Escort Group B2 was a convoy escort British formation of the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...
which saw action during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, principally in the
Battle of the Atlantic
The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allied naval blocka ...
.
The group was under the command of Cdr
Donald Macintyre, one of Britain's most successful
anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are typi ...
commanders.
Formation
Escort Group B2 was one of seven British
escort groups which served with the
Mid-Ocean Escort Force (MOEF), which provided convoy protection in the most dangerous midsection of the North Atlantic route.
The group was formed in the spring of 1942 and originally consisted of the
''Havant''-class destroyer as group leader with the
''Leamington'',
V-class destroyer , and the s , , and .
Later in the year the low-endurance destroyers ''Leamington'' and ''Veteran'' were replaced by longer-ranged V and W-class destroyers and and the Flower-class corvettes , , and joined the group.
Service history
The group commenced convoy escort duties in April 1942, in the critical mid-ocean section of the North Atlantic route, operating between
Londonderry and
St John's Newfoundland.
The first convoys, in the spring of 1942, were uneventful and as the pace of the
Battle of the Atlantic
The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allied naval blocka ...
hotted up in the summer and autumn the group's convoys were escorted without loss.
In October 1942, ON 138 came under attack but a vigorous defence by B2 ensured no ships were lost.
In December 1942 it was accompanying HX 219 when the convoy came under attack. ''Hesperus'' responded and counter-attacked and destroyed
''U-357'' by ramming it. As a result, ''Hesperus'' was out of action for 2 months.
In February 1943 a depleted B2 under temporary command of Cdr Proudfoot escorted
Convoy SC 118
Convoy SC 118 was the 118th of the numbered series of World War II slow convoys of merchant ships from Sydney, Cape Breton Island, to Liverpool. The ships departed New York City on 24 January 1943Hague 2000 p.135 and were met by Mid-Ocean Escor ...
. This convoy came under attack by wolfpack ''Pfeil'' and lost eight ships for three U-boats destroyed in one of the hardest fought battles of the campaign.
In April during an attack on ONS 4, ships of the group sank
''U-191''.
In May in an attack on SC 129 B2 sank
''U-186'' and damaged ''U-402'' and ''U-223'' for the loss of two ships.
A series of uneventful convoys followed, as the
U-boat arm withdrew from the North Atlantic after
Black May, a state of affairs which continued until the end of the year.
During this period the group had escorted over 30 convoys, totalling over 900 ships of which only 10 were lost.
No warships were lost from the group, which accounted for three U-boats destroyed and two others damaged, and shared in the destruction of three others, in its 2-year career.
U-boats destroyed
*
''U-357'', sunk by ''Hesperus'' and ''Vanessa'' on 26 December 1942
*
''U-191'', sunk by ''Hesperus'' on 23 April 1943
*
''U-186'' sunk by ''Hesperus'' on 12 May 1943
[Kemp p 115-6]
Convoys escorted
Senior Officer Escort
Notes
References
*Clay Blair ''Hitler's U-Boat War
olume 2 The Hunted 1942–1945'' (1998) (2000 UK paperback ed.)
*Paul Kemp '' U-Boats Destroyed'' (1997)
*Macintyre, Donald ''U-Boat Killer'' (1956)
*Axel Neistle ''German U-Boat Losses during World War II'' (1998).
*
Stephen Roskill '' The War at Sea 1939–1945'' Vol III, pt I (1960)
* {{cite book, title=Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945 , author1=Rohwer, J. , author2=Hummelchen, G. , publisher=Naval Institute Press , year=1992 , isbn=1-55750-105-X
Escort Groups of the Royal Navy in World War II