# Convoy JW 51B

Convoy JW 51B was an Arctic convoy sent from United Kingdom by the Western Allies to aid the Soviet Union during the Second World War. It sailed in late December 1942, reaching the Soviet northern ports in early January 1943.
Convoy JW 51B came under attack by German surface units, engaged in Operation Regenbogen, on 31 December. In the engagement, a British minesweeper and a British destroyer were sunk and a German destroyer were sunk; no ships were lost from the convoy in what became known as the Battle of the Barents Sea.

## Background
### Convoy escorts

Convoy JW 51A consisted of 15 merchant ships which departed from Loch Ewe on 22 December 1942. Close escort was provided by the minesweeper HMS Bramble, two corvettes and two armed trawlers. The close escort was supported by six Home Fleet destroyers led by HMS Onslow (Captain Robert Sherbrooke). The convoy sailed with a local escort group from Britain and was joined later by a local escort group from Murmansk. A cruiser cover force comprising HMS Jamaica, HMS Sheffield and two destroyers, was also at sea, from Kola Inlet, to guard against attack by surface units. Distant cover was provided by a Heavy Cover Force from Iceland comprising the battleship HMS Anson, the cruiser Cumberland and five destroyers.

### German forces

Convoy JW 51B was opposed by four U-boats in a patrol line in the Norwegian Sea and the aircraft of Luftflotte 5 based in Norway. A surface force comprising the heavy cruisers Admiral Hipper, Lützow and the destroyers Z16 Friedrich Eckoldt, Z4 Richard Beitzen, Z6 Theodor Riedel, Z29, Z30, Z31 was stationed at Altenfjord.

## Prelude

Convoy JW 51B departed Loch Ewe on 22 December 1942, accompanied by its local escort, of four destroyers, and its close escort. Three days later, on 25 December, it was joined by the ocean escort, while the local escort departed. On 27 December the convoy ran into a gale, which scattered the convoy over the next two days into several groups across a wide area. Dover Hill was forced to return with weather damage and five ships and two escorts had become separated. Three of the ships rejoined on 30 December, but Chester Valley, in company with the armed trawler Vizalma, and another, with the destroyer Oribi, remained separated. During 30 December, Bramble detached from the main body of the convoy to search for the stragglers.

## Action

On 24 December the convoy had been sighted by a patrolling aircraft, but was lost later during the storm. On 30 December it was found again by U-354, and Operation Regenbogen began. On 31 December the German ships, in two sections, met the ocean escort of Convoy JW 51B, and after a sharp engagement, which left the minesweeper Bramble and the destroyer Achates sinking and Onslow, damaged; the attacking force was driven off. The destroyer, Eckoldt was sunk and the cruiser Hipper was damaged. No further attacks developed, and on 1 January 1943 Vizalma and her charge rejoined the convoy. On 2 January Convoy JW 51B was met by its eastern local escort, two minesweepers from Murmansk. On 3 January the main body arrived in Kola Inlet, joined the following day by Oribi and her charge.

## Aftermath
### Analysis

The 15 ships of Convoy JW 51B arrived at Murmansk without loss, though one had been damaged. Despite the loss of two warships, the convoy was a success and the failure of the German surface force against the convoy caused a loss of confidence by Hitler in the Kriegsmarine and its commander, Admiral Erich Raeder, which led to him resigning. Thereafter, the main threat to the Allied convoy system was from U-boats.

## Ships involved
### Allied ships

Merchant ships 22 December 1942 – 4 January 1943 :
| Name | Year | Flag | GRT | Notes |
| Ballot | 1922 | Panama | 6,131 | |
| Calobre | 1919 | Panama | 6,891 | |
| Chester Valley | 1919 | United States | 5,078 | |
| Daldorch | 1930 | United Kingdom | 5,571 | |
| Dover Hill | 1918 | United Kingdom | 5,815 | |
| Empire Archer | 1942 | United Kingdom | 7,031 | Captain Robin Melhuish, convoy commodore |
| Empire Emerald | 1941 | United Kingdom | 8,032 | |
| Executive | 1920 | United States | 4,978 | |
| Jefferson Myers | 1920 | United States | 7,582 | |
| John H. B. Latrobe | 1942 | United States | 7,191 | |
| Pontfield | 1940 | United Kingdom | 8,319 | |
| Puerto Rican | 1919 | United States | 6,076 | |
| Ralph Waldo Emerson | 1942 | United States | 7,176 | |
| Vermont | 1919 | United States | 5,670 | |
| Yorkmar | 1919 | United States | 5,612 | |

