Operation Dervish (1941)

Operation Dervish was the first of the Arctic Convoys of the Second World War by which the Western Allies supplied material to the Soviet Union in its fight with Nazi Germany. Included in the convoy was the personnel and equipment of an RAF Wing, for the air defence of the Russian ports, and several civilians and diplomatic missions.

Operation Dervish
Part of Arctic naval operations of the Second World War

HMS Salamander (photographed in 1943, IWM FL 18563)
Date21–31 August 1941
Location
Arctic Ocean
75°N 40°E (Barents Sea)
Result Allied victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom
 Soviet Union		  Germany
Commanders and leaders
Rear Admiral Robert Burnett Admiral Rolf Carls
Strength
6 merchantmen
1 fleet oiler
14 escorts in relays

The convoy sailed from Liverpool on 12 August 1941 and arrived at Archangelsk on 31 August 1941. There were no attempts by the Luftwaffe or the Kriegsmarine to intercept the convoy and neither side suffered casualties.

Co-incident with the Dervish convoy, civilians in the Spitzbergen archipelago were evacuated in Operation Gauntlet (25 August – 3 September 1941) and Dervish was followed by Operation Strength (30 August – 14 September 1941) to transport aircraft for No. 151 Wing RAF at Archangel; both operations succeeded.

Background

On 22 June 1941, the Soviet Union was invaded by Nazi Germany and its allies. That evening, Winston Churchill broadcast a promise of assistance to the USSR against the common enemy. On 7 July, Churchill wrote to Stalin and ordered the British ambassador in Moscow, Stafford Cripps, to begin discussions for a treaty of mutual assistance. On 12 July, an Anglo-Soviet Agreement was signed in Moscow, to fight together and not make a separate peace.[1] On the same day a Soviet commission met the Royal Navy and the RAF in London and it was decided to use the airfield at Vaenga (now Severomorsk) as a fighter base to defend ships unloading at the ports of Murmansk, Arkhangelsk and Polyarny.[2] The First Sea Lord, Admiral Dudley Pound considered such proposals unsound, "with the dice loaded against us in every direction".[3] When Arctic convoys passed by the north of Norway into the Barents Sea, they came well into range of German aircraft, U-boats and ships operating from bases in Norway and Finland. The ports of arrival, especially Murmansk, only about 15 mi (24 km) east of the front line were vulnerable to attack by the Luftwaffe.[2]

Prelude

Plans

The Dervish convoy was part of a series of operations in the Arctic during August 1941. In July the British had conducted Operation EF, an attack on the ports of Kirkenes and Petsamo by carrier aircraft, while the fast minelayer Adventure had run to Archangel with a cargo of parachute mines. At the end of July a cruiser force commanded by Rear Admiral Philip Vian had investigated the Spitzbergen archipelago for signs of German activity and had destroyed a weather station on Hope Island.[4] In August a convoy of six ships loaded with war materiel was to sail to Archangel, together with a contingent of RAF personnel to prepare the way for Operation Strength, a plan to fly 48 Hurricane fighters from the aircraft carrier Argus to airfields in Russia, in a similar manner to the Club Run operations in the Mediterranean. At the same time Vian was to return to Spitzbergen and evacuate the population in Operation Gauntlet.[5]

Ships

The convoy consisted of the merchant ships Lancastrian Prince, New Westminster City, Esneh, Trehata, the elderly SS Llanstephan Castle, the fleet oiler RFA Aldersdale and the Dutch freighter Alchiba.[6] The convoy carried wool, rubber and tin and 24 crated Hawker Hurricane fighter aircraft.[7] The Convoy Commodore was Captain J. C. K. Dowding RNR in Llanstephan Castle. Also on board were most of the 2,700 men of 151 Wing Royal Air Force (RAF), including fourteen pilots and civilians including Vernon Bartlett MP, the US newspaper reporter Wallace Carrol, Feliks Topolski, the Polish expressionist painter and official British and Polish war artist, a Polish legation, a Czechoslovak commission and Charlotte Haldane, a noted feminist and member of the Communist Party of Great Britain, who lectured on Domestic life in Russia as part of an impromptu course laid on by the civilian passengers.[8]

