Ron Klages wrote:Here is a bit more detail on the arrival of the German units in North Africa at Tripoli in the beginning.
I can offer the likely composition of such convoys, according to USMM'
'La Difesa del Traffico con l'Africa Settentrionale'.
I listed only German cargo ships, assuming only them were used. It is possible part of these units traveled onboard Italian ships as well (many convoys listed below contained one or more Italian ships) but listing them too makes the picture too confused.
As shown below, the date claimed for a few convoys may be wrong.
Convoy 1 on 11 February 1941
- Ankara
- Arcturus
- Alicante
From Napoli 9:30 8 Feb to Tripoli 15:00 11 Feb
From Tripoli 11:00 13 Feb to Napoli 12:00 15 Feb
Convoy 2 on 14 February 1941
- Adana
- Aegina
- Kibfels
- Ruhr
Fom Napoli 01:45 12 Feb to Tripoli 18:00 14 Feb
From Tripoli (minus Kibfels) 07:00 16 Feb to Napoli 15:00 18 Feb
Kibfels from Tripoli 00:30 to Napoli 08:00
Convoy 3 on 20 February 1941
- Arta
- Heraclea
- Menes
- Maritza
From Napoli 01:00 17 Feb to Tripoli 06:00 20 Feb
From Tripoli (minus Arta) 08:00 21 Feb
Menes torpedoed en route, towed back, to Tripoli 08:00 22 Feb
Maritza to Napoli 11:00 23 Feb, Heraclea to Napoli 10:30 24 Feb
Arta from Tripoli 05:30 24 Feb to Napoli 22:30 26 Feb
Convoy 4 on 25 February 1941
- Ankara
- Reichenfels
- Kibfels
- Marburg
From Napoli 19:00 23 Feb to Tripoli 20:30 25 Feb
From Tripoli 12:00 27 Feb to Napoli 10:00 1 Mar
Convoy 5 on 27 February 1941
- Alicante
- Arcturus
- Wachtfels
- Leverkusen
From Napoli 12:30 25 Feb to Tripoli 18:30 27 Feb
From Tripoli 13:00 1 Mar to Napoli 11:00 3 Mar
Convoy 6 on 3 March 1941
- Castellon
- Ruhr
- Maritza
From Napoli 04:00 1 Mar to Tripoli 18:00 3 Mar
From Tripoli 12:00 5 Mar to Napoli 15:00 7 Mar
Convoy 7 on 6 March 1941
- Adana
- Arta
- Aegina
From Napoli 18:00 3 Mar to Tripoli 20:30 6 Mar
From Tripoli (plus Heraclea) 7:30 9 Mar to Napoli 06:30 12 Mar
Convoy 8 on 8 March 1941
- Santa Fe
From Napoli 20:30 4 Mar to Tripoli 11:00 7 Mar (not
Return detail unknown
Convoy 9 on 10 March 1941
- Ankara
- Kibfels
- Marburg
- Reichenfels
From Napoli 17:00 5 Mar, stop at Palermo, to Tripoli 12:00 10 Mar
From Tripoli 13:00 12 Mar
Ankara & Kibfels to Palermo 20:00 13 Mar, others to Napoli 07:00 14 Mar
Convoy 10 not recorded There were two different convoys:
Convoy 10A ?
- Alicante
- Arcturus
- Wachtfels
From Napoli 11:30 7 Mar, soon return there
From Napoli 14:00 8 Mar to Tripoli ? Mar
from Tripoli (minus Alicante) 14:00 12 Mar to Napoli 18:00 14 Mar
Convoy 10B ?
- Castellon
- Ruhr
- Maritza
- Leverkusen
From Napoli 03:30 12 Mar to Tripoli 13:00 14 Mar
From Tripoli (minus Ruhr, plus Alicante) 11:00 16 Mar to Napoli 14:00 18 Mar
Ruhr from Tripoli 10:00 17 Mar to Napoli 19:00 19 Mar
Convoy 11 and 12 on 18 March 1941
Convoy 11 ?
- Adana
- Aegina
- Heraclea
- Galilea
From Napoli 20:30 14 Mar to Tripoli 01:00 18 Mar
From Tripoli 07:30 19 mar to Napoli 20:00 21 Mar
Convoy 12 ?
- Marburg
- Reichenfels
- Kibfels
- Ankara
Marburg & Reichenfels from Napoli 20:30 16 Mar to Trapani
All ships from Trapani 03:00 17 Mar to Tripoli 12:00 18 Mar
From Tripoli (minus Ankara) 18:00 20 Mar to Trapani 17:00 21 Mar
Ankara from Tripoli 14:30 25 Mar to Trapani 17:00 21 Mar
Marburg & Kibfels from Trapani ? to Napoli 07:30 22 Mar
There was an additional Convoy not listed
- Arta
From Napoli 21:30 16 Mar to Tripoli 17:00 19 Mar
From Tripoli 00:30 22 Mar to Napoli 18:30 25 Mar
Convoy 13 on 21 March 1941
- Arcturus
- Santa Fe
- Procida
- Wachtfels
From Napoli 02:30 19 Mar to Tripoli 15:00 21 Mar
From Tripoli 08:30 23 Mar to Napoli 13:00 25 Mar
Convoy 14 on 23 March 1941
- Castellon
- Alicante
- Maritza
- Leverkusen
From Napoli 05:30 22 Mar to Tripoli 11:00 24 Mar (not 23)
From Tripoli (minus Leverkusen) 14:00 25 Mar to Napoli 18:30 27 Mar
Leverkusen from Tripoli 12:00 26 Mar to Napoli 12:00 28 Mar
Convoy 15 on 30 March 1941
- Adana
- Samos
- Heraclea
- Ruhr
- Galilea
From Napoli 23:45 26 Mar
02:45 28 Mar Heraclea sunk, Ruhr hit and towed to Trapani 21:00 30 Mar
Other ships to Tripoli 08:00 30 Mar
Adana from Tripoli 21:30 2 Apr, soon return there.
