[FT] Vector vs. cinematic; convoy raids

> At 11:44 AM -0500 9/17/99, devans@uneb.edu wrote:

> I'm afraid I'm having trouble getting excited with the topic; in all

Absolutely, if the raiders get into beam range of the convoy, then the escort
has already failed it's primary mission and should now just try to make it
expensive. Of course, the best examples from history of defending a convoy
from surface raiders would be the Arctic convoys of WWII.

I've been studying that campaign, and I still can't figure out what the RN
thought it's doctrine was (beyond keeping BBs and CVs well outside of land
based aviation). Usually they kept destroyers iwth
the convoy, cruisers nearby (2-3 hours) and a pair of battleships
(4-6 hours away). That's reasonable, but the heavy escorts were all
deployed away from the line of approach of the expected raiders. I assume they
were hoping to catch the Tirpitz with a pair of KGVs plus cruisers. Either
that or they were hoping to cow the Kriegsmarine into leaving the convoy
alone, not an unreasonable assumption given Hitler's reluctance to risk heavy
surface units.

I recommend any book covering the Arctic convoys, absolutely most especially
the novel "HMS Ulysses" by Alistair MacLean. Anything on PQ17 or Sherbrooke's
defense of JW51B with 6 destroyers against the
Hipper, Lutzow and 6 DDs on 12/31/1942 will also cover the essentials.