Convoy HX 84

HX-84 was a North Atlantic convoy of the HX series during the battle of the Atlantic in World War II. It consisted of 38 merchant ships which sailed eastbound from Halifax, Nova Scotia, for Liverpool, England, on 28 October 1940 and was escorted by the armed merchant cruiser HMS Jervis Bay

The Action
On 5 November 1940, the German heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer found the convoy at 50.5°N, -32°W and attacked immediately. Captain E.S.F. Fegen of the Jervis Bay attacked the raider so as to delay Admiral Scheer and to allow the convoy to escape. The Jervis Bay was quickly sunk with the loss of 190 of her crew. Nevertheless, their sacrifice gave the convoy time to scatter, allowing all but six of the merchantmen to escape.

Maiden, Trewellard, Kenbame Head, Beaverford and Fresno were sunk and the tanker MV San Demetrio damaged, but failing light now allowed the rest of the convoy to escape. The San Demetrio was abandoned by her crew, but two days later some of the crew, now in lifeboats, sighted the San Demetrio, still afloat and still ablaze. They reboarded her, got the engines running, and brought her in to port. This incident later formed the basis for the script of the film San Demetrio London.