Barents Sea submarine campaign (1941)

Barents Sea submarine campaign in 1941
Part of the Arctic naval operations of World War II of the Eastern Front of World War II

HMS Trident
Date22 June 1941 - December 1941
Location
Barents Sea
Result Allied success
Belligerents
 Nazi Germany Soviet Union
United Kingdom
Strength
Anti-submarine forces 23 Soviet submarines
4 British submarines
Casualties and losses
1 minesweeper damaged
2 submarine chasers sunk and 1 damaged

1 tanker sunk
11 merchants sunk and 1 damaged
2 fishing vessels sunk		 none

The Barents Sea campaign in 1941 was a submarine operation in the Arctic waters of the Barents Sea during World War II. It was a combined Soviet and British campaign, with boats departing from Polyarny to harass the German shipping lanes along the Norwegian coast.

Background

At the beginning of war, the Soviet Navy operated 15 submarines from Polyarny, later augmented by 8 vessels of the Baltic Fleet coming through channels. The Royal Navy reinforced this unit dispatching HMS Tigris and Trident, later relieved by HMS Sealion and Seawolf.[1]

Actions
  • On 17 August, British submarine HMS Tigris torpedoed and sank the Norwegian merchant "Haakon Jarl" (1492 GRT)[2]
  • On 19 August, British submarine HMS Trident damaged with gunfire the German merchant "Levante" (4769 GRT)[3]
  • On 22 August, British submarine HMS Trident torpedoed and sank the German merchant "Ostpreussen" (3030 GRT)[4]
  • On 30 August, British submarine HMS Trident torpedoed and sank the German merchants "Donau II" (2931 GRT) and "Bahia Laura" (8561 GRT)[5]
  • On 13 September, British submarine HMS Tigris torpedoed and sank the Norwegian merchant "Richard With" (905 GRT)[6]
  • On 27 September, British submarine HMS Trident torpedoed and damaged the German submarine chaser UJ-1201.[7]
  • On 17 October, the Soviet submarine ShCh-422 torpedoed and sank the Norwegian merchant "Ottar Jarl" (1459 GRT)[8]
  • On 17 October, the Soviet submarine ShCh-402 torpedoed and sank the Norwegian merchant "Vesteraalen"(682 GRT).[9]
  • On 3 November, British submarine HMS Trident torpedoed and sank the German submarine chaser UJ-1213.[10]
  • On 18 November, British submarine HMS Seawolf torpedoed and sank the Norwegian tanker "Vesco" (331 GRT)[11]
  • On 3 December, the Soviet submarine K-3 missed with torpedoes the German merchant "Altkirch" (4713 GRT): she was subjected to depth charges and damaged by escort. Forced to surface, the submarine engaged in gun battle with the submarine chasers "UJ-1403", "UJ-1416" and "UJ-1708". During the fight, "UJ-1708" sunk and the other vessels fled allowing K-3 to return at base.[12]
  • On 5 December, British submarine HMS Seawolf torpedoed and sank the Norwegian merchant "Island" (638 GRT)[13]
  • On 11 December, Soviet submarine K-22 shelled and sank the Norwegian fishing vessels "Alphar" and "Borgar". Two days earlier, she also laid a field of mines (but they scored no success).[14]

Minelayer submarines

Soviet submarine K-1 of the oceanic K class laid 3 fields of mines on 27 October, 29 October and 16 December. On the first and third fields sunk respectively:[15]

  • German merchant "Flottbek" (1930 GRT)
  • Norwegian merchant "Kong Ring" (1994 GRT)

Soviet submarine K-23 of the oceanic K class laid a single field of mines on 5 November.[16]

  • These mines were responsible for damaging the German minesweeper M-22 on 22 October.

Soviet submarine K-21 of the oceanic K class laid a single field of mines on 11 November.

  • On these mines was sunk German merchant "Bessheim" (1774 GRT).[17]

Aftermath

The Soviet results achieved from the campaign were modest, despite losing no vessel: success was hampered not just by the extremely harsh Arctic climate but also due inexperience, in contrast the British vessels gained more success. The British officers instructed the Soviet submarine D-3 to follow their own tactics but despite many victories claimed, none was real.[18]

Curiosity

Prior the departure from Polyarny after completing her first mission, the submarine HMS Trinidad received as gift a reindeer foal (named "Pollyanna"). The submarine endured a six-week patrol before returning home with the reindeer living on board. Once back in England, the animal was gifted to the Regent's Park Zoo.[19]

References
  1. Morgan, Daniel; Taylor, Bruce (2011). U-Boat Attack Logs: A Complete Record of Warship Sinkings from Original Sources 1939–1945. Seaforth.
  2. "HMS Tigris of the Royal Navy - Submarine of the T class - Allied Warships of WWII". uboat.net. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  3. "HMS Trident of the Royal Navy - Submarine of the T class - Allied Warships of WWII". uboat.net. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  4. "HMS Trident of the Royal Navy - Submarine of the T class - Allied Warships of WWII". uboat.net. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  5. "HMS Trident of the Royal Navy - Submarine of the T class - Allied Warships of WWII". uboat.net. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  6. "HMS Tigris of the Royal Navy - Submarine of the T class - Allied Warships of WWII". uboat.net. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  7. "HMS Trident of the Royal Navy - Submarine of the T class - Allied Warships of WWII". uboat.net. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  8. "ShCh-422 of the Soviet Navy - Soviet Submarine of the ShCh (Scuka) class - Allied Warships of WWII". uboat.net. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  9. "ShCh-402 of the Soviet Navy - Soviet Submarine of the ShCh (Scuka) class - Allied Warships of WWII". uboat.net. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  10. "HMS Trident of the Royal Navy - Submarine of the T class - Allied Warships of WWII". uboat.net. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  11. "HMS Sealion of the Royal Navy - Submarine of the S class - Allied Warships of WWII". uboat.net. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  12. "K-3 of the Soviet Navy - Soviet Submarine of the K (Katjusa) class - Allied Warships of WWII". uboat.net. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  13. "HMS Sealion of the Royal Navy - Submarine of the S class - Allied Warships of WWII". uboat.net. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  14. "K-22 of the Soviet Navy - Soviet Submarine of the K (Katjusa) class - Allied Warships of WWII". uboat.net. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  15. "K-1 of the Soviet Navy - Soviet Submarine of the K (Katjusa) class - Allied Warships of WWII". uboat.net. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  16. "K-23 of the Soviet Navy - Soviet Submarine of the K (Katjusa) class - Allied Warships of WWII". uboat.net. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  17. "K-21 of the Soviet Navy - Soviet Submarine of the K (Katjusa) class - Allied Warships of WWII". uboat.net. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  18. Richard Compton-Hall (2004). Submarines at War 1939–45. p. 128.
  19. Clive Pearson (2017). The Second World War in 100 Facts. Amberley Publishing Limited.
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