Trying to research my late father's WW2 RN service is impossible without the names of the ships he sailed on. He was a DEMS gunner so he sailed on merchant vessels. I recall that he told me he was on a convoy that was bait for the Scharnhorst. I figure that if I have the lists of ships in the two convoys that were Scharnhorst bait, then from there I'll maybe be able to access the crew lists to search for his name. Having read the various accounts describing the sinking by the Duke of York, Belfast and others, the following convoy numbers are mentioned. JW55b JW/RA 55 RA55a RA53a I suspect that some of the numbers are duplications, but which? To find the list of ships I need the actual convoy numbers/names. This brings me to the first question. What are the real convoy numbers for the two convoys? Second question. Where do I find the list of ships in the two convoys? Third question. Where do I find the crew lists for the ships? It's a long shot in my search, but all I have to go on at the moment. Thanks for any help available.
Scharnhorst - The History - Operation "Ostfront" - The Battle off the North Cape Russian Convoys, 1941-1945 Hope that the above links are of some help. Regards Tom
Laird Have a look on Convoyweb.org this will tell you of the ships involved in the convoys. About crew lists I am unsure hopefully one of the navy experts will be able to advise
Thanks Guys. I now have the convoy numbers and the list of ships that sailed in these two convoys. Now, the crew lists?
Crew Agreements are held at The National Archives at Kew under the ships individual No. running from January to December of any given year.
German Battlecruisers Scharnhorst on Patrol : U.S. Navy : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive
