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Convoy JW 51B

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Convoy JW 51B was an Arctic convoy sent from United Kingdom by the Western Allies to aid the Soviet Union during the Second World War. It sailed in late December 1942, reaching the Soviet northern ports in early January 1943.

Convoy JW 51B
Part of the Second World War

The Norwegian and the Barents seas, site of the Arctic convoys
Date30 December 1942 – 3 January 1943
Location
Arctic Ocean
Result British victory
Belligerents
 United Kingdom  Germany
Commanders and leaders
Robert Burnett
Robert Sherbrooke  (WIA)
R. A Melhuish
John Tovey		 Oskar Kummetz
Hans-Jürgen Stumpff
Karl Doenitz
Strength
2 light cruisers (after 3 hours)
6 destroyers
2 corvettes
1 minesweeper
2 trawlers		 2 heavy cruisers
6 destroyers
Casualties and losses
250 killed
1 destroyer sunk
1 destroyer damaged
1 minesweeper sunk		 330 killed1 cruiser damaged
1 destroyer sunk<

Convoy JW 51B came under attack by German surface units, engaged in Operation Regenbogen, on 31 December. In the engagement, a British minesweeper and a British destroyer were sunk and a German destroyer were sunk; no ships were lost from the convoy in what became known as the Battle of the Barents Sea.

Background

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Convoy escorts

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Convoy JW 51A consisted of 15 merchant ships which departed from Loch Ewe on 22 December 1942. Close escort was provided by the minesweeper HMS Bramble, two corvettes and two armed trawlers. The close escort was supported by six Home Fleet destroyers led by HMS Onslow (Captain Robert Sherbrooke). The convoy sailed with a local escort group from Britain and was joined later by a local escort group from Murmansk. A cruiser cover force comprising HMS Jamaica, HMS Sheffield and two destroyers, was also at sea, from Kola Inlet, to guard against attack by surface units. Distant cover was provided by a Heavy Cover Force from Iceland comprising the battleship HMS Anson, the cruiser Cumberland and five destroyers.

German forces

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Main article: Operation Regenbogen

Convoy JW 51B was opposed by four U-boats in a patrol line in the Norwegian Sea and the aircraft of Luftflotte 5 based in Norway. A surface force comprising the heavy cruisers Admiral Hipper, Lützow and the destroyers Z16 Friedrich Eckoldt, Z4 Richard Beitzen, Z6 Theodor Riedel, Z29, Z30, Z31 was stationed at Altenfjord.

Prelude

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Convoy JW 51B departed Loch Ewe on 22 December 1942, accompanied by its local escort, of four destroyers, and its close escort. Three days later, on 25 December, it was joined by the ocean escort, while the local escort departed. On 27 December the convoy ran into a gale, which scattered the convoy over the next two days into several groups across a wide area. Dover Hill was forced to return with weather damage and five ships and two escorts had become separated. Three of the ships rejoined on 30 December, but Chester Valley, in company with the armed trawler Vizalma, and another, with the destroyer Oribi, remained separated. During 30 December, Bramble detached from the main body of the convoy to search for the stragglers.

Action

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Main article: Battle of the Barents Sea

On 24 December the convoy had been sighted by a patrolling aircraft, but was lost later during the storm. On 30 December it was found again by U-354, and Operation Regenbogen began. On 31 December the German ships, in two sections, met the ocean escort of Convoy JW 51B, and after a sharp engagement, which left the minesweeper Bramble and the destroyer Achates sinking and Onslow, damaged; the attacking force was driven off. The destroyer, Eckoldt was sunk and the cruiser Hipper was damaged. No further attacks developed, and on 1 January 1943 Vizalma and her charge rejoined the convoy. On 2 January Convoy JW 51B was met by its eastern local escort, two minesweepers from Murmansk. On 3 January the main body arrived in Kola Inlet, joined the following day by Oribi and her charge.

Aftermath

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Analysis

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The 15 ships of Convoy JW 51B arrived at Murmansk without loss, though one had been damaged. Despite the loss of two warships, the convoy was a success and the failure of the German surface force against the convoy caused a loss of confidence by Hitler in the Kriegsmarine and its commander, Admiral Erich Raeder, which led to him resigning.[1] Thereafter, the main threat to the Allied convoy system was from U-boats.

Ships involved

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Allied ships

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Merchant ships[2]
Name Year Flag GRT Notes
Ballot 1922   Panama 6,131 22 December – 4 January
Calobre 1919   Panama 6,891 22 December – 4 January
Chester Valley 1919   United States 5,078 22 December – 4 January
Daldorch 1930   United Kingdom 5,571 22 December – 4 January
Dover Hill 1918   United Kingdom 5,815 22 December – 4 January
Empire Archer 1942   United Kingdom 7,031 22 December – 4 January
Empire Emerald 1941   United Kingdom 8,032 22 December – 4 January
Executive 1920   United States 4,978 22 December – 4 January
Jefferson Myers 1920   United States 7,582 22 December – 4 January
John H. B. Latrobe 1942   United States 7,191 22 December – 4 January
Pontfield 1940   United Kingdom 8,319 22 December – 4 January
Puerto Rican 1919   United States 6,076 22 December – 4 January
Ralph Waldo Emerson 1942   United States 7,176 22 December – 4 January
Vermont[3] 1919   United States 5,670 22 December – 4 January
Yorkmar 1919   United States 5,612 22 December – 4 January

