Convoy QP 15

The convoy QP 15 was an allied northern sea convoy , which was put together in November 1942 in the Soviet Murmansk and drove largely unloaded to Loch Ewe in Scotland . The Allies lost two freighters with 9,825 GRT to submarine attacks. A Soviet destroyer sank due to a heavy storm and two freighters had to turn back.

Composition and securing

The HMS Suffolk was part of the local security group

Empire Baffin freighter

The convoy QP 15 consisted of 30 cargo ships. On November 17, 1942, he left the Kola Bay ( Lage ) off Murmansk in the direction of Loch Ewe ( Lage ). The convoy's commodore was Captain WC Meek, who had embarked on Temple Arch . First, the Eastern Local Escort took over the local security with the anti-aircraft ship HMS Ulster Queen , the mine sweepers HMS Britomart , HMS Halcyon , HMS Hazard and HMS Sharpshooter as well as the Soviet destroyers Baku and Sokruschitelny . This was followed by the Ocean Escort with the corvettes HMS Bergamot , HMS Bluebell , HMS Bryony , HMS Camellia and the mine sweeper HMS Salamander . Other security ships briefly joined the convoy. So the destroyers HMS Faulknor , HMS Intrepid , HMS Icarus , HMS Impulsive (November 20-26), HMS Echo (November 20-22), HMS Musketeer , HMS Orwell (November 23-30), HMS Middleton ( November 22nd). - 30.11.) And HMS Oakley (23-30.11.). A local security group with the cruisers HMS London , HMS Suffolk and the destroyers HMS Forester , HMS Obdurate and HMS Onslaught also operated on the convoy. The submarines HMS Seadog , HMS Trespasser , Junon (French), Uredd (Norwegian) and L-20 (Soviet) occupied positions in front of the northern Norwegian fjords against German surface forces.

Surname	Type	flag	Measurement in GRT	Whereabouts
Andre Marti	freighter	Soviet Union	2352
Belomor Canal	freighter	Soviet Union	2900
Charles R McCormick	freighter	United States	6027
Copeland	Rescue ship	United Kingdom	1526
Dan Y Brin	freighter	United Kingdom	5117
Empire Baffin	freighter	United Kingdom	6978
Empire Morn	freighter	United Kingdom	7092
Empire Snow	freighter	United Kingdom	6327
Empire Tristram	freighter	United Kingdom	7167
Esek Hopkins	freighter	United States	7191
Exford	freighter	United States	4969
Friedrich Engels	freighter	Soviet Union	3972
Goolistan	freighter	United Kingdom	5851	sunk by U 625 on November 22nd ( Lage )
Holywood	freighter	United States	5498
Ironclad	freighter	United States	5685	turned back because of severe storm
Comiles	freighter	Soviet Union	3962
Kuznets Lesov	freighter	Soviet Union	3974	sunk by U 601 on November 22nd ( Lage )
Lafayette	freighter	United States	5887
Meanticut	freighter	United States	6061	turned back because of severe storm
Nathaniel Greene	freighter	United States	7177
Patrick Henry	freighter	United States	7191
Petrovsky	freighter	Soviet Union	3771
Sahale	freighter	United States	5028
Schoharie	freighter	United States	4971
St. Olaf	freighter	United States	7191
Tbilisi	freighter	Soviet Union	7169
Temple Arch	freighter	United Kingdom	5138
Virginia Dare	freighter	United States	7177
White clover	freighter	Panama	5462
William Moultrie	freighter	United States	7177

course

The convoy drifted apart from November 20, 1942 due to a strong storm. The Soviet destroyers Baku and Sokruschitelny could not withstand the weather conditions. While the Sokruschitelny broke through half and sank, the Baku reached the port with severe damage in the foredeck and in the boiler rooms as well as heavy water ingress. On November 22, U 625 and U 601 found the convoy and sank the freighters Goolistan (5851 GRT) and Kuznets Lesow (3974 GRT), respectively . On November 30, the convoy reached Loch Ewe in Scotland. He lost two freighters of 9825 GRT and the freighters Ironclad and Meanticut turned back due to the weather conditions.

Individual evidence

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

 Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap