Escort Group B7

Escort Group B7 was a British formation of the Royal Navy which saw action during the Second World War; principally in the Battle of the Atlantic.

Formation

Escort Group B7 was one of seven such British naval groups which served with the Mid-Ocean Escort Force (MOEF). It provided convoy protection in the most dangerous middle section of the North Atlantic route. The MOEF was originally to be five American, five British and four Canadian groups. B7 was formed in the spring of 1942, following the inability of the USN to form groups A-4 and A-5 due to other commitments. To replace them, two new escort groups, Escort Group B6 and Escort Group B7, were formed.

Service history

File:HMS Firedrake (H79).jpg

B-7 Group Leader HMS Firedrake

Led by , under the leadership of Commander William Banks, B7 comprised six s; from the disbanded American group A-5 and , , , and . These were joined later by the destroyers HMS Chesterfield and Ripley.

B7's first convoys, in the spring of 1942, were uneventful and as the Battle of the Atlantic increased in intensity in the summer and autumn, the group's charges were escorted without loss. In December, while escorting Convoy ON 153, the convoy came under attack and three ships were sunk. During this action, on 11 December, Firedrake was torpedoed by the U-boat and sank with the loss of 168 of her crew, including her commander and the group's Senior Officer – Escort (SOE), Commander Eric Tilden. Thirty-five survived the torpedoing but only 27 managed to get on board Sunflower (Captain John Treasure Jones).

File:HMS Duncan.jpg

B7 Group Leader HMS Duncan

B7's new SOE was Commander Peter Gretton, of , a tough and capable leader, who quickly molded the group to his own image. At this point B7 comprised the destroyers Duncan and , the frigate and the corvettes HMS Alisma, Loosestrife, Pink, Sunflower and .

After several convoys had been escorted without loss, B7 covered Convoy HX 231 in April 1943. This came under attack by Wolfpack Lowenherz, which sank six ships, for the loss of two submarines destroyed and five damaged. In May 1943, B7 escorted Convoy ONS 5, sometimes regarded as the turning point of the Atlantic campaign. In a week-long battle against wolfpacks, Star, Amstel and later Fink, Convoy ONS 5 lost 13 ships, for the destruction of six U-boats and the disabling of seven. At least four of these were credited to B7. Later that month, returning with Convoy SC 130, B7 saw the destruction of between three and five U-boats (sources vary) for no loss. at least one of these was credited to B7. A series of uneventful convoys followed, as the U-boat Arm withdrew from the North Atlantic after Black May, while Gretton lobbied for a chance for B7 to operate as a Support Group. In October 1943 this was given, as the German U-boat arm launched its autumn offensive.

File:Corvettes of Escort Group B7.jpg

Corvettes of B7 Group moored in Londonderry. Alisma, Dianella, Sunflower and Kingcup. The white areas are where the official censor has painted out sensitive material

B7 was involved in the battles for convoys ONS 20 and ON 206, Convoy ON 207 and Convoy ON 208, during which nine U-boats were destroyed. The battle for Convoy ONS20/206 saw six U-boats sunk, of which was credited to Sunflower and was damaged by Duncan, to be destroyed later in an air attack. Convoy ON 207 saw three U-boats destroyed, by ships of B7, another shared with aircraft. B7 had steamed Template:Cvt, crossing the Atlantic five times. The group members had refuelled at sea on six occasions and had re-armed with depth charges at sea. B7 returned to escort duty on the North Atlantic route, continuing without major incident until the group was disbanded in the summer of 1944 as part of the preparations for Operation Neptune, the naval contribution to the Normandy invasion.

B7 ships

Ships in Escort Group B7

Ship	Flag	class	Notes
	Template:Naval	F-class destroyer	Torpedoed, 11 December 1942 , scuttled, 168 †, 27 rescued
	Template:Naval	D-class destroyer	Destroyer leader, replaced Firedrake
	Template:Naval
	Template:Naval
	Template:Naval
	Template:Naval
	Template:Naval
	Template:Naval
HMS Chesterfield	Template:Naval
HMS Ripley	Template:Naval
	Template:Naval	Admiralty V-class destroyer
	Template:Naval		New ship, joined September 1942

Losses

Ships lost

• Firedrake was torpedoed and sunk by U-211 when escorting Convoy ON 153 on 16 December 1942.

U-boats destroyed

U-boats destroyed

U-boat	Flag	Ship	Flag	Date	Notes
	Template:Navy/core		Template:Country data UKGBI	5 May 1943	Depth-charged
	Template:Navy/core		Template:Country data UKGBI	5/6 May 1943	Depth-charged
	Template:Navy/core		Template:Country data UKGBI	6 May 1943	Ramming, gunfire from
	Template:Navy/core		Template:Country data UKGBI	6 May 1943	Depth-charge, Hedgehog
	Template:Navy/core		Template:Country data UKGBI	19 May 1943	Depth-charge, Hedgehog
	Template:Navy/core		Template:Country data UKGBI	17 October 1943	Depth-charged, gunfire
	Template:Navy/core	Aircraft,	Template:Country data UKGBI	26 October 1943	Hedgehog
	Template:Navy/core		Template:Country data UKGBI	29 October 1943	Shared with

Commanding officers

Senior Officer Escort

Rank	Name	Dates
Commander	William Banks	4 May – 1 September 1942
Commander	Eric Tilden †	1–17 December 1942
Commander	Peter Gretton	December 1942 – May 1944

External links

• http://www.uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/4706.html Alisma at uboatnet
• http://www.uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/4386.html Firedrake at uboatnet
• http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-10DD-23F-Firedrake.htm Firedrake at naval history
• http://www.hmsfiredrake.co.uk/ Firedrake Association with survivors' accounts
• http://www.carlsen.karoo.net/ Sunflower crewman's website describing his 2nd Drafting
• http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-10DD-18D-Duncan.htm Duncan at naval history