[2] The ships departed New York City 23 February 1943;[3] and were met by the Mid-Ocean Escort Force Group A-3 consisting of the United States Coast Guard (USCG) Treasury-class cutter USCGC Spencer, the American Wickes-class destroyer USS Greer, the British and Canadian Flower-class corvettes HMS Dianthus, HMCS Rosthern, HMCS Trillium and HMCS Dauphin and the convoy rescue ship Melrose Abbey.

[6] As western Atlantic coastal convoys brought an end to the second happy time, Admiral Karl Dönitz, the Befehlshaber der U-Boote (BdU) or commander in chief of U-Boats, shifted focus to the mid-Atlantic to avoid aircraft patrols.

[8] On 6 March U-405 sighted the convoy,[5] which had been scattered by nine consecutive days of northwesterly Force 10 gales and snow squalls.

[10] The British freighter Empire Impala stopped to rescue survivors and was torpedoed after dawn by U-591.

[10] U-190 torpedoed the British freighter Empire Lakeland when the gale subsided on 8 March and four more stragglers were sunk by U-526, U-527, U-591, and U-642.