Interesting Stories and Notes

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Convoy SC 107

The following account has been derived from many sources including details given on the Wikipedia website

The convoys from North America were often of the SC variety; the SC standing for Slow Convoy.  Many merchant ships were only designed to go at a speed of about 10 knots, as this was the most fuel efficient speed for engines at this time.

 
Convoy SC-107 was the 107th of the numbered series of World War II Slow Convoys of merchant ships from Sydney, Cape Breton Island to Liverpool which set out in October 1942. The convoy was initially escorted by the Western Local Escort Force, who then turned the convoy over to Mid-Ocean Escort Force Group C-4.  This consisted of the Canadian River class destroyer Restigouche with Flower class corvettes Amherst, Arvida, Sherbrooke, Celandine, Algoma, Moosejaw and the Convoy rescue ship Stockport.

The SC107convoy was particularly unlucky.  At this time the German U-boats had just recently been formed into ‘wolf-packs’ so that they could attack as a concentrated force, rather than working as individuals.  The ‘wolf-pack’ that attacked SC107 contained 17 U-boats and attacked the convoy continually for about a 5 days.

However, whilst the convoy was within aircraft range of Canada, one U-boat (U-520) was sunk by a No. 10 Squadron RCAF Digby bomber. 

The convoy then entered the region of the Atlantic which was outside the range of aircraft based in Canada and the USA, sometimes referred to as the 'Black Pit'.  The convoy now had to rely solely on the escort vessels for protection. 

U-boat U-522 found the convoy on the 30th October and reported it to the submarines in the 'wolf-pack'.  They immediately converged on the convoy and attacked it for 5 days, until the convoy approached Iceland and was again in reach of Allied air support.

Details accounts of the attacks on the convoy are described in the next sections.

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