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The Arctic convoys are famous as being one of the most dangerous naval ventures of the Second World War, most famous for the disaster that befell convoy PQ-17. This book focuses on the Luftwaffe’s brief window of opportunity to do real damage to those Arctic convoys, which came in 1942. It opened after Hitler ordered the Luftwaffe to send aircraft to Norway to guard against a possible Allied invasion and ended when the same units were ordered away in the aftermath of Operation Torch. For the first half of the year the British had no escort carriers, so the convoys had to make part of the run without air cover. 1942 was the only year in which the Luftwaffe posed a serious threat to the convoys, but the potential threat worried the Allies so much that no convoys to the Soviet Union ran in March-October 1943.
We start with a good overview of the strategic situation in 1942, looking at the need for the convoys, the nature of the attacks on them, the Allied response and the aftermath of the battles of 1942. We then move on to an examination of the capabilities of both sides – covering the main aircraft used by both sides - the Ju 88, He 111, He 115, BV 138, Fw 200 and Ju 87 for the Germans and the Hurricane Swordfish, Albacore, Catalina and Hampden for the Allies, the facilities available to them (In the case of the Germans this was their air bases in northern Norway and Finland, for the Allies it was mainly what could be carried by the convoy or their distant escorts), their weaponry and tactics.
We then move onto the combat section, which combines a general overview of the progress of the convoys with detailed accounts of key convoy battles. The disaster of PQ-17 gets a great deal of coverage (deservedly), looking at the Allied obsession with German surface warships that led to the disaster, and including a useful map showing where the scattered ships were sunk. Instead of looking at the process that led the Admiralty to order the dispersal, the focus here is what long term impact it had, including reducing the confidence of merchant seamen in their Naval escorts, and encouraging the Luftwaffe.
The aftermath section is of particular interest, looking at how the Luftwaffe’s successes in 1942 had an impact in 1943 and onwards, even after the bomber units involved had moved away in response to Operation Torch. By the time the Luftwaffe came back in 1945 they were much weaker and the Allied air defences were much stronger, and they achieved little, but the convoys that didn’t run after PQ-18 and in later summers were their great success.
Chapters
Chronology
Attacker’s Capabilities
Defender’s Capabilities
Campaign Objectives
The Campaign
Aftermath and Analysis
Author: Mark Lardas
Edition: Paperback
Pages: 96
Publisher: Osprey
Year: 2022