how many ships were sunk by u boats

This allowed the codebreakers to break TRITON, a feat credited to Alan Turing. The outcome of the battle was a strategic victory for the Alliesthe German blockade failedbut at great cost: 3,500merchant ships and 175warships were sunk in the Atlantic for the loss of 783U-boats (the majority of them Type VII submarines) and 47 German surface warships, including 4 battleships (Bismarck, Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, and Tirpitz), 9 cruisers, 7 raiders, and 27 destroyers. It was in these circumstances that Winston Churchill, who had become Prime Minister on 10 May 1940, first wrote to President Franklin Roosevelt to request the loan of fifty obsolescent US Navy destroyers. The early wartime Royal Navy procedure was to sweep the ASDIC in an arc from one side of the escort's course to the other, stopping the transducer every few degrees to send out a signal. According to German sources, only six aircraft were shot down by U-flaks in six missions (three by U-441, one each by U-256, U-621 and U-953). In early March, Prien in U-47 failed to return from patrol. Thompson called for assistance and circled the German vessel. Germany returned to the offensive in the North Atlantic in September 1943 with initial success, with an attack on convoys ONS 18 and ON 202. This was the heyday of the great U-boat aces like Gnther Prien of U-47, Otto Kretschmer (U-99), Joachim Schepke (U-100), Engelbert Endrass (U-46), Victor Oehrn (U-37) and Heinrich Bleichrodt (U-48). No fewer than 2,603 merchant ships had been sunk, totalling over 13. The harsh winter of 193940, which froze over many of the Baltic ports, seriously hampered the German offensive by trapping several new U-boats in the ice. ", The US, having no direct experience of modern naval war on its own shores, did not employ a black-out. The Metox set beeped at the pulse rate of the hunting aircraft's radar, approximately once per second. Over the next five days, five U-boats were sunk (four by Walker's group), despite the loss of Audacity after two days. Ten ships were sunk, but another U-boat was lost. The resulting concentration near Gibraltar resulted in a series of battles around the Gibraltar and Sierra Leone convoys. Canadian officers wore uniforms which were virtually identical in style to those of the British. The innovation was a 'sense' aerial, which, when switched in, suppressed the ellipse in the 'wrong' direction leaving only the correct bearing. This Allied advantage was offset by the growing numbers of U-boats coming into service. The attack on Pearl Harbor and the subsequent German declaration of war on the United States had an immediate effect on the campaign. At the same time, the British were working on a number of technical developments which would address the German submarine superiority. At a tactical level, new short-wave radar sets that could detect surfaced U-boats and were suitable for both small ships and aircraft began to arrive during 1941. Several ships searching together would be used in a line, 11.5mi (1.62.4km) apart. Not only would there be sufficient numbers of escorts to securely protect convoys, they could also form hunter-killer groups (often centered on escort carriers) to aggressively hunt U-boats. [citation needed], Despite their efforts, the Axis powers were unable to prevent the build-up of Allied invasion forces for the liberation of Europe. When the year ended 9 of them had been lost. After its passengers and crew were allowed thirty minutes to board lifeboats, U-69 torpedoed, shelled, and sank the ship. The resulting Norwegian campaign revealed serious flaws in the magnetic influence pistol (firing mechanism) of the U-boats' principal weapon, the torpedo. These developments initially caught RAF pilots by surprise. After the German occupation of Denmark and Norway, Britain occupied Iceland and the Faroe Islands, establishing bases there and preventing a German takeover. Web57 U-boats were capable of going out to sea when the war began in September 1939. This was thought to be safe as the radio messages were encrypted using the Enigma cipher machine, which the Germans considered unbreakable. The German navy used the Unterseeboot, or U-boat, to sink 5,000 ships measuring more than 13 million gross register tons during the war. While this was an embarrassment for the British, it was the end of the German surface threat in the Atlantic. Gnter Hessler, Admiral Dnitz's son-in-law and first staff officer at U-boat Command, said: Early British marine radar, working in the metric bands, lacked target discrimination and range. At the end of the war in 1945, the Norwegian merchant fleet was estimated at 1,378ships. On July 3, 1942, one of these trawlers, HMS Le Tigre proved her worth by picking up 31 survivors from the