CU convoys
Encyclopedia
The CU convoys were a World War II
series of fast trans-Atlantic
convoy
s to the British Isles
. The earliest convoys of the series were tanker
s sailing directly from petroleum refineries at Curaçao
to the United Kingdom
. Most convoys of the series assembled in New York City
and included fast freighters and troopships with tankers arriving from Aruba
via TAG convoys to Guantánamo Bay
and GN convoys from Guantánamo to New York.
to the United Kingdom in HX convoys
since 1939 and in slower SC convoys
since 1940. These convoys were escorted by the Royal Navy
and Royal Canadian Navy
. The United States Navy
provided a few escorts to HX and SC convoys from September of 1941 through April of 1943. CU convoys were established as an emergency measure to maintain petroleum fuel reserves in the United Kingdom for continued strategic bombing of Europe following heavy tanker losses along the east coast of North America during the Second Happy Time
. Modern tankers could travel faster than the 9-knot HX convoys, and the CU convoys were continued as a very fast (14-knot) convoy series along the HX convoy route. United States destroyer escort
s provided anti-submarine screens for CU convoys because Flower class corvette
s of the Mid-Ocean Escort Force
were not fast enough to maneuver with these convoys.
Nine tankers departed Curaçao as convoy CU 1 on 20 March 1943 and arrived in Liverpool
on 1 April. Additional sailings from Curaçao were CU 2 in June, CU 3 in July, CU 4 in September, and CU 6 in November. Convoy CU 5 was the first to originate in New York on 13 October 1943. Approximately three or four CU convoys sailed from New York each month from December 1943 through May 1945. Convoys CU 23, CU 24, CU 28, CU 30, CU 33, and CU 35 included troopships and are sometimes identified with a TCU prefix. Convoy CU 24 sailed in two sections with troopships in TCU 24A and ammunition ships in TCU 24B. A total of 2255 ships crossed the Atlantic in CU convoys until convoy CU 73 made the last departure from New York on 30 May 1945.
Submarines sank three loaded United States tankers from CU convoys:
, USS Lansdale (DD-426)
, USS Hilary P. Jones (DD-427)
, and USS Charles F. Hughes (DD-428)
, and the British 42nd Escort Group: sloops HMS Folkestone (L22)
and HMS Weston (L72), River class frigate
s HMS Exe (K92) and HMS Ness (K219), Town class destroyer
HMS Bradford (H72), and Banff class sloop
HMS Gorleston (Y92). This was the only UC convoy successfully attacked by submarines. On 23 February 8882-ton Athelprincess was sunk by U-186; and U-202 sank the 7989-ton Esso Baton Rouge and damaged 9811-ton Empire Norseman, 8482-ton British Fortitude, and 8252-ton Murena. Empire Norseman was later sunk by U-558
, but the other two reached Guantánamo. The surviving tankers arrived in Curaçao on 6 March and the freighters proceeded to South African and Indian Ocean destinations.
Additional sailings direct to Curaçao were UC 2 in April, UC 3 in June, UC 3A in July, and UC 4 in September. Convoy UC 5 Departed Liverpool 29 October 1943 as the first of the series routed to New York. Convoy UC 37 reached New York on 23 September 1944. Most subsequent convoys of the series sailed in two sections. Convoy UC 38A left Liverpool on 19 September 1944, and convoy UC 38B departed 4 days later. Convoy UC 71 departed Liverpool on 3 June 1945 as the last of the series.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
series of fast trans-Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
convoy
Convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
s to the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
. The earliest convoys of the series were tanker
Tank ship
A tanker is a ship designed to transport liquids in bulk. Major types of tankship include the oil tanker, the chemical tanker, and the liquefied natural gas carrier.-Background:...
s sailing directly from petroleum refineries at Curaçao
Curaçao
Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Most convoys of the series assembled in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and included fast freighters and troopships with tankers arriving from Aruba
Aruba
Aruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km east of Guajira Peninsula...
via TAG convoys to Guantánamo Bay
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is located on of land and water at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba which the United States leased for use as a coaling station following the Cuban-American Treaty of 1903. The base is located on the shore of Guantánamo Bay at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is the oldest overseas...
and GN convoys from Guantánamo to New York.
Background
Allied war materials had been transported from North AmericaNorth America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
to the United Kingdom in HX convoys
HX convoys
The HX convoys were a series of North Atlantic convoys which ran during the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II. They were east-bound convoys and originated in Halifax, Nova Scotia from where they sailed to ports in the United Kingdom...
since 1939 and in slower SC convoys
SC convoys
The SC convoys were a series of North Atlantic convoys that ran during the battle of the Atlantic during World War II.They were east-bound slow convoys originating in Sydney, Cape Breton ; from there they sailed to ports in the UK, mainly Liverpool.For a time after the entry of the...
since 1940. These convoys were escorted by the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
and Royal Canadian Navy
Royal Canadian Navy
The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...
. The United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
provided a few escorts to HX and SC convoys from September of 1941 through April of 1943. CU convoys were established as an emergency measure to maintain petroleum fuel reserves in the United Kingdom for continued strategic bombing of Europe following heavy tanker losses along the east coast of North America during the Second Happy Time
Second happy time
The Second Happy Time , also known among German submarine commanders as the "American shooting season" was the informal name for a phase in the Second Battle of the Atlantic during which Axis submarines attacked merchant shipping along the east coast of North America...
