CONVOY PQ-17

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aukepalmhof
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CONVOY PQ-17

Post by aukepalmhof » Thu Jul 01, 2021 8:19 pm

After Germany invade the USSR in June 1941, Russia became an Allied of the U.K. Britain agreed to send war material and equipment to Russia to help against the German troops. First, it was shipped only from England to north Russia around the Northcape, later also from the USA.
The first convoy sailed from Liverpool on 12 August 1941 and via Scapa Flow and Iceland to north Russia.

One of the most famous convoys was Convoy PQ 17 which sailed from Reykjavik on 27 June 1942 at 16.00, the convoy with 39 merchant vessels, loaded with 297 aircraft, 594 tanks, 4246 lorries and gun carriers and additional 156.000 tons of cargo. The total value of around 700 million dollars. The minesweepers BRITOMAR, HALCYON, and SALAMANDER, the trawlers AYRSHIRE, LORD, AUSTIN, LORD MIDDLETON, and NORTHERN GEM, the destroyers MIDDELTON and auxiliary AA ships POZARICA and POLOMARES, escorted the convoy.

On 30 June the destroyers FURY, KEPPEL, LEAMINGTON, LEDBURY, OFFA and WILTON and corvettes DIANELLA, LA MALOUINE, LOTUS, and POPY joined the convoy.
The destroyer DOUGLAS with the escort oilier GRAY RANGER joined on 2 July the convoy. Two submarines the P 614 and P 615 covered the convoy.
From 1 till 4 June the cruiser LONDON, NORFOLK, USS TUSCALOOSA and USS WICHITA screened by the destroyer USS WAINWRIGHT and ROWAN escorted and covered the convoy. Also the British Home Fleet was at sea as distant cover, under which two battleships, one aircraft carrier, and seven cruisers.

When the German Navy discovered the convoy, the battleships TIRPITZ, ADMIRAL SCHEER, and LUTZOW, and the cruiser ADMIRAL HIPPER sailed out, and the U boats in the area were ordered to attack the convoy and destroy the vessels, the Luftwaffe were placed on high alert.
The first attack came by the Luftwaffe on the first of July and on 4 July three merchant ships were lost during air attacks.
But the convoy was still in good spirit and proceeded northward, till the order from the British Admiralty came in the evening of 4 July to scatter the convoy, the order was given based on faulty interpretation of intelligence on the movement of the German navy forces. The destroyers joined the cruiser and sailed south to intercept the enemy surface forces.
Then the disaster followed the lightly defended merchant ships were sitting ducks for the enemy aircraft and U-boats. Between 5 and 10 July, 21 merchant ships were sunk.
Later some smaller escorts herded some ships together in a small convoy of six ships and headed for Archangel. Sailing south off Novaya Zemlya the convoy picked up some other vessels but was attacked by 40 aircraft later, and two more ships were lost, before the convoy arrived in Archangel on 11 July. Before 9 July two ships from the convoy had arrived already in that port. Later a few other ships arrived, but altogether 24 ships were lost, and over 100 men lost their life. With the convoy was lost 210 aircraft, 430 tanks, 3.350 motor vehicles, and 99.316 tons of general cargo.
The Luftwaffe flew 202 sorties against the convoy, they sank 11 ships and lost 5 planes.
The ship with the most lives lost was the British vessel HARTLEBURY, of the crew of 45, 2 navy men and 11 gunners, 38 lost their life. The unluckiest crew was from the American vessel CARLTON all the crew were saved but 18 surveyors were adrift in a boat for 20 days before picked up by two Norwegian fishermen and towed to Tufjord, where taken prison by the Germans, and spent the rest of the war in prison.

The vessel on sg 430 on the right is HMS KEPPEL: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=12519


Source Convoys to Russia 1941-1945 by Bob Ruegg and Arnold Hague. http://uboat.net/ops/convoys/pq-17.htm
Marshall Islands 1992 29c sg 430/31 scott 318/19.
Guinea 2017 50.000FG sgMS?, Scott?
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Image (24).jpg
2017 U-255 Submarines (2).jpg

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