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Book Convoy Escort Commander  A Memoir of the Battle of the Atlantic

Download or read book Convoy Escort Commander A Memoir of the Battle of the Atlantic written by Peter Gretton and published by Sapere Books. This book was released on 2021-08-30 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An engrossing memoir that uncovers the turning point of the Battle of the Atlantic against the U-boat menace. Perfect for fans of Ian Toll, Jonathan Dimbleby or C. S. Forrester's Greyhound. Vice Admiral Sir Peter Gretton's book is a brilliant account of his career in the navy through World War Two: fighting in the Second Battle of the Narvik, guarding convoys in the Mediterranean and the North Atlantic, before being placed in charge of Escort Group B7, which he described as "the finest job in the Navy for a new commander". It was in this role that Gretton, and the seven warships under his command, were able to make their contribution to turning the tide against the U-boat threat. On the 22nd April 1943 Gretton was in charge of the escort for Convoy ONS 5 during its journey across the North Atlantic. Over the course of the voyage they were attacked by over fifty U-boats, and although they lost thirteen ships they managed to sink six U-boats and seriously damage many more. The U-boats had never faced such fierce resistance to their lethal raids. As the great historian Samuel Eliot Morison stated: "the glorious battle of a British escort group under Commander P. W. Gretton to the Westbound convoy ONS 5 is regarded by both the Allies and the Germans as a turning point in the struggle for the North Atlantic." What tactics had Gretton used to fend off Doenitz's terrifying submarine wolf packs? And how had these strategies developed over the course of the war? Convoy Escort Commander demonstrates how Allied commanders searched for new methods to repel U-boat assaults, including using direction-finding radio and radar, employing special tactical formations, co-ordinating with air cover, and endeavouring to keep the convoy together and prevent straggling. This book takes the reader to heart of the action and is an impressive account of the Battle of the Atlantic and the Royal Navy in World War Two. "one of the best memoirs of the Battle [of the Atlantic]" Acadiensis: Journal of the History of the Atlantic Region

Book Convoy Escort Commander

Download or read book Convoy Escort Commander written by Peter Gretton and published by . This book was released on 1964 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Book Convoy Escort Commander

    Book Details:
  • Author : Sir Peter Gretton
  • Publisher : London, Cassell [1964]
  • Release : 1964
  • ISBN :
  • Pages : 272 pages

Download or read book Convoy Escort Commander written by Sir Peter Gretton and published by London, Cassell [1964]. This book was released on 1964 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Book Crisis convoy

    Book Details:
  • Author : Peter Gretton
  • Publisher :
  • Release : 1974
  • ISBN :
  • Pages : 0 pages

Download or read book Crisis convoy written by Peter Gretton and published by . This book was released on 1974 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Book Escort

    Book Details:
  • Author : D. A. Rayner
  • Publisher : Pickle Partners Publishing
  • Release : 2018-12-02
  • ISBN : 1789127874
  • Pages : 302 pages

Download or read book Escort written by D. A. Rayner and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2018-12-02 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the story of one man’s war and of the Royal Navy’s escort vessels—trawlers, corvettes and destroyers—that guarded Britain’s ocean life-lines across the Atlantic against the ravaging forays of U-Boats and surface raiders. This highly acclaimed firsthand account of convoy escort operations in the North Atlantic from 1939 to 1945 is based on Rayner’s astonishing war record. Denys Arthur Rayner was a Royal Navy officer who fought throughout the Battle of the Atlantic. After intensive war service at sea, Rayner became a writer, a farmer, and a successful designer and builder of small sailing craft.