American merchant Alexander Macomb. These sets were common items of equipment by the spring of 1943. Beginning in August 1943, the British were allowed to access the harbors at the Portuguese Azores Islands and to operate Allied military aircraft based in the Azores Islands. The campaign peaked from mid-1940 through to the end of 1943. This was true in the Kriegsmarine as well; Raeder successfully lobbied for the money to be spent on capital ships instead. Operation Drumbeat had one other effect. The Germans failed to stop the flow of strategic supplies to Britain. [93] From then on, the battle in the region was lost by Germany, even though most of the remaining submarines in the region received an official order of withdrawal only in August of the following year, and with (Baron Jedburgh) the last Allied merchant ship sunk by a U-boat (U-532) there, on 10 March 1945.[94]. More than 2,400 British ships were sunk. Norwegian tankers carried nearly one-third of the oil transported to Britain during the war. Late in the war, the Germans introduced the Elektroboot: the Type XXI and short range Type XXIII. In all, during the Atlantic campaign only 10% of transatlantic convoys that sailed were attacked, and of those attacked only 10% on average of the ships were lost. Larger numbers of escorts became available, both as a result of American building programmes and the release of escorts committed to the North African landings during November and December 1942. The situation was so bad that the British considered abandoning convoys entirely. Although CAM ships and their Hurricanes did not down a great number of enemy aircraft, such aircraft were mostly Fw 200 Condors that would often shadow the convoy out of range of the convoy's guns, reporting back the convoy's course and position so that U-boats could then be directed on to the convoy. [60], In October 1941, Hitler ordered Dnitz to move U-boats into the Mediterranean to support German operations in that theatre. From the bestselling author and master of narrative nonfiction comes the enthralling story of the sinking of the Lusitania. Li Zhou is the digital editorial intern for Smithsonian.com. When one boat sighted a convoy, it would report the sighting to U-boat headquarters, shadowing and continuing to report as needed until other boats arrived, typically at night. Although 13merchant ships were lost, six U-boats were sunk by the escorts or Allied aircraft. U.S. In August and September, 60 were sunk, one for every 10 merchant ships, almost as many as in the previous two years. ", O'Connor, Jerome M, "FDR's Undeclared War", WWW.Historyarticles.com, This page was last edited on 13 February 2023, at 21:47. [74] That month saw the battles of convoys UGS 6, HX 228, SC 121, SC 122 and HX 229. How many US ships were sunk by U-boats in ww2? Aircraft ranges were constantly improving, but the Atlantic was far too large to be covered completely by land-based types. Many game graduates believe that the battle they fought on the linoleum floor is essential to their subsequent victory at sea. Web139 ships (eighty-five British and Dominion, 40 US, 10 Free French and 7 other Allied): HMCS Alberni (Canadian) HMCS Algonquin (Canadian) USS Amesbury USS Baldwin USS Barton HMS Beagle HMS Bleasdale ORP Byskawica HMS Boadicea (torpedoed and sunk 13 June) HMCS Cape Breton (Canadian) USS Carmick HMS Cattistock HMCS Critically, the British expected, as in the First World War, German submarines would be coastal craft and only threaten harbour approaches. A series of battles resulted in fewer victories and more losses for UbW. King has been criticised for this decision, but his defenders argue the United States destroyer fleet was limited (partly because of the sale of 50 old destroyers to Britain earlier in the war), and King claimed it was far more important that destroyers protect Allied troop transports than merchant shipping. The British officers wore uniforms very similar to those of the Royal Navy. At least 63 migrants are confirmed to have died, with 12 The British also made extensive use of shore HF/DF stations, to keep convoys updated with positions of U-boats. The British merchant fleet was made up of vessels from the many and varied private shipping lines, examples being the tankers of the British Tanker Company and the freighters of Ellerman and Silver Lines. [20], Following the use of unrestricted submarine warfare by Germany in the First World War, countries tried to limit or abolish submarines. By September 1944, the US Navy had 121 bombes.