Derek Nudd's Blog - Posts Tagged "arctic"

Arctic Convoys: Bletchley Park and the War for the Seas by David Kenyon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Kenyon's aim is to tell the story of the WW2 Arctic convoys in parallel with the Bletchley Park cryptographic effort, putting each in the context of the other. In this he succeeds, laying several myths on the way. The book is organised in three parts: Codebreakers, Defence (1941-42) and Attack (1942-45).
As resident Bletchley historian his focus on the radio war is explicit and understandable. The reader should however remember that naval intelligence was filtered through the Operational Intelligence Centre (OIC) which integrated information from all sources. There are a few moments where he arguably fails to give due credit to those other sources. For example his claim that traffic analysis in 1939 provided 'the only source of information on German naval activity' ignores the role of prisoner interrogation, as does his passage on the 'Zaukonig' (T5) homing torpedo. The value of the information in captives' heads can be judged by the fact that GC&CS staff Paul Leonardo de Laszlo and Charles O’Callaghan were temporarily seconded to the Combined Services Detailed Interrogation Centre (CSDIC). Equally Captain Colpoys' assertion that special intelligence provided 'the only source of information on 'Scharnhorst's' departure from Altafjord' is quoted without comment. Later research suggests Norwegian coast watchers were equally prompt.
This is not to detract from the book's achievement. By looking explicitly at the numbers of ships and cargoes despatched and lost, the attacks on them and their results, the tactics of attack and defence, the strengths and weaknesses of command on both sides, and comparing all these with other theatres Kenyon has made a major contribution to the literature.



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