### Western escort

Western escort :
| Name | Flag | Type | Notes |
| HMS Bulldog | Royal Navy | B-class destroyer | 22–23 December |
| HMS Blankney | Royal Navy | Hunt-class destroyer | 22–25 December |
| HMS Chiddingfold | Royal Navy | Hunt-class destroyer | 22–25 December |
| HMS Ledbury | Royal Navy | Hunt-class destroyer | 22–25 December |

### Close escort

Close convoy escort :
| Name | Flag | Type | Notes |
| HMS Bramble | Royal Navy | Halcyon-class minesweeper | 22–29 December |
| HMS Hyderabad | Royal Navy | Flower-class corvette | 22 December – 4 January |
| HMS Rhododendron | Royal Navy | Flower-class corvette | 22 December – 4 January |
| HMT Vizalma | Royal Navy | ASW trawler | 22 December – 4 January |
| HMT Northern Gem | Royal Navy | ASW trawler | 22 December – 4 January |

### Ocean escort

Ocean convoy escort :
| Name | Flag | Type | Notes |
| HMS Achates | Royal Navy | A-class destroyer | 25 December – 3 January |
| HMS Obdurate | Royal Navy | O-class destroyer | 25 December – 3 January |
| HMS Obedient | Royal Navy | O-class destroyer | 25 December – 3 January |
| HMS Onslow | Royal Navy | O-class destroyer | 25 December – 3 January |
| HMS Oribi | Royal Navy | O-class destroyer | 25–31 December, separated, sailed independently |
| HMS Orwell | Royal Navy | O-class destroyer | 25 December – 3 January |

### Force R

Cruiser covering force :
| Name | Flag | Type | Notes |
| HMS Jamaica | Royal Navy | Fiji-class cruiser | 27–31 December, from Kola Inlet |
| HMS Sheffield | Royal Navy | Town-class cruiser | 27–31 December, from Kola Inlet |
| HMS Matchless | Royal Navy | M-class destroyer | 27–29 December, from Kola Inlet |
| HMS Opportune | Royal Navy | O-class destroyer | 27–29 December, from Kola Inlet |

### Distant cover

Distant covering force :
| Ship | Flag | Type |
| HMS Anson | Royal Navy | King George V-class battleship |
| HMS Cumberland | Royal Navy | County-class cruiser |
| HMS Forester | Royal Navy | F-class destroyer |
| HMS Icarus | Royal Navy | I-class destroyer |
| HMS Impulsive | Royal Navy | I-class destroyer |
| HMS Blankney | Royal Navy | Hunt-class destroyer |
| HMS Chiddingfold | Royal Navy | Hunt-class destroyer |

### Allied submarines
## German order of battle
### U-boats

U-boats :
| Name | Flag | Class | Notes |
| U-354 | Kriegsmarine | Type VIIC submarine | |
| U-626 | Kriegsmarine | Type VIIC submarine | |

### Surface force

Regenbogen flotilla :
| Ship | Flag | Type | Notes |
| Admiral Hipper | Kriegsmarine | Admiral Hipper-class cruiser | Sailed 30 December |
| Lützow | Kriegsmarine | Deutschland-class cruiser | Sailed 30 December |
| Z16 Friedrich Eckoldt | Kriegsmarine | Type 1934A-class destroyer | Sailed 30 December |
| Z4 Richard Beitzen | Kriegsmarine | Type 1934-class destroyer | Sailed 30 December |
| Z6 Theodor Riedel | Kriegsmarine | Type 1934A-class destroyer | Sailed 30 December |
| Z29 | Kriegsmarine | Type 1936A-class destroyer | Sailed 30 December |
| Z30 | Kriegsmarine | Type 1936A-class destroyer | Sailed 30 December |
| Z31 | Kriegsmarine | Type 1936A-class destroyer | Sailed 30 December |

## Footnotes

* ↑ Churchill 1950, pp. 231–232.
* 1 2 3 4 Ruegg & Hague 1993, p. 48.
* ↑ Pearson 2007, p. 138.
* 1 2 3 Rohwer & Hümmelchen 2005, p. 219.
* ↑ Woodman 2004, pp. 313, 316.
* ↑ Woodman 2004, p. 316.