KG30 sunk HMS Trinidad 14/5/42

[igorrB]

Only available data is hidden in KTB Admiral Nordmeer:
1) 10.45 in AC1467 (90 miles SE from Spitzbergen) 1 SS 6000 grt damaged
2) 10.50 in AC1523 ((3?)0 miles south from Hope island) 1 SS 4000 grt headed East
3) 11.05 in AC1583 (60 miles south from Hope island) 1 SS 7000 grt with aerial torpedo damaged
4) 12.15 in AC1699 (90 miles from Hope island) 1 SS 7000 grt headed East in leaved sinking condition after attack
Types of aircraft not mentioned, only total amount - 45 machines on "bewaffene aufklarung". This may be Ju.88 from KG 30, He.111 from KG 26 and He.115.
Moreover there is another entry from 5.11.42:
11.17 in AC1295 (10 miles south from Hope island) 1 SS 6000 grt sunk. Was damaged by bombs day before
So looks like crew leave ship before it actually sunk. And this confirms by soviet data. Crew in boats on another morning see ship still floated nearly with funnel, masts and bridge above water. When they try to close, german planes arrived and finished DEKABRIST.
Out of 80 crews 19 reached Hope island,
People was discovered on island by Luftwaffe 1.6.43. U.703 have picked up only Master of DEKABRIST (Belyaew) 25.7.43 almost exactly at midday. Other people (2 men and 1 women) was taken on board but sent back again few hours later. Also in U-boat KTB we can read, that ship was "torpedoed by Luftwaffe at 4 November".
Other people was picked up only on 7.10.43 by same U-boot. Alas, from two men one was nearly dead and died same evening. All three other survived war.

[Monaco]

04.11.42 He.115 B/C Wnr. 1997 1./KüFl.Gr.406, Verlust 100%, Eismeer, Flaktreffer im BB-Motor, Kampfauftrag. Apparently no personnel losses.

[Monaco]

The attacks on 4.11.42 could have been also against other targets, from Chronik des Seekrieges:
2.– 9.11.1942
Nordmeer
Wegen der anlaufenden Operation »Torch« ist es den Briten nicht möglich, den fälligen Konvoi PQ.19 auszusenden. Auf sowj. Drängen aber laufen ab 29.10. von Reykjavik mit 200 sm Abstand 13 einzelne Frachter nach Murmansk und Archangelsk, 23 Einzelfahrer kehren von sowj. Häfen nach Island zurück. Entlang der Route werden die Trawler Cape Palliser, Northern Pride, Northern Spray and St.Elstan von Island sowie Cape Argona, Cape Mariato and St.Kennan von Murmansk aufgestellt, um – wenn nötig – einzugreifen. Von den ostgehenden Schiffen gehen 5 verloren: Am 2.11. versenkt U 586 (Kptlt. v. d. Esch) die Empire Gilbert (6640 BRT). Am 4.11. werden die ersten Schiffe von der K.Fl.Gr.406 erfaßt. Von den angesetzten Ju 88 der I./KG.30 wird die sowj. Dekabrist (7363 BRT) versenkt, während die II./KG.30 2 Schiffe beschädigt. Von ihnen wird die William Clark (7176 BRT) durch Fangschuß von U 354 (Kptlt. Herbschleb) versenkt, und die Chulmleigh (5445 BRT), die nach einem weiteren Bombentreffer am 5.11. am Südkap Spitzbergens aufgesetzt werden mußte, am 16.11. von U 625 (Oblt. Benker) vernichtet. U 625 versenkt am 6.11. die Empire Sky (7455 BRT).
Gegen den Verkehr wird auch der Schwere Kreuzer Admiral Hipper (Kpt.z.S. Hartmann mit eingeschifftem B.d.K., VAdm. Kummetz) mit der 5. Z-Flottille (Kpt.z.S. Schemmel) – Z 27, Z 30, Friedrich Eckoldt, Richard Beitzen – angesetzt. Das KG.30 fliegt Aufklärung. Am 7.11. wird der westgehende sowj. Tanker Donbass (7925 BRT) durch das Bordflugzeug der Admiral Hipper erfaßt und von Z 27 versenkt, ebenso das sowj. Geleitschiff SKR-23 ex RT-57/Smena (Bordnummer "78").

[Dan History]

Igor and Monaco,

Thank you both for some interesting information. Monaco, you have a private message.

The torpedo-bomber units of the Luftwaffe, with the exception of the small He 115 force, were moved from Norway to the Mediterranean in the autumn of 1942, as a reaction to the collapse of the Axis position in that theatre. This was just one part of a broader process of the switch of the Luftwaffe's focus towards operations against the Western Allies, which had been developing throughout 1942 and would mean that the forces on the Eastern front were decisively weakened. Here is what the Luftwaffe's 10-day strength reports contain concerning the two active torpedo-bomber Gruppen of KG 26 at this time:

31.10.1942
I./K.G. 26 equipped with He 111 LT - in Verleg. zum O.B.S (Grosetto) befohlen - i.e., ordered to deploy to Supreme Commander South
III./K.G. 26 equipped with Ju 88 A4 LT - Verl. zum Einsatz O.B.S befohlen - ordered to deploy for operations in area of Supreme Commander South

10.11.1942
I./K.G. 26 - M. u. A. - Mediterranean and Africa
III./K.G. 26 - M. u. A. (Teile) Teile noch nicht im Einsatz O. B. S. eingetroffen - Mediterranean and Africa (Elements). Elements not yet in action, have arrived in area of Supreme Commander South

Therefore, if KG 26 was involved in the attack on Dekabrist, it would have been one of the last operations by this unit in the Arctic before its move south. It is notable that the Chronik does mention KG 30, but is silent about KG 26, though that is not a definitive source. An He 111 H-6 of 1./K.G. 26 was lost in action in the Arctic on 5 or 6 November 1942, so there is evidence that not all aircraft of KG 26 had been redeployed by that time. It would be a very interesting case if either He 115s or He 111s had in fact torpedoed Dekabrist. Can any of the Scandinavian members of this forum contribute further information?

