WWII War at Sea

“When the first Allied troops came ashore in Normandy on the morning of 6 June 1944, it not only marked the beginning of the end for the Axis in western Europe, but a true pinnacle of naval ingenuity. From midget submarines to clever contraptions that cleared the landing beaches of obstacles, almost every aspect of planning had been shaped by lessons that the Allies had learned during their past four-and-a-half years at sea — both the glorious successes and crushing failures. But even once D-Day had passed, the conflict was far from over. The US remained at loggerheads with Japan in the Pacific, each boasting huge carrier fleets that were taking maritime warfare to new heights. This special edition of BBC History Magazine examines these crucial moments during the war…

If the tank was the most impressive battlefield innovation of the First World War, then its maritime equivalent was the submarine. Although the submarine had made a fleeting appearance in the American Civil War of the 1860s, it wasn’t until half a century later that its effectiveness was truly felt with the rapid technological advances of the early 20th century. Yet, despite the fact that during the First World War a comparatively small German U-boat fleet had brought Britain to the brink of starvation by sinking supply ships from North America, the submarine was still viewed overall as a minor weapon in a nation’s naval armoury in the interwar years. Britain, America, Japan and Germany believed that surface ships held the key to maritime domination, a philosophy in part explained…

The gathering storm Battle of the River Plate t the outbreak of war on 3 September 1939, Germany had at sea two of its so-called ‘armoured ships’ - or in German, Panzerschiffe. Generally nick-named ‘pocket battleships’, the Panzerschiffe had been designed to be as powerful as possible within the severe restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles. They had been originally built for operations against the French navy in the North and Baltic seas, but now their role was commerce raiding: sinking Allied merchantmen in the open ocean. The prototype Panzerschiff, Deutschland, was in the north Atlantic, where the rapidly introduced convoy system soon neutralised it. The other, Admiral Graf Spee, encountered only individual merchant ships as she cruised in the south Atlantic. Her captain, Hans Langsdorff, was a humane and…

1 HE UNDERESTIMATED THE ENEMY’S STRENGTH Firstly, Langsdorff mistakenly thought he was only facing a light cruiser and two destroyers, rather than a heavy cruiser and two light cruisers. He was misled by the shape of Exeter’s two funnels, reminiscent of an old ‘C’ or ‘D’ class ship, and the single funnels of Ajax and Achilles, which recalled the single funnel of the latest British destroyers. He therefore considered it safe to engage what seemed an inferior force, instead of using the superior responsiveness of Graf Spee’s diesel engines to speed away. 2 HE OVERESTIMATED HIS SHIP’S CAPABILITIES Langsdorff’s ship was far from being as powerful as she was vaunted. Graf Spee had a strong main armament for a ship of her size - six 280mm guns - but these…

We’re all familiar with the story. In the summer of 1940, Royal Air Force pilots defeated Nazi Germany’s Luftwaffe over the skies of southern England and saved Britain from invasion. “Our fate,” Winston Churchill wrote years later, “depended on victory in the air.” The Battle of Britain was a humiliation for the Luftwaffe, which may have lost almost 2,000 aircraft and seen well over 4,000 airmen killed, wounded, missing, and captured - undoubtedly far more than the British, although figures vary. It was a propaganda triumph for a beleaguered island, with strategic implications, in particular in the US, where Americans considered anew the UK’s will to resist. It was an important victory, and the pilots’ courage was undeniable. But, in truth, there’s little chance that Germany could have invaded England,…

16 February 1940 Naval forces from HMS Cossack free British prisoners held aboard German supply ship Altmark in Norwegian waters. 9 April Operation Wesertübung. German forces invade Norway and Denmark, overrunning Denmark in hours and seizing the Norwegian capital, Oslo, and five major ports. 11 April British submarine Spearfish torpedoes German pocket battleship Ldtzow. 14-19 April British and Allied troops land at Namsos and Andalsnes, near Trondheim, in central Norway, and at Harstad, near Narvik. 13 May An Allied ground attack on Narvik begins with an amphibious landing at Bjerkvik. 28 May French and Norwegian troops recapture Narvik. 10 June Norway surrenders to German forces. The Nazis will control Norway until May 1945. 8 April Polish submarine Orzef sinks clandestine German troop transport Rio de Janeiro. HMS Glowworm is sunk…