2nd Escort Group
A Royal Navy anti-submarine support formation that became the Second World War’s most successful British U-boat-hunting group.
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Overview
The 2nd Escort Group was a Royal Navy anti-submarine formation created in April 1943 during the decisive phase of the Battle of the Atlantic. Although formally designated an escort group, it was commonly called the 2nd Support Group because its principal purpose was to reinforce convoys under attack and then pursue hostile submarines beyond the immediate needs of convoy protection. This distinction was important: ordinary convoy escorts had to remain with their ships, while a support group could continue a search and attack after a submarine had been driven away or damaged. The group consisted initially of six Black Swan-class sloops: Starling, Wren, Woodpecker, Cygnet, Wild Goose and Kite. These ships combined long endurance, suitable speed and specialized anti-submarine weapons. The formation was commanded by Captain Frederic John Walker, known as “Johnnie” Walker, whose experience at the Royal Navy’s anti-submarine school at HMS Osprey shaped the group’s training and doctrine. Walker required his commanders to treat U-boats as targets to be actively hunted rather than threats to be passively deterred. The group became associated with the song “A-Hunting We Will Go,” played when entering and leaving harbour, symbolizing this hunter-killer ethos. Its first confirmed success came on 1 June 1943, when the group conducted a prolonged pursuit that ended with the destruction of U-202. In June, during Operation Musketry in the Bay of Biscay, it sank U-119 and U-449, although Starling was damaged while ramming U-119. On 30 July, the group attacked a surfaced concentration of German submarines and sank U-462 and U-504; an accompanying Australian aircraft destroyed U-461. Further Atlantic operations produced successes against U-226 and U-842 in November 1943. The group’s most celebrated patrol took place in January and February 1944. It destroyed six U-boats: U-592, U-762, U-238, U-734, U-424 and U-264. The patrol ended tragically when Woodpecker was torpedoed and later sank while being towed toward port, although her entire crew survived. Walker received further recognition for the group’s performance, including a second Bar to his Distinguished Service Order. In 1944 the group operated on Arctic convoy JW 58, hunted U-961, and later responded to the attack on USS Donnell by U-473. Walker’s force eventually located and sank U-473 after an extended search. During the Normandy invasion, the group helped protect the invasion fleet in the South-Western Approaches and contributed to the wider effort that prevented German submarines from seriously disrupting the landings. Walker died suddenly of a cerebral haemorrhage on 2 July 1944. Under later commanders, the group continued operations in the Bay of Biscay and around the British Isles. It destroyed U-333, U-736, U-608 and U-385 in August 1944, and U-1018 and U-327 in February 1945. A further claim concerning U-683 was later reassessed; modern analysis indicates that the attack probably struck the wreck of U-247. Consequently, the group is generally credited with 22 confirmed U-boat destructions rather than the earlier total of 23. The 2nd Escort Group remains notable for combining specialized ships, intensive training and aggressive anti-submarine tactics into an unusually effective wartime formation.
History
The 2nd Escort Group was formed in April 1943 as the Atlantic campaign shifted in favour of the Allies. Its six Black Swan-class sloops were intended to operate as a mobile reserve for convoys, moving from one threatened route to another and remaining on a submarine contact after the immediate convoy danger had passed. This mission gave the formation greater freedom than conventional escorts and allowed it to develop into a hunter-killer unit. Captain F. J. Walker trained the ships intensively during April. None had previously operated together as a complete formation, and several were newly commissioned. Walker’s experience in anti-submarine training led him to emphasize coordinated detection, tracking and attack. The group became proficient in tactics including the creeping attack, in which ships approached a submarine from different directions, and the barrage attack, which used coordinated depth-charge patterns to restrict escape. The formation’s informal name, 2nd Support Group, reflected its reinforcement role, while its behaviour increasingly reflected a deliberate search-and-destroy doctrine. The first patrol in May 1943 supported the convoy routes associated with HX 235 and ONS 8 but produced no contact. On 1 June, the group detected and destroyed U-202 after a fifteen-hour pursuit. Later that month, during Operation Musketry against submarine transit routes in the Bay of Biscay, it sank U-119 and U-449. Starling was damaged while ramming U-119, and command arrangements were adjusted while the ship withdrew. Woodcock subsequently joined as a replacement. On 30 July, the group attacked surfaced submarines in the Bay and sank U-462 and U-504; U-461 was destroyed by an Australian Short Sunderland aircraft. After refitting, the group returned to the North Atlantic and operated alongside the escort carrier Tracker for part of the autumn. In support of