Arctic Convoys

From 1941 to 1945 Allied merchant ships and naval escorts carried weapons, vehicles, fuel and other supplies to Soviet ports including Murmansk and Arkhangelsk. The route passed through Arctic waters close to German bases in occupied Norway.

Convoy crews faced severe cold, ice, long periods of darkness or daylight and attacks by U-boats, aircraft and surface warships. Operations such as PQ 17 and PQ 18 showed both the strategic importance of the route and the heavy risks borne by merchant seamen and their escorts.