Battleships in Convoys?

[K-61]

I really have to wonder at the reasoning for placing battleships and other fast heavy warships into convoy columns and then sailing them slow enough to easily nail? I know that the Allies sometimes sent a battleship or cruiser type vessel along with convoys, but I have a hard time believing that they would sail inside the convoy at the slow pace of a convoy when they could sail much faster outside the convoy and be much harder to target. Has anybody actually read anything about this aspect of the Battle of the Atlantic? It just doesn't seem logical to me; a battleship has a much higher chance of survival at speed. I've sunk two battleships in two patrols in '39; at this pace the Royal Navy will soon run out of capital ships.

[GoldenRivet]

battleships would sometimes sail with the convoy, inside the convoy, outside the convoy, and zig zagging ahead and behind.

you have to remember that convoy lanes were much wider in real life than in SH3.

you also have to remember that the Kriegsmarine frequently sent heavy surface units like pocket battleships, commerce raiders and bomber groups into the open sea to engage the convoys... u-boats were not the only threat. These battleships and cruisers were deployed as a means of having some heavy guns around to protect from such threats.

this is the best as it can be simulated within the constraints of SH3

[WilhelmSchulz.]

Yes. The Kreigsmarine had sent there heavy pocket Battleships out to see at the begining of the war, and many a convoy where utterly destroyed by them. The British decided to send heavy ships out to protect them agianst the Raiders. And the Idea worked. The German Naval Command had issued orders(to the heavy units) not to attack convoys with Battleships.

[Brag]

And the BBs in GWX 2 zig zag. (see Balz thread)

[BulSoldier]

Can someone give link or information to a convoy structure (distances between ships, and structure as a whole) ?

[seafarer]

HMS Ramillies and HMS Malaya did several trips as convoy escorts (Malaya's presence on one occasion is credited with keeping the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau from pressing an attack), as did HMS Revenge and a number of other, often older (WWI-era dreadnoughts) Royal Navy BB's. The USS Texas (BB35) spent much of her war time service on Atlantic convoy escort duty, often escorting troop ship convoys, before bombardment duty during and after D-day.

In the Mediterranean, several BB's were used for escort duty, both for their ability to mount a lot of AAA (and air search radar) and to counter the Italian fleet.

A lot of these older BB's were both slow (most could not achieve anything close to their top rated speed because of aging machinery and neglect during the inter-war years), and not very fuel efficient, especially at speed. So they were stationed to slog along with the merchants, provide AAA fire as needed, and, if necessary, foray out to meet major surface combatants.

[Pablo]

Originally Posted by BulSoldier

Can someone give link or information to a convoy structure (distances between ships, and structure as a whole) ?

Hi!

This site has a fair amount of information on the ships within the convoys; this information occasionally includes information on inter-column distances, which varied from convoy to convoy:

http://www.warsailors.com/freefleet/index.html

This URL transcribes the convoy cruising order for convoy ON270. It specifies the distances, and you will note the distance changes during the course of the voyage from five cables (1000 yards) to 3 cables (600 yards) midway through the voyage.

http://jproc.ca/rrp/apend_b2.html

You can also Google for "Convoy columns cables" and see what you find!

Pablo

[seafarer]

Originally Posted by BulSoldier

Can someone give link or information to a convoy structure (distances between ships, and structure as a whole) ?

There's a figure of convoy ONS 154 at this site.

[BulSoldier]

thanks for useful information !