TS-37
Takoradi - Freetown (West Africa)30 Apr 1943 - 1 May 1943
| The Convoy | 18 ships |
| First sighting | On 30 Apr 1943 by U-515 |
| Escorts | One Corvette and 3 armed trawlers. |
U-boats | U-515 (Henke). |
The battle | The convoy leaves Takoradi on the 18th and during the following days the corvette picks up a lot of radio signals from U-boats operating in the vicinity. She does however not send a distress signal but keeps radio silence. A request for urgent reinforcement is signalled by the Aldis-lamp to a passing Hudson patrol aircraft. But the pilot makes only a routine rapport on his return and so the call for help is lost. This proves to be fatal when U-515, commanded by one of the most experienced U-boat officers, makes contact in the late afternoon of the 30th and attacks at dusk. In three approaches she sinks 4 ships before midnight and another 3 in the morning. After the second attack the escort is reinforced by three destroyers coming from Freetown. U-515 breaks off the fight. |
Article compiled by Tom Linclau
Ships hit from convoy TS-37
| Date | U-boat | Commander | Name of ship | Tons | Nat. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 Apr 1943 | U-515 | Werner Henke |  | Bandar Shahpour | 5,236 |  | br | |
| 30 Apr 1943 | U-515 | Werner Henke | Corabella | 5,682 | | br | ||
| 30 Apr 1943 | U-515 | Werner Henke | | Kota Tjandi | 7,295 |  | nl | |
| 30 Apr 1943 | U-515 | Werner Henke | Nagina | 6,551 | | br | ||
| 1 May 1943 | U-515 | Werner Henke | City of Singapore | 6,555 | | br | ||
| 1 May 1943 | U-515 | Werner Henke | | Clan Macpherson | 6,940 | | br | |
| 1 May 1943 | U-515 | Werner Henke | Mokambo | 4,996 |  | be | ||
| 43,255 | ||||||||
7 ships sunk (43,255 tons). Legend | ||||||||
| 7 ships sunk for a total of 43,255 GRT |
Resource id #38
ms = 07.15N13.49W,07.19N13.50W,07.55N14.16W,07.58N14.14W
Locations of ships hit from convoy TS-37.
Some 5 convoys on route TS were hit by U-boats in the war. |
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