Acanthus
Corvette

Updated Aug. 22-2010

To Acanthus on the "Ships starting with A" page.

Convoy Escort Duties:

Transcribed from a document received from Don Kindell - His source: The late Arnold Hague's database.

Follow the convoy links provided for more details on them - the links in bold text go to pages on my own website. * The ON and ONS convoys mentioned below will be added to individual pages in my Convoys section; in the meantime, the ships sailing in them (and escorts) are named in the section listing ships in all ON convoys and on the page for ships in ONS convoys (escorts for the latter series can be found on this page). Note also that the entire HX series and SC series will eventually be updated and completed, including the already existing convoys (some have already been updated); for now, please see ships in all HX convoys (and escorts) and ships in all SC convoys (with escorts). It'll be noticed that Eglantine and/or the other corvettes are also listed in some of these convoys. See also the narrative below.
	Convoy:	Dates present:	Convoy departed and arrived:
1941	ON 34	Nov. 7-Nov. 12	From Liverpool Nov. 7, dispersed Nov. 21
	SL91GS (external link, escorts not mentioned)	Nov. 13-Nov. 19	Formed Nov. 12, arrived Liverpool Nov. 19
1942	ON 58*	Jan. 21	From Liverpool Jan. 20, returned Jan. 21
	HX 171	Jan. 30-Febr. 1	From Halifax Jan. 20, to Liverpool Febr. 1
	ON 64*	Febr. 8-Febr. 13	From Liverpool Febr. 7, to Halifax Febr. 24
	HX 174	Febr. 17-Febr. 21	From Halifax Febr. 7, to Liverpool Febr. 21
	ON 73*	March 6-March 16	From Liverpool March 5, dispersed March 16
	HX 181	March 24	From Halifax March 21, to Liverpool Apr. 2
	HX 182	March 30-Apr. 7	From Halifax March 27, to Liverpool Apr. 9
	ON 86*	Apr. 14-Apr. 26	From Liverpool Apr. 14, to Cape Cod Apr. 29
	SC 83	May 12-May 22	From Halifax May 7, to Liverpool May 23
	ON 101*	June 6-June 14	From Liverpool June 5, to Boston June 18
	SC 88	June 21-July 2	From Sydney, C.B. June 19, to Liverpool July 4
	ON 111*	July 11-July 19	From Liverpool July 10, dispersed July 24
	HX 200	July 30-Aug. 6	From Halifax July 27, to Liverpool Aug. 7
	ON 122	Aug. 17-Aug. 28	From Liverpool Aug. 15, dispersed Sept. 3
	HX 205	Sept. 2-Sept. 11	From Halifax Aug. 30, to Liverpool Sept. 11
	ON 132*	Sept. 20-Oct. 4	From Liverpool Sept. 19, to New York City Oct. 8
	SC 104*	Oct. 10-Oct. 21	From New York City Oct. 3, to Liverpool Oct. 21 (see also Potentilla)
	ON 155	Dec. 20-Dec. 30	From Liverpool Dec. 19, to New York City Jan. 6-1943
1943	SC 116*	Jan. 12-Jan. 27	From New York City Jan. 4, to Liverpool Jan. 29
	ON 165	Febr. 3-Febr. 20	From Liverpool Febr. 2, to New York City March 1
	HX 227*	Febr. 25-March 5	From New York City Febr. 18, to Liverpool March 6
	WP 313 (external link - incomplete)	March 24-March 25	From Milford Haven March 23, to Portsmouth March 25
	ONS 6*	Apr. 30-May 14	From Liverpool Apr. 29, to Halifax May 17
	SC 131	May 22-May 31	From Halifax May 18, to Liverpool May 31
	ON 189*	June 17-June 24	From Liverpool June 16, to New York City July 1
	HX 246	July 6-July 11	From New York City June 30, to Liverpool July 14
	ON 194*	July 25-Aug. 2	From Liverpool July 24, to New York City Aug. 7
	HX 251	Aug. 13-Aug. 22	From New York City Aug. 7, to Liverpool Aug. 23
	JW 55A (external link)	Dec. 12-Dec. 21	From Loch Ewe Dec. 12, to Archangel Dec. 22
	RA 55A (external link)	Dec. 23-Jan. 1-1944	From Kola Inlet Dec. 22, to Loch Ewe Jan. 1-1944
1944	ON 221*	Jan. 25	From Liverpool Jan. 24, to New York City Febr. 11
	TU 7 (external link)	Febr. 2-Febr. 3	From Clyde Febr. 2, to New York City Febr. 13
	ONS 29*	Febr. 13-Febr. 25	From Liverpool Febr. 12, to Halifax Febr. 29
	HX 281	March 5-March 14	From New York City Febr. 27, to Liverpool March 15
	ON 229*	March 24-Apr. 1	From Liverpool March 23, to New York City Apr. 7
	HX 286	Apr. 9-Apr. 20	From New York City Apr. 5, to Liverpool Apr. 20
	EBM 1 (external link - incomplete)	June 1	From Clyde June 1 (to Seine Bay)
	ECM 17 (external link)	June 28-June 29	From Falmouth June 28, to Seine Bay June 29
	EMM 1 (external link)	June 30-July 3	From Belfast June 30, to Seine Bay July 3
	ECM 27 (external link)	July 10-July 11	From Falmouth July 10, to Seine Bay July 11
	EPM 5 (external link)	July 15	From Yarmouth July 15, to Seine Bay July 15
	EPM 8 (external link)	July 18	From Portland July 18, to Seine Bay July 18
	EPM 11 (external link)	July 21	From Portland July 21, to Seine Bay July 21
	EPM 17 (external link)	July 27	From Portland July 27, to Seine Bay July 27
	EPM 20 (external link)	July 30	From Portland July 30, to Seine Bay July 30
	ON 252*	Sept. 8	From Liverpool Sept. 7, to New York City Sept. 22
	HX 310	Sept. 26-Oct. 5	From New York City Sept. 21, to Liverpool Oct. 5
	HX 326	Dec. 19-Dec. 27	From New York City Dec. 14, to Liverpool Dec. 27
1945	ON 277	Jan. 8-Jan. 17	From Southend Jan. 7, to New York City Jan. 23
	HX 334	Jan. 28-Febr. 6	From New York City Jan. 23, to Liverpool Febr. 6
	ON 285*	Febr. 17-Febr. 27	From Southend Febr. 16, to New York City March 5
	SC 169*	March 11-March 21	From Halifax March 7, to Liverpool March 21
	ON 294*	Apr. 3-Apr. 16	From Southend Apr. 1, to New York City Apr. 20
	SC 173*	Apr. 22-May 4	From Halifax Apr. 18, to Liverpool May 4

