12-02-2005, 10:46 AM
Ordeal of Convoy NY119
One of the most daring and unusual Atlantic convoys left New York for England in September 1944. It was made up of a variety of sea-going tugs, small harbor tugs, yard tankers, and railroad car floats with wooden barges mounted on top. These were owned by the U.S. Army and were desperately needed in the bombed-out harbors of France. The U.S. Navy, with a few destroyer escorts and other small vessels, managed to herd this slow-moving armada to Falmouth, England, via the Azores Islands. The convoy, which took 30 days, encountered a violent storm in the English Channel, losing a large number of ships and 19 mariners in this dare-devil crossing.