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Black May (1943)
Black May refers to a period (May 1943) in the Battle of the Atlantic campaign during World War II, when the German U-boat arm (''U-Bootwaffe'') suffered high casualties with fewer Allied ships sunk; it is considered a turning point in the Battle of the Atlantic. Background After February battles around convoys SC 118, ON 166, and UC 1, Black May was the culmination of the March-May 1943 crisis in the Battle of the Atlantic. March The U-boat offensive reached its peak in March, with a series of major convoy battles, first around convoys HX 228, SC 121, and UGS 6; then followed the battle for HX 229/SC 122, the largest convoy battle of the war. Allied losses for March totalled 120 ships of , of which 82 () were lost in the Atlantic. The German U-boat arm (''U-Bootwaffe'') (UBW) lost 12 U-boats during this time. A Royal Navy report later concluded that "The Germans never came so near to disrupting communications between the New World and the Old as in the first twenty d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of The Atlantic
The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allied naval blockade of Germany, announced the day after the declaration of war, and Germany's subsequent counter-blockade. The campaign peaked from mid-1940 through to the end of 1943. The Battle of the Atlantic pitted U-boats and other warships of the German '' Kriegsmarine'' (Navy) and aircraft of the ''Luftwaffe'' (Air Force) against the Royal Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, United States Navy, and Allied merchant shipping. Convoys, coming mainly from North America and predominantly going to the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union, were protected for the most part by the British and Canadian navies and air forces. These forces were aided by ships and aircraft of the United States beginning September 13, 1941. Carney, Robert B., Admiral, USN. "Comment and Discu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Convoy TS 37
TS 37 was a South Atlantic convoy of the TS series which ran during World War II from Takoradi to Freetown. It lost seven ships in "one of the most remarkable convoy attacks of the war."Blair, p206 Background TS 37 was a convoy of the TS/ST series, organized to protect merchant traffic between Takoradi on the Gold Coast (now Ghana) and Freetown, Sierra Leone. Freetown was the main naval base for the Royal Navy’s West Africa Station and was the departure and dispersal point for SL/ OS convoys to Britain. The TS series had been established in September 1942 in response to U-boat depredations amongst independently routed shipping on the coast of West Africa. Ships involved TS 37 comprised 19 merchant ships. The escort comprised HMS ''Bellwort'', a Flower-class corvette, and three ASW trawlers, ''Arran'', ''Birdlip'' and ''Fandango''. The Senior Officer (Escort) was Lt. NFR Gill, the captain of ''Bellwort''. TS 37 departed Takoradi on 26 April, but one ship, dropped out on and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bristol Beaufighter
The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter (often called the Beau) is a British multi-role aircraft developed during the Second World War by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was originally conceived as a heavy fighter variant of the Bristol Beaufort torpedo bomber. The Beaufighter proved to be an effective night fighter, which came into service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Battle of Britain, its large size allowing it to carry heavy armament and early airborne interception radar without major performance penalties. The Beaufighter was used in many roles; receiving the nicknames ''Rockbeau'' for its use as a rocket-armed ground attack aircraft and ''Torbeau'' as a torpedo bomber against Axis shipping, in which it replaced the Beaufort. In later operations, it served mainly as a maritime strike/ground attack aircraft, RAF Coastal Command having operated the largest number of Beaufighters amongst all other commands at one point. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) also m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Escort Carrier
The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier (U.S. hull classification symbol CVE), also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy (USN) or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slow type of aircraft carrier used by the Royal Navy, the United States Navy, the Imperial Japanese Navy and Imperial Japanese Army Air Force in World War II. They were typically half the length and a third the displacement of larger fleet carriers, slower, more-lightly armed and armored, and carried fewer planes. Escort carriers were most often built upon a commercial ship hull, so they were cheaper and could be built quickly. This was their principal advantage as they could be completed in greater numbers as a stop-gap when fleet carriers were scarce. However, the lack of protection made escort carriers particularly vulnerable, and several were sunk with great loss of life. The light carrier (U.S. hull classification symbol CVL) was a similar concept to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Consolidated B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models designated as various LB-30s, in the Land Bomber design category. At its inception, the B-24 was a modern design featuring a highly efficient shoulder-mounted, high aspect ratio Davis wing. The wing gave the Liberator a high cruise speed, long range and the ability to carry a heavy bomb load. Early RAF Liberators were the first aircraft to cross the Atlantic Ocean as a matter of routine. In comparison with its contemporaries, the B-24 was relatively difficult to fly and had poor low-speed performance; it also had a lower ceiling and was less robust than the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. While aircrews tended to prefer the B-17, General Staff favored the B-24 and procured it in huge numbers for a wide variety of roles. At approximately 18,5 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Admiralty
