Conditions were among the worst faced by any allied sailors. The loss rate for ships was higher than any other allied convoy route. THE HARROWING conditions faced by the men of the Arctic convoys during the Second World War have been revealed thanks to a series of expertly colourised pictures. The vivid colour images show the ships covered in ice and snow as the sailors dutifully chip away at it to stop the ships capsizing, a crew in heavy coats posing on the HMS Belfast and an Atlantic convoy seen from an RAF Short Sunderland flying boat in 1943. Other striking shots show a sailor standing lookout on the deck in freezing conditions, the rough waters the ships faced as they navigated their way through the arctic and planes skilfully landing on icy runways. The original black and white photographs were painstakingly colourised by Welsh electrician Royston Leonard (56) from Cardiff. Mediadrumimages / Royston Leonard