SS West Cheswald - Arctic Convoy

Arctic Convoy

West Cheswald sailed from Boston for New York on 30 December, and spent nearly eight weeks at New York. Outfitted with armament and a Naval Armed Guard detachment, she sailed from Boston for Halifax with a load of tanks on 23 February 1942. After spending five days at Halifax, she sailed as part of Convoy SC-72 to Clyde on 28 February. After arriving at Clyde on 17 March, West Cheswald made her way to Oban on 22 March and sailed four days later for Murmansk as part of Convoy PQ-14. The convoy consisted of approximately 25 merchant ships, ten of which were American, and of the American ships, only two—West Cheswald and Yaka—possessed defensive weaponry manned by Naval Armed Guardsmen. Many ships turned back because of heavy fog and snow; West Cheswald, Yaka and several other ships from the convoy remained at Reykjavík from 31 March to 8 April. On 15 April, the convoy was tracked by a German aircraft, and convoy escort ships made contact with three German destroyers. The following day, the convoy commodore's ship was sunk by a submarine; at least two other torpedoes traveled through the convoy without hitting any ships. The convoy came under air attack on 17 April, but suffered no losses. As the convoy neared Murmansk, two Soviet destroyers with air cover joined the escort, and the convoy arrived without further incident on 19 April.

Though the convoy had arrived at its destination, the danger of attack was still present. The nearest German airfield was 35 miles (56 km) away—about 7 to 10 minutes flying time—which gave almost no advance warning of air raids. German dive bombers would silently glide in below Soviet anti-aircraft fire, drop their bombs, and fly away. West Cheswald was luckier than some. Her closest call occurred when a bomb fell 50 feet (15 m) away from the ship during an air raid on 23 April, destroying a 50-ton crane that had earlier finished unloading the ship; West Cheswald suffered no major damage in any of the attacks. Despite the fact that Murmansk had limited port facilities and typically slow unloading of cargo, West Cheswald was ready to sail in the next departing convoy, Convoy QP-11, on 28 April. West Cheswald's armed guardsmen received a battle star for their participation in Convoy PQ-14.