uboat.net

  Front page - Fighting the U-boats - Allied Warships

Follow us on Twitter
@uboatnet

Notable events involving Lady Elsa include:

20 Oct 1940
HMS Lady Elsa (Lt. J.G. Rankin, RNR) picks up 52 survivors from the British merchant Caprella that was torpedoed and sunk by German U-boat U-100 southwest of Rockall in position 56°37'N, 17°15'W.

Lady Elsa also picks up 43 survivors from the British merchant Sitala that was also torpedoed and sunk by German U-boat U-100 southwest of Rockall in position 56°35'N, 17°15'W.

26 Dec 1940

Convoy HX 99.

This convoy departed Halifax on 26 December 1940.

It was made up of the following merchant vessels; A.D. Huff (British, 5866 GRT, built 1920), Aelybryn (British, 4986 GRT, built 1938), Alderpool (British, 4313 GRT, built 1936), Cape Nelson (British, 3807 GRT, built 1929), Eastern Star (Norwegian, 5658 GRT, 1920), Ittersum (Dutch, 5199 GRT, built 1938), Olympos (Greek, 5216 GRT, built 1918), Penrith Castle (British, 6369 GRT, built 1929), Teneriffa (Norwegian, 5655 GRT, built 1922), Thysville (Belgian, 8351 GRT, built 1922), Tower Field (British, 4241 GRT, built 1935), Warkworth (British, 4941 GRT, built 1924), West Ekonk (British, 5631 GRT, built 1918) and Yselhaven (Dutch, 4802 GRT, built 1921).

On departure from Halifax the convoy was escorted by the armed merchant cruiser HMS Alaunia (Capt.(Retd.) H.J. Woodward, DSO and Bar, RN), destroyer HMCS Columbia (Lt.Cdr.(Retd.) S.W. Davis, RN) and the armed yacht HMCS Otter (T/Lt. D.S. Mossman, RCNR).

Around 1830Q/26, the submarine HMS Porpoise (Lt.Cdr. J.G. Hopkins, RN) also joined the convoy as escort.

HMCS Otter was detached later on the 26th to return to Halifax.

Around 1645Q/27, HMCS Columbia parted company to return to Halifax.

Between 29 and 31 December 1940, the convoy encountered very thick for and during this period the Cape Nelson and Teneriffa lost contact with the convoy and never rejoined. They both continued her passage to the U.K. independently and arrived at Oban on 9 January 1941 and at Avonmouth on 10 January 1941 respectively.

Also on 29 December 1940, the Bermuda section of the convoy, convoy BHX 99, was to join. This convoy was made up of the following merchant vessels; Abraham Lincoln (Norwegian, 5784 GRT, built 1929), Blankaholm (Swedish, 2845 GRT, built 1930), Cowrie (British (tanker), 8197 GRT, built 1931), Daytonian (British, 6434 GRT, built 1922), Duke of Athens (British, 5217 GRT, built 1940), Karabagh (British (tanker), 6427 GRT, built 1932), Kinross (British, 4956 GRT, built 1935) and Rokos Vergottis (Greek, 5202 GRT, built 1919).

They had departed Bermuda unescorted on 24 December 1940.

The Bermuda section was late at the rendezvous and were not sighted. The main convoy then retired northwards to await them. However due to the thick for then setting in which lasted until the morning of 31 December the Bermuda section was unable to join.

When the fog finally lifted, HMS Alaunia had 13 ship in sight, 2 of which were from the Bermuda section, the Blankaholm and Duke of Athens. The A.D. Huff of the Halifax section was able to rejoin on 4 January. She had suffered from engine defects during her absence.

Around 0900P/1, HMS Alaunia left the convoy to search for the missing ships of the Bermuda section. sh found five of them and by 1330P/5, the following ships had joined the main convoy; Abraham Lincoln, Cowrie, Daytonian, Kinross and Rokos Vergottis. The last ship missing, the Karabagh was able to join on 4 January 1941.

Around 1500O/5, in position 60°18'N, 25°00'W, HMS Porpoise parted company to return to Halifax.

Around 0800O/5, in position 61°17'N, 21°24'W, HMS Alaunia parted company to return to Halifax.

The first of the Western Approaches A/S escort joined on 1330Z/7 in position 60°25'N, 16°00'W. These were the corvettes HMS La Malouine (Lt.Cdr.(Retd.) R.W. Keymer, RN) and HMS Anemone (Lt.Cdr. H.G. Boys-Smith, DSO, RNR). The remainder of the A/S escort, the destroyers HMS Sardonyx (Lt.Cdr. R.B.S. Tennant, RN), HMS Shikari (Lt.Cdr. H.N.A. Richardson, RN) and A/S trawler HMS Lady Elsa (T/Lt. S.G. Phillips, RNVR) joined on the 8th.

