Please note that ships joining from Bermuda (except La Paz) are not included in this form - they are named in the Advance Sailing Telegram below.

Br=British, Norw=Norwegian, Sw=Swedish, Rom=Romanian, MOWT=Ministry of War Transport.

s=sunk, †=dead

Transcribed from several documents received from Tony Cooper - His source: Public Records Office, Kew.

Commodore says the convoy had 32 ships upon departure from Halifax, joined by 12 from Bermuda for a total of 44, minus 2 which were sent to SC 32 = 42 ships in all. 37 still remained at local escort rendezvous point, according to the Commodore, however, when subtracting the 7 ships named below the numbers don't quite add up (looks like the Commodore has not included the 2 ships that were sent to SC 32 in his numbers).

Empire Storm, on a voyage from Montreal for Loch Ewe with 6494 tons of grain and 2983 tons of flour, became a straggler on May 25 and was sunk by U 557 on May 29. She had a crew of 39 and 4 gunners - 3 crew died (survivors picked up by the Norwegian Marita - listed in Convoy SC 32).

Empire Sunbeam, Thorshavet, Alhama and Suderøy also lost touch with the convoy on May 25. Suderøy shows up again in the next convoy, HX 129.

La Paz and Inger Lise, being too slow and "should not have been in fast convoy", were detached on May 28 to join the slower Convoy SC 32.

Commodore's Comments:
Station keeping - Exceptionally good.
Signalling - Very good.

Kites:
24 ships had masthead fittings. 18 were flown the first day but only about 10 the second - a curious "pocket of air" caused five kites to fall into the sea. The foremast fitting appears nearly useless as the kites invariably foul the W/T Æ, six ships had foul kites at one time.

The first part of the voyage was "rather a nightmare of dense fog - seven days of it - during which period we were rerouted twice and had to turn back for 12 hours - five ships were missing at the end of ? (text missing). Contact with BHX (Bermuda section) four days late. SC 32 and Revenge in (company? word missing) forming one convoy of 72 ships from May 28 for 3 days." (Arnold Hague's "The Allied Convoy System" gives the date of departure for SC 32 as May 19, with 28 ships).

The Commodore suggests that "'mersigs' should be non-confidential so that ships officers may have a chance of reading it".

Escort Vessels:
HMS California from Halifax to Clyde.
HMS Revenge from May 28 till May 30 (escort of SC 32?).
HMS Totland, HMS Sennen, HMS Walney from Halifax to Clyde.
Local Escorts were met as arranged on June 1(?), 49 40N 29 30W. 14 escort vessels in all (3 destroyers, 3 sloops, 4 corvettes, 3 cutters + HMS Malcolm? Text in margin missing on the document).
Air escort intermittently from P.M. on June 3.

More details on all the Norwegian ships named in this table can be found in the alphabetical ship lists of this website.

Related external link:
The attack on Empire Storm

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