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    Battle

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
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    222 views116 pages

    Battle of The Atlantic 1939-1945 - 2020

    Uploaded by

    Valery Gagich
    Battle

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
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    of 116
    2,075 DAYS » 2,828 SHIPS LOST » 8,973 GALLANTRY AWARDS 30' aces, dy AG! Ic) as : Sy | SINK THE NEY OTE) se) BISMARCK SUCCESS PCV iy Churchill’s order to Capturing the defeated the Axis win at all costs code machine PLAY NOW FOR FREE WARTHUNDER.COM er oe rH De ee Ee at eM boos S I) Sr BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC BATTLE — of the— ATLANTIC The War at Sea — 1939-1945 sanaton Britain has always Overthe days, weeks and years that (Gal depended on supplies of food, followed twas biter atl that Leino eran equipment clandother raged across the wideexpanse ofthe _|Selingemtshsiesex aw materi from overseas, Aatic taza battle in which both | sume naar aah fm North America andthe sides sought to win the war f ambers, Eu bests 070 7 CCommonveaith These vital gods were of technology, of planning and of ‘ti Pte Recs aos transported by the ships of the Merchant intelligence. Above all, though, it was a__| Smahssbeskamomatsehraistingcom Navy. Sich was the importance ofthis battle or survival svnscumoxnt non seaborne trade that in 1939, had been “The only thing that ever realy ei 1 0 Sdn. PSA ‘the casein 914, Britain’ merchant leet frightened me during the war was the | PAAIIDS cepa was the largest inthe world. One in every U-boat pei wrote Winston Churchill. | eds eau three merchant his pling the welds” Twas Church himself who,on March [ses ‘oceans yas Britsh Noone therfore, | 6, 1941, colned the phrase "Bate ofthe Eu was under any ison tha his ‘lant toemphasiseisimportanceto | MSI tarime bidline would bender threat | an Aled victory. This then isthe ory |e inthe ever of war breaking out ofthe longest campaign of Work! War | lala aber ‘The Kriegsmarine had ensredthatby Two™aattl that lasted 2,075 days, | SGP Ocoee thetime Chamberlin made his speech from the fist the very ast. Hidienin wns omopaaogers ‘on September 3,153, declarng that aaa state of war existed between Britain Frc Cour Ping i ining ales Tel She 4 and Germany, many ofits U-boats and 2. Lo ‘surface warships were in position astride pismo the maritime approaches to the United Seymore Londo ECLA SPU Kingdom, The first shots were fired ee justa few hours later when the liner SS esr biogenic oe Re egy “Athonia was torpedoed and sunk by U-30. John Grehan ‘pert leet oes nih eno ‘The Battle of the Atlantic had begun. Editor ‘Strmeterapencionychenbencr tara keri ita Le medt tis mpimema beraa e OL edeeeivecna eta | ‘cucingsnpokcime kes iasteyemmmpsccsotietcientscne Seung te aa hr Wana me are cane toe eee ee a Coverage: Calero by clouryrim. Below: AUK hound Ala onoy a seen rm the decks tin gr V aig Nah tte tn ert cir NS Clr wn CONTENTS CONTENTS PARING FOR BATTLE ns struggle for survival in World War One that provided an insight into how the Battle ofthe Atlantic might develop 10 THE OPENING SHOT The war was only a few hours od when the frst shots of the Batle of the Atlantic were fired. 18 PANZERSCHIFF As wel as sending out a number of U-boats prior tothe outbreak of war, the Kriegsmarine also deployed two pocket battleships, 4 barrie or THe ATLANTIC 23 4 UNRESTRICTED SUBMARINE WARFARE ‘While U-30 had been the first to draw blood since the outbreak of wa, it was far from being the only U-boat at sea ‘THE BATTLE OF THE RIVER PLATE By the end of 1939, the Allies were able to concentrate on tracking down and sinking Graf Spee. ‘THE ‘HAPPY TIME’ By the end of 1940 it certainly appeared ‘thatthe U-boats were winning the Battle ofthe Atlantic. 40 48 ONE OF MANY: MV CAPULET A series of images that deta the loss of the 8,190-ton British tanker MV Capuler on May 2, 191. OPERATION RHEINUBUNG With the U-boat packs increasingly active inthe Atlantic, the OKM focused once again on Hitler's surface warships. Itled to thesinking of HMS Hood. SINK THE BISMARCK With Bismarck still loose, the race was on to find, and sink, the battleship before she slipped through the net and reached the salety of the French coast. 