HMS Jamaica, a "Colonies" Class cruiser, which spent a large part of its career escorting Arctic convoys.  The ship, and most of her company, survived the war, although some damage and casualties were suffered in its course.  A "highlight" of her career was her participation in the Battle of the North Cape ... JR.

For those in peril on the sea - escort cruiser.

Sailors on an escort warship clear heavy snow from the deck, Arctic Convoys, 1942/'43.  Considering the fact that they were heavily exposed to German attack - by aircraft, submarine, and surface ship - as they steamed up from Britain to the Soviet Arctic - the attrition rate on Naval escorts with the convoys (indeed on the Convoys in general) was bad, but could have been a lot worse.  Unfortunately, where a ship was sunk or an aircraft shot down, there was seldom any question of turning back to pick up survivors; circumstances were much too dangerous and, in any event, survivability of those pitched into Sub-Arctic and Arctic waters could be measured in a small number of minutes.  The extreme conditions of cold encountered by the convoys so far north, clearly, added in no small measure to the stress caused by German attack ... Best regards, JR.

For those in peril on the sea (2) ...

"King George V" Class battleship, "Duke of York".  This was a real-deal battleship, slightly slower than "Scharnhorst" but with significantly superior armour and firepower - ten 360mm guns as main armament.

In early December, 1943, the Germans sighted Arctic Convoy JW55 b, and Scharnhorst was ordered to sally forth and intercept - which it did, accompanied by an escorting/scouting force of five destroyers.  Unfortunately for the Germans, their move was detected by the Royal Navy, which sent two task groups to intercept them.  The powerful British force included a number of cruisers (including HMS Jamaica) and the battleship, Duke of York.

In the ensuing "Battle of the North Cape", Scharnhorst exchanged fire, hitting each other.  However, Scharnhorst suffered worse damage, knocking out much of her secondary armament and also her front radar array.  Scharnhorst attempted to withdraw, and increased distance between herself and Duke of York with her superior speed.  However, her disabled secondary armament left her vulnerable to torpedo attack by the British destroyers, which caused crippling damage to her engine/propulsion system.  Duke of York promptly closed and, in a subsequent exchange of fire, disabled Scharnhorst.  Cruisers HMS Belfast and HMS Jamaica were ordered to finish her with torpedoes which, after some targeting problems, they duly did.  "Belfast" and "Jamaica" made a brief effort to recover survivors, but were recalled when the activity proved obviously pointless.  Of the 1,700 crew of "Scharnhorst", only about 40 were recovered alive.  JR.