Convoy PQ 13

Convoy PQ 13
	Part ofWorld War II
	; HMSTrinidad
Date	28/29 March 1942
Location	Arctic Ocean
Result	Allied victory
Belligerents
Germany	United Kingdom; Soviet Union
Commanders and leaders
G. Ponitz	L. S. Saunders
Strength
3 destroyers	1 cruiser; 5 destroyers
Casualties and losses
1 destroyer sunk	1 cruiser damaged; 1 cargo sunk

PQ 13was a BritishArctic convoythat delivered war supplies from the Western Allies to theUSSRduringWorld War II.The convoy was subject to attack by German air, U-boat and surface forces and suffered the loss of five ships, plus one escort vessel. Fifteen ships arrived safely.

Ships

PQ 13 comprised 19 merchant ships; sevenBritish,fourAmerican,onePolish,four ofPanamanianand one ofHonduranregistry. It was commanded by Commodore D. A. Casey inRiver Afton.The convoy was escorted for the first stage of its voyage, from Scotland to Iceland, by a Local Escort Group, of two destroyers and an ASW Trawler. For the second stage, from Iceland to the Soviet Union, the Ocean escort was two destroyers and two trawlers, augmented by three whalers being transferred to theSoviet Navy.The Ocean escort was commanded by Capt. L. S. Saunders, in the cruiserHMSTrinidad.

In support of the convoy escort, and guarding against a sortie by theGerman battleshipTirpitz,was a Heavy Cover Force, comprising the battleshipsDuke of York(Vice Admiral A. T. B. Curteis commanding),King George V,battlecruiserRenown,aircraft carrierHMSVictorious,the cruisersKentandEdinburghand sixteen destroyers,Ashanti,Bedouin,Echo,Escapade,Eskimo,Faulknor,Foresight,Icarus,Inglefield,Ledbury,Marne,Middleton,Onslow,Punjabi,TartarandWheatland.This force was intended to accompany PQ 13 at a distance until it was pastBear Island.

Action

The convoy sailed fromLoch EweinScotlandon 10 March 1942 and arrived inReykjavíkon 16 March 1942. After the departure of three ships, bound from Loch Ewe to Reykjavík only and the first stage escort, collecting a further three ships bound from Reykjavík to Murmansk and the close escort for the voyage, PQ 13 left Reykjavík on 20 March 1942. The voyage was uneventful until 24 March, when the convoy was struck by a four-day storm, which left the convoy scattered and in disarray. The ships were dispersed over a distance of 150 nmi (280 km; 170 mi). Over the next few days the ships coalesced into two groups, of eight and four, with four others proceeding independently.

On 28 March the ships were sighted by German aircraft, and attacked.RacelandandEmpire Rangerwere sunk. A German force of threeNarvik class destroyers,Z24,Z25andZ26,under the command ofKzSG. Ponitz, sortied fromKirkenes.The German destroyers intercepted and sankBateauon the night of 28/29 March, before falling in withTrinidadandFuryin the early hours of 29 March.Z26was badly damaged byTrinidad,sinking later after a combined counter-attack ofOribi,Eclipseand the Soviet destroyerSokrushitelny,^[1]but in the course of the actionTrinidadwas hit by her own torpedo (the torpedo'sgyroscopefroze). The remaining German ships broke off the action andTrinidad,escorted byFuryandEclipse,limped intoKola Inlet,arriving midday on 30 March.

The ships of PQ 13 came under U-boat attack. Two ships were found and sunk by U-boats,IndunabyU-376,andEffinghambyU-435.Furyattacked anasdiccontact and was credited with the destruction ofU-585but post-war analysis found thatU-585was lost elsewhere.

By 30 March most ships had arrived at Murmansk; the last stragglers came in on 1 April. Six ships were lost in this convoy. The Germans sank five freighters. Onewhaler,(HMSSulla), was lost, probably due to heavy icing, and the cruiser,Trinidad,was damaged. Against this one German destroyer had been sunk. Fourteen ships had arrived safely, more than two-thirds of the convoy.

