Author: John L. HaynesPublisher: Publishamerica Incorporated
ISBN: 9781451201567
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 92
Book Description
A story of patriotism and heroism, this is the personal account of an18-year-old Armed Guard gunner with Convoy PQ-13, the first convoy to feel the full fury of German attacks at the beginning of WW2.Merchant ships were enlisted to deliver war materials to Murmansk, Russia. The crew aboard the Eldena was made up of experienced civilian seamen and a few gunners fresh from Navy basic training. Plowing through huge floes of field ice, with temperatures dropping to -60?, wind forces of 60-80 knots, and waves 30-50 ft. high, the PQ-13 ships were encumbered with massive coats of ice. Fierce encounters with German Wolf Pack submarines, surface raiders, and bombers sank many of the merchant ships at sea. In port in Murmansk, the city and arriving ships were under constant air attack, and many ships were sunk or destroyed at the docks as war materials were off-loaded.