Convoy RA 53
The convoy RA 53 was an Allied Nordmeergeleitzug , in March 1943 in the Murmansk upstream Kola Bay was compiled and largely without load in the Scottish Loch Ewe was driving. He lost four freighters with a total of 25,045 GRT due to German submarines and storms.
Composition and securing
The convoy RA 53 consisted of 30 cargo ships. On March 1, 1943, he left the Murmansk offshore Kola Bay ( Lage ) in the direction of Loch Ewe ( Lage ). The convoy's commodore was Vice-Admiral ML Goldsmith, who had embarked on Temple Arch . The local safety was carried out by the cruiser HMS Scylla , the destroyers HMS Faulknor , HMS Boadicea , HMS Eclipse , HMS Impulsive , HMS Inglefield , HMS Fury , HMS Milne , HMS Opportune , HMS Orwell and the Polish ORP Orkan , the corvettes HMS Bergamot , HMS Poppy , HMS Lotus and HMS Starwort of the Flower class as well as the trawlers Northern Pride (built in Bremerhaven in 1936 for British accounts) and St. Elstan .
Until March 9, there was also a group of cruisers, consisting of the cruisers HMS Belfast , HMS Cumberland and HMS Norfolk closer to the convoy. Remote security was taken over by the battleships HMS King George V and HMS Howe , the cruiser HMS Glasgow and the destroyers HMS Forester , HMS Icarus , HMS Musketeer , HMS Offa , HMS Onslaught and the Polish ORP Piorun .
| Surname | Type | flag | Measurement in GRT | Whereabouts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calobre | freighter |
 Panama
|
6891 | |
| Chester Valley | freighter |
 United States
|
5078 | |
| Cornelius Harnett | freighter |
United States
|
7177 | |
| Dan Y Bryn | freighter |
 United Kingdom
|
5117 | |
| Delsud | freighter |
United States
|
4982 | |
| El Oriente | freighter |
Panama
|
5414 | |
| Empire Archer | freighter |
United Kingdom
|
7031 | |
| Empire Clarion | freighter |
United Kingdom
|
7031 | |
| Empire Emerald | freighter |
United Kingdom
|
8032 | |
| Empire Snow | freighter |
United Kingdom
|
6327 | |
| Empire Tristram | freighter |
United Kingdom
|
7167 | |
| Executive | freighter |
United States
|
4978 | sunk by U 255 on March 5th ( Lage ) |
| Gulfwing | freighter |
United States
|
10,217 | |
| JLM curry | freighter |
United States
|
7176 | broke apart in a storm on March 9 and sank ( location ) |
| Jefferson Myers | freighter |
United States
|
7582 | |
| John HB Latrobe | freighter |
United States
|
7191 | |
| Mossoviet | freighter |
 Soviet Union
|
2981 | |
| Nicholas Gilman | freighter |
United States
|
7176 | |
| Ocean Faith | freighter |
United Kingdom
|
7174 | |
| Oligarch | Tanker |
United Kingdom
|
6894 | |
| Oremar | freighter |
United States
|
6854 | |
| Puerto Rican | freighter |
United States
|
6078 | sunk on March 9 by U 586 ( Lage ) |
| Ralph Waldo Emerson | freighter |
United States
|
7176 | |
| Richard Bassett | freighter |
United States
|
7191 | |
| Richard Bland | freighter |
United States
|
7191 | sunk on March 10 by U 255 ( location ) |
| San Ciprianao | freighter |
United Kingdom
|
7966 | |
| Temple Arch | freighter |
United Kingdom
|
5138 | |
| Vermont | freighter |
United States
|
5670 | |
| West Gotomska | freighter |
United States
|
5728 | |
| Yorkmar | freighter |
United States
|
5612 | sunk on October 9, 1943 in convoy SC 143 by U 645 about 475 miles south of Iceland |
course
The convoy was discovered and pursued by U 255 on March 2, 1943 . On March 5, the contactor sank the American Executive (4978 GRT), whose survivors were taken in by Northern Pride (42) and St. Elstan (11), and torpedoed another freighter that was able to march on. An attack by twelve Junkers Ju 88 of I./KG 30 on March 6th failed in strong defensive fire. A strong storm then dispersed the convoy, in which the US freighter JLM Curry (7176 GRT) broke and sank. On March 9, U 586 sank the US American Puerto Rican , of whose crew of 65 only one man was rescued from the St. Elstan . On March 10, U 255 was able to sink the Richard Bland (7191 GRT) that he had already torpedoed ; 34 men died, 35 survivors took over the Impulsive . The merging of the scattered ships was largely aided by the radar of the battleship King George V. The convoy reached Loch Ewe in Scotland on March 14, 1943. He had lost four freighters with a total of 25,045 GRT.
Individual evidence
- ^ Arnold Hague: Arnold Hague Convoy Database, RA Convoy Series. Retrieved January 18, 2017 .
- ↑ Jürgen Rohwer , Gerhard Hümmelchen : Chronicle of the Sea War 1939–1945, March 1943. Retrieved January 18, 2017 .
Map with all coordinates: