Konstam, Angus/Tooby, Adam (Illustr.) Convoy PQ-17 1942. Disaster in the Arctic

The Arctic was an important channel for the direct transport of supplies from Great Britain to Russia. The British Home Fleet was tasked with protecting these convoys, which passed within range of the German bases in Norway. In 1942, the Germans had reinforced their air and naval forces and stationed a strong surface fleet group around the battleship "Tirpitz". Convoy PQ-17 was to be the last convoy to sail until autumn 1942, and it was particularly large with 35 merchant ships, more than half of which were American. When the convoy left Reykjavik for Arkhangelsk on 27 June, the Germans were already ready and waiting. The convoy was the first major joint Anglo-American naval operation under British command. Naval historian Angus Konstam documents here the retreat of the Allied escorts to intercept the German attackers and the devastating attacks on the scattered merchant ships by German aircraft and submarines. Maps and diagrams show the route and fate of the convoy elements, and artworks bring the key moments of their escape to life. In the end, 24 Allied ships were sunk, and only ten merchant ships and four relief ships reached the harbour of Arkhangelsk. PQ-17 would prove to be the worst and most controversial convoy loss of the Second World War.