Arctic Convoys, 1941–1945
Arctic Convoys, 1941–1945

Author: Richard Woodman

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Published: 2018-01-30

Total Pages: 640

ISBN-13: 1526714264

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

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.

Forgotten Sacrifice
Forgotten Sacrifice

Author: Michael G. Walling

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2012-10-20

Total Pages: 365

ISBN-13: 1782002901

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

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.

The Road to Russia
The Road to Russia

Author: Bernard Edwards

Publisher: Casemate Publishers

Published: 2002-01-01

Total Pages: 225

ISBN-13: 0850528984

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Bernard Edwards, the formidable naval historian, has researched the fate of Convoys PQ13 and PQ17 bound from Iceland to Northern Russia as well as the westbound Convoy QP13. Attacked relentlessly by aircraft and U-boats, the former lost a total of thirty ships while QP13 ran into a British minefield off Iceland, losing seven vessels. The Road to Russia is an important addition to the bibliography of this bitterly fought campaign.

Convoy
Convoy

Author: Middlebroo

Publisher: Penguin Uk

Published: 1992-10

Total Pages: 416

ISBN-13: 9780140166958

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

An assured supply of armaments, petrol and foodstuffs from the US was vital to the British war effort, especially in the early days of the Second World War. The route across the north Atlantic, treacherous enough in itself, was made infinitely more so by German U-boats prowling in their wolf packs, ready for the quick kill. Merchant ships, slow and defenceless, were gathered in great convoys and shepherded across the pond by their escort destroyers, frigates and corvettes, offering at least some protection against the unseen enemy. Martin Middlebrook's account of two such convoys encompasses all the danger, drama and sheer awfulness of life - and death - at sea in the Battle of the Atlantic.

Malta Convoys, 1940-1943
Malta Convoys, 1940-1943

Author: Richard Woodman

Publisher: John Murray Pubs Limited

Published: 2003-02-01

Total Pages: 560

ISBN-13: 9780719564086

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

From the day Mussolini's Italy declared war on Britain in June 1940, the island of Malta was under siege. Its strategic importance was obvious to both sides, blocking as it did the supply route across the Mediterranean from Italy to the Axis armies in North Africa. It had to be bombed out of existence by the Axis powers and preserved at all costs by the British. That Malta survived was due to the courage and fortitude of her people and to the dauntless determination of the Royal Navy and the Merchant Navy. Here Richard Woodman tells the full, terrifying story of how - at fearsome cost - the impossible was achieved.

Coastal Convoys 1939–1945
Coastal Convoys 1939–1945

Author: Nick Hewitt

Publisher: Casemate Publishers

Published: 2009-04-20

Total Pages: 505

ISBN-13: 1844685969

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Using official records from the National Archives personal accounts from the Imperial War Museum and other sources, Coastal Convoys 1939 1945: The Indestructible Highway describes Britains dependence on coastal shipping and the introduction of the convoy system in coastal waters at the outset of the war. It beings to life the hazards of the German mining offensive of 1939, the desperate battles fought in coastal waters during 1940 and 1941, and the long struggle against German air and naval forces which lasted to the end of the Second World War. Reference is also made to the important role played by coasters during the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940 and the Normandy landings in 1944.

The Royal Navy and the Arctic Convoys
The Royal Navy and the Arctic Convoys

Author: Malcolm Llewellyn-Jones

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-05-13

Total Pages: 280

ISBN-13: 1134730101

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

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.

Vietnam Convoy Trucker
Vietnam Convoy Trucker

Author: William E. (Bill) Patterson

Publisher: Xulon Press

Published: 2014-10-29

Total Pages: 202

ISBN-13: 9781498413084

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Vietnam Convoy Trucker recounts the story of Specialist Five William (Bill) Patterson, as he and his fellow truck drivers delivered supplies to American combat troops battling the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong. The men experienced moments of fear, boredom and humor during their almost year-long tour during the Vietnam War in the late 1960s. The Lord watched over them and brought all but one back safely. Various members of the company took the photographs that accompany many of the incidents he describes. Author Bio: William E. ("Bill") Patterson was born in Augusta, GA in 1943, one of seven children. He has lived all his life within ten miles of the Augusta National Golf Course. No, he has never played there! He attended public schools, and used his G.I. Bill benefit and graduated from Augusta College (now Georgia Regents University) with a Bachelor Of Business Administration (emphasis Management) degree. He was awarded the U.S. Army Commendation Medal for his Vietnam War service. Bill was a Georgia State Bowling Championship Team member as a youth and as an adult. He was awarded the U.S. Army Major Command Outstanding Program (Bowling) Managers Award in 1988 and 1989. After nearly forty years' employment with bowling centers he is now retired. He and wife Shelley are Christians and very active in their Warren Baptist Church. His priorities now are God, Family, Country and "Other" in that order of importance. He hopes his fellow Vietnam War Veterans and others will find this book worth reading.

Churchill's Atlantic Convoys
Churchill's Atlantic Convoys

Author: William Smith

Publisher: Pen and Sword Maritime

Published: 2023-06-01

Total Pages: 298

ISBN-13: 1399051016

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Within hours of the outbreak of the Second World War, Winston Churchill took up office as First Lord of the Admiralty. The same day the liner Athenia was torpedoed in the Atlantic in the first U-boat attack of the war. Churchill quickly recognized Britain’s survival depended on countering the U-boat threat and the strategic importance of protecting Allied merchant shipping with measures such as the convoy system. As this superbly researched book reveals, the Nazi U-boat fleet was relatively small and unprepared for war in 1939. But by early 1941 its numbers and effectiveness had increasing to the point that Hitler was able to declare ‘our warfare at sea is just beginning’. Prime Minister Churchill’s response was to issue his famous ‘Battle of the Atlantic’ Directive. Churchill’s Atlantic Convoys describes the political, strategic and tactical ebb and flow of events, particularly between 1942 and 1943. Thanks to increased numbers and scientific innovations the Allies slowly gained the upper hand despite a determined German fight back in late 1943 and early 1944. While the U-boat threat was never wholly defeated, the tenacity and sacrifices of the Allied naval forces won the day. Churchill later recognized the persistence of Germany’s effort and the fortitude of the U-boat service. It would not be until 7 June 1945 that Churchill and President Truman felt able to assert ‘the Allies have finished the job’.