Osprey

Convoy PQ-17 1942

Disaster in the Arctic

Authors:	Angus Konstam and Adam Tooby
Published:	2025
Format:	Paperback, 96 pages
Size:	248 × 184 × 9 mm

£16⁹⁹

Tax included

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The Arctic convoy that became a catastrophe

A meticulously researched analysis of how a critical Anglo-American supply mission to Russia became the worst convoy disaster of World War II, with stunning illustrations bringing the dramatic events to life

A gripping account of the most famous convoy operation of the war, which marked a high-water mark for the German naval campaign in the Arctic. The Arctic was a vital conduit for transporting supplies directly from Great Britain to Russia. The British Home Fleet was tasked with protecting these convoys, which passed within range of the German bases in Norway. By 1942, the Germans had reinforced their air and naval forces, stationing a powerful naval surface group there centred around the battleship Tirpitz.

Convoy PQ-17 was set to be the last convoy to sail until the autumn of 1942, and was a particularly large one, involving 35 merchant ships, over half of which were American. When it departed Reykjavik on 27 June, bound for Archangel, the Germans were ready and waiting. The convoy was the first large joint Anglo-American naval operation under British command.

Here, expert naval historian Angus Konstam documents the withdrawal of the Allied close escort to intercept the German raiders, and the devastating attacks on the scattered merchant ships by German aircraft and U-boats. Maps and diagrams plot the passage and fate of the convoy elements, and stunning artworks bring to life key moments of their efforts to escape.

In the end, 24 Allied ships were sunk, and only ten merchant ships and four auxiliaries reached the port of Archangel. PQ-17 would prove to be the worst convoy loss of World War II, and the most controversial.

Origins of the Campaign
Chronology
Opposing Commanders
Opposing Forces and Orders of Battle
Opposing Plans
The Campaign
Aftermath
The Battlefield Today
Bibliography
Index

About the Authors

Angus Konstam is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and has written widely on naval history, with well over a hundred books in print. He is a former Royal Navy officer, maritime archaeologist and museum curator, who has worked in the Royal Armouries, Tower of London, and Mel Fisher Maritime Museum. Now a full-time author and historian, he lives in Orkney.

Adam Tooby is an internationally renowned digital artist and illustrator. His work can be found in publications worldwide and as box art for model aircraft kits. He also runs a successful illustration studio and aviation prints business. He is based in Cheshire, UK.