The Rescue Ships And The Convoys

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The Rescue Ships and the Convoys

Author : B.B. Schofield
Publisher : Pen and Sword Maritime
ISBN 13 : 103610267X
Total Pages : 274 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (361 download)

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Book Synopsis The Rescue Ships and the Convoys by : B.B. Schofield

Download or read book The Rescue Ships and the Convoys written by B.B. Schofield and published by Pen and Sword Maritime. This book was released on 2024-06-30 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Rescue Ships and the Convoys tells the history of one of the least known aspects of Second World War maritime history. Despite the threat of heavy losses of ships and lives, no hospital ships, which had to be lit, could accompany the convoys as they would betray a convoy’s position. The solution was to create a fleet of 30 small Merchant Navy vessels of about 1,500 gross tons, mostly from coastal trade. These ‘Rescue Ships’, commanded and manned by Merchant Navy personnel, carried medical teams, and life-saving equipment including operating theaters, hospital beds, ‘Carley’ floats, and hoists. Undeterred either by either enemy action or atrocious weather conditions, these vessels accompanied close to 800 convoys and saved 4,194 lives from ships sunk in the North Atlantic and with the Arctic convoys. During their service, seven Rescue Ships were lost. This is a story packed with suspense, danger, achievement and tragedy. As the author, Vice Admiral Schofield, who was closely involved in the establishment of the fleet, writes, it is a record ‘of great humanitarian endeavour, of superb acts of courage, of a display of seamanship of the highest order, of a devotion to duty by medical officers under the most arduous conditions imaginable, of great deeds by men of the Merchant Navy in little ships on voyages they were never designed to undertake.’

The Rescue Ships

Author : B. B. Schofield
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 212 pages
Book Rating : 4.F/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis The Rescue Ships by : B. B. Schofield

Download or read book The Rescue Ships written by B. B. Schofield and published by . This book was released on 1968 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

The Rescue Ships and the Convoys

Author : B.B. Schofield
Publisher : Pen and Sword Maritime
ISBN 13 : 1036102696
Total Pages : 242 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (361 download)

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Book Synopsis The Rescue Ships and the Convoys by : B.B. Schofield

Download or read book The Rescue Ships and the Convoys written by B.B. Schofield and published by Pen and Sword Maritime. This book was released on 2024-06-30 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Rescue Ships and the Convoys tells the history of one of the least known aspects of Second World War maritime history. Despite the threat of heavy losses of ships and lives, no hospital ships, which had to be lit, could accompany the convoys as they would betray a convoy’s position. The solution was to create a fleet of 30 small Merchant Navy vessels of about 1,500 gross tons, mostly from coastal trade. These ‘Rescue Ships’, commanded and manned by Merchant Navy personnel, carried medical teams, and life-saving equipment including operating theaters, hospital beds, ‘Carley’ floats, and hoists. Undeterred either by either enemy action or atrocious weather conditions, these vessels accompanied close to 800 convoys and saved 4,194 lives from ships sunk in the North Atlantic and with the Arctic convoys. During their service, seven Rescue Ships were lost. This is a story packed with suspense, danger, achievement and tragedy. As the author, Vice Admiral Schofield, who was closely involved in the establishment of the fleet, writes, it is a record ‘of great humanitarian endeavour, of superb acts of courage, of a display of seamanship of the highest order, of a devotion to duty by medical officers under the most arduous conditions imaginable, of great deeds by men of the Merchant Navy in little ships on voyages they were never designed to undertake.’

Bloodstained Sea

Author : Michael G. Walling
Publisher : Cutter Publishing
ISBN 13 : 0578012901
Total Pages : 321 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (78 download)

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Book Synopsis Bloodstained Sea by : Michael G. Walling

Download or read book Bloodstained Sea written by Michael G. Walling and published by Cutter Publishing. This book was released on 2009-04-10 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Through eyewitness accounts based on hundreds of interviews with crew members; personal diaries, notes, and letters; and each cutter's logbooks and patrol reports Walling plunges you into the thick of the battle, re-creating some of the most desperate encounters, heroic rescues, and harrowing missions of the Second World War. Told largely in the voices of the men who lived it, this unforgettable tale is peppered with humorous and ironic anecdotes about life aboard ship during wartime. You'll meet the liberty-craving crew members who painted their entire ship in less than an hour; the ship's mascot who became canine-non-grata in Greenland; and the crew whose vessel was mistaken for the German battleship Bismarck and attacked by the Royal Navy. Complete with dramatic photographs of the Coast Guard in action, Bloodstained Sea brings this epic drama to vibrant and pulsing life.