The freighterTobrukwas credited with shooting down one bomber and another probable on 30 April.^[2]

Ship list

The convoy to Russia consisted of 19 freighters, a Fleet Oiler, and 3 whalers,

PQ13 main body: Loch Ewe to Murmansk
Ship	Captain	Tonnage(GRT)	Flag	Merchant Marines	Total Armed Guard or DEMS
SSDunboyne	Ernest Prahter	3,515	United States	35	11, Ensign Brinn
SSEffingham	Charles H. Hewlett	6,421	United States	34	9, Ensign Gamblin
SSEl Estero	Ivo Beatovic	4,219	Panama	39	none
SSEldena	Ole M. Nilsen	6,900	United States	37	13, Ensign Fink
SSEmpire Cowper	J.H. Wigham	7,164	United Kingdom	36	11
SSEmpire Ranger	Maurice E. Sadler	7,008	United Kingdom	43	7
SSEmpire Starlight	William H. Stein	6,850	United Kingdom	66	12
SSGallant Fox	Eric Lundh	5,473	Panama	39	none
SSHarpalion	Henry W. Williams	5,486	United Kingdom	44	8
SSInduna	William N. Collins	5,086	United Kingdom	50	10
SSMana	Oermulff Berg-Johannessen	3,283	Honduras	36	None
SSMormacmar	Wilfred H. Senior	5,453	United States	30	9, Ensign Smith
SSNew Westminster City	William J. Harris	4,747	United Kingdom	44	6
SSRaceland	Sverre Brekke	4,815	Panama	45	None
SSRiver Afton	Harold W. Charlton	5,479	United Kingdom	43	10
SSTobruk	Bronisław Hurko^[3]	7,048	Poland	47	At least 1

**Reykjavík to Murmansk group**
Ship	Captain	Tonnage(GRT)	Flag	Merchant Marines	Total Armed Guard or DEMS
SSBallot	Henry Bejer	6,131	Panama	38	2
SSBateau	Johan A. Haltlid	4,687	Panama	44	2
SSScottish American	P. Sun	6,999	United Kingdom	38	6

**Loch Ewe to Reykjavík group**
Ship	Captain	Tonnage(GRT)	Flag
Groenland	b	1,220	United Kingdom
Lars Kruse	b	1,807	United Kingdom
Mano	b	1,418	United Kingdom

PQ13: Fleet replenishment oiler
Ship	Captain	Tonnage(GRT)	Flag	Merchant Marines	Total Armed Guard or DEMS
RFAOligarch	A.V. Barton	6,897	United Kingdom	39	7

PQ13Whalers
Ship	Captain	Tonnage(GRT)	Flag	Merchant Marines
HMSSilja		251	Royal Navy	21
HMSSumba		251	Royal Navy
HMSSulla	John Edward Thundercliffe	251	Royal Navy

Lars Kruse,ManoandGroenlandsailed with the convoy fromLoch EwetoIceland,but didn't sail to theSoviet Union.
Ballot,BateauandScottish Americanjoined the convoy inIceland.
All other ships departed fromLoch Ewe,forMurmansk.
Three whalers: HMSSilja,HMSSullaand HMSSumbawere under transfer to the Soviet Navy and would become magnetic mineminesweepers.

In Russia, HMSSiljawas renamedT-107and HMSSumbawas renamedT-106.

Convoy escorts

For the first stage, from Loch Ewe to Reykjavík, PQ 13 had a local escort of two destroyers and anASW Trawler.

From Iceland to Murmansk the close escort consisted of the cruiserTrinidadand the destroyersFuryandEclipse,twoarmed trawlersand threeminesweepers.

For the final leg the convoy was supported by the local escort based atKola;two Soviet destroyers and fourRNminesweepers.

Loch Ewe – Reykjavík: 10–16 March.
Leaving Loch Ewe in the afternoon of the 10th, the convoy was escorted by:

DestroyerORPBłyskawica(left the convoy on the 13th)
DestroyerLamerton
ASW TrawlerPaynter

On the 11th, another escort joined the convoy:

DestroyerSaladin

Reykjavík – Murmansk: 18–31 March.
Leaving Reykjavík in the morning of the 18th, the convoy was escorted by:

TrawlerCelia,ButeandWheatland.(left the convoy on the 23rd)

On the 23rd, other escorts joined the convoy:

DestroyersFuryandEclipse(left the convoy on the 25th)
Light CruiserTrinidad(left the convoy on the 25th)

The Barents Sea – Murmansk: 27 March – 3 April;
On the 27th, the convoy was joined by two Soviet destroyers:

Destroyers GremyashchiyandSokrushitelney

On 28 March the convoy was assisted by the involvement of the Sixth Minesweeping Flotilla operating here.
HMSHarrier,HMSGossamer,HMSSpeedwellandHMSHussarof the Sixth Minesweeping Flotilla, under command of commander E.P. Hinton, sailed on 28 April for a patrol in the Arctic waters. On the 29thHarrierwent for a search for survivors of the Empire Ranger. On the 29thSpeedwellattempted to interceptHarpalion,but failed to find her.HMSOribifound abandoned boats ofEmpire Rangeron the 29th which indicated they were picked up by other boats. (A German wireless claimed prisoners from a merchant ship, it was obvious they were fromEmpire Ranger) On 30 March,GossamerfoundScottish American,EffinghamandDunboyne.ButGossamerreceived orders to proceed to the position of the torpedoedIndua,but failed to find her.Hussarmade contact with a group of 9 ships of PQ 13 and a whaler. Escorted by two Russian destroyers and a trawler.Oribisighted the whalerSiljawho had run out of fuel.Oribiwas ordered to go to the aid ofRiver Aftonwhich was reported to have been hit by aU-boat.HarriertookSiljain tow andSpeedwellescorted them. On 1 April,Niger(also of the Sixth Minesweeping Flotilla) sailed to search forSulla,but returned on 3 April, having failed to find her.

