Convoy Is To Scatter
London: William Kimber, 1972. Presumed First Printing. Hardcover. 232 pages. Includes Part One, Part Two, and an Epilogue. Includes 28 black and white illustrations in the text. Include maps and diagrams. Typographical error noted on List of Maps and Diagrams. The Track Chart for Convoy PQ17 page reference should be 8-9 (and not 809). DJ has some wear and soiling. Book has some edge soiling. Captain John Egerton "Jack" (or Jackie) Broome DSC, RN, (23 February 1901 – 19 April 1985) entered the Royal Naval College at Osborne in 1912. From Osborne, he passed in 1915 to the senior College at Dartmouth. He was promoted Sub-Lieutenant and served in the destroyer HMS Clematis in the Red Sea and at Aden. From there he attended Trinity Hall, Cambridge, and after graduating in 1923, chose to serve in submarines. By this time, his talent as a cartoonist and wag was well established. In 1938, he attended a staff course at the Royal Naval College at Greenwich. Broome was judged to be too old in 1939 to command a submarine in wartime. in June 1942, his Escort Group 1 was assigned to protect Convoy PQ 17, sailing from Hvalfjord in Iceland to Murmansk. The Arctic convoys were reckoned to be very hazardous missions, as they faced not only U-Boats but also German aircraft and surface ships, including the powerful battleship Tirpitz. Under attack, Admiral Dudley Pound, the First Sea Lord, order the convoy to scatter. Twenty-one of the convoy's thirty-five ships were sunk following the order. After the Second World War, he became a writer and illustrator. This book introduces a new method of presenting naval history. The operational sequence of actual signals received or exchanged by Convoy P.Q.17 from June 27th until July 4th, 1942 is reproduced verbatim. These signals reflect the story of the convoy of thirty-five Allied merchant ships that was bound for Russia carrying arms supplies at a critical phase of the war. With a close escort of six destroyer and other Royal Navy vessels, the convoy embarked on its voyage to Archangel knowing that it would be subject to the most determined attack by German U-Boats and the German air force and probably by German surface warships including the most powerful battleship afloat, the Tirpitz. In support of the close escort was a covering force consisting of four cruisers and three destroyers under the command of Rear-Admiral Hamilton in the cruiser London. In case a major fleet action developed, the Home fleet under Admiral Tovey was also at sea. Despite repeated attacks by U-Boats and the Luftwaffe, the convoy made steady progress with only small losses through its Arctic route towards Russia. But on July 4th the Admiralty, in the mistaken belief that the Tirpitz and other German warships were about to attack it, ordered the convoy to scatter. This meant that the merchant ships were spread out fanwise, leaving the escorting destroyers and covering cruisers to concentrate to engage the enemy forces--which in fact never appeared. The disastrous result of this order is well-known. No longer in convoy, but mearly a number of separate merchant ships making their own way independently, these vessels were an easy target for the German submarines and air attack, and only eleven of them reached Russian ports. Condition: Good / Good.
Keywords: Convoy PQ17, Royal Navy, Escort Group, U-boats, Tirpitz, Merchant Shipping, Acoustic Mine, Royal Air Force, Luftwaffe, Naval Operations, Naval Signals, HMS Keppel
ISBN: 9780718303327
[Book #82239]
Price: $100.00