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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

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

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

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.^[1] 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^[2]
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^[3]	1919	United States	5,670
Yorkmar	1919	United States	5,612

Western escort

Western escort^[4]
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^[2]
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^[2]
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^[4]
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^[2]
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^[4]
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^[5]
Name	Flag	Class	Notes
U-354	Kriegsmarine	Type VIIC submarine
U-626	Kriegsmarine	Type VIIC submarine

Surface force

Regenbogen flotilla^[6]
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.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Ruegg & Hague 1993, p. 48.
^ Pearson 2007, p. 138.
^ ^a ^b ^c 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) [2002]. 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) [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, 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. ISBN 0-905617-66-5.
Woodman, Richard (2004) [1994]. Arctic Convoys 1941–1945. London: John Murray. ISBN 978-0-7195-5752-1.