Further to the above:

For information on voyages made in between those mentioned here, please see Hague's Voyage Record above. Follow the links provided for further details; the Commodore's notes are also available for most of these convoys and several Norwegian ships took part.

Acanthus was in Group B 6 of Liverpool Escort Force, which otherwise consisted of the destroyers Fame and Viscount and the 3 Norwegian corvettes Potentilla, Eglantine and Montbretia.

Acanthus is mentioned among the escorts for the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 34 in Nov.-1941.

In Jan.-1942 she escorted the westbound ON 58* (with Montbretia), which left Liverpool on Jan. 20, but due to bad weather it returned to port the next day. Along with Rose, A. Hague has now included her among the escorts for Convoy HX 171, and the following month she's listed, together with Rose, as escort for the westbound Convoy ON 64* (departure Liverpool Febr. 7). Shortly thereafter she escorted Convoy HX 174 for a while (with Rose) and in March she appears (with Eglantine, Potentilla and Rose) in the westbound Convoy ON 73*, which departed Liverpool on March 5 and dispersed on the 16th. A. Hague has also named her, with Eglantine and Potentilla, as escort for Convoy HX 181 in March and for Convoy HX 182 in March/Apr.-1942. Eglantine, Potentilla, Rose (and Kos XX) are also listed for the latter. Acanthus subsequently escorted the westbound Convoy ON 86* (with Eglantine, Potentilla and Rose), which departed Liverpool on Apr. 14, and in May we find her, with Eglantine, Potentilla and Rose, in the slow Convoy SC 83, which left Halifax on May 7. In June Acanthus is mentioned, along with Montbretia, Potentilla and Rose, in Convoy ON 101* (departure Liverpool June 5), and later that month they all appear in the slow eastbound Convoy SC 88 - ref. SC convoy escorts.

