Convoy HX-84 | |||||||
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Part of World War II | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Theodor Krancke | E.S.F. Fegen | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
1 heavy cruiser |
1 armed merchant cruiser 38 merchant ships | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
None |
1 armed merchant cruiser sunk 5 merchant ships sunk 1 merchant ship damaged |
HX-84 was a North Atlantic convoy of the HX series during the battle of the Atlantic in World War II. It consisted of 38 merchant ships which sailed eastbound from Halifax, Nova Scotia, for Liverpool, England, on 28 October 1940 and was escorted by the armed merchant cruiser HMS Jervis Bay
The Action[]
On 5 November 1940, the German heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer found the convoy at 50°30′N 32°00′W / 50.5°N 32°W and attacked immediately. Captain E.S.F. Fegen of the Jervis Bay attacked the raider so as to delay Admiral Scheer and to allow the convoy to escape. The Jervis Bay was quickly sunk with the loss of 190 of her crew. Nevertheless, their sacrifice gave the convoy time to scatter, allowing all but six of the merchantmen to escape.
Maiden, Trewellard, Kenbame Head, Beaverford and Fresno were sunk and the tanker MV San Demetrio damaged, but failing light now allowed the rest of the convoy to escape. The San Demetrio was abandoned by her crew, but two days later some of the crew, now in lifeboats, sighted the San Demetrio, still afloat and still ablaze. They reboarded her, got the engines running, and brought her in to port. This incident later formed the basis for the script of the film San Demetrio London.
Ships in the convoy[1][]
Name | Flag | Tonnage (GRT) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Andalusian (1918) | 3,082 | ||
Anna Bulgaris (1912) | ![]() |
4,603 | |
Athelempress (1930) | 8,941 | Joined Ex BHX 84 | |
Atheltemplar (1930) | 8,992 | Joined Ex BHX 84 | |
Beaverford (1928) | 10,042 | Sunk By Admiral Scheer | |
Briarwood (1930) | 4,019 | ||
Castilian (1919) | 3,067 | ||
Cetus (1920) | 2,614 | ||
HMCS Columbia (I49) | ![]() |
Escort 28 Oct - 29 Oct | |
Cordelia (1932) | 8,190 | Joined Ex BHX 84. Returned post-dispersal | |
Cornish City (1936) | 4,952 | ||
Dan-Y-Bryn (1940) | 5,117 | ||
Danae Ii (1936) | 2,660 | ||
Delhi (1925) | ![]() |
4,571 | Joined Ex BHX 84 |
Delphinula (1939) | 8,120 | ||
Emile Francqui (1929) | ![]() |
5,859 | |
Empire Penguin (1919) | 6,389 | ||
Erodona (1937) | 6,207 | ||
Fresno City (1929) | 4,955 | Sunk By Admiral Scheer | |
Hjalmar Wessel (1935) | 1,742 | ||
James J Maguire (1939) | 10,525 | ||
HMS Jervis Bay | Escort 28 Oct - 05 Nov Sunk By Admiral Scheer | ||
Kenbane Head (1919) | 5,225 | Sunk By Admiral Scheer | |
Lancaster Castle (1937) | 5,172 | ||
Maidan (1925) | 7,908 | Sunk By Admiral Scheer | |
Morska Wola (1924) | ![]() |
3,208 | |
Oilreliance (1929) | 5,666 | Joined Ex BHX 84 | |
Pacific Enterprise (1927) | 6,736 | Jx BHX 84 | |
Persier (1918) | ![]() |
5,382 | |
Puck (1935) | ![]() |
1,065 | |
Rangitiki (1929) | 16,698 | ||
Saint Gobain (1936) | ![]() |
9,959 | Joined Ex BHX 84 |
San Demetrio (1938) | 8,073 | ||
Solfonn (1939) | 9,925 | Joined Ex BHX 84 | |
Sovac (1938) | 6,724 | ||
HMCS St Francis | ![]() |
Escort 28 Oct - 29 Oct | |
Stureholm (1919) | ![]() |
4,575 | Returned Halifax post-dispersal |
Trefusis (1918) | 5,299 | ||
Trewellard (1936) | 5,201 | Sunk By Admiral Scheer | |
Varoy (1892) | 1,531 | ||
Vingaland (1935) | ![]() |
2,734 | Sunk by Luftwaffe aircraft post-dispersal W of County Donegal |
External links[]
References[]
- ↑ "Convoy HX.84". Arnold Hague Convoy Database. http://www.convoyweb.org.uk/hx/index.html. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
- Dan van der Vat : The Atlantic Campaign (1988).ISBN 0-340-37751-8
- Arnold Hague : The Allied Convoy System 1939-1945 (2000). ISBN (Canada) 1 55125 033 0 . ISBN (UK) 1 86176 147 3
- Theodor Krancke, Hans Brennecke : The Battleship ‘Scheer’ (1956). ISBN
- Calum MacNeil : San Demetrio (1957). ISBN
The original article can be found at Convoy HX 84 and the edit history here.