# Convoy PQ 18 order of battle

Convoy PQ 18 (2–21 September 1942) was an Arctic convoy of forty Allied freighters from Scotland and Iceland to Arkhangelsk in the Soviet Union during the Second World War. The convoy departed Loch Ewe, Scotland on 2 September 1942, rendezvoused with more ships and escorts at Iceland and arrived at Arkhangelsk on 21 September. An exceptionally large number of escorts were provided by the Royal Navy in Operation EV, including the first escort carrier to accompany an Arctic convoy. Detailed information on German intentions was provided by the code breakers at Bletchley Park and elsewhere, through Ultra signals decrypts and eavesdropping on Luftwaffe wireless communications. The German B-Dienst code-breakers read some British signals and the Luftwaffe used the lull in convoys after Convoy PQ 17 (27 June – 10 July) to prepare a maximum effort with the Kriegsmarine.
From 12 to 21 September Convoy PQ 18 was attacked by bombers, torpedo-bombers, U-boats and mines, which sank thirteen ships at a cost of forty-four aircraft and four U-boats. The convoy was defended by escort ships and the aircraft of the escort carrier HMS Avenger which used signals intelligence gleaned from Ultra and Luftwaffe wireless frequencies to provide early warning of some air attacks and to attempt evasive routeing of the convoy around concentrations of U-boats. United States Navy Armed Guard and British Naval and Royal Artillery Maritime Regiment gunners were embarked on the freighters to operate anti-aircraft guns and barrage balloons, which made air attacks more difficult and because of inexperience, occasionally wounded men and damaged ships and cargo, with wild shooting.
The convoy handed over its distant escorts and Avenger to the homeward bound Convoy QP 14 near Archangelsk on 16 September and continued with the close escort and local escorts, riding out a storm in the Northern Dvina estuary and the last attacks by the Luftwaffe, before reaching Archangelsk on 21 September. Several ships ran aground in the storm but all were eventually refloated; unloading the convoy took a month. Because of its losses and the transfer in November of its most effective remaining aircraft to the Mediterranean to oppose Operation Torch, the Luftwaffe effort could never be repeated.

## Aftermath
### Analysis

In the official history (1956 [1962]) Stephen Roskill called Convoy PQ 18 an Allied success. The convoy operation brought 28 ships safely to their destinations and the Arctic convoy route, which had been suspended since the loss of Convoy PQ 17, was open again. In 2001, Werner Rahn wrote that the Seekriegsleitung (SKL, Naval War Staff) had called the results "dearly bought and unsatisfactory". In 2004, Richard Woodman referred to Convoy PQ 18 as a Pyrrhic victory. The Luftwaffe torpedo-bomber attacks, while costly, had been highly effective and would have inflicted more losses had not the British Headache operators not given early warning of some attacks, which enabled Sea Hurricanes to be scrambled in time. The Germans failed to prevent the convoy reaching Russia and their losses, particularly in trained pilots, were severe, reducing the ability of the Luftwaffe to repeat its anti-convoy operation. Attacks on Avenger had been defeated and the depth of the escort screen made torpedo attacks on the centre of the convoy extravagantly risky. Coastal Command operations in support of Convoy PQ 18 and the returning convoy QP 14, involved 111 aircraft from 14 squadrons, which flew 279 sorties and logged 2,290 flying hours, most being taken up by the fights to and from the convoy. In November, Luftflotte 5, the German air command in Norway and Finland, was ordered to transfer its Ju 88 and He 111 torpedo-bombers to the Mediterranean against Operation Torch, a decision which the British received through Ultra intercepts. Only the Heinkel 115 floatplanes, suitable for torpedo attacks on stragglers and some Ju 87 dive-bombers remained in Norway, along with a few long-range reconnaissance aircraft to observe for the surface and U-boat forces.

### Casualties

Roskill in 1962 and Woodman in 2004 wrote that the Germans managed to sink thirteen merchant ships for a loss of four U-boats and 44 aircraft, 38 torpedo-bombers and six long-range bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. Michael Howard, in 1972, recorded that the Allies lost 38 aircraft from 309, 126 tanks from 448 and 85 of the 106 lorries carried in the convoy. Convoy PQ 19 was assembled at Loch Ewe but not dispatched, a net loss to the Allied war effort.

## Allied order of battle
### Convoy, Loch Ewe to Archangel

Loch Ewe to Archangel :
| Name | Year | Flag | GRT | Notes |
| SS Africander | 1921 | Panama | 5,441 | Sunk in air attack |
| MV Atheltemplar | 1930 | United Kingdom | 8,992 | Damaged by U-457 Sunk by U-408, 16 casualties |
| SS Beauregard | 1920 | United States | 5,976 | Engine trouble, returned Loch Ewe |
| SS Campfire | 1919 | United States | 5,671 | |
| SS Charles R. McCormick | 1920 | United States | 6,027 | |
| SS Copeland | 1923 | United Kingdom | 1,526 | Rescue ship |
| SS Dan-y-Bryn | 1940 | United Kingdom | 5,117 | Vice-Convoy Commodore |
| SS Empire Baffin | 1941 | United Kingdom | 6,978 | |
| SS Empire Beaumont | 1942 | United Kingdom | 7,044 | Sunk in air attack |
| SS Empire Morn | 1941 | United Kingdom | 7,092 | CAM ship |
| SS Empire Snow | 1941 | United Kingdom | 6,327 | |
| SS Empire Stevenson | 1941 | United Kingdom | 6,209 | Sunk in air attack |
| SS Empire Tristram | 1942 | United Kingdom | 7,167 | |
| SS Esek Hopkins | 1942 | United States | 7,191 | |
| SS Goolistan | 1929 | United Kingdom | 5,851 | |
| SS Hollywood | 1920 | United States | 5,498 | |
| SS John Penn | 1942 | United States | 7,177 | Sunk in air attack |
| SS Kentucky | 1921 | United States | 5,446 | Sunk in air attack |
| SS Lafayette | 1919 | United States | 5,887 | |
| SS Macbeth | 1920 | Panama | 4,941 | Sunk in air attack |
| SS Mary Luckenbach | 1919 | United States | 5,049 | Sunk in air attack |
| SS Meanticut | 1921 | United States | 6,061 | |
| SS Nathanael Greene | 1942 | United States | 7,177 | |
| SS Ocean Faith | 1942 | United Kingdom | 7,174 | |
| RFA Oligarch | 1918 | Royal Navy | 6,894 | Fleet oiler Joined from Spitzbergen group |
| SS Oliver Ellsworth | 1942 | United States | 7,191 | Sunk by U-408 1 casualty |
| SS Oregonian | 1917 | United States | 4,862 | Sunk in air attack |
| SS Patrick Henry | 1941 | United States | 7,191 | |
| SS Sahale | 1919 | United States | 5,028 | |
| SS Schoharie | 1919 | United States | 4,971 | |
| SS St. Olaf | 1942 | United States | 7,191 | |
| SS Temple Arch | 1940 | United Kingdom | 5,138 | Flagship Convoy Commodore E. K. Boddam-Whetham |
| SS Virginia Dare | 1942 | United States | 7,177 | |
| SS Wacosta | 1920 | United States | 5,432 | Sunk in air attack |
| SS White Clover | 1920 | Panama | 5,462 | |
| SS William Moultrie | 1942 | United States | 7,177 | |
| MMS 90 | — | Royal Navy | — | 7–21 September 1942, MMS-class minesweeper rescue ship |
| MMS 203 | — | Royal Navy | — | 7–21 September 1942, MMS-class minesweeper rescue ship |
| MMS 212 | — | Royal Navy | — | 7–21 September 1942, MMS-class minesweeper rescue ship |

### Force Q

Force Q oilers :
| Name | Year | Flag | GRT | Type | Notes |
| RFA Black Ranger | 1941 | Royal Navy | 3,417 | Ranger-class tanker | Fleet oiler, sailed in convoy |
| RFA Gray Ranger | 1941 | Royal Navy | 3,313 | Ranger-class tanker | Fleet oiler, sailed in convoy |

