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Escort Group B2
Escort Group B2 was a convoy escort British formation of the Royal Navy which saw action during the Second World War, principally in the Battle of the Atlantic. The group was under the command of Cdr Donald Macintyre, one of Britain's most successful anti-submarine warfare commanders. Formation Escort Group B2 was one of seven British escort groups which served with the Mid-Ocean Escort Force (MOEF), which provided convoy protection in the most dangerous midsection of the North Atlantic route. The group was formed in the spring of 1942 and originally consisted of the ''Havant''-class destroyer as group leader with the ''Leamington'', V-class destroyer , and the s , , and . Later in the year the low-endurance destroyers ''Leamington'' and ''Veteran'' were replaced by longer-ranged V and W-class destroyers and and the Flower-class corvettes , , and joined the group. Service history The group commenced convoy escort duties in April 1942, in the critical mid-ocean ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts established by England between the late 16th and early 18th centuries. At its height it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. By 1913, the British Empire held sway over 412 million people, of the world population at the time, and by 1920, it covered , of the Earth's total land area. As a result, its constitutional, legal, linguistic, and cultural legacy is widespread. At the peak of its power, it was described as "the empire on which the sun never sets", as the Sun was always shining on at least one of its territories. During the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal and Spain pioneered European exploration of the globe, and in the process established large overse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
G And H-class Destroyer
The G- and H-class destroyers were a group of 18 destroyers built for the Royal Navy during the 1930s. Six additional ships being built for the Brazilian Navy when World War II began in 1939 were purchased by the British and named the ''Havant'' class. The design was a major export success with other ships built for the Argentine and Royal Hellenic Navies. They were assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet upon completion and enforced the Non-Intervention Agreement during the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939. Most ships were recalled home or were sent to the North Atlantic from October–November 1939, after it became clear that Fascist Italy was not going to intervene in World War II. Then they began to escort convoys and patrol for German submarines and commerce raiders. Two ships were lost to German mines in the first six months of the war. Three more were lost during the Norwegian Campaign, one in combat with a German cruiser and two during the First Battle of Narvik in Apr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
U-boat Arm
The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the and the , of the , the German armed forces from 1935 to 1945. In violation of the Treaty of Versailles, the grew rapidly during German naval rearmament in the 1930s. The 1919 treaty had limited the size of the German navy and prohibited the building of submarines. ships were deployed to the waters around Spain during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) under the guise of enforcing non-intervention, but in reality supported the Nationalists against the Spanish Republicans. In January 1939, Plan Z, a massive shipbuilding program, was ordered, calling for surface naval parity with the British Royal Navy by 1944. When World War II broke out in September 1939, Plan Z was shelved in favour of a crash building program for submarines (U-boats ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Submarine U-186
German submarine ''U-186'' was a Type IXC/40 U-boat of Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' built for service during World War II. Her keel was laid down on 24 July 1941 by ''DeSchiMAG AG Weser'' in Bremen as yard number 1026. She was launched on 11 March 1942 and commissioned on 10 July with ''Korvettenkapitän'' Siegfried Hesemann in command. The U-boat's service began with training as part of the 4th U-boat Flotilla. She then moved to the 10th flotilla on 1 January 1943 for operations. The submarine carried out two patrols and was a member of nine wolfpacks. She sank three ships totalling . She was sunk by a British destroyer on 12 May 1943. Design German Type IXC/40 submarines were slightly larger than the original Type IXCs. ''U-186'' had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. The U-boat had a total length of , a pressure hull length of , a beam of , a height of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two MAN M 9 V 40/46 supercharged four ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Submarine U-191
German submarine ''U-191'' was a Type IXC/40 U-boat of Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' built for service during World War II. She was ordered on 4 November 1940 from DeSchiMAG AG Weser Bremen, laid down on 2 November 1941, and launched on 3 July 1942. She was commissioned under '' Kapitänleutnant'' Helmut Fiehn on 20 October 1942 and underwent crew training and work-ups until 31 March 1943. Design German Type IXC/40 submarines were slightly larger than the original Type IXCs. ''U-191'' had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. The U-boat had a total length of , a pressure hull length of , a beam of , a height of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two MAN M 9 V 40/46 supercharged four-stroke, nine-cylinder diesel engines producing a total of for use while surfaced, two Siemens-Schuckert 2 GU 345/34 double-acting electric motors producing a total of for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two propellers. The boat was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Submarine U-357
