Convoy JW 54B
Encyclopedia
Convoy JW 54B was an Arctic convoy
sent from Great Britain
by the Western Allies
to aid the Soviet Union
during World War II
. It sailed in late November 1943, reaching the Soviet northern ports at the end of the month. All ships arrived safely.
on 22 November 1943.
Close escort was led by the destroyer Beagle
and comprised three corvettes and a minesweeper. These were supported by an Ocean escort of eight Home Fleet destroyers led by Hardy
.
The convoy was also accompanied initially by a local escort group from Britain.
A cruiser cover force comprising Kent
, Jamaica and Bermuda also followed the convoy, to guard against attack by surface units.
Distant cover was provided by a Heavy Cover Force comprising the battleship Anson, the cruiser Belfast
and four destroyers.
JW 54B was opposed by a U-boat force of five boats in a patrol line, code-named Eisenbart, in the Norwegian Sea
.
A surface force comprising the battleship Scharnhorst
and five destroyers was also available, stationed at Altenfjord.
on 22 November 1943, accompanied by its local escort, of three destroyers and a minesweeper, and its close escort.
Three days later, on 25 November, it was joined by the ocean escort, while the local escort departed. At the same time the Cruiser Force and the Distant Cover Force, which were already at sea covering convoy JW 54A
, were on station in the Norwegian Sea
.
The convoy was not sighted by German reconnaissance aircraft, nor by any of the Eisenbart U-boats, and crossed the Norwegian and Barents Sea
s without incident.
On 3 December the Ocean escort destroyers departed, to make independent passage home, while JW 54B arrived safely at Archangel later the same day.
the previous week, thes was a successful start to the 1943-44 convoy season.
Close escort
Ocean escort
Cruiser cover force
Distant cover force
Surface force
Arctic convoys of World War II
The Arctic convoys of World War II travelled from the United Kingdom and North America to the northern ports of the Soviet Union—Arkhangelsk and Murmansk. There were 78 convoys between August 1941 and May 1945...
sent from Great Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
by the Western Allies
Western Allies
The Western Allies were a political and geographic grouping among the Allied Powers of the Second World War. It generally includes the United Kingdom and British Commonwealth, the United States, France and various other European and Latin American countries, but excludes China, the Soviet Union,...
to aid the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It sailed in late November 1943, reaching the Soviet northern ports at the end of the month. All ships arrived safely.
Forces
The convoy consisted of 15 merchant ships which departed from Loch EweLoch Ewe
Loch Ewe is a sea loch in the region of in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The shores are inhabited by a traditionally Gàidhlig speaking people living in or sustained by crofting villages, the most notable of which, situated on the north-eastern shore, is the Aultbea settlement...
on 22 November 1943.
Close escort was led by the destroyer Beagle
HMS Beagle (H30)
HMS Beagle was a of the British Royal Navy that saw extensive service throughout World War II; in Norway, the Atlantic, North Africa, on Russian Convoys, and in the Normandy landings.-Construction:...
and comprised three corvettes and a minesweeper. These were supported by an Ocean escort of eight Home Fleet destroyers led by Hardy
HMS Hardy (R08)
HMS Hardy was a V-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that saw service during the Second World War.She built by John Brown & Company, Clydebank, laid down on 14 May 1942, launched 18 March 1943, and completed 14 August 1943....
.
The convoy was also accompanied initially by a local escort group from Britain.
A cruiser cover force comprising Kent
HMS Kent (54)
HMS Kent was a heavy cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the late 1920s. She was the lead ship of the Kent subclass. After completion the ship was sent to the China Station where she remained until the beginning of the Second World War, aside from a major refit in 1937–38...
, Jamaica and Bermuda also followed the convoy, to guard against attack by surface units.
Distant cover was provided by a Heavy Cover Force comprising the battleship Anson, the cruiser Belfast
HMS Belfast (C35)
HMS Belfast is a museum ship, originally a Royal Navy light cruiser, permanently moored in London on the River Thames and operated by the Imperial War Museum....
and four destroyers.
JW 54B was opposed by a U-boat force of five boats in a patrol line, code-named Eisenbart, in the Norwegian Sea
Norwegian Sea
The Norwegian Sea is a marginal sea in the North Atlantic Ocean, northwest of Norway. It is located between the North Sea and the Greenland Sea and adjoins the North Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Barents Sea to the northeast. In the southwest, it is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a...
.
A surface force comprising the battleship Scharnhorst
German battleship Scharnhorst
Scharnhorst was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship and battlecruiser, of the German Kriegsmarine. She was the lead ship of her class, which included one other ship, Gneisenau. The ship was built at the Kriegsmarinewerft dockyard in Wilhelmshaven; she was laid down on 15...
and five destroyers was also available, stationed at Altenfjord.
Voyage
JW 54B departed Loch EweLoch Ewe
Loch Ewe is a sea loch in the region of in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The shores are inhabited by a traditionally Gàidhlig speaking people living in or sustained by crofting villages, the most notable of which, situated on the north-eastern shore, is the Aultbea settlement...
on 22 November 1943, accompanied by its local escort, of three destroyers and a minesweeper, and its close escort.
Three days later, on 25 November, it was joined by the ocean escort, while the local escort departed. At the same time the Cruiser Force and the Distant Cover Force, which were already at sea covering convoy JW 54A
Convoy JW 54A
Convoy JW 54A was an Arctic convoy sent from Great Britain by the Western Allies to aid the Soviet Union during World War II. It sailed in November 1943, reaching the Soviet northern ports at the end of the month....
