Sailing ship escort vessel

[jcf]

The main operational issue with the Auxiliary Escort (Sail) program was that the ships had to leave port five to ten days before the scheduled departure of the convoy. This was to enable them to be in their operational area prior to the convoy passing that point.
 

[kerick]

From what I've heard of some convoys they didn't go very fast anyway so if the wind was right it might not have been much of a problem. Having to reverse course was a serious problem!

[Nick]

A quick Google suggests that most WW2 convoys sailed at an average of 9 knots per hour. That is about the same average for Cutty Sark or HMS Victory.

Given a strong wind I'd expect a good sailing ship to have their sails trimmed to prevent them from outpacing the merchant vessels.

[NARSES2]

A quick Google suggests that most WW2 convoys sailed at an average of 9 knots per hour. That is about the same average for Cutty Sark or HMS Victory.

Given a strong wind I'd expect a good sailing ship to have their sails trimmed to prevent them from outpacing the merchant vessels.

Yup tended to sail at the speed of the slowest ship in the convoy, and at the start of the War that could be very slow indeed.

[jcf]

A quick Google suggests that most WW2 convoys sailed at an average of 9 knots per hour. That is about the same average for Cutty Sark or HMS Victory.

Given a strong wind I'd expect a good sailing ship to have their sails trimmed to prevent them from outpacing the merchant vessels.

Steamships usually travel in a straight line, sailing vessels do not because they have to use the wind and as it changes direction and speed, which it does all the time, the vessel has to tack to remain on a heading.
Average speed of a sailing vessel and average speed of a steamship are not the same thing. The powered vessel can chug along all day at a set speed, the speed of a sailing vessel directly varies based on conditions. Changes of direction eat up speed, maneuvers like reversing course require planning and take far longer than in a powered ship. The larger the sailing vessel, the longer it takes to perform maneuvers, big ships don't respond like racing yachts. Having to reduce* sail in order to stay with a convoy wouldn't happen very often and it would also put the sailing vessel at an operational disadvantage. How it would operate as an escort is something that would have to be worked out, but it definitely couldn't operate like a sub-chaser, corvette or destroyer. 

*"trimming sail" refers to adjusting the
set of the sail(s) to take advantage of the wind conditions.

[Old Wombat]

A quick Google suggests that most WW2 convoys sailed at an average of 9 knots per hour. That is about the same average for Cutty Sark or HMS Victory.

Given a strong wind I'd expect a good sailing ship to have their sails trimmed to prevent them from outpacing the merchant vessels.

Steamships usually travel in a straight line, sailing vessels do not because they have to use the wind and as it changes direction and speed, which it does all the time, the vessel has to tack to remain on a heading.
Average speed of a sailing vessel and average speed of a steamship are not the same thing. The powered vessel can chug along all day at a set speed, the speed of a sailing vessel directly varies based on conditions. Changes of direction eat up speed, maneuvers like reversing course require planning and take far longer than in a powered ship. The larger the sailing vessel, the longer it takes to perform maneuvers, big ships don't respond like racing yachts. Having to reduce* sail in order to stay with a convoy wouldn't happen very often and it would also put the sailing vessel at an operational disadvantage. How it would operate as an escort is something that would have to be worked out, but it definitely couldn't operate like a sub-chaser, corvette or destroyer.

*"trimming sail" refers to adjusting the
set of the sail(s) to take advantage of the wind conditions.

All of which makes it ... Tah! Dah! ... A Bad Idea!, which is the entire point of the GB.

[Rick Lowe]

Except convoys usually zig-zagged along, didn't they? 

[NARSES2]

Except convoys usually zig-zagged along, didn't they? 

Individual ships might of, but it would be very difficult to choreograph a convoy to zig-zag in harmony I would have thought, although I'm only guessing. The escorts formed a screen, at least in the early stages of the War in order to keep the U-Boats out, once they broke through that screen however carnage ensued    Later in the War as newer, better and faster escorts arrived, especially the escort carriers, than the RN/RCN formed Hunter/Killer groups and the whole scenario changed.

[Old Wombat]

Except convoys usually zig-zagged along, didn't they? 

Individual ships might of, but it would be very difficult to choreograph a convoy to zig-zag in harmony I would have thought, although I'm only guessing. The escorts formed a screen, at least in the early stages of the War in order to keep the U-Boats out, once they broke through that screen however carnage ensued    Later in the War as newer, better and faster escorts arrived, especially the escort carriers, than the RN/RCN formed Hunter/Killer groups and the whole scenario changed.

Actually, convoys did zig-zag in accordance with a pre-planned schedule but the process was never as smooth nor as tight as military manoeuvres, & escorts often spent valuable time trying to herd various ships back into formation before the next course change. It's mentioned in Monsarrat's Three Corvettes.

[perttime]

"Convoys were grouped according to the speeds of the merchants and were designated as fast, medium, and slow. Fast convoys typically ran at 13 knots and were used to transport troops, often 20,000 to 30,000 at a time. The medium (9–10 knots) and slow (4–7 knots) convoys generally carried only cargo.

Fast convoys usually zig zagged to complicate the U-boats' targeting solutions, while slower and larger convoys usually steamed straight ahead because zig zagging further reduced speed and often caused confusion when used with a large number of ships. Individual ships sometimes used "evasive courses" (steering 20 to 40 degrees off base course) within the convoy if they were able. Larger convoys also increased the effectiveness of their escorts because the perimeter increased by only the square root of the total number of merchant ships."

https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2020/august/key-role-convoys

[Martin H]

well Germany deployed the Seeadler in the first world war as a commerce raider........
The Seeadler story

so not impossible however improbale

[NARSES2]

Actually, convoys did zig-zag in accordance with a pre-planned schedule but the process was never as smooth nor as tight as military manoeuvres, & escorts often spent valuable time trying to herd various ships back into formation before the next course change. It's mentioned in Monsarrat's Three Corvettes.

Ah right    and dad did mention having to "herd" various ships whilst he was on a corvette. 

[Joe C-P]

Ideas!   

I'd better build this so as not to disappoint, and now I have to top all this too!  Hmm...