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Convoy PQ 18 was one of the Arctic convoys sent from Britain to aid the Soviet Union in the war against Nazi Germany. The convoy departed Loch Ewe, Scotland on 2 September 1942 and arrived in Arkhangelsk on 21 September 1942. Following the disastrous losses to Convoy PQ 17, the British were determined to provide the convoy with air cover. The new escort carrier had arrived from the United States and formed the core of the escorting force. The convoy was postponed because a large part of the Royal Navy was engaged in Operation Pedestal, protecting a vital convoy to Malta in August. ==Ships== The convoy consisted of forty merchant ships (11 British, 20 US, six Soviet and three Panamanian) and four Fleet auxiliaries; two oilers, a rescue ship and a CAM ship. Close escort was provided by a force led by Commander A. B. Russell, in the destroyer ''Malcolm'', with two other destroyers ''Achates'' and ''Amazon'', two anti-aircraft "gunships", four Flower-class corvettes, four A/S trawlers and three minesweepers. The escort was supported by a carrier group (the escort carrier ''Avenger'' and her accompanying destroyers), and a "Fighting Destroyer Escort" of 16 Fleet destroyers commanded by Rear Admiral Robert Burnett in the cruiser ''Scylla''. The escort was augmented by local escort forces from Britain to Iceland (''Campbell'' and six other destroyers and five trawlers) and from Murmansk (four Soviet destroyers and three minesweepers). Distant cover was provided by a Heavy Cover Force (the battleships ''Anson'' and ''Duke of York'', a cruiser and six destroyers under the command of Vice Admiral Bruce Fraser) and a Cruiser Cover Force of three cruisers and their destroyer escort commanded by Vice Admiral Bonham-Carter. Concurrent with PQ 18, the Royal Navy sent two forces to Spitzbergen, a Cruiser force with reinforcements for the garrison there and a Replenishment group for the convoy; these would also be available to support PQ 18. To guard against a sortie by the German surface fleet in Norway a submarine patrol force was sent to keep watch on the main Norwegian ports, nine submarines in all. Opposing this armada, Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' had established a U-boat patrol group of 12 U-boats in the Norwegian Sea and a surface force comprising the cruisers ''Admiral Scheer'', ''Admiral Hipper'' and ''Köln'' and four destroyers. Since Operation Rosselsprung in the summer, the battleship ''Tirpitz'' and cruiser ''Lützow'' were in dock for repairs, as were three destroyers, leaving the surface force depleted in numbers and strength. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Convoy PQ 18」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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