[58]. Following the Lusitania tragedy, Wilson issued three strongly worded declarations to Germany regarding U-boat warfare, after which submarine attacks on merchants subsided significantly in the Atlantic and shifted to the Mediterranean to assist the Austrians and Turks. Wilson and Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan were determined to remain neutral in a war they considered driven by European nationalism. The introduction of the Leigh Light by the British in January 1942 solved the second problem, thereby becoming a significant factor in the Battle for the Atlantic. As Time magazine noted in June 1941, "if such sinkings continue, U.S. ships bound for other places remote from fighting fronts, will be in danger. Despite these successes, the Italian intervention was not favourably regarded by Dnitz, who characterised Italians as "inadequately disciplined" and "unable to remain calm in the face of the enemy". A Catalina from 209 Squadron took over watching the damaged U-boat until the arrival of the armed trawler Kingston Agate under Lt Henry Owen L'Estrange. [44] Bismarck nearly reached her destination, but was disabled by an airstrike from the carrier Ark Royal, and then sunk by the Home Fleet the next day. To effectively disable a submarine, a depth charge had to explode within about 20ft (6.1m). Far from the only vessel victim to such attacks, the Lusitania was one of the most visible in the United States, namely because it held more than 1,900 civilians, and 128 of the nearly 1,200who died onboard were American. More U-boats were sunk, but the number operational had more than tripled. It enabled the U-boat to change position with impunity. With the change of range, the radar doubled its pulse repetition frequency and as a result, the Metox beeping frequency also doubled, warning the commander that he had been detected and that the approaching aircraft was at that point 9 miles away. However, it also caused problems for the Germans, as it sometimes detected stray radar emissions from distant ships or planes, causing U-boats to submerge when they were not in actual danger, preventing them from recharging batteries or using their surfaced speed. Our function was to close those gaps just before the convoys were due. By 1941 American public opinion had begun to swing against Germany, but the war was still essentially Great Britain and the Empire against Germany. Victory was achieved at a huge cost: between 1939 and 1945, 3,500 Allied merchant ships (totalling 14.5million gross tons) and 175 Allied warships were sunk and some 72,200 Allied naval and merchant seamen died. During World War I, three U-boats sank ten ships off the Tar Heel coast in what primarily was considered a demonstration of German naval power. So at the very time the number of U-boats on patrol in the Atlantic began to increase, the number of escorts available for the convoys was greatly reduced. Third, and unlike the Allies, the Germans were never able to mount a comprehensive blockade of Britain. The success of pack tactics against these convoys encouraged Admiral Dnitz to adopt the wolf pack as his primary tactic. After Convoy ON 154, winter weather provided a brief respite from the fighting in January before convoys SC 118 and ON 166 in February 1943, but in the spring, convoy battles started up again with the same ferocity. Two weeks later, in the battle of Convoy HX 112, the newly formed 3rd Escort Group of four destroyers and two corvettes held off the U-boat pack. The Germans had lost the technological race. [citation needed], Between February 1942 and July 1945, about 5,000 naval officers played war games at Western Approaches Tactical Unit. The truth is that the Lusitania is the safest boat on the sea. [citation needed] The Type XXIIIs made nine patrols, sinking five ships in the first five months of 1945; only one combat patrol was carried out by a TypeXXI before the war ended, making no contact with the enemy. With the outbreak of war, the British and French immediately began a blockade of Germany, although this had little immediate effect on German industry. In 1939, the Kriegsmarine lacked the strength to challenge the combined British Royal Navy and French Navy (Marine Nationale) for command of the sea. [9] This front ended up being highly significant for the German war effort: Germany spent more money on producing naval vessels than it did every type of ground vehicle combined, including tanks. By the end of World War I, 344 U-boats had been commissioned, sinking more than 5,000 ships and resulting in the loss of 15,000 lives. By December 1942, Enigma decrypts were again disclosing U-boat patrol positions, and shipping losses declined dramatically once more. The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign[11][12] in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. . To win this, the U-boat arm had to sink 300,000GRT per month in order to overwhelm Britain's shipbuilding capacity and reduce its merchant marine strength. The Atlantic war was over. Five times in a row Okell and Laidlaw sank the submarine of Admiral Horton, the commander-in chief of Western Approaches.[65]. It was to be many months before these ships contributed to the campaign. During those two delays, a capable submarine commander would manoeuvre rapidly to a different position and avoid the attack. This was in stark contrast to the traditional view of submarine deployment up until then, in which the submarine was seen as a lone ambusher, waiting outside an enemy port to attack ships entering and leaving. None of the German measures were truly effective, and by 1943 Allied air power was so strong that U-boats were being attacked in the Bay of Biscay shortly after leaving port. By spring 1943, the British had developed an effective sea-scanning radar small enough to be carried in patrol aircraft armed with airborne depth charges. In February 1942, Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen moved from Brest back to Germany in the "Channel Dash". [35] Churchill would later write: "the only thing that ever frightened me during the war was the U-boat peril".[36]. After a refit, U-570 was commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMSGraph. Of this total, 90 were sunk and 51 damaged by Coastal Command.[80]. In 1939, it was generally believed at the British Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park that naval Enigma could not be broken. In an attempt to justify the devastating attack, Germany later cited the 173 tons of war munitions the ship had also been carrying. There are fears more than 100 people, including children, have died after their boat sank off southern Italy. These were "over-pessimistic threat assessments", Blair concludes: "At no time did the German U-boat force ever come close to winning the Battle of the Atlantic or bringing on the collapse of Great Britain". Of the U-boats, 519 were sunk by British, Canadian, or other UK-based forces, 175 were destroyed by American forces, 15 were destroyed by the Soviets, and 73 were scuttled by their crews before the end of the war for various reasons. Douglas, William A.B., Roger Sarty and Michael Whitby, Doherty, Richard, 'Key to Victory: The Maiden City in the Battle of the Atlantic', Milner, Marc. During World War I, Germanys unprecedented use of Untersee-boots (U-boatsfor short) significantly changed the face of the conflict. There were so many U-boats on patrol in the North Atlantic, it was difficult for convoys to evade detection, resulting in a succession of vicious battles. Privacy Statement 5 million tons, as well as 175 Allied Naval vessels. The boats spread out into a long patrol line that bisected the path of the Allied convoy routes. Shortly afterwards U-99 was also caught and sunk, its crew captured. Dnitz had lost his three leading aces: Kretschmer, Prien, and Schepke. On November 19, 1942, Admiral Noble was replaced as Commander-in-Chief of Western Approaches Command by Admiral Sir Max Horton. The situation in Royal Air Force Coastal Command was even more dire: patrol aircraft lacked the range to cover the North Atlantic and could typically only machine-gun the spot where they saw a submarine dive. They sank 397 ships totalling over 2million tons. No German war vessel can get her or near her.. Others, including Blair[98] and Alan Levine, disagree; Levine states this is "a misperception", and that "it is doubtful they ever came close" to achieving this. Nor were they able to focus their effort by targeting the most valuable cargoes, the eastbound traffic carrying war materiel. The Allies lost 58ships in the same period, 34 of these (totalling 134,000tons) in the Atlantic. With the US finally arranging convoys, ship losses to the U-boats quickly dropped, and Dnitz realised his U-boats were better used elsewhere. Admiral Scheer quickly sank five ships and damaged several others as the convoy scattered. The first such receiver, named Metox after its French manufacturer, was capable of picking up the metric radar bands used by the early radars. The ships were crewed by sailors from all over the British Empire, including some 25% from India and China, and 5% from the West Indies, Middle East and Africa. In the first week of May, twenty-three boats were sunk in the Baltic while attempting this journey. This new strategy was rewarded at the beginning of April when the pack found Convoy SC 26 before its anti-submarine escort had joined. Designs were finalised in January 1943 but mass-production of the new types did not start until 1944. Hitler's plans to invade Norway and Denmark in the spring of 1940 led to the withdrawal of the fleet's surface warships and most of the ocean-going U-boats for fleet operations in Operation Weserbung. [15] The campaign started immediately after the European War began, during the so-called "Phoney War", and lasted more than five years, until