Lesson 14 WW II -- Second Battle of the Atlantic

Lesson 14

WW II -- Second Battle of the Atlantic

Lesson Objectives

•  Understand the magnitude and significance of the Battle of the Atlantic during World War II.

•  Understand the degree of British dependence on maritime lines of communication.

•  Describe U.S. participation in the Battle of the Atlantic prior to December 1941.

•  Describe and analyze the tactics and technology used by both sides in the Battle of the Atlantic.

•  Understand the importance of code breaking in the Atlantic war.

"The only thing that ever really frightened me during the war was the U-boat peril."

Winston S. Churchill,The Second World War, Volume II, Their Finest Hour1949

The Battle of the Atlantic Begins

"The Circle of Modern War" and logo© Thomas D. Pilsch 2007-2013

( 0:50 – 8:00 )

The U-boat Threat

Admiral Karl Dönitz (1891-1980)German Submarine Commander

Hitler told the Kriegsmarine that the war would not begin until 1945

The Kriegsmarine built Plan Z, their expansion blueprint, on this target

• 249 U-boats by 1944

(January 1939)

The U-boat Threat

Type VIIC U-boat

Range: 8,500 nm Crew: 44-52 Torpedo load: 14

Germany had 57 operational U-boats in September 1939

• Only about half of these were effective ocean-going units

Source: The World At War

Allied Strategy

• Protect existing shipping

• Build to replace shipping losses, expand fleet

• Go on the offensive against the U-boats

Allied Strategy

• Protect existing shipping

• Build to replace shipping losses, expand fleet

• Go on the offensive against the U-boats

Allied Strategy

• Protect existing shipping• Employ convoy system immediately

• Increase escort capability

Ships Lost vs. Built1939 - 1941

Source

Convoy System

RN employed convoys from start

• Did not have enough escorts

• Started crash construction program

USN did not use convoys initially

• Second “Happy Time” * for Germans

* Jan-Aug 1942

Convoy System

Introduction of

• Aircraft

… turned the tide

• More escorts• Hunter-Killer tactics (later)

Flower-class Corvettes

Length: 205 feet

Displacement: 940 tons

Speed: 16 knots

394 built (UK, Canada)

Video Link

Remember this one?

History doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes.

Attributed to Samuel Clements (1835-1910)

Unrestricted Submarine Warfare

August 17, 1940 Hitler Declares Unrestricted Blockade Around British Isle

Unrestricted Submarine Warfare

August 17, 1940 Hitler Declares Unrestricted Blockade Around British Isle

America Gets Involved

September 2, 1940 Destroyers For Bases Agreement

Destroyers For BasesSeptember 2, 1940

US provided 50 WW I destroyers in exchange for bases

Destroyers For BasesSeptember 2, 1940

US provided 50 WW I destroyers in exchange for bases

Bases in Newfoundland, Bermuda, West India, Guiana

Destroyers became RN Town-class

… became HMS Lewes

• Named for North American cities and towns with namesake in UK

Events

September 2, 1940 Destroyers For Bases Agreement

September 16, 1940 Selective Training and Service Act

Jan-March 1941 American-British Staff Conference

• First US “peacetime” draft

American-British Staff Conference Washington, DC - Jan-Mar 1941

Discussed issues of coalition warfare

“Made before American entry into World War II, in the context of a world threatened by Axis aggression in Europe and Asia, the judgment that Germany must be defeated first stands as the most important single strategic concept of the war.”

Louis Morton"Germany First: The Basic Concept of Allied Strategy in World War II"Command Decisions, Kent Roberts Greenfield (ed)Washington: US Army Center of Military History, 2000

“Germany First” decision

• In the event of war with Germany & Japan, defeat of Germany would have highest priority

Events

September 2, 1940 Destroyers For Bases Agreement

September 16, 1940 Selective Training and Service Act

Jan-March 1941 American-British Staff Conference

• First US “peacetime” draft

March 11, 1941 Lend-Lease Act

Lend-Lease

Lend-Lease Act (March 11, 1941)

President of the United States authorized to "sell, transfer title to, exchange, lease, lend, or otherwise dispose of, to any such government [whose defense the President deems vital to the defense of the United States] any defense article".

Significance

• US officially became a logistics participant in the war

• Added further emphasis to US mobilization

• No repayment requirement - > $50 B transferred

Events

September 2, 1940 Destroyers For Bases Agreement

September 16, 1940 Selective Training and Service Act

Jan-March 1941 American-British Staff Conference

• First US “peacetime” draft

March 11, 1941 Lend-Lease Act

British ships allowed for repairsApril 4, 1941

US warships report German navy movesApril 24, 1941

July 1941 US assumed occupation of Iceland

Occupation of Iceland

Critical Location

April 9, 1940 - Denmark occupied by Germany

May 10, 1940 - British invade & occupy Iceland

July 1941 - US Marines assume occupation responsibility

Occupation of Iceland

US Marines in Iceland

Events

August 9-12, 1941 Roosevelt & Churchill meet in Newfoundland

Library of Congresswww.loc.gov/exhibits/british/britobje.html

Roosevelt departs

The Atlantic ConferenceArgentia, Newfoundland August 9-12, 1941

Atlantic CharterJoint declaration of August 14, 1941

Established Allied vision for a post war world

Major Principles:

1. No territorial gains sought by the United States or the United Kingdom.

2. Territorial adjustments in accord with wishes of the peoples concerned.

3. People have a right to self-determination.

4. Trade barriers to be lowered.

5. Global economic cooperation and advancement of social welfare.

6. Freedom from want and fear to be enforced.

7. Freedom of the seas

8. Disarmament of aggressor nations and postwar common disarmament

Events

September 1, 1941 US warships escort convoys containing US vessels

September 11, 1941 US warships ordered to “shoot on sight”

Events

October 31, 1941 USS Reuben James sunk by U-boat

• 100 killed

USS Reuben James DD-245

Link

Destroyer Escorts(DE)

Displacement: 1,240 tons (std) 1,620 tons (full) Dimensions: 306' (oa), 300' (wl) x 36' 10" x 11' 8" (max)Armament: 3 x 3"/50 Mk22 (1x3), 1 twin 40mm Mk1 AA, 8 x 20mm Mk 4 AA, 3 x 21" Mk15 TT (3x1),1 Hedgehog Projector Mk10 (144 rounds), 8 Mk6 depth charge projectors, 2 Mk9 depth charge tracks

Machinery: 4 GM Mod. 16-278A diesel engines with electric drive, 6000 shp, 2 screwsSpeed: 21 knots Range: 10,800 nm @ 12 knots Crew: 15 / 201

USS Slater (DE-766)

Source

Destroyer Escorts(DE)

Fleet destroyerFletcher class

Destroyer EscortCannon class

Destroyer escorts did not need speed of fleet destroyers

DEs could be smaller, cheaper, easier to produce

• 21 knots vs. 35 knots for destroyers

Building DEs

Prefabricated DE parts arrive at Mare Island CA from Denver

Building DEs

DE construction techniques

Building DEs

Rolling out a completed DE hull

Bay City, MI

Other Threats

FW 200 Condor Maritime Patrol Aircraft

Source

Catapult Armed Merchantmen

Source

Source

HAWKER “HURRICAT”

Catapult Armed Merchantman (CAM)

"The Circle of Modern War" and logo© Thomas D. Pilsch 2007-2013

( 15:05 – 16:40 )

Catapult Armed Merchantmen

Source

Operational History

35 CAM ships converted

• Made 175 voyages, 1941-1943

• 12 were lost to enemy action (34%)

Eight operational catapult launchings

Six enemy aircraft shot down

One RN pilot lost

HMS Ariguani

Other ThreatsSurface Raiders

Pocket Battleships / Heavy Cruisers

Example: Admiral Graf Spee

Auxiliary Cruisers

Example: Atlantis

Surface RaidersPocket Battleships & Heavy Cruisers

Admiral Graf Spee

Six 11-inch guns

Eight 5.9-inch guns

Speed: 21 knots

Displacement: 16,200 tons

Scuttled, December 17, 1939Off Montevideo, Uruguay

After battle with thee British cruisers

War CruiseAugust-December 1939

Sank 9 merchant ships(50,000 tons)

Video

Surface RaidersAuxiliary Cruisers

Auxiliary Cruiser Atlantis Atlantis with dummy funnel

Armament Layout

Hidden torpedo tubes & guns

Surface RaidersAuxiliary Cruisers

Auxiliary Cruiser Atlantis Atlantis with dummy funnel

First auxiliary cruiser to sink a merchant ship

Highest tonnage sunk of all surface raiders

Circumnavigated the globe

• 22 ships, 146,000 tons

Allied Strategy

• Protect existing shipping

• Build to replace shipping losses, expand fleet • Expand US shipbuilding industry

• Apply mass production techniques to shipbuilding

All was ruled by that harsh and despotic factor, shipping.

