Convoy JW 54B was an

Arctic convoy The Arctic convoys of World War II were oceangoing convoys which sailed from the United Kingdom, Iceland, and North America to northern ports in the Soviet Union – primarily Arkhangelsk (Archangel) and Murmansk in Russia. There were 78 convoys ...

sent from

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

by the

Western Allies The Allies, formally referred to as the United Nations from 1942, were an international military coalition formed during the Second World War (1939–1945) to oppose the Axis powers, led by Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, and Fascist Italy. ...

to aid the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It sailed in late November 1943, reaching the Soviet northern ports at the end of the month. All ships arrived safely.

Forces

The convoy consisted of 15 merchant ships which departed from

Loch Ewe Loch Ewe ( gd, Loch Iùbh) is a sea loch in the region of Wester Ross 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 notab ...

on 22 November 1943. Close escort was led by the destroyer ''Beagle'' and comprised three corvettes and a minesweeper. These were supported by an Ocean escort of eight

Home Fleet The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet. Before the First ...

destroyers led by ''Hardy''. The convoy was also accompanied initially by a local escort group from Britain. A cruiser cover force comprising ''Kent'', ''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 cruiser ''Belfast'' and four destroyers. JW 54B was opposed by a U-boat force of five boats in a patrol line, code-named ''Eisenbart'', in the

Norwegian Sea The Norwegian Sea ( no, Norskehavet; is, Noregshaf; fo, Norskahavið) is a marginal sea, grouped with either the Atlantic Ocean or the Arctic Ocean, northwest of Norway between the North Sea and the Greenland Sea, adjoining the Barents Sea to ...

. A surface force comprising the battleship ''Scharnhorst'' and five destroyers was also available, stationed at

Altenfjord Altafjord ( en, Alta Fjord;Koop, Gerhard, & Klaus-Peter Schmolke. 2000. ''Heavy Cruisers of the Admiral Hipper Class: Warships of the Kriegsmarine''. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing, p. 55. no, Altafjorden; fkv, Alattionvuono) is a fjord in A ...

Voyage

JW 54B departed

on 22 November 1943, accompanied by its local escort, of three destroyers and a minesweeper, and its close escort. Three days later, on 25 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, which were already at sea covering

convoy JW 54A Convoy JW 54A was an Arctic convoys of World War II, Arctic convoy sent from United Kingdom, Great Britain by the Allies of World War II, Western Allies to aid the Soviet Union during World War II. It sailed in November 1943, reaching the Soviet n ...

, were on station in the

. The convoy was not sighted by German reconnaissance aircraft, nor by any of the ''Eisenbart'' U-boats, and crossed the Norwegian and

Barents Sea The Barents Sea ( , also ; no, Barentshavet, ; russian: Баренцево море, Barentsevo More) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia and divided between Norwegian and Russian territo ...

s without incident. On 3 December the Ocean escort destroyers departed, to make independent passage home, while JW 54B arrived safely at

Archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the hierarchy of angels. The word ''archangel'' itself is usually associated with the Abrahamic religions, but beings that are very similar to archangels are found in a number of other relig ...

later the same day.

Conclusion

JW 54B saw the safe arrival of 15 merchant ships and the war ''materiel'' they carried. Together with the 19 ships of JW 54A, which had arrived at

Murmansk Murmansk (Russian: ''Мурманск'' lit. "Norwegian coast"; Finnish: ''Murmansk'', sometimes ''Muurmanski'', previously ''Muurmanni''; Norwegian: ''Norskekysten;'' Northern Sámi: ''Murmánska;'' Kildin Sámi: ''Мурман ланнҍ'') i ...

the previous week; this was a successful start to the 1943–44 convoy season.

Ships involved

Allied ships

Merchant ships * ''Arthur L Perry'' * ''Daldorich'' * ''Empire Lionel'' * ''Empire Stalwart'' * ''Eugene Field'' * ''Fort Columbia'' * ''Fort McMurray'' * ''Fort Poplar'' * ''Horace Gray'' * ''John Fitch'' * ''Ocean Strength'' * ''Rathlin'' * ''San Adolfo'' * ''Thomas Kearns'' * ''William L Marcy'' Close escort * ''Beagle'' * ''Dianella'' * ''Poppy'' * ''Rhodedendron'' * ''Halcyon'' Ocean escort * ''Hardy'' * ''Saumarez'' * ''Savage'' * ''Scorpion'' * ''Scourge'' * ''Stord'' * * ''Vigilant'' Cruiser cover force * ''Kent'' (flag) * ''Jamaica'' * ''Bermuda'' Distant cover force * ''Anson'' (flag) * ''Belfast'' * ''Ashanti'' * ''Matchless'' * ''Musketeer'' * ''Obdurate''

Axis ships

U-boat force * ''U-277'' * ''U-307'' * ''U-354'' * ''U-360'' * ''U-387'' Surface force * ''Scharnhorst'' * ''Z29'' * ''Z30'' * ''Z33'' * ''Z34'' * ''Z38''

Notes

References

* * Paul Kemp : ''Convoy! Drama in Arctic Waters'' (1993) * * * Bob Ruegg, Arnold Hague : ''Convoys to Russia'' (1992) * Bernard Schofield : (1964) ''The Russian Convoys'' BT Batsford ISBN (none)
JW 54B at Convoyweb
{{Arctic convoys JW 54B