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1940 Sailings
THE AP CONVOYS
Four
convoys to reinforce Egypt where there was only a much reduced garrison; these
troops formed the Desert Army, later officially titled the 8th Army and were
finally victorious in North Africa after many vicissitudes.
AP.1
Departed
Liverpool 28.8.40 consisting of three ships:
Arrived
Capetown 10.9, Aden 20.9 and Suez to disembark personnel 23.9.40. The convoy
was escorted by the cruiser YORK to Aden, relieved by the Australian cruiser
HOBART, the British AA cruiser
COVENTRY and destroyers DIAMOND and KANDAHAR for
the Red Sea passage.
AP.2
A single
ship convoy principally loaded with equipment, sailing from Liverpool 22.8.40,
SYDNEY STAR
Arrived
Capetown 10.9 and Suez 26.9.40 to discharge. The transport AMRA joined off
Aden. Escorted from Britain by the cruiser
AJAX to Aden, where
YORK from AP 1
relieved her to Suez. The AA cruiser
COVENTRY and destroyers DAINTY and
KINGSTON covered the Red Sea passage.
AP 3
The
principal reinforcement convoy which sailed from Liverpool 10.9.40 as follows:
Arriving
at Freetown 23.9 without CLAN CAMPBELL which fell out with defects 13.9 and
proceeded independently thereafter, the convoy sailed on 27.9 leaving GLAUCUS
behind, and arrived at Capetown 4.10. At Capetown DURBAN CASTLE, still on liner
service, remained behind while HMS ULSTER PRINCE and CLAN MACARTHUR were also
detached as they could not make the desired convoy speed. The remaining ships
sailed 6.10 and arrived at Suez 22.10.40.
Escort
was a strong one in view of the high personnel content, the destroyers
HARVESTER, HAVELOCK, HIGHLANDER, HURRICANE, VOLUNTEER and WOLVERINE provided
A/S cover until 12.9; the Armed Merchant Cruisers CILICIA and WOLFE provided
the ocean escort to Freetown. From Freetown to Capetown the AMC CANTON, joined
later by CARNARVON CASTLE, was the escort, from Capetown CANTON again escorted
until 9.10 when relieved by CARTHAGE. In turn, the cruiser
SHROPSHIRE relieved
CARTHAGE on 15.10 until 20.10 when the cruiser
CARLISLE and destroyers KANDAHAR
and KINGSTON and the sloop FLAMINGO took over for the Red Sea escort.
AP 3 ½
The last
convoy of this series consisted initially only of:
COLUMBIA STAR carrying explosives
and stores, which proceeded independently to Durban.
At
Durban she was joined by:
CLAN
MACARTHUR of convoy AP.3, which was escorted to join from Capetown by the AMC CARNARVON
CASTLE.
Sailing
from Durban 11.10, the two ships were escorted until 13.10 by the armed
merchant cruiser KANIMBLA, and then steamed unescorted until joined by the
cruisers
CARLISLE and
SHROPSHIRE and destroyer DEFENDER and Australian sloop PARRAMATTA on 22.10 for the final passage to Suez where they arrived 26.10.
__________
THE WS ("Winston's Special")
CONVOYS
WS 1
This
first WS convoy was of three ships, AQUITANIA and MAURETANIA from Liverpool,
and QUEEN MARY from the Clyde, all sailing on 29.6.40 with reinforcements for
Egypt. It was not practicable to route such large vessels through the Red Sea,
Italy having just entered the war, so the destination became Ceylon where the
troops could be transferred to smaller vessels. Sailing order was:
On
passing the Cape of Good Hope, the cruising order became line ahead, the
Commodore leading.
The
destroyers HARVESTER, HIGHLANDER, VOLUNTEER and WHIRLWIND provided A/S escort
until 30.6, thereafter the cruiser CUMBERLAND accompanied the convoy until
relief by the cruiser KENT in 34.20S 33E on 21.7.
The
convoy called at Freetown 8‑9.7 and Capetown 16‑18.7. As Colombo harbour
could not accommodate three such large ships, QUEEN MARY was diverted to
Trincomalee, all three ships arriving 29.7.40.
After
transferring their troops, all three ships remained in Eastern waters to
transport the ANZAC reinforcements to India and Egypt. AQUITANIA went to Sydney
NSW to join convoy US 4, MAURETANIA to Wellington for New Zealand troops, also
to join US 4, while QUEEN MARY went to Singapore to use the new dry dock at the
naval base there prior to passage to Sydney NSW, there to load troops for
convoy US 6 to Bombay.
WS 2
This
convoy, of seventeen ships, sailed from Liverpool and the Clyde 5.8, ORION
returning the following day with engine defects; she is not therefore allocated
a place in the sailing plan below as, after repairs, she sailed as an
independent to Capetown, then joining the Bombay section of the convoy WS 2B,
at that port and sailing on 31.8.40.
The
destroyers HARVESTER, HAVELOCK, HIGHLANDER and HURRICANE escorted the Liverpool
ships, while FORTUNE, FURY, VORTIGERN and WATCHMAN brought out the Clyde ships,
all destroyers parting company 7.8. The cruisers
EMERALD and
SHROPSHIRE sailed
from the Clyde and CORNWALL from Liverpool; EMERALD left with the destroyers on
7.8, the two remaining ships staying with the convoy into the Indian Ocean.
On 8.8,
in 53.22N 21.40W the convoy divided into FAST and SLOW sections as shown below,
WS 2 FAST
This
section, escorted by the cruiser
CUMBERLAND, arrived at Freetown 15.8, and
after a brief pause sailed again on 16.8 for Capetown, arriving there still
escorted by CUMBERLAND on 25.8, leaving MONARCH OF BERMUDA at Freetown to
return to the UK as an independent.
