Convoy RA 66
The convoy RA 66 was an allied northern sea convoy that was put together in April 1945 in the Soviet Murmansk and drove largely unloaded to the Scottish Firth of Clyde . The Allies lost an escort vehicle, while a submarine was lost on the German side.
Composition and securing
The convoy RA 66 consisted of 27 cargo ships. On April 29, 1945 they left Murmansk ( Lage ) in the direction of the Firth of Clyde ( Lage ). The convoy's commodore was Captain R. Gill, who had embarked on the Fort Yukon . The 7th Escort Group with the sloop HMS Cygnet and the corvettes HMS Alnwick Castle , HMS Bamborough Castle , HMS Farnham Castle , HMS Honeysuckle , HMS Lotus , HMS Oxlip and HMS Rhododendron took over the local security . The carrier group with the cruiser HMS Bellona , the escort carriers HMS Premier , HMS Vindex and the destroyers HMS Zealous , HMS Zest , HMS Zodiac , HMS Zephyr , HMCS Haida , HMCS Huron , HMCS Iroquois and Stord (Norwegian) also stood at the convoy. The 19th Escort Group also supported the escort with the frigates HMS Loch Insh , HMS Loch Shin and HMS Anguilla and the destroyer escorts HMS Cotton and HMS Goodall . The Soviet destroyers Scharki , Schestki and Derzki as well as four BO-U-fighters patrolled the Kola Bay and were supposed to drive out German submarines.
| Surname | Type | flag | Measurement in GRT | Whereabouts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benjamin Schlesinger | freighter |
 United States
|
7176 | |
| Black Ranger | freighter |
 United Kingdom
|
3417 | |
| Blue Ranger | freighter |
United Kingdom
|
3417 | |
| Byron Darnton | freighter |
United States
|
7176 | |
| Charles A McAllister | freighter |
United States
|
7176 | |
| Copeland | Rescue ship |
United Kingdom
|
1526 | |
| Dolabella | freighter |
United Kingdom
|
8142 | |
| Eleazar Lord | freighter |
United Kingdom
|
7247 | |
| Eloy Alvaro | freighter |
United States
|
7176 | |
| Empire stalwart | freighter |
United Kingdom
|
7045 | |
| Fort Boise | freighter |
United Kingdom
|
7151 | |
| Fort Massac | freighter |
United Kingdom
|
7151 | |
| Fort Yukon | freighter |
United Kingdom
|
7153 | |
| Grace Abott | freighter |
United States
|
7191 | |
| Henry Lomb | freighter |
United States
|
7176 | |
| James M Gillis | freighter |
United States
|
7176 | |
| John McDonogh | freighter |
United States
|
7176 | |
| Lawrence J Brengle | freighter |
United States
|
7290 | |
| Leo J Duster | freighter |
United States
|
7176 | |
| Nicholas Biddle | freighter |
United States
|
7191 | |
| San Venancio | freighter |
United Kingdom
|
8152 | |
| Stage door canteen | freighter |
United States
|
7176 | |
| WR Grace | freighter |
United States
|
7176 | |
| Willard Hall | freighter |
United States
|
7200 | |
| William Pepper | freighter |
United States
|
7176 | |
| William Wheel Wright | freighter |
United States
|
7176 | |
| Winfried L Smith | freighter |
United States
|
7191 |
course
The German submarines U 278 , U 286 , U 295 , U 307 , U 312 , U 313 , U 427 , U 481 , U 711 and U 968 positioned themselves in front of the Kola Bay . Before the convoy left them, Allied escort vehicles were hunting the submarines. The frigate HMS Loch Insh U 307 ( Lage ) sank . Then U 286 torpedoed the frigate Goodall ( Lage ), which was later sunk, severely damaged. Other submarines were pushed under water and attacked with depth charges, but they escaped - mostly with damage. After April 30, no submarines came close to the convoy, which entered the Firth of Clyde on May 8.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Jürgen Rohwer , Gerhard Hümmelchen : Chronik des Maritime War 1939–1945, April 1945. Retrieved January 18, 2017 .
- ^ Arnold Hague: Arnold Hague Convoy Database, RA Convoy Series. Retrieved January 18, 2017 .
Map with all coordinates: