Convoy SC-118 was the 118th of the numbered series of World War II

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...

 Slow 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...

 of merchant ships from Sydney

Sydney, Nova Scotia

Sydney is a Canadian urban community in the province of Nova Scotia. It is situated on the east coast of Cape Breton Island and is administratively part of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality....

, Cape Breton Island

Cape Breton Island

Cape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....

 to Liverpool

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...

.

Prelude

Ships departing 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...

 on 24 January 1943 were met by 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...

 Group B-2 consisting of V class

V and W class destroyer

The V and W class was an amalgam of six similar classes of destroyer built for the Royal Navy under the War Emergency Programme of the First World War and generally treated as one class...

 destroyer

Destroyer

In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

s Vanessa and Vimy, the USCG Treasury Class Cutter

USCG Treasury Class Cutter

The Treasury-class high endurance cutters were a group of seven ships launched by the United States Coast Guard between 1936 and 1937. The class were called the "Treasury-class" because they were each named for former Secretaries of the Treasury. These ships were also collectively known as the...

 Bibb

USCGC Bibb (WPG-31)

The USCGC Bibb was a Secretary-Class Coast Guard ship commissioned in 1936. Seven similar "combat cutters" were built and named for secretaries of the United States Treasury. The legendary Bibb was named for U.S. Secretary of the Treasury George M. Bibb.The ship saw service in World War II...

, the 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...

 , 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 Campanula, Mignonette, Abelia

HMS Abelia (K184)

HMS Abelia was a that served in the Royal Navy.She was launched on 28 November 1940, and was fitted for minesweeping. She served in World War II; her commanding officer for parts of 1943 and 1944 was Lieutenant Orme G. Stuart....

 and Lobelia, and the convoy rescue ship

Convoy rescue ship

During the Second World War purpose built convoy rescue ships accompanied some Atlantic convoys to rescue survivors from ships which had been attacked. Rescue ships were typically small freighters with passenger accommodations. Conversion to rescue service involved enlarging galley and food...

 Toward.

On 2 February U-456 sank three ships from convoy HX 224. A survivor of one of the sunken ships was picked up by U-632 and told his rescuers a slower convoy was following behind HX-224.

Battle

A careless merchant seaman of convoy SC-118 accidentally fired a pyrotechnic snowflake projector aboard SS Annik in the pre-dawn darkness of 4 February. U-187 observed the snowflake display, reported sighting the convoy, and was promptly sunk by Beverly and Vimy after Bibb and Toward triangulated with High-Frequency radio Direction-Finder (HF/DF or Huff-Duff

Huff-Duff

High-frequency direction finding, usually known by its abbreviation HF/DF is the common name for a type of radio direction finding employed especially during the two World Wars....

) her location from the sighting report. The destroyers rescued 44 of the submarine crew. Polish freighter Zagloba was torpedoed on the unprotected side of the convoy by U-262 and U-413 torpedoed straggling American freighter West Portal.

On 5 February the convoy escort was reinforced by the USCG Treasury Class Cutter

USCG Treasury Class Cutter

The Treasury-class high endurance cutters were a group of seven ships launched by the United States Coast Guard between 1936 and 1937. The class were called the "Treasury-class" because they were each named for former Secretaries of the Treasury. These ships were also collectively known as the...

 Ingham and the Wickes class destroyer

Wickes class destroyer

The Wickes-class destroyers were a group of 111 destroyers built by the United States Navy in 1917-1919. Along with the 6 preceding Caldwell class and 155 subsequent Clemson-class destroyers, they formed the "flush-deck" or "four-stack" class. Only a few were completed in time to serve in World...

s Babbitt

USS Babbitt (DD-128)

USS Babbitt was a Wickes class destroyer in the United States Navy during the World War I and World War II, later classified as AG-102. She was named for Fitz Babbitt....

 and Schenck

USS Schenck (DD-159)

USS Schenck was a Wickes-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II. She was named for Rear Admiral James F. Schenck, USN ....

 from Iceland

Iceland

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

. The reinforced escort damaged U-262 and U-267.

In the pre-dawn hours of 7 February, U-boat Ace Kapitänleutnant Siegfried von Forstner

Siegfried von Forstner

Korvettenkapitän Siegfried Freiherr von Forstner was a German U-boat commander during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross...

