Convoy HX72 : Ship details


Ships Lost and Damaged, September 21st-22nd, 1940.
and Fates of Surviving Ships.

DateTimeName of ShipTonnageCargoVoyageCrewMen lostSunk
by
Captain
21 Sept 03.12 Invershannon 9,154 Admiralty service Curacao-Scapa Flow - 15 U-99 Kretschmer
21 Sept 04.19 Baron Blythswood 3,668 Iron Ore Wabana-Port Talbot 56 34 U-99 Kretschmer
21 Sept 04.47 Elmbank 5,156 Timber & Metals Cowichan-Belfast 56 1 U-99, U-47 Kretschmer, Prien
21 Sept 06.14 Blairangus 4,409 Pit Props Newfoundland-Methil 34 7 U-48 Bleichrodt
21 Sept 23.10 (22.17) Canonesa 8,286 Refrigerated & General Goods Montreal-Liverpool 63 1 U-100 Schepke
21 Sept 23.10 (22.26) Torinia 10,364 Fuel Oil Curacao-Clyde 55 0 U-100 Schepke
21 Sept 23.13 (22.11)Dalcairn 4,608 Wheat Montreal-Hull 42 0 U-100 Schepke
21 Sept 23.38 Broompark (damaged) 5,136 - - - 1 U-48 Bleichrodt
22 Sept 00.22 Empire Airman 6,586 Iron Ore Wabana-Cardiff 37 32 U-100 Schepke
22 Sept 00.50 Scholar 3,940 Cotton, Steel, Timber etc Galveston-Manchester 42 0 U-100 Schepke
22 Sept 01.52 Frederick S. Fales 10,525 Oil Curacao-Clyde 48 20 U-100 Schepke
22 Sept 02.14 Simla (Norwegian) 6,031 Scrap Iron & Steel Philadelphia-Tees 31 5 U-100 Schepke
22 Sept 06.46 Collegian(damaged) 7,886 - - - - U-32 Jenisch


I am grateful to the asistance of Fred Hortop in putting together accurate casualty figures for the above table. Times in brackets are according to the British convoy commander (Public Records Office - file ADM 199/1707). Other times from Rohwer, J (1983) Axis Submarine Successes 1939-45.

Please note that the casualty figures in the above table differ from those given in many published accounts. The above figures are based on the UK Registry of Shipping and Seamen's list of all wartime casualties. This list differs from both the list of names on the Merchant Navy Memorial at Tower Hill, London (which omits the names of those commemorated overseas and of those buried ashore) and the casualty numbers in the Lloyds War Losses documents (which were based on initial estimates of losses). I believe that the above figures are the most accurate available.


Fates of Surviving Ships.

According to the Convoy Cruising Order filed at the Public Records Office in Kew 42 ships in total sailed in Convoy HX72. Of these 11 were torpedoed and sunk. Of the remaining 31 which safely reached port, I am aware of the following which were subsequently lost later in the war :

