Convoy ON 127

10–14 September 1942, North Atlantic, between Ireland and Newfoundland

German victory; seven merchant ships and the destroyer Ottawa sunk

Westbound convoy ON 127, 32 ships, sailed from Liverpool in September 1942 with escort group C4: two Canadian destroyers, St. Croix and Ottawa, and four corvettes. None had working radar or HF/DF. In mid-Atlantic, beyond the reach of most aircraft, the thirteen U-boats of the Vorwärts pack attacked over four days, the only North Atlantic convoy battle of 1942–43 in which every U-boat sent against it fired torpedoes. Seven ships were sunk and four damaged, and on the night of 13–14 September, as the convoy came within reach of air cover from Newfoundland, U-91 hit Ottawa with two torpedoes. She sank with 114 of her crew. No U-boat was sunk, and the Admiralty concluded that the Canadian groups needed more training and better equipment.