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Escort Group

October 29, 2023

Not to be confused with Escorts Group or Special Escort Group.

An Escort Group consisted of several small warships organized and trained to operate together protecting trade convoys. Escort groups were a World War II tactical innovation in anti-submarine warfare by the Royal Navy to combat the threat of the Kriegsmarine's "wolfpack" tactics. Early escort groups often contained destroyers, sloops, naval trawlers and, later, corvettes of differing specifications lacking the ability to maneuver together as a flotilla of similar warships, but rigorously trained in anti-submarine tactics to use teamwork emphasizing the unique sensors, weapons, speed, and turning radius of each ship. The development of these 'escort groups' proved an effective means of defending shipping convoys through the Battle of the Atlantic.

HMS Skate was one of the oldest destroyers in the Royal Navy when assigned convoy protection duty for the Western Approaches Command.

Background edit

Based on experience during World War I, the Admiralty instituted trade convoys in United Kingdom coastal waters from September 1939.[1] During the first year of the Battle of the Atlantic British convoy protection was the responsibility of the Western Approaches Command (WAC), based first in Plymouth, then, as the focus of the campaign moved after the 1940 Fall of France, in Liverpool.[2] The newest and most capable destroyers were assigned to screen capital ships of the Home Fleet; so, to augment the inadequate number of purpose-designed sloops, WAC was allocated a leftover array of limited production prototypes, ships built to foreign specifications, minesweepers, militarized yachts, and fishing trawlers, and survivors of elderly destroyer classes no longer considered suitable for operation with the Home Fleet. These escorts were not numerous enough or sufficiently long-ranged to accompany convoys across the Atlantic, but would screen convoys to and from meeting points thought to be beyond U-boat range defining the edge of the Western Approaches.

Convoy escorts were initially assigned on an ad hoc basis, dispatched as and when available, and arrived singly or in small groups. Command of the escort force fell to the senior officer present and could change as each new ship arrived. Any tactical arrangements had to be made on the spot and communicated by a signal lamp to each ship in turn. The ships were unaccustomed to working together and often had no common battle plan or tactics.

These deficiencies led to a major defeat in October 1940 when Convoy HX 79 from Halifax to Liverpool was attacked by a wolfpack of five U-boats remaining after an attack on convoy SC 7. Initially unprotected, a force of 11 warships were assembled but 12 ships in the convoy were sunk from attacks during the night while none of the U-boats were damaged.

The loss of ships from both SC 7 and HX 79 gave the impetus for Admiral Percy Noble, the commander-in-chief of WAC, to form discrete groups.[3] These Escort Groups often consisted of mixed types of small warships, but later were sometimes formed from a single class (e.g. the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 15th, and 21st Escort Groups were composed entirely of Captain-class frigates when these ships became available to replace the older ships originally assigned to those groups.)[4]

Service history edit

In 1941 WAC had 8 escort groups formed.[3] These typically comprised four to eight ships, under the command of an RN officer, usually a commander or lieutenant commander. By operating together under a single leader, groups were able to develop group tactics and practice their use; with the issue of a single short command the various ships of the group, often out of sight of each other, could be relied upon to act in a coordinated fashion. In ten days in 1941, four U-boats were sunk with the loss of three of Germany's top U-boat commanders. Later these tactics were standardized and taught to all escort group commanders at the Western Approaches Tactical Unit (WATU). The WATU was an RN analysis team founded in early 1942 to study the conduct of convoy operations using wargames and lectures. The unit, made up of naval officers and the young women of the WRNS disseminated instructions to over 5,000 Allied officers with "considerable success".[5]

This level of teamwork was never achieved by the attacking U-boats. Although the wolfpack was co-ordinated in that several boats would be concentrated on a target convoy, once gathered the boats would attack individually without any attempt at further co-operation. It was not unknown for U-boats to get in each other's way whilst attacking or collide with each other. Time and again during the Battle of the Atlantic relatively small, well-handled escort groups were able to frustrate attacks by more numerous groups of U-boats and ensure the "safe and timely arrival" of their charges. In one example, in November 1942, Convoy ON 144 of 33 ships from Britain to North America protected by the Mid-Ocean Escort Force B6 of five Flower-class corvettes, was attacked by a group of ten U-boats. Over the next three days they fought off attacks by the wolfpack for the loss of five ships and one corvette; 28 ships arrived safely.[6][7] Following this action, the Senior Officer Escort (SOE) – commander of the group – was "warmly congratulated" for preventing what could have been a major disaster,[7] and the contrast with HX 79 was apparent.[citation needed]