The "Hope island" that Igor mentioned above is known in English as Hopen, it forms the south-eastern edge of the Svalbard archipelago.

Kind regards,

Dan

[igorrB]

Alexander Steenbeck wrote in his book about KG 26 that some missions were flying between 5 and 7 November to find "PQ-19", with W. Klumper participated. So flying on 4.11.42 also possible.
There was around 6 ships in area approx. same as DEKABRIST, with 2 ahead of her and other behind.

[Richard Aigner]

Monaco: "Claude Huan: La marine soviétique enquerre, p.112: On 4th of november 1942 single running Dekabrist (7,313 grt) was sunk by a torpedo aircraft. 80 men took to the boats and tried to reach Hope Island near Spitzbergen. Four survivors including one woman were discovered by a He.111 on 22.7.43 submarine U 703 tried to pick them up and succeeded by 26.7.43 only."
Is there any information how the 4 managed to survive a Spitzbergen winter?

[focusfocus]

source René Alloin.

At first,the survivors survived thanks to food found on the beach thrown back by the sea (butter,flour,canned)
They kill a bear (by Capt.Stephan Polikarpovic Beliaev),foxes (their furs served to make slippers).
Overflight on 1/05/43 by a german plane who drops bread,butter,cigarettes,dressings,aspirin,antisept ics.

Discover by U-703 the 25/07/43 of only 4 survivors
Only the Capt.Beliavev is recovered,the 3 others in october

The doctor of the " Dekabrist "Nadeja Matvena Natilich
Vasiley Nichalovich Borodin
Gunner Lobanov died on board U-703

Michel

[Dan History]

The ships lost in November were taking part in the misconceived Operation F.B., a result of Roosevelt's inability to withstand pressure from Stalin to send supplies to replace the cancelled convoy PQ 19, and in turn Churchill's inability to withstand Roosevelt's insistent requests. Only five of the 13 ships which sailed to the USSR from Iceland made it through. This was all the more futile because Rommel's collapse on 4 November and the Torch landings four days later meant that there would be very few Luftwaffe strike aircraft left in Norway by the end of the month. Delaying Operation F.B. by several weeks would probably have saved the lives of most of those who died.

Michel, are you referring to an article by René Alloin in Navires & Histoire, or some other text?

The other Soviet transport ship sunk during the operation, the steamship Donbass, may have been carrying the Soviet spy Arnold Deutsch. See the links below:

Regards,

Dan

Roskill's history of the war at sea:

"Forty ships were ready loaded by the end of September, but to send them would have meant postponing Operation 'Torch' for three weeks. Very heavy pressure was applied by the Russians to get us to send the convoy; but the Prime Minister and the War Cabinet held firmly to the need to place first strategic requirements first. On the 22nd of September Mr. Churchill told President Roosevelt that the time had come to tell Stalin that there would be no PQ 19, and that we could not run any more PQ convoys until January. The President, however, considered this 'a tough blow for the Russians' and urged that the convoy should be sailed in several successive groups, which Mr. Churchill described as impossible of fulfilment."

https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/UK/UK-RN-II/UK-RN-II-12.html

Admiralty War Diaries transcribed by Don Kindell:

"Operation F B
The sailing of eastbound and westbound independently routed merchant ships between Iceland and North Russia commenced during the first half of November. A/S trawlers were sailed from Reykjavik and Archangel to act as rescue ships during the operation and they were augmented by two submarines from patrol off the Norwegian coast.

The following tables show the progress of the Operation:"
https://www.naval-history.net/xDKWD-HF1942d.htm

Operation FB (ii)
"This was the designation of the Allied passage of independently routed eastbound and westbound ships between Iceland and Murmansk on the north-west coast of the USSR (October/December 1942)."
https://codenames.info/operation/fb-ii/

Operation Hoffnung
"This was a German unsuccessful naval undertaking by the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper, escorted by four destroyers, against Allied merchant vessels making independent passages from Scotland to the northern USSR (5/9 November 1942)."
https://codenames.info/operation/hoffnung/

Bordfliegerkommando 1/196
http://www.luftwaffe-zur-see.de/Seeluft/196%20Bordfliegergruppe/Bkdo_Hipper.htm

The dauntless SS Donbass…
https://ciphermysteries.com/2014/10/19/dauntless-ss-donbass

Search for the wreck of M/S Chumleigh, lost off Svalbard, 1942FCO 76/1863
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C11501988SS

Chumleigh Deaths
https://news.gov.scot/resources/ss-chulmleigh-deaths

[igorrB]

Originally Posted by Richard Aigner

Is there any information how the 4 managed to survive a Spitzbergen winter?

They found sack aof flour and barrel with fuel belonged to norwegian fishers. During winter all men beside four died.