With Montbretia and Potentilla she later escorted the westbound Convoy ON 111*, departing Liverpool on July 10, dispersed on the 24th, and at the end of that month all 3 are listed among the escorts for Convoy HX 200, which arrived Liverpool on Aug. 7-1942. Acanthus subsequently left Oversay, England on Aug. 16 and joined the westbound Convoy ON 122, which was also escorted by Potentilla, Montbretia and Eglantine, as well as the British destroyer Viscount. Several U-boats attacked during the night of Aug. 24/25, and sank 4 ships; 3 British (Katvaldis 3 died, Sheaf Mount 31 died, Empire Breeze 1 died) and the Norwegian D/S Trolla, which was torpedoed by U-438 (Franzius). The Commodore's report is also available for this convoy. Acanthus, Potentilla, Montbretia and Eglantine are now named among the escorts for Convoy HX 205, which left Halifax at the end of August and arrived Liverpool on Sept. 11-1942. According to the Commodore's notes "Escort was met at 09:00 on Sept. 2 in 46 46N 51 10W", presumably referring to the ocean escort? All 4 of them show up again in the westbound Convoy ON 132*, which departed Liverpool on Sept. 19-1942.

The following month, Acanthus took part in the fierce battle for Convoy SC 104*, in which several Norwegian ships sailed. This convoy departed New York on Oct. 3-1942. 8 merchant ships were lost, but not without damage and loss to the attackers, as can be seen in Uboat.net's account on SC 104 - link at the end of this page. Acanthus took on board 21 of the 39 survivors from U-353, including the commander, Wolfgang Römer. (U-353 was sunk by depth charges from HMS Fame on Oct. 16). Merchant ships sunk were: The British Ashworth - all 49 died, Empire Mersey - 16 died, and Southern Empress - 48 died, the Norwegian D/S Fagersten - 19 died and D/S Senta - 35 died (no survivors), the Greek Nellie - 32 died, the Yugoslavian Nikolina Matkovic - 14 died, and the American Susana - 38 died. My page about Potentilla has more details on this battle; see also the external links provided at the end of this page.

In Dec.-1942 we find her mentioned among the escorts for the westbound Convoy ON 155, together with Eglantine - see also the Commodore's narrative. The 2 of them also escorted the slow eastbound Convoy SC 116* in Jan.-1943, as well as the westbound Convoy ON 165 the following month - the Commodore's narrative is also available. A. Hague also has Acanthus and Eglantine in Convoy HX 227*, which left New York on Febr. 18 and arrived Liverpool on March 6 (see HX convoy escorts). Acanthus, Eglantine, Potentilla and Rose are later listed in the westbound Convoy ONS 6*, which departed Liverpool on Apr. 29, and in May that year all 4 them are named among the escorts for Convoy SC 131. In June Acanthus is listed, together with Potentilla and Rose, in the westbound Convoy ON 189*, departing Liverpool on June-16. The following month the 3 of them appear among the escorts for Convoy HX 246, and later that month we find them mentioned in the westbound Convoy ON 194*, which left Liverpool on July 24. In Aug.-1943 all 3 escorted Convoy HX 251 (simply noted as the B 6 Group on my page about this convoy).

In Dec.-1943, Acanthus escorted the Arctic Convoy JW 55A, returning with RA 55A. The former sailed from Loch Ewe on Dec. 12-1943 and arrived Kola on the 22nd, and the latter left Kola that same day and arrived Loch Ewe on Jan. 1-1944. The Norwegian Stord was also among the escorts for both these convoys. No Norwegian ships took part in these convoys and, therefore, they are not included in my Arctic Convoys section, but if more info is needed, it can be found at the external link provided below.

