Convoy SC 7

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The Second World War
Part of Convoy SC 7, the Battle of the Atlantic
Date 16–19 October 1940 Location Western Approaches Result German victory
Belligerents
Germany	United Kingdom
Commanders and leaders
Karl Dönitz	Lachlan Mackinnon
Strength
8 U-boats	35 ships 5 escorts
Casualties and losses
None	142 men killed 20 merchant ships sunk 2 merchant ships damaged (79,592 gross register tons (GRT))

SC 7 was the code name for a large Allied convoy in the Second World War comprising 35 merchant ships and six escorts, which sailed eastbound from Sydney, Nova Scotia, for Liverpool and other British ports on 5 October 1940. While crossing the Atlantic, the convoy was attacked by one of the first U-boat wolfpacks. The escorts were overwhelmed, twenty of the 35 cargo vessels were sunk and two were damaged, with 141 lives lost. The disaster demonstrated the potency of wolfpacks (attacking in numbers) and the inadequacy of British anti-submarine operations.