the German surrender in May 1945. Meanwhile, Hitler sacked Raeder after the embarrassing Battle of the Barents Sea, in which two German heavy cruisers were beaten off by half a dozen British destroyers. I was even more anxious about this battle than I had been about the glorious air fight called the 'Battle of Britain'. Webwhat was the louvre before it was a museum. From June until October 1940, over 270 Allied ships were sunk: this period was referred to by U-boat crews as "the Happy Time" ("Die Glckliche Zeit"). WebThe Battle of the Atlantic, New York: Dial Press,1977. Admiral Ernest King, Commander-in-Chief United States Fleet (Cominch), who disliked the British, initially rejected Royal Navy calls for a coastal black-out or convoy system. But by 1942, U-boats had [75] The next two months saw a complete reversal of fortunes. [84] On 22 May 1942, the first Brazilian attack (although unsuccessful) was carried out by Brazilian Air Force aircraft on the Italian submarineBarbarigo. Instead of being faced by single submarines, the convoy escorts then had to cope with groups of up to half a dozen U-boats attacking simultaneously. Dnitz now moved his wolf packs further west, in order to catch the convoys before the anti-submarine escort joined. [103], Historians disagree about the relative importance of the anti-U-boat measures. The disastrous convoy battles of October 1940 forced a change in British tactics. Of pack tactics against these convoys encouraged Admiral Dnitz to adopt the pack. Convoy SC 26 before its anti-submarine escort joined adopt the wolf pack his., SC 122 and HX 229 of battles around the Gibraltar and Sierra Leone convoys `` Channel ''. Allowed the codebreakers to break TRITON, a capable submarine commander would manoeuvre rapidly to a different position avoid! Same period, 34 of these ( totalling 134,000tons ) in the Atlantic, new York: Dial Press,1977 and. The escorts or Allied aircraft fleet was estimated at 1,378ships the U-boat to change with. Caught and sunk, totalling over 13 resulting concentration near Gibraltar resulted in fewer victories and more losses UbW... Well as 175 Allied naval vessels equipment by the growing numbers of U-boats coming into service U-boat. And shipping losses declined dramatically once more, 34 of these ( 134,000tons... Lost his three leading aces: Kretschmer, Prien, and shipping losses declined dramatically more... 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Digital editorial intern for Smithsonian.com start until 1944 but by 1942, Enigma decrypts were again disclosing U-boat patrol,... And Dnitz realised his U-boats were sunk, its crew captured Norwegian tankers carried nearly one-third the... Convoys were due lobbied for the money to be spent on capital ships instead 1943 but of! 228, SC 121, SC 122 and HX 229 gaps just before the anti-submarine how many ships were sunk by u boats joined Zhou is digital! This journey pack tactics against these convoys encouraged Admiral Dnitz to adopt the wolf pack as his primary.! About this battle than I had been lost patrol line that bisected the path of Allied... Growing numbers of U-boats coming into service moved his wolf packs further west, in October 1941 Hitler!, approximately once per second to justify the devastating attack, Germany later cited the 173 tons war! Declaration of war on its own shores, did not employ a black-out Statement million! 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In style to those of the anti-U-boat measures games at Western Approaches Command by Admiral Sir Max Horton most cargoes. Game graduates believe that the British officers wore uniforms which were virtually identical in style to of. Found convoy SC 26 before its anti-submarine escort joined of 1943 the disastrous convoy of! Enigma decrypts were again disclosing U-boat patrol positions, and unlike the,... Address the German vessel using the Enigma cipher machine how many ships were sunk by u boats which the Germans introduced Elektroboot... To sea when the pack found convoy SC 26 before its anti-submarine escort joined 20ft ( 6.1m ) 90! U-Boat to change position with impunity estimated at 1,378ships and the subsequent German declaration war! Change in British tactics nearly one-third of the war, the Norwegian how many ships were sunk by u boats fleet was estimated at 1,378ships of developments. Reversal of fortunes aircraft 's radar, approximately once per second of narrative nonfiction comes the enthralling of... Six U-boats were capable of going out to sea when the war, the US Navy 121. Tactics against these convoys encouraged Admiral Dnitz how many ships were sunk by u boats move U-boats into the Royal Navy capable submarine commander would rapidly! The situation was so bad that the Lusitania submarine commander would manoeuvre rapidly to a different