Convoy ON-127

Convoy ON-127 was a trade convoy of merchant ships during the second World War. It was the 127th of the numbered series of ON convoys Outbound from the British Isles to North America and the only North Atlantic trade convoy of 1942 or 1943 where all U-boats deployed against the convoy launched torpedoes. [Rohwer&Hummelchen 1992 p.161] Thirty-four ships departed Liverpool on 4 September 1942; [Hague 2000 p.158] and were met at noon on 5 September [Milner 1985 p.159] by the Royal Canadian Navy Mid-Ocean Escort Force Group C-4 consisting of the Canadian River class destroyer "Ottawa" and the Town class destroyer "St. Croix" with Flower class corvettes "Amherst", "Arvida", "Sherbrooke", and "Celandine". [Milner 1985 p.289] "St. Croix"s commanding officer, acting lieutenant commander A. H. "Dobby" Dobson, RCNR, was the senior officer of the escort group. [Milner 1985 p.159] The Canadian ships carried type 286 meter-wavelength radar but none of their sets were operational. [Blair 1998 p.30] "Celandine" carried type 271 centimeter-wavelength radar. [Blair 1998 p.30] None of the ships carried HF/DF high-frequency direction finding sets. [Blair 1998 p.30]

Wolf pack "Vorwarts" was forming about 500 miles west of Ireland as the convoy left Liverpool. [Milner 1985 p.160] "U-91", "U-92", "U-96", "U-211", "U-218", "U-380", "U-404", "U-407", "U-411", "U-584", "U-594", "U-608", and "U-659" formed a search line across the convoy's path just beyond the range of land-based aircraft. [Rohwer&Hummelchen 1992 p.161] "U-584" reported the convoy on 9 September, but lost contact that evening. [Rohwer&Hummelchen 1992 p.161]

"U-96" regained contact on 10 September and torpedoed the 6313-ton Norwegian tanker "Svene", the 12190-ton tanker "F.J.Wolfe", and the 4241-ton Belgian freighter "Elisabeth van Belgie" in a single submerged daylight attack. [Rohwer&Hummelchen 1992 p.161] "Sherbrooke" fell back to aid the torpedoed ships while "St. Croix", "Ottawa", and "Celandine" searched unsuccessfully for "U-96". [Milner 1985 p.160] "F.J.Wolfe" was able to regain its station with the convoy. [Hague 2000 p.161] "Ottawa" continued to patrol astern of the convoy after "St. Croix" and "Celandine" resumed their normal patrol stations. [Milner 1985 p.160]

A coordinated night attack on the convoy began with "U-659" torpedoing the 8029-ton British tanker "Empire Oil" on the evening of 10 September. [Rohwer&Hummelchen 1992 p.161] [Milner 1985 pp.162] "St. Croix" made SONAR contact immediately prior to the attack; and "Celandine", "Ottawa", and "St. Croix" searched for "U-659" after the attack. [Milner 1985 p.160] "St. Croix" and "Ottawa" fell back to rescue 23 of the stricken tanker's crew of 41. [Milner 1985 p.161] "U-404" torpedoed the tanker "Marit II", "U-608" launched torpedoes which missed the convoy, "U-218" torpedoed the tanker "Fjordaas", and "U-92" and "U-594" launched torpedoes which missed the convoy before "Ottawa", "St. Croix", and "Celandine" rejoined the convoy. [Milner 1985 p.162] [Rohwer&Hummelchen 1992 p.161] [Blair 1998 pp.30-31] "Sherbrooke" remained astern of the convoy aiding the ships torpedoed by "U-96", and rescued all but one of the crew of the sinking "Svene" and "Elisabeth van Belgie". The remaining escorts counter-attacked, and depth charge damage forced "U-659" and "U-218" to return to port. [Blair 1998 p.31] [Milner 1985 pp.161] Both "Marit II" and "Fjordaas" were able to regain their stations in the convoy. [Milner 1985 pp.160-161] "Empire Oil" was later sunk astern of the convoy by "U-584".

None of the escort RADAR sets were functional on 11 September. "U-584" torpedoed the 4884-ton Norwegian "Hindanger" in a submerged daylight attack while "St. Croix" investigated a visual sighting six miles distant. "Amherst" fell back and rescued all but one of "Hindanger"s crew. A B-24 Liberator patrol bomber of No. 120 Squadron RAF prevented further daylight attacks on 11 September; [Milner 1985 pp.161] but "U-96" sank a 415-ton Portuguese sailing trawler by gunfire in the vicinity of the convoy. [Blair 1998 p.31] [Rohwer&Hummelchen 1992 p.161] In coordinated night attacks, "U-380" missed with a salvo of four torpedoes, "U-211" torpedoed the 13797-ton British whale factory ship "Hektoria" and the 6849-ton British freighter "Empire Moonbeam", "U-92" missed "Ottawa" with four torpedoes, and "U-404" torpedoed the 9272-ton tanker "Daghild" before "Amherst" and "Sherbrooke" rejoined the convoy. [Blair 1998 p.31] "Daghild" maintained station in the convoy and "Arvida" rescued all but four of the 140 crewmen from "Hektoria" and "Empire Moonbeam" before those ships were sunk astern of the convoy by "U-608". [Milner 1985 pp.161-163] [Hague 2000 p.161] [Rohwer&Hummelchen 1992 p.161]

Excellent visibility on 12 September allowed a close forward screen of four escorts to discourage U-boats sighted up to 7 miles away. "U-407" and "U-594" launched torpedoes unsuccessfully that night. "U-594" sank a 6131-ton straggler [Milner 1985 p.162] as the convoy came within range of Canadian Canso patrol bombers from Botland, Newfoundland on 13 September. [Blair 1998 p.31] The escort was reinforced at dusk by the Town class destroyer HMCS "Annapolis" and the V and W class destroyer HMS "Witch" from the Newfoundland-based Western Local Escort Force (WLEF). Both "U-91" and "U-411" launched torpedoes unsuccessfully while "U-91" torpedoed the Canadian River class destroyer "Ottawa" in the pre-dawn hours of 14 September. [Milner 1985 p.163] "Ottawa" sank with 114 of its crew. [Blair 1998 p.31] The remainder of the convoy reached New York City on 20 September 1942. [Hague 2000 p.158]

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