The first Arctic convoy in history

This year was seventy-five years from the day when military cargoes supplied by America and Great Britain began to arrive in Murmansk to fight a common enemy, fascist Germany. Their delivery was an extremely difficult task, but it was extremely necessary for the front, and the first arctic convoy that entered the history under the name of "Dervish" started it.

The newly sought after experience of the past centuries

Arctic convoys of the Second World War were a continuation of the tradition, the beginning of which was laid by the Spaniards in the XVI century. In those long ago times, they escorted galleons that transported across the Atlantic a ton of gold and silver looted in South America. Since it was very dangerous to follow with such cargo, the ships assembled in the Havana roadstead, and already under the cover of Spanish cannons, they walked through the expanses that were infested with English pirates.

And when, in July 1941, Moscow and London signed an agreement on mutual action in the fight against Germany, and Churchill promised Stalin help, in everything that would be in his power, the British remembered the method that the maritime carriers had defended four hundred years ago from Their aggressive compatriots.

This turned out to be very useful, since in just two weeks the Soviet Union concluded an agreement with America on military supplies, the congress of which adopted a state program for supplying allied forces with ammunition, equipment, food and medicine, which was included in the history under the name of Lend-Lease. In this connection, the question arose: how to deliver the Allied cargo to the Soviet ports.

Ways to solve the problem

There were three ways to solve this problem. One route ran through the Pacific Ocean, but from all Soviet Far Eastern ports, only Vladivostok was connected by railroad with the front-line areas. Allied vessels regularly moored at its berths, and, despite the fact that the Trans-Siberian Railway had a relatively low carrying capacity, during the war it was for it that 47% of military cargoes were delivered. But, the problem was that this route took a very long time.

The second, and the safest way, ran through the Persian Gulf and Iran. However, due to technical difficulties, they managed to use it only in the middle of 1942, while assistance to the front was required immediately. Therefore, the northern Arctic convoys, which were the third option for cargo delivery, considered by the Allied Command, had a number of advantages over the other two.

First, he demanded relatively little time. The Arctic convoy could deliver cargo in just ten to twelve days, and secondly, Arkhangelsk and Murmansk, where unloading was carried out, were close enough to the area of military operations and to the center of the country.

However, this path was fraught with dangers stemming from the fact that the ships were forced to move along the coasts of Norway, occupied by the Germans. A significant part of the way they had to overcome in the immediate vicinity of the airfields and naval bases of the enemy. However, despite everything, this way was indispensable, and the Arctic allied convoys of 1941-1945 made a significant contribution to the rout of the enemy. Particularly great was their role in the first war year.

The method of posting transport ships

To repel possible enemy attacks, the Allied Command developed a tactic by which the Arctic convoy could secure the transported cargo as much as possible. Transports were built not by a single caravan, but by short wake columns, moving the front at a considerable distance from each other, and often changing course. This not only made it possible to manage them more effectively, but created additional difficulties for German submarines.

To combat the submarine was intended a small ship escort, consisting of minesweepers, frigates and destroyers. They were some distance from the vessels they escorted. In addition to them, the combat mission was carried out by larger ships that were closer to the shore, and designed to repel the enemy's surface forces and aircraft.

Throughout the course of the journey to Bear Island, located in the western part of the Barents Sea, northern Arctic convoys were under the protection of the British fleet and aviation. At the final stage, this duty fell on the Soviet sailors and pilots.

The Arctic Allied convoys of 1941-1945 formed, and took into their holds cargo in the port of Scotland, located in the bay Loch-Yu. Further their way lay in Reykjavik, where vessels filled the tanks with fuel, and then they proceeded to their destination. Taking into account the ice situation, the course was laid as far north as possible. This was done for maximum distance from the coasts occupied by the enemy.

Two different points of view

It is interesting to note one detail, which in those years was the cause of certain frictions between the Soviet command and their British counterparts. According to the instructions issued by the Admiralty of Her Majesty, and extending to all warships, and not only those that were part of the Arctic sea convoys, from transports damaged or lost in combat conditions, the crews moved to other vessels, and they themselves sought torpedoes and Went to the bottom.

This was done because the life of the sailors was placed incomparably higher than the material values, and every attempt to save the dying ship subjected them to a deadly risk. Even on the practical side, the British believed that preparing a first-class crew is much more difficult than building a ship. This approach was completely incomprehensible to the Soviet side, and often gave rise to accusing the Allies of striving to deliver as little cargo as possible to the port of destination.

