Escort Group B2 was a convoy escort British formation of the Royal Navy which saw action during the Second World War, principally in the Battle of the Atlantic. The group was under the command of Cdr Donald Macintyre, one of Britain's most successful anti-submarine warfare commanders.
Formation Escort Group B2 was one of seven British escort groups which served with the Mid-Ocean Escort Force (MOEF), which provided convoy protection in the most dangerous midsection of the North Atlantic route.
The group was formed in the spring of 1942 and originally consisted of the Havant-class destroyer as group leader with the Leamington, V-class destroyer , and the s , , and .Rohwer & Hummelchen, 2005, p. 124
Later in the year the low-endurance destroyers Leamington and Veteran were replaced by longer-ranged V and W-class destroyers and and the Flower-class corvettes , , and joined the group.Rohwer & Hummelchen, 2005, p. 227
Service history The group commenced convoy escort duties in April 1942, in the critical mid-ocean section of the North Atlantic route, operating between Londonderry and St John's Newfoundland.
The first convoys, in the spring of 1942, were uneventful and as the pace of the Battle of the Atlantic heated up in the summer and autumn the group's convoys were escorted without loss.
In October 1942, Convoy ON 138 came under attack but a vigorous defence by B2 ensured no ships were lost.Blair, 1994, p. 42 In December 1942 it was accompanying Convoy HX 219 when the convoy came under attack. Hesperus responded and counter-attacked and destroyed by ramming it, putting Hesperus out of action for two months.
In February 1943 a depleted B2 under temporary command of Cdr Proudfoot escorted Convoy SC 118. This convoy came under attack by the wolfpack (arrow) and lost eight ships for three U-boats destroyed in one of the hardest fought battles of the campaign.
In April during an attack on Convoy ONS 4, ships of the group sank .
In May in an attack on Convoy SC 129, B2 sank and damaged U-402 and U-223 for the loss of two ships.
A series of uneventful convoys followed, as the U-boat arm withdrew from the North Atlantic after Black May, a state of affairs which continued until the end of the year.
During this period the group had escorted over 30 convoys, totalling over 900 ships of which only ten were lost. Hague App III No warships were lost from the group, which accounted for three U-boats destroyed and two others damaged and shared in the destruction of three others, in its two years of operation.
U-boats destroyed , sunk by Hesperus and Vanessa on 26 December 1942 Kemp, 1997, p. 98 , sunk by Hesperus on 23 April 1943 Kemp, 1997, p. 111 sunk by Hesperus on 12 May 1943 Kemp, 1997, pp. 115–116
Convoys escorted Outbound Homebound ON 83 SC 81 ON 97 SC 86 On 107 HX 198 ON 118 HX 203 ON 128 HX 208 ON 138 HX 213 ON 148 HX 219 ON 159 SC 118 ON 170 SC 123 ONS 4 SC 129 ONS 9 SC 134 ONS 13 SC138 ON 198 SC141 KMS 28 MKS 27 ONS 22 HX 267 ONS 25 HX 273 SL 157 .
Senior Officer Escort FromToCaptain April 1942 April 1944 Cdr Donald MacIntyre
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