Unfortunate Occurrences and Knavish Tricks: The Last Voyage of the SS Capira

(Hardback)

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In war, it is not just the knavish tricks of the enemy but also the home grown unfortunate occurrences that result in disasters. This book chronicles the circumstances surrounding an aging Panamanian freighter, the SS Capira, on her last voyage in convoys PQ 15, QP 13 and SC 97. During the period between November 1941 and September 1942 she witnessed a number of significant losses brought about by allied actions that far outweighed those caused by the enemy. John Chuter tells SS Capiras story using primary archive material from the UK, USA, Canada, Russia and Germany as well as interviews, letters and previously unpublished contemporaneous eyewitness accounts. He recounts the political, strategic, tactical and technical issues that shaped the events, as well reliving the accounts of the extraordinary sailors who took part in the action.

Author Bio

During a long and diverse career in the British Army, Brigadier John Chuter served with airborne forces, armoured and artillery units, frequently overseas in Germany, France, Cyprus and the USA. He has had a lifelong interest in the Battle of the Atlantic derived from his fathers wartime experience in the Merchant Navy. This is his first book, based on one of his fathers passages to Murmansk in 1942. He now lives in the Yorkshire Dales with his wife and Jack Russell terrier.