- Author
- Swinden, Greg
- Subjects
- WWII operations, History - WW2, Book reviews
- Tags
-
- RAN Ships
- None noted.
- Publication
- September 2025 edition of the Naval Historical Review (all rights reserved)
The Convoy by Angus Konstam
Published by: Bloomsbury Publishing
Reviewed by: Greg Swinden
The British prime minister, Winston Churchill, said after the Second World War that there was only one thing that really frightened him during the conflict: the U-Boat threat. If the Germans could stop the flow of food, munitions, equipment and troops to Great Britain then the war would ultimately be lost. Thus, the Battle of the Atlantic was crucial to defeating Nazi Germany. This book by Angus Konstam describes a small but vital part of that six-year campaign.
At first look the narrative would appear to be a little odd as its focus is on a single Allied convoy (from Gibraltar to England) in a campaign that saw thousands of convoys traversing the world’s oceans; however this convoy was to prove that
the U-Boats could be beaten by new tactics and new weapons systems. Much of the new tactics came from Commander Frederic ‘Jonnie’ Walker who was a pre-war anti-submarine warfare officer who had languished in the middle ranks for many years due to his criticism of Royal Navy anti-submarine training and equipment – but as the old saying goes ‘cometh the moment – cometh the man’. Walker commanded the escort ships for convoy HG-76, and he used new and innovative tactics to combat the Nazi ‘wolf-pack’ system that had previously wreaked havoc on Allied convoys.
Additionally, the convoy also had with it, for the first time, the ‘mini’ aircraft carrier HMS Audacity that had started its life as a German merchant vessel. Following its capture in 1939 the vessel was converted to an escort carrier to operate four Martlet fighter aircraft (originally bought from the US by the French Government but delivered to the British after the fall of France in mid-1940). The aircraft were ranged on the flight deck (as there was no hangar) and conducted patrols searching for U-Boats on the surface and Luftwaffe Condor reconnaissance aircraft. The Condors were based in Southern France and could operate for up to 12-hours over exceptionally long distances and radioed convoy movements to the U-Boats. The frequent air patrols by the Martlet fighters, to locate the U-Boats and patrolling Condors, disrupted the attacks by stifling the flow of information to the U-Boats and forcing the craft to submerge and thus lose contact with the convoy. Audacity’s success also made her a prime target, and she was eventually sunk by a U-Boat in one of the last attacks on convoy HG-76. Of note is that among the Fleet Air Arm pilots serving in Audacity was Sub-Lieutenant Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown who later became one of one world’s best-known test pilots.
The combination of air support from Audacity, outstanding leadership and tactical prowess by Walker and sage control of the convoy by the convoy commodore (retired Vice Admiral Raymond Fitzmaurice) ensured the convoy reached England with only two merchant ships sunk out of 32 ships in the group. Audacity and one of the escorts were lost but a total of five U-Boats were sunk and another badly damaged and forced to return to port (one of the U-Boats was sunk by the Royal Australian
Navy destroyer HMAS Nestor that had been built in Britain and was on her first convoy escort duty). The logistic issues also rate a mention as several of the convoy escorts had insufficient fuel, to screen the convoy for the full duration of the journey and had to return to port. Additionally, some escorts expended all their depth charges due the constant U-Boat attacks and Walker’s aggressive tactics.
The author also describes, in depth, the command and control of the U-Boats exercised by Vice Admiral Karl Donitz from his headquarters in the Villa Kerillon on the outskirts of Lorient. Donitz and his staff were stretched as they organised and controlled operations in the eastern Atlantic, west coast of Africa, the Mediterranean and the western Atlantic after the USA enter the war following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Equally of concern for Donitz was the morale and welfare of his submariners, who were tired and well overdue for relief with many U-Boats lost due to inexperienced crews or over-worked veterans. The busy Allied convoy escorts also had their fair share of issues as well, and Commander, later Captain Walker, died before the war ended due to exhaustion and ill-health.
Apart from some minor proof-reading issues this is an excellent book and highly recommended for those interested in the Battle of the Atlantic. For those who wish to further immerse themselves in this topic I would also recommend watching the movies The Cruel Sea for the British point of view, and Das Boot for the German experience.