Convoy HX 84

Convoy HX 84 was the 84th of the numbered series of Allied North Atlantic HX convoys of merchant ships from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Liverpool, England, during the Battle of the Atlantic. Thirty-eight ships escorted by the armed merchant cruiser departed from Halifax on 28 October 1940, eastbound to Liverpool.
On 5 November 1940, the German pocket battleship found the convoy at and attacked immediately. Captain E.S.F. Fegen of "Jervis Bay" attacked the raider so as to delay "Admiral Scheer" and to allow the convoy to scatter. "Jervis Bay" was sunk after 20 minutes of fighting with the loss of 190 of her crew. Nevertheless, their sacrifice allowed the convoy to begin to escape. The merchant ship SS "Beaverford", armed with only two guns, engaged "Admiral Scheer" in a cat and mouse gunnery duel that lasted for over four hours before "Beaverford" was sunk with all hands. This allowed most of the convoy to complete their escape. "Admiral Scheer" was only able to sink six of the 38 ships in the convoy.
"Maiden", "Trewellard", "Kenbame Head", "Beaverford" and "Fresno" were sunk and the tanker damaged, but failing light now allowed the rest of the convoy to escape. "San Demetrio" was abandoned by her crew, but two days later some of the crew, now in lifeboats, sighted "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".
Ships in the convoy.
Allied merchant ships.
A total of 38 merchant vessels joined the convoy, either in Halifax or later in the voyage (convoys formed at Bermuda, coded "BHX" merged on the ocean with the convoys from Halifax as it was easier to protect one large convoy than two smaller ones). Five merchant ships were sunk when the unified convoy was attacked, with one more sunk after the convoy dispersed.
Convoy escorts.
A series of armed military ships escorted the convoy at various times during its journey, with only one present when the Germans attacked.