HMS Bramble
Posted: Tue Dec 31, 2019 5:45 pm
End of each year as usual means anniversary of the famous battle in defence of the arctic convoy in which overwhelming German force of a pocket battleship, a heavy cruiser and couple of big destroyers were repelled by close escort led by LTCDR Sherbrooke and two light cruisers.
The British lost one destroyer (HMS Achates) and minesweeper HMS Bramble.
The latter was shelled and sunk with the loss of all aboard.
Here is a quote of the little book PQ17 by Godfrey Winn (then a war correspondent who was on HMS Pozarica with the unfortunate convoy).
"... I asked Captain Sherbrooke, who won the V.C. for the manner in which he fought yet another convoy through to Russia, at the end of 1942, if he could give me any details of the loss of the Bramble, that had been with him at the time when four enemy cruisers came to the attack.
It happened we were fellow guests at lunch , the next summer, in the panelled dining room of a country house, so far removed from the atmosphere from the action of this book. But I had to be sure if there was anything more to know that she was swallowed up with all hands in the blackness of the winter night. My neighbour looked away towards the windows and massed herbaceous borders, flowering in their beauty and all their colour that you miss so dreadfully at sea. He shook his head and then added slowly. "No, there was just a sudden flash of light on the horizon and that was all...."
(PQ17, G.Winn, p183)
Winn writes more about the M.S. flotillas ships and men who were crews of these small vessels as well of course some of their mission and action while on Arctic waters.
He quoted the following comments from the Admiralty archives:
"...The M.S. ships have made the P.Q. system possible" (ADM Power);
"...These ships have done excellent work under the most ardous conditions" (ADM Tovey)
p.184
Regards,
GD
The British lost one destroyer (HMS Achates) and minesweeper HMS Bramble.
The latter was shelled and sunk with the loss of all aboard.
Here is a quote of the little book PQ17 by Godfrey Winn (then a war correspondent who was on HMS Pozarica with the unfortunate convoy).
"... I asked Captain Sherbrooke, who won the V.C. for the manner in which he fought yet another convoy through to Russia, at the end of 1942, if he could give me any details of the loss of the Bramble, that had been with him at the time when four enemy cruisers came to the attack.
It happened we were fellow guests at lunch , the next summer, in the panelled dining room of a country house, so far removed from the atmosphere from the action of this book. But I had to be sure if there was anything more to know that she was swallowed up with all hands in the blackness of the winter night. My neighbour looked away towards the windows and massed herbaceous borders, flowering in their beauty and all their colour that you miss so dreadfully at sea. He shook his head and then added slowly. "No, there was just a sudden flash of light on the horizon and that was all...."
(PQ17, G.Winn, p183)
Winn writes more about the M.S. flotillas ships and men who were crews of these small vessels as well of course some of their mission and action while on Arctic waters.
He quoted the following comments from the Admiralty archives:
"...The M.S. ships have made the P.Q. system possible" (ADM Power);
"...These ships have done excellent work under the most ardous conditions" (ADM Tovey)
p.184
Regards,
GD