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Notable events involving Runswick Bay include:

26 May 1941

Convoy OG 63.

This convoy was assembled to the west of the North Channel on 26 May 1941 and was made up of ships from four sections; the Milford Haven, Liverpool, Clyde and Oban sections.

The Milford Haven section (sailed 24 May 1941) was made up of the following merchant vessels;
Dimitrios Inglessis (Greek, 5275 GRT, built 1918), Disa (Swedish, 2002 GRT, built 1918), Fjord (Norwegian, 4032 GRT, built 1914), Katvaldis (British, 3163 GRT, built 1907), Lapwing (British, 1449 GRT, built 1920), Osric (Swedish, 1418 GRT, built 1919), Pandis (Greek, 4981 GRT, built 1912) and Pelayo (British, 1346 GRT, built 1927). They were escorted by the escort destroyers HMS Vivien (Lt.Cdr. S.H. Beattie, RN), HMS Woolston (Lt.Cdr. K.W. Michell, RN) and the A/S trawler HMS Paynter (Lt. R.H. Nossiter, RANVR).

The Liverpool section (sailed 25 May 1941) was made up of the following merchant vessels;
Avoceta (British, 3442 GRT, built 1923), Empire Dunlin (British, 6323 GRT, built 1919), Leonidas N. Condylis (Greek, 3923 GRT, built 1912), Lublin (Polish, 1409 GRT, built 1932), Marionga D. Thermiotis (Greek, 4784 GRT, built 1904), Solitaire (Norwegian, 3350 GRT, built 1920) and Vernon City (British, 4748 GRT, built 1929). With them the destroyers HMS Vanquisher (Cdr. N.V. Dickinson, DSC, RN), HMS Winchelsea (Lt.Cdr. W.A.F. Hawkins, OBE, DSC, RN), HMS Reading (Lt.Cdr. D.V. Clift, RN) and the corvettes HMS Hibiscus (Lt. H. Roach, RNR) and HMS Pimpernel (Lt. F.H. Thornton, RNR) also departed Liverpool. With the Liverpool section the M/S trawlers HMS Runswick Bay (T/Lt. S. Sparrow, RNVR) and HMS St. Melante (T/A/Lt.Cdr. L.C. Gilbert, RNR) also sailed for passage to the South Atlantic Station via Gibraltar.

From Preston the following merchant vessels sailed on the 25th;
Como (British, 1295 GRT, built 1910), Cortes (British, 1390 GRT, built 1919) and Erato (British, 1335 GRT, built 1923).

The Milford Haven section, Liverpool section and Preston section joined company around 1820B/25.

On the 26th, HMS Vivien, HMS Woolston and HMS Paynter arrived at Belfast.

The Clyde section (sailed 26 May 1941) was made up of the following merchant vessels;
Christine Marie (British, 3895 GRT, built 1919), Delilian (British, 6423 GRT, built 1923), Glen Head (British, 2011 GRT, built 1909), King Edward (British, 5224 GRT, built 1919), Mars (Dutch, 1662 GRT, built 1925) and Taberg (Swedish, 1392 GRT, built 1920). The sloop HMS Wellington (Lt.Cdr. W.F.R. Segrave, RN) and armed boarding vessel HMS Corinthian (A/Cdr. E.J.R. Pollitt, RNR) also sailed with the Clyde section.

The Oban section (sailed 26 May 1941) was made up of the following merchant vessels;
Baron Lovat (British, 3395 GRT, built 1926), Belgravian (British, 3136 GRT, built 1937), Blairdevon (British, 3282 GRT, built 1925), Campus (British, 3667 GRT, built 1925), Dago II (British, 1993 GRT, built 1917), Empire Brook (British, 2852 GRT, built 1941), Empire Strait (British, 2841 GRT, built 1940), Shuna (British, 1575 GRT, built 1937), Tintern Abbey (British, 2471 GRT, built 1939), Waziristan (British, 5135 GRT, built 1924) and William Wilberforce (British, 4013 GRT, built 1930).

Around the time of the final assembly of the convoy the destroyers HMS Reading, HMS Vanquisher and HMS Winchelsea topped off with fuel at Londonderry while the corvette HMS Freesia (Lt.Cdr. T.P.G. Crick, RN) also joined having departed Londonderry on 27 April.

