Convoy QP 13

Convoy QP 13 was the thirteenth of the numbered series of World War II convoys of merchant ships westbound from the Arctic ports of Arkhangelsk and Murmansk to the United Kingdom, Iceland, and North America. Most of the ships were returning empty after delivering war material to the Soviet Union, but some Soviet ships carried cargoes of export timber. The convoy sailed simultaneously with eastbound convoy PQ 17 so both convoys might benefit from the heavy covering force of the British aircraft carrier Victorious, battleship Duke of York, cruisers Cumberland and Nigeria, and destroyers Ashanti, Douglas, Faulknor, Marne, Martin, Onslaught and Onslow with the American battleship USS Washington and destroyers Mayrant and Rhind. The covering force was commanded by Admiral John Tovey aboard the flagship Duke of York. Convoy QP 13 consisted of 35 merchant ships escorted by the anti-aircraft ship Alynbank with destroyers Achates, Garland, Inglefield, Intrepid and Volunteer, minesweepers Hussar and Niger, and corvettes Honeysuckle, Hyderabad, Roselys and Starwort.