Convoy SC 2

Part of World War II

Date	6–9 September 1940
Location	North Atlantic
Result	inconclusive

Belligerents

Germany

United Kingdom

Commanders and leaders

Admiral Karl Dönitz

Comm: EK Boddam-Whitham
SOE:

Strength

3 U-boats

54 ships
7 escorts

Casualties and losses

none

5 ships sunk

SC 2 was a North Atlantic convoy of the SC series which ran during the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II.

SC 2 was an east-bound convoy of 54 ships which sailed from Sydney, Cape Breton in Nova Scotia on 25 August 1940 bound for Liverpool. It carried war materials and was led by Commodore EK Boddam-Whitham in SS Harpoon.

For the Atlantic crossing SC 2 was escorted by HMS Scarborough, a pre-war sloop that had seen previous service as a survey vessel. At this stage of the campaign escorts against U-boat attack could only be provided in the Western Approaches; the Ocean escort, in this case a sloop, but usually an Armed Merchant Cruiser, was provided to give some protection against surface raiders.

SC 2 was opposed by a patrol line of three U-boats, positioned at the limit of endurance to intercept east-bound convoys before the Western Approaches escort had joined.

U-boat Command (BdU) had been informed of SC 2’s passage by B-Dienst, the German signals intelligence branch, which had cracked the Royal Navy’s codes. BdU had just five U-boats on station in the Atlantic, and ordered U-47 to intercept and shadow while the other boats homed in on his directions. One of these, U-124, was unavailable, being on weather reporting duty; while another, U-28 was short of fuel and unable to head further west. The remaining two, U-65 and U-101, moved west to join the search.

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