Neutral ships in Convoy

BasilY · 05-20-08, 07:15 PM

Sneak into a convoy early 41. Have my gun sight lined up against a juicy tanker only to see a star-and-stripe on top. Dis-engage. Now this is 500m in good weather. It will be very difficult for a sub to distinguish a belligerent from 1000+ meter away and in bad weather. Which brings to my three questions...

1. Is a neutral merchantman historically safer as a part of a belligerent convoy or sailing alone?
2. If a neutral merchantman is sunk while in a protected convoy, can her government protest the sinking? It can almost be safely assumed that the ship is carrying contraband cargo (i.e. materiel of war) as defined by the laws of war.
3. Should and will a uboat commander refrey from attacking neutral merchantman protected in a convoy by the Royal Navy?

05-20-08, 07:15 PM	#1
BasilY Weps Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 359 Downloads: 4 Uploads: 0	Neutral ships in Convoy Sneak into a convoy early 41. Have my gun sight lined up against a juicy tanker only to see a star-and-stripe on top. Dis-engage. Now this is 500m in good weather. It will be very difficult for a sub to distinguish a belligerent from 1000+ meter away and in bad weather. Which brings to my three questions... 1. Is a neutral merchantman historically safer as a part of a belligerent convoy or sailing alone? 2. If a neutral merchantman is sunk while in a protected convoy, can her government protest the sinking? It can almost be safely assumed that the ship is carrying contraband cargo (i.e. materiel of war) as defined by the laws of war. 3. Should and will a uboat commander refrey from attacking neutral merchantman protected in a convoy by the Royal Navy?