During World War II, the beleaguered Russians depended on supplies shipped by the merchant navies of Britain and the USA to maintain their war effort. Under pressure from President Roosevelt, it was decided to run convoys past Nazi-occupied Norway in summer when it was light for 24 hours a day. Convoy PQ17 set out from Iceland in June 1942 and all was going well until it entered the Barents Sea. Then the British Admiralty learnt of the presence of three powerful German warships, and gave the controversial order to the escorting ships to abandon the convoy and for the convoy to scatter. German U-boats and aircrafts pounced. Twenty-four merchant ships out of 35 were sunk a total of 142,000 tons, together with 430 tanks, 210 bombers, 3350 motor vehicles, and 153 seamen lost their lives. This text relates the event.
- ISBN10 1840222212
- ISBN13 9781840222210
- Publish Date 1 March 2000
- Publish Status Cancelled
- Out of Print 4 May 2017
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Wordsworth Editions Ltd
- Format Paperback
- Pages 314
- Language English