Convoy PQ 8

The convoy PQ 8 was an allied northern sea convoy , which was put together in January 1942 in the Icelandic Hvalfjörður and brought essential war goods to the Soviet Murmansk . The Allies lost the destroyer HMS Matabele through German submarine attacks .

Composition and securing

Cruiser HMS Trinidad

The HMS Matabele was sunk by U 454

The convoy PQ 8 was composed of eight cargo ships. On January 8, 1942, they left Hvalfjörður ( Lage ) in the direction of Murmansk ( Lage ). The security was carried out by the mine sweepers HMS Harrier and HMS Speedwell . From January 11 the cruiser HMS Trinidad and the destroyers HMS Matabele and HMS Somali were added. The Eastern Local Escort with the mine sweepers HMS Hazard and HMS Sharpshooter and the Soviet destroyers Sokruschitelny and Gremjaschtschi as well as twelve MO-4 cutters accompanied the convoy from January 16.

Surname	Type	flag	Measurement in GRT	Whereabouts
British Pride	freighter	United Kingdom	7106
British Workman	freighter	United Kingdom	6994
Dartford	freighter	United Kingdom	4093
El Almirante	freighter	Panama	5248
Harmatris	freighter	United Kingdom	5395
Larranga	freighter	United States	3804
Southgate	freighter	United Kingdom	4862
Stari Bolshevik	freighter	Soviet Union	3974

course

The Germans put a submarine group on a northern sea convoy for the first time. The group "Ulan" with the boats U 134 , U 454 and U 584 reached the convoy on January 17, 1942. In the afternoon U 454 attacked several times and torpedoed the freighter Harmatris (5395 GRT) and the destroyer HMS Matabele . The Harmatris could be towed to Murmansk, while the destroyer HMS Matabele ( Lage ) sank so quickly that only two soldiers were saved. The convoy reached Murmansk on January 17th.

Individual evidence

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

 Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap