MB-50
11 Oct 1943 - 11 Oct 1943
The Convoy | 9 ships |
First sighting | On 11 Oct 1943 by U-532 |
Escorts | When leaving Colombo on 9 October: Indian minesweeper HMIS Carnatic (J 199) (T/Lt J.U. Webb, RINVR) and as local escort the Indian armed trawler HMIS Baroda (T 249) (Lt S.D. Kala, RIN) until 10 October |
U-boats | U-532 * (Junker) * U-boats that fired torpedo or used the deck gun |
The battle | On 9 Oct, 1943, the convoy MB-50 left Colombo consisting of nine merchant ships in four columns, escorted by a minesweeper and an armed trawler. At 16.30 hours on 11 October, the Jalabala in station #11 was torpedoed and sunk by U-532 about 12 miles west-southwest of Tellicherry, India. HMIS Carnatic was the only escort and dropped depth charges in a counter attack, but soon rejoined the convoy without picking up the survivors in anticipation of another attack. On 13 October, the convoy was joined by HMS Relentless and one merchant ship that had missed the departure and arrived at its destination Bombay the next day. |
Article compiled by Rainer Kolbicz
Ships hit from convoy MB-50
Date | U-boat | Commander | Name of ship | Tons | Nat. | Map | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
11 Oct 1943 | U-532 | Ottoheinrich Junker | Jalabala | 3,610 | in | A | ||
3,610 | ||||||||
1 ship sunk (3,610 tons). |
This was the only convoy on route MB hit by U-boats in the war.