Story Highlights
- Historical event:
- 2 August 1944
- Convoy HX-300 consisted of as many as 166 merchant ships, the largest of which had around 10,000 register tons.
On this day in 1944, the largest merchant ship convoy in World War II crossed the Atlantic Ocean and entered British waters.
The convoy bore the designation HX-300 because it was the 300th convoy originating from the Canadian city of Halifax.
The convoy consisted of as many as 166 merchant ships, the largest of which had around 10,000 register tons.
In World War II, the Allies used convoys because they could be better protected from submarine attacks than individual ships.
The ships of convoy HX-300 were arranged in 19 parallel columns, making a formation around 14 km wide and 6.4 km long.
HX-300 was escorted by around 30 warships, including anti-submarine warfare ships and minesweepers.
The convoy wasn’t attacked and sailed safely into British waters.
