Order of battle for Convoy PQ 18
Convoy PQ 18 was the last of the PQ/QP series of arctic convoys during the Second World War, bound from US and British ports via Reykjavík in Iceland to the Barents Sea and White Sea ports of the Soviet Union, particularly Murmansk and Arkhangelsk. The convoy sailed on 2 September 1942 and arrived three weeks later on 21 September 1942. It was opposed by the German Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe forces based in occupied Norway.
Convoy PQ 18 comprised forty merchant ships and four naval auxiliaries, plus contingents to and from Iceland in relays (48 in all) and was defended by a close escort, a "Fighting Destroyer Escort", local escort forces and two distant escort forces (74 warships in total). These were supported by aircraft of the RAF based in the Soviet Union.
The German forces comprised the U-boat Wolfpack Eispalast (Ice Palace), of twelve U-boats and eight warships, though in the event these were not engaged. The naval forces were assisted by the aircraft of Luftflotte 5.
Allied forces
[edit]Merchant ships
[edit]Loch Ewe to Archangel
[edit]Name | Flag | Cargo | GRT | Fate | W/KIA | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SS Africander | ![]() |
5,441 | Sunk in air attack | |||
MV Atheltemplar | ![]() |
8,992 | Damaged by U-457 Sunk by U-408 |
16 | ||
SS Beauregard | ![]() |
5,976 | Engine trouble[1] | Returned to Loch Ewe | ||
RFA Black Ranger (A163) | ![]() |
Fleet oiler | 3,417 | |||
SS Campfire | ![]() |
5,671 | ||||
SS Charles R. McCormick | ![]() |
6,027 | ||||
SS Copeland | ![]() |
Rescue ship | 1,526 | |||
SS Dan-y-Bryn | ![]() |
5,117 | Vice-Commodore | |||
SS Empire Baffin | ![]() |
6,978 | ||||
SS Empire Beaumont | ![]() |
7,044 | Sunk in air attack | |||
SS Empire Morn | ![]() |
CAM ship | 7,092 | |||
SS Empire Snow | ![]() |
6,327 | ||||
SS Empire Stevenson | ![]() |
6,209 | Sunk in air attack | |||
SS Empire Tristram | ![]() |
7,167 | ||||
SS Esek Hopkins | ![]() |
7,191 | ||||
SS Goolistan | ![]() |
5,851 | ||||
RFA Gray Ranger | ![]() |
Fleet oiler | 3,313 | |||
SS Hollywood | ![]() |
5,498 | ||||
SS John Penn | ![]() |
7,177 | Sunk in air attack | |||
SS Kentucky | ![]() |
5,446 | Sunk in air attack | |||
SS Lafayette | ![]() |
5,887 | ||||
SS Macbeth | ![]() |
4,941 | Sunk in air attack | |||
SS Mary Luckenbach | ![]() |
5,049 | Sunk in air attack | |||
SS Meanticut | ![]() |
6,061 | ||||
SS Nathanael Greene | ![]() |
7,177 | ||||
SS Ocean Faith | ![]() |
7,174 | ||||
RFA Oligarch | ![]() |
Fleet oiler | 6,894 | Joined from Spitzbergen group[2] | ||
SS Oliver Ellsworth | ![]() |
7,191 | Sunk by U-408 | 1 | ||
SS Oregonian | ![]() |
4,862 | Sunk in air attack | |||
SS Patrick Henry | ![]() |
7,191 | ||||
SS Sahale | ![]() |
5,028 | ||||
SS Schoharie | ![]() |
4,971 | ||||
SS St. Olaf | ![]() |
7,191 | ||||
SS Temple Arch | ![]() |
5,138 | Flagship Comm E. K. Boddam-Whetham | |||
SS Virginia Dare | ![]() |
7,177 | ||||
SS Wacosta | ![]() |
5,432 | Sunk in air attack | |||
SS White Clover | ![]() |
5,462 | ||||
SS William Moultrie | ![]() |
7,177 |
Loch Ewe to Reykjavík
[edit]Name | Flag | Cargo | GRT | Fate | Casualties | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SS Gateway City | ![]() |
5,432 | Loch Ewe to Reykjavík only | |||
SS Oremar | ![]() |
6,854 | ||||
SS San Zotico | ![]() |
5,582 |
Reykjavík to Arkhangelsk
[edit]Name | Flag | Cargo | GRT | Fate | Casualties | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SS Andre Marti | ![]() |
2,352 | Joined from Reykjavík | |||
SS Exford | ![]() |
4,969 | ||||
SS Komiles | ![]() |
3,966 | ||||
SS Petrovski | ![]() |
3,771 | ||||
SS Richard Bassett | ![]() |
7,191 | Engine trouble[3] | Joined from, returned to, Reykjavík | ||
SS Stalingrad | ![]() |
3,559 | Sunk by U-408 | 21 | joined from Reykjavík | |
SS Sukhona | ![]() |
3,124 | Sunk in air attack | |||
SS Tbilisi | ![]() |
7,169 |
Escorts
[edit]Stage one
[edit]Name | Class | Navy | Date joined | Date departed | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
HMS Campbell | destroyer | Royal Navy | 2 Sep 42 | 8 Sep 42 | Joined Heavy Cover Force |
HMS Eskdale | destroyer | RN | 2 Sep 42 | 8 Sep 42 | |
HMS Farndale | destroyer | RN | 2 Sep 42 | 8 Sep 42 | |
HMS Mackay | destroyer | RN | 2 Sep 42 | 8 Sep 42 | Joined Heavy Cover Force |
HMS Montrose | destroyer | RN | 2 Sep 42 | 8 Sep 42 | Joined Heavy Cover Force |
HMS Echo | destroyer | RN | 2 Sep 42 | 8 Sep 42 | |
HMS Walpole | destroyer | RN | 2 Sep 42 | 8 Sep 42 | |
HMT Arab | A/S trawler | Royal Navy | 2 Sep 42 | 8 Sep 42 | To Reykjavík as escort |
HMT Duncton | trawler | RN | 2 Sep 42 | 8 Sep 42 | |
HMT Hugh Walpole | trawler | RN | 2 Sep 42 | 8 Sep 42 | |
HMT King Sol | trawler | RN | 2 Sep 42 | 8 Sep 42 | |
HMT Paynter | trawler | RN | 2 Sep 42 | 8 Sep 42 |
Stage two
[edit]Name | Class | Navy | Date joined | Date departed | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
HMS Malcolm | destroyer | Royal Navy | 7 Sept 42 | 21 Sep 42 | Cdr AB Russell SOE |
HMS Achates | destroyer | RN | 7 Sept 42 | 21 Sep 42 | |
HMS Amazon | destroyer | RN | 7 Sept 42 | 21 Sep 42 | |
HMS Alynbank | anti-aircraft ship | RN | 7 Sept 42 | 21 Sep 42 | |
HMS Ulster Queen | anti-aircraft ship | RN | 7 Sept 42 | 21 Sep 42 | |
HMS Bergamot | Flower-class corvette | RN | 7 Sept 42 | 21 Sep 42 | |
HMS Bryony | Flower-class corvette | RN | 7 Sept 42 | 21 Sep 42 | |
HMS Bluebell | Flower-class corvette | RN | 7 Sept 42 | 21 Sep 42 | |
HMS Camellia | Flower-class corvette | RN | 7 Sept 42 | 21 Sep 42 | |
HMT Cape Argona | A/S trawler | RN | 7 Sept 42 | 21 Sep 42 | |
HMT Cape Mariato | A/S trawler | RN | 7 Sept 42 | 21 Sep 42 | |
HMT Daneman | A/S trawler | RN | 7 Sept 42 | 21 Sep 42 | |
HMT St Kenan | A/S trawler | RN | 7 Sept 42 | 21 Sep 42 | |
HMS Harrier | minesweeper | RN | 7 Sept 42 | 21 Sep 42 | |
HMS Gleaner | minesweeper | RN | 7 Sept 42 | 21 Sep 42 | |
HMS Sharpshooter | minesweeper | RN | 7 Sept 42 | 21 Sep 42 |
Carrier group, stage two
[edit]Name | Class | Navy | Date joined | Date departed | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
HMS Avenger | Escort carrier | Royal Navy | 9 Sept 42 | 17 Sep 42 | |
HMS Wheatland | Hunt-class destroyer | RN | 9 Sept 42 | 17 Sep 42 | |
HMS Wilton | Hunt-class destroyer | RN | 9 Sept 42 | 17 Sep 42 |
Fighting Destroyer Escort, stage two
[edit]Name | Class | Navy | Date joined | Date departed | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
HMS Scylla | Dido-class cruiser | Royal Navy | 9 Sept 42 | 17 Sep 42 | Flagship Rear Admiral Robert "Bullshit Bob" Burnett |
HMS Onslow | O-class destroyer | RN | 9 Sept 42 | 17 Sep 42 | |
HMS Onslaught | O-class destroyer | RN | 9 Sept 42 | 17 Sep 42 | |
HMS Opportune | O-class destroyer | RN | 9 Sept 42 | 17 Sep 42 | |
HMS Offa | O-class destroyer | RN | 9 Sept 42 | 17 Sep 42 | |
HMS Ashanti | Tribal-class destroyer | RN | 9 Sept 42 | 17 Sep 42 | |
HMS Eskimo | Tribal-class destroyer | RN | 9 Sept 42 | 17 Sep 42 | |
HMS Somali | Tribal-class destroyer | RN | 9 Sept 42 | 17 Sep 42 | |
HMS Tartar | Tribal-class destroyer | RN | 9 Sept 42 | 17 Sep 42 | |
HMS Milne | M-class destroyer | RN | 9 Sept 42 | 17 Sep 42 | |
HMS Marne | M-class destroyer | RN | 9 Sept 42 | 17 Sep 42 | |
HMS Martin | M-class destroyer | RN | 9 Sept 42 | 17 Sep 42 | |
HMS Meteor | M-class destroyer | RN | 9 Sept 42 | 17 Sep 42 | |
HMS Faulknor | F-class destroyer | RN | 9 Sept 42 | 17 Sep 42 | |
HMS Fury | F-class destroyer | RN | 9 Sept 42 | 17 Sep 42 | |
HMS Impulsive | I-class destroyer | RN | 9 Sept 42 | 17 Sep 42 | |
HMS Intrepid | I-class destroyer | RN | 9 Sept 42 | 17 Sep 42 |
Eastern Local Escort, stage two
[edit]Name | Class | Navy | Date joined | Date departed | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gremyashchi | Gnevny-class destroyer | Soviet Northern Fleet | 17 Sep 42 | 22 Sep 42 | |
Kuibishev | Orfey-class destroyer | Soviet Northern Fleet | 17 Sep 42 | 22 Sep 42 | |
Sokrushitelny | Gnevny-class destroyer | Soviet Northern Fleet | 17 Sep 42 | 22 Sep 42 | |
Uritski | Orfey-class destroyer | Soviet Northern Fleet | 17 Sep 42 | 22 Sep 42 | |
HMS Halcyon | Minesweeper | Royal Navy | 17 Sep 42 | 22 Sep 42 | |
HMS Hazard | Minesweeper | Royal Navy | 17 Sep 42 | 22 Sep 42 | |
HMS Salamander | Minesweeper | Royal Navy | 17 Sep 42 | 22 Sep 42 | |
HMS Britomart | Minesweeper | Royal Navy | 17 Sep 42 | 22 Sep 42 |
Cruiser Covering Force, stage two
[edit]Name | Class | Navy | Joined | Departed | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
HMS Norfolk | County-class cruiser | Royal Navy | 14 Sep 42 | 22 Sep 42 | Flagship Vice Admiral Stuart Bonham Carter |
HMS London | County-class cruiser | RN | 14 Sep 42 | 22 Sep 42 | |
HMS Suffolk | County-class cruiser | RN | 14 Sep 42 | 22 Sep 42 | |
HMS Bulldog | B-class destroyer | RN | 14 Sep 42 | 22 Sep 42 | |
HMS Venomous | W-class destroyer | RN | 14 Sep 42 | 22 Sep 42 |
Heavy Covering Force, stage two
[edit]Name | Class | Navy | Joined | Departed | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
HMS Anson | battleship | Royal Navy | 11 Sep 42 | 14 Sep 42 | Flagship Vice Admiral Bruce Fraser |
HMS Duke of York | battleship | RN | 11 Sep 42 | 14 Sep 42 | |
HMS Jamaica | cruiser | RN | 11 Sep 42 | 14 Sep 42 | |
HMS Keppel | destroyer | RN | 11 Sep 42 | 14 Sep 42 | Commander Jack Broome |
HMS Montrose | destroyer | RN | 11 Sep 42 | 14 Sep 42 | Joined from local escort group |
HMS Campbell | destroyer | RN | 11 Sep 42 | 14 Sep 42 | Joined from local escort group |
HMS Mackay | destroyer | RN | 11 Sep 42 | 14 Sep 42 | Joined from local escort group |
HMS Bramham | destroyer | RN | 11 Sep 42 | 14 Sep 42 | |
HMS Broke | destroyer | RN | 11 Sep 42 | 14 Sep 42 |
Supporting forces
[edit]Spitzbergen re-fuelling group, stage two
[edit]Name | Class | Navy | Date joined | Date departed | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
RFA Blue Ranger | Oiler | Royal Fleet Auxiliary | 10 Sep 42 | 10 Sep 42 | |
RFA Oligarch | Oiler | Royal Fleet Auxiliary | 10 Sep 42 | 10 Sep 42 | |
HMS Oakley | Hunt-class destroyer | Royal Navy | 10 Sep 42 | 10 Sep 42 | |
HMS Cowdray | Hunt-class destroyer | RN | 10 Sep 42 | 10 Sep 42 | |
HMS Worcester | W-class destroyer | RN | 10 Sep 42 | 10 Sep 42 | |
HMS Windsor | W-class destroyer | RN | 10 Sep 42 | 10 Sep 42 |
Spitzbergen reinforcement group, stage two
[edit]Name | Class | Navy | Date joined | Date departed | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
HMS Cumberland | County-class cruiser | Royal Navy | 14 Sep 42 | 14 Sep 42 | |
HMS Sheffield | Town-class cruiser | RN | 14 Sep 42 | 14 Sep 42 | |
HMS Eclipse | E-class destroyer | RN | 14 Sep 42 | 14 Sep 42 |
Submarine patrol group
[edit]Name | Class | Navy | commence patrol |
end patrol |
Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
HMS Shakespeare | S-class submarine | Royal Navy | 7 Sep 42 | 23 Sep 42 | |
HMS Unrivalled | U-class submarine | RN | 7 Sep 42 | 1 Oct 42 | |
HMS Unique | U-class submarine | RN | 7 Sep 42 | 1 Oct 42 | |
HMS Tribune | T-class submarine | RN | 2 Sep 42 | 1 Oct 42 | |
HMS Tigris | T-class submarine | RN | 2 Sep 42 | 1 Oct 42 | |
HMS Sturgeon | S-class submarine | RN | 2 Sep 42 | 6 Sep 42 | Returned to port; mechanical defect |
HMS Unshaken | U-class submarine | RN | 2 Sep 42 | 1 Oct 42 | |
HNoMS Uredd | U-class submarine | Royal Norwegian Navy | 2 Sep 42 | 1 Oct 42 | |
French submarine Rubis | Saphir-class submarine | Free French |
Axis forces
[edit]U-boats
[edit]Name | Type | Navy | Success | Fate | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
U-88 | Type VIIC | Kriegsmarine | Sunk by Faulknor[5] | ||
U-255 | VIIC | KM | |||
U-377 | VIIC | KM | |||
U-378 | VIIC | KM | |||
U-403 | VIIC | KM | |||
U-405 | VIIC | KM | |||
U-408 | VIIC | KM | Sank Stalingrad[6] | ||
U-435 | VIIC | KM | |||
U-457 | VIIC | KM | Damaged Atheltemplar[6] | Sunk by Impulsive[7] | |
U-589 | VIIC | KM | Sank Oliver Ellsworth[6] | Sunk by Onslow[8] | |
U-592 | VIIC | KM | |||
U-703 | VIIC | KM |
Surface ships
[edit]Name | Type | Navy | Sortie/1st sailing | Fate/2nd sailing | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Admiral Scheer | Deutschland-class cruiser | Kriegsmarine | 9 Sep 42 | Cancelled | Flagship V Adm. Oskar Kummetz |
Admiral Hipper | Admiral Hipper-class cruiser | KM | 9 Sep 42 | " | |
Köln | Königsberg-class cruiser | KM | 9 Sep 42 | " | |
Z4 Richard Beitzen | Type 1934 destroyer | KM | 9 Sep 42 | " | |
Z23 | Type 1936A destroyer | KM | 9 Sep 42 | " | |
Z27 | Type 1936A destroyer | KM | 9 Sep 42 | " | Flag Kapitän zur See Gottfried Pönitz , 8th Destroyer Flotilla |
Z29 | Type 1936A destroyer | KM | 9 Sep 42 | " | |
Z30 | Type 1936A destroyer | KM | 9 Sep 42 | " |
Notes
[edit]Footnotes
[edit]- ^ Smith 1975, p. 32.
- ^ Ruegg & Hague 1993, p. 43.
- ^ Smith 1975, p. 37.
- ^ a b Smith 1975, p. 213.
- ^ Smith 1975, p. 50.
- ^ a b c Blair 2000, p. 20.
- ^ Smith 1975, pp. 150–151.
- ^ Smith 1975, pp. 132–134.
References
[edit]- Blair, Clay (2000) [1998]. Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunted 1942–1945. Vol. II (UK pbk. ed.). Cassell. ISBN 0-304-35261-6.
- 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.
- Smith, Peter (1975). Convoy PQ18: Arctic Victory. London: William Kimber. ISBN 978-0-7183-0074-6.
Further reading
[edit]- Boog, H.; Rahn, W.; Stumpf, R.; Wegner, B. (2001) [1990]. Der globale Krieg: Die Ausweitung zum Weltkrieg und der Wechsel zur Initiative 1941 bis 1943 [The Global War: The Expansion into World WQar and the Loss of the Initiative 1941 to 1943]. Das Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg (Germany and the Second World War). Vol. VI. Translated by Osers, Ewald; Brownjohn, John; Crampton, Patricia; Willmot, Louise (eng. trans. Cambridge University Press, London ed.). Stuttgart: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt for the Militärgeschichtlichen Forschungsamt. ISBN 0-19-822888-0.
- Claasen, A. R. A. (2001). Hitler's Northern War: The Luftwaffe's Ill-fated Campaign, 1940–1945. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas. ISBN 0-7006-1050-2.
- Llewellyn-Jones, Malcolm, ed. (2014) [2007]. The Royal Navy and the Arctic Convoys: A Navay Staff History. Naval Staff Histories. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-86177-9.
- 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 Publishing. ISBN 1-86176-257-7.
- Roskill, S. W. (1962) [1956]. The Period of Balance. History of the Second World War: The War at Sea 1939–1945. Vol. II (3rd impr. ed.). London: HMSO. OCLC 174453986. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
- Woodman, Richard (2004) [1994]. Arctic Convoys 1941–1945. London: John Murray. ISBN 978-0-7195-5752-1.