* U-boats that fired torpedoes or fired the deck gun.

The battle:
During October and well before, the Allied make good use of the information provided by Ultra in order to rout their convoys around U-boat concentrations.

A second factor in the battle for the Atlantic at that time, is the increasing influence of the American Navy in the Atlantic. In this stage of the war, they escort all North-Atlantic convoys from a point between the Canadian escort zone ( Western Ocean Meeting Point or WESTOMP ) and the British escort zone ( Mid Ocean Meeting Point or MOMP )

Already on Oct 9th, SC-48 is routed according to 'Ultra' information around an U-boat concentration, consisting of U-109, U-208, U-374, U-502, U-553, U-568 and U-573. This group is formed into a patrol line and it is reinforced during the following days by U-73, U-77, U-101, U-432, U-558 and U-751. These boats lengthen the patrol line. Not all convoys can be re-routed in time around the lengthened patrol line and in the night of the 14th U-553 runs into SC-48.

At that time, only 4 corvettes of EG 4.1.15 are still with the convoy, the other have returned because of fuel shortage. U-553 attacks at once and sinks two ships. The destroyer Columbia returns to the convoy and manages to drive off U-553 but the boat has already brought up many other U-boats. U-568 takes over the contact-keeping job and attacks at dark. She sinks one ship but is then driven off by the Gladiolus.

The British countermeasures are as follows: the EG.3 is ordered to take over as soon as possible the escort from EG.4.1.15. The EG.2 who is escorting ON-25 sends the 2 corvettes Veronica and Abelia. The 3 destroyers Highlander, Broadwater and Sherwood intended to relieve the escort of TC-14, are redirected to the convoy. But since all these ships are too far away for immediate assistance, it is decided to disperse convoy ON-24 and its escort is sent towards SC-48.

The 5 American destroyers Greer, Kearny DD432, Livermore DD429, Decatur and Plunkett DD431 sortied from ON-24 at noon on the 16th. They make several attacks and sweeps but can not prevent the build-up for the night attack.

The American commanders lack experience and remain very close (less than a mile) to the convoy, so the U-boats can come into firing range before being detected. The American ships are not yet fitted with radar and when the U-boats attack, they fire snowflakes and star-shells to no good use, because due to their proximity to the convoy they illuminate the merchants, who are now clearly visible to the U-boats.

U-558 sinks three ships plus the corvette HMS Gladiolus, U-432 sinks two and U-553 sinks one. In the morning U-568 attacks, and runs into the Kearny, who is making a manuveur in order to avoid collision with a corvette. U-568 fires a spread of three and scores one hit. The capable crew of the Kearny confined flooding to the forward Fire room enabling the ship to get out of the danger zone with power from the aft fire room. Regaining power in the forward fire room, Kearny steamed to Iceland at 10 knots, arriving 19 October. Kearny lost 11 bluejackets and 22 others were injured in this attack. Then the Americans are relieved by the other reinforcements as Kearny heads back to Iceland. Also air escort arrives and Catalina's chase away the contact keeping boats.

U-73, U-77, U-101 and U-751 try to close in with the convoy but only U-101 manages to attack at night and sinks the destroyer HMS Broadwater. The next day the operation is broken off.

The American view::

Convoy SC-48 sailed from Canada on October 10, 1941. Terrible weather and an abnormal number of stragglers, 11 of the 50 merchantmen, held the speed of advance to 7 ½ knots. A U-boat wolfpack struck during the night of October 15. The Canadian destroyer Columbia and four Canadian corvettes escorting SC-48 had more than they could handle. Three ships had been torpedoed and sunk when a call for help went into Reykjavik, 400 miles to the north. Captain L.H. Thebaud, ComDesRon 27 in Plunkett, with Livermore and Kearny, all Benson/Livermore class 1630 tonners and the Decatur, a WW I 4-piper, answered the call. They were joined by the 4-piper USS Greer, the British destroyer Broadwater and the Free French corvette Lobelia, from other duties. The Reykjavik group of destroyers arrived just before sunset on the 16th and found an exhausted Canadian screen and her shaken merchant convoy, waiting for another night of U-boat horror. Kearny, Livermore, Decatur and Plunkett formed a close screen, less than a mile from the convoy. In three waves of attacks beginning about 2200 and closing about 0200 on the 17th, the U-boats found their marks in the convoy with torpedoes. First a merchantman, then two more, then four more, received death blows. In the last wave, Kearny made her way into the convoy, close to a burning tanker. A sudden blaze from the tanker illuminated a British corvette picking up survivors. Kearny slowed and turned to avoid interference. In this now well lighted scene, a U-boat fired a spread of three torpedoes at Kearny. The center one hit in the #1 fire room. Men died from fire, impact, and sea water. The damage control officer and the Chief Motor Machinist shored up and saved the forward engine room bulkhead. The "split-plant" experience enabled Kearny to keep way on while a Quartermaster in the locked after steering engine room compartment answered rudder calls. The 4-piper Greer rallied alongside Kearny to give aid. Kearny's skipper told Greer he could make Iceland. Despite criticisms of this Benson class for topside weight, the class proved very sturdy with double bottoms and well designed water tight integrity compartmentation. Few of these vessels succumbed to a single torpedo. Kearny did not. The Navy repair ship Vulcan in Iceland performed a near miracle to get Kearny back to sea. The gaping hole in her starboard side just forward of the number one stack and under the starboard wing of the bridge could have finished her.