70 Years Ago Today, Convoy HX 300 Crossed the Atlantic!

Convoy HX 300, the 300th of the numbered series of World War II HX convoys, consisting of 166 merchant ships sailing from New York, Halifax, Sydney, and St. John’s, arrived safely in the Western Approaches (and arrived in UK ports by August 3).

These ships were arranged in 19 parallel columns to produce a formation approximately 9 miles (14 km) wide and 4 miles (6.4 km) long. The convoy was protected by 6 warships when it left New York (2 submarine chasers, 1 minesweeper, and 3 corvettes), 5 warships when it left Halifax (1 minesweeper and 4 corvettes), and 7 warships (1 frigate and 6 corvettes) when Canadian Escort Force C5 assumed responsibility mid-ocean. Three warships (Isles class trawlers) escorted the Sydney ships to the main convey.

This was a very well coordinated logistics effort! And now that we have Post-Panamax cargo ships, not one we’re likely to see again. (Hopefully!)