| Convoy Faith | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Battle of the Atlantic, World War II | |||||||
A Fw 200 C-4 Condor in 1942. Aircraft of this model attacked Convoy Faith. |
|||||||
|
|||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Germany | United Kingdom Canada United States |
||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| First attack: three aircraft Second attack: two aircraft |
Two troopships, one transport Two destroyers, two frigates, two flying boats |
||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| One aircraft damaged. | 115 killed Two troopships sunk one transport damaged |
||||||
Convoy Faith was an Allied convoy of World War II that suffered heavy casualties after being attacked by German Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor long-range bomber aircraft on the night of 11/12 July 1943. The convoy departed Greenock, Scotland on 8 July bound for Freetown in Sierra Leone and comprised two troopships, one transport and four escorting warships. On 11 July it was attacked by three Condors, and both the troopships were sunk, resulting in the death of over 100 personnel. The surviving transport was damaged in another air attack on 12 July before she reached Casablanca. These losses delayed the movement of a division of West African soldiers to India.
The Allies were surprised by the attack on Convoy Faith, as they believed that the Condors no longer posed a threat to shipping. In response, the convoy route between Britain and Africa was moved to the west and other ships were allocated to transport the West African troops. The German Condor force attempted to repeat its success against Convoy Faith, but suffered heavy losses from Allied anti-aircraft guns and aircraft.
Contents |
From August 1940 to June 1941 the German Luftwaffe unit III./KG 40 used its Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condors to attack Allied shipping in the Western Approaches and travelling between Britain and Gibraltar with considerable success. In response, the Allies increased the anti-aircraft armament carried by many merchant ships and developed means of providing fighter protection to convoys through CAM ships and escort carriers. During the last six months of 1941 these improved defences inflicted heavy losses on the Condor force, and it ceased attacking shipping in early 1942.[1] For the remainder of this year III./KG 40 mainly operated in the reconnaissance role, reporting targets for U-boats to attack. A small number of attacks were made on ships travelling between Britain and Gibraltar starting in May, but these cost the unit eight Condors destroyed in action and seven in accidents for no sinkings. As a result of their vulnerability to Allied defences, the commander of the Luftwaffe's Atlantic anti-shipping force recommended that the Condors be withdrawn from service in November 1942.[2]
III./KG 40's ability to attack Allied shipping was improved in late 1942. During the last months of the year the unit received 18 C-4 variants of the Fw 200 which were fitted with the Lotfe 7D bombsight. This sight reduced the Condors' vulnerability to anti-aircraft fire by allowing them to bomb targets from medium altitudes; previously they had only been able to bomb accurately from low levels. Several of the unit's Condors were also fitted with surface search radar, which improved their ability to locate Allied ships. In early 1943 it was decided to use these aircraft to renew attacks on convoys travelling to Gibraltar in an attempt to disrupt the Allied buildup in the Mediterranean during the Tunisia Campaign. These attacks began in early March and were conducted off Portugal between Lisbon and Cape St Vincent; this area was beyond the range of Gibraltar-based fighter aircraft, and few escort carriers were available to escort convoys. Between March and the start of July III./KG 40 sank five merchant ships and damaged another two for the loss of at least five Condors. In response, the British began to use de Havilland Mosquito fighters to patrol the Bay of Biscay, deployed four additional squadrons of patrol aircraft to Gibraltar and embarked signals intelligence teams on board warships in the Bay of Biscay to monitor KG 40's radio communications.[3]
In March 1943 the British Government decided to transfer the newly raised 81st (West Africa) Division from West Africa to India as reinforcements for the Burma Campaign. This unit required much more shipping space than other British divisions, as its fighting units were supported by thousands of porters. To facilitate the division's movement, additional troop ships were assigned to the regular WS series of convoys which traveled between Britain and the Indian Ocean via West Africa and South Africa.[4] The 81st Division's advance parties departed Freetown with Convoys WS 29 and WS 30 in April and May, and the 6th (West Africa) Brigade embarked on ships of Convoy WS 31 at Lagos between 2 and 10 July.[5] It was planned to move the division's two remaining brigades in convoys WS 32 and WS 33.[6]
