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Convoy SC-118 was the 118th of the numbered series of World War II Slow Convoys of merchant ships from Sydney, Cape Breton Island to Liverpool. Sixty-one ships departed New York City on 24 January 1943; and were met by Escort Group B-2 consisting of V class destroyers Vanessa and Vimy, the USCG Treasury Class Cutter Bibb, the Town class destroyer Beverly, Flower class corvettes Campanula, Mignonette, Abelia and Lobelia, and the convoy rescue ship Toward.

On 4 February U-187 reported sighting the convoy and was promptly sunk by Beverly and Vimy after Bibb and Toward triangulated High-Frequency radio Direction-Finder (HF/DF or Huff-Duff) location from the sighting report. Two ships were torpedoed by U-262 and U-413.

On 5 February the convoy escort was reinforced by the USCG Treasury Class Cutter Ingham and the Wickes class destroyers Babbitt and Schenck from Iceland.

In the pre-dawn hours of 7 February, U-402 torpedoed the 8,597-ton British freighter Afrika, the 9272-ton Norwegian tanker Daghild, the 6500-ton Greek freighter Kalliopi, the 6625-ton American tanker Robert E. Hopkins, the 6063-ton American cargo-liner Henry R. Mallory, and the 1571-ton rescue ship Toward. Only 224 were rescued from Henry R. Mallory's crew of 77, 34 Navy gunners, and the 384 American military personnel she was transporting to Iceland.

U-614 torpedoed the straggling 5730-ton British freighter Harmala while Lobelia sank U-609.

No. 220 Squadron RAF B-17 Flying Fortress J sank U-614 on 7 February. U-402 torpedoed the 4265-ton British freighter Newton Ash that night, but the convoy reached Liverpool without further loss on 12 February.

References

• Hague, Arnold (2000). The Allied Convoy System 1939-1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-019-3.
• Milner, Marc (1985). North Atlantic Run. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-450-0.
• Morison, Samuel Eliot (1975). History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Volume I The Battle of the Atlantic 1939-1943. Little, Brown and Company.
• Rohwer, J. and Hummelchen, G. (1992). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939-1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-105-X.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

1. Hague 2000 p.133
2. Hague 2000 p.135
3. Rohwer & Hummelchen 1992 p.191
4. Rohwer & Hummelchen 1992 p.191
5. Rohwer & Hummelchen 1992 p.191
6. Rohwer & Hummelchen 1992 p.191
7. Hague 2000 p.137
8. Morison 1975 p.336
9. Rohwer & Hummelchen 1992 p.191
10. Rohwer & Hummelchen 1992 p.191
11. Hague 2000 p.135

• North Atlantic convoys of World War II
• World War II Battle of the Atlantic