Battle of the Atlantic Video Study Guide

U.S.S. Reuben James

(U.S.N. Destroyer) First U.S. Navy ship sunk by hostile action in the European theater of WWII. ~joined the Neutrality Patrol, assigned to guard both the Atlantic and Caribbean approaches to the American coast.

September, 1941 significance

150 German U boats sank Allied ships at a faster rate than they could be built

motor torpedo boat

65 mph 'mosquito' boat

Battle of the River Plate

British victory the first major naval engagement of the Second World War, was a great boost to British morale during the 'Phoney War'. When war broke out in September 1939, the German pocket battleship Graf Spee, commanded by Hans Langsdorff, was patrolling in the Atlantic.

Who were the key protagonists who participated in/influenced this event or operation? What role(s) did each of them play?

For the U.S.A.: Fleet Admiral Ernest Joseph King For Great Britain: Vice Admiral John Tovey For Germany: Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz

U boat Captain, Peter-Erich Cremer

German U-boat commander

Joachim Schepke

German U-boat commander during World War II. He was the seventh recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. Sunk 36 allied ships.

Scharnhorst

German battlecruiser that was brought to action at the Battle of the North Cape

Captain Hans Langsdorff?

German naval officer, most famous for his command of the Panzerschiff (pocket battleship) Admiral Graf Spee during the Battle of the River Plate

Corvette

Gladiolus class after the lead ship

Admiral Sir Percy Noble

He was then Director of Naval Equipment from 1931 before returning to sea in command of the 2nd Cruiser Squadron in 1932

Captain, Donald Macintyre of the British destroyer, H.M.S. Walker

Royal Navy officer during the Second World War and a successful convoy escort commander.

SONAR

SOund Navigation And Ranging

U.S.S. Greer (U.S.N. Destroyer)

September 4, 1941: Apparently, the German U 652 fired upon the Greer, without making contact (whether intentionally or un-intentionally missing) ~sole focus of a Fireside Chat delivered by FDR on September 11, 1941.

S.S. Robin Moore

Steamship from Hog Island (Philadelphia, PA) Sailed under the American flag since 1919

March 1941 significance

U.S.S. Reuben James joined the convoy escort force established to promote the safe arrival of war materiel/supplies in Great Britain. This escort force guarded convoys as far as Iceland, at which point they became the responsibility of British escorts.

October 23, 1941 significance

U.S.S. Reuben James sailed from Naval Station Argentia, Newfoundland, along with four other destroyers serving escort duty for the eastbound convoy HX 156. At daybreak, U.S.S. Reuben James was torpedoed by German U 552 commanded by Kapitänleutnant Erich Topp, near Iceland. ~Reuben James was hit forward by a torpedo meant for a merchant ship

U.S.S. Kearny (U.S.N. Destroyer)

While docked at Reykjavík, Iceland (U.S.-occupied territory), the U.S.S. Kearny was summoned to assist a British convoy that was being attacked by a "wolfpack" of German U-boats nearby. The U.S.S. Kearny (along with three other U.S. destroyers) were dispatched.

Hecht

Wolfpack Hecht. Hecht (English: "Pike") was the name of two "wolfpacks" of German U-boats that operated during World War II. The first operated during the Battle of the Atlantic from 8 May to 18 June 1942.

Schnorkel

Worked like a snorkel Device which allowed German U boats to operate submerged while still taking in air from above the surface. Now U boats could recharge while still underwater.

Sunderland Flying Boats

a British flying boat patrol bomber, developed and constructed by Short Brothers for the Royal Air Force

"iron coffins"

a World War II memoir written by a retired German naval officer, Herbert A. Werner, who fought in (and managed to survive) the Battle of the Atlantic.

foxers

a code name for a British built acoustic decoy designed to confuse German acoustic homing torpedoes The device consisted of one or two noise making devices~This noise seduced the simple guidance mechanisms of acoustic torpedoes away from the rear of the ship into a circling pattern around the noise maker until the torpedo ran out of fuel.

Convoys

a group of ships or vehicles traveling together, typically accompanied by armed troops, warships, or other vehicles for protection.

