Action.
15 October 1941.
In the early hours of 15 October Thurmann of "U-553" reported his contact to U-boat Command (BdU) and was ordered to shadow, whilst other U-boats were gathered for the attack. However Thurmann chose to attack that night, and succeeded in sinking two ships, "Silvercedar", which lost 21 crew, and "Ila", most of whose crew were saved. "U-553" was sighted by "Silverhelm", the next ship in the column, which attempted to ram, but failed; "U-553" was also sighted by "WC Teagle", but she was unable to bring her gun to bear before "U-553" escaped.
On 15 October Enigma was re-acquired and Western Approaches Command realized a major attack was building; a number of escorts from nearby convoys were diverted to reinforce SC 48.
First a force of US destroyers (DesRon 13), detached from ON 24; two Royal Navy destroyers ( and HMS "Broadwater") from TC 14; two Royal Navy corvettes ( and ) from ON 25; and a RCN corvette () from Iceland.
Later on 15 October "Columbia" rejoined, while "U-553" was joined by two more boats; (Günther Krech) and (Joachim Preuss). As "U-553" continued to shadow, she was sighted by "Columbia", who attacked her, driving her away, but with no damage; "U-553" fired a torpedo at "Columbia", which missed.
During the day "U-558" joined, having encountered the ship "Vancouver Island" sailing independently ; she was sunk with the loss of all 73 crew and 32 passengers. Before nightfall "U-568" also arrived, and the three boats prepared to attack.
As darkness fell on the night of 15/16 October the U-boats attacked again. "U-568" attacked and sank "Empire Heron", "Gladiolus" counter-attacked, and "U-568" was driven off. "Gladiolus" then detached to pick up survivors, but never rejoined the convoy; she was lost with all hands, reportedly sunk by "U-568" on the 17th, but more probably on the 16th by "U-432".
16 October 1941.
After midnight on 15/16 October, SC 48 made an emergency turn to port, followed before dawn by a turn to starboard, in an attempt to shake off pursuit. This was initially successful, but the pack regained contact in the afternoon of 16 October and again closed in.
Also in the afternoon of 16 October, the first reinforcements arrived, in the form of DesRon 13. This comprised the destroyers , , and , led by (Capt L Thebaud). These were joined later by Thebaud's fifth destroyer, , accompanied by HMCS "Pictou". As senior officer present, Thebaud assumed command of the escorts. Though he had seniority, Thebaud had little experience in escort work, and a number of mistakes were made allowing the U-boats to mount a successful attack that night.
By nightfall on 16 October BdU had gathered ten U-boats for the attack: the three "Mordbrenner" boats plus seven newcomers, , , , , , , and .
During the night of 16/17 October the pack attacked, closing in with little interference from the escorts. "U-553" sank "Bold Venture" at about 8 PM. "U-558" sank "WC Teagle" about an hour later. "Erviken" was attacked and sunk as she stopped to pick up survivors and "Rym" was also sunk as she slowed to do the same. "U-432" sank "Evros" and "Barfonn" just before midnight.
Just after midnight, USS "Kearny" stopped to avoid a collision with a corvette, and was torpedoed by "U-568". "Kearny" was severely damaged, with 11 killed and 22 wounded, but was saved by effort of the crew. She was detached to Iceland, escorted by "Decatur" and "Greer".
In the early hours of 17 October more warships arrived: HMS "Highlander" and "Broadwater" from TC 14, and HMS "Abelia" and "Veronica" from ON 25. With this reinforcement further attacks were warded off, but the pack remained in contact, awaiting a further opportunity.
17 October 1941.
At dawn on 17 October the convoy was joined by Western Approaches escort. This was EG 3, comprising four destroyers (, , and HMS "Georgetown") and one corvette (), with two trawlers and a rescue ship. The RCN group departed at this point, being low on fuel; also DesRon 13 left to follow "Kearny" to Iceland.
The pack was still in contact, but all further attacks were frustrated by the escort. "Veronica" made a determined attack on a contact and claimed a kill, but no U-boat loss was confirmed. A Catalina flying air cover also bombed "U-558" which was damaged, but continued to shadow until the attack was called off.
18 October 1941.
On the night of 17/18 October the pack tried again; all attacks were repelled but U-101 fired on "Broadwater", causing her mortal damage; she remained afloat for another 12 hours, but had to be abandoned and sunk.
On 18 October BdU ordered the attack discontinued. "Mordbrenner", which had never completely formed, was dissolved, the remaining boats being sent west to form a new patrol line off the coast of Canada. The remaining boats were moved east to form a new patrol line, "Reisswolf", south-east of Greenland.
22 October 1941.
SC 48 continued without further loss, the 31 ships arriving at Liverpool on 22 October 1941. The 11 stragglers which had become separated in the storm on 10 October had been gathered up by "Camrose" and "Rosthern". Led by Commodore Sanders in "Castalia" and with just two corvettes as escort this group was able to make the crossing without interference, arriving in Britain 10 days after the main body.
Conclusion.
This was undoubtedly a victory for the U-boat arm; SC 48 lost nine ships of 51,093 tons, while the escort lost two ships sunk and or damaged; no U-boats were lost. Some of the losses, in the face of a large and powerful escort force, can be attributed to Captain Thebaud's inexperience in convoy escort duty. This, and other cases, led to the practice of leaving the escort group commander of the convoy in charge of its defence, regardless of seniority; a major break with tradition. The attack on "Kearny" and the loss of American lives was seen as an affront to the United States, and was another step out of her isolation in World War II.
Tables.
Allied ships sunk
Allied warships hit
U-boats hit