, were on station in the Norwegian Sea
Norwegian Sea
The Norwegian Sea is a marginal sea in the North Atlantic Ocean, northwest of Norway. It is located between the North Sea and the Greenland Sea and adjoins the North Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Barents Sea to the northeast. In the southwest, it is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a...
.
The convoy was not sighted by German reconnaissance aircraft, nor by any of the Eisenbart U-boats, and crossed the Norwegian and Barents Sea
Barents Sea
The Barents Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located north of Norway and Russia. Known in the Middle Ages as the Murman Sea, the sea takes its current name from the Dutch navigator Willem Barents...
s without incident.
On 3 December the Ocean escort destroyers departed, to make independent passage home, while JW 54B arrived safely at Archangel later the same day.
Conclusion
JW 54B saw the safe arrival of 15 merchant ships and the war materiel they carried. Together with the 19 ships of JW 54A, which had arrived at MurmanskMurmansk
Murmansk is a city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It serves as a seaport and is located in the extreme northwest part of Russia, on the Kola Bay, from the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, not far from Russia's borders with Norway and Finland...
the previous week, thes was a successful start to the 1943-44 convoy season.
Allied ships
Merchant ships- Arthur L Perry
- Daldorich
- Empire Lionel
- Empire Stalwart
- Eugene Field
- Fort Columbia
- Fort McMurray
- Fort Poplar
- Horace Gray
- John Fitch
- Ocean Strength
- Rathlin
- San Adolfo
- Thomas Kearns
- William L Marcy
Close escort
- BeagleHMS Beagle (H30)HMS Beagle was a of the British Royal Navy that saw extensive service throughout World War II; in Norway, the Atlantic, North Africa, on Russian Convoys, and in the Normandy landings.-Construction:...
- Dianella
- Poppy
- Rhodedendron
- HalcyonHMS Halcyon (J42)HMS Halcyon was a built for the Royal Navy in 1933. She was the lead vessel in the class. Her pennant number was J42.Halcyon was built by John Brown Shipbuilding & Engineering Company Ltd., at Clydebank, in Scotland. She was laid down on 27 March 1933 and launched on 20 December of the same year...
Ocean escort
- HardyHMS Hardy (R08)HMS Hardy was a V-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that saw service during the Second World War.She built by John Brown & Company, Clydebank, laid down on 14 May 1942, launched 18 March 1943, and completed 14 August 1943....
- SaumarezHMS Saumarez (G12)HMS Saumarez was an S class destroyer of the Royal Navy, completed on 1 July 1943. As a flotilla leader, her standard displacement was 20 tons heavier than other ships of her class...
- Savage
- Scorpion
- ScourgeHMS Scourge (G01)HMS Scourge was an S-class destroyer. She was built by Cammell Laird, Birkenhead and launched on 8 December 1942.She was at sea during the Battle of North Cape in 1943, escorting the Russia-bound Arctic convoy JW 55B. She took no part in the fighting.She was sold to the Royal Netherlands Navy on 1...
- Stord
- VenusHMS Venus (R50)HMS Venus was a V-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that saw service during the Second World War. She was built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, of Govan, Scotland and launched on 23 February 1943...
- VigilantHMS Vigilant (R93)HMS Vigilant was an V-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy that saw service during World War II. She was later converted into a Type 15 fast anti-submarine frigate, with the new pennant number F93....
Cruiser cover force
- KentHMS Kent (54)HMS Kent was a heavy cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the late 1920s. She was the lead ship of the Kent subclass. After completion the ship was sent to the China Station where she remained until the beginning of the Second World War, aside from a major refit in 1937–38...
(flag) - Jamaica
- Bermuda
Distant cover force
- Anson (flag)
- BelfastHMS Belfast (C35)HMS Belfast is a museum ship, originally a Royal Navy light cruiser, permanently moored in London on the River Thames and operated by the Imperial War Museum....
- AshantiHMS Ashanti (F51)HMS Ashanti was a Tribal-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. Following the style of her sister ships she was named for an ethnic group, in this case the Ashanti people of the Gold Coast in West Africa. She served in the Second World War and was broken up in 1949...
- MatchlessHMS Matchless (G52)HMS Matchless was a M-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy during World War II.-External links:...
- MusketeerHMS Musketeer (G86)HMS Musketeer was a M-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy during World War II.-External links:...
- ObdurateHMS Obdurate (G39)HMS Obdurate was an O-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was built by William Denny and Brothers of Dumbarton, being laid down at their yards on the River Clyde on 25 April 1940, launched on 19 February 1942 and commissioned on 3 September 1942....
Axis ships
U-boat force- U-277
- U-307
- U-354
- U-360
- U-387
Surface force
- ScharnhorstGerman battleship ScharnhorstScharnhorst was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship and battlecruiser, of the German Kriegsmarine. She was the lead ship of her class, which included one other ship, Gneisenau. The ship was built at the Kriegsmarinewerft dockyard in Wilhelmshaven; she was laid down on 15...
- Z-29
- Z-30
- Z-33German destroyer Z33Z33 was a German that saw service during World War II. She was commissioned in the Kriegsmarine in February 1943 and served in Norwegian waters until March 1945. She was decommissioned from the Kriegsmarine in late April 1945 but was handed over to the Soviet Union in December that year...
- Z-34
- Z-38