Dervish Convoy

Dervish Convoy

Operation Dervish was the first of the Arctic Convoys of World War II by which the Western Allies supplied material aid to the Soviet Union in its fight with Nazi Germany. The convoy sailed from Hvalfiourdur, Iceland on 21 August 1941 and arrived at Archangelsk on 31 August 1941. The Convoy Commodore was Captain JCK Dowding RNR. As evidence of Winston Churchill's astute mastery of propaganda, on board Llanstephan Castle were two journalists and the artist, Felix Topolski.

Ships

This convoy consisted of six merchant ships loaded with raw materials and 15 crated Hawker Hurricane fighter planes: Lancastrian Prince, New Westminster City, Esneh, Trehata, the elderly Llanstephan Castle, the fleet oiler Aldersdale, and the Dutch freighter Alchiba. The convoy was escorted by the destroyers HMS Electra, HMS Active, and HMS Impulsive; the minesweepers HMS Halcyon, Shakespearian class trawlers heavy cruiser HMS Shropshire and the destroyers HMS Matabele, HMS Punjabi, and HMS Somali. At the same time the old aircraft carrier HMS Argus, a veteran of World War I, delivered 24 Hurricanes of the Royal Air Force's 151 Fighter Wing, which landed at Vaegna airfield, near Murmansk. Largely owing to the scarcity of Luftwaffe aerial reconnaissance forces in the region at the time, all of the ships arrived safely.

Aftermath

An ad hoc effort, the Operation Dervish convoy was followed by a regular series of convoys numbered like their Atlantic counterparts. The first homeward-bound convoy, QP-1, left Archangelsk on 28 September 1941, and the first outward-bound convoy, PQ-1, sailed from Iceland, arriving at Archangelsk on 11 October 1941.

References

  • Richard Humble, Hitler's High Seas Fleet, p. 110. New York: Ballantine Books, 1971.
  • Lieutenant-Commander Timothy J. Cain, HMS Electra. London: Frederick Miller Ltd, 1959, ISBN 0-86007-330-0. Lieutenant-Commander Cain (then a Warrant Officer Gunner, "Guns") was the senior surviving officer of Electra, which was sunk in action with the Japanese on 27 February 1942.

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Convoy PQ 17 — Part of World War II, Atlantic Campaign Escorts and merchant ships at Hv …   Wikipedia

  • Convoy PQ 18 — under attack Convoy PQ 18 was one of the Arctic convoys sent from Britain to aid the Soviet Union in the war against Nazi Germany. The convoy departed Loch Ewe, Scotland on 2 September 1942 and arrived in Arkhangelsk on 21 September 1942.… …   Wikipedia

  • Convoy PQ 16 — was an Arctic convoy sent from Great Britain by the Western Allies to aid the Soviet Union during World War II. It sailed in May 1942, reaching the Soviet northern ports after five days of air attacks that left eight ships sunk and two damaged.… …   Wikipedia

  • Convoy JW 55B — was an Arctic convoy sent from Great Britain by the Western Allies to aid the Soviet Union during World War II. It sailed in late December 1943, reaching the Soviet northern ports at the end of the month. All ships arrived safely. During the… …   Wikipedia

  • Convoy JW 56A — was an Arctic convoy sent from Great Britain by the Western Allies to aid the Soviet Union during World War II. It sailed in January 1944, reaching the Soviet northern ports at the end of the month. Twelve ships arrived safely. During the voyage… …   Wikipedia

  • 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.… …   Wikipedia

  • Convoy JW 51B — was an Arctic convoy sent from Great Britain by the Western Allies to aid the Soviet Union during World War II. It sailed in late December 1942, reaching the Soviet northern ports in early January 1943. JW 51B came under attack by German surface… …   Wikipedia

  • Convoy JW 51A — was an Arctic convoy sent from Great Britain by the Western Allies to aid the Soviet Union during World War II. It sailed in December 1942, reaching the Soviet northern ports at the end of the month. JW 51A was not detected or attacked by German… …   Wikipedia

  • Convoy JW 54B — was an Arctic convoy sent from Great Britain by the Western Allies to aid the Soviet Union during World War II. It sailed in late November 1943, reaching the Soviet northern ports at the end of the month. All ships arrived safely. Contents 1… …   Wikipedia

  • Convoy JW 55A — was an Arctic convoy sent from Great Britain by the Western Allies to aid the Soviet Union during World War II. It sailed in December 1943, reaching the Soviet northern ports at the end of the month. All ships arrived safely. Contents 1 Ships 2… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”