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CONVOY SC 68
Departed Halifax on Febr. 4-1942 and arrived Liverpool on the 20th
(Arnold Hague's "The Allied Convoy System" says 20 ships).

Transcribed from several original documents received from Tony Cooper, England (Advance Sailing Telegram) - His source: Public Records Office, Kew.
Station numbers were received from Ted Agar, England (his source: A diary).
Names of escorts have been extracted from a document recived from Don Kindell, based on the late Arnold Hague's database - see also his listing for SC 68 at ships in all SC convoys. It'll be noticed that in some cases, he has given different station numbers than those provided in the diary and these have been added in parenthesis below.

Station numbers are stations upon departure Halifax; may have changed as the voyage progressed.

Crossed out ships did not sail, underlined returned to port, except those that are linked, which will automatically be underlined.

MoWT = Ministry of War Transport
Ship
Nationality
Cargo
Station
Destination
Remarks
Empire Unity
British
Tanker B
31
London
From SC 66
Listed in SC 69
Lieutenant St. Loubert Bié
French / MoWT 1941
general
41
Liverpool
Commodore
Empire Elk
British
general
–
Londonderry
To SC 69 - did not sail
Listed in SC 70
(became Norw. Norvarg)
Bridgepool
"
grain
12
Hull
From SC 67
Senga
Yugoslavian
general
23
Milford Haven / Southampton
From SC 67
Peribonka
Belgian
nitrates
73
Milford Haven f. o.
From SC 67
Listed in SC 69
Norwegian
grain
–
Ipswich
From SC 67
Listed in SC 69
Milcrest
British
steel
81
Cardiff
To SC 69 - did not sail
Listed in SC 73
Norwegian
wheat
82 (81)
Barry Docks
From SC 67
Gallant Fox
Panamanian
general
62 (61)
Clyde / N. Russia
From SC 67
(Later joined Convoy PQ 13,
returned w/QP 11)
Colytto
Dutch
iron ore
42
Middlesbrough
From SC 67
Empire Bunting
British
general
–
Liverpool
From SC 67
To SC 72 - did not sail
Listed in SC 73
Empire Plover
"
general
–
Holyhead / Liverpool
From SC 67
To SC 69 - did not sail
Listed in SC 70
Oilreliance
"
Adm. fuel oil
22
Scapa
From SC 67
Norwegian
general
72
Avonmouth
From SC 67
Kalliopi
Greek
grain
–
London
From SC 67
Listed in SC 70
Lord Byron
British
grain
11
London
From SC 67
Radcombe
"
iron ore
–
Barrow
To SC 69 - returned
To SC 70 - did not sail
Listed in SC 71
Norwegian
general
71
Avonmouth
From HX 171(?)
Empire Gannet
British
steel - general
21
Hull
–
La Paz
"
general
33 (31)
Liverpool
–
Athelduchess
"
Tanker - molasses
51
Liverpool
–
Margit
Danish / MoWT 1940
railway ties
–
London
Listed in SC 69
Norwegian
Tanker B
–
Grangemouth
Listed in SC 69
Spar
Dutch
general
–
Liverpool
To SC 69 - did not sail
Listed in SC 70
Irish Willow
Irish
general
83 (82)
Dublin
–
Dunboyne
American
general
52
Archangel
(See also SC 61)
Listed in SC 69
(Later joined PQ 13,
returned w/QP 11).
King Lud
British
general
–
Tail of the Bank
Listed in HX 174
Margot
"
general
61
Liverpool
Listed in SC 70
Pennington Court
British
iron ore
13
Immingham
–
Effingham
American
general
–
Archangel
Listed in SC 69
(Later joined PQ 13 - sunk)
Kingman
Panamanian
general
34 (32)
Reykjavik
From HX 173
Alcedo
"
general
43
Reykjavik
From SC 67
See also HX 173
The diary also lists the Norwegian Tore Jarl (station 32 - from SC 67), the Belgian Brabo (53) and the British Empire Liberty (63 - From SC 63) as cancelled from this convoy - these ships are not mentioned in the Advance Sailing Telegram. All 3 are listed in the next convoy, SC 69.
Joining from Newfoundland (Convoy WSC 68)
Sailed Febr. 7
Baron Ruthven*
British
iron ore
not known
Newport
From SC 66
Empire Cabot
"
phosphates
not known
Hull
From SC 66
Glenwood
"
general
not known
Londonderry
From SC 66
Listed in SC 69
Exterminator
Panamanian
general
not known
Clyde / North Russia
From SC 65
Shows up again in SC 72 - returned
Joined SC 73
(Later joined PQ 14)
Norwegian
general
not known
(A. Hague gives 73)
Bristol
From SC 67
*A. Hague has a note for Baron Ruthven saying that she arrived with boiler defects (again, see his listing for SC 68 at ships in all SC convoys).


Notes:
The French Lieutenant St. Loubert Bié, which was the Commodore Ship for SC 68, had been stopped on May 18-1941 off St. Helena by the Royal Navy and became a British prize on May 29, then sailed under the control of Ministry of War Transport. (Returned to France on May 9-1945). Source: "The World's Merchant Fleets 1939", R. W. Jordan.

The ships departed Halifax in the following order (according to the diary):
The first to go out at 10:00 was the British tanker Athelduchess, followed 15 minutes later by the former French passenger vessel Lieutenant St. Loubert Bié, then with a few minutes between each ship the following went out: Fjordheim, Empire Gannet, Alcedo, Lord Byron, Grey County, La Paz, Oilreliance, Bridgepool, Senga, Pennington Court, Colytto, Irish Willow, Gallant Fox, Kingman, Arosa.

The convoy arrived rendezvous on Febr. 16.

A. Hague names the following escorts (extracted from this list of SC convoy escorts, received from D. Kindell; dates are European style, day/month/year):
Boadicea - From 16/02/42 to 20/02/42
Bodo - From 20/02/42 to 20/02/42
Burwell - From 07/02/42 to 16/02/42
Chicoutimi - 07/02/42
Clayoquot - From 04/02/42 to 07/02/42
FS Lobelia - From 16/02/42 to 20/02/42
Heather - From 16/02/42 to 20/02/42
Lunenburg - From 04/02/42 to 07/02/42
Matapedia - From 07/02/42 to 16/02/42
Nanaimo - From 07/02/42 to 16/02/42
Narcissus - From 16/02/42 to 20/02/42
Nasturtium - From 07/02/42 to 16/02/42
Red Deer - From 04/02/42 to 07/02/42
Sudbury - From 07/02/42 to 17/02/42
The Pas - From 04/02/42 to 07/02/42

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