Convoy PQ-16
Encyclopedia
Convoy PQ 16 was an Arctic convoy
sent from Great Britain
by the Western Allies
to aid the Soviet Union
during World War II
. It sailed in May 1942, reaching the Soviet northern ports after five days of air attacks that left eight ships sunk and two damaged. 25 ships arrived safely.
and Soviet Union
premier Joseph Stalin
continually pressed for more convoys to Russia, to deliver War Stores to help them sustain their fight against Germany, despite the knowledge that the naval forces were stretched to the limit. Finally Stalin sent an urgent message to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill
in May 1942 in which he said, "I am fully aware of the difficulties involved and of the sacrifices made by Great Britain in the matter (the Russian convoys). I feel, however, incumbent upon me to approach you with the request to take all possible measures in order to ensure the arrival of the above-mentioned materials in the USSR".
, 4 Soviet
, 8 British
, 1 Dutch and one of Panamanian
registry. It also had one auxiliary vessel, the CAM ship
Empire Lawrence. The convoy was led by Commodore HN Gale in Ocean Voice.
The close escort was led by the destroyer HMS Ashanti
(Cdr. RG Onslow) and consisted of the destroyers ORP Garland
, HMS Volunteer, HMS Achates
, and HMS Martin
, the anti-aircraft "gunship" Alynbank, four Flower class corvette
s, one minesweeper and four trawlers.
There were two support groups; a Cruiser Cover Force led by R.Adm. HM Burrough in the cruiser HMS Nigeria
, and comprising the cruisers Kent
, Liverpool
and Norfolk
and destroyers HMS Onslow
, HMS Marne
and HMS Oribi
and a Distant Covering Force of the battleships Duke of York
and USS Washington
, the carrier HMS Victorious
, the cruisers HMS London
and USS Wichita
, and 13 destroyers.
in Iceland
on 21 May under the protection of the Local Escort, meeting the Ocean Escort on 23 May. At this time of the year the convoy would be operating in the period of perpetual daylight
of the Arctic summer; this lessened the effectiveness of U-boat attack, but make round-the-clock air attack more likely. It also increased the chance of early detection by German reconnaissance aircraft.
On 25 May PQ 16 met its cruiser escort, but on the same day was spotted by a FW200
reconnaissance plane, which commenced shadowing. That evening the German air force commenced a series of attacks which continued for the next five days, until the convoy was in range of Soviet fighter cover.
On 25 May one ship was damaged and forced to return under escort; on 26 May all air attacks were repulsed, but one ship Syros, was torpedoed by U-703.
By 27 May the air attacks began to break through; three ships were sunk and another damaged around mid-day; another sunk and one damaged in mid-afternoon. That evening two more ships were sunk, and another damaged.
On 28 May the convoy was joined by the Eastern Local escort; three Soviet destroyers and four minesweepers. Their extra firepower enabled all further air attacks to be beaten off.
On 29 the convoy divided, six ships making for Archangel, while the remainder docked at Murmansk
.
Eight merchant ships were lost: six by air attack, one by submarine U-703 and one by a mine. Two U-boats were damaged during attacks by escorts, and an unknown number of attacking aircraft shot down.
Churchill declared it would be worthwhile if even 50% got through; despite the losses the majority of the ships of Convoy PQ16 did arrive, most ships to Murmansk
(30 May 1942) and eight ships to Archangelsk (1 June 1942). The convoy was such a success in terms of the War Stores delivered that the Germans made greater efforts to disrupt the following convoys. The Heavy Lift Ships from Convoy PQ16 including SS Empire Elgar
stayed at Archangelsk and Molotovsk unloading convoys for over 14 months.
The merchant ships that were sunk were:
Alamar, Empire Lawrence, Empire Purcell, Mormacasul, (bombed)
City of Joliet (bomb-damaged and scuttled later),
Lowther Castle (torpedoed by aircraft)
and Syros (torpedoed by U-703).
Ocean Voice and Stari Bolshevik were bomb-damaged but reached port safely.
Steel Worker reached port but was later bombed in harbour and sunk.
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 May 1942, reaching the Soviet northern ports after five days of air attacks that left eight ships sunk and two damaged. 25 ships arrived safely.
