Download The Battle of the Atlantic (1942

The Battle of the Atlantic (19421943)
Ava Stockman(B) Julia Hepperle(B) Christina Bradley(A) Monsi Pingili(A)
Thesis
Germany’s goal during the Battle of the Atlantic was to cut Britain’s
supply line, which was vital to the British isles since their war effort was
centralized around their imports from neighboring countries and Allied
partners. Hitler’s development of the German U-boat facilitated this goal, as
the Allied powers were not fully equipped to detect the submarines.
However, technological advancements by Allied powers as well as the
addition of the United States into the Allied side of the war allowed Britain to
protect their supply line as well as ultimately crush German’s chance at
victory.
"...everything elsewhere on land, sea and air,
depended ultimately on the outcome of this battle."
-Winston Churchill
Terms
U-boats: short for “unterseeboot” which means “under-sea boat”
Wolf pack: how German u-boats hunted British ships in the
Atlantic (surround and attack one ship at night)
Convoys: groups that British supply ships crossed the Atlantic in
(safe until they reached the mid-Atlantic)
-through 1941 were effectively guarded by destroyer ships but
became less effective when more submarines were developed
Corvettes: new ships Britain developed that were lightly
armored (increased speed) but had enough weapons and
technology to withstand attacks
Causes
- Conflict between Allies and Axis for control of Atlantic sea routes
- Germany wanted to exploit Allies dependency on foreign imports
- Prevent Britain from receiving food, raw materials, weapons,
etc.
- German goal was to sink 150 merchant ships each month
- Calculated this was the minimum number needed to starve
Britain
- Strategy was to sink any ships that came into war area
Summary/Timeline
Sept. 3, 1939: Athenia sunk by German U-boats
Aug 17, 1940: Hitler allows German U-boats to attack any crossing merchant
ships to force the British to surrender.
Mar 11, 1941: President Franklin Roosevelt allows USA to supply the
Allied forces
April 17, 1942: Pearl Harbor attack -> America officially declares war
June 1-30, 1942: 834,000 tons of Allied forces trading goods are sunk
May 1943: Allied force ships are equipped with U-boat radar/sonar and HF/DF
technology
May 1943: America begins developing destroyer ships and escort carriers and
battle is unofficially called off
June 4,1944: German U-110 captured by American ships + Enigma System
May 7, 1945: German navy surrendered
Overview
Germany’s navy used submarines (U-boats) to sink merchant vessels using the
“wolfpack” strategy” as they traveled across the Atlantic Ocean with vital food and
weapons to Britain. Britain responded back with the convoy system to countermeasure
the U-boats deficit to their navy. The advantage shifted back and forth as both sides
made technological improvements. The United States industry became an important
factor as they could produce a standard freighter known as the Liberty ship in just three
months. By October 1942, three Liberty ships left the port every day. With more ships, the
U-boats began to lose submarines twice as fast as they could make them, so they were
forced to surrender.
Important People
● Commodore Karl Dönitz
○ Planned to concentrate groups of U-boats against convoys and to attack them
on the surface at night
○ Started the wolfpack strategy
● Erich Raeder
○ Grand Admiral of German Navy, later replaced by Donitz
● Sir Max Horton
○ British Navy admiral
○ Introduced new tactics of how escort ships were to be used to protect ships
from German U boats
Statistics
Allies Ship Sinking Numbers
1939 : 222 ships sunk (114 by submarine)
1940 : 1059 ships sunk (471 by submarine)
1941 : 1328 ships sunk (432 by submarine)
1942 : 1661 ships sunk (1159 by submarine)
1943 : 597 ships sunk (463 by submarine)
1944 : 247 ships sunk (132 by submarine)
1945 : 105 ships sunk (56 by submarine)
Allied Total Losses
● 3,500 merchant ships
sunk
● Around 200 warships
sunk
● 130,000 sailors
died/went missing
Tactics and Technology
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Germany
Ships:
U-boats/submarines (would surface
at night to recharge batteries)
Used wolf pack tactics (used radio
signals from the shore)
Had surface boats to help surround
Allies ships
Used torpedoes to sink enemy ships
Planes:
Long range planes helped bomb
Allied ships
Gather intelligence on location of
enemy convoys
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Allies
Ships:
Traveled in convoys with warships
Developed destroyer ships and escort
carriers
Developed radar and sonar technology
(but couldn’t measure how deep the Uboats were)
Crack the Enigma Code (captured ships
and rerouted)
Planes:
Long range planes forced U-boats to go
under water and made bombing easier
Developed planes that could be launched
off ships to penetrate black hole
German U-Boat
German Long-Range Plane
American Destroyer Ship
American Long Range Plane
American Liberty Ship
Enigma Code
Overall Significance
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Longest battle of WWII w/ more than 100 convoy
battles and 1,000 single ship encounters (without
interruption for 69 months)
Germany lost control of the Atlantic
Britain remains a strong presence in the war
German U boats began to look weak compared to
American Navy
Enigma machine captured and code cracked for a
few weeks
America could ship TONS of supplies and weapons
to Britain for the Normandy Invasion
Extensive casualties for both sides (ships and
people)
Allies became the side with more advanced
technology
Revolutionized sea/naval battle tactics
Sources
“Battle of Atlantic.” Battle of Atlantic, 7 July 2011, www.naval-history.net/WW2CampaignsAtlanticDev.htm. Accessed 17
Apr.
2017.
“BBC - History - World Wars: Battle of the Atlantic.” BBC News, BBC, www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/ff3_battle
_atlantic.shtml. Accessed 17 Apr. 2017.
Chen, C. Peter. “Start of the Battle of the Atlantic.” WW2DB, ww2db.com/battle_spec.php?battle_id=33. Accessed 17 Apr.
2017.
“Destroyer Escorts in the Atlantic.” Battle of the Atlantic, www.ussslater.org/history/dehistory/history_atlanticbattle.html.
Accessed 17 Apr. 2017.
Feldman, George. World War II: Almanac. Ed. Christine Slovey. Detroit: U X L, 2000. Print.
Samuels, Charlie. Timeline of World War II. New York: Gareth Stevens Pub., 2012. Print.
“Timeline of the Battle of the Atlantic (September 3rd, 1939 - May 7th, 1945).” WW2 - Timeline of Events,
www.secondworldwarhistory.com/battle-of-the-atlantic.asp. Accessed 17 Apr. 2017.