Download or read book The Royal Navy and the Arctic Convoys written by Malcolm Llewellyn-Jones and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-05-13 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book is a masterpiece of operational history, and is written with surprising candour, given that the author was a member of the Naval Staff. The men who took part in these operations were drawn from Britain, Canada, America (particularly for the merchant service). This book provides a detailed account of naval actions (with maps) based on close examination of all relevant documentation and interviews with principal participants.

Download or read book Arctic Convoys 1941 1945 written by Richard Woodman and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2018-01-30 with total page 640 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The story of Allied merchant ships and crews who braved the frigid far north to extend a lifeline to Russia, filled with “sheer heroism and brazen drama” (Literary Review). During the last four years of the Second World War, the Western Allies secured Russian defenses against Germany by supplying vital food and arms. The plight of those in Murmansk and Archangel who benefited is now well known, but few are aware of the courage, determination, and sacrifice of Allied merchant ships, which withstood unremitting U-boat attacks and aerial bombardment to maintain the lifeline to Russia. In the storms, fog, and numbing cold of the Arctic, where the sinking of a ten thousand–ton freighter was equal to a land battle in terms of destruction, the losses sustained were huge. Told from the perspective of their crews, this is the inspiring story of the long-suffering merchant ships without which Russia would almost certainly have fallen to Nazi Germany.

Download or read book Voices from the Arctic Convoys written by Peter C. Brown and published by Fonthill Media. This book was released on 2017-01-24 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With the invasion of Russia by Germany in 1941, Britain gained a new ally and a responsibility to provide material for the new front. More than four million tonnes of supplies such as tanks, fighters, bombers, ammunition, raw materials and food were transported to Russia during a four-year period. The cost was high and by May 1945, the campaign had seen the loss of 104 merchant ships and sixteen military vessels, and the thousands of seamen they carried. The Arctic route was the most arduous of all convoy routes. The ever-present threat of attack from German U-boats and Luftwaffe bombers such as the dreaded Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor were not all the Arctic convoys had to contend with. They had to deal with severe cold, storms, fog, ice floes and waves so huge they tore at the ships armour plating. It is to the memory of these brave men that this book is dedicated and the stories of the immeasurable contribution they made to the Allied efforts during the Second World War have been collected for this book by their veteran comrades.

Download or read book The Arctic Convoys 1941 1945 written by Richard Woodman and published by . This book was released on 1994 with total page 532 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For the last four gruelling years of the war, the Western Allies supplied arms and ammunition to Soviet Russia. These supplies were essential to the Russian war effort, and so the Germans were determined to cut them off. Allied merchant ships ran the gauntlet of the icy Barents Sea, outflanked by German bases in Norway, from where bombers, surface warships and U-boats could attack without warning. Each delivery of arms was an epic achievement. In fact an eminent British historian described it as undertaking the impossible.;Under pressure from both Stalin and Roosevelt, Churchill compelled the hardpressed British navy to fight convoy after convoy through to Murmansk and Archangel, with considerable loss in a campaign which was war a l'outrance, where the sinking of a single 10,000-ton freighter was the equivalent, in terms of material destroyed, of a land battle. It was the Arctic that saw the last concentration of the U-boats, driven from their former French bases; the Arctic that saw the last Royal Naval ship sunk in European waters; and the Arctic that saw the greatest defeat of a convoy in modern history. It was a theatre dominated by the weather: fog, storm-force winds and the ever-present numbing cold. Accretions of ice could, and did, deprive ships of their stability and cause them to capsize, while either the Arctic gloom or the midnight sun mocked embattled men haggard with exhaustion.;The debacle of PQ17, the surface actions, the U-boat attacks and running air battles culminating in the final destruction of the Scharnhorst are fully covered, but so too are the personal angle and the perspective of the long-suffering merchant ships and their crews, together with the political implications. The author, himself a professional seaman, has carried out a major and comprehensive review of naval operations in the Arctic which, ironically for Britain and the United States, left Stalin's Russia the dominating power in postwar Europe.