Winston S. Churchill,The Second World War, Volume III, The Grand Alliance1950

Liberty Ships

Based on a British design

• Simple, welded hull

• Proven 1890-era steam engine

Originally tagged “ugly duckling” by FDR

“Liberty” campaign by Maritime Commissioner Emory Land changed image

• First ship: Patrick Henry

• Liberty Fleet Day: 15 ships launched across country (Sept. 27, 1941)

US Shipbuilding

Source

US Maritime Commission

Henry J. Kaiser

Source

Industrialist (1882-1967)

Began in construction: Hoover Dam, Grand Coolee Dam, SF Bay Bridge

Joined with Todd Shipbuilding (1939)

Built two new shipyards: Richmond CA & Portland OR

Introduced mass production techniques to build standardized ships

• Liberty ships, Victory ships; C-1, C-2, C-3 cargo; T-1, T-2, T-3 tankers

Record for one Liberty ship: 4 days, 15 hours, 30 minutes

Shipyards

Kaiser Shipyard - Richmond, CA

1943

Workforce

Rosie the Riveter

Norman Rockwell - 1943Source

Source

"Your must tell your children, putting all modesty aside, that without us, without women, there would have been no spring in 1945."

Rosie the Riveter

Steve Breen, San Diego Union-TribuneJanuary 25, 2013

Update

The Riveter The Rifleman

Workforce

Rosie the Riveter

Wanda the Welder

Mass Production Techniques

Mass Production Techniques

Mass Production Techniques

Mass Production Techniques

Mass Production Techniques

The Finished Product

Record for one Liberty ship: 4 days, 15 hours, 30 minutes

Liberty Ships

Royal Navy Photo

SS Jeremiah O’Brien

National Liberty Ship Memorial

SourceSource

One of 2,718 built at 17 US shipyards

Speed: 11 knots

Victory Ships

Larger, faster than Liberty ship

550 built

Source

SS United Victory

T-2 Tankers

Source

Aircraft on “skeleton deck”

533 built

SourceSS Huntington Hills (completed in 33 days)

• 523 feet long overall • 68 foot beam • 30 foot draft

• 10,448 Gross tons

• 21,880 Loaded displacement tons

• 6,000 shaft horsepower Turbo-Electric propulsion

• Speed 14.5-16 knots

• Liquid capacity 141,200 barrels (nearly 6 million gal)

Source

Concrete Ships

SS Arthur Talbot

ConcreteShips.org

Shortage of steel caused search for alternatives.

Concrete ships had been tried in WW I with limited success.

WW II: 24 built in Tampa beginning in 1942 but with limited use

• Two crossed Atlantic and were used as breakwaters

• Others used for training in US

Allied Strategy

• Protect existing shipping

• Build to replace shipping losses, expand fleet

• Go on the offensive against the U-boats• Improve intelligence on U-boat operations

• Close Mid-Atlantic Gap

• Develop Hunter-Killer teams

Signals Intelligence

Source

Enigma

( SIGINT )

Enigma

Source

Enigma

Source

Bletchley Park

Alan Turing’s “Bombe”

Enigma

Source

British intelligence received its first Enigma machine in 1939 from Polish military

Additional machines captured by Royal Navy

• May 9, 1941: U-110 off Iceland

• October 30, 1942: U-559 in the Mediterranean

USN captured U-505, June 4, 1944

Direction Finding

High Frequency Direction Finding (HF/DF)

“Huff-Duff”

( ELINT )

German subs required to report positions

Allies used information to reroute convoys

• Later used to direct Hunter- Killer task forces

Source: The World At WarMid-Atlantic Gap

Maritime Patrol Aircraft

SourceRAF Liberator

USAAF A-29 Hudson

RAF FortressBlimps

Maritime Patrol Aircraft

Caught On The Surface – Robert Taylor

RAF Sunderland Flying Boat – Coastal Command vs. U-461

20 July 1943 – Bay of Biscay

Source

Airborne Detection Tools Leigh Light

Powerful aircraft light for night attacks

Introduced June 1942

Airborne Detection Tools Airborne Radar

Permitted location of submarines in bad weather and at night

First U-boat kill November 1941

RAF Coastal Command Liberator Mk III with ASV radar

Antenna Detail

Pioneering video documentary 1952-53

Going on the Offensive

"The Circle of Modern War" and logo© Thomas D. Pilsch 2007-2013

(0 – 7:04)