The luck that accompanied the Dervish

The first Arctic convoy, code-named "Dervish", left the port of Reykjavik on August 21, 1941. It consisted of six British transport ships and one Soviet ship. Their safety was ensured by seven minesweepers and two destroyers. Safely reaching Arkhangelsk, on August 31 the transports unloaded fifteen Hurricane fighters, about four thousand depth charges, dozens of trucks, as well as tons of rubber, wool and all kinds of uniforms.

Arctic Union convoys of 1941-1945. In the reports of command were code-named, beginning with letters PQ. These were the first letters of the name of the British Admiralty officer Peter Quelyn (Peter Quelyn), responsible for organizing the protection of transport ships. Following the letters was the serial number of the next convoy. The caravans following in the opposite direction were designated QP, and also had a serial number.

The first Arctic convoy, which went down in history as PQ-0, reached Arkhangelsk without much difficulty, mainly because the German command, focused on the "blitzkrieg" - lightning war, expected to finish the Eastern campaign before the onset of winter, and paid no attention to the What was happening in the Arctic. However, when it became obvious that the war would be long, the struggle with the Arctic convoys acquired special significance.

Concentration of the enemy's forces against the Allied convoys

It is worth noting that after the flagship of the German fleet battleship Bismarck was sunk by the British in May 1941, Hitler generally banned the crews of their surface vessels from engaging in open battles with the British. The reason was the simplest - he feared once again give the enemy an excuse for celebration. Now the picture has changed.

At the beginning of the winter of 1942, three heavy cruisers and one light were quickly deployed to the area of possible appearance of British convoys. In addition, they were supposed to support five destroyers and fifteen submarines. At the same time, the number of airplanes based on Norwegian airfields was increased to five hundred units, which in April of the same year allowed to begin regular air raids on Murmansk.

Such measures had an effect, and the relative calm, in the context of which the first convoys made their transition, was replaced by a real combat situation. The first loss was sustained by the Allies in January 1942, when the British Waziristan transport ship, part of the PQ-7 convoy, was sunk by the Germans.

The loss of the Allies and their response

Developing success, the German command organized a real hunt, following the next convoy PQ-8. On his interception came out the battleship "Tirpitz", which was an exact copy of the previously sunk "Bismarck", as well as three destroyers and several submarines. However, despite all the efforts, they failed to find an Arctic convoy in time, and the only, but very regrettable victim to us, was the Soviet transport ship Izhora, technically behind the main group.

Unfortunately, in the future the losses of the Allies increased significantly. According to the summaries of those days, in March 1942 the Germans managed to sink five British transports, and the following month, they were joined by nine more ships that were part of four convoys heading for Murmansk.

The main military failure was suffered by the British on April 30, when the torpedo, which was released from a German submarine, was sunk by the cruiser Edinburgh, returning to the shores of Britain. Together with him went to the bottom, in his artillery cellars, five and a half tons of gold, received from the Soviet government in payment for military supplies, which were not for us a gift.

Subsequently, this gold was raised during the rescue operations that took place between 1961 and 1968. In accordance with the previously concluded agreement, it was all divided between the Soviet Union, Britain, as well as firms that carried out underwater works.

Then in 1942, in view of the complicated situation, the Allies took emergency measures. The American fleet sent an impressive squadron consisting of two battleships, two cruisers and six destroyers to guard the convoys. The Soviet command did not remain aloof. If before the Northern Fleet carried out the posting of transport ships only specially allocated for this purpose ships, now they were sent to meet all the cash forces without exception.

The feat of the crew of the "Old Bolshevik"

Even in conditions when participation in each voyage required the crews of courage and heroism, there were situations in which these qualities became especially necessary. An example of this is the Soviet sailors' rescue of the old Bolshevik transport ship that left Reykjavik together with the PQ-16 escort. On May 27, 1942, it was attacked by German aircraft, and as a result of hitting an air bomb, a fire began on board.

Despite the fact that there were dozens of tons of explosives on board, the sailors refused to offer their English colleagues to board one of their ships, and the whole crew fought with fire. Eight hours later, the fire, which was constantly threatened with an explosion, was extinguished, and the "Old Bolshevik" safely overtook the remaining ships, with whom he continued his journey to Murmansk.