Background
In the winter and spring of 1942, U.S President Franklin D. RooseveltFranklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
and 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....
premier Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
continually pressed for more convoys to Russia, to deliver War Stores to help them sustain their fight against Germany, despite the knowledge that the naval forces were stretched to the limit. Finally Stalin sent an urgent message to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
in May 1942 in which he said, "I am fully aware of the difficulties involved and of the sacrifices made by Great Britain in the matter (the Russian convoys). I feel, however, incumbent upon me to approach you with the request to take all possible measures in order to ensure the arrival of the above-mentioned materials in the USSR".
Ships
This convoy consisted of 35 merchant ships: 21 AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, 4 Soviet
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....
, 8 British
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...
, 1 Dutch and one of Panamanian
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
registry. It also had one auxiliary vessel, the CAM ship
CAM ship
CAM ships were World War II-era British merchant ships used in convoys as an emergency stop-gap until sufficient escort carriers became available. CAM is an acronym for catapult aircraft merchantman. A CAM ship was equipped with a rocket-propelled catapult launching a single Hawker Sea Hurricane,...
Empire Lawrence. The convoy was led by Commodore HN Gale in Ocean Voice.
The close escort was led by the destroyer HMS Ashanti
HMS 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...
(Cdr. RG Onslow) and consisted of the destroyers ORP Garland
ORP Garland
HMS Garland, also known by her Polish designation ORP Garland, was a G-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1930s. During the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939 the ship spent considerable time in Spanish waters, enforcing the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides of...
, HMS Volunteer, HMS Achates
HMS Achates (H12)
HMS Achates was an A-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy launched on 4 October 1929 and commissioned on 27 March 1930. She was sunk on 31 December 1942 in the Battle of the Barents Sea.-Battle of the Denmark Strait:...
, and HMS Martin
HMS Martin (G44)
HMS Martin was an M-class destroyer of the Royal Navy, launched at the Tyneside yard of Vickers-Armstrongs on 12 December 1940. She had a busy but brief wartime career, being sunk by U-431 on 10 November 1942 off Algiers.-Convoy PQ17:...
, the anti-aircraft "gunship" Alynbank, four Flower class corvette
Flower class corvette
The Flower-class corvette was a class of 267 corvettes used during World War II, specifically with the Allied navies as anti-submarine convoy escorts during the Battle of the Atlantic...
s, one minesweeper and four trawlers.
There were two support groups; a Cruiser Cover Force led by R.Adm. HM Burrough in the cruiser HMS Nigeria
HMS Nigeria (60)
HMS Nigeria was a Crown Colony-class light cruiser of the British Royal Navy completed early in World War II and served throughout that conflict. She was named for the British territory of Nigeria.-Home waters:...
, and comprising the cruisers 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...
, Liverpool
HMS Liverpool (C11)
HMS Liverpool , named after the port city of Liverpool in north-west England, was a Town-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy in service from 1938 to 1952....
and Norfolk
HMS Norfolk (78)
HMS Norfolk was a County-class heavy cruiser of the Royal Navy; along with her sister ship , she was part of a planned four-ship subclass.She served throughout the Second World War....
and destroyers HMS Onslow
HMS Onslow (G17)
HMS Onslow was an O-class destroyer flotilla leader of the Royal Navy She was ordered from John Brown & Company at Clydebank, Glasgow on 3 September 1939. The ship was laid down on 1 July 1940 and launched on 31 March 1941. She was completed on 8 October 1941 at a cost of £416,942.Attached to the...
, HMS Marne
HMS Marne (G35)
HMS Marne was an M-class destroyer of the Royal Navy commissioned on 2 December 1941. She was built by Vickers-Armstrongs at High Walker Yard, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, and saw service in the Atlantic theatre of World War II....
and HMS Oribi
HMS Oribi (G66)
HMS Oribi was an O-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. Following the style of her sister ships she was named with a word beginning with O...
and a Distant Covering Force of the battleships Duke of York
HMS Duke of York (17)
HMS Duke of York was a King George V-class battleship of the Royal Navy. Laid down in May 1937, the ship was constructed by John Brown and Company at Clydebank, Scotland, and commissioned into the Royal Navy on 4 November 1941, subsequently seeing service during the Second World War.In...
and USS Washington
USS Washington (BB-56)
USS Washington , the second of two battleships in the North Carolina class, was the third ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the 42nd state. Her keel was laid down on 14 June 1938 at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. Launched on 1 June 1940, Washington went through fitting-out before...
, the carrier HMS Victorious
HMS Victorious (R38)
HMS Victorious was the second Illustrious-class aircraft carrier ordered under the 1936 Naval Programme. She was laid down at the Vickers-Armstrong shipyard at Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in 1937 and launched two years later in 1939...
