Convoy UGS-40 was an

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merchant navy convoy with a military escort which sailed from

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on 22 April 1944, and passed through the Gibraltar Strait on 9 May 1944 on its way to

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. The convoy was shadowed for two days by German aircraft. Allied Beaufighters were sent out ten times to attack the reconnaissance aircraft without success. After this, on 11 May, the convoy came under heavy air attack 50 miles east of

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. At least 19 German aircraft were shot down by the convoy while the Germans failed to hit a single Allied ship.

Bombers attack

The convoy was shadowed by German reconnaissance aircraft from 9 May, after passing the Gibraltar Strait. The German aircraft avoided at least ten attempts by the Allies to intercept. This was enough to put the convoy on alert, expecting a major attack. Their fears were well founded. At 19:50 hours, 11 May, the convoy was travelling in eight columns, spaced apart and between ships in each column. Air support was out from the convoy, anticipating an attack in light of the persistent reconnaissance, when the convoy came under attack. Radar warnings were received at 20:25 hours and again by 20:45, as twilight set in.

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were lit which greatly reduced target visibility for the bomber crews. German torpedo planes formed up north of the convoy where they were receiving blinkered signals from Arab spies on Cape Tedles. The advance of the attacking planes was clearly monitored by HMS ''Caledon'' from the edge of the smoke screen. Shortly after 09:00 hours the convoy started to fire a barrage into the sky.

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, Heinkels and Dorniers began a "pile driving" attack in four waves, a few minutes apart from each other, of around seven planes per wave. UGS-40 turned 45 degrees into the attack where the escort and armed guard on the merchant ships, holding fire until the moment of visual confirmation, joined the attack. Around five minutes after the initial barrage had been ordered the battle was in full swing. Five inch, three inch and 20 mm guns were fired from the merchant ships, at the bombers and torpedo bombers as they passed along the convoy in a glide, some as low as from sea level, attempting to find targets within the thick haze of smoke screen. The bombers appeared to be in a confusion trying to find the ships, some exploding in bright flashes under the Allied fire. Dorniers dropped their bombs but did not hit any of the ships, and radio controlled glide bombs were sighted and avoided. The merchant ships held a steady course while the military escorts manoeuvred at around 20

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. The convoy turned another 45 degrees back to their original easterly course at 21:22 hours, and by 21:45 hours, the attack was completely over. Algiers signalled the all clear just after 10:00 hours, and many ships remained on high alert through the night, but no more attacks came. One ship in the convoy, ''Chips'', suffered friendly fire damage from a few stray 20 mm shots, injuring four military personnel, but otherwise no Allied ships were damaged. Reports collated at least 19 German planes destroyed. Two Allied

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s were lost. The admiral, Royal R. Ingersoll II, signalled an "outstanding" performance. Convoy USG-42 was attacked around the same area in a mid-night attack a few weeks later, on 31 May.

Ships in convoy

USG-40 convoy consisted of 65

merchant ship A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are u ...

s, 8

escort destroyer An escort destroyer with United States Navy hull classification symbol DDE was a destroyer (DD) modified for and assigned to a fleet escort role after World War II. These destroyers retained their original hull numbers. Later, in March 1950, th ...

s, 4

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s, 2 minesweepers, 1 anti aircraft cruiser, 1 coast guard cutter, and 1

tug A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...

. The individual vessels were as follows:

Escorts (Task Force TF.61)

* (Cmdr. Sowell USCG) * * * * * * * * * * * * * French frigate ''Tunisien'' * French sloop ''Le Cimeterre'' * * * HMS ''Hengist'' (W 110) (rescue tug)Morison p. 269

Merchant ships

* ''Magdala'' (Dutch) * ''Fort Michipicoten'' (Canadian) * ''Fernbrook'' (Norwegian) (built in Copenhagen in 1932) * ''Laurentide'' Park (Norwegian) * ''Salimis'' (Norwegian) * ''Abangarez'' (US) * ''Abraham Lincoln'' (US) * ''Albino Perez'' (US) * ''Ben F. Dixon'' (US) * ''Benjamin Huntington'' (US) * ''Carter Braxton'' (US) * ''Clement Clay'' (US) * ''Colin P. Kelly Jr'' (US) * ''Conrad Weiser'' (US) * ''Cornelius Gilliam'' (US) * ''Francis M. Smith'' (US) * ''George H. Dern'' (US) * ''Grenville M. Dodge'' (US) * (US) * ''James W. Fannin'' (US) * ''James Whitcomb Riley'' (US) * ''Janet L. Roper'' (US) * ''John Banvard'' (US) * ''John Dickinson'' (US) * ''John F. Myers'' (US) * ''John Stevens'' (US) * (US) * ''Odysseus'' (US) * (US) * ''Stephen A. Douglas'' (US) * ''Samuel Moody'' (US) * ''Thomas L. Clingman'' (US) * ''Thomas Nuttall'' (US) * ''Thomas W. Bickett'' (US) * ''Van Lear Black'' (US) * ''William B. Giles'' (US) * ''William H. Aspinwall'' (US) * ''William H. Moody'' (US) * ''William Mulholland'' (US) * ''William Paterson'' (US) * (US) * (UK) * (UK) * ''Empire Stalwart'' (UK) * ''Junecrest'' (UK) * ''Neocardia'' (UK) * ''Port Melbourne'' (UK) * ''Sambarie'' (UK) * ''Samdaring'' (UK) * ''Samfairy'' (UK) * ''Samgallion'' (UK) * ''Samkansa'' (UK) * ''Samlea'' (UK) * ''Sampenn'' (UK) * ''Samspelgy'' (UK)

References

External links