Churchill’s Arctic Convoys. Strength Triumphs Over Adversity. By William Smith. Pen & Sword Maritime, Barnsley, 2022. ISBN 978-1-39907-229-8
Reviewed by David Hobbs
William Smith is a former civil servant who had extensive experience of RN, joint service and NATO logistic planning. After retirement he studied history and the research for this book was particularly influenced by his father’s service in the Merchant Navy during the Second World War.
The publisher’s comments on the dust jacket describe it as having been thoroughly researched and offering a comprehensive account of the political, maritime and logistic aspects of the Arctic Convoy Campaign. It also states that the author’s calculations have shown that the actual losses of merchant vessels were significantly greater than those quoted in previous histories. The text is supported by forty-five black and white photographs which have been carefully chosen for their clarity and there are two maps, one showing the routes followed by convoys and the other the area of the Barents Sea around Bear Island. A third map would have been a welcome addition to show greater detail of the area around the Kola Inlet, Murmansk, the White Sea, Novaya Zemlya and Archangel. Without it, anchorages and locations mentioned in the text such as the landing of survivors in Pomorski Bay on page 70 are difficult to visualise.
The convoys to and from Russia are described sequentially and it is soon clear that the author’s focus is concentrated on the merchants ships, not the escorts or heavy cover. The escorts are named within the text for each convoy but the merchant vessels are listed in Tables 4, 5 and 6 after the main text by nationality; American and Panamanian first, then British and lastly Russian. This leads to some flipping back and forward and I would have found it easier to use appropriate tables with each convoy text to show its complete composition. It would also have been interesting to know what individual ships were carrying, data that would have added to the book’s historiographical value but cargoes are only mentioned when describing ships that sank. The focus on merchant ships certainly brings to life an aspect of the Arctic Convoy Campaign that merits greater attention but the failure to cover the full picture detracts from the publisher’s claim that this book is comprehensive. As an example, the Battle of the North Cape on 26 December 1943 in which Scharnhorst was sunk by the battleship Duke of York after trying to attack convoy JW 55B is dismissed in a single sentence. The valiant defence of the convoy by its cruiser and destroyer escort is not mentioned and the attacks on Tirpitzby midget submarines and Fleet Air Arm strike aircraft to prevent it from sailing against the convoys are hardly mentioned at all. There are frequent references to the heroism displayed by Merchant Navy personnel and in some cases the official citations for their well-deserved awards are quoted. On the other hand, Captain Sherbrooke VC RN who continued to direct the defence of convoy JW 51B after being severely wounded and temporarily blinded on the bridge of the destroyer Onslow by shell hits from the cruiser Hipper is hardly mentioned. The award of the VC for his gallantry only receives a brief sentence in Smith’s book.
The text in some places gives the impression that the author lacked a comprehensive understanding of his subject. Aircraft carriers are mentioned when they formed part of the escort and covering forces but there is no mention of how they and their aircraft were operated, lessons learned or any of the tactics, sensors and weapons their aircrew employed. The difference they made to the defence of convoys is not explained and nor are there any descriptions of how the convoy columns were formed, how they were manoeuvred and how the convoy commodores briefed the ship’s masters on what was required of them at the pre-sailing conferences. The evolution of the anti-submarine tactics used by the escorts is not mentioned and the advantages of ahead-throwing weapons such as Hedgehog and Squid are not explained. All this information is available but does not seem to have stimulated the author’s interest. Several submarines sailed with Arctic convoys as part of their escort but there is no description of how they were integrated with the surface and air escorts or what steps were taken to ensure that they were not mis-identified as U-boats.
In his final chapter, headed Summary and Conclusions, Smith carries out a forensic analysis of convoy sailings which justifies the claim that losses were greater than those originally declared. It also shows that the author cares deeply about this aspect of his subject but against this positive aspect of the narrative he makes the indefensible statement that Fleet Air Arm and RAF losses in aircraft and aircrew are not readily available. They are. I have no doubt that adequate research would provide information about RAF losses and Smith already knows which aircraft carriers were involved and on which dates. A number of sources would show him which naval air squadrons were embarked on those ships between those dates. These would enable him list casualties from the Fleet Air Arm Roll of Honour. Detailed information about the air aspects of the campaign can be found the Naval Staff History of the Second World War – The Development of British Naval Aviation 1919-1945 Chapter 4 and in the Naval Staff History covering The Defeat of the Enemy Attack on Shipping. Both give references that would lead to further research into primary documents such as war diaries and reports of proceeding.
On the credit side, Churchill’s Arctic Convoys draws attention to the part played by merchant vessels and their brave crews but it cannot be considered a comprehensive story without explaining the actions of the escort forces and their increasingly sophisticated weapons and tactics. Whilst it could be said to offer a minor contribution to the historiography of an important element of the Arctic convoy story, it is badly compromised by that unforgiveable statement in the final chapter about air losses. I shall not retain my copy and I cannot recommend it to fellow ANI members.
