Convoy PQ-17 1942

by Angus Konstam

ISBN: 9781472864277

Published: 2025-04-22

A gripping account of the most famous convoy operation of the war, which marked a high-water mark for the German naval campaign in the Arctic. The Arctic was a vital conduit for transporting supplies directly 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. By 1942, the Germans had reinforced their air and naval forces, stationing a powerful naval surface group there centred around the battleship Tirpitz. Convoy PQ-17 was set to be the last convoy to sail until the autumn of 1942, and was a particularly large one, involving 35 merchant ships, over half of which were American. When it departed Reykjavik on 27 June, bound for Archangel, the Germans were ready and waiting. The convoy was the first large joint Anglo-American naval operation under British command. Here, expert naval historian Angus Konstam documents the withdrawal of the Allied close escort to intercept the German...