Convoy PQ 18 - Battle

Battle

PQ 18 left Loch Ewe on 2 September 1942, in the charge of its Local Escort force. On 7 September it was joined by the Close Escort, with eight merchantmen from Reykjavík, while the local escort, with 3 merchantmen, detached to there. On 9 September they were joined by Adm. Burnett in Scylla, with the Fighting Destroyer escort forces, accompanied by the carrier Avenger and her group, which would take the convoy on to Murmansk. The Distant Cover and Cruiser cover forces had sailed independently, as had the two groups bound for Spitzbergen.

On 8 September the convoy was sighted by a German reconnaissance aircraft, but lost shortly after. Contact was also made by U-boats from the "Ice Palace" group, which commenced shadowing. These were chased by the destroyers, in order to shake off pursuit, and on 12 September U-88 was detected, attacked and destroyed by the escorting destroyer Faulknor. By 13 September there were eight U-boats in contact, and that morning two ships were torpedoed and sunk. At this stage PQ 18 was 150 miles north west of Bear island, about to turn into the Barents Sea. On this day the escort force was rejoined by Scylla and a number of destroyers that had detached to refuel at Lowe Sound. This brought the escort up to full strength for the next leg of the voyage.

Also on 13 September the convoy was again sighted by a reconnaissance aircraft, a BV 138 from Banak. The air forces at Banak mounted a full assault on the convoy, using a new anti-convoy tactic, called the "Golden Comb". This involved a mass torpedo attack by full group of torpedo bombers, and resulted in the sinking of eight ships from the convoy. Two more air attacks followed, but failed to score any hits. In all eight aircraft were shot down on this day.

The following day, 14 September, the attack was repeated; on this occasion, however, the escort force had developed counter-measures to the form of attack, and the massed AA fire from the convoy and fighter attacks, the result of aggressive handling by the carrier Avenger and the AA cruiser Ulster Queen, saw the attack broken up. Three air attacks saw one ship hit and sunk, while 21 aircraft were shot down. The14th also saw further U-boat attacks. The tanker Atheltemplar was torpedoed by U-457; she was abandoned and sank later. In counter-attacks U-589 was destroyed by Onslow.

On 15 September there were further air attacks but these were again beaten off, without loss. After this there was a pause in the air offensive, as the official despatch states:

"During the whole period, just over two days, of concentrated air attack, the enemy lost at least forty aircraft: there can be little doubt that these heavy casualties, especially among his limited supply of really skilled torpedo pilots, was largely responsible for the steady decline in the size and vigour of his attacks."

On 15 September there were still three U-boats still in contact, and another twelve in the area. These made several attempts to attack but had no success.

On 16 September U-457 was destroyed by Offa and Opportune, and that afternoon all further U-boat attacks were called off. Later the same day Burnett with Scylla and the destroyer escort, with Avenger’s group, detached to meet and escort the returning convoy QP 14, while PQ 18 continued with its close escort. The following day it met the western local escort, a group of Soviet destroyers from Murmansk.

During this period the German surface force had no impact on the convoy operation. It had been alerted when the convoy was first sighted, and on 10 September had moved north to Altenfjord, in preparation for a sortie. This move had been sighted by the British submarine patrol, and the submarine Tigris made a torpedo attack on Scheer, though without success. The force concentrated at Atenfjord, but Hitler, reluctant to risk the loss of any of his capital ships, refused to authorize it, and on 13th the sortie was cancelled.

PQ 18 was not out of the woods, however; on 18 September it was attacked again by German aircraft; one ship was sunk, while three aircraft were shot down. Another air attack the following day scored no hits, and later on 19 September PQ 18 entered the Kola Inlet.

Two more merchantmen were sunk by air attack in Murmansk harbour. In total, 13 merchants were lost from the convoy.

The Tirpitz did not attack the convoy and the RAF-RAAF Hampden force undertook one patrol, on September 14. They left their 23 aircraft in the USSR before returning to bases in the UK.