Convoy PQ 12 was an Arctic convoy sent from Great Britain by the Western Allies to aid the Soviet Union during World War II. It sailed in March 1942, reaching Murmansk despite a sortie against it by the German battleship Tirpitz. All ships arrived safely.
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Transcription
Ships
PQ 12 consisted of 16 ships under the command of the Convoy Commodore, Hubert Hudson. The Close Escort comprised the minesweeper HMS <i>Gossamer</i> and five whalers. These were joined on 5 March by the Ocean Escort of two destroyers, HMS Oribi, commanded by Commander J. E. H. McBeath who took over as Senior Officer Escort and Offa, supported by the cruiser HMS Kenya.
Distant cover was provided by two Heavy Cover Forces; one comprising the battleship HMS Duke of York (Vice Admiral Alban Curteis commanding), the battlecruiser HMS Renown and six destroyers, sailing from Reykjavík and another led by Admiral John Tovey comprising the battleship HMS King George V, the carrier HMS Victorious, the cruiser HMS Berwick and six destroyers, sailing from Scapa Flow.
Action
PQ 12 sailed from Reykjavík on 1 March 1942 with its Close Escort.[1] It was joined on 5 March by the Ocean Escort and on 6 March by the cruiser Kenya. Also at sea were the Heavy Cover Forces, Curteis from Reykjavík sailing on 3 March and Tovey from Scapa Flow on 4 March. On 5 March the convoy was sighted by a German reconnaissance aircraft and on 6 March, after obtaining permission from Hitler to do so, Tirpitz sortied from Trondheim with three destroyers as escort. This was Operation Sportpalast, and was intended to find and destroy PQ 12 and its reciprocal, QP 8, which was also at sea.
Shortly after sailing Tirpitz was sighted by the patrolling submarine HMS Seawolf and the Heavy Cover Forces, now joined, sought to bring Tirpitz to action. Over the next two days these groups of ships manoeuvred around each other without coming into contact, though on two occasions they were 60 nmi (110 km; 69 mi) apart. Tirpitz had no success, though her destroyers encountered one straggler from QP 8, the freighter Ijora, and sank her. Finally on 9 March as Tirpitz headed for home, she was sighted by aircraft from Victorious and attacked, though also without success.
PQ 12 arrived at Murmansk on 12 March.[1] No ships were lost, though the escort suffered one whaler lost, Shera, capsized by ice buildup and Oribi, damaged by pack ice. On 24 March, Lancaster Castle was dive-bombed alongside the quay in Murmansk and ten men were killed.[2] It was towed out and moored in the river, the crew remaining on board. A few days later it was dive-bombed again and received five hits. There were no casualties but the crew moved to shore. PQ 12 provided valuable military equipment and other materials for the Soviet war effort. The distribution of equipment and supplies delivered with PQ 12 was the subject of a Soviet State Defence Committee decree.[3]
Ships in the convoy
Allied merchant ships
The ships of the convoy arrived at Reykjavík on 27 February.[4][5]
| Name | Flag | Tonnage (GRT) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| <i>Artigas</i> (1920) |  Panama
|
5,613 | |
| <i>Ballot</i> (1922) | Panama
|
6,131 | Dynamo defects, did not sail with PQ 12 |
| <i>Bateau</i> (1926) | Panama
|
4,687 | Returned |
