Royal Canadian Navy : Convoy Reports of Proceedings, 1939-1945

Discussions related to the second world war.
Post Reply
User avatar
Temujin
Meritorious
Meritorious
Posts: 2942
Joined: Sat Apr 14, 2018 6:39 pm
Commendations: 143

Royal Canadian Navy : Convoy Reports of Proceedings, 1939-1945

Post by Temujin » Mon May 21, 2018 4:34 pm

Royal Canadian Navy : Convoy Reports of Proceedings, 1939-1945

Heritage Canadiana digitized reels of LAC records

http://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocih ... kan_135757

User avatar
Temujin
Meritorious
Meritorious
Posts: 2942
Joined: Sat Apr 14, 2018 6:39 pm
Commendations: 143

Re: Royal Canadian Navy : Convoy Reports of Proceedings, 1939-1945

Post by Temujin » Fri May 25, 2018 1:24 am

The convoy records in the above post, contain hundreds, if not thousands, of signals, and other messages and information about various convoys. Some of the most interesting information is in the last reels of thes set. These reels contain the Convoy Plots (the actual route) of various convoys.

Below is an example of information that this reels contain:

Convoy AT 84
DCE3ED2B-7DE1-4755-A9FD-03FB1F02057A.jpeg
DCE3ED2B-7DE1-4755-A9FD-03FB1F02057A.jpeg (53.35 KiB) Viewed 5320 times
597A144A-6F4F-4B81-9D9C-A938D77F76D0.jpeg
597A144A-6F4F-4B81-9D9C-A938D77F76D0.jpeg (161.93 KiB) Viewed 5320 times
The above files are “screen shots” and not very clear on this post. But the actual LAC reel can be “zoomed” and details are clearer

Information on Convoy AT 84
D6EFA2A8-427F-4DE9-8096-394FB48DFBF2.jpeg
D6EFA2A8-427F-4DE9-8096-394FB48DFBF2.jpeg (199.63 KiB) Viewed 5320 times
Historical Data and Infomation about AT Convoys:
0534D824-B66C-4DF3-A679-8B91D7EBBA20.jpeg
0534D824-B66C-4DF3-A679-8B91D7EBBA20.jpeg (98.15 KiB) Viewed 5311 times
RMS Queen Elizabeth underway in the Atlantic Ocean, 1940s ww2dbase

AT/TA CONVOYS AND INDEPENDENT TRANSPORTS

1. As originally organized, AT convoys were military or troop convoys from U. S. to U. K., returning as TA convoys. Following our entry in the war, 9 AT convoys (AT 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20 and 23) were sailed before being discontinued in September 1942. These consisted of 84 ships and 100 escorts, an average of 9 ships and 11 escorts each. Usually the AT convoys combined with NA troop convoys from Halifax, and the composition here stated includes the NA's. U. S. Army records indicate a total of 127,000 embarkations in 7 AT convoys. No casualties from enemy action was suffered.

2. After AT 23 sailing September 1942 there were no more AT's organized as convoys. The designations AT/TA thereafter applied only to a dozen or more [of the] largest and fastest transports sailing independently between New York, Boston or Halifax and U. K. AT 21 was the Queen Elizabeth proceeding alone, while AT 19, 22 and 24 were the Queen Mary alone. Incidentally, it was as AT 24 that the Queen Mary sank the British cruiser Curacao in a collision in which the warship had proceeded from U. K. to rendezvous off Ireland and escort her in.

3. One of the most satisfying aspects of the Battle of the Atlantic was the multitude of independent crossings performed by these "Monsters" without the loss of a ship, or even a person, as the result of enemy action. This perfect record in the performance of a duty of the highest responsibility - the safe delivery of millions of troops to the European theater of operation - was accomplished by means of fine teamwork between the British and ourselves involving accurate U/boat intelligence, sound routing and diversions, excellent seamanship and general good management. Certainly the high speed of these liners was a vital factor, and surely good luck played its part, too.

Following is a list of most of the large troop transports which sailed independently either as AT's to U. K. or as individual ships to the Mediterranean, showing their normal troop lifting capacity and speed. An idea of the number of troops carried may be gained from the statement that during the year 1944 the Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Mary each made 13 trips from New York to the Clyde, with an average of about 12,000 troops per trip. This was delivering troops to England at the rate of 13,000 per month per "Queen". Of course, the other ships were much smaller, averaging perhaps half the size, and being slower made fewer trips per year.
529C4FE1-5F5E-4B99-BCD3-45588D9A3EF6.jpeg
529C4FE1-5F5E-4B99-BCD3-45588D9A3EF6.jpeg (791.87 KiB) Viewed 5320 times

User avatar
Temujin
Meritorious
Meritorious
Posts: 2942
Joined: Sat Apr 14, 2018 6:39 pm
Commendations: 143

Re: Royal Canadian Navy : Convoy Reports of Proceedings, 1939-1945

Post by Temujin » Fri May 25, 2018 1:38 am

A second example of a Shorter Convoy, Convoy Pilot

http://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocih ... 41?r=0&s=6

Convoy GS 55
2AEB2C39-FDC4-4204-A398-90F5FAE60DD5.jpeg
2AEB2C39-FDC4-4204-A398-90F5FAE60DD5.jpeg (155.86 KiB) Viewed 5319 times
Original Plot
B3B3754F-BEBB-4213-897E-2349D9945967.jpeg
B3B3754F-BEBB-4213-897E-2349D9945967.jpeg (320.45 KiB) Viewed 5319 times
Zoom IN on Original Plot
84599409-07AD-4175-8DD8-142A226A436E.jpeg
84599409-07AD-4175-8DD8-142A226A436E.jpeg (660.16 KiB) Viewed 5319 times
Convoy Details:
A4A8274C-5C2E-4546-9853-50992974EF9F.jpeg
A4A8274C-5C2E-4546-9853-50992974EF9F.jpeg (238.9 KiB) Viewed 5319 times
16252232-027D-4DCF-94D0-4A982BE6C4A8.jpeg
16252232-027D-4DCF-94D0-4A982BE6C4A8.jpeg (154.97 KiB) Viewed 5310 times
B61858AE-483A-4C98-9323-5888D76B2012.jpeg
B61858AE-483A-4C98-9323-5888D76B2012.jpeg (21.65 KiB) Viewed 5310 times

Post Reply