Convoy JW 54A
Encyclopedia
Convoy JW 54A was an Arctic convoy
sent from Great Britain
by the Western Allies
to aid the Soviet Union
during World War II
. It sailed in November 1943, reaching the Soviet northern ports at the end of the month.
JW 54A was the first out-bound Arctic convoy of the 1943–44 winter season, following their suspension during the summer.
All ships arrived safely.
on 15 November 1943.
Close escort was provided by the destroyers Inconstant and Whitehall, and two other vessels. These were supported by seven Home Fleet destroyers led by Onslow
(Capt.JA McCoy commanding).
The convoy was also accompanied initially by a local escort group from Britain, and was also joined later by a local escort from Murmansk
.
A cruiser cover force comprising Kent
(R.Adm AFE Palliser), Jamaica and Bermuda also followed the convoy, to guard against attack by surface units.
Distant cover was provided by a Heavy Cover Force comprising the battleship Anson, the US cruiser Tuscaloosa
and four US destroyers.
JW 54A was opposed by a U-boat force of five boats in a patrol line, code-named Eisenbart, in the Norwegian Sea
.
A surface force comprising the battleship Scharnhorst
and five destroyers was also available, stationed at Altenfjord.
on 15 November 1943, accompanied by its local escort, of three destroyers, and its close escort.
Three days later, on 18 November, it was joined by the ocean escort, while the local escort departed. At the same time the Cruiser Force and the Distant Cover Force from Scapa Flow
also put to sea, taking station in the Norwegian Sea
.
The convoy was not sighted by German reconnaissance aircraft, nor by any of the Eisenbart U-boats, and crossd the Norwegian and Barents Sea
s without incident.
On 24 November JW 54A arrived safely at Kola Inlet.
Close escort
Ocean escort
Cruiser cover force
Distant cover force
Surface force
Arctic convoys of World War II
The Arctic convoys of World War II travelled from the United Kingdom and North America to the northern ports of the Soviet Union—Arkhangelsk and Murmansk. There were 78 convoys between August 1941 and May 1945...
sent from Great Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
by the Western Allies
Western Allies
The Western Allies were a political and geographic grouping among the Allied Powers of the Second World War. It generally includes the United Kingdom and British Commonwealth, the United States, France and various other European and Latin American countries, but excludes China, the Soviet Union,...
to aid the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It sailed in November 1943, reaching the Soviet northern ports at the end of the month.
JW 54A was the first out-bound Arctic convoy of the 1943–44 winter season, following their suspension during the summer.
All ships arrived safely.
Forces
JW 54A consisted of 19 merchant ships which departed from Loch EweLoch Ewe
Loch Ewe is a sea loch in the region of in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The shores are inhabited by a traditionally Gàidhlig speaking people living in or sustained by crofting villages, the most notable of which, situated on the north-eastern shore, is the Aultbea settlement...
on 15 November 1943.
Close escort was provided by the destroyers Inconstant and Whitehall, and two other vessels. These were supported by seven Home Fleet destroyers led by Onslow
HMS Onslow (G17)
HMS Onslow was an O-class destroyer flotilla leader of the Royal Navy She was ordered from John Brown & Company at Clydebank, Glasgow on 3 September 1939. The ship was laid down on 1 July 1940 and launched on 31 March 1941. She was completed on 8 October 1941 at a cost of £416,942.Attached to the...
(Capt.JA McCoy commanding).
The convoy was also accompanied initially by a local escort group from Britain, and was also joined later by a local escort from Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk is a city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It serves as a seaport and is located in the extreme northwest part of Russia, on the Kola Bay, from the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, not far from Russia's borders with Norway and Finland...
.
A cruiser cover force comprising Kent
HMS Kent (54)
HMS Kent was a heavy cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the late 1920s. She was the lead ship of the Kent subclass. After completion the ship was sent to the China Station where she remained until the beginning of the Second World War, aside from a major refit in 1937–38...
(R.Adm AFE Palliser), Jamaica and Bermuda also followed the convoy, to guard against attack by surface units.
Distant cover was provided by a Heavy Cover Force comprising the battleship Anson, the US cruiser Tuscaloosa
USS Tuscaloosa (CA-37)
USS Tuscaloosa was a United States Navy New Orleans-class heavy cruiser.She was laid down on 3 September 1931 at Camden, New Jersey, by the New York Shipbuilding Co., launched on 15 November 1933, sponsored by Mrs. Thomas Lee McCann, the wife of Lieutenant Thomas L...
and four US destroyers.
JW 54A was opposed by a U-boat force of five boats in a patrol line, code-named Eisenbart, in the Norwegian Sea
Norwegian Sea
The Norwegian Sea is a marginal sea in the North Atlantic Ocean, northwest of Norway. It is located between the North Sea and the Greenland Sea and adjoins the North Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Barents Sea to the northeast. In the southwest, it is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a...
.
A surface force comprising the battleship Scharnhorst
German battleship Scharnhorst
Scharnhorst was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship and battlecruiser, of the German Kriegsmarine. She was the lead ship of her class, which included one other ship, Gneisenau. The ship was built at the Kriegsmarinewerft dockyard in Wilhelmshaven; she was laid down on 15...
and five destroyers was also available, stationed at Altenfjord.
Voyage
JW 54A departed Loch EweLoch Ewe
Loch Ewe is a sea loch in the region of in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The shores are inhabited by a traditionally Gàidhlig speaking people living in or sustained by crofting villages, the most notable of which, situated on the north-eastern shore, is the Aultbea settlement...
on 15 November 1943, accompanied by its local escort, of three destroyers, and its close escort.
