Transcript WWII: Battle of the Atlantic

Battle of the Atlantic
1939 - 1945
Battle of the Atlantic, 1939-1945
• Allies: British and
American shipping
• Nazi Germany: U-boats
(Unterseeboot or
undersea boats, or
submarines) attacked
the Allied shipping.
Battle of the Atlantic, 1939-1945
Sept. 1939 to
May 1940
• German had success
with U-boats
(submarines) in WWI.
• British ships lacked
adequate escorts.
• Hitler avoided attacking
ships of neutral nations.
• The US was officially
neutral.
June 1940 to
March 1941
• After Germany defeated
France and Norway, the
Germans used French
and Norwegian ports.
• German U-boats
traveled in “wolf packs”
to maximize attacks.
• Late 1940 was known as
“the happy time” for
German U-boats.
April 1941 to
Dec. 1941
• The British added more
escorts.
• The British improved
their radar systems.
• The Americans began
assisting the British, but
still remained officially
neutral.
• Germans were still
commanding the sea.
Jan. 1942 to
July 1942
• The US entered the war
against the Axis Powers
(Germany, Japan, Italy).
• American Navy was
preoccupied with the
Pacific (Japan), not the
Atlantic (Germany).
• An effective convoy
system was not yet in
place.
Aug. 1942 to
May 1943
• American escorting
improved.
• Shipping losses moved
away from areas nearest
USA.
• Allied code-breaking
and radar improved.
• Germans could not
replace lost U-boats fast
enough to keep up.
June 1943 to
May 1945
• After mid-1943, German
U-boats became less of
a threat.
• Long-range scout planes
improved.
• The Portuguese allowed
the Azores to be used as
an Allied airbase.
• In 1944, the “wolf pack”
tactic was abandoned.
Battle of the Atlantic, 1939-1945
Allied Shipping Losses:
German U-Boat Losses:
Sept. 39 –• 686 Ships Lost to U-boats
– (out of 1,598 total lost)
March 41
•
April 41 – • 1,698 Ships lost to U-boats
March 43
– (out of 2,563 total lost)
•
April 43 – • 208 Ships lost to U-boats
Sept. 43
– (out of 265 total lost)
•
Oct. 43 –
May 45 • 235 Ships lost to U-boats
•
– (out of 396 total lost)
36 U-boats lost
– 22 Operational U-boats left
152 U-boats lost
– 210 Operational U-boats left
200 U-boats lost
– 200 Operational U-boats left
430 U-boats lost
– 160 Operational U-boats left