B-7 Escort Group (Royal Navy)

Escort Group B7
Active	World War II
Country	United Kingdom
Allegiance	British Empire
Branch	Royal Navy
Type	Escort Group
Role	Anti-submarine warfare
Size	~Nine ships
Part of	Western Approaches Command
Garrison/HQ	Lisahally
Engagements	Convoy ON 153 Convoy ONS 5
Commanders
Notable commanders	Commander WE Banks Cdr EH Tilden Cdr PW Gretton

Escort Group B7 was a British formation of the Royal Navy which saw action during the Second World War; principally in the Battle of the Atlantic.

Escort Group B7 was one of seven such British naval groups which served with the Mid-Ocean Escort Force (MOEF). It provided convoy protection in the most dangerous midsection of the North Atlantic route. The MOEF was originally to be five American, five British and four Canadian groups. B7 was formed in the spring of 1942, following the inability of the USN to form groups A-4 and A-5 due to other commitments. To replace them, two new escort groups, B6 and B7, were formed.

Led by HMS Firedrake, under the leadership of Commander William Banks, B7 comprised six Flower class corvettes; HMS Loosestrife from the disbanded American group A-5, and Alisma, Coreopsis, Jonquil, Pink and Sunflower. These were joined later by the destroyers HMS Chesterfield and Ripley.

B7’s first convoys, in the spring of 1942, were uneventful, and as the pace of the Battle of the Atlantic hotted up in the summer and autumn, the group's charges were escorted without loss. But in December, while escorting ON 153, the convoy came under attack, and three ships were sunk. During this action, on 11 December, Firedrake was torpedoed by U-211 and sank with the loss of 168 of her crew, including her current commander, and the group's Senior Officer - Escort (SOE), Commander Eric Tilden. Initially 35 survived the torpedoing, but only 27 managed to get on board Sunflower, which was under the command of Captain John Treasure Jones.

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