Darkest Before Dawn U-482 And The Sinking Of The Empire Heritage 1944 .epub

Author(s): John Peterson
Publisher:
Date: 2011-09-01 Format: epub Language: English ISBN/ASIN: 0752458833
Pages: 192 OCR: Quality: ISBN13: 9780752458830

This is the story of four very different vessels, brought together on one particular dark night in 1944 off Ireland by the fortunes of war: a German submarine, a former whaling ship now converted to a tanker, and two trawlers, one pressed into naval service as a hospital and rescue ship, the other requisitioned as a convoy escort. It is possible that their encounter would have been a mere line in the history of the battle of the Atlantic, had the tanker, Empire Heritage, not been carrying a deck cargo of Sherman tanks. Today, that cargo lies on the seabed in remarkable condition, a magnet for properly equipped and trained divers. Type 'Empire Heritage' into You Tube...
If you know a reasonable amount about the naval history of the Second World War, it's easy to get a handle on the story, but John Peterson has decided to reach out to both those who do and those who don't. So he gives the in-depth history of all four vessels. bringing them to what you could call - if you were being melodramatic - their moment of destiny, when the commander of U-482 struck at the convoy. He explains the convoy system, and U-boat tactics, as well, making this book a very useful introduction to the broader subject. He also deals well with the findings of the court of inquiry that followed the loss of this huge ship and her critically important cargo - as well as that of the rescue ship, Pinto, which was also torpedoed, even as she was rescuing survivors.
The author was inspired to write the book by the discovery that his grandfather was involved in the drama, but he doesn't make the mistake of skewing the content to over-emphasise the family connection. What comes through, instead, is his personal commitment to provide a comprehensive account of a what for the German U-boat arm was a triumphant patrol at a time when their submarines were fighting for their lives. For the Allies it was a rude reminder that they needed to maintain the leadership and organisation in their convoys that had so dramatically reversed the course of the Battle of The Atlantic.