Download or read book Arctic Convoy PQ8 written by Michael Wadsworth and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2009-11-30 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When Robert Brundle took the SS Harmatris to Russia with Convoy PQ8 he was 47 years of age. Both ship and master were veterans and had already sailed in convoys across the North Atlantic and to South Africa. The 5,395 ton coal fired ship, laden with 8,000 tons of armaments originally set sail on 27 November 1941 to join convoy PQ6 but encountered a fierce storm in which a lorry broke free in the hold and started a fierce blaze below decks. Despite valiant attempts to extinguish the fire the Harmatris was forced to return to Glasgow for repair. Having discharged its cargo, examined and repaired the holds, it restowed and finally put to sea again on 26 December. She was now to join PQ8 and Brundle was elected Convoy Commodore. Two minesweepers, a cruiser and two destroyers escorted the eight merchant vessels.On 8 January the convoy left Reykjavik bound for Murmansk. Harmatris was struck by two torpedoes in No 1 hold which caused flooding. A third torpedo struck her a few hours later and the crew evacuated to HMS Speedwell in attendance. A volunteer crew reboarded and Speedwell took the wounded ship in tow. During the night the same U Boat that had struck Harmatris sunk the destroyer Matabele with the loss of all but two of her crew. A tug eventually replaced Speedwell and the entire crew now returned to their still stricken vessel. On 18 January the ships were twice attacked by low flying Heinkels. The stricken Harmatris finally berthed in Murmansk at 0800 on 20 January. Once unloaded the battered ship entered dry dock on 10 February. The damage was considerable. In a temperature of 40 degrees below zero the crew set about the repairs. It was difficult to locate engine parts and local labor was scarce.During the following months the crew continued to work on the ship, food was scarce and the port was frequently bombed by the Luftwaffe. Several ships close to Harmatris were sunk. It was 21 July when the ship finally left for Archangel. She took aboard a cargo of 3,000 tons of steel pipes and on 13 September she was instructed to join a convoy of 20 ships, QP14 for her return voyage. On 19 September the minesweeper HMS Leda, steaming close by Harmartris, was torpedoed. The convoy was under almost continuous U Boat attack and suffered six losses. As a result of his heroic efforts to preserve his ship and crew Captain Brundle was awarded the OBE and the Lloyds War Medal. He died in 1960 at the age of 66.

Download or read book The Royal Navy and the Mediterranean Convoys written by Malcolm Llewellyn-Jones and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-09-05 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book contains the Naval Staff History originally issued by the Admiralty in 1957 as a confidential book for use within the Royal Navy. It has since been declassified and is published here for the first time, along with an extended preface. This volume describes the dangerous convoy operations in the Mediterranean which were necessary to relieve the garrison and people of Malta, covering the period from the beginning of 1941 until the end of 1942. These convoys had to be fought through against determined attack by German and Italian surface, submarine and, particularly, air forces. Although casualties were proportionately higher than in Atlantic convoys, Malta was successfully re-supplied and remained a considerable impediment to enemy’s attempts to supply their armies in North Africa. These operations reveal the dedication, courage and professionalism of the sailors (of both naval and merchant services) as well as the airmen who supported them. A new preface sets the scene for the Staff History. The Royal Navy and the Mediterranean Convoys will be of great interest for students interested in the Mediterranean Convoys, Second World War and naval and military history.

