(August 2001)
Campbeltown’s Historic Visit
Type 22 Frigate HMS Campbeltown has undertaken an historic mission to Russia to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the beginning of the Arctic Convoys. The Convoys endured both the extreme weather of the Arctic Ocean and the gauntlet of German aircraft, U-boats and surface raiders, delivering essential aid to the Russian ports of Archangel and Murmansk.
HMS Campbeltown’s journey began in Murmansk where ten veterans of the Arctic Convoys boarded the ship for the passage to Archangel. She was escorted on this journey by the Russian warships Zadorniy and Alexander Otrakovski.
On August 28th the three ships commemorated the 118 men who died onboard the Russian submarine Kursk, lost on August 12th last year. HMS Campbeltown's Commanding Officer, Captain Alisdair Halliday, led the wreath laying ceremony which included a lament from a Scottish Piper, a minutes’ silence, hymns and prayers.
The following day the three ships undertook gunnery training and other exercises designed to foster good will and co-operation between the two navies.
The three ships arrived in Archangel on August 31st, 60 years to the day since the first convoy arrived carrying vital food and medical supplies. HMS Campbeltown marked the occasion by firing a salvo. Other commemorations included a flypast by a RAF Nimrod aircraft.