Convoy JW 51A was an Arctic convoy sent from Great Britain by the Western Allies to aid the Soviet Union during World War II. It sailed in December 1942, reaching the Soviet northern ports at the end of the month. Convoy JW 51A was not detected or attacked by German forces and arrived without loss.
Background
Convoy JW 51A was the first of the JW/RA convoy series, replacing the previous PQ/QP series which had been suspended during the summer and autumn of 1942. The JW series were organized to sail from Loch Ewe, Scotland, rather than Iceland and sailed with a substantial destroyer escort to guard against surface attacks, as had proved effective with Convoy PQ 18. Ships from the US crossed the Atlantic in HX convoys from New York. Convoy JW 51A was the first outbound Arctic convoy of the 1942–1943 winter season and began the sailing of smaller convoys twice-monthly to reduce the problems of controlling large groups of ships in the gloom of the polar night.[1]
Forces
Convoy JW 51A consisted of 16 merchant ships, which departed from Loch Ewe on 15 December 1942.[2]
Close escort was provided by the minesweeper HMS Seagull, two corvettes and two armed trawlers. These were supported by six Home Fleet destroyers led by HMS Faulknor. The convoy was also accompanied initially by a local escort group from Britain. A cruiser cover force comprising HMS Jamaica and HMS Sheffield, and three destroyers, also followed the convoy to guard against attack by surface units. Distant cover was provided by a Heavy Cover Force comprising the battleship HMS King George V, the cruiser HMS Berwick and three escorting destroyers. Convoy JW 51A was opposed by a force of three U-boats commanded by Konteradmiral (Rear Admiral) Otto Klüber in a patrol line in the Norwegian Sea, and the aircraft of Luftflotte V based in Norway. A surface force comprising the heavy cruisers Admiral Hipper and Köln with six destroyers were at Altenfjord. Lützow reached Narvik on 12 December.[3]
Voyage
Convoy JW 51A departed Loch Ewe on 15 December 1942, accompanied by its local escort, of three destroyers, and its close escort.
Three days later, on 18 December, it was joined by the ocean escort, while the local escort departed. At the same time the Cruiser Force and the Distant Cover Force from Scapa Flow also put to sea, taking station in the Norwegian Sea. The convoy was not seen by German reconnaissance aircraft, nor by any of the patrolling U-boats, and crossed the Norwegian and Barents Seas without incident. On 25 December Convoy JW 51A arrived safely at Kola Inlet but five ships were sunk in the inlet by mines and attacks by the Luftwaffe.[4] Five ships sailed on to Molotovsk, near Archangelsk.[5]
Conclusion
Convoy JW 51A was a successful start to the JW convoy series and to the 1942–43 winter convoy season, with the safe arrival of 16 merchant ships.[6]
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. ISBN978-1-86176-257-3.
Ruegg, Bob; Hague, Arnold (1993) [1992]. Convoys to Russia: Allied Convoys and Naval Surface Operations in Arctic Waters 1941–1945 (2nd rev. enl. ed.). Kendal: World Ship Society. ISBN0-905617-66-5.
Woodman, Richard (2004) [1994]. Arctic Convoys 1941–1945. London: John Murray. ISBN978-0-7195-5752-1.
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