Convoy battles

HX-65

Homeward from Halifax (North Atlantic)

24 Aug 1940 - 26 Aug 1940

The Convoy	51 ships
First sighting	On 24 Aug 1940 by U-48
Escorts	Ocean escort sailing from Halifax on 12 August: British armed merchant cruiser HMS Voltaire (F 47) (Capt C.L. Bate, DSO, RN (rtd)), until 23 August. Halifax local escort: Canadian destroyer HMCS Assiniboine (I 18) (Cmdr G.C. Jones, RCN) and auxiliary patrol vessel HMCS French, until 13 August. Sydney local escort: Canadian destroyer HMCS Saguenay (D 79) (Cdr G.R. Miles, RCN) and auxiliary patrol vessel HMCS Laurier, until 14 August. Bermuda local escort: British armed merchant cruiser HMS Montclare (F 85) (Capt H.M. Spreckley, RN (rtd)), until 16 August. Joined from dispersed convoy OA-201 on 24 August: British destroyer HMS Westcott (D 47) (LtCdr W.F.R. Segrave, RN) and corvette HMS Gladiolus (K 34) (LtCdr H.M.C. Sanders, RNR), until convoy split and then escorted section HX-65B. Joined from convoy OB-201 on 24 August: Canadian destroyer HMCS Skeena (D 59) (LtCdr J.C. Hibbard, RCN) and British corvette HMS Godetia (K 72) (LtCdr G.V. Legassick, RNR), until convoy split and then escorted section HX-65A. Joined section HX-65A as reinforcement on 26 August: British destroyers HMS Javelin (F 61) (Cdr A.F. Pugsley, RN) and HMS Jaguar (F 34) (LtCdr J.F.W. Hine, RN), until 27 August. Joined section HX-65B as reinforcement on 26 August: British sloop HMS Lowestoft (L 59) (Cdr A.M. Knapp, RN)
U-boats	U-28 Kptlt. Günter Kuhnke, U-32* Oblt. Hans Jenisch, U-48* KrvKpt. Hans Rudolf Rösing, U-57* Oblt. Erich Topp, U-124* Kptlt. Georg-Wilhelm Schulz. * U-boats that fired torpedo or used the deck gun
The battle	The 51 ships in this convoy were combined from three section sailing from Halifax-HX (13 ships), Sydney-SHX (16 ships, of which 4 returned) and Bermuda-BHX (22 ships). On the morning of 14 August, the HX and SHX sections rendezvoused and were joined by the BHX section on the morning of 16 August. On 19 August, two British tankers became stragglers and one of these, the La Brea, was sighted by U-48 on the morning of 24 August. The U-boat sank the ship during the afternoon and then continued northwest, while that evening the main convoy split with 20 ships proceeding to Methil in section HX-65A and 25 ships proceeding to Liverpool in section HX-65B. Both sections were subsequently attacked by U-boats.