The German force there would soon be comprised of the Battleship Tirpitz, the battlecruiser Scharnhorst, two new Panzerschiff super heavy cruisers, Rhineland and Westfalen, and the two older commerce raiders, Lutzow and Admiral Scheer. Reaching Nordstern first, the Tirpitz made one threatening run to let the British know the game had now changed. Admiral Ciliax took the ship out with three destroyers to get after convoy PQ-12, but the presence of British carrier borne aircraft forced a hard lesson. Albacores bravely harried the foe with their torpedoes, forcing Tirpitz into a wild evasive dance on the sea, with every AA gun firing as it ran for the cover of friendly planes to the east. While no hits were scored, Raeder immediately ordered a halt to sorties into the Norwegian Sea until the Northern Fleet was further reinforced.
Five more ships would be sent, the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper, and the first of his fast ocean going destroyers in the new Valkyrie Class. This last group would form the main escort for one more notable addition—the aircraft carrier Peter Strasser. That was really what Raeder had been waiting for, a ship that could again provide the necessary aerial reconnaissance for the fleet. The workmen had been working feverishly in the shipyards to get the ship operational, and now it was finally ready.
With that single ship the entire balance would be upset in the north, for now the Germans could take out sea based fighter cover, and the British would be forced to double down on their own carrier assignments to PQ convoys. Raeder had kept all these ships ‘in the cupboard’ for long months after the heavy losses off Fuerteventura in the south. All the while, he husbanded precious fuel oil to support a major operation, and quietly shipped it to Nordstern with the small convoys lifting troops, workmen, and supplies. Now, with the completion of the new base, and the arrival of Peter Strasser, it was time for his knights to sally forth.
The news of this major naval move coursed like ice through the veins of the Admiralty. Admiral Tovey had been busy planning the raid on Saint Nazaire when the word came in, and he was forced to depart on a plane from the Azores immediately. Up until that time, Admiral Holland had been Chief of the Nore while Tovey was operating in the South, still aboard the ship that should have been sunk the previous May, the venerable HMS Hood. The much needed support from the Americans had relieved the British on Iceland and the watch on the Denmark Strait. There, an older battleship, the Mississippi, and a new addition, the Massachusetts, had been holding down that patrol zone, allowing Holland and Hood to watch the Faeroes Gap.
“Gentlemen,” said Tovey. “This is a most unwelcome turn of affairs. King George V has been the mainstay for convoy covering operations, backstopped by the Hood, but I’ve had to send her south now to reinforce Duke of York in Force H. Now this new German battle fleet settling in at Trondheim is the most powerful threat we have faced in the north since Lütjens first began his major breakout sorties. Lütjens is gone, and there’s no telling who the Germans might be sending in his place, but those ships intend mischief. Under the circumstances, the entire PQ convoy schedule could be ripped to shreds.”
“This new base at Trondheim is getting more than ships,” said Admiral Pound. “The Germans are reinforcing their air squadrons there as well, and we must also expect that Döenitz will send more U-boats. PQ-16 had 36 ships, and all but 8 arrived safely. We’ve been lucky thus far with these runs up to Murmansk, but now it looks like they’re going for the jugular.”
“PQ-17 is up next,” said Tovey, shuddering inwardly as he considered all that Fedorov had told him. “Might we postpone that convoy until we sort this all out?”
“We might,” said Pound, “but the Prime Minister won’t hear of it. The Germans are on the move again in Russia. They’ve been repositioning most of their mobile forces on the southeastern segment of that huge bag they’ve been in all winter. That Soviet winter offensive was remarkable, and a godsend to the war effort as a whole, but the Soviets are played out. Their divisions are spent, troops exhausted, and they need new equipment, trucks, and more than anything, aircraft. Churchill insists that we maintain the convoy schedule. Sergei Kirov has made a direct appeal that every effort be made. Gentlemen, if we lose the Soviets now, we lose this war—it is just that simple. The American President Roosevelt is equally insistent, and the belief now is that we should proceed, even if we sustain heavy losses. If even half the ships get through, that would be acceptable to the war cabinet. So let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work here. What can we do?”
Tovey shrugged. “Up until now, we have only had to worry about the Scharnhorst up near Tromso. The Germans have restricted their surface sorties to the North Cape region. Now, with this buildup at Trondheim, we must consider that they could just as easily sortie directly from that port, meaning we’ll have to provide much stronger escorts in the close covering force. Rear-Admiral Hamilton’s cruiser squadron will have to be reinforced,” said Tovey.
“More easily said than done,” said Pound. “We lost Edinburgh when it was hit by U-boats while escorting PQ-15. Jerry tried to finish her off with destroyers, but there was nothing wrong with Edinburgh’s guns and they put the destroyer Hermann Schoemann down for good. But they managed to get off one more torpedo, and that finished our cruiser off. Trinidad was up at Murmansk and nursing a wound on the way home. The Luftwaffe got to that one. Even with our new Knight Class cruisers coming active, we’re still stretched thin on that count.”
“At least we’ve taught them they can’t sortie with destroyers as long as we can still cover those convoys with cruisers. The catch is finding those ships. Norfolk was scheduled to return, but I had to order her to remain on station with Force H, along with both the Knight Class cruisers. That leaves us with very little to spare. Kent has been on the Murmansk Runs for some time, and was scheduled for refit. I’m afraid her Type 273 radar set will have to wait. We’ll need her for one more run. We’ve assigned London, and Cumberland is now available after her repair and refit. We were going to send Shropshire to the Australians, but that’s impossible with this news, so count on that ship as well. Nigeria is available, along with Jamaica, and both of those ships are presently watching the Faeroes Gap. They could join Hood for the distant Covering Force. Newcastle and Sheffield are at Scapa Flow if needed, and they’ll sail with the two new battleships, Anson and Howe.”
“Here-here,” said Pound, tapping the conference table. “It’s about time we got some fresh blood for the battleships. The Americans will also send their fast battleship Massachusetts for the close cover force. That should help out immensely.”
“Hopefully so,” said Tovey. “Now then… The waters east of Bear Island have been the real danger point all along, but with this new naval facility the Germans have established near Trondheim, I’m inclined to think we may find trouble well before we reach the cape. Logistically, it’s much more economical for the Germans to Operate from Nordstern.”