Convoy QP 15 was one of the Arctic convoys of World War II the last of the QP series from northern Russia to Britain which ran during the Second World War to return Allied ships to home ports. The convoy sailed from the Kola Inlet on 17 November 1942. It was scattered by a storm in which the Soviet destroyerSokrushitelny was hit from behind by a big wave and foundered after two days' rescue attempts. The convoy was attacked by U-boats of the Kriegsmarine (German Navy) that sank two of the merchant ships. The convoy reached its destination at Loch Ewe on 30 November 1942.
Convoy QP 15 was opposed by a patrol line of the Wolfpackgruppe Boreas (god of the north wind) comprising ten U-boats in the Norwegian Sea, and by the Luftwaffe, though much of the latter was grounded by the foul weather.[1]
Voyage
The convoy set out from Archangel on 17 November 1942, accompanied by the local escort of four minesweepers, and were joined the following day by two Soviet destroyers. Two ships grounded after leaving harbour, and had to be left behind. They were refloated and returned to port. On 20 November the convoy was joined by its ocean escort of five destroyers. Also on 20 November a gale sprang up and scattered the convoy and damaged several ships, including the two Soviet destroyers. The Soviet destroyer Baku was badly damaged but managed to limp back to port. A large wave hit Sokrushitelny and broke her back, severing her stern. Three Soviet destroyers were sent to assist and manage to rescue 187 crewmen from the Sokrushitelny, which sank on 22 November.[3] On 23 November, the U-boat U-625 attacked and sank the British freighter Goolistan. Later in the day, U-601 fired a spread of torpedoes at the Soviet freighter Kuznetz Lesov, one of which struck and sank her; both ships were lost with all hands. The convoy arrived at Loch Ewe on 30 November 1942.[2]
Hague, Arnold (2000). The Allied Convoy System 1939–1945: Its Organisation, Defence and Operation. London: Chatham. ISBN978-1-55125-033-5.
Helgason, Guðmundur (2024). "Wolfpacks: Boreas". U-boat.net. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
Rohwer, Jürgen; Hümmelchen, Gerhard (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea: 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two (3rd rev. ed.). Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN978-1-59114-119-8.
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. ISBN0-905617-66-5.
Woodman, Richard (2004) [1994]. Arctic Convoys 1941–1945. London: John Murray. ISBN978-0-7195-5752-1.
Further reading
Blair, Clay (1996). Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunters 1939–42. Vol. I. London: Cassell. ISBN0-304-35260-8.
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