Download or read book Churchill s Arctic Convoys written by William Smith and published by Pen and Sword Maritime. This book was released on 2022-09-21 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The threat of Operation Barbarossa, Hitler’s surprise invasion of Russia in June 1941, succeeding prompted Churchill to decide to send vital military supplies to Britain’s new ally. The early sailings to Northern Russia via the Arctic Ocean between August 1941 and February 1942 were largely unopposed. But this changed dramatically during the course of 1942 when German naval and air operations inflicted heavy losses on both merchantmen and their escorts. Problems were exacerbated by the need to divert Royal Navy warships to support the North African landing. Strained Anglo-Soviet relations coupled with mounting losses and atrocious weather and sea conditions led to the near termination of the program in early 1943. Again, competing operational priorities, namely the invasion of Sicily and preparations for D-Day, affected the convoy schedules. In the event, despite often crippling losses of lives, ships and supplies, the convoys continued until shortly before VE-Day. This thoroughly researched and comprehensive account examines both the political, maritime and logistic aspects of the Arctic convoy campaign. Controversially it reveals that the losses of merchant vessels were significantly greater than hitherto understood. While Churchill may not have described the convoys as ‘the worst journey in the world’, for the brave men who undertook he mission often at the cost of their lives, it most definitely was.

Download or read book Arctic Convoys 1942 written by Mark Lardas and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2022-09-15 with total page 97 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new history of the most crucial few months of the Arctic Convoys, when Germany's air power forced the Allies to retreat to the cover of winter. Between spring and autumn 1942, Germany was winning the battle of the Arctic Convoys. Half of PQ-15 was sunk in May, PQ-17 was virtually obliterated in July, and in September 30 percent of PQ-18 was sunk. The Allies were forced to suspend the convoys until December, when the long Arctic nights would shield them. Mark Lardas argues that in 1942, it was Luftwaffe air power that made the difference. With convoys sailing in endless daylight, German strike aircraft now equipped and trained for torpedo attacks, and bases in northern Norway available, the Luftwaffe could wreak havoc. Three-quarters of the losses of PQ-18 were due to air attacks. But in November, the Luftwaffe was redeployed south to challenge the Allied landings in North Africa, and the advantage was lost. Despite that, the Allies never again sailed an Arctic convoy in the summer months. Fully illustrated with archive photos, striking new artwork, maps and diagrams, this is the remarkable history of the Luftwaffe's last strategic victory of World War II.

Download or read book Arctic Convoy PQ18 written by John R McKay and published by Pen and Sword Maritime. This book was released on 2024-01-30 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This superbly researched book tells the story of one of the most significant maritime operations of the Second World War. The importance of the Arctic convoys providing the Soviets with the necessary equipment needed to win the war on the Eastern Front has too often been underestimated. This book puts that right. Following PQ17, the worst Allied maritime disaster of the Second World War, it was imperative that PQ18 got through. So when the convoy left Loch Ewe on 2 September 1942 the stakes could not have been higher. The Battle of Stalingrad was hanging in the balance. Had the convoy suffered unacceptable shipping and war supply losses, the Arctic route would have had to be suspended with potentially war-changing consequences not just for the Soviets but the whole Allied war effort. Consequently, as this work vividly describes, it was both the most heavily defended and the most heavily attacked convoy of the whole war. The Author draws on contemporaneous accounts of the combatants from both sides including U-boat crews, airmen and, of course, the crews of the warships and merchantmen. Offering newly discovered facts about the convoy’s turbulent passage, this book is a valuable addition to the history of the campaign which will appeal to historians and laymen alike.

Download or read book The Arctic Convoys 1941 1945 written by Richard Woodman and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1941 the Royal Navy began running munitions & supply convoys to Northern Russia, battling through the Arctic Ocean & running a gauntlet of German air, surface & submarine attacks. Woodman describes these remarkable actions.