The convoy was protected by an ocean escort comprising the destroyer Electra and two Anti-submarine warfare trawlers, Hamlet and Macbeth. These were joined later by two more destroyers, Active and Impulsive and the trawler Ophelia. They were supported in the first and second stages of the voyage by the anti-aircraft auxiliary ship Pozarica and the trawlers Celia, St. Cathan and Le Tiger. The second stage escorts were replaced in the third stage by the minesweepers Halcyon, Salamander and Harrier which had been posted to north Russia to act as a local escort force. The convoy was also accompanied by the cruiser Aurora, en route to join the force for Operation Gauntlet. The operations were supported by a Distant Cover Force from the Home Fleet, the carrier HMS Victorious and the cruisers Devonshire and Suffolk with the destroyers Eclipse, Escapade and Inglefield.[6]

Voyage

The convoy sailed for Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands from Liverpool on 12 August 1941 and arrived on 16 August.[6] Another fifteen Hurricanes packed in crates were loaded on the other ships at Scapa Flow.[9] The ships departed from Scapa Flow on 17 August and the convoy reached Hvalfjord in Iceland on 20 August, departing for Russia the next day.[6] The Gauntlet force departed Scapa Flow on 19 August and rendezvoused with the cruiser Aurora, which had been sailing with the Dervish convoy. The Distant Cover Force sailed on 24 August, taking station near Bear Island to cover all operations against surface attack by the German Navy.[10]

The convoy sailed towards the Svalbard Archipelago and the midnight sun, to circle as far north around Norway as possible. The danger of Luftwaffe attacks on Murmansk led to the ships being diverted to Archangelsk, another 400 mi (640 km) to the east. As Llanstephan Castle sailed upriver to dock, rifle shots were heard and a member of the crew was hit in the arm, the gunfire coming from people onshore, who mistook the British uniforms for German ones.[11] The Gauntlet force departed Spitzbergen on 3 August, returning to Scapa Flow on 10 September. The Strength force sailed on 30 August, as the Dervish convoy was arriving and reached the flying-off point on 7 September. This was accomplished and the force returned to port on 14 September.[5] The Distant Cover Force returned at the same time, after launching air attacks on targets in occupied Norway.[12]

Other operations

Operation Gauntlet
Main article: Operation Gauntlet
Norwegian population readying for evacuation from Longyearbyen

Operation Gauntlet was an Allied Combined Operation to land on the Spitzbergen archipelago, to evacuate Norwegian and Soviet civilians there and to destroy facilities to deny them to the Germans. A force of two cruisers and four destroyers, with the troopship Empress of Canada and a replenishment oiler left British waters on 19 August 1941, arriving at Spitzbergen on 25 August.[13] After evacuating Soviet coal miners at Barentsburg and Norwegians at Longyearbyen, the coal mining and shipping infrastructure, equipment and stores there were destroyed. The Allies also suppressed wireless stations on the archipelago, to prevent the Germans receiving weather reports.[14] The Allies departed the archipelago on 3 September having suffered no casualties, the local civilians were repatriated, several ships were taken as prizes and Bremse, a German gunnery training ship, was sunk on the return journey.[15]

Operation Strength

The old aircraft carrier Argus (launched in 1917) took part in Operation Strength (30 August – 14 September) with the heavy cruiser Shropshire and the destroyers Matabele, Punjabi and Somali, protected by the Dervish covering force.[16] Strength ferried pilots, their 24 Hurricanes and other personnel of 151 Wing RAF to Russia; the Hurricanes were flown off Argus direct to Vaenga airfield, near Murmansk. The ships reached the flying-off point safely due to the scarcity of Luftwaffe reconnaissance aircraft in the region.[9] Normal naval aircraft used a ramp at the end of the flight deck to help get into the air but the Hurricane undercarriage turned out to be not robust enough and the first two Hurricanes to take-off were damaged. The rest of the aircraft avoided the ramp and the damaged Hurricanes crashed on landing at Vaenga.[17]

Aftermath

Dervish was followed by a regular series of convoys numbered like their Atlantic counterparts. The first homeward-bound convoy, QP 1 included the Dervish merchant ships and carrying Polish troops stranded in the USSR, left Archangelsk on 28 September 1941 and arrived at Scapa Flow on 9 October. The eleven ships of Convoy PQ 1, the first convoy of the PQ series, carrying twenty tanks, 193 fighter aircraft and other cargo, sailed from Iceland on 28 September, arriving at Archangelsk on 11 October after an uneventful trip.[18]

