Convoy PQ 1

Convoy PQ 1 was the second of the Arctic Convoys of World War II by which the Western Allies supplied material aid to the Soviet Union in its fight with Nazi Germany. The convoy sailed from Hvalfiord in Iceland on 29 September 1941 and arrived at Archangelsk on 11 October 1941.

"PQ-1" redirects here. For other uses, see PQ1.

Arctic convoys

A convoy was defined as at least one merchant ship sailing under the protection of at least one warship.[1] At first the British had intended to run convoys to Russia on a forty-day cycle (the number of days between convoy departures) during the winter of 1941–1942 but this was shortened to a ten-day cycle. The round trip to Murmansk for warships was three weeks' long and each convoy needed a cruiser and two destroyers, which severely depleted the Home Fleet. Anti-submarine trawlers escorted the convoys on the first part of the outbound journey and British minesweepers based at Archangelsk met the convoys to escort then for the remainder of the voyage.[2]

Ships

This Convoy consisted of 11 merchant ships loaded with raw materials, 20 tanks and 193 crated Hawker Hurricane fighter aircraft. The code prefix PQ was chosen from the initials of Commander Phillip Quellyn Roberts an operations officer in the Admiralty.[3]

Escorted ships of convoy PQ 1 in the coastal waters of the USSR (10–11 October 1941)

The ships arrived safely.[4]

List of ships

Merchant ships

The following information is taken from Ruegg and Hague Convoys to Russia: Allied Convoys and Naval Surface Operations in Arctic Waters 1941–1945 (1993 rev.) unless indicated.[4]

Name Flag pos'n[lower-alpha 1] GRT year Notes
Atlantic  United Kingdom 21 5,414 1939 (Convoy Commodore) arrived safely
RFA Black Ranger  United Kingdom 43 3,417 1941 Detached 4 Oct with HMS Antelope
to meet home bound QP 1
Blairnevis  United Kingdom 12 4,155 1930 arrived safely
Capira  Panama 11 5,625 1920 arrived safely
Elna II  Soviet Union 41 3,221 1903 arrived safely
Gemstone  United Kingdom 33 4,986 1938 arrived safely
Harmonic  United Kingdom 42 4,558 1930 arrived safely
Lorca  United Kingdom 23 4,875 1931 arrived safely
North King  Panama 31 4,934 1903 arrived safely
River Afton  United Kingdom 32 5,479 1935 arrived safely
Ville D'Anvers  Belgium 22 7,462 1920 arrived safely

Escorts

The following information is taken from Ruegg and Hague Convoys to Russia: Allied Convoys and Naval Surface Operations in Arctic Waters 1941–1945 (1993 rev.) unless indicated.[4]

Name Flag GRT Notes
HMS Antelope  Royal Navy Escort 29 Sept – 4 Oct (det. with Black Ranger to meet QP 1)
HMS Anthony  Royal Navy Escort 29 Sept – 2 Oct
HMS Britomart  Royal Navy Escort 29 Sept – 11 Oct
HMS Escapade  Royal Navy Escort 2–11 Oct
HMS Gossamer  Royal Navy Escort 29 Sept – 11 Oct
HMS Harrier  Royal Navy Local escort 10–11 Oct
HMS Hussar  Royal Navy Escort 29 Sept – 11 Oct
HMS Impulsive  Royal Navy Escort 29 Sept – 11 Oct
HMS Leda  Royal Navy Escort 29 Sept – 11 Oct
HMS Suffolk  Royal Navy Escort 29 Sept – 11 Oct
Uritski  Soviet Union Local escort 10–11 Oct
Valerian Kuybyshev  Soviet Union Local escort 10–11 Oct

Notes
  1. Convoys had a standard formation of short columns, number 1 to the left in the direction of travel. Each position in the column was numbered; 11 was the first ship in column 1 and 12 was the second ship in the column; 21 was the first ship in column 2.[6]

Footnotes
  1. Roskill 1957, p. 92.
  2. Roskill 1957, pp. 92, 492.
  3. Woodman 2004, p. 42.
  4. Ruegg & Hague 1993, p. 22.
  5. Kindell nd.
  6. Ruegg & Hague 1993, inside front cover.

References
  • Kindell, D. (nd). "PQ Convoy Series". Arnold Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  • Roskill, S. W. (1957) [1954]. Butler, J. R. M. (ed.). The War at Sea 1939–1945: The Defensive. History of the Second World War United Kingdom Military Series. Vol. I (4th impr. ed.). London: HMSO. OCLC 881709135.
  • Ruegg, R.; Hague, A. (1993) [1992]. Convoys to Russia: Allied Convoys and Naval Surface Operations in Arctic Waters 1941–1945 (2nd rev. enl. ed.). Kendal: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-66-5.
  • Woodman, Richard (2004) [1994]. Arctic Convoys 1941–1945. London: John Murray. ISBN 978-0-7195-5752-1.

Further reading
  • Rohwer, Jürgen; Hümmelchen, Gerhard (2005) [1972]. Chronology of the War at Sea, 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two (3rd rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 1-86176-257-7.
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