Oakcrest - Torpedoed by U-123 (Karl-Heinz Moehle) on 22nd November 1940. 35 of 44 crew lost.
Eastern Glade - Torpedoed (having been renamed Empire Jaguar) by Victor Schütze's U-103 on 9th December 1940. All crew lost. The ship was an American vessel sold to the UK in the early days of the war and making her first crossing to her new owners with Convoy HX72, following which she was renamed.
Urla - Torpedoed by the Italian submarine 'Torelli' (Primo Longobardo) on 28th January 1941. Crew of 42 all saved.
Ullapool - Sunk by parachute bomb in Mersey estuary on 13th March 1941. 15 of crew of 38 lost.
Venetia - Torpedoed by Otto Kretschmer's U-99 on 16th March 1941. Crew of 40 all saved. The next day U-99 was sunk and Kretschmer captured.
Tregarthen - Torpedoed by Herbert Schultze's U-48 on 6th June 1941. All crew lost.
Tresilian - Torpedoed by U-77 (Heinrich Schonder) on 12th June 1941. All saved.
Harlingen - Torpedoed by Helmuth Ringelmann's U-75 on 5th August 1941. (Some accounts credit U-74 (Eitel-Friedrich Kentrat) with the sinking on the same day).
Muneric - Torpedoed by Heinz-Otto Schultze's U-432 on 10th September 1941, with the loss of all hands.
Putney Hill - Torpedoed by U-203 (Rolf Mützelburg) on 26th June 1942. 3 of 38 crew lost.
Broompark - Torpedoed by Erich Topp's U-552 on 24th July 1942, and sunk under tow the following day.
Zagloba - This Polish ship went missing after losing touch with its convoy on 5th February 1943. Was probably sank by Heinz Franke's U-262 on February 6th 1943. All hands lost.
Leadgate - Torpedoed by Herbert Brünning's U-642 on 8th March 1943, sailing as part of Convoy SC121.
Pacific Grove - Torpedoed by U-563 (Götz v.Hartmann) on 12th April 1943. 11 out of 70 on board lost.
Selvistan - Torpedoed by U-266 (Ralf v.Jessen) on 5th May 1943. 6 out of 46 lost.
Janeta - Torpedoed by Kurt Freiwald's U-181 on 1st May 1944. 14 out of 48 lost.


Two other ships were lost during the war, but not to enemy action.

Soemba - On 7th January 1941 this Dutch vessel capsized and sank 300 miles off Cape Race after its cargo shifted.
Bur - This Norwegian ship became stranded in East Long Island Sound on 1st September 1942, sank, refloated, and was then sold for breaking up.


The following ships survived the war and met the following fates:

Collegian - Damaged in HX72, this ship was broken up at Milford Haven, Wales in 1947.
Defender - Arrived at Barrow, England for demolition in 1952.
El Aleto - This tanker was broken up in 1953.
Gloucester City - Sold in 1949 to South African Lines and renamed Namaqualand. In 1950 sold to United Oriental S.S. Co. and renamed Kaderbaksh. Broken up in Pakistan in 1961.
Hardanger - Sold in 1953 to A/S D/S Ask and renamed Hop. Broken up in Belgium in 1959.
Leighton - Was scuttled carrying gas ammunition in the North Atlantic in 1947 while under Ministry of Transportation control.
Losada - Broken up in 1952.
Mammy - This Norwegian ship was sold to Shri Ambica Nav. Co. in 1945 and renamed Ambica. She was broken up in India in 1958.
Morska Wola - Sold in 1950 to the Polish Government and broken up in Poland in 1959.
Mount Kyllene - This Greek ship was sold to M.N. Piangos in 1950. In 1952 was sold to D.A. Psychoyos. Broken up in Hong Kong in 1959.
Nyanza - Sold in 1950 to the Emder Dampfercomp A.G. and renamed Eliza Nubel. Broken up in Spain in 1960.
Snar - This Norwegian vessel was sold to Brodrene Anda in 1963, renamed Rans, and broken up in 1967.
Tudor Prince - Sold in 1958 and broken up in 1964.

Hence of the 31 ships which survived the U-boat attack on Convoy HX72, 16 were lost to enemy action later in the war. 14 of these were lost to submarine attacks (13 German, 1 Italian), one to a parachute bomb and one ship went missing presumed torpedoed. Two were lost later in 1940, 7 in 1941, 2 in 1942, 4 in 1943 amd one in 1944. A further two ships were lost at sea during the war, but not as a result of enemy action. Thirteen ships survived the war, the longest lasting being the Snar, which was broken up in 1963.


Sources
John B Hill and Fred Hortop have helped me greatly in compiling this information. Other valuable sources have been Blair (1996), Lloyds of London (1989), Public Records Office (file ADM 199/1707), Rohwer (1983), Slader (1988) and (1994), Young (1989) and U-boat net. For those ships surviving the attack on HX72 but then lost later in the war I have used casualty figures from a range of published sources. I have not checked these against the RSS's definitive lists.


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