Description of Composition:  An exciting and highly atmospheric picture of the pre-war ‘Tribal` class destroyer ‘Ashanti` at speed in Seidisfiord, East Iceland, during the decisive year of 1942 in Russian convoy operations.

Apart from much duty in the North Atlantic and on those notorious Arctic convoys – including covering the morale-restoring Convoy P.Q. 18 in September 1942 after the debacle of Convoy P.Q. 17 a couple of months earlier – she also took part in ‘Operation Pedestal`; the re-supply of beleaguered Malta in August 1942.

Regretfully, only four of the sixteen ‘Tribal` class destroyers built for the Royal Navy immediately prior to World War Two, including ‘Ashanti`, survived the war and she was scrapped, finally, in 1949.

Strategically, ideally positioned Iceland, both in the Battle of the Atlantic and for those hellish Arctic convoys to North Russia, was an important and, indeed, invaluable disposition area for Allied mercantile and naval vessels throughout the Second World War. Names such as Seidisfiord, Hvalfiordur and Eyafiord evoke pictures of an ever-changing and wide variety of ship types in usually poor and often atrocious weather conditions, most notably, of course, those of the Royal Navy, around those inhospitable shorelines.

A cold, cold dark sea, swirling mists and cloud covered mountains  perfectly capture the excitement of this superb looking camouflaged destroyer, a hardened veteran, at high speed leaving Seidisfiord.  

Along with a wide variety of other Royal Navy warships during World War Two, Belfast and Ashanti were frequent visitors to the relative sanctuary of Loch Ewe, in the Western Highlands of Scotland. At this period, the large, sheltered  Loch was used both as a Fleet base and convoy assembly anchorage - and, in particular, by those ships sailing  on those notorious Arctic convoys to North Russia.  Information on Loch Ewe can be found at www.highlandwelcome.co.uk