Convoy RA 62
The convoy RA 62 was an allied northern sea convoy , which was put together in December 1944 in the Soviet Murmansk and drove largely unloaded into the Scottish Loch Ewe . The Allies lost the Norwegian corvette Tunsberg Castle on a mine, while on the German side two submarines and two aircraft were lost.
Composition and securing
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The convoy RA 62 consisted of 29 cargo ships. On December 10, 1944, they left the Kola Bay ( Lage ) off Murmansk in the direction of Loch Ewe ( Lage ). The convoy's commodore was Captain E. Ullring, who had embarked on Fort Crevecour . The 8th and 20th Escort Group took over the local security with the destroyers HMS Keppel , HMS Beagle , HMS Bulldog , and HMS Westcott , the sloops HMS Cygnet , HMS Lapwing and HMS Lark and the corvettes HMS Allington Castle and HMS Bamborough Castle . A cover group consisting of the cruiser HMS Bellona , the 1st Div. the 7th destroyer flotilla with the new C-class destroyers HMS Caesar , HMS Cassandra , HMS Caprice and HMS Cambrian and the 17th destroyer flotilla with the HMS Onslow , HMS Orwell , HMS Obedient , HMS Offa , HMS Onslaught and HMS Oribi also escorted. The escort carriers HMS Campania and HMS Nairana with the frigates HMS Tavy , HMS Tortola , HMS Bahamas and HMS Somaliland were deployed as the support group, as was the Canadian 9th Escort Group with the frigates St. John , Stormont , Monnow , Loch Alvie , Nene and Port Colborne .
| Surname | Type | flag | Measurement in GRT | Whereabouts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abner Nash | freighter |
 United States
|
7177 | |
| Andrew W Preston | freighter |
United States
|
7247 | |
| Benjamin Schlesinger | freighter |
United States
|
7176 | |
| Collis P Huntington | freighter |
United States
|
7177 | |
| Dolabella | freighter |
United States
|
8142 | |
| Donald W Bain | freighter |
United States
|
7200 | |
| Eleazar Lord | freighter |
United States
|
7247 | |
| Eloy Alfaro | freighter |
United States
|
7176 | |
| Fort Crevecour | freighter |
 United Kingdom
|
7191 | |
| Fort Romaine | freighter |
United Kingdom
|
7131 | |
| Fort Yukon | freighter |
United Kingdom
|
7153 | |
| Harold L Winslow | freighter |
United States
|
7176 | |
| Henry Adams | freighter |
United States
|
7212 | |
| James m Gillis | freighter |
United States
|
7176 | |
| John Sharp Williams | freighter |
United States
|
7176 | |
| Joyce Kilmer | freighter |
United States
|
7176 | |
| Keith Palmer | freighter |
United States
|
7176 | |
| Laurelwood | freighter |
United Kingdom
|
7347 | |
| Lawrence J Brengle | freighter |
United States
|
7209 | |
| Luculus | freighter |
United Kingdom
|
6546 | |
| marathon | freighter |
 Norway
|
7208 | |
| Nicholas Biddle | freighter |
United States
|
7191 | |
| Park Benjamin | freighter |
United States
|
7176 | |
| Rathlin | Rescue ship |
United Kingdom
|
1600 | |
| San Venancio | freighter |
United Kingdom
|
8152 | |
| Stage door canteen | freighter |
United States
|
7176 | |
| William Pepper | freighter |
United States
|
7176 | |
| William Wheelwright | freighter |
United States
|
7176 | |
| Winfred L Smith | freighter |
United States
|
7191 |
course
Before the convoy RA 62 left, Allied support groups and a Soviet destroyer group with Baku , Gremjashchi , Rasumny , Derzki , Doblestny and Schiwuchi tried to push the submarines away from the entrance to Kola Bay . There were several misses by submarines with TV torpedoes at destroyers. On December 9, 1944, the HMS Bamborough Castle located U 387 ( location ) and sank it with depth charges. Other submarines severely damaged the escort vehicles. On December 10, succeeded U 365 ( able to get to the convoy and to keep in touch). After an unsuccessful attack on a tanker, it torpedoed the British destroyer HMS Cassandra on December 11th . It kept in touch until December 13, before it was sunk by a Swordfish from escort carrier HMS Campania . On December 12th, torpedo planes of Group I of Kampfgeschwader 26 attacked the convoy southwest of Bear Island. With two losses of their own, they did not achieve any success. On the same day, the Norwegian corvette Tunsberg Castle ( Lage ) ran into a mine in the German flank barrier near Makkaur and sank. On December 19, the convoy reached Loch Ewe.
Individual evidence
- ^ A b c Jürgen Rohwer , Gerhard Hümmelchen : Chronik des Maritime War 1939–1945, December 1944. Retrieved January 18, 2017 .
- ^ Arnold Hague: Arnold Hague Convoy Database, RA Convoy Series. Retrieved January 18, 2017 .
Map with all coordinates: