Convoy QP 11

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Convoy QP 11
Part of the Arctic convoys of the Second World War

HMS Edinburgh showing the damage to its stern after the attack by U-456
Date28 April – 7 May 1942
Location
Arctic Ocean
Result Indecisive
Belligerents
Nazi Germany Germany United Kingdom United Kingdom
Soviet Union Soviet Union
United States
Commanders and leaders
Alfred Schulze-Hinrichs
Strength
3 destroyers
2 U-boats		 1 cruiser
6 destroyers
4 minesweeper
1 guard-ship
Casualties and losses
1 destroyer sunk 1 cruiser sunk
3 destroyers damaged
1 Soviet freighter sunk

Convoy QP 11 was an Arctic Convoy of the Second World War, made up of merchant ships returning from the Soviet Union to Britain after delivering their cargo. The convoy consisted of 13 merchant ships, escorted by 18 warships. The convoy was attacked by German destroyers and submarines, suffering the loss of one merchant ship as well as the light cruiser HMS Edinburgh. The Germans lost the destroyer Z7 Hermann Schoemann.

Ships

Convoy QP 11 consisted of 13 merchant ships, mostly British or American, including five ships that had been a part of Convoy PQ 13. The ships sailed from the Soviet port of Murmansk on 28 April 1942. The convoy was escorted by the light cruiser HMS Edinburgh, the destroyers HMS Amazon, Beagle, Beverley, Bulldog, Foresight and Forester, the Flower-class corvettes HMS Campanula, Oxlip, Saxifrage and Snowflake, with the armed trawler HMS Lord Middleton. Edinburgh carried $20 million in gold, a payment from the Soviet Union to the United States.[1]

Voyage

On 29 April, the convoy was spotted by a German Junkers Ju 88 reconnaissance aircraft and U-boats.[2] On 30 April, two days out from Murmansk, U-88 and U-436 made attacks on the convoy to no effect.[3] Later that day, U-456 hit Edinburgh twice. One torpedo hit the cruiser's forward boiler room while the other hit the cruiser's stern, destroying its rudder and two of its four propellers.[4] Edinburgh was badly damaged but remained afloat; it left the convoy and turned towards Murmansk, escorted by Foresight and Forester. Several ships were sent from Murmansk to assist Edinburgh, among them the British Halcyon-class minesweepers HMS Gossamer, Harrier, Hussar and Niger, the Soviet destroyers Gremyashchy and Sokrushitelny, the Soviet guard ship Rubin and a tug.[3]

1 May

The German command sent the three destroyers of Zerstörergruppe Arktis, Z7 Hermann Schoemann, Z24 and Z25 (Kapitän zur See Alfred Schulze-Hinrichs), to attack Convoy QP 11 and then sink HMS Edinburgh. The German ships reached the convoy in the afternoon on 1 May. The weather was cold; intermittent snow and rain limited visibility. Hermann Schoemann opened fire at 14:05. The four British destroyers formed up between the German destroyers and the convoy and engaged them at a range of about 10,000 yd (9,100 m). Amazon was hit twice and severely damaged. At 14:30 a German torpedo salvo hit and sank the Soviet freighter Tsiolkovski. At 17:50 the German destroyers turned to pursue Edinburgh.[5]

2 May

The flotilla found Edinburgh 250 nmi (460 km; 290 mi) east of the convoy at 06:17 on 2 May, moving at 2 kn (3.7 km/h; 2.3 mph).[2] Edinburgh was escorted by Foresight, Forester, the four British minesweepers and Rubin, Gremyaschi and Sokrushitelny had returned to Murmansk due to a lack of fuel.[4] The three German destroyers engaged the British ships. Due to the damage caused by U-456, Edinburgh was unable to manoeuvre and could only steam in circles. A snow shower separated Herman Schoemann from the other German destroyers and it attacked the British ships alone.[5] Edinburgh's targeting systems had been destroyed by the torpedo explosions but its gunners managed to hit and cripple Hermann Schoemann.[2] At 18:45, Z24 and Z25 arrived. Z25 hit and disabled Forester and then badly damaged Foresight.[5] At 18:52 a salvo of torpedoes from one of the German destroyers missed Foresight and Forester but one torpedo kept going and struck Edinburgh in the middle of its left side, opposite the hole made by U-456's torpedo.[2] The German ships soon withdrew, possibly because they overestimated the strength of the British minesweepers. At 08:15, Z24 rescued most of the crew of Hermann Schoemann who were still on the deck and then scuttled it.[5] More survivors from Hermann Schoemann who were in life rafts were later rescued by U-88. Harrier and Gossamer took survivors off Edinburgh, which was then scuttled by a torpedo from Foresight.[4]

