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CONVOY KMS 21

Convoy KMS 21 Cruising Order
Left Liverpool as Convoy OS 52 / KMS 21 on July 19-1943, split up July 28.
The Gibraltar ships arrived there on July 29, convoy continued same day and arrived Port Said Aug. 9
(OS convoy arrived Freetown on Aug. 7).
(Arnold Hague gives 66 ships in the combined convoy, 42 in the KMS convoy).
The A 1 form was received from Robert Martin - His source: Public Records Office, Kew.
Robert's information has been compared to (and on the whole agrees with) a list of ships received from Don Kindell, based on Arnold Hague's own research. (Don's work, which covers "Royal & other Navies Day-by-Day in World War 2" can be viewed at this website).

Note that this is KMS 21 only. This form appears to show the formation as per July 28-1943, when OS 52 / KMS 21 split up. See also this external site for a list of ships in the combined convoy.

For info, a few of the ships in this convoy show up in some SC convoys from the same time period (for instance SC 133 and onwards). See also MKS 15, MKS 21 and MKS 22.

Br=British, Norw=Norwegian, Du=Dutch, Po=Polish, Am=American.

As will be seen from the next table on this page, several of these ships continued to other ports on July 29.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
11
21
Temple Arch
(Br)
31
Lwow
(Po)
41
Fort Brule
(Br)
51
Avristan
(Br)
61
71
Fort Enterprise
(Br)
81
City of Lyons
(Br)
12
Ottinge
(Br)
22
Empire Kingsley
(Br)
32
42
Empire Carpenter
(Br)
52
Parklaan
(Du)
62
Forresbank
(Br)
72
Fort Wrigley
(Br)
82
Masirah
(Br)
13
Glaisdale
(Br)
23
Kofresi
(Am)
33
Empire Heath
(Br)
43
Spero
(Br)
53
Empire Glen
(Br)
63
Fort Longueuil
(Br)
73
Ocean Vigour
(Br)
83
Pegu
(Br)
14
Grodno
(Br)
24
Nurjehan
(Br)
34
Empire Celia
(Br)
44
Fort Buffalo
(Br)
54
Nurani
(Br)
64
Magician
(Br)
74
Mandalay
(Br)
84
Empire Mountain
(Br)
15 25
Kana
(Br)
35
Recorder
(Br)
45
Levernbank
(Br)
55
Empire Voice
(Br)
65 75
Finland
(Br)
85
Hughli
(Br)
16
Spurt
(Norw)
26
Baron Haig
(Br)
36
Hallfried
(Norw)
46 56
Borgholm
(Norw)
66
Clan Macbrayne
(Br)
76 86
17 27 37
Empire Highway
(Br)
47 57 67 77 87
The Norwegian Spurt and Borgholm, and the British Baron Haig and Empire Highway are not included in A. Hague's list of ships for this portion. However, he has 2 ships that are not listed on this A 1 form, namely the British Contractor and Highwear. (Note that Highwear shows up in the A 1 form for Convoy KMS 22).

Commodore W. C. Meek, R.N.R. was in Avristan (Gibraltar), Vice Commodore was the captain of Empire Heath (Algiers).

Escorts:
July 28-July 29:
Isis, Jonquil, Shippigan, Tadoussac.
July 28-July 30: Bryoni.


This appears to be the portion mentioned above as leaving Gibraltar on July 29-1943, arriving Port Said on Aug. 9.

Transcribed from the document received from Don Kindell; his source: Arnold Hague's own research.
(Automatically assuming that his info is correct, I have not checked the spelling and nationalities of these ships, like I usually do).

Some of these ships came from Convoy UGS 12, which had left Hampton Roads on July 12-1943, the ships joining up with KMS 21 on July 29. As can be seen from the first table above, some of them had been present with KMS 21 from the U.K., July 19.