### Convoy, Loch Ewe to Reykjavík

Loch Ewe to Reykjavík :
| Name | Year | Flag | GRT | Notes |
| SS Gateway City | 1920 | United States | 5,432 | Loch Ewe to Reykjavík only |
| SS Oremar | 1919 | United States | 6,854 | |
| SS San Zotico | 1919 | United Kingdom | 5,582 | |

### Convoy, Reykjavík to Arkhangelsk

Reykjavík to Archangel :
| Name | Year | Flag | GRT | Notes |
| SS Andre Marti | 1918 | Soviet Union | 2,352 | Joined from Reykjavík |
| SS Exford | 1919 | United States | 4,969 | |
| SS Komiles | 1932 | Soviet Union | 3,966 | |
| SS Petrovski | 1921 | Soviet Union | 3,771 | |
| SS Richard Bassett | 1942 | United States | 7,191 | Joined from, returned to, Reykjavík (engine trouble) |
| SS Stalingrad | 1931 | Soviet Union | 3,559 | Joined from Reykjavík, sunk by U-408, 21 casualties |
| SS Sukhona | 1918 | Soviet Union | 3,124 | Sunk in air attack |
| SS Tbilisi | 1912 | Soviet Union | 7,169 | |

### Convoy formation

Convoy formation, * = ship sunk :
| column 1 | column 2 | column 3 | column 4 | column 5 | column 6 | column 7 | column 8 | column 9 | column 10 |
| 11 Empire Baffin | 21 Komiles | 31 Empire Snow | 41 Empire Beaumont* | 51 Empire Tristram | 61 Temple Arch | 71 Ocean Faith | 81 Dan-Y-Bryn | 91 Empire Stevenson* | 101 Oregonian* |
| 12 Kentucky* | 22 Petrovski | 32 St Olaf | 42 Patrick Henry | 52 Sahale | 62 Lafayette | 72 Nathaniel Greene | 82 Virginia Dare | 92 Wacosta* | 102 Macbeth* |
| 13 Charles R McCormick | 23 White Clover | 33 Exford | 43 Esek Hopkins | 53 Empire Morn | 63 Campfire | 73 John Penn* | 83 William Moultrie | 93 Mary Luckenbach* | 103 Stalingrad* |
| 14 Andre Marti | 24 — | 34 Hollywood | 44 Meanticut | 54 Black Ranger | 64 Schoharie | 74 Goolistan | 84 — | 94 Africander* | 104 Sukhona* |
| 15 Copeland | 25 — | 35 — | 45 Atheltemplar* | 55 — | 65 Gray Ranger | 75 Tblisi | 85 — | 95 — | 105 Oliver Ellsworth* |
The Motor Minesweepers MMS 90, MMS 203 and MMS 212 were being delivered to the Soviet Northern Fleet and were to act as rescue ships en route, receiving no position number.

## Operation EV
### Loch Ewe to Iceland

Local escort :
| Name | Navy | Class | Dates | Notes |
| HMS Echo | Royal Navy | E-class destroyer | 2–8 September 1942 | |
| HMS Campbell | Royal Navy | Scott-class destroyer leader | 2–8 September 1942 | Joined Heavy Cover Force |
| HMS Mackay | Royal Navy | Scott-class destroyer leader | 2–8 September 1942 | Joined Heavy Cover Force |
| HMS Montrose | Royal Navy | Scott-class destroyer leader | 2–8 September 1942 | Joined Heavy Cover Force |
| HMS Walpole | Royal Navy | W-class destroyer | 2–8 September 1942 | |
| HNoMS Eskdale | Royal Norwegian Navy | Hunt-class destroyer | 2–8 September 1942 | |
| HMS Farndale | Royal Navy | Hunt-class destroyer | 2–8 September 1942 | |
| HMT Arab | Royal Navy | ASW trawler | 2–8 September 1942 | To Reykjavík as escort |
| HMT Duncton | Royal Navy | ASW trawler | 2–8 September 1942 | |
| HMT Hugh Walpole | Royal Navy | ASW trawler | 2–8 September 1942 | |
| HMT King Sol | Royal Navy | ASW trawler | 2–8 September 1942 | |
| HMT Paynter | Royal Navy | ASW trawler | 2–8 September 1942 | |