Around 1815A/9, in position 57°05'N, 08°07'W, the Oban section parted company. They arrived at Oban, unescorted, later the same day. The Oban section was made up of the following merchant vessels; A.D. Huff, Alderpool, Duke of Athens, Karabagh, Kinross, Towerfield and Warkworth.

At 1930A/10, in position 53°46'N, 05°08'W, the following merchant vessels parted company; Cowrie (arrived at Holyhead on 11 January), Ittersum (arrived at Milford Haven on 11 January) and Yselhaven (arrived at Milford Haven on 11 January). To escort them the A/S trawler HMS Derby County (Skr. W.J.P. Soloman, RNR) had joined.

The remainder of the convoy arrived at Liverpool on 11 January 1941. (1)

23 Mar 1942
The damaged armed merchant cruiser HMS Queen of Bermuda (A/Capt.(Retd.) A.D. Cochrane, RN) departed Halifax under tow for the Brooklyn Navy Yard at New York. She is to proceed through the Cape Cod Canal.

Escort for the tow is provided by the auxiliary A/S trawlers HMS Bedfordshire (Lt. R.B. Davis, RNR), HMS Coventry City (T/Lt. J.C. Grose, RNR), HMS Kingston Ceylonite (A/Skr.Lt. W.M. Smith, RNR), HMS Lady Elsa (T/Lt. S.G. Phillips, RNVR) and HMS Stella Polaris (Skr. T. Normandale, RNR).

The tow arrived in Long Island sound on 29 March 1942. The trawlers then proceeded to New York arriving later the same day. HMS Queen of Bermuda was towed to the New York Navy Yard on 31 March 1942 as this was not possible earlier due to the weather conditions. (2)

6 Nov 1942
HMS Lady Elsa (Lt. S.G. Phillips, DSC, RNVR) picks up 55 survivors from the British merchant Arica that was torpedoed and sunk by German U-boat U-160 eight miles north of Galera Point, Trinidad in position 10°58'N, 60°52'W.

21 Oct 1943

Convoy AKD 4.

This convoy departed Aden on 21 October 1943.

On departure from Aden the convoy was made up of the following ships;
Atlantian (British, 6549 GRT, built 1928), Baron Renfrew (British, 3635 GRT, built 1935), Bosworth (British, 6672 GRT, built 1919), Clan MacDonald (British, 9653 GRT, built 1939), Clan MacIver (British, 4500 GRT, built 1925), Imperial Valley (British, 4573 GRT, built 1924), Ioannis Fafalios (Greek, 6071 GRT, built 1918), Mount Helikon (Greek, 5525 GRT, built 1918), Nirvana (British, 6044 GRT, built 1914), Panaghiotis (Greek, 3575 GRT, built 1901), Romney (British, 5840 GRT, built 1929), Salween (British, 7063 GRT, built 1937), Streefkerk (Dutch, 6185 GRT, built 1921) and Sutherland (British, 5170 GRT, built 1940).

The submarine HMS Trespasser (Lt.Cdr. R.M. Favell, RN) also took passage in the convoy.

On departure from Aden the convoy was escorted by the sloop HMS Lulworth (Lt.Cdr. R.C.S. Woolley, RNR) and the corvettes HMS Freesia (T/Lt.Cdr. G.M. Berlyn, SANF(V)) and HMS Jasmine (T/A/Lt.Cdr. C.A. Hoodless, RNR).

Around 2100D/24, south-south-west of Socotra, HMS Trespasser parted company to proceed independently to Colombo.

The Mount Helikon straggled from the convoy and did not rejoin. She proceeded to Kilindini / Mombasa independently.

On 31 October 1943, off Kilindini / Mombasa the three corvettes parted company with the convoy after a new escort had joined. This was made up of the A/S trawlers HMS Arctic Explorer (T/Lt. C. Pawley, RNVR), HMS Cape Warwick (T/Lt. K.J. Stern, RNVR), HMS Lady Elsa (T/Lt. A.M. Brown, RNVR) and HMS Northern Isles (T/Lt. J.M. Baldry, RNVR).

Also proceeding to Kilindini / Mombasa were the following merchant vessels Clan MacIver and Salween.

Joined from Kilindini / Mombasa was the following ship; Shirala (British, 7841 GRT, built 1925).

On 1 November 1943, the following ship joined the convoy coming from Dar-es-Salaam; Wyvern (Norwegian, 4007 GRT, built 1929).

On 6 November 1943, the following ships were detached to Beira; Atlantian, Bosworth and Streefkerk while the following ships joined coming from Beira; Alpherat (Dutch, 5759 GRT, built 1928), Fort Maisonneuve (British, 7128 GRT, built 1942) and Geronimo (American, 7176 GRT, built 1943).

On 8 November 1943, the following ships were detached to Lourenço Marques; Baron Renfrew, Imperial Valley, Panaghiotis, Romney and Wyvern.

The convoy arrived at Durban on 9 November 1943. (3)