Three days later, on 18 November, it was joined by the ocean escort, while the local escort departed. At the same time the Cruiser Force and the Distant Cover Force from Scapa Flow
Scapa Flow
right|thumb|Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern endScapa Flow is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsay and Hoy. It is about...
also put to sea, taking station in the Norwegian Sea
Norwegian Sea
The Norwegian Sea is a marginal sea in the North Atlantic Ocean, northwest of Norway. It is located between the North Sea and the Greenland Sea and adjoins the North Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Barents Sea to the northeast. In the southwest, it is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a...
.
The convoy was not sighted by German reconnaissance aircraft, nor by any of the Eisenbart U-boats, and crossd the Norwegian and Barents Sea
Barents Sea
The Barents Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located north of Norway and Russia. Known in the Middle Ages as the Murman Sea, the sea takes its current name from the Dutch navigator Willem Barents...
s without incident.
On 24 November JW 54A arrived safely at Kola Inlet.
Conclusion
JW 54A was a successful start to the 1943–44 convoy season, with the safe arrival of 19 merchant ships and the war materiel they carried.Allied ships
Merchant ships- Copeland
- Daniel Drake
- Edmund Fanning
- Empire Carpenter
- Empire Celia
- Empire Nigel
- Fort Yukon
- Gilbert Stuart
- Henry Villard
- James Gordon Bennet
- James Smith
- Junecrest
- Mijdrecht
- Norlys
- Ocean Vanity
- Ocean verity
- Park Holland
- Thomas Sim Lee
- William Windom
Close escort
- Whitehall
- InconstantHMS Inconstant (H49)HMS Inconstant was an I-class destroyer laid down as TCG Muavenet for the Turkish Navy by Vickers Armstrong Naval Construction Works at Barrow-in-Furness on 24 May 1939, purchased in September 1939 by the Royal Navy, launched on 24 February 1941 and commissioned on 24 January 1942.Inconstant...
- HeatherHMS Heather (K69)HMS Heather was a of the Royal Navy....
- HussarHMS Hussar (J82)HMS Hussar was a Royal Navy minesweeper. She was sunk by friendly fire from RAF fighters off the coast of Normandy on 27 August 1944 in the same incident as HMS Britomart.-References:...
Ocean escort
- OnslowHMS Onslow (G17)HMS Onslow was an O-class destroyer flotilla leader of the Royal Navy She was ordered from John Brown & Company at Clydebank, Glasgow on 3 September 1939. The ship was laid down on 1 July 1940 and launched on 31 March 1941. She was completed on 8 October 1941 at a cost of £416,942.Attached to the...
- Onslaught
- Obedient
- OrwellHMS Orwell (G98)HMS Orwell was an O-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that entered service in 1942. She saw action at the Battle of the Barents Sea, and was involved in convoy escort duties during the Battle of North Cape. In 1952 she was converted to a Type 16 frigate and was broken-up in June 1965....
- ImpulsiveHMS Impulsive (D11)HMS Impulsive was an I-class destroyer that served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War. She has been the only ship of the Navy to bear this name....
- HaidaHMCS Haida (G63)HMCS Haida is a Tribal-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy from 1943-1963.Haida sank more enemy surface tonnage than any other Canadian warship...
- HuronHMCS Huron (G24)HMCS Huron G24/216 was a Tribal class destroyer built by Vickers-Armstrongs on the River Tyne in England, and served in the Royal Canadian Navy. It was the first ship to bear this name...
- IroquoisHMCS Iroquois (G89)-External links:** at Haze Gray and Underway*...
Cruiser cover force
- KentHMS Kent (54)HMS Kent was a heavy cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the late 1920s. She was the lead ship of the Kent subclass. After completion the ship was sent to the China Station where she remained until the beginning of the Second World War, aside from a major refit in 1937–38...
(flag) - Jamaica
- Bermuda
Distant cover force
- Anson (flag)
- TuscaloosaUSS Tuscaloosa (CA-37)USS Tuscaloosa was a United States Navy New Orleans-class heavy cruiser.She was laid down on 3 September 1931 at Camden, New Jersey, by the New York Shipbuilding Co., launched on 15 November 1933, sponsored by Mrs. Thomas Lee McCann, the wife of Lieutenant Thomas L...
- CorryUSS Corry (DD-463)USS Corry , a Gleaves-class destroyer, , was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Lieutenant Commander William M...
- FitchUSS Fitch (DD-462)USS Fitch , a Gleaves-class destroyer, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Commander LeRoy Fitch, an officer during the American Civil War....
- ForrestUSS Forrest (DD-461)USS Forrest , a Gleaves-class destroyer, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Lieutenant Dulany Forrest, an officer that served during the War of 1812....
- HobsonUSS Hobson (DD-464)USS Hobson , a Gleaves-class destroyer, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Richmond Pearson Hobson, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for actions during the Spanish-American War...
Axis ships
U-boat force- U-277
- U-307
- U-354
- U-360
- U-387
Surface force
- ScharnhorstGerman battleship ScharnhorstScharnhorst was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship and battlecruiser, of the German Kriegsmarine. She was the lead ship of her class, which included one other ship, Gneisenau. The ship was built at the Kriegsmarinewerft dockyard in Wilhelmshaven; she was laid down on 15...
- Z-29
- Z-30
- Z-33German destroyer Z33Z33 was a German that saw service during World War II. She was commissioned in the Kriegsmarine in February 1943 and served in Norwegian waters until March 1945. She was decommissioned from the Kriegsmarine in late April 1945 but was handed over to the Soviet Union in December that year...
- Z-34
- Z-38