Convoy PQ 15
Convoy PQ 15 was an Arctic convoy sent from Iceland by the Western Allies to aid the Soviet Union during World War II. It sailed in late April 1942, reaching the Soviet northern ports after air attacks that sank three ships. Twenty-two ships arrived safely.
Ships
The convoy consisted of 25 merchant ships and was accompanied by one auxiliary, the oiler, which travelled with her own escort of destroyers.The Close Escort was led by Commander J. Crombie in the minesweeper and consisted of two other minesweepers and four trawlers, joined later by four destroyers and the antiaircraft ship HMS Ulster Queen.
There were two support groups: a Cruiser Cover Force led by Rear Admiral H. M. Burrough in the light cruiser, with the heavy cruiser and two destroyers; and a Distant Covering Force led by Admiral John Tovey, comprising the battleships and,, the aircraft carrier, the heavy cruisers, and, the light cruiser, and 10 destroyers.
The convoy was also covered by a patrol of four submarines off Norway, guarding against a sortie by German warships.
Action
PQ 15 sailed from Reykjavík, Iceland, on 26 April 1942 with its local escort. This was joined on 28 April by the ocean escort, giving the convoy an immediate total escort of 12 warships.German aircraft sighted the convoy on 28 April while it was 250 nautical miles southwest of Bear Island. However no attack developed for two days as the attention of German forces focused on the reciprocal Convoy QP 11, which left Murmansk in the Soviet Union on 28 April.
On 1 May the German Luftwaffe made its first attack on PQ 15, by six Junkers Ju 88s. The German bombers were unsuccessful, and lost one of their number.
Also on 1 May, the Distant Cover Force suffered two losses when King George V and the destroyer collided in fog. Punjabi sank and King George V was forced to return to port. Her place in the group was taken by the battleship, which steamed from Scapa Flow to reinforce the task force.
The escorts made an asdic contact on 2 May, which the destroyer and minesweeper attacked. The submarine was damaged and forced to the surface; it was found to be the Polish Jastrzab, which was assigned to patrol off Norway but was some way out of position. Jastrzab was too badly damaged to continue and was abandoned and scuttled.
On 3 May at 01:30 in the half light of the Arctic summer nights, six Heinkel He 111 bombers of I. Gruppe, Kampfgeschwader 26, the Luftwaffes new torpedo bomber force, attacked the convoy, making the first German torpedo bomber attack of World War II. Three ships were hit. Two were sunk, and one was damaged and later sunk by the. Two aircraft were shot down and a third damaged, which subsequently crashed. A further attack by German high-level bombers at dusk was unsuccessful.
Deteriorating weather on 4 May prevented any German further attacks; an Arctic gale quickly turning into a snowstorm. PQ 15 arrived at the Kola Inlet at 2100 on 5 May with no further losses.
Aftermath
Three of PQ 15s ships had been sunk, Botavon and Cape Corso by torpedo bombers and Jutland damaged by torpedo bombers and later sunk by U-251. Of the escorting warships, the submarine Jastrzab and destroyer Punjabi had been sunk and the battleship King George V had been damaged. However, 22 fully laden merchant ships had arrived safely in Murmansk, the largest Allied convoy yet to arrive in the Soviet Union.The convoy was regarded by the Allies as a success, although it gave them a taste of the difficulties to come on the Arctic convoy run.
Ships in the convoy
The following information is from the Arnold Hague Convoy Database.Merchant ships
Escort forces
The following information is from the Arnold Hague Convoy Database.| Name | Flag | Ship Type | Notes |
| Escort destroyer | 28 Apr – 5 May Rescued survivors from Jutland | ||
| HMS Belvoir | Escort destroyer | 28 Apr – 28 Apr | |
| Destroyer | 28 Apr – 5 May | ||
| Minesweeper | 26 Apr – 5 May | ||
| HMS Cape Palliser | ASW trawler | 26 Apr – 5 May | |
| HMS Chiltern | ? | 26 Apr – 5 May | |
| Battleship | 2 May – 5 May | ||
| Destroyer | 2 May – 5 May | ||
| Destroyer | 2 May – 5 May | ||
| Gray Ranger | Replenishment oiler | Detached, Arrived Lerwick 8 May | |
| Escort destroyer | 28 Apr – 28 Apr | ||
| Destroyer | 28 Apr – 5 May | ||
| Cruiser | 28 Apr – 5 May | ||
| Battleship | 28 Apr – 2 May | ||
| Escort destroyer | 28 Apr – 4 May | ||
| HMS Leda | Minesweeper | 26 Apr – 5 May | |
| Escort destroyer | 26 Apr – 27 May | ||
| Heavy cruiser | 30 Apr – 1 May | ||
| Destroyer | 29 Apr – 5 May | ||
| Destroyer | 29 Apr – 5 May | ||
| Destroyer | 28 Apr – 5 May | ||
| Escort destroyer | 28 Apr – 4 May | ||
| Minerve | Submarine | 1 May – 5 May | |
| Light Cruiser | 28 Apr – 2 May | ||
| HMS Northern Pride | ASW trawler | 26 Apr – 5 May | |
| Destroyer | 29 Apr – 5 May | ||
| Submarine | 1 May – 5 May | ||
| ORP Jastrząb | Submarine | 2 May 1942, lost in friendly fire incident. 5 crew killed and 6 injured. The ship was badly damaged and had to be scuttled. | |
| Destroyer | 29 Apr – 1 May Lost in collision with HMS King George V | ||
| Minesweeper | 26 Apr – 5 May | ||
| Destroyer | 28 Apr – 5 May | ||
| HNoMS St. Albans | Destroyer | 28 Apr – 5 May | |
| Submarine | 28 Apr – 1 May | ||
| HMS Ulster Queen | AA Auxiliary Cruiser | 28 Apr – 5 May | |
| Submarine | 1 May – 5 May | ||
| Destroyer | 28 Apr – 6 May | ||
| Destroyer | 28 Apr – 6 May | ||
| Heavy cruiser | 28 Apr – 6 May | ||
| Destroyer | 28 Apr – 6 May | ||
| Battleship | 28 Apr – 6 May | ||
| Heavy cruiser | 28 Apr – 6 May | ||
| Destroyer | 28 Apr – 6 May | ||
| Destroyer | 28 Apr – 5 May | ||
| Aircraft carrier | 28 Apr – 5 May | ||
| ASW trawler | 26 Apr – 5 May |