pp. 245, b&w photos. Pen and Sword £25.00
The Arctic convoys have been the subject of numerous books and controversies, especially PQ17.
This book by retired civil servant William Smith, presents a brief overview of the political background to the convoys, then a brief dispassionate account of each convoy, in date order, organised into successive cycles, the convoys weren’t continuous. It includes extensive tables on ship participation and casualties on both sides.
I’m no expert on the topic, I didn’t know that Russian ships, most sailing independently, were part of the system. The Allied casualties were pretty high, but so were the German, 31 U boats, numerous aircraft, and of course the Scharnhorst, infuriating Hitler, and ending the Reichsmarine’s serious surface involvement in the war. If our men were brave, there was also no lack of courage on the part of the attackers. Both had very little chance in those icy waters if hit. I didn’t know that a majority of merchant ships and casualties were American, though naval losses were nearly all RN.
The rhythm of attacks increased when U boats withdrawn from western France after D day were redeployed to Norway, but by then the escorts had a good measure of them, and U boat sinkings increased substantially. It is likely their crews were inexperienced and demoralised. There is no mention of the s boot flotilla that was briefly and unsuccessfully stationed in Norway.
I haven’t seen anything on what was done by Russia with the supplies. There was a massive amount, over 5000 tanks, and 7000 aircraft. Were the aircraft and tanks effective? The Soviets were less than grateful, and the contribution may have been erased from the records. The rubber and other materiel must have been useful. It’s hard to avoid the parallel to the supply to Ukraine as I write in September 2022.
The photos are pretty good considering the circumstances. The final chapter is a brief summary of the overall outcome.
It doesn’t repeat the personal accounts of those who were there, it’s a dry read, perhaps what you might expect from a civil servant. It will though, be a useful reference to anyone researching in future. It is fully indexed and has an extensive bibliography. Whilst it draws on original sources and attempts to reconcile conflicting numbers, there are no revelations.
At £25, I think this is one for libraries or the committed specialist rather than the general reader.
Jonathan Seagrave