Convoy PQ 13 PQ - 13 was a British Arctic convoy which delivered war supplies from the Western Allies to the USSR during World War II . The convoy was subject to attack by German air , U - boat and surface forces and suffered the loss of five ships , plus one escort vessel . Fifteen ships arrived safely . Ships . PQ 13 comprised 19 merchant ships ; seven British , four American , one Polish , four of Panamanian and one of Honduran registry . It was commanded by Commodore D . A . Casey in " River Afton " . The convoy was escorted for the first stage of its voyage , from Scotland to Iceland , by a Local Escort Group , of two destroyers and an ASW Trawler . For the second stage , from Iceland to the Soviet Union , the Ocean escort was two destroyers , and two trawlers , augmented by three whalers being transferred to the Soviet Navy . The Ocean escort was commanded by Capt . LS Saunders , in the cruiser " Trinidad " . In support of the convoy escort , and guarding against a sortie by the German battleship " Tirpitz " , was a Heavy Cover Force , comprising the battleships " Duke of York " ( V . Adm . ATB Curteis commanding ) , " King George V " , the battlecruiser " Renown " , the aircraft carrier , two cruisers , " Kent " and " Edinburgh " , and sixteen destroyers . ( " Ashanti " , " Bedouin " , " Echo " , " Escapade " , " Eskimo " , " Faulknor " , " Foresight " , " Icarus " , " Inglefield " , " Ledbury " , " Marne " , " Middleton " , " Onslow " , " Punjabi " , " Tartar " and " Wheatland " ) This force was intended to accompany PQ 13 at a distance until it was past Bear Island . Action . The convoy sailed from Loch Ewe in Scotland on 10 March 1942 and arrived in Reykjavík on the 16th March , 1942 . After dropping out a contingent of three ships , bound from Loch Ewe to Reykjavík only , and the first stage escort , and collecting a further three bound from Reykjavík to Murmansk and the close escort for the voyage , PQ 13 left Reykjavík on the 20th March , 1942 . The voyage was uneventful until 24 March , when the convoy was struck by a violent four day storm , which left the convoy scattered and in disarray . The ships were dispersed over a distance of 150 miles . Over the next few days the ships coalesced into two groups , of eight and four , with four others proceeding independently . On 28 March the ships were sighted by German aircraft , and attacked . Two ships were sunk , " Raceland " and Empire Ranger " . Also on the 28th a German force of three Narvik class destroyer s , " Z24 " , " Z25 " and " Z26 " , under the command of KzS G Ponitz , sortied from Kirkenes . They intercepted " Bateau " , which was sunk , in the evening of 28 / 29 March , before falling in with " Trinidad " and " Fury " in the early hours of 29 March . " Z26 " was badly damaged by HMS " Trinidad " , sinking later , but in the course of the action " Trinidad " was hit by her own torpedo ( the torpedo ' s gyroscope froze ) . The remaining German ships broke of the action , and " Trinidad " , escorted by " Fury " and " Eclipse " , limped into Kola Inlet , arriving midday on 30 March . In the meanwhile the ships of PQ 13 came under U - boat attack . Two ships were found and sunk by U - boats , " Induna " by " U - 376 " , and " Effingham " by " U - 435 " . " Fury " attacked an asdic contact and was credited with the destruction of " U - 585 " ; however post - war analysis found that " U - 585 " was lost elsewhere . By 30 March most ships had arrived at Murmansk ; the last stragglers came in on 1 April . 6 ships were lost in this convoy . The Germans sank five freighters . One whaler , ( ) , was lost , probably due to heavy icing , and the cruiser , " Trinidad " , was damaged . Against this one German destroyer had been sunk . Fourteen ships had arrived safely , more than two - thirds of the convoy . Ship list . The convoy to Russia consisted of 19 freighters , a Fleet Oiler , and 3 whalers , In Russia , HMS " Silja " was renamed " T - 107 " and the HMS " Sumba " was renamed " T - 106 " . Convoy Escorts . For the first stage , from Loch Ewe to Reykjavík , PQ 13 had a local escort of two destroyers and an ASW Trawler . From Iceland to Murmansk the close escort consisted of the cruiser HMS " Trinidad " and the destroyers HMS " Fury " and HMS " Eclipse " , two armed trawlers and three minesweepers . For the final leg the convoy was supported by the local escort based at Kola ; two Soviet destroyers and four RN minesweepers . Loch Ewe - Reykjavík : 10 – 16 March . Leaving Loch Ewe in the afternoon of the 10th , the convoy was escorted by : On the 11th , another escort joined the convoy : Reykjavík - Murmansk : 18 – 31 March . Leaving Reykjavík in the morning of the 18th , the convoy was escorted by : On the 23rd , other escorts joined the convoy : The Barents Sea - Murmansk : 27 March - 3 April ; On the 27th , the convoy was joined by two Soviet destroyers : On 28 March the convoy was assisted by the involvement of the Sixth Minesweeping Flotilla operating here . , , and of the Sixth Minesweeping Flotilla , under command of commander E . P . Hinton , sailed on the 28 April for a patrol in the Arctic waters . On the 29th " Harrier " went for a search for survivors of the Empire Ranger . On the 29th " Speedwell " attempted to intercept " Harpalion " , but failed to find her . found abandoned boats of " Empire Ranger " on the 29th which indicated they were picked up by other boats . ( A German wireless claimed prisoners from a merchant ship , it was obvious they were from the " Empire Ranger " ) On the 30th March , " Gossamer " found the " Scottish American " , " Effingham " and " Dunboyne " . But " Gossamer " received orders to proceed to the position of the torpedoed " Indua " , but failed to find her . " Hussar " made contact with a group of 9 ships of PQ 13 and a whaler . Escorted by two Russian destroyers and a trawler . " Oribi " sighted the whaler " Silja " who had run out of fuel . " Oribi " was ordered to go to the aid of " River Afton " which was reported to have been hit by a U - boat . " Harrier " took " Silja " in tow and " Speedwell " escorted them . On 1 April , ( also of the Sixth Minesweeping Flotilla ) sailed to search for " Sulla " , but returned on the 3rd of April , having failed to find her . Total convoy losses . After an attack on the 28 March 1942 , 16 crewmembers of the " Ballot " left the ship in a lifeboat . These men were picked up by " Silja " and put on board " Induna " . Aftermath . " New Westminster City " and " Empire Starlight " were bombed in Murmansk port on the 3rd of April . " New Westminster City " was lost , " Empire Starlight " was salvaged post war and renamed " Murmansk " . " Harpalion " and " Empire Cowper " were lost on the return convoy , Convoy QP 10 .