Qualla: SS John Witherspoon https://qualla.com/ss-john-witherspoon en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:36 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_res/siteimages/rsslogo.png Qualla: SS John Witherspoon https://qualla.com/ss-john-witherspoon SS John Witherspoon: Introduction https://qualla.com/ss-john-witherspoon/ She never completed her first voyage. The SS John Witherspoon, fresh from the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard in Baltimore, sailed into the Arctic in the summer of 1942 carrying ammunition and tanks bound for the Soviet port of Arkhangelsk. She was part of Convoy PQ-17, a name that would become synonymous with one of the worst naval disasters of the Second World War. On July 6, torpedoes from U-255 broke her in two, and she sank in the icy waters north of Russia at 72 degrees north latitude. Her entire working life had lasted barely three months.

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]]> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/v/h/f/6/ss-john-witherspoon-wp/vhf6-ss-john-witherspoon-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full SS John Witherspoon: Born for War https://qualla.com/ss-john-witherspoon/ The John Witherspoon was laid down on December 10, 1941 -- three days after Pearl Harbor thrust the United States into global conflict. She was one of thousands of Liberty ships, the mass-produced workhorses that would carry the material of war across every ocean. Built under a M...

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]]> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/v/h/f/6/ss-john-witherspoon-wp/vhf6-ss-john-witherspoon-born-for-war.mp3 0:06 2 full SS John Witherspoon: Into the Ice https://qualla.com/ss-john-witherspoon/ Convoy PQ-17 assembled at Hvalfjordur, Iceland, and sailed on the afternoon of June 27, 1942. The convoy's destination was Arkhangelsk, and the route ran through some of the most dangerous waters on Earth -- within range of German aircraft in Norway, German surface ships lurking ...

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]]> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/v/h/f/6/ss-john-witherspoon-wp/vhf6-ss-john-witherspoon-into-the-ice.mp3 0:06 3 full SS John Witherspoon: The Scattering https://qualla.com/ss-john-witherspoon/ What happened to Convoy PQ-17 remains one of the war's most controversial decisions. On July 4, the British Admiralty, fearing an attack by the German battleship Tirpitz, ordered the convoy to scatter. The escort vessels withdrew. Suddenly, thirty-five merchant ships were left al...

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]]> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/v/h/f/6/ss-john-witherspoon-wp/vhf6-ss-john-witherspoon-the-scattering.mp3 0:06 4 full SS John Witherspoon: Seventeen Minutes https://qualla.com/ss-john-witherspoon/ At 4:38 on the afternoon of July 6, the first torpedo from U-255 struck the John Witherspoon on her starboard side between holds number four and five. A minute later, a second torpedo hit beneath the bridge. Captain John Stewart Clark ordered abandon ship, and all eight officers,...

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]]> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/v/h/f/6/ss-john-witherspoon-wp/vhf6-ss-john-witherspoon-seventeen-minutes.mp3 0:06 5 full SS John Witherspoon: Twice Abandoned https://qualla.com/ss-john-witherspoon/ The survivors drifted in Arctic waters for two days before the merchant ship El Capitan picked up nineteen of them on July 8. The remaining survivors were rescued the following day. But their ordeal was not over. On July 9, El Capitan herself was attacked, and the men who had alr...

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]]> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/v/h/f/6/ss-john-witherspoon-wp/vhf6-ss-john-witherspoon-twice-abandoned.mp3 0:06 6 full