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CONVOY HX 48
Cruising Order & Advance Sailing Telegram

Convoy HX 48 Cruising Order
Departed Halifax on June 5-1940 and arrived Liverpool on the 20th (Arnold Hague says 38 ships).
Transcribed from A 1 form received from Roger Griffiths (his source: Public Records Office, Kew).

There are no ships listed in row 4.

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

Br=British, Norw=Norwegian, Sw=Swedish, Am=American, Da=Danish, Rom=Romanian, Gr=Greek, Pa=Panamanian, Du=Dutch

The original form was in an indescribable mess, with a lot of handwritten remarks, ships crossed out and moved around etc., making the names of ships extremely difficult to desipher. The ships that have been crossed out without having been given a new station number did not sail. Note that the Advance Sailing Telegram lists more ships as cancelled.

B = Bermuda portion
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
11
Parthenia
general
Glasgow
(Br)
21
Stangrant
in station 22

Dakotian
general
Avonmouth
(Br)
31
Tynebank
scrap iron
Birkenhead
(Br)
41
Patia
general
Liverpool
(Br)
51
Esmond
newsprint
Avonmouth
(Br)
61
C. J. Barkdull?
crude oil
Southampton
(Pa)

Beaconlight
gasoline
Southampton
(Pa)
71
Cairnglen
in station 53

San Cirilo
lub. oil
River Medway
(Br)
81
City of Oran
steel - lumber
Hull
(Br)
91
Victo*
lumber
Portland/London
(Norw)
12
Laristan
fuel oil
Glasgow
(Br)
22
Urla
lumber
Glasgow
(Br)

Stangrant*
scrap iron
Manchester
(Br)
32
Harpagon
grain - steel
Cardiff
(Br)
42
Margarita Chandri
grain
Liverpool
(Gr)
52
Barrington Court
grain
Manchester
(Br)
62
Beaconlight
in station 61
72
San Cirilo
in station 71

Mount Pelion*
grain
Falmouth
(Gr)

Carmelfjell?*
general
Portland/London
(Norw)
82
Inginer N. Vlassopol
pulp
London
(Rom)
92
Ontariolite
crude oil
Brest

Kingsborough
pit props
Tyne
(Br)
13
Torr Head
grain - general
Belfast
(Br)
23
Dakotian
in station 21

Polydorus
general
Liverpool
(Du)

 33
Janeta
steel - lumber
Newport
(Br)		 43
Hektoria
fuel oil
Milford Haven
(Br)

Clearpool
wheat
Barry
(Br)

 53
Clearpool
in station 43

Cairnglen
general
Newcastle
(Br)

 63
Calliope
crude oil
Southampton
(Pa)		 73
Mount Pelion
in station 72
(probably did not sail)

Atlantic?
grain
Manchester
(Br)

 83
Polydorus
in station 23		 93
Kingsborough
in station 92

Dalcroy
steel - lumber
Liverpool
(Br)
14 24 34 44 54 64 74 84 94
15 B
Capulet
in station 66

Sourabaya
fuel oil
Liverpool
(Br)

 25 B
W. B. Walker
gasoline
Milford Haven
(Br)		 35 B
Benjamin Franklin
pulp
Liverpool
(Norw)		 45 B
Politician
general
Liverpool
(Br)		 55 B
D. L. Harper
crude oil
Southampton
(Pa/Br**)		 65 B
Refast
lub. oil
London
(Br)		 75 B
Miralda
diesel oil
Portland
(Br)		 85 B
Eclipse*
crude oil
Brest
(Br)		 95
16
Patella
in station 36		 26 B
Caledonia
diesel oil
Milford Haven
(Norw)		 36 B
Cadillac
gasoline
(Br)

Patella
fuel oil
Scapa
(Br)

 46 B
Robert F. Hand
motor spirits
East-West
(Br)		 56 B
G. S. Walden
gasoline
East-West
(Br)		 66 B
Sourabaya
in station 15

Capulet
fuel oil
Devonport (via Falmouth)
(Br)

 76 B
Bente Maersk
fuel oil
Grangemouth
(Da/Br)		 86 B
Nicolaou Georgios
cotton
Brest
(Gr)		 96
* It looks like Mount Pelion has been moved from station 73 to 72, but I don't think this ship sailed at all - she shows up again in the next convoy.

** D. L. Harper came under British control at some point during the war, but I'm not sure exactly when.

Bente Maersk was a Danish ship, taken over by MoWT in Apr.-1940.

Calliope returned to Halifax (see also HX 45).

