Convoy Disaster Convoy PQ-17 departed Iceland on June 27 , 1942, bound for Ru ss ia. Co mp osed of 33 merchantmen and three rescue ships, it was escorted by six destroyers, four corvettes, three minesweepers, fo ur trawlers, two anti -ai rcraft ships, and two submarines. When the Roya l Navy learned the the German ships Tirpitz, Hipper and Scheer, accompan ied by six destroyers , had sailed from Alten Fjord in Norway to intercept the convoy , they ordered the convoy to scatter. The German fl eet returned to port shortl y thereafter,but ten U-boats were directed towards the convoy as well as sq uadrons of Luftwaffe bombers. When it was over, 22 of PQl 7's 33 merchantmen were lost. It was the greatest convoy di saster of the Battle of the Atlantic. Germany lost no subma>rines and on ly five aircraft during the ;c running battle whi ch covered hundreds ~ of miles of open sea (see story in Sea ~ History 62). ti :i:: <l.
L __ _ _ _..:!11
Merchant sailors sometimes spent weeks at sea after being torpedoed. Some, like these, were " rescued" by the very U-boat which sank their ship. Unable to take enemy survivors aboard, it was common practice for the U-boat crews to make sure the survivors had food and water, give them their position, and leave them to their fate on the high seas.
This photograph was taken from a U- boat after it torpedoed one of PQ- l 7's merchantmen. Adjacent at ri ght, the same torpedoed ship is shown as it sinks by the bow. The barrage ball oon suspended from its fantail was intended as anti-aircraft defense. If the ship came under attack from enemy pl anes, the balloon and its cable would have been raised higher, the cable interfering with the attack ing aircraft ' s bombing run .
The FW-200 Condor long range patrol craft. These aircraft were the bane of the convoys. When merchant seamen saw them circling high above anti-a ircraft range, they knew the U-boats wo uld soon gather for a night attack. SEA HISTORY 66, SUMMER 1993
JJ