#U-BOAT WARFARE 1939-1945

[roshmirani]

Submarines, warships capable of moving both above and below the surface

This is a unique ability among warships, and submarines are very different in design and appearance from surface ships. U-boats first became an important element of naval warfare in World War I (1914-1918), when Germany used them to destroy surface merchant shipping. In such attacks, submarines used their main weapon, self-propelled underwater missiles known as torpedoes. Submarines played a similar role on a larger scale during World War II (1939-1945), in both the Atlantic (on the German side) and Pacific (on the American side). In the 1960s, nuclear submarines became important strategic weapons platforms because they could remain submerged for months and launch long-range nuclear missiles without surfacing.

 Nuclear attack submarines, equipped with torpedoes, anti-ship missiles, and anti-submarine missiles, also became an important element of naval warfare. Below is a history of the development of submarines from the 17th century to the present. For the history of other warships, see Warships. For the armament of modern attack and strategic submarines, see Missiles and missile systems. Early hand-operated submarines The first serious discussion of a "submarine", that is, a vehicle that could be controlled underwater, appeared in 1578 from the pen of William Bourne, an English mathematician and author of naval books. Bourne proposed a totally enclosed boat that could be submerged in water and rowed. It consisted of a wooden frame covered in waterproof leather.

 A vice would have to be used to shrink the sides to reduce its volume and allow it to sink. Bourne did not design his boat himself, and the construction of the first submarine is usually credited to the Dutch inventor Cornelius Drebbel (or Cornelius van Drebbel). Repeated attempts were made on the River Thames in England between 1620 and 1624, and they succeeded in steering the vessel to depths of 12 to 15 feet (4 to 5 meters) below the surface. It is said that King James I took one for short trips.

 Drebbel's submarine was similar to the one proposed by Bourne in that the outer hull was made of greased leather over a wooden frame. Oars projected from the sides and were sealed by tight-fitting leather flaps, providing propulsion both on the surface and underwater. Drebbel's first boat was followed by two larger boats built on the same principle.

[jayjmorrissey]

Submarines, warships capable of moving

This is a unique ability among warships, and submarines are very different in design and appearance from surface ships. U-boats first became an important element of naval warfare in World War I (1914-1918), when Germany used them to destroy surface merchant shipping. In such attacks, submarines used their main weapon, self-propelled underwater missiles known as torpedoes. Submarines played a similar role on a larger scale during World War II (1939-1945), in both the Atlantic (on the German side) and Pacific (on the American side). In the 1960s, nuclear submarines became important strategic weapons platforms because they could remain submerged for months and launch long-range nuclear missiles without surfacing.

 Nuclear attack submarines, equipped with torpedoes, anti-ship missiles, and anti-submarine missiles, also became an important element of naval warfare. Below is a history of the development of submarines from the 17th century to the present. For the history of other warships, see Warships. For the armament of modern attack and strategic submarines, see Missiles and missile systems. Early hand-operated submarines The first serious discussion of a "submarine", that is, a vehicle that could be controlled underwater, appeared in 1578 from the pen of William Bourne, an English mathematician and author of naval books. Bourne proposed a totally enclosed boat that could be submerged in water and rowed. It consisted of a wooden frame covered in waterproof leather.

 A vice would have to be used to shrink the sides to reduce its volume and allow it to sink. Bourne did not design his boat himself, and the construction of the first submarine is usually credited to the Dutch inventor Cornelius Drebbel (or Cornelius van Drebbel). Repeated attempts were made on the River Thames in England between 1620 and 1624, and they succeeded in steering the vessel to depths of 12 to 15 feet (4 to 5 meters) below the surface. It is said that King James I took one for short trips.

[hjmarseille]

U-BOAT WARFARE 1939-1945

© IWM BU 6382

Axis Forces: A Type VII and a Type IX submarine alongside each other outside the submarine pens at Trondheim after the war.

Captured German U-boats outside their pen at Trondheim in Norway, 19 May 1945.

[greatworldwar2]

• Wilhelm Canaris

Wilhelm Franz Canaris was a German admiral and chief of the Abwehr, the German military intelligence service, from 1935 to 1944.

Canaris was born on January 1st, 1887 in Aplerbeck (now a part of Dortmund) in Westphalia, the son of Carl Canaris, a wealthy industrialist, and his wife, Auguste. Canaris believed that his family was related to the 19th century Greek admiral and politician Constantine Kanaris, a belief that influenced his decision to join the Imperial German Navy. However, according to Richard Bassett, a genealogical investigation in 1938 revealed that his family was actually of Northern Italian descent, originally called Canarisi, and had lived in Germany since the 17th century. In 1905, at the age of eighteen, Canaris joined the Imperial Navy and by the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 was serving as an intelligence officer on board the SMS Dresden, a light cruiser he had been assigned to in December 1911.

After the Battle of Más a Tierra, the immobilized Dresden anchored in Cumberland Bay, Robinson Crusoe Island and contacted Chile with regard to internment. While in the bay, Royal Navy ships approached and shelled the Dresden. The crew scuttled the ship. Most of the crew was interned in Chile in March 1915, but in August 1915, Canaris escaped by using his fluency in Spanish. On the way, he called at several ports, including Plymouth in Great Britain. Canaris was then given intelligence work as a result of having come to the attention of German naval intelligence. German plans to establish intelligence operations in the Mediterranean were under way and Canaris seemed a good fit for this role. After being assigned to the Inspectorate of Submarines by the Naval Staff in October 1916, he took up training for duty as a U-boat commander and graduated from Submarine School on 11 September 1917. Canaris spoke six languages with fluency, one of which was English. As a naval officer of the old school, he had great respect for Great Britain's Royal Navy, despite the rivalry between the two nations.

During the German Revolution of 1918–19, Canaris helped organise the formation of Freikorps paramilitary units in order to suppress the Communist revolutionary movements that were attempting to spread the ideals of the Russian Revolution into central European nations. Also during this period, he was appointed to the adjutancy of defence minister Gustav Noske. In 1919, he married Erika Waag, also the child of an industrialist, with whom he had two children. In the spring of 1924, Canaris was sent to Osaka, Japan, to supervise a secret U-boat construction program in direct violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Unfortunately for Canaris, he made some enemies within Germany during the course of his secret business and intelligence negotiations, partially as a consequence of the bankruptcy incurred by the film-maker Phoebus Film in his dealings with Lohmann. At some time in 1928, Canaris was removed from his intelligence post and began two years of conventional naval service aboard the pre-Dreadnought battleship Schlesien, becoming captain of the vessel in December 1932. Just two months later, Adolf Hitler became Germany's new Chancellor. Enthused by this development, Canaris was known to give lectures about the virtues of Nazism to his crew aboard the Schlesien.

One month before Hitler's annexation of Austria (known as the Anschluss), Canaris put the Abwehr into action, personally overseeing deception operations designed to give the Austrians the impression of what appeared to be substantial German military preparations for an impending act of aggression. After the outbreak of war between Germany and Poland in September 1939, Canaris visited the front, where he saw the devastation rendered by the German military—seeing Warsaw in flames nearly brought him to tears and it was reported that he exclaimed, "our children's children will have to bear the blame for this". He also witnessed examples of the war crimes committed by the Einsatzgruppen of the SS, including the burning of the synagogue in Będzin with 200 Polish Jews inside. Moreover, he received reports from Abwehr agents about several incidents of mass murder throughout Poland. Canaris visited Hitler's headquarters train on September 12t, 1939, to register his objection to the atrocities. Canaris told chief of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW) Wilhelm Keitel about the "extensive shootings ... and that the nobility and clergy were to be exterminated" to which Keitel informed him that Hitler had already "decided" the matter. After this experience Canaris began working more actively to overthrow Hitler's régime, although he also cooperated with the SD to create a decoy. This made it possible for him to pose as a trusted man for some time. He was promoted to the rank of full Admiral in January 1940.

