Draft:UGL Convoys in World War II

During World War II, in April and May 1943 several important convoys of warships in the U.S. Navy were organized on the east coast of the United States and sent across the Atlantic, bringing a large number of landing ships and landing craft to the Mediterranean. These vessels and the soldiers they brought, were essential to the war effort of the Allies in the European theatre of operations. Three of these convoys were designated UGL.2, UGL.3 and UGL.4. The acronym indicates the following: U indicates that the origin of the group was in the United States; G indicates that the initial destination in Europe was Gibraltar; L indicates that it was a convoy made up primarily of landing ships. The UGL convoys originated in New York City, and stopped briefly in Bermuda on their way across the Atlantic. During this same time several other convoys (designated UGS) also traveled to the Mediterranean, also containing significant numbers of landing ships. Information on these is also included here.

Landing ship convoys

The addition of these landing ships to the Allied forces in the Mediterranean was an important step in preparation for invasions of southern Europe later that year (Operation Husky in Sicily and Operation Avalanche in Italy). The invasion of Sicily commenced on 9 July 1943, with almost one-half million American, British and Canadian soldiers landing on the shores in the initial assault. In that action seventy-four LSTs comprised the major transportation method to bringing troops and equipment to that battle. Many LCIs were also part of the UGL convoys and those troop-carrying vessels were important in the landings as well. Numerous smaller landing craft (LCTs, LCVPs, etc.) were required in these amphibious assaults. Since these smaller vessels did not have the ability to cross the ocean on their own, as the LSTs sailed to the Mediterranean each carried several of the smaller craft. On the top deck of the LST was secured an LCT; additional landing craft were stored in the LCT, as well as on davits along each side of the LST. So each LST brought as many as five smaller vessels to the war front. The value of these convoys to the war effort can be illustrated with this example: as Convoy UGL.4 approached the Mediterranean there were 32 LSTs in the group, transporting about 150 landing craft that would be used in the upcoming invasions.

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LST-507 sails, with an LCT secured to the top deck (NARA).

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LST-350 en route to North Africa with an LCT and smaller landing craft the top on deck; 15 April 1943 (NARA).

Items to note related to the information below:

• Various sources may include information different from that stated here. Much of the information in this article comes from the war diaries and deck logs of warships in these convoys, compiled in the online data base Fold3.
• Data on the number of ships in each convoy are approximate. Reasons include: frequently ships dropped out of a group, possibly due to mechanical problems, and later joined another convoy. Also quite often convoys combined. For example, UGS.7A and UGL.3 sailed together from New York. Another example: UGS.4 departed New York with 15 LSTs, but shortly after that convoy left Bermuda it included 23 LSTs. Some ships from earlier convoys had been repaired in Bermuda and were included and two other smaller groups joined.
• No convoy with the identification UGL.1 sailed.

UGL convoys

Here are details on the UGL convoys.

UGL-2, which included 32 LSTS and 37 LCIs, departed New York City on 5 April 1943. Like the other UGL convoys, they made a stop in Bermuda, arriving Bermuda 9 April and departing on the 13th. Escorts included five U.S. Navy destroyers (USS Glennon, Nelson, Maddox, Butler, Herndon) and three PC boats. Details on the convoy can be found in the war diary from the Glennon. Also included in the group were minesweepers, an oiler, and a fleet tug. None of these ships were lost in the cruise across the Atlantic, and there were no confirmed contacts with enemy ships or aircraft. The convoy sailed through the Strait of Gibraltar on 30 April, and the various ships then proceded to different ports on the coast of North Africa.

UGL-3, which included 14 LSTs, departed New York on 14 April 1943. Before leaving New York this group combined with Convoy UGS-7A which was made up of 47 merchant ships. Escorts included protecting this large combined convoy included seven U.S. Navy destroyers (USS Livermore, Kearny, Eberle, Ericsson, MacLeish, McCormick, and Overton), and 5 PC boats. The combined convoy UGL-3/UGS-7A stopped in Bermuda and eventually arrived at Gibraltar 6 May. Details on the convoy can be found in the war diary from the McCormick. No ships were lost as this convoy crossed the Atlantic.

