Icy Lifeline: The Arctic Convoys

Frost built up on the HMS Sheffield while escorting a convoy.
Photo sourced from WikiCommons.

One of the many success stories of World War II is the capacity of the United States to keep Britain fed throughout the war by making ships faster than the Germans could sink them. There was another convoy route, however, that does not get much attention but was equally as vital to the war effort. These were the Arctic convoys.

The Arctic convoys were put into place in the summer of 1941, days after the German invasion of the Soviet Union. They were so named because they were forced to travel north of the Arctic Circle to deliver supplies to Murmansk, one of the USSR's northernmost ports.

However, these convoys had to brave more than just the cold. With the German conquest of Norway and Finland allied with the Germans, the route that the convoys had to take was fraught with enemy planes and ships.

One particularly notable convoy was PQ17 (PQ referring to travelling to Murmansk; QP meant departing Murmansk). It left at a time when the majority of the German fleet and a number of German planes were stationed in Norway, and intelligence leaked that the Tirpitz, the sister ship of the Bismarck, had sailed for the convoy. The Tirpitz, it turned out, wouldn't sail until the next day but the convoy was ordered to scatter and 23 of the 34 ships were sunk by U-Boats.

Nevertheless, these convoys were never deterred, and the Soviets were able to be supplied throughout the war. Until next time take care, and thanks for reading.

(Facts and figures sourced from "Campaigns of WWII Day by Day" by Chris Bishop and Chris McNab).