See also Convoys HX 317, HX 318, HX 319, HX 323, HX 324, HX 325 and HX 326, as well as JW 63.

Br=British, Am=American, Norw-Norwegian

s=sunk, †=dead

Black Ranger was escort oiler.

The close escort (named below) left in the afternoon of Febr. 16 in order to conduct and A/S hunt outside Kola Inlet; Russian aircraft was also requested in the morning of the 17th. During this night operation, U-425 was sunk by Alnwick Castle and Lark with great loss of life. However, Lark was torpedoed on Febr. 17 by U-968 and towed to Kola, total loss (later stripped and abandoned to the Russians as a hulk). U-968 then went on to sink Thomas Scott (in ballast, 40 passengers [evacuees from Sørøy*], no casualties). That same day, the corvette Bluebell blew up and sank after having been hit by U-711 (only 1 survived).

*Several ships had civilian evacuees from Sørøy on board (see JW 64, as well as my text for Skiensfjord), among them Lebaron Russel Briggs. 2 days after departure, a passenger gave birth to a son, who was named Lebaron and grew up to become a captain.

The convoy was now greatly scattered due to the severe weather, and several ships suffered damage (12 destroyers were docked with weather damage on return to Britain). By Febr. 20, when most of the ships (all except 4) had been assembled again, more than 25 enemy aircraft attacked, though no ships were hit. The convoy was again scattered by the hurricane force winds, but was again re-assembled. A force of torpedo bombers attacked on Febr. 23 but missed, though the straggler S/S Henry Bacon was hit by an air torpedo (22 [26?] died, including the captain, Alfred Carini, and 7 gunners out of a complement of 41 and 26 gunners). The 64 survivors were rescued by escort vessels and taken to Scotland. More detailed info can be found in my text for Idefjord.

Escorts (same as for inbound JW 64):
Febr. 17-March 1 (close escort): Sloops Cygnet and Lapwing, corvettes Alnwick Castle, Bamborough Castle and Rhododendron (sloop Lark and corvette Bluebell were also part of this group, but were torpedoed, as mentioned). Additionally, the destroyer Whitehall was part of the close escort, but detached on Febr. 21.
Febr. 17-Febr. 27: Cruiser Bellona, carriers Campania and Nairana, destroyers Onslaught, Onslow, Opportune, Orwell, Serapis, Zambesi, Zealous, Zest and Canadian Sioux.
Febr. 21-Febr. 26: Destroyers Savage and Scourge.
Febr. 26-Febr. 27: Destroyer Zebra.
Febr. 25-Febr. 27: Destroyers Cavalier, Myngs and Scorpion.

Related external links:
The loss of U-425

The attack on HMS Lark

The attack on Thomas Scott

The attack on Bluebell

SS Henry Bacon