The Battle of the Atlantic

The Battle of the Atlantic

• Britain is concealed on a small island.
• They were supplied vast amounts of food and military equipment 
• They had to have these to win the war
• British supply ships crossed in convoys

Atlantic Battle

• Winston Churchill was afraid that they would starve during the war
• The Atlantic battle would become its next nightmare.
• German submarine force (U-boats) severely damaged our ability to survive the war
• great deal of our raw materials came from America
• It had to cross the atlantic

German U-boats

• The u-boats that hunted were called wolf packs.
• had direct access to the Atlantic once France had fallen in the spring of 1940
• British supply ships crossed in convoys
• the ships that brought in our food etc.
• mid-Atlantic that our most vulnerable and where to start with the U-boats could run riot.

Sinking Subs

• 1939 : 222 ships sunk (114 by submarine)
• 1940 : 1059 ships sunk (471 by submarine)
• 1941 : 1328 ships sunk (432 by submarine)
• 1942 : 1661 ships sunk (1159 by submarine)
• 1943 : 597 ships sunk (463 by submarine)

Sinking Subs Cont.

• 1944 : 247 ships sunk (132 by submarine)
• 1945 : 105 ships sunk (56 by submarine)