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CONVOY HX 52
Cruising Order & Advance Sailing Telegram

Convoy HX 52 Cruising Order
Departed Halifax on June 21-1940 and arrived Liverpool on July 6 (Arnold Hague says 29 ships).
Transcribed from A 1 form received from Roger Griffiths (his source: Public Records Office, Kew).

Nationalities have been added with the help of "The World's Merchant Fleets 1939". R. W. Jordan.

There are no ships listed in the 4th row.

Br=British, Norw=Norwegian, Ca=Canadian, Gr=Greek
s=sunk, † = dead

B = Bermuda portion

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
11
Rowanbank
steel
Middleton
(Br)
21
Dalveen
steel - lumber
Liverpool
(Br)
31
Boulderpool
steel
Manchester
(Br)
41
Nerissa
general
Liverpool
(Br)
51
Tower Field
grain
Liverpool
(Br)
61
Cairnesk
general
Tyne
(Br)
71
Holystone*
lumber - steel
Tyne
(Br)
81
Parracombe
grain
Hull
(Br)
91
Magog*
lumber
Blyth
s - 0
(Ca)

Dolabella Falmouth
(Br)

12
Alaska
steel - machinery
Belfast
(Norw)
22
Dorelian
general
Avonmouth
(Br)
32
Hardanger
scrap iron
Swansea
(Norw)
42
New York City
general
Swansea
(Br)
52
Lisbeth
pulp
Portland
(Norw)
62
Carslogie
pit props
Portland
(Br)
72
Point Clear
paper
Avonmouth
(Gr*)
82
Bur
pit props
Portland
(Norw)
92
Vera Radcliffe
steel - lumber
Hull
(Br)
13
23
Fana
see station 55
33 43 53 63 73 83 93
14 24 34 44 54 64 74 84 94
15 B
Dalfram
pig & scrap iron
Swansea
(Br)
25 B
British Chivalry
Admiralty fuel
Sheerness
(Br)
35 B
Inverlee
Admiralty fuel
Devonport
(Br)
45 B
Cumberland
refrig.
London
(Br)
55 B
Valldemosa
gasoline
Milford Haven
(Br)

Fana
wood pulp
Manchester
(Norw)
moved to 23 after junction?

65 B
Siris
sugar - cotton
Liverpool
(Br)
75 B
Empire Moose
sulphur
Hull
(Br)
85 B
Sambre
sugar
London
(Br)
95
16 26 B
Tahchee
fuel oil
east-west
(Br)
36 B
Luxor
gas oil
Liverpool
(Br)
46 B
Morgenen
aviation fuel
Milford Haven f. o.
(Norw)
56 B
Coryton
scrap iron
Ardrossan
(Br)
66 B
Leeds City
lumber - metal
Portland
(Br)
76 86
96
Dolabella joined at 16:15 on June 21, having sailed late (the convoy departed Halifax at 09:00 that morning).

Valldemosa and Tahchee are not mentioned in the Advance Sailing Telegram. See also HX 51 and SC 6.

It'll be noticed when comparing the above with Arnold Hague's listing for HX 52, that he has some of the ships in different stations from what is given above - see ships in all HX convoys. Stations shown for the Bermuda ships above, are the stations they had when still in the Bermuda convoy, BHX 52. They may have moved after junction with the Halifax convoy.

Commodore & escort, Bermuda portion:
HMS Rajputana, in station between columns 4 & 5 (to be 6 cables apart).