Ship
Nationality
Destination
Alexander H. Stephens
American
Port Said
Alexander Hamilton
"
Port Said
Alexander White
"
Algiers
Andrew Hamilton
"
Argon
"
Oran to Bizerta
Brockholst Livingston
"
Port Said
Cape Howe
British
Cerion
"
Tunis to Alexandria
Charles Bulfinch
American
Port Said
Chateau Pavie
British
Oran
City of Kimberley
"
Port Said
Clan Macbrayne
"
Port Said
Daniel H. Lownsdale
American
Bizerta
Daniel Huger
"
Algiers
David G. Farragut
"
Bizerta
Derwentdale
British
E. Kirby Smith
American
Port Said
Edward Bates
"
Bone
Edward L. Grant
"
Port Said
Edwin Booth
"
Port Said
Empire Adur
British
Tripoli to Alexandria
Empire Candida
"
Algiers to Bizerta
Empire Carpenter
"
Algiers
Empire Celia
"
Malta
Empire Commerce
"
Algiers to Philippeville
Empire Falcon
"
Tripoli to Port Said
Empire Glen
"
Algiers
Empire Heath
"
Algiers
Empire Kingsley
"
Bone
Empire Mountain
"
Port Said
Empire Voice
"
Alexandria
Ensis
"
Tripoli to Alexandria
Ezra Cornell
American
Bizerta
Formalhaut
French
Algiers
Fort Brule
British
Philippeville
Fort Buffalo
"
Bone
Fort Enterprise
"
Port Said
Fort Longueuil
"
Alexandria
Fort Nipigon
"
Tunis
Fort Wrigley
"
Port Said
Gallium
French
Algiers to Bone
George Vancouver
American
Algiers
George Walton
"
Algiers to Bone
Glenogle
British
Port Said
Haym Salomon
American
Oran
Henry Middleton
"
Algiers
Henry St G. Tucker
"
Port Said
Henry W. Longfellow
"
Bizerta
HMS Aracari
"
(water boat)
Algiers
HMS Moorfly
British
Algiers
HMS Slebech
"
(water boat)
Algiers
Houston Volunteers
American
Bizerta
Hughli
British
Port Said
Isaac Coles
American
Algiers
James Fenimore Cooper
"
Port Said
James Monroe
"
Algiers
Jason Lee
"
Port Said
Joel Chandler Harris
"
Bizerta
John A. Donald
"
Port Said
John Bakke
Norwegian
Not given, but she was bound for Port Said
(see John Bakke)
Joseph Le Conte
American
Port said
Kofresi
"
Bone
Levernbank
British
Port Said
Lou Gehrig
American
Algiers
Lucretia Mott
"
Algiers
Magician
British
Alexandria
Mandalay
"
Port Said
Masirah
"
Port Said
Miriam
"
Algiers
Morrison R. Waite
American
Port Said
Nassa
British
Bizerta
Nathaniel Alexander
American
Port Said
Norbryn
Norwegian
Port Said
Nurani
British
Alexandria
Ocean Vigour
"
Algiers
Ocean Volga
"
Bougie to Bone
Oliver Wolcott
American
Port Said
Parklaan
Dutch
Algiers
Pegu
British
Port Said
Peter J. McGuire
American
Algiers
Prince de Liege
Belgian
Bizerta to Alexandria
Queen Adelaide
British
Bougie to Bone
Recorder
"
Port Said
Robert J. Collier
American
Port Said
Robt M Lafollette
"
Algiers
Solør
Norwegian
Bizerta
Spero
British
Algiers
Starstone
"
Alexandria
Temple Arch
"
Algiers
Theodore Sedgwick
American
Port Said
Thomas J. Jarvis
"
Port Said
Torfinn Jarl
Norwegian
Bougie
Vermeer
Dutch
Alexandria
Wearfield
British
Bizerta
William D. Moseley
American
Bizerta
William H. Seward
"
Algiers
William H. Webb
"
Algiers
William M. Stewart
"
Bizerta
Yankee Arrow
"
Algiers - Bone
See * below
* Yankee Arrow struck a mine, on fire and back broken - total loss. According to this external site this happened at Bizerta on Aug. 3-1943, and she was later salvaged, while this site claims she was in Convoy KMS 20 at the time, adding that she made it to port under her own power, but was unfit for further service - 7 killed.


Escorts:
July 29-Aug. 7:
Bluebell, Brecon, Hambledon, Mendip
July 30-Aug. 2:
Velox
July 30-Aug. 5: Active
July 30-Aug. 7: Blencathra
Aug. 7-Aug. 9: Bergamot, Bryony, Cleveland, Exmoor, Krakowiak, La Malouine, Slazak


Related external links:
Empire Ships listed in alphabetical order.
This site has more on the "Fort" (and "Ocean") ships mentioned in this convoy.
Liberty Ships

OG, OS and KMS and KMF Convoys - in chronological order, starting with 1939.

OS/KMS Convoys - OS 52 / KMS 21 is included, and the ships' cargoes and destinations are shown.

Back to Convoy Index

To the next KMS convoy in my list KMS 22


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