Crossed out ships did not sail.

Br=British, Pa=Panamanian, Norw=Norwegian, Am=American, Pol=Polish.

See also Convoy BB 14, which left Belfast Lough for the U.K. on Aug. 28-1942, and many of the ships in HX 203 were in it, in order to complete their voyage to the U.K. They've been denoted x. (Additionally, BB 14 also had Empire Simba).

Average speed: 9.3

Velma had cancelled from the previous convoy, HX 202.

The fact that Bronxville cancelled appears to have sealed her fate, because when she was torpedoed and sunk on Aug. 31-1942, she was in the slower Convoy SC 97, which departed Halifax on Aug. 22 (more under M/S Bronxville). Empire Nightingale, Radport, Medina and City of Fort Worth also sailed in the slow convoy, while Fort McLoughlin and Manchester Exporter sailed in the next HX convoy. According to Arnold Hague, the Norwegian Norefjord (see station 74) had arrived Halifax with Convoy BX 33 on Aug. 16 (external link), but was involved in a collision at Halifax and beached.

The ships went out in the following order:
The first to leave at 12:11 was Ocean Wanderer followed at 12:23 by Gatineau Park (with torpedo nets at the ready), then Port Halifax, Tilapa, Bohemian Club, Manchester Division, Sourabaya (Whale Oil Factory), Manchester Merchant, Voco, Velma, Daghestan (Catapult freighter), Dromore, Empire Spray (Catapult freighter, goes out without Hurricane), Kafiristan (Catapult freighter, V7170 on Hurricane), Alcoa Leader, Clausina, Meriwether Lewis, Athelregent, Svend Foyn (Whale Oil Factory, invasion barges on deck), Pacific Shipper, Vardefjell, Ocean Vagrant, Pan Royal, Hektoria (Whale Oil Factory), Henry St. G. Tucker, Meline, Fort Townshend, John Penn (2 bombers on deck), Brasil, Benjamin Rush, Delrio, N.T.Nielsen Alonso (Whale Oil Factory, 10 invasion barges on deck), Orient City, Artigas, Lechistan, Empire Prince, Gyda, Glenstrae. The last ship to go out at 15:55 was the Rescue Ship Dewsbury ('AHL' on stack, flying green flag with white diagonal).

Dewsbury was on her 6th voyage as rescue vessel, having been requisitioned as such on July 24-1941. She started this voyage from Clyde on July 31 with convoy ON 117*, then returned with Convoy HX 203. (Info from "Convoy Rescue Ships 1940-1945" by Arnold Hague).

I've been told by Marek, a Polish visitor to my site that this convoy ran into thick fog and some ships fell behind on Aug. 17; they re-joined the convoy on the 19th. The Commodore does not mention the stragglers, but he does say they encountered fog already when outside the harbour.

Excerpts from Commodore's notes:
The Convoy had 39 ships on departure, 38 were still present at local rendezvous, Fort Townshend having parted company for St. John's at 09:10 on Aug. 19 in 49 21N 58 20W.

Station keeping was "exceptionally good considering the amount of fog experienced from the start".

Tilapa (Captain Pengelly) had problems with her compass with deviation up to 13° and varying. She remained at Belfast to have it investigated.

Benjamin Rush reported on the night of Aug. 24 that her cargo had shifted, even though the sea was moderate at the time. Her cargo had been loaded in Norfolk and Baltimore, and the Commodore feels that a thorough investigation should be undertaken, adding that she would probably have been lost if a full gale had sprung up. Following an investigation, the captain of this ship reported later that there was no shifting of cargo but that the seas stove in two cases of deck cargo and loosened their lashings so that it was necessary to heave to in order to swing in and secure the lifeboats and to secure the two cases. The under-deck cargo did not shift at all, and the captain did not consider the slight difficulty which he had experienced as giving ground for any alarm.

It looks like Rear Admiral H. C. Rawlings might also have been Commodore (or Vice Commodore) for the westbound convoy ON 115* which had left Liverpool on July 24-1942 (arrived Boston Aug. 8), because in his report for HX 203 he suggests that "oilers should be fitted with rubber hoses for fuelling destroyers at sea. On (presumably Aug.) 1st destroyers Saguenay and Skeena were forced to leave convoy ON 115 when ?illegible Newfoundland through shortage of oil from chasing submarines. They left at a dangerous time for the convoy as submarines had sighted us and were closing (words missing) us. If these destroyers could have been refuelled quickly from one of the ?tankers? in the convoy the attack on Aug. 2nd might have been warded off".

* The ON convoys mentioned here are available and will be added in due course - in the meantime, see the section listing ships in all ON convoys.

Local Escort: HMS Verity and Hamilton, HMCS Macton (is this a mis-spelling of Moncton?), Raddock, Rimouski, Port Arthur.
Ocean Escort: HMS Hesperus, Vanessa, Clematis, Campanula, Mignonette.

Escort joined at 09:13 on Aug. 19 (this presumably refers to ocean escort?) in position 47 21N 51 28W - parted company off Loch Foyle.

The Commodore "cannot speak too highly of the all-round efficiciency of Ocean Escort. HMS Hesperus was most helpful in every way and a real pleasure to work with".

Air Escort: 07:20 Aug. 19 in 47 05N 51 38W. Sunderland flying boat over convoy at 06:15 Aug. 26. Flying Fortress over convoy at 13:05 Aug. 26.

At 16:30 on Aug. 26, 9 ships parted company for Mersey when in 55N 14 10W.

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