Commemoration

The operation is often remembered in both countries as an example of direct co-operation between of British Armed Forces and the Red Army. The British Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, Winston Churchill, said that the operation and the larger convoys were "the worst journey in the world".[19] Many veterans of the operation have since 2012 been awarded the Arctic Star for their service.[20] In August 2016, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the start of the Operation, Princess Anne visited Arkhangelsk to celebrate as a guest of Governor Igor Orlov.[21] The Princess gave a speech and met Russian and British veterans of the operation.[22] A Band of the Royal Marines performed alongside a military band from the Northern Fleet after a wreath laying ceremony.[23][24]

Ships involved
Operation Dervish

The Dervish convoy comprised six merchantmen and one fleet oiler, protected by 14 escorts in relays. The convoy sailed from Loch Ewe on 12 August and arrived at Archangel on 31 August.[6]

Merchant ships
Name Flag Tonnage (GRT) Notes
Aldersdale Royal Fleet Auxiliary8,402Replenishment oiler
Alchiba Netherlands4,427 
Esneh United Kingdom1,931 
Lancastrian Prince United Kingdom1,914 
Llanstephan Castle United Kingdom11,348Convoy Commodore
New Westminster City United Kingdom4,747 
Trehata United Kingdom4,817 
Escorts
Name Flag Ship Type Notes
Active Royal NavyDestroyerOcean escort, 16–29 August
Aurora Royal NavyCruiserCruiser cover, 16–18 August
Celia Royal NavyASW Trawler1st/2nd stage support, 12–21 August
Electra Royal NavyDestroyerOcean escort, 12–29 August
Halcyon Royal NavyMinesweeper3rd stage support, 20–31 August
Hamlet Royal NavyASW TrawlerOcean escort, 12–31 August
Harrier Royal NavyMinesweeper3rd stage support, 20–31 August
Impulsive Royal NavyDestroyerOcean escort, 16–29 August
Le Tiger Royal NavyASW Trawler1st/2nd stage support, 12–21 August
Macbeth Royal NavyASW TrawlerOcean escort, 12–31 August
Ophelia Royal NavyASW TrawlerOcean escort, 19–31 August
Pozarica Royal NavyAA cruiser1st/2nd stage support, 12–21 August
St. Cathan Royal NavyASW Trawler1st/2nd stage support, 12–21 August
Salamander Royal NavyMinesweeper3rd stage support, 20–31 August
Distant Cover Force

The Distant Cover Force sailed from Scapa Flow on 24 August and returned on 14 September.[16]

Name Flag Ship Type Notes
Devonshire Royal NavyCruiser 
Eclipse Royal NavyDestroyer 
Escapade Royal NavyDestroyer 
Inglefield Royal NavyDestroyer 
Suffolk Royal NavyCruiser 
HMS Victorious (Flagship) Royal NavyAircraft carrierR Adm. Frederic Wake-Walker
Operation Gauntlet

The Gauntlet task Force sailed from the Clyde on 19 August and returned on 7 September.[25]

Name Flag Ship Type Notes
Antelope Royal NavyDestroyer
HMS Anthony Royal NavyDestroyer 
HMS Aurora Royal NavyCruiser 
RMS Empress of Canada Royal Fleet AuxiliaryTroopship 
Icarus Royal NavyDestroyer 
HMS Nigeria (Flagship) Royal NavyCruiserR Adm. Philip Vian
RFA Oligarch Royal Fleet AuxiliaryReplenishment oiler 
Operation Strength

The Strength Task Force sailed from Scapa Flow on 30 August and returned on 14 September.[16]

Name Flag Ship Type Notes
Argus Royal NavyAircraft carrierAircraft from 151 Wing RAF in transit
Matabele Royal NavyDestroyer
Punjabi Royal NavyDestroyer
Somali Royal NavyDestroyer
Shropshire Royal NavyCruiser

