The members of the Royal Navy and the Allied Merchant navies who took part in the Arctic Convoys during WW2 are rightly held in high regard for their bravery and the price they paid to supply vital war materials to our Soviet Allies, in total 18 warships and 85 merchant ships were lost with 1,944 naval personnel and 829 merchant seamen killed.
However what is often not realised is that in personnel terms the Germany navy lost a significantly higher number of men in this campaign, losing a battleship, 3 destroyers, a minelayer and 31 submarines (mainly with all hands) with a minimum of 4,213 men killed.
This figure doesn't include the Luftwaffe losses and the sinking of the Tirpitz in Norway.
German Naval Losses in more detail.
Losses in brackets;
Scharnhorst (1,932)
Freidrich Eckholdt (315)
Z26 (240)
Bremse (160)
Ulm (114)
U-88 (46) U-277 (50) U-286 (51) U-307 (37) U-314 (49)U-344 (50)U-347 (49)U-354 (51) U-355 (52) U-360 (51) U-361 (52) U-365 (50) U-366 (50) U-387 (51) U-394 (50) U-425 (52) U-457 (45) U-472 (23) U-585 (44) U-589 (44) U-601 (51) U-644 (45) U-655 (45) U-674 (49) U-713 (50) U-742 (52) U-921 (51) U-959 (53) U-961 (49) U-973 (51)
However what is often not realised is that in personnel terms the Germany navy lost a significantly higher number of men in this campaign, losing a battleship, 3 destroyers, a minelayer and 31 submarines (mainly with all hands) with a minimum of 4,213 men killed.
This figure doesn't include the Luftwaffe losses and the sinking of the Tirpitz in Norway.
German Naval Losses in more detail.
Losses in brackets;
Scharnhorst (1,932)
Freidrich Eckholdt (315)
Z26 (240)
Bremse (160)
Ulm (114)
U-88 (46) U-277 (50) U-286 (51) U-307 (37) U-314 (49)U-344 (50)U-347 (49)U-354 (51) U-355 (52) U-360 (51) U-361 (52) U-365 (50) U-366 (50) U-387 (51) U-394 (50) U-425 (52) U-457 (45) U-472 (23) U-585 (44) U-589 (44) U-601 (51) U-644 (45) U-655 (45) U-674 (49) U-713 (50) U-742 (52) U-921 (51) U-959 (53) U-961 (49) U-973 (51)