My Grandmothers 2 brothers were also killed in the war, they were unarmed fishermen and were machine gunned by German U-Boats. Some hundreds of Icelandic sailors were killed in the war, almost all by U-Boats, some by German aircraft.
And yes, there were Icelandic sailors on PQ-17 and the convoy actually sailed from Reykjavik.
There was an Icelandic double-agent in Reykjavik, sending messages to Germany, which had been written by the British Intelligence. He belives he may have been used to "inform" the Germans about PQ 17, an attempt to lure Tirpitz into a trap.
The RN did a big mistake, no doubt, the admiral was an ill man, and at the heat of the moment, he probably belived that Tirpitz was nearer to the convoy than even their own TG. There was dense fog, so he issued the scatter order, which proved to be so fatal when the weather cleared up.
Had Tirpitz continued on course, it would presumably have run into the RN TG. That would have been some fireworks: Tirpitz, Hipper und Sheer w. destroyer escorts vs. HMS Duke of York, two cruisers and 14 destroyers, the battleship USS Washington and the carrier HMS Victorious.
That, my dear Boroda, may well be more steel and firepower then at Kursk
The value of PQ 17, was also, according to your own numbers from HMS Edinburgh, 15 times as much as that precious cargo.
The value of goods destroyed, and therefore not delivered would have been very much more than the loss from HMS Edinburgh.
Will bring more data later on
