Convoy QP 11 naval battle | |||||||
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Part of World War II | |||||||
![]() HMS Edinburgh showing the damage to its stern after the attack by U-456 | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
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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 destroyer damaged 1 Soviet freighter sunk |
Convoy QP 11 was an Arctic Convoy of World War II, made up of merchant ships returning from the Soviet Union to Britain after delivering their cargo to the Soviet Union. 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 German forces lost the destroyer Z7 Hermann Schoemann .
QP 11 consisted of 13 merchant ships, mostly British or American, including five ships that had been a part of Convoy PQ 13. [1] The convoy 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 corvettes Campanula, Oxlip, Saxifrage and Snowflake, with the armed trawler Lord Middleton. [1] Edinburgh was not only serving as an escort, but was also carrying $20 million in gold, a payment from the Soviet Union to the United States. [1]
On 29 April, the convoy was spotted by a German Ju 88 reconnaissance plane as well as by German U-boats. [2] Two days after leaving Murmansk, the convoy was attacked by several U-boats. On 30 May U-88 and U-436 both made unsuccessful attacks on the convoy. [3] Later that day, however, U-456 fired torpedoes at Edinburgh and scored two hits. 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. [1] Edinburgh was badly damaged, but still afloat. Edinburgh left the convoy and headed back towards Murmansk, escorted by Foresight and Forester. Several ships were sent from Murmansk to assist Edinburgh, among them the British minesweepers Gossamer, Harrier, Hussar, and Niger, the Soviet destroyers Gremyashchy and Sokrushitelny, the Soviet guard ship Rubin, and a tug. [3]
The German command sent the three destroyers of Zerstörergruppe "Arktis", Z7 Hermann Schoemann, Z24 and Z25 under the command of Kapitän zur See Alfred Schulze-Hinrichs, to attack QP 11 and then sink HMS Edinburgh. [4] The German ships reached the convoy in the afternoon on 1 May. The weather was cold, and intermittent snow and rain limited visibility. [4] 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). [4] Amazon was hit twice and severely damaged. At 14:30 a German torpedo salvo hit and sunk the Soviet freighter Tsiolkovski. [4] At 17:50 the German destroyers retired and turned to go after Edinburgh. [4]
The German forces found Edinburgh250 nmi (460 km; 290 mi) east of the convoy at 06:17 on 2 May. The cruiser was moving at only two knots. [2] The Edinburgh was being escorted by Foresight, Forester, the four British minesweepers and Rubin (Gremyaschi and Sokrushitelny having returned to Murmansk due to a lack of fuel). [1] The three German destroyers engaged the British ships. Due to the damage caused by U-456, Edinburgh was unable to maneuver and could only steam in circles. [4] A snow shower separated Herman Schoemann from the other German destroyers, so it attacked the British ships alone. [4] 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. [4] At 18:52 a salvo of torpedoes from one of the German destroyers missed Foresight and Forester. One of the torpedoes from this salvo kept going and struck Edinburgh in the middle of its left side, opposite the hole made by U-456's torpedo. [2] Shortly thereafter the German ships withdrew, possibly because they overestimated the strength of the British minesweepers. [4] At 08:15, Z24 rescued most of the crew of Hermann Schoemann who were still on the deck and then scuttled it. [4] More survivors from Hermann Schoemann who were in life rafts were later rescued by U-88. [1] The minesweepers Harrier and Gossamer took survivors off of Edinburgh, which was later sunk by a torpedo from Foresight. [1]
The rest of QP 11's voyage 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]
Ship | Tonnage | Flag | Notes |
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SS Atheltemplar | 8,992 | ![]() | |
SS Ballot | 6,131 | ![]() | |
SS Briarwood | 4,019 | ![]() | Convoy Commodore's ship |
SS Dan-Y-Bryn | 5,117 | ![]() | Vice Commodore's ship |
SS Dunboyne | 3,515 | ![]() | |
SS El Estero | 4,219 | ![]() | |
SS Eldena | 6,900 | ![]() | |
SS Gallant Fox | 5,473 | ![]() | |
SS Mormacmar | 5,453 | ![]() | |
SS Stone Street | 6,131 | ![]() | |
SS Trehata | 4,817 | ![]() | Damaged by ice |
SS Tsiolkovsky | 2,847 | ![]() | Sunk |
SS West Cheswald | 5,711 | ![]() | |
HMS Foresight was one of nine F-class destroyers built for the Royal Navy during the 1930s. She was assigned to the Home Fleet upon completion. Unlike her sister ships, she does not appear to have been attached to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1935–36 during the Abyssinia Crisis, nor did she enforce the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides of the conflict the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939. The ship escorted the larger ships of the fleet during the early stages of World War II and played a minor role in the Norwegian Campaign of 1940. Foresight was sent to Gibraltar in mid-1940 and formed part of Force H where she participated in the attack on Mers-el-Kébir and the Battle of Dakar. The ship escorted numerous convoys to Malta in 1941 and Arctic convoys during 1942. Later that year, Foresight participated in Operation Pedestal, another convoy to Malta. She was torpedoed by an Italian aircraft on 12 August and had to be scuttled the next day.
HMS Edinburgh was a Town-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy, which served during the Second World War. She was one of the last two Town class cruisers, which formed the Edinburgh sub-class. Edinburgh saw a great deal of combat service during the Second World War, especially in the North Sea and the Arctic Sea, where she was sunk by torpedoes in 1942.
Convoy PQ 16 was an Arctic convoy of British, United States and Allied ships from Iceland to Murmansk and Archangelsk in the Soviet Union during the Second World War. The convoy was the largest yet and was provided with a considerable number of escorts and submarines. QP 12, a return convoy, sailed on the same day
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PQ 13 was a British Arctic convoy that delivered war supplies from the Western Allies to the USSR during World 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.
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HMS Fury was an F-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy in the 1930s. Although assigned to the Home Fleet upon completion, the ship was attached to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1935–36 during the Abyssinia Crisis. During the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939, she spent time in Spanish waters, enforcing the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides of the conflict. The ship escorted the larger ships of the fleet during the early stages of World War II and played a minor role in the Norwegian Campaign of 1940. Fury was sent to Gibraltar in mid-1940 and formed part of Force H where she participated in the attack on Mers-el-Kébir and the Battle of Dakar. The ship escorted numerous convoys to Malta in 1940–41 and Arctic convoys during 1942.
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