Op Husky (Invasion of Sicily)
Posted: Fri Nov 29, 2019 5:00 am
Hi there. I am looking for some information about the ship my father (Lieutenant John Lewis Jenness) sailed on in 1943. He was a member of the 4th (Canadian) Princess Louise Dragoon Guards. He was aboard a ship (name unknown) that was part of a convoy (convoy indicator unknown) that was destined to be part of the invasion of Sicily (Op Husky) in July 1943. His war records indicate that he embarked on 28 June 1943, but the port of embarkation in Britain is not indicated. Dad reported that a day after his convoy entered the Mediterranean Sea, his ship lost power and fell out from the convoy. Eventually, it drifted into Phillipville, Algeria, where he remained for several months until he finally married up with his unit in Italy in late October or early November 1943. His records only indicate that his date of disembarkation (location unstated) was 10 July 1943.
Unfortunately, I have not been able to narrow down the convoy designator or the name of the ship Dad sailed on because accounts of the Op Husky convoys tend to focus on ships lost to enemy action, not on ships that dropped out of the convoy due to mechanical failure. Dad's written recollections indicates that his convoy collected in the open ocean off England's southwest coast in late June 1943, and I have been able to determine that two Op Husky slow assault convoys departed the Clyde River in Scotland on 25 June 1943, and a fast assault convoy departed Greenock, Scotland on 28 June 1943. It seems likely that Dad was on a ship in one of these convoys, but I have not been able to narrow down further which convoy and which ship. Any information or leads would be greatly appreciated. Cheers! David G. Jenness
Unfortunately, I have not been able to narrow down the convoy designator or the name of the ship Dad sailed on because accounts of the Op Husky convoys tend to focus on ships lost to enemy action, not on ships that dropped out of the convoy due to mechanical failure. Dad's written recollections indicates that his convoy collected in the open ocean off England's southwest coast in late June 1943, and I have been able to determine that two Op Husky slow assault convoys departed the Clyde River in Scotland on 25 June 1943, and a fast assault convoy departed Greenock, Scotland on 28 June 1943. It seems likely that Dad was on a ship in one of these convoys, but I have not been able to narrow down further which convoy and which ship. Any information or leads would be greatly appreciated. Cheers! David G. Jenness