Acanthus was subsequently used as escort for the westbound North Atlantic Convoy ON 221*, which left Liverpool on Jan. 24-1944. Acanthus, Eglantine and Rose are now listed among the escorts for the westbound Convoy ONS 29*, which left Liverpool on Febr. 12. Later that month all 3 escorted Convoy HX 281, and the following month Acanthus and Eglantine were used as escorts for the westbound Convoy ON 229*, which departed Liverpool on March 23. Both of them are also named among the escorts for HX 286 in Apr.-1944. In Sept.-1944 Acanthus, Buttercup, Rose and Tunsberg Castle escorted the westbound Convoy ON 252*, which left Liverpool on Sept. 7, and later that month all 4 escorted Convoy HX 310 (note, however, that Buttercup did not come under the Norwegian flag until the end of Dec.-1944, after the loss of Tunsberg Castle). Acanthus also appears in Convoy HX 326 in Dec.-1944.

In Jan.-1945, she's mentioned among the escorts for the westbound Convoy ON 277, and later that month she's named in Convoy HX 334. She subsequently escorted the westbound Convoy ON 285*, which left Southend on Febr. 16. Buttercup is also included, and they both show up again in the slow Convoy SC 169*, which left Halifax for the U.K. on March 7-1945, as well as in the westbound Convoy ON 294* at the beginning of the following month, and later in SC 173* (departed Halifax on Apr. 18-1945).

* As already mentioned, all the ON and ONS convoys mentioned here are available and will be added to individual pages in my Convoys section in due course, along with further details on each. In the meantime, the ships sailing in them are named in the section listing ships in all ON convoys and on the page for ships in all ONS convoys. See also escorts for ON convoys and escorts for ONS convoys. Note also that the entire HX series and SC series will eventually be updated and completed, including the already existing convoys (some have already been updated); for now, please see ships in all HX convoys and ships in all SC convoys.

POST WAR:

Jan-Olof, Sweden has told me that according to Lenton & Colledge Acanthus became mercantile (incorrect) Andanes in 1946, sold in 1956, whale catcher Colin Frye (Union Whaling). She's listed as Andenes at Uboat.net (link below); this is also repeated in a posting to my ship forum; the thread starts here, there are several responses. I've only seen this corvette referred to as Acanthus in Norwegian books. Atle Wilmar, Norway has given me the following dates:
Came under Norwegian command (as Acanthus) at Troon on Sept. 26-1941, "ready for war" Nov. 1-1941. After the war was over in Norway she arrived Bergen on May 15-1945, purchased in 1946 and renamed Andenes on Aug. 10-1946.

Related external links:
Convoy escort movements - Lists the escort movements of all escorts during the war (including Acanthus).

SC-104, 12 - 16 Oct 1942

Group Wotan and the Battle for Convoy SC 104 - Detailed description of the convoy battle. (A section of Rob Fisher's Home Page).

2 Norwegian casualties of Southern Empress - Olaf K. Hansen is listed as captain of this ship, a Whale Catcher Helge Dahl is also commemorated.

Russian Convoys and JW 55A and RA 55A are included.

The Norwegian armed forces - includes info on the Norwegian Navy, ships, submarines etc. etc.

HNoMS Andenes (K 01) - Part of Uboat.net's section on allied warships. See also Acanthus. Uboat.net adds she was towed from Sandefjord to Glasgow, Scotland in June 1956 for convertion to whaler by A & J Inglis, Ltd. Renamed Colin Frye. Sold in 1957 to Taiyo Gyogyo KK,. Tokyo. Renamed Toshi Maru No. 2. Scrapped in Japan in 1970.

Back to Acanthus on the "Ships starting with A" page.

The text on this page was compiled with the help of: "Nortraships flåte", J. R. Hegland, and misc., including A. Hague's database, received from D. Kindell.