Arctic Convoy PQ 13 Further Reading

Arctic Convoy, PQ 13, Frozen Fury, “I was much to excited to hit anything”.

Arctic Convoy PQ 13 further reading this painting is authentic history as it was commissioned by and for one of the crew.

Arctic Convoy PQ 13, Frozen Fury, painting sold, 25 prints available, Arctic Convoy to Murmansk, Russia from eye witness conversations.

Arctic Convoy PQ 13

Here you literally have a front row seat in history as witnessed, the painting being supervised and commissioned by an eyewitness survivor who’s ship was sunk.

Arctic Convoy, PQ 13, Frozen Fury by Gordon Frickers 40 x 50 cm (16″ x 20″) SOLD

An exclusive limited edition of 25 signed numbered prints, buy now from the PRINTS page on my website www.frickers.co.uk/art.

Commissioned by and for, created in conjunction with eye witness of PQ 13, Mr. H. Mills.

He, Morris Mills, lost a leg; he was aged 18.

This is your chance to own an authentic piece of World War Two history by purchasing this fine Marine Art PRINT.

No convoys sailed in more dangerous waters or were more dramatically, more heavily attacked then the P Q convoys to Russia.

Arctic Convoy PQ 13, Frozen Fury, Arctic Convoy to Murmansk, Russia.

Arctic Convoy PQ 13

was the first of many Russia bound convoys to feel the full fury of repeated German attacks by Aircraft, U-boats and surface ships.

Only the more famous Malta convoys suffered as severely.

“I was much to excited to hit anything” said Mr. Harry Mills who’s action station was the port bridge wing heavy machine gun.

He was aged 18, defending his merchant ship by firing his allotted heavy machine gun at Junkers Ju 88 bombers.

Three days later in the port of Murmansk Mr. Mills ship was sunk.

Young Morris lost a leg and passed painful weeks in a primitive Russian ‘field hospital’

Paintings original cost

A neat little investment.

PQ 13 Frozen Fury recently resold for four times the original price.

You could commission something similar

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PQ13, the convoy

PQ13 was one of the most heavily attacked of all convoys, ever.

Mister Mills told me, “3 days later my ship was sunk and I lost a leg“.

His ship was a British fast and nearly new cargo vessel, the “New Westminster City“; she was Mister Mills said, specially outfitted in the USA for the voyage.

The work included concrete facings with ‘pill box’ style viewing slits for the bridge, an increased anti aircraft armament, trained gunners to man the weapons systems and special strong points to secure the deck cargo which was mostly trucks and crated Hawker Hurricane aircraft.

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N W C IMG_0004_NEW

New Westminster City as she appeared in peacetime pre World War Two.

Mr. M. Mills

and I worked closely to produce a scene until he as an eye witness, was satisfied with the composition and detailing.

Mr. H Mills sketch 1
Mr. H Mills sketch 1

My client who fired at the attackers said he was “much to excited to hit anything“, was aboard “New Westminster City”.

New Westminster City 2
New Westminster City (2)
Mr Mills version, Ship NWC arms plan
Mr Mills version, Ship New Westminster City arms plan.

The ship illustrated in my painting here is as Morris Mills envisioned, as PQ 13 is being attacked by JU 88s.

Mr Mills version, Ship bridge 'armour' NWC plan
Mr Mills version, Ship bridge ‘armour’ made of concrete, fitted in the USA along with extra anti aircraft guns and other special modifications as part of the PQ 13 voyage preparations for New Westminster City.
Mr. H Mills sketch 3
Mr. Mills sketch 3

To produce the best, most original painting I did include building and painting a scale model of a Ju 88.

New Westminster City survived the Ju 88 attack and reached the port of Murmansk


Three days after this incident she was sunk, another casualty of the battle to supply Russia and my client, now deceased, then aged 18, lost a leg.

As we created the concept sketches back in 1989 I was keenly aware, some day in the future this painting would be considerably more valuable.

This very original painting was developed in part from the ‘naïve’ sketches provided by my client and our conversations in my Plymstock studio.

New Westminster City sketch 4
New Westminster City sketch 4 with first comments
New Westminster City sketch 5
New Westminster City sketch 5
T39316 det 1

The cruiser HMS Edinburgh is part of the background and she is the subject of an entire book in itself! 

This painting is also interesting as an early example of emerging artistic talent of gordon Frickers.

PQ 13, Frozen Fury the book

Years later this painting was reproduced as a book cover at the request of Captain Igor Kozyr (Russian navy, retired) who was co authoring with an American, John L. Haynes to produce a book now known as “Frozen Fury”, personal accounts of convoy PQ13 including Mr. Mills story.

T39316 det 3

This was the first convoy to Murmansk to feel the full fury of German attacks on that route.

Frozen Fury, (ISBN 978-1-4512-0156-7).
Captain Igor Kozyr asked me if he could use my PQ 13 painting as the cover for the Russian version of the book (ISBN 9-785904-180379) because the painting was produced for and with an eye witness. Frozen Fury D 05.04.15_0001

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The convoy is also the subject of another book full of surprises, “The Ship That Torpedoed Herself”, the story of the cruiser HMS Edinburgh.

Mr. H. Mills letter
Mr. M. Mills letter.

Edinburgh..

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