Convoy losses

After an attack on 28 March 1942, 16 crewmembers ofBallotleft the ship in a lifeboat, were picked up bySiljaand put on boardInduna.

Merchant ships lost from the convoy
Date	Ship	Tonnage	Flag	Sunk by	Position	Crew	POW	Died
28 March	Raceland	4,815	Panama	Luftwaffe	72°40′N20°20′E/ 72.667°N 20.333°E/72.667; 20.333	45	13	32
28 March	Empire Ranger	7,008	United Kingdom	Luftwaffe	72°10′N30°00′E/ 72.167°N 30.000°E/72.167; 30.000	55	55	0
29 March	Bateau	4,687	Panama	Z-26	72°30′N27°00′E/ 72.500°N 27.000°E/72.500; 27.000	47	6	41
30 March	Induna	5,086	United Kingdom	U-376	70°55′N37°18′E/ 70.917°N 37.300°E/70.917; 37.300	66	0	42*
30 March	Effingham	6,421	United States	U-435	70°28′N35°44′E/ 70.467°N 35.733°E/70.467; 35.733	42	0	12

12 of them were former crewmembers of the SS Ballot

whaler lost from the convoy
Date	Ship	Tonnage	Flag	Sunk by	Position	Crew	POW	Died
29 March	HMS Sulla	251	Royal Navy	Icing		21	0	21

Aftermath

New Westminster CityandEmpire Starlightwere bombed inMurmanskport on 3 April.
New Westminster Citywas lost,Empire Starlightwas salvaged post war and renamedMurmansk.
HarpalionandEmpire Cowperwere lost on the return convoy,Convoy QP 10.
Tobrukwas bombed and sunk in Murmansk port during disembarking on 3 April, then refloated and after prolonging repair returned withConvoy QP 14in September.^[2]

Merchant ships lost in harbour or return convoy
Date	Ship	Tonnage	Flag	Sunk by	Crew	Died
3 April	New Westminster City	4,747	United Kingdom	Luftwaffe	52	2
3 April	Empire Starlight	6,850	United Kingdom	Luftwaffe	68	1
11 April	Empire Cowper	7,164	United Kingdom	Luftwaffe	68	19*
13 April	Harpalion	5,486	United Kingdom	U-435	52	0

A former crewmember ofNew Westminster Citydied on this ship

Footnotes

^Helgason, Guðmundur."PQ 13".German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net.
^^a ^bMiciński, Huras & Twardowski (1999),pp. 319–324.
^Miciński, Huras & Twardowski (1999),pp. 315–316.

References

Blair, Clay (1996).Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunters 1939–42.Vol. I. London: Cassell.ISBN 0-304-35260-8.
Kemp, Paul (1993).Convoy! Drama in Arctic Waters.London: Arms and Armour Press.ISBN 1-85409-130-1– via Archive Foundation.
John L. Haynes.Frozen Fury, The Murmansk run of Convoy PQ-13.ISBN 978-1-4512-0156-7
Morris O. Mills.Convoy PQ13 – Unlucky for Some.ISBN 0-9535670-2-8
Miciński, Jerzy; Huras, Bohdan; Twardowski, Marek (1999).Księga statków polskich 1918–1945. Tom 3[Polish ships book 1918–1945] (in Polish). Vol. III. Gdańsk: Polnord Wydawnictwo Oskar.ISBN 83-86181-45-1.
Woodman, Richard(2004) [1994].Arctic Convoys 1941–1945.London: John Murray.ISBN 978-0-7195-5752-1.

External links

PQ 13 at Convoyweb
Order of Battle-PQ13
Helgason, Guðmundur."PQ 13".German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net.
SS Raceland

[1] Helgason, Guðmundur."PQ 13".German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net.

[FOOTNOTEMicińskiHurasTwardowski1999319–324-2] Miciński, Huras & Twardowski (1999),pp. 319–324.

[FOOTNOTEMicińskiHurasTwardowski1999315–316-3] Miciński, Huras & Twardowski (1999),pp. 315–316.

[1]

[2]

[3]