Forgotten Sacrifice

Author : Michael G. Walling
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1782002901
Total Pages : 365 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (82 download)

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Book Synopsis Forgotten Sacrifice by : Michael G. Walling

Download or read book Forgotten Sacrifice written by Michael G. Walling and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2012-10-20 with total page 365 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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 Allied Convoy System 1939-1945

Author : Arnold Hague
Publisher : Bloomsbury Academic
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 216 pages
Book Rating : 4.F/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis The Allied Convoy System 1939-1945 by : Arnold Hague

Download or read book The Allied Convoy System 1939-1945 written by Arnold Hague and published by Bloomsbury Academic. This book was released on 2000 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a history of the development and operation of the Allied convoy system in the Second World War. It explains the organization and protection of convoys and provides descriptions of all the escort vessels, oilers, rescue ships and salvage tugs that were employed. Further explanations are provided on the tactics and weapons of the U-boat war. Also included is an appendix listing every North Atlantic-related convoy, with details of departure and arrival dates and the ships involved, and an index of ships lost.

Crisis Convoy

Author : Sir Peter Gretton
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 208 pages
Book Rating : 4.F/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Crisis Convoy by : Sir Peter Gretton

Download or read book Crisis Convoy written by Sir Peter Gretton and published by . This book was released on 1974 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In April 1943, Commander Peter Gretton in charge of escorting a vital Allied trade convoy from New York to Great Britain across the North Atlantic. Over the course of the voyage, the sixty-one merchant ships of convoy HX231, along with the six ships of B7 Escort Group, were continuously shadowed and attacked by a German wolf pack of twenty U-boats. With the aid of air support, the convoy and defending escort fought valiantly across hundreds of miles of ocean and, despite poor weather conditions, managed to sink and severely damage several enemy submarines. Tragically six merchant ships were torpedoed and with no rescue vessel any survivors were left stranded in the freezing waters of the Atlantic as the convoy continued on its journey. Drawing on reports from both sides, Gretton details the sequence of events as convoy HX231 battled its way through a large wolf pack and offers an authoritative post-battle analysis of the strategies, decisions and actions taken that would ultimately see the tide of war turn in favour of victory for the Allies."--Back cover.

Convoy

Author : Middlebroo
Publisher : Penguin Uk
ISBN 13 : 9780140166958
Total Pages : 416 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (669 download)

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Book Synopsis Convoy by : Middlebroo

Download or read book Convoy written by Middlebroo and published by Penguin Uk. This book was released on 1992-10 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Arctic Convoy PQ8

Author : Michael Wadsworth
Publisher : Pen and Sword
ISBN 13 : 1526762293
Total Pages : 192 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (267 download)

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Book Synopsis Arctic Convoy PQ8 by : Michael Wadsworth

Download or read book Arctic Convoy PQ8 written by Michael Wadsworth and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2009-11-30 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When Robert Brundle took the SS Harmatris to Russia with Convoy PQ8 he was 47 years of age. Both ship and master were veterans and had already sailed in convoys across the North Atlantic and to South Africa. The 5,395 ton coal fired ship, laden with 8,000 tons of armaments originally set sail on 27 November 1941 to join convoy PQ6 but encountered a fierce storm in which a lorry broke free in the hold and started a fierce blaze below decks. Despite valiant attempts to extinguish the fire the Harmatris was forced to return to Glasgow for repair. Having discharged its cargo, examined and repaired the holds, it restowed and finally put to sea again on 26 December. She was now to join PQ8 and Brundle was elected Convoy Commodore. Two minesweepers, a cruiser and two destroyers escorted the eight merchant vessels.On 8 January the convoy left Reykjavik bound for Murmansk. Harmatris was struck by two torpedoes in No 1 hold which caused flooding. A third torpedo struck her a few hours later and the crew evacuated to HMS Speedwell in attendance. A volunteer crew reboarded and Speedwell took the wounded ship in tow. During the night the same U Boat that had struck Harmatris sunk the destroyer Matabele with the loss of all but two of her crew. A tug eventually replaced Speedwell and the entire crew now returned to their still stricken vessel. On 18 January the ships were twice attacked by low flying Heinkels. The stricken Harmatris finally berthed in Murmansk at 0800 on 20 January. Once unloaded the battered ship entered dry dock on 10 February. The damage was considerable. In a temperature of 40 degrees below zero the crew set about the repairs. It was difficult to locate engine parts and local labor was scarce.During the following months the crew continued to work on the ship, food was scarce and the port was frequently bombed by the Luftwaffe. Several ships close to Harmatris were sunk. It was 21 July when the ship finally left for Archangel. She took aboard a cargo of 3,000 tons of steel pipes and on 13 September she was instructed to join a convoy of 20 ships, QP14 for her return voyage. On 19 September the minesweeper HMS Leda, steaming close by Harmartris, was torpedoed. The convoy was under almost continuous U Boat attack and suffered six losses. As a result of his heroic efforts to preserve his ship and crew Captain Brundle was awarded the OBE and the Lloyds War Medal. He died in 1960 at the age of 66.