HMS Vanquisher however arrived back at Londonderry on 29 May 1941 after having parted company with the convoy.

Around 0800A/30, in position 51°00'N, 21°40'W, HMS Reading, HMS Winchelsea, HMS Freesia, HMS Hibiscus and HMS Pimpernel parted company with the convoy.

Around 1130A/30, in position 50°50'N, 21°40'W, ships with destinations in North America and Caribbean parted company. This were the following merchant vessels;
Blairdevon (arrived at Clarke City on 9 June), Campus (arrived at Three Rivers on 9 June), Delilian (arrived at Quebec on 9 June), Dimitrios Inglessis (arrived at Montreal on 10 June), Empire Dunlin (arrived at Philadelphia on 13 June), Fjord (arrived at Wabana on 11 June), Katvaldis (arrived at Halifax on 9 June), King Edward (arrived at Three Rivers on 11 June), Marionga D. Thermiotis (arrived at Sorel on 11 June), Solitaire (arrived at New York on 15 June) and Vernon City (arrived at Philadelphia on 13 June).

Around 1900A/1, in position 44°00'N, 21°30'W, ships with destinations in the South Atlantic area parted company. This were the following merchant vessels;
Belgravian (arrived at Bathurst on 9 June [which seem a bit fast !?]), Christine Marie (arrived at Freetown on 18 June), Dago II (arrived at Bathurst on 13 June), Leonidas N. Condylis (arrived at Freetown on 14 June), Mars (arrived at Bathurst on 13 June), Waziristan (arrived at Pernambuco on 19 June) and William Wilberforce (arrived at Freetown on 13 June).

Around 2330A/1, the submarine HrMs O 23 (Lt.Cdr. G.B.M. van Erkel, RNN) and A/S trawler HMS Lady Hogarth (T/Lt. S.G. Barnes, RNR) joined the convoy.

At 1825A/5, the Italian submarine Velella sighted and reported the convoy in position 35°38'N, 11°22'W.

At 2312A/5, the Italian submarine Marconi also sighted the convoy.

At 0422A/6, the Marconi commenced to attack the convoy. A total of 6 (3x2) torpedoes were fired and the merchant vessels Baron Lovat and Taberg were hit and sunk in these attacks.

At 0604A/6, the Velella also attacked with torpedoes but no hits were obtained. Following this attack she was fired upon by HMS Wellington which claimed a hit near the conning tower but this was not the case.

At 0825A/6, a German Focke Wulf Condor aircraft attacked the convoy in position 35°58'N, 10°35'W, and managed to hit the merchant vessel Glen Head with one ore more bombs. She sank in two minutes.

At 1016A/6, the Italian submarine Emo sighted the smoke of a convoy in position 35°45'N, 10°15'W and six minutes later she sent out an enemy report. The submarine then closed to the attack.

At 1400A/6, in position 35°53'N, 09°46'W, the Emo made a submerged attack in which two torpedoes were fired and two ships were claimed sunk but this was not the case. The Tintern Abbey was in fact hit in No.4 hold but the torpedo failed to explode and only caused a small leak. HMS Wellington and HMS Lady Hogarth then searched for the attacked but were unable to gain contact.

Around 2045A/6, the motor launches ML 129 and ML 134 joined the convoy escort and were placed on either beam of the convoy.

Around 0140A/7, the corvette HMS Azalea (Lt. G.C. Geddes, RNR) joined the convoy escort.

Around 0600A/7, the motor launches ML 132 and ML 135 joined the convoy escort.

Around 0842A/7, the destroyer HMS Wrestler (Lt. E.L. Jones, DSC, RN) joined the convoy escort. She parted company around 1237A/7.

Around 1240A/7, near Cape Trafalgar, the following merchant vessels parted company with the convoy to proceed directly to ports in Portugal and south-west Spain. This were the following merchant vessels;
Cortes (arrived at Lisbon on 9 June), Empire Strait (arrived at Lisbon on 8 June), Erato (arrived at Oporto on 9 June), Osric (arrived at Lisbon on 9 June) and Shuna (arrived at Huelva on 8 June).

The remainder of the convoy arrived at Gibraltar around 1630A/7. (1)