Convoy JW 51B - Misplaced Pages

(Redirected from JW 51B)

This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (February 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Convoy JW 51B

Part of the Second World War

The Norwegian and the Barents seas, site of the Arctic convoys

Date	30 December 1942 – 3 January 1943
Location	Arctic Ocean
Result	British victory

Belligerents

United Kingdom

Germany

Commanders and leaders

RN: John Tovey
Robert Burnett
Robert Sherbrooke (WIA)
Convoy commodore: Robin Melhuish

Karl Doenitz
Oskar Kummetz
Hans-Jürgen Stumpff

Strength

2 light cruisers (after 3 hours)
6 destroyers
2 corvettes
1 minesweeper
2 trawlers

2 heavy cruisers
6 destroyers

Casualties and losses

250 killed
1 destroyer sunk
1 destroyer damaged
1 minesweeper sunk

330 killed
1 cruiser damaged
1 destroyer sunk

v t e Arctic naval operations of World War II
1940 Weserübung Narvik Alphabet Wilfred Juno 1941 Claymore Polyarny 1942 Sportpalast Rösselsprung Doppelschlag Zarin Wunderland Cape Pikshuev Orator Motovsky Gulf Barents Sea Regenbogen 1943 Kara Sea Zitronella Ostfront North Cape 1944 Mascot Petsamo–Kirkenes Convoys 1941 Dervish PQ 1 PQ 2 PQ 3 PQ 4 PQ 5 PQ 6 PQ 7 QP 1 QP 2 QP 3 QP 4 1942 PQ 8 PQ 9/10 QP 10 PQ 11 PQ 12 PQ 13 QP 13 PQ 14 QP 14 PQ 15 QP 15 QP 11 PQ 16 PQ 17 PQ 18 FB JW 51A JW 51B QP 5 QP 6 QP 7 QP 8 QP 9 QP 12 RA 51 1943 JW 52 JW 53 JW 54A JW 54B JW 55A JW 55B RA 52 RA 53 RA 54A RA 54B RA 55A RA 55B 1944 JW 56A JW 56B JW 57 JW 58 JW 59 JW 60 JW 61 JW 61A JW 62 JW 63 JW 64 RA 56 RA 57 RA 58 RA 59 RA 59A RA 60 RA 61 RA 61A RA 62 RA 63 1945 JW 64 JW 65 JW 66 JW 67 RA 64 RA 65 RA 66 RA 67

Arctic naval operations of World War II

1940

1941

1942

1943

1944

Convoys
1941

1942

1943

1944

1945

Convoy JW 51B was an Arctic convoy sent from United Kingdom by the Western Allies to aid the Soviet Union during the Second World War. It sailed in late December 1942, reaching the Soviet northern ports in early January 1943.

Convoy JW 51B came under attack by German surface units, engaged in Operation Regenbogen, on 31 December. In the engagement, a British minesweeper and a British destroyer were sunk and a German destroyer were sunk; no ships were lost from the convoy in what became known as the Battle of the Barents Sea.

Background

Convoy escorts

Convoy JW 51A consisted of 15 merchant ships which departed from Loch Ewe on 22 December 1942. Close escort was provided by the minesweeper HMS Bramble, two corvettes and two armed trawlers. The close escort was supported by six Home Fleet destroyers led by HMS Onslow (Captain Robert Sherbrooke). The convoy sailed with a local escort group from Britain and was joined later by a local escort group from Murmansk. A cruiser cover force comprising HMS Jamaica, HMS Sheffield and two destroyers, was also at sea, from Kola Inlet, to guard against attack by surface units. Distant cover was provided by a Heavy Cover Force from Iceland comprising the battleship HMS Anson, the cruiser Cumberland and five destroyers.

German forces

Main article: Operation Regenbogen

Convoy JW 51B was opposed by four U-boats in a patrol line in the Norwegian Sea and the aircraft of Luftflotte 5 based in Norway. A surface force comprising the heavy cruisers Admiral Hipper, Lützow and the destroyers Z16 Friedrich Eckoldt, Z4 Richard Beitzen, Z6 Theodor Riedel, Z29, Z30, Z31 was stationed at Altenfjord.