Escort Carrier

T-3 Tanker

USS Bogue

Built in Kaiser shipyards on T-3 tanker hulls

Escort Carrier

Comparison With Fleet Carrier

USS BogueCVE-9

Source

Displacement: 7,800 tons standard; 15,700 tons full load (design)Length: 495' 8" (151.1 m) Beam: 111.5'  (34 m)Power plant: 2 boilers (285 psi); 1 steam turbine; 1 shaft; 8,500 shpSpeed: 16.5 knotsArmament: 2 single 5"/51 (later 5"/38) gun mounts; (1943) 8 twin 40-mm/56-cal gun mounts; (1943) 27 single 20-mm/70-cal gun mountsAircraft: 24Aviation facilities: 2 elevators; 1 hydraulic catapultCrew: 890

Laid Down: 1 Oct 41 Launched: 15 Jan 42 Commissioned: 28 Sep 42

Hunter-Killer Team

Slide 8

Hunter Becomes the Hunted

U-118 under attack by aircraft from USS Bogue

June 12, 1943Source

Capture of U-505

Task Force 22.3

June 4, 1944

Escort carrier Guadalcanal (CVE-60)

Five destroyer escorts:

Pillsbury (DE-133) Pope (DE-134), Flaherty (DE-135), Chatelain (DE-149), Jenks (DE-665)

Captain Dan GalleryCommander

Capture of U-505

"The Circle of Modern War" and logo© Thomas D. Pilsch 2007-2013

Capture of U-505

Boarding Party Arrives from USS Pillsbury

June 4, 1944

Capture of U-505

First USN combat prize since War of 1812

Capture of U-505

USS Guadalcanal towing U-505

Players in U-505 Capture

Captain Daniel V. Gallery LT(jg) Albert L. David

Players in U-505 Capture

Captain Daniel V. Gallery

• Commander, Task Group 22.3

• After capture, Navy did not know what to do with him

• Set his sights on capturing a U-boat

• Decorate him

• Court martial him

• Eventually promoted him to rear admiralWhy?

Players in U-505 Capture

LT(jg) Albert L. David

• Asst. Engineering Officer on USS Pillsbury

• Led boarding party to U-505

• Remained inside sub despite threat of scuttling charges & open sea valves

• Awarded Medal of Honor

• Only MH awarded for Battle of Atlantic

May 1943: The Turning Point

“What is now decisive is that enemy aircraft have been equipped with a new location apparatus … which enables them to detect submarines and attack them in low cloud, bad visibility, or at nights. Much the largest number of submarines now being sunk are being sunk by aircraft. … These losses are too high. We must now husband our resources because, to do anything else, would simply be to play the enemy’s game”

Admiral Dönitz to Hitler, May 1943

Source

U-boat Losses By Month

U-boat.net

Ship Losses 1940 - 1945

Ships Lost vs. Built1939-1945

Source

US Shipbuilding

Source

Ships Built by US Maritime Commission1939-1947

US Maritime Commission

5,500+ ships

Losses

Museum of Science & Industry, Chicago

Victory in the Atlantic

"The Circle of Modern War" and logo© Thomas D. Pilsch 2007-2013

( 25:26 - 26:29)

"The Battle of the Atlantic was the dominating factor all through the war. Never for one moment could we forget that everything happening elsewhere, on land, at sea, in the air, depended ultimately on its outcome.”

Winston S. Churchill,The Second World War, Volume V, Closing the Ring1951

The Second Battle of the Atlantic

“The German people do not understand the sea”

Attributed to Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz (1849-1930)

Lesson 15

WW II – The Axis Advances

Next:

Lesson Objectives

•  Describe and analyze the German decision process to attack the Soviet Union in June 1941.

•  Describe and analyze the operational and logistic implications of Operation Barbarossa.

•  Understand and be able to discuss the impact of total war within the Soviet Union.

•  Understand how the initial successes of the German invasion of the USSR turned into such a total disaster.

•  Be able to describe the magnitude of the Soviet-German War and its impact on the outcome of World War II.

End

Video Title

"The Circle of Modern War" and logo© Thomas D. Pilsch 2007-2013