Edinburgh’s last Arctic convoy

Press, 9 October 1982, Page 16

Edinburgh’s last Arctic convoy

Last Call for H.M.S. Edinburgh. By Frank Pearce. Collins, 1982. 195 pp. Illustrations, index. $24.95. (Reviewed by Keith C. Hooper) Late last year divers recovered, at current prices. $6O million in gold bars from the British cruiser. H.M.S. Edinburgh, sunk in April. 1942, after a prolonged action in the icy Barents Sea. The trove it carried was Russian payment for American military supplies then worth $5 million, and as a result of the British salvage effort the Russians will profit by about $2O million. But ironies aside, the recent salvage, like the Falklands crisis, has highlighted the dreadful perils of war at sea. None were more perilous or arduous in World War II than the Arctic convoys carrying vital supplies to the besieged Soviet Union. Frank Pearce served on H.M.S. Trinidad, another modern cruiser of the day which shared a similar fate to the Edinburgh. Indeed, his book is really a tale of two ships curiously linked in their short histories. They served as escorts on the long 2000-mile route, primarily to deal with the heavy German destroyers which from time to time put in an appearance. In this respect it is surprising that Pearce does not question the wisdom of the Admiralty in despatching such large escorts when the overwhelming danger came from aircraft and U-boats — as both cruisers found to their cost. This was a lesson which was reinforced in 1942 when two British battleships were sunk by aircarft off Singapore. It is, perhaps, still applicable in the light of recent events.

From the top of Norway, German longrange aircraft patrolled the 100-mile gap between their coastal bases and the edge of the drift ice. Convoys were invariably located, especially in the long summer days, and hard on the heels of the reconnaissance planes came the bombers and U-boats. From the North Cape of Norway the harassment would be maintained all the way to Murmansk, and losses of two-thirds or more of the ships could be expected. It was a daunting experience.

The Edinburgh's first trip out was accomplished with few losses, thanks to fog, but the crew were startled to see the

Trinidad under repair in Murmansk having torpedeod itself in one of the most bizarre incidents ever to occur at sea. The gold was immediately loaded for the return trip amid a sense of impending doom. Pearce records that when in the falling sleet the red stencilling on the boxes began to drip a trail of scarlet, a sailor summed up the general feeling, declaring: "It's going to be a bad trip: this is Russian gold dripping with blood.” Prophetic or not, the Edinburgh did not go far before it was torpedoed twice and a later third torpedo finished the job. Accompanying ships rescued 790 out of her 850-man crew. Days later, trying to return to Britain on the Trinidad, the survivors were once more in the sea when, under heavy air attack, that ship, too, was sunk.

Clearly the convoys were a disaster, but as Pearce points out they were always justified on political, rather than military grounds. Stalin and Roosevelt insisted on their continuance. Yet on logistical grounds. Pearce seems to need to prove this expensive military errand was worth while. He quotes statistics such as 23,000 aircraft. 12,000 tanks, 376,000 trucks, and

51,000 jeeps, as delivered — figures which in this context are misleading and inaccurate.

On the other hand, he does portray well the extreme vulnerability of the seamen involved, closely confined and protected from icy walls of water by a thin steel sheet. His narrative is interspersed with their personal recollections, revealing scenes of men struggling in hideous black chambers awash in oil and water, and scalded by steam from ruptured pipes. Horrifying tales of cowardice and courage emerge providing worth while insights into human behaviour.

Ashore, Pearce captures well the bleak, barren aspect of that most inhospitable Arctic port and the boredom it provided to the sailors stranded there. If the book is anywhere incomplete it is in the lack of German and Russian sources. Surely Pearce could have tracked down some of these other participants involved. Views from their standpoints would have added much in terms of interest and understanding. All the same, it is a commendable account, well furnished with maps and photographs.