Code Name Habbakuk: Book Review and Synopsis

So you know those skinny little books that you always see in the mountain book stores? Books that are meant as light filler while you’re on vacation? Usually something like ghost stories, strange tales, or funny encounters with animals? Well, I decided it was time to spend my hard-earned Canadian dollars and buy one. The book I chose was “Code Name Habbakuk: A Secret Ship Made of Ice'', by L.D. Cross.

Before we dive into the meat of the story, I just wanted to acknowledge that this book is written by a Canadian, and published by Canadians. Canada’s literary scene is fairly small, so supporting our local authors and publishers is very important to me. There are several other books in the “Amazing Stories” series by the same publisher, Heritage House.

Diving into our main story the stage is set in World War 2 during the Battle of the Atlantic. This was a period of intense naval warfare between Germany with their U-boats (early submarines), and the Allied countries of the United Kingdom, Canada, and the USA. We are introduced to 2 individuals who will play an important role in the story: Lord Louis Mountbatten, who would be made the chief of Combined Operations, a group responsible for the development of tactical equipment and techniques to win the war; and Geoffrey Pyke, an academic who had studied at Cambridge, been a prisoner of war, and spent time in a mental institution (in that order). Together, these two would begin work on some very unorthodox military equipment. 

We are then introduced to the concept of the Habbakuk, an aircraft carrier made of ice. The purported advantages of a ship made of ice were that ice was lighter than steel, naturally buoyant, and would cost less to produce. They could even harvest naturally occurring icebergs for free! Winston Churchill approved of the project but stated “the scheme is only possible if we make Nature do nearly all the work for us and use as raw material, sea water and low temperature. The scheme will be destroyed if it involves the movement of very large numbers of men and a heavy tonnage of steel or concrete to the remote recesses of the Arctic night”. The proposed dimensions for the Habakkuk were 610x90x60 meters, or 2000x300x200 feet. During their research into the properties of ice, they realized that pure ice was not a suitable building material. They eventually discovered that a mixture of 14% wood pulp and 86% water formed a substance that had all of the desired qualities of ice but with a significant strength and durability boost. They referred to this substance as Pykrete (Pyke and concrete). 

We then look into the supposed origins of the name Habbakuk. The name allegedly derived from the similar “Habakkuk”, a minor prophet revered by Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Some of the more technical details of the “bergship” were elaborated on, such as which type of wood pulp served as the best admixture with ice. It was decided that Canada would be the country to build the prototype “bergship” due to our naturally wintry weather. Several locations were considered, but Patricia Lake in modern-day Jasper National Park was agreed upon due to its remoteness from prying eyes as well as its proximity to rail and electricity. Research into the qualities of ice was conducted at several Canadian universities and laboratories. Pyke personally joined the project to provide assistance but, by many accounts, he was more of a hindrance due to his odd behaviours and abrasive personality.

Much of the manual labour for the Habbakuk was provided by conscientious objectors (COs). These were people who refused to fight in the war, mainly due to religious reasons. There were some delays and resistance from the COs when they discovered that they were working on a naval prototype, but those who refused to work were quickly shuffled off-site. Once they had begun building the structure itself, it gained nicknames like “Noah’s Ark” and “the boathouse” due to its size and sloping roof. As work on the prototype ship continued, problems began springing up. There were still concerns with the properties of ice, the pipes which were meant to circulate the brine coolant had been damaged, and Mackenzie King, the Canadian prime minister, was still concerned about the potential cost overruns of the project. By Spring of 1943, it was time to make a decision on whether or not to continue the bergship project.

As the war progressed, technology advanced and the need for the Habbakuk was diminished. Long range support aircraft and ship radio signal detectors were rendering the German u-boats ineffective. Support for the project was in freefall. The Americans initially agreed to take on the project but quickly grew tired of Pyke. Pyke suggested other uses for pykrete, but these suggestions fell on deaf ears. Finally, in December 1943, it was officially decided to end the project. 

In the end, the problems with the Habbakuk grew too large to contend with. The original concept of an “island of ice” had evolved into something else entirely. The cost of materials, labour, and time were all greater than originally anticipated. Pyke continued to collaborate with Mountbatten but, after the end of World War 2, Pyke took his own life. Mountbatten died much later, in 1979, when his boat was blown up by the Irish Republican Army. In the 1970s, SCUBA divers in Patricia Lake found the jumbled remains of the Habbakuk. A commemorative plaque was placed on the lake bed, and another plaque was placed on the shore.

Overall, the book is an easy read. It is approximately 120 pages. The story itself is an important piece of both Canadian history and World War 2 history.

3 ice cubes out of 5