's U-402

German submarine U-402

German submarine U-402 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for the German Kriegsmarine for service during World War II.U-402 commanded by Kapitänleutnant Siegfried von Forstner carried out eight combat patrols sinking 14 merchantmen and one warship during the Second World War. U-402 also damaged three...

 torpedoed British freighter Afrika, Norwegian tanker

Tanker (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:...

 Daghild, Greek freighter Kalliopi, American tanker

Tanker (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:...

 Robert E. Hopkins, American cargo liner

Cargo liner

A Cargo liner is a type of merchant ship which carried general cargo and often passengers. They became common just after the middle of the nineteenth century, and eventually gave way to container ships and other more specialized carriers in the latter half of the twentieth...

 , and Convoy rescue ship

Convoy rescue ship

During the Second World War purpose built convoy rescue ships accompanied some Atlantic convoys to rescue survivors from ships which had been attacked. Rescue ships were typically small freighters with passenger accommodations. Conversion to rescue service involved enlarging galley and food...

 Toward.

Henry R. Mallory was capable of 14 knots but had been straggling well astern of the convoy for several days and was not zig-zagging in that exposed position. Mallory would normally have been assigned to one of the faster 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...

, but there had been no Iceland section of the preceding convoy HX-224. No commands came from the bridge after Mallory was torpedoed, no flares were sent up, no radio distress message was sent out, and no orders were given to abandon ship. There were heavy casualties from Mallorys crew of 77, 34 Navy gunners

United States Navy Armed Guard

United States Navy Armed Guard units were established during World War I in an attempt to provide defensive firepower to merchant ships in convoy or merchant ships traveling alone...

, and the 136 American soldiers, 172 American sailors, and 72 American Marines she was transporting to Iceland

Iceland

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

.

U-614 sank straggling British freighter Harmala while Lobelia sank U-609.

B-17 Flying Fortress J of No. 220 Squadron RAF

No. 220 Squadron RAF

No. 220 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was originally founded in 1918 and disbanded in 1963 after four separate periods of service. The squadron saw service in both the First and Second World Wars, as a naval patrol unit, and finally as part of Britain's strategic nuclear deterrent.-First World...

 sank U-614 on 7 February. U-402

German submarine U-402

German submarine U-402 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for the German Kriegsmarine for service during World War II.U-402 commanded by Kapitänleutnant Siegfried von Forstner carried out eight combat patrols sinking 14 merchantmen and one warship during the Second World War. U-402 also damaged three...

 sank British freighter Newton Ash that night. On 9 February Kapitänleutnant von Forstner was awarded the Knight's Cross

Knight's Cross

Knight's Cross refers to a distinguishing grade or level of various orders that denotes bravery and leadership on the battlefield....

 for ships sunk by U-402 from this convoy and from Convoy SC-107

Convoy SC-107

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...

 on the previous patrol. SC-118 reached Liverpool

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...

 without further loss on 12 February.

