Arctic Convoys - another forgotten campaign
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Arctic Convoys - another forgotten campaign
I may be wrong here, but I think today (31 August) is the 65th anniversary of the arrival in Russia of the first arctic convoy. Apart from the threats posed by the Kreigsmarine and Luftwaffe, crews of warships and merchant vessels faced the dangers of operating in a sub zero environment. A man would have little chance of survival in the water.
Men spent extended periods closed up at action stations, with little ventilation, no proper cooking, terrible weather and ice forming in mess decks. Unsurprisingly there were health effects, including TB. This is how my Grandfather got TB.
Like Bomber Command, the men involved in the convoys to Russia (Army and RAF as well as Royal Navy and Merchant Service) were never issued with a campaign medal. Only recently have the Government decided to award them a clasp for the 1939-1945 medal.
They fought a dangerous enemy in the most hostile climatic conditions. Their contribution may be overlooked compared to the Red Army's offensives against the Germans, but without the supply of both raw materials and vehicles, guns, aircraft, torpedo boats and much else could the Soviets have managed to blunt and then stop the German advance?
Men spent extended periods closed up at action stations, with little ventilation, no proper cooking, terrible weather and ice forming in mess decks. Unsurprisingly there were health effects, including TB. This is how my Grandfather got TB.
Like Bomber Command, the men involved in the convoys to Russia (Army and RAF as well as Royal Navy and Merchant Service) were never issued with a campaign medal. Only recently have the Government decided to award them a clasp for the 1939-1945 medal.
They fought a dangerous enemy in the most hostile climatic conditions. Their contribution may be overlooked compared to the Red Army's offensives against the Germans, but without the supply of both raw materials and vehicles, guns, aircraft, torpedo boats and much else could the Soviets have managed to blunt and then stop the German advance?
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Thanks for the heads-up on this, WEBF. It costs nothing to formally & richly thank those who have given their all in the last big fight, regardless of the exposure or 'glamour' accorded their tasks.
Kev.
Kev.
My hat is off to men like these.....two of the survivors were sunk on the return trip making it 75% losses for PQ-17 ships.
PQ-17 was a World War II convoy carrying war matériel from Britain and the USA to the USSR. PQ-17 sailed in June-July 1942 and suffered the heaviest losses of any Russia-bound (PQ) convoy, with 25 vessels out of 36 lost to enemy action.
On the northern route, losses to German aircraft and U-boats had been increasing. In May PQ-16 had lost seven ships, but PQ-17 was the largest and most valuable convoy to date with military equipment valued at over $700 million at that time. The Germans were prompted by Allied success with PQ-16 to reinforce their efforts to break the convoy route to Archangelsk and Murmansk and Operation Rösselsprung was the assembling of naval surface forces to achieve this.
On the northern route, losses to German aircraft and U-boats had been increasing. In May PQ-16 had lost seven ships, but PQ-17 was the largest and most valuable convoy to date with military equipment valued at over $700 million at that time. The Germans were prompted by Allied success with PQ-16 to reinforce their efforts to break the convoy route to Archangelsk and Murmansk and Operation Rösselsprung was the assembling of naval surface forces to achieve this.
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Only recently have the Government decided to award them a clasp for the 1939-1945 medal
My late grandfather sailed on the Artic convoys with the RN. About the only thing he ever said about them was the extreme cold. They had to use steam hoses to try and clear the ice from the upper decks before they became top heavy and how they would be at action stations for days due to the long day light hours and the constant threat of air attack.
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Aye, an uncle sailed in PQ-16 and the diary he kept made sobering reading. Perhaps one of the most forgotten campaigns of all, so thanks for this WEBF.
How long until some "historian" claims it should actually be credited to the army?
How long until some "historian" claims it should actually be credited to the army?
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WEBF Thanks for the reminder. What those merchant and naval crews went through is beyond my imagination. Pity our Soviet allies didn't seem to be that grateful at the time.
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Does anyone know of any good books about this part of the war?
Unfortunatley my Grandad died before I was born so I wasn't lucky enough to hear his story.
I am reading a terrific book at the moment regarding the Eastern Front as told by a German soldier, Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer. It is a sobering account of a horrific and brutal war.
Anything regarding the Russian convoys would be a good next read.
Unfortunatley my Grandad died before I was born so I wasn't lucky enough to hear his story.
I am reading a terrific book at the moment regarding the Eastern Front as told by a German soldier, Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer. It is a sobering account of a horrific and brutal war.
Anything regarding the Russian convoys would be a good next read.
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A hard part of the war indeed.
As a little twist, sometime in july a former Luftwaffe HE-111 pilot (with family, he was 92 now) visited me in the TWR. He was on vacation, and wished to see if he could recognize his old "home base".
The other side, so to speak.
As a little twist, sometime in july a former Luftwaffe HE-111 pilot (with family, he was 92 now) visited me in the TWR. He was on vacation, and wished to see if he could recognize his old "home base".
The other side, so to speak.
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WEBF any idea of the qualifying criteria for the clasp and is it retrospective rather than you still have to be alive to be awarded the clasp?
My late grandfather sailed on the Artic convoys with the RN. About the only thing he ever said about them was the extreme cold. They had to use steam hoses to try and clear the ice from the upper decks before they became top heavy and how they would be at action stations for days due to the long day light hours and the constant threat of air attack.
My late grandfather sailed on the Artic convoys with the RN. About the only thing he ever said about them was the extreme cold. They had to use steam hoses to try and clear the ice from the upper decks before they became top heavy and how they would be at action stations for days due to the long day light hours and the constant threat of air attack.
My father was merchant navy and, from what he said, I had the impression that he had done an Arctic Convoy. However the Marine and Coastguard Agency kingly provided me, at no cost, with a whole sheaf of A2 photocipies of all the vessels that he had sailed on from before up to after the war. It was spooky seeing his signature like that. They also provided a typed transcript where they thought I might have difficulty interpreting what they provided. From this I could find no evidence of his having sailed in northern waters. The only information I had been able to give the MCA was DOB and company.
In my father-in-law's case I had his service number and his ship, HMS Liverpool. I duly filed an application for his widow. I got a negative in the case of my father and no response whatever regarding my FinL; that was about 8 months ago. As Mrs W is so far down the alphabet that may explain the delay.
This is the link: http://www.veteransagency.mod.uk/medals/artic.html
WEBF I'm sure the Soviets appreciated the 1,000 Spitfires, 3,000 Hurricanes and 5,000 P-39s that the Western Allies donated as well as the countless tanks, trucks, guns, ammunition and food. Indeed, the Soviet push back against the Germans might not have been possible without it as their aircraft industry was in chaos after being moved to a safer location behind the Ural mountains. Unfortunately they did seem to be very reluctant to either say thanks or show any appreciation of the sacrifice made by the men in the ships delivering the stuff. Not that surprising I suppose given the way that the Soviet High Command treated their own soldiers, sailors and airmen.
A Kazakh friend of mine was amazed to read about the Arctic convoys as this part of WW2 history had never been mentioned in the Soviet view of the Great Patriotic War.
A Kazakh friend of mine was amazed to read about the Arctic convoys as this part of WW2 history had never been mentioned in the Soviet view of the Great Patriotic War.
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PQ17 etc al
http://www.war-experience.org/histor...42/default.asp
http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Book...2999%26nsa%3D1
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwa...horst_01.shtml
John Winton was a naval officer who wrote a series of very humourous novels - We Joined the Navy - We went to Sea - Down the Hatch - before moving in to more serious works and eventually naval history. I have not read his account but I am sure it would be a good starter.
Books
Enigma: The Battle for the Code by Hugh Sebag-Montifiore (2000-01)
The Death of the Scharnhorst by John Winton (1983)
Scharnhorst and Gneisenau: The Elusive Sisters by Richard Garrett (1978)
Very Special Intelligence: The Story of the Admiralty's Operational Intelligence Centre - 1939-45 by Patrick Beesly (1977)
The Loss of the 'Scharnhorst' by A J Watts (1970)
The Russian Convoys by BB Schofield (1964)
Memoirs: Ten Years and Twenty Days by Gross-Admiral Karl Doenitz (1959)
The Drama of the 'Scharnhorst': A Factual Account from the German Viewpoint by Corvette-Captain Fitz-Otto Busch (1956)
Hitler and His Admirals by Anthony Martienssen (1948)
http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Book...2999%26nsa%3D1
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwa...horst_01.shtml
John Winton was a naval officer who wrote a series of very humourous novels - We Joined the Navy - We went to Sea - Down the Hatch - before moving in to more serious works and eventually naval history. I have not read his account but I am sure it would be a good starter.
Books
Enigma: The Battle for the Code by Hugh Sebag-Montifiore (2000-01)
The Death of the Scharnhorst by John Winton (1983)
Scharnhorst and Gneisenau: The Elusive Sisters by Richard Garrett (1978)
Very Special Intelligence: The Story of the Admiralty's Operational Intelligence Centre - 1939-45 by Patrick Beesly (1977)
The Loss of the 'Scharnhorst' by A J Watts (1970)
The Russian Convoys by BB Schofield (1964)
Memoirs: Ten Years and Twenty Days by Gross-Admiral Karl Doenitz (1959)
The Drama of the 'Scharnhorst': A Factual Account from the German Viewpoint by Corvette-Captain Fitz-Otto Busch (1956)
Hitler and His Admirals by Anthony Martienssen (1948)
Combine Operations
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Does anyone know of any good books about this part of the war?
Obviously, it's a novel. It was his first, I believe, and arguably his best.
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And of course the Cruel Sea by Nicholas Monsarrat http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...00467?v=glance
and the film with Jack Hawkins http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045659/
Then there are some very good wartime films based on true stories at the time. Given the conditions of a country at war these films are definitely classics.
