Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches was the commander of a major operational command of the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The admiral commanding, and his forces, sometimes informally known as 'Western Approaches Command,' were responsible for the safety of British shipping in the
Western Approaches
The Western Approaches is an approximately rectangular area of the Atlantic Ocean lying immediately to the west of Ireland and parts of Great Britain. Its north and south boundaries are defined by the corresponding extremities of Britain. The c ...
.
History
Admiral
Martin Dunbar-Nasmith
Admiral Sir Martin Eric Dunbar-Nasmith, (1 April 1883 – 29 June 1965) was a Royal Navy officer and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forc ...
, who had been
Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth
The Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth, was a senior commander of the Royal Navy for hundreds of years. Plymouth Command was a name given to the units, establishments, and staff operating under the admiral's command. Between 1845 and 1896, this offi ...
, also took over responsibility for the Western Approaches from the start of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
After the fall of France in June 1940, the main North Atlantic
convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...
routes were diverted around the north of Ireland through the north-western approaches.
[History of Derby House (Western Approaches Museum)]
accessed 1 May 2017 By late 1940, the location of the Combined Operations headquarters at Plymouth was increasingly awkward and the decision was taken to move the Combined Operations headquarters to
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
.
[ On 7 February 1941, the headquarters was established at ]Derby House
The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...
, Liverpool,[ with a secondary control bunker built in ]Magee College
The Ulster University Derry~Londonderry campus, better known as Magee College, is one of the four campuses of Ulster University. It is located in Derry, Northern Ireland, and was opened in 1865 as a Presbyterian Christian arts and theological ...
, Derry
Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...
. Derby House was designated HMS ''Eaglet''; shore establishments were often given ship ("stone frigate
A stone frigate is a naval establishment on land.
'Stone frigate' is an informal term which has its origin in Britain's Royal Navy (RN), after its use of Diamond Rock, an island off Martinique, as a 'sloop of war' to harass the First French ...
") names to meet the requirement that their Navy personnel be borne upon the books of a specific ship. The headquarters of No. 15 Group RAF (part of Coastal Command) moved to Liverpool at the same time. On 17 February 1941 Admiral Sir Percy Noble was appointed as the new Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches Command.[ The Western Approaches Tactical Unit (WATU) was formed in January 1942 to develop and disseminate new tactics to counter German submarine attacks on trans-Atlantic shipping convoys. WATU took up residency on the top floor of Derby House.
Over the next two years, Admiral Noble built up the bases for the North Atlantic escort groups at ]Greenock
Greenock (; ; , ) is a town in Inverclyde, Scotland, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The town is the administrative centre of Inverclyde Council. It is a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, and forms ...
on the Clyde, Derry
Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...
and Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
and set up the training facilities that were the foundations for eventual victory in the 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 Allies of World War II, ...
.
On 19 November 1942, Admiral Max Horton
Admiral (Royal Navy), Admiral Sir Max Kennedy Horton, (29 November 1883 – 30 July 1951) was a British submariner during the First World War and commander-in-chief of the Western Approaches Command, Western Approaches in the later half of the ...
replaced Admiral Noble; Horton then was Commander-in-Chief until Western Approaches Command closed on 15 August 1945.[
Horton’s leadership played a vital role in the final defeat of the U-boat menace. Horton used the increasing number of escorts that were available to the command to organize "support groups" that were used to reinforce ]convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...
s that came under attack. Unlike the regular escort groups, the support groups were not directly responsible for the safety of any particular convoy. This freedom gave them much greater tactical flexibility, allowing the support groups to detach ships to hunt submarine
A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...
s spotted by reconnaissance or picked up by high-frequency direction finding ( HF/DF). In situations where the regular escorts would have had to return to their convoy, the support groups were able to persist in hunting a submarine for many hours until it was forced to the surface.
The Western Approaches Tactical Unit (WATU) was also based in Western Approaches HQ and was located in the top floor of the original Exchange Buildings on the opposite side of Exchange Square to Derby House. The unit was commanded by Captain Gilbert Roberts and was staffed almost entirely by women.
Museum
The reinforced central core of the command bunker at Derby House proved too costly to demolish, and so whilst the rest of the building has been converted to modern offices, the bunker has been restored as a museum, open to the public. The areas open to visitors are only a small part of the original complex. The museum is known as the Western Approaches Museum.[
Following years of neglect, the site was taken over by non-profit organisation Big Heritage in 2017, which saw an extensive restoration of the site and the discovery of new hidden parts of the bunker complex . The reopened site has seen a large increase in visitor numbers, and now ranks as one of the most popular historic sites in Liverpool.
During the lockdown as a result of COVID-19, Big Heritage reopened several previously undiscovered rooms, as well as restored the main chart in the operations room.]
Commanders-in-Chief, Western Approaches
See also
* Anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations ar ...
* U-boat
U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...
* Battle of the Atlantic (1939–1945)
References
External links
Western Approaches - Liverpool War Museum
- official site
{{Royal Navy fleets
W
Battle of the Atlantic
Museums in Liverpool
Military and war museums in England
Military units and formations of the Royal Navy in World War II
World War II museums in the United Kingdom