In practice, escort group cohesion was impaired by frequent changes of escort personnel and transferring ships between groups.[8] Personnel shuffling was inevitable as trained crewmen with combat experience were promoted and transferred to the expanding fleet of new ships.[9] Shuffling of ships from one escort group to another was often necessary to maintain escort group strength by replacing ships temporarily disabled by battle damage or the frequent machinery breakdowns of older warships.[10] The following list includes some duplication reflecting reassignments at the time of compilation. The original eight escort groups and the Canadian 14th through 25th escort groups were reorganized into the Mid-Ocean Escort Force (MOEF) in February and March 1942 with ships of the 9th Escort Group serving as leaders of MOEF groups B1 through B5. The ships of the earlier groups which had only a short-range and were unsuitable for MOEF duty were reassigned to the Western Local Escort Force or duty with coastal convoys or the arctic convoys supplying the Soviet Union. The 36th through 44th escort groups remained relatively unchanged escorting convoys between Liverpool and Gibraltar and Sierra Leone.[11]

Organization edit

The following escort groups had been formed prior to United States Navy escort participation in the autumn of 1941:[12]

1st Escort Group edit

 
HMS Keppel was a World War I flotilla leader.

2nd Escort Group edit

 
Town-class destroyers received in the Destroyers for Bases Agreement were widely distributed among the escort groups.

3rd Escort Group edit

 
HMS Amazon was a unique prototype.

4th Escort Group edit

5th Escort Group edit

 
Flower-class corvettes became the most numerous of the ship types assigned to escort groups.

6th Escort Group edit

7th Escort Group edit

8th Escort Group edit

9th Escort Group edit

 
The homogeneous 9th Escort Group of Havant-class destroyers was broken up to provide group leaders for the Mid-Ocean Escort Force.

10th Escort Group edit

 
V and W-class destroyers of the homogeneous 10th Escort Group represented the most common class of World War I veteran destroyers in the escort groups.

11th Escort Group edit

 
Ships with Polish crews were assigned to the 11th Escort Group.

12th Escort Group edit

 
Hunt-class destroyers were assigned to the homogeneous 12th Escort Group.

14th Escort Group edit

 
Canadian ships like HMCS Saguenay served with Royal Navy ships in the Canadian 14th through 24th escort groups screening convoys through the western North Atlantic.

15th Escort Group edit

16th Escort Group edit

17th Escort Group edit

18th Escort Group edit

19th Escort Group edit

20th Escort Group edit

21st Escort Group edit

22nd Escort Group edit

23rd Escort Group edit

24th Escort Group edit

25th Escort Group edit

36th Escort Group edit

 
Black Swan-class sloops were among the best of the various classes forming the 36th through 44th escort groups.

37th Escort Group edit

 
Hastings-class sloops were designed and constructed between the world wars for use as convoy escorts.

40th Escort Group edit

 
Banff-class sloops were former United States Coast Guard cutters loaned to the Royal Navy in 1941.

41st Escort Group edit

42nd Escort Group edit

43rd Escort Group edit

44th Escort Group edit

See also edit

References edit

Citations edit

  1. ^ Hague 2000 p.23
  2. ^ Roskill 1954, p. 00.[page needed]
  3. ^ a b Elliott 1977, p. 59
  4. ^ Collingwood 1998, p. 00.[page needed]
  5. ^ Strong, Paul Edward (2017). Wargaming the Atlantic War: Captain Gilbert Roberts and he Wrens of the Western Approaches Tactical Unit (PDF). Paper for MORS Wargaming Special Meeting October 2017 – Working Group 2.
  6. ^ Blair 1996, p. 118.
  7. ^ a b Blair 1996, p. 119
  8. ^ Milner, p.192
  9. ^ Milner, p.56
  10. ^ Milner, p.98
  11. ^ Mason, Geoffrey B. "HMS Malcolm (D 19) – Scott-class Flotilla Leader". Service Histories of Royal Navy Warships in World War 2. edited by Gordon Smith. naval-history.net. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  12. ^ Rohwer & Hummelchen, pp.83 & 89