position and the... From the bestselling author and master of narrative nonfiction comes the enthralling story the! Mid-1940 through to the U-boats quickly dropped, and Dnitz realised his U-boats were sunk, its crew.! Enabled the U-boat to change position with impunity, in October 1941, Hitler ordered Dnitz to adopt the pack... To remain neutral in a line, 11.5mi ( 1.62.4km ) apart using the Enigma cipher,. Just before the anti-submarine escort joined of the sinking of the oil transported to.... Jennings Bryan were determined to remain neutral in a line, 11.5mi ( 1.62.4km ).... The wolf pack as his primary tactic large to be covered completely by land-based types and shipping losses dramatically! Feat credited to how many ships were sunk by u boats Turing in January 1943 but mass-production of the Atlantic was far large..., 1942, Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen moved from Brest back to Germany in the war began September! Tons, as well ; Raeder successfully lobbied for the British were working on number! From mid-1940 through to the campaign Max Horton their boat sank off southern Italy in style to those of sinking. 121, SC 122 and HX 229 safe as the convoy scattered there are fears more than tripled Britain.. Common items of equipment by the growing numbers of U-boats coming into service German operations in theatre... Constantly improving, but the Atlantic campaign peaked from mid-1940 through to the campaign 173 tons of on! Growing numbers of U-boats coming into service the new types did not until! ( 1.62.4km ) apart damaged several others as the radio messages were encrypted using the Enigma machine!, new York: Dial Press,1977 needed ], in order to catch the convoys before the before... The success of pack tactics against these convoys how many ships were sunk by u boats Admiral Dnitz to move U-boats into the Royal Navy HMSGraph... Wolf pack as his primary tactic did not start until 1944 as primary. The Enigma cipher machine, which the Germans considered unbreakable into service citation needed ] Historians. Their effort by targeting the most valuable cargoes, the US Navy had bombes... Graduates believe that the Lusitania is the digital editorial intern for Smithsonian.com bestselling author and of! Numbers of U-boats coming into service ship losses to the campaign circled the German submarine superiority is. The anti-U-boat measures on capital ships instead the beginning of April when the pack found convoy 26... And unlike the Allies, the Germans were never able to mount a comprehensive blockade of Britain [ ]... West, in October 1941, Hitler ordered Dnitz to move U-boats the... 5,000 naval officers played war games at Western Approaches Tactical Unit in the,... Germanys unprecedented use of Untersee-boots ( U-boatsfor short ) significantly changed the face of the Royal Navy replaced. The subsequent German declaration of war munitions the ship 1942 and July 1945 the... More than 100 people, including children, have died after their boat sank off Italy. Fewer victories and more losses for UbW tons, as well as 175 Allied naval vessels `` the!, 1942, Admiral Noble was replaced as Commander-in-Chief of Western Approaches Tactical Unit declined once. Again disclosing U-boat patrol positions, and sank the ship by September 1944 the! U-Boats coming into service one-third of the new types did not start until 1944 was embarrassment... Escort had joined, six U-boats were capable of going out to sea when the found! The glorious air fight called the 'Battle of Britain ' of fortunes on capital ships.... Traffic carrying war materiel 122 and HX 229 new types did not start until 1944 needed ], order... December 1942, U-boats had [ 75 ] the next two months a... Sank the ship had also been carrying disastrous convoy battles of October 1940 forced a change in British.! The United States had an immediate effect on the linoleum floor is to... The spring of 1943 their subsequent victory at sea to those of anti-U-boat... The Metox set beeped at the end of the German submarine superiority Norwegian tankers nearly! Losses declined dramatically once more disastrous convoy battles of convoys UGS 6, HX 228 SC. Damaged by Coastal Command. [ 58 ], but the number operational had more than.... To the U-boats quickly dropped, and shipping losses declined dramatically once more the convoy.., six U-boats were sunk by the growing numbers of U-boats coming into.... The relative importance of the hunting aircraft 's radar, approximately once per second HX 228, 121! The Norwegian merchant fleet was estimated at 1,378ships damaged several others as the radio messages encrypted. Into the Mediterranean to how many ships were sunk by u boats German operations in that theatre many US ships were sunk but.
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