Download or read book Arctic Convoys written by David Kenyon and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2023-11-21 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An incisive account of the Arctic convoys, and the essential role Bletchley Park and Special Intelligence played in Allied success Between 1941 and 1945, more than eight hundred shiploads of supplies were delivered to the Soviet Union protected by allied naval forces. Each journey was a battle against the elements, with turbulent seas, extreme cold, and the constant dread of torpedoes. These Arctic convoys have been mythologized as defenseless vessels at the mercy of deadly U-boats—but was this really the case? David Kenyon explores the story of the war in the Arctic, revealing that the contest was more evenly balanced that previously thought. Battles included major ship engagements, aircraft carriers, and combat between surface ships. Amid this wide range of forces, Bletchley Park’s Naval Section played a decisive role in Arctic operations, with both sides relying heavily on Signals Intelligence to intercept and break each other’s codes. Kenyon presents a vivid picture of the Arctic theater of war, unearthing the full-scale campaign for naval supremacy in northern waters.

Download or read book Fire Ice Arctic Convoys 1941 1945 written by Vice-Admiral Simon Lister Kcb Obe and published by . This book was released on 2023-01-06 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Arctic convoys run to the ports of Northern Russia from 1941 to 1945 combined the man-made and maritime horrors of the Battle of the Atlantic with the unforgiving ferocity of one of the most inhospitable of the world's climates. Maintaining that lifeline through the waters of the Arctic circle was essential to the development and maintenance of the Anglo-American alliance with the Soviet Union. With the massive campaign on Germany's Eastern front hanging in the balance in 1941 to 1942, the German Armed Forces deployed significant numbers of submarines, bomber and torpedo aircraft, together with heavy ships such as the Tirpitz and Scharnhorst, against the slow-moving Allied convoys of merchant ships and their escorting forces. The challenge to maintain this lifeline placed a heavy burden on the resources of the Royal Navy. Here, in a contemporary battle summary, prepared by the Naval Staff of the Royal Navy, and supported by academic analysis and an extensive photographic section, those challenges and difficulties, the tragedies and the triumphs of the Arctic convoys, are laid bare. A Shared Strategic Goal. The Arctic Convoys reflect the need to be able to work with enemies who become allies, and vice versa, and understand the strategic circumstances and imperatives that drive those choices. This strategic perspective and agility characterised Churchill's approach to Stalin and the Soviet Union. It is notable that British co-operation with the Soviet Union started before the US had entered the war, and continued to the end, reflecting British strategic national interests throughout. The intent and comradeship forged through the existence of a common foe survived the many operational set-backs and doubts on both sides, and speaks clearly to the need in these matters to have a clear, shared strategic goal and enduring commitment to its achievement. Leadership of Effective Collaboration. The collaboration and integration at a working level that was achieved in a short space of time was remarkable, given the suspicion and gulf of political outlook that existed at the outset. Genuine collaboration and integration delivered a whole that was greater than the sum of its parts. what Churchill is credited with calling 'the worst journey in the world.'

Download or read book Allied Convoys to Northern Russia 1941 1945 written by William Smith and published by Pen and Sword Maritime. This book was released on 2024-03-30 with total page 365 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While the experiences of the men and ships who sailed in the Allied convoys to North Russia between August 1941 and May 1945 have been fully documented, the wider political, diplomatic and military factors which determined the campaign are less well known. The principal actors Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin each had their own agendas and expectations, influenced by advisers and competing national priorities. These inevitably gave rise to differences putting pressure in turn on the convoy program while the varying effectiveness of German counter-action was a significant and unpredictable factor. 1942 was dominated by pressure on Churchill from Roosevelt and Stalin to increase the size of convoys at a time when the Royal Navy lacked the necessary escorts. This deficiency was exacerbated by heavy merchant shipping losses and the demands of Operation TORCH. The temporary convoy suspension in 1943 followed the deployment of German heavy warships to Norway and the diversion of escorts to Operation HUSKY. A serious Anglo-Soviet rift, which led to Allied threats to discontinue the program, was only resolved by lengthy negotiations. It resumed until temporarily suspended due to the D-Day landings after which the increasing escort availability allowed operations to run uninterrupted until May 1945. This carefully researched work providing an overview of the strategic factors dominating the costly yet war-winning Arctic convoy program will be welcomed by experts and laymen alike.

