[1] Convoy JW 51A consisted of 16 merchant ships, which departed from Loch Ewe on 15 December 1942.

[2] Close escort was provided by the minesweeper HMS Seagull, two corvettes and two armed trawlers.

Convoy JW 51A was opposed by a force of three U-boats commanded by Konteradmiral (Rear Admiral) Otto Klüber in a patrol line in the Norwegian Sea, and the aircraft of Luftflotte V based in Norway.

A surface force comprising the heavy cruisers Admiral Hipper and Köln with six destroyers were at Altenfjord.

The convoy was not seen by German reconnaissance aircraft, nor by any of the patrolling U-boats, and crossed the Norwegian and Barents Seas without incident.