Book Crisis Convoy

    Book Details:
  • Author : Sir Peter Gretton
  • Publisher :
  • Release : 1974
  • ISBN :
  • Pages : 208 pages

Download or read book Crisis Convoy written by Sir Peter Gretton and published by . This book was released on 1974 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In April 1943, Commander Peter Gretton in charge of escorting a vital Allied trade convoy from New York to Great Britain across the North Atlantic. Over the course of the voyage, the sixty-one merchant ships of convoy HX231, along with the six ships of B7 Escort Group, were continuously shadowed and attacked by a German wolf pack of twenty U-boats. With the aid of air support, the convoy and defending escort fought valiantly across hundreds of miles of ocean and, despite poor weather conditions, managed to sink and severely damage several enemy submarines. Tragically six merchant ships were torpedoed and with no rescue vessel any survivors were left stranded in the freezing waters of the Atlantic as the convoy continued on its journey. Drawing on reports from both sides, Gretton details the sequence of events as convoy HX231 battled its way through a large wolf pack and offers an authoritative post-battle analysis of the strategies, decisions and actions taken that would ultimately see the tide of war turn in favour of victory for the Allies."--Back cover.

Book Summary of Peter Gretton s Convoy Escort Commander

Download or read book Summary of Peter Gretton s Convoy Escort Commander written by Everest Media, and published by Everest Media LLC. This book was released on 2022-06-22T22:59:00Z with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 I was appointed First Lieutenant of the Vega, a World War I destroyer, which was being converted to anti-aircraft and antisubmarine escort duties. The start was in the best traditions. The commissioning ceremony went well, but the rain began to fall as soon as the official inspection of the ship was finished. #2 The ship’s company and the dockyard workers, who were aboard for the trials, were extremely busy. We had to prepare for sea in the short time available, and work was never finished before ten or eleven at night. #3 The first R. N. V. R. unit was raised as a complete team. The scheme was admirable, but it had little time to develop before the war came. We were constantly going to action stations before investigating ships sighted in the darkness. #4 The ship had a number of adventures while on the east-coast route. The merchant ships were not used to keeping station, and they would often slip away from convoys. The four-day passage to our base was more tiring than we expected.

Book Forgotten Sacrifice

    Book Details:
  • Author : Michael G. Walling
  • Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
  • Release : 2012-10-20
  • ISBN : 1782002901
  • Pages : 365 pages

Download or read book Forgotten Sacrifice written by Michael G. Walling and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2012-10-20 with total page 365 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Award-winning historian Mike Walling captures the essence of the Arctic Convoys of World War II. In 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union in the largest offensive operation ever undertaken. Operation Barbarossa saw defeat after defeat heaped on the Soviet army. With Russia's forces left staggering under the strain and in desperate need of supplies, Britain and the United States launched an ambitious operation to resupply the Soviet Union using convoys sent through the Arctic. Their journey was punctuated by torpedo attacks in freezing conditions, Stuka dive bombers, naval gun fire, and weeks of total darkness in the Arctic winter, with ships disappearing below the waves weighed down by the ice and snow on their decks. Drawing on hundreds of oral histories from eyewitnesses and veterans of the convoys, plus original research into the Russian Navy archives at Murmansk, historian Michael G. Walling offers a fresh retelling of one of World War II's pivotal yet largely overlooked campaigns.

Book The Fighting Captain

    Book Details:
  • Author : Alan Burn
  • Publisher : Pen and Sword
  • Release : 2006-07-20
  • ISBN : 085052315X
  • Pages : 240 pages

Download or read book The Fighting Captain written by Alan Burn and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2006-07-20 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Captain F J Walker, RN, did more than any other man at sea to win the Battle of the Atlantic, a vicious and unrelenting struggle which Churchill described as the dominating factor throughout World War Two. He was a formidable figure and one of the greatest fighting captains in the Royal Navy, sinking twenty U-boats. For this he was awarded a CB and four DSOs. A month after D-Day, exhausted by his continuous actions at sea against the enemy and his successful exertions to keep the U-boats out of the English Channel to ensure the safe passage of the Allied landings at D-day, he went ashore in Liverpool after a patrol. His ships and the men he had trained and inspired were already back at sea when he died on the 9 July, 1944, aged 48. His ships went on to sink another nine U-boats, bringing his flotillas' total up to twenty-nine, before the U-boat fleet finally surrendered. Fifteen of which were sunk by Walker’s own ship, HMS Starling.

