Stations shown are stations on departure. 3 additional ships joined from Iceland and are not included in this table; they are named in the Notes below.

Br=British, Am=American, Pa=Panamanian, Norw=Norwegian, Da=Danish, Gr=Greek, Du=Dutch, Pol=Polish, Yug-Yugoslavian.
s=sunk, †=dead

See also my text for Bonde for more details on this convoy (including names of escorts, and crew list for Bonde), as well as the external links at the end of this text.

The Norwegian Gudvor, the British Bosworth (from ONS 3) and USS Sapelo joined the convoy from Iceland in the afternoon of Apr. 26 (the American Naval tanker had delivered a cargo of oil and was on her way home in ballast). These ships, which were escorted by the British destroyer HMS Vidette, are not included in the above table.

The following 3 ships left the convoy:
The Polish Modlin returned to Clyde, having experienced engine problems. Marek Twardowski, a visitor to my site, has told me that she left the convoy on Apr. 22 with boiler damage and arrived Greenock on Apr. 25. Repairs to boilers lasted until May 9-1943.

The Danish Bornholm was run into by the Dutch Berkel when columns 9 and 10 became disorganised due to the west/northwesterly gale on the night leading up to Apr. 26. Bornholm, which after the collision had a hole in her starboard side (engine room) 10 ft above the waterline and was leaking badly, proceeded to Iceland unescorted, arriving Reykjavik in a sinking condition just before midnight on Apr. 27, aided by a salvage tug which had arrived after she had sent out a distress signal. (She's listed as sailing in Convoy ONS 7). Berkel, however, was not seriously damaged, and was able to complete her voyage, but lost a crew member to an accident later on (a greaser had fallen into the crank pit and had gone around about 8 times before the engine could be stopped).

In the bad weather, the British Penhale fell so far behind the convoy that she was ordered to proceed to Reykjavik on Apr. 26. I believe USS Sapelo took her station (81).

Ships sunk (as is so often the case when using several sources, they don't always agree on all the details, and in cases where the info is conflicting, I've made a note of this in my text below - the sinkings are listed in chronological order; dates are according to Berlin time):

McKeesport (Captain O. J. Lohr, in ballast for New York) was sunk by U-258 on Apr. 29. All 68 were picked up by HMS Northern Gem, one of the designated rescue vessels, but 1 died of exposure the next day, having fallen into the water from the life-net during the rescue. (R. W. Jordan says McKeesport was damaged by U-258, shelled and sunk by HMS Tay. However, according to Uboat.net she remained afloat after Tay's attempt to sink her, and was eventually sunk by two coups de grâce from U-258). 

Lorient (Captain Walter John Manley, crew of 46 according to Ronald Seth - bound for New York in ballast) became a straggler and was sunk by U-125 on May 4 (there were no survivors).

North Britain (Captain J. L. Bright, bound for Halifax with bricks and clay) became a straggler and was sunk by U-707 on May 5 - the 11 survivors were picked up by HMS Northern Spray. (R. Jordan credits this sinking to U-125, and says 34 died, 12 survived).

Harbury (Captain W. E. Cook, cargo of 6820 tons of Anthracite coal, bound for St. John, N.B.) was torpedoed and damaged, later shelled and sunk by U-628 on May 5 - the 42 survivors were picked up by HMS Northern Spray. (R. Jordan says she was a straggler, torpedoed by U-628, abandoned, torpedoed and sunk by U-264, 7 died, 43 survived. Ronald Seth says she had a crew of 44, plus 7 naval and 2 army gunners, adding that she was reboarded, and some of her stores transferred to Northern Spray).

West Maximus (Captain Earl E. Brooks, in ballast) was sunk by U-264 on May 5. The survivors were picked up by Northern Spray (Arnold Hague adds U-628 to this attack - R. Jordan says 5 died, 57 survived. According to Ronald Seth 6 had died, 2 of whom had drowned, the other 4 had been killed in the explosion from the 1st torpedo.
Harperley (Captain J. E. Turgoose, bound for Buenos Aires with 6005 tons coal and mail) was sunk by U-264 on May 5 - 39 survivors picked up by Northern Spray.
The above 2 ships were sunk at about the same time.

Bristol City (Captain A. L. Webb, bound for New York with 2500 tons of China clay, food[? this seems strange] and general) was sunk by U-358 on May 5 - the 34 survivors were picked up by escort HMS Loosestrife. (R. Jordan says 15 died, 29 survived, while Ronald Seth says she carried a crew of 38, plus 4 navy and 3 army gunners - it's possible this number does not include the captain, in which case she had a total complement of 46 according to this source).
Wentworth (Captain R. G. Phillips, crew of 41, and 3 naval, 3 army gunners, bound for New York in ballast) was torpedoed and severely damaged by U-358 on May 5. Survivors were picked up by Loosestrife, which, according to Ronald Seth, subsequently sank Wentworth with depth charges and shelling. (Arnold Hague says sunk by U-264, R. W. Jordan says she became a straggler, damaged by U-358, shelled and sunk by U-628, 5 died, 42 survived. Jürgen Rohwer also suggests that the wreck of Wentworth may have been sunk by U-264, about 2 1/2 hours after the initial attack by U-358).
The above 2 ships were initially torpedoed at about the same time.