Arctic Convoys, 1941–1945

Author : Richard Woodman
Publisher : Pen and Sword
ISBN 13 : 1526714264
Total Pages : 640 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (267 download)

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Book Synopsis Arctic Convoys, 1941–1945 by : Richard Woodman

Download or read book Arctic Convoys, 1941–1945 written by Richard Woodman and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2018-01-30 with total page 640 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

The Decoys

Author : Bernard Edwards
Publisher : Pen and Sword
ISBN 13 : 1473887100
Total Pages : 247 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (738 download)

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Book Synopsis The Decoys by : Bernard Edwards

Download or read book The Decoys written by Bernard Edwards and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2012-10-30 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In November 1942, Britain and America launched Operation TORCH, the ambitious invasion of French North Africa.To convey 70,000 troops and their equipment required 600 merchant ships crossing the U-boat infested North Atlantic. The need for their protection meant withdrawing escorts from the routine convoys. Amongst those left without adequate defence were RB 1 and SC 107, both eastbound from America, and SL 125, northbound from Freetown. All three were at sea at the same time as the TORCH convoys.

Darkest Before Dawn

Author : John Peterson
Publisher : The History Press
ISBN 13 : 0752472666
Total Pages : 204 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (524 download)

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Book Synopsis Darkest Before Dawn by : John Peterson

Download or read book Darkest Before Dawn written by John Peterson and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2011-10-21 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the autumn of 1944 the Second World War was coming to an end. In the Atlantic the U-boats had been beaten back through a massive programme of Allied shipbuilding combined with tactical, technological and intelligence improvements. The threat to Allied shipping had diminished. But it had not disappeared, and a lone U-boat on its first active patrol slipped into the North Channel; in just a few days five ships lay broken on the seabed including the Empire Heritage, one of the largest Allied ships lost during the war, and the Jacksonville, an American tanker sailing out of New York. In Darkest Before Dawn John Peterson presents the story for the first time of how U-482 managed to slip undetected into the busy shipping lanes of the North Channel and carry out the last great U-boat patrol of the war. It is the story of the attack, the aftermath and the men involved, including the aristocratic U-boat commander von Matushka, who was on the Bismarck when it was sunk earlier in the war – was he driven by revenge to torpedo the Pinto, a rescue ship trying to pick up the survivors of Empire Heritage – an act that some claimed to be a war crime? Based on new research and previously unpublished material, Darkest Before Dawn presents the definitive account of the attack on convoy HX-305 and unravels the mystery of the fate of U-482.

The Ghost Ships of Archangel

Author : William Geroux
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 0593511379
Total Pages : 353 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (935 download)

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Book Synopsis The Ghost Ships of Archangel by : William Geroux

Download or read book The Ghost Ships of Archangel written by William Geroux and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2022-05-03 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An extraordinary story of survival and alliance during World War II: the icy journey of four Allied ships crossing the Arctic to deliver much needed supplies to the Soviet war effort. On the fourth of July, 1942, four Allied ships traversing the Arctic split from their decimated convoy to head further north into the ice field of the North Pole. They were seeking safety from Nazi bombers and U-boats in the perilous white maze of ice floes, growlers, and giant bergs. Despite the many risks of their chosen route, the four vessels had a better chance of reaching their destination than the rest of the remains of convoy PQ-17. The convoy had started as a fleet of thirty-five cargo ships carrying $1 billion worth of war supplies to the Soviet port of Archangel--the only help Roosevelt and Churchill had extended to Joseph Stalin to maintain their fragile alliance against Germany. At the most dangerous point of the voyage, the ships had received a startling order to scatter and had quickly become easy prey for the Nazis. The crews of the four ships focused on their mission. U.S. Navy Ensign Howard Carraway, aboard the SS Troubadour, was a farm boy from South Carolina and one of the many Americans for whom the convoy was a first taste of war; from the Royal Navy Reserve, Lt. Leo Gradwell was given command of the HMT Ayrshire, a British fishing trawler that had been converted into an antisubmarine vessel. The twenty-four-hour Arctic daylight in midsummer gave them no respite from bombers or submarines, and they all feared the giant German battleship Tirpitz, nicknamed the "Big Bad Wolf." Icebergs were as dangerous as Nazis as the remnants of convoy PQ-17 tried to slip through the Arctic to deliver their cargo in one of the most dramatic escapes of World War II. At Archangel they found a traumatized, starving city, and a disturbing preview of the Cold War ahead.