Book Convoy SC122   HX229

    Book Details:
  • Author : Martin Middlebrook
  • Publisher : Casemate Publishers
  • Release : 2011-07-12
  • ISBN : 184468718X
  • Pages : 633 pages

Download or read book Convoy SC122 HX229 written by Martin Middlebrook and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2011-07-12 with total page 633 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The author of The First Day on the Somme details a naval skirmish that became a turning point for the Battle of the Atlantic during World War II. Winston Churchill wrote, “The only thing that ever really frightened me during the war was the U-boat peril.” Had the convoy link between North America and Britain been broken, the course of World War II would have been different. There was a period during the winter of 1942-43 when the Germans almost cut the North Atlantic lifeline. In the first twenty days of March, 1943, the Germans sank ninety-seven Allied merchant ships—twice the rate of replacement. During the same period, seven U-boats were lost and fourteen put in service. No wonder Churchill was worried. Early in March, 1943, Convoys SC122 and HX229 sailed from New York harbor for England, and Admiral Doenitz deployed forty-two U-boats to entrap them. Twenty-one merchant ships were sunk in the ensuing battle. The Germans called it “the greatest convoy battle of all time.” This book documents the convoys, every maneuver of the merchant ships, their escort vessels, the long-range aircraft cover, and the attacking U-boats in a powerful narrative reminiscent of Nicholas Monsarrat’s bestselling novel The Cruel Sea. In many ways, this book could be the story of any of the hundreds of convoys that sailed the ocean during the war. Middlebrook also elucidates three controversial aspects of the Battle of the Atlantic: why there was an “Air Gap” long after full air cover could have been provided, why the convoys had to sail with dangerously weak naval escorts, and how the Allied outwitted the Germans in the radio decoding war.

Book Crisis Convoy  The Story of HX231  A Turning Point in the Battle of the Atlantic

Download or read book Crisis Convoy The Story of HX231 A Turning Point in the Battle of the Atlantic written by Peter Gretton and published by Sapere Books. This book was released on 2021-11-08 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An engrossing account by the Royal Navy commander who led the escort of convoy HX231 during the Battle of the Atlantic. A dramatic hour-by-hour narrative of an Atlantic convoy battle that changed the course of World War II, perfect for readers of Jonathan Dimbleby, Richard Freeman and Max Hastings. In April 1943, Commander Peter Gretton was in charge of escorting a vital Allied trade convoy from New York to Great Britain across the North Atlantic. Over the course of the voyage, the sixty-one merchant ships of convoy HX231, along with the six ships of B7 Escort Group, were continuously shadowed and attacked by a German wolf pack of twenty U-boats. With the aid of air support, the convoy and defending escort fought valiantly across hundreds of miles of ocean and, despite poor weather conditions, managed to sink and severely damage several enemy submarines. Tragically six merchant ships were torpedoed and with no rescue vessel any survivors were left stranded in the freezing waters of the Atlantic as the convoy continued on its journey. Drawing on reports from both sides, Gretton details the sequence of events as convoy HX231 battled its way through a large wolf pack and offers an authoritative post-battle analysis of the strategies, decisions and actions taken that would ultimately see the tide of war turn in favour of victory for the Allies. Crisis Convoy takes the reader to the heart of the action and is a thrilling account of naval warfare during World War II. "Fascinating" Military Review "Many books have been written on many aspects of the Battle of the Atlantic, but this one deserves attention by even the most well-read naval history fan." Warship International

Book A Measureless Peril

Download or read book A Measureless Peril written by Richard Snow and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In "A Measureless Peril," the historian Richard Snow captures all the drama of the merciless contest between the quickly built U.S. warships and the ever-more cunning and lethal U-boats that controlled the sea lanes of the Atlantic during WWII.

