Convoy HX 90 Convoy HX 90 was a North Atlantic convoy of the HX series which ran during the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II . Background . HX 90 was an eastbound convoy of 41 ships which sailed from Halifax , Nova Scotia , Canada , on 21 November 1940 bound for Liverpool , England , and carrying war materials . The convoy , made up of contingents from Halifax , Sydney and Bermuda was led by convoy commodore V . P . Alleyne in " Botavon " . The escort for the crossing had been sparse , as was common at this stage of the campaign , and the Western Approaches escort did not generally meet incoming convoys until south of Iceland , reckoned to be the limit of any patrolling U - boat ’ s endurance . In HX 90 ’ s case the ocean escort was the Royal Navy armed merchant cruiser , and she was due to rendezvous with the Western Approaches escort on 2 December . Also at sea were several other convoys ; Convoy SC 13 was to the north of HX 90 , also heading east , while heading towards them was the westbound Convoy OB 251 . To the south , heading to the United Kingdom from Gibraltar , was Convoy HG 47 . Ranged against them was a pack of seven German submarine s – U - boat s – reinforced by three Italian submarines operating with them in the Atlantic Ocean . These were deployed in a patrol line at the fringe of the Western Approaches , hoping to intercept eastbound convoys before they met their escorts . Action . On 1 December 1940 , some 500 nautical miles ( 926 km ) south of Iceland , HX 90 was sighted by " U - 101 " , which reported its position . Her skipper , Mengersen , was ordered to shadow and report . During the day , the first Western Approaches escort , the Royal Navy destroyer under Lieutenant Commander M . S . Townsend , arrived from OB 251 . That evening , Mengersen was no longer able to resist attacking . He fired all twelve of his torpedo es , claiming four ships sunk and two damaged ; in fact he sank three ships during the night – " Apalachee " , " Kavak " , and " Lady Glanely " – and damaged another , " Loch Ranza " . Just after midnight on 2 December , " U - 47 " joined , skippered by U - boat ace Gunther Prien ; his attack sank one ship , " Ville D ' Arlon " , which had become separated from the convoy , and damaged another , " Conch " . Prien attacked a third ship , " Dunsley " , with his deck gun , but was driven off by an escort ship . Later " U - 95 " joined , attacking the damaged " Conch " ; " Conch " was again hit , but remained afloat . " U - 99 " , commanded by another ace , Otto Kretschmer , was en route to join the attack , but encountered the Royal Navy armed merchant cruiser on her way to join OB 251 as ocean escort . Kretschmer attacked her , and hit " Forfar " five times with torpedoes ; she sank with the loss of 172 of her crew , leaving 21 survivors . " U - 43 " also missed the convoy , but fell in with OB 251 , sinking two ships , while the Italian submarine " Argo " , having attacked HG 43 , also missed HX 90 , but found SC 13 , attacking and sinking one ship . On the morning of 2 December the pack was joined by " U - 52 " , which sank two ships , " Tasso " and " Goodleigh " . The convoy was joined by a further two escorts , the British sloop and corvette , also from OB 251 . They were assisted by the Royal Canadian Navy destroyer , which had been travelling with " Forfar " but had detached to reinforce HX 90 ’ s escort . " Viscount " and " St . Laurent " attacked numerous asdic contacts , making thirteen depth - charge attacks over four hours . No U - boats were hit , but all were kept submerged and silent , allowing HX 90 to escape . Later that evening , however , the convoy was sighted again , by newcomer " U - 94 " ; she attacked during the night of 2 – 3 December and sank two more ships , " Stirlingshire " and " Wilhelmina " . Also that night , " U - 99 " found and sank a straggler , " Victoria City " , ( though other sources say she was sunk by " U - 140 " ) and the damaged " Conch " , which she also sank . No further U - boat attacks developed for HX 90 , though on 3 December " W Hendrik " was bombed by German aircraft and sunk . The convoy met its local escort on 5 December and arrived in Liverpool later that day . Conclusion . U - Boat Command ( BdU ) , in the person of Rear Admiral Karl Dönitz , was delighted with the attack , believing his U - boats had sunk eighteen ships of over 120 , 000 GRT . In fact the confirmed loss to HX 90 was eleven ships of 73 , 495 GRT ( other sources give 73 , 958 GRT ) . During the same period the pack had also sunk the HMS " Forfar " , two ships from OB 251 , and another from SC 13 , and had damaged an escort from HG 47 . None of the attacking U - boats had been sunk or damaged . However , 30 ships of HX 90 arrived safely , as did 41 ships of SC 13 , the 30 ships of HG 47 , and 31 ships of OB 251 . Nevertheless the attack on HX 90 was a setback for the Allies , and one of the more serious convoy losses of the Atlantic campaign .