Guarding the Convoys - Part 1

Heroes Remember

Guarding the Convoys - Part 1

Transcript

And the Hudson, once we got the flying Hudsons in operations, it had a seven hour endurance time so you could go out, circle a convoy for quite awhile, before another aircraft came out and took over. And the coastal command air cover was a very important thing for the convoys, and they were huge convoys, course you know, well over a hundred ships. And the convoy travelled at the speed of the slowest ship which was normally between five to seven, eight knots and as they moved along, you just circled around it. And however, with only seven-hour endurance time and same from the British side, it was the middle of the Atlantic that the Wolf Pack submarine, Wolf Packs had their heyday, cause there was no cover. And not until later in the war, when the British and the Americans based aircraft in Iceland, to cover that centre gap, the convoys were at the sub's mercy. As long as there was air cover, the convoy was quite safe, because no matter where you were over the convoy, if a sub surfaced, you could be over it in three minutes, and you dropped, the practice, when we were practising on targets, you dropped three depth charges one side of it, and three depth charges on the other side of it, and that was sure death.

Description

Mr. Romanow talks about guarding naval convoys from submarines.

Joseph Romanow

Mr. Romanow was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, in 1921, to parents who immigrated to Canada in 1911. Mr. Romanow grew up in a Ukranian community and he learned to speak English from his playmates. He joined the Air Force from a youth group, was a mechanic for two years and then trained in Canada and England. He was able to fly in India and Europe, flying many different types of planes. After his university education he returned to the Air Force and worked with the Avro Arrow team.

Meta Data

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:: 01:51
Person Interviewed:: Joseph Romanow
War, Conflict or Mission:: Second World War
Location/Theatre:: North Atlantic Ocean
Branch:: Air Force
Units/Ship:: 62, 435, 437 Squadron
Occupation:: Bomber Pilot

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Guarding the Convoys - Part 1

Heroes Remember