Convoy RA 59

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The convoy RA 59 was an allied northern sea convoy , which was put together in April 1944 in the Soviet Murmansk and drove largely unloaded to the Scottish Loch Ewe . The Allies lost a freighter (7176 GRT) and an airplane. On the German side, three submarines were lost.

Composition and securing

The HMS Diadem was together with the ...
... escort carriers HMS Fencer and ...
… HMS Activity part of the convoy

The convoy RA 59 consisted of 45 cargo ships. On April 28, 1944, they left the Kola Bay ( Lage ) off Murmansk in the direction of Loch Ewe ( Lage ). The convoy's commodore was Captain JO Dunn, who had embarked on the Fort Yukon . The extensive security consisted of the flak cruiser HMS Diadem , the escort carriers HMS Fencer and HMS Activity , the destroyers HMS Boadicea , HMS Ulysses , HMS Verulam , HMS Virago , HMS Walker , HMS Whitehall , HMS Milne , HMS Marne , HMS Matchless , HMS Meteor , HMS Musketeer , HMS Keppel , HMS Beagle , HMS Inconstant , HMS Westcott and HMS Wrestler , the corvette HMS Lotus and the Canadian frigates Cape Breton , Grou , Outremont and Waskesiu . Initially, the convoy group by the Soviet destroyer Gremjaschtschi and Rasjarenni , the minesweeper T-112 , T-114 , T-119 and U-Hunter BO-201 , BO-204 , BO-205 , BO-207 , BO-209 and BO-212 reinforced.

Surname Type flag Measurement in GRT Whereabouts
Andrew Carnegie freighter United StatesUnited States United States 7176
Arunah S Abell freighter United StatesUnited States United States 7176
Benjamin H Latrobe freighter United StatesUnited States United States 7176
Benjamin Schlesinger freighter United StatesUnited States United States 7176
Charles Henderson freighter United StatesUnited States United States 7176
Dolabella freighter United KingdomUnited Kingdom (trade flag) United Kingdom 8142
Edward Alexander freighter United StatesUnited States United States 7201
Fort Brule freighter United KingdomUnited Kingdom (trade flag) United Kingdom 7133
Fort Columbia freighter United KingdomUnited Kingdom (trade flag) United Kingdom 7155
Fort Hall freighter United KingdomUnited Kingdom (trade flag) United Kingdom 7157
Fort Kullyspell freighter United KingdomUnited Kingdom (trade flag) United Kingdom 7190
Fort Yukon freighter United KingdomUnited Kingdom (trade flag) United Kingdom 7153
Francis Scott Key freighter United StatesUnited States United States 7191
Francis Vigo freighter United StatesUnited States United States 7176
George Gale freighter United StatesUnited States United States 7176
George M Cohan freighter United StatesUnited States United States 7176
George T Angell freighter United StatesUnited States United States 7176
Gilbert Stuart freighter United StatesUnited States United States 7176
Grace Abbott freighter United StatesUnited States United States 7191
Hawking Fudske freighter United StatesUnited States United States 7176
Henry Villard freighter United StatesUnited States United States 7176
James Smith freighter United StatesUnited States United States 7181
John B Lennon freighter United StatesUnited States United States 7198
John Carver freighter United StatesUnited States United States 7176
John Davenport freighter United StatesUnited States United States 7176
John McDonogh freighter United StatesUnited States United States 7176
John T Holt freighter United StatesUnited States United States 7176
Joseph N Nicolett freighter United StatesUnited States United States 7176
Joshua Thomas freighter United StatesUnited States United States 7176
Joyce Kilmer freighter United StatesUnited States United States 7176
Julien Poydras freighter United StatesUnited States United States 7176
Lapland freighter United KingdomUnited Kingdom (trade flag) United Kingdom 2897
Morris Hillquit freighter United StatesUnited States United States 7210
Nicholas Biddle freighter United StatesUnited States United States 7210
Noreg freighter NorwayNorway Norway 7605
Pierre S Dupont freighter United StatesUnited States United States 7176
Robert Eden freighter United StatesUnited States United States 7176
Thomas Sim Lee freighter United StatesUnited States United States 7191
Townsend Harris freighter United StatesUnited States United States 7176
William D Byron freighter United StatesUnited States United States 7210
William Matson freighter United StatesUnited States United States 7176
William McKinley freighter United StatesUnited States United States 7200
William Moultrie freighter United StatesUnited States United States 7177
William Pepper freighter United StatesUnited States United States 7176
William S Thayer freighter United StatesUnited States United States 7176 Sunk by U 307 on April 30th

course

After the convoy was captured by the German aerial reconnaissance around midnight on April 28, 1944, two submarine groups were assigned to it. From April 30th, the groups “Donner” with U 277 , U 278 , U 307 , U 387 and U 636 and “Keil” with U 711 , U 739 , U 674 , U 354 , U 315 , U 959 and U 313 stood at the convoy. In doing so, U 307 sank the freighter William S. Thayer (7176 GRT). Further attacks by the submarines - including on May 1 - failed. A swordfish of the escort carrier Fencers sank U 277 ( Lage ). On May 2, the Swordfish sank two other submarines, U 959 ( Lage ) and U 674 ( Lage ), which attacked the convoy. After U 278 was attacked by three aircraft on May 3, it shot down one machine and escaped undamaged. On May 6th the convoy reached Loch Ewe.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Jürgen Rohwer , Gerhard Hümmelchen : Chronik des Maritime War 1939–1945, March 1944. Retrieved January 18, 2017 .
  2. ^ Arnold Hague: Arnold Hague Convoy Database, RA Convoy Series. Retrieved January 18, 2017 .