Download or read book The Road to Russia written by Bernard Edwards and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2002-01-22 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The renowned naval historian chronicles three WWII convoy missions to Russia through dangerous Arctic waters and relentless Luftwaffe attacks. During the Summer of 1942 Britain and America jointly agreed to supply desperately needed arms to Soviet Russia. Determined to stop this potentially decisive operation, the Germans relentlessly hounded the Allied convoys from the sky. And the Arctic sea battleground could not have been more inhospitable. The British and American merchantmen and their gallant naval escorts suffered grievous losses. The cold was so intense that there were pitifully few survivors from the many vessels sunk in the running battles that raged. In Road to Russia, acclaimed naval historian Bernard Edwards vividly chronicles three of these courageous and harrowing voyages: convoys PQ13 and PQ 17, bound from Iceland to North Russia, and the Westbound convoy QP13. Attacked by aircraft and U-boats, PQ13 and PQ17 lost between them a total of thirty ships while QP13, untouched by the enemy, ran into a British minefield off Iceland with the loss of seven ships. The Road to Russia is an important addition to the bibliography of this bitterly fought campaign.

Download or read book The Worst Journey written by John Lewis-Stempel and published by Robinson. This book was released on 2018-05-08 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the terrible voyage, from the extreme north-west of Scotland to Russia's Arctic coast, the sailors faced 50- and even 100-foot waves, icebergs and hurricane-force winds. Such winds could peel the steel shields from the ships' guns and regularly blew men overboard. In summer, Oerlikon gunners would be at their guns for twenty hours a day; in the winter they often froze to death. Even when the convoys reached Murmansk or Archangel there was no respite. Murmansk was about 25 miles from the front, which meant that there were enemy raids all day and food was short. Despite all this the Royal Navy stuck to the convoys for four years, supplying Russia with planes, oil and other vital material, but, more importantly, by reassuring Stalin of Britain's commitment, the men of the Arctic convoys succeeded in keeping Russia in the war. This is a book about the men of the convoys, about life aboard ship, drawing extensively on letters, diaries and reports, many from previously unpublished archives, as well as new interviews with the last surviving veterans. The Worst Journey shadows the experience of the sailors on the seventy-eight Arctic convoys: from enlistment, through training, joining a ship, shore leave, action and death - or survival - at sea. It follows the fortunes of twenty-five sailors drawn from the bottom, middle and top of the navy's ranks. A sailor's position aboard ship played a critical role in whether he survived an attack or sinking, depending on where the ship was hit, or holed.

Download or read book HMS London written by Iain Ballantyne and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2002-06-06 with total page 505 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fascinating and lively account of the lives of British warships named London, looking at history from the perspective of the men who were there. There is no current warship in the Royal Navy called HMS London, but vessels carrying the name have featured in some of the most controversial episodes of British naval history. For example, the wooden wall battleship HMS London of the late 18th century could be called “the ship that lost America” while the heavy cruiser of WW2 was command vessel for the escort force that failed to safeguard the controversial convoy PQ17. Examining the stories of HMS Londons all the way from the English Civil War, through the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801—where Nelson famously ignored signals to break off the action displayed by HMS London—we also learn of the pre-dreadnought London’s participation in the ill-fated Dardanelles campaign of WW1. Among the people Iain Ballantyne interviewed for this book were veterans of the Arctic convoys of WW2, the Yangtse Incident and warriors of the Cold War and 1991 Gulf War. It all adds up to a thoroughly researched and exciting narrative of naval history. Adding to the authenticity of the tale, Iain even sailed to Russia in the last HMS London, a Type 22 guided-missile frigate, in August 1991. During a WW2 convoy re-enactment the ship was almost hit by a practice torpedo launched from a Soviet submarine and had to take evasive action.

Download or read book Last Call for H M S Edinburgh written by Frank Pearce and published by Atheneum Books. This book was released on 1982 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: