Convoy RA 55A was an Arctic convoy during World War II. It was one of a series of convoys run to return Allied ships from Soviet northern ports to ports in Britain. It sailed in late December 1943, reaching British ports at the end of the month. All ships arrived safely.

Forces RA 55A consisted of 23 merchant ships which departed from Kola Inlet on 22 December 1943. Close escort was provided by the two destroyers, Westcott and Beagle, a minesweeper and three corvettes. There was also an Ocean escort, comprising the destroyer Milne (Capt. IMR Campbell commanding) and seven other Home Fleet destroyers. A cruiser cover force comprising Belfast (V.Adm R Burnett commanding), Norfolk, and Sheffield also followed the convoy from Murmansk, to guard against attack by surface units. Distant cover would be provided by a Heavy Cover Force comprising the battleship Duke of York, the cruiser Jamaica and four destroyers under the command of V Adm. Bruce Fraser, which at the time of RA 55A's departure was trailing the Murmansk-bound convoy JW 55B.

RA 55A was threatened by a U-boat force of eight boats in a patrol line, code-named Eisenbart, in the Norwegian Sea, and a surface force comprising the battleship Scharnhorst and five destroyers was also available, stationed at Altenfjord.

Action

Convoy RA 55A sailed from Kola with its escort on 22 December 1943, two days after JW 55B had sailed from Britain. The Admiralty were aware of the threat of a sortie by Scharnhorst and Adm Fraser was placed in overall command of the operation, co-ordinating the movements of both convoys and the various escort forces. On 25 December 1943 Fraser received intelligence that Scharnhorst had sailed; RA 55A was diverted north, to avoid detection, and later that day, was ordered to dispatch four of the supporting destroyers to reinforce JW 55B. The destroyers , , and were sent, later taking part in the Battle of the North Cape, which saw the destruction of Scharnhorst. Convoy RA 55A was not sighted by any Axis forces, and cleared the danger area without further incident. The convoy was met on 30 December 1943 by the western local escort, two minesweepers and two corvettes, and arrived safely at Loch Ewe on 1 January 1944.

Conclusion The 23 ships of RA 55A arrived in Britain without loss, while the German attempt to attack the convoy had led to the loss of Scharnhorst, their last operational capital ship in Norway; an action in which RA 55A's escorting destroyers had played a significant role.

Allied order of battle Convoyed ships +Merchant ships ShipYearFlagGRTNotes Arthur L Perry 19437,176 Daniel Drake 19437,176 Edmund Fanning 19437,176 Empire Carpenter19437,025 Empire Celia19437,025 Empire Nigel19437,067 Fort McMurray19427,133 Fort Yukon19437,153 Gilbert Stuart19437,176 Henry Villard19427,176 James Smith19427,181 Junecrest19426,945 Mijdrecht19317,493 Ocean Strength19427,173 Ocean Vanity19427,174 Ocean Verity19427,174 Park Holland19437,176 Rathlin19361,600 San Adolfo19357,365 Thomas Kearns19437,184 Thomas Sim Lee19427,191 William L Marcy19427,176 William Windom19437,191

Escorts

+ Escort forces (in relays)NameNavyClassNotesClose escort B-class destroyer W-class destroyer Ocean escort M-class destroyer (SOE) M-class destroyer M-class destroyer M-class destroyer o-class destroyer V-class destroyerCruiser cover (flag) Distant cover (flag) S-class destroyer S-class destroyer S-class destroyer S-class destroyer

German order of battle

+ Escort forces (in relays)NameNavyClassNotesShips (flag) 1936A (Mob) destroyer 1936A (Mob) destroyer 1936A (Mob) destroyerU-boats Type VIIC submarine Type VIIC submarine Type VIIC submarine Type VIIC submarine Type VIIC submarine Type VIIC submarine

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