Germany sent the heavy cruisers Admiral Hipper and Lutzow, supported by six destroyers, against convoy JW 51B. Its fourteen merchant ships carried a couple of hundred tanks, a couple of thousand vehicles, nearly ninety fighters, more than thirty bombers, about 10,000 tons of fuel, 11,000 tons of aviation fuel, and nearly 50,000 tons of other supplies for the Soviet Union. Sherbrooke's six destroyers formed the close fighting escort with two corvettes, the minesweeper Bramble, and two armed trawlers. Rear Admiral Burnett's Sheffield, Jamaica, and supporting destroyers operated farther away as a covering force for more than one convoy. This arrangement conserved scarce cruisers but required the close escort to delay surface raiders until Burnett could reach the fight.
Chapter · 17:21-20:49
Why convoy JW 51B had to be protected
JW 51B carried tanks, aircraft, vehicles, fuel, and other supplies to the Soviet Union behind a close escort and a distant cruiser covering force.