# Convoy SC 121

Convoy SC 121 was the 121st of the numbered series of World War II Slow Convoys of merchant ships from Sydney, Cape Breton Island to Liverpool. The ships departed New York City 23 February 1943; and were met by the Mid-Ocean Escort Force Group A-3 consisting of the United States Coast Guard (USCG) Treasury-class cutter USCGC Spencer, the American Wickes-class destroyer USS Greer, the British and Canadian Flower-class corvettes HMS Dianthus, HMCS Rosthern, HMCS Trillium and HMCS Dauphin and the convoy rescue ship Melrose Abbey. Three of the escorts had defective sonar and three had unserviceable radar.

## Background

As western Atlantic coastal convoys brought an end to the second happy time, Admiral Karl Dönitz, the Befehlshaber der U-Boote (BdU) or commander in chief of U-Boats, shifted focus to the mid-Atlantic to avoid aircraft patrols. Although convoy routing was less predictable in the mid-ocean, Dönitz anticipated that the increased numbers of U-boats being produced would be able to find convoys with the advantage of intelligence gained through B-Dienst decryption of British Naval Cypher Number 3. Only 20 percent of the 180 trans-Atlantic convoys, from the end of July 1942 until the end of April 1943, lost ships to U-boat attack.

## Battle

On 6 March U-405 sighted the convoy, which had been scattered by nine consecutive days of northwesterly Force 10 gales and snow squalls. The storm damaged the radio communication system aboard the escort commander's ship Spencer and Dauphin had to leave the convoy with damaged steering gear. U-230 torpedoed the British freighter Egyptian on the night of 6–7 March. The British freighter Empire Impala stopped to rescue survivors and was torpedoed after dawn by U-591.
U-190 torpedoed the British freighter Empire Lakeland when the gale subsided on 8 March and four more stragglers were sunk by U-526, U-527, U-591, and U-642. On 9 March the convoy escort was reinforced by No. 120 Squadron RAF B-24 Liberators from Northern Ireland and by the Wickes-class destroyer USS Babbitt and the Treasury-class cutters USCGC Bibb and USCGC Ingham from Iceland.
U-530 torpedoed straggling Swedish freighter Milos on the evening of 9 March. That night U-405 torpedoed the Norwegian freighter Bonneville while U-229 torpedoed the British freighter Nailsea Court and U-409 torpedoed the British escort oiler Rosewood and American ammunition ship Malantic.
The Flower-class corvettes HMS Campion and Mallow reinforced the convoy escort on 10 March, and the convoy reached Liverpool on 14 March. Only 76 of the 275 crewmen of the sunken ships were rescued.

