Convoy MKS 9 - warsailors.com
CONVOY MKS 9
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Convoy MKS 9 Cruising Order Departed Bone on March 4-1943, Algiers March 6 - arrived Liverpool on the 18th (Arnold Hague gives 55 ships). |
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Transcribed from A 1 form received from Robert Martin, England - His source: Public Records Office, Kew. For info, there was also a faster convoy, MKF 9, which had left Algiers on Febr. 17-1943, arrived Clyde on the 24th. The date given on the A 1 form is March 6-1943. Additional ships are named at the end of this table. Br=British, Am=American, Norw=Norwegian, Fr=French, Bel=Belgian, |
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| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
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17 ships to join at Oran |
21 |
31 |
41 |
51 |
61 |
71 |
81 |
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22 Facto
Oran |
32 Thomas Heyward(Am) |
42 |
52 |
62 |
72 |
82 |
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23 |
33 Fort Ellice (Br) |
43 Lewis Luckenbach Gibr. (Am) |
53 Ashantian* (Br) |
63 Stancleeve (Br) |
73 Turkistan (Br) |
83 Cefn-y-Bryn Algiers-Clyde (Br) |
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| 24 Shuna Oran (Br) |
34 Samuel Griffin Gibr. (Am) |
44 Joshua Seney (Am) |
54 Indian Prince (Br) |
64 Ingerfire (Norw) |
74 Fort Pitt (Br) |
84 Finistere Gibr. (Fr) |
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| 25 | 35 | 45 Ville de Djidjelli Oran (Fr) |
55 Penshurst Oran (Br) |
65 | 75 | 85 | |
| The ship in station 23 looks like Empire Iace or Lace or similar, but I can find no Empire Ship by either name. Might be Empire Dace, which shows up in MKS 11, unless it's Empire Gale, which appears in A. Hague's list below.
* Just for info, Ashantian joined Convoy ONS 3 the following month and was sunk (Ingerfire was sunk after having lost touch with Convoy ONS 2 - see Ingerfire). Comparing the above with a list of ships in Convoy MKS 9 received from Don Kindell, based on A. Hague's own research, I find that A. Hague does not mention the following: On the other hand, A. Hague has added the following ships (station numbers are not given): |
Notes:
Commodore was in Fanad Head, Vice Commodore in Serula.
A doucment received from T. Cooper (from the Public Records Office, Kew) states the following:
"The sailing of MKS 9 was immediately known to the Germans from radio intercepts and the message was passed on the evening of 8 March to U-boats in the area. On the following day four boats (U-410, U-103, U-107, U-445) of Group Robbe were ordered to form a scouting line athwart the convoy's anticipated rout at about latitude 41 30N. On 12 March the convoy was reported by reconnaisance aircraft to the west of Portugal. At 18:52 GMT that day U-410 picked up the convoy on her hydrophones. The U-boat surfaced at 19:31 and an hour later sighted the silhouette of an escort destroyer, which turned towards U-410, forcing her to dive. No depth charge attack followed, however, and the U-boat resurfaced at 01:52 on 13 March when the coast was clear. She was then ordered to operate with U-107 against OS 44 (external link), which had also been reported on 12 March by reconnaisance aircraft". (U-107 went on to sink several ships from Convoy OS 44).
Escorts (also received from Don Kindell, whose own work, which covers "Royal & other Navies Day-by-Day in World War 2" can be viewed at this website):
March 4: Acute.
March 4- March 8: Atherstone, Brocklesby, Kathiawar, Kumaon Man o'War, Moosejaw, Quantock.
March 6: Lady Hogarth.
March 8-March 18: Battleford, Kenogami, Napanee, Shediac, St. Croix.
March 9-March 18: Baddeck, Fort York, Prescott, Qualicum, Regina, Wedgeport.
Related external links:
SL, HG and MKS and MKF convoys - In Chronological order. The MKS and MKF convoys start on this page for 1942, while the 1943 convoys are listed on this page.
Liberty Ships - Alphabetical list (some of the ships listed as American in this convoy, were Liberty Ships).
This site has more on the the "Fort" and "Ocean" ships mentioned in this convoy.
Empire Ships - Also listed in alphabetical order. The site also has a section listing the Liberty ships.
To the next MKS convoy in my list MKS 10
