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Convoy QP 13
Convoy QP 13 was an Arctic convoy of the PQ/QP series which ran during the Second World War. It was the thirteenth of the numbered series of convoys of merchant ships westbound from the Arctic ports of Arkhangelsk and Murmansk to the United Kingdom, Iceland, and North America. Ships Convoy QP 13 consisted of 35 merchant ships, most of which had arrived with Convoy PQ 16. The convoy commodore was Capt. N. H. Gale Royal Navy Reserve (RNR) in ''Empire Selwyn''. Most of the ships were returning empty after delivering war material to the Soviet Union, but some Soviet ships carried cargoes of export timber. Convoy QP 13 was escorted by five destroyers, , , , and ; two Anti submarine warfare (ASW) minesweepers, and and four corvettes , , and . The close escort was supplemented by the anti-aircraft ship and the trawlers and . The convoy sailed simultaneously with eastbound convoy PQ 17 for both convoys to benefit from the heavy covering force of the British aircraft carrier , the b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arctic Convoys
The Arctic convoys of World War II were oceangoing convoys which sailed from the United Kingdom, Iceland, and North America to northern ports in the Soviet Union – primarily Arkhangelsk (Archangel) and Murmansk in Russia. There were 78 convoys between August 1941 and May 1945, sailing via several seas of the Atlantic and Arctic oceans, with periods with no sailings during several months in 1942, and in the summers of 1943 and 1944. About 1,400 merchant ships delivered essential supplies to the Soviet Union under the Anglo-Soviet Agreement and US Lend-Lease program, escorted by ships of the Royal Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, and the U.S. Navy. Eighty-five merchant vessels and 16 Royal Navy warships (two cruisers, six destroyers, eight other escort ships) were lost. Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' lost a number of vessels including one battleship, three destroyers, 30 U-boats, and many aircraft. The convoys demonstrated the Allies' commitment to helping the Soviet Union, prior to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anti Submarine Warfare
Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are typically carried out to protect friendly shipping and coastal facilities from submarine attacks and to overcome blockades. Successful ASW operations typically involve a combination of sensor and weapon technologies, along with effective deployment strategies and sufficiently trained personnel. Typically, sophisticated sonar equipment is used for first detecting, then classifying, locating, and tracking a target submarine. Sensors are therefore a key element of ASW. Common weapons for attacking submarines include torpedoes and naval mines, which can both be launched from an array of air, surface, and underwater platforms. ASW capabilities are often considered of significant strategic importance, particularly following provocative instanc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reykjavík
Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. Reykjavík has a population of around 139,000 as of 2025. The surrounding Capital Region (Iceland), Capital Region has a population of around 249,000, constituting around 64% of the country's population. Reykjavík is believed to be the location of the first permanent settlement in Iceland, which, according to , was established by Ingólfr Arnarson, Ingólfur Arnarson in 874 Anno Domini, AD. Until the 18th century, there was no urban development in the city location. The city was officially founded in 1786 as a trading town and grew steadily over the following decades, as it transformed into a regional and later Country, national centre of commerce, population, and governmental activities. Re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Naval Armed Guard
The United States Navy Armed Guard was a force of United States Navy gunners and related personnel established during World War II to protect U.S. merchant shipping from enemy attack.World War II U.S. Navy Armed Guard and World War II U.S. Merchant Marine, 2007-2014 Project Liberty Ship, Project Liberty Ship, P.O. Box 25846 Highlandtown Station, Baltimore, M/ref> A shortage of escort vessels to provide unarmed merchant vessels with adequate protection shifted the burden to onboard crews to help counter the constant danger presented by Axis (World War II), Axis submarines, surface raiders, fighter aircraft and bombers. The NAG was headquartered in New Orleans, and had three training centers, at Norfolk, Virginia; San Diego, California; and Gulfport, Mississippi. At the end of the war, there were 144,857 men serving in the Navy Armed Guard on 6,200 ships.Armed Guard - Sea Lane Vigilantes, Project Liberty Ship, 201/ref> Unit composition The United States Navy Armed Guard ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Naval Mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive weapon placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Similar to anti-personnel mine, anti-personnel and other land mines, and unlike purpose launched naval depth charges, they are deposited and left to wait until, depending on their fuzing, they are triggered by the approach of or contact with any vessel. Naval mines can be used offensively, to hamper enemy shipping movements or lock vessels into a harbour; or defensively, to create "safe" zones protecting friendly sea lanes, harbours, and naval assets. Mines allow the minelaying force commander to concentrate warships or defensive assets in mine-free areas giving the adversary three choices: undertake a resource-intensive and time-consuming minesweeping effort, accept the casualties of challenging the minefield, or use the unmined waters where the greatest concentration of enemy firepower will be encountered. Although international law requires signatory nations ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Denmark Strait
The Denmark Strait is the strait that separates Greenland from Iceland. Geography The strait connects the Greenland Sea, an extension of the Arctic Ocean, to the Irminger Sea, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is long. The narrowest part of the strait is wide and lies between Straumnes, on Iceland's Hornstrandir peninsula, and Cape Tupinier, on Greenland's Blosseville Coast. According to the International Hydrographic Organization, the dividing line between the Arctic and the North Atlantic Oceans runs from Straumnes to Cape Nansen, southwest of Cape Tunipier. Hydrography The narrow depth, where the Greenland–Iceland Rise runs along the bottom of the sea, is . The cold East Greenland Current passes through the strait and carries icebergs south into the North Atlantic. It hosts important fisheries. The world's largest known underwater waterfall, known as the Denmark Strait cataract, flows down the western side of the Denmark Strait. Battle of the Denmark Strait ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northern Barrage
The Northern Barrage was the name given to minefields laid by the British during World War II to restrict German access to the Atlantic Ocean. The barrage stretched from the Orkney to the Faroe Islands and on toward Iceland. Mines were also laid in the Denmark Strait, north of Iceland. Concept The objective of a defensive minefield is to restrict movement of enemy ships into areas used by friendly shipping. The assumed presence of a minefield may have a morale effect of assumed risk in addition to actually damaging ships attempting to cross the field. In July 1939, before World War II had begun, the possibility of a Northern Barrage between the Orkney Islands and Norway (similar to the North Sea Mine Barrage of World War I) had been considered. Other alternatives were investigated after the Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany, occupation of Norway by the Germans in April 1940. Conventional mines of the era employed a contact-fuzed explosive charge within a buoyant shell suspe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hubert Schmundt
Hubert Schmundt (19 September 1888 – 17 October 1984) was a German admiral during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Career Schmundt joined the German Imperial Navy (''Kaiserliche Marine'') as a cadet in 1908 and was commissioned as a lieutenant in 1911. He was serving with the East Asia Squadron aboard between 1910 and 1913 and returned to Germany in 1913. During World War I he was flag lieutenant of the 3rd destroyer flotilla and commanded the destroyer ''V71'' being promoted to Kapitänleutnant in 1918. Schmundt was awarded the Iron Cross first and second class. Schmundt remained in the Navy after the end of the war and in the 1920s commanded the torpedo boat ''S18'' and served as a staff officer. He was promoted to Korvettenkapitän in 1927 and served as an aide to Defence Minister Wilhelm Groener between 1929 and 1932. During the 1930s, Schmundt commanded the light cruisers Königsberg (1934–35) and Nürnberg (1935� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North Cape, Norway
The North Cape (; ) is a cape on the northern coast of the island of Magerøya in Northern Norway. The cape is in Nordkapp Municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The European route E69 motorway (highway) has its northern terminus at the North Cape, which makes it the northernmost point in Europe that can be accessed by car and makes the E69 the northernmost public road in Europe. The plateau is a popular tourist attraction. The cape includes a with a large flat plateau on top, where visitors, weather permitting, can watch the midnight sun and views of the Barents Sea to the north. North Cape Hall, a visitor centre, was built in 1988 on the plateau. It includes a café, restaurant, post office, souvenir shop, a small museum, and video cinema. Geography The steep cliff of the North Cape is located at , about from the North Pole. Nordkapp is often inaccurately referred to as the northernmost point of Europe. However, the neighbouring Knivskjellodden Cape actually extends ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HMS Intrepid
Eight ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS ''Intrepid'': * was a 64-gun third rate, previously the French ship ''Sérieux''. She was captured in 1747 and broken up by 1765. * was a 64-gun third rate launched in 1770, used for harbour service from 1810 and sold in 1828. * was a 16-gun sloop launched in 1780. She foundered in 1800. * was a wood-hulled screw discovery sloop, previously the civilian ''Free Trade'', launched in 1847 by R & H Green at Blackwall. The Navy purchased her on 28 February 1850 and briefly named her HMS ''Perseverance''; she became HMS ''Intrepid'' in March 1850. She was abandoned, icebound, in the Arctic on 15 June 1854. * was a wooden screw gunvessel launched in 1855 and sold in 1864. * was an protected cruiser launched in 1891. She was converted to a minelayer in 1910 and was sunk as a blockship in the Zeebrugge raid The Zeebrugge Raid (; ) on 23 April 1918, was an attempt by the Royal Navy to block the Belgium, Belgian port of Bruges-Zeeb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the first, largest, fastest, most heavily armed, or best known. Over the years, the term "flagship" has become a metaphor used in industries such as broadcasting, automobiles, education, technology, airlines, and retail to refer to their highest quality, best known, or most expensive products and locations. Naval use In common naval use, the term ''flagship'' is fundamentally a temporary designation; the flagship is wherever the admiral's flag is being flown. However, admirals have always needed additional facilities, including a meeting room large enough to hold all the captains of the fleet and a place for the admiral's staff to make plans and draw up orders. Historically, only larger ships could accommodate such requirements. The ter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
