Convoy SC 104


Convoy SC 104 was the 104th of the numbered series of World War II Slow Convoys of merchant ships from Sydney, Cape Breton Island to Liverpool. During October 1942, a U-boat wolf pack sank eight ships from the convoy. The convoy escorts sank two of the attacking submarines.

Background

As western Atlantic coastal convoys brought an end to the second happy time, Admiral Karl Dönitz the Befehlshaber der U-Boote or commander in chief of U-boats, shifted focus to the mid-Atlantic to avoid aircraft patrols. Although convoy routing was less predictable in the mid-ocean, Dönitz anticipated that the increased numbers of U-boats being produced would be able to effectively search for convoys with the advantage of intelligence gained through B-Dienst decryption of British Naval Cypher Number 3. However, only 20 percent of the 180 trans-Atlantic convoys sailing from the end of July 1942 until the end of April 1943 lost ships to U-boat attack.
Forty-seven ships departed New York City on 3 October 1942 and were met by Mid-Ocean Escort Force Group B-6 consisting of the and , with the Norwegian-manned s,,, and and the convoy rescue ship Goathland.
Opposing this force was the U-boat Wolf pack Wotan comprising 8 boats:,,,,,,, and.

Action

The convoy was found and reported by U-258 on 11 October, and the other Wotan boats were ordered to join. By the evening of 12 October, U-258 had been joined by U-221 and U-356, and during the night of 12/13 October these boats attacked. U-258 and U-356 were unsuccessful, being driven off by the escorts, but U-221 was able to sink three ships: the Norwegian freighters Senta, and Fagersten, and the British freighter Ashworth.
On the 13th the three U-boats continued to shadow the convoy, and were joined during the day by five other boats. On the night of the 13/14 October the wolf pack attacked again. This time U-221 sank two ships: the American freighter Susana and the British whale factory ship Southern Empress. U-607 torpedoed the Greek freighter Nellie, which later sank, but was itself attacked and severely damaged, and was forced to return to France for repairs. U-661 torpedoed the Yugoslavian freighter Nikolina Matkovic, and U-618 torpedoed the Empire Mersey.
Throughout 15 October the Wotan boats shadowed SC 104, but were unable to mount any successful attacks that night. On 15 October, Viscount detected U-661 in fog, and attacked with gunfire, ramming and depth charges. U-661 was destroyed, but Viscount was also damaged, and had to finish the voyage as part of the convoy.
On 16 October U-353 was sighted by Fame, which attacked and destroyed her by ramming, again suffering damage in the process. Command of the escort passed to LtCdr C.A. Monsen in Potentilla, who was able to make an attack on a contact later that day. No identification was made, or result credited, but post-war examination shows that U-254 was severely damaged in this attack and forced to retire to base.
On 16 and 17 October SC 104 came in range of allied air patrols, long–range B-24 Liberators and Catalina flying boats. These were able to break up any further attacks and on the 17th, Dönitz ceased further operations against SC 104. The remainder of the voyage was unhindered, and the convoy reached Liverpool on 21 October. SC 104 lost 8 ships of 44,000 tons, with 2 escorts damaged, and saw the destruction of 2 U-boats with the damaging of 2 more.

Ships in convoy

NameFlagDeadTonnage gross register tons CargoNotes
Senta Norway3,785Steel & woodpulpSunk by 12/13 October
Ashworth 495,227BauxiteSunk by 13 October
Fagersten Norway192,342Steel & lumberSunk by 13 October
Susana 385,929Valuable general cargoSunk by 14 October
Southern Empress 4812,398Fuel oilSunk by 14 October
Nellie Greece324,826Steel & lumberSunk by 14 October
Nikolina Matkovic Yugoslavia143,672Sugar & lumberSunk by 14 October
Empire Mersey 165,791General cargo including government storesSunk by 14 October
Merchant Royal 5,008General cargoCarried convoy commodore Capt F H Taylor DSC RN
Mariposa 3,807Explosives, steel & timberShip's master was convoy vice-commodore
Aghios Spyridon Greece3,338GrainVeteran of convoy SC 94
Anna Greece5,173Grain and general cargo
Anna N Goulandris Greece4,358GrainSurvived this convoy and convoy HX 300
Bernhard Norway3,563BauxiteSurvived this convoy and convoy HX 300
Bonde Norway1,570General cargoReturned to Canada; sunk 7 months later in Convoy ONS 5
Boreas Norway2,801Sugar
Boston City 2,870General cargo including explosivesVeteran of convoy SC 94 and convoy ON 127
British Progress 4,581petrol
British Renown 6,997petrol
Campus 3,667Steel and woodSurvived this convoy and convoy ONS 5
Carslogie 3,786Steel and wood
Charles Carroll 7,191Cased petrol & explosivesLiberty ship
Cydonia 3,517GrainSurvived this convoy and convoy ONS 5
Disa Sweden2,002Flour
Empire Lightning 6,942phosphatesCollided with Milcrest of convoy ON 132
Empire Mouflon 3,234Explosives & general cargoSurvived this convoy and convoy HX 300
Empire Waterhen 6,004General cargo
Garnes Norway1,559Survived this convoy and convoy SC 107
George B. McClellan 7,181Vitriol, cased petrol & explosivesLiberty ship
Georgios P Greece4,052General cargoSurvived this convoy and convoy SC 122
Gothland 1,286Rescue ship
Gudvor Norway2,280Survived this convoy, convoy SC 122 and convoy ONS 5
Inger Lise Norway1,582lumberVeteran of convoy SC 94
Ingerfem Norway3,987GrainVeteran of convoy SC 94
John Hathorn 7,176Cased petrol & explosivesLiberty ship
Lido Norway1,918Flour
Liverpool Loyalist 1,416
Llangollen 5,056General cargo
Mars Netherlands1,582FlourVeteran of convoy SC 94
Nea Norway1,877lumberVeteran of convoy SC 26
Ozark 2,689Lost rudder and diverted to Iceland
Peterston 4,680Grain & lumber
Porjus Sweden2,965phosphatesReturned to Canada; also returned from convoy SC 121 and survived convoy SC 122
Prinses Maria-Pia Belgium2,588Sugar & bombs
RamavaLatvia2,141lumber
Reigh Count Panama4,657Explosives & valuable cargo
Robert Morris 7,176Cased petrol & explosivesLiberty ship
Rocha Panama1,471
Roxane 7,813Fuel oil
Saintonge 9,386Fuel oilSurvived this convoy and convoy HX 300
Saluta 6,261Fuel oil
Sinnington Court 6,910Survived this convoy and convoy SC 121
Souliotis Greece4,299Steel & lumber
Suderoy Norway7,562Fuel oilSurvived this convoy and convoy SC 121
Theomitor Greece4,427Steel & lumber
Vinga Norway7,321Furnace fuel oil
William Johnson 7,191Cased petrol & explosivesLiberty Ship

Losses

DateNumberTypeCaptainCasualtiesPositionCauseBy
15 October 1942U-661VIICOberleutnant zur See Erich Lilienfeld44Gunfire, depth charge, rammingHMS Viscount
16 October 1942U-353VIICKapitänleutnant Wolfgang Römer6Depth chargeHMS Fame