The 5th (West Africa) Brigade was the second of the 81st Division's brigades to be shipped from West Africa.[8] The brigade comprised 12,000 personnel and was scheduled to depart with Convoy WS 32 on 31 July. The liners Britannic, Largs Bay and Tamaroa were available in Freetown to carry 8,528 of these men, and it was decided to sail SS California directly from the Clyde in Scotland to provide the remaining berths. After completing repairs, California began to embark 470 personnel bound for West Africa on 4 July. She was to be accompanied on this voyage by SS Duchess of York, which had been tasked with carrying 600 Royal Air Force personnel and civilians to West Africa, but had missed an earlier convoy due to electrical problems. Prior to the ships' departure it was decided to use Duchess of York to transport elements of the 5th (West Africa) Brigade to Bombay after the ships arrived at Freetown, while California would instead carry other West African personnel to the Middle East.[9]
California and Duchess of York sailed from Greenock on the afternoon of 7 July. Early the next day they were joined by the storeship MV Port Fairy, which was bound for Australia and New Zealand via West Africa and the Panama Canal. These ships were escorted by the destroyer HMS Douglas and frigate HMS Moyola from 9 July, and the destroyer HMCS Iroquois joined the convoy the next day. The route used by this convoy was similar to that of other recent convoys sailing between Britain and Africa, though the strength of the escort force was much weaker than that assigned to the regular convoys.[9]
On the evening of 11 July Convoy Faith was detected by a German Condor while about 480 kilometres (300 mi) off the Portuguese coast.[10] During the late evening three Condors bombed the ships from an altitude of about 15,000 feet (4,600 m).[9][10] Despite heavy anti-aircraft fire, California was badly damaged by a near miss from the first plane to attack and was hit by two bombs dropped by the second attacker. These bombs set the ship on fire and she began to sink. California's passengers were evacuated on board lifeboats while the crew tried to save the ship, but this proved unsuccessful, and they abandoned ship later that night. The liner was subsequently torpedoed and sunk by one of the escorting destroyers at 0045 hours on 12 July.[11]
At the same time California was fighting for her life, Duchess of York also came under attack. Several bombs hit the ship, setting her on fire. This fire could not be brought under control, and she was abandoned at 2240 hours on 11 July. HMS Douglas subsequently sank Duchess of York with a torpedo so her burning hulk did not attract German submarines to the area.[11]
While there are differing accounts of the casualties on board the two troop ships, the official casualty figures state that 89 people were killed on board Duchess of York and 26 on board California.[11] The survivors were rescued by the two destroyers and Moyola, including 660 by Iroquois alone.[11][12] They were subsequently taken to Casablanca by the warships, from where the seamen returned to Britain and military personnel continued to West Africa on board the SS Nea Hellas.[11]
Later that night, the frigate HMS Swale sailed Gibraltar to aid the remnants of the convoy. Swale escorted the undamaged Port Fairy towards Casablanca, where the escorts were to refuel.[11] Later on 12 July, the storeship was attacked by two Condors returning from a reconnaissance mission; she was hit on her port quarter by a 50 kg bomb, which started a fire. Two United States Navy PBY Catalina aircraft were sent to their aid, and succeeded in driving off the Condors with machine gun fire, seriously wounding one of the aircrew [13] [14]. Swale came alongside Port Fairy and extinguished the fire with her hoses; Port Fairy had not suffered any casualties in this attack, and continued to Casablanca, where she was repaired. [11][14]
The losses suffered by Convoy Faith shocked the British military, as it had been believed that the Condor force no longer posed a significant threat.[14] The decision to use a similar route to other convoys despite the relatively weak escort contributed to the attack.[15] In order to prevent a repetition of the attack, the convoy routes between Britain and West Africa were moved further to the west so that they were almost at the limit of the Condors' range.[16]
The loss of California and Duchess of York represented a heavy blow to the Allies' already stretched fleet of large troop ships. Duchess of York's role was filled by Nea Hellas after she disembarked the survivors of Convoy Faith at Freetown. Nea Hellas embarked the Gold Coast elements of the 5th (West Africa) Brigade at Takoradi from 2 August while Britannic, Tamaroa and Largs Bay embarked the remainder of the brigade at other West African ports. Convoy WS 32 sailed from Freetown on 5 August, and Nea Hellas joined it at sea two days later. The liner was left behind at Durban due to a mechanical fault, but eventually disembarked its soldiers at Bombay in late September after sailing there as part of Convoy CM 45. The West African personnel which were to be transported to the Middle East on board California were embarked on Convoy WS 33 in September and arrived at their destination in early November.[17]
The Germans attempted to build on their success against Convoy Faith by carrying out further medium-altitude attacks on convoys. III./KG 40 sank another four ships between July and September 1943 but suffered heavy losses from Allied aircraft and anti-aircraft guns. From October Heinkel He 177s largely took over the Condors' anti-shipping role, and the last Condor sorties were made over the Atlantic in early 1944.[18]