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Convoy TM 1
	Part of the Battle of the Atlantic, World War II
Date	28 December 1942 – 14 January 1943
Location	North Atlantic Ocean
Result	German victory
Belligerents
Germany	United Kingdom
Commanders and leaders
Karl Dönitz	United Kingdom Richard C. Boyle
Strength
Fourteen submarines	One destroyer and three corvettes (initial escort); Nine tankers
Casualties and losses
Five submarines damaged	Seven tankers sunk

Convoy TM 1 was a British convoy of World War II which suffered heavy losses from German U-boats while transporting oil from Trinidad to the Mediterranean between December 1942 and January 1943.

Background

During 1942 the reserves of oil in the United Kingdom fell from seven million tons to 5.2 million tons, causing concern among the British Government. This decline was the result of shipments of oil from the UK to North Africa to support Operation Torch and the subsequent Tunisia Campaign as well as difficulties in transporting oil from the United States caused by German submarine attacks on oil tankers, bad weather and delays to ship movements which resulted from the implementation of a convoy system in North American waters.^[1] In response, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill wrote to United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt on 17 December proposing that special oil convoys be run directly from the Caribbean Sea to the UK and Allied-controlled ports in the Mediterranean Sea in order to build up fuel stockpiles in these regions.^[2] Roosevelt did not agree to this request as the United States Government regarded British stockpiles (which were sufficient to cover six months' requirements) as being adequate and the proposed changes would have caused a shortage of aviation fuel in the United States. In addition, plans were already in place to increase the shipments of oil to the UK in convoys sailing from New York City and Halifax in Canada.^[3] The United States and British governments subsequently discussed ways to increase British imports of oil and other resources during late December 1942 and early 1943.^[4]

Separate to the discussions with the United States, the British Government ordered the Admiralty in late 1942 to dispatch at least three oil convoys directly from the Caribbean to the Mediterranean. These convoys would be protect by ships of the Royal Navy and would comprise Convoy TM 1, which was made up of slow tankers escorted mainly by corvettes, as well as Convoy TM (Fast) 1 and TM (Fast) 2, which comprised faster tankers and were escorted by destroyers.^[4]

In late 1942 Admiral Karl Dönitz, the commander of the German Navy's (Kriegsmarine) submarine force decided to dispatch a group of six Type VII and two Type IX submarines supported by the supply submarine U-463 to attack Allied shipping near Natal in Brazil. This force was designated Group Delphin (Dolphin), and sailed from ports in France between December 17 and 22.^[4]

Prelude

The ships of Convoy TM 1 gathered at Port of Spain in Trinidad.^[5] It comprised the British tankers British Dominion, British Vigilance, Cliona, Empire Lytton and Oltenia II as well as the Norwegian tankers Albert L. Ellsworth, Minister Weddel, Norvick and Vanja.^[6] British Escort Group 5 (B5) was assigned to escort the convoy; this group comprised the destroyer HMS Havelock and corvettes HMS Godetia, Saxifrage and Pimpernel.^[5] Escort Group 5 had been stationed in the Caribbean for six months, and had seen considerable action escorting convoys in that area as well as in the North Atlantic.^[7] It was not as experienced as the escort groups which operated in the North Atlantic under the Western Approaches Command, and only two of its ships (Havelock and Saxifrage) were fitted with high frequency direction finding equipment. All four escorts were also painted plain grey rather than the Western Approaches camouflage pattern, and this made them easier for German submarines to spot in the North Atlantic.^[5] The convoy's commodore was Captain A. Laddle, who was also the master of Oltenia II, and B5 was commanded by Commander Richard C. Boyle on board Havelock.^[5]

Battle

Aftermath

Convoy TM 1 was the only convoy related to Operation Torch to suffer heavy losses. Overall losses related to this operation were very low.^[8]

Notes

^ Blair (1998), pp. 142–143
^ Blair (1998), p. 143
^ Blair (1998), pp. 143–144
^ ^a ^b ^c Blair (1998), p. 144
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Woodman (2005), p. 577
^ Woodman (2005), p. 719
^ Kelshall (1994), p. 251
^ Roskill (1956), p. 430

References

Blair, Clay (1998). Hitler's U-Boat War. The Hunted, 1942 – 1945 (Modern Library ed.). New York: Random House. ISBN 0679640339.
Burn, Alan (1999). The Fighting Commodores : The Convoy commanders in the Second World War. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1557502838.
Kelshall, Gaylord T.M. (1994). The U-boat War in the Caribbean. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1557504520.
Roskill, S.W. (1956). The War At Sea 1939-1945. Volume II The Period of Balance. History of the Second World War. United Kingdom Military Series. London: Her Majesty's Stationary Office.
Woodman, Richard (2005). The Real Cruel Sea. The Merchant Navy in the Battle of the Atlantic, 1939-1943. London: John Murray. ISBN 0719565995.

[1] Blair (1998), pp. 142–143

[Blair_143-2] Blair (1998), p. 143

[3] Blair (1998), pp. 143–144

[Blair_144-4] Blair (1998), p. 144

[Woodman_577-5] Woodman (2005), p. 577

[Woodman_719-6] Woodman (2005), p. 719

[Kelshall_251-7] Kelshall (1994), p. 251

[8] Roskill (1956), p. 430

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