<<Noel Coward - a film about HMS Kelly, Mountbatten's destroyer which had been sunk off Crete. Coward agreed providing he retained artistic control and played the lead. The result was a black and white production called In Which We Serve, one of the most successful British war films>>
<<Ealing: Key War-time films included The Big Blockade (1941), The Foreman Went to war, Went the Day Well (1942), San Demetrio-London, and In Which We Serve.>>
<<Gainsborough: 1943, producing films including We Dive At Dawn, Millions Like Us and the Man in Grey.>>
<<Rank: Rank's In Which We Serve, The Way to the Stars.>>
and the film with Jack Hawkins http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045659/
Then there are some very good wartime films based on true stories at the time. Given the conditions of a country at war these films are definitely classics.
<<Noel Coward - a film about HMS Kelly, Mountbatten's destroyer which had been sunk off Crete. Coward agreed providing he retained artistic control and played the lead. The result was a black and white production called In Which We Serve, one of the most successful British war films>>
<<Ealing: Key War-time films included The Big Blockade (1941), The Foreman Went to war, Went the Day Well (1942), San Demetrio-London, and In Which We Serve.>>
<<Gainsborough: 1943, producing films including We Dive At Dawn, Millions Like Us and the Man in Grey.>>
<<Rank: Rank's In Which We Serve, The Way to the Stars.>>
Gentleman Aviator
ISTR reading a paperback in my youth called "PQ-17, The Story of a Ship".
One of the reasons I remember is that it was written by someone (whose name now escapes me) who at the time was known to me as some namby-pamby TV presenter or such, but who clearly had "got some time in".
I'll try and remember more details......
[Edited to add:] 'twas Godfrey Winn (who "never married" and had "a wide circle of artistic friends") wot wrote it.
Doesn't appear in a search in a certain South American river, but "PQ-17" as a search in those waters produces a number of other books.....
One of the reasons I remember is that it was written by someone (whose name now escapes me) who at the time was known to me as some namby-pamby TV presenter or such, but who clearly had "got some time in".
I'll try and remember more details......
[Edited to add:] 'twas Godfrey Winn (who "never married" and had "a wide circle of artistic friends") wot wrote it.
Doesn't appear in a search in a certain South American river, but "PQ-17" as a search in those waters produces a number of other books.....
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I also found this: I recall Godfrey Winn's book as it was one of the earlier ones that I read and clearly would have not had access to Ultra information. Captain Broome's is a contemporary account. I have not mentioned the discredited author of the holocaust denial.
Books on this subject
Winn, Godfrey. P.Q. 17. London: Hutchinson, 1948
Broome, Jack. Convoy is to Scatter. London: Kimber, 1972
Carse, Robert. A Cold Corner of Hell: Story of the Murmansk Convoys, 1941-45. Garden City: Doubleday, 1969.
Edwards, Bernard. The Road To Russia: Arctic Convoys, 1942-1945. Barnsley, UK: Pen and Sword Books Ltd, 2002.
Schofield, B. B. Arctic Convoys. London: Macdonald, 1977.
Woodman, Richard. The Arctic Convoys, 1941-1945. London: John Murray, 1996
Books on this subject
Winn, Godfrey. P.Q. 17. London: Hutchinson, 1948
Broome, Jack. Convoy is to Scatter. London: Kimber, 1972
Carse, Robert. A Cold Corner of Hell: Story of the Murmansk Convoys, 1941-45. Garden City: Doubleday, 1969.
Edwards, Bernard. The Road To Russia: Arctic Convoys, 1942-1945. Barnsley, UK: Pen and Sword Books Ltd, 2002.
Schofield, B. B. Arctic Convoys. London: Macdonald, 1977.
Woodman, Richard. The Arctic Convoys, 1941-1945. London: John Murray, 1996
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Arctic Convoys Medal
It seems that there won't be a medal or a clasp issued for the Arctic Convoys.
There will, however, be a small white enamel star with a red centre to be attached to the ribbond of either the 1939-45 Star or the Atlantic Star (All those who served on the convoys should have been awarded either one or both of these medals).
http://www.portsmouthtoday.co.uk/Vie...icleID=1295015
'We knew how to whinge but we kept it in the NAAFI bar.'
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I was at Navy Days on Monday, as I have no life. A contingent of Arctic Convoy veterans were present for the final cermony, and were given the applause and recognition they so richly deserve.
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I have nothing but respect for these men.
The father of a guy I worked with was on them, his stories were hell, spraying decks and riging with steam hoses to keep ice formation down because ice build up was so bad it made ships top heavy and then they keeled over and sank (he saw a corvette go over), the temperatures were minus 30 degrees on an open bridge and bare metal froze straight onto bare skin, if you went into the water you were dead inside a minute.............
really scary stuff.
And yes, the forgotten soldier is a great read....
Arc
The father of a guy I worked with was on them, his stories were hell, spraying decks and riging with steam hoses to keep ice formation down because ice build up was so bad it made ships top heavy and then they keeled over and sank (he saw a corvette go over), the temperatures were minus 30 degrees on an open bridge and bare metal froze straight onto bare skin, if you went into the water you were dead inside a minute.............
really scary stuff.
And yes, the forgotten soldier is a great read....
Arc