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At this point in time America were not at war and although there was a Japanese threat, the Japanese had not yet declared war by attacking Pearl Harbour and Malaya. Orders for Task Force 14 were sent out to eighteen U.S. Navy ships with a secret directive on the 20th October 1941. The six page directive was sent by Admiral H.R Stark who was Chief of Naval Operations (CNO). The orders read:- Pursuant to a revised agreement with the British government, Task Force Fourteen will proceed on or about 3rd November, 1941 from the United States for the Middle East via Halifax, Trinidad, and Capetown, South Africa, and return to the United States. From Halifax to the Middle East Task Force Fourteen will transport one division of British troops consisting of approximately 20,000 officers and men. While no commitment has yet been made, it is possible that a second trip from Halifax to the Middle East may be authorised.€ In the directive the CNO ordered each ship should carry enough provisions for 90 days at sea:- The troops are to be carried as supernumeraries and records of rations so indicate.€ The ships were also instructed to carry ammunition for five and three inch batteries. The CNO order ended with a caution:- Attention is invited to the highly secret nature of the movements and plans of this expedition. Information pertaining thereto is not to be disclosed to other than those immediately concerned with its accomplishment. Thus TF14 was formed and included the following ships:-
President Franklin D. Roosevelt did not want to be known as helping the Allies as he had been subjected to several neutrality acts. Up to the outbreak of war many US Congressmen did not want merchant ships armed, they wanted to be neutral. Whilst the convoy was at sea, Japan entered the war by attacking Malaya and Pearl Harbour, thus making TF14 a convoy at war. New OPNAV orders were given and the war ships returned to the States leaving the US transports under a UK escourt, at the same time the British troops were given new orders they were bound for Singapore to defend it against the threat from the Japananese invasion of Malaya. Aknowledgements:- Jerome M. O’Connor article under Ghost Ships Arnold Hague Convoy Database |
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