Convoy PQ 17 order of battle

Convoy PQ 17
Part of Arctic naval operations of the Second World War

Map of Varabgerfjord (in French)
Date27 June – 10 July 1942
Location
Barents Sea
Result German victory
Belligerents

 Germany

Commanders and leaders
Strength
  • 35 merchant ships
  • Close escort:
  • 6 destroyers
  • 11 escort vessels
  • 2 anti-aircraft ships
  • Covering forces:
  • 1 aircraft carrier
  • 2 battleships
  • 6 cruisers
  • 13 destroyers[1]
  • 1 battleship
  • 3 cruisers
  • 12 destroyers
  • 11 U-boats
  • 33 torpedo-bombers
  • 6 bombers
Casualties and losses
  • 153 merchant seamen killed
  • 24 merchant ships sunk
  • 3,350 vehicles
  • 210 aircraft
  • 430 tanks
  • 99,316 GRT general cargo
 5 aircraft

Convoy PQ 17 was the penultimate convoy of the PQ series of Arctic convoys, bound from British and American ports through the Arctic Ocean via Reykjavík to the ports of the northern Soviet Union, particularly Murmansk and Arkhangelsk in the White Sea. The convoy was heavily defended, but fearing an imminent attack by German ships, including Tirpitz. The Admiralty made the decision to disperse the convoy.

The convoy comprised 35 merchant ships and 6 naval auxiliaries (41 in all) and was defended by a close escort and two distant escort forces, 43 warships in total. It was opposed by a U-boat gruppe Eisteufel, of first 6, then 8 U-boats, and a surface attack force of 16 warships, in two battle groups. This operation was code-named Unternehmen Rösselsprung (Operation Knight's Move). These were assisted by the 234 aircraft of Luftflotte 5.

Before the convoy dispersed, three ships had been lost. After it scattered each ship made its way individually to the Russian ports. Some ships took refuge along the frozen coast of Novaya Zemlya, landing at Matochkin.[2] The Soviet tanker Azerbaijan had lost her cargo of linseed oil and much of SS Winston-Salem's cargo had also been jettisoned in Novaya Zemlya.[3]

Of the thirty-six ships that left Iceland, three were forced to return early and 21 were sunk.[4] Ten merchant ships (one British, six American, one Panamanian and two Russian) and four auxiliaries reached Archangel and delivered 70,000 long tons (71,000 t) out of the 200,000 long tons (200,000 t) which had started from Iceland.[5]

Allied forces

Operation ES

Force X
NameFlagTypeDatesNotes
Feints towards Norway[6]
HMS Adventure  Royal Navy minelaying cruiser Departed 29 June, 6 July
HMS Curacoa  Royal Navy C-class cruiser Departed 29 June, 6 July
HMS Sirius  Royal Navy Dido-class cruiser Departed 29 June, 6 July
HMS Brighton  Royal Navy Town-class destroyer Departed 29 June, 6 July
HMS St Mary's  Royal Navy Town-class destroyer Departed 29 June, 6 July
HMS Nepal  Royal Navy N-class destroyer Departed 29 June, 6 July
HNLMS Tjerk Hiddes  Royal Netherlands Navy N-class destroyer Departed 29 June, 6 July
HMS Catterick  Royal Navy Hunt-class destroyer Departed 29 June, 6 July
HMS Oakley  Royal Navy Hunt-class destroyer Departed 29 June, 6 July
HMS Agamemnon  Royal Navy Reefer ship conversion Departed 29 June, 6 July 1st Minelaying Squadron
HMS Menestheus  Royal Navy Reefer ship conversion Departed 29 June, 6 July 1st Minelaying Squadron
HMS Port Quebec  Royal Navy Reefer ship conversion Departed 29 June, 6 July 1st Minelaying Squadron
HMS Southern Prince  Royal Navy Reefer ship conversion Departed 29 June, 6 July 1st Minelaying Squadron
5 colliers  Merchant Navy — Departed 29 June, 6 July
4 HMT trawlers  Royal Navy — Departed 29 June, 6 July

