Dönitz U Boats Convoys

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Dönitz, U-boats, Convoys

Author : Jak P. Mallmann Showell
Publisher : Pen and Sword
Page : 245 pages
File Size : 44,7 Mb
Release : 2013-08-21
Category : History
ISBN : 9781473829701

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Dönitz, U-boats, Convoys by Jak P. Mallmann Showell Pdf

This unique WWII history combines the memoirs of a Nazi Admiral with secret British naval reports for a comprehensive view of the U-Boat war. The memoirs of Admiral Karl Dönitz, Ten Years and Twenty Days, are a fascinating first-hand account of the Battle of the Atlantic as seen from the headquarters of the U-boat fleet. Now, noted naval historian Jak P. Mallmann Showell has combined Dönitz's memoirs in a parallel text with the British Admiralty's secret Monthly Anti-Submarine Reports to produce a unique view of the U-boat war as it was perceived at the time by both sides. The British Monthly Anti-Submarine Reports were classified documents issued only to senior officers hunting U-boats. They were supposed to have been returned to the Admiralty and destroyed at the end of the War, but by chance a set survived in the archives of the Royal Navy's Submarine Museum in Gosport. They offer significant and hitherto unavailable insight into the British view of the Battle of the Atlantic as it was being fought. With expert analysis of these firsthand sources from opposing sides of the conflict, Jak P. Mallmann Showell presents what may be the most complete contemporary account of the desperate struggle in the North Atlantic during the Second World War.

Dönitz's Last Gamble

Author : Lawrence Paterson
Publisher : Pen and Sword
Page : 230 pages
File Size : 42,5 Mb
Release : 2008-07-23
Category : History
ISBN : 9781783469499

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Dönitz's Last Gamble by Lawrence Paterson Pdf

“The tragic final year of Hitler’s once highly effective U-Boat campaign against Allied shipping is graphically and grippingly told here.” —Work Boat World By the end of 1943 the German submarine war on Atlantic convoys was all but defeated, beaten by superior technology, code-breaking and air power. With losses mounting, Karl Dönitz withdrew the wolfpacks, but in a surprise change of strategy, following the D-Day landings in June 1944, he sent his U-boats into coastal waters, closer to home, where they could harass the crucial Allied supply lines to the new European bridgehead. Caught unawares, the British and American navies struggled to cope with a novel predicament—in shallow waters submarines could lie undetectable on the bottom, and given operational freedom, they rarely needed to make signals, neutralizing the Allied advantages of decryption and radio direction-finding. Behind this unpleasant shock lay an even greater threat, of radically new submarine types known to be nearing service. Dönitz saw these as war-winning weapons, and gambled that his inshore campaign would hold up the Allied advance long enough to allow these faster and quieter boats to be deployed in large numbers. This offensive was perhaps Germany’s last chance to turn the tide, yet, surprisingly, such an important story has never been told in detail before. That it did not succeed masks its full significance: in the Cold War that followed, the massive Soviet submarine fleet—built on captured German technology and tactical experience—became a very real menace to Western sea power. In this way, Dönitz’s last gamble set the course of post-war antisubmarine development.

Dönitz's Last Gamble

Author : Lawrence Paterson
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 208 pages
File Size : 40,5 Mb
Release : 2008
Category : HISTORY
ISBN : 1783464836

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Dönitz's Last Gamble by Lawrence Paterson Pdf

By the end of 1943 the German submarine war on Atlantic convoys was all but defeated, beaten by superior technology, code-breaking and air power. With losses mounting, Dönitz withdrew the wolfpacks, but in a surprise change of strategy, following the D-Day landings in June 1944, he sent his U-boats into coastal waters, closer to home, where they could harass the crucial Allied supply lines to the new European bridgehead. Caught unawares, the British and American navies struggled to cope with a novel predicament -in shallow waters submarines could lie undetectable on the bottom, and given opera.

