Convoy PQ 1
The Convoy PQ 1 was an Allied Nordmeergeleitzug , the end of September 1941 expired to supplies for the Red Army from Iceland to Murmansk by the North Sea to transport. The convoy was the second allied northern sea convoy and was the first to be named with an alphanumeric identifier.
Requirement and expiry
Requirement
After the so-called Moscow Conference, the Allies committed to deliver 200 aircraft to the Soviet Union by June 1942. The aircraft that had been delivered by the previous convoy as part of Operation Benedict remained under the control of the Royal Air Force . The bulk of the guaranteed aircraft should be delivered with the convoy PQ 1.
composition
The convoy consisted of ten cargo ships:
- Ville d'Anvers , Belgian, 7462 GRT
- Capira , Panamanian, 5565 GRT
- River Afton , British, 5479 GRT
- Atlantic , British, 5414 GRT
- Gemstone , British, 4986 GRT
- North King , Panamanian, 4934 GRT
- Lorca , British, 4875 GRT
- Harmonic , British, 4558 GRT
- Blairnevis , British, 4155 GRT
- Elna II , Soviet, 3221 GRT
and the fleet tanker RFA Black Ranger with 3,417 GRT to supply the security ships.
leak
The convoy left Hvalfjörður on September 29, 1941 at 6:45 p.m. The security was the responsibility of a combat group with the heavy cruiser HMS Suffolk and the three destroyers HMS Impulsive , HMS Anthony and HMS Antelope as well as the mine sweepers HMS Britomart , HMS Gossamer , HMS Leda and HMS Hussar .
HMS Antelope was replaced on October 2nd by the destroyer HMS Escapade coming from the Scapa Flow naval base and ran in turn to the naval base.
The tanker RFA Black Ranger left the convoy on October 4, 1941 and joined the ships of the convoy "QP 1", which was composed of the returning ships of the previous convoy Dervish .
Arrival of the convoy
The convoy PQ 1, like its predecessor, was not attacked. Attacks on the convoy system in the North Sea from the air did not begin until convoy PQ 6 . PQ 1 reached Murmansk on October 11, 1941 at 2:40 a.m. without losses . The merchant ships delivered:
- 193 Hawker Hurricane - fighters
- 20 main battle tanks
Evidence and references
Remarks
- ↑ Capira: 5565 GRT according to naval-history.net, 5625 tons according to convoyweb.org.uk
literature
- Richard Woodman: Arctic Convoys 1941-1945. Pen & Sword Books, 2007, ISBN 978-1844156115 .