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Posted by Gunnar Powers on April 24, 2008, 7:54 pm, in reply to "Re: the search for qp-13 "
194.144.225.50
this is what i have so far
HMS NIGER 245 feet
Nationality: British.
Type: minesweeper.
Sailed in PQ-11 + PQ-14 + QP-9 + QP-11 + QP-13.
Mined in fog in convoy QP-13 on 5 Jul, 1942
(119 dead and 8 survivors).
EXTERMINATOR (Pan)
6,115 tons
Built in 1924
Sailed in PQ.14 + PQ.16 + QP.13
Sunk from QP.13 (mined) on 5-Jul-42
HEFFRON (Am) 66.34Nx23.14W
Built by Bethlehem Steel Co., Alameda, California, 1919. 7611 gross tons; 440 (bp) feet long; 56 feet wide. Steam triple expansion engine, single screw.
Built for U.S. Shipping Board, in 1919 and named Heffron. Trieste, Patras, Cuba, Hong Kong service. Used as US Army Transport from Trieste in 1920. Sold to American owners, American flag, in 1928. Weyerhaeuser Steam Ship Co. Mined and lost off Reykjavik in 1942.
Length:457' 6"
Beam: 56'
Draught: 28' 8"
grt: 7,611 tons
HYBERT (Am) 66.34Nx23.14W
Length:411' 9"
Beam: 55'
Draught: 27' 3"
6,120 tons
Built in 1920
Sailed in PQ.16 + QP.13
Sunk from QP.13 (mined) on 5-Jul-4
Massamar
5,828 tons
Built in 1920
Sailed in PQ.16 + QP.13
Sunk from QP.13 (mined) on 5-Jul-42
RODINA (USSR)
Launched 1922 (Ex. TENBERGAN 1928; Ex. ALKAID 1933) Built by: Lobithsch Scheepsbouw Maatschappij, Netherlands.
Length:385 ft.
Beam: 50ft 4 inches
Draught: 24 ft 8 inches
4,441 tons
Built in 1922
Sailed in PQ.4 + QP.1 + QP.13
Sunk from QP.13 (mined) on 5-Jul-42
The convoy divided off Iceland with 16 going to Loch Ewe and the other 19, escorted by NIGER, Hussar a corvette and two trawlers, heading around the north coast of Iceland to Reykjavik.
At 1900 the convoy was approaching the north-west coast of Iceland in five columns. The weather was bad; visibility was under one mile, rough seas and a Force 8 wind from the north-east. No sighting had been taken since 2/7 and the convoy's position, calculated by dead reckoning, was in doubt.
At 1910 NIGER's Senior Officer (Commander Antony J Cubison) went on ahead in order to obtain a navigational fix and suggested to the Commodore that the convoy be reduced from five to two columns to pass between the coast at Straumness and a British minefield to the north west of Iceland..
At 2100 NIGER, which had gone ahead looking for land, leaving Hussar in between as a visual link with the convoy, sighted what she believed to be the North Cape and ordered a course alteration for the convoy. Unfortunately, what NIGER had sighted was an iceberg and the alteration took the convoy into the minefield. From soundings he estimated that the North Cape of Iceland had been passed and ordered a south-west course to try to make a landfall. Cautiously making his way through the mist and cloud he suddenly saw what appeared to be a steep cliff looming up in the murk, which he thought must be the North Cape after all. It seemed that the convoy had altered course too soon and if they maintained the direction they would be into the coastline. To correct this, Cubison immediately signalled the convoy back on to a west course. Hardly had the convoy swung back onto the new course when a clearance in the weather showed that what had been taken for a cliff was in fact a large iceberg.
Just before 2240 NIGER realised the mistake and signalled the Commodore to change course but it was too late and at 2240 NIGER hit a mine and blew up in position 66.55N, 22.20W. NIGER sank very quickly. With her bottom torn out and her back broken she lasted but a few minutes. As she settled into the Arctic sea there was a muffled roar as her boilers exploded. And then, maintaining her level with the water, she slowly heeled over onto her side, her mast and funnel dipping despairingly into a surface of burning oil gushing from her tanks. For a moment the keel showed wet black against the turbulent sea and then in a rush of vomiting bubbles she was gone.
She took with her the commanding officer, Commander Cubison, 80 officers and crew, and 39 passengers, survivors from HMS Edinburgh. Fog further reduced visibility to 500 yards, and the Merchant Ships thought a U Boat attack or Surface Raider attack was in progress. Four Merchant Ships were sunk by mines, and two more seriously damaged. The escorts displayed conspicuous gallantry in entering and remaining in the minefield to rescue the survivors. ROSLYS, whose Commanding Officer had appreciated that his ship was in the minefield remained in it for six and a half hours while she rescued 179 survivors.
Miraculously, two of the passengers from Edinburgh survived NIGER's sinking. Finally a definite shore fix was obtained by Hussar and the convoy reached Reykjavik on 7/7.
The Commanding Officer, eight officers and 140 ratings perished when NIGER sank; the large casualty list is probably explained by the fact that the ship was carrying naval passengers home from North Russia including 39 survivors from HMS Edinburgh.
the thing im mostly looking for is in what order the ship sank thren i can try to identify the ships by location right now we have just some wrescks in a large area but we are having hard time identifying wish is wich
there must be some more detailed description of events from survivors than just this
thanks Gunnar
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