Convoy PQ 17

Escort

NameFlagClassNotes
Close escort[8]
HMS Escapade Royal NavyE-class destroyer29 June – 4 July
HMS Fury Royal NavyF-class destroyer30 June – 4 July
HMS Offa Royal NavyO-class destroyer30 June – 4 July
HMS Keppel Royal NavyShakespeare-class destroyerSenior Officer Escort, 30 June – 4 July
HMS Leamington Royal NavyTown-class destroyer30 June – 4 July
HMS Ledbury Royal NavyHunt-class destroyer30 June – 4 July
HMS Wilton Royal NavyHunt-class destroyer30 June – 4 July
HMS Dianella Royal NavyFlower-class corvette30 June – 4 July
HMS Lotus Royal NavyFlower-class corvette30 June – 4 July
HMS La Malouine Royal NavyFlower-class corvette30 June – 4 July
HMS Poppy Royal NavyFlower-class corvette30 June – 4 July
HMS Britomart Royal NavyHalcyon-class minesweeper27 June − 4 July
HMS Halcyon Royal NavyHalcyon-class minesweeper27 June – 4 July
HMS Salamander Royal NavyHalcyon-class minesweeper27 June – 4 July
HMS Palomares Royal NavyAnti-aircraft ship27 June – 4 July
HMS Pozarica Royal NavyAnti-aircraft ship27 June – 4 July
HMT Ayrshire Royal NavyASW trawler27 June – 4 July
HMT Lord Austin Royal NavyASW trawler27 June – 4 July
HMS Lord Middleton Royal NavyASW trawler27 June – 4 July
HMT Northern Gem Royal NavyASW trawler27 June – 4 July
Rathlin United KingdomRescue shipArrived Archangel, 9 July
Zaafaran United KingdomRescue shipSunk by aircraft, 5 July
Zamalek United KingdomRescue ship
HMS P614 Royal NavyP611-class submarine30 June – 4 July
HMS P615 Royal NavyP611-class submarine27 June – 4 July
Force Q (Fleet oiler and escort)[9]
HMS Douglas Royal NavyScott-class destroyer27 June – 2 July Detached to Convoy QP 13
RFA Gray Ranger Royal Fleet AuxiliaryRanger-class tanker27 June – 2 July Detached to Convoy QP 13
Covering force (1st Cruiser Squadron)[5]
HMS London Royal NavyCounty-class cruiser1–4 July
HMS Norfolk Royal NavyCounty-class cruiser1–4 July
USS Tuscaloosa{ United StatesNew Orleans-class cruiser1–4 July
USS Wichita United StatesWichita-class cruiser1–4 July
HMS Somali Royal NavyTribal-class destroyer1–4 July
USS Rowan United StatesBenham-class destroyer1–4 July
USS Wainwright United StatesSims-class destroyer1–4 July
Distant Cover (Home Fleet)[5]
HMS Victorious Royal NavyIllustrious-class aircraft carrier29 June – 4 July
HMS Duke of York Royal NavyKing George V-class battleship29 June – 4 July
USS Washington United StatesNorth Carolina-class battleship29 June – 4 July
HMS Cumberland Royal NavyCounty-class cruiser29 June – 4 July
HMS Nigeria Royal NavyFiji-class cruiser29 June – 4 July
HMS Ashanti Royal NavyTribal-class destroyer1–4 July
USS Mayrant United StatesBenham-class destroyer1–4 July
USS Rhind United StatesBenham-class destroyer1–4 July
HMS Escapade Royal NavyE-class destroyer29 June – 4 July
HMS Faulknor Royal NavyF-class destroyer29 June – 4 July
HMS Marne Royal NavyM-class destroyer29 June – 4 July
HMS Martin Royal NavyM-class destroyer29 June – 4 July
HMS Onslaught Royal NavyO-class destroyer29 June – 4 July
HMS Onslow Royal NavyO-class destroyer1–4 July
HMS Blankney Royal NavyHunt-class destroyer29 June – 4 July
HMS Middleton Royal NavyHunt-class destroyer27 June – 4 July
HMS Wheatland Royal NavyHunt-class destroyer29 June – 4 July
Submarine patrols
Allied submarine flank screen[10]
HMS Sahib Royal NavyS-class submarine
HMS Sturgeon Royal NavyS-class submarine
Minerve Free French Naval ForcesMinerve-class submarine
HMS Unrivalled Royal NavyU-class submarine
HMS Unshaken Royal NavyU-class submarine
Bear Island patrol line[10]
HMS Seawolf Royal NavyU-class submarine
HMS Trident Royal NavyT-class submarine
HMS Tribune Royal NavyT-class submarine
HMS Ursula Royal NavyU-class submarine
Soviet submarines off Varangerfjord[10]
D-3 Soviet NavyDekabrist-class submarineSunk off Varangerfjord, ? mined
K-2 Soviet NavySoviet K-class submarine
K-21 Soviet NavySoviet K-class submarine
K-22 Soviet NavySoviet K-class submarine
M-176 Soviet NavySoviet M-class submarineSunk off Varangerfjord, ? mined
Shch-402 Soviet NavyShchuka-class submarine
Shch-403 Soviet NavyShchuka-class submarine

