Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
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 ● ● ● ● ● ● 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 ● ● ● ● ● ● 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 ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● 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.