Convoy Structure

Heroes Remember

Convoy Structure

Transcript

Convoy is a formation of ships in about four abreast. Like I said, the most important cargos of air planes and tanks and ammunition and oil tankers was in the middle of the convoy and less perilous goods was on the outside of the convoy. And normally when the war first started, when I started in ‘39, I signed in ‘39 but I never sailed out til January and there was two escorts on the front with the commodore, and then if we had more than. Well, that never happened during my time in the war that we had more escorts than we needed. So there was corvettes, when the corvettes come on site, then they would use the corvettes on the back end and the destroyers on the front end Convoys was all formed in Halifax and they were housed in the dockyard. They formed all the convoys, gave them each a number, every captain knew what he had to do. If he was a straggler he’d be left behind. They wouldn’t pick him up. We were told that if there’s suvivors in the water, the convoy wouldn’t stop to pick them up. They keep on going. What do you do? Stop and pick up fifteen men or stop a ship and lose two hundred men? So the odds were against the people in the water.

Description

Mr. Tanner describes in detail the makeup of a convoy, the positioning of ships within it and ensuring the safety of surviving ships.

Allen Tanner

Allen Tanner was born on December 1, 1925 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. After finishing Grade Nine, he went to work for a Norwegian shipping firm on the Halifax dockyard. As a member of the Navy League, he served in an Honour Guard for the Queen when she visited Halifax in 1939. Too young to join the Canadian Merchant Navy, he joined a Norwegian ship, whose crew shortage made him a welcome addition. Mr. Tanner worked on board a freighter, but was lured to work on tankers due to the higher pay they offered.

Meta Data

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:: 1:35
Person Interviewed:: Allen Tanner
War, Conflict or Mission:: Second World War
Branch:: Merchant Navy
Units/Ship:: D/S Sirehei
Occupation:: Steward

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Date modified:: 2019-04-03