Crisis Convoy

The Story of HX231, a Turning Point in the Battle of the Atlantic

By: Sir Peter Gretton

Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart

In April 1943, Commander Peter Gretton was in charge of escorting a vital Allied trade convoy from New York to Great Britain across the North Atlantic. Over the course of the voyage, the sixty-one merchant ships of convoy HX231, along with the six ships of B7 Escort Group, were continuously shadowed and attacked by a German wolf pack of twenty U-boats.

With the aid of air support, the convoy and defending escort fought valiantly across hundreds of miles of ocean and, despite poor weather conditions, managed to sink and severely damage several enemy submarines. Tragically six merchant ships were torpedoed, and with no rescue vessel, any survivors were left stranded in the freezing waters of the Atlantic as the convoy continued on its journey.

Drawing on reports from both sides, Gretton details the sequence of events as convoy HX231 battled its way through a large wolf pack and offers an authoritative post-battle analysis of the strategies, decisions, and actions taken that would ultimately see the tide of war turn in favor of victory for the Allies.

Crisis Convoy takes the listener to the heart of the action and is a thrilling account of naval warfare during World War II.

©1974 The Estate of Sir Peter Gretton (P)2022 Tantor

A Very Detailed Review of the Battle of the North Atlantic

I very much liked and appreciated the story of the experiences of The Merchant Marine in their sometimes almost seemingly hopeless efforts to maintain the vitally important shipping supply lines between North America and The UK, Russia and the Mediterranean Theater during the early years of WW2. In addition, the importance of both surface war ships and air patrols is clearly indicated. Since aviation capabilities were still very much in early development at that time, surface shipping was virtually the only “game in town” and was thus critical in providing the much needed supplies required to fight the war in the entire European Theater, especially by the UK. Well done by the author and especially the narrator.