Convoy PQ 16

The PQ 16 gathers in Hvalfjörður off Reykjavík

The Convoy PQ 16 was an Allied Nordmeergeleitzug , who in May 1942 by Iceland's Reykjavik important war goods in the Soviet Murmansk and Arkhangelsk brought. The Allies lost seven ships with a total of 43,205 GRT and 32,400 tons of cargo, including 147 tanks, 77 aircraft and 770 motor vehicles, to German submarine and air attacks.

Composition and securing

While the HMS Nigeria belonged to the cover group of the convoy ...

... the HMS Achates took over the local safety

The freighters Empire Baffin and ...

... Empire Lawrence

The convoy PQ 16 consisted of 36 cargo ships. On May 21, 1942, they left Reykjavík ( Lage ) in Iceland towards Murmansk ( Lage ). The convoy's commodore was Captain NH Gale, who had embarked on the Ocean Voice . The Western Local Escort with the minesweepers HMS Hazard and the UJ trawlers HMS St. Elstan , HMS Lady Madelaine , HMS Northern Spray and (only until 23 May) Retriever (French) took over the close protection of the convoy until May 24th. Then the Ocean Escort took over the security to Murmansk with the destroyers HMS Ashanti , HMS Martin , HMS Achates , HMS Volunteer , ORP Garland (Polish) and the corvettes HMS Honeysuckle , HMS Starwort , Hyderabad (Indian), Roselys (French). For further local security, the cruisers HMS Nigeria , HMS Kent , HMS Norfolk , HMS Liverpool and the destroyers HMS Onslow , HMS Oribi and HMS Marne joined the convoy from 25 May . There were also two British submarines, the HMS Seawolf and the HMS Trident . For remote security - in the event that German capital ships would attack the convoy - the battleship HMS Duke of York , the aircraft carrier HMS Victorious , the cruiser HMS London and the destroyers HMS Blankney , HMS Eclipse , HMS Faulknor , HMS Fury crossed between Iceland and Norway . HMS Icarus , HMS Intrepid , HMS Lamerton , HMS Middleton and HMS Wheatland . In addition, the US-American TF 99 supported the British with the battleship USS Washington , the cruisers USS Tuscaloosa , USS Wichita and the destroyers USS Mayrant , USS Rhind , USS Rowan and USS Wainwright . There were also submarines ( P.46 , P.614 , P.37 (British), O-10 (Dutch), Minerve (French), S-102 , Shch-422 , K-1 (Soviet)) off Northern Norway in the area of ​​the approach routes of German surface forces.

Surname	Type	flag	Measurement in GRT	Whereabouts
Alamar	freighter	United States	5689	badly damaged by KG 30 on May 27; self-sunk
Alcoa banner	freighter	United States	5035
American Press	freighter	United States	5131
American Robin	freighter	United States	5172
Arkos	freighter	Soviet Union	2343
Atlantic	freighter	United Kingdom	5414
Black Ranger	freighter	United Kingdom	3417
Carlton	freighter	United States	5127	damaged by close-range bombing on May 25; returned to Iceland
Chernyshevsky	freighter	Soviet Union	3588
City of Joliet	freighter	United States	6167	damaged by KG 30 on May 27; self-sunk on May 28th
City of Omaha	freighter	United States	6124
Empire Baffin	freighter	United Kingdom	6978
Empire Elgar	freighter	United Kingdom	2847
Empire Lawrence	freighter	United Kingdom	7457	sunk by KG 30 on May 27th
Empire Purcell	freighter	United Kingdom	7049	sunk on May 27th by KG 30 ( location )
Empire Selwyn	freighter	United Kingdom	7167
Exterminator	freighter	Panama	6115
Heffron	freighter	United States	7611
Hybert	freighter	United States	6120
John Randolph	freighter	United States	7191
Lowther Castel	freighter			sunk on May 27th by I./KG 26
Massmar	freighter	United States	5828
Mauna Kea	freighter	United States	6064
Michigan	freighter	Panama	6419
Minotaur	freighter	United States	4554
Mormacsul	freighter	United States	5481	sunk by KG 30 on May 27th
Nemaha	freighter	United States	6501
Ocean Voice	freighter	United Kingdom	7174
Pieter de Hoogh	freighter	Netherlands	7168
Revoljuzioner	freighter	Soviet Union	2900
Richard Henry Lee	freighter	United States	7191
Shchors	freighter	Soviet Union	3770
Stari Bolshevik	freighter	Soviet Union	3974
Steel worker	freighter	United States	5685
Syros	freighter	United States	6191	sunk by U 703 on May 26th ( Lage )
West Nilus	freighter	United States	5495

course

A Heinkel He 111 H6 with an air torpedo

After the convoy had bypassed a known submarine line-up, the German aerial reconnaissance sighted the convoy on May 25. On the same day there was an attack by the III. Group of Kampfgeschwader 26 (III./KG 26) with 19 Heinkel He 111s with air torpedoes. The hurricane of the catapult ship Empire Lawrence shot down an He 111. In another attack by six Junkers Ju 88 of III./KG 30 bombs, the freighter was Carlton damaged and returned to Iceland. Two Ju 88s crashed from flak hits. On the night of May 26th, U 703 sank the freighter Syros . On May 27, seven He 111s of the I./KG.26 and eleven Ju 88s of the KG 30 attacked south-east of Bear Island and sank the Lowther Castle with air torpedo and the Mormacsul , the Empire Lawrence and the Empire Purcell with bombs . Furthermore, the Alamar had to be self- scuttled after severe bomb damage. Other freighters were damaged, such as the City of Joliet , which had to be self- scuttled on May 28th. Further attacks on May 29 by submarines and aircraft were unsuccessful. On May 30, six freighters and some of the security ships separated from the main escort with the destination Archangelsk. The last attacks of the KG 30 on both partial escorts were unsuccessful. The partial convoy for Murmansk arrived on May 31, and that for Arkhangelsk on June 1. Total loss of the convoy: 7 ships with 43,205 GRT and 32,400 tons of cargo, including 147 tanks, 77 aircraft and 770 motor vehicles.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Arnold Hague: Arnold Hague Convoy Database, PQ Convoy Series. Retrieved January 12, 2017 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b} Jürgen Rohwer , Gerhard Hümmelchen : Chronik des Maritime War 1939–1945, May 1942. Retrieved on January 9, 2017 . 

 Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap