The HMS Sulla FY-1874 was a 251 ton whaler converted into a minesweeper, like many fishing and coastal
vessels at that time. She was built at Smith's Dock Company in 1928 and in Feb. 1942 it was decided to send
her to the Soviet's, who were in desperate need of ships. First she had to get there.

She was assigned as an escort for convoy PQ-13 and headed for Murmansk, Russia where she would be
handed over to the Russians. The route through the northern waters was a miserable cold and dangerous
voyage made worse by the threat of U-boats and the Luftwaffe. In mid March 1942 the German battleship
Tirpitz was known to be in Trondheim, Norway and could have sortied into the Norwegian Sea which was
another concern to those ships escorting the convoy. This was evident when the HMS Duke of York and HMS
King George V escorted the convoy part of the way.

Sulla never made it to Russia and to this day what happened to her is a mystery. The last time she was seen
was on Mar. 25 west of Bear Island. A winter storm was battering the ships and contact with Sulla was lost,
some think that ice built up on the deck which caused her to capsize and sink. It is possible that she was sunk
by U-456 on Mar. 30 about 121 miles from Murmansk but this is unconfirmed. What is known is the twenty-one
men on board had no chance in the freezing waters of the Barents Sea and none survived.

Wilson, Walter

Leading Seaman

Royal Navy Patrol Service