Aftermath

The rest of the voyage of Convoy QP 11 saw unsuccessful attacks on the convoy by the submarines U-589 and U-251. The twelve remaining merchant ships of the convoy arrived in Iceland on 7 May.[3]

Allied order of battle

Convoyed ships

Merchant ships[6]
ShipYearFlagGRTNotes
SS Atheltemplar1930 United Kingdom8,992
SS Ballot1922 Panama6,131
SS Briarwood1930 United Kingdom4,019Convoy Commodore
SS Dan-Y-Bryn1940 United Kingdom5,117Vice-Convoy Commodore
SS Dunboyne1919 United States3,515
SS El Estero1920 Panama4,219
SS Eldena1919 United States6,900
SS Gallant Fox1918 Panama5,473
SS Mormacmar1920 United States5,453
SS Stone Street1922 Panama6,131
SS Trehata1928 United Kingdom4,817Damaged by ice
SS Tsiolkovsky1935 Soviet Union2,847Sunk 1 May by Z24, Z25
SS West Cheswald1919 United States5,711

Escorts

Escort forces[7]
ShipFlagTypeNotes
Eastern local escort
Sokrushitelny Soviet NavyGnevny-class destroyer28–29 April
Valerian Kyubishev Soviet NavyNovik-class destroyer28–29 April
HMS Gossamer Royal NavyHalcyon-class minesweeper28–29 April
HMS Hussar Royal NavyHalcyon-class minesweeper28–29 April
HMS Niger Royal NavyHalcyon-class minesweeper28–29 April
HMS Skipjack Royal NavyHalcyon-class minesweeper28–29 April
Oceanic escort
HMS Edinburgh Royal NavyTown-class cruiser28 April – 7 May
HMS Amazon Royal NavyThornycroft type destroyer28 April – 7 May
HMS Beagle Royal NavyB-class destroyer28 April – 7 May
HMS Bulldog Royal NavyB-class destroyer28 April – 7 May
HMS Beverley Royal NavyClemson-class destroyer28 April – 7 May
HMS Foresight Royal NavyF-class destroyer28 April – 30 April
HMS Forester Royal NavyF-class destroyer28 April – 30 April
HMS Campanula Royal NavyFlower-class corvette28 April – 7 May
HMS Oxlip Royal NavyFlower-class corvette28 April – 7 May
HMS Saxifrage Royal NavyFlower-class corvette28 April – 7 May
HMS Snowflake Royal NavyFlower-class corvette28 April – 7 May
HMT Lord Middleton Royal NavyAdmiralty trawler28 April – 7 May
Distant cover (Home Fleet)
HMS Victorious Royal NavyIllustrious-class aircraft carrier28 April – 7 May
HMS King George V Royal NavyKing George V-class battleship28 April – 7 May
HMS Duke of York Royal NavyKing George V-class battleship28 April – 7 May
HMS Kenya Royal NavyFiji-class cruiser28 April – 7 May
HMS Escapade Royal NavyE-class destroyer28 April – 7 May
HMS Faulknor Royal NavyF-class destroyer28 April – 7 May
HMS Inglefield Royal NavyI-class destroyer28 April – 7 May
HMS Marne Royal NavyM-class destroyer28 April – 7 May
HMS Martin Royal NavyM-class destroyer28 April – 7 May
HMS Oribi Royal NavyO-class destroyer28 April – 7 May
HMS Belvoir Royal NavyHunt-class destroyer28 April – 7 May
HMS Hursley Royal NavyHunt-class destroyer28 April – 7 May
HMS Lamerton Royal NavyHunt-class destroyer28 April – 7 May
HMS Middleton Royal NavyHunt-class destroyer28 April – 7 May
Submarine flank cover
ORP Jastrząb Polish NavyS-class submarine
Minerve Free French Naval ForcesMinerve-class submarine
HMS Unison Royal NavyU-class submarine
HNoMS Uredd Royal Norwegian NavyU-class submarine
D-3 Soviet NavyDekabrist-class submarine
K-2 Soviet NavySoviet K-class submarine
K-22 Soviet NavySoviet K-class submarine
K-23 Soviet NavySoviet K-class submarine