With his subordinate Erwin Lahousen, he attempted in the autumn of 1940 to form a circle of like-minded Wehrmacht officers. At the time, this had little success. When the OKW decrees regarding the brutal treatment of Soviet prisoners of war related to the Commissar Order came to the attention of Canaris in mid-September 1941, he registered another complaint. Keitel reminded Canaris that he was thinking in terms of "chivalrous war", which did not apply, as this was "a matter of destroying a world ideology". Canaris had also worked to thwart the proposed Operation Felix, the German plan to seize Gibraltar. At a conference of senior officers in Berlin, in December 1941, Canaris is quoted as saying "the Abwehr has nothing to do with the persecution of Jews. ... no concern of ours, we hold ourselves aloof from it".

In June 1942, Canaris sent eight Abwehr agents to the East Coast of the United States as part of Operation Pastorius. The mission was to sabotage American economic targets and demoralise the civilian population inside the United States. However, two weeks later, all were arrested by the FBI thanks to two Abwehr agents who betrayed the mission. Because the Abwehr agents were arrested in civilian clothes, they were subject to court martial by a military tribunal in Washington, D.C. All were found guilty and sentenced to death. Due to the embarrassing failure of Operation Pastorius, no further sabotage attempt was ever made in the United States. After 1942, Canaris visited Spain frequently and was probably in contact with British agents from Gibraltar. In 1943, while in occupied France, Canaris is said to have made contact with British agents. In Paris, he was conducted blindfolded to the Convent of the Nuns of the Passion of Our Blessed Lord, 127 Rue de la Santé, where he met the local head of the British Intelligence Services, code name "Jade Amicol", in reality Colonel Claude Olivier. Canaris wanted to know the terms for peace if Germany got rid of Hitler. Churchill's reply, sent to him two weeks later, was simple: "Unconditional surrender".

Canaris also intervened to save a number of victims from Nazi persecution, including Jews, by getting them out of harm's way; he was instrumental, for example, in getting five hundred Dutch Jews to safety in May 1941. Many such people were given token training as Abwehr "agents" and then issued papers allowing them to leave Germany. However the evidence that Canaris was playing a double game grew and, at the insistence of Heinrich Himmler, Hitler dismissed Canaris and abolished the Abwehr in February 1944. Previous areas once the responsibility of the Abwehr were divided between Gestapo chief Heinrich Müller and SS-Brigadeführer Walter Schellenberg. Some weeks later, Canaris was put under house arrest. He was released from house arrest in June 1944 to take up a post in Berlin as the head of the Special Staff for Mercantile Warfare and Economic Combat Measures (HWK). The HWK coordinated resistance to the Allied economic blockade of Germany.

Canaris was arrested on July 23rd, 1944 on the basis of the interrogation of his successor at Military Intelligence, Georg Hansen. Schellenberg respected Canaris and was convinced of his loyalty to the Nazi regime, even though he had been arrested. Hansen admitted his role in the July 20 plot but accused Canaris of being its "spiritual instigator". No direct evidence of his involvement in the plot was discovered, but his close association with many of the plotters and certain documents written by him that were considered subversive led to the gradual assumption of his guilt. Two of the men under suspicion as conspirators who were known in Canaris' circle shot themselves, which incited activity from the Gestapo to prove he was, at the very least, privy to the plan against Hitler. Investigations dragged on inconclusively until April 1945, when orders were received to dispose of various remaining prisoners in July 20 plot. Canaris' personal diary was discovered and presented to Hitler in early April 1945, implicating him in the conspiracy. Canaris was placed on trial by an SS summary court. He was charged with and found guilty of treason. He was sentenced to death.

Canaris was led to the gallows naked and executed on April 9th, 1945 at the Flossenbürg concentration camp, just weeks before the end of the war. A prisoner claimed he heard Canaris tap out a coded message on the wall of his cell on the night before his execution, in which he denied he was a traitor and said he acted out of duty to his country. Erwin von Lahousen and Hans Bernd Gisevius, two of Canaris' main subordinates, survived the war and testified during the Nuremberg trials about Canaris' courage in opposing Hitler. Canaris died at the age of 58.

[hudsonespie]

Canada Remembers Those Lost in Battle of the Atlantic

May 3 marks the 75th anniversary of the end of the Battle of the Atlantic. The Battle was the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, running from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945. At its core was the Allied naval blockade of Germany, announced the day after the declaration of war, and Germany's subsequent counter-blockade. 

The Battle of the Atlantic involved U-boats and other German warships and aircraft of the Luftwaffe against the Royal Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, United States Navy, and Allied merchant shipping. Over 30,000 sailors were killed on each side. The Allies lost around 3,500 supply ships and 175 warships. The Germans lost 783 submarines.

Convoys, coming mainly from North America and predominantly going to the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union, were protected for the most part by the British and Canadian forces. It was a formative experience for the Royal Canadian Navy, says Marc Milner in The Naval Service of Canada 1910-2010: The Centennial Story. “Fought largely by reservists in small ships built in Canada and operating from Canadian bases, the defence of North Atlantic trade against the submarine menace defined a naval role for Canada within a much larger alliance. After 1945, the RCN became the best anti-submarine warfare (A/S or ASW as it is now known) navy in the world as part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). But it was not an easy or direct path.”

Milner continues: “The RCN destroyed 33 enemy submarines during the war: three Italian and the rest German. It was, in the end, a very small proportion of the 1,000 U-boats sunk by the Allies between 1939 and 1945, and a very modest portion of the 500 of these claimed by naval vessels. But the real measure of the RCN’s war against the U-boats lay in the shipping safely escorted. Indeed, a huge proportion of the 25,000 ships brought safely across the Atlantic during the war moved under Canadian escort.”

“On Battle of the Atlantic Sunday our 75th anniversary year of victory in the Atlantic, we recognize the service of our veterans, their families, and the sacrifice of the many shipmates who never returned home,” said the Royal Canadian Navy in a tweet.

  Our bell tolls today for the 24 Canadian warships lost during the Battle of the Atlantic, for the brave men that fought for our country, that never came back home, we will remember them. #BOA75 #CanadaRemembers #RCNRemembers pic.twitter.com/H0ZbMSzEpm

— Royal Canadian Navy (@RoyalCanNavy) May 3, 2020

On Battle of the Atlantic Sunday our 75th anniversary year of victory in the Atlantic, we recognize the service of our veterans, their families, & the sacrifice of the many shipmates who never returned home.#BOA75 #CanadaRemembers #RCNRemembers pic.twitter.com/9W1SheQqZn

— Royal Canadian Navy (@RoyalCanNavy) May 3, 2020

War is Hell, there is no doubt, until you see it. Remember our heroes, remember their names and their stories ????#BOA75 #CanadaRemembers ????by Eric Brunt Media pic.twitter.com/R8N19odlLu

— Royal Canadian Navy (@RoyalCanNavy) May 2, 2020

Naden Band playing Last Post#BOA75 #CanadaRemembers #RCNRemembers pic.twitter.com/yL2AMejQ3Y

— Royal Canadian Navy (@RoyalCanNavy) May 3, 2020

from Storage Containers https://maritime-executive.com/article/canada-remembers-those-lost-in-battle-of-the-atlantic via http://www.rssmix.com/

[nsdapuniforms-blog]

Some of the most fascinating facts about World War II

It is an indisputable fact that World War II brought remarkable changes in the 20th century. Major leaps were taken in technological sectors of warfare. World War II is the most outrageous and atrocious war ever happened in the history. The exact number of casualties in the war is unknown; however, records state that around 50 million civilians and military officials were killed. The primary opponents were designated as the Axis nations(Germany, Italy, Japan and other smaller nations) and the Allied nations(Britain, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States of America). The Allies emerged as victors and significant post-war changes were observed  including Women's Rights movement, termination of European Colonialism, and Civil Rights movement in the US.

It's a known fact that the two superpowers – USA and USSR- rose after the conclusion of World War II to begin a cold war with each other which is still prevalent in today's date.

1. Adolf Hitler's nephew, William Hitler, served for US in the navy. 2. The first killing of a German officer in the war was done by a Japanese. 3. A catholic midwife named Stanisława Leszczyńska delivered around 3000 babies during the Holocaust in occupied Poland. 4. The first killing of an American officer in the war was done by a Russian. 5. A child named Calvin Graham was the youngest serviceman in the US army. He lied about his real age while joining the military which was only 12. 6. In Soviet Union, only 20% of the males born in 1923 managed to survive the war. 7. Americans used the name 'Liberty Steak' for 'Hamburger' during World War II as it sounded German. 8. Founder of the Ford Motor company-Henry Ford, and Adolf Hitler kept each other's picture frame on their desk. 9. The first bomb dropped by the Allies on Berlin didn't kill anyone except an elephant in the zoo.   10. After the two atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the third target was Tokyo. 11. Around 80% of the total war casualties were from four nations-Russia, China, Germany, Poland; majority of them were women and children. 12. The mass murder of Jews, termed as Holocaust, has been derived from the Greek words "holos" (whole) and "kaustos" (burned). 13. A famous book on the torture and struggle of Jews - Diary of Anne Frank – is written in 60 languages and is taught in schools worldwide. 14. For every five German soldiers that died in the war, four died on the Eastern Front. 15. Lasting for 1939 to 1945, Battle of Atlantic was the longest battle of World War II. 16. The German sigil – Swastika – is an ancient symbol of well being in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain mythology.   17. Germans sunk 2,000 Allied ships at the cost of destruction of their 781 U-boats. 18. In the time span from 1940 to 1945, US budget rose from $1.9 billion to $59.8 billion. 19. Erich Hartmann was a German ace fighter among all the top fighters with 352 kills. 20. The composer of Seig Heil(Nazi Salute) actually attended Harvard and pirated it's “Fight Song” for the German march.

World War II is the biggest conflict happened till date. The most horrendous genocide ever occured in the history was the Holocaust of Jews led by NSDAP or Nazi party. Though the acts performed by Nazis were merciless, their warfare tactics were a splendid example of technological advancement  which makes NSDAP memorabilia highly popular among astute collectors. There are various collector and preserver of NSDAP memorabilia like Lakesidetrader, NSDAPuniforms, Germanmilitaria, etc who deal in genuine antique items at effective prices.

[hudsonespie]

Canada Remembers Those Lost in Battle of the Atlantic

May 3 marks the 75th anniversary of the end of the Battle of the Atlantic. The Battle was the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, running from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945. At its core was the Allied naval blockade of Germany, announced the day after the declaration of war, and Germany's subsequent counter-blockade. 

The Battle of the Atlantic involved U-boats and other German warships and aircraft of the Luftwaffe against the Royal Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, United States Navy, and Allied merchant shipping. Over 30,000 sailors were killed on each side. The Allies lost around 3,500 supply ships and 175 warships. The Germans lost 783 submarines.

Convoys, coming mainly from North America and predominantly going to the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union, were protected for the most part by the British and Canadian forces. It was a formative experience for the Royal Canadian Navy, says Marc Milner in The Naval Service of Canada 1910-2010: The Centennial Story. “Fought largely by reservists in small ships built in Canada and operating from Canadian bases, the defence of North Atlantic trade against the submarine menace defined a naval role for Canada within a much larger alliance. After 1945, the RCN became the best anti-submarine warfare (A/S or ASW as it is now known) navy in the world as part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). But it was not an easy or direct path.”

Milner continues: “The RCN destroyed 33 enemy submarines during the war: three Italian and the rest German. It was, in the end, a very small proportion of the 1,000 U-boats sunk by the Allies between 1939 and 1945, and a very modest portion of the 500 of these claimed by naval vessels. But the real measure of the RCN’s war against the U-boats lay in the shipping safely escorted. Indeed, a huge proportion of the 25,000 ships brought safely across the Atlantic during the war moved under Canadian escort.”

“On Battle of the Atlantic Sunday our 75th anniversary year of victory in the Atlantic, we recognize the service of our veterans, their families, and the sacrifice of the many shipmates who never returned home,” said the Royal Canadian Navy in a tweet.

  Our bell tolls today for the 24 Canadian warships lost during the Battle of the Atlantic, for the brave men that fought for our country, that never came back home, we will remember them. #BOA75 #CanadaRemembers #RCNRemembers pic.twitter.com/H0ZbMSzEpm

— Royal Canadian Navy (@RoyalCanNavy) May 3, 2020

On Battle of the Atlantic Sunday our 75th anniversary year of victory in the Atlantic, we recognize the service of our veterans, their families, & the sacrifice of the many shipmates who never returned home.#BOA75 #CanadaRemembers #RCNRemembers pic.twitter.com/9W1SheQqZn

— Royal Canadian Navy (@RoyalCanNavy) May 3, 2020

War is Hell, there is no doubt, until you see it. Remember our heroes, remember their names and their stories ????#BOA75 #CanadaRemembers ????by Eric Brunt Media pic.twitter.com/R8N19odlLu

— Royal Canadian Navy (@RoyalCanNavy) May 2, 2020

Naden Band playing Last Post#BOA75 #CanadaRemembers #RCNRemembers pic.twitter.com/yL2AMejQ3Y

— Royal Canadian Navy (@RoyalCanNavy) May 3, 2020

from Storage Containers https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/canada-remembers-those-lost-in-battle-of-the-atlantic via http://www.rssmix.com/

[hudsonespie]

Canada Remembers Those Lost in Battle of the Atlantic

May 3 marks the 75th anniversary of the end of the Battle of the Atlantic. The Battle was the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, running from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945. At its core was the Allied naval blockade of Germany, announced the day after the declaration of war, and Germany's subsequent counter-blockade. 

The Battle of the Atlantic involved U-boats and other German warships and aircraft of the Luftwaffe against the Royal Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, United States Navy, and Allied merchant shipping. Over 30,000 sailors were killed on each side. The Allies lost around 3,500 supply ships and 175 warships. The Germans lost 783 submarines.

Convoys, coming mainly from North America and predominantly going to the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union, were protected for the most part by the British and Canadian forces. It was a formative experience for the Royal Canadian Navy, says Marc Milner in The Naval Service of Canada 1910-2010: The Centennial Story. “Fought largely by reservists in small ships built in Canada and operating from Canadian bases, the defence of North Atlantic trade against the submarine menace defined a naval role for Canada within a much larger alliance. After 1945, the RCN became the best anti-submarine warfare (A/S or ASW as it is now known) navy in the world as part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). But it was not an easy or direct path.”

Milner continues: “The RCN destroyed 33 enemy submarines during the war: three Italian and the rest German. It was, in the end, a very small proportion of the 1,000 U-boats sunk by the Allies between 1939 and 1945, and a very modest portion of the 500 of these claimed by naval vessels. But the real measure of the RCN’s war against the U-boats lay in the shipping safely escorted. Indeed, a huge proportion of the 25,000 ships brought safely across the Atlantic during the war moved under Canadian escort.”

“On Battle of the Atlantic Sunday our 75th anniversary year of victory in the Atlantic, we recognize the service of our veterans, their families, and the sacrifice of the many shipmates who never returned home,” said the Royal Canadian Navy in a tweet.

  Our bell tolls today for the 24 Canadian warships lost during the Battle of the Atlantic, for the brave men that fought for our country, that never came back home, we will remember them. #BOA75 #CanadaRemembers #RCNRemembers pic.twitter.com/H0ZbMSzEpm

— Royal Canadian Navy (@RoyalCanNavy) May 3, 2020

On Battle of the Atlantic Sunday our 75th anniversary year of victory in the Atlantic, we recognize the service of our veterans, their families, & the sacrifice of the many shipmates who never returned home.#BOA75 #CanadaRemembers #RCNRemembers pic.twitter.com/9W1SheQqZn

— Royal Canadian Navy (@RoyalCanNavy) May 3, 2020

War is Hell, there is no doubt, until you see it. Remember our heroes, remember their names and their stories ????#BOA75 #CanadaRemembers ????by Eric Brunt Media pic.twitter.com/R8N19odlLu

— Royal Canadian Navy (@RoyalCanNavy) May 2, 2020

Naden Band playing Last Post#BOA75 #CanadaRemembers #RCNRemembers pic.twitter.com/yL2AMejQ3Y

— Royal Canadian Navy (@RoyalCanNavy) May 3, 2020

from Storage Containers https://maritime-executive.com/article/canada-remembers-those-lost-in-battle-of-the-atlantic via http://www.rssmix.com/