### Escorts, Iceland to Archangelsk

Close escort :
| Name | Flag | Class | Dates | Notes |
| HMS Alynbank | Royal Navy | Auxiliary anti-aircraft cruiser | 7–21 September 1942 | |
| HMS Ulster Queen | Royal Navy | Auxiliary anti-aircraft cruiser | 7–21 September 1942 | |
| HMS Achates | Royal Navy | A-class destroyer | 7–21 September 1942 | |
| HMS Malcolm | Royal Navy | Scott-class destroyer | 7–21 September 1942 | Cdr A. B. Russell SOE |
| HMS Amazon | Royal Navy | W class destroyer | 7–21 September 1942 | |
| HMS Bergamot | Royal Navy | Flower-class corvette | 7–21 September 1942 | |
| HMS Bluebell | Royal Navy | Flower-class corvette | 7–21 September 1942 | |
| HMS Bryony | Royal Navy | Flower-class corvette | 7–21 September 1942 | |
| HMS Camellia | Royal Navy | Flower-class corvette | 7–21 September 1942 | |
| HMS Gleaner | Royal Navy | Halcyon-class minesweeper | 7–21 September 1942 | |
| HMS Harrier | Royal Navy | Halcyon-class minesweeper | 7–21 September 1942 | |
| HMS Sharpshooter | Royal Navy | Halcyon-class minesweeper | 7–21 September 1942 | |
| HMT Cape Argona | Royal Navy | ASW trawler | 7–21 September 1942 | |
| HMT Cape Mariato | Royal Navy | ASW trawler | 7–21 September 1942 | |
| HMT Daneman | Royal Navy | ASW trawler | 7–21 September 1942 | |
| HMT St Kenan | Royal Navy | ASW trawler | 7–21 September 1942 | |

### Carrier group

Avenger and escorts :
| Name | Navy | Class | Date |
| HMS Avenger | Royal Navy | Avenger-class escort carrier | 9–17 September 1942 |
| HMS Wheatland | Royal Navy | Hunt-class destroyer | 9–17 September 1942 |
| HMS Wilton | Royal Navy | Hunt-class destroyer | 9–17 September 1942 |

### Fighting Destroyer Escort
#### Force A

Fighting Destroyer Escort Force A :
| Name | Flag | Class | Dates | Notes |
| HMS Scylla | Royal Navy | Dido-class cruiser | 9–17 September 1942 | Flagship Rear Admiral Robert "Bullshit Bob" Burnett |
| HMS Offa | Royal Navy | O-class destroyer | 9–17 September 1942 | |
| HMS Onslaught | Royal Navy | O-class destroyer | 9–17 September 1942 | |
| HMS Onslow | Royal Navy | O-class destroyer | 9–17 September 1942 | |
| HMS Opportune | Royal Navy | O-class destroyer | 9–17 September 1942 | |
| HMS Ashanti | Royal Navy | Tribal-class destroyer | 9–17 September 1942 | |
| HMS Eskimo | Royal Navy | Tribal-class destroyer | 9–17 September 1942 | |
| HMS Somali | Royal Navy | Tribal-class destroyer | 9–17 September 1942 | |
| HMS Tartar | Royal Navy | Tribal-class destroyer | 9–17 September 1942 | |

#### Force B

Fighting Destroyer Escort Force B :
| Name | Flag | Class | Dates | Notes |
| HMS Faulknor | Royal Navy | F-class destroyer | 9–17 September 1942 | |
| HMS Fury | Royal Navy | F-class destroyer | 9–17 September 1942 | |
| HMS Impulsive | Royal Navy | I-class destroyer | 9–17 September 1942 | |
| HMS Intrepid | Royal Navy | I-class destroyer | 9–17 September 1942 | |
| HMS Marne | Royal Navy | M-class destroyer | 9–17 September 1942 | |
| HMS Martin | Royal Navy | M-class destroyer | 9–17 September 1942 | |
| HMS Meteor | Royal Navy | M-class destroyer | 9–17 September 1942 | |
| HMS Milne | Royal Navy | M-class destroyer | 9–17 September 1942 | Captain (D) Ian Campbell |

