Convoy OA 178
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Convoy OA 178 (OA: UK (Thames) Outbound 1939–41) was an Atlantic convoy that sailed in July 1940 from the Thames Estuary via the English Channel, prior to dispersal to various transatlantic destinations.[1]
Departure and escort
OA 178 assembled off Southend-on-Sea on the coast of Essex and departed on 3 July.[2] It consisted of 14 merchant ships, escorted by the Flower class corvette HMS Clarkia.[2] Convoy Commodore was Capt. RP Galer, in SS Peterton.[1] The convoy passed the Straits of Dover during the night of 3/4 July and by the afternoon of 4 July was in the Channel, some 20 nautical miles (37 km; 23 mi) south of Portland Bill.
Attack
At about 1300 hrs[3] on 4 July two Gruppen of Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers from StG 2 attacked the convoy in the English Channel off Portland Bill.[4] The Stukas were armed with 50 kilograms (110 lb) bombs and attacked in waves of six aircraft. There was no Allied air cover and the attack lasted about two hours.[3]
In this attack one ship, MV Dallas City was sunk and five ships, SS Antonio, SS Argos Hill, SS Briarwood, SS Eastmoor and Danish turbine steamer TS Lifland were damaged.[4] The Antonio rescued 67 survivors, including two with serious injuries, from ships that were sunk.[3]
Some ships of the convoy took shelter in Portland Harbour, where the Luftwaffe attacked them again. Also in Portland Harbour were a number of other ships, which were hit in the attack. The Royal Navy anti-aircraft ship HMS Foylebank was severely damaged, and sank the next day with the loss of 176 lives.[5] The tug Silverdial was also sunk[5] and the cargo ships SS City of Melbourne, SS East Wales and MV William Wilberforce were damaged.[4]
Bombs had damaged the Antonio's rudder and the stanchions supporting her propellor shaft.[3] She had to reduce speed and did not reach anchorage in Portland Harbour until about 2300 hrs.[3] The continuing air raid prevented her from landing the survivors she had rescued until mid-day on 5 July.[3]
At dusk those members of the convoy that had remained at sea were 13 miles (21 km) south of Portland when they were attacked by German E-boats. Four ships were sunk, and one damaged. The cargo ship SS Elmcrest was sunk by a torpedo and 16 of her crew were lost.[4] SS Hartlepool was damaged.[4]
Also lost were the Dutch ships SS Britsum and SS Deucalion, and the Estonian ship SS Kolga.[5] The Deucalion's wreck lies south of Selsey Bill,[6] which suggests that either she was a straggler or she was dive-bombed before the main air raid off Portland Bill.
Aftermath
On 5 July OA 178's lone escort was reinforced by the destroyer HMS Broke (D83).[2] She remained with the convoy until 6 July[2] when it dispersed in the Southwest Approaches.
The severity of loss and damage that OA 178 sustained was such that all subsequent OA convoys were re-routed, from Methil in Fife around the north of Scotland to avoid the English Channel.[4]
Table
Allied ships sunk
| Date | Name | Nationality | Casualties | Tonnage (GRT) | Sunk by… |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 July 1940 | Dallas City | British | 4,952 | aircraft | |
| 4 July 1940 | Britsum | Dutch | 5,255 | aircraft | |
| 4 July 1940 | Deucalion | Dutch | 1,796 | aircraft | |
| 4 July 1940 | Kolga | Estonian | 1 | 3,526 | E-boat S-19 |
| 4 July 1940 | Elmcrest | British | 16 | 4,343 | E-boat S-20 |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 A.Hague: OA 178 at convoyweb
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Cite error: Invalid
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Sources
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