* According to Arnold Hague, Victo became a straggler on June 6, while Carmelfjell straggled on June 7 and Stangrant on June 15. He says Eclipse was detached and ordered to Beaumont, Texas (no date is given). He does not indicate that this ship was in the Bermuda portion. Hague's listing for HX 48 is available on the page naming ships in all HX convoys.

Advance Sailing Telegram

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

Crossed out ships did not sail.
Ship
Nationality
Cargo
Destination
Remarks
Halifax section
Urla
British
lumber
Glasgow
To HX 49 - did not sail
Listed in HX 50
Stangrant
"
steel
Manchester
From HX 47
Sheaf Mount
"
scrap iron
Swansea
From HX 47
Listed in HX 49
Norwegian
wood pulp
Portland / London
From HX 47
Nailsea Moor
British
grain
Hull
See HX 47
Beaverbrae
"
general
London
Had sailed in HX 47
Norwegian
copper
Bordeaux
Had sailed in HX 47
San Cirilo
British
Tanker B
River Medway
–
Zurichmoor
"
steel - lumber
Cardiff
Had sailed in HX 47
Esmond
"
paper
Avonmouth
–
Parthenia
"
steel - lumber
Glasgow
Clyde Commodore
Tynebank
"
scrap iron
Birkenhead
–
Cairnglen
"
general
Newcastle
Vice Commodore
City of Oran
"
general
Hull
–
Dakotian
"
general
Avonmouth
–
Dover Hill
"
steel - scrap
Cardiff
–
Harpagon
"
steel - grain
Cardiff
–
Ontariolite
"
Tanker B
Brest f. o .
Listed in HX 49
Patia
"
general
Liverpool
Commodore
Barrington Court
"
grain
Manchester
–
Clearpool
"
grain
Barry
–
Hektoria
"
Tanker B
Milford Haven f. o.
Listed in HX 49
Margarita Chandri
Greek
grain
Liverpool
–
Torr Head
British
general
Belfast
–
Atlantic
"
grain
Manchester
–
Point Lobos
Panamanian
paper
Liverpool
From HX 47?
MoWT 1941 - Empire Wagtail
Listed in HX 49
Inginer N. Vlassopol
Greek
pulp
London
–
Norwegian
lumber
King's Lynn
Sunk - Follow link to Altair
Altair is crossed out from the Advance Sailing Telegram, but she's said to have left Halifax on June 5-1940, so I'm wondering if she did sail in this convoy(?), unless she sailed alone all the way from Halifax (she was alone when sunk on June 18).
Laristan
British
Adm. tanker B
Clyde
See also HX 41
C. J. Barkdull
Panamanian
Tanker B
Southampton
From HX 47
Listed in HX 49
Calliope
"
Tanker B
Southamtpon
From HX 47
Returned to Halifax
To HX 50 - did not sail
To HX 51 - did not sail
("to remain at Halifax until further orders")
Beaconlight
"
Tanker B
Southampton
From HX 47
The following ships appear on a separate document, with no mention of which section they belong to - note, however, that Sourabaya is listed on the A 1 form for the Bermuda portion.
Janeta
British
steel - lumber
Newport
–
Sourabaya
"
Tanker B
Clyde
B
Norwegian
general
Portland / London
–
Polydorus
Dutch
general
Liverpool
–
Dalcroy
British
steel - lumber
Garston
–
Kingsborough
"
pit props
Tyne
–
Joining from Bermuda
 Sailed June 4-1940, escorted by HMS Jervis Bay
Norwegian
Tanker B
Avonmouth
From HX 47
Listed in HX 51
Refast
British
Tanker B
London
From HX 47
Eclipse
"
Tanker B
–
See note in A 1 form
(Does not show up again on this site until HX 65)
Miralda
"
Tanker B
Portland / London
–
Norwegian
Tanker B
Clyde
–
Nicolaou Georgios
Greek
cotton

Brest f. o.
–
Patella
British
Adm. tanker B
Clyde
–
G. S. Walden
"
Tanker W
Clyde
–
Cadillac
"
Tanker W
East-West
Listed in HX 49
Capulet
"
Adm. tanker B
Devonport
–
Norwegian
pulp
Liverpool
–
Politician
British
general
Liverpool
–
Robert F. Hand
"
Tanker W
Clyde
–
Bente Mærsk
Danish / MoWT 1940
Tanker B
London
–
W. B. Walker
British
Tanker W
Mersey
–
D. L. Harper
Panamanian? British?
Tanker B
Southampton
–
Again, note that Sourabaya also joined from Bermuda - see A 1 form above.

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 05/06/40 to 06/06/40
Gladiolus - From 17/06/40 to 20/06/40
Ranpura - From 05/06/40 to 16/06/40
Saguenay - From 05/06/40 to 06/06/40
Volunteer - From 16/06/40 to 19/06/40

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