U-Boats Beyond Biscay

Author : Bernard Edwards
Publisher : Casemate Publishers
Page : 255 pages
File Size : 44,9 Mb
Release : 2017-05-31
Category : History
ISBN : 9781473896079

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U-Boats Beyond Biscay by Bernard Edwards Pdf

On the outbreak of war in 1939 Admiral Donitzs U-boat flotillas consisted of some thirty U-boats fully operational, with only six to eight at sea at any one time. Their activities were restricted mainly to the North Sea and British coastal waters. When France fell in the summer of 1940, the ports in the Bay of Biscay gave direct access to the Atlantic, and the ability to extend their reach even to. The Royal Navy was unable to escort convoys much beyond the Western Approaches. In a short time, the Allies were losing 500,000 tons of shipping a month, every month. Donitz now looked over the far horizons, Americas Eastern Seaboard, the coasts of Africa, and the Mediterranean, where Allied merchantmen habitually sailed alone and unprotected. There was a rich harvest to be gathered in by the long range U-boats, the silent hunter-killers, mostly operating alone. This book tells their story.

The U-Boat War in the Atlantic

Author : Bob Carruthers
Publisher : Pen and Sword
Page : 255 pages
File Size : 55,7 Mb
Release : 2013-03-18
Category : History
ISBN : 9781781591604

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The U-Boat War in the Atlantic by Bob Carruthers Pdf

This is the second of three volumes covering the U-boat campaign in the Atlantic during the Second World War.??This is the fascinating account, as told from the German perspective, of the Battle of the Atlantic, the longest-running, continuous military campaign in World War II, spanning from 1939 through to Germany's defeat in 1945. At its core was the Allied naval blockade of Germany, which was announced the day after the declaration of war, although it quickly grew to include Germany's counter-blockade. The name "Battle of the Atlantic", was coined by Winston Churchill in 1941 and he famously stated that the U-boats were the only thing that really frightened him. The U-boat war encompassed a campaign that began on the first day of the European war and lasted for six years, involved thousands of ships and stretched over thousands of square miles of ocean, in more than 100 convoy battles and perhaps 1,000 single-ship encounters. In the 68 months of World War II, 2,775 Allied merchant ships were sunk for the loss of 781 U-boats.??This is the story of that massive encounter from the German perspective. Published in three volumes, this work was compiled under the supervision of the U.S Navy Department and the British Admiralty by Fregattenkapitan Gunther Hessler. The author, though without previous experience as a writer, had first hand experience of U-boat warfare having commanded a U-boat in 1940 and 1941. For the remainder of the war he was Staff Officer to the Flag Officer commanding U-boats. He had access to German war diaries and other relevant documents concerning U-boat command, and this work based on these many documents, tells the story entirely from the viewpoint of that command. For this reason this work is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of World War II from primary sources and will be of enduring interest to those engaged in attempting to unravel the true nature of submarine warfare in World War II.

From Hunter to Hunted

Author : Bernard Edwards
Publisher : Pen and Sword Maritime
Page : 221 pages
File Size : 44,8 Mb
Release : 2020-03-30
Category : History
ISBN : 9781526763600

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From Hunter to Hunted by Bernard Edwards Pdf

The author of Churchill’s Thin Grey Line shares case histories from World War II’s Battle of the Atlantic featuring the German U-boat. In the early stages of World War II, Donitz’s U-boats generally adhered to Prize rules, surfacing before attacking and making every effort to preserve the lives of their victims’ crews. But, with the arming of merchantmen and greater risk of damage or worse, they increasingly attacked without warning. So successful was the U-boat campaign that Churchill saw it as the gravest threat the nation faced. The low point was the March 1943 attack on convoys SC122 and HX229 when 44 U-boats sank 22 loaded ships. The pendulum miraculously swung with improved tactics and technology. In May, 1943, out of a force of over 50 U-boats that challenged ONS5, eight were sunk and 18 were damaged, some seriously. Such losses were unsustainable, and, with allied yards turning out ships at ever increasing rates, Donitz withdrew his wolf packs from the North Atlantic. Expert naval author and historian Bernard Edwards traces the course of the battle of the Atlantic through a series of thrilling engagement case studies. Praise for From Hunter to Hunted “Expertly written, it portrayed the perils and dramas of warfare in the North Atlantic between the convoys and German U boats . . . Reading [Edwards’s] accounts made me feel as though I was present. A cracking and informative read— I will definitely read more by Captain Edwards and I highly commend it.” —Adrian Greaves, author of The Zulus at War

Hitler's Attack U-Boats

Author : Jak P. Mallmann Showell
Publisher : Frontline Books
Page : 394 pages
File Size : 52,6 Mb
Release : 2020-09-30
Category : History
ISBN : 9781526771025

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Hitler's Attack U-Boats by Jak P. Mallmann Showell Pdf