## Ships in convoy

| Name | Flag | Dead | Tonnage (GRT) | Cargo | Notes |
| Alcoa Leader (1919) | United States | | 5,041 | Petrol | |
| Astrid (1942) | Norway | | 2,861 | Sugar | |
| Badjestan (1928) | United Kingdom | | 5,573 | Wheat | |
| Baldbutte (1919) | United States | | 6,295 | | |
| Bengkalis (1918) | Netherlands | | 6,453 | General cargo | Survived this convoy and convoy ONS 5 |
| Bonneville (1929) | Norway | 36 | 4,665 | 7,196 tons explosives & general cargo | Carried convoy commodore Capt H.C. Birnie DSO RD RNR; sunk by U-405 10 Mar |
| Brant County (1915) | Norway | | 5,001 | General cargo | Returned to Halifax |
| British Freedom (1928) | United Kingdom | | 6,985 | Furnace fuel oil | |
| British Progress (1927) | United Kingdom | | 4,581 | Petrol | Veteran of convoy SC 104 |
| Camerata (1931) | United Kingdom | | 4,875 | Iron ore | |
| Clunepark (1928) | United Kingdom | | 3,491 | Phosphates | |
| Coulmore (1936) | United Kingdom | | 3,670 | General cargo | Torpedoed, but towed and salvaged |
| Dilworth (1919) | United States | | 7,045 | Gas oil | |
| Egton (1938) | United Kingdom | | 4,363 | Iron ore | |
| Egyptian (1920) | United Kingdom | 44 | 2,868 | Oilseed, palm oil & tin ore | Sunk by U-230 7 Mar |
| El Grillo (1922) | United Kingdom | | 7,264 | Fuel oil | |
| Empire Advocate (1913) | United Kingdom | | 5,787 | General cargo | Survived this convoy and convoy ONS 5 |
| Empire Bunting (1919) | United Kingdom | | 6,448 | General cargo | Arrived in tow after steering failure on 11 March |
| Empire Caxton (1942) | United Kingdom | | 2,873 | Bauxite | |
| Empire Forest (1942) | United Kingdom | | 7,025 | General cargo | |
| Empire Grebe (1918) | United Kingdom | | 5,736 | General cargo | |
| Empire Impala (1920) | United Kingdom | 48 | 6,116 | 7,628 tons general cargo | Sunk by U-591 while picking up survivors 7 Mar |
| Empire Keats (1942) | United Kingdom | | 7,035 | West African produce | Carried convoy vice commodore Capt A Cocks DSC RD RNR |
| Empire Lakeland (1942) | United Kingdom | | 7,015 | Refrigerated and general cargo | Straggled and sunk by U-190 |
| Empire Opossum (1918) | United Kingdom | | 5,644 | Grain | |
| Empire Planet (1923) | United Kingdom | | 4,290 | General cargo | Survived this convoy and convoy ONS 5 |
| Eskdalegate (1930) | United Kingdom | | 4,250 | Iron ore | |
| Fort Lamy (1919) | United Kingdom | | 5,242 | Steel & general cargo | Veteran of convoy ON 154; straggled and sunk by U-527 8 Mar |
| Fort Remy (1943) | United Kingdom | | 7,127 | General cargo | |
| Garnes (1930) | Norway | | 1,559 | | Veteran of convoy SC 104 |
| Gascony (1925) | United Kingdom | | 4,716 | General cargo | |
| Gatineau Park (1942) | United Kingdom | | 7,128 | General cargo | Fitted with Admiralty Net Defence |
| Guido (1920) | United Kingdom | | 3,921 | Sugar & cotton | Romped and sunk by U-633 8 Mar |
| Hallfried (1918) | Norway | | 2,968 | Flour | |
| Harpefjell (1939) | Norway | | 1,333 | General cargo | |
| Harperly (1930) | United Kingdom | | 4,586 | Bauxite | Survived to be sunk 2 months later in convoy ONS 5 |
| Hollywood (1920) | United States | | 5,498 | General cargo | Veteran of convoy PQ 18 |
| Katendrecht (1925) | Netherlands | | 5,099 | Gas oil | |
| Kingswood (1929) | United Kingdom | | 5,080 | General cargo | |
| L V Stanford (1921) | United States | | 7,138 | Furnace fuel oil | Veteran of convoy SC 107 |
| USS Laramie (1919) | United States | | 5,450 | | Detached for Greenland |
| Leadgate (1925) | United Kingdom | | 2,125 | Flour | Straggled and sunk by U-642 8 Mar |
| Lobos (1921) | United Kingdom | | 6,479 | Tin & general cargo | |
| Lombardy (1921) | United Kingdom | | 3,379 | General cargo | |
| Lorient (1921) | United Kingdom | | 4,737 | Steel & lumber | Veteran of convoy SC 42; survived to be sunk 2 months later in convoy ONS 5 |
| Malantic (1929) | United States | 25 | 3,837 | 8,000 tons ammunition | Veteran of convoy SC 107; sunk by U-409 9 Mar |
| Manchester Progress (1938) | United Kingdom | | 5,620 | General cargo | |
| Melrose Abbey (1929) | United Kingdom | | 1,924 | | convoy rescue ship |
| Miguel de Larrinaga (1924) | United Kingdom | | 5,231 | Tobacco | Veteran of convoy SC 42 |
| Milos (1898) | Sweden | 30 | 3,058 | 804 tons steel & lumber | Sunk by U-530 11 Mar |
| Morska Wola (1924) | Poland | | 3,208 | General cargo | Veteran of convoy HX 84 |
| Nadin (1904) | Greece | | 3,582 | Steel & lumber | |
| Nailsea Court (1936) | United Kingdom | 45 | 4,946 | 7,661 tons copper & general cargo | Sunk by U-229 10 Mar |
| Parkhaven (1920) | Netherlands | | 4,803 | General cargo | |
| Porjus (1906) | Sweden | | 2,965 | Steel & pulp | Veteran of convoy SC 104; returned to port & sailed with convoy SC 122 |
| Raranga (1916) | United Kingdom | | 10,043 | Refrigerated & general cargo | |
| Ravnefjell (1938) | Norway | | 1,339 | General cargo | Veteran of convoy HX 79 & convoy ON 154; survived this convoy & convoy SC 130 |
| Reaverley (1940) | United Kingdom | | 4,998 | Bauxite | Returned to port |
| Rosewood (1931) | United Kingdom | 42 | 5,989 | Furnace fuel oil | Escort oiler; sunk by U-409 9 Mar |
| San Tirso (1913) | United Kingdom | | 6,266 | Furnace fuel oil | |
| Scorton (1939) | United Kingdom | | 4,813 | Sugar | |
| Sinnington Court (1928) | United Kingdom | | 6,910 | General cargo | Veteran of convoy SC 104 |
| Suderoy (1913) | Norway | | 7,562 | Fuel oil | Veteran of convoy SC 104 |
| Sutlej (1940) | United Kingdom | | 5,189 | General cargo | |
| Thraki (1941) | Greece | | 7,460 | Grain & general cargo | |
| Trontolite (1918) | United Kingdom | | 7,115 | | |
| Vancolite (1928) | United Kingdom | | 11,404 | | |
| Vojvoda Putnik (1916) | Yugoslavia | | 5,879 | Wheat | Straggled and sunk by U-591 |
| Zouave (1930) | United Kingdom | | 4,256 | Iron ore | Returned to port to be sunk sailing with convoy SC 122 |