Footnotes
  1. Golley 1987, p. 59.
  2. Richards & Saunders 1975, p. 78.
  3. Woodman 2004, pp. 8–15.
  4. Roskill 1957, pp. 485–486, 488.
  5. Kemp 1993, p. 18.
  6. Ruegg & Hague 1993, p. 20.
  7. Rohwer & Hummelchen 1992, p. 79.
  8. Golley 1987, p. 89.
  9. Woodman 2004, pp. 36–37.
  10. Stacey 1956, pp. 303–305.
  11. Golley 1987, pp. 82, 85–90.
  12. Stacey 1956, p. 306; Roskill 1957, p. 489.
  13. Stacey 1956, pp. 303–304.
  14. Stacey 1956, pp. 304–306.
  15. Kemp 1993, pp. 18–19.
  16. Ruegg & Hague 1993, p. 21.
  17. Harkins 2013, p. 5.
  18. Woodman 2004, pp. 42–44.
  19. Russia honors first British Arctic convoy, 75 years on Dmitry Madorsky, 31 August 2016 Reuters (6 October 2019)
  20. "Worst Journey in the World": Special Medal Awarded to Arctic Convoy Veterans Coilin O'Connor, 20 March 2013 Radio Liberty (6 October 2019)
  21. UK's Princess Anne pays tribute to Arctic Convoys in Arkhangelsk Anna Chistyakova 1 Sept 2016 Russia Beyond (6 October 2019)
  22. Britain's Princess Anne To Visit Arkhangelsk For WWII Commemoration Anon. 13 August 2016, Radio Liberty (6 October 2019)
  23. Britain’s Princess Anne Travels to Russia to Commemorate the Bravery of WW2 Arctic Convoy Sailors George Winston, 16 September 2016: War History Online (6 October 2019)
  24. Princess Anne visits Arkhangelsk Diplomacy Online. Embassy of the Russian Federation (6 October 2019)
  25. Ruegg & Hague 1993, pp. 20–21.

References
  • Golley, J. (1987). Hurricanes over Murmansk (1st ed.). Wellingborough: Patrick Stephens. ISBN 978-0-85059-832-2.
  • Harkins, H. (2013). Hurricane IIB Combat Log: 151 Wing RAF North Russia 1941. Glasgow: Centurion. ISBN 978-1-903630-46-4.
  • Kemp, Paul (1993). Convoy! Drama in Arctic Waters. London: Arms & Armour. ISBN 1-85409-130-1.
  • Richards, Denis; St G. Saunders, H. (1975) [1954]. Royal Air Force 1939–1945: The Fight Avails. History of the Second World War, Military Series. II (pbk. ed.). London: HMSO. ISBN 978-0-11-771593-6. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  • Rohwer, J.; Hummelchen, G. (1992). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945 (2nd rev. exp. ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-105-9.
  • Roskill, S. W. (1957) [1954]. Butler, J. R. M. (ed.). The War at Sea 1939–1945: The Defensive. History of the Second World War United Kingdom Military Series. I (4th impr. ed.). London: HMSO. OCLC 881709135. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  • Ruegg, R.; Hague, A. (1993) [1992]. Convoys to Russia: Allied Convoys and Naval Surface Operations in Arctic Waters 1941–1945 (2nd rev. enl. ed.). Kendal: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-66-5.
  • Stacey, C. P. (1956) [1955]. Six Years of War: The Army in Canada, Britain and the Pacific. Official History of the Canadian Army in the Second World War. I (online 2008, Dept. of National Defence, Directorate of History and Heritage ed.). Ottawa: Authority of the Minister of National Defence. OCLC 317352934. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  • Woodman, Richard (2004) [1994]. Arctic Convoys 1941–1945. London: John Murray. ISBN 978-0-7195-5752-1.

Further reading
  • Cain, Timothy J. (1976) [1959]. HMS Electra (repr. Futura, London ed.). London: Frederick Miller. ISBN 978-0-86007-330-7.
  • Humble, Richard (1971). Hitler's High Seas Fleet. Ballantine's Illustrated History of a Violent Century, Battle Book. 23. New York: Ballantine Books. OCLC 464061927.
  • Schofield, Bernard (1964). The Russian Convoys. London: BT Batsford. OCLC 906102591.
  • Wragg, D. (2005). Sacrifice for Stalin: The Cost and Value of Arctic Convoys Re-assessed. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Maritime. ISBN 1-84415-357-6.
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