Battle of the Atlantic
IN May 2013 the 70th anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic (BOA 70) will be commemorated with a series of events centred around the cities of Liverpool, London and Derry-Londonderry.
The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest continuous military campaign in World War 2, at its height from mid-1940 through to the end of 1943. The BOA demonstrated the enduring importance of control of the sea to provide a highway for the transport of raw materials, munitions, and men, to maintain the nation’s security and to project power across the globe. The Battle of the Atlantic was pivotal to the success of the allied side in World War 2. After the fall of Europe, the main supply route for the continued prosecution of the war was between north America and the UK across the North Atlantic. Ultimately it was the successful protection of this vital sea corridor by British and allied ships from the German surface and U-boat threat that led to success in North Africa, at D-Day and ultimately resulted in the fall of Germany.
Liverpool
Date: 23rd - 28th May
Royal Navy ships arrive for the main commemorative events being held in Liverpool
- 1939-40Outbreak of War
- 1940-41The U-Boat Menace
- 1941The War Widens
- 1942Attacks in US Waters
- 1942-43The Fight Back
- 1943Black May
- 1943-44U-Boats Checked
- 1944-45Invasion of Europe
Outbreak of War
September 1939 - May 1940
The Battle of the Atlantic raged across the years of World War 2; the North Atlantic was an essential route for trade vessels and warships to support the Allies-
The Convoy System
By October 1939 the convoy system was fully in force
- Oct1939
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HMS Courageous
Aircraft Carrier sunk by U-Boat off south west Ireland- 17 SepSunk
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HMS Royal Oak
The Mighty Oak was sunk by U-Boat in Scapa Flow- 14 Oct1939
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Invasion of Norway
U-Boats withdrawn from Atlantic to focus on Norwegian Campaign
- Apr1940
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SS Athenia
First British ship sunk by U-Boat in World War 2- 3 Sep1939
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U-12 and U-40
U-Boats sunk by the Dover Barrage in October 1939- Oct1939
- U-12 Sunk
- U-40 Sunk
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U-Boat Building
Germany begins large scale U-Boat building programme- Oct1939
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30,000 merchant seaman lost
757 u-boats sunk or destroyed -
28,000 u-boat sailors lost
5,000 cargo vessels sunk
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35,000 allied sailors lost
6,000 RAF aircrew killed
Eye Witness Accounts
Jack Thomas
Fleet Air Arm Swordfish Pilot
Jack Thomas
Fleet Air Arm Swordfish Pilot
Jack Thomas joined the Royal Navy aged 18 as a trainee Swordfish pilot. He recalls his experiences as a pilot during his training and in the Battle of the Atlantic campaign during World War 2.
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Biter with the 5th Escort Group did particularly good work with HX237 by providing A/S air patrols in bad flying conditions.
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Convoy sails to run U-boat gauntlet
A convoy of nearly four dozen merchant ships protected by nearly 20 Royal Navy warships has sailed for the New World – running the gauntlet of more than 100 U-boats. Convoy ONS5 – Outbound North (Slow) 5 – mustered off the west coast of Scotland yesterday as groups
of merchant ships from south Wales, Liverpool and Scotland joined forces. They are heading for ports in North and South America – most to pick up cargoes to bring back to the United Kingdom to support our war effort, some to deliver coal.
Now and then
A nation dependent on the sea
Island Nation 1943
Serious losses of merchant ships put a strain on the Allied war effort. While the British population was never actually starved of food, nor her industries of raw materials, her armies of men, equipment or munitions - the shortage of shipping curtailed ambition and deterred the more offensive planning aspirations.
Island Nation 2013
With 95 per cent of the UK’s daily requirements still moving by sea and the future of resources and energy supply so dependent on the freedom to use the sea as a highway for trade, our prosperity as a nation is intricately linked to the sea and the role of the Royal Navy.
