Convoy FS 271 (3 to 5 September 1940) was a North Sea convoy of the FS series (Forth South) to the Thames, which ran during the Second World War from Methil, Fife on the Firth of Forth on the east coast of Scotland, picking up coasters from more southerly east coast ports, to Southend-on-Sea on the Thames Estuary. The convoy was ambushed by German E-boats on the night of 4 September, that sank five ships and damaged one for no loss, another ship was bombed and sunk in harbour after the voyage.
Background
FS convoys (Forth South), ran from Methil, Fife, a big coal port on the Firth of Forth, to Southend-on-Sea on the Thames Estuary from 1939 to 1945. Ships joined the convoys as they passed their port and the vast importance of coal to the British economy meant that ships spent little time in harbour. Two FS and two FN (Forth North) convoys were usually at sea, the southbound convoys with the code-names Agent and Arena, the northbound ones known as Booty and Pilot. The first FS convoy assembled off Methil and the first FN convoy formed off Southend-on-Sea on 6 September 1939. At the end of November the assembly port for FS convoys was moved to the Tyne to get cargoes moved quicker, ships proceeding to the Tyne independently but losses were so severe that in February 1940 convoy assembly was moved back to Methil.
Prelude
Convoy FS 271 departed Methil on 3 September, escorted by the destroyers HMS Valorous and Westminster.
Convoy
4 September
On 4 September, Convoy FS 271 was attacked off Great Yarmouth by the 1st E-boat Flotilla (1.Schnellbootflottille, Kapitänleutnant Karl-Heinz Birnbacher). The convoy was taken by surprise and few of the merchant ships had time to take evasive action. The collier Joseph Swan (1,571 gross register ton [GRT]) was sunk with seventeen of the eighteen-man crew killed. In a survivor's report, Beattie (a member of the crew) described how he had just come off watch when S 18 (Leutnant zur See Christiansen) attacked,
The Chief Officer called down the companion way 'What does six short blasts mean?' I answered 'submarine or track of torpedo on starboard side'.
Beattie looked for the code book to check and there was explosion; when he arrived on deck the rear section of the ship was awash,
All those who were aft at the time had no chance whatsoever ... I saw the master step off the bridge ... and that was the last I saw of him. Then I felt the water round my ankles and the next thing I knew I was in the water. When I came to the surface the ship had completely disappeared.
Beattie was surrounded by the sound of E-boat engines, machine-gun fire "spattering in the water all around me". As Fulham V passed close by he waved a flare and shouted but its captain obeyed orders and left him behind; Beattie found a raft and was rescued at 11:30 p.m. Soon afterwards, Fulham V passed by it was torpedoed amidships to port by S 2 (Leutnant zur See Grund). The explosion sent Captain Ramshaw into the air over the bridge and Fulham V sank quickly. The captain of New Lambton saw two of the E-boats which sank his ship, one being S 21 (Leutnant-zur-See Bernd Klug).
Two E-boats came along our port side about 200 feet off and started to machine gun us and they continued to do this while we launched the boat and for twenty minutes in the boat. We all lay flat in the boat and no-one was injured...the E-boats were about fifty to sixty feet long and had a certain amount of superstructure with a machine gun mounted forward.
In the rush 1./Schnellbootflottille also sank the Dutch collier Nieuwland, the British Corbrook and damaged Ewell, then disappeared into the night.
5 September
The surviving ships docked at Southend in the Thames estuary, where Baron Renfrew was bombed and sunk in harbour on 9 September.
Aftermath
Analysis
The 1./Schnellbootflottille had surprised Convoy FS 271 off Yarmouth and in one pass had sunk four ships and damaged a fifth in a few minutes. The ships had no time to react and the S-Boote kept going after their pass and disappeared into the night. S18 claimed two ships, S21 two ships, S22 claimed a tanker, S54 claimed to have damaged a destroyer, a total of 39,000 GRT but the true total was five coasters of 9,996 GRT, due to mistaken identifications in the dark and chaos of the attack. Similar attacks took place for the rest of September. Up to the end of 1940, attacks by S-Boote continued, the 3./Schnellbootflottille arriving at Vlissingen on 10 September as a reinforcement. A considerable mining effort was maintained by the Luftwaffe, with up to eighty aircraft minelaying at night.
Casualties
The crew of Corbrook survived the sinking, of the 18 crew on Joseph Swan, 16 were killed and 8 of the crew of Nieuwland were killed.