Northern Escort by J. E. Taylor

Northern Escort

by J. E. Taylor

George Allen & Unwin, 1945, [First Edition], black and white photographic frontispiece, hardcover, dustjacket

Good Condition, a little edge and shelf wear, a little rubbing and bumping to edges and corners, a little discolouration to covers and spine, previous owners’ inscription and details on front endpaper, age toned pages, clipped dustjacket shows some edge and shelf wear with some rubbing, bumping, chipping, creasing and small tears, some discolouration to spine of jacket and in general (see photographs)

“In recent months a few details of the Northern Convoys to Russia have been made public.  But these details tell little of the ordeals of the early convoys.  Air cover was not then possible, a long enemy coastline ran close at hand parallel to the convoy’s course, and once clear of fighter aircraft range from the north of Scotland, the convoy was entirely dependent upon its own fighting power.
Out of the ordeal of an escorting destroyer on one of those early convoys comes this story: the story of four days of ceaseless attack from the swarms of enemy aircraft clustered along the Norwegian coast form Trondheim to North Cape at a season of the year when, in those waters, the light never faded from the sky – four days without rest or respite, with ammunition running out, and at one stage only forty minutes’ flying from the nearest enemy base.  At the same time submarine attacks were synchronized with air attack.”