دانلود کتاب کاروان های قطب شمال 1942

By February 1942 the Allies had been running convoys to Russia via the Arctic route for six months. Losses had been light through to the end of that month and by then 97 ships had been sent to Murmansk and Arkhangelsk, with another 61 returned. In 158 sailings only one ship had been sunk (a second was torpedoed, but towed safely to port). This was not to say the voyage was easy. The threat of enemy action was ever present, even if it had not posed a serious danger during 1941. German-occupied Norway and German-allied Finland offered nearby bases from which the Kriegsmarine (the German navy) and Luftwaffe could launch attacks, which therefore required a heavy escort for Russian convoys. Nor was enemy action the only threat. Arctic conditions made the journey perilous at all times, with ice damage an ever-present threat that increased during the winter months, and Arctic storms another danger. A man going overboard in the Arctic Ocean or surrounding waters had only minutes to live before succumbing to hypothermia.