Convoy PQ Boo Hoo
Scenario Set Up
Season: Winter Location: Norway Watch: 2000 hours Sea Haze: None
Wind: Force 5 Speed: 20 knots Direction: Westerly Smoke: 1 GT
Sky: Cloudy Moon: Quarter Squalls: 4 Squall Reduction: 2,000 yards
Visibility: 20,000 yards Squall Type: Snow
Convoy Entry: South Edge Convoy Heading: North Convoy Exit: North Edge
Convoy Speed: 11 knots
Sweep Entry: Eastern Edge Sweep Heading: Player choice Sweep Speed: 25 knots
It was 2000 hours on a dark and some what stormy night off Norway in late 1942.
Commander Outinfront peered into the gloom ahead from the bridge of HMS Boreas. The commander oversaw the close escort for Convoy PQ ##. He had the RN destroyers HMS Beagle, Amazon, and Ambuscade under his command. The destroyers were spread out in a line abreast in front the convoy with Boreas to the starboard of the line.
The convoy consisted of three columns of four ships each. The heading was north and their speed was 11 knots. They had been warned of a possible sortie by the Kriegsmarine but there was no evidence of that so far.
At 2048 hours Boreas had a radar contact at 16,000 yards off the starboard bow. The destroyers turned to starboard in line ahead and increased speed to close the contact. The destroyers continued north to cross the contact’s Tee as its heading was roughly SSW.
At 2100 hours there was eruption of fire off the starboard bow and Boreas was hit 5 times that knocked out her fore gun, torpedo mount, damaged her hull and other serious structural damage slowing her to 16 knots. The other destroyers swung round their stricken leader to its unengaged side and turned to a heading of 270 degrees. Radar had picked up at least 7 more contacts with the contacts appearing to be two columns of four ships each. One column to starboard and the other dead ahead heading west and threatening to cross the convoy’s bow.
The commander informed the distant cover Commodore and the heavy cover Rear Admiral. Commodore Nearsighted responded immediately but Rear Admiral Late declined saying there was no evidence of German capital ships yet.
Over the next 18 minutes the Germans (later identified as Leipzig. Koln and 6 Type 34 destroyers sank Beagle, blew up Amazon, reduced Boreas and Ambuscade to 16 and 9 knots respectively. Ambuscade was the only one to get any torps off before they were knocked out by the relentless German fire. She fired at Leipzig but the cruiser ducked into a nearby snow squall along with her accompanying three destroyers. A short while later there was an explosion and Leipzig when she came back out of the squall was reduced in speed and her fire had slackened by up to a third.
The convoy had turned to port and was trying to withdraw when President Adams exploded in fire and sank. Boreas had fired star shell at the trailing destroyer of the easterly enemy column and that revealed capital ships of the Bismarck and Scharnhorst classes as well as a Hipper class cruiser. A renewed call for assistance was placed to Rear Admiral Late and he promised to get to them after his tea (I rolled a 12 for his response and wanted a 1).
Meanwhile Commodore Nearsighted had crossed what had been the convoy’s rear and engaged the easterly enemy column. USS Tuscaloosa hit a K class cruiser once and then thrice more reducing her speed. USS Brooklyn engaged that column’s leading destroyer and hit her thrice knocking out her fore guns and reducing her speed to about 25 knots. But the return fire knocked out Tuscaloosa’s fore turret. Commodore Nearsighted could now see that he was too close and turned away under smoke.
The Brit destroyers were consistently out shot by the Germans and their efforts to cover the convoy were obviously insufficient as Neville exploded and McCawley’s crew abandoned her afire from stem to stern and sinking rapidly.
The Boreas and Ambuscade were saved by the bell when the clock in the host’s house struck five PM and I had to go home. But where was Rear Admiral Late? He was two turns from entering the west edge and 36,000 yards NNW of the action with HMS Rodney and Nelson (ships that I have yet to get onto a table).
This AAR report was written the Allied POV and it can only be described as myopic indeed.
WMC