WS 2 SLOW
In the
formation shown below,
and
escorted by
SHROPSHIRE arrived at Freetown on 16.8 after the FAST section had
cleared the roadstead. At Freetown the ASKA remained behind, eventually to
return to the UK as an independent and be lost by air attack on 17.9 en route.
The
remainder of WS 2 SLOW sailed on 18.8, retaining the original formation and
still escorted by
SHROPSHIRE, to arrive at Capetown 25.8. Off Capetown the
FRANCONIA detached and, escorted by the armed merchant cruiser KANIMBLA,
arrived at Durban 27.8. The remaining ships of the convoy berthed at Capetown.
A
further division of the convoy took place at Capetown, with the detachment of
the India bound vessels.
WS 2A
On 30.8,
ten ships:
sailed
from Capetown escorted by the cruiser
SHROPSHIRE, joined off Durban in 21.46S
37.55E by
which
were escorted from Durban by the armed merchant cruiser KANIMBLA,
SHROPSHIRE
continuing as escort to Perim. Off Mombasa the cruiser CERES made a rendezvous
on 7.9 and detached LLANGIBBY CASTLE to enter Mombasa.
Off
Perim on 12.9 in 12.37N 43.22E, the Australian cruiser
HOBART, AA cruiser
COVENTRY and destroyers KANDAHAR and KINGSTON took over the ANDES, EMPRESS OF
BRITAIN and EMPRESS OF CANADA as a FAST section for Suez, dispersing these
ships as independents, when clear of Italian attack, in the early hours of
14.9.41
SHROPSHIRE, reinforced by the destroyer KIMBERLEY and the AA sloops
AUCKLAND and FLAMINGO continued with the SLOW portion to Suez.
On
completion of their passage and disembarkation of the troops, the EMPRESS OF
BRITAIN and EMPRESS OF CANADA both returned to the UK as independents via
Capetown and Freetown; the EMPRESS OF BRITAIN being bombed, set on fire and
then torpedoed and sunk on passage. FRANCONIA, OTRANTO and STRATHAIRD formed
part of convoy SW 1 to Durban with evacuees from the Middle East, and then
returned as independents via the Cape and Freetown to Britain. ANDES was in
convoy SW 2, also to Durban, and then as an independent via W Africa to
Britain.
WS 2B
Three
ships of the original convoy, plus ORION which had now arrived at Capetown as
an independent, sailed from Capetown on 31.8 for Bombay.
Escort
from Capetown was provided by the cruiser
CORNWALL, relieved on 3.9 by the
armed merchant cruiser KANIMBLA who took the convoy through to Bombay, arriving
there on 15.9.
The
ships of WS 2B spent rather more time in the East than the Aden convoy: BATORY
went on to Colombo, then to Singapore for dry docking, and then made passages
to Suez, Durban and Australia during the rest of 1940. ORION made one passage
to Suez from Bombay, then south to Durban and west to Australia, ORMONDE went
to Suez, then Capetown and Freetown to spend some time on the West African
coast, returning to Britain in 12.40 as an independent. STRATHEDEN also went to
Singapore to dry dock, and then direct to Australia for troop convoys from the
Commonwealth later in the year.
WS 3A SLOW
This
convoy sailed from Liverpool 3.10.40 consisting of:
with
troops and stores.
WOOLWICH (repair ship) was in company to Capetown.
Local
A/S escort was provided by destroyers HARVESTER, HAVELOCK, HIGHLANDER,
HURRICANE, VERSATILE, VISCOUNT and WITHERINGTON while the ocean escort was the
cruiser SHEFFIELD until 13.10, being then relieved by the cruiser
CUMBERLAND.
The convoy arrived at Freetown 16.10.
The
entire convoy, escorted by CUMBERLAND, sailed from Freetown 17.10 and arrived
27.10 at Capetown where HMS WOOLWICH remained.
Still
escorted by CUMBERLAND, the convoy sailed from Capetown on 29.10; on 1.11 the
armed merchant cruiser CARTHAGE relieved as escort in position 32.30S 33E and
took the convoy onward until 3.11 when a rendezvous was made with WS 3B Fast,
both convoys thereafter proceeding as WS 3.
WS 3B FAST
This
convoy sailed from Liverpool and the Clyde on 7.10.40, the latter section being
attacked by aircraft shortly after sailing, with the result that ORONSAY
received near miss damage which required her to return to the Clyde. The
combined convoy thereafter comprised:
Local
A/S escort was provided by destroyers DOUGLAS and ST LAURENT from Liverpool and
ACTIVE and OTTAWA from the Clyde. On 8.10 the destroyers ACHATES, ARROW, SABRE
and VIMY joined from the Clyde with the cruiser KENYA as the ocean escort.
The
Liverpool and Clyde sections made their rendezvous at noon on 12.10 when the
destroyer escort departed leaving KENYA to take the convoy on to Freetown where
it arrived safely on 18.10.
On 20.10
the convoy sailed from Freetown with the cruiser
DORSETSHIRE as escort to
Capetown, arriving there 28.10.
On
30.10, one day later than WS 3A Slow, DUCHESS OF YORK, GEORGIC, MONARCH OF
BERMUDA and ORONTES sailed from Capetown escorted by DORSETSHIRE and made RV
with the Slow convoy on 3.11 to form convoy WS 3.
WS 3
The
combined convoy formed by the rendezvous was organised as follows:
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