German order of battle

U-boats

U-boats[3]
BoatNameFlagTypeNotes
U-88 Heino Bohmann  Kriegsmarine Type VIIC submarine
U-251 Heinrich Timm  Kriegsmarine Type VIIC submarine
U-405 Rolf-Heinrich Hopman  Kriegsmarine Type VIIC submarine
U-436 Günther Seibicke  Kriegsmarine Type VIIC submarine
U-456 Max-Martin Teichert  Kriegsmarine Type VIIC submarine
U-589 Hans-Joachim Horrer  Kriegsmarine Type VIIC submarine
U-703 Heinz Bielfeld  Kriegsmarine Type VIIC submarine

Ships

German destroyers[3]
ShipFlagClassNotes
Z7 Hermann Schoemann KriegsmarineType 1934A-class destroyer1 May, severely damaged by HMS Edinburgh, scuttled
Z24 KriegsmarineType 1936A-class destroyer
Z25 KriegsmarineType 1936A-class destroyer

Footnotes

  1. Edwards 2002, pp. 95–98; Ruegg & Hague 1993, p. 35.
  2. Jessop & Hanson 2002, pp. 258–266.
  3. Rohwer & Hümmelchen 2005, p. 162.
  4. Edwards 2002, pp. 95–98.
  5. O'Hara 2011, pp. 188–190.
  6. Ruegg & Hague 1993, pp. 35–36.
  7. Ruegg & Hague 1993, p. 35; Rohwer & Hümmelchen 2005, p. 162.

Bibliography

  • Edwards, Bernard (2002). The Road to Russia: Arctic Convoys 1942. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-732-8.
  • Jessop, Keith; Hanson, Neil (2002). Goldfinder. Danvers, MA: John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 0-471-40733-X.
  • O'Hara, Vincent P. (2011). Tucker, Spencer C. (ed.). World War II at Sea: An Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, LLC. ISBN 978-1-59884-457-3.
  • 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.

Further reading

  • Boog, H.; Rahn, W.; Stumpf, R.; Wegner, B. (2001). The Global War: Widening of the Conflict into a World War and the Shift of the Initiative 1941–1943. Germany in the Second World War. Vol. VI. Translated by Osers, E.; Brownjohn, J.; Crampton, P.; Willmot, L. (Eng trans. Oxford University Press, London ed.). Potsdam: Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt (Research Institute for Military History). ISBN 0-19-822888-0.
  • Boyd, Andrew (2024). Arms for Russia & the Naval War in the Arctic 1941–9145. Barnsley: Seaforth (Pen & Sword). ISBN 978-1-3990-3886-7.
  • 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.
  • Hancock, W. K.; Gowing, M. M. (1949). Hancock, W. K. (ed.). British War Economy. History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Civil Series. London: HMSO. OCLC 630191560.
  • Hinsley, F. H. (1994) [1993]. British Intelligence in the Second World War: Its Influence on Strategy and Operations. History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series (2nd rev. abr. ed.). London: HMSO. ISBN 978-0-11-630961-7.
  • Hobbs, David (2022). The Fleet Air Arm and the War in Europe 1939–1945. Barnsley: Seaforth (Pen & Sword). ISBN 978-1-5267-9979-1.
  • Kahn, D. (1973) [1967]. The Codebreakers: The Story of Secret Writing (10th abr. Signet, Chicago ed.). New York: Macmillan. LCCN 63-16109. OCLC 78083316.
  • Kemp, Paul (1993). Convoy! Drama in Arctic Waters. London: Arms and Armour Press. ISBN 1-85409-130-1 – via Archive Foundation.
  • Macksey, K. (2004) [2003]. The Searchers: Radio Intercept in two World Wars (Cassell Military Paperbacks ed.). London: Cassell. ISBN 978-0-304-36651-4.
  • Paterson, Lawrence (2016). Steel and Ice: The U-boat Battle in the Arctic and Black Sea 1941–45. Stroud: The History Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-258-4.
  • Roskill, S. W. (1957) [1954]. Butler, J. R. M. (ed.). The War at Sea 1939–1945: The Defensive. History of the Second World War United Kingdom Military Series. Vol. I (4th impr. ed.). London: HMSO. OCLC 881709135. Archived from the original on 27 February 2022.
  • Woodman, Richard (2004) [1994]. Arctic Convoys 1941–1945. London: John Murray. ISBN 978-0-7195-5752-1.