Dudley Pound and the decision to scatter convoy PQ17 - July 1942

Convoy PQ17 is amongst the most famous disasters of WW2, and has usually been attributed to a poor decision by the First Sea Lord, Dudley Pound. In a recent TV programme Jeremy Clarkson was scathing in his criticism of the decision to scatter without ever examining why and how that decision was taken. Like much of the material written about the convoy he concentrated on the stories of the merchant ships and their crews, which is perfectly acceptable as they are remarkable stories. However, to damn the scatter decision without ever really examining why it was taken is irresponsible (if he considers himself to be a historian, rather than a high profile front man). The decision had to be taken on negative intelligence, and one of the key factors was that Bletchley Park was also having to deal with First Alamein for its attention. The story also resulted in a libel action which awarded Captain Jackie Broome the then record punitive libel damages ever awarded. So, there is much controversy and much of interest in this topic. Dudley Pound is not often defended, but I shall do my best to do so!