Battle of the Barents Sea

Battle of the Barents Sea
Part of World War II
Battle of the Barents Sea, Erwin J. Kappes (sinking of the Friedrich Eckholdt)
Date 31 December 1942 Location Barents Sea, Arctic Ocean 73°15′N 29°00′E / 73.25°N 29°E / 73.25; 29 Result British victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	Nazi Germany
Commanders and leaders
Robert Burnett Robert Sherbrooke  (WIA)	Oskar Kummetz
Strength
2 light cruisers 6 destroyers 2 corvettes 1 minesweeper 2 trawlers	2 heavy cruisers 6 destroyers
Casualties and losses
250 killed 1 destroyer sunk 1 minesweeper sunk 1 destroyer damaged	330 killed 1 destroyer sunk 1 heavy cruiser damaged

The Battle of the Barents Sea was a World War II naval engagement on 31 December 1942 between warships of the German Navy (Kriegsmarine) and British ships escorting convoy JW 51B to Kola Inlet in the USSR. The action took place in the Barents Sea north of North Cape, Norway. The German raiders' failure to inflict significant losses on the convoy infuriated Hitler, who ordered that German naval strategy would henceforth concentrate on the U-boat fleet rather than surface ships.