Convoy HX 84
Convoy HX 84 was the 84th of the numbered series of Allied North Atlantic HX convoys of merchant ships from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Liverpool, England, during the Battle of the Atlantic. Thirty-eight ships escorted by the armed merchant cruiser departed from Halifax on 28 October 1940, eastbound to Liverpool.
On 5 November 1940, the German pocket battleship found the convoy at and attacked immediately. Captain E.S.F. Fegen of Jervis Bay attacked the raider so as to delay Admiral Scheer and to allow the convoy to scatter. Jervis Bay was sunk after 20 minutes of fighting with the loss of 190 of her crew. Nevertheless, their sacrifice allowed the convoy to begin to escape. The merchant ship SS Beaverford, armed with only two guns, engaged Admiral Scheer in a cat and mouse gunnery duel that lasted for over four hours before Beaverford was sunk with all hands. This allowed most of the convoy to complete their escape. Admiral Scheer was only able to sink six of the 38 ships in the convoy.
Maiden, Trewellard, Kenbame Head, Beaverford and Fresno were sunk and the tanker damaged, but failing light now allowed the rest of the convoy to escape. San Demetrio was abandoned by her crew, but two days later some of the crew, now in lifeboats, sighted San Demetrio, still afloat and still ablaze. They reboarded her, got the engines running, and brought her in to port. This incident later formed the basis for the script of the film San Demetrio London.
Ships in the convoy
Allied merchant ships
A total of 38 merchant vessels joined the convoy, either in Halifax or later in the voyage. Five merchant ships were sunk when the unified convoy was attacked, with one more sunk after the convoy dispersed.| Name | Flag | Tonnage | Notes |
| Andalusian | 3,082 | ||
| Anna Bulgaris | Greece | 4,603 | |
| Athelempress | 8,941 | Joined ex-BHX 84 | |
| Atheltemplar | 8,992 | Joined ex-BHX 84 | |
| 10,042 | Sunk by | ||
| Briarwood | 4,019 | ||
| Castilian | 3,067 | ||
| Cetus | Norway | 2,614 | |
| Cordelia | 8,190 | Joined ex-BHX 84. Returned post-dispersal | |
| Cornish City | 4,952 | ||
| Dan-Y-Bryn | 5,117 | ||
| Danae Ii | 2,660 | ||
| Delhi | Sweden | 4,571 | Joined ex-BHX 84 |
| Delphinula | 8,120 | ||
| Emile Francqui | Belgium | 5,859 | |
| Empire Penguin | 6,389 | ||
| Erodona | 6,207 | ||
| Fresno City | 4,955 | Sunk by Admiral Scheer | |
| Hjalmar Wessel | Norway | 1,742 | |
| James J Maguire | 10,525 | ||
| Kenbane Head | 5,225 | Sunk by Admiral Scheer | |
| Lancaster Castle | 5,172 | ||
| Maidan | 7,908 | Sunk by Admiral Scheer | |
| Poland | 3,208 | ||
| Oilreliance | 5,666 | Joined ex-BHX 84 | |
| Pacific Enterprise | 6,736 | Jx BHX 84 | |
| Persier | Belgium | 5,382 | |
| Puck | Poland | 1,065 | |
| Rangitiki | 16,698 | ||
| Saint Gobain | Sweden | 9,959 | Joined ex-BHX 84 |
| 8,073 | afloat but ablaze, later recovered | ||
| Solfonn | Norway | 9,925 | Joined ex-BHX 84 |
| Sovac | 6,724 | ||
| Stureholm | Sweden | 4,575 | Returned to Halifax post-dispersal |
| Trefusis | 5,299 | ||
| Trewellard | 5,201 | Sunk by Admiral Scheer | |
| Varoy | Norway | 1,531 | |
| Vingaland | Sweden | 2,734 | Sunk by Luftwaffe aircraft post-dispersal west of County Donegal |
Convoy escorts
A series of armed military ships escorted the convoy at various times during its journey, with only one present when the Germans attacked.| Name | Flag | Type | Joined | Left |
| 28 Oct 1940 | 29 Oct 1940 | |||
| Armed merchant cruiser | 28 Oct 1940 | 05 Nov 1940 Sunk by | ||
| 28 Oct 1940 | 29 Oct 1940 |