“A definitive introduction by a highly recognized authority who writes beautifully and clearly.” —Naval Historical Foundation The fact that German submarines almost managed to cut off Britain’s vital imports during the First World War hadn’t been forgotten by Hitler—and when, in 1935, he repudiated the Treaty of Versailles, Britain, magnanimously, signed an Anglo-German Naval Agreement. This allowed the Germans to build their submarine strength up to one third of the Royal Navy’s tonnage. When war broke out in 1939, German U-boats went quickly into action, but with only four years of production and development, the main armament of these submarines was considerably weaker than equivalent boats in other navies and many other features, such as living conditions, were also significantly inferior. Yet, the German U-boat onslaught against British merchant ships in autumn 1940 was highly successful because the attacks were made on the surface at night and from such close range that a single torpedo would sink a ship. Soon, though, Allied technology was able to detect U-boats at night, and new convoy techniques, combined with powerfully armed, fast modern aircraft searching the seas, meant that by 1941 it was clear that Germany was losing the war at sea. Something had to be done. The new generation of attack U-boats that had been introduced since Hitler came to power needed urgent improvement. This is the story of the Types II, VII, and IX that had already become the ‘workhorse’ of the Kriegsmarine’s submarine fleet and continued to put out to sea to attack Allied shipping right up to the end of the war. The Type II was a small coastal boat that struggled to reach the Atlantic; the Type VII was perfectly at home there, but lacked the technology to tackle well protected convoys; while the Type IX was a long-range variety modified so it could operate in the Indian Ocean. This book by the renowned Kriegsmarine historian explores these attack U-boats at length, including details of their armament, capabilities, and crew facilities; the story of their development and operational history; and just what it was like to operate such a vessel.

Steel and Ice

Author : Lawrence Paterson
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 256 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2016-08-15
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 159114258X

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Steel and Ice by Lawrence Paterson Pdf

As the land war raged along the Eastern Front between 1941 and 1945, an equally fierce and unrelenting war ensued on the seas. From German Wolf Pack attacks on Russian convoy traffic and military vessels to close-quarter combat undertaken by small U-boats transported by land and river to the Black Sea, the Kriegsmarine wrestled for control of the seas fringing an embattled Soviet Union. Combined with the fortitude of U-boat crews who fought in some of the harshest weather conditions found at sea, ingenuity on behalf of German military engineers also facilitated the transfer of U-boats from Germany to Romania. From there, the Kriegsmarine engaged Soviet military might and pioneered the use of submarine-based rocket firing technology against land targets. The struggle between the Kriegsmarine s U-boats and the Red Navy lasted from the opening salvos of Operation Barbarossa to the final chaotic days of Germany s defeat. Available in English for the first time, "Steel and Ice" is well-illustrated, containing never-before-published color and black and white photos."

The Convoy

Author : Angus Konstam
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 339 pages
File Size : 43,5 Mb
Release : 2023-10-26
Category : History
ISBN : 9781472857729

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The Convoy by Angus Konstam Pdf

The Convoy represents a fresh approach to the story of the Battle of the Atlantic. It is also the first to deal with the more spectacular story of HG-76, a major turning point in the naval war. HG-76 sailed from Gibraltar to Britain in December 1941 and was specially targeted by the Germans. A wolfpack of U-boats was sent against it, and the Luftwaffe was heavily committed too in a rare example of German inter-service cooperation. German intelligence agents in Gibraltar and Spain also knew every detail of HG-76 before it had even sailed, seemingly stacking the odds in favour of the Kriegsmarine. Despite this the convoy fought its way through. Improved radar and sonar gave the convoy's escorts a slight edge over their opponents, while the escort group was led by Commander Walker, an anti-submarine expert who had developed new, aggressive U-boat hunting tactics. Previous Gibraltar convoys had been mauled by Luftwaffe bombers operating from French airfields. This time, though, HG-76 would be accompanied by HMS Audacity, the Royal Navy's first escort carrier – a new type of warship purpose-built to defend convoys from enemy aircraft and U-boats. Following seven days and nights of relentless attack, the horrors of which are brought home through a series of first-hand accounts, the convoy finally reached the safety of a British port for the loss of only two merchant ships. Its arrival was seen as the first real convoy victory of the war. Brought to life by expert naval historian Angus Konstam, The Convoy combines the story of the technical and tactical developments that won the Battle of the Atlantic for the Allies along with a narrative that reveals both the terror and the stubborn determination that defined the experiences of those that served on convoy duties.