HMS Duncan
Warship 1943
D-class destroyer HMS Duncan served with renown escorting convoys in the Mediterranean and West Africa. She joined the North Atlantic escort ships in May 1943, as the Senior Officer Escort for two key convoys ONS 5 and SC 130.
Warship 2013
The type 45 destroyer HMS Duncan, the sixth and final of the new sophisticated class of air defence destroyers, arrived at her home base of Portsmouth in March 2013.
Events
Main Events at Liverpool
Date: 24th - 28th May
Liverpool is the national focus for the 70th anniversary commemorations and events
Cardiff
Date: 18th - 18th May
Merchant Navy Association service at the Merchant Seafarers Memorial
Cargo Reports
'Imports into the United Kingdom', Table 161, in the Central Statistical Office, Statistical Digest of the War (London: HMSO, 1951) - Scale in 100's of Tonnes
| Date | Stocks thousands of tonnes | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Food | Raw materials | Total Oil | ||
| January 1941 | 10.94 | 12.77 | 5.41 | U-boat menace grows |
| March 1941 | 9.15 | 12.02 | 8.42 | Western Approaches Command formed in Liverpool |
| March 1941 | 11.23 | 12.77 | 9.53 | |
| April 1941 | 10.38 | 12.19 | 8.77 | |
| May 1941 | 13.31 | 13.69 | 11.86 | Engima device captured by HMS Bulldog |
| June 1941 | 15.57 | 11.5 | 12.08 | U-boat presence increases North and East Atlantic |
| July 1941 | 15.44 | 10.41 | 12.27 | |
| August 1941 | 13.6 | 12.78 | 14.16 | |
| September 1941 | 12.79 | 14.64 | 17.11 | |
| October 1941 | 12.39 | 16.32 | 14.65 | |
| November 1941 | 9.54 | 11 | 12.82 | |
| December 1941 | 13.2 | 12.79 | 12.59 | USA enters the war |
| January 1942 | 9.84 | 9.6 | 10.37 | U-Boats target shipping off US East coast |
| February 1942 | 9.56 | 8.66 | 11.39 | |
| March 1942 | 10.15 | 8.70 | 7.24 | First sighting of U-boat using HF/DF |
| April 1942 | 10.99 | 9.5 | 8.96 | |
| May 1942 | 11.62 | 9.89 | 6.23 | U-boats target trans-atlantic routes |
| June 1942 | 10.47 | 9.7 | 7.74 | RAF target U-boats |
| July 1942 | 9.58 | 11.28 | 9.88 | Convoy system reduces shipping losses |
| August 1942 | 6.74 | 11.8 | 9.16 | U-boats return to North Atlantic |
| September 1942 | 8.82 | 11.89 | 10.75 | |
| October 1942 | 7.23 | 12.17 | 9.42 | Operation Torch |
| November 1942 | 6.02 | 6.36 | 9.03 | U-boat attacks intensify |
| December 1942 | 5.51 | 6.3 | 9.43 | |
| January 1943 | 5.31 | 5.98 | 8.57 | RAF bomb U-boat bases |
| February 1943 | 6.33 | 5.51 | 8.95 | North Atlantic air gap closed |
| March 1943 | 8.74 | 10.17 | 9.96 | Heavy u-boat attacks increase |
| April 1943 | 11.73 | 10.2 | 10.71 | |
| May 1943 | 10.22 | 8.74 | 12.81 | Black May: Battle reaches climax |
| June 1943 | 11.73 | 13.12 | 14.67 | U-boats withdraw from North Atlantic |
- Food imports
- Raw material imports
- Oil imports
Crucial Convoy Air Cover
Flying from the pitching decks of escort carriers and hastily converted MAC ships (Merchant Aircraft Carriers), Royal Navy aircraft and their aircrews played a vital role in protecting the convoys and hunting U-Boats.
Captain 'Johnnie' Walker
If any individual could claim to have turned the tide against the U-boat, then it would be Captain 'Johnnie' Walker, a man who destroyed more U-boats than any other. Walker had spent much of the inter-war years specialising in anti-submarine warfare.