German submarine ''U-357'' was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' during World War II and was sunk by British warships northwest of Ireland on 26 December 1942 on her first operational patrol. Design German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. ''U-357'' had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. She had a total length of , a pressure hull length of , a beam of , a height of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged diesel engines producing a total of for use while surfaced, two AEG GU 460/8-276 double-acting electric motors producing a total of for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to . The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a maximum submerged speed of . When submerged, the boat could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dominion Of Newfoundland
Newfoundland was a British dominion in eastern North America, today the modern Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It was established on 26 September 1907, and confirmed by the Balfour Declaration of 1926 and the Statute of Westminster of 1931. It included the island of Newfoundland, and Labrador on the continental mainland. Newfoundland was one of the original dominions within the meaning of the Balfour Declaration and accordingly enjoyed a constitutional status equivalent to the other dominions of the time. In 1934, Newfoundland became the only dominion to give up its self-governing status, which ended 79 years of self-government. The abolition of self-government came about because of a crisis in Newfoundland's public finances in 1932. Newfoundland had accumulated a significant amount of debt by building a railway across the island, which was completed in the 1890s, and by raising its own regiment during World War I. In November 1932, the government warned th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
V And W-class Destroyer
The V and W class was an amalgam of six similar classes of destroyer built for the Royal Navy under the 9th, 10th, 13th and 14th of fourteen War Emergency Programmes during the First World War and generally treated as one class. For their time they were among the most powerful and advanced ships of their type in the world, and set the trend for future British designs. They arrived in time to see service in the First World War. During the interwar period these ships formed the backbone of the Royal Navy's destroyer flotillas until gradually replaced by new construction; by the mid-1930s most had been displaced to the reserve fleet. Most ships survived to make an extensive contribution to the Second World War effort, in the vital role of convoy escort, freeing up more modern ships for fleet action. History The V and W class were the ultimate evolution of British destroyer design in the First World War, embodying the improvements of their predecessors as well as new technol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
USS Twiggs (DD-127)
The first USS ''Twiggs'' (DD–127) was a in the United States Navy during World War I. She was named for Major Levi Twiggs. She was later transferred to the Royal Navy, as HMS ''Leamington'' and to the Soviet Navy as ''Zhguchy'', before returning to Britain to star in the film ''The Gift Horse'', which depicts the St. Nazaire Raid. Service history United States Navy service ''Twiggs'' was laid down on 23 January 1918 at Camden, New Jersey, by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation. The ship was launched on 28 September 1918; sponsored by Miss Lillie S. Getchell, the granddaughter of Major Twiggs. ''Twiggs'' was commissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 28 July 1919, Commander Isaac C. Johnson, Jr., in command. Following shakedown, the destroyer joined Destroyer Division 16 (DesDiv 16), Destroyer Squadron 4 (Desron 4), Pacific Fleet, late in October 1919 and operated out of San Diego, California, on training cruises through the spring of 1922. While perfo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mid-Ocean Escort Force
Mid-Ocean Escort Force (MOEF) referred to the organisation of anti-submarine escorts for World War II trade convoys between Canada and Newfoundland, and the British Isles. The allocation of United States, British, and Canadian escorts to these convoys reflected preferences of the United States upon their declaration of war, and the organisation persisted through the winter of 1942–43 despite withdrawal of United States ships from the escort groups. By the summer of 1943, United States Atlantic escorts were focused on the faster CU convoys and the UG convoys between Chesapeake Bay and the Mediterranean Sea; and only British and Canadian escorts remained on the HX, SC and ON convoys. Background On the basis of experience during World War I, the Admiralty instituted trade convoys in United Kingdom coastal waters from September 1939. Anti-submarine escorts were allocated on the basis of perceived threat. Early German Type II submarines from bases in Germany were unable to o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against France. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century; the oldest of the UK's armed services, it is consequently known as the Senior Service. From the middle decades of the 17th century, and through the 18th century, the Royal Navy vied with the Dutch Navy and later with the French Navy for maritime supremacy. From the mid 18th century, it was the world's most powerful navy until the Second World War. The Royal Navy played a key part in establishing and defending the British Empire, and four Imperial fortress colonies and a string of imperial bases and coaling stations secured the Royal Navy's ability to assert naval superiority globally. Owing to this historical prominence, it is common, even among non-Britons, to ref ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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