The U-boat Hunters

Author : Marc Milner
Publisher : US Naval Institute Press
Page : 392 pages
File Size : 47,5 Mb
Release : 1994
Category : History
ISBN : UOM:39015032315429

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The U-boat Hunters by Marc Milner Pdf

The Royal Canadian Navy is best known for its role in the defence of convoys against attacks by U-boats, particularly those in the mid-Atlantic from 1941 to 1943. Marc Milner's 1985 book, North Atlantic Run: The Royal Canadian Navy and the Battle for the Convoys, was the first scholarly analysis of those crucial defensive operations. The U-Boat Hunters takes up the story for the last two years of the war, when the measurement of operational effectiveness at sea shifted from success in defending convoys to the ability to hunt down and sink U-boats. The U-Boat Hunters, which completes Milner's analysis of the RCN's battle with Germany's submarines, is a pioneering study of the final years of the Atlantic war and a landmark work in both Canadian and modern naval history.

Dönitz and the Wolf Packs

Author : Bernard Edwards
Publisher : Pen and Sword
Page : 358 pages
File Size : 45,5 Mb
Release : 2014-07-30
Category : History
ISBN : 9781473840751

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Dönitz and the Wolf Packs by Bernard Edwards Pdf

On 17 September 1942 Admiral Karl Donitz, C-in-C U-boats, issued the following directive:To all Commanders - 'All attempts to rescue members of ships sunk, therefore also fishing out swimmers and putting them into lifeboats, righting capsized lifeboats, handing out provisions and water, have to cease. Rescue contradicts the most fundamental demands of war for the annihilation of enemy ships and crews'.This order ended what had hitherto been a war in which the opposing factions treated each other with a certain respect, seaman to seaman, showing mercy where mercy was due. It also marked the point at which the Battle of the Atlantic became a dirty war of attrition, with the U-boats hunting in packs snarling and snapping at the heels of the hard-pressed convoys. Ships began to go down like corn before the reaper, men were dying in their hundreds in the cold grey waters of the great ocean. This was a battle without quarter. A battle the U-boats would have won had it not been for the grit and determination of the convoy escorts and the unflagging resilience of the men who manned the vulnerable merchant ships.This book faithfully records the progress of the Battle of the Atlantic, which began within hours of the declaration of war on 3 September 1939 and continued without let-up until the last torpedo was fired on the night of 7 May 1945, just one hour before Germany surrendered. The story is told from both sides of the periscope.

Turning the Tide

Author : Ed Offley
Publisher : Basic Books
Page : 512 pages
File Size : 53,6 Mb
Release : 2012-05-08
Category : History
ISBN : 9780465031641

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Turning the Tide by Ed Offley Pdf

At times, even his admirers seemed unsure of what to do with General Douglas MacArthur. Imperious, headstrong, and vain, MacArthur matched an undeniable military genius with a massive ego and a rebellious streak that often seemed to destine him for the dustbin of history. Yet despite his flaws, MacArthur is remembered as a brilliant commander whose combined-arms operation in the Pacific -- the first in the history of warfare -- secured America's triumph in World War II and changed the course of history. In The Most Dangerous Man in America, celebrated historian Mark Perry examines how this paradox of a man overcame personal and professional challenges to lead his countrymen in their darkest hour. As Perry shows, Franklin Roosevelt and a handful of MacArthur's subordinates made this feat possible, taming MacArthur, making him useful, and finally making him victorious. A gripping, authoritative biography of the Pacific Theater's most celebrated and misunderstood commander, The Most Dangerous Man in America reveals the secrets of Douglas MacArthur's success -- and the incredible efforts of the men who made it possible.