The Admiralty was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy until 1964, historically under its titular head, the Lord High Admiral – one of the Great Officers of State. For much of its history, from the early 18th century until its abolition, the role of the Lord High Admiral was almost invariably put "in commission" and exercised by the Lords Commissioner of the Admiralty, who sat on the governing Board of Admiralty, rather than by a single person. The Admiralty was replaced by the Admiralty Board in 1964, as part of the reforms that created the Ministry of Defence and its Navy Department (later Navy Command). Before the Acts of Union 1707, the Office of the Admiralty and Marine Affairs administered the Royal Navy of the Kingdom of England, which merged with the Royal Scots Navy and the absorbed the responsibilities of the Lord High Admiral of the Kingdom of Scotland with the unification of the Kingdom of Great ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ultra (cryptography)
adopted by British military intelligence in June 1941 for wartime signals intelligence obtained by breaking high-level encrypted enemy radio and teleprinter communications at the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park. ''Ultra'' eventually became the standard designation among the western Allies for all such intelligence. The name arose because the intelligence obtained was considered more important than that designated by the highest British security classification then used (''Most Secret'') and so was regarded as being ''Ultra Secret''. Several other cryptonyms had been used for such intelligence. The code name ''Boniface'' was used as a cover name for ''Ultra''. In order to ensure that the successful code-breaking did not become apparent to the Germans, British intelligence created a fictional MI6 master spy, Boniface, who controlled a fictional series of agents throughout Germany. Information obtained through code-breaking was often attributed to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frederic John Walker
Captain Frederic John Walker, (3 June 1896 – 9 July 1944) (his first name is given as Frederick in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography and some London Gazette entries) was a Royal Navy officer noted for his exploits during the Second World War. Walker was the most successful anti-submarine warfare commander during the Battle of the Atlantic and was known more popularly as Johnnie Walker (for the Johnnie Walker brand of whisky). Early life and career Walker was born in Plymouth, the son of Frederic Murray and Lucy Selina (née Scriven) Walker. He joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in 1909 and was educated at the Royal Naval Colleges at Osborne and Dartmouth, where he excelled. First serving on the battleship as a midshipman, Walker as a sub-lieutenant went on to join the destroyers and in 1916 and 1917 respectively. Following the end of the First World War, Walker joined the battleship . He married Jessica Eileen Ryder Stobart, with whom he had three sons and a daug ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Creeping Attack (naval Tactic)
The creeping attack was an anti submarine measure developed during the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II. It was first used by 36 Escort Group of the Royal Navy after being developed by the Group's commanding officer, Captain "Johnnie" Walker. The problem addressed by Walker in the tactics then in use was that ASDIC, the means to search for and find a submerged submarine, searched forward, while the main weapon to attack it, the depth charge, was released or projected from the stern. This led to a loss of contact in final run up to target, giving the U-boat a chance to move at the last minute and evade damage. The more skilled or experienced U-boat commanders became adept at predicting the points at which the escort sped up to attack, and when they lost ASDIC contact, and were able to move aside while the charges sank to their depth. The creeping attack used two ships; one to remain stationary and keep in contact, and guide a second ship onto the target. The second approa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mark 24 FIDO Torpedo
The Mark 24 mine (also known as FIDO or Fido) is an air-dropped anti-submarine warfare weapon (ASW) incorporating passive acoustic homing system and torpedo integration. It was used by the United States, the British and Canadian forces during the Second World War and entered service in March 1943 and remained in use with the US Navy until 1948. Approximately 4,000 torpedoes were produced, with 340 ultimately being deployed during the war. Two-hundred and four torpedoes were launched against submarine targets, with 37 Axis submarines being sunk and a further 18 damaged. The deceptive name of "Mark 24 mine" was deliberately chosen for security purposes, to conceal the true nature of the weapon. Background The concept of a torpedo which would "home" on its target had been studied by torpedo designers as far back as the First World War. While the concept was interesting, implementation had to await a better understanding of the physics of sound generation and transmission in the sea an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hedgehog (weapon)
The Hedgehog (also known as an ''Anti-Submarine Projector'') was a forward-throwing anti-submarine weapon that was used primarily during the Second World War. The device, which was developed by the Royal Navy, fired up to 24 spigot mortars ahead of a ship when attacking a U-boat. It was deployed on convoy escort warships such as destroyers and corvettes to supplement the depth charges. As the mortar projectiles employed contact fuzes rather than time or barometric (depth) fuzes, detonation occurred directly against a hard surface such as the hull of a submarine making it more deadly than depth charges, which relied on damage caused by hydrostatic shockwaves. During WWII out of 5,174 British depth charge attacks there were 85.5 kills, a ratio of 60.5 to 1. In comparison, the Hedgehog made 268 attacks for 47 kills, a ratio of 5.7 to 1. Development The "Hedgehog", so named because the empty rows of its launcher spigots resembled the spines on the back of a hedgehog, was a repla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