Book Why Me  Lord

    Book Details:
  • Author : William A. Carter
  • Publisher : Jabberwocky Books
  • Release : 2007
  • ISBN : 9780980245714
  • Pages : 0 pages

Download or read book Why Me Lord written by William A. Carter and published by Jabberwocky Books. This book was released on 2007 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why Me, Lord? is a firsthand account by a veteran of one of the most tragic chapters in World War II naval history, the infamous PQ 17 convoy across the North Atlantic to north Russia in the summer of 1942. 35 merchant ships carried war materiel to support the Soviet defense against invading Nazi armies before the U.S. and Great Britain opened a second front with the invasion of North Africa late in 1942. After the convoy was abandoned by its American and British naval escort vessels in U-boat-infested waters, 24 of its 35 merchant ships were lost to enemy attack. The author, then a young U.S. Naval officer commanded a Navy Armed Guard contingent aboard the American freighter, S.S. Ironclad, and was awarded the Silver Star for valor as a result of his leadership during combat with attacking German aircraft. He tells the story of his experiences in vivid detail and paints a memorable portrait of both the wartime navy and Soviet Russia's White Sea ports. The book also details the return voyage aboard the U.S. liberty ship, S.S. Richard Bland, which, if anything, was even more harrowing. The Bland was sunk off Iceland after being torpedoed three times north of the Arctic Circle, with its surviving crew members, including the author, being forced into lifeboats in frigid North Atlantic waters. Written more than 60 years after the events it describes, "Why Me, Lord?" is one of the very few, and quite possibly the last, firsthand accounts of this important, though little known, chapters of World War II naval history.

Book Death Traps

    Book Details:
  • Author : Belton Y. Cooper
  • Publisher : Presidio Press
  • Release : 2007-12-18
  • ISBN : 0307415007
  • Pages : 394 pages

Download or read book Death Traps written by Belton Y. Cooper and published by Presidio Press. This book was released on 2007-12-18 with total page 394 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “An important contribution to the history of World War II . . . I have never before been able to learn so much about maintenance methods of an armored division, with precise details that underline the importance of the work, along with descriptions of how the job was done.”—Russell F. Weigley, author of Eisenhower’s Lieutenants “Cooper saw more of the war than most junior officers, and he writes about it better than almost anyone. . . . His stories are vivid, enlightening, full of life—and of pain, sorrow, horror, and triumph.”—Stephen E. Ambrose, from his Foreword “In a down-to-earth style, Death Traps tells the compelling story of one man’s assignment to the famous 3rd Armored Division that spearheaded the American advance from Normandy into Germany. Cooper served as an ordnance officer with the forward elements and was responsible for coordinating the recovery and repair of damaged American tanks. This was a dangerous job that often required him to travel alone through enemy territory, and the author recalls his service with pride, downplaying his role in the vast effort that kept the American forces well equipped and supplied. . . . [Readers] will be left with an indelible impression of the importance of the support troops and how dependent combat forces were on them.”—Library Journal “As an alumnus of the 3rd, I eagerly awaited this book’s coming out since I heard of its release . . . and the wait and the book have both been worth it. . . . Cooper is a very polished writer, and the book is very readable. But there is a certain quality of ‘you are there’ many other memoirs do not seem to have. . . . Nothing in recent times—ridgerunning in Korea, firebases in Vietnam, or even the one hundred hours of Desert Storm—pressed the ingenuity and resolve of American troops . . . like WWII. This book lays it out better than any other recent effort, and should be part of the library of any contemporary warrior.”—Stephen Sewell, Armor Magazine “Cooper’s writing and recall of harrowing events is superb and engrossing. Highly recommended.”—Robert A. Lynn, The Stars and Stripes “This detailed story will become a classic of WWII history and required reading for anyone interested in armored warfare.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review) “[Death Traps] fills a critical gap in WWII literature. . . . It’s a truly unique and valuable work.”—G.I. Journal

