Convoy QP 15
| Convoy QP.15 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Second World War | |||||
| |||||
| Belligerents | |||||
.svg){kind=small} 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 | ||||
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]
Ships[edit]
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[edit]
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 broke her back, severing 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]
Merchant ships[edit]
| Name | Flag | Tonnage (GRT) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| SS Andre Marti |  Soviet Union |
2,352 | |
| SS Belomorcanal | Soviet Union |
2,900 | |
| SS Charles R. McCormick |  United States |
6,027 | |
| SS Copeland |  United Kingdom |
1,526 | Rescue ship |
| SS Dan-y-Bryn | United Kingdom |
5,117 | Vice-Commodore |
| SS Empire Baffin | United Kingdom |
6,978 | |
| SS Empire Morn | United Kingdom |
7,092 | CAM ship |
| SS Empire Snow | United Kingdom |
6,327 | |
| SS Empire Tristram | United Kingdom |
7,167 | |
| SS Esek Hopkins | United States |
7,191 | |
| SS Goolistan | United Kingdom |
5,851 | Sunk by U-625 on 23 November |
| SS Hollywood | United States |
5,498 | |
| SS Ironclad | United States |
5,685 | |
| SS Komiles | Soviet Union |
3,966 | |
| SS Kuznetz Lesov | Soviet Union |
3,974 | Sunk by U-601 on 23 November |
| SS Lafayette | United States |
5,887 | |
| SS Meanticut | United States |
6,061 | |
| SS Nathanael Greene | United States |
7,177 | |
| SS Ocean Faith | United Kingdom |
7,174 | |
| SS Patrick Henry | United States |
7,191 | |
| SS Petrovski | Soviet Union |
3,771 | |
| SS Sahale | United States |
5,028 | |
| SS Schoharie | United States |
4,971 | |
| SS St. Olaf | United States |
7,191 | |
| SS Tbilisi | Soviet Union |
7,169 | |
| SS Temple Arch | United Kingdom |
5,138 | Convoy Commodore |
| SS Virginia Dare | United States |
7,177 | |
| SS White Clover |  Panama |
5,462 | |
| 'SS William Moultrie | United States |
7,177 |
References[edit]
- ^ "Convoy QP.15". Archived from the original on 7 July 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b Ruegg, Hague pp46-47
- ^ a b Kemp p113-114
- ^ a b Walling, Michael G. (20 October 2012). Forgotten Sacrifice: The Arctic Convoys of World War II. Oxford: Osprey. ISBN 978-1-84908-718-6.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ "Convoy QP.15". Arnold Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
Bibliography[edit]
- 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