Axis order of battle

Luftflotte 5

Luftflotte 5, 1 June 1942[11]
CommandUnits
Luftflotte 5 HQ Colonel-General Hans-Jürgen Stumpff
OsloWettererkundungsstaffel 5 (Weather reconnaissance squadron)
Fliegerführer Nord (Ost) Oberst (Colonel) Hermann Busch
KirkenesI. and II./Kampfgeschwader 30; II. and 13./Jagdgeschwader 5; I./Sturzkampfgeschwader 5 (Dive-Bomber Wing); 3./Kampfgeschwader 26; 1./Seeaufklärungsgruppe 125 (Maritime Reconnaissance Wing); 1./Fernaufklärungsgruppe 22; 1./Fernaufklärungsgruppe 124 (Long-Range Reconnaissance Wing)
Fliegerführer Nord (West) Oberst Alexander Holle
SolaI./Kampfgeschwader 26; I./Kampfgeschwader 40; 2./Küstenfliegergruppe 906 (Coastal Reconnaissance Wing); Bordfliegerstaffel Tirpitz; 1./Fernaufklärungsgruppe 120
Fliegerführer Lofoten Oberst Ernst-August Roth
BardufossIII./Kampfgeschwader 30; III./Jagdgeschwader 5; 2./Kampfgeschwader 26; 4./Sturzkampfgeschwader 5; Kette 1./Fernaufklärungsgruppe 124
Jagdfliegerführer Norwegen[a]
TrondheimI./Jagdgeschwader 5; Jagdgruppe Drontheim (Fighter Wing)
Seenotdienstführer Norwegen[b]
—Seenotbereichskommando VIII (Maritime Rescue Area Command); Seenotbereichskommando IX

Kriegsmarine

NameFlagClassNotes
Scouting U-boats[10]
U-255  Kriegsmarine Type VIIC submarine John Witherspoon, Alcoa Ranger, Olopana, Paulus Potter
U-334  Kriegsmarine Type VIIC submarine William Hooper, Earlston (aircraft, then sunk by U-boat)
U-408  Kriegsmarine Type VIIC submarine
U-456  Kriegsmarine Type VIIC submarine Honomu (aircraft, then sunk by U-boat)
U-703  Kriegsmarine Type VIIC submarine Empire Byron (aircraft, then sunk by U-boat) River Afton
Gruppe Eisteufel[10]
U-88 KriegsmarineType VIIC submarineSank Carlton, Daniel Morgan ( aircraft, then sunk by U-boat)
U-251 KriegsmarineType VIIC submarineEl Capitan (aircraft, then sunk by U-boat)
U-355 KriegsmarineType VIIC submarineHartlebury
U-376 KriegsmarineType VIIC submarineHoosier (aircraft, then sunk by U-boat)
U-457 KriegsmarineType VIIC submarineChristopher Newport, Aldersdale (aircraft, then sunk by U-boat)
U-657 KriegsmarineType VIIC submarine
Ships[10]
Force I (Admiral Otto Schniewind)
Tirpitz  Kriegsmarine Bismarck-class battleship Trondheim to Gimsøya Strait to Altafjord
Admiral Hipper  Kriegsmarine Admiral Hipper-class cruiser Trondheim to Gimsøya Strait to Altafjord
Z20 Karl Galster  Kriegsmarine Type 1936-class destroyer Trondheim to Gimsøya Strait, scraped bottom, returned Trondheim
Z14 Friedrich Ihn  Kriegsmarine Type 1934A-class destroyer Trondheim to Gimsøya Strait to Altafjord
Z10 Hans Lody  Kriegsmarine Type 1934A-class destroyer Trondheim to Gimsøya Strait, scraped bottom, returned Trondheim
Z6 Theodor Riedel  Kriegsmarine Type 1934A-class destroyer Trondheim to Gimsøya Strait, scraped bottom, returned Trondheim
T7  Kriegsmarine Type 35 torpedo boat Trondheim to Gimsøya Strait to Altafjord
T15  Kriegsmarine Type 35 torpedo boat Trondheim to Gimsøya Strait to Altafjord
Force II (Vice-Admiral Oskar Kummetz)
Admiral Scheer  Kriegsmarine Deutschland-class cruiser Narvik to Altafjord
Lützow  Kriegsmarine Deutschland-class cruiser Narvik to Altafjord, grounded, returned Bogen Bay
Z24  Kriegsmarine Type 1936A-class destroyer Narvik to Altafjord
Z27  Kriegsmarine Type 1936A-class destroyer Narvik to Altafjord
Z28  Kriegsmarine Type 1936A-class destroyer Narvik to Altafjord
Z29  Kriegsmarine Type 1936A-class destroyer Narvik to Altafjord
Z30  Kriegsmarine Type 1936A-class destroyer Narvik to Altafjord
Z4 Richard Beitzen  Kriegsmarine Type 1934-class destroyer Narvik to Altafjord

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Fighter Commander Norway
  2. ↑ Maritime Rescue Service Leader Norway

