Battle of the Atlantic

1. Battle of the Atlantic German U-Boats patrolled the Atlantic against the British blockade of Europe and in an effort to stop supplies from America from ever reaching Britain. U-boats operated in groups of 10 called "wolf packs." The German navy, carried out submarine warfare to cut off Britain's imports and military supplies. The Allies developed a convoy system where merchant ships were guarded by destroyer escorts. The British developed a system for detecting U-boats that resembled radar. this development gave the Allies the edge in the Battle for the Atlantic.

3. The Strategic Situation • Britain needed supplies to fight the war • Convoys of ships brought oil, wood, aluminum and finished goods like planes and tanks • Without supplies Britain could not continue the war

4. The Nazi Strategy • The Germans tried to cut off supplies to Britain by sinking transport ships • They used some raiding vessels (cruisers and battleships), but primarily U-boats (submarines)

5. U-Boats

6. The campaign pitted the German Navy’s surface raiders and U-boats against Allied convoys from North America and the South Atlantic to the United Kingdom and Russia, protected mainly by the British and Canadian navies and air forces, later aided by United States ships and aircraft.

7. Allied Strategy • The Allies tried to protect the transport ships in three ways: • Convoys – large flotillas of ships • Escorts – Destroyers and Corvettes deployed to protect the convoys • Air cover – limited to within a few hundred miles of Canada and Britain • Allied ships feared the mid-Atlantic where there was no air cover

8. Allied Convoys

9. German Tactics • Groups of U-boats would hunt for convoys in “Wolf Packs” • U-boats would maneuver in front of the convoy and then submerge – surfacing in the middle of the convoy • German subs would first use deck guns to sink boats – if a threat existed they would use torpedoes instead

10. U-Boat Attack

11. Convoy Tactics • Allied warships would look for U-boats using “ASDIC” – a early form of Sonar. • If a surfaced U-boat was detected, warships tried to ram them • If the U-boat submerged, Allied warships would drop “depth charges” – barrels of explosive set to go off at different depths. • Planes would also attack and drop depth charges

12. Convoy Tactics

13. The Battle • June 1940 – February 1941 “The Happy Time” for the U-boats – Hundreds of ships sunk • March 1941 – December 1941 – Allies use ASDIC, HF-DF radar + better tactics to thwart U-boats -- British break German Code – “Enigma” • Jan., 1942 – July 1942 – “Operation Drumbeat” – U-boats attack USA shipping – easy targets • July 1942 –Feb 1943 – Wolf Pack in Mid-Atlantic • April-May 1943 – Climax of the Battle – U-boats suffer enormous losses -- remain a threat until the end of the war

14. Surface Raiders

15. During the battle:More than 2,000 merchant ships were lost to a submarine attack in the North Atlantic and more than 30,000 merchant seamen died as a result.About 330 convoys in the Atlantic were attacked by U-boats.565 escorts and 234 stragglers were sunk.1,100 proceeding independently were also sunk.96,977 crossings were completed successfully. • Pictured here ex-veteran Reginald Draper from Chester, reading the comments on the wreaths laid by the lord Mayor and the ships commanders. Reginald a former Lieutenant Commander, served in the Royal Navy 1943-1946.

16. HMS HAIDA

17. CORVETTE SHIPS

18. MERCHANT VESSELS

19. Canadian Navy • Before WWII • the Navy had 11 combat vessels, 145 officers and 1,674 men. After WWII 471 naval ships, 95,000 sailors

20. Your Task: Convoy Puzzle • You are to deploy your convoy in the best formation to protect it from the Nazi U-boats that are hunting it. You must create a diagram AND explain it in 3-5 sentences • You have 20 transport vessels that go about 10 knots (11mph) • You have one destroyer (small warship with depth charges & ASDIC) as a command vessel • You have two corvettes (very small escort vessels with depth charges & ASDIC)