What are the details of the Battle of the Barents Sea
The Battle of Barents Sea (Battle of Barents Sea, December 31, 1942) was a battle that took place in the Barents Sea A naval battle broke out between Britain and Nazi Germany in the sea.
In this naval battle, the German Navy concentrated a heavy cruiser and a pocket battleship in an attempt to intercept a British convoy convoy heading to the Soviet Union. During the battle, the German fleet, which had a numerical advantage, caused the convoy to escape safely due to poor command, and missed a good opportunity to annihilate the convoy aiding the Soviet Union. The failure of this naval battle also directly led to the resignation of General Erich Raeder, commander of the German Navy.
On December 22, 1942, the JW51B escort transport team set sail from Ewe Firth, Scotland. The fleet consists of 14 transport ships, carrying 202 tanks, 2,046 military vehicles, 87 fighter jets, 33 bombers, 11,500 tons of oil, 12,650 tons of aviation fuel and approximately 54, 000 tons of supplies, heading to Kola Bay, Soviet Union.
On December 25, the transport team met with the escort formation in Iceland. The escort formation consists of 6 destroyers, 2 small frigates, 1 minesweeper and 2 armed trawlers. The commander is Colonel Robert St. Vincent Sherbrooke, and the flagship destroyer Onslow.
In addition, the Royal Navy also dispatched 2 light cruisers and 2 destroyers, under the command of Rear Admiral Robert Lindsay Burnett, to the Barents Sea to stand by for the transport team. Provides long-range cover.
After leaving Iceland, the JW51B transport team sailed northeast. Between December 28 and 29, the fleet encountered strong winds, and five transport ships lost contact with the fleet after falling behind. The next day, three straggler transport ships will return to the fleet, and the other two will sail to Kola Bay alone. On December 30, the submarine U-354 discovered the JW51B fleet and reported its location to the German Navy.
The Admiralty immediately ordered Lieutenant General Oskar Kummerz to lead a fleet to sail from the Alta Fjord to intercept the British convoy. The operation was code-named "Operation Regenbogen".
The German fleet consists of the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper, the pocket battleship Lützow and 6 destroyers, with the flagship Hipper. Vice Admiral Kummerz divided the fleet into two detachments, led by Hipper and Lützow respectively.
In his plan, Hipper and three destroyers would approach the convoy from the north and lure away the escorting British destroyers. At the same time, the Lützow would appear in the south and annihilate the unprotected British convoy. Boat. Because the battle took place during the Arctic night, visibility was very low, and the battle was conducted in a very chaotic state.
At 8:15 on December 31, the destroyer HMS Obdurate discovered three German destroyers in the rear (west) of the convoy.
Sherbrooke immediately ordered the Orville, HMS Obedient, HMS Tenacity and Onslow to intercept, while HMS Achates was ordered to launch a missile between the convoy and the German warships. Smoke screen, covering the fleet's escape.
At the same time, Hipper approached the convoy from the northwest. At 9:40, Hipper opened fire on the British fleet. During the firefight, the Faithful was severely damaged and its captain was killed. Hipper transferred her firepower to Onslow and Orville, while retreating to the north, trying to lure British warships into pursuit.
Sherbrooke led two destroyers to continue to monitor the movements of the German ships, while the remaining warships sailed southeast to protect the transport convoy escaping the battlefield.
Due to the extremely low visibility at sea, it was difficult for the gunners on both sides to measure the accurate distance of the other side, and the artillery hit rate was very low. However, Onslow was still hit by several shells fired by Hipper, causing serious damage to the hull.
Sherbrooke was hit by debris and was forced to hand over command to Obedience's captain, Lieutenant Colonel D.C. Kinloch.
Hipper then encountered the minesweeper Bramble and seriously damaged her. The Bramble sank around 11:00. Hipper opened fire again on the seriously wounded Loyalist. The Faithful was severely damaged and finally sank at 13:14.
At this time, the Lützow took the opportunity to approach the unescorted convoy and fired 87 11-inch shells and 75 6-inch shells at it. However, due to extremely low visibility, the sea was filled with British shells. There was a smoke screen, but none of the artillery shells hit.
Subsequently, both Germany and Britain withdrew from the battlefield due to low visibility and fear of torpedo attacks from the other side. The 14 transport ships of the JW51B fleet were all unscathed and arrived safely in the Kola Bay of the Soviet Union. After the battle, Adolf Hitler was so angry at the incompetence of the Navy's surface ships that he even suggested that all large surface ships should be scrapped.
Marshal Erich Raeder, commander of the Navy, was forced to resign and was replaced by Karl D?nitz, commander of the submarine force. After that, almost all large surface ships were shelved, and Hitler turned the focus of the German Navy completely to submarine warfare.
On the British side, Colonel Sherbrooke was awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery in battle. A battle injury left him blind in one eye, but he returned to active duty, eventually retiring in the 1950s with the rank of major general.