Convoy DN 21
The convoy DN 21 (DN = Durban) was an allied convoy during the Second World War , which was put together in March 1943 in Durban, South Africa ( Lage ) and brought essential war goods to various ports. The Allies lost five ships of 23,092 GRT to the German submarine U 160 .
Composition and securing
The convoy DN 21 consisted of eleven cargo ships. On March 3, 1943, they left Durban in a south-easterly direction. On March 4, the convoy was supposed to break up as planned. The securing was done by the corvette Nigella and the trawlers Sondra , Norwich City and Viviana .
| Surname | Type | flag | Measurement in GRT | Whereabouts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baron Maclay | freighter |
 United Kingdom
|
6.317 | |
| Benvannoch | freighter |
United Kingdom
|
6,427 | |
| Carolinian | freighter |
 United States
|
6,997 | |
| Charles F Meyer | freighter |
United Kingdom
|
10,516 | |
| Empire Mahseer | freighter |
United Kingdom
|
5,087 | sunk by U 160 on March 3rd ( Lage ) |
| Harvey W Scott | freighter |
United States
|
7.176 | sunk by U 160 on March 3rd ( Lage ) |
| Marietta E. | freighter |
United Kingdom
|
7,628 | sunk by U 160 on March 4th ( Lage ) |
| Nirpura | freighter |
United Kingdom
|
5,961 | sunk by U 160 on March 3rd ( Lage ) |
| Ocean Vespers | freighter |
United Kingdom
|
7.174 | |
| Sabor | freighter |
United Kingdom
|
5,212 | |
| San Francisco | freighter |
 Sweden
|
4,933 | |
| Sheaf Crown | freighter |
United Kingdom
|
4,868 | sunk by U 160 on March 4th ( Lage ) |
| Tibia | freighter |
 Netherlands
|
10,356 | Damaged by U 160 on March 3rd |
course
After the convoy left Durban on March 3, 1943, it was hit by the German submarine U 160 . In three attempts on March 3rd and 4th it sank the Harvey W. Scott , Nirpura , Empire Mahseer , Marietta E. , Sheaf Crown with torpedoes and damaged the tibia . 61 seamen were killed while 225 were able to save themselves. 13,065 t of war material including explosives and gasoline, 800 mules , 2,000 t of manganese ore and 194 t of civilian goods were also lost with the ships . After the Canadian destroyers Quiberon and Relentless approached the convoy, U 160 withdrew. The commander of U 160 , Kapitänleutnant Georg Lassen , received the oak leaves for the Knight's Cross for these sinkings, taking into account his previous sinkings .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Jürgen Rohwer , Gerhard Hümmelchen : Chronik des Maritime War 1939–1945, March 1943 , accessed on February 28, 2014.
- ^ Arnold Hague Convoy Database , accessed February 28, 2014.
- ↑ Clay Blair : The Submarine War. The hunted 1942–1945. Wilhelm Heyne Verlag , Munich 1999, ISBN 3-453-16059-2 , p. 286.
Map with all coordinates: