TAG convoys explained

The TAG convoys were a series of Caribbean convoys which ran during the Battle of the Atlantic in the Second World War. They take their name from the route: Trinidad to Aruba and Guantanamo, Cuba

Overview

The TAG series was the reverse of GAT series. The series ran from August 1942 to May 1945. There were 205 TAG convoys, comprising 3,843 individual ship listings. Five convoys were successfully attacked by U-boats during 1942 and 1943, with 12 ships sunk and one damaged but then later declared a total loss.

Convoy list

ConvoyDeparture
Date
Arrival
Date
No. of merchant shipsNo. of escort shipsNotes
TAG 129 Aug 19425 Sep 194231100 vessels lost
TAG 21 Sep 19427 Sep 1942780 vessels lost
TAG 35 Sep 194211 Sep 19422170 vessels lost
TAG 49 Sep 194214 Sep 19421860 vessels lost
TAG 512 Sep 194216 Sep 19421772 vessels sunk. 1 damaged; she eventually reached New Orleans, but declared a total loss
TAG 616 Sep 194221 Sep 19422980 vessels lost
TAG 719 Sep 194224 Sep 19422260 vessels lost
TAG 822 Sep 194227 Sep 19421570 vessels lost
TAG 927 Sep 19422 Oct 19421990 vessels lost
TAG 103 Oct 19428 Oct 19423960 vessels lost
TAG 116 Oct 194211 Oct 19421170 vessels lost
TAG 129 Oct 194214 Oct 194220100 vessels lost
TAG 1313 Oct 194218 Oct 194212110 vessels lost
TAG 1417 Oct 194222 Oct 19422470 vessels lost
TAG 1521 Oct 194226 Oct 19422580 vessels lost
TAG 1625 Oct 194231 Oct 19423470 vessels lost
TAG 1729 Oct 19423 Nov 19422870 vessels lost
TAG 182 Nov 19428 Nov 19423786 vessels sunk (40,477 tons)
TAG 196 Nov 194211 Nov 194231142 vessels sunk
TAG 2010 Nov 194215 Nov 194227101 vessel sunk
TAG 703 Jul 19438 Jul 19432001 vessel sunk

Exceptions

There were two exceptions, namely special convoy TAG.SP, which ran in two sections from Trinidad to Kingston, Jamaica, and then on to Guantanamo in January 1943, without any losses, and Convoy TAG 205 which sailed from Curaçao to Guantanamo, and comprised only one ship.

Bibliography

External links