60 62 68 THE SECOND HAPPY TIME Aver the United State’ entey into the war following Peal Harbor, Admiral Dénitz nstigated Operation Pauenschlag ONE OF MANY: DAVID MCKELVY A series of images that detail the lss of the 6,821-ton American tanker SS David MeKelvy on May I 1942. EXPLORING AN UNDERWA- TER BATTLEFIELD The engagements surrounding Convoy 5-520 were a part ofthe Battle of the Atlantic thatthe National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration set out toexplore. CONVOY BATTLE By the summer of 1942, the German U-boats had resumed prowling the waters ofthe mid-Atlantic in search of prey 76 84 86 92 SURVIVAL IN THE ATLANTIC Even when crew members had survived the sinking oftheir ship, for many it was oly just the beginning ofa terrible ordeal, ONE OF MANY: SS JAGERSFONTEIN A series of images that detail the loss of the Dutch steamer and passenger ship SS finon June 26, 1942, agers CRACKING THE CODES It was in the Mediterranean in October 1942 that an event took place which would have fr-reaching consequences in the Battle ofthe Atlant. BLACK MAY Iwas during Convoy SC-130 thatthe ourse ofthe Battle of Atlantic was 1 to have finally swung inthe Allies favour BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC 96 A FATAL ERROR ‘A series of images that reveal how the Allies were gaining ascendancy over the U-boats by the spring of 1943, 99 SINK THE BEAST The great battleship Trp h most feared ship in Hitlr’s navy an for some four years she remained a ey target. 107 VICTORY IN THE ATLANTIC After 2,075 days, the longest continuous campaign of World War wo came to an end with Germany's surrender in May 1945, Above: Produced forthe Misty of lafrmation 192 this painting byte art Frank Wot deps A com under inthe Bat ofthe Ata PREPARING FOR BATTLE PREPARING — for— BATTLE It was Britain’s struggle for survival in World War One that provided an insight into how the Battle of the Atlantic might develop in a new conflict Below: Ascene ‘more commonly tance with Word War Two Ernst itis waiting with bated breath forthe announcement that they knew was Coming. AtIL15 hous on that fateful Sunday a profound silence descended "upon every home inthe land as men, women and children gathered round their witeles sets. The music stopped and the thin voce ofthe Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, speaking fram the Cabinet Room in 10 Downing Street uttered these memorable words “This morning the British Ambassador in Berlin handed the German, Government a final note stating that, unless we heard from them by IL siclock that they were prepared at once to withdraw their troops irom Poland, a state of war would exist between us. Thave to tll you now that no such undertaking bas been received, and that twas Sunday, September 3, 1939 Everyone in the country was consequently this country sat war with Germany, ‘Remembering the experiences of itt over 20 years earlier, no one was under any illusion that a big pat of Britain's fight for survival would be played out in both the nation’s coastal waters and the vast expanse of the Atlantic Ocean, Indeed, speaking in the House of Commons on August 20, 1940, Churchill, who had by then replaced Chamberlain as Prime Minister, professed litle surprise on hearing the news of an intensification in Germanys blockade af the British Isles (which we explore farther on page 34). While providing @ summary of the overall war situation, Churchill stated: “I ead inthe papers that Herr Hitler has also proclaimed a strict blockade ofthe British Islands, No one can complain ofthat, [remember the Kaiser doin itin the last war” ‘THE ATLANTIC CONVOYS RETURN ‘As a nation Britain has always depended ‘on supplies of fod, equipment and raw materials from overseas, notably from North America and the Commonwealth By the time that wat was declared, some 35m tonnes of food were imported annually from other countries, including 80% ofthe nation’s cheese and sugar, ‘50% ofits fruit, 90% ofall cereals and fats, and 50% of the meat consumed With an increased demand for shipping space for war materiel expected, and the fact that many processing plants in Britain were also switched tothe war effort, something needed to be done These vital goods were transported by the ships ofthe Merchant Navy, this being the tite bestowed on the UK's civilian maritime fleet by King George ‘Vin honour ofits contribution in World ‘War One. Such was the importance of tha, “England was in every respect, this seaborne trad that in 1939, as had dependent on sea-borne supply fr food ‘been the casein 1914, Britain's Merchant and import of raw materials, as well as Navy also known asthe Merchant for development of every type of military Service or Mercantile Marine, was power. The singe task of the German, ‘the largest in the word, One in every Navy was, therefore, to interrupt or ‘three merchant ships plying the world’s cut these sea communications. It was ‘oceans was British, employing nearly clear that this object could never be 200,000 men and women in thei erews obtained by building a fleet to fight individuals who were drawn from the English Fleet and in this way win nations all around the worl, the sea communications. The only Noone was under any illusion that this remaining method was to attack sea maritime ifeine would be targeted in communications quickly. For this the event of war breaking out. Admiral purpose, only the U-boat could be Karl Dinitz the senior submarine officer considered, as only this weapon could inthe Kriegsmarine, later recalled penetrate into the main areas of English tne ofthe US ‘stants peor Left A newspaper scleron the es of Landon on September 5183 catiesn ‘oar pronouncing the delarton far ‘wen rtm and Delo Avew of sna avert he lating oom she Wester Approach eaduastersia soot tas from sheet RopalNary, Mecham Nevyand RAF personnd worked dayand night in tbe ‘Operon othe serecete ofthe Tate ofthe Ai There they monitored conve rots an al shipping ins, pspatageneny Irene ons ge map wall wie sees enable the toalNanyto ool a toy ‘the eemy. aa Bottom Right Panning sale crosing othe tant at a convoy BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC sea communications inspite of English sea supremacy on the surface.” The experiences of World War One also provided a clear insight into bow this battle would be played out. It was campaign in which convoys would prove essential ifan Allied victory were to prevail. In that earlier conflict, unrestricted submarine warfare developed ints intensity from early 1915, though it was not until 1917 chat the convoy system was finally introduced = adelay that had, at times, seemed almost fatal tothe Allie’ wat efor The first convoy arrived in British ports on May 18, 1917. The discussions around convoys had been rumbling for some time when, on April 27,1917, ‘Admiral Jellicoe finaly issued a detailed ‘minute i favour oftheir adoption. The following day the Senior Naval Officer at Gibraltar was informed that atrial convoy would sail from there within ten days (there had been small local convoy arrangements already in place elsewhere, for example between Lerwick. and Norway). A Convoy Commodore, Captain H C Lockyer, was duly appointed, and he arrived in Gibraltar on May 7. Thre days later a convoy of 16 merchant ships had been collected. With masters and chief engineers briefed, the convoy sailed forthe UK that very evening, An escort was provided bya pair of converted merchantmen, described as “special service ships", and three armed yachts, serena 7 Negrete Pca get ae Re eer ne Reon eet ee cre eons ae gan eS eee Een ‘Much was learnt during the sail ely eon te) ea tag eet ay eters Convoys outward bound from the UK Rooter ee ents og Pout nto ce tet: cr instructions i ret) ree terran ears Sere eta es withthe resultant strain that placed on rts te eee oe ‘however, sich were the results achieved ee enriee iNet nT Sree eno ea Pear eee Cece eerie ea Peaceert nse cn Sonat ee SVN Cre NN ba rs aes shipping was formally placed Peg ean ner ee Poe ere) Peemiberente) ene Remrermnietnnerty reer rer een acri By this time, the Germans had also taken ther frst steps. The head dof the Kriegsmarine, Grossadmiral Erich Raed, had ordered a number ‘otis surface warships to put to sea in August. On the 2nd of that month, Deniz received operational dzectives for U-boats “tobe sent into the Atlantic” inthe event that the intention to carry out Fall Weiss, the invasion ‘of Poland, remsined unchanged. By the end of August, Donitz had many ofhis operational U-boats~ granted not as many ashe would have liked “in position astride the maritime approaches tothe United Kingdom, ‘Despite these preparations, Raeder was somewhat taken aback when he heaed of Britains and France’ declaration of war on September 3. “That day he made the following entey in the Seekriegsleitung’s (or SKL.~ the Maritime Warfare Command) war diary: “Today the war against England and France, which the Fuhrer had previously assured us we would not have to confront until 1944, and which hh believed he could avoid up until the very last minute, began ‘Asfaras the Kriegsmarine s «concerned, itis obvious that it is not remotely ready forthe titanic struggle against England [sc To be sure, the brie perio of time that has lapsed since the [Anglo-German Noval] “Agreement of 1935 has witnessed the ‘retion ofa well-trained and well: conceived force of U-boats, of which approximately twenty sare currently ready for Alanic operations, but these boats are stl far to few to exert 4 decisive influence upon the war, The