28 February 1940

COSSACK, DELIGHT, DIANA, NUBIAN and SIKH departed Bergen with convoy HN15 consisting of 8 British, 29 Norwegian, 1 Swedish, 2 Finnish and 2 Danish ships. The convoy split into East and West sections. COSSACK remained with the East section.

CONVOY HN 15 – Norway-U.K.
Left Norway on February 28-1940 and arrived Methil on March 1.

Transcribed from Advance Sailing Telegram received from Tony Cooper, England – His source: Public Records Office, Kew.

The Advance Sailing Telegram gives the sailing date as Febr. 26, arrival Methil Febr. 29

Convoy stations are not available.

A document listing all the Norway-U.K. Convoys states that Convoy HN 15 left on Febr. 28 and arrived on March 1, adding that it consisted of 8 British, 29 Norwegian, 1 Swedish, 2 Danish, and 2 Finnish ships, for a total of 42, 8 of which were bound for the west coast. Note that there’s also a ship listed as Dutch in the Advance Sailing Telegram.
Ship Nationality Cargo Destination
Vang Norwegian ballast (for bunkers) Ayr
Svanefjell “ general London
Porsanger “ ballast Swansea
Finse “ ballast Blyth
Tordenskjold “ ballast Sunderland
Helmond British general (chrome, carbide, pulp) Grangemouth
no name – 3106 gt ? ore Birkenhead
Anna Finnish general Hull
Gudrid Norwegian general Manchester
Iris “ mail – passengers Tyne
Cygnus “ general Manchester
Grenaa Danish ballast Methil
Ulv Norwegian pulp Rouen
Fulton “ ballast West Hartlepool
Pan “ pulp Grimsby
no name – 1180 gt ? general Antwerp
Diana Norwegian general London
Ophir “ ballast Sunderland
Gudrun “ ballast Methil
Lysaker IV “ ballast Dunstan
From HN 14
Bruse “ ballast Sunderland
From HN 14
Ringhorn “ ballast Burntisland
From HN 14
Bessheim “ passengers – mail Tyne
From HN 14
Ask “ ore Middlesbrough
From HN 14
Grana “ general Hull
From HN 14
Ursa “ general London
From HN 14
Edna “ fresh fish Newcastle-on-Tyne
From HN 14
Cetus “ ballast Blyth
From HN 14
Rona “ cod roes Ardrossan
From HN 14
Jarl “ fresh fish Aberdeen for bunkers
Standard “ pulp Bristol
Batavia Dutch general Newcastle-on-Tyne
Stensaas Norwegian ballast Burntisland
From HN 14
Kronprins Olav “ pulp Ellesmere Port
(See also HN 14)
Island “ fresh fish Aberdeen
From HN 14
Havnia Finnish general London
From HN 14
Teano British general Hull
From HN 14
Salerno “ general Hull
From HN 14
Helder ”
(929 gt)		 general Grangemouth
(See also HN 14)
No name ? general Aberdeen
Otterpool British ore Middlesbrough
Salmonpool “ ore Middlesbrough
Hardingham “ ore Immingham
Romanby “ ore Cardiff
Bothnia Swedish general London
See also HN 14
Vela Norwegian – –
If we remove the un-named ships, we end up with 42 ships in the convoy.

The above list agrees on the whole with a list of ships received from D. Kindell, based on Arnold Hague’s database, except A. Hague has not included Batavia (and he says Havnia was Norwegian) – in other words, he names 41 ships in this convoy. (He lists Batavia in the next convoy, HN 16, but she’s not included in the Advance Sailing Telegram for HN 16).

Escorts mentioned on this page:
HMS Aurora, Penelope (covering force), Calcutta, Cossack, Diana, Nubian, Delight, Sikh, Imperial and Khartoum (most of which had also escorted Convoy ON 15 from the U.K. to Norway).

See also the text under Febr. 26 and Febr. 28 on this external page, which mentions this convoy and its escorts.

All the Norwegian ships mentioned in this convoy are discussed on this website, some are listed in the Homefleet section. The easiest way to find them all is via the Master Ship Index.
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1806-1816

This is the account of the first vessel named HMS Cossack, a title that would be passed on to five later ships and commemorated by the Royal Navy in the Cossack Building at HMS Raleigh.

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1854-1875

The second Cossack was originally ordered by Russia for the Black Sea Fleet in December 1852 at a cost of 290,000 silver roubles. However, when relations between Britain and Russia deteriorated, Russia sold the vessels to the Hamburg trading firm Henry Mersk & Co.

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1886-1905

This account covers the third vessel named HMS Cossack. Launched on 3 June 1886 and in service until 1905, she spent the majority of her career in the Far East, calling at India, Aden, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), and other ports.

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1907-1919

The fourth HMS Cossack received the first Battle Honour for participating in operations along the Belgian coast from 17 October to 8 November 1914. This section contains copies of the original construction contract and detailed plans showing her launch, deck arrangements, and machinery.

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1938-1941

Credited with battle honours including Baltic 1855, Witu 1890, Dover Patrol 1914–1919, Narvik 1940, Norway 1940, Atlantic 1940–1941, the Bismarck Action 1941, and the Malta Convoys 1941, the HMS Cossack in service from 1938 to 1941 was a formidable presence.

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1944-1960

During Warship Week in February 1942, the town of Esher raised £1,192,211, contributing to the construction of the warship HMS Cossack. The funds were collected by the public depositing money into a rubber-type float in a pool. Remarkably, the surplus was enough to fund a submarine as well. The story continues.

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