"wolfpacks".

a group of submarines Reuben James was positioned between an ammunition ship in the convoy and the known position of a "wolfpack".

"milk cows"/ milchkuh

allowed the smaller Type VIIC boats to raid the American coast during the "Second Happy Time"

depth charge

anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water from ships and/or aircraft nearby the submarine target. The depth charge uses high explosive charges and a fuse that is set to detonate at a specific depth nearby the intended target. When the depth charge detonates, the target is subjected to a powerful and destructive hydraulic shock.

Pocket battleship

any of a class of cruisers with large-caliber guns, operated by the German navy in World War II.

Grand Admiral Erich Raeder

attained the highest possible naval rank led the german war navy

Condor

bomber aircraft that scouted for convoys

Courageous

british carrier that was sunk by U-29

U boat cons

drawback for U boats was the fact that they operated on diesel engines that needed air in order to recharge the batteries (meant that subs had to surface to recharge, making them vulnerable to spot/seek and destroy).

"flying boats"

flew out of Pembroke Dock during the Battle of the Atlantic - when they were used to attack German U-boats that were trying to sink vital supply ships

Admiral Graf Spee

had been at sea at the start of the Second World War in September 1939, and had sunk several merchantmen in the Indian Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean without loss of life, due to her captain's policy of taking all crews on board before sinking the victim.

"Second Happy Time"

known among German submarine commanders as the American shooting season, was the informal name for a phase in the Battle of the Atlantic during which Axis submarines attacked merchant shipping and Allied naval vessels along the east coast of North America.

Henry J. Kaiser

main contribution to the Allied victory in World War II were his Liberty and Victory-class merchant ships for the United States

Reuben James destroyed

pretext for the U.S. occupation of Iceland.

Otto Kretschmer

successful german u boat captain admiral in the Bundesmarine.

ASDIC

unreliable (only later was radar/sonar improved)

Günther Prien

was a German U-boat commander during World War II. He was the first U-boat commander to receive the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and the first member of the Kriegsmarine to receive the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany.

The Bismarck

The last battle of the German battleship Bismarck took place in the Atlantic Ocean approximately 300 nmi (350 mi; 560 km) west of Brest, France, on 26-27 May 1941. Although it was a decisive action between capital ships, it has no generally accepted name. ... Her intention was to reach the port of Brest for repair.

Royal Oak

The peacetime reorganisation of the Royal Navy assigned Royal Oak to the Second Battle Squadron of the Atlantic Fleet. Modernised by the 1922-24 refit, she was transferred in 1926 to the Mediterranean Fleet, based in Grand Harbour, Malta.

What was the purpose of the U boat? What impact did the use of U boats during the various phases of the conflict?

Purpose was to hunt and kill.

ASD

Anti-Submarine Division

"destroyers for bases" deal

In the Destroyers for Bases Agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom on September 2, 1940, fifty Caldwell, Wickes, and Clemson class US Navy destroyers were transferred to the Royal Navy from the United States Navy in exchange for land rights on British possessions.

homing torpedo (German G7 torpedo)

Instead of aiming the torpedo (as a form of guidance/direction much like an artillery shell), homing torpedoes were guided automatically by noise (i.e. they "homed" in on noise, such as wake from a boat, ship engines, etc....)

When did the Battle of the Atlantic take place?

It began immediately upon the British declaration of war against Germany in September 1939 and ended with Germany's surrender to the Allies in May 1945.

Lorient

The city played a strategic role in the Battle of the Atlantic during the Second World War. The German Navy U-boats started operating in the Atlantic early. In June 1940, the war started, affecting Lorient directly.

What were the outcomes of the Battle of the Atlantic? Why was the Battle of the Atlantic significant?

The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, running from 1939 to the defeat of Germany in 1945. At its core was the Allied naval blockade of Germany, announced the day after the declaration of war, and Germany's subsequent counter-blockade.

"Happy Time"

The early phase of the Battle of the Atlantic during which German Navy U-boats enjoyed significant success against the British Royal Navy and its allies