Bibliography edit

  • Blair, C. Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunters 1939-1942 (Volume 1):. W&N, 1996. ISBN 0-304-35260-8.
  • Collingwood, D, J. The Captain Class Frigates in World War II: An Operational History of the American Built Destroyer Escorts Serving Under the White Ensign from 1943-46. Pen & Sword Books Ltd, 1998. ISBN 0-85052-615-9.
  • Elliott, P. Allied Escort Ships of World War II . Macdonald & J, 1977. ISBN 1-84037-141-2.
  • Hague, Arnold (2000). The Allied Convoy System 1939–1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-019-3.
  • Milner, Marc (1985). North Atlantic Run. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-450-0.
  • Rohwer, J.; Hummelchen, G. (1992). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-105-X.
  • Roskill, S. The War at Sea 1939–1945 Vol I. 1954.

October 29, 2023
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Not to be confused with Escorts Group or Special Escort Group An Escort Group consisted of several small warships organized and trained to operate together protecting trade convoys Escort groups were a World War II tactical innovation in anti submarine warfare by the Royal Navy to combat the threat of the Kriegsmarine s wolfpack tactics Early escort groups often contained destroyers sloops naval trawlers and later corvettes of differing specifications lacking the ability to maneuver together as a flotilla of similar warships but rigorously trained in anti submarine tactics to use teamwork emphasizing the unique sensors weapons speed and turning radius of each ship The development of these escort groups proved an effective means of defending shipping convoys through the Battle of the Atlantic HMS Skate was one of the oldest destroyers in the Royal Navy when assigned convoy protection duty for the Western Approaches Command Contents 1 Background 2 Service history 3 Organization 3 1 1st Escort Group 3 2 2nd Escort Group 3 3 3rd Escort Group 3 4 4th Escort Group 3 5 5th Escort Group 3 6 6th Escort Group 3 7 7th Escort Group 3 8 8th Escort Group 3 9 9th Escort Group 3 10 10th Escort Group 3 11 11th Escort Group 3 12 12th Escort Group 3 13 14th Escort Group 3 14 15th Escort Group 3 15 16th Escort Group 3 16 17th Escort Group 3 17 18th Escort Group 3 18 19th Escort Group 3 19 20th Escort Group 3 20 21st Escort Group 3 21 22nd Escort Group 3 22 23rd Escort Group 3 23 24th Escort Group 3 24 25th Escort Group 3 25 36th Escort Group 3 26 37th Escort Group 3 27 40th Escort Group 3 28 41st Escort Group 3 29 42nd Escort Group 3 30 43rd Escort Group 3 31 44th Escort Group 4 See also 5 References 5 1 Citations 5 2 BibliographyBackground editBased on experience during World War I the Admiralty instituted trade convoys in United Kingdom coastal waters from September 1939 1 During the first year of the Battle of the Atlantic British convoy protection was the responsibility of the Western Approaches Command WAC based first in Plymouth then as the focus of the campaign moved after the 1940 Fall of France in Liverpool 2 The newest and most capable destroyers were assigned to screen capital ships of the Home Fleet so to augment the inadequate number of purpose designed sloops WAC was allocated a leftover array of limited production prototypes ships built to foreign specifications minesweepers militarized yachts and fishing trawlers and survivors of elderly destroyer classes no longer considered suitable for operation with the Home Fleet These escorts were not numerous enough or sufficiently long ranged to accompany convoys across the Atlantic but would screen convoys to and from meeting points thought to be beyond U boat range defining the edge of the Western Approaches Convoy escorts were initially assigned on an ad hoc basis dispatched as and when available and arrived singly or in small groups Command of the escort force fell to the senior officer present and could change as each new ship arrived Any tactical arrangements had to be made on the spot and communicated by a signal lamp to each ship in turn The ships were unaccustomed to working together and often had no