Convoy RA 55A was an

Arctic convoy 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 ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It was one of a series of convoys run to return Allied ships from

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

northern ports to ports in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

. It sailed in late December 1943, reaching British ports at the end of the month. All ships arrived safely.

Forces

RA 55A consisted of 23 merchant ships which departed from

Kola Inlet Kola Bay () or Murmansk Fjord is a 57-km-long fjord of the Barents Sea that cuts into the northern part of the Kola Peninsula. It is up to 7 km wide and has a depth of 200 to 300 metres. The Tuloma, Rosta and Kola Rivers discharge into t ...

on 22 December 1943. Close escort was provided by the two destroyers, ''Westcott'' and ''Beagle'', a minesweeper and three corvettes. There was also an Ocean escort, comprising the destroyer ''Milne'' (Capt. IMR Campbell commanding) and seven other

Home Fleet The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet. Before the First ...

destroyers. A cruiser cover force comprising ''Belfast'' (V.Adm R Burnett commanding), ''Norfolk'', and ''Sheffield'' also followed the convoy from

Murmansk Murmansk () is a port city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast in the far Far North (Russia), northwest part of Russia. It is the world's largest city north of the Arctic Circle and sits on both slopes and banks of a modest fjord, Ko ...

, to guard against attack by surface units. Distant cover would be provided by a Heavy Cover Force comprising the battleship ''Duke of York'', the cruiser ''Jamaica'' and four destroyers under the command of V Adm. Bruce Fraser, which at the time of RA 55A's departure was trailing the Murmansk-bound

convoy JW 55B Convoy JW 55B was an Arctic convoy sent from Great Britain by the Western Allies to aid the Soviet Union during World War II. It sailed in late December 1943, reaching the Soviet northern ports at the end of the month. All ships arrived safely. ...

. RA 55A was threatened by a U-boat force of eight boats in a patrol line, code-named ''Eisenbart'', in the

Norwegian Sea The Norwegian Sea (; ; ) is a marginal sea, grouped with either the Atlantic Ocean or the Arctic Ocean, northwest of Norway between the North Sea and the Greenland Sea, adjoining the Barents Sea to the northeast. In the southwest, it is separate ...

, and a surface force comprising the battleship ''Scharnhorst'' and five destroyers was also available, stationed at Altenfjord.

Action

Convoy RA 55A sailed from Kola with its escort on 22 December 1943, two days after JW 55B had sailed from Britain. The Admiralty were aware of the threat of a sortie by ''Scharnhorst'' and Adm Fraser was placed in overall command of the operation, co-ordinating the movements of both convoys and the various escort forces. On 25 December 1943 Fraser received intelligence that ''Scharnhorst'' had sailed; RA 55A was diverted north, to avoid detection, and later that day, was ordered to dispatch four of the supporting destroyers to reinforce JW 55B. The destroyers , , and were sent, later taking part in the

Battle of the North Cape The Battle of the North Cape was a Second World War naval battle that occurred on 26 December 1943, as part of the Arctic campaign. The , on an operation to attack Arctic convoys of war materiel from the western Allies to the Soviet Union, ...

, which saw the destruction of ''Scharnhorst''. Convoy RA 55A was not sighted by any Axis forces, and cleared the danger area without further incident. The convoy was met on 30 December 1943 by the western local escort, two minesweepers and two corvettes, and arrived safely at

Loch Ewe Loch Ewe () is a sea loch in the region of Wester Ross in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The shores are inhabited by a traditionally Gàidhlig-speaking people living in or sustained by crofting villages, the most notable of which, si ...

on 1 January 1944.

Conclusion

The 23 ships of RA 55A arrived in Britain without loss, while the German attempt to attack the convoy had led to the loss of ''Scharnhorst'', their last operational capital ship in Norway; an action in which RA 55A's escorting destroyers had played a significant role.

Ships involved

Allied ships

Merchant ships * ''Arthur L Perry'' * ''Daniel Drake'' * ''Edmund Fanning'' * ''Empire Carpenter'' * ''Empire Celia'' * ''Empire Nigel'' * ''Fort McMurray'' * ''Fort Yukon'' * ''Gilbert Stuart'' * ''Henry Villard'' * ''James Smith'' * ''Junecrest'' * ''Mijdrecht'' * ''Ocean Strength'' * ''Ocean Vanity'' * ''Ocean Verity'' * ''Park Holland'' * ''Rathlin'' * ''San Adolfo'' * ''Thomas Kearns'' * ''Thomas Sim Lee'' * ''William L Marcy'' * ''William Windom'' Close escort * ''Westcott'' * ''Beagle'' * ''Seagull'' * ''Dianella'' * ''Poppy'' * ''Acanthus'' Ocean escort * ''Milne'' (SOE) * ''Meteor'' * ''Ashanti'' * ''Athabaskan'' * ''Matchless'' * ''Musketeer'' * ''Opportune'' * Cruiser cover force * ''Belfast'' (flag) * ''Norfolk'' * ''Sheffield'' Distant Cover Force * ''Duke of York'' (flag) * ''Jamaica'' * ''Saumarez'' * ''Savage'' * ''Scorpion'' * ''Stord''

Axis ships

U-boat force * * * * * * Surface force * ''Scharnhorst'' (flag) * ''Z29'' * ''Z30'' * ''Z33'' * ''Z34'' * ''Z38''

Forces

Action

Conclusion

Ships involved

Allied ships

Axis ships

Notes

References

Further reading