Main
Routes of Foreign Aid Overview

The Northern Route

Last Updated: July 14, 2005

The Northern Convoys

ConvoyDate/Place of DepartureDate/Place of ArrivalNumber of ShipsNumber of LossesCargo
PQ0
»Dervish«		August 12, 1941, LiverpoolAugust 31, 1941, Archangel7—
PQ1September 29, 1941, Hvalfjord/IcelandOctober 11, 1941, Archangel11—first 20 tanks
PQ2October 13, 1941, LiverpoolOctober 30, 1941, Archangel6—
PQ3November 9, 1941, Hvalfjord/IcelandNovember 22, 1941, Molotovsk/Bakaritsu8—200 tanks, AT guns
PQ4November 17, 1941, Hvalfjord/IcelandNovember 28, 1941, Archangel8—
PQ5November 27, 1941, Hvalfjord/IcelandDecember 13, 1941, Archangel7—
PQ6December 8, 1941, Hvalfjord/IcelandDecember 20, 1941, Murmansk8—
Arrived in 1941466 tanks (259 Valentine, 187 Matilda, 20 Tetrarch), 330 Universal Carrier, 320 APC
PQ7ADecember 26, 1941, Hvalfjord/IcelandJanuary 12, 1942, Murmansk21 sunk
PQ7BDecember 31, 1941, Hvalfjord/IcelandJanuary 11, 1942, Murmansk9—
PQ8January 8, 1942, Hvalfjord/IcelandJanuary 17, 1942, Archangel81 damaged, 1 sunk
PQ9February 1, 1942, Reykjavik/IcelandFebruary 10, 1942, Murmansk10—
PQ10January 26, 1942, Loch EweJanuary 31, 1942, Hvalfjord/Iceland joining PQ9—
PQ11February 14, 1942, KirknessFebruary 22, 1942, Murmansk13—
PQ12March 1, 1942, Reykjavik/IcelandMarch 11, 1942, Murmansk17—160 tanks
180 APC
24 guns
hundreds of trucks
PQ13March 10, 1942, Loch EweMarch 31, 1942, Murmansk195 sunk, 1 damaged173 tanks
134 APC
PQ14March 26, 1942, ObanApril 19, 1942, Murmansk81 sunk50 M3 »Lee«
PQ15April 10, 1942, ObanMay 5, 1942, Murmansk263 sunk
PQ16May 21, 1942, Reykjavik/IcelandMay 30, 1942, Murmansk367 sunk, 1 returned
147 tanks, 770 trucks		321 tanks
2507 trucks
Arrived until July 1, 19422314 tanks, 1550 Universal Carrier
PQ17June, 27, 1942, Reykjavik/IcelandJuly, 9-28, 1942, Archangel3924 sunk
PQ18September, 2, 1942, Loch EweSeptember, 21, 1942, Archangel4413 sunk
JW51ADecember 15, 1942, Loch EweDecember, 25, 1943, Murmansk16—
JW51BDecember 22, 1942, Loch EweJanuary, 4, 1943, Murmansk15—
JW52January 17, 1943, Loch EweJanuary 27, 1943, Murmansk15—168 tanks
JW53February 15, 1943, Loch EweFebruary 27, 1943, Murmansk296 returned
JW54ANovember 15, 1943, Loch EweNovember 24, 1943, Murmansk19—
JW54BNovember 22, 1943, Loch EweDecember 3, 1943, Archangel15—
JW55ADecember 12, 1943, Loch EweDecember 22, 1943, Archangel19—
JW55BDecember 20, 1943, Loch EweDecember 30, 1943, Archangel19—
JW56AJanuary 12, 1944, Loch EweJanuary 28, 1944, Murmansk203 sunk
JW56BJanuary 22, 1944, Loch EweFebruary 1, 1944, Murmansk17—
JW57January 20, 1944, Loch EweJanuary 28, 1944, Murmansk43—
JW58March 27, 1944, Loch EweApril 4, 1944, Murmansk50—118 M4A2, 73 APC, 102 tractors
JW59August 15, 1944, Loch EweAugust 25, 1944, Murmansk34—
JW60September 15, 1944, Loch EweSeptember 23, 1944, Murmansk31—
JW61October 20, 1944, Loch EweOctober 28, 1944, Murmansk30—
JW61AOctober 31, 1944, LiverpoolNovember 6, 1944, Murmansk2—
JW62November 29, 1944, Loch EweDecember 7, 1944, Murmansk31—
JW63December 30, 1944, Loch EweJanuary 8, 1945, Murmansk38—
JW64February 3, 1945, Clyde of AnchorageFebruary 15, 1945, Murmansk281 damaged
JW65March 11, 1945, Clyde of AnchorageMarch 21, 1945, Murmansk261 damaged, 2 sunk
JW66April 16, 1945, Clyde of AnchorageApril 25, 1945, Murmansk27—
JW67May 12, 1945, Clyde of AnchorageMay 20, 1945, Murmansk26—

Sources :

Cargo, arrived at Murmansk 1942-1945
Cargo1942194319441945total
Tanks18557708896564170
Self-propelled Guns—1333—136
Tank engines8014571241537
Armoured Cars, All-Wheel-Drives, Carriers907311991038
Power Plant Carriers—61——61
Tractors—54222—276
Tank Repair Workshops84410—62
Trailer M-9 —20106696
Diesel Engines—64235571870
Petrol Engines—2348243261384
40mm and 37mm Guns47338248—633

Excerpt of »LEND-LEASE AND THE NORTHERN CONVOYS« by Sergey Kovalyov

In the early months of the war when the Soviet Union had it the hardest, the northern route bore the bulk of the lend-lease deliveries.

Toward the end of November 1941, the first batch of [U.S.] lend-lease deliveries -

- arrived in the Soviet ports of Arkhangelsk and Murmansk.

Great Britain followed suit with

which joined in the October and November 1941 defense action right away.

Before the end of 1942, polar convoys crossed the North Atlantic and the Norwegian Sea and then steamed along the edge of the Barents Sea arctic ice.
In December 1942, they ceased stopping over off Iceland for refueling.
Upon leaving British ports, they would head up north, skirt an enormous minefield between Scotland and Iceland and then turn south and proceed straight to Murmansk or Arkhangelsk by way of Medvezhy Island.

Upon their arrival in Murmansk, the transports were unloaded, and escort ships refueled in Vaenga Bay from a tanker on round-the-clock duty there.
It was only from the year 1943 that escort ships started drawing upon the Polyarny base resources.

Arkhangelsk was a larger port than Murmansk and better equipped for accepting and handling war supplies.
However, the White Sea froze over in mid-December and could stay closed to navigation until the end of May.

Altogether, 41 convoys of 738-811 transports arrived within the Arctic Circle over the war years, bringing 4.2 million tons of supplies to Arkhangelsk and Murmansk.
Murmansk alone received

The Soviet side dispatched to the West 726 transports as part of 36 Allied convoys carrying about 1.5 million tons of Soviet exports (such as strategic materials - manganese, chromium, asbestos, platinum).

At sea, Nazis [Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine] managed to sink 38 Soviet and 77 Allied transports plus 18 British men-of-war, with 7.5% of the supplies carried by Russia-bound polar convoys lost (as against the Atlantic convoy loss average of 0.7%).