common battle plan or tactics These deficiencies led to a major defeat in October 1940 when Convoy HX 79 from Halifax to Liverpool was attacked by a wolfpack of five U boats remaining after an attack on convoy SC 7 Initially unprotected a force of 11 warships were assembled but 12 ships in the convoy were sunk from attacks during the night while none of the U boats were damaged The loss of ships from both SC 7 and HX 79 gave the impetus for Admiral Percy Noble the commander in chief of WAC to form discrete groups 3 These Escort Groups often consisted of mixed types of small warships but later were sometimes formed from a single class e g the 1st 3rd 4th 5th 15th and 21st Escort Groups were composed entirely of Captain class frigates when these ships became available to replace the older ships originally assigned to those groups 4 Service history editIn 1941 WAC had 8 escort groups formed 3 These typically comprised four to eight ships under the command of an RN officer usually a commander or lieutenant commander By operating together under a single leader groups were able to develop group tactics and practice their use with the issue of a single short command the various ships of the group often out of sight of each other could be relied upon to act in a coordinated fashion In ten days in 1941 four U boats were sunk with the loss of three of Germany s top U boat commanders Later these tactics were standardized and taught to all escort group commanders at the Western Approaches Tactical Unit WATU The WATU was an RN analysis team founded in early 1942 to study the conduct of convoy operations using wargames and lectures The unit made up of naval officers and the young women of the WRNS disseminated instructions to over 5 000 Allied officers with considerable success 5 This level of teamwork was never achieved by the attacking U boats Although the wolfpack was co ordinated in that several boats would be concentrated on a target convoy once gathered the boats would attack individually without any attempt at further co operation It was not unknown for U boats to get in each other s way whilst attacking or collide with each other Time and again during the Battle of the Atlantic relatively small well handled escort groups were able to frustrate attacks by more numerous groups of U boats and ensure the safe and timely arrival of their charges In one example in November 1942 Convoy ON 144 of 33 ships from Britain to North America protected by the Mid Ocean Escort Force B6 of five Flower class corvettes was attacked by a group of ten U boats Over the next three days they fought off attacks by the wolfpack for the loss of five ships and one corvette 28 ships arrived safely 6 7 Following this action the Senior Officer Escort SOE commander of the group was warmly congratulated for preventing what could have been a major disaster 7 and the contrast with HX 79 was apparent citation needed In practice escort group cohesion was impaired by frequent changes of escort personnel and transferring ships between groups 8 Personnel shuffling was inevitable as trained crewmen with combat experience were promoted and transferred to the expanding fleet of new ships 9 Shuffling of ships from one escort group to another was often necessary to maintain escort group strength by replacing ships temporarily disabled by battle damage or the frequent machinery breakdowns of older warships 10 The following list includes some duplication reflecting reassignments at the time of compilation The original eight escort groups and the Canadian 14th through 25th escort groups were reorganized into the Mid Ocean Escort Force MOEF in February and March 1942 with ships of the 9th Escort Group serving as leaders of MOEF groups B1 through B5 The ships of the earlier groups which had only a short range and were unsuitable for MOEF duty were reassigned to the Western Local Escort Force or duty with coastal convoys or the arctic convoys supplying the Soviet Union The 36th through 44th escort groups remained relatively unchanged escorting convoys between Liverpool and Gibraltar and Sierra Leone 