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Conflict and Change
Learning
Arctic Convoys
Royal Navy ships ferry arms and ammuninition to Russia
The Arctic route was the most arduous of all convoy routes. With the Invasion of Russia by Germany in 1941 Britain gained a new ally and a responsibility to provide material for the new front. For the Arctic convoys the battle was constant, be it against German enemies or the fierce weather conditions. From 1941 to 1945 the gruelling convoys ferried thousands of tons of arms and ammunition. The convoy’s task was complicated and arduous, but essential. Each successful journey was an epic achievement and each merchant vessel lost was a catastrophe felt at sea and on land.
Russian Convoy Cruiser Escort on Arctic lifeline with frost and snow on bridge (RNM)
Arctic convoy ships were begged, borrowed and converted from other parts of the Merchant and Royal Navies. The Royal Navy had been overstretched in the Atlantic even before it undertook these extra convoys. With Germany’s occupation of Norway the merchant and navy sailors were under threat from aircraft, U-Boats and surface ships.
The majority of the Arctic convoys, under the command of Admiral Tovey, lacked anti-submarine and anti-aircraft ships either carrying AA/ASW armament or planes. The overstretched war was to produce some hybrid ‘cruisers’. The only real solution to this lack of air cover was aircraft carriers, which were in short supply. The Admiralty also ordered the rapid building of the escort vessels such as the simple but hardworking Flower-class corvettes in attempt to neutralise the submarine threat. The Arctic convoys were harsh and unforgiving with ever-present threats, during days where the sun would never set.
Russian Convoy Merchant ships and frozen sea (RNM)
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Arctic Convoys