Dolius (Captain G. R. Cheetham, crew of 39 British, 22 Chinese, 5 naval and 4 army gunners, bound for New York in ballast) was sunk by U-638 on May 5, the 66 survivors were rescued by escort HMS Sunflower, which subsequently sank the U-boat. (R. Jordan says 4 died, 68 survived, while Ronald Seth says that 3 lost their lives. After the survivors had left in lifeboats, the ship was reboarded to retrieve 2 injured men who had been left behind).

West Madaket (Captain Schroeder, crew of 39 and 22 armed guards, bound for New York in ballast) became a straggler and was sunk by U-584 on May 5, no casualties - the 61 survivors picked up by escort Pink. In spite of 10 lookouts, no-one had seen the torpedo, nor the U-boat. (R. W. Jordan says she was torpedoed by U-584, then sunk by depth charges from Pink, Ronald Seth agrees with the latter statement). She was 1 of 4 stragglers that had been rounded up by Pink, the others being Gudvor, Director and Dunsley. Nicolas and Omega had also been among this group, until the weather worsened and the group had become scattered again. At the time of the attack on West Madaket, Pink was just returning to the group from what was believed at the time to be an attack on U-192 (see * below). By the time she rejoined the stragglers, Yearby had also joined them. Pink arrived St. John's on May 9 with the survivors and 4 stragglers (namely Gudvor, Dunsley, Yearby and Director).

Selvistan (Captain G. E. Miles, in ballast for Halifax, and in station 91 at the time of attack) was sunk by U-266 on May 5 - the 40 survivors were picked up by HMS Tay.
Gharinda (Captain Rodney Stone + crew of 82, mostly Indian and Chinese, 6 naval and 4 army gunners, in ballast) was sunk by U-266 on May 5 - the survivors were picked up by HMS Tay (no casualties). She was in station 101 at the time of attack, having previously lost touch with the convoy, then regained it.
Bonde (bound for St. John's with a cargo of 1891 tons coal, appears to have been in station 84 at the time of attack) was sunk by U-266 on May 5 - the 11 survivors were picked up by escort HMS Tay, another survivor was later found on board for a total of 12 - again, see my text for Bonde.
The above 3 ships were sunk at about the same time.

* "Nortraships flåte" claims that West Madaket was torpedoed by U-707 on May 5. This source also claims that U-192 was sunk by Pink. However, Uboat.net states U-192 was sunk with all hands by HMS Loosestreif on May 6-1943, adding the following notation: "Previously recorded fate (Last revised by FDS/NHB during October 1991): Sunk 5 May, 1943 south of Cape Farewell, Greenland in position 54.56N, 43.44W, by depth charges from the British corvette HMS Pink. This attack was against U-358 inflicting no damage".

Summing up:
By the time the convoy reached the rendezvous point with Western Local Escort, 12 ships were known to have been sunk (Lorient had gone missing, the Commodore was not aware of her loss at that time). As mentioned Modlin, Penhale and Bornholm had parted company early in the voyage, 4 were being escorted by Pink, 3 had been detached to St. John's together with Vidette and Loosestrife (Argon, British Lady and Berkel, arriving May 9), while several were still unaccounted for. Campus and Commandant Dorise both arrived St. John's on May 10, while Mano arrived the following day. Baron Semple reached Halifax 2 days later, and on May 16 Isobel also arrived (she had dropped back on May 6 due to bad bunkers). But Lorient, of course, never showed up.

Note that, although a great number of merchant ships had been lost, the U-boats also suffered greatly, as will be seen by going to the external links below, and the battle for Convoy ONS 5 has often been referred to as a "turning point" in the Battle of the Atlantic.

For info, Escort Group B7, which formed part of the escort for ONS 5, went on to escort Convoy SC 130 to the U.K. a few days later. This group normally consisted of destroyers Duncan (Commander Gretton), and Vidette, the frigate Tay, corvettes Sunflower, Snowflake, Loosestrife, and Pink, as well as the rescue trawlers Northern Gem and Northern Spray, but Northern Gem was replaced by the Canadian corvette Kitchener for the voyage with SC 130.

Related external links:
The Battle for Convoy ONS 5 - A long, detailed article on this battle - a section of Ahoy - Mac's Web Log, which has a lot of interesting information.

ONS 5, 28 Apr, 1943 - 6 May, 1943 - Uboat.net's account, which includes names fo escorts, and info on U-boats sunk and/or damaged. By going to their Allied ships hit by U-boats section, more details on each individual ship sunk in this convoy can be found.

Back to Convoy Index