Order of battle for Convoy SC 7


Convoy SC 7 was the seventh of the SC convoys, bound from Sydney, Nova Scotia across the
North Atlantic to a number of British ports, mainly Liverpool. They were designated SC as their departure point was designated Sydney, Cape Breton in order to avoid confusion with Sydney in Australia. The convoys formed part of the battle of the Atlantic during the Second World War. Large numbers of merchants travelled together with naval escorts to protect against U-boat attacks. They were often slow, the merchants often only being capable of a speed of around and so were particularly vulnerable to attack. This problem was exacerbated by a shortage of suitable escorts from either the Royal Canadian Navy or the Royal Navy in the early stages of the war.
Convoy SC 7 left Sydney on 5 October 1940, consisting of 36 merchants initially escorted by the Canadian armed yacht and the British sloop. Having seen the convoy out of Canadian waters, Elk turned back on 7 October leaving the convoy to spend three quarters of the crossing escorted by the lone Scarborough. One of the merchants, had developed engine problems and also turned back. The crossing was uneventful to begin with, the only casualty being which was straggling behind the main convoy and was torpedoed and sunk on 16 October by.
The main convoy was spotted the following day by, which sank. Further sporadic attacks continued that day and the following, despite the arrival of the sloop and the corvette. The night of 18/19 October saw the successful use of the wolf pack tactics of Germany's U-boat fleet. Five U-boats;,,, and attacked en-masse, overwhelming the escorts, newly reinforced by and. They sank 16 merchants in a six-hour period, bringing the total to twenty merchants sunk and a total tonnage lost of 79,592 Gross registered tons. The U-boats only broke off their attacks to intercept convoy HX 79 that had arrived in the area. They went on to sink a further 12 ships from this convoy, for a total of 28 ships sunk on 18/19 October, making this the deadliest two days of the battle of the Atlantic. The surviving merchants were gathered up by the remaining escorts and brought into port several days later.

Merchant ships

NameFlagCargoFateDate of attackSurvivorsDeadNotes
GreeceWheatSunk by *17 October254Straggler
GrainSunk by *19 October3417Convoy commodore's ship
Steel, timber and aircraftSunk by *18 October370
TimberDamaged by
Damaged by 		18 October
19 October		340Reached port, repaired and returned to service.
BoekeloNetherlandsTimberDamaged by
Sunk by *		18 October
19 October		250Straggler
BotuskTimberReached port safely420
TimberDamaged by 18 October550Towed into port
PulpwoodDamaged by
Sunk by *		19 October
19 October		351
SS ConvallariaSwedenPulpwoodSunk by *18 October220
Steel and scrap metalReached port safely210
Iron oreSunk by *18 October036
DioniGreeceGrainReached port safely820
TimberReached port safely640
Various metals and oresSunk by 19 October356
Pig iron and steelSunk by 19 October353
Steel, timber and aircraftSunk by 18 October138Straggler
PulpwoodReached port safely120
SS GunborgSwedenPulpwoodSunk by *18 October230
HavørnNorwayPit propsReached port safely530
Inger ElisabethNorwayPit propsReached port safely440
KarlanderNorwayTimberReached port safely920
Fuel oilSunk by *17 October390
SS NiritosGreeceSulphurSunk by *18 October271
Pit propsSunk by *17 October390
SS SedgepoolWheatSunk by *19 October363
SS ShekatikaPit props and steelDamaged by, and
Sunk by U-123*		19 October360Had joined from convoy SHX-76. A 'romper'
NorwayTimberSunk by *19 October210
Sneland INorwaySulphurReached port safely940
NetherlandsPit propsSunk by *19 October196
FlourReached port safely830
SS ThaliaGreeceSteel, lead and zincSunk by *19 October422
NorwayFuel oilReached port safely630
SS TrevisaTimberSunk by *16 October147Straggler. First ship lost.
TridentSteel and timberReached port safely430
ValparaisoSwedenGeneral cargoReached port safely140
TimberReturned to port340

Escorts

U-boats