Convoy TS 37
| Convoy TS.37 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of World War II | |||||
|
|||||
| Belligerents | |||||
 Nazi Germany
|
 United Kingdom
|
||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||
| Admiral Karl Dönitz | |||||
| Strength | |||||
| 1 U-Boat | 19 merchant ships 4 escorts |
||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||
| 7 ships sunk | |||||
TS 37 was a South Atlantic convoy of the TS series which ran during World War II from Takoradi to Freetown. It lost seven ships in "one of the most remarkable convoy attacks of the war."
TS 37 was a convoy of the TS/ST series, organized to protect merchant traffic between Takoradi on the Gold Coast (now Ghana) and Freetown, Sierra Leone. Freetown was the main naval base for the Royal Navy’s West Africa Station and was the departure and dispersal point for SL/OS convoys to Britain. The TS series had been established in September 1942 in response to U-boat depredations amongst independently routed shipping on the coast of West Africa.
TS 37 comprised 19 merchant ships. The escort comprised HMS Bellwort, a Flower-class corvette, and three ASW trawlers, Arran, Birdlip and Fandango. The Senior Officer (Escort) was Lt. NFR Gill, the captain of Bellwort. TS 37 departed Takoradi on 26 April, but one ship, dropped out on and was forced to return, escorted by Fandango.
U Boat Command (BdU) had organized a force of three U-Boats, with a supply boat for logistical support off the coast of West Africa. U-515, skippered by KL (later KK) Werner Henke (Knight's Cross), had been dispatched with two others as relief and reinforcement to this group. U-515 was the only U-boat involved in the attack on TS 37.
...
Wikipedia