Advance Sailing Telegram

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

Ship
Nationality
Cargo
Destination
Remarks
Halifax section
Dalveen
British
lumber - steel
Liverpool
From HX 51
Taxiarchis
Greek
general
Liverpool
From HX 51
(does not show up again on this site until HX 73)
Holystone
British
lumber - steel
Tyne
From HX 51
New York City
"
general - special
Swansea
From HX 51
Dimitrios Inglessis
Greek
timber
Liverpool
From HX 51
Listed in HX 53
Norwegian
lumber
Falmouth
From HX 51
"Understood trading regularly American Coast"
Follow link to Pollux
"
pit props
Glasgow
From HX 51
Follow link to Ravnanger
Magog
Canadian
lumber
Blyth
Torpedoed - See Notes
Agioi Victores
Greek
newsprint
London
Nerissa
British
general
Liverpool
Commodore Vessel
Norwegian
lumber
Portland / Tyne
Dorelian
British
general
Avonmouth
Pennland
Dutch
general
Liverpool
Listed in HX 54
Norwegian
steel - machinery
Belfast f. o.
Cairnesk
British
general
Tyne
Vice Commodore
Silverfir
"
general
Liverpool
Listed in HX 53
Norwegian
steel - scrap iron
Swansea
Point Clear
Greek
paper
Avonmouth
See * in Notes
Parracombe
British
grain
Hull
Tower Field
"
grain
Liverpool
Vera Radcliffe
"
steel - lumber
Hull
Norwegian
Tanker B
Milford Haven f. o.
To HX 53 - did not sail
Does not show up again until HX 60
Jersey City
British
pit props
Hull
Listed in HX 53
Harlingen
"
pig iron
Glasgow
Listed in HX 53
Norwegian
logs - wood pulp
Portland / London
Manchester Exporter
British
general - special
Liverpool
To HX 53 - did not sail
(does not show up again on this site until HX 60)
Boulderpool
"
steel
Manchester
Breedijk
Dutch
general
Glasgow
Listed in HX 54
Fidra
Finnish
lumber
Cork
To HX 53 - did not sail
Rowanbank
British
steel - steel scrap
Middlesbrough
Carslogie
"
pit props
Portland / Hartlepool
Dolabella
"
Tanker B
London
Joining from Bermuda - Sailed June 20
Siris
British
sugar - cotton
Liverpool
From HX 51
British Chivalry
"
Adm. tanker B
Sheerness
Luxor
"
Tanker B
Liverpool
Empire Moose
"
sulphur
Hull
Listed in HX 54
Coryton
"
scrap iron
Ardrossan
Cumberland
"
refrig.

Glasgow

Inverlee
"
Adm tanker B
Devonport
Norwegian
Tanker W
Milford Haven f. o.
Listed in HX 59
"
wood pulp
Manchester
Dalfram
British
pig iron - scrap
Swansea
Sambre
"
sugar
London
Leeds City
"
lumber - metal
Portland / Leith
Pembroke Coast
"
Tanker W
Milford Haven f. o.


Notes:
Commodore was in Nerissa (Vice Admiral G. McOran? - difficult to decipher), Vice Commodore was in Cairnesk (Captain E. A. Organ), and Rear Commodore in Cumberland (joining from Bermuda).

Average speed of convoy: 8.33 knots.

* The Advance Sailing Telegram lists Point Clear as Greek. R. W. Jordan's "The World's Merchant Fleets 1939" has her has American, while E. Gröner (for 1940) has her as Romanian. It's possible she was sold and changed owners a few times.

* The Canadian Magog (originally in station 91) became a straggler on the night of June 21, maintaining only 7 1/2 knots, and Holystone straggled on June 23 in 41 43N 54 30W, speed 8 knots (cruising speed was set at 9 knots). Magog, on a voyage from Halifax for Preston with 512 standards of timber, was torpedoed, shelled and damaged by U-99 on July 5-1940. She had a crew of 23 - there were no casualties. She eventually sank on July 8 ("Lloyd's War Losses", Vol. I, and "Axis Submarine Successes of World War Two", Jürgen Rohwer).

The convoy originally had 18 ships, 27 were present on arrival at local escort rendezvous, the Bermuda section having joined at 19:15 on June 25.

Commodore's notes on station keeping:
Very poor to start with - improved during voyage. Visual and W/T Signalling: "Fair - improving".

Escorts: HMS Aurania (Ocean Escort), destroyers HMS Hurricane, HMS Wolverine, sloop HMS Scarborough, corvette HMS Gardinia.
Ocean escort parted company at 21:30 on July 2, in 49 00N 14 12W.

A. Hague names the following escorts (extracted from this list of HX convoy escorts received from D. Kindell; dates are European style, day/month/year):
Acadia - From 21/06/40 to 22/06/40
Aurania - From 21/06/40 to 02/07/40
French - From 21/06/40 to 22/06/40
Gardenia - From 02/07/40 to 06/07/40
Hurricane - From 02/07/40 to 02/07/40
Ottawa - From 21/06/40 to 22/06/40
Scarborough - From 02/07/40 to 06/07/40
Wolverine - From 02/07/40 to 06/07/40

Related external link:
The attack on Magog


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