He was correct. He began his run, two charges at a time, the sea erupting behind him as the Onslaught continued, The booming explosions were heard in the convoy, where the men cheered to see their defenders arriving on the scene. Eight charges were put down, one exploding just 200 feet from the submerged U-boat, which was enough to wreak havoc. Fatal flooding followed, and patrol number four would be the last for Kapitan Marks and his crew.
This little drama would soon be eclipsed by a much greater threat to the life and liberty of PQ-17. The two Deutschland Class raiders had been well south, swinging in a wide arc towards the west. Now they knew the position of the enemy convoy, and they were hastening up like a pair of wolves out after a flock of sheep. Yet the course chosen by Kapitan Krancke aboard the Admiral Scheer took the raiders right astride the oncoming Home Fleet Group, where the carrier Ark Royal, steamed with battleships Anson and Howe, the cruiser Newcastle, and several destroyers. It was yet another plucky destroyer, the Ledbury, that would bravely challenge the intruders, turning everyone’s well laid plans on their head and setting off a major naval battle that would soon go off like a string of firecrackers. Out in front, Ledbury made the first sighting at 21:40, reporting what looked like two cruisers ahead. Unfortunately these cruisers had 11-inch guns, but that did not stop Ledbury from engaging with some very disciplined and accurate fire.
Lt. Commander Roger Percival Hill was often called ‘Percy’ by the men after his middle name, and for the reason that he had quite openly proclaimed that he was gunning for an appointment to one of the new Knight Class heavy cruisers, Sir Percival. Before that could happen, he had to get a leg up in rank and another ‘Mention in Dispatches,’ and he was quite eager to get started here. Hill decided to take his destroyer up to get a closer look, and when the enemy seemed to be putting on speed, he countered by ordering all ahead full. Minutes later, he had a much better look at the silhouettes, and immediately sent a W/T signal indicating he had hold of two Deutschland Class ‘pocket battleships.’ That should have ended his little foray, but Hill was determined, and boldly began opening fire on the trailing ship, the only one within his range. To his great delight, he began getting hits.
Word was flashed from ship to ship, and Admiral Wake-Walker, his Flag aboard the Ark Royal, quickly dispatched Newcastle to see about getting hold of the German raiders by the heels. He also signaled Captain Charles Woodhouse aboard the battleship Howe, and ordered that ship to make a fifteen point turn to port and put on speed. Anson and the remaining destroyers would continue on as close escort for Ark Royal, which also began spotting planes.
Lt. Commander Hill’s audacity was going to reap a considerable harvest, but it would come at a cost. Lutzow began returning fire, and minutes later, the leading ship, which Hill presumed to be the Admiral Scheer, also joined the action. No destroyer leader in his right mind would stand in a fight under such unfavorable odds, and Hill now realized discretion was the better part of valor here. He gave the order to turn when an 11-inch shell landed so close to the ship that it literally shook loose steam pipes, boiler cowlings and hull plating. Ledbury wallowed to one side with the hit, taking two more smaller rounds from secondary guns as she did so. One struck the conning tower, if it could be called as much, smashing the radio room and killing three men there.
Thankfully, the light cruiser Newcastle was now racing to the scene, and seeing Ledbury’s distress, Captain Powlett opened fire on Lutzow. The ensuing gun battle then fell upon his ship, with both German raiders redirecting their fire. Powlett’s ship should have been in the Mediterranean for Operation Vigorous, a convoy escort to Malta, but that history had changed and so she was reassigned to the Murmansk Run instead. Once Powlett had encountered the twins, both Scharnhorst and Gneisenau on the 23rd of November, 1939, and he had often boasted that he might have had them were it not for foul weather that allowed the German ships to slip away. Fair weather might have sealed his own fate instead, but his bravado was taken for what it was. Now, with Gneisenau gone, the British had taken to calling the last two Deutschland class ships the younger twins, and Powlett had his moment yet again—only this time the weather was good, with excellent visibility even at this late hour in the far north.
The Captain and Newcastle would also find themselves quickly overmatched. The ship was straddled, then pummeled badly five minutes later, seeing two of her four triple 152mm turrets knocked out, along with several Bofors mounts. One hit penetrated her side armor, smashing the boiler room and drastically reducing the ship’s speed. That blow might have saved her from more grievous harm, as the lead enemy ship was running on and opening the range. In return Newcastle managed three hits on the Lutzow, also slowing that ship with boiler damage. It was then that the battleship Howe loomed on the horizon, coming up quickly from the southeast. That was the straw that would break the camel’s back—for Lutzow.
While Ledbury’s 120mm guns continued to score numerous hits on the German ship, few penetrated completely, and most of that damage was to superstructure, binocular stations, AA guns, secondary batteries. Newcastle had done better, but being hit by an 11-inch shell had put her out of the game and forced Powlett to break off and turn south to save his ship. The appearance of Howe ended the matter, her 5.25 inch guns raking the wallowing German ship, which had fallen off in speed to just 7 knots. Then a 14-inch shell found its target, and the resulting blast damage opened Lutzow’s hull on the port side below the water line. The ship gulped seawater, the boilers flooded, screws stilled, and Lutzow soon went into an uncontrollable list. The second of Germany’s fabled pocket battleships was going down that day, and the news would come as an electric shock to Admiral Carls.
Chapter 12
He might have taken it easier if he had stayed in the comfort of his office back at Naval Group North at Kiel, but out here, aboard Tirpitz, with the wind raw and the seas grey in the wan light of June 16th, it came harder, colder, and with an edge of foreboding.
He leaned heavily over the map table, his eyes dark with concern. “We have sunk a damn destroyer,” he breathed. “And for that we lose the Lutzow.”
“What about Scheer?” asked Kapitan Topp.
“Running northeast, and being chased by a goddamn British battleship. It must be of the King George V class to stay in the hunt. And now Hoffmann reports he has sighted another large capital ship as well. Where are the British getting all these battleships?”