Convoy

Author : Martin Middlebrook
Publisher : William Morrow
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 420 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Convoy by : Martin Middlebrook

Download or read book Convoy written by Martin Middlebrook and published by William Morrow. This book was released on 1986 with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Winston Churchill wrote, "The only thing that ever really frightened me during the war was the U-boat peril." Had the convoy link between North America and Britain been broken, the course of World War II would have been different. In March 1943, the Germans were coming close to doing just that - sinking ninety-seven Allied merchant ships in twenty days, twice the rate of replacement, while losing seven U-boats and putting fourteen more into service. At this time, two convoys sailed from New York harbor for England. Admiral Dönitz deployed forty-two U-boats to trap them. Convoy is a powerful narrative of the ensuing engagement, which became a major turning point in the Battle of the Atlantic. It documents every maneuver of the more than eighty merchant ships and escort vessels, the long-range air cover, and the attacking U-boats. In recounting how the crews of the ships and U-boats were recruited, worked, fought, and died, Convoy tells the story of the hundreds of convoys that sailed the ocean during the war. It also throws new light on three controversies : why there was an "air gap" long after full air cover could have been provided, why convoys had to sail with dangerously weak naval escorts, and how the Allies outwitted the Germans in the radio decoding war. This dramatic and authoritative book provides a valuable contribution to the naval history of World War II."--

Churchill's Arctic Convoys

Author : William Smith
Publisher : Pen and Sword Maritime
ISBN 13 : 1399072307
Total Pages : 234 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (99 download)

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Book Synopsis Churchill's Arctic Convoys by : William Smith

Download or read book Churchill's Arctic Convoys written by William Smith and published by Pen and Sword Maritime. This book was released on 2022-09-21 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The threat of Operation Barbarossa, Hitler’s surprise invasion of Russia in June 1941, succeeding prompted Churchill to decide to send vital military supplies to Britain’s new ally. The early sailings to Northern Russia via the Arctic Ocean between August 1941 and February 1942 were largely unopposed. But this changed dramatically during the course of 1942 when German naval and air operations inflicted heavy losses on both merchantmen and their escorts. Problems were exacerbated by the need to divert Royal Navy warships to support the North African landing. Strained Anglo-Soviet relations coupled with mounting losses and atrocious weather and sea conditions led to the near termination of the program in early 1943. Again, competing operational priorities, namely the invasion of Sicily and preparations for D-Day, affected the convoy schedules. In the event, despite often crippling losses of lives, ships and supplies, the convoys continued until shortly before VE-Day. This thoroughly researched and comprehensive account examines both the political, maritime and logistic aspects of the Arctic convoy campaign. Controversially it reveals that the losses of merchant vessels were significantly greater than hitherto understood. While Churchill may not have described the convoys as ‘the worst journey in the world’, for the brave men who undertook he mission often at the cost of their lives, it most definitely was.

PQ 17--convoy to Hell

Author : Paul Lund
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 266 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (89 download)

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Book Synopsis PQ 17--convoy to Hell by : Paul Lund

Download or read book PQ 17--convoy to Hell written by Paul Lund and published by . This book was released on 1968 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Churchill's Arctic Convoys

Author : William Smith
Publisher : Pen and Sword Maritime
ISBN 13 : 1399072323
Total Pages : 274 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (99 download)

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Book Synopsis Churchill's Arctic Convoys by : William Smith

Download or read book Churchill's Arctic Convoys written by William Smith and published by Pen and Sword Maritime. This book was released on 2022-09-21 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The threat of Operation Barbarossa, Hitler’s surprise invasion of Russia in June 1941, succeeding prompted Churchill to decide to send vital military supplies to Britain’s new ally. The early sailings to Northern Russia via the Arctic Ocean between August 1941 and February 1942 were largely unopposed. But this changed dramatically during the course of 1942 when German naval and air operations inflicted heavy losses on both merchantmen and their escorts. Problems were exacerbated by the need to divert Royal Navy warships to support the North African landing. Strained Anglo-Soviet relations coupled with mounting losses and atrocious weather and sea conditions led to the near termination of the program in early 1943. Again, competing operational priorities, namely the invasion of Sicily and preparations for D-Day, affected the convoy schedules. In the event, despite often crippling losses of lives, ships and supplies, the convoys continued until shortly before VE-Day. This thoroughly researched and comprehensive account examines both the political, maritime and logistic aspects of the Arctic convoy campaign. Controversially it reveals that the losses of merchant vessels were significantly greater than hitherto understood. While Churchill may not have described the convoys as ‘the worst journey in the world’, for the brave men who undertook he mission often at the cost of their lives, it most definitely was.