Novaya Zemlya under naval escort to deliver desperately needed Lend-Lease supplies to northern Soviet seaports. Destruction of the Allied convoys was thus a top priority for the German Navy — and brought World War II to Novaya Zemlya. The most ill-fated and one of the largest Arctic convoys, code-named “PQ-17,” left Iceland on June 27, 1942. It consisted of thirty-four merchant ships, six destroyer escorts, fifteen additional armed ships (among which were two Free-French corvettes), and three small rescue craft. The fast-moving convoy encountered ice floes on June 30 and was forced to reduce speed. On the following morning, the convoy was
Sukhoy Nos Sukhoy Nos Sukhoy Nos, also Sukhoi Nos () is a cape on Severny, the northern island of the archipelago Novaya Zemlya, belonging to Arkhangelsk Oblast of the Russian Federation, projecting into the Barents Sea. The site lies near the southwestern corner of the island, very close to the Matochkin Strait, which separates Severny from Yuzhny, the southern island of the archipelago. The cape is composed of black and reddish shale. Underwater sandbars are located off of the cape's northern shore. Numerous birds nest on the steep cliffs, particularly loons. It was known for being a site of nuclear testing for