convoy ON 207, it helped contain a U-boat attack, although its own ships recorded no sinking. During the fighting around HX 264 in November, it destroyed U-226 and U-842. The group’s December attack in support of SL 140/MKS 31 did not produce a confirmed kill. Its January–February 1944 patrol was the unit’s outstanding operational achievement. Six submarines were destroyed over the course of the patrol, including three—U-762, U-238 and U-734—in a single action on 9 February. U-424 and U-264 followed later in the month. Woodpecker was torpedoed on 20 February and sank after an unsuccessful attempt to tow her home; all crew members were rescued. The group returned to Liverpool to a major reception, and Walker received further official recognition. The group then participated in Arctic convoy JW 58 and destroyed U-961 while crossing the northern route. In May, Walker responded to the attack on USS Donnell by U-473. Although the group began hundreds of miles away, Walker inferred the likely search area, maintained the pursuit for three days and finally forced the submarine to the surface, where it was sunk by gunfire. During the Normandy invasion in June, the group operated in the South-Western Approaches and helped prevent U-boats from attacking the invasion fleet. Walker’s death on 2 July 1944 brought a major leadership change. The group continued under Commander N. A. Duck and later Commander D. E. G. Wemyss. In August it destroyed four submarines attempting to cross the Bay of Biscay: U-333, U-736, U-608 and U-385. German use of snorkels and operations in shallow waters later made detection and attack more difficult. In February 1945, the group destroyed U-1018 and U-327. A claimed attack on U-683 was later reassessed, leaving the group with 22 confirmed U-boat victories. The formation was ultimately disbanded after the end of the war.
- 1945
Last confirmed victories
[1]U-1018 and U-327 were destroyed in February; the final confirmed total was later assessed as 22 U-boats.
- 1944
Six-submarine patrol
[1]The group destroyed six U-boats during its January–February patrol, its most successful operation.
- 1944
Walker dies in command
[1]Captain Walker died from a cerebral haemorrhage on 2 July.
- 1943
Formation of the group
[1]The Royal Navy formed the 2nd Escort Group in April as one of five mobile anti-submarine support groups.
- 1943
First U-boat destroyed
[1]U-202 was sunk on 1 June after an extended pursuit.
Products and positioning
An aggressive Royal Navy hunter-killer formation designed to reinforce convoys and destroy U-boats through sustained anti-submarine pursuit.
Marketing campaigns
- 1944Operation Neptune
South-Western Approaches · English Channel approaches
During the naval phase of the Normandy invasion, the group searched for and deterred German submarines threatening the invasion fleet.
Outcome. The group helped prevent successful U-boat attacks on the invasion fleet in its assigned area.
- 1943Operation Musketry
Bay of Biscay
The group joined Coastal Command efforts to interdict U-boat transit routes across the Bay of Biscay. It sank U-119 and U-449 in June and later participated in actions that destroyed additional submarines in the wider operation.
Outcome. The operation demonstrated the value of mobile surface hunter-killer groups, although the group itself recorded no further sinking during the later stages.
Brand decisions
1944
Command transferred after Walker’s deathOtherBackground
Captain Walker died suddenly in July 1944 while the group remained operational.
Action taken
Command passed first to Commander N. A. Duck and subsequently to Commander D. E. G. Wemyss.
Aftermath
The group continued operations and recorded further Bay of Biscay and North Atlantic successes.
1943
Adopt an active hunter-killer doctrineStrategyBackground
The group was formally created to reinforce convoys, but Captain Walker considered passive convoy defence insufficient when a submarine could be pursued after an attack.
Action taken
Walker trained the sloops to maintain contact and destroy U-boats through coordinated, sustained attacks, using tactics such as creeping and barrage attacks.
Aftermath
The approach made the group the Royal Navy’s most successful anti-submarine formation of the war by confirmed U-boat sinkings.
Recent events
- 1945
Final confirmed U-boat successes recorded in 1945[1]
Other
The group sank U-1018 and U-327 in February 1945; its earlier attribution of U-683 was later rejected in historical reassessment.
- 1944
Six U-boats destroyed during the group’s most successful patrol[1]
Other
Between 31 January and 19 February, the group sank six German submarines, establishing its reputation as an exceptionally effective anti-submarine unit.
- 1944
Commanding officer Johnnie Walker dies[1]
Leadership change
Captain Walker died suddenly from a cerebral haemorrhage on 2 July while the group was engaged in wartime operations.
- 1943
2nd Escort Group formed for Atlantic anti-submarine operations[1]
Other
The Royal Navy established the group as one of five support formations intended to reinforce convoys and pursue U-boats independently of normal escort duties.
- 1943
Group destroys U-202 after extended pursuit[1]
Other
The formation achieved its first confirmed U-boat sinking on 1 June after a prolonged hunt in the Atlantic.
Sources1 sources
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