Convoy TM 1

Convoy TM 1 was the name of an Allied convoy during the Second World War. Nine tankers, escorted by Royal Navy warships, sailed from Trinidad in the Caribbean for Gibraltar in the Mediterranean Sea. Apprehension in the British government about a shortage of fuel in Britain and the demands on stocks of the unexpected length of the campaign in Tunisia after Operation Torch (8–16 November 1942) led to the convoy being arranged to supply fuel direct to the Mediterranean.

Escort Group B5, the destroyer HMS Havelock and three Flower-class corvettes, HMS Godetia, Pimpernel and Saxifrage protected the convoy that was attacked for several days during its passage through the Atlantic by a U-boat wolf pack (gruppe Delphin). The small number of escorts suffered failures of radar and high-frequency direction finding (Huff-Duff) sets that inhibited their effectiveness and despite the tanker's speed, the convoy was limited to about 8 kn (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) because of the short range of the corvettes.

The effectiveness of the U-boat attacks were reduced when U-boats left the convoy to attack sinking and drifting ships but seven of the nine tankers were sunk in return for minor damage to two U-boats. A Court of Inquiry was convened in Gibraltar over allegations that the crew of Vanja sent homing signals to the U-boats and avoiding attack but these were dismissed. Complaints of indiscipline amongst the crew of Empire Lytton were upheld and blamed on the Ministry of War Transport for its crewing policy.