surface faces, moreover, are so weak and so few in numbers vis-i-vis the British flet thatthe enly course open to them ~ presupposing their active employment ~ is to show that they know how to die gallantly and thereby to create the basis for an eventual ebieth inthe fate.” init appears to have harboured the same reservations as his commander. He learnt of Chamberlain's dedaration of war whilst chairing a conference at Wilhelmshaven on September 3. At 11.17 hours that day, the Admiralty sent al of its ships, bases and units one simple message, "Total Germany, Total Germany”. With these words the Royal [Navy was at war. ‘The message was picked up by the B-Dienst, a department of the German Naval Intelligence Service that dealt withthe interception of enemy messages. The news of its transmission by the Admiralty was immediately passed to Donita Iis said that he began anxiously pacing around the oom, and was heard to say, "My God! So, i's war with England again’? After halting the meeting, Dinitz let the room, Returning soon after, he ‘made the following announcement to the gathered officers: “We know our ‘enemy. We have today the weapon a ‘leadership that can face up to this enemy. The war will last along time: but if each does his duty we wll win.” It would be a campaign of singular {mportance, as Winston Churchill once noted: “The Battle ofthe Atlantic was the dominating factor all through the war. Never for one moment could we forget that everything happening elsewhere, onand, a sea or in the at, epended ultimately on its outcome.” @ BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC RATIONS v HAO ip seaman this post bythe depth charg equipment oa «North “Adopal Navy warship which appears to Dea Howerclass Corres, ‘ates rough et nthe North alate during the passage convoy In 198, nary ocngres sre 9 THE OPENING SHOT ‘on the morning of Sunday ptember 3, 1939 that news of Britain's declaration of war reached the 13,500-ton passenger liner SS Athenia, Outbound from Glasgow, from where she had sailed at around noon on the Ist, the liner had arrived in Belfast the same evening to allow a further 136 ‘twas not long after the Prime ‘Minster had finished speaking Pec eat — The— OPENING SHOT The war was only a few hours old when the first shots of the Battle of the Atlantic were fired, sending the Donaldson Line’s SS Athenia to the bottom and causing the death of some 112 passengers and crew. passengers to board, Early the next ‘morning, Athenia docked in Liverpool, her las stop, to embark the final group of travelers, By the time she steamed out of the Mersey and headed northwards, having departed at 16.30 hours on the 2nd, on board was a total of 1418 people, of whom 316 were members ofthe line's crew, Of the passengers, 469 were Canadian citizens, 311 were Americans, 172 were British of Irish and 150 were European refugees, inchuding many children The next stop was meant to have been Montreal in the instructions ofthe Admiralty ia was steaming on a more northerly course than normal, the intention being to enable her to depart European waters as quickly as possible ‘cere watching thelr ink frm the deck of on of therescue ships, the Seen Kate Neon ‘The announcement that a state of war ‘existed had been transmitted to Athenia by Valenia Island radio in Irland. It ‘was immediately passed to the liner’ master, Captain James Cook, by the second radio officer. By noon, the news, not unexpected by many on board, had ‘been posted onthe information board by the purser’ office ‘Whilst an increased air of anxiety and foreboding settled on many of the passengers, Athenia steamed on. ‘Though normal shipboard routines, such as church services and seating assignments in the dining rooms, ‘carried on as before, some wartime precautions had been adopted. The porthole, for example, had been Dlacked-out and al twenty-six lifeboats readied for immediate use. Just after 19,00 hours on the evening ‘of the 3rd, Captain Cook joined some of his first-class guests for dinner. As he sat down, he was completely unaware tha the liner was being stalked by a German U-boat ‘Commanded by Oberleutnant zur See Fritz-Jlius Lemp, the Type VITA U-boat U-30 had departed Wilhelmashaven on it first war patrol on August 22, 1939, Having been informed of Britain’ declaration of war on September 3, it was at 16.30 hours the same day that Lemp spotted his first victim ~ Athena, The U-boat was then about 250 miles north-west of the island of Inishtrabull, off Ieland’s north coast, ‘and some 60 miles south of Rockall Lemp immediately ordered his crew to

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