11 Organization editThe following escort groups had been formed prior to United States Navy escort participation in the autumn of 1941 12 1st Escort Group edit nbsp HMS Keppel was a World War I flotilla leader Thornycroft type destroyer leader HMS Keppel V and W class destroyer HMS Venomous Town class destroyers HMS Lincoln amp Rockingham Admiralty S class destroyers HMS Sabre amp Shikari Flower class corvettes HMS Alisma Dianella Kingcup amp Sunflower2nd Escort Group edit nbsp Town class destroyers received in the Destroyers for Bases Agreement were widely distributed among the escort groups Admiralty type flotilla leader HMS Douglas V and W class destroyer HMS Veteran Town class destroyers HMS Leamington amp Sherwood Admiralty R class destroyer HMS Skate Admiralty S class destroyer HMS Saladin Flower class corvettes HMS Abelia Anemone amp Veronica3rd Escort Group edit nbsp HMS Amazon was a unique prototype Thornycroft prototype destroyer HMS Amazon Yarrow prototype destroyer HMS Ambuscade B class destroyer HMS Bulldog Town class destroyers HMS Belmont amp Georgetown Flower class corvettes HMS Aconite HMS Aubrietia Heartsease Renoncule amp Roselys4th Escort Group edit B class destroyers HMS Beagle amp Boadicea Town class destroyers HMS Montgomery Roxborough amp Salisbury Flower class corvettes HMS Commandant Detroyat Heather Lobelia Narcissus Orchis amp Snowdrop5th Escort Group edit nbsp Flower class corvettes became the most numerous of the ship types assigned to escort groups V and W class destroyers HMS Vanoc Volunteer amp Walker Town class destroyer HMS Caldwell Flower class corvettes HMS Calendula Campanula Gentian Honeysuckle amp Sweetbriar6th Escort Group edit Thornycroft type destroyer leader HMS Broke V and W class destroyers HMS Verity amp Wolverine Town class destroyers HMS Buxton Chelsea amp Mansfield Flower class corvettes HMS Begonia Camellia Clematis Columbine Jasmine amp Larkspur7th Escort Group edit V and W class destroyers HMS Westcott amp Wanderer Town class destroyers HMS Campbeltown amp St Albans Flower class corvettes HMS Acanthus Eglantine Gardenia Hibiscus Montbretia amp Periwinkle8th Escort Group edit Admiralty type flotilla leader HMS Malcolm V and W class destroyer HMS Watchman Town class destroyers HMS Beverley amp Newmarket Admiralty S class destroyers HMS Sardonyx amp Scimitar Flower class corvettes HMS Arabis Dahlia Monkshood Petunia Violet amp Verbena9th Escort Group edit nbsp The homogeneous 9th Escort Group of Havant class destroyers was broken up to provide group leaders for the Mid Ocean Escort Force Havant class destroyers HMS Harvester Havelock Hesperus amp Highlander10th Escort Group edit nbsp V and W class destroyers of the homogeneous 10th Escort Group represented the most common class of World War I veteran destroyers in the escort groups V and W class destroyers HMS Vanquisher Witch amp Whitehall11th Escort Group edit nbsp Ships with Polish crews were assigned to the 11th Escort Group G and H class destroyer HMS Garland N class destroyer ORP Piorun12th Escort Group edit nbsp Hunt class destroyers were assigned to the homogeneous 12th Escort Group Hunt class destroyers HMS Badsworth Blankney Croome Exmoor amp Lamerton14th Escort Group edit nbsp Canadian ships like HMCS Saguenay served with Royal Navy ships in the Canadian 14th through 24th escort groups screening convoys through the western North Atlantic C and D class destroyers HMCS Assiniboine amp St Laurent Ex Brazilian destroyers HMS Harvester amp Havelock Town class destroyer HMS Ripley15th Escort Group edit Canadian River class destroyer HMCS Saguenay Town class destroyer HMS Burwell Flower class corvettes HMS Dianthus Honeysuckle amp Snowberry16th Escort Group edit Town class destroyer HMS Broadwater Flower class corvettes HMCS Chilliwack Rimouski amp Spikenard17th Escort Group edit Town class destroyer HMS Broadway Flower class corvettes HMS Polyanthus Cobalt amp Trail18th Escort Group edit Town class destroyer HMS Churchill Flower class corvettes HMS Camellia Arrowhead amp Eyebright19th Escort Group edit Town class destroyer HMS Burnham