Accident of the Arctic convoy PQ-17

The fate of this convoy, which left Hval-Fjord on June 27, 1942, became the greatest tragedy for the entire period of delivery of allied cargoes along the Arctic path. It happened, as it was subsequently unanimously noted by military experts, solely through the fault of the head of the British Admiralty, Admiral Pound.

It all started with the fact that, after just four days, the convoy was discovered by German airplanes that controlled the water area of the Norwegian Sea. He was immediately intercepted promptly by significant naval and air forces, the attacks of which the British reflected for three days, while losing three transport vessels. It is possible that the remaining vessels would reach their destination, but on July 4 it became known that the largest German fleet ship, the Tirpitz battleship, had left the berth and was approaching them.

This giant, equipped with eight fifteen-inch guns, was capable of destroying not only all the transport ships of the Allies, but along with them the guard ships. Learning of this, Admiral Pound took a fateful decision. He ordered the guard ships not to engage in battles with the battleship, but to withdraw a considerable distance. Transport vessels had to be dispersed, and one by one to follow in Murmansk.

As a result, the "Tirpitz", not having found an enemy cluster, returned to the base, and the transports, scattered according to the admiral's order by sea, became easy prey for enemy aircraft and submarines. The statistics of this tragedy are terrible. Of the thirty-six Allied transport ships, twenty-three were sunk, and along with them, three and a half thousand cars, four hundred forty tanks, two hundred airplanes and about one hundred thousand tons of other cargo were transported in their holds. Two ships turned back, and only eleven reached the port of destination. One hundred fifty-three people were killed, and the lives of three people were saved only in time by Soviet sailors who arrived in time.

Consequences of the tragedy

This tragedy almost caused the cessation of deliveries of military cargoes to the Soviet Union, and only under the pressure of Moscow, the British were forced to continue fulfilling their earlier commitments. However, after the next convoy lost three ships torpedoed by German submarines, further dispatches were postponed until the beginning of the polar night.

After the tragically lost convoy, the British command changed the unfortunate, in their opinion, code name PQ to YW and RA. An attempt was also made to transport cargoes by single transport vessels, but it did not bring the desired result, also resulting in their loss and loss of life.

Only in December 1942, military fortune smiled at the British. Within a month, two of their convoys were able to reach Murmansk without losses. There is information that this led Hitler to indescribable rage, and it was worthwhile to post to the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Gross Admiral Raeder.

Luck turned away from the Nazis

However, by the time of the war, there had been a marked change. Most of the above-water German ships were transferred to other areas, and during the period 1943-1945, almost all submarines operated against allied convoys. Their number was decreasing due to combat losses, and Germany's industry was already unable to fill them by that time.

At the end of December 1943, the German fleet lost one of its best warships - the Scharnhorst cruiser, sunk by the British while attempting to attack an Arctic convoy, known as the YP-55. The same fate was shared by the flagship of the German navy, the battleship Tirpitz. So without engaging in battle, it was destroyed by British aircraft right at the pier.

The contribution of the sailors of the allied powers to the common victory

During the war years, the Arctic convoys, photos of which are presented in the article, delivered to our country four and a half million tons of various military cargoes and foodstuffs, which amounted to about thirty percent of the size of allied aid. As for the weapons themselves, at least half of the total quantity supplied to the Soviet Union by Britain and America was delivered by the northern route. A total of 1398 transport vessels were conducted by Arctic convoys in the immediate vicinity of the coasts occupied by the Germans.

This year, the public of our country, as well as the United States and Great Britain celebrated the anniversary of the first Arctic convoy. It was a very significant date. Former allies celebrated his 75th birthday. The Arctic convoys had an important role in the defeat of Nazi Germany, that its importance can not be overemphasized, and therefore the celebrations organized on this occasion in Pomorie took a proper scale. Delegations from nine countries participated in them.

In addition to Severodvinsk and Arkhangelsk, events timed to this celebration were also held in Murmansk and St. Petersburg, where two years ago a monument to Arctic convoys appeared. Earlier, a monument in memory of the participants of those heroic events was established in Murmansk.

In the days of celebrations on Russian television, the documentary "Arctic Union convoys of 1941-1945" was shot, shot by American cinematographers in 2001. Thanks to this film, our compatriots were able to learn a lot about the events that unfolded during the war years on the sea expanses of the northern latitudes.