"Arctic Convoys", or How the British helped the USSR during the Great Patriotic War

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Starting the war with the USSR, the German leadership hoped that the country would find itself in political isolation, deprived of the help of other states. However, in July the Soviet Union and Great Britain became allies, and in October the United States decided to supply the belligerent anti-Hitler side - food, weapons and strategic materials. The British military undertook to deliver the cargo, which already in August 1941 formed and sent to Astrakhan the first Arctic guarded caravan.

When and by whom the decision was made on the supply of weapons, ammunition and food to the USSR: PQ and QP

The first sea convoys were organized by the Spaniards - in the 16th century they exported Peruvian and Mexican gold and silver across the Atlantic, and their galleons were often attacked by English corsairs. Half a century later, a similar experience was used by the British, who signed an agreement with the USSR on July 12, 1941 on joint actions in the war against Germany. The impetus for the appearance of this document was the speech of Winston Churchill, delivered on the English radio on June 22, in which he promised to render all possible support to Russia and the Russian people.

In July, after the signing of an agreement with Great Britain, Stalin met with a confidant of the American president, Harry Hopkins. Roosevelt instructed him to find out what kind of help the Russians would need and whether the Soviet leader had the determination to win the war. The meeting lasted for two days, after which Hopkins returned to America with a detailed report on the trip and conversation with the leader. The information received impressed Roosevelt and convinced him to make the final decision on the supply of food, weapons and military materials to the USSR. On October 1, the countries signed the corresponding protocol, and on the 28th of the same month, the new US ally was included in the list of countries for which the Lend-Lease Law was in effect.

Icy hell, or what did the guards have to face when delivering strategic cargo to the USSR?

While politicians were deciding questions about supplies at the official level, in Iceland on August 21, 1941, the first sea convoy, codenamed "Dervish", was formed and sent to its destination - Arkhangelsk. Subsequent convoys to Arkhangelsk and Murmansk received the abbreviation PQ, derived from the name of the British officer Peter Quelyn, who was involved in organizational work; ships going from the USSR with a cargo of natural resources in exchange had the QP identifier.

The 2,000-mile Arctic route was not only the shortest (it took 10-14 days), but also the most dangerous of all sea routes used to deliver goods. However, until the onset of 1942, it did without losses - both cargo ships and escort warships always safely reached the northern Soviet ports. The situation escalated in the winter when the Germans realized the importance of the convoys and intensified in the Atlantic to obstruct communication between the Allies.

Since then, each convoy has been attacked by the enemy: floating mines, shelling from ships, submarines and air - sometimes destroyed up to two-thirds of transport ships and escort ships. In addition to massive attacks, the cold fell on the sailors - the surviving people who managed to escape on boats from the sunken transport simply froze, often not even hoping for help. In total, from 1942 to 1945, Great Britain lost 16 warships and 85 merchant ships, along with which more than 3,000 British sailors lost their lives.

In total, 78 convoys were conducted from August 1941 to May 1945.

How did the Germans organize the fight against the "Arctic convoys"?

Although in 1941 the German Navy had its ships and submarines in Norwegian waters, there was no intention at first to use them against convoys - too much fuel was required for a long raid due to several ships. However, the increase in the number of transport ships, the frequency of deliveries, as well as the risk of landing on the occupied lands, forced the Germans to build up their forces in the region and start attacking British ships.

In January 1942, the first victims of the USSR's allies appeared - the Germans destroyed the transport ship "Waziristan" and the destroyer "Motabele". In February, Hitler personally gave the order to carry out anti-convoy operations more actively, increasing the number of submarines, bombers and torpedo ships for this. The concentration of forces concentrated against the escort of cargo ships reached almost its apogee in July: 30 diving and 103 twin-engine bombers, 74 long-range reconnaissance aircraft, 15 hydroplanes with torpedoes, 42 twin-engine torpedo bombers - a total of 264 combat aircraft! The armada was used to attack the convoy PQ-17, as a result of which only 11 of 34 ships survived.

The tragedy interrupted supplies for two months and forced the next convoy to be reinforced with an aircraft carrier. At the same time, the Germans increased the number of torpedo aircraft to 92, deciding to simultaneously use 12 submarines. After the attack on the PQ-18 convoy, the British lost 13 ships out of 40. The November 1942 landing of the British-American landing in North Africa weakened the German anti-convoy forces, as Germany transferred most of the bombers and torpedo bombers to the Mediterranean. After that, she has never managed to concentrate power in the Arctic, similar to that which was collected in the summer of 1942.

What was the strategic importance of the "Arctic convoys" in the USSR

The presence of convoys in the Arctic led to a change in the alignment of naval forces, forcing Germany to "spray" both air and naval units. The activity shown by the British destroyers off the coast of Norway convinced Hitler of Britain's desire to seize Norway. This, coupled with the need to prevent the delivery of goods to the Soviet Union, forced the German leader to order to strengthen the Norwegian water area with heavy surface ships led by the battleship Tirpitz. After that, the battleship, despite its combat power, practically did not participate in military operations, although it was originally planned to be used, like other ships with Wehrmacht aircraft against the Baltic Fleet of the USSR.

But in history there was already 10 cases when nature itself put an end to conflicts.