Operation FB

The operation FB was a maritime company of the Allies in World War II for the supply of war-important goods in the Soviet Union . Contrary to the previous deliveries, which were organized in northern sea convoys , from November 1942 to January 1943 individual cargo ships drove the route from Icelandic Reykjavík to Soviet Murmansk and Arkhangelsk as solo drivers . In total, the Allies lost eight freighters with 46,874 GRT, while a submarine sank on the German side.

Starting position

After the previous convoys PQ 17 , PQ 18 and QP 14 had suffered heavy losses, the British wanted to stop deliveries via the northern sea convoys route. In addition, because of the approaching Operation Torch, no large warships were available to cover the convoys. In this situation, the British decided, also at Soviet insistence, to let cargo ships travel the dangerous route as single drivers.

course

Anti-submarine trawler HMS Northern Pride ....

.... and Northern Spray

From October 29th, 13 cargo ships ran east from Reykjavík ( Lage ), each 200 nautical miles apart. In the opposite direction from Murmansk ( Lage ), 23 individual drivers headed west. In order to offer the ships at least minimal protection, the submarine trawlers HMS Cape Palliser , HMS Northern Pride , HMS Northern Spray , HMS St. Elstan , HMS Cape Argona , HMS Cape Mariano and HMS St. Kennan were set up along the route . On November 2, U 586 captured the Empire Gilbert (6640 GRT) and sank her. On November 4th, planes of the Coastal Aviation Group 406 noticed the first single drivers. Thereupon I. Gruppe / Kampfgeschwader 30 flew their first attack and sank the Dekabrist (7363 GRT). The II./KG 30 damaged two freighters, of which the William Clark (7176 GRT) was finally sunk by U 354 and the Chulmleigh (5445 GRT) was set aground in Svalbard after another bomb hit on November 5th. On November 16, U 625 destroyed her for good with a torpedo. On November 6, a Catalina sank U 408 north of Iceland . After it had been found that the freighters were operating as a lone driver, the Navy also deployed the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper with the 5th destroyer flotilla with Z 27 , Z 30 , Friedrich Eckoldt and Richard Beitzen . On 7 November, the Hipper's aircraft caught the Donbas tanker traveling eastwards , which was subsequently sunk by Z 27 .

Surname	Type	flag	Measurement in GRT	Whereabouts
Aldan	freighter	Soviet Union	2161
Andre Marti	freighter	Soviet Union	2352
Azerbaijan	freighter	Soviet Union	6114
Briarwood	freighter	United Kingdom	4019	returned to Iceland
Bureja	freighter	Soviet Union	273
Chernyshevsky	freighter	Soviet Union	3588
Chulmleigh	freighter	United Kingdom	5445	Damaged and aground on November 4th by II./KG 30, destroyed by U 625 on November 16th
Daldorch	freighter	United Kingdom	5571	returned to Iceland
Decembrist	freighter	Soviet Union	7363	sunk on November 4th by I./KG 30
Donbass	Tanker	Soviet Union	7925	sunk by Z 27 on November 7th ( location )
Dvina	freighter	Soviet Union	1773
Empire Galliard	freighter	United Kingdom	7200
Empire Gilbert	freighter	United Kingdom	6640	sunk by U 586 on November 2nd ( Lage )
Empire Scott	freighter	United Kingdom	6640
Empire Sky	freighter	United Kingdom	7455	sunk by U 625 on November 6th ( Lage )
Hugh Williamson	freighter	United States	7177
John HB Latrobe	freighter	United States	7191	returned to Iceland
John Walker	freighter	United States	7191
Kara	freighter	Soviet Union	2325
Komsomolets Artiki	freighter	Soviet Union	3450
Krasnyj partisan	freighter	Soviet Union	2418	sunk by U 255 on January 26th ( Lage )
Kuzbass	freighter	Soviet Union	3109
Leonid Krasin	freighter	Soviet Union	1840
Mossoviet	freighter	Soviet Union	2981
Msta	freighter	Soviet Union	1984
If	freighter	Soviet Union	2198
Ochta	freighter	Soviet Union	1357
Osmussaar	freighter	Soviet Union	2229
jacket	freighter	Soviet Union	2363
Sheksna	freighter	Soviet Union	2242
Shilka	freighter	Soviet Union	1388
Soroka	freighter	Soviet Union	1718
Ufa	freighter	Soviet Union	1892	sunk by U 255 on January 29th ( Lage )
Uritsky	freighter	Soviet Union	2336
Vanzetti	freighter	Soviet Union	2363
Wetluga	freighter	Soviet Union	1717
William Clark	freighter	United States	7176	sunk by U 354 on November 4th ( Lage )

Conclusion

Of the 14 Allied ships that sailed eastwards, the Germans sank seven with 38,949 GRT. Three more had to turn back for different reasons. Only one tanker with 7,925 GRT was sunk of the 23 single riders traveling westward. A total of eight out of 37 freighters with 46,874 GRT were lost. As a result, the convoy procedure was reverted to.

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 Convoy Database , accessed August 15, 2013.

 Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap