Convoy PQ 17
date | July 2 to July 10, 1942 |
---|---|
place | Altafjord and Barents Sea |
output | Success of the Navy |
Parties to the conflict | |
---|---|
Commander | |
Grand Admiral Erich Raeder Commander on site: Admiral Schniewind on Tirpitz , Vice Admiral Oskar Kummetz on Lützow |
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Dudley Pound , First Sea Lord of the British Admiralty Commander on site: Commodore Dowding (convoy). Rear Admiral Hamilton (escort) |
Troop strength | |
Combat group:
|
* 35 merchant ships
Close security:
Remote backup:
|
losses | |
5 planes |
24 ships (143,977 GRT) |
The convoy PQ 17 was an allied arctic convoy that was supposed to transport supplies for the Red Army from Iceland through the Arctic Ocean to Murmansk in July 1942 . Because of a possible threat from heavy German warships that had sailed as part of the Rösselsprung company , the convoy was disbanded and subsequently suffered heavier losses than any other northern sea convoy.
Positioning, discovery
Lineup and composition
The British convoy PQ 17, led by its convoy commodore , Captain John (Jack) Dowding, left Reykjavík ( Lage ) on June 27 with destination Murmansk ( Lage ). It comprised 35 merchant ships, making it the largest allied convoy to date. Because of the danger posed by heavy German naval forces, it was accordingly well secured. The “First Escort Group” under Commander Browne, who was under the command of four destroyers and ten corvettes (some of which were converted fish steamers), ensured the protection of the freighters. The "First Cruiser Squadron", with the cruisers HMS London , HMS Norfolk , USS Wichita , USS Tuscaloosa and four destroyers under Rear Admiral Hamilton drove as close security against possible surface attacks in the vicinity of the escort.
Remote security up to the passage of the Northern Cape was the responsibility of a Home Fleet association under Admiral John Tovey with the battleships HMS Duke of York , USS Washington , the aircraft carrier HMS Victorious , the cruisers HMS Cumberland , HMS Nigeria , HMS Manchester and 14 destroyers .
Used merchant ships
Surname | Type | flag | Measurement in GRT | Whereabouts |
---|---|---|---|---|
Alcoa Ranger | freighter | United States | 5116 | sunk by U 255 ( position ) |
Aldersdale | Tanker | United Kingdom | 8402 | Damaged by KG 30 aircraft and sunk by U 457 ( Lage ) |
Azerbaijan | Tanker | Soviet Union | 6114 | damaged by air raids, reached Arkhangelsk |
Bellingham | freighter | United States | 5345 | Damaged by submarine attack, reached Arkhangelsk |
Ben Harrison | freighter | United States | 7200 | Reached Arkhangelsk |
Bolton Castle | freighter | United Kingdom | 5303 | Sunk by KG 30 aircraft |
Carlton | freighter | United States | 5127 | sunk by U 88 ( position ) |
Christopher Newport | freighter | United States | 7197 | sunk by U 457 ( position ) |
Daniel Morgan | freighter | United States | 7200 | sunk by U 88 ( position ) |
Donbass | Tanker | Soviet Union | 7925 | Reached Arkhangelsk |
Earlston | freighter | United Kingdom | 7195 | damaged by aircraft of KG 30 and sunk by U 334 ( Lage ) |
El Capitan | freighter | Panama | 5216 | Damaged by II./KG 30 aircraft and sunk by U 251 ( Lage ) |
Empire Byron | freighter | United Kingdom | 6645 | Damaged by KG 30 aircraft and sunk by U 703 ( Lage ) |
Empire tide | freighter | United Kingdom | 6978 | Reached Arkhangelsk |
Exfort | freighter | United States | 4969 | Collision with iceberg and return to Iceland |
Fairfield City | freighter | United States | 5686 | Sunk by KG 30 aircraft |
Hartlebury | freighter | United Kingdom | 5082 | sunk by U 355 ( position ) |
Honomu | freighter | United States | 6977 | sunk by U 456 |
Hoosier | freighter | United States | 5060 | Damaged by II./KG 30 aircraft and sunk by U 376 ( Lage ) |
Ironclad | freighter | United States | 5685 | Reached Arkhangelsk |
John Witherspoon | freighter | United States | 7199 | sunk by U 255 ( position ) |
Navarino | freighter | United Kingdom | 4841 | Sunk by I./KG 26 aircraft |
Ocean Freedom | freighter | United Kingdom | ? | Reached Arkhangelsk |
Olopana | freighter | United States | 6069 | sunk by U 255 ( position ) |
Pan Atlantic | freighter | United States | 5411 | Sunk by KG 30 aircraft |
Pan force | freighter | United States | 5644 | Sunk by KG 30 aircraft |
Paulus Potter | freighter | Netherlands | 7169 | Damaged by KG 30 aircraft and sunk by U 255 |
Peter Kerr | freighter | United States | 6476 | Sunk by KG 30 aircraft |
Richard Bland | freighter | United States | ? | return to Iceland after agitation |
River Afton | freighter | United Kingdom | 5479 | sunk by U 703 ( position ) |
Samuel Chase | freighter | United States | ? | Reached Arkhangelsk |
Silver Sword | freighter | United States | ? | Reached Arkhangelsk |
troubadour | freighter | Panama | 6458 | Reached Arkhangelsk |
Washington | freighter | United States | 5564 | Sunk by KG 30 aircraft |
William Hooper | freighter | United States | 7177 | Damaged by I./KG 26 aircraft and sunk by U 334 ( Lage ) |
Winston-Salem | freighter | United States | 6223 | Reached Arkhangelsk |
Discovery and Attack
The departure of the convoy was reported to the German naval war command early by German agents and on July 1, the convoy was overflown by a German long-range reconnaissance aircraft. A submarine then discovered the association 60 nautical miles east of Jan Mayen . On July 2, German dive bombers and torpedo bombers from Kampfgeschwader 30 , I./Kampfgeschwader 26 and the 1st squadron of coastal aviation groups 406 and 906 began attacking the unit from their bases in Bardufoss ( Lage ) and Banak ( Lage ). A total of 130 Junkers Ju 88 , 43 Heinkel He 111 and 29 Heinkel He 115 were ready. They continued their attacks - not interrupted by darkness because of the arctic summer - for three days. The submarines U-251 and U-376 also tried to attack, but were pushed away from the security ships. The destination of the convoy was changed by a radio command, it should now be called Archangelsk ( Lage ).
The first ship was sunk on the morning of July 4th after all previous air strikes had been repelled. The torpedo of a German bomber hit the Liberty ship Christopher Newport amidships and damaged it so badly that it had to be abandoned. 25 He 111 attacked around noon and damaged four freighters, two of which were abandoned.
Threat and dismantling of the convoy
Company Rösselsprung
Two combat groups were set up on the German side. Combat group I under the leadership of Admiral Otto Schniewind with the battleship Tirpitz , the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper , the destroyers Karl Galster , Friedrich Ihn , Hans Lody , Theodor Riedel and the torpedo boats T 7 and T 15 moved from Trondheim on July 2, 1942 to Northern Norway. Combat Group II under Vice Admiral Oskar Kummetz with the heavy cruisers Lützow and Admiral Scheer , the destroyers Z 24 , Z 27 , Z 28 , Z 29 , Z 30 and Richard Beitzen drove from Narvik or the Bogenbucht to the Altafjord on July 3, 1942 . Here both combat groups met and united with the destroyers Friedrich Eckoldt and Erich Steinbrinck to form an association. On the march, the heavy cruiser Lützow and the destroyers Karl Galster , Hans Lody and Theodor Riedel touched the ground and were canceled.
The British Admiralty communicated the departure of the German ships to the convoy's security association by radio on the morning of July 4th, after the aerial photographs of reconnaissance aircraft no longer showed them at their anchorages near Trondheim.
Dissolution of the convoy
On the evening of July 4th, Fleet Admiral Dudley Pound , First Sea Lord of the British Admiralty, decided that the threat to the formation from the German warships was now acute and ordered the accompanying cruisers of Rear Admiral Hamilton's local security to flee and disband the escort: “Cruiser Association expire with maximum speed to the west. " and a little later: " Since attack by enemy surface forces threatens, disband the convoy and set course for Russian ports "
Demolition of the Rösselsprung company
On July 5, both the German aerial reconnaissance and submarines reported the dissolution of convoy PQ 17 and the departure of the British security ships to the west. Then the Tirpitz ( Commander : Captain on the Sea Karl Topp ), the Admiral Hipper (Commandant: Captain on the Sea Wilhelm Meisel ), the Admiral Scheer (Commandant: Captain on the Sea Wilhelm Meendsen-Bohlken ), seven destroyers and two torpedo boats went to sea. Before Ingöy, the Soviet submarine K-21 attempted an unsuccessful attack on the Tirpitz . A Catalina flying boat of the Royal Air Force -Squadron 210 and the British submarine Unshaken sighted and reported the German fleet association. The high command of the navy decided to abandon the planned attack because, in accordance with an order from Hitler, they did not want to take any risks - especially for the Tirpitz . The direct attack on the convoy PQ 17 should take over submarines and aircraft. On the evening of July 5, the German naval association received an order from the naval war command to abandon any further pursuit of the convoy's ships and to gather in the Kåfjord . This ended the Rösselsprung company . None of the German ships that were parked for the operation ever came within sight of the escort or its ships.
Aftermath
The dismantling of the convoy and the withdrawal of the majority of the security ships was devastating: The merchant ships, now moving individually, were no longer protected from submarines by escorts and could no longer combine the fire of their own anti-aircraft weapons with that of the entire convoy on the attacking aircraft. For five days, the steamers were attacked by planes from Luftflotte 5 (Gen. Colonel Hans-Jürgen Stumpff ) and submarines from the “Eisteufel” group.
The few light security ships of the convoy, which were also supposed to call at Arkhangelsk, could not overcome the great distances between the merchant ships in time to repel the attacks and were further confused by radio messages from the Admiralty, which announced the attack by a German naval unit with increasing emphasis. The Admiralty radioed the security ships at 1am on July 6th: “The attack by the enemy surface forces will probably take place in the next few hours. Your first duty is to avoid your ship being destroyed so that you can return to the site of the attack and pick up the survivors after the enemy has withdrawn. ” The freighters tried on their own - mostly on a north-east course along the pack ice border and as far away as possible from the German air force bases - to reach the coast of Novaya Zemlya , and then to travel south to Arkhangelsk.
Of 35 merchant ships, two turned back shortly after leaving - one due to engine damage and one due to collision damage with ice floes. Of the remaining 33 ships, a total of 22 cargo ships (15 American, six British and one Dutch) were sunk. A marine tanker and a rescue ship were also lost. Eight ships fell victim to air raids, the rest were sunk by submarines. 210 aircraft, 430 tanks, 3,350 trucks and almost 100,000 tons of spare parts, ammunition and food sank with the freighters. Only eleven cargo ships from PQ 17 reached Murmansk and Arkhangelsk. 153 merchant marine sailors died. Luftflotte 5 lost five of its aircraft.
Evidence and references
literature
- Georges Blond: Course Murmansk - The Fateful Voyages of the Allied Arctic Ocean Convoys. Stalling Verlag, Oldenburg 1957; Original title: Convois Vers l´URSS. 1950, Librairie Arthème Fayard.
- David Irving : The destruction of the convoy PQ 17 , Albrecht Knaus Verlag Hamburg 1982.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Percy E. Schramm : War Diary of the High Command of the Wehrmacht 1942. Part 2, Bernard & Graefe Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, Bonn, ISBN 3-7637-5933-6 , p. 1417.
- ↑ Sea War in July 1942 on wlb-stuttgart.de, viewed on June 1, 2012
- ↑ Georges Blond: Course Murmansk. P. 122.
- ^ German naval calendar 1968 - German military publisher Berlin
- ^ Chronicle of the Naval War 1939–1945, July 1942 , accessed on December 4, 2012.
- ↑ Georges Blond: Course Murmansk. P. 124.
- ↑ J. Piekalkiewicz : Sea War 1939–1945. Bechtermünz, Augsburg 1998.
- ↑ Georges Blond: Course Murmansk. P. 131.
- ↑ Brian Betham Schofield : Convoy Battles. Koehlers, Herford 1983.
- ↑ Georges Blond: Course Murmansk. P. 134.
- ↑ Loss of PQ-17 on uboat.net, viewed June 1, 2012