Operation BG (iii)

'BG' (iii) was the designation of Allied convoys (together with a numerical suffix) plying the route from Biak to Morotai or Morotai to Hollandia (November 1944/January 1945).

The first of these convoys was BG.502 of 1/4 November 1944 to Morotai with the 7,176-ton US John Owen and US minesweeper Rail towing the 700-ton US freight barge YF-613, escorted by the Australian minesweepers Gympie and Wagga. The last was BG.729 of 20/24 January 1945 to Hollandia with the 7,176-ton US Edwin Markham, 10,448-ton US El Morro and 7,176-ton US Stanford Newel escorted by the Australian destroyer Vendetta and Australian minesweepers Gladstone and Lithgow.