Convoys in the Black Sea

[bigboywooly]

Hi everybody

Can anybody give me any information on convoy routes\shipping lanes in the Black sea ?
Interested in Axis and Russian too if anybody can help

[sid guttridge]

Hi BBW,

They are covered in great detail in the first two volumes of Koslinski and Stanescu.

If you only have access to English, they are also covered in "Third Axis, Fourth Ally" by Axworthy, Scafes and Craciunoiu.

English-language translations of the diaries of the German Admiral Black Sea can be found in the Imperial War Museum Library in London and also in the Library of Congress in Washington.

Cheers,

Sid.

[bigboywooly]

Thanx for your help Sid
Though am in a bit of a hurry lol am adding some Black sea shipping to a PC game and am short of time

[sid guttridge]

Hi BBW,

Go to "Third Axis, Fourth Ally". It contains two maps with basic Axis and Soviet shipping lanes and mine fields as laid by year.

Cheers,

Sid.

[bigboywooly]

Thanx for your help anyway
Cant find it to borrow
Only wanted the convoy routes so not worth buying

[Victor]

The convoy routes in the Black Sea evolved as the war went on and territory was gained or lost.

In 1941, the main route was the the one going from Constanta to the Bosphorus, with optional stops at Varna or Burgas. This particular route was important for the oil transports of the Italian Navy and after Italy's capitulation it lost importance.

Another route opened in 1941 was the one between Constanta/Sulina and Odessa, following the city's capture by the 4th Romanian Army on 16 October 1941.

The route to Crimea was opened in August 1942. Until Ocotber, when the port of Sevastopol was again operational, the smaller port at Balaklava was used.