, the cruisers HMS London
HMS London (69)
HMS London was a member of the second group of the County class heavy cruiser of the Royal Navy. She and her sisters; Sussex, Shropshire, and Devonshire differed from the earlier group of Counties, , by having a smaller forward superstructure, which was positioned slightly further aft, and next...
and USS Wichita
USS Wichita (CA-45)
USS Wichita was a heavy cruiser of the United States Navy. The lead ship and only member of her class, she was the first ship named after the city of Wichita, Kansas...
, and 13 destroyers.
Action
PQ 16 left HvalfjordHvalfjörður
Hvalfjörður is situated in the west of Iceland between Mosfellsbær and Akranes. The fjord is approximately 30 km long and 5 km wide....
in Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
on 21 May under the protection of the Local Escort, meeting the Ocean Escort on 23 May. At this time of the year the convoy would be operating in the period of perpetual daylight
Midnight sun
The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon occurring in summer months at latitudes north and nearby to the south of the Arctic Circle, and south and nearby to the north of the Antarctic Circle where the sun remains visible at the local midnight. Given fair weather, the sun is visible for a continuous...
of the Arctic summer; this lessened the effectiveness of U-boat attack, but make round-the-clock air attack more likely. It also increased the chance of early detection by German reconnaissance aircraft.
On 25 May PQ 16 met its cruiser escort, but on the same day was spotted by a FW200
Focke-Wulf Fw 200
The Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor, also known as Kurier to the Allies was a German all-metal four-engine monoplane originally developed by Focke-Wulf as a long-range airliner...
reconnaissance plane, which commenced shadowing. That evening the German air force commenced a series of attacks which continued for the next five days, until the convoy was in range of Soviet fighter cover.
On 25 May one ship was damaged and forced to return under escort; on 26 May all air attacks were repulsed, but one ship Syros, was torpedoed by U-703.
By 27 May the air attacks began to break through; three ships were sunk and another damaged around mid-day; another sunk and one damaged in mid-afternoon. That evening two more ships were sunk, and another damaged.
On 28 May the convoy was joined by the Eastern Local escort; three Soviet destroyers and four minesweepers. Their extra firepower enabled all further air attacks to be beaten off.
On 29 the convoy divided, six ships making for Archangel, while the remainder docked at Murmansk
Murmansk
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...
.
Eight merchant ships were lost: six by air attack, one by submarine U-703 and one by a mine. Two U-boats were damaged during attacks by escorts, and an unknown number of attacking aircraft shot down.
Aftermath
When Convoy PQ16 was assembled off IcelandIceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
Churchill declared it would be worthwhile if even 50% got through; despite the losses the majority of the ships of Convoy PQ16 did arrive, most ships to Murmansk
Murmansk
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...
(30 May 1942) and eight ships to Archangelsk (1 June 1942). The convoy was such a success in terms of the War Stores delivered that the Germans made greater efforts to disrupt the following convoys. The Heavy Lift Ships from Convoy PQ16 including SS Empire Elgar
SS Empire Elgar
Empire Elgar was equipped with derricks enabling her to unload the heavy war stores from other ships that arrived with Convoy PQ 16. Amongst her cargo were tanks. Once she had discharged her cargo, Empire Elgar unloaded other ships' cargos into her hold, returned to the quayside and then put the...
stayed at Archangelsk and Molotovsk unloading convoys for over 14 months.
Ship list
|
|
The merchant ships that were sunk were:
Alamar, Empire Lawrence, Empire Purcell, Mormacasul, (bombed)
City of Joliet (bomb-damaged and scuttled later),
Lowther Castle (torpedoed by aircraft)
and Syros (torpedoed by U-703).
Ocean Voice and Stari Bolshevik were bomb-damaged but reached port safely.
Steel Worker reached port but was later bombed in harbour and sunk.
See also
- HMS Ulysses (novel)HMS Ulysses (novel)HMS Ulysses was the first novel by Scottish author Alistair MacLean, and ultimately, one of his most popular. Originally published in 1955, it was also released by Fontana Books in 1960...
- Finnish radio intelligenceFinnish radio intelligenceThe Finnish Radio Intelligence was founded in 1927 by Reino Hallamaa. He quickly managed to build up an efficient organization Through international exchange, and during World War II, the radio intelligence proved very successful in breaking the codes and ciphers used by the Soviet Union, as well...
intercepted planned route of the convoy.