Western escort

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Western escort[4]
Name Flag Type Notes
HMS Bulldog   Royal Navy B-class destroyer 22–23 December
HMS Blankney   Royal Navy Hunt-class destroyer 22–25 December
HMS Chiddingfold   Royal Navy Hunt-class destroyer 22–25 December
HMS Ledbury   Royal Navy Hunt-class destroyer 22–25 December

Close escort

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Close convoy escort[2]
Name Flag Type Notes
HMS Bramble   Royal Navy Halcyon-class minesweeper 22–29 December
HMS Hyderabad   Royal Navy Flower-class corvette 22 December – 4 January
HMS Rhododendron   Royal Navy Flower-class corvette 22 December – 4 January
HMT Vizalma   Royal Navy ASW trawler 22 December – 4 January
Northern Gem   Royal Navy ASW trawler 22 December – 4 January

Ocean escort

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Ocean convoy escort[2]
Name Flag Type Notes
HMS Achates   Royal Navy A-class destroyer 25 December – 3 January
HMS Obdurate   Royal Navy O-class destroyer 25 December – 3 January
HMS Obedient   Royal Navy O-class destroyer 25 December – 3 January
HMS Onslow   Royal Navy O-class destroyer 25 December – 3 January
HMS Oribi   Royal Navy O-class destroyer 25–31 December, separated, sailed independently
HMS Orwell   Royal Navy O-class destroyer 25 December – 3 January

Force R

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Cruiser covering force[4]
Name Flag Type Notes
HMS Jamaica   Royal Navy Fiji-class cruiser 27–31 December, from Kola Inlet
HMS Sheffield   Royal Navy Town-class cruiser 27–31 December, from Kola Inlet
HMS Matchless   Royal Navy M-class destroyer 27–29 December, from Kola Inlet
HMS Opportune   Royal Navy O-class destroyer 27–29 December, from Kola Inlet

Distant cover

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Distant covering force[2]
Ship Flag Type Notes
HMS Anson   Royal Navy King George V-class battleship
HMS Cumberland   Royal Navy County-class cruiser
HMS Forester   Royal Navy F-class destroyer
HMS Icarus   Royal Navy I-class destroyer
HMS Impulsive   Royal Navy I-class destroyer
HMS Blankney   Royal Navy Hunt-class destroyer
HMS Chiddingfold   Royal Navy Hunt-class destroyer

Allied submarines

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Allied submarines[4]
Name Flag Type Notes
HMS Sea Nymph   Royal Navy S-class submarine Patrolled vicinity Bear Island
HMS Taurus   Royal Navy T-class submarine Patrolled vicinity Bear Island
HMS Torbay   Royal Navy T-class submarine Patrolled vicinity Bear Island
ORP Sokół   Polish Navy U-class submarine Patrolled vicinity Bear Island
HMS Trespasser   Royal Navy T-class submarine Norway inshore watch
HMS Seadog   Royal Navy S-class submarine Norway inshore watch
HMS Unruly   Royal Navy U-class submarine Norway inshore watch
HMS Graph   Royal Navy Type VIIC submarine Norway inshore watch
O 14   Royal Netherlands Navy O 12-class submarine Norway inshore watch

German order of battle

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U-boats

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U-boats[5]
Name Flag Class Notes
U-354   Kriegsmarine Type VIIC submarine
U-626   Kriegsmarine Type VIIC submarine

Surface force

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Regenbogen flotilla[6]
Ship Flag Type Notes
Admiral Hipper   Kriegsmarine Admiral Hipper-class cruiser Sailed 30 December
Lützow   Kriegsmarine Admiral Hipper-class cruiser Sailed 30 December
Z16 Friedrich Eckoldt   Kriegsmarine Type 1934A-class destroyer Sailed 30 December
Z4 Richard Beitzen   Kriegsmarine Type 1934-class destroyer Sailed 30 December
Z6 Theodor Riedel   Kriegsmarine Type 1934A-class destroyer Sailed 30 December
Z29   Kriegsmarine Type 1936A-class destroyer Sailed 30 December
Z30   Kriegsmarine Type 1936A-class destroyer Sailed 30 December
Z31   Kriegsmarine Type 1936A-class destroyer Sailed 30 December

Footnotes

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  1. ^ Churchill 1950, pp. 231–232.
  2. ^ a b c d Ruegg & Hague 1993, p. 48.
  3. ^ Pearson 2007, p. 138.
  4. ^ a b c Rohwer & Hümmelchen 2005, p. 219.
  5. ^ Woodman 2004, pp. 313, 316.
  6. ^ Woodman 2004, p. 316.

References

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  • Churchill, Winston S. (1950). The Hinge of Fate. The Second World War. Vol. IV. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. OCLC 1035611815.
  • Pearson, Michael (2007) [2002]. Red Sky in the Morning: The Battle of the Barents Sea 1942 (repr. ed.). Barnsley: Pen & Sword Maritime. ISBN 978-1-84415-452-4.
  • 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.
  • Woodman, Richard (2004) [1994]. Arctic Convoys 1941–1945. London: John Murray. ISBN 978-0-7195-5752-1.

Further reading

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