Fighting Commodores: Convoy Commanders in the Second World War

Britain's only hope of survival against Hitler's ever encroaching Nazi forces was to keep open the vital supply lanes across the Atlantic. To do so, a group of retired senior naval officers were called on to take command of the merchant convoys. This book is the first to profile the heroic men and their actions that eventually helped turn the tide of war. Well respected and well tried, they had fought fearlessly in World War I and tackled their new duties with vigor. Author Alan Burn pays tribute to some one hundred eighty commodores who not only took on the treacherous U-boats but also had to deal with the fiercely independent merchant ship masters and convoys of up to fifty slow-moving ships often filled with dangerous cargo. An example of the difficulty of their task is indicated by the fact that in 1942 merchant ships were lost daily. Rich with human drama and historical detail, the book describes the work of the merchant haw and the role of the colorful commodores in terms that will appeal to both marine experts and those who enjoy true sea adventures. An entire chapter is devoted to American liberty ships.