Book Hunter Killer

    Book Details:
  • Author : Carolyn C Y'Blood
  • Publisher : Naval Institute Press
  • Release : 2012-04-15
  • ISBN : 1612512461
  • Pages : 336 pages

Download or read book Hunter Killer written by Carolyn C Y'Blood and published by Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2012-04-15 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The pursuit of German U-boats in the Battle of the Atlantic has long been considered one of the most exciting stories of World War II. This definitive study takes readers into the cockpits and onto the flight decks of the versatile and hardy U.S. escort carriers (CVEs) to tell of their vital, yet little-known contribution to the anti-U-boat campaign. Sailing apart from the Allied convoys, the CVE captains had complete freedom of action and frequently took their ships on "hunt and kill" missions against the enemy. The German submarines were allowed no respite and no place to relax without the fear of discovery. World War II historian William Y'Blood explains that in the eighteen months between the spring of 1943, when the escort carriers began to prowl the Atlantic, to November 1944, the average number of U-boats in daily operation was reduced from 108 to a mere 31. Though land-based aircraft, various support groups, and the convoy system itself helped win the Battle of the Atlantic, the escort carrier groups' influence was profound. In addition to documenting the escort carriers' exciting operational history, the author also traces the CVE's development and construction and examines its tactical and strategic uses.

Book The Golden Horseshoe

    Book Details:
  • Author : Terence Robertson
  • Publisher : Frontline Books
  • Release : 2011-07-04
  • ISBN : 1783465026
  • Pages : 208 pages

Download or read book The Golden Horseshoe written by Terence Robertson and published by Frontline Books. This book was released on 2011-07-04 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The legendary U-boat ace Otto Kretschmer was branded 'the wolf of the Atlantic', and for good reason. In his dramatic wartime career he sank ship after ship, sowing terror among Allied convoys and dismay in those charged with their protection. Kretschmer was a daring officer who favoured bringing his U-boat into the heart of the convoy and destroying it from within. He earned himself a tremendous reputation before his capture in March 1941, and The Golden Horseshoe makes it clear why. Terence Robertson’s biography of the U-boat ace draws upon first-hand experience of conditions and the deadly game as the hunter sought to outfox the hunted. He paints a masterly portrait of life at sea and weaves in the fascinating story of Kretschmer and the exploits of his U-Boats. Kretschmer was eventually captured and interviewed by Captain McIntyre of HMS Walker, an episode which is also recounted in this book. Otto Kretschmer became a prisoner of war in March 1941 and spent most of the rest of the war in Bowmanville camp, Canada, before his release in 1947.

Book Convoy

    Book Details:
  • Author : Martin Middlebrook
  • Publisher : William Morrow
  • Release : 1986
  • ISBN :
  • Pages : 420 pages

Download or read book Convoy written by Martin Middlebrook and published by William Morrow. This book was released on 1986 with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Winston Churchill wrote, "The only thing that ever really frightened me during the war was the U-boat peril." Had the convoy link between North America and Britain been broken, the course of World War II would have been different. In March 1943, the Germans were coming close to doing just that - sinking ninety-seven Allied merchant ships in twenty days, twice the rate of replacement, while losing seven U-boats and putting fourteen more into service. At this time, two convoys sailed from New York harbor for England. Admiral Dönitz deployed forty-two U-boats to trap them. Convoy is a powerful narrative of the ensuing engagement, which became a major turning point in the Battle of the Atlantic. It documents every maneuver of the more than eighty merchant ships and escort vessels, the long-range air cover, and the attacking U-boats. In recounting how the crews of the ships and U-boats were recruited, worked, fought, and died, Convoy tells the story of the hundreds of convoys that sailed the ocean during the war. It also throws new light on three controversies : why there was an "air gap" long after full air cover could have been provided, why convoys had to sail with dangerously weak naval escorts, and how the Allies outwitted the Germans in the radio decoding war. This dramatic and authoritative book provides a valuable contribution to the naval history of World War II."--