. Modern tankers could travel faster than the 9-knot HX convoys, and the CU convoys were continued as a very fast (14-knot) convoy series along the HX convoy route. United States destroyer escort
Destroyer escort
A destroyer escort is the classification for a smaller, lightly armed warship designed to be used to escort convoys of merchant marine ships, primarily of the United States Merchant Marine in World War II. It is employed primarily for anti-submarine warfare, but also provides some protection...
s provided anti-submarine screens for CU convoys because Flower class corvette
Flower class corvette
The Flower-class corvette was a class of 267 corvettes used during World War II, specifically with the Allied navies as anti-submarine convoy escorts during the Battle of the Atlantic...
s of the Mid-Ocean Escort Force
Mid-Ocean Escort Force
Mid-Ocean Escort Force referred to the organization of anti-submarine escorts for World War II trade convoys between Canada and the British Isles...
were not fast enough to maneuver with these convoys.
Loaded ships eastbound
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
on 1 April. Additional sailings from Curaçao were CU 2 in June, CU 3 in July, CU 4 in September, and CU 6 in November. Convoy CU 5 was the first to originate in New York on 13 October 1943. Approximately three or four CU convoys sailed from New York each month from December 1943 through May 1945. Convoys CU 23, CU 24, CU 28, CU 30, CU 33, and CU 35 included troopships and are sometimes identified with a TCU prefix. Convoy CU 24 sailed in two sections with troopships in TCU 24A and ammunition ships in TCU 24B. A total of 2255 ships crossed the Atlantic in CU convoys until convoy CU 73 made the last departure from New York on 30 May 1945.
Submarines sank three loaded United States tankers from CU convoys:
- U-311 torpedoed Seakay in convoy CU 17 on 19 March 1944.
- U-550 torpedoed Pan-Pennsylvania in convoy CU 21 on 16 April 1944.
- U-482German submarine U-482German submarine U-482 was a Type VIIC U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. She was laid down on 13 February 1942 at Deutsche Werke in Kiel and went into service on 1 December 1943 under the command of Hartmut von Matuschka....
torpedoed Jacksonville in convoy CU 36 on 30 August 1944.
Ballasted empty ships westbound
Empty ships traveling westbound on similar routes were designated UC convoys. Seventeen ballasted tankers departed Liverpool on 15 February 1943 as convoy UC 1 with fifteen fast freighters, modern American destroyers USS Madison (DD-425)USS Madison (DD-425)
USS Madison was a Benson-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II. She the third Navy ship of that name, and the first named for Commander James J. Madison , who was awarded the Medal of Honor during World War I.Madison was laid down on 19 September 1938 by the Boston Navy...
, USS Lansdale (DD-426)
USS Lansdale (DD-426)
The second USS Lansdale was a in the United States Navy during World War II. She was named for Philip Lansdale.Lansdale was laid down on 19 December 1938 by Boston Navy Yard; launched on 30 October 1939; sponsored by Mrs. Ethel S. Lansdale, widow of the ships namesake; and commissioned on 17...
, USS Hilary P. Jones (DD-427)
USS Hilary P. Jones (DD-427)
USS Hilary P. Jones was a Benson-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II. She was named for Admiral Hilary P. Jones....
, and USS Charles F. Hughes (DD-428)
USS Charles F. Hughes (DD-428)
USS Charles F. Hughes was a Benson-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II. She was named for Charles Frederick Hughes....
, and the British 42nd Escort Group: sloops HMS Folkestone (L22)
HMS Folkestone (L22)
HMS Folkestone was a Hastings class sloop of the Royal Navy that saw action in World War II. She was built by Swan Hunter and Wigham Richardson Ltd. of Wallsend-on-Tyne, laid down on 21 May 1929 and launched on 12 February 1930...
and HMS Weston (L72), River class frigate
River class frigate
The River class frigate was a class of 151 frigates launched between 1941 and 1944 for use as anti-submarine convoy escorts in the North Atlantic....
s HMS Exe (K92) and HMS Ness (K219), Town class destroyer
Town class destroyer
The Town class destroyers were warships transferred from the United States Navy to the Royal Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy in exchange for military bases in the Bahamas and elsewhere, as outlined in the Destroyers for Bases Agreement between Britain and United States, signed on 2 September 1940...
HMS Bradford (H72), and Banff class sloop
Banff class sloop
The Banff-class sloops were a group of ten ships of the Royal Navy. Built as United States Coast Guard Lake-class cutters, in 1941 these ships were loaned to the Royal Navy as anti-submarine warfare escorts. The transfers took place at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where HMS Malaya was under repair after...
HMS Gorleston (Y92). This was the only UC convoy successfully attacked by submarines. On 23 February 8882-ton Athelprincess was sunk by U-186; and U-202 sank the 7989-ton Esso Baton Rouge and damaged 9811-ton Empire Norseman, 8482-ton British Fortitude, and 8252-ton Murena. Empire Norseman was later sunk by U-558
German submarine U-558
The German submarine U-558 was a Type VIIC U-boat in the service of the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. She sank 19 shipping and military vessels totalling nearly 100,000 tons before being sunk by bombers in July 1943....
, but the other two reached Guantánamo. The surviving tankers arrived in Curaçao on 6 March and the freighters proceeded to South African and Indian Ocean destinations.
Additional sailings direct to Curaçao were UC 2 in April, UC 3 in June, UC 3A in July, and UC 4 in September. Convoy UC 5 Departed Liverpool 29 October 1943 as the first of the series routed to New York. Convoy UC 37 reached New York on 23 September 1944. Most subsequent convoys of the series sailed in two sections. Convoy UC 38A left Liverpool on 19 September 1944, and convoy UC 38B departed 4 days later. Convoy UC 71 departed Liverpool on 3 June 1945 as the last of the series.