convoys to Russia

[bruce]

I am researching the names on a local war memorial, and one of the men was drowned when HMS Partidge was sunk by German surface elements off Norway on December 12th, 1917. The Partidge was escorting five neutral merchantmen to northern Russia. As is so often the case, the more you find out - the more questions arise. Why were we sending convoys to Russia after the Bolshevik take-over? What was the Partridge escorting?

Incidentally, nice of the Norwegian Govt in 1961 to move British war dead from scattered cemeteries (in this case Bivindvik, in the Artcic Circle) to one cemetery near Oslo...much easier to reach!

I'd be very interested in any info. on the convoy concerned.

[sotonmate]

Bruce

www.navweaps.com/index_oob/OOB_WW1OOB_WW1_Norwegian-Raid.htm

Sotonmate

[sotonmate]

Bruce

Better make the 1s in WW1 as capital letter I,the number 1 doesn't work !!

Sotonmate

[bruce]

Wow! A member for under 10 minutes...and I get an answer!

Many thanks!

[Michael Lowrey]

The convoy in question was most definitely not going to Russia. It was going to Norway.

The ships sunk were HMS PARTRIDGE, HMTs COMMANDER FULLERTON, LIVINGSTON, TOKIO, and LORD ALVERSTONE and the merchant ships BOLLSTA, KONG MAGNUS, MARACAIBO, BOTHNIA, TORLEIF, and CORDOVA. The steamers were loaded with coal and coke.

Best wishes,

Michael

[jhill]

Of course the so-called North Russian Expedition later on involved Russian convoys. For example, on September 21, 1918 a convoy left Dundee for Arkangel. General Ironsides embarked on the S. S. Stephen.

[ionia]

The destroyers PARTRIDGE and PELLEW (Senior Officer) plus four armed trawlers were escorting a convoy of one British and five neutral ships on the Lerwick-Bergen route. There were two covering forces at sea - the armoured cruisers SHANNON and MINOTAUR with four destroyers about 60 nm west of the east-bound convoy at the time of the attack and the 3rd Light Cruiser Squadron (CHATHAM, YARMOUTH, BIRKENHEAD) about 80 nm SE of the convoy.

The raiding force of four modern German destroyers (3rd Half Flotilla) attacked at 1155 about 25 nm SW of Bjornefjord. They were sighted by the PARTRIDGE but, because of a defective searchlight, she was unable to make the challenge for about ten minutes, which delay enabled the German ships to close. The two British destroyers were separated at the time of the attack and were engaging from leeward in rough weather which made sighting of their guns very difficult. PARTRIDGE sent an urgent signal reporting the engagement but was then sunk and PELLEW damaged (being saved from destruction by a rain aquall). The trawlers and merchantmen were all sunk. The German force retired through the Skagerrak, narrowly escaping contact with the 3rd LCS.

This was the second (and last) Scandinavian convoy to be attacked by German surface forces. An earlier attack by the fast German light cruisers BRUMMER and BREMSE on 17th October, 1917 against a west-bound convoy, 65 nm E of Lerwick, had also been successful. A third attack, by the High Seas Fleet in April, 1918, failed to make contact with a convoy.

[bobbluesboy]

The convoys were attacked for partly political reasons,to raise moral in the German fleet and also an extension of the raiding policy which was responsible for the East Coast town attacks in England.Part of the plan was to draw out part of the scapa flow main fleet and then destroy it by luring it into a trap.Regards Bob.

[ionia]

In respect of the two earlier attacks - by two light cruisers and by four destroyers - there was no plan to trap part of the Grand Fleet. The High Seas Fleet did not leave harbour on either occasion. In the case of the light cruisers, in Scheer's words: "the light cruisers Brummer and Bremse received orders to make a raid on the traffic route between Lerwick, in the Shetland Islands, and Bergen, the object being to inflict damage on English trade by surface craft as well as by U-boats. In the event of their encountering nothing there they were to push on at their own discretion to the west of the British Isles into the Atlantic, as far as their fuel supply would allow".

The planned third attack, which involved the HSF, did have in mind the destruction of the heavy escort which these convoys then had.