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Schofield 1964, pp. 77–78.
  2. ↑ Riesenberg 1956, p. 320.
  3. ↑ Morison 2001, p. 187.
  4. ↑ Woodman 1994, pp. 195, 256.
  5. 1 2 3 Ruegg & Hague 1993, p. 40.
  6. ↑ Woodman 1994, p. 189.
  7. ↑ Ruegg & Hague 1993, p. 39; Jordan 2006, pp. 83, 107, 112, 137, 142, 151, 380, 384, 397, 400, 402, 403, 404, 406, 408, 434, 433, 434, 485, 488, 498, 505, 508, 575, 578, 579, 581, 582, 583, 584, 586, 589, 590; Mitchell & Sawyer 1990, pp. 24, 85.
  8. ↑ Ruegg & Hague 1993, pp. 39–40.
  9. ↑ Woodman 1994, p. 195.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rohwer & Hümmelchen 2005, p. 175.
  11. ↑ Niehorster 2015.

References

  • Jordan, Roger W. (2006) [1999]. The World's Merchant Fleets 1939: The Particulars and Wartime Fates of 6,000 Ships (2nd ed.). London: Chatham/Lionel Leventhal. ISBN 978-1-86176-293-1.
  • Mitchell, W. H.; Sawyer, L. A. (1990) [1965]. The Empire Ships: A Record of British-built and acquired Merchant Ships during the Second World War (2nd ed.). London (New York, Hamburg, Hong Kong): Lloyd's of London Press. ISBN 1-85044-275-4.
  • Morison, Samuel E. (2001), History of United States Naval Operations in World War II: The Battle of the Atlantic, September 1939 – May 1943, vol. I, University of Illinois Press, ISBN 978-0-252-06963-5
  • Niehorster, Leo (5 May 2015). "German Air Force, Order of Battle, 5th Air Fleet, 1 June 1942". www.niehorster.org. Archived from the original on 2 February 2025. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
  • Riesenberg, Felix (1956), Sea War: The Story of the U.S. Merchant Marine in World War II, New York: Rinehart, OCLC 1263591
  • 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, Bob; Hague, Arnold (1993) [1992]. Convoys to Russia (2nd rev. exp. pbk. ed.). Kendal: World Ship Society. ISBN 978-0-905617-66-4.
  • Schofield, Bernard (1964). The Russian Convoys. London: BT Batsford. OCLC 923314731.
  • Woodman, Richard (1994). The Arctic Convoys 1941–1945. London: John Murray. ISBN 0-7195-5079-3.

Further reading

  • Blair, Clay (2000) [1996]. Hitler's U-boat War: The Hunters 1939–1942. Vol. I. London: Cassell. ISBN 978-0-304-35260-9.
  • Brown, David (1995) [1990]. Warship Losses of World War Two (2nd rev. ed.). London: Arms and Armour Press. ISBN 978-1-85409-278-6.
  • Connell, G. G. (1982), Arctic Destroyers: The 17th Flotilla, London: W. Kimber, ISBN 978-0-7183-0428-7
  • Frayn Turner, John (2002), Fight for the Sea:Naval Adventures from World War II, Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, ISBN 978-1-55750-884-3
  • Hill, Roger P. (1986), Destroyer Captain, Periscope Publishing, ISBN 1-904381-25-1
  • Hague, Arnold (2000). The Allied Convoy System 1939–1945: Its Organisation, Defence and Operation. London: Chatham. ISBN 1-86176-147-3.
  • Hinsley F. H., Francis; Eastaway Thomas, Edward (1990), British Intelligence in the Second World War: Its influence on Strategy and Operations, vol. II, London: HMSO, ISBN 978-0-11-630934-1
  • Konstam, Angus (2025). Convoy PQ-17: Disaster in the Arctic. Campaign No. 414. Oxford: Osprey. ISBN 978-1-47-286427-7.
  • Langer, John D. (1979), "The Harriman-Beaverbrook Mission and the Debate over Unconditional Aid for the Soviet Union, 1941", Journal of Contemporary History, 14 (3): 463–482, doi:10.1177/002200947901400306, ISSN 0022-0094, S2CID 159474803
  • Moore, Arthur R. (1984), "A careless word – A Needless Sinking": A History of the Staggering losses suffered by the U.S. Merchant Marine, both in ships and personnel during World War II, Kings Point, NY: American Merchant Marine Museum, OCLC 10919815
  • Supplement to The London Gazette: Convoys to North Russia:1942, 17 October 1950
  • Sharpe, Peter (1998). U-Boat Fact File. Leicester: Midland Publishing. ISBN 1-85780-072-9.
  • Winton, John (1988), Ultra at Sea, Leo Cooper, ISBN 0-85052-883-6
  • Wynn, Kenneth G. (1997), U-boat Operations of the Second World War: Career histories, U1 – U510, Chatham, ISBN 978-1-55750-860-7
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