Flower class corvettes HMCS Mayflower Agassiz amp Levis20th Escort Group edit Town class destroyer HMCS Columbia Flower class corvettes HMS Gladiolus Mimosa amp Wetaskiwin21st Escort Group edit Town class destroyer HMCS St Croix Flower class corvettes HMCS Chambly Pictou Buctouche amp Galt22nd Escort Group edit Town class destroyer HMS Ramsey Flower class corvettes HMS Candytuft Bittersweet amp Fennel23rd Escort Group edit Town class destroyers HMS Chesterfield amp Reading Flower class corvettes HMCS Hepatica amp Prescott24th Escort Group edit Canadian River class destroyer HMCS Skeena Flower class corvettes HMCS Alberni Orillia amp Kenogami25th Escort Group edit Town class destroyer HMCS Niagara Flower class corvettes HMS Alysse Celandine amp Collingwood36th Escort Group edit nbsp Black Swan class sloops were among the best of the various classes forming the 36th through 44th escort groups Bittern class sloop HMS Stork Grimsby class sloop HMS Deptford Flower class corvettes HMS Arbutus Cowslip Convolvulus Marigold Pentstemon Rhododendron Samphire amp Vetch37th Escort Group edit nbsp Hastings class sloops were designed and constructed between the world wars for use as convoy escorts Black Swan class sloop HMS Black Swan Shoreham class sloop HMS Fowey Flower class corvettes HMS Bluebell Campion Carnation Heliotrope La Malouine Mallow Myosotis amp Stonecrop40th Escort Group edit nbsp Banff class sloops were former United States Coast Guard cutters loaned to the Royal Navy in 1941 Town class destroyer HMS Stanley Shoreham class sloop HMS Bideford Banff class sloops HMS Culver Gorleston Landguard amp Lulworth41st Escort Group edit Town class destroyer HMS Clare Black Swan class sloop HMS Ibis Bittern class sloop HMS Enchantress Grimsby class sloop HMS Aberdeen Banff class sloops HMS Hartland amp Walney42nd Escort Group edit Shoreham class sloop HMS Weston Hastings class sloop HMS Folkestone Grimsby class sloops HMS Londonderry amp Wellington Banff class sloops HMS Sennen amp Totland43rd Escort Group edit Town class destroyer HMS Newport Shoreham class sloop HMS Rochester Hastings class sloop HMS Hastings Bridgewater class sloop HMS Sandwich Grimsby class sloops HMS Leith Armed yacht HMS Philante44th Escort Group edit Town class destroyer HMS Bradford Egret class sloop HMS Egret Hastings class sloop HMS Scarborough Grimsby class sloop HMS Fleetwood Banff class sloops HMS Banff amp FishguardSee also editMid Ocean Escort Force Escort Group B2 Escort Group B6 Escort Group B7 5th Escort Group 36th Escort Group Hunter killer GroupReferences editCitations edit Hague 2000 p 23 Roskill 1954 p 00 page needed a b Elliott 1977 p 59 Collingwood 1998 p 00 page needed Strong Paul Edward 2017 Wargaming the Atlantic War Captain Gilbert Roberts and he Wrens of the Western Approaches Tactical Unit PDF Paper for MORS Wargaming Special Meeting October 2017 Working Group 2 Blair 1996 p 118 a b Blair 1996 p 119 Milner p 192 Milner p 56 Milner p 98 Mason Geoffrey B HMS Malcolm D 19 Scott class Flotilla Leader Service Histories of Royal Navy Warships in World War 2 edited by Gordon Smith naval history net Retrieved 18 January 2014 Rohwer amp Hummelchen pp 83 amp 89 Bibliography edit Blair C Hitler s U Boat War The Hunters 1939 1942 Volume 1 W amp N 1996 ISBN 0 304 35260 8 Collingwood D J The Captain Class Frigates in World War II An Operational History of the American Built Destroyer Escorts Serving Under the White Ensign from 1943 46 Pen amp Sword Books Ltd 1998 ISBN 0 85052 615 9 Elliott P Allied Escort Ships of World War II Macdonald amp J 1977 ISBN 1 84037 141 2 Hague Arnold 2000 The Allied Convoy System 1939 1945 Naval Institute Press ISBN 1 55750 019 3 Milner Marc 1985 North Atlantic Run Naval Institute Press ISBN 0 87021 450 0 Rohwer J Hummelchen G 1992 Chronology of the War at Sea 1939 1945 Naval Institute Press ISBN 1 55750 105 X Roskill S The War at Sea 1939 1945 Vol I 1954 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Escort Group amp oldid 1059504880, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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