### Eastern Local Escort

Eastern local escort from Archangelsk :
| Name | Flag | Class | Dates |
| Gremyashchi | Soviet Navy | Gnevny-class destroyer | 17–22 September 1942 |
| Kuibishev | Soviet Navy | Orfey-class destroyer | 17–22 September 1942 |
| Sokrushitelny | Soviet Navy | Gnevny-class destroyer | 17–22 September 1942 |
| Uritski | Soviet Navy | Orfey-class destroyer | 17–22 September 1942 |
| HMS Britomart | Royal Navy | Halcyon-class minesweeper | 17–22 September 1942 |
| HMS Halcyon | Royal Navy | Halcyon-class minesweeper | 17–22 September 1942 |
| HMS Hazard | Royal Navy | Halcyon-class minesweeper | 17–22 September 1942 |
| HMS Salamander | Royal Navy | Halcyon-class minesweeper | 17–22 September 1942 |

### Cruiser Covering Force

Cruiser Covering Force :
| Name | Flag | Class | Dates | Notes |
| HMS London | Royal Navy | County-class cruiser | 14–22 September 1942 | |
| HMS Norfolk | Royal Navy | County-class cruiser | 14–22 September 1942 | Flagship Vice-Admiral Stuart Bonham Carter |
| HMS Suffolk | Royal Navy | County-class cruiser | 14–22 September 1942 | |
| HMS Bulldog | Royal Navy | B-class destroyer | 14–22 September 1942 | |
| HMS Venomous | Royal Navy | W-class destroyer | 14–22 September 1942 | |

### Distant cover

Distant cover (Home Fleet) :
| Name | Flag | Class | Dates | Notes |
| HMS Anson | Royal Navy | King George V-class battleship | 11–14 September 1942 | Flagship, Vice-Admiral Bruce Fraser |
| HMS Duke of York | Royal Navy | King George V-class battleship | 11–14 September 1942 | |
| HMS Jamaica | Royal Navy | Fiji-class cruiser | 11–14 September 1942 | |
| HMS Campbell | Royal Navy | Scott-class destroyer leader | 11–14 September 1942 | Joined from local escort group |
| HMS Mackay | Royal Navy | Scott-class destroyer leader | 11–14 September 1942 | Joined from local escort group |
| HMS Montrose | Royal Navy | Scott-class destroyer leader | 11–14 September 1942 | Joined from local escort group |
| HMS Broke | Royal Navy | Thornycroft type destroyer leader | 11–14 September 1942 | |
| HMS Keppel | Royal Navy | Thornycroft type destroyer leader | 11–14 September 1942 | Commander Jack Broome |
| HMS Bramham | Royal Navy | Hunt-class destroyer | 11–14 September 1942 | |

### Spitzbergen fuelling base

Spitzbergen fuelling base :
| Name | Flag | Class | Dates |
| RFA Blue Ranger | Royal Navy | Oiler | 9–21 September 1942 |
| RFA Oligarch | Royal Navy | Oiler | 9–21 September 1942 |
| HMS Windsor | Royal Navy | W-class destroyer | 9–21 September 1942 |
| HMS Worcester | Royal Navy | W-class destroyer | 9–21 September 1942 |
| HMS Cowdray | Royal Navy | Hunt-class destroyer | 9–21 September 1942 |
| HMS Oakley | Royal Navy | Hunt-class destroyer | 9–21 September 1942 |

### Operation Gearbox II

Gearbox II (Spitzbergen supply run) :
| Name | Flag | Class | Dates |
| HMS Cumberland | Royal Navy | County-class cruiser | 14 September 1942 |
| HMS Sheffield | Royal Navy | Town-class cruiser | 14 September 1942 |
| HMS Eclipse | Royal Navy | E-class destroyer | 14 September 1942 |

### Submarine patrols

Submarine patrols (September–October 1942) :
| Name | Flag | Type | Patrol | Notes |
| HMS Shakespeare | Royal Navy | S-class submarine | 7–23 September | Off Norwegian coast |
| HMS Sturgeon | Royal Navy | S-class submarine | 2–6 September | Patrol force, returned port |
| Rubis | Free French Naval Forces | Saphir-class submarine | | Minelayer |
| HMS Tigris | Royal Navy | T-class submarine | 2 September – 1 October | Patrol force |
| HMS Tribune | Royal Navy | T-class submarine | 2 September – 1 October | Patrol force |
| HMS Unique | Royal Navy | U-class submarine | 7 September – 1 October | Off Norwegian coast |
| HMS Unrivalled | Royal Navy | U-class submarine | 7 September – 1 October | Off Norwegian coast |
| HMS Unshaken | Royal Navy | U-class submarine | 2 September – 1 October | Patrol force |
| HNoMS Uredd | Royal Norwegian Navy | U-class submarine | 2 September – 1 October | Patrol force |
| K-1 | Soviet Navy | Soviet K-class submarine | | Patrol |
| K-2 | Soviet Navy | Soviet K-class submarine | | Patrol |
| K-21 | Soviet Navy | Soviet K-class submarine | | Patrol |
| M-174 | Soviet Navy | Soviet M-class submarine | | Patrol |
| Shch-422 | Soviet Navy | Shchuka-class submarine | | Patrol |

### RAF

Search and Strike Force (Group-Captain Frank Hopps) based at Polyarny :
| Sqn | Type | No. | Role | Notes |
| 1 PRU | Spitfire PR Mk IV(D) | 3 | Reconnaissance | 1 written off 9 September, 1 shot down 27 September |
| 144 Squadron RAF | Hampden | 16 | torpedo-bomber | Afrikanda, 6 lost in transit 4–5 September 1942 |
| 210 Squadron RAF | Catalina | 9 | Reconnaissance/ASW | Grasnaya, no losses |
| 455 Squadron RAAF | Hampden | 16 | torpedo-bomber | Afrikanda, 3 lost in transit 4–5 September 1942 |

## Axis order of battle
### U-boats

Wolfpack Trägertod (Death to carrier) :
| Name | Flag | Commander | Class | Notes |
| U-88 | Kriegsmarine | Heino Bohmann | Type VIIC submarine | Sunk, Faulknor |
| U-255 | Kriegsmarine | Reinhard Reche | Type VIIC submarine | |
| U-377 | Kriegsmarine | Otto Köhler | Type VIIC submarine | |
| U-378 | Kriegsmarine | Hans-Jürgen Zetzsche | Type VIIC submarine | |
| U-403 | Kriegsmarine | Heinz-Ehlert Clausen | Type VIIC submarine | |
| U-405 | Kriegsmarine | Rolf-Heinrich Hopmann | Type VIIC submarine | |
| U-408 | Kriegsmarine | Reinhard von Hymmen | Type VIIC submarine | Sank Stalingrad |
| U-435 | Kriegsmarine | Siegfried Strelow | Type VIIC submarine | |
| U-457 | Kriegsmarine | Karl Brandenburg | Type VIIC submarine | Damaged Atheltemplar, sunk Impulsive |
| U-589 | Kriegsmarine | Hans-Joachim Horrer | Type VIIC submarine | Sank Oliver Ellsworth, sunk Onslow |
| U-592 | Kriegsmarine | Carl Borm | Type VIIC submarine | |
| U-703 | Kriegsmarine | Heinz Bielfeld | Type VIIC submarine | |

### Aircraft involved

Luftflotte 5 :
| Unit | Type | No. | Role | Notes |
| I./Kampfgeschwader 26 | Heinkel He 111 H6 | 42–46 | Torpedo-bomber | Banak |
| III./Kampfgeschwader 26 | Junkers Ju 88 A17 | 27–35 | Torpedo-bomber | Bardufoss |
| Kampfgeschwader 30 | Junkers Ju 88 | 60 | Bomber/dive-bomber | Banak |
| 1./Kampfgeschwader 40 | Focke-Wulf Fw 200 | — | Long-range reconnaissance | Trondheim |
| 1./Küstenfliegergruppe 406 | Heinkel He 115 | 15 | torpedo-bomber | Sørreisa, Billefjord, Tromsø |
| 1./Küstenfliegergruppe 906 | Blohm & Voss BV 138 | — | Weather reconnaissance | Sørreisa, Billefjord, Tromsø |
| I(F)/22, I(F)/124 | Junkers Ju 88 | — | Reconnaissance | Banak, Bardufoss, Kirkenes |