Pensacola Convoy

The Pensacola Convoy is a colloquialism for a United States military shipping convoy that took place in late 1941 as the Pacific War began. The name was derived from that of its primary escort ship, the heavy cruiser USS Pensacola. Pensacola was officially designated Task Group 15.5 and Army sources may use the term Republic convoy for the senior convoy vessel. The convoy, dispatched in peacetime, was intended to reinforce the United States Army Forces Far East (USAFFE), created to defend the U.S. Commonwealth of the Philippines and commanded by General Douglas MacArthur, with artillery, aircraft, munitions and fuel, as the threat of war with the Empire of Japan loomed. After war broke out, and Japanese forces attacked the Philippines, the convoy was diverted to Brisbane, Australia.

The War Department on 16 August 1941 approved large-scale reinforcement of the Philippines. General MacArthur was notified that the first units would sail in September. When Chief of Staff George C. Marshall asked MacArthur if he needed a National Guard division for USAFFE, MacArthur declined the offer, stating: "Equipment and supply of existing forces are the prime essential. I am confident if these steps are taken with sufficient speed, that no further major reinforcement will be necessary for accomplishment of the defense mission." Marshall replied: "I have directed that United States Army Forces in the Philippines be placed in highest priority for equipment ... (and) ... men." Reinforcement convoys began in September and continued through November 1941, escorted from Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, by a naval vessel.

Pensacola's convoy included the gunboat USS Niagara; the U.S. Navy transports USS Republic and USS Chaumont; the U.S. Army transport ships USAT Willard A. Holbrook and USAT Meigs; the U.S. merchant ships SS Admiral Halstead and SS Coast Farmer; and the Dutch merchant ship Bloemfontein.

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