Convoy RA 55B

Convoy RA 55B was an Arctic convoy during World War II. It was one of a series of convoys run to return Allied ships from Soviet northern ports to ports in Britain. It sailed at the end of December 1943, reaching British ports in early January 1944. All ships arrived safely.

Forces

RA 55B consisted of eight merchant ships which departed from Kola Inlet on 31 December 1943. Close escort was provided by the two destroyers, Whitehall and Wrestler, and three corvettes. These were supported by an Ocean escort of eight Home Fleet destroyers led by Onslow (Capt.JA McCoy commanding). Following the Battle of the North Cape on 26 December, which resulted in the sinking of the German battleship Scharnhorst, the threat from German surface units was, for the time being, eliminated, and RA 55B dispensed with the usual distant cover by heavy units of the Home Fleet.

RA 55A was however threatened by a U-boat force of some thirteen boats in a patrol line, code-named Eisenbart, in the Norwegian Sea, which had operated against all the December convoys.

Action

RA 55A sailed from Kola with its escort on 31 December 1943, accompanied by an eastern local escort of three minesweepers. On 1 January 1944 the local escort returned to Murmansk, leaving RA 55B to continue. German air reconnaissance was unable to find RA 55B in the gloom of the polar night, and although several Eisenbart boats made contact, their attacks were ineffectual. RA 55B was able to shake off pursuit and on 7 January met the western local escort of two minesweepers, which brought the convoy into Loch Ewe on the following day, 8 January 1944.

Conclusion

The eight ships of RA 55B arrived in Britain without loss, while all German attempts to attack the convoy had failed.

Ships involved

Allied ships

Merchant ships

Daldorich Empire Stalwart Fort Columbia Fort Poplar

James Gordon Bennet Lucerna San Ambrosio Thomas Kearns

Close escort edit] Axis ships U-boat force edit] Notes References Clay Blair : Hitler's U-Boat War Vol II (1998) ISBN 0-304-35261-7 Paul Kemp : Convoy! Drama in Arctic Waters (1993) ISBN 1-85409-130-1 Paul Kemp  : U-Boats Destroyed ( 1997) . ISBN 1-85409-515-3 Axel Neistle  : German U-Boat Losses during World War II (1998). ISBN 1-85367-352-8 Bob Ruegg, Arnold Hague : Convoys to Russia (1992) ISBN 0-905617-66-5 Bernard Schofield : (1964) The Russian Convoys BT Batsford ISBN (none) RA 55B at Convoyweb Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую Convoy RA 55A Convoy SC 104 Look at other dictionaries: 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 RA 55A — was an Arctic convoy during World War II. It was one of a series of convoys run to return Allied ships from Soviet northern ports to ports in Britain. It sailed in late December 1943, reaching British ports at the end of the month. All ships… …   Wikipedia 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 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 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”