Prelude

Convoy JW 51B departed Loch Ewe on 22 December 1942, accompanied by its local escort, of four destroyers, and its close escort. Three days later, on 25 December, it was joined by the ocean escort, while the local escort departed. On 27 December the convoy ran into a gale, which scattered the convoy over the next two days into several groups across a wide area. Dover Hill was forced to return with weather damage and five ships and two escorts had become separated. Three of the ships rejoined on 30 December, but Chester Valley, in company with the armed trawler Vizalma, and another, with the destroyer Oribi, remained separated. During 30 December, Bramble detached from the main body of the convoy to search for the stragglers.

Action

Main article: Battle of the Barents Sea

On 24 December the convoy had been sighted by a patrolling aircraft, but was lost later during the storm. On 30 December it was found again by U-354, and Operation Regenbogen began. On 31 December the German ships, in two sections, met the ocean escort of Convoy JW 51B, and after a sharp engagement, which left the minesweeper Bramble and the destroyer Achates sinking and Onslow, damaged; the attacking force was driven off. The destroyer, Eckoldt was sunk and the cruiser Hipper was damaged. No further attacks developed, and on 1 January 1943 Vizalma and her charge rejoined the convoy. On 2 January Convoy JW 51B was met by its eastern local escort, two minesweepers from Murmansk. On 3 January the main body arrived in Kola Inlet, joined the following day by Oribi and her charge.

Aftermath

Analysis

The 15 ships of Convoy JW 51B arrived at Murmansk without loss, though one had been damaged. Despite the loss of two warships, the convoy was a success and the failure of the German surface force against the convoy caused a loss of confidence by Hitler in the Kriegsmarine and its commander, Admiral Erich Raeder, which led to him resigning. Thereafter, the main threat to the Allied convoy system was from U-boats.

Ships involved

Allied ships

Merchant ships 22 December 1942 – 4 January 1943
Name	Year	Flag	GRT	Notes
Ballot	1922	Panama	6,131
Calobre	1919	Panama	6,891
Chester Valley	1919	United States	5,078
Daldorch	1930	United Kingdom	5,571
Dover Hill	1918	United Kingdom	5,815
Empire Archer	1942	United Kingdom	7,031	Captain Robin Melhuish, convoy commodore
Empire Emerald	1941	United Kingdom	8,032
Executive	1920	United States	4,978
Jefferson Myers	1920	United States	7,582
John H. B. Latrobe	1942	United States	7,191
Pontfield	1940	United Kingdom	8,319
Puerto Rican	1919	United States	6,076
Ralph Waldo Emerson	1942	United States	7,176
Vermont	1919	United States	5,670
Yorkmar	1919	United States	5,612

Western escort

Western escort
Name	Flag	Type	Notes
HMS Bulldog	Royal Navy	B-class destroyer	22–23 December
HMS Blankney	Royal Navy	Hunt-class destroyer	22–25 December
HMS Chiddingfold	Royal Navy	Hunt-class destroyer	22–25 December
HMS Ledbury	Royal Navy	Hunt-class destroyer	22–25 December

Close escort

Close convoy escort
Name	Flag	Type	Notes
HMS Bramble	Royal Navy	Halcyon-class minesweeper	22–29 December
HMS Hyderabad	Royal Navy	Flower-class corvette	22 December – 4 January
HMS Rhododendron	Royal Navy	Flower-class corvette	22 December – 4 January
HMT Vizalma	Royal Navy	ASW trawler	22 December – 4 January
HMT Northern Gem	Royal Navy	ASW trawler	22 December – 4 January

Ocean escort

Ocean convoy escort
Name	Flag	Type	Notes
HMS Achates	Royal Navy	A-class destroyer	25 December – 3 January
HMS Obdurate	Royal Navy	O-class destroyer	25 December – 3 January
HMS Obedient	Royal Navy	O-class destroyer	25 December – 3 January
HMS Onslow	Royal Navy	O-class destroyer	25 December – 3 January
HMS Oribi	Royal Navy	O-class destroyer	25–31 December, separated, sailed independently
HMS Orwell	Royal Navy	O-class destroyer	25 December – 3 January

Force R

Cruiser covering force
Name	Flag	Type	Notes
HMS Jamaica	Royal Navy	Fiji-class cruiser	27–31 December, from Kola Inlet
HMS Sheffield	Royal Navy	Town-class cruiser	27–31 December, from Kola Inlet
HMS Matchless	Royal Navy	M-class destroyer	27–29 December, from Kola Inlet
HMS Opportune	Royal Navy	O-class destroyer	27–29 December, from Kola Inlet

Distant cover

Distant covering force
Ship	Flag	Type
HMS Anson	Royal Navy	King George V-class battleship
HMS Cumberland	Royal Navy	County-class cruiser
HMS Forester	Royal Navy	F-class destroyer
HMS Icarus	Royal Navy	I-class destroyer
HMS Impulsive	Royal Navy	I-class destroyer
HMS Blankney	Royal Navy	Hunt-class destroyer
HMS Chiddingfold	Royal Navy	Hunt-class destroyer

Allied submarines

Allied submarines
Name	Flag	Type	Notes
HMS Sea Nymph	Royal Navy	S-class submarine	Patrolled vicinity Bear Island
HMS Taurus	Royal Navy	T-class submarine	Patrolled vicinity Bear Island
HMS Torbay	Royal Navy	T-class submarine	Patrolled vicinity Bear Island
ORP Sokół	Polish Navy	U-class submarine	Patrolled vicinity Bear Island
HMS Trespasser	Royal Navy	T-class submarine	Norway inshore watch
HMS Seadog	Royal Navy	S-class submarine	Norway inshore watch
HMS Unruly	Royal Navy	U-class submarine	Norway inshore watch
HMS Graph	Royal Navy	Type VIIC submarine	Norway inshore watch
O 14	Royal Netherlands Navy	O 12-class submarine	Norway inshore watch

German order of battle

U-boats

U-boats
Name	Flag	Class	Notes
U-354	Kriegsmarine	Type VIIC submarine
U-626	Kriegsmarine	Type VIIC submarine

Surface force

Regenbogen flotilla
Ship	Flag	Type	Notes
Admiral Hipper	Kriegsmarine	Admiral Hipper-class cruiser	Sailed 30 December
Lützow	Kriegsmarine	Deutschland-class cruiser	Sailed 30 December
Z16 Friedrich Eckoldt	Kriegsmarine	Type 1934A-class destroyer	Sailed 30 December
Z4 Richard Beitzen	Kriegsmarine	Type 1934-class destroyer	Sailed 30 December
Z6 Theodor Riedel	Kriegsmarine	Type 1934A-class destroyer	Sailed 30 December
Z29	Kriegsmarine	Type 1936A-class destroyer	Sailed 30 December
Z30	Kriegsmarine	Type 1936A-class destroyer	Sailed 30 December
Z31	Kriegsmarine	Type 1936A-class destroyer	Sailed 30 December

Footnotes

Churchill 1950, pp. 231–232.
^ Ruegg & Hague 1993, p. 48.
Pearson 2007, p. 138.
^ Rohwer & Hümmelchen 2005, p. 219.
Woodman 2004, pp. 313, 316.
Woodman 2004, p. 316.

References

Churchill, Winston S. (1950). The Hinge of Fate. The Second World War. Vol. IV. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. OCLC 1035611815.
Pearson, Michael (2007) . Red Sky in the Morning: The Battle of the Barents Sea 1942 (repr. ed.). Barnsley: Pen & Sword Maritime. ISBN 978-1-84415-452-4.
Rohwer, Jürgen; Hümmelchen, Gerhard (2005) . 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) . 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.
Woodman, Richard (2004) . Arctic Convoys 1941–1945. London: John Murray. ISBN 978-0-7195-5752-1.