| <i>Beaconstreet</i> (1927) |  United Kingdom
|
7,467 | |
| <i>Belomorcanal</i> (1936) |  Soviet Union
|
2,900 | |
| <i>Capulin</i> (1920) | Panama
|
4,977 | |
| <i>Dneprostroi</i> (1919) | Soviet Union
|
4,756 | |
| <i>Earlston</i> (1941) | United Kingdom
|
7,195 | |
| <i>El Coston</i> (1924) | Panama
|
7,286 | |
| El Occidente (1910) | Panama
|
6,008 | |
| Empire Byron (1941) | United Kingdom
|
6,645 | Convoy Vice Commodore's ship |
| <i>Kiev</i> (1917) | Soviet Union
|
5,823 | Position probable but not definite |
| <i>Lancaster Castle</i> (1937) | United Kingdom
|
5,172 | Sunk by Luftwaffe in Murmansk roads, 9 killed, 48 survivors [6] |
| <i>Llandaff</i> (1937) | United Kingdom
|
4,825 | Convoy Commodore's ship, Captain Hubert Hudson RD RNR |
| <i>Navarino</i> (1937) | United Kingdom
|
4,825 | |
| <i>Sevzaples</i> (1932) | Soviet Union
|
3,974 | |
| <i>Stone Street</i> (1922) | Panama
|
6,131 | |
| <i>Temple Arch</i> (1940) | United Kingdom
|
5,138 |
Convoy escorts
The smaller RN escorts operated in relays.[5]
| Name | Flag | Type | Joined | Left |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HMT <i>Angle</i> (FY201) |  Royal Navy
|
Naval trawler | 1 March 1942 | 4 March 1942 |
| Ashanti | Royal Navy
|
Tribal-class destroyer | 6 March 1942 | 10 March 1942 |
| Bedouin | Royal Navy
|
Tribal-class destroyer | 6 March 1942 | 10 March 1942 |
| Berwick | Royal Navy
|
County-class cruiser | 6 March 1942 | 10 March 1942 |
| HMT <i>Chiltern</i> | Royal Navy
|
Anti-submarine naval trawler | 1 March 1942 | 4 March 1942 |
| Duke of York | Royal Navy
|
King George V-class battleship | 6 March 1942 | 10 March 1942 |
| Echo | Royal Navy
|
E-class destroyer | 6 March 1942 | 10 March 1942 |
| Eclipse | Royal Navy
|
E-class destroyer | 6 March 1942 | 10 March 1942 |
| Eclipse | Royal Navy
|
E-class destroyer | 6 March 1942 | 10 March 1942 |
| Eskimo | Royal Navy
|
E-class destroyer | 6 March 1942 | 10 March 1942 |
| Faulknor | Royal Navy
|
F-class destroyer | 6 March 1942 | 10 March 1942 |
| Fury | Royal Navy
|
F-class destroyer | 6 March 1942 | 11 March 1942 |
| <i>Gossamer</i>[7] | Royal Navy
|
Halcyon-class minesweeper | 4 March 1942 | 10 March 1942 |
| Gremyaschi | Soviet Union
|
Gnevny-class destroyer | 11 March 1942 | 12 March 1942 |
| Grove | Royal Navy
|
Hunt-class destroyer | 10 March 1942 | 10 March 1942 |
| <i>Harrier</i> | Royal Navy
|
Halcyon-class minesweeper | 11 March 1942 | 12 March 1942 |
| Hussar | Royal Navy
|
Halcyon-class minesweeper | 11 March 1942 | 12 March 1942 |
| Icarus | Royal Navy
|
I-class destroyer | 6 March 1942 | 11 March 1942 |
| Inconstant | Royal Navy
|
I-class destroyer | 10 March 1942 | 10 March 1942 |
| Intrepid | Royal Navy
|
I-class destroyer | 6 March 1942 | 11 March 1942 |
| Javelin | Royal Navy
|
J-class destroyer | 10 March 1942 | 10 March 1942 |
| Kenya | Royal Navy
|
Crown Colony-class cruiser | 6 March 1942 | 12 March 1942 |
| King George V | Royal Navy
|
King George V-class battleship | 6 March 1942 | 10 March 1942 |
| HMS Lancaster (G05) | Royal Navy
|
Town-class destroyer | 10 March 1942 | 10 March 1942 |
| Ledbury | Royal Navy
|
Hunt-class destroyer | 10 March 1942 | 10 March 1942 |
| Lookout | Royal Navy
|
L-class destroyer | 6 March 1942 | 11 March 1942 |
| HMT <i>Notts County</i> (FY250) | Royal Navy
|
Anti-submarine naval trawler | 1 March 1942 | 4 March 1942 |
| Offa | Royal Navy
|
O-class destroyer | 4 March 1942 | 12 March 1942 |
| Onslow | Royal Navy
|
O-class destroyer | 6 March 1942 | 10 March 1942 |
| Oribi | Royal Navy
|
O-class destroyer | 4 March 1942 | 10 March 1942 |
| HMS Punjabi | Royal Navy
|
Tribal-class destroyer | 6 March 1942 | 11 March 1942 |
| Renown | Royal Navy
|
Renown-class battlecruiser | 6 March 1942 | 10 March 1942 |
| HMT <i>Shera</i> (FY1724) | Royal Navy
|
Anti-submarine whaler | 4 March 1942 | 9 March 1942 |
| HMT <i>Shusa</i> (FY1702) | Royal Navy
|
Anti-submarine whaler | 4 March 1942 | 12 March 1942 |
| <i>Speedwell</i> | Royal Navy
|
Halcyon-class minesweeper | 11 March 1942 | 12 March 1942 |
| HMT <i>Stefa</i> (FY1702) | Royal Navy
|
Anti-submarine whaler | 4 March 1942 | 12 March 1942 |
| HMT <i>Stella Capella</i> | Royal Navy
|
Anti-submarine naval trawler | 1 March 1942 | 4 March 1942 |
| HMT <i>Sulla</i> (FY1874) | Royal Navy
|
Anti-submarine whaler | 4 March 1942 | 12 March 1942 |
| HMT <i>Svega</i> (FY294) | Royal Navy
|
Anti-submarine whaler | 4 March 1942 | 12 March 1942 |
| Tartar | Royal Navy
|
Tribal-class destroyer | 9 March 1942 | 10 March 1942 |
| Verdun | Royal Navy
|
V-class destroyer | 10 March 1942 | 10 March 1942 |
| Victorious | Royal Navy
|
Illustrious-class aircraft carrier | 6 March 1942 | 10 March 1942 |
| HMS Wells | Royal Navy
|
Town-class destroyer | 10 March 1942 | 10 March 1942 |
| Woolston | Royal Navy
|
W-class destroyer | 10 March 1942 | 10 March 1942 |
Notes
- ^ a b Hague 2000, p. 188.
- ^ Hague 2000, p. 190.
- ^ Hill 2006, pp. 727–738.
- ^ "Convoy PQ.12". Arnold Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
- ^ a b "Convoy HG.73". Arnold Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
- ^ Jordan 2006, p. 502.
- ^ "HMS Gossamer 1942". HALCYON CLASS - MINESWEEPERS AND SURVEY SHIPS OF WORLD WAR TWO. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
References
- Hague, Arnold (2000). The Allied Convoy System 1939–1945. London: Chatham. ISBN 978-1-55125-033-5.
- Hill, Alexander (2006). "The Allocation of Allied "Lend-Lease" Aid to the Soviet Union arriving with Convoy PQ 12, March 1942 — A State Defense Committee Decree". The Journal of Slavic Military Studies. 19 (4). doi:10.1080/13518040601028545. S2CID 144712146.
- Jordan, Roger W. (2006) [1999]. The World's Merchant Fleets 1939: The Particulars and Wartime Fates of 6,000 Ships (2nd ed.). London: Chatham/Lionel Leventhal. ISBN 978-1-86176-293-1.
Further reading
- Blair, Clay (1996). Hitler's U-Boat War. Vol. I. ISBN 0-304-35260-8.
- Kemp, Paul (1993). Convoy: Drama in Arctic Waters. London: Arms and Armour. ISBN 978-1-85409-130-7.
- Rohwer, Jürgen; Hümmelchen, Gerhard (2005) [1972]. Chronology of the War at Sea, 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two (3rd rev. ed.). London: Chatham. ISBN 978-1-86176-257-3.
- Ruegg, R.; Hague, A. (1993) [1992]. Convoys to Russia: Allied Convoys and Naval Surface Operations in Arctic Waters 1941–1945 (2nd rev. enl. ed.). Kendal: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-66-5.
- Schofield, B. B. (1964). The Russian Convoys. London: BT Batsford. OCLC 923314731.
- Woodman, Richard (2004) [1994]. Arctic Convoys 1941–1945. London: John Murray. ISBN 978-0-7195-5752-1.
External links
This page was last edited on 24 April 2024, at 13:42