Adana from Tripoli 21:30 7 Apr to Napoli 01:00 10 Apr
Samos later employed on Tripoli-Bengasi route
Convoy 16 on 1 April 1941
- Marburg
- Kibfels
- Ankara
- Reichenfels
Marburg & Kibfels from Napoli 19:30 29 Mar
Ankara & Reichenfels from Palermo 03:30 30 Mar
All ships to Tripoli 14:30 31 Mar
From Tripoli (plus Galilea) 11:00 2 Apr to Napoli 07:30 4 Apr
Convoy 17 on 5 April 1941
- Alicante
- Maritza
- Sant Fe
- Procida
From Napoli 11:30 2 Apr to Tripoli 00:45 5 Apr
From Tripoli 04:30 8 Apr, soon return there
From Tripoli ? 9 Apr to Napoli 10:00 11 Apr
Convoy 18 on 10 April 1941
- Castellon
- Arcturus
- Wachtfels
- Leverkusen
From Napoli 02:00 8 Apr to Tripoli 12:00 10 Apr
From Tripoli 11:00 12 Apr to Napoli (minus Wachtfels) 23:00 14 Apr
Wachtfels to Trapani 10:00 14 Apr
Convoy 19 on 14 April 1941
- Ankara
- Marburg
- Kibfels
- Reichenfels
- Galilea
From Napoli 17:30 11 Apr to Tripoli 10:00 14 Apr
From Tripoli 16:00 19 Apr to Napoli 14:00 21 Apr
Convoy 20 on 16 April 1941
- Adana
- Arta
- Aegina
- Iserlhon
From Napoli 23:00 13 Apr, attacked 01:30 16 Apr, all sunk
Convoy 21 on 20 April 1941
- Alicante
- Maritza
- Santa Fe
- Procida
From Napoli 01:45 14 Apr, stop at Palermo, to Tripoli 05:00 20 Apr
From Tripoli 14:30 21 Apr, soon return there
From Tripoli 19:00 22 Apr to Napoli 06:30 25 Apr
Convoy 22 on 24 April 1941
- Castellon
- Arcturus
- Leverkusen
- Wachtfels
From Napoli (minus Wachtfels) 02:30 21 Apr, stop at Palermo, all ships to Tripoli 17:00 24 Apr
From Tripoli 18:00 30 Apr, Arcturus mined 12:00 1 May, Leverkusen torpedoed 21:00 1 May
Other ships stop at Trapni, to Napoli 07:00 5 May
Convoy 23 on 2 May 1941
- Marburg
- Kibfels
- Reichenfels
From Napoli 23:00 24 Apr, stop at Palermo, to Tripoli 23:00 1 May (not 2 May)
From Tripoli 09:30 5 May to Palermo 06:30 7 May
Convoy 24 on 6 May 1941
- Ankara
From Napoli 01:15 4 May to Tripoli 20:45 5 May
From Tripoli 19:30 12 May to Napoli 16:30 14 May
Convoy 25 on 13 May 1941
- Wachtfels
From Napoli 02:00 11 May to Tripoli 11:40 13 May
From Tripoli 16:00 20 May to Napoli 23:00 23 May
Convoy 26 on 21 May 1941
- Preussen
From Napoli 18:30 16 May, stop at Palermo, to Tripoli 11:00 21 May
From Tripoli 09:00 25 May, stop at Lampedusa, at Napoli 01:30 30 May
Convoy 27 on 25 May 1941 - No German ship reached Tripoli from Italy near that date
Convoy 28 on 28 May 1941
- Ankara
From Napoli 02:30 26 May to Tripoli ? 28 May
From Tripoli 20:00 3 Jun to Napoli 15:00 5 Jun
Convoy 29 Had no new units aboard There were two different convoys:
Convoy 29A ?
- Sparta
From Palermo 12:00 29 May to Tripoli 21:00 31 May
From Tripoli 19:00 2 Jun to Bengasi 19:00 4 Jun
Convoy 29B ?
- Wachtfels
From Napoli 05:30 10 Jun to Tripoli 20:00 12 Jun
From Tripoli 15:00 21 Jun, hit by bombs, to Trapani 01:30 23 Jun
Convoy 30 on 22 June 1941
- Preussen
From Napoli 23:30 19 Jun to Tripoli 19:30 22 Jun
From Tripoli 20:00 1 Jul to Napoli 01:10 5 Jul
Convoy 31 on 28 June 1941 - No German ship reached Tripoli from Italy near that date