External links

JW 51B at Convoyweb

Arctic convoys of World War II

1941

Outbound	Dervish PQ 1 PQ 2 PQ 3 PQ 4 PQ 5 PQ 6
Homebound	QP 1 QP 2 QP 3

1942

Outbound	PQ 7a PQ 7b PQ 8 PQ 9 PQ 10 PQ 11 PQ 12 PQ 13 PQ 14 PQ 15 PQ 16 PQ 17 PQ 18 Operation FB JW 51A JW 51B
Homebound	QP 4 QP 5 QP 6 QP 7 QP 8 QP 9 QP 10 QP 11 QP 12 QP 13 QP 14 QP 15 RA 51

1943

Outbound	JW 52 JW 53 JW 54A JW 54B JW 55A JW 55B
Homebound	RA 52 RA 53 RA 54A RA 54B RA 55A RA 55B

1944

Outbound	JW 56A JW 56B JW 57 JW 58 JW 59 JW 60 JW 61 JW 61A JW 62 JW 63
Homebound	RA 56 RA 57 RA 58 RA 59 RA 59A RA 60 RA 61 RA 61A RA 62 RA 63

1945

Outbound	JW 64 JW 65 JW 66 JW 67
Homebound	RA 64 RA 65 RA 66 RA 67

World War II

General

Topics	Air warfare of World War II In Europe Blitzkrieg Comparative military ranks Cryptography Declarations of war Diplomacy Governments in exile Home front Australian United Kingdom United States Lend-Lease Manhattan Project British contribution Military awards Military equipment Military production Naval history Nazi plunder Opposition Technology Allied cooperation Mulberry harbour Total war Strategic bombing Puppet states Women Art and World War II Music in World War II Weather events during World War II
Theaters	Asia and Pacific China South-East Asia Pacific North and Central Pacific South-West Pacific Indian Ocean Europe Western Front Eastern Front Mediterranean and Middle East North Africa East Africa Italy West Africa Atlantic timeline Americas
Aftermath	Chinese Civil War Cold War Decolonization Division of Korea First Indochina War Expulsion of Germans Greek Civil War Indonesian National Revolution Keelhaul Marshall Plan Occupation of Germany Occupation of Japan Osoaviakhim Paperclip Soviet occupations Baltic Hungary Poland Romania Territorial changes of Germany Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany United Nations
War crimes	Allied war crimes Soviet war crimes British war crimes United States war crimes German war crimes forced labour Wehrmacht war crimes The Holocaust Aftermath Response Nuremberg trials Italian war crimes Japanese war crimes Nanjing Massacre Unit 731 Prosecution Croatian war crimes Genocide of Serbs Persecution of Jews Romanian war crimes Sexual violence German military brothels Camp brothels Rape during the occupation of Germany / Japan / Poland Rape during the liberation of France / Serbia Sook Ching Comfort women Rape of Manila Marocchinate

Participants

Allies	Algeria Australia Belgium Brazil Bulgaria (from September 1944) Canada China Cuba Czechoslovakia Denmark Ethiopia Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) Finland (from September 1944) France Free France Greece India Italy (from September 1943) Luxembourg Mexico Netherlands Newfoundland New Zealand Norway Philippines Poland Romania (from August 1944) Sierra Leone South Africa Southern Rhodesia Soviet Union Tuva United Kingdom British Empire United States Puerto Rico Yugoslavia
Axis	Albania protectorate Bulgaria (until September 1944) Wang Jingwei regime Independent State of Croatia Finland (until September 1944) German Reich Hungary Azad Hind French Indochina Iraq Italy (until September 1943) Italian Social Republic Empire of Japan Manchukuo Philippines Romania (until August 1944) Slovak Republic Thailand Vichy France Collaboration
Neutral	Afghanistan Andorra Bhutan Ireland Liechtenstein Portugal Spain Sweden Switzerland Tibet Vatican City
Resistance	Albania Austria Belgium Bulgaria Czech lands Denmark Dutch East Indies Estonia Ethiopia France Germany Greece Hong Kong Italy Japan Jews Korea Korean Liberation Army Korean Volunteer Army Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malaya Netherlands Northeast China Norway Philippines Poland Romania Thailand Soviet Union Slovakia Western Ukraine Vietnam Quốc dân Đảng Viet Minh Yugoslavia
POWs	Finnish prisoners in the Soviet Union German prisoners Soviet Union Azerbaijan United States United Kingdom Italian prisoners in the Soviet Union Japanese prisoners Soviet Union German atrocities against Polish POWs Soviet prisoners Finland atrocities by Germans Polish prisoners in the Soviet Union Romanian prisoners in the Soviet Union