Ships in convoy

Name	Flag	Dead	Tonnage	Cargo	Notes
Acme (1916)			6,878 gross register tons (GRT)	petrol & oil
Adamas (1918)		(none)	4,144 GRT	steel & lumber	sank 8 Feb after collision with
African Prince (1939)			8,031 GRT	bauxite and ammunition	carried convoy commodore Capt H C C Forsyth RD RNR
Afrika (1920)		23	8,597 GRT	4,000 tons steel & 7,000 tons general cargo	sunk by 7 Feb
Ann Skakel (1920)			4,949 GRT	general cargo	veteran of convoy SC 107; detached to Iceland 9 Feb
Annik (1940)			1,333 GRT	general cargo	detached to Iceland 9 Feb
Arizpa (1920)		0	5,437 GRT	stores
Athelprince (1926)			8,782 GRT	diesel & naptha	convoy vice commodore was ship's master
Baron Haig (1926)			3,391 GRT	sugar
Baron Ramsey (1929)			3,650 GRT	iron ore	veteran of convoy SC 42
Bestik (1920)			2,684 GRT	steel & lumber
Blairdevon (1925)			3,282 GRT	steel & lumber
Celtic Star (1918)			5,575 GRT	refrigerated & general cargo
Cetus (1920)			2,614 GRT	sugar	veteran of convoy HX 84; survived this convoy and convoy SC 130
City of Khios (1925)			5,574 GRT	sugar
Daghild (1927)		(none)	9,272 GRT	13,000 tons diesel	veteran of convoy ON 127; sunk by , &
Dallington Court (1929)			6,889 GRT	wheat	survived this convoy and convoy SC 130
Danae II (1936)			2,660 GRT	bauxite	veteran of convoy HX 84
Danby (1937)			4,281 GRT	linseed & grain
Daylight (1931)			9,180 GRT	general cargo	escort oiler; detached to Iceland 9 Feb; survived this convoy and convoy SC 130
Deido (1928)			3,894 GRT	petrol
Dettifoss (1930)			1,564 GRT	general cargo	detached to Iceland 9 Feb
Dordrecht (1928)			4,402 GRT	palm oil	returned to Halifax
(1942)			2,847 GRT	bauxite
(1941)			7,157 GRT	general cargo
Glarona (1928)			9,912 GRT	fuel oil & diesel
Gogra (1919)			5,190 GRT	general cargo
Gold Shell (1931)			8,208 GRT	petrol
Grey County (1918)		3	5,194 GRT	general cargo
Gulf of Mexico (1917)			7,807 GRT	oil & petrol
H M Flagler (1918)			8,208 GRT	furnace fuel oil	escort oiler
Harmala (1935)		53	5,730 GRT	8,500 tons iron ore	straggled and sunk by 7 Feb
Helder (1920)			3,629 GRT	general cargo
Henry Mallory (1916)		272	6,063 GRT	383 passengers & general cargo	veteran of convoy ON 154; sunk by 7 Feb
Ioannis Frangos (1912)			3,442 GRT	grain
Julius Thomsen (1927)			1,151 GRT		detached to Greenland
Kalliopi (1910)		4	4,965 GRT	6,500 tons steel & lumber	sunk by 7 Feb
King Stephen (1928)			5,274 GRT	grain
Kiruna (1921)			5,484 GRT	general cargo	veteran of convoy HX 79 and convoy ON 154
Lagarfoss (1904)			1,211 GRT	general cargo	detached to Iceland 9 Feb; survived this convoy and convoy SC 130
Makedonia (1942)			7,044 GRT	flour
Mana (1920)			3,283 GRT	general cargo	detached to Iceland 9 Feb
Maud (1930)			3,189 GRT	sugar
New York City (1917)			2,710 GRT	general cargo	veteran of convoy SC 107
Newton Ash (1925)		32	4,625 GRT	6,500 tons grain, mail & military stores	sunk by 7 Feb
Norbryn (1922)			5,087 GRT	tea & rubber
Permian (1931)			8,890 GRT		survived this convoy and convoy SC 122
Petter II (1922)			7,417 GRT	gas oil
Polyktor (1914)			4,077 GRT	grain	sunk by
Radmanso (1914)			4,280 GRT	sulphur
Radport (1925)			5,355 GRT	general cargo
Redgate (1929)			4,323 GRT	general cargo
Robert E. Hopkins (1921)		(none)	6,625 GRT	8,500 tons furnace fuel oil	escort oiler; sunk by 7 Feb
(1942)			7,181 GRT	general cargo	Liberty ship Liberty ship Liberty ships were cargo ships built in the United States during World War II. Though British in conception, they were adapted by the U.S. as they were cheap and quick to build, and came to symbolize U.S. wartime industrial output. Based on vessels ordered by Britain to replace ships torpedoed by...
Sheaf Holme (1929)			4,814 GRT	potash & general cargo	survived this convoy and convoy SC 130
Sommerstad (1926)			5,923 GRT	lubricating oil
Stad Arnhem (1920)			3,819 GRT	phosphates
Tilemachos (1911)			3,658 GRT	grain
Toward (1923)		58	1,571 GRT		rescue ship; sunk by 7 Feb
Vacuum (1920)			7,020 GRT	petrol
West Portal (1920)			5,376 GRT	stores	straggled and sunk by 4 Feb
William Penn (1921)			8,447 GRT	petrol
Yemassee (1922)			2,001 GRT	general cargo	detached to Iceland 9 Feb
Zagloba (1938)			2,864 GRT	ammunition & general cargo	sunk by 4 Feb