Transcript Estimated amount of ships sunk during the war

By Colin Halko and Josh Doerr
The Battle of the Atlantic
• Germany started to sink allied cargo ships
• Allied powers began to escort cargo ships with
battle ships
• Allied navy had a hard time sinking the uboats (submarines)
• At one point, the battle went as far as some of
the eastern American ports
• A large increase in allied anti-sub technology
allowed for an allied victory
Events leading to Battle of the Atlantic
• Germany was given an open route straight to
the Atlantic Ocean once France fell
• Hours after the declaration of war, the U-Boat
U-30 sank the liner SS Athenia
– This was in breach of its orders not to sink
passenger ships
Main Participants were…
• Allies
– Britain
– United States
– Canada
– Brazil
• Germany
Objectives
• Allies
– Tried to blockade submarines in a certain location
– Wanted to keep sea route traffic flowing in order
to receive supplies
– Used air support from other countries to help in
aid with destroying the u-boats
Objectives
• Germany
– Starve Britain of their resources
• Being a island, Britain had to import most of its supplies
and imports for war
– Germans wanted to destory these merchant ships
forcing Britain to surrender
Losses sustained by Countries involved
• Estimated amount of ships sunk during the
war
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1939 : 222 ships sunk (114 by submarine)
1940 : 1059 ships sunk (471 by submarine)
1941 : 1328 ships sunk (432 by submarine)
1942 : 1661 ships sunk (1159 by submarine)
1943 : 597 ships sunk (463 by submarine)
1944 : 247 ships sunk (132 by submarine)
1945 : 105 ships sunk (56 by submarine)
Some causalties and losses
– Allies
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36,200 sailors killed
36,000 merchant seamen killed
3,500 merchant vessels sunk
175 warships sunk
– Germany
• ~30,000 sailors killed
• 783 submarines destroyed
The Outcome
– Allies keep improving their ways of destorying
subs
– Germany tried to counter them with their own
ways, but the allies are progressing to fast for
them to keep up
– Allies start taking more subs down
– Aircrafts start taking subs down right outside of
their port after they’ve just left
– Germany losses technology race in Navy Warfare
costing them this battle
The Outcome
– Germans failed to stop strategic supplies from
entering Bratin
– This failure resulted in the supplies and troops for
D-Day Landings
– This battle basically ensured a German defeat