UGL-4 departed New York on 1 May 1943, comprised of 15 LSTs, two fuel ships and eight escorts (two destroyers and six PC boats).. This group also made an intermediate stop in Bermuda.

Convoy UGL-4 (from NYC to Bermuda)

	hull numbers/names
LSTs	2, 5, 7, 16, 62, 308, 311, 312, 331, 345, 370, 371, 380, 382, 429
Fuel ships	USS Guyandot, USS Conasauga
Destroyers	USS Champlin, USS Ordronaux
PC-boats	591, 551, 542, 557, 558, 621

On 9 May Convoy UGL.4 departed Bermuda, after the addition of more vessels, and sailed for North Africa, now comprised of a total of 19 LSTs, 13 minesweepers, four fuel ships, two destroyers, six PC boats, 13 subchasers and a tugboat. Shortly thereafter they were joined by another group of 13 LSTs. Now the total of 50 ships plus 23 escorts included 32 LSTs (four sailing under the British flag). This collection of ships was one of immense value in the war effort: LSTs were the primary means of delivering troops and equipment to the beach. Minesweepers were essential to clear the channels ahead of the landing ships so they could safely move to the beach. The total number of LSTs involved in the 1943 invasions of Sicily and Italy was around 75, so Convoy UGL.4 provided nearly half of that fleet. After the group departed Bermuda there followed an uneventful two and a half weeks sailing across the Atlantic, with no contacts with U-boats reported. On May 25 the convoy passed through the Strait of Gibraltar. The warships then proceeded to various ports in Algeria and Tunisia. There were 45 days left to prepare for the invasion of Sicily.

UGS Convoys with landing ships

In this same time frame, several of the UGS series of convoys also included a significant number of landing ships. During World War II there were 100 UGS convoys, most comprised of merchants ships with escorts. The designation UGS indicated United States to Gibraltar Slow. The UGS convoys described below included many landing ships and sailed in the spring of 1943.

UGS-6A included 20 LSTs & 30 LCIs and combined with convoy KMS.12 on 13 April. One vessel included was LST-325, which carried LCT-202 on deck, plus an LCM & LCVP inside the LCT, plus two LCVPs on davits. This combined convoy departed 19 March from NYC; stopped in Bermuda and departed 27 March. On 12 April the convoy passed through Gibraltar, some of the ships arriving in Oran Algeria on 13 April.

UGS-7 which included 5 LSTS departed Hampton Roads 1 April 1943, arrived Bone 22 April. USS Claxton was one of seven new destroyers serving as escorts for this convoy. Information from their war diary states that they entered Casablanca harbor 19 April. Two ships in Convoy UGS-7 were sunk in the Mediterranean, after passing through Gibraltar, by German submarine U-565. The SS Michigan was a US merchant ship that had sailed from New York. On the morning of 20 April 1943, just after entering the Mediterranean, this ship was struck by one torpedo from U-565, sinking within an hour. The 61 men on board were all able to survive the attack and enter lifeboats. In the same attack, a torpedo from U-565 sank the Sidi-Bel-Abbès, a French ship transporting Senegalese soldiers from Casablanca to Oran. Of the 1131 souls on board, 611 died.

UGS-8 departed NYC 28 April, arrived Algiers 21 May; included 18 LSTs.

UGS-8A, with a total of 83 ships, departed NYC 14 May 1943 and arrived Tripoli 8 June. This convoy included 12 LSTs.

SUMMARY

These convoys delivered the large number of landing ships required for the Allied forces to attack the "soft underbelly" of Europe. Those vessels were essential to carrying out the successful landings on Sicily and Italy followed shortly thereafter, effecting a major turning point in the war in Europe.