Action off Cape Bougaroun explained

Conflict:Action off Cape Bougaroun
Partof:the Battle of the Mediterranean of World War II
Date:6 November 1943
Place:off Cape Bougaroun, Algeria, Mediterranean Sea
Coordinates:37.1667°N 6°W
Result:German victory
Combatant1: United States
United Kingdom
Greece
Netherlands
Commander1: Charles C. Hartman
Strength1:1 cruiser
10 destroyers
4 destroyer escorts
26 transports
Strength2:25 aircraft
Casualties1:17 killed
~9 wounded
1 destroyer sunk
2 merchant ships sunk
1 destroyer damaged
2 merchant ships damaged
Casualties2:~10 killed
6 aircraft destroyed

The action off Cape Bougaroun (Cap Bougaroûn), or the Attack on Convoy KMF 25A was a Luftwaffe operation against an Allied naval convoy off the coast of Algeria during World War II. The convoy of American, British, Greek and Dutch ships was attacked on 6 November 1943 by 25 German land-based aircraft. Six Allied vessels were sunk or damaged and six German aircraft were destroyed. German forces achieved a tactical victory, though the Allied warships involved received credit for defending their convoy and reacting to their losses quickly. The quick response led to the rescue of over 6,000 servicemen and civilians without further loss of life.

Background

Task Group 60.2

US convoy escorts occasionally sailed all the way across the Atlantic and supplemented British convoy escorts; Task Group 60.2 (Captain Charles C. Hartman USN) escorted Convoy UGF 10 across the Atlantic to Oran and then escorted several convoys in the Mediterranean. On 3 September 1943, the convoy being escorted was attacked by the Luftwaffe, which failed to hit any of the merchant ships but managed to torpedo the destroyer in the stern, the destroyer making its own way to port. The task group escorted two more convoys and was then assigned to cover a troop convoy from Britain, Convoy KMF 25A.