Convoy QP 15

Convoy QP 15 was an Arctic convoy of the PQ/QP series which ran during the Second World War. It was one of a series of convoys run to return Allied ships to home ports in the United Kingdom from the northern ports of the Soviet Union. It sailed in November 1942 and was the last convoy in the "QP" series. It was scattered by a storm which sank the Soviet destroyer Sokrushitelny, and was attacked by U-boats of the German Navy which sank two of the thirty merchant ships.[1]

Convoy QP.15
Part of Second World War
Date17–30 November 1942
Location
Arctic Ocean
Belligerents
Germany United Kingdom
Commanders and leaders
Admiral Karl Dönitz WC Meek (Comm.)
Strength
10 U-boats 32 merchant ships
30 escorts
Casualties and losses
none 2 ships sunk
1 lost in storm

Ships

The convoy initially consisted of 31 merchant ships, most of which had arrived with PQ 18. The convoy commodore was Capt. WC Meek RNR in Temple Arch. The close escort comprised four corvettes and an ASW minesweeper. These were joined later by an ocean escort of five destroyers, and five others joined during the voyage.[2] The escort was supplemented by the AA cruiser Ulster Queen and the CAM ship Empire Morn. Distant cover was provided by a force of two cruisers and three destroyers, and submarine patrols were mounted off the Norwegian ports to oppose any sortie by German surface vessels.[3][4]

QP 15 was opposed by a patrol line (code-named "Boreas") of ten U-boats in the Norwegian Sea, and by German air forces, though the latter were kept at bay by foul weather.

Voyage

The convoy set out from Archangel on 17 November 1942,[5] accompanied by the local escort of four minesweepers, and were joined the following day by two Soviet destroyers. Two ships grounded after leaving harbour, and had to be left behind. They were refloated and returned to port. On 20 November the convoy was joined by its ocean escort of five destroyers. Also on 20 November a gale sprang up and scattered the convoy[6] and damaged several ships, including the two Soviet destroyers. The two Soviet destroyer Baku was badly damaged but managed to limp back to port. A large wave hit Sokrushitelny and tore off her stern. Three Soviet destroyers were sent to assist and manage to rescue 187 crewmen from the Sokrushitelny, which sank on 22 November.[6]

On 23 November, the U-boat U-625 attacked and sank the British freighter Goolistan. Later in the day, U-601 fired a spread of torpedoes at the Soviet freighter Kuznets Lesov, one of which struck and sank her; both ships were lost with all hands.[5]

The convoy arrived at Loch Ewe on 30 November 1942.[3][4]

Ships involved
Merchant ships in Convoy QP 15 [7]
Name Flag Tonnage (GRT) Notes
SS Andre Marti Soviet Union2,352 
SS Belomorcanal Soviet Union2,900 
SS Charles R. McCormick United States6,027 
SS Copeland United Kingdom1,526Rescue ship
SS Dan-y-Bryn United Kingdom5,117Vice-Commodore
SS Empire Baffin United Kingdom6,978 
SS Empire Morn United Kingdom7,092CAM ship
SS Empire Snow United Kingdom6,327 
SS Empire Tristram United Kingdom7,167 
SS Esek Hopkins United States7,191 
SS Goolistan United Kingdom5,851 Sunk by U-625 on 23 November
SS Hollywood United States5,498 
SS Ironclad United States5,685 
SS Komiles Soviet Union3,966 
SS Kuznetz Lesov Soviet Union3,974Sunk by U-601 on 23 November
SS Lafayette United States5,887 
SS Meanticut United States6,061 
SS Nathanael Greene United States7,177 
SS Ocean Faith United Kingdom7,174 
SS Patrick Henry United States7,191 
SS Petrovski Soviet Union3,771 
SS Sahale United States5,028 
SS Schoharie United States4,971 
SS St. Olaf United States7,191 
SS Tbilisi Soviet Union7,169 
SS Temple Arch United Kingdom5,138Convoy Commodore
SS Virginia Dare United States7,177 
SS White Clover Panama5,462 
'SS William Moultrie United States7,177 
gollark: It's Not Hacking If The System Is Stupid™!(note: that is my actual view)
gollark: HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAX!
gollark: HACKER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
gollark: Pop up "The NSA is watching you" on randomly chosen computers.
gollark: Integrated GPUs...

References
  1. "Convoy QP.15". Archived from the original on 7 July 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  2. Murfett, Malcolm (2009). Naval warfare 1919–1945 An Operational History of the Volatile War at Sea. Abingdon, UK: Routledge. p. 243. ISBN 978-0-203-88998-5.
  3. Ruegg, Hague pp46-47
  4. Kemp p113-114
  5. Walling, Michael G. Forgotten Sacrifice: The Arctic Convoys of World War II. Oxford: Osprey. ISBN 978-1-84908-718-6.
  6. Hümmelchen, Gerhard; Rohwer, Jürgen; Weis, Thomas (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea: 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two (3rd rev. ed.). Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. pp. 213–214. ISBN 978-1-59114-119-8.
  7. "Convoy QP.15". Arnold Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved 5 December 2019.

Bibliography
  • Blair, Clay. Hitler's U-Boat War Vol I. (1996) ISBN 0-304-35260-8.
  • Kemp, Paul. Convoy! Drama in Arctic Waters (1993) ISBN 1-85409-130-1.
  • R Ruegg, A Hague (1992) Convoys to Russia ISBN 0 905617 66 5
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.