Convoy OA 178
Convoy damaged in 1940, causing subsequent convoys to be routed from Scotland / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Convoy OA 178 (Outbound Atlantic) was an Atlantic convoy of 14 ocean-going ships and local coasters, comprising 53 ships. The convoy sailed from Southend-on-Sea in the Thames Estuary on 3 July 1940 via the English Channel, where local traffic dispersed to south coast ports. The convoy was dissolved on 6 July 1940 as its surviving ocean-going ships joined convoys to transatlantic destinations. On 4 July, Portland Harbour and the convoy were attacked by Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive-bombers, followed by Schnellboote (E-boats to the British) attacks on the remnants of the convoy, during the night of 4/5 July. No support was forthcoming from RAF Fighter Command and in the aftermath, the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, was critical of the lack of protection afforded to the convoy. Henceforth OA convoys were routed northabout Scotland but local Coastal East and Coastal West coal convoys continued and suffered more attacks from the combination of Stukas and E-Boats (S-boote).
Convoy OA 178 | |||||||
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Part of The Second World War | |||||||
Formation of Ju 87 Stuka dive-bombers (photographed over Poland in 1939) | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Luftwaffe Kriegsmarine |
Royal Navy Merchant Navy | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Oskar Dinort (StG 2) Carl-Heinz Birnbacher (S 24) |
F. J. G. Jones (Clarkia, escort commander) B. G. Scufield (Broke) R. P. Galer (convoy commodore) A. B. Fasting (vice convoy commodore) | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
26 Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive-bombers of III./StG51 24 Ju 87s of I./StG2 4 E-boats (S-boote) of the 1st Flotilla (1.SFlotille) |
1 corvette, 1 destroyer 14 ocean-going merchant ships plus coasters | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
1 Ju 87 shot down, 2 crew killed 1 Ju 87 crashed, 2 crew rescued 1 Bf 109 damaged on landing |
Convoy: 5 ships sunk 11 damaged 5 damaged in harbour |