Attack & Sink, the Battle of the Atlantic, Summer 1941

Author : Bernard Edwards
Publisher : Brick Tower Press
Page : 228 pages
File Size : 43,5 Mb
Release : 2010-02-13
Category : History
ISBN : 1899694404

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Attack & Sink, the Battle of the Atlantic, Summer 1941 by Bernard Edwards Pdf

“This convoy must not get through–U-boats pursue, attack and sink.” This was the signal that Admiral Dönitz sent to the commanders of the 21 U-boats of the Markgraf wolf-pack on September 9, 1941 just before the United States entered the war. Sixty-three merchant ships; a number old and dilapidated and all slow and heavy-laden with vital supplies from the United States for the United Kingdom, were strung out in 12 columns abreast, covering 25 miles of inhospitable ocean. They set sail from Nova Scotia at a time when the German U-boats were sinking more than one hundred ships a month and the US Navy could do nothing but stand-by and watch–at least officially. “Around noon, the three US destroyers, Charles F. Hughes, Russell and Sims, wheeled away and made off to the west at speed. The American ships had served their purpose, for although they had taken great pains not to be associated with SC42’s official escort, the mere presence of these modern, powerful men-of-war had contributed to the withdrawal of the U-boats.” The convoy's escort of one destroyer and three corvettes of the Royal Canadian Navy, all untried in combat, was hopelessly outclassed when the battle for SC42 commenced. The battle lasted for seven days and covered 1,200 miles of ocean. First hand accounts by participants on both sides add interest and drama.

U-Boats at War in 100 Objects, 1939–1945

Author : Gordon Williamson
Publisher : Frontline Books
Page : 192 pages
File Size : 45,9 Mb
Release : 2019-10-30
Category : History
ISBN : 9781526759054

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U-Boats at War in 100 Objects, 1939–1945 by Gordon Williamson Pdf

‘The only thing that ever really frightened me during the war was the U-boat peril,’ wrote Winston Churchill in his history of the Second World War. ‘I was even more anxious about this battle than I had been about the glorious air fight called the Battle of Britain.” In reality, the Kriegsmarine had been woefully unprepared for the war into which it was thrown. The Command-in-Chief of submarines, Karl Dönitz, himself a verteran U-boat captain from the First World War, felt that he could bring Britain to its knees with a fleet of 300 U-Boats. But when war broke out, he had just twenty-four available for operational use. Despite this, the U-Boat arm scored some incredible successes in the early part of the war, raising the status of the submarine commanders and crews to that of national heroes in the eyes of the German people. The ‘Grey Wolves’ had become super-stars. Small wonder then that the U-Boat war has fascinated students of military history ever since. This book, using a carefully selected range of both wartime images and colour images of surviving U-boat memorabilia from private collections, describes 100 iconic elements of the U-Boat service and its campaigns. The array of objects include important individuals and the major U-Boat types, through to the uniforms and insignias the men wore. The weapons, equipment and technology used are explored, as are the conditions in which the U-boat crews served, from cooking facilities and general hygiene down to the crude toilet facilities. Importantly, the enemy that they faced is also covered, examining the ship-borne and airborne anti-submarine weaponry utilised against the U-boats. The U-Boats began the war, though small in number, more than a match for the Allies and created carnage amongst merchant shipping as well as sinking several major warships. The pace of technological development, however, failed to match that of Allied anti-submarine warfare weaponry and the U-Bootwaffe was ultimately doomed to defeat but not before, at one point, coming close to bringing Britain to its knees.

Convoy

Author : Martin Middlebrook
Publisher : William Morrow
Page : 420 pages
File Size : 52,6 Mb
Release : 1986
Category : History
ISBN : IND:30000113077998

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Convoy by Martin Middlebrook Pdf

"Winston Churchill wrote, "The only thing that ever really frightened me during the war was the U-boat peril." Had the convoy link between North America and Britain been broken, the course of World War II would have been different. In March 1943, the Germans were coming close to doing just that - sinking ninety-seven Allied merchant ships in twenty days, twice the rate of replacement, while losing seven U-boats and putting fourteen more into service. At this time, two convoys sailed from New York harbor for England. Admiral Dönitz deployed forty-two U-boats to trap them. Convoy is a powerful narrative of the ensuing engagement, which became a major turning point in the Battle of the Atlantic. It documents every maneuver of the more than eighty merchant ships and escort vessels, the long-range air cover, and the attacking U-boats. In recounting how the crews of the ships and U-boats were recruited, worked, fought, and died, Convoy tells the story of the hundreds of convoys that sailed the ocean during the war. It also throws new light on three controversies : why there was an "air gap" long after full air cover could have been provided, why convoys had to sail with dangerously weak naval escorts, and how the Allies outwitted the Germans in the radio decoding war. This dramatic and authoritative book provides a valuable contribution to the naval history of World War II."--