Convoy QP 11 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 ...

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 opposing ...

, made up of merchant ships returning from the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

after delivering their cargo to the Soviet Union. The convoy consisted of 13 merchant ships, escorted by 18 warships. The convoy was attacked by German

destroyers In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

and submarines, suffering the loss of one merchant ship as well as the

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to th ...

HMS ''Edinburgh''. The German forces lost the destroyer Z7 ''Hermann Schoemann''''.''

Ships

QP 11 consisted of 13 merchant ships, mostly British or American, including five ships that had been a part of

Convoy PQ 13 PQ 13 was a British Arctic convoy that delivered war supplies from the Western Allies to the USSR during World War II. The convoy was subject to attack by German air, U-boat and surface forces and suffered the loss of five ships, plus one escort ...

. The convoy sailed from the Soviet port of

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

on 28 April 1942. The convoy was escorted by the light cruiser HMS ''Edinburgh'', the

HMS ''Amazon'', ''Beagle'', ''Beverley'', ''Bulldog'', ''Foresight'' and ''Forester'', the

corvettes A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloop ...

''Campanula'', ''Oxlip'', ''Saxifrage'' and ''Snowflake'', with the armed trawler ''Lord Middleton''. ''Edinburgh ''was not only serving as an escort, but was also carrying $20 million in gold, a payment from the Soviet Union to the United States.

Voyage

On 29 April, the convoy was spotted by a German

Ju 88 The Junkers Ju 88 is a German World War II ''Luftwaffe'' twin-engined multirole combat aircraft. Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works (JFM) designed the plane in the mid-1930s as a so-called '' Schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") that would be too fast ...

reconnaissance plane as well as by German

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

s. Two days after leaving Murmansk, the convoy was attacked by several U-boats. On 30 May and both made unsuccessful attacks on the convoy. Later that day, however, fired torpedoes at ''Edinburgh'' and scored two hits. One torpedo hit the cruiser's forward boiler room while the other hit the cruiser's stern, destroying its rudder and two of its four propellers. ''Edinburgh'' was badly damaged, but still afloat. ''Edinburgh'' left the convoy and headed back towards Murmansk, escorted by ''Foresight ''and ''Forester''. Several ships were sent from Murmansk to assist ''Edinburgh'', among them the British

minesweepers A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

''Gossamer'', ''Harrier'', ''Hussar'', and ''Niger'', the Soviet destroyers and , the Soviet

guard ship A guard ship is a warship assigned as a stationary guard in a port or harbour, as opposed to a coastal patrol boat, which serves its protective role at sea. Royal Navy In the Royal Navy of the eighteenth century, peacetime guard ships were usual ...

''Rubin'', and a tug.

1 May

The German command sent the three destroyers of ''Zerstörergruppe'' "Arktis", Z7 ''Hermann Schoemann'', Z24 and Z25 under the command of ''

Kapitän zur See Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The rank is equal to the army rank of colonel and air force rank of group captain. Equivalent ranks worldwide include ...

Alfred Schulze-Hinrichs Alfred Schulze-Hinrichs (6 November 1899 – 23 June 1972) was a Kapitän zur See with the Kriegsmarine during World War II and a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Career *October 1924: Survey vessel ''Panther''. *January 1927: ...

, to attack QP 11 and then sink HMS ''Edinburgh.'' The German ships reached the convoy in the afternoon on 1 May. The weather was cold, and intermittent snow and rain limited visibility. ''Hermann Schoemann'' opened fire at 14:05. The four British destroyers formed up between the German destroyers and the convoy, and engaged them at a range of about . ''Amazon'' was hit twice and severely damaged. At 14:30 a German torpedo salvo hit and sunk the Soviet freighter ''Tsiolkovski''. At 17:50 the German destroyers retired and turned to go after ''Edinburgh''.

2 May

The German forces found ''Edinburgh'' east of the convoy at 06:17 on 2 May. The cruiser was moving at only two knots. The ''Edinburgh'' was being escorted by ''Foresight'', ''Forester'', the four British minesweepers and ''Rubin'' (''Gremyaschi'' and ''Sokrushitelny'' having returned to Murmansk due to a lack of fuel). The three German destroyers engaged the British ships. Due to the damage caused by ''U-456'', ''Edinburgh'' was unable to maneuver and could only steam in circles. A snow shower separated ''Herman Schoemann'' from the other German destroyers, so it attacked the British ships alone. ''Edinburgh''s targeting systems had been destroyed by the torpedo explosions but its gunners managed to hit and cripple ''Hermann Schoemann''. At 18:45, ''Z24 ''and ''Z25'' arrived. ''Z25'' hit and disabled ''Forester'' and then badly damaged ''Foresight''. At 18:52 a salvo of torpedoes from one of the German destroyers missed ''Foresight'' and ''Forester''. One of the torpedoes from this salvo kept going and struck ''Edinburgh'' in the middle of its left side, opposite the hole made by ''U-456''s torpedo. Shortly thereafter the German ships withdrew, possibly because they overestimated the strength of the British minesweepers. At 08:15, ''Z24'' rescued most of the crew of ''Hermann Schoemann'' who were still on the deck and then scuttled it. More survivors from ''Hermann Schoemann'' who were in life rafts were later rescued by ''U-88''. The minesweepers ''Harrier'' and ''Gossamer'' took survivors off of ''Edinburgh'', which was later sunk by a torpedo from ''Foresight''.

Aftermath

The rest of QP 11's voyage saw unsuccessful attacks on the convoy by the submarines and . The twelve remaining merchant ships of the convoy arrived in Iceland on 7 May.

Ship List

References

{{Arctic convoys QP 11 Naval battles of World War II involving Germany Naval battles of World War II involving the United Kingdom Naval battles of World War II involving the Soviet Union