Timeline

Prelude	Africa Second Italo-Ethiopian War Asia Second Sino-Japanese War Battles of Khalkhin Gol Europe Remilitarisation of the Rhineland Anschluss Munich Agreement Occupation of Czechoslovakia Operation Himmler Italian invasion of Albania
1939	Invasion of Poland Battle of the Atlantic Phoney War First Battle of Changsha Battle of South Guangxi Winter War 1939–1940 Winter Offensive
1940	Norwegian campaign German invasion of Denmark Battle of Zaoyang–Yichang German invasion of Luxembourg German invasion of the Netherlands German invasion of Belgium Battle of France Dunkirk evacuation Battle of Britain Battle of the Mediterranean North Africa West Africa British Somaliland Hundred Regiments Offensive Baltic states Eastern Romania Japanese invasion of French Indochina Italian invasion of Greece Compass
1941	Battle of South Henan Battle of Shanggao Invasion of Yugoslavia German invasion of Greece Battle of Crete Anglo-Iraqi War Battle of South Shanxi Syria–Lebanon campaign East African campaign Invasion of the Soviet Union Summer War Finland (Silver Fox) Lithuania Battle of Kiev Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran Second Battle of Changsha Siege of Leningrad Battle of Moscow Bombing of Gorky Siege of Sevastopol Attack on Pearl Harbor Japanese invasion of Thailand Fall of Hong Kong Fall of the Philippines Battle of Guam Battle of Wake Island Malayan campaign Battle of Borneo Japanese invasion of Burma Third Battle of Changsha Greek famine of 1941–1944
1942	Fall of Singapore Battle of the Java Sea St Nazaire Raid Battle of Christmas Island Battle of the Coral Sea Battle of Madagascar Zhejiang-Jiangxi campaign Battle of Gazala Battle of Dutch Harbor Battle of Midway Aleutian Islands campaign Kiska Attu Blue First Battle of El Alamein Battle of Stalingrad Kokoda Track campaign Rzhev Jubilee Second Battle of El Alamein Guadalcanal campaign Torch Chinese famine of 1942–1943
1943	Black May Tunisian campaign Battle of West Hubei Battle of Attu Bombing of Gorky Battle of Kursk Allied invasion of Sicily Smolensk Solomon Islands campaign Cottage Battle of the Dnieper Allied invasion of Italy Armistice of Cassibile Burma Northern Burma and Western Yunnan Changde Second Battle of Kiev Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign Tarawa Makin Bengal famine of 1943
1944	Tempest Monte Cassino / Anzio Korsun–Cherkassy Narva Ichi-Go Overlord Neptune Mariana and Palau Bagration Western Ukraine Second Battle of Guam Tannenberg Line Warsaw Uprising Eastern Romania Liberation of Paris Dragoon Gothic Line Belgrade offensive Lapland Market Garden Estonia Crossbow Pointblank Vietnamese famine of 1944–1945 Philippines (1944–1945) Leyte Syrmian Front Hungary Budapest Burma (1944–1945) Ardennes Bodenplatte Dutch famine of 1944–1945
1945	Vistula–Oder Battle of Manila Battle of Iwo Jima Indochina Vienna offensive Project Hula Western invasion of Germany Bratislava–Brno offensive Battle of Okinawa Second Guangxi campaign West Hunan Italy (Spring 1945) Battle of Berlin Prague offensive Surrender of Germany document Borneo Taipei Naval bombardment of Japan Manchuria Atomic bombings Debate South Sakhalin Kuril Islands Shumshu Surrender of Japan Potsdam Declaration document End of World War II in Asia

Category:

Arctic convoys of World War II