As Onslow and Orwell sped to investigate the gunfire and Obedient hurried to catch up, Achates, complying with Captain Sherbrooke’s instructions, assisted the three smaller escorts to lay smoke covering the convoy.
Anticipating engaging an enemy destroyer force, at 09.39 Onslow’s first officer, Lieutenant-Commander Thomas Marchant, drew Sherbrooke’s attention to an altogether more formidable opponent bearing 325° (fine on Onslow’s starboard bow), distance 8 miles (15 km), on a course of 140°. As this large warship turned to port to bring all her main armament to bear, Marchant recognised her as the Admiral Hipper, and at 09.41 the German cruiser opened fire on Achates, clearly visible to the south. Sherbrooke decided to attack with the two destroyers present and opened fire at an approximate range of 9000 yards (8229 m).
At this point the problems of fighting a ship in the Arctic became uncomfortably apparent, as only the flotilla leader’s ‘B’ turret was firing; ‘Y’ turret was not yet bearing and ‘A’ and ‘X’ turrets were out of action due to a thin film of ice having formed in the recesses behind the extractor.[71] Fortunately for the British destroyers it was assumed by Hipper that they were making a torpedo attack, and she sheered away to port. The two escorts positioned themselves to keep between Hipper and the convoy.
The big German cruiser had been firing for a matter of minutes only, but she had been effective. Onboard Achates gun flashes could be seen to the north, and Hipper’s shells began to fall uncomfortably close, throwing up great fountains of water as they exploded on impact. Lieutenant-Commander Johns ordered speed increased, and Achates heeled over under the helm, zigzagging in an attempt to throw off the enemy’s gunnery. Despite this the next salvo was closer, huge geysers of water erupting on either side of the ship. Two more salvos were equally close, one near-miss exploding on the port side abreast of the bridge of the speeding destroyer, drenching gun crews in icy spray and sending showers of splinters scything across the deck. As Hipper turned away she ceased firing, and Achates’ crew was left to assess the damage.[72]
Sent to investigate, Lieutenant Loftus Peyton-Jones soon discovered that although no direct hits had been suffered, the damage was serious. Going below he found that numerous splinters from the big 8 in (203 mm) shells had cut through the thin plating of the destroyer’s hull, creating havoc between the decks. Electric leads were cut, and lockers and mess tables, broken loose from their fastenings, were crashing from side to side as the ship rolled. In the dim light it was difficult not to trip over the killed and wounded who lay in the passageways and messdecks, but the ship’s doctor, James MacFarlane, was already at work organising removal of the injured to first-aid posts, and quieting those more seriously hurt with shots of morphia.
On the forward messdeck repair parties attempted to plug the holes through which water spurted as the ship rolled to port, while on the stokers’ messdeck below a stream of water entered through a fractured hull plate. During Achates’s last refit insulation had been fitted to the messdecks to make life more tolerable in Arctic waters, and this now had to be torn away to get to the hull plating. It proved to be a difficult and time-consuming job. Finally it was decided to close the forward magazine, shell room and stokers’ messdeck, and shore up the bulkheads on either side. To ease the pressure on the damaged hull speed was reduced, but Achates continued with her principal task, and patrolled to and fro, covering the convoy with smoke.[73]
At 09.45,[74] as Hipper and the two British destroyers skirmished, the convoy turned from east to south-east and maintained a speed of 9 knots. By 09.55 Obedient had joined Sherbrooke and Obdurate could be seen returning from her brush with Friedrich Eckholdt. The enemy destroyers concerned Sherbrooke as they had not been sighted in the engagement with Hipper, and he believed they might be attempting to attack the merchantmen; consequently he ordered Obedient and Obdurate to rejoin the convoy to cover such an eventuality, although in fact Kummetz had ordered his three consorts to maintain station with the flagship. The action was barely fifteen minutes old, but Kummetz had been suitably impressed by the tactics of the British destroyers, stating in his report:
The destroyers are… remarkably versatile. They push in between the convoy and Hipper in a way that it is not possible to get to the steamers. They are using a very effective artificial fog, trying to cover up the steamers. With evasive manoeuvres and by seeking shelter in the fog and smoke area they are cleverly trying to escape the artillery fire from Hipper. Their position to each other shows Hipper in danger from torpedoes, even when she moves towards them directly for a higher artillery effect and to use the artillery against the steamers.[75]
At 10.08 Obedient turned away to southward and signalled Obdurate to join her, the two laying smoke to screen the wake of the convoy before joining it. Sherbrooke’s force was now stretched very thin, but at 09.55 he had received very good news indeed from Sheffield: ‘Am approaching on course of 170°.[76]
By 08.45 that morning Force ‘R’, with Rear-Admiral Burnett still under the impression that he was positioning his cruisers astern of the convoy, remained on a north-westerly heading at 17 knots, approximate position 73° 47’ N, 28° 54’ E.[77] At 08.58 a radio direction finder (RDF) contact was obtained bearing 320° (dead ahead), at a range of 14,900 yards, (13,624 m). Some minutes later a ship could dimly be made out on this bearing, her course and speed estimated to be 090° at 25 knots. It was necessary for Rear-Admiral Burnett to establish the identity of the contact so he altered course away to the south-east, coming around to a north-easterly bearing to close on the mystery ship in order to track her further (see map B, p. 146). By this time the original speed calculation for the target had proved to be incorrect and was now estimated to be 10 knots.[78] At around 09.30 gun flashes were seen to the south as the German destroyers opened on Obdurate; however aboard Sheffield it was thought that this might be anti-aircraft fire, and in any event it quickly died away. Rear-Admiral Burnett was still not satisfied with the identity of the radar contact, and continued to track it for another quarter of an hour until heavy gunfire was observed to the south, and a report of three enemy destroyers was received from Captain Sherbrooke.
74
23 According to
78
27 PRO. ADM 234/369. The primitive nature of radar in 1942 should be kept in mind. In